The trade deadline is Aug. 31, and as the weekend got underway there were 23 teams within three games of a playoff spot in the 16-team format that will be used this season.
That suggests the deadline will be an exciting one. But the action could be tempered over the next week because of the pandemic and the difficulty of weighing risk vs. reward in this environment.
“I think you’ll see caution on the part of most teams,” an American League general manager said. “There’s a lot that can go wrong.”
Trading a player during a national health crisis will be a logistical challenge.
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Agent Scott Boras has volunteered to have his clients transported by a sanitized private plane if they are traded. Teams also could go that route rather than have a player fly commercially.
Major League Baseball has testing protocols in place for players in trades. The Red Sox are one of the teams who will add another layer of testing for any players they obtain.
“There’s a human factor, too,” Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said.
As an example: If a player gets traded from a relatively safe environment such as Boston or New York to a city such as Miami or Atlanta, he could well consider opting out. That will have to be part of the discussions.
Teams also will be hesitant to move top prospects given the uncertainty. There are no guarantees the season will be completed, and even if it is, a best-of-three first round of the postseason likely in some kind of neutral-site bubble will be risky for even the best teams.
A dominant team such as the Dodgers could get the Reds in the first round and have to deal with Trevor Bauer and Sonny Gray.
But there should still be motivation to improve.
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“In a 60-game season, getting somebody for 24 or 25 games in September is a big impact,” one executive said. “I think you’ll see some action. Being as competitive as you can be doesn’t stop.”
The Red Sox started Friday by dealing Heath Hembree and Brandon Workman to the Phillies for righthanders Nick Pivetta and Connor Seabold.
The Phillies started conversations with the Red Sox last weekend then moved quickly after their bullpen blew leads in both ends of a doubleheader on Thursday.
It likely won’t stop there for the Red Sox. Jackie Bradley Jr., Mitch Moreland, and Kevin Pillar are pending free agents who could help a contender at low cost in terms of salary and return.
Matt Barnes is one of the best relievers on the market. Even Ryan Brasier has pitched well of late, and teams will remember his strong work in the 2018 postseason.
“The goal should be to make sure that we are fully aware of all the opportunities that might be out there,” Bloom said
Bloom has indicated Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers are players he intends to build around. That’s also true of Alex Verdugo.
Injured Andrew Benintendi has little value at the moment. J.D. Martinez would help any team. But with revenues for 2021 uncertain and teams furloughing employees, who can take on the $38.7 million remaining on Martinez’s deal? It’s more likely he remains in Boston.
Teams can only trade players within the 60-man pool. But sellers can get around that by accepting players to be named later.
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The Yankees could be active buyers, at least to find patches to get them over a rash of injuries. They have Zack Britton, D.J. LeMahieu, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gleyber Torres on the injured list.
GM Brian Cashman has excelled at finding valuable complementary players. He needs a few now.
A few names to watch:
Kevin Gausman: The Giants are his third team since leaving the Orioles in 2018. He has been reliable his season and averaged 12.2 strikeouts per nine innings.
Trevor Rosenthal: He’s again a dominant reliever after overcoming injuries and has his fastball back to 97.9 miles per hour. Kansas City has every reason to get something for him.
Greg Holland: Like Rosenthal, he’s a reliever pitching well at the right time for the Royals to get something in return.
Taijuan Walker: He has pitched well for the last-place Mariners and is inexpensive
Tony Watson: The lefthander has been sharp for the Giants but at 35 isn’t part of their long-term future. His prorated $3 million salary would be easy to absorb.
GETTING STARTED
Rotation rebuild begins for Sox
Before Friday, the Red Sox had three starting pitchers under contract for next season: Nate Eovaldi, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Chris Sale. They also hold a $6.25 million option on Martin Perez.
Sale, who had Tommy John surgery on March 30, probably won’t be ready for the majors until sometime in early July. Recovery time for that surgery is 9-12 months and the Sox are sure to be cautious with the lefthander.
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Rodriguez is expected to be ready for spring training after being shut down with myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart related to his bout with COVID-19. But that isn’t guaranteed.
Even if Perez were deemed worthy of another year, the Sox needed rotation help. Landing Nick Pivetta and Connor Seabold isn’t a solution, but it’s a start.
