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Blue Jays Have Shown Interest In Phil Maton

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The Blue Jays are looking to bolster their bullpen and the Cardinals have arms available. The Jays were previously connected to Ryan Helsley, though he has now been traded to the Mets. The Jays and Cards clubs have also discussed right-hander Phil Maton, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Maton, 32, is often underrated by fans and the baseball industry. Dating back to the start of the 2020 season, Maton has tossed 322 1/3 big league innings with a 3.69 earned run average. He has struck out 27.1% of batters faced, given out walks at a 9.2% clip and induced grounders on 42.8% of balls in play. He generally does very well in terms of limiting damage, as seen on his Statcast page. His average exit velocity, barrel rate and hard hit rate are regularly near the top of the league leaderboards. He also has a 2.57 ERA in 28 postseason innings.

Despite that generally strong track record, his market hasn’t always been robust, perhaps because his velocity maxes out around 91 miles per hour. He first reached free agency ahead of the 2024 season and signed a fairly modest one-year, $6.5MM deal with the Rays. He didn’t thrive in Tampa, posting a 4.58 ERA with that club. However, he got back on track after being flipped to the Mets, posting a 2.51 ERA with that club.

He returned to free agency ahead of this year and lingered unsigned into March. The Cardinals scooped him up with a $2MM guarantee on a one-year deal. That has worked out nicely so far, as Maton has a 2.35 ERA in 38 1/3 innings for the Cards. He has a 30.4% strikeout rate, 9.5% walk rate and 50.6% ground ball rate. He’s also still inducing all that weak contact, like usual.

The Jays are clear buyers, currently sitting atop the American League East, four games ahead of the Yankees. Their relievers have a collective 3.94 ERA this year, which puts them near the middle of the MLB pack. They already added one new arm, acquiring Seranthony Domínguez from the Orioles, but are still on the hunt for more.

The Cards, meanwhile, hovered in contention for a decent chunk of the season but have clearly moved into sell mode. In the past few days, they have flipped Helsley to the Mets as well as sending Erick Fedde to Atlanta and Steven Matz to Boston. Since Maton is an impending free agent, he should be on the move today as well.

Maton’s modest salary is surely appealing to the Jays. RosterResource estimates that they have a competitive balance tax number of $280.6MM. Cot’s Baseball Contracts has them a bit lower at $273MM. The third tier of the CBT this year is $281MM. Any team that goes over that line would have their top pick in the 2026 draft pushed back ten spots, in addition to incurring a higher taxation rate.

Perhaps the Jays are looking to avoid that line. The O’s reportedly sent them some undisclosed amount of cash in the Domínguez deal. Maton only has about $650K left to be paid out on his deal, so he wouldn’t be a huge hit. The Jays also have other targets, however, including starters such as Dylan Cease, Zac Gallen and Mitch Keller. Perhaps they would look to have other clubs eat money in any other deal they line up, like in the Domínguez swap, or they could theoretically move another player off their roster in order to free up some payroll space.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images

Red Sox Acquire Steven Matz

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11:34PM: The trade has been officially announced.

10:47PM: The Red Sox and Cardinals have agreed to a trade that will send left-hander Steven Matz to Boston, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports.  Corner infield prospect Blaze Jordan is headed to the Cards in return, according to the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.  The deal will become official once both sides sign off on the medicals of the players involved.

Matz is a pure rental for the Sox, as the veteran southpaw’s four-year, $44MM contract is up at season’s end.  St. Louis inked Matz to that free agent deal on the heels of his successful 2021 season as a starter with the Blue Jays, but Matz has only started 36 of his 84 career games with the Cards.  Injuries and ineffectiveness have hampered his time in St. Louis, leading the Cardinals to move Matz into more of a swingman role, and he came essentially a full-time reliever this year (save for two spot starts in April).

While Matz didn’t live up to the expectations of his contract, he pitched pretty well in both 2023 and during this season, as the southpaw has a 3.44 ERA over 55 frames in 2025.  Typically a good control pitcher, Matz has taken it a step further with an elite 4.0% walk rate this season, and his 5.3% barrel rate is also excellent.  This ability to limit mistakes and keep the ball on the ground (44.3% grounder rate) has helped balance out more ordinary strikeout and hard-contact rates.

