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MLB Mailbag: Tigers, Gore, Athletics, Astros

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This week's mailbag gets into relief options for the Tigers, whether the Nationals should trade MacKenzie Gore, and the trade value of Athletics JJ Bleday and Luis Severino, as well as questions involving the Astros, Reds, Rangers, Cubs, and Red Sox.

Colin asks:

A few days ago, the Dodgers traded Noah Davis to the Twins for cash.  Davis was not at all successful with the Dodgers.  Can you tell me how much cash a team typically gets in a situation like that?

I ran this question by a front office friend.  He replied, "The dollar amount received by clubs trading away a DFA’d player for cash considerations almost always falls between $55,000 and $100,000.  There’s little incentive for clubs to trade the player for anything less than $50,000 because the club will receive that amount if the player is claimed off waivers. MLB caps cash transactions in this situation to a maximum of $100,000. Thus, most cash transactions of this nature end up in the $55,000 to $100,000 range."

Barry asks:

I really feel that Detroit needs two bullpen arms, one of which could close out games or be in the closing mix and match what AJ does. Any insight as to who the Tigers are looking at? I am thinking that David Bednar is the type of pitcher Detroit likes, controlling the strike zone, low walks.

Michael asks:

Coming out of the break, the Tigers have the best record in baseball and the biggest division lead. Nobody had that on their bingo card. In light of that, what should be Detroit's plan for the next two weeks? Should they swing for the fences and if so, how? Or look to add a piece here and there but not mortgage the future (or empty the farm) in favor of adding big names now?

The Tigers definitely need to add late inning relievers who can miss bats.  There's a good case to be made for signing David Robertson, who is reportedly throwing for interested teams.

The average MLB reliever punches out 22.4% of batters faced and has an 11.3% swinging strike rate.  We saw trade rumors on Mason Miller of the Athletics last summer; his K% is over 40%.  He's under team control through 2029, though, so the A's have no reason to trade him now unless they feel they're selling high or received an offer they can't refuse.

The Orioles' Felix Bautista is under team control through 2027.  He has a huge strikeout rate as well, but walks even more batters than Miller.  Bautista's teammate Seranthony Dominguez is in that same class.  A free agent after the season, Dominguez seems a lock to be dealt.  Same goes for Gregory Soto, so it makes sense for Scott Harris to be blowing up Mike Elias' phone.

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MLBTR Podcast: Rays’ Ownership, The Phillies Target Bullpen Help, And Bubble Teams

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

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Which 2025 All-Star hitter and pitcher are most likely to be traded ahead of the deadline? (29:50)
  • Will the Red Sox trade an outfielder to upgrade another part of the roster? Could they get Joe Ryan from the Twins? What should Boston do with Tanner Houck? (36:15)
  • Could the Padres trade Dylan Cease and still compete, the way the Tigers flipped Jack Flaherty and still made the playoffs last year? What will the Friars add at the deadline? (51:50)
  • How will the Mets use Clay Holmes the rest of the way? (59:50)

Check out our past episodes!

  • Firings in Washington, Bad Braves, And An AL East Shake-Up – listen here
  • Depleted Mets’ Pitching, The Pirates Are Open For Business, And More! – listen here
  • The Braves Say They Won’t Sell, Jeimer Candelario DFA’d, And Injured D-Backs – listen here

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

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images

Trade Deadline Outlook: Arizona Diamondbacks

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The Diamondbacks are hanging on the outskirts of the playoff race. They enter the All-Star Break three games below .500 and 5.5 back in a strong National League playoff field. They'd surely prefer to buy in a season where they're running a franchise-record payroll and facing a number of potential free agent departures. With playoff odds hovering around 10% and an injury-depleted pitching staff, they'll need to come out of the Break strong to give the front office justification to add.

