PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 03: Abimelec Ortiz #81 of the Washington Nationals rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the first inning during the game between the Washington Nationals and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Monday, August 3, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Trevor Hayes/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Nats have really felt the losses of Curtis Mead and Luis Garcia Jr. lately. An offense that was once an unstoppable force has fallen on its face. During this road trip, the Nats are 3 for 46 with RISP. However, there is one new bat they added to the fold that really intrigues me, and it is Abimelec Ortiz.
Part of the reason trading Garcia made sense for the Nats was that they had a plug and play replacement in Ortiz. The Nats acquired the 24 year old in the MacKenzie Gore trade, and he has been mashing at AAA all year. He has an .845 OPS with 18 homers this season while having some bad luck mixed in as well. Ortiz is a big man who can punish baseballs, which is what he has been doing in the minors.
Abimelec Ortiz waists no time clearing the bases! đŁ
However, Ortiz is more than your prototypical feast or famine power hitter. This season he is striking out under 20% of the time in the minors. He is also whiffing and making contact at better than average clips. Ortiz has proven to be a complete hitter in the minors this year, with not many holes in his profile.
His swing decisions are not elite, but they are solid. That is good enough for a player with huge power and better than average contact skills. One of the great things about Ortiz is that he does a really good job tapping into his power. He is hitting the ball on the ground less than 35% of the time this year and pulling it in the air at an 18% clip.
This is a hitter that is built to do damage. His average exit velocity is over 91 MPH, his max EV is over 116 and his 90th percentile EV, a good measure of power, is at 107 which is elite. We still need to see Ortiz produce in the big leagues to be sure, but he seems like a pretty safe bet to be an above average hitter.
Abimelic Ortiz has been called back up to DC. He'll be the LHH first basemen replacing Luis Garcia moving forward.
âŸïž 24 yrs old; Added in Gore trade âŸïž 18 HR and an .845 OPS at AAA âŸïž HR counts last 3 yrs: 33, 18, 25
Best AVG exit velocities in AAA, hard hit rate is bestâŠ
I have gone into plenty of numbers, but when you watch Ortiz, there is a lot to like. He is one of those guys that looks hitterish in the box. It is like that big kid on your little league team who just hits tanks. Ortiz has that sort of presence in the box. His swing is also really nice to watch with his quick hands and fast bat.
Ortiz has only had 6 MLB ABâs to this point, but I have liked what I have seen so far. He does not look overmatched by big league pitching at all to this point. The first baseman also looks very confident in the box.
In Ortizâs first at bat back in the big leagues, he hit his first career homer off of Aaron Nola. It was a majestic no doubt home run for the youngster. I have a feeling that we will be seeing quite a few of those down the stretch.
This offense has been in a real malaise lately. However, I think Ortiz is going to be one of the solutions rather than someone that holds this unit back. Ortiz really just seems to have everything you would want in a young hitter. He has the power, contact and a decent approach. Of course, the Major Leagues has a way of exposing guys, but I think Ortiz is a guy who sticks.
Ortiz can play first base, but his 5â10 height limits him a bit there. Ideally, he is a DH who occasionally plays first. That means he will really have to mash to have value. However, Ortiz seems like he is up to the job, particularly against right handed pitching.
It is easy for me to see a world where Ortiz is in that Vinnie Pasquantino, Jonathan Aranda or Alec Burleson tier of first baseman/DHâs who are not superstars but are productive regulars for a long time.
For a guy who was a tertiary piece in the MacKenzie Gore trade, that would be an awesome outcome. He still needs to prove it out on the field, but I am getting dangerously high on Abimelec Ortiz the more I look at him. The kid just hits man!
Welcome to the steals report! I will be here every Wednesday to go over important stolen base trends so you can find more speed for your fantasy teams.
Stealing a base is as much about the opposing pitcher and catcher as it is the actual base runner themself. So, being able to spot which teams and pitchers specifically are being run on most frequently will help you to figure out who can swipe some bags over the next week.
Before we get to this weekâs important trends, here is the stolen base leaderboard on the season so far.
Esteury Ruiz will not stop running. The Marlins outfielder plays just a few days a week, but has attempted 30 stolen bases despite. Thatâs come while heâs taken only 149 plate appearances so far this season. Still, as a part-time player only look to him if youâre either desperate for steals or in a deep enough league where this skill set is valuable.
Endy RodrĂguez needs to be on more peopleâs radars as a catcher with a sturdy offensive profile whoâs starting against all right-handed pitchers and can provide legitimate speed.
Stolen Base Disappointments
Player
SB
CS
Jakob Marsee
19
12
Zach Neto
14
10
Luke Keaschall
13
5
Henry Bolte
13
7
Austin Martin
10
7
Michael Harris II
6
1
Shohei Ohtani
6
2
Cole Young
3
4
Francisco Lindor
2
2
Ozzie Albies
2
4
Zach McKinstry
1
5
Mookie Betts
1
2
Zach Neto hasnât successfully stolen two bases consecutively in just under two months. Luckily, the Angels will still let him run despite his woeful inefficiency.
