Category: MLB

First Pitch (CT):3:10 PM
TV: Twins.TV
Radio: TIBN/830 WCCO/102.9 The Wolf /Audacy App
Know Yo’ Foe:Lookout Landing

The Twins’ offense rallied late last night to pull out a victory. They’ll likely need to do the same today facing Logan Gilbert, who has quietly been one of the best pitchers in baseball since he debuted in 2021. The Twins will counter with rookie Connor Prielipp.

Prielipp’s top level numbers aren’t great, but there’s a lot to like below the surface. He’s also already flew past last season’s career-high innings total and will likely start transitioning to the bullpen soon follow the Twins’ acquisition of Dean Kremer last night. For context. Prielipp has thrown a combined 91 innings between MLB and AAA this year. He threw 82.2 total last season and 58 combined innings from 2020-2024 due to two separate Tommy John surgeries.

Roster Notes

• The Twins made a slew of transactions this morning. AJ Minter was officially added to the active roster and Zebby Matthews was optioned to St. Paul. I don’t imagine Zebby will be down there long due to the Prielipp issue I mentioned.
• Garret Acton was also reinstated from the 60-day IL and optioned to AAA. Kremer wasn’t added to the active roster yet, but will also obviously need a roster spot shortly.
• To make space on the 40 man for those three, Cole Sands and Mike Paredes were both transferred to the 60-day IL, effectively ending their seasons. Cody Laweryson was designated for assignment for the third roster spot.
• The Twins will still have a 26-man move to make for Kremer, which likely be optioning either Kendry Rojas or Jack Anderson. Frankly, it will probably depend on who throws today so that they don’t option a fresh arm.

Lineups

Mets Lineup

1. A.J. Ewing – CF
2. Francisco Lindor – SS
3. Bo Bichette – DH
4. Carson Benge – RF
5. Jared Young – 1B
6. Marcus Semien – 2B
7. Brett Baty – 3B
8. Tyrone Taylor – LF
9. Luis Torrens – C

SP: Zac Thornton – LHP

Marlins Lineup

1. Otto Lopez – SS
2. Heriberto Hernández – LF
3. Liam Hicks – C
4. Xavier Edwards – 2B
5. Leo Jiménez – 3B
6. Kyle Stowers – 1B
7. Javier Sanoja – RF
8. Esteury Ruiz – CF
9. Griffin Conine – DH

SP: Tyler Phillips -RHP

Broadcast Info

First pitch: 4:10 PM ET
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

San Francisco Giants outfielder Harrison Bader has not had the type of season he probably hoped for entering 2026.

The 32-year-old center fielder has been shut down for the rest of the season as he deals with plantar fasciitis in his left foot.

Bader initially suffered the injury in a 8-6 loss against the Colorado Rockies on May 29. He was placed on the 10-day injured list and has not played another game for the team since.

He also dealt with a hamstring injury earlier in the season. Bader appeared in only 30 games these season, posting a .170 batting average, 14 RBIs and five home runs.

Bader experienced a setback, re-injuring his foot following a late night, early morning scooter crash that further complicated his recovery to the existing foot injury. He was due to travel to Indianapolis to see a specialist for his plantar fasciitis, however the exam could not proceed after the crash.

The Pittsburgh Pirates moved to solve the problems of two ballclubs with one trade, acquiring hard-throwing right-hander Camilo Doval from the New York Yankees in exchange for two minor leaguers. 

A baseball official with direct knowledge of the trade confirmed the swap to USA TODAY Sports. The person requested anonymity because the deal, first reported by ESPN, has not been announced. 

Doval, 29, has struggled with the Yankees since coming over from the San Francisco Giants in a 2025 deadline deal, posting a 4.63 ERA over the two seasons. He was an All-Star and saved an NL-best 39 games in 2023 for San Francisco, but has struggled with command in ensuing years. 

With the Pirates, he immediately upgrades the bullpen from a stuff standpoint, and could conceivably work his way into save situations with Gregory Soto and Mason Montgomery currently holding down a ninth-inning spot. 

