Pirates Listening On Oneil Cruz; Deal Seen As Unlikely
Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz is thought to be available on the trade market, though a deal seems to be a long shot. Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the club is not shopping him but has received plenty of calls and is willing to listen to offers. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com frames the situation similarly, saying that the Bucs would have to be bowled over by an offer in order to pull the trigger. Jeff Passan of ESPN is even more emphatic, saying that Cruz isn’t going anywhere.
The possibility of a Cruz trade first seemed to open about a month ago, when it was reported that the Pirates had very few untouchable players ahead of this year’s deadline. Apart from Paul Skenes and franchise icon Andrew McCutchen, it seemed everyone else was on the table.
A lot of the club’s focus seems to be on players they signed to long-term deals who are no longer in their plans. That would be Ke’Bryan Hayes, Bryan Reynolds and Mitch Keller. Both Hayes and Reynolds have had disappointing results lately and their contracts are seen as underwater. Keller has been pitching well but he may be expendable since the club has so many younger and cheaper pitchers who could replace him.
Cruz would be a different situation. He is still young and cheaply affordable. He can be retained for three seasons beyond this one. He will qualify for arbitration for the first time at the end of this season.
His performance on the field has not been perfect but he is clearly talented and valuable. He has some of the top raw abilities in the majors, frequently topping Statcast leaderboards with his exit velocity, speed and arm strength. On the other hand, he strikes out a lot and his defense is wobbly. By the eye test, he takes some awkward routes but he can make up for those sometimes with his excellent speed.
He has been punched out in 31.9% of his plate appearances this year but he’s also drawn walks at a 12.5% clip and hit 16 home runs. The result is a .219/.319/.419 batting line and 102 wRC+. He has 33 steals in 37 attempts. Defensive Runs Saved has him at -7 this year but Outs Above Average has him at +2. Put it all together and it’s still a strong player. FanGraphs credited him with 3.5 wins above replacement last year and he’s on a similar pace this year, currently at 2.0 fWAR.
Teams will naturally be attracted to that, especially those with notable budgetary concerns. However, from Pittsburgh’s perspective, it’s understandable that they would set a high asking price. They have developed a huge pool of pitching talent but have struggled to do the same with their position players. Players like Hayes, Henry Davis, Nick Gonzales, Jared Triolo and others have not turned out as hoped.
Cruz, on the other hand, is the club’s best position player. He’s the only one on the team to have produced more than 1.1 fWAR this year. Last year, he was the only guy to get beyond 2.1 fWAR. In other words, trading him would blow a huge hole in the lineup. And the lineup already has a few of those.
The Pirates aren’t contending this year but presumably want to get over the hump soon. They haven’t been in the playoffs since 2015. They have an exciting group of young pitchers, headlined by Skenes, and surely want to build a winning club around them. They’re already having a hard time doing that with Cruz on the roster. Unless they get offered something too good to refuse, it seems he is likely staying in Pittsburgh.
Teams like the Royals, Guardians, Mets, Phillies, Tigers and Angels could be looking for center field help, though they may have a better chance at getting guys like Luis Robert Jr., Cedric Mullins, Harrison Bader or Alek Thomas. The Pirates will listen to Cruz offers but will likely spend more time talking about Keller, Reynolds, Hayes and others in the next week.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
Angels Select José Quijada
The Angels announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander José Quijada. Fellow lefty Jake Eder has been optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake as the corresponding active roster move. Righty Robert Stephenson has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot.
The Halos did a bullpen game yesterday, with Eder mopping up six innings, throwing 98 pitches in the process. They optioned Jack Kochanowicz prior to the All-Star break and haven’t found a permanent solution for that rotation hole yet. Eder wasn’t going to be available for a few days, so the club will bring in a fresh arm. They have Yusei Kikuchi, José Soriano, Tyler Anderson and Kyle Hendricks to start the next four games but will need to figure out something for Monday’s game. Perhaps some pre-deadline moves will shake up the roster or they will simply recall Kochanowicz. An optional assignment for a pitcher comes with a 15-day minimum. He was optioned on July 11th, so he’ll be eligible to be recalled in a few days.
Quijada, 29, designated for assignment just prior to Opening Day and outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake. He didn’t pitch anywhere through the middle of May. He was added to the roster of the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas on May 10th. Per Chris Harris of MiLB.com, he had been on the development list prior to that. He told members of the media today, including Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com, that he changed his diet at the club’s Arizona complex and has lost 30 pounds since spring training.
