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Trade Deadline Outlook: Los Angeles Dodgers

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MLBTR’s new team-by-team deadline preview series (available to Front Office subscribers) continues with a look at the reigning World Series champions, who are laser-focused on defending their title.  The Dodgers have again weathered a storm of pitching injuries to take control of the NL West, and at this point are looking primarily at adding a few finishing touches to lengthen what is already a championship-caliber roster.

Record: 56-37 (99.3% playoff probability, per FanGraphs)

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Potential needs: Relief pitching, infield depth, outfield depth, rotation depth

In an example of how deadline plans can quickly evolve, this list of needs would have been shorter if the Dodgers' outlook piece had been written even a week ago.  Just within the last few days, Max Muncy sustained a bone bruise in his left knee that will keep him out until mid-August, Enrique Hernandez was placed on the 10-day injured list due to lingering elbow inflammation that has been bothering the utilityman for over a month, Tommy Edman suffered a hairline fracture in his right baby toe after being hit by a pitch, and Teoscar Hernandez is day-to-day after fouling a ball off his left foot.

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Trade Deadline Outlook: Tampa Bay Rays

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The Rays are up next in MLBTR's team-by-team look at the upcoming trade deadline. Tampa Bay has weathered an uneven start to the season and emerged in the thick of the division race. The Rays are currently six games over .500, good for third place in the American League East but sole possession of the American League's second Wild Card spot. They're five games back of the division-leading Blue Jays.

While most clubs tend to pick a buy or sell lane, the Rays are always open to a bit of a mixed-bag approach. They're constantly working to walk the line between rebuilding and contending and are never afraid to trade from the major league roster. President of baseball operations Erik Neander and his staff will be looking to add to the roster ahead of what looks like a very likely playoff run, but the Rays will probably still get some calls on some of their pricey veterans with dwindling levels of club control.

Record: 49-43 (57.3% playoff odds, per FanGraphs)

Other series entries: Rockies, Giants, Phillies, Pirates, Astros, Marlins, Athletics, Orioles, White Sox, Nationals, Cubs

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Potential needs: Outfield, catcher, right-handed bat, another reliever

It's always tough to identify exact needs on a well-rounded club. That's the Rays in 2025, but the outfield has been a revolving door of less-than-ideal options. Kameron Misner has seen the most plate appearances of any Ray in the outfield this year, and he's batted .214/.274/.347 in 216 plate appearances there. He faded badly after a hot start and was optioned to Triple-A Durham in late June.

Each of Jake Mangum, Josh Lowe, Christopher Morel and Chandler Simpson has received between 166 and 206 plate appearances in the outfield. Mangum and Morel have hit well but done so with the help of plenty of good fortune on batted balls. Simpson is getting his second look in the majors and using his speed and elite contact skills to produce solid offense. He could lead the majors in stolen bases but has 20-grade power (on the 20-80 scale), a well below-average walk rate and shaky defense in center. Lowe was terrific in 2023, pedestrian in 2024, and is somewhere in between in 2025.

The Rays have enough outfield options that they could mix-and-match for the rest of the season, playing the hot hand and rotating outfielders based on matchups they deem favorable. It's a tactic we've seen before from manager Kevin Cash (at various places on the roster), but some more stability and more power, in particular, might be welcome. Rays outfielders have been about league-average offensively on the whole, but they're benefiting from a .339 average on balls in play and rank 27th in the majors with a .121 isolated power mark (slugging percentage minus batting average). Only the Guardians and Royals have received fewer home runs from their outfield than the Rays' total of 21.

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Mets Reportedly Among Teams With Interest In Edward Cabrera

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Marlins right-hander Edward Cabrera is one of the most interesting trade candidates this summer. After he struggled to throw strikes through his first three-plus seasons, he’s amidst a breakout year. That makes him a potential fit for virtually every team that is evaluating the rotation market.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported in June that Cabrera was among a number of starting pitchers on the Cubs’ radar. Francys Romero adds the Mets as another club that has shown interest. It stands to reason the Marlins have heard from most win-now teams on both Cabrera and former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara.

