PHILADELPHIA — The Houston Astros wanted to clear some money for the trade deadline, and the Milwaukee Brewers badly needed an arm for the pennant race.
They got together over the All-Star break and Wednesday worked out a deal to accommodate each other.
The Astros are sending veteran starter Lance McCullers Jr. and reliever Colton Gordon to the Brewers for at least one prospect, a high-ranking official directly involved with the talks told USA TODAY Sports. The official was not authorized to speak publicly because the deal has yet to be announced.
The Astros will also sent money to the Brewers in the deal with McCullers being paid $17 million this season in the final year of his five-year, $85 million contract extension. McCullers, who nearly dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals ahead of the 2025 season before third baseman Nolan Arenado exercised his no-trade rights, has pitched only 39.1 innings in eight starts this year. He has been on the injured list with a rotator cuff infringement since May, but has made three starts in a minor-league rehab start.
The Brewers, in first place in the NL Central, have been looking for starter reinforcements with Brandon Woodward going on the 60-day IL with an inflamed shoulder. It’s unlikely he’ll be able to return to the Brewers, at least in a starting role, the rest of the regular season.
McCullers, who waived his no-trade clause, now leaves the Astros with only two remaining members of their 2017 World Series team: Second baseman Jose Altuve and injured third baseman Carlos Correa.
Drafted in 2012 by the Astros, McCullers always be fondly remembered in Houston for pitching Game 7 of the 2017 World Series. His finest season was in 2021 when he went 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA, finishing seventh in the AL Cy Young voting, before injuries derailed his career.
Known ballhawk Zack Hample was at it again during the MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday.
Hample was caught on video catching a ball in the top of the fifth inning and turning to his left to talk to someone.
At first glance, it appears Hample is taunting a fan for not getting to the ball before him, but as the camera zooms out you see Hample is actually engaged with his cameraman for a video.
As Hample does so, though, fans in the area boo the baseball collector and one fan interrupts his video, forcing him to shoot another take.
Baseball collector Zack Hample talks into camera after catching a ball during the All-Star Game. @mattrappasports/X
People reacted on X to the video as expected.
“MLB when does this madness stop?” One fan said. “Please ban this clown. He laughs in the face of kids after stealing foul balls. While wrapped in MLB logos.
“You are enabling a psychopath not grounded in reality. People pay good money to have this lunatic climb over them for a foul ball.”
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, however, seems to have an unpopular opinion on Hample, claiming he is “one of the great misunderstood geniuses of our generation.”
The dislike for Hample spawns from the idea that he takes away opportunities for kids to get balls from their favorite players.
Philadephia fan boos baseball collector Zack Hample as he films a video during the All-Star Game. @mattrappasports/X
Hample has mastered the craft of getting foul balls and homeruns, collecting over 13,000 balls at 68 different MLB stadiums, per his YouTube bio.
During the MLB draft Phillies fans booed Rob Manfred and any division rival throughout the night, but it continued through to the Futures Game on Sunday and the entire all-star weekend.
Zack Hample, the most controversial fan in baseball and collector sits in the stands at Yankee Stadium. JASON SZENES/NY POST
Even the teenagers in charge of catching fly balls during the 2026 Home Run Derby were subject to jeers if they made a mistake.
PHILADELPHIA — Junior Caminero feared the worst when a 98 mph sinker that didn’t sink struck him in the left hand during the All-Star Game.
For the Tampa Bay Rays slugging third baseman, Caminero considered himself fortunate the hit-by-pitch was more a scare than a season-ender.
“You are thinking the worst and honestly thought something may have been broken,” Caminero said through a translator. “But thank you to God, it’s fine and just a little bit sore. But we’re all good.”
Caminero was struck on the outside of his left hand by St. Louis Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien with the high hard one in the top of the third inning with the American League up 3-0.
The 23-year-old Caminero, fourth in the major leagues with 28 home runs, stayed down for a few moments before he popped up and ran straight into the clubhouse.
X-rays were negative.
“Sinker on hands that didn’t hit my bat at all,” Caminero said. “So look, it was a scary moment. But you know right now, we feel really good.”
The Rays resume their season with a doubleheader in Boston.
O’Brien, who has 24 saves this season for the Cardinals, checked in with Caminero in the AL clubhouse.
“I told Ryan I really appreciate the gesture,” Caminero said. “He came into the clubhouse, and he took a few seconds to apologize, but I told him it was part of the game. He was really worried, but I told him look, these things happen. We are here to have fun, and we are here to enjoy the night.”
Caminero was replaced by Miguel Vargas of the Chicago White Sox. Vargas hit a solo homer for the American League in the eighth inning for game’s first extra-base hit.
Caminero hit 17 total home runs a night earlier at Citizens Bank Park in the Home Run Derby. He hit 45 home runs with 110 RBIs last season, and this season has led the Rays to the top of the AL East.
He batted fourth and became the first Ray to start an All-Star game in two straight seasons. Caminero grounded out in his first at bat against Phillies’ ace and NL starter Cristopher Sánchez.
Caminero — who advanced to the final round of last season’s Home Run Derby before losing a close contest to Seattle slugger Cal Raleigh — this season become the youngest player since at least 1900 to homer in six straight games.
PHILADELPHIA — Cody Bellinger had a night for the ages.
His young daughters sat next to him and his father watched from the back of the room as he spoke about winning the All-Star Game’s Most Valuable Player award.
“Just being able to hang out and watching him win an award, it’s pretty cool,” former Yankee Clay Bellinger said after his son’s two-run single in the first inning off Cristopher Sánchez started the American League to a 4-0 win.
