MIAMI, FLORIDA - MAY 19: Braxton Garrett #20 of the Miami Marlins in the game against the Atlanta Braves at loanDepot park on May 19, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Jasen Vinlove/Miami Marlins/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cubs made an interesting deal today before the trade deadline, getting left-hander Braxton Garrett from the Marlins.
The Chicago Cubs are acquiring left-hander Braxton Garrett in a trade with the Miami Marlins, sources tell ESPN.
The left-handed Garrett, who turns 29 on Wednesday, is still under team control until 2029 and still has one minor league option left, although that only applies to this year. That’s important because after a breakout in 2022 and 2023, Garrett underwent Tommy John surgery in 2024. He missed most of that year and all of 2025. He’s healthy now, but after two poor starts in the majors in May, he’s been pitching in Triple-A Jacksonville since then.
Garrett’s major league numbers this year are ugly—0-1 with a 14.54 ERA over two starts. But his minor league numbers have been good with a 2.90 ERA and more than a strikeout an inning, although the walks are a bit up and his underlying numbers in Triple-A aren’t quite that good. (They’re not bad, though!) If you assume it takes a while for a pitcher’s control to return after Tommy John, then maybe his walk totals aren’t that bad.
Garrett was the seventh-overall pick of the 2016 draft out of high school in Alabama. He’s mostly a sinker/slider guy who gets the kinds of ground balls the Cubs want.
So Garrett serves as starting pitching depth for this year and an upside play for the next two years afterwards. He can report to Iowa for now and be ready to step in if the Cubs still have even more injuries to their pitching staff for the rest of 2026.
Jonathon Long is a promising bat who got off to a bad start to start this season but has lately been turning things around. He’s a good right-handed hitter with above-average power. But he’s also pretty much limited to first base (Long can play left field in a pinch) and he’s pretty much blocked by Michael Busch with the Cubs. But the Marlins could use a first baseman and he could make his major league debut immediately
Baseball America had Long as the Cubs’ 16th-best prospect. MLB Pipeline ranked him tenth. I ranked him 11th in my mid-season update.
The Cubs signed the right-handed Beck as a minor league free agent after the Mets released him this offseason. He dominated Double-A for the Cubs, posting a record of 6-2 with a 2.87 ERA over 20 games and six starts. He struck out 102 batters over 59.2 innings. That got him promoted to Triple-A Iowa, where he has struggled in five appearances and a 6.60 ERA. But Beck was starting to show up on some prospect lists, with Baseball America and MLB Pipeline both listing him as the Cubs’ 28th-best prospect .
President of baseball operations A.J. Preller used No. 4 prospect Miguel Mendez and No. 9 prospect shortstop Joniel Hernandez to acquire the 34-year-old veteran, who has been one of the top pitchers in baseball over the past two months.
In 10 starts and 60 innings pitched since June 1, Ray has a 1.65 ERA. He has a 3.08 ERA for the season in 122.2 innings with 107 strikeouts to 57 walks.
Ray features a low-90s four-seam fastball and sinker along with a knuckle curve, a slider, and a changeup. He figures to slip into the rotation behind Michael King as the No. 2 starter for the Padres.
Depending on what else Preller can add, the Padres can count on one less bullpen game per trip through the rotation by adding Ray. The report is that the Padres and Giants will split the remaining $8 million owed to Ray for the rest of the 2026 season. He is a free agent at the end of the year.
The Padres relinquish a shortstop who has made a big splash in the Dominican Summer League in his first season after signing as a top international prospect. Joniel Hernandez has plus tools on both sides of the ball but is only 17 years old and a good distance from helping any team as a major league player.
RHP Miguel Mendez has been a starter for the Padres since being signed as an international prospect in 2021. He made his stateside debut in 2022 and recently began a rehab assignment with Fort Wayne at High-A after suffering a shoulder injury earlier this season while playing for Double-A San Antonio.
Mendez, 24, excelled last year with Fort Wayne, pitching to a 1.32 ERA in 12 games started, but has had issues with command and injuries this season.
