Category: Sports News

New Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal met with reporters on Monday at Wrigley Field in Chicago, one day after he was acquired as the showcase piece of this year’s trade deadline, and one day before the left-hander makes his pitching debut with his new team.

From Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic:

“Every team could trade for me,” Skubal said. “Every team can make that acquisition. I don’t really sympathize with people that blame the Dodgers for anything they’ve done.”

Skubal had kind words to say about his new team, per Maddie Lee of the Los Angeles Times:

“They’ve developed a really good organization. They draft well. They acquire talent really well. They retain talent. It’s a winning organization. Now the complaints seem to be [happening] because they’ve won the last two World Series. I don’t think it was like that three years ago. So I don’t really sympathize with people that are complaining. Because the Dodgers do all the right things.”

Links

Kyle Tucker was booed all night at Wrigley Field in his first game back in Chicago since signing with the Dodgers after playing last year for the Cubs. From Jack Harris of the California Post:

“I don’t know,” he said when asked of the hostilities afterward. “I tried my hardest last year. I tried playing through a hand fracture and calf thing, just trying to get back for the playoffs for them, trying to do what I could to help out the team.”

After Justin Wrobleski allowed four home runs for a second straight start, manager Dave Roberts and Wrobleski discussed the possibility that he might be tipping his pitches. From Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register:

“It’s interesting. I think the stuff is really good, as good as it’s been all year,” Roberts said. “It just seemed like they were on everything. Some balls that were executed decently, they still took good swings, and when he made good pitches, they spoiled. And when he did make mistakes, it just seemed like they went out of the ballpark.

Old friend Nick Frasso, traded to the Rockies on July 20 in the Seth Halvorsen deal, was called up by Colorado on Monday. When he next appears in a game, Frasso will be making his major league debut.

The 2026 MLB trade deadline has come and gone. There were many moves, some of them big, some of them small, many of them graded by me right here on this very website. But it’s all over, and save for a couple of minor league elevations here and there, these are the teams everyone will take into October. Tarik Skubal is on the Los Angeles Dodgers, Adley Rutschman is on the Boston Red Sox absolutely nobody… okay, Heliot Ramos, is on the New York Yankees. What a time to be alive!

As is tradition, we will now embark on naming some winners and losers of said trade deadline, but I’m going to wax poetic about the format real quick: “winners and losers” is a great way to encapsulate these massive decision-making periods that sports are obsessed with; trade deadlines, the first day of free agency, the transfer window in soccer — we love them. But it is also impossible to actually “win” or “lose” the deadline on the day of the deadline, which is when I’m writing this. MLB decisions are like those of Bene Gesserit in Dune: plans are measured in centuries, and prospect returns can include guys who may not debut until, like, 2030 or something crazy. 

The following “winners” and “losers” are thus merely my opinion about what MLB teams did (or did not) do on and around August 3, 2026, and how I believe they will play out. It’s not that I could be wrong, but that I will be wrong — I’m just not quite sure about what yet.

Winner: Los Angeles Dodgers

(imagine the following paragraph read in as monotone a voice as possible) I am contractually obligated to begin the column with this but will not be spending any more time on it than I have to. The Dodgers traded for Tarik Skubal, the best pitcher in the world, to add to their back-to-back World Series champion roster, raising their odds of a three-peat from “really high” to “really high.” Congratulations to everyone involved.

Loser: Milwaukee Brewers

Welcome to the other side of the coin. The Brew Crew came into the deadline with one goal and one goal only: put Tarik Skubal and Jacob Misiorowski together. They failed to accomplish that, and the Dustin May-sized consolation gift basket won’t do much when their main rival, the Dodgers, keep getting better and better as the days go on. 

May is a player I struggle to understand, as teams continuously talk themselves into his upside before experiencing his many downsides. He had a couple of majestic starts for the ripping-hot St. Louis Cardinals early in the year before he snapped back to reality (ope, there goes gravity). Meanwhile, the Cubs seriously improved their pitching situation by adding two starters and Milwaukee is left with the sinking feeling that all National League teams feel: is there any hope against Los Angeles?

Winner: Chicago Cubs

No team better identified their biggest need and aggressively addressed it than the Chicago Cubs did with starting pitching. Maybe they were in on Skubal or Freddy Peralta, but with those two off the board they quickly snatched up two elite rental options in Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes. That is a substantial improvement to the 2026 team with mostly replaceable prospect commitments. The Cubs clearly understand they have something special with the 2026 ball club, and went out and improved it with proactive but low-risk moves. If Gausman and Holmes aren’t the best thing since deep-dish pizza? No problem, they’re not going to be around very long anyway.

This type of hybrid approach at the deadline is valuable because it doesn’t tilt the scales too hard in either direction. The Cubs have a good thing going, but also realize they have a chance to build a contender for years to come with their young stars. There’s no need to go supremely all-in when notable rental improvements keep some powder dry for later. I think the Cubs have positioned themselves well.

Loser: New York Yankees

(pops Red Sox bias on the gramophone and reclines in old-timey chair) When the Yankees traded for first baseman Luis Garcia Jr., multiple successive tweets about the trade made sure to include that Garcia “LEADS THE NATIONAL LEAGUE IN SLUGGING PERCENTAGE” like people who forget about it if you didn’t persistently remind them. Garcia is, however, not some kind of All-Star-level hitter. He’s good, and can provide above-average offensive production, but he’s not the league-swinging savior.

Heliot Ramos is another good-not-great add, but the Yankees’ biggest failure was an inability to trade for a catcher to replace Austin Wells. Every single catcher in the universe was mock traded to the Yankees in the last few days, and they just couldn’t get a deal done. It’s possible the Yankees have medical information on Aaron Judge that suggests he will not be back this season, which would certainly explain their inaction. Otherwise, it’s hard to explain. 

Cherry on top: when Yankees GM Brian Cashman was asked about their catcher pursuit, he responded that, for Adley Rutschman, “We were unable to meet the price, so they did their business elsewhere.” That somewhere is our next winner on this list.

Winner: Boston Red Sox 

(flips Red Sox bias to side B and reclines even further in old-timey chair) There are a lot of ways to take Boston trading Anthony Eyanson and several other prospects for Adley Rutschman: it’s an in-division blockbuster meant to give Orioles fans convulsions; a massive overpay with ultra-valuable prospects for a player who never lived up to the hype; a furious win-now move from Craig Breslow which revived his reputation with Red Sox fans. 

Here’s my two cents: I am not a scout. I have never seen Anthony Eyanson pitch, nor do I have strong opinions about the projection of Kyson Witherspoon, though I do my best to defer to smart people (like the crew at soxprospects.com, shoutout) for this stuff. What I do know is that the Red Sox dramatically improved their catcher position and probably just added 5.0 WAR to their lineup overnight with a switch-hitting three-time All-Star catcher with a year and a half of control. And they added him to a team that has gone 25-5 in their last month of play in an American League that is dying for somebody to take it. 

