Buster Posey has plenty of belief in Giants manager Bob Melvin and the rest of the coaching staff, even after a lackluster July.
The franchise has struggled mightily over the last six weeks, but the subpar performances have not broken Posey’s relationship with Melvin.
“I think my relationship has grown and gotten better with Bob,” Posey told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic and Laura Britt on “Giants Talk.” “And so, the focus now is for him to get the most out of the guys, and the other coaches to get the most out of the guys. Ultimately, the players have to want to get the most out of themselves.
“You can do your best in a managerial role or a coaching role to put those players in a position to succeed. But one of the many conversations I’ve had with our players over the last year is ultimately you’re the driver of your own career. You have to accept the responsibility of that, live with the good, and live with the bad. You can’t be shifting blame.”
While San Francisco made a massive move to acquire slugger Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox on June 15, the trade hasn’t panned out. The Giants are 13-22 since the trade, the worst record in baseball over that timeframe.
Devers was touted as a big-time slugger who was supposed to give San Francisco the home run threat it lacked earlier in the season. Instead, the 28-year-old has turned into an albatross around the neck of Melvin and the Giants, sinking San Francisco’s playoff hopes. Devers is batting .219 with four home runs, 15 RBI and 50 strikeouts since the trade, deflating an offense that was in desperate need of a boost.
San Francisco exercised Melvin’s contract for the 2026 MLB season, but the veteran manager has struggled to turn the franchise around after many years of mediocrity.
The Giants have plenty of talent, and it’ll be up to Melvin and the rest of his staff to right the ship for the remainder of the season and build some momentum heading into 2026.
In the hours leading up to MLB's annual trade deadline, the Yankees orchestrated a makeover of their struggling bullpen and added a speedy infield threat, capping off a swapping season that had already seen them find a new third baseman and fortify their bench. Bravo.
The Yankees are now in position to send wave after wave of mega bullpen arms at opponents in their march toward the postseason. And imagine how new relief aces Camilo Doval, David Bednar and Jake Bird might meld with incumbents Devin Williams and Luke Weaver to shorten playoff games. That, of course, is what really matters in today’s league, where bullpens can rule October.
That is the pinstriped best-case scenario, obviously. We’ll see if it works out. In the meantime, here is a report card on general manager Brian Cashman’s trade deadline moves.
Trade(s): Relief re-up over three separate deals
The Yankees got Bednar, Doval and Bird — all righties — for a total of nine prospects. Bednar is under club control through next season, while Doval and Bird are under control through 2027 and 2028, respectively. So, the Yankees have a future back-end cushion with Williams and Weaver heading for free agency after this season.
Bednar was so bad at the start of the season, that the Pirates sent him down to Triple-A. But he’s roared back with a 1.70 ERA in 39 games since, allowing one homer in 37 innings while striking out 50 and walking eight. He could be the Yankees' closer next season.
Doval walks too many (24 in 46.2 innings), but he can pile up strikeouts and ground balls and suppress homers. He’s got 15 saves and a 3.09 ERA. Two years ago, the then-Giants closer led the NL with 39 saves. He could be next year’s closer, too.
Bird’s curveball is a nifty swing-and-miss weapon, and his 62 strikeouts were tied for fourth-most in the NL. Batters are hitting only .185 against his curve this season, and he’s allowed just one extra-base hit on the pitch in 57 plate appearances that have ended on it. Bird was great early (1.41 ERA through June 10), but he hasn’t been as good since and his season ERA is 4.73.
To make these deals, the Yankees had to dip into their farm system. But they didn’t trade their brand-name prospects, though their cache of catching depth will be hurt by the loss of Rafael Flores and Edgleen Perez. Both were in the Bednar deal. Flores, who was signed for just $75,000, was their eighth-best prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.
Grade: A
Jul 28, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher David Bednar (51) delivers a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning at Oracle Park. / D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images
Trade: INF/OF Jose Caballero from Rays for OF Everson Pereira and PTBNL/cash
The Yankees needed a backup shortstop, and Caballero can do that and also chip in around the diamond, including the outfield. He’s tied for ninth in outs above average at short, according to Statcast, so he’s a fine defender.
It’ll be interesting to see how/if his presence impacts Anthony Volpe, who leads the league in errors (16). At least the Yankees now have a true backup, should they decide to give Volpe a day off.
Caballero is also a huge threat on the basepaths — he's tied for the MLB lead in steals with Oneil Cruz of the Pirates at 34, and he led the AL with 44 steals last year. Caballero, who turns 29 at the end of August, is batting .226 but has a .328 on-base percentage.
Back when he was with the Mariners in 2023, Caballero stepped in and out of the batter’s box a bunch while facing Gerrit Cole. Cole struck out Caballero and then, amidst chirping and finger-wagging from the Seattle dugout, famously stared at Caballero and wagged his index finger back.
Pereira, once a top prospect, had 19 homers at Triple-A. He made his MLB debut in 2023, but batted just .151 in 27 games and never got back to the big-league club.
Grade: B
Trade: 3B Ryan McMahon from Rockies for two pitching prospects
The Yankees solved their third-base problem short term and for the next two years by trading for McMahon, a player they’ve been linked to for quite some time. A 30-year-old who won’t be a free agent until 2028, McMahon is a very good defensive player with some pop who might even get an offensive boost from Yankee Stadium.
Of course, some Yankees fans may be suffering from FOMOG, an affliction translated as “Fear of Missing Out on Genio,” because the club did not get the best third baseman on the market — Eugenio Suárez. And the Mariners, a potential October roadblock, did. Should the Yankees have aimed higher? Perhaps.
But McMahon instantly made the Yankees better. Isn’t that what trades are supposed to do? They would not survive long with Oswald Peraza (.452 OPS) as their primary hot-corner option.
McMahon is a lefty hitter who swings hard (79th percentile in Statcast’s bat speed metric at the time of the trade), hits the ball hard (98th percentile in average exit velocity) and is aiming at that ludicrous short porch in right field in the Bronx. In other words: “Yes, please!”
McMahon has smacked at least 20 homers in each of the last five full seasons and had 16 entering play Thursday. He’s already made his presence felt in five games in pinstripes, knocking a walk-off hit Wednesday, batting .353 entering Thursday and dazzling Yankeeland with his defense.
