Felix Bautista, Zach Eflin Done For The Season
Orioles closer Felix Bautista and starter Zach Eflin are done for the remainder of the season, interim manager Tony Mansolino announced to the team’s beat Tuesday (link via Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun). Eflin is undergoing a lumbar microdiscectomy procedure, and the news on Bautista is even more ominous. Mansolino revealed that his closer, who was originally placed on the IL with shoulder inflammation on July 24, has sustained a “significant shoulder injury.” The team is still in the process of formalizing a diagnosis and treatment plan. He has another appointment to evaluate the injury later this week.
It’s a brutal development for the 30-year-old Bautista, who’s in his first season back after missing the 2024 campaign due to Tommy John surgery. He’s posted excellent results, logging 34 2/3 innings of 2.60 ERA ball, though there have been some modest red flags in his broader profile. Bautista averaged 99.5 mph on his four-seamer before surgery but has scrapped that pitch entirely in favor of a sinker that’s sitting more than two miles per hour shy of that prior velo mark (97.2 mph average). Meanwhile, his already high 11% walk rate from 2023 has exploded to 16.2% in his return campaign.
The obvious hope is that Bautista can avoid undergoing a second major surgery. To be expressly clear, Mansolino did not suggest that shoulder surgery is presently being considered, though any time a team official describes a “significant” injury for a pitcher and second opinions are being sought, that type of fear is natural. Ideally, Bautista could take the remainder of the regular season and the offseason to rest and rehab ahead of the 2026 campaign, but the outlook will remain uncertain while the O’s gather additional opinions.
The Orioles control Bautista through the 2027 season. He’ll finish out the current season with exactly four years of major league service time. Bautista is earning $1MM this year and will be owed a raise in arbitration. Even if the injury impacts his availability for Opening Day 2026, the O’s are still all but assured to tender him a contract, given that he’d be affordably priced for the 2027 season as well.
As for Eflin, the forthcoming back surgery ends what’s been a nightmare season for the talented righty. The 31-year-old is in the final season of a three-year, $40MM contract originally signed with the Rays. He pitched to a 3.54 ERA in 353 innings over the first two seasons of the pact but has only made it to the mound 14 times this year due to back and lat injuries. He’s been rocked for a 5.93 ERA in 71 1/3 innings when healthy enough to pitch — his worst production since an 11-start run with the Phillies in 2017, before he’d established himself as a credible big league starter.
Eflin is slated to reach free agency for the second time in his career at season’s end. There’s no immediate timetable for his recovery, but ending a dismal season with a lower back surgery isn’t the way any free agent wants to head back to the open market. He’ll be relatively young for a second-time free agent who’s already signed one multi-year deal, with his 32nd birthday in April, but Eflin seems likely to be in line for a short-term deal that’ll demonstrate his health and allow him to get back to the market next winter.
Mariners Claim Domingo González
The Mariners announced that they have claimed right-hander Domingo González off waivers from the Braves and assigned him to Triple-A Tacoma. Atlanta designated him for earlier this week when they claimed righty Connor Seabold. Seattle’s 40-man roster had a vacancy but is now full.
González, 25, has no major league experience yet. Originally an international signing of the Pirates, Atlanta nabbed him in the minor league phase of the 2022 Rule 5 draft. A couple of years later, after the 2024 campaign, Atlanta added him to their 40-man roster to prevent him from reaching minor league free agency.
He had done some starting while in the Pirates’ system but has been almost exclusively a reliever since joining the Braves. His only two starts since switching organizations were two-inning stints as an opener. Over the 2023 and 2024 seasons, he logged 106 1/3 innings with a 3.55 earned run average. His 11.9% walk rate was a bit on the high side but he struck out 34.3% of opponents.
Given that performance, it’s understandable that Atlanta didn’t want him to get away and gave him a roster spot. But his results have backed up a bit this year. He has thrown 42 Triple-A innings with a 4.29 ERA, 21.4% strikeout rate and 11.5% walk rate. Those numbers seemingly prevented him from getting a big league call-up and also nudged him off the 40-man and onto the waiver wire.
