Jul 14, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto (22) warms up before the All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Jul 13, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Jacob Latz (67) before the home run derby at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Morning, all!
Did you enjoy the non stop excitement of direct-to-consumer streaming through Victory+? Well, that’s too bad because the Rangers have announced that they are switching streaming platforms effective immediately.
The new platform will be BZZR, a sports streaming and social media platform with an executive that is also a minority partner in Rangers ownership.
The Rangers could use another high leverage arm in the second half.
Although Chris Young says they need both another high leverage arm and to keep playing with positive energy and camaraderie.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 10: Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers smiles during the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium on July 10, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Melina Pizano/Getty Images) | Getty Images
This past week, Mookie Betts surpassed the number of games he had played with the Boston Red Sox, officially making him Dodger longer than he was a Red Sox. Spanning those two teams, Betts has amassed six Gold Gloves. Now, he has started his own baseball glove company.
Named LGND, Betts says this line is “built around versatility, craftsmanship and player-first innovation.”
“Every detail matters when you’re on the field, and your glove is one of the most important tools you have,” Betts said in a statement. “I started this with the intention to build something that reflected the way I play the game, which is with passion, preparation and attention to detail.”
Currently the company sells two different collections. The MOOK series is inspired by Betts’ experience playing both infield and outfield. This glove features his personal game-worn colorways, a “50 Tri-Star” logo embroidered on the thumb, and his signature stamped in the palm of the glove.
The MVRK series is meant for those playing multiple positions along with some distinct styling.
“LGND is about giving young players a glove they can trust from the first time they put it on,” Betts said. “Whether you’re chasing a championship, working toward a college scholarship or just falling in love with baseball, I want these gloves to help young players perform at their best.”
Betts has three partners in this endeavor, Cameron Lewis, Brandon McPhail and Andrew Montgomery. The lifelong friends competed together in high school in the Nashville area.
Steve Henson of the L.A. Times has more details on the gloves including the cost here.
Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic has an article of what to expect in the second half of the season. He poses questions about whether the Dodgers will ever be at full strength this season, (maybe?), how the team will handle Shohei Ohtani going forward (carefully), and what will they do at the deadline (probably not much, but…).
As all baseball fans know, it boils down to health and your stars performing. Kyle Tucker, we’re looking at you, kid.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 14: Bobby Witt Jr. #7 of the Kansas City Royals and Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels before the 2026 MLB All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park on July 14, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The trade deadline is coming up; Anne Rogers talks about how the Royals may get creative
For the Royals, the clearest point about this season is how much of a disappointment it’s been for a team that had high expectations after a 2024 playoff run, finishing over .500 again in ‘25 and returning that core group of players in ‘26. But nothing has gone right for Kansas City through its first 97 games of the season.
Kansas City would like to acquire talent that’s ready or near-ready for the Major Leagues, which will help begin to construct the roster for 2027 and beyond. The trickiness comes into play here, though, because that will likely mean trading controllable pieces the Royals also want and need to rely on next year and beyond.
For example, trading starter Michael Wacha could net young, controllable talent — although how much would vary based on how other teams view the 35-year-old right-hander. But his potential departure would also leave a gaping hole in an already thin rotation for the next two seasons (assuming the Royals pick up his ‘28 club option).
Here is every MLB team’s biggest need at the deadline.
Royals: Young, controllable talent The Royals need to address parts of their entire roster, but it doesn’t have to be a huge overhaul. They need to use the Deadline to begin acquiring young, controllable talent that could help them compete right away next season. This is no small task, as it will require giving up something important — perhaps a starting pitcher — but building next year’s roster should be on the forefront of their minds.
MLB’s pipeline chose Jack Slightom as their favorite Royals draft pick
After going the college route with its first two picks, Kansas City took a high-schooler at No. 56 overall and got some intriguing upside in the 6-foot-5 right-hander from Illinois. Slightom was already picking up velocity, touching 98 mph this spring, and it’s easy to project him adding more with a singular year-long focus on baseball. (He also played quarterback in the fall.) With that extra power could come an improved slider, while his changeup already flashes above-average.
There seems to be only one direction this issue of Cub Tracks can go, with most the articles being about possible trades suggestions, about what happened in the first half and what the second half looks like, and what groups of players need to step it up in the second half.
And the plethora of articles about Pete Crow-Armstrong. That makes the choice easy.
I’m not being a PCA fan boy, but he is the face of the Cubs right now, and a large part of the reason for that is the remarkable output during the first half of the season. Another part is the maturity he has shown following the bad fan interactions one weekend earlier this season.
People are quick to tear someone down, but we have seen the growth of maturity displayed since then and the Cubs have responded in kind — maybe not universally or consistently, but through combined resilience during the times of struggle this year. The casual fan is probably starting to notice that and the support is returning.
Will PCA continue this non-Ohtani dominance in baseball? Who knows. But is that all that is needed for the Cubs to reach the playoffs and contend for the World Series? Not at all. Everyone else has to raise their level of game to their level of PCA-ness. Not match him, but reach the top level of their personal abilities.
And injuries. Nothing PCA can do to help to the team overcome that. All the adjustments for that is being done by others and is not in his control. Those adjustments for injuries haven’t been perfect, but, given the circumstances, they’ve gone remarkably well. So well, credit should be given there for achieving a 54-42 record to this point. The record could easily be reversed without those adjustments.
All PCA can control is himself. Be the best he can be, and hopefully the Cubs, individually, can match him in being the best they can be. If that happens, the Cubs will be in a position where they could have a strong run in the playoffs.
*means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have enabled real sarcasm font in the comments.
Tyler Courtney (LastWordOnSports): 2026 Chicago Cubs Trade Deadline Outlook. “The Cubs’ trade deadline strategy has become an increasingly important conversation in 2026.”
Brock Beauchamp (North Side Baseball): What To Make Of The Cubs At The All-Star Break. “The Cubs had a long lull, but ended at the break with a respectable position. What’s in store in the second half?”
Tyler Courtney (LastWordOnSports): Four Cubs Under Pressure to Perform in the Second Half. “Despite a strong start to the season, there are plenty of players for the Chicago Cubs under pressure heading into the second half of 2026.”
Formed in 1977 by harmonica master Billy Branch, the original incarnation of the Sons of Blues boasted a lineup composed entirely of blues scions, including bassist Freddie Dixon (son of Willie Dixon), guitarist Lurrie Bell (son of Carey Bell), and drummer Garland Whiteside (son of Clifton James). Willie Dixon served as a major mentor to the band during their early years. They first gained international recognition performing at the Berlin Jazz Festival and featuring on Alligator Records’ Living Chicago Blues series in the late 1970s.
Over the decades, as original members moved on to pursue solo careers, Billy Branch assumed permanent leadership and cultivated a world-class rotating cast of musicians. The Chicago Reader has frequently voted them the top blues band in Chicago.
Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.
