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Dodgers Designate James Paxton For Assignment

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3:40pm: The Dodgers made it official, announcing that they have selected Ryan and designated Paxton for assignment.

2:42pm: The Dodgers are designating veteran left-hander James Paxton for assignment, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The team has not yet formally announced the move.

Paxton, 35, signed with the Dodgers on a complicated one-year deal that pays him a $3MM signing bonus, a $4MM salary, a $2MM roster bonus for making the Opening Day squad and a series of $600K and $1MM bonuses that unlock periodically based on his number of games started. Paxton has made 18 starts this season, which was the last milestone he needed to max out his contract. He’ll receive the full $13MM possible on the deal but also seems likely to finish out the season with another club, one way or another.

It’ll be a move that catches some off guard. Paxton has a solid enough 4.43 ERA and despite a laundry list of injury troubles in recent years has been the Dodgers’ healthiest starter. He’s tied with Tyler Glasnow and Gavin Stone for the team lead with 18 starts but sits well below both righties in terms of total innings, as he’s averaged fewer than five frames per start.

Paxton’s earned run average also belies some far less-encouraging numbers. His 16.4% strikeout rate is nearly six percentage points shy of the 22.3% league average, while his 12.3% walk rate is way north of the 8.2% average. He’s benefited from the help of a .267 average on balls in play that stands as the lowest mark of his career despite surrendering a career-high 90.8 mph average exit velocity and a 43.3% hard-hit rate that represents the second-worst mark of his big league tenure. Paxton has been hit particularly hard of late; dating back to June 5, he carries a 6.03 ERA in 37 1/3 innings (eight starts). Stretch that endpoint to mid-May, and Paxton has been torched for a 5.82 ERA in his past 11 starts — all while averaging less than 4 2/3 frames per outing.

The Dodgers are set to welcome both Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw back to their rotation this week. Glasnow has been out since July 9 with lower back tightness and will end up only requiring a minimum 15-day stint on the injured list. Kershaw has yet to pitch this season while rehabbing from last November’s shoulder surgery. That veteran pair will join Gavin Stone, Landon Knack and Justin Wrobleski as starting options for manager Dave Roberts, though the Dodgers are also rumored to be promoting top pitching prospect River Ryan for his debut this week. Both Ryan and Kershaw will require the Dodgers to open 40-man spots, and it seems Paxton’s DFA will create one of those two vacancies.

Beyond Kershaw and Glasnow, the Dodgers hope to have Walker Buehler and Yoshinobu Yamamoto back from the injured list at some point next month. Right-hander Bobby Miller was just optioned amid some ongoing struggles but gives the team another rotation option. And, of course, starting pitching is reportedly one of the Dodgers’ top priorities heading into next week’s trade deadline. It’d be a surprise if president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman didn’t augment his rotation in some capacity.

As for Paxton, he’ll now either be released or traded within the next week. The veteran lefty has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment and retain his full salary, so the Dodgers likely won’t even try to outright him. It’s easy enough to see a team on the hunt for rotation help show some interest, but at the same time it’ll be tough for any club to surrender much in a trade given Paxton’s recent struggles, his relatively notable salary and the fact that once he’s released, he’d be available for nothing more than the prorated league minimum.

Latest On Rays’ Deadline Approach

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The Rays are among the more interesting bubble teams with the deadline eight days off. Tampa Bay entered today’s series finale with the Yankees at 50-49. They dropped the game 9-1, putting them back to .500.

Today’s loss knocked Tampa Bay five games behind the Royals, who hold the final Wild Card spot in the American League. The Red Sox and Mariners also sit between the Rays and the last playoff spot. They’re 10.5 back with three teams to jump in the AL East, so it’s almost certainly Wild Card or bust. A five-game deficit certainly isn’t insurmountable, but it’s not an easy gap to close either (especially with multiple teams to jump).

MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweeted last night that the Rays are expected to both buy and sell at the deadline. Presumably, that’d take the form of shopping players on more expensive salaries and/or a dwindling control window while exploring acquisitions of MLB-ready talent that could aid the Rays in a longer shot playoff push this season and contribute to the 2025 roster. Tampa Bay’s front office is plenty familiar with trying to strike that balance as they look to remain annually competitive despite bottom five player payrolls.

The Rays have no shortage of veterans who’d generate interest. The Rays had five players on MLBTR’s initial list of Top 50 trade candidates last week: Zack Littell, Zach Eflin, Pete Fairbanks, Randy Arozarena and Jason Adam. There’d be a ton of interest in Isaac Paredes if the Rays genuinely considered moving their All-Star third baseman. SNY’s Andy Martino wrote last week that the Rays are willing to listen on Paredes, though there’s nothing to suggest that’s more than the organization’s standard openness to talking about every player.

