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Rockies Sign No. 4 Overall Pick Ethan Holliday

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The Rockies have signed No. 4 overall draft pick Ethan Holliday, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com. He’ll receive a $9MM signing bonus that clocks in about $229K over slot value. It’s the largest bonus ever received by a high school player.

Holliday, 18, was in the mix for the top overall selection, though that distinction went to another second-generation high school shortstop: Eli Willits. Instead of heading to D.C., Holliday will don the jersey worn by his father for the first five years of his career. Matt Holliday, of course, starred for the Rockies from 2004-08, making three All-Star teams and winning three Silver Slugger Awards along the way. He also returned to the Rockies for a 25-game stretch to close out his career and has now had two sons — Ethan and Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday — come off the board as top-four picks in a major league draft.

Ethan Holliday ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the draft at Baseball America, MLB.com and at The Athletic. He landed second at FanGraphs and ESPN. He draws praise for his athleticism and plus raw power, with scouting reports also crediting him for the defensive tools and actions needed to stay at shortstop for at least the early portion of his career. Holliday may eventually move to third base or an outfield corner. He’s thought to possess some of the best raw power in the draft — and the ability to get to that power in games — but there are some swing-and-miss concerns and he’s only an average runner (or slightly below).

Holliday should immediately become Colorado’s top prospect, supplanting last year’s No. 3 overall pick Charlie Condon for that title — though Condon is far closer to MLB readiness, having been selected out of college. He’s already reached Double-A.

Poll: Will The Angels Sell This Summer?

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The Angels have been mired in mediocrity for more than a decade now, despite employing both Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani at the peak of their powers in that time. It’s been tough to be an Angels fan for a very long time, but this year has offered the Anaheim faithful at least some hope. The team, while two games under .500, is still at least nominally in the Wild Card race as they sit just four games back of a playoff spot in the expanded postseason field.

It wouldn’t be the first time the club has been aggressive in spite of long postseason odds. They bought aggressively at the 2023 trade deadline, adding a group of players headlined by Lucas Giolito as they fought to make the playoffs during Ohtani’s final year under club control despite Fangraphs giving the club just a 19.5% chance at the postseason on July 31 of that year. The Angels find themselves in a situation with at least some parallels to that season now.

While Trout remains under club control for quite some time, he has a chance to finish this season healthier than he’s been at any point in his thirties and has looked very much like the player he was throughout the 2010s since returning from his latest IL stint at the end of May. In 45 games since being activated, Trout has hit a robust .279/.424/.468 (147 wRC+) and tied Juan Soto for the highest walk rate in all of baseball. His .397 xwOBA this season is the eleventh-highest figure in the sport among qualified hitters, suggesting even better days could be ahead if he can just stay on the field. For a team that hasn’t made the postseason since Trout was 22 years old, any opportunity to get their franchise face and future Hall of Famer onto the sport’s biggest stage is one that the Angels should take seriously.

On the other hand, Trout’s continued health is obviously far from a guarantee. It’s already unknown when he’ll be ready to do more than DH. And after the past half decade, no one should be surprised if another injury were to sideline him down the stretch. What’s more, the Angels are simply not in the same position they found themselves in back in 2023. They’re four games out of a playoff spot entering play today, compared to just half a game out on July 31 of 2023. Only five teams in all of baseball have a lower run differential than Anaheim, which has allowed 61 more runs than it’s scored this year, and Fangraphs gives the Halos just a 4.8% chance of the postseason entering play today.

Perhaps the course of action for the Angels is simply to stand pat. Luis Rengifo is in the midst of a brutal season, leaving the player who would otherwise be their top trade chip unlikely to bring much value to the table. Kyle Hendricks, Yoan Moncada, and other rentals on the club have not done much to position themselves as top-of-the-line trade pieces, meaning closer Kenley Jansen could be the only rental piece on the roster with a substantial market. Trading longer-term pieces like Yusei Kikuchi and Reid Detmers could bring back more value, but would signal a willingness to forgo mid-term competitiveness despite the fact that Trout is already in his age-33 season. That would be something of a shock for Angels ownership to sign off on, given their previous tendencies.

