Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, July 24, 2026, 6:40 p.m. ET

The Pittsburgh Pirates are back at home for a weekend series at PNC Park when they take on the NL Central rival Chicago Cubs.

Jared Jones is on the bump for the Bucks for the first time since July 18, when he pitched five innings in a 7-1 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on the road. He gave up three hits and one run in his first win since June 4, snapping a six-game drought where he didn’t pick up a victory.

The Cubs are countering with Matthew Boyd, who is making his 11th start of the season for Chicago. Boyd was injured for most of the day in June, but he returned to the lineup on June 25. He pitched 4.2 innings, giving up four hits against the New York Mets. Since then, he has made four starts and has picked up the victory in each of those contests, improving his record to 6-1. As a team, the Cubs are 8-2 when Boyd pitches, making this a difficult matchup for Pittsburgh.

The game plan for the Pirates tonight should be to attack Boyd early in the game, putting him on the ropes and forcing Chicago to get to their bullpen early in the first game of this series.

Location: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet Pittsburgh

Pitching Matchup: Matthew Boyd (6-1, 4.15 ERA) vs. Jared Jones (2-1, 4.05 ERA)

BD community, chime off in the comments section below.

With the Mets currently 17 games under .500 and 17.5 games back of first place in the NL East, there has been plenty of buzz around who the team will move by the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline.

New York has already informed teams they are open for business, SNY MLB Insider Chelsea Janes reported on July 16, and likely to deal players on expiring contracts. Janes noted everyone except Carson Benge, A.J. Ewing, Christian Scott, Nolan McLean and Juan Soto is said to be available, even including star shortstop Francisco Lindor as those potentially on the block.

While it does not mean that Lindor will be among those traded by Aug. 3 at 6:00 p.m., it does mean the Mets and president of baseball operations David Stearns are open to listening to offers. When asked about ruling out the possibility of trading the five-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger on Friday ahead of their series opener against the Dodgers, Stearns didn't give a straight answer.

"I'm not going to rule out or in any specific player on anything. I don't think that's wise for me to do," Stearns said. "What I will say is, we've got a group of young players and we've got some potential Hall-of-Famers, future Hall-of-Famers, that we view as our core. We expect them to be our core."

Stearns went on to say the team is being "open-minded" ahead of the trade deadline while expecting to "compete in 2027, adding they aren't "going to close any paths" at this time on who may or may not be dealt in next 10 days.

He was then asked if he considers Lindor part of the "core" he referred to going forward, and loosely included him, but did not make it clear if he's unavailable in trade talks.

"I think what I said was we have a group of young players who we are really excited about, we have some couple guys who are likely headed to Cooperstown one day, and we would consider that grouping of players our core," Stearns said. "I'm not going to get into specifics of who exactly is a name or who exactly we are or not going to trading right now."

After missing 57 games and returning from the injured list on June 26, Lindor owns an .808 OPS with four home runs and 11 RBI over 21 games. He's recently found some rhythm and is trending toward putting up his usual strong numbers by the end of the season (as noted in more depth here).

Meanwhile, Lindor also spoke with Janes on July 19 prior to the team's game against the Philadelphia Phillies and let it be known he is not bothered by the hypothetical trade buzz since it's all coming from outside of the clubhouse. 

Since Stearns did not rule anything out Friday, fans can only wait and see what will happen over the next week-plus with Lindor and other Mets who could potentially be playing elsewhere for the remainder of the 2026 season.

"I'm not going to rule out or in any specific player on anything. I don't think that's wise for me to do. What I will say is, we've got a group of young players and we've got some potential Hall of Famers, future Hall of Famers, that we view as our core. We expect them to be our… pic.twitter.com/O6s4shL7ZB

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) July 24, 2026

The Yankees come to town for a three game series starting on Friday night. The Phillies will go with lefthander Jesus Luzardo for the opener.

The Yankees starter will be righthander Cam Schlittler. The All-Star is 9-6 with a 2.20 ERA on the season.

Game time is 6:45 PM and it will be televised exclusively on Apple TV

On Thursday, for the last time in 2026, all seven of the San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball affiliates were in action. Here’s everything that happened!

Link to the 2026 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)

All listed positions in the roundup are the position played in that particular game.

News

There’s huge — albeit expected — news today. On Glen Kuiper’s podcast, farm director Kyle Haines revealed that teenage phenom shortstops Josuar González (No. 2 CPL) and Luis Hernández (No. 6 CPL) are headed to Low-A San Jose now that the ACL season is over. The moves aren’t official yet, so it’s not clear when those two will join the team, but very, very, very exciting.

AAA Sacramento (54-42)

Sacramento River Cats beat the Oklahoma City Comets (Dodgers) 4-2 [box score]

It’s not often that you see a team win in the Pacific Coast League without an extra-base hit. But that’s exactly what the River Cats did, which can only mean one thing: great pitching.

Despite the strong pitching performance, it was a so-so day for the starter, LHP Matt Wilkinson. Tugboat did a lot well … primarily the fact that he only gave up 3 baserunners all day, while pitching 4 innings. All 3 of those baserunners were hits (he had 0 walks against 4 strikeouts), and 1 of those hits cleared the yard, with Wilkinson giving up 2 runs on the day.

On paper, that seems like a decent enough day, despite what it does to an ERA. A strikeout per inning, no walks, and fewer hits than innings is all a good sign. Despite the few baserunners, though, Wilkinson did need 66 pitches to get through the 4 innings, an average of 16.5 per inning. Questions remain as to how Wilkinson’s stuff will translate to the Majors … his stuff is funky and has given him 10.1 strikeouts per 9 innings at the level, but it’s hard to project that to the Majors when his average fastball velocity is a tick under 90 mph. You just don’t see a lot of that operating at the highest level of baseball, unless you’re strictly watching Tyler Rogers.

We may get an answer soon enough. Tugboat’s overall numbers (4.03 ERA, 4.94 FIP) aren’t great, but the Giants rotation is about to have some holes that need filling. If they think he’s ready — or even if they anticipate protecting him from the Rule 5 Draft this offseason — his time could be coming.

