Cardinals Designate Giovanny Gallegos For Assignment
TODAY: The Cardinals weren’t able to find a taker for Gallegos before the trade deadline passed, so he’ll hit the waiver wire. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that the Cards will release Gallegos and eat his remaining salary if nobody makes a claim.
JULY 28: The Cardinals announced that right-hander Giovanny Gallegos has been designated for assignment. Right-hander Kyle Leahy was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move, and the Cards now have an open space on their 40-man roster.
The DFA underscores a disaster of a season for Gallegos, who has a 6.53 ERA over 21 appearances and 20 2/3 innings. After emerging as a cornerstone of the St. Louis bullpen from 2019-22, some red flags appeared last season when Gallegos’ ERA shot up to 4.42 (in 55 innings) as his strikeout rate declined and batters suddenly started to make much more solid contact against his offerings.
Things got worse for Gallegos this season, as he has allowed six homers over his 20 2/3 frames and his strikeout rate (22.3%) and walk rate (10.6%) are both career worsts. The sudden loss of control is particularly troubling, as even amidst Gallegos’ struggles in 2023, he still sat in the 92nd percentile of all pitchers in terms of walk rate. Health could be an issue since Gallegos missed a month and a half due to a shoulder impingement, though he wasn’t pitching well either before or after his stint on the 15-day injured list.
Despite these significant struggles, Gallegos’ track record means that he’ll likely catch on with another team pretty quickly, if perhaps not via waiver claim. A team that puts in a claim would assume the remainder of Gallegos’ salary — roughly $1.84MM in 2024 salary, plus a $500K buyout of his $6.5MM club option for the 2025 campaign.
Unless a trade is worked out during the DFA period and before Tuesday’s deadline, clubs might prefer to wait until Gallegos clears waivers and is then likely released by the Cardinals. A new team would then owe Gallegos just the prorated portion of a MLB minimum salary, and St. Louis would be on the hook for the remaining money owed. Since Gallegos has more than five years of MLB service time, he has the right to refuse an outright assignment from the Cardinals if he does clear waivers.
Led by star closer Ryan Helsley, the Cardinals have gotten solid results in general from their bullpen this season, with Gallegos uncharacteristically being the relief corps’ weak link. St. Louis, like most contenders, was known to be exploring the market for some bullpen reinforcements heading into the deadline, and moving Gallegos (and freeing up a 40-man roster spot) would hint that some kind of plans are in mind for the Cards before July 30.
Red Sox Acquire Luis Garcia From Angels
The Red Sox brought in their second high-leverage reliever of deadline season. Boston acquired hard-throwing righty Luis García from the Angels for four minor league players: first baseman Niko Kavadas, outfielder Matthew Lugo and pitchers Yeferson Vargas and Ryan Zeferjahn. The Sox had also acquired Lucas Sims from Cincinnati earlier in the day.
García, 37, was one of the better rental relievers available. He carries a 3.71 ERA through 43 2/3 innings. García is keeping the ball on the ground at a robust 51.2% clip while posting decent strikeout (22%) and walk (7.7%) numbers. That’s generally in line with his overall track record. García relies heavily on a power sinker to keep the ball down. His swing-and-miss rates are more solid than exceptional but it’s an effective profile overall.
Since the start of the 2021 season, García owns a 3.64 earned run average in 204 appearances between three teams. He has a 23.1% strikeout rate with a 7.5% walk percentage while getting grounders upwards of 54% of the time. It’s a different profile from Sims, who misses more bats but has less consistent strike-throwing ability.
The Halos signed García to a one-year, $4.25MM free agent deal over the winter. Los Angeles had completely overhauled its relief group via free agency last offseason. The García pickup was the only one that really worked as the front office envisioned. Boston assumes the roughly $1.39MM remaining on that contract through season’s end.
L.A.’s deft free agent pickup allowed them to net four minor leaguers. None of them are top prospects, but three of them could conceivably reach the majors late this year. Baseball America ranked Lugo 23rd in the Boston system. BA writes that the 23-year-old improved his plate discipline and has upped his offensive profile this season. The Puerto Rico native absolutely destroyed Double-A pitching at a .315/.405/.664 clip in the first half. He has a .250/.340/.452 line over 35 Triple-A games, where he’s striking out at a 27% rate. Lugo began his career as a shortstop prospect but seemingly projects to a corner outfield spot.