How do MLBTR readers think the Angels will approach this coming deadline? Will they engage in a proper selloff, or could they instead stand pat in hopes of making a postseason run—or perhaps even do some light buying? Have your say in the poll below:

Giants Have Shown Interest In Isiah Kiner-Falefa

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The Giants have reached out to the Pirates about infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa, reports Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He’s presumably just one of several options being considered by a San Francisco club that has a notable need at second base.

Kiner-Falefa, 30, is hitting .274/.318/.340 on the season. He’s been about 16% worse than average at the plate, by measure of wRC+, but has offered value with his legs (12-for-15 in stolen base attempts) and glove. He’s also a tough strikeout, fanning in just over 16% of his plate appearances.

Though Kiner-Falefa isn’t enjoying his best season at the plate, there’s a low bar to clear at second base in San Francisco. Giants second basemen have combined for a .217/.275/.309 slash on the season — one of the least-productive groups in all of baseball. Last year’s breakout infielder, Tyler Fitzgerald, has struggled badly at the position and was optioned to Triple-A in late June. None of Christian Koss, Casey Schmitt or Brett Wisely has provided more offense when manning the position, and Fitzgerald has slashed just .246/.323/.281 in 65 plate appearances since being sent down.

Kiner-Falefa is in the second season of a two-year, $15MM deal originally signed with the Blue Jays. Toronto traded him to Pittsburgh at last year’s deadline. He’s been the primary shortstop for the Bucs this year but has experience playing all over the diamond, including more than 1500 innings at third base and more than 550 innings both at second base and in the outfield. Kiner-Falefa’s defensive marks in the outfield and during a brief experiment behind the plate are poor, but he’s considered a strong infield defender.

Given his status as an impending free agent on a last-place team that’s one of the few clear sellers around the league, Kiner-Falefa feels all but certain to be traded in the next nine days. The Pirates don’t have a prospect who’s knocking down the door for everyday reps at shortstop, but they can use the final two months of the season to look at Cam Devanney (acquired last week from the Royals in exchange for Adam Frazier) or perhaps any other infielders they might acquire as they continue what feels like an interminable rebuilding process.

Twins Claim Jhonny Pereda, Designate Jair Camargo For Assignment

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The Twins have claimed catcher Jhonny Pereda off waivers from the Athletics, per an announcement from the latter club, who designated him for assignment a few days ago. Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports that the Twins have optioned Pereda to Triple-A St. Paul and designated catcher Jair Camargo for assignment as the corresponding move.

Pereda, 29, has a major league track record which is both small and unimpressive. In 39 games with the Marlins and A’s, he has stepped to the plate 86 times and slashed .203/.267/.228. The Marlins designated him for assignment in the offseason and flipped him to the A’s for cash.

His minor league work is greater in both quantity and quality. From 2022 to the present, he has stepped to the plate 811 times at the Triple-A level. In those plate appearances, his 19.1% strikeout rate and 13.3% walk rate are both solid figures. His combined .302/.394/.427 batting line in that span leads to a 118 wRC, indicating he’s been 18% above league average. Defensively, Baseball Prospectus has ranked him as an above-average framer during his Triple-A time, though with his blocking a bit below par.

Camargo, 26, has a somewhat similar big league profile. He has only appeared in five big league games with seven plate appearances, leading to a .000/.143/.000 line. However, his minor league work hasn’t been as strong. Dating back to 2023, the first year Camargo reached Triple-A, he has a combined .237/.305/.439 batting line and 83 wRC+. That includes a rough .212/.258/.319 line here in 2025. He has been punched out in 32% of his plate appearances since the start of 2023 while only drawing walks at a 7.7% rate. BP ranks him as a decent blocker but a subpar framer.