With Robbie Ray added to the Padres’ starting rotation, the Padres have King, Ray and RHP Walker Buehler for their current rotation and hope to get RHP’s Nick Pivetta and/or Joe Musgrove back later this month after their rehab stints are completed.
Both Musgrove and Pivetta are scheduled to start their rehab with Lake Elsinore on Tuesday.
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 28: Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (31) drives on Los Angeles Lakers guard Gabe Vincent (7) during the NBA Cup game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers on November 28, 2025, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
While the Lakers have more players than can be rostered once the season starts, it doesn’t mean they have a complete team.
The obvious need for a wing has fueled their chase for Jonathan Kuminga. However, as more time passes, the less likely it feels that an agreement will be reached.
That means the Lakers may have to look elsewhere to fill that void, which could include revisiting old friends. All reports this summer have indicated there’s no interest from the purple and gold in frontcourt players from the Mavericks, but there hasn’t been anything about Klay Thompson.
Notably, Thompson picked Dallas over the Lakers in the 2024 offseason, a time when Luka Dončić was still on the Mavericks. However, things changed quite a bit in a short time for both franchises and Thompson has long felt like someone who doesn’t make much sense in Dallas.
However, a mixture of his big contract and declining play made it nearly impossible to move him. Much like the Lakers, the Mavs are in a bit of a roster crunch and the aging Thompson, who is in the last year of his deal and is due $17.5 million, is an obvious candidate for the team to part with.
On Monday, Christian Clark of The Athletic wrote about the Mavs’ situation and had some insight on Thompson, noting that it is unclear if he returns next season. According to Clark, Dallas has explored trade talks, but nothing has come of it.
It is not known whether the Lakers were among the teams that have spoken with the Mavs about Thompson, but Clark did reveal that Thompson would be open to playing in Los Angeles.
My understanding is that Thompson would welcome a return to Los Angeles, where he spent part of his childhood and still owns a home. The Miami Heat are another team frequently mentioned in NBA circles as a potential landing spot for the future Hall of Famer.
As things stand, multiple things would have to happen before Thompson playing in LA became a realistic scenario. Similar to their links with Jericho Sims, the Lakers need to make a consolidation trade just to be roster-compliant, let alone make a move for another player.
Unlike Sims, though, this scenario could end in a buyout and a free-agent signing. Thompson being a veteran and the Mavs being a non-contender is the perfect equation for a buyout. From there, it would depend on whether he wants to go to Miami to potentially play a bigger role with the Heat or return to California. And in that last scenario, you would imagine the Warriors would be an option, too.
If you’re getting the sense that this doesn’t feel likely, then you’re not alone. A trade feels quite unlikely in this scenario and if free agency is the route, the Lakers would seemingly be down the list of suitors. He’d have to really want to play in LA or alongside Luka again, to say nothing of LA’s interest.
But crazier things have happened. Klay doesn’t fill a direct need for the Lakers, but it’s hard to say no to a player with his pedigree and shooting, even if it’s tailed off, especially if it’s on a minimum deal.
Jul 12, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Luke Weaver (30) at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The trade deadline bananza continues for the Mets, who have shipped out arguably their most valuable asset in Luke Weaver. The team acquiring the veteran reliever is the Pittsburgh Pirates (a team that nobody would have expected to be a team buying from the selling Mets, but alas), and the return is middle infield prospect Sammy Stafura.
In a season where just about every single one of David Stearns’s offseason acquisitions went terribly, Weaver has been the one bright spot. The 32-year-old righty has posted a 1.84 ERA in 42 appearances and has provided immense stability to the back of the team’s bullpen. He is also under control for next season, meaning the Mets didn’t necessarily have to trade him at the deadline, but they undoubtedly deduced that his value would never be higher and decided to capitalize on that.