Kavadas, a Notre Dame product, has posted huge offensive numbers in Triple-A. He’s hitting .281/.424/.551 with 17 longballs through 335 trips to the dish. Kavadas doesn’t provide any kind of defensive value and he’s striking out a third of the time in the minors. It’s a difficult profile to pull off, but he has huge power and is on the doorstep of the majors.
Zeferjahn, 26, is a former third-rounder out of Kansas. The 6’5″ righty has a 3.52 ERA over 38 1/3 combined innings of relief between the top two minor league levels. He’s striking out 31.3% of opponents while issuing walks at an 11.8% clip. Vargas, a 19-year-old righty out of the Dominican Republic, is the one low minors development play of the group. He just reached Low-A after throwing 31 2/3 innings in the complex league.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported the Red Sox were acquiring García. Sam Blum of the Athletic reported the Angels’ return.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Orioles To Acquire Gregory Soto
The Phillies traded reliever Gregory Soto to the Orioles, reports Jim Salisbury (on X). Pitching prospect Seth Johnson is going to Philadelphia, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN (X link). Pitching prospect Moises Chace is also going to the Phils, reports Todd Zolecki of MLB.com (on X).
Soto, a 29-year-old lefty, has a 4.08 ERA, 26.7 K%, 12.1 BB%, and 50% groundball rate in 35 1/3 innings for the Phillies this year. Manager Rob Thomson has moved Soto down the bullpen depth chart in recent months, well before the club added Carlos Estevez and Tanner Banks in recent trades. Still, Soto averages 98.4 miles per hour on his fastball and is under team control next year as an arbitration eligible player. He’s earning a decent salary of $5MM on the season. Soto, who came up with the Tigers, joined the Phillies in a January 2023 trade.
With the Phillies’ CBT payroll sitting right around the second luxury tax threshold of $257MM, perhaps he was a luxury in a bullpen with Jeff Hoffman, , Matt Strahm, Orion Kerkering, Jose Alvarado, and Estevez.
Just four days ago, the Phillies shipped reliever Seranthony Dominguez to the Orioles for outfielder Austin Hays. It’s been an interesting pair of swaps between first-place clubs, and with the Orioles turning to the Phillies to supplement their bullpen behind Craig Kimbrel and Yennier Cano. The Orioles, who also added starters Zach Eflin and Trevor Rogers in deadline deals, don’t share the Phillies’ payroll concerns.
Johnson, a 25-year-old righty, sports a 2.63 ERA, 22.6 K%, 13.0 BB%, and 40.4% groundball rate in 18 Double-A starts. Drafted 40th overall by the Rays in 2019, Johnson went to the Orioles at the trade deadline two years ago in a three-team deal involving Trey Mancini and Jose Siri. MLB.com gave him a 45 grade, noting, “He maintains the ceiling of a mid-rotation starter, though his age and placement on the 40-man roster could push Johnson into a bullpen role in the short term.” Prior to the season, Baseball America assigned Johnson a 50 grade and had a similar outlook.
Chace, 21, has mostly had 3-4 inning outings in High-A this year. He’s missed a healthy amount of bats with a 34.2 K%, but allowed plenty of walks with a 13.5 BB%. Chace’s pitching coach, Jordie Henry, said to Baseball America’s Jon Meoli, “Even when he does have those [command] hiccups, knowing that we already know his ceiling at this level is really, really exciting.”
Giants Acquire Mark Canha
Mark Canha is headed back to the Bay Area. The Giants acquired the veteran outfielder from the Tigers for minor league reliever Eric Silva.
It’s surprising to see the Giants swing a late deal for an impending free agent. San Francisco had been positioned more as sellers in the few days leading up to the deadline. They subtracted a few players on guaranteed contracts (e.g. Jorge Soler, Luke Jackson, Alex Cobb) but resisted a more significant roster shakeup. The Giants held the likes of Blake Snell, Michael Conforto and LaMonte Wade Jr.