Cody re-signed with the Yankees last winter on a five-year, $162.5 million deal and he has been a key part of the offense. He was hitting .280 through mid-June before a slump dropped his average to .254 heading into the All-Star break. Bellinger hasn’t homered in a month.
“Baseball is the craziest game in the world. It really is. Sometimes it’s unexplainable,” he said. “Going into the break, I actually was feeling pretty good. I felt like I was on the right track.”
Clay Bellinger was an outfielder and infielder for the Yankees from 1999 to 2001, winning a pair of World Series titles, then finished his big league career with the Anaheim Angels in 2002.
Cody was 5 when his dad won his second World Series title. Clay never imagined the player Cody would turn into.
“I knew he was good, but not this good,” Clay said.
Cody became the fourth Yankees player to win the All-Star Game MVP after Derek Jeter (2000), Mariano Rivera (2013) and Giancarlo Stanton (2022).
“Wearing this jersey — I feel proud wearing it,” he said. “It comes with a lot.”
Bellinger, who just turned 31, was a fourth-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2013 and made the All-Star team in 2017, when he was voted NL Rookie of the Year. He hit 47 homers in 2019 and was voted the NL MVP after making his second All-Star team.
“I was, like, 'Oh, I’ll be here every year,’” he said. “It took a long time to get back. It’s such a competitive league.”
He followed with three straight subpar seasons, missing time in 2021 because of calf, hamstring and rib injuries. He was cut after the 2022 season and signed a one-year, $17.5 million deal with the Cubs.
Bellinger hit a career-high .307 with 29 homers and 97 RBIs, became a free agent again and signed a three-year, $80 million contract with the Cubs. After a subpar, injury-slowed season, he was dealt to the Yankees.
He tested the free-agent market, then decided to stay in pinstripes.
“He loves it there,” Clay said. “He loves the teammates, loves the city, loves playing in Yankee Stadium. So, it was kind of a no-brainer.”
Daughters Caiden and Cy accompanied Cody onto the field along with his wife, Chase, for photos after he received his award from Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt.
“You always hope for your kids to do well, whether or not it’s playing baseball or doing whatever they like to do,” Clay said. “He’s been pretty good at it for quite a long time.”
Cholowsky, 21, hit .320 with 21 homers and a 1.088 OPS for top-ranked UCLA this past season. He was the overwhelming favorite to go first overall, and the White Sox made things official at the July 11 draft in Philadelphia.
"At the end of the day, we were most comfortable with Roch Cholowsky with our first pick, regardless of what the signing bonus was going to be," White Sox GM Chris Getz said Saturday.
Cholowsky's bonus tops the previous record of $9.25 million shared by Reds pitcher Chase Burns and Rockies slugger Charlie Condon in 2024.
“We had interest in him in high school," Getz said. "And then to be able to watch his college career unfold and see what he accomplished and the impact that he had on his teammates and that program and now to envision that type of influence within this organization is something that attracted us to select him at No. 1."
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 12: Roldy Brito #1 of the Colorado Rockies is introduced prior to the 2026 All-Star Futures Game Presented by Nike at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday, July 12, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
With the Futures Game kicking off All-Star Week and the first halves in the books across the minors, it’s a natural moment to take stock of the Rockies’ farm system — level by level, from the thin air of Albuquerque down to the backfields in Scottsdale. The big-league club’s improvement has gotten the headlines, but the story underneath it is just as compelling: at every rung of the ladder, somebody is forcing the organization to pay attention.
Here’s where each affiliate stands at the break, and the one performer at each stop you need to know.
Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes
If this ‘Topes team does one thing, it’s hit — relentlessly.
Albuquerque finished the first half of the Pacific League season in second place, two and a half games shy of a playoff berth. They lead the league in slugging percentage (.460), OPS (.833), and stolen bases (139). The second half has proved to be a different story, as the Isotopes are 7-11 and six games out of the division lead.
First Half MVP: Charlie Condon (No. 1 PuRP), 1B/OF
There’s no real suspense here. Condon is hitting .289/.414/.584 with 20 home runs and 60 RBI through 79 games, earned his second straight Futures Games appearance, and was Baseball America’s pick as the organization’s midseason Minor League Player of the Year.
The 2024 third overall pick has leaned into what he does best — controlling the zone and doing damage — and the walk total is the loudest sign that the approach has matured. The only question left is how much longer Albuquerque gets to keep him.
Charlie Condon got all of that one for his 19th homer of the year and his fourth in his last three games! 😤
If Albuquerque’s identity is offense, Hartford’s first half belonged to the arms.
Jake Brooks led the Eastern League in innings pitched prior to his promotion, Konner Eaton (PuRP No.28) is 4-0 with a 3.78 ERA over 14 stars, and Jackson Cox (PuRP No.16) arrived from Spokane in June and struck out eight over 5.1 innings in his Double-A debut. Hartford clinched a playoff spot by possessing the Eastern League’s best record in the first half.
First Half MVP: Jack Mahoney, RHP
Mahoney has been close to untouchable — a 1.90 ERA across his ten Hartford starts with 49 strikeouts, including an Eastern League Pitcher of the Week nod in mid-June. In a system that has spent years searching for pitching it can trust, the South Carolina product is making the most persuasive case on the farm.
Spokane’s team results lagged — a fifth place finish in the six-team Northwest League first half. However, the Indians ran off ten straight wins from June 26th-July 7th, and currently lead the Northwest League with a 14-7 record in the second half.