Stafura is the result of that. A second-round pick out of high school in 2023, the 21-year-old is a right-handed hitter who has had time at both shortstop and second base in A and A+ ball this season. Across both levels, he has combined to put up a .276/.367/.593 slash line with 20 homers in 60 total games (albeit with a somewhat alarming 30.1% strikeout rate). As with all these deadline deals, we will want to wait to hear from credible prospect evaluators to get an up-to-date assessment of Stafura’s current outlook before fully evaluating the trade. At first glance, it does seem perhaps a bit surprising that he is the only player Stearns was able to get in the swap for Weaver, given the extra year of control at play. But in any event, the wheeling and dealing continues for the Mets.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - MAY 09: Alec Bohm #28 of the Philadelphia Phillies throws to first base during the game between the Colorado Rockies and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday, May 9, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Derik Hamilton/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Bringing in Luis Arraez to mix up the offense has the consequence of also mixing up the defense as well. Speaking today with reports, Don Mattingly talked about the new defensive alignment.
Don Mattingly said the plan is for Bryce Harper to play RF, Alec Bohm to play 1B and Bryson Stott to be at 3B. Luis Arraez will be here Tuesday. Mattingly said the Phillies will have to “ease” Harper into right field, and it’s unclear how they will do that.
That is certainly a path to take with the pitching staff the team has right now, but if Robert Frost talked about the road less traveled, this is the road not many want to go down.
Harper going back to the outfield is something he sees as temporary.
Bryce Harper was clear that he sees going to the outfield as an arrangement just for the rest of the season, but he views this as what’s best to help the team win. @OnPattison
July is officially over, and the Montreal Canadiens still have two RFAs that have yet to be signed: Arber Xhekaj and Zachary Bolduc. Much has already been written and said about both, but in the last few days, there was one contract signing that may be an interesting comparable for Kent Hughes’ negotiations with Bolduc’s people.
On July 31, San Jose Sharks GM Mike Greer put pen to paper with 23-year-old undrafted winger Collin Graf. Last season, he put up 46 points in 81 games and found his way into the team’s top six. In 121 career games, he has put up 59 points for a point-per-game average of 0.48. Greer signed him to a one-way three-year bridge deal with a $4.25 million cap hit.
Meanwhile, Bolduc, who is also 23 but was drafted 17th overall by the St. Louis Blues at the 2021 draft, had 30 points in 78 games in his second full NHL campaign, his first with the Canadiens. In 175 career games, the Trois-Rivieres native has put up 75 points for a 0.43 PPG average.
When he was given opportunities on the top six with the Habs (he played 16 games alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield), he put up six points in seven games from November 17 against the Columbus Blue Jackets to December 2 against the Ottawa Senators. And in his second stint on the top line, from December 11 against the Pittsburgh Penguins to December 28 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, he added four points in nine games. That works out to 11 points in 16 games, but that wasn’t enough for coach Martin St-Louis, who gave auditions to Alexandre Texier and Kirby Dach on the top line before going back to Juraj Slafkovsky.
Bolduc was a first-round pick who has plenty of potential, but he has yet to truly show what he can do, making it rather hard to put a number on what his next contract should be worth or even to sign him to a long-term deal that isn’t too risky, as there are still a lot of unknowns there. A three-year pact like the one signed by Graf could be a good compromise for both parties. It would give the Habs more time to evaluate what they have on their hands with Bolduc, and it would give him more time to show what he can do. I previously wrote that a three-year bridge deal worth between $4 million and $4.5 million would make sense, and that’s exactly where Graf’s deal landed. Given how good Hughes has been at making his players sign team-friendly deals, I believe this is the most likely outcome for Bolduc.
Shohei Ohtani is, for the time being, not pitching and will serve only as the Dodgers DH.
That means the Cubs remain the only team Ohtani has never pitched against. (He also hasn’t faced the Brewers in a regular-season game, but he did have that memorable game against them in the NLCS last year.)
And, of course, the big news surrounding the Dodgers is the acquisition of Tarik Skubal, and his first Dodgers start will be in this series.
For more on the Dodgers and Skubal, once again I welcome Molly Knight to BCB. As you probably remember, Molly and I randomly ran into each other last year in Tokyo, which she wrote about at her Substack newsletter The Long Game. We’ve become good friends, and I’d like to strongly encourage all of you to sign up for The Long Game, a fantastic community of baseball fans. Here’s Molly on the Dodgers.
