As we inch closer to the Major League Baseball trade deadline, rumors surrounding the top available players only grow more intense.
It seems to be a sellers' market at this stage with a lot more teams hoping to improve in the next week than those willing to look toward the future. There will be a heavy bidding war on the few impact players on the block, causing prices to keep rising leading up to August 1.
This means while some players could be potentially heading toward specific teams, that could change in an instant when others get involved. With that said, here is a look at the latest buzz surrounding some of the biggest names available.
Jonathan Lucroy, C, Milwaukee Brewers
At 30 years old, Jonathan Lucroy is still showing he is one of the elite catchers in baseball. He can hit for a high average while adding plenty of power from the position as well as excellent defense.
Not only was he selected to his second All-Star team this season, but his numbers are similar to two years ago when he finished fourth in the National League MVP voting. Of course, the rest of the Milwaukee Brewers haven't lived up to their ends of the bargain, and they are likely now going to look to trade off any quality assets to prepare for the future.
ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reported the latest news surrounding the veteran catcher:
Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press added the Detroit Tigers as a potential team in the mix. Lucroy could be a potential upgrade over James McCann.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports provided a look at what the Brewers might be asking for in a possible deal:
It makes sense the Brewers would balk at simply replacing their All-Star catcher with a worse one, even when the replacement is younger. With a cheap team option, Lucroy won't be a free agent until after the 2017 season, meaning Milwaukee doesn't necessarily have to trade him this summer.
As an impact player in an otherwise shallow position, the Brewers can wait until they get a reasonable offer worthy of dealing away one of their top players.
Considering the number of interested teams, it seems like at least one team will budge and provide a quality package before the deadline.
Jeremy Hellickson, SP, Philadelphia Phillies
When a player is a free agent at the end of the season and is performing as well as he has in years for a non-contending team, it creates almost the perfect scenario for a trade.
However, the Philadelphia Phillies aren't necessarily going with conventional wisdom on Jeremy Hellickson, according to Jayson Stark of ESPN:
This could be a form of hardball in negotiations, but ESPN's Buster Olney noted the Phillies have other options:
It's clear why opposing teams are interested in Hellickson in the first place. His 3.65 ERA would be his lowest since 2012, while his recent performances have scouts even more excited. The pitcher has a 1.97 ERA in five July starts, including just one earned run in 14 innings in his last two games.
The problem is the fear that this strong showing is just a hot run and he is likely to regress to the mean. Hellickson hasn't posted an ERA lower than 4.50 in any of the last three years, and his FIP of 4.17 is more in line with his career mark of 4.35, per Baseball-Reference.com.
Still, Crasnick reported the Miami Marlins, Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles are three teams interested in making a trade. Considering all three squads lack pitching depth beyond one or two quality starters, a trade could definitely go down.
Jay Bruce, OF, Cincinnati Reds
There might not be a better chance to sell high on Jay Bruce than right now. The outfielder went deep Wednesday, marking five straight games with a home run and a total of seven home runs in his last eight games.
This outburst gave Bruce 25 home runs for the season and an NL-leading 79 RBI.
As well as he has played, the veteran isn't sitting around thinking about his accomplishments, per the Associated Press (via Fox Sports):
There's no time for that. You do that in this game and it's too late. [...]
One day hopefully a long, long time from now, I can sit back and reflect, but right now there's no time for that, everything's moving too fast. It's too demanding a game to kick back and think back about all you've done.
Still, his strong play makes him an excellent target for teams hoping to upgrade the offense. With the Cincinnati Reds currently sitting in last place in the NL Central, it makes it no surprise they are listening to potential offers, which have ramped up as of late.
Crasnick reported the Seattle Mariners being a potential option for Bruce:
Considering the Mariners are actually among the top power teams in baseball, it wouldn't be surprising to see some other contenders get even more desperate to add an impact hitter like this one. If Bruce keeps hitting like he is, the cost will only go up.
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