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Tucker Barnhart To Retire

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Former Gold Glove catcher Tucker Barnhart is set to retire, as agent Steve Rath of the Ballengee Group tells Robert Murray of FanSided. Barnhart played for the Reds, Tigers, Cubs, Diamondbacks, and Rangers across his 12 seasons in the majors.

Born and raised in Indiana, Barnhart was drafted by the Reds in the tenth round of the 2009 draft out of Brownsburg High School, just two hours from Cincinnati. As a high school catcher, his path to the big leagues was a long one. Barnhart didn’t make his debut until 2014, and only appeared in 21 games when he did finally make it to the show. The 2015 season saw him take on a much larger role, however, as Devin Mesoraco was sidelined by injury. That left the catcher position to Brayan Pena and Barnhart, the latter of whom proved to be a strong defender but hit a fairly lackluster .252/.324/.326 in 81 games.

Despite that unimpressive offense, Barnhart’s work behind the plate was impressive enough that he became Cincinnati’s primary catcher starting in 2016. His offense trended upwards enough from 2016 to 2018 that he was more or less on par with the average catcher in the league (87 wRC+), and he won the first Gold Glove award of his career in 2017 amid a 3.6 bWAR season. That 2017 campaign was enough to convince the Reds to sign Barnhart to a $16MM extension, locking him in with the club for at least the next four seasons. His offense took a step backwards starting in 2019, as he hit just .235/.318/.375 (79 wRC+) over his final three seasons with the Reds, but he remained a stalwart defender and won his second career Gold Glove during the shortened 2020 season.

After parts of eight seasons in Cincinnati, Barnhart was traded to Detroit ahead of the 2022 season, giving the Tigers the opportunity to exercise a $7.5MM team option on his services for that year. Barnhart struggled in his lone season with the club, however, hitting just .221/.287/.267 (67 wRC+) while his defense behind the plate slipped somewhat. Barnhart was still able to secure a two-year, $6.5MM guarantee from the Cubs that offseason, but he posted just a 55 wRC+ in 43 games before being designated for assignment by the club. Since then, Barnhart has caught for the Diamondbacks and Rangers in the majors after signing minor league deals with both organizations and also spent a brief stint in the Dodgers’ farm system. He’s appeared in 39 MLB games over the past two seasons with a .181/.294/.213 that’s offset somewhat by his continually solid defense.

Barnhart was let go by the Rangers earlier this month but re-signed with the club on a minor league deal shortly thereafter. Evidently, he’s decided he’d rather call it a career than play out the season in the minors. He’ll finish his career with 920 games played in the majors, two Gold Glove awards, 6.9 bWAR/5.8 fWAR, 662 hits, and 53 home runs. He hit .241/.318/.351 overall during his time in the majors. MLBTR congratulations Barnhart on a fine career in the majors and wishes him all the best in whatever comes next.

Tyler Mahle To Be Sidelined Beyond Trade Deadline

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Rangers starter Tyler Mahle has been diagnosed with a rotator cuff strain, GM Chris Young told the Texas beat this evening (relayed by Kennedi Landry of MLB.com and Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports). He’ll remain shut down entirely for the next two weeks and will not be back in MLB game action before the July 31 trade deadline.

Young downplayed the long-term concern but it’s obviously tough news for Texas in the coming weeks. Mahle, who has been on the injured list since June 12, has pitched well over his 14 starts. He carries a 2.34 earned run average across 77 innings. A modest 18.2% strikeout rate would have made it difficult to sustain that excellent an ERA, but he’d been a valuable part of Bruce Bochy’s rotation before the injury.

It could also have ramifications on the trade market. The Rangers are two games under .500 entering tonight’s series opener against the Orioles. They’re within 2.5 games of the final playoff spot in a muddled American League Wild Card race. While Texas surely hopes they’ll play well enough to buy, they’ve had a punchless offense all year. That may eventually knock them out of the playoff picture and force the front office to listen on at least short-term pieces.

Mahle is in the second season of his two-year free agent deal. He would have been one of the potentially available better rental starters if healthy. A trade now is much tougher to envision. Mahle would still be eligible to be traded while on the IL but would obviously have diminished trade value amidst a six-plus week absence for a shoulder injury. It’s tough to see the Rangers finding enough value to make a trade, especially if they’re hanging on the periphery of the playoff mix and expect Mahle back at some point in August.

