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Today’s the big day, folks. It’s Monday, August 3 and it’s time to get locked in since the deadline is officially at 6:00 p.m. ET. Will the Braves make a huge splash? Will AA surprise us? Will it all be a big dud? It’s time to figure it all out! Keep it locked here as we’ll be trying to parse all of the major rumors of the day, whether they’re Braves-related or just intriguing for the bigger picture. Let’s get into it, folks!

[3:49 p.m. ET]: The Angels continue their great firesale and the Cubs continue to be very active at the deadline. Chicago gets some relief pitching help in the form of RHP Ryan Zeferjahn.

[3:47 p.m. ET]: Apparently the Braves are in on Mets starter Clay Holmes. Normally I’d say that this is a long shot (and it still might be considering that he’s garnering a lot of attention with a handful of other teams included in this report from Mark Feinsand) but considering all of the intra-divisional trade action that we’ve seen so far today, it certainly seems possible.

Holmes is also currently on the 60-Day IL and currently on rehab assignment, so you have to keep that in mind. Either way, it’s a Braves rumor! Do with that what you will.

[3:18 p.m. ET]:Another intra-divisional trade. The NL Central gets involved, as the Brewers are picking up right-handed starter Dustin May and lefty reliever JoJo Romero from the Cardinals. Ken Rosenthal is reporting this, so you can take it to the bank.

Meanwhile, our friend from Bleacher Nation is standing ten toes town on his reporting despite other reporters challenging it. I guess we’ll see what happens but for now, I’d just go ahead and assume that Reid Detmers is still available.

[3:10 p.m. ET]: Annnnnnd Luke Weaver comes off the board. The Mets are sending him out to Pittsburgh.

[3:00 p.m. ET]: Well, well, well: We have our first example of conflicting sources. Cerami says that the Cubs/Angels Detmers deal is done. However, Peter Appel of Just Baseball Media is saying that a deal is not close. It’s officially silly hours, folks.

Cubs/White Sox reporter Jesse Rogers of ESPN has come in and stated that his source is saying that the deal has not happened and that Detmers is on the board. I’d say that hope has officially been restored for the rest of us who may have our eyes on Detmers.

[2:49 p.m ET]: Welp, you can take Reid Detmers off of the board. The Cubs acquired Kevin Gausman yesterday and today they’ll be getting Detmers from the Angels. I really would’ve liked having him here, so blah. Michael Cerami of Bleacher Nation is reporting this news.

[2:43 p.m. ET]: Apparently Jose Soriano might still be available despite having been traded from the Angels to the Blue Jays. Joe Sherman is reporting that the trade hasn’t stopped other teams from trying to acquire Soriano as they’ve simply moved from calling the Angels to calling the Blue Jays. Wacky!

[2:19 p.m. ET]: Kansas City is sending Kris Bubic to the Dodgers. Bubic had a breakout season for the Royals in 2025 but he was unable to build upon that and turn it into consistent above-average performance — which is why he’ll probably turn into an ace wearing Dodger blue instead of Royal blue, right? He is on the IL right now, so you can take that into consideration.

[2:05 p.m. ET]: Here are a few more rapid-fire updates. We have another intra-divisional trade, as the Padres have reportedly picked up Robbie Ray from the Giants in an effort to boost their rotation as they attempt to snatch a Postseason spot. A.J. Preller just likes being busy.

Meanwhile, there’s an intra-state trade down in Florida as the Rays are getting Liam Hicks from the Marlins. Remember when the Marlins made a push for a moment there during June?

Lastly, apparently The Athletic is reporting that Jacob deGrom has told the Rangers that he wants to remain with the team, so there’s that. Now, just because he wants to stay doesn’t necessarily mean that he won’t agree to leave if the Rangers do strike a deal with another team but at the same time, I’d say that it’s looking more likely that deGrom is staying put in Arlington.

