The 2016 non-waiver trade deadline falls on August 1 this year, meaning it's now just two days away. We've already seen a handful of trades go down the last few days, some of which involved big names like Aroldis Chapman.
To help you keep track of all the rumors and rumblings, we'll log the day's buzz right here, so make sure you check back often for the latest updates. Here's a look back at Friday's trade chatter.
Update: 12:00 a.m. ET
The Indians have agreed to a trade that would land them Jonathan Lucroy, but he has a no-trade clause and needs to approve the deal. Full story here.
Update: 11:40 p.m. ET
The Tigers are 4 1/2 games out in the AL Central and within just a few games of the second AL wild-card spot. They also have rotation questions behind Justin Verlander and rookie sensation Michael Fulmer, so this makes a lot of sense:
Perhaps someone like Jeremy Hellickson, Jake Odorizzi or a reunion with Drew Smyly?
Update: 11:10 p.m. ET
The Indians are one of the hot names in the Jonathan Lucroy trade rumors, but they apparently would like to leave no stone unturned. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reports that they contacted the Padres about catcher Derek Norris. Surely they would rather have Lucroy, so consider this a backup plan.
Update: 10:40 p.m. ET
Shelby Miller has had a disaster of a season after the Diamondbacks gave the Braves way too much for him this past offseason. Will they trade him now, the most buy-high-sell-low move imaginable? They are reportedly open to it and general manager Dave Stewart says they have gotten "a ton" of interest in him (Nick Piecoro).
Update: 9:15 p.m. ET
The Arizona Diamondbacks thought they had a deal to trade reliever Daniel Hudson, but it appears to have fallen through. Earlier this week, multiple reports indicated that Hudson was traded. Saturday, this happened:
So we can do the math there.
Update: 8:45 p.m. ET
Royals closer Wade Davis has been rumored to be a possible trade candidate, but now he needs an MRI on his throwing arm. Uh oh.
Update: 8:10 p.m. ET
The Mets are in search of a bat. Jay Bruce of the Reds is having a huge power year and is a free agent after the season, so he'd work. Sure enough, Mark Sheldon of Reds.com reports that the Mets are "very involved in pursuing" Bruce.
Update: 7:10 p.m. ET
The Padres and Braves have agreed on a one-for-one swap of outfielders Matt Kemp and Hector Olivera, David O'Brien reports, adding that the deal, which comes exactly one year after the Braves acquired Olivera from the Dodgers, is just pending physicals. Both players were considered highly unmovable due to their contracts, so it makes some sort of sense that they'd be traded for each other.
Joel Sherman previously that the Padres are expected to send some money to the Braves in the deal. Dennis Lin reports that the Padres could turn around and designate Olivera for assignment after the deal is completed. If that's the case, the deal would hinge on Kemp's physical, which is no small thing.
Update: 6:45 p.m. ET
The Orioles are "taking a hard look" at Mariners starting pitcher Wade Miley, reports Jon Heyman. The Orioles could definitely use rotation help and they just lost a hold of first place in the AL East on Saturday with their loss to the Blue Jays. Miley is a lefty, and the Orioles haven't started a left-handed pitcher all season.
Update: 5:50 p.m. ET
As noted below, the Padres are looking to move Matt Kemp's right-handed power and burdensome contract. The Braves may be interested, if only because they have a burdensome contract of their own.
As Keith Law tweets, the Braves may send outfielder Hector Olivera to San Diego in exchange for Kemp. The two players are owed similar amounts on their contracts, but it's worth noting that Olivera is soon to return from an 82-game suspension for domestic violence.
Update: 5:40 p.m. ET
As the Brewers possibly move toward trading catcher Jonathan Lucroy, let's not give him a Mets jersey just yet ...
With Yan Gomes hurt and unproductive before that, Lucroy would certainly be a fit for the first-place Indians.
Update: 4:59 p.m. ET
Consider this a strong sign that the Brewers may soon deal franchise catcher Jonathan Lucroy ...
That's a pretty candid admission on the part of Craig Counsell, especially by manager standards. Something's afoot. Lucroy's an excellent player on a team-friendly contract, so he has wide appeal. According to recent scuttle, the Mets may be the front-runners.
