Anthony Franco
- Hey everyone, hope you've enjoyed your week!
- Crunched on time today for obvious reasons so I need to keep this right at an hour. Apologies in advance if I don't get to your question. Let's get rolling
Ewitkows
- Do the Brewers just stand pat? Ortiz has been better and Durbin has been a spark plug at 3B.
Bob
- I think the Brewers should offer a package of some of their top prospects for Oneil Cruz because they could get the most out of him. Is that reasonable?
Daniel H
- Do the Brewers pull the trigger on a 3B/1B power bat, or should I just keep dreaming and have my heart broken again at the deadline.
Anthony Franco
- I lean towards Milwaukee being pretty quiet. Can't see Pittsburgh trading Cruz in division, and I'd be pretty surprised if they did that at all given how badly they need offense
- Durbin has solidified third, doubt they're finding a better shortstop than Ortiz on this market. They make sense for O'Hearn or Josh Bell, I guess, but they'll get Rhys back at some point as well
- Get a better utility infielder than MOnasterio, maybe a rotational outfield bat depending on Frelick's timetable. I don't know that they need to go crazy beyond that. They're already really good and pretty deep everywhere
Hels Bells
- What do the Cardinals get for Ryan Helsley? Could they pry Bobby Miller from the Dodgers? And who will be the top suitors for him?
Anthony Franco
- I think they'd do better than Miller on Helsley, though I get the appeal of trying to take a flier on Miller since the velocity is still elite. Helsley's still the top rental reliever for me, though his value is down from when they should've moved him over the winter
Ken
- On August 1, Jeffrey Springs is playing for whom?
Anthony Franco
- I'll take the Giants
Duran
- At first glance, the Red Sox rejection of the Cease/Salas/prospect trade offer for Duran seems like lunacy. A high-strikeout ace and a blue chip prospect for a guy having a down year that they're running out of space for? But looking at Salas, he’s slashed just .221/.305/.347 over his three years in the minors. Why do prospect outlets rank him so highly? And is the league as a whole just more pessimistic on him than the major prospect outlets?
Anthony Franco
- He was a huge amateur talent and you can kind of write off the poor offensive numbers with how aggressively the Padres moved him. Most 18-year-old catchers are in high school or rookie ball and San Diego had him in High-A (probably too aggressively)
- The back injury is a real concern though. I agree that if the Red Sox actually thought Salas was one of the top 30 prospects in MLB, they'd be willing to give up Duran for him and Cease
Yanks
- What’s your view on the McMahon trade? With Suarez on the block, this feels like a major disappointment
Anthony Franco
- I'm not a huge RyMac fan in general at this point, but only one team can get Suárez and the prospect cost would've been higher than it was on McMahon
- Argument that he fits the ballpark a little better than Suárez does as a lefty bat. I wouldn't be super enthused about taking his entire contract, but he's better than Peraza/Vivas and he's a more sensible Suárez fallback for them than Ke'Bryan Hayes would have been
Taj Boyale?
- Does Joe Boyle get the rotation slot vacated by Taj? If so, will he be on any innings limit or do you think he'll hold that slot for the remainder of the season? Thanks
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Mets Acquire Gregory Soto
The Mets and Orioles announced a deal sending left-handed reliever Gregory Soto from Baltimore to New York. The O’s acquired minor league right-handers Wellington Aracena and Cameron Foster.
Soto, 30, has pitched to a 3.96 ERA this season and carries a 3.91 mark dating all the way back to 2021. He’s playing the season on a $5.35MM salary and is a pure free agent at season’s end. He still has about $1.87MM of his salary yet to be paid out, and since the Mets are third-time luxury tax payors in the top penalty bracket, there’ll be a 110% tax on that sum. That brings the total financial expenditure to about $3.925MM.
Armed with a four-seamer that averages 97.1 mph and a sinker that’s sitting 96.7 mph, Soto can miss bats in bunches but struggles to command his sizzling repertoire. He’s fanned 27.5% of his opponents this year but also issued walks at an 11.3% clip that’s pretty well aligned with his career mark.
Still, Soto has avoided too much damage from righties, and lefties may as well not even bother stepping into the box (.138/.271/.276). He’ll give a Mets club that has been focused on adding at least one lefty to its bullpen a potent weapon against divisional foes like Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Matt Olson down the stretch, to say nothing of potential key matchups against prominent lefties like Shohei Ohtani or Kyle Tucker in the postseason.
