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Major League Baseball’s trade deadline came and went with excitement for nearly every team as either a seller or a buyer (maybe not the Reds). There was activity all over the league. And some of it will be relevant in the very first series after the deadline for the Red Sox. However there are a couple weeks remaining before we see a big upgrade at catcher. Adley Rutschman looms.

When the Red Sox were in Chicago a few weeks ago, during the winning streak, they swept the series. Since then Boston has largely continued to win. At home. On the road. Day. Night. East, West, and Central. Boston has passed the AL Central division leaders in wins entering this series at 60-51 vs the White Sox 59-52 record. Who saw that coming a month ago?

Davis Martin faced the Red Sox in June and allowed 5 runs in 4.0 innings. He followed that up with a strong start against the Blue Jays (5.2, 1 run) and struggles against the Astros (5.0, 4 runs) and Yankees (6.0, 4 runs). While the White Sox beat the Yankees, this run was mostly a good start against a weaker Toronto offense and lesser performance against the better offensive teams. Boston waited a season and a half to see Patrick Sandoval and as injuries gutted the rotation depth he’s now a permanent fixture. Sandoval will be facing the White Sox for the second time since coming off the IL. The first was a 4.1-inning surprise where he allowed a single run.

The Red Sox missed Sean Burke on the road and it’s probably good they did. He had an incredible July while allowing just 5 runs total (4 earned) over 31.2 innings. A righty who has held both same-side hitters and lefties to mid-.600 OPS totals, he was far more effective in July than June and has more or less gotten better as the season’s gone along. He’s struck out double digit batters in three of his last five starts and recorded 9 Ks in another. This could be a quiet night for the bats if he’s on his game. Sonny Gray had a rough start against Toronto but bounced back with a solid outing against the A’s. He allowed four runs but also tossed 7.0 innings. He’s been everything the Red Sox wanted this season, especially as he’s had to replace rather than support Garret Crochet. He missed the White Sox on the road trip so this will be a fresh team for him on the season.

The Mariners didn’t exactly sell high on Luis Castillo. This whole year has been a downward slide. Lefties are putting up an OPS of nearly .900 against the righty. The strikeouts are down to their lowest level (7.8/9) and he’s allowing hits at the highest rate of his career (9.7/9). Ranger Suarez is making his third start since landing on the IL. The Sox had him on a short leash against the Blue Jays (4.0 innings) and he stuck around a little longer against the Dodgers (4.2 innings) but had given up four runs. He’s tossed exactly one inning against the White Sox in his career way back in 2019, the 6th inning of a game on August 4th. He didn’t allow a hit and recorded one K. That game was started for the Phillies by Drew Smyly.

Munetaka Murakami is off the IL and up to his old tricks. He’s up to 24 home runs on the season.

Old friend Chase Meidroth continues to have a fine season slashing .273/.348/.391.

Another old friend, Andrew Benintendi, had a .957 OPS in June to get his season on track but a lesser July.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Tuesday, August 4: Davis Martin (3.52 ERA / 3.11 FIP) vs. Patrick Sandoval (3.32 ERA /4.15 FIP)

Wednesday, August 5: Sean Burke (3.04 ERA / 3.29 FIP) vs. Sonny Gray (2.93 ERA / 3.62 FIP)

Thursday, August 6: Luis Castillo (5.06 ERA / 4.57 FIP) vs. Ranger Suarez (3.15 ERA / 2.55 FIP)

When/Where to Watch

Tuesday, August 4: 7:10 PM ET on NESN

Wednesday, August 5: 7:10 PM ET on NESN

Thursday, August 6: 7:10 PM ET on NESN

Brady Singer is still a part of the Cincinnati Reds rotation, and he won’t have to waste any time in showing himself as a part of this club going forward.

The Reds first game after Monday’s trade deadline will be a home contest against the Athletics, formerly of Oakland, Sacramento, and currently of Las Vegas, and Singer will get the start for the upstart Redlegs. Cincinnati is fresh off taking 3 of 4 against the Pittsburgh Pirates over the weekend, and they’ve won 4 of 5 series out of the gate since the All Star break in early July.

They are still pretty buried in the standings at the moment, sitting in last place in the NL Central and still 6 games back of the final NL Wild Card game (with 6 teams to jump to earn their way in). Still, Nick Krall & Co. thought it fit to hold on to several veterans who are due to reach free agency at season’s end, and that crew will get at leats a moderate opportunity to make a push towards season’s end and see if they can drum up a miracle.

Righty JT Ginn will start for the A’s in Tuesday’s series opener opposite Singer, with first pitch set for 6:40 PM ET. Top Reds prospect Hector Rodriguez was called up earlier on Tuesday to make his MLB debut, taking over the roster spot from the recently traded Nathaniel Lowe.

This was the 15th week of full minor league play (stats are entering play on Tuesday, August 4th).

