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Red Sox Reinstate Masataka Yoshida, Transfer Nick Burdi To 60-Day IL

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The Red Sox announced today that they have reinstated outfielder/designated hitter Masataka Yoshida from the 60-day injured list. To open an active roster spot, infielder/outfielder Nate Eaton has been optioned to Triple-A Worcester. Right-hander Nick Burdi was transferred to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man spot.

Yoshida will be making his season debut in today’s game, serving as the designated hitter and batting sixth. He underwent shoulder surgery in October of last year and has been on the injured list until today. He was healthy enough to hit a long time ago but struggled to get his shoulder to a place where he could throw at full strength. That made him unable to play the field and essentially unrosterable. The Sox signed Alex Bregman in the winter and put him at third base, bumping Rafael Devers into the designated hitter spot on an everyday basis.

Much has changed since then. The DH move upset Devers and he was further rankled when Triston Casas got injured and the Sox asked him to learn first base. The relationship soured enough that the Sox flipped him to the Giants in a stunning deal.

That opened the DH spot, and Yoshida is now capable of playing the field, but the Sox still have quite a glut in the outfield. Today, Yoshida is in the DH spot with Roman Anthony in left, Jarren Duran in center and Wilyer Abreu in right. That leaves Ceddanne Rafaela on the bench, in addition to Rob Refsnyder. Yoshida has done some first base drills but isn’t considered much more than an emergency option there.

For now, manager Álex Cora will seemingly take turns benching guys from that mix, with Rafaela getting the first taste of that. Perhaps that can work for the short term but it’s an inelegant mix for the long term. Due to this cluster, there have been plenty of trade rumors surrounding players like Yoshida, Duran and Abreu, as observers speculate about the possibility of the Sox flipping one of them for some pitching.

Duran and Abreu are both strong players in their 20s, with Duran having three years of club control after this one and Abreu four. Yoshida, almost 32 years old, is seemingly less a key piece of the club’s future but his trade value wouldn’t be terribly high at the moment. He is making $18MM annually through the 2027 season. In his major league career, he’s been a poor fielder while his offense has been decent but not astounding. He currently sports a .285/.343/.433 batting line and 113 wRC+. As mentioned, he’s been on the IL all year until today.

Put it all together and it’s a tricky calculus for the Sox. Moving Yoshida is likely preferable for the long term but he would bring back less in a trade than some of their other players. With just a few weeks until the trade deadline, perhaps they will field some interesting calls from other clubs.

More to come.

Mariners Outright Jacob Hurtubise

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The Mariners announced that outfielder Jacob Hurtubise has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Tacoma. There wasn’t any previous indication he had been removed from the 40-man, so Seattle’s count drops to 39.

Hurtubise, 27, hasn’t yet appeared in a major league game with the Mariners. He was claimed off waivers from the Reds a few weeks ago and kept on optional assignment. Since then, he has hit .150/.269/.150 in ten Triple-A games. On the heels of that cold stretch, it seems the M’s decided it would be a good time to pass him through waivers and open a roster spot, which turned out to be correct.

Since Hurtubise has less than three years of big league service time and this is his first outright assignment, he does not have the right to elect free agency. The Mariners will therefore get to keep him as non-roster depth.

He has a small amount of major league experience but without success thus far. He currently sports a .167/.291/.212 batting line in 83 plate appearances with the Reds. But he has hit more in the minors, with some speed to boot. He had 715 plate appearances on the farm over 2023 and 2024 with a .306/.443/.437 batting line. His 15.1% walk rate was almost as high as his 15.7% strikeout rate. Overall, that production translated to a 138 wRC+. He also swiped 62 bags in 72 tries over those seasons.

This year has been a struggle but Hurtubise will try to get back in good form and earn his way back onto the roster. For the Mariners, they are surely happy to be able to hold onto a talented player while opening a roster spot for a future move.

Photo courtesy of Katie Stratman, Imagn Images

Marlins Claim Tyler Zuber, Designate Nick Nastrini

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1:47pm: The Marlins announced that Zuber has indeed been claimed off waivers from the Mets. Miami designated right-hander Nick Nastrini for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

The 25-year-old Nastrini was claimed off waivers from the White Sox eight days ago. He’s started one game in Jacksonville since that claim, pitching two innings and allowing a a pair of runs in a concerning manner; Nastrini didn’t allow a hit in that appearance but issued four walks and plunked three batters.