Update: 4:52 p.m. ET
The first-place Rangers are angling for a catcher upgrade, and to that end they've been linked to Jonathan Lucroy of the Brewers and Derek Norris of the Padres. As Jeff Passan reports, Kurt Suzuki of the Twins is also a possibility.
Suzuki, 32, has a productive 106 OPS+ this season versus a career mark of 87 across parts of 10 major-league seasons. If he reaches 485 plate appearances this season (he's on pace to fall short), then his $6 million option will vest for 2017. Otherwise, he'll be a free agent at season's end.
Update: 4:50 p.m. ET
The Royals on Saturday announced that they'd acquired outfielder Billy Burns from the Athletics in exchange for outfielder Brett Eibner. Get more details here.
Update: 4:40 p.m. ET
A.J. Preller's Padres are deep in sell mode, and it follows that they'd love to shed the contract of aging slugger Matt Kemp. Indeed, Ken Rosenthal tweets that Padres are looking to trade Kemp.
Kemp's a good source of right-handed power when healthy, but he's also presently running an unacceptable OBP of .285 (in addition to providing negative value with the glove). The real issue is that Kemp is still owed around $60 million, even after you take out the small portion of his contract that the Dodgers are paying. On the other hand, that contract also makes him a candidate to be moved during the August waiver period, so perhaps there's not much urgency just yet.
Update: 4:15 p.m. ET
Your Brewers lineup for Saturday ...
As you can see, catcher Jonathan Lucroy is not in it, despite the fact that he received a day off on Thursday. Let's not read too much into this, but it could be a sign that trade talks are progressing.
Update: 4:04 p.m. ET
As rumored, the Nationals have reportedly acquired Pirates closer Mark Melancon in a three-player deal. Heading back to Pittsburgh will be young lefties Felipe Rivero and Taylor Hearn. Get more details here.
Update: 2:38 p.m. ET
The Rangers are hot after a rotation upgrade, and as Ken Rosenthal tweets they continue to talk to the White Sox about not only ace Chris Sale but also No. 2 man Jose Quintana. The price for either would of course be high (each hurler is excellent and locked up long-term), and as Rosenthal indicates the two sides right now seem to be far apart in discussions. There's still time, though.
Update: 2:31 p.m. ET
Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports writes that the Athletics are inclined to hang on to right-hander Sonny Gray. He's still just 26 and is under team control through 2019, so he has future value to the A's. As well, he's performed well below his usual standards this year (5.43 ERA after 19 starts), so in that sense they'd be selling low on him right now.
Update: 2:26 p.m. ET
The Mets are known to be interested in Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy, who's a standout defender and an excellent hitter by positional standards. Now it appears the Mets may be making a serious push to land him by the deadline ...
That's a good start, but the guess here is that it will cost more than that to land a player like Lucroy, who's also on a team-friendly contract through next season.
As noted in this space, this is a deal that makes sense for both sides.
Update: 2:20 p.m. ET
The Nationals are in the mix for a new closer, what with the ongoing struggles of Jonathan Papelbon. They've been linked to Wade Davis, but the Royals' relief ace has some concerns moving forward. As for the Yankees' Andrew Miller, the price in young talent may be too high for the Nats' tastes.
Given all that, Ken Rosenthal tweets that Washington may be homing in on Mark Melancon of the Pirates. This season, Melancon, 31, boasts an ERA of 1.51 and a K/BB of 4.22. That's in keeping with the rest of his Pittsburgh tenure. He's owed the balance of a $9.65 million salary for this season and is eligible for free agency this upcoming winter. He'd certainly be an upgrade over the status quo in D.C.
Update: 2:09 p.m. ET
Starting pitching is in high demand right now, and Dan Straily of the Reds would figure to be a reasonable target before the deadline. This season, the 27-year-old right-hander has pitched to a 108 ERA+ in 22 games, 19 of which have been starts. The Reds got Straily via an April waiver claim, so flipping him for anything of potential long-term value should be appealing. However, Jerry Crasnick tweets that the Reds right now are inclined to hang on to Straily. This, of course, could be posturing to drive up the asking price, but we'll see soon enough.