Their late pivot to Canha suggests they’re still holding onto some hope of erasing a four-game deficit in the NL Wild Card picture. While they weren’t super active buyers, they can rotate Canha through designated hitter in the hope that he can approximate Soler’s lost production. The 35-year-old isn’t having his best season, carrying a .231/.337/.350 slash over 377 plate appearances. He’s drawing walks at a strong 11.1% clip but only has seven homers. His 21% strikeout rate is around league average and up more than four percentage points from last season.
It’s Canha’s worst offensive season since he established himself as an above-average player six years ago. He has continued to hit while put in favorable platoon situations, though. Canha owns an impressive .286/.400/.457 slash versus lefty pitching. San Francisco’s corner outfield and first base mix is very left-handed. Each of Wade, Conforto and Mike Yastrzemski hit from that side of the plate. Canha can spell anyone from that trio against southpaws while potentially taking some situational work at designated hitter, where Marco Luciano is expected to get the majority of the playing time.
Canha is a San Jose native who played collegiately at Berkeley. He spent the bulk of his career across the Bay Area with the A’s, where he played for current Giants skipper Bob Melvin. That surely played a role in the Giants taking a flier on him as a rebound target. They’re assuming roughly $3.77MM remaining on his $11.5MM salary. San Francisco is in the first luxury tax bracket and taxed at a 20% rate on that money. Their overall acquisition cost comes out to roughly $4.5MM. Canha will return to free agency at year’s end.
San Francisco also parts way with Silva, whom they drafted in the fourth round in 2021. He began his career as a starting pitching prospect but has worked exclusively in relief this year. The 21-year-old righty has spent the season at Double-A Richmond, working to a 4.35 earned run average through 41 1/3 frames. He’s striking out upwards of 29% of batters faced against a 10.3% walk rate.
Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris was in the San Francisco front office back in 2021. He’s surely familiar with Silva, whom Baseball America ranked as the #25 prospect in the San Francisco farm system. He’ll be eligible for the Rule 5 draft during the 2025-26 offseason.
Robert Murray of FanSided first reported the Giants were acquiring Canha. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel was first to report Silva was headed to Detroit.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Rays Acquire Dylan Carlson
Dylan Carlson is on his way to the Rays, as MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (X links) report that Tampa has acquired the former Cardinals top prospect for right-hander Shawn Armstrong. The Angels, Guardians, and Nationals were all linked to Carlson’s market leading up to the deadline, but it was Tampa who sealed the deal for the 25-year-old outfielder. Ronald Blum of the Associated Press reports that St. Louis included around $98K in the deal.
Trade speculation has swirled around Carlson for years, even when he was on the way up the ladder as one of the top minor leaguers in the St. Louis farm system. Both before and after Carlson made his MLB debut in 2020, there were whispers that the crowded nature of the Cards’ outfield picture might inspire the team to move Carlson to address another need, and it is perhaps now easy to second-guess the Cardinals’ decision to retain a player they once saw as a building block.
Carlson seemingly lived up to that early hype with a third-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2021, but injuries curtailed both his production and his playing time in 2022-23. A left hamstring strain and a thumb sprain hampered him in 2022, and ankle problems (and an eventual ankle surgery) limited Carlson to 76 games in 2023. Playing in 204 of 324 games over the 2022-23 seasons, Carlson hit .230/316/.364 over 743 plate appearances.
The struggles continued into this year, as Carlson has a .198/.275/.240 slash line in 138 PA while in a clear part-time capacity. Still just 25 years old, Carlson will now get a change of scenery with this trade to the Rays and a chance at a fresh start to his Major League career.
The Rays’ flurry of deadline moves has left plenty of opening around the roster, including the left field spot recently occupied by Randy Arozarena. Carlson’s center field defense has been declining along with his offense, but the metrics indicate that he is an average to solid defender in the corner outfield spots. Between that outfield versatility and his switch-hitting, Carlson somewhat fits the Rays’ preferred model of players who can shuffled around to different places on the diamond, though he’ll naturally need to show more at the plate in order to win regular playing time. Carlson is still under arbitration control through the 2026 season, so Tampa Bay has time to evaluate Carlson and decide whether or not he has something to offer as a big leaguer.
