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Rockies Sign Xzavion Curry To Minor League Deal

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The Rockies have signed right-hander Xzavion Curry to a minor league contract, according to his transaction log on MLB.com. He had been pitching in the Mexican League since the Marlins released him earlier this year.

Curry, 27, began his career in the Guardians organization and made his MLB debut with Cleveland in 2022. Over the next three seasons, he appeared in 50 games (15 starts) for the club, tossing 129 innings with a 4.53 ERA and 5.19 SIERA. He didn’t miss many bats (15.2% strikeout rate) or prevent dangerous contact (29.4% groundball rate, 44.7% hard-hit rate), but he threw enough strikes to get through innings and limit damage to a serviceable degree. Nonetheless, the Guardians designated him for assignment last August, and the Marlins put in a claim.

The righty didn’t last long in Miami, pitching 18 innings last season and three earlier this year. All told, he has a 4.38 ERA but a 5.12 SIERA in 150 MLB innings. Unfortunately for Curry, he also has a 7.19 ERA in 76 1/3 innings at Triple-A over the last two years. He’s given up 39 walks and 23 home runs while striking out only 58, resulting in a 7.56 FIP. Thus, it wasn’t necessarily surprising when the Marlins released him less than a year after they claimed him off waivers.

In seven appearances with the Tigres de Quintana Roo over the past few weeks, Curry had more success, putting up a 3.44 ERA in 34 innings. For context, the average ERA in the Mexican League this season is 5.82. While the sample was small, his strong showing down south was enough to convince the Rockies to give him a call. He will now report to the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes, where he will serve as right-handed depth for MLB’s worst bullpen according to both SIERA and FanGraphs WAR.

Rockies Select Kyle Karros, Aaron Schunk

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The Rockies announced that they have selected the contract of infielders Kyle Karros and Aaron Schunk. Thomas Harding of MLB.com reported on those promotions prior to the official announcement. In corresponding moves, they have placed infielder Orlando Arcia on the 10-day injured list due to right elbow inflammation, transferred infielder Thairo Estrada to the 60-day IL and placed right-hander Angel Chivilli on the restricted list. It’s unclear why Chivilli has been placed on the restricted list.

Karros, 23, is the son of Eric Karros. The younger Karros was Colorado’s fifth-round draft pick in 2023. Since then, he has been climbing the minor league ladder, generally putting up good numbers. He has taken 1,010 minor league plate appearances across multiple levels with an 11.5% walk rate, 20.4% strikeout rate, .304/.393/.459 batting line and 135 wRC+. That includes a .301/.398/.476 line this year, mostly at Double-A but also with a few games at the Complex League and at Triple-A.

Baseball America currently lists him as the #14 prospect in the Rockies’ system. Their report notes that he is a strong defender at third base with a good arm. His offensive profile is highlighted by his contact ability, which matches with his numbers. His strikeout and walk numbers are good but he doesn’t appear to have a ton of power. He hit 15 home runs in High-A last year but has just six so far in 2025.

Schunk, 28, was outrighted off the roster in June. He has a dismal .230/.254/.311 line in 127 big league plate appearances. His minor league work has been better but still subpar. From 2023 to the present, he has 1,065 Triple-A plate appearances. His .293/.344/.469 line in that time looks impressive at first glance but actually translates to an 87 wRC+ in the context of the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

The Colorado infield took a few recent hits. Estrada landed on the 10-day IL two days ago due to a right hamstring strain. With today’s transfer to the 60-day IL, his season is done. With Arcia landing on the 10-day IL today, that’s two infield vacancies created this week. The club also lost Ryan Ritter to the IL last month due to a finger laceration.

Those injuries have created openings for Karros and Schunk. The Rockies don’t have a lot to play for this year but have long-term opportunities available. Aside from Ezequiel Tovar at shortstop, there’s not much certainty in the infield for future seasons. Guys like Warming Bernabel and Adael Amador are already getting some big league at-bats and now Karros and Schunk can join them.

Circling back to Estrada, this is the final nail in the coffin for his very challenging season. He had a solid three-year run with the Giants from 2021 to 2023. He slashed .266/.320/.416 for a 105 wRC+ in that time while stealing 45 bases and bouncing around the diamond to all three outfield spots and the three infield positions to the left of first base.

