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White Sox Scratch Adrian Houser From Scheduled Start

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The White Sox created some buzz around one of their top trade chips today when they scratched right-hander Adrian Houser from his scheduled start against the Phillies later today. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that, while Houser has not been traded at this point, he’s being held out of his start “in anticipation” of him being moved at some point before the trade deadline tomorrow.

It’s hardly a shock that the White Sox expect Houser to be traded. While they aren’t quite on the record-breaking pace they set last year with a 121-loss campaign, they’ve been obvious sellers with no hope at a postseason berth all year long. Houser, meanwhile, is a veteran rental who has pitched to a 2.10 ERA with a 3.30 FIP in 68 2/3 innings of work across 11 starts since he signed with Chicago on a big league deal back in May. Houser signed with the Rangers on a minor league deal during the offseason but did not make the club’s roster out of camp.

That meager interest in Houser’s services during the offseason was a result of a rough season with the Mets last year. After pitching to a 4.00 ERA and 4.19 FIP in parts of seven seasons with the Brewers as a back-of-the-rotation starter and long reliever, Houser joined the Mets but was shelled to the tune of a 5.84 ERA and 4.93 FIP across 23 appearances (seven starts). Houser’s 19.0% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate with Milwaukee were hardly exciting, but that steadiness collapsed in New York as he was suddenly punching out just 14.6% of his opponents while issuing free passes at a 10.4% clip. Now that he’s performing in Chicago, however, that recent history of struggles in New York can likely be dismissed by interested clubs given Houser’s long track record of steadiness.

With that being said, it’s unlikely that interested clubs view Houser as the sort of impact addition his raw numbers would suggest. His 17.1% strikeout rate and 8.0% walk rate with Chicago are both big improvements over last year, but his K-BB% is still bottom 20 in the majors among starters with at least 60 innings of work this year. Houser’s 4.51 SIERA is also fairly unimpressive, characterizing him more as the back-of-the-rotation arm he was with the Brewers; Chris Paddack (4.49), Colin Rea (4.47), and Luis Severino (4.57) are among the other starters in a similar range.

Even if no club sees Houser as likely to maintain his current numbers, there’s plenty of value in adding an innings-eating back-end starter who has experience pitching out of the bullpen at this stage of the calendar. Many clubs like the Cubs, Yankees, and Blue Jays are known to be on the hunt for starting pitching options, and Houser figures to be a substantial more affordable option than a top rental name like Merrill Kelly or Zac Gallen, to say nothing of the controllable arms rumored to be available. That could make Houser a particularly attractive addition for a team that either is looking to mostly make marginal additions without surrendering high level prospects or has already depleted their farm system in a trade for a more significant asset.

Braves Designate Enyel De Los Santos For Assignment

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The Braves announced this afternoon that they’ve designated right-hander Enyel De Los Santos for assignment. His departure opens up a 40-man roster spot for right-hander Tyler Kinley, who they acquired from the Rockies in a deal earlier today.

De Los Santos, 29, signed with Atlanta on a minor league deal over the winter. He made the club’s roster out of camp in Spring Training and since then has served as a decent but unspectacular middle reliever. In 43 appearances, he’s posted a below-average 4.53 ERA (92 ERA+) but has offered some solid peripherals, including a 3.32 FIP. His 20.1% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate are both fairly pedestrian, however, and while a 60.5% strand rate suggests some poor sequencing luck his 4.15 SIERA suggests he’s little been more than average overall this year.

Joining the Braves marked De Los Santos’s seventh season in the big leagues and seventh team for whom he’s played at the big league level. The right-hander debuted with the Phillies all the way back in 2018 but got his first substantial look at the big league level in 2021 when he made 33 appearances for Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. He posted an ugly 6.37 ERA in 35 1/3 innings back then but since then has generally looked decent in stints with the Guardians, Padres, Yankees, and White Sox in addition to the Braves. Since the start of the 2022 campaign, De Los Santos has posted a 4.01 ERA with a 3.95 FIP and a 24.0% strikeout rate. That’s on top of solid career numbers at the Triple-A level, where he’s posted a 3.37 ERA in parts of four seasons with the Phillies and Guardians.