Al has asked me to write a Dodgers preview here the morning of the trade deadline, and I will proceed as if they are done making major moves, and are not on the verge of, say, trading for Elly De La Cruz or CJ Abrams. (I don’t think this will happen but one can never be sure!)
The big headline for LA’s series vs. the Cubs, of course, is that Tarik Skubal will make his Dodger debut on Tuesday at Wrigley. I have no idea how to process this news except that it’s great for the Dodgers and very bad for everyone else — especially Milwaukee, as they could have and should have landed the superstar lefty instead.
It’s funny that everyone is talking about how unfairly good the Dodgers are right now, as they are coming off their worst series of the year where they played sloppy and got wrecked by the Red Sox. The Dodgers tend to run the bases and defend well, and they did neither against Boston this weekend. I don’t know if they were distracted by the trade deadline or simply took a dirt nap because they have a 10-game lead in the division, but they did not look like themselves.
Part of this identity change is that Shohei Ohtani is currently playing baseball on one leg, unable to pitch or zoom around the bases like he usually does. He’s still bashing the ball, but he needs to go on the injured list because his knee is not improving and the Dodgers really only play for October.
Freddie Freeman has also been whacking the ball, but Mookie Betts has not been the same since he got sick last spring in Tokyo.
Kyle Tucker has shown signs of life over the past week, but he still only has an OPS of .703 despite being paid a record $60 million this season. (I’m guessing a few Cubs fans saw this coming, but it must still feel good nonetheless).
Edwin Diaz returned last week after missing most of the season due to loose bodies in his elbow, and I’ll be watching to see how well he does in leverage on the road. Tommy Edman and Enrique Hernandez are also both finally healthy, and figure to loom large against the Cubs this week as they will be in the lineup vs. lefties Matthew Boyd and Shōta Imanaga.
I suppose the biggest questions I have are not about the Dodgers but about the Cubs. How much better will they be tomorrow than they are today? They figure to be one of the teams the Dodgers will need to beat in October, so what moves will they make in the next few hours to put them in a better position to do that?
Kevin Gausman pitched quite well against LA during the World Series last season, even though the Jays lost both his starts (he was matched up against Yamamoto, unfortunately for him). I know Cubs fans are probably eager to see him against the best teams in the league, but it’s probably better LA hitters aren’t getting another live look at him this week before October.
I’m also looking forward to seeing how extra motivated PCA is against the Dodgers, and if Dalton Rushing can keep his intrusive thoughts to himself.
It should be a fun series!
Fun facts
The Cubs and Dodgers have played 2,150 games since the rivalry began in 1890. The Dodgers lead in wins by only 18, 1,077 to 1,059. They have outscored the Cubs by just 24 runs, 9,225-9,201.
The Cubs are 570-505-8 at home vs. the Dodgers. They won the two games played at Wrigley Field last season but lost two at Tokyo, where the Cubs were officially the home team.
They last swept the Dodgers in three games in 2021. The next year, they lost all three. They went 1-3 in 2023 and 2-1 in 2024.
Tuesday: 7:05 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network, TBS (outside the Cubs and Dodgers market territories)
Wednesday: 1:20 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network, MLB Network (outside the Cubs and Dodgers market territories)
Prediction
Well, the Dodgers are now a juggernaut and they won’t lose another game like ever.
Of course, that’s silly. The Cubs have their two best current starters going in this series (Boyd and Imanaga) and both have been really good lately. Dodgers pitching hasn’t been great since the All-Star break and they just got swept — at home! — by the Red Sox. Since the All-Star break the Cubs are 9-7 but have outscored opponents 86-49 (and the 49 runs are the fewest allowed by any team since the ASB). The Dodgers are 8-7 and have scored 66 runs in those 15 games to their opponents’ 65.
I think the Cubs steal this series and win two of three.
Up next
The Cubs will host the Blue Jays Thursday afternoon in a makeup game for the rainout on June 21. After that they’ll travel to Kansas City to face the Royals in a three-game series beginning Monday evening.
(A note that the poll below includes the make-up game against Toronto — vote here if you haven’t already.)
