The 8 biggest storylines to watch for on MLB trade deadline day

New York Times

3 days ago

It's deadline day! Here are the biggest storylines:
Preller, the San Diego Padres' general manager, is again poised to be the king of the deadline.
The Athletic's Dennis Lin and I published a story at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday saying that Preller was still pursuing outfielders Jarren Duran and Steven Kwan and also pushing for Athletics closer Mason Miller.
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Later that night, the A's held Miller out of a save situation even though he had not pitched since Saturday. A's broadcaster Dallas Braden followed with a cryptic post on X, seemingly indicating a deal of some magnitude was in the works.
How this all will play out is anyone's guess. If Preller acquires Miller, will he trade Padres closer Robert Suarez? Will he also move right-hander Dylan Cease, a target of the Houston Astros and other clubs, and back-fill with another starter? After the dust settles, will he end up with Duran after all?
The only thing clear is that Preller appears poised for a blockbuster. Maybe more than one.
Would you believe that entering deadline day the only starting pitchers traded were Aaron Civale, Chris Paddack, Carlos Carrasco, Michael Soroka, Zack Littell and Erick Fedde? Not exactly a list of Cy Young contenders.
Among the starters still under discussion, in one form or another: Cease, Arizona's Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly, Miami's Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera, Baltimore's Charlie Morton, Zach Eflin and Tomoyuki Sugano and the Athletics' JP Sears.
The Athletic (us, not the team!) reported Wednesday night that barring a major turnaround, the Pirates are unlikely to move Mitch Keller. The Minnesota Twins, according to sources briefed on their discussions, ended the night more focused on trading relievers Danny Coulombe and Brock Stewart than right-handed starter Joe Ryan.
Washington Nationals All-Star left-hander MacKenzie Gore is another starter attracting serious interest. Whether the Nats are willing to move him under interim GM Mike DeBartolo is unclear.
The frenzied run on relievers that began Wednesday should continue up to the deadline, considering the number of teams in need and the number of late-inning arms still available.
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The Detroit Tigers are perhaps the team under the most pressure to act. Ranking 28th in the majors in bullpen strikeout rate, the Tigers' acquisition of righty Rafael Montero from the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday was a modest first step, at best.
In the AL East alone, the New York Yankees are seeking multiple relievers. The Toronto Blue Jays are still looking for more help after acquiring righty Seranthony Domínguez. The Boston Red Sox might not be done after adding lefty Steven Matz.
The Seattle Mariners, a team that was reported to be heavily in the mix for Jhoan Duran before his trade to the Philadelphia Phillies, also are still looking, along with the Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers and others.
Among the relievers still in play, beyond the Athletics' Miller and Padres' Suarez: The Tampa Bay Rays' Pete Fairbanks; Pittsburgh Pirates' David Bednar and Dennis Santana; St. Louis Cardinals' Phil Maton; Colorado Rockies' Jake Bird, Seth Halvorsen and Victor Vodnik; Minnesota Twins' Danny Coulombe and Brock Stewart.
After trading four relievers (Domínguez, Bryan Baker, Gregory Soto and Andrew Kittredge) along with infielder Ramón Urias, the Baltimore Orioles are not close to done.
The Orioles' remaining chips on expiring contracts are first baseman Ryan O'Hearn, center fielder Cedric Mullins and starting pitchers Charlie Morton, Zach Eflin and Tomoyuki Sugano. By moving Baker, Kittredge and Urias, the Orioles also demonstrated they will deal players with remaining club control, putting outfielder Ramón Laureano in play.
The Pirates, who sent third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes to the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday, are another team expected to be active, even if they hold Keller. Bednar and Santana are among the best relievers still available, while outfielder Tommy Pham, left-hander Andrew Heaney and infielder Isaiah Kiner-Falefa are on expiring contracts.
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Then there are the Marlins, who are taking their decisions on Alcantara and Cabrera down to the last day. The Marlins could trade a number of other players as well, including reliever Anthony Bender and outfielders Jesús Sánchez and Dane Myers.
