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Padres, Twins Among Teams Interested In J.C. Escarra

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Reports earlier in July indicated that J.C. Escarra was drawing trade interest, and Francys Romero writes that the Padres and Twins are two of the clubs most recently asking about the Yankees catcher.  Escarra was optioned to Triple-A just today, leaving Austin Wells and Ben Rice as the catching options on New York’s active roster, and underlining the team’s depth at the position.

Escarra earned his first taste of MLB playing time by making the team out of Spring Training, and acting as Wells’ primary backup while Rice has seen more time at DH and first base than behind the plate.  The backstop’s chief calling card has been his outstanding framing ability, even if his blocking and caught-stealing numbers leave much to be desired.

Escarra’s first 97 career plate appearances in the Show have seen him hit .205/.299/.337, with a .217 BABIP that is perhaps obscuring some better production.  Though Escarra isn’t making much hard contact, he is making a lot of contact period, as he has almost as many walks (11) as strikeouts (14).  His hitting record beyond the majors is inconsistent, but Escarrra hit well at the Triple-A level in 2024, and he got himself on the Yankees’ radar after crushing the ball in 2022-23 during stints in the independent leagues and in the Mexican League.

Given this journeyman background, Escarra is basically found money for the Yankees, so he may be expendable given the team’s other available catchers at both the MLB and minor league levels.  Wells, Rice, and Escarra are the only catchers with any big league experience in the organization, though another veteran could be signed to a minors contract to provide some depth if Escarra did get moved.

The appeal is obvious for the Padres, whose cumulative -0.7 bWAR from the catching position is the lowest in the majors.  With Elias Diaz and Martin Maldonado providing almost nothing, the Padres would have little to lose in seeing what Escarra can do with some regular playing time.  San Diego has one of the lowest strikeout rates of any team in baseball, so Escarra’s high-contact ways are a fit with the Padres’ approach.

Diaz and Maldonado are both free agents after the season.  The Twins have Ryan Jeffers arbitration-controlled through 2026 but Christian Vazquez is an impending free agent.  Like with San Diego, Minnesota’s catching position has also been a weak link, with Jeffers, Vazquez, and (for one game) Mickey Gasper combining for 0.3 bWAR.

At age 30, Escarra may not exactly be a long-term prospect, but he is controllable through the 2030 season.  Either the Padres or Twins could see the catcher as a fairly inexpensive upgrade to their needs behind the plate both this year and in the future.  The Twins are in seller mode, and such players as Willi Castro, Harrison Bader, Griffin Jax, and Danny Coulombe have been linked to New York in recent rumors.  It isn’t known if these Minnesota players could still be on the radar or not, as the Yankees’ acquisitions of Amed Rosario and Austin Slater specifically might’ve made Castro or Bader redundant.

Astros Interested In Sandy Alcantara

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The Astros and Marlins are discussing a trade that would send Sandy Alcantara to Houston, according to reporter Michael Schwab.  “Both sides are serious and interested,” as per Schwab, but there isn’t any indication that a deal is close to happening.  USA Today’s Bob Nightengale regards Houston’s interest in Alcantara as a bit of a pivot, as talks with the Padres about Dylan Cease “have cooled.”

Alcantara missed the 2024 season due to Tommy John surgery, and his return to action this year has been mixed at best.  The right-hander has a 6.36 ERA over 109 innings, with lot of hard contact allowed and a 16.8% strikeout rate that would represent a career low.  There have been a few flashes of vintage Alcantara, and his last two starts have seen the former NL Cy Young Award winner toss 12 innings with only a single unearned run allowed.  Alcantara’s fastball is still averaging 97.5mph, which is down from the 98mph he averaged during the 2021-23 seasons, yet that isn’t an egregious drop considering the righty’s long layoff.

As perhaps the top premium trade chip the Marlins have left after their latest fire sale, Alcantara’s shaky performance represents a challenge for the front office.  The Fish could simply wait until the offseason to try and re-visit trade talks, perhaps after Alcantara has posted better numbers in the final two months to boost his value.  Or, the Marlins could trade Alcantara before tomorrow’s deadline if a rival team comes close to matching (or even matches) what was surely a high initial asking price for the hurler’s services.

