Category: Baseball

Earlier this month Justin Verlander announced his plans to retire at the end of the season. The veteran right-hander has had about as storied a MLB career as is possible. He will leave the game as a former MVP, pitching triple-crown winner, three-time Cy Young winner, two-time World Series champion, and Rookie of the Year, among a long list of other accomplishments. In his prime he was not only the best pitcher in baseball but arguably the best player in the game.

Verlander will retire as the active wins leader in MLB with 266 wins over his 21-year career. Which means despite all of his accomplishments he will fall 25-30 wins short of one of the all-time immortal MLB pitching marks. While it’s basically an arbitrary number, reaching 300 wins for a pitcher means something. Only 24 players have ever reached that mark. Behind Verlander, the next highest active mark is his old teammate Max Scherzer with 222 wins. Scherzer has totaled all of eight wins over his last two-plus seasons, making it basically impossible to reach 300. After that there isn’t a single pitcher with even 100 wins under the age of 32.

It is a very real possibility that there will never again be a 300 game winner in MLB. The active pitchers right now that appear to have the best shot at getting there are José Berríos, Freddy Peralta, Logan Webb, and Tarik Skubal.

Because of the elite levels Verlander reached even without getting to 300 wins, there is no question about his eventual home in Cooperstown. Verlander is a no-doubt Hall of Fame player, the only question is when. As with everything in baseball, the speed at reaching the Hall of Fame is something of a competition in its own right. Voters will decide if Verlander gets the accolade of being a First Ballot HOF player or just a regular-old every day Hall of Famer.

Cast your vote now and be on the lookout for results of the voting later this week. Make sure you never miss any Reacts surveys or results by signing up for the weekly newsletter!

Today, the Houston Astros officially announced the following roster moves:

• RHP Ronel Blanco and LHP Bennett Sousa have been reinstated from the 60-day IL.
• IF Raynel Delgado has been optioned to Triple A.
• LHP Bryan King was optioned to Triple A after yesterday’s game.

Blanco will start tonight’s game against the Marlins at Daikin Park, joining the Astros battered rotation.

Sousa will likely reclaim a leverage role very soon, if not immediately. Sousa had ascended to being the primary setup man for Bryan Abreu after Josh Hader’s injury before he was injured himself.

King is suffering though the worst stretch of his career, having allowed 5 HR in his last 4 outings, including at least 1 HR allowed in each. King has been a valuable piece of the Astros pen since his call up in 2024, so it’s likely this demotion will either be only as long as it takes him to get right or until we find out he will be retroactively placed on IL.

Delgado’s versatility makes him a valuable depth piece, but with Jeremy Pena and Christian Walker avoiding the IL for the time being, doesn’t have a spot on the roster right now.

The Astros are now back to 13 pitchers and 13 position players on the active roster.

The Seattle Mariners reportedly have completed the signing process of their 2026 draft class, per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com, who also secured the details of the individual signing bonuses for each player. That is 18 new draftees entered into Seattle’s system, with only two players choosing to eschew the pros in favor of a college route: 18th round outfielder Dominic Santarelli of St. Joseph Catholic Academy in Wisconsin who will instead attend Louisiana State University, and 20th round 3B Connor Shouse out of Texas Tech University who was a draft-eligible sophomore and will return for his junior year.

It’s a more demure draft class than in years prior, and notably only includes college attendees, with Santarelli the only high schooler the club even selected. The M’s have hewed towards college performers plenty, but it was a striking level of singular focus. Seattle utilized $8,202,600 of their $8,218,200 bonus pool, reallocating their $460k in bonus pool savings from the first 10 rounds to securing several of their selections in rounds 11-14. The club reportedly had hopes of reeling in one or two prep talents, but was not able to financially draw Santarelli or Shouse away from school, and were wary of any of the remaining preps in the rounds of 11-20, opting for on-campus options instead.

