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Cubs Claim Gavin Hollowell, Designate David Bote

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The Cubs have claimed right-hander Gavin Hollowell off waivers from the Diamondbacks and optioned him to Triple-A Iowa. The Snakes had designated him for assignment a few days ago. To open a 40-man roster spot, the Cubs have designated infielder David Bote for assignment. Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune was among those to relay the news on X.

Hollowell, 26, was drafted by the Rockies and was with that organization until recently. The Diamondbacks claimed him off waivers in June and now he moves via another waiver claim, this time landing with the Cubs.

The interest from clubs likely stems from his big strikeout numbers in the minors, though he has also given out a large number of walks and hasn’t yet transferred those punchouts to the major league level.

The Rockies put him into 30 games over the 2022 and 2023 seasons and he pitched 40 2/3 innings with a 6.20 earned run average. He struck out 21.5% of batters faced in that time and gave out walks at an 11.8% rate. But since the start of 2023, he has thrown 47 minor league innings and struck out 27.9% of batters faced. That’s come with an elevated 13% walk rate and a 4.60 ERA, but clubs are always interested in missing bats.

He still has one option year after this one, so the Cubs could give him a lot of rope in the minors to see if he can rein in his stuff. If he does so, he has less than a year of service time and therefore comes with many years of club control and is still far away from qualifying for arbitration.

Bote, 31, signed an extension with the Cubs in April of 2019, a five-year pact that guaranteed him over $15MM. He served in a multi-positional role for a while but his results eventually tailed off, at least partially due to some injury troubles.

He was outrighted off the roster at the end of 2022 with two guaranteed years still left on his deal. Since he had more than three years of service time, he could have elected free agency, but doing so would have meant walking away from the remaining money on his contract since he was shy of the five-year service mark. Naturally, he stayed with the club and has been with them in a non-roster capacity until they selected his contract again in June.

He has a solid .304/.333/.391 batting line in his 48 plate appearances this year but that’s being held up by an unsustainable .424 batting average on balls in play. He has no home runs in that time and a 4.2% walk rate.

With the trade deadline now passed, the Cubs will have to put Bote on waivers in the coming days. It’s unlikely that any club would claim him and take on the remainder of his contract. He’s making $5.5MM this year with still roughly $1.1MM left to be paid out. There’s also a $1MM buyout on a $7MM club option for 2025.

Bote is still shy of five years of service time, meaning he still doesn’t have the right to reject an outright assignment and keep all of his money. Assuming he passes through waivers unclaimed, he will presumably accept another outright assignment and provide the Cubs with depth in a non-roster capacity.

Cubs Release Josh Staumont

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The Cubs released reliever Josh Staumont from his minor league contract, tweets Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register. It’s not clear if the right-hander triggered an opt-out or if the Cubs simply decided they weren’t going to call him up.

In either case, Staumont returns to the market just two weeks after signing with Chicago. The 30-year-old pitched twice for Chicago’s top affiliate in Iowa. He walked five batters while recording only three outs. Staumont had run a much more impressive 16:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 10 2/3 frames with the Twins’ top affiliate earlier in the season. He clearly did not have any kind of command in his very small sample in Iowa.

A former second-round pick of the Royals, Staumont pitched parts of five seasons with Kansas City. He posted an above-average 26.2% strikeout rate but walked more than 13% of batters faced through 168 1/3 innings. The Royals non-tendered him last winter. Staumont signed a big league deal with Minnesota that guaranteed him $950K. He made 25 appearances for the Twins, working to a 3.70 ERA over 24 1/3 innings. His walks remained high and his strikeout rate dropped sharply to 17.6%, so Minnesota cut him loose when they brought in Trevor Richards at the trade deadline.

Staumont’s camp can again look for minor league opportunities for the next few weeks. He’d need to sign with a team by September 1 to be eligible for postseason play with his new club, though that’s a secondary consideration to pitching his way back to the majors.

