MLB Player News

Wilson was sent from Atlanta to Pittsburgh along with Ricky DeVito on Friday, with Richard Rodriguez going the other way, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Wilson broke into the majors as a 20-year-old back in 2018 but has thus far shown very little at the big-league level, struggling to a 5.90 ERA in 76.1 innings. At age 23, he still has plenty of time to improve, but he has a lot of work to do just to look like a passable back-end starter. He's at least found himself with an organization that has little reason not to give him the opportunity to prove himself, however.

Lamet (forearm) threw a simulated inning Thursday and could return to game action soon, per MLB.com.

The right-hander appears to have gotten through the sim inning without issue, and Padres manager Jayce Tingler later stated that "it's very realistic" that his next trip to the mound will come in game action. That's likely to take place as part of a minor-league rehab assignment since the hurler hasn't pitched in over a month. Lamet is expected to fill a bullpen role upon his return to the big club.

Curtiss was traded from the Marlins to the Brewers on Friday in exchange for Payton Henry, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

The 28-year-old righty reliever had been excellent for Miami this season, logging a 2.48 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 40 strikeouts in 40 innings. He should work in mid-leverage spots down the stretch for the Brewers.

Maton was acquired by Houston from Cleveland on Friday in exchange for outfielder Myles Straw, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Maton struggled over the first couple months of the season for Cleveland, but he's pitched well since mid-June with a 2.04 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 25:11 K:BB across 17.2 innings. The 28-year-old could see occasional high-leverage spots for the Astros but should primarily work in middle relief.

Howard (finger), Josh Gessner and Kevin Gowdy were traded from the Phillies to the Rangers in exchange for Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy on Friday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Howard has been a dominant pitcher in the minors, posting a 1.85 ERA and a 34.7 percent strikeout rate in 30 starts across the last four years. He hasn't come close to replicating that thus far in the majors, with his strikeout rate dropping to 22.5 percent and his ERA spiking to 5.81, though that comes in a small sample of just 52.2 innings.

Heuer and Nick Madrigal (hamstring) were sent from the White Sox to the Cubs in exchange for Craig Kimbrel on Friday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

Heuer is clearly the lesser part of the return for the Cubs but should still play a role for his new team. The 25-year-old righty has seen his ERA jump from 1.52 last year to 5.12 this season, though a similar jump in his BABIP from .193 to .360 accounts for much of that difference. He hasn't been a particularly exciting weapon this season, striking out a roughly average 23.5 percent of opposing batters, but it won't take much to earn high-leverage opportunities down the stretch for a Cubs team that's in the process of trading away most of its veterans.

Hendriks will have to share his closer role with the newly acquired Craig Kimbrel down the stretch, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Henriks looked like one of the safest closers around, as he's coming off back-to-back seasons with an ERA of 1.80 or below and owns a well-supported 2.58 ERA this season to go with his 25 saves, the second-highest total in the league. Kimbrel appears to be just as strong of a weapon, however, as he's bounced back from a couple of surprisingly poor seasons and is back in peak form, cruising to an 0.49 ERA and 46.7 percent strikeout rate, both of which represent the top marks among qualified relievers. For now, the White Sox intend to give both pitchers save opportunities, though the exact split between the two may take some time to become clear.

Kimbrel was traded from the Cubs to the White Sox in exchange for Nick Madrigal and Codi Heuer on Friday, Jim Bowden of The Athletic reports.

Kimbrel will head south along the Red Line in one of the biggest deals of the deadline. The landing spot is one of the few that could potentially hurt Kimbrel's fantasy value, as it's unclear whether it will be him or Liam Hendriks who receives most of the save chances for the White Sox. Kimbrel owns an incredible 0.49 ERA and 46.7 percent strikeout rate this season, both of which beat Hendriks' 2.58 ERA and 41.0 percent strikeout rate, but Hendriks was dominant in each of the previous two seasons while Kimbrel had easily the worst two years of his 12-year career. The initial plan is to have the two split the ninth inning, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Jax will be called up to start Friday against the Cardinals.

Jose Berrios had been the team's scheduled starter but was instead traded to Toronto. Jax has made two starts and four relief appearances at the big-league level this season but hasn't shown much, struggling to a 7.48 ERA and 1.48 WHIP. Still, the fact that he's getting the first opportunity in Berrios' absence could indicate that he'll have an inside track at a starting role down the stretch, which could make him worth keeping an eye on in deep leagues.

Norris was traded from the Tigers to the Brewers in exchange for Reese Olson on Friday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

The 28-year-old lefty has struggled to a 5.89 ERA this season, though his underlying numbers suggest he should be more useful than that down the stretch. He's combined an above-average 25.5 percent strikeout rate and 48.5 percent groundball rate with a slightly sub-par 9.6 percent walk rate, leading to a 3.78 FIP and 3.54 xFIP. He picked up his first career save Tuesday, though he's unlikely to get many more in Milwaukee with Josh Hader as his new teammate.