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Cardinals Acquire Fedde, Pham; Dodgers Acquire Edman, Kopech In Three-Team Deal With White Sox

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What’s a trade deadline without a convoluted three-team swap? The Cardinals, White Sox and Dodgers have announced a three-team, eight-player deal (possibly including up to 10 players) that breaks down as follows:

It’s a massive exchange of veteran names that’ll have significant postseason implications for a pair of National League contenders. The Cardinals, in need of rotation help and a right-handed bat, checked two boxes with today’s swap, while the Dodgers added some needed positional versatility to help cover multiple weak spots in the lineup and a hard-throwing reliever with an extra season of club control.

Starting with the Cardinals, they’ll bolster their starting staff not just this season but also in 2025. Fedde, a former first-round pick and top prospect with the Nationals, flamed out in five seasons here in MLB before heading to the KBO’s NC Dinos for one year. He spent the 2023 season in South Korea, added a splitter and changed the shape of his breaking ball, and dominated KBO opponents en route to an MVP Award. He returned to MLB on a two-year, $15MM deal with the White Sox and has immediately established himself as a new and highly improved pitcher.

In 121 2/3 innings for the ChiSox, Fedde has pitched to a sharp 3.11 ERA. His 21.5% strikeout rate is shy of league-average by one percentage point, but his 6.8% walk rate is strong and his 44.7% grounder rate is also a bit better than average. He’s avoided hard contact (88.1 mph average exit velocity, 36% hard-hit rate) and kept opponents off balance with a four-pitch mix including a cutter, sinker, slider and split-changeup.

Fedde solidifies the back of a veteran Cardinals rotation that has been without lefty Steven Matz (back strain) since late April. The Cards have been relying on righty Andre Pallante to help patch things over, and while he’s been a godsend in that role (3.42 ERA in nine starts), the 25-year-old is also already just four innings shy of his 2023 total and can be a vital piece in the bullpen as well.

The addition of Fedde will prove vital for a Cardinals club that only had three starters signed through the 2025 season as well. Sonny Gray is being paid $25MM annually from 2024-26, while Miles Mikolas is owed $20MM next year. Matz will be in the fourth and final season of his own $44MM contract next year, but his ongoing health troubles make it tough to bank on him. The Cardinals hold club options over veterans Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson, but neither is a lock to be picked up. Fedde, owed $7.5MM this year and next, gives the Cardinals some long-term stability at a highly affordable rate.

In addition to their desired rotation upgrade, the Cards will get the right-handed bat they’ve been seeking. It’ll come in the form of a reunion with Pham, whom they originally selected in the 16th round of the 2006 draft. Pham made his big league debut with the 2014 Cardinals and spent the next three-plus seasons in St. Louis before being traded to the Rays in a deal that brought Genesis Cabrera and Justin Williams back to the Cardinals.

Pham, now 36, has since played for six additional teams. The Rays traded him Padres after two seasons, and he’s since signed free-agent deals with the Reds, Mets and White Sox — getting traded at the deadline in three consecutive seasons. Pham has remained productive at the plate even as he’s become a year-to-year mercenary in his mid-30s. He slashed .256/.328/.446 between the Mets and D-backs in 2023 and owns a .266/.330/.380 output in 297 plate appearances with the White Sox.

Pham won’t receive everyday at-bats in his return to Busch Stadium, but Pham’s hefty .255/.377/.471 line against lefties will make him a useful part-time player for manager Oli Marmol. He’ll make for a nice platoon partner for glove-first center fielder Michael Siani (with Pham presumably taking over in left field and Lars Nootbaar manning center against southpaws).

In order to open a 40-man roster spot, the Cardinals designated catcher Nick Raposo for assignment. The 26-year-old signed with the Cards as an undrafted free agent after the truncated five-round draft in 2020. He was selected to the MLB roster earlier this summer to help account for some catching injuries, but he didn’t get into a big league game. He’s hitting .193/.251/.349 in Triple-A this season but turned in a more encouraging .241/.321/.386 slash last year between Double-A and Triple-A. The Cards could trade him before tomorrow’s deadline, and if not, he’ll be placed on outright waivers.

That the Cardinals were able to acquire both Fedde and Pham while only surrendering Edman and a 17-year-old they just signed as an international free agent earlier this year is somewhat remarkable. It’s a nice feather in the cap of president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, general manager Mike Girsch and the rest of the St. Louis baseball ops staff. The Cards added two big league contributors to a contending club and did so not only without sacrificing any prospects — but without sacrificing anyone who’s contributed to their second-place team at any point this season.