DENVER, COLORADO - JUNE 29: Cole Carrigg #16 of the Colorado Rockies throws to the infield to hold the runners after catching a fly ball in the third inning at Coors Field on June 29, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Colorado Rockies are a team in the midst of a rebuild. With this in mind, the staff at Purple Row thought it would be useful to revisit the “State of the Position” series that we ran in March to see where things stand. We’ve asked authors of the spring articles to re-evaluate their earlier remarks with an eye toward the August 3 trade deadline.
What was said in March
When my colleague Renee Dechert evaluated the Rockies’ outfield group back during spring training, one thing was very clear: Brenton Doyle was the uncontested starter in center field. The two-time Gold Glove award winner had overcome a -2.0 rWAR first half in 2025 with injuries and personal trauma to finish the season with positive wins above replacement per Baseball Reference. He looked like the Brenton Doyle from 2024 and was expected to be one of the most stable parts of the Rockies’ lineup heading into the 2026 season.
Backing up Doyle occasionally in center field as well as playing regularly in left would be Jake McCarthy. The Rockies made a surprising intradivision trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the lightning-quick outfielder in exchange for a pitching prospect.
With McCarthy in left, the young Jordan Beck would move to right field for his true sophomore season. Beck could continue to build on a solid 2025 campaign at the plate while working to improve his defense by utilizing his speed and solid arm strength.
Mickey Moniak would be the fourth outfielder and designated hitter for the Rockies. After a truly awful defensive season in 2025 that sank his value into the negatives for rWAR, Moniak could focus on putting his bat to good use in the Rockies lineup and only playing corner outfield (and hopefully the very, very rare center field appearance) when necessary.
Behind the core four, a group of utility players in Tyler Freeman, Ryan Ritter, Troy Johnston, and Willi Castro would be available in a pinch. Freeman was a regular presence in the outfield last season, but his defense was… an adventure. Ritter–who debuted last season–added outfield to his repertoire during the off-season and spring, and the newly acquired Willi Castro (a free agent) and Troy Johnston (a waiver claim from Miami) both had outfield experience.
Where the Rockies are now
The Starters
The Rockies’ outfield through the first half of the 2026 season has been complicated and crowded. They’ve used ten different players in the outfield to varying degrees of success and what has emerged is a transitional group completely detached from preseason expectations.
Brenton Doyle–the surefire starting center fielder–has been on the injured list since May 20th. He sustained a left oblique contusion while making a diving catch and then developed a nagging groin strain during his rehab assignment with the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes. His rehab assignment has since been shut down and his timeline for return is unknown.
However, when he was on the field over the first 43 games of the season, Doyle struggled. He hit just .207/.279/.270 with just four doubles, one home run, four RBIs, and nine stolen bases. His trademark gilded defense also took a hit with -2 defensive runs saved, zero outs above average, and a -1 fielding run value.
Jordan Beck also struggled early in the season, hitting .183/.227/.305 with five doubles, one triple, one home run, and ten RBIs in 30 games. He found very little success against right-handed pitching and was relegated to a platoon role before a hamstring strain landed him on the injured list. He was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque fter missing more than a month of action and completing a rehab assignment.
Without Beck and Doyle playing, there has been room for new challenger to emerge in top prospect Cole Carrigg (no. 4 PuRP).
The 2023 second round pick proved he was ready for a call-up after a blistering hot start to the season in Triple-A Albuquerque in which he hit .338/.414/.529 with 15 doubles, five triples, six home runs, 42 RBIs, and 30 stolen bases over 57 games. Now it seems unlikely that the 28-year-old Doyle will get his job in center field back from the 24-year-old Carrigg if the former returns this season.
Since making his Major League debut on June 9th, Carrigg has been as good as advertised. He is hitting .273/.356/.515 through his first 31 big league games and 119 plate appearances with six doubles, three triples, four home runs, 22 RBIs, and a couple of stolen bases. Even more impressive has been the rookie’s plate approach. Known for being aggressive and “playing with his hair on fire,” Carrigg has drawn 13 walks to 26 strikeouts. His 10.9% walk rate is among the team’s best, above fellow rookie TJ Rumfield and just below Kyle “3-2 count” Karros.
With excellent speed and one of the best arms in the Rockies’ system, Carrigg’s defense in center field has been a strong point. In 241.1 innings patrolling the position, his two defensive runs saved, two outs above average, and three fielding run value have already made him the Rockies’ best defensive outfielder.
With Carrigg settling in out in center field, Jake McCarthy has been the most common choice for the Rockies in left. There he can make use of his blazing speed without his weaker than average arm being too much of a hindrance.
After falling out of favor with the Diamondbacks last season due to a -0.6 rWAR season where he hit .204/.247/.345, McCarthy was sent to the Rockies in exchange for pitching prospect Josh Grosz (who had in turn been acquired from the New York Yankees at the 2025 trade deadline).
Arizona’s loss has been Colorado’s gain. McCarthy has quickly become a tremendous asset in the Mile High City as both a leadoff hitter and fan favorite. Hitting .301/.347/.516 so far this season, McCarthy has 18 doubles, six triples, and has donned the Rockies’ purple home run coat a career high ten times. Two of his home runs have been of the inside-the-park variety, making him the third Rockies hitter to have two inside-the-park home runs in a single season (Brandon Barnes, 2014 and Charlie Blackmon, 2017) and the first hitter with two leadoff inside-the-park home runs since 1929.
With all the injuries and shuffling, Tyler Freeman has somehow repeated his role from last season as the Rockies’ primary right fielder. While his defense has been somewhat improved compared to his abysmal 2025 where he was worth -10 defensive runs saved, -8 outs above average, and a -6 fielding run value, Freeman is still one of the worst defensive right fielders in baseball this season. His -9 defensive runs saved is the worst of any regularly playing right fielder while his -6 outs above average and -4 fielding run value are both in the bottom ten.
Freeman is regularly on base with a .265 average and a .343 on-base percentage. He seldom strikes out and can even be a threat to steal bases. However, with little in terms of pop, his offensive numbers are fairly empty. He has just six doubles, a triple, three home runs, an 23 RBIs this season. This combines with his atrocious defense to make him baseball’s current least valuable player with -1.5 wins above replacement per Baseball Reference.
The Backups
After missing the start of the season with a right finger sprain, Mickey Moniak hit the ground running as one of the Rockies best hitters against right-handed pitching. He hit .280/.335/.607 with nine doubles, two triples, 12 home runs, and 28 RBIs through his first 43 games of the season and looked like a potential All-Star candidate for the Rockies.
Unfortunately, he was sidelined again in late May with right ankle tendonitis and swelling that kept him out of the lineup for over a month. Moniak returned in late June, and while he hasn’t had as much of a power stroke, he has continued to be a solid hitter for the Rockies. He has hit .271/.302/.492 with two doubles, a triple, three home runs, and ten RBIs since returning.
Moniak has actually been serviceable with the glove this season, which comes as a pleasant surprise after terrible defense last season was a major criticism of the former first overall draft pick. The Rockies have largely utilized Moniak in left field instead of right or center field, where he has been worth a perfectly cromulent -1 defensive runs saved, zero outs above average, and a zero fielding run value.
