With the trade deadling approaching (less than a month now), some of the contenders for a playoff spot and more like the Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox and even the Miami Marlins are searching high & low for some starting pitcher to give them a needed upgrade.
One interesting name that could be joining the trading block is CC Sabathia. The Yankees are 8 games out of first in the AL East and trailing by 4 in the Wild Card standings. Maybe things can turn around for them in the second half of the season, but more and more murmurs are coming out of the Bronx regarding the trading of Sabathia, having a solid bouneback season. With next season being a vesting option determined by how healthy he stays, the $37.5 million he’s owed for 1.5 more seasons of baseball might not be too terrible, especially if the Yankees chip in order to move one from him.
But besides Sabathia, there are others, younger and cheaper, on selling teams. The Tampa Bay Rays have a number of players teams are looking at. Chris Archer is on the shortlist for the Dodgers, who have actually been coping quite well since Clayton Kershaw has showed he’s human and got injured. The Rays aren’t too keen on moving Archer (a bit more when it comes to other players), but a good enough offer from the Dodgers for the 27-year old could change their mind.
The Red Sox have Matt Moore on their sights, but the player they’re most interested in is Julio Teheran of the Atlanta Braves. The 25 year old is one of the few bright spots in the Braves awful season, and until the Red Sox get a definite no for anything they’re offering the Braves for him, they’re focused on landing him.
The Marlins have been aggressive in trying to make something out of this season (42-39 so far). They’ve already acquired Fernando Rodney, and are looking into Drew Pomeranz of the San Diego Padres and Jake Odorizzi (another Rays player) to try and bolster their uneven pitching situation. The Giants are also looking into that direction. They have no qualms about their three leading pitchers (Johnny Cueto, Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija), but they could use some help on the back-end of the rotation. The Rays, among a few other options, are the team they’re looking at the most to make it happen.