AROUND THE HORN
Rockies: Rockies closer Daniel Bard has signed a two-year contract extension, the team announced Saturday. Bard, 37, was the subject of trade rumors ahead of Tuesday’s deadline but his deal keeps him with the Rockies through 2024. The hard-throwing righty is 3-3 with 21 saves and a 1.91 ERA in 37 games this season. His 21 saves were fifth in the NL and tied for seventh overall entering Saturday.
Dodgers, Cubs: The Dodgers bolstered their bullpen by acquiring righthander Chris Martin from the Cubs for infielder-outfielder Zach McKinstry on Saturday. The 36-yearold Martin won a World Series with the Braves last season and pitched three times during an NL Championship Series victory over the Dodgers. The 6-foot-8 reliever is 1-0 with a 4.31 ERA this season, striking out 40 batters with four walks in 31 ⅓ innings. He’ll support a bullpen that’s currently without injured pitchers Brusdar Graterol, Blake Treinen, Tommy Kahnle, Victor González and Danny Duffy. McKinstry is a 27-year-old utility player with a career .210 batting average and eight homers in 193 plate appearances. A 33rd-round draft pick in 2016, McKinstry has appeared in just four games since being activated off the injured list July 6 following a neck injury.
Cardinals, Phillies: The Cardinals traded shortstop Edmundo Sosa to the Phillies for left-hander JoJo Romero on Saturday and will activate shortstop Paul DeJong off the taxi squad. An All-Star in 2019, DeJong was demoted to Triple-A Memphis in May after hitting .130 with one home run in 24 games. The 28-year-old may have rediscovered his power stroke in the minors, slugging 17 homers with a .249 batting average in 51 games. He hit .366 with six home runs in 11 July games, including a home run in each of his final three games with the Memphis Redbirds. He’s expected to be with the Cardinals for their game Saturday night at Washington.
Rays, Diamondbacks: The Rays acquired outfielder David Peralta from the Diamondbacks, adding a veteran left-handed bat for the playoff race. The Rays sent 19-year-old minor league catcher Christian Cerda to the Diamondbacks. The 34-year-old Peralta has played his entire nineyear MLB career with the D-backs, where he won a Silver Slugger award in 2018 and a Gold Glove in 2019. His bat has slowed in recent seasons, but he’s still very good against right-handed pitching. Peralta has a .248 average, 12 homers and 41 RBIs this season.
Yankees: Yankees star Aaron Judge became the second-fastest player in major league history to reach 200 career home runs with a two-run drive in the second inning against the Royals on Saturday. The 6-foot-7 slugger, who became the first player in the majors this season to reach 40 homers Friday, fouled off two breaking balls from starter Jonathan Heasley before sending a 2-2 fastball into the right-center field seats. Judge’s 200th homer came in his 671st career game, behind just the Phillies’ Ryan Howard, who achieved the feat in 2009 in 658 games. Judge has 42 homers this season and is on pace for 67. He is tied with Sammy Sosa and two behind Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire for the most before Aug. 1 in MLB history. Bonds holds the season record with 73 homers in 2001.