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Archives for July 2025

Reds’ Carson Spiers To Undergo UCL Surgery

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TODAY: Sheldon clarifies that it isn’t yet known if Spiers will need a full Tommy John procedure or an internal brace surgery.  If the latter, Spiers’ recovery timeline could be in the 12-13 month range, increasing his chances of a return before the 2026 season is over.

JULY 26: Reds right-hander Carson Spiers will undergo a Tommy John surgery that will end his 2025 season and cost him all or virtually all of the 2026 season, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reports.  Spiers hasn’t pitched since April due to a shoulder impingement, and a minor league rehab assignment that began in early July was cut short when Spiers experienced some biceps soreness.  However, an MRI revealed the much worse news of UCL damage, and the righty now faces a lengthy stint on the sidelines.

Spiers has at least been amassing Major League service time while on the Reds’ IL, and he’ll continue to do so during his time on the 60-day injured list in 2026.  Given the usual 13-15 month recovery timeline for Tommy John patients, the timing of the surgery makes it unlikely that he’ll be back on a big league mound until the 2027 season, unless Spiers can perhaps get back in time for a peace-of-mind outing or two at the very end of the 2026 campaign.

Now in his third MLB season, Spiers was an undrafted free agent from the 2020 class of players who were somewhat left in limbo when the pandemic reduced the 2020 draft to just five rounds.  He made it to the Show for a few appearances for Cincinnati in September 2023, and then played a larger role for the Reds last year, tossing 90 2/3 innings while starting 10 of 22 games.  His abbreviated 2025 campaign consisted of two starts in three appearance, and 13 1/3 innings.

When not starting, Spiers has also operated as a long reliever, bulk pitcher, and a piggyback type of pitcher, so his ability to eat innings was helpful even if the results were shaky.  Spiers has a 5.69 ERA over his 117 career frames in the majors, as well as a 19.3% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate.  His career Triple-A numbers are a little better, and inflated by the 5.94 ERA he posted in 16 2/3 frames with Triple-A Louisville this year during his rehab assignment, when Spiers was naturally focused on getting comfortable and healthy rather than pure performance.

Mets Designate Jose Castillo For Assignment

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The Mets have designated left-hander Jose Castillo for assignment, per a club announcement. The move makes room for the addition of lefty Gregory Soto to the active roster. Soto was acquired from the Orioles on Friday.

Castillo, 29, debuted with the Padres all the way back in 2018. That rookie year saw him pitch to a 3.29 ERA with a 2.64 FIP in 38 1/3 innings of work while striking out opponents at a 34.7% clip. It was an impressive showing, but injuries and ineffectiveness limited Castillo to just three total outings in the majors over the next six seasons. He surrendered five runs on four walks while striking out three in two innings of work during those outings, though he posted decent numbers at the Triple-A level with a 4.32 ERA in 125 innings of work with a 29.1% strikeout rate during that time.

The lefty eventually resurfaced this year and has split his time between the Mets and Diamondbacks. His five outings in Arizona went quite poorly, as he surrendered eight runs on ten hits and three walks while striking out just three in 6 1/3 frames, but since joining the Mets back in May he’s looked much better with a 2.19 ERA and 2.76 FIP in 14 appearances. Castillo has already been designated for assignment and outrighted off New York’s roster once this season. He’ll now go through the waiver process again unless the Mets are able to work out a trade involving him prior to Thursday’s trade deadline. If he goes unclaimed on waivers once again, he’ll have the opportunity to either accept an outright assignment to the minor leagues from the Mets or elect free agency, at which point he would be free to sign with any of the league’s 30 clubs on a fresh contract.

