2024 July - MLB Trade Rumors (2024)

The Mariners announced that they have claimed outfielder Duke Ellis off waivers from the Mets and sent him to Triple-A Tacoma. The latter club had designated him for assignment recently. The Mariners already had a vacancy on their 40-man, which is now full.

Ellis, 26, had never appeared on a 40-man roster until a month ago but has now been on three of them in that time. The White Sox selected him on June 4 and he has since bounced to the Mets and now Mariners via waiver claims.

The interest is largely due to his wheels. In his 968 minor league plate appearances, he has a batting line of .241/.329/.333, which translates to an 88 wRC+. However, he stole 117 bases in 134 tries during that time. While he was briefly in the big leagues with the White Sox, he swiped four bags in four tries.

Such players can often carve out roles on contending clubs, particularly with expanded rosters in September. A key pinch running opportunity late in a game can often be the difference between a win and a loss. That’s especially true in the age of the free runner in extra innings.

The Mariners had an open roster spot, so there’s little harm in them grabbing Ellis for now. He can take some at-bats in Tacoma, though perhaps they will try to pass him through waivers at some point down the line or call him up to take advantage of his speed.

The Nationals announced that first baseman Joey Meneses has been optioned to Triple-A Rochester after today’s game. Additionally, outfielder Eddie Rosario has cleared unconditional release waivers and is now a free agent. The corresponding move for Meneses has not been announced yet.

Meneses, 32, will head to the minors for the first time in almost two years. The rebuilding Nats cleared out some lineup space at the 2022 deadline, trading away Juan Soto, Josh Bell and Ehire Adrianza.

They selected Meneses to the roster at that time. He had always hit well in the minors but was a 30-year-old with no major league experience and the transaction was largely buried, with Meneses expected to simply play out the string on a lost season.

But Meneses went on to demolish major league pitching in his debut. He got into 56 games as 2022 was winding down, crushing 13 home runs in that time. He slashed .324/.367/.563 for a wRC+ of 157.

Though it was a magical couple of months, he hasn’t been able to carry it forward. He added another 13 homers last year, but in a fair larger sample of 154 games. His .275/.321/.401 batting line in 2023 wasn’t disastrous, translating to a 96 wRC+, but he doesn’t offer much else. He’s not a burner on the basepaths and isn’t considered a strong defender at first base or in an outfield corner. Here in 2024, the results have been even worse. He has just three long balls so far and is slashing .235/.294/.310 for a wRC+ of 72.

The Nats have clearly decided that it’s time to move on, but they will need to figure out how to cover first base now. Harold Ramírez could be an option but he’s also considered a poor defender and isn’t hitting much this year either. Joey Gallo got a bunch of at-bats there earlier in the season but he’s on the injured list with a hamstring strain and it doesn’t appear his return is imminent. Jesse Winker has never played first in the majors but has a small amount of experience there in the minors. Trey Lipscomb is on the 40-man but he’s more of a glove-first utility guy. Juan Yepez is in Triple-A on a minor league deal and not on the 40-man at present. The open market features players like José Abreu and Mike Ford, though they were let go due to their own struggles.

From a service time point of view, Meneses came into this season with one year and 65 days, putting him 107 shy of the two-year mark. Today is the 99th day of the 2024 season, meaning he’s still just under that two-year line. He’ll still have a chance to cross it if he comes back up at any point, but he’ll likely need to produce more offense in the next few weeks in order for that to come to fruition.

As for Rosario, it was reported yesterday that the club had requested release waivers on him. No other club was going to claim him, given that he’s making $2MM this year while having slashed .183/.226/.329. Now that he’s a free agent, he’ll be free to sign with any other club. That signing club would only have to pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, which would be subtracted from what the Nats owe him.

The Rockies announced that infielder Elehuris Montero has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Albuquerque. He’ll stay in the organization as depth but without taking up a spot on the 40-man roster.

Montero, now 25, came over to the Rockies in the ill-fated 2021 trade that sent Nolan Arenado to the Cardinals. Montero had always hit well in the Cards’ system and the Rockies were surely hoping he would continue to do so after bringing him to their organization.