Despite Alcantara’s struggles, the Mets, Cubs, Red Sox, and Padres remained linked to his trade market.  San Diego’s interest is related to the Cease talks, as the speculation has been that the Padres could both deal Cease (an impending free agent) to address multiple roster needs, while then adding another starting pitcher either as part of the return for Cease for in another deal altogether.

Cease was reportedly the Astros’ top deadline target, so this turn towards Alcantara could represent a number of things.  It could be simply due diligence on Houston’s part, or a sign that the talks with San Diego are going nowhere because the Padres wish to retain Cease, or perhaps a sign that the Padres are more motivated to send Cease elsewhere.

Whereas Cease is a rental, Alcantara is controlled through the 2027 season.  He is owed the remainder of his $17MM salary for 2025, $17MM more in 2026, and Miami has a $21MM club option for 2027 that contains a $2MM buyout.  Adding Alcantara over Cease would be a whole new financial ballgame for the Astros, who made an effort to stay under the luxury tax threshold this past winter.

With the Mariners and Rangers charging hard in the AL West race, Astros owner Jim Crane may be willing to pay into the tax again in order to give his team some much-needed reinforcements.  If the pre-TJ version of Alcantara emerges, his salary suddenly looks like a relative bargain for a frontline pitcher.  Framber Valdez is also a free agent after the season, so the Astros could view Alcantara as a longer-term replacement if Valdez walks.

Astros Interested In Dylan Cease

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TODAY: Cease is the Astros’ “main target,” a source tells MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.

JULY 29: The Astros have Padres right-hander Dylan Cease atop their deadline wish list, according to a report from Ken Rosenthal and Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Houston is also known to be looking for a bat and the report lists Willi Castro of the Twins, Jesús Sánchez of the Marlins and Jake McCarthy of the Diamondbacks as names the Astros are considering. MLBTR covered Houston’s interested in Castro earlier this week.

The Houston rotation has had a rough go in terms of health this year. They started the season with Luis Garcia, J.P. France and Cristian Javier on the injured list due to surgeries in previous years. They’re all still on the shelf. Since the start of the season, Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski have required Tommy John surgery, putting them out for the rest of the year. Spencer Arrighetti suffered a fractured thumb in a freak accident, getting hit during batting practice, and has been out for almost three months now. In the past two weeks, Lance McCullers Jr. hit the IL with a blister and Brandon Walter was sidelined by elbow inflammation.

They still have a strong one-two punch atop the rotation with Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown but things get dicey after that. Currently, Colton Gordon, Ryan Gusto and Jason Alexander are filling in. The Astros will naturally want to add some arms and push those guys down the depth chart. It’s possible they could get some guys off the IL in the coming months, but it’s understandable that they don’t want to rely on that.

Cease has been one of the most reliable pitchers in the game. Since getting promoted in 2019, he hasn’t gone on the injured list, apart from a two-day stint on the COVID list in 2021. He made 12 starts in the shortened 2020 season. He has made at least 32 starts in each full season since. He’s already up to 22 this year.

That reliability would certainly be attractive to the Astros amid all the injuries, though the quality has often been quite strong as well, as Cease has regularly struck out roughly 30% of batters faced. His earned run average has oscillated over the years thanks to some wobbles in his batting average on balls in play, strand rate and home run rate. His advanced metrics have held more steady. For his career, he has a 3.69 FIP and 3.82. In a full season, he’s never had a SIERA higher than 4.10 or a FIP higher than 3.72.

This year’s 4.79 ERA in on the high side, though at least part of that seems to be beyond Cease’s control. His .323 BABIP, 68.5% strand rate and 13.3% homer to fly ball rate are all to the unfortunate side. His 3.64 FIP and 3.37 SIERA suggest he’s largely been the same guy as in previous seasons. His ERA is also inflated a bit by a nine-run shellacking in his third start of the year.

Though Cease makes plenty of sense for the Astros on the field, there are other matters to consider. He is making $13.75MM this year, which leaves about $4.5MM left to be paid out. The Astros have clearly tried to avoid the competitive balance tax this year, dumping money in the offseason by trading Kyle Tucker and Ryan Pressly. RosterResource currently pegs the club’s CBT number at $236MM, just $5MM from the base threshold of the tax. That’s just an estimate and it might be off by a few million in either direction.