The class of new players has continued to grow, however, with Baseball America reporting that Seattle has secured at least five additional players who went undrafted:

OF Kyle Boylston of Florida Atlantic University

C Jacob Galloway of Oregon State University

C Jake Harvey of University of Nevada

SS Henry Kaczmar of Ohio State University

RHP Joseph Webb of East Carolina University

While undrafted free agents are longshots for big league roles, there are several in recent years who have had big league time, including 1B Mike Ford and RHP Devin Sweet for the Mariners.

What a week for this guy, huh? First, he gets to go to his first-career All-Star Game as a player after getting voted in as a starter and now he’s ended what has had to have been a whirlwind week with a performance over the weekend that was so good that MLB has recognized him as the National League Player of the Week.

In the clearest sign yet that Baldwin is back in the form that earned him those All-Star honors, Baldwin had a massive series at the plate against the Rangers in Atlanta’s second-half opening series victory. The star catcher for the Braves racked up 10 hits (three of which were homers), eight RBI, five runs scored and he even threw in a stolen base as well. Five of those 10 hits came on Sunday alone, as Baldwin had himself a five-for-five game with two dingers. It was a dominant performance and one that was well worth the honor of getting named Player of the Week.

Here’s more from Major League Baseball’s official press release:

• The 25-year-old hit .714 (10-for-14) with three homers, eight RBI, a walk, five runs scored, a stolen base, a 1.357 slugging percentage and a .733 on-base percentage in three games.
• The Madison, Wisconsin native led the Majors in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging, OPS (2.090), hits and total bases (19); tied for first in RBI and runs scored; and tied for second in home runs.
• One of 36 first-time All-Stars in 2026, Baldwin racked up a career-best five hits on Sunday against Texas, becoming Atlanta’s first player with a five-hit game since Whit Merrifield in August 2024. Baldwin is the youngest Brave to achieve the feat since Michael Harris II had a five-hit game in June 2023 at the age of 22, and he became the first Brave with multiple home runs as part of a five-hit performance since his teammate Ozzie Albies in June 2021. Baldwin is just the sixth player in Braves history with a five-hit game as a catcher, joining Johnny Estrada (2004); Eddie Perez (1999); Biff Pocoroba (1982); Walker Cooper (1951); and Hall of Famer Ernie Lombardi (1942). 
• The 2025 NL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award winner opened the second half with a three-hit, five-RBI game on Friday against Texas, becoming the second Brave this season with a five-RBI performance, joining fellow catcher Jonah Heim. The Braves are one of two clubs to have multiple games of at least five RBI by catchers this season, joining the Orioles, and it is just the fifth time in franchise history that the Braves have achieved the feat twice in a single season, joining 2006, 2003 (3x), 1966 and 1950.
• The third-round pick in the 2022 Draft out of Missouri State University has not struck out in 34 consecutive plate appearances dating back to July 8th, marking the longest active streak in the Majors. With 10 hits and eight RBI in the three-game set with the Rangers, Baldwin became the first Braves player to reach those marks in a three-game set and the first to reach those marks in a series of any length since Harris had 10 hits and nine RBI against the Mets in a four-game series earlier this month.

This is the first time that a Braves player has been named Player of the Week so far this season and hopefully it won’t be the last, either.

Today the Atlanta Braves have announced that they have officially signed all 21 of their draft picks from last weekend’s 2026 MLB Draft. The class headlined by college outfielders AJ Gracia and Carter Beck, as well as overslot prep arms Kaiden McCarthy and Jensen Hirschkorn is made up of eight right-handed pitchers, two left-handed pitchers, four outfielders, two infielders, and five catchers.

It had already been announced that the Braves had signed their first 12 choices and the bonus figure for Cole Dorland had been leaked, but today’s announcement signifies that the final nine picks have come to terms – including Dorland. That list includes C Dominic Kibler, RHP Cole Dorland, RHP Brady Hamilton, OF Caleb Klein, C Dalton Harper, RHP John Damozonio, LHP Ethan Stade, C Austin Fawley, and RHP Nile Adcock.

This news is hardly surprising, as the Braves were always expected to sign all of these 2026 draft picks – however this is still a positive update as it means nothing fell through for any reason such as a failed physical or player changing his mind.