Since the deal, he has continued hitting minor league pitching but struggled badly in the majors. From 2021 to 2023, he slashed .302/.379/.565 in 960 plate appearances down on the farm. But in his 492 big league plate appearances in that same time frame, he produced a line of .239/.283/.428, leading to a wRC+ of just 77. He struck out in 34.8% of his plate appearances while walking just 4.7% of the time.

He exhausted his three option years in that stretch, leaving him out of options here in 2024. He cut his strikeout rate to 22.7% but didn’t do much damage when putting the ball in play, leading to a line of .205/.267/.304 and a 48 wRC+. Montero isn’t considered a strong defender at either corner infield spot, so the lack of offense became untenable and the Rockies designated him for assignment a few days ago. Any of the 29 other clubs could have taken a shot on him by grabbing him off waivers but they all passed.

Since this is his first outright and he has less than three years of service time, Montero doesn’t have the right to reject this assignment. He’ll report to Albuquerque and look to get back in good form. If he doesn’t get added back to the roster by season’s end, he’ll qualify for minor league free agency.

The Red Sox have released catcher Roberto Perez, as noted by Chris Hatfield of SoxProspects.com. Perez signed a minor league deal with the club back in December but has spent the entire regular season on the injured list in the minors.

A veteran of ten big league seasons, Perez is a two-time Gold Glove award winner who has routinely been considered one of the best defensive catchers in the sport throughout his career. Unfortunately, the 35-year-old has struggled badly with injury woes in recent years after being a regular presence in the Cleveland lineup during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. The veteran was limited to just 44 games in 2021 by a fractured finger and a shoulder strain, a reality that allowed Austin Hedges to jump the veteran on Cleveland’s depth chart.

Perez became a free agent for the first time after the 2021 season, but his injury woes have only gotten worse since then. He found a big league deal with the Pirates headed into 2022 but ultimately appeared in just 21 games before hamstring problems ended his season in early May. The following winter Perez latched on with the Giants on a non-roster pact and earned a spot on the club’s staff with a strong Spring Training. Unfortunately, the veteran made it just five games into the regular season before undergoing season-ending surgery to repair the rotator cuff in his right shoulder. Between those injuries and now the undisclosed issue that has plagued Perez this year, the 35-year-old has stepped up to the plate in official games just 86 times since the end of the 2021 season.

For a veteran catcher in his mid-thirties, the lengthy string of injuries is a concerning one, although it’s worth noting that his limited regular season and spring training appearances have generally shown him to still be a solid defensive catcher when healthy. On the other hand, he’s been nothing short of atrocious at the plate following a roughly league average 2019 season, slashing just .169/.268/.288 with a wRC+ of 58 in 357 plate appearances at the big league level since then.

Even so, it would hardly be a shock for a catching-needy club to take a look at Perez on a minor league deal if he can get healthy enough to contribute in the second half, given the importance of catching depth and the veteran’s sterling defensive reputation. As for Boston, the club remains deep in catching depth behind their primary tandem of Connor Wong and Reese McGuire even after parting ways with Perez; Tyler Heineman is on the 40-man roster as an optionable depth piece, while Mark Kolozsvary provides additional, non-roster depth with big league experience at the Triple-A level.

The Pirates announced this morning that they’ve placed right-hander Jared Jones on the 15-day IL with a right lat strain. Jones was pulled from his start against the Cardinals last night after just 78 pitches last night after throwing five innings of one-run ball, and manager Derek Shelton told reporters (including Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) that the quick hook was due to the issue.

“He’s got a little right lat strain going on,” Shelton said (as relayed by Hiles). “So we decided to get him out.”