Clearly, the Yankees thought the Suárez price was too dear. McMahon cost the Yankees lefty Griffin Herring and righty Josh Grosz, neither of whom is among their best pitching prospects. Worth it, even if they also imported McMahon’s prodigious strikeout numbers (31.4 K%).
Trade: UTL Amed Rosario from Nationals for RHP Clayton Beeter and a prospect
Trade: OF Austin Slater from White Sox for a pitching prospect
We are treating these trades in one capsule because Rosario and Slater, both rentals, give the Yankees some protection against left-handed pitching — a much-needed addition. They wanted to improve their bench at the deadline and it has indeed improved.
Assuming Slater (.860 OPS against lefties this year) produces, the idea of giving him outfield starts against left-handed beasts such as Tarik Skubal, Garret Crochet or Framber Valdez at least offers some comfort for a team with a lot of lefty bats. Especially with how Jasson Dominguez has struggled when he bats righty — he’s hitting a measly .205 with a .578 OPS.
Rosario, a rental, offers a capable bat against lefties (.307 average, .829 OPS). He was never going to be the backup shortstop — a job that belongs to Caballero now — but he’s capable at second base, third base and in the outfield.
There’s plenty to like about late pinch-hit at-bats for both players against lefty relievers, too. Slater, for instance, has eight pinch-hit homers since 2017, tied with Wilmer Flores for the most in the majors over that span.
Grade: B-
Trade: INF Oswald Peraza to Angels for OF Wilberson De Peña and international bonus pool money
This grade is no comment on the 18-year-old De Peña, who was batting .227 with four homers for the Angels’ team in the Dominican Summer League. Rather, it’s an indictment of how the Yankees couldn’t turn Peraza, a slick shortstop who was once one of their best prospects, into something more over time.
Peraza did not perform — he’s batting .152 — but in his first taste of the majors in 2022, he hit .306 with an .832 OPS in 18 games and even started a postseason game. The next spring, he lost the shortstop competition against Volpe and struggled to impact the big-league club afterward.
Grade: D
Overall
The Yankees must blend seven new players into their clubhouse, something Aaron Judge figures to make smooth. If it is indeed an easy transition, Yankees new and old could all be playing together deep into the chilly part of the year.
The bullpen likely will be key. Their relief ERA is 4.89 since June 1 and — egad! — 6.29 since July 1. Only the hopeless Rockies had a worse ERA in July. By adding Bednar, Doval and Bird, they now have the potential for a daunting pen and should get Mark Leiter Jr. and Fernando Cruz back from injury at some point in August. Even Jonathan Loáisiga (4.45 ERA) has looked better recently.
The bench is better and McMahon could lengthen the lineup while boosting the left-side defense. And doing all of it didn’t seem to cost that much — Spencer Jones and George Lombard Jr. are still in the organization — though we won’t get a full accounting of that until we see how all those dealt prospects develop.
One complaint — they did not acquire a starting pitcher. Not that it would’ve been easy or cheap, but it might prove necessary. That’s why the grade is not an overall A.
The game will mark the first time the Chicago Cubs have hosted the All-Star Game since all the way back in 1990, and will mark the first time the game itself will have been played in Chicago since the White Sox hosted at Rate Field (then U.S. Cellular Field) in 2003.
The team announced the news in a press conference Friday, just days after the death of Cubs legend and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg — a fitting move noted by Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts.
“Fitting because Ryne played in 10 All-Star Games, notably he played in the last All-Star Game that was at Wrigley in 1990,” Ricketts said. “And he won the Home Run Derby that year.”
Surprisingly, despite being the oldest ballpark in the National League, 2027 will mark only the fourth time the Cubs have hosted the game, with previous editions in 1947, 1962 and 1990 all hosted at the stadium.
MLB has been looking to host the All-Star Game at the Friendly Confines since the Cubs launched a massive renovation project of the ballpark and the neighborhood in the 2010s. The “1060 Project” as it was dubbed ultimately overhauled the stadium’s entire infrastructure, including its suites, concourses, restrooms, restaurants and numerous structural repairs and replacements within the ballpark.
The team also built completely new clubhouses and renovated the press box, and added video boards into the iconic bleachers after rebuilding the entire structure before the 2015 season.
Ultimately, the entire project cost more than $550 million, and completely transformed the neighborhood around the ballpark, ushering in the advent of Gallagher Way, Hotel Zachary and more amenities.
There are questions over whether the game could be impacted by a potential work stoppage in Major League Baseball, as the sport’s collective bargaining agreement is set to expire at the end of the 2026 season. Those questions will certainly loom large over the festivities until labor peace is achieved, but for now, the Cubs are preparing to host one of the sport’s flagship events at one of its oldest stadiums.
The game will mark the first time the Chicago Cubs have hosted the All-Star Game since all the way back in 1990, and will mark the first time the game itself will have been played in Chicago since the White Sox hosted at Rate Field (then U.S. Cellular Field) in 2003.
The team announced the news in a press conference Friday, just days after the death of Cubs legend and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg — a fitting move noted by Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts.
“Fitting because Ryne played in 10 All-Star Games, notably he played in the last All-Star Game that was at Wrigley in 1990,” Ricketts said. “And he won the Home Run Derby that year.”
Surprisingly, despite being the oldest ballpark in the National League, 2027 will mark only the fourth time the Cubs have hosted the game, with previous editions in 1947, 1962 and 1990 all hosted at the stadium.
MLB has been looking to host the All-Star Game at the Friendly Confines since the Cubs launched a massive renovation project of the ballpark and the neighborhood in the 2010s. The “1060 Project” as it was dubbed ultimately overhauled the stadium’s entire infrastructure, including its suites, concourses, restrooms, restaurants and numerous structural repairs and replacements within the ballpark.
The team also built completely new clubhouses and renovated the press box, and added video boards into the iconic bleachers after rebuilding the entire structure before the 2015 season.
Ultimately, the entire project cost more than $550 million, and completely transformed the neighborhood around the ballpark, ushering in the advent of Gallagher Way, Hotel Zachary and more amenities.
There are questions over whether the game could be impacted by a potential work stoppage in Major League Baseball, as the sport’s collective bargaining agreement is set to expire at the end of the 2026 season. Those questions will certainly loom large over the festivities until labor peace is achieved, but for now, the Cubs are preparing to host one of the sport’s flagship events at one of its oldest stadiums.
If Thursday felt like a bit of a letdown for Mets fans, it’s largely because David Stearns wowed them on Wednesday with deals for two elite relievers, making it seem the president of baseball operations was setting the stage for a spectacular trade deadline.