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - JULY 24: Dustin May #3 of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches against the Cincinnati Reds in the first inning at Busch Stadium on July 24, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Ken Rosenthal is reporting that both Dustin May and JoJo Romero have been traded to the Milwaukee Brewers. MLB Trade Rumors just shared info from Adam McCalvy saying it’s Alexander Frias and Josiah Ragsdale being sent to the Cardinals.
Brewers acquiring RHP Dustin May and LH reliever Jo Jo Romero from Cardinals, source tells me and @WillSammon
Ranking #91 on TJStats newest T100 prospects, Josiah Ragsdale is on a rocket-ship. Solid thump at a 105 MPH 90th EV, paired with legitimate feel for Pull-Air and a patient approach and elite speed. He’s posted a 1.022 OPS on the year with 19 HRs. What a crazy get for 2 rentals. pic.twitter.com/1sVH8rZcby
Former New York Rangers star Ron Duguay is out of the hospital after last week's collapse and working to regain strength for his newest cancer treatment, his daughter announced.
Shay Thomas said last week on Instagram that the 12-year NHL veteran, who has been dealing with Grade 4 colon cancer that has spread to his liver, was taken to the hospital after fainting at his house, suffering facial injuries. She said doctors determined he had severe dehydration because he had been feeling sick and was having trouble eating.
"He still isn’t feeling his best or eating much, but he is taking it day by day, trying to get down some soup and slowly regain his strength," she wrote.
"Our main focus is getting him strong enough to travel back to Orange County and return to City of Hope. His next treatment will be Bizengri, also known as zenocutuzumab-zbco, a targeted therapy that works by blocking certain signals that can help cancer cells grow. We are praying this will be the treatment his body responds to."
MILWAUKEE, WI - OCTOBER 02: Milwaukee Brewers general manager Matt Arnold looks on prior to Game 2 of the Wild Card Series presented by T-Mobile 5G Home Internet between the New York Mets and the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on Wednesday, October 2, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Aaron Gash/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
There’s been plenty of discourse around what the Brewers will do at the trade deadline over the last several weeks, so here’s a place to centralize that conversation. You can also follow along with our Trade Deadline Tracker here.
The Brewers just acquired Dustin May and JoJo Romero. With less than three hours to the deadline, will the Brewers add anyone else? How will their rivals add on?
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 9: The sneakers worn by Jamir Watkins #5 of the Washington Wizards during the game against the Utah Jazz during the 2026 NBA Summer League game on July 9, 2026 at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Ryan Stetz/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Mets are in agreement on a trade that will send reliever Luke Weaver to the Pirates, reports SNY MLB Insider Chelsea Janes.
In return, New York is receiving infielder Sammy Stafura, who was ranked as Pittsburgh's No. 9 prospect, per MLB Pipeline.
Stafura is hitting .276/.367/.593 with 20 homers, 20 stolen bases, and 54 RBI in 60 games this season for A-level Bradenton and High-A Greensboro.
The 21-year-old New York native was initially selected by the Reds in the second round of the 2023 MLB Draft.
In 284 games over four minor league seasons, Stafura has a .791 OPS.
A scout told Janes that Stafura is strong for his age and could eventually fit best in center field.
Regarding Weaver, dealing him is especially notable because he is not set for free agency after the season, with the 32-year-old in the first year of a two-year, $22 million deal he signed this past offseason.
In 44.0 innings across 42 games for the Mets this season, Weaver was dominant, posting a 1.84 ERA and 0.81 WHIP with 45 strikeouts. That dominance included Weaver giving up just one earned run from April 30 through Aug. 2, which was his last game as a Met.
Moving on from Weaver -- a proven back end reliever who has also shown the ability to excel in the New York market -- creates a huge bullpen hole for the Mets to fill this offseason.
In addition to dealing Weaver, the Mets traded Huascar Brazoban (who is under team control through 2029) to the White Sox earlier on Monday and recently dealt pending free agent relievers A.J. Minter and Brooks Raley.