He has been putting up good numbers in Double-A since joining the Trash Pandas. He has logged 26 1/3 innings, allowing 2.73 earned runs per nine. He struck out a huge 37.1% of batters faced, while his 8.6% walk rate and 42.6% ground ball rate were around average.
Those numbers and the improved conditioning are perhaps encouraging, though getting major league hitters out is obviously different than Double-A opponents. He had a decent run with the Angels in 2021 and 2022, tossing 66 1/3 innings over those two seasons with a 4.21 ERA. His 12.9% walk rate was high but he struck out 32.3% of batters faced. The two subsequent years were mostly wiped out by Tommy John surgery.
He will give the Halos a fresh arm for now but is out of options, so he can’t be easily sent back to the farm. That was part of the reason why he was designated for assignment earlier this year. His service clock is between three and five years, which means he has the right to reject outright assignments but has to forfeit his remaining salary commitments when exercising that right. Since he’s making $1.075MM this year, he naturally accepted. If he were bumped off the roster again, it’s possible the same sequence of events would play out.
As for Stephenson, this shouldn’t impact his timeline. The 60-day count is retroactive to his initial placement on the 15-day IL, which was on May 31st due to right biceps inflammation, though he later said it’s due to a stretched nerve. It’s been almost 60 days already, so he’ll eligible for reinstatement once he’s healthy.
Photo courtesy of Kirby Lee, Imagn Images
Diamondbacks Reportedly Planning To Be Deadline Sellers
The Diamondbacks seem to have picked a lane. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that they are informing rival clubs that they plan to trade at least some of their veteran players, though the extent of their sell-off is still to be determined. Many of their players are impending free agents and qualifying offer candidates, so the trade returns would have to notably eclipse QO compensation for the Diamondbacks to pull the trigger on trading one of those players. It also seems they don’t want to totally wave the white flag on 2025, so they won’t just sell any theoretical candidate.
It’s a tricky spot for the club to be in. As noted by Rosenthal, the club may not want to punt the 2025 season. Back in 2023, they snuck into the playoffs with 84 wins and ended up going all the way to the World Series, eventually falling to the Rangers. But their 2025 club has been decimated by injuries, particularly on the pitching side. Corbin Burnes, Jordan Montgomery, A.J. Puk, Justin Martínez and others have required season-ending surgeries. Notable position players like Gabriel Moreno and Pavin Smith are also on the shelf.
Despite all of that, the club has hung around the playoff race. General manager Mike Hazen has spoken about how he would like to act as a buyer at the deadline but needed the club to justify that position by winning games. They came out of the All-Star break with a sweep of the Cardinals, but then got swept by the Astros. They are currently 50-53 and 5.5 games out of a playoff spot. They’re not totally buried but it seems the club has decided this may not be their year and some decisions should be made to help the club focus on the future.
Moving more clearly into seller position will have its advantages. With the expanded postseason, many clubs are still in contention, which makes it a seller’s market. By making some attractive players available, the front office could do a lot to help the Diamondbacks in the future.
Young pitching seems likely to be a focus. The rotation is set to lose Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly to free agency. Burnes will still be recovering from his surgery for a lot of next year. The 2026 rotation projects to include Eduardo Rodríguez, Brandon Pfaadt and Ryne Nelson. Rodríguez and Pfaadt are struggling this year. Nelson is doing well but has only really had a rotation spot for about six weeks, having been in long relief until injuries opened a spot for him. The Snakes could improve their 2026 rotation outlook by getting some younger pitchers now.
Eugenio Suárez seems the most likely player to be traded. He’s an impending free agent and his stock is tremendously high right now, since he’s been on a heater for more than a year. Dating back to July 7th of last year, he has 60 home runs, a .277/.334/.607 batting line and 154 wRC+. He has a $15MM salary this year, which will leave about $5MM left to be paid out at the deadline.
He will be highly attractive. He’s already been connected to teams like the Cubs, Yankees, Mariners and Reds. Rosenthal mentions those teams and adds the Mets to the pile. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix says 12 teams in total have contacted the Snakes about Suárez. Bob Nightengale of USA Today says the Mariners and Yankees are the most aggressive of the suitors, though the market appears to be very crowded.