Going forward, Atlanta will have until tomorrow’s trade deadline to try and work out a trade involving De Los Santos. Should that not come to pass, he’ll be placed on outright waivers where he can be claimed by any club. If he goes unclaimed on waivers, De Los Santos will have the opportunity to either accept an outright assignment from the Braves and serve as non-roster depth in the minor leagues for the remainder of the year, or reject the assignment in favor of free agency, at which point he would be free to sign with any of the league’s 30 clubs.

Latest On Cubs’ Starting Pitching Pursuits

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The Cubs are known to be in the market for starting pitching help, and it’s not very hard to see why. Justin Steele has been out for nearly the entire season after undergoing surgery on his UCL and won’t be back until sometime next year. Jameson Taillon is currently on the injured list, as are depth arms like Javier Assad and Brandon Birdsell. Cade Horton and Matthew Boyd are having their innings carefully monitored after not getting much volume in last year. Shota Imanaga has already spent time on the injured list and has some worrisome peripheral numbers.

All of that has led the Cubs to be connected to the vast majority of rumored starting pitching options available on the trade market, ranging from depth additions like Adrian Houser, to high-value rentals like Dylan Cease and Merrill Kelly, to controllable arms like Mitch Keller and MacKenzie Gore. Reporting from ESPN’s Jesse Rogers this morning offers a fresh look at some of the other arms Chicago is taking a look at with just over 30 hours to go until the deadline. Rogers writes that the Cubs have shown interest in Orioles right-hander Zach Eflin and spoken to the Rays about their starting pitchers, while Jeff Passan of ESPN reports that Guardians righty Shane Bieber is “an option” for the Cubs.

Eflin, 31, has struggled badly this year with a 5.93 ERA and 5.60 FIP in 14 starts. A 4.39 SIERA and an absurd 19.4% home run to fly ball ratio suggest that some poor fortune could be baked into Eflin’s results this year, but even so it’s hard to view him as more than a back-of-the-rotation addition for this season. With that being said, the right-hander does have some intriguing past success under his belt. From 2020 through 2024, Eflin tossed 583 1/3 innings of work with a solid 3.76 ERA and 3.46 FIP. He struck out 23.2% of his opponents in that time while walking just 3.9%. If Eflin can recapture that quality mid-rotation form, he could theoretically pitch in for Chicago’s prospective playoff rotation this year, though that seems unlikely to be something the Cubs (or any acquiring club) would count on.

Bieber is another potential buy-low candidate, albeit for a very different reason. He hasn’t thrown a major league pitch since early in the 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and while he’s expected back at some point in August it’s always uncertain what sort of production a pitcher coming off major injury will be able to offer. The 2020 AL Cy Young award winner has a 3.22 ERA and 3.09 FIP for his career, however, and if he’s healthy and at his usual level of effectiveness would immediately slot in towards the top of the Cubs’ rotation.

Bieber’s contract affords him a $16MM player option with a $4MM buyout for the 2026 season. That $12MM decision figures to be an easy one for Bieber to make, and he’s all be certain to decline it and return to free agency unless he suffers some sort of new injury that would impact his 2026 campaign. Still, player options are at times viewed as a “poison pill” of sorts in trade negotiations, as the Cubs saw for themselves when they dealt Cody Bellinger to the Yankees over the offseason in what amounted to little more than a salary dump. Perhaps that could lower the acquisition cost of Bieber, making the fact that he won’t be able to immediately impact a Cubs rotation in desperate need of help more palatable.

As for the Rays, the club is routinely willing to at least listen on virtually its entire roster even when they’re buyers and appears to be leaning more towards selling in recent days. That makes it hard to know what starters the Cubs could be discussing with Tampa. Pending free agent Zack Littell has a 3.72 ERA in 21 starts this year despite shaky peripherals and could fit the sort of depth-starter mold that options like Eflin and Houser can fill. Young right-hander Taj Bradley would be an intriguing controllable addition who the Rays are reportedly willing to listen to offers on. He’s pitched to a 4.33 ERA with a 4.14 FIP over the past two seasons and is still just 24 years old.