Henry Bolte has been disappointing overall, especially as a base stealer where we hoped his tremendous speed could give him a more reasonable floor as a rookie.
Fantasy Baseball Stolen Base Targets
The Reds have been jostling at the top of the stolen bases allowed leaderboard all season long and reclaimed the top spot over the last as opponents swiped 10 against them.
For them, the stolen bases theyâve allowed are much more about the catcher than pitcher.
Tyler Stephenson had nine of the 10 happen on his watch across just five starts. On the flip side, no starting pitcher was on the mound for more than two.
While heâs had another solid season offensively, Stephenson has struggled mightily behind the plate. Never particularly strong back there, his caught stealing rate has fallen to 17%, which is second-lowest among all catchers who have started at least 50 games.
In fact, his shoddy defense could be the reason he stayed put in Cincinnati past Mondayâs trade deadline.
A free agent at the end of the season, it made perfect sense for the Reds to ship him out with numerous contenders looking for both help at catcher and reliable right-handed hitters. It felt so obvious that Stephenson gave a heartfelt goodbye to the crowd at Great American Ballpark last weekend.
Tyler Stephenson gets emotional in his postgame interview after hitting a home run in what could be his final at-bat with the Reds.
Heâs still here though, and his lack of reliability defensively could have pushed teams away from paying the price the Reds seemed to demand for him.
Theyâre facing the Athletics, Nationals, and White Sox over the next week. So, keep an eye on Henry Bolte, Lawrence Butler, Brenton Doyle, Sam Antonacci, Jacob Young, and stolen base king Nasim Nuñez if youâre seeking cheap speed.
A Fishy Return
After trading Liam Hicks at the deadline, the Marlins have turned back to the defensively challenged AgustĂn RamĂrez to presumably split reps with standout rookie Joe Mack. Not to be dramatic, but this may be the largest defensive chasm between two catchers on a single roster.
Mack has shored up the catcher spot in a big way for the Marlins with 11 home runs and a .740 OPS across 68 games to go along with lights out defense. Stolen base attempts against them have been down significantly since he was called up.
That could change soon though with RamĂrez back.
He was a mainstay on this column last season because base runners were both incredibly aggressive and successful as base stealers when he played. Heâs not a particularly good receiver either, and let a wild pitch past him in the lone inning he caught on Tuesday night that gave the Braves an important insurance run. They loaded the bases rather quickly that inning too, so there was no obvious chance to swipe a bag on RamĂrez.
The Marlins are likely going to give him a few innings here and there, as they did on Tuesday, to try and give him a chance to show anything defensively. During the one or so game a week that heâs announced as a starter, run to your waiver wire and pick up any players with even moderate speed in the lineup against him.
If he gets a shot to DH, his bat and speed could prove valuable in two-catcher formats. He still has not played a position other than catcher in the Marlinsâ organization though, so he could struggle to crack the starting lineup regularly.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 03: President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer of the Chicago Cubs speaks to the media prior to the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Wrigley Field on August 03, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Every day, Pinstripe Alley offers updates on what the Yankeesâ top American League opponents are up to through the Rivalry Roundup. The AL East is well-trodden ground there, but with the Trade Deadline behind us, weâre going to take a peek around MLB as a whole and check in with each of the other five divisions. Whoâs surprising? Whoâs underwhelming? Whoâs simply mediocre at the moment? Read on and find out.
First Place: Milwaukee Brewers (70-43)
Top Position Player: Brice Turang (4.1 fWAR) Top Pitcher: Jacob Misiorowski (5.0 fWAR)
Not to editorialize too much in this space, but I believe the Brewers blew it.
It is a fact that Milwaukee has the leagueâs best record at time of writing. It is also a fact that they had the leagueâs best record in 2025, and all it got them was a sweep at the hands of the Dodgers in the NLCS. The one player who it felt Milwaukee could snag at this deadline to put them at close to level footing with the Dodgers, Tarik Skubal, is going to Los Angeles for somewhat less than a kingâs ransom. The Brewers added only Dustin May and JoJo Romero from the Cardinals, Antonio Senzatela from the Rockies, and additional bullpen and catching depth from Cleveland in a marginal move most missed.
Over the past decade, Milwaukee has demonstrated that they have essentially solved the regular season. The postseason has proved a harder beast to tame, winning just two playoff series and falling to to LA in both the 2018 and 2025 NLCS. The franchise has never won a World Series and itâs been 44 years since they were even there, back when they were an AL team. The Brewers have tons of very good players, but lack the boundless star power of the Dodgers, star power which they used to absolutely bully the Crew up and down the field in October. Furthermore, with labor tensions on the rise and a potential work stoppage in the offing when winter comes, shouldnât there be more urgency to go more all-in for the rest of this season?
