MLB Rumors: Houston Astros could land reunion with Justin Verlander if they get aggressive
Justin Verlander has been on a roller coaster ride through the last few weeks before the 2023 MLB trade deadline. One day, he's certainly a goner as the Mets struggle. The next day, he's a lock to stay in New York. Then the Mets begin to blow it up by trading Max Scherzer to the Rangers and making it known that Verlander is available. Of course, multiple teams have leaped all over this possibility because it's ridiculously unheard of to be able to add a Cy Young-caliber pitcher in the middle of the year.
Verlander has a full no-trade clause, so any deal would have to go through him as well as both teams in the trade. Andy Martino has reported that there's no deal close to happening, but his former team, the Houston Astros, could be a perfect fit if they attack it aggressively.
The odds of a Justin Verlander trade are definitely more likely now than it was a few days or weeks ago, but there's nothing close to final. The Astros remain the most likely option, as of the night before the trade deadline. Other potential suitors include the Reds and the Dodgers, both of which have deep enough farm systems to make this trade a reality. It'll be an exciting last few hours before the deadline and it wouldn't be the first time that Verlander was traded in a buzzer-beater deadline deal.
MLB Rumors: Orioles could be the dream landing spot for the Tigers and Michael Lorenzen
There are a few things that are certain at the trade deadline this year. One thing is that the Baltimore Orioles are aggressively pursuing a starting pitcher. Another thing, per Bob Nightengale, is that the Tigers will absolutely be trading Michael Lorenzen before the deadline. And these two facts match up perfectly for a Lorenzen trade to the Orioles. It just seems like a matter of time at this point.
Jon Morosi of MLB Network noted that the two sides have been in contact revolving around this potential trade, but the two sides match up more than it appears on the surface. The Tigers have been adamantly trying to add offensive prospects to their struggling farm system. The Orioles have a plethora of talent in the farm, but they notably hold a ton of offensive talent. According to MLB Pipeline, nine out of their top 10 prospects are position players and 21 of their top 30 prospects are offensive players as well.
This is a dream matchup for Detroit, as they will likely be able to receive multiple prospects that could reshape their farm system without even denting the Orioles' system. This trade seems like it's nearly certain to end up happening before the deadline, but other teams have a chance to steal Lorenzen from Detroit, right out from under Baltimore's nose.
MLB Rumors: Yankees' recent struggles could turn them into conservative sellers
As the trade deadline began closing in over the last few weeks, it was pretty clear the Yankees would be buying at the deadline. They were seeing Aaron Judge return from the injured list and needed to add pieces around him to rejuvenate their roster and push them towards the AL Wild Card. This was the belief in the New York media, as well as throughout most of the baseball world. But life comes at you fast and the Yankees have struggled mightily lately, potentially changing their deadline plans right before our very eyes.
After a 5-1 loss to the Rays on Monday, the Yankees fell to 55-51. That's good for last place in the AL East and 10 games behind the first-place Orioles. Not only that, but they also sit 3.5 games out of the final wild card spot. Their playoff odds have dropped to 23.3 percent according to FanGraphs. With them missing out on Jeimer Candelario amongst others, they could turn into conservative sellers at the deadline.
New York has players like Luis Severino, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Harrison Bader on expiring contracts that they could deal around the league and receive a bit of a return, rather than losing these players in free agency. Seeing the Yankees sell may not be the most likely turn of events, but Andy Martino sees it as a real possibility.