The 2017 non-waiver trade deadline is now exactly one week away. We've already seen some significant moves during the past few weeks, and chances are we're going see many more big trades over the next seven days. Here are some top prospects who could get called up in the second half if their teams do not make a move at the deadline, and here is our recap of the day's MLB action.
Monday's scores
- White Sox 3, Cubs 1 (box score)
- Astros 13, Phillies 4 (box score)
- Blue Jays 4, Athletics 2 (box score)
- Orioles 5, Rays 0 (box score)
- Indians 6, Reds 2 (box score)
- Royals 5, Tigers 3 in 12 (box score)
- Marlins 4, Rangers 0 (box score)
- Cardinals 8, Rockies 2 (box score)
- Diamondbacks 10, Braves 2 (box score)
- Mariners 4, Red Sox 0 (box score)
- Dodgers 6, Twins 4 (box score)
- Mets 5, Padres 3 (box score)
- Pirates 10, Giants 3 (box score)
Giancarlo the Great
The Marlins got a victory at Texas and it was in no small part to the uber-powerful Giancarlo Stanton. He clubbed a pair of home runs, tying him up with Aaron Judge for the MLB lead at 32.
Here was number 31:
The game was Stanton's fourth multi-homer affair in July alone. He has 25 multi-homer games in his career, which is the best in the majors since his debut, per ESPN Stats and Info.
Stanton's career high for single-season home runs is 37, which seems low for someone with his raw power -- but keep in mind that he has dealt with a lot of injuries in his career. Given that he's already at 32 this year, he should shatter that. He's on pace to hit 55 this season, so 60 is a possibility and 50 is definitely within reach.
While we're here, it must be said that starting pitcher Adam Conley worked seven scoreless innings, striking out five without issuing a walk.
The Marlins can't be considered contenders, but they have been playing good baseball for a while. If we can arbitrarily pick May 19, they are 31-25 since then.
Jose Altuve is ridiculous
Astros second baseman Altuve was 4 for 4 with two doubles, three RBI and three runs in a blowout victory. His season line is up to .365/.431/.574. He has been on fire for a long time and it's only intensifying, too. Look:
Outrageous.
Jones on fire; Orioles gaining on slumping Rays
The Orioles were swept by the Cubs right out of the All-Star break, but they've won six of eight games since. Offensively, Adam Jones is going absolutely crazy. He was 3 for 5 with a double and home run on Monday, so he's now hitting .485/.500/.939 with three doubles, four home runs and 11 RBI in his past seven games.
Also of note for the Orioles, Kevin Gausman worked six scoreless innings, striking out eight. After being bombed by the Cubs and seeing his ERA rise to 6.39, he has put together two solid starts to lower his ERA to 5.79. It's still bad, but he can build on the two good outings.
Meantime, the Orioles victory was the Rays' fifth consecutive loss. They are only two games over .500 and the Orioles are within 2½ games of them -- and three back of the second wild card -- in the crowded field of AL wild-card contenders.
The Orioles have been considered sellers, but can they really justify selling when so close to a playoff spot? A lot will surely be determined in the next several days as we get closer to the trade deadline.
Royals stay hot, Moustakas closes in on club record
It took 12 innings, but the Royals won again and they've won six straight after losing seven of eight (and that was after them winning six of seven). During their current six-game winning streak, the Royals have won three games via walk-off and one in extras. They are just getting it done when it matters most.
Salvador Perez hit his 20th home run to break the tie in the 12th on Monday and then Mike Moustakas followed with a homer of his own. That's 29 on the year for Moose, and he's now only seven away from tying Steve Balboni's club record.
More important: The Royals now have a hold on the second AL wild-card spot while trailing the Indians by 1½ games.
J.D. announces his presence with authority
The Diamondbacks rolled against the Braves, and perhaps the most significant moment came when J.D. Martinez hit a home run:
He was presumably the D-Backs' big-ticket trade acquisition and this was his first homer with Arizona. That had to be a fun one to watch for the Diamondbacks faithful.
Paxton keeps dealing
Mariners starter James Paxton entered Monday 4-0 with a 2.05 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 26 1/3 innings this July. He improved on that line against the first-place Red Sox.
The lefty allowed only four hits (all singles) in seven scoreless innings, striking out 10 and walking none. It was, quite simply, total domination.
The Mariners moved to 50-51, which is good enough to be only 2½ games out of the second wild card in the AL.
