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July Headlines: National League

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This year’s trade season did not disappoint. After a wild couple of days, we’re gonna do our best to recap the action from one of the busiest trade deadlines in recent memory. Let’s start with the headlines coming out of the Senior Circuit this month…

The Champs Are Still The Champs: This phrase, in many ways, could serve as an ironic headline for this year’s trade deadline, as we saw the dismantling of a couple of former championship teams. The reigning champ, however, was not one of them. The Dodgers reasserted themselves as the team to beat in the National League by making the splashiest move of the deadline in acquiring Max Scherzer and Trea Turner from the Nationals.

The Dodgers stepped up, and now they have perhaps the most intimidating starter of his generation slotted into a rotation with Clayton Kershaw, probably the best pitcher of his generation, along with young stud Walker Buehler. It’s an amazing collection of talent for a single team.

That said, the Turner acquisition might be even more impactful, as he’s under team control  through next season. Turner and Mookie Betts as a 1-2 punch in the lineup are devastating. Interestingly, the Dodgers also got Corey Seager back from the injured list today, and it remains to be seen how the Dodgers will deploy their pair of All-Star shortstops (to say nothing of Gavin Lux and Chris Taylor). The Dodgers have options now and for the future. Remember, Seager is a free agent after the season. They can still bring back their World Series MVP at the right price point, but they won’t be pressured to now that they have Turner in the fold.

The Padres Don’t Land Mad Max: The trade deadline madness really began on Thursday night when it was announced that the Padres and Nats had agreed on the players involved in a Scherzer deal. That didn’t sit well with the Dodgers, who swooped in to remind the Padres of who still runs the West. The Padres were expected to turn their attention to Jose Berrios, but they weren’t able to get him either.

At the end of the day, the Padres didn’t get Scherzer, Berrios, Joey Gallo, or any other of the big names. They did add Adam Frazier, a versatile defender and good contact hitter, along with Daniel Hudson, who is a legitimate get for the bullpen, and Jake Marisnick, who compliments their centerfield options nicely, even if he’s not much more than a depth piece. It was a less impactful deadline than expected, but what’s worse: Fernando Tatis Jr. promptly reaggravated his shoulder injury. Add it all up, and the swing from potentially acquiring Scherzer to potentially losing Tatis is enough to give any Padres fan whiplash.

Giants Add Bryant: The Padres took a big swing and missed, the Dodgers took their swing and connected, and sure to form, the Giants played the deadline slow and steady. Does the tortoise win again? Time will tell, but the Giants did ultimately nab a former MVP in Kris Bryant without giving up a top prospect. Bryant fits their profile like a glove, and he’ll be able to fill in at third until Evan Longoria returns and then move to the outfield.

Remember: The Giants have a three-game head start on LA and a five-game lead on the Padres. Adding Bryant has game-changing potential, while Tony Watson was a solid, low-key add to the pen. The Dodgers are scary, but if the Giants keep playing their game, LA may find themselves in the wild card game anyway.

Cubs Collapse, Dismantle 2016 World Series Champs: In a vacuum, the Cubs had a pretty good deadline. They added a number of buzzy, interesting young players like Nick Madrigal, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Alexander Canario. But it came at a cost. After years of rumors, Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Javier Baez were finally shipped out of town, along with Craig Kimbrel, Andrew Chafin, Ryan Tepera, Marisnick, and Trevor Williams. New players — and new narratives — are long overdue in Chicago, and the next chapter awaits.

Nationals Collapse, Dismantle 2019 World Series Champs: It’s appropriate that the Cubs are in DC to play the Nats this weekend, because really, the two clubs are mirror images of one another, right down to their interconnecting pieces like Kyle Schwarber and Jon Lester. Both teams were trying to contend on the legs of recent title teams, both teams had disastrous months of July, and both clubs desperately needed an influx of young talent. Both teams got it on Friday.

The Nats farm system was even more barren than Chicago’s and their need to restock even direr given the presence of young superstud Juan Soto. So Washington said their fare-thee-wells to  Scherzer, Turner, Hudson, and Yan Gomes from the title team, plus recent additions Lester, Schwarber, Brad Hand, and Josh Harrison. GM Mike Rizzo does not sell off pieces willy nilly, but in doing so, they got some high-end, near-ready pieces as they look to quickly rebuild a contender in context around Soto before the Scott Boras client reaches free agency after the 2024 season.

