What we’re hearing about the Yankees, Phillies and others at the MLB trade deadline

Here’s a compilation of the latest reporting as of Friday night from The Athletic’s team of reporters as Monday’s trade deadline approaches.

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Luis Arraez

What is the market for the former batting champ?

As talented as Luis Arraez is, he never seems all that coveted.

Last winter, in his first crack at free agency, Arraez lingered on the open market until late January before signing a one-year, $12 million contract with the San Francisco Giants.

Now, as Monday’s trade deadline nears, Arraez is one of the players most likely to be dealt, but seemingly in limited demand.

Arraez, 29, is a three-time batting champion in the middle of both an offensive and defensive resurgence. His preference is to remain at second base, where he has re-established himself this season. But outside of the Tampa Bay Rays, few clubs seek help at that position.

Arraez’s previous team, San Diego, has a greater need for pitching. The Texas Rangers, originally thought to be an Arraez suitor, also are prioritizing other areas. The Boston Red Sox would prefer to add a shortstop. The Houston Astros, who entered today ranked 25th in OPS at second, are not going to displace Jose Altuve.

Two clubs that could stand to upgrade at first base, the Cleveland Guardians and Arizona Diamondbacks, might be disinclined to take on the $3.5 million remaining on Arraez’s contract. And Arraez does not want to play first as he prepares to re-enter the free-agent market, according to a person briefed on his thinking.

Some team will find a place for Arraez, who entered today batting .328 with an .811 OPS, his highest figures since 2023. But outside of the Rays, it’s difficult to imagine which club that might be. — Ken Rosenthal and Katie Woo

Astros

Houston interested in Lars Nootbaar

No team is extracting a lower batting average or OPS from its outfield than the Astros, who are on a widespread search for anyone to supplement their struggling unit. It remains the team’s foremost priority before Monday’s deadline.

General manager Dana Brown would prefer to acquire a left-handed hitter, but softened his stance last weekend, saying, “At this point, we’ll take whatever production we can get.”

Still, a left-handed hitter is among the most prominent names being discussed within the Astros’ front office. St. Louis’ Lars Nootbaar is of interest to Houston, according to multiple sources granted anonymity for their candor to discuss ongoing negotiations.

Nootbaar, who missed the start of the season after undergoing heel surgery this winter, is slashing .241/.347/.366 across his first 170 plate appearances. Nootbaar’s career .342 on-base percentage alone would be a boon for an Astros outfield that entered Friday reaching base at a .292 clip.

Whether the Astros can meet St. Louis’ asking price is another matter. One source described the Cardinals’ ask as “astronomical,” which does not bode well for a club short on prospect capital. Houston has just two consensus Top 100 prospects — teenage outfielder Kevin Alvarez and infielder Xavier Neyens — and The Athletic’s Keith Law had the Astros’ farm system 28th out of 30 teams in his preseason rankings.

Though Houston does not have prospect capital, it does have a cadre of controllable, young pitching that could appeal to other clubs. Reliever AJ Blubaugh has drawn considerable trade interest, as The Athletic first reported earlier this month, but Miguel Ullola and Alimber Santa are in similar positions to Blubaugh.

All have five years of team control remaining, have starting pitching backgrounds and have pitched well in their major-league introductions as relievers. Might one of Blubaugh, Santa or Ullola intrigue a Cardinals team that, according to The Athletic’s Katie Woo, Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal, is seeking “meaningful pieces” that align with their plan to contend in late 2027 or 2028?

Perhaps St. Louis would, but it’s clear it may take more than that to land Nootbaar, who is under team control through next season and — conceivably — could be a part of the next contending Cardinals team. — Chandler Rome

Yankees

New York “everywhere” in the trade market

The New York Yankees were scouring “everywhere” in the trade market, zeroing in on right-handed catchers and offense in general, according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe ongoing deliberations.

The front office was active as the Yankees’ offense was just scraping by against the Chicago Cubs, ahead 2-0 in the ninth inning at Wrigley Field after solo home runs from Amed Rosario and Spencer Jones.

Yankees bats have scuffled big time since Aaron Judge (right first rib stress fracture) last played on May 31, and they have really had a tough time this week in Chicago with Cody Bellinger (left hamstring strain) also landing on the injured list.

The Yankees believe in the defense and framing of Austin Wells, who has struggled mightily offensively from the left side of the plate. The Yankees could also benefit from adding a righty-hitting outfield bat who could play left field or center field, though they would likely take offense wherever they could get it right now.

On the pitching side, the Yankees are expected to look to upgrade the late-innings portion of their bullpen, and a team source said that the Yankees and New York reliever Luke Weaver didn’t part on bad terms last season. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about another team’s player.

Weaver seems like a highly coveted trade chip for the Mets, who have watched him post a 1.88 ERA in 41 appearances. He’s on a two-year deal and is owed $11 million next season.

