The Detroit Tigers still hadn’t officially told teams late Thursday night that they were definitely trading Tarik Skubal, and rival executives were waiting for word as the Monday, 6 p.m. ET MLB trade deadline approached. That’s the game: a handful of executives deciding where talent moves, while everyone else waits for the next order from above.
Who Holds the Cards
One report says it is almost impossible to find an executive who believes the Tigers will keep Skubal, their two-time Cy Young winner, and that suitors will also pursue Casey Mize, Kenley Jansen and Kyle Finnegan if Skubal is moved. The whole thing reads like a market auction dressed up as sport. Players become assets. Clubs become bargaining tables. The people doing the labor don’t get a vote.
The same deadline report says the Tampa Bay Rays are expected to be the most aggressive team at the deadline because the American League is wide open. It says the Boston Red Sox are giving up on the idea that Trevor Story will help them when he returns from the IL and are aggressively trying to acquire a shortstop, asking about Zach Neto of the Angels, C.J. Abrams of the Washington Nationals, Otto Lopez of the Miami Marlins and Jeremy Pena of the Houston Astros. It says the Mets are telling teams they are prepared to trade starter Clay Holmes quickly, that he is not scheduled to make another start before Monday’s deadline, and that they are also trying to trade starter Freddy Peralta while having no plans to sign him to an extension. It says Francisco Lindor is off limits for now.
The Houston Astros and other teams keep asking about San Francisco Giants ace Logan Webb and keep being told he’s not going anywhere. The Philadelphia Phillies would prefer to acquire Angels outfielder Jo Adell, who has 10 homers against left-handed pitchers this year, but the Toronto Blue Jays’ package of reliever Jeff Hoffman and outfielder Daulton Varsho intrigues them. The Cincinnati Reds are now telling teams that starter Hunter Greene is no longer available.
The Deadline Machine
A.J. Preller, Padres president of baseball operations, is telling teams they will have extra money to spend at the deadline with their new owners on the verge of being approved. There it is again: ownership, approval, money, leverage. The language of the apparatus never leaves the room. The Chicago Cubs are aggressively shopping for a starter and have talked to teams about Tarik Skubal, Clay Holmes, Robbie Ray and Emerson Hancock. Teams are salivating over Hancock, who they view as the most prized young starter on the market, and believe the Cubs could have the best shot at him if they include Seiya Suzuki and perhaps Matt Shaw in a deal.
The Giants plan to keep Jung Hoo Lee and trade Heliot Ramos, and are willing to eat part of Robbie Ray’s $25 million contract in a trade. The Arizona Diamondbacks want a first baseman but have made relief pitching their biggest priority after removing Paul Sewald from the closer’s role this week. The Miami Marlins will listen on everyone except Sandy Alcantara, whom they plan to exercise a $21 million option on next season.
Teams are leery about trading for Blue Jays starter Shane Bieber after he lasted just two-thirds of an inning in his last start, walking six batters and being pulled after 42 pitches. The Blue Jays are willing to trade George Springer, who is in the final year of his contract, but there is limited demand for right-handed hitting designated hitters. Teams are convinced Mets closer Devin Williams would thrive in a small market, but he still has $30 million left on the final two years of his contract. The Minnesota Twins are still having nightmares about trading away reliever Louis Varland a year ago, and Varland has become an All-Star closer in Toronto.
A League Calling Itself a Movement
A separate baseball report says the Women’s Professional Baseball League is launching its inaugural season Saturday with all 30 regular-season games to be played at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois. The four-team league will play all of its seven-inning games at the 5,000-seat stadium, the first game at the stadium is already sold out, and the original inventory of 20,000 caps sold out in August. Small numbers, tight control, one stadium. Even the dream gets managed.
The WPBL report says the league is the first of its kind in more than 70 years, going back to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Its mantra is, “This isn’t a league, it’s a movement.” The opening game will be between the Los Angeles Queens and the New York Heights at 6 p.m. ET Saturday, with the San Francisco Firebells and Boston Hunters playing Sunday. The six-week season will be televised on ESPN, with 11 games simulcast on the Scripps Sports Network.
The report says the teams include Mo’ne Davis, Ayami Sato and Kelsie Whitmore. Whitmore, 28, played for the U.S. national team in the women’s baseball World Cup, grew up in Temecula, Calif., played on boys’ teams through high school, and later received a scholarship to play softball at Cal State Fullerton even though she wanted to play baseball. Sato won six gold medals with Japan’s women’s national baseball team and said in a text message conveyed by Jean Fruth, “I feel incredibly grateful and happy that I can finally stand on the stage I once only dreamed about.” Whitmore said, “I still can’t believe it,” and, “I don’t think people realize how huge this is.”
Keith Stein is the co-founder of the league along with Justine Siegal, and Stein was emotional and wiped away tears watching the women’s first official workout Wednesday. Stein is a Toronto businessman and said his interest was heightened by the documentary See Her Be Her by Jean Fruth and Jeff Idelson. The league had a tryout camp last August at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., where 600 women from 10 different countries arrived and paid their own expenses. The league’s top salary is $500 per game including lodging and meals, and the minimum is $300 per game.
The teams are managed by Matt Williams, Eric Young, Keith Foulke and Rachelle “Rocky” Henley, and Dave Stewart is an official advisor to the league. Williams is managing San Francisco, Young is managing Los Angeles, Foulke is managing Boston and Henley is managing New York. The first game at the 5,000-seat stadium is sold out, and the league says it wants to leave a lasting impression and help change people’s lives. The money says something else first.