A great relief showing from RHPs Braxton Roxby and Carson Seymour, with the former throwing 3 shutout innings with 3 hits, 0 walks, and 2 strikeouts (albeit with 2 errors), while the latter tossed 2 scoreless frames with a hit, no walks, and 3 strikeouts. Seymour’s been looking a little bit better lately, and the move to high-leverage relief seems to be suiting him. It’s still not an overwhelming approach (he has just 8.2 strikeouts per 9 innings), but a 3.79 ERA ought to get him some looks in the bullpen again this year, even if he has a 4.66 FIP.

The best offensive days belonged to a trio of hitters who have been performing well lately: designated hitter Scott Bandura, left fielder Turner Hill, and first baseman Dayson Croes, as all 3 reached base 3 times: Bandura hit 1-3 with 2 walks to bring his OPS to .810 and his wRC+ to 115; Hill went 1-2 with 2 walks and an outfield assist, pushing his OPS to .895 and his wRC+ to 137; and Croes hit 2-3 with a walk (though he was caught stealing), and now has a .718 OPS and a 90 wRC+.

A nice day for Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL) who made his AAA center field debut, while hitting 1-3 with a walk, a stolen base, and a strikeout. Nice to see him in the center of the grass. As for the other AAA newcomers, third baseman Parks Harber (No. 17 CPL) hit 1-5 with a strikeout, and catcher Adrián Sugastey went 1-3 with a sacrifice bunt, a strikeout, and an error.

AA Richmond (55-36)

Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Hartford Yard Goats (Rockies) 3-1
Box score

Not a good overall game for the Squirrels, but it featured a superstar performance, as RHP Yunior Marte (No. 25 CPL) showed off just how much potential he has with an utterly sensational start. Marte went 7 innings deep in this game (you don’t see that often in the Minors … or heck, the Majors!), and didn’t give up a single run. He allowed just 4 hits in those 7 innings, walked 2, and struck out 6. It was far and away his best start since getting promoted to Richmond in early June.

The soon-to-turn 23-year old might be considered a tier below the bigger name pitchers in the system (Carson Whisenhunt, Blade Tidwell, Jackson Flora, Carson Bolemon, Kaden Waechter, Keyner Martinez, Jacob Bresnahan, Argenis Cayama, and Luis De La Torre), but he’s a damn good pitcher, and someone who clearly still has MLB starter potential. He’s done exactly what you want a player to do when they move up a level … he’s gotten better. The overall numbers (4.36 ERA, 4.05 FIP) aren’t necessarily an improvement (he had a 3.74 ERA and a 4.09 FIP in High-A), but that’s largely due to a flurry of home runs he’s allowed, which is both something that can be corrected, and something that’s subject to variance.

But, since getting promoted, he’s bumped his strikeouts from 8.5 per 9 innings to 10.0, while lowering his walks per 9 from 4.0 to 2.7. It’s not even a small sample size thing, either, as he’s pitched the exact same amount of innings (43.1) at both levels this year. He has to be thrilled, and the Giants have to be thrilled.

The next step for Marte, who came over in the Mike Yastrzemski trade, is to just be less hittable. He’s getting those strikeouts and limiting those walks in large part because he’s living in the zone more, and the result is that, despite the same amount of innings thrown, he’s allowed twice as many home runs in AA as in High-A, with 13 more hits total.

RHP Christian Alvarado again showed off the heat, striking out 4 batters in 1.2 innings, though he gave up a hit, a walk, and a run. Since the Giants signed the 31-year old, who hadn’t pitched in the Minors since 2019, he’s struck out a stunning 18 batters in 8.2 innings, against just 2 walks and 6 hits.

A bad day on offense, with just 5 total hits and 1 walk drawn. Still, a pair of players had nice games: center fielder Trevor Cohen (No. 15 CPL) and third baseman Diego Velasquez (No. 31 CPL). Cohen hit 2-4 with a double and a strikeout, raising his OPS to .681 and his wRC+ to 80 through his first 6 AA games. Velasquez hit 2-3, as he continues his tear: over the last 21 games, he’s now 29-64 with 1 home run, 6 doubles, 12 walks, and just 8 strikeouts, which has brought the 22-year old switch-hitter’s OPS up to .823, and his wRC+ to 126. With Harber, Croes, Nate Furman (No. 39 CPL), and Osleivis Basabe, it seems there’s not room for Velasquez in AAA … otherwise he would almost surely be there. He’s earned it.

Tough days for the non-Cohen AA newcomers, as shortstop Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL) and designated hitter Dakota Jordan (No. 5 CPL) both went 0-4 (the latter with 2 strikeouts), while catcher Jancel Villarroel (No. 42 CPL) hit 0-3 with a strikeout.

And then this happened:

High-A Eugene (56-37)

Eugene Emeralds lost to the Everett AquaSox (Mariners) 10-2
Box score

Well, this was a bad game for the Emeralds. No one had a worse day than the starter, as RHP Hunter Dryden had an absolute ERA-buster of a performance, giving up 10 hits (including 3 home runs) in just 3.1 innings, while also walking 2 and allowing 9 runs to score. Yikes. Shake it off, Hunter!

After a strong start to the year, Dryden, a 17th-round pick in 2024, has really hit a wall. In his first 7 games of the season, he gave up just 8 earned runs in 26.1 innings. But since then, in 11 outings, the 24-year old has ceded 36 earned runs in 44 innings, bringing him up to a 5.63 ERA and a 5.82 FIP. Hopefully he can right the ship and end the year on a strong note. He certainly needs to get the home runs in check … he’s allowed 13 in 70.1 innings this year.

RHP Brayan Palencia had a nice relief outing, though, giving up just 1 hit in 2.2 scoreless innings, though he didn’t have any strikeouts. Palencia has given up just 3 hits and 1 run in 7 innings this month, but on the year he’s really struggled with strikeouts, as the 23-year old has just 22 of them in 30.1 innings … with 18 walks. That’s led to a 5.93 ERA and a 6.90 FIP, and you have to think his spot on the domestic reserve is a little warm, as this is his 6th season of pro ball. He’s also given up 6 home runs in those 30.1 innings, which isn’t helping his case.

