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Pirates To Acquire Bryan De La Cruz

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The Pirates are acquiring outfielder Bryan De La Cruz from the Marlins, according to multiple sources. The Marlins receive right-hander Jun-Seok Shim and infielder Garret Forrester in return.

De La Cruz, 27, was in the midst of his fourth season as a Marlin prior to this deal. An international signing of the Astros, he went to Miami in the 2021 deadline trade that sent Yimi García to the Astros. He’s now appeared in 431 major league games with his standout trait being his home run power.

In his 1,654 plate appearances, he has walked in 6.2% of them and struck out in 24.4% of them, with both of those rates being a bit worse than average. But he has launched 55 home runs in that time and stolen 12 bases. His .258/.305/.419 batting line translates to a wRC+ of 97.

Though De La Cruz has been three percent below league average at the plate in his career, the Bucs likely still consider that a notable upgrade. Pittsburgh outfielders have hit a collective .227/.300/.352 this year for a wRC+ of 83, or 17% below league average. That includes a monster showing from Bryan Reynolds, who is hitting .288/.354/.483 this year for a 133 wRC+. The rest of that output includes rough performances from Jack Suwinski, Michael A. Taylor, Edward Olivares, Joshua Palacios and others.

Defensively, De La Cruz doesn’t get strong grades. In over 3,000 innings at all three outfield spots, he’s currently been worth -10 Defensive Runs Saved and -16 Outs Above Average. He’s been close to league average in right field but that only makes up roughly 600 of those innings, as he has spent most of his time in left field.

The Bucs use Reynolds in left field almost every day so perhaps they are hoping that De La Cruz can be passable in right field and around average at the plate. While that might not be the most exciting development, it could still be a notable one for the Pirates. The club is just two games out of a playoff spot despite its warts, so a patch here and there might be enough to help them retain more water and stay afloat.

For a low-spending club like the Pirates, they are also undoubtedly attracted to his contract status. De La Cruz has not yet qualified for arbitration and is earning around the league minimum. He will pass three years of service time this season and qualify for arb this winter, with the Bucs able to retain him for three seasons after this one.

As for the Marlins, despite making the postseason last year, they have been in sell mode for a while. They did almost nothing in the offseason and then their cold start in 2024 prompted them to start selling early. It was in early May that they flipped Luis Arráez to the Padres for prospects. In the past week, they have leaned hard into that process, sending out A.J. Puk, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Trevor Rogers, Tanner Scott, Bryan Hoeing, Josh Bell, JT Chargois, Huascar Brazobán and De La Cruz, which has totally remade their farm system with a pile of new prospects.

In this deal, they get the 20-year-old Shim. He’s missed a lot of time due to injury, with just eight official innings on this ledger so far. However, Baseball America lists him as the Pirates’ #28 prospect at the moment.  Forrester, 22, was a third-round draft pick last year. He’s hitting .273/.413/.382 in High-A this year while splitting his time between catcher, first base and third base.

Last week, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the Bucs were interested in De La Cruz. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported on X today that he was indeed going to Pittsburgh. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com first reported Shim’s inclusion on X while Christina De Nicola of MLB.com had Forrester on X.

Royals Acquire Lucas Erceg

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The Royals have acquired right-hander Lucas Erceg from the Athletics, per announcements from both clubs. The A’s receive right-handers Mason Barnett and Will Klein as well as outfielder Jared Dickey.

Erceg took an unusual path to being a midseason trade target. He was drafted by the Brewers as a third baseman back in 2016 but flamed out as a hitter and eventually moved to the mound. In 2021, he tossed 47 2/3 innings at the Double-A level, allowing 5.29 earned runs per nine. As you might expect for a new convert to pitching, control was an issue at first. Erceg gave out walks to 16.4% of batters faced that year but he also got strikeouts at a decent 21.1% clip and grounders at a strong 56.8% rate.

He has generally made positive progress in each season since as he has become more accustomed to his new career path. In 2022, he logged 61 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A with a 4.55 ERA, a decent step forward from the prior season. His strikeout and walk rates also improved to 24.4% and 13.1%, respectively.