Perhaps the Astros can add Cease and stay under the line but they also want to add a bat, which could make it tricky. On the other hand, the report from The Athletic suggests that owner Jim Crane likes star players and might be willing to cross the line in order to get someone like Cease. He was reportedly willing to cross the line in the offseason in order to re-sign Alex Bregman, though Bregman ultimately landed with the Red Sox.

The Astros will also have to offer the Padres something they would like. The Friars aren’t selling in the commonly understood sense. Their plan with dealing Cease is to perhaps save some money, add a left fielder or a catcher, or prospects, or some combination of those goals. They could then use either the prospects or the saved money to acquire another starting pitching to replace Cease.

Houston doesn’t have a strong farm system, so perhaps the prospect part will be hard for them to pull off, though they could help out in some of the other areas. Catcher Victor Caratini is having a good year, though Yainer Diaz is struggling, so perhaps the Astros wouldn’t want to part with Caratini. Though if they did, Caratini is making $6MM this year, so flipping him would give the Astros some extra CBT space.

In the outfield, the Astros are currently without Jake Meyers and Yordan Alvarez. Their current mix includes Cam Smith, Taylor Trammell, Jose Altuve, Jacob Melton, Cooper Hummel and Chas McCormick. Houston’s not giving a ton of playing time to McCormick, who has some decent seasons on his track record. However, he hasn’t been good for a couple of years now, so the Padres probably don’t have too much interest. Trammell has been hitting well lately but while striking out in more than 30% of his plate appearances. Hummel has been DFA fodder all year. Altuve and Smith aren’t going anywhere. Melton might be hard to pry loose because he hits left-handed, something the Astros lack, and is covering center field with Meyers out.

The report from The Athletic points out that the Astros traded three notable prospects to get a rental pitcher at last year’s deadline, flipping Jake Bloss, Joey Loperfido and Will Wagner to the Jays for Yusei Kikuchi. Perhaps they could do so again, though it’s unclear if they have the farm system to do it.

If they have some guys the Padres like, it’s theoretically possible that the Friars could then use those guys to upgrade elsewhere. A sequence of events like this helped them land Cease in the first place. They traded Juan Soto to the Yankees for a bunch of pitchers, including Michael King and Drew Thorpe. They then quickly put Thorpe in a package to send to the White Sox to get Cease. Perhaps the Astros can make it work but they will have competition. Cease has also been connected to the Mets, Cubs, Blue Jays, Rays, Red Sox and Yankees.

As for the hitters, the Astros have also suffered a number of injuries to the lineup. As mentioned, Alvarez and Meyers are on the shelf, as well as shortstop Jeremy Peña, third baseman Isaac Paredes and others. Astros general manager Dana Brown has said the club would love to get a lefty bat, ideally one who could play the infield and/or left field. Players like Altuve, Mauricio Dubón and Zack Short have some defensive versatility, giving the Astros a bit of flexibility in what kind of bat they add.

Sánchez has been a roughly league average bat in his time with the Marlins. He has a .243/.310/.425 career batting line and a wRC+ of exactly 100. He is making $4.5MM this year, which leaves about $1.5MM left to be paid out. He can be controlled via arbitration for another two seasons. He’s been far better against righties in his career, which could appeal to Houston. He has a .179/.228/.287 slash against southpaws but a .258/.330/.459 line otherwise. The rebuilding Marlins likely aren’t clinging too tightly to him.

McCarthy has been good in the past but not this year. He slashed .285/.349/.400 for a 110 wRC+ in 2024, also adding 25 steals and quality defense. This year, he has a brutal .158/.232/.277 line and was sent to the minors for a few months. He did hit well in Triple-A, slashing .314/.401/.440, so perhaps the Astros see a path to getting him back on track. He still hasn’t qualified for arbitration and is being paid around the league minimum, which would be attractive for the Astros.