No trade can be fully ruled out when it comes to the Rays, so perhaps someone else from the club’s rotation could be available as well. With that being said, Drew Rasmussen extended with the club through the 2027 season back in January and is approaching his innings limit this year while youngsters like Ryan Pepiot and Shane Baz are still in their pre-arbitration years. The acquisition cost for any of those three players would surely be exorbitant, however, and there have been no signals that any of those arms are even available beyond the Rays’ general tendency to listen to offers on virtually all of their players. Even by Tampa’s standards, however, a trade of one of those three would register as a major surprise.

Cubs Designate Vidal Brujan For Assignment

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The Cubs have designated utility man Vidal Brujan for assignment, according to a report from Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun Times. The move makes room for catcher/DH Moises Ballesteros on the active roster.

Brujan, 27, was acquired from the Marlins this past offseason in the trade that sent Matt Mervis to Miami. He’s served as a utility option on the Cubs’ bench throughout the year. Most of his work came at third base, but he also made cameos at second, shortstop, and all three outfield spots. He appeared in 36 games total this season but made just 47 plate appearances. He was extremely unimpressive at the plate in that limited time, with a .222/.234/.289 (42 wRC+) slash line. He struck out at a 25.5% clip and walked just 2.1% of the time while going 2-for-3 on the bases with three extra-base hits, all of them doubles.

That poor performance on offense isn’t exactly a surprise. Once a consensus top-50 prospect in the sport as a member of the Rays, Brujan has failed to establish himself in the majors across three organizations at this point. His career .192/.259/.271 slash line (50 wRC+) is only marginally better than his 2025 performance, and at this point he seems best suited to a role as a versatile depth option for a club with a thin bench. That’s the role he’s filled in Chicago, but now the Cubs must turn to Ballesteros amid an injury to outfielder Ian Happ, who fouled a ball off his shin during last night’s game. It’s unclear how severe Happ’s injury is at this point, and he’s not yet been placed on the injured list. Even so, it’s a given he’ll be out of the lineup for at least today’s game, and as long as he’s unavailable Ballesteros can step in at DH while Seiya Suzuki slides over to left field in Happ’s stead.

As for Ballesteros, the 21-year-old is one of the club’s top prospects and already made his big league debut earlier this year. He went 3-for-16 with two walks and a strikeout during his five-game cup of coffee in the majors back in May, but a better gauge of his ability is likely his performance in 86 games at Triple-A this year. Ballesteros has slashed .332/.393/.496 in 379 plate appearances with the club’s Iowa affiliate this year while striking out at a microscopic 12.9% clip. He’s walking 9.2% of the time and boasts 36 extra-base hits, including a whopping 26 doubles. An extremely talented all-around hitter who is primarily held back by questions about his ability to stick behind the plate, Ballesteros will now get another chance to show off his talents at the major league level.

The Cubs are expected to be aggressive buyers with the trade deadline set for tomorrow evening, and top prospects like Ballesteros could theoretically find themselves on the move. Ballesteros’s promotion doesn’t necessarily mean the 21-year-old is off-limits in trade talks, though it should be noted that top outfield prospect Owen Caissie and right-handed pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins, among others, have been more frequently discussed as possible trade chips than Ballesteros.

Phillies Could Consider Move To Bullpen For Jesus Luzardo

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The Phillies have made improving their bullpen the club’s top priority this summer. They already signed David Robertson to help pitch in for the stretch run and into the playoffs, and since then have been connected to a bevy of high-end relief arms ranging from Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran of the Twins to less expensive options like David Bednar of the Pirates and Ryan Helsley of the Cardinals. Matt Gelb of The Athletic provided an update on the state of Philadelphia’s bullpen pursuits today, and part of that update was a report that the club could consider a move to the bullpen for talented lefty starter Jesus Luzardo depending on how the bullpen looks after the deadline.

According to Gelb, it remains “unclear” if the Twins will actually move either Jax or Duran before the deadline and the Phillies have “balked” at Pittsburgh’s asking price for Bednar. That might leave Helsley as the club’s best option to get a deal done, and Gelb suggests that there’s a “potential path” to the two clubs working out a deal that sends the two-time All-Star to Philadelphia. With that said, Gelb also cautions that Helsley is getting widespread interest. That’s not a shock after reporting yesterday indicated that at least half a dozen teams were involved in Helsley’s market, of course, but Gelb notes that the club may have to get “creative” in its efforts to revamp the bullpen if a deal for Helsley cannot be worked out.