The Brewers are not the only team guilty of being overly safe. But theyâve done all the hard work, constructing a formidable platform on which a superstar like Skubal would have perfectly fit, were they only willing to pull the trigger. Instead, they once again got gun-shy, putting together a good offer but not one that blew the Tigers away. The far tougher path awaits. I wish them luck.
Top Position Player: Pete Crow-Armstrong (7.3 fWAR) Top Pitcher: Ben Brown (2.0 fWAR)
The Cubs were busy, busy bees at the deadline; and they had to be. Chicago remains comfortably afloat in the first Wild Card spot despite suffering through terrible injury luck, particularly in the rotation. So they went to work rebuilding their staff on the fly, and I think they did fairly well for themselves given a somewhat limited set of options.
First, the Jed Hoyer-led front office made a pair of deals with Toronto, a team which managed a shrewd buy/sell balancing act. Gone was DFAâd veteran Jameson Taillon, and in his place came Kevin Gausman. Gausman has not been ace material this year, and his walk rate has shot up, but it is far better to have him than to not. The Cubs continued with more of a lottery ticket by adding lefty Braxton Garrett, bolstered their bullpen with the Angelsâ Ryan Zeferjahn, then concluded by bringing along old friend Clay Holmes (alongside Tyrone Taylor) from the aggressively-selling Mets.
In the aftermath, as MLB.comâs Mike Petriello noted on Bluesky, the Cubs now have a great collection of depth options in their rotation to go along with an offense which boasts NL MVP favorite Pete Crow-Armstrong at the top of the lineup. At the same time, none of their pitchers are the kind of guy youâd be pumped to see start the first game of a future playoff series. The Braves have Chris Sale; the Brewers boast Jacob Misiorowski; the Dodgers now have Skubal in addition to Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Maybe something with Gausman clicks down the stretch and he becomes the ace they need, but otherwise, itâs a lot of good-but-not-great arms. After Skubal came off the board, thatâs essentially all that the market could provide. Credit to the Cubs for working within those confines to upgrade their roster as much as they could.
Top Position Player: Brandon Lowe (3.1 fWAR) Top Pitcher: Paul Skenes (3.6 fWAR)
In a departure from past seasons, the Pirates are both alive in the playoff hunt and adding to their roster at the deadline, albeit exclusively in the bullpen. After picking up Camilo Doval from the Yankees as a potential reclamation projectâa project which the Yankees themselves attempted and failed to completeâPittsburgh got more serious, trading for Luke Weaver from the Mets and Kirby Yates from the Angels. Those veterans (particularly Weaver) should give the Bucs more stability in their back-end as they look to end the longest active playoff drought in the Senior Circuit.
The warning signs for this team are everywhere, however. Paul Skenes has not looked like the best young pitcher in baseball this season, as a dip in velocity has allowed teams to get the jump on him. Ryan OâHearn, one of their most reliable veteran hitters, suffered a nasty injury and will be out for another six weeks at minimum. He joins rookie Konnor Griffin on the IL; the shortstop may be back in time for the beginning of September, but itâs hard to know if Pittsburgh will be able to keep pace with a competitive NL in the meantime.
Still, the Bucs didnât luck into being the second-highest scoring offense in the league most of the way through the season. They have a good collection of youth and experience in their lineup even despite the recent injuries, and have a fleet of young right-handed starters (including Skenes, who could always turn the corner) at their disposal. Too often, the Pirates have said ânever.â Itâs nice to see them at least say âmaybe.â
Top Position Player: JJ Wetherholt (4.0 fWAR) Top Pitcher: Dustin May (2.6 fWAR) Andre Pallante (2.0 fWAR)
The Cardinals shoved the Yankees into a locker on Monday night, and if that result had come before the deadline rather than a few hours after, itâs easy to wonder if the front office might have been tempted to take a different approach. As it happens, though, St. Louis decided to assume a modest sell position, dealing May and Romero to Milwaukee as previously mentioned while sending Team Japan icon Lars Nootbaar to the Diamondbacks right before the closing bell.
It was the right time to move off all of those guys; theyâre talented but flawed players who didnât figure to be part of the next competitive Redbirds squad. St. Louis has struggled to begin the second half, and their youth movement is still a work in progress. Make no mistake: the now-extended JJ Wetherholt is agreat player. So is Jordan Walker. Alec Burleson thumped three homers in the Bronx on Monday night; heâs pretty good too. But the pitching staff isnât there yet, and neither is the rest of their lineup.
If nothing else, though, St. Louis has demonstrated theyâre a team you canât afford to mess with. To the other teams in this division, take heed: if you have the opportunity to put the Cardinals away, you need to do it, or else you may just see them in the playoffs.
