MLB Bullets is looking for a lost Tiger

It’s Friday and I’ve links.

• In what isn’t good news, Bradford Doolittle has an update on the projected end of the season standings and playoff chances.
• Of course, those will change based on the trades made over the next month and Jon Heyman has nine trades that make sense. Included in this is the “Justin Verlander to the Cubs” trade, and what Heyman has going to Detroit in return isn’t much.
• However, Jeff Sullivan explains why it is unlikely that the Tigers will deal Verlander. In part, because what they’d get back wouldn’t be much.
• Verlander, for his part, says he’s concentrating on his game and ignoring the rumors.
• Jonathan Bernhardt has three possible trade partners with the Braves if they decide to deal Julio Teheran. And the Cubs are included on that list.
• Buster Olney thinks that if the Blue Jays decide to sell, they should start by moving Marcus Stroman. I’d imagine that Stroman would cost a lot, which is Olney’s point.
• But the Cardinals are interested in making a move for Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson.
• Jon Tayler argues that the Yankees need to make a move to solve the big hole they have at first base. Or they could hope that opposing runners trip and fall into the hole.
• David Schoenfield believes that Padres reliever Brad Hand is going to be one of the most in-demand players at the trade deadline.
• Jon Heyman reports that the Royals are more likely to be buyers than sellers at the deadline.
• Barry Svrluga has a look at what it is like to be on the disabled list and how tough it is to be around the game for players who can’t play. (h/t Hardball Talk)
• New Hall-of-Famer Ivan Rodriguez has joined a commission to petition Congress for statehood for Puerto Rico.
• Grant Brisbee says that Clayton Kershaw is the most-watchable player in baseball. And this is coming from a Giants fan, so you know he had to purge after he wrote that.
• Jeff Sullivan has some more statistical evidence for how amazing that Kershaw is.
• As if that’s not bad enough for Dodgers-haters, Sullivan also notes that Rich Hill got good again.
• Ben Lindbergh traces how Braves catcher Tyler Flowers went from a journeyman catcher to one of the most valuable players in baseball.
• Jon Heyman reports that Miami businessman Jorge Mas has become the favorite to be the new owner of the Marlins.
• In the meantime, the Marlins extended the contract of team president Michael Hill.
• Ichiro Suzuki has passed Rod Carew as the all-time MLB hits leader for a player born out of the United States.
• John Turpin tells an alternative history of the Mariners where Ichiro joins the team in 1997 rather than 2001.
• Turpin was inspired to write that piece by Shohei Otani, but Mike Axisa notes that this week’s international signings make it very unlikely that Otani comes to MLB in 2018.
• The Blue Jays signed international pitcher Eric Pardinho to a $1.4 million bonus, a record for a Brazilian player.
• Will Leitch explains why winning 100 games in a season is still special. Or maybe “has always been special.”
• Indians manager Terry Francona is still in the hospital undergoing tests. It is unclear if he’ll be able to manage the All-Star Game and what will happen if he can’t.
• Umpire Angel Hernandez was named to crew that will work the All-Star Game, but Chris Cotillo explains that it likely has nothing to do with his recent lawsuit against MLB.
• Grant Brisbee picks a “golden age” for each position.
• There were some who thought the Cubs would take Jon Gray in the 2013 draft instead of Kris Bryant. Maybe that’s because not only can Gray pitch, he can also hit a 467-foot home run like this one. Can Bryant do that? Well, sure. But he can’t pitch.
• Always keep your eye on the ball. Because Pirates first baseman Josh Bellwas watching a bat fly into the stands, he missed a throw from the catcher to first that went into right field for a run-scoring, three-base error.
• And finally, though he didn’t win the final vote for the All-Star Game, Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius didn’t go down without a fight. As part of his campaign, he took to the streets and subways of New York and did good deeds for people. After all, he is a knight of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

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