The Mets opened the season with lefties A.J. Minter and Danny Young locked into key bullpen roles. Both required season-ending surgery in May — Minter to repair a torn lat and Young to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament. They’ve since re-signed Brooks Raley, who was rehabbing from his own Tommy John surgery but is now back in the big league ’pen. Soto now adds a second lefty back into the mix as well as another flamethrower who sits 97 or better (alongside closer Edwin Diaz and setup men Ryne Stanek and Reed Garrett).
Adding to the bullpen has been president of baseball operations David Stearns’ top priority as the deadline approaches. The Mets figure to continue to explore the market for bullpen help, and Stearns has at least acknowledged that they could pursue an upgrade in center field. The Mets have a healthy rotation at the moment, but one would assume that if they could find a price to their liking, a deal for a potential playoff starter isn’t entirely off the table.
In exchange for Soto, the Orioles will add a pair of pitching prospects to their system — one (Foster) that’s close to the majors and another (Aracena) who is more of a development project but comes with a higher ceiling.
The 26-year-old Foster was a 14th-round pick out of McNeese State in 2022. He opened the season in Double-A Binghamton’s bullpen and breezed through opposing lineups, pitching to a minuscule 1.01 ERA with a 34% strikeout rate and 5% walk rate in 26 2/3 innings. It’s eye-catching production, though it bears noting that at 26, Foster was noticeably older and further along in his development than his Double-A opponents. He was recently moved up to Triple-A, where he’s pitched 3 2/3 innings and been tagged for seven runs on seven hits and three walks.
Listed at 6’5″ and 230 pounds, Foster has the frame of a power reliever. He’s never ranked among the Mets’ top prospects, though FanGraphs Eric Longenhagen noted just last month that he’s sharpened his slider since being drafted and it now grades as a plus offering. He’s a potential bullpen option and, given his recent promotion to Triple-A, could feasibly get a look as soon as this season. Foster would be Rule 5-eligible in the offseason if the Orioles leave him off the 40-man roster, so it seems there’s a good chance he’ll be selected to the 40-man after the season, if not sooner.
Aracena, 20, is widely ranked within the Mets’ top-30 prospects, sitting 14th at FanGraphs as of last month and 28th at Baseball America. There’s a wide range of opinions on him due to the hard-throwing righty’s poor command. Aracena has walked 13.2% of his A-ball opponents in 2025, and that’s actually a significant improvement over 2024, when he issued free passes to 20.2% of the batters he faced.
Shaky command notwithstanding, Aracena sits 97-98 mph with a fastball that tops out around 101 mph. Baseball America’s scouting report on him also touts a heavily used cutter that sits 93 mph and a still-developing slider with more movement that checks in a few miles per hour slower. In ranking Aracena 14th in the Mets’ system, Longenhagen praises the life on all of his pitches and adds that there “aren’t really many other big league pitchers whose stuff bears a resemblance to Aracena’s cutter-heavy mix.”
Aracena won’t turn 21 until December. In all likelihood, he’s not likely to be a big league option until at least 2027, and that’s assuming continued health and progression in his development. He’s a bullpen prospect with a lofty ceiling, however, and coupling him with another late-blooming relief prospect who’s much closer to big league readiness makes for a solid return on two-plus months of a hard-throwing Soto, to whom the Orioles were never going to extend a qualifying offer.
Soto becomes the second reliever traded from the Baltimore bullpen, joining Bryan Baker (who went to the Rays). Just as Stearns & Co. surely have more additions in store for the Mets, O’s general manager Mike Elias will have several more sell-side moves to execute in the next six days. Soto’s bullpen-mate Seranthony Dominguez, first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, center fielder Cedric Mullins and starting pitchers Charlie Morton, Zach Eflin and Tomoyuki Sugano are all free agents at season’s end.
SNY’s Andy Martino was first with the trade terms.
Red Sox Interested In Dalton Rushing
The Red Sox have interest in Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing, according to a report from Sean McAdam of MassLive. McAdam also reports that the Dodgers have had a scouting presence at Boston’s High-A affiliate in Greenville to monitor shortstop prospect Franklin Arias and left-handed prospect Brandon Clarke. It’s unknown whether a deal between the two sides is close at this time or what the exact framework of a deal involving Rushing would look like.
Rushing, 24, was a second-round pick by the Dodgers in 2022 and entered the 2025 season as a consensus top-30 prospect in the sport. He slashed a sensational .308/.424/.514 in 31 games at Triple-A Oklahoma City for the Dodgers earlier this year before being promoted to the majors back in May. He’s struggled since that promotion while serving as the backup to Will Smith, with a .216/.280/.297 slash line across 27 games. He’s struck out in a worrisome 41.5% of his plate appearances, but has looked like a capable defensive catcher and has some impressive underlying power numbers including a 12.2% barrel rate.
