As this year’s trade deadline approaches, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day:
1. Suarez undergoing testing:
The Diamondbacks (and a number of interested contenders) were holding their breath last night when third baseman Eugenio Suarez underwent an x-ray after getting struck in the hand by a pitch. Those initial tests came back negative, but Arizona figures to put Suarez through additional tests to ensure he’s completely healthy with the trade deadline just a few short days away. Suarez told reporters (including David Hogg of The Associated Press) after last night’s game that he’s scheduled to undergo additional testing today on his ailing hand, but that he plans to “come back as quickly as [he] can.” Concerns over Suarez’s health could scare away some suitors for the slugger’s services in the coming days, particularly given the fact that Suarez is viewed as the consensus top rental player available this summer and will surely come at a high price.
2. Robert eyeing a milestone:
This may finally be the summer where Luis Robert Jr. is traded away by the White Sox. The center fielder has found himself in the rumor mill constantly in recent years, but Chicago has always hesitated to trade him for fear that they were selling too low. He’s in the final guaranteed year of his contract now, however, and while the South Siders have recently begun suggesting they view holding onto Robert and picking up his club option as a viable alternative to a trade, it would be something of a shock if he isn’t traded in the next few days.
Meanwhile, Robert himself has caught fire at the plate for the White Sox in recent weeks. Since July 11, Robert is hitting .333/.422/.590 (179 wRC+) with three homers. Those three home runs leave him with 99 long balls for his career, meaning that if he can swat just one more homer before he’s traded he’ll be able to walk away from his White Sox career with 100 homers for the South Siders. He’d become just the 23rd player in White Sox history to hit 100 homers for the club.
3. Alcantara’s final start in Miami?
Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara is scheduled to take the mound for the club today against the Cardinals. With the trade deadline set to pass before his next turn through the rotation, it’s possible the right-hander is about to make his final start for the club. It’s been a tough season for the 2022 NL Cy Young award winner as he’s worked his way back after missing all of last season rehabbing Tommy John surgery. Alcantara has a 6.66 ERA and 4.47 FIP through 20 starts so far this year, though his most recent start saw him throw seven scoreless innings with four strikeouts and no walks. That encouraging outing could be enough to get pitching-needy contenders to bite on Alcantara’s upside as a true front-of-the-rotation arm, the sort of player who is otherwise expected to be mostly unavailable this summer. Will his start today further increase his trade value, or raise more questions about his ability to contribute?
Re: Suarez – That is the risk of holding onto and playing these guys until the very last minute. Every player is always just a single pitch away from being injured.
bey – You can’t bench a guy 3-4 games just to protect him from injury. What if they have incentives tied to games played?
Let’s see if Bader plays tonight, he was out of the lineup last night.
Sure you can. If there is such an incentive put him in the starting lineup and substitute for him after the first pitch.
Cap – You’d actually be decreasing his trade value, because it would give the impression he’s hiding an injury.
I can not think of one instance where a healthy star player has been benched for 3-4 games leading up to the trade deadline.
You make the reason abundantly clear. Call it “Suarez benching”.
@Fever: Other than a pitcher’s start just before the deadline, I think you’re right about that Fever. Position players keep playing.
Would you serve a family meal on expensive china right before auctioning the complete set off at an estaye sale? Bidders already know its quality.
Cap – Yes because front offices always have impeccable integrity and are pillars of honesty and transparency, therefore anything they say will automatically be believed ;O)
Estate sale. Sorry.
I have an idea. Let’s make trades contingent on the players passing physicals!
Cap – Because physicals detect everything, right?
It detected the Devers groin and back injuries, right?
It detected Giolito’s need for TJS, right?
It detected the injuries to Burnes, Snell, Hanrahan, Thornburg, etc …. right?
Pretty sure if Chapman had a physical on Sunday, he’d have passed it too.
I always thought they were. FA signings too.
@Captain Dunsel
The issue with physicals is that you need 1-2 days to conduct and review them. Right now, teams heavily rely on a database of shared medical information.
In 2016 this became a problem for the Drew Pomeranz/Anderson Espinoza trade when Pomeranz failed his physical after the trade deadline had expired. It was discovered that AJ Preller was keeping two sets of medical records (received a slap on the wrist for it) and the Red Sox were offered a chance to rescind the trade.
But the Red Sox desperately needed a starting pitcher, so they chose to keep Pomeranz as they had no other trade options. (Pomeranz was a disappointment while Espinoza ironically suffered through injuries; Pomeranz is somehow still pitching in MLB and Espinoza is in NPB)
WCS – Great post! But my point stands, physicals don’t catch everything. In many instances the player could feel pain, discomfort, soreness, or some abnormality and if they don’t say anything about it then the source goes undetected.