Next to Moniak on the outfield bench is 29-year-old Troy Johnson, a second-year MLB player who was acquired off of waivers from the Miami Marlins this off-season.
Johnston quickly captured the hearts of Rockies fans with his excitable, golden retriever-like personality. His teammates are similarly enamored. Helping his case in the hearts and minds of the baseball public has been his surprising aptitude for hitting. Johnston even earned a decent number of All-Star votes as a designated hitter by slashing .301/.374/.417 in the first half. His 23 doubles has him as one of the league leaders in the category–tied for fourth place with Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman and future Hall of Famer Freddie Freeman.
However, Johnston is much better served as a designated hitter. His defense in right field–where he’s gotten the most playing time–leaves a lot to be desired (and the less said about his work at first base, the better).
Willi Castro exists mostly as an emergency or late inning switch option of the outfield. He is much better suited to second base with the occasional appearances at shortstop and third when Kyle Karros or Ezequiel Tovar are in need of a day off.
Rounding out the bench is a surprising name: catcher Braxton Fulford. The Rockies have been working with Fulford to expand his defensive skill-set this season with the starting role behind the plate firmly in the hands of Hunter Goodman while backup catcher–and occasional relief pitcher–Brett Sullivan still sees a decent amount of playing time. Fulford has the speed and glove skills to make corner outfield work in a pinch, and made his first career appearance either in college or professionally in left field on July 8th.
On the Farm
Sterlin Thompson (no. 13 PuRP) made his Major League debut earlier this season after a strong start in Triple-A Albuquerque. Thompson took some solid at-bats and was up with the Rockies for 27 games, but wasn’t quite ready for a full-time big league job. He hit .232/.312/.377 with four doubles and did hit his first two big league home runs. He has since been returned to the Isotopes, where he continues to hit well. So far this season in Triple-A he has slashed .314/.457/.459 with seven doubles, a triple, six home runs, and 42 walks to 38 strikeouts.
Two of Thompson’s Albuquerque teammates are stealing the show, however, and pounding on the door for big league call-ups of their own.
Zac Veen (no. 9 PuRP) has reinvented himself by getting sober and bulking up after a disastrous debut last season. Veen has been hitting very well with the Isotopes, going .311/.385/.578 in the first 81 games of the Triple-A season. He leads the Pacific Coast League with 26 doubles and has also hit five triples, 16 home runs, and has driven in 59 RBIs. He’s also been much more disciplined at the plate, drawing 39 walks to 76 strikeouts.
2024 first round pick Charlie Condon (no. 1 PuRP) has been playing a significant amount of right field this season in Albuquerque, a potential necessity with the emergence of TJ Rumfield at first base. After a slow start over the first few months of the season, Condon’s power exploded in June. He enters the All-Star break hitting .289/.414/.584 with 16 doubles, six triples, 20 home runs–the third most in the Pacific Coast League–and 60 RBIs. Condon is also among the Pacific Coast League leaders in walks with 53 compared to his 87 strikeouts. He also participated in the All-Star Futures Game for a second time this season.
The only real building block of the future for this Rockies squad currently playing every day is Cole Carrigg in center field. Outside of that, the Rockies outfield is largely crowded and in a state of transition. There are simply too many outfielders–or players who play in the outfield like Tyler Freeman–on this roster.
With Zac Veen ad Charlie Condon arguably ready for their big league debuts, where ideally they would flank Carrigg in the outfield corners, decisions need to me made. The trade deadline is in a few weeks and at least one outfielder such as McCarthy or Moniak should at least be on the market for contending teams. While having skilled backups like Brenton Doyle is important, other players–potentially even Doyle himself–will need to be optioned, designated for assignment, or have their future with the organization assessed during the off-season.
For now, the Rockies outfield you see today is very unlikely to be the one you see next year.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 14: Parker Messick #77 of the Cleveland Guardians pitches during the 96th MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday, July 14, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Derik Hamilton/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Well, technically, we are already into the second half of the season. However, now that we are on the other side of the All-Star Game its full steam ahead to the trade deadline and playoffs. What does this look like for Cleveland?
For starters, Cleveland has the easiest schedule moving forward.
While no official timeline has been provided, José Ramírez and Angel Martínez are set to return soon. Speaking of José, he still leads the league in Outs Above Average for qualified third basemen.
Both the Guardians and all of the minor league affiliates start games again on Friday. The MiLB rotation is here and we can expect Gavin Williams to take the mound on Friday to face off against the Pirates.
In Case You Missed It
Quincy wrote up a recap on the 2026 Guardians draft. There are a lot of exciting talent joining the Guardians ranks.
Fort Myers, FL - February 17: Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow (center) talks to pitcher Brayan Bellow (second from right) and shortstop Ceddanne Rafaela (far right) during spring training at JetBlue Park. (Photo by Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) | Boston Globe via Getty Images
Ceddanne Rafaela didn’t have a particularly impactful All-Star Game performance. But he did get a chance to reconnect with one of his baseball heroes and mentors. Fellow Curacaoan/defensive genius Andruw Jones was also in Philadelphia, and the two met up and talked for well over an hour. “I like everything I see,” Jones said of Ceddanne. “It’s hard to compare people to other people. It’s hard to compare to Ken Griffey Jr. It’s hard to compare to Willie Mays. It’s hard to compare to any great center fielder out there. I like what I see. He’s gonna be a great one.” (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)
Ceddy wasn’t the only Red Sox player who had a chance to connect with his countrymen in Philadelphia. When Aroldis Chapman entered the game in the ninth inning, he represented the seventh Cuban to play in the game, which broke a record. 25% of all Cuban big leaguers made it to the All-Star Game, compared to just 5% of big leaguers overall. “Happy and proud to be part of this group,” Chapman said. “That means a lot for us, and also talks about the season the Cubans are having and we are having. Hopefully next year, we get to break the record and bring even more.” (Anthony DiComo, MLB.com)
A few weeks ago, it looked certain that Chapman’s time in Boston would soon be coming to an end. But after a 14-2 run to pull themselves back into the postseason picture, talk of the Red Sox selling at the trade deadline has all but ceased. Now the players are sending the front office a clear message: it’s time to buy. “I believe [Breslow] and everybody in the front office will go out there and get what they think we’re missing,” said Rafaela. “Personally, I believe in the whole group and I believe in what we have. Of course we want everybody to stay together at the trade deadline.” (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)
Chapman could have a new (old) bullpen mate soon. Tommy Kahnle, who elected free agency after being designated for assignment by the Sox just a few weeks ago, has re-signed with the team. He’ll head to AAA for now. (Chris Mason, MassLive)
So Kahnle may return to the Fenway, but what all about all the players recovering from injury? This notebook contains a rundown of injury news. Trevor Story is “progressing from sports hernia surgery more quickly than expected,” but none of Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, or Isiah Kiner-Falefa are swinging bats yet. (Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic)
Even had the team still been on the path towards selling, they might not have been able to trade Willson Contreras, who has a no-trade clause and is prepared to use it. “The front office knows the answer,” Contreras said when asked if he’d refuse a trade. “I don’t think I’m interested in going anywhere.” (Peter Abraham and Alex Speier, Boston Globe)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MAY 17: Ryan Jeffers #27 of the Minnesota Twins looks on against the Milwaukee Brewers on May 17, 2026 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Rarely at MLB’s trade deadline does a single, obvious player-team match take hold. Any player with substantial value who’s on the market tends to garner interest from across the league, making their landing place a mystery until the 11th hour. But when you cross-reference a thin market at catcher with a small number of teams feeling the need to substantially upgrade at the position mid-season, you can see why sportswriters around the league are shipping Ryan Jeffers to the Yankees.