That’s not to denigrate Edman as a player, of course — far from it. The switch-hitting 29-year-old is as versatile as he is talented when healthy, and he’ll presumably be healthy enough to join the Dodgers in short order. Edman hasn’t played this season due to a longer-than-expected recovery process from offseason wrist surgery and an ankle sprain he suffered while rehabbing that wrist. Edman has played four games with the Cardinals’ Double-A affiliate on a minor league rehab assignment and figures to now continue his rehab work in the Dodgers’ system. He’ll have about two more weeks of rehab window before he needs to be activated, though Los Angeles can certainly do so sooner if they see fit.

Edman has spent four-plus seasons in the big leagues, playing second base, shortstop, third base and all three outfield positions. He rather incredibly grades out as an above-average defender at each of those positions, per Statcast and Defensive Runs Saved alike. That jack-of-all-trades skill set is emblematic of the type of player the Dodgers try to roster as often as possible. Edman, once healthy, will give L.A. an option at shortstop or second base, helping to cover for the loss of Mookie Betts. Once Betts returns, Edman can either play shortstop (with Betts moving to second base), second base (with Betts at short and Miguel Rojas in a utility role) or anywhere in the outfield (with Rojas and Betts handling middle infield duties).

Beyond the defensive wizardry, Edman has proven himself a capable hitter. He’s yet to recreate the terrific .304/.350/.500 line he posted as a Cardinals rookie in 2019, but he’s a career .265/.319/.408 hitter in 2425 plate appearances. He’s not a big home run threat but has hit between 11 and 13 homers in all four of his full big league seasons (plus five homers in the shortened 2020 campaign). He doesn’t walk especially often (6.2%) but also rarely strikes out (16.5%). On top of that, Edman offers 88th percentile sprint speed (per Statcast) and has swiped 106 bags in 123 attempts at the MLB level (86.2%).

Edman signed a two-year, $16.5MM contract in the 2022-23 offseason, buying out his final two seasons of arbitration eligibility. He’s earning $7MM this season and another $9.5MM next year. The Dodgers are a third-time luxury tax offender in the top tier of penalization, so they’ll pay a 110% tax on the average annual value both of Edman’s contract and of Kopech’s one-year deal with the club.

Onto Kopech, the 28-year-old former top prospect gives the Dodgers one of baseball’s hardest-throwing relievers for the remainder of this year and all of 2025. He’ll be arbitration-eligible this winter and owed a raise on this year’s modest $3MM salary.

The White Sox have used Kopech both as a starter and reliever, but lackluster command of his dynamic arsenal has undercut his effectiveness in both roles. He’s been used exclusively out of the ’pen in 2024 and saved nine games while pitching 43 2/3 innings of 4.74 ERA ball. The earned run average isn’t going to draw much fanfare, but Kopech has averaged a blistering 98.5 mph on his four-seamer, fanned 30.9% of his opponents and generated a gaudy 14.1% swinging-strike rate. He’s been plagued by a 12.6% walk rate and 1.65 HR/9, but Kopech has shown flashes of potential as a powerhouse, shutdown reliever.

Kopech is currently in the midst of his best stretch of the season. After getting blown up for four runs back on July 7, he’s rattled off 5 2/3 shutout innings with an 8-to-1 K/BB ratio. The Dodgers, who have a knack for maximizing pitching performances, are surely thrilled to get their hands on a pitcher with Kopech’s blazing heater and hard slider. Whether they can coax the level of performance from him that has long seemed dormant in Kopech’s talented but inconsistent right arm remains an open question, but if they’re able to do so, he’s a high-octane weapon who can take on a leverage role in a bullpen that has seen closer Evan Phillips struggle of late.

Los Angeles will also pick up the 17-year-old Gonzalez, who’s not considered to be among the Cardinals’ top-ranked prospects but did command a relatively notable $400K signing bonus out of Panama just seven months ago. The 6’4″, 200-pound righty has pitched 21 1/3 innings for the Cardinals’ Rookie-level Dominican Summer League affiliate and posted a 4.22 ERA while punching out 28.6% of his opponents against a 7.7% walk rate.

Turning to the rebuilding White Sox’ end of the deal, their return is headlined by Vargas, who’ll presumably step right onto the big league roster. The 24-year-old ranked among the sport’s top 100 prospects heading into the 2023 season but has fallen down the depth chart in Los Angeles after struggling to carry his excellent minor league production over to the majors. Vargas has appeared in 129 big league games and taken 434 plate appearances, but he’s a .201/.294/.364 hitter in that time.