Weaver appeared exasperated with Yankees coaches in their combined effort to fix his pitch tipping amid major struggles late last year. But the source said he didn’t believe there were any hard feelings on either side, though the Yankees didn’t seem to pursue Weaver aggressively in free agency during the offseason. — Brendan Kuty

Royals

Kansas City unlikely to trade away starting pitchers

Teams shopping for starting pitching seem unlikely to find it in Kansas City.

Rival executives say the Royals are telling clubs they’re not in a rebuild, so they expect to hold on to both Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo.

Both Wacha and Lugo are under contract for next year. And the Royals have dealt with so many pitching injuries, they’ve told teams the only way they would move either pitcher is if they get major-league pieces back. That would include controllable big-league starters who could replace them in the rotation.

The Royals made the playoffs last year and want to keep their position-player group largely intact. So if they’re planning to contend next season, they naturally wouldn’t be motivated to subtract their healthiest and most dependable starters, Wacha and Lugo, both of whom have made an All-Star team since joining Kansas City.

That stance positions outfielder Lane Thomas as the Royals player most likely to get traded in the coming days.

Thomas, 30, will be a free agent after the season, so he’s strictly a rental. But he’s one of the few plug-and-play right-handed bats on this market. He has a .796 OPS versus left-handed pitching. And he’s a versatile defender who can play all over the outfield.

The list of teams thought to be pursuing him is long. The Phillies, Yankees, Red Sox, Rangers and Rays have all been linked to him, and his former team, the Cleveland Guardians, could be a fit.

The Royals also have signaled that they would like to trade veteran left-handed reliever Matt Strahm, but his ERA has soared to a career-worst 7.27. And they’ve fielded calls on controllable relievers Daniel Lynch IV and Steven Cruz, but seem unlikely to move either. — Jayson Stark

Tarik Skubal

Talks have yet to get serious for Tigers

As of Friday afternoon, the Detroit Tigers had yet to seriously engage clubs in trade discussions involving ace left-hander Tarik Skubal, according to people with two interested clubs who were granted anonymity for their candor.

The deadline is at 6 p.m. ET on Monday. The Tigers are not yet in an urgent position. They know the moment they send out word, the offers for Skubal will come quickly. In the meantime, they are leaving open the possibility of holding him, knowing it likely will do them little harm.

The possibility of Skubal staying in Detroit still appears slim. The Tigers (51-58) enter a three-game series in Sacramento this weekend 6 1/2 games out in the AL Central and 4 1/2 games back in the wild-card race. Per Fangraphs, their playoff odds are 24.2 percent.

The Tigers took a precautionary measure today with another of their trade candidates, right-hander Casey Mize, scratching him from his start and going with a bullpen game instead. If they truly were placing importance on this series, they would seemingly want Mize to pitch, rather than hold him out until after the deadline.

Mize, though, has been dealing with a groin issue. His velocity was down early in his most recent start. He said he was in no pain, but was working through a mechanical adjustment.

At some point soon, probably before Sunday, the Tigers will need to determine their course. All trades involve an exchange of medical records. Any team paying a steep acquisition cost for Skubal will want to do a complete review of his history.

Skubal, 29, underwent an innovative surgery May 6 to remove a loose body from his left elbow. Since returning on June 13, he has a 2.70 ERA in eight starts. He previously underwent Tommy John surgery in 2016 and flexor tendon surgery in 2022. — Rosenthal and Cody Stavenhagen

Nationals

Washington open to moving farm system depth

The Nationals have pitched to multiple teams that they are willing to trade from their surplus of position player talent in the farm system, according to people briefed on their plans who were granted anonymity in exchange for candor.

The Nationals have an especially deep crop of middle infielders in their farm system and have drastically outperformed expectations in the majors and minors thanks to a revitalized offensive approach that has helped many players tap into latent power. That effort has allowed them to be more flexible in the lead-up to Monday’s deadline.

To be clear, this willingness to dip into their position-player talent is merely a partial picture of what is possible at their deadline. Washington appears open to adding value in whatever form it can. That could mean (among other things) trading from its big-league roster, making a prospect-for-prospect trade or, crucially, adding relief help. According to people with knowledge of the conversations, the Nats have targeted both expiring and controllable relievers.

Last week, The Athletic reported that the Nationals planned to add at least some big-league help at the deadline, though it could be outweighed by what they sell off the roster. Days later, they traded infielder Curtis Mead for lefty Connelly Early, filling a need in their rotation. Washington still needs help in the bullpen, with an MLB-worst 27 blown saves, though the team sits just 2 1/2 games back of the third wild-card spot. — Spencer Nusbaum

Phillies

Philadelphia prioritizing starting pitching in their talks

Hoping for some measure of competence from the fifth spot in the rotation, the Phillies summoned Andrew Painter to start Friday, six weeks after his demotion to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

It might be temporary; MLB’s trade deadline is Monday, and league sources have indicated the Phillies have prioritized another starter in trade talks. — Matt Gelb and Charlotte Varnes