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In the modern era, you can probably recall the exact prospects the Yankees have had that excited you but didn’t pan out. However, thinks like prospect rankings and outlets that cover up-and-coming players are all things that have come about in most of our lifetimes. If you were to open up the history books, you may find a random player who played in just 10 career games and never made it after that. To us, they’re just a name, but at the time, they may very well have been a potential superstar.

Slim Love was one such player.

Edward Haughton “Slim” Love
Born: August 1, 1890 (Love, MS)
Died: November 30, 1942 (Memphis, TN)
Yankees Tenure: 1916-18

Edward Love was born in the aptly-named Love, Mississippi in 1890. The future big leaguer would say that wasn’t a coincidence and the town was named after his grandfather, but that’s a disputed claim. He grew up working on his family’s farm, but played baseball on some local amateur and semi-pro teams, and showed an aptitude for the sport. Helpful to that pursuit was that Love shot up in height, eventually growing to be 6-foot-7. (He was the tallest pitcher in the majors during his career.) His tall, lanky build got him his nickname of “Slim,” but also added a dimension to his pitching prowess.

Love rose pretty quickly from semi-pro player to getting a deal with the minor league Memphis Chickasaws. While his pitching ability impressed Memphis — he even struck out future Hall of Famer Nap Lajoie in an exhibition — he was a bit too raw and didn’t have a great grasp of other fundamentals, such as fielding. He was sent to some lower minor league levels. A good run with the Selma Centralites in 1913 got him noticed by the Southern Association’s Class-A Atlanta Crackers, which at that time was the second-highest level of the minors. His raw talent shone through there and after just a handful of starts, he was signed by the major-league Washington Senators.

Debuting in September 1913, Love made five appearances for the Senators, including one start. He was pretty decent, posting a 1.62 ERA, but was still considered very raw. That plus an injury led to him going back down to the minors and joining the old Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League. He spent two years there, and — especially in 1915 — was excellent, having refined some of his offspeed stuff. That got him back on the major league radar and the Yankees swooped in and acquired him ahead of the 1916 season.

Love’s first season in New York was a bit of a weird one. He missed time during spring training after injuring himself tripping over railroad tracks, and then contracted malaria in June. Those issues wouldn’t have helped, but he also wasn’t particularly great on the mound. Love posted a 4.91 ERA (60 ERA+), and walked more batters than he struck out.

However, Love’s potential was too much for the Yankees to ignore. Ahead of the next season, manager Bill Donovan said, “If that big fellow ever acquires control he will be as difficult to hit as Rube Waddell was in his best days. No left-hander since Rube’s time had such a good fast ball. His curve breaks fast and his great height will add to his effectiveness.” In 1917, he showed signs of that being true.

Working mostly in a swingman role for the 1917 Yankees, Love was very solid. He posted a 2.35 ERA (115 ERA+) in 130.1 innings, including nine starts. He also put up one of the more impressive pitching performances you’ll see throwing 14 scoreless innings in a game against the Athletics on May 30th. Besides that, Love also lowered his walk rate a bit, giving some hope for the future.

Slim Love mentioned on the @YESNetwork broadcast. Was 6’7” hurler from 1913-1920. Had a 3.04 ERA. pic.twitter.com/73CoRvvCHh

— Stirrups Now! (@uniformcritic) August 2, 2022

For 1918, Love became a mainstay in the Yankees’ rotation. However, he couldn’t maintain his improvements from the prior season. In 228.2 innings, Love issued a league-high 116 walks, and also put up a 3.07 ERA, which doesn’t sound bad, but equated to a 91 ERA+ in that Deadball Era season. That ended up being the Yankees’ limit, and that winter they traded him to the Red Sox.

Love wasn’t with Boston for long, as the Red Sox traded him to the Tigers just a month after acquiring him. After initially having a salary dispute with Detroit, he eventually joined them and had a pretty solid 1919. However after one bad game and reported rule violations, the Tigers released him in April 1920. While he continued on in the minor leagues though 1930, he never made it back to the majors. He just never managed to get his control under, well, control.

Following his baseball career, Love returned to the Memphis area, where he lived with his wife and worked as a pipefitter. He was killed in 1942 after being struck by a car while attempting to cross a road.