Brandon Lowe and Yandy Díaz are each making between $8MM and $9MM and would be appealing targets in a light infield market. Amed Rosario has had a nice rebound season after signing a surprisingly low $1.5MM free agent deal. He’s headed back to free agency next winter and offers multi-positional versatility and plus contact skills from the right side. Virtually every contender could squeeze him onto the roster and in their payroll ledger.

Tampa Bay certainly isn’t going to trade everyone from that group. The Rays have never been keen on completely tearing down the roster and embarking on multi-year rebuilds. They’re not far enough from the playoff mix to make that advisable regardless. Yet it’d be surprising if the Rays didn’t at least move one or two veterans. Rosario, as their only impending free agent of note, is the most obvious candidate. The front office is clearly willing to deal some players under team control beyond this season, as evidenced by their trade of starter Aaron Civale (who is eligible for arbitration for the final time next winter) to Milwaukee.

Patrick Mooney, Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of the Athletic wrote this morning that the Rays could be more apt to trade players who are going yearly through arbitration than to deal those playing on guaranteed contracts. Arozarena, Paredes, Littell and Adam fall into the first bucket. Fairbanks, Díaz and Lowe have signed extensions, while Eflin joined Tampa Bay on a three-year free agent deal. There’s not much difference between players on guaranteed contracts versus arbitration salaries in practice, but The Athletic writes that the Rays could feel more of an obligation to hold the players who have committed to the franchise for multiple seasons.

While that’s a possible factor, it’d be surprising if the Rays drew too rigid a distinction. Tampa Bay traded Tyler Glasnow and Manuel Margot — each of whom had signed an extension — to the Dodgers last winter. Glasnow’s deal sent him close to home on the West Coast and came in conjunction with another extension with L.A.; the Dodgers flipped Margot to Minnesota within a few weeks. Tampa Bay traded Blake Snell within two years of signing him to a five-year extension back in December 2020.

Eflin ($11MM), Lowe ($8.75MM) and Díaz ($8MM) have the highest salaries among players on multi-year deals. Arozarena’s $8.1MM salary is by far the highest of Tampa Bay’s group of players on arbitration deals. Eflin will make $18MM next year in the final season of his backloaded contract. Díaz is set to make $10MM next season on a deal that has a $12MM team option for 2026. The Rays hold club options on Lowe (valued at $10.5MM and $11.5MM, respectively) for the next two seasons.

Arozarena is set to go through arbitration twice more, while Paredes is eligible for arbitration through the ’27 campaign. He’ll certainly be in line for a lofty raise on this year’s $3.4MM salary. Fairbanks, Adam, Rosario and Littell are all on modest salaries; Fairbanks’ $3.666MM figure is the highest of the bunch. All but Rosario are under contract or club control for at least another season.

If the Rays ultimately straddle the line between buying and selling, they’re fairly well positioned to deal from their rotation and infield. Shane Baz’s return from Tommy John surgery was one motive for the Civale trade. The Rays could welcome back Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen over the next couple months and will get Shane McClanahan back in 2025 — perhaps lessening the sting of a deal involving Eflin or Littell. Upper level infielders like Curtis Mead and top prospect Junior Caminero could make it easier to part with Lowe. That’s arguably also true of Paredes, although it’d have been an easier sell if Caminero hadn’t had two extended injured list stints in Triple-A this year because of quad issues.

Tampa Bay doesn’t have as much long-term stability in the outfield, particularly if they move Arozarena at some point. At catcher, they’ve gotten good production this year out of Ben Rortvedt but could still look for a clearer long-term answer. Tampa Bay’s typically excellent bullpen has been an unexpected issue this season, so that’s another area where the Rays may look to add.

Edwin Ríos Elects Free Agency

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Infielder Edwin Ríos recently elected free agency, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had been designated for assignment by the Reds last week and was sent outright to Triple-A Louisville after clearing waivers, but he instead exercised his right to return to the open market.

Ríos, 30, started the year on a minor league deal with the Reds and had a nice run at Triple-A. He got into 50 games for the Bats and hit 11 home runs while drawing walks at an 11.8% clip. He also struck out in 28.6% of his plate appearances but his .243/.340/.486 batting line still translated to a solid wRC+ of 108.

