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MLBTR Podcast: Sifting Through The Trade Deadline Deals

By Darragh McDonald | August 6, 2025 at 11:56pm 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 and Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to go over the various deadline dealings, including…

  • The Padres acquiring Mason Miller, JP Sears, Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Laureano, Nestor Cortes, Freddy Fermin and Will Wagner, while not trading Dylan Cease nor Robert Suarez (1:20)
  • The Athletics sending out Miller and Sears, getting a pile of prospects, headlined by Leo De Vries (25:20)
  • The Twins trading a bunch of rentals but also Jhoan Durán, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland and Carlos Correa (31:50)
  • The Astros taking on Correa despite previously trying to avoid the competitive balance tax (50:05)
  • The Phillies’ deadline (58:25)
  • The Mariners acquiring Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez from the Diamondbacks (1:00:40)
  • The Diamondbacks trading Merrill Kelly but not Zac Gallen (1:07:45)
  • The Rangers’ deadline (1:16:00)
  • The Mets acquiring various relievers, including Tyler Rogers from the Giants (1:19:05)
  • The Yankees acquiring Camilo Doval, David Bednar and Jake Bird (1:25:45)
  • The Pirates holding several trade candidates but they did trade Ke’Bryan Hayes to the Reds (1:35:15)
  • The Blue Jays acquiring Shane Bieber and Varland (1:43:40)
  • The Red Sox acquiring Dustin May from the Dodgers (1:54:20)
  • The underwhelming deadlines of the Cubs and Tigers (1:59:40)

Check out our past episodes!

  • Megapod Trade Deadline Preview – listen here
  • David Robertson, Trade Chips For The O’s and A’s, And What The Rangers Could Do – listen here
  • Rays’ Ownership, The Phillies Target Bullpen Help, And Bubble Teams – 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 Chadd Cady, Imagn Images

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Arizona Diamondbacks Boston Red Sox Chicago Cubs Cincinnati Reds Detroit Tigers Houston Astros Los Angeles Dodgers MLB Trade Rumors Podcast Minnesota Twins New York Mets New York Yankees Oakland Athletics Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Seattle Mariners Texas Rangers Toronto Blue Jays Camilo Doval Carlos Correa David Bednar Dustin May Eugenio Suarez Griffin Jax Jake Bird Jhoan Duran Ke'Bryan Hayes Leodalis De Vries Louie Varland Mason Miller Merrill Kelly Shane Bieber Tyler Rogers Zac Gallen

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Phillies Sign Jacob Waguespack To Minor League Deal

By Darragh McDonald | August 6, 2025 at 3:17pm CDT

The Phillies have signed right-hander Jacob Waguespack to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He has been assigned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The IronPigs’ roster lists Waguespack as on the injured list.

Waguespack was on the Rays’ 40-man roster as of a couple of weeks ago. He was designated for assignment when outfielder Jonny DeLuca was reinstated from the 60-day IL. Waguespack was on the minor league IL at the time. Injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers, so that gave the Rays little choice to but to release him, which allowed him to sign with the Phils.

It’s unclear what injury is ailing Waguespack. His last minor league game was on May 20th, over two months ago. Presumably, the Phils expect him to be healthy at some point before the end of the season.

Regardless, it’s a pretty low-risk signing for the Phillies. They’re not giving Waguespack a roster spot. Also, since the Rays released him, they remain on the hook for Waguespack’s $1.3MM salary this year. If the Phils call him up at any point, they would only have to pay him a prorated portion of the $760K league minimum salary. Whatever they pay would be subtracted from Tampa’s commitments.

Waguespack hasn’t had much major league success, with a 5.11 earned run average in 105 2/3 innings. However, he did have an encouraging performance in Japan a few years back. Pitching for the Orix Buffaloes in 2022 and 2023, he logged 116 1/3 innings with a 4.02 ERA and 29% strikeout rate.