Every team is going to know if there are incentives that players have in their contracts….come on…..especially f he”s possibly being traded to another team why wouldn’t a GM ask that he sit out as the details are being worked on……
You do what’s best for your team, especially if you are trying to trade him.
This is at least the fourth time this year that I can recall Suarez getting hit on the hand (including that one in the All Star Game!)
Maybe he should stop crowding the plate.
Only problem is he don’t hang over the plate like Rizzo used to, he would expect to get it. Whereas Suarez does not crowd the plate his stance is almost straight up and down. It is that teams are saying just bust him in do does not throw a pitch outside or in the middle.
I’m not a big fan of waiting either. Robert also got plunked on Sunday. And Gallen went from two great starts to two poor starts.
Gallen’s trade value isn’t hampered by the recent two poor starts but also by 13 previous poor starts this season.
Of course it is hampered….the Diamondbacks would insist that he’s turned a corner with regards to his trade value…going back to the same pattern doesn’t improve his value only keeps it the same if not worsens it……will a contending team keep their fingers crossed and hope for the best…no they trade for him to win now….
If that is your case, then I am sure that teams will be happy to know that his FIP is even lower now than his FIP was after those two stellar outings right before the all star break.
There are so many reasons why you don’t bench a guy because of a 1% chance they could get hurt before the deadline. People only bring it up when a player actually does get hurt or something scary happens like it did to Suarez. You are way more likely to hurt his trade value than help it by either moving him too soon or benching him in the week before the deadline.
That is only because benching obvious trade candidates on losing teams is not standard practice. Once a number of teams do so, their value will be unaffected.
It looks like that the D’Backs are playing Suarez because I really believe there is a real chance they don’t trade him, the GM has already said just because he is a FA to be, I am not trading him just to trade him for nothing, either you pay what we think as equal compensation, or we don’t trade him. There are rumors here in AZ that Suarez if not traded may be the first baseman for the team next season.
Should every player on MLBTRs Top 50 trade candidates list sit the next three days? Should they have been sitting for the past week?
Three days seems reasonable on teams that have no realistic chance at the postseason. It’s in the team’s best interest.
Im ecstatic if I’m a playoff contender playing a team that is sitting players like, for example, Suarez, Naylor, Grichuk, Kelly, Gallen, Miller, Beeks, etc for three days. If I’m competing against that playoff contender for a postseason berth, I’m pissed. As a side note, if a team is sitting seven players to protect their trade value, can that team bring up seven players from AAA or are they required to fill out a lineup card as best they can?
They can’t call up players to fill the spots of healthy scratches. 26 man roster means just that—–26 players.
Which is one of the reasons sitting 3, 4, 5+ players for three days is not realistic.
@Angels: Lol—you deleted your question about whether they could sit 6 or 7 players and call up minor league players to play in their place.
It shows on my feed. Try tapping the red box that says “Read All Replies.”
No problem. Make a special list like the one for paternity or bereavement. Will Wagner went on the restricted list for a couple of days to attend his father Billy’s induction into the Hall of Fame. Should the Yankees have been pissed?
Will Wagner vs Suarez, Naylor, Grichuk, Kelly, Gallen, Miller and Beeks? I’m not even including Gurriel, Thomas and McCarthy who have all been rumored as trade candidates, as well. How about an example when a team had 7-10 guys on the paternity/bereavement list?
Just found out that Suarez has not been put on the injured list yet according to 98.7 D’Back flagship radio station. They don’t know if he is in the starting lineup tonight but would be surprised if he is.
Hope Robert goes to a contender and gets a World Series ring!!
Leaving the White Sox would be the best thing to happen to him. Look at Gavin Sheets.
Don’t look at Gavin lately though…
He’s been slumping? Well, that’s unfortunate, but he’d probably be a lost puppy with the White Sox. It’s bad here in the Southside…
Davis Martin pitched a great game yesterday, and the Sox beat Sanchez and the Phillies. That’s a nice win for the Southsiders.
As a White Sox fan, I hope so too!!
Atlanta Jack —
Chris Getz (White Sox POBO) is playing more games than Luis Robert Jr. has. At this point Getz should make the best deal he can for Robert and not keep asking for the moon.
Right you aren’t getting baited into picking up his option by his hot July, save the cash and trade him out. There should be a low ball bidding war and you should get a decent prospect.
What a great strategy- Detroit can’t have him, so nobody can.
Who said Detroit can’t have him?
The HBP.
We have too many other needs. Especially with Reese gone. Harris won’t part with our top 3 either. And I’d have to agree since he’s a rental.
Sandy’s ERA is going to scare some of the contenders, but this is where Perry needs to think out of the box. He’s signed through next year and there’s a 2027 club option. He’s relatively inexpensive for an ace. Depending on the asking price, which may be considerable (and too much), but this may be an opportunity to buy an ace at low market value. The Angels desperately need somebody like Sandy Alcantara at the top of that rotation. His value won’t give much for this year, he’s still getting back into form, but for the next two years when the Angels actually need him.
I don’t see why the Phillies would trade for Robert when they can call up Jamal Crawford, Robert has been hitting well for two weeks but still has terrible numbers overall. I see much more upside in Crawford.
Platoon Robert in LF, call up Crawford for CF, cut Kepler and/or demote Rojas.
The Phillies need badly a right handed power bat in the outfield, Crawford doesn’t provide that.
Ramon Laureano is a far better choice than Robert, plus they would get him for next year on a cheap option! Which may be why the Orioles decide to keep him!
Jamal Crawford? You should stick to basketball.
Luis Robert is 27 years old, has the highest ceiling of available bats and is great with the glove. Still mashes LHP, and if you put some protection around him – he may finally realize that potential he once had. Because of his salary, I don’t exactly think teams are lining up for him. He’s a perfect fit for the Phillies. If he continues to struggle vs. RHP, they could always call up Justin Crawford on September 1st, and use Robert to spell Marsh/Kepler/Crawford vs. LHP.
I concur.
At what price thou ? Worth giving up Crawford or Abel ? Maybe both ??
Of course not. One prospect in the 10-20 range, two in the under 20 range, and throw in Kepler for free with the Phillies paying his contract.
And he gets hurt more often than. not…..why would you trade for a guy in a pennant race and then have to make a call up to platoon him with……makes no sense……and he definitely doesn’t have the highest ceiling…..what about Suarez….how about Donovan…..come on….he’s a real wild card…..
Robert Jr’s best bet IS to be platooned. Giants make a lot of sense so they can sit Yaz against lefties.
I can’t believe the Marlins are going to let Alcantara make this start before Thursday. Wouldn’t it be smarter to wait until Fri and give him a couple of extra days rest? Just sayin.
They’re not *really* trying to trade him. Marlins can probably receive equal value or more in the offseason if Sandy can turn it around over the next two months.
marlins are buyers
They’d also bring selling sandy at the lowest value ever. Typical Marlins move If they do but still
I was under the impression that if the Marlins got a good enough offer they would let Alcantara go. Was I misinformed? I know the Marlins are still in it but they could be buyers and sellers.
The Dodgers and Phillies seem to be the most logical landing spot for Robert. Both teams aren’t going to make that deal unless either a Houser or bullpen arm that they like is included. The Phillies can’t expect a Crawford to come in during a pennant race and man CF when Robert a gold glove candidate with speed and RH pop is available.
So Crawford and Abel for Robert and a bullpen arm ? I’d be thrilled w that return if I was a WS fan
And WS best not be trading w those cheatin dodgers lol
GG candidate….so is half the league……really…..maybe good defense but GG I don’t. think so…..
Its hard to get a good xray of the bones in the hands until the swelling guys down . It may be a couple of days until they have a definitive answer on Geno.
The other Sox are asking for a top prospect, one that grades out at 50 FV or higher, and the teams with the most interest including the Phillies, Padres, and the Mets have balked at paying that price for Robert.
Hence the need for CT or MRI. CT usually shows the bones the best.
I believe you have that backwards. I have had enough MRI and CTs to buy one of each for the hospital in my area. MRI is for spine and bone injuries CAT is for soft tissue. MRI is slow CAT is fast.
Sorry to tell you otherwise. MRI is the best test for soft tissue abnormalities because the bipolar water molecule is most affected by the varying magnetic field; it can be superior to CT for bones in complicated bony structures like the wrist. In general CT images bone best for fractures because calcium is more radio-opaque than soft tissue.
Saw Robert nonchalant a Harper single into a double last night. He’s lost. Stay away Mets!
Robert is playing through another leg muscle injury and I thought he was only supposed to DH. I’m surprised he was even in the field and if he was he wasn’t dogging it he was just trying to stay on the field I’m sure.
Even more reasons to not give up anyone of value just for the sake of a deal.