Mark Polishuk | MLB Trade Rumors

Trade Deadline Outlook: Los Angeles Dodgers

By Mark Polishuk | July 9, 2025 at 11:49pm CDT

MLBTR’s new team-by-team deadline preview series (available to Front Office subscribers) continues with a look at the reigning World Series champions, who are laser-focused on defending their title. The Dodgers have again weathered a storm of pitching injuries to take control of the NL West, and at this point are looking primarily at adding a few finishing touches to lengthen what is already a championship-caliber roster.

Record: 56-37 (99.3% playoff probability, per FanGraphs)

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Potential needs: Relief pitching, infield depth, outfield depth, rotation depth

In an example of how deadline plans can quickly evolve, this list of needs would have been shorter if the Dodgers' outlook piece had been written even a week ago. Just within the last few days, Max Muncy sustained a bone bruise in his left knee that will keep him out until mid-August, Enrique Hernandez was placed on the 10-day injured list due to lingering elbow inflammation that has been bothering the utilityman for over a month, Tommy Edman suffered a hairline fracture in his right baby toe after being hit by a pitch, and Teoscar Hernandez is day-to-day after fouling a ball off his left foot.

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Nationals Sign Luis Garcia

By Mark Polishuk | July 8, 2025 at 4:10pm CDT

July 8th: The Nationals have now officially announced the signing of Garcia. Right-hander Eduardo Salazar has been optioned to Triple-A Rochester as the corresponding active roster move. Righty Trevor Williams has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot. Williams was just placed on the 15-day IL a few days ago due to an elbow sprain. It appears the Nats don’t expect him to return before September. Washington also recalled catcher Drew Millas and placed catcher Keibert Ruiz on the seven-day concussion-related IL.

July 6th: The Nationals have signed right-hander Luis Garcia to a Major League contract, the Washington Post’s Andrew Golden reports. The deal will become official when the 38-year-old Garcia passes a physical.

It didn’t take long for Garcia to find a new landing spot, as the Dodgers only just released the veteran reliever on Friday. Garcia signed a minor league deal with Los Angeles last winter and broke camp with the team, but his struggled during his time on the big league roster. Garcia posted a 5.27 ERA and 12.7% walk rate over 27 1/3 innings, and spent about a month on the injured list recovering from an adductor strain.

There have been plenty of ups and downs for Garcia over his 13 MLB seasons, which isn’t surprising for a grounder specialist who relies a lot of batted-ball luck. His most sustained stretch of success came fairly recently, as Garcia posted a 3.62 ERA, 23.4% strikeout rate, and 7.4% walk rate across 154 relief innings for the Cardinals and Padres from 2021-23. Those results led to a one-year, $4.25MM free agent deal with the Angels during the 2023-24 offseason, and Garcia continued to pitch decently well before his production dipped after a deadline trade to the Red Sox.

Washington has one of the league’s worst bullpens, so there’s not much risk for the Nats in taking a flier to see if Garcia can bounce back from his rough showing in L.A. If he really pitches well between now and the July 31 trade deadline, the Nationals could even look to quickly flip Garcia elsewhere for a low-level minor leaguer.

Once Garcia gets into a game with his new club, he will have pitched with eight different teams at the big league level over the course of his long career. This is actually the second Dodgers-to-Nationals trip Garcia has taken — after beginning his career as an international prospect in Los Angeles’ farm system, the Dodgers dealt Garcia to the Nats way back in August 2009. Garcia didn’t see any big league action during his year-plus in the Washington organization, and didn’t end up making his MLB debut until he was a 26-year-old pitching with the Phillies in 2013. (By coincidence, Garcia pitched against the Nats in his first Major League game.)

Yankees To Promote Cam Schlittler

By Mark Polishuk | July 8, 2025 at 8:45am CDT

July 8: Schlittler will indeed be promoted for his major league debut tomorrow, per SNY’s Andy Martino. The team has not yet formally announced the move or any corresponding 40-man or 26-man roster moves.

July 5: The Yankees are currently planning to add pitching prospect Cam Schlittler to the big league roster on either Tuesday or Wednesday, according to Joel Sherman and Dan Martin of the New York Post. Multiple transactions will be required in advance since Schlittler isn’t on the 40-man roster, though 40-man space can be easily created by moving Clarke Schmidt to the 60-day injured list. Schmidt will miss the rest of the season due to an expected Tommy John surgery, which has opened the door for Schlittler to make his Major League debut.