He had a rough campaign last year, however. He went to the IL multiple times due to left wrist sprains and slashed just .217/.247/.343 for a 65 wRC+. The Rockies gave him $4MM for 2025 with the hope of a return to form, a logical bet for a rebuilding club. If Estrada had been able to get back to his previous level of production, he could have been an intriguing midseason trade candidate.

That did not come to pass. He was hit by a pitch in spring training and broke his right wrist. That put him on the IL for the first two months of the season. He also missed time with a sprained left thumb and now this hamstring strain has put him out for the rest of the campaign. Around those injuries, he only got into 39 games and hit .253/.285/.370. He can be retained for 2026 via arbitration but is surely going to be non-tendered. He will return to the open market but his appeal should be light on the heels of these two injury-marred seasons.

Photo courtesy of Allan Henry, Imagn Images

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

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

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers are, predictably, one of the best teams in the National League this year. They aren’t quite as overwhelming as some expected them to be, however, and that left them with some work to do ahead of the stretch run. Despite the holes in the club’s roster, however, L.A.’s deadline was a surprisingly quiet one where they did as much selling as they did buying. Dustin May was shipped to Boston for a pair of prospects headlined by 2024 first-rounder James Tibbs, and they downgraded from Hunter Feduccia to Ben Rortvedt for the club’s third catcher in order to bring in rookie reliever Paul Gervase and A-ball prospect Adam Serwinowski.

In terms of buy-side moves, they swapped depth outfielder James Outman to the Twins in order to bring Brock Stewart back home to the Dodgers’ pen. They followed that up by replacing Outman on the depth chart with a right-handed complement to Michael Conforto in the form of Alex Call. L.A.’s moves were strong ones on paper. They gave up very little meaningful talent in order to make a couple of legitimate improvements to their bullpen and bench mix, and it’s easy to see them emerging as the clear winners of the two sell-side trades they did make. Still, this summer could wind up feeling like a missed opportunity for the Dodgers given the lack of impact talent acquired—especially if they wind up getting chased down in the NL West by their rival 100 miles to the south.

San Diego Padres

No front office executive in the league operates quite like Padres GM A.J. Preller, and that frenetic aggressiveness was on full display on the day of this year’s trade deadline. San Diego completed five trades in the final seven hours before the deadline. The first one was the biggest, as they swapped a massive package headlined by consensus top-5 prospect Leo De Vries to the Athletics in exchange for superstar closer Mason Miller and lefty starter JP Sears.

They didn’t stop there, however. Outfielder Brandon Lockridge was surrendered to land Nestor Cortes from the Brewers (alongside prospect Jorge Quintana), and Preller immediately replaced Lockridge in the outfield by picking up both Ramon Laureano and Ryan O’Hearn from the Orioles. The acquisitions of Sears and Cortes created enough starting pitching depth that the Friars could move Stephen Kolek and Ryan Bergert to add Freddy Fermin behind the plate, and for good measure San Diego rounded out its deadline by upgrading the infield with a controllable young talent in Will Wagner.

It was a massive flurry of moves that should substantially improve the Padres in the near-term, but the cost was heavy. Prospects of De Vries’ caliber rarely get moved for a reason. Even aside from the risk that they’ve traded the league’s next superstar, they also surrendered some important depth in Kolek and Bergert, not to mention a huge chunk of their 2024 draft class. Preller’s win-now aggression allowed his club to improve its odds of winning the World Series this year more than any other team. But was the cost too great?

San Francisco Giants

Despite a strong start to the season and the aggressive decision to swing a deal with the Red Sox for Rafael Devers back in June, the Giants have mostly fallen out of the postseason race and now have a 58-57 record. That led the club to pivot towards selling at the deadline, and they brought back an impressive haul of talent in doing so. A trade of pending free agent Tyler Rogers to the Mets brought back a trio of well-regarded talents nearing or already in the big leagues: Triple-A outfielder Drew Gilbert, rookie starter Blade Tidwell, and young MLB reliever Jose Butto. They also landed A-ball starter Yunior Marte for rental outfielder Mike Yastrzemski despite his down 2025 campaign.