In a subpar first half, the individual storylines more than carried the weight. Jackson Cox led all of minor league baseball with 78 strikeouts at the time of his promotion, and Jack O’Dowd — the 25-year-old January signee out of indy ball (and son of former Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd) — slashed .359.451/.664 with nine homers in 34 games before mashing his way to Hartford.
The 2025 competitive-balance pick out of Texas leads the Indians with 12 home runs and ranks among the Northwest League’s elite in OPS and total bases. In a pitcher friendly environment where Rockies affiliates have historically struggled to produce power, Belyeu’s first full pro season is exactly the kind of proof-of-concept development that the new regime is looking for.
𝙏𝙊 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙈𝘼𝙓! Second multi-home run performance of the week for Max Belyeu, who has doubled his season longball total to 10 with five home runs over the last five nights against the Eugene Emeralds. #GoSpopic.twitter.com/9cvYn55w73
Fresno’s season has been a story of resilience. The Grizzlies lost Ethan Holliday (No. 2 PuRP) — the No. 4 overall pick in 2025 — to a season ending foot surgery after 33-game stretch in which he hit .262/.395/.557 with nine homers, and they’ve weathered additional absences (Derek Bernard, Clayton Gray) while staying in the California League race: 47-40 overall and tied for second in the second-half standings at 11-10.
The 19-year-old switch-hitter is slashing .327/.390/.506 with eight home runs, 20 doubles, 66 RBI, and 18 stolen bases through 79 games, ranking amount California League leaders in hits, triples, runs, RBI, and total bases — and Sunday he took the field in Philadelphia as a first-time Futures Game selection. A year ago he was an unranked name in the complex league. Now he’s arguably the most electric position player in the systems lower half.
— Fresno Grizzlies (@FresnoGrizzlies) May 16, 2026
Rookie: ACL Rockies
The complex league club hasn’t been quiet about anything: at 37-15, the ACL Rockies own the best record in the Arizona Complex League. And the headliner is the same player evaluators have been buzzing about since spring.
First Half MVP:Christian Arguelles
The reigning DSL MVP hasn’t slowed down stateside — he’s arguably sped up. Through 51 games, the 19-year-old Venezuelan is hitting .392/.474/.655 with eight home runs, eight triples, 61 RBI, and a 168 wRC+, with a walk rate (12.3%) nearly matching his strikeout rate (13.2%). He took home ACL Player of the Month honors for May after slashing .380/.494/.718 over 21 games, and has continued to produce in the following months.
The Big Picture
Zoom out and the picture is hard to miss: at every level, the standout is a hitter or pitcher acquired or developed within the last three years — Condon (2024 draft), Mahoney (2023 draft), Belyeu (2025 draft), Brito (2024 international class), and Arguelles (2024 international class). For a franchise that has staked its rebuild on the farm finally producing, the first half of 2026 offered something it hasn’t had in a while: evidence.
(Original Caption) This new clear-vision baseball catcher's mask worn by Bubbles Hargrave, of the Cincinnati Reds, has just made its appearance. Points of vantage claimed for this mask is unobstructed vision and a steel construction which will ward off the hardest of foul tips and even blows from the bat. (Photo by George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images) | Corbis via Getty Images
While there still are some good ones around, they don’t make nicknames quite like they used to. Some of the greatest players in history had great ones, like “The Sultan of Swat,” “The Georgia Peach,” or “The Say Hey Kid.” However, even lesser known players had pretty good ones. For instance, one solid big leaguer from the early 20th century just straight up went by “Bubbles,” even though he reportedly hated it.
Eugene Franklin “Bubbles” Hargrave Born: July 15, 1892 (New Haven, IN) Died: February 23, 1969 (Cincinnati, OH) Yankees Tenure: 1930
Eugene Hargrave was born into a military family in Indiana, the son of a soldier who served in the Civil War. He had several brothers who would also serve, while another brother, William, would also play in the big leagues, where he went by the also good “Pinky” Hargrave.
His family initially did not want Hargrave going into pro baseball, and he briefly attempted a career in upholstering. However, he did not enjoy that field, reportedly saying that there was “too much dust,” and joined the minor league Terre Haute Miners when he was 18.
After a couple successful seasons in Terra Haute, the Chicago Cubs took notice of Hargrave and signed him. He played from 1913-15 with the Cubs, but only appeared in 41 total games as essentially their third-string catcher. As you probably could guess, it was a bit difficult to make much of an impression with that little playing time, and the Cubs eventually sold him back to the minors.
The road back to the majors ended up being a bit of a long one for Hargrave, who spent all of 1916-20 with various minor league teams. However in the final of those minor league years, he hit .335 and helped the St. Paul Saints win the American Association pennant. That got him back on the major league radar, and the Reds bought him from St. Paul, beating out several other MLB teams.
Upon joining Cincinnati, Hargrave initially split time at catcher, but soon proved to be a good major leaguer at the plate. That being said he would never actually appear in more than 118 games in a single season, as his abilities behind the plate weren’t always the best.
#OTD in #Reds history, 1925: The National League Baseball Writers’ Association announces their first all-star selections. Four Reds are included in the 13 selections: RHP Dolf Luque, RHP Pete Donohue, C Bubbles Hargrave and CF Edd Roush. 🌟🌟🌟🌟 pic.twitter.com/Lr8aMqEQSm
Hargrave’s best career MLB season came in 1926. After four consecutive seasons of hitting at least .300, his .353 batting average won him that season’s NL batting title, albeit under weird circumstances.
