Bullet point summary by AI
- The MLB trade deadline approaches with major stars like Tarik Skubal, Dustin May, and Luis Arráez fueling intense speculation among contending teams.
- Atlanta leads the Skubal sweepstakes, while St. Louis listens to offers for May. San Francisco intends to maximize value by trading clubhouse favorite Arráez.
- These aggressive potential moves will reshape the postseason landscape, shifting critical depth and star power ahead of the final October championship push.
The MLB trade deadline is a month from now, Aug. 3, with several All-Stars and quality starters floating around the rumor mill. Chief among them, of course, is Detroit Tigers ace and two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, whose contract expires at season’s end.
Skubal headlines this roundup of new reports as we look toward what promises to be a month of chaos and drama. Also included: potential deadline movers out of St. Louis and San Francisco, two NL contenders lagging behind in the Wild Card hunt.
Braves are named frontrunner for Tarik Skubal
- Braves are viewed by rivals as the ‘favorite’ to land Tarik Skubal
- Tigers will wait until final days or hours before deciding to move on
The Tigers continue to slip further from contention, even in the shockingly weak American League. Tarik Skubal’s contract is up at the end of the season and Detroit has virtually no chance at paying him enough on the open market. The talented southpaw could command north of $400 million total as a free agent.
According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, rival executives view the Atlanta Braves as the favorites to land Skubal. That said, he expects Detroit to wait until the last possible second before pulling the trigger.
“Prediction: Skubal will go, with Atlanta being the favorite according to rival executives, but this decision likely will go down to the final days, if not hours, before the deadline,” he writes.
The Braves’ farm system has steadily gained credibility in recent years, largely due to their penchant for developing young pitchers. Atlanta can float several MLB-ready arms to Detroit in hopes of crashing the Dodgers’ party atop the National League with a star-studded rotation headlined by Chris Sale, Tarik Skubal and Spencer Strider — with Spencer Schwellenbach due back before October, in theory.
J.R. Ritchie, Owen Murphy, Didier Fuentes and AJ Smith-Shawver stand out as potential targets for Detroit in the return package.
Cardinals will listen to trade offers for Dustin May
- Cardinals will take calls on top starting pitcher Dustin May
- St. Louis will weigh their place in the standings and the value being offered before coming to a decision
After back-to-back scoreless starts, including a complete game shutout against San Diego, Dustin May come up short in his most recent appearance, allowing six earned runs in 2.0 innings against the last-place Royals. The St. Louis Cardinals promptly gave him a week off to recover from lower back soreness.
St. Louis is now expected to “entertain” trade offers for May ahead of the Aug. 3 deadline, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Dispatch.
“Whether they trade him will depend on where the team is in the standings and the offers they receive, and both of those elements will hinge on his performance,” he writes.
The Cardinals are currently 44-39, which places third in the NL Central and is tied with the Marlins (46-41) for the third and final NL Wild Card slot.
While the Cardinals are still in the thick of the postseason race, a recent downturn has raised questions about how Chaim Bloom, always a forward-thinking GM, will approach the deadline. May has a $20 million mutual option for next season, so he’s basically on an expiring contract. There is no guaranteed long-term union in St. Louis if he stays.
Giants plan on trading Luis Arráez
- Giants are ‘open for business’ on all expected players except Logan Webb
- Luis Arráez is their best trade chip and Giants ‘have no plans to keep him’
The San Francisco Giants are once again sliding toward the bottom of the NL standings without much hope of a turnaround. Buster Posey has let rival executives know that he’s open for business on just about everyone not named Logan Webb, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
More expensive stars like Rafael Devers, Matt Chapman and Willy Adames will be hard to move. That makes Luis Arráez, inked to a one-year, $12 million contract last winter, their best trade chip.
“The Giants absolutely love Arraez, who has become a clubhouse favorite, but have no plans to keep him,” Nightengale writes. “They will thank him for his services, trade him, and wish him well in free agency, knowing they certainly helped increase his value.”
Arráez has added more slugging to his profile this season while maintaining a league-best 3.7 strikeout percentage. He has also become a Gold Glove candidate at second base against all odds. Arráez was basically relegated to first base a year ago, viewed as one of the worst infield gloves in MLB (and the numbers backed up that reputation). Ron Washington has worked his magic, though, and Arráez suddenly has mass appeal to a wide range of contenders.
The Giants aren’t going to let their fondness for Arráez prevent them from cashing in at absolute peak value before he leaves as a free agent.
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