Outside The Confines: The emperor’s old clothes

It’s Friday morning, which means it’s time for another Outside the Confines, your wrap up of all the baseball news that runs three days a week.

And if we were waiting to see what was going to happen to Shohei Ohtani before the trades started, we now know and the floodgates are opening. If I missed a deal in here, I apologize.

By the way, most of these articles linked to today still have the Cubs as sellers. Whether that’s true or not, I can’t say. I don’t even think Jed Hoyer can say right now.

• Before we get to the trades, and there have to marvel one more time at Shohei Ohtani. On Thursday, Ohtani threw a complete game, one-hit shutout in game one of a doubleheader and then hit two home runs in game two. No one has ever thrown a shutout in one game of a doubleheader and then even hit one home run in the other one before.
• Sarah Langs has seven facts about one of the greatest single-day performances in MLB history.
• Ohtani’s performance came just one day after Tom Verducci reported that the Angels have taken Ohtani off the trading block.
• So this article about ten question about trading Ohtani by Isaac Levy-Rubinett is just of historical value at the moment. But he does say that the Angels probably won’t trade him. And it’s a well-done piece.
• Emma Baccellieri calls the decision to keep Ohtani refreshingly idealistic and that while maybe it’s not the smart move, it is the fun one.
• Buster Olney writes that the Angels are “all-in” on Ohtani, (ESPN+ sub. req.) both this year and in an attempt to sign him long-term.
• If you didn’t believe the Angels are keeping Ohtani, the White Sox traded right-handed starter Lucas Giolito and right-handed reliever Reynaldo López to the Angels for two top prospects.
• Giolito spoke about the emotions he felt on leaving the White Sox. He thanked the Pale Hose and their fans and said he was excited to be a teammate of Ohtani and Mike Trout.
• Scott Merkin profiles catcher Edgar Quero and left-hander Ky Bush, the two minor leaguers the White Sox got from the Angels.
• Ben Clemens evaluates the Giolito deal, explaining that the Angels bet on themselves.
• R.J. Anderson grades the Giolito trade.
• Marc Carig, Tim Britton and Andy McCullough all grade the Giolito deal. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• The Marlins and Twins swapped relievers with Jorge López going to Miami and Dylan Floro heading to Minnesota.
• Chris Gilligan calls the Marlins/Twins trade a classic “change of scenery” deal.
• The Marlins got another reliever as Met David Robertson was dealt to Miami for two prospects.
• The Dodgers and Guardians made a swap as shortstop Amed Rosario going to Los Angeles and right-hander Noah Syndergaard heading to Cleveland.
• Davy Andrews argues that both the Guardians and Dodgers were shoring up weak spots with the deal.
• Jorge Castillo reports that the Dodgers are hunting for bigger fish and that the team has held trade talks with the Cardinals to acquire third baseman Nolan Arenado. The Cardinals aren’t sure they’re willing to trade him, however.
• The Brewers made a move, picking up first baseman Carlos Santana from the Pirates for a prospect.
• Ian Browne writes that the Red Sox current hot streak has turned them into buyers, not sellers.
• Hannah Keyser notes that both New York teams are stuck in no-man’s land between buying and selling.
• Mark Feinsand has where every team could improve during the trade deadline.
• Gabe Lacques predicts who is buying, who is selling and who is undecided.
• Tim Britton asks what does history tell us about whether the “bubble teams” will buy or sell. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Thomas Harrington ranks the top 14 starting pitchers who could be dealt before Tuesday.
• Harrington also has the pros and cons of nine top trade targets.
• Mike Petriello has five contenders who need to get some speedy players at the deadline.
• Which first-place team needs the most help from the trade market?
• Bradford Doolittle and David Schoenfield discuss where they would like to see players on the trade block end up. (ESPN+ sub. req.)
• Ken Rosenthal has the 11 MLB executives under the most pressure this trade deadline. (The Athletic sub. req.) Yes, Jed Hoyer is on the list because, as Rosenthal writes, “No matter which lane he picks, Hoyer will be damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t.”
• In non-trade news, Gabe Lacques profiles Giants rookie catcher Patrick Bailey, who is already being compared to Pudge Rodriguez and Thurman Munson. Oh, and of course Buster Posey.
• Michael Baumann has a look at Orioles ace Kyle Bradish, who is not bad-ish at all. (Hey, he made the pun first.)
• Giants and Athletics fans joined in a joint “sell the club” chant at their Bay Area Showdown game.
• Kevin Schaul has a visual look at how different parks affect whether a ball is a home run or not.
• And finally, Astros farmhand Jon Singleton did this to a baseball last night.

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