He was called up by Cincinnati a few weeks ago but didn’t get much playing time, which has been a theme of his career. The Reds gave him just ten plate appearances in five games during his two weeks on the roster. The Reds acquired Austin Slater from the Giants and also welcomed players like Stuart Fairchild and Jake Fraley back from absences and Ríos got squeezed off.

Players with at least three years of service time or a previous career outright have the ability to elect free agency rather than accept another outright assignment. Ríos qualifies on both of those counts and now used that right to look for a new gig on the open market.

Ríos has always hit well in the minors and also had a nice start to his major league career with the Dodgers. In 2019 and 2020, he slashed .260/.338/.634 in the big leagues with Los Angeles but was limited to 139 plate appearances on a fairly crowded roster. In 2021, he was limited to just 60 trips to the plate and struggled to a line of .078/.217/.137 but then bounced back in 2022. Though he still only got 92 plate appearances, he hit seven home runs and slashed .244/.293/.500 in those.

By the end of 2022, he had 20 homers in just 291 trips to the plate and a .219/.299/.492 batting line that translated to a 112 wRC+. But he qualified for arbitration by crossing the three-year service mark and the Dodgers decided not to tender him a contract. He signed with the Cubs and continued hitting well in the minors but slashed just .071/.235/.214 in the small sample of 34 plate appearances he got at the major league level. He exhausted his final option season last year and was outrighted off the roster in the middle of the campaign.

Since the start of 2018, Ríos has hit .272/.347/.511 and a produced a 110 wRC+ in almost 1400 Triple-A plate appearances. Despite that consistently strong work and his encouraging showing with the Dodgers in the majors a few years ago, he still hasn’t cracked 100 plate appearances in any individual MLB season. Defensively, he provides a bit of versatility since he has lined up at the four corner spots at the major league level.

29 clubs passed on the chance to grab Ríos from the Reds, so he’s likely looking at a minor league deal in the coming days or weeks. With the trade deadline coming up on July 30, it’s possible that some new opportunities might open up for him. If he finds a role anywhere, he is out of options but has less than four years of service time and could theoretically be retained via arbitration beyond this season.

Red Sox Interested In Luis Rengifo

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A few weeks ago, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow told reporters that the club is committed to picking a lane prior to the trade deadline. That deadline is now just over a week away, falling on July 30, and the Sox are still trying to decide on their approach, reports Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam of MassLive.

The Sox have been hovering around in the Wild Card chase for most of the year but are coming off a three-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers. That has knocked them down to 53-45, one game back of the Royals and Twins for the final two playoff spots, with the Mariners, Rays and Tigers just behind Boston.

Per Cotillo, the front office is considering all sorts of scenarios and is having exploratory talks with various other clubs. In those talks, Boston is reportedly focused on pitching and a right-handed bat, which aligns with what Breslow said to reporters a couple of weeks ago about his targets. Cotillo reports that this right-handed bat would ideally play multiple positions and that Luis Rengifo of the Angels is one target.

Rengifo, 27, is versatile in more ways than one. Defensively, he has played all three outfield positions and the three infield spots to the left of first base. He’s not considered an especially strong defender anywhere but that helps him slot into the lineup. In addition to that, he’s also a switch-hitter.

He struggled when first called up to the majors but is in the midst of a solid three-year run with the Angels. Since the start of the 2022 season, he has produced a line of .275/.325/.437. His 5.8% walk rate in that time is subpar but he’s also limited strikeouts to a rate of 16.1%. Overall, that production translates to a 112 wRC+, indicating he’s been 12% better than league average. He’s also stolen 34 bases in 36 tries in that time.

That includes a very strong line of .315/.358/.442 this year along with 22 stolen bases, though there are also some flags. His .349 batting average on balls in play this season is well beyond his career rate of .290 and the .289 league average in 2024. He also landed on the 15-day injured list two weeks ago due to inflammation in his right wrist and has an uncertain path back. As of a few days ago, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com relayed on X that Rengifo was fielding grounders, throwing and hitting off a tee, but without concrete details of his upcoming timeline.

What also could complicate matters is how the Angels are approaching the deadline. It was reported a couple of weeks ago that the Halos have a preference for only trading rental players while holding onto controllable guys like Taylor Ward, Tyler Anderson, Griffin Canning and perhaps Rengifo.

Whether that’s a true reflection of how the Angels are approaching the deadline or not remains to be seen. The club is clearly not good this year at 42-57 and there are reasons to suspect they may be challenged in being better next year. Their farm system isn’t especially well regarded and they are heavily committed to players like Anthony Rendon and Mike Trout, who continue to be held back by injuries as they age.

