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The 2025 MLB trade deadline is Thursday at 6 p.m. ET. The chaos is picking up with less than 24 hours left before the deadline, with several teams making last-minute decisions on whether to be buyers, sellers or some hybrid combination of the two.
The Athletic’s trade deadline live blog will be your go-to source for breaking news and instant analysis. We’ll have our usual in-depth coverage — and you’ll see plenty of links to that work here on the blog — but this will be our landing page for all things trade deadline.
We’ll be with you all day through the deadline, presenting some of the reporting you might have missed and providing quick feedback when deals come together.
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Cliques and rivalries: Which MLB teams are trading pals, and which ones trading foes?
The Dodgers effectively swap third catchers in Hunter Feduccia for Ben Rortvedt, and in the process got a left-handed pitching prospect in Adam Serwinoski and an optionable bullpen arm in Paul Gervase. Nice little bit of business.
Also, it wouldn’t be the trade deadline without Andrew Friedman wriggling his way into a three-team deal. Last year, it was the deal that landed Tommy Edman and Michael Kopech in Los Angeles.
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Two relievers down, one to go. Hours after trading closer Ryan Helsley, the Cardinals swing a deal to send left-handed reliever Steven Matz to the Boston Red Sox. St. Louis expects to move Phil Maton as well. Matz, 34, is in the final year of his contract and is owed roughly $4.8 million for the remainder of the season.
The Angels are four games back of the final Wild Card spot in the American League. As a result, Los Angeles' front office went out today and acquired two veteran relievers to bolster their bullpen. Here are your views on the deal:
Robert K P.: Beat the Rangers twice & buy a couple of old worn out pitchers. Sounds like a playoff run to me. OMG, this is so painful. Can’t the Angels rebuild already?
Forrest B.: They gave up nothing. Let's not overreact yet.
Cyrus T G.: If the Angels make a decision, I am sure it is well thought and carefully considered without a hint of panic, desperation or false hope.
Jake H.: I don't think this makes us buyers by adding mid level mid 30s guys. Maybe they're just prepping to ship off Detmers and Jansen.
Victoria M.: Angels’ bullpen has been in heavy use for the last month. Needed some arms to bridge to the setup guys and Jansen. The pitcher sent to Washington is a young arm, but needs more development. I don’t think this makes the Halos buyers. It’s simply a case of send us your old and tired, who can still perform for two months, and we’ll send you fresh troops.
Urías raises the floor of a depleted Astros roster and strengthens one of the sport's best run prevention machines. Only four infields entered Wednesday worth more outs above average than Houston's — a byproduct of moving Jose Altuve to left field and signing three-time Gold Glove first baseman Christian Walker this offseason.
Urías has been worth three outs above average at third base this season, according to Baseball Savant. According to Sports Info Solutions, he's been worth six defensive runs saved. Playing Urías primarily third base would put him alongside Gold Glove shortstop Jeremy Peña, who could return from the injured list on Friday when the Astros open a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox.
Presuming Urías and Peña comprise the left side of the infield, Houston could shift Mauricio Dubón — a utility Gold Glove winner — to second base, where rookies Brice Matthews and Shay Whitcomb have been splitting playing time.
I haven’t been on the Phillies beat for long, but this is one of my favorite stories I’ve worked on. Worth a read for Twins fans (or anyone who wants to learn more about how Mick Abel turned it around this season):
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How Phillies’ Mick Abel found himself, raised his game and made the ‘little wins’ big
In adding Littell, that means either Nick Martinez or Chase Burns will move to the bullpen immediately. The team is still hashing out those plans. Eventually, though, both will end up there as Hunter Greene is on his way back from the injured list.
Greene made his first rehab start Tuesday for Triple-A Louisville, and is expected to pitch again Sunday. Greene threw 50 pitches and is expected to throw more in his next outing. Whether he makes another rehab start after that will be determined then. But when he does come back to the rotation, it’s likely whichever one of Martinez or Burns that doesn’t go to the bullpen after Littell moves into the rotation, will be moved there to make way for Greene.
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Taylor and Tyler Rogers play catch with each other every December 17. It’s their birthday, and the ideal time to start getting ready for another season in the majors.
The brothers, who have combined for more than 900 games and were teammates with the San Francisco Giants in 2023 and 2024, will remember the date July 30, too – because both of them were traded on Wednesday.
The Cincinnati Reds sent Taylor, a lefty, to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a deal for Ke’Bryan Hayes. Minutes later, the Giants sent Tyler, a righty, to the Mets in exchange for Jose Butto and two prospects.
The Rogers deals become the latest in a long history of brotherly oddities in baseball. Read below for a small sampling of some other fun facts from more than 400 brother combinations to play in MLB.
