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Seranthony Dominguez, Pete Fairbanks Among Cubs’ Bullpen Targets

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The Cubs are eyeing upgrades for the back end of the bullpen and have looked into Orioles setup man Seranthony Dominguez and Rays closer Pete Fairbanks, reports Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. Levine notes that the Rays have been showing reluctance to part with Fairbanks, which lines up with recent reporting from Will Sammon, Katie Woo and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, wherein they indicate that Tampa Bay “strongly prefers” to hang onto Fairbanks (but are still hearing out interested teams who inquire).

Both Dominguez and Fairbanks are sensible targets for a Cubs bullpen in need of help. Dominguez is being paid $8MM in his final year of club control. He’s a pure free agent at season’s end. The 30-year-old righty is in his first full season with the O’s after having been acquired from the Phillies at last year’s deadline. He’s pitched 40 2/3 innings this season and worked to a sharp 3.32 ERA with a hefty 31% strikeout rate. Dominguez has been one of the primary setup options for closer Félix Bautista, tallying 13 holds and two saves of his own on the season. He’s averaged a sizzling 97.7 mph on his four-seamer and 97.9 mph on his sinker.

Command troubles have plagued Dominguez at times in his career, however, and that’s never been truer than in 2025. This year’s 14% walk rate is far and away the worst of his career, and he’s also tossed nine wild pitches. That’s clearly far from ideal, but Chicago’s combined 20.1% strikeout rate from their relievers is fourth-lowest in MLB, so adding some swing-and-miss is an understandable focus — particularly given how important that ability tends to be in the postseason.

Fairbanks is earning a bit more than $3.8MM this season and has a club option for the 2026 campaign. That option comes with a $7MM base value, but Fairbanks has already boosted that to to $8MM as he begins reaching escalator milestones. So long as he remains healthy, he’ll likely increase that option value considerably more.

The 31-year-old Fairbanks has already finished 29 games and boost next year’s option value by $500K for each of 30, 35 and 40 games finished in 2025. The option also climbs by $1MM apiece when Fairbanks reaches 135, 150 and 165 total appearances from 2023-25 combined. He’s currently at 134 games total between those three seasons. There’s a strong chance that option winds up valued at $11.5MM.

In the past, Fairbanks has missed bats at comparable levels to Dominguez, but his 20.3% strikeout rate in 2025 is a career-low. He’s dealt with shoulder, lat, forearm and hip injuries over the past five seasons, and a four-seamer that once averaged a blistering 99 mph has accordingly dropped off, sitting at 97.3 mph in each of the past two seasons.

Fairbanks’ swinging-strike rate has unsurprisingly dropped as he’s lost some zip on that heater, though his velocity is still well above average and he’s continued to remain effective. In 38 innings this season, he’s sporting a 2.84 earned run average and has gone 17-for-20 in save opportunities. With the exception of 21-inning rookie debut, Fairbanks has never posted an ERA north of 3.59 in a season. This year’s 2.84 ERA is almost a dead match for the 2.88 mark he’s compiled dating back to the 2020 season.

Dominguez and Fairbanks are surely just two of many targets the Cubs are eyeing as they look to bolster a relief corps that ranks 10th in the majors with a collective 3.78 ERA but 27th in strikeout rate, 15th in FIP (4.05) and 24th in SIERA (3.98). Emerging closer Daniel Palencia and resurgent veteran Brad Keller are both showing plus velocity, with the former sitting at a whopping 99.5 mph with his fastball and Keller sitting 97.1 mph. The rest of Chicago’s bullpen — aside from the currently injured Porter Hodge — has average to below-average velocity (and, in many cases, sub-par strikeout rates to match).

Ryan Helsley Expects To Be Traded

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Ryan Helsley has stood as a logical trade candidate for upwards of ten months now, dating back to the Cardinals’ declaration that they planned to reduce payroll heading into the 2025 season and focus on creating opportunities for young players. St. Louis surprisingly held onto Helsley all offseason and up into deadline season. After holding a Wild Card spot earlier this summer, they’ve gone dropped 13 of their past 19 games and now sit nine games out of the division lead. They’re still just two and a half games back in the Wild Card scene but have three teams to leapfrog.

