There’s only one week until the MLB trade deadline and speculation is starting to ramp up as teams determine whether they are buyers or sellers.
Here’s some of the latest scuttlebutt from around the majors.
Would Simmons be a good fit with Blue Jays?
The Toronto Blue Jays sat at .500 heading into Monday’s action and were just three games back in the AL wild card race. The club acquired first baseman Daniel Vogelbach from the Seattle Mariners but more moves could be on the horizon.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan wondered in his latest trade deadline preview if the Toronto Blue Jays would be interested in Los Angeles Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons with Bo Bichette dealing with an injury.
“The market for a player like Simmons, an all-time great defender at shortstop, is every bit as slim, though that won’t keep the Angels from trying to find him a landing spot,” Passan wrote.
The four-time gold glove recipient and 2015 Overall Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award winner is a pending free agent and his Angels are an AL-worst 9-20.
Teams asking Angels about Bundy
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes that the Angels have received multiple inquiries about starting pitcher Dylan Bundy.
The 27-year-old righty has posted a career low 2.58 ERA in his first season with the Angels. He has 44 strikeouts and has walked just eight batters.
The Angels are among the clear sellers as the deadline approaches. The 9-20 Boston Red Sox are also one of those teams and Nightengale wrote in the same column that the “Red Sox have let everyone know that there are no untouchables” on their roster.
Cleveland facing dilemma with starters
Mike Clevinger’s time with the Cleveland Indians could be coming to an end. The fifth-year starter, along with fellow righty Zach Plesac, was recently disciplined by the team for violating COVID-19 protocols and breaking curfew.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that rival executives feel Clevinger could be on the block and the team could receive interest in Plesac as well.
Clevinger is the more likely of the two to be moved considering Plesac has a more team-friendly contract. Clevinger had a 3.24 ERA in three starts but hasn’t been on the mound since Aug. 5. Meanwhile, Plesac has a 1.29 ERA in 21 total innings of work this season.
Defending champs ‘still assessing’ in Washington
The defending World Series champion Washington Nationals are below .500 and Stephen Strasburg is done for the year with another injury yet team general manager Mike Rizzo isn’t panicking.
“We are still assessing what we have and the deadline,” Rizzo told reporters on a conference call. “We are comfortable with our rotation right now. That doesn’t mean we are not looking, and if a deal suits us, we will make a deal. We are always on the look to improve our ball club, but we are excited and happy about the prospects of our rotation not only for this year but for years going forward.”
Rizzo singled out the play of Austin Voth and Erick Fedde before adding: “We like the depth that we have. We get calls about our starting pitching all the time and we feel very, very fortunate that we have that type of depth of young arms that can contribute at the big-league level.”
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