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Braves Rumors: Ozuna, Johnson

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Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna is one of the team’s most obvious trade candidates. He’s a 34-year-old impending free agent on an Atlanta club that is 12 games under .500 and plans to listen on rental veterans between now and the July 31 deadline. Ozuna has been mired in a dreadful slump, hitting just .165/.257/.271 over his past 153 trips to the plate. Ozuna is still hitting .235/.361/.390 on the season overall, good for a 115 wRC+, but he’s not doing his best work at the plate of late.

That’s led to the Braves shuffling up the lineup at the cost of Ozuna’s playing time. Atlanta started both Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy — one at catcher, the other at DH — twice in their first series of the season’s unofficial second half. Manager Brian Snitker made clear to the team’s beat that said arrangement will be more frequent down the stretch (link via Mark Bowman of MLB.com).

Ozuna will still get starts but likely in more selective matchups. He started Sunday’s game against Marcus Stroman because he’d faced Stroman before (Murphy had not) and homered against him. Snitker noted that, “If [Ozuna] is going to be here, he’s not going to rot [on the bench].”

Still, it’s a clear indication that Ozuna’s days as a regular player in Atlanta have largely dried up. That fact is only reinforced by this morning’s move to designate outfielder Stuart Fairchild for assignment to get veteran catcher Sandy Leon onto the big league roster as a third catcher. Leon presumably won’t play much, but rostering him offers protection against a scenario where Baldwin or Murphy suffers an injury on a day when both have started.

Ozuna maintained an upbeat mentality, telling the Braves beat that he’ll just “[stay] positive and ready for when they give me the opportunity” (link via The Athletic’s David O’Brien). He noted that he works for the Braves and accepts any decisions they make, which are out of his control. He offered a similar outlook on any potential trades, stating that “my agent and [president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos], that’s what they’re working on.”

It’s a notable comment for multiple reasons. First and foremost, that seems to indicate that Ozuna is aware some trade talks have taken place. That’s been widely assumed anyhow, but Ozuna’s comments offer some additional support for that thinking. Secondly, Ozuna made no mention of invoking his no-trade protection even when asked whether he wanted to remain in Atlanta long-term. The veteran slugger has more than 10 years of service, including the past five with the same team, which gives him full veto power over any trade scenario. If Ozuna plans to be selective in his destination, he’s not tipping his hand. Given that he’s been effectively relegated to a bench role on a non-contending club, perhaps he’d welcome any opportunity that brought more playing time and greater chances of returning to postseason play.

Ozuna and closer Raisel Iglesias — both impending free agents — are viewed as Atlanta’s likeliest players to change hands. Reliever Rafael Montero is also a free agent at season’s end and could move. The Braves have a 2026 club option on righty Pierce Johnson and have reportedly been closed off to dealing players with club control beyond the current season, but USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported yesterday that the Braves have let other clubs know Johnson is available as well.

Johnson, 34, is a notable addition to the summer bullpen market. He’s making $7MM this year and has a club option for 2026 that’s valued at the same amount. It comes with a $250K buyout. That’s an eminently reasonable price for the right-hander, who’s in the midst of a career-best season on the mound.

In 35 2/3 innings, Johnson has pitched to a 2.78 earned run average while punching out 27.9% of opponents. He’s also sporting a career-low 7.1% walk rate. He’s been lights-out lately, boasting a 1.80 ERA with a 16-to-5 K/BB ratio in 15 innings since the calendar flipped to June. Johnson has picked up eight holds and a save on the season. There’s still about $2.6MM of this year’s guaranteed salary left, plus that $250K buyout. Of course, if he continues pitching at this level, then a net $6.75MM option for the right-hander will be a fairly straightforward call to exercise.

Braves Designate Stuart Fairchild, Select Sandy Leon

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The Braves announced Monday that they’ve designated outfielder Stuart Fairchild for assignment in order to open a spot for veteran catcher Sandy Leon, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Gwinnett.

