Cardinals release pitching prospect Ian Bedell

Barger was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his back in late June and has not attempted any baseball activities that we’ve heard of since. He’s been on the 10-day injured list since early May, so there are no structural forces pushing against his timeline by making this move. He also doesn’t, as far as we know, have a timeline at this point.

Martin Jr. is a big pick up for the Bisons; the 30-year-old has hit .385/.489/.590 for Triple-A Omaha and .261/.396/.406 for Double-A Northwest Arkansas this year. The Orioles had acquired from the Royals for cash on July 18, but never used him in a game before having to designate him for assignment.

Lawrence cleared waivers and accepted the assignment. He’ll look to rebuild his value in the International League.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that the Brewers will get either player — or that either player will be traded at all — but it’s a notable shift from Milwaukee’s usual deadline strategy. “I’ve been on the phone a lot,” Brewers president of baseball told McCalvy. “We’re definitely active.” The Brewers are clearly looking to snag a bye in the National League playoffs. Skubal’s availability seems to come and go as the Tigers win and lose games — it sounds like if a Skubal deal does come it’ll be one that happens on August 3, the actual day of the deadline.

Arenado will get a breather after starting each of the first six games for the Diamondback out of the break. He’s hitting .245/.323/.430 this year and .259/.348/.586 in 16 games in July. Ildemaro Vargas is starting at third base.

“People who have seen Musgrove and Pivetta throw or gotten reports about those throwing sessions have expressed greater optimism about their progress over the past week or so,” Acee continues. Pivetta was scheduled to throw a live batting practice this week. Both would need to be setback-free to continue to a rehab assignment, obviously, but it sounds like the Padres could get rotation reinforcements in late August or September.

Caissie should be cleared to start a rehab assignment sometime in the next week assuming no setbacks. He was expected to miss 2-4 weeks when he was placed on injured reserve on July 9, so he should be back in late July or early August.

Doyle was originally sent on rehab assignment for his oblique injury around this time last month, but had to be shut down after a new groin injury popped up. It looks like he may have a chance of being activated towards the end of next week if things go well with the Isotopes this time.

Originally the Phillies had just been searching for a No. 5 starter, however they appear to have expanded that search. In games not started by Zach Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, Aaron Nola or Jesús Luzardo this year, the Phillies are 5-20. A higher-caliber pitcher would probably replace Nola in the playoff rotation should the Phillies get there.

Surprisingly, this is Díaz’s first start in the field all season. Jonathan Aranda will bat second and be the DH. While this doesn’t change much of anything, it is something to monitor for 2027 fantasy drafts because Díaz will need plenty more starts in the field if he’s going to be anything but UT-only when it comes to eligibility.