With all the technology at hand today, Slim Love is the type of player that teams today would love to acquire and try and work through his issues. However in the 1910s, there wasn’t a ton you could do besides just asking him nicely to stop walking people.

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

The MLB trade deadline (the only one these days, as opposed to the non-waiver deadline days) is Monday. The Diamondbacks are currently five games over .500 and hold the final wild card berth. Furthermore, they have begun the process of picking up some tie-breakers against their competition. When poised to make a playoff push, it is almost always in the best interest of a club to bolster their roster at the trade deadline. However, unlike the offseason, finding available targets is not always possible, at least not at a reasonable cost. That’s a sec0ndary problem though. First, a team must identify what areas could most benefit from improvement. Herein are some of the areas Arizona could most likely address between now and Monday afternoon.

First Base/DH/Left-Handed Platoon Impact Bat

After years of Paul Goldschmidt, followed by a few more years of Christian Walker, Arizona fans became spoiled by just how good they had it at first base. Now, the club is in the midst of a historically abysmal season from the infield corner formerly manned by perennial all-star talent. Recently, last year’s trade deadline acquisition, Tyler Locklear, returned to service at the position. It remains to be seen if the slugging right-handed batter will be able to stick at the MLB level. Due to significant, long-term injury, the team still has not had a chance to examine his ability to make the adjustments necessary to thrive at the highest level. His defense is actually better at first than initial reports, so there is certainly some hope that the bat may still surprise as well. Unfortunately, entering Friday’s action, Locklear only has eight appearances in games, amounting to a total of 28 plate appearances. On top of that, while he is showing some signs of being a decent power bat for the middle of the order, he does bat from the right side. That doesn’t help the team’s retched performance from the left side of the plate.

In order to find a potential quick, temporary fix to that issue, the Diamondbacks turned to PED violator, Max Kepler as he came back from his suspension. The results from that move have been mixed – at best. Moreover, even if Kepler finds his best pre-suspension form again, he is ineligible for the playoff roster. So the team will still need a replacement for him if they expect to play in October.

The team need not focus exclusively on first basemen for this need, that simply is the most straight-forward solution. However, given the injury issues with Jordan Lawlar, Tommy Troy, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. the team could also target a left-handed platoon bat for left field, hoping to get some impact that way, much like when they had Joc Peterson on the roster. Of course, there is also the pure-DH route that could be explored, but such a move is not typical for Mike Hazen, who puts appropriate value on flexibility, maximizing what the mid-market Diamondbacks can do with their roster.

Starting Pitching

Every playoff hopeful wants the best starting pitching they can assemble. Teams with strong October expectations begin to look for ways to turn a season-winning, five-man rotation into a playoff-winning three or four man rotation. Arizona is not so fortunate. Right now, they have a three-man rotation with two more slots being filled by developing prospects. With Zac Gallen and Ryne Nelson unlikely to throw another pitch this year and the questionable return timetable for Corbin Burnes (who may not come back sharp enough to be helpful), the team is left hoping that the injury to Michael Soroka is as minor as can be. Otherwise, the team is short of enough pitching to stay competitive over a long spell. As such, starting pitching may well be the one area in which even a modest acquisition can represent a substantial upgrade to the forecast. But then, pitching always costs a premium at the deadline. Still, this is one area where I would expect much of the attention to be focused.

High Leverage Relief Pitching

Arizona’s bullpen has performed well-above expectations thus far this season. Even the recent demotion of Paul Sewald from the closer’s role is a testament to that. Here we are in August and the Diamondbacks’ bullpen (including Paul Sewald) has been a big part of why they are currently a playoff bound team. However, the recent demotion of Sewald has exposed Arizona’s lack of high leverage relief. The team appears to be flush with arms with the potential for mop-up innings and eating swaths of middle innings. What it appears to lack are shutdown relievers. The team entered the season with hopes that both A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez would be back in time to make meaningful contributions as the team’s back end of the bullpen. Now, at this point, it is wishful thinking to expect any meaningful contribution from either of them in 2026. While Brandyn Garcia and Jonathan Loáisiga have the sorts of arsenals one wants to see in high leverage relievers, neither has spent much time in high leverage situations this year. Expecting them to seamlessly slide into those roles now seems a bit problematic. If nothing else, the team will need more than just two high leverage arms for the sort of action they can expect to see in October.