The Yankees’ catchers have been a black hole at this plate this season. Austin Wells is hitting .155 and his backup coming into the year, J.C. Escarra, has been no better, playing his way back down to Triple-A. As a group, their 44 wRC+ is the worst among any team’s backstops and they’re on pace for an astonishingly low 41 RBI. Even if one of the pair of incumbents can show some signs of life, both are left-handed, making a right-handed platoon partner a clear area of need.
Enter Jeffers. At an offensively stunted position, the 29-year-old has quietly developed into one of the most consistent catchers in the game. He’s slashed .258/.346/.445 since 2023, averaging 22 homers and 78 RBI per 162 games. Among primary catchers over that span, his 122 wRC+ ranks behind only Willson Contreras, Iván Herrera, and Cal Raleigh.
He’s less of a difference-maker behind the plate. He was around the bottom of the league in blocking and throwing out runners last year and below average in framing, an area the Yankees and their catching coordinator, Tanner Swanson, have made a focal point in recent years. While he’s grading out a bit better this year, it’s unclear if that’s a small-sample blip or a product of sustainable improvement.
Jeffers was in the midst of a career year this season, posting a .949 OPS before landing on the IL with a fractured left hamate bone in mid-May. He returned to play in two games before the All-Star break and the early returns were encouraging.
The seven-year veteran is set to hit free agency after the season, making him a true rental. In a normal season, with the Twins hitting the break below .500, he would be a no-brainer to get moved.
Of course, in this year’s AL, things are not that simple. Minnesota is tied with Seattle for the third Wild Card spot and sits just three games behind the White Sox in the AL Central. They’ll be joining a cavalcade of teams faced with the same difficult decision: capitalize on a seller’s market to load up for the future or cash in some chips to fight for a playoff spot now.
There’s also the middle path. As Twins beat writer Matthew Leach suggests, GM Jeremy Zoll may opt to trade some players on expiring contracts while adding big-league talent to help them compete this year. Veteran backstop Victor Caratini filled in capably in Jeffers’ absence, slashing .282/.365/.496 since he went down. His presence on the roster would allow the Twins to move their starter without completely punting at catcher.
Should the Twins elect to move Jeffers, expect the Yankees to be at the front of the line. While his defensive profile does not line up with the team’s preferences at the position, beggars can’t be choosers. His bat from the right side paired with the left-handed Wells, who must be considered a glove-first (if not glove-only) catcher until he proves differently, would be a clear upgrade from Wells backed up by either Escarra or journeyman Ali Sánchez. If the Twins hold onto Jeffers, the pickings could get very slim among right-handed catchers very fast.
BALTIMORE, MD - JUNE 24: Baltimore Orioles pitcher Keegan Akin (45) pitches during the Cleveland Guardians versus the Baltimore Orioles on June 24, 2024 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, MD. (Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Hello, friends.
The All-Star break continues. There’s still not going to be any more Orioles baseball until tomorrow when they start the non-mathematical second half of the season in Houston. We can hope the break is a good mental reset for those players who need one and a good physical reset for those who need one of those. It is a near-certainty that more than one player has been pushing through minor dings. Four days off might actually help with some of that.
Unfortunately, four days off isn’t going to do much to solve the challenge of Blaze Alexander’s broken hand bone. That’s not something that resolves in half of a week. Today is probably the day they’ll make their short-term decision about what to do to replace him on the roster for at least a few days, because they’ll want that player to be able to get to Houston to join the team coming out of the break.
We probably won’t find out until they announce the roster move tomorrow afternoon, or perhaps if the beat writers start putting “So-and-so has a locker here” posts on social media. Tomorrow’s roster move does not necessarily have to be the solution that the team will use from here until when Alexander is back. It also might be. Mike Elias generally does not act with the urgency that Orioles fans would like him to act with.
How much it’s worth paying the urgency premium for this 46-51 team is kind of an ongoing question. The odds for the Orioles are what they are, in the range of about one in eight to about one in five. You don’t want to bet a meaningful piece for the future on a one in eight chance. The odds could change if the Orioles keep playing well. The idea of a long winning streak has always been there for those who want to believe in it. “Well, if they could just win like seven in a row…”
The Orioles finally made it to four. If they were to sweep the Astros coming out of the break, the odds would be much better. They probably won’t sweep the Astros coming out of the break. The more they win over the rest of July, the more the math points more in their favor towards the value of seeking external improvements for this year’s team. Even if they stay on the fringes, finding someone who can help for the rest of this year and next year too might be worth getting. That’s something Elias will have to figure out between now and August 3.
There was some other injury news during yesterday’s off day. The team announced that lefty reliever Keegan Akin underwent Tommy John surgery on Wednesday. Things had been pointing in that direction for a while based on what was known of his elbow injury and they reached the inevitable conclusion yesterday. At this point, Akin may not throw another real MLB pitch until late next season, if not all the way into 2028. Best wishes to Akin as he begins on the long road to recovery here.
The cold reality is this isn’t much of a loss for the 2026 Orioles bullpen. Akin’s 5.68 ERA in 25.1 innings were part of this team’s problems, rather than part of their solutions. Akin being removed as an option is something the Orioles can now definitively plan around, as opposed to pretending Akin will be back in action soon and then pretending that he might pitch to the form he had in either of the past two seasons. He may have thrown his last pitch for the team that drafted him; Akin is a free agent at the end of the season.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
Key upcoming stretch could determine Orioles trade deadline strategy (Orioles.com) Jake Rill notes that these next two series are against teams – the Astros and Red Sox – who are currently between the Orioles and a wild card spot. Finding a way to win each series and gain a game on both would really improve their odds.
The replacement-level killers: First base, second base (FanGraphs) Ahead of each trade deadline, FanGraphs does a series showing which contending teams are weakest at each position. The Orioles, with a Jackson Holliday-heavy second base, show up here. Out of all of the infield positions, that’s the only one, though without Alexander, the third base picture looks tougher.
There are two former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2026 one-game outfielder Michael Siani, and 1966-67 pitcher Eddie Fisher. The 15-year MLB veteran Fisher passed away last year at age 88.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: civil rights activist Ida B. Wells (1862), Antarctic explorer Roald Amundsen (1872), popcorn man Orville Redenbacher (1907), football Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson (1943), actor Will Ferrell (1967), and US women’s soccer legend Carli Lloyd (1982).
On this day in history…
In 622, Islam’s prophet Muhammad began the journey leading his followers from Mecca to Medina. This event, the Hijrah, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar.