Rafael Montero is the first of several Braves relievers who could be traded before Thursday’s 6 p.m. deadline. The 34-year-old was originally traded to Atlanta in April from Houston, and struggled mightily.
Minor league infielder Jim Jarvis, who was sent from the Tigers, has split time between second base, third base and shortstop this season at Double-A Erie, and hit .242 with three triples, two homers, eight stolen bases and a .652 OPS in 310 plate appearances. The San Diego native was an 11th-round draft pick by the Tigers in 2023 out of the University of Alabama.
By Dennis Lin and Ken Rosenthal
As usual, San Diego Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller is active on most of the big names available at the trade deadline. In addition to his continued pursuit of outfielders Jarren Duran and Steven Kwan, he is also pushing for Athletics closer Mason Miller, sources briefed on the Padres’ discussions told The Athletic.
Considering the top-heavy state of the Padres farm system, Preller might need to part with elite shortstop prospect Leo De Vries or well-regarded catching prospect Ethan Salas to acquire any of the above players. Indications are, the executive is willing to at least discuss them.
Miller, like Duran or Kwan, would come at a heavy cost. The 26-year-old right-hander is leading the majors in average fastball velocity while earning just $765,000 this season, with four additional seasons of club control. The Padres this month sent three relievers to the All-Star Game, but they are considering potential trades of one of those pitchers, closer Robert Suarez, who is making $10 million and can opt out of his contract after the World Series.
Read more below.
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Padres, still pursuing Jarren Duran and Steven Kwan, also pushing for Mason Miller: Sources
The Mets were busy bolstering their bullpen today, with trades for the Giants' Tyler Rogers and the Cardinals' Ryan Helsley. But what did they send to San Francisco and St. Louis in exchange? The Athletic's resident prospect guru Keith Law breaks down why he likes one package of prospects traded today better than the other — and it may not be the one you think.
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Mets boost their bullpen, add Ryan Helsley, Tyler Rogers without trading elite prospects
Barring a dramatic shift on Thursday, the Pittsburgh Pirates are likely to keep right-hander Mitch Keller, according to major-league sources briefed on their discussions.
A trade of Keller represents perhaps the Pirates’ best chance to acquire impact offensive talent. But The Athletic reported last Friday that the Pirates were torn on moving Keller, who is in the second year of a five-year, $77 million contract.
An executive from a team interested in Keller, granted anonymity for his candor, said his team has not “even bothered” continuing its pursuit of the pitcher, citing the Pirates’ reluctance to seriously engage.
There are multiple reasons the Pirates might balk at trading Keller, 29. The difficulty of replacing his performance could be one. The lack of quality offers from teams that perceive him as nothing more than a mid-rotation starter might be another.
Moving Keller would clear his salaries of $16.5 million, $18 million and $20 million the next three seasons. But the Pirates also could seek to fill their offensive void by moving left-hander Bailey Falter, 28, or Braxton Ashcraft, 25, and others.
None of the Pirates on expiring contracts — outfielder Tommy Pham, infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa and left-hander Andrew Heaney — are likely to bring back hitters who would bolster the 2026 roster. Closer David Bednar and setup man Dennis Santana, both of whom are under club control for an additional season, carry greater value, but perhaps not enough to land a difference-maker.
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Brian Cashman and the New York Yankees continue to make moves along the margins, now acquiring versatile outfielder Austin Slater from the Chicago White Sox. Here are your views on the deal:
Shirley M.: Cashman is shopping at Dollar General again.
Greg R.: Solid small move. If nothing else, Boone has greater roster/lineup flexibility and we're not neutered vs. lefties. Bigger picture, this bodes a Grisham trade for an arm.
Anonymous: The Yankees look ahead to October? Are you kidding? The only thing happening at Yankee stadium in October will be the tours. They need to look ahead to find a GM.
Alex W.: Guess the Martian turns out to be human after all.
Sam H.: In a vacuum, Slater seems like a solid pickup (I read somewhere he’s one of the best pinch hitters in MLB history, surprisingly) but trading your #18 prospect for a rental fourth OF with his stat line seems like an overpay.
We know the Tigers need bullpen help, and we know they've signaled they're reluctant to part with top prospects. But what in the world do they like about Rafael Montero, who has a 5.40 ERA in 38 1/3 innings this season?
Perhaps they think he can add needed swing and miss to a bullpen that has the American League's worst whiff rate so far this season. Montero, imperfect as he is, ranks in the 89th percentile in chase rate and 76th percentile in whiff rate. He also has a 13.9 percent walk rate, one of the worst in the league, something that runs counter to the Tigers' usual pitching profile.