Rough as those numbers are, Vargas has continued to absolutely pummel Triple-A pitching this season. He’s hitting .290/.440/.556 in Oklahoma City and has a career .297/.412/.512 batting line there in 996 plate appearances. He’s played third base, second base, first base and left field in his career, with the bulk of his experience coming at third base and second base. Vargas has regularly been blocked by more veteran, more expensive players at those positions but should get a full run at third base or second base with his new team.

Some Sox fans may bristle at the notion of a former top prospect headlining this deal, rather than a current one, but Vargas still has five seasons of club control remaining and has already gotten his feet wet in the majors. He’s an on-base machine who’s walked at an impressive 11.1% clip even while struggling in the big leagues and has fanned in a below-average 20.7% of his MLB plate appearances. It’s not hard to envision a scenario where he improves on both of those rate stats as he gets more big league experience and begins to solidify himself as a bona fide MLB-caliber hitter.

Joining Vargas in the White Sox’ system will be Albertus and Perez: both 19-year-old infielders who signed with the Dodgers as international free agents in 2022 (Albertus out of Aruba, Perez out of the Dominican Republic). Baseball America ranked both players inside the Dodgers’ top-20 prospects heading into the 2024 season, and both currently reside in that same range on MLB.com’s updated list of the top 30 Dodgers prospects.

Albertus has split the season between the Dodgers’ Rookie-level Arizona Complex League affiliate and Class-A affiliate. He tore through the former at a .342/.479/.459 pace with more walks (18.9%) than strikeouts (14%) and is hitting .229/.317/.329 in 82 plate appearances against more advanced pitching. Baseball America credits him with a plus hit tool and the potential for average power, calling him a bat-first infield prospect who could see regular playing time across multiple positions. MLB.com lauds him for having one of the most disciplined approaches in a deep Dodgers system and calls him a potential regular at second or third.

Perez has spent the entire season in Class-A and carries a hearty .264/.380/.420 batting line with 10 homers in 350 trips to the plate. He’s walked at a huge 13.7% clip against a 22% strikeout rate despite being just over two years younger than the average player in the league. Both BA and MLB.com note that he lacks a true plus tool but is solid across the board. Like Albertus, he draws praise for an advanced approach at the plate that’s well beyond his years. Perez has good contact skills and the ability to play multiple positions.

For a White Sox club that is often characterized by low-OBP, all-or-nothing hitters, the focus on bringing in three infielders with huge on-base ceilings feels like a rather targeted focus. None of the three players are going to jump to immediately land among the top 50 prospects in the game — Vargas isn’t even prospect-eligible anymore — but they all have a relatively similar feel and offer a potential glimpse at the type of hitters that rookie GM Chris Getz would prefer to see populating his roster in future seasons.

KPRC-2’s Ari Alexander reported Sunday night that the Sox, Dodgers and Cards had engaged in some level of discussions on a three-team deal involving Fedde and Edman. Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reported Monday that a three-team deal was nearing the finish line. Ken Rosenthal and Katie Woo of The Athletic reported that Fedde would go to the Cardinals and Edman to the Dodgers. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale first reported that Vargas, Perez and Albertus were headed to the White Sox. FanSided’s Robert Murray reported that Pham was going to the Cardinals. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the Cardinals were giving up an low-level minor leaguer.

White Sox Select Touki Toussaint

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The White Sox selected Touki Toussaint onto the MLB roster on Monday evening. Chicago had a pair of vacancies on their 40-man roster.

Toussaint is up for the first time this season. Chicago had outrighted him off the roster at the end of Spring Training. He has worked in a swing role with Triple-A Charlotte, starting eight of 17 outings. In 50 2/3 innings, he owns a 5.15 ERA with a modest 20.4% strikeout rate and an alarming 16.3% walk percentage.

A former D-Backs first-round pick, Toussaint owns a 5.21 ERA across parts of six big league campaigns. He has pitched for four teams, including a brief stint with the ChiSox late last season. While his Triple-A production this year is lackluster, he can work in long relief for a team that already dealt Michael Kopech and will probably move another reliever or two by Tuesday’s deadline.

Lucas Erceg “Drawing Significant Interest”

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Hard-throwing Athletics righty reliever Lucas Erceg is “drawing significant interest,” according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.  Erceg, 29, is controllable for five seasons beyond this one.

Erceg, a second round pick by the Brewers back in 2016, had served as a two-way player in college but didn’t get serious about pitching until 2021.  This year, his second for the A’s, Erceg has cut his formerly worrisome walk rate down to 8.3%.  That’s paired with a healthy 26.3 K% and a 98.8 average fastball velocity that ranks 13th in MLB.  Erceg also has a strong 50.5% groundball rate and excellent barrel and hard-hit rates, so the ingredients are in place for an ERA lower than his current 3.68 mark.