In 1790, the District of Columbia was officially established as the capital of the United States.
In 1941, Joe DiMaggio recorded a hit for the 56th consecutive game. This turned out to be the last game in his record hitting streak, a record that still holds today. There are four players tied for the currently active hitting streak lead with hits in eight straight games.
In 1951, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger was first published. Did you ever read that one in school?
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on July 16. Have a safe Thursday.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 14: Brandon Marsh #16 of the Philadelphia Phillies signs a replica Declaration of Independence lineup card during player introductions prior to the 96th MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday, July 14, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The fun of All-Star week has concluded and it’s time for real business to start up again. The Phillies will open the unofficial second half of the season tonight when they take on the New York Mets. Aaron Nola will be on the mound against Christian Scott of the Mets for the primetime game on ESPN.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Casey Mize, left, talks to pitcher Tarik Skubal in the dugout during the seventh inning against Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park in Detroit on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Note: This piece was written before the Brewers traded for Lance McCullers Jr. on Wednesday. Ultimately, I don’t believe the Brewers are putting much stock in the oft-injured and otherwise ineffective McCullers as a person to do much besides eat a few innings, so I don’t think that trade materially changes any approach that I suggest they might take below.
Welcome back to the trade deadline primer series here at Brew Crew Ball. In part one, we examined the team’s needs — which, of course, have changed completely since I wrote that piece two weeks ago — and looked at the landscape across the league to see who might be selling (another fool’s errand to do with a month remaining to the deadline). In part two last week, we looked at potential targets that could bolster the Brewers’ bullpen.
Today, the focus is the starting rotation. Since I first wrote the initial piece of this series, Brandon Woodruff got injured and received ominous news that makes it sound like he won’t be pitching again this season. Kyle Harrison was placed on the IL, and while everyone is saying the right things to make us believe it’ll be a short stint that’s geared more toward rest than anything else, the term “forearm tightness” is never something you want to hear.
The point is, the Brewers’ desire for starting pitching is very likely a bigger priority today than it was two weeks ago.
The way I see it, there are two ways the Brewers could go about targeting starting pitching at this deadline, so I’m going to structure this piece a little differently than I did the relief pitcher article. Here, I’m going to break things into two different categories. The first group we’ll look at would be splashier moves aimed at raising the ceiling for the team’s postseason rotation — players who the Brewers would expect to make a start or two in a playoff series. The second (and larger) group is what I’d consider “innings eaters” — players who would maybe would not be expected to start in the playoffs barring injury, but who would be able to capably take some innings and pressure off of the younger starters throughout the rest of the season, thus keeping those arms fresh for the stretch run.
I’ll also try to not just discuss the players themselves, but also how realistic (or not) it might be that the Brewers could or would acquire them.
The Postseason Ceiling-Raisers
Let’s get the big one out of the way first.
Tarik Skubal is a free agent after the season. He has won the Cy Young Award in the American League each of the last two seasons. The assumption is that the Tigers will not be able to afford to keep him. Detroit is 44-52 and in fourth place in the abysmal AL Central.
Since the AL is so bad, the Tigers aren’t completely out of it, and they have played good baseball in July. But they’re still not good, and Skubal, even as a two-month rental, could net them a fortune. While I’m not sure that adding a very tip-top of the rotation arm should be the Brewers’ highest priority, the simple fact is that there isn’t really another player on Skubal’s level that’s expected to move at this deadline (at any position), and there’s certainly no reason why you wouldn’t want to add a guy like Skubal if you were trying to win the World Series.
There are some questions about his health. Skubal missed a few weeks earlier this season to get loose bodies removed from his elbow, but he’s been solid in six starts since coming off the injured list and while his numbers aren’t as good as they have been the last two years, he’s still clearly one of the best pitchers in the league.
A challenge here is that it is assumed that the Dodgers will be in on Skubal. Their top four prospects are all outfielders, three of them are at the same level in the minor leagues, and all four are ranked No. 31 or higher in MLB Pipeline’s top 100. They don’t really need them all, and it would seem logical that they’d be willing to build a package around one of them for the right piece.
The Brewers likely can’t beat a Dodgers offer unless they include Jesús Made (not happening) or Luis Peña (whose trade value may have taken a dip given how much time he’s missed this season). Would the Brewers be willing to part with Peña (and probably at least one more of their top 10 prospects, probably two) for two months and a postseason with Skubal? It doesn’t seem like the type of move this front office would make, particularly since even with Skubal, the Brewers would still be heavy underdogs in a series against LA. Likelihood: 2/10.
Another top-line trade target who has been talked about frequently this season is Minnesota’s Joe Ryan. Ryan, unlike Skubal, is under control next season (he has a mutual option, but if it’s declined, he just goes back to arbitration). Ryan isn’t Skubal, but he’s a really good pitcher: over the past three seasons, he has a 3.33 ERA/3.39 FIP, he’s been mostly healthy, and he’s made two All-Star Games (including this season).
The thing is, though, the Twins are not remotely out of postseason position, even while they are under .500. They don’t look like a good team but they’re only three games back of the third Wild Card in the AL. Their owner also appears to want to compete and doesn’t seem happy with the sell-off his brother oversaw last year. My guess is convincing the Twins to trade Ryan would require a significant overpay for a player that already would’ve demanded a huge prospect package; I don’t think there would be much discernible difference between the cost for Ryan and the cost for Skubal. Plus, the Twins are surely less motivated to make a move than Detroit is even if that package is available. Likelihood: 1/10.
There is another Tigers pitcher who is having an excellent season who is an impending free agent: former No. 1 overall pick Casey Mize. It has taken Mize a while to become a good major league pitcher — after a promising rookie season in 2021, he missed most of the next two years when he needed Tommy John surgery. After two seasons as a roughly league-average starter after his return, Mize has found it in 2026 at age 29 to the tune of a 2.79 ERA and even more impressive 2.69 FIP in 14 starts.
From a financial perspective, Mize is quite cheap — his full season salary in 2026 is just $6.15 million — so that could be something that makes him attractive to the Brewers. He’s also got far less of a track record as a good player than either Skubal or Ryan, so while the prospect cost would be significant, it would surely be more palatable. Mize will be a popular target, should the Tigers sell, but he seems far more realistic to me than either of the two guys mentioned above. Likelihood: 4/10
Let’s talk about the next two in tandem. I don’t know if anyone has any idea what the Angels are going to do at this trade deadline; they’re working with interim general manager John Mozeliak, and while they are clearly bad, they also seem to think that “next year is our year,” so I’m skeptical they’ll trade anyone who isn’t a free agent after the season.
If they do entertain that possibility, though, there are two pitchers on their squad who are both 27 and both under control for two more years after this one who would both be intriguing pickups. The first is Reid Detmers, the No. 10 overall pick in 2020 and a former top 30 prospect. Detmers’ major league career thus far has been a roller coaster. As has become the Angels’ M.O., he probably debuted too early — he was barely 22 when he first arrived in the big leagues in 2021. He wasn’t bad in 2022 and 2023, but he wasn’t particularly good, either, and things went sideways in 2024 when he had a 6.70 ERA in 87 innings. Last season, Detmers pitched out of the bullpen, and while his surface-level stats weren’t great, there was some promising stuff under the hood.
