Category: Baseball

Today’s Reflections

Plenty has been written below about Matthew Boyd’s stellar performance Tuesday night. Not much was made about the team effort from the offense in the 5-2 game. Not a lot of glitz, but it needs to be mentioned.

Alex Bregman, PCA, Dansby Swanson and Miguel Amaya each had two hits in the game. Bregman, PCA and Swanson all had at least an RBI (Bregman had two). Amaya scored three of the five runs. Michael Busch walked twice and had an RBI-sacrifice fly.

PCA has a seven-game hit streak going (with four multi-hit games). Bregman is quietly producing, having hits in five-of-seven games (three multi-hit) with seven RBI in that period. Swanson is also five-of-seven with four multi-hit games. Amaya has very quietly had a hit in six-of-11 games (three multi-hit). He scored in four of those games, two runs once and three twice.

A couple of honorable mentions: Since a four-game hitless string in May, Busch has had at least one hit in 29 of the last 47 games (62 percent). Unfortunately, that hasn’t led to many runs scored or RBI yet, but he’s putting himself out there to be driven in. And Nico Hoerner, who went 1-for-4 with a single, stolen base and run scored, has hit safely in eight of his last nine games.

That was all to say — while it’s fun to watch a guy play out of his mind for a week or two, it’s these quiet, unspectacular, yet steady, levels of production team-wide that helps consistent winners.

And helps pitchers like Boyd feel comfortable enough to pitch six scoreless innings, strand five runners and strikeout seven. It looks like he’s back — just stay healthy, please.

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Tuesday Night’s Game Story:

• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): Boyd back to vintage form against O’s after injury-riddled season. “Boyd gave the Cubs six scoreless innings in a 5-2 victory over the Orioles in his third start since returning from the injured list.”

• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Sun-Times): Matthew Boyd — after 6 shutout innings in 5-2 win — shows he could be key to Chicago Cubs’ 2nd-half success. “The Chicago Cubs know what a healthy Matthew Boyd can give them.”

• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Matthew Boyd is trending in the right direction as Cubs consider trade-deadline possibilities, “Boyd found it in Tuesday night’s 5-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles, throwing six scoreless innings at a rain-soaked Oriole Park at Camden Yards.”

• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): PCA ignites Cubs’ offense once again from leadoff spot. “The Orioles got a firsthand look at the kind of offensive catalyst that Chicago has in its leadoff spot right now.”

Trade, Acquisition and Injury Talk:

• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): With penchant for drafting position players, Cubs aim to invest more in pitching. “What the Cubs have struggled to do in recent years — even stretching back before the team’s previous playoff-caliber group — has been creating a deep pipeline of pitching prospects.”
• Elias Schuster (Chicago Sun-Times): Cubs Prepared to Change Their MLB Draft Strategy to Fill Obvious Void. “The Chicago Cubs have targeted pitching less than the vast majority of teams in recent years, and it’s come back to hurt them.”
• Tyler Edmunds (OnTapSportsNet): It’s Now Or Never For Jed Hoyer And The Chicago Cubs. “For the last few seasons, we’ve heard the same old spiel from Jed Hoyer around this time of year. “Well, we’ll wait and see what happens these next few weeks,” in reference to whether he plans to make any moves by the annual trade deadline. Jed CANNOT do that this season.“
• Cory Sparks (North Side Baseball): 3 Affordable Pitchers Who Just Might Save the 2026 Cubs. “We know the Cubs have already fired most of their bullets when it comes to spending and prospect capital. We also know they still need pitching help. Who fits through the eye of the needle they’re trying to thread?”
• Mike Axisa (CBSSports.com): MLB rumors: Astros narrowing trade deadline targets; Cubs eyeing pitching help. “The trade deadline is less than a month away.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Crippling Pirates injury creates less complicated trade deadline path for Cubs. “Konnor Griffin’s injury could reset the Pirates’ deadline expectations, making life easier for the Cubs.”
• Jake Meisner (Cubbies Crib): Cubs could take a chance on a veteran reliever the Athletics just jettisoned. “This guy fits the mold we’ve seen the Cubs hone in on in recent weeks as they search for help.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs have obvious opportunity with former Giants pitcher weighing opportunities. “Gregory Santos is far from perfect, but that might not matter to the Cubs right now.”
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune {$}): Starter Jameson Taillon on track to rejoin the Chicago Cubs after the All-Star break at the latest. “The Cubs are more inclined to have the veteran make one more minor-league rehab start before coming off the injured list, which would instead set up Taillon to come back when the second half resumes next weekend.”

A Few PCA Stories:

• Ron Luce (OnTapSportsNet): Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch Among Best Defenders in Baseball. “The Cubs have two of the best at their respective positions, with Pete Crow-Armstrong (+16) leading all centerfielders and Michael Busch (+5) leading all first basemen.”
• Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation): Pete Crow-Armstrong is on Pace for Some Sammy Sosa-Level Cubs Franchise History. “No matter which way you slice it, the projection models are envisioning another 30-30 season for PCA in 2026. That would give him two, immediately tying Sammy Sosa for the franchise record.”
• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Years marveling at this version of Pete Crow-Armstrong? ‘It’d be pretty special’ for Cubs. “Following up his spectacular June with a hot start to July, Crow-Armstrong’s teammates are continually wowed by the All-Star center fielder.”

Assorted Stories:

• Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): The Chicago Cubs Are a Contender’s Lineup Stapled to a Rebuilding Team’s Pitching Staff. “If a camel is a horse designed by a committee, the Cubs are a baseball team built by one. That joke should feel less funny, given that Jed Hoyer is a powerful top executive. Instead, it hits too close to home.”
• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Ups and downs: Hard way to fly — or to win World Series — but Cubs tout ability to move on from highs, lows. “Slamming down and soaring up doesn’t make for the ideal landing to a flight. Nor does it make for the ideal pace of a baseball season. But the Cubs insist they’re built to handle the whiplash that has been their 2026 campaign so far.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs starting lineup vs Orioles proves they’re enabling the Alex Bregman problem. “Alex Bregman has been extended a lengthy leash in the Chicago Cubs starting lineup, but that courtesy should be up.”

• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Why the Cubs are taking another chance on Drew Pomeranz before trade deadline. “With a slow-moving market for trades and four weeks to go until the Aug. 3 deadline, the Cubs want to see if the 6-foot-5 lefty reliever can still be trusted in big moments.”
• Tyler Courtney (LastWordOnSports): Is Kevin Alcántaras Usage in 2026 Becoming a Concern for Chicago? “Alcántara has often been in the Cubs’ afterthoughts, and now it has become a major concern not only for the rest of 2026 but potentially for the future of the team as well.”
• Gordon Edes (Chicago Sun-Times): Cubs reliever Ryan Rolison has earned the trust of manager Craig Counsell. “The lefty has a 5-1 record and earned his first MLB save last week.”

Food For Thought:

Alex or Aleck Miller (originally Ford, possibly December 5, 1912 – May 24, 1965), known later in his career as Sonny Boy Williamson, was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. Miller used various names, including Rice Miller and Little Boy Blue, before calling himself Sonny Boy Williamson, which was also the name of a popular Chicago blues singer and harmonica player. To distinguish the two, Miller has been referred to as Sonny Boy Williamson II.

Beginning in the 1930s, he traveled around Mississippi and Arkansas and encountered Big Joe Williams, Elmore James and Robert Lockwood Jr. He was also associated with Robert Johnson during this period. Miller developed his style and raffish stage persona during these years. In 1941, Miller was hired to play the King Biscuit Time show, where they began billing Miller as Sonny Boy Williamson, apparently in an attempt to capitalize on the fame of the well-known Chicago-based harmonica player and singer Sonny Boy Williamson.