That prompted the Rays to sign him as a depth arm ahead of 2024, though he’s largely been on optional assignment and/or injured since then. He tossed 10 innings in the majors last year and none so far in 2025. His minor league work since signing with the Rays has been good, with a 2.93 ERA, 30.5% strikeout rate and 5.2% walk rate in 43 innings.

Photo courtesy of Reinhold Matay, Imagn Images

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Philadelphia Phillies Transactions Jacob Waguespack

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Padres Notes: Payroll, Miller, Sears

By Steve Adams and Darragh McDonald | August 6, 2025 at 1:50pm CDT

The Padres’ flurry of deadline dealings brought Mason Miller, JP Sears, Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Laureano, Nestor Cortes, Will Wagner and Freddy Fermin to San Diego. The slate of new acquisitions addressed major deficiencies in left field and behind the plate to varying levels while also deepening the pitching staff. It was another frenetic deadline for the Friars — one that was complicated not only by a lack of depth in the farm but also some financial constraints. The Padres operated with minimal payroll flexibility in the winter, and it seems ownership’s budgetary crunch carried over to the deadline.

Ronald Blum of the Associated Press reports that the Orioles and Brewers both sent substantial cash considerations to the Padres in the respective trades involving O’Hearn, Laureano and Cortes. Baltimore sent $3.324MM to San Diego, while Milwaukee included $2.169MM in cash. The combined $5,493,300 the Padres received in that pair of trades effectively pays the trio of O’Hearn, Laureano and Cortes down to the prorated league minimum for the remainder of the season. Each of the other four players acquired by the Padres (Miller, Sears, Wagner, Fermin) was earning scarcely more than the $760K minimum as a pre-arbitration player.

The Padres are still more than $25MM north of the luxury tax threshold, per RosterResource, so the influx of cash won’t help them stay under the tax threshold (or even out of the second penalty tier). It does, however, mean the Padres barely added anything to their actual cash payroll for the 2025 season. That’s seemingly been the bigger concern than the luxury threshold anyhow. Nick Pivetta’s four-year contract, for instance, came with a $13.75MM average annual value but pays him just $4MM in 2025 (a $1MM salary and $3MM signing bonus).

San Diego’s actual cash payroll sits a bit above $213MM. It’s not clear what sort of payroll expectations ownership will have for the 2026 season, but there’s already more than $166MM in guaranteed money on next year’s books. That doesn’t include the $6.5MM club option on Laureano, which seems like a lock to be exercised.

That number also fails to account for arbitration raises. Each of Jason Adam, Adrian Morejon and Gavin Sheets will be due raises on this year’s salaries ($4.8MM, $2MM and $1.6MM, respectively). Miller, Sears, Fermin and righty Bryan Hoeing will be arbitration-eligible for the first time. Miller, in particular, will be in line for a notable salary. Closer Robert Suarez has a two-year, $16MM player option he’s likely to decline this winter, however, which would subtract an $8MM salary from the books.

Between Laureano’s option and the slate of arbitration raises, San Diego’s payroll can be reasonably expected to climb close to $200MM before making a single addition. Assuming Suarez indeed opts out, the Padres would be looking at a payroll in the $190-192MM range. If the goal is a payroll in the same realm as this year’s $213MM mark, that doesn’t leave a ton of additional space. Then again, each of Miller, Laureano, Fermin, Wagner and Sears proactively addressed some 2026 needs, and the Padres expect to welcome Joe Musgrove back to next year’s rotation after he missed the 2025 season due to Tommy John surgery.

