Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day:
1. Are the Royals buyers?
The first post-draft trade of the year took place yesterday and, while it shouldn’t shock anyone that the Pirates sold off veteran infield rental Adam Frazier, it’s at least a mild surprise that the buying club was the Royals. Kansas City has a pedestrian 47-50 record to this point in the year and remains 4.5 games out of the AL Wild Card picture. While they aren’t buried in the postseason picture, FanGraphs gives them just an 11.7% chance of making the postseason. That left many assuming that they were more likely to sell off short-term pieces like Seth Lugo than add rental players this summer, though it’s at least possible Frazier is something of a special case. The Royals are familiar with the 33-year-old after he was part of the club last year, and given the fact that he’s hitting just .255/.318/.336 this season he wasn’t exactly expensive in trade.
Still, the deal makes the Royals a team to keep an eye on coming out of the break, as a win streak could push them further away from selling. The Royals open the second half with three games in Miami, followed by three in Chicago against the Cubs. They’ll then host the Guardians and Braves in their final two series prior to the July 31 deadline.
2. Bubble teams nearing decision time:
While the Royals may have tipped their hand about their deadline plans to some extent, they’re far from the only team on the bubble between buying and selling. Fresh rumors about the Diamondbacks’ deadline strategy surfaced yesterday, and it wouldn’t be a shock if teams like the Braves, Twins, Rangers, and Reds joined them in sending some additional signals about their trade deadline strategies coming out of the All-Star break. Depending on how many teams decide to sell this summer, perhaps there’s even room for an opportunistic club more clearly on the buy-side of things like the Red Sox or Rays to part ways with a piece like Jarren Duran or Taj Bradley (both of whom have been in the rumor mill) in the right deal.
3. Transactions kicking up ahead of return to play:
Yesterday saw a handful of transactions around the league as teams start to begin preparations for the second half. The Rangers placed Jake Burger on the injured list to maximize their ability to backdate the IL stint, and it’s possible that any players around the league nursing potential injuries who played on Sunday could similarly be placed on the shelf today if their club believes a minimum stint is on the table. Aside from that, there was some movement surrounding the waiver wire as Elvin Rodriguez was plucked off waivers by the Orioles while Rob Brantly was DFA’d by the Marlins. Multiple players triggered opt-out provisions in their minor league contracts as well. Additional minor transactions like those could begin to take place today as teams prepare for their impending return to the field tomorrow, to say nothing of the possibility of another trade or two breaking today.
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