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Sergio Alcantara Accepts Outright Assignment With D-backs

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July 22: Alcantara cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Reno, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com.

July 20: The Diamondbacks announced that infielder Sergio Alcantara has been designated for assignment.  The move opens up roster space for the return of Ketel Marte, who has been activated from the restricted list.

Alcantara was just signed by the D’Backs on Friday, but his brief time on the roster didn’t result in any playing time.  Because Alcantara is out of minor league options, he must be passed through waivers whenever his team wants to send him to Triple-A and outright him off the 40-man roster.  Because Alcantara has been outrighted in the past, he has the ability to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency.

The infielder used this exact mechanism just over a week ago, opting for the open market after the Giants DFA’ed him and attempted to outright him to Triple-A.  It seems possible Alcantara could be more open to staying in Arizona’s organization since he only just arrived, but time will tell if Alcantara might prefer to join a club that has more infield vacancies than the fairly loaded Diamondbacks.

Alcantara made his MLB debut with the Tigers in 2020 and then saw semi-regular work as a depth option with the Cubs, Diamondbacks, and Padres during the 2021-22 seasons.  He spent the 2023-24 seasons at the minor league level with three clubs (the D’Backs, Cubs, and Pirates) without seeing any more action in the Show, and after signing a minors deal with San Francisco last offseason, his tenure in San Francisco did result in a single Major League game.  Alcantara was the starting shortstop in the Giants’ 11-2 loss to the Athletics on July 4.

With only a .207/.278/.340 slash line to show for 506 career plate appearances in the majors, Alcantara is much better known for his multi-positional glove than his bat.  Alcantara is a good defender at shortstop, second and third base, so a club in need of some infield depth might consider putting in a waiver claim.

Marte missed the Diamondbacks’ first two games after the All-Star break due to a personal matter, with USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reporting that Marte’s home was robbed during the break.  The second baseman will return to the lineup today and look to continue what has been another tremendous season (290/.394/.567 over 297 PA) for the three-time All-Star.

Trade Deadline Outlook: Kansas City Royals

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The Royals are running out of time.  After starting the second half by losing two of three games to the Marlins, Kansas City is now 48-52, and 5.5 games back of the final AL wild card position.  While the club's recent transactions indicate that they're not ready to wave the white flag just yet, it may be more likely that the Royals ultimately end up hedging by both buying and selling prior to the July 31st deadline.

Record: 48-52 (8.3% playoff probability, per FanGraphs)

For other entries in this series, see this post.

Buy Mode

Potential needs: Hitting of any kind, outfield help, designated hitter, left-handed relief pitching

We know the Royals are still in buy mode because, well, they just bought someone.  The club brought Adam Frazier (a member of Kansas City's 2024 team) back into the fold in an All-Star break trade that sent minor league infielder Cam Devanney to the Pirates.  While Frazier only has an 85 wRC+ in 264 plate appearances this season, most of his struggles came in the first seven weeks.  He has hit .306/.363/.405 over his last 125 plate appearances.  Frazier hasn't been a consistent offensive force since the first half of the 2021 season, but as a left-handed hitter who can play second base and both corner outfield slots, he checks several boxes for a K.C. team needing help in all those categories.

If Frazier isn't the most eye-popping addition on paper, he should still boost an outfield mix that has nowhere to go but up.  Kansas City has far and away the least productive outfield in baseball, combining for -3.1 bWAR this season.  By comparison, the Rockies' outfielders are second-worst on the list with -1.8 bWAR.  The Royals have already tried an in-season overhaul by releasing Hunter Renfroe, optioning MJ Melendez to Triple-A, and calling up top prospect Jac Caglianone less than a year after he was selected sixth overall in the 2024 draft.  As much as the Royals have tried to shuffle the deck, nothing has worked.  Kyle Isbel's strong center field glove is basically the only positive from the group.

Before landing Frazier, the Royals reportedly had talks with the Pirates about a more high-profile outfielder in Bryan Reynolds.  That kind of big trade piece would help K.C. both now and in the future, as Reynolds is under contract through at least the 2030 season, though at the significant price of roughly $80MM remaining on his deal.