Paradoxically, the injury could actually the front office some extra flexibility to add at the deadline. While it’ll be a little tougher to hang in the playoff mix without Mahle for the next month, they’ll have more breathing room financially if they do remain in contention. Mahle’s contract contains up to $5MM in incentives. MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald reported the specifics in April, writing that he’d earn $500K for getting to 100 innings, $1MM each at 110, 120 and 130 innings, then $1.5MM at 140 innings.

Unlocked performance bonuses count against a team’s luxury tax calculation at the end of the year. Texas clearly prefers to keep its CBT number below the $241MM base threshold. RosterResource estimates their CBT number around $234MM, though that’s unofficial. The Rangers have a few million dollars to play with — Seattle claiming Leody Taveras off waivers helped in that regard — but Mahle could have eaten up most or all of their remaining flexibility had he maxed out the incentives.

There’s now essentially no chance he’ll get to 140 innings. Even if he returned in early August, he’d probably only get another eight or nine turns through the rotation. He’d need to average seven innings per start across nine starts down the stretch to reach 140 frames total and max out his incentives. If he makes eight starts down the stretch and maintains his current average of 5.5 innings per start, he’d finish the season with 121 innings of work. Even that would be enough to unlock $2.5MM in bonuses, but if Mahle is still several weeks from a return come the deadline, that could open up another couple of million for the Rangers’ front office to work with this summer.

While having a bit of additional financial flexibility to work with in the event they decide to buy is good news, it comes attached to the reality that their rotation depth has now thinned noticeably for the foreseeable future. Fortunately, Texas recently welcomed Nathan Eovaldi back from the injured list. He’s now joined Jacob deGrom, Kumar Rocker, Jack Leiter, and Patrick Corbin in a rotation that remains fairly solid even without Mahle on board, although they’ve exhausted the majority of their starting depth at this point and continued health from their remaining starters will be imperative if they hope to remain in the playoff picture going forward.

Trade Deadline Outlook: Chicago White Sox

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The White Sox are next up in MLBTR's new Trade Deadline Outlook series.  After losing a modern-day record 121 games last year, the Sox are on pace to lose "only" 108 this year.  The Pale Hose remain firmly in the "clear seller" group as one of six teams with less than a 1% shot at reaching the playoffs.

White Sox executive vice president/general manager Chris Getz took over after the 2023 trade deadline, so this is only his second time being in the top chair for the event.  Last summer, Getz packaged several of his top assets together in Erick Fedde, Michael Kopech, and Tommy Pham, netting Miguel Vargas as the headliner.  That trade looked rough out of the gate, as Vargas was one of the game's worst players after joining the White Sox.  The 25-year-old somewhat redeemed himself with a hot May this year.

Getz held out until the offseason to move lefty Garrett Crochet, drawing better reviews for that deal.  While the four-player return on that trade looks promising, it may still be painful to see Crochet locked up through 2031 and vying for the AL Cy Young award.  That deal will take years to truly evaluate, but as we look ahead to July, the question for the White Sox is whether they have anything valuable left to trade.

Record: 28-56 (0.0% playoff probability)

Sell Mode

Impending Free Agents: Aaron Civale, Martin Perez, Adrian Houser, Tyler Alexander, Michael A. Taylor, Austin Slater

Civale was picked up from the Brewers in a one-for-one swap on June 13th for Andrew Vaughn.  Perhaps it was a bit of a monkey's paw situation for the 30-year-old Civale, who requested a trade from the contending Brewers upon being moved to the bullpen, only to land in the rotation of the rebuilding White Sox.

Civale was hoping to maintain his earning power as a starting pitcher, though it's unclear he's helped his case in a small three-start sample with Chicago.  On the season, he's got a well-deserved 4.74 ERA in eight starts, having missed over a month with a hamstring strain.  He's been unable to miss bats this year and his homer-prone tendencies have continued.

