The Angels are acquiring left-hander Andrew Chafin and right-hander Luis García from the Nationals. Jeff Passan of ESPN reported the Garcia news and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic the Chafin news. Passan adds that left-hander Jake Eder is one of the players going to the Nats in return.
More to come.
12:13pm: Atlanta is sending Double-A righty Austin Smith back to Colorado in the deal, David O’Brien of The Athletic reports.
11:48am: The Braves and Rockies have agreed to a deal sending right-handed reliever Tyler Kinley from Colorado to Atlanta, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. The Braves are sending one prospect back to the Rockies for Kinley, who’s earning $3MM in the final year of his contract but has an affordable $5MM club option for the 2026 season.
The 34-year-old Kinley has an unappealing 5.66 ERA on the season but has fanned 23.8% of his opponents on the season. Metrics like FIP (4.14) and SIERA (4.15) feel he’s been far better than that earned run average should indicate. He’s been on an excellent run of late, pitching to a 2.37 ERA with a 31.1% strikeout rate and 6.7% walk rate in 19 innings since mid-June.
Kinley’s overall 12.6% walk rate this season is an eyesore, but he’s also been plagued by a fluky 59.4% strand rate that’s well shy of his 68% career mark and the 72% league average. The 6’4″ righty sits 95.2 mph on his heater and boasts a terrific 14% swinging-strike rate, which could give Atlanta some optimism that Kinley’s strikeout rate has room to improve. He’s also among the league leaders in terms of limiting hard contact.
It’s a surprise to see the Braves add a veteran player, given the team’s 45-61 record in an increasingly injury-decimated season. Kinley deepens the current relief corps and brings a hint of upside which, if unlocked, would make him a bargain option for next season. His ’26 club option has a $750K buyout, so Atlanta will be making a net $4.25MM decision in the offseason after Kinley has had a 2025 audition.
In that sense, the Braves — who fully intend to compete in 2026 — are getting a proactive jump start on some offseason shopping. Braves relievers Raisel Iglesias and Rafael Montero are free agents at season’s end. Pierce Johnson is also in the final guaranteed season of his deal, though like Kinley, he has a 2026 club option. Each of Iglesias, Montero and Johnson has been a reported trade candidate as Atlanta begrudgingly concedes to listening on short-term veterans at this year’s deadline.
More to come.
12:07pm: The Twins and Astros have indeed talked about the possibility of a Correa trade but aren’t close to an agreement, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports.
9:52am: As the Astros seek help in the infield following injuries to Isaac Paredes and Jeremy Pena, they’ve looked into the possibility of bringing Carlos Correa back to Houston, as first reported by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune writes that the two parties have had discussions on the possibility. MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart adds that Houston’s interest “is real.” Nightengale adds that Houston remains interested in Eugenio Suárez as well and has at least weighed the possibility of another run at Nolan Arenado.
The Correa scenario presents a fascinating, if unexpected wrinkle to this summer’s deadline market. In the offseason, Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey downplayed the possibility of trading his shortstop, and Correa himself voiced an affinity for Minnesota when asked about his no-trade clause at the time.
It’s fair to wonder whether either party’s stance has changed. The Twins have struggled through a sub-.500 four months of baseball and have minimal hope of reaching the postseason. The Pohlad family is exploring a sale of the team, and while that was true over the winter as well, the former front-runner to purchase the Twins, Justin Ishbia, has since instead reached a long-term agreement to become the majority stakeholder in the White Sox (where he was already a minority owner). On Correa’s end of things, returning to his original organization and jumping back into a playoff race would presumably be appealing.
Correa is still owed significant money. He signed a six-year, $200MM deal with four vesting options prior to the 2023 season. He’ll make a combined $92MM from 2026-28 and also still has about $11.6MM of this year’s salary yet to be paid out. The Twins would almost certainly have to pay down a portion of the contract to make a deal work.
