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Connor Norby Undergoes Surgery To Repair Hamate Fracture

By Steve Adams | July 17, 2025 at 8:41am CDT

Marlins infielder Connor Norby underwent surgery to repair a fractured hamate bone in his left hand yesterday, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald. He’s expected to be sidelined for the next six to eight weeks.

Norby, 25, came to the Marlins alongside Kyle Stowers just under one year ago in the 2024 deadline trade sending lefty Trevor Rogers to Baltimore. He was placed on the 10-day IL a few days ago due to inflammation in his left wrist. The specific nature of Norby’s injury wasn’t clear at the time, but he’d been out of the lineup for the final two games prior to the All-Star break after experiencing discomfort in his hand/wrist at the plate last Friday.

A 2021 second-round pick and former top prospect, Norby had a solid debut for the Marlins following the trade last summer. He hit .247/.315/.445 with seven homers and three steals in 162 plate appearances down the stretch — albeit with a 32.1% strikeout rate. He’s pared back on the strikeouts a bit this year (26.7%) but had a tough season overall, slashing .241/.289/.364 in 273 trips to the plate. It’s not entirely clear how long Norby was playing through discomfort prior to his IL stint and subsequent surgery, but over his past 47 plate appearances he’s turned in an anemic .186/.234/.326 batting line, dragging his season-long numbers down quite a bit in the process.

Norby opened the 2025 season on the injured list due to an oblique strain but has been Miami’s primary third baseman when healthy. He’s played 68 games and logged 567 innings at the position, albeit with sub-par defensive grades (-7 Defensive Runs Saved, -3 Outs Above Average). He’s also capable of playing second base, but the Fish have been using Xavier Edwards there after installing Otto Lopez as their everyday shortstop.

With Norby out for the foreseeable future, their options at third base include Graham Pauley, Javier Sanoja and Eric Wagaman, though the latter of that trio has been playing first base regularly as of late. Sanoja and Pauley drew starts in Miami’s final two games before the break.

The Fish also have infielders Jack Winkler, Maximo Acosta and Deyvison De Los Santos on the 40-man roster with their Triple-A Jacksonville affiliate. Winkler is a utility player with good speed who made his MLB debut briefly earlier in the season. Acosta has been strictly a middle infielder. De Los Santos has played both corners but spent the vast majority of his recent time at first base. None of the three are hitting well in Jacksonville, however.

Pauley, also a 2024 deadline acquisition (part of the Tanner Scott return), hasn’t produced in 94 big league plate appearances this year but has considerably outperformed Winkler, De Los Santos and Acosta in Triple-A. He’s taken 144 plate appearances with Jacksonville and slashed .260/.340/.496 with a 9.7% walk rate and a tiny 11.1% strikeout rate.

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Miami Marlins Connor Norby Graham Pauley Javier Sanoja

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Read The Transcript Of Nicklaus Gaut’s Fantasy Baseball Chat

By Nicklaus Gaut | July 17, 2025 at 8:31am CDT

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

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The Opener: Royals, Bubble Teams, Transactions

By Nick Deeds | July 17, 2025 at 8:20am CDT

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

1. Are the Royals buyers?

The first post-draft trade of the year took place yesterday and, while it shouldn’t shock anyone that the Pirates sold off veteran infield rental Adam Frazier, it’s at least a mild surprise that the buying club was the Royals. Kansas City has a pedestrian 47-50 record to this point in the year and remains 4.5 games out of the AL Wild Card picture. While they aren’t buried in the postseason picture, FanGraphs gives them just an 11.7% chance of making the postseason. That left many assuming that they were more likely to sell off short-term pieces like Seth Lugo than add rental players this summer, though it’s at least possible Frazier is something of a special case. The Royals are familiar with the 33-year-old after he was part of the club last year, and given the fact that he’s hitting just .255/.318/.336 this season he wasn’t exactly expensive in trade.

Still, the deal makes the Royals a team to keep an eye on coming out of the break, as a win streak could push them further away from selling. The Royals open the second half with three games in Miami, followed by three in Chicago against the Cubs. They’ll then host the Guardians and Braves in their final two series prior to the July 31 deadline.