Top Position Player: Elly De La Cruz (4.1 fWAR) Top Pitcher: Chase Burns (3.3 fWAR)
With Adley Rutschman and Liam Hicks taken off the table by division rivals, it appeared the Yankeesâ only realistic path to an upgrade at catcher was Tyler Stephenson of the Reds. Even then, Stephensonâs defensive proclivities threatened to make it more of a lateral move, even with Austin Wellsâ horrible 2026 season. Ultimately, Brian Cashman opted not to pull the trigger, and Cincinnati got no takers for their pending free agent catcher.
They got no takers for just about everyone, as it turned outâonly flipping lefty first baseman Nathaniel Lowe to the cross-state rival Guardians and shipping Caleb Ferguson to the Cardinals just before the music stopped. It was fairly bleak for Reds fans. Cincy just didnât have a lot of trade pieces worth getting excited aboutâthat doesnât mean there arenât reasons to tune in to watch them.
Chase Burns continues to rise as a young ace for an exciting young pitching staff which continues to hold a lot of promise for the years ahead. Elly De La Cruz remains one of the most electric players in baseball, even though we may not see him steal 67 bases like he did in 2024 again. Sal Stewart is already a formidable heart-of-the-order bat for the Redlegs as a rookie; he could be there for a long time. Cincinnati is a terribly flawed squad, itâs true. But they donât lack for hope.
Six players subtracted from the Giantsâ roster trade deadline means just as many opportunities for other, younger players over the final seven odd weeks of the regular season.
San Francisco wasted no time getting on board with the youth movement. After all the dust settled, the average age of the 26-man roster was 27.2 years old â tied for fourth-youngest.
âI think as much as anything itâs going to be an opportunity for us as a front office and a coaching staff to evaluate some of our players,â president of baseball operations Buster Posey said. âSome of them are going to get longer runways than they have in the past.â
These five players have the most to gain from the Giantsâ trade deadline moves:
Marcelo Mayer
Boston Red Sox shortstop Marcelo Mayer (11) makes the out at second base against New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe (11) in the ninth inning at Fenway Park on Thursday, June 25, 2026, in Boston, Massachusetts. (Imagn Images) IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Talk about a change of scenery.
The California kid is back in his home state. Heâs out of pressure-packed Boston and the weighty expectations of rabid fans who eagerly awaited his arrival as a top prospect.
Mayer has a chance to hit the restart button on his big league career that never quite got off the ground with the Red Sox. Remember, he is still only 23 with less than a season of MLB service time â lots of time for him to get his career .625 OPS closer to his .826 figure in the minors.
â[We] still believe thereâs a lot of upside there,â Posey said.
Sure, it would be great if he was able to recapture what made him a No. 4 overall draft pick and a consensus top-20 prospect for four years running. But the Giantsâ future hardly hangs in the balance. The infield is already crowded, and all this lottery ticket cost was a bullpen arm.
Once he is cleared to return from a stress reaction in his forearm, Mayer should be the regular starter at second base for the rest of the season. If anything, heâll be part of an extra friendly competition for playing time next spring â with fellow Chula Vista High alum Casey Schmitt.
Blade Tidwell
After the trades of Robbie Ray and Tyler Mahle, as well as the elbow surgery Trevor McDonald is set to undergo this week, the Giants have three vacancies in their starting rotation.
Tidwell was the first pitcher called up from Triple-A to get an audition and will certainly get more after limiting the Rangers to two runs on six hits over five innings. Needing 100 pitches to make it through the longest outing of his young career, he was determined to pitch more efficiently.
âI donât want to be the five and dive guy,â Tidwell said.
He could have helped their beleaguered bullpen earlier in the season but was instead stretched out as a starter at Triple-A. All along, manager Tony Vitello said, âhe was champing at the bit.â
He really only used his four-seamer and his best secondary weapon, a slider, in his brief look in the bullpen. As a starter, Tidwell recently added a curveball to expand his arsenal to six pitches.
Vitello, who coached him at Tennessee, described the stocky 6-foot-3 right-hander as a Skittle â ârough on the exterior but a little softer than people realize on the inside.â
Now, maybe fans will get a chance to get to know him as well as his college coach.
Keaton Winn
Vitello was asked about the situation in the back end of the bullpen after the Giants shipped away Erik Miller and Caleb Kilian, the last two arms to close games for them.
âInteresting,â he said with a nervous smile. âI think opportunity is the word that stands out.â
The Giantsâ bullpen wasnât strong to begin with, and itâs even more depleted of high-leverage, backend arms after trading its two most sought-after relievers at the deadline.
The brief experiment using Winn as the closer blew up when Vitello called on the former starter for a third day in a row for the first time in his career, causing a mild elbow strain.
But heâs back healthy and, almost by default, possesses the nastiest stuff of any of the remaining relievers. If he can rediscover the upper 90s with his fastball and combine that with his devastating splitter, thatâs a closerâs archetype if there ever was one.