According to FanGraphs (which factors in age and proximity to the big leagues), prospect Theo Gillen has usurped Caden Bodine to reign supreme in the system, although both prospects are among the top overall in all of minor league baseball; Gillen ranks 4th while Bodine ranks 16.

Meanwhile, Jacob Kisting was included in the deal to land Liam Hicks from the Miami Marlins, so a new pitcher must be crowned as the top hurler in the system. Basically by default, that goes back to Aidan Cremarosa, who is currently on the IL; Cremarosa ranks 590th among all minor leagues this year.

RUMBLINGS

• It’s promotion day!
  • Dominic Fritton, Brendan Summerhill, and Ryan Cermak are up to High-A
  • Justyn-Henry Malloy and Kody Whitley have been activated from their rehab assignments
• Jack Suwisnki will join Triple-A Durham, he was hitting .291/.386/.562 with 21 HR while in Triple-A for the Dodgers
• Austin Overn was left off of Baseball America’s Hot Sheet, but he enjoyed quite the weekend as he launched 4 HR and stole 3 bases, hitting .400/.478/1.100 over 23 PA

TEAM LEADERS

• Must currently be assigned to that team
• Baseball America’s top ten prospects are featured below each team they’re currently assigned to.
• (minimum of 180 TBF & PA)

Tampa Bay Rays

Top 10 Prospects

• None currently on active roster

Durham Bulls

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .260, Blake Sabol
OBP: .336, Logan Davidson
SLG: .420, Blake Sabol
HR: 11, Carson Williams
wRC+: 94, Blake Sabol
SB: 27, Homer Bush Jr

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 2.64, Evan Reifert
FIP: 3.78, Ty Johnson
K%: 32.5% Ty Johnson
BB%: 8.8%, Chase Solesky
WHIP: 1.07, Ty Johnson
AVG: .185, Evan Reifert
WHIFF%: 14.9%, Ty Johnson

Top 10 Prospects

• #3 Brody Hopkins
  • AAA: 4.93 ERA | 4.86 FIP | 27.1 K% | 21.2 BB% | .195 AVG | 12.0 WHIFF% | 84 IP

Montgomery Biscuits

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .311, Austin Overn
OBP: .394, Austin Overn & Xavier Isaac
SLG: .570, Austin Overn
HR: 20, Will Simpson
wRC+: 151, Austin Overn
SB: 48, Austin Overn

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 3.59, Chris Clark
FIP: 4.49, Chris Clark
K%: 28.4%, Jackson Baumeister
BB%:  2.8%, Santiago Suarez
WHIP 1.09, Chris Clark
AVG: .209, Jackson Baumeister
WHIFF%: 14.9%, Jackson Baumeister

Top 10 Prospects

• #1 Theo Gillen
  • AA: .287/.398/.537 | 18.0 K% | 14.8 BB% | 6 HR | 8 SB | 145 wRC+ | 128 PA
  • A+: .342/.449/.589 | 23.8 K% | 14.3 BB% | 12 HR | 28 SB | 165 wRC+ | 265 PA
    • 6/23: Promoted to Double-A
• #5 Caden Bodine
  • AA: .292/.377/.371 | 5.7 K% | 11.3 BB% | 1 HR | 2 SB | 106 wRC+ | 106 PA
  • A+: .341/.411/.477 | 6.6 K% | 7.3 BB% | 4 HR | 3 SB | 132 wRC+ | 151 PA
  • A: .379/.433/.614 | 3.9 K% | 9.2 BB% | 5 HR | 1 SB | 176 wRC+ | 152 PA
    • 6/30: Promoted to Double-A
    • 5/19: Promoted to High-A
• #10 Santiago Suarez
  • AA: 5.13 ERA | 5.20 FIP | 20.7 K% | 2.8 BB% | .253 AVG | 11.6 WHIFF% | 86 IP

Bowling Green Hot Rods

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .298, Connor Hujsak
OBP: .435, Ryan McCoy
SLG: .590, Connor Hujsak
HR: 25, Connor Hujsak
wRC+: 157, Ryan McCoy
SB: 42, Tony Santa Maria

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 3.83, Noah Beal
FIP: 3.62, Noah Beal
K%: 27.8%, Jack Kartsonas
BB%: 5.4%, Jack Kartsonas
WHIP: 1.33, Jack Kartsonas
AVG: .239, Jack Kartsonas
WHIFF%: 18.2%, Noah Beal

Top 10 Prospects

• #4 Nathan Flewelling
  • A+: .251/.381/.468 | 26.6 K% | 15.9 BB% | 18 HR | 7 SB | 120 wRC+ | 402 PA
• #9 Anderson Brito
  • A+: 3.34 ERA | 4.50 FIP | 28.8 K% | 14.4 BB% | .240 AVG | 13.4 WHIFF% | 32.1 IP
    • 5/23: Placed on 7-day Injured List