It didn’t quite rise to that level, as it turned out. Stearns did get a much-needed upgrade for center field in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles for Cedric Mullins on the final day, but that seemed to be a fallback deal after pursuing the potentially more impactful Luis Robert Jr. of the Chicago White Sox.
And there was a case to be made that the Mets needed another starting pitcher, especially the way converted reliever Clay Holmes has seemed to wear down in recent weeks. But as the 6 p.m. deadline came and went, there was no indication the Mets got close to a trade to help their starting rotation.
So, no, it wasn’t a spectacular trade deadline, but it was a strong one for Stearns, as he made four trades, acquiring three relievers to transform a weak bullpen, and Mullins to likely be the, mostly, everyday center fielder.
Here are the grades, individual and overall...
Jul 12, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Tyler Rogers (71) throws a pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning at Oracle Park. / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
TYLER ROGERS
This was the most surprising move, as no one expected the Giants to trade Rogers, and it’s potentially the most impactful. Helsley has a bigger name because he throws 100 mph and has been an All-Star closer for the St. Louis Cardinals, but for what the Mets needed most, a lockdown set-up guy, perhaps nobody has been better in baseball than Rogers in that role.
He’s durable, among the MLB leaders with 53 appearances, and has been for years. The right-hander has a sparkling 1.80 ERA and his dominance is mostly the result of deception, despite below-average velocity, as he gives up very little hard contact with his submarine delivery that befuddles hitters. According Statcast, Rogers is in the top four percent of all MLB pitchers in limiting hard contact. And he’s allowed a grand total of four walks in 50 innings.
This trade is also the only one to get pushback on social media, as some Mets fans think they gave up too much in prospects Drew Gilbert, Blade Tidwell, and reliever Jose Butto, especially considering Rogers can be a free agent after the season. However, scouts made the point that other prospects had surpassed Gilbert and Tidwell, notably outfielder Carson Benge and pitchers Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat, and Jonah Tong.
In any case, this was a move Stearns absolutely had to make for a team trying to win a championship.
GRADE: A
RYAN HELSLEY
The surprise here was that the Mets got another elite reliever only hours after the Rogers trade, and the trade made it obvious that Stearns’ priority was to load up in the bullpen not only to lock down the late innings but also as a way of supporting a starting rotation that has lacked length for most of the season.
As a free agent after the season, Helsley was expected to be traded. One of the top closers in the majors the last few years, the right-hander is one of the hardest-throwers in the game, his fastball averaging just under 100 mph. And his slider is actually his best pitch, as the opposition is hitting .092 against it this season.
However, Helsley hasn’t been as dominant this season, at age 31, with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.386 WHIP, mostly because his fastball has been hit hard at times — the opposition is hitting .406 against it this season. However, he has been better lately, allowing one run in his last 11 appearances.
At his best Helsley can still be as overpowering as any reliever in the game. But he’ll need to command his fastball better to be that guy the rest of the way.
To get him the Mets gave up three minor leaguers, most notably infielder Jesus Baez, the No. 6-ranked prospect in SNY's preseason Top 30.
GRADE: A
Jun 18, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Baltimore Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins (31) runs the bases after hitting a home run against the Tampa Bay Rays in the second inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field. / Nathan Ray Seebeck - Imagn Images
CEDRIC MULLINS
Mullins is no longer the 30-30 guy who was such a dynamic center fielder in 2021 for the Orioles, but at age 30, he’s still a solid upgrade for the Mets, who were getting nothing offensively from Tyrone Taylor and only serviceable defense from Jeff McNeil.
How impactful Mullins can be for the Mets remains to be seen. His numbers for the season are rather pedestrian, hitting .229 with a .305 on-base percentage and a .738 OPS, but he did have a hot July, slashing .290/.346/.522/868. He doesn’t have the outstanding range he once did, but he’s still plenty athletic, as evidenced by his climbing-the-wall catch this week to rob a home run against the Toronto Blue Jays at Camden Yards.
It seemed clear the Mets’ top center field target was Robert for his potential impact offensively and defensively, but he also would have come with more risk, due to his history of injuries and underperformance. As a result, all indications are that the Mets felt the White Sox wanted too much in return and that an overpay wasn’t worth the gamble.
To get Mullins, also a free agent after the season, the Mets gave up three prospects, most notably Raimon Gomez, a right-hander who throws 100 mph but ranks only as No. 28 in SNY's preseason Top 30.
GRADE: B +
GREGORY SOTO
This was the first of the three trades for relievers, completed a week ago with the Orioles, and it’s important primarily because it gives the Mets a second left-hander in their pen to go with Brooks Raley, who is only a few weeks back from his long absence due to Tommy John surgery.
Soto has a big arm and strikeout stuff, averaging 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings, but he also had a 3.96 ERA for the O’s, due to a handful of bad outings and his penchant for walking too many hitters at times.
He dominates left-handed hitters, holding them to a .138 average this season, but has had a tougher time getting righth-anders out.
To get him, the Mets gave up expendable prospects Wellington Aracena and Cameron Foster.
GRADE: B
Jun 1, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles pitcher Gregory Soto (65) throws during the seventh inning against the Chicago White Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images
OVERALL
The bottom line is Stearns addressed the Mets’ most glaring flaws, and did so effectively, especially in the bullpen, turning a weakness into what should be a strength. In fact, they could have one of the deepest and most dominant bullpens in the majors, loaded now with high-leverage relievers that will give Carlos Mendoza the ability to use quality arms like Reed Garrett and Ryne Stanek in the middle innings if necessary.
Still, it remains to be seen if Mullins can impact an offense that has been puzzlingly inconsistent this season (and just plain bad with runners in scoring position), or whether Stearns needed to do more in acquiring a bat.
And then there is Stearns’ decision not to add a starting pitcher. If Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea build themselves back up to where they’re going deeper into games again, and Holmes gets a second wind, the Mets’ rotation should be strong to the finish line.
Or there is the possibility that top prospects like Nolan McLean and Brandon Sproat could produce if the need is there down the stretch.
But it does seem the Mets could have used another starter like Merrill Kelly, traded by the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, to add some quality depth to the rotation, especially since they like to give their starters more than the typical four days' rest between starts.
It’s not a miss on Stearns’ part, to be sure, but it’s enough to ding his grade a little bit anyway.
Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers' president of baseball operations, didn't pull off any major moves ahead of the MLB trade deadline on Thursday. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
A funny thing blocked the path to another Andrew Friedman midsummer triumph.
An Andrew Friedman midsummer failure.
The Dodgers and their renowned baseball boss came to bat at baseball’s trade deadline Thursday poised to knock another fat midseason pitch out of the park en route to a second consecutive World Series championship.
They never took the bat off their shoulder.
Strike out, staring.
The Dodgers needed a proven closer. Six teams picked up proven closers. The Dodgers weren’t one of them.
Mason Miller went to the San Diego Padres, Camilo Doval to the New York Yankees, Griffin Jax to the Tampa Bay Rays, Ryan Helsley to the New York Mets, Jhoan Duran to the Philadelphia Phillies and David Bednar to the New York Yankees.
Some other reliever went to the Dodgers. I think his name was Brock Stewart or something.
How does this make sense? Are they watching what we’re watching?
So you’re telling me they must forge ahead through the rest of the season hoping that Tanner Scott gets healthy or Kirby Yates gets consistent or Blake Treinen gets younger or, heck, maybe the Boston Red Sox cut Walker Buehler and he comes back for one more ninth inning! That’s crazy, but this entire situation is crazy, a $400-million roster with nobody to pitch the last out.
The Dodger also entered Thursday needing a defensive-minded outfielder. Four teams found one. The Dodgers did not.
Harrison Bader went to the Phillies, Mike Yastrzemski and Randal Grichuk to the Kansas City Royals, Austin Slater to the Yankees and Cedric Mullins to the Mets.
The Dodgers picked up an outfielder named Alex…is it Call?
So now Dodger fans are haunted with the fear that Michael Conforto will lose a fly ball down the left-field line on Halloween with the season on the line.
This is all so weird. This is all so, well, arrogant.
Granted, the Dodgers have baseball’s best team on paper, but they’ve had its best team for several years and that hasn’t stopped Friedman from dominating the last week in July.
One could argue that Friedman actually won last year’s championship by brilliantly acquiring Jack Flaherty and Tommy Edman and Michael Kopech at the deadline.
This has always been Friedman’s strength, humbly adding talent to a group already possessing riches of talent.
Remember, this is the time of year he also once traded for Rich Hill, Yu Darvish, Manny Machado, Max Scherzer, Trea Turner and Evan Phillips, all of whom led them deep into the playoffs.
The only two years during which Friedman has fumbled the deadline? He failed to acquire pitching in 2022 and they were beaten by the Padres. He brought in only Lance Lynn in 2023 and they were swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
This suddenly feels like one of those years.
“We felt like this is an incredibly talented group that, as we get healthy and these guys hit their stride, we feel like we're in a great position for another deep run into October,” general manager Brandon Gomes said on a conference call with reporters.
In other words, they think they’re good enough that they don’t need to trade any top prospects for win-now talent.
But are they? And even if they are, why take a chance?
Mookie Betts reacts after striking out against the Milwaukee Brewers on July 20. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
If there’s anything the first 109 games of this season has taught us is that the Dodgers' greatness, like all greatness in a sport that hasn’t had consecutive champions in a quarter of a decade, can be fleeting.
The window suddenly seems to be slowly closing on the Hall of Fame careers of Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. Shohei Ohtani has been so physically stressed that he’s leaving games with cramps.
Teoscar Hernández doesn’t look like last year’s revelation. Max Muncy can’t stay on the field. And Edman is batting aches that may last all season.
The rotation is also shaky, with fragile Tyler Glasnow and aging Clayton Kershaw and underwhelming Roki Sasaki and injured Blake Snell and, really, just one sure-fire starter is Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
“Obviously there was a lot of action today throughout the game, and a lot of teams improved, but we feel really good about this group,” Gomes said. “Coming into the year, felt like this was as talented of a roster as we've ever had. We're in a position where we're in first place, and I don't even think we've played our best baseball yet. So as we continue to get some of our starters back, and then adding these pieces, and our guys just kind of playing up to their potential, we feel like it’s still a really, really strong team, and we don't feel any differently about our aspirations than we did at the beginning of the year.”
While NASCAR is racing in corn country this weekend at Iowa Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway is on deck to host a Field of Dreams-caliber event of its own.
In a matchup where baseball meets motorsports, the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds will clash inside the confines of the “Last Great Colosseum” this Saturday, Aug. 2, in the MLB Speedway Classic presented by BuildSubmarines.com (7:15 p.m. ET, FOX), the first MLB game ever played in the state of Tennessee.
“We love hosting the races that we host, but it’s always fun to showcase our facility in a different light, and we’ve done that with football, and now we’re thrilled to be able to do that with Major League Baseball,” Jerry Caldwell, president of Bristol, told NASCAR.com. “They’ve been great to work with. We’re blessed with a world-class team within Speedway Motorsports and at Bristol Motor Speedway. And then you couple that team with the team that Major League Baseball has assembled, and it’s really putting together something special, and I can’t wait for folks to get here and see it and just be wowed.”
With the event, Bristol continues to expand its non-racing resume. In addition to hosting a National Football League exhibition between Philadelphia and Washington in 1961, the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” laid the gridiron for the University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech during the “Battle at Bristol” in 2016, which drew 156,990 spectators, an NCAA football record.
Bristol’s attendance muscle will again be flexed this weekend, with MLB announcing that more than 85,000 tickets have been sold for the event, surpassing the previous record of 84,587 set on Sept. 12, 1954, when Cleveland Stadium hosted the New York Yankees.
Any collaboration of this magnitude requires plenty of planning, and the MLB Speedway Classic is no exception. Soft demolition of several walls and buildings began May 27, with the property being turned over to MLB and associated partners and vendors June 23. Roughly 100-150 workers were involved in the demolition process, while a crew of approximately 400 was responsible for building the baseball infield.
Plenty of material went into the effort, too, including 340 tons of infield clay, 450 wall pads (based on MLB’s London Series build), 17,500 tons of rock, 80,000 square feet of backstop netting, 124,000 square feet of Diamond Series AstroTurf (the same turf type utilized by Rogers Centre, home of the Toronto Blue Jays) and much more. The final product? A Bristol diamond with dimensions spanning from 330 feet down both foul lines to 400 feet dead center.
