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The Yankees overturned a six-run deficit with a barrage of home runs, including a go-ahead two-run shot from Luis Garcia Jr. in his Bronx debut, but the bullpen collapsed in the eighth as New York fell 13-7 to the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night.

Cam Schlittler struggled for command and lasted just three innings and it looked like it wouldn’t matter as the Bronx Bombers clobbered five home runs. Unfortunately, the visitors hit five bombs of their own, including three by Alec Burleson, and used a seven-run eighth to land the knock-out blow.  

The Yankees, after a brisk 3:25 game, fell to 63-50 (26-24 at home) and will end the night 3.5 behind Tampa Bay in the AL East. The Cards improved to 56-57 (28-25 on the road).

Here are the takeaways...

- While the Yanks’ starter struggled early, St. Louis’ Michael McGreevy retired the first seven batters he faced on 40 pitches. The home side finally broke through as JoséCaballero worked a walk and Austin Wells lined a basehit up the middle, but the first runners of the night were left stranded.

Down 6-0 with a runner on first in the fifth, Wells got a McGreevy sinker out and over the plate and drilled it into the seats in right for a 394-foot two-run homer to put the Yanks on the board. It was his eighth homer and gives him 16 RBI on the year. He finished 2-for-4 with a strikeout. (He also did well behind the plate, going 4-for-4 on ABS challenges.)

St. Louis went to the bullpen after the Wells homer, but Trent Grisham greeted lefty reliever Justin Bruihl by taking a 1-2 sweeper into the seats in right for back-to-back homers to make it a 6-3 game. His 355-foot homer, which was just 90.9 mph exit velocity, gave him 12 on the year and 43 driven in.

Grisham, who flied out to the wall in the right-center gap his first time up, went 2-for-5 with a strikeout and a hustle double with one down in the seventh.

- Ryan McMahon jumped on the second pitch Ryne Stanek threw for a 410-foot home run to start the seventh, giving him 10 on the season. Two pitches later, Caballero drilled a fastball 400 feet to left to give him 12 on the year and the Yanks back-to-back homers for the second time.

McMahon, who struck out swinging his first time up, dropped a single into right to start the fifth and came around to score on the Wells homer to finish 2-for-3.

Caballero finished 1-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts swinging.

- Garcia hit the ball hard his first time up (102.4 mph off the bat) but got under it for a 351-foot fly out to center. He dropped a single into center to start the fourth for his first hit with the new club. 

But with a runner on second and two down in the seventh, Garcia had what looked to be the signature moment in his debut: golfing a changeup 424 feet into the Yankee bullpen to erase the six-run deficit and put the Yanks ahead with his two-run shot. His 24th homer of the year, on the sixth pitch of a tough battle with George Soriano, was 109 mph and got out on a line.

He finished 2-for-4 and also had a couple nice throws to second on double plays.

- Schlittler didn’t have his normal sharpness, issuing a four-pitch walk to start the game. He paid the price for it as he left a 97 mph fastball over the outside corner toBurleson, who he yanked the 1-2 offering for a 350-foot, two-run shot that just snuck over the short porch in right. After a second walk and a single put two aboard, Schlittler got help from his defense as Jazz Chisholm Jr. started the rare 4-3-6 double-play as the Cardinals ran themselves out of the first inning.

The righty found himself in trouble in the second as another leadoff walk came around to score when José Fermín smoked a ball that got past Jasson Dominguez for an RBI double. Schlittler recovered to get past a one-out walk with three strikeouts.

Schlittler tied his career high with his fifth walk of the game to start the third, but struck out the next two to give him six on the night, but Nathan Church got a fastball up and shot it the other way to left for an RBI single. The night nearly got worse, but Fermín didn't have enough pop in his bat, flying out to the warning track in left on a first-pitch sinker over the plate.

That ended the righty's night: 3.0 innings, four runs on four hits and five walks with six strikeouts on 83 pitches (51 strikes).

- Out of the bullpen, Tim Hill retired the first two men he faced before Jordan Walker dropped a single into right and Burleson struck again, this time driving a sinker on the inside corner (108.3 mph off the bat) for a 365-foot two-run shot to right.

