Mets Acquire Cedric Mullins
The Mets have acquired outfielder Cedric Mullins from the Orioles, according to announcements from both clubs. Pitching prospects Raimon Gómez, Anthony Nunez and Chandler Marsh are heading to the Orioles in exchange. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reported the deal prior to the official announcement. Outfielder/designated hitter Jesse Winker has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot for Mullins.
Mullins, 30, will be changing teams for the first time in his career. The Orioles drafted him with a 13th-round pick back in 2015. He got some part-time play in the 2018-2020 seasons without doing too much to stand out, but then had a massive breakout in 2021. He hit 30 home runs that year and stole 30 bases. He walked in 8.7% of his plate appearances and only struck out 18.5% of the time. He slashed .291/.360/.518 for a 136 wRC+. Thanks to that offense, those steals and his strong defense, FanGraphs credited him with six wins above replacement.
That season now looks like an outlier. He hasn’t been able to maintain that level of production but has been a solid everyday player nonetheless. From 2022 to the present, he has hit .241/.310/.412 for a 103 wRC+, indicating he’s been 3% better than the league average hitter in that time. But he has stolen 99 bases and still runs the ball down on the grass. FanGraphs has credited him with 8.8 fWAR in that span, a bit more than two wins per year.
Mullins’ presence on the roster provided a bridge between eras. The Orioles were rebuilding when he first came up. As he broke out, he was a rare bright spot during an otherwise dreary period, with the O’s losing at least 108 games in each full season from 2018 to 2021. The club then emerged as a contender, getting over .500 in 2022 and then making the playoffs in the two years after that.
However, things have gone downhill in 2025, his final season before reaching free agency. Multiple injuries tanked the club early on. They are currently 50-59 and seven games back of a playoff spot, marking them as clear sellers. They have already traded Bryan Baker to the Rays, Gregory Soto to the Mets, Seranthony Domínguez to the Blue Jays, Andrew Kittredge to the Cubs and Ramón Urías to the Astros. With Mullins being an impending free agent, he was also on the list.
For the Mets, Mullins is a sensible addition, as center field has been a question mark for them this year. They began the season with Jose Siri and Tyrone Taylor as their options there. Siri fouled a ball of himself early in the year and suffered a fractured tibia. He’s been on the shelf for almost three months and still hasn’t begun a rehab assignment. Taylor has a dismal .201/.258/.295 line on the year. With those struggles, the Mets have been connected to center fielders such as Mullins, Luis Robert Jr., Harrison Bader and Ramón Laureano.
The Mets have been using Jeff McNeil in center field quite a bit. Presumably, bringing Mullins aboard will allow McNeil to move back to his regular second base position. That could perhaps increase the chances of the Mets flipping one of their young infielders. The Mets have been using Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña at second and third base this year. Reportedly, they are open to trading from that group, though nothing has come together yet.
Mullins is making $8.725MM this year, which leaves about $2.8MM left to be paid out. The Mets are a third-time payor of the competitive balance tax and are over the top tier. That means they face a 110% tax rate on any money they add to the ledger. The taxes will be about $3.1MM, so they’re paying close to $6MM total to bring in Mullins for the stretch run and postseason. That’s a drop in the bucket for them, as they have some of the highest payrolls in the league in recent years.
They are also parting with three young players. Gómez, 23, has attracted some attention thanks to his elite velocity. He can hit triple-digits regularly, having even touched 105 miles per hour. However, as often happens with pitchers with this kind of stuff, there are health and control concerns. Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2023 and most of his 2024. He has just 102 innings pitched in his five minor league seasons. He has punched out 28.4% of opponents but also given out walks at a 13.3% clip.
He is a project but one with exciting raw talent. Baseball America lists him as the #22 prospect in the Mets’ system. FanGraphs recently put him in the #31 slot. The big question seems to be whether or not he’ll ever harness his stuff. He hasn’t yet climbed beyond the High-A level but has already been eligible for the Rule 5 draft and will be exposed again this winter.