With the team’s recent slide, indications have been that they’ll wind up operating primarily on the sell side of the market. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has reported in the past couple days that the Cards are listening on not only Helsley but also relievers Phil Maton and Steven Matz. Goold wrote this morning that the Cardinals aren’t necessarily turning away interest in lefty reliever John King or infielder Nolan Gorman — among other unnamed, more controllable pieces. (Presumably, southpaw JoJo Romero, who’s controlled through just the 2026 season, is obtainable as well.)

The reality seems to be setting in on the roster. Helsley told The Athletic’s Katie Woo tonight that the “likelihood is probably as great as it’s ever been for me to get traded” before going on to add: “I would say it’s 90 percent I go, 10 percent I stay.” Helsley made clear that his preference would be to remain with the Cardinals and win in St. Louis, but that’s not a decision that’s under his control at the moment.

At least five clubs have shown interest in Helsley, per Woo and colleague Will Sammon. The Dodgers are known to have interest in the 31-year-old flamethrower, and the Phillies were connected to him earlier this season. Back in the offseason, the Blue Jays were among the teams with interest, and it stands to reason now that they’re clear deadline buyers, they could revisit their pursuit of the impending free agent.

Helsley is earning $8.2MM in his final season of club control. The Cardinals could make him a qualifying offer and recoup a compensatory pick in the 2026 draft if he turns it down and signs elsewhere, though that would presume continued health and production from Helsley down the stretch. Neither is a guarantee. The most surefire way to extract some future value from the former All-Star is to trade him within the next week.

Helsley is having a nice season relative to the average big league reliever but a down year by his standards. He’s pitched 35 innings and logged a 3.09 ERA but has already blown five saves — more than he did all of last season (four). Helsley’s 25.5% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate have both trended in the wrong direction. He punched out 34.6% of his opponents from 2022-24, but his strikeout rate has now dipped for a third consecutive season. His walk rate is up from both the 8.6% and 8.4% marks he posted in 2024 and 2022, respectively, though it’s better than the 11.6% mark he logged in 2023 and right in line with his overall 2022-24 rate. He’s still averaging better than 99 mph on his fastball, though even his 99.3 mph average represents a modest dip from last year’s 99.6 mph.

That’s not to say Helsley doesn’t have much trade value. He’s one of the most talented relievers on the market, and the asking price on him will be considerably lower than on other marquee relievers like Emmanuel Clase, Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax and David Bednar — all of whom are controlled at least one additional season (one for Bednar, two for Duran and Jax, three for Clase). Contending clubs covet power arms with high-leverage track records this time of year, and Helsley still checks those boxes, even if his results have dipped.

If the Cards string together several wins, perhaps they’ll ultimately wind up holding onto Helsley and plan to make him a qualifying offer. As things stand, however, the pitcher himself is bracing for a trade within the next week — and it sounds like several other Cardinals could end up on the move as well.

Latest On Eugenio Suárez’s Market

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The D-backs have officially chosen a lane and are heading down a seller’s trajectory. First baseman Josh Naylor is already on his way to the Mariners for a pair of pitching prospects, but it’s third baseman Eugenio Suárez and his thunderous power output that have captivated fans of contenders for much of deadline season. The 33-year-old, earning $15MM in the final year of his contract, is hitting .252/.325/.593 with 36 home runs on the season — including 21 round-trippers dating back to June 1 (a span of 179 plate appearances.

Even after the Mariners landed Naylor, they remain in the mix for Suárez, per multiple reports from the Seattle beat (link via Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports 770 AM). Naylor cost the Mariners two well-regarded pitching prospects — lefty Brandyn Garcia and righty Ashton Izzi — but left the upper tiers of a Seattle farm system that’s arguably the best in baseball untouched. Earlier in the week, Suárez was reported to be the Mariners’ top deadline target. Adding Naylor, it seems, will not put an end to that existing pursuit.

They’ll face steep competition, however, It’s known that in addition to the Mariners, each of the Reds, Cubs and Yankees have some level of interest in the Arizona third baseman. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, as John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM reported earlier today that as many as a dozen teams have at least looked into the possibility of adding Suárez to their lineup.