Brewers Take Their Place Atop The NL Central: Milwaukee made their big acquisition back in May, and Willy Adames has transformed himself and the club since his arrival. They were last under .500 on the day before Adames arrived, they’ve gone 41-19 since and taken firm hold of the NL Central. Still, some tinkering remained on the docket for July, as the Brewers picked up Eduardo Escobar, Rowdy Tellez, John Curtiss, and Daniel Norris.

Injuries Keeping Mets From Runaway Division Title: The Mets left deadline day with a more acute awareness of what they lost than what they gained: Jacob deGrom has been shut down for another couple of weeks, leaving the all-world hurler out until at least September. That’s heartbreaking for a Mets team with a clear path to an NL East title. Plenty of upside remains in the Mets rotation with Marcus Stroman and Taijuan Walker posting career years, Carlos Carrasco set to make his debut, and Tylor Megill providing the surprising rookie breakout contenders seek. Still, deGrom and Noah Syndergaard are questionable at best for the rest of the season, and the only rotation additions the Mets made at the deadline were Rich Hill and Trevor Williams.

They did, however, account for Francisco Lindor’s injury by adding Javier Baez, Lindor’s friend and countrymate who can ably fill in while Lindor is out and then slide to second or third when he returns. Baez isn’t, perhaps, the former Cub that Mets fans expected, but he’s an excellent fit alongside Lindor and should bolster the pitching staff with his stellar glove — even if acquiring him did cost them a former first-rounder in Crow-Armstrong.

Braves Lose Acuna For The Season: The deadline might have looked a lot different for Atlanta had they not lost Ronald Acuna Jr. for the season back on July 10th. Without Acuna and Mike Soroka, the Braves weren’t expected to make any major swings at contention. But even a 13-12 July was enough to keep them within four games of first. A fourth consecutive NL East title remains in reach. So they nabbed one of the top available relief arms in Richard Rodriguez, as well as, seemingly, all the outfielders: Jorge Soler, old pal Adam Duvall, Eddie Rosario, and Joc Pederson, plus Stephen Vogt to reinforce their catching corps.

Soft Buys From The Fringes Of Contention: The Giants and Dodgers made headline additions, while the Nats and Cubs took a firm step away from contention. In the middle, there were a number of clubs that neither sold the farm nor raised the white flag. Such as…

…the Phillies… who seemed poised to add a bevy of arms given their bullpen situation, not to mention a starting rotation that’s received underwhelming performances from the back end. Instead, only Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy came to help, and they cost the Phillies’ top prospect Spencer Howard. Howard’s handling had been in question all season, and now he’s been served an unceremonious end to his Philly tenure. Gibson’s had a fine season thus far with the Rangers, but his groundball approach will be tested in front of Philly’s subpar infield defense. Sure, Freddy Galvis brings his glove back to help out, but will that be enough?

…and the Reds… who looked to undo their winter penny-pinching by restocking the bullpen. Justin Wilson, Luis Cessa, and Mychal Givens will try to help a bullpen that ranks 29th with a 5.31 ERA. The Reds’ inconsistent play in July kept them squarely on the deadline fence, however, and now that Nick Castellanos is on the injured list, they’re seven games behind the Brewers and looking like longshots for the postseason.

…and the Cardinals…who added a few pieces at the deadline, despite being 9.5 games behind the Brewers and 6.5 out of a wild card spot. The additions were modest, however, as St. Louis went on a run of graybeard southpaws in July, adding 36-year-old Wade LeBlanc, 37-year-old Jon Lester, and 38-year-old J.A. Happ to a rotation fronted by 39-year-old Adam Wainwright and caught by 39-year-old Yadier Molina.

Cellar Dwellers Sell: The Marlins, Pirates, and Diamondbacks, each in last place of their respective divisions, made some moves to turn expiring talent into youth for the future. The Marlins added the biggest fish in Jesus Luzardo, but the Pirates did well for themselves, too, by adding some plug-and-play talent like Michael Chavis from Boston and Bryse Wilson from Atlanta, while also grabbing two prospects from Seattle for Tyler Anderson. The Dbacks weren’t quite as active, but they did move Escobar and Joakim Soria, though a COVID-19 outbreak has brought more pressing issues to their attention.