In 1949, Williamson relocated to West Memphis, Arkansas, and lived with Howlin’ Wolf. He started his own KWEM radio show from 1948 to 1950. He brought his King Biscuit musician friends to West Memphis—Elmore James, Houston Stackhouse, Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, Robert Nighthawk, and others—to perform on KWEM radio. Williamson married Howlin’ Wolf’s half-sister Maggy and he showed Wolf how to play harmonica.

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.

The first thing people learn about Willi Castro the baseball player is usually that he can play practically anywhere on the field. When asked back in April how many different gloves he has Castro said, “I have plenty with me. I think I probably have, like, 10 of them right now, and I’ve got way more back at home. But I’ll be prepared. I’ll be prepared for anything.”

As it turns out, he’s needed to use most of those gloves.

In his half season for the Rockies, Castro has played six(!) different positions. The only spots he hasn’t yet played in a game in 2026 are right field, catcher, and pitcher.

Between all of the positions he’s played, he’s accrued -2 Defensive Runs Saved and an identical -2 Outs Above Average this season. That’s not horrible, but on its face, that makes him a below-average defender.

It’s possible that if Castro were asked to dedicate his time all to one position, his trackable defensive performance would increase. Does that mean he’d be more valuable to the team sticking to his primary position of second base? Warren Schaeffer doesn’t seem to think so.

“It’s hard to put into words how helpful he’s been to this team,” Schaeffer said, “just the ability to in game make matchup moves to better our chances to win because you can put him somewhere else in the field defensively, and himself just being the switch hitter, and what he actually does defensively and offensively, it’s been incredible.”

Castro will move anywhere he’s asked to go, as a result he has been asked to move around a ton.

In total, Schaeffer has tasked Castro with changing positions mid-game 37 times so far this season. The value of that flexibility is hard to pin down. It’s likely not a significant difference in terms of wins, but at the same time, it’s probably not inconsequential.

Using the eye test, it’s easy to see what the defensive metrics are indicating about Castro’s glovework. No matter where he is on the field, Castro does not make fielding look particularly smooth.

First, let’s take a look at this play from June 7th against the Milwaukee Brewers where Castro was playing left field:

Castro takes a slightly odd route to the ball and then hesitates when he reaches the warning track while deciding how to play the wall. Even after taking that moment to plan, he proceeds to bobble the ball off the bounce… only to recover quickly with a grab and a nice throw.

Most dedicated left fielders would have gotten the same end result as Castro, he just took different steps to reach that result than they would have.

Most of the time, his athleticism and instincts make up for a lack of consistent repetitions at any given position. Nothing exemplifies this more than this play against the Texas Rangers from May 20th:

A dedicated second baseman perhaps would not have ventured as far into the outfield as Castro did because they’d have had a better sense of where their realistic range would extend to. Additionally, being distracted while figuring out where he was on the field in relation to the runners was enough to, again, cause him to bobble the pickup of the ball. Despite all of the mishaps to start the play, Castro was able to rely on a combination of audacity and tools to gun down Jake Burger attempting to advance to second.

That’s the sort of play that you just don’t see from most other players. With Castro on the field — anywhere on the field — you get to see slightly unorthodox “out of position” type plays most nights.

Of all the spots Castro has been asked to play this season, none are more unfamiliar to him than first base. According to Castro back in April, “It was in spring training when I started playing. (It was) my first time playing first base in the game.” With this inexperience, he doesn’t always present the typical statuesque target for other infielders to toss to. Sometimes he’ll misread an incoming throw and make a catch look much harder than someone like TJ Rumfield would have.

On the flipside, he throws himself at every batted ball in a way that most regular first baseman simply aren’t capable of.

That’s not the sort of quick reaction leaping grab that the typical power-hitting first baseman comes close to achieving. Some probably don’t even attempt it. Castro, on the other hand, flung his body with wild abandon at the ball, just like he would have anywhere else on the field.

For good measure let’s also look at a play that combines all the things that make Castro so memorable on defense:

That should have been a double. Castro had a quick reaction to get himself into a slightly awkward catching position, then managed to adjust and put himself in a weird crouched position before scuttling back onto his feet and getting the out with his 79th percentile arm strength.

That’s the ideal version of what he does literally anywhere Shaeffer puts him all wrapped up in one play.

What all of this comes down to is that while Castro is probably not anyone’s first choice to play any specific position — because he has a knack for making plays look more complicated than they needed to be — he is perhaps, the second choice to play everywhere.

That’s exactly why the Rockies signed him and he has delivered in stride. That stride may look a little wonky or cause his helmet to fly off, but he’s proven in his short time on this team that he will make it work. When asked last week whether he had a favorite position to play, Castro summed up everything he brings to this ballclub better than I ever could: “I just like to be in the field. I just like to play. Wherever they’re gonna put me, I will get the job done.”

It’s very possible Castro’s time in purple will come to an end by the trade deadline at the start of August. His two-year deal indicates that the front office should be shopping his services around the league. That being said, keeping him would make the looming roster puzzle of filling easier as he could fill in for almost anyone who is traded. The combination of that versatility and his below average surface stats could mean the Rockies see more value in him than other teams will.

However long Castro remains with the team it’s worth appreciating the spectacle he brings to each and every game.

On the Farm

Triple-A:Sugar Land Space Cowboys 5, Albuquerque Isotopes 2

This was what qualifies as a pitchers duel in the PCL. For the Isotopes Jake Brooks took the ball and threw six innings, allowed only six hits, and struck out six. That resulted in only three runs which was enough to earn him the loss even before Jeff Criswell relieved him in the seventh and allowed an additional two runs (one earned).

At the plate the Isotopes were stymied by good Space Cowboy pitching performances. Charlie Condon (No. 1 PuRP) worked a couple walks but was the only player in the lineup to be on base more than once. Jordan Beck’s homer in the seventh drove in the only two runs of the game for Albuquerque.

Double-A:Hartford Yard Goats 13, Binghamton Rumble Ponies 4

Connor Staine pitched pretty well to start this game with five innings of one-run ball, and the lineup as a whole was very successful (they had twenty one hits), but it would be a disservice to focus on anything other than Jose Torres.

Torres got the start at third base batting ninth. He then proceeded to reach base all five times he came to the plate on two walks and three hits. That’s not all! A couple of those hits were home runs. All told Torres scored three runs and drove in four to lead the Yard Goats to a convincing victory.

High-A:Eugene Emeralds 10, Spokane Indians 2

Everett Catlett did not have a good night on the mound and Spokane never had a chance to catch up from that poor start. In the end, Catlett allowed eight runs, all earned, on ten hits and three walks over only four innings of work. In the remaining four innings, the bullpen only allowed another two runs but the damage was already done.

The lineup showed a bit more life with a combined eight hits and eight walks. Of particular note were Roynier Hernandez and Jacob Hinderleider who each reached base three times. Easily the best performance of the night for the Indians, however, was Tanner Thach who walked, doubled, and hit a solo home run.

Low-A:Stockton Ports 9, Fresno Grizzlies 8

In a strikingly similar line to Catlett for Spokane, Ethan Cole started the game for Fresno by allowing eight runs over four and two thirds innings. The Grizzlies, however, were able to fight back and go into the top of the ninth having tied the game up eight to eight thanks to three and a third scoreless innings from Manuel Olivares and Seth Clausen keeping the score where it was.

