Rangers To Select Rowdy Tellez
The Rangers will select the contract of first baseman/designated hitter Rowdy Tellez to the major league roster to start the second half, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He’ll step into the active roster spot of first baseman Jake Burger, who hit the injured list yesterday due to a strained left quadriceps. Texas has an open spot on the 40-man roster to facilitate that move.
Tellez, 30, opened the season with the division-rival Mariners but was designated for assignment and released earlier in the summer. He signed a minor league deal with the Rangers on July 5 and has gone 5-for-15 with a pair of long balls in his brief time with their Triple-A Round Rock affiliate.
Tellez hit for power with the Mariners but struggled to get on base and turned in poor defensive marks at first base. He hit .208/.249/.434 and popped 11 round-trippers in 185 plate appearances. All but 14 of those turns at the plate for Tellez, who has pronounced career platoon splits, came against right-handed pitching. He’ll likely require a right-handed-hitting complement of some sort. Utilityman Ezequiel Duran presents an option in that regard, though he’s been more productive against fellow righties than in traditional platoon matchups in his career. Down in Triple-A, Blaine Crim and Justin Foscue offer righty bats with experience at first base.
Tellez has appeared in parts of eight MLB seasons and has more than six years of major league service. He’s a career .232/.299/.436 hitter in 2490 plate appearances. Tellez’s best season came with the 2022 Brewers, when he slugged 35 home runs in 599 plate appearances. He’s slashed just .226/.286/.394 (86 wRC+) with 37 home runs in 957 trips to the plate since that time.
Connor Norby Undergoes Surgery To Repair Hamate Fracture
Marlins infielder Connor Norby underwent surgery to repair a fractured hamate bone in his left hand yesterday, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald. He’s expected to be sidelined for the next six to eight weeks.
Norby, 25, came to the Marlins alongside Kyle Stowers just under one year ago in the 2024 deadline trade sending lefty Trevor Rogers to Baltimore. He was placed on the 10-day IL a few days ago due to inflammation in his left wrist. The specific nature of Norby’s injury wasn’t clear at the time, but he’d been out of the lineup for the final two games prior to the All-Star break after experiencing discomfort in his hand/wrist at the plate last Friday.
A 2021 second-round pick and former top prospect, Norby had a solid debut for the Marlins following the trade last summer. He hit .247/.315/.445 with seven homers and three steals in 162 plate appearances down the stretch — albeit with a 32.1% strikeout rate. He’s pared back on the strikeouts a bit this year (26.7%) but had a tough season overall, slashing .241/.289/.364 in 273 trips to the plate. It’s not entirely clear how long Norby was playing through discomfort prior to his IL stint and subsequent surgery, but over his past 47 plate appearances he’s turned in an anemic .186/.234/.326 batting line, dragging his season-long numbers down quite a bit in the process.
Norby opened the 2025 season on the injured list due to an oblique strain but has been Miami’s primary third baseman when healthy. He’s played 68 games and logged 567 innings at the position, albeit with sub-par defensive grades (-7 Defensive Runs Saved, -3 Outs Above Average). He’s also capable of playing second base, but the Fish have been using Xavier Edwards there after installing Otto Lopez as their everyday shortstop.
With Norby out for the foreseeable future, their options at third base include Graham Pauley, Javier Sanoja and Eric Wagaman, though the latter of that trio has been playing first base regularly as of late. Sanoja and Pauley drew starts in Miami’s final two games before the break.
The Fish also have infielders Jack Winkler, Maximo Acosta and Deyvison De Los Santos on the 40-man roster with their Triple-A Jacksonville affiliate. Winkler is a utility player with good speed who made his MLB debut briefly earlier in the season. Acosta has been strictly a middle infielder. De Los Santos has played both corners but spent the vast majority of his recent time at first base. None of the three are hitting well in Jacksonville, however.
Pauley, also a 2024 deadline acquisition (part of the Tanner Scott return), hasn’t produced in 94 big league plate appearances this year but has considerably outperformed Winkler, De Los Santos and Acosta in Triple-A. He’s taken 144 plate appearances with Jacksonville and slashed .260/.340/.496 with a 9.7% walk rate and a tiny 11.1% strikeout rate.
D-backs Expected To Target Young Pitching At Deadline
The Diamondbacks enter the unofficial second half of the season with a 47-50 record that has them buried by 11 games in the NL West and sitting 5.5 games out of the final NL Wild Card spot (with four teams to leapfrog to get there). General manager Mike Hazen said two weeks ago that he hopes the team puts him in a position to buy at the trade deadline. The team has gone 4-8 since he made those comments. FanGraphs gives the Diamondbacks just a 10.2% chance to make the postseason. Baseball Prospectus is ever so slightly more charitable at 11.3%. The D-backs open the second half with a three-game series against a 51-46 Cardinals team. They follow that with three against a last-place Pirates squad but then face a pair of first-place clubs — Tigers, Astros — in the final stretch leading to the trade deadline.
Suffice it to say, the outlook for 2025 isn’t great. Hazen spoke with Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic at this week’s All-Star festivities and acknowledged that the Snakes “are running out of time” and that they would “need to play pretty exceptional” baseball to get back into a buy position prior to the deadline. Hazen also conceded that he’s been fielding inquiries from clear buyers already but naturally wouldn’t commit one way or another when asked about his willingness to make a move well ahead of the July 31 deadline.
[Related: Arizona Diamondbacks Trade Deadline Outlook]
Arizona isn’t short on marketable assets, even if the goal is to hang onto players controlled beyond the current season. Corner infielders Eugenio Suárez and Josh Naylor would be two of the best bats on the market. Suárez was plunked on the hand in last night’s All-Star Game but remained in the contest. Postgame x-rays were negative. Randal Grichuk would be a nice role player for a team looking for a right-handed bat with a long track record versus lefties.
