Six deals that make sense as 2024 rumors swirl

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The first rule of the Major League Baseball trade deadline is that it’s never as close as it seems. Sure, we’re only four days away from the July 30 buzzer at 6 p.m. ET, but a sluggish and uninspiring market means we once again urge you to spend most of that time touching grass.

Or you can engage in well-founded hypotheses that risk sowing false hopes. We are happy to help.

Matching a tradable player and a contending team at the trade deadline is like playing full-contact Jenga in a tornado, especially with such a tight inventory. That said, let’s take a look at six marriages waiting to happen between trade candidates and contenders as the market rebounds:

Red Sox: Right-handed hitter

The surprise AL wild card holders really need help in the bullpen, but so does almost everyone else, and first-year GM Craig Breslow has repeatedly stated that a right bat is a priority. As silly as it is at this time of year, we’ll take his word for it.

You can see the logic: Tyler O’Neill is on a roll again — with 20 homers, and on a 10-for-23, four-homer binge in five games since the All-Star break — but could use another righty stick to balance out the lineup. Import another bat and Boston could be an impossible late-inning matchup with a minimum three-batter rule: Jarren Duran (L), New Guy (R), Rafael Devers (L), O’Neill (R), Masataka Yoshida (L).

The Red Sox farm system is mediocre and lacks the pitching prospects that marketing teams crave. But that makes them comparable to almost any contender, and years of non-competition means the supply closet is full enough to win the bidding for a power bat just entering his arbitration years.

The match: Brent Rooker, Athletics.

Orioles: Starting Pitcher

UPDATE: Baltimore acquired starter Zach Eflin in a trade with the Rays on Friday

Right now, the Orioles embody the “life comes at you fast” story. Not only was their rebuild done faster than a post-World War II prefab house, but the peak of their window may be right now.

Oh, GM Mike Elias’ idea is to pry it open for a decade, and his conveyor belt of elite hitters makes that seem like a reality. But with rental ace Corbin Burnes expected to pitch and Grayson Rodriguez healthy and more than worthy of the No. 2 spot, Baltimore might not be playing that way for a while.

So, who starts Game 3 in the ALDS, the ALCS, the World Series?

With three starters out with injuries and defensemen like Dean Kremer and Albert Suarez out of the season, here’s the answer to a question we’ve all wondered at one point or another: How deep should Elias dig into his prospect list to land a star player?

There are so many paths to take. A reunion with Jack Flaherty — not at his best a year ago but pitching well for Detroit — isn’t out of the question. The club could afford to take on Jameson Taillon’s salary — the Cubs would probably help out a bit — with Burnes and closer Craig Kimbrel expiring.

But Elias can live both today and tomorrow, not only by adding a shutdown arm (albeit with innings-limit concerns), but also by adding an elite left-hander with two years of control left to pair with his fleet of hitters.

The match: Left-handed player Garrett Crochet, White Sox.

Yankees: Reliever

The never-ending malaise — 23 losses in 34 games — continues, and with it the sickening feeling that the Yankees, still not out of the race for the AL East, need to improve on almost every front.

Old buddy Luis Severino may have been right that the lineup has only two hitters to worry about. Nestor Cortes has hit a wall. Carlos Rodon is inconsistent. Clarke Schmidt is still out. Marcus Stroman has struggled the last few Septembers.

Let’s strengthen the bullpen.

Sure, GM Brian Cashman could be moved to dig deeper into his prospect bag and move a Spencer Jones or similar price for a frontline starting pitcher. An infield bat is paramount. But while the Yankees’ quietly potent farm system — a consensus top 10-15 group — could yield some trades, they may lack the highest quality for marquee additions.

With that in mind, let’s let the Yankees surprise us with a power move while projecting something a little less volcanic. Another All-Star closer with putaway stuff who can help ease the burden on Clay Holmes, who’s had an uneven five weeks, if needed.

The match: RHP Kyle Finnegan, Nationals

Guardians: Starting Pitcher

It’s been a while since the Guardians were such clear buyers, and it would behoove them to examine their not-so-distant past as this deadline approaches. On July 31, 2016, they sent four prospects – Clint Frazier, JP Feyereisen, Justus Sheffield and Ben Heller – to the Yankees.

In return: Andrew Miller, who turned in one of the greatest postseason relief performances in baseball history, leading Cleveland to Game 7 of the World Series. And none of the four relatively touted prospects they gave up for Miller exactly came back to haunt them.

This time around, Cleveland is in relatively dire need of a starting pitcher. Gavin Williams hasn’t been fresh in his return from injury, and Carlos Carrasco has been overworked.

Know thyself, above all, especially at the trade deadline. The Guardians don’t have a deep farm system, but it was supplemented by the largest bonus pool available in this month’s draft. It would be unusual for Cleveland to dump its prospect pool on a guy like Crochet, and it would be unlikely they would accept the $36 million Taillon is due over the next two seasons.

Instead, they can pay a lower price for a player who bounces back from a division opponent who won’t have to worry about helping a rival years from now.

The match: Erick Fedde, Chicago White Sox

Dodgers: Infielder or outfielder

Andrew Friedman’s glory days of peak “optionality” are over. The ability to move players all over the field and platoon like crazy is limited by age and performance, as Chris Taylor (33, .167 average, .542 OPS) and Kiké Hernández (33 next month, .193, .567) aren’t what they used to be. Third baseman Max Muncy is still recovering from an oblique injury he suffered more than two months ago.

Mookie Betts isn’t fully recovered from a broken hand. Miguel Rojas is on the IL. Andy Pages and James Outman are uncertain options at center. Why not bring in a guy with the kind of speed, versatility and contact ability that plays well in the postseason?

The match: Nico Hoerner, Cubs

Padres: Starting Pitcher

Yes, things are really starting to gel in San Diego. Offseason acquisitions Michael King and Dylan Cease give the club a solid 1-2 punch, even before Cease no-hit the Nationals. The lineup punishes one through six.

And while they could use another reliever, closer Robert Suarez is the one shaking things up, saving 23 of 25 games, a percentage even higher than franchise stalwart Trevor Hoffman.

But with Yu Darvish on the restricted list and Joe Musgrove’s return uncertain given the specter of elbow inflammation, the Padres would do well to acquire another player who can get deep into games and alleviate some of the pressure on the bullpen. The Padres acquired Yu Darvish from Chicago, and it’s time to go to that well again. The Cubs could even take on some of that salary if they wanted to, and take their pick from a higher-end prospect pool in a Padres system that just won’t quit.

The match: Jameson Taillon, Cubs

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