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The Opener: Trout, Morton, Blue Jays, Tigers

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Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:

1. Trout goes for a milestone:

Mike Trout was the greatest player of the 2010s, a three-time MVP and would be a surefire Hall of Famer even if he retired today. His accomplishments in the game speak for themselves, but he’ll enter tonight’s game against the Mariners in Anaheim with a chance to reach another major milestone. Trout knocked in the 999th run of his career in last night’s lost to the Mets when he clubbed a solo home run, and now he sits on the precipice of being the latest addition to the 1000 RBI club. The outfielder is currently in the midst of his healthiest season in years and has done well for himself overall, with 18 home runs in 76 games and a 15.2% walk rate to go with his .237/.359/.467 slash (125 wRC+). Trout will look to knock in another runner when tonight’s game starts at 6:38pm local time, with rookie Logan Evans (3.81 ERA in ten starts) on the mound for Seattle.

2. Morton’s final start in Baltimore?

The trade deadline is a matter of days away at this point, and prospective trade candidates around the game are gearing up for what could be their final starts in their current uniform. Today, that’s true of veteran right-hander Charlie Morton. Morton landed with the Orioles on a one-year deal this past winter and has emerged as a frequently talked about trade candidate despite his lackluster 5.58 ERA on the season. He’s looked like a much better pitcher since returning to the rotation after a stint in the bullpen back in May, with a 3.78 ERA and 3.45 FIP across his last nine starts. His most recent outing against the Rays was a clunker, however, as he surrendered seven runs in just 5 1/3 innings. A strong start this afternoon against the Guardians in Cleveland would surely go a long way to reassuring potential suitors that Morton could provide rotation stability down the stretch.

3. Series Preview: Blue Jays @ Tigers

A series between two division leaders in the AL kicks off this evening when the Blue Jays head to Detroit for a four-game set against the Tigers. Both clubs have fairly solid leads in their division, with the Tigers a whopping eight games up on the next best team in the Central while the Jays lead the Yankees by four games in the East.  The series could still have implications in terms of positioning between the two teams, as both eye a potential bye through the Wild Card round this October.

Detroit enters the series just half a game back of both the Blue Jays and Astros as the three clubs jockey for the AL’s top two records. They’ll send right-hander Reese Olson (2.71 ERA in 12 starts) to the mound opposite Jays lefty Eric Lauer (2.80 ERA in 15 appearances/nine starts) for tonight’s game. Toronto veteran Jose Berrios (3.87 ERA) will take on Detroit youngster Keider Montero (4.28 ERA in 12 appearances/eight starts) tomorrow, with veteran Kevin Gausman (4.01 ERA) set to go opposite reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal (2.19 ERA) on Saturday. The series wraps up on Sunday with Max Scherzer (5.14 ERA in six starts) on the mound opposite Jack Flaherty (4.77 ERA).

Fantasy Baseball Subscriber Chat With Nicklaus Gaut

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Nicklaus Gaut will be talking fantasy baseball with Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers today at 11 am Central Time. Get your question in early or participate in the live event at the link below!

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9 Under-The-Radar Bullpen Trade Candidates

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There'll be plenty of relievers who change teams between now and July 31. Most will be straightforward -- productive veterans with one or two seasons of remaining club control on non-contenders (e.g. David Bednar, Dennis Santana). With teams like the Dodgers and Phillies motivated to add an impact arm, someone like Jhoan Durán or Emmanuel Clase could go.

Those names have all been kicked around the rumor mill for weeks. Each deadline season also features a few trades of controllable bullpen arms who weren't atop any trade boards. Last summer saw the likes of Tanner Banks, Huascar Brazobán and Nick Mears change hands. The Orioles and Rays already lined up on the Bryan Baker deal before this year's draft.

