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Royals Acquire Mike Yastrzemski

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The Royals have acquired outfielder Mike Yastrzemski from the Giants in a last-minute deadline swap. In exchange, the Giants will receive right-handed pitching prospect Yunior Marte. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com was the first to report that Yastrzemski was headed to Kansas City.  The deal is now official.

Yastrzemski, 34, has slipped to a 97 wRC+ in 372 plate appearances for the Giants this year in his seventh season with the club.  From 2023-24, he’d managed a 109 mark.  A left-handed hitter, Yaz has always excelled against right-handed pitching, including a 118 wRC+ this year.

Yastrzemski, who has primarily played right field in the Majors, joins a 54-55 Royals team that nonetheless sits three games back in the Wild Card race.  He’s a perfect pairing with the newly-acquired Randal Grichuk, a right-handed hitter.  Rookie Jac Caglianone, who had spent time in right field, is on the IL with a hamstring strain.  Yastrzemski, famously the grandson of Hall of Famer Carl, will be eligible for free agency after the season.

As Justice delos Santos of the San Jose Mercury News notes, “With Yastrzemski gone, the door is open for Luis Matos to step into a starting role [for the Giants]. It’s very possible Grant McCray and Marco Luciano see some time in right field as well.”

In parting with their longtime right fielder for the next few months, the Giants add Marte.  The 21-year-old has spent the season in A ball, posting a 2.74 ERA and 18.4 K-BB% in 19 starts.  Baseball America assigned him a 50 high risk grade, noting that he “features two above-average pitches in his arsenal.”

Blue Jays Acquire Louis Varland, Ty France

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The Blue Jays acquired reliever Louis Varland and first baseman Ty France from the Twins, according to Mitch Bannon of The Athletic.  Lefty Kendry Rojas and outfielder Alan Roden will head to the Twins in the deal, adds Bannon.  The trade is now official.

The Twins went well beyond expectations as sellers at the 2025 deadline, having also dealt Carlos Correa, Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Willi Castro, Danny Coulombe, Brock Stewart, Harrison Bader, and Chris Paddack.

Varland qualifies as an unexpected trade, given that he’s under team control through 2030.  The Twins dealt all five of their high-leverage relievers this month, Varland included.  The 27-year-old righty is in the midst of a breakout season, spending the entire year in the Twins’ bullpen and posting a 2.02 ERA in 49 innings.  That’s come with a 23.9 K%, 6.6 BB%, and greatly improved 54.5% groundball rate.  Working entirely as a reliever, Varland’s fastball velocity has soared to an average of 98.1 miles per hour.

The Blue Jays landed five-plus years of what looks like a very good setup man in Varland, though they could consider moving him back to the rotation in the future.  Varland comes from strong bloodlines, as his older brother Gus has pitched in the Majors for the Brewers, Dodgers, and White Sox.  Louis was drafted by the Twins in the 15th round in 2019 out of Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Varland made his MLB debut in 2022, and began last season as a member of the Twins’ rotation.  That lasted only five turns, plus some spot starts.  By September of last year, Varland had moved into more of a traditional relief role, and has since found his first sustained MLB success.

Given that Varland won’t even be arbitration eligible until 2027, the Blue Jays have plenty of time to decide his long-term role.  They will have some rotation openings next year given the impending free agencies of Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt.  For now, Varland can slot in alongside new bullpen addition Seranthony Dominguez behind closer Jeff Hoffman.

France, 31, joined the Twins in February on a $1MM free agent deal.  He’s logged the vast majority of the Twins’ innings at first base this year, posting a subpar 92 wRC+ in 387 plate appearances.  A righty batter, France has not done particularly well against lefties or righties over the last two seasons.  With Vladimir Guerrero Jr. locked in at first base and George Springer (and perhaps eventually Anthony Santander) typically handling DH duties, France seems set for a modest bench role in Toronto.

The Twins and their fans are left to pick up the pieces after president of baseball operations Derek Falvey traded 10 players this month.  Rojas, a 22-year-old who signed out of Cuba for $215K in 2020, made the jump to Triple-A yesterday.  Baseball America labeled him a 50-grade high risk prospect, saying he “shows starter traits with a deep arsenal of average-or-better pitches and command.”  Rojas has made 10 starts this year across four minor league levels and should be in the Twins’ rotation mix next year.