For one, the .353 mark was well below AL leader Heinie Manush at .378, and well off the pace of what Rogers Hornsby won the crown at the year before: .403. Beyond that, there was also a question of who should be the rightful winner based on their playing time. Hargrave’s Reds’ teammate Walter Christensen outhit him with a .357 mark, but only appeared in 86 games. Hargrave himself played in 105 and got only 326 at-bats, which wouldn’t be remotely enough to get on the leaderboard today. However, as Hargrave got over the 100-game mark, he was declared the winner. He is still only one four catchers to have ever won the batting title — and within a couple years, he’ll be the only non Hall of Famer (Ernie Lombardi and Joe Mauer are already in, with Buster Posey soon to follow).
Hargrave fell off over the next couple seasons and was deemed expendable after a below average 1928. He returned to the St. Paul Saints in the minors, becoming player-manager for them in 1929. After one good year there, the Yankees — who held an interest in Hargrave prior to him joining the Reds — purchased him from St. Paul. Hargrave’s acquisition was supposedly Miller Huggins’ last ever one before he passed away near the end of the 1929 season.
While this is a Yankees’ blog and this one season is really the only reason to write about Hargrave here, there’s not a ton to say about his 1930 with the Yankees. The team was led by excellent season from Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, but ended up in third in the AL standings. Manager Bob Shawkey found it difficult to replace Huggins, while the pitching staff was pretty average, as the rotation aces of the first dynasty were aging out, and the future aces hasn’t broken out yet. Hargrave himself didn’t have a particularly good season and was again considered expendable.
Following his release, Hargrave returned to the minors and played a couple more years. His final year in baseball came in 1934, when he served as a player-manager for the Cedar Rapids Raiders.
After his playing career, Hargrave returned to the Cincinnati area. He opened a tavern and worked some blue collar jobs. He even had a stint as a manager in something called the National Professional Indoor Baseball League, an ill-fated softball league that had Tris Speaker as president. Hargrave remained in the Cincinnati area until his death in 1969.
As for his nickname, Hargrave reportedly got it because he had a bit of a speech impediment when pronouncing words that contained the letter B. Just because the olden nicknames were interesting doesn’t mean they weren’t also cruel.
See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 09: Grant Holmes #66 of the Atlanta Braves looks on in the dugout prior to the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on May 09, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Braves went 6-6 in July before the All-Star Break. 6-6 is… okay. The Braves went 6-5 in the first half of June, well before any alarm bells sounded. Lots of teams go .500ish in a short stretch. The Dodgers were 5-6! The Brewers were 7-6! The Marlins and Phillies both went 6-5, gaining just a half-game on the Braves. Meanwhile, a bunch of previously-moribund squads did really well. It’s 12ish games, anything can happen.
Is going 6-6 a springboard for recovering from June’s plunge into the abyssal depths of teamwide non-production? Well, ehhhhhh.
On the one hand, the Braves finished eighth in position player fWAR over the first part of July. Yay, the offense returned. If you recall, my one big fulcrum point is this: if the Braves hit like a top-ten team from July-on, they’ll make the playoffs. If they don’t, they won’t. They did in these 12 games, right? So, what’s the concern?
Well, the concern is that despite a better (12th in wOBA/wRC+) set of outputs in July, their inputs were still woeful: 21st in xwOBA, with a .299 mark. For a team that finished 29th in MLB in June in xwOBA (.283), this was not exactly heartening. Yeah, they faked it to a 6-6 record in July. The needed improvement on a team-wide wasn’t actually there if you peek even a tiny bit under the surface.
Did the pitching do anything to help? No, no it did not. Recall that in April, May, and June, the team’s pitching fWAR ranks went from 10th, to 13th, to 19th. In July so far? 21st. 18th in ERA-, 23rd in FIP-, and 21st in xFIP-. The bullpen continued to be a rock, finishing second in MLB in fWAR in this pre-All Star Break-part-of-July stretch. But the rotation was sub-replacement level.
Game-by-game odds-wise, going 6-6 is exactly what was expected. WAR-wins-wise, 6-6 is also exactly what was expected. There was nothing all that weird in these 12 games… except that the Braves massively outhit their xwOBA and yeah they probably need to hit better to have a shot of keeping a playoff spot.
How are the Braves doing for the season?
The season position for the Braves right now is really weird, and deserves some space of its own.
The residuals from early in the season are banked. The Braves have MLB’s fourth-best record, fifth-highest playoff odds, and seventh-highest championship odds. They have a two-game lead in the division, and are five games “up” on holding a playoff spot.
On the season, they are 16th in position player value, including 12th in offensive inputs, somewhere between 17th-19th in offensive outputs depending on what you count, and eighth in defensive value. They are 15th in pitching value, though fifth in ERA- to go with being 15th in FIP- and 12 in xFIP-. The rotation is 23rd in fWAR, but the bullpen ranks first overall.
In particular, the rotation ranks ninth, 24th, and 15th in ERA-/FIP-/xFIP-; while
The bullpen ranks first, first, and third, respectively.