Once a well-regarded prospect in the Dodgers and White Sox systems, Nastrini pitched poorly in 35 2/3 big league innings during last year’s debut with the White Sox. He also struggled to a 5.29 ERA in 85 Triple-A frames and has been knocked around for a 7.58 earned run average in 46 1/3 Triple-A innings so far in 2025. Nastrini has long drawn praise for a pair of quality breaking balls that give him strong bat-missing abilities, but command has been persistently cited as a weakness in scouting reports — and that’s played out so far both in Triple-A and in the majors.

The Marlins will have five days to place Nastrini back on waivers or trade him to another club. He’s in his second of three minor league option years.

1:35pm: The Marlins claimed right-handed reliever Tyler Zuber off waivers from the Mets, reports Kevin Barral of Fish On First. He’s been optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville. The Mets designated Zuber for assignment over the weekend. Miami has yet to formally announce the waiver claim, which will require the team to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Zuber, 30, pitched in only one game with the Mets, allowing a pair of runs in two innings. He’s appeared in parts of four big league seasons between New York, Kansas City and Tampa Bay, working to a combined 5.27 ERA with a 25.2% strikeout rate and a 15.9% walk rate.

Zuber has also pitched in parts of four Triple-A seasons but carries an ERA north of 5.00 there as well. Command issues have dogged him, particularly in the upper minors, but he’s regularly shown an ability to miss bats — both in terms of his raw strikeout rate and his typically above-average swinging-strike rates. He’s in his final minor league option year, so the Marlins can shuttle him back and forth between Jacksonville and Miami without needing to expose Zuber to waivers.

While he’s typically been a three-pitch reliever in the past, Zuber has added a changeup to his repertoire in Triple-A this year and tossed the pitch at an 11% clip. He’s still leaning primarily on a four-seamer that’s averaging 93.8 mph, a slider in the 82-83 mph range and a cutter in the low 90s, but the addition of a changeup gives him another offering with which to experiment while he tries to work his way back to the big league level with his new club.

Brewers Acquire Steward Berroa

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Prior to facing each other on the field today, the Brewers and Dodgers have lined up on a trade, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Outfielder Steward Berroa, who was recently designated for assignment by the Dodgers, head to the Brewers in exchange for cash. The Brewers have placed him on the minor league injured list due to right shoulder bursitis. Right-hander Elvin Rodríguez has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot.

It’s the second DFA trade of the year for Berroa. He spent many years as a prospect in the Blue Jays’ system and got to make his major league debut with that club last year. He got squeezed off the roster in May and flipped to the Dodgers for cash. Now the same sequence of events gets him moved from the Dodgers to the Brewers.

Berroa, 26, has a decent floor as a speedy outfielder. He’s generally been good for about 50 steals per year in the minors, give or take, while playing all three outfield positions. His work at the plate has been a bit more questionable, but with some positive signs. Over the 2021 to 2023 seasons, he produced a combined .241/.350/.391 line and 108 wRC+ on the farm. His 13.7% walk rate was good but he also struck out 25.3% of the time.

Last year, he seemed to take a bit of a step forward. He got his strikeout rate down to 23.7% while still drawing walks at a healthy 11.7% clip. He produced a .281/.371/.454 line and 120 wRC+ in 79 Triple-A games. He also got up to the majors, chipping in for a Toronto team that was floundering last year. He walked at a 17.8% rate but was also punched out 31.1% of the time, leading to a .189/.333/.216 slash while he stole six bases in eight tries.

This year, he got out to an awful start in the Jays’ system. He bounced back tremendously with the Dodgers, but with a huge help from a .403 batting average on balls in play. Put together, he has a .270/.358/.345 line and 90 wRC+ at Triple-A this year with 20 steals. He last played on June 19th, presumably due to the shoulder issue that landed him on the IL today.

Berroa can still be optioned for the rest of this this year and one additional season, so he’ll give the Brewers some extra outfield depth. At worse, he can be a fourth outfielder, doing some pinch-running and defensive replacement work. The bat has been mercurial but could also potentially be useful, depending on how things swing.