We'll highlight a few under-the-radar names whom teams could call on in the next week. None of these players made MLBTR's Top 40 trade candidates list, and they've not been mentioned more than in passing (if at all) on our pages this year. Still, clubs always look beyond the most obvious trade candidates in their deadline preparation.

Ronny Henriquez, RHP, Marlins (pre-arbitration, controllable through 2030)

Miami claimed the 25-year-old Henriquez off waivers from the Twins during the offseason. The 5'10" righty was once a notable prospect in the Texas and Minnesota farm systems. He saw a bit of MLB action with the Twins in 2022 and '24 but was mostly in a depth role in Triple-A. Henriquez has stepped into a high-leverage role in Miami, recording 13 holds and the first six saves of his big league career. He carries a flat 3.00 earned run average while striking out more than 32% of opponents across a career-high 48 innings. He's sitting in the 96-97 MPH range on his fastball and missing bats with a mid-80s sweeper.

Henriquez's command can come and go, but he has a live arm and is capable of missing bats in bunches. Going back to the beginning of May, he has a 35% strikeout rate and a solid 7.3% walk percentage with a sub-3.00 ERA in 33 appearances. He is picking up closing experience, and while a contender would probably eye him more as a seventh or eighth inning type, he should draw a lot of interest. Miami has him under club control through the end of the decade, but Henriquez is less than six months removed from being on waivers. They should be open to selling high even if they won't force a deal.

Brock Stewart, RHP, Twins ($870K salary, controllable through 2027)

Stewart was out of MLB for more than three years before he resurfaced with the Twins in 2023. He reeled off 27 2/3 innings of 0.65 ERA ball out of nowhere until elbow surgery cost him almost all of the season's second half. Shoulder issues limited him to 16 games last season. Stewart began this season on the injured list with a hamstring strain.

The 33-year-old righty has been healthy for the past three months, however. He's back in good form, pitching to a 2.59 ERA while fanning more than 31% of opponents. He's limiting walks (7.8%) while averaging 96 MPH on a fastball that headlines a five-pitch mix. Stewart has picked up 13 holds and only blown one lead all year. He's playing for barely above the league minimum and will be cheaply controllable for another two seasons in arbitration. Stewart isn't going to command anywhere near the prospect return that Minnesota would receive if they trade Durán or Griffin Jax. He's an effective setup option in his own right, but the Twins would certainly listen to offers based on his age and injury history.

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Draft Signings: Schoolcraft, Watson, Russell, Quick, Flemming, Root

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There were a handful of draftees who signed for between $2MM and $4MM on Wednesday. All signings were first reported by Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline. View pre-draft scouting reports from Baseball America, FanGraphs, MLB Pipeline, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN and Keith Law of The Athletic.