While Rushing may not be an immediate impact player at this point, he’d be a long-term addition with plenty of upside for the Red Sox who could make up for the loss of Kyle Teel in this past winter’s Garrett Crochet deal. In the short-term, meanwhile, he would surely be an improvement over Connor Wong as the backup to Carlos Narvaez behind the plate in Boston. Wong has had a brutal season in 2025, hitting just .144/.228/.144 across 101 plate appearances. That’s 95% worse than league average by measure of wRC+, and his weak offense has been complemented by middling defense behind the plate. Rushing would provide as much or more defensive value as compared to Wong, with a modestly more valuable bat in the short-term and plenty of long-term room for growth behind the plate both offensively and defensively.
Both prospects McAdam reports the Dodgers have been scouting are extremely well-regarded. Following the graduations of Kristian Campbell, Roman Anthony, and Marcelo Mayer earlier this year, MLB Pipeline rates Arias as the top prospect in Boston’s system while Clarke clocks in as the system’s fourth-best prospect. Baseball America, meanwhile, places Arias fourth and Clarke sixth in the system on a ranking that still includes both Anthony and Mayer. Arias is ranked 34th overall in Pipeline’s top 100 while Clarke is unranked. BA is lower on Franklin (55th overall) but views Clarke as a top-100 talent in his own right as he’s 72nd on their list.
That pair of prospects would be a substantial return if the Dodgers were able to land them both in exchange for Rushing’s services, particularly considering the fact that Rushing is largely blocked by the presence of Smith on a long-term deal. Catching talent is highly sought-after around the league, however, and with other catching-hungry teams like the Rays, Nationals, Guardians, and Mets all potentially on the lookout for help behind the plate it would surely be a competitive market if the Dodgers were to make Rushing available.
That L.A. is scouting some of Boston’s high-end prospects should not necessarily be taken as a sign that a deal is close or especially likely. McAdam suggests that the Dodgers might not be motivated to part with a player on their major league roster to acquire prospects far away from the majors. It wouldn’t be a shock if a club that was willing to offer L.A. immediate help of significance was better positioned to land Rushing, and the Guardians in particular have intriguing pieces they could dangle such as closer Emmanuel Clase and outfielder Steven Kwan, both of whom could make plenty of sense for a Dodgers club that is on the prowl for bullpen help and has gotten minimal production from Michael Conforto in left field. That’s a largely speculative connection, of course, and Rushing by himself surely wouldn’t be enough to land either one of those players.
All that said, it wouldn’t be the first time the Dodgers have dealt a blocked top prospect in exchange for long-term pieces. Prior to the 2024 season, L.A. swapped Michael Busch (and right-hander Yency Almonte) to the Cubs in a deal that landed them outfield prospect Zyhir Hope and left-handed pitching prospect Jackson Ferris. That pair of prospects were not yet consensus top-100 talents and were even farther from the majors then than Arias and Clarke are now, but the deal has certainly paid off for the Dodgers given that Hope is rated as the sport’s #31 prospect by Pipeline while Ferris clocks in at #97. Of course, it must be noted that the Busch trade was an offseason deal, and the urgency associated with the trade deadline could make the Dodgers less incentivized to focus on bolstering their farm system when they’re in the midst of defending their title as the reigning World Series champions.
Giants Exploring Rotation Market
The Giants’ rotation was a big strength early in the season but has struggled more of late. Fifth starter Hayden Birdsong was optioned to Triple-A earlier in the week, and it’s not entirely clear how they’ll fill out the rotation moving forward. President of baseball operations Buster Posey sat down with Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle to talk about a variety of topics — Giants fans, in particular, will want to check out the whole Q&A — and suggested that he’s always on the lookout to improve his team’s pitching group.
While Posey called out Carson Seymour, Carson Whisenhunt and Kai-Wei Teng as in-house options who’ve been pitching well and create some depth, he also added that “…you understand sometimes it’s going to take a lot of different guys to get you across the finish line, so you’re definitely scouring the markets.”
Giants starting pitchers rank 11th in the majors with a 3.89 ERA on the season, but that number drops to 4.49 (21st in MLB) over the past month. Birdsong’s struggles have played a major role, but both Justin Verlander and even ace Logan Webb have ERAs north of 5.00 in the past 30 days.
It’s also fair to wonder how Robbie Ray will hold up as the season wears on. The 33-year-old lefty has been excellent so far but is in his first full year back from Tommy John surgery. His 123 1/3 innings not only rank 12th in the majors but are more than double the 60 innings he pitched all of last year (majors and minors combined). He only tossed 3 1/3 innings the prior season before injuring his elbow. Breakout righty Landen Roupp has become a key rotation piece, but he’s up to 101 1/3 innings after pitching only 76 2/3 frames last year in a season spent primarily as a reliever. He pitched just 31 innings in 2023.