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

Padres Interested In Mason Miller, Continuing To Pursue Jarren Duran

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The Padres continue to lurk on some of the top potential trade candidates. Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic wrote this afternoon that San Diego remains enamored with Red Sox left fielder Jarren Duran. Dennis Lin and Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic write that the Friars are involved on Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan as well. Lin and Rosenthal also report that the Padres have interest in A’s flamethrower Mason Miller.

Miller remains a long shot trade candidate but would be one of the most impactful arms available if the A’s seriously consider dealing him. Rosenthal reported this afternoon that the Phillies, Mets and Yankees had all been in touch with the A’s. The Phils and Mets were evidently deterred by the asking price. Philadelphia went on to acquire Jhoan Duran, while the Mets added Ryan Helsley. The Yankees have not pivoted to a different late-game weapon. However, SNY’s Andy Martino suggested this evening that the A’s asking price was high enough that talks with the Yanks had yet to become especially serious.

The Padres have two prospects on Baseball America’s most recent Top 100 update: infielder Leo De Vries at #5 and catcher Ethan Salas at #65. They’d previously been reluctant to part with either player. Salas’ stock has dipped in recent months, largely because of a back injury that has kept him on the minor league injured list since late April. Salas is still a very good prospect, but De Vries is the clear top talent in the system.

San Diego could have a tough time acquiring an impact player with multiple years of control unless they’re willing to put De Vries on the table. Rosenthal and Lin write that the Padres are at least willing to discuss De Vries and Salas in trade conversations. It stands to reason they’d prefer to build a package around the latter, but his injury might make that difficult right now.

MassLive’s Sean McAdam suggested last week that the Red Sox rebuffed a framework built around Salas and Dylan Cease in talks on Jarren Duran. McCaffrey suggested today that Boston would be more open to building a Duran package around Cease and De Vries. That might be a bridge too far for San Diego.

The Padres’ interest in Miller comes as the Friars are simultaneously considering trading away MLB pitching. They’ve been open to offers on Cease for a few days, listening on the impending free agent starter while separately acquiring controllable pitching. There’d be a similar logic in shopping closer Robert Suarez, who may opt out of the remaining two years and $16MM on his contract. Jon Heyman of The New York Post relayed this morning that Suarez is indeed in play in talks with other clubs. (As impending free agents, neither Cease nor Suarez would be of any interest to the A’s.)

San Diego could try to arrange a Suarez deal while making a push for Miller to replace him in the ninth inning. Rosenthal and Lin also float the possibility of the Padres stretching Miller back out as a starting pitcher. That’d be a very difficult ask midseason but could be more viable next spring. Miller moved to the bullpen because of a concerning injury history that included shoulder and elbow issues. Throwing as hard as he does puts plenty of stress on a pitcher’s arm. Still, the upside of returning Miller to a rotation role would be tantalizing. The Padres have had success with Seth Lugo, Michael King and (to a much lesser extent) Stephen Kolek as reliever to rotation conversions. Cease and King are impending free agents, and there’s not much in the way of controllable starting pitching to go around.

None of this is to say that San Diego making a blockbuster acquisition is likely. The A’s control Miller for four and a half seasons. They’re not going to trade him for anything less than a monster haul. It’d take a bigger return than what the Phillies sent to Minnesota for two and a half years of control over Jhoan Duran: top 100 catching prospect Eduardo Tait and young starter Mick Abel. That’s probably also true for Jarren Duran and Kwan, All-Star caliber outfielders who are controllable for multiple seasons. A lot could hinge on De Vries, but if the Padres are genuinely willing to consider dealing one of the 10 or so best prospects in the sport, that’d open plenty of opportunities for a huge swing.

MLBTR Podcast: Megapod Trade Deadline Preview

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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 and Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss various trade deadline topics, including…

Check out our past episodes!

  • David Robertson, Trade Chips For The O’s and A’s, And What The Rangers Could Do – listen here
  • Rays’ Ownership, The Phillies Target Bullpen Help, And Bubble Teams – listen here
  • Firings in Washington, Bad Braves, And An AL East Shake-Up – listen here

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

Photo courtesy of Geoff Burke, Imagn Images

Padres Interested In JoJo Romero

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The Cardinals’ bullpen should look quite a bit different in 36 hours than it does now. Closer Ryan Helsley is one of the most coveted available relievers and is very likely to move. Phil Maton and Steven Matz are impending free agents who should be traded as well. There hasn’t been as much public attention on southpaw JoJo Romero, but he’s another trade candidate.