Record: 47-50 (10.2% playoff probability, per FanGraphs)

Other series entries: Rockies, Giants, Phillies, Pirates, Astros, Marlins, Athletics, Orioles, White Sox, Nationals, Cubs, Rays, Dodgers, Braves, Yankees, Angels, Mets, Blue Jays, Mariners, Padres, Cardinals, Brewers, Reds

Sell Mode

While the Diamondbacks could still go either way, they'd have a chance to really shape the deadline if they sell. They have the best collection of rental talent of any fringe contender.

Impending Free Agents: Eugenio Suárez, Zac Gallen, Josh Naylor, Merrill Kelly, Randal Grichuk, Jalen Beeks, Shelby Miller, Kendall Graveman, James McCann, Jordan Montgomery (out for the season)

Arizona's top four rentals would all be significant trade chips. Eugenio Suárez has emerged as arguably the best impending free agent hitter who could change hands. He's already up to 31 home runs with a .250/.320/.569 batting line. It's a continuation of last year's monster second half. Suárez has 52 home runs over the past calendar year -- tying him with Cal Raleigh for third in MLB behind Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. He's a .277/.331/.586 hitter in his past 673 plate appearances.

Suárez is playing on a $15MM salary. That could be a bit of an obstacle for teams navigating luxury tax concerns but represents a significant bargain relative to his current production. The D-Backs could (and probably would) make him a qualifying offer if they hang onto him all year, but they'd be able to pull a stronger return in a trade. It seems unlikely that they'd re-sign him to a lucrative multi-year deal and block Jordan Lawlar's path to playing time. The Yankees, Cubs and Mariners should all have Suárez near the top of their wish lists. The Mets, Tigers or Reds could also make a push, and he'd make some sense for the Brewers if they can make the money work. Suarez was plunked on the hand in last night's All-Star Game but remained in to run and play defense. Postgame x-rays were negative.

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Latest On Marlins’ Deadline Plans

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The Marlins remain one of the clearest cut sellers as the deadline approaches. While Miami has somewhat quietly played well since the beginning of June, they remain in the middle of a multi-year rebuild. They’re still seven games under .500 and have almost no shot of making the playoffs this year.

It therefore comes as no surprise that Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes that the Fish plan to entertain offers on Sandy Alcantara, Edward Cabrera, Jesús Sánchez and Anthony Bender in the coming weeks. All four players appeared among MLBTR’s list of the top 40 trade candidates earlier this month; Alcantara was in the top spot. Jackson adds that the Marlins are shopping impending free agent starter Cal Quantrill, though he’d have less trade value than the rest of the group.

Perhaps more interestingly, Jackson writes that the Marlins would be satisfied running it back with their current middle infield tandem of Otto Lopez and Xavier Edwards next season. That’s not to say either player is untouchable, but they’re less likely to move than any of the four Miami players who made our trade candidates writeup. The 26-year-old Lopez is hitting .250/.320/.392 while taking over at shortstop. Edwards, who moved to second base, owns a .288/.352/.347 slash with 16 stolen bases. Both players are controllable for another four seasons.

[Related: Miami Marlins Trade Deadline Outlook]

Alcantara’s availability has been expected for months. He’s making $17MM this year and next, and he’s guaranteed a $2MM buyout on a $21MM club option for 2027. That’d be a bargain rate if he recaptured his ace form, but he has had a poor first season back from Tommy John surgery. Alcantara carries a 7.22 ERA with a diminished 17.3% strikeout rate over 18 starts. He had his best month in June (4.34 ERA) but has given up 11 runs in as many innings over his past two appearances. There’s little reason for the Marlins not to listen to offers, but it’s not a given that they actually pull the trigger on what would be a sell-low trade.

Moving Cabrera this summer would arguably be selling high. The 27-year-old former top prospect has posted a 2.54 ERA while striking out more than a quarter of his opponents in his past 12 starts. He’s making less than $2MM and under arbitration control for another three seasons. Miami would demand a significant return for their top realistic trade chip.

Jackson notes that the Marlins are nevertheless willing to consider offers in part because of Cabrera’s injury history. Shoulder problems sidelined him in both 2023 and ’24. He has yet to reach 100 innings in an MLB season. Cabrera departed his final appearance before the All-Star Break with elbow fatigue. While that’s not considered a serious issue — an MRI has already come back clean and he avoided the injured list — it’s the latest reminder of the injury risk for any pitcher, especially one with a mid-upper 90s fastball.

