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Dave Parker Passes Away

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Hall-of-Famer Dave Parker passed away at age 74 today after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease, as the Pirates announced just prior to the start of today’s game.  The sad news comes less than a month before Parker was officially set to be inducted into Cooperstown, as Parker and Dick Allen (like Parker, a former MVP and seven-time All-Star) were voted into the Hall by the Era Committee last winter.

A veteran of 19 Major League seasons from 1973-1991, “the Cobra” was one of the sport’s most feared hitters for the majority of his career.  Parker batted .290/.339/.471 over 10184 career plate appearances and 2466 games, amassing 339 homers and 2712 career hits.  Along with his seven All-Star nods and the 1978 NL MVP Award, Parker was a two-time batting champion and a three-time Gold Glover.  With 154 steals also on his resume, Parker was a legitimate five-tool threat during his prime years, before knee problems sapped Parker’s speed and ability to regularly play the field.

This spectacular career arose from a modest start as a 14th-round pick for the Pirates in the 1970 draft.  A part-timer in his first two MLB seasons, Parker emerged as an everyday force in 1975, joining forces with Pittsburgh legend Willie Stargell and other notables of the era like Al Oliver, Bill Robinson, and Richie Zisk to wreak havoc in the middle of the lineup.

The Pirates had several outstanding teams during Parker’s 11 seasons in Pittsburgh, but back in the days when only the two division winners reached the postseason, playoff success was harder to come by.  The Buccos won three division titles during Parker’s tenure but didn’t reach the World Series until 1979, when the “We Are Family” Pirates overcame a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Orioles and capture the franchise’s most recent championship.  Parker naturally played a big role in the title run, hitting .341/.396/.415 over 48 postseason PA to help the Pirates capture the crown.

Parker also achieved a notable contractual milestone before the 1979 season even started, as he signed a five-year, $5MM contract with the Pirates that was (at the time) the sport’s biggest contract.  Technically the deal made Parker the first player to earn $1MM per season, even if some deferred money within the deal left his actual annual average value south of the seven-figure mark.

That contract led to increased expectations, and while Parker’s outgoing and bombastic personality made him a fan favorite during the good times, some in Pittsburgh started to view Parker as arrogant when the Pirates’ play tailed off after 1979 and Parker’s own numbers started to diminish.  Parker’s knee problems and a cocaine addiction were clearly impacting his performance, and he left Pittsburgh to sign with the Reds following the 1983 season.

The second act of Parker’s career had several more memorable moments, including a big comeback year in 1985 that saw him lead the NL in total bases, doubles, and RBI while finishing second in NL MVP voting.  Parker followed up his four seasons in Cincinnati with two seasons with the pennant-winning Athletics in 1988 and 1989.  While not quite the premium bat of his prime years, the Cobra still helped the A’s win the World Series in 1989.  The move to the American League also allowed Parker to become a designated hitter for the first time in his career, and he was essentially a DH-only player with plenty of pop still in his bat from 1989-91 with the A’s, Brewers, Angels, and Blue Jays.

After retirement, Parker had moved into coaching, and spent a long time waiting for his eventual call to Cooperstown.  Parker never received much support from the writers during his 15 years on the BBWAA ballot, with his cocaine habit and his involvement in the 1985 Pittsburgh drug trials often viewed as the key reason for the lack of voter support.  It is bittersweet that Parker will be a posthumous induction at next month’s ceremony in Cooperstown, but he at least received the satisfaction of learning last December that he had finally been properly minted as a Hall of Famer.

All of us at MLB Trade Rumors share our condolences with Parker’s family, friends, and many fans.

Griffin Canning Diagnosed With Ruptured Achilles

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3:40pm: Canning underwent surgery this morning, Mendoza tells reporters (via Laura Albanese of Newsday). Tidwell is indeed available out of the bullpen tonight, but the plan moving forward will eventually be for him to step into Canning’s rotation spot.

2:32pm: The Mets announced that right-hander Griffin Canning has been placed on the 60-day injured list with a ruptured left Achilles. They also optioned right-hander Austin Warren and infielder Jared Young. To fill those three spots, infielder Mark Vientos has been reinstated from the 10-day IL, righty Blade Tidwell has been recalled and left-hander Colin Poche has been selected to the roster. The Mets added that lefty Richard Lovelady, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, has cleared waivers and elected free agency. Outfielder Jose Azocar, who recently elected free agency himself, has been re-signed to a new minor league deal.

The Canning news is devastating but not surprising. He had to be helped off the field last night, clearly unable to put weight on his left leg. It immediately appeared to be an Achilles injury and manager Carlos Mendoza admitted after the game that the club suspected as much.

The Mets haven’t yet relayed an expected timeline but it’s fair to conclude Canning’s season is over. An injury like this can often take a full year to recover from. Given that half the 2025 season is already in the books, Canning is surely going to miss the remainder and likely part of the 2026 campaign as well.

It’s a terrible break for the 29-year-old Canning, a former second-round pick and top prospect with the Angels. He’d looked on the cusp of establishing himself as a regular rotation member in Anaheim back in 2019-20 before a stress reaction in his back wiped out most of his 2021 season and all of his 2022 campaign. He returned with solid numbers in 2023 before crashing with a 5.19 ERA in 31 starts last season. The Halos traded him to the Braves for Jorge Soler in a swap of unwanted salaries following the 2024 season, and Atlanta ultimately non-tendered him.