Pittsburgh has long been candid about their plans to carefully manage the workload of their young pitching this season, a group that includes rookie fireballers Jones and Skenes. The young duo have been a revelation at the top of the Pirates rotation as Jones has pitched to an excellent 3.56 ERA with a 26.4% strikeout rate in sixteen starts, while Skenes has struck out 34.1% of opponents with a 2.06 ERA across nine starts. That process of managing workload has already begun for Jones, as the righty’s last appearance prior to last night’s game was all the way back on June 22. Given the fact that the club was already carefully managing Jones’s workload, it’s hardly a surprise that the club would be cautious and sit the righty down rather than have him pitch through a lat problem, even if it proves to be as minor as both Shelton and Jones himself have indicated that it’s expected to be.

A specific timetable for Jones’s return has not yet been discussed publicly, although the Pirates will need to sort out a replacement for the righty in the rotation regardless of his IL stint’s length as the club will need a fifth starter on July 8 against the Mets. The club has called up outfielder Joshua Palacios to lengthen their bench mix for the time being but will need to figure out who will take the ball in Jones’s stead before then. Right-hander Braxton Ashcraft, the club’s #5 prospect per MLB.com, is already on the 40-man roster and has dominated the Double- and Triple-A levels for Pittsburgh this year with a 3.00 ERA and 25.9% strikeout rate in 69 innings but has made just three starts at the Triple-A level to this point.

If the Pirates want to take things slowly with Ashcraft, they could turn to a non-roster arm such as Jake Woodford, who pitched in the majors for the White Sox earlier this year and has looked good with a 2.08 ERA in three starts at Triple-A for the club since he joined the organization last month. Turning to Woodford (as well as other non-roster veterans currently in Triple-A such as Domingo German and Luis Cessa) would require the club to clear space on the 40-man roster, however.

Whoever the Pirates turn to in replacing Jones will be thrust into the club’s most competitive season in years. Pittsburgh has a decent 41-44 record that places them just three games out of the final NL playoff spot, and that respectable performance has led ownership to suggest that he and the front office will be aggressive in improving the club this summer. Much of that success has been thanks to the rotation, where Jones and Skenes have combined with Mitch Keller, Bailey Falter, and Martin Perez to deliver a combined ERA of 3.63 that ranks sixth among starting staffs around the league.

The Marlins are selecting the contract of right-hander Matt Andriese, as reported by Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. Andriese will take the 40-man roster spot of Tim Anderson, who the club designated for assignment earlier this week. De Nicola adds that right-hander Anthony Maldonado was optioned to make room for Andriese on the active roster.

Andriese, 34, is a veteran journeyman who has spent parts of eight seasons in the majors since making his debut with the Rays back in 2015. The right-hander signed with Miami on a minor league deal over the offseason and already pitched in the majors for the club earlier this season. He posted a 5.40 ERA in five innings of work across three appearances before being designated for assignment in mid-April, but remained with the club after being outrighted to the minors. His time in Triple-A left much to be desired, as he allowed a 4.78 ERA in 32 innings of work across 13 multi-inning relief appearances. He struck out just 15.6% of batters faced while walking 8.5%.

Those shaky numbers didn’t stop the Marlins from giving Andriese another shot in the majors, and the righty will get another opportunity to show he’s still capable of providing solid innings like he did earlier in his career. Andriese got his start as a solid, innings-eating arm for the Rays who swung between the rotation and bullpen with roughly league average results. In parts of four seasons with Tampa, the righty pitched to a 4.30 ERA (95 ERA+) with a 4.13 FIP in 99 appearances, 48 of which were starts. After leaving Tampa, Andriese became a full-time reliever but struggled through stints with the Diamondbacks, Angels, Red Sox, and Mariners until he departed affiliated ball to pitch for Nippon Professional Baseball’s Yoimuri Giants in 2022.

That stint in Japan went swimmingly for Andriese, as he posted a sterling 2.86 ERA in 63 innings of work for Yoimuri while striking out a decent 21.1% of batters faced. The right-hander returned to stateside ball last year but struggled to a 6.07 ERA in 21 appearances (19 starts) for the Dodgers at the Triple-A level that year. Those results left something to be desired even by the standards of the Pacific Coast League and its inflated offensive environment. His time with the Marlins has been an improvement on his time with Los Angeles in Oklahoma City, but it’s unclear if this latest selection of his contract to the big league roster will be a brief one like his three-appearance stint in early April or if he’ll be afforded a longer audition in the Miami bullpen.

