I sat down this morning, had about two sentences of a “Trade Deadline Open Thread” post written, and Jon Lester got traded. I have no idea if the Pirates will trade for anyone else today, but I’m not sure that the Cespedes for Lester deal sets the market in a place that they can’t do anything. Really, the more I think about that deal, the more I think it’s a weird and unique deal and not really a market-setter.
As I said earlier, Neal Huntington has a tendency to work under the radar, so just because everything’s quiet doesn’t mean nothing’s coming. At the same time, it’s definitely plausible that nothing is coming today, especially since Francisco Liriano is pitching well lately and Gerrit Cole’s return is imminent. What I’m trying to say is: I know nothing right now.
I’ll update this post with minor rumors, and if anything big happens it’ll get its own post. Most likely I’ll start with by posting a link to whoever’s tweeting the news to get the news out there, then build that into a larger post. I’m at work today, but I’ll do the best I can to get news posted quickly.
So far all we’ve got right now is this: the Pirates are one of the teams that have checked on Emilio Bonifacio. This is minor news, but then, the Pirates do have Michael Martinez on their every day roster.
UPDATE (12:25) — John Lackey is close to being traded to either the Dodgers or Cardinals, according to Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston. Obviously him going to a non-Pirate NL contender is not optimal, but he’s not exactly Jon Lester.
UPDATE (12:44) — Lackey is going to the Cardinals. The fact that they picked up Justin Masterson yesterday and John Lackey today probably tells us quite a bit about Michael Wacha’s health and their faith in Shelby Miller, but the Cardinals big problem this year has been scoring runs, and obviously neither trade really helps much with that.
UPDATE (12:47) — It’s Joe Kelly and Allen Craig for Lackey. Craig has slumped a lot this year, but Kelly is a pretty solid pitcher on his best days. That seems like an awful lot for a mild upgrade, though I suppose it opens the door for Oscar Tavares to play every day. (UPDATE AGAIN): I don’t know, I think I might be underselling Lackey here through my illness-invoked fog. Kelly can be good, but he really isn’t this year. Craig is signed to a bad contract, recovering from an injury, and not better than Tavares. Lackey is signed for $500,000 next year. Lackey isn’t an ace, and the Cardinals are taking a risk here, but he does maket hem better in 2014.
UPDATE: (2:03) — Ken Rosenthal says the Pirates are talking to the Rays about David Price. The return for Price will be truly gargantuan, but he will be David Price both this year and next year. Meanwhile, I’m huddled up in bed with an iPad and not even the benefit of MLB Network while I fight some kind of food poisoning/24 hour flu. Again, doing my best to keep you all updated.
UPDATE (2:09) — Let me add this: the Rays are contenders this year. Fringe contenders, but contenders. Honestly, the only way I see the Pirates landing David Price is if Gregory Polanco goes to Tampa Bay. I don’t think the Pirates would do that, but then, I don’t know, they’ve got to be serious about parting with prospects if they’re talking to Tampa Bay about Price.