MLBTR Podcast: Who Could Get Waived, Potential Rule Changes, Austin Riley, And Hector Neris

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Will any players be placed on waivers before September 1 who could help? (35:15)
  • How much longer do the Tigers stick with Javier Báez and what holes will they be looking to fill in the offseason? (41:00)
  • If Pete Alonso walks in free agency, what will the Mets do at first base next year? (49:40)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Cubs Release Hector Neris

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The Cubs are releasing veteran reliever Hector Neris, reports ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. The team already passed Neris through waivers without making a formal announcement of the move. He went unclaimed. Neris’ spot on the 40-man roster will be filled by right-hander Jack Neely, whose contract is being selected from Triple-A Iowa. Neely was acquired from the Yankees in the deadline trade sending Mark Leiter Jr. to the Bronx.

Neris, 35, was signed to a one-year, $9MM contract over the winter and has had an up-and-down season in what’ll now be his lone year with the Cubs. His 3.89 earned run average is sound, but Neris has blown five of 25 save situations on the season while sporting career-worst strikeout and walk rates of 23.1% and 13.3%, respectively.

The more prominent factor in the decision to release the right-hander, however, could be a vesting player option that would’ve kicked in had Neris reached 60 appearances or 45 games finished on the season. He’s only appeared in 46 games right now and finished a game 33 times. Neris thus would’ve needed to pitch in 14 of Chicago’s remaining 37 games — a 37% usage rate — or recorded the final out in 12 of them, but if he’d done so he’d have secured a $9MM player option for the upcoming season. Given his shaky performance, the Cubs very likely weren’t interested in allowing that provision to be reached.

While Neris clearly hasn’t had his best season, he’s only a year removed from a sparkling 1.71 ERA in 68 1/3 frames for the Astros. That mark is also deceptive, as benefited from a .219 average on balls in play and 90.5% strand rate that combined to tamp down his earned run average. Metrics like FIP (3.83) and SIERA (3.89) were more bearish, but between Neris’ 28.2% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate, he still had the makings of a solid all-around season. More broadly, Neris’ track record from 2019-23 on the whole is quite impressive. He pitched 297 1/3 innings between the Phillies and Astros, combining for a 3.12 ERA (3.33 SIERA), 30.2% strikeout rate, 9.6% walk rate, 40.1% grounder rate, 0.97 HR/9, 73 holds and 50 saves.

With Neris returning to the open market, he’ll now be available for any team to sign for the remainder of the season. He’ll only cost his new club the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the big league roster/injured list. That sum would be subtracted from what the Cubs are paying him, but Chicago remains on the hook for the bulk of his contract regardless. And, so long as Neris signs with a new organization before Sept. 1 — even on a minor league deal — he can be eligible for that team’s postseason roster. (If he’s not on the 40-man at the time, he’d technically need to be a replacement for an injured player on the postseason roster, but such exceptions happen multiple times quite literally every season.)

As for Neely, he’ll be making his big league debut the first time he takes the mound in a Cubs uniform. The 24-year-old righty was the Yankees’ 11th-round pick in 2021 and has emerged as a legitimate bullpen prospect, brandishing a prototypical fastball/slider combination that’s helped him pitch to a combined 2.42 ERA with a whopping 38% strikeout rate against an 8.5% walk rate in 48 1/3 innings across the Double-A and Triple-A levels with the Cubs and Yanks this year.

MLB.com ranks Neely 18th among Chicago farmhands, while FanGraphs pegs him 22nd. The towering 6’8″, 245-pound Neely sits around 95 mph with his heater — and likely looks faster than that, given the extension his massive frame generates. FanGraphs credits him with a plus (60-grade) slider, while MLB.com’s report tabs it as a true plus-plus (70-grade) pitch — noting the massive whiff and chase rates that Neely generated on the pitch late in the 2023 season.

Neely won’t gain a full year of big league service in 2024, of course, so the Cubs will control him for at least six full seasons following the current campaign. Even if he’s in the majors for good, Neely can’t be arbitration-eligible until the 2027-28 offseason and wouldn’t hit free agency until the 2030-31 offseason. His contract is only just now being selected to the 40-man roster, however, meaning he’ll likely retain a full slate of three minor league option years beyond the current season. As such, future optional assignments could impact his arbitration and free agent timelines. For now, he’ll simply focus on carrying his excellent upper-minors work over to the big leagues and establishing himself as a credible major league bullpen weapon.