Sánchez and Bender are each controllable role players who should draw interest. Sánchez is a lefty-hitting corner outfielder who has been a league average regular over the course of his career. This season’s .259/.321/.410 slash line is par for the course. He’s making $4.5MM this year and will go through arbitration twice more.

Bender is a 30-year-old righty reliever who also has two and a half seasons of club control. He owns a 2.06 ERA in 39 1/3 innings, though that obscures unimpressive strikeout (18.9%) and walk (10.7%) numbers. Bender gets a lot of ground-balls and has gotten fantastic results on the mid-80s breaking ball that he uses as his primary pitch. He’s playing on a $1.42MM salary that’ll make him a viable fit for any contender.

As for Quantrill, the Marlins signed him with hopes of flipping him midseason. He’s making $3.5MM on a one-year free agent deal. Quantrill has below-average numbers for a third consecutive season, though. He carries a 5.62 ERA with a 19% strikeout rate over 81 2/3 innings. He’d profile as a sixth/seventh starter or long reliever on most contenders. There’d be minimal interest, but Quantrill is affordable enough that perhaps a team navigating multiple rotation injuries will take a flier. If they can’t find a trade partner this month, Miami could place him on waivers at some point in August in hopes of shedding the final few weeks of his salary.

Marlins Acquire Michael Petersen From Braves

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The Marlins announced that they’ve acquired reliever Michael Petersen from the Braves for cash considerations and optioned him to Triple-A Jacksonville. Miami transferred righty reliever Jesus Tinoco to the 60-day injured list to create a 40-man roster spot. According to the MLB.com transaction log, the Fish also outrighted veteran catcher Rob Brantly to Triple-A after he cleared waivers. Brantly was quietly designated for assignment earlier this week.

Atlanta had designated Petersen for assignment last week. The 31-year-old righty pitched four times for the Braves. He tossed 6 2/3 innings of three-run ball, striking out five with a pair of walks. Petersen has spent more of the season with their top affiliate in Gwinnett. He has turned in a 3.13 ERA with a solid 25.7% strikeout rate and a 7% walk percentage in the minors. It’s his second straight impressive Triple-A season. He fired 33 innings of 1.64 ERA ball while punching out more than a third of opponents there last year.

This will be Petersen’s second stint with Miami. The Fish grabbed him off waivers from the Dodgers last September. Petersen pitched five times, giving up four runs (three earned) through 5 2/3 frames. He was in the major league bullpen for the final two and a half weeks of the season. They lost him on waivers to the Blue Jays at the beginning of the offseason. Petersen subsequently made his way to the Angels and Braves in minor transactions before heading back to Miami.

Petersen stands at 6’7″ and averages 97 MPH with his fastball. He uses the heater and a low-90s cutter as his two offerings. While he hasn’t missed many bats in his scattered MLB action, he has shown notable strikeout upside in Triple-A. He’s in his second of three option years and has less than one year of MLB service.

Tinoco has been out since June 3 due to a forearm strain. He has yet to begin a minor league rehab assignment, though he has been throwing for the past couple weeks (via the MLB.com injury tracker). This is a procedural transfer that officially rules him out until the first week of August. Tinoco is multiple weeks away from a return anyways, as he’ll need to progress through bullpen and batting practice sessions before he goes on a rehab stint.

MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola first reported that the Marlins were acquiring Petersen for cash and optioning him.

D-backs Expected To Target Young Pitching At Deadline

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The Diamondbacks enter the unofficial second half of the season with a 47-50 record  that has them buried by 11 games in the NL West and sitting 5.5 games out of the final NL Wild Card spot (with four teams to leapfrog to get there). General manager Mike Hazen said two weeks ago that he hopes the team puts him in a position to buy at the trade deadline. The team has gone 4-8 since he made those comments. FanGraphs gives the Diamondbacks just a 10.2% chance to make the postseason. Baseball Prospectus is ever so slightly more charitable at 11.3%. The D-backs open the second half with a three-game series against a 51-46 Cardinals team. They follow that with three against a last-place Pirates squad but then face a pair of first-place clubs — Tigers, Astros — in the final stretch leading to the trade deadline.