The Mets have a cluster of young infielders which includes Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Luisangel Acuña and Ronny Mauricio. Baty is the only one in that group having a good season, though he’s also been playing some second base, so it’s possible he could co-exist with Suárez. The Mets are also reportedly willing to trade from that infield depth, so it’s possible Suárez could be brought in as part of a bigger shake-up.
With that hot market, it’s easy to the appeal for the Snakes in cashing in. It’s also possible that it could hurt their 2025 chances less than trading some of their other veterans. Jordan Lawlar is one of the top prospects in baseball but has been blocked from getting a big league audition. He can’t be expected to come up and produce at the same level as Suárez but it’s possible he could run with the opportunity and make up some of what is lost. He is currently out with a hamstring strain but could be back in the coming weeks. Even if he doesn’t come up and immediately succeed, there would be value in the Diamondbacks giving him an extended audition before they have to make key offseason decisions about their lineup.
There are some parallels on the other side of the infield. Josh Naylor is an impending free agent and consistently above-average hitter. Dating back to the start of 2022, he has a .272/.336/.462 line and 121 wRC+. He is making $10.9MM this year, which will leave a little under $4MM to be paid out as the deadline nears. Smith has been putting up big numbers the past two years and could take over for Naylor at first, though he’s currently sidelined by an oblique strain. Naylor has been connected to the Mariners though they are reportedly more interested in Suárez.
As mentioned, Gallen and Kelly are also impending free agents. Rosenthal has previously suggested the club is unlikely to trade both as they will still need innings to get through the season. That’s a bit of an odd hedge. They could always grab cast-offs from other clubs, Erick Fedde types, to finish the year. But perhaps the Snakes are trying to walk a fine line where they sell some pieces without totally punting their 2025 campaign. Trading one of this duo but keeping the other could be a compromise along those lines.
Kelly is having the better season but Gallen has higher theoretical upside. Jesse Rogers of ESPN recently reported that teams were a bit more interested in Gallen, despite the recent results. Gallen, 29, has a 5.58 ERA and 22.2% strikeout rate this year. Some of that might be luck, as he his 65.1% strand rate and 16.7% home run to fly ball rate are both to the unfortunate side. His 4.16 SIERA suggests he might not be too far from his past self, though his hard hit rate and barrel rate are also quite high this year, so it might not be all luck.
From 2022 to 2024, Gallen tossed 542 innings with a 3.20 ERA, 26% strikeout rate, 6% walk rate, 44.4% ground ball rate, 3.20 FIP and 3.60 SIERA. FanGraphs credited him with 12.1 wins above replacement in that time, seventh among all pitchers. It’s understandable that teams looking for rotation upgrades, particularly for the postseason, would be intrigued by acquiring Gallen and getting him back to that level. He is making $13.50MM this year, which will leave about $4.5MM left to be paid out at the deadline. He’s been connected to the Blue Jays but should be of interest to several other pitching-needy teams.
Kelly, 36, doesn’t have the same ace ceiling but has been more steady. He is in his seventh season with the Snakes and has a 3.76 ERA. That figure was 3.37 in 2022 and 3.29 in 2023. Last year, injuries limited him to 13 starts and his ERA jumped a bit to 4.03. This year, it’s back down to 3.32. He has a 24.2% strikeout rate, 7.6% walk rate and 44.2% ground ball rate. He’s making $7MM this year, so he’ll have just $2.33MM left to be paid out at the deadline.
Any of those four players is a plausible candidate to receive and perhaps a reject a qualifying offer candidate at season’s end. The exact value of the QO hasn’t been set, but is likely to be somewhere around $22MM. The 2024-25 qualifying offer was $21.05MM and it usually goes up annually.
The Diamondbacks are a revenue-sharing recipient, which affects their compensation for a player rejecting a QO and signing elsewhere. If the player ultimately signs for $50MM or more, the Snakes would get an extra draft pick just after the first round. Less than $50MM and the pick would come just ahead of the third round.
While teams value draft picks, drafted players usually take a few years to reach the majors. The Diamondbacks are presumably hoping to contend again in the near future, while they still have core players like Corbin Carroll and Ketel Marte putting up great numbers. By trading these impending free agents, they could garner returns of prospects who are closer to the majors than anyone they would draft next summer. That should move the needle to the trade side, though it also seems like they’re leery of totally bottoming out their chances of hanging in the race this year.
