Category: MLB

Surprise! I know it’s not Friday. But big thanks to Trenton! I’m going to be out tomorrow, so he graciously switched with me, and you get him tomorrow. I have even more good news for those who dislike my Friday Rumblings: I’ll be out of town the next two weeks. I believe Cullen and Max will be grabbing those, but I could be mistaken. Also, big thanks to them!

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At The Star, Jaylon Thompson writes about Kris Bubic’s status:

The Kansas City Royals have scratched left-handed starter Kris Bubic from his scheduled rehab outing on Wednesday. Bubic was set to pitch around three innings with Triple-A Omaha. It would’ve been his third rehab appearance with the Storm Chasers.

However, Royals assistant general manager Scott Sharp joined Sports Radio 810 WHB and said Bubic will return to Kansas City. He will undergo further evaluation as he deals with left-shoulder soreness.

“I wish I had a little bit better news,” Sharp said. “Kris was supposed to pitch tonight. I don’t think he’s going to. He’s going to come back to Kansas City. And we just can’t get the final little bit of soreness out there. We’ll continue to be hopeful with continued treatment and rest that we can get him back sooner than later.”

Anne Rogers writes about it as well:

Bubic was transferred to the 60-day IL on Wednesday, which was more of a procedural move rather than directly related to this new setback; the Royals needed a 40-man roster spot to add reliever Jose Cuas and call him up to the big leagues. The 60-day IL dates back to Bubic’s initial IL date on May 15, so he’ll be eligible to return July 14. With this setback, Bubic wasn’t going to be back in the next two weeks, anyway.

Some better injury news from Rogers?

Vinnie Pasquantino & Kyle Isbel participated in BP and defensive drills today. The plan was to get them to AZ to continue rehab later this week, but they're actually going to stay in KC to continue their work. Expectation/hope is that both go on a rehab assignment next week.

— Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) July 1, 2026

ICYMI: Max wrote about some of the roster moves yesterday: Cuas and Dobnak up, Cerantola down, Seabold to IL, and Bubic to 60-day.

Max also wrote about Chourio and Mitchell going to the MLB Futures Game.

Going back to Thompson, he also wrote about Cole Ragans. He had surgery and is… you know what? He put it all in a couple of sentences. Better to read it from him:

Kansas City Royals ace Cole Ragans underwent left-elbow surgery Wednesday. Ragans, 28, is expected to miss the remainder of the 2026 season. It’s his third major elbow procedure as he previously underwent two Tommy John surgeries earlier in his career.

Fortunately, the game on the field is going better than off, right?!?

Loudest applause at The K so far is when the #Royals fans tried to pair an inflatable hot dog and hot bun together in the stands.

They were successful.

— Jaylon T. Thompson (@jaylonthompson) July 2, 2026

Listicles?

At The Athletic ($), Tim Britton and Chad Jennings list their trade deadline tiers:

Tier 6: Typical sellers
New York Mets
Colorado Rockies
Kansas City Royals – SP, RP

The Rockies expected to be here, the Mets and Royals less so. While Mickey Moniak and Freddy Peralta and Kris Bubic are useful pieces to move, these squads don’t really have the rosters to shake up the deadline by embracing a more aggressive sale. Maybe the Mets make some guys with team control available (like Brett Baty or Mark Vientos), but that would be because they’re enduring disappointing seasons that have depressed their value.

At CBS Sports, their baseball writers hand out halfway grades:

Kansas City Royals: F

Two years ago, the Royals made the playoffs. Last season, they had a winning record. This season, they are among the worst teams in baseball. The good signs (breakouts from Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone) are overshadowed, quite greatly, by the bad. Injury concerns with Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic linger and the bullpen is a complete mess. Injuries to Vinnie Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia haven’t helped matters, but the offense was lackluster even with them in the lineup. It’s just been all kinds of bad in K.C. this season. — Snyder

Finally, at ESPN, Anthony Gharib names the “Red, white, and bobby” bobblehead the best 4th of July giveaway.

And, just a quick little “around baseball” blurb, Happy Bobby Bonilla Day to all who celebrate!

Blogs?

Let’s lead off with Kevin O’Brien at Royals Keep “Three Ex-Royals Players Who Are Thriving With Their New Teams”:

While Clarke’s profile is flawed, which explains why the Royals were okay with letting him go, he’s been dependable for the Diamondbacks, even in medium- to high-leverage. He has 11 holds this year, his highest mark in that category since 2023 when he had 12 holds in 58 plate appearances. Clarke will likely surpass that number barring an epic collapse or injury.

Considering the Royals bullpen ranks 29th in reliever ERA and 30th in WHIP, Clarke would be a worthwhile arm to have right now, especially in the late innings. Lucas Erceg and Matt Strahm have struggled, and Carlos Estevez has only pitched in one game due to injury. The Royals closer likely won’t be back anytime soon after another setback, according to Anne Rogers.

Gotta be honest: kindof surprised Taylor Clarke is having a cromulent year.

At Into the Fountains, Craig wrote about Tuesday’s ugly loss (as opposed to last night’s, which I’m sure he’s writing about now*).

*I don’t know how last night’s ended up, honestly – the Royals were only down 2-0 when I finished writing this.

Blog Roundup?

• Also, Kevin O’Brien at Royals Keep: Chourio and Mitchell Name to All-Star Futures Game Rosters
• Philip Ruo at Royals Keep: Kansas City Royals Pitcher of the Month: June 2026
• Darin Watson at U.L.’s Toothpick: This Date In Royals History–1976 Edition: July 1 – Oakland scores three in the ninth to beat the Royals
• Jacob Milham at KOK: Royals Blake Mitchell’s prospect pedigree takes brutal hit after MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 update
• Nick Halden at KC Kingdom: Bobby Witt Jr. deserves more MVP buzz despite shortcomings of Royals roster

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Since it’s not Friday, I figure a couple of movie reviews of movies I watched a month or two ago feels about right. Also, I went back and counted – this entry pushes us past 200 Friday Rumblings movie reviews. It’s almost a lock that I will eventually collect all of them in a low-effort link post one of these days.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026)

I didn’t care much for the first one, due to its scattered plot and characters.  This one is more focused.  It still has a few different plots, but they aren’t nearly as disparate – they all mostly come together in the end. Because of this focus, there aren’t as many laugh-out-loud moments as the first due to this focus on plot. It expands the, ahem, galaxy reasonably well, but I’m not sure how much further they can go with this.  As I said about the first, they tried too much kitchen sink with an origin story, lots about Bowser, Donkey Kong, Mario Kart, and more.  It’s left less ground to cover for the future.  Star Fox was a fine addition, and maybe we’re going towards Super Smash Bros.  In short, it’s pretty and works reasonably well, better than the first.  But it’s still mostly forgettable and, sadly, I think Nintendo’s movies will burn out sooner rather than later.

Zootopia 2 (2025)

The first was wonderful – one of the better animated movies of the last decade.  It’s a movie that didn’t assume kids are just dumb consumers and tried to teach lessons in genuinely creative and entertaining ways.  It took almost a decade, but Zootopia 2 mostly delivers, even if it suffers some sequelitis.  If you look too literally at this one, the main quest in this kids’ movie involves tracking down a 100-year old patent to disprove fraud.  Of course, it’s really about learning to be yourself and learning to live with and finding value in others. That lesson is, once again, taught within a colorful, lived-in world with multi-faceted characters, full of modernized lessons that don’t assume kids are dumb. It’s not as fresh or original as the first. And maybe it will age better on subsequent watchings (Spiderverse 2 did for me).  But it is a worthy sequel, and I’m ok waiting another decade if the Disney team wants to keep putting out

Elio (2025)

The next couple of movies are original IPs, which makes it even more unfortunate that both miss the mark.  This one starts with a colorful and interesting premise. However, it leans heavily on two common Pixar tropes: a tragic introduction to our protagonist that eventually melts into the “two unlikely companions” buddy pic. There are times when the movie dreams big: like the Carl Sagan’s bits and universe-building.  But, most of the time, it lacks the smartness or sharpness that Pixar used to traffic in. It feels paint-by-number: alien families are just like human families, communication misunderstandings between races that ham-handedly mirror those between our main characters, our protagonist and his new friend were always going to save the day, and he was always going to go back to his adopted family on Earth.

Some pieces of a much better movie might be in there, but the finished product is not it.  I wonder about the production difficulties. Adrian Molina co-directed Coco, which was easily one of the Pixar’s best movies of the last decade.  He was the original director of this film, which drew on his personal life story.  However, he left for (or was pushed to) Coco 2 – it’s a little unclear.  Some combination of the new directors, Pete Docter, and the 2025 political climate removed Elio (per wiki) as a “queer-coded character”. Allegedly, this made it “much more generic” and about “totally nothing”. That could have been the heart that the final cut lacked. I’ve always said that kids are almost always smarter than we give them credit for, and Pixar reliably made bank on that for 15 years. They can still surprise you, but those hits are mixed in with lots of shiny, brainless shlock or sequels of movies from when they were better.