Hill got the first out of the fifth before Kervin Castro took over, getting a strikeout and walk that was erased by a Wells caught stealing to end the fifth. Castro got the first 1-2-3 inning of the night in the sixth. After a Walker infield hit to start the seventh, Garcia was lifted for lefty Ryan Yarbrough, who entered and got a 3-6-3 double-play and a pop out. 

Pitching with a lead for the first time of the night, Yarbrough got stung for a pinch-hit triple to center by pinch-hitter Blaze Jordan to leadoff the eighth. Angel Chivilli, who had been warming in the bullpen before the inning, walked the first man he faced to put runners on the corners and left a changeup over the plate that Church lined 355 feet to right for a go-ahead three-run homer. The Cards weren't done as Fermin singled and Jimmy Crooks clocked a first-pitch fastball 376-feet into the second deck in right for a four-run lead. After JJ Wetherholt singled and Walker flied out, Burleson took a slider on the eighth pitch of the at-bat 418 feet deep into the second deck in right to complete his hat trick of homers. 

Fernando Cruz needed 10 pitches for a 1-2-3 top of the ninth with two strikeouts.

- Domínguez shot a single through the right side against a lefty with one out in the sixth and looked to have stolen second, but after replay review he was called out for having lost contact with the base. He went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts looking.

- Ben Rice flied out the first four times he was up, the second to strand runners on first and second and the fourth with a runner on second in the seventh.

- Spencer Jones went hitless in four times up with two strikeouts.

- Chisholm Jr. was 0-for-4 with a trio of groundouts.

- Ahead of the game, Carlos Rodon threw a 40-pitch live BP at the stadium, which manager Aaron Boone said was encouraging and could see him in line to pitch in a rehab assignment on Saturday. Giancarlo Stanton had another “good week” that saw him hit off Rodon and do some running in the outfield that has the skipper “encouraged about where he’s moving.” Clarke Schmidt is expected to throw around 45 pitches on Tuesday and is “close to being in the mix,” with him eventually heading for a rehab assignment potentially in the near future.

Highlights

Luis García Jr. gets his first hit as a Yankee pic.twitter.com/wdutyjnLSQ

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 4, 2026

Austin Wells gets the Yankees on the board with a two-run homer! pic.twitter.com/cTrDFbsPRY

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 4, 2026

Now a solo home run from Trent Grisham! pic.twitter.com/40bAX2R79l

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 4, 2026

Ryan McMahon with the solo shot! pic.twitter.com/UJcPpcgaY5

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 4, 2026

José Caballero makes it a one-run game!! pic.twitter.com/riwivfVNth

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 4, 2026

LUIS GARCÍA JR. GIVES THE YANKEES THE LEAD WITH A TWO-RUN SHOT! pic.twitter.com/OUQRrRDT5T

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 4, 2026

What's next

The series continues on Tuesday night with a 7:05 p.m. first pitch. 

Ryan Weathers (3.99 ERA, 1.243 WHIP in 115 innings) will make his 2nd start for the home side. The Cardinals have yet to name a starting pitcher.

After a wild afternoon of transactions at the MLB trade deadline, there was a baseball game to play in New York and the Cardinals showed up like they had something to prove as they knocked Cam Schlittler, a Cy Young candidate, out of the game after just a few innings and Alec Burleson was a big reason why. The problem is that baseball games still last 9 innings which means the Cardinals bullpen will almost always become a factor for better or worse. Fortunately, the St. Louis bats would save the day.

When is the last time that we’ve been able to share that the St. Louis Cardinals scored in the first four innings of a game? That happened Monday night and was concurrent with Michael McGreevy having a very positive bounce-back outing (for 4 innings). The result was a Cardinals romp in the Big Apple, but it didn’t look like it would go the St. Louis way for awhile.

It started in the top of the 1st inning when JJ Wetherholt drew a leadoff walk. Two batters later, he was able to leisurely cross the plate after Alec Burleson jumped on a Cam Schlittler 97 mph four-seam fastball and deposited it into the short right-field porch in Yankee Stadium giving the Cardinals an immediate 2-0 lead.

The Cardinals started the top of the 2nd inning the way they started the top of the 1st with a walk by Nathan Church. José Fermín then found a 96 mph four-seam fastball to his liking and hammered it for a RBI double scoring Church and upping the Cardinals lead to 3-0.