Armstrong has a 4.18 ERA over 327 1/3 career innings with Cleveland, Miami, Seattle, Baltimore, and two separate stints with Tampa Bay during his 10 Major League seasons. The righty is a free agent after the season and is therefore a rental pickup for the Cardinals, who will use Armstrong as some extra depth in their bullpen.
A big .370 BABIP has impacted Armstrong’s performance in 2024, as his 5.40 ERA is considerably higher than his 3.86 SIERA. It hasn’t all been plain bad luck, however, as Armstrong’s walk and hard-contact rates are all below average, and his 23.4% strikeout rate is decent but inspiring. Left-handed batters have a .982 OPS against Armstrong this season, while he has continued to pitch well against same-sided hitters, limiting righty-swingers to a .690 OPS.
Dodgers Acquire Kevin Kiermaier
The Dodgers acquired Kevin Kiermaier and cash considerations from the Blue Jays for lefty reliever Ryan Yarbrough. Toronto is reportedly paying down $1.66MM of Kiermaier’s remaining salary.
Kiermaier, 34, is in the midst of a thoroughly disappointing season, batting .195 with a .546 OPS. While his defense in the outfield has been stellar as always (10 OAA, 9 DRS), it has not been enough to make up for his career-worst offensive numbers. He has been worth just 0.2 Wins Above Replacement according to FanGraphs. The four-time Gold Glove winner went unclaimed on waivers earlier this month, with no team willing to claim him and take the remaining portion of his $10.5MM salary off of the Blue Jays’ books. Now, however, just over two weeks later, the Jays found a club willing to take Kiermaier off their hands, and they got a left-handed long-man for the bullpen in return.
The Dodgers have not gotten much production from the center field position this year, ranking 27th in OPS and wRC+ and dead last in FanGraphs WAR. James Outman has struggled to replicate his success from his excellent rookie season in 2023, while top prospect Andy Pages has underwhelmed at the plate (.675 OPS, 92 wRC+) and in the field (-8 DRS, -1 OAA). Kiermaier won’t help the offense, but he will be a terrific defensive replacement off the bench. What’s more, if there is any team that can put up with his bat in the starting lineup on occasion, it’s the Dodgers, who lead the NL in OPS and wRC+ despite mediocre production from center field all season.
Kiermaier has already announced his intention to retire following the 2024 campaign. Joining the powerhouse Dodgers will give him one more chance to compete for a World Series championship, an accomplishment that has eluded him throughout his 12-year career with the Rays and Blue Jays. Kiermaier went 7-for-19 with a 1.137 OPS in the 2020 World Series, but despite his efforts, the Rays fell to the Dodgers in six games.
As for the Blue Jays, they have elite defender Daulton Varsho to slide into center field, and Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reports that lefty batting outfielder/first baseman Joey Loperfido, acquired from the Astros in the Yusei Kikuchi deal, will take Kiermaier’s spot on the active roster. Presumably, Loperfido will take over from Varsho in left field, at least in games with a right-handed starting pitcher. Meanwhile, Yarbrough should slot in as a reinforcement for a Blue Jays bullpen that has lost several contributors in recent days, including Yimi García, Trevor Richards, and Nate Pearson. Toronto may be out of contention this year, but the team still needs live arms to get through the season.
Yarbrough, 32, was designated for assignment by the Dodgers on Monday. While his 3.74 ERA this season is respectable, he has the lowest strikeout rate (13.9%) and the highest walk rate (8.9%) of his career. His 4.98 SIERA would also be a career-worst. That said, his ability to pitch multiple innings and his recent work as a starter (he started nine games in 2023, nine in 2022, and 21 in 2021) will make him an asset for a last-place Blue Jays team that is simply looking to get through the rest of the season without further embarrassment. Like Kiermaier, Yarbrough will be a free agent at the end of the year.
Robert Murray of FanSided reported the Dodgers and Jays were swapping Kiermaier and Yarbrough. Ronald Blum of the Associated Press reported the cash considerations.