In 2023, he started the year back at Triple-A before he was traded from Milwaukee to Oakland in a cash deal, with the A’s adding him to their roster shortly thereafter. He tossed his first 55 major league innings last year with a 4.75 ERA, 27.1% strikeout rate, 14.3% walk rate and 46.1% ground ball rate. The control was still an issue but it was an encouraging debut nonetheless, especially for a guy with such a limited track record on the mound. He averaged 98 miles per hour with both his four-seam fastball and his sinker while also throwing a changeup, slider and cutter.

His second major league season has seen him continue to grow. His 26.3% strikeout rate is a slight drop from last year but he has cut his walk rate all the way down to 8.3%, with his ground ball rate also creeping up to 50.5%. That’s resulted in a 3.68 ERA in 36 2/3 innings, with Erceg racking up three saves and 12 holds on the year.

The A’s didn’t necessarily have to trade Erceg now. He came into this season with less than a year of service time, meaning he can still be retained for five seasons after the current campaign, but there are also logical reasons why they were tempted to make him available.

Due to his unusual trajectory, Erceg is now 29 years old. With the A’s deep in a rebuild, he will be in his early 30s and into his arbitration seasons by the time they are likely to be competitive again. Relievers are generally considered pretty volatile in general and that might be even more true with Erceg, who has such limited experience relative to most of his peers. Rather than hold him and take the risk that his performance takes a downturn or he suffers an injury, the A’s decided to make him available at this deadline, while the industry consensus has generally been that the acquisition costs for pitching have been quite high.

The Royals have surged back into contention after many years of struggles and have been aggressive in bolstering their roster for a playoff push. The bullpen has naturally been a target area for the club this year, as their relievers have a collective 4.30 ERA that places them 24th in the majors. Their 18.6% strikeout rate is actually second to last, ahead of only the Rockies.

They acquired Hunter Harvey from the Nationals recently and this trade for Erceg will give them a couple of fresh arms who both have big punchout potential. They also added Michael Lorenzen as a swingman to bolster the group in general, as he can help them in multiple ways.

Considering the A’s just got Erceg in a cash deal last May, they are likely quite happy to cash him in for three younger players barely over a year later. Barnett, 23, was a third-round pick of the Royals in 2022. He made 23 starts last year between High-A and Double-A with a 3.30 ERA, 28.8% strikeout rate and 10.5% walk rate. His ERA has jumped to 4.91 at Double-A this year but with similar peripherals. His .336 batting average on balls in play and 64.2% strand rate are probably masking those underlying metrics, as he has a 27.4% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate. Baseball America currently lists him as the #11 prospect in the Royals’ system while FanGraphs has him slightly higher at #7.

Klein, 24, is a reliever who made his major league debut this year. He has 5 2/3 innings in the show so far with a 6.35 ERA. Command appears to be the biggest issue with him. Since being selected in the fifth-round of the 2020 draft, he has tossed 216 minor league innings with a 5.17 ERA. His 30.7% strikeout rate is quite impressive but he’s also given free passes to 16.1% of batters that have come to the plate. BA and FG both put him at #16 in the system.

Dickey, 22, was just drafted in the 11th round last year. He’s slashing .269/.360/.424 in High-A this year for a wRC+ of 127 and has also stolen eight bases. Neither BA nor FG have him on their KC prospect lists.

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported on X that Erceg was headed to the Royals. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported the return on X.

Angels Acquire Mike Baumann From Giants

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2:10pm: The Angels announced that they have acquired Baumann from the Giants for cash considerations.

2:00pm: The Angels are acquiring right-hander Mike Baumann from the Giants, reports Robert Murray of FanSided on X. The righty was designated for assignment by the Giants a few days ago. It’s unclear what that club is receiving in return. The Angels have open 40-man spots and won’t need to make a corresponding move.

Baumann, 28, spent his entire professional career with the Orioles prior to 2024 but has spent the year bouncing around the league. He exhausted his final option year in 2023 and has therefore found himself on the transaction logs many times. He was designated for assignment by the O’s in May and has since gone to the Mariners, Giants and now Angels in small trades after DFAs.

Pitching for three different clubs this year, he has a 4.84 earned run average in 35 1/3 innings. His 20.8% strikeout rate, 10.7% walk rate and 40.2% ground ball rate are each a bit worse than league average.

