Cubs Blockbuster? Merrill Kelly Rumors Heating Up As Deadline Nears
The Chicago Cubs need to add a starting pitcher to their roster before Thursday's trade deadline. Justin Steele is out for the season with an elbow injury, and Jameson Taillon has battled injuries, too.
Chicago has been connected to a lot of different starting pitchers, but it's only landed Michael Soroka so far. Soroka isn't going to be enough for the Cubs to feel secure pushing for a World Series. They need to add more.
ESPN's David Schoenfield recently suggested the Cubs could be a potential landing spot in a deal for Arizona Diamondbacks star pitcher Merrill Kelly.
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - JULY 13: Merrill Kelly #29 of the Arizona Diamondbacks delivers to the plate during the first inning against the against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on July 13,...
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - JULY 13: Merrill Kelly #29 of the Arizona Diamondbacks delivers to the plate during the first inning against the against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on July 13, 2025 in Anaheim, California. More
Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images
"Kelly might be viewed as more of a grind-it-out innings eater, but that feels like a bit of a disservice to his ability, especially since he's pitching well with a 2.56 ERA over his past 10 starts, lowering his season ERA to 3.22," Schoenfield wrote. "After getting knocked out early in his second start of the season, he has gone at least five innings in every start since then, usually going six or seven. His superlative work in the 2023 postseason (2.25 ERA across four starts) is another reason he's a fit with any contender."
Kelly is the perfect combination of talent and affordability on the trade market that a deal could be realistic. While a trade for Sandy Alcántara or MacKenzie Gore would be fun, they'd be very expensive.
Kelly has consistently been one of the more competitive pitchers in baseball each time out. He would provide the Cubs with a stabilizing option in the middle of their rotation for the rest of the season without breaking the farm system down. The deal makes perfect sense.
More MLB: Yankees Trade Brewing? Twins Pitcher Linked To New York In Deadline Deal
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Los Angeles Times
27 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
The Sports Report: New Dodgers acquisition falters in loss
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New York Times
28 minutes ago
- New York Times
Cubs' newest acquisition, Michael Soroka, exits with shoulder injury, will go on IL
CHICAGO — Two innings and just 31 pitches into his first start with the Cubs, a game the team would eventually lose 3-2 to the Cincinnati Reds, Michael Soroka was pulled in favor of Ben Brown. Was this the plan all along? Was manager Craig Counsell really leaning into his 'out-getter' mantra and using Soroka for just eight batters? Advertisement It wasn't managerial ingenuity. Instead, a rotation that's suffered three injuries to its Opening Day staff and a fourth in Javier Assad, who has yet to make a big-league pitch this season, has suffered another blow. Not long after he exited the game, the team announced that Soroka had right shoulder discomfort. 'He said he let a pitch go in the second inning and it just didn't feel good,' Counsell said. 'Came in the dugout and said the shoulder was not feeling good. It's an IL (stint) and we'll see what the next steps are.' Soroka was acquired from the Washington Nationals on July 30 for a pair of prospects. For the trade to go through, he had to get cleared medically. But there were signs that perhaps something was off. Through July 11, Soroka was averaging 94.1 mph with his four-seam fastball. In his three starts after the All-Star break, he averaged 91.3 mph on the four-seamer. That's a pretty dramatic drop in velocity and did ring some alarm bells. That led to Soroka getting an MRI before his final start with the Nationals on July 29 against the Houston Astros. 'That's kind of what we did for my peace of mind before my outing against the Astros,' Soroka said. 'We looked at some avenues mechanically, some other things as to where the velocity went. We decided to check that other box off and there was nothing that presented to be an issue at the time there. 'I didn't have any discomfort, I didn't have any pain. There was no reason to believe there was anything wrong. We cleared that. Unfortunately, that changed a little bit in the second inning today.' Soroka said he 'went to go put a little extra on a fastball and it grabbed me a little bit.' When he continued to feel the pain the rest of that inning, he knew something was wrong and decided to say something once he got back in the dugout. The 28-year-old has a long injury history, with multiple Achilles tears that waylaid his career after a breakout 2019 season. He's dealt with shoulder issues multiple times as well, most recently in July 2024. That issue kept him sidelined for over two months. Advertisement 'There's difficulties in this game,' Soroka said. 'I'm no stranger to them. Unfortunately, this is another one. I'm going to be working with the staff day and night to get back out there.' The hope has to be that this is a short stint on the IL. But even upon his acquisition, there were calls from many that team president Jed Hoyer and his front office needed to do more to supplement a team that entered the deadline with the second-best record in baseball. 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It certainly wasn't on Monday, with Brown's lone run given up coming on an Elly De La Cruz double that Ian Happ wasn't able to field cleanly and Ryan Brasier giving up the third Cincinnati run on a series of soft-contact singles. 