Erceg spent a couple weeks on the IL for forearm tightness earlier this season.  He’s shown no ill effects with his fastball velocity, but did struggle for a couple of weeks upon his return.  Erceg’s past three outings have been scoreless, however, including a save Friday in Los Angeles.

Erceg’s bullpen-mate Mason Miller, one of the few relievers in baseball who throws harder, fractured his left pinkie a few days ago.  That moves Erceg up in the pecking order for A’s manager Mark Kotsay, along with fellow trade candidate Scott Alexander.  According to Rosenthal, the A’s have also “exchanged names” with teams on Alexander, a veteran lefty who bears little resemblance to Erceg as a pitcher.

Michael Kopech, who sits just above Erceg on the velocity rankings, landed with the Dodgers in a three-team deal Monday afternoon.  ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel connected the Phillies to both relievers earlier today, though he was unsure how the Phillies’ acquisition of Carlos Estevez affects their interest. Erceg, who will not be arbitration-eligible 2026 at the earliest, could be of particular appeal to teams with competitive balance tax concerns.

Pirates, Red Sox Swap Quinn Priester For Nick Yorke

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The Red Sox and Pirates announced a one-for-one dealing sending right-hander Quinn Priester to Boston and second base prospect Nick Yorke to Pittsburgh. Boston already has a vacancy on their 40-man roster and optioned Priester to Triple-A Worcester. Pittsburgh assigned Yorke to their top affiliate in Indianapolis.

Priester, 23, has pitched in the majors in each of the past two seasons. He has started 16 of 20 appearances, struggling to a 6.46 ERA across 94 2/3 innings. His 15.4% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk percentage are each on the wrong side of league average, the strikeouts especially so. Preister has kept the ball on the ground at a robust 53.9% clip but seen an inordinate amount of the fly balls against him clear the fence. He’s allowing more than 1.8 home runs per nine innings.

While he hasn’t had the most auspicious start to his major league career, Priester isn’t far removed from being one of the top pitching prospects in the sport. The Bucs selected him 18th overall out of high school in the 2019 draft. By the 2020-21 offseason, he’d cracked most Top 100 prospect lists. Evaluators had particular praise for Priester’s curveball during his time in the minors, but he’s had a fairly balanced five-pitch mix (sinker, slider, four-seam, curveball, changeup) in the majors.

Some scouting reports had questions about the quality of Priester’s fastball — specifically whether he had enough movement to miss bats. His sinker and four-seam each sit around 93 MPH and have been hit hard by major league hitters. He’s had far more success in the minors, though. Priester owns a 3.81 ERA over parts of three Triple-A campaigns. That includes a 3.21 mark with 36 strikeouts and just seven walks over 33 2/3 innings this year.

Boston’s player development staff will try to help Priester translate his intriguing raw stuff and minor league production into better MLB results. They’ll have plenty of time to do so. The 6’3″ hurler is in his second of three option years. He has around 133 days of major league service. It’s possible he crosses the 172-day threshold to reach a full service year in 2024, but he’d still be under control for five seasons beyond this one. If the Sox send him down to Triple-A Worcester at any point, that could push his free agent timeline back and give Boston six full years of control.

Priester will begin his Sox tenure in the minors. Boston has Nick Pivetta, Brayan Bello, Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford and recent trade pickup James Paxton in their rotation. The Paxton acquisition nudged sixth starter Cooper Criswell back to relief. Priester probably slots seventh on the depth chart and can move up and down off the MLB roster as needed.

Pittsburgh has a fair bit of rotation depth themselves. Paul Skenes and Jared Jones had clearly surpassed Priester on the organizational hierarchy. Mitch Keller fits comfortably as their #3 arm. Luis Ortiz, Marco Gonzales and Martín Pérez are rounding out the starting five while Jones is shelved by a lat strain. The Bucs could soon welcome Bailey Falter back from the IL and bump Pérez from the rotation. As MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald explored in a post for Front Office subscribers a couple weeks ago, that enabled them to trade a starter for a controllable bat.

Yorke is on the doorstep of the majors. Boston’s first-round pick out of high school in the 2020 draft, he’s having a strong season in the high minors. Yorke hit .251/.325/.366 over 45 Double-A contests and has been particularly impressive since a promotion to Triple-A. Over 38 games for the Sox’s affiliate in Worcester, he turned in a .310/.408/.490 slash with six homers and nearly as many walks (14.2%) as strikeouts (18.9%).