Due to that financial situation, the Padres presumably had to include more prospect capital in their deadline trades than if they didn’t need the other club to eat significant money. That’s a notable element as the Padres have traded away a large number of prospect in previous deals, so their farm system hasn’t been considered especially strong lately. Coming into this year, MLB.com ranked their farm 25th out of the 30 teams in the league, with Baseball America putting the Friars 26th.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Padres’ lack of impact talent was initially a roadblock in the Miller talks. Rosenthal notes that Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller tried to line up a three-team deal. He asked the A’s to tell him which prospects they wanted from other clubs, with the goal of then acquiring those players to send them to the A’s for Miller. There were rumors the Padres were considering trading majors leaguers like Dylan Cease or Suarez, so perhaps Preller could have traded one of those guys for the prospects he needed to get Miller.

However, the A’s didn’t want to take that complicated route and wanted to just deal directly with one club. They got interest from clubs like the Yankees, Phillies and Mets, but those clubs weren’t willing to surrender their top prospects. Specifically, Rosenthal notes that the Phillies weren’t willing to include Andrew Painter while the Yanks wouldn’t part with Spencer Jones or George Lombard Jr.

The Padres were eventually able to get the deal done, despite their weak farm system, by including top prospect Leo De Vries. They also included pitching prospects Braden Nett, Henry Baez and Eduarniel Núñez but De Vries was the key piece to getting the deal done. Having now traded De Vries and several other prospects, the Friars will presumably have an even weaker farm system in next year’s rankings, but that is seemingly a price they were willing to pay in order to build a winning team here in 2025.

As for Sears, the other player who came to San Diego alongside Miller, he may be viewed more as depth than a key piece of the club’s push this year. He started for the club on Monday, allowing five earned runs in five innings against the Diamondbacks, before getting optioned to Triple-A yesterday.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune notes that Sears may not be recalled in the remainder of the season, unless someone gets hurt. Michael King is on the injured list but has begun a rehab assignment, having thrown 3 1/3 innings in his first rehab start on Sunday. Once he’s healthy, the rotation will be Cease, King, Pivetta, Cortes and Yu Darvish. That would leave Sears in a depth role alongside guys like Randy Vásquez, Kyle Hart and Matt Waldron.

Going forward, however, the path to a role opens up. Each of Cease, King and Cortes are impending free agents. Musgrove should fill one of those vacancies but that still leaves space for Sears to carve out a role in next year’s rotation.

Photo courtesy of Chadd Cady, Imagn Images

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Baltimore Orioles Milwaukee Brewers New York Mets New York Yankees Philadelphia Phillies San Diego Padres J.P. Sears Mason Miller

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Poll: Who Had The Best Deadline In The NL East?

By Nick Deeds | August 4, 2025 at 3:49pm CDT

The trade deadline has come and gone. While trade season was slow to get started this year, when all was said and done, there were several dozen trades made in a flurry of movement over the final few days before the deadline arrived. The full impact of these trades won’t be known for years to come, but that doesn’t mean we can’t analyze the deals and decide whose haul looks the best right now. Over the next week-plus, MLBTR will be running a series of polls asking which club in each division had the best deadline, starting today with the National League East. A look at each of the five clubs, listed from best to worst record in 2025:

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies made one of the biggest trades of the entire deadline when they landed closer Jhoan Duran from the Twins. With a 1.93 ERA and 18 saves this season, Duran figures to fortify the back of the bullpen and checks off the biggest need for Philadelphia. The club made a few more deals, but none were quite as impactful as adding Duran. Harrison Bader should provide a strong complement to Brandon Marsh and Max Kepler in the outfield against left-handed pitching while also improving the club’s defense. Matt Manning and Brewer Hicklen are purely depth additions who are not on the club’s active roster but could offer some protection against injury. Losing Mick Abel and Eduardo Tait from the farm system in order to bring in Duran is a blow, but the value an elite closer like Duran could provide over the next two-plus years figures to justify that cost.

