Cubs Designate Brooks Kriske For Assignment
The Cubs have designated right-hander Brooks Kriske for assignment to make room for recent trade acquisition Michael Soroka on the roster. This marks the second time the Cubs have DFA’d Kriske this year. The righty signed a minor league deal with Chicago over the offseason and was first selected onto the roster in May. He was DFA’d and outrighted back to Triple-A Iowa shortly thereafter, but earned another selection and promotion the weekend before the All-Star break. All in all, he has thrown six scoreless innings for the Cubs this year across four appearances, with four strikeouts and five walks.
Kriske, now 31, began his professional career in the Yankees organization and made his MLB debut for the club in 2020. In parts of two seasons with the Yankees and Orioles from 2020-21, he pitched 15 big league innings over 16 games, giving up 19 runs (18 runs) and seven long balls. Following the 2021 campaign, the Orioles granted him his release, and he inked a deal with NPB’s Yokohama DeNA BayStars not long after.
Kriske briefly returned to affiliated ball in 2023, signing a minor league contract with the Royals in the offseason and eventually appearing in four games with Kansas City before he was optioned and later released to return to Japan. This time, he joined the Seibu Lions, with whom he finished out the 2023 campaign. He then returned stateside in 2024, although he failed to pitch in the majors, spending the year with the Reds’ and Orioles’ Triple-A affiliates.
Thus, Kriske’s 2025 season has been a success story, despite his limited big league playing time and multiple DFAs. He made it back to an MLB mound for the first time since 2023, and dating back to that last appearance for the Royals in June 2023, he has now made five consecutive scoreless appearances at the big league level. Never before had he made more than two. Kriske also pitched to a 3.13 ERA and 2.98 FIP in 31 2/3 innings for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, striking out an incredible 39.4% of hitters. Even more impressive is his 7.6% walk rate, considering his career-long struggles with control. Perhaps that will convince a team to claim him off waivers. If not, he will have the right to reject an outright assignment and return to free agency.
Padres Designate Martin Maldonado, Trenton Brooks
The Padres have designated catcher Martín Maldonado and infielder Trenton Brooks for assignment, per an announcement from the team. San Diego also optioned newly acquired infielder Will Wagner to Triple-A El Paso. Among the numerous trades the Padres pulled off before the deadline were a deal for catcher Freddy Fermin (link) and one for first baseman/DH Ryan O’Hearn and outfielder Ramón Laureano (link). That influx of position player talent to the roster meant cuts were unavoidable, and Maldonado and Brooks were (two of) the odd men out.
Maldonado’s reputation as a strong game-caller has kept him employed long after most statistics suggested he should hang up his gear. From 2012-20, he caught more than 700 games and produced 13.2 FanGraphs WAR, the 14th most among primary catchers. While his bat was a liability, his glove was valuable enough to compensate. According to FanGraphs, only five players racked up more defensive value than Maldonado in that span: Yasmani Grandal, Buster Posey, Yadier Molina, Andrelton Simmons, and Russell Martin. Yet, Maldonado’s offense has only gotten worse, and his defense has dropped off too – at least according to stats like Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), Fielding Run Value (FRV), and Deserved Runs Prevented (DRP). Over the past five seasons, no player who has taken as many or more plate appearances has a lower OPS or wRC+, and without Gold Glove-caliber defense to make up for his feeble bat, he ranks among the league’s 10 worst players in fWAR since 2021. With the Padres seeking every possible edge as they look to hold onto their postseason position, it’s no surprise they wanted to improve behind the dish. Fermin isn’t a star, but he’s an upgrade in almost every quantifiable way.
Maldonado will most likely clear waivers, reject an outright assignment, and return to the open market as a free agent. On the one hand, it might seem unlikely that he’ll find another major league job, especially with his 39th birthday fast approaching. On the other hand, one could have said the same thing before he signed with the White Sox in 2024 and the Padres this season. Perhaps it would be foolish to count out Maldonado just yet.
