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Royals Acquire Randal Grichuk

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The Diamondbacks’ sell-off continues this evening as they’re trading outfielder Randal Grichuk to the Royals, according to a report from Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that right-hander Andrew Hoffmann is headed to Arizona in exchange for Grichuk’s services. John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM Phoenix reports that Hoffmann, who is already on the 40-man roster, will be assigned to Triple-A Reno by the Diamondbacks once the trade becomes official. Both teams subsequently announced the trade.

Grichuk, 34 next month, is a veteran of 12 MLB seasons who has spent the past two years in Arizona. While he played mostly center field for the Cardinals and Blue Jays in his younger days, more recently Grichuk has fashioned a role for himself as a corner outfielder who primarily chips in against left-handed pitching. That’s certainly a piece the Royals could make use of, as they’ve gotten the least production from their outfield in the majors by measure of wRC+ (64) and fWAR (-2.4) this year. Kansas City has also been well below average (74 wRC+) against left-handed pitching this year; only six teams have been less productive at the dish against opposing southpaws.

The Royals are relying on an outfield mix of Jac Caglianone, Kyle Isbel, and John Rave this year with MJ Melendez and Tyler Tolbert occasionally chipping in as well. Tolbert’s 77 wRC+ leads that quintet of players as things stand, meaning that even as Grichuk’s production has dipped substantially this year he’ll still be a major upgrade for the Kansas City offense. Grichuk is hitting .243/.280/.462 with a wRC+ of 99 in 186 plate appearances this year. That jumps up to a 102 wRC+ when looking at his work against lefties, which should be more than enough to make him a regular fixture of the club’s lineup against southpaws. While Arizona’s crowded outfield mix means that Grichuk only saw token usage against right-handers during his time with the Diamondbacks, the Royals’ weak outfield mix and Grichuk’s decent 92 wRC+ could mean an uptick in playing time for the veteran against same-handed pitchers as well.

The deal is the latest sign that the Royals view themselves as potential contenders at this point in the season. The club is 51-53 at the moment, two games below .500 and 3.5 games out of an AL Wild Card spot. Fangraphs gives the club a 13.0% chance of reaching the playoffs based on their current projections, but with other bubble teams like the Rays, Guardians, and Twins at least seeming to consider selling in some capacity it seems as though Kansas City is staying the course and making moves to add low-cost veterans on expiring contracts like tonight’s Grichuk deal and the trade for second baseman Adam Frazier earlier this month. While sell-side trades can’t be completely ruled out, the Royals already seemed somewhat hesitant to deal veteran right-hander Seth Lugo even before today’s move to bring in Grichuk. It wouldn’t be the first time a team has both bought and sold at a trade deadline if the Royals did ultimately decide to part with Lugo (or another speculated trade candidate like Kris Bubic), but this latest addition seems likely to push them further into the buyer’s lane than they had been previously.

As for the Diamondbacks, this trade pushes them further into the seller lane after they dealt first baseman Josh Naylor to Seattle earlier this week. With two of the club’s many rentals on expiring contracts now out the door, deals involving other rental pieces like third baseman Eugenio Suarez, right-hander Zac Gallen, and righty Merrill Kelly are all the more likely. The Diamondbacks are, themselves, just four games out of a Wild Card spot with an identical 51-53 record to the Royals. With that being said, Arizona’s decision to sell makes plenty of sense considering the number of high profile impending free agents on the roster ticketed for free agency this November. With ace Corbin Burnes and leverage arms like A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez done for the 2025 season already, reloading the roster with young talent ahead of what they’re surely hoping will be a return to contention in 2026 makes plenty of sense.

In the case of this trade, that young talent comes in the form of Hoffmann, a right-hander who made his big league debut with the Royals earlier this year. The 25-year-old has just 3 MLB games under his belt, during which he posted a 3.86 ERA with four walks and five strikeouts across 4 2/3 innings of work. Despite that meager sample size at the big league level, Hoffmann has been nothing short of excellent at Triple-A this year. The righty has pitched to a 2.32 ERA across 40 innings of work with Kansas City’s Omaha affiliate, and in that time he’s struck out 33.3% of his opponents while walking just 6.1%.