[Related: San Francisco Giants Trade Deadline Outlook]
Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area wrote earlier in the week — before Birdsong was optioned — that the Giants indeed seem likely to look around for a starting pitcher. Posey’s comments to Slusser only reinforce that thinking. Per Pavlovic, however, ownership doesn’t want to push the payroll too much further after absorbing the remainder of Rafael Devers’ contract in last month’s blockbuster with the Red Sox. That’s not to say they can’t or won’t augment the starting staff, but it’s fair to speculate that they might err toward pitchers with reasonably affordable salaries.
While the market offers plenty of high-priced rotation pieces (e.g. Sandy Alcantara, Mitch Keller, Charlie Morton, Seth Lugo), there are still plenty of affordable arms to be had. Jeffrey Springs’ $10.5MM salary (both this year and next) is relatively manageable, and he’d provide stability beyond the current season.
If the goal is to come in even lighter on the salary side, names like Washington’s Michael Soroka ($9MM), Milwaukee’s Nestor Cortes ($7.7MM), Tampa Bay’s Zack Littell ($5.72MM) Pittsburgh’s Andrew Heaney ($5.25MM) or Adrian Houser of the White Sox ($1.35MM) are all playing on salaries under $10MM. That’s just a speculative set of names, to be clear, but it illustrates that even the rental market has a fairly wide breadth of options of varying quality.
Bigger swings on the affordable side of the financial coin would include Twins righty Joe Ryan (a Bay Area native) or Marlins righty Edward Cabrera. Both pitchers — Ryan in particular — would come with exorbitant asking prices in terms of prospects, however. Ryan feels particularly unlikely to move; the Twins are reportedly asking for at least two top-100 prospects in exchange for either of their top relievers (Jhoan Duran or Griffin Jax), and the ask on Ryan would be even higher.
The Giants have also been poking around the market for help at second base and could look for complementary bats on the bench/in the outfield (ideally a right-handed one). We’re still less than a year into Posey’s run atop the team’s baseball operations department, but between the free-agent signings of Willy Adames and Verlander, the extension of Matt Chapman and the trade for Devers, it seems fair to expect that he’ll look to remain active. The Giants are just one game back in the NL Wild Card chase and a more distant (but still potentially surmountable) six back in the division.
Twins Release Jair Camargo
The Twins have released catcher Jair Camargo, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Minnesota designated him for assignment a few days ago when they claimed catcher Jhonny Pereda off waivers from the Athletics.
Camargo was placed on the minor league injured list on May 25th. He posted on Instagram about a month ago that he had undergone Tommy John surgery. The return timeline from that procedure can be shorter for position players than for pitchers, but throwing is very important for catchers as well. His timeline wasn’t explicitly laid out but he could be sidelined until the middle of next season. Injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers, which is why Camargo has now been released.
Originally an international signing of the Dodgers, Camargo came to the Twins as part of the Kenta Maeda deal in February of 2020. The Twins added him to their 40-man roster in November of 2023 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.
He got to make his major league debut last year, in very limited fashion. He got into five games and took seven plate appearances, with no hits, one walk and three strikeouts. He has been better in the minor leagues in the past but has struggled more recently. He first made it to Triple-A in 2023 and hit .259/.323/.503 for a 97 wRC+. Since then, he has a .220/.291/.389 line and 73 wRC+. Even when he has put up good minor league numbers, he has struck out around 30% of the time. Defensively, Baseball Prospectus ranks him as a decent blocker but a subpar framer.
With Camargo having had subpar results lately and now this extended surgery rehab ahead of him, it’s understandable that the Twins bumped him off the 40-man. It’s possible they will look to re-sign him on a minor league deal but Camargo will have the chance to talk to the other 29 teams as well.
Photo courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn, Imagn Images
Ben Rice Drawing Trade Interest
The Yankees have plenty of holes they’ll need to fill in the coming days. The club has been in desperate need of help at third base dating back to the offseason, and injuries to the pitching staff have created issues with both the rotation and bullpen as well. One option the club could consider to address those concerns, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, would be shopping slugger Ben Rice. Sherman writes that Rice has drawn interest from multiple teams and could be dealt as a way to address needs on the big league roster without dipping into the club’s farm system, though he adds that the Yankees would need to receive a big offer before they’d “even consider” parting ways with the 26-year-old.