Right-hander Jordan Balazovic has signed with the Doosan Bears of the Korea Baseball Organization, according to Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News. Balazovic had previously been pitching for the Twins on a minor league deal he signed back in February.

Balazovic, 25, was selected by Minnesota in the fifth round of the 2016 draft and has spent his entire professional career with Minnesota to this point. The right-hander posted big numbers in the lower minors early in his career, including a 2.69 ERA with a 33.9% strikeout rate in 93 2/3 innings of work split between the Single-A and High-A levels back in 2019. That was enough to get the Ontario native some attention on top-100 prospect lists, and his respectable 3.62 ERA in 20 starts as a 22-year-old at the Double-A level did little to dissuade that.

Unfortunately, the wheels came off from Balazovic a bit from there. Since being promoted to the Triple-A level to open the 2022 campaign, the righty has struggled mightily at the level with a 6.35 ERA with an 11.5% walk rate against a 25% strikeout rate in 68 appearances at the level. A difficult 2022 season saw the youngster move to the bullpen in 2023 and, while he made his big league debut with the Twins last year and posted a 4.44 ERA in 24 1/3 innings of work, that didn’t help him with his control as he walked 15.2% of batters faced in Triple-A last year. Those struggles led the Twins to designate him for assignment this past winter, though he re-upped with Minnesota on that aforementioned minor league pact and returned to Triple-A with the club to start the season.

Balazovic’s results have once again left something to be desired as he’s posted a 5.60 ERA in 35 1/3 innings of work this season. Those numbers hide the fact that Balazovic has looked greatly improved in terms of underlying performance, however. He’s struck out 30.1% of batters faced this year, the first time he’s punched out 30% of more of his opponents in half a decade. He’s paired that with an elevated but manageable 9.2% walk rate, and he’s even posted an impressive 56.2% groundball rate. That’s left him with strong peripherals, including a 3.21 FIP and 3.18 xFIP, but his results have been skewed by an elevated .368 BABIP allowed and a shockingly low 58.2% strand rate.

Doosan has clearly looked past Balazovic’s shaky results and is hoping that those strong peripherals in Triple-A this year can translate to success overseas. The right-hander now figures to head to Korea in hopes of finding success there and, perhaps, eventually establishing himself enough to get another crack at the big leagues at some point in the future. KBO teams are only allowed to carry a maximum of two foreign-born pitchers on their rosters, and to make room for Balazovic on the roster Yoo notes that the club parted ways with right-hander Raul Alcantara. Alcantara, 31, pitched for the A’s in the majors in 2016 and ’17 and posted a 4.76 ERA in 12 starts with Doosan this year.

Happy Independence Day to those who celebrate! While fans around America fire up the grill, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Rengifo to undergo imaging:

Angels infielder Luis Rengifo left the club’s game against the A’s last night after feeling pain in his wrist on a swing during the ninth inning. As noted by MLB.com’s Injury Tracker, club manager Ron Washington didn’t provide additional details on Rengifo’s status beyond noting that he was set to undergo imaging on the wrist to determine the severity of the issue. If the injury proves to be a significant one, it would be a frustrating loss for an Angels club that has already begun shopping closer Carlos Estevez ahead of the trade deadline later this month.

Rengifo, 27, is in the midst of a career season with the Angels. He’s slashed an excellent .315/.358/.442 (127 wRC+) while splitting time primarily between second and third base but also making cameos at shortstop and in right field. Those offensive numbers make him the fourth-best second baseman in baseball by wRC+ this year, behind only Ketel Marte, Jordan Westburg, and Jose Altuve. Between that strong performance with the bat, his relative youth, and the fact that he’s under team control through the end of the 2025 season, Rengifo figured to be one of the most attractive pieces the Angels could dangle this summer if they look to trade players controlled beyond this season. A major injury could take that possibility off the table entirely, however, and even a relatively minor one could impact Rengifo’s stock if it gives potential buyers pause about his ability to contribute down the stretch.

