Welcome to trade deadline day. On Monday we finally saw a rush of activity, so let’s hope that the momentum continues into what should have been a busy day. The deadline is at 6 p.m. ET. This gives Padres GM A.J. Preller can swing a deal… or three… for a few extra hours.
The drama surrounding the drama is, of course. Juan SotoThe star 23-year-old for the Washington Nationals The team with the worst record in major league baseball. Soto is still on the trade block. San Diego is the favorite to acquire him. But, Nationals GM Mike Rizzo must make the right deal. This trade could be the one that will determine the fate of the franchise for the next six to seven years, if Rizzo can hit a homerun.
Do not underestimate the impact that the trade deadline has on your team. Take a look at the deals that the World Series champions have made since 2015.
2015 Royals: Acquired Johnny Cueto (pitched eight innings in Game 5 of the ALDS to win the game and won the World Series). Ben Zobrist (hit.303/.365/.515 during the postseason)
2016 Cubs: Acquired Aroldis Chapman He was 2-0 with four saves during the postseason. However, he lost that lead in Game 7 in the World Series.
2017 Astros: Acquired Justin Verlander (4-1 with a 2.21 ERA after six postseason appearances
2018 Red Sox: Acquired Nathan Eovaldi (2-1 with a 1.61 ERA and 22 1/3 playoff innings. His only loss came in a relief appearance of six in the 18-inning World Series game.
Acquired 2019 Nationals Daniel Hudson (1-0, with four saves, and got the last three outs of Game 7 in the World Series).
2021 Braves: Acquired Eddie Rosario (NLCS MVP), Jorge Soler Joc Pederson, World Series MVP Adam Duvall
Only the 2020 Dodgers were not required to make an impact agreement, so there is a strong chance that one of these deals will be made on Monday or today. This could help you determine the 2022 World Series Champion. Beware of minor trades. At the 2016 trade deadline, Josh Fields was traded to the Astros by the Dodgers. The Astros also acquired a minor leaguer who had never played in a professional game with the Dodgers. Yordan Alvarez.
Here are 10 players that could be traded starting with Soto:
1. Juan Soto OF, Washington Nationals
The San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers St. Louis Cardinals These are the favorite, but don’t forget about the Texas Rangers As a sleeper team to acquire Soto even though they aren’t in the playoff chase. Preller’s possible trade package for MacKenzie Gore is now hampered by an elbow injury. But there are still options. C.J. Abrams Robert Hassell and outfielder Robert Hassell will be leading a trade if Gore is hurt.
Preller is not only aggressive on the trade markets, but we also saw it with his acquisition of Josh Hader Keep this in mind for Monday: Since his 2015 season as GM, the Padres have not made the playoffs in a full-season. It is high time for the Padres to step up, particularly since they had the second-highest payroll last year and are currently in the top six. Even with the imminent return Fernando Tatis JrThe Padres will continue to look for offense. Their outfielders had an OPS of.219/.299/.345 heading into August — only the Reds (A’s), Marlins (Marlins) and Tigers had lower OPS.
The Rangers aren’t moving in 2022. However, the signings made last offseason indicate that they will. Corey Seager Marcus Semien It seems they aren’t going to wait for next season, when their rebuild will be complete and winning starts. Although they have a strong farm system, they don’t have a top player like Abrams or Hassell (or Diego Cartaya for the Dodgers) or Jordan Walker for the Cardinals. The Rangers will likely need to overwhelm Rizzo, who has a long list to make a deal.
Prediction: Dodgers. They defeated the Padres. Max Scherzer Last year. With Cody Bellinger Max Muncy Both are struggling and Andrew Friedman is looking for more offense, even though the Dodgers lead the National League with runs. It is hard to believe that Preller bought Hader the left-handed to see if the Padres would have to manage a Dodgers lineup in the postseason. Freddie Freeman Soto?
