Mariners ink Stuart Fairchild to minors contract

Curiel, the fifth overall selection from the draft, signs for $6.2 million — well under the $8,336,500 slot value for the pick. That was the plan all along by the Pirates, who then went over-slot on each of their next four picks. The 21-year-old outfielder slashed a healthy .349/.431/.526 over 126 games in his two seasons at LSU.

Burke gave up four hits, walked one and struck out 10. He fell to 7-5 with the loss. Burke has been excellent over his last seven starts with a 1.61 ERA, 57 strikeouts and seven walks in 44 2/3 innings. He’s 4-1 in that span and the White Sox are 6-1 as a team. Burke lowered his ERA to 3.19 on the season in the process. While his 3.72 xFIP shows he’s potentially not quite this good, it’s still an impressive run for the 26-year-old right-hander. Burke is lined up to face the Yankees at home on Thursday.

Brown gave up two hits, walked none and struck out seven. He improved to 2-1 with the win. The 27-year-old right-hander was excellent against the White Sox, lowering his ERA to 3.45 in the process. Brown bounced back in a big way after walking six batters in his last start. He’s lined up to face the Rangers at home on Friday.

Urías was pulled off of his last minor league rehab assignment in early June after experiencing renewed pain in his left elbow while swinging the bat. It sounds like he’s now fully recovered and ready to go. He’s likely to need at least a few games’ worth of at-bats before he’s ready to rejoin the Cardinals. Barring any setbacks, he should be able to return at some point next week.

The 27-year-old right-hander has been sidelined since early April due to shoulder inflammation. He’s likely to require several outings on his rehab assignment, including a back-to-back, before he’s an option to rejoin the Dodgers’ bullpen.

Obviously, there’s nothing at all guaranteed for the Nationals here, but turning Mead, who was acquired after being DFA’d by the White Sox in March, into a pitcher who was universally regarded as a top-75 prospect at the start of the season and who has posted a 3.24 ERA through 21 major league starts, seems like major win for the organization. There is the huge caveat that Early is currently on the IL with elbow inflammation. Also, his peripherals aren’t as strong as that 3.24 ERA. Still, he projects as a fine middle-of-the-rotation starter for the long haul, even if his recovery from his current elbow issue doesn’t go as hoped. The Red Sox, for what it’s worth, seemed optimistic that he’d be ready to contribute in September. The Nationals, meanwhile, will replace Mead with Brady House. They’ll still probably trade another infielder, too, with Luis García Jr. most likely to go.

The Red Sox could have easily acquired Mead a few months ago, but they’re obviously much bigger believers now after he hit .254/.352/.500 with 17 homers in 327 plate appearances for the Nationals. And he does look like a perfectly legitimate major league hitter at this point. However, his bat speed and exit velocity numbers are all pretty average, and he just doesn’t offer much defensive value as a well below average defense third baseman and potentially adequate first baseman. The Red Sox will likely make him their primary DH for now, allowing him to maintain some mixed-league value. Still, if they’re ever at full strength, he might not warrant starts against righties. Time will tell, but giving up Early here seems like a misstep. With Mead likely to see significant time at DH, Masataka Yoshida will again become a reserve, though perhaps a Jarren Duran trade could put him in left field for a time.

Eovaldi struck out eight and walked one in one of his best efforts of the year. The victory makes him 10-8 with a 4.05 ERA. He has a 130/29 K/BB in 122 1/3 innings, giving him the 12th-best K:BB among ERA title qualifiers. Next up for Eovaldi is a road start against the Rays, unless maybe the Rangers add a sixth starter next time through and push him back to face the Astros on Friday.

Mariners pitchers tend to have significant home-road splits, since T-Mobile Park is so tough on hitters, but Woo has taken it to extremes this year. He’s 6-0 with a 2.20 ERA at home and now 1-7 with a 6.52 ERA on the road after dropping this one. It seems sort of fluky; he has a 50/14 K/BB with eight homers allowed in 58 innings on the road, which wouldn’t typically add up to a 6.52 ERA. Still, it’s good to know that he’ll be back at home next week for his start versus the Twins.