The deadline is less than eight hours away and the stove is technically hot… though right now it might be more of a lukewarm simmer. Here’s what I’m hearing: Relief Pitcher MarketIf you’re looking for bullpen help, good luck. The relief market is bone dry at the moment. A few contenders are poking around for rentals, but nobody seems eager to actually pull the trigger. The deal sending Julio Valera for a 4th-round pick appears to have...
The Chicago Cubs trade 1B Kent Hrbek, P Julio Valera, and UTL Craig Shipley to the Washington Senators for P Scott Ruskin, 1B Don Mattingly, a 1997 4th-round pick, and a 1998 5th-round pick. The Chicago fire sale continues, and at this point the Cubs have stopped pretending otherwise. The metaphorical neon sign outside Wrigley currently reads: “TAKE OUR PLAYERS.” They are not hiding the strategy. They are not being subtle. They are not...
The Chicago Cubs trade P Scott Garrelts, OF Dan Pasqua, 3B Scott Brosius, and CF Cecil Espy to the Toronto Blue Jays for INF George Arias, OF Roberto Kelly, OF Pat Watkins, and OF Lance Johnson. Finally. After weeks of middle infielders changing teams like spare batteries and the Seattle Pilots auctioning off their entire franchise one Craigslist post at a time, we get an honest-to-goodness deadline baseball trade. Contender buys...
The Arizona Diamondbacks trade OF Chad Curtis to the Florida Marlins for 2B Kevin Jordan. It wouldn’t truly be trade deadline season without Arizona and Florida making at least one deal with each other, and thankfully the baseball gods have once again delivered. This one won’t lead SportsCenter, but it does contain that rarest of things in deadline deals: actual common sense. Let’s start in...
The St. Louis Cardinals trade a 1997 4th-round pick (via Toronto) and INF Orlando Miller to the Arizona Diamondbacks for INF Jose Vizcaino. Welcome to that wonderful part of the calendar where teams suddenly realize they need one more middle infielder, and trades start happening that feel less like roster moves and more like administrative paperwork. This one fits the mold perfectly. St. Louis: Defense First,...
The San Diego Padres trade INF Craig Grebeck to the Florida Marlins for INF Mickey Morandini. A swap of veteran infielders currently worth a combined 0.2 WAR this season. If you’re looking for fireworks, you’ve come to the wrong place. If you’re looking for two teams lightly rearranging the bottom of their benches, welcome. Let’s dive in. San Diego: A Slightly Different Flavor of Mediocre At first glance, the fit in San Diego is a...
The Seattle Pilots trade SP Chris Haney to the Milwaukee Creams for SP Amaury Telemaco. At long last, the Chris Haney saga is over. After what felt like six straight months of Seattle posting “Chris Haney available” every other day, someone finally blinked. Congratulations to Milwaukee for ending the longest-running classified ad in DBL history. To be clear, Haney isn’t bad. In fact, he’s been one...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BOSTON, MA — In a bold demonstration of organizational consistency, the Boston Red Sox today announced that the club will fully embrace its role as trade deadline sellers, despite an inconveniently red-hot July that has briefly propelled the team into the general vicinity of playoff contention. “Look, we appreciate the enthusiasm,” said Red Sox leadership in a statement released moments after the team’s ninth win...