The 22-year-old Yorke has played mostly second base in his professional career. He has a bit of experience in left field as well. The Bucs are presumably planning to use him at the former position. Pittsburgh hasn’t gotten much out of second base all season. Nick Gonzales, whom Pittsburgh took 10 picks ahead of Yorke in the 2020 draft, faded offensively after a hot start. He went on the injured list yesterday with a groin strain that’ll cost him at least a few weeks. That had seemed to push Jared Triolo or Alika Williams into short-term action.

Yorke, despite having no MLB experience, might already be a better hitter than either Triolo or Williams. He’ won’t directly join the MLB roster but could be up before too long. They’ll need to put him on their 40-man roster by next offseason at the latest to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.

Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs ranked Yorke 13th among Red Sox prospects earlier this month. Baseball America had him 14th in the system on their most recent update. Both outlets praise his hitting feel but write that he doesn’t have great athleticism or defensive chops. He has a chance to be a bat-first regular at the keystone who could make an impact down the stretch. While Yorke isn’t generally viewed as having the highest upside, there’d be ample value in a near-MLB regular whom the Bucs control for the next six-plus seasons.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the Red Sox and Pirates were finalizing a trade swapping Yorke for Priester. Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Yankees Designate Jahmai Jones For Assignment

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The Yankees announced that have designated infielder/outfielder Jahmai Jones for assignment and reinstated designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton from the injured list. Joel Sherman of The New York Post reported the moves on X prior to the official announcement.

Jones, 26, was claimed by the Yankees in February. Out of options, he has lasted on the roster through roughly two thirds of the season but didn’t get much playing time in his bench role. To this point, he has been sent to the plate 47 times while appearing in 33 contests. He hit .238/.304/.381 while striking out in 34% of his trips to the plate, lining up defensively at second base, third base and the outfield corners.

Throughout the year, the Yanks have welcomed DJ LeMahieu back from the IL and acquired Jazz Chisholm Jr., bolstering their position player mix and nudging Jones off the roster. They will now have just over 24 hours to explore trade talks but might end up putting Jones on waivers.

Jones may receive interest due to his previous prospect pedigree. He was a second-round pick of the Angels back in 2015 and subsequently got some top 100 love but he hasn’t really had much of a chance to prove himself at the major league level. The Angels added him to their 40-man roster in November of 2019 but Jones has only appeared in 69 MLB games over the past five seasons, bouncing to the Orioles, Brewers and Yankees.

But his work in the minors has continued to be impressive. Over the 2021 to 2023 seasons, he drew walks in 15.2% of his plate appearances, only striking out 21.8% of the time. He slashed a combined .254/.378/.441 in those seasons for a 114 wRC+. He also stole 25 bases in that time in 34 tries. He exhausted his final option year in 2023, which is why the Yankees haven’t been able to send him down this year.

Between his solid Triple-A offense, his past prospect pedigree and his defensive versatility, it’s possible that some club may give him a chance for the final few months of the season, likely a rebuilding club that has playing time to offer. He came into 2024 with less than a year of service time, meaning he can be retained for five seasons beyond this one if things click for him.

Tigers Recall Dillon Dingler, Select Bryan Sammons

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The Tigers announced a series of roster moves today, recalling catcher Dillon Dingler and infielder Ryan Kreidler. They also selected the contract of left-hander Bryan Sammons. One active roster spot was opened by last night’s Carson Kelly trade. The Tigers opened two more spots by optioning left-hander Easton Lucas and placing shortstop Javier Báez on the medical emergency/bereavement list. To open a 40-man spot for Sammons, right-hander Casey Mize was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reported last night that Dingler would be coming up to the majors for the first time.

Dingler, 25, was a second-round pick of the Tigers in 2020 and has been considered one of their top prospects since then. His defense behind the plate is considered strong but there’s more uncertainty with his offense, as he can hit for power but also strikes out a lot.

He has stepped to the plate just under 1500 times in his minor league career thus far, getting punched out in 27.5% of those. But he’s also displayed that power with 59 home runs. Overall, he’s hit .257/.344/.459 for a wRC+ of 114.

It appears he has made notable strides in the strikeout department this year, as he has only been punched out in 20.3% of his 301 Triple-A plate appearances. But he’s still hit 17 home runs and drawn walks at a 10% clip. All that leads to a .308/.379/.559 batting line and 137 wRC+. With Kelly now out of the picture, Dingler figures to get a decent amount of playing time, sharing the catching duties with Jake Rogers.