The Rockies Don’t Trade Trevor Story Or Jon Gray: The most perplexing moves of the deadline were the trades that didn’t happen. Despite having no shot at contention in a division with zero margin for error (in the short-and-long term), the Rockies chose to stand pat rather than build for the future. Holding Gray is one thing, but Story has stated his desire to move on, so their decision not to acquire a prospect or two for him before he walks might be the biggest shock of deadline season.

Giants To Acquire Kris Bryant

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The Giants made a major splash at the trade deadline buzzer, acquiring slugger Kris Bryant from the Cubs for prospects Alexander Canario and Caleb Kilian.  ESPN’s Jeff Passan broke news of the trade, while Francys Romero of LasMayores was first on Canario and journalist Marc Delucchi had Kilian.

Drafted second overall in 2013 out of the University of San Diego, Bryant won the 2015 National League Rookie of the Year with the Cubs and followed that with the 2016 NL MVP award as the club finally won a championship.  The Cubs famously waited until April 17th to call Bryant up back in 2015, effectively granting them a seventh year of control over the player by a margin of one day.

Though Bryant would never return to the lofty 6-8 WAR heights of his first three seasons, he settled in comfortably as a 130 wRC+ type bat, with the exception of an injury-marred 34-game 2020 season.  Bryant’s bounceback season was punctuated by his fourth All-Star selection earlier this month.

As early as his sophomore season, the Cubs began deploying Bryant at positions other than his primary spot of third base.  This year, manager David Ross has gotten Bryant at least 80 innings at both corner infield positions as well as all three outfield spots.  Third base makes sense for Bryant in San Francisco, with Evan Longoria out until at least August 6th with a shoulder injury.  Once Longoria returns, Bryant could see time in left field and perhaps center.

The Giants have surprisingly been the best team in baseball this year, and they lead the NL West by a three-game margin over the Dodgers.  Giants President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi may have felt some pressure after the Dodgers completed a blockbuster trade with the Nationals for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner today, also adding Danny Duffy in a deal with the Royals yesterday.  So the Giants have added the big bat of Bryant to an offense that already ranked third in the NL with 4.81 runs scored per game.  The Giants have a front office connection to the Cubs, as GM Scott Harris spent seven years in their baseball operations before joining San Francisco in November 2019.

Cubs fans might be disappointed to see a Bryant trade fail to return a top 100 prospect, but the player’s $19.5MM salary and impending free agency kept teams from overbidding.  Canario, 21, was assigned a 50 grade by MLB.com.  Prior to the season, Baseball America had Canario as a 55, a player with plus raw power but questionable plate discipline and defense.  Canario suffered a torn labrum back in November, but has since posted a .235/.325/.433 line in 274 Low-A plate appearances.  FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen gave him a 45 grade, concluding, “He has huge ceiling if the hit/approach component improves, but I wonder if the compressed developmental timeline created by his presence on the 40-man and potential lingering effects from the injury might make that tough.”

Kilian, a 24-year-old righty, was promoted from High-A to Double-A back in May.  In 11 starts at that level, he owns a 2.43 ERA, 26.2 K%, and 3.3 BB%.  MLB.com assigned him a 40 grade, noting that “he could develop into a No. 4 starter.”

The Bryant trade was just one part of an extensive fire sale held by Cubs GM Jed Hoyer, who also traded Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo, Craig Kimbrel, Jake Marisnick, Trevor Williams, Joc Pederson, Ryan Tepera, and Andrew Chafin this month.

Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.

Giants To Acquire Tony Watson From Angels

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The Giants are acquiring reliever Tony Watson from the Angels, reports Jon Morosi of MLB.com (Twitter link). The Giants will send Sam Selman, Jose Marte, and Ivan Armstrong to Los Angeles, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter).

Watson is well known in San Francisco, of course, having only recently completed a three-year run with the Giants from 2018 to 2020. It’s been a bit of a down year for Watson, who owns a 4.64 ERA/4.10 FIP in 33 innings with the Angels. His walk rate, in particular, has bothered his performance, ballooning to 10.4 percent from a career 6.7 percent.

That said, the understated veteran has been remarkably reliable throughout his 11-year career. Giants’ President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi said of the acquisition (per Slusser), “He’s a battled-tested relievers, and we’re going to have a lot of important games down the stretch. His influence, his demeanor, is really an example we want to have set.”