Fairchild, 29, has held a very limited role as a fourth outfielder with Atlanta this season. He’s appeared in 28 games and tallied only 55 plate appearances, during which he’s slashed .216/.273/.333. Manager Brian Snitker has typically used Fairchild as a late defensive replacement or pinch-runner. He’s tallied two or fewer plate appearances in 20 of his 28 games.

It’s a familiar role for the fleet-footed Fairchild. The former second-round pick has appeared in 277 big league games between the D-backs, Reds, Mariners, Giants and Braves, but he’s tallied only 670 plate appearances (about 2.4 per game) during that time. He’s capable of playing all three outfield spots at an average or better clip, sits in the 87th percentile of big leaguers in sprint speed, and offers slightly better-than-average production against left-handed pitching in his career. He’s a viable fourth outfielder, but he’s out of minor league options and the Braves have a comparable skill set on the roster in Eli White.

Leon joins Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy as a third catcher on Atlanta’s roster. His promotion to the majors will prompt immediate trade speculation about both Murphy and designated hitter Marcell Ozuna. The Braves reportedly aren’t planning to trade Murphy — at least not during the season — but have been open to offers on Ozuna. Leon’s addition to the roster more freely allows Atlanta to start both Baldwin and Murphy in the same game (one at catcher, the other at designated hitter) without fear of losing the DH in the event of an injury.

The 36-year-old Leon has played for seven different clubs in the majors, primarily as a backup. The Braves will be his eighth. He has a long track record of quality defense and (with the exception of an outlier 2016 season) well below-average production with the bat. That’s not likely to change at age 36, particularly given Leon’s bleak .183/.250/.379 batting line in 169 Triple-A plate appearances this season.

A’s Listening On Jeffrey Springs, JP Sears

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A’s righty Luis Severino is a known trade candidate after his struggles pitching at home in West Sacramento and his public criticism of the playing environment there, but he’s not the only A’s starter on the market this summer. The former Oakland club is also listening to offers on lefties Jeffrey Springs and JP Sears, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

It’s not at all surprising that the A’s would listen on Springs, given the way the season has played out. The A’s acquired Springs and fellow lefty Jacob Lopez from the Rays in an offseason deal sending righty Joe Boyle, minor leaguers Jacob Watters and Will Simpson, and a Competitive Balance (Round A) draft pick the other direction. Springs, signed through 2026 with a 2027 club option, gave the A’s an immediate rotation upgrade while also coming with the allure of additional trade value if their season went south.

Things have indeed gone poorly for the A’s in their first season away from Oakland. After a decent start, the A’s dropped 11 straight games in late May, picked up one win, and then dropped another nine in a row. The Athletics are 17 games under .500 and nowhere close to the playoff picture. They’ll be surefire deadline sellers, and the two-plus years of control over a solid and affordable veteran like Springs — who sat at No. 7 on our list of the Top 40 deadline trade candidates earlier this month — should pique the interest of pitching-hungry organizations.

[Related: Athletics Trade Deadline Outlook]

Springs, 32, originally signed a four-year, $31MM extension with the Rays after a breakout showing in 2021-22. A 2023 Tommy John procedure wiped out most of the first two seasons of that deal, though the southpaw looked quite sharp in his first 33 innings back from surgery late last year. That was enough to convince the A’s to make the swap.

Springs hasn’t replicated his breakout form or last year’s late success, but he’s still been a solid arm for skipper Mark Kotsay. In 114 innings, he’s pitched to a 4.18 ERA. His 18.8% strikeout rate isn’t close to the 29% mark he showed with Tampa Bay from 2021-24, however. His 7.9% walk rate is better than average but still an increase over the 6.5% he turned in during that four-year stretch with the Rays. Springs’ 90.5 mph average four-seamer is also down from the 91.9 mph he averaged during his best seasons as a Ray.

Even with diminished stuff and results, Springs has been a source of solid innings who’s kept the A’s in the game most times he’s taken the field. He’s had the odd clunker here and there, but Springs has a dozen outings of at least six innings and three or fewer earned runs this season (not all technically “quality starts,” since two followed an opener). He’s had another three starts where he pitched into the sixth and yielded two or fewer runs but didn’t complete that sixth frame and get the quality start. At the end of the day, he’s been a respectable fourth starter.