Relievers tend to be grossly overpriced at the trade deadline. But, at the same time, there are so many of them spread across 30 clubs and 30 AAA rosters, that quality can still tend to be found for reasonable prices. Of course, it doesn’t always work out, even when all the signs point to an amazing deal having been made. Arizona fans need look no further than Mike Hazen’s acquisition of Jake Diekman in the summer of 2018. That summer, the team needed left-handed help in the bullpen. Diekman’s peripherals matched his solid track record of success and his salary was still quite reasonable. He was, quietly, one of the better left-handed relievers in the game. Yet, no sooner did he ride the bullpen cart across Chase Field to join his new team than his performance fell off a cliff. Rather than a change of scenery helping him, the change turned him from one of the better lefty relievers in the game to one of the worst overall relievers in the game. Annoyingly, after Diekman was allowed to walk after his failed stint in Arizona, he promptly returned to being a slightly above league average reliever. It would be four more years before he started to struggle again as his stuff declined. Even his lesser time from 2022-2024 was better than his stint in Arizona though. What this demonstrates is that relief pitchers are simply volatile creatures. Unless one is trading for the likes of a Mason Miller or 2010s Craig Kimbrel, a trade for relief pitching is still a risky venture.

Will Mike Hazen address all of these areas for concern? Will he address any of them? What realistic options are open to Mike Hazen and the Diamondbacks this season? We’ll eamine that tomorrow morning.

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Another eventful slate in the Majors means lots of opportunity for long balls in my MLB player props home run analysis. 

Today's selections include Shohei Ohtani, CJ Abrams, and Dominic Canzone. 

Read more in my MLB picks for Saturday, August 1. 

MLB home run props for today

Home run prediction: Dominic Canzone (+388)

Dominic Canzone has been a consistent outlet for power in the Seattle Mariners lineup lately. The slugger has gone deep three times in his last seven contests, posting a .444 ISO. 

Over the last week, he's squaring up everything, posting a 57.1% hard-hit rate and 19% barrel rate. Tonight's matchup against Connor Prielipp is an intriguing one for his hot bat. The Minnesota Twins starter has allowed 1.69 HR/9 over his last two starts while allowing a 52% hard-hit rate. 

Canzone also has a very respectable .351 ISO against left-handed pitchers. 

I'll play this pick down to +400. 

• Time: 4:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: FS1

Home run prediction: CJ Abrams (+325)

CJ Abrams is a regular in my home run props, but there's good reason for it. The Washington Nationals star continues to rake. He owns a .520 ISO over his last seven games, going deep four times during that span. 

Abrams has an average launch angle of 26.1 degrees over his last 31 plate appearances and a 15.8% barrel rate. He'll face Reynaldo Lopez tonight, who has given up 1.80 HR/9 over his previous two starts while allowing a 50% fly ball rate during that span. 

Lopez is prone to loud contact in the air, and Abrams is consistently getting lift under the baseball. 

I'll play this pick down to +300. 

• Time: 7:15 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: BravesVision, Nats.TV

Home run prediction: Shohei Ohtani (+250)

Shohei Ohtani is always a threat to leave the yard when he steps up to the plate, and he is showcasing his power right now. The two-way superstar has a .476 ISO in the last week, with two bombs in his previous five outings. 

It's rare for him to not be squaring up the baseball lately. He has a 62.5% hard-hit rate and 18.8% barrel rate in the last week, and tonight's matchup against Payton Tolle screams value. Ohtani has actually hit lefties well, posting a .291 ISO. 

Tolle is having trouble with the long ball. He's allowed 2.45 HR/9 over his previous two appearances. One mistake could easily be punished by one of the most feared hitters in the Majors. 

I'll play this pick down to +200. 

• Time: 9:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: NESN, SportsNet LA

Best home run combo for August 1

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

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

The calendar has turned to August. And the inventory for Major League Baseball’s top 25 potential trade candidates before the Monday, Aug. 3 deadline hasn’t even budged.

