With a little over a week until the MLB trade deadline, all eyes are on which teams will be buyers and sellers this season. While there may not be significant movement until closer to the deadline, there are still plenty of significant headlines around the league. Let’s look at some of the biggest stories over the last week.
Marte On The Trade Block?
According to Craig Mish of The Miami Herald, it appears that Starling Marte and the Miami Marlins are no longer talking contract extension, which may open up the door for a trade.
It appears that Miami offered the center fielder a three-year deal, but the money did not add up to Marte’s liking. Now, the 32-year-old may find himself on the trading block.
This season, in 207 at-bats, Marte is hitting .290/.391/.449 with seven home runs, 22 runs batted in, 49 runs, and 19 stolen bases. A free agent at the end of the season, the Marlins will look to extract as much value out of the outfielder as they can at the deadline, given he is one of the best hitters likely to be on the market.
For the Marlins, they are currently 40-53, 9.5 games back of the New York Mets in the N.L. East. They are currently +4000 to win their division.
Mets Land Two Stars On Injured List
Staying in the N.L. East, the New York Mets are reeling a little bit. Not only did they lose two of three over the weekend to the Pittsburgh Pirates, but they also lost a couple of stars along the way.
Both Jacob deGrom and Francisco Lindor have landed on the injured list. Jacob deGrom, arguably the best pitcher in baseball, is suffering from forearm tightness. In 15 games this season, he is 7-2 with a 1.08 ERA, 0.554 WHIP, and has 146 strikeouts in just 92 innings pitched.
For Lindor, he is sidelined with a Grade 2 oblique strain. Lindor has had a subpar season, by his standards, in New York thus far this season as he is hitting just .228/.326/.376 with 11 home runs and 36 runs batted in, but his absence still creates a huge hole for an offense that ranks just 29th in runs per game (3.80).
Despite the struggles offensively, the Mets still lead the N.L. East by two games with a 48-42 record. They are -175 to win the division and +950 to win the World Series this season.
Henry Davis Signs With Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates made news during the MLB draft by taking catcher Henry Davis with the number one overall pick. The Louisville product hit .370/.482/.663 with 15 home runs and 48 runs batted in during his junior season, propelling him to the top pick.
On Sunday, the Pirates announced that they agreed on terms with the top pick. According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, Davis and the Pirates agreed to a $6.5 million signing bonus.
This comes just shy of being $2 million under slot, allowing the Pirates significant flexibility as they look to sign the rest of their draftees from the top ten rounds.
While this should excite Pirates’ fans off the field, their play on the field has struggled. They are currently 36-57 and sit 19 games back in the N.L. Central. With odds of +50000 to win the division, Pittsburgh will now shift focus to the trade deadline, where players like Adam Frazier and Richard Rodriguez could be on the move in the next week or so.
