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Cardinals Claim Jorge Alcalá

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Today: The Cardinals have formally added Alcalá to their active roster ahead of this evening’s game against the Cubs. In a corresponding move, Gordon Graceffo was optioned to Triple-A.

August 7: The Cardinals announce that they have claimed right-hander Jorge Alcalá off waivers from the Red Sox. Boston designated him for assignment earlier this week. The Cards had several 40-man roster openings from their deadline dealings. Alcalá is out of options, so the Cards will need to make a corresponding active roster move once he reports to the team.

Alcalá, 30, has a decent overall track record but is having a rough season. From 2019 to 2024, he pitched 163 1/3 innings for the Twins with a 3.64 earned run average. He struck out 25.4% of batters faced while giving out walks at an 8.3% clip. He earned one save and 28 holds in that time.

But as mentioned, this year has been a struggle. He posted some poor numbers earlier in the year and got flipped to the Red Sox in June. Between Minnesota and Boston, he has thrown 40 2/3 innings with a 6.64 ERA. His 24.2% strikeout rate is still a good number but he has given out free passes to 12.1% of opponents.

For the Cards, they’re only 5.5 games out of a playoff spot but clearly have their sights set on next season. They had planned for 2025 to be a reset year from the beginning. Even though they hung around the playoff race, they sold off impending free agents ahead of the deadline. That included three relievers, with Ryan Helsley traded to the Mets, Phil Maton to the Rangers and Steven Matz to the Red Sox.

Those trades left them with some openings on the roster. This is their second waiver claim since those deals. They grabbed Anthony Veneziano from the Marlins a few days ago and now have added Alcalá into the mix.

Alcalá is making $1.5MM this year and can be retained for 2026 via arbitration. His poor results this year will prevent him from earning a big raise. The Cards can get a close-up look at him for a few weeks and decide if they want to tender him a contract.

Photo courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn, Imagn Images

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

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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. Yesterday, the Phillies came out on top in the NL East with about half the vote. Today, we’ll be taking a look at the NL Central. A look at each of the five clubs, listed from best to worst record in 2025:

Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers have the best record in baseball but had a fairly quiet deadline. Perhaps their most impactful move of the summer came last month, when they traded away Aaron Civale to land former top prospect Andrew Vaughn from the White Sox. Vaughn had struggled in Chicago for years but has caught fire with the Brewers and has proven to be an anchor for a lineup that’s without Rhys Hoskins and Jackson Chourio. Looking at deals made closer to the deadline, Milwaukee swapped out another big league starter to add a hitter when they shipped Nestor Cortes to the Padres alongside infield prospect Jorge Quintana and cash in order to bring in outfielder Brandon Lockridge.

Another unusual trade for Milwaukee was acquiring injured closer Shelby Miller and injured lefty Jordan Montgomery in exchange for a player to be named later or cash. Montgomery won’t pitch this year, so the deal essentially saw the Brewers buy Miller off of the Diamondbacks in exchange for eating some of Montgomery’s salary. Perhaps the only typical buy-side addition was catcher Danny Jansen, who they acquired from the Rays to back up William Contreras. Dealing away Cortes and Civale hasn’t seemed to hurt the team much, but their additions are fairly modest on paper.

Chicago Cubs

The Cubs have fallen behind the Brewers after posting a somewhat pedestrian 29-25 record since the start of June, and entered trade season in clear need of upgrades. Perhaps their most impactful addition was utility man Willi Castro, a switch-hitter who can help take pressure off of rookie Matt Shaw at third base while upgrading the bench to make giving regulars like Dansby Swanson and Ian Happ days off more feasible. Deals with the Orioles and Pirates to acquire veteran setup man Andrew Kittredge and southpaw Taylor Rogers should help bolster a bullpen that had been relying on reclamation projects like Brad Keller and Drew Pomeranz to this point, as well.

Despite those generally solid additions, the Cubs did not substantially address their biggest need this summer: starting pitching. It was no secret that adding rotation help was a top priority for Chicago with Justin Steele done for the year, Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad both on the injured list, and both Cade Horton and Matthew Boyd in uncharted territory in terms of innings. Unfortunately for the Cubs, they were unable to find much help in that regard on the market. Michael Soroka was added in a trade with the Nationals in order to pitch in, but his velocity was down in his last few outings with the Nats and now he’s headed for the injured list with shoulder discomfort. While the club’s bench and bullpen additions were solid, it’s unclear if that will be enough to outweigh the lack of impactful rotation help down the stretch.

