Let the staring contests commence.
The Major League Baseball trade deadline is a little over two weeks away, which means there’s still time for the market to take shape. We’re at the point where several organizations are figuring out whether to be buyers or sellers, and those decisions could go a long way toward determining the costs of acquisition for certain players available in trade talks. It’s a matter of supply and demand, as is typically the case this time of year.
ESPN’s Buster Olney shed additional light on the trade market in a piece published Sunday. Here’s what the MLB insider wrote:
Executives say that the prices in the trade market continue to be enormous. Teams are asking for very high-end prospects even for rentals, impending free agents such as the New York Mets’ Zack Wheeler.
The Boston Red Sox’s acquisition of Andrew Cashner from the Baltimore Orioles and the Oakland Athletics’ acquisition of Homer Bailey from the Kansas City Royals suggest the needle is beginning to move. But most teams — contenders and pretenders — appear to be in a holding pattern, and it’s fair to assume asking prices are largely responsible for such.
It’s interesting to hear prices remain so high for rentals. It’s also unsurprising, as sellers — like the Mets in the case of Wheeler — are at the stage where they’re looking to create bidding wars for their assets before ultimately settling for the best available offers.