2. Bubble teams nearing decision time:

While the Royals may have tipped their hand about their deadline plans to some extent, they’re far from the only team on the bubble between buying and selling. Fresh rumors about the Diamondbacks’ deadline strategy surfaced yesterday, and it wouldn’t be a shock if teams like the Braves, Twins, Rangers, and Reds joined them in sending some additional signals about their trade deadline strategies coming out of the All-Star break. Depending on how many teams decide to sell this summer, perhaps there’s even room for an opportunistic club more clearly on the buy-side of things like the Red Sox or Rays to part ways with a piece like Jarren Duran or Taj Bradley (both of whom have been in the rumor mill) in the right deal.

3. Transactions kicking up ahead of return to play:

Yesterday saw a handful of transactions around the league as teams start to begin preparations for the second half. The Rangers placed Jake Burger on the injured list to maximize their ability to backdate the IL stint, and it’s possible that any players around the league nursing potential injuries who played on Sunday could similarly be placed on the shelf today if their club believes a minimum stint is on the table. Aside from that, there was some movement surrounding the waiver wire as Elvin Rodriguez was plucked off waivers by the Orioles while Rob Brantly was DFA’d by the Marlins. Multiple players triggered opt-out provisions in their minor league contracts as well. Additional minor transactions like those could begin to take place today as teams prepare for their impending return to the field tomorrow, to say nothing of the possibility of another trade or two breaking today.

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The Opener

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MLB Mailbag: Tigers, Gore, Athletics, Astros

By Tim Dierkes | July 16, 2025 at 11:59pm CDT

This week's mailbag gets into relief options for the Tigers, whether the Nationals should trade MacKenzie Gore, and the trade value of Athletics JJ Bleday and Luis Severino, as well as questions involving the Astros, Reds, Rangers, Cubs, and Red Sox.

Colin asks:

A few days ago, the Dodgers traded Noah Davis to the Twins for cash.  Davis was not at all successful with the Dodgers.  Can you tell me how much cash a team typically gets in a situation like that?

I ran this question by a front office friend.  He replied, "The dollar amount received by clubs trading away a DFA’d player for cash considerations almost always falls between $55,000 and $100,000.  There’s little incentive for clubs to trade the player for anything less than $50,000 because the club will receive that amount if the player is claimed off waivers. MLB caps cash transactions in this situation to a maximum of $100,000. Thus, most cash transactions of this nature end up in the $55,000 to $100,000 range."

Barry asks:

I really feel that Detroit needs two bullpen arms, one of which could close out games or be in the closing mix and match what AJ does. Any insight as to who the Tigers are looking at? I am thinking that David Bednar is the type of pitcher Detroit likes, controlling the strike zone, low walks.

Michael asks:

Coming out of the break, the Tigers have the best record in baseball and the biggest division lead. Nobody had that on their bingo card. In light of that, what should be Detroit's plan for the next two weeks? Should they swing for the fences and if so, how? Or look to add a piece here and there but not mortgage the future (or empty the farm) in favor of adding big names now?

The Tigers definitely need to add late inning relievers who can miss bats.  There's a good case to be made for signing David Robertson, who is reportedly throwing for interested teams.

The average MLB reliever punches out 22.4% of batters faced and has an 11.3% swinging strike rate.  We saw trade rumors on Mason Miller of the Athletics last summer; his K% is over 40%.  He's under team control through 2029, though, so the A's have no reason to trade him now unless they feel they're selling high or received an offer they can't refuse.

The Orioles' Felix Bautista is under team control through 2027.  He has a huge strikeout rate as well, but walks even more batters than Miller.  Bautista's teammate Seranthony Dominguez is in that same class.  A free agent after the season, Dominguez seems a lock to be dealt.  Same goes for Gregory Soto, so it makes sense for Scott Harris to be blowing up Mike Elias' phone.

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Front Office Originals

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MLBTR Podcast: Rays’ Ownership, The Phillies Target Bullpen Help, And Bubble Teams

By Darragh McDonald | July 16, 2025 at 11:58pm 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…

  • Rays owner Stuart Sternberg having an agreement in place to sell the team a group led by Patrick Zalupski (2:15)
  • The Rays acquiring Bryan Baker from the Orioles (10:00)
  • The Phillies targeting controllable relievers of the Twins and Guardians (20:00)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Which 2025 All-Star hitter and pitcher are most likely to be traded ahead of the deadline? (29:50)
  • Will the Red Sox trade an outfielder to upgrade another part of the roster? Could they get Joe Ryan from the Twins? What should Boston do with Tanner Houck? (36:15)
  • Could the Padres trade Dylan Cease and still compete, the way the Tigers flipped Jack Flaherty and still made the playoffs last year? What will the Friars add at the deadline? (51:50)
  • How will the Mets use Clay Holmes the rest of the way? (59:50)

Check out our past episodes!