In order to add that outfield depth, the Brewers are potentially losing Rodríguez. The Brewers signed him in January after he spent 2024 in Japan, posting a 1.80 earned run average over there. He hasn’t been anywhere close to that successful for Milwaukee this year. He has thrown 18 2/3 big league innings with an ERA of 8.68. His 20.2% strikeout rate and 8.3% walk rate are decent figures but he has allowed seven home runs in that small amount of time. He’s also tossed 29 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level with a 4.25 ERA.

He’ll now head into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so Milwaukee could take five days to explore trade interest. As a player with a previous career outright, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment if he clears waivers.

However, since he has less than five years of major league service time, he would have to forfeit his remaining salary commitments in order to exercise that right. His contract is a split deal which pays him $900K in the majors and $300K in the minors. The minimum salary at the Triple-A level is just above $35K, barely a tenth of what Rodríguez would make. That would presumably makes it unlikely he would elect free agency.

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images

MLB Mailbag: Cardinals, Rangers, J-Rod, Yankees, Bichette

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This week's mailbag gets into the Cardinals' deadline approach, the lefty relief market, offseason ideas for the Rangers, the Mariners trading Julio Rodriguez, who the Yankees could give up in trades, Bo Bichette's future, and much more.

Rich asks:

With two bad performances by starting pitchers, Miles Mikolas and Erick Fedde, will the Cardinals seek a trade for at least one veteran starting pitcher?

Sam asks:

Bernie Miklasz who seems pretty well sourced was talking about the Cardinals potentially trading Nootbaar. If they do that, what sort of return would the Cardinals get? His results are not good but his statcast data is great.

At the time of this writing, the Cardinals are 1.5 games out in the wild card with a 33.5% chance at the playoffs.

The first question reminds me a bit of the 2021 season, when John Mozeliak's Cardinals reached deadline day as a .500 club with just a 2-3% chance at the playoffs.  The club picked up veterans Jon Lester and J.A. Happ at the deadline, with Mozeliak saying, "We wanted to try to do it in a way that we wouldn't be giving up a lot of future talent; that was something that was sort of critical in our decision-making. Needless to say, today we felt like we took a couple steps forward without having to sacrifice our future."

The 2021 team went 39-21 from July 30th onward before losing the (lone) NL Wild Card game against the Dodgers.  Lester and Happ gave the Cardinals exactly what they wanted: innings.  Innings are generally what Mikolas and Fedde provide, having combined for 349 of them last year.  Sonny Gray has been excellent, while Matthew Liberatore and Andre Pallante have been solid.

Mikolas and Fedde do deserve ERAs around 5.00, and there's logic to seeking an upgrade - either one controllable beyond this year, or one in the Lester/Happ mold who doesn't cost much.  In my recent Cubs Trade Deadline Outlook, I named just about every potentially available starting pitcher I could think of, though Steve Adams suggested I add Drew Rasmussen.  The Cardinals have a very real shot at reaching the playoffs this year - perhaps more than they expected coming into the season - and I do think they should add a starter.

In an article Monday, Katie Woo of The Athletic noted that Fedde may not take his next turn in the rotation, and Mikolas shouldn't feel comfortable either.  Michael McGreevy is the next man up.  The 25-year-old has excelled in Triple-A and can probably do better than Fedde.

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Dodgers Transfer Michael Kopech To 60-Day IL

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The Dodgers announced today that right-hander Tyler Glasnow has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list, a move that was reported a few days ago. Righty Alexis Díaz was optioned to the minors to open an active roster spot and righty Michael Kopech was transferred to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man spot.

It’s a bit of a worrisome development for Kopech. He was only placed on the 15-day IL on July 1st, retroactive to June 28th, due to right knee inflammation. At that time, both the pitcher himself and manager Dave Roberts downplayed the severity. “I think we’re all hopeful it will be on the shorter end of it,” Roberts said last week, per Alden González of ESPN.

Either that comment wasn’t fully candid or something has changed since then, as this transfer now means that Kopech is ineligible to return until late August. The Dodgers haven’t yet provided any specific information about how long they expect Kopech to be out but the transfer provides at least a best-case scenario.

That’s an unfortunate development for both Kopech and the Dodgers. He also started the season on the IL due to a shoulder impingement and missed more than two months. He was healthy long enough to give the Dodgers seven shutout innings before going back on the IL again.