Both players can be optioned for the remainder of this year and one additional season. It seems the Twins view Pereda as a better depth catcher, so they have dropped one backstop onto the roster and knocked out the other. At the big league level, they have Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vázquez. The latter is an impending free agent and theoretical trade candidate. Jeffers is only under club control through 2026. If Pereda performs well with his new organization, there’s a path to more big league playing time for him.

Camargo heads to DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Twins could take five days to see if there’s any trade interest. If he were to pass through outright waivers unclaimed, he would not have the right to elect free agency, as he doesn’t have a previous career outright nor three years of big league service time.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Sun, Imagn Images

Nationals Select Konnor Pilkington

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The Nationals announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Konnor Pilkington. Right-hander Mason Thompson has been optioned to Triple-A Rochester as the corresponding active roster move. To open a 40-man spot, outfielder Dylan Crews has been transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Pilkington, 27, signed a minor league deal with the Nats in the offseason. He has been pitching out of the Red Wings’ bullpen this year, though three of his appearances have technically been starts. Over his 36 games, he has logged 41 2/3 innings with a 2.59 earned run average. His 15.2% walk rate is awful but he’s striking out 28.1% of batters faced and getting grounders on 47.3% of balls in play.

His previous work has been somewhat similar. He tossed 60 big league innings for the Guardians over 2022 and 2023 with a 3.75 ERA, 19.5% strikeout rate, 12.4% walk rate and 39.9% ground ball rate. He tossed 309 2/3 minor league innings from 2021 to 2024 with a 5.58 ERA, 24.3% strikeout rate and 12.9% walk rate. He was largely a starter in his previous seasons. The move to a relief role this year hasn’t helped his control issues but he is getting more strikeouts.

The Nats used six relievers in last night’s game. They’re doing a sort of bullpen game tonight, with Brad Lord starting. Trevor Williams recently required elbow surgery, which opened a rotation gig for Lord, but Lord hasn’t thrown more than 2 1/3 innings in a game since early May. Pilkington gives them a fresh arm capable of working more than an inning.

The Nationals have two lefties in their bullpen already in Jose A. Ferrer and Andrew Chafin. The latter is a veteran on a one-year deal and likely to be traded in the coming week or so, which makes it possible Pilkington is the second lefty on the bullpen chart come August. Pilkington still has an option year, so the Nats could easilty send him back down to Rochester.

As for Crews, this doesn’t impact his timeline. He landed on the 10-day IL on May 21st due to an oblique strain. His 60-day count is retroactive to that initial IL placement. Since it’s already been 60 days, he is eligible for reinstatement at any time.

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

Rangers Sign Carl Edwards Jr. To Minor League Deal

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The Rangers have signed veteran right-hander Carl Edwards Jr. to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Round Rock. Kennedi Landry of MLB.com was among those to relay the news.

Edwards, 33, returns to his original organization. The Rangers drafted him back in 2013, though he was traded to the Cubs prior to his major league debut. He went on to have his best years with the Cubs, winning a ring with them in 2016.

More recently, Edwards has been up and down as he has entered journeyman mode. After a rough 2019 season, he struggled to get playing time for a few years. He had a nice bounceback with the Nationals in 2022. He carried that over into 2023 somewhat but then got shut down in August of that year due to a stress fracture in his shoulder. He was limited to just one major league appearance last year and has made just two this year.

His 2025 season has seen him go to Mexico and back a couple of times now. In early March, he signed with the Tigres de Quintana Roo. But by late March, he had a minor league deal with the Angels. He was called up to the majors in late April, made two appearances for the Halos before being designated for assignment. He cleared waivers, elected free agency and then rejoined the Tigres.

Though he’s been a reliever throughout his MLB career, he’s been starting for the Tigers for the past few months. He tossed 74 2/3 innings over 14 starts with a 3.38 earned run average, 18.9% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate. For context, it’s worth pointing out that the Mexican League is very hitter-friendly, with a league-wide ERA of 5.90 this year.

The Rangers have sacrificed some Triple-A starting depth in recent months. Adrian Houser was granted his release in May and signed with the White Sox. Gerson Garabito was released to sign in Korea last month. Dane Dunning was traded to Atlanta last week to trim some payroll. Six pitchers have made eight or more starts for Round Rock this year and three of them are no longer in the organization.