Replacing Castillo on the roster is Soto who the Mets dealt a pair of prospects to Baltimore in order to acquire. The southpaw has a 3.96 ERA in 36 1/3 innings of work for the Orioles this year, with a 27.5% strikeout rate and a 3.28 FIP. A two time All-Star with the Tigers in 2021 and ’22, Soto was shipped to the Phillies prior to the 2023 season and has struggled during his time with Philadelphia and Baltimore since then, with a lackluster 4.53 ERA across the 2023 and ’24 seasons despite a tidy 3.63 FIP. The Mets will surely help that they can help him return to his prior All-Star caliber form so he can join the late-inning mix alongside closer Edwin Diaz, but even if Soto is little more than a league average middle relief arm for the club he’ll offer much-needed depth to a bullpen that has lost a half dozen relievers to the injured list already.

Rangers Interested In High-Leverage Reliever, Right-Handed Bat

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Things have been looking up in Texas recently. The Rangers have won five straight games, 14 of their last 20, and 26 of their last 41. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the club’s front office is “moving closer to adding than subtracting.” For a club that’s just half a game out of a Wild Card spot as things stand, it would be somewhat shocking if they opted to sell at this point. Should the Rangers commit to buying, Rosenthal went on to highlight two areas of need for the roster: a high-leverage reliever and a right-handed bat.

Both are reasonable needs for the club to focus on. The Texas bullpen has actually been quite strong this year overall, but their recent loss of Chris Martin to the injured list created some uncertainty at the back end. What’s more, the Rangers don’t have a locked in closer at the moment, meaning they could be a strong fit for a number of veteran closing options who could hit the market like Ryan Helsley of the Cardinals, Raisel Iglesias of the Braves, or perhaps even Kenley Jansen of the Angels should Anaheim decide to sell this summer. A longer-term addition like Twins closer Jhoan Duran or Rays closer Pete Fairbanks could also make plenty of sense for a club that is sure to be attempting to compete for years to come, though those names would inherently come with a higher acquisition cost than a player ticketed for free agency this winter.

As for a right-handed bat, the Rangers’ offense has been lackluster all season. Corey Seager has been elite as always, Josh Smith is reliable as ever as a super-utility bat, and the duo of Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford have turned in above average results in the outfield. Everyone else has fallen short of expectations this year, however, and while some veterans like Marcus Semien have managed to turn things around enough over the past two months to bring their season-long numbers up to a respectable level the club still has the sixth-worst offense in baseball on the season. Those struggles have been most pronounced against left-handed pitching, which perhaps isn’t a surprise given that Seager, Carter, and Smith all bat lefty. Against southpaws, the Rangers have produced a wRC+ of just 75. That’s better than only the Pirates and Rockies amongst all MLB clubs.

Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez is the best right-handed hitter available this summer, and given the lackluster performance of Josh Jung (91 wRC+) at the hot corner this year the veteran could make plenty of sense for Texas. The bidding for Suarez figures to be contentious, however, with a number of clubs having been connected to the infielder already. Switch-hitting Twins utility man Willi Castro, Orioles outfielder Ramon Laureano, and Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz would all be strong additions and are rumored to be varying levels of available. Any of those players could fit the Rangers’ roster given the below average production they’ve received from the majority of their lineup, though it would be a surprise to see the club bench someone like Adolis Garcia to make room for a player like Laureano in the lineup.

Of course, any conversation about the Rangers buying must include reference to their precarious position regarding the luxury tax. Club ownership was clearly motivated to keep the club under the tax entering this season, and as things stand the Rangers are just over $6MM below the first threshold of the tax according to RosterResource. That doesn’t include future incentives and escalators in the contracts of existing players, meaning the Rangers have very little room to maneuver at this point. Selling a piece or two to clear more budget space could be an option, though any piece of significance dealt would have to be weighed against the production lost by trading them. Another option could be trading with teams willing to pay down their players’ salary, but that could be complicated by the fact that any deal where the selling club kicks in cash would presumably involve a much higher asking price than if the Rangers took on the player’s salary entirely.

Joe Kelly To Throw For Dodgers

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Right-hander Joe Kelly didn’t sign anywhere this offseason, despite expressing a desire to pitch this year. Per Robert Murray of FanSided, Kelly is going to throw for the Dodgers soon to see if that club is willing to give him a deal.