NL Central Notes: McLain, Horton, Jones

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After finishing fifth in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2023, Matt McLain’s sophomore season has thus far been a wash, as a shoulder surgery in March has kept him off the field.  McLain was set to begin a minor rehab assignment tomorrow but those plans have now been put on hold, Reds manager David Bell told the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Gordon Wittenmyer and other reporters.  McLain suffered a stress reaction in his ribcage area last week and was assigned a shutdown period of 3-7 days, which has now stretched to beyond the intended start date of the rehab assignment.

As recently as Thursday, McLain “was having some progress and feeling better,” as Bell relayed about a text message sent to him from the infielder.  The short timeframe of the initial shutdown period would seem to suggest that the rib injury isn’t as serious as it might sound, yet basically any setback at this point adds extra doubt about McLain’s ability to return to action before the 2024 season is over.  He’ll need a pretty lengthy rehab period to get fully ramped up after his layoff, so even if McLain is able to start playing relatively soon, his return to the majors looks like it’ll be in September at the earliest.  The 57-61 Reds are on the outskirts of an NL wild card race that is still relatively compact at the moment, so the team will need all the help it can get (including whatever McLain can provide) if Cincinnati has a shot of leapfrogging the field and snagging a playoff berth.

More from the NL Central…

  • Cade Horton also suffered a setback in his rehab from the subscapularis strain that has kept the Cubs pitching prospect off the mound since late May, Cubs president of operations Jed Hoyer told the Chicago Tribune’s Meghan Montemurro.  As a result, Horton’s 2024 campaign is likely over, as Hoyer said the right-hander probably wouldn’t start throwing again until after the minor league season is finished.  Selected seventh overall in the 2022 draft, Horton is considered one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball, though his first taste of Triple-A action resulted in an ugly 7.50 ERA over 18 innings (five starts).  Between the shoulder strain, this latest setback, and a Tommy John surgery in his college days, Horton has already had to deal with a lot of injury concerns, and his MLB debut will now have to wait until 2025 at the earliest.
  • In the first start of his minor league rehab assignment, Jared Jones threw 47 pitches over 2 2/3 innings for Triple-A Indianapolis last Thursday.  Pirates GM Ben Cherington said during his weekly radio show today (hat tip to Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) that the plan is for Jones to having another rehab outing on Wednesday with a higher pitch count, and the Bucs will decide from there whether or not Jones could be ready to return from the 15-day injured list.  Jones suffered a Grade 2 strain in his right lat during his last MLB start on July 3, thus necessitating a lengthy IL stint.  Somewhat overshadowed by the Paul Skenes phenomenon, Jones has had a big rookie year of his own, posting a 3.56 ERA over his first 91 big league innings and emerging as another key building block of the Pittsburgh rotation.

Cubs Pursued Logan O’Hoppe At Trade Deadline

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The Cubs need help behind the dish. That statement will not come as a surprise to anyone who has watched baseball on the North Side of Chicago this season. Cubs catchers are batting .199/.246/.305 with a 54 wRC+ in 2024. Those are grim numbers, even considering the lower offensive standards at the position. To add insult to injury, Cubs catchers don’t grade out well on defense either, with -4 Defensive Runs Saved (21st in MLB) and a -6 Fielding Run Value (23rd). Overall, Miguel Amaya, Christian Bethancourt, Tomás Nido, and Yan Gomes have combined for -0.9 FanGraphs WAR, last in the National League and 29th in MLB. Only the White Sox have gotten less production from behind the plate.

With all that in mind, it makes sense that the team made a serious effort to add a new backstop before the July 30 trade deadline. According to Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer “aggressively pursued” catching this summer. Logan O’Hoppe of the Angels was one player he had his eye on. However, Sharma notes that the Angels “repeatedly and firmly rebuffed” Hoyer’s attempts to trade for their 24-year-old catcher. 