Update: 1:39 p.m. ET
Jayson Stark tweets that the Dodgers and Reds are still discussing a deal involving power-hitting outfielder Jay Bruce. However, a rumored three-way swap with an unnamed third team that would've landed Bruce in L.A. seems to be dead, at least for now.
Update: 1:34 p.m. ET
Peter Gammons tweets that the White Sox have been heavily scouting Red Sox prospects in recent days. The White Sox may or may not be selling off parts prior to the deadline. Most notably, rumors have swirled about front-line starters Chris Sale and Jose Quintana, but some bullpen pieces are also probably in play.
Update: 1:20 p.m. ET
Writing for Today's Knuckleball, Jon Heyman reports that the Yankees are listening to offers for veteran catcher Brian McCann. McCann, 32, has a 105 OPS+ and 15 homers in 82 games this season. He's also regarded as a skilled pitch-framer.
McCann's in the third year of a five-year, $85 million contract with the Yankees. He's bound to have appeal on the market as a durable catcher with left-handed pop. However, fellow catchers Jonathan Lucroy and Derek Norris are also in play as we head toward the deadline. Buster Olney adds that the Braves of all teams may have interest. Per David O'Brien, the Braves are only in on McCann if the Yankees are willing to pay a significant chunk of his remaining freight. However, Joel Sherman adds that the Yankees aren't inclined to eat any additional salary.
Update: 12:49 p.m. ET
Per Buster Olney on Twitter, the Blue Jays are "working hard" to trade for a starting pitcher. The Toronto rotation has been solid to date, but they may be facing the workload-related shutdown/ramp-down of Aaron Sanchez. Since Sanchez has been the team's best starter to date, that would indeed be a significant loss. The usual suspects as trade targets go include Rich Hill, Edinson Volquez, and Jeremy Hellickson, among others.
Update: 12:33 p.m. ET
The Rangers have reportedly been in the mix for Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy, but now Ken Rosenthal tweets that Texas may be moving on to another catcher: Derek Norris of the Padres. Norris, 27, has a disappointing 68 OPS+ this season, but he's typically been a much better hitter than that. He's not eligible for free agency until after the 2018 season. The Padres, of course, are very much in rebuilding mode at the moment, so Norris is surely available for the right price.
Update: 10:31 a.m. ET
Starting pitching is in high demand right now, as you would expect, and that's led to reasonable speculation that the Brewers might part with breakout 31-year-old righty Junior Guerra.
Guerra, a waiver claim last October who's on his fourth organization, has pitched to a 2.70 ERA and 2.50 K/BB ratio in 16 starts for Milwaukee this season. He's got good fastball velocity and years of team control remaining, so despite his age and lack of track record, Guerra has a market.
As Jon Heyman tweets, the Brewers, perhaps sensing that market, want more of a return for Guerra than the Padres received for Andrew Cashner in their deal with the Marlins. In a sense that stands to reason. After all, Cashner is in his walk year, and Guerra has out-pitched him this season.
Update: 9:55 a.m. ET
Reds outfielder Jay Bruce, thanks to his left-handed power, is of course the subject of many trade rumors leading up to the deadline.
So who's in and who's out? Jon Heyman tweets that the Dodgers, Mets, and Mariners may be the most serious about Bruce at the moment. Bruce, 29, has 25 homers this season, and he's potentially under team control through 2017 thanks to a $13 million club option in his contract.
Update: 9:51 a.m. ET
Yankees outfielder Carlos Beltran, thanks to his productive resurgence this season, is a popular name as we near the deadline. The Indians, meantime, could use another outfield bat, hence their reported interest.
Jon Heyman tweets that the Tribe does indeed have interest in Beltran but that room in the budget is a concern. Beltran is owed the balance of a $15 million salary for 2016. The Indians could always negotiate to receive some cash in the deal, but that would mean sending additional or better young talent the Yankees' way.
Update: 9:38 a.m. ET
It seems strange that a rebuilding team like the Phillies would consider trading a 24-year-old starting pitcher with potential and years of team control remaining, but Vince Velasquez has indeed been the subject of many trade rumors. One of those rumors has the Rangers in serious pursuit, but Jerry Crasnick tweets that such a deal is now considered "unlikely" by one source.