The 2016 MLB trade deadline is Aug. 1, which leaves a bit of time for trade chatter to circulate before the biggest deals go down.
At the center of the current buzz are several pitchers with varying roles. New York Yankees flamethrower closer Aroldis Chapman is in the process of changing teams. Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale is also being mentioned in rumors.
With the San Diego Padres wallowing outside of the playoff picture, they're reportedly shopping starter Andrew Cashner. Read on to find out the specifics on this trio of talented pitchers.
Yankees May Trade Andrew Miller Despite Chapman's Reported Departure
The Yankees appear to have finally moved Chapman on. FanRag Sports' Jon Heyman and ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reported Monday the Chicago Cubs will send prospects Billy McKinney and Gleyber Torres along with Adam Warren and an unnamed player to the Big Apple.
Rian Watt of Vice Sports reported Sunday night the Cubs were already discussing an extension for Chapman, who is set to be a free agent at the end of the year:
Chapman's fastball soars into the triple digits, making him a marketable weapon for contenders to pounce on.
The southpaw was suspended 30 games to start the 2016 campaign under MLB's domestic violence policy. He has since returned to convert 20 of 21 save opportunities with a 2.01 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 31.1 innings.
Thanks to the presence of Andrew Miller in the bullpen, New York is in the unique position to trade Chapman and gain some assets in return. Miller has a 1.45 ERA this season and was the Yankees' closer in 2015, converting 36 of 38 save chances.
ESPN's Buster Olney reported that New York isn't necessarily married to keeping Miller on the roster, though:
If the Yankees want to explore their options with Miller, they may well have two standby destinations to send him to.
Bruce Levine of 670 The Score reported on Sunday that the Cleveland Indians had the "best names" in a proposed offer for Chapman and that the Washington Nationals were being "very aggressive" in their pursuit of him.
With Chapman off the board, the Indians and Nationals can still go after Miller, who has proved he can thrive as a regular reliever or surefire closer. He's elite in his own right and isn't a mere Chapman consolation prize.
Cleveland has one of the better starting staffs in baseball, which has helped the Indians rise to the top of the American League Central. Having someone like Miller to slam the door would be invaluable. The same goes for the Nationals, who rank second in baseball with 62 quality starts.
White Sox Stuck with Sale?
Heyman reported the White Sox are asking for five prospects in exchange for Sale.
But Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal spoke to "numerous executives" about Sale's trade value. They said his market may be better in the offseason.
Complicating Sale's trade value is the fact that he was just suspended Sunday for five days due to a clubhouse incident. Sale missed his start Saturday for cutting up the White Sox's throwback jerseys that he didn't want to wear, per Stokke.
Rosenthal stated in his report that the interest in Sale hasn't waned despite his strange episode of insubordination.
Between that bizarre behavior and the fact that Sale makes only $12 million in 2017 and has club options on the subsequent two years of his contract, Chicago has little motivation to trade him now.
Due to the nature of Sale's deal, it will take an offer that blows away the White Sox for them to give him up. It's not as if the 27-year-old is having a bad season, either, what with a 14-3 record and 3.18 ERA.
Numerous Suitors Emerge for Cashner
Heyman reported Sunday that Cashner's market is improving due to his strong performances in two consecutive starts. Heyman also indicated the Houston Astros and Miami Marlins have joined the party.
Other clubs named in the report are the Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants, and Heyman said others are interested too.
With Sale's viability as a trade chip being in question due to the factors outlined in the previous analysis, superior bargain deals are more realistic. Such is the case with Cashner, who could be just the type of player to round out a playoff rotation.
On the surface, Cashner hasn't fared too well over the past season-and-a-half or so, having gone 10-23 since 2015. However, starting pitching is of paramount importance in the postseason.
Cashner's 4.79 ERA this year is actually deceiving. He yielded five earned runs in his first start of the season and got rocked for eight on July 8. Both of those games were against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In each of the 13 other starts he's made, though, Cashner has yielded no more than three earned runs. In his past two contests, he's gone 11.2 innings, giving up only seven hits and two runs with 17 strikeouts to zero walks.
Perhaps Cashner senses the opportunity to flee to greener pastures. Otherwise, it's the best instance of happenstance that he's pitching at such a high level of late, because he could be positioning himself for a spot on a championship contender.
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