Roden, 26 in December, was the Blue Jays’ third-round pick back in 2022.  A lefty batter, Roden “projects to hit for a high average with high walk rates” per Baseball America, upon giving him a 50 high-risk grade as well.  He profiles as a corner outfielder.  While Roden has fared poorly in his 113 big league plate appearances, he has a 150 wRC+ at Triple-A this year and has little left to prove there.  He should be able to find playing time in left for the Twins this year given the departures of Bader and Castro.

This post was originally published at 5:05pm.

Rangers Acquire Phil Maton

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The Rangers have added another veteran arm to their bullpen, acquiring right-hander Phil Maton from the Cardinals in exchange for minor league pitchers Mason Molina and Skylar Hales, per announcements from both clubs. Texas designated minor league outfielder Dustin Harris for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot.

Maton, 32, is playing the current season on a one-year, $2MM contract signed after spring training was underway. Other clubs around the league are surely kicking themselves to an extent, as Maton has turned in a career-best performance in St. Louis. He’s tallied 38 1/3 innings with a 2.35 ERA, a 30.5% strikeout rate and a 9.5% walk rate. Maton’s 50.6% ground-ball mark is a career-high.

While he’s never been a hard-thrower, Maton has carved out a solid career for himself living in the upper 80s and low 90s. He’s sitting 89.5 mph with his sinker in 2025 — and throwing it at a career-high 13.2% clip — and averaging just 90.6 mph with his cutter. Maton has thrown his mid-70s curveball more than any other pitch this season, and he’s also mixed in a slider that sits 83.4 mph.

The whole package has been effective. Maton is missing bats, inducing grounders and limiting hard contact even better than he typically does — which is impressive given his track record. Opponents have averaged just 86 mph off Maton in his career, but they’re putting the ball in play at an average of only 84.8 mph in 2025. His 28.9% hard-hit rate is among the lowest in the sport, and Maton has only allowed three “barreled” balls, per Statcast’s definition, all season.

Maton has picked up 20 holds and a pair of saves with the Cardinals. He’s not likely to step into the ninth inning in Texas, but he’ll join newly acquired left-hander Danny Coulombe as a setup man to closer Robert Garcia. He’s a free agent at season’s end, making Maton a pure rental, but the cost of acquisition reflects that lack of team control.

Molina, 22, was the Brewers’ seventh-round pick in last year’s draft. The former Arkansas Razorback was traded to Texas in a January swap sending righty Grant Anderson to Milwaukee. He’ll now join his third organization in barely a year of pro ball.

The 6’2″, 230-pound Molina has split the current season between the Rangers’ Class-A and High-A affiliates. He’s appeared in 18 games, 17 of them starts, and worked to a 3.41 ERA in 74 innings. Molina has punched out 30.5% of his hitters and walked 9.3% of the batters he’s faced. He didn’t rank among the Rangers’ top-30 prospects.

The 23-year-old Hales was the Rangers’ fourth-round pick in 2023. He posted terrific numbers in his first season of pro ball but has struggled in year two, logging an ERA north of 5.00 in Double-A and serving up 13 runs in his first 7 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level. Overall, Hales has pitched 33 minor league innings and been tagged for a 7.64 ERA.

It’s not a compelling statistical profile, but Hales has a powerful 6’4″, 220-pound frame and averages better than 95 mph on his heater. Even as he’s struggled to keep runs off the board, he’s fanned nearly 28% of his opponents and notched strong swinging-strike rates. His command hasn’t been sharp in his limited look in Triple-A, but he posted quality walk rates at each stop prior to reaching Memphis.

Hales is a pure bullpen prospect, relying primarily on a fastball/slider combo. If he can get his command back on track and improve his performance with runners on base, he has the tools to be a useful bullpen piece.

The roster casualty for Maton will be Harris, a former 11th-round pick of the A’s whom the Rangers acquired in a 2020 trade. He ranked among the organization’s better prospects for a few seasons and had the look of an offensive-minded first baseman or left fielder. Harris posted huge numbers up through High-A and above-average numbers in his first passes through the Double-A and Triple-A levels.