That has continued this season. In a return to the rotation, Detmers has a 4.39 ERA — that’s slightly worse than league average — but his FIP is 3.36, and he’s got good peripherals with 10.2 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9. He’s also been quite durable, with 108 2/3 innings pitched as of the All-Star break.
The other interesting Angels pitcher was a big story in the season’s first month but has since cooled. José Soriano allowed just one run through his first six starts of the season — his ERA after six games and 37 2/3 innings was 0.24. Since then, Soriano hasn’t been all that good — he has a 5.15 ERA and 4.89 FIP in 73 1/3 innings across 14 starts since April 28. But I’ve long eyed Soriano as a potential Brewers target because he has certain traits that they value: he throws hard (96.8-mph average fastball velocity), gets ground balls (91st percentile), and has a lot of extension (78th percentile).
I imagine that because of these players’ relative youth, team control, and their high-ish profiles, the cost would be very high. There’s also the fact that no one knows what the Angels are going to do, and if I had to guess, I’d say that they’re going to make anyone who might help beyond this season more-or-less untouchable (even if it’s a dumb stance). Likelihood: 1/10.
What about Toronto’s Kevin Gausman? He’s in the last year of a five-year, $110 million deal signed before the 2022 season, and while he’s got a 4.33 ERA (105 ERA+), his peripherals are very much in line with what he’s done the last couple of seasons. Gausman isn’t as good as he was when he got Cy Young votes each year from 2021-23, but he’s still a solid pitcher who never gets hurt (at least 174 innings each year since 2020) and pitched very well for the Blue Jays in the postseason last year (a 2.93 ERA in 30 2/3 innings across six starts). It’s definitely an open question as to whether the defending American League champs would be willing to sell (they’re just 45-51 but only 2.5 games back in the Wild Card race), but if they do, Gausman is an obvious candidate. Likelihood: 4/10.
One last person that I’ll dedicate some actual time to is someone who is not having a good season, but who would surely get Brewers fans buzzing: Freddy Peralta. Things haven’t gone well for Peralta as a Met, though his peripherals aren’t all that far off what they were during his 2023-24 seasons in Milwaukee. The big concern here is that Peralta’s strikeouts have dipped — his 9.0 K/9 is the lowest of his career, and just the second time he’s ever been in single digits (9.9 in 2022).
The Mets should be willing to deal Peralta. He’s a free agent after the season, and given how poorly things have gone, you’d imagine they’re going to let him hit the open market rather than try to work out an extension before other teams get a crack at him. (They could also be curious to see if he bounces back after the All-Star break.) The optics of trading Peralta back to the Brewers — likely for quite a bit less than they gave up for him — would not be good for an already beleaguered front office. But if they can get something for him, they should. From the Brewers’ side, they may see a player they’re familiar with who they think they can get right, and even if they can’t, he would certainly fit the “innings eater” mold, as he’s been one of the more durable starters in the league over the last four seasons (and it’s not like he’s a disaster this season or anything). Likelihood: 3/10.
Finally, I’m going to zip through a few other potential but, in my opinion, extremely unlikely targets who fit the “ceiling-raiser” type.
San Francisco’s Logan Webb would surely command a king’s ransom if he were available; he’s been one of the best pitchers in the league for basically six years, he’s not 30 yet, and he’s got two more years of team control at an entirely reasonable $18 million a year. We haven’t really gotten any indication that San Francisco is interested in a multi-year rebuild, but if they do think they will go that way, they should absolutely dangle Webb, whose numbers are down a little but are still quite good.
I don’t see the Reds trading within the division really under any circumstances, but especially not when it’s a player who could help the Brewers beat them again next year. But if there were a world where Nick Lodolo was available to the Brewers, I’d be interested, even though his season has been inconsistent.
I suppose we should mention a third Tiger, Jack Flaherty, who is also a free agent after the season. He’s having an OK season, but he’s walking more batters than you’d like and he’s also been inconsistent over the last several years. The other thing with Flaherty is that he’s making a ton of money this season, $32 million, so the Brewers would probably want Detroit to pay some of that down.
Speaking of Detroit, Keider Montero and Troy Melton are both intriguing, but given that neither has even reached arbitration, I suspect the Tigers will hold them for the future, especially if any or all of Skubal, Mize, and Flaherty go. Somebody has to pitch. (Framber Valdez, another Tiger, makes too much money to be a Brewers target.)
There’s a lot of noise around Sonny Gray, who would probably be on the move if the Red Sox sell. Gray, though, has a full no-trade clause and there has been a lot of noise regarding Atlanta, so I don’t see a match with the Brewers.
Michael King is a solid pitcher and of all the starters on the Padres, he is by far the most desirable in a trade. The issue is money: King has player options in each of the next two seasons worth $25 million a year. Would the Brewers be willing to potentially take on $50 million in new money to acquire King?
A common name in trade discussions for over a year now has been Miami’s Sandy Alcantara, the 2022 NL Cy Young winner who is having a good bounce-back year after Tommy John in 2024 and a down season in his first year back. But the Marlins are too good to sell at this point, I think; the surprise team in the NL this year is right in the thick of it, and Alcantara is likely off the block.
There has been some talk that the Mariners would be willing to move one of their starters, as they essentially have six guys who would be in most teams’ top three. But the most likely candidate is the expensive and maybe-not-that-good-anymore Luis Castillo (he’s been a bit better over the last month but is still a net negative on the season), and the Mariners are definitely a team trying to win this season; their needs — a high-leverage reliever and a right-handed hitter — align too closely with the Brewers’ needs to make this a match that works.
The last one to mention in this section: All-Star Eduardo Rodríguez is having a very nice season for Arizona. But there’s a huge gap between his 2.25 ERA and his 4.00 FIP that gives me pause, and he’s not cheap either, with two more years at $20 million each. Rodríguez also has a limited no-trade clause, which he famously invoked when the Dodgers thought they were trading for him at the 2023 deadline. I don’t see this one as much of a possibility.
The Innings Eaters
Okay, so that was a whole bunch of starting pitchers who, were the Brewers to acquire any of them, would be expected to play a real role in a postseason starting rotation. But what if the Brewers aim lower? What if they’re just looking for someone to competently cover a bunch of innings between now and the end of the season so that players like Jacob Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison can get enough rest that they’re ready to go full speed in the postseason?
That invites a much larger player pool. These guys wouldn’t be the most exciting acquisitions, but they could certainly play a role. I’m not going to give likelihood ratings here, but I’ll comment on availability when I need to.
Looking back at Cincinnati, Brady Singer is an acquisition that didn’t really work out for them. His numbers this season aren’t very good, and he’ll be a free agent after the season. But what Singer can offer is durability: he has made at least 24 starters every year since 2021 and has thrown over 150 innings in each of the last four seasons. He’s not going to win you many games by himself, but if you’re just looking for a guy who can keep you in it, he’s not a bad choice.