That creativity, it seems, could involve Luzardo. The southpaw has had a rollercoaster first season in Philadelphia. After looking like an early-season Cy Young candidate with a 2.15 ERA in 11 starts, the southpaw was blown up for 20 runs in 5 2/3 innings of work across two appearances. He’s settled in somewhat after those disastrous outings, but his ERA in nine starts since then has been a rather pedestrian 4.10. All of this comes against the backdrop of peripherals that are nothing short of elite. Luzardo has a 27.1% strikeout rate, an 8.5% walk rate, a 42.4% ground ball rate, and a 6.6% barrel rate. His ability to strike batters out at a high level while generally keeping the ball on the ground and missing barrels creates a strong overall package, as demonstrated by his 2.97 FIP and 3.56 SIERA.

Impressive as Luzardo’s underlying numbers are, however, it’s undeniable that the Phillies have an excess of rotation options. Luzardo is joined by Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez, and Taijuan Walker in the rotation as things stand. Aaron Nola is due to return from the injured list in the near future, and top prospect Andrew Painter has been knocking on the door of the majors all season long. Wheeler, Sanchez, and Suarez are all locked in as the club’s likely Game 1, 2, and 3 starters in a playoff series, and Nola’s innings-eating ability surely won’t be moved out of the rotation either.

That leaves just one spot available for Luzardo, Walker, and Painter. Gelb notes that the Phillies entered 2025 expecting to need to manage Luzardo’s innings in at least some capacity, and while they don’t feel it’s strictly necessary at this point that could still make it easier for them to decide to move Luzardo to relief. Luzardo has a 3.64 ERA in his first time facing the opposing lineup this year, but that rises to 4.03 on the second turn through the order and balloons all the way up to 6.04 on the third. Perhaps the combination of the club’s long-standing plan to manage Luzardo’s innings and his weaker performance after going through the order multiple times could push the organization to try the lefty out as a bullpen piece.

It’s certainly a part of the roster that needs attention, even after signing Robertson. Jordan Romano hasn’t worked out as the club’s closer, and Jose Alvarado was hit with a PED suspension that will render him ineligible for the postseason. Robertson has a phenomenal track record but must be considered a question mark in his age-40 season without a typical Spring Training ramp-up process. Matt Strahm, Orion Kerkering, and Tanner Banks have all been quality arms, but more help is needed. It’s certainly not hard to imagine Luzardo being able to plug that hole given his impressive stuff that would surely play up even further in a relief setting. Luzardo has 16 relief outings under his belt throughout his career, though he’s pitched out of the rotation exclusively since 2022.

While Luzardo moving to the bullpen could make some sense, it’s certainly not the only way the club could bolster its relief corps—even if none of Duran, Jax, Helsley, or Bednar can be had. Pete Fairbanks, Robert Suarez, Kenley Jansen, and Raisel Iglesias are other hurlers with closing experience who are rumored to be available on at least some level. There’s plenty of interesting non-closers to be had as well, such as Danny Coulombe, Phil Maton, Dennis Santana, Andrew Kittredge, and Anthony Bender. Beyond those veteran names, the Rockies are known to be open to moving many of their young relievers, and it’s even possible that someone like Camilo Doval could be available in the right deal. With so many viable late-inning relief arms available on the market, it would be something of a shock if the Phillies were to strike out on all of them.

The Opener: Acuna, Happ, Rotation Market

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On top of all the rumors in the run-up to tomorrow’s trade deadline, here are three other things to keep an eye on today:

1. Acuna to undergo MRI:

Braves superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. is already on the injured list  due to an issue with his right Achilles tendon, but David O’Brien of The Athletic writes that Acuna is flying back to Atlanta today in order to undergo an MRI on the ailing area to determine the severity of the issue. Acuna has had plenty of trouble with lower-half injuries in the past. He suffered ACL tears in both 2021 and 2024, and with Atlanta buried in the playoff race there’s little reason not to act with an abundance of caution. The 27-year-old has hit at an otherworldly pace since his return from the injured list back in May, posting a .309/.430/.582 slash line with 14 homers in just 54 games.