Even if Minnesota did so, however, adding Correa back to the roster in Houston would send the Astros soaring past the luxury tax threshold. They’re currently about $4.5MM shy of that barrier, per RosterResource. Owner Jim Crane was steadfastly against exceeding the tax threshold in the offseason — at least in most scenarios. His lone exception, it seemed, would have been for a reunion with Alex Bregman. Whether Crane is feeling more urgency due to Houston’s litany of injuries or simply harbors some sentimentality for another former Astros star, one has to imagine he’s grown more comfortable crossing the tax threshold.
That Correa is in the midst of a sub-par season only further muddies the water. The 30-year-old hit brilliantly for the Twins last year in an injury-shortened campaign, batting .310/.388/.517 with his typical brand of strong defense at shortstop. He’s rebounded from a poor start in 2025 to an extent, but Correa’s .267/.319/.386 slash is slightly under league average (97 wRC+). Over his past 274 plate appearances, Correa is hitting .300 with a .350 on-base percentage but just a .423 slugging percentage. His power is down substantially this season, in part because his ground-ball rate has spiked to a 48.5% — its highest level in five years.
A renewed run at Arenado would register as something of a surprise. Arenado invoked his no-trade clause to nix a trade to Houston over the winter. Now that the Astros are in first place, he’d likely be more open to a move there. However, he’s in the midst of a third straight down year at the plate and is still owed substantial money.
Arenado, 34, is hitting a career-worst .235/.295/.367 in 390 plate appearances. By measure of wRC+, he’s been 16% worse than average at the plate. He remains a strong defensive third baseman but no longer draws top-of-the-scale grades from defensive metrics. He’s earning $32MM this year, $27MM next year and $15MM in 2027. It’s a steep price to pay for a former All-Star whose bat is has been on the downswing for several years now. The Cardinals would need to eat a major portion of the contract, but there’s still enough left on the deal that Arenado, too, would surely put Houston over the luxury threshold.
Suárez, owed $4.8MM for the remainder of the season, might not quite put the Astros over that edge, though the Diamondbacks could always include some cash to coax a more favorable return. The bidding on the 34-year-old slugger will be fierce, however, and Houston’s farm system is not as well regarded as some of the other teams who’ll be vying for Suárez and his 36 home runs. The Mariners, Cubs, Tigers, Phillies and Reds are among the teams also pursuing him.
Paredes could miss the remainder of the season — Nightengale notes that surgery is a consideration — but he’s controlled for an additional two years. Pena is on the mend from fractured ribs but is also controlled through 2027. Given the Astros’ multiple years of control over the left side of their infield, Suárez represents a cleaner fit than either Correa or Arenado. Paredes could slide over to second base in subsequent seasons if the Astros wind up with a new infielder who’s signed beyond the current season, but he’s played the vast majority of his career at third base.
Correa’s name hasn’t come up until this point, but the Twins are expected to be active sellers over the next two days. Righty Chris Paddack was already moved to the Tigers, and rental players like Willi Castro, Harrison Bader and Danny Coulombe are all expected to change hands as well. The more interesting element is whether the Twins will cave and trade anyone controlled longer-term. Relievers Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax have been two of the most sought-after names on the bullpen market, and any contending team would love to add righty Joe Ryan to its rotation. All three are controlled through 2027, however. Add in the new possibility of a Correa deal, and there’s plenty for the Minnesota front office to do over the next day and a half.
Our final subscriber mailbag before the trade deadline gets into the Guardians trading Steven Kwan and Shane Bieber, what's next for the Yankees, Giants, and Cubs, Dave Dombrowski's approach toward trading top Phillies prospects, and positives for the Braves.
John asks:
Where does Cleveland go from here? Kwan isn't signing long term. Clase may be lost. Will Santana be dfa for Kayfus?
Robb asks:
Would the Guardians be more receptive to dealing Steven Kwan if the Dodgers take Shane Bieber off their hands? Even so, I doubt anything less than Dalton Rushing would interest the Guardians as a starting point.
In a recent report, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic said Kwan is drawing a ton of interest, and Emmanuel Clase's non-disciplinary leave might increase the chances of a trade.
Kwan, 28 in September, is earning $4.175MM this year and is under team control through 2027. Though he's not a flashy player, Kwan has been worth about 4 WAR per 650 plate appearances in his career and this season is no different.