New York Mets

The Mets took nearly the opposite approach to their primary rival for the division title this deadline, as they made a number of mid-level additions without swinging any one massive blockbuster. They added a second All-Star closer to the roster when they scooped up Ryan Helsley in a deal with the Cardinals to serve as the top setup man for closer Edwin Diaz, and further fortified their bullpen with trades for Tyler Rogers and Gregory Soto. They capped their deadline off by adding Cedric Mullins to the outfield in a move that could be game-changing for a club that was forced to rely on Tyrone Taylor (55 wRC+) as their regular center fielder throughout the first half. A legitimate starting-caliber player in center field and one of the best bullpens in the league should leave most Mets fans pretty happy with these additions, but the cost was significant. The Mets surrendered their #6, #10, #14, #22, #25, #27, and #28 prospects (according to Baseball America) in these trades alongside big league reliever Jose Butto. The club’s top five prospects remained untouched, but it’s still a steep price to pay for a package of players who are all ticketed for free agency this winter.

Miami Marlins

The Marlins had a rather quiet deadline where their headline move was shipping outfielder Jesus Sanchez to the Astros in exchange for a package of three players headlined by young starter Ryan Gusto. Aside from that, the fish dealt catcher Nick Fortes to the Rays for Double-A outfielder Matthew Etzel in a move that opens up playing time behind the plate for Agustin Ramirez and Liam Hicks and picked up depth reliever Michael Petersen from the Braves in a cash deal. The Sanchez move was a solid one that brings a young pitching talent into the fold for a club with a knack for developing young arms, but the most notable thing about Miami’s deadline is what they didn’t do: trade Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera. A run to the postseason this year is still very unlikely, but the quiet trade deadline gave the 55-55 Marlins a chance to see if they can keep up their recent torrid pace for another two months.

Atlanta Braves

Atlanta had something of a perplexing deadline. Like the Marlins, the biggest storyline here isn’t about the moves they made but rather about their decision to keep Raisel Iglesias and Marcell Ozuna in the fold. While Alcantara and Cabrera both have multiple seasons of control remaining with the Marlins, Iglesias and Ozuna are pending free agents who cannot even be extended Qualifying Offers this November. It was puzzling to see Atlanta shy away from dealing either of them and instead make a small handful of pitching additions. Erick Fedde, Dane Dunning, Tyler Kinley, Carlos Carrasco, and Hunter Stratton were added to help fortify a beleaguered pitching staff, and the trio of Fedde, Dunning, and Carrasco should help protect the club’s young arms from overuse down the stretch. The Rafael Montero trade stands as the club’s biggest sell-side move, however, while only Stratton (and perhaps Kinley or Dunning) will impact the club beyond the 2025 campaign of the team’s acquisitions.

Washington Nationals

The Nationals were the most aggressive sellers in the division as they shipped out Amed Rosario, Alex Call, Kyle Finnegan, Michael Soroka, Andrew Chafin, and Luis Garcia. Of that group, only the 30-year-old Call was controlled beyond the 2025 season. With a lackluster 44-67 record, it’s understandable that the Nationals would sell off a number of pieces, though they did hold onto some of their controllable pieces with higher potential for impact like MacKenzie Gore and Nathaniel Lowe. Former top prospects Jake Eder and Clayton Beeter are perhaps the most recognizable names from the haul the Nats received for their veteran pieces, but they received ten prospects and young players in total. According to MLB Pipeline, the club’s #10 (Sean Paul Linan), #11 (Christian Franklin), #12 (Eriq Swan), #13 (Ronny Cruz), #23 (Josh Randall), and #24 (Beeter) prospects were all acquired in this sell-off. That should keep their farm system fairly well-stocked headed in the first offseason of the post-Mike Rizzo era of Nationals baseball.

The NL East’s teams ran the gamut between buying and selling this year. The Phillies and Mets were both aggressive buyers, but took different approaches as the Phillies prioritized a controllable star while New York focused on the short-term. The Marlins and Braves were mostly quiet this summer, while the Nationals bolstered their farm system through several trades of veteran players. Who do MLBTR readers think had the best deadline of the division? Have your say in the poll below:

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Phillies, Lou Trivino Agree To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | August 4, 2025 at 2:03pm CDT

The Phillies have agreed to a minor league deal with veteran right-handed reliever Lou Trivino, reports Matt Gelb of The Athletic. They’ll be the third organization of the season for the Pro Edge Sports client.