Rengifo is making $4.4MM this year and set for one more arbitration pass before he’s slated for free agency after 2025. He would be a sensible trade target unless the Halos really believe they have a chance at competing this year, though his current injury status might perhaps lead them to wait until the offseason or next year’s deadline. Players can be traded while on the IL but his status might impact the offers and lessen the chances of the Halos pulling the trigger.

For the Sox, their lineup leans heavily to the left side, with Tyler O’Neill, Connor Wong and Ceddanne Rafaela the only righties to be getting regular plate appearances this year. A righty bat therefore makes plenty of sense and Rengifo’s switch-hitting abilities allow him to slot into that need. He’s hit .279/.323/.452 from the right side in his career compared to .243/.308/.373 from the left side, leading to respective wRC+ tallies of 112 and 88. The split has been even more drastic lately, as he’s hit .328/.368/.555 as a righty since the start of 2022.

Whether Boston can pull the trigger on a deal there remains to be seen. Other righty bats with the ability to play multiple positions who may be available include Isaac Paredes, Brendan Rodgers, Gio Urshela, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Nico Hoerner, Christopher Morel, Jonathan India and Abraham Toro.

Part of the reason the club is shopping in this market is due to the disappointing season of Vaughn Grissom. Acquired from Atlanta in the Chris Sale trade, he has missed time due to hamstring strains in both legs. He’s only played in 23 games for the Sox and hit .148/.207/.160 in that time. Per Sean McAdam of MassLive, manager Álex Cora indicated earlier this year that Grissom would be the club’s second baseman when he returned from his first hamstring strain. But now that he’s back on the IL with a second strain, he has no such guarantees.

“We have to take all the steps and get him stronger, get the athlete we envisioned,” Cora said. “If we get that, then we’re going to get the player and then the player shows up and we make a decision.”

In Grissom’s absence, Enmanuel Valdéz got a lot of rope but struggled and ended up optioned down to the minors. Much of the recent playing time has been going to David Hamilton, who is hitting .268/.321/.405. That’s exactly league average but his defense has been good and he’s also stolen 25 bases in 28 tries. Grissom recently began a rehab assignment and hits from the right side, while Hamilton is a lefty. Theoretically, Grissom’s return could negate the need for the Sox to go out and trade for a righty bat like Rengifo, but it sounds like their confidence in Grissom is at a bit of a low ebb right now.

The Orioles’ Oft-Overlooked Outfielder

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The Orioles are as deep as any team in baseball when it comes to young position players. As the trade deadline approaches, that’s led to interminable speculation on top prospects like Heston Kjerstad, Connor Norby, Coby Mayo and Samuel Basallo — highly touted prospects who’ve yet to solidify themselves as one of Baltimore’s long-term pillars. But for all the understandable focus on that slate of top-100 talents, the O’s have more to offer. Perhaps chief among the team’s controllable change-of-scenery candidates is outfielder Kyle Stowers. Manager Brandon Hyde alluded to the possibility in chatting with the Baltimore beat this weekend (link via Jacob Calvin Meyer of the Baltimore Sun).

“Kyle’s going to get a chance to be an everyday Major League player here at some point, either with us or with somebody else. Who knows?” Hyde said when discussing the 26-year-old outfielder and the positive impression he’s made on his manager this season. “You never know what this game is gonna bring, but he’s putting himself in great position.”

Stowers has indeed put himself in a position to be either quite useful to the Orioles or another club before long. There’s plenty of smoke and mirrors at play with his current .306 batting average and .500 slugging percentage, as those gaudy numbers have come in a sample of just 37 plate appearances and are propped up by an unsustainable .435 average on balls in play. Meanwhile, Stowers has fanned 13 times (35.1%) without taking a walk. In parts of three MLB seasons (2022-24), he’s taken 168 plate appearances and batted .229/.274/.369. He’s fanned at a 32.1% clip and walked in 4.8% of those plate appearances.

It’s not a particularly appealing batting line on the whole, but it’s come across five separate stints (dating back to his Aug. 2022 MLB debut) and with no consistent playing time. When Stowers, a 2019 second-round pick, has received steady playing time at the Triple-A level, he’s generally been a productive hitter. The lefty-swinging slugger carries a career .252/.350/.518 batting line with 56 homers, 55 doubles, five triples and seven steals in 1029 plate appearances with Baltimore’s top affiliate in Norfolk. Stowers has been between 12% and 30% better than average at the plate in each of his four seasons with the Tides, by measure of wRC+.