Left-handed batters have only a .442 OPS against Matz this season, while righty hitters have a much more productive .814 OPS.  The gap in splits will be somewhat hard for manager Alex Cora to work around since Matz has so much value as a multi-inning reliever, yet that same durability will help out a Boston pen that has logged a lot of innings bailing out its shaky rotation.  It’s possible the Sox could even turn to Matz again as a part-time starter, though the Red Sox are expected to land more significant starting help prior to tomorrow’s deadline.

Matz is now the fifth left-handed in Boston’s pen, along with Aroldis Chapman, Justin Wilson, Brennan Bernardino, and Chris Murphy.  This depth could give the Sox some flexibility in swinging a trade to a team in need of relief help, with Boston then addressing another need in return.

Chaim Bloom was Boston’s chief baseball officer back when Jordan was selected in the third round of the 2020 draft, and now that Bloom will be taking over at the Cards’ president of baseball operations starting next season, this familiarity undoubtedly helped pave the way for tonight’s trade.  Jordan ranks 17th on MLB Pipeline’s list of Boston’s best prospect, and MLB Pipeline had the corner infielder 24th in their ranking.

Jordan struggled at the Double-A level in both 2023 and 2024 before hitting well this season, and earning his first promotion to Triple-A.  This transition went more smoothly, as Jordan has hit .289/.333/.476 over 177 plate appearances with Worcester while seeing a lot of time at both corner infield slots (primarily third base).  Scouts feel first base is his better position, so Jordan’s future potential will hinge on how well he can keep developing at the plate.  His production in 2025 is a step in the right direction, as the 22-year-old has been much better at turning his raw power into results.

This is the second big bullpen trade of the day for the Cardinals, after Ryan Helsley was shipped to the Mets.  Both deals have brought more young talent into the St. Louis pipeline, which seemed to be the organization’s stated goal heading into last offseason, yet Bloom and current PBO John Mozeliak chose to retain almost all of the Cards’ veteran talent.  In Matz’s case, he wasn’t generating much trade interest given his $12MM salary and his rough 2024 production, so at least Matz’s bounce-back year rebuilt some of his value.

As for future trades, Phil Maton and JoJo Romero have both been rumored to be generating interesting, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see St. Louis move at least one or both relievers before the deadline.  While the Cards are in sell mode, the Red Sox are pushing for at least a wild card slot and hope to make a run at the AL East title, with pitching known to be Boston’s primary target.

Mets Acquire Ryan Helsley

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The Mets continue to load up in the late innings. New York announced the acquisition of Ryan Helsley from the Cardinals for infield prospect Jesus Baez and minor league pitchers Nate Dohm and Frank Elissalt. It’s the third relief pickup of the week for the Mets, who had already acquired hard-throwing lefty Gregory Soto from Baltimore and paid a hefty price to get submariner Tyler Rogers from the Giants. They had an opening on the 40-man roster, so there was no corresponding move.

Helsley adds another power arm to the late innings. His fastball sits above 99 MPH on average. Opponents have nevertheless had a field day against the heater this season, batting .406 and slugging .522. They’ve had no success against Helsley’s upper 80s slider, which he turns to as often as he goes to the fastball. The end result is an even 3.00 earned run average across 36 innings. The righty has fanned an above-average 26.1% of batters faced behind a massive 16.1% swinging strike rate.

This is Helsley’s fourth consecutive season of strong production. He first assumed the Cardinals’ closing role in 2022 and has successfully nailed down 103 saves out of 121 tries over the past three-plus years. Helsley posted a 2.45 ERA or better in each season from 2021-23. He began this season a little slowly, allowing 3.60 earned runs per nine with eight walks and 10 strikeouts through the end of April. He has reeled off a 2.77 ERA with plus strikeout (27.4%) and walk (5.3%) percentages going back to May 1.

After a few seasons in the ninth inning, Helsley will move to a setup role in Queens. He’ll likely be Carlos Mendoza’s top leverage arm in the bridge to Edwin Díaz. Rogers may not be far behind him in the pecking order. Helsley and Rogers are each excellent relievers but couldn’t be more different stylistically. Mendoza will have a few different looks in what now seems to be one of the deepest bullpens in the game. Reed Garrett, Ryne Stanek and Soto all bring plus velocity in the middle relief group.