That includes at least one division rival. Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports that in the wake of a serious injury to Isaac Paredes, the Astros have joined the bidding for Suárez. Houston has some hurdles in their path to landing the coveted D-backs slugger, however. Owner Jim Crane has been loath to cross the luxury tax threshold for what would be a second straight season. Adding Suárez would put them into tax territory unless the ’Stros shed payroll elsewhere or convince the Snakes to pay down his salary. Houston also does not have as strong a farm system as many of the teams against which they’d be bidding.

Whether it’s Suárez or another bat, the Astros’ priorities seem to have shifted. General manager Dana Brown suggested earlier in the summer that pitching would be his primary focus. Now, with Paredes shelved indefinitely and Yordan Alvarez’s recovery from a hand fracture dragging out, Brown tells Chandler Rome of The Athletic that his primary focus is on adding to its lineup. The Astros have several starters on the mend, including Cristian Javier, Luis Garcia, Spencer Arrighetti, J.P. France and Lance McCullers Jr. It seems they’ll hope for some internal reinforcements to support co-aces Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez and instead aim to use their limited financial and prospect resources to augment the offense.

With that number of teams at least on the periphery of the market, it can be presumed that most contenders have at least put out some feelers. One team that notably is not in the running, per the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, is the Mets — at least for the moment. Despite a rotating cast of characters on the infield this year — Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña have all seen time around the infield but struggled to varying extents — the Mets’ main focus has been and remains upgrading the bullpen.

That said, SNY’s Andy Martino suggests that if the Mets use that infield depth to add to the bullpen or rotation (which they’re reportedly willing to do), they could at least consider the idea of pursuing Suárez to take over at the hot corner. The Mets haven’t been keen on parting with top prospects for rental players, but the D-backs have been scouting their Double-A club, in particular, with an eye toward potential Suárez packages, per Martino.

There’s no immediate indication that a Suárez trade will come together quickly on the heels of the Naylor swap, but the very fact that Naylor is on his way out the door serves as a clear indicator that any combination of Suárez, Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly — at the very least — could be on the move in the next week. The D-backs also have rental relievers Jalen Beeks and Shelby Miller as trade candidates (Miller is on the injured list but has resumed throwing), and outfielder Randal Grichuk has a mutual option that won’t be exercised by both parties.

Latest On Twins’ Controllable Pitchers

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The Twins are increasingly leaning toward the sell side of things as the trade deadline looms next week. Minnesota is open to moving rental players and reportedly will at least listen to offers on some of its more appealing and controllable pitchers, though the chances of a trade appear slim. Top starter Joe Ryan and relievers Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax — all under club control through 2027 — have drawn the most attention to date. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports, however, that the asking price on Duran and Jax has been so high that some teams aren’t even spending time contemplating a real run at Ryan, whose price would be even higher. Minnesota has been seeking “at least two top-100-caliber prospects” to part with either Duran or Jax, per Passan.

[Related: Minnesota Twins Trade Deadline Outlook]

It’s a steep ask, though an understandable one. Both Duran and Jax have power arsenals and elite bat-missing ability that’s coupled with good command. Both are affordable. Duran is earning $4.125MM in his first season of arbitration eligibility. Jax is earning $2.365MM.

Since making his debut with the Twins in 2022, Duran has ranked among the game’s elite relievers. The 27-year-old sits north of 100 mph with his fastball and pairs it with an upper-90s sinker/splitter hybrid (“splinker”) that misses bats and piles up grounders. In 230 2/3 big league innings, Duran boasts a 2.46 ERA, 30.8% strikeout rate, 7.6% walk rate, 63.7% ground-ball rate and just 0.66 homers per nine innings pitched. He’s sitting on a 1.94 ERA in 46 1/3 frames this season and has 15 saves and a hold in 18 save opportunities this year.

Jax, 30, has a more pedestrian 4.09 ERA due largely to some early home runs but arguably has even more overpowering arrows in his quiver. He doesn’t sit 100 mph like his teammate but averages better than 97 mph and misses more bats. The former third-round pick has set down 36.4% of his opponents on strikes this season and walked only 6.4% of the batters he’s faced. Jax boasts a deep arsenal of six pitches but relies first and foremost on a sweeper and changeup that miss bats at elite levels. Among the 524 big league pitchers with even 10 innings pitched this season, Jax ranks fifth with a 19.4% swinging-strike rate, trailing only Josh Hader, Aroldis Chapman, Mason Miller and Fernando Cruz.