Allan Winans was only just optioned to Triple-A last Sunday and thus his minimum 15-day stay in the minors isn’t yet up, unless another injury arises in the next few days to allow New York to bring Winans back to the Show. Should a forthcoming injury create a path back for Winans, the Yankees might change course, which is why Sherman and Martin note that the club hasn’t yet absolutely decided to call Schlittler up.

Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, and Will Warren comprise the top four pitchers in a rotation that has now taken another big injury hit with the loss of Schmidt, on top of Gerrit Cole’s Tommy John surgery in March. Luis Gil has missed the entire season due to a lat strain and isn’t expected back until after the All-Star break, while Sherman/Martin write that swingman Ryan Yarbrough is expected to be out until August while recovering from an oblique strain. This means Schlittler might get a bit of an extended audition beyond just a start in New York’s upcoming series with the Mariners, unless Winans is recalled or if the Yankees perhaps acquired another pitcher.

A seventh-round pick for the Yankees in the 2022 draft, Schlittler has a 3.33 ERA over 243 1/3 career pro innings, starting 50 of his 54 games. This year, he has a 2.38 ERA over 53 innings of Double-A ball and a 3.80 ERA in 23 2/3 innings at Triple-A. Schlittler has an impressive 31.9% strikeout rate over his 76 2/3 total innings this season, as well as an 8.4% walk rate and a 47.8% grounder rate. The right-hander has consistently done a good job of keeping the ball on the ground, though this does leave him open to some batted-ball variance, such as his .350 BABIP in the minors this season.

Baseball America ranks the 6’6″, 210-pound Schlittler fifth on their list of the Yankees’ minor league prospects, while he sits tenth on MLB Pipeline’s Yankees farm rankings. Both outlets put a 60-grade on Schlittler’s fastball, which averages around 94mph and can hit as high as 97-98mph, plus BA’s scouting report cites the pitch’s “15 inches of induced vertical break.” BA’s report is also a big fan of the sweeper Schlittler has been developing, which nicely complements his more standard slider. This combination of pitches hints that Schlittler could be a very promising reliever if his future as a starter doesn’t work out, but evaluators feel he has a chance to stick as at least a back-end rotation member.

Padres Activate Yu Darvish

By Mark Polishuk | July 7, 2025 at 5:43pm CDT

July 7: San Diego officially reinstated Darvish from the 60-day IL. Lefty Kyle Hart was optioned to Triple-A El Paso to make room on the active roster. To clear the necessary 40-man roster spot, the Friars moved Michael King from the 15-day to the 60-day IL.

It’s a procedural move for King. The 60-day count backdates to his original IL placement, which was retroactive to May 22. He’ll technically be eligible to return two weeks from now. King won’t be ready by then anyhow as he works back from a nerve issue in his throwing shoulder. He has made progress, however, as the team revealed this evening that he’s set to throw off a mound for the first time on Thursday (relayed by Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune). He’ll need to progress through multiple bullpen and live batting practice sessions before he’s ready to embark on a minor league assignment.

July 6: Yu Darvish is set to make his first big league appearance of 2025, as Padres manager Mike Shildt told reporters (including Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune) that the right-hander will be activated from the 60-day injured list to start Monday’s game with the Diamondbacks. Darvish developed elbow inflammation in the middle of March, and the veteran’s recovery process ended up costing him over half of the season.

The exact nature of Darvish’s progress was kept somewhat vague. Shildt has said the team trusted Darvish to essentially manage his own rehab since the pitcher obviously knows the most about how his arm is feeling, and how much ramp-up work is required. Darvish only pitched in one minor league rehab game back on May 14, though continued soreness in his elbow put his rehab on hold and delayed any plans for a return to the Padres’ rotation.

Acee writes that Darvish tossed two simulated games in the last 12 days, and hit the 64-pitch mark in his most recent outing. This seems to have checked the final box for Darvish to be activated, and he’ll jump right into the deep end in a big NL West matchup. San Diego is four games ahead of 44-46 Arizona in the standings, and the Padres would naturally love to further knock their division rivals further out of wild card contention.