Those are strong numbers, and while he was not considered one of the club’s top prospects entering the 2025 campaign it’s hardly surprising that the Diamondbacks would be interested in the right-hander. Arizona has made clear that adding young pitching talent is their top priority this summer, and Hoffmann comes to the club as a big-league ready reliever who has just a few days of MLB service time under his belt. Hoffmann joins lefty Brandyn Garcia and prospect Ashton Izzi as a part of the wave of pitching Mike Hazen’s front office is looking to create after Garcia and Izzi both came over as the return for Naylor earlier this week.

Rays’ Manuel Rodriguez To Undergo Elbow Surgery

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9:00pm: Topkin relayed a clarification from the Rays this evening that Rodriguez may not require full Tommy John surgery; he is scheduled to undergo surgery on his right elbow that will repair his flexor tendon. Rodriguez’s UCL will be evaluated during the surgery to determine whether or not additional intervention is necessary.

6:03pm: Rays right-hander Manuel Rodriguez is set to undergo Tommy John surgery on August 8th, manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) earlier today. Rodriguez was already on the 60-day injured list after renewed elbow soreness and a drop in velocity during a recent rehab outing caused him to visit with a specialist. That visit clearly revealed UCL damage, and Rodriguez will now miss the remainder of the 2025 season as well as most if not all of the 2026 campaign as well.

It’s devastating news for the talented young righty, as he’s been extremely effective when healthy since he joined the Rays’ bullpen last year. Rodriguez made his big league debut with the Cubs back in 2021 and pitched to a 4.88 ERA in the organization despite flashing premium velocity. He was outrighted off the club’s roster prior to the 2023 season before being traded to Tampa at that year’s trade deadline alongside Adrian Sampson. Since joining the Rays, Rodriguez has posted a brilliant 2.12 ERA in 68 innings of work at the big league level with a 21.1% strikeout rate, a 6.1% walk rate, and a 53.1% ground ball rate.

It’s an impressive profile overall, and one that allowed the 28-year-old to work his way into the club’s high-leverage mix before a forearm strain left him sidelined back in June. Unfortunately, he’ll now be sidelined for quite some time. Rodriguez reached two years of big league service time this year, meaning that if the Rays keep him on their 40-man roster throughout both the offseason and the 2026 campaign he’ll likely be eligible for arbitration after the 2027 campaign. It’s possible that the Rays could look to remove him from their roster at some point in the coming months and re-sign him to a minor league contract, though taking that path would give Rodriguez the opportunity to sign with any of the league’s 30 clubs and could run the risk of him receiving a more attractive offer elsewhere.

The Rays seemed to be anticipating a lengthy absence for Rodriguez even before recent visits with doctors revealed he’d need to go under the knife. That could mean that the right-hander’s injury won’t have a significant impact on their plans for the trade deadline this year. The club’s 53-51 record seemingly leaves them in position to both buy (as they did when they acquired Bryan Baker from the Orioles earlier this month) and also consider selling pieces like closer Pete Fairbanks, though it seems for the time being their preference is to keep the right-hander in the fold. Unless trades further alter the makeup of the Rays’ bullpen, Fairbanks and Baker will be joined by Edwin Uceta and Garrett Cleavinger in the club’s late inning mix going forward.

Angels Place Jorge Soler, Chris Taylor On Injured List

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The Angels announced that both outfielder Jorge Soler and utility man Chris Taylor have been placed on the injured list this evening. Soler is suffering from low back inflammation, and his stint on the shelf is retroactive to July 24. Taylor, meanwhile, is suffering from a left hand fracture that he tells MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger comes with a roughly six-week timetable for return, which should allow him to return at some point in September. Outfielder Gustavo Campero and utility man Scott Kingery were recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake to replace Soler and Taylor on the active roster.

Soler missed two weeks due to back inflammation back in June, and since his return on July 1 he’s hit an impressive .262/.360/.595 in 50 plate appearances. That excellent work at the dish is all the more impressive given that he’s evidently been playing at less than perfect health, given that he was pulled from Wednesday’s game early due to his back and had not played since. It’s not clear exactly how long the Angels expect the slugger to be out, but his production will be sorely missed on a team that’s four games under .500 and 4.5 games out of a Wild Card spot, leaving them in a position where every game counts ahead of the trade deadline next week.