With additional moves like trading Marcelo Mayer for LHP Erik Miller making tons of sense for Boston, this was a deadline about winning in the playoffs right the heck now. Many may forget that Boston’s two best players, Roman Anthony and Garrett Crochet, have missed basically the entire season. If they (and Rutschman actually, he’s on the IL) can get healthy? Watch out.

Today’s Reflections

A lot has been made about how Tarik Skubal was given away by the Tigers/stolen by the Dodgers. Yes, the Dodgers are evil, but there is one thing that I read Saturday night that I haven’t heard specifically mentioned following the trade. Prior to the trade, I read that the Tigers demanded a SP in return that would go into the rotation. River Ryan was a blocked Dodger minor-leaguer that the Tigers will promote to their rotation once he’s off the IL from a hamstring strain.

I can’t speak for the other 28 teams, but the Cubs do not have a healthy, controllable, desirable SP to trade. That’s a big reason why they were left standing on the sidelines of this deal.

Kevin Gausman was a very good acquisition for the upper part of the Cubs’ rotation at no real cost to them. And it would be a great acquisition if they get a Reid Detmers or Clay Holmes for a middle-of-the rotation guy because 1) you need five healthy pitchers to get to the playoffs, and 2) you need back-up in case the injury bug continues to fester and you don’t have to depend on Peterson/Rea/Assad as part of your playoff rotations. (Wrote this two hours before the Holmes trade was announced).

Edit: Gausman and Holmes, with Braxton Garrett as a back-up for the rotation and the bullpen, and Ryan Zeferjahn as the power bullpen arm that is needed, made this a solid 2026 trade deadline haul — something we aren’t used to by the Cubs’ front office. And all that without any more than a sniff of Josiah Hartshorn, Pedro Ramirez or Matt Shaw getting shipped out. I’m cautiously pumped!

One more thing: There’s a lot of gnashing of teeth about trading the blocked players, Moises Ballesteros and Jefferson Rojas. Yet, I guess the writers forgot about the gushing of how the Cubs got Gausman for so little the day before (ahem, Keith Law). So I think it evens out a good bit. It’s definitely all in, though!

A lot of analysis and grades below.

But the baseball is still being played on the field, not just the front offices. The results weren’t as good as the Cubs’ trade deadline were. They lost the Yankee series with the offense scoring one run on nine hits and six walks over 18 innings. Maybe the Friday game can be credited to Will Warren as he struck out seven without issuing a walk. That’s tough.

But after bouncing back for the win on Saturday, Chicago had the chance to win the series Sunday. And it came down to one half-inning. The Cubs chipped away at the Yankees and Gerrit Cole, picking up a run in the fourth and chased Cole from the game in the sixth after working him into a bases-loaded situation. After getting two on with no one out, Michael Busch flied out and Alex Bregman struck out. Cole left following a walk, but Nico Hoerner flied out to end the biggest chance to take the lead. The Cubs had two on with one out in the eighth, but Busch and Bregman flied out.

The Cubs had one big inning Saturday, with a Hoerner HR, an RBI-triple by PCA and a Seiya Suzuki single. That’s it. In the game, the first six hitters in the line-up had at least one hit (Hoerner with two). Sunday, Suzuki went two-for-four, but there were only two other hits by the team.

On the mound, Saturday saw David Peterson allow one earned run on five hits and no walks while having struck out seven in 6.1 IP. Colin Rea had yet another solid performance, holding the Yankees to four hits and a walk over six innings. But yet again, it was just one pitch, a two-run blast, that proved costly.

Those are two very good performances, but with the addition of Gausman and Holmes, and the return of Edward Cabrera, Peterson, Rea and Javier Assad will each see a good bit in the bullpen. And it will give mainly Rea a break from extending himself every fifth day. Thinking positively, that’s a great situation to be in.

*means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have enabled real sarcasm font in the comments.

Sunday’s Game Stories:

• Andy Martinez (Chicago Tribune {$}): Chicago Cubs drop series to New York Yankees — and now move on to host Los Angeles Dodgers and Tarik Skubal. ““I haven’t spent too much time thinking about it, me personally,” Rea said after the Cubs’ 2-1 loss to the New York Yankees on Sunday at Wrigley Field. “I think we’re so focused on the day-to-day and trying to win each game. It’s not like we have a day off to think about it.”“

• Brian Sandalow (Chicago Sun-Times): Pete Crow-Armstrong’s refined approach continues impressing Cubs manager Craig Counsell. “The Cubs should have tied the game in the sixth.”

Saturday’s Game Stories:

• Brian Sandalow (Chicago Sun-Times): David Peterson strong again in Cubs’ 5-2 win over Yankees. “Peterson, who pitched 6 1/3 innings and gave up two runs, has done more than just stabilize the rotation and eat innings since his arrival from the Mets.”

• Andy Martinez (Chicago Tribune {$}): Nico Hoerner and Pete Crow-Armstrong deliver big hits, but an unheralded duo fuels Chicago Cubs’ 5-2 win. “As Saturday’s 5-2 win over the New York Yankees at Wrigley Field showed, it was the performances of two players — left-hander David Peterson and infielder Pedro Ramírez — who weren’t with the Cubs at the start of the season that put them in a position to win the game.”

Kevin Gausman Analysis:

• Mitch Bannon, Ken Rosenthal and Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Cubs acquire Kevin Gausman from Blue Jays to strengthen rotation. “The Cubs have focused on adding pitching this summer, and in Gausman they’re getting an experienced performer who they believe has a lot left in the tank.”
• Keith Law (The Athletic {$}): Cubs get Kevin Gausman without trading any top prospects. “Kevin Gausman is a clear upgrade for them, and it turned out he came at a very reasonable cost.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Various Spillover Kevin Gausman Bits: His Impact, Possible Re-Signing, Recent Stretch, Veteran Pitcher Value, More. “Kevin Gausman clearly made a huge impression in Toronto, and I don’t doubt that his clubhouse impact was a non-zero factor in the Cubs making the move.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Cubs Officially Announce Kevin Gausman Trade, Have Now Parted with 6 of Top 7 2024 Draft Picks. “Like David Peterson before him, Gausman stands to benefit from a much stronger defense than he’d been pitching in front of previously.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs’ Kevin Gausman trade heist of Blue Jays could fuel even bigger deadline ambitions. “Forget it, Jed is rolling.”
• Randy Holt (North Side Baseball): What Cubs Gave Up in Kevin Gausman Trade. “At the end of the day, this is kind of the plutonic ideal of a deadline deal for the Cubs. They acquired a player at a dire position of need, while sending back a pair of prospects with decent floors but limited ceilings.”
• Landon Kinney (LastWordOnSports): The Cubs Trade for Kevin Gausman: A Deep Dive. “This was definitely a low-risk, high-reward move for the Cubs that made sense.”
• Casey McAleer (DaWindyCity): Kevin Gausman gives the Cubs exactly the rotation stability they needed. “Chicago acquired a durable veteran whose command and strikeout numbers provide far more encouragement than his surface-level ERA.”
• Ethan Hyatt (Just Baseball): Chicago Cubs Land a Top Starter By Adding Kevin Gausman. “For the Cubs, they’re looking for a pitcher with experience pitching in the postseason, headlining a rotation, and being a consistent and reliable option every time he pitches.”

Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor Analysis:

• Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): INSANITY: Cubs Trade Jefferson Rojas to Mets for Starter Clay Holmes, Outfielder Tyrone Taylor. “In a move that reads like a poker player shoving the short stack into the center of the felt, the Cubs are reportedly dealing one of their top prospects to the Mets for a pair of rental role players.”
• Will Sammon and Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Cubs add another arm in deal with Mets for Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor. “Jed Hoyer doesn’t love the phrase “all-in” when it comes to acquiring players. But a flurry of moves over 24 hours, which has seen him send away some of his top prospects, suggests he’s not taking the 2026 season for granted.“
• Matt Sullivan (Sporting News): Why Cubs are trading for Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor from Mets. “Even though it’s a costly trade, sending Rojas for a rental starter and outfielder, it’s the kind of move that will give them a much better chance at a deep postseason run.”
• Alex House (ClutchPoints): Cubs get Clay Holmes, Tyrone Taylor in Mets trade just before deadline, “The Chicago Cubs are not intimidated by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers or any other National League contender, and if they were, they should be feeling more confident following an eventful trade deadline.”
• Kristie Ackert (USAToday): Who won the Clay Holmes Cubs-Mets trade? Grades for each team. “The Cubs got a pitcher who could start Game 1 in October and a bat that punishes lefties and paid one infield prospect for both.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Cubs Acquire Clay Holmes, Tyrone Taylor from Mets for Jefferson Rojas. “The Cubs now have a good deal more pitching depth to go with increased potential, making them far more dangerous down the stretch and in the postseason.”
• Tyler Courtney (LastWordOnSports): Analyzing the Cubs-Mets Trade as Chicago Has Their Eyes Set on the World Series. “After a slow start to the day, the trade deadline for the Cubs picked up rapidly, as they made a massive trade with the Mets.”

Braxton Garrett Analysis:

• Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): BREAKING: Cubs Acquire Left-Handed Starter Braxton Garrett from Marlins [UPDATED]. “The Cubs acquired a left-handed, controllable starting pitcher Monday afternoon. It just wasn’t the one they initially aimed for.”
• Patrick Mooney and Will Sammon (The Athletic {$}): Cubs acquire Braxton Garrett from Marlins as rotation building continues. “In their never-ending quest for more pitching depth, the Chicago Cubs acquired left-hander Braxton Garrett from the Miami Marlins ahead of Monday’s trade deadline.”
• Geoff Pontes & Jacob Rudner (Baseball America): Cubs Send Prospects Jonathon Long, Jace Beck To Marlins For Braxton Garrett. “Garrett, who was one of 20 change-of-scenery candidates BA identified prior to the deadline, has been a full-time starter for his entire professional career but he profiles best as a big-league swingman.”
• Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib): Cubs circle back to trade with Marlins amidst Reid Detmers deadline chaos. “With hours to go until the deadline, Jed Hoyer and the Cubs are in the thick of things.”
• Ron Luce (OnTapSportsNet): Cubs Acquire SP Braxton Garrett from Miami Marlins. “The Chicago Cubs took a swing on an unsuspecting name, acquiring LHP Braxton Garrett from the Miami Marlins.”

Ryan Zeferjahn Analysis:

• AJ Eustace (MLBTradeRumors): Cubs Acquire Ryan Zeferjahn From Angels. “The Halos are getting catcher Moises Ballesteros and right-hander Mason McGwire in return.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs strike trade with Angels that feels like closure on Reid Detmers deadline drama. “Cubs add much needed velocity to bullpen in Ryan Zeferjahn trade with Angels.”
• Rodney Knuppel (Sporting News): Cubs acquire Ryan Zeferjahn from Angels in another MLB trade deadline move. “Zeferjahn is healthy, active and ready to contribute immediately to the bullpen.”
• Casey McAleer (DaWindyCity): Cubs made a bold bet on Ryan Zeferjahn by trading Moises Ballesteros. “Zeferjahn brings strikeouts and stability, but losing one of Chicago’s most exciting prospects will sting.”

Deadline Evaluations:

• Keith Law (The Athletic {$}): Cubs’ bold trade deadline strategy for pitching, outfield help comes with steep prospect price. “The Cubs traded from the top of their preseason top-20 prospect list to acquire a starter, a reliever and a solid fourth outfielder.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Complete Cubs trade deadline grades after Jed Hoyer dramatically reshaped pitching staff. “Jed Hoyer had his day in the sun.”
• Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Jed Hoyer gets aggressive at trade deadline, deals prospects with Cubs’ present in mind: ‘We’re here to win’. “A year after opting not to part with young talent to acquire pitching at the deadline, Hoyer & Co. made big bets on this Cubs team, showing a belief it can win, win big and win right now.”
• Landon Kinney (LastWordOnSports): The Cubs’ Best Trade of the 2026 Deadline. “Cub fans had high hopes for this deadline, as they felt there was a lot to improve. The reports were that they wanted three pitchers to improve their rotation and bolster their bullpen, due to many injuries.”
• Aldo Soto (Sports Mockery): Chicago Cubs Also Addressed the Ian Happ Disaster for the Rest of 2026 in Trade with New York Mets. “The main focus in the trade with the New York Mets should rightfully be on right-handed pitcher Clay Holmes, but the Chicago Cubs also addressed a major problem with the offense.”

Assorted Stories:

• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Rea Solid Again, Rotation Shake-Up, Hoerner, PCA, Ramirez, and Other Cubs Bullets. “Here we go. The hardest part of every year, at least from a content perspective: the day two Bullets.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs trading Jameson Taillon to Blue Jays gives them surprising trade deadline flexibility. “They found a taker.”

Food For Thought:

After twenty years on the New England blues circuit and seven albums to her credit Liz Lannon remains as one of the premier local talents. The Liz Lannon Band has played some of the top venues in the area such as Harpers Ferry, Johnny D’s , and Scullers as well as some notable blues festivals. The band is primarily influenced by the Chicago blues, but rockabilly, jazz, and sixties soul influences are infused in the repertoire.

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.

Every Tuesday on Camden Chat, we check in on the latest goings-on in the Orioles’ minor league system. And as of yesterday, that system looks dramatically different.

The Orioles became sellers at the MLB trade deadline for the second straight season, swinging a series of deals yesterday that ranged from the expected (Taylor Ward) to the shocking (Adley Rutschman). After some pre-deadline posturing that the O’s might both buy and sell, they firmly committed to just one direction. For a team that was at least marginally still in the postseason race, it’s a bummer to see key players sent packing, some directly to the Birds’ wild card competitors.