But he seemed to be a solid bullpen piece as recently as last year. He tossed 64 2/3 innings for Baltimore with a 3.76 ERA, 22.3% strikeout rate and 42% ground ball rate, though the 12.1% walk rate was on the high side.

The Angels traded away Carlos Estévez recently and could make further subtractions from their pitching staff. Tyler Anderson and Griffin Canning are each controlled through 2025 and could be moved today. Guys like Matt Moore and Hunter Strickland are impending free agents. Bauman will finish this year with over two years of service time, meaning he could be retained for four further seasons if he continues to hang onto a roster spot.

Yankees Acquire Mark Leiter Jr.

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The Yankees announced that they have acquired right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. from the Cubs. In return, the Cubs will receive infielder Ben Cowles and right-hander Jack Neely. The Yankees had two open 40-man spots and jump to 39, while the Cubs drop down to 38.

Leiter, now 33, has been great for the Cubs over the past few years after a late-bloomer trajectory. The son of Mark Leiter and nephew of Al Leiter, the younger Mark made it to the big leagues by 2017 but didn’t impress in his first tastes of the show. By the end of 2018, he had a 5.53 earned run average in 114 big league innings. He then required Tommy John surgery early in 2019 and was on the shelf for an extended period of time. He signed a minor league deal with the Tigers in 2021 but didn’t get a call to the show.

A minor league deal with the Cubs going into 2022 turned into the opportunity he needed. He was selected to the big league roster by mid-April that year and eventually tossed 65 2/3 innings for the Cubs with a 3.99 ERA. He struck out 25.9% of batters faced while giving out walks at an 8.9% clip and kept the ball on the ground at a 48.9% rate.

Despite that generally strong work, he was nudged off the club’s roster in January of 2023. He had exhausted his final option year and so the Cubs designated him for assignment, with all 29 clubs passing on the chance to grab him off waivers. He elected free agency but re-signed with the Cubs on a minor league deal prior to the next season.

He was added back to the roster for Opening Day and has been a key part of the Chicago bullpen since then. Going back to the start of 2023, he has a 3.75 ERA in 100 2/3 innings. His strikeout rate is up to 30.9% in that time while he still has decent walk and ground ball rates of 8.8% and 47.1% respectively.

This year’s 4.21 ERA doesn’t look pretty but that’s mostly due to a tiny strand rate of 55%, well below the 71.9% league average. Since he’s striking out 34.9% of batters faced and also getting grounders at a 50.6% clip, his 2.11 FIP and 2.42 SIERA suggest he’s been about two runs better than his ERA would have you believe.

The Cubs have been balancing present and future needs at this deadline. Just over a week ago, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said that the club would be prioritizing “2025 and beyond” in their transactions. That didn’t necessarily point to a deadline selloff, as the club then went out and acquired Isaac Paredes from the Rays and Nate Pearson from the Blue Jays, with both of those players having multiple years of control.

But there were also some rumors that they might make some pitching available and there’s a logic to Leiter being moved out. Due to his unusual trajectory, Leiter still has a couple of years of club control remaining after this one. But given his age, the Cubs probably didn’t consider him a core piece of their future-focused agenda and made him available.

Those circumstances are likely also why the win-now Yankees wanted to get him. He only just qualified for arbitration for the first time coming into this season and is making $1.5MM, not much above this year’s $740K league minimum. The Yankees are slated to pay the competitive balance tax for a third straight year and finish well above the top tier. That means they face a 110% tax rate for any new spending, so Leiter’s minimal salary fits in nicely for them, and they can keep him around for two more years beyond this one.

While Leiter is cheap in terms of dollars, the Yankees have paid the price of two prospects to get him. Neely, 24, was an 11th-round pick in the 2021 draft. He’s been exclusively a reliever in his professional career, racking up significant strikeout totals. In 160 1/3 minor league innings overall, he has a 2.75 ERA, 38.8% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate. That includes 41 2/3 innings this year between Double-A and Triple-A with a 2.81 ERA, 36% strikeout rate and 9.1% walk rate. Baseball America currently lists him as the #20 prospect in the Yankees’ system.