As for Taylor, his broken hand is also a recurrence of a previous injury. He fractured his hand back in June and ended up missing around six weeks due to the issue. He finally returned to action on Monday, but got into just five games before a diving catch in the outfield yesterday caused him to re-fracture his hand, leaving him to start all over again with another six weeks of recovery. Taylor has appeared in just 43 games this year between the Dodgers and Angels, only 15 of which have been with the Halos. He’s posted a decent 87 wRC+ in that sample size and has looked the part of a viable and versatile bench option, but it’s unclear how much of an opportunity he’ll get to impact the club down the stretch at this point, with even a fairly optimistic timeline having him return in the season’s final weeks.

Filling in for Soler and Taylor on the roster are Campero and Kingery. Campero, 27, has been a fill-in outfielder for Anaheim in each of the past two seasons. A .192/.259/.295 hitter across 31 games in his big league career, he’s unlikely to provide much offense for the club but can cover all three outfield spots and even has some experience catching, although he’s converted almost exclusively to work in the outfield at this point. As for Kingery, the utility man appeared in 13 games with the Halos earlier this year. it was his first big league work since 2022, but he hit a paltry .160/.222/.200 in that time and has struggled mightily at Triple-A this year as well. His wRC+ in the Pacific Coast League is a ghastly 69 this year, meaning he’s been 31% worse than average even by the standards of the club’s Salt Lake affiliate. Still, he can offer some speed and versatility off the bench, with 25 steals at Triple-A for the Phillies just last year.

Mariners Making Dylan Moore Available In Trade Talks

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The Mariners made one of the first moves of trade season when they acquired Josh Naylor from the Diamondbacks earlier this week, and with a 55-49 record that puts them firmly in playoff contention. That should make them a clear buyer in the coming days, and several reports have already suggested they have interest in reuniting Naylor with his corner infield partner from Arizona, third baseman Eugenio Suarez. That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t consider dealing from their big league roster, however, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes that Seattle has made utility man Dylan Moore available in trade talks.

Rosenthal adds that the Mariners might be especially willing to part with Moore if they manage to swing a deal for Suarez. That makes plenty of sense, seeing as Moore is a player who has gotten the majority of his work this year on the infield against left-handed pitching. Suarez, meanwhile, would slot is as Seattle’s everyday third baseman and sports a career 126 wRC+ against left-handed pitching. A revamped infield that has both Naylor and Suarez in the mix at the corners would seemingly leave little room for Moore to get playing time, particularly with J.P. Crawford locked in at shortstop on a regular basis and top prospect Cole Young getting an extended look at the keystone.

With that being said, it’s worth noting that the Mariners may not be in position to get much of anything meaningful in return for Moore’s services. While the utility man’s versatility, respectable career numbers against left-handed pitching, and Gold Glove caliber defense last year are all attractive assets on paper, Moore has been mired in a brutal slump for well over a month at this point that figures to limit his trade value. He’s hitting .201/.264/.374 (83 wRC+) overall this year, a slash line that would be perfectly acceptable for a bench piece on a contender. Since the start of June, however, Moore has slashed an anemic .040/.111/.100 at the plate.

Those brutal numbers come across a sample of just 54 plate appearances, of course, but a 2-for-50 stretch is hard to write off as just a cold streak and would likely leave most prospective buyers unwilling to do more than take the remainder of Moore’s $3.66MM salary off of Seattle’s hands. Perhaps a deal could still come together if a team with weak bench options is willing to take a gamble on Moore and the Mariners are motivated to move his salary, however. The Mariners added minimal salary to their roster this winter, and while there have been signals that ownership is open to increasing payroll this summer it’s not entirely clear how far that expanded budget will go.

No teams have been directly connected to Moore, but he could make sense for teams with weak bench mixes who could value his versatility. The Yankees, Cubs, Brewers, and Astros are among the contenders with at least one bench piece who has been less productive than Moore’s overall numbers this year, although the Astros would be a tricky fit as the Mariners’ primary rival in the AL West and a team already loaded with right-handed bats. The Yankees in particular could be an intriguing fit for Moore’s services given that his right-handed bat could serve as a solid complement to the recently-added Ryan McMahon at third base, to say nothing of other lefties in the lineup like Trent Grisham and Ben Rice.