The top of the 3rd inning was profitable for St. Louis, as well. Iván Herrera drew a leadoff walk and then stole second. Three batters later, Nathan Church singled to left scoring Herrera giving the Cardinals an unexpected 4-0 lead. Schlittler would only last 3 innings before he was removed from the game by Yankees manager Aaron Boone.

In the top of the 4th inning, Jordan Walker lifted a two-out single into right field. He also was able to take his time rounding the bases as he watched Alec Burleson turn on an 88 mph slider and smack it into the right field stands for a 6-0 Cardinals lead.

That Cardinals lead would start to evaporate in the bottom of the 5th inning when the Yankees lineup started to figure him out. After McMahon singled to right, Wells launched one of Michael McGreevy’s 88 mph sinkers into the right-centerfield stands cutting the Cardinals lead to 6-2. That would end Michael’s night as manager Oli Marmol removed him as his pitch count was in the 90’s and brought in Justin Bruihl. Trent Grisham greeted him with a home run of his own reducing the St. Louis lead to just 6-3.

Bruihl would manage the rest of the 5th inning and all of the 6th inning before Ryne Stanek would take over in the bottom of the 7th inning. He was welcomed to the game by Ryan McMahon who ripped one of his 95 mph sinkers into the right field Yankees bullpen cutting further into the Cardinals lead to 6-4. The very next pitch was launched 400 feet by Caballero into the left field stands making it only 6-5 St. Louis. After Ryne struck out Wells, he gave up a double to Grisham and that ended Stanek’s night.

George Soriano was brought in to try and stop the run hemorrhaging. He was not successful in his efforts. Newly acquired Luis Garcia Jr. who was just obtained by the Yankees in a trade with the Nationals absolutely unloaded on a 90 mph Soriano changeup sending it 424 feet into the right-centerfield stands for a 2-run blast giving the Yankees their first lead of the night 7-6.

Instead of hanging their heads and accepting another game that slipped away because of the bullpen, the St. Louis Cardinals bats rose to the occasion in the top of the 8th inning. It started with a Blaze Jordan “triple” off the left-centerfield wall although the defensive effort by the Yankees was…special. Masyn Winn then walked before Nathan Church decided he’d like to join the right field porch club as he turned a 90 mph changeup into a 3-run go-ahead home run making it 9-7 Cardinals and they were just getting started. After José Fermín singled, Jimmy Crooks unloaded a 2-run bomb into the 2nd deck of right field making it 11-7 Cardinals. Two batters later, JJ Wetherholt singled and then scored when Alec Burleson launched his longest homer of the night 424 feet also into the second deck of Yankee Stadium’s right field stands giving the Cardinals an unbelievable 13-7 lead.

Gordon Graceffo entered the game in the bottom of the 8th inning to keep the Yankees from turning this back into a close game and he was successful. Oli Marmol had him stay in the game to close out the Yankees in the bottom of the 9th inning, too, to lock up the Cardinals victory.

Hunter Dobbins will be the Cardinals starter for Tuesday’s game in the Big Apple. First pitch is again scheduled for 6:05pm central time and the TV broadcast will be available via Cardinals.tv.

The Rays had an extraordinarily busy trade deadline in 2026, and in a pleasant surprise, they were the ones buying and not selling — and better yet, the Rays did so without trading any of their top prospects.

Here’s a recap of the Rays moves, and with all of them happening in August:

• Rays acquire Freddy Peralta from Mets for OF Aidan Smith, INF Emilien Pitre, and RHP Gary Gill Hill
• Rays acquire C/1B Liam Hicks from Marlins for INF Brayden Taylor, SS Adrian Santana, and RHP Jacob Kisting
• Rays acquire RHP Tyler Wells from Orioles for RHP Michael Forret
• Rays acquire OF Jack Suwinski, int’l money from Dodgers for C Hunter Feduccia, RHP Jacob Kmatz

Before we discuss the moves made, there is one specific move the Rays didn’t make, and it’s the place we have to start.

If the Rays had needs heading into the deadline, it’s reasonable to suspect in might have been second base. The platoon of Richie Palacios and Ben Williamson has batted for a sub-90 wRC+ this season, but what’s easy to overlook is the defense they have provided. There were various players on the market that could have done better with the bat, most notable being San Francisco’s Arraez, but what hey might not have inspired was confidence with the glove, and for the Rays that is a significant part of the overall value equation.