In addition to those names, the Diamondbacks could also sell other impending free agents, such as Randal Grichuk and Shelby Miller. Those players wouldn’t bring back huge returns, though they’re also less essential to the club contending down the stretch in 2025. The Snakes have also reportedly gotten some interest in Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who is signed through 2027. They have also reportedly listened to offers on controllable outfielders like Alek Thomas and Jake McCarthy. Time will tell how aggressively they smash the sell button but it seems like the Diamondbacks will be one of the most interesting clubs to watch over the next week.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
Tigers Designate Carlos Hernández For Assignment, Select Geoff Hartlieb
The Tigers announced that they have selected the contact of right-hander Geoff Hartlieb. Fellow righty Carlos Hernández has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Members of the Detroit beat, including Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, noticed earlier today that Hernández didn’t have a locker in the clubhouse.
Hernández, 28, was claimed off waivers from the Phillies just over a month ago. He got into 11 games for the Tigers but allowed 12 earned runs in 10 2/3 innings. There was surely some small sample weirdness in there. His .412 batting average on balls in play and 35% strand rate were both far to the unfortunate side. He didn’t help himself by walking 11.3% of batters faced but his 24.5% strikeout rate was solid.
Ultimately, it’s not a lot to go on, but the Tigers decided to make a change. Hernández pitched in each of the past two games and may not have been available tonight, so they’ve swapped him out for a fresh arm.
He’s likely to end up on waivers again in the next few days. He has shown promise at times in his career but has been inconsistent. He averages in the upper-90s with his fastball and sinker while also featuring a splitter, slider and knuckle curve. He posted a 25.7% strikeout rate with the Royals in 2023 but that dropped to 20.9% last year and is at 20.5% here in 2025. Though as mentioned, his strikeout rate spiked a bit with Detroit more recently.
Kansas City burned his final option year in 2024 and put him on waivers just ahead of Opening Day this year. The Phils grabbed him but he posted a 5.26 ERA before getting put back on waivers in June, which is when the Tigers grabbed him.
Though his 6.69 ERA on the year isn’t attractive, teams might be attracted by the stuff. He’s making a modest $1.16MM this year and can be retained via arbitration for another two seasons after this one. Perhaps a club selling bullpen pieces ahead of the deadline might grab him for the stretch run, though he’s out of options and can’t be easily sent to the minors.
Hartlieb, 31, just signed a minor league deal with the Tigers less than two weeks ago. He has made two appearances for the Yankees this year but allowed three earned runs in each of them. He currently has a 40.50 ERA in 1 1/3 innings. Around those appearances, he’s been pretty good in Triple-A this year. He has 37 1/3 innings pitched at that level with a 3.13 ERA, 27.6% strikeout rate, 6.6% walk rate and 42.1% ground ball rate.
Like Hernández, Hartlieb is out of options and likely has a tenuous hold on a roster spot. But for now, he’ll give them a fresh arm for a key four-game series against the Blue Jays which kicks off tonight. Those two clubs and the Astros are leading the three American League divisions and are currently neck-and-neck for the league lead. The Jays and Astros are both 60-42 with the Tigers half a game back at 60-43.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
Jesse Chavez Announces Retirement
Right-hander Jesse Chavez announced his retirement on Foul Territory today. He was on the Braves’ roster until recently but was designated for assignment a week ago when that club acquired Dane Dunning. Chavez elected free agency after clearing waivers and has apparently decided to hang up his spikes in recent days.
“I don’t think we’re gonna keep going,” Chavez said. “I think this is it, time to turn the page, focus on the next chapter in life and go help all the young kids, all the stuff that I did so they don’t have to take two steps backwards and take those three steps forward.”
Chavez wraps up his career just shy of his 42nd birthday, which is less than a month away. He had an incredibly unique career in terms of the miles he traveled and jerseys he wore over the years. As detailed by Matt Monagan of MLB.com in 2022, Chavez is the most traded player in history, having been flipped ten times.
He was initially drafted by the Cubs in the 39th round of the 2001 draft but decided to go to college. Then the Rangers took him in the 42nd round the year after and got him to sign. The draft is now only 20 rounds in length but was obviously longer back then.
Prior to making it to the majors, he was traded for the first time, getting sent to the Pirates for Kip Wells in 2006. He made his major league debut with that club in 2008, tossing 15 innings with a 6.60 earned run average. He stuck with the Bucs through 2009 but then before the 2010 season was flipped to the Rays for Akinori Iwamura and then to the Braves for Rafael Soriano. His first stint with Atlanta lasted just a few months, as he was traded to the Royals at the deadline alongside Gregor Blanco and Tim Collins for Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth.
