Major League Baseball teams have less than 12 hours to finalize their summer shopping. This year’s MLB trade deadline will move to 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, August 2. After this date, teams will not be able to execute trades until the offseason.
The deadline usually runs July 31, but Commissioner Rob Manfred won the option to set it any day between July 28 and August 3 as part of the new collective agreement between MLB and the MLB Players Association. This is, in short, why the deadline is August 2, a few days later than normal.
Regardless of Deadline, you might be wondering what the major storylines are heading into the final days of the trade season. CBS Sports has you covered below, with information and answers to eight frequently asked questions.
1. Who are the main buyers and sellers?
Our Dayn Perry recently ranked each of the 30 teams as buyers, sellers or something in between. While taking Perry seriously is always a risk, it’s a risk we choose to take. Here’s a look at the people he’s categorized as buyers or sellers (note that these teams are listed alphabetically by their city name):
- Buyers: brave, White socks, Guardians, Astros, Dodgers, Brewers, Twins, Dishes, Yankees, Phillies, Cardinals, fathers, giants, sailors, Rays, Rangers, blue jays
- Sellers: Diamondbacks, Cubs, Reds, tigers, Royals, angels, marlins, Athletics, pirate, Nationals
Any team not listed above was considered something in between, meaning they could buy or sell, or they could stay loyal, depending on how the negotiations went.
2. What notable movements have occurred so far?
The Mariners shook things up on Friday by acquiring the right-hander castle louis from the Reds in exchange for four prospects, including infielders Noelvi March and Edwin Arroyo. (You can read our in-depth analysis of it here.)
Things were relatively quiet until Monday when a number of major moves took place. The Yankees acquired Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino from the A’s, and the Astros added slugger Trey Mancini from Baltimore. But the deadline’s most surprising move came when the Padres and Brewers reached a deal to send All-Star closer to Josh Hader in San Diego. Learn more here.
3. Will Soto be moved?
The biggest of those marquee names would be the Nationals outfielder John Sotowhich became available earlier this month after rejecting an offer for a $440 million 15-year extension.
Soto is a 23-year-old player on a Hall of Fame track who is under the team’s control for two more seasons after this one, making him one of the most wanted trade targets in history. of the league. CBS Sports has identified the Cardinals as the team best suited to sign him based on their combination of big league prospects and young players.as well as their financial outlook and front office track record of similar transactions.
The Nationals would appear to be incentivized to move Soto before the deadline, as the franchise is expected to be purchased by new owners this offseason. It seems unlikely that the new owners want their first big move to come at the expense of the franchise.
If and when a Soto trade occurs, it should be noted that other teams’ leaders fully expect a left-handed veteran Patrick Corbin to be involved as financial ballast.
4. And Ohtani?
The Angels are said to have listened to offers from another young superstar in a two-way phenomenon Shohei Ohtanibut a trade seems far less likely than in Soto’s case.
Ohtani is under the control of the team for another season, but the situation is more complicated. Industry types who spoke to CBS Sports noted that owner Arte Moreno seems less inclined to greenlight a deal, and that the Angels will likely retain Ohtani and try to win again in 2023.
5. Who are the other top players?
Here are the top four players available based on our rankings that have not yet been traded or mentioned in this article:
It should be noted that Reynolds seems unlikely to go there and that the Athletics could also decide to keep Murphy until the winter. The other two – Contreras and Happ – appear to have a better than 50/50 chance of being moved on by Tuesday night.
6. Will the Yankees move Gallo?
A name that you will find much lower in our ranking is Joey Gallo, the Yankees outfielder who has struggled since being acquired in a final trade deadline. Gallo is an imminent free agent and an increasingly homeless man on the New York roster.
Naturally, this combination has fueled speculation that Gallo could be on the verge of disappearing, with the Padres and Rangers, among others, standing out as potential destinations.
Gallo is one of the most intriguing players on Deadline worth watching, if only because of the possibility that he could revert to his old form by walking away from New York.