It’s not hard to see why the Yankees would be reluctant to part ways with Rice. His second season in the majors has gone extremely well as he’s slashed a strong .232/.323/.468 (121 wRC+) across 84 games to go with even better expected numbers. A solid 9.1% walk rate in conjunction with his 20.6% strikeout rate and 30-homer power makes Rice one of the most intriguing young sluggers in the game, and the fact that he remains under team control for five more seasons after this one should only serve to further elevate his trade value.
With that being said, incumbent first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is a free agent after the 2025 season. The Yankees have an aging and expensive roster, so parting with a young, controllable asset who’s already proven himself to be a capable big league regular could be hard for the team to stomach, especially with a hole at a position he’s capable of handling set to open up in time for Opening Day 2026. To justify not only losing Rice but having to figure out a new long-term plan for the first base position, the Yankees would likely need to get a quality, controllable return in order for a deal to make sense. Teams like the Twins and Marlins could balk at giving up a high-end piece like Joe Ryan or Edward Cabrera for Rice, however, given that much of his production is concentrated within an incredible month of April. Since the calendar flipped to May, Rice has been rather pedestrian with a slash line of just .215/.297/.409 across his last 57 games.
One potential way that likely gap in perceived value could be bridged is if a rival club viewed Rice as a viable catcher. Sherman suggests that multiple teams have “inquired” regarding his viability at the position. The Yankees have Austin Wells entrenched as their everyday catcher, and J.C. Escarra has emerged as a viable backup this year. That leaves Rice to get only occasional time behind the plate with the majority of his work focused on first base and DH in the Bronx; he’s caught just 46 2/3 innings behind the plate with five starts and only two complete games. If a team views Rice as a viable option to catch on at least a semi-regular basis, that could pave the way for a team to value him as highly as the Yankees seem to.
Sherman suggests the Diamondbacks as one potential trade partner who could be intrigued by Rice, and it’s not hard to see why. Arizona traded first baseman Josh Naylor away just last night, and while Pavin Smith is a viable first base and DH option in his own right that would nonetheless open up playing time for Rice in the short-term. Sherman also adds that the Snakes “would like” to bring in catching help thanks to the recent injury history of primary backstop Gabriel Moreno. The 25-year-old is a Gold Glove winner behind the plate with consistently above average offense, but has appeared in just 150 games since the start of the 2024 season due to hand, adductor, and thumb injuries.
That could make Arizona an excellent fit for Rice, if he were to be dealt. Should the Diamondbacks be intrigued by the possibility that he could contribute behind the plate, they could utilize Rice on an occasional basis at the position down the stretch this year and head into the offseason better informed about whether he can stick as a catcher. Even if Rice didn’t pan out as a catcher in Arizona, they already have a hole to fill in their first base and DH mix that Rice could slide into seamlessly. That would allow Rice to serve as a long-term replacement for Naylor (who was himself a short-term replacement for longtime first baseman Christian Walker this past winter) even if he doesn’t work out as a catcher.
Of course, this is all largely speculative. The Diamondbacks are known to be prioritizing pitching this summer, and their roster is already extremely left-handed with Smith, Corbin Carroll, Jake McCarthy, and Alek Thomas all batting from the left side to say nothing of switch-hitters Geraldo Perdomo and Ketel Marte. If the Snakes were to add a hitter, they might prefer one who bats righty. That’s an especially noteworthy consideration given that Eugenio Suarez, Randal Grichuk, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. are all right-handed bats who have been discussed as potential trade candidates. Of that trio, only Gurriel is controlled beyond 2025.
Padres Interested In Luis Robert Jr., Ramón Laureano
The Padres have been looking for left field solutions for a while. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports that they are interested in Steven Kwan of the Guardians, Luis Robert Jr. of the White Sox and Ramón Laureano of the Orioles. Their interest in Kwan was reported earlier this week.
Robert has been one of the clearest trade candidates for a while now. The Sox have been aggressively rebuilding and he’s not in their long-term plans. He’s in the final guaranteed year of his contract. There are a pair of $20MM club with $2MM buyouts. However, his mercurial production and frequent injury issues have made those seem less attractive.
He is at least in a good stretch now. In early June, he sat out a few games to focus on some adjustments to his approach. He had a .177/.266/.286 batting line at that time. Since then, he has hit .266/.349/.457 for a 122 wRC+. Even when he was struggling, he was still hitting lefties, stealing bases and fielding well. His improved offense of late won’t totally erase the memories of his slumps but it should help somewhat.
