The rumors are rolling at a blistering pace on Monday afternoon with the MLB trade deadline just a day away. Strap in and get all the latest here!
The latest MLB rumors are here, but don't expect to do anything today without more rumors coming out in the process. Keep it locked on our MLB rumors feed for all the latest with the trade deadline coming up quickly.
San Francisco Giants are eyeing Vaughn Grissom
In a surprise destination drop, the San Francisco Giants are taking a look at Braves shortstop Vaughn Grissom. According to Kiley McDaniel, the Giants are focused in on Grissom of the Braves and Nicky Lopez of the Kansas City Royals as potential pieces to add to their infield.
Grissom has played 19 games at the pro level this year, limited to mostly minor league action with the Braves playing incredibly competitive baseball. Infield utility Lopez has played in 68 games and is far more big-league-ready than Grissom is.
Lopez is also a far better fielder, with just one error across 467.2 innings. Meanwhile, Grissom has committed six errors in 158 innings. Both have had about the same results on the offensive side.
One option the Giants could pursue if they acquire Grissom and call him up is moving him over to second base. For Atlanta that has been a non-starter with Ozzie Albies in tow, but Grissom has had far more success fielding from that position in the minors than at short. He commits errors at second base in 0.8% of the innings played in his minor-league career compared to 2.2% at shortstop.
Possible Cubs addition Jeimer Candelario scratched from Monday lineup
Jeimer Candelario was scratched from Monday's lineup. The Washington Nationals game against the Brewers is one to watch if Candelario is still on the roster because there's a good chance he could be leaving the dugout midgame to gather his belongings and make his way to his new team.
Candelario's exit from Washington is a near-lock, as there have been whispers about his departure over the weekend. The Cubs were already mentioned as a possible destination for him, which would be an awkward fit but good for Chicago to get his bat in the lineup.
One ideal solution would be for Candelario to try his hand at first base, where he has played in the bigs but not since 2019 and for fewer than 100 starts in total, to replace Trey Mancini, who has had a year-long slump at the plate.
Candelario already has 20 doubles this season (fifth-most in MLB), so whatever team gets him will get an instant infusion to their RISP opportunities.
The Cubs as a team have ranked 13th in doubles so far this year, but fifth in runs scored. Adding someone who can get in position like Candelario could make Chicago an even larger threat for the final stretch of the regular season into the playoffs.
If not Chicago, Heyman reported the Los Angeles Angels and Miami Marlins as other possible fits.
Dodgers may land Justin Verlander with no competition
Jim Bowden joined The Athletic's flagship baseball podcast and talked about all things trade deadline, starting with Justin Verlander. Bowden led with the idea that a Verlander trade seems highly unlikely. There is good reason to believe that, as the Mets with Verlander could easily retool this offseason and try to win again next year.
That said, if the Mets get an otherwordly offer from a team for him, they've certainly projected the idea that they would at least consider.
With that qualifier in mind, Bowden did say there's only one team who stands out.
"The only spot left is the Dodgers. So to me, it's Dodgers or bust," Jim Bowden said on The Athletic Baseball Show podcast.
The reason for this is the contract Verlander is due next year. He thinks any suitor for Verlander would be unable to pay the money unless the Mets offer to pick up a substantial portion of the deal. That's similar to what they did with Scherzer, but the calculus on such a decision could be different when trading away their second ace-level starter.
It generally seems like even the Dodgers would need the Mets to pick up part of the bill to make a deal work. Probably not quite worth it for New York.
An interesting nugget Bowden threw out there: He thinks one thing that could hold the Dodgers back is the fact that money given to Verlander might be earmarked for a run at Shohei Ohtani this winter. If the Dodgers don't pursue Verlander just because of the chance they could get Ohtani, that says a lot about how they perceive their chances to sign the highly coveted free-agent-to-be.