Impressive as those deals were, the package they received for Camilo Doval was somewhat light. That deal was led by catching/infield prospect Jesus Rodriguez and Double-A starter Trystan Vrieling. The return for Rogers and Yastrzemski was phenomenal, as the Giants acquired their #12, #13, and #25 prospects (per MLB Pipeline) along with Butto for aging veterans on expiring contracts. Parting with Doval for two-plus seasons in exchange for a package headlined by the club’s #16 prospect, according to Pipeline, puts a bit of a damper on the club’s deadline, but it was still a strong infusion of talent to the upper levels of San Francisco’s minor league system and should result in better days for the Giants in the future.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks teetered on the edge of buying and selling for most of July but kicked off trade season by dealing Josh Naylor to the Mariners and never looked back. The club executed four trades that brought back players in return and a fifth that saw them deal Shelby Miller to the Brewers in exchange for Milwaukee taking on a portion of Jordan Montgomery’s contract. Big league ready talent and pitching prospects were the focus for Arizona this summer, and they mostly accomplished that goal of bolstering those parts of the organization. Eugenio Suarez brought back a potential first baseman of the future in Tyler Locklear as well as rookie reliever Juan Burgos. Randal Grichuk and Naylor also both brought back rookie relief arms in Andrew Hoffmann and Brandyn Garcia, giving the club a number of big league ready relief arms who can help fill out the bullpen next year.

Between the trades of Suarez, Naylor, and Merrill Kelly, the Diamondbacks also picked up five pitching prospects who have yet to make their big league debut. Kohl Drake (#7 in Arizona’s system at MLB Pipeline) leads that group, which also includes Mitch Bratt (#10), David Hagaman (#14), Ashton Izzi (#15), and Hunter Cranton (#23). Locklear (#6) and Garcia (#20) also rank within the top 30, meaning that nearly a quarter of the club’s top 30 prospects were acquired at this deadline. As solid as those moves were, some view the return for Suarez as too light, and there’s reason to question why the team held onto Zac Gallen rather than bringing back additional prospects and salary relief by letting him go. Even without Gallen moving, however, the Diamondbacks breathed new life into their farm system and saved a considerable amount of money that can be repurposed for the 2026 campaign come the offseason.

Colorado Rockies

Perhaps the most notable thing about Colorado’s deadline this year is that they did anything at all, given their years of relative inaction and refusal to part with veteran talents. The club made just three trades this summer, but the deals they did make were notable ones. Ryan McMahon and Jake Bird were traded to the Yankees for lefty Griffin Herring (#5 in the Rockies’ system at MLB Pipeline), second baseman Roc Riggio (#11), righty Josh Grosz (#19), and lefty Ben Shields (#27).

Their third deal was a smaller one, as the club dealt struggling reliever Tyler Kinley to the Braves in exchange for Double-A reliever Austin Smith. It wasn’t the flashiest deadline for Colorado, but the return in exchange for McMahon was strong and the activity should help prop up one of the weakest farm systems in the majors as the Rockies toil through the worst season in franchise history.

With the exception of the Dodgers, the NL West was busier than usual this summer. San Diego did enough buying for the entire division, while the Giants, Diamondbacks, and Rockies each made some savvy sell-side moves. L.A. stands out from the crowd for their quiet approach to the deadline as they did some light buying to address areas of need and also managed to sneak in some light selling to take advantage of areas of depth. Which team did the best of this quintet? Have your say in the poll below:

Rockies Claim Blaine Crim

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The Rockies announced that they’ve claimed first baseman Blaine Crim off waivers from the Rangers today and optioned him to Triple-A. No corresponding move was necessary, and the Rockies’ 40-man roster now stands at 40. In addition, the Rangers announced that outfielder Dustin Harris has been assigned outright to Triple-A after clearing waivers.

Crim, 28, made his big league debut with Texas earlier this year. He appeared in just five games total for the Rangers and 0-11 with a walk and six strikeouts across 13 plate appearances. A 19th-round pick back in 2019 by the club, Crim climbed the minor league ladder and first reached the Triple-A level back in 2022. He’s a career .283/.374/.487 hitter in 363 games for the Rangers’ Round Rock affiliate, and his .284/.373/.515 slash line in 83 games at the level this year has generally been more of the same. That slash line looks better on paper before you consider the context of the Pacific Coast League’s inflated offensive environment, but he’s still a 119 wRC+ hitter at the level this year even after factoring that in.

That was enough to earn Crim the opportunity to step in at first base for the Rangers earlier this year when Jake Burger was briefly optioned to the minor leagues, although that cup of coffee did not go especially well. He’s been back in the minors since then, and was recently designated for assignment by Texas in order to make room for the addition of trade acquisition Merrill Kelly to the 40-man roster. Now, he’s been plucked off waivers by Colorado and will join a first base mix that already includes Michael Toglia and Warming Bernabel. Toglia has struggled badly in the majors this year and was optioned to the minors earlier today, but Bernabel recently made his big league debut and has gotten off to a hot start with three home runs in his first seven games as a big leaguer.

