It's the Chris Sale show during this wild MLB trade rumors season.
Sale might dominate the headlines right now because he took scissors to throwback jerseys and got sent home (no joke), according to Tommy Stokke of FanRag Sports, but more importantly he's one of the biggest names on the market.
With sellers hoping to improve for the future and contenders looking to take a more narrow focus and fight for a title now, Sale is one piece of a wide-reaching puzzle.
Here are a few players and teams to watch as the trade deadline approaches.
Chris Sale Watch
The Sale saga didn't need much more in the way of interest before he allegedly decided to chop up some jerseys.
In fact, the odd turn of events helped overshadow quite the report from Jon Heyman of Today's Knuckleball, who broke down the Chicago White Sox's asking price and reasoning:
Word going around is that the Chisox are seeking “five top prospects” for Sale. While that sounds like a lot in an era where teams are reluctant to surrender any prospects, Sale is not only acknowledged as one of the very best pitchers in baseball, but he has a very reasonable contract and is only 27 years old with no hint of arm issues.
Not only is Sale worth every bit of the asking price, but the White Sox will probably get it.
Recent incident or not, Sale is only 27 years old and boasts a 14-3 record with a 3.18 ERA. He's struck out 129 batters, so he's well on his way to a fourth consecutive season with 208 or more fanned batters.
Not only does Heyman mention the Boston Red Sox as a team to watch in regard to Sale, but MLB.com's TR Sullivan brought up the Texas Rangers:
Both teams offer potential deals to watch ahead of the deadline. When it comes to the asking price, both franchises stick out because they boast strong farm systems and have enough to pry the affordable Sale away from the White Sox.
That would explain why the two have already had apparent talks with Chicago. Now it's a matter of seeing if either franchise will gut the systems to acquire him.
Rangers-Rays Dance
Speaking of the Rangers, Heyman also brought them up recently when providing details about a potential deal with the Tampa Bay Rays.
From the sound of it, the Rays don't mind dealing some starting pitching to the Rangers, but only if the team gets back infielder Jurickson Profar in a deal.
No dice. Here's Heyman:
A staring contest works. So does tug of war.
To be fair, Profar is worth the debate. He's only 23 years old and sitting on a .290/.344/.414 slash line. Those are the best numbers of his career, and he also has four homers and 14 RBI.
The Rays don't sound like they're being cooperative here if they hope to land such a high-upside guy. They should be willing to surrender Jake Odorizzi and Matt Moore, who have posted 4.10 and 4.31 ERA numbers, respectively, over 20 or more starts.
Moore and Odorizzi seem like major targets for the Rangers, should the asking price for Sale or Andrew Cashner go too high, per Sullivan:
Chris Archer is the biggest name, though, with his 4.60 ERA and league-leading 147 strikeouts. But it seems clear the asking price would be too much for the strikeout machine if the Rays want Profar back in a deal for guys with perceived lesser trade value.
Texas has more options, so it will be interesting to see which side, if any, blinks and gets something done here.
Andrew Cashner's Market
Cashner came up for a reason.
He's rivaling Sale in the rumors market right now, and the Rangers aren't the only team with interest in the San Diego Padres star.
According to Heyman, the San Francisco Giants took the temperature:
Add the Los Angeles Dodgers to the list of teams in on Sale, by the way.
But this is about Cashner. He's 29 years old with a 4.79 ERA and 61 strikeouts. He can act as a quality second or third starter on a contender. The Giants might have more of a need in the bullpen, but grabbing Cashner in a deal wouldn't hurt.
The same goes for the Miami Marlins, who also sound in on Cashner, according to MLB Network's Jon Morosi:
Miami is the major team to watch here when it comes to potential deals. The Marlins' ability to add a quality starter behind Jose Fernandez would work wonders for their title chances, which means giving up the haul the Padres desire isn't out of the question.
In fact, based on such logic, this deal seems a matter of when, not if. The Marlins are 4.5 games behind the Washington Nationals in the National League East, and striking such a deal would go a long way toward helping them steal the slot.
Other teams might kick the tires, but the Padres-Marlins dance is the one to put under the microscope.
All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
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