2. Cubs roster moves incoming:

Longtime Cubs left fielder Ian Happ exited yesterday’s loss to the Brewers after fouling a ball off of his shin, and while Jesse Rogers of ESPN reports that x-rays on the affected area came back negative, it still seems as though Happ is ticketed for a trip to the injured list. Catcher/designated hitter Moises Ballesteros is set to be promoted to the majors, according to a report from Rogers. He’d likely take over DH duties while Seiya Suzuki covers for Happ in left field.

3. Trade deadline impact on probable starters:

White Sox right-hander Adrian Houser is set to make what will likely be his final start for the South Siders tonight, as the Phillies and right-hander Taijuan Walker (who has a 3.84 ERA in a swing role this year) look to take the series after winning last night’s game. Of course, with tomorrow’s deadline looming, there’s a chance Houser doesn’t actually make that start. Other feasible trade candidates slated to take the mound tonight include Rays righty Zack Littell, Marlins righty Cal Quantrill, A’s southpaw Jeffrey Springs and Nationals ace MacKenzie Gore. Each of those teams might feel a bit of extra urgency to push a deal across the line before their pitchers take the mound (although Gore, specifically, is a long shot to be moved).

Meanwhile, right-hander Chris Paddack is poised to make his first start for the Tigers today after being acquired from the Twins alongside Randy Dobnak earlier this week. Paddack’s first opponent as a Tiger will be Arizona left-hander Ryne Nelson, who has a 3.29 ERA in a swing role this season.

Red Sox Interested In Mitch Keller

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The Red Sox are among a number of teams with interest in Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller, according to a report from Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Hiles mentions the Yankees, Mets, and Cubs as being among the other teams that have reached out to the Pirates about Keller, though each of those clubs has previously been connected to the righty this summer.

It should be of little surprise that Boston would have interest in Keller’s services. The 2023 All-Star is in the midst of a career season with the Pirates. He’s posted a 3.69 ERA in 22 starts with a 3.44 FIP. Keller’s strikeout rate (18.8%) is down substantially from previous seasons, which could be a cause for concern, but his 6.6% barrel rate is the lowest of his career and he’s limited his walks to a tidy 6.2%, also a career low. More advanced metrics are skeptical of Keller’s ability to continue producing at this rate with such a low strikeout rate, however; the right-hander’s 4.21 SIERA is the 18th-weakest figure among the league’s 59 qualified starters this year. That suggests he may profile more as a back-of-the-rotation starter than the playoff-caliber #2 his surface-level numbers this year might otherwise make him out to be.

Despite those concerns, Keller remains an attractive trade target. He’s been fairly durable in recent years, with the league’s 12th-highest innings total since 2022, and at just 29 years old he’ll remain in his prime for a few more seasons. With three more years of team control after this one after he signed an extension with the Pirates last year, Keller would be a fixture of an acquiring club’s rotation for years to come. That should be especially attractive to the Red Sox, who could lose both Lucas Giolito and Walker Buehler to free agency this winter, though Giolito’s deal has a 2026 option. Either way, they will need reliable arms to fill out the remainder of their rotation alongside Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello. He should be attractive to a number of other teams as well; in addition to the clubs mentioned above, Keller has also been connected to the Blue Jays.

Despite that solid base of teams Keller is drawing interest from, however, Hiles emphasizes that there’s no guarantee he’ll actually be traded this summer. Hiles reports that the Pirates are “comfortable” holding onto Keller if their “steep” asking price isn’t met, and Hiles adds that Pittsburgh could revisit dealing Keller in the offseason, when it could be easier to pry a hitter already in the majors away from interested clubs. That seems likely to be true of the Red Sox, at least. Boston outfielder Jarren Duran has been the frequent subject of trade speculation in recent weeks due to the club’s logjam of talent in the outfield, but the latest signals point to the club holding onto him this summer and re-evaluating over the winter.

