Today is the last day to acquire a player who can be eligible on the acquiring team’s post-season roster. This waiver-trade deadline expires tonight at the stroke of midnight in New York City.
The biggest names out there as trade bait are Justin Verlander, Justin Upton, and Giancarlo Stanton and Upton makes the most sense to be traded today — the big names just become good fodder for those “what if” articles that have popped up this week.
Perhaps one of the biggest names discussed here on the waiver wire was Reds shortstop Zack Cozart who was actually claimed and subsequently pulled off waivers according to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. Heyman was not able to identify the team who claimed Cozart, and he believes the claim was made strictly as a strategy of blocking him from other contenders. If the Reds had any designs on trading the soon-to-be free agent All-Star, they blew their chance.
The Yankees just acquired Erik Kratz from the Cleveland Indians as another catcher along with Andrew Romine and Gary Sanchez as fill-in. Mike Leake was traded yesterday to the Seattle Mariners from the St. Louis Cardinals.
There is no telling what if anything gets done today, but there are no hot rumors about the Washington Nationals who could certainly use an upgrade offensively and defensively at back-up catcher where Jose Lobaton is tied with Stephen Strasburg at a .156 batting average, and Lobi can’t pitch like Strasburg!
Mike Rizzo in the past has made some slick moves during the waiver-trade period snatching players like Kurt Suzuki in August of 2012 and Matt Thornton in August of 2014.
The Nationals major needs right now are getting the injured players healthy. While Stephen Strasburg, Max Scherzer, Jayson Werth and Trea Turner have all returned in the last 2 weeks, the Nationals are still without Bryce Harper, Ryan Madson, Koda Glover, Enny Romero, Brian Goodwin, Adam Eaton, and others.