Sammons, 29, gets the call for the first time as well. He was drafted by the Twins back in 2017 and has never really been a top prospect. But he has been starting in the minors and might be needed to soak up some innings. Jack Flaherty was supposed to start tonight but was scratched as he’s likely to be traded at any moment. Beau Brieske is starting tonight in what is likely to be a bullpen game.

That could leave Sammons taking on some bulk innings. He has made 17 Triple-A starts this year with 84 innings pitched. In that time, he has a 4.18 ERA, 21.8% strikeout rate, 9.5% walk rate and 36.4% ground ball rate.

As for Mize, he landed on the IL July 3 due to a left hamstring strain. He’ll now be ineligible to return until 60 days from that point, which would be early September. Manager A.J. Hinch said it would be a “photo finish” to get back by that time, per Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic on X, so he might be able to return when first eligible.

Jack Flaherty Scratched From Start Tonight; Trade Expected Soon

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Tigers righty Jack Flaherty is being scratched from tonight’s start in Detroit against the Guardians, according to Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman of the New York Post.  Heyman says a trade “should be expected soon,” so the Tigers aren’t taking any chances.  Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press isn’t aware of a deal in place, but agrees the Tigers “still plan to trade him.”

Flaherty, 29 in October, has a 2.95 ERA in 18 starts this year.  Among pitchers with at least 100 innings, his 32 K% ranks fifth in all of MLB.  Flaherty will be a rental, given the one-year, $14MM deal he signed with the Tigers back in December.  The Tigers enter play tonight 5.5 games out in the wild card race, but their estimated 5.2% chance at the playoffs evidently is not enough to convince president of baseball operations Scott Harris to hang on to his co-ace and just issue a qualifying offer after the season.

Flaherty, a first-round pick by the Cardinals a decade ago, finished fourth in the NL Cy Young voting in 2019.  An oblique strain cost him more than two months in 2021, after which he strained his shoulder and had to work out of the bullpen.  Shoulder issues persisted into 2022, a season in which Flaherty tallied only 36 innings.  Amid an unimpressive ’23 season, the Cardinals shipped their former ace to the Orioles in an uneventful deal.  Just shy of a year later, the old Jack Flaherty is back, to the great benefit of the Tigers and his likely new team.  Flaherty missed a few starts in June due to a back injury, but he avoided the IL and has taken his last three turns with excellent results.

If a Flaherty trade is prospect-focused, it will represent a nail in the coffin on the Tigers’ 2024 season.  The club’s rotation depth is perilously thin behind Tarik Skubal and Flaherty, featuring veteran Kenta Maeda and rookie Keider Montero.  Reese Olson is on the IL with an apparently mild shoulder injury, while Casey Mize is working his way back from a hamstring injury.

Flaherty is a top target for many contenders, given his excellence, past success, and availability.  The Padres, Dodgers, Yankees, and Astros have been linked to him, and even the Orioles haven’t been ruled out despite the pitcher’s struggles with that club last year.  That’s likely not a complete list of suitors for Flaherty.

Marlins Claim David Hensley From Astros

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The Marlins announced that they have claimed infielder David Hensley off waivers from the Astros. The latter club designated him for assignment a week ago. The Marlins already had a vacancy on their 40-man roster and don’t need to make a corresponding move.

Hensley, 28, was selected to Houston’s 40-man roster in August of 2022 but has only played in 46 big league games since then, slashing a paltry .177/.273/.274 in those contests. His work in the minors has been better, but has also tailed off lately.

He slashed .298/.420/.478 at Triple-A in 2022, which led to a 130 wRC+ and Hensley getting the call to the big leagues. But he’s hit just .228/.358/.367 in 651 Triple-A plate appearances over 2023 and 2024, with that production translating to an 86 wRC+.

The Marlins had an open roster spot and there’s little harm in taking a shot on Hensley to see if his results bounce back. Despite the tepid results overall, he’s drawing walks in 15.1% of his plate appearances this year and can play all four infield spots, as well as the outfield corners. He’s also a threat for double-digit steals most of the time with 17 so far this year. He can be optioned for the rest of this year and one more season beyond that. He also has less than a year of service time and can be a long-term piece if he manages to carve out a role.

Braves Interested In Garrett Crochet

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White Sox lefty Garrett Crochet continues to be one of the most interesting names in the lead-up to the deadline. With just over 24 hours left to go, it’s unclear if he will be traded at all, but plenty of teams are interested. He’s already been connected to the Dodgers, Phillies and Padres to varying degrees, with Jon Heyman of The New York Post adding Atlanta to the pile today on X. Travis Sawchik of theScore reported on X last week that the Sox would prefer not to trade Crochet within the division, so the odds of him landing with another A.L. Central team would appear to be low.