Cincinnati Reds

The 59-54 Reds currently sit just three games out of a Wild Card spot in the NL, and that was enough to convince them to go for it this summer. They made three trades to round out their roster. They picked up right-hander Zack Littell from the Rays in a three-team deal that sent righty Brian Van Belle to Tampa and lefty Adam Serwinowski to the Dodgers. They added Miguel Andujar to their bench in a deal with the A’s and, most interestingly, they picked up third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes from the Pirates in exchange for Rogers (who was later traded to the Cubs) and shortstop prospect Sammy Stafura.

Littell should provide some depth for an already-strong rotation that has a history of struggling to stay healthy (as was reinforced by Nick Lodolo’s departure from yesterday’s game after just 1 2/3 innings of work). Andujar provides a lefty-mashing bench bat to a club that has struggled badly against southpaws this year, but Hayes is the most interesting addition of the bunch. A former top prospect and Gold Glove award winner at third base, Hayes is one of the most talented defenders in the sport but hit just .236/.279/.290 (57 wRC+) in 100 games with the Pirates this year and has a career wRC+ of just 84. His relatively pricey contract makes bringing him in a gamble, but if he can float a slash line even close to league average, he should be a 3-win player when healthy.

St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals sold at the deadline for the second time in three years, but in doing so they only traded veterans on expiring contracts. Right-hander Erick Fedde was the first domino to fall, as the veteran starter was shipped to the Braves for a player to be named later or cash amid a disappointing season that saw him designated for assignment just before the deal. Veteran setup man Phil Maton netted a pair of prospects from the Rangers, one of whom is now St. Louis’s #26 ranked prospect at MLB Pipeline, and swingman Steven Matz was shipped to the Red Sox in a deal that brought back power-hitting first baseman Blaze Jordan (#18 in the Cardinals’ system, per Pipeline).

The team’s biggest deal this summer, however, was shipping out closer Ryan Helsley to the Mets. Even in the midst of a down season by his standards, Helsley brought back a trio of talented players: infield prospect Jesus Baez (#6 in the Cardinals’ system, per Pipeline), righty pitching prospect Nate Dohm (#15), and right-handed prospect Frank Elissalt (unranked). It’s a solid group of talent to bring in for a handful of rentals on expiring deals and the moves should help set incoming president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom up for success as John Mozeliak departs the club at the end of the season.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates also sold off pieces this summer, although their deadline was quiet for a club that entered July with Paul Skenes and Andrew McCutchen as their only two untouchable players. Not only did widely-speculated trade candidate Mitch Keller stay put despite a market starved for controllable rotation talent, but a number of rental players for whom the Pirates have little use did not end up getting cashed in for prospects and/or salary relief. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Tommy Pham, Andrew Heaney, and Tim Mayza all remain in town. And some deals they did make, such as the David Bednar swap with the Yankees, produced underwhelming returns.

That’s not to say everything about the club’s deadline was disappointing, however. The Pirates did manage to get out from under the Hayes contract, and then flipped Rogers to get an additional prospect from the Cubs. Lefty Caleb Ferguson and infielder Adam Frazier both were successfully cashed in for prospect talent and the Bucs received a return led by intriguing MLB-ready reliever Evan Sisk when they looked to sell on back-end starter Bailey Falter. Some of those young players acquired should help the Pirates going forward, and getting Hayes off the books should make adding offense easier for 2026 and beyond. Even so, it’s fair to wonder if this deadline represents a missed opportunity in Pittsburgh.

The NL Central was one of the quieter divisions in baseball this deadline, with only a handful of non-rental players changing hands and no blockbusters. With that being said, three teams did make an effort to get better for 2025, while the Cardinals and Pirates picked up a number of pieces for their futures. Which club did the best of this quintet? Have your say in the poll below:

Cardinals Claim Anthony Veneziano From Marlins

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The Cardinals claimed reliever Anthony Veneziano off waivers from the Marlins, as first reflected on the MLB.com transaction tracker. He’s been optioned to Triple-A Memphis. Miami had designated him for assignment last week when they promoted outfielder Jakob Marsee.

Veneziano is a 6’5″ lefty who has made 38 MLB appearances over the past three years. He has a combined 3.93 earned run average through 36 2/3 innings, striking out 20.6% of opponents against an 8.8% walk rate. He leans mostly on a mid-80s slider while averaging around 94 MPH on his fastball. Veneziano has managed serviceable big league production, but he has given up eight runs with an underwhelming 12:9 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 12 Triple-A appearances this year.