This lines up with everything we already knew about Chicago’s plan ahead of the deadline. The Cubs were linked to Danny Jansen, arguably the best catcher on the trade block, in mid-July. However, Hoyer later stated that he wasn’t going to make moves that would only improve the roster in 2024, but rather those that would help the team “for 2025 and beyond.” Jansen is set to reach free agency this winter, as is Carson Kelly, the only other notable catcher traded at this year’s deadline. In other words, neither matched up with what the Cubs were seeking. O’Hoppe, on the other hand, will not be eligible for arbitration until the 2026 season, and he will not reach free agency until the offseason after the 2028 campaign. Much like Isaac Paredes, O’Hoppe could have helped the Cubs compete in 2024 and for several years to come.

Yet, for the same reasons, it’s not hard to understand why the Angels had no interest in giving him up. O’Hoppe broke out at the plate during an injury-shortened 2023 campaign. In 51 games, he hit 14 home runs and put up a 113 wRC+. His .264 isolated power ranked second among primary catchers (min. 150 PA), while his .500 slugging percentage ranked fourth. The young catcher has continued to hit in 2024, slashing .260/.320/.435 with a 111 wRC+ across 101 games. He has also taken a big step forward on defense. His defensive metrics remain below average in just about every category, including pitch framing, blocking, and pop time, but he is not nearly as much of a liability as he was last season. In 2023, he produced -9 DRS and a -7 FRV in just 49 games at catcher. This year, in almost twice as many appearances, he has a much more palatable -3 DRS and -3 FRV. All told, O’Hoppe has produced 1.8 fWAR, which ranks 10th among primary catchers. Still just 24 and playing in his first full MLB season, he has plenty of time to continue to improve.

Los Angeles was quiet at the trade deadline, and reports suggested GM Perry Minasian was unlikely to trade any players who were not on expiring contracts. That turned out to be true, as relievers Carlos Estévez and Luis García were the only players the team ended up selling. One could argue the Angels should have been aggressive in shopping players with multiple years of team control, such as Tyler Anderson, Taylor Ward, and Griffin Canning. However, they had very little incentive to trade O’Hoppe, especially if they are hoping to contend again in the near future.

Thus, the Cubs struck out on O’Hoppe and ultimately decided to stick with what they had: Amaya, Bethancourt, and, once he returns from the IL, Nido. That means Amaya is the primary catcher, although Sharma notes that the team sees him as a backup for 2025 and beyond. Meanwhile, Bethancourt has been hot since he joined the team as a replacement for the injured Nido in late July. Once Nido is ready to return, Chicago will need to make a decision if he or Bethancourt will be the second-string catcher for the rest of the 2024 campaign. As for next year, Hoyer must address the catching position over the offseason. Free agent options will include Jansen, Kelly, Elias Díaz, and Jacob Stallings (if his mutual option with the Rockies is not exercised). The best internal option for the Cubs is top catching prospect Moises Ballesteros, but he is only 20 years old, and Sharma points out that the team isn’t sold on his defense. Finally, Hoyer will surely remain active in trade talks, but it’s hard to say if any big-name backstops will be on the block this winter.

Cubs Release Dan Straily, Kyle McGowin

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The Cubs released right-handers Dan Straily and Kyle McGowin from their minor league contracts with the team, as per the official transactions page for the Triple-A Iowa affiliate.  Straily signed with Chicago in April and McGowin signed in May, with both pitchers returning to the affiliated minors after initially signing deals with the independent Atlantic League for the 2024 season.

Straily posted a 4.56 ERA across 803 1/3 innings with six different Major League teams from 2012-19, primarily pitching for the A’s, Marlins, and Reds.  He followed up that MLB tenure with a four-season stint in Busan with the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization, through Straily also briefly pitched in the Diamondbacks’ farm system in 2022.  Straily had a 3.29 ERA over 503 innings with the Giants, though that overall successful number masks some inconsistency, primarily in a 2023 season that saw the righty deliver only a 4.37 ERA in 80 1/3 frames before being released last July.

The results also haven’t been there for Straily in his age-35 season, as he has a 5.49 ERA, 21.4% strikeout rate, and 10.8% walk rate over 78 2/3 innings for Iowa.  A lot of the damage has been caused by the home run ball, as Straily has given up 18 round-trippers during the limited sample size of his time with the Cubs’ top affiliate.  Keeping the ball in the park was often a struggle for Straily during his days in the big leagues — he allowed a National League-high 31 homers in 2016 when a member of the Reds rotation, and he gave up an incredible 22 home runs in only 47 2/3 innings while pitching for the Orioles in 2019.