The job, if it even exists, is again his for the taking, especially after Dylan Smith allowed the Giants to be walked off Tuesday in Texas for the second time in his past three appearances.
Victor Bericoto
Victor Bericoto of the San Francisco Giants reacts after hitting a two-run RBI single against the Toronto Blue Jays in the bottom of the sixth inning at Oracle Park on Monday, July 6, 2026, in San Francisco, California. (2026 Getty Images) Getty Images
The primary reason the Giants were comfortable trading Heliot Ramos was because of the package of prospects he garnered in return (6-foot-7 lefty Henry Lalane and Kaeden Kent, whose dad just went into the Hall of Fame). But it probably wouldnât have happened if Bericoto didnât break out in the way he did this year before going down with an oblique strain.
All he did was hit: A spring training OPS of 1.121 that earned him the Barney Nugent Award as the top player in his first big-league camp. An .804 OPS in 43 games at Triple-A. And even better results in 24 games in the majors, batting .293 with four homers for an .857 OPS.
The 24-year-old Venezuelan is on the mend now â he just began a rehab assignment â and there should be a spot in left field waiting for him once he is fully recovered.
If not Bericoto, then maybe Bo Davidson gets his first look in the big leagues, though the undrafted community college product has run into trouble after recently reaching Triple-A.
Parks Harber is another worthy option, but the Giants may not want to add him to the 40-man roster with a lockout anticipated this winter. Davidson would also require a 40-man spot, but thatâs a decision the Giants have to make this winter or risk losing him to the Rule 5 draft.
Adrian Houser
San Francisco Giants pitcher Adrian Houser throws a pitch during the fourth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Friday, July 31, 2026, in San Diego, California. (This asset Âincluding all text, audio and imagery Âis provided by Imagn Images. Reuters Connect ha) IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
It was a bit of a surprise to see Houser enter in the eighth inning of Tuesdayâs loss to the Rangers. But he only threw two pitches, and Vitello said that the shortest of Houserâs eight relief appearances since being demoted to the bullpen had no bearing on the conventional wisdom.
That being Houserâs likely return to the starting rotation.
With one more year left on the contract he signed last offseason, itâs worth seeing if Houser can perform in the role he was brought in to do, especially with how dicey next yearâs rotation looks.
The results have been better since his move to the bullpen: A 2.08 ERA in 26 innings (though with a 4.17 FIP), opposed to the 5.73 ERA he posted in 14 starts to begin the year.
It might not end up looking all that different. Houser has thrown four-plus innings four times in relief, and the Giants will discuss using him behind an opener if he returns to the rotation.
The Lakers spent this offseason spending big to revamp their roster to better fit around Luka Doncic and his preferred style of play. Austin Reaves returns as a secondary playmaker on a hefty new contract. They traded for Walker Kessler to be the pick-setting, alley-oop finishing big man Doncic prefers to play with. And they made a host of other moves â including parting ways with LeBron James â to bring in role players who should be a better stylistic fit with Doncic.
All of that only works if Doncic is healthy.
Which he wasn't at the end of last season due to a hamstring injury, he missed all of the Lakers' playoff run. In an email to fans, Doncic told them he is "100% healthy" now and ready for a big season.
Luka gave us a summer update email:
âI took a real break from basketball the first few weeks after the season ended to rehab my body. My recovery went great, and Iâm 100% healthy again.â
âTaking some time away from basketball is something I do at the start of every offseason.⊠pic.twitter.com/fKkGdNSkk3
Concerns about Doncic's durability were a key reason former Mavericks GM Nico Harrison traded Doncic in the first place. The Lakers have bet big on a more mature Doncic, 27, being in his best condition and staying healthy when it matters. He averaged 33.5 points, 8.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds per game last season â when healthy, he remains one of the game's elite players and was named First-Team All-NBA (he only played 64 games, one below the league's 65-game cutoff, but was given an exemption due to "extraordinary circumstances" because he missed time for the birth of his child).
The Lakers looked to get Doncic some help this season by not only re-signing Reaves but adding ball-handling guards Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton. Expect JJ Redick to experiment with some three-guard lineups using that group, although the challenge becomes it forces Doncic (6'8") to guard bigger players, which can take a physical toll.
Doncic looks ready for that toll, and his team is bonding â he has paid for his teammates to join him in his native Slovenia for workouts, golf and more. A chance for a lot of new faces to get to know one another.
The new-look Lakers are poised to be one of the top teams in the West this coming season, but that only works with a healthy Doncic playing at an MVP level. He says he's healthy and ready, which is all Lakers fans can ask.
The Chicago Blackhawks have two RFAs that they have to sign before the start of the 2026-27 season if they plan on having them around. Ethan Del Mastro and Kevin Korchinski, both defensemen, are the two in question.
Both of them are going to have a hard time cracking the opening night lineup for the Blackhawks, but they would both need to clear waivers to make it down to the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL. Arbitration is not an option for either of them as the two sides try to come to an agreement.