Orioles Acquire Eloy Jimenez
The Orioles and White Sox pulled off a trade sending outfielder/designated hitter Eloy Jimenez and cash from Chicago to Baltimore for minor league reliever Trey McGough. Chicago is reportedly kicking in $4MM to cover almost all of the approximate $4.26MM remaining on his contract. The Sox would also pay down $1.5MM of the $3MM buyout on Jimenez’s 2025 club option, which the O’s are virtually certain to decline.
Jimenez, 27, was one of the highest-profile international signings in recent memory and one of the top-ranked prospects in all of baseball prior to his big league debut. He signed a then-record six-year, $43MM deal before ever playing a big league game. He’s earning $13MM this season in the final guaranteed season of that contract, which also contains club options valued at $16.5MM and $18.5MM for the next two seasons. The O’s should pay the $3MM buyout on his 2025 option, making Jimenez a free agent.
In the early stages of his career, Jimenez largely delivered on the hype, hitting .276/.327/.504 with 71 homers in his first 316 games. That includes a down year in 2021, but the Cuban-born slugger was well above-average in 2019, 2020 and 2022 — including a monster .295/.358/.500 slash with 16 homers in only 84 games in ’22.
Injuries have derailed Jimenez’s career, however. He’s been on the injured list for multiple hamstring strains — including a tear that sent him to the 60-day IL — an adductor strain, an appendectomy procedure, an ulnar nerve injury and a high ankle sprain. His once-potent bat has produced only a .240/.297/.345 output in 2024. Jimenez’s 18.9% strikeout rate is actually a career-low, however, and he’s averaging 92.4 mph off the bat with a huge 50.8% hard-hit rate. The O’s will hope that a change of scenery and those underlying metrics can bring about improvement of some degree, if not a return to peak form.
If that type of turnaround is to come to fruition, Jimenez will need a radical overhaul in his swing, however. He’s posted an astonishing 59.6% ground-ball rate this season — far and away the highest in baseball among active players. (Tim Anderson, released by the Marlins this year, technically leads him at 62.4% but isn’t with a team.) For a player that ranks in the sixth percentile of MLB players in terms of average sprint speed, pounding the ball into the ground that often is never going to yield much benefit — regardless of how hard the ball is put into play.
The Orioles, having moved Austin Hays in last week’s trade bringing reliever Seranthony Dominguez over from the Phillies, were reportedly on the hunt for a right-handed bat. Jimenez will fill that role to some extent, and it’s worth noting that he’s posted a strong .304/.360/.370 batting line against lefties in 2024. Again, however, he’s simply been far too prone to grounders whether facing lefties (59%) or righties (59.7%).
McGough, a 26-year-old lefty, came to the Orioles from the Pirates via the minor league phase of the 2022 Rule 5 Draft. He recently moved to the bullpen after recovering from Tommy John surgery and owns a sparkling 1.99 ERA in 54 1/3 frames between Double-A and Triple-A. He’s fanned 25.5% of his opponents and walked 9.7% of them. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen recently listed him 37th among O’s prospects, calling him a potential low-leverage reliever whose best pitch is an above-average slider.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the Orioles were finalizing a deal for Jimenez. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported the White Sox were receiving McGough. Ronald Blum of the Associated Press reported the cash breakdown.
Mets Acquire Huascar Brazoban From Marlins
The Mets acquired reliever Huascar Brazoban from the division-rival Marlins. Infield prospect Wilfredo Lara went back to Miami.
Brazoban wasn’t the subject of much trade speculation until today. He emerged as a late target for teams seeking relief help amidst a quietly strong season. Brazoban has tossed 30 2/3 innings through 20 appearances. He’s allowing only 2.93 earned runs per nine while striking out 27.2% of batters faced. Brazoban is getting grounders half the time opponents do make contact while limiting his walk rate to a solid 8.8% clip.
A native of the Dominican Republic, Brazoban has pitched in Miami for the past three seasons. He spent a decade in pro ball before getting his first major league look. Brazoban pitched in the Colorado system and spent some time in independent ball. It wasn’t until 2022 that he got a big league opportunity, shortly before his 33rd birthday.
