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Yankees Acquire Amed Rosario

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The Yankees are poised to acquire infielder Amed Rosario from the Nationals, per a report from Jack Curry of YES Network. New York will send right-hander Clayton Beeter and outfielder Browm Martinez to the Nationals in exchange for Rosario’s services. Both clubs subsequently announced the deal. Both Rosario and Beeter were already on their club’s 40-man roster, meaning no further roster maneuvering was necessary to complete the transaction.

A former top prospect who spent the first four seasons of his career with the Mets, Rosario returns home to New York but will now suit up for the Bronx down the stretch. The 29-year-old has now been moved at the trade deadline in three consecutive seasons and figures to offer the same value to the Yankees that he offered to the Dodgers and Reds in recent years: a versatile, right-handed bat capable of crushing left-handed pitching. Rosario’s overall slash line of .270/.310/.426 (105 wRC+) this year is solid but not especially exceptional, but a look under the hood reveals an excellent 126 wRC+ in 93 trips to the plate against southpaws this season. That’s par for the course for Rosario, who has posted a 120 wRC+ against lefties for his career across nine seasons in the big leagues.

A Yankees team that ranks as the best offense in baseball against left-handed pitching (120 wRC+) this year may not seem like an obvious candidate for a lefty masher like Rosario, but a great deal of that production comes from Aaron Judge and his absurd 219 wRC+ against left-handed pitching. Even setting aside the fact that Judge is headed for the injured list due to a flexor strain in his elbow, lefty hitters in the lineup like Trent Grisham (78 wRC+), Ben Rice (89 wRC+), and Jazz Chisholm Jr. (76 wRC+) all have below-average numbers against same-handed pitching this year. Rosario has handled every position on the diamond except for first base and catcher during his career, so he should be able to spell a number of those players against lefties as needed.

His most likely platoon partner appears to be fellow deadline acquisition Ryan McMahon, however. McMahon appears ticketed for a regular role as the club’s third baseman, but has an anemic 58 wRC+ against left-handed pitching. Plugging Rosario (who has spent parts of nine seasons at shortstop in addition to 30 career starts at the hot corner) into the lineup at third in McMahon’s place against lefties would afford the Yankees an extremely effective platoon at the position, turning a longtime soft spot in the club’s lineup into a clear strength. The moves to add McMahon and Rosario seem likely to take the Yankees out of the market for further infield help. They had been tied previously to prominent names on the trade market like Eugenio Suarez and Willi Castro, but now seem much more likely to focus their deadline efforts on improving a pitching staff beleaguered by injuries over the final days leading up to the deadline.

As for the Nationals, the club makes its first sell-side trade of the summer and in doing so adds a pair of prospects who could contribute in the future. Clayton Beeter is the bigger name of the two, a top 20 prospect in New York’s system according to MLB Pipeline who has already made five career appearances in the big leagues. A second-round pick by the Dodgers in 2020, Beeter has surrendered eight runs on nine hits and five walks while striking out six across 7 1/3 innings of work in the majors so far but has looked impressive at Triple-A for the Yankees over each of the past two seasons, with a 2.56 ERA over 56 1/3 innings of work at the level since the start of the 2024 campaign.

Beeter has struck out a very impressive 35.1% of opponents at the level this year, although his 17.0% walk rate suggests some serious issues with Beeter’s command. Even so, a controllable relief arm who’s already on the cusp of the big leagues and is capable of throwing multiple innings is an intriguing addition for a Nationals club that has the worst bullpen ERA in the major leagues this year. In addition to Beeter, the Nats have also acquired Martinez. The 18-year-old outfielder signed with the Yankees out of the Dominican Republic and made his pro debut last year. He’s yet to make his stateside debut but has slashed an incredible .404/.507/.632 in 18 games in the Dominican Summer League this year. Browm is surely years away from the majors and is unranked within the Yankees’ system, but could be an exciting prospect for the Nationals if he can continue to prove himself after he begins his stateside career.

Going forward, the Nationals figure to continue listening on a number of other trade candidates on their roster. Right-handers Kyle Finnegan and Michael Soroka are perhaps the most noteworthy potential rentals the club could move, but Josh Bell and Andrew Chafin are also pending free agents. Perhaps the Nationals will listen on some more controllable pieces like first baseman Nathaniel Lowe as well, although it would be a shock to see the club move someone more valuable like prized left-hander MacKenzie Gore.