Not much at all on offense, though first baseman Zander Darby once again left the yard, hitting 1-4 with a solo blast, but also striking out twice. Darby, a 23-year old lefty taken in the 12th round in 2024, has shown off quite a bit of power this season. He’s got 10 home runs and a .173 isolated slugging, but he’s also striking out 33.2% of the time which is a fairly damning number … there’s a lot of juice in the bat, but Northwest League pitchers have really stymied him. He had just an 18.4% strikeout rate in Low-A San Jose last year, in a 244-plate appearance sample size … but after getting promoted to Eugene at the end of last season, he struck out 42.0% of the time … and now this. In all, it’s still a .775 OPS and a 106 wRC+, but a lot to work on.

Speaking of things to work on, designated hitter Jhonny Level is going through one of the only slumps of his young, exciting career, as he hit 0-4 with a strikeout. Level is 0-12 over his last 3 games, though this was his only strikeout in that time span. He’s 4-24 since his last extra-base hit, and if you’re at all worried, well … don’t be. The 19-year old switch-hitter is 3.5 years younger than his peers in the Northwest League, is holding his own (.740 OPS, 96 wRC+), and is striking out just 16.4% of the time. It’s all very exciting, with or without the slumps.

As for the newcomers, second baseman Isaiah Barkett hit 2-4 with a strikeout, and right fielder Jose Astudillo went 0-4.

Low-A San Jose (54-39)

San Jose Giants lost to the Ontario Tower Buzzers (Dodgers) 7-5
Box score

This was not a good or interesting game for the Baby Giants. Their offense had only 3 hits all day (though they drew 10 walks!) and their pitchers gave up 15 hits. There’s really no need to dwell on this one. Designated hitter Jeremiah Jenkins played well, hitting 1-3 with a double, 2 walks, and a strikeout, which brought him up to an .885 OPS and a 117 wRC+. The 23-year old, who was taken in the 14th round in 2014, has shown tremendous power this season (his .258 isolated slugging ranks 6th out of 90 Cal League hitters with at least 150 plate appearances this year), but the lefty is striking out 30.5% of the time, which is a fairly damning number at such a low level of the Minors.

Shortstop Lorenzo Meola (No. 23 CPL) only hit 1-5 with a strikeout, but did have a triple as his extra-base hit parade continues. Last year’s 4th-round pick now has an extra-base knock in 7 straight games, and 15 total in his last 13 games. It’s been an exceptional month for the righty, as he’s hit .386/.456/.786, which has erased his slow start and brought him up to a .814 OPS and a 100 wRC+ on the year. Still, it’s a touch damning that he missed the waves of promotions, but maybe that will change with fellow shortstops Josuar González and Luis Hernández coming to town.

All of the pitchers got rocked, but RHP Alix Hernandez did strike out 6 batters in 2.2 innings, while RHP Evan Gray struck out 5 in 2.2 frames. Hernandez, who allowed 7 baserunners and 3 runs, is up to 11.9 strikeouts per 9 innings … but with a 4.21 ERA and a 5.41 FIP. Gray, who gave up 6 baserunners and 1 run, has 10.7 strikeouts per 9 … but a 5.34 ERA and a 5.25 FIP.

Arizona Complex League (34-26)

ACL Giants lost to the ACL D-backs 5-1 (7 innings) [box score]

And with that, the ACL season comes to an end. It’s a bummer for people who were enjoying watching/following rookie ball … but tremendously exciting for those who wanted it to end so the top names could get promoted.

There really wasn’t much of note at all in this game. The ACL Giants only had 3 hits on the day, but their departing stars each collected one, as second baseman Josuar González (No. 2 CPL) and shortstop Luis Hernández (No. 6 CPL) both went 1-3, the latter with the team’s lone RBI.

On the pitching front, Low-A RHP Argenis Cayama (No. 13 CPL) continued his rehab with 2 innings, though they didn’t go well, as he allowed 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 hit batter, and 2 runs, without any strikeouts. Cayama is still searching for his sharpness as he rehabs … hopefully he’ll be back in San Jose now that the ACL season is over.

RHP Melvin Pineda ended the Complex League season on a high note, striking out 1 batter in a perfect inning. The strikeout wasn’t surprising, as he ended the ACL season with a staggering 54 of them in 26.2 innings … the lack of a walk was, however, surprising, as he finished with 22 of them.

Now that the ACL season is over, we wait to see what prospects will be joining González and Hernández on the journey to A-ball. I’m particularly curious about outfielder Rayner Arias (No. 38 CPL) … he had another disappointing season, finishing below the Mendoza line and posting a .702 OPS and a 78 wRC+. But Arias, who had the other hit in this game, started to figure things out as the season went on: after posting a dismal .285 OPS in May, he had a .782 OPS in June, and a 1.178 OPS in July. In his final 7 games of the season, he hit 6-19 with 3 home runs, 3 walks, and 3 hit by pitches.

Dominican Summer League Black (22-14)

DSL Giants Black beat DSL Arizona Black 4-2 (7 innings) [box score]

A pair of players who had really nice hitting games, as designated hitter Dennys Riera went 1-3 with a go-ahead 2-run home run, while first baseman Alessandro Duran hit 2-2 with 2 doubles and a hit by pitch. Riera, a 21-year old who was a notable signing in 2022 but had never really been able to put things together, is having a career year, with a .903 OPS, a 123 wRC+, and just a 15.1% strikeout rate. Will that get him the call to the states after 5 years in the DSL? Duran, who was also signed in 2022, is hitting a touch below league average, and it wouldn’t be surprising if this is his final year in the system.

A nice start for 20-year old RHP Simon Colmenares, who gave up 3 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run in 4.1 innings, with 4 strikeouts. This is essentially his debut season (he pitched 3 innings last year), and it hasn’t gone too well, with a 6.17 ERA and a 5.60 FIP.

