The Opener

As MLB’s regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. How low can the White Sox go?

The White Sox are in the midst of history—for all the wrong reasons. The Twins’ 13-7 victory over Chicago yesterday marked the 20th consecutive loss for the South Siders. You may know that there have been just seven streaks of 20 or more wins in a row in MLB history and, as MLB.com’s Sarah Langs noted yesterday, 20-game losing streaks are just as rare with the current streak by the White Sox being the seventh in MLB history. Four of the other six teams (the 1906 Boston Americans, the 1916 and 1943 Philadelphia Athletics, and the 1969 Montreal Expos) saw their losing streaks end at 20, meaning that if the club loses tonight’s game against the Athletics in Oakland the losing streak will jump from a five-way tie for third place into a two-way tie for second place, joining an Orioles club that rattled off 21 consecutive losses to kick off the 1988 season. The 1961 Philadelphia Phillies lost a record 23 consecutive games.

2. Diaz day-to-day:

There was a scary moment for Rays infielder Yandy Diaz in yesterday’s game against the Astros, when he was struck in the wrist area by a 110 mph grounder off the bat of Yordan Alvarez while attempting to field the ball. The 32-year-old was pulled from the game in obvious pain and replaced by youngster Curtis Mead at first base, though the Rays later announced (as relayed by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that x-rays were negative and that Diaz had been diagnosed with a left wrist contusion. Diaz said after the game that he doesn’t expect to require a trip to the injured list but had not yet tried to grip a bat or put on a glove due to pain when closing his hand. He’s expected to get treatment for the ailment while the Rays are off today before a determination is made about his status for Tuesday’s series against the Cardinals.

3. Series Preview: Phillies @ Dodgers

Two of the National League’s best teams are set to face off this week in what could prove to be a preview of this year’s NLCS when the Phillies head to Chavez Ravine for a three-game set against the Dodgers. The series kicks off at 7:10pm local time this evening with a battle between Aaron Nola (3.43 ERA) and Tyler Glasnow (3.50 ERA). Tomorrow’s game will see breakout lefty Cristopher Sanchez (3.36 ERA) square off against veteran lefty Clayton Kershaw (5.87 ERA through two starts), and the series will wrap up with a pair of rookies on the mound as Tyler Phillips (4.39 ERA through five appearances) takes on Gavin Stone (3.63 ERA).

As the calendar flips to August, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Diamond Sports Group/Comcast deal goes into effect:

As noted by ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez earlier this week, Diamond Sports Group reached a carriage deal with Comcast that is set to go into effect today. The deal applies to each of Diamond’s regional sports networks, meaning that Angels, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Guardians, Marlins, Rangers, Rays, Reds, Royals, Tigers, and Twins games will be available on the Xfinity Ultimate TV package starting today. Comcast stopped carrying Diamond networks back in May amid negotiations between the sides. Going forward, Diamond networks will be carried as part of a more expensive subscription tier. Per Gonzalez, existing Xfinity customers who upgrade their package by August 30 will receive the upgrade free of charge for three months, meaning baseball fans can watch their team’s games for no extra charge though the end of the season.

2. Deadline to sign 2024 draftees:

The deadline to sign players selected in this year’s draft looms today at 5pm ET. The overwhelming majority of 2024 draftees have already signed with their new clubs, but there’s still a handful of names who’ve yet to put pen to paper. A pair of first-rounders remain unsigned at this moment: East Carolina righty Trey Yesavage, whom the Blue Jays selected at No. 20 overall, and North Carolina outfielder Vance Honeycutt, whom the Orioles selected two picks later.

Jim Callis of MLB.com runs through the remaining players from the top 10 rounds who’ve not yet signed, noting that prep lefty Tyler Bell (taken by the Rays 66th overall), prep shortstop Chris Levonas (No. 67 to the Brewers), Texas A&M lefty Ryan Prager (No. 81, Angels) and Houston righty Jaxon Jelkin (No. 263, Mets) have all yet to sign and are not expected to do so. Callis’ piece also looks at the tough signs in rounds 11-20 who could be pursued late deals with the money that likely will not be spent on those picks in the top 10 rounds.