Since he got such a late start to his MLB career, Brazoban is in an odd spot. He’s under team control for another four seasons beyond this one and won’t even qualify for arbitration for two seasons. The Marlins were under no financial pressure to move him, but he’s also very unlikely to be pitching at this level the next time Miami makes an effort to compete. The Fish fielded offers on a number of their relievers and ultimately cashed Brazoban in for a future asset.
Lara, 20, is a right-handed hitting infielder out of the Dominican Republic. He’s hitting .244/.349/.343 across 332 plate appearances in High-A this season. He’s drawing walks at a robust 12% clip while striking out 22.6% of the time. He’s a low-level developmental flier for the Fish.
The Mets designated catcher Logan Porter to open a spot on their 40-man roster for Brazoban. New York signed him to a split contract a couple weeks ago. They’ve kept him in Triple-A on optional assignment. Porter’s major league experience comprises 11 games with the Royals last season.
Christina De Nicola of MLB.com first reported the Mets were acquiring Brazoban. Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase reported Miami was getting Lara in return.
Pirates Acquire Isiah Kiner-Falefa
The Pirates and Blue Jays have agreed to a trade that will send utilityman Isiah Kiner-Falefa to Pittsburgh. The Bucs will also get some cash considerations as part of the deal, while the Jays will receive outfield prospect Charles McAdoo in return. The trade has been officially announced by both clubs. Toronto is reportedly paying down $1MM of the approximate $2.5MM remaining on Kiner-Falefa’s deal this season; they’ll also pick up roughly $1.22MM of the $7.5MM on his contract for next season.
Kiner-Falefa hasn’t played a big league game since June 30 due to a left knee sprain, but he is two games into a minor league rehab assignment and is expected to be activated within the next few days, assuming no setbacks. The 29-year-old now looks to be making his return in a new uniform, and joining a playoff race, with the Pirates two games back of an NL wild card slot.
Toronto signed Kiner-Falefa to a two-year, $15MM free agent deal this winter, and both the size of the contract and IKF’s landing spot surprised many pundits at the time. Kiner-Falefa has a history as a glove-first player and was coming off a rough year at the plate with the 2023 Yankees, and the Jays seemingly had little need for a utility infielder given their number of infield options already on hand. As it turned out, however, Kiner-Falefa ended up being an all-around bright spot in an otherwise disappointing Blue Jays season.
Over 281 plate appearances, Kiner-Falefa has hit .292/.338/.420 with seven home runs in a Jays uniform. His 116 wRC+ far outclasses the 81 wRC+ he posted in his first six MLB seasons, even if a fair amount of good fortune has been involved. Kiner-Falefa’s .331 wOBA is well above his .291 xwOBA, he has a .316 BABIP, and he ranks in the bottom tenth percentile of all hitters in walk rate, hard-hit ball rate, and barrel rate. While the hard contact hasn’t been there, Kiner-Falefa has made a lot of contact in general, with an excellent 13.2% strikeout rate.
This unexpected offense has been paired with IKF’s customary strong defense, as he has helped the Jays at second base, third base, and shortstop this year. Pittsburgh already has an elite defensive third baseman in Ke’Bryan Hayes and Oneil Cruz is locked into the shortstop role, so with Nick Gonzales now facing a lengthy stint on the 10-day IL, Kiner-Falefa figures to slide right into the Pirates’ second base role once he himself returns to good health.
After five straight losing seasons, the Pirates appear eager to mark the end of their rebuild with a postseason berth. Kiner-Falefa, Bryan De La Cruz, Jalen Beeks, and Josh Walker have all been added in trades in the last few days, and another deal or two might be squeezed in before the deadline. While none of these moves are exactly blockbusters, the sum total is a set of modest but needed upgrades to bolster some weaker links on the roster.
The financial element of the IKF deal shouldn’t be overlooked, as Kiner-Falefa is owed roughly $2.5MM for the rest of this season and then $7.5MM in 2025. The Jays included cash in a few of their deadline deals.
