RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from CBS Sports — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 5 sources
The trade deadline is closing in, and the deals have been coming in at a furious pace. As news continues to break, the best place to find out what it means for your Fantasy Baseball team is right here in the Trade Deadline Tracker . Scott White and Chris Towers have been using this space to break down every move that's of some significance for Fantasy, updating the feed as trades happen. Be sure to bookmark it so you'll always have the latest insights and information.
The Cubs continued their on-the-fly rebuild of their rotation by acquiring Holmes, who is on the verge of returning from a multi-month absence due to a fractured fibula. The veteran has pitched well when healthy this season, putting up a 2.39 ERA, and while that won't prove sustainable, the Cubs are just about the perfect landing spot for his groundball heavy skill set. He'll have the best defense in baseball backing him up and turning those sharply hit grounders into outs at a high rate, which should keep Holmes Fantasy relevant whenever he's back – which should be in the next week or so.
For their trouble, the Mets received Jefferson Rojas in return. Rojas was a top-100 prospect prior to a tough 2025 season, but he's having a nice bounceback season at Double-A and is still just 21. He's hitting .270/.339/.461 with a very good approach at the plate, 15 homers, and 17 steals in 91 games. Given how up-and-down his pro career has been so far, who knows what the future holds for him, but it's a nice get for a guy in Holmes is likely to turn down his player option and become a free agent at the end of the season.
Here's another need-for-need trade (or maybe headache-for-headache). Daulton Varsho and Spencer Arrighetti have both demonstrated considerable upside in the past but have largely floundered this year. Arrighetti is currently unavailable, in fact, contending with nerve irritation in his foot, but the Blue Jays seem to be using the trade deadline to position themselves better for next year, having already acquired Jose Soriano from the Angels. As for Arrighetti, he has an excellent curveball that yields weak contact and piles up whiffs, but he can become a little too infatuated with his fastball and struggles to throw strikes overall. He'll make for a fun project for the Blue Jays, and we may see some early returns before the season is done.
The Varsho part of this deal might be even more significant for Fantasy. Last year, the 30-year-old made a huge leap as a power hitter, homering 20 times in just 71 games for a 46-homer pace, but he's given it all back and then some this year. The culprit would appear to be bat speed -- his average mark has dropped nearly 3 mph from a year ago, cutting his fast-swing rate in half, from 56 to 28 percent -- and the Astros have a reputation for nurturing that. Will the remaining two months be enough time to salvage Varsho, who's a free agent at season's end? The possibility offers new reason for optimism, at least in five-outfielder leagues. --Scott White
The Cubs had a need in the late innings of the bullpen with Daniel Palencia still on the IL with an elbow issue, and Zeferjahn gives them another tough arm to throw into the mix. Zeferjahn has been pretty good whenever he can throw enough strikes, and even with that limitation, he has a 3.66 ERA and 2.95 XERA despite walking 14% of opposing hitters this season. A 34% strikeout rate plays a big part in that, thanks to a sweeper and four-seamer combo that both have racked up whiff rates over 40% this season, elite marks for any pitch type. That kind of bat and barrel missing helps overcome the walk rate, but the lack of command could make it tough for Zeferjahn to ever lock up the closer job for long. He could have a chance here with nobody really stepping up in Palencia's absence, making him worth a flier in leagues where you are chasing any possible source of saves.
But, I'll be honest, Ballesteros is the more interesting part of this trade, at least for Fantasy purposes. The Angels love a former top prospect, and Ballesteros was viewed as a top-100 guy as recently as the start of his season. He got off to a hot start at the MLB level, but once he cooled off, his lack of a position proved too much for the Cubs to stomach, and he hasn't done much since his demotion to Triple-A either. Still, he marries plus bat-to-ball skills with at least above-average raw power, and while he doesn't always drive the ball to the right parts of the field, he has a career 293/.366/.450 slash line at Triple-A. The Angels have a lot less to lose than the Cubs by just throwing Ballesteros in the lineup every day to see if he can hack it against big league pitching, and I expect them to do that somewhere most days the rest of the season.
He needs 12 more appearances behind the plate to keep eligibility for 2027, so let's hope he at least hits that number. The team hasn't announced their plans for Ballesteros yet, but they did just trade away their primary catcher Logan O'Hoppe. Ballesteros is worth a look as a No. 2 catcher the rest of the way. The Angels also landed Mason McGwire, son of Mark, in this deal. He was selected for this year's Future's Game and is an interesting organizational depth piece in the midst of a 3.64 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 59.1 innings of work across two levels of A-ball in his return from an elbow injury. --Chris Towers
The move everyone saw coming happened. The Pirates needed a high-leverage reliever, especially a right-handed one who they could trust in the ninth inning, and Camilo Doval doesn't check that latter box anymore. Weaver can. Since his transition to the bullpen full time in 2024 he has a 2.90 ERA and 0.93 WHIP while striking out 29% of opposing hitters. He hasn't served as a full-time closer, and the Pirates may not be acquiring him to be one, necessarily. But he'll definitely be a part of the late-inning mix with Mason Montgomery, and the fact that he is a righty may give him the edge in most situations fo...
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.