As things currently stand, the only current member of the Mets' bullpen who seems like a lock to be in the Opening Day bullpen in 2027 is closer Devin Williams.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 14: Adley Rutschman #35 of the Baltimore Orioles poses for a photo during the 2026 All-Star Red Carpet Show presented by Mastercard at Independence Mall on Tuesday, July 14, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
This is the one I didn’t want to write today. The Orioles have traded Adley Rutschman to the Red Sox. ESPN’s Jeff Passan was the first to report on the done deal on Monday afternoon, hours before the trade deadline. There had been a variety of rumors in the hours previously, including from ESPN’s Buster Olney that there was a “take it or leave it” deal on the table from the Orioles around 1pm. The deal was completed about two hours after that.
The Baltimore Banner’s Andy Kostka reported on the headliner of the trade, 21-year-old righty pitching prospect Anthony Eyanson. This was the #2 player in the Red Sox system at the time of the deal and #49 on MLB Pipeline’s top 100 prospect ranking. Kostka further reported on the full trade, which includes two more of the top five Red Sox prospects: Pitcher Kyson Witherspoon and outfielder Enddy Azocar. A fourth player in the deal, catcher Carlos Narváez, is a three-year MLB player who was worth 2.8 bWAR a year ago and is worth -0.5 bWAR so far this year.
I honestly did not believe that this was going to happen. It is extremely weird to trade a former #1 pick who is a core part of your team that plans to succeed next year – assuming the Orioles are planning to succeed next year. Additionally, a big trade being pulled off for a guy who is currently on the injured list, even if his return is approaching, is just too weird. But apparently not too weird for Mike Elias and the Red Sox.
The whole point of the rebuilding era was to be able to form a core around the #1 overall pick that Elias took in that first draft. That was Rutschman. The Orioles absolutely stunk in 2019, 2020, and 2021, all while waiting for Rutschman to eventually arrive, along with other players. Now he has been traded away without the Orioles ever having even won a single playoff game in his tenure, not only traded but traded when he still has 2027 team control remaining as well.
This did not have to be inevitable, even after the Orioles signed Samuel Basallo to an eight-year contract extension last year. It did not have to be inevitable even after the Orioles struggled early this year. They are only 2.5 games out of the wild card and even considering the trades they do “have” to make – one, Taylor Ward, has already been made; another, Trevor Rogers, will presumably be made before the 6pm trade – they could still have tried to stick around and do what they could with their longshot odds, while looking for moves that will fill anticipated holes on next year’s roster.
Elias stated outright that the team would be looking to buy at the trade deadline, with his usual equivocation that “I’ll let you know if that changes.” He has certainly let us know in dramatic fashion by trading Rutschman. It is not the first time he has represented one thing publicly while going and doing another thing behind the scenes. It will probably not be the last.
A Rutschman trade means that Elias has failed as the Orioles general manager. His plan did not work. He should be clearing out his office the day the season ends. He shouldn’t get a chance to come up with a new plan. The fact that he feels safe in trading Rutschman – and that owner David Rubenstein didn’t step in in to prevent anyone from the core being subtracted from the 2027 team – suggests that he probably won’t be fired, that Rubenstein probably meant his “we couldn’t be more pleased” about the job Elias has done. He is making money and building asset value, things that happen whether or not the Orioles win.
For Orioles fans, an extra kick in the teeth about this whole thing is that the trade has been made with the Red Sox, a division rival whose success will come at the Orioles expense. This kind of psychological impact is not something any responsible general manager could consider. Still, it sucks. I don’t like those guys and I don’t want them to be good. I think Rutschman is still going to be good and will help them be good. Their fans as a collective do not deserve him. Orioles fans do not deserve this. As ever, deserve got nothin’ to do with it.
This is the kind of trade that makes me sit and think about what I really get out of caring about this baseball team and its fortunes. Right at this exact moment, I don’t have an answer. Maybe I don’t actually get anything, and maybe I never will.
BOSTON, MA - APRIL 10: Adley Rutschman #35 of the Baltimore Orioles prepares to bat during the game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Wednesday, April 10, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Adley Rutschman is not the best player in baseball. That’s not a particularly insightful thing to point out. It’s really hard to be the best player in baseball, and the current holder of that title is not only the best player right now, but the best to ever play the game. Rutschman is also not in the conversation about the best players in baseball. But, again, no slight there — the game is hard, cue Jimmy Dugan.