He’s now in his third run through Triple-A, however, and he’s delivered below-average output in each of his past two stints at the level. In 308 plate appearances this season, the lefty-swinging Harris has a .262/.355/.401 slash with nine homers and 24 steals. He’s walked at a strong 10.7% clip and fanned in a lower-than-average 18.8% of plate appearances. It’s not necessarily bad production, but he’s checked in 5% worse than league average, by measure of wRC+.

Harris is also in his final minor league option year. He would’ve needed to stick on the major league roster next season had the Rangers not jettisoned him from the 40-man roster. That’ll be true for any organization that claims him off waivers as well. Harris can be optioned for the remainder of the current season but will have to stick in the majors or else be designated for assignment again next year.

Since trades of players who’ve been on 40-man rosters are no longer permitted, Harris will head to waivers within the next five days. He’ll be made available to all 29 other clubs at that point, with waiver priority determined by reverse standings.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported that Maton was headed to Texas. The Athletic’s Katie Woo reported the return.

Astros Acquire Jesús Sánchez

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The Astros have acquired left-handed hitting outfielder Jesús Sánchez from the Marlins. In exchange, Miami has received right-hander Ryan Gusto, infield prospect Chase Jaworsky, and outfield prospect Esmil Valencia. Both teams have announced the trade.

Houston was known to be seeking a left-handed bat ahead of the deadline, to help balance out a lineup that is sorely missing star slugger Yordan Alvarez. Sánchez is no Alvarez, but he has provided the Marlins with above-average power throughout his career, particularly against right-handed pitching. He has hit double-digit home runs in each of the past five seasons, while his career .184 isolated power (ISO) is about 15% better than league average. Mediocre on-base skills and a typically high strikeout rate mean his overall numbers are closer to average (career 100 wRC+), but he has been consistently productive with the platoon advantage. Sánchez has hit 60 of his 69 home runs against right-handers, with a .203 ISO and a 115 wRC+. He has been particularly effective against righties this year, with a career-best 125 wRC+ and a 19.4% strikeout rate. While his 27.6% strikeout rate against southpaws is still quite high, his overall 20.8% strikeout rate is easily the lowest of his career; this is the first year he has ever had a strikeout rate better than the league average.

Sánchez is strictly a platoon bat, with a .178/.226/.284 career slash line against lefties, but that shouldn’t be a problem for the Astros, who rank second in MLB in OPS and wRC+ against left-handed pitching and have enough right-handed hitters that they shouldn’t have any trouble shielding Sánchez from southpaws. However, the only lefties on their active roster right now are Taylor Trammell and Jacob Melton, as well as the switch-hitting Victor Caratini and Cooper Hummel, and they rank among the bottom half of teams in OPS and wRC+ against right-handers. So, it’s not hard to see how Sánchez slots in and improves the lineup. He can take outfield playing time that’s been going to Hummel, Melton, and Trammell, and/or DH reps that have been going to Caratini against right-handed pitching.

In exchange for Sánchez, who is making $4.5MM this year and remains under team control through arbitration through 2027, the Marlins receive a rookie hurler and two position player prospects. According to MLB Pipeline, Jaworsky, 21, is the headliner; they have him ranked as Houston’s no. 13 prospect, while Valencia is no longer on the organizational top 30. Similarly, Baseball America put Jaworsky at no. 22 and did not rank Valencia in their latest update. Most sources agree that Jaworsky projects as a utility infielder with good speed, but a lack of power means he’ll need to improve his plate discipline in order to get enough out of his hit tool. FanGraphs, interestingly, is higher on Valencia (Astros no. 20) than Jaworsky (no. 26). The 19-year-old outfielder seems to have a higher offensive ceiling but carries more risk, in large part due to poor swing decisions. Ultimately, both players project as role players; that’s not too surprising considering Sánchez himself isn’t an everyday player.

