Buy or Sell Latest MLB Rumors on Justin Verlander, Cody Bellinger and More
It's the day before the 2023 MLB trade deadline (6 p.m. ET on Tuesday), and that means rumors are spreading like wildfire.
For every trade that has already been finalized, there are at least two other reports of teams "interested in acquiring" Player X, "willing to listen" on Player Y and "trying to work out an extension" with Player Z.
It's complete chaos, and it's hard to know what's real and what's a red herring.
So while we await the inevitable flurry of last-minute deals—there were 38 trades in the final 36 hours leading up to last year's deadline—how about a little buying and selling of those latest rumors?
Just so we're clear, we're not buying or selling whether the reporting is legitimate. We have no doubt these are things that the likes of Ken Rosenthal, Jon Heyman, Jon Morosi and Mark Feinsand are actually hearing from their sources and from various front offices around the league.
What we're buying or selling is whether the rumors will actually evolve into transactions before the deadline.
Alec Burleson Drawing Trade Interest
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The Cardinals finally jump-started their inevitable fire sale Sunday, trading impending free agents Jordan Montgomery and Jordan Hicks. It's only a matter of time before they also unload Jack Flaherty.
But what about the position players?
There has been a lot of speculation about the likelihood of the Cardinals trading an outfielder, given their growing logjam out there.
For the most part, those rumors have centered on Dylan Carlson and Tyler O'Neill. But Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Friday that multiple teams have been asking St. Louis about Alec Burleson.
Burleson is only a rookie, so he won't hit free agency until after the 2028 campaign. And though he hasn't been anything special this season, surely the Cardinals have high hopes for his future after he slashed .331/.372/.532 at Triple-A Memphis in 2022.
With five years of team control still to come, they're going to want an awful lot to give up this 24-year-old.
I'll buy St. Louis moving some outfielder. In addition to Burleson, Carlson and O'Neill, the Cardinals have Lars Nootbaar, Jordan Walker, Juan Yepez and occasional outfielders Brendan Donovan and Tommy Edman, all of whom are signed through at least 2024.
But Walker, Nootbaar and Burleson are the three it's most difficult to envision them giving up.
Verdict: Selling
Baltimore Orioles Looking to Add Pitching
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Baltimore Orioles executive VP and general manager Mike Elias spoke with reporters Friday afternoon about how the team plans to approach the trade deadline.
"I think if we are going to make additional acquisition trades, I would bet heavily that they're going to be on the pitching side of things," Elias said, per MASN Sports' Roch Kubatko.
Elias added, "We can't set the minor league system on fire just because we're in first place," so it's evident they're still figuring out this brave new world as a buyer after so many consecutive deadlines as a seller.
This all comes 11.5 months after Elias said the O's would "significantly escalate the payroll" during the offseason, which they didn't do. So, it's understandable if you're skeptical about them actually loosening the purse strings for a change.
I do believe they'll do something about their starting pitching before the deadline strikes, though.
They won't want to give up the prospects necessary to bring in a Mitch Keller or a Dylan Cease for the next 2.5 seasons. It will almost certainly be a two-month rental of a Michael Lorenzen or Jack Flaherty.
But, yes, the Orioles will add a starting pitcher, likely relegating Grayson Rodriguez to a middle/long-relief role, even though he has been much better since his return from Norfolk.
Verdict: Buying
Brewers, Marlins Interested in Eloy Jiménez
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Buried near the bottom of an article on what White Sox GM Rick Hahn had to say about the future of the club after trading five pitchers in the span of about 48 hours, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score casually dropped this tidbit with no other context whatsoever:
"The Marlins and Brewers have expressed interest in White Sox slugger Eloy Jiménez."
That got picked up by MLB Trade Rumors, and now the internet is overrun with "Jiménez might be available" blog posts.
But let's pump the brakes.
Jiménez ain't going anywhere.
Chicago is knee deep in a fire sale. No question about that. But what the White Sox are dumping is everyone with any trade value who is hitting free agency either this offseason or next.