The 31-year-old Helsley is playing on an $8.2MM salary for his final season of arbitration. The Mets will pick up the remaining $2.65MM. They’re taxed at a 110% rate on all expenditures, so they’ll pay nearly $3MM in taxes on top of the money owed to Helsley. It’s an approximate $5.6MM investment. Helsley will be a free agent at season’s end. That’s also true of Stanek, Rogers, Soto and probably Díaz (who can opt out of the remaining two years and $37MM on his contract). New York holds a club option on southpaw Brooks Raley. There’ll be a lot of turnover next season, but it’s a high-octane group for the stretch run.

The Mets are loading up at the same time as the Phillies are dealing two highly-regarded prospects for Minnesota’s star closer, Jhoan Duran. Philadelphia is percentage points above New York in what should be a fantastic NL East race. The Mets have also been linked to center field upgrades — Luis Robert Jr., most prominently — and could turn their attention to the lineup over the final 22 hours before the deadline.

On the other end, the Cardinals are parting with a player who has spent a decade in the organization. Helsley was a fifth-round pick in 2015 and has spent parts of seven seasons with the big league club. The Cardinals curiously opted not to trade him last offseason despite cutting payroll and viewing 2025 primarily as an evaluation year for their young players. St. Louis hung around the playoff mix for a while, but an 8-15 record in July has sealed their fate as deadline sellers.

Helsley acknowledged last week that a trade was coming. While he’d spoken a few times about wanting to sign an extension with St. Louis, the team never seemed to reciprocate the interest. They weren’t especially likely to make him a qualifying offer that should land north of $22MM. (Teams cannot make a QO to players acquired midseason, so the trade ensures that Helsley will hit free agency unencumbered.) The Cards have dropped close to .500 and sit five games back in the Wild Card picture, making a trade inevitable.

In all likelihood, they’re getting a slightly lesser return than they would have received had they shopped Helsley over the winter. Baez, a 20-year-old infielder, is the headliner. He placed in the back half of the Mets’ top 10 prospects at both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline. Eric Longenhagen at FanGraphs slotted him 15th in his organizational writeup last June.

The righty-hitting Baez impresses evaluators with his bat speed and contact skills. That comes with a tendency to expand the strike zone that alarms some scouts, though, and Baez is not expected to have the requisite athleticism to stick at shortstop. He’s a potential regular at third base who remains at least a couple years from big league readiness. Baez is playing in a pitcher-friendly setting in High-A, batting .242/.332/.390 with 10 home runs and a lower than average 16.3% strikeout rate.

Dohm, a 6’4″ right-hander, was New York’s third-round pick last summer. The Mississippi State product has combined for a 2.87 ERA with a near-29% strikeout rate in 18 starts in the low minors. He ranked 14th in the system at MLB Pipeline but was further down at BA (25th) and FanGraphs (42nd). Dohm battled forearm injuries in college and faces some durability questions. He leans most heavily on a potential plus fastball while mixing in a slider and curveball. There’s a decent chance he’ll wind up in relief, but the Cards will presumably continue developing him as a starter.

Ellisalt was New York’s 19th-round pick last summer. FanGraphs ranked him 43rd in the system, writing that his fastball/slider combination gives him a shot to be a middle reliever if his command becomes passable. He’s a 23-year-old reliever with a 3.04 ERA and strong 29% strikeout rate against younger competition between two A-ball levels.

This’ll be the first of multiple subtractions from the St. Louis bullpen. Impending free agents Phil Maton and Steven Matz should both be moved. Lefty JoJo Romero has an additional season of arbitration control but could be dealt as well. None of those players will command as strong a return as Helsley did, but the Cards could add a few more mid-tier prospects to the farm system by tomorrow evening.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported the Mets were closing in on a deal for Helsley. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com confirmed the deal was in place and was first with Baez as the headliner of a three-player package. Heyman was first on Ellisalt and Dohm. Image courtesy of Jeff Curry, Imagn Images.