The Yankees received catcher-first baseman Omar Alfonzo, 26, currently at Class AA Altoona, and 18-year-old outfielder Luis Cruz, currently rostered on the Pirates' Dominican Summer League teams.

The trade adds to the Pirates' and Yankees' history of exchanging relievers, with New York acquiring current closer David Bednar and former closer Clay Holmes from Pittsburgh in recent seasons.

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The Washington Nationals have lost three straight, including the first two games of a weekend set in Atlanta.

The Braves have won three in a row. The Nationals are +152 underdogs despite their bats heating up with the weather, however.

My Nationals vs. Braves predictions and MLB picks are calling for an upset as Washington breaks out of its skid on Saturday, August 1.

Who will win Nationals vs Braves tonight: Nationals moneyline (+163)

The Washington Nationals are over .500 this year and .593 on the road. For the Atlanta Braves to be -170 favorites, they'd better have an ace on the mound.

Instead, they have Reynaldo Lopez. 

His FIP is nearly a full run worse than his ERA, and he's susceptible to the long ball. That's trouble against a Washington offense that leads MLB in OPS and home runs.

The Nats have boosted their OPS by 124 points in the second half, hitting 45% over league average. In July, they had an .895 OPS and 146 OPS+.

I'd take Washington money until about +140.

COVERS INTEL: Lopez has still not bounced back from the shoulder trouble that plagued the end of his 2024 season and cost him most of 2025. His fastball velocity was in the 96th percentile pre-injury and is now in the 44th percentile after losing 4 mph. The loss of velocity is more damaging because he's also lost 150 revolutions of spin on his curve. His whiff rates are way down, and opponents' average way up on every pitch he throws.

Nationals vs Braves Over/Under pick: Over 9.5 (+101)

Washington should get back Luis Garcia Jr., who missed Friday's game to rest his knee.

He had a .941 OPS and 154 OPS+ in July. Unfortunately for the Nats, they'll probably need every one of those runs they score, because they're starting perhaps the worst regular member of a rotation in baseball.

Miles Mikolas has a 5.65 ERA, and his FIP (5.66) says that's exactly where he should be. 94% of pitchers have better run value, and he's in the bottom 1% in swing-and-miss.

The Braves scored 5+ in the first two games of the series and should keep that streak going against Mikolas.

Nationals vs Braves weather

It will be a humid night in the ATL, with winds blowing in from centerfield. 

Nationals vs Braves odds

• Moneyline: Nationals +163 | Braves -170
• Run line: Nationals +1.5 (-127) | Braves -1.5 (+122)
• Over/Under: Over 9.5 (+104) | Under 9.5 (-108)

Nationals vs Braves trend

Over is 5-0 in Lopez's last 5 starts in the division and 6-0 in Mikolas' last 6 starts on grass. Find more MLB betting trends for Nationals vs. Braves.

How to watch Nationals vs Braves and game info

Nationals vs Braves latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The New York Yankees officially put an end to the Camilo Doval Experiment and traded the righty reliever to the Pittsburgh Pirates, according to multiple outlets. They got two prospects in return, per Francys Romero: Double-A catcher Omar Alfonzo and outfielder Luis Cruz from the Bucs’ Dominican Summer League affiliate. Mark Feinsand also confirmed those names coming back to New York.

Doval wraps up his Yankees’ tenure with a 4.63 ERA in 58.1 innings between 2025 and 2026. In contrast, he had put up a 3.29 ERA in five years with the San Francisco Giants before becoming one of the Yankees’ 2025 deadline acquisitions.

Doval was having another subpar year in 2026, sporting a 4.54 ERA in 39.2 innings. He has to be one of the most frustrating cases in Matt Blake’s tenure as the Yankees’ pitching coach, as he had elite velocity and ground-ball rates, in the 96th and 97th percentile, respectively. However, the results were rarely there, as the right-hander dealt with inconsistency and poor command most of the time. Doval could simply never generate the kinds of strikeouts and whiffs that are often associated with triple-digit velo.