Royals Acquire Randal Grichuk

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The Diamondbacks’ sell-off continues this evening as they’re trading outfielder Randal Grichuk to the Royals, according to a report from Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that right-hander Andrew Hoffmann is headed to Arizona in exchange for Grichuk’s services. John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM Phoenix reports that Hoffmann, who is already on the 40-man roster, will be assigned to Triple-A Reno by the Diamondbacks once the trade becomes official. Both teams subsequently announced the trade.

Grichuk, 34 next month, is a veteran of 12 MLB seasons who has spent the past two years in Arizona. While he played mostly center field for the Cardinals and Blue Jays in his younger days, more recently Grichuk has fashioned a role for himself as a corner outfielder who primarily chips in against left-handed pitching. That’s certainly a piece the Royals could make use of, as they’ve gotten the least production from their outfield in the majors by measure of wRC+ (64) and fWAR (-2.4) this year. Kansas City has also been well below average (74 wRC+) against left-handed pitching this year; only six teams have been less productive at the dish against opposing southpaws.

The Royals are relying on an outfield mix of Jac Caglianone, Kyle Isbel, and John Rave this year with MJ Melendez and Tyler Tolbert occasionally chipping in as well. Tolbert’s 77 wRC+ leads that quintet of players as things stand, meaning that even as Grichuk’s production has dipped substantially this year he’ll still be a major upgrade for the Kansas City offense. Grichuk is hitting .243/.280/.462 with a wRC+ of 99 in 186 plate appearances this year. That jumps up to a 102 wRC+ when looking at his work against lefties, which should be more than enough to make him a regular fixture of the club’s lineup against southpaws. While Arizona’s crowded outfield mix means that Grichuk only saw token usage against right-handers during his time with the Diamondbacks, the Royals’ weak outfield mix and Grichuk’s decent 92 wRC+ could mean an uptick in playing time for the veteran against same-handed pitchers as well.

The deal is the latest sign that the Royals view themselves as potential contenders at this point in the season. The club is 51-53 at the moment, two games below .500 and 3.5 games out of an AL Wild Card spot. Fangraphs gives the club a 13.0% chance of reaching the playoffs based on their current projections, but with other bubble teams like the Rays, Guardians, and Twins at least seeming to consider selling in some capacity it seems as though Kansas City is staying the course and making moves to add low-cost veterans on expiring contracts like tonight’s Grichuk deal and the trade for second baseman Adam Frazier earlier this month. While sell-side trades can’t be completely ruled out, the Royals already seemed somewhat hesitant to deal veteran right-hander Seth Lugo even before today’s move to bring in Grichuk. It wouldn’t be the first time a team has both bought and sold at a trade deadline if the Royals did ultimately decide to part with Lugo (or another speculated trade candidate like Kris Bubic), but this latest addition seems likely to push them further into the buyer’s lane than they had been previously.

As for the Diamondbacks, this trade pushes them further into the seller lane after they dealt first baseman Josh Naylor to Seattle earlier this week. With two of the club’s many rentals on expiring contracts now out the door, deals involving other rental pieces like third baseman Eugenio Suarez, right-hander Zac Gallen, and righty Merrill Kelly are all the more likely. The Diamondbacks are, themselves, just four games out of a Wild Card spot with an identical 51-53 record to the Royals. With that being said, Arizona’s decision to sell makes plenty of sense considering the number of high profile impending free agents on the roster ticketed for free agency this November. With ace Corbin Burnes and leverage arms like A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez done for the 2025 season already, reloading the roster with young talent ahead of what they’re surely hoping will be a return to contention in 2026 makes plenty of sense.

In the case of this trade, that young talent comes in the form of Hoffmann, a right-hander who made his big league debut with the Royals earlier this year. The 25-year-old has just 3 MLB games under his belt, during which he posted a 3.86 ERA with four walks and five strikeouts across 4 2/3 innings of work. Despite that meager sample size at the big league level, Hoffmann has been nothing short of excellent at Triple-A this year. The righty has pitched to a 2.32 ERA across 40 innings of work with Kansas City’s Omaha affiliate, and in that time he’s struck out 33.3% of his opponents while walking just 6.1%.

Those are strong numbers, and while he was not considered one of the club’s top prospects entering the 2025 campaign it’s hardly surprising that the Diamondbacks would be interested in the right-hander. Arizona has made clear that adding young pitching talent is their top priority this summer, and Hoffmann comes to the club as a big-league ready reliever who has just a few days of MLB service time under his belt. Hoffmann joins lefty Brandyn Garcia and prospect Ashton Izzi as a part of the wave of pitching Mike Hazen’s front office is looking to create after Garcia and Izzi both came over as the return for Naylor earlier this week.