Brooks spent time in the minors with the Guardians and Athletics organizations from 2016-23 before he finally made his MLB debut with the Giants in May of 2024. The lefty batter went 3-for-25 over 12 games, playing first base and DH, before he was DFA’d in June. He spent the rest of the season with San Francisco’s Triple-A affiliate, where he hit well; he finished the minor league season with a .302 batting average and a 132 wRC+ in 94 games. Brooks then inked a minor league pact with the Padres and continued mashing Triple-A pitching in the early part of 2025. He batted .311 with a 133 wRC+ in 60 games before he had his contract selected in mid-June. Unfortunately, he did not have anywhere close to the same kind of success at the MLB level, as he hit .146 with a 26 wRC+ in 25 contests. If Maldonado’s DFA was unsurprising, Brooks’s may well have been inevitable.
Now 30 years old, and with a .136/.208/.212 career slash line to show for his two brief stints in the majors, Brooks is hardly a prospect. Still, his impressive numbers at Triple-A over the past two years (.306/.410/.508, 24 HR, 38 2B, 104 BB, 104 K) might convince a team in need of some left-handed depth to claim him off waivers in the coming days.
Astros Acquire Jesús Sánchez
The Astros have acquired left-handed hitting outfielder Jesús Sánchez from the Marlins. In exchange, Miami has received right-hander Ryan Gusto, infield prospect Chase Jaworsky, and outfield prospect Esmil Valencia. Both teams have announced the trade.
Houston was known to be seeking a left-handed bat ahead of the deadline, to help balance out a lineup that is sorely missing star slugger Yordan Alvarez. Sánchez is no Alvarez, but he has provided the Marlins with above-average power throughout his career, particularly against right-handed pitching. He has hit double-digit home runs in each of the past five seasons, while his career .184 isolated power (ISO) is about 15% better than league average. Mediocre on-base skills and a typically high strikeout rate mean his overall numbers are closer to average (career 100 wRC+), but he has been consistently productive with the platoon advantage. Sánchez has hit 60 of his 69 home runs against right-handers, with a .203 ISO and a 115 wRC+. He has been particularly effective against righties this year, with a career-best 125 wRC+ and a 19.4% strikeout rate. While his 27.6% strikeout rate against southpaws is still quite high, his overall 20.8% strikeout rate is easily the lowest of his career; this is the first year he has ever had a strikeout rate better than the league average.
Sánchez is strictly a platoon bat, with a .178/.226/.284 career slash line against lefties, but that shouldn’t be a problem for the Astros, who rank second in MLB in OPS and wRC+ against left-handed pitching and have enough right-handed hitters that they shouldn’t have any trouble shielding Sánchez from southpaws. However, the only lefties on their active roster right now are Taylor Trammell and Jacob Melton, as well as the switch-hitting Victor Caratini and Cooper Hummel, and they rank among the bottom half of teams in OPS and wRC+ against right-handers. So, it’s not hard to see how Sánchez slots in and improves the lineup. He can take outfield playing time that’s been going to Hummel, Melton, and Trammell, and/or DH reps that have been going to Caratini against right-handed pitching.
In exchange for Sánchez, who is making $4.5MM this year and remains under team control through arbitration through 2027, the Marlins receive a rookie hurler and two position player prospects. According to MLB Pipeline, Jaworsky, 21, is the headliner; they have him ranked as Houston’s no. 13 prospect, while Valencia is no longer on the organizational top 30. Similarly, Baseball America put Jaworsky at no. 22 and did not rank Valencia in their latest update. Most sources agree that Jaworsky projects as a utility infielder with good speed, but a lack of power means he’ll need to improve his plate discipline in order to get enough out of his hit tool. FanGraphs, interestingly, is higher on Valencia (Astros no. 20) than Jaworsky (no. 26). The 19-year-old outfielder seems to have a higher offensive ceiling but carries more risk, in large part due to poor swing decisions. Ultimately, both players project as role players; that’s not too surprising considering Sánchez himself isn’t an everyday player.
