MLB Player News

The Diamondbacks acquired Drake, left-hander Mitch Bratt and right-hander David Hagaman from the Rangers on Thursday in exchange for right-hander Merrill Kelly, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.

Drake and Bratt are both high-quality pitching prospects, with Drake recently getting promoted to Triple-A Round Rock after logging a 2.44 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 70 strikeouts in 55.1 innings at Double-A Frisco. He has predictably been less successful thus far in the Pacific Coast League, where he has a 5.19 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 17 strikeouts in 17.1 innings through four appearances. Drake could be a factor in Arizona's rotation in 2026.

The Dodgers traded Swan along with Sean Paul Linan to the Nationals on Thursday in exchange for Alex Call, Jon Morosi of MLB Network.

Swan has spent the entire season with High-A Great Lakes, where he put up a 4.43 ERA with a 77:46 K:BB in 69.0 innings across 16 games. While not great, the righty has been able to lower his ERA, which was 5.16 when he pitched in Single-A Rancho Cucamonga in 2024.

The Marlins acquired Gusto, infielder Chase Jaworsky and outfield Esmil Valencia from the Astros on Thursday in exchange for outfielder Jesus Sanchez, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

After tossing six innings of one-run ball and picking up his seventh win of the season in Wednesday's victory over the Nationals, Gusto will now provide the Marlins' pitching staff with an arm capable of being used in the rotation and out of the bullpen. The 26-year-old righty owns a rather uninspiring 4.92 ERA on the season, however, so he would likely work in the back end of the Miami rotation or serve as a low-leverage reliever.

Shields was traded from the Yankees to the Rockies on Thursday along with Roc Riggio in exchange for Jake Bird, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Shields is a 26-year-old starter who has never pitched in the majors and hasn't pitched at Triple-A since last year, but any dynasty appeal he had is now dashed with the move to Colorado. The 6-foot-4 lefty has a 3.42 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 26:10 K:BB in 23.2 innings across five starts at Double-A this year.

Taillon (calf) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa on Saturday, per MLB.com.

Taillon faced hitters in a 40-pitch live batting practice session Tuesday, and his next step is a rehab assignment in Iowa. The veteran has already been able to build his stamina some by throwing off a mound during his recovery from a calf strain, so his rehab stint may be fairly brief. Taillon has been out since June 29, and Chicago manager Craig Counsell said a few days later that the pitcher would miss about a month, so the righty appears on track to return to the Cubs' rotation in the near future.

The Nationals acquired Randall and R.J. Sales from the Tigers on Thursday in exchange for Kyle Finnegan, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

Randall has posted a 3.92 ERA and 70:15 K:BB over 80.1 frames covering 17 starts between the Single- and High-A levels in 2025. The 22-year-old right-hander was a third-round pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft.

Sheehan (2-2) took the loss against the Reds on Wednesday, allowing three unearned runs on one hit and three walks while striking out five batters over 3.2 innings.

Shohei Ohtani (lower body) started and completed three innings, and after Anthony Banda took over for one frame, Sheehan entered in the fifth. The right-hander breezed through three scoreless innings before a pair of walks got him into trouble in the eighth. Sheehan almost got out of the inning, but Andy Pages dropped a foul ball that could have been the third out, and Cincinnati went on to score three times. Despite taking the loss, Sheehan impressed, racking up 15 whiffs on his 72 pitches and notching five punchouts. The Dodgers are still figuring out their rotation with Blake Snell (shoulder) set to return Saturday, but that may not keep Sheehan from working as a starter moving forward, as the team is using a six-man rotation and Dustin May is headed to the bullpen, per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.

The Padres acquired Sears and Mason Miller from the Athletics on Thursday in exchange for Leo De Vries and three pitchers, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Sears has posted a 4.95 ERA and 97:29 K:BB over 111 innings covering 22 starts this season for the Athletics and comes with team control through the 2028 campaign. With Sears supplementing their rotation, the Padres could now be more motivated to trade Dylan Cease to enhance their roster elsewhere.

Brown is listed as the Cubs' probable starting pitcher for Saturday's game against the Orioles at Wrigley Field.

Brown will make his second straight turn through the Chicago rotation after he delivered an impressive start his last time out Sunday, when he earned a win while limiting the White Sox to one earned run on three hits and no walks over five innings. Though most of his underlying ratios suggest that he's pitched far better than the 6.22 ERA he's posted over 88.1 innings in the majors this season, Brown could find himself back in the bullpen or at Triple-A Iowa following Saturday's start, regardless of how he performs. The Cubs acquired Michael Soroka from the Nationals on Wednesday, and he's expected to replace Brown at the back end of the rotation.

Nelson (6-3) took the loss Wednesday, giving up four runs (one earned) on six hits over 5.1 innings as the Diamondbacks fell 7-2 to the Tigers. He struck out eight without walking a batter.

The right-hander was rolling until the fifth inning, when a Geraldo Perdomo throwing error set the stage for a three-run frame by Detroit and handed Nelson his first loss since June 7. He still set a new season high in strikeouts, and he's been tagged for more than two earned runs only once in his last nine trips to the mound, a stretch in which he's posted a 1.95 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 43:13 K:BB over 50.2 innings while going 4-1. With Arizona in sell mode, his run support could become shaky the rest of the way, but Nelson will look to get back in the win column in his next start, which lines up to come at home early next week against the Padres.