Kelly, 37, pitched for the Dodgers from 2019 to 2021 and then again from the 2023 deadline until the end of 2024. The first stint was more successful than the second one. From 2019 to 2021, Kelly had a 3.59 earned run average over 105 1/3 innings for the Dodgers. He struck out 26.9% of batters faced and got grounders at a 59.9% clip.

In 2023, he only tossed 10 1/3 innings for the Dodgers, spending some time on the injured list due to forearm inflammation. Last year, right shoulder injuries put him on the IL multiple times. He pitched 32 innings with a 4.78 ERA, 24.5% strikeout rate and 47.1% ground ball rate. That shoulder prevented him from pitching in the postseason.

Though he wants to come back this year, it doesn’t appear as though he’s given himself a lot of bargaining leverage. He told Foul Territory last month that “If I come back healthy, I’m only playing for one team, and that’s the Dodgers.”

Since he hasn’t been signed, it doesn’t appear as though the Dodgers have been especially interested, though they may be more open to it now. They have recently placed Tanner Scott, Michael Kopech and Evan Phillips on the IL. Phillips had Tommy John surgery and is done for the year. Kopech had meniscus surgery and is going to be out a while. Scott seems to just have some elbow inflammation but he’s in the early days of his IL stint. Brusdar Graterol still hasn’t pitched this year after undergoing shoulder surgery last year. Blake Treinen just returned from a lengthy IL stint due to forearm tightness.

Those injuries have put the Dodgers in the market for bullpen upgrades ahead of this year’s deadline. Kelly wouldn’t be a sure thing due to his age, recent shoulder troubles and the fact that he hasn’t pitched this year. Even if he signed, he would likely be sent for a ramp-up period in the minors. He wouldn’t solve their bullpen issues and he won’t be the only move they make in that department, but you can never have too much pitching and he wants to play for them. He should be attainable for a low-cost deal, perhaps even a minor league pact.

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

Dipoto: Mariners Will Be “Aggressive” In Search For High-End Relief Help

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The Mariners kicked off deadline season by trading for Diamondbacks first baseman Josh Naylor, but it appears the club is far from done adding to its roster this summer. They remain closely tied to Arizona third baseman Eugenio Suarez in the rumor mill, and beyond that GM Jerry Dipoto himself spoke about the club’s needs in a recent interview on SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio. Dipoto made clear that a priority for the club is adding a high-leverage reliever to the bullpen and went on to note that he expects the club to be “as aggressive as anyone” in that corner of the market.

That may seem like something of a surprise at first glance, given that Seattle boasts an impressive back-of-the-bullpen duo of Andres Munoz (1.35 ERA) and Matt Brash (1.04 ERA). While that pair is arguably the best one-two punch in all of baseball, the rest of the Mariners’ relief corps has been really quite pedestrian this season. As a whole, Seattle’s bullpen has a 3.81 ERA, good for 12th-best in the majors. Their FIP has been even less impressive, with a 4.06 figure that places then 17th among all big league clubs. Gabe Speier and Eduard Bazardo are arguably the club’s only trustworthy relief arms behind Munoz and Brash, so adding another leverage option to the bullpen who can push those two into middle relief would make plenty of sense.

As is to be expected, Dipoto did not mention any specific targets. There are plenty of interesting high-leverage arms who could make sense for Seattle to take a look at this summer. If the club is still intent on adding a player like Suarez to their offense in addition to bolstering their bullpen, perhaps adding a rental arm could be less taxing on their farm system. Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley is surely the best rental reliever available, but Twins lefty Danny Coulombe or perhaps even Braves closer Raisel Iglesias could also be intriguing candidates.

On the other hand, a controllable addition to the bullpen to join Munoz and Brash would be beneficial given that the Mariners surely hope to keep their current window of contention open for quite some time, and budgetary constraints left them unable to pursue high-priced additions this offseason. Someone like Pirates right-hander David Bednar, either Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax of the Twins, or perhaps Pete Fairbanks of the Rays would come with mutliple seasons of control (two in the case of Bednar and Fairbanks, three in the case of Jax and Duran).