It wouldn’t be surprising if it takes a start or two for Darvish to knock the rust off, but in general, getting a frontline pitcher back is naturally a big plus for the Padres. Even with Darvish out, Michael King to the IL since late May, and Dylan Cease battling through an inconsistent season, San Diego has kept afloat with a makeshift rotation. Nick Pivetta is enjoying a tremendous debut season in a Padres uniform, and Stephen Kolek and Randy Vasquez have held the fort over their starts, despite some shaky peripheral statistics. The Padres’ excellent bullpen has also been instrumental in bolstering the pitching staff as a whole.

2025 will mark Darvish’s 20th professional season, counting his seven years in Nippon Professional Baseball and his 12 previous MLB campaigns. Darvish turns 39 next month but appears to still have plenty left in the tank, as evidenced by the 3.31 ERA he posted over 81 2/3 frames for the Padres last season (and his 1.98 ERA in 13 2/3 playoff innings). As Acee notes, Darvish has been bothered by elbow problems throughout his time in San Diego, and both the pitcher and the team are focused on having him healthy and ready for the playoff stretch and throughout October.

Nationals Fire PBO Mike Rizzo, Manager Dave Martinez

By Mark Polishuk | July 6, 2025 at 11:54pm CDT

The Nationals have made an in-season shake-up of their organization, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez have both been fired. The Nats have confirmed the news, and announced that assistant GM Mike DeBartolo will be the team’s interim general manager for the remainder of the season. An interim manager to replace Martinez will be determined tomorrow.

“On behalf of our family and the Washington Nationals organization, I first and foremost want to thank Mike and Davey for their contributions to our franchise and our city. Our family is eternally grateful for their years of dedication to the organization, including their roles in bringing a World Series trophy to Washington, D.C.” managing principal owner Mark Lerner said in an official statement from the team. “While we are appreciative of their past successes, the on-field performance has not been where we or our fans expect it to be. This is a pivotal time for our Club, and we believe a fresh approach and new energy is the best course of action for our team moving forward.”

The news comes on the heels of Washington’s 6-4 loss to the Red Sox today, which dropped the Nats to a dismal 37-53 for the season. Only the White Sox and Rockies have won fewer games than the Nationals, who are on pace for their sixth straight losing season since winning the 2019 World Series. James Wood and MacKenzie Gore are enjoying breakout seasons and CJ Abrams is delivering big for the second straight year, but virtually the entire rest of the Nationals roster has underachieved in what was supposed more of a step-forward season in the club’s rebuild.

Given this backdrop, it isn’t surprising that Nationals ownership has chosen to make a fresh start, even if the specific timing is a little surprising. Some contractual language was also likely at play, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes that the middle of July loomed as a deadline for the organization to decide whether or not to exercise club options on Rizzo and Martinez for the 2026 season. It was known that Martinez’s last extension contained a club option for 2026, and while the specific terms of Rizzo’s last extension weren’t publicly revealed, it makes sense that his deal would line up timeline-wise with Martinez’s contract.

DeBartolo has been with the Nationals organization since starting as an intern with the team in 2012, and he worked his way up the management ladder to the AGM position prior to the 2019 season. While most teams promote from within for interim positions, keeping some continuity in place is particularly important in this case given how the Nationals hold the first overall pick in next weekend’s MLB Draft, plus the club has plenty of important decisions to make on the selling front for the July 31 trade deadline.

Rizzo’s tenure with the Nationals ends just short of 19 years, as he was hired as an assistant GM in July 2006. Rizzo himself was named to an interim GM role when Jim Bowden resigned as general manager just prior to the start of the 2009 season, and Rizzo was promoted to the full-time GM job that August. Washington lost 103 games in 2009 in the low point of another rebuild, yet Rizzo overall a successful rebuild and franchise overhaul that turned the Nationals into consistent contenders for much of the next decade.

Bottoming out helped the Nationals land the first overall pick in both the 2009 (Stephen Strasburg) and 2010 (Bryce Harper) drafts, so there’s some irony in Rizzo being fired so close to Washington getting to make another top selection. Taking Anthony Rendon sixth overall in 2011 added to this new core of talent, though Rizzo and the Nationals already announced their intention to compete a little earlier when Jayson Werth was signed to a seven-year, $126MM free agent deal during the 2010-11 offseason.