Katie Woo of The Athletic reports that the Padres are among the teams to show interest in Romero. St. Louis has presumably received interest from a few clubs on the 28-year-old lefty, who carries a 2.12 ERA across 34 innings. Romero has fanned 24% of batters faced with a 52.9% ground-ball rate. He has collected 16 holds without blowing a lead all year, and he’s coming up on three months of quiet excellence.

Romero had a rocky April, allowing eight runs (seven earned) with seven walks and strikeouts apiece in 10 1/3 innings. He has allowed just four runs, one earned, since that point. Romero owns a 0.38 ERA with a 28.1% strikeout rate while keeping opposing hitters to a .200/.277/.271 slash line over his past 27 appearances. While he’s obviously not going to maintain that level of dominance, he has fired 93 innings of 2.90 ERA ball while picking up 46 holds over the past season and a half. He has gotten plus ground-ball marks with solid swing-and-miss rates while sitting around 94 MPH on his fastball.

Unlike the trio of more frequently mentioned rentals in the St. Louis bullpen, Romero is under club control for another season. He’s playing on a $2.26MM salary this year and should land in the $4-5MM range for his final arbitration campaign. The Cardinals should nevertheless look to move him to a clearer contender this summer, especially if they lower their already diminished playoff odds by trading Helsley and Maton.

San Diego has a trio of left-handers in the bullpen. Adrian Morejon is among the best in baseball. Romero would be a more reliable second option than Wandy Peralta or Yuki Matsui. Adding to the bullpen could be viewed as a luxury buy for a team with clearer holes in left field and throughout the bench. President of baseball operations A.J. Preller has left the door open to further adding to an already excellent relief group. It’s also possible they could acquire a leverage reliever while dealing away one of their current late-inning arms (most likely closer Robert Suarez) for outfield or rotation help.

Padres Interested In Anthony Bender

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The Padres are one of multiple clubs with trade interest in Marlins right-hander Anthony Bender, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.  Bender was listed 38th on MLBTR’s most recent ranking of the top 50 trade deadline candidates, and he is a controllable player who isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2027 season.

A 20th-round pick for the Royals back in the 2016 draft, Bender has spent all four of his Major League seasons in Miami, where he has quietly established himself as a very solid bullpen arm.  Bender has a career 2.98 ERA over 178 innings, including a 1.83 ERA over 44 1/3 frames this season.  The grounder specialist has a 50% groundball rate, and Bender’s key pitch is a sweeper that has dominated opposing batters since the reliever introduced the pitch to his arsenal prior to the 2024 season.

Bender’s strikeout rates have been inconsistent, and his modest 19.9 K% this year is well below the league average.  As a groundball pitcher, batted-ball luck is a more prominent factor in Bender’s results, and his .188 BABIP explains why his SIERA (4.16) is far above his eye-opening ERA.  Bender has also allowed a lot of hard contact this year but not high-impact contact, as he has strong barrel metrics and has given up only three homers in his 44 1/3 innings this year (and 14 home runs in his career).

The Marlins haven’t really had a primary closer this season, and Bender has been in the mix by recording three saves.  It would seem that most teams interested in his services would probably view him as a set-up man more than a closer candidate, though the Padres’ situation is interesting in this regard.  Closer Robert Suarez is technically under contract through the 2027 season, though he is widely expected to opt out of the final two years of his deal and test free agency this winter, making him unofficially something of a rental player heading into the deadline.

There has been speculation that the Padres could look to trim some salary by dealing Suarez to a team in need of saves, and then having one (or a closer committee) of Jeremiah Estrada, Jason Adam, and Adrian Morejon handle the ninth inning.  Bender could hypothetically be added to this mix, giving San Diego another experienced arm for high-leverage work.  The Padres are known to be working within pretty tight payroll parameters while trying to remain in contention, so trading Suarez and acquiring a reliever like Bender at a lower cost would be a creative way of threading the needle.