Trivino, 34 in October, has suited up for both the Dodgers and Giants in 2025. He’s pitched a combined 38 1/3 major league innings and logged a 4.42 ERA with a well below-average 15.7% strikeout rate but a strong 7% walk rate. That marks Trivino’s first big league work since the end of the 2022 season. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023 and has also had a notable shoulder injury in the two years he was off the mound.

This version of Trivino didn’t look nearly as sharp as the pre-injury iteration. His fastball, which averaged 97.3 mph at its peak and 95.6 mph in the three years leading up to his surgery, has sat at 94.7 mph thus far. Trivino’s 1.40 HR/9 is a career-high, and his opponents’ chase rate and swinging-strike rate are both considerably lower than at his best.

That said, there’s no risk in taking a minor league flier on a pitcher with a track record like that of Trivino. He made his MLB debut with 74 innings of 2.92 ERA ball for the 2018 Athletics and, from ’18-’22, picked up 52 holds and 37 saves while working to a 3.86 ERA with a 24.5% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate.

Philadelphia won’t really be counting on Trivino for anything. He’s a depth add after president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski & Co. made a pair of splashy deadline upgrades, signing free agent David Robertson and trading prospects Eduardo Tait and Mick Abel to pry star closer Jhoan Duran away from the Twins. Trivino could eventually work his way to the majors, but with Duran, Orion Kerkering, Matt Strahm and Tanner Banks leading the way, Robertson soon to join and the return of lefty Jose Alvarado looming later this month, there are far fewer paths to the majors in Philly than there might’ve been even two to three weeks ago.

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Philadelphia Phillies Transactions Lou Trivino

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Phillies Release Oscar Mercado

By Mark Polishuk | August 3, 2025 at 11:57pm CDT

Outfielder Oscar Mercado enacted an opt-out clause in his minor league contract with the Phillies, MLB Trade Rumors’ Steve Adams reports.  The Phils have subsequently released Mercado, who now returns to the open market after inking his deal just at the start of Spring Training.

A veteran of five Major League seasons, Mercado hit .237/.289/.388 over 973 plate appearances with the Guardians, Phillies, and Cardinals from 2019-23.  Most of his success remains limited to his impressive 2019 rookie year in Cleveland.  Mercado then struggled to stay productive at the MLB level, and now has gone over two years since his last appearances in a big league game.

Subsequent minor league stints with the Padres, Dodgers, Tigers, and Phillies haven’t led to any more playing time in the majors, though Mercado’s .252/.373/.385 slash line over 378 PA at Triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2025 is respectable, and he has stolen 35 bases in 43 attempts.  The right-handed hitter has also mashed lefties to the run of a .941 OPS this season, but didn’t get a call-up since the Phils opted to stay with in-house right-handed outfield options until landing Harrison Bader at the trade deadline.

It could be that Bader’s acquisition inspired Mercado’s decision to opt out, as his path to Philadelphia’s roster got even more crowded.  The post-deadline roster landscape could mean more openings for the 30-year-old Mercado, if trades have opened up some roster holes and created some teams in need of outfield depth.