3. Gregory Santos to undergo MRI:

Just six appearances into his Mariners career, right-hander Gregory Santos exited yesterday’s game against the Red Sox due to injury. Manager Scott Servais told reporters (including Daniel Kramer of MLB.com) following the game that Santos was dealing with a biceps injury and will undergo an MRI today following the club’s return to Seattle. Acquired from the White Sox in a trade this offseason, Santos’ debut with his new club was delayed until last month due to a lat strain. He finally returned to the mound in early July but hasn’t looked quite like himself, posting a 6.75 ERA in 5 1/3 innings of work while striking out just 20.8% of batters faced. Now, it appears he may be at risk of returning to the IL. The acquisition of Yimi Garcia had already pushed Santos out of the role of primary set-up man for closer Andres Munoz, but his absence could afford arms like Collin Snider and Tayler Saucedo additional late-inning opportunities.

4. Luis Rengifo dealing with “flare-up” in wrist:

Angels infielder Luis Rengifo spent three weeks last month on the IL due to inflammation in his right wrist, and Anaheim manager Ron  Washington told reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register) yesterday that the injury hasn’t entirely gone away as Rengifo suffered a “flare-up” of the same injury. The club plans to re-evaluate Rengifo today before deciding on next steps, but an absence would be the latest in a long and frustrating line of injury news for the Halos. Rengifo has only been back in action for eight games. Since then, Mike Trout’s short-lived rehab assignment has been halted amid a setback in his return from meniscus surgery, and Anthony Rendon returned to the injured list due to back inflammation. If Rengifo also misses additional time, the Angels will likely use Luis Guillorme and Michael Stefanic at the hot corner alongside Brandon Drury at second base, and Zach Neto at shortstop.

With trade season officially in the past, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Post-Deadline Roster Moves:

While the trade deadline has come and gone, yesterday’s trades figure to continue impacting the rosters of clubs going forward. While clubs need to clear 40-man roster space for acquired players at the time of the deal, most active roster moves take longer to be completed. Some players arrive in town quickly enough to report to their new clubs the same day a trade takes place, as newly-minted Royals shortstop Paul DeJong did yesterday after switching dugouts to join the Royals after being dealt by the White Sox mid-series, but travel often takes a day or two. After a busy deadline day where upwards of 30 trades were hammered out, there figures to be plenty of roster maneuvering today both for buyers who need to make room for additions as well as for sellers who need to replace their departing players internally.

2. Cabrera to undergo imaging:

After a busy deadline day that saw the Marlins deal a long list of players that includes lefty Trevor Rogers and outfielder Bryan De La Cruz, the club is facing an injury scare regarding one of its rotation members who stayed in place. As noted by El Extrabase’s Daniel Alvarez-Montes, right-hander Edward Cabrera “tweaked” his left knee while covering first base during the sixth inning of yesterday’s 9-3 loss to the Rays and needed to be taken out of the game. Manager Skip Schumaker told reporters (including Alvarez-Montes) following the game that the Marlins plan to send Cabrera for imaging and further details about his injury will be available today.

It’s the latest frustrating setback for Cabrera, 26, who has been limited to just nine starts amid a variety of injury woes this year. When he is healthy enough to take the mound, he’s struggled badly with a 6.65 ERA and a 5.58 FIP in 43 1/3 innings of work that have seen him walk 13.6% of opponents. If Cabrera winds up missing additional time due to yesterday’s knee issue, the club could turn to right-hander Valente Bellozo to round out the rotation. The 24-year-old rookie made two starts for the club earlier this year, pitching to a 4.50 ERA and 3.06 FIP in ten innings of work.

3. Lynn dealing with knee issue:

Cabrera wasn’t the only NL starter to struggle with a knee issue yesterday. Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat relays that veteran right-hander Lance Lynn struggled with a “bark-y” right knee during his start for the Cardinals last night. The issue caused a dip in velocity, but Lynn still managed five innings of one-run ball against the Rangers before exiting. Lynn noted that he and the club will monitor the issue and see how he recovers today following last night’s start before determining a path forward. The Cardinals appear to be decently well-equipped to handle the loss of Lynn if the veteran, who sports a decent 4.04 ERA and 4.44 FIP in 106 1/3 innings of work this year, requires a trip to the injured list. The club just added right-hander Erick Fedde to their rotation mix on Monday in a three-team deal where they also acquired Tommy Pham and dealt Tommy Edman to the Dodgers.