This bold move from a last-place team was one of many headline-grabbing transactions Rizzo swung over the years, as the Nationals made more big free agent investments in such players as Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin. Trea Turner was a major trade acquisition as a prospect who developed into a star infielder, and Juan Soto’s emergence from international prospect to immediate superstar added to the all-around roster creation that culminated in the 2019 World Series title. That championship capped off a run of eight straight winning seasons for Washington from 2012-19, and four NL East crowns (though the Nats made it into the 2019 playoffs as a wild card team).

Martinez’s hiring was also a key element in finally getting the Nationals over the top. The longtime former player and coach was a first-time skipper when he was hired following the 2017 season, and Martinez had big shoes to fill in taking over from Dusty Baker. It took a while for things to fully click for Martinez, as the Nats were only 82-80 in 2018, and then got off to a 19-31 start in 2019 before turning things around in historic fashion.

Since the 2019 championship, of course, the Nationals have fallen into disrepair. While the club was willing to let such notables as Harper and Rendon walk, the decision to re-sign Strasburg to a seven-year, $245MM contract proved disastrous, as arm injuries limited Strasburg to only 31 1/3 big league innings over the course of the deal, and forced the right-hander into premature retirement. Strasburg’s issues proved symbolic for the Nationals’ struggles as a whole, and the club turned into another rebuild period.

Trading Scherzer and Turner to the Dodgers at the 2021 deadline brought Josiah Gray and Keibert Ruiz to Washington, but the 2022 deadline blockbuster deal that sent Soto to the Padres may well have built the foundation of the Nationals’ next era of winning baseball, even if Rizzo and Martinez won’t be present to see it. The Soto deal brought Wood, Gore, Abrams, Robert Hassell III and Jarlin Susana, all in one fell swoop, which already stands as an incredible haul even with Hassell or Susana yet to show anything at the MLB level.

That single trade aside, however, papered over some of the flaws in the Nationals’ rebuild plan. The amount of talent coming through the draft and international signing market slowed to a crawl, and Rizzo overhauled his scouting and player developments a few years ago in an attempt to address the problem. Ruiz was signed to an eight-year, $50MM extension prior to the 2023, yet the catcher hasn’t become the building block the front office had hoped. Injuries to Gray and Cade Cavalli also hampered the club’s ability to re-establish its rotation depth, as Gore stands as the only clear-cut success story on the pitching front.

It should be noted that this year’s Nationals entered June with a respectable 28-30 record, so it seemed like some hope was the horizon for a potential return to at least the .500 mark, if not wild card contention. However, an 11-game losing streak led to a 7-19 record in June, and Martinez reportedly upset the clubhouse when he seemingly put the blame for the losing streak on the players rather than the coaching staff. Martinez now moves on with a 500-622 record to show for his eight-year run as Washington’s skipper.

As noted in my recent Nationals-centric Trade Deadline Outlook piece (for MLBTR Front Office subscribers), it seemed like Washington was likely going to play it safe at this year’s deadline, with a focus just on moving impending veteran free agents. Today’s news may keep that speculative plan in place, if DeBartolo doesn’t want to rock the boat too much, or if ownership perhaps wants to save any bigger-picture decisions for the next president of baseball ops — whether DeBaroto himself in a promotion, or perhaps a new voice from outside the organization.

Whomever takes over the Nationals’ front office will inherit some tremendous young talents, since some of the heavy lifting has already been done with Wood, Abrams, and Gore in place for at least the next two seasons (Gore is a free agent after the 2027 campaign). It could be that the hiring of a new top executive may extend the rebuild a little further if a new PBO wants to again shuffle the front office staff around and bring in some fresh blood, which may not be what Washington fans want to hear after six years of losing baseball. There is also the lingering question of when the Lerner family is willing to start increasing the Nats’ payroll, or perhaps if the Lerners may still be considering a sale of the team after spending almost two years exploring the market.

Rays Notes: Rasmussen, Boyle, Lowe, Kim

By Mark Polishuk | July 6, 2025 at 11:35pm CDT

Drew Rasmussen was the starting pitcher in Sunday’s 7-5 Rays win over the Twins, but Rasmussen only tossed two innings before turning things over to Joe Boyle, who was called up from Triple-A before the game. Boyle allowed just one unearned run over five innings of work, and he has yet to allow any earned runs over 10 MLB innings this season.

