MLB Player News

The Padres acquired Laureano and Ryan O'Hearn from the Orioles on Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports. The Orioles received Boston Bateman, Brandon Butterworth, Victor Figueroa, Cobb Hightower, Tyson Neighbors and Tanner Smith in return.

Laureano finished strong with Atlanta down the stretch of the 2024 season and carried that over into arguably the best season of his career in 2025, as he will bring a .290/.355/.529 batting line with 15 home runs to San Diego. Laureano will have to contend with Gavin Sheets and perhaps O'Hearn for at-bats in left field with the Padres, but he should be the favorite to see the lion's share of playing time at the position.

The Marlins acquired Valencia, right-hander Ryan Gusto and infielder Chase Jaworsky from the Astros on Thursday in exchange for outfielder Jesus Sanchez.

Valencia has spent the entire season with the Astros' Single-A affiliate in Fayetteville, slashing .264/.326/.358 with five home runs and 50 stolen bases through 83 games. The 19-year-old speedster clearly has a chance to be a premium source for steals, but he'll first need to rise through the ranks of Miami's farm system and prove that he can hit enough to handle an everyday role in the majors.

O'Hearn was traded from the Orioles to the Padres on Thursday along with Ramon Laureano, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports. The Orioles received Boston Bateman, Brandon Butterworth, Victor Figueroa, Cobb Hightower, Tyson Neighbors and Tanner Smith in return.

Several teams were in on O'Hearn, but the Padres went big to acquire both him and Laureano. O'Hearn typically sits against lefties, but he is slashing .294/.384/.490 with 13 home runs in 255 at-bats against righties this season.

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.

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

Riggio's minor-league numbers may oversell his abilities, as he's typically been old for the levels he's had success at, but now that he could get to play half his games in Coors Field, his dynasty value gets a little bump. The 23-year-old second baseman is slashing .261/.335/.542 with 11 home runs, seven steals, a 7.6 percent walk rate and a 21.8 percent strikeout rate in 40 games since getting promoted to Double-A on June 3.

The Orioles traded Mullins to the Mets on Thursday in exchange for Raimon Gomez, Anthony Nunez and Chandler Marsh, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Mullins owns a .738 OPS on the season but has been on fire since the start of July, slashing .290/.346/.522 with three homers, 10 RBI, nine runs scored and six stolen bases over his last 23 games. The 30-year-old will presumably take over as the Mets' primary center fielder, which likely spells more starts at the keystone for Jeff McNeil.

Lux isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against Atlanta.

Lux will sit down for Thursday's series opener after going 2-for-10 with three walks, an RBI and two runs scored during Cincinnati's three-game set against the Dodgers. Jake Fraley, Will Benson and Noelvi Marte will start across the outfield for the Reds while Austin Hays serves as the DH.

Perez was traded from the Yankees to the Pirates on Thursday along with Rafael Flores and Brian Sanchez in exchange for David Bednar, Stephen J. Nesbitt of The Athletic reports.

Perez was a prospect of note coming into the year after logging a 136 wRC+ as an 18-year-old catcher in the Florida Complex League in 2024. However, his stock has fallen during his full-season debut, as he is slashing .209/.368/.236 with zero home runs and five steals in 83 games. He is still making good swing decisions (0.92 BB/K), but Perez has just eight extra-base hits (all doubles) without missing any time this year.

The Royals traded Fermin to the Padres on Thursday in exchange for Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Fermin has slashed .255/.309/.339 with three homers, 12 RBI and 17 runs scored across 208 plate appearances with the Royals this season. While those numbers don't exactly jump off the page, they're still good enough to make him the frontrunner for starts behind the plate in San Diego over Elias Diaz (.577 OPS) and Martin Maldonado (.572 OPS).