(PhatzRadio Sports / USA Today Sports) — Major League Baseball’s trade deadline strikes at 4 p.m. ET on Monday. While there have already been a number of moves, the action figures to hit another gear as the clock winds down.
The reigning World Series champion Chicago Cubs continue to tinker, acquiring lefty reliever Justin Wilson and catcher Alex Avila from the Detroit Tigers late Sunday night in a move that will surely be a precursor of many more to come around the league.
Where will Sonny Gray go, and does Yu Darvish follow him out of the division?
Gray has been widely connected to the New York Yankees, a team a half-game up in the AL East but one that’s also in building mode. Gray, 27, fits as a frontline pitcher under control until 2019. The Oakland A’s seemed destined to move Gray because they have once again hit the reset button. Gray has an injury history but is pitching well now — with a 3.43 ERA in 97 1/3 innings. There are several contenders — the Houston Astros, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers — who could benefit from Gray, too.
Darvish, meanwhile, has ace ability, but he’s also just a rental. The Texas Rangers are not in the AL race, so it would seem like a prudent move for general manager John Daniels to get something for the right-hander. Darvish gave up 10 earned runs in his last start … this after giving up seven five starts ago. He has a 4.01 ERA but can be among the game’s best when he’s right. The Dodgers, with Clayton Kershaw on the disabled list, have been linked.
Which hitter gets moved — and fetches the biggest return?
The market for hitting, especially rentals, does not seem robust. J.D. Martinez, potentially the best right-handed bat available, only returned three prospects (none ranked among the Arizona Diamondbacks’ best) to the Tigers on July 18.
Other hitters in the rumor mill, to varying degrees: Yonder Alonso, Rajai Davis, Jed Lowrie (A’s); Jay Bruce, Curtis Granderson, Asdrubal Cabrera (New York Mets); Zack Cozart (Cincinnati Reds, on DL); Carlos Gomez (Rangers); Andrew McCutchen (Pittsburgh Pirates); Jose Iglesias (Detroit Tigers).
Will Zach Britton get traded?
Britton pitched to a 0.54 ERA last season with 47 saves, but this year has been a different story. The left-handed closer missed time because of a forearm strain and has amassed a 3.32 ERA in 19 innings. Even so, Britton, who is controllable for one more season, would be a boon for any contender as he can close or pitch in high-leverage situations. But will the Baltimore Orioles move him? And will a team such as the Astros, Dodgers, or Washington Nationals pay the hefty price?
Which contender needs to make a trade the most?
Teams make moves now for the postseason. The Nationals still lead as one that could use another bullpen arm — and so could the Astros, Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers. Teams in the market for a starter: Dodgers, Astros, Cleveland Indians. No contender seems desperate for a bat, though the Indians could make sense for an infielder and the Brewers could stand to add a veteran hitter. Milwaukee likely won’t veer off course in their building process and trade a top prospect.
Kershaw could return for the postseason and be just fine, but would the Dodgers, with a league-leading 74 wins, risk not having another dominant pitcher in the rotation? Do the Astros feel more urgent with Lance McCullers struggling and Dallas Keuchel still getting back up to speed? Are the Indians content with essentially the same core as last season?
Who are the prospects that headline the day?
Whether they are included in trades or promoted after the deadline, prospects will be a part of deadline day. The Mets could promote shortstop Amed Rosario and first baseman Dominic Smith, if they free up space in the infield. The Rays could turn to Brett Honeywell in the rotation or bullpen. The A’s could give a longer look to shortstop Franklin Barreto, while the Chicago White Sox could infuse more youth with pitchers Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Carson Fulmer.
And that doesn’t even include the prospects who could get moved today.
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OAKLAND — To get a sense for the distinct uncertainty many players experience at this time of year, just ask Jaime Garcia — if you can track him down.
The veteran left-handed pitcher made his first start for the Minnesota Twins in Oakland on Friday, four days after joining the club in a trade with the Atlanta Braves. Garcia was granted permission to travel back to Atlanta on Saturday to gather his belongings, then was supposed to rejoin the Twins in Minneapolis when they returned from their West Coast trip.
Except Garcia’s route took a detour when the Twins sent him to the New York Yankees for two minor league pitchers in a deal completed Saturday night.
So a player who spent his first 12 seasons as a pro with the same organization — the St. Louis Cardinals drafted him in 2005 — was a member of three clubs in the same week.
How’s that for career stability?
“Unless we bring him back, he’ll go down as one of the few undefeated pitchers in Twins history,” quipped manager Paul Molitor, who watched Garcia throw 6⅔ innings of three-run ball in Friday’s 6-3 win against the Oakland Athletics.
Had he hung around Oakland long enough, Garcia might have been able to share travel advice with Athletics right-hander Sonny Gray, one of the prize catches on the trade market along with Texas Rangers starter Yu Darvish and a number of relievers headlined by left-handers Zach Britton, Brad Hand and Justin Wilson.
Gray, who had his scheduled start Sunday pushed back to Monday after the 4 p.m. ET non-waiver trade deadline, is particularly coveted because he will be under team control through the 2019 season. A large number of the available players, such as Darvish, Cardinals starter Lance Lynn and New York Mets reliever Addison Reed, will become free agents after this season.
The Yankees are regarded as Gray’s strongest suitors, even after acquiring Garcia.
The trade rumors swirling around him have done little to hamper Gray’s performance, another appealing trait about the 27-year-old staff ace. After overcoming an early-season shoulder injury and inconsistency, Gray has recorded a 1.37 ERA while holding hitters to a .164 batting average over his last six starts.
“You’re not stupid. You kind of know what’s going on,” Gray told USA TODAY Sports about the trade talk. “I’ve been here since 2013. You get an understanding of the way this place works, but at the same time, I’ve seen it for so many guys. There’s nothing you can do except for going out there and pitching.”
Molitor is hoping his club takes a similar attitude after seemingly changing course in less than a week.
The Twins were widely considered to be rebuilding after losing a Minnesota-record 103 games last year. Instead, they sat atop the American League Central through mid-June and entered the All-Star break 2 1/2 games back, raising the prospect of becoming buyers instead of sellers at the deadline.
It’s a quandary several clubs have faced in recent days, with six teams in the AL and three in the National League entering the weekend no further than 4½ games behind the division or wild-card leaders.
Minnesota went for it, dealing for Garcia to fortify its rotation, but then flipped him after losing four of five to drop to seven games back in the Central as the division-leading Cleveland Indians and the Kansas City Royals surged behind nine-game winning streaks.
“I’m sure there’s some disappointment when you make an addition that is as short term as Jaime’s stay was with us,” Molitor said. “The timing of these things, if you look externally and you want to point somewhere else, for me it was always a time if somebody’s making a move then I better look at myself. What did I do? What didn’t I do? What can I do better? If I want those things to work in our favor more frequently, look inward. Don’t look outward.”
Molitor held a meeting with the players before Sunday’s 6-5, 12-inning loss to the A’s, urging them to focus on what they could control and reminding them they were good enough to rule the division for six weeks.
Still, it would be hard for them not to notice the Royals, with a number of key pending free agents, signaled their intention to stay in the race by not only keeping them aboard but also pulling off a deal Sunday for Chicago White Sox outfielder Melky Cabrera.
“I get the business side of it, but I also get the fact we are very close in the race. It’s kind of up for grabs,” Twins second baseman Brian Dozier said. “So I don’t really believe in white flags or any of that stuff. We just have to go out and play better. There’s a lot of baseball left.”