St. Louis traded Ryan Helsley, Steven Matz and Phil Maton at the deadline. They lost John King to an oblique strain last week. JoJo Romero is the only southpaw in Oli Marmol’s bullpen. He is now the team’s best reliever and probably going to get a decent amount of work in the ninth inning. Romero picked up the save, his first of the season, on Saturday in the team’s only win since the Helsley trade. Veneziano won’t jump right into the big league bullpen, but he’s the only other healthy lefty reliever on the 40-man roster.

Dodgers Claim Luken Baker, Designate Jack Little

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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.

Cardinals Place Nolan Arenado On Injured List

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The Cardinals placed Nolan Arenado on the 10-day injured list this evening with a right shoulder strain. St. Louis activated Nolan Gorman from his own IL stay in a corresponding move. They also recalled relief pitchers Andre Granillo, Roddery Muñoz and Ryan Fernandez to fill the bullpen spots vacated by recent trades of Steven Matz, Ryan Helsley and Phil Maton.

Manager Oli Marmol told reporters (including Katie Woo of The Athletic) that there’s no timeline for Arenado’s return. Marmol added that the veteran third baseman has been playing through discomfort for a while. It’s presumably no coincidence that his already pedestrian numbers have continued to drop. Arenado has a .235/.294/.366 batting line with 10 homers in 394 plate appearances on the year. He’s hitting only .175/.230/.211 in July, by far his worst month of the season.

Arenado remains a strong defender, but he’s amidst his worst full season at the plate since he was a rookie. That follows consecutive league average seasons between 2023-24. He seems to be firmly in the decline phase of his illustrious career at age 34. He’s signed through 2027 and the Cardinals have been unable to find a satisfactory trade agreement since he vetoed a potential deal to the Astros over the winter. If he is out for most or all of the remaining schedule, an offseason deal would be equally difficult to envision.

The 25-year-old Gorman returns after a couple weeks lost to a back issue. He’ll play third base regularly for at least as long as Arenado is sidelined. Asked last night whether the Cards were considering a change in playing time in the infield, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak somewhat vaguely replied that they’re “going to try to find at-bats for Nolan Gorman as best we can” (link via Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Arenado’s injury opens that path for the former first-round pick.

Gorman has big power but has struggled to make contact against MLB pitching. This season’s 30% strikeout rate is a marginal improvement relative to his first three seasons but remains too high. He has a league average .219/.310/.408 slash with nine homers in 226 plate appearances. Gorman hit 27 longballs a couple years ago and has formerly been an everyday second baseman. The Cards had a tougher time finding at-bats for him this year. They held Brendan Donovan past the deadline; he’ll play regularly at second base. Donovan can also play the corner outfield, but they’ve got Alec Burleson in left and have begun giving catcher Iván Herrera some outfield reps as well. That’s before considering Lars Nootbaar’s eventual return from the injured list.

In what amounts to a transitional year for St. Louis, the primary focus has been on the evaluation of young players like Gorman and Jordan Walker. They’ll have another two months to get more data before Mozeliak turns control of the front office to Chaim Bloom. The upcoming offseason will provide an insight into how Bloom evaluates the mid-20s players and what he considers the priorities to get the team back to playoff contention in 2026 or ’27.

Rangers Acquire Phil Maton

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The Rangers have added another veteran arm to their bullpen, acquiring right-hander Phil Maton from the Cardinals in exchange for minor league pitchers Mason Molina and Skylar Hales, per announcements from both clubs. Texas designated minor league outfielder Dustin Harris for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot.

Maton, 32, is playing the current season on a one-year, $2MM contract signed after spring training was underway. Other clubs around the league are surely kicking themselves to an extent, as Maton has turned in a career-best performance in St. Louis. He’s tallied 38 1/3 innings with a 2.35 ERA, a 30.5% strikeout rate and a 9.5% walk rate. Maton’s 50.6% ground-ball mark is a career-high.

While he’s never been a hard-thrower, Maton has carved out a solid career for himself living in the upper 80s and low 90s. He’s sitting 89.5 mph with his sinker in 2025 — and throwing it at a career-high 13.2% clip — and averaging just 90.6 mph with his cutter. Maton has thrown his mid-70s curveball more than any other pitch this season, and he’s also mixed in a slider that sits 83.4 mph.

The whole package has been effective. Maton is missing bats, inducing grounders and limiting hard contact even better than he typically does — which is impressive given his track record. Opponents have averaged just 86 mph off Maton in his career, but they’re putting the ball in play at an average of only 84.8 mph in 2025. His 28.9% hard-hit rate is among the lowest in the sport, and Maton has only allowed three “barreled” balls, per Statcast’s definition, all season.