Edwards is stretched out and has been pitching well, relative to the standards of the Mexican League, so he’ll presumably plug into the rotation for the Express and give the Rangers some extra depth in that department.

Photo courtesy of Matt Krohn, Imagn Images

MLBTR Chat Transcript

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Steve Adams

  • Good morning! Just over a week until the deadline, and probably days away from the trade market really breaking open. We’ll get going at 1pm CT, but feel free to ask questions ahead of time.
  • Greetings! Let’s get underway

Tigertown

  • Detroit starting Trey Melton on Wednesday to showcase him. Would Melton and Max Anderson or Jace Jung be enough for Suarez?

Steve Adams

  • I don’t really buy into the idea of a prospect call-up being a “showcase” in today’s game, where every team has countless hours of video on these guys and more data than we can process. I don’t think Melton carving through a weak Pirates lineup or being tagged for like four runs in four innings materially changes his perception throughout the league.As for the package, Melton as a centerpiece for Suarez seems feasible, sure. Jace Jung’s stock is down, but either or Jung/Anderson + Melton is a compelling offer.

Mike

  • If the cardinals sell, who is on the block besides Helsley? Given Fedde’s massive drop in value, is Helsley the only real trade asset?

Steve Adams

  • They’ll get something for Maton and for Matz as well (especially if they eat some of Matz’s salary). Not sure why JoJo Romero isn’t talked about as a viable trade option for them as well — only one additional year of control and third straight season of good numbers. He has a 0.40 ERA since late April.
  • And I do expect that they’ll still find a trade for Fedde

Soler

  • Do I have any value, or would halos have to eat some of contract?

Steve Adams

  • Angels would have to eat almost the entire contract

Read more

Mets Designate Chris Devenski For Assignment

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The Mets announced a series of roster moves today. Outfielder/designated hitter Starling Marte has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. Infielder Jared Young has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse in a corresponding move. The club also activated recent waiver claimee Rico Garcia and recalled right-hander Justin Garza. To open spots for those two arms, the club optioned right-hander Kevin Herget and designated right-hander Chris Devenski for assignment. Additionally, left-hander Brandon Waddell’s optional assignment was reversed and he has instead been placed on the major league 15-day injured list due to a right hip impingement.

Devenski, 34, signed a minor league deal with the Mets in the offseason. He was selected to the big league roster in April. As a veteran with well over five years of major league service time, he can’t be optioned to the minors without his consent. The Mets have optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse three times this year, so he presumably agreed to those transactions.

This time, instead of being optioned, he’s been designated for assignment. The Mets didn’t need to open a 40-man spot today, so it’s unclear why they’ve done so. With the deadline coming up, they are expected to pursue bullpen upgrades. Perhaps the Mets, or Devenski, realized that their relationship might not extend much farther. From Devenski’s perspective, if he’s going to get squeezed down the depth chart, perhaps now is a good time to open himself up to other clubs rather than accept another stint in Syracuse.

Whatever the reasoning, he is now in DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Mets could take five days to explore trade interest. Around his optional assignments, Devenski has tossed 11 1/3 innings big league innings for the Mets this year, allowing three earned runs on seven hits, three walks and two hit-by-pitches while striking out nine. He has also thrown 25 Triple-A innings with a 4.32 ERA, 17.2% strikeout rate, 4% walk rate and 50.6% ground ball rate.

Devenski’s best seasons came with the Astros almost a decade ago. More recently, his results have been up and down. He had an encouraging showing in 2023, split between the Angels and Rays. That year, he tossed 42 1/3 innings with a 4.46 ERA, 24.3% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate. The Rays re-signed him for 2024 but Devenski posted a 6.75 ERA last year. He was released by July and was stuck in the minors the rest of the year.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Fisher, Imagn Images

Rays Acquire Stuart Fairchild, Place Brandon Lowe On Injured List

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The Rays announced Tuesday that they’ve acquired outfielder Stuart Fairchild from the Braves in exchange for cash. Tampa Bay also placed infielder Brandon Lowe on the 10-day injured list with tendinitis in his left ankle. Right-hander Manuel Rodriguez goes from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to open a spot for Fairchild on the 40-man roster.