The FanGraphs playoff odds have a lot of “modes.” The default mode, the one I and everyone else tends to reference, involves using Steamer/ZiPS and forecasting the rest of the season based on how players are projected to play. This is fairly slow to integrate how players have actually played in 2026, because half a season isn’t enough to really sway projections. There are lots of other methods, too, and here’s basically what it looks like in terms of the Braves’ projected end-of-season wins and current playoff odds:
Default: 90 wins, 91 percent
FG WAR (my understanding is this uses performance-to-date for this season in terms of production, not accumulation of wins in the standings): 89, 88 percent
ATC (a different, meta-projection system): 91, 93 percent
The BAT X (a different, fantasy-focused projection system): 89, 88 percent
OOPSY (again, another projection system): 90, 91 percent
Season-to-date (actual wins-in-standings to date mapped across future games): 93, 88 percent
Coin flip (all games are decided randomly for the future): 89, 83 percent
Given that there are only 67 games left, there is not a huge chunk of time left for the difference between how the Braves are projected to play (85-win pace, accounting for injuries), and how they have produced so far (82-win pace). They are fortunate that their current record is so far above their production, as I talked about in Monday’s daily question post. These things may not have substantial implications for the rest of the season unless the Braves completely fall apart as they did in June again… but, fundamentally, they’ve gotta do something to pull themselves to at least sustainably treading water. That could be offensive improvement to a decent xwOBA, that could be pitching that leans more heavily on the bullpen to remove the win-bleeding from weaker parts of the rotation, or a host of other things, like someone going on an insane heater. It could even be something not sustainable that bails the team out, like a freaky-low HR/FB from its pitchers or persistent xwOBA overperformance from the hitters, though those are harder to bank on. The bar for the rest of the season isn’t that high, but the Braves still need to figure out how to get from where they are to clearing it.
How are the hitters doing?
This sort of spread is kinda-sorta why I had the bubble charts in there originally, even if they weren’t always informative.
A bunch of guys were productive over these last 12 games: Michael Harris II, Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Mauricio Dubon, Mike Yastrzemski, and even Jim Jarvis and Joey Bart. But, of those guys, only Baldwin, Yastrzemski, and Bart actually did the hitting thing well. As noted above, a bunch of guys (Albies, Dubon, Jarvis) just got really, really lucky. Austin Riley and Dominic Smith continue to drag down everything with their performance. The Braves may feel like they want to keep giving Riley rope, but it’s past time to do anything other than starting Smith.
For the season as a whole, the wOBAs and xwOBAs are closer (which, duh), though Albies’ high-wire act is what it is. Leaving aside the injured members of the position player corps for the time being, this is a team being driven by Harris, Olson, and Dubon, while the other guys are largely hoping to produce enough that the misery of having Riley and Smith eat PAs doesn’t fully careen the team into disaster.
Kinda funny: in July so far (left side) the Braves largely avoided anyone in the bottom-right quadrant, but also had way too many guys in the upper-left. And then Riley and Smith hanging out bottom-left, sigh. For the season as a whole (right side), you can basically get the narrative of the season: three guys are (were?) carrying the team, Albies is very fortunate, and a bunch of guys have been very blah, led by Riley’s issues.
Something silly: Matt Olson leads Braves position players in WPA in July. He’s also second on the team in PAs in that span, and has been a positive bat, so yeah, sure, whatever, okay. But then, second on the team? Eli White, who didn’t even have enough PAs to appear in the tables/charts above. Braves, man.
How are the pitchers doing?
The table above doesn’t even include Bryce Elder’s disastrous start in July… and also kind of summarizes why everyone says the Braves need multiple pitches. Grant Holmes and JR Ritchie did okay in July in two outings… but their xFIPs are still very meh. Lopez had a nice few outings, but his season stats are also meh, and that includes a bunch of time as a reliever where you’d figure he would’ve had better peripherals. Hurston Waldrep has too few innings to really talk about, but even those few innings got him sent down. And, while Chris Sale is very awesome, he was not awesome in aggregate over the last couple of weeks, though a rain-shortened outing ate into his ability to bail his own poor start out.
From this table, it looks like that the minimum the Braves need is two guys who aren’t actually playing well, but their “poor pitching” is more akin to Holmes’ season-to-date performance. Of course, forcing a five-man rotation isn’t the only way to cover pitching innings, and the Braves gave us a brief glimpse of that when using Danny Young to open for Ritchie on the final day of the “first half,” but it remains to be seen whether they’ll get creative instead of, or in addition to, adding pitching from outside the organization over the next two-ish weeks.
Beyond that, what can you really say? Dylan Lee continues to be fantabulous. The other left-handed Dylan (Dodd) is also having a nice season so far, with a 56 ERA-, 86 FIP-, and 92 xFIP-. Dodd seems like a fine guy-to-use-like-Tyler-Kinley-if-you’ve-now-acknowledged-Kinley-isn’t-good. Grant Holmes is in the midst of a silly “heater” where he has a 23 ERA-, but a 100 FIP- and a 108 xFIP-, over his last four outings. He’s only actually pitched particularly well once, but he’s gotten incredibly fortunate twice, which is preferable to just getting smashed without mercy once batter number ten rolls around. Holmes won’t keep that up, but so long as he keeps faking it until the Braves make it, they’ll take it. Rhyming!
Anyway, not the most sanguine biweekly recap, but it is what it is. The Braves need to hit much better, and they’ll be hunky dory. If they don’t, though, you’ll be hearing the complaints about the pitching reach a fever… pitch.
Bryce Harper’s Cameo video that FanDuel sent to a gambling addict didn’t breach Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement, Rob Manfred said on Tuesday.
Key Takeaways
Rob Manfred said MLB is still learning about the video message.
Harper didn’t encourage betting, which avoided a policy violation.
The gambling addict is suing FanDuel and other operators.
The MLB commissioner told reporters at the All-Star Game in Philadelphia that the league is still reviewing the November 2024 message from the Phillies star.
“I’m not really certain that I know all of the underlying facts well enough to evaluate the behavior,” Manfred said, according to The Athletic. “The important thing is Bryce’s activity was not a violation of the basic agreement. We made sure about that. We’ll continue to try to figure out exactly how we ended up where we ended up on that.”