Astros Interested In Carlos Correa Reunion

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12:37pm: The Astros approached the Twins about the possibility, Chandler Rome and Dan Hayes of The Athletic report. Astros owner Jim Crane has “remained a fan” of Correa since his departure, they note, adding that the Twins believe Houston is perhaps the only destination to which Correa would green-light a trade. Nightengale adds that Correa indeed would be open to returning to Houston and playing third base there. That said, Hayes and Rome echo Passan in writing that the two sides are far apart and a deal is not at all close.

12:07pm: The Twins and Astros have indeed talked about the possibility of a Correa trade but aren’t close to an agreement, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports.

9:52am: As the Astros seek help in the infield following injuries to Isaac Paredes and Jeremy Pena, they’ve looked into the possibility of bringing Carlos Correa back to Houston, as first reported by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune writes that the two parties have had discussions on the possibility. MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart adds that Houston’s interest “is real.” Nightengale adds that Houston remains interested in Eugenio Suárez as well and has at least weighed the possibility of another run at Nolan Arenado.

The Correa scenario presents a fascinating, if unexpected wrinkle to this summer’s deadline market. In the offseason, Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey downplayed the possibility of trading his shortstop, and Correa himself voiced an affinity for Minnesota when asked about his no-trade clause at the time.

It’s fair to wonder whether either party’s stance has changed. The Twins have struggled through a sub-.500 four months of baseball and have minimal hope of reaching the postseason. The Pohlad family is exploring a sale of the team, and while that was true over the winter as well, the former front-runner to purchase the Twins, Justin Ishbia, has since instead reached a long-term agreement to become the majority stakeholder in the White Sox (where he was already a minority owner). On Correa’s end of things, returning to his original organization and jumping back into a playoff race would presumably be appealing.

Correa is still owed significant money. He signed a six-year, $200MM deal with four vesting options prior to the 2023 season. He’ll make a combined $92MM from 2026-28 and also still has about $11.6MM of this year’s salary yet to be paid out. The Twins would almost certainly have to pay down a portion of the contract to make a deal work.

Even if Minnesota did so, however, adding Correa back to the roster in Houston would send the Astros soaring past the luxury tax threshold. They’re currently about $4.5MM shy of that barrier, per RosterResource. Owner Jim Crane was steadfastly against exceeding the tax threshold in the offseason — at least in most scenarios. His lone exception, it seemed, would have been for a reunion with Alex Bregman. Whether Crane is feeling more urgency due to Houston’s litany of injuries or simply harbors some sentimentality for another former Astros star, one has to imagine he’s grown more comfortable crossing the tax threshold.

That Correa is in the midst of a sub-par season only further muddies the water. The 30-year-old hit brilliantly for the Twins last year in an injury-shortened campaign, batting .310/.388/.517 with his typical brand of strong defense at shortstop. He’s rebounded from a poor start in 2025 to an extent, but Correa’s .267/.319/.386 slash is slightly under league average (97 wRC+). Over his past 274 plate appearances, Correa is hitting .300 with a .350 on-base percentage but just a .423 slugging percentage. His power is down substantially this season, in part because his ground-ball rate has spiked to a 48.5% — its highest level in five years.

A renewed run at Arenado would register as something of a surprise. Arenado invoked his no-trade clause to nix a trade to Houston over the winter. Now that the Astros are in first place, he’d likely be more open to a move there. However, he’s in the midst of a third straight down year at the plate and is still owed substantial money.

Arenado, 34, is hitting a career-worst .235/.295/.367 in 390 plate appearances. By measure of wRC+, he’s been 16% worse than average at the plate. He remains a strong defensive third baseman but no longer draws top-of-the-scale grades from defensive metrics. He’s earning $32MM this year, $27MM next year and $15MM in 2027. It’s a steep price to pay for a former All-Star whose bat is has been on the downswing for several years now. The Cardinals would need to eat a major portion of the contract, but there’s still enough left on the deal that Arenado, too, would surely put Houston over the luxury threshold.

Suárez, owed $4.8MM for the remainder of the season, might not quite put the Astros over that edge, though the Diamondbacks could always include some cash to coax a more favorable return. The bidding on the 34-year-old slugger will be fierce, however, and Houston’s farm system is not as well regarded as some of the other teams who’ll be vying for Suárez and his 36 home runs. The Mariners, Cubs, Tigers, Phillies and Reds are among the teams also pursuing him.

