After losing star slugger Aaron Judge to the injured list with a flexor strain in his elbow, the New York Yankees are facing a tough decision on whether to buy or sell at Thursday's trade deadline.

“Imagine the Yankees trade for Sandy Alcantara and [pitching coach] Matt Blake turns him back into his 2021-2022 version,” one said. “2021-2022 Alcantara is a better pitcher than Joe Ryan, MacKenzie Gore or anyone else on the trade market.”

The AL Central-leading Tigers added a pair of arms, making an in-division trade with the Minnesota Twins to add right-handers Chris Paddack and Randy Dobnak. Detroit officially lost starter Reece Olson for the season with a shoulder injury earlier in the day Monday.

Recent reports have indicated that former New York Yankees utility man DJ LeMahieu will wait for the trade deadline to pass before he signs with new team.

In his third MLB start, Yankees' right-hander Cam Schlittler lasted 4.1 innings, yielding three runs on seven hits and four walks, with five strikeouts, in a 4-2 loss to Tampa Bay.

After tossing seven strong innings in his last start, Sandy Alcantara's name is back atop deadline wish lists, with USA TODAY Sports' Bob Nightengale reporting that trade interest has soared. The 2022 NL Cy Young winner has struggled this season after missing all of 2024 following Tommy John surgery.

The Major League Baseball trade deadline is 6 p.m. ET this coming Thursday, July 31, and the action is beginning to pick up. This past weekend we saw Josh Naylor go to the Mariners and Ryan McMahon go to the Yankees,

The Royals reached a two-year, $46 million guaranteed contract extension with Lugo on Sunday, according to multiple reports. While Lugo was widely considered one of the top trade candidates ahead of Thursday's trade deadline, he'll instead be in Kansas City for years to come.