Duran, an above-average everyday player controlled through the end of the 2028 season, is the exact sort of player the Pirates are surely dreaming of acquiring. Speculatively speaking, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Pirates are holding out for a controllable hitter of that caliber and ultimately decide to keep Keller in the fold in order to try again this winter if that asking price isn’t met. Of course, that strategy would run the risk of interested clubs pivoting elsewhere once free agency opens up additional options. With roughly $56MM left on his deal after the 2025 season, Keller is more expensive financially than the typical trade target. That could leave his market to be more impacted by free agency than the average trade piece, at least during the offseason. Dylan Cease, Zac Gallen, Framber Valdez, and Brandon Woodruff are among the many intriguing starting pitchers who figure to be available this winter, and some teams would likely prefer to pay for one of those arms rather than surrendering both budget space and talent to land Keller in the winter.

Rangers, Yankees Among Teams Interested In Ryan Helsley

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As the Cardinals head into the deadline as likely sellers, a handful of the club’s players are getting significant attention on the trade market. Of the team’s major pieces, no player is more likely to be moved than closer Ryan Helsley, a free agent after the 2025 season. The Dodgers and Mets have already been connected to Helsley in some capacity this summer, while the Phillies were known to have interest in the closer earlier this year and the Blue Jays were among the clubs to check in on his availability this past offseason. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports that all four of those teams remain current suitors for Helsley, and adds two more interested teams to the pile: the Rangers and the Yankees.

Helsley, 31, is arguably the best rental reliever on the trade market this summer. A two-time All-Star, Helsley sports a strong resume as one of the top closers in the sport. He’s posted a 2.03 ERA with a 2.55 FIP across 203 2/3 innings of work since the start of the 2022 season. Along the way, he’s picked up 102 saves and struck out batters at a 32.9% clip. It’s an undeniably elite profile, and while his 2025 numbers may not be quite on that level he’s still been fantastic for the Cardinals this year. In 36 innings of work, Helsley has posted a 3.00 ERA with a 26.1% strikeout rate and converted 21 saves in 26 opportunities. Those five blown saves have already matched a career high, but Helsley still figures to be very attractive in a market where other rental closers like Raisel Iglesias and Kenley Jansen come with blemishes of their own.

There are other relievers who are surely more attractive than Helsley available, but each of those elite closers come with team control beyond the 2025 season and as such will cost significantly more in terms of prospect capital. Helsley could be a more affordable option for clubs who balk at the prices of Jhoan Duran, David Bednar, Pete Fairbanks and others—particularly after Guardians closer and likely trade candidate Emmanuel Clase was effectively taken off the market by a sports betting investigation. Clase’s exit from that market will likely further incentivize other clubs with controllable relief talent to keep their prices elevated, and reporting earlier today suggests that the Pirates are asking interested clubs for a package headlined by a prospect within that their organization’s top five in exchange for Bednar.

That could make Helsley a particularly intriguing addition for clubs that aren’t especially keen to give up top talent, and the Yankees and Rangers may both fall into that bucket to some degree. There have been some signals that Aaron Judge’s elbow injury has pushed the club to consider being less aggressive than usual this summer, and when teams would surely be asking for top talents like George Lombard Jr. and Spencer Jones in exchange for top controllable relief arms it could make sense for the Yankees to prioritize a more affordable rental player like Helsley. On the other hand, with Devin Williams already in the fold the club may be comfortable looking at relievers without Helsley’s closing experience like Danny Coulombe or perhaps even teammate Phil Maton.

The Rangers, meanwhile, appear to be leaning heavily towards buying and have already been connected to Bednar today. Texas has no established closer in the fold so, someone like Helsley to lock down the ninth inning could be very valuable for them. With that said, the team has a solid but not excellent 47.9% chance of making the playoffs according to Fangraphs. Another complicating factor is the luxury tax, which ownership appears determined to avoid paying into this year. Helsley’s $8.2MM salary is hardly exorbitant and the Rangers would only have to pay a pro-rated portion of it to cover the final two months of the season, but perhaps the club would prefer to focus on someone like Bednar who would be under control for next year and come with less of a short-term financial burden.

