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Deadline Notes: Rockies, Story, Mets, Bryant, Gibson, Nationals, Dodgers

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The Rockies reportedly received offers for All-Star shortstop Trevor Story from the Yankees, Brewers, White Sox, and Rays prior to Friday’s trade deadline, per Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter). The Rockies have been criticized for their failure to move Story, given that they are all but assured to lose him as a free agent after the season. They will get a draft pick when he departs, and their front office did not deem any of the offers received as appreciably better than that draft pick will be.

  • Despite all the talk, the Mets never came particularly close to acquiring Kris Bryant from the Cubs, per Mike Puma of the New York Post (via Twitter). The two clubs were obviously in steady communication — and eventually consummated a deal for Javier Baez — but the Cubs kept the conversation away from Bryant. Given how long Bryant had been “on the block,” the Cubs certainly had a sense of what was available.
  • The Mets did, however, explore the cost for Kyle Gibson of the Rangers, notes Puma, but the Rangers informed them that they had a better offer on the table from the Phillies.
  • The Nationals had the pieces in place for a deal that would have sent Max Scherzer to the Padres on Thursday night, but they also had a deal in place with an American League East team, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com. The Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays, and Red Sox were all said to have interest in Scherzer at one point or another.
  • As for the Dodgers’ side of that deal eventual deal, they were intent on holding onto Ryan Pepiot, Bobby Miller, and Landon Knack, despite wide-ranging interest in that trio of arms.

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.

Nationals Expected To Activate Josiah Gray, Mason Thompson

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In trading away much of their current roster before yesterday’s trade deadline, the Nationals prioritized talent that was close to Major League ready. The hope and expectation was that many of the players acquired over the past few days will soon join Juan Soto, Victor Robles, and company in DC to begin shaping the next Washington contender.

As such, it is expected that Mason Thompson — acquired from the Padres in the Daniel Hudson deal — will be activated and placed on the active roster later today, while Josiah Gray — a key piece in the Max Scherzer trade — will be activated to join the rotation later this weekend, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (Twitter links). They won’t need a corresponding roster move to add Thompson, as the Nats played with only a 25-man roster for yesterday’s game.

Gray immediately becomes the most interesting starter in the Nationals’ rotation — as well as the most important. There’s little reason to hold him in the minors for any length of time, except for the fact that the 24-year-old has very little pitching experience in the grand scheme of things and only 15 2/3 innings at Triple-A. Looking to maximize the three-year window following this season before Juan Soto hits free agency, the Nats have little time to waste in letting Gray try to establish himself as a pro-ready starter.

Besides, the Nationals have very few options in the upper minors, and they need to fill two rotation spots after trading Scherzer and Jon Lester. Gray will slot right into the rotation behind Patrick Corbin and Joe Ross, with Erick Fedde and Paolo Espino likely to hold down the other two spots.

The same is true in the bullpen, where the departures of Brad Hand and Hudson leave glaring holes. Kyle Finnegan has stepped in as the closer for now, but in the long-term, the rest of the bullpen is largely up for grabs. Tanner Rainey has been off all season, though they certainly hope he can find himself again before the year is out. Wander Suero has long been a middle reliever who sometimes plays up into a setup role for manager Dave Martinez. Will Harris should be a key man, but he can’t seem to stay healthy.

Thompson, 23, should have every opportunity to carve out a role for himself. Baseball America ranked him as the Padres’ 15th-ranked prospect in the midseason report — and he figures to be considerably higher in a talent-poor Nationals system. BA pegged him for middle or late relief, noting a 94-98 mph heater, 12-to-6 curve, and above-average change-up.

All in all, it’s prove yourself season in Washington, where Thompson, Gray, as well as Lane Thomas, Carter Kieboom, Luis Garcia, and probably Keibert Ruiz should have the next two months to prove they are ready to be regular Major Leaguers.

Nationals Sign First-Rounder Brady House

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As reported yesterday, the Nationals signed first-round pick Brady House. His deal is worth $5MM, per Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter). The slot value for the 11th overall selection is $4.55MM.

House’s signing represents a bit of good news for Nats fans amid their sell-off yesterday. The high school shortstop was long considered one of the top prospects in the draft, but he ended up slipping to the Nats at number 11, largely because of signing concerns. Many of the small market teams picking ahead of the Nationals went with draft picks they could sign to below-slot deals.

The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked House as the 11th best prospect in the class, but he was the low man. ESPN had him as high as sixth on their draft board, Fangraphs at ninth, and Baseball America at seventh. The Nats represented a potential floor, then, at number 11 where they got him.

House brings a big bat, but there are some concerns about his hit tool, and most expect him to eventually move to third base. Still, his ceiling is tremendous, and for the Nats, he represents good value.

The Nats farm system looks much more robust today than it did yesterday with House joining trade acquisitions like Keibert Ruiz and Josiah Gray. Prior to those acquisitions, House was probably going to be near the very top of the Nats’ prospect chart. Now, he’ll slot in further down, but he’ll still be a top-ten prospect from the jump.