Wish (2023)

Wish, perhaps unfairly, had the weight of Disney’s 100^th birthday on its shoulders. They tried to do an old-fashioned fairy tale, right down to the legacy Disney book introduction.  It employs an interesting style of animation and the more I watched it, the more gorgeous it looked.  I like the basic idea of the movie, but –  here come the buts – it takes a long time to get anywhere.  There’s not enough plot and too much filler (like Alan Tudyk) yet still gives short shrift to major plots like Simon’s betrayal and “redemption”.  Some of the morality is vague and questionable, particularly for an old-school fairy tale; the idea of stealing wishes and who those wishes really belong to is greyer than it needs to be. And, critically: the movie never quite feels earnest enough to live up to its message. I really wanted to like the “You’re a Star” scene and the animation is fun. But it’s also a reminder that metafiction is hard to do and this movie misses the mark more often than not.  Considering how much musicals rise and fall with their tunes, the music for this one is just… fine.  I appreciate that they really tried to make a new animated classic. They just weren’t up to the task this time out; Better luck next time. Unfortunately, because these failed, we’ll probably be treated to more safe, unoriginal sequels instead.

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Song of the day? How about we use one from one of the movies above?

Whenever I give updates on minor league stats, I’m always conflicted about how many players to include. Some of it is time management-related. Obviously, if I cover every conceivable player, it will take me time I sometimes don’t have. But I also am not particularly interested in writing 5,000 words for one of these either. So I inevitably have to exclude some players. So a couple weeks before the All-Star break and thus when I’m going to start squeezing in the first half updates, I thought I’d get a head start and tackle the rookie leagues, a league I haven’t actually done yet.

These are players you probably won’t need to know for many years and frequently never, but sometimes there’s a Raniel Rodriguez in the mix. Just two short years ago, Rodriguez was on a rookie league update and next year, he might see the major leagues. But most of the time, it’ll be like Ivan Herrera – he would have appeared in the 2017 update (if I was doing them then), he didn’t make his first MLB appearance until 2022, and he wasn’t a regular until 2024. Doesn’t make it not fun when a player makes it and you remember them from the first time you saw their name though.

Dominican Summer League

Hendrick Caña, RHP – 18

Stats: 4 GS, 15 IP, 29.9 K%, 4.5 BB%, 42.1 GB%, .415 BABIP, 3.00 ERA/3.03 FIP/3.74 xFIP

Caña has improved his K rate from 23% last year and his walk rate is a third of what it was last year while his GB rate has remained. While he has pitched fairly well, he has hit three batters – hence the weirdly high xFIP despite a phenomenal K/BB ratio. If you add the walks and HBP, it’s a 9 BB%, which is obviously not quite as impressive. But he has improved a lot nonetheless.

Daniel Gomez, RHP – 18

Stats: 5 GS, 17 IP, 24.6 K%, 5.8 BB%, 42.6 GB%, .319 BABIP, 2.65 ERA/3.96 FIP/4.17 xFIP

Gomez is pitching fairly similar to last year, although he has produced more swing and miss – his swinging strike rate last year was 11.9%, and this year it’s 15.4%. His K% has only marginally rose making me wonder if perhaps if we can expect more strikeouts by the end of the year. Gomez represents the last DSL pitching prospect I will post. Not a prospecty group here. The two 17-year-olds who’ve actually pitched any innings have been not good and I guess it’s different with pitchers, but I generally kind of ignore any 18-year-old in the DSL for prospect purposes.

Sebastian Rojas, C – 17

Stats: 79 PAs, .385/.456/.677, 10.1 BB%, 12.7 K%, .292 ISO, .400 BABIP, 157 wRC+

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: there’s a catcher in the Cardinals system destroying the ball. Is this guy going to get some prospect love over the offseason? I don’t think anybody is writing about the DSL guys yet, but I am just amazed that I blink and there’s another catching prospect.

Luis Estrella, OF – 17

Stats: 83 PAs, .333/.434/.580, 12 BB%, 27.7 K%, .246 ISO, .429 BABIP, 136 wRC+

Oh okay so this league is like that. Got it. That should be much better than a 136 wRC+, or at least it would be at just about any other pro league, but I see that the DSL is on some Coors Field shit. Not to diminish Estrella, but he seems like a probably bad defensive outfielder, because he’s played 11 games in RF, 3 games at 1B, and 3 games at DH. I feel like if you’re getting zero centerfield play at this level, it’s not a good sign. Throw in the strikeouts and proceed with caution.

Yeferson Portolatin, SS – 18

Stats: 79 PAs, .228/.443/.439, 25.3 BB%, 20.3 K%, .211 ISO, .282 BABIP, 123 wRC+

I normally wouldn’t make a point to post an 18-year-old’s stats from the DSL, but Portolatin was actually a better hitter last year. I’m not entirely sure why they didn’t take him to the stats – he had a 145 wRC+. Throw in that he’s a clear shortstop and I thought he was worth mentioning. I don’t know if it’s a difference in run environment or why he stayed in the DSL – but his ISO has improved from .148 to .211. His better line last year was almost entirely BB-related as he had a 29% BB rate, giving him a .483 OBP. But power genuinely seems to be up in this league.

Lucas Takahashi, OF – 17

Stats: 63 PAs, .261/.460/.261, 25.4 BB%, 27 K%, .000 ISO, .414 BABIP, 109 wRC+

Takahashi played last season as a 16-year-old and walked his way to a nearly average line. This time he’s actually got a decent average. That said, he’s yet to hit an extra base hit in 108 PAs at the DSL level. That’s not great. His most played position is CF so that’s the good news.

Michael Cordero, 3B – 17

Stats: 78 PAs, .246/.397/.410, 17.9 BB%, 28.2 K%, .164 ISO, .342 BABIP, 101 wRC+

Cordero also played a significant amount as a 16-year-old last season and I kind of wish he had made more progress from last season. He’s been better, but not by much, and most of his stats are very similar to last year. You hope a 16-year-old with a 95 wRC+ improves more than a 101 wRC+ the next season.

Roberth Castillo, 2B – 17

Stats: 69 PAs, .271/.362/.441, 11.6 BB%, 20.3 K%, .169 ISO, .333 BABIP, 91 wRC+

Yeah the run environment is crazy if that’s a below average hitting line. Castillo has played some games at SS too. I don’t know if he’s limited to 2B right now because of Portolatin, or if he’s more of a 2B who’s just getting reps at SS so he can be a fill-in. But you’d think he’d play more SS if the Cardinals thought he was one. Looking at these other lines makes it crazier that Takahashi can’t hit an extra base hit right now.

Florida Complex League

Xavier Cruz, RHP – 20

Stats (CPX): 5 G (2 GS), 15.1 IP, 43.5 K%, 12.9 BB%, 47.4 GB%, .190 BABIP, 3.52 ERA/5.98 FIP/3.12 xFIP

Low A: 2 G, 5.2 IP, 40.7 K%, 22.2 BB%, 50 GB%, .250 BABIP, 4.76 ERA/5.85 FIP/4.11 xFIP

This is a very strange season for a pitcher who seems to not actually know where the ball is going. It’s either going to be a strikeout, a walk, or a home run. He has struck out 38 guys in 21 innings, and he didn’t really slow down when he arrived in Palm Beach. He hasn’t allowed many flyballs either… it’s just it’s probably a homer if he does allow a flyball.

Gabriel Chinchilla, RHP – 19

Stats: 9 G (4 GS), 33.1 IP, 29.5 K%, 11 BB%, 44.7 GB%, .373 BABIP, 6.48 ERA/4.58 FIP/3.91 xFIP

Gabe, buddy, you’re almost there. We Gabes have to stick together. You have a fan for life. Looks like things just need to bounce his way more often – great K rate, decent amount of groundballs, too many walks, but not too bad. It’s just a very low LOB%, a very high HR/FB%, and a very high BABIP. I choose to believe you’ve been very unlucky.

Jan Cabrera, RHP – 21

Stats: 8 G (6 GS), 30.2 IP, 23.1 K%, 9 BB%, 57.3 GB%, .375 BABIP, 2.93 ERA/4.26 FIP/4.38 xFIP

As a counterpoint to the idea that only 17-year-olds are prospects in the DSL, Jan Cabrera exists. He was good, not great pitcher in the DSL as a 20-year-old. This year, he’s turned into a groundball machine (just 31 GB% last year). Granted, Cabrera still isn’t really a prospect, but he’s at least interesting.