Trading Kwan would be risky for the Guardians, as the franchise has failed to find or produce an outfielder of this caliber since perhaps Michael Brantley. Nor will Kwan's arbitration salaries be prohibitive, even for the Guardians. The next big hopes are Chase DeLauter, who may be out for the season due to a hamate fracture, and Jaison Chourio, who has yet to succeed at High-A.
Still, trading players with Kwan's service time is the circle of life for the Guardians, so I imagine if someone offers multiple cornerstone top-100 prospect type players (especially position players), they'll take a hard look at it.
Carlos Santana is 39 and he's been terrible since June, so I could see a DFA in the offing. The Guardians may first attempt some of the $4MM he's still owed this year. C.J. Kayfus, 23, has done nothing but rake in the minors, though his Triple-A strikeout rate is high at 28%. It'd make sense to give Kayfus a look this year, unless the team is trying not to start his service time clock.
What will happen with Bieber, one of the more intriguing trade targets of the 2025 deadline?
The Giants have informed other teams that they’ll listen to offers on some of their bullpen, reports Jon Morosi of MLB Network. Francys Romero reports that Camilo Doval, in particular, has drawn interest from several teams. San Francisco has dropped five consecutive games and is now sitting .500 on the season — nine games back in the NL West and five games out of a Wild Card spot.
Doval, 28, popped up in trade rumblings back in the offseason, but the Giants held onto him rather than sell low on the heels of a down season. That’s proven to be the right call, as Doval has bounced back with a 3.15 ERA, a 25.1% strikeout rate, 15 saves and seven holds on the season. His 12.8% walk rate is too high but is down from last year’s even uglier 14.4% mark. Doval sits 98.1 mph with his cutter and can run the pitch up over 100 mph, though his velocity is down a bit from the past three seasons, when he sat over 99 mph. Doval couples the cutter with a slider and what’s now a seldom-used sinker.
The 2025 season is Doval’s first year of arbitration eligibility. He’s earning $4.525MM and is slated to receive raises in each of the next two seasons. He’s a free agent in the 2027-28 offseason. If the Giants are amenable to a deal, he’d join names like David Bednar, Dennis Santana, Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax and Cade Smith as one of the market’s more appealing relievers with some remaining club control.
Presumably, if the Giants are open to trading any veteran players, righty Tyler Rogers would be available. The submariner has been a steady member of San Francisco’s bullpen since 2019 but is in his final season of club control before free agency. The 34-year-old has pitched to a pristine 1.80 earned run average in 50 innings this year. Rogers has never missed many bats but has a 20.2% strikeout rate this season that — while still lower than average — represents a step up from the 17.3% mark he posted over the past four seasons. His command has long been a strength, but this year’s minuscule 2.1% walk rate is a career low.
Rogers offsets his lack of strikeouts with that plus command and also by inducing some of the weakest contact in the sport. His unique arm angle and 83 mph sinker regularly prove difficult to square up. Opponents are averaging just 84.8 mph off the bat against him this year, and Rogers has allowed just a 32.2% hard-hit rate. He’s also kept a massive 64.4% of batted balls against him on the ground.
Doval and Rogers stand as the two most logical trade candidates in the San Francisco bullpen, but if the Giants wanted to pursue an even more substantial return, they could hear out teams who have interest in Ryan Walker or Randy Rodriguez. Walker is in the midst of a down season but was one of the National League’s top relievers just last year, when he notched a 1.91 ERA, 32.1% strikeout rate and 5.8% walk rate. He’s controllable for four years after the current season but is a late-blooming arm who’ll turn 30 in November.
The 25-year-old Rodriguez would be overwhelmingly difficult to pry away. He’s controlled for another five years after the 2025 season and currently boasts a 1.20 ERA with a massive 36.3% strikeout rate against a 5.3% walk rate. Rodriguez sits 97.4 mph with his four-seamer, pairing it with a plus slider that’s helped him land in the 90th percentile of big league pitchers in both whiff rate and chase rate on pitches off the plate, per Statcast.