(Incredibly, they are still nowhere close to running out of said players, with Yasmani Grandal, Elvis Andrus, Keynan Middleton, Bryan Shaw, Tim Anderson and Mike Clevinger presumably still on the trade block.)
Jiménez is signed through 2026*, though. He, Luis Robert Jr., Dylan Cease and Andrew Vaughn are more or less the pillars around whom the White Sox are constructing this rebuild. They're throwing in the towel on this season and next in hopes of making a legitimate run at a title before those guys are gone.
Verdict: Selling
*2025 and 2026 are club options for $16.5 million and $18.5 million, respectively, but those are team-favorable club options for a player of Jiménez's caliber.
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Los Angeles Dodgers Interested In...Well...Pretty Much Everyone
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The Dodgers have already traded for Enrique Hernández, Amed Rosario, Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly, but that hasn't stopped them from expressing interest in—among others—Justin Verlander, Mitch Keller and Eduardo Rodriguez, per Jack Harris and Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times.
The Dodgers were also talking to St. Louis about Nolan Arenado—prompting Cardinals GM John Mozeliak to announce Saturday that they are not trading Arenado—and have at least kicked the tires on Mets position players Tommy Pham and Mark Canha.
As far as position players go, the Dodgers might be done making moves. They had to at least do their due diligence on Arenado, as that would have been a massive acquisition. They've already added a pair of middle infielders, though, which is what they desperately needed.
But, yeah, they're still very much in the market for pitching.
Bringing in Lance Lynn's 6.47 ERA to replace Noah Syndergaard's 7.16 ERA isn't exactly the deadline upgrade we had in mind for this rotation. They need at least one more healthy, effective arm, and they absolutely possess the farm system to make it happen.
If they do swing big and go get Verlander, it probably needs to be on terms similar to what the Rangers got Max Scherzer for, in which the Mets agreed to retain well over half of his remaining salary in order to get a solid prospect. After all, the Dodgers are presumably still going to try to spend a whole lot of money on Shohei Ohtani this offseason.
But I like this spot for Eduardo Rodriguez, who has a three-year, $49 million player option after this season. He'll probably decline it and hit free agency, but it wouldn't break Los Angeles' bank if he opts into it.
Either way, count on the Dodgers adding at least one more starting pitcher.
Verdict: Buying
Mariners Could Trade a Young Starter or Their Controllable Closer
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At 4.5 games back for a wild-card spot and with only one noteworthy player hitting free agency this offseason (Teoscar Hernández), the Seattle Mariners profile as a team that should just stand pat.
But it sounds like they are exploring some big moves.
This one comes from The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, who on Thursday wrote: "(The Mariners) are considering trading a starter for a package that would include a hitter of similar age and impact, according to sources briefed on their thinking."
The Mariners made a blockbuster deal with the Reds at last year's deadline to acquire Luis Castillo, but could we now see them send a starting pitcher back to Cincinnati, perhaps in exchange for second baseman Jonathan India in a rare mutually beneficial trade that enhances both teams' chances of reaching the postseason?
That feels like the only scenario in which they would part with any of their young pitchers, each of whom is under team control through at least 2027.
MLB Network's Joel Sherman added on Friday that the Mariners "are open to trading closer Paul Sewald," as they continue to toe the line between buying and selling.
Sewald still has a year remaining before hitting free agency, but if the Padres end up hanging onto Josh Hader, Sewald would be hands down the biggest name in a weaker than usual closer market. They could get a pretty nice return for him and do have several other solid bullpen arms who conceivably could take over the ninth-inning job.
Of those two possible deadline approaches, trading Sewald is much more likely. But I expect Seattle to do a whole lot of nothing unless it is simply blown away by an offer for one of its arms.
Verdict: Selling
Editor's Note: On Monday evening the Mariners traded Sewald to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for IF Josh Rojas, OF/1B Dominic Canzone and IF Ryan Bliss.
Cubs Take Cody Bellinger off Trade Market
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Not two weeks ago, the Cubs were 43-50 and 8.5 games back in the NL Central with +1100 odds to make the postseason. At the time, it seemed almost inevitable they would be unloading impending free agents Cody Bellinger and Marcus Stroman.
