Wabs said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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It'll be nice if they don't buy.

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Offer Yainer to them. Can't be worse than who they have at catcher now.

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Sweeten the pot by adding Spence.

Nathan Eovaldi tonight. Not the same ol' guy. Walks are up, ERA is up, HR allowed is up and he throws the fastball a lot less. He's leaning on his splitter this year, and it's his best pitch. Lefties have been hitting him pretty well. We'll see if Texas decides to pitch to Yordan. On the other hand, he will probably get to face Lucas Spence, so...

EastCoastAgNc said:

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According to Bob Nightengale, the Astros are asking the Giants about Logan Webb. They keep saying he's not getting traded. I highly doubt we could pull off a package even if he was.

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I am not sure I could think of a better trade than adding Webb for 3 prime years at 20-25 M per.

This is a long read but very poignant.

The Dodgers already have Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, among more. Jeff Passan says they are the favorites to add Tarik Skubal, the reigning two-time Cy Young winner. Four months later, the CBA expires. This trade might be the last piece of evidence the owners… https://t.co/kQrKp4SPtc

— George Jarjour (@GeorgeOnTap) July 30, 2026

Are the Red Sox coming to the end of their rope with Duran?

Jarren Duran appears upset with Willson Contreras for not running home

He's been absolutely terrible

.195 BA
.252 OBP
.337 SLG
.589 OPS

I'd love to buy low here.

Nobody is suggesting it is time to give up on Cam Smith entirely, but if the Astros want to compete in 2026, it may be time to look elsewhere in right field -- at least for now.

Our @lucas_pickle14 has more on Smith's outlook in Houston:https://t.co/EijbK32F4F

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) July 31, 2026

They've asked about Gausman and Robbie Ray as well.

texasaggie2015 said:

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They've asked about Gausman and Robbie Ray as well.

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Both would be nice adds. We've liked Gausman for years.

CharleyKerfeld said:

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After berating Google Gemini for constantly forgetting where it but the spreadsheet for 20 minutes, I think I have mastered the Astro Bingo current standings, listed by current score and maximum number of squares.

I put a new tab on the spreadsheet as well if you want to keep track there.

Check out the big brain on HTownAg98!

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I'm 69. Nice.

The Red Sox have given up on the idea that Trevor Story will help them when he returns from the IL, leading to their aggressive pursuit of shortstops, which include Zach Neto, CJ Abrams, Otto Lopez, and Jeremy Peña, according to @BNightengale. pic.twitter.com/BPBPOnBfCt

— Gordo (@BOSSportsGordo) July 31, 2026

One may wonder if the owners collectively ask the dodgers to acquire Skubal so they can push for a cap

I had a small private hope we would have a new and actual ML caliber player in CF for this series.

That hope is dwindling.

EABC_AG said:

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One may wonder if the owners collectively ask the dodgers to acquire Skubal so they can push for a cap

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But that would be illegal. MLB owners wouldn't stoop to that level, right?






Right? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_collusion

Tigers have scratched Casey Mize from his scheduled start tonight at Athletics. No injury, just a cautionary move ahead of trade deadline Monday, similar to Jack Flaherty in 2024. Mize will start Tuesday at Seattle if not traded.

Tigers will do a bullpen game tonight.

— Jason Beck (@beckjason) July 31, 2026

Tigers gave it 2 years and are going to burn it down.

This whole system is just so flawed. It's not designed for long term growth and management.

Mathguy64 said:

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Tigers gave it 2 years and are going to burn it down.

This whole system is just so flawed. It's not designed for long term growth and management.

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And they're still going to be paying Framber $40m+ for the next 2 years

Mathguy64 said:

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Tigers gave it 2 years and are going to burn it down.

This whole system is just so flawed. It's not designed for long term growth and management.

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Are they burning it down? I think they're just selling off the rentals since they failed this year.

Framber, McGonigle, McKinstry, Dingler, Greene, Torres, Carpenter, Keith, Finnegan, and more will all be back next year.

Farmer1906 said:

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Mathguy64 said:

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Tigers gave it 2 years and are going to burn it down.

This whole system is just so flawed. It's not designed for long term growth and management.

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Are they burning it down? I think they're just selling off the rentals since they failed this year.

Framber, McGonigle, McKinstry, Dingler, Greene, Torres, Carpenter, Keith, Finnegan, and more will all be back next year.

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yeah, that's a pretty good group of players to build around... the Astros should be so lucky.

Mathguy64 said:

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Tigers gave it 2 years and are going to burn it down.

This whole system is just so flawed. It's not designed for long term growth and management.

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I mean we did it. The Rays and Brewers have been consistently competitive. If just spending money is the key then why do the Mets suck? The reality is it was never easy to be consistently competitive over a long period of time. With no free agency in baseball for 100 years there were teams who were always losers (look at the Phillies from the 20's through 40's or the A's before moving to Oakland). Even in leagues with caps there are teams who consistently suck and others who consistently compete. I'm not saying the system doesn't need tweaks but I also wouldn't say it's broken.

Mathguy64 said:

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Tigers gave it 2 years and are going to burn it down.

This whole system is just so flawed. It's not designed for long term growth and management.

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Unless you have beauoups of cash, like the Dodgers. Then you can do it all

All I do is Nguyen said:

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This is a long read but very poignant.

