CLEVELAND — In the midst of the playoff race, the Guardians traded their hottest pitcher for a minor league prospect currently sidelined with an injury.

An uneven season in Cleveland just got a little bumpier.

Despite being just one-half game out of first place in the AL Central, the Guardians dealt starter Aaron Civale to the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday for first-base prospect Kyle Manzardo, who has been out with a shoulder strain.

Civale’s name has been thrown around in trade speculation for weeks, which has coincided with the 28-year-old right-hander pitching as well as he has in several seasons. Civale posted a 1.45 ERA in six July starts and worked six scoreless innings Sunday in a win over the Chicago White Sox to improve to 5-2.

As for the Rays, Civale gives them another solid starter for the playoff push. Tampa Bay entered the week 1 1/2 games behind first-place Baltimore in the AL East and leading the wild-card standings by four games.

ANGELS-ROCKIES: The Los Angeles Angels reacquired slugger C.J. Cron and outfielder Randal Grichuk in a trade with the Colorado Rockies, bolstering their injury-plagued roster with more veteran depth as they fight for a playoff spot.

Los Angeles sent minor league pitchers Mason Albright and Jake Madden to the Rockies in the deal that brought two former Angels first-round draft picks back to the team.

Colorado also is sending $3,701,613 along with Cron and Grichuk, who are in the final years of their contracts before free agency. Cron is owed $2,540,323 in remaining salary and Grichuk $3,161,290, leaving the Angels in effect responsible for $2 million.

METS-RANGERS: The New York Mets are paying Texas $35.51 million over the next 14 months as part of the Max Scherzer trade, leaving the Rangers in effect responsible for $22.5 million owed to the three-time Cy Young Award winner, according to details of the deal obtained by The Associated Press.

New York, just 50-55 despite a record-high payroll, has cut costs by nearly $26 million in pay and luxury tax this year by getting rid of Scherzer and reliever David Robertson ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline. The Mets have offloaded just over $13.5 million in salary, resulting in an additional tax saving of about $12.15 million.

Texas acquired Scherzer on Sunday for minor league infielder Luisangel Acuña, a brother of Atlanta All-Star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. Scherzer’s cost to the Rangers is $10 million this year and $12.5 million in 2024.

The Rangers assumed responsibility for the 39-year-old right-hander’s salary on Monday, when he was owed $58.01 million for the remainder of a $130 million, three-year contract he agreed to before the 2022 season.

Of the $14.67 million left of Scherzer’s $43.33 million salary for this season’s final 64 days, the Mets will pay Texas $4.67 million in four installments of $1.16 million on Aug. 15 and 31 and Sept. 15 and 30.

Scherzer gets a $43.33 million salary next season in the final year of the deal. The Mets will pay the Rangers $30.83 million in 12 installments of $2.56 million on the 15th and final day of each month from April 2024 through September 2024.

BREWERS-METS: The Milwaukee Brewers continued attempting to upgrade their lineup for their NL Central title quest as they acquired outfielder Mark Canha, the latest veteran to get dealt by the disappointing New York Mets.

Milwaukee sent minor league pitcher Justin Jarvis to the Mets.

DIAMONDBACKS-MARINERS: The Arizona Diamondbacks solidified the back of their bullpen, acquiring closer Paul Sewald from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for infielder Josh Rojas, outfielder Dominic Canzone and minor leaguer Ryan Bliss, according to a person familiar with the deal.

The D-backs opted to be buyers at the trade deadline despite a 7-16 record in July that’s caused their overall record to slide to 56-50.

Sewald has been a mainstay at the back of Seattle’s bullpen for the past three seasons.

He has a career-high 21 saves this season in 45 appearances, after recording 20 saves in 2022 and 11 in 2021. In his three seasons with Seattle, Sewald has an 18-8 record and 2.88 ERA in 172 games.

CUBS-NATIONALS: The Chicago Cubs bolstered their lineup, reacquiring Jeimer Candelario in a trade with the Washington Nationals.