  • The Padres reached agreement with first-rounder Kruz Schoolcraft on a $3.6066MM bonus that matches the slot value for the #25 overall pick. A 6’8″ left-handed prep pitcher from Oregon, Schoolcraft was committed to Tennessee. Evaluators credit him with a potential plus changeup and the ability to run his fastball into the upper 90s on occasion, though his velocity varies between starts. Schoolcraft was a two-way player in high school and would have been a legitimate prospect as a first baseman, but scouts agree that he has greater upside on the mound. He placed between 19th and 41st on the linked pre-draft rankings.
  • The Reds went well above slot with a $2.75MM bonus for second-round pick Aaron Watson. The 51st overall selection comes with a slot value around $1.89MM. Watson is a 6’5″ prep right-hander who had been committed to Florida. He sits in the low-90s at present and has advanced command and feel for manipulating a potential above-average slider. The Reds saved a bit of money by going below slot for first-rounder Steele Hall, allowing them to reallocate some money to Watson.
  • The Rangers have a $2.6MM agreement with second-rounder A.J. Russell against an approximate $1.85MM slot value. A University of Tennessee product, he’s a 6’6″ righty who missed parts of the 2024-25 seasons recovering from elbow surgery. Russell had dominated as a reliever during his freshman year but only managed 70 innings in his college career. Evaluators suggest he has a potential mid-rotation ceiling, but he’ll face questions about his ability to stick as a starter until he builds more of a track record.
  • The Twins signed supplemental first-rounder Riley Quick for $2.692MM, matching the 36th selection’s slot value.  Quick is a 6’6″ righty from the University of Alabama with a power arsenal but a limited college track record because of Tommy John surgery.
  • The A’s signed second-round pick Devin Taylor. He’s an Indiana University product who hit .374/.494/.706 with 18 homers and 52 walks against 30 strikeouts in his draft year. The lefty-hitting Taylor is viewed as one of the best offensive players in the college class but projects as below-average left fielder who might be limited to designated hitter.
  • The Rays have an overslot deal with second-round pick Cooper Flemming. The California high school infielder receives a $2.2975MM bonus that comes in above the $1.8MM slot value. A left-handed hitter who was committed to Vanderbilt, Flemming ranked around 50th on Law’s and McDaniel’s boards but placed as low as 102nd at Baseball America. He projects to third base and has a well-rounded skillset with advanced hitting ability but doesn’t project for many plus tools.
  • The Dodgers signed 40th overall selection Zachary Root for $2.2MM, a little below the $2.43MM slot. They signed 41st selection Charles Davalan for exactly $2MM, also below slot. Root, a 6’1″ lefty from Arkansas, is viewed as a likely back-end starter on the strength of his secondary stuff. He posted a 3.62 ERA with 126 strikeouts in 19 starts this past season. Davalan was Root’s teammate with the Hogs. He hit .346 with 14 homers in his junior season. A short left-handed hitter, Davalan has plus contact skills with some bat speed and could project as an above-average defensive left fielder.

Note: This post initially called Taylor a Minnesota draft pick. MLBTR apologizes for the error.

Rays Option Taj Bradley

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The Rays optioned Taj Bradley to Triple-A Durham after tonight’s rough start against the White Sox, reports Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times. They’ll presumably announce that decision and a corresponding roster move tomorrow. Joe Boyle, who has been working in long relief, stands as the obvious candidate to step into the rotation.

Bradley didn’t make it out of the second inning tonight. He gave up four hits and three walks, allowing four runs in an inning and two-thirds. That promptly erased a four-run lead that the Rays had built in the bottom of the first. They took the lead back in the middle frames before an eighth-inning implosion by setup man Kevin Kelly led to an 11-9 defeat to the American League’s worst team.

This pushed Bradley’s season earned run average to 4.61 across 111 1/3 innings. The 24-year-old righty has a slightly below-average 20.2% strikeout rate against a 9.3% walk percentage. Leading up to tonight, he was coming off two of his best outings of the season. Bradley blanked the Orioles over six innings with as many strikeouts in his first start out of the All-Star Break. He’d closed the first half with six innings of one-run ball against Boston.

Bradley has been in Kevin Cash’s rotation all season. This is his first optional assignment since the end of 2023. Boyle, who was one of five relievers called upon tonight, worked three innings of one-run ball. He carries a 1.42 ERA in 19 innings over five MLB appearances. Acquired from the A’s in the Jeffrey Springs trade, Boyle has a huge arm but has struggled with command throughout his career.

The 25-year-old has seemingly taken a step forward in that regard this year. He walked 10.8% of batters faced across 15 Triple-A outings. That’s still higher than average but much more tolerable than the 17-20% range at which he’d sat for most of his minor league career. Boyle fanned 33% of Triple-A opponents with a 1.85 ERA while working from Durham’s rotation.

Bradley’s demotion one week before the deadline is interesting. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported a couple weeks ago that the club was open to offers on Bradley. ESPN’s Jeff Passan similarly wrote this morning that the one-time top pitching prospect is available in trade discussions. Bradley is likely still a season away from arbitration and under club control for four years beyond this one. If the Rays don’t trade him, they’ll need to keep him in Durham for at least 15 days unless he’s brought up to replace someone who is going on the injured list.