Dominican Summer League Orange (21-16)

DSL Giants Orange lost to the DSL Mets Orange 9-2 (7 innings) [box score]

Very bad pitching in this game, so we’ll just focus on 3 hitters: 19-year old right fielder Brandon Vasquez hit 2-3 with a triple and a walk, bringing him up to an .804 OPS and a 107 wRC+, far and away the best stats in his 3-year career; 18-year old third baseman Yeison Oviedo went 1-2 with a walk, a hit by pitch, and a stolen base, bringing him up to an .871 OPS and a 128 wRC+, with 7 stolen bases, dramatic improvements in his 2nd season; and 19-year old left fielder Ricardo Crespo hit 2-3 with a stolen base, boosting his OPS to .880 and his wRC+ to 151, the result of a laughable 32.5% walk rate in his 3rd season.

Home run tracker

10 — Zander Darby — [High-A]
3 — Dennys Riera — [DSL]

Friday schedule

Sacramento: 6:45 p.m. PT vs. Oklahoma City (SP: Cesar Perdomo)
Richmond: 4:05 p.m. PT vs. Hartford (SP: Charlie McDaniel)
Eugene: 7:05 p.m. PT at Everett (SP: Jacob Bresnahan)
San Jose: 7:00 p.m. PT vs. Ontario (SP: TBD)

Reminder that almost all MiLB games can be watched on MLB TV

For nearly two full years, Brayden Taylor looked like another minor leaguer whose career would stagnate once he reached Double-A.

Originally selected by the Rays as the 19th overall selection in the 2023 draft, Taylor has an excellent debut campaign, hitting .242/.361/.516 with 5 HR over 108 PA over the remaining minor league season. He followed that up by torching High-A in 2024, hitting .269/.389/.513 with 14 HR and 26 SB, registering a 154 wRC+ over 383 plate appearances.

With his stellar play, the Rays promoted Taylor to Double-A on July 30th, 2024; he hasn’t been able to move past Montgomery since that promotion.

Brayden Taylor is a 5-tool player but none of his tools are much above average. He is a solid defender with a good arm; there’s some pop in his bat but no one would consider him a true power threat. His hit tool is decent but he won’t win any batting titles. That gives you a player whose five tools all grade around 50 or 55.

During his first full year in the Rays system, Taylor displayed exactly what type of player that could translate into. From August 4th, 2023 through July 27th, 2024, Taylor hit .263/.383/.514 with 19 HR over 491 plate appearances.

But once in Double-A, Taylor struggled to adapt to the more advanced pitching and his strikeouts skyrocketed. Over 125 plate appearances in Double-A in 2024, Taylor hit .194/.290/.435 with 6 HR, registering a 113 wRC+.

Despite his struggles in Double-A, Taylor was ranked as the Rays 2nd best prospect entering 2025 and 65th overall in the game by Baseball America.

But the disappointing end to 2024 merely foreshadowed his bleak 2025 campaign. He suffered through mechanical issues and just plain old bad luck. After 437 plate appearances, Taylor hit just .173/.289/.286 with 8 HR, registering a 77 wRC+; the 77 wRC+ was among the bottom 20% of the league.

It can be said that Taylor was among the unluckiest players in all of minor league baseball in 2025. He finished the year hitting .173, which was the 2nd lowest batting average in MiLB, which at least in part was due to a .229 BABIP. There were 607 players who had at least 400 plate appearances last season and Taylor’s .229 BABIP was the 2nd lowest behind Juan Baez’s .226 clip.

The Rays did do some tinkering with Taylor in July to try to get the former first round pick going and he did have slightly more success over the second half of the year (97 wRC+ over 173 PA). After the season, Taylor was sent to the Arizona Fall League, where he hit .264/.400/.472. According to FanGraphs, the Rays had Taylor alter his hand and bat positioning.

It precipitated a swing change — his hands are starting lower and his bat is more vertical than before — that has him covering elevated fastballs much better than he was. Taylor is missing far fewer in-zone pitches with this new swing

By 2026, Taylor had vanished from prospect rankings, completely dropping on Baseball America’s top 30, falling all the way to 39th.

Prior to the season, Taylor spoke to David Laurila of FanGraphs and went into elaborate detail of his swing changes and the struggles he had endured over the past two years. The purpose of changing Taylor’s swing would be to allow his swing stay through the zone longer and thus have a better opportunity to make better contact.

“The biggest thing we focused on was my hip line,” explained the lefty-hitting Taylor. “My hips were staying too far uphill with my leg lift. Instead of bringing my leg straight up and down, we worked on bringing it to my midsection to keep the hips online so that I can be in a better position at launch.

“Doing that changed my bat path,” he added. “Instead of my body being so uphill, and the bat just coming up and out of the zone, the adjustment allowed me to stay in the zone a lot longer. The bat being in the zone a lot longer is what I want. I want to be able to hit through seven baseballs, not come up and hit only one of them. Right? I want to have that adjustability to be able to stay through it and hit as many balls as I can.”

Taylor began the 2026 season back in Double-A and entering his last year before being eligible for the Rule 5 draft, a pivotal season in a minor leaguer’s career.

After one month, it looked like more of the same from Taylor as he finished April hitting .162, but a low BABIP suggested bad luck may be an issue; Taylor’s walk (15.0%) and strikeout (17.5%) numbers were solid.

In early May, Taylor missed several games but returned to game action on May 8th. The following day, his season and possibly career completely turned around.

From May 9th through July 23rd, Brayden Taylor has hit .329/.415/.605 with 14 HR over 248 PA, registering a 165 wRC+. He has kept a solid strikeout rate of 24.6% over that stretch of time. His BABIP is .396 but he was due for regression considering his previous bad luck over the past two seasons. Despite his poor start to the season, Taylor now ranks 13th among all Double-A hitters with a 136 wRC+ and his overall BABIP is .325 which ranks 52nd of 170 qualifying hitters.

Meanwhile Taylor still has the plus speed and plus defense that had made him a top prospect.