Deadline day is upon us! Rather than the usual three “outs,” today’s opener is going three innings and previewing nine of the countless scenarios to keep an eye on between now and the 5pm CT trade deadline:

1. Will Crochet move? And what else is in store for the White Sox?

Few names have generated as much conversation as emergent White Sox ace Garrett Crochet in the month leading up to the trade deadline. It’s long seemed like a foregone conclusion that the Sox would trade him after extension talks failed to progress, but Crochet threw a wrench into those plans when his camp indicated he wanted to remain in the rotation and hoped to sign a long-term deal (just apparently not with the rebuilding White Sox) if a new club was to pitch him in October. Crochet has already thrown more innings in 2024 (114 1/3) than he had in his entire career prior to the current season, so it’s understandable that he’s concerned about how a midseason role change and/or pitching deep into October could impact his health. At the same time, his all-business approach has complicated his trade outlook for the White Sox and rubbed many fans — plus some in the industry — the wrong way.

Crochet isn’t the only name the Sox have left to market. They were leaning against moving center fielder Luis Robert Jr. as of last night, although it takes all of one text message or phone call to get that train rolling again. Other trade candidates include lefty Tanner Banks and shorter-term pickups like Paul DeJong, Chris Flexen, John Brebbia and Nicky Lopez.

2. Will the A’s trade Rooker? …Or… anyone?

Robert isn’t the only marquee outfielder whose rebuilding club is wary of moving him. Brent Rooker has emerged as one of the top power hitters in all of baseball over the past two seasons and has drawn considerable interest, but the A’s are signaling reluctance to move him with three years of club control remaining beyond the current season. Perhaps that’s a smokescreen, but there’s little to no urgency for Oakland to move him right now. Rooker would still command a haul this offseason, when a potentially even larger number of teams might more seriously consider placing a bid.

Rooker aside, the A’s are rather incredibly one of only two teams (more on that later) not to make a single trade yet during the 2024 deadline bonanza. That seems overwhelmingly likely to change today. Candidates beyond Rooker include outfielders Miguel Andujar and JJ Bleday (also a long shot); right-handers Paul Blackburn and Ross Stripling; and relievers Lucas Erceg (who’s drawing immense interest), Scott Alexander, Austin Adams and T.J. McFarland.

3. Who’s getting Flaherty, Scott, and the other obvious rentals?

The Tigers scratched Jack Flaherty from last night’s start to safeguard against an injury that tanks his value. A deal didn’t come together at the time, but he’s a virtual lock to change hands before 5pm CT today. Marlins closer Tanner Scott is even more certain to finish today under control of a new team. Both pitchers are free agents at season’s end.

Many of the market’s other obvious rental chips have already changed hands, but not all of them. Trevor Richards (Blue Jays), Luis Garcia (Angels), Kevin Pillar (Angels), Elias Diaz (Rockies), Jacob Stallings (Rockies), Dylan Floro (Nationals) and the aforementioned Flexen, McFarland and Stripling are just some of the impending free agents who could be on the move today.

4. How many more deals do the Rays have in them?

The Rays have owned the trade market this month, shipping out Aaron Civale, Phil Maton, Randy Arozarena, Zach Eflin, Isaac Paredes and Jason Adam for a dozen known players (Christopher Morel and 11 prospects) and a player to be named later (from the Mariners as part of the Arozarena deal).

Even with all those deals, the Rays could still have a few more trades up their sleeve. At least four teams (Rangers, Yankees, Astros, Pirates) remain in play for first baseman Yandy Diaz. Right-hander Zack Littell has one extra year of control and has emerged as both a viable rotation arm and trade candidate for Tampa Bay. Second baseman/outfielder Brandon Lowe is in the final guaranteed season of his contract but has a pair of club options ($10.5MM and $11.5MM) that the frugal Rays might prefer to trade for longer-term value. Relievers Pete Fairbanks, Colin Poche, Garrett Cleavinger and Kevin Kelly have all been discussed as well.

5. Will the Twins do, um… anything?

As noted, Oakland is one of two teams in the league to do exactly nothing thus far. The other is Minnesota. The Twins have spent much of the season in comfortable playoff position and are said to be working with payroll limitations (just as they were in the offseason), but their complete silence on the trade front is nevertheless surprising. Minnesota has been eyeing rental arms for the back of the rotation and could look for another outfield bat or reliever, but thus far the reigning AL Central champs have simply stood pat. They’re 5.5 games back of the division lead — a closeable gap in theory, but so far they’ve watched the Central-leading Guardians add Lane Thomas in a trade with the Nationals and the third-place Royals make multiple veteran acquisitions without doing anything to improve their own club.

6. Finnegan still in Washington…

The Nats wasted little time trading one of their two late-inning arms with a year-plus of club control remaining when they moved Hunter Harvey to the Royals before the All-Star break. But closer Kyle Finnegan remains with the team despite standing as one of the most obvious trade candidates around the game. Last night’s blown save certainly didn’t raise his stock any, but Finnegan has been prone to hard contact all season even while saving 28 games with a 3.48 ERA, 24.6% strikeout rate and 7.2% walk rate. Teams know an outing like yesterday’s five-run meltdown is potentially in the cards for someone with a 50.4% hard-hit rate, but Finnegan has generally been excellent this year prior to that shellacking.

The Nats could hang onto Finnegan, but they’ve already traded Harvey, Jesse Winker and the previously mentioned Thomas. A deal of Finnegan seems likelier than not.

7. How far will the Angels go?

The Angels traded closer Carlos Estevez for a nice return over the weekend and have a handful of rental names left to peddle. They’ve reportedly been hesitant to move players controlled beyond the current season, but lefty Tyler Anderson (signed for $13MM next year), righty Griffin Canning (controlled via arbitration through 2025), infielder Luis Rengifo (controlled through 2025) and outfielder Taylor Ward (controlled through 2026) have all drawn interest.

8. Same question, now for the Blue Jays!

The Blue Jays have also held onto their big-name players controlled beyond the current season (though they did move a controllable reliever in former top prospect Nate Pearson). They’ve already traded impending free agents Yusei Kikuchi, Danny Jansen and Justin Turner. A trade of reliever Trevor Richards seems highly plausible, given that he’ll reach free agency this winter as well. But all eyes will be on the Jays to see if they soften their stance and listen to offers for Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Chris Bassitt or — even more interestingly — allow themselves to be blown away by an offer for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Given the limited number of impact bats available, one would imagine the Jays could command a king’s ransom for Guerrero. I argued in favor of why they should be open to just such a scenario in a piece for MLBTR Front Office subscribers last Friday.

9. Deadline surprises!

The trade deadline tends to bring a surprise name or two every year. At this point, all talk about the Tigers/Tarik Skubal the Jays/Guerrero and Bo Bichette has been that those players will stay put. It would register as a surprise if any of that bunch moved, but there’s likely to be a name or two that hasn’t been out there at all who’ll be on the move. MLBTR’s Anthony Franco already profiled 11 long-shot trade candidates in a piece for subscribers, and there are surely some other under-the-radar names being bandied about. Feel free to voice your own guesses in the comments below, and happy deadline day to all! Let the madness begin.

On the eve of this summer’s trade deadline, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Royals facing potential bullpen injuries:

Yesterday’s 7-3 loss to the Cubs was a particularly brutal one for the Royals, as relievers John Schreiber and Hunter Harvey both exited the game due to injury concerns, leaving a bullpen that is already an obvious weakness for Kansas City in an even more precarious position. After being acquired from the Red Sox over the offseason, Schreiber has posted a 4.14 ERA and an excellent 3.26 FIP in 37 innings of work. Harvey was acquired just before the All-Star break from the Nationals and sports a 4.15 ERA and 3.38 FIP in 47 2/3 innings this year.

As noted by MLB.com’s Injury Tracker, Schreiber “tweaked” his knee on a play and first base and limped off the field before being replaced by Harvey to start the next inning. Harvey then recorded two outs in the seventh before surrendering back-to-back walks and exiting due to back spasms. Per manager Matt Quatraro, Schreiber is set to undergo imaging and the club expects to know more about the status of both players today. The loss of either arm would surely exacerbate the Royals’ need for bullpen help, which has seen them connected to Angels righty Luis Garcia and Marlins lefty Tanner Scott in recent days.

2. Lopez to receive imaging results:

The Braves also received a major injury scare yesterday when right-hander Reynaldo Lopez exited yesterday’s game due to forearm tightness. Lopez has paired with veteran Chris Sale to help make up for the loss of ace hurler Spencer Strider this year as he’s posted a sterling 2.06 ERA with a 3.16 FIP through 19 starts. Lopez was set to undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the issue last night. A serious injury could force the Braves to jump into the market for starting pitching even as the club figures to prioritize adding to its beleaguered outfield. With as many as ten contenders already in the market for starting pitching help, the addition of Atlanta to that group could make the rush for rotation arms the talk of the league over the final day and a half before the deadline.

3. What’s next for the Cubs?

The Cubs entered deadline season looking like probable sellers this summer but have instead focused on this point on adding players with long-term team control. They picked up right-hander Nate Pearson (controlled through 2026) from the Blue Jays on Saturday before swinging the most surprising deal of the deadline so far yesterday to acquire third baseman Isaac Paredes (controlled through 2027) from the Rays.

Given those buy-side acquisitions, it would hardly be a surprise to see the Cubs attempt to accumulate more long-term assets at the big league level, and they’ve even been connected to shorter-term assets like Giants southpaw Blake Snell. On the other hand, right-hander Jameson Taillon has received plenty of interest on the trade market, and it remains possible he or a bullpen arm like Mark Leiter Jr. get shipped out by president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and his staff as the deadline approaches.

On the heels of this summer’s first blockbuster coming together overnight, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world headed into the weekend:

1. The trade market is heating up:

After weeks of minimal movement on the trade market, the dam appeared to finally break last night when the Diamondbacks and Marlins got together on a deal that sent southpaw A.J. Puk to Arizona. That trade was promptly followed by a late night swap between the Mariners and Rays that shipped All-Star outfielder Randy Arozarena to Seattle. Both players’ overall numbers have been average this year, due to tough starts to the season, though both have heated up significantly recently. Puk has been utterly dominant since moving back to the bullpen this year, with a 2.08 ERA and a 2.42 FIP in 30 1/3 frames that should bolster Arizona’s late-inning mix alongside closer Paul Sewald. Meanwhile, Arozarena has hit .284/.397/.507 (161 wRC+) since the calendar flipped to June — a huge line that’s sure to provide a boost to Seattle’s beleaguered lineup.

With trades finally starting to trickle in, plenty of activity should be expected this weekend. Yesterday was a busy day on the rumor mill even aside from the trades, as breakout relief star Mason Miller now appears to be officially off the market after suffering a broken finger, while multiple teams have begun to show interest in Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon after the club’s front office officially declared themselves sellers earlier this week.

2. Will these probable starters actually take the mound?

This weekend features a number of probable starters who could be making their final appearances for their current teams—at least, if they aren’t scratched from those starts as a trade looms over the horizon. Saturday’s slate of games figures to see Rays righty Zack Littell (4.46 ERA), Tigers ace Tarik Skubal (2.34 ERA), White Sox righty Erick Fedde (2.98 ERA), and Angels lefty Tyler Anderson (2.91 ERA) take the mound, while White Sox ace Garrett Crochet (3.07 ERA) is slated to take the bump on Sunday.

Each of these hurlers has found their name in the rumor mill fairly frequently this summer and appears within MLBTR’s list of the Top 50 Trade Candidates for the 2024 deadline, so it would hardly be a surprise if at least one of them were to be scratched from their weekend start to avoid an injury scuttling a trade their front office was closing in on putting together. In the event these hurlers do take the mound this weekend, the starts will provide their fanbases a chance to say what could be goodbye to a major piece of their club’s rotation this year.

3. What’s next for the Rays and Marlins?

While teams such as the White Sox, A’s, Angels, Cubs, and Nationals all figure to sell to some degree or other over the coming days, last night’s sellers have been perhaps the two most active sell-side clubs on the trade market this year. In addition to last night’s trade of Puk, the Marlins jumped the market all the way back in May to ship All-Star infielder Luis Arraez to San Diego in the season’s very first blockbuster, while the Rays already shipped out right-handers Aaron Civale and Phil Maton earlier this month. With all eyes on Florida in the days leading up to the deadline, both clubs have plenty more pieces to move.

Miami southpaw Tanner Scott, the club’s closer and a free agent after the 2024 campaign, has long appeared to be a virtual lock to be moved given his 1.21 ERA and the Marlins’ clear willingness to part ways with short-term pieces. A pair of longer-term pieces have gotten more recent buzz in the rumor mill lately, as both 2022 All-Star Jazz Chisholm Jr. and outfielder Bryan De La Cruz have come up in trade talks. The Pirates appear to be in on both players, as reports have indicated they’ve had “exploratory” talks regarding Chisholm and are also scouting De La Cruz. The Rays, by contrast, are less certain to auction off their assets, but right-hander Zach Eflin and third baseman Isaac Paredes have both reportedly drawn interest in recent days, with the Astros seemingly in on both players. Littell has also been a rumored trade candidate, and Tampa Bay could move at least one reliever from the ’pen.

With the trade deadline just five days away, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Is the trade market heating up?

The slow build up to the trade deadline has continued into the early part of this week, but it’s possible things are finally starting to heat up. According to Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun Times, White Sox GM Chris Getz believes the trade market has “come alive” in recent days with “more meaningful” conversations. Getz added that while he expects most deals to get done closer to the deadline, he “wouldn’t be surprised” if some trades started to occur as soon as today. Getz, of course, has plenty of say in what happens this summer as the baseball operations leader of one of the league’s few true sellers. The White Sox have stars Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert Jr. to dangle, but those are hardly their only trade chips. Names like Erick Fedde, Tommy Pham, Michael Kopech, Paul DeJong, John Brebbia, Chris Flexen, and Mike Clevinger will all be in play in the coming days.

2. Kershaw to make season debut:

One day after Giants lefty Robbie Ray dominated at Dodger Stadium across five innings of work, striking out eight and allowing just one run, the Dodgers will welcome a Cy Young winning southpaw of their own back from the IL for his season debut. Longtime franchise face Clayton Kershaw has been sidelined all year after undergoing shoulder surgery during the offseason, but he’s set to be activated to face San Francisco ace Logan Webb (3.59 ERA). The Dodgers will need to make corresponding moves on both the 40-man and active rosters to bring Kershaw back into the fold prior to this afternoon’s game.

One of the most decorated pitchers in MLB history, Kershaw sports a combined 2.40 ERA and 2.77 FIP in 403 appearances over the last 15 years. During that time, the lefty has made ten All-Star appearances, won three Cy Young awards, and been elected the NL MVP in 2014 while never posting an ERA higher than 3.55. He’ll look to bring that ace production to a Dodgers rotation in need of pitching depth following injuries to Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Walker Buehler.

3. A’s activate veteran ahead of deadline:

The Athletics are one of the league’s few obvious sellers. While most of the attention has been focused on the club’s controllable trade chips like closer Mason Miller and outfielder Brent Rooker, the club figures to market an assortment of rental players to clubs looking for cheaper upgrades ahead of the deadline as well. One such rental is veteran righty Ross Stripling. A’s manager Mark Kotsay told reporters last night that Stripling will be activated from 15-day injured list today to take the ball against the Angels (via MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos).

Stripling, 34, has struggled to a 5.82 ERA in 11 starts with the A’s this year but sports a solid 3.99 FIP this season. He’s been plagued by a .359 average on balls in play and 56.4% strand rate that both seem likely to improve over a larger sample. Even with his struggles, Stripling could draw interest in a pitching-hungry market if he looks healthy and effective in his return from an elbow strain that has sidelined him since May.

With the trade deadline now just six days away, here are four things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:

1. Ray to make Giants debut:

Veteran left-hander Robbie Ray hasn’t pitched in more than 18 months after exiting the first start of his 2023 season with a flexor strain that ultimately required Tommy John surgery. At the time, he was a member of the Mariners, but over the winter Seattle swapped Ray to San Francisco in exchange for outfielder Mitch Haniger and righty Anthony DeSclafani. He’s continued his rehab with his new club since then, and all that work getting back to the mound will finally pay off today when Ray makes his first start in a Giants uniform against the Dodgers in L.A. in a game scheduled for 8:10pm local time.

Ray will be facing right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who is coming off the IL himself but sports a strong 3.47 ERA in 18 starts this year. The Giants will be hoping that Ray, the AL Cy Young award winner in 2021, will provide a boost and halt a potential three-game losing streak. San Francisco has dropped two straight and fallen near the back of a tight NL Wild Card chase. They now sit five games out, and five teams separate them from the Mets, who currently hold the final Wild Card spot. The Giants’ play over the next few days will be crucial with regard to their deadline approach. San Francisco will also need to make a 40-man roster move to activate Ray.

2. NL Wild Card scene and its impact on the trade deadline:

As just alluded to, the NL Wild Card hunt is at a critical juncture. The Cardinals and Mets hold the second and third spots at the moment, but each of the Padres, D-backs, Pirates, Cubs, Reds, Giants and Nationals are within 5.5 games. The Cubs and Nats both still plan to operate primarily as sellers, but the direction isn’t as clear for everyone else in the mix. A series of three to four straight losses for any of these clubs would have massive deadline ramifications. For some clubs, a decision may come even sooner. The Reds are already open to moving some of their veteran relievers even as they look to hang around in the race, but a loss today could drop them 5.5 games out of the postseason picture. Every game carries heightened significance right now, creating a mini-playoff effect and leading to ample scoreboard watching.

3. Yelich exits with injury:

Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich is in the midst of a resurgent season at the plate, sporting a career-best 18.4% strikeout rate and an excellent .315/.406/.504 slash line (156 wRC+) in 73 games this year. That’s been a huge part of Milwaukee’s success, but now it seems the club may need to go without its best hitter for some time after he exited yesterday’s win over the Cubs due to back tightness. According to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy, manager Pat Murphy told reporters after the game that Yelich “could be” due for a trip to the injured list. Frustrating as the loss of Yelich would surely be, a silver lining for the Brewers would be the fact that the club is relatively flush in quality outfield options with Garrett Mitchell, Jackson Chourio, and Sal Frelick all seeing regular playing time at the moment and Blake Perkins currently in a bench role.

4. Check out today’s episode of the MLBTR Podcast!

This week’s installment of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is a particularly fun one, as host Darragh McDonald is joined by MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco for a two-hour megapod during which they discuss the coming trade deadline. Discussed within are not only some of the league’s most obvious buyers (Yankees, Orioles) and sellers (Marlins, White Sox), but also some of the teams facing some tough decisions this summer like the Rays and Blue Jays. The episode is currently live on both Spotify and Apple Music, and will be posted here on the site later this morning!

With what figures to be a very busy week around the league ahead, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. One week until the deadline:

The trade deadline is now just one week away, and things have been fairly quiet on the transaction front to this point. Just four trades of players who weren’t already designated for assignment have been executed so far in the month of July: right-hander Aaron Civale to the Brewers, outfielder Austin Slater to the Reds, right-hander Phil Maton to the Mets, and right-hander Hunter Harvey to the Royals. That relative dearth of activity on the trade market should change quickly as teams currently on the fence between buying and selling begin to make their final decisions, as the Cubs did yesterday. Forty-nine of MLBTR’s Top 50 Trade Candidates For The 2024 MLB Trade Deadline are still on the board, and while not all of them will change teams over the next week, it’s likely that many of them will.

2. Bryant to be activated:

As noted by JustBaseball’s Patrick Lyons yesterday, Rockies manager Bud Black told reporters that $182MM man Kris Bryant could be activated from the injured list as soon as today after a strong showing at Triple-A on Sunday where he went 5-for-5 with a home run. Bryant, 32, has spent nearly two months on the shelf due to what was initially believed to be rib soreness but eventually turned out to be a strain of his internal oblique muscle.

Now in year three of his Rockies tenure, it’s been a frustrating few years for both Bryant and the Rockies as he’s dealt with a number of injuries and struggled when healthy enough to take the field. In a combined 146 games with Colorado, Bryant has posted a wRC+ of just 86 with a .247/.331/.385 slash line in 617 trips to the plate.

3. MLBTR Chat Today:

With the All-Star break and amateur draft now behind us, the attention of MLB clubs has now turned to the coming trade deadline on July 30. If you have any questions about your favorite team’s direction ahead of what should be a very busy week, or perhaps a trade idea you have in the back of your mind, MLBTR’s Steve Adams is holding a live chat with readers at 3pm CT today. You can click here to ask a question in advance, join in live once the chat begins, or read the transcript once the chat is complete. (Note: link to chat has been updated to include the correct link; apologies for the error)