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Tarik Skubal's 150th career start with the Detroit Tigers won't be like any before it because there's growing uncertainty about whether he'll be wearing the same uniform the next time he takes the mound. The 2026 MLB trade deadline will have passed when Skubal is next scheduled to pitch, and by then the Tigers' brass will have decided whether to keep their 29-year-old ace for a playoff push or make him the most coveted player available.

Detroit risks losing him to another team without getting the substantial prospect haul arguably the best pitcher in baseball would command if traded before the Aug. 3 deadline.

Those are the stakes Wednesday, July 29 at Comerica Park, when the Tigers close a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles. The Tigers snapped a three-game skid with a 14-0 win on Tuesday, but they remain 3½ games back (and behind four teams) in the race for the final AL wild-card spot. It's a precarious spot since Skubal will be a free agent after this season.

Here's more on Skubal's contract situation, what teams are considered serious potential landing spots for him ahead of the 2026 MLB trade deadline, and how he's performing this season for the Tigers:

It seems that Mets right-hander Clay Holmes is ready to return to the majors after missing more than two months due to a broken fibula, but his next step is up in the air.

Holmes, who tossed 59 pitches over 4.0 scoreless innings for Low-A St. Lucie on Tuesday night, will throw a bullpen session on Thursday. He would be lined up to pitch in his next game on Sunday, which is the day before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

Will he?

"We'll continue to evaluate that as we get closer to the deadline," interim manager Andy Green said before the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Braves at Citi Field. "Obviously, anybody can count out and figure out what five days is from now, and it's Sunday before the deadline. So acknowledge that there's a decision to be made around that.

"We'll partner with him in making that decision. We'll have to wait until he gets past his bullpen, regardless, to make a declaration of what's next. So I think we've got a few days here to kind of let things play out."

Holmes holds a $12 million player option for next season that he is all but certain to decline, making him a near lock to be traded ahead of the deadline if he and the Mets don't agree to a contract extension.

SNY MLB Insider Chelsea Janes recently reported that there was mutual interest in an extension, but Holmes said last week that there hadn't been much progress toward one.

It is of course possible that the Mets trade Holmes and re-sign him after the season, which would allow them to have their cake and eat it too. 

With most MLB teams still in contention, there are only a handful of true sellers, which could be advantageous for a Mets team that is expected to trade Holmes, Freddy Peralta, Brooks Raley, A.J. Minter, and perhaps others -- including setup man Luke Weaver, who is under contract through 2027.

As far as Holmes, he is drawing significant interest, including from the Yankees and Phillies. 

Today’s birthday belongs to a little-known Yankee, Gary Thomasson. If the name does not ring a bell, it is likely because Thomasson only spent half a season in the Bronx. That season just happened to be 1978, when the Yankees were busy erasing a 14.5-game deficit, surviving the one-game playoff against Boston, and winning another World Series over the Dodgers. Compared to all that, the arrival of a solid role player barely made the headlines, but the man got to depart with a championship ring to his name.

Gary Leah Thomasson
Born: July 29, 1951 (San Diego, CA)
Yankees Tenure: 1978

Thomasson’s journey began on the West Coast, where he was born in sunny San Diego in 1951. While he was still a toddler, his family moved north to Oceanside, California, where he attended Oceanside High School. Following graduation, the San Francisco Giants selected Thomasson in the seventh round of the 1969 MLB Draft.

It only took a few years for the right-handed hitter to reach the major leagues. In 1972, the Giants promoted Thomasson, and he appeared in 10 games as a 21-year-old. His first taste of the majors resulted in nine hits in 27 at-bats. That brief audition, along with a strong spring training the following year, earned him a spot on the Opening Day roster for 1973.

During his first full season, Thomasson played all three outfield positions and first base for the Giants. It was a solid rookie campaign. In 112 games, he slashed .285/.345/.413 and earned a spot on the Topps All-Star Rookie Team.

Over the next four seasons, Thomasson continued to move around the diamond, playing all three outfield spots and first base. None of those years were particularly flashy, but he consistently produced positive value. In 1977, Thomasson enjoyed the best season of his career, setting career highs with 17 home runs, a .809 OPS, and 2.8 WAR.