The White Sox had nothing to lose by acquiring Civale, in that they were highly likely to non-tender Vaughn after the season.  But as an $8MM back of the rotation guy, Civale won't be making playoff starts in October and won't bring more than a low-level prospect.  Potential suitors may want some help with his salary.

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Orioles Place Zach Eflin On Injured List

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Zach Eflin’s back soreness is sending him to the 15-day injured list. The Orioles announced the move, which is retroactive to June 29, while recalling rookie righty Brandon Young to take his spot on the active roster.

Eflin only made it through one inning during his start on Saturday before he was forced out of the game by back tightness. The O’s have not provided any more specificity, only announcing the injury as lower back discomfort. His return timeline isn’t clear. Eflin is an impending free agent on a last place team, so an injury one month before the deadline could impact the summer trade market.

This continues a frustrating season for the 31-year-old righty. It began well enough, as Eflin opened the year with three consecutive quality starts. He exited his third appearance with shoulder discomfort that was later diagnosed as a low-grade lat strain. That cost him a month. More concerning is that Eflin has not looked right since he made his return on May 11.

In nine starts since coming back from the shoulder injury, Eflin has been tagged for a 7.16 earned run average. He has fanned under 17% of opposing hitters while surrendering a staggering 14 home runs in only 44 innings. Even if one wants to write off Saturday’s performance — in which he gave up four runs in one inning while trying to pitch through the back discomfort — he’d been hit hard in four of his prior eight outings.

That was already dealing a hit to Eflin’s trade value. While clubs would be intrigued by his 2023-24 numbers, he’s a relatively expensive rebound target on an $18MM salary. This injury adds another layer of uncertainty and could run the risk of taking him off the trade market entirely if he’s still injured by the end of July. Players on the IL are eligible to be traded, but that’d be a difficult sell to other teams if he hasn’t shown some level of improved form by the deadline. O’s GM Mike Elias said over the weekend that they’re not yet committed to selling. Still, it’d take a huge performance over the next couple weeks to raise their playoff odds to a point where the front office can justify not moving at least their impending free agents.

In the meantime, Young seems likely to step into Tony Mansolino’s rotation. The 26-year-old has struggled in a trio of spot starts, giving up 10 runs over 12 2/3 innings. He owns a 3.25 ERA in 25 outings at the Triple-A level over the past couple seasons. Young has a five-pitch mix led by a fastball that sits around 93 MPH.

Rockies Expected To Promote Yanquiel Fernandez

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The Rockies are calling up outfield prospect Yanquiel Fernández, reports Francys Romero. Colorado is off tonight, so they’re unlikely to announce the move until tomorrow. Fernandez is on the 40-man roster, meaning the Rox will only need to make an active roster move.

Fernandez, 22, was signed by the Rockies out of Cuba and made his pro debut back in 2021. A consensus top-100 prospect prior to the 2024 season after breaking out to a .319/.354/.605 slash line at High-A the year prior, Fernandez posted solid numbers at Double-A throughout the majority of 2024 but struggled badly at Triple-A with a paltry .211/.268/.313 slash line in 33 games at the highest level of the minors

That poor performance was enough to knock him off the majority of league-wide prospect lists, but this year he’s turned things around in his second attempt at the level. Across 271 plate appearances, he’s hitting .284/.347/.502. That sounds like a robust figure, but given the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League it’s actually good for a rather pedestrian 96 wRC+. Still, Fernandez’s 14 doubles and 13 homers in 64 games this year is intriguing enough power potential that the Rockies are giving Fernandez a shot in the majors.

It remains to be seen which player Fernandez will be replacing on Colorado’s roster, but Jordan Beck, Tyler Freeman, Sam Hilliard, and Mickey Moniak are currently mixing and matching in the outfield corners while Brenton Doyle patrols center. Fernandez’s role as a left-handed corner bat is one that’s already held by both Moniak and Hilliard. Both have identical 95 wRC+ marks overall, though Hilliard’s performance is propped up by six extra-base hits in just 20 games despite him striking out at a 37.7% clip this season. Neither Moniak nor Hilliard have options remaining, so either one would either need to be placed on the injured list or designated for assignment if Fernandez is to replace them on the roster. Of course, it’s not impossible to imagine the club rostering all three with Freeman moving back to the infield or into a utility role.

Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

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Steve Adams

  • Good afternoon! Sorry to start a bit later than usual today. Schedule moved around a bit with Darragh having a well-deserved day off. We'll get going at 3:30pm CT, but feel free to ask questions ahead of time, as always.
  • Good afternoon! Let's get underway

El Chupacabra

  • If the Royals were to trade Seth Lugo today, how much more - or less - would the return likely be vs. if they waited until the trade deadline?

Steve Adams

  • I don't think the return would be materially different. You could say the acquiring team might be forced to give up more to compensate for the extra month of control, but there'd also be fewer teams bidding, which could impact the price as well. The extent to which those offset each other can really only be theorized upon.For what it's worth, I also don't expect the Royals to trade Lugo. They're intent on contending, and GM JJ Picollo was recently quoted on record when discussing how important back-to-back playoff appearances would be.

    Further, as I often say, player options/opt-outs are so hard to navigate in trade talks. Eventually we'll see a prominent player with an opt-out at season's end traded, but these guys never really move in actuality. The team trading for Lugo would have to know he's either going to pitch well and opt out or that he'd get hurt and/or see his performance tank and forgo the out... thus saddling them with an unwanted salary on the 2026 books.

  • That makes it really hard to agree on prospects to be exchanged in the deal, as the Royals will want to market him like a playoff-caliber starter but the acquiring team knows that if he bombs, they're essentially taking on a bad contract. Pricing in that downside makes the trade less appealing for Kansas City. And, again, the Royals probably don't really want to trade Lugo in the first place.

Stockholm, AZ

  • What are the Diamondbacks gonna do? That was a crap series against Miami, and now they’re under .500. Season beyond rescue? I had such high hopes..

Steve Adams

  • I just have a hard time seeing them wind up in genuine contention with Carroll out, Burnes out, and Zac Gallen pitching more like Zack Godley. Even if this iteration of the D-backs got to the postseason, could they feel good about a playoff rotation of this version of Gallen and Merrill Kelly leading the way, followed by one of Pfaadt or E-Rod? And without Justin Martinez or AJ Puk in the bullpen? It just feels like a soft reset (trading Suarez, Kelly, Gallen, etc.) is kind of inevitable to me.

RoxTalks

  • Does the Rockies' nepotism hiring of Monfort's son to be executive VP basically ensure this team will be bad forever? It is extremely difficult to continue to support this team. Cannot believe the league allows stuff like this.

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Phillies Reinstate Bryce Harper, Designate Buddy Kennedy For Assignment

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The Phillies announced Monday that first baseman Bryce Harper has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. To make room on the active roster, Philadelphia designated utilityman Buddy Kennedy for assignment.

Harper missed just under four weeks due to inflammation in his wrist. He’ll be back in the heart of the Phillies’ order starting Monday, looking to improve on a .258/.368/.446 slash. That’s quality output at the plate — 26% better than average, per wRC+ — but constitutes a “down” season relative to Harper’s lofty standards.

To his credit, Harper touted a more robust .276/.382/.470 line in late May but hit only .143/.273/.286 in eight games before landing on the injured list, so it seems his wrist had been bothering him for awhile before he finally sat down to let it heal up. Manager Rob Thomson said at the time of Harper’s IL placement that the wrist had been bothering the former NL MVP for “awhile” without specifying just how long. Harper was also plunked on the elbow by a Spencer Strider heater in the middle of the eight-game slump that preceded his IL placement and missed several games in the aftermath, so it’s likely that he was pretty banged up by the time Philadelphia pulled the trigger on an IL stint.

Kennedy, 26, has now been designated for assignment twice by the Phillies this year. He’s out of minor league options and didn’t make the club out of spring training, prompting a DFA and a quick return on a minor league deal after he briefly elected free agency. He was selected back to the majors just 11 days ago and appeared in only four games, going hitless with a walk in a small sample of eight plate appearances.

Kennedy has appeared in parts of four major league seasons between the D-backs, Tigers and Phillies, but he’s only tallied 157 plate appearances in that time. He’s a .193/.287/.296 hitter at the big league level but touts a nice .281/.391/.437 slash in nearly 1600 Triple-A plate appearances. He’s primarily played second base and third base in pro ball but does have more than 400 innings at first base and 93 innings of left field work under his belt.

