MLB Player News

Maldonado announced his retirement from baseball in October and has now quickly moved into a coaching position. He will play for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, but should then begin on a path towards becoming an MLB manager in the future.

Apparently, the medicals were approved. Still waiting on the return, but the Orioles apparently were focused on pitching. The Red Sox will have Rutschman under control through 2027. He’s still on the IL for now, but he’ll probably replace Carlos Narvaez on the roster once healthy. For Baltimore, the move clears the way for Samuel Basallo to spend the next several years as a starting catcher.

Reporter Michael Marino said yesterday that a deal sending Larnach to the Astros for Bryan Abreu was nixed by Houston’s ownership, which much prefers to part with prospects instead of major league talent. Perhaps that’s still a path to a deal. The Twins could give Matt Wallner another look if they trade Larnach and also still have outfield prospect Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez as replacement possibilities.

Castro takes the spot of Yovanny Cruz, who was sent to the Nationals in the Luis García Jr trade. The former Giants prospect had a 1.80 ERA in 30 innings in Triple-A, and he’s pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings in a couple of appearances for the Yankees this season.

Schuemann was in a 1-for-18 slump to begin the second half, so he’s the choice to go to make room for Luis García Jr. This will probably lead to some additional outfield time for José Caballero.

Instead of just turning first base over to hot-hitting Andrés Chapparo with Luis García Jr. gone, the Nationals will take a longer look at Ortiz, who was part of the MacKenzie Gore trade with the Rangers. He was hitting .244/.348/.497 with 18 homers for Rochester. Of the two, he does have the better chance of being a useful starter against righties in 2026, and he could have some NL-only value now. Chaparro has made a case for an expanded role, but he still figures to work best as a platoon guy against lefties going forward.

Reliever Carlos Duran will serve as the return. There’s probably a 10 percent chance of this paying off for the Dodgers, but why not? Bubic, a free agent at season’s end, has a 3.02 ERA and a 167/65 K/BB in 166 2/3 innings over 29 starts since the beginning of last year. He was also excellent in 27 relief appearances in 2024 after returning from Tommy John surgery. He’s currently on the shelf with a sore shoulder, but he’s back throwing again now and might be of some use in September, probably out of the pen.

This seems like a weak return for Baltimore, but maybe one of the arms will develop. Hoppe, 27, is the one with major league experience, having posted a 5.79 ERA and a 34/11 K/BB in 28 innings out of Seattle’s pen this year. He’s a pure reliever with upper-90s gas but a history of control problems. He still needs to refine his slider if he’s going to emerge as a force in short relief.

The 6-foot-6 Moore has a big fastball and a quality slider, but he’s 26 and seriously lacking polish. He currently has a 5.56 ERA and a 35/17 K/BB in 22 2/3 innings as a reliever in Double-A. The Mariners drafted him in the seventh round out of the University of Oregon two years ago.

Kreiling underwent elbow surgery after being drafted, so he’s made just four professional appearances to date. At least they’ve been good ones; he has a 1.69 ERA and a 16/1 K/BB in 10 2/3 innings between the ACL and Low-A ball.

The Braves reportedly had inquired about deGrom, who is making $38 million in the fourth year of a five-year, $185 million contract. He has full no-trade protection.