The five bottom teams in catcher OPS are: Tampa Bay Rays, Houston Astros, Cleveland GuardiansCardinals and New York Mets All playoff contenders. The Astros are playing Monday. acquired Christian VazquezYou know that Contreras is a better defensive catcher than Contreras and the Cardinals won’t bench him. Yadier Molina. The Mets like the defense, despite a major-league-worst.523 OS from their backstops. James McCann Tomas Nido provide.
Perhaps the Rays make more sense. Mike Zunino Is now available for the season following thoracic outlet surgical, and backup Francisco Mejia He is currently on the injured-list and will be out at least two weeks due to a shoulder problem. They are now down to Christian Bethancourt (acquired at the A’s) Rene Pinto They are their catchers. While Contreras has some issues with managing a pitching team, the Rays need offense as well. Contreras is batting a solid.252/.365/.453.
Also, it is possible for a team to acquire Contreras in exchange for Contreras as a DH and part time catcher. There are also the Padres and Seattle Mariners Their DHs were at.153/.249/.275 Monday, the worst in the majors
Prediction: Mariners. Luis Castillo, a great Mariner. pickup It was an expensive gamble, signaling that the Mariners are fully committed to making the playoffs in the 2022 season. However, Julio Rodriguez Just landed on the IL, having been hit on the wrist. Ty France A sore elbow can make it difficult to be 100%. An offense below average is suddenly more limited. They also need a backup catcher. Contreras can DH and catch once a week.
3. Josh BellWashington Nationals, 1B
Bell has quietly had an excellent season for the Nationals. Actually, Bell entered Monday…
Bell: .302/.385/.493, 142 wRC+
Soto: .243/.403/475, 147 wRC+
However, this doesn’t mean that both players will continue to hit like this. Soto just had a huge July with six home runs and a hitting line of.315/.495/.616. Bell could be the one to get 90% of Soto’s plate time for the final two-months without completely destroying your farm system.
The playoff contenders with the lowest first base production are the Boston Red Sox, San Francisco GiantsAstros, Padres. The Astros added Trey Mancini On Monday, the Giants will presumably run with Brandon Belt. Bell could be a potential DH for the Mariners, and possibly for the Guardians, if Franmil Reyes’.254 OBP is too much.
Prediction: Padres. Bell’s situation seems to be tied to Soto’s. Rizzo may be talking with the Padres regarding both players. This is the call: If Soto ends up with the Dodgers then Bell could end up in San Diego.
Robertson, 37-year-old, is the top-rated rental reliever. He hadn’t pitched a full-season since 2018. But he’s 3-0 with a 3.23 ERA, 14 saves and a.162 batting average. The Statcast metrics back that up and he’s at the 89th percentile for swing-and-miss rates. His slider and curveball are hitting 4-for-65 for batters.
Talk has started about the Cubs packaging Contreras, Robertson together to obtain a better prospect. The Mets would make a lot more sense in such a scenario as they could use a reliever after trading Colin Holderman for the Dan Vogelbach deal. The Philadelphia Phillies We are always in search of bullpen help. The Mariners have been working their top relievers hard lately, and Diego Castillo just landed in the IL with shoulder inflammation.
Prediction: Mets. Mets. Their bullpen doesn’t go much deeper than Edwin Diaz, Seth Lugo Adam OttavinoRobertson could be the eighth-inning guy ahead of Diaz. He also has plenty of experience in the postseason.
5. Ian Happ, OF, Chicago Cubs
He is not eligible to be a free agent until 2023 so it’s unlikely he will get traded. He is hitting a solid.279/.360/.436, while he has played left field for most of the year, but he does have some experience in center field in the past — which could be a plus for a team that wants to stretch him defensively. Happ could also be considered by both the Dodgers or Padres as an alternative to Soto.
Prediction: Phillies. When Bryce Harper Returns could open up a new field of possibilities Kyle Schwarber Happ in the middle, Happ to left Nick Castellanos Harper at DH is in right. Although it’s a terrible idea, the Phillies have not been stopped by it before.