Suffice it to say, the outlook for 2025 isn’t great. Hazen spoke with Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic at this week’s All-Star festivities and acknowledged that the Snakes “are running out of time” and that they would “need to play pretty exceptional” baseball to get back into a buy position prior to the deadline. Hazen also conceded that he’s been fielding inquiries from clear buyers already but naturally wouldn’t commit one way or another when asked about his willingness to make a move well ahead of the July 31 deadline.

[Related: Arizona Diamondbacks Trade Deadline Outlook]

Arizona isn’t short on marketable assets, even if the goal is to hang onto players controlled beyond the current season. Corner infielders Eugenio Suárez and Josh Naylor would be two of the best bats on the market. Suárez was plunked on the hand in last night’s All-Star Game but remained in the contest. Postgame x-rays were negative. Randal Grichuk would be a nice role player for a team looking for a right-handed bat with a long track record versus lefties.

On the pitching side of things, Zac Gallen has struggled all season but has an excellent track record. He looked to be turning a corner with terrific starts on July 1 and 7 (combined 13 innings with one run on 10 hits and a 19-to-1 K/BB ratio) before being rocked for six runs in his final start prior to the break. Merrill Kelly (3.34 ERA in 116 frames) has been strong all season, though, as have relievers Jalen Beeks and Shelby Miller. Both Beeks and Miller are on the injured list — the latter due to a forearm strain on which he is ominously seeking a second opinion. If one or both returns in timely fashion, they’d be obvious trade targets for clubs seeking affordable bullpen help.

It’s at least possible the Diamondbacks will listen on more controllable players. They’re reportedly listened on their outfield depth. Corbin Carroll isn’t going anywhere, but each of Alek Thomas, Jake McCarthy, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Grichuk could hold varying levels of appeal.

If the D-backs do end up as a seller, which seems likely, Piecoro suggests they’ll prioritize adding pitching they can control beyond the current season. That’s only logical with Corbin Burnes facing a lengthy recovery from Tommy John surgery and both Kelly and Gallen hitting free agency at season’s end. Lefties Blake Walston and Tommy Henry also had UCL surgeries this season — Walston in March, Henry in June. Young righty Cristian Mena is on the 60-day IL due to a shoulder strain. The injury problems extend to the bullpen, where top relievers Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk had Tommy John surgery just last month.

Looking ahead to the Diamondbacks’ 2026 rotation mix, they’ll have Brandon Pfaadt, Eduardo Rodriguez and Ryne Nelson all locked into spots. The former two have struggled to ERAs north of 5.00 this season. Nelson has a 3.68 ERA in 78 1/3 innings. Other in-house options, like 24-year-old righty Yilber Diaz (one of their top prospects entering the season) and 27-year-old Bryce Jarvis, have had nightmare seasons in Triple-A. Diaz currently has an ERA north of 11.00.

Given the broad-reaching slate of injuries and departing free agents, it’s sensible to focus on pitching help to the extent possible. That doesn’t mean the D-backs will turn away offers that include enticing young hitters to take on lesser pitchers, but if two packages of comparable quality are offered up, the D-backs seem likely to favor one that skews toward the pitching side of things.

Of course, the D-backs needn’t focus entirely on rebuilding their staff in the next two weeks. They have nearly $75MM in salary set to come off the books via free agency and could save further money via trades in the next two weeks. Their arbitration class isn’t large, and one of their most notable arbitration salaries (Puk) could come off the books via non-tender. His UCL surgery was just last month, and 2026 is Puk’s final season of club control. There should be ample space — and need — to pursue help both in the rotation and the bullpen this offseason.

