MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

Pirates Sign First-Round Pick Seth Hernandez

By Darragh McDonald | July 22, 2025 at 3:41pm CDT

The Pirates announced today that they have signed right-handed pitcher Seth Hernandez. They selected him with their first-round pick, sixth overall, at last week’s draft. Jim Callis of MLB.com reports that the signing bonus is $7.25MM, which is about $300K shy of the $7,558,600 slot value for the sixth overall pick. Callis notes it’s the highest bonus ever for a high school pitcher.

Heading into the draft, Hernandez was considered one of the top 25 guys available, though there was a wide range of opinions on exactly where to rank him among those top guys. Baseball America had him second overall, MLB Pipeline had him at #3, ESPN at #4, FanGraphs at #9, while Keith Law of The Athletic had him way down at #21.

All evaluators generally agree that there is ace potential here. Hernandez sits in the mid-90s with his fastball and can push triple digits. His changeup and curveball are considered great weapons. He has a slider which is inconsistent but could develop into another useful pitch in time. He also could have been a viable hitter/shortstop prospect, though his pitching potential is so strong that it’s agreed that he should be on the mound. The Bucs announced him as a right-handed pitcher, so that seems to be their thinking as well.

Law’s bearishness seems to be more about high school pitchers in general, as opposed to any specific criticism of Hernandez. “The history of high school pitchers taken in the first round is dismal, however, given their high attrition rates,” Law writes, “and as talented as Hernandez is, he’s still in that same category. There’s at least No. 2 starter upside here, but the risk of any high school arm is that they get hurt or don’t have the command and control to get to the majors.” Kiley McDaniel of ESPN mentions in his Hernandez blurb that some clubs will never take a prep righty with a top-ten pick.

On the more optimistic side of things, BA’s writeup says that Hernandez has the talent be ranked alongside recent prep picks like Hunter Greene, MacKenzie Gore and Jackson Jobe. In the 2017 draft, Greene and Gore went second and third overall, respectively. Both have now become strong major leaguers and arguable aces. Jobe went third overall in 2021 and still has a limited track record. He won’t be able to build on it anytime soon either, as he recently required Tommy John surgery. However, he had become one of the top pitching prospects in the sport prior to this year.

The Pirates haven’t done a great job developing hitters but their work with pitchers is stronger. Their rotation currently features homegrown pitchers Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller and Mike Burrows. If he weren’t currently recovering from surgery, Jared Jones would be in there as well. Bubba Chandler is one of the best pitching prospects right now and he’s pitching in the Triple-A rotation. Tom Harrington and Hunter Barco are also notable Pittsburgh draftees who are there in Indianapolis alongside Chandler.

Hernandez is still quite young, having just turned 19 less than a month ago. It will likely take him a few years but he naturally wants to follow that path. “He shoved yesterday,” Hernandez said of Skenes, per Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “and he’s probably going to shove for the rest of his life. If I could kind of follow his footsteps, that’d be great.”

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images

Royals Designate Tyler Gentry For Assignment

By Steve Adams | July 22, 2025 at 3:06pm CDT

The Royals announced Tuesday that they’ve designated outfielder Tyler Gentry for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster goes to left-hander Rich Hill, whose previously reported promotion from Triple-A Omaha is now official. Righty Andrew Hoffmann was optioned to Omaha to open an active roster spot for the 45-year-old Hill.

Gentry, 26, made his big league debut last year but went hitless in his five plate appearances. He’s spent the 2025 season in Triple-A, where he’s struggled to a .205/.277/.365 batting line with five homers, 16 doubles, two triples, a 7.6% walk rate and a 28.5% strikeout rate in 249 plate appearances. This is his third season in Triple-A and also his least-productive. The 2020 third-round pick posted big numbers in High-A and Double-A as he climbed the minor league ladder but has struggled at the top level.

Gentry is a right-handed hitter who has had good success against lefties in the past. He’s a corner outfielder who’s played primarily right field but does have 461 career innings in left field as well. This is his second of three minor league option years.