Harper released a statement on Monday, saying that he had no knowledge that his message on the video-sharing platform Cameo was going to be used for a gambling promotion by FanDuel.
“I did not know FanDuel would do this, I did not consent to it, and FanDuel had no right to do it,” Harper said in his Instagram post.
Not a policy breaker
Players are allowed to endorse and promote legal sports betting operators and casinos, according to the MLB gambling policy, but they are prohibited from advocating or encouraging betting on a game. Violating that policy can lead to MLB penalties, including fines, suspension, and permanent ineligibility.
Harper recorded the video for Terry Thompson, a FanDuel VIP who filed a lawsuit against several sports betting companies. Thompson claims that the operators "knowingly and intentionally coerce users into betting large amounts of money by using data to target them with microbets” that turned him into a gambling addict.
Harper said to Thompson that the message was an ask from a FanDuel host, but Harper made no mention of or encouragement to gamble.
Not for commercial use
Thompson says he lost more than $1.5 million to FanDuel, which encouraged him to keep betting and made him a VIP. He received lavish gifts like Super Bowl tickets and the Harper video message wishing Thompson a Happy Thanksgiving.
Harper said he received a Cameo request from a “Bryttanni” that November from a regular account, not a business one. He said he read a script but wouldn’t have if he had known “Terry” was a problem gambler.
“I did not know the Cameo video would be used for a FanDuel VIP promotion, and I have no affiliation with FanDuel whatsoever,” Harper said. “Counsel has directed me not to comment any further at this time.”
PHILADELPHIA — Justin Verlander used his fingers in this trip to Philadelphia simply to tip his cap toward applauding All-Star Game fans.
He once playfully flipped off Phillies fans when his Houston Astros were in Philadelphia for the 2022 World Series.
There only was mutual respect in this game.
The 43-year-old Verlander was one of the few All-Stars to receive a warm ovation in Philadelphia from a crowd that reveled in jeering just about any player who was not in a Phillies uniform.
Verlander is set to retire at the end of the season to cap a career that includes three Cy Young Awards.
Up first, one more Midsummer Classic.
“In his 10th and final All-Star Game, please welcome to Philadelphia, Justin Verlander,” the public address announcer noted.
Verlander didn’t totally sit out the American League’s 4-0 win over the National League.
Toronto manager John Schneider asked Verlander to address the team and share thoughts on the importance of the All-Star honor out of respect for the pitcher’s career.
“You never know when you’re going to be in this position,” Schneider said as he relayed Verlander’s message. “You have to appreciate the people along the way. He’s made lifelong friends from being in this game for so long.”
Verlander had more gas left in the pregame speech tank. He talked AL starter Dylan Cease out of throwing a changeup as the first pitch of the game and go with a heater against Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber.
Cease threw a 96.9-mph four-seam strike to Schwarber and struck out the side in the first inning,
“He could be a politician,” Cease said of Verlander.
Kevin McGonigle, Verlander’s’ 21-year-old Tigers teammate and suburban Philadelphia native, soaked in the moment when Verlander took the floor.
“He kept telling the guys that you don’t take anything for granted and if you keep working hard, you will find yourself back in this room multiple time,” McGonigle said. “Be a good teammate and building relationships and getting to learn as much as you can from other guys.”
Verlander, who did not discuss the speech, enjoyed the chance to participate in some final festivities and walked the All-Star red carpet in the afternoon with his wife, model Kate Upton, and their two young children.
The lone bummer for Verlander is that the Detroit Tigers All-Star was unable to pitch in the game as he recovers from a hamstring injury. Verlander, the oldest player in Major League Baseball, signed a one-year, $13 million contract to rejoin the Tigers in February.
He only has made one start in an injury-ravaged season and was named to the All-Star team as a Legend Pick by Commissioner Rob Manfred. Phillies slugger Bryce Harper earned the honor in the National League.
“I’m happy with the body of work,” Verlander said ahead of the game. “I hope I can add to it somehow, someway in the second half. When I look back, I know I gave it everything.”
Verlander went 183-115 from 2005 to 2017 with the Tigers. He won the American League Rookie of the Year award in 2006 and both the AL MVP and Cy Young Award in 2011. He helped Detroit reach the World Series in 2006 and 2012, along with four straight division titles from 2011 to 2014.
Verlander was the 2017 ALCS MVP in Houston and helped the Astros win the World Series that year, and was a key player for them when they won another title in 2022. He won his second and third Cy Young Awards in 2019 and 2022.
Verlander, who also had brief stints with the New York Mets and San Francisco, played coy when asked about which team cap he would choose for his sure-thing induction into the Hall of Fame.
“At least, I was able to narrow it down to two,” Verlander said with a laugh. “I’m not there yet.”
Verlander relaxed against a clubhouse wall next to his locker as he reflected over a career that stamped him as perhaps the best of his era.
Verlander has a career record of 266-159 with a 3.33 ERA in 556 starts across 21 major league seasons with the Tigers, Astros, Mets and San Francisco Giants. He has 3,554 strikeouts while tossing 26 complete games, including nine shutouts.
Not bad for a kid from Virginia who was sent to a baseball academy by his family to help him gain arm strength. His parents knew so little about how to guide a kid that flashed big league potential that his father, Richard, bought a most unique kind of instructional guide.
“My dad bought a ‘How to Pitch for Dummies’ book,” Verlander said to laughter. “I’m not joking. He’s like, OK, step one, you step back with your left foot. Step two, you turn this way. We were doing that in my front yard because he learned I could throw a rock pretty far.”