After finding themselves in that early deficit, the Grizzlies clawed back by scoring in four separate innings. Leading the way in the lineup were Jesus Freitez and Derek Bernard with two doubles apiece, Wilder Dalis (No. 24 PuRP) with four hits (including a double), and Roldy Brito (No. 11 PuRP) with a pair of hits and stolen bases.

Ultimately, despite the heroics, it wasn’t enough as the Ports would walk it off on a sacrifice fly from Cesar Gonzalez in the bottom of the ninth.

DSL:DSL Nationals 13, DSL Colorado 9

The final score hides how well the DSL Colorado starting pitcher Juan Villamizar performed. In five innings, Villamizar allowed two runs on only five hits (including a home run) and no walks. The Colorado bullpen did not fair nearly as well, which led to a deluge of runs for the DSL Nationals, but five of those runs were unearned as a result of a throwing error by Jendry Guaraco.

Luckily, the offense was not one-sided as DSL Colorado managed nine runs on ten hits and three walks. Of particular note were leadoff hitter Larry Suero and cleanup leftfielder Luis Morejon who each were on base three times and each had a double.

Strike 2: Who can the Rockies actually afford to trade? | Mile High Sports

Mark Knudson offers his take on where the Rockies priorities should be heading into the trade deadline on August 3. Knudson posits that the Rockies should not be swayed into short-term thinking by a hot June and should remain focused on the long-term vision for the organization. For him that means identifying a winning core and swapping everyone else for higher upside young talent.

Rockies looking to find 1st-round success with No. 10 overall pick | MLB.com

With the first draft for the Rockies under the Paul DePodesta and Josh Byrne regime set to start this weekend, Thomas Harding takes a look at their priorities and methodology. The influx of new front office personnel hope to bring a more consistent success rate to their drafting track record. They aren’t, however, ready to fully reveal exactly what they are looking for in players just yet.

It Is, In Fact, Getting Hot In Here | Baseball Prospectus ($)

There has been hum of talk around the league for the past few weeks about the spike in offense that began around the start of June. There has been speculation that changes to the baseball are to blame. Bradley Woodrum of Baseball Prospectus does not refute the possibility of that being a factor, but he dives into how the overall picture is complicated by the record heatwave gripping much of the country.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

The Cleveland Guardians and the Minnesota Twins had a back and forth battle that carried a tie into the ninth inning. Slade didn’t go deep in the game, resulting in the bullpen to be nearly emptied. It was compounded with the pitching staff giving up eight walks and Tim Herrin being hit on the back of his throwing elbow.

Zack Meisel did report that Herrin’s x-ray is negative, but it was very obvious that Herrin was in a lot of pain when he was leaving the game.

The Guardians ultimately lost as the Twins walked it off. The full recap is available on the front page.

Somehow, despite not having played in weeks, José Ramírez is still leading in Outs Above Average. But, quickly climbing the leaderboard is one Daniel Schneemann.

In Case You Missed It

Quincy took a look at Kyle Manzardo and the situation he currently is in as a hitter.

Matt Dallas gave a quick scout on the top pitchers available in the upcoming draft.

Lets Go Former Guards

Will Benson cleared waivers and was outrighted to Louisville.

Stuart Fairchild was picked up by the Mariners on a minor league deal.

Two familiar names will be joining the Mets. Xzavion Curry and Tobias Myers have been promoted to the Mets’ major league roster.

Around the League (And Beyond)

Justin Verlander has announced that he will be retiring after this season. This announcement came out shortly after it was announced that Verlander would be the Legend Pick for this year’s All-Star Game.

Jac Caglianone and Willson Contreras will be participating the Home Run Derby.

The All-Star Ball Crew was named. Kayla Corbett of the White Sox and Genevieve Ortega-Alves of the Padres will be the Ball Crew this year.

The Women’s Professional Baseball League has unveiled the names of the four teams making up the inaugural season. The Boston Hunters, New York Heights, Los Angeles Queens, and San Francisco Firebells will start play on August 1st. All teams were named after historic and influential women from each city and have phenomenal logos and jerseys.

Yesterday, Royals 1st baseman/outfielder Jac Caglianone announced he will partake in the Home Run Derby next week.

One of the best young sluggers in the game is taking his powerful left-handed swing to Citizen Bank Park next week.

Jac Caglianone on Wednesday announced his decision to participate in Monday’s T-Mobile Home Run Derby in Philadelphia, airing live on Netflix.

Caglianone will be participating in his first Home Run Derby, and will be the Royals’ first participant since Bobby Witt Jr. blasted 50 homers as the 2024 Derby runner-up in Texas. Witt was named the American League’s starting shortstop for the All-Star Game this year and will be in Philly along with right-hander Michael Wacha to cheer on Caglianone — who will have his father, Jeff, pitch to him. Jeff told his son that his arm is ready to go.

The Royals fell apart in the 8th last night, losing 6-2 in Queens, after Alex Lange refused to get the last out of the inning

“It was a totally different game than yesterday and the pitching was dominating,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said.

Bobby Witt Jr. was picked as the team’s best draft pick in the last decade.

Seven years after he went second overall to Kansas City, Witt has become the no-doubt face of the franchise and will remain so for a long time after signing an 11-year, $288.8 million contract extension in February 2024. (The deal could push to 14 years with options.) After early inconsistencies on both sides of the game, the shortstop has become one of baseball’s best five-tool talents and particularly stands out for his power and speed with exit velocities and sprint speeds that rank among the best in the Majors. He should be in the AL MVP discussion for a long time to come.

The Royals have relocated where their draft room is.

Here are the Royals latest transactions and injury updates.

Tyler Tolbert just made MLB history, but should he get more opportunities going forward? Kevin O’Brien gives his thoughts

Noah Cameron has a great curveball, but he needs to find another pitch to get hitters out.

Pete Crow-Armstrong is unbelievably hot at the plate currently

Dylan Cease was three outs from a no-hitter yesterday

The Miami Marlins are the hottest team in baseball currently

Mike Trout came back from the IL and promptly homered

Justin Verlander named All-Star, via legends pick, will retire after this season

Today’s song of the day is Home Sweet Home by Motley Crue

Good morning, baseball fans!

The San Francisco Giants welcome the Colorado Rockies to Oracle Park tonight to begin a four-game series. Because that’s what everyone wanted after a weekend series at Coors Field last week. Four more games!

I am, of course, kidding. Literally no one wants this, probably not even the players on either team. The Giants and Rockies are competing for last place. Not just in the division, but in the National League. (And potentially even in all of baseball, depending on how the Los Angeles Angels fare.)

Whatever the opposite of “an embarrassment of riches” is, that’s what this series will be. And we get four games of it! Because the baseball gods hate us, in particular, this season.

Best possible scenario, the Giants sweep and move into a more decisive fourth place in the division. But I stopped believing in any best case scenario with this team a long time ago. I’m fully expecting the Rockies to sweep. But these things seldom tend to go the way I expect, even when I expect the worst.

So how are you guys feeling about this series? Do you think the Giants will come out on top? Or do you think they’ll end up back in last place?

What time do the Giants play today?

The Giants begin this four-game series against the Rockies tonight at 6:45 p.m. PT.

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets 9, Norfolk Tides 3 – Game 1/F7

Cade Povich got roughed up in Norfolk’s first game of the day. He struggled with control, walking four across 3.1 innings, which (in part) led to the seven runs he allowed on six hits and two strikeouts. Cameron Weston came on to record the final two outs of the fourth inning, but not before allowing two of the inherited runners to score and then coughing up two more of his own runs. Yaramil Hiraldo and Andrew Magno combined for three scoreless frames in the back half of the game.

