Follow MLB Trade Rumors On Instagram
Recently, MLB Trade Rumors launched a brand new official Instagram account: @TradeRumorsMLB. Each day, we’ll be sharing conversation-inspiring images about the hottest topics in baseball. From there, we invite you to give us a like, weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section, and even share the link with a friend.
Yesterday’s image highlighted a trio of notable shortstop trade candidates in Troy Tulowitzki, Jean Segura, and Alexei Ramirez. Today’s Instagram picture offers a look at center field trade candidates Carlos Gomez, Cameron Maybin, and Charlie Blackmon.
And if you’re anxious to get a look at newly-acquired Astros pitcher Scott Kazmir in his new digs, we’ve got you covered there, too.
So, what are you waiting for? If you don’t have an Instagram account, this is the perfect excuse to sign up and get one. Follow us on Instagram today!
Podcast: American League Overview
After last week’s National League trade deadline preview, MLBTR’s Steve Adams joins host Jeff Todd to cover the American League, discussing how every team might approach the trade deadline. We’ve seen Scott Kazmir change hands since the recording late last night, but there’s still plenty to digest with trade season officially underway. Will the Yankees make significant additions? How do the Royals deal with their injuries and seize the opportunity? Click play for that and more …
Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and please leave a review! The podcast is also available via Stitcher at this link.
The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast runs weekly on Thursday afternoons.
$110K DraftKings MLB Fantasy Contest
Head over to DraftKings.com right now to participate in another exciting daily fantasy contest. There’s a $110K prize pool to be claimed, with $10K going to the winner. The top 8,421 entries are guaranteed to win money. It’s just $3 to participate, and new users can enter for free!
The contest goes live this evening — Wednesday, July 22 — at 7:05pm EST, so it’s time to get your picks in. Just spread your $50K salary cap space between eight position players and two pitchers to put together the best lineup possible. Here’s the lineup I’m rolling with for tonight’s action:
There’s no reason to wait. Click over to DraftKings right now for a chance to win a part of that $100K pool!
Podcast: National League Overview
MLBTR’s Steve Adams helps Jeff survey the entire National League, looking at pieces for every team that could be moving at the trade deadline. How aggressive should the Mets be? Should A.J. Preller and the Padres hit the reset button? Is it time for the Cubs to make a significant trade acquisition, or are they better off waiting until 2016? These topics and more on this week’s episode.
Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and please leave a review! The podcast is also available via Stitcher at this link.
The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast runs weekly on Thursday afternoons.
AL East Notes: Kopech, Yankees, Blue Jays, Orioles
Red Sox minor leaguer Michael Kopech has been suspended 50 games after testing positive for the stimulant Oxilofrine, the league announced yesterday. Kopech was selected with the 33rd overall pick in the 2014 draft by the Red Sox and had been enjoying a very strong season at Class A Greenville. The right-hander has posted a 2.63 ERA with 9.7 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9 in 16 games this season (15 of them starts). As Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe notes, via Twitter, because Kopech tested positive for an amphetamine as opposed to a substance ruled to be a performance-enhancing drug (steroid) by MLB, he’d still be eligible for the minor league postseason. Oxilofrine, which is found in some dietary supplements, is said to increase adrenaline, boost endurance and assist in weight loss. In a statement released at MiLB.com, Kopech apologized to the fans and the organization. The prospect noted that he has been trying to gain weight since signing as opposed to lose it, adding that he appealed the suspension despite having little to prove his innocence because he “didn’t have any understanding of how [he] could have failed a test.” Kopech received a $1.67MM bonus in last year’s draft.
Here’s more from the AL East…
- The Yankees‘ first-half success comes, in large part, due to improved health up and down the roster, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. An improved farm system and improved depth from offseason moves such as re-signing Chris Young has better positioned the team to deal with injuries than in 2013-14. Nevertheless, Sherman writes, they’re at risk in the second half. He questions how realistic it is to expect Michael Pineda to finish the season with 30-plus starts and both Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira to clear 600 plate appearances. Masahiro Tanaka‘s elbow remains a concern, and CC Sabathia, while healthy, has been ineffective overall.
- Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet writes that while Cole Hamels, Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija and Jonathan Papelbon are among the biggest names that figure to be connected to the Blue Jays in the coming two weeks, history shows that GM Alex Anthopoulos looks beyond the most obvious options. Nicholson-Smith runs down a list of speculative pitching options for the Jays to pursue, including Mat Latos (who I recently profiled at MLBTR), Hisashi Iwakuma, Jesse Chavez, Mike Fiers and several more.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman tells the Post’s George A. King III that he’s comfortable being aggressive or passing on asking prices he deems exorbitant this July. Interestingly, King writes that the industry belief, at present, is that the Blue Jays would be more willing to part with top prospects to land Cueto than the Yankees would. While there are no true untouchables in the Yankees’ farm system, King adds, Aaron Judge and Luis Severino “come close” to earning that label.
- MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski finds it difficult to envision the Orioles shifting into “sell” mode, adding that the team’s current plan is to approach the deadline with a buyer’s mindset. GM Dan Duquette has previously said that the Orioles’ pending free agents have more value to Baltimore than to other clubs, Melewski notes, further suggesting that shipping out veteran players is unlikely.
$250K MLB Fantasy Contest At DraftKings
Kick off the season’s second half with a fantasy baseball contest from DraftKings! Enter for a chance at a piece of a $250K prize pool, $100K of which will go to the winner. Plenty of folks are going to take home money, as the best 11,230 entries are guaranteed to win cash prizes. The entry fee is just five bucks, so head to DraftKings.com now to enter!
Best of all, it’s fun to play daily fantasy at DraftKings. You’re GM for a day, allocating $50K in salary cap space to choose the two pitchers and eight position players that will put up the biggest numbers on the day.
This $250K contest goes live at 7:05pm EST on Friday, so head to DraftKings right now to begin making your picks. Here are my preliminary choices:
Sign up for this exciting contest right now!
MLBTR Seeking Photoshop Artists
Our brand new Instagram account — @TradeRumorsMLB — is growing rapidly and we’re looking to hire more talented photoshoppers to join the team.
Are you the kind of photoshop expert we’re looking for? If so, we want you to create a sample submission based off of one of the concepts below and send it to MLBTRonInstagram@gmail.com.
- NL MVP: Bryce Harper vs. Paul Goldschmidt
- Should the Indians Buy or Sell?
- Who Will Win the AL East?
- Should The White Sox Trade Chris Sale?
To get an idea of what we’re looking for, please check out @TradeRumorsMLB to see some of our previous images. Of course, we also invite creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. All samples should be 1080px by 1080px.
This position is part-time and compensated.
Follow MLB Trade Rumors On Instagram
Recently, MLB Trade Rumors launched a brand new official Instagram account: @TradeRumorsMLB. Each day, we’ll be sharing conversation-inspiring images about the hottest topics in baseball. From there, we invite you to give us a like, weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section, and even share the link with a friend.
Jeff Samardzija‘s name has popped up on MLBTR quite a bit in recent weeks and Wednesday’s image parodying the iconic Jaws poster asked followers to weigh in on where he might land. Today’s Instagram picture asks you to predict what the 38-44 Reds might do at the deadline. Previous entries feature Brewers star Carlos Gomez, Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, and a closer showdown between Jonathan Papelbon and Francisco Rodriguez.
So, what are you waiting for? If you don’t have an Instagram account, this is the perfect excuse to sign up and get one. Follow us on Instagram today!
MLBTR Podcast: Jon Heyman Chats Deadline
Jeff runs down the week’s news, and then welcomes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports to the show for an overview of the market for key teams and players as the trade deadline approaches. Among the clubs covered are the Brewers, Padres, Twins, Rangers, and Rockies.
Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and please leave a review! The podcast is also available via Stitcher at this link.
The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast runs weekly on Thursday afternoons.
Give Us Your Commenting System Feedback
Last month, we rolled out a new commenting system at MLBTR for various reasons. Yesterday, we implemented the great wpDiscuz plugin to add back some of the features you’ve been missing. The following features were added:
- Upvoting and downvoting
- Ability to edit your own comments
- Live update of new comments for logged-in users
How can we further improve the commenting system? Please let us know in the comments of this post and we’ll get to work.