Of course, the argument can be made that Taylor now has over two years of experience at the Double-A level and is getting old for the level. Baseball America hasn’t believed in his turnaround enough to push him back in the Rays top 30. However, FanGraphs in their latest update actually has Brayden Taylor among the top 100 prospects in the game at 75th overall and 6th overall in the Rays system and that’s including the Rays draft class of 2026.

Taylor changed his swing and is less vulnerable to elevated fastballs than he has been in the past. He’s going to get to power and play plus-plus defense at second and third base, or viable defense at shortstop if the Rays need him to. 

At this point in the season, Taylor is slated to post the highest average, on-base, and slugging percentage numbers of his career while also reaching a new career high in homeruns hit as well as posting the lowest strikeout rate of his career.

The next step for Taylor will be seeing if he can maintain this type of production at the next rung of the minor league ladder in Triple-A Durham.

The 2026 season has not been a fairy tale follow-up to the historic 2025 campaign for the Seattle Mariners. The .500-hugging club has sounded less like a well-oiled machine and more like my favorite Steel-type evolutionary line from the fifth generation of the Pokémon games. But the second half has been where Seattle has turned things on this decade, with winning records every second half since 2021 and better records post-All-Star Break than prior in all but one campaign. To make the playoffs and defend their AL West crown, they’ll need to do so once more, and for that they’ll need to address some of their clear weaknesses ahead of the August 3rd trade deadline. The sooner they make a move, the sooner they can improve, and the Jerry Dipoto/Justin Hollander Mariners have frequently been willing to come out swinging ahead of the final rush.

This summer, Seattle’s solutions are a bit clunky, but their needs are clear. I’ve been told lists are bullet points are an AI thing but like the mighty em dash and superfluous similes, the robots can drag them from my warm, meaty mitts or rust in hell.

1. At least one potent righty bat. Seattle’s been one of the worst teams in the league against left-handed pitching, and while it’s unsurprising given the lefty-dominated nature of their roster since day one, it’s been exacerbated by absences and/or ineffectiveness from Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez, and Victor Robles, as well as craterous performance from Rob Refsnyder and Leo Rivas who were hoped to have some stabilizing skill against southpaws.
2. Long and/or impact relief. Seattle has been running a combination of the piggyback and a six-man rotation for most of the year, flexing the luxury of their stellar rotation depth but forcing difficult and narrow usage of their bullpen. Injuries to Matt Brash and Cooper Criswell, along with a lack of emergence from any of The Pile to this point, have left the M’s pen bifurcated. This split is between an “A” pen of Andrés Muñoz, Eduard Bazardo, Gabe Speier, and Jose A. Ferrer, and a “C or D+” pen of Nick Davila, Cole Wilcox, and Michael Rucker at present, which has also featured Alex Hoppe and now-departed Casey Legumina, among others. It’s left Seattle close to punting several close games when they’ve trailed due to not wishing to exhaust their top arms, but with only seven options to use, they’re putting out unproven arms whose performance is more mop-up than lockdown.
3. Ace. Yes, Seattle currently has “too many” starters. No, they’re not of a caliber easily upgraded on. But this M’s roster’s weakest positions thus far are catcher, first base, and the left side of the infield writ large. At all four positions, Seattle has players under contract extensions, the least lengthy of which obviously being J.P. Crawford. Any major righty bat acquired will either fill a corner outfield or third base role, but despite his recent struggles and possible injury, Crawford has looked and graded out at least fine at the hot corner to be lower-priority in terms of replacement seeking. In terms of what is available on the market, the possibility of consolidating the M’s rotation into a stronger five is a real pathway forward, even if every permutation is painful.

There is some overlap in each deal, which are designed to be possible individually as centerpiece moves. However, with some tweaking, multiple deals could be done as one. As a reminder, these are projected fits, based on my evaluation of an appropriate deal. All of the players targeted have been listed due to fit and public reporting that they are at minimum available in trades per industry sourcing.

1. The Giant fit

Seattle Mariners acquire OF Heliot Ramos& RHP Jason Foley
San Francisco Giants acquire OF Jonny Farmelo& RHP Christian Little

Circle pegs for circular holes. Seattle’s easiest solution to their issues against lefties is acquiring someone who has hit them excellently his whole career. Their easiest pathway to improving their bullpen depth is adding a decent, low-cost reliever capable of leverage work. Easy, meet peasy.

The selling point on Ramos is that he fits the mold of position players Seattle has targeted at deadlines past. Rarely willing to go for a true “rental” beyond depth bullpen arms (which Brubaker would be) in this second window of Dipoto-era contention, Ramos would join Seattle in his final year of pre-arbitration. In 1547 plate appearances, mostly consolidated over the past three years, the 26 year old has a .258/.316/.425 line, good for a 107 wRC+ 3.5 fWAR in 376 games as of Friday, July 24. Drafted 19th overall in 2017 out of Leadership Christian HS in Puerto Rico, Ramos spent several years creeping up prospect lists and was seen as a likely impact bat with some defensive limitations that would push him to a corner outfield role sooner rather than later. Despite debuting in 2022, poor performance and oblique injuries dimmed his star by age 23, but he put up a strong age 24 campaign in 2024. 2025 and 2026 have been a bit behind that pace, but he’s hit and performed ably this year at a 107 wRC+ and career-best barrel rates and expected batting average, weighted on-base, and slugging. His BABIP has been high for an average runner, but when your hard hit rate is over 50% you are not purely getting lucky.

Crucially, Ramos crushes lefties. He’s crushed them his whole career, and he’s crushing them this year. Around league-average vs. RHP, in 433 plate appearances vs. LHP at the big league level, he’s gone .282/.346/.510 with a 135 wRC+ and an 8.3% walk rate against 25.6% strikeouts. He’s been a tick better at 144 wRC+ this year. He’s the only right-handed hitter to ever hit a splash down ball into McCovey Bay in San Francisco, and has room still to improve on his plus power.

