2025 MLB Commerce Deadline Rumor Tracker: Yankees Concentrating on Pitching, Per GM

The 2025 MLB trade deadline is Thursday, July 31 at 6 p.m. ET, but there will be plenty of trade talk and transactions that take place beforehand.

Here are trade rumors around the sport:

Yankees targeting pitching

Yankees senior vice president and general manager Brian Cashman made clear what the team seeks to add before the trade deadline.

“Whether it’s bullpen guys or starting pitchers, it’s just all of it,” Cashman said, according to ESPN. “That’s the area. We have people that are capable, but I think it also needs to get some help. And if I can do so, great. But again, there’s no guarantees. We’re going to be fully engaged and see where it takes us. Hopefully, we can run into some opportunities that can benefit us.” 

New York, which is 51-41 and in second place in the AL East, owns a 3.69 rotation ERA, good for eighth in MLB, while its bullpen owns a 4.11 ERA, good for 20th in MLB.

Pirates reportedly open to selling anyone but Skenes, McCutchen

The Pirates, who have the third-worst record in the MLB, are obvious sellers at the trade deadline. And, there are only two players they won’t offload — each for a completely different reasons. Young star pitcher Paul Skenes, and veteran, franchise-icon outfielder Andrew McCutchen. The Pirates are maintaining Skenes is the cornerstone of their future, while McCutchen doesn’t want to be traded out of Pittsburgh, and the team is respecting his wishes. 

Cubs eyeing a pair of Marlins right-handers

Chicago has expressed interest in acquiring Miami right-handers Sandy Alcanatara and Edward Cabrera, among other starting pitchers, according to The Athletic. Alcantara, the 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner, is having a rough season in what’s his first one back from Tommy John surgery, as he has posted a 6.69 ERA in 15 starts. Cabrera has posted a 3.78 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 13 starts.

Alcantara is under contract through 2027, while Cabrera is under contract through 2028. The Cubs are atop the National League Central at 47-33, but their starting rotation has underwhelmed, owning a combined 4.26 ERA, which ranks 22nd in MLB.

Phillies president speaks on bullpen

Philadelphia is atop the National League East at 47-32. If one were to pinpoint a weakness for this club, it’s the bullpen, which has a collective 4.63 ERA, good for 25th in MLB. However, Phillies president Dave Dombrowski offered up his perspective on how the team can improve its bullpen internally.

“The postseason bullpen is a lot different than the regular-season bullpen because in the National League this year, if you advance past the wild-card round … you play five games [in the next round, the NLDS]. Properly, the best way the schedule is [with an extra off day], you solely want three beginning pitchers throughout that point interval. So if in case you have 5 [starters], two of them can go into the bullpen as it’s there,” Dombrowksi stated, according to The Athletic. “Plus, if in case you have further [surplus starters], they will go into the bullpen there.”

That stated, the Phillies government conceded {that a} workforce cannot get complacent with its standing.

“It’s possible you’ll hand over slightly bit greater than you’ll need to in different circumstances. However that chance [to win it all] doesn’t at all times come,” Dombrowski stated. “And I at all times inform individuals: Don’t take it without any consideration while you’re ready the place you’re in it, 12 months in and 12 months out.”

Chris Sale staying put?

Atlanta Braves president Alex Anthopoulos expressed that there is “zero” likelihood Sale will probably be traded regardless of the workforce’s 33-39 begin, according to MLB.com. Throughout his first 15 begins this season, Sale boasts a 2.52 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 114 strikeouts throughout 89.1 innings. Sale, who received the 2024 Nationwide League Cy Younger Award, is within the first season of a two-year, $38 million cope with the Braves.

Rich Hill ambiguity

Hill will stick with the Kansas City Royals previous his June 15 opt-out clause. Nevertheless, ought to the 45-year-old not but attain Kansas Metropolis’s big-league membership and one other MLB workforce is prepared to supply the left-hander an MLB roster spot, the Royals “is not going to stand in his manner,” according to FanSided. Hill signed a minor-league contract with the Royals in Could and appeared in 4 video games for the Boston Red Sox final season.

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