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Dodgers Rumors

Dodgers Likely To Select Justin Dean

By Anthony Franco | August 7, 2025 at 8:00pm CDT

The Dodgers are likely to promote outfielder Justin Dean before tomorrow’s series opener with the Blue Jays, reports Dodger Daily. According to the MLB.com transaction tracker, L.A. optioned Esteury Ruiz to Triple-A Oklahoma City this evening. That’ll open the necessary active roster spot, but they’ll also need to make a 40-man move to select Dean’s contract.

It’d be the first major league call for the 28-year-old Dean. A product of Division II Lenoir-Rhyne University in North Carolina, Dean was a 17th-round pick by the Braves in 2018. He doesn’t have huge power in a 5’8″ frame, but he’s a plus runner who can play a good center field. Dean spent seven seasons in the Atlanta system without getting an MLB look. He qualified for minor league free agency last winter and signed a non-roster contract with the Dodgers.

Dean has spent the entire season at Triple-A Oklahoma City. He’s hitting .274/.370/.426 with six homers while stealing 25 bases in 32 attempts. The righty batter has taken walks at a strong 12% rate while striking out 23% of the time. He’s chasing fewer pitches outside the strike zone and making a lot more contact than he did last season in the Atlanta system. Dean has logged over 500 innings in center field and added 136 frames in right.

Ruiz had been the last position player on the roster as a speedster off the bench. Dean should provide a superior defensive option in a fifth outfielder role.

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Los Angeles Dodgers Transactions Justin Dean

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MLBTR Podcast: Sifting Through The Trade Deadline Deals

By Darragh McDonald | August 6, 2025 at 11:56pm CDT

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 go over the various deadline dealings, including…

  • The Padres acquiring Mason Miller, JP Sears, Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Laureano, Nestor Cortes, Freddy Fermin and Will Wagner, while not trading Dylan Cease nor Robert Suarez (1:20)
  • The Athletics sending out Miller and Sears, getting a pile of prospects, headlined by Leo De Vries (25:20)
  • The Twins trading a bunch of rentals but also Jhoan Durán, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland and Carlos Correa (31:50)
  • The Astros taking on Correa despite previously trying to avoid the competitive balance tax (50:05)
  • The Phillies’ deadline (58:25)
  • The Mariners acquiring Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez from the Diamondbacks (1:00:40)
  • The Diamondbacks trading Merrill Kelly but not Zac Gallen (1:07:45)
  • The Rangers’ deadline (1:16:00)
  • The Mets acquiring various relievers, including Tyler Rogers from the Giants (1:19:05)
  • The Yankees acquiring Camilo Doval, David Bednar and Jake Bird (1:25:45)
  • The Pirates holding several trade candidates but they did trade Ke’Bryan Hayes to the Reds (1:35:15)
  • The Blue Jays acquiring Shane Bieber and Varland (1:43:40)
  • The Red Sox acquiring Dustin May from the Dodgers (1:54:20)
  • The underwhelming deadlines of the Cubs and Tigers (1:59:40)

Check out our past episodes!

  • Megapod Trade Deadline Preview – listen here
  • 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

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

Photo courtesy of Chadd Cady, Imagn Images

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Arizona Diamondbacks Boston Red Sox Chicago Cubs Cincinnati Reds Detroit Tigers Houston Astros Los Angeles Dodgers MLB Trade Rumors Podcast Minnesota Twins New York Mets New York Yankees Oakland Athletics Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Seattle Mariners Texas Rangers Toronto Blue Jays Camilo Doval Carlos Correa David Bednar Dustin May Eugenio Suarez Griffin Jax Jake Bird Jhoan Duran Ke'Bryan Hayes Leodalis De Vries Louie Varland Mason Miller Merrill Kelly Shane Bieber Tyler Rogers Zac Gallen

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

By Nick Deeds | August 6, 2025 at 2:45pm CDT

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:

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Arizona Diamondbacks Colorado Rockies Los Angeles Dodgers MLBTR Originals MLBTR Polls San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants

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Pirates Claim Jack Little

By Darragh McDonald | August 6, 2025 at 2:10pm CDT

The Pirates announced that they have claimed right-hander Jack Little off waivers from the Dodgers and assigned him to Triple-A Indianapolis. The Dodgers designated him for assignment two days ago. The Pirates had a couple of vacancies on their 40-man roster, with this move bumping their count to 39.