He stuck with the Royals through the 2011 season before being put on waivers, when the Blue Jays claimed him. In August of 2012, he was traded to the Athletics in exchange for cash considerations.
At the end of the 2012 season, Chavez still hadn’t had a lot of major league success. He had a 5.99 ERA in 177 1/3 innings. The move to Oakland seemed to work out well for him. In 2013, he tossed 57 1/3 relief innings with a 3.92 ERA. He got stretched out for a rotation role and performed well. He logged 303 innings over the 2014 and 2015 seasons with a 3.83 ERA.
Going into 2016, he was traded back to the Blue Jays, with Liam Hendriks sent the other way. That second stint with the Jays lasted just a few months, as he was flipped to the Dodgers for Mike Bolsinger ahead of the 2016 deadline. Both of those clubs kept in him relief and he had a 4.43 ERA that year.
He reached free agency for the first time ahead of the 2017 season and signed a one-year, $5.8MM deal with the Angels. The Halos stretched him back out but the results weren’t great, with a 5.43 ERA through July. He was moved back to the bullpen and had a slightly better 4.94 ERA the rest of the way.
Going into 2018, he signed a one-year, $1MM deal to return to the Rangers, the first organization he signed with. That turned out to be one of his best seasons. He was traded the Cubs for Tyler Thomas at the deadline and finished that year with a 2.55 ERA. He got to make his first postseason appearance with the Cubs, tossing a scoreless inning in the Wild Card game against the Rockies, but the Cubs ultimately lost in 13 innings.
He returned to free agency and signed with the Rangers yet again, this time on a two-year deal worth $8MM. That deal didn’t work out quite as well, as he posted a 5.21 ERA over those two seasons.
He had to settle for a minor league deal with Atlanta going into 2021, but he showed he still had something left in the tank. He was able to to throw 33 2/3 innings in the majors that year with a 2.14 ERA. He cracked the postseason roster and tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings as Atlanta won it all, getting Chavez a World Series ring.
He signed a minor league deal with the Cubs going into 2022 and got a brief stint on their roster before getting flipped back to Atlanta for Sean Newcomb. A few months later, he and Tucker Davidson were flipped to the Angels for Raisel Iglesias.
In the latter years of his career, he always seemed to wind up back in Atlanta. Even after being traded away in August of 2022, he was back in Atlanta via waivers a few weeks later. Via further minor league deals, he ended up tossing 34 2/3 innings in 2023 with a 1.56 ERA and then 63 1/3 innings last year with a 3.13 ERA. This year, his time on the roster has been more limited, with eight innings and eight earned runs allowed.
In the end, Chavez played in 18 seasons for nine different teams, getting traded ten times. He got into 657 games and tossed 1,142 innings with a 4.27 ERA. He had a 51-66 win-loss record, nine saves and 76 holds. Baseball Reference lists his career earnings above $25MM. We at MLB Trade Rumors salute him on his incredibly long and winding career and wish him the best with the next phase of his life. Based on his comments above, it sounds like maybe he’ll turn up in a coaching role in the future.
Photos courtesy of Kelley L Cox, Tim Heitman and Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
Cubs Interested In Emmanuel Clase
The Cubs are one of the clubs “most actively monitoring” Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com. Clase has been recently connected to clubs such as the Dodgers and Phillies in recent weeks. The Cubs were also connected to Clase ahead of the 2024 season.
It’s not a surprise that the Cubs or any other club would be interested in Clase, who has been one of the best closers in the sport for a few years now. From 2021 to the present, he has 180 saves for Cleveland, the most of anyone in the majors for that span. He has a 1.77 earned run average in that time. His 24.9% strikeout rate is only a bit above average, unusual for a closer. However, his 4.7% walk rate and 58.4% ground ball rate are both strong figures.
In addition to the results, his contract is very favorable. He has a $4.5MM salary this year and will make $6MM next year. He then has a pair of $13MM options with $2MM buyouts. In free agency, top closers like Edwin Díaz and Josh Hader have been able to secure average annual values around $20MM. Clase’s deal therefore has heaps of surplus value.