2. What’s next for the Rays?

The Rays have long been a team known to zig when others zag, so perhaps it’s not a surprise that in an era when clubs are increasingly prone to wait on trades of significance until the days before the deadline Tampa instead decided to pull the trigger on shipping right-hander Aaron Civale to Milwaukee yesterday in exchange for infield prospect Gregory Barrios. Even so, however, it’s noteworthy for a club like the Rays that sports a decent 43-43 record entering play today and sits just four games back of a playoff spot, to begin July by selling off a piece of their rotation.

Contenders around baseball will surely be keeping a close eye on the Rays in the coming days and weeks, attempting to determine whether the Civale deal was a signal that the club is open for business or simply a deal that recoups some value for a pitcher who struggled during his tenure with the club while opening up a spot in the rotation for longtime top prospect Shane Baz. If the Rays were to sell further, they have plenty of pieces who would surely be attractive to contenders including utility bat Amed Rosario and left-hander Colin Poche without even considering bigger name players like outfielder Randy Arozarena.

3. Bogaerts to begin rehab assignment:

The Padres are getting closer to adding reinforcements to their lineup, regardless of whether the club ends up buying at the trade deadline this year or not. That’s because infielder Xander Bogaerts is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment at the Triple-A level today, according to an announcement from the El Paso Chihuahuas last night. The announcement went on to note that Bogaerts is scheduled to remain in Triple-A through at least July 7.

It’s of course possible that Bogaerts, who last appeared in a game on May 20 and has been sidelined by a shoulder fracture ever since, will need a longer stay at Triple-A in order to fully prepare for a return to big league games. Even so, the assignment is a major step forward for the 31-year-old and could provide the Padres lineup with a boost. After all, Bogaerts is just one season removed from posting a solid 120 wRC+ for San Diego last year. Bogaerts’ return appears likely to cut into the playing time of Donovan Solano, who has posted a 117 wRC+ in 154 trips to the plate with the club this year.

The Brewers are kicking off their summer trade season with a deal to bring in some much-needed rotation help, announcing the acquisition of right-hander Aaron Civale from the Rays in exchange for infield prospect Gregory Barrios. Milwaukee designated righty Taylor Clarke for assignment in a corresponding move.

It’s one of the first notable trades of the 2024 season — one that addresses a key need for the Brewers (rotation depth) while netting some longer-term value for a Rays club that has multiple arms nearing a return from injury. Right-hander Shane Baz’s rehab from 2022 Tommy John surgery is effectively wrapped up, while southpaw Jeffrey Springs is nearing a return from his own Tommy John procedure, performed last April. Righty Drew Rasmussen, who underwent an internal brace procedure last July, is further behind that pair but is now one year removed from his surgery.

With those arms nearing a return that’ll slot them in alongside Zach Eflin, Zack Littell, Taj Bradley and Ryan Pepiot, the Rays have reportedly been open to dealing some veteran rotation help — with Civale and Littell the primary names among the reported possibilities. It bears emphasizing that there is no indication Tampa Bay is prepared to embark on a full-scale rebuild or notable summer sell-off. The organization surely feels that moving Civale (and potentially still listening on Littell and Eflin) is a matter of trading from a position of strength. The Rays exist in a perpetual state of both “buyer” and “seller,” regularly flipping veterans with dwindling levels of club control (such as Civale) in exchange for younger and more controllable talent.

While the Rays are currently flush with viable rotation candidates, the same cannot be said for a Brewers squad that has been hammered by injuries in 2024. Wade Miley underwent Tommy John surgery early in the season, and well-regarded pitching prospect Robert Gasser followed suit last month after impressing through his first five big league starts (2.57 ERA). DL Hall, acquired from the Orioles in the offseason Corbin Burnes trade, has been out since April with a knee sprain. Righty Joe Ross is on the 60-day injured list with a back strain.