The Mets brought a fresh start for Canning, and he looked to be taking full advantage. The right-hander has started 16 games and pitched 76 1/3 innings of 3.77 ERA ball, fanning 21.3% of his opponents with a huge 50.9% grounder rate — albeit against a less-encouraging 10.7% walk rate. Canning was terrific up through early June (2.90 ERA) but in the three starts prior to his injury had been tagged for 13 runs in 14 1/3 frames.

Even with that rough stretch, Canning looked well on his way to positioning himself for a nice multi-year deal on the open market. He could still command a two-year deal, in theory, but it’d be small in scale with a backloaded salary structure to reflect the uncertainty surrounding the first year of his contract — similar to the one former Angels rotation-mate Patrick Sandoval signed with the Red Sox.

As for the rest of the Mets’ transactions, a couple were expected. Vientos said yesterday that he was told he’d be activated today. He’ll return after a nearly monthlong absence due to a hamstring strain and hope to get back on track. The 26-year-old broke out with a .266/.322/.516 batting line (133 wRC+) and 27 home runs in just 111 games last year, seemingly cementing himself as a fixture at one of the infield corners for years to come.

That may still be the case, but Vientos hasn’t looked the part so far in 2025, slashing just .230/.298/.380. He’s actually cut his strikeout rate and improved his walk rate while continuing to hit the ball hard, however, creating good reason to be optimistic about a turnaround. The Mets have been waiting for some combination of their long-vaunted quartet of infielders — Vientos, Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio, Luisangel Acuña — to seize spots around the infield, and that’s yet to happen. A return to form for Vientos would be a step in that direction and a boon for a Mets lineup that has struggled in recent weeks.

Tidwell was reported to be joining the Mets last night as well. The Mets’ second-round pick in 2022, he’s regarded as one of the system’s most promising young arms. His two starts earlier this year didn’t go well (eight runs in 7 1/3 innings), and the 24-year-old is coming off a tough start in Triple-A, where he served up six runs to the Yankees’ top affiliate. Prior to that ugly outing, he’d rattled off a 3.55 ERA with a 28.9% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate in 45 2/3 innings across eight starts. He’ll be in the bullpen for now, per SNY’s Andy Martino, which makes sense with David Peterson, Paul Blackburn and Frankie Montas lined up for weekend starts against the Pirates and an off-day on Monday.

Poche, 31, signed a minor league deal with the Mets back in May. He opened the season with the division-rival Nationals but was rocked for 11 runs in 8 2/3 innings before being cut loose. The Mets themselves contributed to that damage, tagging him for a run in two-thirds of an inning during a late-April meeting.

Ugly as that brief stint was, Poche had a nice track record in four prior seasons with the Rays, pitching to a combined 3.63 ERA with a 27% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate in 208 1/3 innings. Since signing with the Mets, he’s pitched 12 2/3 innings down in Syracuse, logging a 4.26 ERA with an uncharacteristic and alarming 17.9% walk rate.

If Lovelady’s tenure with the Mets is any sort of indication, it could be a brief stay on the big league roster for Poche. The 29-year-old opted out of a minor league deal with the Twins earlier this month, signed a big league deal with the Mets and was designated for assignment after just one appearance (two runs in 1 2/3 innings). Lovelady was excellent in Triple-A with Minnesota and has a nice track record at that level. He’s shown consistent ability to generate grounders, miss bats and limit walks at passable levels, but he’s struggled with men on base in the majors and limped to a 5.35 ERA in 102 2/3 innings across parts of six seasons.

Azocar, also 29, appeared in a dozen games with the Mets earlier this year and hit .278/.350/.278 in 20 plate appearances. He’s a righty-swinging, glove-first outfielder with good speed who can handle left, center and right on any given day. The former Padre is a career .244/.290/.319 hitter in 418 major league plate appearances.

Pirates Reportedly Have Very Few Untouchable Players At Trade Deadline

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The Pirates will be deadline sellers yet again, which should be clear to anyone who takes a glance at their 32-50 record and -68 run differential. There’d been hope earlier in the year among some fanbases that Pittsburgh would even weigh the merits of trading ace Paul Skenes for what would perhaps have to be the richest trade return in history, but GM Ben Cherington has publicly quashed speculation on that front. Outside of Skenes, however, it seems the Bucs will be broadly open for business. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and Jon Heyman of the New York Post have both reported within the past 18 hours that Skenes and franchise icon Andrew McCutchen — who has repeatedly stated since his return to Pittsburgh a few years ago that he has no desire to play elsewhere — are the only two big leaguers who are seen as off the table.

That seemingly puts not only the expected trade candidates in play (e.g. Andrew Heaney, David Bednar, Dennis Santana, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, etc.), but also more controllable names like center fielder Oneil Cruz and longtime stars like outfielder Bryan Reynolds and right-hander Mitch Keller, both of whom signed an extension within the past two years. The Bucs surely aren’t going to move top prospect Bubba Chandler, but the majority of their major league roster could at least be discussed.

Keller stands as one of the most interesting names to watch, not just on the Pirates, but around the league as a whole. The former second-rounder is in the second season of a five-year, $77MM contract and being paid $15MM this year. He’s owed $16.5MM in 2026, $18MM in 2027 and $20MM in 2028. That’s a steep cost for the low-payroll Pirates but affordable for many clubs, particularly given the increasing prices of free-agent pitching on the open market.