Rangers Place Jake Burger On Injured List

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The Rangers announced that first baseman Jake Burger has gone on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to July 13, with a left quad strain. They’re unlikely to make the corresponding roster move until Friday, when they resume play with a weekend series against the Tigers.

Injured list placements can only be backdated by up to three days. Burger last played on July 12. That’s why the Rangers made the IL transaction tonight rather than waiting until Friday. He would only miss five games if he’s able to return after a minimal stint. Burger suffered the injury while running out a ground ball during last Friday’s win in Houston. He remained in the game for one more defensive inning before being subbed out. Burger made a pinch-hit appearance the next night and sat out the following day’s series finale entirely.

Ezequiel Duran was in the lineup at first base for the final two games against the Astros. He’s the only backup infielder on the active roster. Texas could recall one of Justin Foscue, Blaine Crim or Josh Jung to take Burger’s roster spot. Rowdy Tellez is also a possibility after signing a minor league contract on July 5. He has gone 5-15 with a couple home runs in four games with Triple-A Round Rock. Texas would need to select Tellez onto the 40-man roster to bring him up, but they already have a vacancy in that regard after waiving Billy McKinney last week.

Regardless of the corresponding move, first base is a clear target for GM Chris Young and his staff over the next two weeks. They acquired Burger from the Marlins in an offseason trade. They shipped out Nathaniel Lowe a few weeks later. Burger has connected on 11 home runs but is hitting .228 with a dismal .259 on-base percentage in his first season in Arlington. This is his second injured list stay of the year. Even if he’s expected back in a week, he hasn’t played well enough to keep the front office from looking elsewhere. The Rangers have gotten nothing out of the designated hitter spot either, so Burger could still see some at-bats there if Texas displaces him as the first baseman.

Duran is hitting .150 with no homers in 90 plate appearances. Foscue and Crim have combined to make 23 major league appearances in their careers. Crim has had a strong year at Round Rock, but he’s a 28-year-old in his third full Triple-A season. Tellez, a left-handed hitter, posted a .208/.249/.434 slash in 185 plate appearances for the Mariners earlier in the year. Seattle released him last month.

The Rangers just optioned Jung two weeks ago. He had the worst month of his MLB career in June. Texas sent him down to get his swing back on track. He has only gotten into seven Triple-A games with unremarkable numbers (.250/.300/.321 in 30 plate appearances). Jung has no first base experience, so the Rangers would only recall him if they intend to move third baseman Josh Smith back across the infield while Burger is out.

Buxton On No-Trade Clause: “I’m A Minnesota Twin For Life”

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Twins center fielder Byron Buxton is in the midst of the finest season of his career, having been named to the All-Star team (and selected to compete in the Home Run Derby) after hitting .289/.351/.574 with 21 homers and 17 steals through 78 games (333 plate appearances). With the Twins underperforming as a whole and the team facing payroll constraints, some fans have hoped and wondered whether Buxton might become available via trade. The outfielder put any such talk to bed at this week’s All-Star festivities.

“I’ve got a no-trade clause,” Buxton said after being asked about the possibility of perhaps someday playing for his hometown Braves (link via Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune). “I’m a Minnesota Twin for the rest of my life. That’s the best feeling in the world, knowing when I walk into the clubhouse every day, it’s going to say Twins. I love Minnesota — that’s home. … I don’t want to play anywhere else. The team, the people, the city — they made me who I am and made me a part of it there.”

Buxton’s no-trade clause was a known element of his contract, but it’s hardly uncommon to see players waive their no-trade protection. There’s no such consideration for the 31-year-old Buxton, it seems.

We’re at the midway point of Buxton’s seven-year, $100MM extension with Minnesota. That contract bought out Buxton’s final year of arbitration eligibility and locked in six free-agent seasons at $15MM annually. The on-field results have been excellent thus far, with the former No. 2 overall pick hitting .250/.321/.516 with 84 homers, 39 steals and plus center field defense so far — save for the 2023 season, when he was limited to DH work due to ongoing knee troubles. (He underwent a second knee surgery following that season.)