It should be noted that Miami is 25-14 over its last 39 games, bringing the Fish up to a 50-55 record.  While this is a sign that the rebuild is moving in a positive direction, there is no indication that the Marlins will be doing anything but selling before Thursday’s trade deadline.  Cal Quantrill is the only impending free agent on Miami’s roster, so the Marlins seem likely to trade from their long list of controllable players with some MLB experience (like Bender) to continue to add more young talent.

Padres Getting Interest In Stephen Kolek, Ryan Bergert

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It wouldn’t be trade deadline season with Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller exploring a variety of creative deals. San Diego is reportedly open to offers on right-hander Dylan Cease while simultaneously showing interest in other short-term veterans to backfill his spot in the rotation. They’re also getting trade inquiries on young righties Stephen Kolek and Ryan Bergert, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Pitching prospects Henry Baez and Braden Nett are also among the names on which other clubs have expressed interest.

Kolek, 28, was a Rule 5 pick back in 2023 and stuck with the Friars in a bullpen role all last year. He’s moved into the rotation this season and given San Diego 13 starts and 73 2/3 innings of 4.28 ERA ball. Kolek doesn’t miss many bats (17.3% strikeout rate, 7.7% swinging-strike rate) but has good command (7.4% walk rate) and keeps the ball on the ground (50.4%). He’s given up plenty of hard contact, but his lack of fly-balls has helped to keep the home runs down.

It’s not the flashiest profile, but if another club buys into Kolek as a roughly league-average starter in his second pre-arbitration season — with four years of club control remaining after the current campaign — there’s some value in that skill set. Controllable starting pitching is always in demand, and while he’s not necessarily an electric young arm with big velocity and strikeout numbers, Kolek has more than held his own in 2025 and still has two minor league option years remaining after this season.

The 25-year-old Bergert is younger and also in the first of three option years. He entered the season ranked among San Diego’s top 15 prospects or so and has elevated his status with a nice showing in Triple-A El Paso and a promising start to his big league career.

In 44 2/3 Triple-A frames, Bergert carries a 4.03 ERA with a 22.6% strikeout rate, 9.2% walk rate and 45% grounder rate. The Padres gave him his big league debut in late April, and he’s since appeared in a total of 10 games — six of them starts. Bergert has impressed with a 2.84 earned run average, 23.1% strikeout rate and 10.8% walk rate. He’s primarily a fastball/slider pitcher with a show-me changeup and sinker that he’s used less than 8% of the time each.

Trading either Bergert or Kolek could help the Padres reel in a veteran bat in left field or behind the plate — or it could simply bring back multiple prospects who could be redirected to those trade efforts. Bergert, who was optioned earlier this month, has spent enough time in the minors that he still has a full six years of club control beyond the current season. As with Kolek, he’s not necessarily the potential high-end young starter teams covet, but he has the makings of a useful back-end starter who could in theory be plugged right into a new team’s rotation.

As for the 22-year-old Baez and 23-year-old Nett, they’re both pitching in the Double-A rotation and posting strong numbers. Baez doesn’t throw as hard or miss as many bats but has better command with higher ground-ball totals. He’s already on the 40-man roster. Nett has more velocity and a strikeout rate that’s a couple percentage points higher than his teammate but also a walk rate pushing 11%. He’d be Rule 5-eligible this winter and seems likely to be selected to the 40-man before then. Either could be a plausible option for a big league club by next season, so it’s hardly surprising to see teams poking around both pitchers.

Padres Interested In Luis Robert Jr., Ramón Laureano

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The Padres have been looking for left field solutions for a while. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports that they are interested in Steven Kwan of the Guardians, Luis Robert Jr. of the White Sox and Ramón Laureano of the Orioles. Their interest in Kwan was reported earlier this week.

Robert has been one of the clearest trade candidates for a while now. The Sox have been aggressively rebuilding and he’s not in their long-term plans. He’s in the final guaranteed year of his contract. There are a pair of $20MM club with $2MM buyouts. However, his mercurial production and frequent injury issues have made those seem less attractive.

