Some turn off their phones and ignore the “noise.” Others have conversations with their bosses just to find out what their position is.
Many just take things as they come, because everyone agrees: When you are ready to become a free agent and the second half of July is here, there is very little you can control, other than your play on the field.
“I can’t be thinking about getting traded or going somewhere else knowing I have a job to do tonight,” the All-Star closer said recently. Craig kimbrel. “I’ve gotten really good at packing in the last few years. That’s not something that worries me very much.”
It’s an irony to be an All-Star on a bad team. On the one hand, it’s the pinnacle of a player’s career, but on the other, due to the timing of the All-Star Game and the MLB trade deadline of July 30, the focus may be more on where the player could be traded. player who on about how he became an All-Star.
To the star of the Chicago Cubs, Kris bryant, he was asked about it before, during and after the game last week.
“It could happen,” he said. “Might [también] to be here two days, two months, two years, 10 years; everything is in the air. “
They even asked him if he was exhausted, because they asked him.
“Yes, definitely,” Bryant replied with a half smile. “It is what it is. It probably won’t happen, and you guys will keep asking these questions and I’ll still be here.”
Kimbrel’s market is basically anyone with World Series aspirations, while Bryant’s is a bit more limited. There are some teams interested, but a league source at the All-Star Game said that if Bryant wasn’t traded to the New York Mets, they wouldn’t trade him at all. The Cubs could extend a qualifying offer to him at the end of the year and then get a compensatory draft pick if he leaves.
One All-Star waiting for the phone to ring is the Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman, Eduardo Escobar. The league’s second basemen were noticed when the Chicago White Sox second baseman, Nick madrigal, was out for the remainder of the season with a hamstring tear, including Escobar.
“In the last three weeks, there’s been a lot of talk about me being traded to the White Sox,” Escobar said. “I’ve heard all that. But I’m trying to focus on my work … I’m prepared, but I’m not ready either because I don’t know when it could happen.”
Besides the White Sox, there aren’t many rival teams that need a second baseman. Both the Mets and the San Francisco Giants have had limited production from that position, but that’s mostly due to injuries, though not from the variety of injuries that end a season. And the Diamondbacks would be foolish if they didn’t get something for a future free agent on a last-place team.
If it’s not Escobar, the second baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Adam Frazier, Is another option. His possible return would be greater because he has one more year of control of the team. It also means you don’t have to move it, but that hasn’t stopped the rumor machine from producing its name.
“It’s great to be recognized like this and for teams to love you,” Frazier said. “It means a lot. It tells you that you’re playing well, but I still have to worry about playing baseball.”
Frazier spoke to Pirates management about his situation and hopes he can “stay informed” throughout the process. Like Escobar, seeing Madrigal get injured for a first-place team meant hearing his name even more in business negotiations.
“My phone has exploded since it happened,” he said. “I tend to try not to talk on the phone and focus on baseball. I’m a better player with fewer distractions.”
When asked if she was preparing for an exchange, Frazier said, “The only preparation you can do is pack your things in the apartment. I haven’t done that yet.”
Neither has the Texas Rangers pitcher, Kyle gibson, who will spend most of the rest of this month on the road. The coveted AL ERA leader will have plenty of time to contemplate who he will play with next month.
“We have a 10-day road trip, so that’s going to eat up most of it,” Gibson said. “That’s probably worse for me because I’ll be sitting alone in a hotel room. But talking to other guys who’ve been through it, there’s a lot we can control in this game. The business side is one of those we can’t.”
There’s that issue again: control what you can control. It’s not that players have a say in where they are traded, unless of course they have a no-trade clause or have played in the league for 10 years and with the same team for five.
Those guys like the St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam wainwright and the All-Star of the Washington Nationals, Max scherzerThey have a much bigger voice in the process, while the rest of the upcoming free agents are indebted to the rumors, innuendo and the business side of the game.
Try as they might, it’s hard to escape the talk, at least until August, when the trading season comes to an end for another year.
Like Kimbrel, Gibson’s market is basically any team that wants to do something special this season. It could give the Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners a boost from outside the playoff draw, but it is more likely to end up with a legitimate contender like the San Diego Padres, Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays or even the New York Yankees if they decide to strengthen their team.
Gibson knows the conversation would consume his days if he let it happen. For him and his fellow All-Stars who will likely be traded, or at least included in the rumors from now until July 30, there is a tried and true way to handle it better: keep your head in the game and not on Twitter.
Easier said than done.
“I’ve tried to ignore it,” Gibson admitted. “I would have to turn off my phone and stay away from social media to ignore it, and that probably won’t happen.”
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