As for Gusto, he wasn’t a name that many had an eye on entering the season, but the 26-year-old has been surprisingly effective in his first big league campaign. Through 24 games (14 starts), he has a 4.92 ERA and a much more impressive 3.92 SIERA over 86 innings pitched. He helped the Astros survive a great number of pitching injuries over the first four months of the season, but with Houston looking to add pitching today and hoping to reinstate some arms from the IL soon, Gusto was expendable. He will now be able to help the Marlins fill innings over the remainder of the season, and they’ll have him under team control (with three option years remaining) for another five seasons.

Sánchez heading to the Marlins was first reported by Michael Schwab. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand added that the Marlins would receive Gusto in the deal. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported the Marlins would also get back two prospects in exchange for Sánchez. Isaac Azout of Fish on First identified one of the prospects as Jaworsky, while Craig Mish of Sportsgrid identified the other as Valencia.

Brewers Acquire Shelby Miller

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The Brewers acquired injured pitchers Shelby Miller and Jordan Montgomery from the Diamondbacks for a player to be named later or cash. Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports that Milwaukee is absorbing $2MM of the approximate $7.1MM remaining on Montgomery’s $22.5MM salary. The D-Backs are seemingly kicking in a little over $5MM.

It’s a pure salary dump for Arizona. Montgomery underwent Tommy John surgery in Spring Training. He’ll be a free agent at season’s end. He’s on the 60-day injured list and won’t have any impact on the Brewers’ season. They’re letting the D-Backs off the hook for a small portion of the remaining salary to effectively purchase Miller without needing to give up any young talent.

Miller is on the injured list himself after sustaining a forearm strain a few weeks ago. He avoided surgery and is expected back this season. GM Matt Arnold told reporters (including Todd Rosiak of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) that he’d spoken to Miller about his recovery. Arnold said the righty has had sharp stuff in bullpen sessions and might not be far away from a rehab assignment.

Before the injury, the 34-year-old Miller looked like one of the best rental relievers available. He’d taken over Arizona’s closer role and had fired 36 1/3 innings of 1.98 ERA ball. There’s obviously no guarantee that he’ll maintain that form after an arm injury, but Milwaukee is only spending a few million dollars to find out. Miller himself is playing on a $1MM salary after signing an offseason minor league deal; the only somewhat significant money that the Brewers are taking is the cash they’re eating on Montgomery.

The Brewers already have one of the game’s deepest bullpens. Miller could add another weapon for the stretch run and into the postseason. Milwaukee can feel pretty well assured that they’re going to make the playoffs in some capacity. Miller has a shot to play a big role in October if he comes back strong.

Robert Murray of FanSided reported the Brewers were acquiring Miller. Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic had Montgomery’s inclusion.

Rays Acquire Adrian Houser For Curtis Mead and Pitching Prospects

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The Rays are acquiring starting pitcher Adrian Houser from the White Sox, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Infielder Curtis Mead will head to Chicago in return, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Bruce Levine of 670 The Score adds that the White Sox will also receive right-handed pitchers Duncan Davitt and Ben Peoples.

Houser, 32, had a rough 2024 season with the Mets but spent the offseason training at “at PitchingWRX, a facility in Oklahoma City where former Sox pitcher Lane Ramsey is the chief of operations,” according to James Fegan of Sox Machine.  Houser landed a minor league deal with the Rangers in December, then inked a Major League one with the White Sox on May 20th.  Houser had added over a mile per hour to his fastball due to his offseason training, and posted a stellar 2.10 ERA in 11 starts for the Sox.

Somehow, Houser has had this level of success despite a 17.1 K%.  He’s had success preventing barrels, and Statcast’s xERA supports a sub-4 mark.  Houser, a free agent after the season, joins a Rays rotation that also includes Ryan Pepiot, Shane Baz, Drew Rasmussen, and Joe Boyle.  Houser, a free agent after the season, can serve as something of a replacement for Zack Littell, who the Rays dealt to the Reds yesterday.  The Rays optioned Taj Bradley to Triple-A a week ago, but today shipped him to the Twins for elite reliever Griffin Jax.