  • Firings in Washington, Bad Braves, And An AL East Shake-Up – listen here
  • Depleted Mets’ Pitching, The Pirates Are Open For Business, And More! – listen here
  • The Braves Say They Won’t Sell, Jeimer Candelario DFA’d, And Injured D-Backs – 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 Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images

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Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Cleveland Guardians MLB Trade Rumors Podcast Minnesota Twins New York Mets Philadelphia Phillies San Diego Padres Tampa Bay Rays Bryan Baker Patrick Zalupski Stuart Sternberg

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Trade Deadline Outlook: Arizona Diamondbacks

By Anthony Franco | July 16, 2025 at 11:52pm CDT

The Diamondbacks are hanging on the outskirts of the playoff race. They enter the All-Star Break three games below .500 and 5.5 back in a strong National League playoff field. They'd surely prefer to buy in a season where they're running a franchise-record payroll and facing a number of potential free agent departures. With playoff odds hovering around 10% and an injury-depleted pitching staff, they'll need to come out of the Break strong to give the front office justification to add.

Record: 47-50 (10.2% playoff probability, per FanGraphs)

Other series entries: Rockies, Giants, Phillies, Pirates, Astros, Marlins, Athletics, Orioles, White Sox, Nationals, Cubs, Rays, Dodgers, Braves, Yankees, Angels, Mets, Blue Jays, Mariners, Padres, Cardinals, Brewers, Reds

Sell Mode

While the Diamondbacks could still go either way, they'd have a chance to really shape the deadline if they sell. They have the best collection of rental talent of any fringe contender.

Impending Free Agents: Eugenio Suárez, Zac Gallen, Josh Naylor, Merrill Kelly, Randal Grichuk, Jalen Beeks, Shelby Miller, Kendall Graveman, James McCann, Jordan Montgomery (out for the season)

Arizona's top four rentals would all be significant trade chips. Eugenio Suárez has emerged as arguably the best impending free agent hitter who could change hands. He's already up to 31 home runs with a .250/.320/.569 batting line. It's a continuation of last year's monster second half. Suárez has 52 home runs over the past calendar year -- tying him with Cal Raleigh for third in MLB behind Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. He's a .277/.331/.586 hitter in his past 673 plate appearances.

Suárez is playing on a $15MM salary. That could be a bit of an obstacle for teams navigating luxury tax concerns but represents a significant bargain relative to his current production. The D-Backs could (and probably would) make him a qualifying offer if they hang onto him all year, but they'd be able to pull a stronger return in a trade. It seems unlikely that they'd re-sign him to a lucrative multi-year deal and block Jordan Lawlar's path to playing time. The Yankees, Cubs and Mariners should all have Suárez near the top of their wish lists. The Mets, Tigers or Reds could also make a push, and he'd make some sense for the Brewers if they can make the money work. Suarez was plunked on the hand in last night's All-Star Game but remained in to run and play defense. Postgame x-rays were negative.

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2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Arizona Diamondbacks Front Office Originals MLBTR Originals

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Latest On Marlins’ Deadline Plans

By Anthony Franco | July 16, 2025 at 11:27pm CDT

The Marlins remain one of the clearest cut sellers as the deadline approaches. While Miami has somewhat quietly played well since the beginning of June, they remain in the middle of a multi-year rebuild. They’re still seven games under .500 and have almost no shot of making the playoffs this year.

It therefore comes as no surprise that Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes that the Fish plan to entertain offers on Sandy Alcantara, Edward Cabrera, Jesús Sánchez and Anthony Bender in the coming weeks. All four players appeared among MLBTR’s list of the top 40 trade candidates earlier this month; Alcantara was in the top spot. Jackson adds that the Marlins are shopping impending free agent starter Cal Quantrill, though he’d have less trade value than the rest of the group.

