Lukewarm Stove: Rumors Flying Everywhere, Deals Getting Done (Including Hamels, Maybe), Open Thread

The final Lukewarm Stove before the #BNBlogathon begins at 5am CT tomorrow morning. The rumors are flying, and, given how active it’s already been this week, I’m selfishly hoping nothing else major goes down today. Just lots and lots of rumors. Then, when Thursday rolls around, have at it.

Consider this post also your open thread for the rest of the night. If anything big happens, Michael may jump on it in a separate post, or might update one of the posts already going. Otherwise, feel free to keep each other updated in the comments.

It’s already been nuts tonight, with the Mets reportedly getting Carlos Gomez and the Dodgers/Marlins/Braves getting together on some wild, big deal.

Some other things …

Is Starlin Castro on the trade block or not? Some heavy rumors recently said yes, an early pull last night made folks wonder, and him sitting today made folks wonder even more. For his part, Joe Maddon tried to assuage any of Castro’s concerns:

#Cubs manager Joe Maddon says he told Starlin Castro last night: "Listen, you're not getting traded. Just relax and play."

— Patrick Mooney (@CSNMooney) July 29, 2015

Starlin admitted he was confused by double switches, confirmed Maddon told him he wasn't getting traded. appreciated chat with Maddon

— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) July 29, 2015

More from Maddon and Castro here. You could read those comments a lot of different ways if you were really stretching, and I’ll admit that it’s possible Maddon wasn’t telling Castro, “Unequivocally, and until the end of the season, you are definitely not being traded no matter what.” But I think it’s unlikely Maddon would say anything to Castro at all about trades if he had any sense that a deal was possible by Friday. In other words, I think this all makes a Castro trade even less likely than it already was – and, that’s the thing: if you were honest with yourself about Castro’s non-value right now, a trade at this time was already extremely unlikely. It’s interesting to think about, no doubt, but the most realistic outcome to hope for is Castro stays and flips a switch in August and September; that’s because the most realistic trade outcome is the Cubs dumping Castro for almost no value. That, to me, doesn’t seem like something to root for.

All that said: is it still possible Castro is moved before Friday? Yeah, I’ll concede that it’s possible. I just don’t think you should be expecting it.

Speaking of which, or maybe not, the Padres are fixin’ to sell big:

Teams speaking with the #Padres say they’re about to get “super-active” & think they’re positioning themselves to make a “huge deal.”

— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) July 29, 2015

Obviously the Padres did some crazy stuff this offseason, so I wouldn’t put anything past them in the next two days. They’ve got so many pieces that, individually or together, fit with the Cubs – Tyson Ross, Andrew Cashner, Ian Kennedy, Craig Kimbrel, Joaquin Benoit, Will Venable, and possibly James Shields and Justin Upton (under the right circumstances) – so I’m sure there have been plenty of conversations. Ross is the most ideal target of the lot, and he’s reportedly been the Cubs’ focus.

The Astros could wind up the Cubs’ biggest competition on Padres starters …

Source: Astros and Padres gaining steam in trade talks. Multiple sources say nothing in red zone yet, though. http://t.co/3VsU3EiWvx

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) July 29, 2015

Sounds like Astros are after Tyson Ross more than they are after Andrew Cashner.

— Dennis Lin (@sdutdennislin) July 30, 2015

Today’s the day for best offers on Cole Hamels – remember him? – according to a report yesterday, anyway. Consistent with that word then, the Giants are “fading” in the derby, according to Ken Rosenthal. The Dodgers are still in says Bob Nightengale, even after picking up Mat Latos (and then maybe Alex Wood, too). Er, wait, the Giants aren’t fading, maybe (because things change that quickly, as I’m typing):

Sources: #Giants have re-connected “a couple of times” today with #Phillies about Hamels. Reported earlier that their chances had faded.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 30, 2015

#Rangers still logical front-runner for Hamels. They have young position players that the #Phillies need. Will say it again: Talks fluid.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 30, 2015

Oop, and there it goes again – as I’m typing, trying to finish this Lukewarm Stove …

Rangers are getting close to getting Hamels…. Sources are say two sides are almost there to a deal…. Not tonight but Thursday

— TR Sullivan (@Sullivan_Ranger) July 30, 2015

Finishing touches appear to be underway in Hamels to Texas deal.

— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyCSN) July 30, 2015

Source: Rangers nearing deal with Philadelphia for Cole Hamels.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 30, 2015

I guess we’ll be on high alert for that one.

Having picked up Jonathan Papelbon – and promised him the chance to close – you’ve got to wonder if the Nats would consider moving suddenly-disappointed, erstwhile closer Drew Storen. Even if they did, you’ve got to figure they’d be looking to pick up a piece to contribute to their playoff run, not prospects. And, so, even if the Cubs were into Storen, I’m not sure I see a fit there.

Well, I guess they have won some games lately:

White Sox will be buyers at the trade deadline, I'm told.

— anthony fenech (@anthonyfenech) July 29, 2015

At 48-50, and winning again tonight, the White Sox are just 3.0 games out of the Wild Card (though behind four other teams). Given how much they did to try and win this year, I could understand them not selling. It’s not like they’ve got a ton of obvious pieces to sell anyway. This would take Jeff Samardzija off of the rental market (which would be bad news for him, as, once he gets that qualifying offer slapped on him, he could fall into that range of guys who really do get hurt by being attached to draft pick compensation).

(Update) It seems the Hames/Rangers deal is all but done, though we’ll wait for the final figures/players to come out to update again…

To recap: #Rangers to acquire Cole Hamels for OF Nick Williams, C Jorge Alfaro, RHP Jerad Eickhoff, and at least 1 more player. @FOXSports

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 30, 2015

Here is a little more context, from Jeff Passan… Again, Brett will have more on this in the morning:

In one tweet: Hamels ($76M), Diekman, cash to Rangers. Alfaro, N. Williams, J. Thompson, M. Harrison ($28M), Eickhoff, Asher to Phillies.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 30, 2015

On the Mets/Brewers trade for Carlos Gomez, it appears it has not been completed and may not be at all, before the deadline. There’s nothing to do but wait for more information, so we’ll see where this one ends up…

Sandy Alderson: "There is no trade, and unfortunately social media etc. got ahead of the facts ….

— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinMedia) July 30, 2015

Given the way things have played out tonight, I’m only going to update this post cautiously. Feel free to share anything you find in the comments, but I’m going to wait for more concrete details and information, before sharing anything significant…