As for Gusto, he wasn’t a name that many had an eye on entering the season, but the 26-year-old has been surprisingly effective in his first big league campaign. Through 24 games (14 starts), he has a 4.92 ERA and a much more impressive 3.92 SIERA over 86 innings pitched. He helped the Astros survive a great number of pitching injuries over the first four months of the season, but with Houston looking to add pitching today and hoping to reinstate some arms from the IL soon, Gusto was expendable. He will now be able to help the Marlins fill innings over the remainder of the season, and they’ll have him under team control (with three option years remaining) for another five seasons.
Sánchez heading to the Marlins was first reported by Michael Schwab. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand added that the Marlins would receive Gusto in the deal. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported the Marlins would also get back two prospects in exchange for Sánchez. Isaac Azout of Fish on First identified one of the prospects as Jaworsky, while Craig Mish of Sportsgrid identified the other as Valencia.
Reds Acquire Miguel Andujar
The Reds have acquired utility player Miguel Andujar from the Athletics in exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Kenya Huggins, according to Ari Alexander of KPRC2. Andujar is a free agent after the season, and was seen as a very likely candidate to be moved by the rebuilding A’s.
After a runner-up finish in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2018 and then a few uninspiring years with the Yankees, Andujar has rebuilt his value as a regular contributor since leaving New York. He has hit .285/.320/.412 over 640 plate appearances with the Pirates and Athletics since Opening Day 2023, good for a 105 wRC+.
As per the norm for a right-handed batter, Andujar has performed far better against left-handed pitching than he has against righties. Cincinnati will probably deploy Andujar as a platoon bat with lefty-swingers Gavin Lux or Jake Fraley in the corner outfield slots, and Andujar will likely get some time at third base as a better-hitting alternative to Ke’Bryan Hayes. Another of the Reds’ deadline pickups, Hayes is an elite defender who struggles mightily at the plate, so Andujar figures to get some late-game pinch-hitting opportunities as well.
Andujar is earning $3MM in his final year of arbitration eligibility, so the Reds will only owe him a little under $1MM for the remainder of the 2025 campaign. That’s a bargain price for an above-average bat who has upside as a lefty-masher, and it’s a particularly smooth fit since the Reds are working within a limited budget.
Cincinnati emerges from deadline day with an estimated payroll of just under $119.9MM (hat tip to RosterResource). This stands as the Reds’ highest payroll since the 2021 season, and the acquisitions of Hayes, Andujar, and Zack Littell indicate that the team is making a strong push towards its first postseason appearance since 2020. The Reds are 57-52 entering tonight’s action, and sit three games behind the Padres for the final NL wild card spot.
Huggins was a fourth-round pick for Cincinnati in the 2022 draft, and a Tommy John surgery shelved him for big chunks of the 2023-24 seasons. As a result, Huggins has only 107 pro innings to his name, with 63 1/3 of those frames coming this year with A-level Daytona. Huggins has a 3.69 ERA in his return to action this year, looking pretty sharp even with a diminished strikeout rate that could be a by-product of his long layoff. MLB Pipeline slots Huggins in as the 27th-best prospect in the Athletics’ farm system, noting that he has exhibited better command post-surgery.
Royals Acquire Bailey Falter
The Royals have acquired left-handed starter Bailey Falter from the Pirates, with lefty Evan Sisk and minor league first baseman Callan Moss headed back to Pittsburgh in return. Both teams have announced the trade.
Falter, 28, settled in as a capable back-end starter for the Pirates over the past two seasons. From 2024-25, he has made 50 starts, averaging just over five innings per game. He has a 4.12 ERA and a 4.99 SIERA in that time. Neither a strikeout pitcher nor a groundball pitcher, none of Falter’s pitches stand out as especially dangerous, but he survives thanks to average control and elite extension. He will offer the Royals some much-needed rotation depth, with Kris Bubic out for the season and Cole Ragans, Michael Lorenzen, and Alex Marsh also on the IL. Falter might not be the kind of pitcher the Royals want starting in a postseason series, but he can help them in the uphill climb they’re facing to get to the playoffs. He is making $2.22MM this year and will be under team control through arbitration for another three seasons.