A few situations have changed since our last exercise – though probably not enough to ensure significant action before the deadline’s final moments.

Nonetheless, here’s a glance at our top 25 players on the trade market, based on their possible impact, the likelihood of their availability and the fit of their contracts:

1. Luis Arraez, 2B, Giants

Still No. 1 in our hearts, even if he doesn’t light up all the chyrons on your favorite network shoutfest or podcast. He just keeps hitting, leading the majors with a .328 average and highly respectable .810 OPS. That ability to move the baseball takes on significant value in the playoffs.

2. Tarik Skubal, SP, Tigers

It’s looking like a foregone conclusion he’ll be dealt. But we’re reserving just a tad of juice simply because the Tigers are likely to sweep the Athletics out in Yolo County this weekend, and perhaps draw as close as two games within a playoff spot. Probably not enough to convince technocratic GM Scott Harris to hold him, but possibly worth pondering.

3. Luke Weaver, RP, Mets

Simply, the kid is different, giving up one earned run in his last 29 games, with a 36-7 strikeout-walk ratio. He’s signed for next season, has “New York playoff closing experience,” if you give a damn about that, and solves all kind of bullpen problems.

4. Robbie Ray, SP, Giants

Proverbial big veteran innings-inning lefty, but with a dash of quality, too: Ray has given up three or fewer runs in 18 of his 21 starts. Perhaps not a Game 1 playoff starter, but a key stretch drive piece who can fold into the back of a playoff rotation.

5. Michael Wacha, SP, Royals

He has limited no-trade protection and makes a reasonable $15 million in 2027 and is a workhorse veteran of five previous postseason runs.

6. Zach Neto, SS, Angels

Is this the sort of offensive punch the Red Sox seek? Neto is on track for 30 home runs this season, though that comes with a massive strikeout total as well. And his minus-9 outs above average would not dovetail with Boston’s run prevention ethos. Still, a dynamic figure the Angels decide to let John Mozeliak mess around.

7. Foster Griffin, SP, Nationals

A big climber on our list, from seven to 21, in light of the Nationals’ three-game losing streak that threatens their potential playoff push. Yep, the deadline margins are that razor-thin. Griffin is right behind Skubal among most talented lefties possibly available. His club is now 55-56 and 2 1/2 back of a playoff spot. A pending free agent, an extension candidate, a potential Game 1 playoff starter with a seven-pitch mix, Griffin’s plight is fascinating.

8. Clay Holmes, SP, Mets

Yet another fast mover thanks to a solid rehab start and the possibility Holmes can help a contender almost immediately. He should be good for eight starts plus the playoffs. Barring any health hiccups, Holmes will likely opt out of a player option for 2027 that would otherwise add value to a transaction.

9. Casey Mize, SP, Tigers

Well, they scratched him from his last start, so they must be serious about dealing him, right? Mize has battled groin woes all season but at his best can be a solid No. 2 in any playoff rotation. A pending free agent, you wonder if the Tigers would be better served holding him for a qualifying offer and draft pick compensation.

10. Reid Detmers, SP, Angels

Detmers comes with two additional years of club control and has been on a two-month heater, with a 3.18 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 65 innings of his last 11 starts. His ranking is mildly depressed by the Angels’ potential to deal him and a profile that’s been inconsistent to date.

11. Jake McCarthy, OF, Rockies

Yep, there’s position players on this list, somewhere. McCarthy has found his groove in Colorado, with a career-best .816 OPS (111 adjusted) and playable defense in center field. He and the Astros have been a natural match for months (years?), and now the Astros are over .500 and, for now, in firstp lace.

12. Isaac Collins, OF, Royals

A switch-hitting outfielder with a .342 OBP, speed and a slightly above average adjusted OPS. He won’t “win you the trade deadline,” but he might help win you a championship.

13. Kevin Gausman, SP, Blue Jays

Gausman has limited no-trade powers, with a pair of potential contenders on his list, and isn’t having his finest season. Yet he can still churn out quality starts and, should he retire after this season, would appreciate another crack at a World Series.