A complete recap of the draft can be found here from last week.

The Mets have reinstated outfielder Luis Robert Jr. from the 60-day injured list, optioned infielder Eric Wagaman to Triple-A Syracuse, and outrighted fellow infielder Zack Short—who was designated for assignment a few days ago—to Syracuse.

Robert Jr. was one of several new acquisitions made by the Mets after the team decided to take a sharp turn from the majority of its former core at the start of the offseason. And like many of his teammates, he’s had an injury-marred and disappointing 2026 season thus far. After getting off to a hot start, Robert Jr. hit the injured list in late April with a .224/.327/.329 line, a 90 wRC+, and 0.1 fWAR. It’ll be interesting to see how often the Mets play him between now and the trade deadline, as he’s been double-Wally Pipped by young outfielders Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing since he was sidelined.

In the short term, perhaps Ewing will start regularly at second base—especially since 2025-26 offseason acquisition Marcus Semien has been terrible this year—to allow Robert to showcase his health and skills in center field ahead of the deadline. Robert is earning $20 million this year and has a $20 million team option for the 2027 season with a $2 million buyout.

If the Mets aren’t able to trade him, though, it would behoove them to keep playing Ewing and Benge alongside Juan Soto in the outfield. And presumably they’d relegate Robert to a semi-regular role, either giving Soto some starts at DH or just having Robert serve as a DH himself.

As for Wagaman, he’s made 42 plate appearances for the Mets, and he’s hit just .162/.262/.324 with a 68 wRC+. Once Mark Vientos hit the injured list, Wagaman started getting regular starts as Jared Young’s platoon partner at first base. The Mets haven’t started anyone other than those three players at first base since early May. Maybe they’ll just let Young face lefties for the time being.

And last but not least, Short has hit just .140/.262/.180 in 62 major league plate appearances this year, the vast majority of which came with the Tigers.

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The Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs meet tonight, with the in-form Jack Flaherty taking the hill for the visitors. 

Behind his recent success, my Tigers vs. Cubs predictions have Detroit winning the series opener as a +101 underdog.

Read more in my MLB picks for Monday, July 20. 

Who will win Tigers vs Cubs today: Tigers (+101)

Jack Flaherty has been lights out for the Detroit Tigers lately. Over his last three outings, the right-hander owns a 2.92 FIP while allowing just 0.54 HR/9, and he has surrendered only two earned runs during that span.

Flaherty’s primary offering is the four-seamer at 49%, and over half of this Chicago Cubs lineup has a Run Value of one or lower against the fastball.

Jameson Taillon counters in his first outing since early June. He owns a 6.31 FIP in 2026 and will likely be on a short leash, exposing a Cubs bullpen with a 5.20 xERA over the last two weeks.

Flaherty keeps Chicago at bay, and Detroit does damage.

I'll play this pick down to -120. 

COVERS INTEL: Taillon is allowing 2.10 HR/9 at Wrigley Field this season, and he's been extremely prone to the long ball overall. 

Tigers vs Cubs Over/Under pick: Under 11.5 runs (-103)

With a total this high, there’s still value in the Under. Even though Chicago's relievers aren't dominating right now, they face a Tigers offense with a 95 wRC+ and .185 ISO over the last two weeks. Extra-base hits drive runs, and Detroit isn't showcasing a ton of power.

The Cubs offense owns a 112 wRC+ across its last nine contests, but the .180 ISO is more manageable. Detroit’s bullpen also gives this Under a strong late-game path, posting a 2.43 FIP over its last 30 innings without allowing a single home run.

I'll confidently play this pick up to -130.

Tigers vs Cubs weather

Conditions will be warm at Wrigley Field tonight, with temperatures around 83 degrees early, then falling to near 81 later. Winds are noticeable at roughly 15 to 16 mph, while rain chances remain low to moderate at 16% to 24%. Weather could have some impact, mainly because of the wind.