Defensively, he’s seen time at all three positions but logged most of his time in right field. Baseball America ranked him ninth among O’s prospects last year (and seventh the year prior), touting his above-average speed, plus power and plus arm. Stowers has long had some strikeout issues and an aggressive approach at the plate, but he’s also walked in a hearty 11.8% of his Triple-A plate appearances. He hits right-handed pitching better than lefties, as one would expect from a slugging lefty bat, but Stowers has posted an OPS between .781 and 1.018 versus lefties in each of the past four seasons (minors and majors combined). He might never be a star, but to this point in his career, the Stanford product has looked like he could be more than the prototypical platoon slugger with minimal defensive value.

With another 51 days of service this year, Stowers would reach a full season of MLB service time, thus putting him on pace for arbitration in the 2026-27 offseason and free agency in the 2029-30 offseason. If he spends fewer than 51 days on a big league roster or injured list, that timeline to free agency would be pushed back a year. However, he’d be a very likely Super Two candidate at that point, so his arbitration timeline would remain the same — he’d just be eligible four times rather than three before free agency.

Stowers is the type of interesting trade candidate who could appeal to both contending and non-contending teams alike. He’s had a decent amount of success in Triple-A, has at least a half decade of control remaining (plus a minor league option beyond the current season), and has a limited path to an everyday role with his current club. He’d appeal to a rebuilding club as a possible return for a trade chip or perhaps to a win-now club looking for an affordable upside play in the outfield corners. Both Meyer and MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko have suggested recently that Stowers could be moved (likely for pitching).

It’s of course possible that he could be a factor for the Orioles themselves in future seasons, as Anthony Santander is a free agent this winter, while Austin Hays and Cedric Mullins could end up as trade or non-tender candidates themselves. However, even if the O’s move on from the veteran trio of Santander, Hays and Mullins before Opening Day 2025, they’ll still have Colton Cowser, Kjerstad, Mayo and Norby in the outfield mix. Both Norby and Mayo have primarily been infielders, but Baltimore’s infield is quite crowded — particularly if Jackson Holliday eventually seizes a spot — which could push Norby to left field and/or push Mayo to right field.

It’s all a “good problem to have,” but Stowers is 26 (27 in January) and down to one option year beyond the current campaign. As Hyde said, it shouldn’t come as a surprise one way or another if he’s getting a full look sooner than later. Just for fun, let’s see what MLBTR readers think about Stowers’ future with a poll:

What will the Orioles do with Kyle Stowers?
Trade him before July 30 77.18% (2,232 votes)
Keep him -- he's part of the long-term outfield in Baltimore. 13.24% (383 votes)
Trade him this offseason 9.58% (277 votes)
Total Votes: 2,892

Mets Designate Cole Sulser For Assignment

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The Mets have designated right-handed reliever Cole Sulser for assignment, per a team announcement. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to catcher Logan Porter, whose previously reported split major league deal is now official. Porter, who still has multiple minor league option years remaining, has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse.

Sulser, 34, signed a minor league deal over the winter and pitched 4 2/3 innings for the Mets back in April and May. He allowed five runs on six hits and three walks with seven punchouts during that short stint. He’s spent the majority of the season in Triple-A, where he’s posted a sparkling 1.48 earned run average in 30 1/3 frames. Excellent as that mark has been, however, Sulser has also walked 13.2% of his opponents and benefited massively from a .182 average on balls in play. Even with a sharp 28.1% strikeout rate and huge 56.7% grounder rate, it’s fair to expect a good bit of ERA regression.

For one season with the Orioles, Sulser looked to have broken out as a quality big league reliever. He pitched 63 1/3 innings for Baltimore in 2021 and turned in a 2.70 ERA, 28.4% strikeout rate, 8.9% walk rate and 41.3% ground-ball rate. Traded to the Marlins alongside Tanner Scott the following offseason, Sulser hit an immediate wall. From 2022-24, he’s pitched 44 MLB innings between the Fish, D-backs and Mets but limped to a 5.93 ERA. He’s still fanned just over a quarter of his opponents, but Sulser has done so with an 11.3% walk rate and with immense susceptibility to home runs (1.84 HR/9). He’s also seen a heater that averaged 93.2 mph back in ’21 dip to an average of 91.9 mph this year (both figures via Statcast).

The Mets will either trade Sulser, release him or place him on outright waivers within the next five days. Waivers would be an additional 48-hour process from the point at which he’s placed. Within a week’s time, he’ll know the outcome of his DFA.