[1:46 p.m. ET]: We’ve got a couple of AL East deals and one of them is a biggie. There’s another intra-divisional trade that’s close to happening that would see Baltimore send C/DH Adley Rutschman over to Boston in exchange for some prospects. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays are picking up UTIL Josh Smith from the Rangers.

Speaking of the Rangers, Jon Heyman is reporting that the Braves have, in fact, “checked in” on Jacob deGrom’s availability. Watch out for that, folks.

[12:59 p.m. ET]: Francys Romero of Beisbol FR is the first to report that Brenton Doyle would be getting freed from the Rockies and joining the fun on the South Side of Chicago with the White Sox.

The Rockies are reportedly getting INF Carlos Vielma and RHP Mason Adams in return. Jorge Castillo of ESPN had that news first.

Romero is also reporting that Luis Robert Jr. could be on the move before the deadline hits, so there’s that.

[12:30 p.m. ET]: Here’s a sign of the times: The 54-58 Orioles are selling to the 55-58 Mariners. Taylor Ward (and his sky-high walk-rate) is heading to Seattle. It may not be a huge needle mover but the Deadline is showing who still has hope and who’s deciding to punt with an eye towards next season* when it comes to the overly-crowded Wild Card race. The Mariners are only a half-game ahead of the O’s in the Wild Card but they’re only three back in the AL West compared to Baltimore being far behind the Rays for the AL East lead, so there you have it.

*^{_{That’s assuming there is a “next season” in 2027}}

[12:21 p.m. ET]: Jo Adell was a name that had been bandied about in rumors concerning the Braves. I think we all figured that that was out of the window once the Braves acquired Lane Thomas and sure enough, Adell is now heading to Cleveland. Everything must go in AnaheimLos Angeles, I guess.

[11:48 a.m. ET]: Here’s the graphic for Suter, so it’s official.

[11:32 a.m. ET]: The Braves have made their first deadline day deal. They’ve linked up with the Angels (again) and reportedly lefty reliever Brent Suter is heading to Atlanta. We’ve got more on the trade here.

[11:05 a.m. ET]: Not a trade update but just a heads up that our very own Gaurav Vedak will be returning to BravesVision on Thursday, so stay tuned for that!

[10:37 a.m. ET]: In case you’re wondering how the Phillies are going to make all of this work, they’re definitely going to have to move some parts around. We’ll see how this goes.

[9:55 a.m. ET]: Now we get an intra-divisional trade here in the NL East and (surprise, surprise) it’s the Phillies and the Mets doing a deal together. LHP Brooks Raley is heading to Philadelphia, according to Bob Nightengale. Nightengale also mentioned that the Phillies are looking for another starter, so that’s great.

[9:50 a.m. ET]: Well, the Phillies just got even more annoying. Luis Arraez is heading to Philly in a deal with the Giants, according to Jeff Passan.

The Phillies will also be getting Caleb Killian as well. The Giants are putting it all up for sale, apparently.

[9:44 a.m. ET]: I was going to mention that Jose Soriano was going to be a name to watch just like Reid Detmers and then additionally, there have been rumors that the Braves may be in on Casey Mize and Jacob deGrom as well. deGrom in particlar has a no-trade clause and according to Evan Grant, he may be willing to waive that no-trade clause if a deal sends him here to Atlanta.

[9:33 a.m. ET]: Just a couple of moments after this tracker went live, we get a big one. According to Jeff Passan, Jose Soriano is on the move and heading to Toronto. Wait, Toronto?