The Royals will either trade Gentry or place him on outright waivers within the next five days. Waivers would require an additional 48 hours to process. He hasn’t been outrighted in the past and doesn’t have three years of major league service time, so if Gentry goes unclaimed on waivers, the Royals can assign him outright to Omaha and keep him as a depth option while no longer dedicating a 40-man roster spot to him.

Rockies Sign No. 4 Overall Pick Ethan Holliday

By Steve Adams | July 22, 2025 at 2:58pm CDT

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?

By Nick Deeds | July 22, 2025 at 2:43pm CDT

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

By Steve Adams | July 22, 2025 at 2:35pm CDT

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

By Darragh McDonald | July 22, 2025 at 2:30pm CDT

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

By Darragh McDonald | July 22, 2025 at 2:00pm CDT

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

By Darragh McDonald | July 22, 2025 at 1:36pm CDT

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

By Steve Adams | July 22, 2025 at 1:01pm CDT

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

Jays in 43 parks

Keller & Bednar for Manoak & Macko & Loperfido … Who says no?

Steve Adams

Manoah is injured and barely has more club control than Bednar — plus less than Keller. Macko has an 8-something ERA in AAA coming off knee surgery. That doesn’t Keller alone, certainly not both him and Bednar.

Guest

Will the Guardians trade both Smith and Clase?

Steve Adams

I’d be shocked if they traded both, but I can see Clase moving. I’d put the probability under 50% though.

CUBBIES

We think Suarez is getting traded ? One year rental and going to have to give a lot

Steve Adams

Yeah I lean toward someone making a big enough offer that the D-backs do it, even if they’re not totally punting on the season. By mid-August, Jordan Lawlar can be taking those everyday ABs at third base.

Phillies fan

What would it hypothetically take for the Phillies to land Clase and Kwan.

Steve Adams

Both? Andrew Painter and then some.

Guest

Given the Rays are looking for catching, are the Cardinals a good trade fit for Taj Bradley? What would it take to get it done? With Bradley’s struggles and falling K%, would Pages be enough? Or would it take Crooks or Bernal?

Steve Adams

If the Rays wanted an all-glove, no-bat catcher they could get one more cheaply than giving up Taj Bradley. Crooks feels like a better starting point there, though he’s not having the best season in AAA. I still think you could put something together with those two at the forefront of though.
“Those two” being Cooks/Bradley
Crooks* grr

Damon

Do the cubs cut Turner after the deadline?

Steve Adams

Hard to imagine him hanging around that much longer. Tough year for a great player

John

Percent chance Sean Murphy or Michael Harris gets moved?

Steve Adams

Under 5%?

Guest

Would KC consider trading Bubic and a prospect to Boston for Durand?

Steve Adams

I have to think, given how bad the Royals’ outfield has been, that something around 3+ years of Duran for 1+ years of Bubic would pique their interest, yes.

Phillie RX

As much as anything, the Phillies need outfield production. Might Dominguez be available with the emergence of Jones?

Steve Adams

No, I don’t see Dominguez being available even with Spencer Jones going nuts in AA/AAA

Eric

What does the return on a Mitch Keller trade look like, do they package someone like Bednar to get a bigger return?

Steve Adams

Keller is an above-average pitcher being paid less than we saw No. 3-4 guys like Taijuan Walker and Jameson Taillon get a few years back. They should be able to get something headlined by a 50-FV prospect for him — i.e. someone on or not far off the back half of most top 100 lists. And obviously you’re probably looking at 3 to 5 total pieces for him.

The 3B trade market is pretty light on impact players. Is there anyone not named Suarez that could be pried loose?

Steve Adams

Ryan McMahon, Willi Castro, Yoan Moncada, Luis Urias … maybe Ramon Urias. The Pirates would giftwrap Ke’Bryan Hayes and send him to you for nothing, probably. Thairo Estrada has a little 3B experience (but probably not enough arm to drop him over there on the regular). Miguel Andujar, Gio Urshela

Hot take!