Orioles fans have no shortage of opinions about the club’s trade-deadline frenzy. Some may call it frustrating. Some may call it heartbreaking. Some may call it necessary, or a prudent bit of business. One thing it does accomplish is to infuse a somewhat lackluster O’s farm system with some highly regarded talent. Whether that’s worth the price of subtracting fan-favorite veterans like Rutschman from the major league team is a debate that will continue to rage.

Including the Dean Kremer trade last Friday, the Orioles added eight minor leaguers (plus MLB catcher Carlos Narváez) in their veteran sell-offs. Five of them are now ranked among the Birds’ top 30 prospects on MLB Pipeline, including their new #1 prospect, right-hander Anthony Eyanson, acquired from Boston in the Adley trade. The other prospects from the Rutschman deal, righty Kyson Witherspoon and outfielder Enddy Azocar, slot in at #7 and #8, respectively. Old friend Michael Forret, the righty reacquired from the Rays for Tyler Wells after being part of the Shane Baz trade over the winter, is #6. And 18-year-old outfielder Jhomnardo Reyes, the return from the Twins for Kremer, clocks in at #23.

The Ward trade with Seattle brought three right-handers — Alex Hoppe,Brock Moore, and Harrison Kreiling — who don’t crack the Orioles’ top 30. Hoppe, who has MLB experience, could join the Orioles’ bullpen right away.

Despite speculation that the Orioles might package some of their soon-to-be Rule 5-eligible minor leaguers to acquire major league help, the O’s ultimately didn’t trade away a single prospect aside from unranked righty Joe Glassey, a High-A relief pitcher. He went to the Nationals for Christian Franklin, a 26-year-old outfielder who will either join Triple-A Norfolk or report directly to the Orioles.

We’re going to be seeing some new names in these minor league box scores as the slew of new O’s prospects report to their affiliates this week. In the meantime, let’s check on how the holdovers have been doing.

Triple-A Norfolk Tides

• Last week: 1-5 vs. Worcester Red Sox
• Coming week: at Buffalo Bisons (Blue Jays)
• Second-half record: 9-22, last place (12.5 GB) in International League East
• Overall season record: 37-69

Things aren’t getting much better for the sad-sack Tides, who lost five straight after winning the series opener. They’ve got the worst record in the International League in the second half after doing the same in the first half, and their roster has very few players capable of providing immediate major league help.

The guys that you might’ve hoped would supplement the O’s roster by now have been underwhelming. Enrique Bradfield Jr. has just a .651 OPS for Norfolk after a 4-for-24 week. Catcher Creed Willems has a .771 OPS, which probably won’t be enough to get him called up considering his questionable defense behind the plate. The previously hot Heston Kjerstad collapsed to a 1-for-21 performance.

The lineup has recently gotten some reinforcements, at least, with the return of outfielder Reed Trimble and infielder Payton Eeles from injury. Trimble, returning from right hamstring discomfort, hit two homers this week but otherwise reached base just twice. Injuries have limited him to seven games at Triple-A this year. Eeles, who had been red hot for Norfolk before being sidelined at the end of May, returned with a 3-for-13 week.

The Tides have some newly promoted pitchers from Double-A on staff, lefty Luis De León and righty Juaron Watts-Brown, but for some reason not Joseph Dzierwa, whom the O’s declined to move up. De León pitched reasonably well in his Triple-A debut, allowing just one earned run in a 5.1-inning start, but Watts-Brown struggled badly with control, walking nine batters in 8.1 innings in two long relief outings.

Among the more experienced Triple-A pitchers, Trey Gibson gave up two runs in 4.2 innings and Nestor German allowed three runs (two earned) in five. They’ll soon be joined in the rotation by Michael Forret, who was teammates with both of them last year in High-A and Double-A.

Norfolk season stats

Double-A Chesapeake Baysox

• Last week: 3-3 at Altoona Curve (Pirates)
• Coming week: vs. Harrisburg Senators (Nationals)
• Second-half record: 18-14, second place (4.5) in Eastern League Southwest
• Overall season record: 47-53

The Baysox brought the lumber in this series, scoring nine or more runs in four of their games (including one loss). They led the Eastern League with 44 runs this week. One key contributor was the newly promoted Victor Figueroa, part of last year’s Ryan O’Hearn/Ramón Laureano trade with San Diego, who continued to rake in his first week at Double-A. The 22-year-old first baseman went 8-for-24 with eight RBIs and a home run, his organization-leading 24th of the season. Figueroa’s prospect status is limited by his free-swinging ways — with a nearly 35% strikeout rate this year — but if he can continue his success in Double-A, he’s worth keeping an eye on.

Two other Baysox had eight or more hits: Aron Estrada, who boosted his season OPS to .803, and Griff O’Ferrall, who is still only at .620. Estrada, like Figueroa, had a homer and eight RBIs. And how about Brandon Butterworth? Another guy from that Padres trade, he just keeps hitting, reaching base 11 times this week. Since coming back from injury July 7, Butterworth is slashing a ridiculous .304/.400/.638 with five homers and 18 games. Also making his introduction to Double-A this week was top shortstop prospect Wehiwa Aloy. He had a 3-for-5 showing on Saturday but otherwise went 2-for-18.

Things are getting interesting in Chesapeake’s rotation, where lefty Caden Hunter authored one of the most dominant outings you’ll ever see — and in his Double-A debut, no less. He pitched seven phenomenal innings of scoreless, one-hit ball, racking up 10 strikeouts. Wowza! The 22-year-old has already laid waste to both Low-A and High-A in his first professional season, and he’s arrived at the next level with a bang.

Hunter was good enough even to overshadow the Orioles’ breakout pitching prospect, fellow lefty Joseph Dzierwa, who was plenty effective himself. Dzierwa tossed five innings with just an unearned run of damage, limiting Altoona to two hits. A Baysox rotation of Dzierwa, Hunter, and the newly acquired Anthony Eyanson could be a sight to behold. Not to be forgotten is Patrick Reilly, back from last year’s Tommy John surgery, who’s still shaking off the rust. He struck out eight batters in four innings but was torched for six runs and eight hits.

Chesapeake season stats

High-A Frederick Keys

• Last week: 1-4 vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals)
• Coming week: at Jersey Shore BlueClaws (Phillies)
• Second-half record: 18-16, third place (2.5 GB) in South Atlantic League North
• Overall season record: 59-39

This is a less intimidating offense for the Keys of late, with Figueroa and Aloy now up at Double-A and an injured Ike Irish out for the season. They’ll soon get a boost from the arrival of Enddy Azocar, who had an .885 OPS for the Red Sox High-A affiliate Greenville before yesterday’s trade. In the meantime, no Keys batter had more than four hits this week, but six guys hit home runs.