The 27-year-old Cabrera has a 3.33 earned run average in 15 appearances. That’s weighed down by a pair of five-run clunkers in April. He has been downright excellent over his past 11 starts. He owns a 2.11 ERA while striking out more than a quarter of opposing hitters in that time. Cabrera has gotten grounders on nearly half the batted balls against him while keeping his walks to a decent 8% clip. It’s by far the best stretch of his big league career — both in terms of throwing strikes and keeping runs off the board.

There’s danger in carving up samples that small. Cabrera had a career 4.49 ERA and 13.2% walk rate before this 11-start run. Still, he’s now at two and a half months of top-of-the-rotation production. The Marlins had limited him to around five innings for most of that stretch. They’ve shown more trust in his ability to work deep into games over his past two appearances. Cabrera worked seven innings in each, allowing a combined two runs with 11 strikeouts and one walk against the Twins and Brewers, respectively.

While Cabrera hasn’t shown this level before, this isn’t entirely out of nowhere. The 6’4″ hurler was a staple on top prospect lists. Evaluators credited him with at least mid-rotation caliber stuff. He has a five-pitch mix and averages north of 96 MPH with both his sinker and four-seam fastball. His curveball and slider are missing bats. It has long been easy to dream on the upside. The question has been whether the command would ever progress to even league average. While it has taken a little longer than the Marlins might’ve hoped, that now seems to be falling into place.

Miami doesn’t need to make Cabrera available. He entered this season with a little under three years of service time. He’s playing on a $1.95MM salary in his first of four arbitration years as a Super Two player. The money isn’t an issue even by Marlins standards. He’s under club control through 2028. Even with the widespread expectation that they’ll deal Alcantara, the Fish could hold Cabrera to form a 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation with Eury Pérez. They’ve played well of late, and while it’s highly unlikely to make them a legitimate Wild Card contender this season, it could signify that they’re not too far from being competitive.

It’d nevertheless be a surprise if they closed the door on offers completely. President of baseball operations Peter Bendix has embarked on a complete teardown and rebuild. The front office may have some trepidation about Cabrera’s old command woes returning. Even if they fully buy into his current form, they’re aware of the injury risk for any pitcher — particularly one who throws as hard as Cabrera does. The Marlins have seen Max Meyer, Ryan Weathers and Braxton Garrett battle various injuries. Pérez and Alcantara required Tommy John surgeries; Alcantara hasn’t come back from the surgery nearly as dominant as he had been. Cabrera himself missed time in both 2023 and ’24 with shoulder impingements.

The Marlins would demand a significant trade return. Cabrera has surpassed Alcantara as the team’s top realistic trade chip. Few other pitchers on non-contenders have the same ceiling. The affordability and team control window would appeal both to all-in teams and to those that feel their competitive window is just opening. It stands to reason the Fish would add even more of a premium in talks with other NL East teams.

New York will welcome Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea back from the injured list this weekend. They’ll have a starting five of Manaea, Senga, David Peterson, Clay Holmes and Frankie Montas for the first time all year. Injuries to Griffin Canning, Tylor Megill and Paul Blackburn have tested the depth. The Mets figure to add at least one starter in addition to potential bullpen and center field pursuits.

Phillies Sign Phil Bickford To Minor League Deal

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The Phillies signed reliever Phil Bickford to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, the affiliate announced. Alex Coll first reported the move last night.

Bickford had spent the season in the Cubs organization after signing an offseason minor league contract. He was released last week. It’s possible that was spurred by an opt-out clause, as Bickford was pitching quite well with the Cubs’ top farm team. He posted a 2.60 ERA while striking out 34% of batters faced in 27 2/3 innings. He walked fewer than 6% of opponents while getting swinging strikes at a plus 13.6% rate.

That wasn’t enough for the Cubs to carve out an MLB roster spot. Bickford didn’t get much of a big league look last season either. He appeared in eight games with the Yankees and allowed nine runs in 8 1/3 innings. He had a strong run in Triple-A with New York, posting a 3.40 ERA with a 30% strikeout rate. His most recent extended stretch at the MLB level came two seasons back, when he allowed a near-5.00 ERA over 61 appearances.