Doval, 29, goes to a Pirates team that is trying to contend this year and boasts a 55-56 record as of Saturday. As for the Yankees, they move on from one of their late-inning relievers, which signals that they might be on the market for another one.

Alfonzo was ranked 17th by MLB Pipeline in a strong Pirates’ system. A catcher who will turn 23 on August 3rd, he’s hit a .238/.337/.419 line in 62 minor league games in 2026, 60 of them in Double-A. He has a 100 wRC+ and hits left-handed. He is the son of former MLB catcher Eliezer Alfonzo and the brother of Dodgers rookie backstop Eliezer Alfonzo Jr. The Yankees’ catching depth in the system has taken a toll with trades in recent years, so Alfonzo helps in that regard.

Cruz is just 18 years old, so he is at least a few years away from the majors. Unranked among the Pirates’ top 30 prospects, he has hit a strong .318//.475/.364 with no homers, seven stolen bases, and a 135 wRC+ in the Pirates’ Dominican Summer League.

Update

Although the Yankees could still make a trade for a reliever to take Doval’s place, they will have a fresh arm ready in Chicago tonight regardless. Triple-A reliever Yovanny Cruz—another hard-throwing righty—will step into the bullpen. He’s appeared in three games for the Yanks this year, in separate stints, not allowing a run in 4.1 innings of one-hit ball with six strikeouts. Cruz has a 3.53 ERA in 35.2 innings at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2026.

No trades yet for the Blue Jays. And Kevin Gausman is making his start today. Likely his last start for the Jays. Maybe they will try to sign him again for next season, but I’m doubting it at the moment. But, few Blue Jays players have made it so clear that they like Toronto and that they like Canada. I appreciate that.

And it sounds like Daulton Varsho will be traded. I think that is a good thing for him. Even if he doesn’t hit like he did last year, if he can play solid defense for the last couple of months of the season, with a contender, that should give him added value in free agency

Luis Urias leads off today, which, well fine. I like him leading off against a lefty much more than Nathan Lukes. Both Straw and Varsho are playing. And Davis Schneider fills the other outfield spot.

It's officially MLB trade season.

With the Aug. 3 deadline fast approaching, contenders are scouring the market for the final pieces to bolster their postseason pushes, while sellers are looking to restock their farm systems with future talent.

Tarik Skubal remains the biggest name expected to be moved before the deadline. The reigning two-time American League Cy Young Award winner is headed for free agency after the season, and USA TODAY Sports' Bob Nightengale reports the Los Angeles Dodgers are viewed as the favorites to land him. Still, could a contender such as the Milwaukee Brewers swoop in and pair Skubal with phenom Jacob Misiorowski?

Elsewhere, how aggressive will contenders such as the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs be in pursuing upgrades? The New York Mets and Los Angeles Angels appear poised to be among the deadline's biggest sellers, particularly with the Mets falling short of expectations despite a payroll north of $300 million. Several deals have already been completed, but the market is expected to intensify as the deadline nears.

USA TODAY Sports will provide live updates and analysis throughout the MLB trade deadline. Follow along below for a complete tracker of every deal.

TOP 25 MLB TRADE DEADLINE TARGETS: Ranking best players available

With the MLB Trade Deadline quickly approaching on Aug. 3, Mets starter Clay Holmes is preparing for every situation.

As things stand, Holmes told reporters Saturday ahead of the team's game vs. the Miami Marlins that he is scheduled to pitch another rehab game Sunday.

"It seems like Brooklyn is kind of the play right now," Holmes said. "That's likely the case. There's still some weather around, similar as last time, just looking out. I think the plan right now is to throw in Brooklyn."

Interim manager Andy Green added: "At this moment, Clay is slated to pitch in Brooklyn, 70-75 pitches. He’s strong, still getting built up at this point in time. This could change at a drop of a hat, as the situation changes. At this point in time, that’s our expectation. We’re going to operate that it’s a 2 o’clock game there. Expect Clay to be on the mound right there."