Notable Moves from the weekend:

August 2 – Atlanta Braves acquire RHP Tyler Mahle from San Francisco Giants for RHP Anthony Molina

August 2 – Chicago Cubs acquire RHP Kevin Gausman from Toronto Blue Jays for INF Ty Southisene and OF Brett Bateman

August 2 – Tampa Bay Rays acquire RHP Freddy Peralta from New York Mets for OF Aidan Smith, INF Émilien Pitre and RHP Gary Gill Hill

August 2 – New York Yankees acquire INF Luis García Jr. from Washington Nationals for RHP Yorvanny Cruz, RHP Jake Bird, RHP Jack Cebert and RHP Ben Grable

August 1 – Atlanta Braves acquire OF Lane Thomas and LHP Bailey Falter from Kansas City Royals for LHP Carter Holton and RHP Lucas Braun

August 1 – Pittsburgh Pirates acquire RHP Camilo Doval and cash considerations for C Omar Alfonzo and OF Luis Cruz

August 1 – Chicago White Sox acquire Luis Castillo from Seattle Mariners for RHP Seranthony Dominquez, OF Nolan Jones and C Boston Smith

August 1 – Milwaukee Brewers acquire C Bo Naylor and RHP Codi Huer from Cleveland Guardians for RHP Craig Yoho and OF Blake Perkins

August 1 – Los Angeles Dodgers acquire Tarik Skubal from Detroit Tigers for OF Zyhir Hope, RHP River Ryan and RHP Brady Smith

Today might be the Trade Deadline (and check out Tracker if you haven’t already) and it’s an off day for our Atlanta Braves but there’s still news to discuss outside of all of that. We’re a few days into the month of August and now Atlanta’s ace hurler has received some recognition for what he did during July.

Chris Sale has been recognized as the National League Pitcher of the Month for July.

Here’s more from Major League Baseball’s press release on the matter:

The 13th overall pick of the 2010 Draft posted three scoreless starts, dealing 7.0 innings on July 17th against Texas and 6.0 frames in Game 2 of a doubleheader at Citi Field on July 29th, along with a rain-shortened start of 3.0 innings on July 10th at St. Louis. He registered six strikeouts against the Rangers and nine at the Mets as he held both opponents to just two hits and did not issue a walk. Sale has three starts of at least 6.0 scoreless innings in which he allowed two-or-fewer hits and no walks (also: April 1st vs. ATH), matching Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes for the most such starts in the Majors this year.

Sale made five starts in total during the month of July (with 27 total innings pitched) and finished with a 2.00 ERA and a 2.21 FIP across those five starts. He racked up strikeouts at a pretty high rate, finishing with an 11.33 K/9 alongisde a 1.33 BB/9 and a 0.67 HR/9 over the month of July. Additionally, the Braves won all but one of those five starts he made — the only loss came when Sale was limited to three innings due to rain hitting Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

This is now the second time that Sale has been recognized as NL Pitcher of the Month with the Braves and it’s the sixth time overall — he pulled off the feat twice with both the Chicago White Sox and the Boston Red Sox. It’s just yet another accolade to add to the resume for the future Hall of Famer. Hopefully Atlanta will continue to thrive this season so more major honors of the team variety could be on the way for Chris Sale. We’ll see what happens.

The Dodgers last week beat the Mariners in two out of three games, securing a fourth consecutive series win out of the All-Star break. But then they got swept and outplayed at home by the Red Sox.

Manager Dave Roberts acknowledged the poor weekend on Sunday, but through the lens of someone who just welcomed ace pitcher Tarik Skubal to the team.

“A day later when all these talks have been kind of building up, it’s crazy. The front office did a great job,” Roberts said Sunday night. “I don’t think I’ve felt this good after getting swept, so that’s a silver lining, I guess.”

Batter of the week

Shohei Ohtani got a rest day Thursday while dealing with his left knee inflammation and right biceps troubles, but packed six games worth of production into five games, hitting .500 with two home runs and three doubles, extending his hit streak to six games.

Honorable mention goes to Freddie Freeman, who had 11 hits in 24 at-bats and extended his hit streak to 12 games, the longest by a Dodger this season. Freeman has 23 hits in his last 42 at-bats (.548), dating back to July 21.

Pitcher of the week

Eric Lauer might very well get traded by the 3 p.m. PT Monday trade deadline, but what he’s done so far with the Dodgers has been everything they’ve asked and more. That included six scoreless innings on Wednesday against the Mariners, allowing only three runners to reach base.