Two starting pitchers, Christian Rodriguez and Stephen Still, made their High-A debuts this week. The lefty Still struck out 11 batters in 5.1 strong innings, while the righty Rodriguez struggled a bit, allowing eight baserunners and four runs in five frames. And two new acquisitions, Kyson Witherspoon and Brock Moore, are likely to join Frederick’s pitching staff as well. Witherspoon, Boston’s first-round pick last season, is an intriguing arm with a five-pitch mix who needs to hone his command.

Before Witherspoon shows up, the Orioles’ highest ranked pitcher at this level is righty JT Quinn, who worked 5.2 innings with six strikeouts and no walks this week. Quinn is averaging 3.7 strikeouts for every walk, which is nice. Right-hander Yeiber Cartaya, who started the season with a 1.42 ERA in 10 games, has fallen on hard times with a 6.51 mark in eight appearances since.

Frederick season stats

Low-A Delmarva Shorebirds

• Last week: 1-5 vs. Hickory Crawdads (Rangers)
• Coming week: at Fredericksburg Nationals
• Second-half record: 13-23, fifth place (7.5 GB) in Carolina League North
• Overall season record: 36-66

If you’re wondering why the Shorebirds lost five out of six games, just know this: they gave up 59 runs this week. Yes, 59. In six games. They coughed up double digits in four of their losses, and punctuated their terrible series by surrendering nine runs in the top of the ninth in Sunday’s finale. Woof. But don’t blame it all on the pitching staff; a whopping 14 of those runs were unearned, because Delmarva’s defense is also terrible.

For the most part, the lousy performances came from non-prospects, but unfortunately the worst was suffered by Esteban Mejia, who entered the season as Delmarva’s best pitching prospect. The right-hander’s outing this week was nothing short of nightmarish. He faced six batters. All six reached base (five hits and a walk). All six scored. Mejia has an incomprehensible 9.35 ERA and 12.3 BB/9 in 16 starts this year. It’s only getting worse.

The Shorebirds offense was nothing to write home about, either, beyond Jaiden Lo Re’s team-leading six hits and six RBIs. We could see Jhomnardo Reyes join this squad. He spent most of the season with the FCL Twins but moved up to Low-A before the trade.

Delmarva season stats

**

Last week’s player of the week poll resulted in yet another first-time winner, Heston Kjerstad, who won an overwhelming 72% of the vote. In 12 weeks of polls, we’ve had 11 different winners, with Ike Irish the only one to do so twice. Kjerstad is joined by one-time winners Aron Estrada, Victor Figueroa, Payton Eeles, Braylin Tavera, Caden Hunter, Wehiwa Aloy, Jaiden Lo Re, Joseph Dzierwa, and Luis De León.

It’s a head-to-head poll between two Baysox this time. Could we have another first-timer this week, or our second repeat champ?

Yesterday, the Colorado Rockies made three moves before the trade deadline, sending Brenton Doyle to the Chicago White Sox, Antonio Senzatela to the Milwaukee Brewers, and Victor Vodnik to the Miami Marlins.

Following the 4:00 pm trade deadline, Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta spoke with media to give his thoughts on the moves.

Following are highlights from his comments. They have been lightly edited and reorganized for clarity.

Some general thoughts on the moves

I think if you had asked me three or four days ago, and I was able to be honest with you, I would have told you I thought those were probably the three players that were most likely to be moved, just based on the sheer amount of interest we were getting. I actually didn’t know that we would move Brenton or Victor, given the control we had with them going forward, how we valued them. It was a matter of another team meeting that price for us. And I think ultimately, in both those deals, we felt like we got players back that really made sense for us.

And then obviously, with Senzatela, too, he’s meant so much in this franchise. He’s been here for 15 years, in the big leagues for, what, 10 of those or something like that? We really wanted to be able to deliver, putting him in a pen somewhere, and so I’m excited for him. I actually just got a chance to share that with him. I’m excited to root for him through October. Hopefully, they’re playing for a long time.

—

We had a lot of players that were asked about. We had a set price in mind of what it would take to acquire any of our players. We think we’ve got a lot of good players here. We think we have the foundation of something that has a chance to be pretty good. So with that, it was going to take a lot, I think, to to pry any of those pieces away. And I don’t think we got particularly close on any of those players because I think our internal price was going to be higher than what the what the market would bear.

On the Rockies approach to the trade deadline and building this team

When we went into the whole process, we told everybody, “Listen, our entire position player club is under control going into 2027. We knew that when we broke spring training. We have a lot of good players. We want to see how those players come together. In June, we were a very good offensive club, one of the best in baseball. I think the best maybe offensive club we’ve had here in a month in a long period of time. So we do feel like it’s coming together, and it was designed back in the off season, specifically, so that we would have at least a two-year runway with with all those players if we felt like we could afford that. So that didn’t change. We weren’t trying to bluff anybody. At this deadline, it was, “Hey, we like these players, and we think they can be part of our future, not just our present.” So that’s the stance we took, I think, with all those guys. With the pitchers, again, it’s a little different, partly because I think bullpens in general are a little bit more volatile.

—

So it’s mostly us presenting players that we would want to do in a deal, but sometimes it’s (the other team presenting options to the Rockies). In certain circumstances, especially if you’re looking for maybe a second player to finish a deal or something like that, they may offer players that they’d be willing to do. It’s not often that those actually land on a deal. We all look at players a little differently. I think we also probably all like our own players a little bit more than everybody else does. So I would say the overwhelming percentage of the time it’s, ‘Hey we have interest in Senzatela or Doyle or Vodnik,’ and we say, ‘Okay, well these are the players it would take to acquire that that talent.’

—

We do think we’ve got a lot of talented players. I think we’ve all seen sort of green shoots of that this year in terms of the way we’ve played, Even in the second half, there are times where I think we we’ve won some games that maybe we didn’t win back in April and May. We want to continue to see some of that progress, but we certainly think we’ve got pieces here that can be part of a very competitive team going forward.

—

I think the fact that we do have these guys going forward is certainly helpful and created certainly and a lot less sense of urgency for us at this deadline because we like these guys. They’re playing well for us. There’s no reason for us to necessarily move them unless it gave us a real opportunity to improve ourselves. So, for instance, with Brenton Doyle, we got a starting pitcher that has a chance to impact our rotation as early as 2027. Hey, we need to think about that. We’re not nearly as deep there as we were. Now, suddenly in the outfield with the way some of these guys have played, and not just the guys here, but even Sterlin Thompson and Zac Veen, and some of the guys in Triple-A. This gives us even more time to evaluate our guys and see which other ones maybe can help us fill some holes in other parts of our club if, in fact, we need it.

—

We had very broad interest in those players, in each of those players. I would say in a couple instances, there were, literally, double-digit teams interested in some of those guys. So to try to comb through all those organizations and figure out what they’d be willing to do, what we’d be willing to do, and you also had some calls that didn’t come in until today or even until this afternoon. That makes it particularly hard. So we had to be ready to be agile and act quickly. . . . When I came in this morning, I wasn’t set on any of them. They all sort of came together. That said, we had pretty extensive conversations with a couple of those clubs, like Milwaukee and Chicago, going back certainly over the course of the last three, four, or five days, even about different concepts and even about different players. But we were pretty well versed in terms of what was going on there. The Miami one, I think, came together largely today with Victor.