The Blackhawks entered the off-season with 4 RFAs. The other two, Connor Bedard and Drew Commesso, were able to get their deals signed. They have a clear role within the organization, which made them much easier to get done.
As for Korchinski and Del Mastro, the same cannot be said. These are the 3 biggest reasons that these deals are not yet complete:
1. Hard To Place Financial Value
What type of money do you pay players like Kevin Korchinski or Ethan Del Mastro? They are likely to get two-way deals that will have a set NHL salary and a set AHL salary.
The Blackhawks gave Wyatt Kaiser a two-year deal with an NHL average annual value of $1.7 million ahead of last season. It is hard to justify giving Korchinski or Del Mastro any more than Kaiser, who has shown a higher likelihood of being an everyday NHL player.
From the players' perspective, it would be wise to take a deal at a million per year or just under, then go out and prove why their next contract should be much more lucrative.
2. Role In The Organization
The Blackhawks traded Louis Crevier away, but they brought in Bowen Byram in return. In addition, they added veteran Ian Cole, who is on a two-year streak of playing in all 82 games. With Wyatt Kaiser, Alex Vlasic, Sam Rinzel, and Artyom Levshunov all in the mix as well, the room for Korchinski or Del Mastro to play every day isn't there.
Injuries will occur, and both of these guys will get a chance if they are on the roster, but their role right now is depth defenseman who may need to spend time in the AHL. Not being waiver-exempt makes things even tougher, because sending them to Rockford could be the fast track to a new team.
Young defensemen have passed each of these two guys by, and it is going to be difficult to catch up with their likely lack of NHL playing time. A situation like this makes it extremely hard to negotiate a fair contract.
3. There Is No Rush From An Organizational Standpoint
The Chicago Blackhawks have no reason to rush these negotiations with either player. It could help them to have as much defensive depth as possible within the organization, but they are no longer relying on either of them to be everyday players, which gives them all of the leverage.
As far as the Blackhawks are concerned, they could wait until camp or later to get it resolved. The players won't want that because they need camp and the preseason to prove themselves, but it isn't a main priority for the Blackhawks at this time.
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SEATTLE â Itâs only fitting that the last Detroit Tigers starter to match Troy Meltonâs most recent feat no longer is on the team.
Meltonâs latest strong outing, which came in an 8-0 victory against the Seattle Mariners, made it back-to-back starts of seven innings with three or fewer hits allowed. The previous Tigers starter to do that before Melton was Tarik Skubal, who now is employed by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Even after Detroit dealt away Skubal and former No. 1 overall draft pick Casey Mize, Melton said he hasnât felt any added pressure to step up in the starting rotation.
âIâm just trying to get people out,â Melton said. âYeah, obviously (we) lost two pretty good players. So, got to find a way to replace them however we can.â
But if Melton can keep this up on the mound, the Tigersâ rotation might be just fine â even without Skubal and Mize. Since May 24, Melton has the second-lowest ERA (1.58) in the majors, trailing only Milwaukee ace Jacob Misiorowski (1.41).
With a six-pitch mix, Melton has myriad ways of getting opposing hitters out. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Melton is still learning how to use his full repertoire, too, which was an assessment the 25-year-old agreed with.
âI feel like recently, I really havenât had my best stuff and command,â Melton said. âItâs just finding a way to grind through and get swing and miss when I need to get swing and miss and get weak contact early in counts. Itâs been interesting.â
Melton has been dominant, similar to how Skubal mowed down hitters for years in the Motor City. A sluggish start to the season, though, nearly buried the Tigers, and in part prompted Detroit to deal Skubal before the trade deadline.
Even so, the Tigers (55-58) have rattled off four straight wins to move within 1 1/2 games of Cleveland for the final American League wild card. Despite Detroit parting ways with Skubal and Mize, Melton is confident his team can still qualify for the postseason for the third consecutive year.
If the Tigers are to do so, it would be in no small part due to Meltonâs success.
âI think we definitely have the people here to be able to make a run,â Melton said. âI donât think anybody in this room would ever question that. Losing two good players (stinks), but we have some players here to fill some shoes.
âAnd, itâs not going to be one guy that takes over and is going to be Skoob. Itâs going to be an effort of all of us.â
PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 12: Andre Jackson Jr. #44 of the Milwaukee Bucks drives to the basket during the game against the Philadelphia 76ers on April 12, 2026 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The second in a wave of acquisitions this August, the Toronto Raptors have signed former guard for the Milwaukee Bucks, Andre Jackson Jr. Jackson was a part of the University of Connecticut Huskies Menâs Basketball Team who won the tournament in 2023.
Having played his whole career in Cream City as a shooting guard, the former Husky will be competing for a place on the team, bringing some solid three point shooting and high flying dunks to the team. Jackson shot over 38% from three in his first two years, but after a junior slump in his last season, heâll be looking to return to form in Toronto.