Seattle is top ten in offense this season. But they are middle of the pack in pitching, starting and relief. Should Seattle instead be in on the pitching market?

Steve Adams

It’s a reasonably top-heavy lineup with Cal Raleigh doing a disproportionate amount of the heavy lifting. But I do expect them to be in the bullpen market in addition to their search for offense

AJ Preller burner

I desperately need catching help, and maybe an outfielder. I want to run it back with Kyle Higashioka — could I pair that with another Texas bat (Adolis, perhaps) for some low-level pitching prospects?

Steve Adams

Probably, but I really don’t know that Padres ownership will green-light that level of spending. There’s a reason their late-offseason moves were an immensely backloaded deal for Pivetta and a bunch of $1-3MM fliers on Heyward, Maldonado, Elias Diaz and Connor Joe

Guest

Do you see the Braves doing anything other some minor moves?

Steve Adams

I wouldn’t really call trading Marcell Ozuna and Raisel Iglesisas “minor” moves, and I expect both to happen. Maybe Pierce Johnson and Rafael Montero, too.

T(win)s

Do the Twins move anybody besides the rental guys? I’d be very surprised if Jax, Duran, or Ryan are traded

Steve Adams

I’d be surprised, but they showed in 2021 (Jose Berrios) that if the bidding gets high enough they’ll bite the bullet.

Guest

Do you see the royals trading seth lugo? If so, what’s the return?

Steve Adams

I think they’ll eventually get there, and the return will be something fans consider lackluster because of the downside associated with Lugo’s player option. We almost never see opt-out/player option guys traded, so it’ll be an interesting litmus test.The only one who’s been moved recently was Scherzer, and he agreed in advance to exercise his player option. That got the Mets Luisangel Acuna, though they also had to pay down a huge portion of Scherzer’s contract.

Carrie Halas

Hear me out… phillies go after Eugenio Suarez. Bohm goes to 1b upon return, Harper to Of. Lineup fix accomplished, if just for the stretch drive.

Steve Adams

I’m fine with all of this, but I don’t run the Phillies and Dave Dombrowksi said within the past six weeks or so that he doesn’t want to move Bryce back to the outfield.

Zach

What would a hypothetical return for Bryan Reynolds look like?

Steve Adams

I don’t think Reynolds has positive trade value.

Trader Phil

If you’re the Dodgers, which move are you making: Duran/Ryan from Minnesota or Bednar/Keller from Pittsburgh?

Steve Adams

The asking price on the former would be overwhelmingly larger than the latter. I don’t think the Twins will move both Ryan and Duran (and find it pretty unlikely they ultimately move either, though if someone goes wild with a Duran offer, I would understand their temptation)

Luis Mey, Luis Mey not

What’s the most ideal offensive target for the Redlegs.

Steve Adams

Most ideal? Suarez probably, but that’s true for most clubs looking for offense. Geno is on another planet this year.

Framber Valdez

Am I an Astro next season?

Steve Adams

I’d be surprised. Owner Jim Crane has shown little to no willingness to push to the levels that’ll be necessary to re-sign Valdez, and the few (two) times he has, it’s been for hitters (Altuve, the failed Bregman offer)

Broken Bat

Would the Cubs offer Shaw 1-1 for Suarez?

Steve Adams

I don’t think so, no.

Still an A

Do the A’s get more in return for Jeffery Springs then what they gave up?

Steve Adams

Doubt it

Call for relief

Teams are saying they “will listen” to offers for not only some of the top closers in baseball, but closers with several years of team-friendly options. Do you believe any will actually be traded, and if so, do you believe trading top relievers with multi-year, team-friendly contracts is a fluke or is it a trend you expect to see in future years.