Norfolk had four hits and four walks in the losing effort. Bryan Ramos’ RBI double in the seventh inning was their only extra-base knock. Jonathan Rodriguez and Heston Kjerstad both had one hit and one RBI. Luis Vázquez scored twice. Enrique Bradfield Jr. went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 3, Syracuse Mets 2 – Game 2/F7

The nightcap saw much better pitching on the Tides part. They held the Mets to just two hits and two runs, all of which came in the very first inning. Chris Kachmar started and allowed those two runs over three innings of work. He was followed by Yaqui Rivera, who tossed 2.2 scoreless and hitless innings. Jose Espada earned the win with his 1.1 shutout effort to conclude the second game of the day.

Norfolk had just two at-bats with runners in scoring position. Their runs scored on a Jud Fabian sac fly in the first inning, and then a tw0-RBI double by Christian Encarnacion-Strand in the sixth. Bradfield had a single, a triple, a stolen base, and two runs scored.

Double-A: Akron RubberDucks (Guardians) 8, Chesapeake Baysox 2

Despite the skewed scoreline, there actually was some good pitching in this game for Chesapeake. Juaron Watts-Brown, the starter, had yet another solid showing. Over five innings he allowed one run on four hits, one walk, and eight strikeouts. His 6.24 ERA at Double-A is still ugly, but that is now four straight starts in which he has thrown at least five innings and allowed three or fewer runs. Zane Barnhart (one inning, four runs) and Keagan Gillies (0.2 innings, three runs) had tougher stat lines. Tyson Neighbors came on to record the final four outs with relative ease.

Adam Retzbach had two of the Baysox five hits. One of them was his fourth home run of the season, a solo shot in the fifth inning. Anderson De Los Santos drove in the other run with a first-inning single to score Brandon Butterworth. Griff O’Ferrall went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.

High-A: Jersey Shore BlueClaws (Phillies) 9, Frederick Keys 5

It was a nice day at the plate for Yasmil Bucce. The catcher walked, doubled, and homered. Ike Irish added a pair of hits, including a double, plus a run scored. Randal Diaz, recently acquired from the Nationals, recorded his 10th double of the year. Wehiwa Aloy went 0-for-3 with two walks and two strikeouts. Victor Figueroa was 0-for-2 with an RBI.

Frederick used six pitchers to get through these nine innings. The starter, Yeiber Cartaya, lasted 3.1 innings and allowed four runs on four hits, three walks, and four strikeouts. No other pitcher threw more than two frames. Bradley Brehmer was the best of the bunch, deliver two shutout innings. Braeden Sloan, who has had a terrific season (1.71 ERA, 50 strikeouts, 31.2 innings) struggled a bit, giving up a pair of runs in his lone inning.

Low-A: Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (White Sox) 9, Delmarva Shorebirds 8

Delmarva had oodles of baserunners in this one, collecting 12 hits and four walks en route to their eight-run performance. Jordan Sanchez and Elvin Garcia both homered. Adriander Mejía doubled twice, walked, and scored a run. Raylin Ramos had three hits, two RBI, and two runs scored. DJ Layton went 1-for-4 with two RBI.

It was on the other side of the ball where things fell apart. None of the three pitchers that Delmarva used were particularly “good,” but they certianly weren’t helped by a defense that made five errors behind them. For that reason, three of the nine runs they allowed were unearned. Andrew Herbert started and was charged with three earned runs on six hits, two walks, and four strikeouts over five innings. Eccel Correa worked two innings and gave up one earned run while striking out three. Kailen Hamson gave up two runs on four hits, two walks, and zero strikeouts.

Box Scores

Thursday’s Schedule

Norfolk: vs Syracuse, 6:35. Starter: Christian Herberholz (1-3, 5.35 ERA)

Chesapeake: at Akron, 6:35 pm. Starter: Evan Yates (4-4, 5.25 ERA)

Frederick: vs Jersey Shore, 7:00 pm. Starter: Twine Palmer (3-3, 3.77 ERA)

Delmarva: vs Kannapolis, 7:05 pm. Starter: Brayan Orrantia (0-5, 5.18 ERA)

Jimmy Crooks has terrible timing. In more ways than one. In most organizations, he would be in a pretty great spot right now. Sure, he’s struggled pretty mightily in his second try at the major leagues. But he’s a catcher and considered a good defender at that. Teams will wait multiple years for your bat to show up. You will get every opportunity to prove you’re a starting caliber catcher and you probably have a nice backup role if your bat never comes around.

Jimmy Crooks is not in most organizations. He has the misfortune of being sandwiched between two established MLB catchers and two great prospects below him. One of them is unquestionably a better prospect than him and the other is debatable but at worst, they seem like they are equal prospects. And the latter will be MLB ready fairly soon and is also on the 40 man. He is unfortunately in more of a “you got to perform” situation than most comparable prospects to him this quickly into their MLB career.

Basically, he has poor timing for a very simple reason: if you swapped Pedro Pages and Jimmy Crooks timelines, I’m not sure Pages ever gets a real shot with the Cardinals. Pages has great timing, and to his credit, he has capitalized on it. After a poor rookie season, he has been worth 2.2 fWAR in 548 PAs the past two seasons. Not a star, but a really good bridge catcher honestly while you wait for the higher potential guys to be ready. Assuming Crooks does in fact get 218 PAs like Pages got in his rookie season, will he get more chances if he’s not performing? Tough to say.

So the Jimmy Crooks conversation requires some nuance. Because I am very vocal in being a Pedro Pages defender, because I believe in his glove. I have also been vocal – at least I think – that assuming Crooks is worst case scenario Pedro Pages with a better bat was…. not a good assumption. (Especially in 2026) It ignores how difficult the transition from AAA to the majors is. And most importantly, I was absolutely not assuming Crooks was Pages’ equal defensively for the same exact reason I don’t assume Nathan Church is as good defensively as Victor Scott: when the bar is set that high, I need actual proof. (I still don’t think Church is as good defensively as Scott, but obviously his bat is way better)

Actually, in this specific case, it has more to do with catcher defense in general more than Pages setting some unreasonably high bar. Make no mistake: the average fan is underrating Pages defensively. But my skepticism about Crooks has more to do with how insanely difficult it is to grade catcher defense. Unless they are egregiously bad at it, you basically can’t tell how good a catcher is at framing from the eye test. You can’t tell how good they are with the staff at all.

What you can see is how good they are at throwing out runners and blocking. And blocking might be the lowest impact part of catching of all the things you can grade a catcher for. It doesn’t feel like it is, but consider: Pedro Pages doesn’t seem great at blocking right? That has cost him a grand total of….zero runs. Yeah he has been a neutral blocker. Neither a positive or negative. Part of it is we probably underrate how many balls do actually get by an average catcher, but also… one extra base here and there just isn’t moving the needle much.

Willson Contreras was a good blocker and also good at throwing out runners and also bad enough at defense that he needed to move to a different position. Like the two things we can actually notice as fans, Contreras was good at, but he was bad at literally every other part of being a catcher. Scouting defense at catcher is impossible for the average fan and very difficult for a pro scout.

Back to Crooks, I am not actually worried about his defense. I don’t know how good it will be, but we’re dealing with a small sample size. Also, I think in the same way a rookie will struggle to adjust to MLB pitching, there’s probably a learning curve for catcher defense too. I’ve been comparing Crooks to Pages this whole article and I’ll do it again: Pages did not rate as a good defender in his rookie season. There’s an adjustment period.