There have been some rumblings that the Sox could hold Robert and exercise the option if they don’t get an offer to their liking but that feels like an unwise path. They have already missed chances to sell him when his value was presumably higher. He had a great 2023 season but the Sox didn’t trade him at that time, when they could have felt they had four affordable years of club control. But in 2024, he was largely hurt and underperforming, which cut into his value. Holding him at that point and hoping for a bounceback was defensible, but then he his struggles carried over into the early parts of 2025.
Though he’s been better lately, he’s been inconsistent enough that it would be a real risk to hold him. It’s entirely possible that more injuries or slumps pop up in the second half, which would make it harder to justify picking up the option.
Laureano is also a logical candidate to move in the next week. The Orioles are in the midst of a disappointing season and are clear sellers. They’re not going to move controllable core pieces but general manager Mike Elias has admitted they will be looking to move guys who are “coming towards the end of their contracts.”
That should include Laureano, though he’s not strictly a rental. His one-year deal contains a club option for 2026. The O’s could keep him but he’s not a foundational piece for them, so they should be open to offers.
It also makes sense to sell him now since his career has been up-and-down but he’s been hot lately. He has 14 home runs and a .277/.337/.521 line this year, which translates to a 137 wRC+. He was sitting on a tepid .188/.216/.438 line at the end of April but has gone off since then with a .300/.366/.542 line.
For a few years now, the Padres have been dealing with a tight budget and various roster concerns. They traded Juan Soto ahead of the 2024 season, saving some money and adding rotation depth. They backfilled some of Soto’s production by signing Jurickson Profar for $1MM, which worked surprisingly well, though that also priced him out of San Diego’s range for this year.
The Friars tried to find low-cost solutions again. The first plan was a platoon of Jason Heyward and Connor Joe, who both got $1MM deals. However, both struggled and were off the roster before the end of June.
Another low-cost move is working out well. Gavin Sheets signed a minor league deal with the Padres ahead of this year. He has 14 home runs, a .253/.314/.424 slash line and a 109 wRC+. However, he’s not a strong defender in the outfield and would be better utilized at first base or in the designated hitter slot.
The trio of Sheets, Luis Arráez and Jake Cronenworth could cover first base, second base and DH if Sheets is no longer needed in left field. That would mean fewer plate appearances for Jose Iglesias, who is hitting .238/.297/.277. Tyler Wade and Trenton Brooks aren’t playing as often as Iglesias but are hitting .206/.309/.252 and .150/.190/.275, respectively.
Laureano has experience at all three outfield spots. Robert has only ever played center field. The Padres have Jackson Merrill in center, who is a strong defender. Since he’s signed through 2034, the Padres presumably wouldn’t move him for a short-term addition. Center fielders usually move to a corner spot with ease, so there shouldn’t be any real concern about Robert’s lack of experience in left.
With the Padres, the budget is an ongoing concern, as mentioned. Their offseason moves clearly showed a lack of financial wiggle room. In addition to Heyward and Joe, they gave small guarantees to Elias Díaz and Kyle Hart. They did give Nick Pivetta $55MM over four years but that deal is heavily backloaded, with the righty only making a $1MM salary this year, in addition to a $3MM signing bonus.
In addition to the financial concerns, the Padres have traded away a lot of prospects in recent years and their farm system isn’t well regarded. They have two strong pieces in Leo De Vries and Ethan Salas but all reporting has suggested the Friars want to hold those two.
It seems that president of baseball operations A.J. Preller is considering all kinds of scenarios in order to work around his constraints. Despite a questionable rotation, there have been a number of Dylan Cease rumors recently, though the Padres have also been connected to other starters such as Sandy Alcantara. It’s possible that Preller engineers a sort of musical chairs approach where he could trade Cease away for prospects or big league talent while saving some money and also bringing in other players. There have also been rumors that the Friars could subtract from or add to their bullpen.
That’s not unprecedented for the Friars. As mentioned, they flipped Soto ahead of last year for younger players, one of them being Drew Thorpe. Shortly thereafter, they used Thorpe as part of a package to get Cease. It’s possible that Preller again cooks up a number of trades that relate to each other.
Robert is making $15MM this year. About $5MM of that will be left to be paid out at the deadline, plus at least the $2MM buyout on his option. The Sox are reportedly willing to include cash in trading Robert, though that would be a way to extra prospect capital. The Padres would obviously welcome that financial arrangement but may not have the prospects, unless they get some in a Cease deal or some other trade.
Laureano is far more affordable, as he’s only making $4MM, which will leave roughly $1.33MM left to be paid out at the deadline. His 2026 club option is for $6.5MM with no buyout. If he stays hot through the end of the year, it’s possible that option looks like a good deal. In that scenario, the Padres could keep him for 2026 or flip him to another club in the winter.