Perhaps more interestingly, Jackson writes that the Marlins would be satisfied running it back with their current middle infield tandem of Otto Lopez and Xavier Edwards next season. That’s not to say either player is untouchable, but they’re less likely to move than any of the four Miami players who made our trade candidates writeup. The 26-year-old Lopez is hitting .250/.320/.392 while taking over at shortstop. Edwards, who moved to second base, owns a .288/.352/.347 slash with 16 stolen bases. Both players are controllable for another four seasons.

[Related: Miami Marlins Trade Deadline Outlook]

Alcantara’s availability has been expected for months. He’s making $17MM this year and next, and he’s guaranteed a $2MM buyout on a $21MM club option for 2027. That’d be a bargain rate if he recaptured his ace form, but he has had a poor first season back from Tommy John surgery. Alcantara carries a 7.22 ERA with a diminished 17.3% strikeout rate over 18 starts. He had his best month in June (4.34 ERA) but has given up 11 runs in as many innings over his past two appearances. There’s little reason for the Marlins not to listen to offers, but it’s not a given that they actually pull the trigger on what would be a sell-low trade.

Moving Cabrera this summer would arguably be selling high. The 27-year-old former top prospect has posted a 2.54 ERA while striking out more than a quarter of his opponents in his past 12 starts. He’s making less than $2MM and under arbitration control for another three seasons. Miami would demand a significant return for their top realistic trade chip.

Jackson notes that the Marlins are nevertheless willing to consider offers in part because of Cabrera’s injury history. Shoulder problems sidelined him in both 2023 and ’24. He has yet to reach 100 innings in an MLB season. Cabrera departed his final appearance before the All-Star Break with elbow fatigue. While that’s not considered a serious issue — an MRI has already come back clean and he avoided the injured list — it’s the latest reminder of the injury risk for any pitcher, especially one with a mid-upper 90s fastball.

Sánchez and Bender are each controllable role players who should draw interest. Sánchez is a lefty-hitting corner outfielder who has been a league average regular over the course of his career. This season’s .259/.321/.410 slash line is par for the course. He’s making $4.5MM this year and will go through arbitration twice more.

Bender is a 30-year-old righty reliever who also has two and a half seasons of club control. He owns a 2.06 ERA in 39 1/3 innings, though that obscures unimpressive strikeout (18.9%) and walk (10.7%) numbers. Bender gets a lot of ground-balls and has gotten fantastic results on the mid-80s breaking ball that he uses as his primary pitch. He’s playing on a $1.42MM salary that’ll make him a viable fit for any contender.

As for Quantrill, the Marlins signed him with hopes of flipping him midseason. He’s making $3.5MM on a one-year free agent deal. Quantrill has below-average numbers for a third consecutive season, though. He carries a 5.62 ERA with a 19% strikeout rate over 81 2/3 innings. He’d profile as a sixth/seventh starter or long reliever on most contenders. There’d be minimal interest, but Quantrill is affordable enough that perhaps a team navigating multiple rotation injuries will take a flier. If they can’t find a trade partner this month, Miami could place him on waivers at some point in August in hopes of shedding the final few weeks of his salary.

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Miami Marlins Anthony Bender Cal Quantrill Edward Cabrera Jesus Sanchez Otto Lopez Sandy Alcantara Xavier Edwards

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Marlins Acquire Michael Petersen From Braves

By Anthony Franco | July 16, 2025 at 8:59pm CDT

The Marlins announced that they’ve acquired reliever Michael Petersen from the Braves for cash considerations and optioned him to Triple-A Jacksonville. Miami transferred righty reliever Jesus Tinoco to the 60-day injured list to create a 40-man roster spot. According to the MLB.com transaction log, the Fish also outrighted veteran catcher Rob Brantly to Triple-A after he cleared waivers. Brantly was quietly designated for assignment earlier this week.

Atlanta had designated Petersen for assignment last week. The 31-year-old righty pitched four times for the Braves. He tossed 6 2/3 innings of three-run ball, striking out five with a pair of walks. Petersen has spent more of the season with their top affiliate in Gwinnett. He has turned in a 3.13 ERA with a solid 25.7% strikeout rate and a 7% walk percentage in the minors. It’s his second straight impressive Triple-A season. He fired 33 innings of 1.64 ERA ball while punching out more than a third of opponents there last year.