Turned out, with a little help along the way, Verlander learned to throw a baseball pretty hard.
Verlander just hopes in his last season, he hasn’t thrown his last one.
Apr 24, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. (43) throws a pitch during in the first inning against the New York Yankees at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images
The Milwaukee Brewers are finalizing a deal to acquire right-handed pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. and left-handed pitcher Colton Gordon in a trade with the Houston Astros, with the return to Houston not yet known.
Neither club has yet confirmed.
Per multiple reporters, the trade is primarily a depth deal for Milwaukee and a salary dump for Houston. McCullers, who must waive his no-trade clause for the deal to go through (per Chandler Rome of The Athletic, he’s done just that), is being paid $17 million this year in the final year of his five-year, $85 million contract signed ahead of the 2022 season. Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Astros have agreed to pay down a portion of what’s remaining on the contract.
McCullers, 32, has struggled over the last few years, as he missed all of 2023 and 2024 due to injury before making his return in 2025. Over the last two years, he’s appeared in 24 games (21 starts) with a dismal 6.65 ERA, 5.48 FIP, and 104 strikeouts over 94 2/3 innings. He’s pitched just 39 1/3 innings this year and is currently on the IL, though he’s currently on a rehab assignment with an expected return of late July. In three rehab appearances, he’s pitched well, with a 2.45 ERA and 11 strikeouts across 11 innings.
Gordon, 27, was an eighth-round pick by the Astros in 2021 and hasn’t had much major league success in parts of two seasons. Across 24 games (15 starts) in 2025 and 2026, Gordon has a 5.95 ERA, 5.86 FIP, and 83 strikeouts over 95 1/3 innings. He’s pitched just 9 1/3 innings in the majors this year, with an 11.57 ERA and 10.39 FIP. He’s been much better at Triple-A, however, with a 6-3 record, 3.69 ERA, and 55 strikeouts over 70 2/3 innings this season. Gordon is a controllable arm, as he’s still in his pre-arbitration years.
CHICAGO — Roch Cholowsky agreed to a contract with the Chicago White Sox that includes a record-breaking $10.35 million signing bonus after he was the No. 1 overall pick in the amateur draft.
A person familiar with the contract confirmed the agreement to the AP because it hadn’t been announced by the team.
The slot value for the top pick this year was $11,350,600. Cholowsky’s bonus tops the previous mark of $9.25 million for the amateur draft that belonged to Reds pitcher Chase Burns and Rockies prospect Charlie Condon, two of the top three selections in 2024.
Cholowsky, a 6-foot-2 shortstop who turned 21 in April, hit .320 with 21 homers, 60 RBIs and a 1.088 OPS in 60 games this season for UCLA. He is the first No. 1 overall pick for the White Sox since they drafted outfielder Harold Baines in 1977.
“At the end of the day, we were most comfortable with Roch Cholowsky with our first pick, regardless of what the signing bonus was going to be,” general manager Chris Getz said.
Cholowsky played for the Bruins for three seasons, batting .329 with 52 homers, 167 RBIs and a 1.072 OPS in 178 games. He ranks among the school’s career leaders in homers, runs scored, on-base percentage and RBIs.
“You look at what he has done throughout his baseball career, both at UCLA, but prior to that,” Getz said. “We had interest in him in high school and then to be able to watch his college career unfold and see what he accomplished and the impact that he had on his teammates and that program and now to envision that type of influence within this organization is something that attracted us to select him at No. 1.”
Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Mets and Phillies play a three-game series in Philadelphia starting on Thursday night at 7:10 p.m.
In his first season back after undergoing Tommy John surgery, Scott has been a bright spot for a Mets team whose rotation will be in flux after the season.
Across 54.0 innings over 12 starts, Scott is not only showing that he belongs, but displaying the upside that had New York so excited about him when he debuted in 2024.
Scott has a 3.17 ERA and 1.29 WHIP, and has allowed just 44 hits while striking out 65 -- a rate of 10.8 per nine innings. The 27-year-old doesn't yet have enough innings to qualify among the league leaders, but if he did, his strikeout rate would be tied with Paul Skenes for the fifth-highest among MLB starters -- behind only Dylan Cease, Jacob Misiorowski, Jesus Lazardo, and Jacob deGrom.
And Scott's ability to miss bats this season is not surprising.
His four-seam fastball (which he has used 50 percent of the time this year) is averaging 95.4 mph (up 1.2 mph over where it was in 2024) and topping out in the high-90s. Scott's cutter has also been a serious weapon, with batters slugging just .167 against it -- though it's his sweeper that has induced the highest percentage of swings and misses (whiff percentage of 34.9).
Francisco Lindor is starting to look more comfortable at the plate
The lasting image of Lindor's first half will be him botching a would-be game-ending double play ball last Sunday against the Red Sox.
But after missing roughly two months due to a calf injury, Lindor's offense is starting to come around.
He has reached base safely in each of his last four starts (including ripping a homer and a double last Sunday) and has popped three homers over his last 12 starts.
McLean has still been battling himself a bit as he looks to regain his early-season form, but the results lately have been tremendous.
He has allowed two runs or fewer in seven of his last eight starts, pitching to a 2.35 ERA while allowing just 33 hits in 46.0 innings during that span.
New York Mets pitcher Nolan McLean (26) throws a pitch in the first inning of the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and the New York Mets at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
McLean has been even more locked in over his last three starts, allowing two earned runs in 18 innings while walking five and striking out 19.
One key thing to watch with McLean down the stretch is whether he continues to go four-seamer heavy while relying much less on his sweeper (he's throwing it just 16.4 percent of the time this season after using it 25.7 percent of the time in 2025).
