Though we've already seen some big names move, the trade deadline this season looks to be slower than in many past years. Myriad circumstances have come together to conspire against a huge trade deadline, such as a few bad teams not having many players that make sense as trade candidates. There are also a lot more teams in position to buy than sell and that group includes a few Trade Deadline Saboteurs. That is, teams that looked a few weeks ago like they'd be sellers but for various reasons are not likely to join the fray.
Let's highlight three of them.
Shohei Ohtani trade rumors were seemingly driving the sport for a few weeks. The best player in baseball potentially being available always makes for a huge headline leading up to the trade deadline, but there's the added attachment that if the Angels were going to trade Ohtani, they'd have likely sold nearly every veteran on the roster (maybe even including Mike Trout?).
Instead, the Angels have won nine of their last 12 games, announced they were holding Ohtani and have even been buyers (adding Lucas Giolito). The Ohtani rumors were hanging over the trade market for a few weeks and once they went away, things just felt a lot less exciting. This is an addition to a possible seller becoming a buyer, of course.
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The Cubs lost on Sunday, but they had won nine straight before that. Having won 11 of 13, they sit a game over .500 which is only four games out in the NL Central and three back of a wild-card spot. They've played their way off the sellers list -- removing at least Marcus Stroman and Cody Bellinger from the market -- and are looking to add bullpen help.
From Friday, April 28 through Thursday, June 8, the Cubs went 12-26. Otherwise, they've been a pretty damn good team this season. They are the only NL Central team with a positive run differential and though I've maintained it's misleading for a while, there's an argument to be made that they are better than their record and if they do get bullpen help, they've got a shot to make a run.
Still, before this recent run, they were definitely going to be sellers and flipping categories late alters the market.
The Padres have been a self-saboteur this season, so it's only fitting they've thrown a wrench into the trade deadline by hanging just close enough to justify staying pat. If they do decide to sell, we could remove them from this list and we'd see an influx of talent on the market, such as lefty starter Blake Snell, elite closer Josh Hader and superstar Juan Soto. My hunch is that sweep of the first-place Rangers kept them close enough that A.J. Preller will hope his players can save his job down the stretch by getting scorching hot and sneaking into the playoffs.
If the Padres aren't going to sell, shouldn't they be buying in desperate hope of salvaging the season? And if that's the case, again, we have a would-be seller instead looking to change columns on our virtual notepads, overloading the "buyer" column with, what, 21 of the 30 teams?
As noted, more circumstances surround our relatively slow deadline, but these three culprits are a big part of the equation.
Biggest Movers
Rk Teams Chg Rcrd 1Matt Olson is on pace to have 55 homers and 138 RBI. That would be a franchise record in homers (Andruw Jones' 51 is currently the mark) and most since 1900 in RBI (the record is Hugh Duffy's 145 in 1894; the modern record is 135 from Eddie Mathews in 1953).
2Hopefully I'm wrong, but it sure seems like Mike Elias is setting expectations for a very quiet deadline.
3The Rays are just 7-16 in July, but taking two of three in Houston this past weekend might just be what gets them back on track.
4The Astros are going to have their worst record entering August since 2016 (excepting 2020, obviously).
5I love love love LOVE how this front office operates. Going nuts and going for it instead of clinging to players who might never pan out when in first place is always the correct route.
6Hyun-Jin Ryu returns on Tuesday and Alek Manoah might be working his way back into his old self. Can everyone hold it together here and play close to their potential? They have a lot of great pieces.
7Freddie Freeman's career high in stolen bases in 12 years with the Braves was 10. He stole 13 in his first season with the Dodgers last year. He stole his 13th base this season on Sunday. For a 33-year-old first baseman, it's quite the odd surge.
8They've lost six of nine, but five of those losses came against the Braves. This is to say it's tough to tell if they've been playing poorly or just can't deal with the best team in baseball. They won't see them again unless it's in the playoffs.
9Since May 25, the Reds are 34-10 when they don't play the Brewers. In that same stretch, they are 3-10 against the Brewers. That very well could cost them a playoff berth.
10The two-game series against the hapless A's got them back on track, apparently, as they walked it off twice against the Red Sox.
11Sweeping the Braves and losing a series to the Giants? Sure, why not? Baseball! (And, sure, it only being two games against the Braves lessens the strength of this 'baseball' exclamation point, but just go with it).
12Lefty Christopher Sanchez was pulled with a no-hitter through five innings and 73 pitches Sunday, as he was dealing with a stomach illness. Tough luck for the Phillies, because the bullpen (and defense) blew the game. They won a series from the Orioles but then lost one to the Pirates. Baseball!
13Count me in the camp that thinks keeping Shohei Ohtani and being a buyer at the trade deadline was the correct move for the franchise.
14It's obviously great seeing Aaron Judge back and he didn't take long to go deep. The team still lost two in three in Baltimore, though. There are serious problems.
15I possibly could have expanded to four Saboteurs in the intro to include the Mariners. They were 50-50 and 5 1/2 out of a playoff spot after a loss on Monday, but now they've won four of five.
16It's a good thing they shored up the back end of the bullpen. Former closer A.J. Puk had an 11.05 ERA in his last eight outings before another meltdown Sunday. The Marlins struck back and won, though, with newly acquired David Robertson getting the save.
17The D-Backs won their first game of July and it increased their lead in the NL West to three games. Since then, they've gone 6-16 and they're now on the outside of the playoff picture.
18Tough week on tap with the Reds and Braves visiting Wrigley, but after that the Cubs play sub-.500 teams five of the next six series. Things really could be looking up.
19Amid so many other issues, Xander Bogaerts' slugging percentage has now dropped below .400. From 2018-22, in 2,416 at-bats, he slugged .508.
20Two weeks ago, I discussed the possibility of a .500-ish division winner. Last week, I lamented that the Twins had gotten hot and possibly taken this possibility off the table. They responded by losing five in a row, including getting swept by the lowly Royals. The dream is back on!
21Yes, they went 4-3, but it was against the White Sox and Royals. The demotion is more about the teams that jumped over the Guardians than the Guardians themselves anyway. And, hey, given how bad the AL Central is, the 21st-best team in baseball could well make the playoffs.
22Kodai Senga in six starts since June 17: 2.41 ERA, .192 batting average allowed, 43 strikeouts in 33 2/3 innings. That'll play.
23Will Nolan Arenado still be with the Cardinals in a few days? Paul Goldschmidt will be. Right? Hmm ...
24They keep bringing up youngsters and it's exciting to watch. They can also hold their own, at times, against tougher competition. The Pirates also play the Brewers and Cubs seven times each the rest of the way and have six games left against the Reds.
25With two RBI on Sunday, Miguel Cabrera has run his career total to 1,864. Surely he can't get to Willie Mays (1,909) for 12th place, but 13th all-time is pretty damn impressive.
26C.J. Abrams is hitting .328 with seven doubles, two triples and four home runs in his last 34 games. We're probably getting into the range of this being his breakout season.
27The mass exodus is underway. Hopefully next time the club is ready to contend they actually spend money on free agents and stop acting like a small-market team. Then again, that's asking too much from their awful owner.
28Losing a series at home to the A's is pretty pathetic.
29The Bobby Witt Jr. walk-off slam on Friday was pretty fun. And, hey, look how well I motivated the Royals by ranking them 30th last week. I love having this kind of power, but, as we know, it comes with great responsibility.
30Getting shut out in Coors Field is pretty pathetic.
