Trades have happened, and MLB rumors season is officially here.
Here's the latest you should know regarding MLB rumors, a day after the Royals and Rangers broke the seal on the trade market, sending Aroldis Chapman to the Rangers to further fortify its pitching staff.
Red Sox could be big spenders in trade market
Expect the Boston Red Sox to make some moves.
"Chaim will have full authority to do what is in the best interest of the organization, short-term and long-term. We're a month away, so we'll see. Right now, all systems are go. We're focused on trying to have the team play better and position ourselves for a run into the postseason. That's the mindset right now," team president Sam Kennedy said to Mass Live.
While Kennedy signaled that the Red Sox believe the team, as it is now, is talented and simply not playing up to expectations, it's easy to imagine that the results as they stand now could put the Sox in a position to trade. He even indicated that the goal is to get the team to a point where they can justify making spends in the trade market.
"If things change, we'll address that at that time. But no one's thinking about the trade deadline right now. We're just thinking about trying to put ourselves in a position where we're looking to add to this team."
Chaim Bloom may be looking to earn confidence with the organization (Mass Live points out it's believed he has one year left on his deal) and could do so by being aggressive with moves that get the Sox competing for the AL East title down the stretch, or at least a Wild Card spot. Kennedy says in the same interview that Bloom has the full confidence of the Red Sox organization.
Boston is 3-7 in its last 10 and last in the AL East, 15 games out of first place.
It's a bold proclamation to make, that the Red Sox expect to be in a position to re-invest in the big-league club with just a month to go before the deadline, and less before deals start heating up. Clearly, the Red Sox are bullish on their ability to turn it around.
MLB rumors: Braves dodged a bullet with first big trade
The first big trade of the MLB season went through on Friday, with Aroldis Chapman being moved from the Kansas City Royals to the Texas Rangers. Chapman signed a one-year deal with the Royals this offseason to help reclaim his reputation after a troublesome year in the Yankees bullpen in 2022.
Chapman did that and then some, returning to his status of dominant closer with Kansas City. He now gets to go to a contender with one of the best pitching staffs in the league, and the Royals cash in.
Another winner in this whole thing was the Atlanta Braves, in my opinion. While the Braves have been dominant from the start of the year, they're still in a talent-dense division that could come alive at any time. The New York Mets have plenty of Steve Cohen's money on the table and have an edict to win, and I think they would have been another good destination for Chapman.
Mets closer Edwin Diaz, who sustained an injury preseason during the World Baseball Classic, has said he hopes to return this year, but the Mets can't count on him coming back to full form right from the jump. You have to think the Mets were considering adding Chapman, which would have been workable for the Braves, but unideal to have him in division.
Instead, the Mets see Chapman stay not only out of the NL East, but away from their side of the MLB altogether. They won't have to deal with him until the World Series, at the earliest in the postseason picture.
MLB rumors: Yankees failed trade on Chas McCormick
On Friday, Ken Rosenthal dropped an article looking at the situation with the New York Mets. Within it, he said the Yankees had, "previous," interest in Chas McCormick (subscription required) of the Houston Astros. The talks stalled.
McCormick, in his third big league season, is slashing .252/.335/.444 for the Stros this year and has doubled his stolen base total from last season already this season. His OPS is 14 percent higher than the league average.
McCormick, an outfielder, would have been a good add for New York considering their injury-laden unit and lack of offensive pop from those in the outfield at various stages this offseason.
Giancarlo Stanton, Harrison Bader, and presently Aaron Judge have all seen time on the injured list. Isaiah Kiner-Falefa transitioning to the outfield has been honorable, but it's not his natural spot. Before he was cut, Aaron Hicks was providing next to nothing at the plate.
McCormick has accumulated a positive offensive and defensive WAR so far this season (1.0 and 0.2, respectively), though his arm strength is low, even lower than IKF's.
In his reporting, Rosenthal points out that McCormick's power would be well-suited for the dimensions of Yankee Field which features a short right-field porch.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and owner Hal Steinbrenner have been tight-lipped on moves and not hyped up the probability that changes will come. But perhaps it would be worth picking the phone back up for this one.