The caveat with Buxton, of course, is that said production has come in a limited capacity. He’s long stood out as one of the game’s most talented but also most frequently injured players. Some of that stems from the reckless abandon with which he plays defense, but Buxton has suffered injuries on all sides of the game over his career. He’s only reached 100 games played in a season on two occasions and has only once accrued more than 400 plate appearances in a season.

The frequency of Buxton’s injuries played a role in dictating the unique nature of his contract. He’s being paid $15MM per year from 2023-28 but can boost that number all the way to $25.5MM based on plate appearances and MVP voting in any given season. The contract pays Buxton a $3MM bonus if he finishes between sixth and tenth in MVP voting, $4MM bonus for finishing fifth, $5MM bonus for finishing fourth, $6MM for finishing third, $7MM for second and $8MM for winning an MVP Award. He also receives a $500K bonus for reaching each of 502, 533, 567, 600 and 625 plate appearances in a given season.

So far, those incentives have yet to come into play, although he’s well on his way to locking in some extra earnings in 2025 if he can remain on the field. Buxton ranks sixth in the American League in WAR, per Baseball-Reference, and is tied with Houston’s Jeremy Pena for seventh in FanGraphs’ version. He’s been on an absolute tear of late as well, hitting .343/.408/.741 with 11 homers over his past 120 plate appearances (including a five-hit game in which he completed the cycle in the penultimate game of the season’s unofficial first half).

Poll: Which Team Had The Most Impressive First Half?

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The All-Star game is now behind us, and we’re in the lull before games kick back up and the second half begins. There’s still plenty of baseball left to play, but in the meantime we’ll take stock of the state of the 2025 season and weigh which team impressed the most during the first half of the season. A look at some of the league’s top teams:

Detroit Tigers (59-38)

Entering the All-Star break with MLB’s best record is a surefire way to get serious consideration for an accolade like this, but the Tigers are arguably even more impressive than their record lets on given just how much they’ve outperformed their preseason expectations. Fangraphs projected the Tigers for a record of just 83-79, with a  sub-50% chance to make the postseason. Detroit would have to win only 25 games over the season’s final ten weeks in order to beat that projection, thanks to strong performances from surprise All-Stars Javier Baez, Gleyber Torres, and Zach McKinstry alongside the ever impressive work of stars like Riley Greene and Tarik Skubal.

Los Angeles Dodgers (58-39)

That the Dodgers have the best record in the National League is practically assumed in recent years, which speaks to the overwhelming dominance of the team Andrew Friedman and the rest of the front office have constructed. Shohei Ohtani is back on the mound and putting together another likely MVP campaign, Will Smith is having a career season behind the plate, and bottom-of-the-lineup players like Andy Pages and Hyeseong Kim are contributing. While dominance in Los Angeles is hardly a surprise, it’s nonetheless impressive that they’ve been able to maintain their high standard of play even in spite of the rising tide of competitive teams in the National League, extended slumps from both Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, and a patchwork rotation that at points in the first half had more Cy Young awards on the injured list than healthy members of its projected Opening Day rotation.

Chicago Cubs (57-39)

The Cubs’ front office entered 2025 feeling pressure after seven years without winning a playoff game and four without so much as a postseason appearance. That helped convince them to swing a trade for superstar Kyle Tucker, who has anchored their lineup alongside breakout MVP candidate Pete Crow-Armstrong. Tucker and Crow-Armstrong get the majority of the attention, but Seiya Suzuki, Michael Busch, and even veteran backstop Carson Kelly have put together strong seasons in their own rights. A pitching staff that lost both of its top starters early has been carried by a strong showing from offseason addition Matthew Boyd. It’s been enough to put them in the driver’s seat of the NL Central, and while that may have been expected entering the season, Chicago has made a statement by entering the second half in position to nab a bye through the Wild Card round.

