Outside The Confines: The Trade Deadline looms

There’s a beloved word in baseball writing circles that gets used with blistering frequency around this time of year: hugwatch. The term is in reference to players who, upon getting traded mid-game or right before a game starts, take a moment to hug their former teammates one last time before heading off for their new team.

As the trade deadline gets closer and closer (it’s officially over next Tuesday, August 2 at 5 p.m. CT) we’re seeing some displays that could be qualified as “hugwatch” material (Cubs fans know what I’m talking about), and some statements from players where they politely claim to want to stay with their team, but what most of them really mean is that they want to win a World Series.

Teams on the postseason hunt will be looking to add pieces to help get them there, and teams that are tanking fast and hard (ahem, the Tigers) are looking to sell off whatever they can in the hopes of maybe having some better luck next year. You can certainly expect that the next few days will be loaded with trade deadline content, and the links below are no exception.

• But first, a nice moment at the Jays game...

• This was supposed to be a turnaround year for the Tigers, but now they’re willing to trade “just about everyone.” Story by Ken Rosenthal. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Tom Verducci says the Nationals have no choice but to trade Juan Soto.
• Speaking of Soto (and he’ll be mentioned a lot here) apparently the Guardians and Rays could be considering making an offer. Story by Nick Selbe.
• Selbe also reports that the Mets are showing interest in Shohei Ohtani. Can you imagine a rotation with Ohtani, Scherzer, and a someday-healthy deGrom? Wow.
• Jeff Passan offers some insight into what he’s been hearing behind the scenes.
• Jim Bowden gives us a little trade deadline cheat sheet. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Dan Szymborski makes some fun trade deadline moves, and also assesses which free agents have boosted their value the most.
• Thomas Neumann reports that recent All-Star MVP Giancarlo Stanton is heading to the injured list.
• In other injury news, it looks like number two draft pick Druw Jones might miss the rest of the season. Story by Kiley McDaniel.
• The MLBPA have rejected MLB’s final offer on the international draft, making it dead in the water for the time being. (AP)
• Alden Gonzalez explains what the impact of losing the international draft is for teams.
• The Jackie Robinson Museum has opened in New York. (AP)
• The new trailer (and release date) for the League of Their Own TV series was released this week.

And tomorrow will be a better day, Buster. Make it so.