Montero has a good splitter and posted a 2.37 ERA for the Astros back in 2022. But here on the eve of the deadline, the Tigers have missed out on big-ticket relievers, this time opting for yet another project.
In need of pitching, the Cubs made their first move the trade deadline by adding Michael Soroka from the Washington Nationals, league sources told The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
Soroka has an elevated 4.87 ERA but strong peripherals with a 25.4 percent strikeout rate and 7 percent walk rate. He’ll also be going from pitching in front of a bottom-five defensive unit to one of the best infields in baseball. Still, there is some concern that Soroka’s fastball velocity has dipped in his last three starts.
But with Justin Steele out for the season and with Jameson Taillon working his way back from injury, the rotation has been screaming for reinforcements. Filling in admirably at times, Colin Rea has been shaky of late, posting a 5.46 ERA in his last 11 starts and has given up nine runs combined in his last two outings.
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Cubs acquiring RHP Michael Soroka from Nationals: Sources
In cased you missed it, our first notable move from earlier today came when the Yankees got outfielder Austin Slater from the White Sox, adding to New York's outfield with reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge on the shelf with an elbow flexor strain.
The 32-year-old Slater is hitting at a roughly league-average pace this year, according to Fangraph's weighted runs created plus metric, and owns a .236/.299/.423 slash line through 51 games. According to The Athletic's Brendan Kuty, Judge went through some outfield drills at Yankee Stadium today but did not test out his injured right elbow with any overhand throws.
Ke'Bryan Hayes is staying in the NL Central after getting dealt from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati. Here are your views on the Reds new third baseman:
Anonymous: Watching Ke'Bryan hit over the top of the ball into yet another groundout will not be missed. Getting a low minors prospect and a reliever who will probably be traded before wearing the uniform is underwhelming, to say the least, but as a fan, having Hayes come into the batter's box always made my heart sink. Pirates being Pirates. They're glad to be saving money.
Jonathan C.: Bucks did good. He would never hit here and his back was always an issue. If he turns out to start hitting, good for the Reds. I’ll take this deal.
Andrew C.: An absolute salary dump. Ke'Bryan’s glove and defense is elite. His bat? Not so much. The typical and predictable Pirates fire sale has started. Sell the team.
David W.: A better organization and park will help Hayes improve his offense, but back injuries don’t get better. As much as I dislike Nutting and Cherrington, getting out from under this contract is probably good. If Hayes improves to a .700 OPS for 100 games a year, that’s not a building block player.
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The Cubs are acquiring right-handed starting pitcher Michael Soroka from Nationals, sources tell The Athletic.
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Reds: C+
Pirates: B+
The Reds had a clear need when it came to offense … but does Ke’Bryan Hayes solve that problem?
This year, Cincinnati has been the fourth-worst offense against left-handed pitching. They’ve been open to moving third baseman Noelvi Marte to the outfield, and they went and got a cheap right-handed third baseman that’s a great defender and under team control for another four-plus seasons after this one. Clear win, right?
Depends on what you think of Ke’Bryan Hayes’ bat. There’s no doubting his glove, as he leads all qualified defenders in Statcast’s Outs Above Average since that stat started being tracked in 2020. He’s the best or second-best third baseman in the game, defensively.
But he’s struggled to stay healthy, with a back that’s been bothering him all season among the most annoying of his ailments. And his bat has been below average in every full season except 2023, when it was average. He has above-average bat speed, and makes contact at a good rate, but that contact burns worms, and he has had very limited success lifting the ball.
In case you missed it from earlier today…
Perhaps Ke’Bryan Hayes’ bat can still be unlocked. But it won’t be in Pittsburgh.
The Cincinnati Reds acquired the Gold Glove third baseman, one of the sport’s premier infield defenders, from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.
The Pirates received shortstop Sammy Stafura, the Reds’ No. 7 prospect on Keith Law’s preseason rankings, and lefty reliever Taylor Rogers in return.
The Reds’ search for a right-handed outfield bat came from within its roster, with Noelvi Marte’s recent foray from third base to the outfield. Adding Hayes allows Marte to go the outfield while also boosting the team’s infield defense.
Whether Hayes can return to form offensively from where he was two years ago is to be seen, but Great American Ball Park is as good a place as any to rediscover your offensive prowess. In 112 career plate appearances at GABP, Hayes has hit .264/.304/.434 with four homers.
The move marks the end of a long relationship for the Pirates and Hayes, whom they drafted at No. 32 out of high school in 2015 and later handed one of the largest contracts in club history.
Read more below.
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Reds to acquire Ke’Bryan Hayes from Pirates to improve infield for prospect Stafura, Rogers