Regardless of whether the club’s relief addition is a controllable piece or someone who will reach free agency this year, another reliever would be a major asset to the club’s hopes of winning in the postseason this year. Having a third shut-down relief arm to pair with Munoz and Brash could give the Mariners a three-headed monster their starters can reliably pass the baton to during the playoffs to shut down the opposing offense. And given the vaunted crop of starters the Mariners have developed, rival batters would be hard pressed to score runs off that sort of elite run prevention in a short series.

Reds Seeking Middle-Of-The-Order Bat, Bullpen Upgrades

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The trade deadline is now just a few days away and the Reds are looking to buy. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that Cincinnati is looking for a middle-of-the-order bat as well as bullpen upgrades.

It’s understandable that the Reds would buy. They haven’t made the playoffs in a full season since 2013. They are currently 55-50, just one game back of the final Wild Card spot in the National League. That spot is currently being held by the Padres, who will face some challenges the rest of the way. As Rosenthal notes, the Friars have a tight budget and have traded away a lot of prospects in recent years, which puts that club in an awkward spot. They are apparently considering all sorts of creative solutions, including things like trading Dylan Cease while simultaneously acquiring starters from other clubs.

A few of the clubs just behind the Reds in the standings are the Cardinals and Diamondbacks. The latter club has already started a selloff, having flipped Josh Naylor to the Mariners and Randal Grichuk to the Royals. Trades of Eugenio Suárez, Zac Gallen and/or Merrill Kelly are likely in the next few days, in addition to a few others. The Cards seem to be leaning towards selling as well. In short, the Reds could have a decent shot if they’re aggressive.

A middle-of-the-order bat would be a sensible add for the Reds. The team’s offense has not been a strength this year. The team has a combined .248/.321/.395 batting line and 96 wRC+, the latter figure being in the bottom third of major league teams. No one on the team has more than 18 home runs. Elly De La Cruz, who has 18, is the only guy with more than 11. That’s despite the Reds playing in one of the most homer-friendly ballparks in the league.

Adding a bit of thump would therefore be a nice boost. They have already been connected to old friend Suárez, who has 36 homers already this year, twice as many as Cincinnati’s current team leader. There are some other sluggers who could be available.

Taylor Ward has 24 homers on the year and the Angels have fallen to 5.5 games back of a playoff spot. The Halos also have Jo Adell and his 21 long balls, though he’s cheaper than Ward and controlled for an extra year, so he should be harder to pry loose. Brandon Lowe has 19 homers in just 86 games and Yandy Díaz has 18 this year. The Rays are reportedly growing more open to the idea of flipping one or both of those two. It’s been speculated that the Athletics could be willing to part with Tyler Soderstrom, though it would surely take a haul to get him. Marcell Ozuna is available but has been in a slump for about two months. It’s a somewhat similar story for Ryan O’Hearn. Luis Robert Jr. is out there but his production and health are both mercurial. Mickey Moniak has somewhat quietly hit 16 homers this year. He’s controlled for two more seasons but the Rockies just traded Ryan McMahon, who was signed through 2027, so they should be open to flipping Moniak as well.

The Reds will have some flexibility in where they add. Gavin Lux has bounced between left field, second base and third base this year. Noelvi Marte has mostly been at the hot corner but has dabbled in right field lately. Spencer Steer is the regular at first but he can play the outfield corners. The club also doesn’t have an everyday designated hitter, giving manager Terry Francona some creative license in setting the lineup.

It’s unclear how much financial wiggle room the club will have. Their offseason moves were fairly mild. They extended a $21.05MM qualifying offer to Nick Martinez, which he accepted. The rest of the winter, they only spent a combined $7.5MM to bring in Austin Hays and Scott Barlow on one-year deals. Some of the aforementioned trade candidates still have $5MM or so to be paid on this year’s salaries. If that’s too much for the Reds, perhaps they could ask a trading partner to eat some money, though the Reds would then have to forfeit a bit more prospect capital.