Steve Adams

I don’t know if David Bednar falls into this category since he only has one year of control remaining beyond 2025, but I’d be extremely surprised if he’s not moved.On Jhoan Duran, Emmanuel Clase, Felix Bautista, etc. — I don’t think any of them are individually “likely” to go, but there’s a real chance (25% or so?) that one of them goes, sure. Clase feels the likeliest to me, just given Cleveland’s payroll and the presence of Cade Smith

Ben Cherrington

Who is a bat that Toronto could send me for Mitch?

Steve Adams

Alan Roden and then some?

Bronxie the Turtle

Miguel Andujar or Gio Urshela would be good pickups for the Yankees. Maybe IKF too. An Andujar-Severino package?

Steve Adams

The Yankees acquiring Andujar and finally playing him at third base would amuse me, so I support this. I doubt they want any part of that Sevvy contract, though.

Matthew S

Is there any chance the Mariners are looking to add a bullpen arm or are they not going to likely make a move for any type of pitcher

Steve Adams

They are looking at bullpen arms, yes.

Natitude

Is it realistic to hope for a Top 100 prospect in return for any of the Nats players available at the trade deadline? Bell, Soroka, Lowe, Finnegan?

Steve Adams

No, I don’t think any of those guys have that type of value.

Phillies Phan

The Marsh/Rojas experiment is a mess. Why havent they brought up Crawford yet?

Steve Adams

Matt Gelb at The Athletic and Scott Lauber at the Philly Inquirer both had comments from Dombrowski on this last night — basically that they want Crawford to be up for good when he’s promoted, and they don’t want to call him up only to find a deal for an OF four days from now and push Crawford right back down to AAA

wkkortas

I keep reading speculation as to how Ke’Bryan Hayes’ trade market is “heating up”, but given the amount remaining on his deal vis-a-vis his offensive performance and his health concerns, how strong is the demand for his services?

Steve Adams

I’m sure the Pirates would love to move Hayes. “Heating up” seems like charitable framing from anyone who’s saying that. Cubs, Yankees, etc. surely have looked into it out of due diligence, but I’m sure most of those talks involve the Pirates eating a huge portion of the contract and little return heading their way.

Mullinorg!

If you’re Ross Atkins, are Nimmala and Yesavage in play as trade chips? Contending years don’t always come around, but on the other hand it’s not like this trade deadline has many “must have” players

Steve Adams

Yeah, everyone in the Jays’ system should be on the table right now.

Angels deadline

Halos need to be sellers, who makes final decision Arte or Perry? I hope they are smart and add to the young core they have.

Steve Adams

Arte makes the call, and Arte doesn’t like to sell.

M’s Fan

What would it take to get Dominguez and Soto from the Orioles? Mostly salary relief or a significant prospect?

Steve Adams

Neither is being paid so well that they’re salary dump candidates. Both should command a decent prospect or two individually. Getting both in the same trade probably requires a return of some note.

Josh bell

Am I getting traded to a contender

Steve Adams

He’s quietly been hitting pretty well since May. No one’s going to give up much for him, but yeah, there’s a good chance he moves.

Cassie comes to bat

No way the Cubs trade Cassie if they don’t plan on signing Tucker, correct???

Steve Adams

I can absolutely see them moving Caissie despite having no guarantees about re-signing Tucker.

Reds for the love of…

Is Robert Jr. an upgrade for the Reds OF right now, or do I need a hammer in the pen? Because I don’t think Geno is coming home.

Steve Adams

He’s hit well for 80-90 PAs and was beating up lefties even before that. If the White Sox are footing most of the bill, Robert to Cincy makes a lot of sense. They need help against LHP

Joe

What’s going on with Candelario? After the Yankees signed him to a minor league deal, I haven’t heard anything more about him.

Steve Adams

He’s hitting .175/.214/.225 in 42 Triple-A plate appearances with the Yankees. I don’t think they’re going to consider him anytime soon, haha.

Chris Getz

If I package Houser and Touchman, what kind of return would I receive? I’ll throw in a reliever too if I have one that you want. Thoughts?