14. Tyler Stephenson, C, Reds

Everybody needs a catcher, right? Stephenson is one of the few coming from a selling team who offers some offensive upside. Not the guy who hit 19 homers with a .782 OPS in 2024, but he’s healthy and a near league average hitter and, the Yankees will notice, bats right-handed.

15. Lars Nootbaar, OF, Cardinals

Speaking of the Yankees, Nootbaar wouldn’t be the splashiest add, particularly after he missed the first 60 games after offseason surgery on his heels. He’s been adequate in his return, with a .698 OPS that’s just below league average. He comes with an additional year of club control.

16. Devin Williams, RP, Mets

Williams posted a 10.29 ERA in his first nine outings as the Mets’ season fell apart early, and a 2.73 ERA in 22 games since. (Along with a 2.83 FIP, if you’re interested). Signed for two more years and $26 million, and whether that’s a plus or minus is in the eye of the beholder.

17. Jack Flaherty, SP, Tigers

The third of the Tigers’ pitching triplets should they burn the ships, Flaherty was traded in 2024 and then the Tigers staged a wild rally for a playoff berth. He went on to get a World Series ring with the Dodgers.

18. Shane Bieber, SP, Blue Jays

He was near the top of our list after two sterling starts indicated he was fully back from arm woes that delayed his 2026 debut – and then he walked six batters in the first inning of his next outing. Still, he’s a pending free agent who won Game 4 of the 2025 World Series, with a low odometer this season.

 19. Dustin May, SP, Cardinals

Sure, he’ll occasionally pitch you out of a game – he’s had five outings of at least five earned runs – but will also dominate on occasion. May might not crack the circle of playoff rotation trust but would be a useful arm down the stretch and on the back end of a playoff roster.

19. Jeff Hoffman, RP, Blue Jays

Stung in World Series Game 7 last year and bit by hard luck this year, Hoffman is beginning to round into form, posting scoreless innings in 18 of his last 19 outings. Hoffman wants to stay, but an acquiring team would control him for $12.6 million next season.

20. Mickey Moniak, OF, Rockies

Like McCarthy, Moniak is a serviceable lefty-swinging bat, though he doesn’t bring the defensive optionality McCarthy does. Moniak has 17 homers and a 126 adjusted OPS for the Rockies.

21. Mason Miller, RP, Padres

Just doing our due diligence, as every contending team is surely performing, as well. Yet the Padres are a game out of a playoff berth. Prying Miller away with top 100 prospects while scorching a Padres playoff run is probably a bridge too far for GM A.J. Preller.

22. George Springer, DH, Blue Jays

Who wouldn’t want to see another iteration of Playoff George? The man is magic in October, but also has full no-trade protection and loves it in Toronto. Still, this baby wil go right down to the wire as team and player consider their futures. One downside: He’s only played one game in the outfield this season.

23. Trevor Rogers, SP, Orioles

This remains unlikely, as the Orioles are again within sight of playoff position. Yet Rogers is a pending free agent who has been dominant (2.21 ERA, 51-14 strikeout-walk ratio in 10 starts) the past two months. Might make sense if Baltimore is in buy-and-sell mode.

24. Alec Burleson, INF, Cardinals

Tricky one here. Burleson is one of their best players, yet perhaps lacks the runway (two years team control after 2026) to be considered integral to the Cardinals’ true future. If they put him firmly on the block bump Burleson (15 homers, .803 OPS) up about 15  spots.

25. Freddy Peralta, SP, Mets

Not a good pitcher this year. But perhaps a team with strong ideas from its pitching department can put Freddy back together again.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB trade candidates: Top 25 deadline targets led by Skubal, Arraez

The Atlanta Braves have once again activated the DFA Cycle and the latest passenger is none other than Elieser Hernández. Following another one-appearance stint with Atlanta, Hernández has been designated for assignment and reliever James Karinchak will be taking his place on the roster for the time being.

The #Braves today recalled RHP James Karinchak to Atlanta and designated RHP Elieser Hernández for assignment.

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 1, 2026

Hernández has actually come up pretty big for the Braves over the past couple of weekends. He tossed three crucial scoreless innings against the Orioles in a situation where Atlanta needed every last one of those outs in order to pull off a dramatic victory. This time, he pitched another three innings but it was clear that he was being used to give the bullpen regulars a spell after they were put into heavy use during the series-opening win over Washington. Either way, the three innings were productive (outside of a homer given up to Andrés Chaparro) and Hernández did his job while he was here.