Sisk, now 28, was drafted by the Cardinals in 2018 and traded to the Twins in 2021 as part of a package for J.A. Happ. A year and a half later, the Twins flipped him to the Royals as part of the deal that brought Michael A. Taylor to Minnesota. Almost seven years after he was drafted, Sisk made his MLB debut for KC earlier this year. He threw a total of 5 1/3 innings in two separate stints with the big league club, giving up just one earned run and striking out 11. He also pitched to a 3.77 ERA and 3.83 FIP in 28.2 innings with the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers. Sisk has never been a top prospect, in no small part due to questions about his ability to retire right-handed hitters at the highest level. That helps explain why he has pitched at Triple-A with two different organizations in parts of four separate seasons, and he’s only managed to earn five big league appearances.
Moss, now 21, signed with the Royals as an undrafted free agent last summer. While he is not a highly-regarded prospect, the righty batter crushed the baseball last year at Single-A (177 wRC+ in 22 games) and has continued to hit well this year at High-A (123 wRC+ in 92 games). He’s also added a total of 17 stolen bases in 24 attempts.
Jon Heyman of The New York Post was the first to report that Falter was heading to Pittsburgh, while Alex Stumpf of MLB.com was first on the return of Sisk and Moss.
Angels Acquire Oswald Peraza
The Yankees have traded infielder Oswald Peraza to the Angels in exchange for outfield prospect Wilberson De Pena, as well as international bonus pool money. Both teams have announced the deal. To make room for Peraza, the Angels have designated Kevin Newman for assignment.
Peraza, now 25, signed with the Yankees as an international free agent in 2016, and as he rose through the ranks of their minor league system, he also rose up organizational prospect rankings. Entering the 2022 season, when he made his big league debut, he was a consensus top-100 prospect. He impressed during a cup of coffee that September, hitting .306 with a 145 wRC+, and was once again a top-100 prospect entering 2023. Since then, however, his stock has fallen fast. He has slashed .190/.262/.285 in 429 plate appearances from 2022-25, with seven home runs and nine stolen bases in 145 games. Spending time at second base, third base, and shortstop, he has graded out as an average-to-slightly-above-average defender, but his versatile glove has not been nearly enough to make up for his ineffective bat. His offensive numbers at Triple-A over the past few years have also been less than impressive.
After the Yankees traded for infielders Ryan McMahon and Amed Rosario last week, the clock began to tick on Peraza’s tenure with the club. Their deal to acquire José Caballero today was surely the final nail in the coffin, even though the Peraza trade was technically reported shortly before the Caballero agreement. The Yankees have revamped their infield and bench as part of their efforts to take down the Blue Jays to defend their AL East crown. A floundering former top prospect no longer fit into the picture.
Peraza is a textbook change-of-scenery candidate. The Angels acquire him with four years of team control remaining after 2025, although he is out of options. For now, he will offer them depth off the bench and a potential alternative to the slumping Luis Rengifo. If he impresses, he should be in the mix for the second or third base job next season, with Rengifo and Yoán Moncada set to hit free agency at the end of the year. On the other hand, if he continues to hit as poorly as he did with the Yankees, he’ll soon be staring down the barrel of a DFA.
Meanwhile, De Pena is a textbook example of a lottery-ticket prospect. The 18-year-old has not has not yet had much of a chance to make an impression in his professional career. He signed with the Angels as an international free agent last January and has spent the past two seasons as a corner outfielder in the Dominican Summer League. He has hit .211 with four home runs and five doubles in 31 games this year.
Newman signed with the Angels in the offseason on a one-year, $2.75MM guarantee. While he has never been known for his bat, he hit just well enough to offer some value as a utility infielder for the Pirates, Reds, and Diamondbacks from 2022-24. In 2025, however, he has hit just .202 with only four extra-base hits in 57 games. He has a .481 OPS and -0.7 FanGraphs WAR. Given his poor performance and the not-insignificant amount of money remaining on his contract, he is almost certain to pass through waivers, after which he is likely to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.