Sebastian Dos Santos, SS – 18

Stats (CPX): 27 G, 112 PAs, .264/.429/.586, 19.6 BB%, 24.1 K%, .322 ISO, .315 BABIP, 143 wRC+

Low A: 11 G, 54 PAs, .200/.407/.300, 20.4 BB%, 27.8 K%, .100 ISO, .292 BABIP, 115 wRC+

Last year, the Cardinals had a few guys in the DSL who hit like the league was way too easy for them. Dos Santos was one of those players, and he made it looked like the complex league was too easy as well. That’s why he’s now in Palm Beach. So far, so good. Probably can’t walk 20% of the time forever, but I appreciate a patient hitter.

Miguel Hernandez, SS – 19

Stats: 36 G, 141 PAs, .259/.390/.500, 15.6 BB%, 24.1 K%, .241 ISO, .316 BABIP, 117 wRC+

I would not necessarily describe Hernandez as someone who made the DSL look too easy, but he had a very good season and he’s picked up exactly where he left off. For what it’s worth, because both he and Dos Santos are sort of shortstops, Hernandez has played a fair number of games at 2B. I’m assuming he became the full-time SS as soon as Dos Santos was promoted. It probably answers why Portolatin was left in the DSL actually.

Cristofer Lebron, 3B – 19

Stats: 37 G, 144 PAs, .280/.371/.488, 11.8 BB%, 24.3 K%, .208 ISO, .353 BABIP, 108 wRC+

Feels absurd to just say Lebron’s last name for obvious reasons, but that’s why he needs to make it. Lebron is having a solid season that if it continues, should put him line to spend next season at Palm Beach.

Kenly Hunter, OF – 18

Stats: 28 G, 109 PAs, .261/.398/.352, 15.6 BB%, 16.5 K%, .091 ISO, .319 BABIP, 99 wRC+

It just feels like the name Kenly Hunter should be a power hitter, so to it’s kind of surprising that he’s the opposite of that. He has played all three outfield positions nearly equally, though CF does top the games played. He also also stolen 11 bases to 1 caught stealing in these 28 games. Feels like he’s a centerfielder!

Juan Pablo Cabrera, C – 19

Stats: 26 G, 96 PAs, .273/.350/.416, 10.4 BB%, 17.4 K%, .143 ISO, .328 BABIP, 96 wRC+

Oh hey a relatively normal catching prospect! They do exist! Even so, this is pretty solid. Good amount of walks, not a lot of strikeouts, some power. He’s not going to be on a top 20 list, but he’s just really continuing to add to the catching depth.

Royelny Strop, OF – 18

Stats: 37 G, 137 PAs, .207/.350/.324, 16.1 BB%, 24.8 K%, .117 ISO, .276 BABIP, 76 wRC+

Pedro’s son struggled for most of his DSL tenure, but surged at the end, leading the Cardinals to bring him to Florida. So it should probably not be a shock to see him struggling to begin his rookie ball tenure in America. He’s not so overmatched though that I think it was the wrong decision. Hopefully, he finishes strong again this season.

Juan Rujano, C – 18

Stats: 21 G, 74 PAs, .227/.311/.348, 6.8 BB%, 29.7 K%, .121 ISO, .310 BABIP, 64 wRC+

Rujano actually had the better season than Cabrera in the DSL, but he’s gotten off to a rougher start. In fact, Rujano was actually ranked 29th on the Cardinals’ team list by Fangraphs entering this season. With that said, he’s also a year younger and it’s no cause for an alarm if an 18-year-old is struggling at this level.

Yaxson Lucena, OF – 18

Stats: 23 G, 88 PAs, .114/.295/.157, 19.3 BB%, 15.9 K%, .043 ISO, .143 BABIP, 33 wRC+

What an interesting line. Given the power and the BABIP, it’s probably safe to say that Lucena has been hitting the ball pretty weakly. But I do find him walking more than he’s struck out encouraging. For what it’s worth, Lucena is one of the hitters who laid waste to the DSL – he had a 141 wRC+. The approach is there, just not the punch.

Definitely covered more names than I would have if I tried to squeeze the rookie leagues into my normal update. And a couple names might end up on the normal update since they are now in Palm Beach. Not as exciting of a year in the DSL as last season (though maybe another Raniel!), but plenty of names to follow in the complex league.

Let’s start with the good news. The Cleveland Guardians beat the Texas Rangers in a classic 9-run punt lineup that featured David Fry leading off and Austin Hedges hitting a home run. Nick has the full recap here.

Ralphy Velazquez has been selected for the All-Star Futures game. Cooper Ingle has also been selected, but will not participate due to his recent MLB promotion.

Ralphy Velazquez is a ⭐️

Huge congratulations to Ralphy Velazquez on being selected to represent the Columbus Clippers in the All-Star Futures Game!#ClipShowpic.twitter.com/mWZOTe7bcY

— Columbus Clippers (@CLBClippers) July 1, 2026

Now, for some potentially bad news. Justin Campbell was slated to start in Columbus last night for his AAA debut. Campbell was pulled during warmups. Other than the below video showing where Campbell gestured to the training staff, there is no further updates at the time of writing.

This is the Justin Campbell injury. Pay less attention to the arm circle with his left arm and more at when he motions to the dugout. Appears to point towards his back. Hopefully not an arm issue. pic.twitter.com/h56N5H8L99

— Matt (@BelowAverageOPS) July 1, 2026

Around the League

The White Sox lost to the Baltimore Orioles last night, putting the Guardians just one game back heading into a four game series against the ChiSox.

With the August 3, 2026, trade deadline fast approaching, it will soon be challenging to follow the flurry of rumors and transactions as they unfold across the league.

Inevitably rumors will spread about who from the Colorado Rockies other teams are interested in, and writers will post unrealistic mock trade ideas. Before that all starts to kick off in earnest, it would be useful to ground ourselves in some basic context for what the front office of the Rockies is most likely to be trying to do.

Based on their record, the Rockies will obviously be looking to sell current major leaguers for prospects but which players they are actively looking to move is the key. Remaining years of team control is the simplest thing to sort players by when determining which are most urgent to try and trade now.

The CBA negotiations taking place this offseason could alter the timeline that players reach free agency and/or adjust the arbitration system, but until the two sides of those negotiations start exchanging proposals that look anything remotely similar to one another’s, the best bet is to make transactions as if the same basic structure that currently exists will remain in place.

Given that assumption, here’s what the Rockies Roster Resource page tells us about their likely priorities before August third.

Free agents after this season

• SP Kyle Freeland
• SP Michael Lorenzen
• SP José Quintana
• SP Tomoyuki Sugano
• RP Antonio Senzatela

Technically both Lorenzen and Senzatela have club options for next season, but the Rockies are unlikely to exercise either. Freeland has an option that will vest if he reaches 170 innings this year, which is still possible but highly unlikely.

If the Rockies receive an offer for any of these players, there is almost no reason to hold on to any of them. The question for this group is what, if anything, will be offered. Senzatela is the only one who has performed well enough throughout the season to garner much interest, and even he has been hit by regression recently. The front office will almost certainly take the best deals available (if any), with no questions asked.

If any of these players are still on the roster after the trade deadline, it’s probably safe to assume that no useful returns were offered for them.

Free agents after 2027

• OF Mickey Moniak
• UTL Willi Castro
• RP Jimmy Herget

Unlike the true rentals above, the Rockies don’t technically need to move any of these players. If the Rockies don’t get a decent offer, they could keep them around and see what their value looks like in the offseason. What’s more, each of these players could, theoretically, be slotted into the 2027 Rockies opening day roster without much issue.

Given the Rockies lack of a realistic chance at fielding a competitive team in 2027, however, keeping them is probably not Plan-A. With that in mind, this trio represents the highest combination of both likelihood to be moved and potential to bring back useful prospects.

Greg's trade targets for the Rays:

1. Tarik Skubal
2. Luis Arraez
3. Mickey Moniak
4. Jo Adell
5. Lars Nootbaar
6. Spencer Steer
7. Gleyber Torres
8. Taylor Ward
9. Aroldis Chapman pic.twitter.com/s3R6iVqNJn

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) July 1, 2026

Castro, Moniak, and Herget have each had torrid stretches of production at points this year that indicate they could meaningfully contribute on a contender. None of them is a star, but none of them are on particularly expensive contracts. Each comes with another year of control that will be appealing to teams considering giving up prospects.

Finding the best deals possible for these three will very likely be near the top of the front office’s priorities over the next month.

Free agents after 2028

• OF Jake McCarthy
• UTL Tyler Freeman
• DH Kris Bryant
• SP Ryan Feltner

If the previous two groupings are defined by the urgency with which the front office is likely moving to find interested buyers, this quartet is the first group that is more likely to be on the team next season than not.

Obviously, Bryant isn’t going anywhere. The Rockies will be paying him until his contract runs out after 2028, regardless of whether he ever steps foot on a baseball field again.

