Every Sunday, The Trailing Runner recaps the past week’s biggest headlines and most exciting performances. On Mondays, keep an eye out for The Leadoff, which breaks down the week ahead.
A Wild Deadline
The trade deadline is always an exhilarating time of speculations, fans’ pleas to front offices to make a move, and the occasional surprise deal that shakes up the whole game. This year was no different, with some blockbuster trades and teams going all in. Here’s a quick collection of some of the most important deals you should know of:
Going All In
Padres get: OF Juan Soto, 1B Josh Bell
Nationals get: LHP MacKenzie Gore, DH Luke Voit, SS C.J. Abrams, OF Robert Hassell III (No. 1), OF James Wood (No. 3), RHP Jarlin Susana (No. 14)
Blue Jays get: 2B Whit Merrifield
Royals get: 2B-OF Samad Taylor (No. 16), RHP Max Castillo (NR)
Padres get: LHP Josh Hader
Brewers get: LHP Taylor Rogers, RHP Dinelson Lamet, LHP Robert Gasser (No. 7), OF Esteury Ruiz (No. 28)
Yankees get: RHP Frankie Montas, RHP Lou Trivino
A’s get: LHP Ken Waldichuk (No. 5), RHP Luis Medina (No. 10), LHP J.P. Sears (No. 20), 2B Cooper Bowman (No. 21)
Mariners get: RHP Luis Castillo
Reds get: SS Noelvi Marte (No. 1), SS Edwin Arroyo (No. 3), RHP Levi Stoudt (No. 5) and RHP Andrew Moore (NR)
Finding Pieces to Complete the Puzzle
Cardinals get: LHP Jordan Montgomery
Yankees get: OF Harrison Bader, player to be named (or cash)
Padres get: 3B Brandon Drury
Reds get: SS Victor Acosta (No. 6)
Twins get: RHP Tyler Mahle
Reds get: 2B-3B INF Spencer Steer (No. 7), LHP Steve Hajjar (No. 18), 1B-3B Christian Encarnacion-Strand (No. 23)
Phillies get: RHP Noah Syndergaard
Angels get: OF Mickey Moniak, OF Jadiel Sanchez (NR)
Astros get: 1B Trey Mancini (Orioles), RHP Jayden Murray (NR, Rays)
Orioles get: RHP Seth Johnson (No. 6, Rays), Chayce McDermott (No. 12, Astros)
Rays get: OF Jose Siri (Astros)
Cardinals get: LHP José Quintana, RHP Chris Stratton
Pirates get: RHP Johan Oviedo, 3B Malcolm Nunez (No. 10)
Braves get: RHP Jake Odorizzi
Astros get: LHP Will Smith
Searching for Relief
Twins get: RHP Jorge López
Orioles get: LHP Cade Povich (No. 22), RHP Yennier Cano (NR), LHP Juan Rojas (NR), RHP Juan Nunez (NR)
Blue Jays get: RHP Anthony Bass, RHP Zach Pop
Marlins get: SS-3B Jordan Groshans (No. 4)
Phillies get: RHP David Robertson
Cubs get: RHP Ben Brown (No. 26)
Twins get: RHP Michael Fulmer
Tigers get: RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long (NR)
Braves get: RHP Raisel Iglesias
Angels get: RHP Jesse Chavez, LHP Tucker Davidson (No. 5)
Mets get: RHP Mychal Givens
Cubs get: RHP Saul Gonzalez (NR)
Vin Scully Passes at Age 94
There are few names as synonymous with baseball as Vin Scully. The legendary broadcaster started when he was just 22 years old, and quickly cemented himself as the voice of Dodger baseball. He brought joy and comfort to listeners across the country, and his passing shook up the baseball world. From Don Larsen’s perfect game to Clayton Kershaw’s, Scully was there for some of the biggest moments of the game.
Scully was the heartbeat of the sport for over six decades, and his passing will leave a hole in all of our hearts. Our own Nicole Cahill wrote a beautiful tribute to the legend, and I encourage you to spend some time this afternoon going through some of his most famous calls. He was in a league of his own.
October 2, 2016. Vin Scully signs off for the final time. 💙 pic.twitter.com/R85tgy1bHB
— MLB (@MLB) August 3, 2022
Atlanta Holding Onto Riley
Austin Riley has been a revelation in the past two seasons. The former prospect with power but a lot of holes in his bat has made some serious adjustments and is on a meteoric rise to being a top third baseman in the league.
In 2021, he slashed .303/.367/.531 with 91 R, 33 HR, and 107 RBI. Riley gained hype around the league, but many were concerned that he would not be able to keep up. Experts seemed to believe the power was for real but didn’t think Riley would come close to batting around .300 again.
Riley heard the doubters and is slashing .296/.359/.587 with 65 R, 29 HR, and 69 RBI in 2022 thus far. He has catapulted himself into NL MVP consideration and is looking like he could be an excellent threat in the lineup for years to come. Atlanta feels the same:
The Atlanta #Braves today signed 3B Austin Riley to a 10-year contract worth $212 million: pic.twitter.com/TdPVtpYnL5
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 1, 2022
The Atlanta front office continues to find ways to create team-friendly deals, with Riley joining Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuña Jr. on fairly team-friendly deals that keep a dangerous core together. That means for the next few years, the league will have to constantly face a lineup featuring Riley, Albies, Acuña, and Matt Olson.
Atlanta isn’t going anywhere.
Players of the Week
Some top offensive performances of the week:
- Pete Alonso: 8 R, 3 HR, 9 RBI, .375 AVG, 1.178 OPS
- Francisco Lindor: 9 R, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .400 AVG, 1.139 OPS
- Nick Gordon: 5 R, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 2 SB, .526 AVG, 1.402 OPS
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: 5 R, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 SB, .400 AVG, 1.204 OPS
- Nick Castellanos: 6 R, 2 HR, 7 RBI, .429 AVG, 1.169 OPS
And their counterparts on the mound:
- Carlos Rodón: 12.1 IP, 13 K, 0.73 ERA
- José Urquidy: 7 IP, 10 K, 0.00 ERA
- Max Scherzer: 13.2 IP, 16 K, 1.32 ERA
- Reid Detmers: 14 IP, 19 K, 1.29 ERA
Around the League
- The Yankees sit atop the AL East and lead the American League at 70-38. The Twins are the best team in the Central at 57-50. The Astros lead the West at 70-39.
- The Mets pace the NL East at 69-39. The Cardinals have taken the NL Central lead with a 59-48 record. In the West, the Dodgers lead at 74-33, the best record in the NL.
- Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees leads all hitters with 6.8 fWAR.
- The Giants’ Carlos Rodón now leads pitchers with a 4.4 fWAR.
Featured image by Doug Carlin (@Bdougals on Twitter)