The Padres have also been connected to Kwan and Jarren Duran of the Red Sox, though those are more long-shot candidates. Both of those players are affordably controlled beyond this season and their respective clubs are both still playoff contenders. Still, the Padres seem to be going over dozens of different trade permutations, so there are lots of different ways things could play out in the next week.
Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images
Red Sox Unlikely To Trade Jarren Duran This Summer
With a 55-49 record and a seat at the Wild Card table, the Red Sox have seemingly played themselves out of selling this summer even after trading former franchise face Rafael Devers to the Giants last month. There’s been plenty of speculation about the possibility that they could trade from their glut of outfield talent and move Jarren Duran, but it seems as though that might not be in the cards—for now, at least. ESPN’s Jeff Passan recently wrote that the Red Sox might more or less stand pat this summer, while Jon Heyman of the New York Post noted that Boston is “believed” to be unlikely to move Duran despite considerable interest from the Padres.
Sean McAdam of MassLive provides further details on the situation surrounding Duran. He suggests that while a deal involving Duran is “likely” at some point, the Red Sox are inclined to hold off on making such a deal until the offseason. McAdam then goes on to note that the Padres offered Boston a three-player package of right-hander Dylan Cease, top catching prospect Ethan Salas, and an additional prospect not named Leo De Vries that was “quickly rejected.” That’s a fairly significant offer, particularly given the fact that the Red Sox had reportedly expressed interest in Cease previously in conversations with San Diego this summer.
Duran’s in the midst of a decent season but has taken a massive step back from his All-Star 2024 campaign that ended with an eighth place finish in a crowded NL MVP race. This year, Duran has hit just .254/.321/.428 with a wRC+ of 104 and below average defense in the outfield. While the Padres clearly still believe in the upside they saw when he put together a 6.8 fWAR, 8.7 bWAR season last year given their offer of a longtime top prospect and a front-of-the-rotation rental, it’s possible that the Red Sox are hoping for a strong second half from Duran that can raise his value headed into the offseason and potentially get the attention of other clubs besides San Diego.
Perhaps the Red Sox were willing to reject that offer from San Diego in part because the players they’d be acquiring are in the midst of down seasons themselves. Cease has long been viewed as one of the sport’s most talented pitchers, but he’s posted a 4.59 ERA that’s actually 10% worse than league average by ERA+ across 21 starts this year. His peripheral numbers remain strong and some of his poor season-long numbers can be attributed to a nine-run, four-inning implosion at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento back in April. Even so, Cease doesn’t carry the same surefire ace pedigree he would have had even one season ago. Salas is in no better shape, having been sidelined by a stress fracture in his back for most of 2025 following a tough season at the High-A level last year.
While the Padres have been frequently connected to Duran for quite some time now, they’re far from the only team for whom he’d be an excellent fit. The Phillies have a major hole in left field, the Astros are in desperate need of a left-handed bat to help balance their lineup, the Royals are in clear need of help all around the outfield, and even non-contending clubs in need of offense like the Pirates could make sense as a suitor for Duran given that he won’t reach free agency until after the 2028 season. That’s hardly an exhaustive list of teams that could make sense as a fit for Duran, as his combination of upside and long period of team control could make him attractive for virtually any team that isn’t already stacked with outfield talent themselves.
Rockies Willing To Entertain Offers On Victor Vodnik, Seth Halvorsen
The Rockies are willing to field offers on relievers Victor Vodnik and Seth Halvorsen, report Katie Woo and Will Sammon of The Athletic. Unsurprisingly, The Athletic notes that the Rox have a high asking price on both controllable power arms.
Vodnik and Halvorsen have been Colorado’s two highest-leverage bullpen options over the past month. They’re each 25-year-old righties with massive arm speed. Vodnik, acquired from the Braves at the 2023 deadline in the Pierce Johnson deal, averages 98.5 MPH on his fastball. Halvorsen, a seventh-round draft pick from two seasons ago, has a heater that sits above 100. Only Mason Miller and Jhoan Durán throw harder than he does.
Of the two, Vodnik has had more success. He tossed 73 2/3 innings of 4.28 ERA ball in his first full season last year. He missed five weeks earlier this season with shoulder inflammation but carries an even 3.00 earned run average in 30 frames. He has gotten ground balls at a huge 56.3% clip, though he has given up a lot of hard contact. Vodnik has also walked a concerning 13.4% of opposing hitters while turning in a league average 23.6% strikeout rate.