He is at least in a good stretch now. In early June, he sat out a few games to focus on some adjustments to his approach. He had a .177/.266/.286 batting line at that time. Since then, he has hit .266/.349/.457 for a 122 wRC+. Even when he was struggling, he was still hitting lefties, stealing bases and fielding well. His improved offense of late won’t totally erase the memories of his slumps but it should help somewhat.

There have been some rumblings that the Sox could hold Robert and exercise the option if they don’t get an offer to their liking but that feels like an unwise path. They have already missed chances to sell him when his value was presumably higher. He had a great 2023 season but the Sox didn’t trade him at that time, when they could have felt they had four affordable years of club control. But in 2024, he was largely hurt and underperforming, which cut into his value. Holding him at that point and hoping for a bounceback was defensible, but then he his struggles carried over into the early parts of 2025.

Though he’s been better lately, he’s been inconsistent enough that it would be a real risk to hold him. It’s entirely possible that more injuries or slumps pop up in the second half, which would make it harder to justify picking up the option.

Laureano is also a logical candidate to move in the next week. The Orioles are in the midst of a disappointing season and are clear sellers. They’re not going to move controllable core pieces but general manager Mike Elias has admitted they will be looking to move guys who are “coming towards the end of their contracts.”

That should include Laureano, though he’s not strictly a rental. His one-year deal contains a club option for 2026. The O’s could keep him but he’s not a foundational piece for them, so they should be open to offers.

It also makes sense to sell him now since his career has been up-and-down but he’s been hot lately. He has 14 home runs and a .277/.337/.521 line this year, which translates to a 137 wRC+. He was sitting on a tepid .188/.216/.438 line at the end of April but has gone off since then with a .300/.366/.542 line.

For a few years now, the Padres have been dealing with a tight budget and various roster concerns. They traded Juan Soto ahead of the 2024 season, saving some money and adding rotation depth. They backfilled some of Soto’s production by signing Jurickson Profar for $1MM, which worked surprisingly well, though that also priced him out of San Diego’s range for this year.

The Friars tried to find low-cost solutions again. The first plan was a platoon of Jason Heyward and Connor Joe, who both got $1MM deals. However, both struggled and were off the roster before the end of June.

Another low-cost move is working out well. Gavin Sheets signed a minor league deal with the Padres ahead of this year. He has 14 home runs, a .253/.314/.424 slash line and a 109 wRC+. However, he’s not a strong defender in the outfield and would be better utilized at first base or in the designated hitter slot.

The trio of Sheets, Luis Arráez and Jake Cronenworth could cover first base, second base and DH if Sheets is no longer needed in left field. That would mean fewer plate appearances for Jose Iglesias, who is hitting .238/.297/.277. Tyler Wade and Trenton Brooks aren’t playing as often as Iglesias but are hitting .206/.309/.252 and .150/.190/.275, respectively.

Laureano has experience at all three outfield spots. Robert has only ever played center field. The Padres have Jackson Merrill in center, who is a strong defender. Since he’s signed through 2034, the Padres presumably wouldn’t move him for a short-term addition. Center fielders usually move to a corner spot with ease, so there shouldn’t be any real concern about Robert’s lack of experience in left.

With the Padres, the budget is an ongoing concern, as mentioned. Their offseason moves clearly showed a lack of financial wiggle room. In addition to Heyward and Joe, they gave small guarantees to Elias Díaz and Kyle Hart. They did give Nick Pivetta $55MM over four years but that deal is heavily backloaded, with the righty only making a $1MM salary this year, in addition to a $3MM signing bonus.

In addition to the financial concerns, the Padres have traded away a lot of prospects in recent years and their farm system isn’t well regarded. They have two strong pieces in Leo De Vries and Ethan Salas but all reporting has suggested the Friars want to hold those two.

It seems that president of baseball operations A.J. Preller is considering all kinds of scenarios in order to work around his constraints. Despite a questionable rotation, there have been a number of Dylan Cease rumors recently, though the Padres have also been connected to other starters such as Sandy Alcantara. It’s possible that Preller engineers a sort of musical chairs approach where he could trade Cease away for prospects or big league talent while saving some money and also bringing in other players. There have also been rumors that the Friars could subtract from or add to their bullpen.

