Lukewarm Stove: Gray Won’t Start, Verlander Miracle, Darvish and the Dodgers, More

The Non-Waiver Trade Deadline is Monday at 3pm CT, and the 40-hour BN Blogathon begins in earnest tomorrow morning at 5 am. FUN TIMES AHEAD …

Also, Hug Watch is already in full effect:

Away we go …

  • He’s been a popular name on the rumor circuit, frequently connected to the Chicago Cubs, but the expectation right now is that Justin Verlander will not be traded. Jon Heyman takes that a step further, and hears from sources that it would take a “miracle” for a Verlander trade to come together. The contract remains the sticking point, and although Verlander could clear waivers and be traded in August, it’s more likely that the Tigers will reconvene in the offseason about a trade. Of course, to that end, I’d say that I’m not sure their market for Verlander at that point is going to be dramatically improved – sure, maybe a team or two more will be involved that aren’t now because of 2017 competitiveness concerns, but a disproportionate amount of Verlander’s remaining value is tied up in the rest of his 2017 performance (at age 34).
  • Given his looming presence on the trade market, and the fact that he got blown up by the Marlins in what should be his final Rangers start, this is a pretty big report:
  • Darvish appreciated Passan’s efforts:
  • Speaking of which, Jon Heyman has heard Darvish is the Dodgers’ top target, though they may not be willing to part with top prospects to make it happen:
  • As I would have said about the Cubs last year at the Trade Deadline: the Dodgers haven’t won a championship in a very long time. They are virtually guaranteed to make the postseason. They have a deep, and talented prospect pool. If they aren’t going to pull the trigger on a trade that can add a few percentage points to their chances of winning the World Series this year, when will they ever? Perhaps the answer is that they never will, but if they opt to hoard prospects this year, and then don’t win it all, they will be shredded in all corners, fair or unfair.
  • Teams seem unwilling to part with tip-top prospects for Sonny Gray:
  • Does that leave open a crack for a “stealth” team like the Cubs to swoop in if the offers aren’t impressive?
  • If a team in the Cardinals’ position is making a cost-controlled outfielder available in trade, doesn’t it say a lot about what they think of that outfielder:
  • Last night, the out-of-the-race Orioles traded for rental starter Jeremy Hellickson for reasons that surpass understanding, and Ken Rosenthal offers up a report that makes things all the more perplexing:
  • Meanwhile, the Cubs continue to search for a back-up catcher, and we discussed the latest on A.J. Ellis earlier today.
  • Oh great, Kirk Nieuwenhuis is coming back to the Brewers today – he always kills the Cubs.
  • written by

    Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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