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Major League Baseball’s 2023 trade deadline is now in the rear-view mirror with teams done wheeling and dealing ahead of Tuesday’s 6 p.m. ET, setting up a dramatic postseason race for the next two months.
The New York Mets trading three-time Cy Young winner Justin Verlander back to the Houston Astros was the big story of deadline day. Days after trading fellow three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer, the Mets ate a huge chunk of the money due to do the 40-year-old Verlander, who didn’t even last a full season in a New York.
Elsewhere, the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles improved their rotation by dealing for Jack Flaherty and the Philadelphia Phillies added a starter in All-Star Michael Lorenzen. The New York Yankees were quiet, only acquiring a relief pitcher for the stretch run.
Here’s everything that went down at the deadline on Tuesday:
Orioles make a splash by getting Jack Flaherty
Leading the AL East, the Orioles made a big move to improve their rotation at the deadline, trading for Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty.
FOLLOW THE MONEY: MLB player salaries and payrolls for every major league team
A free agent after the 2023 season, the 27-year-old Flaherty had a 4.43 ERA in 20 starts for the Cardinals, who drafted him 34th overall in the 2014 draft. He was one of baseball’s top young pitchers less than five years ago, finishing fourth in 2019 NL Cy Young voting with a 2.75 ERA for St. Louis.
With a 4.48 ERA, Baltimore’s rotation ranks in the bottom half of the AL entering Tuesday.
St. Louis is receiving infielders Cesar Prieto and left-hander Drew Rom in return.
The 2023 MLB trade deadline has passed!
Teams made a flurry of moves at the buzzer:
- Marlins get 1B Josh Bell from Guardians for Jean Segura and Kahlil Watson
- Red Sox get INF Luis Urias from Brewers
- Dodgers get LHP Ryan Yarbrough
- Padres get 1B Garrett Cooper from Marlins
- Angels get RP Dominic Leone from Mets
- Padres get RP Scott Barlow from Royals
- Phillies get INF Rodolfo Castros from Pirates for LHP Bailey Falter
Yankees add Keynan Middleton to bullpen
The Yankees made a trade with the White Sox for reliever Keynan Middleton, the one move in a curiously quiet deadline for a New York club that enters Tuesday in last place in the AL East, albeit at 55-51.
Middleton, 29, had a 3.96 ERA in 39 games for Chicago, his first season with the White Sox. The right-hander is a free agent after the 2023 season.
Diamondbacks land Tommy Pham from Mets
The Diamondbacks got in on the Mets’ sell-off right before the deadline, acquiring outfielder Tommy Pham. The 35-year-old had an .820 OPS with 10 home runs and 11 steals in 79 games for the Mets.
Pham follows veterans Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Mark Canha and David Robertson out the door in Flushing. New York will receive 17-year-old shortstop Jeremy Rodriguez in the trade from Arizona.
Rangers get Austin Hedges from Pirates
The AL West-leading Rangers acquired catcher Austin Hedges in a trade with the Pirates, adding depth behind the plate with All-Star Jonah Heim sidelined for a few weeks with a wrist injury. Hedges will share time with Mitch Garver until Heim returns, as the Rangers on track to reach the postseason for the first time since 2016.
Hedges, 30, has a .189 average in 670 career games but is regarded as one of the game’s best defensive catchers.
Marlins dealing for White Sox slugger Jake Burger
Miami is getting infielder Jake Burger in a trade with the White Sox, a surprising move for a Chicago organization that has been selling off shorter-term assets. Burger, 27, is under team control through 2028 and was second on the team with 25 home runs, batting .214 with an .806 OPS.
Burger has spent the majority of his time this season at third base, but also played some at first and second. He should see at-bats with Miami at the corners with Jorge Soler as the team’s everyday designated hitter.
Left-handed pitching prospect Jake Eder is heading to the White Sox in return.
Andrew Chafin heading to Brewers
The Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to a deal to send left-hander Andrew Chafin to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for right-handed reliever Peter Strzelecki.
It makes for an interesting trade for a team that only one day earlier swung a significant deal to add closer Paul Sewald from the Seattle Mariners. Three days ago, Chafin had been asked to close out a game in the ninth inning for the Diamondbacks.