House represents a class of his own in some ways, however, as most of the prospects the Nationals targets should be in the big leagues within the next year or two. House’s timeline is probably further out than that. High school prep athletes tend closer to the three-to-five-year development path.

Draft Signings: 7/30/21

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Today’s most notable signings from last week’s amateur draft.  As always, you can get more background on these players via the prospect rankings and scouting reports compiled by Baseball America, Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.  As well, here is MLB Pipeline’s breakdown of the slot values assigned to each pick in the first 10 rounds, as well as the bonus pool money available to all 30 teams.

  • The Diamondbacks signed first-round selection Jordan Lawlar, according to Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline. Lawlar will receive almost $1MM above slot value. As Callis notes, this was the highest number the team could give without exceeding their bonus pool.
  • Marlins have also signed their first-round selection Kahlil Watson, pending a physical. Callis expects Watson to get well above slot, similar to Lawlar.
  • The Nationals have also signed their first-round pick Brady House, according to a team announcement. Terms were not disclosed. But the slot value is $4.55MM.
  • The Red Sox have signed fifth-round pick Nathan Hickey, $1MM on a slot of $410k. As noted by Callis, this is the highest bonus given to any player in rounds 4 through 10 so far this year.

 

Deadline Day Roster Moves

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After what was arguably the wildest trade deadline in years with dozens of deals around the league, multiple teams made follow-up roster moves. Trades end up squeezing some players off of rosters, or creating holes that need to be filled. This post will itemize the many 40-man roster moves that teams made after a dizzying array of blockbuster deals earlier in the day.

AL East

AL Central

  • Pablo Sandoval was released by the Indians. This was just hours after he was acquired in the Eddie Rosario trade. Based on his release, it’s clear that he was only included as salary offset.
  • The Tigers selected the contract of reliever Ian Krol. The left-hander is back after being designated for assignment earlier in the week.

AL West

NL East

NL Central

NL West

  • The Diamondbacks claimed outfielder Jake Hager off waivers from the Mariners. This will be Hager’s fourth club on the season, having been previously designated for assignment by the Mets, Brewers and Mariners. Arizona also selected the contracts of infielder Drew Ellis and left-hander Miguel Aguilar.
  • The Dodgers announced that they claimed catcher Chad Wallach off waivers from the Marlins. Wallach was recently designated for assignment when Brian Anderson was reinstated from the IL.

Nationals, Cardinals Swap Jon Lester For Lane Thomas

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The Cardinals added a second veteran lefty just prior to the trade deadline, agreeing to acquire longtime division rival Jon Lester from the Nationals in exchange for outfielder Lane Thomas. Both teams announced the swap.

Jon Lester | John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

Lester joins fellow graybeard J.A. Happ as a new addition to a Cardinals rotation that has been decimated by injury. The Cards are currently without ace Jack Flaherty (oblique strain), while Carlos Martinez is done for the year after undergoing thumb surgery. Miles Mikolas has pitched just four innings this year owing to another forearm strain. The Cards knew Dakota Hudson wouldn’t pitch in 2021 after he had Tommy John surgery last September. They’ve also seen absences for Kwang-hyun Kim and Daniel Ponce de Leon at times; the latter is on the shelf with a shoulder issue at the moment, in fact.

With so many injuries on the staff, the Cards had already turned to veteran lefty Wade LeBlanc to soak up some innings, and their acquisitions of Happ and Lester come with similar goals. Neither Happ nor Lester has pitched all that well in 2021, though Lester has the far better results of the two. He’s worked to a 5.02 ERA in 76 innings for the Nats and generated respectable ground-ball (42%) and walk (8.5%) rates. His 14.9 percent strikeout rate, however, is about nine percent worse than the league-average.

Lester, at this point, is primarily a five-inning pitcher. He’s recorded an out in the sixth inning or later in just five of his 16 trips to the mound this season and has been rocked at a .333/.386/.627 clip on the rare occasions he’s been asked to turn a lineup over for a third time. He’s not the innings eater that he once was, but if the Cardinals don’t try to push him into the sixth and seventh innings on the regular, he ought to be able to keep them in games and help bridge the gap until Flaherty and Mikolas are hopefully able to return. Lester is on a one-year, $5MM contract and will be a free agent at season’s end.

As for the Nationals’ return, the 26-year-old Thomas has yet to produce in the big leagues outside a quick cup of coffee late in the 2019 season, although it’s still rather surprising to see the Cardinals part with a big-league-ready outfielder who can be optioned both this year and next. Thomas is hitting just .104/.259/.125 this year, though it’s just a sample of 58 plate appearances. He’s an overall .172/.289/.336 hitter in a similarly small sample of 142 plate appearances.

Lane Thomas | Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Thomas ranked as the Cardinals No. 14 prospect at  FanGraphs as recently as last summer, drawing praise for his defensive prowess in center field and the potential to pair that with some improved power and plate coverage. His lack of production in the big leagues notwithstanding, Thomas is a .269/.342/.468 hitter in parts of three Triple-A seasons, including a .265/.339/.451 showing in Triple-A Memphis this season.