Rays’ Manuel Rodriguez To Undergo Elbow Surgery

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9:00pm: Topkin relayed a clarification from the Rays this evening that Rodriguez may not require full Tommy John surgery; he is scheduled to undergo surgery on his right elbow that will repair his flexor tendon. Rodriguez’s UCL will be evaluated during the surgery to determine whether or not additional intervention is necessary.

6:03pm: Rays right-hander Manuel Rodriguez is set to undergo Tommy John surgery on August 8th, manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) earlier today. Rodriguez was already on the 60-day injured list after renewed elbow soreness and a drop in velocity during a recent rehab outing caused him to visit with a specialist. That visit clearly revealed UCL damage, and Rodriguez will now miss the remainder of the 2025 season as well as most if not all of the 2026 campaign as well.

It’s devastating news for the talented young righty, as he’s been extremely effective when healthy since he joined the Rays’ bullpen last year. Rodriguez made his big league debut with the Cubs back in 2021 and pitched to a 4.88 ERA in the organization despite flashing premium velocity. He was outrighted off the club’s roster prior to the 2023 season before being traded to Tampa at that year’s trade deadline alongside Adrian Sampson. Since joining the Rays, Rodriguez has posted a brilliant 2.12 ERA in 68 innings of work at the big league level with a 21.1% strikeout rate, a 6.1% walk rate, and a 53.1% ground ball rate.

It’s an impressive profile overall, and one that allowed the 28-year-old to work his way into the club’s high-leverage mix before a forearm strain left him sidelined back in June. Unfortunately, he’ll now be sidelined for quite some time. Rodriguez reached two years of big league service time this year, meaning that if the Rays keep him on their 40-man roster throughout both the offseason and the 2026 campaign he’ll likely be eligible for arbitration after the 2027 campaign. It’s possible that the Rays could look to remove him from their roster at some point in the coming months and re-sign him to a minor league contract, though taking that path would give Rodriguez the opportunity to sign with any of the league’s 30 clubs and could run the risk of him receiving a more attractive offer elsewhere.

The Rays seemed to be anticipating a lengthy absence for Rodriguez even before recent visits with doctors revealed he’d need to go under the knife. That could mean that the right-hander’s injury won’t have a significant impact on their plans for the trade deadline this year. The club’s 53-51 record seemingly leaves them in position to both buy (as they did when they acquired Bryan Baker from the Orioles earlier this month) and also consider selling pieces like closer Pete Fairbanks, though it seems for the time being their preference is to keep the right-hander in the fold. Unless trades further alter the makeup of the Rays’ bullpen, Fairbanks and Baker will be joined by Edwin Uceta and Garrett Cleavinger in the club’s late inning mix going forward.

Angels Place Jorge Soler, Chris Taylor On Injured List

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The Angels announced that both outfielder Jorge Soler and utility man Chris Taylor have been placed on the injured list this evening. Soler is suffering from low back inflammation, and his stint on the shelf is retroactive to July 24. Taylor, meanwhile, is suffering from a left hand fracture that he tells MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger comes with a roughly six-week timetable for return, which should allow him to return at some point in September. Outfielder Gustavo Campero and utility man Scott Kingery were recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake to replace Soler and Taylor on the active roster.

Soler missed two weeks due to back inflammation back in June, and since his return on July 1 he’s hit an impressive .262/.360/.595 in 50 plate appearances. That excellent work at the dish is all the more impressive given that he’s evidently been playing at less than perfect health, given that he was pulled from Wednesday’s game early due to his back and had not played since. It’s not clear exactly how long the Angels expect the slugger to be out, but his production will be sorely missed on a team that’s four games under .500 and 4.5 games out of a Wild Card spot, leaving them in a position where every game counts ahead of the trade deadline next week.

As for Taylor, his broken hand is also a recurrence of a previous injury. He fractured his hand back in June and ended up missing around six weeks due to the issue. He finally returned to action on Monday, but got into just five games before a diving catch in the outfield yesterday caused him to re-fracture his hand, leaving him to start all over again with another six weeks of recovery. Taylor has appeared in just 43 games this year between the Dodgers and Angels, only 15 of which have been with the Halos. He’s posted a decent 87 wRC+ in that sample size and has looked the part of a viable and versatile bench option, but it’s unclear how much of an opportunity he’ll get to impact the club down the stretch at this point, with even a fairly optimistic timeline having him return in the season’s final weeks.