Understandably, the cost to acquire either pitcher is set at a lofty level. ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez nonetheless writes that he’s gotten the sense Minnesota will move at least one of the two. Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune writes that the two relievers have been heavily scouted by contending clubs in all of their most recent appearances.

As for Ryan, it’d presumably take an even larger offer for the Twins to consider parting with him. The 29-year-old All-Star has been one of the best pitchers in the league this season, working to a 2.63 ERA with a 29.2% strikeout rate and 5.1% walk rate in 116 1/3 innings. He’s been consistent along the way, holding opponents to two or fewer runs in 15 of 19 starts and averaging better than six innings per start. Ryan is earning just $3MM this season and is owed two more raises in arbitration over the next two offseasons.

An alternative for teams inquiring with the Twins about their bullpen would be 33-year-old Brock Stewart, who’s also controlled through the 2027 season. Stewart has a lengthy injury history but has been excellent since signing a minor league deal with the Twins a few years ago. Injuries have interrupted each of his three seasons with Minnesota, but Stewart has a sparkling 2.38 ERA with a 31.9% strikeout rate and 9.7% walk rate in 75 2/3 innings dating back to 2023. He’s averaging 96 mph on both his four-seamer and sinker this season and is earning just $870K. MLBTR’s Anthony Franco recently listed Stewart among his nine under-the-radar bullpen targets for contending clubs.

Dodgers Could Make Dustin May Available

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The Dodgers have considered the possibility of trading right-hander Dustin May, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. His colleague, Fabian Ardaya, hears similarly and reminds that Los Angeles has traded starters from its big league roster at each of the past two deadlines (James Paxton, Noah Syndergaard).

Los Angeles has a bevy of starters on the roster, but many are injured. May’s 99 innings rank second on the team, as do his 17 starts, behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto in both categories. Clayton Kershaw is the only other Dodger with even ten starts on the year. That said, L.A. recently welcomed Tyler Glasnow back from the injured list. Shohei Ohtani has resumed pitching, though he’s yet to top three innings in a start. Emmet Sheehan returned from Tommy John surgery in mid-June and has pitched well. Blake Snell is expected back soon. He’s made three rehab starts, building up to four innings his last time out, and has allowed a total of two runs in nine frames with a 17-to-1 K/BB ratio.

The Dodgers are known to be exploring the market for high-end relievers. May isn’t going to be a key component — or a component at all — in any trade where the Dodgers pry a top reliever like Emmanuel Clase, Ryan Helsley or Jhoan Duran away from their current teams. He’s a free agent at season’s end and thus wouldn’t hold interest to a club that’s gravitating toward the sell side of the deadline spectrum. However, trading May could bring in a reliever in a one-for-one swap with another contender seeking rotation help or could net some additional prospects to help soften the hit to the farm system if the Dodgers make a splash elsewhere.

It’s perhaps telling that the Dodgers don’t simply move May to the ’pen himself, though he’d presumably prefer to avoid such a move. He’s in his final season before free agency and his first year back after a 2024 season lost to flexor surgery rehab and a separate esophageal surgery. There’s no indication at all that May would push back on a more lasting move to relief work, to be clear, but it’s arguably in the 27-year-old righty’s best interest to continue on as a starter and build that workload up in his platform year. May followed Ohtani with 4 2/3 innings of long relief his last time.

May’s 2025 season has brought mixed results. His 99 innings are already a career-high at the MLB level for the frequently injured righty. He got out to a nice start (4.09 ERA, 24.2 K%, 8.5 BB% through June 2) but has hit a rockier stretch lately. Dating back to June 9, May has pitched 37 1/3 innings with a 5.79 ERA, 17.2% strikeout rate and 12.4% walk rate. May’s velocity has held up, but he’s pushing into uncharted waters in terms of big league workload and doing so in his first season back on the mound following a year off. Some struggles are not necessarily surprising.

Because of that, the Dodgers would be selling low on May. However, given his status as an impending free agent who’s unlikely to receive a qualifying offer anyhow, the alternative would be hanging onto him and letting him go for no return at season’s end. If the Dodgers are either concerned about his ability to downshift to a bullpen role or simply want to do right by the player and find him an opportunity to continue working out of a rotation, a trade in the next week would make sense.

