MLB Player News

Guerrero signed a minor league contract back in March and winds up heading back to the free agent waters after posting an inflated 11.51 ERA, 2.25 WHIP and 20/22 K/BB ratio across 22 2/3 innings (20 appearances) for Triple-A Louisville. The 32-year-old righty hasn’t appeared in the majors since the 2019 campaign.

Fairchild gets his chance in Seattle with Luke Raley hitting the shelf with a forearm strain. The well-traveled 30-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Mariners last month after going 3-for-19 at the dish during a 14-game stint with the Guardians earlier this season. He’ll occupy a bench role.

Raley has been snake-bitten by injuries this season and heads to the injured list after missing a couple games with an ongoing forearm issue. There won’t be a clearer idea concerning how much time he’ll miss until he undergoes further evaluation and imaging.

Arias finds himself at second base for the second consecutive contest. It’s a common practice for organizations to expand a prospect’s defensive horizons before reaching the majors to open up additional avenues to at-bats. Technically, the Red Sox still have Trevor Story, who is coming off sports hernia surgery, at shortstop. They’ve also been linked to several available options ahead of the trade deadline. Arias has experienced a stratospheric rise this season and hasn’t stopped hitting since arriving in Worcester a couple weeks ago. His time is coming, but it probably isn’t going to be until next year.

Mayo gets the nod to face Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez with Taylor Ward hitting second. It’s a bit of a different look for Baltimore, but one of their former top prospects has earned the opportunity by hitting .267 (8-for-30) with two homers in 11 games since last month’s All-Star break.

Cholowsky, the first-overall selection in last month’s draft, offers one of the highest realistic fantasy floors of any collegiate hitter in recent memory. The 21-year-old shortstop won’t help much in the stolen base department, but he should hit for a respectable batting average with plenty of over-the-fence pop. He should be on a relatively quick path the big leagues as Chicago’s surefire shortstop of the future.

It’ll be prospects Omar Alfonzo and Luis Cruz heading to the Yankees in the deal. The 29-year-old reliever is on the move for the second consecutive trade deadline after struggling to a pedestrian 4.54 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 39/18 K/BB ratio across 39 2/3 innings for New York. His high-leverage experience, along with a change of scenery, give him some value for the Pirates as they attempt to cobble things together at the back-end of their relief mix.

That rehab outing is conditional on whether he’s traded before then. Holmes is presumably ready to jump back into a contending team’s rotation for the final two months. However, that’s only if he’s dealt, which he acknowledged is pretty likely. He also divulged that there haven’t been any contract extension talks with the Mets. The odds seem extremely high that he’s on the move prior to Monday’s deadline, but it’s never a guarantee. The 33-year-old is coming off a fractured fibula that put him on the injured list back in mid-May.

The official roster move won’t be made until Saturday evening since the Brewers are out in Los Angeles, but Lockridge will return for his first game action since undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery back in early May.

Berroa went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment last weekend. He went 1-for-7 at the plate during a six-game stint with the Phillies earlier this season.

Divish and Jude add that Seattle is also listening on starter George Kirby, which was reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan earlier on Saturday. The fact that the Mariners are willing to consider moving Arozarena is a notable development as they sit three games out of the AL West division lead and a Wild Card playoff spot. The 31-year-old impending free agent would be one of the strongest right-handed bats available on the trade market. Where Seattle sits in the standings leading into Monday’s deadline is going to be the deciding factor whether they buy or sell.