Cowles, 24, was a 10th-round pick in 2021 and has played in 88 Double-A games this year. His .294/.376/.472 batting line leads to a strong 141 wRC+, indicating he’s been 41% better than league average. His .340 batting average on balls in play is high but he’s also got strong walk and strikeout rates of 10.3% and 17.7%, respectively. He also has 14 steals and has lined up at the three infield spots to the left of first base.

Both Neely and Cowles are Rule 5 eligible this winter, so the Yankees would have been facing a decision about whether or not to add them to their 40-man roster. Instead, they have cashed them in for an immediate bullpen upgrade, meaning those decisions will now transfer to Chicago.

Rob Zamparelli first reported on X that Leiter was headed to the Yankees. Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN relayed the full trade on X.

Pirates Acquire Josh Walker From Mets

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The Pirates announced the acquisition of left-hander Josh Walker from the Mets for rookie ball pitcher Nicolas Carreno. The Mets designated the lefty for assignment last week. The Bucs had an open 40-man spot and didn’t need to make a corresponding move.

Walker, 29, spent just over a year on the Mets’ 40-man roster. He was selected in May of 2023 and spent most of the time until his DFA on optional assignment. To this point, he has 22 1/3 major league innings on his ledger, having allowed 6.45 earned runs per nine. He has a 22.3% strikeout rate, 11.7% walk rate and 36.8% ground ball rate so far.

As if often the case, the minor league work has been more impressive. Between last year and this year, he has a 2.33 ERA in 58 innings at the Triple-A level. His 13.8% walk rate there is certainly high but he’s also punched out 32.1% of batters faced.

The lefty can still be optioned for the rest of this year and one additional season, so the Bucs are bolstering their left-handed relief depth. They currently have Aroldis Chapman and Jalen Beeks as their southpaws in the big league bullpen but both are impending free agents. As is Ryan Borucki, who is on the injured list. Walker has less than a year of service time and could be a long-term piece if he hangs onto his roster spot.

The 18-year-old Carreno has started eight games in the Dominican Summer League this season. He’s a 5’10” left-hander out of Venezuela.

Robert Murray of FanSided reported the trade terms before the announcement.

Yankees Interested In Luis Rengifo, Kyle Finnegan, Lucas Erceg

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11:53am: Jorge Castillo of ESPN reports that the Yanks are more focused on pitching and acquiring Díaz is unlikely, which could perhaps apply to Rengifo as well.

11:49am: The trade deadline is just a few hours away now but teams are still scouring the market for upgrades. Per Jon Heyman of The New York Post on X, the Yankees have infielders Yandy Díaz and Luis Rengifo on their radar, as well as relievers Tanner Scott, Pete Fairbanks, Kyle Finnegan and Lucas Erceg. He adds that they could also look to add a starting pitching but might not meet the asking prices.

Some of those guys have already been connected to the Yankees in rumors. The connections with Rengifo, Finnegan and Erceg are new but also in line with their previously-reported pursuits. Even after adding Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the roster, they have seemingly still been looking for more infield help, which Rengifo could certainly help with.

The 27-year-old is in his third straight above-average offensive season. Since the start of the 2022 campaign, he’s hit .272/.323/.433 for a wRC+ of 110. He’s also stolen 35 bases in that time while bouncing to all three outfield spots and three infield positions to the left of first base. He’s not considered a strong defender at any one position but the ability to move all around is certainly attractive.

The Yanks are still trying to figure out their best alignment at the moment. Chisholm’s first game as a Yankee was in center field, where he has been spending most of his time in recent years. But then the Yanks moved him to third base last night, a position he had never played before. Now that Giancarlo Stanton is back and in the designated hitter slot, Aaron Judge moved to center field, flanked by Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo. Acquiring another infielder could result in Chisholm moving to second and bumping out Gleyber Torres, or perhaps Verdugo will get nudged out of the outfield mix.