[Related: Under-The-Radar Bullpen Trade Candidates]
Vodnik’s underlying marks don’t support a low-3.00s ERA. At the same time, it’s easy to see the appeal of a pitcher with this kind of velocity and ability to generate ground balls. It’s a similar story with Halvorsen, who is working as the rebuilding team’s closer. He has gotten grounders at a 53.2% clip while posting middling strikeout (21.3%) and walk (11%) rates. Halvorsen has allowed a few too many home runs, leading to a pedestrian 5.02 ERA through 37 2/3 frames.
The Rockies are generally resistant to dealing players with multiple years of control, but reporting out of Colorado has suggested they’re more open to selling than in years past. That’s most relevant for third baseman Ryan McMahon but could apply to controllable relievers Jake Bird, Vodnik and Halvorsen.
Trading either of the latter two pitchers would have some parallels to last summer’s deal of Nick Mears — another controllable power arm with middling results — to Milwaukee. Mears was two years older than Halvorsen and Vodnik are now, and he’s a former waiver claim whom the Rockies could’ve been more willing to move than pitchers they’ve drafted or acquired in trade. Vodnik is under club control for four seasons after this one; Halvorsen has five-plus years of control.
Seranthony Dominguez, Pete Fairbanks Among Cubs’ Bullpen Targets
The Cubs are eyeing upgrades for the back end of the bullpen and have looked into Orioles setup man Seranthony Dominguez and Rays closer Pete Fairbanks, reports Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. Levine notes that the Rays have been showing reluctance to part with Fairbanks, which lines up with recent reporting from Will Sammon, Katie Woo and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, wherein they indicate that Tampa Bay “strongly prefers” to hang onto Fairbanks (but are still hearing out interested teams who inquire).
Both Dominguez and Fairbanks are sensible targets for a Cubs bullpen in need of help. Dominguez is being paid $8MM in his final year of club control. He’s a pure free agent at season’s end. The 30-year-old righty is in his first full season with the O’s after having been acquired from the Phillies at last year’s deadline. He’s pitched 40 2/3 innings this season and worked to a sharp 3.32 ERA with a hefty 31% strikeout rate. Dominguez has been one of the primary setup options for closer Félix Bautista, tallying 13 holds and two saves of his own on the season. He’s averaged a sizzling 97.7 mph on his four-seamer and 97.9 mph on his sinker.
Command troubles have plagued Dominguez at times in his career, however, and that’s never been truer than in 2025. This year’s 14% walk rate is far and away the worst of his career, and he’s also tossed nine wild pitches. That’s clearly far from ideal, but Chicago’s combined 20.1% strikeout rate from their relievers is fourth-lowest in MLB, so adding some swing-and-miss is an understandable focus — particularly given how important that ability tends to be in the postseason.
Fairbanks is earning a bit more than $3.8MM this season and has a club option for the 2026 campaign. That option comes with a $7MM base value, but Fairbanks has already boosted that to to $8MM as he begins reaching escalator milestones. So long as he remains healthy, he’ll likely increase that option value considerably more.
The 31-year-old Fairbanks has already finished 29 games and boost next year’s option value by $500K for each of 30, 35 and 40 games finished in 2025. The option also climbs by $1MM apiece when Fairbanks reaches 135, 150 and 165 total appearances from 2023-25 combined. He’s currently at 134 games total between those three seasons. There’s a strong chance that option winds up valued at $11.5MM.
In the past, Fairbanks has missed bats at comparable levels to Dominguez, but his 20.3% strikeout rate in 2025 is a career-low. He’s dealt with shoulder, lat, forearm and hip injuries over the past five seasons, and a four-seamer that once averaged a blistering 99 mph has accordingly dropped off, sitting at 97.3 mph in each of the past two seasons.
Fairbanks’ swinging-strike rate has unsurprisingly dropped as he’s lost some zip on that heater, though his velocity is still well above average and he’s continued to remain effective. In 38 innings this season, he’s sporting a 2.84 earned run average and has gone 17-for-20 in save opportunities. With the exception of 21-inning rookie debut, Fairbanks has never posted an ERA north of 3.59 in a season. This year’s 2.84 ERA is almost a dead match for the 2.88 mark he’s compiled dating back to the 2020 season.
Dominguez and Fairbanks are surely just two of many targets the Cubs are eyeing as they look to bolster a relief corps that ranks 10th in the majors with a collective 3.78 ERA but 27th in strikeout rate, 15th in FIP (4.05) and 24th in SIERA (3.98). Emerging closer Daniel Palencia and resurgent veteran Brad Keller are both showing plus velocity, with the former sitting at a whopping 99.5 mph with his fastball and Keller sitting 97.1 mph. The rest of Chicago’s bullpen — aside from the currently injured Porter Hodge — has average to below-average velocity (and, in many cases, sub-par strikeout rates to match).