Also part of that value equation though? What you didn’t give away in order to add a problematic defender. As we wrote about heading into the deadline, the Rays had a significant problem in that their best trade pieces were not the ones coming up for Rule 5 eligibility. The Rays, undeterred, stayed diamondhands on the likes of OF Theo Gillen and C Caden Bodine, instead threading the needle to find the best fits for the players they were willing to deal.

Accordingly, it’s hard not to applaud the Rays entirely for what they’ve achieved.

Here are the needs the Rays did see fit to address: starting pitcher, starting catcher, reliever, and outfield depth. Each makes sense, as two-time All-Star Peralta allows respected veteran Matz to limit his times through the order by moving to the bullpen, Hicks adds a promising offensive boost to the lineup (perhaps even spelling the need to add offense to the infield) while also allowing the Rays to move forward from Feduccia, Wells adds extra punch setting up Baker, and in return for Feduccia the Rays get another LHH outfielder to slot in behind Mullins, Mesa, and Melton in case there are any injury concerns down the stretch.

These are all respectable, sensible additions that go above and beyond what you might be used to seeing from this Rays team — and all the more notable knowing it was a seller’s market, which is to say slim pickins unless an overpay was the intent.

And it bears repeating — the Rays did not overpay for anything.

Peralta’s deal gave up three respectable pieces, but ones with flaws too. Smith was the prince who was promised in the Arozarena trade, but with an objective lens, he was formerly five tool player missing the all important hit tool. And Pitre, by comparison, was the opposite, offering all the hit tool and not much of the rest. Gill Hill was a former top-100 arm in places but currently not ranked that way anywhere. Combined, the three are all on the outside-looking-in on the Rays top ten prospects, and a far cry from what the Mets dealt to get Peralta in the first place.

Hicks’s trade cost was far more notable; instead of dealing three players trending down, the front office capitalized on three players trending up. Taylor was lost cause just months ago but reinvented his swing, Santana added muscle and recently elevated an elite defense first profile, and Kirsting — although recently acquired — was trending in the right direction under Winston Doom’s program. All three of these players are flashes in the pan, prospects: rightfully finding success at levels they should have always been succeeding at. Neander and company struck when the iron was hot, and got back a long term major league piece better than could have been wished for if I told you none of the top prospects were moving.

Wells’s return was the highest rated prospect we will discuss today, as Forret was easily in the top-ten prospects, but he was also — importantly — a former Baltimore prospect, and goes back to a team that might have some serious regrets about dealing with the Rays when they were in position to demand an overpay from Tampa Bay. Yes, it’s a minor overpay for a set up man, but strong insurance for 2026 in return for an arm that still has question marks the Rays were clearly content to leave unanswered. In this case, you have to trust that if the front office wants to deal him, they might know what they’re doing.

The fourth move is probably a shuffling of deck chairs, but on the whole it’s a helpful move to turn Feduccia into better insurance, and you have to love adding some international pool money along the way.

So what do I grade this deadline?

Unequivocally — this is an A performance from Erik Neander and the front office.

Don’t believe me? Consider the likes of the Boston Red Sox, a front office seemingly grasping for straws and mortgaging the future again and again to add whatever and wherever they could find. In a vacuum I would already take Hicks over Adley Rutschman, or Wells over Erik Miller, and in both cases the Rays gave up far less than what it required of Breslow. And that’s not even mentioning the travesty of Connor Early for one at bat from Curtis Mead.

There’s a devil’s advocate version of appraisal here that faults the Rays from moving on from players like Smith and Taylor and Forret, but that’s a sunk cost fallacy, and ignores the fact that the front office has far more information than any of us do today. The counter aguements are typical. You won’t win every trade, you have to give something to get something, yada yada yada — but let’s be honest: The Rays were clearly aggressively thorough this trade deadline and walk away potentially the biggest winners not named the Dodgers, giving up little to add extraordinarily more than could have been anticipated.

So, how has the outlook changed?

Following the deadline, the FanDuel Sportsbook has the World Series odds at +1500 for the Rays — and that’s a bit insulting. It’s the sixth best, but behind the Yankees (+600) and Red Sox (+1400) for reasons hard to explain, especially when the Rays remain the favorites to take the division (-130).