– Nick Piecoro, Arizona Republic
Phillies bolster rotation with All-Star Michael Lorenzen
The Tigers are sending right-handed starter Michael Lorenzen to the Phillies, a one-for-one swap of Hao-Yu Lee.
Lorenzen, 31, was an All-Star for the first time this season and has a 3.58 ERA in 18 starts with Detroit, having signed a one-year, $8.5 million deal in the offseason. In four July starts, Lorenzen had a 1.14 ERA and 21 strikeouts.
A free agent this winter, Lorenzen has a career 4.02 ERA across nine seasons with the Reds, Angels and Tigers.
Last year’s National League champions, the Phillies enter Tuesday holding a wild-card spot.
Justin Verlander is headed back to Houston
Days after dealing Max Scherzer, the Mets traded three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander to the Astros on Tuesday, a little more than an hour ahead of the MLB trade deadline.
The Mets received the Astros’ top prospect, Drew Gilbert in the deal, along with Ryan Clifford. Both outfielders. Gilbert was at Double-A and Clifford was at High-A in the Astros organization.
Verlander signed a two-year, $86.67 million contract with the Mets in the offseason. He has a $35 million vesting option for 2025 that clicks in if he pitches more than 140 innings next season and had a no-trade clause that he had to waive to make a trade.
After missing the opening month of the season, Verlander returned in early May. He has found his stride in the month of July and entered Tuesday night with a 6-5 record, 3.15 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 81 strikeouts in 94⅓ innings.
– Andrew Treddenick, NorthJersey.com
Blue Jays acquire shortstop Paul DeJong as injury insurance
With starting shortstop Bo Bichette potentially sidelined by a knee injury he suffered on Monday night, the Toronto Blue Jays have moved quickly to acquire veteran Paul DeJong from the St. Louis Cardinals for minor-league reliever Matt Svanson, 24, and cash considerations.
DeJong, who turns 30 on Wednesday, has spent his entire seven-year MLB career with the Cardinals. He’s a .233/.305/.426 career hitter with above-average power for a shortstop. He hit 25 home runs as a rookie in 2017 and a career-high 30 during the homer-happy 2019 season.
Padres prepared to commit to playoff push
Any question about whether the San Diego Padres would be buyers or sellers at the deadline may have just been answered. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports the Padres are nearing a deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates that would net them ageless left-hander Rich Hill and first baseman Ji-Man Choi.
The Pirates get left-hander Jackson Wolf, outfielder Estuar Suarez and first baseman Alfonso Rivas in return.
Hill, the oldest player in the majors at age 43, has played for 12 teams during his 19 seasons as a major leaguer. The Padres would be his 13th. He’s put up a 4.76 ERA in 22 starts this season with Pittsburgh.
Choi, 32, would give the Padres an offensive upgrade against right-handed pitching. He’s hitting .205 overall, but has a .789 OPS against righties.
Reliever Brad Hand off to Atlanta
Left-hander Brad Hand may soon run out of fingers to count the number of different uniforms he’s worn. Hand, 33, is joining his ninth different MLB team, the Atlanta Braves announced on social media.
The Braves will send minor-league right-hander Alec Barger to the Colorado Rockies to complete the deal. Hand will add depth to the Braves bullpen as they look toward the postseason.
Royals acquire lefty Tucker Davidson
The Los Angeles Angels continue their flurry of deals, but in this particular case they’re subtracting rather than adding. The Angels sent left-hander Tucker Davidson to the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday for cash considerations.
Davidson, a 19th-round pick by the Atlanta Braves in the 2016 draft, will be added to Kansas City’s 40-man roster and will join the Royals as they begin a three-game series against the New York Mets. Davidson, acquired last summer from Atlanta for reliever Raisel Iglesias, had a 6.54 ERA in 18 games for the Angels this year.
Cardinals still have more moves to make
On track for their first losing season since 2007, the St. Louis Cardinals have already unloaded starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery and closer Jordan Hicks in the past week. They may be far from finished.
“I don’t find it enjoyable at all,” GM John Mozeliak recently told USA TODAY Sports. “I wish we were winning. And I wish we weren’t going down this path.”