Crochet is fairly unprecedented as a trade candidate due to his unusual trajectory. He was quickly called up to the majors in 2020 when he was only 21 years old. The Sox kept him in a relief role the year after and he pitched fairly well, but then Tommy John surgery wiped out most of his 2022 and 2023 seasons.

That left him in a strange spot coming into 2024. He had only thrown 73 major league innings due to the missed injury time and another 12 1/3 in the minors as part of his rehab assignment while coming back from surgery last year. But he collected service time while on the injured list and crossed three years of service in 2023, qualifying for arbitration. Since he had hardly pitched, his salary only got bumped to $800K, barely above the league minimum.

The Sox stretched him out as a starter here in 2024 and the results have vastly outpaced any reasonable expectations. The lefty has thrown 114 1/3 innings, already eclipsing his workload over the four previous years combined. He has allowed just 3.23 earned runs per nine innings, striking out 34.6% of batters faced. He has also limited walks to a 5.6% clip and gotten grounders on 46.8% of balls in play.

Most clubs would be clinging tightly to a pitcher who suddenly became an ace at the age of 25 but there are also factors pushing him onto the trade block. As mentioned, he has already qualified for arbitration and has just two years of club control remaining beyond this one. The Sox are absolutely awful this year, despite Crochet’s contributions, with a 27-81 record that could see them finish as one of the worst clubs of all time.

Given the low point the Sox are at, it’s fair to wonder if they can be competitive again in their window of control over Crochet. They reportedly explored an extension with him but didn’t get far, so he’s likely more valuable to them as a trade chip than as a player.

An ace pitcher with a tiny salary and two extra years of club control should give Crochet massive trade appeal but there are also complications. With the limited workload that he carried into this year, it’s led to questions about the best way to press forward, with some suggesting a move to relief work down the stretch would be the best option.

According to reporting from last week, Crochet prefers to continue in a starting role, believing that would be best for his health. He would want to sign an extension with any new club before being moved to the bullpen.

Relievers work fewer innings than starters overall but they have to pitch more frequently and essentially on-call. Perhaps Crochet believes he can better prepare his body for the regular schedule of starting, whereas bullpen work could involve pitching at any time, even on back-to-back days. It’s also possible that he and his reps are simply trying to leverage the trade interest into locking in some financial security, which is understandable. For a guy that has already missed significant time, it would be nice to have some money in the bank before a club leans on him heavily for a World Series run.

That could perhaps scare off some clubs that don’t want to both send significant prospects to Chicago and also commit notable dollars to Crochet. However, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports today that the Dodgers don’t view the extension as an obstacle.

This situation is somewhat analogous to the Tyler Glasnow circumstances from the offseason. While not exactly the same as Crochet, he had some workload concerns and was available in trade, though the Rays reportedly made an extension a condition of trade talks. In the end, the Dodgers sealed the deal, sending Ryan Pepiot and Jonny DeLuca to the Rays for Glasnow and Manuel Margot and locking Glasnow up through 2028.

It’s understandable why they might want to go down that path again, given their pitching challenges. Dustin May and Emmet Sheehan both required season-ending surgeries while Walker Buehler and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are each on the injured list as well. Bobby Miller struggled so bad that he got optioned down to the minors.

The club’s current rotation is fronted by Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw. Glasnow has a spotty health track record while Kershaw just returned from a lengthy absence due to shoulder surgery. They are backed up by three rookies in Gavin Stone, River Ryan and Justin Wrobleski. General manager Brandon Gomes has said the club is looking for “impact” additions and Crochet would certainly qualify. They already have lined up with the Sox on one major trade today, a three-team blockbuster that also involved the Cardinals.

Crochet’s modest salary is certainly part of the appeal for the Dodgers, as they are slated to be third-time payors of the competitive balance tax and are currently over the top tier. That means they will pay a 110% tax on any money they take on, so someone like Crochet would be more appealing than a veteran who is already making eight figures annually. The theoretical extension would increase his cost but the new deal would start in 2025 and wouldn’t impact his current CBT hit.

Turning to Atlanta, they have their own rotation challenges. Spencer Strider is out for the season due to UCL surgery while Max Fried, Hurston Waldrep and Huascar Ynoa are also on the IL at the moment. Reynaldo López was removed from his most recent start due to forearm tightness and is slated for an MRI.

That leaves them with a rotation nucleus consisting of Chris Sale and Charlie Morton. Sale is having a great season but missed most of the previous four years due to injury and is now 35 years old. Morton is 40 years old and his strikeout rate has been declining for four straight years. Spencer Schwellenbach has been filling in nicely but has ten big league starts to his name.