Springs is being paid $10.5MM this year and next. His 2027 club option comes at a $15MM rate and contains a $750K buyout. There’s about $3.9MM of this year’s salary yet to be paid out, bringing the total guarantee on his one-plus seasons to about $15.15MM. If Springs can get back closer to peak form, that $15MM option will look eminently reasonable. Even if he continues on as a roughly league-average starter, it’s not an egregious price to pay, considering older veterans like Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Charlie Morton and Alex Cobb all received salaries of $15MM on one-year deals this past offseason ($15.5MM, for Scherzer).

Sears is a less-conventional trade candidate, as he’s controlled three years beyond the current season. He’s not performing up to past standards, due primarily to a huge spike in home runs that can be somewhat attributed to his new home park. In 101 2/3 innings, Sears has a 5.13 ERA. His 6% walk rate is a career-low mark, and this year’s 19.4% strikeout rate is up from last year’s 18.1% mark (but also down from 2023’s 21.9% rate).

The 29-year-old Sears has yet to reach arbitration eligibility but will do so for the first time this winter. He’s not a playoff-caliber starter but could solidify the back of a contending club’s rotation down the stretch — particularly if said club plays in a park that’s not quite so homer-friendly. Even more borderline contenders — the D-backs, for instance — could look at Sears as someone who can provide some durable innings at an affordable rate next season and beyond. Sears made 32 starts in both 2023 and 2024, and he’s never been on the major league injured list. He’s a fourth starter at his best, but he’ll likely earn under $4MM in his first trip through arbitration, making him a budget-friendly option.

Phillies Sign David Robertson

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July 21: The Phillies announced that they’ve signed Robertson to a one-year deal. He’s consented to be optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he’ll ramp up in preparation for his 2025 debut.

July 20: The Phillies and free agent reliever David Robertson are in agreement on a major league contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The self-represented Robertson did not sign with a team over the winter but has stayed in shape and has been throwing for interested clubs recently. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports that Robertson will be paid a prorated $16MM salary for the remainder of the season. That comes out to just over $6MM through season’s end ($6.021MM — assuming it becomes official tomorrow).

This is Robertson’s second free-agent deal with the Phillies and the third time overall that the Phils have acquired him. He inked a two-year, $23MM deal in the 2018-19 offseason that didn’t wind up paying off for the team, as the typically durable reliever wound up requiring Tommy John surgery and pitching only 6 2/3 total innings during the life of that contract. Philadelphia reacquired the righty in a 2022 trade that sent young righty Ben Brown back to the Cubs, and Robertson was excellent as the Phillies mounted a charge all the way to the World Series.

That Tommy John procedure came during Robertson’s age-34 season, and he didn’t return to a big league mound until the 2021 campaign. He’s emphatically silenced any concerns about his ability to restore his status as a high-end reliever. He’s now pitched 200 games and logged a 2.92 in 213 regular season innings since undergoing surgery. That includes a terrific 2024 season in Texas, where Robertson pitched 72 innings with a 3.00 ERA, a 33.4% strikeout rate, a 9.1% walk rate, two saves and 34 holds as the primary setup option to Kirby Yates.

Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was candid earlier this month in calling out bullpen help as his primary focus at this year’s trade deadline. Robertson is a potential major addition who helps on multiple levels. He’s obviously a decorated high-leverage arm coming off a strong season, and adding the lone marquee reliever on the free-agent market leaves the Phillies’ farm system intact as they look to pursue other bullpen upgrades. Beyond that, Robertson is a fresh arm who’s no stranger to pitching in the postseason — a key component for a Phillies club who lost lefty Jose Alvarado to an 80-game PED suspension earlier this year that renders him ineligible to pitch in the playoffs.

On the season, Philadelphia relievers rank 23rd with a 4.36 ERA. They’ve been better over the past month (3.89 ERA) but still have a top-heavy unit that’s been anchored by Matt Strahm, Tanner Banks and Orion Kerkering doing a disproportionate level of the heavy lifting. Offseason additions Jordan Romano (7.08 ERA) and Joe Ross (5.31 ERA) haven’t worked out as hoped.

