We’re sitting on the eve of the MLB Trade Deadline and as of Monday afternoon, the waters appear somewhat quiet.
Part of that is because the weekend’s trade activity, highlighted by the Texas Rangers’ acquisition of ace Max Scherzer, dealt a blow to a market that doesn’t feature a bevy of impact players.
Nonetheless, expect the rumours to intensify as the Tuesday, 6 p.m. ET deadline approaches. In the meantime, here’s what we’re hearing.
NEW HOME FOR TEO?
The Seattle Mariners (54-51) entered Monday's play sitting fourth in the American League West and 4.5 games behind the third wild-card spot, behind the Red Sox, Yankees and Angels.
It's a tough spot for the club, which is deciding between buying and selling. Their answer to that question could determine the immediate future of outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, who’s set to become a free agent this winter.
“Don’t know the answer to that,” said Jerry Dipoto, Mariners president of baseball operations, when asked if Hernandez will still be a member of his team following the deadline.
Speaking to Jim Bowden on SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio, Dipoto outlined his club's predicament.
"We're still very much a foot in both camps," he said. "We've spoken with every team. We're just as focused on what happens after 2023 as in '23 and we're letting the schedule and the teams around us tell us which way we should go."
Hernandez, who was traded by the Blue Jays to Seattle in exchange for reliever Erik Swanson and minor-league left-hander Adam Macko last November, is hitting .238/.288/.408 with 16 home runs in 105 games this season.
WILL THE YANKEES SELL?
Speaking of another team on the bubble, the New York Yankees have been keeping an eye on the rental market, "but if a buying team comes calling about one of their MLB players, we could see a surprise selling-type move, too," according to Andy Martino of SNY.
The Yankees are last in the AL East and are coming off a rough weekend series in which they dropped two of three to the division-leading Orioles in Baltimore.
If the Bronx Bombers decide to move a player off their big-league roster, second baseman Gleyber Torres could be interesting. The Miami Marlins “have been pushing hard” for the 26-year-old, reports Randy Miller of NJ.com. However, thus far, the Yankees’ price has remained too high for the Fish.
Torres, in his sixth major-league season, has produced 1.4 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs, in 2023.
QUICK HIT
• The Dodgers have engaged with the Mets on conversations surrounding Justin Verlander, but the prospect of the ace right-hander heading to Los Angeles appear “unlikely,” reports Alden Gonzalez of ESPN. The issue, he writes, is that it's unclear if the Mets would be willing to pay down some of the remaining cost of Verlander's contract, which contains a vesting option for the 2025 season.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.