MLB Player News

With Manny Machado likely to start the season as the team’s designated hitter, Batten was in the conversation to play some third base early in the season. That will apparently not be happening. The same goes for prospect Jakob Marsee who was battling with Graham Pauley and Jackson Merrill for an outfield opportunity. Perhaps he’ll get another shot during the season.

All of those teams besides the D-backs have already acquired starters in deadline deals, but Holmes comes with the added bonus of potentially being very valuable out of the pen in October if he isn’t needed as a starter. A deal should happen.

Macko is a 25-year-old left-handed pitcher who was moved to the bullpen this season. He has a 4.91 ERA in 22 innings for the Blue Jays, but he has shown strikeout upside in the minors as a starter before. Macko was Toronto’s 23rd-ranked prospect, according to Baseball America, in their midseason rankings.

Stephan has a 5.44 ERA in 101 innings across 19 starts at Triple-A. The 24-year-old likely remains more of an organizational depth piece.

With his exceptional 33.5 percent strikeout rate, the 28-year-old Zeferjahn has overcome his control issues enough to post a 3.66 ERA in 51 2/3 innings this year. He was occasionally closing for the Angels and could do the same in Chicago, at least until Daniel Palencia returns. He won’t be a free agent until 2030. The Angels will rely more on Sam Bachman and Kirby Yates, though Yates is also an obvious candidate to be traded.

According to The Athletic’s Dennis Lin, the Giants are paying about half of the $9 milllion or so Ray is owed, including a portion of his $1 million trade bonus. Ray will join Michael King and Walker Buehler in a Padres rotation that could get Nick Pivetta and/or Joe Musgrove back at the end of the month. Another bat would be nice, but the chances of a late run are looking up. Ray, 34, had a 3.08 ERA in 122 2/3 innings for the Giants. He’s at 1.09 while focusing on his sinker in his last seven starts.

It’s unclear if Smith will have a regular role in Toronto. As of now, it seems likely that he could back up at 2B, 3B, SS, and LF and hope to recoup some of his value heading into arbitration.

Adams is a 26-year-old who missed the entire 2025 season due to Tommy John surgery. He’s pitched to a 4.25 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and 36/17 K/B ratio in 36 innings at Triple-A this year. He does have a six-pitch mix with a solid sweeper, so there is some potential here for the Rockies to work with.

Doyle is now officially a member of the White Sox, who do happen to have an All-Star in center field in Tristan Peters. It remains to be seen what type of role Doyle will have, but there’s a chance he’s just a weak-side platoon, and a defensive replacement.

Brito peaked as a prospect in 2024 before missing much of last year. He made his major league debut back in April, but he hit .177/.250/.255 in 56 plate appearances then, and he’s come in at a middling .237/.351/.394 with diminished exit velocity numbers in Triple-A this year. He’s still just 24, so some team might take a look at him. It hurts his stock that he’ll be out of options next year.

Alexander Frias and Josiah Ragsdale are going to St. Louis, according to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. May could replace Robert Gasser in the Brewers rotation or the team could shift back to a six-man setup for now. Romero will take some pressure off Aaron Ashby in relief once he comes off the IL.