MLB Trade Rumors and News: All Star Game balloting continues as the race tightens

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• The All Star is right around the corner and in the recent voting leaderboard that was released yesterday, we have some tight races and some...well, less than tight races. The top three vote getters at each position (top 9 for the outfield) will go on to the next round of voting to see who will start in the All Star Game. Spoilers: expect to see a lot of Braves, Cubs, and Astros.
• The Yankees have acquired slugger Edwin Encarnacion from Mariners, in exchange for 19-year old pitching prospect, Juan Then. Encarnación currently leads the American League in home runs and is well on track to have another 30+ home run season—his eight, to be exact. Then (the player, that is) was ranked number 27 in the Yankees farm system and was due to pitch in the rookie league this summer. In other news, how do I get a reality show called: “Brian Cashman, Finesse My Life”, because it feels necessary right now.
• The Angels have designated Cody Allen for assignment. Yes, you read that correctly, the same Cody Allen that signed a one-year, $8.5M contract with the Angels in January. His 6.26 ERA and 20 walks in 23 innings ultimately led to the Angels demoting him. Righty Taylor Cole has been called up from Triple-A Salt Lake to take his place.
• Athletics’ Stephen Piscotty has undergone surgery to remove melanoma from his ear. The 28-year old is taking time away from baseball to recover but is expected to be back with the team in a week.
• The Rangers have acquired righty reliever Jake Petricka from the Brewers in exchange for a player to be named later or cash. The 31-year old has had six relief appearances this season with three strikeouts and a 3.38 ERA. He’ll make his way to Triple-A in Rangers camp.
• Are you excited about the new, young future of baseball? Who isn’t. Our Andersen Pickard wants you to be even more excited as he breaks down one prospect worthy of making their MLB debut from every AL East team. Keep an eye out as Andersen takes on the other divisions next.
• Shohei Ohtani has become one of the league’s best stories over the last year or so as the sport’s first legitimate two-way player in about a century. Well, he had to his legend yesterday as he became the first Japanese born player to hit for the cycle in MLB history.
• Chris Paddack is one of the league’s more exciting young arms and he had pitched himself into the NL ROY discussion early on. However, he is also coming off of an injury and the Padres appear set on limiting his innings this year as a result. On Wednesday, they announced that they were sending Paddack to the minors for a short while towards that end.
• David Ortiz is in stable condition and expected to make a full recovery after being shot in the lower back in the Dominican Republic.
• Dallas Keuchel had been a free agent for quite a while as he looked for a deal to his liking. With the draft out of the way and removing the added cost of a draft pick for his services, his market heated up in a big way and the Braves were able to snag him on a one year deal that will end up paying him around $13 million.
• Not ready to let the draft go just yet? Worry not. Our 2019 MLB Draft First-round pick Signing Tracker will keep you in the loop of what picks will be headed to their teams and who may just pass it up.
• Craig Kimbrel had been a free agent for far longer than most of us would have ever thought given his talent and track record. He finally has his new team, as he signed a three-year dealwith the Chicago Cubs.
• Phillies outfielder and former NL MVP Andrew McCutchen will miss the rest of the season after suffering a torn ACL while getting caught in a rundown. That’s awful news for a Philadelphia team that is trying to win its first NL East title since 2011, as well as for McCutchen, who is one of the most outwardly joyous and fan-friendly players in baseball.
• Luckily for the Phillies, they acquired Jay Bruce from the Mariners just a day before McCutchen’s injury. The 32-year-old will add some starting-caliber outfield depth while Philly deals with the absences of Cutch, Odubel Herrera, and Roman Quinn and the season-long struggles of Nick Williams.
• Need to catch up on what happened during the 2019 MLB Draft? Check out our draft tracker, and our five key takeaways from the festivities.
• Baseball has had a an issue with waning interest and participation from younger fans and athletes for some time now. Our own Andersen Pickard took at look at some ways that baseball could make itself more appealing to younger generations.
• Dustin Pedroia’s knee has given him all sorts of problems in recent years and he has tried numerous different procedures to get it fixed. Now, it is looking more and more likely that he will have to call it a career after he announced that he was going to take an indefinite leave of absence from baseball.