It's very possible that New York deals Holmes between now and the Cyclones game at 2 p.m., let alone the 6 p.m. deadline on Monday. When asked about the expectation of being traded, Holmes said it feels more likely he's dealt than not.

"There’s no guarantees in this sport. Obviously, with the situation we’re in, it’s pretty likely," Holmes said. "It’s really just wait and see. We’ll see what the next few days hold."

Holmes and New York had mutual interest in a contract extension, according to SNY MLB Insider Chelsea Janes, but the pitcher said last week there hasn't been any progress toward a new deal. He was asked about it again Saturday, reinforcing his belief that a trade is the likely outcome.

"No. Seems like it’s the same path. I think the trade is most likely right now. Nothing has changed."

Green acknowledged the trade discussions, but made it clear the team doesn't feel they should stop him from pitching as he continues his rehab.

"Market interest getting up to a point where it’s imminent," Green said in response to what could change between now and his rehab start. "There’s obviously discussions involving Clay. We’re not at a point where we feel it’s necessary to shut him down. We do feel that there’s a lot of interest across the industry. We’ll see where it goes. As an organization, he’s still being built up a little bit, so there’s still work to be done for him."

Holmes last pitched in the majors on May 15 when he suffered a fractured right fibula on a comebacker. He's since made rehab starts in the minors, one in Single-A and one in Triple-A, and feels ready to return to the big leagues.

"Yeah I'm ready," Holmes said. "Obviously there's a lot of factors that goes into it right now. But I'm more than ready to pitch in the big leagues, if I was the one making the decision. There's just a lot of factors and I respect that."

He added: "I think the big thing is just, I threw 60 pitches last time, so I just want to continue to build that. Hopefully my next start I'll be ready for a full clip, wherever that is. I think it's just kind of the last check of the rehab, as far as kind of building the pitch count back up. I think if we get to that number, we'll be in a really good spot."

Overall, Holmes owns a 2.39 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 52.2 innings over nine starts this season. He also has a $12 million player option for the 2027 season that he's likely to decline, giving another reason for New York to look to move the pitcher.

Saturday’s matinee matchup between the St. Louis Cardinals and Toronto Blue Jays will feature the Major League debut of Quinn Matthews. He’ll compete with Kevin Gausman who gets the start for the Blue Jays. First pitch is scheduled for 2:07pm central time and the TV broadcast will be available through Cardinals.tv.

MLB Trade Rumors: The Seattle Mariners have starting pitcher George Kirby generating trade interest, per Jeff Passan, who says that teams think that he is “available and could be moved” at the trade deadline. Passan also says that Emerson Hancock and Luis Castillo could also be moved.

Seattle has reportedly been shopping Castillo for a while. However, Castillo has been awful this season and is under contract for $22.75 million this year and next year, with a $25 million vesting option for 2028 that is triggered if he throws 180 innings in 2027, so the Mariners would have to eat a good chunk of his deal just to give him away.

Hancock, 27, is having a decent year after being replacement level or worse in his major league career previously, putting up a 3.26 ERA while seeing his K rate jump and his walk rate decrease. He still has a 4.15 xERA and 3.74 FIP, however, and is giving up a fair amount of loud contact.

Moving Castillo or Hancock would not be that noteworthy — Castillo would be a salary dump, Hancock is someone they’d potentially be selling high on, and if they traded either one they’d still have a full five man rotation. Kirby, though, would be more significant. He’s not been as good the past two seasons as he was his first three years in the league, but he’s still a reliable mid-rotation starter who is under team control through 2028, and is making just $6.55 million this year.

Seattle is currently three games back in both the American League West and in the Wild Card race, although they would have to pass four teams — currently Cleveland and Minnesota, who are tied for WC3, as well as the Rangers and the Orioles — to get a Wild Card spot. Fangraphs still has them with over a 40% chance of making the playoffs, so they aren’t out of the race by any means.