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Brewers PBO Matt Arnold Downplays Freddy Peralta Trade Possibilities

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Because Freddy Peralta is in the final guaranteed year of his contract, the Brewers right-hander has been mentioned as a speculative trade candidate for some time, given how the Brew Crew have often dealt star players before they reach free agency.  Peralta is still under team control via an $8MM club option for 2026, though that option year only adds to the righty’s trade value, as rival teams would be willing to give up more to have Peralta for two pennant races instead of one.

Then again, that $8MM price tag for a frontline pitcher also makes Peralta incredibly valuable to the Brewers themselves, as Milwaukee again finds itself in the thick of playoff contention.  Speaking with Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold praised Peralta as “one of the most important parts of our organization” and made a trade sound very unlikely, if not entirely impossible.

“Obviously it’s important for us to never close the door, but Freddy means the world to our franchise and all of us,” Arnold said.  “I would expect him to be a big part of this going down the stretch.  It’s something that we can never exclusively say no on anything.  But he just means so much to so many people here.  I’m thrilled to have him as a part of this team.”

While the Brewers have enough rotation depth that they could conceivably trade a starter to address other needs before the deadline, it is fair to say that Jacob Misiorowski is probably the only pitcher more untouchable than Peralta.  Over 116 2/3 innings this season, Peralta has produced a 2.85 ERA, 25.5% strikeout rate, and excellent hard-contact numbers.  The bottom-line numbers are a bit more flattering than the reality, as Peralta has a 3.78 SIERA and his 8.4% walk rate is nothing special, plus his strikeout rate is actually a career low.

Still, Peralta is the type of pitcher any club would feel comfortable starting in a playoff game, and he would be Milwaukee’s top starter for heading into what the team hopes will be another dose of October baseball.  As deep as the Brewers’ rotation may be, it would suddenly look a lot thinner without Peralta stabilizing things up top.

[Related: Milwaukee Brewers Trade Deadline Outlook, for MLBTR Front Office subscribers]

A trade probably wouldn’t be on the radar at all if it wasn’t for the Brewers’ past history, and the team’s payroll limitations.  The contract extension Peralta signed prior to the 2020 season has proven to be a huge bargain for the Brewers, and the reported lack of talks involving a new contract could be a hint that Peralta ultimately isn’t in Milwaukee’s long-term plans.

This could explain Arnold’s hesitance to absolutely rule out the possibility of a Peralta trade, just in case a rival team stepped forward with an incredible offer.  But with the Brewers rolling and making a run at another NL Central crown, it’s hard to imagine that anything short of an outlandish trade package would get Arnold to budge on moving his ace.  The specter of the 2022 deadline trade of Josh Hader still looms in recent memory, as the Brewers’ controversial decision to deal the closer seemed to sap the morale of a team that was leading the division at the time, and Milwaukee ended up missing the postseason entirely.

Arnold seemed to acknowledge that history in telling Hogg that “I think we have a really good group, and chemistry matters.  You can remove a piece of this and it changes the dynamic, potentially.  We’re certainly sensitive to that.  At times we’ve had to make unpopular decisions just to make sure our team is variable for not just this year but a long time.  It’s important to try to find that right balance, and we’re trying to do that every single day.”

Brewers Place Jake Bauers On 10-Day Injured List

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The Brewers announced that first baseman/outfielder Jake Bauers has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left shoulder impingement.  Infielder Tyler Black has been called up from Triple-A to take Bauers’ spot on the active roster.

With Rhys Hoskins sidelined until roughly mid-August due to a Grade 2 thumb strain and a bone bruise, losing Bauers further depletes Milwaukee’s first base picture.  The Brewers called up Andrew Vaughn to pair with Bauers in a righty-lefty platoon, and on paper, that platoon can be preserved with the left-handed hitting Black now in the majors to join forces with Vaughn.