Ramos has managed to slug reasonably despite playing in Oracle Park, a locale notoriously hard to homer in that is actually more challenging for sluggers than T-Mobile Park. While the park does give greater opportunity for gap triples, Ramos is more of a glide double or big fly kind of guy. That does make Ramos a shade more all-or-nothing, as he’s run career-high strikeout rates and low walk rates. However, as a defensive fit, Ramos is at least a neutral move compared to Luke Raley and/or Randy Arozarena in an outfield corner, with a strong arm that should fit in the relatively tame dimensions of T-Mobile Park.

It’s with an eye to those players that this move also makes sense, with Ramos potentially slotting in to fill the space in the next three years as Seattle likely will be looking to replace the departing Randy Arozarena. Whether Ramos would be a full-time player as he’s been the past three years or a sort of 0.8 FTE type in pairing with Raley, Dominic Canzone, and Brendan Donovan over the next couple years, there is a hand-in-glove sort of fit with a player as talented and consistently decent, while still so young.

Foley receives fewer words, but solves a need. He’s a career reliever who grew into a high-leverage role with the Tigers before injuries wiped him out for all of 2025. Dealt this winter in a package to the Giants, he was expected to miss Opening Day but has only gotten into two games thus far, one against Seattle. He’s a sinker-heavy righty with a groundball profile that helps him be hyper-efficient, and he was deployed as both a closer and a fireman in his time with Detroit. In his first year of arbitration, Foley is earning $2 million, but won’t likely see that sum rise significantly next year due to the time he’s missed the past two years, making him an undisruptive add for the M’s financially as well.

The prospect cost is recognizable. I prefer keeping Michael Arroyo to Farmelo, the former of whom Seattle is hoping prospers as a player not unlike Ramos himself. That might mean he’s a more sensible player to deal away, with Farmelo still projecting like a plus center fielder, but I also prefer Arroyo’s bat and skillset overall. Farmelo was recently promoted to Double-A, and fits the Giants’ need for a rangy outfielder who can handle their massive confines, something Arroyo decidedly has not shown an acuity for. He’s also been more swing-and-miss prone than any of Seattle’s top prospects save for Lazaro Montes, at a lower level. And yet, he is performing well at just age 21, having lost significant reps to a brutal ACL injury that seems physically well in his past. He has a case to be the likeliest position player star in Seattle’s system currently. Little is a slower burn righty, whose managed to miss bats in multi-inning work with High-A Everett in his age 22 season. Highly touted as a prep, he’s gone from Vanderbilt to LSU to the pros, finding his best outcomes in the bullpen. While this return might disappoint one hopeful Giants fan, I do think it stings enough to be in the right range while still being sensible given Ramos will see his salary grow in the next three years.

Conclusion: Do it. The Mariners should make this move for their immediate and mid-term future. The Giants are profoundly in need of the exact talent ceiling and positional fit that Farmelo affords. Seattle gets a player both younger and with a longer track record of hitting than Casey Schmitt, who has also been suggested as a target, at the cost of some defensive versatility.

Alternatively… OF Luis Robert Jr. of the Mets is a more expensive, less healthy option Seattle could target, whose salary and inconsistency would make him less prospect-intensive to acquire. He’s similarly scorched southpaws all career long. Unlike Ramos, he’s on an expiring deal, making him more equivalent to the Yonder Alonso deal of 2017. Unlike Byron Buxton, who has a similar skillset and injury bug but is vastly more consistent as a performer, Robert is sure to be available. Unlike Seiya Suzuki, it’s easier to make the move fit with a non-contender than a contender.

2. Lock Down the Pen

Seattle Mariners acquire LHP Adrian Morejon, RHP Jeremiah Estrada, & OF Ramón Laureano
San Diego Padres acquire RHP Emerson Hancock, 2B/OF Ryan Bliss, & OF Carlos Jimenez

If you want to solidify Seattle’s bullpen, the NL West has ample options to satisfy. I put together similar deals with the Colorado Rockies (centered on RHP Antonio Senzatela and RHP Victor Vodnik or RHP Jimmy Herget, which would likely require a bit less in return) and Arizona Diamondbacks (RHP Kevin Ginkel and RHP Ryan Thompson, even cheaper but firmly upgrading the depth of the pen). But for impact, San Diego has the goods, and the clubs are in conversations already. I don’t believe Seattle will target Mason Miller or Louis Varland, the two most impactful relievers on seller teams. It’s not been their MO in years past to extend major resources for the most volatile type of player, and until this year they’ve managed to whip up at least one solid arm internally annually.

But Morejon and Estrada are in a second tier, leverage arms who can and have been deployed flexibly with years of strong performance to point to in their resumés. Morejon is simply one of the five or 10 best relievers in baseball over the past three years, ranking fourth in fWAR since the start of 2024 with 5.2, trailing only Cade Smith of Cleveland (7.2), Miller (7.0), and Jhoan Duran of the Twins and Phillies (5.2).

The 27 year old Cuban has managed 191.1 innings of relief in that time, also fourth-most, while appearing in the sixth-most games (182). An expiring free agent, pitching early and often is nothing new for Morejon, who debuted in the Cuban National Series (the nation’s top domestic league) at the age of 15 and in MLB at just 20 years of age. He’s sat in the upper-90s his entire career, and since transitioning to a bullpen role in 2022 has largely locked down late innings for San Diego. Set for free agency this winter, Morejon is a tricky candidate for a qualifying offer, as his early-career injuries and inconsistency kept his arbitration salaries low but his youth and track record should yield a decent return. San Diego is likely to get better value in trading him than what might be a huge spike in payroll they’re not keen to risk given the lofty salaries already on the books.

That latter point is the purpose of Laureano’s inclusion, although the fiery veteran could feature in a late season platoon role if he’s able to return healthy from the hip labrum surgery he had in June to address nagging discomfort he’s been facing for years. More likely, he’ll simply continue his rehabilitation by turning right instead of left when he arrives at the complex in Peoria. What this does allow of interest to San Diego beyond merely shaving $6.5 million (prorated) from their salary is to scoot much closer to being under the luxury tax threshold.

