Cardinals first baseman Alec Burleson was among the hitters drawing widespread interest ahead of the trade deadline. He ultimately remained with St. Louis and slugged three two-run homers in last night’s win over the Yankees. “To know that they want me here and they want me to be a part of this – hopefully for a while – there’s a sense of relief,” Burleson told reporters after the game (h/t Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch).
1. Deadline day features plenty of action
Starting with the early morning move that sent Huascar Brazoban to the White Sox, Monday’s whirlwind of a trade deadline included more than 40 deals. Not all of those transactions were blockbusters, but there were several fascinating swaps, including an intradivision trade that sent three-time All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman from the Orioles to the Red Sox. For a full recap of every move that went down yesterday, plus more from the past few weeks, head over to our Trade Tracker.
2. Harper heads to the outfield
The Phillies plan to reshuffle their defensive alignment to accommodate trade acquisition Luis Arraez. With Arraez at second base, Bryson Stott will move to third base, pushing Alec Bohm to first base. The infield changes will send Bryce Harper to the outfield. The two-time MVP hasn’t played on the grass since 2022. He played first base last night, but is expected to move to the outfield when Arraez joins the team on Tuesday against Washington.
3. Lombard Jr. heading to New York
The Yankees didn’t execute any major deals at the deadline, but they did make a big move to close the day. The club is reportedly calling up top prospect George Lombard Jr. ahead of Tuesday’s matchup against the Cardinals. He’ll replace shortstop Anthony Volpe on the roster. Lombard missed about a month with a finger injury. Since he returned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in mid-July, the infielder has gone 20-for-53 with a pair of homers, boosting his wRC+ to 126 at the level. Volpe has struggled to a .646 OPS in 56 games this year.