The 29-year-old Keller isn’t an ace but was thought to have No. 2-3 starter upside in his days as a top prospect. He’s settled in a step below that, regularly giving the Bucs plenty of innings and an ERA in the low 4.00s with quality rate stats. The 2025 season is no exception. Keller is sitting on a 4.02 ERA in 94 innings. He’s averaged just under six frames per start this season. His 18.5% strikeout rate is a career-low, but Keller’s 6.1% walk rate is excellent and his 45.5% ground-ball rate is strong. Keller’s velocity is down a touch, sitting 93.9 mph in 2025 after averaging 94.4 mph in 2024 and 95.2 mph in 2023, but he’s picking up steam as the season goes along. He sat 93.5 mph in March/April but has averaged 94.1 mph since the calendar flipped to May, for instance.

The current version of Keller would draw plenty of interest even if he weren’t to make any gains with a new club, though teams around the league could well hope that Keller is the latest premier starter to thrive upon being traded away from the Pirates. Gerrit Cole, Tyler Glasnow and Joe Musgrove have all gone on to enjoy top-of-the-rotation success upon being traded by Pittsburgh. Keller, a former top prospect with a 6’3″, 212-pound frame who’s shown flashes of greater bat-missing potential — he struck out 25.5% of his opponents in 2023 — could prove tantalizing, particularly in a market that’s thin on pitching.

Rosenthal suggests that with Pirates not enjoying the attendance increase they likely expected at the time Keller was extended — the Bucs were hopeful of emerging from their rebuild at that point, but injuries and downturns from young players have scuttled that thought — the right-hander and his increasing salary could be more likely to move. Heyman suggests that a Keller trade isn’t as likely due to what’ll surely be a steep asking price.

Given the dearth of starters on the trade market and the deep stock of young arms the Pirates have cultivated, it does seem there’s a real chance to cash in on Keller. Skenes is already cemented as the Pirates’ ace. Jared Jones will miss this season but hopefully return in the first half of 2026. Chandler will debut this summer, and the list of rotation candidates beyond that trio include Braxton Ashcraft, Mike Burrows, Thomas Harrington, Hunter Barco, Bailey Falter (if he’s not traded) and the currently injured Johan Oviedo. Additional arms could join that contingent within the next five weeks, as the Pirates will be adding various new prospects and/or young big leaguers via a series of trades.

A trade of Reynolds would be more difficult to engineer. The 30-year-old is signed through 2030 but is currently scuffling through his least-productive season since the shortened 2020 campaign. In 330 plate appearances, Reynolds carries a tepid .233/.303/.372 batting line — 14% worse than average production, by measure of wRC+. That’s not what a team would want from any player, of course, but it’s magnified by his seven-year, $100MM contract extension, which stands as the largest deal in franchise history.

Reynolds, however, is still hitting the ball on the screws; in fact, he’s hitting the ball harder than ever before. This year’s 91.5 mph average exit velocity and 48.1% hard-hit rate are career-highs. His 10.7% barrel rate is just barely shy of his career-best 11.1% in 2023 — a season in which he produced a much more robust .263/.330/.460 output and slugged 24 homers. Reynolds is hitting just .600 on line-drives this year, and while “just .600” sounds like a ridiculous statement, the league-average on liners is .705 and his career mark entering the year was .697.

It’s not all bad luck driving his downturn at the plate. Reynolds’ 25.8% strikeout rate is a career-high in a 162-game season, although even that’s a bit misleading. The switch-hitter’s 11.6% swinging-strike rate and 25.1% chase rate on pitches off the plate both stand as the second-best marks of his career. His 72.6 mph bat speed, per Statcast, is actually his highest mark since that stat began being tracked in 2023. Reynolds isn’t punching out more because he’s expanding the zone or because he’s no longer capable of catching up to velocity; he’s simply swinging less, particularly within the strike zone, which seems more correctable than a decline in bat speed or erosion of plate discipline.

Reynolds is being paid $12MM this season and has five years and $76MM left on his contract thereafter. He hit decently in May before falling back into a slump, but Reynolds has shown some signs of life with eight hits (three doubles) over his past four games. If he can keep building up momentum, it’s possible a well-timed hot streak and this year’s gaudy batted-ball metrics will generate some interest. Still, his contract contains a limited six-team no-trade clause, and while we saw Rafael Devers shipped out just a few weeks ago, it’s nonetheless exceedingly rare to see a player traded when he has this much time left on a guaranteed contract.

Cruz, 26, is the other name who is notable by his absence from Pittsburgh’s list of purportedly untouchable players. He long rated as one of the organization’s top prospects and one of the top prospects in the entire sport. He posted monster numbers in April and hit decently in May before falling into an awful slump this month. Cruz carried a .230/.347/.481 batting line into June but has cratered with a .148/.247/.210 line this month. He’s now hitting .205/.317/.398 on the season.

It’s an unexciting line, but Cruz has some of the loudest tools in the game. He’s a towering 6’7″, 240 pounds and offers explosive athleticism. Cruz is 26-for-29 in stolen base attempts this season and has swatted 13 home runs. He’s averaging a ridiculous 96 mph off the bat with a 22% barrel rate and a 56.7% hard-hit rate. Only Aaron Judge has a higher barrel rate. Only Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Schwarber and James Wood have better hard-hit rates. No one in MLB has a higher average exit velocity or higher bat speed.

There are major hit tool concerns, evidenced by this year’s 33% strikeout rate and Cruz’s career 31.9% mark. However, Cruz is walking at a stout 13.5% clip as well and has actually reduced his chase rate and swinging-strike rate over last year’s levels. Like Reynolds, he’s swinging far less often this season; Cruz swung at 46.2% of the pitches he saw last year (and 61.3% of the strikes he saw) compared to just 40.7% in 2025 (and 55.9% of the strikes he’s seen). The team’s overall swing rate on pitches within the zone from 2024 to 2025 is virtually unchanged, but for whatever reason, Cruz and Reynolds have taken up much more passive approaches — ostensibly to their detriment.