Rengifo is making a modest $4.4MM this year, with roughly $1.5MM left to be paid out. That’s likely attractive to the Yankees as they are slated to be a third-time payor of the competitive balance tax and well above the top tier, meaning they will pay a 110% tax on anything they add to the ledger. He can also be retained via arbitration for 2025 and could perhaps slide into next year’s second base job with Torres slated for free agency after the current season. Verdugo is also an impending free agent, so perhaps Chisholm could be in the outfield with Rengifo on the infield. There’s also the looming Soto free agency to consider, though the Yanks are expected to be aggressive in trying to re-sign him. Rengifo has also been connected to clubs such as the Red Sox, Dodgers and Royals in recent weeks.

The extra year of control means that the Angels don’t have to move on from Rengifo but there would be logic in doing so as they haven’t been meaningfully competitive for quite some time. Now that Shohei Ohtani is gone and Mike Trout is having annual trouble staying on the field, the odds of them turning things around between now and the end of 2025 seem long.

Bullpen adds are generally on the radar of all contending teams and the Yanks are surely exploring all options there. Finnegan has been the Nationals’ closer for quite some time but is nearing the end of his window of club control, with one year remaining after this one. The Nats have already traded Hunter Harvey and Lane Thomas, two players that were also controllable through 2025, and Finnegan seems likely to move today as well.

He has a career 3.52 earned run average in 272 appearances. He has struck out 23.9% of batters faced, given out walks at a 9.4% rate and kept the ball on the ground at a 46.8% clip. That includes racking up 28 saves this year with a 3.48 ERA, 24.6% strikeout rate, 7.8% walk rate and 40.5% ground ball rate. He’s making $5.1MM this year.

Erceg can still be retained by the Athletics for five seasons beyond this one, but he’s a late bloomer who is now 29 years old despite his limited experience, which could tempt them to sell high. He has a 3.68 ERA this year, 26.3% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate and 50.5% ground ball rate. The fact that he’s pre-arbitration and therefore making a modest salary is surely appealing to the Yankees but the cost might be high. Even rental relievers are netting big returns at this year’s deadline so getting Erceg might take an uncomfortable haul.

Mariners Outright Chris Devenski

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The Mariners announced that right-hander Chris Devenski has been sent outright to Triple-A Tacoma. There was no previous indication he had been removed from their 40-man roster but they evidently passed him through waivers in recent days. Their 40-man roster count drops to 39.

Devenski, 33, was signed by the Mariners at the start of July after being released by the Rays. Though he is a veteran with enough service time to decline an optional assignment, he apparently consented as he has been with Triple-A Tacoma for the past few weeks. He made six appearances there and allowed two earned runs.

The M’s presumably have other uses in mind for that roster spot, so they bumped Devenski off. They have already been aggressive in upgrading their offense and bullpen, having acquired Randy Arozarena, Justin Turner and Yimi García in recent days. They’ve been connected in rumors to guys like Tanner Scott and Yandy Díaz, so perhaps more roster shake-up is forthcoming.

As for Devenski, he has more than enough service time to reject this outright and elect free agency, though it’s not yet clear if he’s chosen to do so. Heading to the open market would make some sense, since plenty of clubs will have roster openings after the musical chairs of the deadline plays out.

He was once quite a dominant reliever with the Astros, though he’s a few years removed that performance now. Over 2016 and 2017, he had a 2.35 earned run average in 189 innings for Houston. He struck out 28.2% of batters faced and only gave out walks at a 6.4% clip. Injuries in the coming years, including Tommy John surgery, seemed to hamper his results. His ERA was a combined 4.56 in 2018 and 2019 then a ghastly 9.47 for the 2020-22 seasons.

He then had a pretty unimpressive start to his 2023 season, with a 5.08 ERA with the Angels. But that season finished strong as he had a 2.08 in nine appearances for the Rays. That prompted Tampa to re-sign him but he then had a 6.75 ERA this year, leading to his release and then his deal with the Mariners.

Angels, Nationals Interested In Dylan Carlson

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The Cardinals are exploring trades of outfielder Dylan Carlson and right-hander Giovanny Gallegos, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The club is set to add Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham in a trade that will subtract Tommy Edman, leaving them needing to open some active roster spots. Gallegos was already removed from the roster as he was designated for assignment yesterday. Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports that the Dodgers are interested in Gallegos while John Denton of MLB.com relays on X that the Guardians, Angels and Nationals are interested in Carlson, though the Guardians just acquired Lane Thomas from the Nationals, which presumably lowers their interest in Carlson.