Houston Astros (56-40)

After getting knocked out of the first round of the playoffs last year and the aforementioned Tucker trade, the Astros were a trendy pick to finally lose their grip on the AL West this year. They’ve answered the doubters impressively, plugging along despite getting virtually no production from Yordan Alvarez—or any other left-handed hitter, for that matter. Isaac Paredes has looked right at home in Daikin Park, and Cam Smith has taken to the majors quite well despite being getting just a handful of games at the Double-A level ahead of his big league debut. The real story of the season for the Astros has been in the rotation, however, as Hunter Brown has stepped up to make himself a true ace and legitimate Cy Young contender in a season where Houston would’ve otherwise had little certainty outside of pending free agent Framber Valdez.

Toronto Blue Jays (55-41)

The narrative surrounding the Blue Jays was such a bleak one entering this season that it’s impossible to ignore how quickly they’ve managed to turn things around. After missing out on the big fish in free agency for the second consecutive year, it seemed entering the season that the questions facing Toronto this summer would be about the future of Ross Atkins as GM and whether or not they’d need to trade Vladimir Guerrero Jr. before the deadline. A resurgent season from George Springer, a career year for Alejandro Kirk, and the breakout of Addison Barger have come together to help push this club to the top of a competitive AL East, however, and with both Guerrero and Kirk locked up long term the Jays should be looking towards brighter days in the future, as well.

Other Options

While those five teams have put together some of the most impressive first halves of the season, they’re far from the only contenders. The Phillies and Mets are locked in a tight battle for control of the NL East, and the starting pitching in Queens has been a pleasant surprise given the contributions of pieces like Griffin Canning (before his season-ending Achilles tear) and Clay Holmes. The Giants and Cardinals both entered this season viewed as potential deadline sellers but have put together strong enough campaigns to remain within the thick of the playoff race.

The Brewers appeared to be a question mark after losing Willy Adames and Devin Williams this offseason, but they’re just one game back of the Cubs in the NL Central and might get even better down the stretch now that Brandon Woodruff and Jacob Misiorowski are contributing. The Mariners have been able to hang in the playoff picture despite lengthy absences for both George Kirby and Logan Gilbert, while the Yankees have overcome significant rotation injuries. The Rays entered the season without even having a proper ballpark and look as strong as ever even after selling off key pieces like Paredes and Tyler Glasnow in recent years.

With so many strong performances in the first half, which team was the most impressive? Have your say in the poll below:

Bruce Zimmermann Opts Out Of Brewers Deal

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Left-hander Bruce Zimmermann has opted out of his minor league deal with the Brewers, reports Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors. The southpaw is now a free agent and free to sign with any club.

Zimmermann, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Brewers in the winter. Since then, he has been pitching for Triple-A Nashville. His season-long numbers are middling but he’s been in a good groove lately.

On the whole, he has made 13 starts and six relief appearances with a 4.35 earned run average in 89 innings. His 18.1% strikeout rate was a bit subpar but his 5% walk rate and 47.3% ground ball rate were both better than average. Through June 10th, he had a 5.90 ERA, but he has lowered that by putting together a good stretch of outings more recently. In his most recent 31 innings, he has a 1.45 ERA.

The Brewers are loaded with rotation options, so much so that they recently bumped Aaron Civale to the bullpen. He informed the club that he would prefer to be traded, and they obliged by sending him to the White Sox. Even with that trade, the Brewers have solid guys like Chad Patrick and Logan Henderson pitching in Triple-A. Nestor Cortes and Robert Gasser are working back from the injured list and could further crowd the picture.

Given that context, it’s understandable that Zimmermann would choose to pack his bag. He can likely find a greater path to the big leagues in another organization. Given his solid results and the high number of injuries around the league, someone should want him as a depth option. Some teams will also be trading away pitching in the coming weeks and will need to backfill roster spots.

Prior to this year, Zimmermann had spent most of his time with the Orioles. He got major league time with the O’s in four straight seasons from 2020 to 2023, totaling 158 1/3 innings pitched. He had a 5.57 ERA, 18.1% strikeout rate, 5.7% walk rate and 41.1% ground ball rate in that time. He was outrighted during the 2024 season and elected free agency at the end of that campaign, which led to his deal with the Brewers.

Photo courtesy of Dave Kallmann, Imagn Images

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