The Phillies can trade or waive Kennedy at any point in the next five days. Waivers are a 48-hour process, so he’ll have a resolution on his DFA within a week’s time. If Kennedy clears waivers, he’ll have the right to reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency.

Athletics Select Colby Thomas

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The Athletics announced a series of roster moves Monday, notably selecting the contract of well-regarded outfield prospect Colby Thomas from Triple-A Las Vegas. The A’s also reinstated Shea Langeliers from the 10-day injured list, recalled reliever Justin Sterner from Vegas and optioned outfielder JJ Bleday, righty Tyler Ferguson and catcher Willie MacIver to Triple-A.

Thomas, 24, was the Athletics’ third-round pick in 2022. He’s steadily climbed the minor league ranks and currently sports a .297/.365/.542 slash with Las Vegas, although given the extraordinarily hitter-friendly setting, that’s only about 11% better than league average (111 wRC+) when adjusted for home park and league run-scoring environment. Thomas’ 26.3% strikeout rate, 7.3% walk rate and massive pop-up rate — a staggering 28% of his fly-balls are infield flies — aren’t ideal, but he’s also hitting plenty of line drives.

Baseball America and MLB.com both list Thomas among the system’s top-five prospects, whereas FanGraphs had Thomas way down at 27th in the system citing concerns over his hit tool and overaggressive approach at the plate. Both BA and MLB raise those flaws as well, but Thomas’ raw tools — above-average to plus grades on his power, speed, outfield defense and arm strength — lead to a more favorable overall rating at both outlets, questions in the batter’s box notwithstanding.

Thomas joins an outfield mix that includes Lawrence Butler in right field, defensive standout Denzel Clarke in center and slugger Tyler Soderstrom in left. Designated hitter Brent Rooker can cycle into the corners as well but has just 202 innings on defense dating back to Opening Day 2024. Thomas’ right-handed bat could serve as a complement to the lefty-swinging Soderstrom, who’s batting just .205/.235/.269 against lefties this year (81 plate appearances) but .268/.367/.485 versus righties.

Langeliers returns after missing nearly four weeks with an oblique strain. He batted .237/.300/.430 with 10 homers in 230 plate appearances prior to the injury, continuing his trend of providing low average/OBP marks with above-average pop.

Ferguson was solid for the A’s in 2024 but has seen his velocity, strikeout rate, swinging-strike rate, walk rate and home run rate all trend in the wrong direction in 2025. He’s currently sitting on a 6.69 ERA in 35 innings.

Last year, Bleday looked to have broken out as a quality hitter and potential core piece with the A’s. His glovework in center field was brutal, but Bleday slashed .243/.324/.437 with 20 homers in 642 plate appearances. He’s drawing tons of walks with slightly above-average power again in 2025, but Bleday’s contact rate, strikeout rate and infield fly rate have all trended the wrong way in ’25. This is now the second time he’s been optioned, and went just 5-for-37 between minor league stints before being sent back down. There’s still room for him to bounce back and reclaim a spot in the Athletics’ long-term plans, but right now his stock is down considerably relative to 2024.

Submit Your Questions For This Week’s Episode Of The MLBTR Podcast

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On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we regularly answer questions from our readers and listeners. With the next episode set for Wednesday, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.

The 2025 season is chugging along, and the trade deadline is just over four weeks away. If you have a question about the campaign, a look ahead to the deadline or anything else baseball-related, we’d love to hear from you! You can email your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.

Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it. iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.

In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Poll: Should The Pirates Trade Mitch Keller?

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The second year of the Paul Skenes era in Pittsburgh is not going well. The Pirates are currently 35-50, leaving them buried in both the NL Central and the Wild Card race. The Bucs stand as one of the few clear sellers this summer, and it seems as though the team is operating with very few untouchables. One of the names that’s gotten the a good bit of buzz this summer is right-hander Mitch Keller, who has drawn attention as one of the few established, controllable starting pitchers with a chance to be dealt.

