Mets deal 3-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander back to Astros: reports  —  KANSAS CITY — Justin Verlander is going back to the Houston Astros.  —  The Mets have traded the right-hander back to Houston hours ahead of Tuesday's 6 p.m. ET trade deadline, according to multiple reports.

Yankees trade for pitchers Keynan Middleton, Spencer Howard before deadline  —  The Yankees added a pair of arms to their pitching staff before Tuesday's trade deadline, acquiring reliever Keynan Middleton from the Chicago White Sox and starter/reliever Spencer Howard from the Texas Rangers.

Yankees Notebook: Domingo Germán scratched with armpit discomfort, then pitches in relief  —  The Yankees' Domingo Germán was scratched from his scheduled start Monday after experiencing armpit discomfort a day earlier, but in a surprise move, he ended up pitching in the game anyway.

Chicago Cubs get a ‘positive reinforcement’ roster boost with addition of third baseman Jeimer Candelario before trade deadline  —  The Chicago Cubs front office believes in this team's potential.  —  That's the message they sent to the players and staff with their first move ahead …

Where Yankees stand on possible deals with MLB trade deadline closing in  —  As the trade deadline nears, the Yankees appeared to still be following the two-tiered strategy of seeing if they both could sell some players while buying for now and the future.  —  The buy continued to be built around …

Red Sox acquire infielder in deadline deal with Brewers  —  Red Sox acquire infielder in deadline deal with Brewers originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston  —  The Boston Red Sox were quiet throughout MLB trade deadline day, but they did make one deal just before the 6 p.m. buzzer.

What we're hearing about Justin Verlander, Pete Alonso and the Mets' plans for 2024  —  KANSAS CITY — While Billy Eppler preempted any conversation of a “rebuild” with his comments Sunday at Citi Field, that's not exactly how the Mets clubhouse is viewing the situation right now.

Brewers, Diamondbacks Swap Andrew Chafin For Peter Strzelecki  —  The Brewers have picked up left-hander Andrew Chafin in a trade with the Diamondbacks, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link).  John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM Phoenix reports that right-hander Peter Strzelecki is headed back to the D'Backs in return.

REPORT: Phillies send Falter to Pittsburgh, get Rodolfo Castro in return  —  Some defensive flexibility  —  Looks like Dave Dombrowski has bolstered his bench a bit.  —  From the Phillies end, Bailey Falter had basically run his course with the team once they acquired Michael Lorenzen.

Marlins Acquire Josh Bell; Guardians Receive Kahlil Watson, Will Release Jean Segura  —  The Marlins announced the acquisition of first baseman Josh Bell from the Guardians.  Cleveland agreed to take on the contract of infielder Jean Segura — whom they intend to release — while acquiring infield prospect Kahlil Watson.

Braves Acquire Brad Hand  —  The Braves have acquired reliever Brad Hand from the Rockies, the clubs announced.  Minor league reliever Alec Barger goes to Colorado in a one-for-one swap.  Atlanta already had an opening on their 40-man roster.  —  Hand was one of the more obvious trade candidates this summer.