The Brewers, who recently acquired Dallas Keuchel in a cash swap with the Mariners (and have received one rough start and a second sharper outing from the former Cy Young winner), have already used 15 different starting pitchers this season. Civale will make 16. At the moment, Milwaukee has Freddy Peralta, Bryse Wilson, Colin Rea and Tobias Myers in the rotation alongside Keuchel. Rea and Myers have exceeded any expectations, combining for 25 starts (14 for Rea, 11 for Myers) while both sporting earned run averages well south of 4.00. They’ve been rotation saviors for first-year skipper Pat Murphy, but some reinforcements were known to be a target for Milwaukee general manager Matt Arnold and his staff with the trade deadline now just 27 days away.

While it feels like most pitchers thrive and unlock a new gear upon being traded to the Rays organization, that hasn’t been the case for Civale. Acquired late last July in a trade sending first base prospect Kyle Manzardo to Cleveland, Civale came to the Rays with two and a half years of club control remaining and a strong track record with the Guardians. The 2016 third-rounder had battled his share of injury troubles but typically been good to great when healthy. In parts of five seasons, he gave Cleveland 430 innings of 3.77 ERA ball, all coming out of the rotation. He averaged 5 2/3 innings per outing, punched out a slightly below-average 21.1% of his opponents and limited walks at an excellent 6.1% clip.

With Tampa Bay, Civale has struggled to keep his ERA down. He’s worked to a 5.17 ERA in 132 1/3 frames dating back to last year’s deadline. That unsightly mark comes despite the fact that Civale has notably improved his strikeout rate (24.7%) even as the league-average strikeout rate has declined. He’s generally maintained his strong command, too (6.5% walk rate).

However, Civale has become increasingly homer-prone, yielding an average of 1.56 round-trippers per nine innings pitched — a sizable uptick from the 1.19 HR/9 he averaged in Cleveland. He’s also been plagued by a spike in his average on balls in play (despite Tampa Bay’s strong defense). It’s all added up to tank Civale’s strand rate and lead to more runners crossing the plate, even as metrics like xFIP and SIERA feel he’s been a comparable pitcher to his Cleveland days from a skill standpoint.

Acquiring Civale is something of a roll of the dice by the Brewers. Adding any homer-prone pitcher and plugging him into the Brewers’ homer-happy American Family Field is not without risk. That said, Milwaukee also has a reputation for maximizing pitcher performance, just as the Rays and Guardians do. The Brewers likely have their own tweaks and slight changes to game-planning that they feel can help get Civale back into his Cleveland form. Failing that, he at least ought to provide some steady back-of-the-rotation innings.

For a budget-conscious team like the Brewers, Civale surely holds some extra appeal. He’s earning a reasonable $4.9MM in 2024, with about $2.34MM of that sum yet to be paid out. The Brewers will assume the remainder of that tab. They’ll also control Civale through the 2025 season via arbitration, making him a likely multi-year member of the rotation. He’ll be due one final raise, though with his slow start to the season, his earning power via that process will be relatively suppressed even if he engineers a turnaround with the Brew Crew.

Barrios will give the Rays yet another talented infield defender to plug into the system. The Venezuelan-born 20-year-old is already in High-A and has handled the level quite well despite facing older competition. In 60 games (252 plate appearances), Barrios is slashing .317/.361/.423 (121 wRC+) with a homer, 17 doubles, two triples, 16 steals (in 22 attempts), a 5.2% walk rate and a tiny 9.5% strikeout rate.

Entering the season, Baseball America pegged Barrios 26th in Milwaukee’s system. He sat No. 21 on MLB.com’s list of the top 30 Brewers prospects at the time of the swap, and Keith Law of The Athletic listed him just outside the Brewers’ top-20 farmhands heading into the season. Barrios’ strong defensive skills and potential to be a plus glove at shortstop have made him a prospect of some note in Milwaukee’ system even as he’s struggled offensively in his first three pro seasons.

That well-regarded glove now looks all the more intriguing with Barrios hitting well against more advanced pitching in High-A. He’ll likely slot into the middle of the Rays’ top 30 or so prospects moving forward. Barrios won’t do anything to improve the Rays’ chances in 2024 (unless he’s included in a subsequent trade for help in other areas), but by late 2025 or early 2026, he could push for a big league debut if he’s able to continue this offensive breakout. He won’t be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft until the 2025-26 offseason, so the Rays needn’t worry about adding him to the 40-man roster anytime soon.