Am I worried about his bat? Yes and no. No, because he does have a .314 xwOBA so he should be getting better results than he has so far. And even if he was deserving of them, again it should not be surprising that a hitter who struck out nearly a third of the time in Memphis is having trouble making contact at the MLB level. I was certainly not expecting Crooks to be good right away. Not every hitter struggles for the first time in the majors, it just so happened Crooks was the exact kind of hitter who usually does tend to struggle. Nothing that has happened has altered my view of Crooks.

But I am worried about his bat a little bit, unrelated to his MLB struggles, because I kind of think his power in Memphis was completely fake. It happened of course. So it was “real.” But I don’t think we can trust those numbers whatsoever. And it is entirely due to one stat: HR/FB%. Most of you know what that is, but I’ll explain for those who don’t. When a hitter hits a flyball, it becomes a homer a certain percentage of the time. That’s what the stat is describing.

HR/FB% is clearly a skill, but it’s a skill in the same way BABIP is: you can have a very high BABIP and maybe that’s a skill you have, but it usually isn’t. Sometimes you’re Matt Holliday… and sometimes you’re Alec Bohm (.334 BABIP in his first three seasons…. a lot worse since).

In 2025, there were 19 qualified hitters with a 20 HR/FB% or higher. With the exception of Christian Yelich, all of them had .200 ISO. And besides Mike Trout, all of them hit at least 29 homers and Trout hit 26 while only playing in 130 games. Basically, you’re an elite power hitter if you manage a 20 HR/FB%. The low 30s is about as high as you will get and that’s Aaron Judge territory.

Jimmy Crooks was at 44.4% in Memphis. His previous career high? 17.3%. To be fair, that was in 2025, so at least that wasn’t a few years ago, but yeah I don’t think he’s a true talent 20 HR/FB%. If he hit homers at an 18 HR/FB%, he would have five homers on the season. Which is solid pop for a catcher, but I really would not expect him to be a 20 HR guy.

So I’m not “worried” about Crooks necessarily, I just don’t really see the upside others do in his offense, because I do not believe in his power. And his current profile of high strikeouts and an average amount of walks doesn’t really translate to a good hitter without power. One only really needs to look at his projection to see what the successful version of this looks like: 6.9 BB%, 28.1 K%, .124 ISO, 83 wRC+. If his defense is as good as advertised, that’s a solid player, though not tremendously different than Pedro Pages. But yeah if you were wondering at the projection, it’s because it sees the insanely high HR/FB% with no history to back it up.

Competing against Crooks are an interesting duo. Ivan Herrera should probably move off catcher. They gave him a legitimate shot, he’s still a valuable player with his poor defense, but it doesn’t really make any sense with what’s behind him. None of the four catchers below him have any defensive questions. Only Rodriguez might come close to him with the bat, but Rodriguez is a short stocky, slow guy. Too slow for outfield, too small for first base. Maybe you try Herrera in the outfield, maybe you just stick him at DH, maybe you trade Burly and move Herrera to 1B. Maybe you trade Herrera. It just feels like catcher should not be in his future.

Then there’s Pages who is also a bit weird. For those who want to trade him, in theory I absolutely agree. But it doesn’t seem like he would have actual trade value. And he’s a little bit too valuable to give away for nothing. He’s certainly a much better third catcher than Yohel Pozo at the least. Nonetheless, he makes for a bit of an awkward fit being probably the only dude with no actual potential. As long as Herrera stays at catcher, Pages is staying as the third catcher. And Pages is a perfectly acceptable backup if they only have two catchers, but then of course other catchers come knocking.

As far as what’s coming, I think Leo Bernal only adds to the confusion. I do not mean this in a derogatory way, but Bernal is very much a Dylan Carlson prospect. I mean in the sense of being a prospect because of being consistently average at a very young age for the level he’s playing at. This profile works so much better at catcher than outfield so believe me, this is not a criticism. Nonetheless, kind of hard to gauge what his real potential is due to this. Sometimes, their young age means they will keep advancing and they have way more potential than their numbers say and sometimes… they are Nomar Mazara and never actually take that next step.

And then of course there’s Rodriguez, whose bat certainly seems can’t miss right now. It doesn’t matter how good anyone is above him, he’s kicking them to the side whenever he’s ready. He’s what’s giving everyone else a ticking clock, and he’s to some extent forcing a decision maybe not at the deadline but you would think in the offseason at the least.

And in the middle of all this stands Crooks. Both Bernal and Rodriguez might be ready in 2027. That should give him the rest of this year at the least. Someone has to get traded out of this group and because of poor timing, I kind of struggle to see it not being Crooks right now. But who knows? Maybe they’ll go after a top of the rotation starter, and maybe Bernal returns that or maybe they trade Herrera instead for that. Who knows? Lot of directions this could go. I’m fascinated to see it play out.

With less than one month until the trade deadline, the silly season of rumors are starting to swirl and while some of those “extrapolations” are purely for the views, this report by Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic hypothesizes that if the Boston Red Sox decide to sell, starting pitcher Sonny Gray would be an “intriguing match” for the Atlanta Braves.

Gray, who is now 36, has seemingly been an omnipresent player in trade or free agency wishes for a large contingent of Braves fans for years given that he lives in Nashville and attended Vanderbilt University. But, for whatever reasons, the pairing has yet to occur.

Rosenthal and Sammon reason that a match of Gray and the Braves is viable because Gray holds a full no-trade clause which could limit Boston’s options if – and this a big if – they decide to sell. Another favorable line-item for a Gray deal is that he would be owed approximately $6M should he be trade since Grays previous employer, the St. Louis Cardinals, are covering half of his salary this season.

The important context of their report is that this was sourced information, as noted below.

The Atlanta Braves are one of several rotation-needy teams expressing interest in Boston Red Sox starter Sonny Gray, according to people familiar with the situation who were not authorized to speak freely on the topic.

The Athletic’s duo do float the plausibility that Atlanta could make a play for Tarik Skubal, the pending free agent starter of the Detroit Tigers, but that isn’t based on intel.

In the same report, they double-down on their prior reporting that the Kansas City Royals are not going to trade starting pitchers Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo. If the Royals, despite their record, hold on to those two pitchers – the starting pitching market will be reduced significantly for all buyers.

For early June, this is a notable rumor, but take this with a grain of salt. A big grain of salt.

The Detroit Tigers are on a roll as the All-Star break approaches, notching their fifth win of July and seventh in the last eight games after securing a 6-2 win over the Athletics on Tuesday night. Troy Melton set a new career high in strikeouts with nine while allowing just an unearned run over just over five frames of work, while home runs by Jack Rogers and Spencer Torkelson paced the Motor City Kitties on offense.

Taking the mound in the series finale for the Tigers is left-hander Framber Valdez, who has struggled to keep runners from crossing the plate over his last two appearances. After a four-game stretch that saw him post a 2.45 ERA and 4.03 FIP across 22 innings, the 32-year-old surrendered nine runs on 18 hits (two home runs) — but just two walks — over 11 frames with a loss to show for it.

For the Athletics, right-hander Jack Perkins will climb the hill for his seventh start of the 2026 campaign. The 26-year-old has struggled since moving to the rotation, posting an 8.10 ERA, 5.44 FIP and 1.69 WHIP over those 26 2/3 frames of work, giving up seven home runs while striking out 34 to 14 walks.

As a reliever, Perkins’ ERA was still a bloated 5.46, but his FIP sat at a tidy 2.62 and his WHIP at 1.21 over 28 innings. Maybe the starting gig is not the best use of the second-year hurler’s talents.

Here is how Valdez and Perkins match up on Thursday evening as Detroit looks for its second sweep in the past three series.