If you’re considering betting World Series odds, there might not be a better time than now, lest the Sportsbook wise up. Anyway — this deadline get’s an A-grade from me. Let’s go beat up the Rockies.

Go Rays!

After the Mets traded away eight major league players leading up to Monday's deadline, some call-ups ahead of Tuesday's game against the Cleveland Guardians were going to be necessary. 

New York is promoting and recalling the following players, reports The Athletic's Will Sammon: 

• RHP Dedniel Núñez
• LHP Jefry Yan
• LHP Nate Lavender
• RHP Chayce McDermott
• RHP Xzavion Curry
• OF Cristian Pache

Núñez will make his long-awaited return to the majors as he recently had his rehab assignment transferred to Triple-A Syracuse on July 8. The right-hander had been recovering from Tommy John surgery and last pitched in the majors in July 2025. He owned a 4.15 ERA with 14 strikeouts over 13 games in the minors across four levels this season.

Yan, 29, has pitched to a 3.24 ERA over 35 appearances in Double-A (3.71 ERA in 21 games) and Triple-A (2.40 ERA in 14 games). The lefty has racked up an impressive 77 strikeouts to just 28 walks over 41.2 IP. 

Lavender, who was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2024 Rule 5 Draft, returned to the Mets last fall after he was DFA'd. The lefty missed the entire 2025 season recovering from an elbow injury that required an internal brace procedure. Now 26-years-old, Lavender has made 25 appearances with Triple-A Syracuse this year and owns a 3.27 ERA with 53 strikeouts across 33.0 IP.

McDermott was acquired by New York from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for the recently DFA'd Ben Rortvedt. He made two appearances for LA (7.71 ERA) and owned a 4.10 ERA over 27 games in Triple-A. 

Meanwhile, Pache last played in the majors with the Miami Marlins in 2024 and is hitting .232 over 93 games with Triple-A Syracuse this year. 

Curry has appeared in five games with the Mets this season and most recently tossed six innings of relief on July 31 against the Marlins.

No date will ever top Oct. 27, 2002, the date the Angels won their lone World Series.

We could talk about Sept. 30, 1984, the date Mike Witt threw the Angels’ lone perfect game. Or June 9, 2009, the date the Angels drafted the best player in franchise history, Mike Trout. Or July 29, 2018, the date Vladimir Guerrero became the first player to wear an Angels cap on a Hall of Fame plaque.

Or, if you care to look at it from a cynical angle, that fateful fall day in 1979 when then-general manager Buzzie Bavasi said he could replace Nolan Ryan, who had just gone 16-14 in his final year in Anaheim, with “two 8-7 pitchers.”

This isn’t about trivia. This is to say that Monday might well be remembered as one of those significant dates in Angels history.

Read more:Last-place Angels beat first-place Brewers to end five-game losing streak

In recent years, the Angels have deluded themselves and their fans with such beliefs as: they had assembled a young core that could win; Shohei Ohtani really wanted to stay; and the universally and consistently poor rankings of their minor-league system should be dismissed.

On Monday, John Mozeliak changed all that. The Angels’ interim general manager traded seven players off the major-league roster ahead of the trade deadline, including five within the final nine hours. Mozeliak imported nine prospects, only one of which will report to the major-league team.

It was one thing for owner Arte Moreno and new team president Molly Jolly to recruit Mozeliak six weeks ago and promise that he could embark on a desperately overdue rebuild.

To see it actually come to fruition? Maybe there really are Angels in the outfield.

“What’s really impressive for me is just the amount of trust I’ve been granted,” Mozeliak said.

The Angels finished in last place last year, and the year before that. They are on pace to lose 100 games this season, for the first time in franchise history. Their postseason drought is about to hit 12 years, the longest in baseball.

But now there is a plan, not just a bunch of ifs and hopes, even if the Angels might have to take another step back to take two steps forward.

“I would say we took a step forward today,” Mozeliak said on a videoconference after the trade deadline passed.

Prospects! Tell me more!

The only top-50 prospect the Angels acquired: shortstop Arjun Nimmala, 20. The Toronto Blue Jays swapped him and two other minor leaguers for pitcher José Soriano. Mozeliak said Nimmala is about two years from the majors.

The only prospect coming to the majors: catcher/designated hitter Moises Ballesteros, whom Mozeliak said would DH in two of the next three games.