Nunez, 24, is a converted infielder. He was drafted by the Padres as a shortstop but got released back in 2021. He took up pitching and landed a minor league deal with the Mets in 2024. Since then, he has climbed as high as Double-A. In 50 innings across multiple levels, he has a 1.80 ERA and massive 37.5% strikeout rate. He has also walked 11.5% of batters faced, though that high figure is perhaps not surprising for a guy who hasn’t been pitching for very long.
BA lists him as the #27 prospect in the system. Their report notes that he throws a four-seamer, sinker, cutter, slider and changeup. FanGraphs puts him in the #18 spot. Like Gomez, he has already been Rule 5 eligible, so he’ll need a 40-man spot if the O’s don’t want him to be exposed again.
Marsh, 22, was signed last year as an undrafted free agent. He has thrown 42 2/3 minor league innings with a 2.53 ERA, 31% strikeout rate and 11.1% walk rate. FanGraphs gave him an honorable mention on their recent list of the top Mets prospects, noting that he has a great slider but a lack of fastball control. Unlike the other two, he won’t be Rule 5 eligible until after the 2027 season.
For the O’s, Mullins was on his way out the door in a lost season, so they’ve grabbed a bunch of young arms. They all seem like long-term projects, but the organization presumably feels like there’s upside in here which makes it a worthy gamble. For the Mets, none of those arms were likely to help them anytime soon. Since they are in first place and making a run at a title, Mullins helps them today.
Winker landed on the 10-day IL July 11th due to back inflammation. This transfer means he’s ineligible to return until early September, so it seems the Mets don’t think he’s close to a return.
Photos courtesy of Jeff Hanisch, Mitch Stringer, Imagn Images
Padres Acquire Nestor Cortes
The Padres and Brewers have agreed to a trade that will send left-hander Nestor Cortes, shortstop prospect Jorge Quintana, and cash considerations to San Diego in exchange for Brandon Lockridge. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the Padres will only owe Cortes the prorated MLB minimum salary over the remainder of the season, as the Brewers will be covering the remainder of the approximately $2.4MM owed to Cortes.
Cortes is on the move again after being dealt from the Yankees to the Brewers in December, and the southpaw’s Milwaukee tenure ends with just two starts in a Brew Crew uniform. Cortes had a 9.00 ERA over his eight innings in 2025 before a left elbow flexor strain sidelined him for the bulk of the season.
With his rehab assignment nearing an end, the Brewers had to make a decision about activating Cortes or perhaps dealing him elsewhere, given the club’s crowded pitching situation. The result was a trade to San Diego, as Cortes will now provide some depth to a rotation that was thinned when Ryan Bergert and and Stephen Kolek were dealt to the Royals earlier today in the Freddy Fermin trade.
However, the Padres didn’t move Dylan Cease despite multiple rumors and acquired JP Sears as part of the Mason Miller blockbuster, leaving the club’s rotation as Cease, Sears, Yu Darvish, Nick Pivetta, and Randy Vasquez. Cortes and the injured Michael King should likely supplant Vasquez and Sears when they return from the IL, but the bottom line is that the Padres’ plethora of deadline moves has seen the team shuffle but not really overhaul its core rotation mix.
“Nasty Nestor” emerged as a relief weapon and then as a starter with the Yankees during the 2021 season, then seemed to fully break with a tremendous 2022 campaign that saw finish eighth in AL Cy Young Award voting. Injuries unfortunately limited him to 63 1/3 frames in 2023, and he bounced back to toss 174 1/3 frames in the regular season before a late-season flexor strain surfaced.
Since Opening Day 2024, Cortes had a 4.09 ERA over 237 2/3 innings and good enough secondary numbers to make him still a solid rotation option, but New York opted to deal from a crowded rotation and sent Cortes and Caleb Durbin to Milwaukee for Devin Williams. Cortes is earning $7.6MM in his final year of arbitration eligibility, and he doesn’t have a ton of time left in the season to re-establish some value heading into free agency.
Since the Brewers will end up eating pretty much all of Cortes’ salary, the Williams trade hasn’t worked out to date, yet the deal will ultimately be judged down the road depending on how Durbin and now Lockridge or Quintana develop as big leaguers. Lockridge has seen some time in the majors already, though with only a .210/.248/.280 slash line to show for 59 games and 107 plate appearances over the 2024-25 seasons. He is 10-for-11 on stolen base attempts in the bigs, and he topped the 40-steal plateau in both the 2023 and 2024 minor league seasons.
Capable of playing all three outfield positions, Lockridge is an average-to-capable defender all over the grass. His Triple-A numbers have perhaps been inflated by the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League over the last two years, but Lockridge has a .299/.398/.396 slash over 712 career PA with the Padres’ and Yankees’ Triple-A affiliates. The Brewers seem likely to give Lockridge a look in the majors right away, as Jackson Chourio‘s hamstring injury is probably going to result in a stint on the injured list.
Quintana is an 18-year-old lottery ticket of a prospect who was a member of Milwaukee’s 2024 international signing class. He has hit .257/.355/.392 over 467 career plate appearances, all at the Rookie League levels.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal was the first to report on the Cortes deal, while the New York Post’s Joel Sherman reported that Lockridge was heading to Milwaukee in the return and Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Quintana’s involvement.
Last Day To Lock In Savings On Trade Rumors Front Office
For the last five years, we have provided a paid subscription service called Trade Rumors Front Office for MLBTR readers who want to go deeper and support our (100% human) writers. Benefits include:
- Removal of ads
- Exclusive weekly hot stove articles from expert MLB writers Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco
- Team-by-team series: Trade Deadline Outlook and Offseason Outlook
- Exclusive member-only online chats with Steve Adams and Anthony Franco every week
- Fantasy baseball articles and live chats from Nicklaus Gaut
- MLB Contract Tracker: a high-powered tool featuring 18+ years of free agent contracts and extensions
- MLB GM Tracker: GM tenures for all 30 teams dating back to 2000, with links to each GM’s contract history
- MLB Agency Database: agencies for more than three-quarters of those who played in MLB in the last three seasons, compiled from industry sources
There is nothing directly comparable to these offerings, but similar services often charge more than double the $29.89 per year we’re charging. And ours comes with a 100% money-back guarantee, as we want all of our customers to feel they’re getting their money’s worth. Sign up here!
Facing headwinds on traffic, I have decided on a modest price increase for Trade Rumors Front Office for the first time. As of tomorrow, the price will increase to $34.99 per year.
To show appreciation for all existing subscribers as well as anyone who signs up by the end of the day, we’re grandfathering all of those people in at the $29.89 per year price until 8-1-28! That means you have less than three hours left to lock in three years of savings before the price goes up. Please note that you’ll need to keep auto-renewal on to keep the old price.
MLBTR was all hands on deck today as we celebrated our 20th trade deadline. It’s always one of the wildest days of the year for us. If you enjoy our work and have the means, please consider a Trade Rumors Front Office subscription to enhance your experience!
Cubs Acquire Willi Castro
The Cubs have landed utilityman Willi Castro from the Twins, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Minnesota will receive multiple prospects in return, and ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers specifies those players as minor league pitchers Ryan Gallagher and Sam Armstrong.
The switch-hitting Castro can play all over the diamond, but he’ll surely get most of his playing time in Chicago at third base. The Cubs haven’t gotten much from the position all season, even though top prospect Matt Shaw has been on fire since the All-Star break. Shaw could continue to get at-bats as long as he continues to hit, with Castro spelling him on occasion and moving into more of a regular role if Shaw comes back to earth.