“Eric Lauer has been unbelievable for us,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said on Sunday.

Week 19 results

2-4 record
26 runs scored (4.33 per game)
31 runs allowed (5.17 per game)
.420 pythagorean win percentage

Year to date

69-43 record
572 runs scored (5.11 per game)
422 runs allowed (3.77 per game)
.636 pythagorean win percentage (71-41)

Miscellany

When a house becomes a home (run): Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy has signed four different extensions with the Dodgers, with whom is currently under contract through 2027 with a club option for 2028. It’s been a long journey for Muncy, who extended his arms on Tuesday against the Mariners for his 130th career regular season home run at Dodger Stadium, matching Eric Karros for most in the 65-year history of the ballpark. Counting postseason home runs with regular season efforts, Muncy’s 137 home runs at Dodger Stadium stands alone.

Third time’s a charm: Miguel Rojas on Friday got the start against Red Sox left-hander Ranger Suarez. Rather than move around other pieces in the lineup, Dave Robert penciled in Rojas batting third, the first such start for Rojas batting third in his career. That completed the batting order bingo card for Rojas, who has now started in each of the nine lineup spots in his 13-year career. His lone time batting cleanup came in 2022 with the Marlins.

Transactions

Tuesday: An oblique strain sidelined Kiké Hernández for 51 games, his second extending injured list stint this season, but he returned for the series against the Mariners. Alex Freeland was optioned after not starting in any of the previous 13 games.

Wednesday: Closer Edwin Díaz was activated three months and a week after arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow. Charlie Barnes was designated for assignment for the third time this season, and second with the Dodgers.

Friday: Reliever Brock Stewart landed on the injured list for the third time this season, this time with right shoulder discomfort. Veteran lefty Cole Irvin was called up to the Dodgers, and right-hander Chayce McDermott was designated for assignment.

Saturday: One day after eating six innings to reset the bullpen, Irvin was sacrificed to the fresh arm gods and designated for assignment. Kyle Hurt rejoined the Dodgers from Oklahoma City.

Saturday: A struggling Will Klein was placed on the injured list with elbow discomfort, and Wyatt Mills was called up.

Saturday: Barnes cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A, but elected free agency instead. But don’t worry because …

Sunday: Barnes re-signed another minor league deal with the Dodgers and rejoined Oklahoma City.

Sunday: The Dodgers acquired Tarik Skubal from the Tigers in exchange for River Ryan plus minor leaguers Zyhir Hope and Brady Smith.

Game results

• Tuesday: Mariners 7, Dodgers 6
• Wednesday: Dodgers 4, Mariners 2
• Thursday: Dodgers 6, Mariners 2
• Friday: Red Sox 9, Dodgers 4
• Saturday: Red Sox 3, Dodgers 2
• Sunday: Red Sox 8, Dodgers 4

Previous reviews: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11| Week 12 | Week 13 | no reviews for Weeks 14-15 | Week 16 | Week 17 | Week 18

Up next

The trade deadline comes at 3 p.m. PT on Monday, but the Dodgers on the field will be busy a few hours later at Wrigley Field, starting the Damian Miller gauntlet on the road to face the Cubs and Diamondbacks. Tuesday’s game is on TBS in addition to SportsNet LA.

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Happy Monday!

A new week is here, and I'm ready to kick it off with three of my favorite home run props and predictions from tonight's MLB slate, highlighted by Rafael Devers and James Wood.

Here are my favorite MLB picks for August 3.

MLB home run props for today

Player to hit a HR	Odds
Rafael Devers	+344
James Wood	+300
CJ Abrams	+344
💲Today's HR parlay	+5217

Home run prediction: Rafael Devers (+344)

With Cal Quantrill expected to take the mound for the Texas Rangers this evening, it sets up San Francisco Giants slugger Rafael Devers for a big night at the plate.

The big fella is the third-highest-rated hitter on Batters-Box tonight, covering nearly 100% of Quantrill's pitch mix. Across 261 elite ratings over the last three seasons, Devers has homered 22.22% of the time.