Mariners Select Jason Vosler

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The Mariners announced that they have selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Jason Vosler. Fellow infielder Ryan Bliss was optioned in a corresponding move. There was already a vacancy on the club’s 40-man roster due to right-hander Mike Baumann recently being designated for assignment and traded to the Giants.

Vosler, 30, signed a minor league deal with the M’s in the offseason and has been with Triple-A Tacoma all year so far. In 89 games with the Rainiers, he has hit 20 home runs and drawn walks in 8.4% of his plate appearances, striking out at a 21.6% clip. His .289/.357/.526 batting line amounts to a wRC+ of 113 in the heightened offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League.

Offense has been an issue for the Mariners all year, as they are hitting .218/.299/.367 as a team. That translates to a wRC+ 94, better than just nine clubs in the league. Seattle’s 28% strikeout rate is the worst in the majors by a significant margin, as the Athletics and Rockies are the nearest clubs at 25.7%.

Vosler has been playing the four corner spots this year and those are certainly positions where the Mariners could use some help. First baseman Ty France has a subpar line of .223/.312/.350 and 96 wRC+. The M’s are clearly willing to move on from him as he has reportedly been placed on waivers as the club hopes someone claims him for nothing but cost savings. Josh Rojas has been getting the bulk of playing time at third base and had a hot start but has since cooled, slashing .184/.269/.270 since May 15. In the outfield corners, Víctor Robles and Luke Raley have been doing well but Mitch Haniger is hitting .208/.287/.335 this year.

Ideally, Vosler will come up and give the lineup a boost. He’s played more first base than anywhere else this year and could simply take playing time away from France, who could perhaps wind up in the short side of a platoon. Despite his rough season overall, the righty-swinging France is still hitting .237/.356/.395 against lefties for a 123 wRC+, thanks to drawing walks at a 12.2% rate against southpaws compared to a 6.8% against righties.

Vosler hits from the left side and could perhaps shield France from right-handers. Vosler has slashed .303/.364/.590 against righties this year compared to .253/.339/.364 against lefties. But his defensive versatility will also give Scott Servais some flexibility in how he gets him into the lineup.

This will be Vosler’s third big league team of his career, as he has 97 games of experience with the Reds and Giants. He’s hit just .210/.279/.408 in the majors but has generally fared better at the Triple-A level. He has one option season remaining and can be sent down to the minors later without being exposed to waivers. He also has less than a year of service time and can stick around for a while if he puts up some decent numbers.

GM Dana Brown On Astros’ Starting Pitching Pursuit

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The Astros have a well-known need in the rotation, and general manager Dana Brown, never afraid to speak candidly, was open about his desire to upgrade/deepen the rotation mix in the next eight days in a recent appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (X link, with audio).

“Try go to big and see if there’s a deal that makes sense for the organization,” Brown said of his efforts to add a starter. “If that don’t work, we’ll go down to mid-level and hopefully we can land something there. But it doesn’t hurt to ask. When you go through this, ask and thou shall receive sometimes. We want to try to go big, and if we can’t get the big thing done, we’ll try to go mid-level so we can get through this.”

Brown went on to note that with Luis Garcia and Justin Verlander both on the mend, bringing in a potential deadline acquisition to further bolster the rotation would allow the Astros to work from a six-man rotation “at times” down the stretch. With Garcia returning from Tommy John surgery, Verlander already having gone through a pair of IL stints in 2024, and breakout righty Ronel Blanco likely to reach a new career-high in innings pitched before the end of the month, there’s good reason for the ’Stros to target a six-man group down the stretch.

That six-man group would include Blanco, Verlander, Garcia, Hunter Brown, Framber Valdez and a potential deadline pickup. Rookie right-handers Spencer Arrighetti and Jake Bloss would presumably remain on hand as a depth options if needed (although speculatively speaking, either could be a secondary piece in a trade to bring in a more established starter).

The trade market is hardly teeming with “go big” types of starting pitchers, though White Sox ace Garrett Crochet stands as one obviously available name in that regard. Brown and his staff could certainly try to pry Crochet loose from Chicago or make an even longer-shot bid for Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, but Skubal isn’t expected to change hands and the Astros’ farm system isn’t all that well regarded. That’s not a surprise for a team that typically picks near the back of the draft due to strong finishes in the standings and forfeited a pick to sign Josh Hader — but it’s a notable roadblock to getting a “big” deal across the finish line.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the Astros simply don’t have the young talent to pull off a trade for a starting pitcher of note. Outfielder Jacob Melton is widely considered to be among the game’s 100 best prospects, ranking 67th at MLB.com and 68th at Baseball America. He’s ranked 78th at FanGraphs, where the aforementioned Bloss lands in the No. 100 spot on their own leaguewide prospect rankings. Bloss and other young big leaguers like Arrighetti and outfielder/first baseman Joey Loperfido could also hold appeal to other teams. Righty A.J. Blubaugh has pitched well in Triple-A for much of the season. Prospects like outfielder Zach Cole and third baseman Zach Dezenzo are both in Double-A and could be big league options by next year. The Astros organization may not be bursting with elite prospects, but there are some interesting names knocking on the door of the majors.