MLB Network’s Jon Morosi says the Cardinals could be a good match with the Miami Marlins, in part because they share a spring training facility and are familiar with each other’s prospects.
Morosi says the Cardinals seem most motivated to deal infielder Paul DeJong, utilityman Alec Burleson and outfielder Dylan Carlson.
Teams, players to watch as MLB trade deadline approaches
In the final hours before this year’s trade deadline, several playoff contenders still have important holes they’d like to fill. Here’s a quick look at who may be trying to acquire what before the buzzer sounds.
- Baltimore Orioles: starting pitching
- Tampa Bay Rays: relief pitching
- Toronto Blue Jays: Bo Bichette insurance?
- New York Yankees: catcher, left-handed bat
- Minnesota Twins: right-handed bat
- Houston Astros: starting pitching, center fielder
- Philadelphia Phillies: left fielder
- Cincinnati Reds: starting pitching
- Los Angeles Dodgers: starting pitching
Among the players who could be tabbed fill some of those spots: Pitchers Eduardo Rodriguez and Michael Lorenzen (Tigers), OF Teoscar Hernandez and first baseman Ty France (Mariners), left-hander Blake Snell and closer Josh Hader (Padres), pitcher Jack Flaherty, infielder Tommy Edman and outfielders Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Carlson (Cardinals), closer Scott Barlow (Royals), relievers Austin Pruitt and Trevor May (A’s), outfielder Lane Thomas and closer Kyle Finnegan (Nationals), OF Tommy Pham (Mets).
Could a Justin Verlander blockbuster be in the works?
All eyes will be on Justin Verlander and the New York Mets as deadline day progresses. The disappointing Mets have already dealt away co-ace Max Scherzer, outfielder Mark Canha and closer David Robertson in the past week. Could Verlander be next?
USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale says the Mets have had discussions with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros regarding the three-time Cy Young award winner.
And of course, it wouldn’t be a normal trade deadline without the dreaded “mystery team” potentially being involved as well.
The Dodgers have renewed their interest in Verlander in recent days – after making an offer for the pitcher last season – but his contract has been seen as a “big hurdle” in discussions, Nightengale says.
Closer carousel continues to spin
Relief pitching is usually a hot commodity at the trade deadline. This season has been no different with several teams getting much-needed help at the back of the bullpen.
The Arizona Diamondbacks haven’t have a single pitcher record double-digit saves this season, but they gained some ninth-inning stability by acquiring closer Paul Sewald from Seattle on Monday. Sewald posted a 2.93 ERA and 21 saves in 45 games for the Mariners.
The Toronto Blue Jays saw All-Star closer Jason Romano go on the injured list with back issues, so they promptly picked up Jordan Hicks from the St. Louis Cardinals. The flamethrower with a 102 mph fastball struggled early this season, but has pitched to a 1.88 ERA over his last 28 2/3 innings with eight saves in nine opportunities.
The Miami Marlins started the dominoes tumbling last Friday by acquiring veteran David Robertson from the New York Mets. He picked up his 15th save of the season in his first appearance for Miami, tossing a scoreless ninth against Detroit on July 30.
Cubs go from sellers to buyers
Once thought to be looking to unload veterans Cody Bellinger and Marcus Stroman, the Chicago Cubs have reversed course as the deadline approaches.
The Cubs added third baseman Jeimer Candelario from the Washington Nationals on Monday in exchange for Class AA left-hander DJ Herz and 20-year-old shortstop prospect Kevin Made. Candelario, signed as a free agent by the Nationals this past offseason, is hitting a .258 with 53 RBI and 16 home runs.
Chicago also landed right-handed reliever José Cuas from the Kansas City Royals for outfielder Nelson Velázquez, who has split time this season between the majors and Class AAA Iowa.
MLB standings
Entering play Tuesday, your division leaders looked like this. Here are the complete standings.
- AL East: Baltimore Orioles (+1.5 games over Tampa Bay)
- AL Central: Minnesota Twins (+1 over Cleveland)
- AL West: Texas Rangers (+0.5 over Houston)
- NL East: Atlanta Braves (+11 over Philadelphia)
- NL Central: Cincinnati Reds (+1.5 over Milwaukee)
- NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers (+2.5 over San Francisco)
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