Baseball Wiretap

While his team is mired in an offensive slump, Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer called the Aug. 3 trade deadline "the furthest thing from my mind," while also acknowledging the organization's needs if the Cubs are in the race at that time.

"Our position player group is deep, and it's pretty set," Hoyer said Friday morning. "The backbone of our team is our position players. They have to play well for us to be a good team.

"We'll be looking at pitching at that point. [But] sitting here talking about the deadline, given how we've played, is the wrong thing to talk about."

A race to first based turned into a violent collision that sent two players sprawling onto the field and, eventually, into the dugout.

Arizona's Ildemaro Vargas and the Los Angeles Dodgers' Max Muncy are sore but otherwise OK, but, boy, what a jolt.

"It was terrible," Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte said through an interpreter after hitting a walk-off homer in Arizona's 3-2 win over Los Angeles on Thursday night. "In my 10 years, I've never seen a collision like that."

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge has been diagnosed with a stress fracture in the first rib on his right side, the club announced Thursday night. The team expects Judge to return at some point this season and will conduct additional imaging in four to six weeks.

Judge missed his third straight game Thursday after undergoing a CT scan that morning. He had also received an MRI earlier in the week following a meeting with a specialist. The injury was initially detected during testing on Monday's off day.

The three-time AL MVP is batting .248 with 17 home runs and 38 RBIs this season. He has hit just one homer in his last 18 games since May 10, snapping an 11-game drought with a walk-off two-run drive against Tampa Bay on May 24.

Judge suffered a similar stress fracture in a right rib in March 2020, an injury that originated from a diving play in September 2019. He avoided missing time on that occasion due to the pandemic-shortened season.

Last season, Judge won the AL batting title with a career-best .331 average to go with 53 home runs and 114 RBIs in 152 games. He did miss 10 games with a right elbow flexor strain but avoided surgery after receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection.

The Houston Astros signed outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. and promoted catcher Collin Price to the major league roster Thursday.

Price will take the place of backup catcher César Salazar, who was designated for assignment Thursday.

Wade, who was released by the White Sox on Monday, has been in Triple-A all season. His last appearance in the majors came last season when he played 30 games for the Angels. A seven-year MLB veteran, Wade has also played for the Twins and Giants.

As the losses continue to mount, San Diego Padres star Manny Machado admits to being "frustrated" as the offense just can't seem to put any runs on the board.

The Padres, who have dropped five games in a row and nine of the past 10, have scored the fewest runs (231) and have the lowest batting average (.218) in the major leagues this season. In the nine losses since May 24, San Diego has plated a total of 17 runs.

The Braves have bolstered their depth at catcher by acquiring veteran Austin Wynns from the Los Angeles Angels.

The Braves added the 35-year-old Wynns to the major league roster on Thursday, a day after acquiring him from the Angels for cash. In a related move, catcher Chadwick Tromp was designated for assignment.

Wynns joins Sandy Leon as the Braves' catchers as the team continues to adjust to injuries to 2025 National League Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy.

Shohei Ohtani delivered his third scoreless outing in four appearances Wednesday, throwing six two-hit innings with six strikeouts while going 3-for-4 at the plate as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-0. His ERA sits at a major league-best 0.74.

Ohtani reached base five times and raised his batting average to .301. It marked his third straight two-way start of the season.

Catcher Will Smith was unequivocal in his assessment after the game.

"He's the best player that's ever walked this earth," said Smith.

Ohtani struggled with command through much of May, walking four and hitting a batter in his prior start against Colorado, but surrendered only three earned runs over 25 innings that month. Both Ohtani and Smith noted a marked improvement in his command Wednesday.

"Today was definitely a lot better than last time," said Ohtani. "Hard to say if today was really good, just have to look back and review it, but I could tell for sure it was better than last time."

Ohtani also overcame an extended hitting slump. From April 17 to May 12, he batted .230 with a .711 OPS. Following two days out of the lineup and mechanical adjustments to his stance, he has hit .415 with a .506 on-base percentage over his last stretch of games.

"The biggest reason for me getting out of that stretch was more mechanical," said Ohtani. "A lot of the success or failure of an at-bat is impacted by how I see, and that's affected by my posture."

Dave Roberts described Ohtani's competitive approach on the mound as exceptional.

"He's literally trying to throw a shutout every time out there," said Roberts.

Ohtani carries a .941 OPS through 57 games as a hitter and 10 mound appearances, though he noted his elevated walk rate is inflating that figure and identified slugging percentage as his primary area for improvement.

The Toronto Blue Jays acquired right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson from the Minnesota Twins for cash considerations on Wednesday night.

Woods Richardson was designated for assignment by the Twins on Saturday. He was 0-7 with a 7.74 ERA in 12 games, including 10 starts. His seven losses and 41 earned runs allowed are tops in the majors.

Woods Richardson, 25, is 12-17 with a 4.76 ERA for his career. He previously pitched in the minor leagues for Toronto.

Aaron Judge was out of the lineup Thursday for a third straight game and the New York Yankees were awaiting clarity about a bone bruise in one of the slugger's right ribs that is causing right shoulder pain.

"I absolutely expect something in the next couple of hours," manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees concluded a three-game series with the Cleveland Guardians. "He went for more testing today just because he's got edema there. So, they want to get [the most] specific images they can to try and see exactly what we have."

The San Diego Padres designated outfielder Nick Castellanos for assignment on Wednesday, one day after he received a video tribute in his return to Philadelphia.

Castellanos was released by the Phillies in February just ahead of their first full-squad workout at spring training. The Phillies released him even though they owed him $20 million for the final season of a $100 million, five-year contract.