The Dodgers already have Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, among more. Jeff Passan says they are the favorites to add Tarik Skubal, the reigning two-time Cy Young winner. Four months later, the CBA expires. This trade might be the last piece of evidence the owners… https://t.co/kQrKp4SPtc

— George Jarjour (@GeorgeOnTap) July 30, 2026

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Two points regarding that X post:

#1 The guy makes it sound like the Dodger got where they are simply through better management of the franchise than anybody else, which is false. Their management is good, but it is made to look much better by the fact that they generally don't have to trade prospects for players if they don't want to. They have enough money that they can simply go out and buy what they need in free agency, then when they end up with a surplus at the big league level, they can trade it away for more prospects. So they end up with the best lineup money can buy AND the best farm system by trading surplus players made expendable by their FA signings.

#2 The ultimate counter argument for the players when the owners point at the Dodgers as the reason for a salary cap is to point at the owners for giving the Dodgers a sweetheart deal on their TV revenue that made their spending spree possible. The owners have the ability to change that deal any time they want without any concessions from the players. Yes, it will be painful to try to break that contract with the Dodgers, but it can be done without a salary cap on payroll. If the Dodgers had to share their TV revenue at the same rate as the rest of the league, they wouldn't have unlimited funds to pursue free agents.

After the recent chatter about how different playoff teams are from 1 year to the next, I worked this out. Although the Yankees and Red Sox are close to the same pace, every AL playoff team from last year is on pace to lose more games than a year ago, and 3 of the 6 will miss the playoffs. Just another insight into how amazing out '17-'23 run was!

East
Blue Jays
2025 final: 94-68
2026 pace: 74-88

Yankees
2025 final: 94-68
2026 pace: 91-71

Red Sox
2025 final:89-73
2026 pace: 85-77

Central
Guardians
2025 final: 88-74
2026 pace: 82-80

Tigers
2025 final:87-75
2026 pace: 76-86

West
Mariners
2025 final:90-72
2026 pace: 78-84

For anyone who wants Duran, this guy has had many outbursts. I think in general, he's gonna be a rough clubhouse fit anywhere. I'm not sure we want him.

If we get him, will Joe Buck try to have relations with him on air like he did with Kik e Hernandez that time?

All I do is Nguyen said:

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This is a long read but very poignant.

The Dodgers already have Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, among more. Jeff Passan says they are the favorites to add Tarik Skubal, the reigning two-time Cy Young winner. Four months later, the CBA expires. This trade might be the last piece of evidence the owners… https://t.co/kQrKp4SPtc

— George Jarjour (@GeorgeOnTap) July 30, 2026

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He bends over backwards to defend the Dodgers.

**** That.

When the Astros pushed the limits of the rules with drafting, the shift, sticky tack, etc, the league promptly changed the rules to prevent what they saw as a growing imbalance. The Dodgers are pushing the CBA way beyond the limits it was ever designed for and the rest of the league has every right to be pissed.

He brings up the 16 different champions and ignores the fact that most of those occurred before the Dodgers signed Ohtani and put their machinations into over drive.

It's ruining baseball and it needs to be stopped, and if that costs the 2027 season so be it.

Amen!

Duran's name sure seems to pop up a lot when it comes to stuff like this. Of course, that may just be partly a result of the Red Sox being terminally overcovered in the media. It's almost as if an enormous sports media conglomerate is located within just a short drive from Boston.

Alec Burleson of the Cardinals is a possible trade candidate. Left hand hitting first baseman - would they take CW?

Notable Dodger players,

Acquired via Draft - Will Smith, Sheehan, Wrobleski, Rushing, Pages

Acquired via Trade - Betts, Edman, Glasnow (Betts traded because Boston could not agree on new contract)

Acquired via Free Agency - Ohtani, Freeman, Muncy, Tucker, Teoscar Hernandez, Yamamoto, Sasaki, Edwin Diaz, Tanner Scott, Snell

BCEDAg said:

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Alec Burleson of the Cardinals is a possible trade candidate. Left hand hitting first baseman - would they take CW?

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Why would they want him?

Luckily the baseball gods have a way of denying the best rosters of titles.

Schwab makes me want to tear some hair out lol. Jake McCarthy is a piece, but not a "whatever it takes" piece. Engagement bait.

Whatever it takes, make Jake McCarthy an Astro pic.twitter.com/guuqPhXVHc

— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) July 31, 2026

Farmer1906 said:

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wRC+ Splits - Where do we need to focus at the deadline

Position (Season Long / Last 30 Days)
C: 71 / 97
1B: 108 / 91
2B: 80 / 73
SS: 124 / 160
3B: 123 / 115
OF: 86 / 70
DH: 167 / 189

Platoon
vs LHP: 98
vs RHP: 106

Shockingly, we're a little better vs righties. Maybe a LHH isn't as critical. The 3 (5, really) positions of need are very obvious. We've talked a lot about OF and C, but is it time to consider giving Altuve a few more days off and adding another INF to spell him, besides Allen?

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Breaking this down more by the positions in the OF.

CF
wRC+ (73) 25th
FRV (1) 19th

RF
wRC+ (81) 26th
FRV (5) 3rd

LF
wRC+ (104) 14th
FRV (0) 8th

Left field doesn't look too bad!!! Oh wait 18% of that is Yordan with a 244 wRC+!!! Wade has been good (133) and Trammell is fine (102).

CF and RF are completely unacceptable. Look at who can make an immediate impact.

Center

• Jake McCarthy 110 wRC+ / 0 FRV
• Daulton Varsho 93 / +3

Corner

• Mockey Moniak 123 wRC+ / -2 FRV
• Taylor Ward 118 / -1
• JJ Bleday 115 / -2
• Jo Adell 92 / -7
• Josh Lowe 64 / +1

Adell is that bad defensively...

#Mets SP Freddy Peralta has been SCRATCHED from his start tonight pic.twitter.com/NqeY4MscHh

— MLB Deadline News (@MLBDeadlineNews) July 31, 2026