Abraham Toro made an early exit from the Athletics’ 6-5 win over the Twins Friday, and manager Mark Kotsay told MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos (links to X) and other reporters that Toro will be placed on the 10-day injured list due to a hamstring strain. Gallegos reports that infielder Armando Alvarez will have his contract selected from Triple-A Las Vegas to take Toro’s spot on the active roster, with no other corresponding move required since Oakland has space on its 40-man roster.
The A’s acquired Toro in a trade with the Brewers last November, as while Toro was a non-tender candidate for Milwaukee, he has become basically an everyday player in Oakland. Toro has played mostly third base, while also getting a good dose of DH time, regular second base duty when Zack Gelof was on the IL, and a couple of games as a first baseman and left fielder. In addition to this versatile fielding, Toro has hit .260/.303/.386 with six home runs over 295 plate appearances, translating to an exactly league-average 100 wRC+.
It’s a solid return for a player on a modest $1.275MM salary, and Toro is also under arbitration control through the 2026 season. This cost-effective control could make Toro an interesting trade chip for the Athletics at the deadline, or make him likelier to stick around in Oakland as an inexpensive and useful part of the roster. First things first, of course, Toro will have to return healthy before any consideration can be give to his trade potential, and the severity of his hamstring strain isn’t yet known. Toro also missed a couple of other games earlier this week due to a sore shoulder.
Tyler Nevin and Aledmys Diaz will likely get the bulk of third base duty while Toro is sidelined, though the A’s might take the opportunity to give Alvarez some playing time. Alvarez (who turns 30 next month) is getting his first look in the majors after eight pro seasons.
A 17th-round pick for the Yankees in the 2016 draft, Alvarez spent much of his career in New York’s farm system before joining the Giants on a minors deal in 2023, and then another minor league contract with the Athletics this past winter. Alvarez has played almost all of the last four seasons at Triple-A and has been posting some quality numbers since 2022, including a .311/.401/.528 slash line across 187 PA for Las Vegas this season.
Since Darell Hernaiz and Brett Harris are both recovering from injury themselves, Alvarez became the next man up at third base with Toro hitting the IL. Alvarez has spent the large majority of his career as a third baseman, though he has seen increasingly more time as a second baseman and first baseman over the last two seasons, as this boost in versatility could help him find a niche on a big league roster.
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The San Diego Padres should rightfully feel like they have a chance to make a run at the World Series this season, and they are trying to make a few final moves to get their roster ready for the postseason at the trade deadline. The Padres have a couple of needs or wants at the deadline, but another big bat in the lineup would certainly help their cause. At the moment, they are currently trying to make a deal for Atlanta Braves slugger Marcell Ozuna and talks are heating up, according to MLB insider Héctor Gómez. “SOURCE: Trade talks between Padres and Braves have intensified,” Gómez reported on X, formerly Twitter. “The Padres are very interested in landing Marcell Ozuna. According to the source, the Braves would receive Padres’ No. 18 prospect RHP Francis Peña and No. 21 prospect RHP Ryan Bergert.” The Braves could be looking to move off of Ozuna in the midst of a very disappointing season as a team that has seen them fall out of the playoff race at the moment. They are currently just 44-56 and are 13.5 games out of first place in the NL East and 10.5 games behind the final wild card spot. While there is still time to salvage it, Atlanta has some tough decisions to make as it figures to be a seller at the trade deadline. Ozuna isn’t having his best season at the plate, but sliding down the lineup a bit in a loaded group like San Diego’s and allowing him to hit with more runners on base could be beneficial for him. In 92 games this season, he is batting just .235 with 13 home runs and 42 RBIs. As it stands, the Padres are currently sitting at 55-46 and are just four games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers at the top of the NL West. However, San Diego is still firmly hanging onto a wild card spot, so it will be getting ready for the postseason regardless. Adding a player like Ozuna to the lineup will make it that much more difficult for opposing pitchers when the calendar gets to September and October.
