With just over two months until the MLB trade deadline on Aug. 3, the pure chaos in the standings — especially in the American League — leaves a lot of teams floating in an uncomfortable grey area. For the most part, it's unclear which teams should blow it up and which teams should push a few chips in.
Nonetheless, there's plenty of chatter going around the league, so let's start your Sunday morning off on the right foot. Here are the MLB rumors worthy of your attention:
Phillies aren't going to trade for Mike Trout
- Phillies desperately need right-handed hitting, but Mike Trout won't be their solution
- Angels still owe him $148.46 million after this season
The extent to which the Philadelphia Phillies cannot hit left-handed pitching this season is genuinely hard to believe. Their right-handed bats are completely stuck in the mud. The only Phillies with an OPS over .700 are Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Brandon Marsh — all lefties.
Whether Alec Bohm or Adolis García, Philly has struggled to land on a righty cleanup bat it can feel good about behind Harper. Surely hometown kid Mike Trout, in the middle of a resurgent campaign with the Los Angeles Angels, would do the trick. He would also address Philadelphia's overall talent void in the outfield.
Unfortunately, it ain't happening, per USA Today's Bob Nightengale:
"[The Phillies] will be on the lookout for a right-handed hitter at the trade deadline, but no, Mike Trout will not be coming to Philadelphia. He still is owed $148.46 million after this season, and has a full no-trade clause."
Trout also has a no-trade clause and has remained staunch in his commitment to Anaheim over the years. Maybe that changes one day, when Angels no longer owe him the GDP of a small country. For now, though, there is too much working against a Phillies-Trout union, even if there are reasons — both sentimental and baseball-related — to believe it would work.
CJ Abrams could still end up on the move at trade deadline
- Nationals communicated with CJ Abrams in the offseason about potential trades
- GM Paul Toboni won't shut down trade chatter, even with Abrams enjoying full-fledged breakout
The Washington Nationals considered trades centered on shortstop CJ Abrams in the offseason, but now the Nats are 30-29 with an explosive lineup and a real shot at competing in the NL Wild Card race. The man leading the charge? Abrams, of course, who is mounting a borderline MVP case with 12 home runs, nine stolen bases and a .928 OPS.
Abrams was always toolsy in the extreme, but in years past he just was not generating quality contact this consistently. He has also improved his approach defensively at a critical position, while the speed on the bases is a source of constant stress for opposing pitchers. Especially when he's on the bases this frequently.
Still under contract for two additional seasons, the Nationals are under no pressure to trade Abrams. He has earned his keep. Still, Washington GM Paul Toboni refuses to close the door on trade chatter, saying the Nationals will "figure it out" based on how the season plays out.
"We’ve got to see how these next couple of months go," Toboni told USA Today. “I’m not sure people expected us to be in a spot where we could make a run. We’ll see how the team plays, and how it comes together, and obviously that will influence our decision. We’ll figure it out."
For his part, Abrams has made it clear where he wants to play, and where he wants to win:
"I mean, I’m still here, I’m with the Nats, and I want to win with the Nats."
If Washington continues to climb the NL East standings, Abrams probably stays put. If the Nats hit a skid, however, Abrams could net Toboni and that front office a supermassive prospect haul. He's 25 years old and one of the absolute best position players in MLB right now.
Mariners could ease outfield logjam ahead of trade deadline
- Brendan Donovan and Cal Raleigh's imminent return from IL will create a roster crunch in Seattle
- Mariners could address that roster crunch by trading an outfielder
The Seattle Mariners are beginning to turn the corner and play more like the American League heavyweight we all expected coming into the year. Once Brendan Donovan and Cal Raleigh return from the IL, the M's can really kick it into high gear.
That said, with rookie phenom Colt Emerson taking over third base — and intent on keeping that spot, from the looks of it — the Mariners won't have an everyday spot for Brendan Donovan on the infield. That's fine. He's a solid outfielder. But it also leads to questions about Seattle's excessively deep pool of situational outfielders.
Here's what MLB insider Jon Morosi told Seattle Sports:
“It’s a redundant roster,” he said. "To me, at some point, there’s probably a trade to be had here.”
Since Donovan probably lands in right field, the Mariners will have fewer reps available to Rob Refsnyder, Victor Robles, Dominic Canzone and Luke Raley. The last two deserve to play on an everyday basis, but what if Raleigh needs a DH upon his return? The Mariners are loaded with excellent hitters, which is a good problem to have. But it does make flipping a platoon bat like Refsnyder or an expiring contract like Robles kind of a no-brainer.
"I’m not saying [trading one of the right fielders would be] a blockbuster – OK, we’re not trading Griffey here – but one of those guys you mentioned, there’s just some redundancy there,” Morosi added on Seattle Sports. “And maybe part of this gets decided once Cal is fully back to being himself from a health standpoint, then that sort of re-centers what the DH position looks like. But I think for now you can be a little bit lopsided, but once Donovan and Cal are fully back in the lineup every day, you almost have to either designate someone for assignment or make a trade because you cannot carry that many right fielders. The math doesn’t make sense for you to do that.”
Seattle has major decisions on the horizon. The good kind, though — a decision that steams from an excess of competent players.
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