“It’s kind of dreaming up this concept and saying, what if?” Caldwell said regarding the event, which has been years in the making. “Then we get computer renderings of what it could look like, and then now we’re showing pictures of what it really is like, and you’re seeing all that stuff come together. It’s a great sense of accomplishment and fun for me to see and for our team just because our teams work so hard on it, getting everyone to see this kind of work of art, almost, that they’ve created.”
Baseball players have taken notice, with “Talladega Nights”-inspired catching gear, racing-centric uniforms and simulator attempts all the rage. While NASCAR drivers continue their regular-season push at Iowa, they, too, recognize just how significant an event like this can be in getting more eyeballs on Bristol and NASCAR as a whole.
“A lot of baseball fans are going to go to Bristol and be like, man, this is wild. I can’t imagine they race on the banking and stuff like this. And hopefully, they come back for a race,” Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe said. “And even for the players, I know that I was able to do some stuff with the Reds. And even Elly De La Cruz (Reds’ shortstop), right? He was racing around the track, and he was so intrigued by it. So hopefully, we can get some more of those guys to the race track. I think the more we can do that kind of stuff just helps you know push all this in the right direction.”
“Any time you can introduce yourself and expose yourself to new fans and create new opportunities, great, and I think we’ve done a good job of doing that with a lot of different opportunities, whether (Clash at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum), whether it’s street races, whether it’s going to cities, going to different places, engaging in other sports and engaging with other athletes,” Spire Motorsports’ Michael McDowell said. “I feel like that’s a big part of just overall growing our brand as a NASCAR brand.”
The MLB Speedway Classic isn’t the only major event on Bristol’s docket. After all, the 0.533-mile short track will host all three of NASCAR’s national series in September, headlined by the Bass Pro Shops Night Race as the Round of 16 elimination race in the Cup Series Playoffs (Sept. 13, 7:30 p.m. ET, USA, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). According to Caldwell, the process to transition the facility back to a race track is already in motion. Approximately 200 crew members from MLB, along with 90-100 from Bristol, will aid in the dismantling process of the baseball field.
“We’ve got to make sure we’re keeping our eye on the ball, and we can do that,” Caldwell said. “There are lots of major facilities that host huge events weeks apart, and we’re going to be able to do that, but it takes a tremendous amount of planning, a tremendous amount of cooperation, and that’s what we’ve done. … From the partners with Major League Baseball, understanding that we have to get ready for the race, and then partners that we’re going to bring in that are from the construction space that will help us execute as we head towards the playoff race, and we’ll be ready, but it’s really just a tremendous amount of planning and making sure we’re all on the same page.”
At a venue with plenty of history, “Thunder Valley” will have another vaulted chapter written in its annals, and whether as a regular or first-timer, the MLB Speedway Classic will be a wonder under the lights for all in attendance.
Batter up.
“It’s one of those places you have to see to believe it,” Caldwell said about Bristol. “It’s a football stadium or baseball stadium on steroids, if you will. But you really want to get in and just take in the magnitude of the place. Enjoy every aspect of it. Walk around the facility. Make sure you see it from different angles. It’s in a beautiful part of the country, but it’s also just an amazing facility to think that this is built in Bristol, Tennessee, and is one of the largest spectator facilities in the country and in the world.”
The game will mark the first time the Chicago Cubs have hosted the All-Star Game since all the way back in 1990, and will mark the first time the game itself will have been played in Chicago since the White Sox hosted at Rate Field (then U.S. Cellular Field) in 2003.
The team announced the news in a press conference Friday, just days after the death of Cubs legend and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg — a fitting move noted by Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts.
“Fitting because Ryne played in 10 All-Star Games, notably he played in the last All-Star Game that was at Wrigley in 1990,” Ricketts said. “And he won the Home Run Derby that year.”
Surprisingly, despite being the oldest ballpark in the National League, 2027 will mark only the fourth time the Cubs have hosted the game, with previous editions in 1947, 1962 and 1990 all hosted at the stadium.
MLB has been looking to host the All-Star Game at the Friendly Confines since the Cubs launched a massive renovation project of the ballpark and the neighborhood in the 2010s. The “1060 Project” as it was dubbed ultimately overhauled the stadium’s entire infrastructure, including its suites, concourses, restrooms, restaurants and numerous structural repairs and replacements within the ballpark.
The team also built completely new clubhouses and renovated the press box, and added video boards into the iconic bleachers after rebuilding the entire structure before the 2015 season.
Ultimately, the entire project cost more than $550 million, and completely transformed the neighborhood around the ballpark, ushering in the advent of Gallagher Way, Hotel Zachary and more amenities.
There are questions over whether the game could be impacted by a potential work stoppage in Major League Baseball, as the sport’s collective bargaining agreement is set to expire at the end of the 2026 season. Those questions will certainly loom large over the festivities until labor peace is achieved, but for now, the Cubs are preparing to host one of the sport’s flagship events at one of its oldest stadiums.
Perhaps lost in the various trade deadline moves the Mets made was the transfer of Jesse Winker to the 60-day IL.
While this sort of move is a paper one, and this does allow Cedric Mullins to be added to the roster, it also means the Mets won't see Winker back on the team until September at the earliest.
Winker, placed on the IL in mid-July with back inflammation, has seen his 2025 injury-riddled. The veteran slugger has appeared in just 26 games this year, and while there's optimism he will return before the end of the season, president of baseball operations David Stearns provided an update that justified the 60-day designation.
"We still have some hope he’ll be back at some point this season, but clearly this has taken a little bit longer than we originally appreciated," Stearns said during his post-deadline Zoom call. "Wink go an epidural. We’ve seen progress since then, but not at the pace he or we were hoping. So the 60-day IL timeframe lined up. Not closing the door on this season, but it’s not going to be August."
Alongside right-handed hitting Starling Marte, Winker was the pairing the Mets were looking to use in the DH spot this season. But with Winker down for most of the season, the team has had to look elsewhere for left-handed at-bats. Mullins fit that profile while also playing elite defense, so he was a natural fit and a target before Winker's diagnosis, but Stearns admitted his slugger's slow recovery pushed him to get a left-handed bat at the deadline.
"[Winker's injury] played into it or was a part of it. We were looking at this segment of the market even before this direction for Wink became clear," Stearns said. "But certainly as it became evident that Wink’s absence was going to be longer, it made us look even harder at this segment, especially left-handed bats."