For the Dodgers, it’s yet another in a long line of injuries. They’ve been moving players on and off the IL all throughout the year, particularly on the pitching side. Even with Glasnow coming off the shelf today, they still have 11 arms on the IL. The bullpen is without Kopech, Evan Phillips, Blake Treinen, Brusdar Graterol and Michael Grove. Phillips and Grove had major surgeries and won’t be coming back this year.

If Kopech can return in August or September, then he could still be a part of the club’s bullpen down the stretch and into the postseason. Regardless, the Dodgers figure to add some arms prior to the deadline. All contending clubs look for bullpen additions at this time of year and the Dodgers should be even more motivated by their mounting injuries.

For Kopech personally, he’s an impending free agent. He could still return and go into the open market with some juice, but it’s been a less than ideal platform season so far. He previously struggled to establish himself as a starter with the White Sox, partially due to injuries, but a recent bullpen move seemed to be a good transition for him.

He tossed 43 2/3 innings out of Chicago’s bullpen last year. The 4.74 ERA wasn’t great, nor was the 12.6% walk rate, but he struck out 30.9% of batters faced. He reached another level after getting traded to the Dodgers, tossing 24 innings with a 1.13 ERA. His 33% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate were both slight improvements, though he also benefited from a .167 batting average on balls in play and 90.9% strand rate. Nonetheless, he played a key role in the playoffs, tossing nine innings with three earned runs allowed as the Dodgers went on to win it all.

Another full season as a relief weapon would have positioned him for a nice market this winter. Now, however, it’s possible the ongoing health problems will tamp down his earning power. As mentioned, he seemingly still has time to get healthy and finish strong but his injury history list continues to run long. He missed the 2019 season due to Tommy John surgery and has since spent time on the IL due to a strained left hamstring, left knee strain, right shoulder inflammation and right knee inflammation. He managed to avoid the IL last year while working as a reliever but now has been bit by the injury bug a few times here in 2025.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

Twins Designate Joey Wentz For Assignment

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The Twins announced Wednesday that they’ve designated left-hander Joey Wentz for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to fellow left-handed reliever Anthony Misiewicz, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A St. Paul.

Wentz, 27, was claimed off waivers out of the Pirates organization a bit less than a month ago. He’s been used in long relief and mop-up work with Minnesota and been hit hard. The former Braves top prospect has appeared in six games as a Twin and been scored upon in five of them, working to a disastrous 15.75 ERA (14 runs in eight innings). He’d previously pitched to a 4.15 ERA in 26 frames with Pittsburgh and now has an overall 6.88 ERA on the year.

Originally drafted 40th overall by Atlanta in 2016, Wentz was a well-regarded prospect who went from the Braves to the Tigers in the 2019 Shane Greene swap. He made his big league debut with Detroit but has never found much success in the majors as either a starter or reliever. He’s pitched in parts of four seasons and tallied 239 2/3 innings with a 5.75 ERA, 20.6% strikeout rate and 10.3% walk rate. Home runs (1.50 HR/9) and an inability to strand runners (66.5%) have been the primary undoing for Wentz.

Wentz is out of minor league options, so the Twins (like the Pirates before them) couldn’t simply send him to the minors without first designating him for assignment. Minnesota will either place Wentz on waivers or trade him within the next five days. Waivers would be another 48-hour process, meaning his DFA will be resolved in a maximum of seven days. Wentz has never cleared waivers before and has under three years of service time, so in the likely event that he’s unclaimed this time around, the Twins can assign him outright to St. Paul and hope to get him on track in Triple-A.

In place of Wentz, the Twins will turn to another lefty with a fair bit of MLB experience — but more success. The 30-year-old Misiewicz signed a minor league deal over the winter and has pitched decently with the Saints, logging a 4.02 ERA, a 24.2% strikeout rate and an 8.3% walk rate for the Twins’ top minor league club. He’s picked up eight saves and a hold along the way. Misiewicz was cruising along with a sub-3.00 ERA before a five-run hiccup against the Reds’ top affiliate in late June. He’s bounced back with a pair of perfect innings.

The Twins will be Misiewicz’s sixth big league team. He’s previously suited up for the Mariners, Royals, D-backs, Tigers and Yankees. From 2020-24, Misiewicz has pitched 115 2/3 major league innings and delivered a 4.67 ERA, a 22.8% strikeout rate and a 7.6% walk rate. He’s been using a three-pitch mix in St. Paul, brandishing a four-seamer that sits 91.6 mph, a cutter that sits 87.6 mph and a slow curve that’s averaged 78.5 mph.