Robertson will likely need a minor league tune-up before he’s ready to join the Phillies’ bullpen. It’s not clear what his precise timeline is, but it stands to reason that both he and Alvarado — eligible to return on Aug. 19 — will both be in the late-inning mix within the next month. The Phillies figure to remain active on the trade market as they look for a second reliever to add to the mix, and they could potentially seek an outfield upgrade as well.

Elias: Orioles’ Trade Talks Focused On Players “Towards The End Of Their Contracts”

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The Orioles managed to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Rays earlier today but are still 10 games under .500 with a -99 run differential. They’re 13.5 games out of first place in the American League East and 8.5 games back of an AL Wild Card spot — with seven teams they’d need to leapfrog to get there. They already traded righty Bryan Baker to the Rays earlier in the month, and general manager Mike Elias suggested in an interview on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM that further players are likely to be shipped out. The GM made clear, however, that he’s focused on trading short-term pieces and not players who are under club control well beyond the current season.

“When we’re at this point in the standings and 11 days away from the trade deadline, we’ve got to be realistic about our situation,” Elias said. “The conversations I’m having right now are more oriented toward what’s out there for some of our available major league players. We’re not blowing up the team. We think we’re going to be very good again in 2026 and have that intention. We’re not interested in changing the foundation of the team, but to the degree that we have players that interest other clubs, who are coming towards the end of their contracts, we’ve got to listen to that. That’s what we’re spending our time on now.”

Whether it’s Elias who has an aversion to long-term contracts or the two ownership groups under which he’s worked — the Angelos family sold the Orioles to a group led by David Rubenstein prior to the 2024 season — the Orioles don’t have many players signed long-term. Elias has only signed one free agent (Tyler O’Neill) to a multi-year contract and has not brokered extensions with any of the team’s young core. They have a very appealing group of young players who are still controlled via arbitration, but Baltimore’s proclivity for one-year contracts gives them plenty of players to market in the next couple weeks.

First baseman/designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn, center fielder Cedric Mullins and corner outfielder Ramon Laureano are all in their final guaranteed seasons in Baltimore. (Laureano does have a reasonable $6.5MM club option for 2026). Catcher Gary Sanchez is also on a one-year deal, although he’s likely out until September due to a sprained posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

On the pitching side of things, starters Zach Eflin, Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano are all free agents at season’s end, as are relievers Gregory Soto and Seranthony Dominguez. Right-hander Andrew Kittredge, like Laureano, is on a one-year deal with a club option for the 2026 season. His is valued at $9MM.

O’Hearn, earning $8MM this season, is hitting .282/.378/.458 with a dozen homers. He’d be one of the best rental bats on the market. Mullins is earning $8.725MM and hitting just .218/.300/.4o5 with 13 homers and 14 steals, but he’s one of very few center field options who could be available. The resurgent Laureano is having a career-best year at the plate, hitting .276/.340/.498 through 247 plate appearances while earning just a $4MM salary.

Eflin has been out for nearly a month due to a back injury, which presumably contributed to him surrendering 17 runs in his final nine innings before being placed on the injured list. That ugly stretch ballooned his ERA all the way to 5.95, but he had a 4.08 mark prior to that stretch and is coming off a 2023-24 run in which he tossed 343 innings with a 3.54 ERA and terrific strikeout/walk rates. He’s making $18MM this season. Eflin has posted a 1.50 ERA in three minor league rehab starts, and he told Jake Rill of MLB.com yesterday that he feels like he’s ready to rejoin the rotation.

Morton’s struggles earlier this season were in many ways emblematic of the team’s struggles as a whole. He’s righted the ship after being dropped to the bullpen for a few weeks, though. While the 41-year-old righty is still sporting a grisly 5.58 ERA, he has a 3.47 mark in his past 47 innings. Morton was trounced for seven runs in his most recent outing versus Tampa Bay, but he’d pitched 51 2/3 innings of 2.61 ERA ball prior to that. Even with the ugly last start, he looks largely back on track, though his $15MM salary is another impediment.

