CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs are poised to acquire pitcher Clay Holmes and outfielder Tyrone Taylor from the New York Mets for touted infield prospect Jefferson Rojas.
The teams have agreed to the trade pending medical reviews, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because the move hadn't been announced by either side.
It's the latest effort by the busy Cubs to replenish an injury-depleted pitching staff as they attempt to chase down first-place Milwaukee in the NL Central and hang onto the National League's top wild-card spot.
Earlier in the day, Chicago obtained reliever Ryan Zeferjahn from the Los Angeles Angels for two minor leaguers: catcher Moisés Ballesteros and right-hander Mason McGwire — son of retired slugger Mark McGwire. The team also added left-hander Braxton Garrett from the Miami Marlins for a pair of minor leaguers: infielder Jonathon Long and right-hander Jace Beck.
Garrett was optioned to Triple-A Iowa.
Those deals came one day after the Cubs augmented their rotation by acquiring veteran starter Kevin Gausman in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Holmes appears just about ready to return from a broken right leg that has sidelined him since mid-May. He was 4-4 with a 2.39 ERA in nine starts before getting hurt.
AP Baseball Writer Mike Fitzpatrick in New York contributed to this report.
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New York Mets' Tyrone Taylor reacts after hitting a three-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, July 26, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Mets' Tyrone Taylor hits a three-run home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Monday, July 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
DETROIT (AP) — U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed spent the final hours of Michigan's fiercely contested Democratic Senate primary making their closing pitches in settings that reflected the starkly different campaigns they have run for more than a year.
In Detroit, El-Sayed posed for photos and participated in interviews with content creators at a backyard pool party before a final rally with supporters. On the state’s west side, Stevens appeared alongside Michigan Democratic officials.
It was a fitting final contrast in a race that has become one of the clearest tests yet of where Democratic voters want their party to go. El-Sayed, a progressive backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders and other leaders on the party’s left, has run against much of the Democratic establishment. Stevens, a four-term congresswoman backed by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and many of Michigan’s top Democrats, has made electability and experience central to her case.
Tens of millions of dollars have poured into the race, much of it from outside groups supporting Stevens. But the contest now comes down to which candidate can assemble enough of Michigan’s Democratic coalition to win Tuesday.
El-Sayed opted to focus in his campaign’s final days on Detroit, which he called a “spiritual home” and a place where he wanted to “demonstrate what this movement is and what it could mean.”
Stevens, meanwhile, spent time in Detroit before heading to the state's west side. She called the final push the “last word phenomenon."
“Everyone’s trying to get in their last points," she said.
Both candidates have spent parts of the campaign’s final days in Detroit, where Black voters have long been crucial to winning Democratic primaries.
El-Sayed began Sunday by sitting alongside his wife and Black political leaders in a packed Detroit church, clapping as the congregation sang and the pastor preached. Then he stood before the room and asked for their votes.
“I believe in the kind of America where no matter where you grow up, the color of your skin, how you pray, you deserve equal rights in this country,” El-Sayed told the congregation at Kingdom Covenant Church.
“You deserve to go to a good school, you deserve to get healthcare, you deserve to graduate and get a good job,” he added.
El-Sayed was joined by Democratic Reps. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, as well as Yusef Jackson, the son of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson who is president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
Pastor David A. Johnson II said welcoming a political candidate was not something he typically did, but “this particular season, it’s time for us to do something different.”
For Robin Robertson, a 59-year-old Detroit resident, El-Sayed’s visit came just in time. Robertson said she had gone back and forth over whom to support, waiting until the campaign’s final days to decide.
She ultimately settled on El-Sayed, saying Stevens “had a good run.”
“His agenda seems to match more for me the things that we need right now,” Robertson said. “And then, he’s here in my little church. That was confirmation that I’m going to vote for him.”
Stevens, meanwhile, emphasized her longstanding connections to Detroit-area churches.
At a church in Pontiac on Sunday afternoon, Stevens stayed after the service to speak individually with congregants, greeting many like familiar faces.
“I come here year-round. This isn’t just a campaign thing,” Stevens said. “Our churches are places of community refuge, community connection.”
Stevens and her allies have also made a direct appeal to Black voters through advertisements highlighting her ties to former President Barack Obama and her work as chief of staff for his administration’s auto rescue effort from 2009 to 2011.
Her campaign acknowledges that a strong showing among Detroit voters will likely be necessary for her to win Tuesday.
Reggie Williams, a longtime constituent who was supporting Stevens at an Oakland County event Sunday evening in a union hall, said he continues to back her because she “has always been there for the people.”
“She is out and about in the community, always has boots on the ground,” Williams said.
After spending much of Sunday pursuing some of the same Democratic constituencies, El-Sayed and Stevens took different paths across Michigan for the final full day of the primary.
For El-Sayed, that meant leaning into a volunteer operation his campaign says has grown to 12,000 people statewide. Stevens is relying on the broader institutional support she has accumulated across the state, including endorsements from many of Michigan’s most prominent Democratic officials, such as Sen. Gary Peters and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
El-Sayed remained in Detroit, trying to turn enthusiasm in the state’s largest city into votes. Monday evening he plans to close his campaign with a voter mobilization event in Detroit, alongside other candidates running for Congress and state office.
Stevens' Monday included a stop at a soul food restaurant and bakery in Muskegon Heights, where she addressed just over 20 people and positioned herself as the only candidate who can win against Republican Mike Rogers in November.
Sharri J. Lane, who owns a jewelry business and grew up in Muskegon Heights, was in attendance and had already voted for Stevens.
“I hope that she will keep her word and will do things that will benefit so many communities like ours,” Lane, 54, said while standing next to a rack of her earrings for sale. “Sometimes we’re forgotten about, you know, after the voting ends.”
The primary has been bruising and expensive. And after Tuesday, Michigan Democrats will have to figure out how quickly they can put it behind them.
The winner will immediately face the task of bringing together supporters of two candidates who have offered different visions for the party and whose campaigns have grown increasingly contentious in the closing weeks.
El-Sayed and his allies have sharpened their attacks on Stevens. He told Semafor in July that a pro-Israel group backing her needed to “teach her how to string together two coherent sentences.” Stevens escalated her own criticism in the campaign's final days, responding to a clip of El-Sayed on July 31 by saying, “Everyone in America understands you want to blame all of your problems on Jewish Americans.”
Michigan Democrats are hoping to begin the process of coalescing almost immediately. The party plans to bring its nominees from across the state together in the days after the primary for a general election kickoff aimed at presenting a united front heading into November.
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GaNun reported from Muskegon Heights, Michigan.
Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., a candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, speaks during a campaign event at Corine's Soul Food, Cakes & Catering Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Muskegon Heights, Mich., as Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., right, listens (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., a candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, speaks during a campaign event at Corine's Soul Food, Cakes & Catering Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Muskegon Heights, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, talks poolside at a party for content creators supporting his campaign, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., a candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, speaks during a campaign event at Corine's Soul Food, Cakes & Catering Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Muskegon Heights, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, films a social media video at a pool party for content creators supporting his campaign, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Abdul El-Sayed, right, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, accompanied by Rep. Analilia Mejia, D-N.J., greets a supporter during a campaign rally at the UAW Region 1 Union Hall, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Warren, Mich. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., left, a candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, speaks during a campaign event at the UA Local Plumbers 98 Union Hall, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Madison Heights, Mich. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, speaks during a service at Church of the Messiah, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., left, a candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, accompanied by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., speaks during a campaign event at the UA Local Plumbers 98 Union Hall, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Madison Heights, Mich. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, walks from Anthology Coffee to the Spirit of Detroit during the March of the Many, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
