Good afternoon, Mets fans.
It is day two of our rumor roundup, and the trade buzz is heating up!
Another team has entered the Manny Machado sweepstakes.
Yesterday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers were the top two favorites to acquire Orioles’ star Manny Machado.
Today, Rosenthal revealed that the Yankees are showing “increased interest” in the 26-year-old shortstop. However, they have yet to make any formal offers. In addition, the Yankees have expressed interest in Orioles’ rental relievers Zach Britton and Brad Brach, as well as controllable starter Kevin Gausman.
But Machado may remain with Baltimore until after the All-Star break, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN, who tweeted yesterday: “Heard this theory from a baseball person today: The #Orioles won’t trade Machado before the #AllStarGame because it’s in DC, and they’re in the middle of the MASN dispute with #Nationals. And there’s no way they’d deal Manny and have him show up in a #Dodgers or #Brewers uniform.”
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The Los Angeles Dodgers have expressed interest in acquiring a second baseman. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports that the Dodgers have engaged in conversations with the Cincinnati Reds about Scooter Gennett, the Minnesota Twins about Brian Dozier, and the New York Mets regarding Asdrubal Cabrera.
Dozier (.223 BA) and Cabrera (.282 BA) are both in walk years, while Gennett (.332 BA) is set to hit free agency in 2020.
Jon Heyman of Fancred reports the Dodgers have also evinced interest in Marlins reliever Brad Ziegler.
Since the beginning of June, the 38-year-old right hander has allowed only two earned runs on ten hits while recording a 19:3 K/BB ratio over 21 innings.
Ziegler, who will hit free agency this winter, is earning $9 million this season.
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Candian Baseball Network writer Bob Elliott reports that the Chicago Cubs may have interest in acquiring Toronto Blue Jays’ starter J.A. Happ.
The 35-year-old lefty, who is reportedly on the Yankees’ radar, could instantly fortify the Cubs’ rotation.
However, in his last two starts (0-2), the 2018 All-Star has yielded a total of 13 earned runs in just 8.1 innings.
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Rustin Dodd of The Athletic reports that Royals’ utilityman Whit Merrifield hopes to ink a long-term deal with Kansas City.
The 29-year-old enjoyed an impressive 2018 season in which he hit a lofty .288 with 19 home runs and swiped 34 bases.
Despite his struggle thus far in the power department (five home runs, .427 SLG, .125 ISO), Merrifield sports a .303 BA and .369 OBP.
Have a pleasant good afternoon and let’s go Mets!