Little, 27, was called up to the big leagues for the first time less than two months ago. The Dodgers selected him to their 40-man on June 19th. Since then, he’s largely been on optional assignment. His big league track record consists of just three innings over two appearances. In those, Little allowed two earned runs on four hits and one walk while striking out two. He averaged 94 miles per hour on his fastball while also throwing a splitter and a slider.

Presumably, the Bucs are more interested in his larger sample of work as a minor leaguer. He was first promoted to the Triple-A level in June of last year. Since then, he has logged 79 innings for Oklahoma City with a 4.67 earned run average. It’s perhaps important to note that the Comets play in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. While the 4.67 ERA may not be especially impressive, his 23.3% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rates are pretty close to typical big league averages.

Little still has a full slate of options and just a handful of service days, meaning he could be a cheap depth piece for the foreseeable future, if he can hang onto his roster spot. The Bucs had some open spots on that roster, so they can get a free look at him for now and see how things go in Indianapolis. They traded David Bednar and Caleb Ferguson ahead of the deadline, putting a dent in their bullpen depth, so Little backfills a bit of that.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin, Oncea-Imagn Images

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Los Angeles Dodgers Pittsburgh Pirates Transactions Jack Little

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Dodgers Place Tommy Edman On Injured List

By Anthony Franco | August 4, 2025 at 6:53pm CDT

The Dodgers placed Tommy Edman on the 10-day injured list with a right ankle sprain. As expected, Max Muncy was reinstated from his own IL stint in the corresponding move.

Edman missed a couple weeks in May with ankle inflammation. He aggravated the injury while rounding first base on a single during yesterday’s win over Tampa Bay. Edman was immediately lifted for a pinch-runner, and manager Dave Roberts said postgame that it’d require an injured list stint. The switch-hitting Edman had a monster April, hitting eight home runs in the season’s first month. He hasn’t hit much since then, batting .214/.273/.323 in 210 plate appearances going back to May 1.

The Dodgers will lose one of their most valuable defensive players. Edman plays above-average to plus defense virtually everywhere on the diamond. He has played mostly second base but also taken a decent amount of innings in center field and at third base. The Dodgers also recently lost Hyeseong Kim to an IL stint. That presumably leaves second base to rookie infielder Alex Freeland, though it’s veteran utilityman Miguel Rojas who gets the nod there tonight after Freeland started four consecutive games at the hot corner.

Muncy will step back into an everyday role at third base. He’s back a month after suffering a bone bruise in his left knee. That’s a remarkably quick turnaround. Not only did the injury initially look gruesome, Muncy announced a six-week timetable even after imaging revealed he’d avoided ligament damage. Muncy was on a tear before the injury. After hitting .194 over the season’s first month, he raked at a .282/.410/.546 clip with 12 home runs from the start of May until the injury. He’s hitting fifth tonight against the Cardinals, who are turning to Sonny Gray in the series opener.

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Los Angeles Dodgers Max Muncy Tommy Edman

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Dodgers Claim Luken Baker, Designate Jack Little

By Anthony Franco | August 4, 2025 at 6:08pm CDT

The Dodgers announced they’ve claimed first baseman Luken Baker off waivers from the Cardinals. According to the MLB.com transaction log, he’s been optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Los Angeles designated reliever Jack Little for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot. St. Louis had not previously announced that Baker was dropped from the 40-man roster but evidently tried to run him through waivers.

It’s a bit surprising that the Cards went that route. They had four open spots on the 40-man roster, so it’s not as if they were pressed for space. (Their count remains at 36 after they claimed lefty reliever Anthony Veneziano from Miami.) They nevertheless decided to move on from Baker, a 28-year-old first baseman who is in his fifth Triple-A season.