The bullpen is also a logical target area for the Reds. Cincinnati relievers have a collective 3.83 earned run average this year, which puts them 13th in the majors. Emilio Pagán is the club’s closer and he has a strong 2.70 earned run average and 30.4% strikeout rate. However, he also has a .186 batting average on balls in play and 82.8% strand rate, neither of which are sustainable. His 3.83 FIP and 3.02 SIERA point to him being a solid reliever but not the ideal lock-down closer a contending club wants in the playoffs.

There are dozens of relievers available at this time of year, many of whom recently featured on MLBTR’s Top 50 list. The two top relievers on that list are David Bednar and Ryan Helsley, though those pitchers are currently rostered by Cincinnati’s division rivals. That might make it hard to line up a deal but there are lots of other options, such as Seranthony Domínguez, Danny Coulombe and old friend Raisel Iglesias.

Photo courtesy of Sam Greene, Imagn Images

Royals Place Kris Bubic On IL With Rotator Cuff Strain

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11:46am: The Royals have announced that Bubic is being placed on the 15-day injured list with a left rotator cuff strain. Rogers reports that the lefty will undergo further testing to determine next steps. In the meantime, the Royals have recalled right-hander Jonathan Bowlan to replace Bubic on the active roster.

10:12am: The Royals appear to be inching more closely to buying than selling given their recent acquisition of Diamondbacks outfielder Randal Grichuk, but talented southpaw Kris Bubic has been a much speculated-upon trade candidate this summer nonetheless. Recent indications have been that the Royals aren’t inclined to part ways with the lefty, and that may be even more true now. Bubic exited his start yesterday after just 2 2/3 innings of work, and MLB.com’s Anne Rogers relays that Bubic told reporters last night that “physically, something’s not right” after his most recent outing. Bubic added that he’s been battling shoulder stiffness throughout “a good portion of the season.” It’s unclear if a trip to the injured list is in the cards for the lefty, who told reporters (including Rogers) that he would see how he feels this morning.

If Bubic is indeed dealing with an injury that requires a trip to the shelf, it would be be a huge blow to the club’s already somewhat remote chances of making it to the postseason this year. The left-hander has been a revelation this season as a member of the rotation, with a 2.55 ERA and 2.85 FIP across 20 starts. Those sterling numbers even after this latest difficult outing, where his velocity was down and he walked four batters against just one strikeout while surrendering four runs (three earned).

If the Royals were to sneak into the postseason, a rotation fronted by Bubic, Seth Lugo, and (should he return from the injured list this year) Cole Ragans would be formidable enough to keep them in any series. With Ragans already dealing with a rotator cuff strain and Bubic now seemingly facing some sort of injury as well, however, it could be hard for the club to justify surrendering long-term assets in order to augment the club further.

On the other hand, Bubic stood as perhaps the club’s single most valuable trade asset if they were to move into the sell lane. These injury questions would only serve to worry potential suitors for Bubic’s services, and it’s hard to imagine the club selling low on such a talented player given that he’s controlled through the end of the 2026 campaign. Perhaps the news regarding Bubic would make the club more open to parting ways with Lugo, who has a player option for 2026 that he’s very likely to decline. That could be especially true if Bubic undergoes testing that reveals a serious injury that will sideline him for quite some time, but until more information about Bubic’s status is available it’s difficult to do anything beyond speculate.

Even if Bubic is out for an extended period, it appears that a Lugo trade would hardly be guaranteed. Lugo is eligible to receive a Qualifying Offer following the 2025 campaign, meaning the club could recoup value from him even if he walks in free agency this winter. The Royals have also expressed at least some level of interest in keeping last year’s AL Cy Young award runner-up in the fold beyond the life of his current contract, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see them try and work out a new contract with him as they did with right-hander Michael Wacha last winter.

