The summer is heating up, and so is the MLB trade market!
Several teams have already differentiated themselves as contenders or rebuilding squads ahead of the July 30 trade deadline. The former group includes the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles while the latter includes the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics and Miami Marlins (who have already traded star hitter Luis Arráez to the San Diego Padres).
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Keep it here for all the latest rumors ahead of the 2024 MLB trade deadline!
June 25
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. open to joining Yankees
One of the biggest names potentially available at the deadline is slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr., whose Toronto Blue Jays sit last in the American League East at 35-43 entering Tuesday. While Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said in early June that trading Guerrero and shortstop Bo Bichette “doesn’t make any sense” and the team is reportedly still not considering dealing away either player, Guerrero made waves Monday when he told Dominican outlet Virus Deportivo that he would be open to playing for the division-rival New York Yankees.
“I’m a professional,” Guerrero said. “I go out on the field to play. I talked with my dad, I talked to my family. … I’ll be happy to help any team.”
Guerrero essentially walked back head-turning comments he made in 2022 when he said he would “never sign for the Yankees, not even dead.” He also doubled down on those comments in a 2023 interview with the New York Post, calling it a “personal thing that goes back with my family.” Guerrero’s father, Vladimir Guerrero Sr., is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame and was a nine-time All-Star in his MLB career, primarily for the Montreal Expos and Los Angeles Angels.
“Sometimes you say things. … It’s not like that,” Guerrero Jr. said Monday. “I don’t hold back what I said about the Yankees. But what I say is that the organization understands me, I sat down to talk with my dad and my family, and that’s that. I understand myself, and I told [my dad] I was never going to talk about that subject again.”
“I’ll be happy to help any team. Right now, I’m focused on helping my team and trying to get out of this bad streak.”
The Blue Jays are 2-8 over their last 10 games. Guerrero is a free agent at the end of next season.
Dodgers interested in White Sox’s Luis Robert Jr.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are interested in Luis Robert Jr., per The Athletic, to provide some lineup depth behind their superstar trio of Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman — particularly with Betts out until at least August due to a fractured hand.
The Dodgers and division-rival San Diego Padres are also interested in Chicago left-hander Garrett Crochet, while the Seattle Mariners also make sense as a potential destination for Robert. The White Sox have reportedly sent minor-league scouts to affiliates of all three of those clubs in recent weeks.
Athletics’ Mason Miller has ‘hefty price tag’
Mason Miller may be the best player on the soon-to-be-relocating Oakland A’s and is one of the best relief pitchers in baseball this season, leading all MLB relievers with 60 strikeouts entering Monday. That makes him a natural trade candidate for contenders who need to bolster their bullpen, but Miller is also under team control until 2030, meaning that Oakland will likely require a massive trade package in exchange for trading the dominant reliever this summer, per The Athletic.
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