The Red Sox, meanwhile, have lost 11 of their past 17, yet still hold a two-game lead in the AL East.
The Padres lost, but ...
Hunter Renfroe hit two home runs, including this job onto the roof:
More impressive, the home run or bat flip? It's a tossup, I think.
Grichuk, Leake lead Cardinals
The Cardinals improve to 48-51, but that's good enough to be four games out in the NL Central. They did it on the backs of Mike Leake and Randal Grichuk in this one.
Grichuk homered in his fourth consecutive game.
Meantime, Leake threw seven scoreless innings against the Rockies, holding them to four hits while walking none and striking out six.
White Sox finally win
In the lone afternoon game, the Cubs and White Sox squared off in Game 1 of their four-game (two home, two road for each) series for the Crosstown Cup. The Cubs had won eight of their previous nine while the White Sox had dropped nine straight, so naturally the White Sox won (because baseball is always gonna baseball).
Miguel Gonzalez worked well through several jams and ended up allowing one run in 7 1/3 innings. The biggest threat was with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh, when Anthony Rizzo flied out to the center-field wall. On many days in Wrigley Field, that's a grand slam, but the wind wasn't much help on this one.
Of course, the wind wasn't an issue for Adam Engel and Matt Davidson, each of whom homered for the winning White Sox. Here's Davidson's blast, his 19th of the year:
The big news here is the Sox snapping that pesky nine-game losing streak, but it goes even deeper. Their last win came on July 8, but that was with Jose Quintana as the starting pitcher. He's now on the Cubs. The White Sox had lost three in a row before that one, so you have to go all the way back to July 3 to find a White Sox victory that didn't involve Quintana.
Sure, there's an All-Star break in there, but that's a long drought. It's now over.
Tomlin, Santana help Indians to fourth straight win
Indians starter Josh Tomlin struck out six Reds in a row at one point on Monday and those were actually his only six strikeouts in the game. Still, he pitched six quality innings, allowing only two runs on four hits.
Carlos Santana clubbed a pair of homers to lead the offense and the Indians have now won four games in a row, keeping them in first place in the AL Central.
Beltre zeroes in on milestone
Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre is only seven hits away from 3,000 in his career. Full story here.
Royals beef up pitching staff
They made a trade with the Padres to land them Trevor Cahill, Brandon Maurer and Ryan Buchter. Full story here.
Twins trade for Garcia
The Twins also added pitching in starter Jaime Garcia. Full story here.
Trade Rumors
- Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill told reporters Sunday the team is not planning to trade their core players before the deadline. That figures to include Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna, and Dan Straily.
- The Pirates are reportedly leaning against trading Andrew McCutchen. They also have not indicated whether they will exercise his $14.75 million club option for 2018, though that's a mere formality. The Pirates will pick it up.
- The Mariners may be preparing to make a run at Athletics RHP Sonny Gray, reports MLB.com. Seattle is said to be looking for controllable starting pitching, and Gray certainly fits the bill. The A's have never been opposed to intradivision trades.
- MLB.com reports the Mets are receiving plenty of trade interest in RHP Addison Reed, IF Asdrubal Cabrera, and even 1B Lucas Duda. Things are quiet around OF Curtis Granderson and OF Jay Bruce, however.
- Among the teams interested in Phillies RHP Pat Neshek are the Nationals, Dodgers, and Red Sox, reports MLB.com. Neshek is an impending free agent and it would make no sense for the rebuilding Phillies to keep him at the deadline.
- Are the Cubs still looking at possibly trading for Alex Avila and/or Justin Verlander? We took a look.
- The Cubs, Rockies and Nationals have shown interest in Marlins closer A.J. Ramos, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
Quick hits
- Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a back injury, though he still needs to see one more doctor. Kershaw left Sunday's start after two innings with a lower back problem. He missed two months with a back injury last year.
- Astros All-Star outfielder George Springer left Monday's game with discomfort in his left quad.
- The Mets have placed RHP Zack Wheeler on the 10-day DL with a stress reaction in his arm, the team announced. Wheeler is 3-7 with a 5.21 ERA in 17 starts and 86 1/3 innings this year. He missed all of 2015 and 2016 following Tommy John surgery.
- The Rays have released 1B Rickie Weeks Jr., the team announced. The move clears a roster spot for the recently acquired RHP Sergio Romo. Weeks hit .216/.321/.340 with two home runs in 112 plate appearances this season.