Tigers vs Cubs odds

• Moneyline: Detroit +104 | Chicago -108
• Run line: Detroit -1.5 (+156) | Chicago +1.5 (-163)
• Over/Under: Over 11.5 (-104) | Under 11.5 (-100)

Tigers vs Cubs trend

The Detroit Tigers have hit the game total Under in 21 of their last 30 games (+11.10 Units / 34% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Tigers vs. Cubs.

How to watch Tigers vs Cubs and game info

Tigers vs Cubs 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.

Texas Rangers lineup for July 20, 2026 against the Chicago White Sox: starting pitchers are Jacob deGrom for the Rangers and Erick Fedde for the ChiSox.

Texas begins a seven day homestand today that’s a pretty big deal, facing the first place Chicago White Sox for three games and then the currently second place by a half game, could be first place by the time they arrive to town on Thursday Seattle Mariners for four games. Texas has been underwhelming so far this year, at 24-22, and need to take advantage of the home field and have a strong week if they want to be contenders.

The lineup:

Pederson — DH

Langford — LF

Jung — 3B

Nimmo — RF

Burger — 1B

Duran — SS

Carter — CF

Diaz — C

Lopez — 2B

7:05 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are -168 favorites.

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The Philadelphia Phillies are -135 favorites against the powerhouse Los Angeles Dodgers this evening at Citizens Bank Park.

Cy Young candidate Cristopher Sanchez has been untouchable at home this season, and my Dodgers vs. Phillies predictions and MLB picks expect that to remain the case on July 20.

Who will win Dodgers vs Phillies today: Phillies (-135)

Emmet Sheehan struggled over the last month. His soft contact rate sat at 12% while he induced grounders at a 24.5% clip, lowest among all of today’s projected starters.

That’s not what you want against the Philadelphia Phillies. They rank 10th in wOBA, seventh in hard-hit rate, and tied for third in OPS against righties at home. They should give Sheehan real problems.

Cristopher Sanchez owns a 0.86 ERA and 61.9 GB% at home this season. He’s one of the few who can truly limit the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Back Philadelphia to -145.

COVERS INTEL:Sanchez ranks in the 93rd percentile in Pitcher Run Value, a far cry from Sheehan's 29th percentile grade.

Dodgers vs Phillies Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (-115)

The Phillies have a solid matchup against Sheehan, but they own a highly underwhelming .212 average against righties in July and slot 25th in wOBA. I don’t think we see a ceiling game offensively.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers are laboring as a whole offensively. They’re hitting just .223 and sit 26th in wOBA this month.

It’ll be difficult to score more than a run or two on Sanchez, and LA has to contend with a bullpen that owns a 3.09 xFIP over the past 60 days when he exits.

Bet to -130.

Dodgers vs Phillies weather

Temperatures in the low 80s are expected, with winds blowing from the northwest. Boost to bats.

Dodgers vs Phillies odds

• Moneyline: Los Angeles +115 | Philadelphia -135
• Run line: Los Angeles +1.5 (-170) | Philadelphia -1.5 (+145)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (-105) | Under 8.5 (-115)

Dodgers vs Phillies trend

Philadelphia has hit the game total Under in 31 of the last 50 games (+12.45 units, 23% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Dodgers vs. Phillies.

How to watch Dodgers vs Phillies and game info

Dodgers vs Phillies 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 Orioles will have to try to keep their winning streak going without All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman. The team announced on Monday afternoon that Rutschman has been placed on the injured list due to inflammation in his left wrist. Corresponding moves had catcher Chadwick Tromp’s contract selected from Norfolk, with outfielder Rudy Martin designated for assignment to clear a space on the 40-man roster.

As with Blaze Alexander’s injury when a Royals pitcher hit him and fractured a bone in his hand, this one stinks. Rutschman is one of the team’s best players and being without him for any length of time will be an obstacle that they’re going to have to overcome to continue the improvement in their fortunes that they’ve experienced over the last seven games. Can they manage to do that? We’re going to find out. We may not like finding out.