Red Sox Interested In Dalton Rushing

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The Red Sox have interest in Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing, according to a report from Sean McAdam of MassLive. McAdam also reports that the Dodgers have had a scouting presence at Boston’s High-A affiliate in Greenville to monitor shortstop prospect Franklin Arias and left-handed prospect Brandon Clarke. It’s unknown whether a deal between the two sides is close at this time or what the exact framework of a deal involving Rushing would look like.

Rushing, 24, was a second-round pick by the Dodgers in 2022 and entered the 2025 season as a consensus top-30 prospect in the sport. He slashed a sensational .308/.424/.514 in 31 games at Triple-A Oklahoma City for the Dodgers earlier this year before being promoted to the majors back in May. He’s struggled since that promotion while serving as the backup to Will Smith, with a .216/.280/.297 slash line across 27 games. He’s struck out in a worrisome 41.5% of his plate appearances, but has looked like a capable defensive catcher and has some impressive underlying power numbers including a 12.2% barrel rate.

While Rushing may not be an immediate impact player at this point, he’d be a long-term addition with plenty of upside for the Red Sox who could make up for the loss of Kyle Teel in this past winter’s Garrett Crochet deal. In the short-term, meanwhile, he would surely be an improvement over Connor Wong as the backup to Carlos Narvaez behind the plate in Boston. Wong has had a brutal season in 2025, hitting just .144/.228/.144 across 101 plate appearances. That’s 95% worse than league average by measure of wRC+, and his weak offense has been complemented by middling defense behind the plate. Rushing would provide as much or more defensive value as compared to Wong, with a modestly more valuable bat in the short-term and plenty of long-term room for growth behind the plate both offensively and defensively.

Both prospects McAdam reports the Dodgers have been scouting are extremely well-regarded. Following the graduations of Kristian Campbell, Roman Anthony, and Marcelo Mayer earlier this year, MLB Pipeline rates Arias as the top prospect in Boston’s system while Clarke clocks in as the system’s fourth-best prospect. Baseball America, meanwhile, places Arias fourth and Clarke sixth in the system on a ranking that still includes both Anthony and Mayer. Arias is ranked 34th overall in Pipeline’s top 100 while Clarke is unranked. BA is lower on Franklin (55th overall) but views Clarke as a top-100 talent in his own right as he’s 72nd on their list.

That pair of prospects would be a substantial return if the Dodgers were able to land them both in exchange for Rushing’s services, particularly considering the fact that Rushing is largely blocked by the presence of Smith on a long-term deal. Catching talent is highly sought-after around the league, however, and with other catching-hungry teams like the Rays, Nationals, Guardians, and Mets all potentially on the lookout for help behind the plate it would surely be a competitive market if the Dodgers were to make Rushing available.

That L.A. is scouting some of Boston’s high-end prospects should not necessarily be taken as a sign that a deal is close or especially likely. McAdam suggests that the Dodgers might not be motivated to part with a player on their major league roster to acquire prospects far away from the majors. It wouldn’t be a shock if a club that was willing to offer L.A. immediate help of significance was better positioned to land Rushing, and the Guardians in particular have intriguing pieces they could dangle such as closer Emmanuel Clase and outfielder Steven Kwan, both of whom could make plenty of sense for a Dodgers club that is on the prowl for bullpen help and has gotten minimal production from Michael Conforto in left field. That’s a largely speculative connection, of course, and Rushing by himself surely wouldn’t be enough to land either one of those players.

All that said, it wouldn’t be the first time the Dodgers have dealt a blocked top prospect in exchange for long-term pieces. Prior to the 2024 season, L.A. swapped Michael Busch (and right-hander Yency Almonte) to the Cubs in a deal that landed them outfield prospect Zyhir Hope and left-handed pitching prospect Jackson Ferris. That pair of prospects were not yet consensus top-100 talents and were even farther from the majors then than Arias and Clarke are now, but the deal has certainly paid off for the Dodgers given that Hope is rated as the sport’s #31 prospect by Pipeline while Ferris clocks in at #97. Of course, it must be noted that the Busch trade was an offseason deal, and the urgency associated with the trade deadline could make the Dodgers less incentivized to focus on bolstering their farm system when they’re in the midst of defending their title as the reigning World Series champions.