Carlson, 25, has been getting squeezed out of playing time this year as guys like Michael Siani, Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar and Alec Burleson have been out on the grass more than he has. The crunch will be even tighter whenever Pham officially reports to the club. As mentioned, the club will have to open a couple of roster spots, so perhaps a trade of Carlson will come together between now and tomorrow’s deadline.

“Right now, he’s still one of our outfielders, but clearly we’re gonna have a roster crunch at some point,” president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said of Carlson today, per Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat on X. “So we’ll use the next 24 hours to see what happens, but he’s still a part of our organization right now and we’ll see where that goes.”

Sending out Carlson now would definitely be a sell-low move for the Cards. Not too long ago, he was the club’s first-round pick and one of their top prospects. He also seemed to be establishing himself as a solid regular in the major leagues when he first arrived. In 2021, he got into 149 games and hit 18 home runs while drawing walks at a 9.2% rate. He also received close to league average grades for his outfield glovework and was considered to be worth 2.4 wins above replacement on the year, per the calculations of FanGraphs.

That was only his age-22 season, so it seemed fair to expect better results going forward, but the opposite has happened. In 2022, Carlson went on the injured list a couple of times, first due to a left hamstring strain and then a left thumb sprain. He got into 128 games with his production slipping a bit, finishing that year with a line of .236/.316/.380 and a 99 wRC+.

Last year, left ankle issues sent him to the IL multiple times, limiting him to just 76 games and ultimately requiring surgery. He hit .219/.318/.333 on the year for a wRC+ of 84, another dip in his production but perhaps one connected to his health.

Coming into 2024, he seemed to have a chance to engineer a rebound. Both Edman and Nootbaar were slated to start the season on the IL, which should have opened up plenty of playing time for Carlson. Unfortunately, just at the end of Spring Training, Carlson and Jordan Walker collided while trying to make a catch in the outfield. Carlson was diagnosed with a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder and also had to start the season on the IL.

He was back by early May but, as mentioned, hasn’t been able to earn much playing time this year. When in the lineup, he hasn’t done much to earn a longer leash, having hit .198/.275/.240 here in 2024.

Perhaps some clubs will be eyeing Carlson as a change-of-scenery candidate. He’s been trending downwards for three straight years now but mostly due to injuries. It’s feasible that with some health luck and regular playing time somewhere, he could return to the form he showed a few years back. He is making a modest $2.35MM salary this year and has two more years of control left. He’ll be due raises in arbitration but won’t be able to push his salary up much based on his recent results and injury absences. Carlson also has options and doesn’t necessarily need to be traded, though the Cardinals may prefer to just cash him in for something now as he may no longer be in their future plans.

The Nationals have moved on from a few veteran outfielders already this year. Eddie Rosario and Víctor Robles were released and Jesse Winker was traded to the Mets. As mentioned, Thomas was just flipped to the Guardians. Perhaps they could slot Carlson in there next to James Wood and Jacob Young.

The Angels would be in a somewhat similar position. They are giving outfield playing time to guys who could be traded like Taylor Ward and Kevin Pillar. If they pull the trigger on a deal for either of those guys, they could grab Carlson in a buy-low move and give him some run for the rest of this year or perhaps next year.

Gallegos would also be a sell-low move, but the Cards don’t have much choice there. He’s an impending free agent and they already sent him off the roster and into DFA limbo. He was one of the better relievers in the league not so long ago, tossing 228 1/3 innings over the 2019-22 seasons with a 2.84 ERA. He struck out 32% of batters faced in that time and only gave out walks at a 6.6% rate, earning 33 saves and 56 holds in the process.

But his ERA jumped to 4.42 last year as his strikeout rate fell to 25.8%. Here in 2024, his punchouts have fallen to a rate of 22.3% as his ERA has climbed to 6.53. That got him nudged off the roster but the Dodgers have a solid reputation of getting good results from pitchers and perhaps see a way to get Gallegos back on track. He is making $5.5MM this year, with roughly $1.8MM still to be paid out. The Dodgers are slated to be third-time payors of the competitive balance tax and well over the top tier, meaning they face a 110% tax rate on anything they add to their payroll at this point.