Cruz has gone from a poor-fielding shortstop to a passable center field defender while learning his new position on the fly at the big league level. His plus-plus speed and elite arm strength — he not-so-shockingly leads all big leaguers in arm strength as well, per Statcast — lend themselves well to center field. It wouldn’t be at all surprising if he emerged as a plus defender there as he gains experience. Cruz was benched earlier this week for failing to run out a grounder that someone with his speed should easily have been able to beat, resulting in an inning-ending double play, but he said after the game that he’d lost track of the number of outs. Cruz took fault for the situation and said he supported manager Don Kelly’s decision to lift him from the game (link via the Associated Press).

Even if Cruz’s recent struggles persist, the asking price in a trade would presumably be enormous. Players with this type of tool set simply don’t come around often. Add in that he’s controllable via arbitration for three years after the current season, and Pittsburgh would need a substantial return to consider parting ways with him. The upside on Cruz is so great that it’s hard to see the Pirates actually trading him, but he’ll be a fascinating long-shot target for teams seeking center field help.

There are plenty of other trade candidates to consider. Lefty relievers Caleb Ferguson and veteran infielder/outfielder Adam Frazier are on a cheap one-year deals and could be moved. The Bucs would likely love to shed the four years and $36MM owed to third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes beyond the current season. He’s still an elite defender, but chronic back problems that developed after he signed his $70MM extension have severely sapped his production at the plate.

Griffin Canning Believed To Have Suffered Achilles Injury

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Mets starter Griffin Canning had to be helped off the field in the third inning of tonight’s win over the Braves. He injured his left leg in what initially seemed to be a small, harmless hop after a Nick Allen chopper to shortstop (video via Awful Announcing). Replay showed Canning’s foot appear to buckle as he hit the ground, immediately raising concern about a potential Achilles tear.

The team initially announced that Canning was being evaluated for a left ankle injury and was headed for an MRI. The club won’t provide a specific diagnosis until the imaging results come back, but manager Carlos Mendoza confirmed postgame that they believe it is an Achilles injury. While there’s no timeline yet, Canning’s season certainly seems to be in jeopardy.

Canning has been a surprisingly important piece of the Mets pitching staff. He signed for $4.25MM as a free agent after being let go by the Angels (in a salary dump trade) and Braves (via non-tender) earlier in the offseason. The former second-round pick might’ve opened the season in long relief had everyone been healthy. Injuries to Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas and Paul Blackburn pushed him into the starting five. He ran with the opportunity.

The 29-year-old Canning took a 3.91 earned run average across 73 2/3 innings into tonight’s start. His abbreviated outing dropped that to a 3.77 mark. He has gotten ground-balls half the time while recording a league average 21.3% strikeout rate. The strikeout rate is up nearly four percentage points while he has cut his ERA by about a run and a half relative to his final season with the Angels. The Mets encouraged Canning to use his slider a little more often than he had with the Halos to positive results.

While Canning struggled last season, he’d shown the potential to pitch at the back of a rotation earlier in his career. He’d struggled to rack up many innings because of various injuries, though. He lost a good portion of ’21 and the entire following year to a stress reaction in his lower back. Canning also missed time with elbow soreness at the beginning of his career. He had avoided the injured list for the past year and a half.

The Mets have lost three starters this month. Tylor Megill is going to miss at least a month with an elbow sprain, and they’ll need to closely monitor his progress to try avoid any setbacks. Kodai Senga will be down for a couple weeks with a hamstring strain. Canning’s injury seems the most severe of all.

Montas returned to make his season debut this week. Manaea is expected back next week despite a brief setback after he received an injection to treat a loose body in his elbow. Blackburn, who was briefly the subject of trade chatter when he seemed to be seventh on the depth chart, is now entrenched in the rotation behind Clay Holmes and David Peterson. The Mets will go with Peterson, Blackburn and Montas for this weekend’s series in Pittsburgh. They’re off on Monday and could activate Manaea to take Canning’s rotation spot next week. Blade Tidwell and Justin Hagenman are candidates for a spot start if they want to give Manaea a few extra days.

The Mets probably would have been in the rotation market at the deadline even if Canning were healthy. There’s a lot of risk in counting on Megill to make a smooth return from an elbow injury. Montas got through five scoreless innings in his season debut but had been knocked around on his minor league rehab stint.

Canning will reach six-plus service years and return to free agency this offseason. A significant Achilles injury would threaten a good portion of his ’26 availability and would obviously deal a huge hit to his market value.

Mariners Looking For Corner Infield Bats; Ownership Willing To Bump Payroll

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The Mariners are currently 41-38 and in possession of the final American League Wild Card spot, putting them in position to add at the deadline. Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports that the club is looking to add an impact bat at a corner infield spot, though he adds that they could also just get the best bat available and worry about the positioning later. An extra leverage arm for the bullpen is another reported target. Kramer also reports that “ownership will green light increased spending” at this year’s deadline.

The note about the payroll is quite relevant. Throughout the offseason, reporting indicated that the club had about $15MM of spending capacity for upgrading the roster. The M’s then spent a combined $11.25MM on signing Jorge Polanco and Donovan Solano. In early May, they claimed Leody Taveras off waivers from the Rangers, taking on the roughly $3.7MM he had left to be paid out on this year’s salary. The M’s later outrighted Taveras to Triple-A.

Given that the M’s had seemingly spent their budget, it would have been fair to wonder about their ability to make deadline additions. While it’s unclear exactly how much increased spending ownership is willing to approve, any extra pocket money should help the front office pursue external additions.