Devers has also been seeing the ball extremely well lately, posting a .343 batting average, .455 wOBA, and .629 SLG, while generating a 53.3% hard hit rate and 10% barrel rate over his last few games.

Quantrill has been getting hit hard by left-handed batters. The last 30 lefties he's faced have produced a .340 xBA, .718 xSLG, and .450 xwOBA, along with a 40% hard hit rate and 10% barrel rate.

With the way Devers is swinging it right now, whoever takes the mound is in for a tough night, especially if it's Quantrill. Our Quinn Allen is backing San Francisco with his Giants vs. Rangers predictions tonight.

I wouldn't play this below +300.

• Time: 8:05 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: ESPN

Home run prediction: James Wood (+300)

I'm very high on the Washington Nationals tonight, which is why I'll be targeting the left-handed bats at the top of their lineup. Both James Wood and CJ Abrams find themselves in excellent spots against Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola.

Nola has struggled mightily against left-handed hitters. Over the last 30 lefties he's faced, he's allowed a 70.8% hard hit rate, 16.7% barrel rate, and a 75% elevation rate. Those hitters have also posted a .440 xBA, .817 xSLG, and .509 xwOBA.

Wood enters Monday with the highest matchup rating on Batters-Box, while covering the majority of Nola's pitch mix. He's also been squaring the ball up consistently over his last 60 at-bats against right-handed pitching, posting a .500 SLG and .867 OPS while generating plenty of hard contact and barrels.

I would do my best to grab Wood at +300 or better to leave the yard.

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: NATS, NBCS-Philadelphia

Home run prediction: CJ Abrams (+344)

CJ Abrams owns the second-highest matchup rating on Batters-Box's current season dataset tonight. He's also seeing the ball extremely well over his last 60 at bats, posting a .438 batting average, .979 SLG, 1.496 OPS, and .541 ISO.

In 19 elite ratings this season, the Nationals shortstop has homered 26.32% of the time. In a smaller sample of nine elite-rated road games, he's gone deep 44.44% of the time.

I'm already expecting the Nationals to score early, and I believe those runs will come from one of these two hitters. Trying to pick between Abrams and James Wood feels nearly impossible, so I'd rather sprinkle both in outstanding spots tonight.

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: NATS, NBCS-Philadelphia

Best home run combo for Monday, Aug. 3

Rafael Devers	Trade Now +5217
James Wood
CJ Abrams

Want more baseball parlays? Check out our MLB parlay picks page!

Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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For once, the Yankees made up some ground on Tampa. New York held on to win a nailbiter in Chicago Sunday afternoon and, in Tampa, the White Sox took down the Rays, enabling the Yankees to gain a game in the AL East standings.

The combination of the Yankee win and Rays loss moves the Bronx Bombers to within 2.5 games of first place in the division. But because we can’t have nice things, the Red Sox beat the Dodgers again Sunday night, meaning they’re hanging around a mere 2.5 games back of the Yankees. Sigh. Damned Dodgers can’t do anything right.

Tampa Bay Rays (65-46) 1, Chicago White Sox (59-52) 9

The Rays and ChiSox had split the first two games of this weekend set so the winner today was walking away with the series win as well. This game was never really close. The White Sox scored twice in the first, thanks in large part to blunders by Tampa starter Griffin Jax. A Jax throwing error allowed former Yankee Andrew Benintendi to scamper home with the game’s first run. Then, a wild pitch resulted in a second run scoring. In the end, that was all the offense Chicago needed.

They weren’t done there, though. Another former Yankee, Everson Pereira, was responsible for much of the damage. In the fifth, the former highly-touted prospect clubbed a two-run double. Not finished, he followed that with a two-run round tripper in the ninth. Speaking of the ninth, the Rays managed to get off the schneid with a run in the home ninth to avoid the shutout.