However, that also makes him very valuable to a low-payroll club like the Guardians. They are reportedly willing to listen to offers but that doesn’t mean they’re pushing him out the door. A recent four-game winning streak has pulled them to 51-50 and just 2.5 games back of a playoff spot. Their pre-deadline schedule is on the softer side. They’re playing the Orioles today, followed three games in Kansas City and three games in Cleveland against the Rockies.
Perhaps the Guardians can pull themselves out of seller position and into buyer mode, which may or may not impact Clase’s availability. It’s possible to imagine them doing some selling but holding Clase or trading him while still hoping to compete. The Guardians are often willing to walk a buy/sell tightrope, balancing their current and future needs. The decision is presumably dependent on what kinds of offers they receive. They have other strong relievers, including Cade Smith, so it’s possible they view a Clase trade as something that could upgrade another part of the roster without significantly hurting the bullpen. Then again, there is no rush to flip him if they’re not bowled over by an offer.
For the Cubs, it’s easy to see the appeal. They are one of the best teams in baseball and clearly in buyer mode this year. Elite relievers take on outsized importance in the playoffs, where off-days make it possible for them to impact almost every game.
The club’s relief corps has a collective 3.78 ERA, which puts them 10th in the majors. Daniel Palencia is doing a good job as the closer but adding Clase and moving everyone else down a peg on the depth chart would make the whole group stronger.
Pulling off a trade of Clase would require the club to part with some notable pieces to make it worth Cleveland’s while, though perhaps the Cubs are willing to do so. They already showed an all-in mentality in the Kyle Tucker trade this offseason and could perhaps keep the foot on the gas pedal. The Cubs have some notable outfield prospects, including Owen Caissie and Kevin Alcántara, which is an area of ongoing concern in Cleveland. It’s unclear if the Cubs would be willing to include any players like that for a bullpen upgrade. They have long-term outfield questions of their own, as Tucker is an impending free agent while Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki are slated for free agency after 2026.
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Twins Sign First-Round Pick Marek Houston
The Twins have signed shortstop Marek Houston, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com. Houston was just selected with the 16th overall pick in last week’s draft. His $4,497,500 signing bonus is below the $4,929,600 slot value for that pick.
Houston, 21, spent the past three years playing for Wake Forest. Pre-draft rankings from MLB Pipeline, Baseball America, ESPN, FanGraphs and The Athletic’s Keith Law all put Houston in the 14-26 range of the class.
All outlets heap praise upon his defense. The larger question seems to be what he can do with the bat, where his contact is better than his power. He has shown some progress in the latter category, as his home run total went from four to eight and then 15 in his three seasons with the Demon Deacons. However, even that jump in power may need an asterisk. “The power is kind of an illusion, as Wake Forest plays in a shoebox, and 11 of Houston’s 15 homers this year came at home,” Law writes, “mostly wall-scrapers that would be doubles or outs in a typical ballpark.”
The Twins have Carlos Correa at shortstop now, with plenty of other guys capable of manning the position on the big league roster. As is the case with many clubs, there are a few notable shortstop prospects in the system who could factor into the future plans. Houston seems like a lock to stay at the position based on his defense, though he may get moved into a utility role if he doesn’t hit enough to be a regular.
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Athletics Sign First-Round Pick Jamie Arnold
The Athletics have signed left-handed pitcher Jamie Arnold, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com. The A’s took him with the 11th overall pick in last week’s draft. His $5,985,100 signing bonus is full slote value for that pick.
Arnold, 21, spent the past three years pitching for Florida State University. He finished both his 2024 and 2025 seasons with a 2.98 earned run average. He struck out over 33% of batters faced in both of those seasons.
Pre-draft rankings from MLB Pipeline, Baseball America, ESPN and The Athletic’s Keith Law all had Arnold listed as one of the top six guys available in the class. All outlets mention his mid-90s fastball. His best secondary pitch is a slider/sweeper, though his changeup also gets some positive mentions. FanGraphs was a bit more bearish, putting Arnold at #17 and mentioning that his fastball declined this year, both in terms of velo and his feel for the pitch.
The A’s are rebuilding and have put together a strong lineup, but the pitching staff still needs work. They will have a tough time luring free agents in the next few years, as they are currently playing in a Triple-A park. The amenities there have led to various complaints from players. As a Pacific Coast League park, the playing conditions are specifically unfavorable for pitchers. Developing homegrown arms should be an important focus of the organization in the next few years and Arnold could be a key component of that. BA already lists Arnold as the second-best prospect in the system.