This is now the third trip to the injured list this season for Rutschman. The previous two involved an ankle injury and a concussion. He hasn’t missed an extended amount of time in either of the previous IL trips, so hopefully that’s how it works out again this time. As of this writing, the team has not provided an update regarding Rutschman’s injury or what kind of timetable might be involved in getting him back into good health.

In the short term, the Orioles are also going without Samuel Basallo, which is why Tromp was selected to replace Rutschman even though the team already had brought Sam Huff into the mix yesterday. Basallo departed Sunday’s game early due to shoulder discomfort. I think we can guess that Basallo isn’t going to be capable of playing at least for today. We’ll see how long they drag out a day-to-day injury without putting him on the IL. Missing Rutschman and Basallo both would be even rougher than just missing Rutschman alone.

You may be an Orioles roster sicko if you remembered that Rudy Martin was on the 40-man roster. The team acquired the 30-year-old Martin from the Royals on Friday for cash considerations. That was marginally interesting, in that Martin has never made it to the majors and had exercised what amounts to a “call me up or trade me” option in his minor league contract before the Royals dealt him to the Orioles. He might be wishing that a different team had acquired him now. We’ll know in a few days if he clears waivers.

The Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies resume their series on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park.

Justin Wrobleski makes the start on Tuesday, one week after he struck out five in two innings in his first All-Star Game, in this same ballpark. Five strikeouts for Wrobleski tied a Dodgers record for an All-Star Game, joining Don Drysdale (1959) and Fernando Valenzuela (1986).

Zack Wheeler had thoracic outlet surgery last September, and his return this season has been nothing short of remarkable. The 36-year-old had a 2.13 ERA and 2.64 xERA in 15 starts this season with a 30.4-percent strikeout rate.

Wrobleski ranks third in the majors at 6.42 innings per start this season, while Wheeler (6.2) ranks eighth.

Tuesday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Phillies
• Ballpark: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia
• Start time: 3:40 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA, TBS
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

It was a Wednesday afternoon at then-named Minute Maid Park.

On July 20, 2011, Jose Altuve made his MLB debut with the Houston Astros. He went 1×5 in a 3-2 victory over the Washington Nationals in 11 innings.

He got his first major league hit with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th inning on a 1-2 pitch from Tyler Clippard in a 2-2 ballgame. He would be stranded.

He would then be double-switched for RP Wilton Lopez in the top of the 10th. Jason Michaels would pinch hit for Lopez in the bottom of the 11th (in Altuve’s spot) and hit the game-winning single to drive in Humberto Quintero. The Astros were 33-65.

What has followed for Jose Altuve is a future Hall of Fame career, 2 World Series Championships, an MVP, 3 batting titles, a Gold Glove, an ALCS MVP, 7 Silver Slugger Awards, and 9 All-Star games.

Here are some of our fondest memories of Jose Altuve over the years, from the staff at Crawfish Boxes and the team at Sportsradio 610 Houston:

Craig Larson Jr. – Crawfish Boxes

On June 8th, 2015, I happened to be in Chicago visiting family on a summer vacation.    On the bucket list with my parents was going to see the White Sox and Astros play.     Unbeknownst to me at the time – that day was Carlos Correa’s call up to the club.   I’d learn later upon lineups being revealed on the stadium scoreboard.   It marked Correa’s debut.   

In the 4th inning that night, Correa would drive in his first career RBI by beating out an infield grounder.     The sheer excitement that followed several moments later from teammate Jose Altuve was something that’s stayed with me for all of these years.    The hug, smile and jubilation served as a mini prelude of things to come for the Astros.    Jose was prouder of Carlos than if he had accomplished the feat himself.     It reminded me of Jerry Rice’s excitement for John Taylor’s TD to beat the Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII.      That’s what being a leader is all about. 