Maton has picked up 20 holds and a pair of saves with the Cardinals. He’s not likely to step into the ninth inning in Texas, but he’ll join newly acquired left-hander Danny Coulombe as a setup man to closer Robert Garcia. He’s a free agent at season’s end, making Maton a pure rental, but the cost of acquisition reflects that lack of team control.

Molina, 22, was the Brewers’ seventh-round pick in last year’s draft. The former Arkansas Razorback was traded to Texas in a January swap sending righty Grant Anderson to Milwaukee. He’ll now join his third organization in barely a year of pro ball.

The 6’2″, 230-pound Molina has split the current season between the Rangers’ Class-A and High-A affiliates. He’s appeared in 18 games, 17 of them starts, and worked to a 3.41 ERA in 74 innings. Molina has punched out 30.5% of his hitters and walked 9.3% of the batters he’s faced. He didn’t rank among the Rangers’ top-30 prospects.

The 23-year-old Hales was the Rangers’ fourth-round pick in 2023. He posted terrific numbers in his first season of pro ball but has struggled in year two, logging an ERA north of 5.00 in Double-A and serving up 13 runs in his first 7 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level. Overall, Hales has pitched 33 minor league innings and been tagged for a 7.64 ERA.

It’s not a compelling statistical profile, but Hales has a powerful 6’4″, 220-pound frame and averages better than 95 mph on his heater. Even as he’s struggled to keep runs off the board, he’s fanned nearly 28% of his opponents and notched strong swinging-strike rates. His command hasn’t been sharp in his limited look in Triple-A, but he posted quality walk rates at each stop prior to reaching Memphis.

Hales is a pure bullpen prospect, relying primarily on a fastball/slider combo. If he can get his command back on track and improve his performance with runners on base, he has the tools to be a useful bullpen piece.

The roster casualty for Maton will be Harris, a former 11th-round pick of the A’s whom the Rangers acquired in a 2020 trade. He ranked among the organization’s better prospects for a few seasons and had the look of an offensive-minded first baseman or left fielder. Harris posted huge numbers up through High-A and above-average numbers in his first passes through the Double-A and Triple-A levels.

He’s now in his third run through Triple-A, however, and he’s delivered below-average output in each of his past two stints at the level. In 308 plate appearances this season, the lefty-swinging Harris has a .262/.355/.401 slash with nine homers and 24 steals. He’s walked at a strong 10.7% clip and fanned in a lower-than-average 18.8% of plate appearances. It’s not necessarily bad production, but he’s checked in 5% worse than league average, by measure of wRC+.

Harris is also in his final minor league option year. He would’ve needed to stick on the major league roster next season had the Rangers not jettisoned him from the 40-man roster. That’ll be true for any organization that claims him off waivers as well. Harris can be optioned for the remainder of the current season but will have to stick in the majors or else be designated for assignment again next year.

Since trades of players who’ve been on 40-man rosters are no longer permitted, Harris will head to waivers within the next five days. He’ll be made available to all 29 other clubs at that point, with waiver priority determined by reverse standings.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported that Maton was headed to Texas. The Athletic’s Katie Woo reported the return.

Cardinals Unlikely To Move Burleson, Donovan, Nootbaar

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1:02pm: Though the Cardinals have indeed gotten several calls on Burleson, Nootbaar and Donovan, they’re expected to hold onto all three players, reports Katie Woo of The Athletic. Maton will almost certainly be traded, but that could be the final piece of business for St. Louis today.

8:32am: The Cardinals have already shipped out Ryan Helsley and Steven Matz, and there’s plenty of work for their front office to do between now and this afternoon’s deadline. They’ve talked Phil Maton with the Blue Jays (among other clubs), and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that they’re also fielding offers on outfielder Lars Nootbaar, first baseman/outfielder Alec Burleson and utilityman Brendan Donovan (who’s reportedly been on the radar of the Dodgers and Yankees already — albeit before the Yankees acquired Ryan McMahon).

Two of the clubs showing interest in Burleson, Nootbaar and Donovan are the Phillies and Astros, per the report. Philadelphia is known to be looking to realign its outfield, while the Astros have been looking for left-handed bats — ideally one they could plug in at second base. Donovan fits that bill, though there’s certainly room for a left-handed bat like Burleson or Nootbaar to join the team’s outfield mix. Houston currently has journeyman former top prospect Taylor Trammell and struggling young prospect Jacob Melton taking on notable outfield roles.

All three of Burleson, Nootbaaar and Donovan are controlled for multiple years beyond the current season. Burleson has the most remaining club control, with three full seasons still to go. Both Nootbaar and Donovan are controlled two additional years, through 2027. Nootbaar, notably, has been on the injured list since July 12 due to a ribcage injury, but he began a minor league rehab assignment yesterday and went 1-for-4 with the Cardinals’ Double-A affiliate.

