2020 MLB Trade Deadline

It’s that time of year– the MLB Trade Deadline.

Our very own Ray Flowers is on the case this deadline day, as he will update every deal that comes down as teams attempt to prepare their rosters for the stretch run to the playoffs. Ray will touch on every relevant deal throughout the day, and he will also hit on the rumors that you need to know about through the day. Bookmark this page as Ray will be updating the piece all day long, every time some bit of information pops.

*TIMES LISTED ARE EST

The Jays added Robbie Ray, Taijuan Walker and Stripling, a drastic overhaul to the teams starting rotation. Stripling entered the year with lots of excitement, but his performance has turned rotten of late. He hasn’t gone five innings in four starts, and the last four times out he has permitted at least two homers each time leading to a 7.47 ERA with a pathetic 1.57 K/BB ratio. He’s simply out of whack right now, in a significant way. He’s a dicey own in mixed leagues at the moment.

The Dodgers, finally confirmed what we wanted to see, and that is Tony Gonsolin is now part of the starting rotation.

Williams figures to become one of the mix of potentials to get saves in the bullpen of the Padres, but make no mistake. (A) This trade destroys his fantasy value. (B) The over/under on saves for Williams the rest of the way is one. Terrible was this move for his fantasy outlook.

Chirinos will work with Wilson Ramos behind the dish. According to this report, Chirinos will initially be used in support of Ramos. Chirinos is not worth adding at the moment.

With the Rangers, this locks in Jose Trevino to starting duties the rest of the season. Trevino actually has a better outlook than Chirinos at this point.

Castro will, in essence, replace the injured Dellin Betances. Castro has had homer issues this season, but he also owns a rather impressive 4.80 K/BB ratio thanks to a 13.79 K/9 rate. He can miss bats, but that doesn’t mean he rises to the level of rostering in mixed leagues.

J.D. Davis is dealing with a hip issue, he was pulled Sunday and not in the lineup Monday. If he goes on the IL Frazier can obviously fill right now. If Davis stays in the lineup, Frazier loses whatever value he was carrying in the fantasy game. Frazier starter hot before tanking, and his OPS is now down to .702.

Short was the 21^st prospect in the Cubs organization according to MLB Pipeline. Maybin could certainly work his way into the mix at DH, perhaps in a bit of a larger role than should be expected until Kris Bryant returns. That said, the team also added Jose Martinez which means there just don’t figure to be enough at-bats to cause any reason for you to look Maybin’s way.

As I write this, my assumption is that Bradley will set up Raisel Iglesias. I could be wrong, haven’t seen anything official on it. That’s quite the 1-2 punch at the end of games for the Red Stockings. This would appear to be a big negative move for the fantasy outlook of Bradley.

The Goodwin add is not a result of concerns about Nick Senzel missing time. That being said, where is he gonna play? Is this an admission that Shogo Akiyama has fallen out of favor? When Senzel is healthy it’s Shogo/Nick/Brian for two spots, so someone ain’t gonna be happy. Goodwin has seen his slash line drop to .242/.330/.463, so he’s back to being a league average guy.

Packy Naughton is one of the best names in sports. If it was 1908, he would be a star. He was the Reds’ #14 prospect before the trade.

Banda was at one point a likely future star. Alas, those days have long passed. Banda has just 51.1 terrible big league innings under his belt. The Giants will hope to eek out some minor, non-important, value from him.

Phelps has been terrific this season, and he is in desperate need by the Phillies beleaguered bullpen. Phelps has 20 punchouts in 13 innings while allowing a mere seven hits. He’s not in the saves mix, but he should rack up the holds and continue to get tons of outs for his new club.

3:50: The Cubs got Josh Osich from the Red Sox for a PTBNL. The lefty had a 1.14 WHIP last season before seeing the number explode to 1.34 this season. He does have a 4.00 K/BB and 20 strikeouts in 15.2 innings.

Pillar started hot, but then went in the dumper. Still, he’s hitting .274 with a .795 OPS. Shockingly, he’s never posted an OPS of .720 before. Relatively amazing given that he plays daily for someone every year. Don’t know how he’s gonna get playing time in Colorado as they seemingly think that the are starting five outfielders each day. Rockies, you start three. Five is in the fantasy game. Maybe he plays 2/3 of the time in Colorado, maybe more until David Dahl is back. Who knows, maybe they want him to play CF daily. Really don’t get why they would want to block their young talent with Pillar, but what do I know?

It does not sound like Jarren Duran will be called up to the majors by the Red Sox.

3:20: Jon Heyman is reporting that the Yanks dong feel great about their odds to get Bundy, Gausman or Lynn. He went further and suggested that the Giants might hold on to Gausman.

Chafin has posted a 10.84 K/9 since the start of the 2016 season, but he’s also walked 3.89 batters per nine with a 1.37 WIHP in that time. He’s a solid real world addition, but pay him no mind in the fantasy game.

Marte has always been one of my favorite players. This season he’s gone .311-2-14-23-5 with a .827 OPS. The power has been down a bit, but the walks are up, the strikeouts are down and he still runs. He’s going to be completely unleashed in Miami, and that means he should be expected to continue along the lines of what we’ve seen him produce over the years, and that means he’s an elite fantasy option still. Duh.

Smith is the cheaper version of Robbie Ray. I mean, seriously. Smith is a lefty with a career 9.88 K/9 rate with a 3.89 BB/9 rate, and he profiles as Robbie Ray Jr. Not as much elite level stuff here, but potentially a bit more stable with multiple years of control. D’backs saved cash and likely didn’t lose that much on the bump. I guess my earlier concerns about the club were unfounded. Apologies. By the way, Smith is close to being activated from the Covd-19 list to make his first start of the seasons. He’s far from a trustworthy option at the moment, in any setup.

Villar will play shortstop until Bo Bichette (knee) returns, likely in a couple of weeks. When Bichette is back, Villar will likely become a super sub. Depends how much playing time Villar gets in a couple of weeks, but would have to think that Toronto is a good place to hit with an impressive offense. This move isn’t really a negative unless you are overly concerned about playing time in a couple of weeks. I wouldn’t be in that group right now, especially since he can play third base too and take some work from the struggling Travis Shaw.

It has been reported that Isan Diaz has applied for reinstatement after he opted out earlier this season. If he is cleared to return, he would obviously be an option to pick up playing time that is now vacated by the Villar deal.

Yes, Conine is the son of Jeff. A second round pick in 2018, he had 22 homers with a .576 SLG at Low-A last season.

3:02: So Villar is out in Florida while Marte is back. Pretty similar skill sets, though Marte is clearly the better hitter and an outfielder.

3:01: The Marlins have sent Jonathan Villar to the Blue Jays according to Ken Rosenthal. Bo Bichette is two weeks away in his return from a knee issue.

3:00: Amazingly, it sounds like Starling Marte is headed to… the Marlins. Yes, the Marlins.

2:58: After adding Josh Naylor earlier today, former 30/15 man Domingo Santana has been designated for assignment after a horrid run to date. He won’t pass through waivers unclaimed, so the club will look to work out a deal for him.

2:57: Jonathan Villar has been removed from the lineup and the rumors about his potential landing spot are swirling.

2:55: The Rangers will deal Joey Gallo, but the ask is big according to Jayson Stark. Sounds like the club is looking for a current big league outfielder, a second big leaguer and then a high end prospect as well. Doesn’t make it sound like he’s likely to be dealt.

2:49: Ken Rosenthal says the Mets interest in Christian Vazquez is overblown. Sox are seeing a lot of interest in Kevin Pillar, Josh Osich and Matt Barnes.

2:40: A couple hours later, and Harold Reynolds hasn’t seemed to get any smarter.

2:32: Jon Heyman says that the Yankees, Twins and Marlins are at the top of the list of suitors for Starling Marte.

2:29: The Giants lost Dereck Rodriguez as the Tigers picked him up after he was DFA’d. He was terrible last year, but in 2018 he had a strong rookie season with a 2.81 ERA and 1.13 WHIP over 118.1 innings. Not likely to amount to much in fantasy, but a nice low cost move by Tigers.

2:26: Joel Sherman says that the D’backs will not pick up the seemingly reasonable $12.5 million option next season on Starling Marte. Why? Why add a guy, who is performing at All-Star levels, and decide months later that you aren’t willing to bring him back at a very reasonable salary in 2021? Gotta make Marte feel great, doesn’t it? How about the fans? With this news leaking out, it would seem to strengthen the thought that he’s dealt today.

2:14: Ken Rosenthal says the D’backs could easily deal Archie Bradley and/or Starling Marte.

2:12: Jon Heyman says that the Yankees are pushing to add a starting pitcher. Dylan Bundy, Lance Lynn, Kevin Gausman are the main options. Also, Trevor Bauer will not be dealt by the Reds.

Ray will become a free agent next year. We all had better hope he doesn’t sign an extension to stay in the AL East. He’s a total mess this season, he’s allowed 27 runs and 31 walks in 31 innings this season, so you really don’t need me to say stay away, do you? Man, do we all wish that the Astros had added him like we all hoped they would. The Jays are also getting $300,000.

1:54: There are reports leaking out that the Blue Jays have added Robbie Ray.

1:51: Circling back to the Athletics addition of Mike Minor. He’s obviously going into the rotation, so what does that look like now for the club? Minor, Jesus Luzardo, Mike Fiers and Sean Manaea are in. That would seem to leave the last spot up for grabs between Chris Bassitt and Frankie Montas. Ideally, Bassitt probably goes into a swing role, but Montas just hasn’t looked right since he had a start pushed back with neck woes. He’s been dreadful the last three outings allowing a massive, vomit inducing 18 runs over 9.2 innings. Certainly possible he has an IL stint coming.

1:46: Gary Sanchez update. No trade rumors. Who wants a moderate to blah defensive catcher who can’t hit? Sanchez is hitting .134 this season. Over his last 222 games, two-hundred-twenty-two games, he’s “hit” .203 with a .299 OBP. Downright ugly.

1:42: Well, not so fast. Jeff Passan directly contradicts that last report and is suggesting that the Mets are listening on Edwin Diaz, but that they are asking for more than teams appear willing to give.

1:40: The Mets have no intention of dealing Edwin Diaz. With Dellin Betances hurt, and Seth Lugo in the rotation, that is understandable, especially after they did deal away Jarred Kelenic to get him in the first place.

1:17: Jon Heyman says that Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez is drawing interest from the Mets. Wilson Ramos has struggled offensively this season, but he did hit .296 with 29 homers and 143 RBI the last two seasons, so I think it’s fair to question if catcher is really an area of need given that Ramos has a club option for 2021.

1:15: Joel Sherman also says that he would be surprised if the Rangers don’t move Lance Lynn. Cheap control next year at $8 million.

1:13: Jon Heyman said that the Yankees are interested in Starling Marte. With all their injuries they could use a boost. Man, would things be crowded though if/when Judge/Stanton ever get healthy if they pull off a move for Marte.

1:11: According to Ken Rosenthal… the Rangers are going to make more moves. Lance Lynn and Joey Gallo are both in play. Lynn has one more year on deal while Gallo has two years in arbitration. The Rays are in the mix.

1:07: Does Harold Reynolds ever say anything that isn’t obvious to even a casual baseball fan?

12:53: Buster Olney believes that Dylan Bundy will remain an Angel – at least according to what he’s hearing from talent evaluator. The big pitching get is obvious Clevinger, but Bundy has made changes this season and appears to have finally taken that next step in his development. He will never get to Clevinger’s heights, though that was expected from him years ago, but he certainly has the look of a mid-rotation starter for clubs in major league baseball.

12:52: Jon Heyman is reporting that the Indians have no plans to move Francisco Lindor. I’ve never understood why there were be any interest from the Indians to deal Lindor. He’s an elite player, a leader and a guy who plays with passion and energy. He seems like the ideal player to build around, even if the price tag is extremely high.

12:46: By the way… PTBNL means Player to Be Named Later. What the means is that PTNBL is a guy who is not on the current 60-man roster.

This deal is happening, according to Jeff Passan. Mike Minor went 14-10 with a 3.59 ERA and 200 punchouts over 208.1 innings. He will step into the Athletics’ rotation with a 0-5 record and 5.60 ERA. The K/9 rate is the same, but his walk rate is up to 3.31 per nine while his HR/9 is way up to 1.78. A lot of that gain has to do with his 16.7 HR/FB ratio, and the move to Oakland should help a bit with that. Interestingly, his SIERA is a hundredth below last season, the exact same as his xFIP (4.50 and 4.59). He hasn’t pitched much differently than last year, though the numbers look much worse. He has lost about two mph which would seem to dispel any hope of returning to last year’s levels the rest of the way. He;s also lost nearly 200 RPM on the spin rate. Split the difference. He’s more of a solid innings eater than someone who should be looked at as a major ratio upgrade. The move to Oakland has to increase his outlook at bit though.

12:20: Josh Naylor is a welcomed addition to the outfield of the Indians. However, does he offer a difference making bat? The answer to that is no. He’s more of the Jason Heyward type of offensive player. Before you say awful, go look at Heyward’s numbers. They aren’t as bad as you think. There’s no speed component with Naylor though. Insiders thing the Indians might try and move some of the youth they added in the Clevinger deal to try and get a more impact type bat in the outfield.

12:15: Everyone is expecting either/both of Lance Lynn and Mike Minor to be dealt. You can make the case that Lynn is in the top-3 for the AL Cy Young award right now, so from an on the field perspective it would be a massive get for someone. Minor has failed, miserably, to back up his strong 2019 effort, but he’s a quality, veteran arm that so many teams are in need of in this year of the injured hurler.

11:52: The Indians have dealt away Trevor Bauer, Mike Clevinger and Corey Kluber the last year. That’s massive pitching talent to move on from. They are currently tied for first place in the AL Central. They have done a wonderful job developing talent in Cleveland.

11:43: Wow, so much for this being a boring trade deadline. Mike Clevinger was part of a massive 9-player deal. The return was all about volume as the Padres didn’t have to move any of their top-5 prospects which is remarkable when you look at the talent/production of Clevinger. However, the way that he lied to his teammates and team about his actions with Zach Plesac nearly fractured the organization. The Indians apparently felt that they had to move on. If this trade had come down two months ago – Clevinger brings back more. Period. However, GM’s had to be worried about if they could trust Clevinger and what his addition would mean to their squad. Obviously, no one stepped up to pay the full price that his performance dictates.

11:39: The Padres have made five trades, involving 22 players, since the weekend. Flat out amazing.

11:34: Barring another deal of a pitcher going away, or an injury, the addition of Mike Clevinger would seem to be a huge roadblock to the hopes of MacKenzie Gore starting for the Padres this season.

Clevinger is who is he. He will remain an elite right-handed starting pitcher with the surging Padres.

The Indians return. Cal Quantrill has a 4.79 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in the bigs with 19 starts and 14 relief outings. A top-50 prospect in all of baseball a few years back, Quantrill should be able to carve out a fantasy relevant career. Depending how the trade deadline breaks down for the Indians, Quantrill could end the day as part of their starting rotation. Josh Naylor will likely get a chance to be in the lineup daily (the Indians outfield has been just about the worst in baseball at producing anything offensively). There’s a lot to like with Naylor. He’s not overly athletic, and his power isn’t upper end, maybe 20 homer level, but he can hit. Though he has a .720 OPS through 317 plate appearances at the big-league level, Naylor has hit .314 with a .936 OPS in 54 games at Triple-A. He’s a strong add in AL-only leagues. If you are desperate in 15-team mixed leagues, maybe. Arias was in the top-10 Padres prospects according to MLB Pipeline. Hedges will continue to play solid D but not hit.

11:22: Jon Heyman is reporting that the Indians are getting Josh Naylor, Cal Quantrill and more.

11:21: Mike Clevinger is indeed going to Padres. This according to about four different sources now. In the last two days, the Padres have added: Austin Nola, Trevor Rosenthal, Mitch Moreland, Jason Castro, Austin Adams, Dan Altavilla and Mike Clevinger. I would contend that NO TEAM IN BASEBALL HISTORY has more dramatically turned over their roster at the trade deadline. We will follow up when we know what the return if for Clevinger. One has to think that the Indians attention will not turn to Clevinger collaborator Zach Plesac. Will Plesac take the rotation spot of Clevinger, or is he too headed out of town?

11:20: Reports coming in – MIKE CLEVINGER TO THE PADRES.

11:15: As of the start of game action today, there are 14 teams in the NL who are “in” the playoffs or within 2.5 games of the playoffs. There are nine AL teams either “in” or within two games. Fascinating to see how many trades go down given that sooooo many teams have legitimate playoff hopes right now.

11:11: Total lull right now. Speculation is out there, but nothing concrete from any source. By the way, the old school White Sox uni’s, the one they wore yesterday, was the same uniform I wore in Pony Baseball when I was 13-14 years of age.

10:52: Jon Morosi thinks there is a better chance that the Yankees deal Miguel Andujar than Clint Frazier.

10:50: With Trevor Rosenthal already gone, it seems probable that Greg Holland will be with another team by the end of the day, reports Mark Feinsand. Don’t know how a team can truly trust Holland despite how well he’s pitched this season. That guy is a powder keg who is primed to go off in any outing.

10:46: Dylan Bundy or Lance Lynn will likely end up as a Twin according to Jon Morosi. They want to build on their success from last season. He was just tossing it out there, but he seemed fairly confident when speaking that one of the two will be a Twinkie by the end of the day.

10:44: Jon Morosi believes that Mike Clevinger will be dealt today. Not official or anything like that, but it is his strong feeling. He suggested that the Braves would have to give away Drew Waters if they wanted to get it done. Braves looking for an arm since a lot of their young arms haven’t developed as well as hoped the last 12 months. Other teams involved could still top the Braves offer though he said.

10:41: Joe Frisaro is reporting that the Marlins are looking to add to their bullpen with Archie Bradley one of their prime targets.

10:40: Josh Hader is the name in closing. There have been rumors that the Brewers could deal him, but Jon Heyman is reporting that it doesn’t sound like the Yankees will be a landing spot. In fact, it sounds like the Brewers are leaning toward keeping their dynamic lefty.

10:22 AM: We thought that Brandon Kintzler could be on the move, but Jon Heyman says that is unlikely. The Marlins are not expected to deal their closer who has six saves while being very effectively over his 12.1 innings this season.

10:20 AM: Ken Rosenthal says that the Jays are interested in Jonathan Villar. Villar can play in the infield and outfield, and he could fill in at shortstop until Bo Bichette is ready to return from his knee issue, at which point Villar would likely be moved around the diamond. Possible that he loses some playing time long-term if this scenario plays out.

10:15 AM: It has been reported that the Tigers are not planning to deal Jonathan Schoop. Does this mean the team won’t be sellers today? As for Schoop, you may not have noticed, but he has been incredibly hot of late pushing his line up to .296-7-18-18 over 30 games. He doesn’t run, and the average can be dicey, but he hits the ball hard and often with a good deal of oomph.

The Padres added two catchers, two, in the span of 24 hours in Jason Castro and Austin Nola. That means Mejia/Hedges are out of the plans for this season. Nola is the proverbial swiss-army knife who can play all over the field, and he’s hitting .305 with five homers and a .903 OPS at the moment. His versatility will keep him in the lineup most days, even if he isn’t catching. He’s a rock-solid catcher one at the moment.

The Mariners add Ty France who is hitting .309 with a .868 OPS in just over 60 plate appearances this season. He has a chance to take over the second base spot in Seattle, and he did post a 1.247 OPS at Triple-A last year in 76 games. He’s 26 years old, but he can hit and is a strong AL-only addition with the potential to possibly help out in deem mixed leagues. Munoz is out with arm surgery, but he could be closing for the Mariners in the second half next season as he has a simply dynamic arm when healthy. Torrens hit .300-15-50 with a .873 OPS last season in the minors, and he enters a Mariners’ team that just lost Nola in a trade while placing Mike Zunino on the IL. He appears likely to take over lead catching duties for now making him an intriguing option as a second catcher in mixed leagues, even if you just put him on your watch list. Trammell is now with his third organization but he has the pedigree of a first rounder. He hasn’t developed as quickly as hoped, but at 22 years of age he is coming off a 2019 season that included 10 homers and 20 steals, though with a mere .234 batting average. The Mariners hope to find what the Reds and Padres hope they had.

For more than you would ever want to know about Rosenthal’s resurgence this season, you can check out this story. Is Rosenthal The Closer in San Diego? We don’t know. We do know that Kirby Yates is no longer a consideration this season, but Emilio Pagan and Drew Pomeranz are. It is possible Rosenthal emerges as the closer. It is possible that he is used in a rotation with one or two others. It’s very unclear at the moment, so the move has to be viewed as a negative for Rosenthal – at least until we get that clarity we seek.

Here is a report on Olivares.

Moreland figures to give Eric Hosmer a odd day off here and there, but he will likely see a good deal of work out of the DH role against righties. At the time of the deal Padres designated hitters had an OPS of .677 and Moreland can certainly be better than that. He’s not the 1.077 OPS guys, everyone knows that, but facing righties, in a suddenly potent Padres’ lineup, he could be a decent corner infield play in deep mixed leagues.

The Red Sox got a couple of decent prospects, but there are no fantasy implications. Bobby Dalbec has been promoted and it sounds like the Red Sox plan on giving him tons of work. You can find his preseason scouting report here. He hit a homer in his first game Sunday.

Milone had been effective this season for the Orioles with a 3.99 ERA and 29.1 innings over six starts. He even has a surprising, for him, 31 punchouts. That said, he’s really nothing more than a spot starter, 24-of-51 outings since the start of 2017 have been starts, as he’s more of a swingman than anything to get excited about in fantasy. On the other side the Orioles will put Keegan Akin in the rotation. He brings a strikeout arm, but he also can walk half the building at times. He’s AL-only fodder.

Martinez can sock lefties. He has a terrible OPS of barely .700 this season, but the Cubs are dealing with injuries to Bryant/Souza and they could surely use Martinez and those talents against lefties. Hard to see a daily role for Martinez as this point, but he should be in there against all lefties.

Givens is a solid relief arm who will work the late innings. He could get a save chance or two, but he will likely settle into a setup role with his new team. He has been solid this season with 19 strikeouts over 13 innings with a 1.00 WHIP. He has a 0.50 GB/FB ratio this season, and his career mark is 9.7, so homers could be an issue from time to time at altitude.

The Padres, if you hadn’t noticed yet, are all in. Like 100 percent. The addition of Castro means the team isn’t counting on Francisco Mejia to get healthy and rebound and they have never been happy with the offense of Austin Hedges. Castro isn’t much to look at offensively, but one would think he’s going to pick up substantial playing time in his new home on the coast.