Ben Rice Drawing Trade Interest

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The Yankees have plenty of holes they’ll need to fill in the coming days. The club has been in desperate need of help at third base dating back to the offseason, and injuries to the pitching staff have created issues with both the rotation and bullpen as well. One option the club could consider to address those concerns, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, would be shopping slugger Ben Rice. Sherman writes that Rice has drawn interest from multiple teams and could be dealt as a way to address needs on the big league roster without dipping into the club’s farm system, though he adds that the Yankees would need to receive a big offer before they’d “even consider” parting ways with the 26-year-old.

It’s not hard to see why the Yankees would be reluctant to part ways with Rice. His second season in the majors has gone extremely well as he’s slashed a strong .232/.323/.468 (121 wRC+) across 84 games to go with even better expected numbers. A solid 9.1% walk rate in conjunction with his 20.6% strikeout rate and 30-homer power makes Rice one of the most intriguing young sluggers in the game, and the fact that he remains under team control for five more seasons after this one should only serve to further elevate his trade value.

With that being said, incumbent first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is a free agent after the 2025 season. The Yankees have an aging and expensive roster, so parting with a young, controllable asset who’s already proven himself to be a capable big league regular could be hard for the team to stomach, especially with a hole at a position he’s capable of handling set to open up in time for Opening Day 2026. To justify not only losing Rice but having to figure out a new long-term plan for the first base position, the Yankees would likely need to get a quality, controllable return in order for a deal to make sense. Teams like the Twins and Marlins could balk at giving up a high-end piece like Joe Ryan or Edward Cabrera for Rice, however, given that much of his production is concentrated within an incredible month of April. Since the calendar flipped to May, Rice has been rather pedestrian with a slash line of just .215/.297/.409 across his last 57 games.

One potential way that likely gap in perceived value could be bridged is if a rival club viewed Rice as a viable catcher. Sherman suggests that multiple teams have “inquired” regarding his viability at the position. The Yankees have Austin Wells entrenched as their everyday catcher, and J.C. Escarra has emerged as a viable backup this year. That leaves Rice to get only occasional time behind the plate with the majority of his work focused on first base and DH in the Bronx; he’s caught just 46 2/3 innings behind the plate with five starts and only two complete games. If a team views Rice as a viable option to catch on at least a semi-regular basis, that could pave the way for a team to value him as highly as the Yankees seem to.

Sherman suggests the Diamondbacks as one potential trade partner who could be intrigued by Rice, and it’s not hard to see why. Arizona traded first baseman Josh Naylor away just last night, and while Pavin Smith is a viable first base and DH option in his own right that would nonetheless open up playing time for Rice in the short-term. Sherman also adds that the Snakes “would like” to bring in catching help thanks to the recent injury history of primary backstop Gabriel Moreno. The 25-year-old is a Gold Glove winner behind the plate with consistently above average offense, but has appeared in just 150 games since the start of the 2024 season due to hand, adductor, and thumb injuries.

That could make Arizona an excellent fit for Rice, if he were to be dealt. Should the Diamondbacks be intrigued by the possibility that he could contribute behind the plate, they could utilize Rice on an occasional basis at the position down the stretch this year and head into the offseason better informed about whether he can stick as a catcher. Even if Rice didn’t pan out as a catcher in Arizona, they already have a hole to fill in their first base and DH mix that Rice could slide into seamlessly. That would allow Rice to serve as a long-term replacement for Naylor (who was himself a short-term replacement for longtime first baseman Christian Walker this past winter) even if he doesn’t work out as a catcher.

Of course, this is all largely speculative. The Diamondbacks are known to be prioritizing pitching this summer, and their roster is already extremely left-handed with Smith, Corbin Carroll, Jake McCarthy, and Alek Thomas all batting from the left side to say nothing of switch-hitters Geraldo Perdomo and Ketel Marte. If the Snakes were to add a hitter, they might prefer one who bats righty. That’s an especially noteworthy consideration given that Eugenio Suarez, Randal Grichuk, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. are all right-handed bats who have been discussed as potential trade candidates. Of that trio, only Gurriel is controlled beyond 2025.