Rangers Make 11 Roster Moves

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5:33PM: Gray will miss roughly a month of action, Bochy told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (X link) and other reporters.

3:43PM: The Rangers announced a massive slate of roster moves this afternoon. Third baseman Josh Jung and left-hander Cody Bradford were each reinstated from the 60-day injured list while the club also recalled infielder Ezequiel Durán and righty Gerson Garabito.  To open roster spots for that quartet, right-hander Jon Gray was placed on the 15-day IL with a right groin strain, and Texas optioned three others to Triple-A — catcher Andrew Knizner, and infielders Justin Foscue and Jonathan Ornelas.  To open 40-man spots for Jung and Bradford, outfielder Evan Carter was transferred to the 60-day injured list and infielder Davis Wendzel was designated for assignment. Additionally, righty Austin Pruitt (who was on the 60-day IL) has been released.

Jung and Bradford are each set for their first MLB action since April, as Jung is returning from a complicated wrist surgery and Bradford was dealing with both a back strain and then a stress fracture in his rib.  Jung broke his wrist after being hit by a pitch in his fourth game of the season, while Bradford had an impressive 1.40 ERA in his first three starts (19 1/3 IP) before he was sidelined.

Emerging as the Rangers’ regular third baseman during his impressive rookie season, Jung helped the Rangers win last year’s World Series and was expected to continue developing in his sophomore year.  The good news for Texas is that Josh Smith’s strong work as the fill-in third baseman has helped the team make do in Jung’s absence, and with Jung now back, Smith can be bounced around the diamond to left field or DH so the Rangers can keep his bat in the lineup.

Despite Bradford’s great early numbers as a starter, the Rangers have already announced that he’ll return in a bullpen role.  Bradford was pressed into rotation duty at the start of the year due to the lengthy list of Texas pitchers on the IL, but with many of those arms now back, the Rangers find themselves with a pitching surplus on paper if everyone is healthy.  To this end, the club felt comfortable enough to subtract from this depth by trading Michael Lorenzen to the Royals.

However, the injury bug bit again yesterday when Gray injured his groin while warming up for his scheduled start against the Blue Jays.  Gray departed without throwing a pitch, and the right-hander will be out for at least the next 15 days.  Bradford has only worked as a multi-inning reliever during his rehab assignment and isn’t fully stretched out to start, but the Rangers have an off-day on Thursday and Tyler Mahle is on the verge of his own return from the IL, so Mahle seems the likeliest candidate to take Gray’s spot in the rotation in a week’s time.

This is Gray’s second groin-related IL stint this season, as he missed a couple of weeks in May and June with his previous injury.  When healthy, the righty has a 3.73 ERA and an impressive 5.8% walk rate over 94 innings, though he has allowed a lot of hard contact and his 19.7% strikeout rate is the lowest of his career over a full season.

Carter hasn’t played May 26 due to a lumbar sprain in his back, so he could technically return at any time since he has already missed over 60 days.  However, manager Bruce Bochy told MLB.com and other media that Carter is set to visit a back specialist to explore some recurring soreness, and the Rangers have shut the outfielder down from the baseball activities Carter was taking part in prior to this recent development.

More will be known once Carter sees the specialist, but it’s obviously a concern that that the 21-year-old doesn’t appear to be any closer to a return.  Carter’s huge numbers after his Major League debut late last season and through the postseason provided the Rangers with a huge spark on their route to the championship, but with his bad back hampering him this year, Carter has hit only .188/.272/.361 in his first 162 PA of the 2024 campaign.

Pruitt signed a minors deal with Texas during the offseason, and that contract was selected to the active roster in April.  Pruitt appeared in only four games before a right meniscus injury sent him to the 15-day IL and then the 60-day IL.  He has spent the last month rehabbing in the minors and was at the end of the 30-day window for minor league rehab assignments, so the Rangers opted to release the righty rather than bring him back to the 26-man roster.  A veteran of seven MLB seasons, Pruitt will hit the open market again, though it might not be a surprise to see him re-sign with Texas pretty quickly on a fresh minor league deal.