It could be that the Mariners, who lost the first of a three game series at home against the Twins on Friday, are simply testing the waters to see what is out there, or preparing for a worst case scenario if a bad weekend drops them farther down in the standings. It is also possible, though, that the Mariners front office sees a landscape with a bunch of teams fighting for playoff positions, few sellers, and the ability to reap significant returns by dealing starting pitching, with an eye towards positioning themselves better for 2027.

Of course, the Rangers could find themselves in a similar position. Evan Grant said yesterday that, if the Rangers do poorly this weekend, Joc Pederson, who is set to hit the free agent market this offseason, will be in much demand. The Rangers would be 2.5 games back in the division in the event of a sweep, and probably a similar amount back in the Wild Card race, and one would hope that that would be close enough that the team wouldn’t end up in full-fledged sell mode.

On the other hand, ownership has seemingly indicated a desire to save money. Dealing Pederson wouldn’t just get a decent prospect or two back, it would shed roughly $6 million in salary over the remainder of the season. And we’ve already heard unpleasant rumblings about the possibility of Texas looking to move Corey Seager to save money…and if the Rangers decided to be sellers and deal Seager on Monday, would Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom sent packing as well, in an effort to make Ray Davis & Co.‘s bottom line as black as possible?

It occurs to me that if the Rangers take the next two games in Houston — or even split — there will be pressure on the team to buy, to add payroll, to make a push to try to win a very winnable division. Losing the next two games would potentially provide cover for the Rangers if they decided to go into sell mode, reaping benefits of the concomitant payroll savings that would ensue.

And leads me to wonder…what outcome do you think Ray Davis, deep down, is rooting for this weekend?

Boy, did the Yankees need that shutout win over the Cubs to end what has been an often times painful July on a relative high note. We’re just past the two-third mark of the season and a little over 50 hours away from the MLB Trade Deadline, meaning the Yankees will open August in a mad scramble to see which teams they can line up with to potentially acquire reinforcements for the stretch run. Before we get to that, let’s take one last look back at the month of July and the performance of the roster assembled by GM Brian Cashman.

Cashman polled at a 41-percent approval rating in both April and May as the Yankees were neck-and-neck with the Rays for the division lead, led by a pair of superstar offensive talents in Aaron Judge and Ben Rice. But then came the annual June swoon, and while they avoided it for a couple weeks, it did eventually strike with a vengeance. From June 20th through the end of the month, the Yankees won just two of eleven games including an embarrassing four-game sweep by the then-last-place Red Sox at Fenway, that sweep going on to catalyze Boston’s surge back into contention. By the end of the month, Cashman’s approval rating was polling at a minuscule nine percent.

Those losses continued to pile up to open July, the Yankees winning just two from seven to start the month. This saw them fall from 3.5 games up in the division on June 17th to five games behind the Rays on July 8th. They did manage to split a four-game set at Tampa — no small feat — and swept the Nationals in Washington to seemingly turn the month around. A series loss to the Dodgers brought them back to Earth, though they followed that up with series wins over Pirates and Phillies. I suspect the mood surrounding the fanbase would be a lot more positive had they not fumbled away the final two games of their four-game set against the White Sox, the bats going dormant and the mental errors piling up in those two extra-innings losses.

With the long-term injuries to Judge and Giancarlo Stanton and the additional injury to Cody Bellinger, the Yankees offense simply lacks the players outside of Rice who are capable of producing on a consistent basis. Indeed, Rice, Judge, Bellinger, and Paul Goldschmidt are the only lineup regulars producing at an above average level — two of those players are injured while the rest of the lineup has been worse than league average. There is a very real chance that neither Judge nor Bellinger are back until mid-September if for the regular season at all, so barring an unlikely spending spree at the Deadline, this is the group of bats relied upon to make it into the playoffs.