Through much of his time with the New York Rangers, Mika Zibanejad has been too good to be a second-line center, yet not quite a top liner for a contender. Now aging out of his prime, his play has dropped off the past two seasons, only rebounding when moved to the wing next to midseason acquisition J.T. Miller. That presents a problem for New York. The Rangers are not deep down the middle. Moving Zibanejad back to center provides that depth, putting Vincent Trochek back in his appropriate 3C role. But does Zibanejad again suffer without Miller? It also leaves the Blueshirts thin on the right side. Zibanejad can’t play two positions at once and the Rangers cannot rob Peter to pay Paul. There is a solution, however: Anaheim Ducks forward Mason McTavish. Anaheim and New York already have strong front office ties, with a pair of trades in the past eight months. The cross-continental line should be open. McTavish is precisely the player archetype that Rangers general manager Chris Drury has sought in this past year. The 22-year-old possesses good size (6-foot-1, 219 pounds) and plays with a grit that Drury adores. An old-fashioned power forward in the making, McTavish hunts bodies, making life miserable for defenders on the forecheck and finds pockets of space when off the puck, where he unloads a cannon of a shot. An all-situations player, McTavish digs in the corners and is developing nicely as an offensive driver. McTavish is a hard worker who shows leadership traits. New Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan loves to play with speed and relentless pressure, a mantra that suits McTavish down to the ground. For a second-line center, McTavish’s numbers don’t exactly pop off the page, but 52 points (22 goals) in 76 games for a bad Ducks team is nothing to sneeze at. In New York, he would also presumably get to play with Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere. Given the playmaking ability of those wingers and McTavish’s heavy shot, 30-plus goals could be on the cards. Bleacher Report has stated that the Ducks are unlikely to extend McTavish an offer sheet, instead willing to match whatever offer comes his way. Does that mean he is on the trade block? At the very least it means that Anaheim will likely be willing to listen to offers. That said, it would take an almighty package to pry the former No. 3 pick out of Orange County. The Ducks would rightly command a first-round pick — if not two — and a highly-rated prospect. New York has its own first-rounders in store, as well as a, likely, late first-rounder next year, with second-round picks each year except 2027. Would New York part with a first, a second and a pair of its top prospects? The Rangers are loaded with left wing prospects. Whilst Gabe Perrault is likely off the table, Brennan Othmann, Adam Sykora and Brett Berard should be discussed, as should defenseman E.J. Emery. Would picks and a pair of prospects be enough for Anaheim, though? Here’s a thought experiment: a deal centered around Will Cuylle. As mentioned, the Rangers have a raft of left wingers coming through and Lafreniere is also a natural left winger. Would trading Cuylle for McTavish solve the Rangers' issues at the pivot, allowing Zibanejad to help fix the right-hand side and give the team room to develop more youngsters on the left? Could this solve three issues in one swoop? It would be a, potentially, seismic move, but it might just make sense for both teams, especially if the Ducks are not looking to keep McTavish around long-term. It would complete a remarkable offseason for Drury.
Most Cleveland Browns fans do not expect to see Deshaun Watson play another snap for their beloved yet perpetually tortured franchise. He is not going anywhere until after the 2025-26 season, however. Will this controversial, declining and largely unhealthy quarterback have a chance to audition for another job at some point in this upcoming campaign? Before answering that question, the three-time Pro Bowler has to get on the practice field. And that will take a while. As expected, the Browns placed Watson on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list on Tuesday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The 29-year-old ruptured his right Achilles tendon in an Oct. 20 loss versus the Cincinnati Bengals. He then suffered a re-tear in January, causing many to wonder if he will suit up at all this season. Watson is nonetheless maintaining a presence in Cleveland’s QB room and is determined to return in 2025. Second-year defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. joins him on the PUP list, and wide receiver David Bell is landing on the Active/Non-Football Injury list. Rounding out the series of roster moves, the Browns are waiving WR Jaelen Gill. The team begins training camp practice on Wednesday, with plenty of matters to address. Although Watson will command attention as long as he is on Cleveland, fans are eager to know who the starting quarterback will be when the Brownies host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7. A tight and intriguing QB competition is set to unfold, following a confounding offseason. Browns have to figure out their QB situation Cleveland acquired former first-round pick Kenny Pickett in March, signed veteran and 2023 Comeback Player of the Year Joe Flacco in April, selected Dillon Gabriel in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft and then snatched Shedeur Sanders in the fifth. Given the assets the organization spent to obtain the three younger signal-callers, the cleanest thing to do is part ways with the 40-year-old Flacco and head into the season with three quarterbacks. And yet, because of his wealth of experience, many would probably argue that the Super Bowl 47 MVP deserves to start under center until one of the others earns the job. Pickett appears to be the early favorite, but there could be plenty of twists and turns before summer’s end. The Deshaun Watson element also adds another layer to this perplexing saga. If the 2016 national champion does return to action during the 2025-26 campaign, then Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski will have a decision to make. It may not be a difficult one, however. During his first three years with the Browns, Watson has completed only 61.2 percent of his passes for 3,365 yards and 19 touchdowns. The squad is 9-10 in games that he starts. Regardless of how his recovery progresses, it seems safe to say that No. 4 and his five-year, $230 million contract will serve as a black eye on a Browns organization that is already covered in gashes.
The New York Knicks are right back to trying to speak with other coaches across the NBA, but their plan is much clearer this time around. They settled on a new head coach in Mike Brown to open July, capping a long month of wildly calling up some of their rival teams across the league and attempting to poach their presently-employed coaches. Now, they're attempting to fill out Brown's staff of assistants, putting them right back on the prowl. They were granted permission to speak with Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Pablo Prigioni on Tuesday morning, SNY Knicks insider Ian Begley reported. Prigioni is well-liked around the league, having himself been a player until about a decade ago. He was the rare 35-year-old NBA rookie in 2012, with the zippy Argentinian point guard getting his career started with the Knicks before journeying to two other teams around the association. He'd enjoyed a colorful career across various European basketball leagues, where he returned for one last ride in 2016. Prigioni came right back to the states after enjoying his retirement tour, and has spent his last six seasons as a highly-prioritized assistant coach in Minnesota. He's enjoyed a few brief stints as the Wolves' offensive coordinator, perhaps fitting into Brown's pace and space vision with the Knicks. He's reportedly the first assistant coaching candidate the team's spoken to since making their head coaching hire official.
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