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Philadelphia Phillies Transactions Oscar Mercado

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Outright Assignments: 8/3/25

By Mark Polishuk | August 3, 2025 at 4:46pm CDT

Here’s the latest on a few players recently designated for assignment, and now removed from their clubs’ 40-man rosters…

  • The Yankees announced that outfielder Bryan De La Cruz has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A.  Because De La Cruz has more than three years of Major League service time, he has the right to elect free agency rather than accept the outright assignment, so it remains to be seen if he’ll remain in the organization.  A regular with the Marlins from 2022-24, De La Cruz has struggled badly since a deadline trade to the Pirates last year, and his only MLB work in 2025 came in the form of 16 games with the Braves.  New York claimed De La Cruz off waivers from Atlanta in May and the outfielder has hit .251/.323/.438 over 229 plate appearances for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
  • The Mariners outrighted Collin Snider to Triple-A after the right-hander cleared waivers.  This is the first time Snider has been outrighted, and since he also doesn’t have the required amount of MLB service time, he’ll have to report to Triple-A rather than consider electing free agency.  An underrated bullpen arm for the Mariners in 2024, Snider struggled to a 5.47 ERA in 26 1/3 innings this year and hasn’t pitched since a right forearm flexor strain sent him to the injured list two months ago.  Snider had begun a minor league rehab assignment but he is out of minor league options, so the Mariners had to pursue the DFA/outright route rather than activate Snider directly back onto the 26-man roster.
  • The Phillies announced that right-handers Brett de Geus and Devin Sweet both cleared waivers and have been outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.  The two pitchers were each designated on deadline day to create roster space for new acquisitions Harrison Bader and Matt Manning.  De Geus made a single appearance with Philadelphia this season, and he has now tossed 63 1/3 innings over 61 career games at the big league level, posting a 7.39 ERA across his three seasons.  Sweet has a 10.38 ERA over 8 2/3 career innings with the Mariners and A’s, all during the 2023 season.  Both pitchers have previous outrights on their resume, so they can each elect free agency rather than accept the assignment to Triple-A.
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Rob Manfred Downplays Salary Cap Dispute With Bryce Harper

By Leo Morgenstern | August 2, 2025 at 10:59pm CDT

An altercation between MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and Phillies star Bryce Harper made headlines in July, with the two-time MVP reportedly standing “nose to nose” with the commissioner and telling him he could “get the [expletive] out of our clubhouse” if he was going to talk about implementing a salary cap (per ESPN’s Jeff Passan). Manfred was holding his annual meeting with the Phillies’ players at Citizens Bank Park.

Reports from Passan and the New York Post’s Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman differ on when the confrontation occurred. Passan writes that Harper sat quietly for most of the meeting, which lasted over an hour, before tensions boiled over and he approached the commissioner. In contrast, Heyman and Sherman write that his comments came “about five minutes into” Manfred’s opening remarks. Regardless of certain discrepancies, what’s clear is that, while Manfred never directly mentioned a salary cap, Harper believed it was implied. He felt strongly enough to claim that players “are not scared to lose 162 games” in their fight against a cap (per Passan). He also questioned what Manfred has ever done “to benefit the players” (per Heyman and Sherman). Despite Harper’s comments, Manfred stayed to finish the meeting, doubling down on the importance of talking about, in Passan’s words, “threats to MLB’s business and ways to grow the game.”

Afterwards, Harper’s teammate Nick Castellanos described the ordeal to ESPN as intense and passionate, and he seemed to confirm it went both ways. “The commissioner [was] giving it back to Bryce and Bryce [was] giving it back to the commissioner,” he explained.

Afterwards, Manfred declined to comment to ESPN or the New York Post, while Harper later told reporters (including Bob Cooney of NBC Sports Philadelphia): “You guys saw what was in the article. But I won’t be getting into the details of what happened or how I felt or anything else like that…I’m just trying to worry about baseball…Everybody saw the words and everything that happened. I don’t want to say anything more than that.”

Harper continued: “I’ve talked labor and I’ve done it in a way that I don’t think I need to talk to the media about it…I’ve always been very vocal, just not in a way that people can see.”

Yesterday, however, Manfred spoke at Wrigley Field to announce that the Cubs would host the 2027 All-Star Game, and he finally addressed his dispute with Harper, claiming: “It was an individual picking a particular way to express himself, and I don’t think you need to make more out of that than that” (per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic).