The Cubs have come up as a potential suitor for Keller, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported yesterday that the sides have been discussing a deal for more than a week. That’s not necessarily an indication that a trade, whether with the Cubs or otherwise, is particularly close. Still, it lends credence to the idea that the Pirates are serious in their willingness to consider moving the right-hander. That’s at least a mild surprise, given that he’s in just the second season of a five-year contract, but there’s a case to be made that the Pirates should capitalize right now.

After all, Keller is making $54.5MM over the final three years of his contract. That’s a below-market sum for a solid mid-rotation veteran but still steep for the perennially low-budget Pirates. Pittsburgh has already assembled an impressive group of young pitching talent with Skenes, top prospect Bubba Chandler, and injured-but-talented righty Jared Jones leading the pack. With affordable arms like Mike Burrows, Braxton Ashcraft and Thomas Harrington already having debuted, and well-regarded prospect Hunter Barco not far behind, the Pirates are amassing some enviable pitching depth. (That doesn’t include left-hander Bailey Falter, who’s affordably controlled for three more seasons.)

Pittsburgh would arguably be better off spending Keller’s salary on some sorely needed offense. Teoscar Hernandez, for example, signed with the Dodgers for a similar amount: $66MM over three years, with enough money deferred to lower the net present value of the contract to just under $60MM. Gleyber Torres, Tyler O’Neill, Christian Walker, and Pete Alonso are among the other hitters who signed for $60MM or less guaranteed this past winter. Not all of those deals have worked out, and there are always dangers of spending on even mid-range free agents like this, but the Pirates could have made reasonably competitive bids for some notable veterans on the open market with a sum comparable to what they still owe Keller.

Aside from the ability to reallocate financial resources, moving Keller would surely come with a solid return. Cost-controlled starting pitching is typically the most valuable commodity on the trade market, and while Keller is hardly elite given his 109 ERA+ this year, his affordable contract and year-to-year stability would give the acquiring club additional long-term certainty in their rotation that a rental pitcher like Zac Gallen could offer.

Using the Cubs’ system as an example due to their status as a rumored suitor for Keller, it’s easy to see why the Pirates might be willing to deal within the division. Chicago has a number of quality position player prospects knocking on the door of the big leagues. Outfielder Owen Caissie has 12 home runs and a 125 wRC+ at Triple-A Iowa as a 22-year-old this year. Catcher/DH Moises Ballesteros, outfielder Kevin Alcantara, and infielder James Triantos are all close to MLB-ready as well. Triantos’ stock is down after a difficult and injury-marred start to the 2025 season, but a package centering around one of those other young hitters could be appealing for a Pirates club that is looking to players like Andrew McCutchen and Spencer Horwitz to fill out the middle of its order at present. Other clubs with upper-level position player prospects have undoubtedly inquired on Keller, too.

As appealing as some of the arguments for trading Keller may be, there are real concerns that would come with making a deal. Keller was once looked at as a potential No. 2 starter during his prospect days and, while he hasn’t lived up to that potential yet, he’s not far removed from a three-WAR season wherein he struck out 25.5% of his opponents. His 4.21 ERA that year was pedestrian, but his 3.83 SIERA was 18th-best in baseball among qualified starters, just behind Logan Gilbert and ahead of players like Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, and Dylan Cease. Keller is still just 29 years old, and he certainly wouldn’t be the first pitcher to take a step forward in the middle of his prime. If the Pirates believe Keller still has another gear, they might prefer to hold onto him in hopes that he can unlock it and increase his trade value or his value to the Pirates themselves.

Aside from the possibility of selling at less than peak value, it’s worth noting how much uncertainty there is when it comes to developing pitching. The Tigers drafted Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize back in 2018 but only began to truly see the fruits of that labor last year after both players were derailed by injuries early in their career. Jones is already recovering from elbow surgery, and with pitching injuries seemingly more frequent than ever, it can be hard to part with a steady arm like Keller. Given the soaring price of pitching in free agency, the Pirates would likely have to keep scoring deals on low-cost veterans like they did with Andrew Heaney this year in order to fill out and create depth behind their young rotation mix.

How do MLBTR readers think the Pirates should act regarding Keller? Should they move to trade him in order to help boost the offense for their young arms, or should they hang onto him as a veteran presence and hope he can increase his value from here? Have your say in the poll below:

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