For 2026, MLB has set the tax threshold at $244 million for clubs. San Diego currently is around $10-15 million above that level, and would be exceeding the tax for the second consecutive year, incurring a 30% additional tax on any payroll over that $244 million level. With new ownership and a seeming desire to continue contending while resetting their tax status (and with it some of their additional draft pick and international bonus pool circumstances as well), moving Laureano helps save San Diego more money than he’s owed while also improving their future prospects more directly.

That leaves Estrada, who is nearing the conclusion of rehabbing knee inflammation that sidelined him for a month and a half. The 27 year old is under contract for three years after this one, albeit all arbitration, which will make him a player not as lightly parted with. He’s another flamethrower, though his velocity has been down two ticks this year, perhaps in part connected to his knee issues. What Estrada excels at is getting punchouts, profiling much more as a leverage, shutdown arm than the multi-inning type.

Personally, I’ve found Estrada’s style and stuff to be some of my favorite in the majors for years. He throws a four-seamer with excellent ride and a Fernando Rodney-esque splitter and a delivery that looks like he’s uncorking from an Adirondack chair. He can handle hitters of all handedness, and gives Seattle an incredibly imposing pen to lean on night in and night out for multiple years.

The cost is sizable, as it should be, but in keeping with prices at 2025’s deadline which saw controlled relievers like Duran and Varland dealt for well-regarded prospects that were nonetheless not necessarily top-100 names. Ryan Helsley, a strong comparable to Morejon this year, cost an array of lower minors players but none earth-shattering.

Still, this is a big deal purely by number of names exchanged. That’s always worrisome in trade prognostication, but I think it’s a fair fit. San Diego doesn’t want to tank, they want to reload cheaply. Hancock immediately can justify the deal himself if he continues performing as he’s done in this breakout season. He’ll be under contract through 2030 if desired, not hitting arbitration until 2028. The measurable and meaningful improvements in his repertoire are reflected in his results and his peripherals, even with some BABIP fortune. But he’s had 105.1 good innings this year after 165.2 pretty rough ones, and never dominated in the minors up to his pedigree. The deal will take a bit more breadth.

For the Friars, again, this move prioritizes depth and proximity. Bliss is not included as a major piece, he’s simply more useful for San Diego than he is for Seattle, where he could actually play a useful role or be allowed the chance to try. San Diego’s upper minors infield depth is ghastly and old in baseball terms. More important is Jimenez, who fits in an area of cavernous absence in San Diego’s system. Low-to-mid-minors outfielders are few and far between for the Padres, and Jimenez is in the midst of a breakout campaign of his own. The 23 year old Dominican does everything well, albeit nothing extraordinarily, and should be slated for a taste of Double-A Arkansas imminently if not dealt. Blocked from playing center due to Jonny Farmelo’s presence, he can handle all three outfield spots while slashing for impressive power and plate discipline from the left side. I went back and forth on Korbyn Dickerson in this spot, your mileage may vary, largely contingent on how highly you value Hancock.

Conclusion: Yes, with a bit of teeth-gnashing. It is against my strongest instincts to deal starters for relievers, or anything for relievers, really. But it’s what the M’s need, it drains the six-man rotation morass, and deals from areas of relative strength in Seattle’s system. If Dan Wilson has 6-7 excellent arms in the bullpen, it also removes a degree of the grousing as to who is used when. They’ll all be worth using!

Alternatively… Too many to name. Seattle is in a great spot in terms of buying for bullpen help, as they don’t need an ace closer to improve, just to displace the three or so least effective arms with competency. Every non-contending club has at least one or two arms who could be had for a small prospect return. I’ll note that if clearing salary is particularly important to San Diego as I expect it to be, adding in LHP Yuki Matsui would make sense in this deal, and likely allow Seattle to save on prospect cost in some capacity. Matsui is owed $13.5 million over the next two years in addition to the remainder of $5.75 million this year. He’s been able to out-pitch his peripherals as an extreme fly ball arm, but doesn’t make a ton of sense for San Diego as constructed.

3. Twin Aces on a Five Card Draw

Seattle Mariners acquire RHP Joe Ryan, 3B/2B Royce Lewis, &LHP Taylor Rogers
Minnesota Twins acquire RHP Emerson Hancock, RHP Luis Castillo, OF Lazaro Montes*, and cash

If you’ve read this far, you’ve spent a lot of time in the tasteful mundanity of most midseason moves. This is a step further out there. The Twins are “evaluating” their options at this deadline, with Ryan clearly the silver medal option for anyone opting out of the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes. I have seen no clear indication of the M’s going for Skubal, and while Ryan specifically has had no clear smoke, he’s part of a Twins roster that’s been evaluated for numerous fits with Seattle’s needs. I’ve put together a trade above which fits Minnesota’s seeming desire to continue contending in the Buxton era, save money at a premium, and find some impact bats. This deal allows for all three, with some questions.

Ryan is under contract for a little over $6 million this year, and while he has a mutual option for 2027, those are functionally non-existent and never taken, meaning he’ll instead default to his final year of arbitration. He’d be liable to make a sum well into eight figures, still less than he’d get on the open market but not a titanic discount. He’s been much like Castillo in his earlier years: an absolute stalwart with a fastball-heavy repertoire that’s not quite made him a Cy Young contender, but a playoff starter for any team in baseball. Ryan is in the midst of his best season as a pro, with a 3.38/3.42/4.00 ERA/FIP/DRA that’s put him at 2.5 fWAR thus far, on par with George Kirby, Jacob deGrom, and Drew Rasmussen in the 19-22 range by fWAR headed into Friday. He’s a fly ball pitcher who would be better served in Seattle than the bandbox of Target Field in Minnesota, even in summertime.

Ryan’s appeal is the allowance of consolidation of resources. Trading in two good arms for one great one is not always the right move, but for Seattle it is at this moment. While moving Castillo to a less-contending club is a tough move for the veteran, it’s liable to happen in most permutations of a move this year, and Minnesota is neither completely out of it in 2026 nor a longshot to be right in the mix for the AL Central in 2027. That’s the appeal of Castillo, even at a loftier price point, which Seattle might still need to pay down somewhat. While clearing Ryan, Rogers, and Royce allows for some money off the books, Minnesota is not a big spender and may prefer to add in Josh Bell or Victor Caratini to offset some costs.