As for Harris, the 11th-round pick of the A’s back in 2019 made his big league debut with the Rangers last year. He went 2-for-7 with a home run in a two-game cup of coffee last year but struggled in 16 games this season to the tune of a 68 wRC+, leaving him with roughly league average results overall in 45 MLB plate appearances. That tiny sample doesn’t say much about his abilities, however, and a better look at him can be found in the form of his somewhat lackluster production at Triple-A this year. He’s slashed .262/.305/.401 in 66 games for Round Rock, good for a wRC+ of just 95. He’ll now serve as non-roster outfield depth for the Rangers going forward, but he’ll have the opportunity to elect minor league free agency after the season if he’s not added back to the 40-man roster.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/2/25

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Here’s the latest on a trio of players who were recently designated for assignment. All information is courtesy of the transactions log on that respective player’s MLB.com profile page.

  • Veteran southpaw Rich Hill has elected free agency after being DFA’d by the Royals earlier this week. Hill, 45, is the oldest active big leaguer and held off on signing a contract this year until he joined the Royals on a minor league deal back in May. He was added to Kansas City’s big league roster late last month and made two starts for the club, pitching to a 5.00 ERA in nine innings of work with eight walks against just four strikeouts. It was a lackluster pair of outings for the veteran, and he’s served as more of an innings-eating depth starter as he’s entered his mid-40s with a 5.38 ERA over 159 innings of work since the start of the 2023 campaign. The lefty has 21 years in the majors with 14 different MLB clubs under his belt at this point, however, and if one of the other 16 clubs in the league picks him up at some point down the stretch he’d surpass Edwin Jackson (with whom he’s now tied after joining the Royals) as the player to suit up for the most clubs in MLB history.
  • Outfielder Sean Bouchard has been outrighted to the minor leagues after being DFA’d by the Rockies late last week. The 29-year-old was a ninth-round pick by the Rockies back in 2017 and made his big league debut with the club during the 2022 season. He’s spent each of the past four seasons in a Rockies uniform as an up-and-down bench player, and in his first two seasons he excelled with a .304/.428/.563 slash line in 48 games. Unfortunately, he’s struggled badly in 63 games over the past two seasons, hitting just .178/.272/.274 with a 33.1% strikeout rate. Bouchard now figures to serve as non-roster depth for the Rockies down the stretch, but will have the opportunity to elect free agency after the 2025 campaign if not added back to the 40-man roster.
  • Right-hander Tyler Owens has been released after being DFA’d by the Tigers earlier this week. The 24-year-old made his big league debut with Detroit earlier this year and surrendered one run on three hits and three walks across three innings of work while striking out one batter during that abbreviated cup of coffee. Owens had been sidelined by a hip injury was he was removed from the club’s 40-man roster, which means he could not be assigned outright to the minors and had to be released after clearing waivers. He’s now free to sign with any MLB club, though a 5.40 ERA in 30 Triple-A innings with nearly as many walks (21) as strikeouts (27) makes it likely that he’ll be limited to only minor league offers.

Rockies Select Dugan Darnell

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The Rockies announced they’ve selected right-hander Dugan Darnell and recalled lefty Carson Palmquist. They’ll take the roster spots opened by the Tyler Kinley and Jake Bird trades. Colorado’s 40-man roster count sits at 39.

Darnell, 28, is up for the first time. He’s a former undrafted free agent who owns a 3.74 ERA over five seasons in the Colorado system. Darnell has spent the entire season with Triple-A Albuquerque. He’s having a good year, allowing 3.19 earned runs per nine through 53 2/3 innings. He has punched out 28.8% of opposing hitters against a league average 8.7% walk rate. Darnell has a three-pitch mix with a 94 MPH fastball and uses a mid-80s splitter as his best secondary pitch.

Colorado first promoted Palmquist in May. The former third-round pick started his first seven MLB appearances but was tagged for a 7.63 earned run average. General manager Bill Schmidt tells Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post that the Rox are permanently moving Palmquist to the bullpen. The southpaw has only averaged 90 MPH on his fastball as a starter. His velocity could tick up in shorter stints, though he’s unlikely to ever be a flamethrower. Palmquist has missed a lot of bats in the minors but has a career 11.1% walk rate over four professional seasons. It seems the Rox don’t feel he has the command to stick in a rotation and would rather see how his stuff plays in relief.