As for the specific targets, they are not surprising, as the M’s have question marks at both infield corners. Ben Williamson has received the lion’s share of playing time at third base this year and has been solid with the glove, but has hit just .255/.291/.311 for a 77 wRC+. At first base, Rowdy Tellez was the regular there before his subpar bat got him bumped off the roster. He was designated for assignment last week and put on release waivers today.

Solano is now getting most of the playing time at first. He’s not having a great season overall but has been heating up after a dreadful start. He was hitting .131/.156/.148 through May 17th but has a massive .420/.463/.640 line since then. That latter line is a small sample of just 54 plate appearances and inflated by an unsustainable .474 batting average on balls in play but there’s no harm in riding the hot hand in the short term. He also slashed .294/.353/.413 for a 112 wRC+ from 2019 to 2024, so he has a track record of strong offense.

Considering that he’s 37 years old and slumped early in the year, it’s understandable that the M’s may not want to be totally reliant on him. A lot of his damage has also come against lefties in recent years, so they could consider a platoon, though he has reverse splits in this year’s small sample of work.

As for specific targets, Kramer relays that the Mariners have considered a reunion with old friend Eugenio Suárez, currently of the Diamondbacks. Suárez played for Seattle in 2022 and 2023, hitting a bunch of home runs but also striking out a lot. The M’s made a concerted effort to reimagine their offense with fewer punchouts and traded him to Arizona ahead of the 2024 season.

With the Snakes, Suárez got out to a rough start but has been one of the best hitters in baseball for about the past year. He had a .216/.302/.366 line and 87 wRC+ in the first half of 2024 but then exploded for a .307/.341/.602 showing and 153 wRC+ in the second half. Here in 2025, he already has 25 home runs, a .251/.323/.569 line and a 141 wRC+. He’s also been striking out less in the process. He struck out more than 30% of the time as a Mariner but dropped that rate to 27.5% last year and is down to 25.7% so far this year.

His defense isn’t as strong as Williamson’s but he would obviously provide a huge boost to the lineup from the third base spot. Suárez is making a notable salary of $15MM this year, which would leave about $5MM left to be paid out as of the deadline. As mentioned, it’s unknown how much wiggle room the M’s will have to take on money.

It’s possible the Diamondbacks would be willing to eat some of the money but it’s also not entirely clear if they want to make Suárez available at all. Despite a rash of injuries, they are currently 41-39 and just three games out of a playoff spot in the National League. If they fall back in the next few weeks, the possibility of a Suárez trade should increase.

There’s also an argument for Arizona to trade Suárez even in a win-now move. They have lost several arms to injury and could flip him for help on the pitching staff, with Jordan Lawlar then taking over at third. However, there is risk in that path. Lawlar is a top prospect and keeps hitting in the minors but hasn’t yet taken advantage of his major league chances.

Kramer also mentions Arizona first baseman Josh Naylor, noting that he had been linked to the M’s prior to being traded from Cleveland to Arizona in the offseason. Naylor, like Suárez, is an impending free agent. He is making $10.9MM this year while slashing .307/.363/.479 for a 132 wRC+.

Kramer also mentions some other players as possible fits, including Jarren Duran of the Red Sox as well as Ryan O’Hearn, Cedric Mullins and Félix Bautista of the Orioles, though those appear to be more speculative suggestions. He also throws out Isiah Kiner-Falefa of the Pirates and Jesús Sánchez of the Marlins as other possibilities.

Duran and Mullins are outfielders but, as mentioned, the Mariners might just grab the best bat they can and figure out the defense later. Luke Raley is currently spending most of his time in the outfield corners but could perhaps spend more time at first base if the M’s added an outfielder.

O’Hearn and Mullins are both impending free agents on a struggling Baltimore club, so they seem likely to be moved. O’Hearn is having a terrific year, with a .301/.384/.485 line and 149 wRC+. His $8MM salary is not nothing but it’s barely half of what Suárez is making. Mullins was hot to start the year but has gone cold lately. He had a .278/.412/.515 line and 168 wRC+ at the end of April but has since put up a line of .167/.201/.348 for a wRC+ of 50. He is making $8.725MM this year.

Duran is still controllable for three years after this one but the Sox have a crowded long-term outfield mix that also includes Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela, Roman Anthony, Masataka Yoshida and Jhostynxon Garcia. Perhaps the Sox would consider making Duran available as a way to preemptively clear out that logjam while simultaneously adding talent somewhere else. They are currently 40-42 and 2.5 games back of a Wild Card spot.

As for the bullpen, all contenders generally look for upgrades at the deadline. Bautista should be highly attractive if the O’s are willing to make him available but it’s unclear if they would. Unlike Mullins and O’Hearn, he can be retained for two more seasons beyond this one. But given the general volatility of relievers, Baltimore might think about cashing him in during a down year for the club overall.

After missing the 2024 due to Tommy John surgery recovery, Bautista’s control has been a problem, with a 15% walk rate. But he’s still been effective overall, with a 2.60 earned run average and 33.6% strikeout rate. It’s possible he is reining in his command as the season goes along as he has dropped that walk rate to 9.4% in June.

Kiner-Falefa is a glove-first utility guy, hitting .273/.319/.346 this year for the Bucs, which translates to a wRC+ of 85. He is making $7.5MM this season but the Blue Jays are on the hook for part of that as part of the trade that sent him to Pittsburgh at last year’s deadline. Sánchez has generally been a league average hitter for the Marlins. He is in his sixth big league season and has a .240/.309/.425 line and 99 wRC+. He is making $4.5MM this year and can be controlled for two more seasons via arbitration.