A former second-round pick out of TCU, Baker ranked toward the back of the Cards’ top 30 prospects for a few seasons on the strength of his raw power. He has connected on 136 home runs in his minor league career, 96 of which have come at the Triple-A level. Baker owns a .249/.344/.507 batting line in more than 1600 Triple-A plate appearances. He’s down to a meager .196/.309/.397 slash in 65 games this year, so the Cards determined he wasn’t getting another MLB opportunity. Baker has had sporadic big league appearances, hitting .206 with four homers in just under 200 plate appearances between 2023-25.

Before this claim, the Dodgers did not have a single healthy position player who was on optional assignment. Baker at least provides a healthy bat whom they can call upon if necessary without making a future 40-man roster transaction. He’s in his last minor league option year.

Little, 27, is a 6’4″ righty who made his big league debut last month. He has had two very brief stints on the MLB roster, combining to toss three innings of two-run ball. The Stanford product owns a 4.64 ERA with slightly worse than average strikeout (21.1%) and walk (10.3%) rates across 36 appearances with OKC. Little had gotten out to a strong start to the Triple-A campaign, but he has surrendered 17 earned runs in 19 innings dating back to the beginning of June. The Dodgers will put him on waivers this week.

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Los Angeles Dodgers St. Louis Cardinals Transactions Jack Little Luken Baker

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Dodgers Place Kirby Yates On Injured List

By Anthony Franco | August 1, 2025 at 4:54pm CDT

The Dodgers placed veteran reliever Kirby Yates on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to July 29, with lower back pain. Deadline acquisitions Brock Stewart, Alex Call and Paul Gervase have all reported to the team and been added to the active roster.

Yates is the latest L.A. reliever to land on the shelf. This is his second stint of the season. He missed a few weeks with a hamstring strain earlier in the year. Signed to a one-year, $13MM free agent deal, Yates has turned in a disappointing 4.31 ERA across 31 1/3 innings. That’s despite plus strikeout and walk rates, as he has been plagued by the home run.

There’s no indication this’ll be anything other than a brief absence. Stewart should step into high-leverage work, while Gervase could be a middle reliever. Yates joins Tanner Scott, Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech and Brusdar Graterol on the shelf. Phillips is done for the year. Graterol has a shot at a late-season return from shoulder surgery. Scott has an uncertain timeline with elbow discomfort, while Kopech is aiming to make it back from meniscus surgery in his right knee.

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Los Angeles Dodgers Kirby Yates

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Red Sox Acquire Dustin May

By Anthony Franco | July 31, 2025 at 4:53pm CDT

The Red Sox announced the acquisition of right-hander Dustin May from the Dodgers for minor league outfielders James Tibbs and Zach Ehrhard. May will step into the back of Boston’s rotation after the Sox optioned Richard Fitts earlier in the week.

May, 27, has had a middling season. He carries a 4.85 earned run average across 19 appearances. His 21.5% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk percentage are right around league average. May hasn’t missed as many bats or gotten as many ground balls as he did earlier in his career. The former top prospect once looked like a potential top-of-the-rotation starter, but he’s unfortunately never been able to stay healthy. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021 and missed most of that season and the next. He suffered another forearm strain upon his return in ’23, then missed all of last season after requiring emergency surgery after rupturing his esophagus.

This year’s 104 innings are by far the most of his career. May’s velocity has held all season, but he has allowed an ERA of 4.45 or higher in each month since April. The Dodgers seemingly were on the verge of kicking him to the bullpen. GM Brandon Gomes told reporters (including J.P. Hoornstra of Newsweek) that May preferred to start. Gomes stated that May did not demand a trade but suggested the Dodgers were open to accommodating him by dealing him to a team that’d give him a rotation spot if a deal presented itself.

They not only found that team but got a strong return out of it. Tibbs was the Giants’ first-round pick last summer. San Francisco sent him to Boston alongside Kyle Harrison in June’s Rafael Devers blockbuster. His production tanked immediately after the trade, as he hit .205/.321/.268 with only one home run in 29 games for Boston’s Double-A affiliate. Tibbs had put together a much more impressive .246/.379/.478 line in High-A before the trade.

The Red Sox evidently soured on his future extremely quickly. Not only has May not had a particularly good year, he’s an impending free agent. He’s only playing on a $2.135MM salary because the injuries tamped down his arbitration earnings. Still, two months of a fifth/sixth starter isn’t a particularly valuable trade asset. If the Red Sox valued Tibbs anywhere near as highly as they did when they included him in the Devers trade, they would not have made this deal.