Sugano, 35, is in his first big league season. A longtime star in Japan’s NPB, his year has been the inverse of Morton’s: a terrific start followed by an extended rough patch. Sugano carried a 3.04 ERA into June despite possessing one of the lowest strikeout rates in the sport (14.2%), but his lack of missed bats has caught up to him. He has a 7.94 ERA and has been torched for seven home runs over his past six starts (28 1/3 innings). He’s on a $13MM salary.

The left-handed Soto and right-handed Dominguez both miss plenty of bats and have shaky command, although Soto has his walk rate down to a more passable 10.1% this year. Both average better than 97 mph on their heaters, and their ERAs (3.67 for Soto, 3.72 for Dominguez) are nearly identical. Fielding-independent metrics grade them similarly as well, pegging them both in the mid-3.00s. Soto is making $5.35MM to Dominguez’s $8MM. The 35-year-old Kittredge missed the first two months of the season due to a knee procedure he required during spring training but has been solid since returning: 3.86 ERA, 22.9% strikeout rate, 5.7% walk rate.

It’s not clear from Elias’ comments whether the Orioles will at least entertain offers on players controlled beyond the current season. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported last week that Elias has at least heard out other teams who’ve called on lefty Trevor Rogers and closer Felix Bautista, but that could be mere due diligence. Bautista, controlled two more seasons via arbitration, would be a particular shock if moved. The Dodgers are among the teams who’ve called, but a deal feels decidedly unlikely.

The O’s have some buy-low bats, but it’s hard to imagine anyone taking on even a portion of O’Neill’s contract when he’s signed through 2027 and hitting just .182/.270/.327. Ryan Mountcastle is an interesting buy-low option, but he hit just .246/.280/.348 before a hamstring tear sent him to the 60-day IL. He’ll begin a rehab assignment soon and could be a non-tender candidate with a poor finish, so perhaps there’s more willingness to listen there. Baltimore’s core seems unlikely to be available in any capacity, however. It’d be a true stunner if any of Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Adley Rutschman, Colton Cowser or Jackson Holliday wound up being seriously discussed.

Daniel Bard Retires

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Veteran reliever Daniel Bard is ending his comeback bid and will retire, reports WEEI’s Rob Bradford. The 40-year-old Bard signed a minor league contract with the Mariners earlier this summer and had pitched well in a limited look with Seattle’s Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma, allowing two runs on six hits and a walk with nine punchouts in 5 2/3 innings.

Originally a first-round pick by the Red Sox back in 2006, Bard made his big league debut in 2009 and quickly became a star reliever in Boston. In his first three seasons, the righty pitched 197 innings of  2.88 ERA ball and piled up 79 holds and five saves. Along the way, he fanned nearly 27% of his opponents. That’d be a strong mark even in today’s game, but at the time, the league-average strikeout rate sat around 18% (compared to this year’s 21.9%). Bard ranked 21st among all relievers in strikeout rate over that three-year period and, despite not debuting until mid-May in ’09, tallied the third-most holds in MLB from ’09-’11.

In 2012, the Red Sox tried moving Bard into the rotation, hoping some of that single-inning dominance would carry over to lengthier stretches. It didn’t pan out. Bard made ten starts and was hit hard, yielding a 5.30 ERA in 54 1/3 innings and showing some alarming command troubles. The lanky right-hander walked more hitters (36) than he struck out (34) and plunked eight batters. He was moved back into the bullpen later in the season.

Bard’s command struggles had actually begun in September of 2011. They continued in 2012 during that shift to the rotation, and reached a tipping point the following season. Bard pitched just one major league inning in 2013, plus another 15 1/3 frames in the minors — during which he walked one-third of the batters he faced and threw 11 wild pitches. Bard would eventually learn that he’d also been pitching with an undiagnosed case of thoracic outlet syndrome — he underwent surgery in 2014 — and he’s also been candid throughout his career about his ongoing battle with anxiety.