Filling in for Soler and Taylor on the roster are Campero and Kingery. Campero, 27, has been a fill-in outfielder for Anaheim in each of the past two seasons. A .192/.259/.295 hitter across 31 games in his big league career, he’s unlikely to provide much offense for the club but can cover all three outfield spots and even has some experience catching, although he’s converted almost exclusively to work in the outfield at this point. As for Kingery, the utility man appeared in 13 games with the Halos earlier this year. it was his first big league work since 2022, but he hit a paltry .160/.222/.200 in that time and has struggled mightily at Triple-A this year as well. His wRC+ in the Pacific Coast League is a ghastly 69 this year, meaning he’s been 31% worse than average even by the standards of the club’s Salt Lake affiliate. Still, he can offer some speed and versatility off the bench, with 25 steals at Triple-A for the Phillies just last year.

Mariners Making Dylan Moore Available In Trade Talks

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The Mariners made one of the first moves of trade season when they acquired Josh Naylor from the Diamondbacks earlier this week, and with a 55-49 record that puts them firmly in playoff contention. That should make them a clear buyer in the coming days, and several reports have already suggested they have interest in reuniting Naylor with his corner infield partner from Arizona, third baseman Eugenio Suarez. That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t consider dealing from their big league roster, however, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes that Seattle has made utility man Dylan Moore available in trade talks.

Rosenthal adds that the Mariners might be especially willing to part with Moore if they manage to swing a deal for Suarez. That makes plenty of sense, seeing as Moore is a player who has gotten the majority of his work this year on the infield against left-handed pitching. Suarez, meanwhile, would slot is as Seattle’s everyday third baseman and sports a career 126 wRC+ against left-handed pitching. A revamped infield that has both Naylor and Suarez in the mix at the corners would seemingly leave little room for Moore to get playing time, particularly with J.P. Crawford locked in at shortstop on a regular basis and top prospect Cole Young getting an extended look at the keystone.

With that being said, it’s worth noting that the Mariners may not be in position to get much of anything meaningful in return for Moore’s services. While the utility man’s versatility, respectable career numbers against left-handed pitching, and Gold Glove caliber defense last year are all attractive assets on paper, Moore has been mired in a brutal slump for well over a month at this point that figures to limit his trade value. He’s hitting .201/.264/.374 (83 wRC+) overall this year, a slash line that would be perfectly acceptable for a bench piece on a contender. Since the start of June, however, Moore has slashed an anemic .040/.111/.100 at the plate.

Those brutal numbers come across a sample of just 54 plate appearances, of course, but a 2-for-50 stretch is hard to write off as just a cold streak and would likely leave most prospective buyers unwilling to do more than take the remainder of Moore’s $3.66MM salary off of Seattle’s hands. Perhaps a deal could still come together if a team with weak bench options is willing to take a gamble on Moore and the Mariners are motivated to move his salary, however. The Mariners added minimal salary to their roster this winter, and while there have been signals that ownership is open to increasing payroll this summer it’s not entirely clear how far that expanded budget will go.

No teams have been directly connected to Moore, but he could make sense for teams with weak bench mixes who could value his versatility. The Yankees, Cubs, Brewers, and Astros are among the contenders with at least one bench piece who has been less productive than Moore’s overall numbers this year, although the Astros would be a tricky fit as the Mariners’ primary rival in the AL West and a team already loaded with right-handed bats. The Yankees in particular could be an intriguing fit for Moore’s services given that his right-handed bat could serve as a solid complement to the recently-added Ryan McMahon at third base, to say nothing of other lefties in the lineup like Trent Grisham and Ben Rice.

Tigers Sign Luke Jackson, Designate Geoff Hartlieb

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The Tigers have signed Luke Jackson to a one-year, Major League contract, according to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.  Jackson signed a one-year, $1.35MM deal with the Rangers last winter and Texas is still responsible for most of the remaining salary still owed to the right-hander, with Detroit covering just the prorated portion of the MLB minimum salary.  Right-hander Geoff Hartlieb was designated for assignment in the corresponding moves on the 26-man and 40-man rosters.  (The transactions were first noted earlier today by MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery and other members of the Tigers beat, who noted that Jackson had a locker and Hartlieb didn’t in the Detroit clubhouse.)

The Rangers just released Jackson yesterday following a two-day DFA period, so the righty not only quickly landed a new contract, but Jackson will get the opportunity to carve a niche for himself on a Tigers team in sore need of bullpen help.  Detroit has lost 11 of its last 12 games, and the relief corps’ 7.04 ERA over that stretch has been a lead cause in what has become a major slump.  Relief pitching is a clear priority heading into the deadline, and Jackson may be one of several bullpen additions that could be coming to Motown before July 31.