There are many possibilities for Seattle, which should make for a very interesting deadline. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has a reputation as being one of the most trade-happy executives in the sport and the Mariners have one of the best farm systems. Reportedly, they wanted to deal prospects for big leaguers during the offseason but found few clubs willing to make that kind of pact since so many teams came into the year hoping to contend. As the season goes along and some clubs fall back in the standings, they might be more willing to take some of those prospects off the Mariners’ hands.

Photo courtesy of Joe Nicholson, Imagn Images.

Wander Franco Found Guilty Of Sexual Abuse

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Wander Franco has been found guilty of sexual abuse of a minor in the Dominican Republic, according to reporting from Juan Arturo Recio and Jeff Passan of ESPN. He has received a two-year suspended sentence and will have to serve the sentence if he doesn’t meet certain conditions. The primary condition is that he does not approach minors with sexual intentions.

In August of 2023, investigators in the D.R. began looking into accusations that the Rays shortstop had engaged in a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl while he was 21. The age of consent in that country is 18. In July of 2024, Franco was formally charged with sexual abuse and sexual exploitation against a minor, as well as human trafficking. In September of last year, it was reported that the case would proceed to trial.

Major League Baseball placed Franco on administrative leave in August last year when the accusations first emerged, standard procedure for players who are being investigated under the joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy. He was reinstated for the offseason in a procedural move but placed back on administrative leave when the 2024 campaign began. He was moved to the restricted list in July of 2024, at which point he was no longer receiving big league pay or service time.

Throughout the proceedings, accusations had also emerged against the girl’s mother, that she received payments from Franco worth thousands of dollars to remain silent about her daughter’s abuse. Per Recio and Passan, she has been found guilty of trafficking her daughter and sentenced to ten years in prison.

Major League Baseball released a statement on the verdict today, relayed by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. “Major League Baseball is proud to have a collectively bargained Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy that reflects our commitment to these issues. We are aware of today’s verdict in the Wander Franco trial and will conclude our investigation at the appropriate time.” Per that policy, the league can impose discipline even in the absence of legal charges.

Back in 2021, Franco and the Rays signed an 11-year, $182MM extension which was set to run through 2032. In the wake of his conviction, it’s unclear if he’ll be able to get the work visa necessary for him to return to the United States.

Photo courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images.

Mariners Place Rowdy Tellez On Release Waivers

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June 26: The Mariners announced Thursday that Tellez is on unconditional release waivers. Assuming he clears, he’ll be free to sign with any team for the prorated league minimum.

June 20: The Mariners have designated first baseman Rowdy Tellez for assignment, per a team announcement. His spot on the roster will go to outfielder/first baseman Luke Raley, who’s been activated from the injured list after missing seven weeks with an oblique strain.

Tellez, 30, is in his eighth big league season and has popped 11 home runs while serving as Seattle’s primary first baseman. Early in the year, he was expected to see more time at designated hitter for skipper Dan Wilson, but the injury to Raley and ongoing injury issues for infielder Jorge Polanco (who was accordingly relegated to DH work) pushed Tellez into the field on a regular basis.

After a disastrous start to his season, Tellez righted the ship in mid-April and has been a serviceable but flawed source of power in the heart of the Mariners’ order. He reached base just once in his first 23 plate appearances but has since swatted 11 homers and slugged .484. That power comes with a low average and bottom-of-the-barrel OBP, however. Tellez rarely walks, is easy to position against defensively due to his extreme-pull approach, and is measured by Statcast as the slowest player in baseball (eliminating virtually any chance of him reaching via infield hit).

Dating back to April 11, Tellez has taken 162 turns at the plate and is hitting .229/.265/.484. He’s been shielded almost entirely from left-handed pitching, receiving just 14 plate appearances and reaching base only twice (one single, one hit-by-pitch). He’s hitting .219/.257/.463 against right-handed pitching this year.

With Raley nearing a return, it seemed likely that either Tellez or fellow veteran first base option Donovan Solano could be pushed off the roster. Since both Tellez and Raley hit left-handed, the Mariners opted to move on from the veteran who can keep a platoon intact. Solano has helped his cause by hitting better over the past month, albeit in an excessively limited role. He’s batted .333/.394/.467 since May 20 but done so in only 33 plate appearances (26 of them against lefties).

For the time being, Solano and Raley will presumably platoon at first base. That’s not an ideal setup, as Raley is more comfortable in the outfield than at first and Solano has struggled this season overall. The Mariners will, at the very least, likely explore the trade market for righty-swinging options at first base in the weeks ahead. Dominic Canzone has provided slightly better-than-average offense in right field since being called up earlier this month (.233/.303/.400 in 33 plate appearances), but if he struggles like he has in two prior MLB seasons, the Mariners could move Raley to right field. That would set them up to either give prospect Tyler Locklear a run at first base or explore the trade market for a full-time upgrade either at first base or in right field.

The Mariners will have five days to trade Tellez or place him on waivers. He originally signed a minor league contract with Seattle but locked in a $1.5MM salary when he made the roster after a big spring performance. He’s still owed about $806K of that sum, as of this writing.

Any team that claims Tellez off waivers would assume the entirety of that remaining salary. If the M’s find an interested trade partner, they could include some cash to offset the salary in exchange for what would still likely be a nominal prospect return. Since waivers are a 48-hour process, we’ll know the outcome of Tellez’s DFA within a maximum of one week’s time. In the event that he clears waivers, Tellez has enough service time to elect free agency and retain the remaining money on this year’s salary.

