With the trade deadline down to its final stretch, the Marlins, Rockies and Dodgers are all working from very different places - and none of them are standing still.
In Miami, the focus has sharpened around catcher Liam Hicks and first baseman/outfielder Kyle Stowers, who are drawing more active discussion than shortstop Otto López and second baseman Xavier Edwards, according to league sources briefed on the talks. The Rays and Red Sox are among the clubs interested in Hicks, while the Yankees are not part of that conversation because they want a right-handed hitting receiver. Hicks hits left-handed.
Stowers has become a more intriguing name because of both his production and his team control. He is playing first base for the first time as a professional this season, and despite missing the first 3 1/2 weeks with a strained right hamstring, he entered Sunday tied for the club lead with 16 home runs.
The Marlins tried and failed to reach an extension with him last offseason, but he remains under control for three more seasons. Hicks, who is under control for four more years, has mostly been used as a DH since top prospect Joe Mack took over as the regular catcher.
There’s also some old trade history hanging over Hicks. The Rangers, who had shown interest in him earlier this season, may wind up leaning toward selling rather than buying. And there may be some reluctance to circle back after Texas dealt Hicks to the Tigers for Carson Kelly at the 2024 deadline.
Boston and Tampa Bay are not alone in the catching market. The Red Sox, who are the hottest team in baseball, have been shopping for shortstops and catchers. The White Sox, meanwhile, have been looking to add a catcher after Kyle Teel’s left high ankle sprain, though a source said Chicago is not in the mix.
Colorado is drawing plenty of attention of its own, with relievers Antonio Senzatela and Victor Vodnik and center fielder Brenton Doyle all generating interest. Senzatela is in the final guaranteed year of his deal, which also includes a club option for 2027 worth $14 million. Since moving to the bullpen this season, his fastball has ticked up from a 95 mph average last year to 97 mph, and he has a 3.61 ERA in 34 appearances and 52 1/3 innings.
Vodnik is controlled for three more seasons, and while his 5.25 ERA this year is not going to jump off the page, teams have long been drawn to the velocity and ground-ball profile. His fastball is averaging 98.6 mph, and his groundball rate sits in the top 5 percent of the league, per Baseball Savant.
Doyle could also be on the move, with the Rockies positioned to lean on their outfield depth and the market’s need for right-handed hitting help. He is under club control for three more seasons and just returned this week after missing more than two months with groin and oblique injuries. Doyle won Gold Glove Awards in 2023 and 2024, but his bat has fallen off since last season; over his last 667 plate appearances, he has a .635 OPS.
The Rockies are also fielding interest in Kyle Freeland, Michael Lorenzen, Tomoyuki Sugano, Mickey Moniak, Jake McCarthy and Willi Castro.
Pittsburgh, for its part, is still pushing to improve rather than simply wait out the clock. The Pirates are discussing bullpen help and a right-handed hitting outfielder, with Taylor Ward of the Orioles and Jo Adell of the Angels among the names in play.
They’re also in talks with the Mets about relievers, including right-hander Luke Weaver, right-hander Huascar Brazoban and left-hander Brooks Raley. New York also has two right-handed hitting outfielders it is willing to move, Luis Robert Jr. and Tyrone Taylor.
Out west, the Dodgers are not sounding like a team intent on adding more big league pieces. Andrew Friedman said further additions are “less likely,” with Tarik Skubal clearly the big target.
Even so, that does not mean Los Angeles is finished. The club could still shuffle pieces off its roster and work through an outfield prospect logjam.
And then there’s Detroit, where trading Tarik Skubal did not automatically turn the Tigers into sellers. According to a person briefed on their plans, the club is still trying to compete and “thread the needle” rather than launch into a full teardown. The expected return of Jackson Jobe from Tommy John surgery later this month could help.
The Tigers have been in this sort of place before. Last year, they were five games under .500 at the deadline when they sold Jack Flaherty, Mark Canha and Carson Kelly, then found their way to the postseason. On Aug. 11, they were 9 1/2 games back in the wild-card race with just 0.2 percent playoff odds, per Fangraphs.
This time, the setting is different. Detroit entered Sunday only 2 1/2 games out in the American League wild-card race and had a plus-52 run differential, fifth best in the league.
The AL Central deficit is six games, but it does not look impossible. The Tigers have won three of their last four, and they still could move other players on expiring deals, including Casey Mize and Gleyber Torres, if the right conditions are met.
Mize summed up the mood Sunday morning: “We’ve played really good baseball the last couple of days,” Mize said Sunday morning. “We traded our best player. We’re 2½ back, but obviously there’s a lot of teams still to overpass.
“It’s certainly a strange spot. I think a lot of teams feel that way, though.
It will all get sorted. But it’s definitely a weird place to be.”
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