Giants Notes: Devers, Birdsong, Rotation, Outfield

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Rafael Devers made the first start of his career at first base for the Giants this week and, coincidentally or not, belted his first two home runs in nearly a month the following day. The recently acquired Giants infielder has now tallied three straight multi-hit games an looks to be emerging from a lengthy slump. He said after his first base debut that he briefly felt a bit nervous at his new position but quickly settled in (link via Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle).

With Devers now ticketed for more regular work at first base, Wilmer Flores seems likely to pick up more DH at-bats. He’d been struggling at the plate while playing the infield corners (primarily first base) over the past month. For a player who struggled through knee troubles all last season before that knee ended his 2024 campaign, getting off his feet a bit more in the DH spot could prove beneficial. Devers is also playing through a back issue, but the two can perhaps now share time between the two spots in the short term. Devers added after last night’s game that he thinks he’s a better hitter when playing in the field, noting that it “keeps my head out of just thinking about the next at-bat.”

While Devers will surely be their biggest acquisition of the summer, there’s still room for the 54-49 Giants to upgrade the roster. They’ve been looking into second base options (Isiah Kiner-Falefa reportedly among them), and some recent struggles near the back of the rotation — coupled with lefty Kyle Harrison’s inclusion in the Devers return — have created some questions on the starting staff as well.

[Related: San Francisco Giants Trade Deadline Outlook]

San Francisco optioned right-hander Hayden Birdsong to Triple-A Sacramento earlier this week after a start in which he yielded five runs to the Braves (in large part because of four walks) without recording an out. That proved to be the tipping point, but Birdsong’s struggles extended well beyond that one nightmare outing. The 23-year-old was the talk of spring training thanks to a dominant performance and looked like a revelation out of the bullpen early in the season. San Francisco moved him into the rotation in late May, and the early returns were good: five starts, 25 innings, 3.24 ERA, 24.3% strikeout rate, 8.4% walk rate.

Things went downhill from there. Birdsong was tagged for 14 runs in 12 1/3 innings across his next three starts. He bounced back with a strong performance against the A’s but then bottomed out with this week’s collapse versus Atlanta. All told, he has a 10.38 ERA (22 runs, 20 earned) over his past five starts — a span of just 17 1/3 innings.

The Giants are still weighing their options to replace Birdsong, but the back of the rotation’s struggles don’t end there. Justin Verlander finally picked up his first win as a Giant yesterday but did so while scattering five walks over five scoreless innings. He’s started 17 games and pitched to a 4.70 ERA over the life of 84 1/3 innings. Since returning from a monthlong IL stint due to a pectoral strain on June 18, Verlander has a 5.29 ERA with a 19.2% strikeout rate.

Verlander is the clear fourth starter behind Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and breakout righty Landen Roupp at the moment. In-house alternatives like Trevor McDonald, Carson Ragsdale and Mason Black have posted underwhelming results in Triple-A. Righty Carson Seymour has been working in long relief but pitched pretty well as a starter in Triple-A. There’s certainly room to add a starter to solidify the back of the staff and provide some insurance against an injury to Webb or Ray — either of which would be a devastating loss.

Both Rubinand John Shea and Kerry Crowley of the San Francisco Standard called out a right-handed-hitting outfielder as a potential area for upgrade this week. It’s a sensible pursuit, given Mike Yastrzemski’s longstanding struggles against left-handed pitching. The Giants have given 110 plate appearances to 23-year-old Luis Matos this year, but he’s posted just a .173/.218/.375 batting line in that time.

Righty-swinging outfielders expected to be available include Minnesota’s Harrison Bader, Luis Robert Jr. of the White Sox, the Orioles’ Ramon Laureano and perhaps Chas McCormick of the Astros or Adolis Garcia of the Rangers. Not all of those outfielders will change hands, of course. The White Sox would very likely need to pay down some of Robert’s salary, but they’re willing to do so and he’s caught fire at the plate recently, making him a more interesting option than he might’ve been even one month ago.