Burleson, 26, is in the midst of a career-best performance at the plate. The former second-round pick is slashing a .287/.341/.469 (127 wRC+) with 14 home runs, 19 doubles and just a 13% strikeout rate. That level of contact is nothing new, as he posted a matching 13% strikeout rate in 2023 and a 12.8% rate last season.

This year’s 7.6% walk rate is a career-best in a full season, however, even if it’s still a slight bit below average. Burleson’s power output is also at a career-high level. He entered 2025 with a career .402 slugging and .146 ISO (slugging minus batting average); he’s bumped that ISO considerably, up to .182. He’s also sporting career-high marks in average exit velocity (91.4 mph) and hard-hit rate (42.7%).

While Burleson’s bat has steadily improved as he’s gotten more experience in the majors, his glovework remains lacking. He’s split his time between the outfield corners and first base this season but drawn middling defensive marks. He’s been generally solid at first base in 443 career innings but has below-average grades in both outfield corners. Burleson’s arm strength is better than average, per Statcast, but he hasn’t been terribly accurate with his throws and has well below-average range — as one would expect for a player whose sprint speed sits in just the tenth percentile of big leaguers. The Phils and Astros would probably both use Burleson in the outfield, given the presence of Bryce Harper and Christian Walker at first base in Philadelphia and Houston, respectively.

Nootbaar is a cleaner fit for either team from a defensive standpoint but is more expensive — $2.95MM salary to Burleson’s pre-arbitration $778K — and comes with less club control. He also has some uncertainty surrounding him due to his injury. He’s batting .227/.332/.381 (104 wRC+) with a characteristically high walk rate (12.8%) but more strikeouts and less pop than usual.

The 27-year-old Nootbaar (28 in September) has long tantalized the Cardinals and other clubs alike. He’s regularly displayed many traits that give him the feel of a player on the cusp of breaking out. Nootbaar walks at an extremely high level (13.6% since 2022), strikes out less than the average player (20.2% strikeout rate since ’22) and routinely posts excellent batted-ball metrics. He’s averaged 91 mph off the bat and posted a 10% barrel rate and 45.5% hard-hit rate in that same timeframe. Nootbaar has been a bit grounder-heavy in the past but has been elevating the ball at career-high levels in 2025.

Defensively, he’s drawn strong grades in the corners and held his own with average marks as a center fielder. Nootbaar isn’t a burner but has average sprint speed and good arm strength. He could help with Philadelphia’s need in center field and could hold down center in Houston while Jake Meyers mends before moving to a corner.

Donovan, presumably, has drawn the widest interest of all. He’s a strong defender at second base and third base who can hold his own in either outfield corner and provide backup options at first base or shortstop. Like Burleson, he’s fanned in just 13% of his plate appearances across the past three seasons. Donovan doesn’t have huge power but has nine homers on the year and could reach or exceed his prior career-high (14) in the final couple months of play.

As with Nootbaar, this is Donovan’s first year of arbitration eligibility. He’s earning an eminently reasonable $2.85MM and would be owed raises in each of the next two offseasons. Given the fact that Donovan can play just about any position on the diamond and provide high-end contact skills with solid all-around offensive output, virtually any contender could fit him onto the roster. Even if he doesn’t have one specific position he mans on an everyday basis, Donovan could still slot into a postseason club’s lineup daily and rotate through multiple positions, helping keep the entire lineup fresh.

The Cardinals generally haven’t been viewed as likely to trade their long-term players, though Nightengale suggests that they’re open for business as of this morning. Whether that means they’re simply listening out of due diligence or there’s actual motivation to move a Burleson, Donovan or Nootbaar remains to be seen. But with the limited inventory of position players on the market and a slew of contenders looking to improve, the Cardinals could take advantage of market scarcity to secure a strong return on a controllable player that they may not have been looking to move even a few weeks ago.

Rangers Interested In Hunter Harvey, Phil Maton

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The Rangers are looking for bullpen help and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that Phil Maton of the Cardinals and Hunter Harvey of the Royals are two of their targets. Rosenthal also mentions Jake Bird of the Rockies and David Bednar of the Pirates but notes that the Rangers expect the asking price on Bednar to be too steep. The Rangers’ interest in Bednar and Bird has been previously reported. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that Texas would like to clear some payroll space today in order to accommodate bullpen upgrades.