Itâs always nice to have someone who can generate highlight plays, even if theyâre doing so in only a few minutes. Players like one-time 905er Quincy Guerrier was someone I always enjoyed watching, and if Jackson hammers down some dunks and knocks down the open jumpers, then heâll be doing his job. The guard has experience starting in Milwaukee, but will likely play a role in bench lineups. I can envisage him catching lobs from Jamal Shead or taking corner threes off Scottie Barnes dimes, and can see the type of role he might have for the team.
CHICAGO â Clay Holmes is looking forward to pitching in front of all those Gold Glove winners on the Chicago Cubs.
Holmes is joining a new-look staff in Chicago after the Cubs bolstered their rotation and bullpen ahead of the trade deadline. The veteran right-hander and Kevin Gausman, who was acquired in a deal with Toronto, are expected to start at Kansas City.
The 33-year-old Holmes has a 55.3 groundball percentage in nine major league starts this year, and Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson and second baseman Nico Hoerner each have two Gold Gloves. Third baseman Alex Bregman won a Gold Glove in 2024 with Houston.
Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is one of baseballâs best defensive players at any position, and left fielder Ian Happ is a four-time Gold Glove winner.
âPeople around the league, you know the Cubs have got a really good defense,â Holmes said. âObviously, you see them play and itâs special. So you know a guy like me, thatâs what I do. Iâm a sinkerball guy, rely on the quality of contact and just to be able to trust the defense like that and know thatâs what you have behind you is a freeing thing.â
Holmes and outfielder Tyrone Taylor were acquired from the New York Mets for touted infield prospect Jefferson Rojas. Relief pitcher Ryan Zeferjahn and left-hander Braxton Garrett also came over in two other deals.
Taylor started in left field against Tarik Skubal and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He went 0 for 3 with a strikeout in Chicagoâs 5-1 victory.
Zeferjahn worked a perfect eighth inning in his Cubs debut. Outfielder Kevin AlcĂĄntara was optioned to Triple-A Iowa and right-hander Jake Woodford was designated for assignment.
Taylor, 32, hit .354 (17 for 48) with seven homers and 14 RBIs in his last 24 games with New York.
âThe energy in here is awesome already,â Taylor said before his first game with his new team. âI feel very welcomed by all the guys. I met a lot of people, so Iâve got to really lock it in and learn some names. But yeah, itâs exciting.â
With Gausman and Holmes joining the Cubs, manager Craig Counsell said the plan is to skip Colin Reaâs next turn in the rotation. There was no word from Counsell on any further changes.
Rea âis going to be in the bullpen for the next turn around,â Counsell said. âPast that I donât know whatâs going to happen and weâll just go from there.â
Javier Assad pitched 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball in Chicagoâs second straight win over Los Angeles. The Cubs lead the NL wild-card standings with a 65-49 record.
Holmes has been sidelined by a broken right leg since mid-May. He was 4-4 with a 2.39 ERA before getting hurt.
He made his third minor league rehab start, throwing 73 pitches over 5 1/3 innings of four-run ball for Class A Brooklyn.
âFeeling good,â Holmes said. âI got six ups and 75 pitches last time. So yeah, I feel healthy.â
Holmes has a $12 million player option for 2027 that he is expected to decline in order to become a free agent. He was an All-Star reliever with the New York Yankees before signing with the Mets ahead of the 2025 season and successfully converting to a starting role.
Holmes said he is open to working out of the bullpen if needed down the stretch or in the playoffs.
âI just love being out there when big outs are needed and whenever that is, Iâm all for it,â he said.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - AUGUST 02: Third baseman Gabriel Arias #13 of the Cleveland Guardians waits for a play during the sixth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Progressive Field on August 02, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Covering the Corner has heard from a source that the Guardians will designate Gabriel Arias for assignment when calling top prospect Angel Genao up for tonightâs game.
This comes after a particularly frustrating night for Arias in which he made an error that led to a three-run homer and struck out twice and left a small village on base. Overall, this season, Arias has an 85 wRC+ â compared to his career 76 wRC+ â and has played mostly solid defense at third and shortstop.
Overall, Ariasâs arm was not enough to compensate for mental lapses in the field and, most of all, for his propensity to miss pitches in the zone and smack the few pitches he did hit directly into the ground. A career groundball rate of 52% and a zone-contact rate of only 72% is just not sustainable, no matter how hard you hit the ball⊠especially when your defense is just good and not excellent. I wish Arias well on whatever comes next. Perhaps he will make it through waivers to Columbus or try his wares at another organization hungry for shortstop options.
Good for the Guardians for continuing to be aggressive with their best bats as their offense continues to flounder. Feels like it has to pay off one of these days.
CLEVELAND â Manager Stephen Vogt lauded the Cleveland Guardiansâ front office for adding three players during the trade deadline.