Red Sox Unlikely To Trade Jarren Duran This Summer

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With a 55-49 record and a seat at the Wild Card table, the Red Sox have seemingly played themselves out of selling this summer even after trading former franchise face Rafael Devers to the Giants last month. There’s been plenty of speculation about the possibility that they could trade from their glut of outfield talent and move Jarren Duran, but it seems as though that might not be in the cards—for now, at least. ESPN’s Jeff Passan recently wrote that the Red Sox might more or less stand pat this summer, while Jon Heyman of the New York Post noted that Boston is “believed” to be unlikely to move Duran despite considerable interest from the Padres.

Sean McAdam of MassLive provides further details on the situation surrounding Duran. He suggests that while a deal involving Duran is “likely” at some point, the Red Sox are inclined to hold off on making such a deal until the offseason. McAdam then goes on to note that the Padres offered Boston a three-player package of right-hander Dylan Cease, top catching prospect Ethan Salas, and an additional prospect not named Leo De Vries that was “quickly rejected.” That’s a fairly significant offer, particularly given the fact that the Red Sox had reportedly expressed interest in Cease previously in conversations with San Diego this summer.

Duran’s in the midst of a decent season but has taken a massive step back from his All-Star 2024 campaign that ended with an eighth place finish in a crowded NL MVP race. This year, Duran has hit just .254/.321/.428 with a wRC+ of 104 and below average defense in the outfield. While the Padres clearly still believe in the upside they saw when he put together a 6.8 fWAR, 8.7 bWAR season last year given their offer of a longtime top prospect and a front-of-the-rotation rental, it’s possible that the Red Sox are hoping for a strong second half from Duran that can raise his value headed into the offseason and potentially get the attention of other clubs besides San Diego.

Perhaps the Red Sox were willing to reject that offer from San Diego in part because the players they’d be acquiring are in the midst of down seasons themselves. Cease has long been viewed as one of the sport’s most talented pitchers, but he’s posted a 4.59 ERA that’s actually 10% worse than league average by ERA+ across 21 starts this year. His peripheral numbers remain strong and some of his poor season-long numbers can be attributed to a nine-run, four-inning implosion at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento back in April. Even so, Cease doesn’t carry the same surefire ace pedigree he would have had even one season ago. Salas is in no better shape, having been sidelined by a stress fracture in his back for most of 2025 following a tough season at the High-A level last year.

While the Padres have been frequently connected to Duran for quite some time now, they’re far from the only team for whom he’d be an excellent fit. The Phillies have a major hole in left field, the Astros are in desperate need of a left-handed bat to help balance their lineup, the Royals are in clear need of help all around the outfield, and even non-contending clubs in need of offense like the Pirates could make sense as a suitor for Duran given that he won’t reach free agency until after the 2028 season. That’s hardly an exhaustive list of teams that could make sense as a fit for Duran, as his combination of upside and long period of team control could make him attractive for virtually any team that isn’t already stacked with outfield talent themselves.

The Opener: Diamondbacks, O’Hearn, Cardinals

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With the first major trade of July finally in place, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day:

1. Who’s next to go on the Diamondbacks?

The Diamondbacks had been on the fence between buying or selling for weeks, but they’ve finally planted their stake in the ground by being the first team to sell off a rental player this summer when they shipped first baseman Josh Naylor to the Mariners last night in exchange for pitching prospects Brandyn Garcia and Ashton Izzi. With Naylor out the door, the biggest question for fans in Arizona is who will follow him? Eugenio Suarez is looked at by many as the prize of this deadline when it comes to rentals amid a season where he’s already clubbed 36 homers, but Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen are intriguing rental starters as well. Arizona has even reportedly received some interest on outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and the final year-and-a-half of his three-year pact with the club from the 2023-24 offseason.