For the Mariners, they had a free roster spot and have used it to scoop up González. Since he is in his first of three option years, the M’s could potentially be patient in trying to get him back on track. He has no major league service time yet, so he’ll be cheaply controllable for years to come if he can develop into a serviceable big league arm, though he’ll first have to show enough promise to hang onto a roster spot.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Steve Adams
- Good morning! We’ll get going at 1pm CT, but as always, feel free to submit questions ahead of time.
- Good afternoon! Quiet day and I’m finished eating lunch, so let’s get underway early.
Piratus maximus
- What is Pittsburgh doing? Trading Hayes looks like starting over. Will Cruz still be around when they’re competitive again?
Steve Adams
- I don’t think dumping the rest of an unwanted Hayes contract constitutes starting over. If they traded Paul Skenes, that would’ve been starting over.Cruz only has three years of club control after this one, and I don’t expect the Bucs to compete in 2026, so I’d lean toward him being traded before the Pirates are genuinely competitive again, though.
He Hate Me
- So, just saving money this off-season and still trying to compete in 2026? Or do the Twins enact a full tear-down, including trades of cost-controlled talent like Joe Ryan (whose value could plummet with an injury in 2026)?
Steve Adams
- I don’t think we can really know which direction they’ll go until their sale process has been completed. If they don’t have a new owner in place — or at least an agreement with a buyer — by the offseason, I’d expect each of Joe Ryan, Ryan Jeffers, Trevor Larnach and Bailey Ober (among others) to be kicked around the trade market this winter — especially the first two.
Frisco Kid
- What are your thoughts about the Giants promoting Bryce Eldridge to the majors?
Steve Adams
- He only has 150ish PAs in AAA and they’ve been good, not great, with a 32% strikeout rate. I get the frustration with the big league club and the excitement to see the org’s top prospect, but a 20-year-old who’s K’ing in nearly a third of his Triple-A plate appearances seems like he’d be overmatched in the majors.Plus, calling him up would mean adding him to the 40-man two years earlier than they need to in order to protect him from the Rule 5. You’re eating up a 40-man roster spot for the coming offseason.
Earlier in the year, I thought the Giants would call up Eldridge if they were contending and he was mashing in AAA. I tend to think now that the better move is to wait until 2026. It’s not like he’s absolutely forcing the issue with dominant play in Sacramento.
Yankees Sign Rob Brantly To Minor League Deal
The Yankees have signed veteran catcher Rob Brantly to a minor league deal, per an announcement from their Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre affiliate. He’ll return to the Yankees organization and provide some depth behind the plate.
The 36-year-old Brantly was with the Marlins for most of the season. He signed a minor league deal with Miami in the winter, was selected to the major league roster in April and wound up spending a couple months on the 60-day injured list after suffering a lat strain during his brief call-up. He tallied a trio of singles in seven at-bats during his limited time with the big league club and has slashed .359/.390/.590 in a tiny sample of 41 plate appearances with the Marlins’ Triple-A club in Jacksonville this year.
Brantly has appeared in parts of 10 big league seasons but hasn’t topped 36 MLB plate appearances in a given year since 2013. He’s a .226/.286/.323 hitter in 472 big league plate appearances and has played in parts of 13 Triple-A seasons with more than 2700 plate appearances to his credit. He saw brief MLB time with the Yankees in 2021-22 and had a generally productive two years in Triple-A with the Yankees organization in that time.
The Yankees are set at catcher in the majors, with Austin Wells, J.C. Escarra and Ben Rice all on the roster. They traded catching prospects Rafael Flores and Jesus Rodriguez in respective deals to bring David Bednar and Camilo Doval into the bullpen. Brantly will help to replenish some of that lost upper-level catching depth.
Blue Jays Notes: Yesavage, Deadline, Hernandez
The Blue Jays promoted right-hander Trey Yesavage from Double-A to Triple-A, reports Keegan Matheson of MLB.com, furthering the chances that last year’s first-rounder could impact the major league club before season’s end. As Matheson outlines, the club has been particular in managing the East Carolina product’s workload and even had him come out of the bullpen in his last outing — though he still wound up working five innings of long relief.
Both manager John Schneider and GM Ross Atkins have previously suggested that Yesavage could be considered for a late promotion to the majors this season. Though he’s just in his first full professional season, Yesavage will have pitched across four minor league levels once he makes his first appearance with Triple-A Buffalo. He’s pitched 80 2/3 innings and logged a terrific 3.01 earned run average while setting down a whopping 42.3% of his opponents on strikes. His 9.5% walk rate is higher than average but not to the extent that it’s alarming.