Max Meyer To Undergo Season-Ending Hip Surgery

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Marlins starter Max Meyer is headed for a season-ending labrum repair in his left hip, reports MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola. The procedure comes with a six-to-eight month recovery timeline, so the process could linger into the early portion of Spring Training. He is already on the 15-day injured list and will move to the 60-day IL once the Marlins need a 40-man roster spot.

Meyer, the third overall pick in 2020, has yet to really establish himself in the big leagues because of injury. He was one of the sport’s top pitching prospects when the Fish called him up in July ’22. He made two starts before his elbow gave out and sent him for Tommy John surgery. That wiped out the entire following season. The Marlins bounced him between MLB and Triple-A Jacksonville last year, a sequence that was ostensibly about managing his workload after surgery but also prevented him from reaching two full years of big league service by the end of the season.

The 26-year-old righty had been in Miami’s big league rotation this year. He got out to a brilliant start to the season, turning in a 2.10 earned run average through his first five starts. He fanned 14 hitters (tied for second by any pitcher in a game this season) over six scoreless innings against the Reds on April 21. It looked as if Meyer were in line for a breakout, but his production tanked over his final seven starts. He allowed more than seven earned runs per nine with a dramatically reduced 16.5% strikeout rate until landing on the injured list earlier this month.

Meyer was clearly not at full strength, as he’d shown none of the electric stuff he did early in the year. Manager Clayton McCullough said at the time of the IL placement that Meyer had been pitching through the injury for a few starts. His year will end with a somewhat misleading 4.73 ERA across 64 2/3 innings.

Miami has lost Meyer and Braxton Garrett to season-ending surgeries. Ryan Weathers will be out at least into August with a significant lat strain. All three have flashed promise but battled too many injuries to give the Marlins the elite rotation they’ve envisioned behind Sandy Alcantara and Eury Pérez. Meyer will fall a little shy of the three-year service cutoff. He’ll qualify for early arbitration as a Super Two player but won’t make much more than the league minimum next season because of his limited body of work. He’s under club control until the 2029-30 offseason.

Whit Merrifield Announces Retirement

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Longtime infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield has announced his retirement, via his agency at Warner Sports Management.

“Hey guys,” Merrifield says, “You all should know that I decided a while back to retire. When it came down to it, it was an easy decision. Many factors played a role in my decision, but the main one was a 6 pound 6 ounce gift from God my wife and I were blessed with in March of 2024. I was never talented enough to just show up and play. Baseball required my full focus and energy for me to compete at the level I wanted to, and I realize I can no longer give that effort. At this point in life, I’d much rather chase around a toddler than chase sliders.” He goes on to thank the various clubs he played for and their fans while acknowledging those who believed in him along the way.

As Merrifield alluded to in his statement, he had a reputation for being a scrappy grinder, as opposed to the most naturally gifted athlete. But he nonetheless was able to carve out an impressive career in the big leagues as a late bloomer.

A ninth-round pick of the Royals in 2010, Merrifield was never really on the radars of prospect evaluators as a minor leaguer. Regardless, he climbed the ladder, impressing the Royals in various ways. He could bounce all over the diamond on defense. Offensively, he didn’t have a ton of power or draw many walks, but he didn’t strike out much and could steal plenty of bases once he got on.

He got called up to the majors in May of 2016 at the age of 27, significantly older than when most players make their debuts. At the time, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com tweeted that many people within the organization viewed Merrifield as the ideal guy to have the final spot on the roster. In other words, a utility guy.

His usage in that 2016 season reflected that. He was optioned to the minors and recalled a few times, eventually getting into 81 big league games and taking 332 plate appearances. He only hit two home runs and didn’t walk much but produced a .283/.323/.392 batting line and 91 wRC+. He stole eight bases and played the three non-shortstop infield positions as well as the outfield corners.

In 2017, he showed he was capable of being more than just a utility guy. He broke out at the plate that year by hitting 19 home runs, helping him produce a .288/.324/.460 line and 105 wRC+. He also swiped 34 bags and effectively took over as the club’s everyday second baseman, while still occasionally moving to other spots.

He had arguably the best season of his career in 2018. His home run total dropped to 12 but his walk rate almost doubled compared to the year prior, jumping from 4.6% to 8.6%. A .352 batting average on balls in play also helped him out, leading to a .304/.367/.438 line and 119 wRC+, with another 45 stolen bases to boot. FanGraphs credited him with 5.0 wins above replacement that year, the best tally of his career.

Going into 2019, the Royals and Merrifield agreed to an extension. The deal guaranteed him $16.25MM over four years with a club option for a fifth year. That total looks fairly modest to compared to some more recent deals but it was a product of his late-bloomer status. Since he didn’t debut until his age-27 season, he wasn’t going to qualify for arbitration until after he turned 30 and wasn’t slated for free agency until after his age-33 season. That deal may have sacrificed a bit of future upside but it allowed him to guarantee himself some life-changing money ahead of schedule.

His performance held pretty steady for the next couple of years. Over 2019 and the shortened 2020 season, he slashed .297/.342/.456 for a 109 wRC+ while stealing another 32 bases, while the emergence of Nicky Lopez bumped him to spending more time in the outfield and less at second base. He was selected to the All-Star team for the first time in that 2019 campaign, the first of three honors he would eventually earn.

His offense dipped a bit in 2021, as his .277/.317/.395 line translated to an 89 wRC+, though he still stole 40 bases. Going into 2022, it felt like maybe the end of his time as a Royal was drawing close. It was the final guaranteed year of that extension. He was also going into his age-33 season. The Royals were rebuilding during this whole era and had rebuffed plenty of trade calls, but given his age and contract status, the window appeared to be closing.

