The 2026 MLB Trade Deadline has come and gone, and nearly 50 trades were made across the league. The Colorado Rockies were relatively more active this time around than in years past as they made three trades during the day, bringing back five prospects and a utility infielder with big-league experience. They also decided to extend outfielder Mickey Moniak to a two-year deal.
As the dust settles from the hectic Monday, there are those surprised, myself included, that more moves weren’t made.
President
of Baseball Operations Paul DePodesta explained the thought process behind holding onto a lot of their tradeable players on Monday, and it makes sense. The value the offensive players bring to the current Rockies, both on and off the field, is important, and the team values that even more than settling on the principle of trading a player just to trade him. Still, there is one move that wasn’t made that needs a little more diving into.
Should left-handed reliever Brennan Bernardino have been traded?
Heavily Rumored
Bernardino has been a phenomenal addition to the Rockies bullpen this season. Entering Tuesday, he owns a 3-3 record and a sparkling 2.28 ERA in 45.1 innings over 52 games. He started the year with a 0.71 ERA in his first 14 appearances before getting roughed up a little more in May. However, since June 9, Bernardino has thrown 20 innings without allowing an earned run.
His name was certainly a popular one to come up in trade discussions this year. His name swirled in prediction circles because effective left-handed relievers are always valuable, teams always need bullpen help, and despite being 34, he doesn’t become a free agent until 2030.
It’s understandable why the Rockies would keep him around. He’s been the only lefty reliever they have in the bullpen all season and he’s easily one of their most reliable bullpen arms this season as well as a leader. Yes, the team added left-handed prospect Mark Manfredi from the Milwaukee Brewers in the Antonio Senzatela deal, but big-league-ready southpaw relievers are fairly scarce in the organization as a whole.
Still, with the moves that were being made around the league, was it wise not to push harder to move him? Let’s take a look at deals for lefty relievers that were made at the deadline.
JoJo Romero
The Brewers were busy trying to acquire pitching, and they swung a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals to acquire starting pitcher Dustin May and left-handed reliever JoJo Romero.
Romero has been excellent for the Cardinals since joining them in 2022 in a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies. This season, he has a 3.35 ERA in 43 innings of work with 43 strikeouts against 16 walks. He is a solid, reliable arm but is also slated to be a free agent after the season at the age of 30.
The combination of Romero and May, who is also a likely free agent after the season, netted the Cardinals a pair of intriguing outfield prospects in a strong Brewers farm system. Alexander Frias was the No. 11 prospect in a Brewers system, while Carson Ragsdale ranked 13th.
Caleb Ferguson
The Cardinals also pivoted to make a trade for left-handed reliever Caleb Ferguson from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for international bonus pool money.
Ferguson, 30, has bounced around the league quite a bit with overall success in his career. He appeared in 26 games with the Reds this season, posting a 4.01 ERA in 24.2 innings with 22 strikeouts and 11 walks. He is also slated to become a free agent after the season.
Erik Miller
The Boston Red Sox were busy on Monday and matched up with the busy San Francisco Giants for a quick deal for reliever Erik Miller and outfield prospect Carlos Gutierrez.
Miller has had a fantastic season for the Giants, pitching to a 2.76 ERA in 38 games while racking up 45 strikeouts — and also issuing 22 walks — in 32.2 innings. Despite the high walk rate, Miller has a higher strikeout rate than any Red Sox pitcher to throw at least 30 innings this season. At the age of 28, Miller is entering his first year of arbitration and is under team control through 2029.
The Giants received former Top 10 prospect Marcelo Mayer, who has not lived up to the pedigree of a fourth-overall pick in 2021. He has dealt with injuries, and there is a sense of a clash of personalities that exhausted his time in Boston. Still, there is plenty of potential that the Giants will try to unlock.
Brooks Raley
Another disappointing season for the New York Mets led to them moving what they could at the deadline. 38-year-old veteran Brooks Raley found himself on the move to Philly after four years with the Mets.
Raley has been having one of the best seasons of his career, pitching to a 1.96 ERA over 41.1 innings in 45 games. He has collected 40 strikeouts against 15 walks and allowed just nine earned runs all season. He also has limited hits against him while continuing to keep the ball in the yard. As a pending free agent, Raley is making $4.75 million this season, so the cost was relatively small, but the results could be huge for an already strong Phillies bullpen down the stretch.
In return, the Mets received unranked pitching prospect Luke Gabrysh and outfielder John Spikerman, who was the Phillies’ No. 27 prospect. Spikerman is the notable piece here with 55 stolen bases in his minor league career over three seasons.
A.J. Minter
Another notable move was for veteran southpaw A.J. Minter when the Mets sent him to the Minnesota Twins on July 30.
Minter, 32, was also having a fabulous season with the Mets after returning from injury in May, but became expendable with his expiring $11 million contract, meaning the Twins only have to pay about $3.5 million before he becomes a free agent. In 23 games, he posted a 2.35 ERA for the Mets with 20 strikeouts against just two walks. He is playoff-tested and is a nice late-game option for the Twins as they try to fight for a postseason run.