The Astros are a typically high-payroll club, which also enables them to provide some benefit to potential sellers in the form of taking on guaranteed salary. They’re already sitting on a record-high payroll and are just a few hundred thousand dollars from crossing into the second tier of luxury penalization, per RosterResource. However, they’re also a first-year payor right now after spending the ’23 season under the tax line, and as such, they’d only be jumping from a 20% overage tax to a 32% tax in crossing that line. If the Astros were to tack on another $20MM of luxury obligations, they’d be on the cusp of the third tier, at which point their top pick in the 2025 draft would be pushed back 10 spots, but that’s quite a ways from reality at the moment.

Moreover, it doesn’t sound as though it’ll be a Crochet/Skubal type or bust. “If we can get a mid-level guy and we get Garcia and Verlander back,” said Brown later in that same radio appearance, “that would be massive to this club.”

Astros starters are tied for 16th in the majors with a 4.20 ERA, though that number includes some strong early-season work from righty Cristian Javier, who won’t be back in 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Fellow righty Jose Urquidy was also lost for the season due to UCL surgery, while righty J.P. France had shoulder surgery last month. It’s not clear right now when or whether Lance McCullers Jr. will return this season after a setback in his recovery from flexor surgery.

Brown struggled immensely early in the season but has turned things around since incorporating a sinker into his repertoire (2.55 ERA, 26% strikeout rate, 8.2% walk rate in 81 1/3 innings). Blanco, who tossed the season’s first no-hitter back on April 1, has been the Astros’ rock in 2024, logging a 2.75 ERA in 114 1/3 innings. Valdez and Verlander have pitched well when healthy but both have been on the IL this season.

Houston sat a whopping 10 games out of first place as recently as June 18, but closed that gap emphatically with a 19-7 run in its past 26 games — including taking two of three against the now formerly division-leading Mariners just this weekend. The Astros and Mariners are now tied for the top spot in the AL West.

Phillies Re-Sign David Dahl To Minor League Deal

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The Phillies re-signed outfielder David Dahl to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, per Matt Gelb of The Athletic (X link). Dahl was designated for assignment by the Phils back on July 9 and rejected an outright assignment in favor of free agency a couple days later.

Dahl, 30, played just four big league games in 2022-23 before resurfacing with the Phils earlier this summer. The former No. 10 overall draft pick and longtime Rockies top prospect signed a minor league deal over the winter and blitzed through Triple-A opposition with a .340/.416/.660 batting line and a dozen homers in 166 trips to the plate prior to his promotion. He homered twice in his first three games back in the big leagues, setting the stage for a potential Cinderella comeback, but Dahl struggled to a .154/.196/.231 slash in 56 plate appearances thereafter.

Back in 2016, Dahl looked to be on the cusp of stardom. He reached the majors in his age-22 season after destroying minor league pitching and hit .315/.359/.500 with seven homers and five steals in his first 237 major league plate appearances. Dahl continued to hit well in subsequent seasons but missed substantial time due to injury as well. From 2016-19, he turned in a .297/.346/.521 batting line in 921 big league plate appearances but did so while enduring lengthy IL stints owing to back, ankle, foot and ribcage injuries. Add that to a lacerated spleen suffered as a prospect (which resulted in surgery to remove the organ entirely), and Dahl’s injury history quickly became lengthy and alarming.

That series of health maladies took its toll on the talented young outfielder. In 390 plate appearances dating back to 2020, Dahl has authored a tepid .200/.237/.318 slash in the majors. This year’s scintillating output in Lehigh Valley and his fast start following his promotion lend some hope that there’s still some of that 2016-19 form buried away. For now, he’ll head back to the IronPigs and try to force his way back into the Phillies’ major league plans.