Pivetta has been an underachiever for the Phillies but is only 27. The 24-year-old Seabold is a legitimate prospect, having impressed scouts in the Arizona Fall League last year.
Pivetta may ultimately prove a better fit in the bullpen, both temperamentally and in terms of his repertoire. But he’ll get a chance to start.
“The underlying traits there show the potential for a lot more success than he’s enjoyed in terms of his results,” chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said. “A power pitcher we think should be capable of holding down a rotation spot … we’ve got a chance to help him reach a level he has not yet.”
Seabold is a former third-round pick who projects as a No. 4 starter. That’s a good return for two relievers, one coming up on free agency. The Sox included $815,000 in the deal to make it happen, dipping into the cash saved by trading Mookie Betts and David Price.
“A really nice addition to the starting pitching depth in the upper levels of our system,” Bloom said.
Bloom was hired because he had a leading role in Tampa Bay’s ability to obtain quality pitching. Deals are like this are why he is here.
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A few other observations on the Red Sox:
▪ GM Brian O’Halloran said the Sox wouldn’t have won the 2013 World Series without Brandon Workman. That isn’t an exaggeration.
Workman appeared in seven playoff games and didn’t allow an earned run over 8⅔ innings. He got big outs in the clinching games of the ALCS and World Series.
Workman then failed as a starter, missed two years because of Tommy John surgery, and returned as a trustworthy reliever.
“This guy has done a lot for this organization. He’s always been a stand-up guy,” O’Halloran said.
▪ Heath Hembree was an underrated player. He had a 3.70 ERA in 251 games over seven seasons and averaged 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings for three playoff teams. “Heater” worked 4⅔ scoreless innings in the 2018 postseason.
▪ The Sox don’t play at Fenway Park again until Friday. That would seem like ample time to adjust the start time of the remaining 13 home night games from 7:30 back to 7:05 — if not earlier.
Sox games have averaged 3 hours 20 minutes this season, the second longest in the majors. It’s time the Sox do something to appease their fans instead of aggravating them.
▪ The Red Sox play the Blue Jays at Buffalo on Tuesday. According to Bill Nowlin of SABR, it’ll be the first game for the Sox in Buffalo since an exhibition game on July 6, 1917 against the minor league Bisons.
▪ The independent Sugar Land (Texas) Skeeters include former Red Sox minor leaguers Kyle Martin, Jake Romanski, and Robby Scott, along with current outfield prospect Cole Sturgeon.
Catching prospect Jaxx Groshans also has played in the Constellation Energy League. Minor leaguers not in the player pool for this season have the option of playing independent ball.
Former Sox first-round pick Henry Owens was with the Sugar Land Lightning Sloths but allowed nine runs over 3⅔ innings and wasn’t deemed Sloth material.
Orsillo: Tatis Jr. beyond comparison
Don Orsillo has called baseball games for 30 seasons going back to his days in the minors. He’s never seen anybody quite like Fernando Tatis Jr.
The 21-year-old shortstop hit .313 with a 1.085 OPS, 12 home runs, and 29 RBIs through 27 games for the Padres.
“There’s no comparison I can make,” Orsillo said from San Diego. “Most other phenoms go through a stretch when other teams figure them out, either it’s through scouting or analytics. Their numbers go down and they have to make the adjustment to how they’re pitched. Some do, some don’t.
“We saw it with Cody Bellinger. He was Rookie of the Year and an All-Star then he took a step back, and last year he came back and was the MVP. But Fernando, his skill set is different. Nobody has figured out a way to consistently get him out. That’s why it’s been so fun for me to call his games. You’re waiting to see what he’s going to do next. I’ve run out of adjectives.”
Tatis played 84 games as a rookie last season, ample time for teams to collect data on him. But he’s only gotten better across the board this year.
“I saw Nomar [Garciaparra] when he was coming up and Dustin [Pedroia], and I was in Boston when Mookie [Betts] first came up,” Orsillo said. “I thought at the time they were all going to be special players, and they were. But Fernando is something different.”
That Tatis is doing what he’s doing as a 6-foot-3-inch, 217-pound shortstop is part of it.