The Cubs are known to be in the market for starting pitching help, and it’s not very hard to see why. Justin Steele has been out for nearly the entire season after undergoing surgery on his UCL and won’t be back until sometime next year. Jameson Taillon is currently on the injured list, as are depth arms like Javier Assad and Brandon Birdsell. Cade Horton and Matthew Boyd are having their innings carefully monitored after not getting much volume in last year. Shota Imanaga has already spent time on the injured list and has some worrisome peripheral numbers.
All of that has led the Cubs to be connected to the vast majority of rumored starting pitching options available on the trade market, ranging from depth additions like Adrian Houser, to high-value rentals like Dylan Cease and Merrill Kelly, to controllable arms like Mitch Keller and MacKenzie Gore. Reporting from ESPN’s Jesse Rogers this morning offers a fresh look at some of the other arms Chicago is taking a look at with just over 30 hours to go until the deadline. Rogers writes that the Cubs have shown interest in Orioles right-hander Zach Eflin and spoken to the Rays about their starting pitchers, while Jeff Passan of ESPN reports that Guardians righty Shane Bieber is “an option” for the Cubs.
Eflin, 31, has struggled badly this year with a 5.93 ERA and 5.60 FIP in 14 starts. A 4.39 SIERA and an absurd 19.4% home run to fly ball ratio suggest that some poor fortunate could be baked into Eflin’s results this year, but even so it’s hard to view him as more than a back-of-the-rotation addition for this season. With that being said, the right-hander does have some intriguing past success under his belt. From 2020 through 2024, Eflin tossed 583 1/3 innings of work with a solid 3.76 ERA and 3.46 FIP. He struck out 23.2% of his opponents in that time while walking just 3.9%. If Eflin can recapture that quality mid-rotation form, he could theoretically pitch in for Chicago’s prospective playoff rotation this year, though that seems unlikely to be something the Cubs (or any acquiring club) would count on.
Bieber is another potential buy-low candidate, albeit for a very different reason. He hasn’t thrown a major league pitch since early in the 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and while he’s expected back at some point in August it’s always uncertain what sort of production a pitcher coming off major injury will be able to offer. The 2020 AL Cy Young award winner has a 3.22 ERA and 3.09 FIP for his career, however, and if he’s healthy and at his usual level of effectiveness would immediately slot in towards the top of the Cubs’ rotation.
Bieber’s contract affords him a $16MM player option with a $4MM buyout for the 2026 season. That $12MM decision figures to be an easy one for Bieber to make, and he’s all be certain to decline it and return to free agency unless he suffers some sort of new injury that would impact his 2026 campaign. Still, player options are at times viewed as a “poison pill” of sorts in trade negotiations, as the Cubs saw for themselves when they dealt Cody Bellinger to the Yankees over the offseason in what amounted to little more than a salary dump. Perhaps that could lower the acquisition cost of Bieber, making the fact that he won’t be able to immediately impact a Cubs rotation in desperate need of help more palatable.
As for the Rays, the club is routinely willing to at least listen on virtually its entire roster even when they’re buyers and appears to be leaning more towards selling in recent days. That makes it hard to know what starters the Cubs could be discussing with Tampa. Pending free agent Zack Littell has a 3.72 ERA in 21 starts this year despite shaky peripherals and could fit the sort of depth-starter mold that options like Eflin and Houser can fill. Young right-hander Taj Bradley would be an intriguing controllable addition who the Rays are reportedly willing to listen to offers on. He’s pitched to a 4.33 ERA with a 4.14 FIP over the past two seasons and is still just 24 years old.
No trade can be fully ruled out when it comes to the Rays, so perhaps someone else from the club’s rotation could be available as well. With that being said, Drew Rasmussen extended with the club through the 2027 season back in January and is approaching his innings limit this year while youngsters like Ryan Pepiot and Shane Baz are still in their pre-arbitration years. The acquisition cost for any of those three players would surely be exorbitant, however, and there have been no signals that any of those arms are even available beyond the Rays’ general tendency to listen to offers on virtually all of their players. Even by Tampa’s standards, however, a trade of one of those three would register as a major surprise.
