It’s the time of year when you’re trying to get every possible little nugget about guys that you might not be able to discern from their statistics or the info in your ongoing, multi-year database. What that often means, in practice, is that teams send scouts to watch potential trade targets for all kinds of things that you wouldn’t see on game video. How’s the guy reacting in the field? How’s his jog look? His energy? His demeanor? Does it look like his legs are heavy, for example?
So no surprise here – a whole lotta scouts are coming to Wrigley Field this weekend:
Yankees and Marlins as well.
— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) July 24, 2021
Mets, Blue Jays, Phillies, Yankees, and Marlins(?), eh? I bet there are even more. Obviously the Mets and Phillies have been heavily-connected to the Cubs, and the Blue Jays and Yankees might still try to make a run in the AL East. The Marlins are a bit of an odd one, as they are solidly out of contention this year. (Looking ahead to 2022, by chance? They had been connected to Willson Contreras all offseason, if you’ll recall.)
Here’s hoping the Cubs put on a good and healthy-looking show, if nothing else. Whether you want trades to happen or not, you definitely want the Cubs to at least have good options (and get good returns *IF* the trades are going to happen anyway). The Trade Deadline is just six days away.