Orioles Place Félix Bautista On Injured List Due To Shoulder Discomfort

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The Orioles announced Thursday that closer Félix Bautista has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to right shoulder discomfort. Righty Kade Strowd has been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to take his spot on the active roster.

Bautista, 30, is in his first season back on the mound after missing the 2024 campaign due to Tommy John surgery. He has, in many ways, picked up where he left off pre-injury and reclaimed his status as a high-end reliever. He’s tossed 34 2/3 innings, saved 19 games and logged a 2.60 ERA with a gaudy 35.2% strikeout rate.

Bautista’s command, however, isn’t as sharp as it was prior to surgery. He’s walked 16.2% of his opponents this year — way up from the 10% mark he recorded in 2022-23. Bautista has also changed up his pitch selection, scrapping his four-seamer in favor of a sinker. That’s led to an uptick in grounders (50.7% in 2025 compared to 39.9% in 2022-23) but fewer whiffs. Impressive as that 35.2% strikeout rate is, it pales in comparison to the superhuman 46.4% rate he posted in 2023. Bautista’s sinker, notably, is sitting 97.2 mph — a good bit shy of the 99.3 mph he averaged on his four-seamer prior to surgery.

The Orioles control Bautista via arbitration for another two seasons beyond the current one. He’s come up in trade rumblings over the past month, but not because the Orioles have been shopping him. Contending clubs around the league have long since zeroed in on the Orioles as a club that will function as a seller on the summer market and have hoped to pry Bautista loose. The O’s have reportedly listened out of due diligence, but general manager Mike Elias has been clear that he has every intention of competing in 2026. Bautista will play a prominent role in that effort. Elias has, accordingly, been focused primarily on discussing players who are “towards the end of their contracts,” as he put it last week.

Whatever slim chance there was of a team making an overwhelming offer to convince the O’s to part with Bautista was dashed with today’s placement on the injured list. Contending clubs would almost certainly have balked at the exorbitant asking price even for a healthy Bautista. Now that there’s uncertainty regarding the health of his shoulder, it’ll be next to impossible for the O’s to find someone willing to meet whatever sky-high price they’d set.

Bautista is set for an MRI to determine the extent of the discomfort, which arose yesterday while he was getting loose in the bullpen, interim manager Tony Mansolino told the Orioles’ beat (link via Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner). Mansolino added that he’s not yet sure who will step into closing duties while Bautista is sidelined. Right-hander Seranthony Dominguez and left-hander Gregory Soto have been next in the pecking order in terms of high-leverage work for the Orioles, but they’re both impending free agents who will likely be traded within the next week. Hard-throwing Yennier Cano has plenty of experience in high-leverage spots but is in the midst of an uneven season that saw him optioned to Triple-A for a bit earlier this summer.

Rockies To Select Nick Anderson

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The Rockies are set to select the contract of right-hander Nick Anderson from Triple-A Albuquerque, as first reported by Chase Ford of MiLB Central. Colorado is off today while traveling to Baltimore for a three-game set against the Orioles, so the move might not be formally announced until tomorrow.

Anderson, 35, signed a minor league pact with Colorado back in late May. He spent the early portion of the season with the Cardinals’ Triple-A club after originally signing a minor league deal with St. Louis. He opted out of that deal before landing with the Rox.

A veteran of five big league seasons, Anderson has an outstanding track record of results in the majors but a poor track record of health. Dating back to the 2020 season, he’s missed time with a shoulder strain, an internal brace procedure on his right ulnar collateral ligament, plantar fasciitis, a back strain and forearm inflammation.

When healthy enough to take the field, Anderson has pitched 158 1/3 innings with a 3.18 ERA, a 31.6% strikeout rate and a 7.8% walk rate. He boasts an excellent 34.1% opponents’ chase rate and 15.4% swinging-strike rate in his big league career.

Anderson has pitched 11 1/3 innings with the Rockies’ Triple-A club and allowed six runs on 13 hits and six walks (three intentional) with 15 strikeouts. It comes out to a 4.76 ERA, though nearly all of the damage against him came in one nightmare outing where he yielded four runs to the Padres’ Triple-A club without recording an out.

The Rockies’ 4.91 bullpen ERA is fifth-worst in the majors, and over the past month they’re at a 5.87 mark that ranks 28th in MLB. Jake Bird, their most effective reliever for much of the season, has run into a particularly rough patch over the past 30 days (10 runs in 8 2/3 frames). It’s not a surprise to see Colorado taking a look at a fresh arm.

