Clay Holmes is looking forward to pitching in front of all those Gold Glove winners on the Chicago Cubs. Holmes is joining a new-look staff in Chicago after the Cubs bolstered their rotation and bullpen ahead of Monday’s trade deadline. The veteran right-hander and Kevin Gausman, who was acquired in a deal with Toronto on Sunday night, are expected to start this weekend at Kansas City. The 33-year-old Holmes has a 55.3 groundball percentage in nine major league starts this year. He says he is excited to pitch in front of Chicago's stellar defense.

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 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.

Miguel Vargas, Andrew Benintendi, Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery homered and the Chicago White Sox beat the American League-leading Tampa Bay Rays 6-1 on Friday night. Vargas, Murakami and Montgomery have all homered in the same game five times this season, becoming the first trio to accomplish that feat since Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager and Joc Pederson for the Dodgers in 2019. Vargas opened the scoring in the first inning with the longest home run of his career at 433 feet, and Benintendi made it 2-0 in the second. Murakami tied Kazuma Okamoto for the Japanese rookie home run record with his 24th in the third, and Montgomery gave the AL Central-leading White Sox a 6-1 lead in the sixth with a two-run shot.

The Chicago Cubs have activated right-hander Jameson Taillon and placed reliever Phil Maton back on the 15-day injured list with right knee tendinitis. Taillon was slated to start the opener of a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers. He had been sidelined by a left hamstring strain. Chicago also added Aaron Civale to its 26-man roster two days after it acquired the right-hander in a trade with the Athletics. Left-hander Drew Pomeranz was designated for assignment. The 33-year-old Maton has gone on the IL with right knee tendinitis three times this year.

The ball from current Cubs first baseman Michael Busch’s first inning solo homer against Minnesota was recovered in Wrigley Field’s right-field bleachers by former Chicago first baseman Anthony Rizzo. Rizzo didn’t catch Busch’s 12th homer on the fly, but reached behind and picked the ball up off the concrete after it landed. Rizzo held it high in the air with a small boy on his shoulder. Rizzo played 10 of his 14 seasons with the Cubs and took part in dedicating the “Champions Gate” at Wrigley Field before the game. It commemorated the 10th anniversary of Chicago winning the World Series in 2016.