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Wow! What other word can be used to describe the insane amount of swaps we witnessed over the last 24-plus hours leading up to Thursday’s Trade Deadline? According to MLB.com, there were 50 trades made over the final 31 hours before the buzzer sounded. If you were like me, trying to keep up with all of them was a difficult, yet very exciting task. Thankfully, later this morning (10 a.m. ET), you’ll be able to see a full breakdown of each franchise’s moves thanks to Steve Drumwright’s annual post-deadline article. I’ve made a list of some of the big moves below, but make sure to read Steve’s piece because his details and opinions on these trades will make for a splendid read.
Oh yeah, and buried in all of yesterday’s trades, there were also three games on the docket. I’ll cover those as well. Let’s begin.
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Today’s Headlines
Trade Deadline Deals
Alright, so as I just mentioned above, Steve will have more in-depth coverage on all the key moves made by each team, but for now, here are some that stood out the most on Thursday. These won’t include the trades covered by Asher Dratel in yesterday’s MLB News & Moments You Should Know.
The Houston Astros acquired Carlos Correa from the Minnesota Twins for cash and LHP Matt Mikulski.
This seemed to be the most talked-about trade of the day, and probably for good reason, given that the ‘Stros are welcoming back one of their franchise icons who played with the team from his rookie campaign in 2015 up until 2021 before he signed with the club that just swapped him back to Houston. Correa helped lead the Astros to six playoff appearances, including a World Series title in 2017. Correa won a Gold Glove at shortstop in 2021 and has a lifetime postseason batting average of .282 with 18 homers and 61 RBI over 85 games played. This season, the 30-year-old has a .267/.319/.386 slash line.
The Padres traded for the Athletics‘ RHP Mason Miller and LHP JP Sears in exchange for the No.3 overall prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline, shortstop Leo De Vries, and three other minor leaguers.
A huge trade for the Friars. Miller provides an electric arm at the back of the bullpen, and whether or not at some point he’ll take over closer duties from the current MLB leader in saves, Robert Suarez, remains to be seen. Miller had 20 saves with the A’s and a 13.9 K/9 over 38.1 innings this season. The left-handed Sears has made 22 starts this year and is 7-9 with a 4.95 ERA.
We can’t forget about what the A’s got in return either. Along with the prize addition of De Vries, they acquired three right-handed pitchers in Braden Nett, Henry Baez, and Eduarniel Nunez.
San Diego adds two veteran bats in exchange for six prospects.
Well, if you want to say that San Diego unloaded a lot of minor league talent to get better in the short term, that would be an accurate statement. After trading away four prospects to the A’s earlier in the day for Miller and Sears, the Padres weren’t done. They added Baltimore’s first baseman/DH Ryan O’Hearn and outfielder Ramón Laureano in exchange for six minor leaguers, including two of their top 10 prospects according to MLB Pipeline. O’Hearn is hitting .283 with 29 extra-base knocks through 94 games this year. Laureano has 15 homers and 46 RBI with a .290/.355/.529 slash line so far in ’25.
The Yankees add bullpen depth and speed
Let’s start with the speed. During the Rays-Yankees afternoon affair on Thursday, Tampa’s speedy infielder, José Caballero, was 0-for-1 before the announcement came that he had been traded to New York midgame. The MLB steals leader with 34 was swapped for Yankees outfielder Everson Pereira (93 AB, .151 batting average in ’25).
As far as the bullpen depth. The Pinstripes added Pittsburgh Pirates closer David Bednar in exchange for two minor league catchers (Rafael Flores and Edgleen Perez) and outfield prospect Brian Sanchez. Bednar has collected 17 saves this year, while posting a 2.37 ERA. The Yanks also traded for San Francisco reliever Camilo Doval (15 saves, 3.09 ERA). In return, the Giants received four prospects.
Arizona Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly heads to the Texas Rangers in exchange for LHP Kohl Drake, RHP David Hagaman, and LHP Mitch Bratt.
Adding the 36-year-old Kelly to a rotation that is already led by two 35-plus-year-old right-handers (Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi) might seem a bit risky given the combined age of the trio. However, there’s no lack of experience, and if Kelly and the other two veterans can stay healthy down the stretch, then the Rangers’ pitching staff should be in fine shape. Kelly is 9-6 with a 3.22 ERA this year.
The Toronto Blue Jays traded RHP Khal Stephen for Cleveland’s former Cy Young winner, Shane Bieber.
We’ll see how this pans out for a pitcher who hasn’t thrown in an MLB game since April of 2024. Bieber is working his way back from Tommy John surgery and is expected to make an impact down the stretch with the first-place Jays. If he’s any bit as good as he was even two years ago when he went 6-6 with a 3.80 ERA, then Toronto might have a steal here.
The Boston Red Sox acquired RHP Dustin May from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for outfielders James Tibbs III and Zach Ehrhard.
May is always iffy health-wise, and joins his former Dodgers teammate, Walker Buehler, in Boston with hopes of helping the Sox return to the postseason for the first time since 2021. Even when healthy, the numbers this year have been so-so. May comes to Beantown with a 6-7 win-loss record and a 4.85 ERA.
Tampa Bay traded SP Taj Bradley to the Minnesota Twins for reliever Griffin Jax.
It’s been an odd season for Jax, who only a year ago posted a 2.05 ERA with a 0.87 WHIP for the Twins. This season, Jax has a 4.50 ERA and a WHIP of 1.28. He’s still a high-strikeout arm that should fit in nicely at the back of the pen with closer Pete Fairbanks. Bradley (6-6, 4.61 ERA) joins a Twins team that completely unloaded by trading 10 MLB players this week.
The New York Mets traded for Baltimore Orioles veteran outfielder Cedric Mullins in exchange for right-handed prospects Anthony Nunez, Raimon Gomez, and Chandler Marsh.