Paredes could miss the remainder of the season — Nightengale notes that surgery is a consideration — but he’s controlled for an additional two years. Pena is on the mend from fractured ribs but is also controlled through 2027. Given the Astros’ multiple years of control over the left side of their infield, Suárez represents a cleaner fit than either Correa or Arenado. Paredes could slide over to second base in subsequent seasons if the Astros wind up with a new infielder who’s signed beyond the current season, but he’s played the vast majority of his career at third base.

Correa’s name hasn’t come up until this point, but the Twins are expected to be active sellers over the next two days. Righty Chris Paddack was already moved to the Tigers, and rental players like Willi Castro, Harrison Bader and Danny Coulombe are all expected to change hands as well. The more interesting element is whether the Twins will cave and trade anyone controlled longer-term. Relievers Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax have been two of the most sought-after names on the bullpen market, and any contending team would love to add righty Joe Ryan to its rotation. All three are controlled through 2027, however. Add in the new possibility of a Correa deal, and there’s plenty for the Minnesota front office to do over the next day and a half.

MLBTR Podcast: Megapod Trade Deadline Preview

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams and Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss various trade deadline topics, including…

Check out our past episodes!

  • David Robertson, Trade Chips For The O’s and A’s, And What The Rangers Could Do – listen here
  • Rays’ Ownership, The Phillies Target Bullpen Help, And Bubble Teams – listen here
  • Firings in Washington, Bad Braves, And An AL East Shake-Up – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Geoff Burke, Imagn Images

Padres Interested In JoJo Romero

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The Cardinals’ bullpen should look quite a bit different in 36 hours than it does now. Closer Ryan Helsley is one of the most coveted available relievers and is very likely to move. Phil Maton and Steven Matz are impending free agents who should be traded as well. There hasn’t been as much public attention on southpaw JoJo Romero, but he’s another trade candidate.

Katie Woo of The Athletic reports that the Padres are among the teams to show interest in Romero. St. Louis has presumably received interest from a few clubs on the 28-year-old lefty, who carries a 2.12 ERA across 34 innings. Romero has fanned 24% of batters faced with a 52.9% ground-ball rate. He has collected 16 holds without blowing a lead all year, and he’s coming up on three months of quiet excellence.

Romero had a rocky April, allowing eight runs (seven earned) with seven walks and strikeouts apiece in 10 1/3 innings. He has allowed just four runs, one earned, since that point. Romero owns a 0.38 ERA with a 28.1% strikeout rate while keeping opposing hitters to a .200/.277/.271 slash line over his past 27 appearances. While he’s obviously not going to maintain that level of dominance, he has fired 93 innings of 2.90 ERA ball while picking up 46 holds over the past season and a half. He has gotten plus ground-ball marks with solid swing-and-miss rates while sitting around 94 MPH on his fastball.

Unlike the trio of more frequently mentioned rentals in the St. Louis bullpen, Romero is under club control for another season. He’s playing on a $2.26MM salary this year and should land in the $4-5MM range for his final arbitration campaign. The Cardinals should nevertheless look to move him to a clearer contender this summer, especially if they lower their already diminished playoff odds by trading Helsley and Maton.

San Diego has a trio of left-handers in the bullpen. Adrian Morejon is among the best in baseball. Romero would be a more reliable second option than Wandy Peralta or Yuki Matsui. Adding to the bullpen could be viewed as a luxury buy for a team with clearer holes in left field and throughout the bench. President of baseball operations A.J. Preller has left the door open to further adding to an already excellent relief group. It’s also possible they could acquire a leverage reliever while dealing away one of their current late-inning arms (most likely closer Robert Suarez) for outfield or rotation help.

Rangers, Yankees Among Teams Interested In Ryan Helsley

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As the Cardinals head into the deadline as likely sellers, a handful of the club’s players are getting significant attention on the trade market. Of the team’s major pieces, no player is more likely to be moved than closer Ryan Helsley, a free agent after the 2025 season. The Dodgers and Mets have already been connected to Helsley in some capacity this summer, while the Phillies were known to have interest in the closer earlier this year and the Blue Jays were among the clubs to check in on his availability this past offseason. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports that all four of those teams remain current suitors for Helsley, and adds two more interested teams to the pile: the Rangers and the Yankees.