The Giants capitalized on that breakout by including Thomasson in a blockbuster trade across the bay to the Athletics before the 1978 season. The deal sent Gary Alexander, Dave Heaverlo, Phil Huffman, John Henry Johnson, Alan Wirth, Mario Guerrero, Thomasson, and $300,000 to Oakland in exchange for former MVP pitcher Vida Blue. Thomasson appeared in just 47 games for the A’s before being traded again.

On June 15, 1978, the Yankees acquired Thomasson from Oakland for Dell Alston, Mickey Klutts, and $50,000. It marked the first time in his professional career that he played for an organization outside of California. Fortunately, he did have one familiar face waiting in New York, as fellow Oceanside High School alumnus Chris Chambliss was already starring at first base for the Bombers.

Thomasson appeared in 54 games for the Yankees, once again playing all three outfield positions. In 130 plate appearances, the lefty batter slashed .276/.346/.405 with a 114 OPS+ and three home runs—all oddly within a three-day span in early July—while providing quality depth for a club furiously chasing down another championship after being left for dead in the first half.

The Yankees defeated the Royals in the ALCS before earning revenge against the Dodgers in the World Series to capture the franchise’s 22nd championship. Thomasson appeared in three World Series games, going 1-for-4 at the plate, and earned the only championship ring of his career. He was in left field when Goose Gossage recorded the final out, a popup to captain Thurman Munson.

During the offseason, the Yankees sent Thomasson back to California in a trade with the Dodgers for Brad Gulden. After two seasons in Los Angeles, the Dodgers sold his contract to the Yomiuri Giants in Japan.

To lure Thomasson overseas, the Yomiuri Giants signed him to what was said to be the richest contract in Nippon Professional Baseball history at the time, reportedly three years and $1.2 million. Unfortunately, the investment did not pay off. Thomasson struggled at the plate, nearly setting the single-season strikeout record before eventually losing his starting job.

Oddly enough, Thomasson’s struggles created a legacy that had nothing to do with baseball. Japanese artist Genpei Akasegawa coined the term “Hyperart Thomasson,” using the outfielder’s name to describe architectural objects that are maintained despite serving no practical purpose, such as a staircase leading to a brick wall. The phrase remains part of Japanese culture to this day.

Thomasson may not have left much of a mark on Yankees history, but he certainly left one on Japanese culture. Not many players can say that!

Happy 75th birthday, Gary!

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

Hi there!

As you know, Thomas Smith is away on vacation.

To keep this feature going, I’m going to post simply the WPA numbers and plays of the game, and a poll so you can vote on your choice for Player of the Game. Thomas will update the Rizzo Award standings when he returns.

Game 107, July 28: Cubs 10, Cardinals 2 (61-46)

Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Ian Happ (.176). 2-4, BB, 2 RBI
• Hero: Colin Rea (.094). 6 IP, R, 2 K
• Sidekick: Seiya Suzuki (.086). 3-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Pete Crow-Armstrong (-.019). 0-4, SF, RBI
• Goat/Kid: James Triantos/Justin Dean (.000). Triantos 0-1, Dean 1-1.

PCA was the only Cub with negative WPA in this game.

WPA Play of the Game: Ian Happ’s two-run double in the first inning (.153)

Cardinals Play of the Game: Masyn Winn’s single in the fourth that loaded the bases (.022).

Up next: Game 3 of this four-game set, with Matthew Boyd facing Dustin May. Boyd’s been really good over his last six starts since returning from his knee injury. The Cubs have a good chance of taking the series.

As Thomas would say: Keep stacking wins.

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We've got another busy day of baseball as we hit the dog days of summer just ahead of the trade deadline.

Our MLB expert picks are eyeing two high-scoring clashes, including the Battle of Ohio between the Cleveland Guardians and Cincinnati Reds and the nightcap in Hollywood with the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers. We're also targeting a pair of moneylines in the early-evening slate.

Let's dive in with our full MLB picks for Wednesday, July 29.

MLB expert picks for today

Pick	Odds
Josh Inglis: SEA/LAD o9.5	-104
Jon Metler: NYY ML	-133
Joe Osborne: TB ML	-133
Jason Wilson: CLE/CIN o8.5	-117

Prices courtesy of Polymarket.