On the pitching side of things, Zac Gallen has struggled all season but has an excellent track record. He looked to be turning a corner with terrific starts on July 1 and 7 (combined 13 innings with one run on 10 hits and a 19-to-1 K/BB ratio) before being rocked for six runs in his final start prior to the break. Merrill Kelly (3.34 ERA in 116 frames) has been strong all season, though, as have relievers Jalen Beeks and Shelby Miller. Both Beeks and Miller are on the injured list — the latter due to a forearm strain on which he is ominously seeking a second opinion. If one or both returns in timely fashion, they’d be obvious trade targets for clubs seeking affordable bullpen help.
It’s at least possible the Diamondbacks will listen on more controllable players. They’re reportedly listened on their outfield depth. Corbin Carroll isn’t going anywhere, but each of Alek Thomas, Jake McCarthy, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Grichuk could hold varying levels of appeal.
If the D-backs do end up as a seller, which seems likely, Piecoro suggests they’ll prioritize adding pitching they can control beyond the current season. That’s only logical with Corbin Burnes facing a lengthy recovery from Tommy John surgery and both Kelly and Gallen hitting free agency at season’s end. Lefties Blake Walston and Tommy Henry also had UCL surgeries this season — Walston in March, Henry in June. Young righty Cristian Mena is on the 60-day IL due to a shoulder strain. The injury problems extend to the bullpen, where top relievers Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk had Tommy John surgery just last month.
Looking ahead to the Diamondbacks’ 2026 rotation mix, they’ll have Brandon Pfaadt, Eduardo Rodriguez and Ryne Nelson all locked into spots. The former two have struggled to ERAs north of 5.00 this season. Nelson has a 3.68 ERA in 78 1/3 innings. Other in-house options, like 24-year-old righty Yilber Diaz (one of their top prospects entering the season) and 27-year-old Bryce Jarvis, have had nightmare seasons in Triple-A. Diaz currently has an ERA north of 11.00.
Given the broad-reaching slate of injuries and departing free agents, it’s sensible to focus on pitching help to the extent possible. That doesn’t mean the D-backs will turn away offers that include enticing young hitters to take on lesser pitchers, but if two packages of comparable quality are offered up, the D-backs seem likely to favor one that skews toward the pitching side of things.
Of course, the D-backs needn’t focus entirely on rebuilding their staff in the next two weeks. They have nearly $75MM in salary set to come off the books via free agency and could save further money via trades in the next two weeks. Their arbitration class isn’t large, and one of their most notable arbitration salaries (Puk) could come off the books via non-tender. His UCL surgery was just last month, and 2026 is Puk’s final season of club control. There should be ample space — and need — to pursue help both in the rotation and the bullpen this offseason.
Buxton On No-Trade Clause: “I’m A Minnesota Twin For Life”
Twins center fielder Byron Buxton is in the midst of the finest season of his career, having been named to the All-Star team (and selected to compete in the Home Run Derby) after hitting .289/.351/.574 with 21 homers and 17 steals through 78 games (333 plate appearances). With the Twins underperforming as a whole and the team facing payroll constraints, some fans have hoped and wondered whether Buxton might become available via trade. The outfielder put any such talk to bed at this week’s All-Star festivities.
“I’ve got a no-trade clause,” Buxton said after being asked about the possibility of perhaps someday playing for his hometown Braves (link via Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune). “I’m a Minnesota Twin for the rest of my life. That’s the best feeling in the world, knowing when I walk into the clubhouse every day, it’s going to say Twins. I love Minnesota — that’s home. … I don’t want to play anywhere else. The team, the people, the city — they made me who I am and made me a part of it there.”
Buxton’s no-trade clause was a known element of his contract, but it’s hardly uncommon to see players waive their no-trade protection. There’s no such consideration for the 31-year-old Buxton, it seems.
We’re at the midway point of Buxton’s seven-year, $100MM extension with Minnesota. That contract bought out Buxton’s final year of arbitration eligibility and locked in six free-agent seasons at $15MM annually. The on-field results have been excellent thus far, with the former No. 2 overall pick hitting .250/.321/.516 with 84 homers, 39 steals and plus center field defense so far — save for the 2023 season, when he was limited to DH work due to ongoing knee troubles. (He underwent a second knee surgery following that season.)
The caveat with Buxton, of course, is that said production has come in a limited capacity. He’s long stood out as one of the game’s most talented but also most frequently injured players. Some of that stems from the reckless abandon with which he plays defense, but Buxton has suffered injuries on all sides of the game over his career. He’s only reached 100 games played in a season on two occasions and has only once accrued more than 400 plate appearances in a season.
The frequency of Buxton’s injuries played a role in dictating the unique nature of his contract. He’s being paid $15MM per year from 2023-28 but can boost that number all the way to $25.5MM based on plate appearances and MVP voting in any given season. The contract pays Buxton a $3MM bonus if he finishes between sixth and tenth in MVP voting, $4MM bonus for finishing fifth, $5MM bonus for finishing fourth, $6MM for finishing third, $7MM for second and $8MM for winning an MVP Award. He also receives a $500K bonus for reaching each of 502, 533, 567, 600 and 625 plate appearances in a given season.
So far, those incentives have yet to come into play, although he’s well on his way to locking in some extra earnings in 2025 if he can remain on the field. Buxton ranks sixth in the American League in WAR, per Baseball-Reference, and is tied with Houston’s Jeremy Pena for seventh in FanGraphs’ version. He’s been on an absolute tear of late as well, hitting .343/.408/.741 with 11 homers over his past 120 plate appearances (including a five-hit game in which he completed the cycle in the penultimate game of the season’s unofficial first half).
A’s Select Carlos Cortes
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
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
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
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
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
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?