Outside The Confines: Everything is for sale

We’re in the final week heading into the trade deadline and so far, the Cubs have only traded away Joc Pederson. I have a feeling that this week is going to be busy around here, which is why I’m heading to the beach on Wednesday and Thursday.

• The Padres made a big move on Sunday acquiring Pirates second baseman Adam Frazier for three minor leaguers: infielder Tucupita Marcano, outfielder Jack Suwinski and right-handed pitcher Michell Miliano. That’s not terrible, but it’s not a ton for an All-Star with a year and a half of control left.
• Late last week, the Rays picked up Twins DH Nelson Cruz for a pair of minor league pitchers. Dan Szymborski evaluates the deal and finds stuff to like on for both sides.
• David Schoenfield gives both sides of the Cruz deal an “A.” (ESPN+ sub. req.)
• Will Laws thinks the Rays are showing an urgency to win in 2021 that they’ve never shown before.
• On Friday, the Mets picked up veteran left-hander Rich Hill from the Rays.
• The Mets won their first game that Hill started on Sunday and John Harper believes that Hill could end up being a significant pickup for the Mets.
• Matt Snyder says that the Nationals look like sellers this week, including star pitcher Max Scherzer.
• Ken Rosenthal writes that the big issues with the Nationals aren’t about Scherzer, but rather what the team will do with Juan Soto and Trea Turner this winter. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• What every team should do at the trade deadline by their MLB dot com beat writer.
• I suppose this could be a Cub Tracks item, but it’s more of using the Cubs as an example of larger trends in baseball. Zach Crizer writes that the career of Kris Bryant is an example of how MLB exploits their stars these days.
• Dan Hayes and Ken Rosenthal report that the Twins and outfielder Byron Buxton have not come to an agreement on a contract extension, which means that the Twins will look to trade him, probably over the winter. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Moving off the trade deadline, you’ve probably heard by now that the baseball team in Cleveland will be called the Guardians starting in 2022. I will have more on this in an article posting later today.
• Terry Pluto has the behind-the-scenes story of how the team settled on “Guardians.”
• Alden Gonzalez explains what the Angels have to do to make the playoffs in 2021. (ESPN+ sub. req.) Win more games, for one.
• Devan Fink writes that Albert Pujols has found a productive role to play with the Dodgers.
• The Dodgers also put outfielder Mookie Betts on the injured list.
• Jake Mailhot shows just how good that Athletics first baseman Matt Olson has been this season.
• The Rangers have lost 12 straight games for the first time since 1982. The team record in 15, set in the team’s first year in Texas in 1972.
• The Braves signed undrafted free agent pitcher J.J. Niekro, the son of All-Star Joe Niekro and the nephew of Hall-of-Famer and Braves legend Phil Niekro.
• A preview of Olympic baseball.
• Amanda Chidester hit a two-run, walk-off single in the eighth inning as Team USA beat Australia to remain perfect in Olympic softball.
• Janie Reed is a member of Team USA softball, and while she was over in Japan, her husband Jake Reed was claimed on waivers by the Rays. When she left for Japan, her husband was with the Dodgers.
• Staying with the Olympics, we finish with the story of Marlins infielder Eddy Alvarez and his improbably story with Team USA baseball at the Olympics. (The Athletic sub. req.) You see Alvararez, who made his major league debut with Miami last season, has been to the Olympics before. He won a silver medal in short-track speed skating in the 2014 Winter Olympics. He’s also one of only two Major League Baseball players who won an Olympic medal in something other than baseball. The legendary Jim Thorpe was the other.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Let’s see if Jed Hoyer trades me before the end of the week.