It’s been an interesting month for Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander, who also shipped out Danny Jansen and acquired Bryan Baker earlier this month.  The Rays simply aren’t afraid to make trades (including during a game with their opponent) and serve as both buyers and sellers.  The Rays took a painful loss in New York against the Yankees today, with Yandy Diaz, Jonathan Aranda, and Chandler Simpson all departing early with injuries.  The club still has a fighting chance at 3.5 games out in the Wild Card.

Mead, 25 in October, hasn’t done much with Major League pitching in stints in each of the last three seasons.  Nor has he been all that impressive in Triple-A in the last few years.  Still, Mead has spent ample time on Baseball America’s top 100 prospects list, peaking at #36 prior to the 2023 season.  He garnered a 55/medium risk grade at that time, at which point Baseball America considered him “one of the best pure hitters in the minors.”  Though the Rays are considered a dangerous trading partner, Mead represents a rare misstep for the club, as they acquired him for Cristopher Sanchez back in November 2019.

Not known for his defense, Mead can fit at first, second, or third base.  Those spots are occupied in Chicago by Miguel Vargas, Lenyn Sosa, and Colson Montgomery of late, with Andrew Benintendi taking a fair number of DH at-bats.  Mead can likely work his way into the playing time mix.  As Jim Margalus of Sox Machine notes, Mead bears some similarities to Vargas.

Davitt, a 25-year-old righty, earned a promotion to Triple-A earlier this month. Eric Longenhagen and James Fegan of FanGraphs described him in February as “a funky low-slot guy at Iowa who has successfully been turned into a backend starter prospect in pro ball.”  Peoples, a 24-year-old righty, has spent the entire season as a reliever at Triple-A, posting a 2.65 ERA with a 12.3 K-BB%.  The FanGraphs team wrote, “We’re betting on Peoples’ athleticism and delivery here, and still think he has a future as a fastball-heavy up/down reliever who has a chance to entrench himself in a more regular big league role if one of his secondary pitches improves.”

Marlins Won’t Trade Sandy Alcantara, Edward Cabrera

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4:59pm: The Marlins also don’t plan to trade Edward Cabrera today, per Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.

4:49pm: The Marlins aren’t trading right-hander Sandy Alcantara today, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald. He’ll stay put in Miami’s rotation down the stretch. An offseason trade or a deal next summer remains a possibility, of course. Alcantara is being paid $17MM this year and next, and he has a $21MM club option for the 2027 season.

Alcantara and Cabrera were two of the more notable arms on the market this summer. Alcantara, in his first season back from Tommy John surgery, hasn’t posted anywhere close to his typically excellent results. He was sharp in each of his two outings prior to the deadline, but the right-hander’s 6.36 ERA in 109 frames and struggles throughout most of the season prevented the Fish from receiving what they deem commensurate value for a former Cy Young winner who has two years of control left on what would be well below-market rates if he were back to form. They’ll hope to get him right down the stretch.

Cabrera, 27, is a former top prospect in the midst of a breakout season. He’s tossed 94 innings of 3.35 ERA ball, fanning 24.3% of opponents against an 8.4% walk rate while sitting close to 97 mph with his heater. He dealt with a minor elbow scare earlier this month but avoided a trip to the injured list. Whether that gave interested teams any trepidation remains unclear.

Miami understandably had a high asking price on both pitchers. Cabrera is making just $1.95MM this year and is controllable via arbitration for another three years. The Marlins will head into the offseason with both righties penciled into their 2026 rotation, though their future with the organization hinges on when president of baseball operations Peter Bendix and owner Bruce Sherman feel a return to contention in the NL East is viable. If next year is going to be a transition year or a continuation of the franchise’s rebuilding efforts, they could end up on the block again in the offseason. At the very least, other clubs figure to try to pry both pitchers away.

Red Sox Acquire Dustin May

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The Red Sox announced the acquisition of right-hander Dustin May from the Dodgers for minor league outfielders James Tibbs and Zach Ehrhard. May will step into the back of Boston’s rotation after the Sox optioned Richard Fitts earlier in the week.