Bickford doesn’t have overwhelming velocity. His fastball lands a little above 93 MPH on average. He uses that pitch around three-quarters of the time and has a mid-80s slider as his breaking ball. He’ll look to carry over his early-season success with Lehigh Valley and secure a spot in the big league bullpen. Philadelphia has a trio of relatively inexperienced pitchers — Seth Johnson, Daniel Robert and Max Lazar — in middle relief. All three have minor league options, so Bickford has a decent path to pitching his way onto the big league club in the short term. The Phillies will almost certainly add an established reliever or two in trade before the end of the month.

Astros Re-Sign Jordan Weems To Minor League Deal

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The Astros re-signed reliever Jordan Weems to a minor league contract, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. The righty heads back to Triple-A Sugar Land. Weems elected free agency yesterday after Houston outrighted him off the 40-man roster.

Weems made two big league appearances, tossing three innings of two-run ball. The 32-year-old righty had spent a few weeks with Sugar Land before being called up. He allowed five runs over 11 1/3 frames, striking out 10 while issuing six walks. He’d posted a 5.09 earned run average in 17 2/3 innings with Atlanta’s top farm team earlier in the year. Weems carries a 4.66 mark across 29 combined innings, striking out 21.4% of batters faced while walking more than 12% of opponents.

The brief MLB stint marked Weems’ sixth season logging MLB action. He got a decent amount of work in middle relief with the Nationals between 2022-24. Weems combined for a 5.03 ERA in 136 innings over that trio of seasons. Washington outrighted him off the roster last August, sending him to minor league free agency at the end of the year. Weems is now out of options, so the Astros needed to run him through waivers to take him out of the MLB bullpen.

Poll: What Should The Braves Do With Ozzie Albies?

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It’s been a tough season all around in Atlanta. The club has lost four of its top five starters (Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez, Spencer Schwellenbach, and AJ Smith-Shawver) to the injured list so far, with Spencer Strider having spent time on the shelf earlier in the year as well. The offense has produced well below expectations despite brilliant performances from Ronald Acuna Jr. and the club’s catching tandem, as well as the ever-steady production of Matt Olson at first base. The bullpen, typically anchored by Raisel Iglesias, has looked uncharacteristically shaky. For all the things that have gone wrong this year, perhaps none have been as frustrating for the club as the struggles of Ozzie Albies.

Albies, 28, is a three-time All-Star who entered the 2025 season with a career 108 wRC+ and more than 20 career WAR according to both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference. He has not looked at all like himself this season. Across 90 games and 383 plate appearances, he’s slashed just .223/.292/.315 (72 wRC+). His expected numbers (.291 xwOBA) are stronger than his actual production (.274 wOBA), but both figures are well below par this season. That’s come in spite of a strikeout rate (15.4%) that’s lower than his career norms and a walk rate (8.1%) that’s actually the highest of his career.

With his plate discipline numbers looking better than ever, the culprit behind Albies’ lack of productivity is clear: power. The infielder has just six home runs this year and 19 extra-base hits total. His .092 ISO (slugging minus average) is the seventh-lowest figure in baseball and trails even contact-oriented bats like Nico Hoerner and Bryson Stott. It’s not impossible to be a productive bat with that level of power; Hoerner has a 104 wRC+ with an ISO just two points higher than Albies, while J.P. Crawford has an identical ISO and a wRC+ of 128. It’s a profile that requires even better plate discipline numbers than Albies has, however. Crawford’s production is boosted by an excellent 13.3% walk rate, while Hoerner strikes out at a microscopic 6.7% clip.

Aside from that, both hitters also carry BABIPs over .300. Albies sits at just .251 this season. That’s very low and should be expected to come up at least a little bit, but the switch-hitter has a BABIP of just .289 for his career and has posted a figure over .300 in a full season just once before, in the 2019 season. Rather than better fortune on batted balls, Albies’ previous production came by way of 25-to-30 homer thump when healthy. Unfortunately, that power has disappeared. Albies hit just 10 homers in 99 games last year, and that might’ve looked like an anomaly at the time, but this year’s lack of pop now makes it look like the start of a new normal.

If Albies can’t turn things around soon, how should the Braves approach their second baseman? He’s proven capable of being a star when at his best, so the idea of trading him at such a low point in his value would be difficult to swallow. Declining his $7MM club option for 2026 seems like it should be off the table entirely, particularly given the $4MM buyout that effectively makes it a $3MM decision.