The Mets acquired infield prospects Bruin Agbayani and Billy Amick. Agbayani was a sixth-round pick by the Mets last season but hasn’t been able to do much in his career thus far as he was placed on the 60-day injured list back in May. Amick was the Twins’ second-round pick in 2024 and has exploded this season with 24 home runs in Double-A.
Brent Suter
Old friend Brent Suter has continued his reliable ways since leaving the Rockies in 2023, making stops with the Reds and the Los Angeles Angels. The latter organization went on a fire sale Monday, sending Suter to the Atlanta Braves.
Suter, 36, pitched to a 4.12 ERA over 41 games with the Angels this season, continuing to pound the zone and limit hard-hit balls. He also has a 2.51 ERA in nine appearances since the start of July. Suter is mostly just a reliable and durable arm that will be helpful down the stretch and is making just $1.25 million before becoming a free agent after the season.
The Angels received utility man Nacho Alvarez Jr., who was once a highly regarded prospect for the Braves but has been hindered by injuries. He hit .216 with two homers and a .575 OPS across 240 plate appearances for Atlanta from 2024 to 2025.
Could a deal have been made?
Looking at the deals across the league, it’s difficult to assess what the Rockies could have gotten for Bernardino. He is certainly as good, if not better, than most of the arms moved. However, the Rockies had a set price point for interested teams, and if they didn’t meet those demands, Colorado was fine holding on to the player.
That strikes me as the case for Bernardino. While it would have made perfect sense to trade him, and certainly would have brought back a nice piece or two, the unwillingness to settle for something other than what you truly wanted could have hurt the market.
Still, Bernardino could be a chip in the offseason, or a carryover into a 2027 season as the key part of the bullpen foundation. He’s already proven to be a reliable piece of the puzzle that the Rockies hope can help them compete sooner rather than later.
He probably should have been moved if possible, but retaining the services of a controlled quality lefty isn’t a bad idea at the end of the day.
On the Farm
Triple-A: Sugar Land Space Cowboys 4, Albuquerque Isotopes 3
The Isotopes fell behind early, scoring just one run until they rallied for two in the eighth, but couldn’t finish the job in the 4-3 loss. Jake Brooks made the start on the mound and took the loss after allowing four runs, two in the first, on seven hits over six innings of work. Chad Stevens had two of the Isotopes’ seven hits while Vimael Machín launched his 12th home run of the season, a two-run shot in the eighth. Blas Castaño and Victor Juarez were excellent out of the bullpen, firing three scoreless innings.
Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies 6, Hartford Yard Goats 3
A close game early got away from the Yard Goats as they failed to score past the fourth inning and fell 6-3. Roc Riggio and Aiden Longwell each had two hits in the game while GJ Hill drove in two runs with his 13th home run of the season. Fisher Jameson made the start and went 3.2 innings, giving up four runs on six hits with three strikeouts. Davison Palermo followed with three innings of relief, giving up two runs on two hits.
High-A: Eugene Emeralds 13, Spokane Indians 1
It was a tough night Spokane’s pitching as they combined to give up 13 runs on 13 hits in the loss. The pitching also issued 12 walks against seven strikeouts. The only pitcher to not allow a run was Austin Emener who recorded just one out in the ninth inning. The lone run for Spokane came in the fourth inning when Roldy Brito hit a home run. The offense combined for four hits, while striking out eight times and walking twice.
Low-A: Visalia Rawhide 10, Fresno Grizzlies 9 (F/11)
The Grizzlies took a 7-4 lead into the eighth inning, before giving up four runs to trail 8-7. They managed to tie things back up in the bottom half of the inning as both teams traded runs in the 10th to keep the game tied 9-9. However, Visalia finally got the deciding run in the top of the 11th as Fresno failed to get the ball in play to score the tying run. Marcos Herrera made the start, giving up four runs on nine hits over 3.1 innings. Grif Hughes followed with 3.2 scoreless innings of relief. Easton Marks was tagged for the four runs in the eighth and althrough Manuel Olivares gave up two unearned runs over three innings, he was tagged for the loss. Ronny Ugarte drove in four runs offensively, including hitting a three-run Homer. Wilder Dalis also drove in three runs and had a solo home run.
Rockies Reacts Survey: Grade the 2026 trade deadline
Affected by Altitude Episode 220: Farewells and New Faces | Rocky Mountain Rooftop
On this week’s episode, Evan Lang and I break down the Rockies moves at the deadline and then share our Players of the Month.
Kyle Newman shares some thoughts on how the Rockies’ inactivity at the deadline says a lot about how the front office is going about trying to build the roster and a winning culture.
Purple Row Prospects polling thread, mid-season 2026 | Purple Row
Be sure to join the polling thread to get your new PuRPs rankings in for mid-season!
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