Rays Prefer To Keep Pete Fairbanks

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The Rays “strongly prefer” to hold closer Pete Fairbanks, report Patrick Mooney, Will Sammon and Katie Woo of The Athletic. Tampa Bay is one of many bubble teams, holding a 53-50 record that has them right on the edge of the Wild Card chase.

While the Rays are generally open to offers on almost everyone at any time, it’s understandable that they’re reluctant to deal Fairbanks this summer. They’ve had a middle-of-the-pack bullpen overall. They added to that group by acquiring Bryan Baker from the Orioles before the draft. At the same time, setup man Manuel Rodríguez will be out for an extended stretch with a forearm injury.

Garrett Cleavinger is an excellent left-hander, but they’re already short on high-leverage options from the right side. Even with Baker in the fold and Edwin Uceta racking up strikeouts this month, they’re better off acquiring another righty rather than trading one away. The Athletic reports that the Rays would indeed prioritize the bullpen if they buy in the next week.

The 31-year-old Fairbanks is operating as Kevin Cash’s primary closer for a third straight season. He’s 17-20 in save chances with a 2.84 earned run average across 38 innings. That comes with a career-low 20.3% strikeout rate that is cause for some alarm. The bottom line results nevertheless make Fairbanks one of their most trusted relievers.

Fairbanks is in the final guaranteed season of his three-year extension. He’s playing on an affordable $3.667MM salary. Fairbanks is guaranteed at least a $1MM buyout on a club option that is currently valued at $8MM but is likely to end up in eight figures by season’s end as he triggers escalators based on his appearances and games finished. That might be rich for Tampa Bay’s taste, but they’re under no financial pressure to move Fairbanks this season and could reevaluate their 2026 payroll situation once the offseason arrives.

MLB Mailbag: Spencer Jones, Mason Miller, Angels, Cubs, Blue Jays, Dodgers

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This week's mailbag covers Yankees prospect Spencer Jones, comps for a Mason Miller trade, and trade deadline situations involving the Angels, Blue Jays, Cubs, and Dodgers.

Angel asks:

Do you believe the Yankees now view Spencer Jones as untouchable? His trajectory is so similar to Judge's, but I'd sign right now for 75% of Judge.

Jack asks:

Why does it feel like lots of the Yankees prospects don’t pan out in the MLB? Do you believe it’s because they’re overhyped, poor player development, a mix of both, or something completely else?

Sandy asks:

Volpe made another critical error last night. He seems to wilt under pressure in clutch defensive situations even if his dWar is positive at 0.8. Are the Yankees having second thoughts about their long-term shortstop? Should they? His bat has never been up to league average. Thanks!

Charles asks:

What would it take for the Yanks to get Bednar, Keller, and IKF in a package from the Pirates? It seems that if they are going to be contenders they need something like that.

Jones  is an interesting and polarizing prospect.  His stock seemed to drop in 2024, as he spent the season at Double-A and posted a 127 wRC+ with a whopping 36.8% strikeout rate.

In another 208 PA at the level this year, Jones still struck out 33.7% of the time, but posted a massive 186 wRC+ to earn a Triple-A promotion.  That came on June 27th.  He has since annihilated Triple-A pitching with a 205 wRC+, which includes 10 home runs in 79 PA.  His strikeout rate for the RailRiders is down to 26.6%.

The sample size makes this tricky.  Jones tinkers with his swing a lot, but 79 PA isn't enough to say that he's truly cut the strikeouts.  If he'd struck out five additional times in Triple-A - one additional time every three games -  his K% would be 32.9.

The error bars on Jones are wide, but the odds are currently stacked against him becoming a star.  Jones' Double-A sample is still bigger than his Triple-A one.  Let's see if we can find some comps who struck out at least 30% of the time at Double-A at age 24 or younger while posting a 130 wRC+ or better.