Cubs Don’t Expect To Be Deadline Buyers

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The Cubs’ deadline trajectory has been an oft-discussed topic over the course of the past few weeks, with the team sitting at or near the bottom of the NL Central but also within striking distance of the final NL Wild Card spot. They’ve ostensibly explored possibilities on both ends of the buy/sell spectrum, showing interest in Toronto catcher Danny Jansen while also reportedly talking with both the Yankees and Red Sox about the potential of a Jameson Taillon trade. The Cubs dropped their first two games coming out of the All-Star break to a D-backs team that’s now tied for the final Wild Card spot, though they dodged a sweep in an extra-inning win Sunday.

While the Cubs are 3.5 games out in the Wild Card hunt, the latest report from Patrick Mooney, Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic indicates that the Cubs aren’t planning to be buyers at next week’s trade deadline. That’s not an indication there’ll be any kind of prominent fire sale for the Cubs either, however. Chicago hopes to contend next year and isn’t likely to move players who are under control unless they receive big league-ready talent in return.

As for the Cubs’ slate of rental players, there’s simply not much to peddle to other clubs. Drew Smyly is sitting on an impressive 2.92 ERA in 37 relief innings, but he’s also walked 10.2% of his opponents and is playing on a contract other teams will want to avoid. Smyly is owed the balance of an $8.5MM salary for the current season (about $3.2MM) in addition to a $2.5MM buyout on a $10MM mutual option for the 2025 season.

Righty Kyle Hendricks is a free agent at season’s end but isn’t going to draw any interest with a $16MM salary and a 6.69 ERA (unless the Cubs eat the entirety of his contract, perhaps). Hector Neris has a 3.74 ERA and 24.2% strikeout rate in 33 2/3 innings — but he’s also walked a career-worst 16.1% of opponents. Neris is playing on a $9MM salary, and his $9MM club option will convert to a player option if he appears in 24 more games this season (60 total). That’s going to turn off any potentially interested parties. Cody Bellinger can become a free agent at season’s end, but he’s on the injured list with a fractured finger and the two opt-out provisions on his three-year deal would’ve made trading him extraordinarily difficult anyhow.

The Athletic’s report at least raises the speculative possibility of listening to offers for starter Justin Steele, though with three-plus seasons of club control remaining, the price would presumably be as high or even higher than the asks for crosstown ace Garrett Crochet (two years of club control remaining) and AL Cy Young front-runner Tarik Skubal (the latter of whom is not expected to be traded). There’s no reason to think the Cubs would outwardly shop Steele, but listening to see if someone steps up with a Juan Soto-esque haul for last year’s fifth-place NL Cy Young finisher is sensible enough.

With regard to Taillon, there’d be some sense to moving him even if the team doesn’t envision a broad-reaching sell-off. In signing any free agent to a long-term deal, a team is most interested in the first couple years of said contract. The 2025-26 seasons will be Taillon’s age-33 and age-34 campaigns. He’ll earn $18MM in each season on his slightly backloaded $68MM deal. Moving him would free up some money to potentially spend on a younger pitcher this offseason — or perhaps on another area of need entirely.

The Cubs control Steele, Shota Imanaga, Javier Assad, Ben Brown, Hayden Wesneski and Jordan Wicks through at least the 2027 season. Prospects Cade Horton and Brandon Birdsell are rising quickly through the system. There’s some depth from which to deal, and a Taillon trade could bring in talent, shed future payroll and reduce future luxury tax obligations. Taillon wouldn’t command nearly the same type of haul as Steele for a number of reasons (age, salary, general talent level), but there aren’t many arms available so the Cubs could conceivably take advantage of that shortage and see what the market bears.

It’s worth emphasizing, too, that most teams’ plans remain pretty fluid this time of year. While teams facing a gaps of eight, nine, ten or more games in their respective postseason pursuits are sure to focus on selling (just as clubs in the opposite position will primarily focus on adding), nearly half the teams in baseball exist in a relative purgatory between those two ends of the spectrum. There’s currently a three-team tie for the third NL Wild Card spot (Mets, D-backs, Padres), and another five teams are within four games of that final spot — the Cubs among them. In the American League, there are four teams within six games of the final Wild Card spot.

For instance, if the Cubs snapped off six or seven straight wins beginning today, they’d presumably be far more open to the idea of adding some pieces. That’s particularly true because their next three games come against the division-leading Brewers. But a win streak of that nature is always a long shot, and it’s plenty notable that for the time being, Chicago isn’t viewing itself as a team that will trade even lower-caliber minor league talent in exchange for some marginal rental upgrades. Time will tell whether the players on the field can push the front office to take a more aggressive stance, but right now it seems likely the Cubs are in for a relatively quiet deadline.

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