Given the Rockies lack of short-term options in the starting rotation and Feltner’s inconsistent performance, it would be shocking to see him moved.

That leaves Freeman and McCarthy, who are more plausible trade candidates. Both could garner enough interest to warrant moving, especially considering that the outfield may be the one area of the Rockies roster that has decent depth for the foreseeable future.

Neither of them is a priority to move right now (because of the years of control and their flexibility), but if another team came to Paul DePodesta with a good deal for either, he would need to consider it. If these players are moved, it will be because other teams came calling with good offers.

Free agents after 2029

• C Hunter Goodman
• 2B Edouard Julien
• OF Brenton Doyle
• RP Brennan Bernardino
• RP Victor Vodnik

This is an odd group. On one hand is an All-Star catcher that hits a home run seemingly every other day. On the other is a collection of young players that have shown glimpses of promise in the past but have disappointed recently.

Oh, and then there’s Bernardino who is a useful lefty reliever that any team could use, but few will be specifically targeting.

To set expectations: It’s very unlikely any of these players (aside from perhaps Bernardino) is traded before the 2026 deadline.

For Julien, Doyle, and Vodnik their combination of underperformance and years of control means there is little urgency to sell low on them now. It’s probably more likely that one, or more, of this group is designated for assignment in the next 12 months if they continue to struggle than it is that a real trade partner materializes before August.

Trading for Hunter Goodman would be the biggest Pirates trade since… 2018

Colorado's 26 y.o. catcher has an .848 OPS and 26 HR (only 8 HR at Coors), and isn't a free agent until 2030

Would it be worth it to trade Edward Florentino or Seth Hernandez for the All-Star? pic.twitter.com/E6VlhQcOXm

— Bucco Territory (@BuccoTerritory) July 1, 2026

That brings us to Goodman, who has been the topic of much debate here on Purple Row. Regardless of where you stand on whether the Rockies should be trying to trade him right now, it’s obvious that they have no reason to settle for a deal that they don’t think meaningfully alters the competitive outlook of the organization.

Goodman’s remaining time under control means there will be plenty of opportunities to re-assess the market should no contenders decide to pay a steep price for three and a half seasons of his services.

2030 and beyond

Everyone else on the Rockies roster is not currently set to reach free agency until at least 2030, which is too far in the future to be able to accurately predict what the club’s competitive situation will actually look like. Making decisions on those players at this stage is very far down the priority list.

It is possible some of the players under control for this long end up getting moved (Troy Johnston, Juan Mejia, etc.), but that would be fueled more by the particular buyer’s needs/interest than the Rockies’ own priorities.

Conclusions

With the list above to work from, we can start to see a pretty clear picture of what is likely to happen throughout July. The Rockies will be actively pursuing deals for the first two groups of players and passively considering offers for the latter two.

Expect a flurry of small to mid-size moves while holding your breathe for the slim possibility of a franchise-altering blockbuster if a contender pushes all the chips in for Goodman.

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On the Farm

Triple-A:Round Rock Express 6, Albuquerque Isotopes 5

There were a lot of things that went right in this game for the Isotopes. A handful of players had good performances: Sterlin Thompson (No. 13 PuRP) had a double and a home run, Ryan Miller started the game with two scoreless innings, Conner Capel worked two walks, and Bryant Betancourt hit a solo home run. In the end though, Round Rock (TEX) ended up walking off on a two run shot allowed by TJ Shook in the ninth.

All of that, however, is overshadowed by what Charlie Condon (No. 1 PuRP) was able to do with his three monstrous hits.

Double-A:Somerset Patriots 5, Hartford Yard Goats 3

The Yard Goats were only two for seventeen with runners in scoring position which is what sank their hopes of a win. Otherwise, they played a solid game that had a number of contributors.

On the mound the best performance was from Cade Denton who threw three scoreless innings and only allowed two hits. At the plate though, this game was about Roc Riggio (No. 14 PuRP) and Jack O’Dowd. Riggio had himself a great showing with three hits including a double and a homer while also managing to steal his tenth base of the season. O’Dowd, who hit a home run in his first game at Double-A on Tuesday, smacked another in his second game since being promoted and paired it with a double for good measure.

High-A:Spokane Indians 5, Hillsboro Hops 3

Jordy Vargas (No. 21 PuRP) got the start and managed to get through five innings on 86 pitches. He allowed three runs on four hits which did not look like it was going to be enough for Spokane to win the game as they’d scored only once —on a solo shot by Tommy Hopfe — before Vargas was relieved by Austin Emener in the sixth.

By the time Nathan Blasick took the mound in the bottom of the eighth, however, the Indians found themselves with a two-run lead. That late offensive support came primarily from Ethan Hedges (No. 29 PuRP) and Jacob Hinderleider who combined for six hits including a four doubles. Blasick earned a two inning save while recording four strikeouts.

Low-A:Fresno Grizzlies 9, Ontario Tower Buzzers 5

The Grizzlies lineup was a consistent force throughout this game and managed to score a run in every inning other than the first and seventh. From top to bottom the lineup collected nine hits and nine walks. They didn’t limit their onslaught to weak contact, however, as Roldy Brito (No. 11 PuRP) collected his eighth triple of the season and all of Wilder Dalis (No. 24 PuRP), Cameron Nelson, and Yeiker Reyes hit home runs.

On the mound, starter Easton Marks struggled, allowing three runs in only two innings, but the arms that came in after him pitched more than well enough to secure the victory. Grif Hughes struck out five over four and a third innings of two run ball before giving way to Seth Clausen who closed down the final two and a third innings.

DSL:DSL Rockies 4, DSL Miami 3

The DSL Rockies were able to get the win based primarily on solid pitching and good baserunning.

Maique Basanta and Emanuel Mejia combined to pitch the full seven inning game and allowed only two hits and two walks between them. At the plate the clear standout was center fielder Gemerson Blanco who led off and managed to score two runs on three hits.

The real story of the game though was the DSL Rockies baserunning. All of Daiel Meza, Hector Barroso, Douglas Veliz, Ishel Comenencia, and Emil Perez stole a base and this aggressive traffic on the basepaths led to three wild pitches from DSL Miami pitchers.

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10 MLB Hitting Prospects Who Stood Out In June 2026 | Baseball America ($)

Not one, not two, but three Rockies farm hands made this list from Baseball America’s Geoff Pontes. Both Condon and Zac Veen, who have been crushing balls in Albuquerque all month, somewhat predictably are included. Joining them is less well known nineteen year-old outfielder Cristian Arguelles, who is excelling in his first season stateside in the Arizona Complex League.

Moniak correcting his swing, ‘bad habits’ following return from IL | MLB.com

Before going on the Injured List in mid-May, Moniak was off to the best start to the season of his career. He had struggled a bit at the plate in his first few games since his return. Thomas Harding talks with Moniak about the trouble he’d had and the adjustments he made to regain that early-season form.

MLB sees no link between factory defect and liveliest baseball since year of the homer in ‘19 | The Athletic (Gift Link)

The month of June saw a substantial increase in the distance balls were flying in MLB games. The total sample size of games since the shift has not been large, but the effects have been noticeable enough to raise eyebrows across the league. Eno Sarris and Evan Drellich dig into that shift and MLB’s initial response to it in this piece by The Athletic that is very useful context on the league-wide run environment.

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Good morning, baseball fans!

The San Francisco Giants are off today, but they head to Coors Field to take on the Colorado Rockies starting tomorrow.

Ah, Coors Field. Noted destroyer of baseballs, souls, hopes and dreams. Depending on your outlook, this couldn’t have come at a worse or better time. The two teams are once again scrapping for fifth place in the division. And the Giants are the laughing stock of the baseball world in nearly every aspect.

I don’t have much (if any) goodwill left for this team at the moment after the way they have screwed up…well, everything this year. So personally, I think this is the best possible time for this series. I look forward to the chaos and embarrassment. It’s like the second half of 2016, but without the false hope.

So let’s get our guesses in for how many home runs the Giants pitching staff will allow at Coors Field this weekend. And next week, I’ll take a look back at this post and anyone who got the correct answer will get burned at the stake for being a witch a shoutout for being prophetic!

My guess is that they will allow eight home runs. Because that’s my lucky number, but also it seems like a fairly low guess.

How many home runs do you think the Giants will allow this weekend?

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 9, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Yankees) 5

This was a strong showing from the Tides lineup. Nine of the 10 hitters that appeared in the game had at least one hit. Heston Kjerstad and Christian Encarnacion-Strand both homered and drove in two runs. Enrique Bradfield Jr. had a pair of hits, a stolen base, and a run scored. Jonathan Rodríguez, Ryan Noda, and Bryan Ramos had one double apiece. Creed Willems went 1-for-3 with a single.