The dichotomy between the performance of the offense and the performance of the pitching staff has been quite stark in July and reveals how much the pitchers have carried the team. In July, Yankees hitters posted the highest strikeout rate, fifth-lowest walk rate, lowest OBP, second-lowest batting average, third-lowest wRC+, and eighth-lowest fWAR in baseball. Meanwhile, their pitching staff ranks second in strikeout rate, third in batting average allowed and WHIP, fourth in ERA, seventh in FIP, and fourth in fWAR in MLB. If not for the performance of their pitchers, I shudder to think of where the Yankees would be in the standings.

The problems on offense run so deep that it is hard to see an avenue to addressing their woes at the Trade Deadline. They’ve been linked to right-handed hitting catchers Ryan Jeffers and Hunter Goodman and are rumored to have checked in on shortstops CJ Abrams and Zach Neto. However, given their additional desire to upgrade the bullpen, you wonder whether Cashman has the appetite or the resources needed to make the multiple moves necessary to plug their numerous holes (or if some of these potential partners actually sell). Trading for just one of those guys is likely to cost a fortune, and I’m skeptical that the front office would empty out the farm system to the degree needed for substantive improvement.

That brings us to today’s task. Do you approve of the job Brian Cashman has done through the end of July? On one hand, the Yankees had a winning record in July, entered the month 3.5 games back of the Rays, and exit the month… 3.5 games back of the Rays, so they’ve managed to tread water despite the injuries and anemic offense. On the other hand, the Red Sox have come roaring back to be just a fw\ew games back of the Yankees for second, and you seriously question how much longer the pitching staff can continue to carry the offense. The polarizing GM certainly elicits stronger feelings than can be captured in a one-word response — you may feel a question such as the one being posed requires more nuance, greater elaboration, or a wider selection of options than just a “yes” or a “no,” however for the sake of this exercise, a binary question works best.

Note: This is the same poll that is currently appearing on the Feed, so if you’ve voted there, that should already be counted.

Injuries provide a reasonable cover especially when they are clustered so dramatically, and the A’s certainly had a double-triple-quadruple whammy when they lost Zack Gelof, Tyler Soderstrom, Jacob Wilson, Nick Kurtz, Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, and Shea Langeliers, in overlapping stretches in which often several have been out at the same time.

Without a doubt these injuries, which came on the heels of already losing Brent Rooker for the season and Denzel Clarke for most of one, have impacted the A’s ability to score runs and put their best defense out there. It’s also true that when the team was mostly healthy, they were hitting a lot at home and very little on the road. But the impact has been real.

Here’s the thing, though…the A’s big issue all season has been pitching. The team’s ERA of 5.34 beats out only the Colorado Rockies (5.50) and is a full .026 worse even than the team which ranks #28, the Washington Nationals.

Some of this is the Sutter Health Park effect, but on the road the A’s are squarely mediocre at best, ranking 16th in ERA, 18th in HR prevention, 14th in BB allowed. At home they are dead last in ERA (6.36, next closest is 5.82), HR allowed (108, next closest is 90), and BB allowed (250, next closest is 239).

And that’s where the injury excuse goes out the window. Health has not been the barrier for the A’s, flat out performance, and the development which breeds performance, are the clear culprit. I say this because really the A’s have had only one key injury to their entire pitching staff and that was losing Luis Severino after just 12 starts.

No doubt the A’s miss Severino who, for all his inconsistency, tended to get deep into games and whose 4.16 ERA would look pretty good right now. It’s also not any sort of excuse or explanation of struggle, to lose your biggest workhorse and top SP at least in name — in reality, if slotted into the rotation right now Severino would be behind both JT Ginn and Gage Jump in any realistic depth chart.

The A’s simply don’t have the market cornered on losing one of their aces and having to try to compete anyway. The Red Sox have been without Garrett Crochet much of the season, including July when they went 21-4. The Astros just moved into 1st place, albeit just a game over .500, having been with their ace Hunter Brown for all but 10 starts. Gerrit Cole has made only 12 starts for the Yankees, Carlos Rodon only 9.