It helps that Vaughn has been on fire at the plate during his brief time with the Brew Crew, and Black is a former top prospect who might yet break out in his first taste of MLB action in 2025.  Black had a modest .561 OPS over his first 57 career plate appearances in 2024, and his work this season was put on hold when he fractured his right hamate bone at the end of Spring Training.  Black didn’t make his season debut until mid-May, and he has hit only .191/.301/.303 over 103 plate appearances at Triple-A Nashville, perhaps indicating that he isn’t back to 100 percent.

Bauers has been used primarily as a platoon bat over his two seasons in Milwaukee, though he has still hit a modest .198/.306/.359 over 497 PA in a Brewers uniform.  More details on Bauers’ injury and recovery timeline should be known later today, but barring a minimal 10-day absence, he’ll be out of action beyond the July 31st trade deadline.

First base figured to be a target area for the Crew even before Bauers’ injury, even if the club’s preferred goal was probably a player that can play first base amongst other positions, rather than a pure first base-only type.  The Brewers still have plenty of time before the deadline to monitor Hoskins and Bauers’ recoveries, and to see if Vaughn can keep rolling.  Beyond just first base, the Brewers could make more of a move to obtain a left-handed hitting outfielder, with Bauers and Sal Frelick both hitting the IL in the last few days.

Astros Place Isaac Paredes On 10-Day IL Due To Hamstring Strain

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12:37PM: The Astros officially placed Paredes on the 10-day IL due to a right hamstring strain, and also optioned catcher Cesar Salazar to Triple-A.  Whitcomb was called up and Singleton’s contract was selected, and Brendan Rodgers was moved from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL to create a 40-man roster spot for Singleton.

8:11AM: Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes left Saturday’s 7-6 loss to the Mariners with what was described as right hamstring discomfort.  The injury occurred in the third inning, when Paredes hit a line drive off the left field wall that resulted in only a single, as he started limping partway down the first base base line.

Paredes is going from Seattle to Houston today to undergo testing, and a trip to the injured list seems inevitable.  MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports that infielder/outfielder Shay Whitcomb and first baseman Jon Singleton are joining the Astros from Triple-A Sugar Land prior to today’s game, so the club is already arranging its next set of roster moves.  Singleton isn’t on the 40-man roster, so another transaction is forthcoming apart from the shuffle of Paredes for Whitcomb.

This isn’t the first time Paredes has dealt with hamstring problems this season, as some soreness in his left hamstring forced him to miss three games last month but he was able to return none the worse for wear.  This new injury “hurts more than the other one,” Paredes told the Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara and other reporters, as he said “I just feel like it pulled as I started running and I couldn’t run anymore.”

While the Astros maintain a three-game lead in the AL West, the club has lost seven of its last eight games, as a mountain of injuries may be catching up to the roster.  Assuming Paredes will indeed be sidelined, he’ll become the 16th different player on Houston’s IL, and the ninth position player.  The long list of injuries includes arguably Houston’s three top hitters in Paredes, Yordan Alvarez, and Jeremy Pena.

Acquired from the Cubs as part of last winter’s blockbuster Kyle Tucker trade, Paredes has hit .259/.359/.470 with 19 homers over 409 plate appearances in his first season in Houston.  Since his .362 wOBA significantly outpaces his .332 xwOBA, some good fortune has been involved in Paredes’ performance, and he isn’t making much hard contact.  On the plus side, Paredes is making a lot of contact overall, and posting very strong strikeout and walk rates.  It all added up to Paredes’ second straight All-Star nod, as he also made the Midsummer Classic last year when he was still a member of the Rays.

In short, Paredes is basically just about the last player the Astros could afford to lose, but it now looks like he’ll be out of action for (in a best-case scenario) at least the next 10 days.  Any of Whitcomb, utilityman Mauricio Dubon, or rookie Brice Matthews could get time at third base with Paredes out, and if Dubon ends up getting the bulk of time at third base, Zack Short will probably take over at shortstop until Pena is able to return.  Matthews has primarily played second base since making his MLB debut last week, and the keystone could remain his primary position if Jose Altuve is needed more in left field to help cover the Astros’ long list of outfield absences.