Christian Herberholz tossed five solid innings and allowed one run on four hits, two walks, and six strikeouts. His lone earned run came on a solo homer in the first inning. The bullpen was less impressive. Anthony Nunez recorded one out and allowed a run. Chris Kachmar gave up three runs over 1.2 innings. And then Nick Raquet and Andrew Magno both tossed one scoreless inning to wrap up the win.

Double-A: Chesapeake Baysox 8, Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets) 4

Three Baysox hitters went deep in this win. Ethan Anderson hit his 16th bomb, Thomas Sosa homered for the seventh time, and Wily Vasquez left the yard for the second time. Frederick Bencosme walked once, stole two bases, and scored one run. Anderson De Los Santos doubled, walked, and scored two runs.

Juaron Watts-Brown had another good start to earn the win. He worked 5.1 innings and allowed two runs on six hits, two walks, and four strikeouts. Over his las tthree starts he has lowered his ERA from 8.78 to 6.75. Ben Vespi gave up one run over 2.2 frames in the middle innings. And then Ryan Long allowed one run in the ninth inning to close it out.

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets) 13, Frederick Keys 7

Four of the five Frederick pitchers that worked this game had a bad day. JT Quinn gave up four runs (three earned) over 4.2 innings, though he also struck out five. Cohen Achen served up four runs in his lone inning of work. Chandler Marsh was the only arm that can be satisfied with his outing. He recorded four outs without allowing a baserunner. Todd Kniebbe gave up two runs in his inning, and Raimon Gomez coughed up a trio of runs, including two homers, in the ninth inning.

Yasmil Bucce led the offense for Frederick. The catcher went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, a walk, two runs, and two RBI. Wehiwa Aloy doubled, walked, and drove in a run. Edwin Amparo got his first High-A double, drove in two, and scored a run. Ike Irish went 1-for-5 with a single. It was a nice game for the lineup, just not enough when the pitching staff struggled so badly.

Low-A: Charleston RiverDogs (Rays) 9, Delmarva Shorebirds 4

Dalton Neuschwander started for Delmarva. He got through four innings and allowed just one run, but then things fell apart in the fifth. That inning saw Charleston score six runs and put the game out of reach. The bullpen did well to keep things as close as possible from there. Luis Beltrán, Kenny Leiner, and Zac Lampton combined for the final four frames. None of them were charged with earned runs, but Leiner was on the mound for two unearned runs in a messy eighth inning that included a hit by pitch, three wild pitches, and a throwing error.

Braylon Whitaker did a nice job setting the table for the Shorebirds atop the order He went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, a walk, and a run scored. Stiven Martinez drove in two runs with his seventh home run of the season. DJ Layton had a pair of hits, his 22nd stolen base of the season, and an RBI. Cobb Hightower went 1-for-4 with a single

Box Scores

Thursday’s Schedule

Norfolk: at Scranton Wilkes-Barre, 7:05. Starter: Cade Povich (0-1, 5.06 ERA)

Chesapeake: vs Binghamton, 6:07 pm. Starter: Joseph Dzierwa (2-1, 2.78 ERA)

Frederick: vs Brooklyn, 7:00 pm. Starter: Yeiber Cartaya (1-1, 2.29 ERA)

Delmarva: vs Charleston, 7:05 pm. Starter: Andrew Herbert (2-2, 1.21 ERA)

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Yesterday, following a second straight loss to the increasingly unlikeable Washington Nationals, the Red Sox appropriately flew west into the setting sun to begin a nine game road trip. Their season is either on the brink, or already dead (depending on who you talk to), and their future is vastly uncertain.

Looking ahead, the trade deadline is still a month away (Monday, August 3rd at 6:00pm), but thanks to a bit of scheduling quirk and the All Star Break, there’s now just one homestand left for the Red Sox before we get there (July 17th through the 26th against everybody in the AL East other than the Yankees). So this has me wondering, when will the next meaningful baseball game at Fenway Park occur?

If you want to be wildly optimistic, you could say it will be their very next game there on July 17th, coming out of the All Star Break. If the Sox rip off something like a 7-2 road trip, they would still be close enough to sniff the third Wild Card entering that pivotal stretch, and it would very much be “game on” given how horrible the AL is this year and the likelihood of some big names coming back soon.

However, if you want to be wildly pessimistic, you could say the next meaningful game at Fenway Park won’t occur for another two years. Suppose the Sox have a disastrous west coast road trip and go something like 2-7? Then they sell pieces coming out of the break (officially ending contention in 2026) and run head first into a crippling lockout that wipes out the entire 2027 season.

The real answer is probably something in the middle, but I’m kind of amazed I don’t have to squint too hard to see either extreme.

Talk about this and whatever else you like in this tread, and as always, be good to one another! (Also, stay cool out there in this heat!)

Goalkeeper Jack Butland has left Rangers to join newly-promoted Premier League club Hull City for an undisclosed fee.

Butland's exit comes two days after Rangers signed Hull goalkeeper Ivor Pandur for £6m.

The 33-year-old former England international made 157 appearances in his three-year Rangers stint, winning the League Cup in December 2023.

Butland told the Hull City website: "The last few years playing at an incredible club like Rangers, somewhere I hold close to my heart, meant it had to be something really enticing to change that.

"The European nights and all the experience I gained up in Scotland, and my experience prior to that, are going to set me up perfectly for the challenge ahead this year.

"The Premier League is the best league in the world and, personally, it's a great opportunity to be on the biggest stage again. I believe it's the level I'm capable of playing at, and I've done it before."

I think it’s safe to say that the Phillies have Paul Skenes’ number this season. They roughed him up for the second time this season after teeing off on him in Pittsburgh back in the end of May. Take a gander at this stat from friend of the site Paul Boye:

That’s what we like to call “being owned”.

On to the links.

Phillies News:

• The Phillies will have two representatives at the All-Star Futures Game to be played at Citizens Bank Park: Gage Wood and Wei-Hui Pan.
• Bryce Harper’s defense has regressed badly this season by most metrics. Here are some ideas on how he can improve. ($)
• The Phillies outfield needs help. Can they make do until the trade deadline? ($)
• You know all about Derek Hill’s recent heroics. But did you know that he paints his own cleats? ($)

MLB News:

• Nationals’ pitcher Cade Cavalli has issued a statement regarding the incident involving Willson Contreras of the Red Sox that instigated a benches clearing brawl.
• Mets owner Steve Cohen may have just fired manager Carlos Mendoza, but he is intent on not firing president of baseball operations David Stearns.
• Corey Seager is headed back to the IL with lower back inflammation.
• We are almost exactly one month away from the trade deadline. Who are the buyers, who are the sellers, and who is still stuck somewhere in between? ($)

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:L, 9-5 vs. Norfolk Tides

3B Jonathan Ornelas 1-4, BB, K
C J.C. Escarra 3-5, 2B, K
2B Marco Luciano 2-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI, K — has had a hell of a year, 15 homers and .957 OPS across two levels
RF Yanquiel Fernández 1-4, 2B, BB, K
1B Tyler Hardman 0-4, BB, 3 K, SB
DH Ernesto Martinez Jr. 0-4, BB, 3 K
LF Kenedy Corona 1-3, BB, K
CF Duke Ellis 0-3, RBI, K, SF
SS Owen Cobb 0-4, K, fielding error

Don Hamel 6 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 HR (loss)
Eric Reyzelman 0.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HR
Angel Chivilli 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K — has been sharp in Triple-A this season
Dylan Coleman 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K

Luciano strikes lightning twice! 🌩️

It's the infielder's FOURTH two-homer game this season — two in Double-A @SOMPatriots and two at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.#RepBXpic.twitter.com/5JmhSRJfUm

— SWB RailRiders (@swbrailriders) July 2, 2026

Double-A Somerset Patriots:W, 5-3 vs. Hartford Yard Goats

CF Trent Grisham 1-3, 2B, BB — hard double in the fourth inning
1B John Cristino 0-1, K
DH Jace Avina 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB — great year continues, 16 dingers
RF Jackson Castillo 2-3, 2B, RBI, BB
LF DJ Gladney 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI
3B Coby Morales 1-4, 3B, 2 K
C Miguel Palma 0-3, BB, K
1B Josh Moylan 1-4, 2 K, GIDP
SS Kevin Verde 0-4, K
2B Connor McGinnis 2-4, K , fielding error

Xavier Rivas 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 4 K — Somerset pitching combined for 19 (!) strikeouts, a franchise record
Miguel Arias 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 2 HR
Trent Sellers 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
Hayden Merda 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K (win)
Chris Kean 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (hold)
Tony Rossi 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (save) — first save of the season for Tony

DJ Gladney DESTROYS his 14th HR of the season!