What Lewis and Rogers add is more a fit for Seattle’s needs than they are for Minnesota’s. The Twins have Lewis off his normal 3B role at present, letting longtime top prospect Brooks Lee get his reps at third. Demoted at one point this year, Lewis is splitting time between the non-shortstop positions defensively, and has been an above-average hitter for his career with still-decent numbers against southpaws this year. Displacing Buddy Kennedy for Lewis is a plus at a minimum, and the former first overall pick can see if a change of scenery lets him find a 2024 Victor Robles-like rejuvenation. Rogers has had a poor season, but the southpaw seems to be a victim of a .351 BABIP more than entirely over the hill if his 5.45 ERA vs. 3.96 FIP have any merit. He’ll also clear another $2 million prorated for Minnesota this year.

*The inclusion of Montes here is conditional. It’s hard to imagine Minnesota eating most of Castillo’s salary. There could be a chance to include a third club like the Cubs who are less penny-pinching, but we’re already out on our skis a ways. Montes fits the bill for Minnesota, with their compact ballpark limiting the impact of his subpar range and allowing his prominent power to play up. The club that boasted the “Bomba Squad” not so long ago has been seeking sluggers like Montes for years, from Trevor Larnach to Alex Kiriloff to Matt Wallner to Max Kepler. I see Montes as a mitigation for Castillo’s salary here, which could also be something Minnesota wishes to move on from before the deadline themselves.

Conclusion: I’m interested, but it’s still a bit tricky. While I strongly support consolidating Seattle’s strengths here into an ace, especially if Detroit continues their resurgence, the prices for Ryan could skyrocket beyond a move like this. I wouldn’t expect a move like this, even though it might make for a real splash.

Alternatively… As a Mariners fan, there is something sinister in trade proposals for the beloved aces of losing franchises. Not every fanbase has something as potent as the relationship between Seattle and Félix Hernández, but I don’t wish the experience on anyone. Moreover, with the Red Sox surging, they too are likely out of the easy fit range for someone like Sonny Gray, and Kevin Gausman apparently is still sore from all the important games he’s lost against the M’s such that they are on his no-trade list. It’s Ryan or run another play.

ICYMI, here’s today’s roster move.

Friday notes…

• BACK-TO-BACK: The Cubs have lost back-to-back games only twice in their last 40 played, since a third straight loss, at home to the Athletics, on June 3. They fell twice at home to the Cardinals on July 3-4, then at Baltimore on July 9 and at Cincinnati the next day. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• WINNING ON THE ROAD: The Cubs are 27-23 on the road. They finished 42-39 last year, their first full season with a winning record since 2018, when they were 44-37. They were 15-12 in the 60-game 2020 season. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• DIVISION RIVALS: The Cubs are 13-13 vs. their Central Division opponents. The Pirates are 17-12 within the division; the Brewers, 19-10; and the Cardinals, 15-13. The Reds are 6-22. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: The Cubs overcame a 4-1 deficit in Milwaukee with a five-run seventh and defeated the Brewers 6-5, increasing their NL Central lead to 7.5 games. It happened 10 years ago today, Sunday, July 24, 2016.

Cubs lineup:

The Pirates lineup was not available at posting time. Please check BCB social media for the Pirates lineup.

Matthew Boyd, LHP vs. Jared Jones, RHP

Matthew Boyd since returning from his knee injury: five starts, 2.57 ERA, 1.143 WHIP. He’s been really good and has thrown 90+ pitches in each of his last three starts, so shouldn’t be pitch limited tonight.

He has not faced the Pirates this year. Last year he had a 4.50 ERA in three starts covering 14 innings, which was two good outings and one pretty bad one. The bad one was in September when he was running out of gas. He should be better tonight.

Jared Jones was being talked about as a 1-2 along with Paul Skenes in the Pirates rotation two years ago, then he missed part of 2024 and all of 2025 with “internal brace” surgery, something different from Tommy John surgery. He’s made nine starts this year and started off kind of shaky, but over the last three: 1.20 ERA, 0.533 WHIP, 23 strikeouts and only three walks in 15 innings.

He appears to be a bit pitch-limited as he has maxed out at 81 this year and 75 over those last three starts. So, get to him early, if possible.

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Discuss amongst yourselves.

In a news conference ahead of Friday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Mets pitcher Clay Holmes addressed the uncertainty surrounding his immediate future with the ballclub.

With the MLB trade deadline set for 6 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 3, the Mets have already indicated that they are open for business, and Holmes is one of many players who could be on the move.

"There's a lot that can happen, a lot of different scenarios," the veteran hurler stated. "It does feel like the team is going to make some moves; what those are, we don't know."

Holmes, 33, has a player option following the 2026 season, and it was recently reported that the right-hander was open to inking an extension.

"I'm grateful to have an opportunity here with the Mets, and have been since I signed here," the pitcher said.

However, Holmes revealed today that the possibility of extending his time in Queens is still up in the air.

When asked if there had been any progress on a contract extension with the Mets, Holmes replied, "I don't think there's been a ton there. It's one of those situations where there's a few different scenarios the team can go, and it boils down to what the team thinks is best for the organization long-term."

Meanwhile, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns declined to comment when asked the same question during his regularly scheduled news conference ahead of the team's series opener with the Dodgers.

Holmes recently made his first rehab start since he was sidelined with a right fibula fracture sustained on a comebacker during his start against the Yankees on May 15.

"It's a unique scenario, the timing of this injury, the unforeseen circumstances with the team," lamented Holmes. "Sometimes it's easy to let your mind wander, there's a lot of things out there that you can't control which will have some impact on your future. As an athlete, especially me right now, I want to be pitching my best during these last two months, whether that be here [with the Mets] or somewhere else."

"You want to leave a place better than you found it. Hopefully things are better here when I leave, whenever that is," he concluded.