Ehrhard was Boston’s fourth-rounder last season. He’s a righty-hitting corner outfielder with a .270/.371/.434 line and 23 steals in 88 games between High-A and Double-A on the year. Baseball America slotted him 29th in the Boston farm system. He has a tweener profile but could be a fourth or fifth outfielder on the strength of his hitting ability.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the Red Sox were acquiring May. FanSided’s Robert Murray had Tibbs’ inclusion, while Christopher Smith of MassLive reported that Ehrhard was in the deal. Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of the New York Post previously reported that the two sides were in talks on a deal involving May. Image courtesy of Neville E. Guard, Imagn Images.

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Boston Red Sox Los Angeles Dodgers Newsstand Transactions Dustin May James Tibbs Zach Ehrhard

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Dodgers Acquire Alex Call

By Mark Polishuk | July 31, 2025 at 4:08pm CDT

The Dodgers have added to their outfield mix by adding Alex Call in a trade with the Nationals, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports.  MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand says the Nats will get two pitching prospects in return, and the Washington Post’s Andrew Golden specifies the two pitchers as Eriq Swan and Sean Paul Linan.

Los Angeles dealt James Outman to the Twins earlier today for Brock Stewart, so adding Call essentially fills Outman’s spot in the Dodgers outfield.  It’s not a perfect match since Call is a right-handed hitter and Outman is left-handed, though between lefty-swinging Michael Conforto and switch-hitting Tommy Edman, the Dodgers still have plenty of balance in their outfield.

Call has two minor league options remaining, so L.A. has some roster flexibility if the team decides to move Call to Triple-A.  Call is also set to reach arbitration for the first time this winter, as he will almost surely qualify for Super Two status.  He’ll be in line for some higher paydays through four arb years rather than the usual three, and the Dodgers control him through the 2029 season.

A veteran of four MLB seasons, the 30-year-old Call can play all three outfield positions but is probably best suited to corner outfield work.  He is hitting .274/.371/.386 over 237 plate appearances this season, and has performed better in a part-time capacity than he did when in a more regular role in 2023.  As expected, Call has performed better against left-handed pitching than against righties in his career, with a .263/.346/.405 slash against southpaws.

To obtain a controllable outfielder, the Dodgers had to give up two pitching prospects.  MLB Pipeline had Swan 16th and Linan 20th in their ranking of the L.A. farm system, while Baseball America put Linan 19th and Swan 24th.  Linan was an international signing in 2022, and Swan was a fourth-round pick in the 2023 draft.

Swan has a high-90s fastball that can top 100mph on occasion, and Pipeline’s scouting report praises his easy delivery of the pitch.  His control is still a work in progress, as indicated by his 46 walks over 69 innings at high-A Great Lakes this season. Swan’s slider and sweeper both receive 60 grades from Baseball America, so the stuff is clearly there if Swan can polish his repertoire and harness his control.  It’s a high-upside addition for the Nationals, and Swan perhaps has a good future as a reliever if he doesn’t make it as a starting pitcher.

Linan’s bread-and-butter is an outstanding changeup, and his ability to develop his fastball and slider will determine how well he advances up the ladder.  He has looked dominant in the lower minors, though a temporary two-outing stint in Triple-A this season didn’t go well.  Linan has worked mostly as a starter this season, but could be best suited for relief work if he can’t develop at least a decent secondary pitch.

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Los Angeles Dodgers Transactions Washington Nationals Alex Call

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Dodgers, Twins To Swap Brock Stewart For James Outman

By Anthony Franco | July 31, 2025 at 2:47pm CDT

The Dodgers and Twins are reportedly in agreement on a one-for-one swap of reliever Brock Stewart for center fielder James Outman. Both players are on the 40-man roster, so there won’t need to be any corresponding transactions.

Stewart hasn’t gotten as much attention as former teammates Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax at the back of Minnesota’s bullpen. He’s a strong late-game weapon in his own right. As with most Dodger pitching targets, he’s very effective on a rate basis but comes with significant durability questions. Stewart is healthy at the moment, and his presence should be a major boost to a floundering L.A. relief group.