He stuck with the Royals into the start of the 2022 season. He and the club agreed to a reworked contract, with the club preemptively triggering his 2023 club option and shifting some of the salary commitments to the ongoing 2022 campaign. The Royals were still mired in their rebuild and would eventually finish the year with a record of 65-97, so trade talk picked up that summer.

Merrifield was eventually dealt to the Blue Jays for minor leaguers Max Castillo and Samad Taylor. It was a bit of a surprising landing spot at the time. With travel restrictions still in place for the COVID-19 pandemic, ten Royals players were unable to cross the border to play in Toronto earlier that summer due to not being vaccinated. Merrifield was one of them, which led to the question of how he would be able to play for the Jays down the stretch, but he eventually agreed to receive the jab.

Though his production was a bit lackluster at the time of the trade, he caught fire down the stretch, hitting .281/.323/.446 for a 120 wRC+. He helped the Blue Jays earn a Wild Card spot, which allowed him to appear in the postseason for the first time in his career. However, the Jays were swept out of the Wild Card round, falling 2-0 to the Mariners. He stuck with the Jays in 2023, stealing another 23 bases with offense just a bit below league average. The Jays grabbed another Wild Card spot but were swept out again, this time by the Twins.

He finally reached free agency for the first time in his career, ahead of his age-35 season, and landed an $8MM guarantee from the Phillies on a one-year deal. That didn’t really pan out, as he hit .199/.277/.295 and was released in July. “Philly, I liked you way more than you liked me,” he said in his statement today. “Sorry I stunk for you.”

He then signed with Atlanta, which was a personal thrill for him. In his statement today, he described them as his “childhood team,” having grown up in the Carolinas. He had a solid .248/.348/.336 showing in 42 games for Atlanta and made the club’s Wild Card roster but didn’t appear in a game as the club was swept by the Padres.

Merrifield was a free agent this winter and didn’t appear in any rumors. In hindsight, it seems that was because he had no intention of playing this year. He hangs up his spikes having played in 1,147 games with 4,866 plate appearances. He knocked 1,249 hits, scored 632 runs, drove in 485 and stole 218 bases. FanGraphs credits him with 19.8 wins above replacement for his career, with Baseball Reference giving him 17.9. BR also pegs his career earnings justs over $35MM. And he managed to do all of that despite not making it to the majors until well after his 27th birthday.

We at MLB Trade Rumors salute Merrifield on a fine career and wish him the best in whatever comes next.

Photos courtesy of Ron Chenoy, Wendell Cruz and Isaiah J. Downing, Imagn Images

White Sox Sign Noah Syndergaard To Minor League Deal

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4:05pm: Per Jon Heyman of The New York Post, Syndergaard gets $30K per month in the minors. If he’s selected to the majors, he gets a base salary of $1.75MM, though that would presumably be prorated to account for the portion of the season that has already transpired. He can earn an extra $50K by logging 40 innings and $100K each for getting to 55 and 75 innings. He also has a release clause if he’s not in the majors prior to August 1st.

8:47am: The White Sox have signed former All-Star righty Noah Syndergaard to a minor league contract, per James Fegan of Sox Machine. The CAA client is headed to the team’s spring complex in Arizona to build up.

Syndergaard, 33 in August, hasn’t pitched in the majors since splitting the 2023 season between the Dodgers and Guardians. The former Mets star was one of the sport’s most promising young arms from 2015-19 before injuries derailed his career. Syndergaard posted a combined 3.31 ERA with a 26.4% strikeout rate and 5.6% walk rate in 716 innings over that five-year period but never got back on track after multiple arm injuries, most notably including Tommy John surgery.

The Angels signed Syndergaard post-surgery, shelling out a hefty $21MM on a one-year deal and forfeiting a draft pick — the Mets had issued him a qualifying offer — in hopes he’d recapture his ace form. He pitched more like a fourth starter with the Halos, logging a 3.83 ERA with a below-average strikeout rate and a heater that was down more than three miles per hour. They traded him to the Phillies for Mickey Moniak at the ’22 trade deadline, and he gave Philadelphia a similar performance.

A 2023 deal to join the Dodgers didn’t pan out, and L.A. swapped him out for another underperforming veteran (Amed Rosario) in a deadline deal with Cleveland that year. Syndergaard didn’t pitch well with either club and wound up being released by the Guardians about a month after the trade. He opted not to sign anywhere for the 2024 season despite rumored interest from the Padres and Pirates. Midway through last summer, it was reported that Syndergaard was setting his sights on a 2025 comeback. That’ll manifest in the form of an early-summer deal with a rebuilding White Sox club that can provide ample opportunity.

All told, Syndergaard has pitched only 225 1/3 innings in the majors since returning from Tommy John surgery. He’s pitched to a 4.99 ERA in that time with a 15.9% strikeout rate that’s nowhere close to his prior standards. Syndergaard averaged 98.6 mph on his fastball at peak, per Statcast, but has sat 93.2 mph post-surgery — including a 92.2 mph average between Cleveland and Los Angeles in 2023.

With the prevalence of Tommy John surgery in today’s sport, it’s easy to presume the surgery will be a 14-month (give or take) bump in the road for pitchers — one from which they’ll bounce back to full strength or something close to it. Syndergaard is a key reminder that such surgeries are major procedures that come with no promise of rebounding to full strength, or even an approximation of peak form. Hopefully, he can get back on track with the South Siders, but given his post-surgery performance and a big league layoff now approaching two calendar years, Syndergaard is more or less a risk-free lottery ticket for GM Chris Getz’s club.

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