“When the Sox played [in San Diego] last season, Mookie said to me, ‘I had no idea he was that big.’ I hear that from a lot of people,” Orsillo said. “He’s just a presence on the field. I think he’s everything baseball needs, a superstar talent with a personality to match.”
There was a question whether Tatis could stay at shortstop after struggling at times in 2019, particularly with his throwing. But his footwork has become more consistent, and through Thursday he was plus-1 in defensive runs saved after finishing last season at minus-2.
Orsillo, the former NESN broadcaster, has been in San Diego since 2016. His timing was perfect with players such as Tatis, Bellinger, Betts, and Mike Trout all in southern California.
“I’m so happy about it,” Orsillo said. “West Coast baseball doesn’t get the publicity that East Coast teams do because the games start so late. It doesn’t get the same respect. Kids don’t know who plays for Oakland and they’ve been one of the best, most consistent teams in the game for a few years now.
“So to have all these stars in California now, it’s tremendous. I love being out here. It’s an exciting time.”
Orsillo is able to call home games from the press box at Petco Park this season. That’s also where he and partner Mark Grant work road games via a series of monitors. That has taken some getting used to.
“In the minors I trained doing radio and all I did was watch the field,” Orsillo said. “Once I got to television, it was 90 percent field and 10 percent monitor.
“I like being able to watch the outfielders shift as the pitch was thrown to know what the pitcher is trying to do. I learned that watching J.D. Drew. So, it’s an adjustment. But we have an angle that shows the entire field and that helps.
“I’m just thankful to be calling games this season with everything that has happened.”
Extra bases
It’s funny how the unwritten rules of baseball only seem to apply in certain circumstances. The Texas Rangers acted unprofessionally against the Red Sox last Sept. 26, purposely having first baseman Ronald Guzman let a foul ball drop so Mike Minor could get another chance at his 200th strikeout of the season. Chris Owings went back to the plate and struck out, and Minor had his personal milestone. That he disrespected Owings didn’t matter apparently. But the Rangers were offended on Monday when Tatis swung at a 3-and-0 pitch in a lopsided game and hit a grand slam. “I didn’t like it personally,” said manager Chris Woodward, the same guy who defended Minor last season. When the teams played again Tuesday, Minor couldn’t get through the fourth inning and fell to 0-4 with a 6.94 ERA. He could have used a few popups maybe … Major League Baseball hasn’t had all 30 teams play on the same day since July 26, largely because of positive COVID-19 tests. There were 15 games scheduled on Wednesday, but the Nationals and Braves were rained out. Then the Mets-Marlins were postponed Thursday because of two positive tests involving Mets personnel … The Blue Jays had a rain delay during their game in Buffalo last Saturday. It was their first rain delay at home since July 26, 2003, when an unexpected rainstorm halted play at Rogers Centre before the roof could be closed … The Astros have Justin Verlander, Alex Bregman, Roberto Osuna, Michael Brantley, and Yordan Alvarez on the injured list but went into the weekend 15-10. Dusty Baker should get plenty of Manager of the Year votes … Zac Gallen of the Diamondbacks threw over to first base an incredible 81 times in his first five starts despite his having a WHIP of 1.03 in those games. Opponents were 6 of 7 stealing bases … Matt Harvey made his return to the majors on Wednesday, starting for Kansas City. Jesse Hahn, Harvey’s high school teammate at Fitch High in Groton, Conn., followed him to the mound. The Falcons also produced Nationals pitching coach Paul Menhart, who pitched in the majors from 1995-97 … Happy 46th birthday to Mark Bellhorn, the pride of South Weymouth. The Sox signed him before the 2004 season as a bench option and he ended up with 57 extra-base hits, 82 RBIs, 93 runs, and a .373 on-base percentage. He also led the league with 177 strikeouts, but it didn’t matter. Bellhorn embodied the Theo Epstein ethos of seeing tons of pitches and grinding down opposing pitchers. Bellhorn was 9 for 47 in the postseason, but six of the hits were extra bases, and he walked 15 times. The Sox won Game 1 of the World Series, 11-9, thanks to his two-run homer off the Pesky Pole in the eighth inning. Bellhorn also broke open Game 2 with a two-run double in the fourth inning.
Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @PeteAbe.
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Like everything else this season, baseball trade deadline will be different - The Boston Globe
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