MLB trade deadline updates, rumors: Dodgers top Padres in Max Scherzer race, Rizzo to Yankees on wild Thursday
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It’s only a matter of hours before Major League Baseball’s trade deadline arrives at 4 p.m. ET on Friday. With dozens of players – including All-Stars and possibly a future Hall of Famer – expected to be on the move, the market will be constantly shifting.
And keep in mind – the July 30 trade deadline is now the one and only; the traditional Aug. 31 waivers deadline is no more, so teams with an eye toward the playoffs must lock in their October personnel by Friday afternoon.
Keep it locked on this tracker for all the latest updates as reports trickle in. All times ET:
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Max Scherzer, Trea Turner to Dodgers
Update: The Dodgers-Nationals trade has been agreed upon and awaiting finalization.
The Nationals aren’t going to let Max Scherzer go without an all-out bidding war – and the Dodgers have reportedly raised the stakes.
L.A. is in talks with the Nationals on a package that would send the three-time Cy Young Award winner to the Dodgers – along with All-Star shortstop Trea Turner, a haul that would elevate a Scherzer deal to a true blockbuster. ESPN was the first of multiple outlets to report
More notably, it would signal an even larger teardown in Washington, since Turner is not eligible for free agency until after the 2022 season. The Nationals already dealt closer Brad Hand to Toronto and made significant progress with San Diego on a Scherzer deal.
But the Dodgers may be willing to trump their NL West rivals in an effort to catch the first-place Giants, who lead the Dodgers by three games and the Padres by six in the NL West.
Acquiring Turner would create a virtual super team in L.A. – once Corey Seager returns from the injured list, he and Turner would presumably man shortstop and second base, flanked by All-Stars Max Muncy and Justin Turner. And Scherzer would front an imposing and playoff-seasoned rotation that would include Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw and Julio Urias.
Will the Giants enter this chat? Stay tuned.
Mariners nab Rays reliever Castillo
Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto possibly headed off a clubhouse mutiny by acquiring Tampa Bay reliever Diego Castillo, two days after shipping closer Kendall Graveman across the diamond to the division-leading Houston Astros. With the Mariners surprisingly in reach of their first playoff spot since 2001, the move deflated the team’s veterans while Dipoto claimed he wasn’t done dealing yet.
Thursday he backed that up, acquiring Castillo, who has a 2.72 ERA, a 0.99 WHIP and 49 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings this year for the Rays. Tampa Bay will reportedly receive reliever J.T. Chargois and minor-league third baseman Austin Shenton.
Cubs deal Rizzo to Yankees
Anthony Rizzo is the first 2016 legend out the door at this trade deadline – the Cubs shipped the impending free agent to the Yankees for two minor-leaguers.
Dodgers acquire lefty Danny Duffy
As David Price struggled through 4 1/3 innings at San Francisco on Thursday, the Dodgers worked to acquire another lefty option for their rotation – Kansas City’s Danny Duffy.
Duffy, who grew up in Lompoc, a couple hours north of Dodger Stadium, waived his no-trade rights to join the Dodgers, who will send a player to be named to the Royals. Kansas City will also send cash to covr a portion of the estimated $5 million of his remaining 2021 salary.
Duffy is currently on the injured list with a flexor strain.
Duffy’s acquisition could lengthen a Dodger rotation weakened by the deletions of Dustin May (elbow surgery) and Trevor Bauer (administrative leave). He’d join Price, Clayton Kershaw and Julio Urias as lefty starting options for the Dodgers.
Duffy was 4-3 with a 2.51 ERA in 13 appearances, 12 starts, before going on the IL after a July 16 start.
Max Scherzer to San Diego?
The biggest name on the board could be off it with a full day before the deadline. The Athletic is reporting that the San Diego Padres are “nearing” a deal to acquire Max Scherzer from the Washington Nationals.
If finalized, the Padres would beat out their NL West rival Giants and Dodgers, along with several others, for the 37-year-old Scherzer, who pitched six strong innings earlier Thursday in his first start since July 18. The Padres traded 14 players to acquire Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove in the off-season but, sitting in third place behind the Giants and Dodgers, were inspired to dig deep into their trove of prospects one more time for a chance at Scherzer.
As a player with 10 years service time and five years with the same club, Scherzer would have to approve any trade. He’s a free agent after this season, the final year of a seven-year, $210 million contract.
Cubs ship reliever Ryan Tepera across town
The last time the Cubs and White Sox made a July trade back in 2017, Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease eventually grew into South Side mainstays. The Cubs likely won’t equal that haul, but they showed they’re not averse to swapping with their South Side mates by dealing valued reliever Ryan Tepera to the White Sox.
Tepera posted a 0.79 WHIP and struck out 50 in 43 innings for the Cubs, who did not receive a king’s ransom for him as the White Sox did for lefty Jose Quintana back in ’17. Instead, the Cubs will make do with right-hander Bailey Horn, 22, who was the White Sox’s fifth-round pick out of Auburn in 2020.
Max Scherzer shows out for suitors
If this was Max Scherzer’s final start for the Washington Nationals, he made sure his club will maximize its return for him in trade.
In his first outing since July 18 after a triceps issue forced him to miss a start, Scherzer was crisp and efficient against the Philadelphia Phillies, holding them to three hits and just one run over six innings in the first game of a doubleheader.
Scherzer struck out five and walked one, and after recording the final out of the sixth inning, received a series of hugs from manager Dave Martinez and his catcher, Yan Gomes. Moments later, Gomes hit a go-ahead two-run homer for a 3-1 Nationals lead that might allow Scherzer to go out a winner in this seven-inning game. He is in the final season of a seven-year, $210 million deal, during which he won three Cy Young awards and started Game 7 of the 2019 World Series, won by the Nationals.
Scherzer lowered his ERA to 2.76 and threw 88 pitches, induced a pair of ground-ball double plays and surely allayed any concerns suitors may have.
Now, time to get your bids in.
Joey Gallo to Yankees official
It popped Wednesday night but the ink dried Thursday: Joey Gallo is a Yankee. New York and Texas finalized their deal that sent Gallo and reliever Joely Rodriguez to the Bronx in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Glenn Otto and infielders Ezequiel Duran, Trevor Hauver and Josh Smith. Gallo will join the Yankees in Miami on Friday, givnig him a small window to trim his facial hair to Yankee-level standards.
Brad Hand traded to Blue Jays
The Nationals’ sell-off begins at the back of the bullpen instead of the front of the rotation. Washington has shipped closer Brad Hand to the Toronto Blue Jays, in exchange for minor-league catcher Riley Adams. Though he blew consecutive save chances Sunday and Monday, Hand has been reliable for the Nationals, converting 21 of 26 save opportunities, and gives the Jays a firm ninth-inning option.
White Sox get 2B Cesar Hernandez
The White Sox will not be trading for Trevor Story – instead, they raided their nearest pursuer to add reliable second baseman Cesar Hernandez from Cleveland, as ESPN first reported. Hernandez, who’s hit 18 home runs this season, fills a void created by the season-ending hamstring injury suffered by Nick Madrigal.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB trade deadline updates, rumors: Dodgers top Padres in Max Scherzer race, Rizzo to Yankees on wild Thursday