Polanco has been limited to just 19 games this season due to injuries, with an Achilles issue being the main thing holding him back.
In those 19 games, he has slashed .178/.241/.274 (.514 OPS, 44 OPS+) with just one home run.
Since Polanco is under contract through the 2027 season and will count for $20 million toward the luxury tax payroll, it would be a relief for the Mets if he is able to produce and stay healthy over the final few months of the season.
If not, the Mets will have a serious issue on their hands.
The dangerous Kyle Schwarber
This year's Home Run Derby runner-up, Schwarber is on pace to finish the year with 53 homers.
If Schwarber hits 50-plus bombs, it will be his second straight season accomplishing that feat, and the fourth time in the last five seasons where he's hit at least 46 taters.
While he's leading the league in home runs, Schwarber is also leading the league in strikeouts (144), and is on pace to finish the year with 240 of them -- which would be miles past his career-worst of 215 that he set in 2023.
Predictions
Who will the MVP of the series be?
Juan Soto
Soto had a quiet final weekend before the All-Star break. He'll come out recharged.
Which Mets pitcher will have the best start?
Nolan McLean
As McLean rounds back into form, one thing he has to get in check is his issue with hit batsmen. He has plunked a league-high 13 batters this season.
Which Phillies player will be a thorn in the Mets' side?
J.T. Realmuto
Realmuto was swinging the bat well before the break, with two homers and two doubles over his last seven games.
PHILADELPHIA — Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani will be a designated hitter at a minimum for the series at the New York Yankees after having fluid drained from his left knee.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani had the procedure to relieve irritation and the four-time MVP was taking a few days of vacation before the season’s second half. Roberts said the two-way star did not receive an injection.
Two-time World Series champion Los Angeles opens the second half with a three-game series at Yankee Stadium.
“He’s going to be in the lineup,” Roberts said before managing the National League in the All-Star Game.
Ohtani is batting .293 with 22 homers and 58 RBIs while going 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 85 2/3 innings over 14 starts. The four-time MVP skipped the All-Star Game.
Ohtani last pitched on July 3. It isn’t yet clear whether he will pitch against the Yankees.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - MAY 13: Lance McCullers Jr. #43 of the Houston Astros reacts after a strikeout to end the fifth inning during a game against the Seattle Mariners at Daikin Park on May 13, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Houston Astros/Getty Images) | Getty Images
MLB Trade Rumors: The Milwaukee Brewers are acquiring pitcher Lance McCullers, Jr., from the Houston Astros, according to Astros beat writer Brian McTaggert.
The 32 year old McCullers has spent his entire career up to now with the Astros, having been drafted with the 41st pick of the 2012 MLB Draft (two picks after the Rangers selected Joey Gallo) and signed to a well-above-slot deal out of Jesuit High School in Tampa, Florida. A consensus top 100 prospect for most of his minor league career, McCullers, the son of former major league pitcher Lance McCullers, was seen as an amateur and early in his professional career as someone with terrific stuff but major questions about his ability to start in the major leagues.
McCullers ended up mostly being a starter in the majors while he was healthy — he has only six major league relief appearances — but he has had huge problems actually staying healthy. He missed all of the 2019, 2023 and 2024 seasons due to injury, and since making it to the majors in 2015, he has made just 148 starts and 6 relief appearances, totaling 813.1 innings pitched.
Just to put McCullers’ durability issues into context, since the start of the 2019 season, McCullers has thrown 359.2 innings over 68 starts and three relief appearances. Jacob deGrom, often pointed to as someone who can’t stay healthy and on the mound, has more than twice as many innings during that time — 742.2 — in 127 starts.
McCullers, who is in the final year of a 5 year, $85 million deal, made 13 starts and three relief appearances in 2025, putting up a 6.51 ERA in 55.1 IP. This year, in eight starts, he has logged 39.1 innings with a 6.86 ERA. He has been on the injured list since mid-May, and is currently on a rehab assignment with AAA Sugar Land, for whom he has made three appearances, the most recent being on July 7.
McCullers has, per McTaggert, a no-trade clause, which he has apparently waived. The Astros would not appear to be sellers — they are just three games back in the American League West and 1.5 games back of the Wild Card. They also just placed Mike Burrows, who has the most starts for the team in 2026, on the injured list — they had initially optioned Burrows to AAA, but had to rescind the option and put him on the major league i.l.
There is no word yet on what Milwaukee is giving up in this deal, but I’m guessing it is minimal. The Astros are just a few million dollars below the Competitive Balance Tax threshold, however, and moving McCullers and his $17 million salary is presumably being done to give them additional flexibility to try to add salary over the next couple of weeks leading up to the trade deadline.
UPDATE — Chandler Rome writes for the Athletic that the Astros have been trying to trade McCullers “for most of the past year,” and that McCullers was part of the package that the Astros were going to send to the Cardinals prior to the 2025 season in a deal for Nolan Arenado that Arenado ended up vetoing.
UPDATE II — The Astros are also sending 27 year old lefthanded pitcher Colton Gordon to Milwaukee in the deal. Gordon, 27, was the Astros’ 8th round pick in 2021. He has 95 innings in the majors over 15 starts and nine relief appearances, with most of his time being logged in 2025. He has a career 5.95 ERA and 5.86 FIP in the majors. Gordon has a 3.69 ERA in 70 innings in AAA this year. He provides the Brewers with an up-and-down guy they can use to supplement their rotation depth, which has taken a hit this year due to injuries.