Toronto beefed up its bullpen with deadline trades for veteran Seranthony Dominguez and controllable Louis Varland, adding a pair of impact arms to a group that had lacked some stability. Bringing Yesavage into the mix would plug in another power arm — potentially one who could pitch in high-leverage settings.
Yesavage, of course, could have been used in an entirely different manner — as a trade chip to bring in further talent at the deadline. The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon reports that the Jays were at least willing to discuss Yesavage and fellow top prospects Arjun Nimmala and Johnny King but ultimately held onto that trio. Both Yesavage and Nimmala, in particular, are consensus top-75 prospects in the sport. Yesavage ranks 26th on MLB.com’s updated list and 57th at Baseball America. Nimmala is 44th at BA and 51st at MLB.com.
Keeping Yesavage has obvious potential benefits not just in 2025 but for the 2026 rotation. He may be viewed as a bullpen option for the current campaign, but Yesavage’s long-term home will be in the rotation. With the Jays set to see Max Scherzer, Shane Bieber and Chris Bassitt all reach free agency at season’s end, Yesavage could be a prominent factor in the starting staff as soon as Opening Day 2026.
In that sense, getting a look at him versus big league opponents in 2025 takes on all the more importance. That’s especially true when considering that the Jays traded away pitching prospects Khal Stephen (Bieber), Kendry Rojas (Varland) and Juaron Watts-Brown (Dominguez) — all of whom could reach the majors in 2026. That sequence of trades noticeably bolstered the current roster but also further thinned a pitching pipeline that will be critical in the short-term. Beyond the looming departures of Bassitt, Scherzer and Bieber, the Jays will see Kevin Gausman and Eric Lauer become free agents post-2026. Jose Berrios has an opt-out opportunity following the 2026 season as well.
While that pitching situation will be a primary focus of the upcoming offseason, adding some offense to the lineup was viewed as a pivotal aspect of the 2024-25 winter. The Jays were tied to several marquee free agents and wound up landing Anthony Santander on a five-year contract that hasn’t panned out thus far, as the former Orioles slugger has been beset by shoulder troubles all season.
One alternative that the Jays pursued was a reunion with Teoscar Hernandez. A return to Toronto was very much in play — according to the outfielder himself.
“We actually came really close to a reunion so I can come back to Toronto,” Hernandez tells Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. “They were trying to do a couple of things, I’m not going to say what, but they were trying to do a couple things first.”
Though Hernandez understandably didn’t go into specifics, it seems fair to presume that one major item on the list was the eventual extension with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who signed a 14-year deal in spring training. The Jays also wound up adding Santander on a heavily deferred five-year deal, signing Jeff Hoffman for three years, re-signing Yimi Garcia for two years and bringing Scherzer in on a one-year pact. Several of those moves have delivered less-than-ideal results, though it also bears highlighting that Lauer was a minor league signee who’s stepped in as a godsend for the pitching staff.
Hernandez, of course, ultimately re-upped with the Dodgers on a three-year, $66MM contract that — like the Santander deal — contains some deferred money. His return campaign in Los Angeles hasn’t been nearly as strong as his 2024 season. In 389 plate appearances, Hernandez is slashing .254/.289/.464 with 18 home runs.
The Opener: Hader, Severino, Dodgers, Padres, MLBTR Chat
Here are three things MLBTR readers should keep an eye out for today:
1. AL West injury updates:
Astros closer Josh Hader was unavailable to pitch last night, and manager Joe Espada revealed after the game that the left-hander was nursing some “discomfort” in his shoulder. Houston is now awaiting imaging results and will presumably provide an update later today. Needless to say, losing Hader for any amount of time would be difficult for the team to survive. Hader, who leads all relievers in Win Probability Added, is a huge reason why the Astros have been able to cling to their lead over the Mariners in the AL West – a lead that has fallen to just one game.
On a more positive note, Athletics manager Mark Kotsay told Jessica Kleinschmidt that injured starter Luis Severino was recently evaluated, and the results were more promising than expected. The A’s will provide more information when it is available, likely later today. Severino landed on the IL on Saturday (retroactive to August 6) with a left oblique strain, but the A’s were still waiting to determine the severity of the strain. While the A’s are not fighting for a postseason spot, they would certainly like to have their highest-paid player back in a stretched-thin rotation as soon as possible. Severino might not be having the 2025 season he hoped for when he signed his three-year, $67MM contract, but he still leads the A’s in starts, innings pitched, and FanGraphs WAR.