2. Could O’Hearn be on the way out of Baltimore?

Naylor isn’t the only slugging, lefty-swinging first baseman on the market. That description also applies to Ryan O’Hearn of the Orioles, a fellow rental bat in the midst of an even stronger season than Naylor. The 31-year-old O’Hearn is having a career year in 2025, with a .281/.375/.452 slash line and 12 home runs in 89 games despite having topped out at 15 across an entire season previously. A team in need of offensive firepower like the Reds, Rangers, Padres, or Brewers could make plenty of sense for O’Hearn, although the Reds and Rangers appear to be on the buy-sell bubble at this point. San Diego is also apparently considering a buy-and-sell strategy for the deadline. Like Naylor, O’Hearn’s limited defensive versatility could make him a tough fit for teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs, and Mets who are more surefire buyers but generally have talent locked in at first base, at designated hitter and in the outfield corners.

3. Who will the Cardinals trade?

The Cardinals didn’t work out a trade yesterday, but they’ve still made waves in recent days. After president of baseball operations John Mozeliak acknowledged that he was meeting with Nolan Arenado to discuss the third baseman’s no-trade clause earlier this week, St. Louis designated potential trade chip Erick Fedde for assignment in a move that signals they don’t intend to keep the righty regardless of if they find a suitor for his services or not. Most recently, longtime closer Ryan Helsley publicly acknowledged that he feels he has about a “90 percent chance” to be pitching elsewhere on August 1. Helsley is likely St. Louis’s top trade chip, especially given the struggles Fedde has faced this year. Most veterans on the roster like Arenado, Miles Mikolas, Sonny Gray, and Willson Contreras have no-trade clauses they’ve not indicated an interest in waiving to this point, so a sell-off in St. Louis could be focused on players like Helsley, veteran righty Phil Maton, and lefty Steven Matz.

Nick Ahmed Announces Retirement

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12-year MLB veteran Nick Ahmed has announced his retirement from baseball. Ahmed made the announcement on social media earlier today. A two-time Gold Glove award winner, Ahmed played for the Diamondbacks, Giants, Dodgers, Padres, and Rangers during his time in the majors.

“For as long as I can remember, all I ever wanted to do was play baseball,” Ahmed said in his announcement. “I got to live out my childhood dream and play baseball for a very long time! After 15 professional seasons and more than a decade in the big leagues I am officially hanging up my spikes and retiring from playing baseball… I will always love the game of baseball. I am excited for my next chapter and the opportunity to give the best of me to this game we all love!”

The 35-year-old was a second-round pick by Atlanta back in 2011 out of the University of Connecticut. He was traded to Arizona as part of a package that brought back outfielder Justin Upton and infielder Chris Johnson prior to the 2013 season and made his big league debut with the Diamondbacks the following year. He made it into just 25 games that year, but in 2015 he took over for Didi Gregorius as the team’s regular shortstop. Ahmed’s .226/.275/.359 slash line (66 wRC+) in that rookie season wasn’t much to write home about, but he was a standout defender from the jump with +8 Defensive Runs Saved in his rookie season.

Injuries limited Ahmed to just 143 games across the 2016 and ’17 seasons, but he re-emerged in 2018 healthy enough to return to play on a regular basis. That age-28 season saw Ahmed reach his peak. His .234/.290/.411 (85 wRC+) slash line was still below average, but it was nonetheless a marked improvement over previous seasons. More impressive, however, was his growth defensively. Ahmed put up a defensive season for the ages in 2018, with an eye-popping +34 Outs Above Average and +25 Defensive Runs Saved. His glove was by far the most valuable of anyone in baseball that year—not just among shortstops, but at any position. Ahmed followed that brilliant performance up with one that was as good or better in 2019.

While his +17 OAA and +14 DRS weren’t quite as otherworldly as the prior season, they were still elite figures. This time, Ahmed’s strong defense was backed up by roughly league average offense, has he posted a 91 wRC+ and crushed a career-high 19 homers. Ahmed’s strong play continued into the shortened 2020 season, when he posted a 96 wRC+ with his typical excellent defense. From 2018-2020, Ahmed’s 8.9 fWAR was ninth-best among all shortstops and clocked in ahead of players like Carlos Correa and fellow defensive wizard Andrelton Simmons.