Candelario, one of the top bats on the market, is batting .258 with 16 homers and 53 RBI in 99 games this season. He made his big league debut with the Cubs in 2016.

The Cubs got Candelario and cash from Washington for minor leaguers DJ Herz and Kevin Made.

GIANTS-MARINERS: The San Francisco Giants acquired outfielder AJ Pollock and utility player Mark Mathias from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for a player to be named or cash.

Pollock has struggled in his only season with the Mariners, hitting .173 with five homers and 15 RBI in 49 games. Pollock was signed to be part of a platoon in left field with Jarred Kelenic. But Pollock never found consistent playing time after Kelenic’s hot start.

Mathias was playing for Triple-A Tacoma after being claimed off waivers from Pittsburgh earlier this month.

REDS-ATHLETICS: The Cincinnati Reds acquired reliever Sam Moll in a trade with the Oakland Athletics.

The addition of Moll puts another left-hander in Cincinnati’s bullpen as it tries to become the first team to win a division after losing at least 100 games in the previous season.

The Reds got Moll and international cap space from Oakland for minor league right-hander Joe Boyle. The 6-foot-7 Boyle was selected by Cincinnati in the fifth round of the 2020 amateur draft.

BRAVES: The Atlanta Braves reinstated left-hander A.J. Minter from the 15-day injured list and optioned right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver to Triple-A Gwinnett.

Minter had been out since July 12 while recovering from left shoulder inflammation. He will return to his late-innings role in the Braves’ bullpen for Monday night’s opener of an interleague series against the Los Angeles Angels.

Minter is 3-5 with a 4.91 ERA and 10 saves.

MONDAY’S GAMES

RAYS 5, YANKEES 1: Tyler Glasnow pitched seven splendid innings and Tampa Bay hit four early homers off spot starter Jhony Brito to win at New York.

Brandon Lowe launched a two-run drive in the first and Wander Franco added a solo shot in the third before Isaac Paredes and Josh Lowe went back-to-back in the fourth.

Brito (4-5) was called up from the minors earlier in the day to start in place of Domingo Germán, who was scratched because of discomfort in his armpit that prevented him from playing catch Sunday.

Germán, however, entered out of the bullpen in the fifth and worked five scoreless innings of two-hit ball. He was scheduled to get checked by a doctor in the late afternoon, and Manager Aaron Boone had said the Yankees didn’t think the right-hander would need a stint on the injured list.

NATIONALS 5, BREWERS 3: Joey Meneses homered and drove in three runs, and rebuilding Washington handed playoff-contending Milwaukee its their fourth straight loss, at Washington, D.C.

PHILLIES 4, MARLINS 2: Taijuan Walker threw 6 2/3 solid innings and became the first pitcher in the major leagues with 12 wins as Philadelphia won at Miami.

Walker (12-4) allowed two runs and six hits, striking out four.

ANGELS 4, BRAVES 1: Luis Rengifo, Randal Grichuk and Chad Wallach hit solo homers off Charlie Morton, Chase Silseth won his second straight start and visiting Los Angeles cooled off major league-leading Atlanta.

Matt Olson’s NL-best 36th homer and major league-leading 89th RBI made it 2-1 in the fifth, helping the Braves join the 2019 Minnesota Twins as the only teams with 200 long balls before August. Atlanta began the game with 31 more homers than the Los Angeles Dodgers, the No. 2 team.

ORIOLES 4, BLUE JAYS 2: Austin Hays made a leaping, game-saving catch of Whit Merrifield’s liner in the ninth inning, and AL-best Baltimore remained unbeaten at Toronto this season.

Orioles closer Félix Bautista walked two with one out in the ninth before Merrifield lined a 99 mph fastball to left-center. Left fielder Hays sprinted toward the ball, left his feet and grabbed it just before he hit the turf. Bautista then struck out Santiago Espinal to complete the five-out save, his 29th in 34 opportunities.

Espinal had come on in the third to replace Blue Jays shortstop and AL batting leader Bo Bichette, who departed with a sore right knee.