One semi-intriguing option hasn’t pitched since May 15 but could be back by the time we reach the deadline, and that’s the Mets’ Clay Holmes. This is a move that might have a higher ceiling than just “innings eater,” as Holmes was an above-average starter last season and a good reliever for several years before that. But the Brewers would certainly want some guarantee of health before making the move. There’s also murkiness over next season: Holmes holds a $12 million player option for 2027.
Another Met, Sean Manaea, is making way too much money ($22 million this year and next) for a mediocre pitcher. He started the year in long relief, but he’s been solid since returning to the rotation in mid-June. If the Mets ate some of the contract, I could see it, but there’s no way the Brewers would do this if they had to pay the whole contract.
San Francisco has couple of veteran pitchers, Robbie Ray and Tyler Mahle, who are both free agents after the season. Mahle’s surface numbers are poor, but the peripherals are a bit better, and he’s been decent at times. Ray is the opposite: the 2021 AL Cy Young winner has good surface-level numbers, but the peripherals are bad. Either could work if expectations are low.
The Royals have a few pitchers who could conceivably be involved in something. Seth Lugo makes too much money to be any sort of realistic target. Michael Wacha has a $14 million club option next season and has been solid, if not spectacular, this season — he’d be one of the higher-end “innings eater” types, but he might be good enough to tempt a new manager to use him in the playoff rotation, which I’m not sure would be good.
Kris Bubic could’ve been an interesting target — he’s a free agent after the season and was an All-Star last year — but he just had a setback in rehab from a shoulder injury, and he probably won’t be ready by the deadline.
There are a few Baltimore pitchers who might be worth sniffing around. Trevor Rogers was excellent in 2025 but hasn’t been nearly as good this year; he’ll be a free agent after the season. Dean Kremer missed two-and-a-half months this year with a strained quad, and he’s only made four starts, but last year’s version was a perfectly fine back-of-rotation starter, and he’s got another year of control. Kyle Bradish has two more years of control, but while he’s healthy this season he’s had injury problems in the past. His value is also low right now, so Baltimore might want to hold him to see if they can get it back up.
Might a team try to buy low on Boston’s Brayan Bello? He’s had a horrible season and was sent back to the minor leagues for most of the last month until returning right before the break. He’s not cheap, with three years and an option remaining all at about $9 million on a big extension he signed prior to the 2024 season. It would be a risky project.
San Diego’s Walker Buehler obviously has some experience, but there’s not a lot to like, there. Also on the Padres, Griffin Canning has been a bit unlucky but walks too many batters. I wouldn’t be excited about Colorado’s Michael Lorenzen, but if all you’re looking for is innings, he could handle it.
Arizona’s Michael Soroka has pitched well this season when he’s been healthy, but he’s currently on the injured list with a glute issue. He should be back before the deadline and might be an interesting pickup. A bigger name on that same club but one who seems to be broken is Zac Gallen, who is a free agent after the season but is making a LOT of money this year. He’s just been getting demolished; not sure what happened to him.
Wrapping up
Kyle Harrison’s availability moving forward is likely to be the biggest influence on what the Brewers do at the trade deadline. If the Brewers think (or know) that Harrison is fine but just needs a little rest, then you might see them pick up an innings eater type who, if needed, could throw a few innings in the postseason — think about a version of Jose Quintana from 2025.
But if the Brewers are worried about Harrison — or Misiorowski, for that matter — making it to the end of the season at full effectiveness, they might — and maybe should — make a more aggressive move.
If they’re aggressive, the names that make the most sense to me are Casey Mize, Kevin Gausman, or — as wild as it might seem — Freddy Peralta. If they go the other route and look for someone to fill in toward the back of the rotation, I could see Tyler Mahle or Michael Lorenzen as options. If they’re looking to thread the needle and going for a pitcher who is more of a question but has a bit of upside, I wouldn’t be shocked by a move for Clay Holmes, Michael Soroka, or Trevor Rogers.
The Skubal move just doesn’t feel right to me right now. The aging Dodgers can’t keep this up forever, and while they’ll surely keep replenishing, the Brewers might think they’ll be a little closer in a year or two, at which point they’ll make an all-in move or two. I’m not saying it can’t happen, but this is a fairly deliberate front office who has put a lot of faith in building from within. Getting a player for such a short period of time who won’t even make them the league’s favorite just doesn’t feel like a Matt Arnold move.
Jun 23, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (57) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the sixth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Harry S. Truman may have said that the “S” doesn’t mean anything, but it’s likely he was just trolling the media. In fact, the “S” stands for two names: his grandfathers Shipp Truman and Solomon Young.
Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.
Most planets rotate on their axis in an anti-clockwise motion. However, Venus rotates clockwise in retrograde once every 243 Earth days.
Sudan has the most pyramids out of any country.
One of the mind-boggling fun facts: The plentiest pyramids in the world is not in Egypt! Instead, the record belongs to Sudan with 255 pyramids – which is twice the amount of the pyramids in Egypt.
DETROIT, MI - JULY 08: Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Troy Melton (52) is congratulated by his teammates in the dugout after being releived during a regular season Major League Baseball game between the Athletics and the Detroit Tigers on July 8, 2026 at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Following the developmental path of Detroit Tigers’ starting pitcher Troy Melton has been a pretty fascinating ride. Watching him improve in 2024, it was pretty clear that he would become a factor in 2025 if he could avoid the plague of pitcher injuries in the Tigers’ system, and so it went. However, during his mixed work as a starter and reliever down the stretch and in the postseason, his ability to handle left-handed hitters was the question determining his long-term future as a starting pitcher. This year, the 25-year-old Melton has found the answer, but it’s not the pitch we were expecting.
Last fall, I wrote about Melton’s splitter being the defining factor in locking down left-handed hitters, and argued that the cutter either had to get a lot better or be ditched entirely. Melton has chosen the first of those paths. He was good overall in his rookie season, and pitched pretty impressively in the postseason as well. Left-handers weren’t a huge problem for him, but they hit him quite a bit better than right-handers, and more specifically, Melton struggled to strike out left-handed hitters.
He managed a meager 14.2 percent K-rate against lefties in 2025. He struck out 26.2 percent of right-handed hitters. That was all fine in a relief role, but to really become a dominant starting pitcher, he was going to have to get a lot more whiffs against left-handed batters in particular. The .191 BABIP he ran against lefties just wasn’t going to hold up, especially as a full-time starter.
The answer, I assumed, lie in his split-finger fastball. Typically the development of a changeup or splitter is the key to limiting damage and getting whiffs against opposite handed hitters. Melton’s fourseam-slider combo wasn’t really going to get it done. Melton has gone another direction, turning his cutter into a monster weapon against hitters on either side of the plate.
In 2025, Melton threw the cutter just 10.8 percent of the time, regardless of which batter’s box the hitter was in. In 2026, that rate is up to 20.1 percent.