Given that Helsley is a rental, any team that acquires him will have to battle it out for his services in free agency barring a surprise extension. That’s a battle that very well could include the Cardinals themselves, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes today that Helsley has made clear to the club that he would be willing to return to St. Louis via free agency this offseason even if he winds up being traded over the coming days. It’s far from common for traded rentals to return to the club that dealt them the following winter, but Helsley has long indicated he would like to remain in the organization beyond this season. Goold notes that it has occurred in a few high-profile cases in recent years, such as with Aroldis Chapman and the Yankees at the 2016 trade deadline as well as Jeurys Familia and the Mets back in 2018.

Latest On Athletics’ Deadline Plans

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The Athletics entered this season with their first significant offseason expenditures in years under their belt. Since leaving Oakland, the club has not only extended Brent Rooker but also traded for Jeffrey Springs and signed both Luis Severino and Jose Leclerc to significant deals. Unfortunately, those moves haven’t helped the club get back into contention. Now the 46-63 A’s are one of the deadline’s most obvious sellers, and most of those offseason additions are going right back onto the market. Leclerc underwent shoulder surgery this month and won’t be a factor this trade season, but both Springs and Severino are known to be available, among other pieces.

While both Severino and Springs can be had in trade, it’s an open question as to whether or not either player will move. Both are in the midst of lackluster seasons, and Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reported recently that the A’s aren’t viewed by rival clubs as willing to retain a large portion of any contracts on their books if moved. Severino is set to make $25MM in 2026 with a $22MM player option for the 2027 season, while Springs will make $10.5MM next season with a $15MM club option for 2027.

Both of those contracts are clearly underwater given the hurlers’ respective performances. Severino has a lackluster 4.95 ERA (84 ERA+) in 22 starts this year, and while there are some positive signs like a more respectable 4.21 FIP and his solid road splits (3.03 ERA away from Sutter Health Park), a 16.7% strikeout rate is very concerning. Springs, meanwhile, has a solid enough 4.13 ERA (100 ERA+) that comes with very worrying peripherals. An 18.9% strikeout rate is quite low, and while some of his home run problems can be blamed on his home ballpark his home run rate isn’t far out of line with his career norms. Springs’s 4.70 FIP is a bottom-15 figure among pitchers with at least 100 innings of work this year, and his 4.55 SIERA (17th worst) is not much more impressive.

Perhaps there’s a team out there desperate enough for pitching help that they’d be willing to take on an underwater contract in order to avoid parting with prospect capital, but such a situation seems unlikely. Of the two starters, Springs seems more likely to move given his previous experience as a reliever, better on-paper results, and much less onerous contract. If Severino is to be dealt without the A’s parting with salary, he’d likely need to be attached to another player and even then would likely bring back a minimal return.

Expensive pitchers aren’t the club’s only trade chips, however. Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reported earlier today that Miguel Andujar is drawing interest from multiple teams this summer. A pending free agent, Andujar has primarily split time between third base and left field this year. He’s a fairly reliable bet to offer league-average production at the plate, as his .296/.323/.395 (96 wRC+) slash line this year isn’t all that different from his .276/.308/.428 (101 wRC+) career slash line or the .282/.318/.398 (101 wRC+) slash line he’s posted across 163 games since the start of the 2023 season.

It seems unlikely that Andujar would bring back an especially significant return given his league average offense and rough defensive metrics (-7 Outs Above Average this season). Even so, he could be a useful bench bat or depth piece for a team in need of help at any of the infield or outfield corners given his experience at all four positions, though his lackluster defense means he likely profiles best as a DH. The Cubs, Brewers,  Reds, Rangers, and Royals are among the many teams who could use a right-handed hitter who could pitch in at one or more of the corner positions.

Rangers, Tigers Interested In David Bednar

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With this year’s trade deadline just a matter of days away, the Pirates could be one of the more active sellers over the next few days. According to a report from Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pirates GM Ben Cherington is “looking to sell high” on closer David Bednar as he fields inquiries from multiple contenders regarding the 30-year-old. The Yankees, Dodgers, Phillies, and Cubs have all previously been connected to Bednar this summer. Hiles reiterates the Phillies’ interest in the righty and adds two additional suitors to the pile: the Rangers and the Tigers. What’s more, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports this morning that Pittsburgh has discussed the possibility of a deal with the Blue Jays that would send a reliever to Toronto, although it’s unclear whether that relief arm would be Bednar or another piece like Dennis Santana.

