MLB Rumors: Phillies cross enemy lines, Yankees panic reunion, O's disasterclass

We are under four weeks until the 2025 MLB trade deadline, which means the rumor mill is churning like butter. It's unclear how exactly the next few weeks will unfold, but we can expect plenty of big names to change teams as front offices league-wide attempt to skew MLB's competitive balance in their favor.

In addition to the looming specter of trades, plenty of free agency moves and waiver wire transactions will take place in the weeks ahead. We are past the midway point in the season and teams generally know where they stand in the postseason race. How effectively those teams analyze their weaknesses — and how aggressively they search for solutions — will tell the story of the next 26 days.

Here is some of the juicy scuttlebutt circling the league on this fine post-Independence Day Saturday.

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Orioles could consider trading core pieces at the deadline

The Baltimore Orioles are 11 games below .500 and 11.5 games behind the first-place Yankees in the AL East. There has not been a more disappointing team in baseball this season. The O's were a top speed only a couple years ago; now it's unclear if this nucleus will make it past the incubation stage.

Baltimore still has plenty of young, franchise-level talent. The question is, with so much ground to be made up and a future that feels increasingly murky, might the O's attempt to reset the deck and trade a major piece. We know Baltimore does not have the financial capital to re-sign all their stars and the clock is always ticking in baseball.

The folks on MLB Tonight debated the subject.

The general conclusion was that Félix Bautista is as good as gone, given the strong market for high-leverage relief arms. As for the true core pieces of Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Jackson Holliday, it feels like Baltimore will not pull the trigger so soon. But we can't rule it out, especially with Rutschman struggling to deliver on preseason hype. All three would return a massive haul of prospects to Baltimore's farm system, which has thinned out over the last couple years.

Never say never.

Yankees interested in trading for Pirates utilityman Isiah Kiner-Falefa

The New York Yankees' infield is something of a mess right now. DJ LaMahieu can't find his swing, Jazz Chisholm is playing out of position at third base, and Anthony Volpe is quietly falling out of favor with Aaron Boone. Between Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt and Ben Rice, the Yankees have plenty of options at first base. The rest of the infield, however, is bordering on disaster.

That's why New York has struggled so much of late. Brian Cashman and the front office appear eager to address those shortcomings at the trade deadline. The Yankees are interested in a pair of Pittsburgh Pirates infielders, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post — Ke'Bryan Hayes and Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

While Hayes is the more notable name — and his arrival would presumably allow Chisholm to move back to second base — Yankees fans are more familiar with Kiner-Falefa, who spent the 2022 and '23 campaigns in the Bronx. Kiner-Falefa doesn't really project as a marked improve on offense (.622 OPS with one home run in 75 games this season), but he's comfortable moving all over the infield and the outfield, so New York can mix and match based on nightly rest or matchup needs.

At the very least, IKF gives the Yankees another option and a high-level defender to throw into the mix. Defense has also been a real problem for the Yankees' infield, so pretty much anything helps.

Phillies targeting two Pirates relievers as bullpen woes continue

The Philadelphia Phillies are a great team with maddening deficiencies. It's past time for Dave Dombrowski to live up to his reputation and deliver siesmic changes at the deadline. The window is open if the Phillies kick hard enough. The first priority is finding a playable outfielder. The next is improving the bullpen.

While Orion Kerkering has settled nicely into the closing role, Philadelphia's bullpen at large is fairly weak. The Mick Abel demotion moves Taijuan Walker back to the starting rotation for the moment and, beyond Kerkering and Matt Strahm, depth has not been a strength for the Phillies' relief crew.

One potential solution resides across the state in Pittsburgh. According to Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Phillies have made inquiries about two Pirates relievers — Dennis Santana (37.0 IP, 28 K, 1.46 ERA) and David Bednar (29.2 IP, 43 K, 2.93 ERA).

Both would work wonders for the Phillies right now, especially with José Alvarado ineligible for the postseason. Bednar has a longer track record and better swing-and-miss stuff, so he's the pipe dream, but Santana continues to produce excellent results. Both are arbitration eligible through next season, so the Phillies would ideally get multiple postseason runs out of either.