Gallo and Moncada at least had a few star-caliber seasons in the Majors between them.  Otherwise, these guys did not become stars or even MLB regulars.  They also did not cut their strikeout rates and dominate Triple-A pitching, so if Jones keeps that up he'll be charting a new trajectory.

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Cubs, Zach Pop Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Cubs reached agreement with reliever Zach Pop on a minor league contract, according to Tommy Birch of The Des Moines Register. The right-hander was assigned to Triple-A Iowa.

Pop is on his fourth organization of the season. He has bounced between the Blue Jays, Mariners and Mets. Pop was on the injured list with Toronto and combined for five outings between Seattle and New York. He was tagged for 12 runs (11 earned) including four homers in 6 2/3 innings. Pop is out of minor league options, so teams couldn’t afford to give him much rope when he was struggling to that extent.

The 28-year-old has pitched in parts of five MLB seasons. He threw 48 1/3 frames for the Jays last year, working to a 5.59 ERA with a well below-average 15.8% strikeout percentage. Pop doesn’t have huge swing-and-miss stuff, but he sits around 96 MPH with his sinker and has posted a 55% ground-ball rate in his MLB career. He carries a 3.71 ERA in 80 career Triple-A innings.

Reds Have Expressed Interest In Eugenio Suarez

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The Mariners are not the only of Eugenio Suárez’s former teams who are eyeing the slugging third baseman. C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports that the Reds have been in contact with the Diamondbacks to express interest. However, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com characterizes a deal coming together between those teams as a “long shot.” Along with Seattle, the Cubs and Yankees have been linked to Suárez in recent days.

Suárez is the top impending free agent hitter available. The D-Backs have straddled the buy/sell line for weeks but probably sealed their fate as deadline sellers by getting swept by the Astros. That negates their sweep of the Cardinals coming out of the All-Star Break and drops them back to three games below .500. They’re 5.5 back of the final playoff spot with four teams to surpass. Feinsand, Jon Heyman of The New York Post, and John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM have all suggested this evening that they’re likely to sell at this point. They face the Pirates and Tigers for three games apiece up to the deadline.

Both series are on the road, meaning Suárez probably played his final home game as a Diamondback this afternoon. The 34-year-old is playing on a $15MM salary. That was a club option on the seven-year contract extension that Suárez initially signed with Cincinnati in March 2018. He played seven seasons with the Reds overall, earning down-ballot MVP support in his best years.

Suárez looked to be on the downswing when the Reds packaged him alongside Jesse Winker to the Mariners coming out of the 2022 lockout. Seattle traded him to Arizona two years later. Suárez started his first season with the Diamondbacks so slowly that he was on the verge of getting benched in June. He transformed into one of the hottest hitters in baseball around last year’s All-Star Break and hasn’t let up. He leads the National League with 36 homers this season. Over the past calendar year, only Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge have hit more home runs. Judge, Ohtani and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. are the three qualified hitters with a higher OPS than Suárez’s .938 in that span.

Arizona could — and almost certainly would — make a qualifying offer if they held him through season’s end. Their dwindling playoff chances make a trade more likely. They’d get a stronger return than one compensatory draft pick. Arizona could also prioritize upper minors talent that could make an impact next season rather than wait for a draftee who wouldn’t arrive until 2027-28 at the earliest. Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reported last week that the Snakes intend to prioritize controllable pitching in trade returns. Corbin Burnes will miss most or all of next season, while Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly are impending free agents.

Rosecrans reports that the D-Backs have some interest in Cincinnati pitching prospect Chase Petty, who could be one possible piece in a larger trade package. A former Minnesota first-round pick who was traded to the Reds for Sonny Gray, Petty made his MLB debut this season. He has been bombed for 14 runs (13 earned) in six innings over his first three starts. Petty has a 4.14 ERA with a 23.3% strikeout rate while walking nearly 11% of opponents across 15 Triple-A outings.

