MLB Bullets will meet the Mets

Seems like my plan to not watch the Cubs on Sunday worked like a charm.

I remember when the Cubs traded for Rondell White for Scott Downs at the 2000 trade deadline despite being 8.5 games out of first. White was good for the Cubs when he played, which wasn’t often because he was always hurt. He left as a free agent after the 2001 season. Scott Downs went on to a 13-year major league career, although he did next to nothing for the Expos as he needed Tommy John surgery shortly after joining the team.

• The first big domino in the MLB Trade Deadline fell and it didn’t fall where anyone expected. The Toronto Blue Jays dealt right-handed pitcher Marcus Stroman to the Mets for minor league pitching prospects Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods.
• Michael Baumann has no clue what the Mets are thinking. Or if he does, he thinks it doesn’t make sense.
• Steve Gardner disagrees and thinks the deal is a good one for the Mets.
• R.J. Anderson has five thoughts about the deal.
• Gerard Gilberto gives a scouting report on the two minor leaguers the Blue Jays received.
• The Blue Jays also traded infielder Eric Sogard to the Rays for a player to be named later. I always wonder about what the parents of those kids were thinking. Or even how they got by in school.
• Dan Szymborski explains what the Rays can expect out of Sogard.
• Craig Edwards notes that several recent injuries have put the Rays playoff chances in jeopardy.
• And to replace Sogard, the Blue Jays called up their current top prospect, Bo Bichette. That can only mean one thing and I want to be the first to congratulate Dante Bichette on his election to Cooperstown.
• Moving on to a trade that doesn’t involve the Blue Jays, the Royals sent reliever Jake Diekman to the Athletics for two minor leaguers and Eric Longenhagen explains what each team got in the deal.
• The Marlins traded reliever Sergio Romo to the Twins for a minor league prospect.
• The Phillies acquired utilityman José Pirela from the Padres for cash.
• Richard Justice has one trade idea for 17 playoff contenders.
• Anthony Castrovince remembers five (and more) big deadline trade deals from years past.
• This news was well-discussed yesterday, both on this site and elsewhere on the internet, but Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer threw a ball from the mound over the center field fence when he was pulled from Sunday’s game. Bauer apologized after the game.
• Red Sox legend David Ortiz has been released from the hospital.
• It looks like Hall-of-Famers Andre Dawson and Tony Perez will boycott next year’s ceremonies to avoid expected inductee Derek Jeter, who fired both of them when he took over the Marlins. (Jeter would claim that the previous team president fired the two, but he did so at Jeter’s request.)
• Bob Nightengale talked to Dawson about how Jeter treated him.
• Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich report that the MLB Players’ Association has fired top union official Rick Shapiro in a move that is widely-interpreted as a sign that the union will be much more adversarial in the upcoming collective bargaining talks. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Angels first baseman Albert Pujols became the first player in MLB history to have 650 home runs and 650 doubles.
• The Twins have set a new MLB record for the fastest team to 200 home runs.
• Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts was asked by a Make-A-Wish child to hit a home run for him. Betts hit three that day.
• Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil hit a three-run home run and then adopted a new puppy!
• Ben Clemens wants to make a new stat to replace HR/FB ratio.
• Dale Murphy writes that if you’re tired of home runs and strikeouts, just wait because things will swing back the other way eventually. (The Athletic sub. req.) Murphy also believes that White Sox minor leaguer Nick Madrigal is the future of hitting as well.
• Ben Lindbergh argues that more managers should make pitching changes during an at-bat. Oh, that’s all MLB needs. That’s something I’d be willing to ban except in the case of injury.
• The Yankees pitching woes got worse as CC Sabathia went on the injured list with knee inflammation.
• This is kind of old news by now, but Friday night/Saturday morning the Orioles and Angels played a 16-inning game that ended with a save by Baltimore outfielder Stevie Wilkerson. Wilkerson is the first position player to record a save since the stat was made official in 1969. I just want to point out that Wilkerson has a bWAR of -0.5 as a position player this season and +0.2 as a pitcher.
• Veteran pitcher Edinson Volquez announced that he will retire after this season, although he does want to try to pitch again this year. Volquez has been on the IL for the Rangers since April 5.
• Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus missed Friday night’s game because he was back in Dallas being sworn in as a United States citizen. Andrus explained to Evan Grant what being an American citizen means to him.
• Jacob Bogage interviews Louis Boyd, the 25-year-old manager of the Everett AquaSox, the short-season A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.
• And finally, Paul Flannery says something that we all know is true but we sometimes forget: baseball is better through the eyes of a five-year-old.

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