The Major League Baseball trade deadline is fast approaching, with 4:00 pm coming in just a couple of hours. Teams are all on the phones talking with each other to see if there’s that one move that can create a huge ripple in the wave pool that is the run for the postseason. So which big names are left un-moved, and does Tampa Bay have a shot at landing any of the giant white whales?
RHP Jose Berrios, Twins
As of noon, Berrios was still in the Twin Cities, but the market for the right-hander got much more volatile after reports late Thursday night came out that the Los Angeles Dodgers had swooped in and snatched Max Scherzer and Trea Turner away from their division rivals, the San Diego Padres. Both San Diego and Los Angels trail the San Francisco Giants in the National League West, and I’m positive that Padres GM AJ Preller won’t let the deadline get away without making a hard run at Berrios. Could the Rays still be talking with Minnesota about Berrios? Sure. But why wouldn’t they have made the move for him when they traded for Nelson Cruz. It would have given the Twins the biggest haul they could have gotten for the 27-year-old. But instead, the righty will head to the American League East, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that Toronto has swooped in and brought him north of the border.
Berríos to Blue Jays, source tells @TheAthletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 30, 2021
Landed with: Blue Jays
3B Kris Bryant, Cubs
With the Cubs officially in sell mode, dealing relievers Andrew Chafin and Ryan Tepera to contenders (Oakland and the Chicago White Sox, respectively) early on Thursday, then tempting the Boston Red Sox with first baseman Anthony Rizzo, only to turn around and deal him to the Yankees. Bryant remains the right-handed power bat so many teams are coveting. The former National League Rookie Of The Year and MVP has been linked with both the Rays and New York Mets, and I think one of them ends up with him as their final prize before the deadline.
Likely landing spots: Rays, Mets
SS Trevor Story, Rockies
Story’s days in Denver were numbered as soon as he saw his buddy and former teammate Nolan Arenado get dealt to St. Louis. The 28-year-old has not had the type of season he would want going into free agency, with a slash line of just .240/.312/.429 for a career low OPS of .741. He’s on pace for a similar fWAR as 2020 of around 2.4, down from his years when he was a player who delivered a fWAR of almost 6.0. But he still fits the category many teams are looking for this year: a right-handed power bat to put in the middle of the order and shore up your infield.
Likely landing spots: Rays, Mets, Yankees
RHP Craig Kimbrel, Cubs
The best relief pitcher still on the market, and perhaps the final piece the Cubs will end up off-loading because there are so many teams that could use him. Kimbrel’s another player proving that 2020 was a blip on the radar, and nothing to be too concerned about. I could see every single team that has employed Kimbrel in the past inquiring about him all the way up to 4:00, and more teams that haven’t called him a teammate could be looking at bringing him in as well
Likely landing spots: Braves, Padres, Red Sox, Rays, Yankees, Dodgers, Astros
Steve Carney is the founder and publisher of St. Pete Nine. One of the people most associated with baseball coverage in Tampa Bay, he spent 13 seasons covering the Rays for flagship radio station WDAE, first as producer of Rays Radio broadcasts, then as beat reporter beginning in 2011. He likes new analytics and aged bourbon, and is the owner of one of the ugliest knuckleballs ever witnessed by baseball scouts.