Perhaps that’s true. Yet, there is no denying it would be in Manfred’s best interests to downplay his altercation with one of the most influential players in the league. It’s also in his best interests to believe this was an isolated incident of an “individual” expressing himself rather than a reflection of how many players feel across all 30 teams.

With the current collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the MLBPA set to expire on December 1, 2026, it’s no secret that several owners are interested in instituting a salary cap. Indeed, according to ESPN’s Jorge Castillo, the MLBPA believes Manfred is pushing for a cap in his clubhouse meetings this year – even if he isn’t using those exact words. Unsurprisingly, the players association is strongly against a cap, arguing it would primarily serve to artificially suppress player salaries rather than increase parity around the league or help to grow the game.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the All-Star Game last month, MLBPA executive director Tony Clark described a salary cap as “institutionalized collusion” (per Castillo). “A cap is not about growing the game,” he said. “A cap is about franchise values and profits. That’s what a cap is about.”

What’s more, while Manfred might not be willing to say “salary cap,” he has already mentioned the possibility of a lockout. Back in March, Clark said that he is expecting a work stoppage after the 2026 season, and many around the league are concerned about the possibility of contentious CBA negotiations eating into the 2027 campaign. It’s not hard to guess what the sticking point in those negotiations might be.

Castellanos told Hannah Keyser and Zach Crizer of The Bandwagon (who first reported on the “heated” meeting between Manfred and the Phillies) that the commissioner was “very eloquently speaking around” the idea of a salary cap. He later said to ESPN: “Rob seems to be in a pretty desperate place on how important it is to get this salary cap because he’s floating the word ’lockout’ two years in advance of our collective bargaining agreement [expiring].”

Manfred began holding annual meetings with each team’s players three years ago, following the lockout that lasted much of the 2021-22 offseason and delayed the start of the 2022 campaign. One reason for these meetings? He wants to communicate directly to the players rather than have his messages go through the MLBPA. During a recent investor event held by the Braves, he said: “The strategy is to get directly to the players. I don’t think the leadership of this union is anxious to lead the way to change. So we need to energize the workforce in order to get them familiar with or supportive of the idea that maybe change in the system could be good for everybody” (per The Athletic’s Evan Drellich).

One way to read those comments? Manfred knows the MLBPA is staunchly opposed to a salary cap. It certainly seems as if he’s hoping to pit the union’s membership against the union’s leadership, in an effort the push through changes that would, in Clark’s words: “add to the owners’ profits and franchise values, while prohibiting clubs from fully competing to put the best product on the field for the fans and limiting player compensation, guarantees and flexibility” (per Drellich).

If Harper’s reaction is any indication, Manfred might not be having as much success connecting with players as he hoped, even as he has, at times, been accompanied at his clubhouse meetings by respected former players in the Commissioner’s Ambassador Program (CAP). But at least for now, the commissioner insists it’s not that serious: “I think more has been made out of this than needs to be made out of it. Bryce expressed his views. At the end of the meeting, we shook hands and went our separate ways. Not all that significant” (per Andrew Seligman of the Associated Press).

Photo in article courtesy of Bill Streicher, Imagn Images.

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Phillies Acquire Matt Manning

By Mark Polishuk | July 31, 2025 at 5:35pm CDT

The Tigers announced that right-hander Matt Manning has been dealt to the Phillies in exchange for minor league outfielder Josueth Quinonez.  Manning was designated for assignment by Detroit earlier today, and this trade was completed just under the wire before the 5pm CT trade deadline.  Philadelphia designated right-hander Devin Sweet for assignment in a corresponding roster move.

Selected ninth overall by the Tigers in the 2016 draft, Manning’s time in the organization will officially end without the righty living up to his lofty potential as one of baseball’s top pitching prospects.  Manning has a 4.43 ERA over 254 career big league innings from 2021-24, along with an uninspiring 16.4% strikeout rate and 7.8% walk rate.  Some injuries surely played a role along the way, and yet with Manning now in his last minor league option year, Detroit chose to just walk away from a pitcher that was once seen as a future cornerstone.