This will be Petersen’s second stint with Miami. The Fish grabbed him off waivers from the Dodgers last September. Petersen pitched five times, giving up four runs (three earned) through 5 2/3 frames. He was in the major league bullpen for the final two and a half weeks of the season. They lost him on waivers to the Blue Jays at the beginning of the offseason. Petersen subsequently made his way to the Angels and Braves in minor transactions before heading back to Miami.

Petersen stands at 6’7″ and averages 97 MPH with his fastball. He uses the heater and a low-90s cutter as his two offerings. While he hasn’t missed many bats in his scattered MLB action, he has shown notable strikeout upside in Triple-A. He’s in his second of three option years and has less than one year of MLB service.

Tinoco has been out since June 3 due to a forearm strain. He has yet to begin a minor league rehab assignment, though he has been throwing for the past couple weeks (via the MLB.com injury tracker). This is a procedural transfer that officially rules him out until the first week of August. Tinoco is multiple weeks away from a return anyways, as he’ll need to progress through bullpen and batting practice sessions before he goes on a rehab stint.

MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola first reported that the Marlins were acquiring Petersen for cash and optioning him.

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Atlanta Braves Miami Marlins Transactions Jesus Tinoco Michael Petersen Rob Brantly

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D-backs Expected To Target Young Pitching At Deadline

By Steve Adams | July 16, 2025 at 8:08pm CDT

The Diamondbacks enter the unofficial second half of the season with a 47-50 record  that has them buried by 11 games in the NL West and sitting 5.5 games out of the final NL Wild Card spot (with four teams to leapfrog to get there). General manager Mike Hazen said two weeks ago that he hopes the team puts him in a position to buy at the trade deadline. The team has gone 4-8 since he made those comments. FanGraphs gives the Diamondbacks just a 10.2% chance to make the postseason. Baseball Prospectus is ever so slightly more charitable at 11.3%. The D-backs open the second half with a three-game series against a 51-46 Cardinals team. They follow that with three against a last-place Pirates squad but then face a pair of first-place clubs — Tigers, Astros — in the final stretch leading to the trade deadline.

Suffice it to say, the outlook for 2025 isn’t great. Hazen spoke with Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic at this week’s All-Star festivities and acknowledged that the Snakes “are running out of time” and that they would “need to play pretty exceptional” baseball to get back into a buy position prior to the deadline. Hazen also conceded that he’s been fielding inquiries from clear buyers already but naturally wouldn’t commit one way or another when asked about his willingness to make a move well ahead of the July 31 deadline.

[Related: Arizona Diamondbacks Trade Deadline Outlook]

Arizona isn’t short on marketable assets, even if the goal is to hang onto players controlled beyond the current season. Corner infielders Eugenio Suárez and Josh Naylor would be two of the best bats on the market. Suárez was plunked on the hand in last night’s All-Star Game but remained in the contest. Postgame x-rays were negative. Randal Grichuk would be a nice role player for a team looking for a right-handed bat with a long track record versus lefties.

On the pitching side of things, Zac Gallen has struggled all season but has an excellent track record. He looked to be turning a corner with terrific starts on July 1 and 7 (combined 13 innings with one run on 10 hits and a 19-to-1 K/BB ratio) before being rocked for six runs in his final start prior to the break. Merrill Kelly (3.34 ERA in 116 frames) has been strong all season, though, as have relievers Jalen Beeks and Shelby Miller. Both Beeks and Miller are on the injured list — the latter due to a forearm strain on which he is ominously seeking a second opinion. If one or both returns in timely fashion, they’d be obvious trade targets for clubs seeking affordable bullpen help.

It’s at least possible the Diamondbacks will listen on more controllable players. They’re reportedly listened on their outfield depth. Corbin Carroll isn’t going anywhere, but each of Alek Thomas, Jake McCarthy, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Grichuk could hold varying levels of appeal.

If the D-backs do end up as a seller, which seems likely, Piecoro suggests they’ll prioritize adding pitching they can control beyond the current season. That’s only logical with Corbin Burnes facing a lengthy recovery from Tommy John surgery and both Kelly and Gallen hitting free agency at season’s end. Lefties Blake Walston and Tommy Henry also had UCL surgeries this season — Walston in March, Henry in June. Young righty Cristian Mena is on the 60-day IL due to a shoulder strain. The injury problems extend to the bullpen, where top relievers Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk had Tommy John surgery just last month.