Now itâs up to Vogt and the new-look Guardians to capitalize on the addition of outfielder Jo Adell, first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and pitcher Foster Griffin for a postseason push.
âNow itâs our turn to go out and letâs go perform. Letâs go win some games,â Vogt said before a 5-2 loss to the New York Mets.
Adell, who batted second and played right field, reached base three times in his Guardiansâ debut with two hits and a walk. Lowe came in during the seventh inning and went 0 for 2.
Griffin will pitch the final game of the series, keeping him on his usual amount of rest.
âIt was awesome to come in and find a way to execute. I was excited to get out there and get started,â Adell said.
Adell, Lowe and Griffin were in the clubhouse before the game, introducing themselves to their new teammates and getting up to speed before the start of a three-game series.
âI was pretty fired up about it. I think our front office did everything that we could have ever wanted from him â two impact bats and an impact starter. Thatâs all you can ask for,â catcher Austin Hedges said. âI think it sets us up to be right where we want to be at the end of September.â
Cleveland (57-57) is 6-11 since the All-Star break, but has a one-game lead over Minnesota for the American Leagueâs final wild-card spot. The Guardians are three games behind the first-place White Sox in the AL Central.
Adell will be part of a postseason chase for the first time in his seven-year career. He was the 10th overall pick in the 2017 amateur draft by the Angels, who havenât finished over .500 since 2015.
With the front office changes in Los Angeles, Adell had a feeling that that he might be part of a sell off of players with one or two years left on their contracts.
âItâs really cool to be wanted and this teamâs been playing really good baseball,â Adell said. âIâm excited to kind of be a part of that and be a part of a chase and something that is bigger than ourselves and going out trying to win a ball game every night. You canât ask for anything more than that.â
Adellâs arrival makes him Clevelandâs leader in home runs (16) and RBIs (62) for a team that offensively has been challenged for most of the past two seasons.
One of the few bright spots has been Steven Kwan, who was batting .212 at the end of June but has raised his batting average 46 points since July 1 to .258. He has also hit safely in 23 of his last 28 games.
Adell and Chase DeLauter will platoon between right field and designated hitter. Lowe will be in the lineup when the Guardians face right-handed pitchers, while Rhys Hoskins primarily will face left-handers.
âThe talentâs all here. Itâs just about execution for the next two months. We need to get ourselves in the strongest position possible to make a deep run and make something happen. And when the guys start believing that, anything could happen,â Lowe said.
The Guardians will still go with a five-man rotation. Griffinâs addition means Slade Cecconi is moving to the bullpen. Tanner Bibee has been moved up to start on four dayâs rest.
âI feel like you never have enough pitching, especially going into a playoff race. So any part I can be in that department, Iâm excited about,â Griffin said.
Left-handed pitcher Cody Bradford signs a baseball card for a fan during the Texas Rangers Winter Caravan stop at Lithia Toyota Wednesday Jan. 31, 2024. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co
NRL officials have arrived in ÂEngland to hold talks with clubs as the prospect of a groundbreaking deal with Super League nears completion, while two of the competitionâs heavyweights, Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves, confirmed they will lead an on-the-road weekend to Dublin in 2027.
Rugby leagueâs two premier club competitions have been in discussions for most of this year about a deal that would see the NRL invest a significant sum into Super League, while taking authoritative control of the competition in a bid to transform its long-term fortunes. That investment would also ensure the financial security of clubs. Both competitions put talks on hold while they finalised their broadcast details; the NRL has just completed a A$5.3bn (ÂŁ2.8bn) deal for its rights, while Super League expects to confirm in the next week how its new-look broadcast deal will be shaped. Sky Sports is expected to show two or three games a week, with the rest of the fixtures streamed or broadcast elsewhere.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - AUGUST 04: Manny Machado #13 of the San Diego Padres scores on a single by Jackson Merrill #3 against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning at Chase Field on August 04, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Diamondbacks News
Carroll and Marte Struggle at Plate, in Field, Rodriguez Stumbles as Padres Narrow Gap Corbbin Carroll continued struggling at the plate. So did Marte. Marte also had a rare defensive blunder that exacerbated a rough inning for Rodriguez. Roderiguez had a bumpy outing but gutted out 5.2 innings of work to save the bullpen for today and tomorrow.
LIV chief refuses to disclose new fundersâ identities
Scott OâNeil hopes DeChambeau and Rahm will stay
LIV Golf has secured a âlead investorâ to safeguard its existence until 2030, although the agreement is unlikely to prevent a batch of high-profile players departing by the end of this year.
Scott OâNeil, LIVâs chief executive, announced basic plans for the ânext generationâ of the tour on Wednesday while refusing to disclose the new funders of the business. After the withdrawal of backing from Saudi Arabiaâs Public Investment Fund, OâNeil has been engaged in a race against time to save his business.
Matthew Pouliot