Yankees Acquire Jake Bird

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4:27pm: The deal has been officially announced. Outfielder Bryan De La Cruz was designated for assignment to make room for Bird on the 40-man roster. De La Cruz did not appear in a game with the Yankees but hit .191/.240/.213 in 16 games with Atlanta earlier this year.

2:42pm: The Yankees are reportedly in agreement to acquire reliever Jake Bird from the Rockies for two minor leaguers. Second baseman Roc Riggio and pitcher Ben Shields are going back to Colorado.

Bird is the second, lower-profile bullpen pickup for the Yanks this afternoon. They’re adding two-time All-Star David Bednar in a deal with the Pirates. While Bednar will join Devin Williams and Luke Weaver at the back of the bullpen, Bird projects more as a middle relief type. The 29-year-old righty has a 4.57 earned run average over parts of four seasons with the Rox. That includes a 4.73 mark across 53 1/3 innings this year, though he’s only a few weeks removed from what seemed to be a breakout season.

Through the end of June, Bird was sitting on a 2.68 ERA across 47 innings. He had punched out 29.1% of batters faced while getting ground-balls at a 48% rate. The past few weeks have been a disaster. Bird has been rocked for 15 runs on 16 hits and four walks with five strikeouts in his last 6 1/3 innings. It’s an unfortunate way to end his Colorado tenure.

Bird has been durable and logged almost 90 innings out of Bud Black’s bullpen a couple seasons ago. He has gotten above-average grounder rates in all four MLB seasons — a common trait for Yankee relievers — and has still shown decent swing-and-miss stuff this year. He’s a three-pitch pitcher who sits around 94 MPH with his fastball and leans most often on a mid-80s breaking ball. The horrendous past few weeks didn’t completely detract from Bird’s strong start to the season.

This is Colorado’s second significant trade of deadline season — both of which have involved the Yankees. They sent third baseman Ryan McMahon to the Bronx last week. While the McMahon trade also involved a significant contract changing hands, Bird won’t cost the Yankees much financially. He’s in his final pre-arbitration season and controllable for three years after this. Bird doesn’t have any kind of closing experience that tends to lead to significant arbitration earnings for a reliever. He should be fairly cheap throughout the arbitration window.

The McMahon and Bird trades demonstrate that Colorado is more willing to deal controllable pieces than they’ve been in past seasons. They’re trending towards the worst season in modern history and have a tough time justifying making anyone untouchable. Riggio placed 22nd on Baseball America’s writeup of Yankee prospects, while he checked in 10th in the system at MLB Pipeline. Shields ranked 28th at MLB Pipeline and was not in the top 30 at BA. Both players will not be eligible for the Rule 5 draft until after the ’26 season.

Riggio, a left-handed hitting second baseman, has split the season between High-A and Double-A. He has put together a huge .264/.370/.567 slash between the two levels. Riggio has taken walks at a strong 12.2% clip while striking out at a league average 22.2% rate. He has drilled 18 home runs, 14 doubles and a triple. A fourth-round pick out of Oklahoma State in 2023, Riggio is viewed as a bat-first player. Scouting reports question his pure hitting ability, but there’s no question he’s putting together a huge statistical season in the minors.

Shields is a 6’4″ left-handed pitcher who went undrafted out of George Mason in 2023. Despite lacking amateur pedigree, Shields has put together a solid minor league résumé. He posted a 3.48 ERA in 26 minor league appearances a season ago. He missed the first few months of this season due to injury but has since returned to start five games with Double-A Somerset. He has turned in a 3.42 ERA with 26 strikeouts across 23 2/3 innings. Shields is already 26 and facing mostly younger competition, but MLB Pipeline credits him with a potential plus slider. He could be short-term rotation or long relief depth for the Rockies.

Jack Curry of The YES Network first reported the Yankees were acquiring Bird. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com had Colorado’s return.

Image courtesy of James A. Pittman, Imagn Images.

Rockies Trade Tyler Kinley To Braves

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The Braves and Rockies have agreed to a deal sending right-handed reliever Tyler Kinley from Colorado to Atlanta in exchange for Double-A righty Austin Smith. Both teams have announced the deal. Kinley, who’s earning $3MM in the final year of his contract, has an affordable $5MM club option for the 2026 season.

