MLB Player News

Rojas, who saw significant time with the Angels in 2021, is with the Yankees on a minor league deal after hitting .253/.345/.474 in Korea last year. That’s he’s not much of a middle-infield option limits his usefulness as a reserve, but he might be an upgrade over Oswaldo Cabrera for the last spot on the bench if the Yankees bring in a legitimate backup infielder.

Estrada was brought back to join Toronto’s relief mix after they made several high-profile deals at the trade deadline. The 27-year-old righty has allowed just five runs over 9 1/3 innings across four relief outings in the big leagues this season.

Spence returns to the minors after Houston picked up center fielder Daulton Varsho in a trade with the Blue Jays. The 23-year-old rookie hit .162 (6-for-37) during his first exposure to the big leagues after being called up last month.

Marinaccio lost his spot on Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster amid their flurry of trade deadline deals. The 31-year-old wound up making four relief appearances for the Pirates after being acquired from the Padres last month.

The Dodgers are the type of powerhouse that can afford to take a chance on Bubic, who hasn’t thrown a pitch in the big leagues since mid-May. The 28-year-old impending free agent is working his way back from a shoulder issue and there isn’t a lot of clarity in terms of when he’ll be able to return. Still, he’s a zero-risk gamble for the Dodgers on the chance that he’s able to come back and contribute down the home stretch.

Duran throws extremely hard, but hasn’t been able to find the strike zone consistently enough to emerge as an impact reliever at the highest level. Still, the Royals will bring him in and take a look under the hood to see if they can make it work. He’s a zero-risk lottery ticket considering that Bubic was going to be a free agent in a couple months.

Bachar arrives in Pittsburgh having posted a 3.84 ERA and a 61/21 K/BB in 58 2/3 innings as a middle man for the Marlins. He’s been homer-prone throughout his career, but at least PNC is a good park for him. He should be more of a candidate for wins than saves while often working in the sixth and seventh innings. The Pirates will have him under control through 2030.

One wouldn’t typically expect Lake Bachar to net three players in trade, but it makes sense if it’s these three players. Bidois, a 25-year-old reliever, is the best bet of the group to help a major league team. He already has been up to make 15 relief appearances for the Pirates, but he posted a 6.32 ERA. That’s actually better than his 8.10 ERA in Triple-A. Between the two levels, he’s walked 29 in 35 2/3 innings. He touches 98-99 mph and has a quality slider, so he’s hardly hopeless. He just needs to throw more strikes.

The Pirates signed Lee out of Korea last year and brought him to the U.S. as an 18-year-old this season. He hit .309/.396/.569 in the Complex League, but he’s struggled to a .157/.283/.235 line in 15 games in Low-A ball. He offers some power potential, but concerns about contact and defense make him look like a fringe prospect at the moment.

Sánchez was one of three prospects the Pirates got from the Yankees for David Bednar last year. At 21 (22 as of last month), he was hitting .254/.340/.431 with nine homers and nine steals in High-A, which wasn’t getting him much attention as a prospect. He’s on a path to topping out as a Triple-A player.

Mize bolsters a San Diego rotation that has been one of the worst in baseball this season with Detroit continuing their full-scale teardown. The 29-year-old former first-overall pick has put together one of his best seasons, despite battling through lingering groin issues that have impacted his availability and performance, posting a strong 2.70 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 85/19 K/BB ratio across 86 2/3 innings of work.