The Angels, meanwhile, continue in their mission to add pitching to their organization. After using their entire draft to add pitchers, the Angels now add three more in the form of Selman, Marte, and Armstrong.

Selman has the best chance of simply taking Watson’s roster spot. The 30-year-old southpaw has appeared in each of the past three seasons for San Francisco, totaling 37 2/3 innings with a 4.06 ERA/5.00 FIP. Selman has been a fine option for the Giants, though he doesn’t come with the same track record that Watson does.

As for the youngsters, Marte, 25, made it as high as Double-A this season. He’s marked a 3.57 ERA in 19 appearances totaling 22 1/3 innings. Armstrong, 21, is a burler 6’5″, 247-pound right-hander pitching out of the bullpen in Single-A. He’s impressed with a 1.88 ERA in 38 1/3 innings while striking out 28.7 percent of opponents.

Giants, Rockies Continue To Discuss Trevor Story

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2:26 pm: The Giants and Rockies remain engaged on Story with a little more than a half hour to go before the deadline, reports Feinsand.

1:03 pm: With just under two hours before the deadline, the Rockies have lowered their asking price on Story, one executive tells Sherman. That person suggests it’s now more likely than not that Story will be traded.

12:03 pm: There’s little traction between the Rockies and either of Tampa Bay or Toronto on a Story deal at the moment, hears Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Of course, the Jays just parted with a pair of top prospects to land José Berríos from the Twins, so it’s possible they might be disinclined to continue to mine the farm system for Story.

11:29 am: Some rival executives think the Rays and Blue Jays are the main contenders to land Rockies shortstop Trevor Story before this afternoon’s trade deadline, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Bob Nightengale of USA Today adds that the Rays, in particular, are making a “hard push” to land Story. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com suggests the Giants also have interest, while Thomas Harding of MLB.com indicates the Rockies have had discussions regarding Story with the Cardinals as well.

Of course, that’s only if Story winds up traded at all, which Sherman confirms is far from a lock. The Rockies have expressed comfort with holding onto Story for weeks. While that could just be public posturing, it seems Colorado’s planning to hang onto fellow impending free agent Jon Gray past the deadline.

The end game there, however, is to try to hammer out a long-term deal with Gray. Story, on the other hand, isn’t seen as especially likely to sign an extension. The Rockies instead would be more likely to make him a qualifying offer and receive a compensatory draft choice if/when he rejects and signs elsewhere in free agency.

Of course, Story’s play this season has complicated matters. While he looked like an obvious trade candidate coming into the year on the heels of a .293/.361/.544 performance from 2019-20, he’s struggled to produce at the plate this season. The 28-year-old has a below-average .240/.312/.429 line (84 wRC+) over 375 plate appearances. That’s surely depressing the caliber of prospect teams are willing to part with, so there’s some sense for Colorado in recouping a high 2022 draft choice if rivals aren’t putting forth especially strong offers.

The Rays, Jays, Giants and Cardinals are all new reported entrants into the Story market. Sherman adds that the Mets — who have been linked to Story for a while — are still on the periphery but that the Rockies shortstop doesn’t seem to be their top priority at this time. The Yankees, Brewers and White Sox have also all been tied to Story in the past but seem less likely after adding to their infield in other ways (Anthony Rizzo, Eduardo Escobar and César Hernández, respectively).

Kris Bryant Rumors: Deadline Day

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With free agency looming in November, Kris Bryant has likely already played his last game as a Cub.  The 29-year-old sports a 132 wRC+ in 374 plate appearances this year, and has shown versatility in playing at least 80 innings at both infield corners and all three outfield positions.  With a $19.5MM salary on the season, Bryant is still owed about $6.5MM this year.  The 2016 NL MVP winner seems quite likely to be traded today, if the Cubs can muster up a return better than a compensatory draft pick.  We’ll put the latest Bryant updates right here…

Latest Updates

  • The Giants and Bryant “are one pairing to watch,” tweets Jon Morosi of MLB Network.  The Cubs are making trades left and right, sending Craig Kimbrel to the White Sox and Javier Baez to the Mets today.