Some good news may be on the horizon, as Alvarez is with the team in Seattle and has started taking swings.  Alvarez hasn’t played since May 2 due to what was initially described as right hand inflammation, though follow-up tests in late May revealed a slight fracture in the slugger’s right ring finger.  He received two injections after a consultation with a hand specialist at the start of July, and while Alvarez’s IL stint has gone on much longer than expected, his return could be on the horizon.

A’s Rebuffing Trade Interest In Mason Miller

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The Athletics are lined up to be sellers at the deadline, but their July 31 moves won’t extend to a certain long-term closer.  Mason Miller appears to be more or less untouchable, as USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes that the A’s are telling interested teams that the reliever isn’t available in trade talks.

While things could conceivably change if a particular club makes an outsized offer, it makes sense that the A’s have no interest in moving Miller, who is under team control through the 2029 season.  The right-hander has yet to even reach salary arbitration, though he’ll hit that milestone a year early since Miller is on pace to easily qualify for Super Two status.  This means he’ll gain four years of arbitration eligibility instead of the usual three.

Since traditional counting statistics are weighed more heavily in arbitration cases than more advanced analytics, a closer who racks up big save totals can put himself in line for some increasingly hefty paydays through the arb process.  As such, Miller stands to cash in given that that he already posted 47 saves (out of 53 chances) over his three MLB seasons.  While this rising price tag might make the Athletics more open to dealing Miller at some point during his arbitration years, there isn’t any urgency for the A’s to make a move just yet, even if he has been whispered in trade speculation for over a year.

[Related: Athletics Trade Deadline Outlook, for MLBTR Front Office subscribers]

After making his big league debut in 2023, Miller was installed as the Athletics’ closer at the start of the 2024 campaign and he essentially hasn’t looked back.  The righty has a 3.22 ERA and a stunning 37.5% strikeout rate over 134 career innings, with an average fastball velocity of 100.2mph.  That high-octane fastball is paired with an 87.2mph slider that has been one of the more effective pitchers in baseball over the last two seasons.  Control is a question mark, as Miller’s below-average walk rate in 2024 has sunk to a troubling 12% in 2025.

Between this control issue and the general volatility of relief pitching, an argument can be made that the A’s would be well served to sell high on Miller while he is at peak trade value.  Miller dealt with some early-career injuries that necessitated his move from starting pitching to the bullpen in the first place, so this health history is another reason the front office could reasonably consider a trade at some point.

On the flip side, the Athletics have shown indications that they’re ready to end their rebuild, even if their results in 2025 have been disappointing.  The club locked up Lawrence Butler and Brent Rooker to long-term extensions this past spring, and signed Luis Severino to a team-record $67MM free agent deal this past offseason.  This counts as a massive spending splurge by the Athletics’ traditionally low-spending standards, though it appears as though their extension discussions didn’t extend to Miller, who said in mid-March that the club had yet to broach the subject of a long-term extension.  Some sort of multi-year agreement might be a wise move for the A’s to gain some cost certainty through Miller’s arbitration years, even if the club might be hesitate about a commitment beyond the 2029 campaign.

Reds Start Noelvi Marte In Right Field

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The Reds unveiled a new wrinkle in their lineup for today’s game against the Mets, as Noelvi Marte is batting seventh as the starting right fielder.  This marks the first time in Marte’s pro career that he has played in the outfield, as he has primarily played third base in the majors and second base in the minors, with some additional action at second base.

Reporter Charlie Goldsmith shared some background on the rather sudden position change, as the Reds started working Marte out in the outfield just yesterday.  The idea is that playing the outfield will both add some versatility to the 23-year-old’s skillset and give Cincinnati more flexibility in setting lineups.

“Especially against a lefty, it gives us a chance to put [Santiago] Espinal at third and get all of our righties out there [in the lineup],” outfield coach Collin Cowgill said.  “You’ve seen [Marte] play, he’s a good enough athlete to get it figured out.  He has a cannon.  He has all of the physical attributes.  Now, it’s about practicing.”