Peraza to the Angels was first reported by Jack Curry of the YES Network. Joel Sherman of the New York Post added that the Yankees would receive De Pena and international bonus pool money in return.
Phillies Designate Brett De Geus For Assignment
The Phillies announced this afternoon that they’ve designated right-hander Brett de Geus for assignment. De Geus’s 40-man roster spot will go to the recently acquired Harrison Bader.
The 27-year-old de Geus is no stranger to the DFA. The Phillies are the fourth team to designate him for assignment in 2025 alone. Since he was selected 1,000th overall in the 2017 draft, he has played in the Dodgers, Rangers, Diamondbacks, Royals, Mariners, Marlins, Blue Jays, and Phillies organizations. A Rule 5 draft pick, he made his big league debut in 2021, pitching 50 innings of relief for Texas and Arizona with a 7.56 ERA and 4.60 SIERA. The D-backs released him in 2022, and after brief stints with a couple of teams in the Atlantic League, he returned to affiliated ball in 2023, signing a minor league pact with Kansas City. The following year, he finally made his way back to the majors, pitching to a 7.15 ERA and 4.19 SIERA in 11 1/3 innings for the Mariners, Marlins, and Blue Jays.
Toronto was the first team to DFA de Geus in 2025, later trading him to Pittsburgh for cash considerations in January. Little over a month later, the Pirates DFA’d him as well, and the Marlins scooped him up off waivers for his second stint with the club. He opened the season with their Triple-A affiliate in Jacksonville, but after just one appearance for the Jumbo Shrimp, he was DFA’d once again and claimed by the Phillies. They, too, sent de Geus to Triple-A but eventually recalled the righty for his 2025 debut in late May. He gave up one run in two innings of work before he was optioned back to Lehigh Valley the following day.
Over parts of three MLB seasons, de Geus has a career 7.39 ERA and 4.67 SIERA in 63 1/3 innings of low-leverage relief work. On the bright side, his 4.11 ERA and 4.45 FIP at Triple-A this year are both his best numbers in any minor league season since his 2019 campaign at the low levels with the Dodgers. While he has had trouble holding on to a big league job throughout his career, there is clearly a reason so many teams have been interested in giving him a shot over the past few years. With his four-pitch arsenal (including a fastball that tops out at 98 mph), consistently high groundball rates, and two option years remaining, a new team could certainly be willing to give de Geus a shot in 2025.
Astros Re-Sign Luis Guillorme
TODAY: The Astros re-signed Guillorme to a new minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Sugar Land.
JULY 28: Infielder Luis Guillorme is a free agent, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. He cleared waivers, and the Astros outrighted him off their 40-man roster earlier today. The veteran rejected the outright assignment in favor of free agency.
Guillorme, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Astros in the offseason and spent the first three months of the 2025 season at Triple-A Sugar Land, eventually getting the call back to the majors mid-June. He went 3-for-20 (.150) over 12 games with Houston before he landed on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain. After he played two games on a rehab assignment last week, the Astros decided they didn’t have a role for him and cut him from their 40-man roster.
Although he has never made much of an impact at the plate, Guillorme made a name for himself over his tenure with the Mets thanks to an above-average glove and valuable versatility. He has played at least 50 career games at second base, third base, and shortstop, racking up a total of 9 OAA. That has helped him earn MLB playing time in each of the past eight seasons despite a career .248/.333/.318 batting line (88 wRC+). Following a six-year stint in Queens from 2018-23, Guillorme bounced between the Braves, Angels, and Diamondbacks in 2024. After departing the Astros organization, he will now be able to try to bounce his way into another big league opportunity.
By removing Guillorme and Jon Singleton from their 40-man roster, the Astros now have a pair of open spots to play with. That will make it easier for them to make some major league additions at the trade deadline and/or to reinstate some of their many players on the 60-day IL.