A series of minor league deals with the Rangers, Cubs, Pirates, Cardinals and Mets didn’t pan out, and by 2017 Bard had opted to call it a career and move onto the next phase of his baseball journey. He took a job with the D-backs, serving as a player mentor/mental skills coach who worked with young players throughout the organization. Bard held that position for a couple years but found that with some time off, his velocity, command and desire to pitch all returned. He worked out for clubs ahead of the 2020 season, signed a minor league deal with the Rockies and embarked on one of the more improbable comebacks in recent memory.

Bard was heading into his age-35 season and hadn’t pitched in the majors for seven years when he went to camp with the Rockies. He wound up not only earning a spot on the roster in the shortened 2020 season — he was named National League Comeback Player of the Year. Bard pitched 24 2/3 innings with the Rockies that season and logged a 3.65 ERA with a 25.5% strikeout rate, 9.4% walk rate, six saves and two holds. His fastball, which had sat 93-94 in 2012-13 while he was unknowingly pitching with thoracic outlet syndrome, averaged a hearty 97.3 mph.

Bard had a tough 2021 season but was brilliant in 2022 when he saved 34 games and pitched to a 1.79 earned run average. The Rockies signed him to a two-year, $19MM extension that summer rather than ship him out when he would’ve been one of the most popular rental arms on the trade market. That contract didn’t work out, as Bard struggled again in 2023 and missed the 2024 season recovering from a pair of surgeries: one to repair a torn meniscus and another to repair a torn flexor tendon. He’d hoped to make one final run in the majors, but he’ll now wrap up one of the more interesting career arcs this generation of baseball has seen.

All told, Bard pitched in parts of five seasons with the Red Sox and four with the Rockies — plus minor league appearances with the Rangers, Cardinals and Mets. He pitched 457 1/3 big league innings, saved 66 games, tallied 91 holds and recorded a 3.74 ERA. Bard set down just over 24% of the hitters he faced on strikes over the course of his career, and he earned more than $31MM in salary, thanks largely to that late-career extension in Colorado.

Bard has already taken one non-playing job with the Diamondbacks. It stands to reason that plenty of clubs would welcome someone with Bard’s background to their organization, be it in a coaching role, a player development role or a baseball operations role — should he choose to again look for new opportunities to stay involved in the game.

D-backs Agree To Terms With Top Picks Kayson Cunningham, Patrick Forbes

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The D-backs have agreed to terms on a deal with No. 18 overall pick Kayson Cunningham, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com. Cunningham, a high school shortstop out of Texas, will receive a $4,581,900 bonus — full slot value for his selection. Arizona also agreed to a $3MM bonus with No. 29 overall pick Patrick Forbes, a right-hander out of Louisville (also via Callis). That’s $191K under slot value.

Cunningham, 19, was regarded as a clear first-round talent and considered the best pure hitter among this year’s high school ranks — if not the best pure hit tool in the pool overall. He’ll forgo his commitment to Texas and begin his professional career. Cunningham landed as highly as No. 8 on FanGraphs’ rankings of the top prospects in this year’s draft. Baseball America ranked him 12th, while MLB.com had him 14th and Keith Law ranked him 15th over at The Athletic. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel ranked him 25th heading into the draft.

Scouting reports on Cunningham laud his feel for hitting and above-average speed, but there are questions about whether he’ll stick at shortstop or have to move over to second base, where the bar for offense is higher. He’s also perhaps generously listed at 5’10”, leading to some questions about his size, but Cunningham has the makings of a hit-over-power middle infielder with good speed.

Forbes ranked 29th at FanGraphs, 31st at MLB.com, 32nd at The Athletic, 33rd at ESPN and 47th at Baseball America. He’s a 6’3″, 220-pound righty who’d previously been a two-way player but is now focused on the mound, where he boasts an upper-90s heater and an above-average slider. Forbes has missed time due to injuries and pitched just 29 innings in 2024. He bounced back with 71 1/3 frames this year, and while his 4.42 ERA was lacking, he fanned nearly 37% of his opponents.