Since coming to Minnesota as a free agent in the 2022-23 offseason, Castro has hit .250/.335/.398 over 1388 plate appearances and played at every position on the field except catcher and first base. Beyond just being a plug-and-play fill-in for the Twins’ many injuries over the years, Castro forced his way into more of a regular role with his solid hitting from both sides of the plate, and a 34-steal season in 2023. That havoc on the basepaths may have been a one-year outlier (he is 23-of-35 in steal attempts over the last two seasons), but Castro is nevertheless a solid all-around contributor.
Castro is also inexpensive, as the Cubs will owe him roughly $2MM for the remainder of the 2025 season before the utilityman enters free agency this winter. Between his salary, rental status, and ability to fit into pretty much any roster, Castro drew a lot of buzz as the deadline approached, with such teams as the Astros, Yankees, and Mariners listed as known suitors.
This interest allowed the Twins to land two pitching prospects for a rental player. MLB Pipeline ranks Gallagher as the eighth-best prospect in the Chicago farm system, while Armstrong just barely cracked Baseball America’s preseason Cubs ranking in the 30th spot on the list. This duo will join the haul of young talent Minnesota received as part of their enormous deadline-day selloff.
Gallagher was a sixth-round pick in the 2024 draft, and he has already reached Double-A Knoxville in his first pro season. Gallagher has a 3.43 ERA, 28.2% strikeout rate, and 5.9% walk rate over 84 combined innings at the high-A and Double-A levels, with 11 1/3 of those frames coming in Knoxville. His top two pitches are a changeup and a fastball, with the latter pitch standing out for its “quality induced vertical break and command” (according to Pipeline’s scouting report) moreso than velocity in the 90-93 mph range.
Armstrong was a 13th-round pick for Chicago in 2023, and he has a 4.62 ERA, 19.3% strikeout rate, and 8.3% walk rate in 89 2/3 innings in Knoxville this season. BA’s scouting report says Armstrong has “a kitchen sink’s worth of pitches” but perhaps not a true signature pitch among his six offerings, as his slider gets the highest grade with a relatively modest 50. Armstrong has posted some good grounder rates across his minor league career, but it would seem he might have trouble continually fooling batters without premium stuff.
Tigers Acquire Charlie Morton
The Tigers have acquired right-hander Charlie Morton from the Orioles in exchange for minor league left-hander Micah Ashman. Baltimore will also send cash considerations. To free up space on their 40-man roster, the Tigers designated left-hander PJ Poulin for assignment. Jeff Passan of ESPN was the first to report that Morton was heading to Detroit.
Morton, 41, joins Chris Paddack as the Tigers’ second veteran rotation addition near the trade deadline. Morton signed a $15MM free agent deal with the Orioles in January, but lost his rotation job after five disastrous starts. After the Orioles designated Kyle Gibson for assignment on May 18th, Morton returned to the rotation. He’s been a new pitcher in those 11 starts, posting a 3.88 ERA, 22.7 K%, and 8.9 BB%.
Now Morton joins the first-place Tigers, who are tied for the best record in the American League. The club’s rotation consists of ace Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize, Paddack, and Morton. Reese Olson is out for the season with a shoulder strain, while free agent signing Alex Cobb was able to resume his rehab assignment on Tuesday as he recovers from a hip injury. Rookie Troy Melton, who drew two starts this month, has been moved to the bullpen to accommodate Morton.
It’s unclear how the Tigers would make it work if all six veteran pitchers are healthy, but that’s a good problem to have. Morton could perhaps serve as the Tigers’ fourth starter in the playoffs. He has extensive postseason experience, including for manager A.J. Hinch’s 2017-18 Astros.
Perhaps because of the success of his team or a desire to hang on to his best prospects, Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris didn’t shoot for the top of the market at the trade deadline. Aside from adding Morton and Paddack to the rotation, Harris picked up Kyle Finnegan, Rafael Montero, the injured Paul Sewald, and Codi Heuer as bullpen reinforcements. It was not unlike the club’s offseason, which consisted of modest free agent deals for Flaherty, Cobb, Gleyber Torres, Tommy Kahnle, John Brebbia, Manuel Margot, and Jose Urquidy.