The quick hook for Rasmussen wasn’t for any health reason, but rather the debut of a strategy the Rays will be deploying over the next few weeks. As Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times explains, Rasmussen has now thrown 89 1/3 innings this season, putting him on track to far exceed the 150-inning limit the Rays set for the right-hander since he missed most of the 2023-24 seasons due to an internal brace surgery. Since he also underwent two Tommy John surgeries before even beginning his pro career, the Rays naturally wanted to be careful in managing Rasmussen’s workload in the aftermath of yet another major elbow procedure.

Since Rasmussen has delivered a 2.82 ERA this year, Tampa wants to make sure the right-hander will still have something for later in the season and into October, as the 49-41 Rays are in position for a playoff berth. The team’s answer is to use Rasmussen as essentially an opener over his next few starts, with Boyle acting as a piggyback pitcher.

Rasmussen is happy with the plan, as “it lets us get the Joe Boyle experience, which is electric. And then also allows me to just stay on routine as well as limit some of the innings for this year. When they brought the idea to me a couple days ago, it was something I’m on board with, obviously, because I think they are always looking out for my best interest.”

Tampa Bay’s rotation of Rasmussen, Ryan Pepiot, Shane Baz, Taj Bradley, and Zack Littell has been both effective and incredibly durable. The quintet have combined to start all but one of the Rays’ games this season — the lone exception was Boyle’s only other MLB outing of 2025, a spot start on April 13. As a result, Boyle has had trouble working his way onto the roster, despite a 1.85 ERA, 32.9% strikeout rate, and 10.6% walk rate over 73 Triple-A frames.

Acquired from the A’s as part of the Jeffrey Springs trade back in December, Boyle appears to be the latest pitcher to find a new level of performance after joining the Rays organization. Boyle always had a ton of velocity and racked up plenty of strikeouts, but it seems like he has now lessened the control problems that plagued his time in the Athletics farm system. His emergence gives Tampa Bay yet another pitching weapon to bedevil opposing batters, and it will be interesting to see how Boyle is deployed beyond the end of this piggybacking experiment with Rasmussen.

Sunday’s game wasn’t without its concerns for the Rays, as Brandon Lowe left in the bottom of the third inning due to soreness in his left side. Lowe downplayed the seriousness of the situation when speaking with Topkin and other reporters after the game, saying that the removal “feels very precautionary, as it’s a little sore. Let’s just get off of it for a little bit and let it rest up.”

Lowe missed over a month of the 2024 season dealing with a right oblique strain, so he is no stranger to side injuries. Even if this latest issue costs Lowe a game or two, that is vastly preferable to another long-term absence, as injuries have plagued Lowe over the last three seasons. Lowe has stayed healthy and productive in 2025, and his .272/.324/.487 slash line and 19 home runs in 343 plate appearances earned the second baseman a spot on his second All-Star team.

In other infield news, Ha-Seong Kim made his Rays debut on July 3, but that remains his lone appearance due to a cramp in his right calf. It doesn’t seem like the injury is too serious, as Kim took part in most normal baseball activities prior to Sunday’s game. Kim is only just back in action after his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery cost him over half of the 2025 campaign, so it makes sense that the Rays don’t want to push him too soon.

Cubs, Tigers Among Teams Interested In Ke’Bryan Hayes

By Mark Polishuk | July 6, 2025 at 10:08pm CDT

Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes is drawing interest from multiple teams, with reporter Francys Romero listing last week that the Cubs, Tigers, and Yankees were all “potential suitors.” Jon Heyman of the New York Post wrote a few days ago that Hayes was indeed “on the Yankees’ radar,” and Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that Chicago and Detroit have also checked in with the Pirates about Hayes’ status.

Hayes remains one of the sport’s best defenders at any position, as he is again posting fantastic numbers (+13 Outs Above Average, +11 Defensive Runs Saved) over 710 1/3 innings at the hot corner. The 28-year-old has also played in 83 games this season and thus far stayed off the injured list, which is noteworthy given how recurring back problems have plagued Hayes for multiple years, and limited him to just 96 games in 2024.

On the down side, Hayes is still producing next to nothing at the plate. It seemed as though Hayes was turning a corner with his .762 OPS season in 2023, as even producing league-average offense along with his superb glove would’ve made Hayes a great all-around boost to Pittsburgh’s lineup. However, his bat has cratered over the last two years, as his .238/.288/.295 slash line over 721 plate appearances has resulted in a dismal 62 wRC+. Since Opening Day, Hayes has the lowest wRC+ of any player in baseball with at least 700 PA.