Detroit Tigers (42-50) vs. Athletics (41-51)

Time (ET): 6:40 p.m.
Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan
SB Nation Site:Athletics Nation
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Game 93: LHP Framber Valdez (4-6, 4.29 ERA) vs. RHP Jack Perkins (2-4, 6.75 ERA)

VALDEZ

PERKINS

Is it just me, or is it taking much longer than usual for all of the Home Run Derby participants to be announced? The contest is four days away and we still don’t know all eight players that will take the field Monday night. Maybe it’s because MLB is awaiting word from a pair of hometown sluggers…

On to the links.

Phillies News:

• Don Mattingly told ESPN’s Buster Olney that he is interested in managing the Phillies beyond this season.
• ICYMI, the Phillies activated Brad Keller off of the injured list yesterday and recalled Alan Rangel while placing Lou Trivino on the IL and optioning Seth Johnson to Triple-A.
• You’ve already heard from Zack Wheeler’s agent after his All-Star snub, now you can hear from the man himself after he tossed an angry gem. ($)
• While we’re on the subject, here’s an ode to a pitcher scorned.
• An inside look at the massive undertaking that the Citizens Bank Park clubhouse staff is in the midst of as they prepare the stadium for All-Star weekend.

MLB News:

• Justin Verlander, shortly after being named the commissioner’s pick for an American League All-Star selection, announced that he intends to retire at the end of this season.
• We know at least two more participants in the Home Run Derby, as Jac Caglianone of the Royals and Willson Contreras of the Red Sox announced their participation.
• Domingo Acvedo, a right-hander pitching for the Rockies Triple-A affiliate, has tested positive for PEDs and was handed an 80-game suspension.
• The MLB single season strikeout record is once again in jeopardy, but the four players currently on pace to surpass it are not too concerned about the dubious honor. ($)

With the MLB Draft upon us, how about we rewind the clock five years and take a look back at the Yankees’ 2021 draft class? Major League Baseball’s draft is unique among the major professional sports. Many of the players selected never make it to the team that drafted them, whether they choose not to sign, are traded away before reaching the majors, or simply fizzle out somewhere along the development ladder.

For the Yankees, the 2021 class featured several early selections who ultimately had little direct impact on the organization. However, the class also produced two late-round gems who have since become important pieces of the major league roster.

The Yankees made 20 selections in the 2021 MLB Draft and signed all but two of them. Nineteenth-round pick Dominic Keegan honored his commitment to Vanderbilt, while 20th-round selection Sean Hard chose Boston College instead. Of the 18 players who signed, seven are still with the organization.

Among those seven, two names stand well above the rest: eighth-round pick Will Warren and 12th-round selection Ben Rice. Both of those selections came outside the first five rounds, making this class the opposite of top heavy.

Warren has developed into everything the Yankees could have hoped for from a pitcher selected outside the first five rounds. He has already logged 278.1 major league innings, including 33 starts last season and another 18 already this year, establishing himself as a valuable member of New York’s rotation, even if it has come at the back end.

Rice has not only become the Yankees’ best selection from this draft, but arguably one of the biggest steals of the entire 2021 draft. Players selected after the 10th round rarely reach the major leagues, let alone develop into All-Stars in just their second full season. The Yankees selected Rice out of Dartmouth in the 12th round, and just a few years later he has become one of the organization’s biggest success stories. Here’s hoping Rice puts on a show in the Home Run Derby and keeps his breakout campaign rolling.

The other five players from this class still with the organization are second-round pick Brendan Beck (No. 55 overall), third-round selection Brock Selvidge (No. 92), fifth-round pick Tyler Hardman (No. 153), 13th-round selection Zach Messinger (No. 393), and 15th-round pick Danny Watson (No. 453). Beck got his first cup of coffee in the majors earlier this season, though his most recent start was one he’d probably like to forget. Hardman, Messinger, and Watson are all currently with Triple-A Scranton, while Selvidge is on the injured list at Double-A Somerset.

The Yankees have also used seven members of the 2021 draft class as trade chips to acquire major league talent. Those players include first-round pick Trey Sweeney, fourth-round selection Cooper Bowman, sixth-round pick Richard Fitts, seventh-rounder Robert Ahlstrom, ninth-round pick Chandler Champlain, 10th-round selection Benjamin Cowles, and 11th-rounder Jack Neely.

Collectively, those prospects helped the Yankees acquire Frankie Montas, Lou Trivino, Alex Verdugo, José Trevino, Andrew Benintendi, Jorbit Vivas, Victor González, and Mark Leiter Jr. I’ll admit, a few of those names made me shiver as I typed them. Most of those trades could probably be called pushes, with neither side clearly winning the deal. The obvious exception is the José Trevino trade. Trevino made an All-Star team, won a Gold Glove in pinstripes, and became a fan favorite, before eventually getting traded for Fernando Cruz. For all that, we thank Ahlstrom for his sacrifice.

That leaves four members of the class who are no longer with the organization through other means. Fourteenth-round pick Sean Hermann was selected by the Mariners in the Minor League Rule 5 Draft. Sixteenth-rounder Cole Ayers was released by the Yankees in March 2026, while 17th-round selection Grant Richardson was released during the 2025 season, and 18th-round pick Bailey Dees was released in April of 2026.

Not every draft class is a home run. Five years later, the Yankees’ 2021 class looks like a slightly above-average group, even if it got there through the unconventional route of developing later-round talent. Any draft that produces a reliable major league starter, an All-Star hitter, and several additional pieces that helped patch holes on the major league roster should ultimately be viewed as a success. Another five years from now the narrative might change, but for now, well done 2021.

In part one of this five-part trade deadline primer, I looked at the Brewers’ roster and determined what their primary needs are. While things could certainly shift over the next 25 days (look no further than yesterday’s Brandon Woodruff news, or the injury to David Hamilton, which put the Brewers’ infield in a bit of flux), I identified relief pitching as the roster’s biggest area of need, and the area that I felt the team was most realistically likely to address.

Today, we’ll start doing the work of looking around the league to see which relief pitchers might be available. Remember, the landscape this year is strange; there are a lot of bad teams, which means that there are a lot of teams that feel they might have a real shot with a hot week or two between now and the deadline. So I’m going to break this into two parts: first, which targets are available on teams that definitely look like they’re out of it? Second, which targets could become available if things don’t go well over the next three-and-a-half weeks?

I also mentioned that the Brewers’ need in this area was for a high-leverage reliever, so I’m going to be aiming high here. Matt Arnold and David Stearns before him have shown a proclivity for acquiring less splashy relievers at the deadline, but I’m specifically looking for players who could push Aaron Ashby for the number-three role in the bullpen behind Trevor Megill and Abner Uribe.

Targets from teams who look out of it

As I mentioned, there are a bunch of teams where it’s hard to say with certainty whether they are or are not out of it at this point. But I’ll do my best to first identify some targets from teams who are far enough back that, at this point, they should probably sell.

The problem is that these teams are bad, so it’s harder to find good players on them. Honestly, I had trouble identifying targets worth acquiring from the six teams that should be declared, with certainty, out of it: the Reds, Mets, Giants, Rockies, Royals, and Angels.

There are a few interesting names, though, and let’s start in New York. Luke Weaver is having an excellent season — at the start of play Wednesday, he has a 1.89 ERA and 2.54 FIP in 38 innings pitched — and has a track record of success in the postseason. The question here is money. While the Brewers could probably afford the prorated bit of his 2026 salary, they probably don’t want to be on the hook for the $12.5 million he’s owed in 2027.

