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A’s Select Carlos Cortes

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The A’s have selected the contract of outfielder Carlos Cortes from Triple-A Las Vegas and immediately optioned him back to Vegas, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. He’s now on the 40-man roster but is not yet getting a call to the major leagues for his debut. Right-hander Grant Holman was transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Cortes, 28, was a 2018 third-rounder with the Mets. He became a minor league free agent following the 2024 season and signed a minor league contract with the A’s back in November. The unusual nature of today’s addition to the 40-man roster and immediate option back to Triple-A suggests that Cortes may have had an opt-out in his contract.

The Athletics’ signing of Cortes has worked out well so far. He’s turned in a terrific .321/.418/.603 slash (140 wRC+) in 299 plate appearances thus far in Triple-A. Cortes’ 16 home runs tie a career-high, and his 13.7% strikeout rate is an even match with his career-low 13.7% strikeout rate. He’s been on a tear of late, including a Pacific Coast League Player of the Week nod in late June (on the heels of a week in which he recorded back-to-back four-hit games). Over his past 30 games, Cortes boasts a ridiculous .403/.500/.773 batting line.

That huge production and his selection to the 40-man roster now has Cortes on the cusp of a potential big league debut. He’s played the outfield corners exclusively this season. The A’s are generally set there for the time being, with Lawrence Butler in right and Tyler Soderstrom handling left field on most days. Cortes could eventually emerge as a bench option, particularly if the A’s wind up trading veteran bench players Gio Urshela and/or Miguel Andujar before this month’s deadline.

Holman, 25, was placed on the 15-day IL in mid-June due to tendinitis in his rotator cuff. He’s pitched 23 2/3 innings for the A’s this season and yielded a 5.09 ERA with a 16.5% strikeout rate, an 8.7% walk rate and a 43.4% ground-ball rate. He’s tossed a total of 38 2/3 MLB frames dating back to last year’s debut and has a 4.66 ERA in that time. Holman posted a dazzling 0.55 ERA in 48 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A last season and has fired 9 1/3 shutout innings in Triple-A this year. The move to the 60-day IL doesn’t reset his timetable; he’s already been out close to a month and will now be eligible to return on Aug. 18.

Orioles Claim Elvin Rodriguez

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The Orioles announced Wednesday that they have claimed right-hander Elvin Rodriguez off waivers from the Brewers and optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk. Milwaukee designated Rodriguez for assignment last week. Baltimore now has 39 players on its 40-man roster.

Milwaukee signed Rodriguez, 27, to a split major league contract in the offseason. He’d spent the 2023-24 seasons pitching well enough in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball to command a 40-man spot in his return to North American ball, but his time with the Brewers organization has been a struggle. He’s pitched in six big league games (two of them starts) and been tattooed for 18 runs on 23 hits and seven walks in 18 2/3 innings. A whopping seven of those hits were long balls.

Rodriguez has fared far better in Triple-A, where he’s pitched 29 2/3 innings and notched a respectable 4.25 ERA. His 20.3% strikeout rate in Nashville effectively matches his 20.2% mark in the majors, but he’s also logged a tidy 4.9% walk rate in Triple-A. Homers have been an issue there as well, however; he’s yielded another seven round-trippers in those 29 2/3 frames (2.12 HR/9). Rodriguez sits around 94 mph with his four-seamer and pairs that pitch with a cutter, slider, curveball and changeup.

Prior to his time with the Brewers, Rodriguez made his MLB debut with the 2022 Tigers (29 2/3 innings) and pitched even more briefly with the 2023 Rays (3 1/3 innings). He’s allowed more than a run per inning in his 51 2/3 big league frames but has a nice track record in Triple-A and turned in a sparkling 1.80 ERA in 45 innings pitching in Japan. He’s worked both as a starter and reliever but has been used primarily in stints of one to two innings recently. The righty’s last appearance of more than two innings, in either Triple-A or the big leagues, was back on May 7 when he tossed 3 1/3 innings.

Rodriguez is in the second of three minor league option years and will give the Orioles some flexible bullpen depth for the time being. If the O’s wind up trading rental arms like Charlie Morton, Zach Eflin and Tomoyuki Sugano, he could stretch back out as a depth option for the rotation in the season’s second half. He’ll also be a candidate to fill some innings in the ’pen if the O’s trade Gregory Soto, Andrew Kittredge or Seranthony Dominguez — all of whom are potential free agents at season’s end (though Kittredge has a 2026 club option).