2. Can the Padres catch the Dodgers?
The Dodgers have now lost two straight, while the Padres have won three in a row, putting San Diego just one game back of the top spot in the NL West. If the Padres win tonight against the Giants, and if the Dodgers lose a sixth consecutive game against the Angels (dating back to last season), the Padres will pull into a tie with the Dodgers for first place in the division. The Dodgers have held sole possession of first place since June 14 and have been ahead of the Padres in the standings since April 27. According to MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell, San Diego has not been this close to catching L.A. post-All-Star break in 15 years. The Dodgers remain the heavy favorites to win the NL West for the 12th time in the last 13 years, but after an active trade deadline, the Padres are making things interesting.
3. MLBTR chat today:
The trade deadline is in the rearview mirror, and the stretch run has officially begun. There is no shortage of close postseason races, and it’s never too early to look ahead to the offseason and what free agency and the winter trade market might bring. MLBTR’s Steve Adams will be hosting a live chat this afternoon at 1pm CT to discuss it all. You can click here to ask a question in advance, join in live once the chat begins, or read the transcript once the chat is complete.
Josh Hader Undergoing Tests For Shoulder Discomfort
The Astros used Enyel De Los Santos and Bennett Sousa in the ninth inning of tonight’s 7-6 win over the Red Sox, which immediately raised eyebrows since closer Josh Hader hadn’t pitched since Friday and was seemingly fresh. After the game, manager Joe Espada told reporters (including Matt Kawahawa of the Houston Chronicle) that Hader was unavailable due to what Espada described as “discomfort” in Hader’s left shoulder.
Hader was undergoing testing on his shoulder and more will be known once the results of those scans are in, but for now, the Astros and their fans can only hope that the closer has avoided a significant injury. Losing Hader would be a massive hit to an Astros team trying to stay ahead of the surging Mariners in the AL West race.
Now in his second season of a five-year, $95MM free agent contract, Hader wasn’t quite as dominant as usual in 2024, as a spike in home runs and hard-hit ball rate led to a 3.80 ERA over 71 innings. Things have been more normal this year, as Hader has a 2.05 ERA over 52 2/3 innings, and posted a set of impressive Statcast metrics to go along with his sparkling ERA. Hader’s 7.8% walk rate is noteworthy, as it represents his first above-average number in that category since the 2019 season. As always, Hader is generating a ridiculous amount of swing-and-miss, sitting in the 99th percentile of all pitchers in strikeout, whiff, and chase rates.
In his previous game on Friday, Hader threw a season-high 36 pitches over two innings of work, getting the win in the Astros’ ten-inning 5-3 result over the Yankees. He has topped the 30-pitch threshold just four times in 48 games this season, and only seven times pitched more than a single inning. With this in mind, it could be that Hader is just a little sore in the aftermath of that longer outing in New York, and needs a bit more recovery time.
Houston’s pen is deep enough in quality arms that the club should be able to withstand a brief absence for Hader, as any of Sousa, Steven Okert, Bryan King, or Bryan Abreu could step into the closer’s role. The Astros have had one of the best bullpens in baseball this year, though obviously Hader has been a big factor in the relief corps’ excellence.
Red Sox Notes: Anthony, Garcia, Sandlin
The Red Sox and Roman Anthony agreed to an eight-year extension worth at least $130MM in guaranteed money earlier this week, fully cementing the young star as a key part of the team’s future. The two sides had somewhat lightly discussed an extension prior to the season, as The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier writes that a “true back-and-forth about a framework” never happened, even after three different offers from the Sox shortened what started as “a considerable gap” in asking prices.
It seemed like the negotiations were going to be put on hold until after the season until chief baseball officer Craig Breslow contacted both Anthony and agent Mark Rodgers with a new offer on August 3. As Breslow explained to Speier and other reporters, the team felt free to revisit talks with the chaos of the trade deadline now in the past, with the caveat that they obviously wanted Anthony’s focus to remain on the field.
