MLB Player News

The Cubs optioned Dean to Triple-A Iowa on Monday.

After being promoted from Iowa on June 19, Dean logged just 10 plate appearances, with the Cubs mainly using him as a pinch runner or late-inning defensive replacement. Kevin Alcantara was called up from Triple-A to replace Dean on the Chicago bench.

The Phillies acquired Thomas from the Athletics on Monday in exchange for right-hander Seth Johnson.

Thomas owns a .628 OPS with 10 home runs and a 34 percent strikeout rate in 253 big-league plate appearances. The 25-year-old was one of the Athletics' better prospects not long ago, and he's a career .285/.360/.546 hitter in the minors who is under team control through 2031, making him an interesting flier for Philadelphia. Thomas will likely report to Triple-A Lehigh Valley initially, but the right-handed hitter could get some chances with the Phillies versus left-handed pitching down the stretch.

Crews is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Phillies, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.

Crews will get a breather for the series opener in Philadelphia after he went 3-for-16 with a stolen base, a run and an RBI while starting in Washington's last four games. The Nationals will go with an outfield of Daylen Lile, Jacob Young and James Wood from left to right Monday.

The Nationals traded Mitchell, Josh Hartle, Will Dion and Kendeglys Virguez to the Nationals on Monday in exchange for Foster Griffin, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

Mitchell, a 22-year-old outfielder, is slashing .240/.358/.360 with five home runs, 19 steals, a 14.6 percent walk rate and a 16.4 percent strikeout rate in 75 games at Double-A.

Crawford is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Nationals.

After starting in each of the last seven games and going 8-for-24 with one stolen base, five RBI and four runs, the left-handed-hitting Crawford will retreat to the bench while the Nationals send southpaw Andrew Alvarez to the bump. Derek Hill will spell Crawford in center field and will bat eighth.

The Diamondbacks acquired Nootbaar from the Cardinals on Monday in exchange for right-hander Daniel Eagen, left-hander Sandro Santana and a player to be named later.

An eighth-round draft pick by St. Louis in 2018, Nootbaar will move on after nine years as a member of the organization. After getting off to a delayed to the 2026 season while recovering from offseason surgery on his heels, the 28-year-old outfielder returned from the injured list June 5 and slashed .234/.333/.354 with three home runs, one stolen base, 22 runs and 16 RBI in 183 plate appearances. Nootbaar should settle into a regular role in the corner outfield for an Arizona squad that currently has three other outfielders in Lourdes Gurriel (adductor), Jordan Lawlar (hamstring) and Tommy Troy (shoulder) on the injured list.

Marsh is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Nationals.

The left-handed-hitting Marsh had been seeing fairly steady opportunities against left-handed pitching earlier this season, but he's moved into more of a strong-side platoon role since the All-Star break. With southpaw Andrew Alvarez on the bump for Washington, Edmundo Sosa will get the nod in left field over Marsh, who is slashing .231/.270/.370 (72 wRC+) over 115 plate appearances versus lefties.

The Cubs acquired Taylor and right-hander Clay Holmes (fibula) from the Mets on Monday in exchange for infielder Jefferson Rojas, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

Taylor -- who will reach free agency after the season -- will likely see most of his playing time for Cubs against left-handed pitching. The right-handed-hitting outfielder boasts a .900 OPS versus southpaws this season.

Lara is out of the lineup for Monday's game versus the Pirates.

Lara has been in a quasi-platoon with Andrew Vaughn lately, getting starts in right field on days that Jake Bauers is at first base. For Monday's series opener, Vaughn will cover first base, while Bauers mans right field.

The Brewers traded Ragsdale and Alexander Frias to the Cardinals on Monday in exchange for Dustin May and JoJo Romero, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Ragsdale has been one of the breakout prospects of the year, particularly since mid-June. In 36 games since June 17, Ragsdale is slashing .333/.459/.783 with 17 home runs, nine doubles, nine steals, an 18.2 percent walk rate and a 24.7 percent strikeout rate. A seventh-round pick in 2025 out of Boston College, Ragsdale not only controls the strike zone, but 76.7 percent of his balls in play at Double-A were either line drives or flyballs. On the season, he has 19 home runs and 31 steals (on 34 attempts) in 86 games across High-A and Double-A.