Cowgill further noted that Marte’s arm strength in particular makes him an asset in right field, and creates more margin for error in throwing accuracy than Marte found at third base.  Ten of Marte’s 22 career Major League errors have come on throws, all from the hot corner.  By comparison, Espinal has made 13 errors total in 1749 2/3 career innings as a third baseman, while Marte has logged only 929 2/3 frames at third.

Espinal has himself seen some time in both corner outfield spots this season as the Reds continue to look for some steady right-handed balance within an outfield mix that tilts heavily to the left side.  TJ Friedl, Jake Fraley, Gavin Lux, and Will Benson are all left-handed hitters, and the team’s plan to have the right-handed hitting Austin Hays as a regular corner outfielder has been limited by Hays’ injuries, as Hays is now getting a lot of DH action.  Connor Joe is another righty-swinging outfield option, but putting Marte into the outfield picture opens up more avenues for manager Terry Francona.

It could also help Marte cement his place in the Reds’ lineup after a number of ups and downs at the start of his big league career.  Formerly a star prospect, Marte performed well in 35 games during his 2023 rookie season, but his 2024 campaign was marred by an 80-game PED suspension and then poor results in the majors once he was activated.  The Reds began Marte at Triple-A to begin the 2025 season, and after he was called up, faced another lengthy absence when an oblique strain led to a two-month IL stint.

When he has been able to play, however, Marte looks to have found his hitting form, batting .272/.327/.515 over 103 plate appearances this season.  Obviously the Reds want to get that bat into the lineup, and getting Marte regular playing time in the outfield allows both Espinal more time at third base, but it also gets Lux back into more regular duty at the hot corner.  As Goldsmith observes, Lux has been struggling defensively in left field, and would likely benefit from a return to his natural infield position.

Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain have the middle infield spots spoken for in Cincinnati, leaving Marte with third base as his most logical pathway to big league playing time.  With top prospect Sal Stewart now looming as a third baseman of the future (and even perhaps as early as a 2025 MLB debut), the outfield could become Marte’s more regular position going forward.  Cowgill even suggested that Marte has the athleticism to handle center field, which would give the Reds extra depth at the position behind Friedl.

The Reds are solidly in the wild card race with a 52-47 record, and are known to be looking for hitting help at the deadline.  The exact nature of their position-player targets is yet to be determined, as if Marte can hold his own in right field, Cincinnati might not need to look specifically at the outfield market.

Red Sox Sign First-Rounder Kyson Witherspoon

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The Red Sox have agreed to a deal with first-round draft pick Kyson Witherspoon, according to MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis.  Witherspoon will get a $5MM bonus, which is below the $5,114,200 slot price attached to the 15th overall selection.

The University of Oklahoma product was viewed as the top college right-hander in this year’s draft class, and the best righty pitcher available altogether on some boards.  It was seen as something of a coup for the Red Sox to grab Witherspoon with the 15th overall pick, as pundits all had him within their top tens.  Fangraphs was highest on Witherspoon as the sixth-rated prospect in their rankings, Baseball America had him seventh, the Athletic’s Keith Law placed Witherspoon ninth, and MLB Pipeline and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel each had the righty tenth.

Witherspoon’s repertoire is highlighted by an outstanding fastball that can hit 99mph, and regularly sits in the 95-97mph range.  His slider also received a 60-grade from both BA and Pipeline, as Witherspoon can throw the pitch with “horizontal action and depth” (as per Pipeline’s scouting report) anywhere from the mid-80s to touching 91mph.  His curveball and changeup aren’t quite as consistently high-rated by evaluators, but there is plus potential with either pitch, giving Witherspoon the possibility of a front-of-the-rotation arsenal.  His delivery is a little unusual, but Law observes that Witherspoon’s arm action helps him achieve quality control on his pitches.

Nationals Not Planning To Trade From Young Core At Deadline

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It has been two weeks since the Nationals sent shockwaves through the organization by firing longtime president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez.  The timing of the shake-up (a week before the draft and within a month of the trade deadline) caught many by surprise, though it looks like the change in leadership won’t lead to any major changes in direction for the club’s deadline plans.  Interim GM Mike DeBartolo told the Washington Post’s Andrew Golden and other reporters on Saturday that the Nats want to build around such players as James Wood, CJ Abrams, Dylan Crews, and MacKenzie Gore, rather than shop them at the deadline.