Beyond that, it’s quite possible that some members of the bullpen will be shipped off to new clubs in the week between now and the July 31 trade deadline. Recent struggles notwithstanding, Bird stands as a logical trade candidate alongside veterans Tyler Kinley and Jimmy Herget. If the Rockies want to go a step further, controllable power arms like Seth Halvorsen and Victor Vodnik would surely command prominent interest. Vodnik is controlled through 2029, however, while Halvorsen is controlled all the way through 2030.

Padres Among Teams Interested In Sandy Alcantara

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As the Padres gear up for a deadline that seems like it’ll see them operate on both the buying and selling side of the market, they’ve reached out to the Marlins to inquire about right-hander Sandy Alcantara, reports Dennis Lin of The Athletic.

San Diego’s interest in Alcantara comes less than 24 hours after it was reported that they’ve been willing to discuss fellow righty Dylan Cease with other clubs. Lin adds that he’s heard similarly. Both right-handers have underperformed this season but feature strong track records and power arsenals. Shipping out an underperforming former Cy Young finalist to bring in an underperforming former Cy Young winner might seem like shuffling the deck chairs, but there’s typically a method to president of baseball operations A.J. Preller’s deadline madness.

Cease is earning $13.75MM in his final season of club control before reaching free agency. Alcantara is earning $17MM this season and is signed for the same amount in 2026, with a $21MM club option for the 2027 season. If the Padres were to trade Cease and acquire Alcantara, they would essentially be swapping out — not directly for one another, of course — two pitchers of comparable upside but coming away with the one who provides rotation stability beyond the current season.

As ever, there are roadblocks to be considered. The Padres’ baseball operations staff isn’t believed to have much financial flexibility at its disposal presently. That was a key driver in their frugal slate of offseason signings (e.g. Jason Heyward, Connor Joe, Elias Diaz, Martin Maldonado, Jose Iglesias), and it’s also a factor in why they’re listening to offers on Cease in the first place.

Even if they were to trade Cease and the entirety of his remaining salary, turning and adding Alcantara would add about $1.153MM onto the current payroll — and do so at a time when the Padres are also looking for help in left field and behind the plate. That said, the Marlins were willing to pay down virtually all of Luis Arraez’s salary when they lined up with the Padres on a May 2024 trade. Doing so allowed Miami to ask for more talent in exchange and allowed the Padres to get the player they coveted even in the face of payroll constraints from ownership. They could try a similar path here.

That brings up a potentially even more prominent roadblock: a thin farm system. San Diego’s prospect cache has been repeatedly leveraged to acquire veteran players over the years and left the team with a top-heavy system. Shortstop Leo De Vries and catcher Ethan Salas are considered among the sport’s very best young talents. The Padres are ostensibly loath to part with either, and the rest of the system is less compelling.

Trading Cease could help in that regard. Even with the right-hander falling shy of his prior standards this season, he’s still averaging better than 97 mph on his heater and missing bats at an elite level. He’d surely command a notable return. It’s possible Cease could be swapped out for big league help at another position of need (e.g. the previously referenced left field or catcher), but a contending club would likely be reluctant to give the Padres a big league outfielder or catcher in exchange for a rental arm. A trade for prospects would be more straightforward, and because the Padres are a luxury tax payor, there’s incentive to move him rather than make a qualifying offer. Their CBT status would drop the compensation for Cease from a pick after the first round to a pick after the fourth.

Speculatively speaking, the Padres can look to find a trade partner for Cease while in the same breath using some of that return to help pry Alcantara loose from Miami. They could potentially even structure it as a three-team trade, though that’s not necessary. They went through a similar sequence in the 2023-24 offseason when trading Juan Soto to the Yankees for a prospect package headlined by right-hander Drew Thorpe, only to turn and trade Thorpe to the White Sox a couple months later as part of the package to acquire Cease.

Adding Alcantara would be of extra importance to the Padres because of that remaining club control. Both Cease and Michael King are free agents at season’s end. Next year’s rotation outlook currently includes Nick Pivetta, Yu Darvish (in his age-39 season), Joe Musgrove (in his return from Tommy John surgery) and some combination of Randy Vasquez, Stephen Kolek and Ryan Bergert. Pivetta can opt out of his contract after the 2026 season.