One day a Sox fan will win a trivia contest with the answer: 'James Paxton, Luis Garcia, Lucas Sims and Danny Jansen.' The question: 'Who were the players Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow acquired during his first trade deadline?'
Breslow recovered from that bust by landing lefty Garrett Crochet, closer Aroldis Chapman and catcher Carlos Narváez as part of his first offseason haul. He then moved what is likely to be the biggest name of this trading season, Rafael Devers, in a trade that cleared the roughly $255 million remaining on the third baseman's contract.
Matz possibly can serve as a swing man, but the Sox still need a starting pitcher and first baseman. The Rays do not appear especially keen on trading Díaz. The Sox tried for Eugenio Suárez with the idea of moving him to first. Here's a thought: What about a Morton-O'Hearn combination from the Orioles?
The Red Sox are 59-51, five games back in the AL East, one game behind the Yankees for the top AL wild card. Breslow risks angering both his clubhouse and fan base if he strikes out again.
The competition for relievers between the NL East contenders on Wednesday turned into a game of 'can you top this?' The New York Mets traded for Tyler Rogers. The Philadelphia Phillies acquired Jhoan Duran. The Mets got the last word by adding Ryan Helsley.
Neither team is done.
As The Athletic's Will Sammon writes, the Mets' next step probably is to add offense. A center fielder would be one possibility, but because they are not committed to a set DH, they also can consider other players at other positions.
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As for the Phillies, president of baseball Dave Dombrowski told reporters their bullpen is set after adding Duran on top of free agent David Robertson. The Phils, too, could add an outfielder. And, like the Mets, they have shown interest in Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr.
Armed with a new contract extension, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer enters the deadline without fear that his job is at stake. Whether Hoyer can make the necessary moves to improve his club is another question.
The Cubs failed to land Suárez to upgrade third base, but rookie Matt Shaw has broken out offensively since the All-Star break, batting .359 with four homers and a 1.119 OPS. The bigger need for the Cubs is pitching, a starter in particular. Their trades for righty Michael Soroka and reliever Andrew Kittredge on Wednesday amounted to a decent beginning.
Teams seeking rotation help continue to cite the sellers' prices as steep, exorbitant, astronomical, pick an adjective. Well, the Cubs will have no excuse if they fail to come away with one of the available starters. Prior to the start of the season, The Athletic's Keith Law ranked their farm system the sixth-best in the game.
This might be the Cubs' only season with right fielder Kyle Tucker. They cannot let it go to waste.
Earlier this month, officials from two different clubs, speaking on condition of anonymity, cited data saying that deadline trades were overrated and 'didn't move the needle.'
Allow us, then, to conclude with a history lesson, a list of deadline additions that helped elevate all but two of the last 10 World Series champions. Not all of the players acquired were major stars, either.
2024 Los Angeles Dodgers: Right-hander Jack Flaherty, reliever Michael Kopech and the eventual NLCS MVP, infielder/outfielder Tommy Edman.
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2023 Texas Rangers: Reliever Aroldis Chapman, right-hander Max Scherzer and left-hander Jordan Montgomery, who had a 2.90 ERA in 31 postseason innings.
2022 Houston Astros: Reliever Will Smith, first baseman Trey Mancini and catcher Christian Vázquez, who caught a combined no-hitter in Game 4 of the World Series.
2021 Atlanta Braves: Catcher Steven Vogt and outfielders Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, Adam Duvall, along with the eventual NLCS MVP Eddie Rosario.
2020 Los Angeles Dodgers: Shortened season. No additions.
2019 Washington Nationals: Relievers Roenis Elias and Hunter Strickland, neither of whom made an impact, and Daniel Hudson, who was terrific down the stretch and recorded the final out of the World Series.
2018 Boston Red Sox: Infielder Ian Kinsler and righty Nathan Eovaldi, who had a 2.01 ERA in 22 1/3 postseason innings, including six courageous innings of a 3-2 loss to the Dodgers in Game 3 of the World Series.
2017 Houston Astros: Lefty Francisco Liriano, who barely contributed.
2016 Chicago Cubs: Relievers Joe Smith; Chapman, who had a combined 1.91 ERA in the regular season and postseason; and Mike Montgomery, who recorded the final out of the World Series.
2015 Kansas City Royals: Super-utility man Ben Zobrist, who was fantastic, and righty Johnny Cueto, who was just OK.
Make trades, people.
It's deadline day!
(Top photo of the Cubs' Craig Counsell and Jed Hoyer:)