“The balance that we needed to strike was trying to aggressively extend Rome and recognizing how important he is to our 2025 team and also our future with not presenting or creating a distraction when this team is playing so well…[We were] very clear with Mark and Roman’s camp that we had no interest in allowing this to become a distraction, and that if we could work through this quickly, that would be great, and if not, that was also OK,” Breslow said.
The talks were restarted between the team, Rodgers, and two other Frontline Athlete Management agents. A couple of smaller details almost held up the proceedings entirely, but a deal was eventually reached. The end result was the eight-year commitment that might be worth another $70MM, depending on whether or not Anthony hits any of the many escalator clauses attached within his contract.
Anthony is the fifth different Red Sox player to sign an extension since Breslow took over the front office in October 2023, as the executive has made a point of locking up cornerstone players. Garrett Crochet was signed to a six-year, $170MM deal after being acquired from the White Sox this past offseason, and Boston has also signed homegrown youngsters Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Kristian Campbell, and Brayan Bello to long-term deals.
These contracts are a testament to both upper management’s belief in this young talent and the depth of the Red Sox farm system. The pipeline isn’t even dry yet, as another intriguing prospect could still be called up to address the team’s need at first base. Jhostynxon Garcia has been a career outfielder in the minors but he is working out at the position at Triple-A. Worcester manager Chad Tracy said Garcia could potentially see some game action at first base within the next week.
“If that’s the only way we can speed him up, then we might have to do it,” Tracy told Speier. “We take into consideration, ultimately, if he makes a mistake and it’s costly, oh well, at least it’s not at Fenway….At the same time, you also don’t want to throw a player out there to the wolves who you feel like is not ready and have him standing out there with his shoulders down feeling like he’s costing the team.”
Hitting-wise, Garcia seems very ready for the Show, as he has batted .303/.370/.581 with 16 home runs over his first 262 Triple-A plate appearances. Given the crowded Red Sox outfield, a move to first base would allow “the Password” a much smoother path to the bigs before 2025 is over. The presence of Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro (Boston’s current first base platoon) would provide cover to help alleviate any pressure on Garcia, and his bat could be an intriguing x-factor for the Red Sox in the playoff race.
Along these same lines, starter prospect David Sandlin has been pitching out of the Worcester bullpen with an eye towards a possible relief role on the MLB roster. Sandlin has made only four appearances total at the Triple-A level, but if he looks good in his new assignment, the hard-throwing righty could be in line for another quick promotion up to the Show. Speier reports that Sandlin was a popular trade ask for rival teams heading into the deadline, speaking to how much interest the right-hander has generated due to both his pitching arsenal and his results in Double-A in 2025.
A’s Move Austin Wynns To 60-Day IL, Reinstate Brady Basso From 60-Day IL
The Athletics announced that left-hander Brady Basso was optioned to Triple-A after being reinstated from the 60-day injured list. To create 40-man roster space, Austin Wynns was moved from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL, which means that the catcher’s 2025 season is officially over.
Wynns was acquired in a trade with the Reds in June, as the A’s needed some catching help when Shea Langeliers was sidelined by an oblique strain. Wynns appeared in 22 games for the Athletics before an abdominal strain sent him to the 15-day IL earlier this week, and the injury has already been deemed serious enough to close the book on his seventh Major League season.
The backstop will finish with a .291/.321/.544 slash line over 110 plate appearances, with the big majority of that production coming over a scorching-hot stretch with Cincinnati. Wynns hit .400/.442/.700 over 43 PA with the Reds, as opposed to a .222/.242/.444 slash in 67 PA with the A’s that bears a much closer resemblance to his overall career numbers.
While we’re dealing with small sample sizes here, the fact that Wynns has an .883 OPS over his last 130 trips to the plate at the MLB level should help him land another minor league contract this offseason. The Athletics have arbitration control over Wynns for 2026 so it is possible the team might consider keeping him aboard as a veteran catching option behind Langeliers. If he is non-tendered, Wynns will be on the move again after already suiting up for six different teams during his seven years in the bigs. Wynns has hit .239/.282/.362 with 19 homers over 783 career plate appearances, with the bulk of that playing time coming as a backup with the Orioles from 2018-21.