'Everybody pitched very well,' Counsell said. 'Ben Brown did a heckuva job. He had bad luck on the run he gave up. He gave us a chance to win. The bullpen pitched well. We just didn't hit. Simple as that. We had three hits. Not going to win many games with three hits.' While the offense as a whole has been incredible this season, they're in a stagnant stretch, struggling to stack up runs like they had been capable of for much of the season. Monday marked their fourth-straight low-scoring game, with their only runs coming on Dansby Swanson's two-run homer. Advertisement Swanson seemed to have tied the game up with a two-out infield single in the seventh. But replays showed that as he stretched for first, his toe came up just short. He dragged the foot, but it touched the bag just after the ball was caught by the first baseman. 'I don't know if I've ever done that in my baseball life, to be honest,' Swanson said. 'Just pretty unfortunate timing on the night.' Timing has not been on the Cubs' side of late. They have been unable to pull away in close games, leading to Counsell leaning on his high-leverage relievers. A group that's been stout for much of the season has suddenly coughed up some leads. But an offense that needs to tack on to keep the group fresh has struggled to keep up its end of the bargain. In his last 15 games, Seiya Suzuki has one extra-base hit and no home runs. Kyle Tucker has just one home run and five extra-base hits since June 29. Pete Crow-Armstrong is in a mini-slump with eight strikeouts in his last 10 plate appearances. Michael Busch has a .516 OPS since July 10. Since a five-homer barrage on the Saturday following the All-Star break, the team as a whole has not shown the power it displayed for much of the season. Others can step up, but the Cubs need that group to slug so the offense can be the behemoth they know it can be. 'I like the lineup we throw out there every day,' Counsell said. 'I'm very optimistic that we're going to score runs. Absolutely. The other team's trying to prevent it. Sometimes they do a pretty good job of it. They did a good job of it tonight. We'll score runs.' The bats will have to turn soon because the Milwaukee Brewers don't seem to be slowing down. A 6 1/2 game division lead for the Cubs has become a three-game deficit in just a month-and-a-half. There's still plenty of time left for the Cubs to make sure this is just a blip. But the stars have to start looking like the best players on the field and take a little pressure off everyone else. Otherwise, Milwaukee may be celebrating its third straight division title.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
LSU football schedule: Every LSU opponent ranked in first US LBM Coaches Poll
The first US LBM Coaches Poll of the 2025 college football season dropped on Monday. LSU football came in at No. 9, just ahead of Miami and right below Alabama. LSU's top-10 ranking was expected as the Tigers' offseason hype train continues to roll. LSU head coach Brian Kelly has his most talented LSU roster yet, thanks to the nation's No. 1-ranked transfer class and the return of key pieces like quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, wide receiver Aaron Anderson and linebacker Harold Perkins. Kelly is looking for a breakthrough at LSU. He led Notre Dame to a BCS title appearance and two College Football Playoff births, but he's yet to take LSU to those heights. Kelly has a chance to change that in 2025. As usual, LSU's schedule is tough. To make the playoff, LSU must beat fellow top-ranked teams. LSU's schedule includes six teams ranked in the initial coaches' poll. Here's a look at LSU's ranked 2025 opponents. No. 6 -- Clemson Tigers LSU opens its 2025 schedule at Clemson on August 30. Clemson is the highest-ranked team on LSU's schedule thanks to the return of star quarterback Cade Klubnik and a plethora of NFL draft talent. Clemson has at least one potential All-American at just about every position. Dabo Swinney has another national title-contending roster. No. 8 -- Alabama Crimson Tide Alabama and Clemson are the only two teams on LSU's schedule to rank above the Tigers in the poll. Alabama throttled LSU 42-13 in Baton Rouge last year and now LSU will seek revenge in Tuscaloosa. LSU doesn't need to beat Clemson and Bama, but the Tigers need to win at least one to control their own College Football Playoff destiny. No. 13 -- South Carolina Gamecocks South Carolina took some by surprise last year and ended up competing for a College Football Playoff spot. The Gamecocks missed the cut, but they expect to be back in the mix this fall. Quarterback LaNorris Sellers is dynamic and defensive end Dylan Stewart is one of the top defenders in the country. LSU will face South Carolina within the comfort of Tiger Stadium. No. 15 -- Ole Miss Rebels Lane Kiffin's Ole Miss squad went 9-3 last year, but the team was better than that record suggests. While several top pieces are gone, Ole Miss still eyes a College Football Playoff appearance. Expectations are high for QB Austin Simmons and Ole Miss hopes another strong transfer portal haul is enough to keep it rolling in Oxford. No. 21 -- Texas A&M Aggies LSU took a trip to College Station in 2024 and it's one the Tigers would like to forget. After a competitive first half, LSU unraveled in the second half. It was the start of a three-game losing streak. A&M has another strong group in 2025, led by one of the SEC's best offensive lines and dual-threat QB Marcel Reed. But LSU has the talent to compete and the Tigers will be slight favorites at home. US LBM Coaches Poll LSU football 2025 schedule