James Karinchak will be returning to the big league fold for the first time since July 9, which is when he pitched a scoreless inning against the Pirates. Karinchak has pitched 9.2 innings so far and has a 1.86 ERA and a 4.34 FIP so far. I’d imagine that he’ll be in line to get some low-leverage innings on a short-term basis. Pour another one out for Elieser Hernández, though, who appears to be the strongest soldier given the fate of the DFA Cycle so far.

Mason McConnaughey started for the Crawdads, allowing two runs in an inning of work, striking out one, walking one and giving up one homer. Jormy Nivar struck out two and walked one in five shutout innings. Louis Marinaro struck out three and walked one in a shutout inning. Geury Rodriguez struck out three and walked one in two shutout innings.

2026 9th rounder Kaden Carpenter made his professional debut and went 2 for 5 with a walk, a double and a homer. Paulino Santana was 3 for 5 with a triple and a homer. Daniel Flames had a pair of doubles and a walk. Yolfran Castillo had a hit and a walk. Marco Argudin was 3 for 6. Pablo Guerrero had a pair of hits and a walk. Jormy Nivar had a pair of plate appearances despite being a pitcher due to Sebastian Baquera leaving the game after the top of the second, for reasons I’m not clear on, and Noah Franklin moving from DH to catcher. Nivar walked both times. Geury Rodriguez also had a plate appearance and walked.

Hickory box score

Hub City starter Caden Scarborough went four innings, allowing two runs, striking out five, walking two, hitting a batter and throwing a wild pitch.

Paxton Kling returned from the injured list and was 1 for 4 with a stolen base. Maxton Martin was 2 for 4 with a double.

Hub City box score

Frisco starter Aidan Curry allowed three runs in 5.1 IP, striking out four and walking three. Bryan Magdaleno threw 1.2 shutout innings, striking out four.

Dylan Dreiling homered.

Frisco box score

Josh Stephan started for Round Rock, allowing four runs, striking out three, walking three, hitting a batter and giving up a pair of homers. Rehabbing Chris Martin struck out two in a scoreless inning. Ryan Lobus struck out one in a scoreless inning. Michel Otanez struck out two in a shutout inning. Wilian Bormie threw a scoreless inning and struck out one.

Jarred Kelenic was 2 for 4 with a triple and a stolen base. Cody Freeman doubled.

Round Rock box score

DSL Rangers Red box score

DSL Rangers Blue were rained out.

Former Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer blasted the Los Angeles Dodgers as “a bunch of snakes,” saying the club abandoned him after he was accused of sexual assault — allegations that never resulted in criminal charges.

“I wish I never played for them because I think the organization treated me like s–t and I am not very happy with that,” Bauer said during an interview with YouTube channel “La casa de los Dodgers.”

The Southern California native joined the Dodgers on a three-year, $102 million deal in 2021.

But his career began to unravel that May when a San Diego woman accused him of sexual assault during two encounters. Bauer denied the allegations.

He told “La casa de los Dodgers” that he was initially backed by the team.

Bauer, who won the National League Cy Young Award in 2020, claimed Dodgers manager Dave Roberts even hugged him and said, “‘Hey, we’re going to get through this together and we’re going to be a family.”

After a five-month review of the case that started with the Pasadena Police Department, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office declined to file criminal charges, citing insufficient evidence.

Bauer was suspended by Major League Baseball for 194 games under its domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy before being released by the Dodgers in January 2023.

He has since wandered from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league to the Mexican League to the independent minor-league Long Island Ducks. He is now back in the Mexican League.

Bauer doesn’t envision a return to MLB because it “will never allow that to happen.”

A league spokesperson referred The Post to a comment from a statement MLB made in 2024: “Trevor Bauer served the entirety of his discipline and is an unrestricted free agent available to sign a contract with any team.”

The Dodgers did not return a request for comment.

“The front office people, I wish them nothing but the worst … I think they’re a bunch of snakes,” Bauer said.