Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I forgot there was one reason to pay attention to the Hall of Fame game: the debut of the NFL’s virtual first down system.
In today’s SI:AM:
⚾ Lessons learned at the deadline
🐊 Florida preview
🏈 Predicting football Hall inductees
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Trades galore
So much for a quiet MLB trade deadline, huh? After a slow start, the action really heated up over the final two days. According to MLB.com, there were 50 trades executed in the final 31 hours before the 6 p.m. ET deadline. It’s not like all of those moves were blockbusters, though. Here are the ones you really have to know about.
Carlos Correa goes back to Houston
The biggest shock at the deadline was the Twins’ decision to send Correa back to the Astros, where he played the first seven years of his career.
The move was a total salary dump by the Twins, who received only a throwaway prospect named Matt Mikulski in return. (Mikulski is a 26-year-old lefthanded pitcher who has not advanced past Class A. He was released by the Giants last year after posting a 6.40 ERA in his first four professional seasons.) Minnesota also gave the Astros $33 million to cover a portion of the $104 million owed to Correa through 2028.
Correa will play third base in his return to Houston, filling a need at the position after Isaac Paredes injured his hamstring. Paredes has not played since July 19 and there is concern that he could require season-ending surgery to repair the injury.
The Correa trade was part of a complete fire sale by the Twins, who dealt away a stunning 10 players this week. The apparent motivation was minimizing the team’s financial obligations as the franchise’s owners, the Pohlad family, continue to try to find a buyer for the team. They first announced in October that the club was for sale.
Padres shell out for Mason Miller
Correa was the biggest star on the move at the deadline, but Miller came with the highest price tag.
The Padres acquired Miller and lefty starter JP Sears from the Athletics in exchange for acclaimed shortstop prospect Leo De Vries and three pitching prospects (Braden Nett, Henry Baez and Eduarniel Núñez). De Vries, 18, was ranked by MLB.com as the No. 3 prospect in baseball, and all three pitchers were ranked among the Padres’ top 20 prospects, including Nett at No. 3.
It’s a hefty price to pay, but Miller is a special player. Since he made his big league debut in 2023, he’s thrown 222 pitches of at least 102 mph, second most in the majors over that span behind new Phillies closer Jhoan Duran’s 227. The Padres have only had two pitchers throw a pitch that fast since MLB began tracking pitch velocity: Andrés Muñoz in 2019 and Andrew Cashner in ’12.
In the near term, Miller will provide a boost to the San Diego bullpen as the team battles for a wild-card spot in the playoffs. But the other thing that makes this trade interesting is that the Padres are reportedly considering moving Miller back to the starting rotation.
Blue Jays roll the dice on Bieber
One of the more interesting trades made Thursday was the Blue Jays’ acquisition of former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber from the Guardians. Cleveland received 22-year-old pitcher Khal Stephen, a second-round pick in last year’s draft, in return.
Bieber hasn’t pitched in a big league game since undergoing Tommy John surgery in April 2024. But he’s nearing a return, having already made four rehab starts, and could be a big addition for a Toronto team that’s currently tied for the best record in the AL.
Yankees focus on bullpen help
One day after Yankees closer Devin Williams blew a save against the Rays and saw his ERA rise to 5.01, New York acquired a trio of bullpen arms at the deadline.
The Yankees got David Bednar from the Pirates, Jake Bird from the Rockies and Camilo Doval from the Giants in three separate trades. Bednar and Doval are both accomplished closers, having tied for the NL lead with 39 saves in 2023, but the Yankees don’t have plans right now to have either of them supplant Williams as the ninth-inning guy.
Diamondbacks ship out several pitchers
The D-Backs continued their sell-off on Thursday by trading away three pitchers in two separate deals after having already jettisoned hitters Eugenio Suárez, Josh Naylor and Randal Grichuk.
Arizona’s best return was in exchange for veteran Merrill Kelly. The D-Backs received three quality pitching prospects from the Rangers in exchange for the 36-year-old pending free agent: Kohl Drake, David Hagaman and Mitch Bratt. Drake was ranked as Texas’s No. 5 prospect by MLB.com, while Bratt was ninth and Hagaman 13th. Kelly, who has a 3.22 ERA in 22 starts this season, will be a helpful addition to a Rangers team that currently sits one game behind the Mariners for the AL’s final playoff spot.
The D-Backs were also able to rid themselves of some of Jordan Montgomery’s salary in a trade with the Brewers that also sent reliever Shelby Miller to Milwaukee. Arizona will receive a player to be named later or cash in exchange. Montgomery is out for the season while he recovers from Tommy John surgery and will be a free agent in 2026. He’s owed roughly $7.5 million for the rest of the year, of which the Brewers will pay “at least $2 million,” according to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. Miller, meanwhile, is currently sidelined by a forearm strain but is expected to return soon.
The other notable D-Backs trade was one they didn’t make. Pitcher Zac Gallen, a pending free agent who received Cy Young votes in 2020, ’22 and ’23, stayed put despite the team’s attempts to move him. Gallen struggled this year, posting a 5.60 ERA in 22 starts, but general manager Mike Hazen said several teams had been interested in trading for him. Hazen said he was “a little surprised” he wasn’t able to get a deal done.
The best of Sports Illustrated
- Tom Verducci explains how the flurry of relief pitching trades at the deadline reflects a changing baseball reality.
- Nick Selbe declared the winners and losers of the MLB trade deadline.
- Ryan Phillips believes Padres GM A.J. Preller may come to regret the high price he paid for Mason Miller.
- No. 16 Florida is next up in Bryan Fischer’s countdown of our college football preseason top 25.
- Matt Verderame tried to predict who will be part of the next five Pro Football Hall of Fame classes.
- Albert Breer’s report from 49ers camp focuses on concerns about the team’s depth.
- Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin has reportedly requested a trade.
- A medical examiner has determined Hulk Hogan’s cause of death.
The top five…
… plays from a historic eighth inning in the Braves-Reds game:
(The game was tied 3–3 at the start of the eighth. Atlanta scored eight runs in the top of the inning, but then allowed Cincinnati to score eight runs in the bottom of the inning. It’s just the third time in MLB history that both teams scored at least eight runs in an inning. The Braves went on to win in extras.)
5. Austin Riley’s impressive ability to make contact despite being fooled by an offspeed pitch, poking an RBI bloop single into center.
4. Sean Murphy’s RBI double for the eighth Braves run.
3. Ke’Bryan Hayes’s first homer as a Red.
2. Eli White’s hustle to score on a comebacker to the pitcher.
1. Spencer Steer’s three-run homer to tie the game at 11–11. It was the eighth straight hit for the Reds.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | All the Most Important MLB Trade Deadline Deals.