The 6’3″ Stewart has fired 34 innings of 2.38 ERA ball on the year. He has struck out almost 30% of batters faced behind an excellent 14.7% swinging strike rate. He pairs that with a league average 7.9% walk rate and has done a good job avoiding hard contact. Stewart leads a five-pitch mix with a 96 MPH fastball and gets big swing-and-miss numbers on both his sweeper and changeup.

It’s a back-end profile. Stewart has picked up 14 holds and only blown one lead all season. Minnesota skipper Rocco Baldelli has used him behind only Duran and Jax on their leverage hierarchy over the past month. This is the second time in the past three years in which Stewart has been an underrated bullpen weapon. He posted a 0.95 ERA with a near-36% strikeout rate in 28 appearances two seasons back.

Health is the drawback. Stewart has appeared in parts of seven MLB seasons. He has never reached 40 innings. He’ll establish a new career-high workload in his first appearance after the trade. Stewart began his career with the Dodgers as a 2014 sixth-round pick. He logged parts of four seasons as a swingman before being lost on waivers to Toronto in 2019. He was out of MLB entirely over the next three seasons, largely because of 2021 Tommy John surgery.

Stewart reemerged with Minnesota in 2023. He was suddenly sitting around 97 MPH after working in the 91-94 range before the surgery. Stewart dominated for a couple months until experiencing renewed elbow discomfort that shut him down in late June. Last season, he was limited to 18 appearances by shoulder problems that necessitated arthroscopic surgery in August. He has been healthy this year aside from a brief season-opening IL stint related to a left hamstring strain.

The atypical career arc and lack of volume have tamped down Stewart’s earning power. He’s playing on an $870K salary that is barely above the league minimum. Stewart will go through arbitration twice more and won’t hit free agency until the end of his age-35 season. While the affordability meant that the Twins didn’t need to trade him, they also presumably felt this was the peak of his value. Stewart’s age and injury history meant there’d be real risk in holding onto him and hoping he’d remain this effective going into 2026.

It’s the first of what should be multiple bullpen acquisitions for Los Angeles. Dodger relievers rank 22nd in MLB with a 4.24 earned run average. They’re top 10 in strikeout rate but have not been as strong as expected. Tanner Scott has been wobbly and is now battling elbow inflammation. Kirby Yates has a 4.31 ERA despite excellent strikeout and walk numbers. Evan Phillips is done for the year. Michael Kopech and Brusdar Graterol could make late-season returns but have notable injury concerns.

While Stewart himself is far from a sure thing to stay healthy, he’s a nice get for a player whose hold on a roster spot seemed tenuous. The 28-year-old Outman hit 23 home runs and finished third in NL Rookie of the Year balloting two seasons ago. That came with a concerning level of swing-and-miss, however, and he hasn’t come close to that kind of production over the past couple years. Outman fanned at a 35% clip while hitting .147 in 53 big league contests last season. He’s batting .103 with 18 strikeouts in 44 trips to the plate this year.

Outman has remained productive against minor league pitching. He’s hitting .289/.378/.592 with 20 homers and 14 stolen bases in 70 Triple-A games this season. His .286/.386/.585 batting line over parts of three season there is strong even in the context of the Pacific Coast League. Outman’s production still comes with significant strikeout caveats. He’s a plus runner and defensive center fielder who doesn’t need to hit a ton to be a fourth or fifth outfielder. He’ll nevertheless obviously need to produce more than the .137/.245/.269 slash that he has managed at the MLB level over the past two seasons.

This is Outman’s final minor league option year. He can back up Byron Buxton in center or spend the remainder of the season at Triple-A St. Paul. The Twins would need to decide whether to carry him on the Opening Day roster next season or expose him to waivers.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the Dodgers were nearing a deal for Stewart. Alden González of ESPN reported Outman was going back, while Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star-Tribune confirmed it was one for one.

Images courtesy of Matt Krohn and Patrick Gorski, Imagn Images.

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Los Angeles Dodgers Minnesota Twins Newsstand Transactions Brock Stewart James Outman

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