Giants Making Justin Verlander Available In Trade Talks
As recently as last week, it still seemed like the Giants would be buying at the trade deadline. It wasn’t long ago that they were linked to Isiah Kiner-Falefa (link) and thought to be interested in adding a right-handed hitting outfielder and at least one starting pitcher. Yet, they have now lost six straight, dropping them below .500. This morning, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported that the Giants were listening to offers on their relievers, and the team confirmed as much this afternoon when they shipped off Tyler Rogers to the Mets.
So, it now appears Buster Posey‘s club will be selling over the next 21 hours, with legendary starting pitcher Justin Verlander the latest name on the block. Both Morosi and the New York Post’s Jon Heyman have noted that Verlander is available in trades. The 42-year-old has full no-trade rights, but it stands to reason that he would be willing to waive his no-trade clause to join a contender for the stretch run. The bigger question to ask is if the Giants would be willing to eat any of his approximately $5MM in remaining salary to make his contract more palatable for potential suitors.
Verlander is no longer an ace. He probably wouldn’t even make the postseason rotation for whichever contender might trade for him. Still, with a 4.53 ERA and a 4.58 SIERA in 18 starts this year, he would make a fine no. 5 starter for plenty of teams, with the upside to offer a little bit more. And while the value of so-called “veteran leadership” is difficult to quantify, Verlander’s extensive postseason resume and mentorship capabilities can only increase his appeal. The nine-time All-Star, three-time Cy Young winner, and two-time World Series champion has 3505 regular season innings and another 226 postseason innings under his belt. He has played in 20 MLB seasons, and his teams have made the playoffs in 12 of those years.
While neither Morosi’s nor Heyman’s reports linked Verlander to any specific teams, the Tigers’ recent acquisition of Chris Paddack demonstrates that teams are indeed looking for back-end starters this time of year. Almost every team has innings to fill, and it’s not hard to see why a club might be interested in adding a future Hall of Famer to fill those frames.
Phillies Acquire Jhoan Duran
The Phillies have acquired closer Jhoan Duran from the Twins in exchange for catching prospect Eduardo Tait and right-handed pitcher Mick Abel. Both teams have officially announced the deal.
Duran was one of the biggest names on this summer’s trade market. He came in at no. 34 on MLBTR’s list of the top 50 trade candidates, but he surely would have ranked higher if it seemed more likely that he’d be dealt. The flamethrowing right-hander is one of the undisputed best closers in the game, with a career 2.47 ERA, 2.48 SIERA, and 74 saves in 83 chances over the past four seasons. Dating back to his rookie season in 2022, he has thrown 233 2/3 innings in 223 games, racking up 292 strikeouts (seventh-most among relievers) with an elite 63.2% groundball rate. His 9.10 Win Probability Added (WPA) ranks third in that same span, trailing only Devin Williams and Félix Bautista. The 1,284 pitches he’s thrown at or above 100 miles an hour (per Statcast) are easily the most in the majors; Mason Miller ranks second with 819. Only 27 years old and arguably pitching better than ever – he’s on pace for career-highs in both the FanGraphs and Baseball Reference versions of WAR – Duran remains under team control via arbitration through the 2027 campaign.
The possibility of the Twins trading Duran began to seem more and more realistic over the past couple of days, with the 51-57 Twins looking to take advantage of a seller’s market and a bevy of contending teams seeking late-inning bullpen help. It was no secret the Phillies were one such club. A few weeks ago, The Athletic’s Matt Gelb reported that Duran (and teammate Griffin Jax) would be “prized targets” for Philadelphia, noting that, in contrast to past deadlines, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was prioritizing “controllable big leaguers” and, in particular, a controllable “shutdown, late-inning reliever.” Since Gelb’s initial report, several more sources linked the Phillies to Duran, including Nightengale and the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, but the most recent reporting indicated that their refusal to part with top prospect Andrew Painter would ultimately prevent them from landing Duran, with both Nightengale and Rosenthal and Gelb suggesting as much. Evidently, the Twins softened their demands, although there is no doubt the Phillies still paid a high price to acquire their new bullpen ace.