At the same time, Atlanta has just three more seasons of team control over Acuna, and 2026 will be Sale’s final year before he reaches free agency unless he agrees to another extension. The Braves have been clear that they don’t plan to sell much this summer, if they do at all. But the offseason will see players like Iglesias and Marcell Ozuna depart for free agency, necessitating a reconstruction of the roster anyway. Could seeing about an upgrade at second base be a sensible part of that offseason retool?

With so many of Atlanta’s most important pieces nearing the open market in the next few years, it can be argued that the Braves would be better served trying to find more certain production at the keystone by targeting a player like Gleyber Torres in free agency. The flip side of that, of course, is that Albies’ contract is exceptionally cost-effective. Torres’ $15MM salary with the Tigers this year is already more than double Albies’ salary for next season if his option is picked up, and Torres appears ticketed for a much bigger payday in his return to free agency this winter. Rolling the dice on Albies could be easier to stomach if other pieces of the Braves’ current core like Michael Harris II and Jurickson Profar can put up big numbers in the second half and assuage concerns over another season where the team is mired in an offensive malaise.

How do MLBTR readers think Atlanta’s front office should approach the situation they’ve found themselves in with Albies? Should they stick with him going forward due to his potential upside and cheap salary, or should they see what they can get on the trade market in hopes of replacing him with a steadier option? Have your say in the poll below:

Guardians Re-Sign Kolby Allard, Option Tim Herrin

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The Guardians announced that they have re-signed left-hander Kolby Allard to a minor league deal and selected him to the big league roster. He had just elected free agency yesterday. Fellow lefty Tim Herrin has been optioned to Triple-A Columbus in a corresponding active roster move. The 40-man roster had a couple of vacancies.

Allard was added to Cleveland’s roster in late April and spent a few months working as a long reliever. In 16 appearances, he logged 35 1/3 innings with a 2.55 earned run average. That ERA wasn’t sustainable. His 5.3% walk rate was strong but his 10.5% strikeout rate was tiny, the lowest in the majors this year among guys with at least 30 innings pitched. A 3.6% homer to fly ball rate helped him have an 80.9% strand rate. His 5.07 SIERA this year and his 5.59 career ERA suggested regression was likely.

The Guards designated him for assignment last week. He cleared waivers and, as mentioned, elected free agency. The Cleveland bullpen was heavily used in recent days. The played ten innings on Sunday and Tuesday, sandwiched around a regular nine-inning contest on Monday. Many of the pitchers in their bullpen pitched in two or even all three of those contests. Slade Cecconi starts tonight and Allard could perhaps pitch multiple innings in relief, sparing the bullpen from further exhaustion.

Herrin’s optional assignment is notable. Over the 2023 and 2024 seasons, he tossed 93 1/3 innings for Cleveland with a 2.99 ERA, 26.5% strikeout rate, 9.8% walk rate and 48% ground ball rate. He earned 17 holds in that time.

His results have backed up this year, more than his 3.99 ERA would suggest. His 21.2% strikeout rate is a few ticks below his prior work, as is his 40.3% ground ball rate. His walk rate, meanwhile, has shot up to 16.7%. If it weren’t for a .257 batting average on balls in play and an 80.4% strand rate, he would have allowed even more runs, with his 5.04 SIERA perhaps pointing to his true level of performance this year.

That seems to have put a big dent in his standing with the Guards. As mentioned, the club’s bullpen was heavily taxed in the past few days, with some guys pitching three games in a row. Meanwhile, Herrin hasn’t pitched since Saturday and is now being sent down despite being the freshest arm in the bunch. He’ll try to get back on track in Columbus and earn his way back to the big leagues.

Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig, Imagn Images

Angels Select Carson Fulmer

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The Angels announced today that they have selected the contract of right-hander Carson Fulmer. To open an active roster spot, left-hander Sam Aldegheri has been optioned to Double-A Rocket City. Righty Hunter Strickland has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot.

Fulmer, 31, will be making his season debut when he gets into a game. He pitched for the Angels in 2023 and 2024, tossing 96 2/3 innings with an earned run average of 4.00. He struck out 20.8% of batters faced, gave out walks at a 10.5% clip and got grounders on 42.3% of balls in play.