Unfortunately for Ahmed, his offense would come crashing back to Earth in 2021, when he posted a 66 wRC+. While his defense remained elite, injuries in 2022 limited him to just 17 games. His offense fell even further in 2023, and come September his defensive value just wasn’t enough to justify his roster spot as the Diamondbacks designated him for assignment to make room for top prospect Jordan Lawlar on the roster and dedicate more playing time to shortstop of the future Geraldo Perdomo. Ahmed split the 2024 season between the Giants, Dodgers, and Padres and appeared in 71 games as a bench piece and injury replacement for his three longtime division rivals before wrapping up his career with a five-game stint as a member of the Rangers this year.

All together, Ahmed appeared in 964 games during his big league career with a .233/.286/.370 slash line. He collected +118 OAA since Statcast began tracking the stat in 2016, a figure that trails on Francisco Lindor across the stat’s history. He also finished his career with +80 DRS, good for 11th overall and second among shortstops since Ahmed made his debut during the 2014 season. MLBTR joins the rest of the baseball world in congratulating Ahmed on a fine career and wishes him all the best in whatever comes next.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Drawing Trade Interest

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The Diamondbacks have been inching more and more towards the sell side of the buy-sell bubble since the All-Star break, and John Gambadoro of 98.7 Arizona Sports suggests that the club has “solidified” as a seller for this summer’s trade deadline after being swept by the Astros earlier this week. Now that the club appears to be more firmly planning to sell in at least some capacity this summer, Gambadoro adds that they’ve received interest from “a few teams” on outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

Gurriel, 31, is in the second-year of his three-year, $42MM contract with the Diamondbacks signed following the club’s run to the World Series in 2023. That sets him apart from the majority of potential trade chips on Arizona’s roster, as pieces like Zac Gallen, Eugenio Suarez, and Josh Naylor are all poised to hit free agency this winter. Gurriel is due $13MM in 2026, and his contract also comes with a $14MM club option for 2027. That option has a $5MM buyout, meaning that Gurriel is guaranteed $18MM in addition to what’s left of his $14MM salary for 2025. That’s not exactly an onerous contract, but it’s still a fairly hefty price to pay for a player who has slashed just .245/.295/.406 with a wRC+ of 93 this year.

Gurriel is also largely confined to left field defensively at this point in his career with pedestrian defensive metrics at the position. Below average offense and defense from a position like left field isn’t exactly an exciting package, but Gurriel has suffered from a career-low .254 BABIP this season and is sporting a career-best strikeout rate of just 13.5%. He’s also posting stronger numbers against southpaws, with a .278/.331/.398 slash line against opposite-handed pitchers this year. Perhaps there are teams in need of outfield help who are intrigued by Gurriel’s contact-oriented bat and see taking on the veteran’s contract as a way to avoid parting with significant prospect capital in a deal for another available outfield option like Harrison Bader or Ramon Laureano.

Specific suitors for Gurriel aren’t known but, speculatively speaking, a team like the Phillies or Royals with a significant need in the outfield could make sense. While Gurriel’s production is rather pedestrian, he would still be a substantial upgrade for Max Kepler (85 wRC+) in Philadelphia or John Rave (74 wRC+) in Kansas City. The possibility of acquiring Gurriel without needing to expend significant capital beyond cash could also be attractive to a Phillies club that needs substantial help in the bullpen or a Royals club that finds themselves on the buy-sell bubble this summer.

Even if a return of note beyond salary relief cannot be had for Gurriel, there’s at least some reason for the Diamondbacks to consider making a deal. Getting Gurriel’s salary off the books could help the club in its efforts to either re-sign or replace players from their large crop of pending free agents, and the controllable trio of Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas, and Jake McCarthy could make it easier for the Diamondbacks to part with an outfield option. Of course, that doesn’t mean a deal is necessarily close or especially likely. While Gambadoro writes that multiple teams have reached out regarding Gurriel, it’s not clear how serious their interest is in the outfielder’s services.

Perhaps interested teams are only willing to deal for Gurriel if the Diamondbacks retain some of his contract, at which point it’s not hard to imagine the Snakes feeling they’re better served holding onto him and hoping that he bounces back enough to either help the team out in 2026 or raise his value on the trade market for the future. One potential compromise could be for Gurriel to be traded as part of a package involving one of Arizona’s other trade pieces, but it’s hard to say if the Diamondbacks would have much appetite for potentially watering down the trade return they could receive for a more valuable asset like Suarez by pairing him with Gurriel.

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