May, 27, has had a middling season. He carries a 4.85 earned run average across 19 appearances. His 21.5% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk percentage are right around league average. May hasn’t missed as many bats or gotten as many ground balls as he did earlier in his career. The former top prospect once looked like a potential top-of-the-rotation starter, but he’s unfortunately never been able to stay healthy. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021 and missed most of that season and the next. He suffered another forearm strain upon his return in ’23, then missed all of last season after requiring emergency surgery after rupturing his esophagus.

This year’s 104 innings are by far the most of his career. May’s velocity has held all season, but he has allowed an ERA of 4.45 or higher in each month since April. The Dodgers seemingly were on the verge of kicking him to the bullpen. GM Brandon Gomes told reporters (including J.P. Hoornstra of Newsweek) that May preferred to start. Gomes stated that May did not demand a trade but suggested the Dodgers were open to accommodating him by dealing him to a team that’d give him a rotation spot if a deal presented itself.

They not only found that team but got a strong return out of it. Tibbs was the Giants’ first-round pick last summer. San Francisco sent him to Boston alongside Kyle Harrison in June’s Rafael Devers blockbuster. His production tanked immediately after the trade, as he hit .205/.321/.268 with only one home run in 29 games for Boston’s Double-A affiliate. Tibbs had put together a much more impressive .246/.379/.478 line in High-A before the trade.

The Red Sox evidently soured on his future extremely quickly. Not only has May not had a particularly good year, he’s an impending free agent. He’s only playing on a $2.135MM salary because the injuries tamped down his arbitration earnings. Still, two months of a fifth/sixth starter isn’t a particularly valuable trade asset. If the Red Sox valued Tibbs anywhere near as highly as they did when they included him in the Devers trade, they would not have made this deal.

Ehrhard was Boston’s fourth-rounder last season. He’s a righty-hitting corner outfielder with a .270/.371/.434 line and 23 steals in 88 games between High-A and Double-A on the year. Baseball America slotted him 29th in the Boston farm system. He has a tweener profile but could be a fourth or fifth outfielder on the strength of his hitting ability.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the Red Sox were acquiring May. FanSided’s Robert Murray had Tibbs’ inclusion, while Christopher Smith of MassLive reported that Ehrhard was in the deal. Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of the New York Post previously reported that the two sides were in talks on a deal involving May. Image courtesy of Neville E. Guard, Imagn Images.

Royals Acquire Bailey Falter

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The Royals have acquired left-handed starter Bailey Falter from the Pirates, with lefty Evan Sisk and minor league first baseman Callan Moss headed back to Pittsburgh in return. Both teams have announced the trade.

Falter, 28, settled in as a capable back-end starter for the Pirates over the past two seasons. From 2024-25, he has made 50 starts, averaging just over five innings per game. He has a 4.12 ERA and a 4.99 SIERA in that time. Neither a strikeout pitcher nor a groundball pitcher, none of Falter’s pitches stand out as especially dangerous, but he survives thanks to average control and elite extension. He will offer the Royals some much-needed rotation depth, with Kris Bubic out for the season and Cole Ragans, Michael Lorenzen, and Alex Marsh also on the IL. Falter might not be the kind of pitcher the Royals want starting in a postseason series, but he can help them in the uphill climb they’re facing to get to the playoffs. He is making $2.22MM this year and will be under team control through arbitration for another three seasons.

Sisk, now 28, was drafted by the Cardinals in 2018 and traded to the Twins in 2021 as part of a package for J.A. Happ. A year and a half later, the Twins flipped him to the Royals as part of the deal that brought Michael A. Taylor to Minnesota. Almost seven years after he was drafted, Sisk made his MLB debut for KC earlier this year. He threw a total of 5 1/3 innings in two separate stints with the big league club, giving up just one earned run and striking out 11. He also pitched to a 3.77 ERA and 3.83 FIP in 28.2 innings with the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers. Sisk has never been a top prospect, in no small part due to questions about his ability to retire right-handed hitters at the highest level. That helps explain why he has pitched at Triple-A with two different organizations in parts of four separate seasons, and he’s only managed to earn five big league appearances.

Moss, now 21, signed with the Royals as an undrafted free agent last summer. While he is not a highly-regarded prospect, the righty batter crushed the baseball last year at Single-A (177 wRC+ in 22 games) and has continued to hit well this year at High-A (123 wRC+ in 92 games). He’s also added a total of 17 stolen bases in 24 attempts.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post was the first to report that Falter was heading to Pittsburgh, while Alex Stumpf of MLB.com was first on the return of Sisk and Moss.