It’s hardly a shock that any of these newly-reported clubs would be interested in Bednar’s services. The two-time All-Star has been one of the league’s best closers for years now. Dating back to the 2021 season, Bednar has a 3.01 ERA and 101 saves in 275 1/3 innings of work. He’s struck out 29.4% of his opponents and has a 2.94 FIP. Those are already very impressive numbers, but they become all the more significant when one considers that Bednar struggled badly last year with a 5.77 ERA and 4.80 FIP across 62 appearances.

That his overall numbers remain that strong despite his brutal 2024 shows how utterly dominant Bednar has been the rest of the time, and 2025 is no exception. This year, he’s pitched to a 2.37 ERA with 17 saves and a 33.1% strikeout rate to go with a 1.96 FIP in 38 innings of work. He surrendered his first run since May 23 during last night’s save against the Giants and sports an eye-popping 1.70 ERA and 1.47 FIP dating back to April 19. That’s the day Bednar returned to the majors after three rough outings in Pittsburgh’s first four games of the season convinced the Pirates to option him to Triple-A for the reset. To say that reset has worked out would be an understatement, as Bednar’s elite play since his return has made him perhaps the club’s most valuable trade chip this summer.

Bednar’s value has risen enough that Hiles writes the Pirates are asking potential suitors to include one prospect within their organization’s top five in the return package for his services. The Pirates are known to be targeting upper-level hitting prospects and big league ready offensive talent this summer as they look to build a stronger position player corps to support Paul Skenes and the rest of their vaunted pitching core in 2026 and beyond. That makes some clubs a difficult fit for the Pirates’ needs. The Rangers, for example, surely wouldn’t consider parting with top prospect Sebastian Walcott in this sort of deal but have few other highly-rated, upper-level positional prospects in their system. Likewise, six of the Blue Jays’ top seven prospects according to MLB Pipeline are pitchers. By contrast, teams like the Tigers, Cubs, and Dodgers have a bevy of positional talent, some of which is in Double- and Triple-A already, from which they could deal if so inclined.

A club not being a perfect fit for the Pirates’s preferred return doesn’t necessarily mean a deal can’t be made as long as the buying club is sufficiently motivated, however. The Rangers seem like a particularly strong fit for Bednar. They enter trade season pressed up against the luxury tax with minimal room to take on salary barring a sudden change of heart from ownership, and taking on the final two months of Bednar’s $5.9MM salary for the season would be an extremely light financial burden for a player of Bednar’s caliber. Additionally, their recent struggles with putting together a quality bullpen could make someone controlled beyond the 2025 season like Bednar (who will reach free agency after 2026) an especially attractive option.

Speculatively speaking, perhaps there’s a deal to be made between the Rangers and Pirates involving a big league hitter like Adolis Garcia supported by lower-level prospects from Texas’s system. Likewise, the Blue Jays have a number of young position players who have graduated from prospect status who they could consider trading in the right deal, whether that’s for Bednar or another reliever like Santana or Caleb Ferguson. Toronto’s bullpen could certainly use the boost Bednar would provide given that incumbent closer Jeff Hoffman’s season has come off the rails after an elite month of April, and with players like George Springer and Kevin Gausman getting older as they approach the end of their contracts there’s plenty of urgency to make a deep postseason run.

The Tigers might be best positioned to make a deal for Bednar of this trio of teams, however. Bednar’s team control window lines up with that of ace southpaw Tarik Skubal, so adding him to the fold would allow Detroit to maximize Skubal’s time with the organization. The bullpen has emerged as a clear weak spot in an otherwise impressively deep organization, and Bednar closing out games with Will Vest and Tyler Holton setting him up would make for a much more imposing relief corps this October. What’s more, the Tigers have a number of well-regarded position player prospects in the upper levels of the minors, to say nothing of pieces with big league experience like Jace Jung and Trey Sweeney. It’s unclear just how much the Tigers would really be willing to part with in order to acquire Bednar, but they certainly have the sort of deep group of positional talent that could make them a very enticing trade partner for the Pirates.

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