McGowin has also had a tough time in Iowa this season, posting a 6.13 ERA in 10 starts and 47 Triple-A innings.  The righty showed much better form in Double-A (2.22 ERA in 28 1/3 IP) and in his brief time with the Atlantic League’s Charleston Dirty Birds (2.70 ERA in 10 innings), but McGowin’s lack of success in Iowa led the Cubs to part ways with the 32-year-old.

McGowin’s big league resume consists of a 5.98 ERA over 64 2/3 innings, all with the Nationals in parts of every season from 2018-21.  His 4.20 ERA over 30 innings in 2021 marked both his best ERA and his highest innings total over a single MLB season, though the Nats outrighted him off their 40-man roster at season’s end and McGowin hasn’t since gotten another look in the Show.  The righty didn’t pitch at all in 2022 while recovering from a UCL injury but resurfaced in 2023 to pitch in independent ball, the Chinese Professional Baseball League, and 62 1/3 innings with the Astros’ Triple-A club.

Cubs, Josh Staumont Agree To Deal

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The Cubs have agreed to a deal with free-agent righty Josh Staumont, reports Darren Wolfson of KSTP and SKOR North Radio. The Twins released Staumont recently after designating him for assignment. He’s headed to the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate in Iowa.

Staumont, 30, pitched to a solid 3.70 ERA in 24 1/3 frames with Minnesota prior to being cut loose, but his velocity was down considerably from peak levels and he managed that run-prevention mark in spite of a rough strikeout and walk rates. The now-former Twins and Royals right-hander fanned just 17.6% of his opponents — well below league-average and well below the 26.2% mark he carried into the season. The dip in strikeouts didn’t come with improved command, either. Staumont, who walked 13% of his opponents with the Royals between 2019-23, issued a free pass to 13.7% of his opponents with the Twins. His 5.06 SIERA casts a far less encouraging picture than his baseline ERA.

Even with sub-par command, Staumont at one point looked to be breaking out as a solid member of the Kansas City bullpen in 2020-21. The 2015 second-rounder pitched 91 1/3 innings out of the Royals’ bullpen between those two seasons and turned in a sharp 2.76 ERA with an impressive 29% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate. Staumont averaged better than 98 mph in 2020 and just shy of 97 mph in 2021. Injuries have since taken their toll, however. He’s missed time with biceps, knee, calf and a pair of neck injuries all since 2021, and his 2023 season ended when he underwent thoracic outlet surgery last summer.

The Twins inked Staumont to a one-year, $950K contract in free agency over the winter. They’re on the hook for the remainder of that sum, minus the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the Cubs’ big league roster (which would be paid by Chicago). If Staumont makes it up to the majors with the Cubs and impresses them, he’ll be eligible for arbitration once more this winter and could thus be retained through the 2025 season.

Several Veterans Who Could Be Available On Waivers This Month

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Now that the trade deadline has come and gone, it's harder for contending clubs to upgrade their respective rosters. There are still a few ways to do so, as MLBTR's Steve Adams recently laid out, but most of those methods involve adding guys not currently rostered who are naturally depth pieces at best.

To add a solid, usable big leaguer, the best remaining path is waivers. The old August waiver trade system ended in 2019, but many veteran players found themselves on waivers last August anyway, which started with the Angels.

The Halos fell out of contention in August and their priority shifted from winning to ducking under the competitive balance tax. Since trades were no longer possible, they put a whole bunch of guys on waivers and just hoped that other clubs would take them, the baseball equivalent of putting a "for free" box by the curb. Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López, Randal Grichuk, Matt Moore, Hunter Renfroe, Dominic Leone and Tyler Anderson were put on waivers and then other clubs followed suit, though to a less significant degree. The Yankees had no hope of avoiding the CBT but were slipping in the standings and had no use for an impending free agent like Harrison Bader. It was a similar situation with the Mets and Carlos Carrasco. The Tigers and White Sox weren't going to be CBT payors but made José Cisnero and Mike Clevinger available, simply hoping to cut costs.