Now that Mullins is in the fold, and none of the Mets' young infielders (Mark Vientos, Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio, Luisangel Acuna) were traded, where and how will the lineup be configured?
Jeff McNeil, who was platooning with Tyrone Taylor in center field, will continue to have his bat in the lineup more often than not, but with the addition of Mullins, will not be needed in center as often.
"We’ll work through that. Jeff’s still going to play a lot, he’s swinging the bat very well. There will be outfield opportunities at times, 2B opportunities, probably going to be DH at-bats. For our left-handed hitters, there will be ample opportunity for all of them. It’s just finding where the pieces fit on each day in the lineup."
On that same vein, with McNeil likely playing the bulk of his games at second, that leaves fewer opportunities for those young infielders. Stearns said he's confident that Mendoza will be able to balance the lineup and find ways for all the infielders to get time on the field.
"The good news is, there are a lot of at-bats to go around," he said. "When you talk about a couple of Infield positions, an outfield position, DH at-bats, there’s a lot of bats to go around. All those guys are going to get plenty of time. Is there going to be one or two guys on the bench each day? Yea. And then they’ll probably gonna get a leverage at-bat, or pinch-hit later in the game. Mendy does a great job of figuring out which guys for the lineup based on who we’re facing… We’ll continue to do that."
Update on Jose Siri
While talking about Winker, Stearns was asked about Siri and whether they expect him to return this season.
"With Jose, still possible," Stearns said. "Wouldn’t write it off but we need a little bit more news or an update to see what the timeline is for him to progress."
Siri will get an update on his recovery in 7-10 days and then the Mets will have a better idea.
The first-year Met went down in April with a left tibia fracture and has yet to see the field. He's played in just 10 games this season.
CLEVELAND — Pitcher Shane Bieber is headed to the AL East-leading Toronto Blue Jays in a deal with the rebuilding Cleveland Guardians, who also dealt right-hander Paul Sewald in the division to the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers on Thursday.
However, All-Star outfielder Steven Kwan remains in Cleveland despite attracting a lot of interest.
The Guardians are 54-54 going into this weekend’s series against Minnesota and in second place in the AL Central, nine games behind Detroit. They are three games out of the final wild-card spot, but their moves could signal this has become a spiraling season.
Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase, a three-time All-Star, was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of a Major League Baseball investigation into sports betting on Monday.
Luis Ortiz also is on non-disciplinary leave through Aug. 31, stemming from an investigation regarding in-game prop bets on two pitches thrown by the right-hander that received higher activity than usual during his starts at Seattle on June 15 and against St. Louis on June 27. The gambling activity on the pitches was flagged by a betting integrity firm and forwarded to MLB.
The Guardians lost 10 straight from June 26 to July 6, but their 14-6 record since July 7 is the second-best mark in the majors.
“We have a lot to weigh around this time of year. The unexpected developments recently (with Clase and Ortiz) were certainly one of them,” said Chris Antonetti, Cleveland’s president of baseball operations. “But in the end, I think we feel good about the roster that we have for the balance of 2025 and are excited about our future."
Many thought Kwan might be moved at the deadline, but the three-time All-Star is staying put. Kwan — who is batting .286 with nine home runs and 38 RBIs — is under team control through 2027 with the possibility of both sides discussing an extension during the offseason.
“Not only do we have a profound appreciation for what he’s able to contribute on the baseball field and in the clubhouse, but so does the rest of Major League Baseball. We are really excited that he will continue to be with us moving forward,” Antonetti said.
Bieber, who is working his way back from April 2024 Tommy John surgery, has made five rehab starts. His most recent outing was Tuesday for Double-A Akron, in which he allowed one run on three hits and struck out seven in four innings. His next rehab start was scheduled for Sunday.
Antonetti said teams began checking about Bieber’s availability in late June despite him being shut down for a month after experiencing soreness with the elbow after his first rehab start.
Talks began ramping up again though over the past couple weeks.
“I think with the way information has progressed over the course of the last 10 or 12 years, teams were able to get a really good feel of where Shane was in his rehab progression. They were able to not only get the video but get all the pitch metrics, in addition to maybe some scouting,” Antonetti said. “I think that there were teams that felt good about where Shane was in his rehab and what the path for him might be moving forward.”
The Guardians are getting right-hander Khal Stephen from the Blue Jays. After the trade deadline passed, they claimed right-hander Carlos Hernández on waivers from Detroit.
Bieber had spent his entire career in Cleveland, including winning the AL Cy Young Award in 2020. He has a career record of 62-32 with a 3.22 ERA and 958 strikeouts in 136 games, with 134 starts since his debut in 2018.
He agreed to a one-year, $14 million contract last fall with a $16 million player option for 2026.
The 22-year old Stephen has a combined record of 9-1 with a 2.06 ERA in 18 games, with 17 starts, in the Blue Jays’ farm system this season. He was a second-round selection (59th overall) by Toronto in the 2024 amateur draft. He made one start for Double-A New Hampshire following his promotion on July 20 before being placed on the injured list with right shoulder impingement.
Cleveland traded Sewald to Detroit for a player to be named later.
The Tigers bolstered their bullpen with the 35-year-old Sewald, who was eligible to return from the injured list on Sunday after being shut down with a strained right shoulder.
Sewald is 1-1 with a 4.70 ERA in 18 games this season, averaging more than one strikeout each inning. He is 21-26 with a 4.11 ERA with 86 saves in 377 appearances with the New York Mets, Seattle, Arizona and Cleveland.
The 28-year old Hernández has split time this season between Philadelphia and Detroit. In 36 appearances he is 1-0 with a 6.69 ERA.
SEATTLE — New Seattle Mariners third baseman Eugenio Suárez made a point of interrupting president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto’s post-trade deadline news conference.
Dipoto, who reacquired the slugging third baseman from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday in exchange for a trio of minor leaguers, was praising Suárez from the Mariners’ dugout when the 34-year-old best known for his home runs and good vibes butted in.
“Stop it!” Suárez said, more than loud enough for all to hear.
Suárez, Dipoto and the rest of the franchise had plenty to be pleased about after the trade deadline. The Mariners, who entered Thursday night’s game against the Texas Rangers in playoff position, bolstered their lineup by adding more than just Suárez, who has 36 homers this season and is tied with Seattle’s Cal Raleigh for the major league lead with 87 RBIs.