That means Jorge Soler won’t be the DH for the moment. Who was traded?

Soriano, outfielder Jo Adell, catcher Logan O’Hoppe and relievers Ryan Zeferjahn, Brent Suter, Kirby Yates and Chase Silseth. All but Suter and Yates were under the Angels’ control beyond this season.

And who was not traded?

In addition to Soler, pitcher Reid Detmers and shortstop Zach Neto (“We definitely listened to offers, but we were not comfortable with the offers we received”) and first baseman Nolan Schanuel (“He was asked about, but not to the level of others”).

Mozeliak had said last month that a Trout trade was “not happening.” He said Monday that he had invited Trout to observe the team’s war room ahead of the trade deadline.

“He’s the face of this franchise,” Mozeliak said. “From where I stand, from being around him, we want to get this better for him, and for others. Our fans want to see winning.”

Mozeliak had said the Angels should not need a total rebuild because the resources available to a major-market team should mitigate the need to tank and just play kids. Does he believe the Angels could be better next season?

Hear it from him: “We need to remain disciplined and patient to a process and not just try to rush some people to the big leagues. ... If they’re not ready, and we’re not ready to compete with that group, that’s where we’re going to augment using more of the free-agent model.”

Read more:Shaikin: Can a new minor league team in Irvine attract fans if the Angels are so affordable?

This is starting to sound like a long-term plan. Is Mozeliak here for the long-term, as most inside the industry believe he is?

Mozeliak insists he hasn’t decided if he wants to stay, and he hasn’t yet met with Moreno and Jolly to discuss the matter. But he said two things that stuck out to me.

One: “It’s fun being back in the game. I didn’t realize how much I missed it.”

Two: “We have made a difference. Change has been real.”

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The MLB trade deadline was here and gone in a flash, and just about each one of your California-based teams was active leading up to the cutoff Monday afternoon.

Some clubs were more aggressive than others. Some looked to move off of players, while others were stacking their roster for a postseason run.

There were a total of 15 moves made and finalized between the five teams on the day of the deadline, Aug. 3. There were a total of 22 transactions dating back to July 10.

Here are all of the transactions and trades completed involving the San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, San Diego Padres and the Athletics.

For one night, at least, general manager Brian Cashman looked like a genius with his decision to land Luis García Jr. ahead of the trade deadline.

And for one night, at least, Aaron Boone’s first comments on the first baseman and designated hitter — “he rakes” — were prophetic.

García, making his debut Monday, launched a two-run home run over the left-field fence to briefly give the Yankees a 7-6 lead in the seventh inning against the Cardinals after initially falling behind 6-0. The Yankees’ bullpen, however, struggled in the eighth as the Bombers quickly fell behind again.

The Yankees acquired him from the Nationals on Sunday in exchange for pitchers Yovanny Cruz, Jake Bird, Ben Grable and Jack Cebert, attempting to add a jolt to a lineup currently missing Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton.

García entered with a .560 slugging percentage, which led the National League, and had hit 23 homers in his first 104 games of the season for the Nationals.

His 24th of the year ensured he made a strong first impression with the Yankees.

It’s a three-peat until proven otherwise.

That much became apparent as Major League Baseball’s trade deadline passed and the Los Angeles Dodgers added the greatest left-handed pitcher in the game while the chief threats to their bid for a third consecutive World Series title were relegated to leftovers.

So just how does the acquisition of Tarik Skubal affect the path and probability for clubs aiming to knock off the Dodgers?

Injuries and other factors will surely affect the composition of contenders come October, but the end of the trade deadline tells us exactly the composition of an organization for the rest of the way. And with that, USA TODAY Sports ranks the top eight World Series contenders:

The Red Sox’s acquisition of Adley Rutschman has left some in the game shocked at what Boston was willing to give up in the deal with the Orioles. 

The Red Sox picked up the three-time All-Star catcher, along with catcher Jake Rogers and cash, in exchange for a haul of prospects and players that went to Baltimore, which included pitching prospects Anthony Eyanson and Kyson Witherspoon, outfield prospect Enddy Azocar, veteran catcher Carlos Narvaez and a player to be named later or cash considerations. 