Earlier Updates

  • “It’s not a sure thing that [the] Cubs trade Bryant at all,” tweets Andy Martino of SNY.  That would certainly qualify as a surprise.
  • The Rays are talking with the Cubs about both Bryant and Craig Kimbrel, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.  Rosenthal notes that the Cubs may not necessarily package the two together, and a deal does not appear to be close.
  • The Mets and Cubs “remain apart in Kris Bryant talks,” tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

Red Sox Among Teams In Mix For Max Scherzer

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3:10 pm: While reports this morning suggested the Padres were more focused on Berrios, the Friars have “intensified” their efforts to land the Nationals ace this afternoon, according to Jon Morosi of MLB.com (Twitter link).

11:44am: The Red Sox are indeed in the mix for Scherzer, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, who adds that Scherzer is open to a trade to Boston. ESPN’s Jesse Rogers, meanwhile, hears that Scherzer would not approve a trade to the Astros or Phillies.

9:54am: Max Scherzer remains the most intriguing trade candidate on the market, and interested parties will get one more look at him before deciding on an asking price. Nats skipper Dave Martinez announced to reporters Thursday morning that Scherzer will start Game 1 of today’s doubleheader against the Phillies (Twitter link via Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post). It seems likely this will be Scherzer’s final start with the Nationals, and it’ll serve as an audition of sorts to prove that his triceps is at full strength; Scherzer was scratched from his Saturday start due to minor triceps discomfort, but an MRI has since come back clean.

With a reported preference to land with one of the three NL West contenders and full no-trade rights to help guide him to a destination he likes, it feels like a matter of when he’s traded rather than one of if. Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post tweets that there’s a feeling throughout the organization that a trade will come together today.

That’s sensible, as the Nats want to leave as much time as possible post-agreement to sort out the finer details of Scherzer waiving his no-trade rights. Adjustments to his contract’s salary deferrals or smaller details along those lines could be arranged as compensation for Scherzer waiving his 10-and-5 no-trade protection. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes that the Covid outbreak with which the Nationals are currently dealing may have preoccupied some key Nats personnel and slowed the pace of talks, as some expected them to have a deal in place by last night.

The acquisition price for premium rentals (e.g. Nelson Cruz, Starling Marte) has been viewed as steep thus far, and Rosenthal unsurprisingly suggests that Washington has a high price on Scherzer. We’ve yet to see one of the premium rental pitchers change hands, however — perhaps because other clubs want to wait until Scherzer is off the board before pushing their own rental starters.

While the prevailing wisdom at the moment is that one of the Giants, Padres or Dodgers are the favorites to land Scherzer, there are at least a couple other possibilities of note. The Athletic’s Jim Bowden writes that Red Sox ownership has pushed the front office to pursue a deal, for instance. The Sox have already been linked to Scherzer, but they’d be something of a surprise fit, given ownership’s longstanding reluctance to cross the luxury tax threshold. Scherzer would have to be viewed as a player worth making that exception, or the Red Sox would likely have to bolster their prospect package in order to convince the Nationals to pay down the remaining salary on Scherzer’s contract. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, meanwhile, suggests that the Padres are more focused on Minnesota’s Jose Berrios than they are on Scherzer at the moment.

Kyle Schwarber Drawing Trade Interest

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2:05pm: The Giants are also in the mix for Schwarber, tweets Sherman. He adds that the while the Yankees still have interest but at the moment appear to have their focus on other targets.

1:17pm: Despite being on the injured list with a hamstring strain, Nationals slugger Kyle Schwarber is generating trade interest and could be moved sometime today, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman lists the Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays as possible trade partners for the Nats.

Schwarber, 28, was the hottest hitter on the planet prior to his injury. His overall .253/.340/.570 line was plenty solid in its own right, but the former No. 4 overall draft pick had gone an a legitimately historic tear to close out June, homering 16 times in 19 games. In his final 21 games before hitting the injured list, Schwarber posted an almost comically dominant .338/.409/.974 batting line over the life of 88 plate appearances.

The Cubs non-tendered Schwarber this past offseason, and he eventually latched on with the Nationals on a one-year, $10MM deal that now looks quite affordable. That deal comes with an $11MM mutual option, but mutual options are little more than accounting measures the vast majority of the time. Generally speaking, if team picks up their end of the option it’s because the player has played well enough to price himself out of that salary (as would be the case with Schwarber, based on his production to date). If the player picks up his end, it’s usually due to poor performance or injury, and the team then declines.