Josh Inglis' expert pick: Mariners vs Dodgers Over 9.5

Price: 51¢ (-104) at Polymarket

THE BAT makes this total one of the biggest edges on the board, projecting 11.88 runs with a fair price around -150.

The Seattle Mariners burned both their closer and primary setup man in last night's 7-6 win, a game that featured 23 hits and eight home runs at Dodger Stadium.

The Los Angeles Dodgers aren't in much better shape, with only a handful of trustworthy right-handed bullpen options (Evan Phillips, Brock Stewart, and Edgardo Henriquez) behind lefty starter Eric Lauer, who projects for around a 90-pitch leash.

The conditions also favor offense. It's expected to be around 80 degrees with the wind blowing out. Shohei Ohtani may finally be breaking out of his post-break slump, and Seattle is a perfect 5-0 to the Over on its current road trip.

I'll take the best +EV total on the board with Lauer on the mound and Seattle missing its top bullpen arms.

• Time: 10:10 p.m. ET
• How to watch: Mariners.TV/SportsNet LA

Jon Metler's expert pick: Yankees moneyline

Price: 57¢ (-133) at Polymarket

Cam Schlittler isn't just one of the favorites to win the American League Cy Young Award — he's the favorite.

The Chicago White Sox's projected lineup is expected to feature seven left-handed hitters, many of whom are young and will be seeing Schlittler for the first time. That's a matchup I want to target.

Schlittler excels at elevating his four-seam fastball on the inner half against lefties, consistently tying hitters up and preventing them from extending their hands. It's a major reason his four-seam fastball has a +15 run value.

Young left-handed hitters often struggle to handle that combination of velocity and location, undercutting the pitch and producing harmless fly balls instead of hard contact.

The Yankees are trading as a 57-cent favorite on Polymarket, but I make them closer to 61 cents. That edge is enough for me to hit the button.

• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET
• How to watch: Amazon Prime Video, CHSN

Joe Osborne's expert pick: Rays moneyline

Price: 57¢ (-133) at Polymarket

The Tampa Bay Rays are in a great spot to take care of business at home, where they've racked up an MLB-best 38 wins this season.

Like a lot of us, Texas Rangers lefty MacKenzie Gore gets hammered when he travels, posting a 6.02 ERA on the road and surrendering five earned runs in each of his away starts this month. 

That's a concern against a Tampa Bay lineup that consistently does its best work at Tropicana Field.

Even if Gore keeps it close early, he's backed by a bullpen that ranks 27th in ERA in July.

On the other side, it's a bullpen day for the Rays, but that's not a bad thing! Tampa Bay's bullpen ranks among the league's best in both ERA and FIP this month, making a reliever carousel far less concerning than it sounds.

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• How to watch: RSN, Rays.TV

Jason Wilson's expert pick: Guardians vs Reds Over 8.5

Price: 54¢ (-117) at Polymarket

Cincinnati Reds right-hander Brady Singer has been one of baseball's worst starters. His 0.6 WAR at FanGraphs is tied for seventh-worst among starting pitchers with at least 100 innings under their belts this season. It's easy to see why.

Singer's 4.53 ERA is bad, but his expected ERA (5.02) suggests things should be even worse. He's averaging 91.3 mph on his fastball (eighth percentile), and it's getting hammered. Even a lineup as inconsistent as the Cleveland Guardians can make him pay, especially with Jose Ramirez healthy and Chase DeLauter slashing .310/.371/.517 with four home runs and six doubles since the start of July.

The Reds bullpen is also unreliable, owning a 4.53 ERA as a unit with the league's worst walk rate (12.8%) among relief corps. So if Singer limits the damage, which is a dubious scenario, the bullpen hasn't exactly held things together.

But Joey Cantillo will serve up his own share of problems for Cleveland, especially when the likes of Sal Stewart and Elly De La Cruz step in against him. They've combined for 14 home runs off left-handed pitchers, and Elly is slashing .326/.398/.663 in the split while Stewart is at .284/.387/.526.

Finally, Great American Ballpark is seeing some of the best hitting conditions on the slate, according to BallparkPal, making Singer and Cantillo's night even less positive. For them, anyway. It suits our purposes just fine.

• Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
• How to watch: Guardians.TV, Reds.TV

More MLB best bets for today

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