A week ago, the Mariners made another deal with the D-backs for slugging first baseman Josh Naylor. Dipoto believes Seattle acquired the “best bats” available, adding power to a lineup that already ranks fifth in the majors in home runs.
“This is the best lineup we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Dipoto said. “Without question.”
Dipoto, who was hired as the Mariners’ general manager in 2015 and promoted to president of baseball operations in 2021, has overseen a number of competitive clubs in the Emerald City. While Seattle has qualified for the playoffs only once under Dipoto, it has had a winning record in six of the last nine seasons.
Dipoto’s teams have often been in the playoff race ahead of the deadline, but Seattle’s moves haven’t been as aggressive as this year’s additions of Suárez, Naylor and veteran left-handed reliever Caleb Ferguson.
Dipoto said his mindset wasn’t that different from previous seasons, but he said he was more willing to acquire players who will be free agents at the end of the year.
“We feel like this team deserved it, the opportunity to just go out and see if we can win the World Series,” Dipoto said. “We feel like we have as good a lineup as there is in our league. Our rotation, if our guys do the things that they do, has proven that they can be as good as anybody in this league.”
This team is in many ways deeper than previous squads, too. Raleigh is in the midst of what Dipoto called an “MVP-type” season, and the Mariners had four other All-Stars.
Starting pitchers George Kirby and Logan Gilbert, both of whom missed significant time earlier in the season with injuries, are healthy again, adding to a rotation that’s been buoyed by Bryan Woo and Luis Castillo.
“I think if you talk to other clubs in the league,” Dipoto said, “they’re pretty bullish on what we’re capable of when we’re hitting on all cylinders. And while we had a hot streak early in the season, we haven’t hit our next hot streak, and it’s coming.”
To Dipoto’s point, the Mariners’ longest win streak of the season was six games and it came at the end of April and early May. The additions of Suárez, Naylor and Ferguson could push Seattle from being a fringe postseason contender to a legitimate threat to win the AL West, in which they entered Thursday trailing the Houston Astros by five games.
Manager Dan Wilson was confident that he had a good team even if the Mariners hadn’t added talent at the deadline. Unlike previous seasons, though, Dipoto felt compelled to supplement the roster in a meaningful way.
“I believe that adding to this team, adding some energy to the room and just showing the guys that we believe in what we’re doing was important,” Dipoto said. “And I think the response has been great."
On the latest episode of The Mets Pod presented by Tri-State Cadillac, recorded live following the 2025 MLB Trade Deadline, Connor Rogers and Joe DeMayo recap all the moves made by the Mets!
The guys break down the deals for Cedric Mullins, Tyler Rogers, Ryan Helsley, and Gregory Soto and discuss the strategy and process followed by Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns. The show then goes into Mailbag-mode to answer questions about the best bullpen in the NL East, the immediate future of pitching prospects Nolan McLean and Brandon Sproat, the starting rotation moving forward, and more.
Be sure to subscribe to The Mets Pod at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
The Angels acquired underperforming Yankees third baseman Oswald Peraza as well as two relievers during two trades at the deadline. (Joshua A. Bickel / Associated Press)
In the slang, “mid” means disappointingly mediocre, forgettable, uninspiring. On TikTok, a classic rant starts: “It’s called the Midwest because everything in it is mid! Skyline Chili? Mid! Your Cincinnati Reds, who haven’t won a World Series since 1990? M-M-M-Mid!!!”
Today, the Reds are five games over .500, and one of four teams that appear to be competing for the three National League wild-card spots. They added a starting pitcher, an elite defensive third baseman and a veteran utilityman batting .298 ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline.
They are three games under .500, four games out in the American League wild-card race, with four teams to pass, hoping to end baseball’s longest playoff drought at 10 years.
The Seattle Mariners, tied with the Texas Rangers for the final wild-card spot, traded for middle-of-the-lineup corner infielders in third baseman Eugenio Suárez and first baseman Josh Naylor. The Rangers acquired Merrill Kelly to supplement Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi atop the starting rotation.
The Angels made two trades, picking up two veteran setup men and an infielder batting .152 for three lightly regarded minor leaguers.
Why lightly bolster a team with a 1.3% chance of making the playoffs, as projected by Baseball Prospectus before Thursday’s trades, when you could start building the 2026 roster in the many areas needing improvement?
“Giving them a chance to play this thing out, relative to what was presented [in trade talks], made a lot of sense,” Angels general manager Perry Minasian said.
In large part, he said, this was about the young players.
“The development of our core is obviously very, very, very important,” Minasian said. “Being competitive in August and September is really, really important for this group, not only for the now but for the future — playing meaningful games, understanding there is an expectation to win, showing up to the ballpark every day feeling like you have a chance to win over a six-month period.
“It’s hard to quantify, but I felt like it was very important for this group to go through that, to see what playing in August demands, what playing in September is like.”
Does he see the 2025 Angels playing meaningful games in October?
“I don’t make predictions,” he said.
Beyond shortstop Zach Neto, no one on the Angels’ current roster was likely to command an elite prospect in return.
Yet the Angels could have traded soon-to-be free agents such as pitchers Kenley Jansen and Tyler Anderson, or infielders Yoan Moncada and Luis Rengifo, to fill 2026 needs: a back-end starter, bullpen help, a utility infielder, a defense-first outfielder, upper-level depth in the minor leagues.
Maybe Oswald Peraza, the once-hyped New York Yankees prospect with the .152 average, starts at third base next year, or secures that utility job. Minasian called him “a classic change-of-scenery guy.”
To get him, however, the Angels surrendered $73,766 in international bonus pool money that could have been better used to sign Latin American prospects. Minasian said the Angels had used what they needed of their $6,261,600 pool they needed this year — and the better prospects cost much more than $73,766 — but they cannot afford to close any avenues for talent acquisition.
But the Dodgers spend whatever they need, and then some, on deep and talented rosters of players, coaches and executives, and on player development and player acquisition.
It’s not all about money. It’s about creativity too. The Dodgers inserted themselves into a three-team trade Wednesday to bolster their farm system by trading a surplus minor league catcher for two minor league pitchers. The Dodgers last year inserted themselves into another three-team trade to grab reliever Michael Kopech, then-injured Tommy Edman for a depth bat and two minor leaguers.
The last time the Angels were a party to a three-team deal, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman facilitated that too. The Dodgers got four players from the Miami Marlins, then swapped pitcher Andrew Heaney to the Angels for infielder Howie Kendrick. That was in 2014.
