The trade deadline is now less than a week away for Major League Baseball, as it is set for 6 p.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 3. A good number of teams are still in limbo, though, sitting within striking distance of a wild-card spot while also not really having the look of a strong contender. Something to watch in the coming days is the Tigers. They've lost three straight and sit four back of the last spot in the American League with four teams to jump over. If they end up as sellers, that means Tarik Skubal hits the market.
As for the rest of the rumors for the day, let's get to it.
MLB trade deadline buyers and sellers: Where all 30 teams stand with one week to go Matt Snyder
Red Sox looking for shortstop help
The Red Sox are firmly in contention as their run of winning baseball continues. They are 55-50 and hold the second AL wild card. With Trevor Story and now Tsung-Che Chang on the injured list, Andrew Monasterio is holding down shortstop for the time being, but the Red Sox are searching the trade market for someone to man the position, reports ESPN.
Part of the problem, of course, is that there aren't many -- if any -- shortstops known to be available via trade. Story will return, likely, at some point in August and it sure doesn't seem like the Mets will trade Francisco Lindor.
Still, keep in mind the Red Sox are searching for middle infield help, even after acquiring Curtis Mead.
Chicago teams in on Detmers
Both the Cubs and White Sox have been looking at Angels left-handed starting pitcher Reid Detmers, according to Yahoo.
The 27-year-old Detmers is under team control through 2028 and is 3-7 with a 4.05 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 136 strikeouts in 120 innings this season for the Angels. He continues to go through bouts of inconsistency while flashing big upside. As an example, from May 24-June 16, he was 4-1 with a 1.36 ERA in five starts. He followed that up with a 7.40 ERA in his next four starts and now has a 0.79 ERA in his last two.
The fit for either Chicago team is clear. They both need starting pitching and would love to have an arm that isn't a rental and is locked up for a few more seasons, especially the White Sox as they rebound from some truly awful seasons and aren't ready to fully mortgage the future for this season.
Rays showing interest in upgrades
The Rays have shown interest in trade candidates Freddy Peralta of the Mets and Zach Neto of the Angels, per FanSided.
With Peralta, such a move would really solidify a strong four-man playoff rotation along with Nick Martinez, Drew Rasmussen and Shane McClanahan, enabling them to move Griffin Jax back into a bullpen role after serving as the fifth starter in the regular season. Keep in mind, Peralta is a rental, hitting free agency after this season.
Swooping in for Neto would be a Rays-like move. He's under team control through 2029. The 25-year-old shortstop has a 117 OPS+ with 2.8 WAR this season after back-to-back 5+ WAR seasons. He'd mark a nice middle infield upgrade.
If the Angels are prepared to move Neto, one can't help but wonder how much the Red Sox would be interested, too, given the above rumor.
Mets not planning on dealing catcher
Part-time Mets catcher Luis Torrens is drawing interest on the trade market, specifically from the White Sox, but the team isn't inclined to move him, reports the New York Post. Instead, the Mets are reportedly looking to hold onto Torrens for next season -- he's signed for $4.75 million -- as they plan on contending rather than kick off a rebuild.
This could, of course, be posturing on the Mets' part as they try to get better offers for the solid defensive backstop.
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