Despite Manning’s struggles in the majors, he is still only 27 years old, and it isn’t surprising that the Phillies quickly arranged a trade soon after Manning was DFA’ed.  There’s little risk for the Phils in seeing if Manning can still be a post-hype breakout after a change of scenery, or at least turn himself into a decent contributor if not a star.  In the immediate short term, Manning replenishes the rotation depth chart after the Phillies traded Mick Abel to the Twins as part of the Jhoan Duran swap.

Sweet is also a former Tiger, acquired by Philadelphia in a trade last November.  Sweet’s lone bit of MLB experience came in the 2023 season when he tossed 8 2/3 innings over seven games with the Mariners and Athletics, and he has since been pitching at the Triple-A level.  The results weren’t great this year in Lehigh Valley, as Sweet has a 5.50 ERA and six homers allowed over 37 2/3 innings, with a modest 20.3% strikeout rate.

Sweet has battled control issues for each of the last two seasons, and he’ll find himself back in DFA limbo.  He has been outrighted before, so if the 28-year-old clears waivers, he can reject an outright assignment off the Phillies’ 40-man roster and instead opt for free agency.

Quinonez signed by the Phils during the 2024 international signing period, and the outfielder has played a lot of center and right field in the early stages of his pro career.  Quinonez has hit .301/.397/.383 in 310 plate appearances with the Phillies’ Dominican Summer League teams, and he’ll now head to Detroit’s system as a long-term prospect.

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Phillies Designate Brett De Geus For Assignment

By Leo Morgenstern | July 31, 2025 at 1:47pm CDT

The Phillies announced this afternoon that they’ve designated right-hander Brett de Geus for assignment. De Geus’s 40-man roster spot will go to the recently acquired Harrison Bader.

The 27-year-old de Geus is no stranger to the DFA. The Phillies are the fourth team to designate him for assignment in 2025 alone. Since he was selected 1,000th overall in the 2017 draft, he has played in the Dodgers, Rangers, Diamondbacks, Royals, Mariners, Marlins, Blue Jays, and Phillies organizations. A Rule 5 draft pick, he made his big league debut in 2021, pitching 50 innings of relief for Texas and Arizona with a 7.56 ERA and 4.60 SIERA. The D-backs released him in 2022, and after brief stints with a couple of teams in the Atlantic League, he returned to affiliated ball in 2023, signing a minor league pact with Kansas City. The following year, he finally made his way back to the majors, pitching to a 7.15 ERA and 4.19 SIERA in 11 1/3 innings for the Mariners, Marlins, and Blue Jays.

Toronto was the first team to DFA de Geus in 2025, later trading him to Pittsburgh for cash considerations in January. Little over a month later, the Pirates DFA’d him as well, and the Marlins scooped him up off waivers for his second stint with the club. He opened the season with their Triple-A affiliate in Jacksonville, but after just one appearance for the Jumbo Shrimp, he was DFA’d once again and claimed by the Phillies. They, too, sent de Geus to Triple-A but eventually recalled the righty for his 2025 debut in late May. He gave up one run in two innings of work before he was optioned back to Lehigh Valley the following day.

Over parts of three MLB seasons, de Geus has a career 7.39 ERA and 4.67 SIERA in 63 1/3 innings of low-leverage relief work. On the bright side, his 4.11 ERA and 4.45 FIP at Triple-A this year are both his best numbers in any minor league season since his 2019 campaign at the low levels with the Dodgers. While he has had trouble holding on to a big league job throughout his career, there is clearly a reason so many teams have been interested in giving him a shot over the past few years. With his four-pitch arsenal (including a fastball that tops out at 98 mph), consistently high groundball rates, and two option years remaining, a new team could certainly be willing to give de Geus a shot in 2025.

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