Charleston River Dogs

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .354, Brady Marget
OBP: .457, Brady Marget
SLG: .513, Brady Marget
HR: 9, Cooper Flemming
wRC+: 164, Brady Marget
SB: 32, Alberth Palma

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 2.68, Aidan Cremarosa
FIP: 2.67, Aidan Cremarosa
K%: 32.1%, Aidan Cremarosa
BB%: 4.6%, Aidan Cremarosa
WHIP: 0.79, Aidan Cremarosa
AVG: .170, Aidan Cremarosa
WHIFF%: 16.7%, Aidan Cremarosa

Top 10 Prospects

• #6 Cooper Flemming
  • A: .297/.390/.453 | 16.0 K% | 11.5 BB% | 9 HR | 13 SB | 131 wRC+ | 401 PA
• #7 Taitn Gray
  • A: .269/.385/.443 | 23.9 K% | 15.1 BB% | 6 HR | 4 SB | 126 wRC+ | 205 PA
  • CPX: .333/.400/.611 | 20.0 K% | 5.0 BB% | 1 HR | 0 SB | 140 wRC+ | 20 PA
    • 6/1: Placed on the 7-day IL
    • 7/14: Began rehab assignment
• #9 Daniel Pierce
  • A: .252/.336/.390 | 28.6 K% | 7.9 BB% | 4 HR | 6 SB | 101 wRC+ | 140 PA
    • 4/22: Placed on the 7-day IL
    • 5/2: Activated from the IL
    • Hasn’t played since May 30th. Underwent shoulder surgery. Likely out for the year

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Fresh off buying at the trade deadline and riding a hot streak, the San Diego Padres headline my MLB moneyline predictions for tonight's slate. 

Let's dive right into my latest MLB picks for Tuesday, Aug. 4.

MLB moneyline picks for August 4

Matchup	Pick
Angels vs Orioles	-138
Mets vs Guardians	-141
Athletics vs Reds	-125
Nationals vs Phillies	+251
Cardinals vs Yankees	+178
White Sox vs Red Sox	+125
Marlins vs Braves	+133
Twins vs Royals	+135
Pirates vs Brewers	-141
Dodgers vs Cubs	+190
Giants vs Rangers	+178
Blue Jays vs Astros	-122
Rays vs Rockies	+156
Padres vs Diamondbacks	+108
Tigers vs Mariners	+114

Prices courtesy of Polymarket as of 8-4.

Expert MLB moneyline picks for August 4

Angels vs Orioles: Orioles (-138)

Orioles win probability: 58%

The Birds draw Grayson Rodriguez, who has been flat-out horrendous on the mound this season. The Angels right-hander owns an 8.18 ERA, 1.77 WHIP, while allowing a 47.6% hard hit rate and 11% barrel rate.

The Orioles have cooled off a bit, but Rodriguez is the type of pitcher who can get this lineup rolling again. Expect Baltimore's bats to take advantage.

Mets vs Guardians: Guardians (-141)

Guardians win probability: 58%

I already love Jo Adell in this spot against Mets left-hander Sean Manaea if he's in the lineup tonight. Regardless, I'll gladly back Cleveland here.

Manaea has been brutal on the road this season, posting a 5.31 ERA and 1.32 WHIP. On the other side, Joey Cantillo has been solid, and his underlying metrics suggest there's even more room for improvement. Over his last five appearances, he owns a 2.45 expected ERA.

Both offenses have been ice cold, so I'll ride with the better arm.

Athletics vs Reds: Reds (-125)

Reds win probability: 56%

The Athletics' offense has been abysmal for weeks now, and despite what we thought we knew about Brady Singer, the guy has been nails.

Over the Reds right-hander's last five starts, he's posted a 2.37 ERA and 1.12 WHIP.

Cincinnati's offense has also picked things up, recording a 110 wRC+, .337 wOBA, and .751 OPS over its last six games.

Pay the juice. Trust the Reds.

Nationals vs Phillies: Nationals (+251)

Nationals win probability: 28%

Yeah, Zack Littell has been pretty bad this year, and Jesus Luzardo has been nails. However, the Nationals still have a very lethal offense. 

+251 is insane. Take the Nats.

Cardinals vs Yankees: Cardinals (+178)

Cardinals win probability: 36%

I'm starting to think the Yankees' name is the only reason they are constantly favored while sporting a 68 wRC+ over their last 12 games.

Ryan Weathers gets the ball for New York tonight, and he's actually been worse at home than on the road, posting a 4.50 ERA and 1.33 WHIP.

On the other side, Hunter Dobbins' underlying metrics over his last five starts point toward positive regression.

I like the Cardinals to replicate last night's success.

White Sox vs Red Sox: White Sox (+125)

White Sox win probability: 45%

With the Red Sox coming off a sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers this past week, I expect a bit of a letdown here.

They'll either keep the momentum rolling or come back down to earth, and I'm leaning toward the latter. That was an emotional statement series for Boston, and I think the Chicago White Sox have a chance to catch them at the right time.

Give me the White Sox to sneak out a win tonight.

Marlins vs Braves: Marlins (+133)

Marlins win probability: 43%

This feels like a game that could see 20+ runs with Ryan Gusto and Grant Holmes taking the mound. Both guys have been struggling on the rubber lately.

With this matchup feeling more like a coin flip, I'll gladly take the underdog.

Miami's offense has started to heat back up, and even without Liam Hicks, this lineup is dangerous enough to pull off the upset.

Twins vs Royals: Royals (+135)

Royals win probability: 42%

With Joe Ryan posting a 9.82 ERA, 4.88 xERA, and 1.73 WHIP over his last three starts, I'm riding with Kansas City. 

Randy Dobnak has been serviceable over his last five outings, and with both offenses running cold, I'll side with the hotter arm.

Pirates vs Brewers: Brewers (-141)

Brewers win probability: 58%

I doubt I've written one of these articles where I've faded the Brewers. It's hard to do when they consistently get great pitching, and their offense is always clicking.

The same can't be said for the Pirates, who own a 75 wRC+, .273 wOBA, and .603 OPS over their last 12 games.

Logan Henderson has been nails for Milwaukee, and I expect that to continue tonight. 

Dodgers vs Cubs: Cubs (+190)

Cubs win probability: 34%

Yes, I am dead serious. Take the Cubs.

What team has the biggest target on its back tonight? The Dodgers. Sure, they always do, but with this being Tarik Skubal's debut in Los Angeles, the Cubs will come out with a little extra edge.

Everyone is going to want to spoil the party, and I expect Chicago to claw its way to a win.

Giants vs Rangers: Giants (+178)

Giants win probability: 36%

San Francisco has been on a tear lately, and this price is simply wrong.

The Giants have sported a 113 wRC+ over their last six games, while the Rangers have managed just a 62. On the mound, left-hander MacKenzie Gore has struggled over his last five outings, posting a 6.41 ERA. Meanwhile, Blade Tidwell has looked much better over his last three starts.

There's a ton of value in backing the Giants here.

Blue Jays vs Astros: Astros (-122)

Astros win probability: 55%

I'm not even going to entertain backing an offense that owns an 89 wRC+, .297 wOBA, and .664 OPS over its last 12 games.

I don't care who's pitching for the Astros. I refuse to back one of the most lifeless lineups in baseball, especially with how red hot Houston's bats have been.

Give me the Astros.

Rays vs Rockies: Rockies (+156)

Rockies win probability: 39%

I have to be on the Rockies after the Rays hung two touchdowns on them last night. Expecting a team to replicate that kind of offensive explosion on back-to-back nights is asking a lot.

Add in the fact that this is Freddy Peralta's debut for the Rays, and the Rockies are catching Tampa Bay at the right time.

Give me Colorado to get its revenge at home tonight.

Padres vs Diamondbacks: Padres (+108)

Padres win probability: 48%

The Diamondbacks have cooled off over their last six games after being one of the hottest teams in baseball for the past few weeks.

Now they draw a red-hot Padres offense that's posted a 124 wRC+, .767 OPS, and .345 wOBA over its last six games. Getting San Diego as an underdog feels like the right side.

Randy Vasquez also has solid underlying metrics pointing toward positive regression. Pair that with the hotter bats, and I'll gladly back the Padres tonight. 

Tigers vs Mariners: Tigers (+113)

Tigers win probability: 47%

The Tigers' offense is on fire right now, posting a 170 wRC+, .413 wOBA, and .967 OPS over its last six games.

On the other side, the Mariners are finally starting to wake up offensively, but Detroit should come out on top in this matchup.

Emerson Hancock has been allowing plenty of hard contact, while Troy Melton has posted a sub-1.00 ERA over his last five starts.

I love the Tigers as a road dog. 

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The Houston Astros player development department has named IF Waner Luciano the Astros Player of the Month for July and RHP Bryce Mayer the Astros Pitcher of the Month for July.

Luciano, 21, batted .316 (24×76) with 15 runs, seven doubles, four home runs, 20 RBI, 21 walks, nine stolen bases and a 1.021 OPS in 22 games in July with Single A Fayetteville. For the minor league season, Luciano is batting .275 (46×167) with 27 runs, 12 doubles, seven home runs, 38 RBI, 34 walks, 15 stolen bases and an .873 OPS. Luciano was signed by the Astros as a non-drafted free agent on January 15, 2022, from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Mayer, 24, went 2-0 with a 0.47 ERA (1ER/19IP) in July with Double A Corpus Christi. He also recorded 29 strikeouts, six walks, a 0.79 WHIP and a .143 opponent batting average in four appearances, including three starts during the month. For the minor league season, Mayer has recorded a 2.61 ERA (20ER/69IP) with 100 strikeouts, a 1.13 WHIP and a .184 opponent batting average. He ranks tied for sixth in strikeouts in the Texas League this season. Mayer was drafted by the Astros in the 16th round of the 2024 MLB Draft from the University of Missouri. According to MLB.com, he’s rated as the Astros number five overall prospect and the top pitching prospect in the Astros system.

April Astros Pitcher of the Month: RHP Brandon McPherson

May Astros Pitcher of the Month: RHP Kellan Oakes

June Astros Pitcher of the Month: RHP Javier Perez

April Astros Player of the Month: C Jason Schiavone

May Astros Player of the Month: C Jason Schiavone

June Astros Player of the Month: OF Drew Brutcher

The final move of the Mets’ deadline sell off landed just before 5 PM yesterday, with Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor shipped off as a package to the Cubs. In return, the Mets received Jefferson Rojas, an infielder ranked 63rd on MLB pipeline’s latest top 100 and 99th at Baseball America.

Rojas’ overall profile is one of good tools, but not great ones—a bunch of 50s and 55s if you want this in the 20-80 scouting parlance. He’s a good third base defender who can play second, he’s got a good hit tool and a bit of pop, and he’ll steal you some bases. But he’s neither a Gold Glove defender nor a standout hitter nor an exit velocity monster.

How you value this archetype of player is an interesting question, particularly in contrast to players who have obvious standout tools (Emilien Pitre’s hit tool, Sammy Stafura’s power) but also obvious deficiencies (Pitre’s power, Stafura’s hit tool). On the one hand, being average across the board raises your floor, and gaining a half or full grade anywhere makes you a plus regular. On the other hand, going from a 55 tool to a 60 is a lot harder than going from a 40 to a 50; players like Pitre and Stafura typically have an easier path to getting their weaknesses to a “good enough” level than players like Rojas do finding a true strength to hang their hat on.

This is not to say Rojas is a bad prospect—he’s a high floor, likely major league contributor on the infield in the relatively near term. It’s more to point out that a more modern view on prospect value likely rates him somewhat lower than his pipeline ranking might indicate.

As a return for the combination of Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor, this is a totally reasonable return. Holmes is a mid-rotation arm coming off injury with a player opt-out, both of which reduce his trade value. Tyrone Taylor, despite his recent home run binge, remains a 4th outfielder, and is nowadays one that you’re less thrilled to see in center field. Taking this deal is a better idea than extending Holmes (look to Sean Manaea for a cautionary tale of how contracts for this type of player work out) and is far more value than the QO pick the Mets might’ve received had they held Holmes and then let him sign elsewhere.

That said, you can’t help but wish the return had been a bit more exciting. Maybe the rumored Arizona package would’ve been flashier, or perhaps the Mets could’ve pulled something similar to what the Cardinals received for Dustin May and JoJo Romero. Chalk it up as another deal that’s probably fine but maybe could’ve been more.

We’ll have full grades for every deadline deal the Mets make once all the moves for the deadline have been made. Check back in for those next week.

Last week I posed this question to the FEED amidst another fairly disappointing and frustrating week of Mariners games and now it is time to rate you responses. As usual, I’ll be using my patented and very scientific Mariners Hot Take Ranking System:

Here we go!

Poster Aubrey says: “Lukewarm take: Julio, and it will be soon. Hot take: Alex Hoppe.”

First of all, speaking of Lukes, pour one out for Luke Raley who is apparently done for the season.

Bummer, man. But, Julio bouncing back? I mean, that’s what we all want and it’s what the Mariners need very badly to happen (one of several things), so is that a lukewarm take? Maybe an obvious one, but given how we haven’t seen Julio make a sustained return to his 2022 offensive output, I rank this as a BOSIO. A step above tepid, but not boiling. Now, the Alex Hoppe part, welp, learn to enjoy blue crabs smothered in Old Bay, buddy!

Blog Boss Kate Preusser says: “I believe in Colt Emerson’s ability to adapt and adjust – he’s been thrown to the wolves earlier than anyone wanted but I have a lot of faith in his approach and I think he will get back to it down the stretch here and get close to replacement level, which … is a fine outcome.”

I want to believe in Colt Emerson’s bat, and I think I do long term for sure, but this is a big (and unrealistic) ask for a rookie who just turned 21 last week. The fact that he’s hanging in there at 0.5 bWAR with sterling defense and occasional clutch hits like Sunday’s walkoff is a huge boost for this team. Expecting more than that at this point makes this take a bit spicy, but Kate did say “close to replacement level” which I guess he is slightly above right now, right? Unfortunately for this Mariners team, they may need 1 to 1.5 bWAR out of Colt in order to win the division and make any kind of decent playoff run with how things have been going. So, I’ll give this one an IWAKUMA for dangerous optimism.

Poster Rumdoodle says: “Carlos Vargas is going to be lights out. JP is done done.”

Okay, now we’re getting hot. First of all, nothing I’ve seen from Carlos Vargas and his glorious hair has ever approached anything resembling “lights out.” I will give him credit for that one very clutch save in 2025 down the stretch, but his control of the zone and his pitch location has always been tenuous at best. Suggesting that he’ll come back from a long injury rehab and start striking out the world is, well, I’ll have what Rumdoodle is having. Must be that good shit. And in regards to J.P. Crawford, first of all, how dare you? Second of all, this team needs their veteran hype man to be in the mix for any sort of postseason run. How else will they select a new post-win banger to listen to? So yeah, this take is pretty dang BRASH, almost bordering on CLIFF LEE-ish.

Poster Chris from Bothell says: “Donovan will bounce back and be a force for the rest of the season. Cal will… Well, let’s just say when the Mariners make the playoffs it will be despite him, not because of him.”

Multiple folks picked Brendan Donovan aka Bringo Dingo aka Isabelle would like to see proof of life of this man. So yes, Donovan returning and being able to play nearly every day without getting hurt again would be pretty huge for this lineup. Chris’s take on Cal is, well, depressing but that has been the tone of this nearly lost season for Raleigh. In fairness, his power does seem to be returning in fits and starts, but this team needs more than one dinger a week from this cornerstone of the lineup. Mashing 60 dingers, catching 121 regular season games in 2025, starting every game of a deep playoff run, and then fucking around with whatever the hell happened in the World Baseball Classic…..a catcher’s body can only do so much and he has clearly been pushed (well, pushed himself) past his limits. Cal is as tough as modern baseball players come, but we all have limits as humans. That said, 2-ish weeks of Cal hitting at or around his 2025 clip could literally make the difference between winning the division again or not. I still have hope he can do it. Giving this one the ol’ BRASH since Chris said the Mariners will make the playoffs even without Cal bouncing back.

Okay, moving along to a BONUS PROMPT.

As the resident sartorial shit-giver on the LL staff, I saw this post from the Mariners and immediately started thinking about A) how would I rank these 9 uniforms and B) which uniforms got snubbed? C) justice for for road greys!!!!

So, sound in the comments how you’d rank these 9 Mariners uniforms and give a shoutout to any particular favorites that were left off.

My quick ranking:

1. Teal. It will always be teal for me. #1 defender of teal. It’s the color that sets the team apart. Every winning Mariners team ever has worn teal.
2. Yellow S home whites
3. Sleeveless home whites (criminally underrated, sun’s out, guns out)
4. Steelheads
5. Current home whites
6. 70’s Trident era home whites
7. Turn Ahead the Clock night
8. City Connect
9. Sunday off-whites

NOTABLE SNUBS: 70’s and 80’s powder blue road unis, the current navy road uniforms (arguably their most popular current uniform??), the extremely dark navy blue tops from the early 00’s, the Spring Training and sometimes regular season powder blue tops from 2019-2022, and yes, THE ROAD GREYS from both the yellow S era (completely forgotten heaters) and the modern road greys which got unceremoniously axed in 2023.

All right, thanks for everyone who responded to the prompt in the FEED and let’s hear some Mariners uniform takes in the comments!

Well, that was underwhelming.

The 2026 Trade Deadline has come and gone, with the Yankees doing relatively little compared to what appeared to be a laundry list of needs. If you were told in May that this is what they would do at the deadline, you would’ve had so many questions about why the team got a corner outfielder and a first baseman while ignoring the bullpen and catcher’s room. Pinstripe Alley has provided a lot of coverage regarding both moves, so go check those out.

Nonetheless, it’s passed now, so all we can do is evaluate what happened. The Yankees acquired the likes of Luis García Jr. and Heliot Ramos from the Washington Nationals and San Francisco Giants, respectively. They also dealt away three relief pitchers who have spent time in the majors this season: Camilo Doval, Jake Bird, and Yovanny Cruz. It’s a much lighter transaction list than we thought, but let’s see how this affects not only the current roster, but beyond.

Let’s start with the payroll. The Yankees very much prioritize control at the Trade Deadline, as evidenced by moves in recent years to acquire guys like David Bednar, Joey Gallo, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Frankie Montas, and more, all players that were more than rentals. García is under control through 2027, and Ramos is just now entering arbitration and is under control through 2029. The impending lockout and CBA negotiations could complicate things, but assume they have those complete years of control. The Yankees will pay García about $2.1 million for the remainder of the season and Ramos $243,000.

Going forward, García’s breakout campaign will likely command a raise that will take his salary above $10 million in 2027, while Ramos will likely clock in around $3 million in his first year of arbitration. But that isn’t $13 million they’re directly acquiring, as they also got Doval and Bird’s arbitration figures off the books that would likely total a sum nearly as much.