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The Yankees have upgraded their bench and added some outfield depth, announcing Tuesday that they’ve acquired outfielder Austin Slater from the White Sox. The Yankees are sending minor league right-hander Gage Ziehl back to Chicago in return. It’s a one-for-one swap.
Slater, 32, is a reserve outfielder who’s played all three spots and posted good numbers against left-handed pitching — both in 2025 and throughout his nine-year career in the majors. He’s hitting .236/.299/.423 in 135 plate appearances this year, including .261/.338/.552 versus left-handers. In 1006 career plate appearances versus lefties, the righty-swinging Slater is a .270/.362/.436 hitter.
Slater is playing the season on a one-year, $1.75MM deal, though he’s already tacked on $100K worth of incentives based on games played and plate appearances. He could feasibly tack on another $175K by reaching 75 games played and 200 plate appearances. He’ll be a free agent at season’s end.
Though he’s not likely to step into an everyday role, Slater is an affordable means of complementing switch-hitting left fielder Jasson Dominguez, who’s slashing .284/.354/.456 versus right-handed pitching but just .207/.286/.299 versus left-handed opponents. Much the same way that the Yankees acquired Amed Rosario to platoon with new third baseman Ryan McMahon, Slater can share time with Dominguez moving forward.
The Yankees are currently without MVP candidate Aaron Judge, who was recently placed on the injured list due to a forearm strain. A precise timetable for a return remains unclear, but it’s expected Judge will be limited to DH work when he initially returns. Dominguez, Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger will be the primary outfield trio while Judge is on the mend. Grisham, like Dominguez, struggles against left-handed pitching.
Ziehl, 22, was the Yankees’ fourth-round pick in 2024. He’s spent the bulk of the year in A-ball but was just bumped up to Double-A. The Miami product has posted a combined 4.15 ERA with a 20.2% strikeout rate and 4% walk rate in 86 1/3 innings. Baseball America ranked Ziehl 18th among Yankees prospects on their midseason update of the system just last week. He’s a three-pitch starter whose fastball can climb to 97 mph. Ziehl pairs that pitch with a slider and changeup that both draw average or better grades.
The Cubs have designated utility man Vidal Brujan for assignment, according to a report from Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun Times. The move makes room for catcher/DH Moises Ballesteros on the active roster.
Brujan, 27, was acquired from the Marlins this past offseason in the trade that sent Matt Mervis to Miami. He’s served as a utility option on the Cubs’ bench throughout the year. Most of his work came at third base, but he also made cameos at second, shortstop, and all three outfield spots. He appeared in 36 games total this season but made just 47 plate appearances. He was extremely unimpressive at the plate in that limited time, with a .222/.234/.289 (42 wRC+) slash line. He struck out at a 25.5% clip and walked just 2.1% of the time while going 2-for-3 on the bases with three extra-base hits, all of them doubles.
That poor performance on offense isn’t exactly a surprise. Once a consensus top-50 prospect in the sport as a member of the Rays, Brujan has failed to establish himself in the majors across three organizations at this point. His career .192/.259/.271 slash line (50 wRC+) is only marginally better than his 2025 performance, and at this point he seems best suited to a role as a versatile depth option for a club with a thin bench. That’s the role he’s filled in Chicago, but now the Cubs must turn to Ballesteros amid an injury to outfielder Ian Happ, who fouled a ball off his shin during last night’s game. It’s unclear how severe Happ’s injury is at this point, and he’s not yet been placed on the injured list. Even so, it’s a given he’ll be out of the lineup for at least today’s game, and as long as he’s unavailable Ballesteros can step in at DH while Seiya Suzuki slides over to left field in Happ’s stead.
More to come.
The Phillies have made improving their bullpen the club’s top priority this summer. They already signed David Robertson to help pitch in for the stretch run and into the playoffs, and since then have been connected to a bevy of high-end relief arms ranging from Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran of the Twins to less expensive options like David Bednar of the Pirates and Ryan Helsley of the Cardinals. Matt Gelb of The Athletic provided an update on the state of Philadelphia’s bullpen pursuits today, and part of that update was a report that the club could consider a move to the bullpen for talented lefty starter Jesus Luzardo depending on how the bullpen looks after the deadline.