419 feet 📏
110 mph 🔥 pic.twitter.com/rwzTx1BFIW

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) July 2, 2026

High-A Hudson Valley Renegades:L, 5-3 vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks

2B Kaeden Kent 0-4, BB, K
SS Core Jackson 1-4, 2B, K
RF Wilson Rodriguez 1-4, RBI, K, CS
C Eric Genther 2-3
1B Kyle West 2-4
3B Roderick Arias 1-2, 2 RBI, BB, K, SF
DH Enmanuel Tejeda 1-3
CF Camden Troyer 0-4
LF Robbie Burnett 0-3, BB, K

Luis Serna 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 HR (loss)
Andrew Landry 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Wilmy Sanchez 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HR
Thomas Balboni Jr. 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K

Wilson Rodriguez hits a hard liner into right field to score Kaeden Kent!😎 pic.twitter.com/lkWI5rTjxq

— Hudson Valley Renegades (@HVRenegades) July 2, 2026

Low-A Tampa Tarpons:W, 6-0 at St. Lucie Mets

SS Jackson Lovich 3-5, RBI, K
2B Hans Montero 1-4, BB, K
C Luis Puello 0-3, BB, 2 K
RF Logan Maxwell 3-4, 3 RBI, BB, K
3B Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek 0-3, 2 BB, K
CF Brando Mayea 0-4, BB, K
LF JoJo Jackson 1-2, BB
PR-RF Isael Arias 0-1
1B David McCann 1-4, RBI, 2 K
DH Ediel Rivera 1-4, 3 K

Thatcher Hurd 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K (win) — 2024 third-rounder had a ten-run disaster start in May, but has been nails since
Brian Hendry 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Jose Martinez 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Jordarlin Mendoza 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K

Florida Complex League Yankees:W, 9-8 (9) vs. FCL Tigers — game was called with none on and two out in the top of the ninth due to inclement weather

3B Richard Matic 0-4, BB, 2 K
CF Wilberson De Pena 0-3, 2 K, SB
DH Queni Pineda 1-1, HR, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 3 SB
2B Leni Done 1-2, BB, 2 SB
LF Jose Castro 1-3, HR, 3 RBI, BB, SB
RF Francisco Vilorio 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, K
SS Dexters Peralta 2-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB, 2 SB — ten steals for the Yanks in this one
C Justin Capellan 0-4, 2 K, SB, CS
1B Diego Flores 0-3, 3 K

Sunayro Martina 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Marco Manzano 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K (win)
Brian Arias 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Jorge Luna 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 0 K
Rafael Arias 2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Austin Breedlove 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (save)

Dominican Summer League Yankees: Off-day.

Dominican Summer League Bombers: Off-day.

It’s July — the trade deadline is in sight!

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to publish a series of articles that survey the league’s trade landscape as it relates to the Brewers. We’re going to start by looking at the team’s needs and surveying the league to see who might be selling before the August 3 deadline. In the following weeks, we’ll look at specific targets that could be available at the Brewers’ positions of need.

So — what are those positions of need?

Need #1: a high-leverage reliever

The most obvious place, and in my opinion, the most realistic place, that the Brewers could upgrade is the bullpen. Trevor Megill and Abner Uribe have both turned it around after shaky starts to the season, but beyond them, the Brewers can’t feel great about the state of this group.

Aaron Ashby leads the league in wins, but he’s being worked hard and hasn’t been as effective as he has been the previous two years. Ashby has 39 appearances, tied for the second-most in the National League, and his 50 innings pitched are sixth in the league among players who’ve primarily relieved this season. Given Ashby’s swingy history, he might be able to keep up this pace, but he’s been plagued by command issues this season; Ashby currently has his worst ERA, FIP, WHIP, H/9, HR/9, and BB/9 since he missed the 2023 season with shoulder issues (though it should be acknowledged that his strikeout numbers are the best of his career).

Chad Patrick’s recent issues are troublesome. After he looked so great in last year’s postseason, it looked like he was ready to be a high-leverage reliever, and he excelled in that role after moving back to the bullpen in early May. But the last three weeks have been bad; in six outings between June 10 and June 27, Patrick allowed 14 runs, all earned, in just 9 2/3 innings. His meltdowns contributed directly to two losses in those six games. Whether Patrick finds it again could be a sneaky harbinger of the Brewers’ success this season, and his last two outings have been scoreless, so we’ll see.

There are more questions. Grant Anderson doesn’t profile as a high-leverage guy. Shane Drohan has pitched well out of the bullpen, but he’s more of a long-relief guy than a high-leverage one. DL Hall looked good early but is again injured. Jared Koenig is back in the big leagues, but he’s working with diminished velocity and is a huge question mark. Craig Yoho may or may not be ready to contribute at the major league level, but it doesn’t look like he’s going to be given enough leash to prove anything. Joel Kuhnel is not the answer.

The Brewers have two high-leverage relievers, Megill and Uribe, even if their numbers this season aren’t as good as previous years. (I’m particularly unbothered by Megill’s “step back” — he struggled early but has a 1.33 ERA and 0.84 FIP (!) since April 14.) Depending on how you feel about Ashby, they might have three. At this point, there are too many questions around the other guys for me to consider them reliable.

This is certainly an area worth upgrading, but it’s tricky. Relievers are notoriously fickle, and the Stearns/Arnold Brewers’ track record on relievers acquired at the deadline — of which there are quite a few — is bleak. While the current front office has not shown a ton of aggression in the mid-season trade market, they have traded for at least one relief pitcher every trade deadline since 2017, barring the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

The stakes feel higher this season, and the proverbial cupboard is loaded. This feels to me like the most realistic place to make a meaningful upgrade to the roster.

Need #2: another starter?

It seems almost silly how much starting pitching major league teams need in 2026. Milwaukee started the season with 11 guys who could reasonably compete for a starting job with the Brewers, and that doesn’t include Ashby or Hall.

Well, here we are in early July, and nine of those 11 guys have started a game in the big leagues, the 10th is out for the season, and the 11th has pitched in long relief in the majors and is currently on the IL. The front office correctly identified that you need that many guys to get a pitching staff through a whole season, and their recent offseason moves have reflected that.

But do the Brewers need more? Quinn Priester is out for the season. Logan Henderson has missed time and will need to prove he can stay healthy. Carlos Rodriguez wouldn’t be much help even if he were healthy. Coleman Crow doesn’t quite look ready to contribute to winning yet, and he’s on the IL, too.

That leaves seven of those 11 guys healthy, but Chad Patrick is pitching out of the bullpen at the moment, Shane Drohan has been better from the bullpen (and probably belongs there, if not for all the injuries), and another, Robert Gasser, has yo-yoed between Nashville and Milwaukee this season. Brandon Sproat has looked great his last few times out, but he has a lot to prove. Brandon Woodruff looks healthy, but that will be a question all season.

Jacob Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison have both been excellent. But Harrison, at least, will need to prove that he can keep up his excellent level of play through a whole season, and particularly in the postseason when high-powered opponents will have scouted the crap out of him. Both of these pitchers —and this is also true of Henderson, Drohan, and Crow, too — will be running into innings pitched issues.

There are two ways the Brewers could go here if they choose to make a move. They could make a huge swing for one of the top arms available, or they could look for an innings eater to take some of the pressure and innings from the young guys. Both approaches have their merits and their risks.

Need #3: offensive help

It feels like a broken record to say that the Brewers need a power bat, so I’m not exactly going to say that they need a power bat. I’m instead going to suggest that they should at least explore the possibility of acquiring someone who will help offensively. The Brewers are not a bad offensive team, but they are a team that can look bad, and they are definitely a team that can have a three-hitter black hole in the lineup. That might be a big problem in the postseason.

The question here is how you go about upgrading the offense in a manner that is both a) realistic and b) logical, from a fit perspective.

One truth needs to be spoken: the Brewers are not going to bury Christian Yelich, at least not in the regular season. After a good first couple of weeks, Yelich has been alarmingly poor at the plate for most of the last two months. Since April 7, which was just the 11^th game of the season, Yelich is batting just .225/.313/.350 with only four home runs in 40 games. Worse, his Statcast page is the worst it has ever been; he’s not only not driving the ball with authority, but he’s also swinging and missing a ton. Yelich continues to be generally disciplined about not swinging at balls, but he’s whiffing way more than he ever has.

Moving Yelich into a strict platoon could help, though he’s barely been better against right-handed pitching than he has been against left-handed pitching in 2026. (His career numbers indicate a platoon could be beneficial.) But we probably need to accept the fact that Yelich — who makes about $24 million dollars a year for two more years after this one — is going to be around and will be in the lineup more often than not. This is ironic, as one of the most interesting ways in which the Brewers have exceeded expectations relative to their peers over the last few years has been by not playing players who aren’t helping, an action which is directly related to the fact that they don’t have many older, highly paid players. But it’s hard for me to see a scenario where Yelich’s playing time is reduced to anything other than a strong-side platoon role, and who knows — a couple of adjustments could get him right again.