Another possible obstacle to a trade is the eight-year, $70MM extension Hayes signed with the Pirates in April 2022. He is still owed the remainder of his $7MM salary for 2025, $30MM over the 2026-29 seasons, and then a $6MM buyout of a $12MM club option for the 2030 campaign. As great as Hayes’ glovework is, a trade partner would be taking a risk in absorbing over $39MM for a player with a history of both back problems and lackluster offense.

Third base has been a problem area for the Cubs all season, as the team’s hope that top prospect Matt Shaw was ready for prime time hasn’t yet paid off. A month-long demotion to Triple-A resulted in a brief surge at the plate once Shaw was recalled to the majors in May, but his bat tapered off again, and Shaw is hitting only .207/.288/.293 over 222 PA. Backup options like Vidal Brujan or Jon Berti also haven’t contributed much, leaving the hot corner as a clear weak link in an otherwise very strong Chicago lineup.

Hayes’ lack of pop would be less of an issue amidst so many other strong hitters, yet Shaw is no slouch with the glove himself — he has +6 DRS, though the OAA metric has him only league-average over 487 2/3 innings at third base. Acquiring Hayes would also block Shaw at third base over an extended period of time, whereas just picking up a rental third baseman at the deadline would help the Cubs’ chances of winning in 2025 while still keeping Shaw in line as the third baseman of the future.

It can be argued that third base isn’t even a need position for the Tigers at all, as the position has become Zach McKinstry’s most common pathway into the lineup. McKinstry is hitting an impressive .285/.356/.456 over 307 PA, and he has gone from being a utility option to a near-everyday option for manager A.J. Hinch. The advanced metrics indicate that McKinstry is due for regression, however, and the fact that he hasn’t hit anywhere near this level in his previous five Major League seasons could leave Detroit looking for more stability at third base.

Javier Baez, Colt Keith, Jace Jung, and Andy Ibanez have all also seen time at third base for the Tigers this year, with the latter two currently in Triple-A. Baez looks to have re-established himself at shortstop and Detroit would love to see Keith find a regular spot for himself in the lineup, as his past positions of first and second base have been filled by Spencer Torkelson and Gleyber Torres. Relying on Keith for a pennant run is risky, however, so the Tigers may prefer exploring veteran third base options at the deadline.

From the Pirates’ perspective, it isn’t surprising that the club is already open to moving a player that so recently seemed like a building block. With the Buccos now approaching their seventh straight losing season, it isn’t clear if their rebuild is bearing much fruit, even with Paul Skenes’ rise to superstardom and so many other promising young arms on the way. The struggling Pirates are reportedly open to moving basically anyone besides Skenes and Andrew McCutchen, and dealing Hayes has the side benefit of moving a long-term financial commitment from the team’s books.

AL Central Notes: Thomas, Ragans, Lynch, Cobb

By Mark Polishuk | July 6, 2025 at 8:59pm CDT

Prior to today’s game, the Guardians placed outfielder Lane Thomas on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to July 5), as Thomas is again dealing with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Infielder Will Wilson was called up from Triple-A to replace Thomas, who is headed to the IL for the third time this season. The first placement was due to a bone bruise in his right wrist, and the last two placements were prompted by Thomas’ recurring foot problems. Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt told MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins and other reporters that Thomas again started to feel discomfort in his foot during Friday’s game, so the team decided to see if the combination of an IL stint and the All-Star break can provide enough time for Thomas to finally heal up.

The injuries have contributed to a brutal .160/.246/.272 slash line over 142 plate appearances for Thomas, though he was starting to heat up a little with an .816 OPS and three homers in last 38 PA. Thomas’ struggles have been emblematic of an ugly offensive year for the Guardians as a whole, and today’s loss to the Tigers extended the Guards’ losing streak to 10 games. It increasingly seems like Cleveland will be sellers at the deadline, yet Thomas’ injuries and lack of production will probably mean the Guards won’t be able to move the impending free agent.

Rhys Hoskins Suffers Grade 2 Thumb Sprain, Headed To IL

By Mark Polishuk | July 6, 2025 at 7:06pm CDT

7:06PM: The Brewers will indeed call up Vaughn once Hoskins is placed on the IL, according to reporter Francys Romero.