On the players the Rockies acquired

A few of the players we acquired — I think maybe one in each deal — are all going to go to Albuquerque, at least to start. But we think all those guys are guys that could help us pretty soon. And whether that’s in the final two months of this year or whether it’s early in next season, I don’t know. We’ll find out more once once we get our hands on them. But I think all those guys could be could be impacting us here in Denver in relatively short order.

Mason Adams

I think that’s probably a good one, especially to talk about with Brenton, because probably the only way we would have moved Brenton was with a guy that we thought could be one of our starting pitchers in relatively short order. So we think Mason Adams has a chance to to be in our rotation. Again, I’m not sure exactly when that’s going to start, but that’s what we see him as going forward at some point, certainly being a very viable competitor for our rotation, whether it’s the end of this year, the beginning of next year, or sometime during the course of next year. He had Tommy John, so he missed all of 2025. But he’s back pitching now here in 2026, pitching effectively in Triple-A, and we think he’s got a bright future as a starter.

Aiden May

He’s further down. He’s in High-A ball right now, but it’s really good stuff. It’s sort of swing-and-miss quality, so he’s a little further away, but we like him as a starter as well going forward.

Mark Manfredi

As I’ve said before, I think with every pitcher that we look at here, we’re looking for different profiles. We’re not necessarily looking for the cookie cutter, but we are looking for different looks, different angles, different velocities, different pitch mixes, and I think those guys (Manfredi and Adams) sort of fit that as pieces for us. Manfredi is also a guy who I think has a chance to be here relatively soon. We’ve done a job on Brennan Bernadino this year as our only left-hander out there, so at least we have another option now — again, not just in the immediate term, but also in the relatively near term going forward into next year. But we think he can factor into our bullpen for sure from the left side, and it’s a very different look than Bernie.

Carlos Vielma

Our folks in our whole international department knew him and thought very highly of him. So when we were looking for a second player in that deal, we looked all over the organization and talked about some different players, but ultimately settled on him. I think he’s a really good-looking young player. He’s 16, right? So he’s still a long way away. But if you have a .500 on-base in any league, that’s pretty good. So he controls the strike zone really well. There’s a really good foundation there offensively, but obviously he’s a long way away. But what he’s done so far has been really impressive.

On the players they did not trade

We do think we’ve got a lot of talented players, and I think we’ve all seen sort of green shoots of that this year. In terms of the way we’ve played, I think even in the second half, there are times where I think we’ve won some games that maybe we didn’t win back in April and May. We want to continue to see some of that progress, but we certainly think we’ve got pieces here that could be part a very competitive team going forward.

Hunter Goodman

So far this year, he’s been as good as any offensive catcher in all of baseball. He’s here, hopefully, going forward for a little while now, and we still have control for a few more years. We think he’s a centerpiece of our offensive team right now. So, if we did entertain that, it was going to have to be a really substantial deal to do that because we value him really highly. Now, there were certainly teams that had interest and reached out, but no one that really ever got close at least in terms of how we think of him here in Colorado.

Jake McCarthy and Cole Carrigg

Cole and Jake both played really well. We were totally happy keeping Brenton. In fact, we were very excited to get him back from the IL, and he played really well for us over the weekend. So we were prepared to move forward with all those guys. We’ve talked about having or even wanting three center fielders out there playing defense for us every day. So that it wasn’t a situation that we were thinking, “Oh well, we’re going to move him.” But the fact that Jake has played so well and Cole has played so well at least freed us up a little to entertain it probably more than we would have five months ago.

—

Jake’s done a great job. I think what’s been particularly interesting is what he’s been able to do against left-handed pitching. For the most part, he played much more against righties in his career, but to see what he’s done against lefties so he can be an everyday guy out there, it’s been really encouraging.

—

I think both those guys bring great energy. They create a problem when they’re on the bases. You don’t want to walk those guys because of the havoc that they can they can wreak out there. They can also both hit homers. So it’s not like you can just pound the zone to try to keep them off base. So I think both those guys definitely fit what we’d like to do here, and can cover a lot of ground in the outfield as well.

Kyle Freeland, Michael Lorenzen, and Tomoyuki Sugano (菅野 智之)

Right now, Lorenzen has an option for next year. The other two are both free agents. Freeland has a vesting option, so I think we’ll see how that plays out. We value all those guys. Obviously, we signed them as free agents. We value the fact that they can start for us for the next couple months, and we think, collectively, they’ve all done what we hope that they would do. They have given us a veteran presence. They give us a chance to win most most of the days that they’re out there. So if there’s an opportunity for that to continue going forward. I think we’d entertain it.

—

I think with each guy, it was probably a little different with Freeland, Sugano, and Lorenzen, both in terms of how we thought about and even in terms of how the market viewed each guy. But we think there’s real value in finishing out a season here for us. We wanted to accomplish some things this year. We have not yet accomplished them. I think we’re making progress toward those goals, but (we’re) not all the way there yet. So we still think those guys all contribute to, hopefully, reaching those goals before the end of the year.

—

Mickey Moniak

Mickey’s an important part of what we’re doing here. Again, he had a very good year last year. I think he’s been off to a great start this year. Unfortunately, he missed a little time with the injuries, but he is a legitimate middle-of-the-order bat for us. He’s a leader in our in our clubhouse. He’s a veteran who’s been around a little bit longer. He’s also been in some different organizations, so he knows what it should look like. He also knows sometimes maybe what it shouldn’t look like, which is just as valuable, and that’s important not just for his peers in the clubhouse, but also for me and for Schaeff as we try to shape our culture here. So I think Mickey’s value, both on the field and off the field is really important to us.

Reporting from Thomas Harding following the trade deadline indicated that the Rockies are close to finishing a two-year extension with Moniak.

—

Kris Bryant

He hasn’t been a big topic this week.

Rockies 2026 Trade Deadline Grades: Solid moves, but an underwhelming day | Purple Row

In case you missed it — because there was a lot going on yesterday — Skyler Timmins graded the Rockies trade moves yesterday.

MLB Trade Grades: Brewers add pitching depth at deadline, but is it enough?

Here’s what our sister site for the Brewers had to say about the Senzatela trade as well as the prospects the Rockies received in return.

MLB trade deadline: Give Getz, White Sox a C+ | South Side Sox

The White Sox SB Nation site weighed in as well.

The White Sox are Brenton over backward to make their outfield work | FanGraphs

No one does headings like Michael Baumann — and the analysis is pretty good, too.

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

Sam McDowell covered the Royals’ decision-making at the trade deadline.

But the most consequential decisions the Royals made were the moves they refused to make.

And they entail a big risk.

The Royals hung on to starting pitchers Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo, despite interest from contending teams, though general manager J.J. Picollo characterized the reports as a bit overstated.