Helsley, 31, is arguably the best rental reliever on the trade market this summer. A two-time All-Star, Helsley sports a strong resume as one of the top closers in the sport. He’s posted a 2.03 ERA with a 2.55 FIP across 203 2/3 innings of work since the start of the 2022 season. Along the way, he’s picked up 102 saves and struck out batters at a 32.9% clip. It’s an undeniably elite profile, and while his 2025 numbers may not be quite on that level he’s still been fantastic for the Cardinals this year. In 36 innings of work, Helsley has posted a 3.00 ERA with a 26.1% strikeout rate and converted 21 saves in 26 opportunities. Those five blown saves have already matched a career high, but Helsley still figures to be very attractive in a market where other rental closers like Raisel Iglesias and Kenley Jansen come with blemishes of their own.

There are other relievers who are surely more attractive than Helsley available, but each of those elite closers come with team control beyond the 2025 season and as such will cost significantly more in terms of prospect capital. Helsley could be a more affordable option for clubs who balk at the prices of Jhoan Duran, David Bednar, Pete Fairbanks and others—particularly after Guardians closer and likely trade candidate Emmanuel Clase was effectively taken off the market by a sports betting investigation. Clase’s exit from that market will likely further incentivize other clubs with controllable relief talent to keep their prices elevated, and reporting earlier today suggests that the Pirates are asking interested clubs for a package headlined by a prospect within that their organization’s top five in exchange for Bednar.

That could make Helsley a particularly intriguing addition for clubs that aren’t especially keen to give up top talent, and the Yankees and Rangers may both fall into that bucket to some degree. There have been some signals that Aaron Judge’s elbow injury has pushed the club to consider being less aggressive than usual this summer, and when teams would surely be asking for top talents like George Lombard Jr. and Spencer Jones in exchange for top controllable relief arms it could make sense for the Yankees to prioritize a more affordable rental player like Helsley. On the other hand, with Devin Williams already in the fold the club may be comfortable looking at relievers without Helsley’s closing experience like Danny Coulombe or perhaps even teammate Phil Maton.

The Rangers, meanwhile, appear to be leaning heavily towards buying and have already been connected to Bednar today. Texas has no established closer in the fold so, someone like Helsley to lock down the ninth inning could be very valuable for them. With that said, the team has a solid but not excellent 47.9% chance of making the playoffs according to Fangraphs. Another complicating factor is the luxury tax, which ownership appears determined to avoid paying into this year. Helsley’s $8.2MM salary is hardly exorbitant and the Rangers would only have to pay a pro-rated portion of it to cover the final two months of the season, but perhaps the club would prefer to focus on someone like Bednar who would be under control for next year and come with less of a short-term financial burden.

Given that Helsley is a rental, any team that acquires him will have to battle it out for his services in free agency barring a surprise extension. That’s a battle that very well could include the Cardinals themselves, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes today that Helsley has made clear to the club that he would be willing to return to St. Louis via free agency this offseason even if he winds up being traded over the coming days. It’s far from common for traded rentals to return to the club that dealt them the following winter, but Helsley has long indicated he would like to remain in the organization beyond this season. Goold notes that it has occurred in a few high-profile cases in recent years, such as with Aroldis Chapman and the Yankees at the 2016 trade deadline as well as Jeurys Familia and the Mets back in 2018.

Sonny Gray Unlikely To Waive No-Trade Clause Prior To Deadline

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Cardinals ace Sonny Gray was briefly in trade rumors this past offseason but quickly quashed them when he told president of baseball operations John Mozeliak that he wasn’t keen on waiving the full no-trade clause in his contract. Gray’s name has at least tangentially popped back up on the rumor mill with the July deadline now just three days away. The right-hander tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Mozeliak recently revisited the subject of Gray waiving his no-trade clause.

The 35-year-old Gray declined to elaborate beyond the mere fact that he and Mozeliak had recently talked about the matter. However, MLB.com’s John Denton reports that during that conversation, the right-hander again conveyed that he prefers to stay in St. Louis — at least for the remainder of the current season. Barring a late change of heart, it seems Gray will remain with the Cardinals for the balance of the regular season.

