Wife & Kid are out of town, which means that I can do this. Here's a running update on what has happened, rumor-wise, with the Astros on the evening/night of July 30. This does not replace Hot Links in the morning. This goes backwards, chronologically:
9:05pm: There's apparently a three-team deal with Cleveland, Cincinnati, and San Diego that sends Bauer to the Reds. Marcus Stroman went to the Mets. Tyler Bauer went to the Reds. You can't plan for Dumb People Doing Weird Things.
8:28pm: Matt Boyd "very likely staying" in Detroit.
7:10pm: Syndergaard actually took the mound against the White Sox.
6:44pm: Bauer is "very much in play." Bumgarner remains available. Interest in Robbie Ray has picked up. Jeff Passan: "The trade market is finally beginning to unclog."
6:27pm: Hinch (pre-game):
There's a lot of talk going on, there's a lot of action. I try to encourage our guys to not read too much into it. So many different people have access to so much different information, so stay patient and see what happens...We try to keep our 25 guys inside extremely close, and the Deadline anxiety and the Deadline stress is real.
I get a ton of questions. People see when my office door is open, or is it closed? Am I on the phone? Am I not on the phone? Chances are I'm working on the Indians and trying to set ourselves up to beat these guys. The transactions that may or may not happen, we'll all find out around the same time.
6:13pm: The Astros are "thought to be in the mix" for Bauer and Bumgarner, and any other top SP.
6:08pm: The Indians want Major-League help in any return for Bauer.
5:57pm: The Reds and Indians are trying to line up a Bauer trade, with a Double-A outfielder with a .688 OPS as one of the more intriguing names in the discussion.
5:53pm: The Indians are more likely to trade Trevor Bauer than to keep him.
5:04pm: The Astros, as well as the Braves, Yankees, Brewers, Twins, and Phillies are in on Arizona's Robbie Ray.
4:39pm: For those of you who are interested in catching, interest in Toronto's Justin Smoak is "picking up."
4:31pm: Joel Sherman quotes an anonymous executive who says, of the Mets' ask for Syndergaard:
It is not even worth a second conversation. I'm not even sure it was worth the first. Maybe some other team would say yes to that, but that is hard to believe. Because the Mets are not in the mode of meeting you in the middle of your offer and their ask, it is their ask or nothing.
3:00pm: 24 hours to go until the Trade Deadline.
2:59pm: "The buyers insist the sellers' demands are unrealistic. The sellers insist the buyer's offers are too low."
2:50pm: The Mets are asking for Major-League or Major-League-Ready talent for Syndergaard, even among teams with deep faarm (sic) systems.
2:48pm: Trevor Bauer is being fined, but not suspended, for throwing the ball over the center-field wall.
2:46pm: SI says that Syndergaard would be a "stellar compliment" to Verlander and Cole:
Trading Tucker could send a potential All-Star to New York. Holding onto him could cost the Astros a spot in the World Series.
2:44pm: It's "unlikely" that Pirates reliever Felipe Vazquez will get traded, despite "tons of interest."
2:00pm: Folks, Ken Giles is probably not going to get traded to Houston after receiving a cortisone shot.
1:52pm: The Padres have made what they believe to be a "strong offer" for Noah Syndergaard, but it's still not apparently enough. Because the Mets are stupid. The Padres have been on Syndergaard for quite a while.
1:16pm: "Rivals" are still skeptical on the Giants trading Bumgarner.
1:06pm: Tim Brown: "The stunner would if be if [the Astros] don't end up with one of the top-end available SPs."
12:36pm: Giants and Astros are "engaged" on Madison Bumgarner.
10:12am: Detroit SP Matthew Boyd is "likely to stay put."
9:10am: For some reason, the Astros are interested in Orioles 1B/OF Trey Mancini.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
