MLB Rumors: Will the Cincinnati Reds buy or sell?

The Cincinnati Reds are streaking since the call up of top prospect Elly De La Cruz. De La Cruz, who has an electric combination of power and speed, has already become one of the best watches in the entire sport in just his rookie season.

De La Cruz's accent makes the job of the Cincinnati Reds front office all the more difficult, however. The Reds have some attractive rental players they could trade at the deadline if fully out of contention, but the combination of recent winning ways with a mediocre NL Central makes the idea of selling hard deflating to a fanbase that has remained patient through the years.

The Reds rebuild, one would think, is nearing its completion. Trading away their best assets now when they could possibly contend in the Central will put the current front office in a precarious spot. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic wrote about Cincinnati's troubling deadline dilemma in a recent newsletter.

"The promotions of infielder Elly De La Cruz and Andrew Abbott transformed an interesting team into the most exciting group in Cincinnati since the early 2010s and maybe even before that. The Reds are in third place in the Central, four games out of first. And the competition isn't all that impressive…the momentum generated by De La Cruz, Abbott and the rest of the Reds' upstart roster is not something management should take lightly."

If the Reds opt to buy at the deadline, pitching will likely be their main target, as the starting rotation has an ERA over five. Should they sell, Alexis Diaz is under team control for the next few years and already an elite closer. Teams will come calling either way.

MLB Rumors: Royals plans for Salvador Perez

Kansas City Royals captain and veteran catcher Salvador Perez, who remains one of the best hitters at his position, is not available for trade despite previous reports that the team might be willing to package him with their Aroldis Chapman or Scott Barlow for a greater return.

Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said the team doesn't have any intent on trading Perez right now.

"(The organization doesn't) have any intention of trading Salvy and it's not something we are looking to do," Picollo said. "He completely controls the destiny and he has told us over and over again he wants to be a Royal his whole career."

This is after Ken Rosenthal brought up the possibility of packaging Salvy with another one of Kansas City's trade assets for a greater return, as mentioned above.

"One club that spoke with the Royals interpreted the team's desire to attach Chapman to another player as an indication it wanted to move its highest-priced asset, catcher Salvador Pérez. But a more realistic package would be Chapman and fellow reliever Scott Barlow, a source said," Rosenthal wrote.

Perez is slashing .275/.310/.513 with an .822 OPS. He still provides decent power at the position, as well, with 14 home runs on the season.

MLB Rumors: Will the Mets sign Pete Alonso to a contract extension?

New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso will be a free agent after the 2024 season. He is more than likely to test the free-agent market, especially if the Mets don't offer him fair value prior to then.

An injury to Alonso has been just one of many issues with this current Mets squad. While owner Steve Cohen has preached patience, and stated that he doesn't plan on a complete teardown, the absence of their best hitter has been noticeable.

"I feel great," Alonso said. "I know it looks bad with the splint, but I'm feeling excellent so I'm gonna get back out there as soon as possible. That's the number one goal. I want to be out there ASAP."

Alonso had 22 home runs at the time of his injury, but is expected to miss several weeks of action. In the meantime, New York is four games below .500 and quickly falling behind in the NL East and NL Wild Card races.

If a new contract is not agreed upon this season, the two sides will head toward their third round of arbitration.

"They believed in me first and it's really special," Alonso said. "I love New York and right now, New York is home. I can't predict the future but right now I love where I'm at and [the fans] are phenomenal and it's such a great place to play. It's really special."

The Mets star wouldn't commit to whether or not he would test the market after the 2024 season, when he is first eligible to do so.