The Diamondbacks also agreed to an under-slot deal with third-round pick Brian Curley and over-slot deals with fourth-rounder Dean Livingston and 11th-rounder Luke Dotson (all per Callis). Curley’s $700K bonus checks in about $139K under slot value. Livingston’s $1MM bonus is nearly $400K over his slot value of $611K. Dotson secures a $500K bonus — $350K of which will count against Arizona’s draft pool. (All picks in rounds 11-20 come with a standard $150K slot value, and only money that exceeds that figure counts toward the team’s pool.)

Dodgers Pursuing High-End Bullpen Upgrades

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The Dodgers are known to be in the market for bullpen help after injuries to Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech and Blake Treinen have thinned their relief corps. They’re focused on several of the market’s most high-profile names, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, who reports that L.A. has inquired on Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase, Pirates closer David Bednar, Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley and Orioles closer Felix Bautista (in addition to previously reported interest in Minnesota’s Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax).

Los Angeles was active on the relief market over the winter, signing Tanner Scott to a four-year deal, Treinen to a two-year contract and Kirby Yates to a one-year pact. Neither Scott (4.00 ERA) nor Yates (4.08) have performed up to expectations, however, and Yates has also missed some time due to a hamstring strain (though he’s been healthy for the past month and a half). Dodgers relievers rank 24th in the majors with a 4.38 earned run average, and they’re at an ugly 5.28 mark over the past month.

Of the names listed, Bednar is the likeliest to change hands. The Pirates, in last place in the NL Central, were swept by the White Sox this weekend and are surefire sellers. Bednar is earning $5.9MM this year and is owed one final raise in arbitration this winter before becoming a free agent in the 2026-27 offseason. The 30-year-old struggled through a down season in 2024 and pitched poorly enough early in 2025 to be optioned to Triple-A; he’s been in vintage form since returning from a brief two-week demotion.

Over his past 31 innings, Bednar boasts a 1.74 ERA with a massive 36.4% strikeout rate against a 5.8% walk rate. He’s currently in a 17 1/3-inning streak without allowing an earned run — his last earned run was on May 24 — and has posted a 23-to-4 K/BB ratio in that time. Pirates ownership has reportedly nixed some trade talks on Bednar, a Pittsburgh native, in the past. That’s not expected to be the case this time around.

Helsley has a good chance of moving as well. The Cardinals dropped their first two games coming out of the All-Star break and are three back in the NL Wild Card chase. They’ve outperformed all expectations this season after an offseason of inactivity, but they entered the season expecting this to be a transition year as their baseball operations staff turns over. If the Cards win several games in a row and nudge further up the standings, they could wind up hanging onto Helsley, whom Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently highlighted as a potential qualifying offer candidate. Nightengale writes that the Cards don’t plan on making a QO to Helsley, though that could simply indicate there are differing opinions within the front office on whether that’d be prudent.

Helsley, 31, certainly makes sense as a potential QO candidate. He’s been among the best relievers in the National League over the past four seasons, working to a combined 2.06 ERA with 101 saves. This year’s numbers have dipped a bit. He’s sitting on a 3.27 ERA with a 24.8% strikeout rate and 9.7% walk rate. It’s still  a strong performance overall, but not up to the lofty standards he’d set from 2022-24. He’ll still command sizable interest — Nightengale writes that five contenders have been in touch with the Cardinals about him — and should be able to net the Cardinals greater value  (and certainly more MLB-ready talent) than they’d net with a compensatory draft pick if Helsley rejected his QO and signed elsewhere.

The other relievers highlighted are less likely to be traded. Cleveland is reportedly listening on Clase and teammate Cade Smith, but both players will have exorbitant asking prices. Clase is signed cheaply through 2026 and has a pair of affordable club options. Bautista is arbitration-eligible in 2026 and 2027, and the Orioles are far likelier to trade short-term rentals than players controlled multiple years beyond the current season. Both Duran and Jax are controlled through 2027 as well, and the Twins are still on the fringes of the AL Wild Card race as well.

Trade Deadline Outlook: Minnesota Twins

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The Twins are one of several "bubble" teams around the league who likely don't know yet whether they'll buy, sell, or do some combination of both prior to the July 31 trade deadline. It's been a season of peaks and valleys for a Twins club that started 4-11 before rallying with a 13-game winning streak and then floundering through a 9-18 June not long after losing their ace for upwards of three months.

