MLB Bullets is getting ready to move

Adrian Beltre is the greatest living American. Don’t tell me he’s from the Dominican Republic. I don’t care.

The supermarkets surrounding all big league stadiums are currently out of cardboard boxes, as are all the home improvement stores.

• The Rangers are now “confident” they will trade pitcher Yu Darvish before the deadline.
• We have Darvish’s no-trade list. Sorry, but the Cubs are on the list. That’s not to say he can’t waive it, but it does make a deal much more difficult.
• Dave Cameron notes that there are mixed signals on Darvish about whether he can be a dominant pitcher over the rest of the season.
• Darvish had a very poor start against the Marlins last time out, but Mike Axisa reminds us that a player’s trade value does not increase or decrease because of just one game. Unless they get injured in that one game, of course.
• The Marlins are “open” to dealing pitcher Dan Straily.
• Ryan Davis thinks the Cubs should make a deal for Justin Verlander. I sort of do, but it will depend on how much money that the Tigers kick in and what they want back in return. I think it is unlikely that the Tigers will accept a deal that is acceptable to the Cubs. One quick note: if the Cubs (or any other team) do deal for Verlander, it won’t be on Monday just before the deadline. Verlander will have to agree to waive his 10-5 rights and the commissioner will have to approve all the money that the Tigers include in the deal. That will take most of a day, so the latest Verlander could be dealt would be early Monday morning.
• Melissa Lockard looks at what the Athletics can expect to get back for Sonny Gray.
• Jon Heyman reports that the A’s are insisting upon either Gleyber Torres or Clint Frazier from the Yankees for Gray, and based on what the White Sox got for Jose Quintana, that seems fair to me. But the Yankees don’t want to include either player.
• There has reportedly been progress in trade talks that would send Blue Jays pitcher Francisco Liriano to the Royals.
• Marc Normandin argues that the Royals need to be buyers and go for it this year.
• The Orioles are reportedly shopping reliever Zach Britton, but not too many teams are interested.
• Heyman also 20 players who teams have to make a decision about and his guesses on who they’re playing for after Monday night.
• Buster Olney lists some players who need to be dealt now before their value drops.
• There were some smaller trades. None blockbusters, but ones that could be important. For example, the Rockies bolstered their bullpen by getting Pat Neshek from the Phillies.
• Eric Longenhagen breaks down what the Phillies got in return for Neshek. All I know is that the Phillies got Buddy freaking Holly in the deal.
• Tony DeMarco asks if catcher Jonathan Lucroy is next on the Rockies’ shopping list?
• The Rays got reliever Dan Jennings from the White Sox. Will the last player at “Whatever They Call It Now Field” please turn out the lights?
• The Rays got another player as they picked up first baseman Lucas Duda from the Mets.
• Curtis Granderson did everything in his power to keep the deal from going through. Unfortunately for him, grabbing Duda’s leg to physically prevent him from leaving didn’t work.
• Bill Shaikin tells the Dodgers front office that it’s OK to trade top prospects for big-name help. He contrasts the Cubs’ willingness to part with prospects to the Dodgers stinginess, as well as the Cubs World Series ring to the Dodgers one from 1988.
• Bob Nightengale argues that teams get a psychological boost from a big trade acquisition.
• Cliff Corcoran looks at four contenders who have yet to make a move, and what they might do. Although one of the teams is the Rays, who have made two deals since he wrote the article.
• Jonathan Bernhardt has three teams that are under a lot of pressure to make a move by Monday.
• Anthony Castrovince has five trades that he’d like to see.
• Ben Glickman notes that new Red Sox third baseman Eduardo Nunez is the best in the majors at one thing: losing his helmet.
• Kevin Santo notes that third baseman Travis Shaw has thrived since being traded to Milwaukee, thanks in part to some advice his former All-Star dad Jeff Shaw gave him.
• Christopher Crawford is a big fan of what the Brewers front office is doing, calling it “rebuilding and reloading.”
• Although as Claire McNear points out, if you’re having a bad day, console yourself by telling yourself at least you didn’t have as bad a day as Brewers pitcher Michael Blazek, who gave up six home runs against the Nationals in just 2.1 innings of his first major-league start.
• Speaking of the Nationals, Travis Sawchik notes that Bryce Harper has improved his ability to hit with two strikes. Oh, that’s all we need. A better Bryce Harper.
• Sam Miller has an interesting piece where he imagines he goes back to 1987 and describes how baseball has changed over the past 30 years. He doesn’t even mention that there are no more appearances of Morganna the Kissing Bandit.
• Tim Brown writes about the impact Ivan Rodriguez had on baseball in Puerto Rico.
• Jeff Passan fell in love with Tim Raines playing RBI Baseball on the Nintendo.
• Jaff Decker of the Nashville Sounds made an incredible twirling catch in center field and then threw to first to complete a double play, despite being really too dizzy to stand after the catch.
• Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge had a tooth chipped by a helmet in a walkoff celebration. Be careful, Aaron. Kendrys Morales lost a year and a half after getting injured in a walkoff win once.
• I’ve been critical of this country for falling behind Korea in our first-pitch technology, so I’m pleased to announce that Ace Jackson of the Harlem Globetrotters is closing that gap by spinning a basketball while making a first pitch.
• Watch Yoan Moncada’s young son call his dad’s first career home run. I think we know who is replacing Hawk Harrelson in the booth next year!
• And finally, in one of the greatest baseball moves ever, Adrian Beltre was told to get in the on-deck circle by an umpire. Rather than move over to the on-base circle, Beltre brought the on-base circle to him. The villainous umpire proceeded to throw Beltre out of the game.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.