Atlanta designated the 29-year-old Fairchild for assignment just yesterday morning. He’s primarily been a pinch-runner and late-inning defensive replacement in the Braves’ outfield. Fairchild has played in 28 games but only come to the plate 55 times this year. He’s hit .216/.273/.333 in that tiny sample and is a career .223/.305/.384 hitter in 670 major league plate appearances overall.

Fairchild, a former second-round pick, has totaled 277 major league games split between the Diamondbacks, Reds, Giants, Mariners and Braves. He has well above-average speed (87th percentile, per Statcast) and can handle all three outfield spots, which has led to him carving out a frequent role as a fourth outfielder. He’s a right-handed bat who offers slightly above-average production against lefties but has struggled considerably in right-on-right matchups. Fairchild is out of options, so the Rays will have to carry him on the big league roster or else designate him for assignment once again.

Lowe exited the Rays’ game on Saturday with what was described at the time as plantar fasciitis. He hasn’t appeared in a game since. As such, the move can be backdated to July 20. That leaves the veteran second baseman time to be reinstated prior to the July 31 trade deadline.

In 350 plate appearances this season, Lowe is hitting .269/.320/.480 with 19 home runs, 11 doubles, three stolen bases, a 6.9% walk rate and a 25.4% strikeout rate. He’s in the final guaranteed season of his contract, though Tampa Bay holds an $11.5MM club option (with a $500K buyout) that seems overwhelmingly likely to be exercised.

The Rays aren’t clear-cut sellers, but there’s always a possibility of them moving some veteran pieces whose club control is dwindling. In that sense, Lowe is a speculative trade candidate who’d presumably appeal to clubs with second base needs (e.g. Giants, Astros). He can be traded even if he’s on the injured list, and as already mentioned, there’s a chance he’s back before the deadline has passed. There’s no guarantee Rays brass will even make Lowe available, but they do have several infield alternatives on the roster (e.g. Jose Caballero, Ha-Seong Kim, Curtis Mead, Taylor Walls).

Rodriguez, 28, has been a key setup arm for Tampa Bay when healthy, tallying 11 holds and a 2.08 ERA in 30 1/3 innings this season. He landed on the injured list due to a forearm strain in early June, and president of baseball operations Erik Neander indicated last week (via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that Rodriguez isn’t expected back anytime soon. It’s still not entirely clear what his prognosis is, but the shift to the 60-day IL leaves him shelved into at least mid-August. Based on Neander’s comments and the fact that Rodriguez isn’t yet throwing, it’s fair to presume it’ll be a good bit longer than that.

Mariners, D-backs Have Discussed Eugenio Suárez

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The Mariners are among the teams with interest in Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suárez, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Adam Jude of the Seattle Times further reports that Suárez is viewed as Seattle’s top target in its well-known search for a corner infield upgrade. Jude adds that the Mariners and D-backs have held “preliminary” discussions regarding Suárez, whom Seattle views as a preferable option to Arizona first baseman Josh Naylor.

[Related: Seattle Mariners Trade Deadline Outlook]

The 34-year-old Suárez has emerged as perhaps the most coveted bat on the trade market. He’s hitting .257/.328/.605 with 36 home runs on the season and has been among the sport’s elite power hitters dating back to his July renaissance in 2024. It’s easy to forget now, given how dominant Suárez has been at the plate over the past calendar year, but the beginning of the slugger’s time in Arizona was a disaster. He hit so poorly through the season’s first two-plus months that he began to lose playing time to young Blaze Alexander. That shift didn’t last long, as Suárez caught fire while Alexander stumbled.

