So much for the Los Angeles Dodgers building enough depth to make their team deadline-proof.
After investing a combined $107 million in free-agent relievers Tanner Scott, Blake Treinen and Kirby Yates, the Dodgers are expected to pursue bullpen help, according to sources briefed on the team’s plans.
Part of the Dodgers’ motivation stems from Scott’s struggles — he has allowed eight homers with a 4.09 ERA, compared to three homers with a 1.75 ERA last season for Miami and San Diego. Part of it also stems from injuries. While some of the Dodgers’ injured relievers are projected to return, the production they will provide is not certain.
• Evan Phillips underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery on June 4.
• Treinen is expected to rejoin the team next week after a three-month absence due to forearm tightness.
• Michael Kopech, whose season production amounts to seven scoreless innings in June, is on track to return next month from surgery to repair a damaged meniscus in his right knee.
• Brusdar Graterol, who underwent right shoulder surgery last November, could begin a rehabilitation assignment next month.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman hates overpaying at the deadline and constructed his 2025 roster with the express purpose of avoiding such a fate.
Looks like he’ll be shopping again, anyway.
Arrow pointing up for Orioles’ Morton, Rogers
Baltimore Orioles right-hander Charlie Morton and left-hander Trevor Rogers are examples of how quickly a player’s trajectory – and trade value – might change.
Morton, 41, was the symbol of the Orioles’ early-season collapse, posting a 10.89 ERA in his first five starts. But over his last 59 innings, dating to April 29, his ERA is 3.05.
One of many Orioles on an expiring contract, Morton suddenly looks like an attractive chip. During Fox’s All-Star preview show on Monday, I mentioned him as a possibility for the Boston Red Sox.
Yes, the Red Sox would love to do better, and perhaps they will. But the starting pitching market is thin and Sox manager Alex Cora is familiar with Morton from the 2017 Houston Astros. With Bryan Bello and Lucas Giolito both on a roll, perhaps the Sox would be OK with someone like Morton rather than a pure (and possibly unattainable) No. 2 starter.
Rogers, 27, also has bounced back. His debut with the Orioles last August was so rough, the team sent him to the minors. At that point, his acquisition from the Miami Marlins looked like a bust. And when Rogers began this season on the injured list, it didn’t appear much better.
Outfielder Kyle Stowers became an All-Star with the Marlins. The other player the Orioles sent to Miami, infielder Connor Norby, also seems capable of haunting Baltimore. But since joining the Orioles on May 24, Rogers’ ERA is 1.53, and it isn’t just luck. His expected ERA is 2.94.
The difference between Morton and Rogers is that Rogers is under club control for one more season. The Orioles plan to contend in 2026. Their current projected rotation would include Grayson Rodríguez and Kyle Bradish, both of whom could be hard-pressed to carry significant workloads coming off major injuries.
The Orioles are listening on Rogers, just as they are listening on closer Félix Bautista, who is under club control for two additional seasons. A source briefed on the team’s plans, however, said it was unlikely either would be traded. The Orioles have nearly a dozen potential free agents to work through, including All-Star designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn. Trades involving some or most of those players will be the priority.
What will be next for the LVP?
In his recent midseason awards column, The Athletic’s Jayson Stark named Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert his Least Valuable Player (LVP).
“He has one job – to get himself traded,” Stark quoted a friend as saying. “And he’s failing!”
Luis Robert currently has a .599 OPS and 67 OPS+, the lowest totals of his career. (Matt Marton / Imagn Images)
The problem for the White Sox is they might face little choice but to move Robert anyway. There seems virtually no chance of the team exercising Robert’s $20 million option for 2026. A trade would be the only way to get something back, however meager.
Robert’s .190 batting average is the second lowest among qualifiers after Michael Conforto’s .184. He has struck out nearly twice as many times (93) as he has hits (51). His offense is so bad, his bWAR is at replacement level and his fWAR is just slightly above, even though he has stolen 22 bases in 28 attempts and rates above-average in center.
Perhaps a team such as the San Diego Padres would take Robert if the White Sox included a portion of his remaining salary, something the team has indicated a willingness to do. But even then, the White Sox could not count on getting much of a return. Robert’s value keeps sinking, and time is running out.
AL Central: Land of the relievers
The AL Central is the division to call for controllable relievers. The Cleveland Guardians’ Emmanuel Clase and Cade Smith are two trade candidates. The Minnesota Twins’ Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran are two others. But prying any of those pitchers loose might be difficult.
Both the Twins and Guardians are below .500, but the Twins are only four games back in the wild-card race and the Guardians only 4 1/2, making it still too early to concede. The Twins’ schedule leading to the deadline (COL, LAD on road, WAS, BOS at home) is mixed.
The Guardians’ schedule (home against Athletics, BAL; road against KC, home against COL) appears somewhat easier. But how much any of that will help remains to be seen.
The other element is that the Guardians are extremely disciplined in trade talks, often frustrating potential partners. And where did Twins chief of baseball operations Derek Falvey begin his front-office career? Cleveland.
Tampa Bay in wait-and-see mode
If you’ve heard one bubble team say it, you’ve heard ’em all: “Our play leading to the deadline likely will determine our course.”
The Rays, after stumbling to the break, suddenly are one of those teetering clubs. Following a six-game homestand against the Orioles and White Sox, they will have only 22 home games remaining, 37 on the road.
However they fare, the Rays’ reluctance to trade players who signed team-friendly extensions almost certainly will lead to first baseman Yandy Díaz remaining with the club. Díaz actually agreed to two such deals, the second coming in March when the Rays exercised his $12 million option for 2026 and added a $10 million club option for ’27.
Second baseman Brandon Lowe also signed a below-market extension for six years and $24 million in March 2019. But all that remains on Lowe’s deal is an $11.5 million option for next season. Closer Pete Fairbanks is in the same position, with only a $7 million club option remaining. If the Rays fail to snap out of their 3-11 slide, the shorter commitments might put both in play.
A wild and crazy idea: Tucker in Tampa Bay
Speaking of the Rays, here’s an intriguing thought if Jacksonville developer Patrick Zalupski is confirmed as the team’s new owner in time for the offseason:
Kyle Tucker.
The thought might not be as preposterous as it sounds, depending upon how much Zalupski is willing to spend on players after plunking $1.7 billion or so for the team.
Tucker, 28, is a native of Tampa. The Rays are a good bet to escape the final eight years of Wander Franco’s 11-year, $181 million contract if Franco is unable to leave the Dominican Republic after being found guilty in that country of sexual abuse of a minor. And even under owner Stuart Sternberg, they’ve occasionally tried to go big in free agency, most notably during the 2021-22 offseason when they reportedly offered Freddie Freeman six- and seven-year deals in the $140 million to $150 million range.
As a free agent, Tucker figures to command at least three times that much, maybe more. The range might be far out of Zalupski’s comfort zone. But what better way for a new owner to announce his intentions than by signing the best free agent available?
And finally…
We present further evidence that this is the Year of the Big Dumper:
In addition to hitting 38 homers before the break, winning the Home Run Derby and being named to Team USA for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, Cal Raleigh recently won the Seattle Mariners’ “Golden Locker” award for keeping his space the cleanest and most organized.
The award, bestowed by the Mariners’ clubhouse attendants every homestand, comes with a free car wash or haircut — just slightly less of a prize than the $1 million Raleigh earned for winning the Derby.
(Top photo of Charlie Morton: Edward M. Pio Roda / Getty Images)