Indeed, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported this morning that the club is currently showing “little interest” in dealing Lugo and “would love” to ink an extension with the veteran righty. That stance surely comes from prior to Bubic’s difficult start last night, however, and there’s no telling how the club’s thinking could be changed by the left-hander’s status until more is known about the severity of the issue bothering him.

Blue Jays Place Alejandro Kirk On 7-Day Concussion IL

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The Blue Jays are placing catcher Alejandro Kirk on the 7-day concussion injured list this morning, according to a report from Arden Zwelling of Sportnet. Catcher Ali Sanchez is being selected to the roster to replace Kirk. No corresponding 40-man move was necessary for Sanchez, as the Blue Jays had an open spot on their 40-man roster to work with.

Kirk took a foul ball off of his face mask during the second inning of yesterday’s game, and evidently he was shaken up enough by the incident that the Blue Jays have opted to place him on the injured list for the next week. The severity of Kirk’s symptoms aren’t known at this point, and it’s unclear if he’s ticketed for a lengthier stay on the injured list than a minimum stint of seven days. Regardless, losing Kirk for any amount of time is a major blow. The 26-year-old has been in the midst of a resurgent season where he’s managed to combine the above-average offense he offered earlier in his career with the stalwart defense he’s provided in more recent seasons. He’s slashing .304/.361/.413 (117 wRC+) across 88 games for Toronto this year and he’s received top-of-the-scale marks from advanced metrics on all aspects of his defense behind the plate.

With Kirk out of commission, the Blue Jays will have to turn to a combination of Tyler Heineman and Sanchez. Toronto’s strong play in recent weeks has afforded the club the best record in not just the AL East, but all of baseball. With a 6.5-game lead in the division over the Yankees, the Jays have the benefit of some breathing room as they wait for Kirk to recover. It also surely helps ease any concerns about Kirk’s status that Heineman has enjoyed a breakout season as the primary backup to Kirk this year. In 37 games, the 34-year-old has posted a sensational .330/.394/.495 slash line (149 wRC+) to go with strong defensive numbers behind the plate. Heineman can’t reasonably be expected to keep that production up forever given his sky-high .391 BABIP, but even a major step back would still make him a worthy fill-in option for the Jays while Kirk is out.

As for Sanchez, it will be the 28-year-old’s second stint with the Blue Jays this year after he appeared in five games earlier this season. Sanchez has never offered much production with the bat, slashing just .176/.217/.222 over 43 career games in the majors since he made his debut back in 2020. Sanchez makes up for that poor offensive production with well-respected defense behind the plate, however, and should be a serviceable short-term backup for Heineman for the time being.

With Toronto clearly in win-now position and the trade deadline just days away, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Jays could consider making a move behind the plate if they think Kirk could be facing an extended absence. Old friend Danny Jansen is rumored to be available in the event that the Rays decide to sell off in the coming days and is already quite familiar with many of Toronto’s pitchers after seven seasons in the organization, though such an acquisition would likely only make sense if the Blue Jays were anticipating being without Kirk for quite some time. If Kirk can return to action in relatively short order, upgrading other parts of the roster such as the starting rotation should surely be a better use of the club’s resources.

Royals Place Jac Caglianone On 10-Day Injured List

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The Royals announced this morning that they’ve placed outfielder Jac Caglianone on the 10-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain. His active roster spot will go to outfielder Randal Grichuk, who the club acquired from the Diamondbacks last night.

Caglianone, 22, was the sixth overall selection in last year’s draft and entered the 2025 season as one of the sport’s most well-regarded prospects. He tore up the minor leagues and after slashing .319/.370/.723 in 12 games at the Triple-A level found himself promoted to the majors on June 3 of this season as the Royals hoped he could offer a shot in the arm for their lagging offense. That’s not how things have played out so far. Caglianone has hit a paltry .147/.205/.280 (30 wRC+) in the first 41 games of his big league career. While his 21.1% strikeout rate isn’t outlandish, he’s walking at a clip of just 5.0% with a shockingly low .153 BABIP. He’s chipped in five home runs, but his .133 ISO is still rather low, especially for a slugger.