Financial constraints have been an ongoing theme for the Rangers this year, as they clearly want to avoid the competitive balance tax. Owner Ray Davis admitted as much back in January. To stay under that line, their bullpen signings were modest. They inked Chris Martin, Hoby Milner, Luke Jackson, Jacob Webb and Shawn Armstrong to one-year deals, none of them worth more than $5.5MM.

The returns on those deals have been mixed. Jackson was recently released and is now with the Tigers. Armstrong and Milner have been good. Martin has also been good but is currently on the injured list. Webb is on the IL as well.

Texas relievers have a collective 3.37 earned run average, fourth-best in baseball. However, that might belie the true talent of the group. Their .277 batting average on balls in play, 72.6% strand rate and 8.4% homer to fly ball rate are all a bit to the unfortunate side. Their 13.3 K-BB% is 15th in the majors and their 3.82 SIERA 16th.

Regardless, most contending clubs look for bullpen upgrades ahead of the deadline. The Rangers are currently tied with the Mariners for the last American League Wild Card spot and figure to be adding.

Maton, 32, is often underrated. Dating back to the start of 2020, he has thrown 322 1/3 innings with a 3.69 ERA. He has struck out 27.1% of opponents, given out walks at a 9.2% rate and induced grounders on 42.8% of balls in play. He also does very well in terms of limiting damage. His average exit velocity, barrel rate and hard hit rate are often near the top of the league leaderboards. He also has a 2.57 ERA in 28 playoff innings.

Despite that solid track record, his market hasn’t always been strong, perhaps because his velocity maxes out around 91 miles per hour. He first reached free agency ahead of 2024 and signed a modest one-year, $6.5MM deal with the Rays. He didn’t do especially well in Tampa, posting a 4.58 ERA. However, he righted the ship after being flipped to the Mets, posting a 2.51 ERA with that club.

He returned to free agency ahead of the current season and lingered on the open market into March. The Cardinals grabbed him with a $2MM guarantee on a one-year deal. That has worked out nicely, as Maton has a 2.35 ERA in 38 1/3 innings. He has a 30.4% strikeout rate, 9.5% walk rate and 50.6% ground ball rate. He’s also still inducing weak contact, like usual. The Cards are clearly selling, having already traded Ryan Helsley to the Mets and Steven Matz to the Red Sox. An impending free agent like Maton is sure to go. He’s also been connected the Blue Jays this week.

Harvey, 30, is a bit more of a wild card. He hasn’t pitched much in the past year due to injury. He was traded from the Nationals to the Royals at last year’s deadline. Back tightness put him on the shelf after that deal. This year, a right teres major strain put him on the shelf for a few months and he only recently returned. He has only thrown 13 1/3 big league innings for the Royals since they acquired him.

But the results have been good when healthy. Dating back to the start of 2022, he has a 3.13 ERA, 27.3% strikeout rate, 6.4% walk rate and 42.7% ground ball rate. It’s unclear if the Royals would make him available, however, as they’ve been acting as buyers. They extended Seth Lugo instead of trading him and have brought in role players like Randal Grichuk and Adam Frazier.

Neither Maton nor Harvey would deal a massive blow to the Rangers’ budget. Maton is making only $2MM this year, leaving roughly $640K to be paid out. Harvey is making $3.7MM, with about $1.2MM left.

RosterResource has the Rangers’ CBT number at $235MM, roughly $6MM away from the $241MM base threshold. Cot’s Baseball Contracts gives them a bit more wiggle room, putting them at $233MM. Those are just estimates and might be off by a few million, but it seems like there’s room for someone like Maton or Harvey to be added without pushing the Rangers too high, though the club also has a few players with notable bonuses who could complicate matters.

If the Rangers need to move some money around, it’s been speculated that they could look to make players like Adolis García, Jonah Heim or Kyle Higashioka available. Garcia is making $9.25MM this year and isn’t having a great season. Perhaps he would appeal to the Royals, who need more offense from their outfield. Heim and Higashioka are also having underwhelming seasons. Heim is making $4.575MM while Higashioka is in the first season of a two-year, $13.5MM deal.

Photo courtesy of Jay Biggerstaff, Imagn Images

Astros Interested In Carlos Correa Reunion

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July 31: Nightengale reports that the talks between the two clubs are “all but dead,” adding that Houston asked Minnesota to pay “about $50MM” of the $102.5MM remaining in Correa’s contract and also asked for an outfielder to be included in the deal. Nightengale adds that the Twins rejected that offer and “aren’t budging” from that position. Rome reports (alongside The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal) that talks between the sides have continued despite both sides downplaying the likelihood of a trade.