While Schwarber’s hamstring injury obviously hampers his trade value, he’s been running in the outfield recently and could return sometime in mid-August. With the elimination of August trade waivers, the Nationals are faced with the choice of trading him now or keeping him for the remainder of the year then losing him for nothing. They could, of course, make Schwarber a qualifying offer, but that’d nearly double his 2021 salary in the event that he accepted, which the Nationals may not prefer.

The Yankees have been connected to Schwarber for years, so it’s no surprise to see Sherman suggest them as a possibility. That said, with their recent acquisition of Joey Gallo, they’re something of a tough fit. The Yanks now have Gallo, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton already on the roster. It’s possible they could just plug Schwarber into left field in the event that they’re comfortable committing to Gallo in center for the remainder of the year, however. It wouldn’t be an ideal defensive alignment, obviously, but that’d be a balanced and rather terrifying heart of the order for opposing pitchers to navigate.

The Jays and Red Sox present their own problems. Toronto already has a crowded outfield mix featuring Lourdes Gurriel Jr., George Springer, Teoscar Hernandez and Randal Grichuk. They were tied to Nelson Cruz earlier in the month however, and acquiring Cruz could be viewed in a similar lens. He’d give them an option at DH or in left field, pushing Grichuk into a fourth outfield role. Over in Boston, the Red Sox have Alex Verdugo, top prospect Jarren Duran and Hunter Renfroe in the outfield, with J.D. Martinez shoring things up at designated hitter. Schwarber has played all of three games at first base in the minors, for those who are wondering.

Giants Designate Mike Tauchman For Assignment

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The Giants announced that they’ve designated outfielder Mike Tauchman for assignment as part of a series of roster moves. San Francisco has also reinstated Brandon Crawford from the 10-day injured list, reinstated Aaron Sanchez from the 60-day injured list (hence the 40-man move) and optioned righty John Brebbia to Triple-A.

Tauchman, 30, came to the Giants in an early-season swap that sent left-handed reliever Wandy Peralta to the Yankees. The former Rockies farmhand had a surprise breakout with the Yankees in 2019 but took a step back in 2020 and has yet to produce much in 2021 with either New York or San Francisco. The Giants gave Tauchman 175 plate appearances, but he managed only a .178/.286/.283 with four homers and four doubles. The Giants valued Tauchman’s glove in center field, and he made a couple of key home run robberies during his time as a Giant.

Ultimately, however, the Giants simply ran out of room for Tauchman on the big league roster — and because he’s out of minor league options, he can’t simply be sent to Triple-A. San Francisco has Mike Yastrzemski, Steven Duggar, Alex Dickerson, Austin Slater, Darin Ruf and LaMonte Wade Jr. as outfield alternatives on the MLB roster at the moment, and the Giants have been tied to some possible outfield upgrades on the trade market as well (e.g. the since-traded Starling Marte and the still-available Kyle Schwarber).

The Giants can trade Tauchman to another club if they can find a partner prior to tomorrow afternoon’s deadline. Otherwise he’ll be placed on outright waivers and made available for all 29 other teams to claim.

Latest On Max Scherzer

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As of last night, there were at least eight clubs interested in Nationals ace Max Scherzer, who is open to waiving his no-trade rights but said to have a preference for a West Coast club that has the ability to keep him longer-term.

Scherzer figures to be one of the most talked-about trade candidates in recent memory, but his stay on the market may not go down to the wire like some other stars. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the Nationals want to get a framework for a trade in place as quickly as possible, in order to leave enough time to work out the details surrounding Scherzer’s no-trade rights and any compensation he’d require to waive them. MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that some involved in negotiations believe an agreement could come together by tonight.

While Scherzer has been connected to more than a quarter of the league, Rosenthal and Morosi both suggest that the three NL West contenders — the Padres, Dodgers and Giants — are the likeliest destinations at this time. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand suggested something similar yesterday. Both SNY’s Andy Martino and The Athletic’s Jayson Stark, meanwhile, have indicated that Scherzer would not approve a trade to either New York club.

Any of the three NL West contenders make for a sensible landing spot. The Giants hold the best record in Major League Baseball and ought to be motivated to aggressively strengthen their club down the stretch. The Dodgers’ rotation strength has dwindled since the season began, and the Padres are without several key rotation options themselves at the moment.

Of the bunch, only the Giants could acquire Scherzer without incurring any luxury-tax penalization. Scherzer’s deferral-heavy contract comes with an annual luxury hit of just under $30MM, and the prorated remainder of that hit as of this writing would be $10.49MM. (It’d drop to $10.03MM after the deadline.) The Dodgers, already in the top tax bracket for year-one offenders, would pay a 62.5 percent tax on that $10.03MM overage. The Padres are barely over the threshold at the moment and exploring some ambitious ways to drop back below the barrier; at the moment, they’d pay a 20 percent overage penalty.

Scherzer, who turned 37 yesterday, has pitched to a 2.83 ERA with a 35.1 percent strikeout rate (tying a career-high) and a 4.2 percent walk rate in 105 innings this year. He’s playing on a $35MM salary this year in the final season of a seven-year, $210MM contract, though the bulk of that 2021 salary is deferred to 2028. Schezer was scratched from his Saturday start against the Orioles due to a triceps issue, though the Nationals have indicated that an MRI came back clean. He’s listed as the probable starter for Thursday’s game against the Phillies. Of course, that recent health scare only muddies the water as teams try to put together a framework with the Nats.

Cubs, Giants Have Reportedly Discussed Kris Bryant Trade

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July 28: Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic tweets that the Giants are “backing off” any proposals from the Cubs which center around Bart.

The San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser recently reported that among Giants top prospects, Bart may be the “most” available, but that doesn’t means the club is flat-out shopping him or willing to include him for a high-priced rental player such as Bryant (or the majority of Chicago’s other trade candidates).

July 27: The Giants and Cubs have had discussions about a possible Kris Bryant trade, reports Jon Morosi of MLB.com (Twitter link). Chicago is evaluating San Francisco catcher Joey Bart as a possible part of those conversations, according to Morosi, although he unsurprisingly adds the Giants aren’t likely to give up Bart for Bryant alone.

Bryant has plenty of experience at third base and all throughout the outfield, making him a viable fit on the rosters of plenty of contenders. San Francisco’s expected to get Evan Longoria back from the injured list next month, so the front office is likely eyeing Bryant as a potential outfield pickup. Giants left fielders (primarily Alex Dickerson) have a below-average .214/.288/.395 slash line this season.

Bryant could also offer some cover in center field. Steven Duggar has had a great season, but he’d never before hit at anything near his current .284/.358/.484 clip. Moreover, Duggar’s current .405 batting average on balls in play is unsustainably high, masking an alarming 31.6% strikeout rate.

Finances might be a concern for many clubs interested in Bryant (like the Rays, reported to have had preliminary discussions about a potential deal this morning). The 29-year-old is making $19.5MM this season, his final before hitting free agency. About $7.13MM is still owed for the remainder of the year.

That tab shouldn’t pose much of a problem for the Giants, who have ample financial flexibility. Ownership has previously approved payrolls above $200MM, but their current figure is in the $150-152MM range in the estimation of Cot’s Baseball Contracts and Roster Resource. San Francisco’s nowhere near the luxury tax line, so there should be room for president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and general manager Scott Harris (a former Cubs’ assistant GM) to spend to upgrade a roster that currently leads the Dodgers by two games in the NL West.

Of course, Bart would be an ambitious ask for less than half a season’s worth of work from Bryant alone (although he is reportedly the most likely Giants top prospect to move in the next few days). The former #2 overall pick hasn’t yet found major league success, but he’s a highly-touted young talent. Baseball America slotted the right-handed hitting backstop as the game’s #22 overall prospect in their updated top 100 list this week. While Buster Posey has catcher locked down at the big league level in San Francisco this year, Bart has had a strong campaign at Triple-A Sacramento. The 24-year-old is hitting .310/.372/.532 in 188 plate appearances, his first crack at the minors’ highest level.

There’s no indication the Giants and Cubs are in specific discussions on players other than Bryant, although it’s possible the sides could work out some sort of package deal. Speculatively speaking, relivers Craig Kimbrel and Ryan Tepera could hold appeal to a Giants bullpen that has pitched well but is generally short on past high-leverage experience. Kimbrel would be the more impactful — but far more expensive — pickup. He’s playing out the season on a $16MM salary (about $5.85MM of which remains), with a $16MM club/vesting option for 2022. Tepera, meanwhile, is making an $800K salary and will reach free agency at the end of the year.

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