MLB Player News

Alvarez has a 2.84 ERA in 12 2/3 innings, will get a better shot at a win with this news, and the Padres haven’t hit well at all this year. It’s hard to recommend the Alvarez streaming start, but we could definitely see it working out.

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.

Brayden Taylor is one of three prospects Miami is getting back, says Will Sammon. The New York Post’s Joel Sherman says Adrian Santana and Jacob Kisting are the other two. The Marlins didn’t have a dire need for Hicks as a catcher following Joe Mack’s emergence, so this makes a ton of sense. The Rays will probably send down fellow left-handed-hitting catcher Hunter Feduccia and keep Nick Fortes as Hicks’ backup. The Marlins could recall Agustín Ramírez to DH and play behind Mack.

RHP Miguel Mendez and shortstop Joniel Hernandez make up the return for the Giants. Ray will join a Padres rotation that’s pretty much just Michael King and some swingmen at the moment. He has a 3.08 ERA this season as he closes out a five-year, $115 million deal he originally signed with the Mariners.

Ward has gone from a power hitter to a walk merchant in one season. After hitting 36 home runs in 2025 and posting a .317 on-base percentage and 11 percent walk rate, he has now hit seven home runs in 111 games with the Orioles, with a .383 on-base percentage and over a 17 percent walk rate. You wonder if the Mariners will try to turn him loose a little bit more, but this is a team that needed right-handed pop. This likely pushes Victor Robles back to the bench.

Smith was a darling for the Rangers in 2025 as a utility player, but he hit .213/.299/.272 in 154 plate appearances this year and has spent most of the season in Triple-A. 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, so it remains to be seen how the Rangers want to use him.