“I’m looking to keep the young, core group of our best players together,” DeBartolo said.  “Certainly [with] my job, if someone calls, you always listen to what they have to say.  But trading away our really high-quality young players is not something I’m looking to do right now.”

DeBartolo made a point of including Gore within “that group in terms of our young, really talented players,” noting that it’s “not a focus of mine to move him.”  Gore is both slightly older (26) and closer to free agency than the other members of the core, as Gore has two more arbitration-eligible years remaining before hitting the open market after the 2027 season.

Because of this timeline and the fact that Gore is represented by Scott Boras, there has been speculation that the Nationals could shop Gore if they feel they won’t be able to sign the southpaw to a long-term extension.  Selling high on Gore while he is in the midst of a career year would likely bring a big return back to Washington, as Gore would instantly become perhaps the most sought-after player at the deadline.  On the other hand, as Golden writes, “moving out Gore also would send the message that the Nationals are taking a step back and aren’t ready to contend in the near future.”

[Related: Washington Nationals Trade Deadline Outlook, for MLBTR Front Office subscribers]

The same logic applies to an even greater extent to Abrams (controlled through 2028) and Wood and Crews (each controlled through 2030).  Trading from this group would be tantamount to restarting the rebuild altogether, which doesn’t seem feasible for a team that already hasn’t had a winning season since 2019.  Though DeBartolo has been with the organization since 2012, it also doesn’t appear likely that an interim GM would make the call to deal a building block player, as such a major decision would likely be saved for whomever the Nationals eventually name as the new full-time head of baseball operations.

“My goal in this role, whether it’s interim or otherwise, is to build a competitive team every year,” DeBartolo said.  “As frustrating as it is to see where we are this year, my goal is to build future competitive teams and be in that playoff mix. So that’s what my focus is over the next few weeks — whatever we can do to bolster the future outlook of the Nationals and get in that playoff race as soon as we can.”

This focus likely means that the Nationals will be looking to move shorter-term players who aren’t part of that longer-term future.  Unsurprisingly, the Nats have made impending free agents Kyle Finnegan, Josh Bell, Michael Soroka, and Amed Rosario available in trade talks, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes, and first baseman Nathaniel Lowe (who is arb-controlled through 2026) is also within that group of trade chips.  Finnegan and Soroka will likely garner the most attention given how many contenders need pitching help, and the Nats figure to be a team to watch as one of the few teams in full-fledged sell mode.

MLBTR Chat Transcript

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Mark P

  • The Weekend Chat is back from a scheduling hiatus, as last Sunday night’s draft and the unexpected Nationals front office clearance led to a pair of postponements in everyone’s favorite discussion of beads, bees, and baseball.

    But, on with the questions!

Squints

  • You’re Matt Arnold, congrats! What are you going for at the deadline?

Mark P

  • I think my first priority is to figure out how to change this Freaky Friday scenario, but if that can’t be fixed by July 31, I’d look to add lineup depth.  Even with Hoskins not out for too long, I’d consider bolstering first base anyway, or at least try to get a versatile player that can help all over the infield
  • I feel like “Willi Castro would be a great fit here” applies to like 20 teams, but he’d be a great fit in Milwaukee if the Twins decided to sell

Angels fan

  • Arte is going to buy again isn’t he? The Angels are not a playoff team but I just know he will be delusional again and trade away prospects to make sure people keep coming to the stadium

Mark P

  • Right now the Angels are a game under .500 and four back of a wild card.  I agree with you that I doubt they’re getting into the playoffs, but given how starved the Angels and their fans are for winning, I won’t blame the club for trying to make some moves and stay competitive

Cashman

  • is Lagrange and schlittler untouchables along side Lombard?

Mark P

  • Lombard feels like the only prospect the Yankees absolutely wouldn’t part with.

Read more

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