Sean Pendergast – SportsRadio 610

My favorite Altuve moments probably mirror what many Astros fans would cite — the numerous postseason home runs, particularly the walk off series ended in the 2019 ALCS against the Yankees, every hit count milestone he’s touched, and perhaps the most likable demeanor of an athlete in Houston history. However, I think the thing I’m most impressed by Altuve is his remarkable evolution as a hitter, going from a guy who arrived in MLB immediately winning multiple batting titles to an overall force as someone who could hit for average AND power. When you add in that he packages it all in a 5-foot-6 frame, it makes him one of the most intriguing unicorns in baseball history.

Jimmy Price (Astros Future) – Crawfish Boxes:

I have so many memories of Jose Altuve. Watching him come through the Astros system as an undersized infielder and develop into an MVP was something special.

While this isn’t one specific memory, I just want to highlight everything he has done in the postseason. The Astros have had some really good teams over the years, but they’ve never had a player who consistently delivered on the biggest stage quite like Altuve.

The three-home run game against Boston to open the 2017 playoffs, his massive performance in Game 5 of the World Series in Houston, the walk-off home run in 2019, the list goes on. When the moments were the biggest, the best player stepped up. That was Jose Altuve.

Scott Barzilla – Crawfish Boxes

My memory is the obvious one but it is the most vivid one. When Roberto Osuna gave up the home run in Game Six of the ALCS in 2019 I actually threw my remote at the TV. Altuve obviously saved the day and cemented his place as the best Astro of all-Time. He doesn’t have the numbers of Bagwell or Biggio yet, but he has the postseason chops.

Adam Spolane – Crawfish Boxes

Altuve’s first taste of postseason baseball in 2015 was underwhelming. He was 4 for 22 without an extra base hit in six games against the Yankees and Royals, so he had some pressure to perform when the Astros returned in 2017. The Astros had won 101 games in the regular season and Altuve was the MVP front runner. He had to perform, and boy did he ever.

After Alex Bregman homered to put the Astros up 1-0 in the first inning of game one of the ALDS against the Red Sox, Altuve sent an 0-2 fastball from Chris Sale over the left-center field wall. Two at bats later he sent a first pitch fastball from Sale to the exact location. In his final at bat of the afternoon, Altuve launched a 1-1 breaking ball from Austin Maddox over the Crawford Boxes.

Altuve became the ninth player in Major League Baseball history to homer three times in a single postseason game, and it was the breakthrough performance from one era’s great postseason players. Altuve hit seven home runs during the 2017 postseason, and his 27 career postseason home runs trail only Manny Ramirez. 

Patrick Creighton – Crawfish Boxes/SportsRadio 610

Altuve has had so many moments throughout his career, but the one that stands out to me the most is his 3 HR game vs. the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of the 2017 ALDS.

Altuve had just put together a monster season, winning his 3rd batting title in 4 years, leading the league in hits for the 4th straight season, and leading the league in WAR. He was going to win MVP over Aaron Judge, who also had a monstrous season leading the league in HR, runs, and walks.

While the postseason doesn’t count to voters, it certainly does in the minds of baseball fans across the nation. Altuve opened the postseason in the most incredible fashion possible.

A 3-HR game, including 2 HRs of Red Sox ace (and future HOFer) Chris Sale (who led the league with 308K), announced to all of MLB who the MVP of the 2017 season was. It was an incredibly powerful moment that gave Astros fans the belief that this was really their year, and their MVP was going to make sure of it.

After so many past playoff failures, especially offensively, Altuve shattered that notion in a single game as he became just the 9th player in MLB history with a 3 HR game in the postseason.

With the trade deadline only a couple weeks away, I wanted to take a look at some teams the Nats could be doing business with. There are four teams that stand out to me right now. Three of them would be if the Nats sell and one would be a team the Nats could buy from. The four teams are the Angels, the Red Sox, the Guardians and the Cubs.

Let’s start things on a happy note and talk about a team we could target if the Nats decide to buy. As every Nats fan knows, this team needs pitching. One place they could look for that is the Angels. Even though the Angels are in the midst of a miserable season, they have plenty of interesting pitchers they could make available.