That’s not unprecedented for the Friars. As mentioned, they flipped Soto ahead of last year for younger players, one of them being Drew Thorpe. Shortly thereafter, they used Thorpe as part of a package to get Cease. It’s possible that Preller again cooks up a number of trades that relate to each other.

Robert is making $15MM this year. About $5MM of that will be left to be paid out at the deadline, plus at least the $2MM buyout on his option. The Sox are reportedly willing to include cash in trading Robert, though that would be a way to extra prospect capital. The Padres would obviously welcome that financial arrangement but may not have the prospects, unless they get some in a Cease deal or some other trade.

Laureano is far more affordable, as he’s only making $4MM, which will leave roughly $1.33MM left to be paid out at the deadline. His 2026 club option is for $6.5MM with no buyout. If he stays hot through the end of the year, it’s possible that option looks like a good deal. In that scenario, the Padres could keep him for 2026 or flip him to another club in the winter.

The Padres have also been connected to Kwan and Jarren Duran of the Red Sox, though those are more long-shot candidates. Both of those players are affordably controlled beyond this season and their respective clubs are both still playoff contenders. Still, the Padres seem to be going over dozens of different trade permutations, so there are lots of different ways things could play out in the next week.

Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images

Red Sox Unlikely To Trade Jarren Duran This Summer

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With a 55-49 record and a seat at the Wild Card table, the Red Sox have seemingly played themselves out of selling this summer even after trading former franchise face Rafael Devers to the Giants last month. There’s been plenty of speculation about the possibility that they could trade from their glut of outfield talent and move Jarren Duran, but it seems as though that might not be in the cards—for now, at least. ESPN’s Jeff Passan recently wrote that the Red Sox might more or less stand pat this summer, while Jon Heyman of the New York Post noted that Boston is “believed” to be unlikely to move Duran despite considerable interest from the Padres.

Sean McAdam of MassLive provides further details on the situation surrounding Duran. He suggests that while a deal involving Duran is “likely” at some point, the Red Sox are inclined to hold off on making such a deal until the offseason. McAdam then goes on to note that the Padres offered Boston a three-player package of right-hander Dylan Cease, top catching prospect Ethan Salas, and an additional prospect not named Leo De Vries that was “quickly rejected.” That’s a fairly significant offer, particularly given the fact that the Red Sox had reportedly expressed interest in Cease previously in conversations with San Diego this summer.

Duran’s in the midst of a decent season but has taken a massive step back from his All-Star 2024 campaign that ended with an eighth place finish in a crowded NL MVP race. This year, Duran has hit just .254/.321/.428 with a wRC+ of 104 and below average defense in the outfield. While the Padres clearly still believe in the upside they saw when he put together a 6.8 fWAR, 8.7 bWAR season last year given their offer of a longtime top prospect and a front-of-the-rotation rental, it’s possible that the Red Sox are hoping for a strong second half from Duran that can raise his value headed into the offseason and potentially get the attention of other clubs besides San Diego.

Perhaps the Red Sox were willing to reject that offer from San Diego in part because the players they’d be acquiring are in the midst of down seasons themselves. Cease has long been viewed as one of the sport’s most talented pitchers, but he’s posted a 4.59 ERA that’s actually 10% worse than league average by ERA+ across 21 starts this year. His peripheral numbers remain strong and some of his poor season-long numbers can be attributed to a nine-run, four-inning implosion at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento back in April. Even so, Cease doesn’t carry the same surefire ace pedigree he would have had even one season ago. Salas is in no better shape, having been sidelined by a stress fracture in his back for most of 2025 following a tough season at the High-A level last year.

While the Padres have been frequently connected to Duran for quite some time now, they’re far from the only team for whom he’d be an excellent fit. The Phillies have a major hole in left field, the Astros are in desperate need of a left-handed bat to help balance their lineup, the Royals are in clear need of help all around the outfield, and even non-contending clubs in need of offense like the Pirates could make sense as a suitor for Duran given that he won’t reach free agency until after the 2028 season. That’s hardly an exhaustive list of teams that could make sense as a fit for Duran, as his combination of upside and long period of team control could make him attractive for virtually any team that isn’t already stacked with outfield talent themselves.

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