The Athletic’s Katie Woo reported this weekend that the Cardinals would “entertain” offers on Gray and that Mozeliak had gauged interest from some clubs. Presumably, that was done in an effort to provide Gray with as much information as possible when having this conversation with him. There’s no indication that the Cardinals spent significant time workshopping trade offers before talking with Gray, but Mozeliak & Co. have surely fielded a wide swath of calls and texts regarding the availability of a notable portion of the roster.

A trade of Gray would likely have been difficult to piece together, though not necessarily due to his performance. It’s true that the veteran righty has turned in ugly outings in consecutive starts, ballooning his ERA from 3.50 to 4.33 over his past two outings thanks to a combined 14 earned runs in 8 1/3 innings. However, he’s also less than a month removed from an 11-strikeout one-hit shutout of the Guardians and obviously has a lengthy track record as a high-quality big league starter. Recent ERA spike notwithstanding, Gray boasts a 26.7% strikeout rate and 4% walk rate on the year — both excellent marks, with the latter in particular registering as elite. Metrics like FIP (3.02) and SIERA (3.09) portray him far more favorably than his recently inflated earned run average.

Gray’s contract is another matter entirely — and a far more complicating factor, at that. The former AL Cy Young runner-up’s three-year, $75MM deal is heavily backloaded, which would surely prove a hurdle in any trade talks. He’s in the second season of that pact but earned just $10MM in year one of the deal. He’s making $25MM this year, with about $8.333MM yet to be paid out as of this writing, and he’s in line for a $35MM salary next year. Gray’s contract also contains a $30MM club option for 2027 that comes with a $5MM buyout (which is included in his guarantee).

As such, even though Gray is past the halfway point of the contract, he’s still owed a whopping $48.333MM for the remaining one and one-third seasons on his contract. That’s nearly 65% of the contract’s total value. The $5MM buyout on his 2027 option is deferred over a five-year period, but that does little to reduce the sizable net-present value of what’s left on the contract.

If the Cardinals were willing to take on a notable portion of that sum, they’d obviously be able to extract a better net return. As things stand, one-plus year of Gray at nearly $50MM doesn’t exactly afford surplus value. Even if a team valued Gray as a $30MM-per-year starting pitcher, his contract would be slightly underwater. All of that is rendered moot by Gray’s preference to stay in St. Louis. The Cardinals could revisit the situation in the offseason, but Gray would still be owed a $35MM salary and that deferred $5MM buyout. It’s a hefty sum, particularly entering his age-36 season.

That said, the Cardinals could have some extra motivation to get a deal done this offseason. One of the driving factors behind their dormant offseason was a desire to not only trim payroll but to clear playing time for younger players who could be core pieces. The Cards already opened up one rotation spot for young Michael McGreevy when they designated Erick Fedde for assignment (and subsequently traded him to Atlanta).

Moving Gray would further open up innings for young arms while simultaneously trimming notable money from the payroll. If the Cardinals were to eat enough of Gray’s contract in the offseason, they could extract some genuine prospect talent. That’s not necessarily the goal, however. Goold wrote in a chat with readers today that the organization would look to clear as much of Gray’s salary as possible — doing so “ahead of any other considerations.”

Cardinals’ Tekoah Roby Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Cardinals pitching prospect Tekoah Roby underwent Tommy John surgery last week, reports Katie Woo of The Athletic. He’s expected to miss not only the remainder of the current season but also the entire 2026 season as well.

It’s a brutal blow to the team’s prospect base. Roby has ranked among the Cardinals’ most promising young arms since he was acquired two years ago in the trade sending Jordan Montgomery to the Rangers, but he’d taken a considerable step forward this season. The 23-year-old opened the season with a brilliant 10-start run in his second stint at the Double-A level, pitching 47 innings with a 2.49 ERA, a 31% strikeout rate and a 6% walk rate. That earned him his first bump to Triple-A Memphis, where he started six more times and notched a 4.02 ERA, 22.6% strikeout rate and matching 6% walk rate.

Overall, Roby has pitched 78 1/3 innings with a 3.10 ERA between the Cardinals’ top two affiliates. Woo adds that the Cardinals, as part of their player development overhaul this season, had added a two-seamer to Roby’s repertoire and made changes to the shape and velocity of both his slider and changeup. The results were impressive, but those gains are now on hold after a second straight season with elbow troubles will prompt a major surgery.