Figuring out where this new bat would fit in is a challenge. The obvious answer would be third base: the single easiest way to upgrade the offense would be to acquire a third baseman who can hit, regardless of the side of the plate, but more likely as a right-handed hitter. The pickings are quite slim, which we’ll look into in a later installment.

Another option could be an outfielder. Milwaukee has been playing Blake Perkins frequently against left-handed pitching, and while he’s borderline competent from the right side of the plate and good in the field, that could certainly be upgraded. (Brandon Lockridge’s return could change this a bit, but while Lockridge is likely an upgrade on Perkins and is an overall useful player, he’s not exactly “short-term offensive upgrade” material. The same could be said for Luis Lara.) Jake Bauers has been getting starts against left-handed pitching, but has been just slightly above average; a good platoon bat would be an upgrade. It would also prevent you from situations where the lineup against a left-handed starter would include both Joey Ortiz and Perkins, plus one of Bauers, Garrett Mitchell, or Sal Frelick in a platoon disadvantage.

Given the numbers on the roster, a right-handed bat makes the most sense for an upgrade. Positionally, it looks like that would need to be either an outfielder or a third baseman, unless you were okay with acquiring an Andrew Vaughn-type that would be used essentially strictly as a soft-side platoon option with Yelich.

Who’s selling?

Now to the part that makes everything complicated: the league has kind of sucked this year. The Brewers, at 53-31, are one of just seven teams league-wide with a win percentage above .550. Right now, the leaders of the AL Central, the White Sox, are just 45-40. The leaders of the AL West, the Rangers (did you know that the Rangers were leading the AL West?) and Mariners, are both just 44-43.

This means a lot of bad teams still have hope. The Royals are last in the American League with a 35-52 record, but even they are only nine games back of a Wild Card spot. Only four teams in the AL — the Tigers, Red Sox, Royals, and Angels — are more than 5.5 games back of a Wild Card spot:

• The Tigers are in their last year with Tarik Skubal. They’ll probably trade him, but they might also decide to keep him and make a run at it.
• The Red Sox have an interim manager (and fired most of the rest of their coaching staff, too).
• The Royals will probably sell, but they’re not going to do anything that meaningfully damages their immediate future, given that they have one of the brightest young stars in the league.
• The Angels are interesting because they’re now under the management of John Mozeliak. It’s unclear how much power he has to reshape the team, given his “interim” role, but the Angels seem to think they’re in it every year, so I don’t see them selling off any major pieces. Beyond those, there’s not much here.

There are a few other AL teams that could sell if they don’t see their place in the standings improve in the next month. The Orioles, like the Red Sox, are way back in their own division and are eight games under .500, but again, they sit just 4.5 games back in the Wild Card. Minnesota has also hardly inspired confidence, and they are five games under .500, but the AL Central is totally up for grabs, especially with José Ramírez missing from the Guardians’ lineup. The Astros and Athletics, likewise, could turn into sellers with a bad July.

The National League is a little bit different; each division has at least one team that’s clearly ahead of the rest. But there’s a bit of a gap between the second and third Wild Card in the NL, and there are currently six teams separated by just three games in the running for the third and final Wild Card.

The NL teams likely to be sellers if nothing improves dramatically in the next month are:

• The Reds, though they also have a lot of pieces worth building around.
• The Giants, who are a high-priced disaster.
• The Mets, who are an even-higher-priced, bigger disaster.
• The Rockies, a perpetual disaster that could finally be ready to make smart decisions.

The teams that could go either way include:

• The Cardinals, who currently sit tied for the last Wild Card spot but who have a -10 run differential.
• The Marlins, who are overperforming expectations (and are always eager to get rid of anyone who might cost them anything), but were the best team in baseball in June.
• The Padres, another team firmly in the mix but with a negative run differential.
• The Pirates, who will probably not sell because this is the closest they’ve been to competing in a long time.
• The Nationals, about whom you could say the same.
• The Diamondbacks, who are playing roughly .500 baseball despite a -24 run differential.

There’s one other consideration that could affect the market: the CBA situation. If low-payroll teams think there’s a chance that there’s a salary floor in 2027, they could figure it makes sense for them to keep higher-priced veterans rather than trading them for more minor league or league-minimum contracts, rather than face the prospect of filling out their rosters by giving a bunch of money on a one-year deal to a lower-tier free agent just to get to the floor.

We’ll have to watch and see how the next month plays out to know for sure who will be available, but in the coming weeks we’ll look at some possible targets.

Hello, friends.

Here’s my hot take: It’s more fun when the Orioles win than when they lose. Yesterday, as they stopped themselves from getting swept by the White Sox with a 6-1 victory, we saw a glimpse of what this team could be if enough of its pieces regularly came together. Dean Kremer returned from the injured list and pitched great, Tyler O’Neill hit a homer and made a good play on defense, and the bullpen didn’t spoil it. Check out my recap of the game for more of the lovely totals.

A challenge that’s been in front of the Orioles all year is the need to stack together some wins. They have rather infuriatingly not been able to do it yet. Each time they fail to do so, the next opportunity becomes that much more urgent. The Wednesday win puts them at 40-48, 4.5 games out of the wild card but with five teams to pass. The math gets tough in a hurry if they don’t start fixing some of their problems, especially considering the inflection point of the trade deadline (August 3) being much closer than the end of the season.

They won’t have a chance to do that today since they’re off today. Waiting for them next are the Cincinnati Reds, a team that was strong through the end of April but stunk it up in May and June. Although they have a better record than the Orioles, Cincinnati is farther out of the postseason picture in the NL than the O’s are in the AL. That’s the way it goes. The Orioles could play well against the Reds or they could have another one of these sleepwalk series. They are capable of good things! That’s what makes the bad ones showing up so often such a source of frustration.

In less major league-focused news, MLB announced the rosters for the 2026 edition of the Futures Game on Wednesday. The game will be played at noon on July 12 in Philadelphia. I think it’s kind of a shame they don’t even give these players prime time billing, but that’s a whole separate thing. Most teams have two players who made one of the rosters. That’s true of the Orioles as well. Two of their 2025 high draft picks are going to be on the roster: outfielder/first baseman Ike Irish, and pitcher Joseph Dzierwa.

Irish recently cracked MLB Pipeline’s updated top 100 list, checking in at #84. He’s doing well for himself in High-A Frederick, hitting .266/.388/.467 so far this season. Dzierwa may not be on any top lists yet but he’s getting more hype within Birdland for his results in Frederick and then with Chesapeake. The 22-year-old lefty has a 0.917 WHIP between High-A and Double-A, with 96 strikeouts in 76.1 innings. His results did not drop off after being promoted. It’s exciting. These guys being recognized is nice for them. Hopefully they get to make the most of the chance to make some good memories.

A year ago, the Orioles had outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. and pitcher Keagan Gillies as their representatives in the game. I think that’s a step up in prospect quality this year, for whatever that ends up being worth.

Orioles stuff you might have missed

Ryan Helsley experiences elbow discomfort warming up in Orioles win (The Baltimore Banner)
Yesterday’s win did not come without a cost. Helsley didn’t even make it out from the bullpen warmup before hurting too much to enter the game. He was already on the IL with elbow inflammation this year. Hopefully the next bit of news isn’t “the big one.”

Recapping the series of roster moves before Wednesday’s game (School of Roch)
A flurry of roster activity was involved in activating Kremer to make the start, plus adding a fresher reliver in Cameron Weston. More may be coming if Helsley’s situation turns into “put him on the IL right away.”

Creed Willems is forcing an interesting conversation (Orioles on the Verge)
What do you do with a guy OPSing .798 at Norfolk who’s seemingly blocked at any position the Orioles might have him play?

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Today in 2013, the Orioles traded Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop to the Cubs for Scott Feldman. This did not turn out to be a good idea.

There are a pair of former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2018-19 reliever Pedro Araújo, and 1963 pitcher Pete Burnside.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: author Hermann Hesse (1877), Baltimore native Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall (1908), Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas (1932), stock car racer Richard Petty (1937), musician Michelle Branch (1983), and gold medal judoka Kayla Harrison (1990).

On this day in history…

In 1644, the English Civil War saw its largest battle as an allied force of Parliamenterians and Scottish Covenanters fought Royalists in the Battle of Marston Moor. The battle, waged by over 40,000 men across both sides, was a victory for the Parliamenterian side in part thanks to an Oliver Cromwell-led cavalry charge. The Royalist defeat limited their ability to gather further strength from a generally sympathetic north of England.

In 1776, the Second Continental Congress approved the Lee Resolution, which proclaimed all ties with Great Britain to be severed by an independent United States. More well-known today is July 4, since this is when the Declaration of Independence’s text was approved by the Congress.