Looking ahead to the Diamondbacks’ 2026 rotation mix, they’ll have Brandon Pfaadt, Eduardo Rodriguez and Ryne Nelson all locked into spots. The former two have struggled to ERAs north of 5.00 this season. Nelson has a 3.68 ERA in 78 1/3 innings. Other in-house options, like 24-year-old righty Yilber Diaz (one of their top prospects entering the season) and 27-year-old Bryce Jarvis, have had nightmare seasons in Triple-A. Diaz currently has an ERA north of 11.00.

Given the broad-reaching slate of injuries and departing free agents, it’s sensible to focus on pitching help to the extent possible. That doesn’t mean the D-backs will turn away offers that include enticing young hitters to take on lesser pitchers, but if two packages of comparable quality are offered up, the D-backs seem likely to favor one that skews toward the pitching side of things.

Of course, the D-backs needn’t focus entirely on rebuilding their staff in the next two weeks. They have nearly $75MM in salary set to come off the books via free agency and could save further money via trades in the next two weeks. Their arbitration class isn’t large, and one of their most notable arbitration salaries (Puk) could come off the books via non-tender. His UCL surgery was just last month, and 2026 is Puk’s final season of club control. There should be ample space — and need — to pursue help both in the rotation and the bullpen this offseason.

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Arizona Diamondbacks A.J. Puk Eugenio Suarez Jalen Beeks Josh Naylor Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Merrill Kelly Randal Grichuk Shelby Miller Zac Gallen

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Rangers Place Jake Burger On Injured List

By Anthony Franco | July 16, 2025 at 7:25pm CDT

The Rangers announced that first baseman Jake Burger has gone on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to July 13, with a left quad strain. They’re unlikely to make the corresponding roster move until Friday, when they resume play with a weekend series against the Tigers.

Injured list placements can only be backdated by up to three days. Burger last played on July 12. That’s why the Rangers made the IL transaction tonight rather than waiting until Friday. He would only miss five games if he’s able to return after a minimal stint. Burger suffered the injury while running out a ground ball during last Friday’s win in Houston. He remained in the game for one more defensive inning before being subbed out. Burger made a pinch-hit appearance the next night and sat out the following day’s series finale entirely.

Ezequiel Duran was in the lineup at first base for the final two games against the Astros. He’s the only backup infielder on the active roster. Texas could recall one of Justin Foscue, Blaine Crim or Josh Jung to take Burger’s roster spot. Rowdy Tellez is also a possibility after signing a minor league contract on July 5. He has gone 5-15 with a couple home runs in four games with Triple-A Round Rock. Texas would need to select Tellez onto the 40-man roster to bring him up, but they already have a vacancy in that regard after waiving Billy McKinney last week.

Regardless of the corresponding move, first base is a clear target for GM Chris Young and his staff over the next two weeks. They acquired Burger from the Marlins in an offseason trade. They shipped out Nathaniel Lowe a few weeks later. Burger has connected on 11 home runs but is hitting .228 with a dismal .259 on-base percentage in his first season in Arlington. This is his second injured list stay of the year. Even if he’s expected back in a week, he hasn’t played well enough to keep the front office from looking elsewhere. The Rangers have gotten nothing out of the designated hitter spot either, so Burger could still see some at-bats there if Texas displaces him as the first baseman.

Duran is hitting .150 with no homers in 90 plate appearances. Foscue and Crim have combined to make 23 major league appearances in their careers. Crim has had a strong year at Round Rock, but he’s a 28-year-old in his third full Triple-A season. Tellez, a left-handed hitter, posted a .208/.249/.434 slash in 185 plate appearances for the Mariners earlier in the year. Seattle released him last month.

The Rangers just optioned Jung two weeks ago. He had the worst month of his MLB career in June. Texas sent him down to get his swing back on track. He has only gotten into seven Triple-A games with unremarkable numbers (.250/.300/.321 in 30 plate appearances). Jung has no first base experience, so the Rangers would only recall him if they intend to move third baseman Josh Smith back across the infield while Burger is out.

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    Rob Manfred Downplays Salary Cap Dispute With Bryce Harper

    Tanner Houck To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Yankees Release Marcus Stroman

    Cubs Release Ryan Pressly

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    MLB Trade Tracker: July

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