There is some reason for optimism in Caglianone’s numbers. That ghastly BABIP is certain to come up with time, and despite his poor power production he has a 12.1% barrel rate that suggests he should be able to produce more power in the future even if he retains his current approach. A less free-swinging approach at the plate would certainly help bring up his on-base percentage, but even as he is Caglianone figures to have a future as a valuable slugger. That future is on hold now, however, as a hamstring strain will leave him out of commission for the foreseeable future. A timeline for Caglianone’s return has not yet been established, but hamstring strains can often take weeks or even months to recover from depending on severity.

That means the Royals may not be able to rely on Caglianone as part of their lineup until September if the strain is severe, and even a more mild one would likely leave him sidelined until mid-August. Fortunately, Kansas City did bring Grichuk into the fold last night. He’s set to patrol right field and bat sixth in today’s lineup, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see him get everyday reps with the Royals now that he’s moved onto a team without much outfield talent. Grichuk’s 99 wRC+ this year may not have been enough to get regular playing time when competing with players like Corbin Carroll and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. but it still immediately makes him the most productive outfielder on the Royals’ roster in terms of offense. Barring further additions, it seems likely that Grichuk should have plenty of opportunities to get regular playing time down the stretch now that he’s in Kansas City and that should only be more true with Caglianone on the shelf.

Dodgers Interested In Harrison Bader

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While the Dodgers are widely expected to focus their trade deadline on pursuing high-leverage help in the bullpen, they could also stand to add another bat given the paltry production they’ve received from Michael Conforto (79 wRC+) in left field. They’ve previously been connected to Cardinals super utility man Brendan Donovan, and this morning USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that Los Angeles has interest in another outfield option: Harrison Bader of the Twins.

Bader, 31, has enjoyed his strongest offensive season in years after signing in Minnesota on a one-year deal this past offseason. He’s slashed a strong .250/.332/.435 (115 wRC+) in 92 games for the Twins this year with 12 home runs, nine stolen bases, and excellent outfield defense. The gifted defender has typically been deployed in center field throughout his career, but has primarily played left field this year in deference to Twins franchise face Byron Buxton, an elite center fielder in his own right. Andy Pages is currently patrolling center field for the Dodgers and is performing well on both offense (126 wRC+) and defense, but Bader’s elite glove could push Pages into a corner and Conforto to the bench if acquired.

The addition of Bader would help bolster a rare weak spot in the Dodgers’ daunting lineup. For all the club’s star power and overall offensive ability, its outfield is pedestrian overall. Dodgers outfielders have posted a combined wRC+ of 102 this year (12th in the majors), with 3.3 fWAR (16th in the majors). Adding Bader’s excellent glove and solid bat to the mix would go a long way to help make up for the offensive malaise key contributors like Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez, and more recently Freddie Freeman have found themselves in at various points in the season.

Of course, Bader is far from the only player who could theoretically be an upgrade for the Dodgers in the outfield. As previously mentioned, they’ve already been connected to Donovan. A number of other intriguing outfielders are expected to be available this summer as well, including Ramon Laureano of the Orioles, Luis Robert Jr. of the White Sox, and Jesus Sanchez of the Marlins. Laureano and Robert (as well as Bader himself) would be particularly strong fits given that their right-handed bats can serve as a solid complement to the lefty Conforto, although even a left-handed outfielder like Sanchez or Mike Tauchman of the White Sox would offer a boost to the club’s production on the grass.

As for Bader, the Dodgers are the first team he’s been explicitly connected to but Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reported yesterday that he’s expected to have a “solid market” this summer as the Twins dangle their rental pieces. Teams like the Phillies, Padres, and Royals are in clear need of outfield help, and perhaps even clubs like the Yankees, Reds and Blue Jays with heavily left-handed outfield options could use another right-handed complement to those existing players as well.

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