Tait is widely considered a top-100 prospect, ranked 50th by Baseball America, 51st by Baseball Prospectus, and 56th by MLB Pipeline. As BA notes, he is their first top-100 prospect to be traded ahead of the deadline since 2023, and the highest ranked since 2022. Whether or not the Twins achieved their reported goal of landing two top-100 prospects in exchange for Duran depends on which lists you’re looking at; Abel is currently no. 92 on MLB Pipeline’s list, but he dropped off BA’s most recent post-draft rankings and fell off BP’s list after 2023. For what it’s worth, neither Tait nor Abel was included on FanGraphs’ latest top 100 update.
Looking beyond the arbitrary “top 100” cutoff, however, what matters is that the Twins received a pair of highly talented young players, of a caliber rarely seen moved in deadline deals. Tait is a bat-first catcher with big power and a strong throwing arm, but the rest of his defensive game needs significant work. Still, the bat has enough potential that he could succeed in the majors (presumably at first base or DH) even if he doesn’t stick behind the plate. He lit up the competition in the Dominican Summer League and the Florida Complex League in his first two professional seasons, but he hasn’t looked quite as powerful in Single-A and High-A this year. That said, he’s only 18 years old, which is young for his level, and scouting reports matter far more than his numbers right now. Dan Hayes of The Athletic notes that the Twins have “very good” internal grades on Tait.
Abel might not have quite as much upside as he once did, but he has looked much better this year than he did in 2023 or ’24. He has a 2.31 ERA and 3.56 FIP in 13 Triple-A starts, both his best numbers at any level in any year of his professional career. While he looked overmatched at times in his first six MLB starts for the Phillies, his mediocre overall numbers are the combination of three strong starts and three disappointing outings. He’s not there quite yet, but he showed signs that he could soon become a capable big league starting pitcher. Whether that’s a mid-rotation or back-end starter is now up to the Twins, but he has good raw stuff and a deep arsenal for their development and coaching staffs to work with.
Heading into play today, the Phillies ranked 24th in MLB with a 4.33 bullpen ERA and 15th with a 3.82 bullpen SIERA. Their strong starting rotation has helped to limit the bullpen’s workload (their bullpen ranks last in innings pitched), but still, it’s not hard to understand why Dombrowski was looking for a significant upgrade. Philadelphia’s longest tenured reliever, hard-throwing lefty José Alvarado, will be out until mid-August serving a PED suspension, and he won’t be eligible to pitch in the playoffs. Jordan Romano, the team’s primary bullpen acquisition of the offseason, has struggled to a 6.81 ERA. No one knows what to expect from David Robertson, who did not sign with a team until earlier this month. He remained one of the best relievers in baseball at age 39 in 2024, but he essentially started his spring training last week. Orion Kerkering and Matt Strahm have provided manager Rob Thomson with a couple of reliable back-end options, but as the Phillies battle with the Mets for the NL East crown and look to contend for a World Series, it’s clear to see why they identified Duran as a major difference-maker.
As for the Twins, there is now no question they are in full sell mode, having dealt Duran and Chris Paddack, whom they sent to the Tigers on Monday. This makes it seem all the more likely that they will soon trade Willi Castro, Harrison Bader, and Danny Coulombe, all of whom are set to hit free agency at the end of the season. However, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand notes that Minnesota is now far more likely to hold on to Jax, their other controllable relief ace. Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune echoed Feinsand’s statement, writing that the Twins have not “ruled out” trading Jax, but their asking price could now be astronomical – perhaps too high for anyone to meet.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was the first to report that the two sides were closing in on a trade, while Bob Nightengale of USA Today was the first to report that the Twins would receive Tait and Abel in exchange for Duran. ESPN’s Jeff Passan was the first to confirm the agreement.
Photo in article courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing, Imagn Images.