Other Games

Boston Red Sox (59-51) 8, Los Angeles Dodgers (69-42) 4: The rare time I (and most Yankee fans, I suspect) am cheering for the Dodgers, and they blow it. The reigning champs just got swept at home by the Red Sox, continuing the latter’s surge up the standings. Sunday, Boston jumped all over Dodgers starter Emmet Sheehan, hanging five runs on him and knocking him out after 2.2 innings. From there, a balanced Boston offense took over. By the time the game came to its end, five different BoSox had driven in at least one run. Please go away, Boston.

Texas Rangers (55-57) 3, Houston Astros (58-55) 7: “Dread it, run from it. Destiny arrives all the same.” The Houston Astros are in first place in the American League West. After their win over the second-place Rangers Sunday, their lead is 2.5 games. If they are inevitable, then Yordan Alvarez is playing the part of Thanos. The hulking slugger notched four hits on the day for the ‘Stros, including three doubles, driving in a pair of runs. He’s walking almost as much as he strikes out, hitting .330, and has a 196 wRC+ in the clubhouse after today’s game. Keep an eye on him as he has a realistic shot at an MLB Triple Crown. Some fellow named Mantle was the last to do that, 70 years ago. Yordan is currently 1st in BA, 1st in HR, and 3rd in RBI (one behind 1st place).

Cleveland Guardians (57-56) 5, Arizona Diamondbacks (59-53) 0: Gavin Williams, ladies and gentlemen. Sunday, the Cleveland ace threw 5.2 innings of nigh-perfect (one hit and one walk) ball while striking out 10. I know it is 2026 and everyone strikes out everyone – I’m a Yankee fan, I’m eminently familiar with hitters whiffing. But Williams is on quite the heater. In his last five starts he has struck out: 11, 11, 11, 12, and now 10. That will do. Offensively, Patrick Bailer gave Cleveland all they needed with a solo home run in the 3rd. To be safe though, Chase DeLauter knocked in three more to give the Guards some breathing room.

Minnesota Twins (56-57) 6, Seattle Mariners (55-58) 7: The stoppable force meets the moveable object. Though to be fair to both teams, with the state of the American League right now, both are “contenders” for the third and final wild card spot. Sunday, the Twins showed serious moxie, to give them credit. Down 6-0 entering the eighth inning, the Twins plated five on a two-run home run from Trevor Larnach and a three-run shot by Royce Lewis. That set the stage for the Twinkies to complete the comeback in the ninth, which they did on a solo home run off the bat of Luke Keaschall. Alas, that was where the magic ended. In the bottom of the ninth, Colt Emerson came to the plate with the bases loaded. His single plated the game-winner and rescued Seattle from what would have been a catastrophic loss.

Today is the MLB trade deadline, and the San Francisco Giants wasted no time being active. Early in the morning, news broke that the Giants had traded All-Star second baseman to the Philadelphia Phillies for right-handed pitching prospect Ramon Marquez. The Giants are also sending right-handed reliever Caleb Kilian to Philadelphia, while getting back right-handed pitching prospect Marty Gair.

The Giants held out for a nice return for Arráez, who is in line to win the National League batting title this year, and it seems they got exactly that with Marquez. A 20-year old who signed as an international free agent last year, Marquez has wasted no time becoming one of the top prospects in the Phillies organization. In the most recent Fangraphs rankings, Marquez graded out as the team’s No. 3 prospect, and the No. 67 overall prospect in baseball.

Marquez was thoroughly dominant in Low-A this year, posting a 1.86 ERA and a 2.65 FIP in six games, with 47 strikeouts in 29 innings, and just 10 walks. That earned him a promotion to High-A, where he’s kept the performance up: in six starts at the level, the righty has a 1.50 ERA, a 1.99 FIP, and 46 strikeouts to nine walks in 30 innings. He has a high quality fastball and slider, but his money pitch is a changeup that grades out as one of the best pitches in Minor League Baseball. He should immediately slot right behind the team’s No. 4 pick in last month’s draft, Jackson Flora, as the second-best pitching prospect in the system.