Dating back to June 25 of last season, Suárez has come to the plate 751 times and slashed .281/.341/.605 with a whopping 60 home runs, 36 doubles and a triple. Only Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani have hit more home runs in that time (66 apiece). Suárez has bludgeoned left-handed and right-handed pitching alike. He’s being paid $15MM this season, with about $5.48MM of that sum yet to be paid out as of this writing. He’ll be a free agent at season’s end.

It’s not entirely clear yet that the Diamondbacks will trade Suárez at all, however. They swept the Cardinals in their first series coming out of the All-Star break, and though they lost to the Astros last night, they’re now just one game under .500 and 5.5 games back in the NL Wild Card chase. The Snakes have two more games against Houston before wrapping up their pre-deadline slate of games with three games in Pittsburgh and three games in Detroit.

Arizona general manager Mike Hazen has made clear that he hopes to avoid a sell-off and act as a buyer at this year’s deadline, but the team will have to perform well enough in this final push to justify that position. The Diamondbacks can also make a qualifying offer to Suárez if they hang onto him, so any trade return would need to eclipse the value of what would likely be a compensatory pick after the first-round of the 2026 draft.

[Related: Arizona Diamondbacks Trade Deadline Outlook]

If the Diamondbacks do end up seriously weighing offers for Suárez, a trade seems like a better outcome than that draft pick, however. The D-backs will likely take aim at contending again next season, and Suárez could net them some talent that can contribute either late this season or early next year. The draft selection would be a longer-term play, of course.

In theory, the Diamondbacks could even trade Suárez while still hoping to remain in contention this year. There’s no replacing his prodigious power output, but top prospect Jordan Lawlar could step into the everyday third base role down the stretch. Lawlar hasn’t hit at all in a tiny sample of 56 big league plate appearances, but he’s never been given any sort of regular playing time, either. He’s decimated Triple-A pitching this year, hitting .319/.410/.583 in 250 plate appearances. He’s currently on the minor league injured list with a hamstring strain but should return shortly after the deadline. Whether it’s this year or next, the 2021 No. 6 overall draft pick seems likely to get the opportunity to prove that he can be Arizona’s long-term option at the hot corner.

If the D-backs sell any veterans — Suárez or otherwise — they’re expected to focus on stockpiling young pitching. On the surface, that might sound like it makes Seattle a particularly appealing trade partner. However, the M’s aren’t going to trade an established starter like Logan Gilbert, Bryan Woo or George Kirby for a rental, and outside of young Logan Evans, most of their higher-end pitching prospects (e.g. Ryan Sloan, Jurrangelo Cijntje) are further down the pipeline.

That’s not to say the two sides can’t line up on a deal. At the end of the day, talent wins out, and if the Mariners offer a demonstrably better package than the Yankees, Cubs and other suitors, the positions of the prospects won’t be crucial. Arizona could look to flip some of those prospects for established big league arms in the offseason, after all. But if the D-backs are weighing two offers they deem to be comparable in value, it seems likely that they’d gravitate toward one that included some pitching talent that could be in the majors before terribly long.

The Diamondbacks lost Corbin Burnes to Tommy John surgery last month. He won’t pitch until late in the 2026 season, at the earliest. Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly are free agents at season’s end. In-house arms like Blake Walston and Tommy Henry also had UCL surgeries earlier this season. Young righty Cristian Mena has been out since June with a shoulder strain. Top pitching prospect Yilber Diaz has had a disastrous season in the minors. Big league starters Brandon Pfaadt and Eduardo Rodriguez have both struggled. Adding some young arms is a sensible aim for the D-backs front office if they go the sell route in the coming week-plus.

The Mariners, of course, traded Suárez to the D-backs in the first place. That trade, following the 2023 season, was largely driven by a mandate from Seattle ownership to reduce payroll. The Mariners did come away from that swap with righty Carlos Vargas, who’s now a key member of the bullpen (47 innings, 3.83 ERA, 11 holds), but the front office surely would’ve preferred to hold onto the slugger and his vaunted clubhouse presence if not for those financial constraints. Mariners ownership is now reportedly willing to boost payroll, putting a reunion back on the table.

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