But the fact that Rutschman is not in the conversation about the best players in the game is somewhatnotable because, not all that long ago, it looked like he one day absolutely would be. Rutschman flew threw the minors after being selected first overall in 2019. As a 24-year-old rookie in 2002, he received MVP votes despite the fact that he didn’t play in his first game until late May. He finished the year just 15th in games played as a catcher, but second in fWAR at the position with 5.6. The next year he would make the All-Star Game and win his first Silver Slugger, as he looked not only like a future superstar, but a current one, a precocious talent with a flawless all-around game who somehow needed no time at all to adjust to big league baseball.
Just three years later, though, Rutschman is considered to be one of the most disappointing players in baseball. Rutschman has put up an OPS+ of only 103 in the three years since he won that Silver Slugger, barely above league average. He’s hit just 36 homers and struggled with injuries, missing over half the 2025 season with oblique injuries and going on the IL three ties already in 2026.
But the funny thing about disappointment is that it’s a relative thing. Adley Rutschman is decidedly not a bad player. During this letdown stretch from 2024-2026, Rutschman has been the ninth-best catcher in baseball by fWAR. He still has excellent bat control, excelling at limiting strikeouts and working walks. And his outstanding glove has never wavered: by Baseball Savant’s Fielding Run Value, he’s been the third-best defensive catcher in the game this year. He’s a fine catcher, a big upgrade over the Red Sox’ in-house options, and he’s not a free agent until after the 2027 season. Adding a player of his caliber to your roster is never a bad thing.
Rutschman didn’t come free, of course. Not even close, in fact. In return for his services the Sox shipped off a hefty package of prospects Athony Eyanson, Kyson Witherspoon, and Endy Ezocar, along with big leaguer Carlos Narvaez who, after having a surprisingly great rookie season in 2025, has been struggling through it all year and is now redundant.
Eyanson is clearly the headliner. The number two prospect in the system according to Soxprospects.com, he struck out 10 hitters in his most recent start for AA Portland and has been one of the most exciting players in the Sox’ minor league system this year. Witherspoon came into the season even more highly rated than Eyanson, but has had an up-and-down campaign as the Sox work to adjust his mechanics. Ezocar is further away, essentially the definition of a single-A lotto ticket, though a good one. These are good prospects! They might even become good players someday. But Adley Rutschman already is a good player, even if he’s a disappointing one.
And, moreover, the thing about “disappointing” players is that it’s hard not to hang onto a little bit of hope. The player who was once viewed as potentially one of the very best in the game may still be buried underneath all that catcher’s equipment somewhere. As it is, Rutschman is having something of a bounceback season in between the injuries — and, yes, we much note that he is currently injured with left wrist inflammation. But if the old Rutschman comes out at some point over the next 14 months, the Sox may have landed themselves a gem.
HOUSTON, TX - AUGUST 01: Jacob deGrom #48 of the Texas Rangers pitches during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros at Daikin Park on Saturday, August 1, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Kairi Mano/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
MLB Trade Rumors: Jacob deGrom has informed the Texas Rangers that he wants to stay in Texas, according to Ken Rosenthal, who says that the club approached deGrom about waiving his full no-trade clause. Rosenthal says that the Rangers are also believed to have approached Corey Seager, who has an eight team no-trade clause, and Nathan Eovaldi, who has a full no-trade, though Rosenthal gives no indication as to their responses.
The Atlanta Braves were among the teams that had reportedly shown interest in deGrom, though how serious that interest is, and how far along talks may have gone, is unknown. It seemed unlikely heading into today that deGrom, Seager or Eovaldi would be moved, though with the Rangers in listening mode, it would make sense that they would inquire with those veterans as to whether, and for whom, they’d waive their no-trade rights.
So it would appear as of now deGrom isn’t going anywhere today. Of course, not all that long ago, Justin Verlander said he wouldn’t waive his no-trade clause with the Detroit Tigers to go to the Houston Astros…then did so right before the deadline. So, as Lenny Kravitz says, it ain’t over until its over…