Like Wentz, Misiewicz is out of minor league options, so he’ll either need to stick in the ’pen or else be designated for assignment himself. Misiewicz has three years of big league service, which technically makes him controllable for three more years beyond the current season, but he has a long ways to go before that future control is any real consideration.

Trade Deadline Outlook: Tampa Bay Rays

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The Rays are up next in MLBTR's team-by-team look at the upcoming trade deadline. Tampa Bay has weathered an uneven start to the season and emerged in the thick of the division race. The Rays are currently six games over .500, good for third place in the American League East but sole possession of the American League's second Wild Card spot. They're five games back of the division-leading Blue Jays.

While most clubs tend to pick a buy or sell lane, the Rays are always open to a bit of a mixed-bag approach. They're constantly working to walk the line between rebuilding and contending and are never afraid to trade from the major league roster. President of baseball operations Erik Neander and his staff will be looking to add to the roster ahead of what looks like a very likely playoff run, but the Rays will probably still get some calls on some of their pricey veterans with dwindling levels of club control.

Record: 49-43 (57.3% playoff odds, per FanGraphs)

Other series entries: Rockies, Giants, Phillies, Pirates, Astros, Marlins, Athletics, Orioles, White Sox, Nationals, Cubs

Buy Mode

Potential needs: Outfield, catcher, right-handed bat, another reliever

It's always tough to identify exact needs on a well-rounded club. That's the Rays in 2025, but the outfield has been a revolving door of less-than-ideal options. Kameron Misner has seen the most plate appearances of any Ray in the outfield this year, and he's batted .214/.274/.347 in 216 plate appearances there. He faded badly after a hot start and was optioned to Triple-A Durham in late June.

Each of Jake Mangum, Josh Lowe, Christopher Morel and Chandler Simpson has received between 166 and 206 plate appearances in the outfield. Mangum and Morel have hit well but done so with the help of plenty of good fortune on batted balls. Simpson is getting his second look in the majors and using his speed and elite contact skills to produce solid offense. He could lead the majors in stolen bases but has 20-grade power (on the 20-80 scale), a well below-average walk rate and shaky defense in center. Lowe was terrific in 2023, pedestrian in 2024, and is somewhere in between in 2025.

The Rays have enough outfield options that they could mix-and-match for the rest of the season, playing the hot hand and rotating outfielders based on matchups they deem favorable. It's a tactic we've seen before from manager Kevin Cash (at various places on the roster), but some more stability and more power, in particular, might be welcome. Rays outfielders have been about league-average offensively on the whole, but they're benefiting from a .339 average on balls in play and rank 27th in the majors with a .121 isolated power mark (slugging percentage minus batting average). Only the Guardians and Royals have received fewer home runs from their outfield than the Rays' total of 21.

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MLBTR Podcast: Firings in Washington, Bad Braves, And An AL East Shake-Up

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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 Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

Check out our past episodes!

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

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images

Yankees Designate Geoff Hartlieb For Assignment

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The Yankees announced Wednesday that they’ve designated right-handed reliever Geoff Hartlieb for assignment. His spot on the 40-man and 26-man rosters will go to pitching prospect Cam Schlittler, whose previously reported promotion is now official. Schlittler’s contract has been selected from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and he’ll make his major league debut when he starts today’s game against the Mariners.

Hartlieb, 31, has appeared in two games for the Yankees this season. He’s allowed three runs in both, resulting in a grisly 40.50 ERA through 1 1/3 innings. He’s been very good in a larger sample of 35 Triple-A frames, working to a 3.34 ERA with a sharp 26.2% strikeout rate and strong 6.9% walk rate. Hartlieb has a solid overall track record in Triple-A, but he’s struggled badly in parts of six big league seasons between the Pirates, Mets, Marlins, Rockies and now Yankees. In 80 2/3 MLB frames, he carries a 7.92 earned run average.

The Yankees have five days to trade Hartlieb or place him on waivers (a 48-hour process) in order to resolve his DFA within the maximum allotted window of one week. This is his second DFA of the season in the Bronx — the Yankees also designated him following his first appearance — and he accepted an outright assignment after clearing waivers the last time. There’s a good chance this time will play out similarly, though Hartlieb will have the right to reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency if he goes unclaimed.

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