Money is also a barrier to a Devin Williams reunion. Williams has had a rough go since leaving the Brewers, and that reflects in his 4.85 ERA this season. But Williams’ FIP this year is way lower, at 3.25, and he’s striking out 13 batters per nine innings, so there are some reasons for optimism. However, his walks — which were always a bit of an issue, even when he was unhittable — are higher than they’ve ever been, and that’s an issue. But bringing it back around: Williams is owed $12 million in 2027 and 2028, plus there is $15 million in deferred money in his contract. That’s way too much for the Brewers to pay a reliever who might not even be good, and even if the Mets covered some of it, I think it’d still be too much. I’d cross this one off the list.

Sticking with the Mets for a moment, some lower-profile trade candidates include a couple of old guys in 38-year-old Brooks Raley and 36-year-old Huascar Brazobán. I’m skeptical of Raley’s numbers — they seem flukey — and while Brazobán’s feel a little less flukey, he’s not striking a ton of guys out, and he’s walking a lot. I’d stay away from both.

Another high-profile trade target this deadline could be the Kansas City’s Daniel Lynch IV. The Royals’ bullpen has been a major disappointment, but Lynch has been good. He holds a 2.41 ERA and 3.23 FIP, and while he isn’t a big strikeout guy, he’s done a good job keeping the ball in the ballpark, and he hasn’t been giving up many hits. The scary thing here is that Lynch is having a way better season in this, his sixth year, than he ever has before, so I don’t have a lot of confidence.

If you were looking for a reclamation project on the Royals — and the Brewers shouldn’t really be looking for reclamation projects right now, to be clear — you could check in on Lucas Erceg and Matt Strahm. Erceg, who was drafted as a position player by the Brewers in 2016, was really good the past couple of years, throws hard, and gets a lot of ground balls, but this season has been a disaster; he hasn’t been able to strike anyone out, he’s been walking everyone, and he was stripped of the closer job. Strahm has been one of the league’s more reliable relievers over the past three years, but he’s been terrible in 2026, and there’s not a lot in the data to give much confidence that he’ll get better.

Lastly, there are a couple of Rockies relievers who are having good seasons. Antonio Senzatela has essentially been a starter for his whole career, but after back-to-back rocky (get it) seasons in 2024 and 2025, he’s been moved to the bullpen. It’s worked out quite well: Senzatela has a 2.93 ERA (169 ERA+) and 3.36 FIP in 46 innings, and with his background as a starter, he’s capable of pitching multiple innings (those 46 innings are across 27 relief appearances). He’s never been a strikeout pitcher whatsoever, but he’s seen a slight uptick in his numbers with the move to the ‘pen.

The other guy is Jimmy Herget, who has put together back-to-back good seasons in the Rockies’ bullpen — not an easy task. Last season, Herget had a 2.48 ERA and 3.32 FIP in 59 appearances, and this season he’s at a 3.52 ERA and 3.34 FIP in 23 outings. Herget isn’t a hard thrower and actually throws way more breaking balls than fastballs; an intriguing type of player, particularly in the thin air of Denver.

There are no targets that I’d advocate a move from any of the Reds, Giants, or Angels. Cincinnati’s Brock Burke and Tejay Antone have gotten pretty good results this season, but there is enough reason to be dubious that I’d avoid them. Los Angeles has a couple of dudes — Ryan Zeferjahn and Chase Silseth — who would intrigue me as long-term projects, but for now both walk way too many batters to be trusted in any sort of leverage situation.

Targets from teams who might sell

Here’s where things get good, for the most part. These are players from teams that sit roughly four or five games back of the Wild Card — they’re not out of it, but they’re all under .500 and could fall out of it with a bad couple of weeks. The big-time, headlining relief options that could be available at the deadline all come from these teams.

We’ll start with the biggest name: Aroldis Chapman. Boston is 41-48, but in the terrible American League, they’re just four games back in the Wild Card. It feels like a good season for Boston to sell, but we’ll see. Chapman, in any case, has still got it; he was the best reliever in baseball last season, and this year he’s pitched to a 2.36 ERA/2.44 FIP and is still striking out nearly 12 batters per nine innings. He doesn’t throw quite as hard as he used to, but even at age 38, he’s still averaging 97.5 mph on his fastball.

The hangups with Chapman: first, there’s the fact that he’s not exactly an easy guy to root for, given his history of domestic violence issues. Second, the money isn’t small. Chapman has a $13 million salary in 2026, and while Milwaukee could probably handle the prorated amount, he’s also got a conditional option for another $13 million in 2027 that reportedly vests if he surpasses 40 innings — which he will do if he is healthy enough to get traded before the deadline.

I’d like to also address two more top-line closers from teams in this category: San Diego’s Mason Miller and Toronto’s Louis Varland. Both teams have been disappointing this year, but both closers have been absolutely lights out. Here’s the issue, though: if San Diego trades Miller, they’ll want to recoup something close to the value they gave up for him last season — which was a top-five overall prospect. Miller still has three years of control, so his value is enormous, but I don’t think the Brewers would trade Jesús Made for him, especially given that they’ve got a good closer. Varland is under control for even longer — he’s not a free agent until 2031 — and the Blue Jays, even if they decide to sell this year, will expect to compete next year, and they’ll want him then. I don’t think either Miller or Varland gets traded.

San Diego and Toronto both have other players who could be available, though. A player who will certainly be moved if San Diego is out of it is lefty Adrián Morejón. By his standards, his 3.52 ERA this season (119 ERA+) isn’t very good. But the underlying numbers are strong: he’s got a 2.47 FIP and a 4.91 K:BB ratio. He’s also coming off a two-year run of being a solid reliever for a good team with postseason experience. The fact that he’s left-handed also would make him a desirable target for the Brewers, whose top two relievers are both right-handed. Morejón is still only 27, but he’s been in the big leagues since he was 19, so he becomes a free agent after the season, which should make him relatively attainable. From a financial perspective and fit perspective, Morejón would be one of the targets that would make the most sense for Milwaukee, but every team wants another good lefty reliever.

Another Padre, Wandy Peralta, has a lot of experience and a 3.05 ERA over the past seven years. He’s always managed to outperform his FIP, which for his long career is a whole 1.35 runs higher than his ERA, but it’s still somewhat concerning, and Peralta’s strikeout numbers have gone from “not very good” (career 7.3 per nine) to “alarming” (5.8 per nine this year). I’d stay away.

The Toronto reliever who makes sense in a vacuum is Tyler Rogers, who has been awesome this season and has put together an underrated career. But money is a problem here: Rogers signed a three-year, $37 million contract before the season that includes a vesting option for a fourth year at an additional $11 million. If that option vests, Rogers will be 38 in the last year of the contract, and this is the kind of big money deal that the Brewers have taken pains to avoid. Maybe a wealthy team will get desperate, but I’d expect Rogers to stay with Toronto as well.

A lesser but still prime target from Boston is Garrett Whitlock. Whitlock, who is 30, was excellent in 2025 and has been basically just as good in 2026, with a 2.40 ERA, 2.75 FIP, 10.2 K/9, and just 1.8 BB/9 in 30 innings pitched. He doesn’t throw all that hard, but he’s got a ton of extension — a trait the Brewers like. Whitlock is under control for two more seasons, but that’s via not-all-that-cheap $8.25 million and $10.5 million options (in 2027 and 2028, respectively).

Baltimore’s Yennier Cano is another big target. He’s got two more years of control after this season, and aside from a blip in 2025, he’s been quite good for four years running. Cano doesn’t throw as hard as some of these other guys, and his strikeout numbers aren’t great for a reliever, but he’s an extreme groundball pitcher (99th percentile) who keeps walks down and, this year at least, isn’t allowing home runs.