Sure some of these teams have deep pockets and much more established talent, but the overarching point is that every team has to expect to lose at least as much as one key SP for a long stretch. Why haven’t the A’s been able to weather it at least well enough to win half their games — which, as it turns out, would leave them 0.5 game out of 1st place?

The problem has not been health, it’s been huge steps back by 2 pitchers who were expected to be important contributors: Jacob Lopez and Luis Morales. Jack Perkins, also gifted with plus stuff, has similarly been unable to harness it with enough control and command to thrive. Jeffrey Springs leads all of MLB in HRs allowed and has only been able to “adjust” to the tune of sporting a career high 47.1% fly ball rate.

In reality, with JT Ginn and Gage Jump thankfully progressing, even absent Severino the A’s had the pitching talent to contend in a weak AL West even as they were getting battered by position player injuries. Ginn, Jump, Morales, Perkins, and Lopez may not have the track record of a Mariners, Red Sox, or Yankees rotation, but in terms of their stuff that’s a rotation that could have emerged as a strength not a weakness.

Instead, Lopez continued to struggle to avoid missing his target by 2 feet and throwing an inordinate number of “accidental pitchouts” until he had to be optioned to AAA. He was excused as “having a funky delivery” without regard to the fact that you either need to be able to repeat and harness said delivery or you need to tweak it.

Morales may have “electric stuff” but he alternates missing the strike zone entirely with leaving pitches in the middle of the plate and he gets rocked hard — when he’s not issuing far too many free passes. So far, no one either in the minors or majors seems to have been able to help him throw the ball where he wants to with any frequency.

Perkins may have finally taken a big step forward in his last start, for which he was aptly punished by being yanked after just 69 pitches so the bullpen could immediately blow it for him and tag him with the loss. But like his lefty colleagues, he has long struggled to repeat his delivery and locate consistently leading to high pitch counts and low success rates.

So no, 2026 didn’t go south-and-then-some because of injuries or because of the hitting or fielding, even though all 3 took hits that feel like someone is putting a green and gold sweater on a black cat and rolling them under a ladder at midnight. The issue has been the inability of talented pitchers, who have been healthy, to develop and take steps forward instead of stalling or sliding back down the hill in reverse and into the ravine of irrelevance.

That’s how and why you go a sad 23-32 in May and June combined, only to follow it up with a 5-19 July. Even as the A’s get position players back faster than they lose them, they are going to remain stuck in quicksand until they figure out how to help their most talented young pitchers take steps forward. Let’s hope the recent glimpses from Lopez and Perkins are the beginning of a new beginning. We’ll know just a little bit more tonight when Perkins takes the mound.

The Yankees aren't just going to be buyers this deadline season.

According to multiple reports, the Yankees are trading reliever Camilo Doval to the Pittsburgh Pirates for two prospects. The deal is in the medical review stage.

Doval, who was acquired from the Giants at last year's deadline, has struggled in his brief time in pinstripes.

In 22 appearances last season with the Yankees, Doval pitched to a 4.82 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP, converting one save out of three attempts. 

This season, Doval started as the bridge to closer David Bednar and those struggles continued. In 44 games, Doval has pitched to a 4.54 ERA with a 1.41 WHIP. 

Doval is still owed around $2 million for the season, which the Pirates will assume $750,000 of it, according to the New York Post's Joel Sherman.

New York tried to get Doval back to his All-Star self, but others in the bullpen have stepped up. Brent Headrick, Fernando Cruz, Tim Hill and, most surprisingly, Paul Blackburn are pitching very well for the Yankees this season, whichmade Doval expendable. The Yankees will still look to add to the 'pen, but they now have a spot they can fill.

The Yankees are receiving catching prospect Omar Alfonzo and outfielder Luis Cruz back in the deal. Both will come from the Pirates' Dominican Summer League affiliate. 

Alfonzo is the Pirates' No. 17 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. This season, he's played 60 games in Double-A, where he's slashed .239/.338/.420 with an OPS of .758. He has nine home runs, 10 doubles and 35 RBI. The 22-year-old is left-handed.

Cruz, 18, is still in the rookie development system.