As for Gair, he was Philly’s 13th-round pick in the 2023 draft. The 23-year old is a gaudy strikeout artist but struggles with command. Across 36 innings this year (33 in Low-A and three in High-A), the right-hander has 66 strikeouts and just 20 hits allowed … but has walked 22 batters. He has a 4.50 ERA and a 3.88 FIP on the season, and has worked exclusively in relief.

The Giants have been exposed this year for not having nearly enough pitching. Seen through that lens, the addition of Marquez to pair with Flora, and fellow draftees Carson Bolemon and Kaden Waechter, is a big win. Suddenly, San Francisco’s pitching pipeline looks a whole lot better than it did in June. The Giants did wonderfully at last year’s deadline, and it sure looks like they’re off to a similar start this year.

It still hurts to see Arráez leave, though. Good Giant.

Congratulations to Jack Wheeler, who has been named the #19 prospect in the 2026 LSB Midseason Community Prospect Rankings, receiving a little under one-quarter of the vote.

Our list so far:

1 — Sebastian Walcott

2 — Caden Scarborough

3 — Malcolm Moore

4 — A.J. Russell

5 — Yolfran Castillo

6 — Rafe Perich

7 — Dylan Dreiling

8 — Josh Owens

9 — Jose Corniell

10 — Dalton Pence

11 — David Davalillo

12 — Yeison Morrobel

13 — Hector Osorio

14 — Cam Cauley

15 — Seong-Jun Kim

16 — Winston Santos

17 — Paulino Santana

18 — Emiliano Teodo

19 — Jack Wheeler

Moving on…

Who is the #20 prospect in the Rangers system right now?

Cast your vote below…

Luis Castillo is no longer a Mariner, but his impact on the rotation – and the club itself – will be felt for years.

Castillo came to the Mariners in 2022 as part of a splashy trade deadline deal with the Reds, joining a staff with established veterans Robbie Ray and Marco Gonzales, as well as two of the Mariners’ bright young pitching prospects, Logan Gilbert and George Kirby. (For a more comprehensive look back at Castillo’s tenure, make sure to read Zach’s ode to La Piedra from yesterday.) Ray and Gonzales would move on and be replaced by other, younger faces from the Mariners’ prospect pipeline; Castillo remained, the lone veteran presence in the rotation, and one of the few veterans in a clubhouse that was getting younger and more homegrown each year.

Castillo, 33, often said that he didn’t feel that much older than the other pitchers, but they unmistakably looked at him as a role model, the unofficial leader of the rotation. And Castillo’s light didn’t just touch the starters; coming in as a big-leaguer with significant service time, already a multi-year All-Star, made him an inspiration to younger players, who saw him as someone who’d already gotten where they wanted to go. With a warm, humorous demeanor and fluency in both Spanish and English, Castillo was easy for any player in the clubhouse to approach.

“He was the vet of the staff, and everybody could always lean on him if they needed to, and he was always willing to help,” said Bryce Miller, who was especially close with Castillo (the two shared both a bone-dry sense of humor and an interest in fishing, Castillo even promising to pick Miller up in Texas on his boat for a fishing trip – “now we’ll have to line that up in the off-season,” huffed Miller). “I leaned on him a lot.”

Andrés Muñoz, who was in the midst of his first full big-league season when Castillo arrived, acknowledged the significance of having another native Spanish-speaking pitcher to bounce ideas off of, but said Castillo’s influence ran much deeper than just a shared mother tongue.

“It wasn’t only that he was a Latin player, but he had almost ten years in the big leagues,” Muñoz said pregame on Sunday after news of the trade broke. “So that tells you a lot about how much he knows about baseball and all the things he’s doing to be consistent for so many years.

My first thought was ‘follow the leader.’ For me, he is a leader, and that is why [the trade] hurts a lot.”

