Big Buyers
The Angels made some early moves to bolster their Starting Rotation and Bullpen by sending their two top prospects over to the White Sox for Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez. Less than a week later, they added C.J. Cron and Randal Grichuk from the Rockies (both formerly from the Halos, Cron debuting with them, Grichuk being traded away before his MLB debut) out of necessity since the team has the most players on the IL in all of baseball, losing players left and right over the last two months. The Angels sent over two pitching prospects to Colorado in exchange. This is their second trade with Colorado, after Mike Moustakas was sent over after a 25-1 blowout loss to the Angels, in which the Rockies received a prospect pitcher back in late June. They also swapped two Minor League Pitchers over to the Mets in June for Infielder Eduardo Escobar. All six players are strictly rentals as their contracts expire at the end of the season, besides Escobar who has a $9M Club Option with a $500,000 Buyout. These moves show a willingness on Arte Moreno’s side to go over the luxury tax threshold, and to “go all in”, possibly trying to give Shohei Ohtani a reason to stay in Anaheim, in the small chance that they do make it to the Playoffs as they stand five games back from first in the AL West, and five games back of the final Wild Card spot as of July 30th.
Rangers
The Rangers are making a splash, to say the least, as they swung a deal that brought Max Scherzer over to them, as well as $36M in cash (roughly) to cover his salary for the rest of the season and next for only a single prospect, SS Luisangel Acuna. Not only that, but they somehow managed to get Scherzer to opt-in for the 2024 season as well, where he will make $43.3M. Mad Max was willing to waive his no-trade to go to Texas, but was seemingly unwilling to trigger his player option for 2024 until… something happened. But we have to give Texas’ GM, Chris Young, a massive round of applause as he managed to add Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton from the Cardinals to shore up the Rotation just as Nathan Eovaldi went to the IL, and Bullpen in Stratton. They sent over three prospects in return for the two arms. Seeing as the Astros are making a run at the Rangers’ first place position, Scherzer and Montgomery along with Jon Gray will be a formidable trio to face with Martin Perez, Dane Dunning, and Andrew Heaney at the back end. We can’t forget that they made a deal for Aroldis Chapman earlier in the season with Kansas City, adding the “Cuban Missile” to their bullpen.
Dodgers
On the topic of Pitchers, the Dodgers got the leftovers from the White Sox/Angels deal and brought in Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly to add to their Pitching Staff. Lynn had a 10-team no-trade clause in his contract, which included the Dodgers, but he chose to waive it in this case. The White Sox received two Pitching prospects as well as Outfielder Trayce Thompson in return for the duo. They also decided to bring over INF/OF Amed Rosario from the Guardians in return for the struggling RHP Noah Syndergaard. Finally, in a move that had many fans happy, Utilityman Enrique ‘Kike’ Hernandez returns to LA in a deal with Boston for two Relief Pitchers and $2.6M paid down towards the rest of Hernandez’s $3.6M left on his contract.
Small Swaps
Blue Jays
So far, they’ve managed to wrangle in fireballer Jordan Hicks from the Cardinals, after extension talks between the team and player seemed to have stalled. The Redbirds received two RHP prospects in return for the 26-year old. This was a no-brainer move for the Jays as their everyday Closer just recently went on the 15-Day IL with lower back inflammation on Saturday.
Marlins
The Fish have made some under-the-radar moves in swapping two low minors prospects for Relief Pitcher David Robertson from the Mets. They did so only a day after sending RP Dylan Floro to the twins for RP Jorge Lopez in a “Change-of-Scenery” deal.
Braves
Two small deals for two much needed fireball Pitchers to help in their bullpen may seem like nothing right now, but Pitching wins games! Their first moves of the season, and maybe last, were to get LHP Taylor Hearns from the Rangers for cash considerations, and veteran RHP Pierce Johnson from Colorado for two Minor League Pitchers. These come as replacements for the injured Jesse Chavez (60-Day IL) and Dylan Lee (Has missed two months so far).
Astros
The Houston Astros are only 1 game back of the Texas Rangers as of writing, on the Eve of the Trade Deadline. They have only made one move, digging through the fire sale that is the Chicago White Sox, grabbing Kendall Graveman. The White Sox received Catching prospect Korey Lee in return. In this lovely Houston/Graveman reunion, the Astros get a solid RP who is in the second year of a $24M three-year deal, so he’s not purely a rental. Graveman is also a sight for sore eyes as the Houston Bullpen is highly overworked in leverage situations, and Kendall can help in that aspect. Other than this single deal, they have been in contact with the Mets in the hopes that they reunite with their former Ace in Justin Verlander, but they may just have to fight their state neighbors in the Rangers for him.
Sellers
White Sox
The ChiSox have all but entirely dismantled their Starting Rotation and back end of the Bullpen. The only players who seem to be safe (for now) are the ones who are on the field everyday. Rumors are swirling around Tim Anderson, however.
Cardinals
Just like the White Sox, the Cardinals have been willing to part with prized arms from both the Rotation and the Bullpen. There has been talk of possibly moving Dylan Carlson with the Orioles, but nothing more than doing “due diligence” thus far. He could be seen as a short-term replacement for the injured All-Star Cedric Mullins. The Orioles have a long list of young talent whom they could trade back to St. Louis if needed.
Red Sox
The Red Sox have already traded away Kike Hernandez, but are willing to take offers on OF Alex Verdugo as it seems Jarren Duran has cemented himself as of recent in the Outfield while Adam Duvall was on the IL. Speaking of Duvall, there is some speculation that the Phillies would be interested in swinging a trade for him if Boston is willing, but the focus mainly seems to be on Verdugo at the moment.
Wild Cards
Padres
The San Diego Padres fall further and further from the top of the NL West, and could make some major moves as far as trades go just like they did last year. Blake Snell is a name that is on everyone’s radar as far as a Starting Pitcher of top quality. And finally, Josh Hader seems to be the most “tradeable” of all the Padres, possibly giving someone a top-notch Closer to round out their Bullpen. Unfortunately, it seems the asking price for both is “exorbitant”, so I don’t expect either one to move unless the Front Office changes their tune.
Reds
The Reds are being trailed by the Brewers by only half a game at the moment, and they just put their ROY Second Baseman in Johnathan India on the 10-day IL due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot. The Reds, luckily, have four of the hottest rookies in all of baseball helping them chug along in Steer, De La Cruz, McClain, and Abbott. I wouldn’t be surprised if they made additions at the wire just to make sure they didn’t fall to the Wild Card. And if they did, just to make sure they have a solid team in the Playoffs, nonetheless.
Giants
The Giants have leapfrogged the Diamondbacks for second place in the NL West, standing only two games behind the Dodgers going into the trade deadline. They just put Anthony DeSclafani on the 15-day IL due to a flexor strain, and only have Sean Manaea and Jakob Junis to fill his spot as bulk inning Pitchers. They were in the hunt for both Amed Rosario and Kike Hernandez before they both landed in Los Angeles, so a move of some sort to help out the team in either the Pitching or Infield could go a long way for their Playoff hunt.
Cubs
Just announcing that they were taking Cody Bellinger off of the trade block, the Cubs may be seeking some Pitching help as their offense doesn’t seem to be a problem with a +57 run differential and are only 4 games back of first in the NL Central, as well as 3 and a half out of a Wild Card spot. Just having outrighted former Dodger prospect Edwin Rios, their roster currently stands at 39 men. With a Bullpen that is middle of the pack carrying a 4.05 ERA, they could certainly use an upgrade there if they can swing a deal in the next 24 or so hours.