Against lefties, he uses the cutter 19.5 percent of the time. He’ll mix in the splitter (12.1%)and curveball (8.1%) sparingly against them, accounting for about 20 percent of his pitches to lefties combined. The slider is used 18.3 percent of the time against lefties, while the majority of the work is still handled by his fourseam fastball, which he throws 40.8 percent of the time.
So he’s still using a pretty deep mix against left-handed hitters, but the cutter is certainly playing a lot bigger role than it did in 2025. It’s also suddenly become a much better pitch in recent weeks. In 2025 he averaged 90.9 mph with it. He’s added a full tick of velo this season, but lately he’s really found the feel with it and is throwing it even harder, even topping 95 mph repeatedly in late June and July. Since June 15, the cutter is averaging 92.5 mph. There are only about 30 pitchers in the major leagues who average 92.5 mph with a cutter, and many of them are relievers.
Melton is getting a 23.9 percent whiff rate, which is nothing special, but hitters have posted a meager .158 wOBA against the pitch. The expected wOBA is just .196, so he isn’t just getting lucky here either.
The effect here is to give him a pitch between his relatively straight fourseamer that has average ride but a good angle to the top of the zone, and the slider he breaks off to back foot left-handers. Hitters have had a really hard time distinguishing between the slider and the cutter, and the result is that his slider went from a 23.1 percent whiff rate in 2025, with a big chunk of that coming as a reliever, to a 31.3 percent whiff rate in 2026.
I mean, deal with this thing after seeing the heater and knowing the wipeout slider is lurking.
Melton now has three pitches that he can work with to his gloveside, tying up left-handed hitters. They are doing nothing against him, hitting just .157. The one fly in the ointment is that when lefties do connect on his fourseam fastball, they’re crushing it, but the rise of the cutter-slider combo means they’re getting less fastballs, and a lot less obvious fastballs, no matter the count. Overall they’re striking out a lot more, and putting the ball in play weakly for the most part.
Right-handed hitters are doing even worse, and the cutter is a big part of that too as hitters have to look for two different hard breaking balls. The cutter looks like the fourseamer and breaks away late. Once they’ve seen that, there is less certainty for hitters when they see the slider come out of his hand. It could be the cutter, or it could be the slider, and they have to swing just as the latter disappears down and away for whiffs. The slider’s performance continues to improve as the cutter becomes more effective. Melton really has them on the horns of a dilemma trying to discern between the two breaking balls while knowing they could get 97-98 mph at the top of the zone with big-time extension helping it play up.
This is rapidly becoming a really deep mix of pitches for Troy Melton, and while his ERA looked unsustainable early on after his return to the rotation in late May, the stuff and underlying performance is rapidly catching up to the results, making the whole package look far more sustainable. We can still hope Melton gets more comfortable and consistent with the splitter, because it gives him another pitch beyond the fourseamer, curveball, and the occasional curveball that he can use armside, generating even more whiffs from lefties.
Overall, Melton still needed to punch out more hitters to turn himself into a top shelf, frontline starter that can lead a rotation. But with the amped up cutter, he’s now well on his way. He barely struck anyone out as he returned to the rotation in May, but he managed contact, didn’t walk hitters, and was somewhat fortunate. In June, his overall strikeout rate was just 22.1 percent but he was still limiting the traffic on the bases and occasionally giving up homers, but never a rally. In July, since he added more velo to the cutter? His strikeout rate through two starts in July in now 36.4 percent. You have to love the trendline there.
The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, walking off the mound during the fifth inning of his last start on July 3 against the Padres, has been navigating a lingering knee issue the last month. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior was worried. But how worried? He couldn’t say at first.
The team had already taken major steps to address Shohei Ohtani’s lingering left knee issue, presenting him with a plan to skip his last start before the All-Star break and have his knee drained that Sunday. And he’d co-signed it.
The swelling in Ohtani’s knee, however, had already been more persistent than the team had first expected. And pitching seemed to irritate it.
“I would say, moderately concerned,” Prior eventually said in a conversation with The Times last weekend. “But no more concerned than I probably am with anybody else who’s had to deal with aches and pains. Hopefully, this break and this rest will get it to calm down a little bit, and then we’ll see where we’re at next weekend.”
Coming out of the All-Star break, the Dodgers face the most pressing question for their second half: Will they be able to manage Ohtani’s knee issue?
Of course, plenty of other questions loom: What approach will the Dodgers take at the trade deadline? Will the pitchers coming off the injured list in the second half provide enough pitching depth? Can they maintain the best record in the majors?
But naturally, Ohtani’s health is tangled up in all those answers.
The Dodgers have enough star power and enough of a lead in the division to still make the playoffs without Ohtani replicating his first half on the mound (8-2, 1.79 ERA). And they showed last year that they can win a World Series even if their postseason path begins with a wild-card series.
They’d prefer, however, to take a different route, with a strong second half that ensures home-field advantage all the way through the postseason.
“At the end of the day, it’s just trying to expect the best of your ball club,” manager Dave Roberts said before the break. “And with the talent that we have, we expect to have the best record in baseball, and so that’s our standard. And so, what falls out of it is x, y and z. So that’s what we’re playing for.”
That’s also what they need a healthy Ohtani for.
Workload is part of the equation, and an aspect that’s garnered plenty of attention in Ohtani’s first full season balancing two-way duties since 2023.
“I’ve been much more open and watching … his workload, and not just taking for granted that he can be a two-way player, take every at-bat, pitch like a normal pitcher,” Roberts said. “I think that would be unfair. So for me, if anything, it’s just, keep having those conversations with him, bringing them to him, and saying, ‘Hey, this is what we see. This might be a different option, a better option for your best interest and our best interest.’ And I think that with that, he’s responded really well.”
That approach will continue in the second half. But refining Ohtani’s mechanics will also be vital to keeping his knee from becoming an issue again.
Ohtani said it himself, through interpreter Will Ireton, last week: “I have to kind of find a way to adjust my mechanics so that my knee doesn’t get affected.”
He’s been trying to do so since the swelling in his knee first cropped up.
“I think we’ve identified the issue,” Prior said. “Sometimes the fix isn’t always the easiest, especially with a guy who doesn’t spend probably the same amount of time on the mechanics of it.”
As a two-way player, Ohtani doesn’t have the “physical bandwidth,” as Prior put it, for things like multiple bullpen sessions between starts, even if they are a week apart. He has to keep the long, grueling season in mind when he’s also in the lineup every day.
“He fixed it, and then I’m wondering if it got aggravated just in-game,” Prior said. “These guys are extreme compensators, and in the moment they don’t necessarily know what they’re doing, but they’re finding other ways to pitch, and then afterwards you find out that things are a little sore.”
Ohtani had a dominant first half, but, whether because of the knee issue, or mechanics, or some combination of the two, he wasn’t quite as sharp in his last four starts (4.38 ERA).
“If he can fix the delivery, then he can fix a little bit more of the execution,” Prior said.
But will the delivery adjustment, All-Star break intervention and attention to workload fix Ohtani’s knee at least through the postseason? The Dodgers’ second-half trajectory will be tied up in the answer.