While this hasn’t been a good year, Petty is a 22-year-old who sits in the 95-96 MPH range with his fastball and ranks as Cincinnati’s #5 prospect at Baseball America. The Reds aren’t going to trade last year’s #2 overall pick Chase Burns for a rental. That should also be true of 2023 seventh overall selection Rhett Lowder, who has battled forearm and oblique injuries this year. Petty is probably the organization’s next-best pitching prospect.

Cincinnati is 2.5 games back in the Wild Card race with two teams to jump. The Cardinals are one game behind them. Cincinnati needs offense generally and would particularly benefit from a righty bat who can improve upon their dismal .219/.298/.348 team line against lefty pitching. An outfielder makes the most sense, though they could add at third base and use Noelvi Marte more frequently in right field after testing that out over the weekend.

Latest On Seth Lugo’s Trade Candidacy

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Seth Lugo reeled off another productive start this afternoon, tossing six innings of two-run ball to earn the win at Wrigley Field. The veteran right-hander now carries a 2.95 earned run average with a 22% strikeout rate. This was his 11th quality start in 19 appearances.

Kansas City took two out of three from the Cubs, but they’re still three games under .500. They’re off tomorrow before home series against the Guardians and Braves that’ll take them to the deadline. Lugo would be lined up for one more start against Atlanta until the Royals need to decide on his future. He’ll very likely decline his $15MM player option for next season. Kansas City’s win today pulled them back within four games of the final AL Wild Card spot, pending Boston’s game in Philadelphia. The Rays, Guardians and Rangers all stand between them and Boston.

The Royals would get plenty of calls on Lugo, who’d be one of the best short-term starting pitchers on the market if K.C. made him available. Jon Morosi of the MLB Network reported yesterday that the Cubs were among the teams that have had conversations with Kansas City about their pitching. Morosi added that the Royals are unsurprisingly more likely to trade Lugo than they would be to part with southpaw Kris Bubic. ESPN’s Jeff Passan hears similarly, writing that the Royals are more focused on Lugo at the moment.

That doesn’t mean Lugo is a lock to move. Passan adds that if the Royals feel they’re still in the Wild Card mix, they could keep the veteran right-hander and make him a qualifying offer when he hits free agency. That would at least ensure them a compensatory draft pick if Lugo walks. That’d come after the first round if he landed at least a $50MM guarantee; it’d come between the end of Competitive Balance Round B and the beginning of the third round (roughly 75th overall) if his contract is below $50MM.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic also suggests that the Royals have yet to decide whether to deal Lugo. He writes that Kansas City feels they’d have a decent chance to re-sign him as a free agent — following a similar path to last winter’s new deal with Michael Wacha after he opted out. If the Royals were to trade Lugo, Rosenthal adds that they’d want controllable outfield help. K.C.’s longstanding issue getting any kind of offense from their outfielders makes that a logical target.

The opt-out clause in Lugo’s contract is a somewhat complicating factor. While he’d very likely be a rental, an acquiring team would assume the risk that he suffers a significant injury in the final two months and then accounts for $15MM in dead money next season. That wouldn’t be detrimental, especially to a high-payroll franchise, but is a downside that teams will want to price into their trade offers if Kansas City shops Lugo.

Bubic, meanwhile, is under arbitration control for another season. The All-Star lefty is playing on a $3MM salary and should push into the $6-7MM range next year. Bubic has a sterling 2.38 ERA with a 24.9% strikeout rate in 113 2/3 innings in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery.

Teams might have some workload questions after the injury limited him to 46 1/3 combined frames between 2023-24. There are few potentially available pitchers who are performing better than he is, though, so other clubs are surely calling the Royals to gauge his availability. The extra year of club control makes him a longer shot trade candidate for a K.C. team that’ll expect to compete next season even if they’re soft sellers over the coming eight days.

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