McAdoo ranked 12th in Baseball America’s most recent evaluation of the Pirates’ minor league system, and the 22-year-old has hit .315/.394/.538 with 14 home runs over 376 total PA at high-A and Double-A this season. A 13th-round pick out of San Jose State in the 2023 draft, McAdoo has done nothing but hit in his brief pro career, and has already shown a lot of polish in his approach at the plate. BA notes that McAdoo has shown elite bat speed and exit velocities to back up his impressive bottom-line numbers.
Defensively, McAdoo has played mostly third base in the minors, but with a good chunk of time at first base, second base, and in both corner outfield spots. BA hasn’t been wowed by his defense and feels the corner outfield might ultimately be his defensive home, though for now, McAdoo looks like the kind of versatile multi-position type the Blue Jays have prioritized in recent years.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan (X link) was the first to report that IKF was headed to the Pirates, while MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand wrote (via X) about McAdoo’s inclusion. Ronald Blum of the Associated Press reported the specifics of the cash considerations.
Diamondbacks Acquire Josh Bell
4:21PM: The trade has been officially announced, with the return to the Marlins being specified as cash considerations or a player to be named later.
1:23PM: The Diamondbacks have acquired first baseman Josh Bell from the Marlins, as per Craig Mish of the Miami Herald (links to X). Miami placed Bell on waivers two days ago, and Mish reports that Arizona will send cash to the Marlins to cover some of the roughly $5.9MM still owed to Bell for the remainder of the 2024 season. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via X) writes that the D’Backs will cover $2.25MM of Bell’s remaining salary.
The move seems like an instant reaction to the oblique injury that forced Christian Walker out of last night’s game. Deemed as left oblique tightness at the time, the fact that the D’Backs have quickly pivoted to adding a new first baseman indicates that Walker has some type of a strain that will require a trip to the injured list. The Diamondbacks figure to give an update on Walker’s condition later today, and Piecoro adds that the MRI revealed “relatively good news” about his status. Walker will still need to hit the IL, and given how oblique issues can tend to linger, it could be difficult to project a recovery timeline.
Bell has now been traded at the deadline in each of the last three seasons. The first baseman was dealt along with Juan Soto as part of the blockbuster swap between the Nationals and Padres two years ago, and in 2023, Bell was sent from the Guardians to the Marlins for Kahlil Watson and Jean Segura.
In keeping with the rather streaky nature of Bell’s career, those two trades yielded very different results for his new teams. Bell was enjoying a nice season with Washington in 2022 but struggled badly after the deal to the Padres; last season saw Bell post middling numbers for the Guardians but he then caught fire after joining the Marlins, helping carry the Fish to a wild card berth.
Arizona can only hope for the repeat of Bell’s 2023 turn-around, and in fact the veteran first baseman has ended his Miami tenure on a high note. Bell has a 1.515 OPS and five homers over his last 33 plate appearances, after hitting a much more underwhelming .224/.288/.349 with nine homers in his first 408 PA of the season. While the Diamondbacks’ hand may have been somewhat forced by Walker’s injury, this recent production from Bell provides some evidence that he might be in another of his turns from ice-cold at the plate to red hot.
The switch-hitting Bell figures to step right into regular first base duty in Arizona. Though his splits are pretty even this season, Bell has performed better against lefties than against righties in recent years, so the D’Backs might look to use him in something of a platoon with a left-handed hitter like Pavin Smith, whose seems like a good candidate to be called back up to the majors when Walker is officially placed on the IL. Smith, Kevin Newman, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. have combined for 28 innings of work at first base this season, as Walker’s dominance at the position has left the D’Backs rarely in need of a backup plan.
Today’s deal is the second trade between the Marlins and Diamondbacks this week, as Arizona also picked up A.J. Puk in a separate swap. The Snakes were primarily known to be looking at pitching help even after Puk was acquired, though Walker’s injury naturally led to this unexpected need at first base.
From Miami’s perspective, the team has now dealt Puk, Bell, Trevor Rogers, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. as part of their deadline selloff, not to mention the Luis Arraez trade earlier in the season that signaled the Marlins’ intention to rebuild. Getting a bit of cash off the books for Bell is a decent return considering how he was struggling for much of the year, and the Fish will surely continue to be busy in swinging more deals before today’s 5pm CT deadline.