Yankees Acquire Jake Bird

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4:27pm: The deal has been officially announced. Outfielder Bryan De La Cruz was designated for assignment to make room for Bird on the 40-man roster. De La Cruz did not appear in a game with the Yankees but hit .191/.240/.213 in 16 games with Atlanta earlier this year.

2:42pm: The Yankees are reportedly in agreement to acquire reliever Jake Bird from the Rockies for two minor leaguers. Second baseman Roc Riggio and pitcher Ben Shields are going back to Colorado.

Bird is the second, lower-profile bullpen pickup for the Yanks this afternoon. They’re adding two-time All-Star David Bednar in a deal with the Pirates. While Bednar will join Devin Williams and Luke Weaver at the back of the bullpen, Bird projects more as a middle relief type. The 29-year-old righty has a 4.57 earned run average over parts of four seasons with the Rox. That includes a 4.73 mark across 53 1/3 innings this year, though he’s only a few weeks removed from what seemed to be a breakout season.

Through the end of June, Bird was sitting on a 2.68 ERA across 47 innings. He had punched out 29.1% of batters faced while getting ground-balls at a 48% rate. The past few weeks have been a disaster. Bird has been rocked for 15 runs on 16 hits and four walks with five strikeouts in his last 6 1/3 innings. It’s an unfortunate way to end his Colorado tenure.

Bird has been durable and logged almost 90 innings out of Bud Black’s bullpen a couple seasons ago. He has gotten above-average grounder rates in all four MLB seasons — a common trait for Yankee relievers — and has still shown decent swing-and-miss stuff this year. He’s a three-pitch pitcher who sits around 94 MPH with his fastball and leans most often on a mid-80s breaking ball. The horrendous past few weeks didn’t completely detract from Bird’s strong start to the season.

This is Colorado’s second significant trade of deadline season — both of which have involved the Yankees. They sent third baseman Ryan McMahon to the Bronx last week. While the McMahon trade also involved a significant contract changing hands, Bird won’t cost the Yankees much financially. He’s in his final pre-arbitration season and controllable for three years after this. Bird doesn’t have any kind of closing experience that tends to lead to significant arbitration earnings for a reliever. He should be fairly cheap throughout the arbitration window.

The McMahon and Bird trades demonstrate that Colorado is more willing to deal controllable pieces than they’ve been in past seasons. They’re trending towards the worst season in modern history and have a tough time justifying making anyone untouchable. Riggio placed 22nd on Baseball America’s writeup of Yankee prospects, while he checked in 10th in the system at MLB Pipeline. Shields ranked 28th at MLB Pipeline and was not in the top 30 at BA. Both players will not be eligible for the Rule 5 draft until after the ’26 season.

Riggio, a left-handed hitting second baseman, has split the season between High-A and Double-A. He has put together a huge .264/.370/.567 slash between the two levels. Riggio has taken walks at a strong 12.2% clip while striking out at a league average 22.2% rate. He has drilled 18 home runs, 14 doubles and a triple. A fourth-round pick out of Oklahoma State in 2023, Riggio is viewed as a bat-first player. Scouting reports question his pure hitting ability, but there’s no question he’s putting together a huge statistical season in the minors.

Shields is a 6’4″ left-handed pitcher who went undrafted out of George Mason in 2023. Despite lacking amateur pedigree, Shields has put together a solid minor league résumé. He posted a 3.48 ERA in 26 minor league appearances a season ago. He missed the first few months of this season due to injury but has since returned to start five games with Double-A Somerset. He has turned in a 3.42 ERA with 26 strikeouts across 23 2/3 innings. Shields is already 26 and facing mostly younger competition, but MLB Pipeline credits him with a potential plus slider. He could be short-term rotation or long relief depth for the Rockies.

Jack Curry of The YES Network first reported the Yankees were acquiring Bird. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com had Colorado’s return.

Image courtesy of James A. Pittman, Imagn Images.

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