MLB Player News

Maton was acquired by Houston from Cleveland on Friday in exchange for outfielder Myles Straw, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Maton struggled over the first couple months of the season for Cleveland, but he's pitched well since mid-June with a 2.04 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 25:11 K:BB across 17.2 innings. The 28-year-old could see occasional high-leverage spots for the Astros but should primarily work in middle relief.

Howard (finger), Josh Gessner and Kevin Gowdy were traded from the Phillies to the Rangers in exchange for Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy on Friday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Howard has been a dominant pitcher in the minors, posting a 1.85 ERA and a 34.7 percent strikeout rate in 30 starts across the last four years. He hasn't come close to replicating that thus far in the majors, with his strikeout rate dropping to 22.5 percent and his ERA spiking to 5.81, though that comes in a small sample of just 52.2 innings.

Heuer and Nick Madrigal (hamstring) were sent from the White Sox to the Cubs in exchange for Craig Kimbrel on Friday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

Heuer is clearly the lesser part of the return for the Cubs but should still play a role for his new team. The 25-year-old righty has seen his ERA jump from 1.52 last year to 5.12 this season, though a similar jump in his BABIP from .193 to .360 accounts for much of that difference. He hasn't been a particularly exciting weapon this season, striking out a roughly average 23.5 percent of opposing batters, but it won't take much to earn high-leverage opportunities down the stretch for a Cubs team that's in the process of trading away most of its veterans.

Hendriks will have to share his closer role with the newly acquired Craig Kimbrel down the stretch, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Henriks looked like one of the safest closers around, as he's coming off back-to-back seasons with an ERA of 1.80 or below and owns a well-supported 2.58 ERA this season to go with his 25 saves, the second-highest total in the league. Kimbrel appears to be just as strong of a weapon, however, as he's bounced back from a couple of surprisingly poor seasons and is back in peak form, cruising to an 0.49 ERA and 46.7 percent strikeout rate, both of which represent the top marks among qualified relievers. For now, the White Sox intend to give both pitchers save opportunities, though the exact split between the two may take some time to become clear.

Kimbrel was traded from the Cubs to the White Sox in exchange for Nick Madrigal and Codi Heuer on Friday, Jim Bowden of The Athletic reports.

Kimbrel will head south along the Red Line in one of the biggest deals of the deadline. The landing spot is one of the few that could potentially hurt Kimbrel's fantasy value, as it's unclear whether it will be him or Liam Hendriks who receives most of the save chances for the White Sox. Kimbrel owns an incredible 0.49 ERA and 46.7 percent strikeout rate this season, both of which beat Hendriks' 2.58 ERA and 41.0 percent strikeout rate, but Hendriks was dominant in each of the previous two seasons while Kimbrel had easily the worst two years of his 12-year career. The initial plan is to have the two split the ninth inning, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Jax will be called up to start Friday against the Cardinals.

Jose Berrios had been the team's scheduled starter but was instead traded to Toronto. Jax has made two starts and four relief appearances at the big-league level this season but hasn't shown much, struggling to a 7.48 ERA and 1.48 WHIP. Still, the fact that he's getting the first opportunity in Berrios' absence could indicate that he'll have an inside track at a starting role down the stretch, which could make him worth keeping an eye on in deep leagues.

Norris was traded from the Tigers to the Brewers in exchange for Reese Olson on Friday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

The 28-year-old lefty has struggled to a 5.89 ERA this season, though his underlying numbers suggest he should be more useful than that down the stretch. He's combined an above-average 25.5 percent strikeout rate and 48.5 percent groundball rate with a slightly sub-par 9.6 percent walk rate, leading to a 3.78 FIP and 3.54 xFIP. He picked up his first career save Tuesday, though he's unlikely to get many more in Milwaukee with Josh Hader as his new teammate.

Holmes pitched a perfect inning and struck out one batter against Tampa Bay on Thursday.

The Yankees trailed by 14 runs when Holmes came into the contest in the eighth inning, so he wasn't exactly pitching under pressure. Still, it was a positive New York debut for the right-hander, who was acquired from the Pirates on Monday. Holmes figures to see mostly low-leverage work for the Yankees given his 4.81 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 5.2 BB/9 on the season.

Abreu allowed six runs on four hits and two walks without recording an out against Tampa Bay on Thursday.

The right-hander came into the contest with a 1.88 ERA across 14.1 innings and left with his ERA having ballooned to 5.65. Abreu tossed only 18 of 33 pitches for strikes and was pounded when he did throw the ball into the zone, as three of Tampa Bay's four hits against him left the park. It was the first time this season that Abreu has allowed more than one run in an appearance.

Woods Richardson is part of the trade package going from the Blue Jays to the Twins in exchange for Jose Berrios, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports.

Woods Richardson was Toronto's top pitching prospect following the graduation of Alek Manoah, though he's struggled at Double-A this season with a 5.76 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 67:26 K:BB across 45.1 innings (11 starts). The right-hander is still only 20 years old and has shown swing-and-miss stuff with a 33.2 percent strikeout rate, but his command has been inconsistent with a 12.9 percent walk rate. Still, it's a strong return for the Twins, who will also receive shortstop/outfielder Austin Martin in the deal for Berrios, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. Woods Richardson is currently playing with the U.S. Olympic team in Tokyo, so he won't be joining his new organization immediately.