Good afternoon, folks! Let’s take a look at the latest rumors engulfing baseball since there is less than one week left until the deadline.

The North Will Deal

The Blue Jays plan on being aggressive soon. They want to move Tyler Clippard, John Axford, and J.A. Happ sooner rather than later so as to not get overwhelmed in the 11th hour according to Joel Sherman of the NY Post. J.A. Happ’s asking price has dropped dramatically according to Andy Martino of SNY. Happ’s strikeouts and velocity are up from recent years which makes him an intriguing candidate for a team like the Yankees.

Britton Deal is Done 

Zach Britton is en-route to New York (the Bronx). The left-handed sinkerballer returned from a torn Achilles injury recently. While he still hasn’t looked like the 2016 Britton, his velocity has been improving per outing. Britton joins an already elite Yankees bullpen. That bullpen in the playoffs could be dangerous. As a group, the Yankees bullpen ranks first in WAR (by 1.7 wins), second in FIP, first in ERA, first in K%, second in WHIP, third in WPA. So in other words, have fun facing that bullpen in October.

On the Yankees side, they dealt the Orioles Dillon Tate, Josh Rogers, and Cody Carroll. Tate is a former fourth overall pick who really hasn’t been impressive. He throws the ball in the strike zone too much which leads to hitters getting good contact off him. He throws hard and way too hard to only be striking out 22% of the guys he faces in Double-A. Keith Law of ESPN wrote, “Tate is famous, but he’s really not that good anymore — not enough to justify his selection as the fourth overall pick in the 2015 draft, at least.”

He seems likely to be a reliever at this point given his inability to generate whiffs as a starter. He did rate this as a better return on paper than what the Mets got for Familia but I do not think it is that much better.

The Yankees are not done though. Joel Sherman of the NY Post says the Yankees still plan on adding a starting pitcher. There are some decent rental options like J.A. Happ but the Mets and Yankees may very well still matchup well in a deal.

Padres Want an Ace and They Noah Guy

The Padres want a controllable pitcher that can take them to the next level. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic wrote about the Padres having significant interest in Chris Archer. Dennis Lin of The Athletic reported that the Padres also checked in on Noah Syndergaard. The Padres are an interesting trade partner for the Mets. They have roughly 10 Top 100 prospects depending on what site you like. I still think a deal will be more likely in the Winter when they hire their next GM.

Fish Want Huge Returns

The Marlins have reportedly told Marlins that Jay Groome or Michael Chavis would not be sufficient for Drew Steckenrider. Between Steckenrider, Kyle Barraclough (got that spelling right without even having to google it!), and Adam Conley, the Marlins have some good and controllable relievers to move this deadline.