He was outrighted off the roster at the end of the season and elected free agency. He signed a minor league deal with the Pirates and started the year in the Triple-A rotation. He didn’t have much success there, with a 5.34 ERA through six starts. He was then moved to the bullpen and tossed 14 innings with a 3.21 ERA. He was released by the Pirates and returned to the Angels on a minor league deal just over a month ago. Since then, he has tossed 11 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 1.54 ERA, giving him a combined 3.98 ERA on the year overall.

The Halos got blown out by the Rangers yesterday, eventually losing 13-1. Starter José Soriano only lasted four innings. Aldegheri came in and soaked up another two frames, but it took him 64 pitches to get those six outs. He likely wasn’t going to be available for a few days, so the Angels have brought up Fulmer as a fresh arm. Fulmer is out of options and would need to be removed from the 40-man roster if they want to bump him off the active roster at any point.

As for Strickland, he hit the 15-day IL a couple of days ago due to right shoulder inflammation. This transfer means he is ineligible to return until early September. He tells Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com that he has a significant strain but it won’t require surgery and he hopes to be back in September.

Photo courtesy of Denny Medley, Imagn Images

Michael Kopech Undergoes Surgery On Torn Meniscus

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5:00pm: Kopech underwent surgery to address a torn meniscus in his right knee, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. The righty is expected to be able to return before the end of the season.

11:55am: The Dodgers announced today that right-hander Tyler Glasnow has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list, a move that was reported a few days ago. Righty Alexis Díaz was optioned to the minors to open an active roster spot and righty Michael Kopech was transferred to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man spot.

It’s a bit of a worrisome development for Kopech. He was only placed on the 15-day IL on July 1st, retroactive to June 28th, due to right knee inflammation. At that time, both the pitcher himself and manager Dave Roberts downplayed the severity. “I think we’re all hopeful it will be on the shorter end of it,” Roberts said last week, per Alden González of ESPN.

Either that comment wasn’t fully candid or something has changed since then, as this transfer now means that Kopech is ineligible to return until late August. The Dodgers haven’t yet provided any specific information about how long they expect Kopech to be out but the transfer provides at least a best-case scenario.

That’s an unfortunate development for both Kopech and the Dodgers. He also started the season on the IL due to a shoulder impingement and missed more than two months. He was healthy long enough to give the Dodgers seven shutout innings before going back on the IL again.

For the Dodgers, it’s yet another in a long line of injuries. They’ve been moving players on and off the IL all throughout the year, particularly on the pitching side. Even with Glasnow coming off the shelf today, they still have 11 arms on the IL. The bullpen is without Kopech, Evan Phillips, Blake Treinen, Brusdar Graterol and Michael Grove. Phillips and Grove had major surgeries and won’t be coming back this year.

If Kopech can return in August or September, then he could still be a part of the club’s bullpen down the stretch and into the postseason. Regardless, the Dodgers figure to add some arms prior to the deadline. All contending clubs look for bullpen additions at this time of year and the Dodgers should be even more motivated by their mounting injuries.

For Kopech personally, he’s an impending free agent. He could still return and go into the open market with some juice, but it’s been a less than ideal platform season so far. He previously struggled to establish himself as a starter with the White Sox, partially due to injuries, but a recent bullpen move seemed to be a good transition for him.

He tossed 43 2/3 innings out of Chicago’s bullpen last year. The 4.74 ERA wasn’t great, nor was the 12.6% walk rate, but he struck out 30.9% of batters faced. He reached another level after getting traded to the Dodgers, tossing 24 innings with a 1.13 ERA. His 33% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate were both slight improvements, though he also benefited from a .167 batting average on balls in play and 90.9% strand rate. Nonetheless, he played a key role in the playoffs, tossing nine innings with three earned runs allowed as the Dodgers went on to win it all.

Another full season as a relief weapon would have positioned him for a nice market this winter. Now, however, it’s possible the ongoing health problems will tamp down his earning power. As mentioned, he seemingly still has time to get healthy and finish strong but his injury history list continues to run long. He missed the 2019 season due to Tommy John surgery and has since spent time on the IL due to a strained left hamstring, left knee strain, right shoulder inflammation and right knee inflammation. He managed to avoid the IL last year while working as a reliever but now has been bit by the injury bug a few times here in 2025.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

Trevor Williams To Undergo UCL Surgery

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Nationals right-hander Trevor Williams told members of the media today that he has a partial tear of his ulnar collateral ligament and will undergo surgery. He is expecting it to be internal brace surgery, though a full Tommy John procedure is still a possibility. He will therefore miss the remainder of this season and possibly all of 2026 as well. He’s already on the 60-day injured list. Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post was among those to pass the news along.

Williams, 33, made his most recent start on Wednesday of last week. The first game of a doubleheader against the Tigers, Williams had a less-than-ideal experience. He struggled in the top of the first but, with a long day ahead, the Nats left him out there to take a beating. Pitchers usually aren’t allowed to throw more than 3o to 40 pitches in a single inning but the Nats let Williams throw 54 in that frame, as he eventually got out of it with six runs having scored. He tossed two more innings after that.

Two days later, he was placed on the 15-day IL with an elbow sprain. Yesterday, he was transferred to the 60-day IL, which indicated the Nats didn’t expect him back for a few months. With the news of this surgery, he’ll be out much longer than that. The timelines for an internal brace procedure can be a bit shorter than with a full Tommy John, though it’s still usually about a year.

Williams has been part of Washington’s rotation since 2023. He signed a two-year, $13MM deal ahead of that 2023 season. The first campaign in Washington didn’t go especially well, as he posted a 5.55 earned run average over his 31 starts.

Last year, he showed significant improvement, though in a smaller sample size. He missed a few months with a flexor strain, limiting him to just 13 starts, but with a 2.03 ERA. There was surely some good luck in there, as his .267 batting average on balls in play and 80.2% strand rate were both to the fortunate side. Part of the reason he was able to strand so many runners is that only 4.2% of his fly balls left the yard, a massive drop from his 17% rate in 2023. But on the other hand, his 22.7% strikeout rate, 6.9% walk rate and 45.4% ground ball rate were all strong figures. His 2.79 FIP and 3.96 SIERA suggested he could post good numbers even with some regression in the luck department.

The Nats decided to bring him back to serve as a veteran back-end guy, an understandable move for a rebuilding club with lots of inexperienced starters. They gave him another two-year deal, with the $14MM guarantee amounting to a slight pay bump compared to his prior deal. Unfortunately, his luck turned far in the other direction this year. In 17 starts, he posted a 6.21 ERA here in 2025. His strikeout rate dropped to 17.4% and his grounder rate to 33%, but he still only walked 5.6% of opponents. His .347 BABIP and 61.6% strand rate both swung far to the unlucky side. His 4.08 FIP and 4.46 SIERA suggested some correction over the rest of the season may have been likely but that won’t happen now.

Williams will spend the rest of this year on the shelf and will start next year on the IL as well. Depending on his surgery and rehab, he could work his way into the mix during the 2026 season. Whether there’s a rotation spot for him there will depend upon what the Nats do this winter.

For now, they have a rotation consisting of MacKenzie Gore, Michael Soroka, Mitchell Parker, Jake Irvin and Shinnosuke Ogasawara. Soroka is on a one-year deal and likely to be dealt this month. Gore has been the subject of some trade speculation since the Nats are struggling to come out of their rebuild and he’s only controlled for two more seasons after this one, but there hasn’t been any real suggestion the Nats want to make such a move. Parker and Irvin are serviceable back-end guys. Ogasawara only has one major league start so far, which didn’t go especially well.

Josiah Gray had UCL surgery last summer and could perhaps be back in the mix later this year. Cade Cavalli is in Triple-A and could be back in the majors at some point. Prospects like Travis Sykora or Jarlin Susana could get into the mix down the line but both are currently injured and neither has reached the Triple-A level yet.

If the Nats want to accelerate the end of their rebuild, spending some money to bolster this rotation group would be a sensible plan for this winter. However, the future is currently murky, with manager Dave Martinez and president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo having just been fired a few days ago.

Photos courtesy of David Frerker and Geoff Burke, Imagn Images

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