There are two players on the Diamondbacks who I’d be interested in as well: Jonathan Loáisiga and Juan Morillo. Loáisiga is another groundball guy, one who throws harder than Cano and is a free agent after the season, so if Arizona decides to sell, he’d be an obvious one to go. Morillo is much less likely to get traded; he’s by no means a proven quantity, as he just debuted last season, but he has five more years of control and is one of the hardest throwers in the league. Both pitchers have performed well this season.

A few names to keep an eye on who are not as proven as those above but could still conceivably help:

• I’m skeptical, but Arizona’s Taylor Clarke (a former minor leaguer in Milwaukee’s system) has put up pretty good numbers for two years in a row, and he’s a free agent after the season.
• Sticking with the Diamondbacks, 26-year-old Brandyn Garcia is another hard-throwing groundball pitcher who has been good in a small sample. He’s also got a lot of control, like his teammate Morillo.
• Another San Diego pitcher with a solid ERA but who I’d stay away from: Yuki Matsui. Too many walks.
• One more intriguing Boston pitcher: Tyron Guerrero is 35 and has almost no MLB track record — before this season, he hadn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2019 — but he’s having a good season and throws as hard as almost anyone in the league. He’s also a big extension guy and a groundball machine, traits that the Brewers tend to value. The samples are tiny, though, and there’s not a lot in his history that makes you trust him.
• A former almost-Brewer, Grant Wolfram, has a 4.15 ERA for Baltimore this season. That’s bad, but his FIP in 26 innings is just 1.81, and he’s got 29 strikeouts to only four walks. He’s not really a leverage arm, but he could help bolster things if Milwaukee wanted to go that way.
• In a near-opposite case, Kyle Finnegan has just a 2.18 ERA for the Tigers this season, but he’s got just 6.8 K/9 compared to 5.4 BB/9 in 39 games and has a 4.69 FIP. Stay away!
• One Tiger that intrigues me but also has red flags: Will Vest. He’s hurt at the moment with what has been described as a “non-ligament-related” elbow injury, so it’s a question whether he’ll even be healthy enough to pitch (and given what happened with Shelby Miller last year, the Brewers might be wary of pitchers with health questions). Vest also has a 6.08 ERA this year… but his FIP is just 3.42, and he’d been quite good every year from 2023-25, which is a long run for a reliever in today’s game.

Conclusions

We’ll have to wait and see on the Padres, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Diamondbacks, and Orioles — a couple of good weeks, and any of them could be right there in the Wild Card hunt. But of all the options that seem like they could be realistically available, here’s how I’d rank them:

1. Aroldis Chapman, Red Sox
2. Adrián Morejón, Padres
3. Luke Weaver, Mets
4. Yennier Cano, Orioles
5. Jonathan Loáisiga, Diamondbacks
6. Garrett Whitlock, Red Sox
7. Jimmy Herget, Rockies
8. Antonio Senzatela, Rockies

I think it’s at least reasonable that the guys I’ve listed above will be traded, and while a few (Chapman, Weaver, Whitlock) would require some real financial support from the ownership level, I don’t think any of them are unrealistic from a cost perspective.

Anyone else I’ve mentioned in this article falls into one of three categories:

• I don’t think they’d be a meaningful upgrade (Strahm, Raley, Peralta, etc.)
• They make too much money (Williams, Rogers)
• I don’t think they’ll be traded (Miller, Varland, Morillo, etc.)

What do you think? Anyone I’ve missed?

Hello, friends.

The Orioles have just passed a grim milestone. They now have a worse record than the team did through the same number of games last year. Even as pessimistic as I was about these jokers, I did not imagine this was a likely outcome. Here they are anyway. Last year’s Orioles were 43-50. The 2026 Orioles are now 42-51. What a disappointment. Check out Alex Church’s recap of last night’s game for more of the not-so-lovely totals on how they finally reached this point.

They made it interesting last night. Whatever else can be said about them, you’ve got to give them that. After Dean Kremer gave up four home runs and then Rico Garcia and Grant Wolfram combined to give up five runs between them to put the Orioles in a 9-3 hole, they didn’t go quietly. It’s just that it was too little, too late.

Perhaps that will be what is said about them for this season overall. Pretty much anything that you could cling to that maybe the O’s aren’t falling out of this thing has been obliterated within the last week or so. In addition to falling below last year’s pace, the third wild card team is now above .500, they are five games out of that picture, and the O’s are in last place in the division.

This thing is all but over. They can’t do it. To be sure, mathematical oblivion is a long way off. Other times this season, they’ve stabilized after bad stretches and they might do so again. It’s just that the Orioles have never managed to come back to where they should be. It’s going to be hard to do that as long as they can’t win more than three games in a row.

The Orioles have too many problems to solve and even if they solve some of them, there’s still the hole they’ve dug for themselves. In addition to just needing to have a good enough record by season’s end, the Orioles also need to have a good enough record to convince Mike Elias not to do any selling ahead of the trade deadline. Perhaps even to get him to buy to help solve some of those problems not only for the remainder of this season but for next year as well.

It is not fun that this is the case. There are not any good immediate solutions and any solutions beyond 2026 will require some pain. That could mean players you like being traded. It could mean more upheaval in the front office or on the coaching staff. I am sticking to my opinion that if the Orioles don’t make the playoffs, Elias should be removed at season’s end. There is no point to making a change sooner, barring truly horrendous behavior coming to light. Overseeing an underachieving roster doesn’t count for that. The cake is baked. It’s a crummy cake. Maybe next year’s will be better, if there is a different baker.

Orioles stuff you might have missed

Thoughts on Kremer’s splitter, Cowser’s defense, and more (School of Roch)
The praise for Kremer’s splitter is kind of tragic considering he went on to give up multiple homers on the splitter in last night’s game.

Breaking down the prospects who make the Orioles 2025 draft class its most encouraging in years (The Baltimore Banner)
You can certainly lament Caden Bodine being traded for Shane Baz, but even without him, there are plenty of early success stories for last year’s Orioles draft class. It’s much better to have it be like this than what the 2024 high picks were doing this time a year ago!

Each team’s best draft pick in the last ten years (MLB.com)
The fact that Gunnar Henderson rates the best here is extremely unsatisfying in the face of how his batting performance has tailed off so hard. After last night’s loss, he’s sitting at a .690 OPS. It’s not the only reason that the Orioles are where they are. It is a big reason.

Phil Regan, manager when Cal broke streak record, dies at 89 (The Baltimore Sun)
I think in 1995 I might have asked my dad nearly daily, “What if Phil Regan doesn’t play Cal today?” I don’t know why I was fixated on the idea that he might not do it, but that’s my main Regan memory. Condolences to his loved ones.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

One lone former Oriole has a birthday today: Happy 77th to Steve Luebber, who made seven appearances for the 1981 Orioles.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: sewing machine inventor Elias Howe (1819), composer Ottorino Respighi (1879), actor Tom Hanks (1956), The White Stripes musician Jack White (1975), and Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar (1987).

On this day in history…

In 1540, England’s Henry VIII annulled his marriage to Anne of Cleves, the fourth of his six wives. Queen for about six months, Anne survived the longest of Henry’s wives by living for another 17 years.

In 1762, Catherine, later known as Catherine the Great, seized power in Russia following a coup against her husband, Peter III. She went on to reign for 34 years.

In 1868, the 14th amendment to the US Constitution was formally ratified. Its plain text enshrines birthright citizenship for the United States: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

In 1943, the Allied powers of World War II initiated Operation Husky, an amphibious invasion of the island of Sicily. A bit more than a month later, the island was fully captured, with the Italian mainland set as the next target.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on July 9. Have a safe Thursday. Go O’s!