But we were buying those long postseason odds, assuming they would catch fire in the second half of July against a very favorable schedule. They were playing 13 consecutive games against the last-place Cardinals (eight games), the last-place Nationals (three games) and the ahead-of-the-Royals-but-would-be-almost-dead-last-in-the-National-League White Sox, while the Reds and Brewers both had tough schedules.
Lo and behold, the Cubs carpe diem'd their way to wins in 10 of 11 games and are now within reasonable striking distance of both the NL Central and a wild-card spot.
Per ESPN's Jesse Rogers, the Cubs are now telling teams that Bellinger won't be traded. (Have to assume they are also telling teams that Stroman is unavailable, though that was not explicitly part of the report.)
And if we were buying Chicago's postseason odds 12 days ago, we're definitely buying the notion that Bellinger (and Stroman) aren't going anywhere.
The real question, though, is this: Will the Cubs be buyers, and how aggressive will they be if so?
It's one thing to not throw in the towel, but it's another thing altogether to actually make a calculated push for a playoff spot. And if the Cubs are serious about contending in 2023, they should be calling San Diego every hour on the hour about trading for both Blake Snell and Josh Hader, as they need to upgrade both their rotation and their bullpen.
At the very least, though, I'm buying Bellinger being off the trade block.
Verdict: Buying
Eight Teams Have Asked the Washington Nationals About Jeimer Candelario
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It is a foregone conclusion that the Washington Nationals will be trading Jeimer Candelario.
Heck, it was just about a foregone conclusion he would get traded when they signed him to his one-year, $5 million deal back in November, provided he bounced back in any way from a disappointing 2022 campaign.
And with an OPS nearly 200 points higher than what he posted last year, Candelario has blossomed into the best name left on the trade block.
Are we buying that, or is Nationals GM Mike Rizzo exaggerating in hopes of driving up the price of his main trade chip?
Well, let's count.
The Miami Marlins are absolutely interested. Their third base situation has been a debacle, and Candelario would slot beautifully into the heart of a hapless lineup.
The Brewers, Angels and Yankees could all benefit from an upgrade at third base, as well.
The Twins have spent the entire season trying to figure out their hot corner, starting six different players multiple times. They also need frankly anyone who can get on base. They've definitely been calling.
So, that's five.
Beyond that, the Blue Jays could certainly use a right-handed hitter who can DH and occasionally play corner infield. And both the Diamondbacks and Padres—if San Diego is even still considering buying—would love to add one more hitter with some pop.
Eight sounds about right, and it should be interesting to see how much Washington can get for this coveted rental.
Verdict: Buying
Editor's Note: On Monday the Nationals traded Candelario and cash to the Cubs in exchange for minor league LHP DJ Herz and minor league INF Kevin Made.
Smoke, but No Fire on the Justin Verlander Front
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At a minimum, five teams in the past 10 days have shown an interest in acquiring Justin Verlander from the New York Mets: San Francisco (per Jon Morosi), Atlanta (per Morosi), the Los Angeles Dodgers (per Jack Harris and Jorge Castillo) and both Texas and Houston (per Mark Feinsand).
Having acquired both Max Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery, surely the Rangers have taken themselves out of the running.
With both Atlanta and Houston, it sure sounded like a situation where they did their due diligence and quickly realized the asking price was way more than they were willing to pay.
But maybe one of those two NL West teams could still make a huge deadline splash here.
The 40-year-old Verlander is making $43.3 million this year, the same amount in 2024 and has a vesting option for $35 million in 2025, if he logs at least 140 innings pitched next season.
Even if the Mets are willing to absorb a good chunk of his salary like they did with Scherzer, it's a massive amount of money to consider taking on.
But both Los Angeles and San Francisco could afford it, and both desperately need to add at least one starting pitcher as they battle each other (and Arizona) for NL West supremacy.
Before the Mets traded Scherzer, I didn't think there was any chance they would be able to work out a trade of Verlander. At this point in their purge, though, I could easily see Verlander landing in San Francisco—who have been extremely quiet thus far, even though they should clearly be buyers.
Verdict: Selling the seemingly growing notion that Verlander won't be traded
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