July 30, 12:37pm: The Astros approached the Twins about the possibility, Chandler Rome and Dan Hayes of The Athletic report. Astros owner Jim Crane has “remained a fan” of Correa since his departure, they note, adding that the Twins believe Houston is perhaps the only destination to which Correa would green-light a trade. Nightengale adds that Correa indeed would be open to returning to Houston and playing third base there. That said, Hayes and Rome echo Passan in writing that the two sides are far apart and a deal is not at all close.

12:07pm: The Twins and Astros have indeed talked about the possibility of a Correa trade but aren’t close to an agreement, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports.

9:52am: As the Astros seek help in the infield following injuries to Isaac Paredes and Jeremy Pena, they’ve looked into the possibility of bringing Carlos Correa back to Houston, as first reported by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune writes that the two parties have had discussions on the possibility. MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart adds that Houston’s interest “is real.” Nightengale adds that Houston remains interested in Eugenio Suárez as well and has at least weighed the possibility of another run at Nolan Arenado.

The Correa scenario presents a fascinating, if unexpected wrinkle to this summer’s deadline market. In the offseason, Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey downplayed the possibility of trading his shortstop, and Correa himself voiced an affinity for Minnesota when asked about his no-trade clause at the time.

It’s fair to wonder whether either party’s stance has changed. The Twins have struggled through a sub-.500 four months of baseball and have minimal hope of reaching the postseason. The Pohlad family is exploring a sale of the team, and while that was true over the winter as well, the former front-runner to purchase the Twins, Justin Ishbia, has since instead reached a long-term agreement to become the majority stakeholder in the White Sox (where he was already a minority owner). On Correa’s end of things, returning to his original organization and jumping back into a playoff race would presumably be appealing.

Correa is still owed significant money. He signed a six-year, $200MM deal with four vesting options prior to the 2023 season. He’ll make a combined $92MM from 2026-28 and also still has about $11.6MM of this year’s salary yet to be paid out. The Twins would almost certainly have to pay down a portion of the contract to make a deal work.

Even if Minnesota did so, however, adding Correa back to the roster in Houston would send the Astros soaring past the luxury tax threshold. They’re currently about $4.5MM shy of that barrier, per RosterResource. Owner Jim Crane was steadfastly against exceeding the tax threshold in the offseason — at least in most scenarios. His lone exception, it seemed, would have been for a reunion with Alex Bregman. Whether Crane is feeling more urgency due to Houston’s litany of injuries or simply harbors some sentimentality for another former Astros star, one has to imagine he’s grown more comfortable crossing the tax threshold.

That Correa is in the midst of a sub-par season only further muddies the water. The 30-year-old hit brilliantly for the Twins last year in an injury-shortened campaign, batting .310/.388/.517 with his typical brand of strong defense at shortstop. He’s rebounded from a poor start in 2025 to an extent, but Correa’s .267/.319/.386 slash is slightly under league average (97 wRC+). Over his past 274 plate appearances, Correa is hitting .300 with a .350 on-base percentage but just a .423 slugging percentage. His power is down substantially this season, in part because his ground-ball rate has spiked to a 48.5% — its highest level in five years.

A renewed run at Arenado would register as something of a surprise. Arenado invoked his no-trade clause to nix a trade to Houston over the winter. Now that the Astros are in first place, he’d likely be more open to a move there. However, he’s in the midst of a third straight down year at the plate and is still owed substantial money.

Arenado, 34, is hitting a career-worst .235/.295/.367 in 390 plate appearances. By measure of wRC+, he’s been 16% worse than average at the plate. He remains a strong defensive third baseman but no longer draws top-of-the-scale grades from defensive metrics. He’s earning $32MM this year, $27MM next year and $15MM in 2027. It’s a steep price to pay for a former All-Star whose bat is has been on the downswing for several years now. The Cardinals would need to eat a major portion of the contract, but there’s still enough left on the deal that Arenado, too, would surely put Houston over the luxury threshold.

Suárez, owed $4.8MM for the remainder of the season, might not quite put the Astros over that edge, though the Diamondbacks could always include some cash to coax a more favorable return. The bidding on the 34-year-old slugger will be fierce, however, and Houston’s farm system is not as well regarded as some of the other teams who’ll be vying for Suárez and his 36 home runs. The Mariners, Cubs, Tigers, Phillies and Reds are among the teams also pursuing him.

Paredes could miss the remainder of the season — Nightengale notes that surgery is a consideration — but he’s controlled for an additional two years. Pena is on the mend from fractured ribs but is also controlled through 2027. Given the Astros’ multiple years of control over the left side of their infield, Suárez represents a cleaner fit than either Correa or Arenado. Paredes could slide over to second base in subsequent seasons if the Astros wind up with a new infielder who’s signed beyond the current season, but he’s played the vast majority of his career at third base.

