MLB Rumors: Yankees back out on Flaherty, Astros trade falls through, Angels whiff
The MLB trade deadline has now passed us by and it brought some serious excitement. For the better part of a week, the entire league was on edge as front offices did whatever they had to do in order to make their teams better for the future.
We saw stars like Jack Flaherty, Tanner Scott, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and many more dealt to new teams. There was still a lot left on the board at the end of the day, but there was still plenty of action. At this point, we can begin to look more into what teams didn't do rather than what they actually did do.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.
MLB Rumors: Yankees backed out on Jack Flaherty trade due to medical concerns
The best starting pitcher that was dealt at the trade deadline was Detroit Tigers star Jack Flaherty. Flaherty was overtaken by his co-ace, Tarik Skubal, in the headlines leading up to the deadline, but when the dust settled, it was Flaherty that took the headlines.
The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers ended up in a bidding war for the Tigers' starter, but it was the Dodgers that came out victorious. After the dust settled, the reality emerged that the Yankees backed out of the deal due to concerns with Flaherty's medical records.
MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was the first one on this story.
"Jack Flaherty could have landed with the New York Yankees instead of the Los Angeles Dodgers," Rosenthal wrote. "But according to sources briefed on the discussions, the Yankees backed out of a preliminary trade agreement with the Detroit Tigers for Flaherty after reviewing the right-hander’s medical records."
It's unclear what the actual concern was for the Yankees, but it's something that the Dodgers obviously have no issue with. Whatever the issue is, the Yankees were concerned that it could impact Flaherty between now and November, as he was just a rental option at the deadline.
Only time will tell if the Yankees were right to back out on the deal. If Flaherty slows down or lands on the IL, there's a chance that it's the same thing that New York was fearful of in his medical records.
MLB Rumors: Astros fail to acquire coveted trade target, Yandy Diaz
The Houston Astros emerged as buyers over the last month and a half due to a complete season turnaround that has resulted in them chasing down the Seattle Mariners in the AL West.
The two biggest holes in the Astros roster are in the starting rotation and at first base. They pursued both spots at the trade deadline.
Murray mentioned the Astros being heavily in the market to acquire Yandy Diaz. But Murray says that Houston just didn't have the prospect capital in order to make a deal work, resulting in the Tampa Bay Rays holding onto Diaz.
Houston paid a very hefty price to acquire Yusei Kikuchi from the Toronto Blue Jays. Top prospects Jake Bloss, Joey Loperfido and Will Wagner went to Toronto in the deal. They likely couldn't put together two packages of that size in one season without completely draining their farm system.
Missing out on Diaz could hurt the Astros down the line. He would have been the perfect piece to slot into that Houston lineup, improving their team tremendously over their current first base play of Jon Singleton.
MLB Rumors: Angels hold onto concerning amount of pieces in the perfect sellers market
The Los Angeles Angels were one of very few teams that had an obvious direction to head in at the trade deadline. Only a handful of teams were truly out of postseason contention and the Angels were one of them. This placed them in the perfect position to deal all of their expiring contracts and then shop some of their controllable players.
But after moving Carlos Estevez and Luis Garcia, it's like the Angels completely fell asleep. They fumbled at the deadline as hard as anybody.
FanSided's MLB insider, Robert Murray, recently discussed the Angels' fumble on the Baseball Insiders podcast. Murray noted key pieces like Kevin Pillar and Hunter Strickland, who are both on expiring contracts, that Los Angeles should have traded. He also mentions Luis Rengifo, Taylor Ward and Tyler Anderson as pieces that they held on to when they probably shouldn't have.
The market on some of the players in the league this year was as great as it's been in a long time. The controllable pieces of Renfigo, Ward and Anderson all could have gotten the Angels some serious prospect capital in return. Trading Pillar and Strickland were two very obvious moves for them to make, but the Angels simply didn't pull the trigger.
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