While it’s the first notable trade of the season for both teams, it’s not likely to be the last. The Brewers could still use some rotation help and have an enviable stash of young outfielders that will continue to pique the interest of other clubs. The Rays opened one rotation spot, likely for Baz, but still have another prominent arm (Springs) on the mend with another on the horizon (Rasmussen). They’re currently three games back in the AL Wild Card race, so a full sell-off should not be expected (barring a protracted losing streak), but their stock of arms will draw interest and provide them the opportunity to either restock their farm (as they did in this deal) or add some big league help at another area of need as the deadline draws nearer.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported that Civale had been traded to Milwaukee. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported that the Brewers were sending a minor league infielder to Tampa Bay. The Post’s Joel Sherman first reported that Barrios was the return in the 1-for-1 swap.

There are few more evident trade candidates than Carlos Estévez. Rental relievers on non-contenders are the likeliest players to move at the deadline. Estévez fits the bill, making it all but inevitable that he’ll be on the move barring injury over the next few weeks.

Robert Murray of FanSided wrote on Wednesday that the Angels are already gauging interest from contenders on their closer. Estévez is fresh off being named the American League’s reliever of the month in June. He tossed 10 scoreless innings while striking out 10 hitters. Estévez retired 26 consecutive batters at one point and allowed only two baserunners (both on singles) in 31 plate appearances.

That might have been the best month of the hard-throwing righty’s career. The 31-year-old isn’t a one-month wonder though. He has been a generally effective late-game arm throughout his time in Los Angeles. The Halos signed him to a two-year, $13.5MM free agent pact during the 2022-23 offseason. Estévez had spent the entirety of his career with the Rockies before hitting the market. He’d been inconsistent during his stint with the Rox, but he flashed closing stuff at his best.

The Halos plugged him into the ninth inning. Estévez saved 31 games in 35 attempts a season ago, working to a 3.90 ERA over 62 1/3 innings. He earned an All-Star nod with a 1.80 ERA during the first half. Estévez struggled down the stretch, posting a 6.59 mark through his final 27 1/3 frames.

Aside from a handful of rocky outings between the middle of April and early portion of May, Estévez has put that slow finish behind him. He carries an even 3.00 earned run average in 27 frames. He’s punching out 27% of opposing hitters while walking just 3% of batters faced, by far the lowest rate of his career. He is 16-19 in save opportunities.

Estévez probably won’t maintain this level of pristine command. He’d walked nearly 10% of opponents during his final season in Colorado and posted an 11% walk rate last year. Even if he hands out a few more free passes, he should remain a quality high-leverage arm. Estévez has fanned nearly 28% of batters faced as an Angel. He has gotten swinging strikes on more than 12% of his offerings in each of the past two seasons. He’s not going to rack up strikeouts at a Mason Miller orJosh Hader level, but Estévez has better than average bat-missing ability. He pairs a 96-97 MPH fastball with a slider that checks in around 89 MPH.

Signing Estévez has been one of the better moves of Perry Minasian’s GM tenure. It hasn’t stopped the Angels from falling towards the bottom of the American League, though. A terrible August killed their chances of competing for a playoff spot in 2023. After losing Shohei Ohtani in free agency and dealing with another extended Mike Trout absence, the Halos will be clear sellers at the deadline this time around. Tonight’s shutout loss to the A’s dropped them 13 games below .500.

Estévez is making $6.75MM before returning to free agency next winter. He’s owed just under $3MM for the rest of the season. That’d drop to roughly $2.18MM in remaining commitments by the deadline. Most teams should be able to accommodate that salary for arguably the best rental reliever available. Every contender could be a realistic suitor — even teams with an established closer could push Estévez into the seventh or eighth inning — but teams like the Yankees, Royals, Padres, Mets and Cardinals could be especially motivated to add late-inning help.