A 16th-round pick for the A’s in the 2019 draft, Basso made his Major League debut last season and posted a 4.03 ERA over 22 1/3 innings, starting the last four of his seven total appearances. Basso hasn’t been able to follow up due to a shoulder strain that arose during Spring Training, and then resurfaced in June to interrupt a minor league rehab assignment. Basso has logged two appearances with Triple-A Las Vegas since restarting his rehab work earlier this week. If healthy, the southpaw will likely get another look on the Athletics’ roster before the 2025 season is through.
Twins Deadline Notes: Phillies, Duran, Jax, Paddack, Reds
It wasn’t really a shock that the Twins became deadline sellers, as the club’s downturn in June and July pretty much closed the door on Minnesota’s chances of contending. However, the sheer scope of the Twins’ selloff was eye-opening, as the club swung nine different trades within four days of the July 31 deadline and sent 11 different players to eight separate clubs. Several behind-the-scenes details about the trades the Twins both did and didn’t make have filtered out since July 31, and Bobby Nightengale Jr. of the Minnesota Star Tribune adds a few more notes about the front office approached this pivotal four-day period.
Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax were both pursued by several teams, though “the Dodgers didn’t show much interest in” either reliever, Nightengale writes. This runs somewhat contrary to a pre-deadline report that linked Los Angeles to the duo, though it could be that the Dodgers simply weren’t interested in paying what ended up being a high price tag for either pitcher. Though the Dodgers were known to be considering pretty much every reliever on the market, the reigning World Series champs’ biggest bullpen splash ended up being another Twin in Brock Stewart. Though Stewart is arbitration-eligible through 2027, his “trade value was more commensurate with a rental reliever because of his injury history,” according to Nightengale, which is why Minnesota obtained outfielder James Outman (something of a spare part in L.A.) rather than prospects.
The Twins wanted two top-100 prospects for Duran, an asking price commensurate with the closer’s quality and the fact that he is arb-controlled through 2027. It was a big enough ask to dissuade the Mariners, who “were deep into talks with the Twins” and may have been the runners-up in the Duran talks. The Phillies refused to give up Andrew Painter for Duran or anyone, and ended up landing Duran for catching prospect Eduardo Tait and young starter Mick Abel.
Technically, this trade package didn’t meet Minnesota’s ask, since Abel was no longer part of top-100 rankings heading into the 2025 season. Still, Abel has been a regular on such rankings for the previous four years, was selected 15th overall by the Phils in the 2020 draft, and is a big league-ready starter after making his MLB debut this season.
Tait and Leo De Vries (acquired by the A’s from the Padres in the Mason Miller blockbuster) were the only consensus top-100 prospects who changed teams at this year’s deadline, speaking to the high value that clubs place on these top prospects. Nightengale writes that Minnesota felt Tait “had the highest upside” of any of the players that the Mariners offered for Duran, and preferred Tait to another top Phillies prospect in shortstop Aidan Miller. This would seem to imply that Philadelphia was also willing to include Miller as the top prospect in the package, which tracks with past reports indicating that Painter and perhaps Justin Crawford were the only real untouchables within the Phils’ minor league system.
Duran was dealt on July 30 and the Twins then swung another trade with the Phillies the next day, moving Harrison Bader for two lower-level prospects (outfielder Hendry Mendez and right-hander Geremy Villoria). The Twins and Phillies had previously talked about combining Duran and Bader into a single deal, but Nightengale writes that Minnesota wanted to move Duran separately.
This left Bader as one of the seven trades Minnesota swung on the July 31 deadline day itself, including the deal that sent Jax to the Rays for Taj Bradley. Since Jax is also arb-controlled through 2027, the Twins initially wanted a prospect package “similar to the one they received in the Duran deal.” This could explain why “Jax’s market didn’t pick up until the last day,” Nightengale notes, and perhaps why teams like the Dodgers were balking. Rather than getting a prospect back for Jax, the Twins instead got an experienced MLB starter who is controlled through 2029, and as the club is betting that Bradley has a higher ceiling of performance.
Minnesota’s trading flurry began when Chris Paddack and Randy Dobnak were sent to the Tigers on July 28 in exchange for catching prospect Enrique Jimenez. Paddack was known to be receiving interest from the Rays and Yankees, and Nightengale adds that the Reds were another club at least exploring the right-hander’s market. With Paddack off the board, Cincinnati pivoted to land another rental starter in Zack Littell as part of a three-team trade involving the Rays and Dodgers.