As I type this there are 25.5 hours left before the trade deadline. The trade deadline usually is 4pm on July 31st, but this season it’s been pushed to August 1st at 4pm.
It would seem that the biggest trade talks involve Jay Bruce, though there has also been some talk of Zack Cozart.
Jon Heyman had this on Bruce just now:
mets continue to talk to reds about jay bruce. dodgers and mets have seemed like best bets, but many interested
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 31, 2016
Jay Bruce was originally in the Cincinnati Reds lineup this afternoon, but he was scratched from the lineup with what Bryan Price called a “mental day”. In a completely unrelated note, the Dodgers have two top prospects out of their lineup in Double-A in what they call “scheduled” time off. Sure guys, we believe both of you.
As I wrote earlier this week, the Reds have options with Jay Bruce. If they aren’t able to get fair value for him, and for me, that would include a Top 50-60 prospect in all of baseball as well as other solid prospects, then they are better off keeping him and looking at their other options.
With Zack Cozart, the talk has been a bit more quiet. There have reportedly been some calls on him, but the market seems to have been slow with many contenders quite content with their shortstop options. The Mets, already interested in Jay Bruce, just watched their shortstop leave the game. The injury isn’t believed to be too serious though – at least at this point in time. Cozart is certainly an upgrade to Asdrubal Cabrera, but he may not represent enough of an upgrade to make a package deal with Cozart and Bruce work for them.
I will try to stay on top of adding in new trade rumors and information to this post throughout the day as it pops up. Feel free to add stuff in the comments as you see it. If an actual trade is made, I will create a post about it with a lot more in-depth information.
Update: 1:25am
John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle had this about an hour ago.
Hearing Giants (with fewer relievers on market) making late and strong push for Jay Bruce. Would be huge lineup boost. Had big series in SF.
— John Shea (@JohnSheaHey) August 1, 2016
Bruce to the Giants is one we’ve heard before, but if they are making a late push that’s strong, it could be interesting to see what kind of offer they come up with.
Update: 10:20am
The Reds and Mariners are reportedly getting close on a trade involving Zack Cozart.
Hearing #Mariners are closing in on a deal to get SS Zack Cozart from the Reds. Not done but both sides seem confident. Still fluid though.
— Bob Dutton (@TNT_Mariners) August 1, 2016
The Mets are also reportedly a finalist in the Jay Bruce sweepstakes.
Source: Mets are indeed a finalist for Jay Bruce. @JeffPassan says they’re the favorite.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) August 1, 2016
Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports had this just now on Jay Bruce to the Mets
Source: Nimmo to be part of Bruce to Mets, assuming it gets done.
— Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) August 1, 2016