Every player in the clubhouse – including Castillo himself – recognizes that this is the business side of baseball, one of the prices paid for the privilege of playing the game. That doesn’t lessen the sting for his fellow pitchers, even as they’ve grown from greenhorns to more experienced big-leaguers themselves, as they’re better acquainted than anyone with the exceptional steadfastness of Luis Castillo.

“He’s the best, man,” said George Kirby postgame, coming off a seven-inning shutout performance against the Twins that would make prime La Piedra proud. “The way he carries himself every day, he always has a smile on his face. That’s something I really admire, something I wish I could do a little more often.

I always looked forward to seeing Luis any day because he always made you feel better.”

Logan Gilbert concurred with Kirby, noting that Castillo was seemingly “always in a good mood” – something borne out in his final press conference, when he entered the Mariners interview room for the last time with his customary, musical “helloooooo everybodyyyy” that was the hallmark of the start of all of his media sessions.

“I was actually talking to my wife about this on the phone last night,” said Gilbert. “It’s so rare to have somebody where the outing never dictated his mood. The game, the season, where we’re at, what’s going on – if everyone else is panicking, he’s not. Like he just knows that everything’s going to be all right somehow. There’s a lot to be said for that. That’s really rare in this game.”

It’s not surprising to hear younger pitchers talk with envy about Castillo’s steadfastness and composure. That sense of ease is a separating quality at this level; frustratingly, it’s also something that becomes more difficult to attain the more it’s grasped after.

Not that Castillo didn’t try to impart those lessons on the younger pitchers. While leading by example, he also offered specific guidance, tailored to each pitcher’s personality. He encouraged Kirby to put down his Furious George persona after a bad outing and appreciate the moment; for the hyper-cerebral Gilbert, to not think so much; for Miller, master tinkerer and lover of the pitching lab, to not change things in response to a poor outing. He provided immediate direct assessments, both verbal and nonverbal, to Muñoz, who values peer feedback.

“He would tell you the truth right away,” said Muñoz. “He wasn’t going to go around the thing. As soon as he sees something that is wrong, he’s going to tell you, and that’s what I like the most about him. He didn’t go around anything. He would just go, hey, you’re missing this, you’re doing this wrong. He saw me throw in the bullpen a lot of times and I would just have to look at him – I’d be throwing a bullpen, and miss a pitch or miss something, and I’d just look at him and I’d know he was going to tell me something. Or just by the way that he’d look at me, I already knew what I had to do. That’s the kind of leader that other pitchers need.”

Gilbert had a specific anecdote summing up Castillo’s hands-on leadership.

“I think back to – I threw a bullpen in Minnesota two years ago, probably, one of my famous freakout bullpens where it didn’t go well. I’m panicking, trying to change everything, and threw too many pitches.”

In the midst of his spiral, Gilbert described Castillo watching the bullpen from the corner of the bullpen, amused, before taking the young pitcher aside afterwards.

“He told me, first of all, like why are you doing this?,” recounted Gilbert. “He said, ‘don’t change anything, don’t think too much, and don’t try so hard.‘ And I’m like, how did he just make it that simple that quickly? It seems like such a simple thing to say, but I’ll remember that the rest of my career. That’s stuff that I actually try to live by on the mound, in my practice. He just says it at the right time. He just has the perfect awareness, perfect feel for the situation.”

The old baseball cliché is that you can’t teach feel. But that didn’t stop Luis Castillo from trying, every day, over his Mariners tenure, from living as a model of consistency on the mound and in the clubhouse to showing what that looks like in interpersonal relationships, offering his time and his talent and his wisdom to anyone who might seek it.

“That is the thing I learned the most from him,” said Muñoz. “It doesn’t matter how your outing is going, you have to stay the same. He was the perfect example for everybody. And I want to follow in his footsteps.”

“He knows how to relate to everybody,” said Gilbert. “Pitchers, hitters, American guys, Latin guys. He just related to everybody.”

“I think that’s a really rare thing to see, especially on the pitching side of things. He did more for me and other people than fans will ever realize.”