In 1863, Colonel Joshua Chamberlain and his 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry repulsed the Confederate attackers at Little Round Top in Gettysburg with a downhill bayonet charge. This was only one pillar of the Union’s defense in the three-day battle.

In 1937, Amelia Earhart made her last radio contact, after which she disappeared while attempting to make an around-the-world flight across the equator.

**

And that’s the way it is in Birdland on July 2. Have a safe Actual Independence Day.

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets (38-37/4-4)

WORCESTER 6, SYRACUSE 5 (BOX)

Syracuse and Worcester went back and forth in this one, with Syracuse falling late. The Red Sox got off to a 1-0 lead in the second following a scoreless first, but a double by Ben Rortvedt and a ground out by Cristian Pache made it 2-1.

Worcester got the lead back, 3-2, in the third inning, and and score held until the fifth. Vidal Brujan reached on a fielder’s choice which allowed a run to score in that inning, making it three apiece. Both teams scored two runs in the seventh, with both Mets runs coming off of a Nick Morabito single. The comebacks stopped there, however, with the Red Sox driving in a run in the ninth. The Mets threatened with two singles in the bottom of the ninth, but could not muster up a game tying hit.

• 2B Ji Hwan Bae: 2-5, R, 2B, K, E (4)
• CF Nick Morabito: 1-5, 2 RBI, 4 K
• RF MJ Melendez: 1-5, 2 K
• DH Christopher Morel: 1-5, R, 2 K
• 1B Ryan Clifford: 1-4, BB, E (9)
• 3B Yonny Hernández: 1-3, R, K
• 3B Zack Short: 1-2
• C Ben Rortvedt: 3-5, 2B, RBI, K
• LF Cristian Pache: 1-4, R, 3B, RBI, 2 K
• SS Vidal Bruján: 0-2, R, RBI, 2 BB, K
• LHP Zach Thornton: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 1 WP, 1 HBP
• RHP Guillo Zuñiga: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
• LHP Joe Jacques: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 WP
• RHP Ben Simon: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP
• LHP Jefry Yan: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 WP, L (2-1)
• RHP Dan Hammer: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (27-42/2-6)

CHESAPEAKE 8, BINGHAMTON 4 (BOX)

The final score for this game actually made it look closer than it was, because Chesapeake got out far ahead early. They scored three in the first, one in the second, two in the third and two in the fourth, which put them up 8-2 after four (the Rumble Ponies scored one in the first, with Nick Lorusso homering in the inning, and one in the third, with Nick Lorusso sacrifice flying someone home).

JT Schwartz drove in runs in the eighth and ninth, but it was too little, too late.

• CF Jose Ramos: 1-4, BB, E (6)
• 3B Nick Lorusso: 1-4, R, HR (14), 2 RBI, K
• 1B JT Schwartz: 3-5, R, 2B, HR (8), 2 RBI, K
• DH Kevin Parada: 0-4, BB, K
• C Vincent Perozo: 1-4, 2 K
• RF Matt Rudick: 2-4
• SS Wyatt Young: 1-4, K
• LF Jaylen Palmer: 1-4, R, 2 K
• 2B Nick Roselli: 3-4, R
• RHP Brendan Girton: 4.0 IP, 6 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 2 HBP
• RHP Brian Metoyer: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP
• RHP Carlos Guzman: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
• RHP Zach Peek: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (25-40/7-4)

BROOKLYN 13, FREDERICK 7 (BOX)

Brooklyn took the lead in the second after a scoreless first, and really coasted from there. They scored their first run of the game on a throwing error, and their second on a Trace Willhoite single. The Keys got one back in the bottom of the inning, but Brooklyn put the game away from there. They drove in a run in the fourth, on a Yohairo Cuevas homer, and then dropped five in the fifth. They loaded the bases in the inning, Cuevas walked in a run, and Willhoite hit a grand slam to put the game out of reach.

The Cyclones added two in the eighth and three in the ninth (which included Cuevas and Mitch Voit home runs), which helped keep the distance as the Keys scored four in the eighth and two in the ninth.

• SS Mitch Voit: 1-5, 2 R, HR (10), RBI, BB, 2 K
• 2B Yonatan Henriquez: 2-5, R, HR (3), 2 RBI, BB, SB (14)
• C Ronald Hernandez: 0-5, 4 K
• 1B Corey Collins: 1-2, R, 3 BB
• DH JT Benson: 2-5, 2 R, K, SB (6)
• 3B Colin Houck: 0-3, 3 R, 2 BB, K, SB (5), E (10)
• RF Yohairo Cuevas: 2-3, 3 R, 2 HR (3, 4), 4 RBI, 2 BB, E (1)
• LF Trace Willhoite: 2-5, R, HR (5), 5 RBI
• CF Sam Biller: 1-5, 2 K, SB (6)
• RHP Robert Stock: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP
• RHP Noah Hall: 5.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, 1 HBP, W (2-6)
• RHP Josh Blum: 0.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
• RHP Tanner Witt: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Single-A: St. Lucie Mets (33-33/2-7)

TAMPA 6, ST. LUCIE 0 (BOX)

For the second day in a row, St. Lucie was shutout by a score of 6-0 against the Tampa Tarpons. This time around, they mustered up just four hits (all singles), and two walks. They left seven on base, and went 0-6 with runners in scoring position. They threw a bullpen game, and two relievers (Jose Guevara and Elwis Mijares) surrendered all six of the runs, though one was unearned.

• SS Antonio Jimenez: 0-4, K
• 3B Jeremy Rodriguez: 0-4, K
• 2B Trey Snyder: 1-4, K, SB (9)
• 1B Julio Zayas: 1-3, BB
• CF Branny De Oleo: 2-4, K
• RF Simon Juan: 0-3, BB, E (8)
• LF Jackson Hauge: 0-4, 2 K
• DH Jack Scanlon: 0-3, 2 K
• C Francisco Toledo: 0-3, K, E (6)
• RHP Joel Díaz: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 1 WP
• RHP Jose Guevara: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, L (0-1)
• RHP Elwis Mijares: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
• RHP Ernesto Mercedes: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• RHP Caden Wooster: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Rookie: FCL Mets (17-24)

FCL METS 2, FCL NATIONALS 0 / 7 (BOX)

• RF Bohan Adderley: 0-3
• 3B Vladi Gomez: 1-3, R, 2 SB (23, 24)
• CF Wyatt Vincent: 0-2, BB, K, SB (6)
• 1B AJ Salgado: 1-3, R, K
• LF Sam Robertson: 0-2, BB, 2 K
• C Josmir Reyes: 1-2, RBI, BB
• SS Anthony Frobose: 0-3, K
• DH Roybert Herrera: 0-2, K
• 2B Yorber Semprun: 0-2, 2 K
• RHP Nathan Hall: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• RHP Eris Albino: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W (3-0)
• RHP Franyel Diaz: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, S (1)

STAR OF THE NIGHT

Yonatan Henriquez and Yohairo Cuevas

GOAT OF THE NIGHT

Brendan Girton

The Detroit Tigers opened up their second-straight month with a sweep of the American League East leaders with a 6-2 victory over the New York Yankees in the Bronx on Wednesday afternoon. Troy Melton gave his team 6 1/3 innings of two-hit ball, and while the bullpen blew yet another save, a four-run 11th powered the good guys to the win.

AJ Hinch’s team remains on the road this weekend with a trip to the Lone Star State to take on the Texas Rangers starting — who are tied for first in the AL West — on Thursday night, when left-hander Framber Valdez will take the mound in the series opener. The 32-year-old put up a 3.21 ERA and 4.14 FIP in June over five starts, three of which he allowed just one run and the other two saw him cough up a four-spot in each.

For the Rangers, right-hander Nathan Eovaldi will toe the rubber looking to build on his gem last time out, in which he threw seven shutout innings allowing five hits and a walk while striking out nine. That was a vast improvement for the 36-year-old after posting a 5.11 ERA and 4.04 FIP in his other four June starts, surrendering four home runs while striking out 25 in that 24 1/3-inning stretch.

Here is what the matchup looks like on paper in Thursday night’s opener at Globe Life Field.

Detroit Tigers (38-49) vs. Texas Rangers (44-43)

Time (ET): 8:05 p.m.
Place: Globe Life Field, Arlington, Texas
SB Nation Site:Lone Star Ball
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Game 88: LHP Framber Valdez (4-5, 4.05 ERA) vs. RHP Nathan Eovaldi (8-7, 3.95 ERA)

Player	G	IP	K%	BB%	GB%	FIP	fWAR
Valdez	17	95.2	18.5	8.2	52.2	4.17	1.0
Eovaldi	16	100.1	24.4	5.6	50.2	4.16	1.3

VALDEZ

EOVALDI