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I don’t think I am ambitious enough to keep a running post of every MLB trade that will go down this week, but I can commit to hitting the high points as we lead up to July 31st. And maybe my comrades here at Fake Teams can chip in if I am out of touch when the huge names get traded (it’ll happen, just wait and see). I’ll probably be out backpacking in Europe when Thor gets traded. Even though I have no plans to hop on a plane as of yet.
Anyway, here is what is happening around the league.
Jake Diekman traded to Oakland
The Athletics might only need to “open” games soon enough. Consider this bullpen:
Left-handed reliever Jake Diekman has been traded to the Oakland A's, league sources tell ESPN. Diekman had been pursued by a number of teams on trade market before Kansas City agreed to deal him to A's. Oakland bullpen has monster stuff with Treinen, Hendriks, Trivino, Diekman.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 27, 2019
I know they haven’t all lived up to their stuff this year, but that’s a heck of a bullpen. Joakim Soria and Yusmeiro Petit aren’t slouches, either. In fact, the Athletics have a bullpen ERA of 3.94 at the time of this writing (Saturday), good for the 7th-best mark in the MLB. And now they are getting even better. Diekman won’t be garnering saves, but this is noteworthy for real life baseball, at least. With a rotation headlined by Mike Fiers, the As better be shortening the game. Homer Bailey might be a decent No. 5 type, but this rotation as a whole leaves a lot to be desired. It would be fun if the As weren’t done wheeling and dealing just yet. Matt Boyd, anyone?
Sergio Romo traded to Minnesota
The left-handed Taylor Rogers is Romo’s competition for saves. I don’t hate this move for Romo, though. It doesn’t appear to totally sap his pathway to saves, and he’s obviously moving to a much better team. Stay tuned, is my opinion. I’m holding Romo for at least one more week where I have him. I need to see how this shakes out.
Nick Anderson is the man to own in Miami...if he stays
The true shift in value with the two moves mentioned above will likely belong to the whoever the new closer is in Miami. Nick Anderson is the likely suspect, though his name has also been bandied about in trade rumors. Still, with a 36.9% strikeout rate and a vacated closer’s role on his team, you could do much worse with your speculative adds.
Follow along on Twitter @faketeams or @HeathCapps for more MLB Trade Deadline chatter. Can’t wait to see the carnage done to my fake teams when all the dust settles...