However, it appears the cost to bring in Rutschman was too much for some, according to MassLive’s Sean McAdam. Eyanson (No. 1), Witherspoon (No. 6) and Azocar (No. 7) are now all in the Orioles’ top-10 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.

In a social media post, McAdam reported that there were people around baseball “stunned” by the cost the Red Sox paid for the All-Star catcher and that one evaluator with another organization put it another way. 

“I’m absolutely dumbfounded by this…This is literally one of the most ridiculous trades I’ve seen in 30 years,” the person told McAdam. 

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow also acknowledged that the high price had been a bit uncomfortable for him, but also said that when you’re making a deal at this time of year, “there are no deals that are comfortable.” 

“You don’t draw a line and say this is as far as we’ll go, and there’s a bit of a moving target,” he said. “And you try to remain as disciplined as you can, but I think you have to constantly zoom out to remind yourself that like what you’re trying to do is improve your major league team in this season.”

Rutschman is hitting .251/.331/.433, along with eight home runs and 47 RBIs in 67 games this season. 

The addition does provide the Red Sox with a big bat and addresses their need at catcher. 

Rutschman is dealing with left wrist inflammation that landed him on the injured list. He has not played since July 18.

CLEVELAND — Six trades later, the Mets makeover is finished.

The organization’s final tally as Monday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline passed was seven players jettisoned over five days and 11 prospects imported. If nothing else, president of baseball operations David Stearns was active in overhauling a roster that has been MLB’s most disappointing this season.

Such is life for a team that assembled a $380 million payroll for this season but has cratered to a 47-66 record and last place standing in the National League East.

Any hopes of a revival were dashed with a plunge into the abyss in late June that forced manager Carlos Mendoza’s firing. It left the Mets as sellers at the trade deadline for the second time in four seasons.

“I believe it was the right thing to do given where we are in this season to make these decisions,” Stearns said on a video call. “These are not easy decisions, and our goal is to move the organization forward in the best way possible to ensure that we have a far better season next and each season beyond.”

On a whirlwind Monday, the Mets completed their final four deals of the trade season involving major league players. The two most noteworthy trades occurred in the late afternoon: Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor were dealt for the Cubs’ No. 2 prospect, infielder Jefferson Rojas. It followed the trade that sent Luke Weaver to Pittsburgh for the Pirates’ No. 9 prospect, infielder Sammy Stafura. The Mets are sending about $8 million to the Pirates as part of the deal.

Earlier in the day, the Mets traded Huascar Brazobán and Brooks Raley to the White Sox and Phillies, respectively. From the White Sox, the Mets acquired Chicago’s No. 18 prospect Gabe Davis, a right-handed pitcher, and Zach Franklin, an unranked right-handed pitcher. From the Phillies the Mets acquired Philadelphia’s No. 27 prospect, outfielder John Spikerman, and right-handed pitcher Luke Gabrysh, an unranked prospect.

A day earlier the Mets traded Freddy Peralta to the Rays for outfielder Aidan Smith, right-handed pitcher Gary Gill Hill and infielder Émilien Pitre. Those three players ranked as the Nos. 15, 26 and 27 Rays prospects.

Stearns acknowledged the difficult decisions the Mets faced in trading Weaver and Brazobán, both of whom were under club control for next season. The rest of the players dealt are set to hit free agency after this season.

“Really tough decisions there, and not straight forward,” Stearns said. “We had a lot of internal discussion and debate. Ultimately, the returns we were able to get we thought made sense in the best interest of the organization, recognizing that at this time of year you are often able to get really good talent back for relief pitching. We understand we’re going to have to go out and acquire relievers in the offseason in different ways to get our bullpen back to where we expect it to be in 2027.”

The Mets looked to trade veteran outfielder Luis Robert Jr., according to a source, but a deal never materialized for the veteran outfielder, who has spent most of this season on the injured list. Robert’s contract, which is paying him $20 million this season, has a club option for 2027.

Why keep Robert?

“I think with Luis, it’s the possibility of what he can do for us in the second half, the understanding that there is a club option and the excitement of still having him here for the next few months of the season,” Stearns said.

Five of the 11 players the Mets acquired were infielders, but Stearns said that course wasn’t dictated by design.

“I think our approach was what’s the best talent?” he said. “It’s so difficult to know exactly what roles you are going to need at the major league level at any point in time and so our approach was really, what’s the best talent? Who are the players that we think have the ability to be the best major league players?” 

