About two-thirds of the teams around Major League Baseball are still within striking distance of a postseason berth heading into the Aug. 1 trade deadline. It should make for an entertaining couple of days as teams seek a deal to bolster their chances.
The lack of front offices already looking ahead to the future should be great news for teams that are definitively in selling mode, too. They should be able to demand top dollar for their assets to acquire pieces that can help next season and beyond.
With that in mind, let’s check out some of the latest buzz from around the league and analyze what it could mean for the teams and players involved.
Red-Hot Jay Bruce on the Block
Jay Bruce is crushing the baseball right now. The outfielder has tallied six home runs over the last five games to bring his season total to 25. That power along with an on-base percentage that’s returned to a more respectable .323 after a couple of down years could make him a game-changing addition.
In turn, it’s hard to imagine the Cincinnati Reds will ever be able to get more for him than they could in the next few days. He’s in the middle of his prime at age 29, he’s on fire at the plate and he’s under club control for another season beyond 2016, according to Spotrac.
It’s always easier for a team to trade a highly touted prospect at the deadline when it knows the player it’s acquiring is more than a rental for a couple of months. And Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reported that’s exactly what Cincinnati is asking for in Bruce talks:
The Reds are at least a couple of years from getting back into contention, so it makes sense to take the best offer available for Bruce. It wouldn’t be surprising to see more teams get involved in the discussions with other targets such as Melvin Upton Jr. already being moved, further shrinking the market.
Wade Davis Targeted by Los Angeles Dodgers
The Kansas City Royals have one of the toughest decisions to make over the next few days. They currently stand at 49-51, which leaves them 6.5 games out of the second wild-card spot in the American League. But they are also the reigning World Series champions, which makes it tougher to concede the season is lost.
If they do decide to sell, Wade Davis should attract plenty of attention. Numerous contenders could use upgrades in the bullpen. Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball reported the Dodgers are one such team that’s showed interest in the closer:
Baseball president Andrew Friedman is doing his thing, putting together an excellent no-name pen. But word is, the Dodgers are still looking around for a pen piece, and if they get a great one like Davis—with whom Friedman is familiar from their shared time in Tampa Bay—perhaps they can counteract all their rotation questions borne of injury trouble.
It’s not the most obvious fit on the surface since the Dodgers already own the league’s best bullpen ERA at 2.97, per ESPN.com, and have a top-notch closer in Kenley Jansen. But, as Heyman explained, they could be trying to cover up some issues with the rotation by creating a dominant pen.
Davis would go a long way in helping that cause. He’s posted a 1.60 ERA through 35 appearances this season, and that’s actually his highest ERA since 2013. Between him and Jansen, Los Angeles would lock down the final innings and take a lot of pressure off the starting staff, but Davis won’t come cheap.
High Price Tag on Jonathan Lucroy
Jonathan Lucroy is enjoying a bounce-back campaign for the Milwaukee Brewers. He’s hitting .300 with 13 homers at a catcher position where it’s getting tougher to find reliable offensive contributors. So, while those numbers are solid for anybody, they’re more valuable coming from someone behind the plate.
The Brewers are apparently trying to cash in on that scarcity, but they haven’t found a taker yet. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported the New York Mets—one team that’s talked with Milwaukee about a potential deal—believe the price is simply too high.
“At the moment, they believe the Brewers are ‘overreaching’ in their asks for Lucroy, one source said,” Rosenthal wrote. “And they, too, are reluctant to trade top prospects, particularly after thinning out their system last season.”
Rosenthal also listed the Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros and Detroit Tigers as potential fits for the veteran backstop. He noted most of those teams have bigger needs elsewhere on the roster they will likely try to fill before giving up a key asset for him, though.
All told, it sounds like the Brewers may be forced to drop their asking price a bit in order to facilitate a trade in the coming days. But they should still be able to land a promising prospect or two with an eye on further upgrading an already-strong farm system since their playoff hopes quickly faded.
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