3:34PM: Rhys Hoskins left the Brewers’ 3-1 win over the Marlins on Saturday due to a left thumb injury, and now faces a lengthy stint on the injured list. Initial x-rays were negative on Hoskins’ thumb, but Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the first baseman underwent an MRI that revealed a Grade 2 thumb sprain. Hoskins will be placed on the 10-day IL prior to the Brewers’ game with the Dodgers on Monday.

The injury occurred on a tag play at first base, as Hoskins had to lunge at a wide throw and tag out Miami’s Eric Wagaman. Hoskins showed immediate discomfort in the aftermath. Hoskins was able to finish the inning, but Jake Bauers took over as a pinch-hitter and then at first base for the remainder of the game.

The Grade 2 designation indicates a more severe variety of sprain, so chances are Hoskins will be out of action for at least a month. We’ll likely learn more specifics about a recovery timeline soon, and the exact timing could very well factor into the Brewers’ plans for the July 31st trade deadline.

If Hoskins is going to be sidelined for well into August or beyond, Milwaukee could consider adding a bat to help out at first base. Should Hoskins be projected for a return in early August, the club could stand pat with in-house options. Bauers is the obvious candidate, and Andrew Vaughn (acquired in a trade with the White Sox in mid-June) will probably be called up from Triple-A to team up with Bauers in a lefty/righty first base platoon. Utilityman Andruw Monasterio and even Sal Frelick (who has all of one career inning as a first baseman) could potentially chip in at the cold corner if necessary.

It should be noted that the thumb sprain also likely removes any chance that Hoskins himself could be traded at the deadline. Though the Brewers are competing for a playoff berth, Hoskins is an impending free agent who still has roughly $8.25MM of his $18MM salary for 2025 left to be paid out. (He is also owed a $4MM buyout on an $18MM mutual option for 2026 that will surely be bought out.) This price tag probably would’ve made it difficult for the Brewers to find a trade partner anyway, but the Vaughn trade created some speculation that Milwaukee might try to shed Hoskins’ salary at the deadline in order to address other needs for their postseason push. With payroll space at a premium, the Milwaukee front office has often tried to both buy and sell at the deadline regardless of the club’s position in the standings, with the 2022 deadline trade of Josh Hader standing out as the prime example of the Brewers’ flexibility.

Hoskins is hitting .242/.340/.428 with 12 homers, good for a 115 wRC+ over his 318 plate appearances. In what seemed like an echo of his 2024 season in Milwaukee, Hoskins also got off to a big start this year before drastically cooling off. The first baseman had an .892 OPS over his first 187 PA of the season and then just a .436 OPS in his following 83 PA, though Hoskins had started swinging the bat a lot better over the last couple of weeks.

Looking ahead to Hoskins’ free agency, an extended injury absence won’t help his chances of landing a multi-year contract. It was already going to be a bit of an uphill battle for Hoskins as a first base-only player entering his age-33 season, and it remains to be seen how his market might develop this winter. More immediately, of course, Hoskins is just focused on getting healthy and returning to help the Brewers both reach and succeed in the playoffs.

Rays Sign Peter Strzelecki To Minor League Contract

By Mark Polishuk | July 6, 2025 at 5:11pm CDT

The Rays have signed right-hander Peter Strzelecki to a minor league deal, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes reports. Strzelecki was just released from a previous minors contract with the Pirates earlier this week, and he’ll now try for a fresh start with the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate in Durham.

It has been a rough season for Strzelecki, who battled some injuries and posted a 9.90 ERA over 20 innings and 16 appearances for Triple-A Indianapolis. The righty’s walk rate ballooned to 11.8% and his strikeout rate was only 14.7%, which is far below the solid K% numbers Strzelecki has posted throughout the rest of his minor league career.

That was enough for Pittsburgh to part ways with the 30-year-old, and it marks the third straight year Strzelecki has struggled against Triple-A batters. Interestingly, he has posted much more respectable numbers during his time in the Show, with a 3.44 ERA, 24% strikeout rate, and 8.4% walk rate in 83 2/3 innings with the Brewers, Diamondbacks, and Guardians from 2022-24. Cleveland dealt Strzelecki to the Pirates in advance of last year’s non-tender deadline, as his lack of minor league options makes him a trickier player to keep on a big league roster.

The Rays will take a look at Strzelecki and see if he can be the latest in a long line of pitchers revived by Tampa Bay’s player development factory. Should he get the call to the majors, Strzelecki will be in familiar territory, as he played college ball at the University of South Florida.

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