Minnesota is a fascinating team to watch, as the Twins would have some very interesting rentals if they opt to sell but also have a deep and talented farm system if they decide to push for contention. They're four games out of a Wild Card spot and open the second half with series against the Rockies, Dodgers and Nationals. All of the uncertainty with regard to the deadline comes against a backdrop of an ownership group that has cut payroll over the past 24 months as they explore a potential sale of the team.

Record: 47-49 (Playoff probability 23.6%, per FanGraphs)

Other series entries available here.

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Potential needs: Starting pitching, backup catcher, another bat, another reliever

Through early June, the Twins ranked among the game's best pitching staffs. Minnesota pitchers led the majors in walk rate, K-BB%, fWAR and SIERA while ranking top-five in strikeout rate, ERA and FIP. Top starter Pablo Lopez went down with a strained teres major muscle on June 3, and the pitching staff quickly began to unravel. Prospect Zebby Matthews hit the injured list just days after Lopez, though he's expected back shortly after the All-Star Break. Steady veteran Bailey Ober ran into catastrophic home run troubles while trying to pitch through a hip injury before finally landing on the injured list. Several short starts from the rotation snowballed and took a toll on the bullpen.

Joe Ryan is leading the Twins' staff in the absence of Lopez and Ober. Prospect David Festa has had a pair of awful starts (eight runs apiece) and seven decent ones otherwise. Fifth starter Chris Paddack has struggled. Simeon Woods Richardson was optioned after a poor stretch earlier this season but has provided a much-needed quality stretch over his past six starts: 30 2/3 innings, 1.47 ERA. He's down to a 3.95 ERA on the season (albeit with a 4.40 FIP and 4.65 SIERA).

The Twins could still use some more stability in the rotation. Paddack hasn't performed well and is a free agent at season's end. Festa and Matthews were top-100 prospects before debuting but have been inconsistent. Lopez and Ober are injured. Even Ryan, the current staff leader, missed the final two months of the 2024 season due to injury. Minnesota isn't likely to acquire anyone with a particularly lofty salary -- not amid a potential sale of the team and on the heels of an offseason punctuated by payroll limitations -- but there are still options to consider.

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Max Kranick To Undergo Elbow Surgery

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5:35pm: Per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, Kranick could avoid a full Tommy John and undergo flexor tendon surgery instead. That would still be a major operation but it’s possible Kranick could come back with a slightly less severe timeline.

3:21pm: Mets reliever Max Kranick is slated to undergo Tommy John surgery, per Newsday’s Laura Albanese. It’ll be the second time he’s undergone Tommy John surgery in the past 37 months.

It’s a brutal blow for Kranick, who’s finally in the process of establishing himself as a solid big league arm after a lengthy layoff from his first UCL procedure, performed back in June of 2022. Kranick, then with the Pirates, missed nearly all of the 2023 season.

The Mets claimed Kranick off waivers in January 2024 and kept him on in the minors all last season. He got his first look with them in 2025 — his first MLB work since 2022 — and has been quite effective. In 37 innings, he’s recorded a 3.65 ERA. Kranick’s 16.9% strikeout rate is well below average, but his 3.4% walk rate is the fifth-best among the 347 big league pitchers who’ve tossed at least 30 innings in 2025.

Given the timing of the procedure and the fact that it’s his second Tommy John, Kranick could miss the entire 2026 season. At best, he’d be a candidate to return next September. He’s arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter, so there’s a decent chance the Mets will decline to tender him a contract. Keeping him would mean dedicating a 40-man spot to Kranick all offseason, as there’s no 60-day injured list in the winter.

For the time being, Kranick will head to the 60-day injured list the next time the Mets need to open a 40-man roster spot. He’ll continue accruing major league service time and pay for the remainder of the current season. If the Mets opt to keep him on the roster all winter, they can immediately place him on the 60-day injured list when camp opens next spring. Kranick can be controlled through the 2028 season.

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