The Angels these days do not spend as much, or as well, on free agents. They do not distinguish themselves in scouting, analytics, player development or international signings.
The Angels have their kids, but the optimism inherent in their talk of a young core obscures the fact they are about to have to pay the kids — and, money aside, they are running out of time.
Shortstop Zach Neto has emerged as a young star for the Angels, who are fighting for a wild-card playoff spot this season. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
Neto, the lone star to emerge so far from the young core, is eligible for salary arbitration this winter. The Angels control him for only three more seasons — maybe less, if some or all of the 2027 season is lost to a collective bargaining war.
Catcher Logan O’Hoppe and pitcher José Soriano also are eligible for arbitration this winter. First baseman Nolan Schanuel is eligible next winter.
In the big picture, nothing much changed Thursday. The plan today is the same as it was in spring training: hope enough young players blossom that, when Anthony Rendon’s contract expires next fall, Minasian can persuade owner Arte Moreno that spending big on one or two players in free agency could make the difference. If playing meaningful games this August makes those young players that much better, perhaps this trade deadline was worth it.
Moreno resists rebuilding, as an advocate for fans he believes deserve to see a competitive team. No one in Orange County has to watch what something akin to what the Colorado Rockies are offering — or what the Houston Astros were offering before their ongoing run of success. Rebuilding could mean 100-loss seasons and an even greater drop in attendance; competing could mean sneaking into the playoffs with 84 victories.
The Angels could do that this year. It could work. However, it has not worked over the last decade, and in the meantime the Angels have become an unwitting poster child for a players’ union fighting against a salary cap to say, “Market size is not destiny. Look at the Angels.”
You can say the game plan is to contend every year, in the interest of the fans, but you should not try to win every year on a wing and a prayer.
Your most dedicated fans — represented by the hundreds that decorated themselves in wings and halos at Wednesday’s game, flapping their arms as angels in the outfield — were not shy about letting their feelings be known.
You could hear them loud and clear, at the game and on the television broadcast, “Sell the team!”
DETROIT — The Detroit Tigers seem to be setting themselves up to potentially go back to what manager A.J. Hinch calls pitching chaos.
Detroit bolstered its bullpen, and options in games without a traditional starting pitcher, with a series of moves to add a trio of right-handers in the hours before the trade deadline on Thursday. Then they added a starting veteran starter, too.
The Tigers acquired Washington’s Kyle Finnegan, Cleveland’s Paul Sewald and Texas minor leaguer Codi Heuer for prospects and cash, and also announced a deal shortly after the deadline for 41-year-old Charlie Morton from Baltimore.
Detroit made the trades — and one earlier this week — hoping to increase its chances of winning a World Series for the first time in more than four decades.
The AL Central-leading Tigers won their fourth straight game with newly acquired starting pitcher Chris Paddack on Wednesday, two days after he was added in a trade with the Minnesota Twins. Later that day, they acquired right-handed reliever Rafael Montero from Atlanta for minor league infielder Jim Jarvis.
Detroit has nearly a double-digit game lead in a division suddenly filled with rebuilding teams, including the defending AL Central-champion Guardians, and is vying with Toronto and Houston for the best record in the league.
The Tigers, trying to take advantage of ace Tarik Skubal and a balanced lineup, are aiming for their first World Series title since 1984.
Morton headlines Thursday’s additions. The two-time World Series winner has won 145 games over 18 big league seasons. He’s 7-8 with a 5.42 ERA this year, although he’s been sharper lately with a 3.98 ERA in 10 starts since June 1.
Detroit earned a spot in the playoffs last year for the first time in the decade after a late-season surge, using Hinch’s unconventional approach to using relievers to start and pitch in games for an inning or two.
The 33-year-old Finnegan was an All-Star in 2024, but his velocity has been down this season. He has 20 saves with a 4.38 ERA in 2025.
In the trade for Finnegan, the Tigers sent minor league pitchers Josh Randall and R.J. Sales, Detroit’s third and 10th round draft picks from 2024, respectively, to Washington.
The 35-year-old Sewald is eligible to return from the injured list on Sunday after being shut down with a strained right shoulder, but he isn’t expected to pitch until September. He is 1-1 with a 4.70 ERA in 18 games this season, averaging more than one strikeout each inning.
The 29-year-old Heuer, who will report to Triple-A Toledo, was 3-2 with a 3.43 ERA and four saves in 35 games at Triple-A Round Rock this year and pitched in one game for the Rangers.
Detroit opens a three-game series Friday night at Philadelphia.
PHOENIX — The Texas Rangers acquired right-hander Merrill Kelly from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, adding a veteran starter with postseason experience to fortify their rotation at the trade deadline.
The D-backs received three minor league pitchers: left-handers Kohl Drake and Mitch Bratt and right-hander David Hagaman.
The 36-year-old Kelly has spent all of his seven major league seasons leagues with the Diamondbacks. He was the only Arizona pitcher to beat the Rangers in the 2023 World Series, throwing seven dominant innings in Game 2.
“We know when he takes the ball, we’ve seen it firsthand playing against him, and we have heard from so many people what an ultra competitor he is,” Rangers general manager Chris Young said. “So happy he’s a Ranger.”
Kelly is 9-6 with a 3.22 ERA and 121 strikeouts over 128 2/3 innings this season.
The Rangers also beefed up their bullpen, adding right-hander Phil Maton from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for a pair of minor leaguers — right-hander Skylar Hales and lefty Mason Molina — and international bonus pool money. The 32-year-old Maton has a 2.35 ERA and 48 strikeouts over 38 1/3 innings.
Finally, Texas added left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for minor league left-hander Garrett Horn.
Texas entered Thursday with a 57-52 record, tied with the Seattle Mariners for the final American League wild-card spot.
The D-backs were sellers at the deadline, sending first baseman Josh Naylor and third baseman Eugenio Suarez to the Mariners in separate deals. Outfielder Randal Grichuk was shipped to the Royals. Arizona also sent pitchers Shelby Miller and Jordan Montgomery to the Brewers for cash.
Arizona is 51-58 after entering the season with playoff expectations. General manager Mike Hazen said it was particularly tough to lose Kelly, given his history with the organization.
“There’s the collective disappointment in how we’ve played,” Hazen said. “We all feel it. The players feel it, I’ve certainly taken responsibility, shared that with them, how I didn’t do a good enough job to keep this team in position to keep going.”