Wendzel was selected 41st overall by the Rangers in the 2019 draft, and he made his big league debut this season the form of 27 games and 49 plate appearances.  He saw some work at third base during Jung’s IL stint, but Wendzel mostly came off the bench, and he hit just .128/.163/.234 in his first look at MLB pitching.

The 27-year-old has hit well at Triple-A over the last two seasons, including a 30-homer campaign for Round Rock in 2023.  Wendzel has mostly played third base and shortstop during his minor league career with a few other looks at the other two infield spots and in left field, so between this defensive versatility and his Triple-A numbers, he might be a candidate to be claimed by a team in need of infield depth.

Reynaldo López Day-To-Day With Forearm Tightness

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TODAY: López’s MRI revealed no structural damage, manager Brian Snitker told Toscano and other reporters (X link).  It appears as though this is something close to a best-case scenario for López and the Braves, as Snitker said López might not miss any time due to the injury.

JULY 28: Braves right-hander Reynaldo López was removed from today’s start after just three innings and the club announced that the move was due to right forearm tightness. He’s headed to Atlanta for an MRI, per Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on X. Though Atlanta characterized it as precautionary and described the righty as day-to-day, it could be a notable development given the surrounding circumstances of the club.

López mostly worked as a reliever from 2021 to 2023, but Atlanta moved him back to a starting role this year, an experiment that has gone incredibly well so far. The righty came into today with an earned run average of 2.12 in 101 2/3 innings. There’s certainly a bit of luck in there, as stranding 85.6% of baserunners isn’t sustainable in the long term, but his 8.7% walk rate is close to average and his 24.2% strikeout rate is quite strong. His 3.17 FIP and 4.00 SIERA point to solid results even with a bit less luck in terms of stranding runners.

Losing that kind of performance for even a short amount of time would be less than ideal for Atlanta. The club has been sliding in the standings lately and is well back of the Phillies in the National League East. In the Wild Card picture, there are nine teams battling for three spots, within eight games of each other. Atlanta is atop that heap, but only barely.

Their rotation challenges began early on and have mounted as the season has progressed. Spencer Strider required UCL surgery in April and is out for the year. Max Fried, Huascar Ynoa and Hurston Waldrep are also on the IL due to arm issues.

Fried and Waldrep could each be coming off the IL in the coming weeks, but it would be less than ideal for López to miss any time. If he were out of the picture, the rotation core would be down to Chris Sale and Charlie Morton, at least until one of the injured guys is able to return. Sale is having a great year but is hardly a sure thing, as he is 35 years old and missed most of the previous four seasons due to injury. Morton has a passable 4.16 ERA but is 40 years old and his strikeout rate has declined for a fourth straight season. Spencer Schwellenbach has been good but has just ten MLB starts to his name so far. Reliever Grant Holmes is listed as tomorrow’s starter.

All told, the Atlanta rotation has a lot of question marks in it right now, which could perhaps impact Atlanta’s behavior in the coming days. The trade deadline is 5pm Central on Tuesday, giving the club a bit of time to figure out how aggressively to pursue starting pitching upgrades. The market could features impact names like Garrett Crochet, Jack Flaherty and Tarik Skubal, as well as guys like Erick Fedde, Yusei Kikuchi, Cal Quantrill and many more.

The club also might be looking for help at second base and the outfield due to the injuries to Ozzie Albies, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Michael Harris II, but the competitive balance tax might impact their approach. RosterResource pegs their CBT number at $273MM, just below the third threshold of $277MM. Going over that line would not only lead to a higher rate of taxation but would also see their top pick in the 2025 draft pushed back ten spots.

On top of this season, there’s the worry of a long-term absence. At this point, there’s been nothing to suggest the worst-case scenario is on the table for López, but an injury to a pitcher’s throwing elbow/forearm will always lead to some degree of worry.

At this point in the year, a significant surgery could put the 2025 season in jeopardy for López. Atlanta is set to lose both Fried and Morton to free agency, with the latter also a candidate to retire. López is in the first season of a three-year deal and would certainly be part of the 2025 rotation mix as long as he’s healthy. If not, it would mostly consist of a 36-year-old Sale, followed by fairly unproven guys like Schwellenbach, Waldrep and others.

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