Adding Crochet in there would obviously be appealing and Atlanta is not afraid to sign extensions, having given multi-year pacts to most of their roster. Crochet’s minimal salary at present is also appealing on account of their CBT status. RosterResource has them at $273MM, just under the third CBT tier of $277MM. Going over that line would result in their top 2025 draft pick being bumped back ten spots, as well as an increased taxation rate.

As for the report that the Sox don’t want to move him within the division, that’s perfectly understandable. Most clubs don’t want to see their best players thriving on clubs that they play more often than others and the Sox should have plenty of suitors even while crossing a couple of teams off the list.

The Royals have a fairly strong rotation and just traded for Michael Lorenzen today, so they will probably be focused on adding offense in the days to come. The Twins and Guardians could use some rotation help but it seems they may have to shop in the non-Crochet aisle. The market also features such guys as Yusei Kikuchi, Jameson Taillon, Cal Quantrill and others.

Yankees Discussing Nestor Cortes In Trade Talks

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The Yankees are firm deadline buyers, but they’ve also been discussing left-hander Nestor Cortes with other teams, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He adds an unexpected name to the starting pitching market — presumably one for whom the Yankees would prefer to add big league talent. (Heyman adds that the Yankees have some interest in Cardinals utilityman Tommy Edman but does not go so far as to suggest the two sides have discussed a Cortes-for-Edman swap.)

On the one hand, it’s always a bit surprising to see a win-now club of this nature discuss an active member of its rotation in trades. On the other, the Yankees went down a similar path just two years ago with another left-hander, Jordan Montgomery, when they traded him to the Cardinals in exchange for center fielder Harrison Bader.

At the time, Montgomery was a quality fourth option in a deep Yankees rotation but not one who was going to make the team’s postseason rotation. There’s similar context here. The Yankees could go with a postseason rotation including a combination of Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, Luis Gil and/or a returning Clarke Schmidt. There’s also the possibility that GM Brian Cashman adds a more impactful arm to the group before tomorrow’s deadline.

Cortes, 29, is in the midst of a generally solid season but has floundered of late. He’s pitched to a 4.13 ERA in 124 1/3 innings, striking out 22.5% of his opponents (right on par with league average) and issuing walks at a tiny 5% clip along the way. However, he’s run into a rough patch of late, failing to complete five innings in each of his past three starts and serving up a total of 15 runs over the course of 13 2/3 innings during that mini-slump.

Like Montgomery in 2022, Cortes is affordable ($3.95MM salary) and controlled for one additional year. A new team would be able to retain him for the 2025 season via arbitration. He’ll be owed a raise of some note but should still see his salary fall well shy of $10MM.

This hasn’t been Cortes’ best season, but he’s solidified himself as a quality big league starter — and taken a unique path to getting there. The Orioles selected Cortes out of the Yankees’ system in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft but designated him for assignment that April and returned him to the Yankees. Just 18 months later, Cortes was designated for assignment by the Yankees, this time getting traded to the Mariners for international bonus allotments. Things didn’t pan out in Seattle, and Cortes returned to the Yanks as a minor league free agent in the 2020-21 offseason.

Since returning to the Bronx, Cortes touts a 3.38 ERA in 439 innings. He’s entrenched himself into the New York rotation, but with their control over the lefty dwindling and a solid collection of alternative options on the big league roster, flipping Cortes for some big league help in the infield — be it Edman or any number of other infield options presently on the market — or an outfielder who could push Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second base more regularly could work to the Yankees’ benefit.

All that said, it’d be somewhat surprising if the Yankees moved Cortes and didn’t backfill the rotation with a different addition. Cole has only made seven starts after spending the first two months of the season on the injured list with an elbow issue. Gil looks to have recovered from a rough patch he hit in June, but he’s up to 107 1/3 innings after pitching only four innings last year while mending from Tommy John surgery. Schmidt has been on the injured list since late May due to a lat strain. Rodon, like Gil, hit a rough spot in June and has righted the ship of late — but his track record in New York is spotty, to put things lightly. Stroman’s results have been solid (3.64 ERA) but he’s sporting career-worst strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates (leading to a 5.22 FIP and 4.85 SIERA).

There’s some sense to moving Cortes to address needs in another area — but only if they’re also adding a starting pitcher who’d more concretely slot into a playoff rotation and make up the remainder of Cortes’ innings for the balance of the regular season. That’s a tricky tightrope to walk, but it’s one the Yankees have navigated in the very recent past.

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