The Yankees were known to be targeting Pablo Lopez prior to the trade deadline, and reports suggested that Gleyber Torres was involved in the talks between New York and Miami. One trade proposed by the Marlins would’ve seen Lopez and Miguel Rojas head to the Bronx in exchange for Torres and infield prospect Oswald PerazaThe Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports, but the Yankees rejected the offer.
Anthony Volpe is considered one of the top prospects in all of baseball, so while Peraza is a top-100 staple in his own right, he could’ve been more of an expendable piece in trade talks. New York was still resistant to moving Peraza, and while the club was reportedly open to moving him in a possible Frankie Montas trade, the Yankees ended up landing Montas from the Athletics for another trade package that didn’t involve Peraza. The inclusion of longtime Miami staple Rojas is an interesting wrinkle, as presumably the Marlins offered Rojas as a replacement for Torres in the Yankees’ infield mix, and perhaps sought to give the veteran a chance at winning a ring with a contender. It makes for an interesting what-if deadline, and any of these players could potentially be part of different trade talks should the two teams rekindle negotiations this winter.
Some rumblings from the Marlins and Rays, as we check in on both Sunshine State teams…
- After some fielding drills and batting practice on Wednesday, Wander Franco told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that “I feel super good right now and [am] getting better,” in regards to his injured right hand. Soreness in that hand led Franco to be taken off his rehab assignment earlier this week, and the Rays will continue to monitor Franco’s injury before deciding when to restart his minor league work. Speaking with Topkin and company today, Rays manager Kevin Cash said Saturday would be the earliest date for Franco to resume his rehab assignment. Franco has played in only 58 games this season due to a quad strain and then hamate-bone surgery, and his return would be a big boost to a Rays club that is trying to secure a wild card berth.
- In other Rays injury updates from Topkin, Josh Fleming and Matt Wisler each started minor league rehab assignments within the last two days, while JP Feyereisen will throw a live batting practice session before the team decides on his rehab assignment. This is a good development for Feyereisen, who had a brief setback due to shoulder soreness earlier this month. Shane Baz also told Topkin and other reporters that he’ll start a throwing program on Monday, but it remains to be seen if Baz can get fully ramped up in time to return to big league game action before the season is over. An elbow sprain sent Baz to the 15-day IL and then the 60-day IL retroactive to July 14, so it will still be a few weeks before he is even eligible to be activated.
- Garrett Cooper is two games into a minor league rehab assignment and could be back on the Marlins’ active roster as soon as Friday. Manager Don Mattingly told reporters that Cooper was slated to play three games as part of his recovery from a stint on the seven-day concussion IL, and Cooper is no longer experiencing any symptoms. Cooper’s IL placement was retroactive to August 17, and it doesn’t look like he’ll miss much more time beyond the seven-day minimum.
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