Correa’s name hasn’t come up until this point, but the Twins are expected to be active sellers over the next two days. Righty Chris Paddack was already moved to the Tigers, and rental players like Willi Castro, Harrison Bader and Danny Coulombe are all expected to change hands as well. The more interesting element is whether the Twins will cave and trade anyone controlled longer-term. Relievers Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax have been two of the most sought-after names on the bullpen market, and any contending team would love to add righty Joe Ryan to its rotation. All three are controlled through 2027, however. Add in the new possibility of a Correa deal, and there’s plenty for the Minnesota front office to do over the next day and a half.

Red Sox Acquire Steven Matz

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July 31st: The trade has been officially announced by the Red Sox. Righty Hunter Dobbins has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man roster spot. Dobbins suffered a season-ending ACL tear earlier this month.

July 30: The Red Sox and Cardinals have agreed to a trade that will send left-hander Steven Matz to Boston, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports.  Corner infield prospect Blaze Jordan is headed to the Cards in return, according to the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.  The deal will become official once both sides sign off on the medicals of the players involved.

Matz is a pure rental for the Sox, as the veteran southpaw’s four-year, $44MM contract is up at season’s end.  St. Louis inked Matz to that free agent deal on the heels of his successful 2021 season as a starter with the Blue Jays, but Matz has only started 36 of his 84 career games with the Cards.  Injuries and ineffectiveness have hampered his time in St. Louis, leading the Cardinals to move Matz into more of a swingman role, and he came essentially a full-time reliever this year (save for two spot starts in April).

While Matz didn’t live up to the expectations of his contract, he pitched pretty well in both 2023 and during this season, as the southpaw has a 3.44 ERA over 55 frames in 2025.  Typically a good control pitcher, Matz has taken it a step further with an elite 4.0% walk rate this season, and his 5.3% barrel rate is also excellent.  This ability to limit mistakes and keep the ball on the ground (44.3% grounder rate) has helped balance out more ordinary strikeout and hard-contact rates.

Left-handed batters have only a .442 OPS against Matz this season, while righty hitters have a much more productive .814 OPS.  The gap in splits will be somewhat hard for manager Alex Cora to work around since Matz has so much value as a multi-inning reliever, yet that same durability will help out a Boston pen that has logged a lot of innings bailing out its shaky rotation.  It’s possible the Sox could even turn to Matz again as a part-time starter, though the Red Sox are expected to land more significant starting help prior to tomorrow’s deadline.

Matz is now the fifth left-hander in Boston’s pen, along with Aroldis Chapman, Justin Wilson, Brennan Bernardino, and Chris Murphy.  This depth could give the Sox some flexibility in swinging a trade to a team in need of relief help, with Boston then addressing another need in return.

Chaim Bloom was Boston’s chief baseball officer back when Jordan was selected in the third round of the 2020 draft, and now that Bloom will be taking over at the Cards’ president of baseball operations starting next season, this familiarity undoubtedly helped pave the way for tonight’s trade.  Jordan ranks 17th on MLB Pipeline’s list of Boston’s best prospect, and MLB Pipeline had the corner infielder 24th in their ranking.

Jordan struggled at the Double-A level in both 2023 and 2024 before hitting well this season, and earning his first promotion to Triple-A.  This transition went more smoothly, as Jordan has hit .289/.333/.476 over 177 plate appearances with Worcester while seeing a lot of time at both corner infield slots (primarily third base).  Scouts feel first base is his better position, so Jordan’s future potential will hinge on how well he can keep developing at the plate.  His production in 2025 is a step in the right direction, as the 22-year-old has been much better at turning his raw power into results.

This is the second big bullpen trade of the day for the Cardinals, after Ryan Helsley was shipped to the Mets.  Both deals have brought more young talent into the St. Louis pipeline, which seemed to be the organization’s stated goal heading into last offseason, yet Bloom and current PBO John Mozeliak chose to retain almost all of the Cards’ veteran talent.  In Matz’s case, he wasn’t generating much trade interest given his $12MM salary and his rough 2024 production, so at least Matz’s bounce-back year rebuilt some of his value.

As for future trades, Phil Maton and JoJo Romero have both been rumored to be generating interesting, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see St. Louis move at least one or both relievers before the deadline.  While the Cards are in sell mode, the Red Sox are pushing for at least a wild card slot and hope to make a run at the AL East title, with pitching known to be Boston’s primary target.

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