Less than 24 hours before the Trade Deadline, players are being traded like elementary school lunch.
The last day of July saw eight dealings between teams either gearing up for a playoff push or planning for next season.
Teams we haven’t seen buying players in a while, like the Cubs and the Diamondbacks, are making strides to improve their teams. They see their opportunity in the gridlock that is the National League wild-card race.
Meanwhile, the American League is loaded and not leaving room for any scraps. Forcing the hand of the Seattle Mariners who begin to sell.
The Mariners started the day by giving up one of the best closers in the league, Paul Sewald. They sent him to the desert in exchange for two big-league bats from the Diamondbacks. Arizona sent back Josh Rojas and Dominic Canzone and a minor leaguer for the 33-year-old future free agent.
Seattle didn’t stop there, calling up the closest ball club and sending outfielder AJ Pollock as well as infielder Mark Mathias to the Giants in exchange for a player to be named later or cash. These moves for Mariners fans seem like a white flag on the 2023 season.
The Mariners are 55-51 and sit 3.5 games out of the last Wild Card spot – these moves raise some questions.
On the other side of the country, the Tampa Bay Rays are finally getting some pitching support, trading with the Cleveland Guardians for starting pitcher Aaron Civale. They send back first baseman Kyle Manzardo, who is a real threat with the bat.
Civale has been wonderful in 2023. He averages six innings per start and has a 2.34 ERA in 13 starts this season.
With the Orioles reminding the Rays of the intensity of the AL East, this move will move mountains for Tampa Bay coming down the stretch.
The Cubs, who were huge question marks this time last week, have made their decision. They are going all in, in 2023. Their recent play has fueled this decision. They are 8-2 in their past 10 games. They have lost just six games since the All-Star break and propelled themselves to 3.5 games back of the wild card.
They decided to keep their rejuvenated Cody Bellinger for the rest of the season and begin to build around him.
Their first move was with the Washington Nationals, trading for one of the most underrated players of the whole season. Third basemen Jeimer Candelario has been on a tear this season. His Wins Above Replacement (WAR) and OPS + are much higher than the league average at 3.3 and 128 respectively. His bat should be an immense help for the Cubbies.
In response to that move, division rival and public enemy number one Milwaukee Brewers make dealings with the New York Mets. Acquiring Mark Canha, this move should bolster their lackluster offense. The Mets get a Double-A pitcher in return.
It’s as if the Mets realized where they went wrong, and are actively trying to fix that mistake and get younger as an organization. It is refreshing to feel a change coming after noticing their game plan doesn’t work.
With less than 12 hours before the Trade Deadline, many more moves will be made as the stove only continues to burn hotter.
