Good morning, Mets fans! Welcome back to another edition of the hot stove rumor roundup! On tap today we have more news to report on a certain generational player and a few noteworthy housekeeping moves around the league.

Phillies In, Giants Out on Machado

Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia writes that the Philadelphia Phillies front office is, for the most part, undeterred by Manny Machado‘s oft-panned “Johnny Hustle” comments. So long as the 26-year old is willing to play third base, Salisbury doesn’t see the Phillies shying away from a long-term commitment with someone who, from their perspective, has more to offer as an asset in an everyday lineup than his behavior and miscontrued personality may suggest.

“You’re not always going to find somebody who checks off every box,” team general manager Matt Klentak opined. “We do our best to evaluate the total player, everything that that player brings to the table — offense, defense, baserunning, their makeup, their work ethic, their age, their health histories. It’s unlikely that you’re going to find the player that is elite in every single one of those areas. If you do, he’s probably not going to be a free agent. Sometimes you have to pick and choose what you’re willing to bet on.”

Meanwhile out west, contrary to some past murmurings around Major League Baseball, the San Francisco Giants will not be taking part in the Machado sweepstakes (per Alex Pavlovic of Bay Area NBC Sports) for both financial and logistical reasons. Even in the event the Giants manage to push Evan Longoria‘s contract out of the picture, the team is reportedly not interested in moving All-Star shortstop and renowned defender Brandon Crawford while simultaneously transferring old contract weight into a $300MM deal with Machado. The team and new president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi are more likely to focus on “breathing room and payroll flexibility.”

 Pirates, Indians, Complete Five-Player Swap

Early yesterday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Indians agreed to and announced the completion of a trade sending middle infielder Max Moroff and outfielder Jordan Luplow to the Indians in exchange for utilityman Erik Gonzalez and minor league pitchers Tahnaj Thomas and Dante Mendoza.

Moroff and Luplow will each join an Indians roster that has lost a ton of depth in the wake of this year’s free agency period, as Rajai Davis, Lonnie Chisenhall, and Adam Rosales all depart for the open market, as do starters Michael Brantley, Josh Donaldson, and Melky Cabrera. Moroff, 25, has just 209 plate appearances to hold up an uninspiring .186/.293/.331 line, but has potential as a switch-hitter and staunch defender at second base worth holding onto in a more specialized role.

Luplow, meanwhile, is a 3rd round pick from the 2014 draft who posted an .829 OPS in Triple-A last season while manning each of the three outfield positions with moderate success. He has hit just .194/.274/.371 through 64 games across two seasons in the majors but, like Moroff, has minor league options.

In Gonzalez, the Pirates win the most experienced and versatile player of the bunch, but still an infielder who has struggled to get things going at the plate. The 27-year old hit just .200/.234/.267 in 47 second-half plate appearances, walking just once and notching just three extra-base hits. Even then mind you, Gonzalez ended the year with a .347 BABIP. His UZR at short this past year (adjusted to 150 games) stood at a decent 14.6, but was ultimately smothered by his -22.7 at second base (where he spent nearly three times as many innings).

Phillies Place Bour on Outright Waivers

With all sorts of logjams around the infield in Philadelphia, there simply wasn’t a place where first baseman Justin Bour fit in. As a result, the Phillies have decided to place him on waivers, thus freeing up space on the 40-man roster ahead of the Tuesday deadline prior to the Rule V Draft (first reported by Jim Salisbury).

Putting the 30-year old on waivers essentially works as an early non-tender, and almost certainly spells an end to Bour’s short time in Philadelphia. A former force in the middle of the Marlins’ batting order, Bour was acquired by waiver trade in early August, serving as a power bat off the bench and occasional fill-in for Carlos Santana at first base. In just 54 plate appearances, Bour stumbled to the tune of a .224/.296/.347 periphery. In total, he hit just 20 homers while driving in 59 across a slow 112 games in his worst offensive season to date.

Any team that claims Bour now will have to take him to arbitration, where he’s projected by MLB Trade Rumors to make $5.2MM for the 2019 season. It’s possible a less competitive team strapped for cash (the Orioles, Tigers, and Royals all come to mind) grabs Bour in the hopes of churning out a quality deadline bat, but they could also wait for him to declare free agency – which he will almost certainly do should he clear waivers, which would allow him to reject an outright assignment.