The 34-year-old Kinley has an unappealing 5.66 ERA on the season but has fanned 23.8% of his opponents on the season. Metrics like FIP (4.14) and SIERA (4.15) feel he’s been far better than that earned run average should indicate. He’s been on an excellent run of late, pitching to a 2.37 ERA with a 31.1% strikeout rate and 6.7% walk rate in 19 innings since mid-June.

Kinley’s overall 12.6% walk rate this season is an eyesore, but he’s also been plagued by a fluky 59.4% strand rate that’s well shy of his 68% career mark and the 72% league average. The 6’4″ righty sits 95.2 mph on his heater and boasts a terrific 14% swinging-strike rate, which could give Atlanta some optimism that Kinley’s strikeout rate has room to improve. He’s also among the league leaders in terms of limiting hard contact.

It’s a surprise to see the Braves add a veteran player, given the team’s 45-61 record in an increasingly injury-decimated season. Kinley deepens the current relief corps and brings a hint of upside which, if unlocked, would make him a bargain option for next season. His ’26 club option has a $750K buyout, so Atlanta will be making a net $4.25MM decision in the offseason after Kinley has had a 2025 audition.

In that sense, the Braves — who fully intend to compete in 2026 — are getting a proactive jump start on some offseason shopping. Braves relievers Raisel Iglesias and Rafael Montero are free agents at season’s end. Pierce Johnson is also in the final guaranteed season of his deal, though like Kinley, he has a 2026 club option. Each of Iglesias, Montero and Johnson has been a reported trade candidate as Atlanta begrudgingly concedes to listening on short-term veterans at this year’s deadline.

Going back to the Rockies is the 26-year-old Smith, Atlanta’s 18th-round pick back in 2021. He posted decent numbers in the low minors in 2021-22 after being drafted out of Arizona, but he missed nearly all of the 2023-24 seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery. Smith tossed 26 innings last year across three minor league levels and posted a 6.92 ERA with nearly as many walks as strikeouts.

He’s been far better this year between High-A and Double-A but still has pedestrian numbers against far younger competition. He’s logged a combined 4.31 ERA with a 26.2% strikeout rate and much improved (but still higher than average) 11.5% walk rate. Smith has yet to climb to the Triple-A level in the minors.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com first reported that Kinley was headed to the Braves in exchange for a prospect. David O’Brien of The Athletic reported Smith’s inclusion in the deal.

MLBTR Podcast: Megapod Trade Deadline Preview

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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 Steve Adams and Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss various trade deadline topics, including…

Check out our past episodes!

  • David Robertson, Trade Chips For The O’s and A’s, And What The Rangers Could Do – listen here
  • Rays’ Ownership, The Phillies Target Bullpen Help, And Bubble Teams – listen here
  • Firings in Washington, Bad Braves, And An AL East Shake-Up – listen here

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

Photo courtesy of Geoff Burke, Imagn Images

Rangers, Mariners Eyeing Rockies’ Relievers

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The Rockies, more open to dealing at this year’s deadline than in seasons past, have been open to offers on controllable young relievers in their bullpen. The Rox have several power arms who could appeal to bullpen-needy contenders, and two teams that have been eyeing them recently are the Rangers (per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News) and Mariners (per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com).

Grant reports that the Rockies are under the impression that right-handers Jake Bird, Victor Vodnik and Tyler Kinley are all available via trade. As a veteran in the final guaranteed season of his contract, Kinley is a fairly straightforward trade candidate. But Bird, who’s controlled three years beyond the current season, and especially Vodnik, who’s controlled for an additional four years, stand as the types of player Colorado wouldn’t even consider moving at prior trade deadlines.

Kinley, 34, is making $3MM in 2025 and has a $5MM club option with a $750K buyout. He’s sporting an ugly 5.66 ERA but more appealing secondary marks. The 6’4″ righty is averaging 95.2 mph on his four-seamer but uses his slider as his primary offering (60.1%), which has surely contributed to a hefty 14% swinging-strike rate. That’s a well above-average mark and could portend an uptick in Kinley’s 23.8% strikeout rate, which is only a bit better than average. Kinley’s 12.6% walk rate needs work, but he’s shown better command in the past. Metrics like FIP (4.14) and SIERA (4.15) both feel he’s been better than his ERA, and other clubs might be intrigued to see what he could do with more analytical input than the Rockies provide.