Steve Adams

Tauchman and Houser will both be traded, but even if it’s in the same package, I wouldn’t expect a super impactful return.

Mr KLC

Would Cronenworth be a good pickup as a lefty bat 2nd baseman for the Astros? What kind of prospect capital would it take?

Steve Adams

It would take them just bailing the Padres out on that contract, but he’d put Houston over the luxury tax so I doubt ownership would approve it.

Not JJ Piccollo

What kind of return can KC net for Carlos Estevez? Odds he moves and teams that would be interested in him?

Steve Adams

Most contenders would be interested to an extent, though the contract/salary would limit interest a bit (especially for teams with luxury concerns like the Astros, Rangers if they buy).There’s not a ton of surplus value given the $11MM AAV, but a couple 40 to 45 prospects (generally in the 10 to 20 range of given system) or maybe a young big leaguer who just hasn’t had a great path to playing time (like the Blue Jays got when they picked up Jonatan Clase in last year’s Yimi Garcia deal)

Arizona tea

Chances Suarez doesn’t get moved? Seems Arizona is in the thick of the wc hunt

Steve Adams

I lean toward him moving, but it’s not a lock. There’s a real chance they just hold onto him and make the QO, especially if they string together a few more wins here.

So your telling me theres a chance?

What would it take for the reds to get Duran? What do you think about swapping Steer + ?

Steve Adams

At this point you’ve got to specify Jarren or Jhoan!But I don’t think Steer is a great starting point for either. He’s “only” controlled three more years at this point, which is the same as Jarren and one more than Jhoan, both of whom are better/more valuable in trade talks.

Jose cruz

Is it possible or are there rules against it about trading players who are just drafted last week? Could Huston make a trade and include their first round pick from this year as the prospect?

Steve Adams

Can’t trade anyone who was drafted until the offseason, and you can’t use a player to be named later as a loophole.

Bendix

Over under Marlins players being moved 3.5

Steve Adams

I was all ready to say “over,” but I think it’s probably less than that. Sandy, Cabrera, Bender, Sanchez, Quantrill, Fortes could all go, but it’s hard to see them getting fair value for Alcantara, and I don’t think Quantrill really has a lot of value.I think Sanchez will go. Bender and Cabrera have a chance but aren’t locks.

Croney bashing

What don’t you like about Cronenworth’s $12M AAV that you’d suggest the Padres would want to “bail”? He’s a 2.5-WAR player having yet another good season.

Steve Adams

2.5 WAR second base-only guys get like 1-2 year deals in free agency. The market doesn’t value them. Cronenworth is going into his age-32 season and will be owed five years and $60MM. No second baseman, certainly not one of his age, has been compensated like that anytime recently with the exception of Marcus Semien (7/175) who was coming off a 6-WAR season in Toronto.
There have been 6 free-agent deals of $60MM+ for position players beginning at age 32, total, since 2018, which you can see in our nifty Contract Tracker:
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/contracttracker?name=&team=0&position=H…
Ok, I’ve got to wrap this up. I’m on X @Adams_Steve and Bluesky @adams-steve.bsky.social if you have more questions.If you want more opinions from the MLBTR team, you can learn about our Front Office subscription package and sign up here. In addition to ad-free viewing on the site and in the app, you’ll get weekly analysis/opinion columns from Anthony Franco and myself, a weekly mailbag column from Tim Dierkes, weekly fantasy baseball chats and columns with Nicklaus Gaut, weekly subscriber-only chats with Anthony Franco and me (where your odds of getting a question answered are much better), direct Q&A opps with Darragh McDonald, access to our new Trade Deadline Outlook series, access to our Contract Tracker, GM Tracker and our Agency Database, and more. It all starts at $2.99/month.
Thanks and enjoy the rest of your week!

Mets Designate Chris Devenski For Assignment

By Darragh McDonald | July 22, 2025 at 12:40pm CDT

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

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Headlines

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect