Headlines

  • Tylor Megill, Reed Garrett Recommended For Tommy John Surgery
  • Astros Place Yordan Alvarez On Injured List
  • Astros To Activate Isaac Paredes
  • Clayton Kershaw To Retire After 2025 Season
  • Lucas Giolito Converts Club Option To Mutual Provision
  • Yordan Alvarez To Miss Time With “Pretty Significant” Ankle Sprain
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Athletics
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2026-27 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Reds Place Tyler Stephenson On Injured List With Thumb Fracture

By Nick Deeds | August 20, 2025 at 11:43am CDT

The Reds announced today that catcher Tyler Stephenson has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a thumb fracture. In a corresponding move, the club has selected the contract of catcher Will Banfield from Triple-A. He’ll take the 40-man roster spot of Jake Fraley, who was designated for assignment over the weekend and claimed off waivers by the Braves yesterday.

Stephenson, 29, was selected 11th overall by Cincinnati back in 2015 and has been the club’s primary catcher since 2021. Long considered a bat-first option behind the plate, he’s also seen occasional time at DH and first base over the years but entered the 2025 season with a solid .267/.343/.427 (107 wRC+) slash line for his career, including a 113 wRC+ during the 2024 campaign. Unfortunately, he’s struggled to produce at the plate this year and has ceded much of his playing time to Jose Trevino behind the dish. Stephenson gotten into 72 games this year, with a .226/.313/.393 (90 wRC+) line in 288 plate appearances. Most concerning is his massive 34.4% strikeout rate, which is eleven points north of his career mark of 23.4%.

That Stephenson is injured isn’t exactly a surprise, seeing as he suffered the injury on a pitch caught from Hunter Greene last week against the Phillies. He’s played just one game since then due to the issue, and now that he’s on the shelf it’s unclear when he’ll be back in the lineup. The Reds have given no indication about his timeline for return at this point, and that leaves Trevino to take over regular duties behind the plate after spitting time with Stephenson throughout the year.

After getting his start with the Rangers back in 2018, Trevino developed into a top-tier defender behind the plate before being traded to the Yankees. He posted a wRC+ of just 81 across his three seasons in the Bronx but won a platinum glove for his work at catcher before being shipped to Cincinnati in exchange for Fernando Cruz and Alex Jackson over the offseason. The 32-year-old hasn’t looked quite as good this year behind the plate and is hitting just .176/.205/.206 since the start of July, but remains a plus pitch framer. Still, for a club with an excellent rotation but a lackluster offense, losing Stephenson’s bat from the lineup is a considerable blow as the Reds look to sneak their way into the NL Wild Card conversation.

For the time being, Trevino will be backed up by Banfield. The 25-year-old spent his whole career in the Marlins organization before electing free agency and signing a minor league deal with the Reds last November. He’s struggled badly at the plate in 73 games at Triple-A this year, hitting just .220/.277/.304 with a wRC+ of 53. Brutal as that slash line may be, however, Banfield is viewed as a solid defender behind the plate who should serve as an adequate backup for Trevino while Stephenson’s thumb recovers. Behind Banfield, the club’s additional catching depth leaves much to be desired. P.J. Higgins and Eric Yang are both in the club’s minor league system but Yang has just one game of big league experience and is hitting poorly at Triple-A while Higgins is generally viewed as a lackluster defender behind the plate, hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2022, and has hit just .210/.291/.348 (85 wRC+) in 83 games at the big league level for his career.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Cincinnati Reds Transactions Jose Trevino Tyler Stephenson Will Banfield

29 comments

MLBTR Podcast: The Pohlads Aren’t Selling The Twins, Nathaniel Lowe, And Service Time Manipulation

By Darragh McDonald | August 20, 2025 at 10:00am CDT

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

  • The Pohlad family taking the Twins off the market and what that could mean for the club’s future (2:10)
  • Nathaniel Lowe getting released by the Nationals and signing with the Red Sox (18:35)
  • The Astros losing Josh Hader due to a shoulder capsule sprain (29:25)
  • The Phillies losing Zack Wheeler due to a blood clot (32:20)
  • Why late August/September is prospect promotion season (36:00)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Are there some notable relievers who could be on waivers this month? Also, what happens to a player when he is on waivers? (44:55)
  • If I told you that the Dodgers signed Kyle Tucker, would you believe me? (52:40)
  • What’s the craziest out-of-nowhere team to make the playoffs and could a team do it this year? (56:35)

Check out our past episodes!

  • Walk-Year Performances, Roman Anthony’s Extension, And More! – listen here
  • Sifting Through The Trade Deadline Deals – listen here
  • Megapod Trade Deadline Preview – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn, Imagn Images

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Apple Boston Red Sox Houston Astros Los Angeles Dodgers MLB Trade Rumors Podcast Minnesota Twins Philadelphia Phillies Washington Nationals Joe Pohlad Josh Hader Nathaniel Lowe Zack Wheeler

1 comment

Latest On Aaron Judge’s Flexor Strain

By Nick Deeds | August 20, 2025 at 9:43am CDT

Aaron Judge is currently limited to DH-only duties after he was briefly sidelined by a right flexor strain last month. He’s still hitting a solid .229/.426/.429 in 11 games since coming off the injured list, but manager Aaron Boone cast some doubt on his ability to return to full strength this year when it comes to throwing yesterday. As noted by The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner, Boone said in both a radio appearance on WFAN and an appearance on Jomboy Media’s Talkin’ Yanks podcast that Judge may not be “throwing like normal” again this year.

Notably, Boone did not say that Judge won’t throw again this year. On Talkin’ Yanks, Boone suggested that Judge will probably need “to play with a little bit of a governor” on his throws before adding that he won’t return to the field until he can throw safely. Kirschner adds that Boone went on to suggest that his comments may have been “a little” overstated, while Judge challenged his manager’s framing of the situation by noting that Boone hadn’t seen him throw in two weeks before adding that he’s “pretty confident” he’ll get back to throwing at full strength this year. At the same time, Judge emphasized that he’s going to “be smart about it” in order to ensure he doesn’t aggravate his ailing elbow and miss more time than his initial ten-day stint on the shelf.

Judge’s injury has forced the Yankees into a difficult balancing act. Any day where the reigning AL MVP can’t hit for the Yankees is a crushing blow, so giving him as long as he might need to act as a pure DH and rest his elbow makes plenty of sense. At the same time, Giancarlo Stanton has been incredibly productive (hitting .299/.377/.576) in 44 games since returning from the injured list earlier this year. A laundry list of past injuries and the likelihood that playing the field could cause additional wear and tear on Stanton’s body has essentially made him into a full-time DH of late, and his recent appearances in right field while Judge has been forced into the DH slot have been his first outings on the grass since 2023.

Stanton has not appeared in more than 38 games in the outfield since 2018, suggesting that playing Stanton in the field can’t be viewed as more than a short-term solution. With Stanton hitting well and unlikely to be able to handle regular outfield work for long, the Yankees will be better off the sooner Judge can return to the field—so long as Judge doesn’t cause himself to miss time by doing so. The change has also caused Ben Rice to get more starts behind the plate in order to allow both him and Paul Goldschmidt to stay in the lineup on a regular basis, cutting the playing time of Austin Wells. Of course, Wells has struggled at the plate recently with a .119/.172/.186 slash line since the All-Star break, so he may well have been in line to lose some playing time even before Judge took over at DH.

While the club waits for Judge to be healthy enough to play the field, they’re locked in a tight playoff race. The Blue Jays have opened up a five game lead over New York to take control of the AL East, but the Yankees are just one game ahead of the Red Sox and Mariners among the AL’s Wild Card teams, with Kansas City lurking just 2.5 games back of a playoff spot and Cleveland only three games out. The final few weeks of the season will be crucial as those five clubs vie for their league’s three Wild Card spots, and if the playoff race tightens further that will only give further importance to the Yankees’ decision-making going forward regarding Judge and Stanton.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

New York Yankees Aaron Judge Giancarlo Stanton

63 comments

The Opener: Messick, Phillies, Royals

By Nick Deeds | August 20, 2025 at 8:24am CDT

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

1. Messick to make MLB debut:

The Guardians are bringing southpaw Parker Messick up to the majors for his MLB debut today. The club’s second-rounder back in 2022 has climbed the minor league ladder fairly quickly to emerge at Triple-A this year, where he’s posted a solid 3.47 ERA and 29.1% strikeout rate across 98 2/3 innings of work. Those are impressive numbers for the 24-year-old, and now he’ll get the opportunity to see if his high strikeout rate can translate into the majors. The Guardians have managed to hang around the AL Wild Card picture despite soft selling this summer, but with Shane Bieber in Toronto and Tanner Bibee in the midst of a tough season they’ll need contributions from young arms like Messick if they’re going to stay relevant down the stretch.

2. Harper, Castellanos race towards milestone:

Phillies veterans Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos are both a considerable way into their respective careers at this point. While Harper’s status as a two-time MVP far eclipses Castellanos’s resume as a two-time All-Star, both have had impressive careers where they’ve generally served as above-average hitters across their combined 27 years in the major leagues. Now the two teammates are chasing the same milestone: 400 career doubles. They’ll likely become the 199th and 200th players in MLB history to reach that benchmark in the coming weeks, as Harper currently sits at 397 career doubles while Castellanos sits just one behind him at 396 two-baggers for his career. The pair will look to tee off of Mariners right-hander Luis Castillo (3.48 ERA) as the Phillies go for the sweep against Seattle this afternoon.

3. Royals pushing for Wild Card spot:

Kansas City made the somewhat surprising decision to buy at the trade deadline despite being slightly below .500 at that point and on the periphery of the AL Wild Card race, but that decision is paying off to this point. An 11-6 record in the month of August has put them just 2.5 games back of the Red Sox and Mariners in the race for a playoff spot with a 65-61 record. Deadline additions have improved the club considerably, with Randal Grichuk, Adam Frazier, and Mike Yastrzemski all injecting life into a previously weak offense while Ryan Bergert has settled in as a quality rotation arm with a 2.70 ERA in three starts for the club. Today they’ll go for their second consecutive series sweep when they face the Rangers and an as-of-yet unannounced starting pitcher. Whoever starts for Texas will have to contend with rookie Noah Cameron, who has a 2.47 ERA in 17 starts.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

The Opener

25 comments

Guardians To Promote Parker Messick

By Anthony Franco | August 20, 2025 at 12:00am CDT

The Guardians list left-hander Parker Messick as the probable starter for tomorrow’s series finale in Arizona. He’ll go opposite Brandon Pfaadt in his major league debut. Cleveland has an opening on the 40-man roster after outrighting reliever Trevor Stephan last week. They’ll only need to make an active roster transaction tomorrow.

Messick, 24, was a second-round pick out of Florida State in 2022. The 6’0″ southpaw has never blown evaluators away with his velocity, but he has carved through minor league hitters behind an excellent changeup. Messick has only used the changeup around a quarter of the time in Triple-A this year. He has gone to his four-seam fastball, which sits between 92 and 93 MPH, half the time. He has both a slider and curveball, neither of which get more than fringe-average grades from scouts, and infrequently uses a sinker.

It has seemingly left evaluators split on his value. Baseball America and MLB Pipeline each rank him between 12th and 15th in the Cleveland farm system, projecting him as a stable back-end arm. Eric Longenhagen at FanGraphs has him much higher, slotting him fourth among Guardians prospects and among the top 50 prospects in the sport. Longenhagen projects Messick as a league average starter and grades the changeup as a potential plus-plus offering. While it doesn’t seem there’s a huge gap in his perceived upside, FanGraphs appears to place a higher value than do the other outlets on Messick’s big league proximity and minor league success.

That’s all the more true now that Messick has shown it at the top minor league level. After recording 165 strikeouts between High-A and Double-A a year ago, he has spent this whole season at Triple-A Columbus. Messick has turned in a 3.47 earned run average across 20 starts, striking out 29% of batters faced. He has issued walks at a career-high 10.3% clip while averaging fewer than five innings per start, but he has worked at least into the sixth inning in six of his past seven appearances.

Messick last pitched on Thursday, so he’ll be operating with an extra day of rest. The Guardians optioned Joey Cantillo over the weekend, giving Messick a good chance to hold a rotation spot for the rest of the season. John Means could be a late-season factor as he works back from elbow surgery, though that could also come in long relief. For now, Messick slots behind Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, Slade Cecconi and Logan Allen in Stephen Vogt’s starting five. The Guardians have fallen three games back in the Wild Card picture after being swept by Atlanta over the weekend.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Cleveland Guardians Transactions Parker Messick

5 comments

Rangers Notes: deGrom, Rotation, Jung

By Anthony Franco | August 19, 2025 at 11:30pm CDT

The Rangers will skip Jacob deGrom’s scheduled start Wednesday, president of baseball operations Chris Young told reporters (link via Kennedi Landry of MLB.com). Young framed it as a workload management decision after the star righty experienced minor shoulder fatigue. Manager Bruce Bochy noted that deGrom has already visited team physician Dr. Keith Meister and been cleared of injury.

It doesn’t come as a huge surprise that deGrom is battling fatigue late in the season. He’s up to 24 starts and 140 1/3 innings. It’s a workload that he hadn’t come close to approaching since 2019. The truncated ’20 schedule limited him to 12 starts. deGrom was limited to 15 appearances the following year by elbow inflammation. Shoulder issues kept him to 11 starts in his final season with the Mets. His first two seasons in Texas were largely wiped out by Tommy John surgery.

That makes it all the more remarkable that deGrom has continued to dominate during his age-37 campaign. He owns a 2.76 ERA while striking out 27.3% of batters faced with a huge 14.3% swinging strike rate. His fastball is back into the 98 MPH range on average. deGrom did have his two worst starts in consecutive appearances on July 28 and August 3, but he has rebounded to toss 11 2/3 frames of three-run ball over his past two outings.

Texas has yet to announce a starter for tomorrow’s game. They don’t have a team off day until next Thursday, so even one skipped start won’t be easy to work around. A bullpen game would put a lot of stress on the pitching staff. Kumar Rocker is their only starter who is on optional assignment to Triple-A Round Rock. While there’s no indication that Rocker is dealing with an injury, he hasn’t pitched in the minors since August 7. Jacob Latz has made a few spot starts this season and could be recalled, but he hasn’t gone past two innings in an appearance in a month.

The short-term is less important than taking precautions with deGrom’s health. He’s signed for another two seasons with a club option for 2028. Meanwhile, this season increasingly looks like a lost cause. Texas lost again tonight to drop three games below .500. They’ve lost 10 of 12 and fallen six games back in the Wild Card race.

As their season appears to be slipping away, Opening Day third baseman Josh Jung finds himself on the bench. Bochy has left the former All-Star out of the lineup in each of the past three games. He did make a pinch-hit appearance midway through Tuesday’s contest. Young didn’t sugarcoat things when discussing Jung’s recent lack of playing time.

“There’s been a lot of volatility with Josh,” the front office leader said on Monday (link via Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News). “There are times when he’s dialed in and the performance is strong, but when it hasn’t been as dialed in, it’s been a little bit more undisciplined. And just inconsistent. Given the kind of team our team is and the way a lot of guys have struggled this year, you can only tolerate so much volatility.”

It’s clear Jung has fallen out of the lineup for performance reasons, not any kind of nagging injury. Rookie Cody Freeman started at the hot corner on Sunday and Monday. Tonight, Josh Smith moved into third base from the right field spot he’d manned of late, drawing Alejandro Osuna into the outfield.

Jung entered play with a .241/.290/.376 batting line over 372 plate appearances. As Young mentioned, he continues to chase would-be balls at a high rate and hasn’t taken many walks. Jung had nevertheless hit fairly well through the end of May, but an atrocious June (.158/.208/.221) led Texas to send him back to Triple-A for a reset. Jung recorded a 10-game hit streak with three home runs immediately after being recalled on July 21. He has dropped back into a slump over the past two weeks, batting .143 with 11 strikeouts in 10 games.

A former eighth overall pick, Jung is on track to surpass the three-year service threshold and will reach arbitration this offseason. The Rangers wouldn’t non-tender him, but it doesn’t seem out of the question that they could consider a change-of-scenery trade. They’ll certainly need to make some changes to a lineup that ranks 24th in MLB in scoring.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Texas Rangers Jacob deGrom Josh Jung

23 comments

Anthony Bender Sustains Season-Ending Leg Injury

By Anthony Franco | August 19, 2025 at 9:18pm CDT

Marlins reliever Anthony Bender will miss the remainder of the season, manager Clayton McCullough told media (including Kevin Barral of Fish on First). Miami had placed the righty on the 15-day injured list before tonight’s game with a stress reaction in his right tibia.

Bender tossed 50 innings for the Fish this season. He turned in a personal-best 2.16 earned run average despite striking out a career-low 20.6% of opposing hitters. Bender did a solid job keeping the ball on the ground but had a very difficult time missing bats. He got swinging strikes on just 8% of his offerings, also a personal low. Opponents hitting .213 on balls in play was a big factor in his success.

The 30-year-old Bender was nevertheless one of McCullough’s most trusted relievers. He leads the team with 19 holds and trails only Calvin Faucher in appearing in high-leverage situations. Bender had punched out an above-average 26% of batters faced a season ago and was continuing to generate strong bottom line results, so it’s unsurprising he remained one of their top bullpen arms.

Miami fielded trade interest in Bender this summer, with the Padres and Yankees among the teams reportedly in the mix. They ultimately elected to hold onto him. Bender is under arbitration control for another two seasons and will be due a modest raise on this year’s $1.42MM salary. Even with the diminished swing-and-miss rates, it should be an easy decision for the front office to tender him a contract.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Miami Marlins Anthony Bender

21 comments

Angels Outright Connor Brogdon

By Mark Polishuk | August 19, 2025 at 7:16pm CDT

August 19: Brogdon cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake, according to the MLB.com transaction log. It’s not clear if he’ll accept the assignment or test free agency.

August 17: The Angels announced this afternoon that they’ve designated right-hander Connor Brogdon for assignment.  Righty Jose Fermin was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding roster move.

Los Angeles signed Brogdon to an offseason minors deal that was selected to the active roster in early May, and the reliever has posted a 5.30 ERA, 10.1% walk rate, and 20.9% strikeout rate across 37 1/3 bullpen innings.  That low strikeout rate came despite some solid chase and whiff rates, and Brogdon recaptured his past fastball velocity by averaging 95.5mph on his heater.  Unfortunately, opposing batters made lots of hard and heavy contact against Brogdon, as he allowed seven home runs during his 37 1/3 frames.

Since Brogdon is out of minor league options, the Angels had to designate him for assignment to remove him from the active roster.  It is possible another team in need of bullpen help could make a claim given how reinforcements are harder to find post-trade deadline, but Brogdon’s lack of production might not entice many teams.  Since he has been outrighted before in his career, Brogdon can choose free agency if he clears waivers and is outrighted off the Angels’ 40-man roster.

Considering how Brogdon was plagued by plantar fasciitis in 2024, getting back to good health at least represents one silver lining to his 2025 season.  The right-hander posted good numbers in Philadelphia’s bullpen in 2021-22 before running into some struggles in 2023, and he pitched in only four Major League games last year (three with the Phillies, one with the Dodgers).

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Los Angeles Angels Transactions Connor Brogdon Jose Fermin (born 2001)

30 comments

Paul Blackburn Clears Release Waivers

By Darragh McDonald | August 19, 2025 at 5:19pm CDT

Right-hander Paul Blackburn has cleared release waivers and is now free to sign with any club, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. The Mets designated him for assignment on Saturday and it was later reported that he had been placed on release waivers.

It’s not a shock that Blackburn has gone unclaimed. He is making $4.05MM this year, leaving close to $900K still to be paid out. That’s more than some pitchers get for a full season, so it would be a notable amount for the final few weeks of the campaign. Blackburn has also been largely injured this year, only pitching in seven games with a 6.85 earned run average.

Now that he has cleared waivers, it’s possible clubs give him a call. The Mets will remain on the hook for the majority of what remains of his salary. A club could sign Blackburn and only pay him the prorated portion of the $760K league minimum for any time spent on the roster, which would be less than $4K per day. Any amount paid by another club would be subtracted from what the Mets pay.

Blackburn hasn’t been in amazing form this year. He started the season on the injured list due to inflammation in his right knee. He was activated in June but a shoulder impingement put him back on the shelf. As mentioned, he has posted a 6.85 ERA around those IL stints.

However, he is stretched out and was in good form during his rehab assignment, which could appeal to clubs needing innings. He started a rehab assignment in July and his final four rehab outings were Triple-A games where he went five innings or more. He had a 2.42 ERA, 18.3% strikeout rate and 4.3% walk rate in those. He was then reinstated from the IL and tossed five innings of long relief against Atlanta on August 13th, allowing two earned runs. He was designated for assignment shortly thereafter.

While it’s not been a great season overall, Blackburn has some major league success. From 2022 to 2024, he tossed a combined 290 1/3 innings with a 4.43 ERA, 20.2% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate and 44.8% ground ball rate. It’s been a challenging year but he is stretched out and has been putting up decent numbers over the past month. Since he is basically free, it’s possible some club takes a chance on him, especially with the inherent difficulties of adding impact talent after the trade deadline.

Photo courtesy of Jason Parkhurst, Imagn Images

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

New York Mets Transactions Paul Blackburn

33 comments

Poll: How Will Kyle Tucker Finish 2025?

By Nick Deeds | August 19, 2025 at 4:46pm CDT

Ever since Vladimir Guerrero Jr. signed a massive extension with the Blue Jays back in April, Kyle Tucker has been viewed as the consensus top player in this winter’s free agent class. It’s not hard to see why, as he’s a four-time All-Star, a former Gold Glove and Silver Slugger award winner, and the fifth-place finisher in AL MVP voting in 2023. That resume is what convinced the Cubs to trade All-Star third baseman Isaac Paredes, top prospect Cam Smith, and young starter Hayden Wesneski to the Astros last winter in order to acquire Tucker in his final year of club control.

It’s a decision that paid off in a big way during the first half of the season. Through the end of June, Tucker slashed an phenomenal .291/.395/.537 across 83 games. Among qualified hitters, only Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, Shohei Ohtani, and Will Smith had a higher wRC+ than Tucker’s 158 during that stretch. While it wasn’t quite on par with the otherworldly 179 wRC+ Tucker posted in 78 games with the Astros last year, it was still an undeniably dominant showing that led to many wondering if he would join Guerrero and Juan Soto in clearing the $500MM benchmark upon hitting free agency this winter.

Once the calendar flipped to July, however, things changed for Tucker in a hurry. In 163 plate appearances since the start of July, Tucker has hit just .189/.325/.235 with a wRC+ of just 72. He’s tallied just four extra-base hits in that time and has gone a full month without hitting a home run at this point after launching his last long ball on July 19. Tucker’s slump has been lengthy enough and severe enough that club manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including Patrick Mooney of The Athletic) yesterday that he plans to give Tucker “some days off” in hopes of helping him reset and get back on track.

That the Cubs are sitting a player who looked like a legitimate MVP candidate just over a month ago is inherently shocking, but it’s hard not to see why given his recent performance. It’s fair to wonder how Tucker’s deep struggles of late may have impacted his market in free agency, as well. After all, a major calling card for Tucker has been his consistency and reliability as a middle-of-the-order force. An extended slump such as this one puts a hole in that narrative, especially when combined with him missing half of last season due to injury.

When looking at other outfielders who signed mega deals in free agency, Tucker’s resume doesn’t quite measure up. He no longer seems likely to wind up with an absurd platform season like Judge (nine years, $360MM) put together in 2022, and he’s three years older than Bryce Harper (13 years, $330MM) was when he reached free agency. The inflation top-level MLB contracts have seen in recent years should help Tucker, especially as compared to Harper’s contract from all the way back in the 2018-19 offseason, but if his season doesn’t turn around going forward he may not even crack the $400MM threshold in free agency, much less $500MM.

So, will Tucker be able to turn things around? There’s certainly some reasons for optimism. Most notably, his discipline at the plate has remained elite even during his slump. Since July 1, Tucker has actually walked (16.0%) more often than he’s struck out (15.3%). His .224 BABIP during that period suggests some positive regression could be on the way in terms of batted ball luck, but even underlying metrics like hard-hit rate (27.9%) and barrel rate (2.7%) suggest he’s earned his lack of power production. There’s been speculation in some circles that a finger injury suffered when sliding into second base could be the cause of his power outage, but that’s a somewhat dubious claim between Tucker himself suggesting his finger has not caused him problems at the plate and the fact that he had a 14.7% barrel rate and 42.6% hard-hit rate in 24 June games following his return from the injury.

It would be a shock if Tucker truly batted below the Mendoza line with virtually no power the rest of the way this year. He’s been a bottom 20 player in baseball since July 1 in terms of wRC+, and it’s practically unheard of for a player of his caliber to perform that poorly for that long when not dealing with some sort of physical issue or age-related decline. With that said, it’s worth noting that Tucker’s recent slump has actually put his 2025 numbers more or less in line with his career norms. Tucker is hitting .261/.374/.447 with a 131 wRC+ overall this year. Through the end of the 2023 season, Tucker was a career .272/.345/.507 (132 wRC+) hitter.

Those slash lines are awfully similar, and it stands to reason that it’s at least possible Tucker’s incredible 78-game 2024 campaign was simply an outlier. On the other hand, it must also be noted that Tucker put together 709 plate appearances between the start of the 2024 season and the end of June 2025 where he hit a combined .290/.401/.559 with a wRC+ of 168. Only Judge (218), Ohtani (179), and Soto (171) posted better numbers during that time frame. It shouldn’t shock anyone if Tucker is able to recapture some of that production over the season’s final six weeks and ends up with a strong platform year, even if it doesn’t quite reach the heights that looked possible two months ago.

What do MLBTR readers think is in store for Tucker over the final weeks of the 2025 campaign? Will he be able to turn things around and quell any doubts created by his recent struggles? Will his slump continue and push his season numbers lower than they are now? Or will his numbers settle in as he levels off somewhere close to his career norms? Have your say in the poll below:

How will Kyle Tucker finish the 2025 season?
Tucker won't completely turn things around, but will enjoy enough positive regression to match his career norms. 59.27% (2,689 votes)
Tucker's slump will continue, and he'll finish with the worst full season of his career. 25.04% (1,136 votes)
Tucker will turn things around and put up numbers similar to his first half production. 15.69% (712 votes)
Total Votes: 4,537
Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Chicago Cubs MLBTR Originals MLBTR Polls Kyle Tucker

134 comments
« Previous Page
Load More Posts
    Top Stories

    Tylor Megill, Reed Garrett Recommended For Tommy John Surgery

    Astros Place Yordan Alvarez On Injured List

    Astros To Activate Isaac Paredes

    Clayton Kershaw To Retire After 2025 Season

    Lucas Giolito Converts Club Option To Mutual Provision

    Yordan Alvarez To Miss Time With “Pretty Significant” Ankle Sprain

    Giants To Promote Bryce Eldridge

    Mets Moving Sean Manaea To The Bullpen

    Blue Jays To Promote Trey Yesavage For MLB Debut

    Dodgers Place Will Smith On Injured List

    Dipoto: Mariners Interested In Re-Signing Josh Naylor

    Anthony Volpe Playing Through Partial Labrum Tear

    Orioles Promoted Mike Elias Prior To 2025 Season

    Anthony Rizzo Retires

    Cubs Place Kyle Tucker On Injured List

    Blue Jays Place Bo Bichette On Injured List

    Phillies Place Trea Turner, Alec Bohm On Injured List

    Sean Murphy To Undergo Hip Surgery

    Trea Turner To Undergo MRI Due To Hamstring Strain

    Davey Johnson Passes Away

    Recent

    Brewers Designate Joel Payamps, Select Bruce Zimmermann

    Orioles Claim Dom Hamel

    Report: Nationals Ownership Criticized As “Inefficient” And “Directionless”

    Guardians Place Nolan Jones On 10-Day IL, Promote Petey Halpin

    Nick Castellanos Criticizes “Questionable” Communication With Rob Thomson

    AL Central Notes: Tigers, Morton, Lugo, Bergert, Wallner

    Blue Jays To Deploy Jose Berrios As Relief Pitcher

    Tylor Megill, Reed Garrett Recommended For Tommy John Surgery

    Bryan Woo To Undergo MRI For Pectoral Injury

    Zack Gelof Dislocates Left Shoulder

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Every MLB Trade In July
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2026-27 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version