Jackson posted a 4.11 ERA and 53.8% grounder rate over 35 innings with Texas this season.  That excellent grounder rate, some decent batted-ball luck (.272 BABIP), and an above-average 7.5% barrel rate helped Jackson limit the damage despite strikeout (15.8%) and walk (12.5%) rates that ranked near the bottom of the league.  Control has long been an issue for Jackson, but the lack of whiffs is a surprise, as he had a 27.1 K% over 289 2/3 innings during the 2018-24 seasons.  His overall effectiveness has tended to hinge on the success of his slider, and Jackson’s primary offering has only a -1 in Statcast’s Pitch Value metric this season.

While Jackson hasn’t looked very sharp, groundball specialists tend to have an even wider range of variance than most relievers.  It was just in 2023 that Jackson had a 2.97 ERA in 33 1/3 innings for the Giants, and his 1.98 ERA over 63 2/3 innings for the 2021 Braves played a key role in Atlanta’s path to the World Series.  At the cost of essentially nothing, there’s little risk for the Tigers in taking a flier on Jackson to see if a change of scenery can help him get on track.

Hartlieb signed a minor league deal with Detroit two weeks ago, and he had a 9.00 ERA over two appearances and two innings with the Tigers at the MLB level when his contract was selected two days ago.  A frequent visitor to DFA limbo, Hartlieb has been designated three times just within the last month — today’s move off the Tigers’ roster, and two previous instances when pitching with the Yankees.

Hartlieb declined outright assignments after clearing waivers in each of those two earlier DFAs and elected free agency, which is his right as a player who has been previously outrighted in his career.  Chances are he’ll elect free agency again, and perhaps either re-sign with the Tigers on another minors deal or look elsewhere for another landing spot.  Since Hartlieb is out of minor league options, he might well face more DFAs unless he can pitch consistently well enough to pitch in a big league bullpen.

Hartlieb has an ungainly 21.60 ERA in 3 1/3 total innings with New York and Detroit this season, boosting his career ERA to 7.95 over 82 2/3 innings with six different Major League clubs.  His 3.13 ERA over 37 1/3 Triple-A innings this year is much more palatable, and it could get Hartlieb another look from a team as at least minor league depth.

Phillies Interested In Eugenio Suarez

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The Phillies have had some talks with the Diamondbacks about third baseman Eugenio Suarez, according to Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  It isn’t clear whether or not the discussions are anything more than due diligence on the Phillies’ part, but Philadelphia can now be added to a lengthy list of teams with some degree of interest in the slugger.

The New York Post’s Jon Heyman raised Suarez as a “potential fit” for the Phils yesterday, since the club is in need of third base help with Alec Bohm on the 10-day injured list.  Putting Suarez in between the powerful left-handed hitting duo of Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber would only add more balance and pop to the lineup, and make it even harder for opposing pitchers and managers to navigate through what is already a dangerous Philadelphia lineup.

Since Bohm is expected back from his fractured rib roughly halfway through August, however, Lauber notes that adding Suarez would create a bit of a positional logjam.  Harper and Schwarber have the first base and DH spots locked down, so there would be nowhere for Bohm and Suarez to both play unless Schwarber was moved into left field.  Harper doesn’t appear to be a candidate for a return to outfield work, as Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski stated last month.

Speculatively, the Phillies could clear space by trading Bohm himself, though such a deal would naturally be trickier since Bohm is on the IL.  It is possible Bohm could head to Arizona as part of a Suarez trade package, as adding Bohm would help the D’Backs fill some at-bats at first base since Josh Naylor has been traded, and Bohm could provide cover at third base if Jordan Lawlar runs into more struggles at the MLB level.  Bohm is arbitration-eligible for the final time this winter, so this extra year of team control might appeal to the Diamondbacks or other teams looking for corner infield help.

Since the Diamondbacks are also shopping several of their outfielders, it is possible the two sides could work out a multi-player deal that would see the Phillies add both Suarez and some outfield help in one fell swoop.  Lauber writes that Arizona was scouting Mick Abel’s most recent Triple-A start, which again could be due diligence or a signal that the D’Backs (known to be pursuing pitching) have a particular interest in Abel as a trade chip.

Dombrowski is no stranger to bold trades, so the Phillies can’t be entirely ruled out for Suarez until the dust settles.  Money won’t be a factor, as the Phils have already shown they’re more than willing to break the bank in pursuit of a championship.  Suarez is still owed roughly $5.2MM of his $15MM salary for the 2025 season before he heads into free agency.  Since the Phillies are already over the highest level ($301MM) of luxury tax penalization, they’ll pay a 110% tax on every dollar spent beyond the $301MM threshold, so Suarez’s real price tag for the Phillies will be more than $10.5MM.

Rockies Select Warming Bernabel

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TODAY: The Rockies officially announced Bernabel’s selection.

JULY 25: The Rockies are expected to select Warming Bernabel before tomorrow’s game in Baltimore, according to Thomas Harding of MLB.com.  Mike Rodriguez first reported that the 23-year-old infielder was being called up. Colorado has an opening on the 40-man roster after the Ryan McMahon trade.

This is Bernabel’s first major league call. He was on Colorado’s 40-man roster during the 2023 season so the Rox could keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He hit .236/.282/.367 in the minors that year. The Rockies felt comfortable exposing him to waivers and outrighted him off the roster at the end of Spring Training 2024. He spent last season at Double-A Hartford and has played this year with Triple-A Albuquerque.

Bernabel is hitting .301/.356/.450 in his first 75 Triple-A contests. That looks strong on the surface but is below average after accounting for the Pacific Coast League environment. Bernabel has plus bat-to-ball skills but frequently expands the strike zone. That keeps him from making much hard contact. He’s averaging just 84 MPH off the bat in the minors. It’d be tough to make that approach work against big league pitching unless he finds a way to become a lot more selective.

There’s nevertheless little harm for the Rockies in giving a look to a young player who was once a prospect of some note. Bernabel is a primary third baseman and could step into everyday playing time vacated by McMahon’s departure. He also has experience at first base, where Michael Toglia is hitting .197/.266/.359.

Diamondbacks Designate Trevor Richards For Assignment

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The Diamondbacks announced that right-hander Trevor Richards has been designated for assignment.  Left-hander Brandyn Garcia was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move, and though Garcia was already on the 40-man roster, the DFA may have been necessary since Richards has enough big league service time that he couldn’t be optioned to the minors without his consent.

Arizona signed Richards to a minor league contract in June and selected him to the active roster after the All-Star break, with Richards delivering a 3.38 ERA over two appearances and 2 2/3 innings in a D’Backs uniform.  Richards has signed minors deals with the Cubs, Royals, and Diamondbacks since the start of 2025, and those contracts translated into 5 2/3 total innings at the big league level with Arizona and Kansas City.

A veteran of eight Major League seasons, Richards has a 4.53 ERA over 565 2/3 career innings in the Show with seven different teams.  Richards has worked in a variety of roles (starter, reliever, opener, swingman, long man) over his career, while frequently battling some inconsistent control.  Richards had a 31.3% strikeout rate over 201 innings during the 2021-23 seasons, but that number has dropped sharply to a 21.9 K% in 71 big league frames since the start of the 2024 campaign.

Richards has enough of a track record that an interested team might put in a waiver claim.  Given the timing of the DFA, a claim could come after the July 31 trade deadline, if a club needs to fill a hole in the bullpen.  Richards has been outrighted before, so if he clears waivers, he has the right to reject an outright assignment from the Diamondbacks and instead opt for free agency.

Rays Designate Coco Montes For Assignment

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The Rays announced that infielder/outfielder Coco Montes has been designated for assignment.  The move opens up roster space for Tristan Gray, acquired earlier today in a trade with the White Sox that is now official.

Montes made his Major League debut by playing in 18 games with the Rockies in 2023, and he split his 2024 season between Colorado’s Triple-A affiliate and the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball.  Returning to North American ball this past winter, Montes inked a minors contract with the Rays that has resulted five big league appearances and several shuttles back and forth between the Show and Triple-A Durham.

Montes has a .527 OPS over 51 trips to the plate at the MLB level, and he has posted some very strong numbers with the Rockies’ Triple-A team before struggling to a .221/.272/.344 slash over 272 PA in Durham this year.  Between the lack of Triple-A production and four of his maximum five in-year options already used, the Rays were perhaps simply willing to part ways with Montes for a player with a bit more roster flexibility and upside in Gray.

The Rockies outrighted Montes off their 40-man roster near the end of the 2023 season, and that previous outright gives Montes some leverage in his next career step.  If he clears waivers and the Rays try to outright him to Triple-A, Montes has the right to reject that assignment and become a free agent.

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