Marlins Designate Rob Brantly For Assignment

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The Marlins have reinstated catcher Rob Brantly from the 60-day injured list, per their transaction log at MLB.com. Rather than add him back to the active roster — Brantly is out of minor league options and thus can’t simply be sent to Triple-A Jacksonville — Miami has designated the veteran catcher for assignment.

Brantly, 36, appeared in three games for the Fish back in April, going 3-for-7 at the plate. It was a brief run back in the big leagues, but Brantly’s stay in the majors was extended because he suffered a lat strain during that quick call-up. He wound up needing a stint on the 60-day injured list, so what may have been a weeklong stay on the roster wound up stretching into more than two months of major league service time for the journeyman backstop.

Brantly has appeared in parts of 10 major league seasons but has just 141 games under his belt. He’s a career .226/.286/.323 hitter in the big leagues and carries a .266/.324/.390 batting line in 2743 Triple-A plate appearances spread across parts of 13 seasons. The Marlins have five days to trade Brantly, place him on outright waivers or release him. He’s likely to pass through waivers unclaimed and would then have the right to reject a minor league assignment or accept an assignment back to Jacksonville, where he’d continue filling a depth role.

Pirates Trade Adam Frazier To Royals

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10:45am: The teams have announced the trade. Pittsburgh optioned Devanney to Triple-A Indianapolis.

9:27am: The Royals are set to acquire infielder/outfielder Adam Frazier from the Pirates, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. Kansas City will send infielder Cam Devanney back to Pittsburgh in the trade. Devanney was just selected to the major league roster by the Royals eight days ago but has not appeared in a big league game. Since both players being exchanged are on their respective teams’ 40-man rosters, neither club will need a corresponding move to make the swap official.

It’s a reunion for Frazier and the Royals, as the now-33-year-old veteran spent the 2024 season with Kansas City, struggling to a .202/.282/.294 batting line in 294 plate appearances. Frazier has had a much better go in 2025, returning to the club that drafted him (Pittsburgh) and hitting .255/.318/.336. That’s still below-average, but Frazier has been more productive since mid-May. He’s hitting .302/.356/.387 across his past 119 trips to the plate — albeit with a .360 average on balls in play that he’s not likely to sustain over a larger period of time.

Frazier has played second base, left field and right field in his return to Pittsburgh so far. He’s spent the majority of his time on the field at second base, but the Pirates have been using him in the outfield more over the past month or so. He’ll give the Royals a left-handed bat on what had been an all-right-handed bench and also provide manager Matt Quatraro with an option at multiple positions.

Jonathan India and Michael Massey lead the Royals in innings at second base this year, but both have struggled (and Massey is currently on the injured list). The Royals have used a remarkable 10 players in left field already this season, none of whom have managed to be all that productive. Frazier, presumably, will soon become the 11th player to take reps in left field for K.C. this season.

Frazier signed a one-year deal with the Pirates, which contained a modest $1.525MM guarantee. He’ll be a free agent at season’s end and has just under $615K of his salary yet to be paid out between now and season’s end. The Royals will take on all of that sum.

Devanney, 28, was a 15th-round pick by the 2019 Brewers. Milwaukee traded him to Kansas City in exchange for righty Taylor Clarke back in 2023. He’s enjoying a career year in Triple-A but is in his fourth trip through that level at this point. The righty-hitting Devanney is slashing .272/.366/.565 with 18 home runs, 14 doubles, three triples, an 11.8% walk rate and a 24.3% strikeout rate in 288 plate appearances at the top minor league level. He’s gone 3-for-4 in stolen base attempts as well.

The Royals have used Devanney primarily at shortstop in Omaha, but he’s logged plenty of time at third base and second base as well. He’s primarily an infielder but has gotten some nominal exposure to left field, suiting up for six games there (two in 2025). The Pirates are using Isiah Kiner-Falefa as their primary shortstop, but he’s quite likely to be traded in the next two weeks as well. Devanney could see plenty of time at short for the remainder of the season after Kiner-Falefa is moved, but if he has a long-term role with the team it’ll likely be as a right-handed utility option off the bench. Since last week was Devanney’s first selection to the major league roster, he still has a full slate of three minor league options remaining.

Trade Deadline Outlook: Cincinnati Reds

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The Reds are three games over .500 but 7.5 games out of first place in the NL Central. Their best path to the postseason is a Wild Card berth. They're 2.5 games back at the moment as they look for their first playoff bid since 2020 (just their second since 2013) and their first playoff win since back in 2012.

Record: 50-47 (Playoff odds 11.1%, per FanGraphs)

Other series entries: Rockies, Giants, Phillies, Pirates, Astros, Marlins, Athletics, Orioles, White Sox, Nationals, Cubs, Rays, Dodgers, Braves, Yankees, Angels, Mets, Blue Jays, Mariners

Buy Mode

Potential needs: Corner outfield, first base, second base, reliever

The Reds' primary need, regardless of position, is simply another bat -- or multiple bats -- to bolster what has been a stagnant offense. Ideally, that'd come in the outfield corners. Austin Hays has been great when healthy but has only made it into 44 games due to a trio of IL stints. He and utilityman Gavin Lux lead the team in plate appearances as a left fielder. Jake Fraley, who just returned from a shoulder injury, leads the pack in terms of plate appearances as a right fielder. The Reds have used eight different players in right field and ten in left. No one has more plate appearances at either position than Fraley's 140 in right field.

Fraley and Lux are both hovering around league-average offensive output that's driven largely by plate discipline. Neither is slugging even .400. Fraley has a .152 ISO (slugging minus batting average) that's right in line with the .154 league average. Lux is down at .114. Neither is going to provide much power, and neither can hit left-handed pitching.

A righty-swinging corner outfield bat would fit the Reds nicely -- all the better if it's someone controlled beyond the current season. The Reds are fringe contenders in 2025 but have the rotation talent to make a stronger run in 2026 with better health.

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MLBTR Chat Transcript

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Steve Adams

  • Good morning! Hope everyone enjoyed the Derby last night! We’ll get going at 1pm CT today, but feel free to submit questions ahead of time.
  • Greetings!
  • Let’s begin.

Tim

  • What’s a comparative contract to what bichette is looking for?

Steve Adams

  • He’s going to hit free agency ahead of his age-28 season and as (assuming this keeps up) a well above-average hitter in six of his seven MLB seasons, with an injury-ruined 2024 campaign being the outlier.I don’t see any reason he wouldn’t be looking to top the deals signed by Javier Baez (6 years, $140MM), Trevor Story (6/140), Dansby Swanson (7/177) and Willy Adames (7/182) — especially since he’s going to hit free agency a year younger than all of them were when they got to the market.

Brian

  • Biggest Phillies need at deadline…OF help or bullpen arms?

Steve Adams

  • Bullpen help, but it doesn’t have to be one or the other.

Steve Cohen

  • Who would you list as the leading Candidates for ROY in each league? Does Jacob  Misorowski have a legitimate shot?

Brewers Fan

  • Assumig Misiorowski wins the ROY, how does that change his status with us? Do we lose a year of control? He wasn’t promoted early enough to get a draft pick through the promotional program thing right? The rules around that stuff always confuse me…

Steve Adams

  • I love Misiorowski, but Rookie of the Year talk is pretty premature with only five starts. I think it’s fine that they took the buzzworthy rookie and put him on the All-Star team, but to call him the ROY favorite when Drake Baldwin is hitting .279/.351/.479 with plus defense in 65 games feels aggressive.Miz could absolutely end up getting there, but he needs to stay healthy and needs to remain as effective as he’s been, which isn’t a surefire thing for a guy who’s walking 11% of his opponents and benefiting from a .160 BABIP.

    Misiorowski will earn a full year of service if he finishes first or second in ROY voting. The Brewers wouldn’t get a pick for that since he wasn’t called up until  midseason.

Curious A’s Fan

  • Is JJ Bleday the A’s best (realistic) trade chip at the deadline?

Steve Adams

  • They’d be selling low, but I can see it. Jeffrey Springs is a more realistic trade option who’d net a decent return, though.

My Name

  • With Buxton’s comments about having a no trade clause, will reporters be done with the trade rumors?

Read more

Guardians Place Paul Sewald On Injured List

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The Guardians placed right-hander Paul Sewald on the 15-day injured list due to a right shoulder strain, reports Tim Stebbins of MLB.com. The move is retroactive to July 12, and a corresponding transaction has not yet been announced by the club. It’s not clear how long Sewald is expected to be out.

It’s the second time this season that the 35-year-old Sewald has been placed on the injured list due to a strain in his throwing shoulder. The former D-backs and Mariners closer signed a one-year, $7MM deal with Cleveland in free agency and struggled for much of April before heading to the IL for what would wind up being a stay of more than two months. Sewald was only reinstated from the injured list on July 5, but it seems his return will only last for a week.

In his limited time with the Guardians, Sewald has pitched to a 4.70 ERA with terrific strikeout and walk rates of 29% and 6.5%, respectively. That’s all come in a sample of just 15 1/3 innings. Sewald allowed eight runs in 11 2/3 innings prior to his original IL stint (6.17 ERA) and returned with 3 2/3 shutout frames before now heading back to the 15-day IL. He’s been more homer-prone than usual in that small sample (1.76 HR/9) and has seen his fastball velocity dip from an average of 91.4 mph last year to just 90.3 mph this season.

Sewald has never thrown particularly hard, but his velocity has been in a steady decline in recent seasons. He averaged a career-best 92.5 mph in 2022 but dipped to 92.2 mph, 91.4 mph and 90.3 mph in subsequent seasons. His swinging-strike rate has dropped accordingly in each season, though he’s still managed to continue posting strong strikeout rates.

Sewald’s placement on the injured list just over two weeks before the trade deadline is increasingly notable, given his team’s recent slide in the standings. The Guardians dropped 10 straight games from June 27 through July 6, though they lessened some of that sting by closing out the first half with six wins in seven games. They’re now three games under .500 and four and a half games out of the final Wild Card spot in the American League.

Cleveland will open the second half with winnable series against the A’s, Orioles, Royals and Rockies — all of whom have records that are comparable to or worse than the Guardians’ own mark of 46-49. If the Guards slip further down the standings, they’d be increasingly likely to listen to offers on short-term veterans like Sewald. If he’s facing a notable absence, that scenario is off the table. Conversely, if the Guardians slice through that slate of opponents in the two weeks between now and the trade deadline, they’d presumably be more apt to add to the club, and Sewald’s absence could increase the front office’s desire to add to the bullpen.

Mets, Yankees Among Teams To Show Recent Interest In David Robertson

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Free agent reliever David Robertson has been throwing for interested clubs recently, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. Two of his former clubs, the Mets and Yankees, have at least looked into the possibility of signing Robertson, per the report. Several other clubs are expected to scout a throwing session for Robertson over the next week or so.

Robertson, who turned 40 in April, hasn’t signed with a team since the 2024 season concluded. The right-hander was one of several notable older veterans who didn’t find offers to his liking in free agency. Lance Lynn encountered a similar situation and opted to retire. J.D. Martinez is unsigned as well and recently received some interest from the Rangers. Robertson’s recent and upcoming showcases for interested teams serve as a notable update on his status, signaling both an intent to play and at least some level of readiness to take the mound.

The lack of a compelling offer for Robertson wasn’t due to any downturn in results. The former All-Star and 16-year MLB veteran was terrific for Texas in 2024, pitching 72 innings of 3.00 ERA ball. Robertson picked up 34 holds and two saves while fanning a huge 33.4% of opponents against a 9.1% walk rate. He averaged 93.3 mph on his go-to cutter, which tied his 2023 mark for the highest of any single season in his career. Robertson’s 11.7% swinging-strike rate was a dip from his 2022-23 levels (13.3%) but right in line with his career 11.8% mark.

Back in April, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that Robertson had been seeking a $10MM annual salary in free agency over the winter. He earned $11.5MM with the Rangers last year ($5MM of it deferred). The Phillies also showed some interest in Robertson early in the season, even before Jose Alvarado was hit with an 80-game PED suspension, and they’re known to be on the lookout for bullpen help. It would stand to reason that they’re still interested in a reunion with Robertson themselves.

Presumably, Robertson will be prioritizing a deal with probable contenders. The Yankees, Mets and Phillies all fit that billing and are all among the top eight teams in terms of current playoff odds, per FanGraphs. The Tigers, Cubs, Astros, Blue Jays, Brewers and Mariners are all in extremely favorable postseason position as well, holding at least an 80% postseason chance per the odds at FanGraphs and/or Baseball Prospectus.

Orioles Outright David Bañuelos

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The Orioles announced Monday that they’ve passed catcher David Bañuelos through waivers and assigned him outright to Triple-A. He had the right to elect free agency but will instead accept his assignment to Norfolk. The 40-man roster count drops to 38.

The 28-year-old was added to the Orioles’ big league roster last week after the team had traded reliever Bryan Baker to the Rays. Bañuelos was already traveling with the O’s on their taxi squad, and he was selected to the roster ahead of a doubleheader versus the Mets.

A short-term stint seemed likely, given that Bañuelos was selected due to his proximity on the taxi squad and a desire to avoid playing a man down in that twin bill. He’d been the third catcher on the roster behind Jacob Stallings and Alex Jackson, though Baltimore gave him a couple of plate appearances during his brief run. Bañuelos has just three MLB plate appearances and is still looking for his first big league hit. He did reach base for the first time in his career when he was hit by a pitch yesterday.

Bañuelos is the consummate glove-first catcher. He’s a career .197/.276/.362 hitter in parts of four Triple-A seasons but has been praised as a plus defender behind the dish dating back to his days at Long Beach State. He was originally a Mariners draftee but has spent the bulk of his pro career in the Twins’ system after Minnesota acquired him from Seattle in exchange for international bonus space. Bañuelos became a minor league free agent after the 2023 season and has since signed a pair of minor league pacts with the Orioles, who clearly value having his defensive skills on hand in the upper minors. He’s now accepted multiple outright assignments to remain with the O’s, so it seems like a mutually agreeable arrangement.

Adolis Garcia Drawing Trade Interest

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Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia has been drawing trade interest from several teams as the deadline creeps closer, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com. It’s not yet clear whether or how aggressively the Rangers will sell at this year’s deadline. Texas sits one game below .500 and 8.5 games out of first place in the American League West, but the Rangers are just 3.5 games back from the final Wild Card spot in the American League.

Garcia, 32, is in the midst of a second straight down year at the plate. He slugged 97 home runs for Texas from 2021-23 while batting a combined .246/.305/.472 (113 wRC+), but he’s hitting .228/.282/.401 in 1010 plate appearances dating back to last season (91 wRC+). He’s been hot for the past month, however, as evidenced by a .266/.312/.469 slash over his past 141 trips to the plate. He’s ripped six homers and eight doubles in that span and done so while striking out at a reasonable 21.3% clip (against a 6.4% walk rate).

That dip in strikeouts is particularly encouraging. Garcia fanned in nearly 27% of his plate appearances from Opening Day through early June, and he punched out at a 27.8% rate last year. He’s cut down considerably on his chase rate and his swinging-strike rate during this recent hot stretch, and when he does make contact, the quality is strong: 92.8 mph average exit velocity, 13.9% barrel rate, 48.5% hard-hit rate.

In addition to a recent uptick in offensive performance, Garcia is enjoying a bounceback year defensively as well. The two-time All-Star and 2023 Gold Glove winner saw his once-excellent defensive grades crater in 2024. Defensive Runs Saved (-5) and Statcast’s Outs Above Average (-13) both felt he was one of the worst defensive outfielders in the sport last year. It’s possible there was some carryover from a knee injury suffered late in the 2023 season, as Garcia’s average sprint speed in 2024 sat at a career-worst 26.7 feet per second. He’s not all the way back up to peak levels in 2025, but his 27.3 ft/sec is an improvement. DRS again has him among the game’s elite outfielders (+14), while OAA (+1) feels he’s at least back on the positive side of things.

Garcia is controllable via arbitration for one more season beyond the current campaign. If Texas falls too far out of the playoff picture, it makes sense to listen on him, although there’s an argument that they should be open-minded even if they push more firmly into the postseason chase in the next couple weeks. Garcia has always had strikeout and OBP concerns. He’s due what should be a notable raise on this year’s $9.25MM salary as he heads into his final season of club control. In Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter, the Rangers have two long-term outfield spots locked in place.

There’s no top outfield prospect on the immediate horizon, but Garcia is only controlled one more year, will command a notable eight-figure salary and up until June 10 or so had the look of a plausible non-tender candidate. His well-timed hot streak and a generally short supply of impact bats on the market might allow the Rangers to bring in some young talent and free up some payroll space at a time when Jon Gray, Tyler Mahle, Patrick Corbin and half the Texas bullpen (Chris Martin, Hoby Milner, Shawn Armstrong, Luke Jackson) will be up for free agency at season’s end.

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