The move to the Nationals seems like a good opportunity for Thomas, who’d been squeezed out of the outfield picture in St. Louis in favor of Tyler O’Neill, Harrison Bader and Dylan Carlson. With the Nationals, who traded Kyle Schwarber and have a struggling Victor Robles in center field, opportunities for Thomas ought to be more plentiful. He might be a long shot to break out as an everyday option in D.C., but Thomas should at least get that chance. For two months of a struggling veteran starter, it’s a pretty nice roll of the dice for the Nats to inherit.

Jesse Rogers of ESPN broke the news (via Twitter) that Lester was going to St. Louis. Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reported that the Nats were getting Thomas in return.

Athletics To Acquire Yan Gomes, Josh Harrison

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2:21pm: Shayna Rubin of the San Jose Mercury News reports the A’s are sending three minor leaguers to the Nats: catcher Drew Millas, righty Richard Guasch and righty Seth Shuman.

1:53pm: The Athletics have agreed to a deal acquiring catcher Yan Gomes and infielder/outfielder Josh Harrison from the Nationals, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan (via Twitter). The deal is pending medical review of the involved players.

Gomes, 34, is in the second season of a two-year, $10MM contract and has gotten out to a strong start, hitting at a .271/.323/.454 clip with nine homers, 11 doubles and a triple as the primary backstop in D.C — a demonstrable uptick from the league-average .226/.307/.387 slash posted by catchers so far in 2022. He’ll pair with Sean Murphy to give the A’s a pair of backstops who are outpacing that average level of offense behind the plate. Gomes also carries a terrific defensive reputation, which is supported by strong framing numbers and a robust 36 percent caught-stealing rate on the year.

Harrison, meanwhile, gives the A’s a versatile 34-year-old bench piece who has done nothing but hit since signing in Washington. He’s playing the year on a $1MM base salary and has turned in his best offensive showing since an All-Star 2014 campaign. Overall, Harrison has turned in a .291/.363/.431 slash in 450 plate appearances in parts of two seasons with the Nats. He’s experienced at second base, third base and in the outfield corners, so he’ll give manager Bob Melvin a right-handed bat with plenty of versatility for matchup-based lineup construction.

Millas, 23, was drafted by the A’s in the seventh round out of Missouri State by the A’s back in 2019.  Baseball America labeled him a 40-grade prospect prior to the season, calling him “one of the top defensive college catchers” in his draft class.  His bat is considered more of a question mark.  Millas is hitting .255/.372/.359 in 266 High-A plate appearances this year.

Guasch, 23, has worked to a 4.67 ERA, 26.8 K%, and 11.4 BB% in 54 High-A innings this year.

More to come.

Starlin Castro Suspended Thirty Games For Violation Of Domestic Violence Policy, Will Be Released By Nationals

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Major League Baseball has suspended Nationals infielder Starlin Castro for thirty games without pay for a violation of the MLB – MLBPA joint domestic violence policy. Under the terms of the policy, he’s officially barred from participating in any postseason games this year. He’ll also pay a fine of an undisclosed amount.

Castro was placed on administrative leave on July 16 after domestic violence allegations were made against him. Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo strongly suggested afterwards that Castro wouldn’t again play for the club. The team announced this morning that he’ll indeed be released upon the conclusion of his suspension.

The 31-year-old signed a two-year, $12MM deal with the Nationals over the 2019-20 offseason. His suspension will result in the forfeiture of approximately $1MM in salary.

Blue Jays, Athletics Reportedly Interested In Yan Gomes

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8:55am: There is indeed a sense in the organization that Gomes could be moved today, tweets Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. That could, however be the final move for them, he adds.

Meanwhile, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet tweets that the Blue Jays do have “real interest” in bringing Gomes back to the organization.

1:59am: The Blue Jays and Athletics are among the teams interested in Nationals catcher Yan Gomes, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). The veteran backstop is widely expected to wind up on the move by Friday afternoon’s deadline as the Nationals continue to move players off the big league roster. Gomes recently missed a couple weeks with an oblique strain but he was reinstated from the injured list this morning.

As an impending free agent, Gomes is a logical trade candidate for the suddenly-retooling Nats. He’s on a $6MM contract for 2021, with about $2MM still to be paid out. That’s not too onerous a sum, although it might be noteworthy enough to concern the A’s, who have shown little willingness to take on payroll in any midseason deals to this point.

Gomes is having a nice season, hitting an above-average .271/.323/.454 across 235 plate appearances. That’s particularly strong output for his position, considering catchers entered play on Thursday with a cumulative .226/.307/.387 slash leaguewide.

The Jays would be something of an odd fit for Gomes, who actually broke in with Toronto back in 2012. The club already has Reese McGuire, Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen on the 40-man roster. That glut likely contributed to the Jays decision to trade young backstop Riley Adams to Washington for Brad Hand. That said, Gomes would add a veteran presence to the mix, and Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins are plenty familiar with the player from their days with the Indians.

A Gomes pursuit would be a more straightforward move for the A’s. Sean Murphy is having another good season, but backup Aramis Garcia has a .205/.239/.318 line in 94 plate appearances. Gomes would be an obvious upgrade and could help shoulder some of Murphy’s workload for the stretch run.

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