Bird, 29, was excellent through the end of June but has had a brutal month in July. He’s been rocked for 15 runs (14 earned) in just 6 2/3 innings since the calendar flipped, ballooning his once-terrific 2.63 ERA all the way to 4.73. He has roughly average velocity but makes good use of a sinker/slider/curveball repertoire to miss bats and keep the ball on the ground at above-average levels. In 53 1/3 innings — Bird frequently works more than one inning per outing — he’s fanned 26.3% of his opponents against a 9.7% walk rate. Bird’s 48% ground-ball rate is well above average, and he’s done a nice job avoiding home runs both in 2025 (0.84 HR/9) and in his career (0.90).

The 25-year-old Vodnik would be valued most highly of the trio mentioned by Grant. He’s in just his second big league season and is sporting a tidy 3.19 ERA with an above-average 23.9% strikeout rate and a massive 56.6% ground-ball rate in 31 frames. Vodnik averages a blistering 98.6 mph on his fastball and just under 92 mph on his “changeup.” However, Vodnik doesn’t quite miss bats at the level one might expect from someone with such a powerful arsenal. The results have been strong nonetheless, though Vodnik’s 4.12 FIP and 4.11 SIERA (driven by his shaky command) point to some potential regression.

Vodnik and Bird, in particular, seem like they’d hold appeal to a Rangers club that has some reluctance to exceed the luxury tax threshold. Neither has reached arbitration yet, so neither would add to the club’s luxury obligations. Kinley would have just $951K left on his contract by the time the deadline rolls around, though the $750K buyout on his 2026 option would also come into play.

Bird is also on the Mariners’ radar, per Kramer, who notes that Seattle has “heavily” scouted him and bullpen-mates Juan Mejia and Seth Halvorsen. Mejia is a particularly obscure trade candidate, given that he just made his MLB debut earlier this year. He’s pitched 36 innings and logged a 4.50 ERA but with a 3.78 FIP and 3.60 SIERA. He’s set down 23.7% of his opponents on strikes and walked 8.6% of the hitters he’s faced.

Mejia is a pure two-pitch reliever with a four-seamer that averages 96.2 mph and a slider sitting 82.9 mph. He’d be controllable for a full six years beyond the current season and is in the second of two minor league option years. That’d give Seattle plenty of long-term control and flexibility.

Halvorsen, 25, is arguably the most appealing of the whole group. His 4.99 ERA is pedestrian, but he’s averaging 100 mph on his four-seamer, inducing chases off the plate at an above-average rate and sporting a 13.2% swinging-strike rate. The flamethrowing young righty has punched out just 20.9% of his opponents but fanned batters at a 28.9% rate during last year’s debut (albeit in a smaller sample of innings). His 11.6% walk rate is too high, but his 54.4% grounder rate is excellent.

Halvorsen only briefly got a look late last season and hasn’t been optioned since first being selected to the big leagues. As such, he has a full slate of three option years. He’s controlled for five more years beyond the current season. Pitchers who average 100 mph or better and keep the ball on the ground at such high rates are rare breeds, and Halvorsen’s chase rate, swinging-strike rate, minor league numbers and 2024 results all suggest there could be more strikeouts in the tank as well. His command has never been great, and that’ll be the challenge for the Rockies or another club to unlock, but the raw tools in Halvorsen’s arsenal are tantalizing.

Whether the Rockies actually bite the bullet and trade any of their controllable relievers is an open question, but there’s a relatively limited supply of relievers controlled beyond the current season and a large number of teams hoping to acquire such pitchers. Beyond the Rangers and Mariners, each of the Phillies, Tigers, Yankees, Dodgers, Mets and Cubs have been linked to relievers with multiple years of club control. One long-shot possibility, Cleveland’s Emmanuel Clase, was removed from consideration earlier this week when he was placed on administrative leave amid MLB’s ongoing gambling investigation.

While there are plenty of bullpen arms available on the market, many of them (e.g. Ryan Helsley, Raisel Iglesias) are free agents at season’s end. Teams like the Pirates (David Bednar, Dennis Santana), Guardians (Cade Smith) and particularly the Twins (Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax) have set lofty asking prices on the bullpen arms they control beyond the current season. The Rox will surely have a hefty asking price on relievers like Vodnik and Halvorsen, but the demand for controllable bullpen help could present them with an opportunity to provide a jolt to a weak farm system.

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