The roster fit is clunky for both if you ignore injuries, but both will have a big role to play while the big boppers continue to recover (and Jasson Domínguez demoted as part of last night’s George Lombard Jr.-for-Anthony Volpe roster shuffle). When it comes to beyond 2026, the roster fit is cleaner for both. Ramos will likely be reduced to a platoon role down the stretch, but his control may make him an everyday starter in 2027 as Trent Grisham insurance, with Cody Bellinger moving into center field. With Ramos’ defensive limitations, could they consider moving Judge to left field in the offseason, or would they swallow the downside?

For García, he likely won’t have to contend with 38-year-old veteran Paul Goldschmidt for playing time as he rides off into the sunset. I’d expect him to go back and forth with Ben Rice at first base and DH, while also being insurance for a big elephant in the room: Giancarlo Stanton. The Yankees insist that the hulking slugger is nearing some semblance of a return, and he took BP against a rehabbing Carlos Rodón yesterday, but there’s still no knowing exactly when he’ll be back and how much he’ll be able to give.

Getting Stanton insurance is never a bad idea. After all, there’s no guarantee he’s going to be productive when he comes back. But will he even come back? I think he will at some point, which might create a logjam, but too much depth is a good thing, especially come playoff time.

Returning to what this means for the future, Stanton will be entering the final guaranteed season of his 13-year contract next year, and with the Marlins picking up the bill on $10 million of his $25 million salary, he’s reached the point where it’s within the realm of possibility that the Yankees decide to do with him what they have done with unproductive veterans at the end of bad contracts in DJ LeMahieu and Aaron Hicks. Is it possible that the Yankees cut ties with Stanton after this season? I certainly don’t think it can be ruled out, even with his decline more of the physical nature than horrible on-field performance.

Let’s briefly touch on the prospects that the Yankees gave up. I’ll gloss over the failed Jake Bird experiment, but I do want to mention he seemed to learn he was traded while he was on the mound for Scranton earlier today. Ouch. The lone starting pitcher dealt to Washington, Jack Cebert, was selected in the 15th round a year ago and has impressed in his debut season, making it to Double-A and seeming to settle in during a great July before going down with injury a week ago. We’ll see what the new-look Nats player development team can do with him.

The two guys I’m most bummed to lose are players who could be contributing at the MLB level out of the bullpen. We’ve all heard of Yovanny Cruz, who stings to lose with his triple-digit velocity and elite stuff, but being able to use him as a major piece in a deadline deal after signing him as a little-known minor league free agent in November is great work from the front office.

The other guy is Ben Grable, who I think has the potential to be an absolute stud. A former 11th-round pick out of Indiana, he’s exploded up the ranks and become a high-leverage reliever in Double-A Somerset, earning a spot at the 2026 Futures Game in Philadelphia. He has a freakish fastball that sits mid-90s and has outlandish induced vertical break. A 97 mph fastball with 17-ish inches of IVB is considered elite, but what about 96 at 22 inches? If any player here can become a star, it’s this man.

Now the guys sent to San Francisco. Henry Lalane has a lot of arm talent and was once one of the most exciting arms in the system down in the DSL, but saw his stock collapse after multiple injury-riddled seasons. He had rebuilt it considerably in 2026 to the point where I wondered aloud if he was the best starting pitcher in the farm system, but the injury risk is still there, and he’s been so-so in a recent bump to High-A.

The lone position player dealt was infielder Kaeden Kent, a former third-round pick who will be heading to his Hall of Fame father’s organization in a pretty wholesome move. He’s a great contact bat who has hovered around .300 all season until getting injured in July, but has questions on whether he can stick at shortstop or hit for enough power.

With all these guys gone, priorities shift. With Jackson Lovich earning a recent promotion and opening some room in the Single-A infield, do we see any of the 2026 draft picks debut in the coming weeks? What about a promotion for Tyler Boudreau to replace Lalane in Hudson Valley? With the bullpen depth torn apart, guys like Eric Reyzelman and Bradley Hanner suddenly become more important for the stretch run, along with the ultimate wild card returning from injury in Carlos Lagrange, though it seems unlikely he’ll seem a major league mound this year.

The M.O. of this deadline was to not only patch holes in the short term but also give get insurance in the long term with upside. For a hitting core that needs some youth, they’ve added two 26-year-olds. The consensus is that the Yanks didn’t do enough, but time will tell if what they did do gives them enough to make a run at the World Series.

The dust has settled on the trade deadline, and there is now baseball to be played. If you have missed all the trade news over the last week, here is what you should know.