He is on a one-year contract, so the Angels don’t have any reason to keep him. He’s making $21million, which is about $7 million in the last two months. His performance has not been great. Despite pitching on five days or more of rest, he has only 5.3 innings per start and 64 strikeouts in 80 inning. He’s now a 94 mph-sinkerballer. When he was throwing triple digits, his swing-and-miss rate for all his pitches is just the 30th. He is basically a pitch to contact guy now. To get a decent prospect, the Angels will likely have to pay some of that money.
Prediction: Phillies. It’s possible that Syndergaard could be their No. 3 starter in a playoff rotation Zack Wheeler Aaron Nola.
7. Nathan Eovaldi SP Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox try to have it both ways by trading Vazquez for Vazquez on Monday. acquiring Tommy Pham Eovaldi is now free to go after the season, so it’s not yet clear what they’ll do with him. This year, he has been homer-prone (18 in 81/3 innings). In four starts after missing more than a full month due to lower back inflammation (but only two earned runs over 6 1/3 innings against the Astros), he has allowed 19 runs in 19/3 innings. It’s not clear, however, what Eovaldi could bring to the Red Sox if they trade him. However, some teams might find his postseason experience of value.
Prediction: He will remain in Boston. Are the Red Sox going to the playoffs? The Red Sox are likely to fail the playoffs. They’re currently 12-29 within their division, with 35 games remaining against AL East competitors. They are not far enough out of the wild card race to surrender the season. Although Eovaldi could be guaranteed a nice return, trading might make more sense. However, his recent streak of starts has hurt his value.
Martinez is experiencing a strong season at the plate, which means that Martinez follows the same logic. His trade value as a DH-only player is however limited. These teams — Padres, Mariners — could be options. Even the Dodgers are running out Jake Lamb As their DH recently.
Prediction: He will also remain in Boston. Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim bloom told reporters that Vazquez’s trade had a significant impact on the team. We are aware of this. We want to help the club. We want to be in the postseason.” He also stated that the “picture was incomplete.” Trades could happen, or they might not.
Mahle’s 4.40 ERA is not good, but his peripherals are much better with a 3.61 FIP, 12 home runs allowed in 104/3 innings, and a 3.61 FIP. He is also under team supervision through 2023. Castillo and Pham have been eliminated from the team’s roster. Sonny Gray, Jesse Winker Eugenio Suarez Since spring training, it is easy to assume Mahle will be the next. However, they will need to hire someone to replace Mahle next year. They might also try to package Mahle’s contract with Mike Moustakas — Mahle owes $18 million next Year with a $4,000,000 buyout of his 2024 Contract. (How terrible was that deal?
Prediction: Minnesota Twins. After the Cardinals acquired Jose Quintana The Twins will be the team with the most immediate need for a starter on Monday night. They are 18th in the majors for rotation ERA and 26th for innings.
10. Carlos Rodon, SP, San Francisco Giants
After dropping seven games in their first seven games following the All Star break, the Giants now sit fourth in the wild card race behind the Padres Phillies and Cardinals. But they are not out. Rodon began the season hot, going 1-4 in May and June with a 5.67 ERA. In June, he had a 1.25 ERA. In July, he went 2-2 with a 3.89 ERA. Rodon is as dominant as any pitcher when he’s in the game. The consistency has not been there yet, and teams are wary about what happened with the White Sox in the second season. When he was struggling to pitch because of arm fatigue,
He can earn $22.5 million in his second year of his two-year contract, but he also has an option to opt out. He can opt out if he is healthy throughout the year; if not, the $22.5 million will kick in.
Prediction: He remains with the Giants. This shouldn’t be a franchise focusing on its playoff hopes, like the Red Sox. Plus, Logan Webb With Rodon and Rodon leading a playoff roster, the Giants might surprise in October… if they make it.