As far as Yankees prospects go, George Lombard Jr. was about as untouchable as they come as the trade deadline passed Monday.

Now the question becomes when the Yankees might call him up over the final two months of the season to see if he can provide a solution to their shortstop question after it went unanswered at Monday’s deadline.

“If he does [get a shot], we’ll let you know,” GM Brian Cashman said on a conference call Monday night. “Obviously tonight, that’s not the case. It’s business as usual the way we’re currently set.”

That meant Anthony Volpe and José Caballero continuing to split the position for now, as the Yankees entered Monday having received 0.8 bWAR from their shortstops this season.

Neither Volpe nor Caballero has done much to put a stranglehold on the position, creating questions about whether Lombard will get a chance to take over this season.

The 21-year-old Lombard, after returning from a finger injury in mid-July, has been tearing it up at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, batting .268 with a .845 OPS across 56 games — including .377 with a 1.081 OPS in 14 games since coming off the injured list.

Cashman indicated the Yankees explored adding a shortstop or infield help, but did not ultimately see a match — at a deadline when no major league shortstops got traded.

“I don’t think there were a lot of opportunities that existed that were upgrades for us,” Cashman said. “We like the players we have and we like the players we have on the come. … It was going to be a high bar.”

When describing his negotiations with the Tigers on Tarik Skubal, who ultimately went to the Dodgers, Cashman hinted that they may have asked for (and refused to move off of) Lombard, a price he was unwilling to pay.

The Yankees believe that Lombard — whose makeup and baseball IQ gets raved about by any and all club officials — is already ready for the big leagues defensively.

Offensively, he has taken some time to adjust to each new level in the minors, so if the Yankees want to have Lombard as their shortstop by the playoffs — or at least see if he can handle the job — it may behoove them to call him up sooner rather than later to give him enough runway into October.

Having traded away a slew of players ahead of the trade deadline earlier this evening, the Mets are set to call up six players, per Will Sammon: Dedniel Núñez, Jefry Yan, Nate Lavender, Chayce McDermott, Xzavion Curry, and Cristian Pache. The team has 21 players on its active roster at the time of this writing, and with Curry having just been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse on Friday. Perhaps another pitcher is going on the injured list.

Núñez had Tommy John surgery last July, and he’s been pitching in the minors on a rehab assignment. In 13.0 innings, most of which have been with Syracuse, he has a 4.15 ERA and a 3.81 FIP. In 44.2 major league innings before his elbow injury, he had a 2.82 ERA and a 2.62 FIP.

Yan is a 29-year-old who took a long break from baseball in the late 2010s, but he’ll be making his major league debut whenever he appears in a game. He’s been in the Mets’ organization since the start of the 2026 season, and he’s had an outstanding 43.5% strikeout rate and a somewhat staggering 15.8% walk rate with a 3.24 ERA and a 2.64 FIP in 41.2 innings between his time in Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse. He’s known for his eccentric strikeout celebrations.

Lavender, a left-handed reliever, has been in the Mets’ system since the team drafted him in 2021. He was limited to just 7.0 innings in 2024 and missed the entirety of the 2025 season because of an injury. He’s thrown 43.0 innings in the minors this year with a 3.77 ERA and a 2.78 FIP. He, too, will be making his major league debut when he first appears.

McDermott is a 27-year-old right-handed reliever who came to the Mets when they traded minor league catcher Ben Rortvedt back to the Dodgers today. He’s thrown a total of 15.0 major league innings with the Orioles and Dodgers and has a 12.00 ERA and an 8.74 FIP. He has a 4.55 ERA and a 4.51 FIP in 31.2 innings in Triple-A this year.

Curry has thrown 11.0 innings with the Mets with a 3.27 ERA and a 4.92 FIP since joining the organization this year. He has a 4.56 ERA and a 5.63 FIP in 51.1 innings in Syracuse this year.

And last but not least, Pache is a right-handed hitter who is 27 years old who was considered a top-100 prospect in baseball from 2019 through 2022 as he played in the Braves’ minor league system. He’s made 610 plate appearances in the big leagues and hit just .181/.243/.275 with a 46 wRC+. He hasn’t hit much better in Syracuse this year, either, with a .232/.289/.356 line and a 62 wRC+.