Chicago acquired starting pitcher Luis Castillo and reliever Huascar Brazobán, along with catcher Joey Bart and outfielder Brenton Doyle. The overall sentiment from my friends on this site is that the Brazobán addition is a solid move and the rest is simply meh. The hope is that, at worst, Castillo can eat innings, and, at best, he’ll provide some solid starts down the stretch. The front office did not have to give up any of its young core or its coveted prospects to make these moves, so, all in all, it seems low-stakes.

We shall praise all the powers that be for the one glorious move that sent Seranthony Domínguez to the Mariners in the Castillo trade. Though the reliever had allowed no runs in eight of his last nine appearances, I am glad that this raised his trade value rather than convince Chris Getz to keep him on the club. We are all officially marked safe from being traumatized by the righthander ever again. Don’t you even dare suggest that there is a chance the White Sox could face him in the playoffs and be burned in a completely different way.

It should be noted that both Cleveland and Minnesota made meaningful additions to their clubs as well. As much as I would love to sit comfortably with a three-game lead heading into August, these acquisitions are going to keep this anyone’s division. If the South Siders want to win the division, they’ll simply need to keep doing what they’ve done all season: have fun and win games. Those other, more boring teams are just noise to be drowned out.

Now that the trade news is settled, let’s get to the games the team played over the last week. As most weeks seem to be these days, this was a big one. The two teams sitting above Chicago in the current playoff standings awaited them, with the Yankees coming to town first. The first two games of the set did not go to plan, but the pitching got it together to split the series before heading to Tampa and taking a series from the American League-best Rays.

The New York series, like the Houston one last week, was winnable. The South Siders took an early 3-0 lead in the opener, but the game was tied 4-4 by the bottom of the fifth. Sean Newcomb, who has been one of the bullpen’s best arms, had a rough showing, giving up four runs and letting the game slip away.

On Tuesday, it was the Yankees’ turn to take a 3-0 early lead off of Anthony Kay. Though the pitching staff did not give up another run for the remainder of the game, the White Sox could not catch up in the bottom of the ninth and dropped the second game 3-2.

Wednesday and Thursday were both thrilling matchups that saw the Good Guys back on top. Both games went to extras, with a throwing error and a walk-off single from Edgar Quero getting Chicago across the finish line on Wednesday, and a walk-off walk from Tristan Peters getting the job done on Thursday.

The pitching staff was almost unhittable in Florida. Over 27 innings, they surrendered just three runs. You read that correctly. THREE! To put this into perspective, the Rays have the best home record in baseball. The team is slashing .264/.331/.430 in its home ballpark. During this weekend’s matchup, they batted .213. Their pitching staff has the seventh-best home ERA this season at 3.61. The White Sox offense scored 15 runs (13 earned) over its 27 innings. I did some math, and that’s a 4.33 ERA for the Tampa pitching staff over the three-game set. Consider me mighty impressed with my baseball team.

Friday’s game was special with Miguel Vargas, Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery all homering in the game. This is the fifth time this season that all three sluggers have hit a long ball in the same game. If they do it one more time this season, they will be the only trio to do so since at least 1900. Andrew Benintendi also homered in Friday’s game, but it was not nearly as historic as the other three.

Noah Schultz may have earned the loss in Saturday’s game, but it is exactly the type of outing he needed after having a rough go of it. He went five innings after Jordan Hicks opened the game, giving up the lone run of the entire ballgame on three hits. The young pitcher struck out four, but the more noteworthy stat from the outing was the lack of walks he issued.

In the rubber match on Sunday, the Rays started the game playing what I would describe as unstable baseball. Sam Antonacci led off the game by reaching on an error. He later scored on an error during Benintendi’s at-bat. Colson, who reached on a double, scored the second run of the game on a wild pitch. The scoring was abundant for the White Sox after that, driving in nine tallies, highlighted by home runs from Benintendi and Everson Pereira. Please enjoy Pereira’s home run as consolation for his DFA.

This week is shaping up to be similar to how July started. The club is headed to Boston, where they have to take on a Red Sox team that acquired Adley Rutschman and a slew of other reinforcements. When we saw them in July, they were in the midst of a 15-game win streak, and they have not slowed down since. Martin, Sean Burke and Castillo have their work cut out for them.

After a trip out east, the squad will head back home to take on the beefed-up Guardians. The weekend features Ozzie Guillén’s number retirement ceremony, so I am hopeful the celebration will carry the winning energy to the field.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Sox fans and fans across the country.

This week, we have a pretty predictable question for you, one that’s already been tackled by one writer on site, as well as in our post-deadline podcast: How did the White Sox do at the trade deadline?

It seems fairly clear that the White Sox at least matched what Minnesota accomplished at the deadline. It is more debatable whether the Guardians’ pickup of starter Foster Griffin not only offsets the White Sox getting Luis Castillo from the Mariners, but the entire Chicago trade deadline package.

But that said, it’s your turn to get out your red marker and give GM Chris Getz and the front office your marks for the trade deadline.