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Chase DeLauter To Miss 6-8 Weeks Due To Hamate Surgery
The Guardians announced today that outfield prospect Chase DeLauter required surgery due to a right hamate fracture. Their announcement noted that the typical return timeline for such a procedure is six to eight weeks.
It’s yet another frustrating injury setback for DeLauter, who has had many of them. Recurring foot injuries limited his workload in both 2023 and 2024. This year, he required core muscle surgery in March, which cost him a couple of months. Now this surgery seems likely to cost him a couple more.
DeLauter, the 16th overall pick of the 2022 draft, has still been productive on a rate basis. He has a .302/.384/.504 batting line and 142 wRC+ in his minor league career overall. That includes a .278/.383/.476 line and 130 wRC+ in Triple-A this year. However, he’s been limited to just 583 plate appearances in the three years since being drafted.
Despite all the setbacks, it seemed possible he would help the Guardians at the big league level this year. He first reached Triple-A late in 2024 then came into camp this year as a non-roster invitee. He was already a long shot to make the Opening Day roster before the core muscle surgery put him out of commission. He returned and got a couple of months on the field and could have been called up to help the Guards, but there’s little chance of that now. With his timeline, he won’t be back until September.
The Guards could give him some big league playing time down the stretch but they may be in a playoff race. Though their outfield hasn’t been strong for a while, they might not want to rely on a prospect who has missed so much time, so perhaps he will finish his season by getting into a few more minor league contests. He’s going to be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter, so the Guards will be adding him to the roster in the next few months regardless. Perhaps that could lead to DeLauter making his major league debut, especially if the club is out of contention later in the year.
Once he’s on the roster, there’s a path to playing time if he’s healthy. Lane Thomas has been hurt most of this year and is an impending free agent. Will Brennan is recovering from Tommy John surgery and has been a subpar hitter in the big leagues. He also has options remaining. Nolan Jones, Ángel Martínez and Johnathan Rodríguez are all struggling at the plate this year. Steven Kwan has been in some trade speculation but seems likely to stay.
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Athletics Select Ben Bowden, Designate Logan Davidson For Assignment
The Athletics announced today that they have selected the contract of left-hander Ben Bowden. Fellow lefty Hogan Harris has been optioned as the corresponding active roster move. Infielder Logan Davidson has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot.
Bowden, 30, gets back to the big leagues for the first time in four years. He got into 39 games with the Rockies in 2021, allowing 6.56 earned runs per nine, but has been stuck in the minors since then. In early 2022, the Rays claimed him off waivers and later ran him through unclaimed. He then spent some time with the Giants, Phillies and Braves in a non-roster capacity without getting called up.
He signed a minor league deal with the A’s in the offseason and has been pitching well in Triple-A this year. In 39 2/3 innings for the Aviators, he has only allowed 1.36 earned runs per nine. There’s surely a bit of good luck in there, as his .260 batting average on balls in play, 80.3% strand rate and 2.3% home run per flyball rate are all to the helpful side. However, he is striking out 25.6% of opponents, though also with a high walk rate of 11.3%.
The A’s will give him a shot to see if he can find some major league success. With Harris getting sent down, Bowden will be the second lefty in the big league bullpen, alongside Sean Newcomb. It’s possible Newcomb is traded in the next week, since he’s an impending free agent and pitching well. That could help Bowden stick around, though he does have one option remaining.
Davidson, 27, was the club’s first-round pick back in 2019. After the lost 2020 season, he struggled in the three following campaigns and fell off the prospect map. He regained a bit of form in 2024 by hitting .300/.366/.535 in 87 Triple-A contests, despite his strikeout rate remaining high at 30.5%. He then started his 2025 season with a .303/.452/.428 line in his first 186 Triple-A plate appearances, again working around a high strikeout rate of 31.2%.
That got him up to the big leagues for the first time in late May. He struck out 12 times in his first 24 plate appearances, producing a .150/.261/.200 line before getting optioned back down to Las Vegas. Since getting sent back down, he has slashed .221/.371/.372.
DFA limbo can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the A’s could take up to five days to explore trade interest. He is capable of playing all over the diamond and has occasionally shown some promise at the plate. He also has a full slate of options and could perhaps appeal to a club in need of some position player depth. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would stick with the A’s as non-roster depth.
Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images