If the Nats truly wanted to go big game hunting, they could go after Jose Soriano or Reid Detmers. A report came out that the Angels are expected to make both available at this year’s deadline. That is a big change of tune from the past, where they shot down trade interest. Both Soriano and Detmers have two years of control after this, lining up perfectly with CJ Abrams.

Should the Nats decide to keep Abrams long term, they will need to get serious about building a team around him and the rest of this young offensive core. Soriano is a hard throwing righty who has tailed off since a phenomenal start to the season. However, he still has a 3.49 ERA in 111 innings with 115 strikeouts. I also think there is still plenty of untapped potential with the 27 year old.

While Detmers has an ERA of 4.16, his FIP is almost a full run lower than that. The southpaw has swing and miss stuff, and would be highly coveted as well. Either of those guys would cost the Nats at least one of their top 100 prospects plus additional capital.

The starters are not the only intriguing pieces from the Angels though. There are four relievers I could see as fits for the Nats. If Paul Toboni wanted a cheap, short term fix, Kirby Yates could be a good option. The 39 year old has a 3.74 ERA and a 3.24 FIP this season thanks to his elite fastball, splitter combination. He also has plenty of closing experience with over 100 career saves. Yates would be a good option if Toboni just wanted to show the clubhouse he is invested without actually giving up a ton.

Sam Bachman, Chase Silseth and Ryan Zeferjahn are younger, controllable arms who the Nats could also go after. All three have electric stuff, but pretty shaky command. However, they would all be upgrades to the Nats pen and bring much needed swing and miss stuff. You would have to give up some prospect capital for those guys, but it would not need to be any of the Nats top 5-7 prospects.

Now that we have gone over a buying option, I am going to shift my attention to the selling side of things. Over the past few days, a lot of rumors have been swirling around Luis Garcia. One team that has been brought up a lot is Paul Toboni’s old club, the Red Sox. 

Toboni has already made one trade with his old team, the Luis Perales for Jake Bennett swap, which has not aged well so far. Maybe that would scare him off, but I wouldn’t think so. Our guy Paul Cubbage made a mock trade that sent Garcia to the Red Sox and two young arms to the Nats.

I could certainly see the Nats targeting former first rounder Kyson Witherspoon. He has not had a great first year in pro ball, but his stuff is loud and he was Toboni’s last first round pick in Boston. Witherspoon has a fastball in the mid to upper 90’s with the ability to throw a lot of different pitches. Rivera is also very intriguing as a relief arm.

A CJ Abrams trade at this deadline would surprise me, but Boston is a team that would make a lot of sense for him as well. The Red Sox have a need in the middle infield, and Abrams would be a good fit for them either at shortstop or at second base. That is something to watch more in the offseason though. The Red Sox farm system is stacked and they have several young major league pitchers they could offer the Nats.

Speaking of pitching, that seems to be what the Cubs will be after this deadline. If the Nats decide to move Foster Griffin, the Cubs would be a great fit. The last time the Nats traded a rental starting pitcher to the Cubs, it worked out pretty well for them.

Of course, the trade I am referring to is the Michael Soroka deal, where the Nats landed Ronny Cruz, who has really made a name for himself this year. Griffin is a much more valuable asset than Soroka, so the asking price will be high. Some prospects I could see the Nats targeting are pitchers Jaxon Wiggins, Kaleb Wing, Brooks Caple and Mason McGuire, as well as catcher Owen Ayers. Some combination of those guys could make for a compelling package.

I could also see the Cubs having some interest in Luis Garcia Jr. to fill the DH spot. Right now they have a rotating cast of characters in that position after Moises Ballesteros did not lock down that position. There is a chance they stick with the likes of veteran Michael Conforto and promising youngster Pedro Ramirez. However, that is a fit that could make some sense.

However, an even better fit for Garcia would be the Cleveland Guardians. The Guardians have gotten next to nothing from the first base and DH spots. Kyle Manzardo and Rhys Hoskins both have negative WAR. Hoskins walks a lot, but is hitting just .177. Meanwhile, Manzardo is hitting just .208 with an OPS below .650.