Mullins adds another speed threat (14 SB) to a Mets roster that already has five other players with 10 or more stolen bases this season.
The Philadelphia Phillies traded prospects outfielder Hendry Mendez and right-handed pitcher Geremy Villoria to the Twins for outfielder Harrison Bader.
The 31-year-old Bader is hitting .258 with 12 homers and 10 stolen bases this year.
That’s it on my end. Don’t forget to check out Steve’s Trade Deadline article.
Mariners Shutout Rangers in Series Opener
It was Eugenio Suárez’s season debut with Seattle after the former Mariners infielder rejoined his friends in the middle of an AL West race with Houston and their Thursday night opponent, the Texas Rangers. Entering play, these franchises were tied for the final AL wild card spot, and five games back of the idle ‘Stros.
Suarez wasted little time making an impact on this contest after a one-out double in the fourth inning led to the first run of the contest courtesy of a Kumar Rocker wild pitch.
Seattle added two more runs in the fifth courtesy of solo blasts off the bats of nine-hole hitter Cole Young and the current home run king of 2025, Mr. Cal Raleigh. It was Raleigh’s 42nd long ball of the season, making him the all-time single-season record holder for a switch-hitting catcher, passing former backstop Todd Hundley’s 41 homers in 1996 with the Florida Marlins.
Seattle added three more runs in the sixth, including via an RBI triple by Young for his second knock of the contest.
In the end, starting pitcher George Kirby’s three hits allowed over six scoreless frames were more than enough for the Mariners to take the first of four games versus Texas. Final score: Mariners-6, Rangers-0.
Best Moments From Yesterday
An Eighth Frame to Remember in Cincy
I thought Saturday’s Speedway Classic at Bristol Motor Speedway, featuring Atlanta and Cincinnati, was supposed to be the most exciting game of the week. Turns out, the first game of this three-game series at Great American Ballpark might take the cake.
The Reds jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after an Elly De La Cruz three-run homer in the third frame gave him No. 19 on the year.
However, Atlanta tied it up at three apiece in the sixth and then went on an offensive rampage by scoring eight runs in the eighth frame to take an 11-3 lead. Game over, right?
Not so fast. Cincinnati responded with eight knocks and eight runs in the bottom of the eighth, highlighted by homers from newly acquired third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes and veteran first baseman Spencer Steer. Hayes’s round-tripper plated three runs to cut the deficit to 11-6, while Steer’s was a game-tying three-run shot to left center off reliever Dylan Lee.
The eight runs apiece in the eighth frame marked the third time ever that two teams have scored eight-plus runs in the same inning. With that, the contest was tied at 11, and after no runs were scored in the ninth, Cincy and Atlanta headed to extras.
DH Marcell Ozuna drove in Matt Olson from third in the top of the 10th inning with a go-ahead sac fly to right. That was all Atlanta would need after closer Raisel Iglesias induced a pop-out to third off the bat of pinch-hitter Gavin Lux. Final Score: Atlanta-12, Reds-11 (F/10).
Long Rain Delay Doesn’t Stop Yankees From Series Win
It was a fast start for the Yankees’ offense versus the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday as the home team looked for a 3-1 series victory. A two-run homer in the first inning by DH Giancarlo Stanton off Rays SP Ryan Pepiot gave New York a 3-0 advantage after one. Pepiot surrendered a three-run blast in the second to leadoff hitter Ben Rice. After two innings, the Yankees led 6-0.
Tampa would score four times in the fourth to cut their deficit to 7-4. Then came the rain in the fifth, which led to a near three-hour delay.
At 5:20 p.m. ET, the game resumed, and the offenses on both sides disappeared. Neither team scored again. New York reliever Yerry De Los Santos struck out five over three scoreless innings of relief, leading to RHP Jonathan Loáisiga’s first save of the year.
Final Score: Yankees-7, Rays-4.
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ The Baltimore Orioles placed SP Zach Eflin on the 15-day IL (retroactive to July 29) with lower back discomfort. This is Eflin’s third trip this season to the injured list. The right-hander is 6-5 with a 5.93 ERA.
⚾ The New York Mets transferred outfielder Jesse Winker from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL with lower back inflammation. Winker has had only 70 at-bats this season and was hitting .229 with one homer and 10 RBI before landing on the IL in early July.
⚾ Three Rays players exited with injuries during Thursday’s contest in New York. DH Yandy Díaz left with a forearm contusion in the first inning after being hit by a Stroman sinker. Outfielder Chandler Simpson exited in the second inning after feeling pain in his left hand. Both he and Diaz are considered day-to-day.
The worst injury of the three appears to be that of first baseman Jonathan Aranda, who collided at first base with New York’s Stanton in the fifth inning (the one guy on the Bronx Bombers all sane folks would choose to avoid). The collision was caused by a throwing error to first from Junior Caminero on a bouncer to third by Stanton. Aranda’s wrist jammed into Stanton as he charged his way to first. Although X-rays came back negative, Aranda is expected to miss a few weeks, according to the latest reports from the team. Here’s the play if you missed it:
Giancarlo Stanton runs into a Jonathan Aranda trying to beat out a ground ball and Adanda gets hurt. #RepBx | #Yankees pic.twitter.com/U2IlRrzFD1
— Depressed New York Fan (@JudgeEnjoyer) July 31, 2025
Articles You Should Read
Mariners upgrade with Eugenio Suarez and Diamondbacks get 3 prospects— Keith Law, The Athletic
Eovaldi delivers when Rangers need it most for 100th win — Andres Soto, MLB.com
Trading for Jhoan Duran Is One Way To Shore up a Bullpen — Mike Baumann, Fangraphs
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