Because the waiver priority order goes in reverse order of standings, the clubs best positioned to benefit were those just on the fringes of contention. The teams buried in the standings would have no motivation to grab such players and take on salary while the teams at the top of the standings would get last dibs in the waiver process. The Guardians claimed Giolito, López and Moore while the Reds grabbed Bader and Renfroe.

It doesn't seem like this trend will stop here in 2024. This year, Kevin Kiermaier, Ty France and Josh Bell have already been on waivers at some point. All three players cleared and were ultimately traded prior to the deadline, with some money changing hands in each of those deals. Others will surely follow them in the weeks to come, but clubs won't be able to work out trades involving cash considerations. The claiming club will have to take on all that's left of the contract from the waiving club.

Logically, these players will be available on waivers before the end of August. Players acquired after that time are not postseason eligible, which limits the attraction, though it could still happen. After the Guards fell from contention, they put Moore back on waivers just a few weeks after claiming him, and the Marlins nabbed him at that time. He made four scoreless appearances for Miami, helping them squeak into the playoffs, but wasn't eligible to join the club in the postseason.

So who could be available this time around? The most likely players are those making a notable salary on a club that could fall back in the playoff race, particularly one with CBT concerns. But an underwater contract won't be terribly appealing, so the player should still have some utility that makes it at least vaguely justifiable for the claiming club to take on some money. Many of these will require the team to really perform poorly in the next few weeks, making them long-shot possibilities, but let's take a look at some of the most interesting guys who could plausibly fit the bill.

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Adbert Alzolay To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Cubs right-hander Adbert Alzolay will undergo Tommy John surgery, per manager Craig Counsell. Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times relayed the news on X. It was reported last week that the righty would be going under the knife but the specific nature of the procedure had not yet been determined. He’ll miss the remainder of this season and could miss all of 2025 as well.

It’s obviously an unfortunate blow for Alzolay and the Cubs. The righty seemed to unlock something last year after moving from a starting role to a full-time relief role. He tossed 64 innings over 58 appearances for the Cubs last year, allowing 2.67 earned runs per nine. He struck out 26.5% of batters faced, limited walks to a 5.1% clip and kept the ball on the ground 42.2% of the time. He even secured the closer’s job, nabbing 22 saves last year.

He did miss about two weeks in September with a right forearm strain, which now looks in hindsight like it was an omen of what was to come in 2024. He made 18 appearances to start this year but with less effectiveness. He only struck out 17.3% of batters faced and had an ERA of 4.67. The Cubs put him on the IL on May 13, announcing that he had a right forearm strain. The next day, they told reporters that imaging confirmed Alzolay had a right flexor strain, per Lee on X.

There was still some hope of him returning, as he started a rehab assignment in July. But he made just three appearances there before it was reported that he would require some type of surgery, which was a vague update until today’s developments.

Now that he’s slated for the worst-case scenario of Tommy John surgery, Alzolay’s entire 2025 season is in jeopardy. Pitchers usually require 14 months or more to come back from such a significant operation, a timeline that will make it possible he won’t see official game action until 2026. He’s currently 29 years old but will turn 31 in March of 2026.

He reached arbitration for the first time coming into this year and is making a salary of $2.11MM. Given how much time he has missed, the Cubs could retain him around that price for 2025 but likely wouldn’t get anything for that investment except the right to hold onto Alzolay’s rights for the 2026 campaign, the last before he’s slated for free agency. Teams and players in this situation will sometimes work out an extension to cover the rehab period and the pitcher’s planned return to the mound, so perhaps the Cubs will talk to Alzolay’s reps this winter about such an arrangement.

In the meantime, the club’s bullpen figures to be in flux, for this year and next. Héctor Neris is handling the closing duties this year but isn’t a guarantee to come back in 2025 as his one-year deal has a $9MM club option that converts to a player option if he makes 60 appearances this year. He’s currently at 42. Mark Leiter Jr. is leading the team in holds but he was traded to the Yankees prior to the deadline. Yency Almonte and Porter Hodge are tied for second in that category but Almonte is done for the year due to shoulder surgery. Tyson Miller and Drew Smyly are next on that list but Smyly is likely headed for the open market as his deal has a 2025 mutual option and those are almost never picked up by both sides.

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