Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
The Yankees make one of the first significant trades leading up to August 2 when they acquired Royals outfielder Andrew Benintendi on Wednesday night. Let’s take a look at the most recent rumors.
Padres Favorites for Soto?
Buster Olney of ESPN reports that some rival executives believe that the Padres are the frontrunners for Nats’ superstar Juan Soto. Jon Heyman of the New York Post notes that the push for Soto seems to be led by the Cardinals, Rangers, Dodgers, and the previously mentioned Padres.
Nats’ GM Mike Rizzo said on Wednesday that the team would not dilute the return for Soto by adding a significant contract (like Patrick Corbin) to the trade.
Mets, Yankees Round 3
Sources tell me that the Mets and Yankees continue to be two of the primary teams targeting veteran reliever David Robertson from the Cubs. The 37-year-old has a 1.83 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and 50 strikeouts in 39 1/3 innings for the Cubs this year and is a free agent after the season.
Robertson is one of the best high leverage relievers on the market and the former Yankee has dominated lefties (.503 OPS) as well as righties (.509) this season.
Astros Dangling Pitching
Both Jeff Passan of ESPN and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic have reported that the Astros could trade from their luxury of starting pitchers to acquire a center fielder and/or catcher.
Passan notes that right-hander Jose Urquidy could be the pitcher the Astros are likely to deal as they look to upgrade at multiple key positions. Rosenthal says that the Orioles would make sense with center fielder Cedric Mullins as a good fit for the Astros.