At one point it seemed like the Orioles might move three starting pitchers, but Zach Eflin and Tomoyuki Sugano ended up staying put. Eflin was placed on the IL today with back discomfort, while Sugano likely didn’t move the needle for teams given his 15.2 K%. The Orioles still traded Ryan O’Hearn, Ramon Laureano, Ramon Urias, Cedric Mullins, Andrew Kittredge, Seranthony Dominguez, Gregory Soto, and Bryan Baker this month, so it was an incredibly active trade deadline for Mike Elias and company.
Ashman, 22, was drafted in the 11th round by the Tigers last year out of the University of Utah. The reliever has a 1.49 ERA and 25.5 K-BB% in the minors this year and moved to Double-A earlier this month. It appears the Tigers are taking on all $4.76MM owed to Morton for the rest of the year, which likely dampened Baltimore’s return.
Yankees Acquire Camilo Doval
The Yankees are acquiring right-handed reliever Camilo Doval from the Giants, reports Jack Curry of YES Network. In exchange, the Giants will receive four minor leaguers: Jesus Rodriguez, Trystan Vrieling, Parks Harber, and Carlos De La Rosa. Curry was the first to report that Rodriguez, Vrieling, and Harbor were included in the deal, while FanSided’s Robert Murray later reported the complete package. The deal is now official.
In adding Doval, David Bednar, and Jake Bird today, Yankees GM Brian Cashman was able to acquire three relievers with control beyond this season. That should be useful given the impending free agencies of Devin Williams and Luke Weaver.
Doval, 28, has a 3.09 ERA, 26.2 K%, 12.6 BB%, and 52.6% groundball rate in 46 2/3 innings for the Giants this year. Doval burst onto the scene in 2021 as one of baseball’s hardest-throwing relievers.
Unlike most baseball executives, Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey had firsthand experience with Doval’s talent, having served as his catcher in Posey’s final season. As a rookie, Doval made three appearances in the NLDS for the Giants.
A few months in the 2022 season, Doval was entrenched as the Giants’ closer. He had a couple of strong years, including 39 saves and an All-Star appearance in 2023. However, with his walk rate spiking to 14.4% in 2024, Doval was sent to Triple-A in August as Ryan Walker took over closing duties. By the end of May this year, Doval had won his closer job back.
Doval has had better results this year with a 3.09 ERA, though his still lives in dangerous territory with a 12.6% walk rate. Some of that is mitigated by his ability to keep the ball on the ground. Doval likely won’t be tasked with the ninth inning for the Yankees, given the presence of Williams, Bednar, and Weaver.
Doval is under team control through 2027. He’s earning $4.525MM in his first arbitration year, about $1.44MM of which remains this season. Given the Yankees’ 110% competitive balance tax bracket, they’ll spend about $3MM to have Doval for the remainder of this season. The club has run its CBT payroll up to about $316MM, according to RosterResource.
Posey’s Giants, meanwhile, save money and further stock the cupboard with minor leaguers, having also traded Mike Yastrzemski and Tyler Rogers in the last few days. According to Baseball America, De La Rosa has the best upside of the four acquired for Doval. The 20-year-old righty was graded 45/extreme risk by BA, who called him a “fine lottery ticket” who is on the upswing. BA graded Rodriguez as 40/high risk, suggesting he “could have a future as a second-division regular who takes reps behind the plate and occasionally at third base.”
Though unranked by BA, Vrieling is more highly regarded by MLB.com, who assigned the righty a 40 grade. They concluded, “he’ll have no more than a back-of-the-rotation ceiling unless he can develop a better-than-average offering.” Harber, now 23, was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Yankees. He’s reached High-A this year as a corner infielder. He may be a bit old for his level, but Harber has a 156 wRC+ in 152 PA and may soon prove ready for Double-A.
This post was originally published at 5:29pm.
Royals Acquire Mike Yastrzemski
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
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
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
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.