The rationale is easy enough to follow. Wacha and Lugo are more than rentals, under control through 2027 with team options for 2028, and cheaper than they could find on the free-agent market. And most notably, the Royals believe they need them to be competitive next year.

The problem: Kansas City is already failing to be competitive with Wacha and Lugo.

Why is that going to change next year?

Jaylon Thompson wrote about the Royals trading Kris Bubic to the Dodgers.

On Monday, the Royals traded Bubic to the Los Angeles Dodgers for right-handed pitcher Carlos Duran, the team announced officially after the 5 p.m. trade deadline.

…

Bubic, 28, is currently on the 60-day injured list. He was limited to nine starts due to left elbow and shoulder soreness. The Royals had received interest due to Bubic’s expiring contract — he is a free agent this winter — and his versatility.

This season, Bubic posted a 4.11 ERA in 50 ⅓ innings. He also made his lone All-Star appearance during the 2025 campaign.

Anne Rogers wrote about the Kris Bubic trade as well.

Duran could find himself in the Royals bullpen very quickly. The 6-foot-7 right-handed reliever has spent all of this season in Triple-A, where he has a 3.38 ERA and 61 strikeouts across 42 2/3 innings (37 appearances). The Dodgers signed him to a Minor League contract this offseason after the A’s released him, and he was added to the 40-man roster on July 6 but remained in Triple-A. He has one Major League appearance, which came in 2025 with the A’s, when he allowed three earned runs in one-third of an inning.

Duran’s results in the Minors have been much better, especially this season. The 25-year-old has a 31.1% strikeout rate and mainly utilizes a 95-97 mph four-seam fastball and a swing-and-miss slider. His 14.3% walk rate will need to improve, but the Royals have been interested in his big arm for a while.

“We need to try to build a bullpen for next season,” Picollo said. “Carlos was a guy that we actually tried to acquire earlier this season. He’s a really big guy. Power arm. Upper 90s fastball. He strikes a lot of guys out. The command is something that we’ve got to work on — like a lot of power relievers, there’s some work to be done there.”

The Royals also acquired Nolan Hoffman from the Phillies.

Hoffman, 29, was designated for assignment Monday. The Royals quickly worked out a trade to add him to their 40-man roster. In a corresponding move, the club transferred right-hander Connor Seabold to the 60-day injured list.

The Royals needed bullpen help. The relief unit has underperformed this season, and injuries have made things even more dire. It’s led to an unsightly 5.40 combined ERA — second-worst in the majors.

Hoffman has spent the majority of the 2026 campaign in the minors. He posted a 4.72 ERA in 34 ⅓ innings with the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate. However, he did post 40 strikeouts in a relief role.

David Lesky made a valiant attempt to write about the weekend, uh, *performance* against the Rockies.

It’s been months since what the Royals actually did on the field mattered. Losses are just more losses. Wins can be fun, but don’t change what’s happened this season. And, yes, this roster is a shell of itself at this point, so some of it is because of that. But spending a weekend in Colorado against the team that had the worst record in baseball should have been an opportunity to get some wins. Instead, the Rockies walked away with a sweep while their pitching staff held an offense that actually hasn’t been bad (not great or anything either) to just eight runs in three games.

Kevin O’Brien at Royals Keep asked if the Royals made the right choices at the trade deadline.

Yirsandy Rodríguez at Royals Keep looked at Alex Lange’s problems.

Caleb Moody at Kings of Kauffman wrote about the players the Royals did NOT trade.

Cleveland traded *four* players to acquire former Royal and All-Star Foster Griffin, and they got Jo Adell from the Angels.

The Padres acquired two starters, Casey Mize and Robbie Ray, at the deadline.

The Cubs grabbed Clay Holmes from the Mets.

The Orioles traded Adley Rutschman to the Red Sox.

The Cardinals traded Lars Nootbaar to the Diamondbacks.

The Blue Jays traded Daulton Varsho to the Astros and acquired José Soriano from the Angels.

As a result of the Luis Arraez trade, Bryce Harper will move to right field.

Winners and losers of the trade deadline.

Larry Berg, part-owner of LAFC, will become the new MLS commissioner to replace Don Garber in 2027. Apparently Jimmy Haslam co-chaired the committee to pick a new commissioner, and that guy owns the Browns. I have the lowest of expectations.

Mauricio Pochettino signed a deal to stay head honcho of the USMNT through the 2030 World Cup.

Soccer’s transfer window remains open, as Borussia Dortmund acquired an 18-year-old Greek midfielder, Konstantinos Karetsas, from Belgian club Genk for a $34.6M fee.

The new Spider-man movie is making a bunch of money.

Your song of the day is The Day That Never Comes by Metallica.

Good morning, baseball fans!

The 2026 MLB Trade Deadline has now passed, at least for you. I am writing this ahead of the deadline, and so far the San Francisco Giants have moved Tyler Mahle, Robbie Ray, and Luis Arraez. Those were three moves I mostly expected, so there’s not really anything shocking there.

But you! You have future information I don’t currently have, so I bet you’ve got some takes you’d like to share. Let us (and the Giants) hear it down in the comments.

What time do the Giants play today?

The Giants continue this three-game road series against the Texas Rangers tonight at 5:05 p.m. PT.

Exhale, folks. The trade deadline has come and gone, and the rapid refreshing of Twitter, Bluesky, or wherever you get your news from can cease. The roster you look at now is more or less what you’ll see for the rest of the season, save for a well-timed DFAs for cost-cutting purposes, à la Nathaniel Lowe in 2025.

It was an eventful day for Craig Breslow, who successfully executed four trades before the clock struck 6 pm EST:

• INF Curtis Mead for Connelly Early
• C Adley Rustchman and C Jake Rogers for Anthony Eyanson, Kyson Witherspoon, Carlos Narvaez, Enndy Azocar, and a player to be named later
• LHP Erik Miller and prospect Carlos Gutierrez for Marcelo Mayer
• OF Eli White for Tyler Uberstine

So, where do we stand now? Personally, I’m focused on the 2026 Red Sox. I haven’t watched a postseason game at Fenway Park since 2021. Selfishly, I’d like to do that again. Aside from Carlos Narvaez and maybe Connelly Early or Marcelo Mayer, none of those were going to help the 2026 Red Sox. Now, future Jake might (also selfishly) wish Eyanson or Witherspoon were on the team, but future Jake doesn’t exist right now, so screw that guy.

The 2026 Red Sox got better. That’s it. There is more major league-ready talent in the organization today than there was yesterday. Curtis Mead immediately getting injured put a damper on things, and Adley Rutschman isn’t ready to return from injury just yet, but the point remains. Erik Miller is a left-handed reliever who has pitched well against both sides of the plate, and should be able to handle higher leverage innings.

We’ll start with Rutschman; he’s the biggest name, after all. The Red Sox have hardly got anything from the catcher position. As a team, their 72 wRC+ from behind the plate ranks 26th in baseball. They have just four home runs from the position, and their strikeout rate is over 26%. Defensively, they’re in the middle of the pack with -3 catching runs per Baseball Savant. A more detailed look reveals they’ve been good at blocking balls in the dirt, but just okay at framing pitches and throwing out base stealers. They’re also 22nd in using ABS, though they’ve been much better of late after a rough start to the season.

Offensively, Rutschman is solid. He’s a switch hitter who takes great at-bats, striking out at a low rate while taking his walks. He started his career hot, posting wRC+ over 130 in each of his first two seasons. Since then, he hasn’t been quite the same hitter. Last season, injuries limited him to just 90 games, in which he hit .220 with 9 home runs. This season, the injuries have returned. He’s had three separate stints on the injured list with three different injuries. When healthy, he’s been solid. His xwOBA (a measure of contact quality) has been above average for most of the season. He went out with a concussion on June 19th, and his results upon return were less than stellar, but began trending in the right direction before he hurt his wrist.

The wrist is the big question. If he can return from injury and continue to provide offensively, the Red Sox lineup will look much stronger. Wrist injuries are tricky though, and it might be difficult for him to produce right away. Hopefully, it’s not an issue upon return and he provides offense from a spot in the lineup that wasn’t providing any.

Defensively, Rutschman shines. He’s a strong thrower who leads baseball in caught stealing percentage. He’s also near the top of the league in blocking, framing, and challenging pitches behind the plate. Catcher defense wasn’t a glaring liability, but Rutschman is among the best in the game. Again, say what you want about the return. Future Jake will get back to you on that one.

The other major addition is left-handed reliever Erik Miller. Miller is a unique arm that provides a combination of both strikeouts and groundballs, while also having a massive walk rate. Against lefties, he’s lights out. Lefties have a .269 wOBA with just five extra base hits and a strikeout rate close to 33%. It’s thanks to a sinker that has 18 inches of horizontal break from a fairly high arm angle that earns strikes and jams lefties, and a hard slider with a 25% swinging strike rate. Against righties, the strikeouts remain, but walks are an issue. His sinker isn’t the same bat-breaking offering, while his slider isn’t in the zone often, leading to walks. He also uses a four-seamer and a changeup against righties that don’t have many redeeming qualities. The changeup in particular is one I’d expect the Red Sox to eliminate from his arsenal. I don’t see an obvious path forward against righties, though I could see the Red Sox try to get him in the zone more with his slider. Either way, the strikeout rate alone is enough to be excited about with Miller.

There are some areas of concern, however. The lack of an addition to the rotation is one. The group has been a strength of the team for most of the season, but the lack of experience presents a potential issue. Payton Tolle is already eight innings past his total from last season, while Jake Bennett is 15 over his career high for a season. Like it or not, young arms are managed carefully, and Tolle and Bennett will likely be no exception. On top of that, Patrick Sandoval is in his first season back from multiple injuries, and isn’t the type to pitch deep into games due to his low strike rates. That puts a lot of pressure on Sonny Gray and Ranger Suarez to get into the sixth and seventh inning regularly to keep bullpen arms fresh. Since the start of July, the Red Sox have just 9 quality starts in 27 games. Without the all-star break, bullpen fatigue and protecting leads might have become problems. The addition of Erik Miller represents another high-leverage arm to help the pen, but Garrett Crochet is still a long way from returning, and Johan Oviedo, Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford don’t seem particularly close. An innings-eater would have been a helpful addition to keep the team afloat through September and into the postseason.

Adding Eli White is also bit perplexing from a roster functionality perspective. As it stands, the Red Sox have six outfielders on the roster if you count Masataka Yoshida. Both White and Jahmai Jones are right-handed outfielders with no minor league options remaining. Both hit lefties better than righties, with Jones providing more thump and White adding defensive versatility in the outfield and speed. They’re not the same player, but they do feel a bit redundant off the bench. With only Andruw Monasterio having significant experience at shortstop, it’s a peculiar way to utilize the roster.

All in all, the team is better today than it was yesterday. They upgraded at catcher, brought in a leverage reliever to help against lefties, and acquired a speedster with a good glove. Sure, there’s something to be desired, but with the way the Red Sox have been playing and some players potentially returning from injury, the roster appears to be in a pretty good spot. There’s 16 games over the next 16 days, so that roster will be put to the test from top to bottom in short order.

The 2026 Trade Deadline was the usual blend of chaos and surprises that we see most years. However, despite the fact that the Braves were busy on Monday like most teams, it was the move they did not make that will ultimately define their day and perhaps their season. A major hole remains in the starting rotation, and the solution must now be found internally. And despite the confidence Alex Anthopoulos may have that the solution will eventually be found, the path forward seems very risky to reach the ultimate goal of this season.

Braves News

After seeing the trades of Joey Bart and Eli White, both Ha-Seong Kim and Sean Murphy are back with the Braves. Jorge Mateo was also designated for assignment as the new trade acquisitions were made official.

Chris Sale was named NL Pitcher of the Month for July.

Mark Bowman had a similar reaction to many in Braves Country, feeling that more could have been done on Monday.

MLB News

Many surprises made the 2026 Trade Deadline as exciting as ever.

Top prospect George Lombard Jr. is being promoted to the Yankees.

Take a day off and come back to a brand new baseball team!

By now, you probably know that the Guardians made three trades yesterday:

Foster Griffin from the Nationals for Will Dion, Josh Hartle, Nick Mitchell and Kendeglys Virguez

Nathaniel Lowe from the Reds for Alejandro Rivera

Jo Adell from the Angels for Jacob Cozart.

These trades added to the trade made this weekend: Craig Yoho and Blake Perkins from the Brewers for Bo Naylor and Codi Heuer.

Kyle Manzardo and David Fry were optioned to Columbus, Juan Brito was DFA’d and then traded to the Reds for cash. Shawn Armstrong went on the 60-Day IL. So long, Shawn.

The last remaining mystery is what they do with the pitching staff… sounds like it will be Slade Cecconi to Columbus or to the bullpen. Maybe they run a 6-man rotation again in September? I don’t see them leaving the pen thin by doing that now or having Cecconi piggyback or open with someone like Joey Cantillo.

It will be interesting to follow what they do with Manzardo now and how he responds. Does he get more rest to help his back issues? Does he shorten his swing and rediscover his missing plate discipline? Or does he go the way of Bo Naylor eventually and get traded to make way for Ralphy Velazquez and Cooper Ingle?

Chris Antonetti had an interesting response when asked about if they avoided players under control beyond 2026 because of the impending lockout:

Zack Meisel had a great wrap-up article as usual. Matt Seese and Michael Mahoney offered some great analysis of the four trades last night on the Disgusting Baseball Podcast.

AROUND MLB:

Many trades. Read about them here. The Twins and White Sox made moves to go for it, also.

No AL Central rivals played yesterday. The Yankees lost, though, so it really was a great day.