It’s been a tough season for Cardinals pitching prospects. While McGreevy has remained healthy and now pitched his way into the rotation, many of the system’s other young arms have incurred notable setbacks. In addition to Roby, pitching prospects Cooper Hjerpe and Sem Robberse have both had Tommy John surgery this year. Hjerpe had his surgery in mid-April, and Robberse followed about a month later. Right-hander Tink Hence has missed most of the season due to a rib cage sprain. Lefty Quinn Mathews missed more than a month due to shoulder discomfort and has walked a staggering 21.3% of his opponents in 13 Triple-A starts when healthy.

The complications for the Cardinals extend beyond the obvious and straightforward setbacks in the development of several key young arms. Both Roby and Robberse are on the 40-man roster already. Hjerpe will need to be added this winter or else be left unprotected in the Rule 5 Draft (where there’s plenty of precedent for a team selecting a pitcher who is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery).

There’s no 60-day IL in the offseason, so if the Cardinals indeed add Hjerpe to the 40-man in November, they’ll effectively be navigating the offseason with only 37 of their 40-man roster spots available. Each of Roby, Robberse and Hjerpe would be taking up a spot. And, since none of them has made his big league debut yet, those dead roster spots would even carry over into the 2026 season, unless the Cardinals select any of the three to the major league roster and place them on the 60-day injured list. Doing so would start any of the trio’s service clock early and grant them major league service time and salary while rehabbing.

Starling Marte Drawing Trade Interest

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With two hits in the Mets’ 5-3 win over the Giants tonight, Starling Marte is now slashing .289/.372/.416 over an even 200 plate appearances this season, which translates to a very solid 129 wRC+.  The veteran hitter’s continued production in his age-36 campaign hasn’t gone unnoticed, as the New York Post’s Mike Puma reports that multiple teams have checked in with the Mets about Marte in the lead-up to the trade deadline.

Marte has served almost exclusively as a designated hitter in 2025, with only a handful of appearances as a corner outfielder.  Initially tabbed as part of a righty/lefty DH platoon with Jesse Winker, Marte has ended up getting more action right-handed pitching than against southpaws, and he took a .793 OPS in 86 PA against lefties and a .762 OPS over 110 PA against righties into action tonight.  Marte is benefiting from a .336 BABIP and he isn’t generating much power, but the former All-Star has shown he is still productive within somewhat limited parameters.

Now in the final season of the four-year, $78MM free agent deal signed in the 2021-22 offseason, Marte has around $6.4MM remaining of his $19.5MM salary for the 2025 campaign.  While not the biggest chunk of change to take on over the season’s final two months, it does seem a little steep for a part-time primary DH, so it is interesting to speculate on what exactly other clubs could be offering Marte, or what the Amazins are asking in return.  New York floated Marte’s name in trade talks this past offseason, with the Mets reportedly willing to cover part of that $19.5MM salary in order to help facilitate a deal.

The Royals were the only team publicly linked to Marte’s market, though obviously no agreement was reached.  Hypothetically, it stands to reason that Kansas City could still be an interested party, given how the Royals are struggling offensively and have gotten next to nothing from their outfielders or their lineup in general.  Marte could be slotted into the Royals’ DH slot moreso than a regular role in the outfield, though K.C.’s acquisition of Randal Grichuk may have filled some of that need with a player who has more defensive utility.

Trading Marte would free up some space within a Mets lineup that is already overloaded in position players.  While the younger members of New York’s infield mix have been inconsistent this year, the Mets would probably prefer to deal a veteran on an expiring contract like Marte before parting ways with a more controllable talent, even if younger players are likewise more attractive to trade suitors.

It is fair to assume the Mets would look to land pitching when trying to deal Marte or any hitter.  The Mets have reportedly shown interest in a number of different starters, and president of baseball operations David Stearns said even after Friday’s Gregory Soto acquisition that the bullpen is still the team’s primary focus as the deadline approaches.  To that end, the Athletic’s Will Sammon added Ryan Helsley to the long list of relievers under consideration, but as of early Sunday morning, the Mets had yet to actually have any talks with the Cardinals about the closer.

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