That is just not going to cut it for a team with playoff ambitions. Enter Luis Garcia Jr., who would solve their first base woes. As always, the Guardians have a stockpile of pitching they could give to the Nats. A starting pitching prospect like Braylon Doughty could make sense as a headliner. The Guardians also have a plethora of interesting young relievers such as Daniel Espino, Franco Aleman and Andrew Walters.

The Guardians are my ideal trade partner for Garcia, given their need and what they have to provide. Overall, this should be an exciting deadline. Keep an eye on those four teams though. I have a feeling the Nats will make a move with at least one of the Guardians, Red Sox, Cubs or Angels.

Jake McCarthy readily admits that he enjoys being part of the Colorado Rockies ‘fun’ offense.

“I just think it looks different every day,” the team’s leadoff hitter said prior to the Rockies’ season finale July 19 against Cincinnati. “I think we’re capable of putting the ball in play and, maybe, in a certain situation doing a job. Also, there are times when you slug a little more and we hit home runs. I just think we’ve done a pretty good job. 

“We could always do a better job of doing what the game kind of asks of us. But it’s just been fun. I feel like, 1-9 in the lineup, you never know who’s going to make an impact.”

McCarthy, acquired by Colorado in a trade with Arizona for pitcher Josh Grosz in January 2026, has certainly made his impact known in his inaugural season with the Rockies.

Through July 18, McCarthy was tied with Esmeryln Valdez of Pittsburgh for the National League league in RBI with 18 for July—a month in which is slashing .321/.400/.842 with three doubles, one triple and four home runs. 

For the season, the left-handed outfielder was batting .303 (fifth in the NL), with 10 home runs, 55 RBI and 17 stolen bases in 21 attempts through action of July 18. 

His .392 average with runners in scoring position tops the National League and is third in the Majors.

Those numbers have helped fuel a Rockies offense which, since June 1, has scored 227 runs—second only to Milwaukee’s 231 tallied in that span.

McCarthy recalls that this year’s Colorado offense is similar to that of the 2024 Diamondbacks squad.

“I think we had a really good offense in Arizona, just a similar concept,” he said. “1-9 having some guys who—if they’re not necessarily crushing home runs but they are seeing a lot of pitches—are maybe working a walk or something to start an inning to give us the lead or chip away and get a starting pitcher out of the game early. Maybe it’s stuff that necessarily does not show up in the box score but it’s important to the team.”

A perfect example of that situation occurred in Colorado’s game July 18 against the Reds.

With two out and a runner on third base in the second inning, McCarthy saw an opportunity to lay a bunt down the third base line that not only drove in the runner from a third but ended up as a base hit.

McCarthy’s teammates followed with four consecutive hits to plate three more runs as Colorado bolted to a 6-0 lead against Reds starting pitcher Rhett Lowder. Two more runs an inning later ended Lowder’s day after just 2.2 innings in an eventual 10-3 Rockies win.

McCarthy’s performance this season has impressed rookie teammate TJ Rumfield.

“I can’t say enough about Jake McCarthy,” said Rumfield, who finished with career highs of four hits and four RBI with a career-long 456-foot, two-run homer in the contest.

“First of all, just a constant professional hitter. He’ll do what it takes. He doesn’t care if it’s a bunt, if it’s moving a guy over, whatever the situation dictates. He’s going to get it done and you believe he’s going to get it done.”

Whether it’s a a key bunt or a big home run—he has two leadoff inside-the-park home runs this season (July 12 at San Francisco, June 20 vs. Pittsburgh) to become the first player with multiple leadoff inside-the-park homers since the New York Giants’ Ed Roush in 1929—McCarthy is enjoying his leadoff role.

“It’s been awesome,” he said. “I feel like every time I come up (to the plate), there’s someone on base, there’s someone in scoring position.

“I just think we’re always applying pressure to the (opposing) pitcher. I think we have done a nice job of taking pressure off each other because it I don’t come through, I trust that Mickey (Moniak) or whoever’s hitting behind me will come through.

“So, again, it’s just been very fun.”

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