Michael Young is one of the top names being mentioned in trade talks since the Phillies are so out of it and now it appears that the star will only waive his no-trade clause for the Texas Rangers despite interest from other teams according to Ken Rosenthal.
Young never wanted to leave the Rangers in the first place and now it appears that it is the only destinations he wants to be dealt to and the team also appears to be willing to trade anyone, including Elvis Andrus. It also appears that the Pirates are close to a deal for Alex Rios, as he is owed $5 million for the remainder of this season and $12.5 million next season and is one of the top names on the market and the White Sox are also looking for deals for Jake Peavy. The Pirates have been awful in right field and Rios would help as he is hitting .272 with 12 homers and a .752 OPS.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are in the thick of it in the National League race and with only one day left until the trading deadline the team may be ready to make some moves and after losing some offense to the DL the team could go after Michael Young or Alex Rios, as both the Phillies and the Chicago White sox are out of it.
The team also could go after Greg Holland, who has been one of the best guys out of the bullpen in all of baseball to help solidify the bullpen after closer Jason Grilli went down with an injury. The All-Star will be out for about six weeks, but the team may want some extra support until then. Holland is having a fantastic season with 25 saves and a sub-2.00 ERA as well as 62 strikeouts in 39 appearances, making him an attractive target for teams in need of a closer. The Red Sox have had issues in the bullpen all season, while the Pirates are in desperate need of a closer after losing All-Star Jason Grilli to an arm injury. With the deadline coming down to the end, other names like Kevin Gregg, Huston Street and Jonathan Papelbon could also be available.
The trade deadline is a tough time to navigate for some teams, but at 56-37 (from last week) and just one game back of the Cardinals in the division, the Pirates appear ready to finally break their streak of below .500 seasons this year and they may make the playoffs on top of it. The team has gotten great performances from McCutcheon, Jeff Locke, Pedro Alvarez and Jason Grilli and now they need to add some players to get depth and strength in weak areas as the summer stretch comes.
The Phillies at one point were 49-52 and over seven games out of first place in the National League East and with the Braves looking like runaways in the division, the Phillies are close enough in the Wild Card race to stay in it and GM Rueben Amaro may try to be a buyer rather than a seller, which is what everyone thinks they will do.
The team is dealing with some injuries, including to star Dominic Brown, who has been the most consistent player for the team and now he is out after having concussion symptoms after making a diving catch and banging his hard on the ground and now he could be out for a bit. The team has been thrilled with how Brown has played and he is hitting .271 with 24 homers before hitting his head and that could spur the Phillies to make a move and Cliff Lee, Michael Young, Carlos Ruiz and Jonathan Papelbon are all on the block.
It's Brown's first full season in the league and he has 69 RBIs for the team with a .847 OPS and has been a consistent bright spot for a mediocre team. The Phillies are ranked 23rd in the league in runs and 11th in batting average and just 19th in on base percentage and while the team looks like sellers at the deadline with names like Michael Young and Jonathan Papelbon, the front office has been adamant that they want to be buyers and the Brown injury could spark that.
"I definitely didn't come here for this," the Phillies closer told MLB.com.
"No, I would like to stay here," Papelbon said. "But if I'm going to have to put up with this year after year, then no, I don't want to be here. Why would you? Why would anybody?"