Whether some form of Cease/Alcantara shell game comes to fruition or not, the mere fact that the Padres are looking into the possibility serves as a prominent reminder of the type of frenetic dealing that has become a hallmark of the Preller-led Padres this time of year. With several holes on the roster, a tight payroll and a farm system that could work against them, the stage appears to be set for another July of creative dealing from the Padres.

Mariners Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon

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D-backs slugger and former Mariner Eugenio Suárez is reported to be the Mariners’ top trade target, but he’s not a surefire bet to be available with Arizona on the periphery of the NL Wild Card chase. Seattle wouldn’t put all of its eggs in one basket anyhow — Suárez would have several motivated bidders trying to acquire him — so it’s not a big surprise to see Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post report that the Mariners are among the teams to show interest in Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon.

[Related: Seattle Mariners Trade Deadline Outlook]

The 30-year-old McMahon wouldn’t bring the same type of power as Suárez, but he’s younger with a much better glove and is signed for an additional two seasons. After a brutal start to his season and a poor final few months in 2024, McMahon has bounced back to his previous form. Dating back to May 1, he’s slashing .249/.333/.478 with 14 home runs, a dozen doubles and a triple. His 11.2% walk rate is strong, though a 29.7% strikeout rate in that span and a lengthy history of sub-par contact skills does present one concern.

McMahon does have pronounced home/road splits. He entered play Wednesday batting .253/.368/.500 at Coors Field and .189/.265/.324 on the road. He’d hardly be the first player to struggle on the road while playing home games at altitude and then even things out when traded to a more neutral setting, though. Prominent names like Matt Holliday, Dexter Fowler and Nolan Arenado (among others) have shown considerable home/road splits while playing for the Rockies before going on to find plenty of success elsewhere. That said, going from Coors Field to Seattle’s T-Mobile Park — perhaps the most pitcher-friendly setting in MLB — would potentially be a rude awakening.

McMahon has been particularly hot of late, hitting in six straight games and batting .345/.406/.848 with four homers and two doubles across his past eight contests. (That does not include the walk he drew in his first plate appearance of today’s game.) He’s being paid $12MM in 2025 — with about $4.32MM yet to be paid out — and is owed $16MM per year in 2026-27.

Although McMahon isn’t as complete a player as Matt Chapman, his remaining contract (which covers his age-31 and age-32 seasons) is a fraction of the six-year, $151MM contract Chapman signed starting in his age-32 season. McMahon’s contract looks affordable by comparison, and while much of the Mariners’ activity over the past two years has been dictated by ownership mandates to scale back payroll, ownership is reportedly willing to bump the payroll at this summer’s deadline.

Third base has been a weak spot for the Mariners throughout the season. Rookie Ben Williamson has been the primary option for Seattle, providing strong defense but virtually nothing in terms of power or on-base skills. The 24-year-old Williamson, Seattle’s second-round pick in 2023, rushed to the majors after just 14 games in Triple-A. He’s hitting .256/.289/.315 with one home run in his first 268 major league plate appearances.

Entering the season, the hope was that veteran switch-hitter Jorge Polanco — who re-signed as a free agent over the winter — would transition from second base to third base. Knee and side injuries have left Polanco as a designated hitter more often than not, however. His bat has more than held up its end of the equation, evidenced by a strong .254/.313/.462 slash with 15 homers and a tiny 14.2% strikeout rate. Polanco has played just 113 innings in the field this season, however.

[Related: Colorado Rockies Trade Deadline Outlook]

As for the Rockies, they tend not to be particularly active on the summer trade market even in non-contending seasons. They have a reputation for holding players well past the point at which their trade value reaches its apex. That’s arguably already happened with McMahon, though his resurgent play since May has done plenty of work to rebuild some of the value he’d lost over the past three to four months of play.

Saunders is the latest of several prominent reporters to suggest that with the Rockies bottoming out so significantly in 2025, they could well be more amenable to trading some veteran players over the next eight days. ESPN’s Jeff Passan wrote similarly today, and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic suggested as much earlier in the month as well.

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