MLB Player News

Toro doubled to center to tie the game at 5-5, and came around to score on a single by Richie Martin to give Kansas City the win. Toro also committed a pair of errors, so it wasn’t all sunshine and lollypops. The 29-year-old is attempting to win a bench spot with the Royals to open 2026, but he faces uphill odds if only because he’s not currently on the 40-man roster.

The Marlins will be getting Jonathon Long and Jace Beck in return, which seems like a solid return for a pitcher they had quite obviously soured on. Long could be a factor at first base down the stretch this season.

Infielder Sammy Stafura is going back to the Mets, according to The Athletic. Weaver will most likely be Pittsburgh’s primary closer, giving his value a big boost. The Pirates will have him through 2027 at $12.5 million next year.

Apparently, the medicals were approved. The Orioles will get Anthony Eyanson (Boston’s No. 1 pitching prospect), 2025 first-rounder Kyson Witherspoon, Carlos Narváez and more, according to the Baltimore Sun’s Jacob Calvin Meyer. The Red Sox will have Rutschman under control through 2027. He’s still on the IL for now, but he’ll take over from Connor Wong as the starter when 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.