According to Gelb, it remains “unclear” if the Twins will actually move either Jax or Duran before the deadline and the Phillies have “balked” at Pittsburgh’s asking price for Bednar. That might leave Helsley as the club’s best option to get a deal done, and Gelb suggests that there’s a “potential path” to the two clubs working out a deal that sends the two-time All-Star to Philadelphia. With that said, Gelb also cautions that Helsley is getting widespread interest. That’s not a shock after reporting yesterday indicated that at least half a dozen teams were involved in Helsley’s market, of course, but Gelb notes that the club may have to get “creative” in its efforts to revamp the bullpen if a deal for Helsley cannot be worked out.
That creativity, it seems, could involve Luzardo. The southpaw has had a rollercoaster first season in Philadelphia. After looking like an early-season Cy Young candidate with a 2.15 ERA in 11 starts, the southpaw was blown up for 20 runs in 5 2/3 innings of work across two appearances. He’s settled in somewhat after those disastrous outings, but his ERA in nine starts since then has been a rather pedestrian 4.10. All of this comes against the backdrop of peripherals that are nothing short of elite. Luzardo has a 27.1% strikeout rate, an 8.5% walk rate, a 42.4% ground ball rate, and a 6.6% barrel rate. is ability to strike batters out at a high level while generally keeping the ball on the ground and missing barrels creates a strong overall package, as demonstrated by his 2.97 FIP and 3.56 SIERA.
Impressive as Luzardo’s underlying numbers are, however, it’s undeniable that the Phillies have an excess of rotation options. Luzardo is joined by Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez, and Taijuan Walker in the rotation as things stand. Aaron Nola is due to return from the injured list in the near future, and top prospect Andrew Painter has been knocking on the door of the majors all season long. Wheeler, Sanchez, and Suarez are all locked in as the club’s like Game 1, 2, and 3 starters in a playoff series, and Nola’s innings-eating ability surely won’t be moved out of the rotation either.
That leaves just one spot available for Luzardo, Walker, and Painter. Gelb notes that the Phillies entered 2025 expecting to need to manage Luzardo’s innings in at least some capacity, and while they don’t feel it’s strictly necessary at this point that could still make it easier for them to decide to move Luzardo to relief. Luzardo has a 3.64 ERA in his first time facing the opposing lineup this year, but that rises to 4.03 on the second turn through the order and balloons all the way up to 6.04 on the third. Perhaps the combination of the club’s long-standing plan to manage Luzardo’s innings and his weaker performance after going through the order multiple times could push the organization to try the lefty out as a bullpen piece.
It’s certainly a part of the roster that needs attention, even after signing Robertson. Jordan Romano hasn’t worked out as the club’s closer, and Jose Alvarado was hit with a PED suspension that will render him ineligible for the postseason. Robertson has a phenomenal track record but must be considered a question mark in his age-40 season without a typical Spring Training ramp-up process. Matt Strahm, Orion Kerkering, and Tanner Banks have all been quality arms, but more help is needed. It’s certainly not hard to imagine Luzardo being able to plug that hole given his impressive stuff that would surely play up even further in a relief setting. Luzardo has 16 relief outings under his belt throughout his career, though he’s pitched out of the rotation exclusively since 2022.
While Luzardo moving to the bullpen could make some sense, it’s certainly not the only way the club could bolster its relief corps—even if none of Duran, Jax, Helsley, or Bednar can be had. Pete Fairbanks, Robert Suarez, Kenley Jansen, and Raisel Iglesias are other hurlers with closing experience who are rumored to be available on at least some level. There’s plenty of interesting non-closers to be had as well, such as Danny Coulombe, Phil Maton, Dennis Santana, Andrew Kittredge, and Anthony Bender. Beyond those veteran names, the Rockies are known to be open to moving many of their young relievers, and it’s even possible that someone like Camilo Doval could be available in the right deal. With so many viable late-inning relief arms available on the market, it would be something of a shock if the Phillies were to strike out on all of them.
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