MLB trade rumors and news: Lucas Giolito throws the first no-hitter of 2020

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• With pitchers getting ramped up during the shortened 60-game 2020 season and teams being more cautious than ever with their starters, the odds seemed long that we’d see a no-hitter of the solo variety this year. However, White Sox ace Lucas Giolito proved those odds wrong on Tuesday night, holding the lowly Pirates hitless while walking one and striking out 13.
• After a nearly two-week banishment to the Indians’ alternate training site for a violation of COVID-19 protocols, starter Mike Clevinger will be welcomed back for Cleveland’s Wednesday game against the Twins. Meanwhile, Clevinger’s partner in COVID crime, Zach Plesac (who was having a spectacular year prior to his poor off-the-field decision) will remain at the alternate site, as president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said Cleveland doesn’t have an opportunity available for him.
• In more unpleasant news for the likely-to-be-renamed-soon Cleveland baseball franchise, manager Terry Francona is dealing with blood clots and remains away from the team. With the club dealing with the absences of several coaches for reasons both related and unrelated to the COVID-19 pandemic, first-base coach Sandy Alomar Jr. has been serving as the interim manager.
• The Yankees, who are currently dealing with a watered-down rotation while trying to get back to the World Series, reportedly have interest in trading for Mariners starter Taijuan Walker. Walker has had a solid bounce-back season after losing almost all of the last two seasons due to injuries and should be a solid back-of-the-rotation option for a contender.
• In some refreshing baseball news that doesn’t involve test results, the Blue Jays have acquired Daniel Vogelbach from the Mariners in exchange for cash considerations. Seattle has designated the young DH for assignment earlier last week. Once a highly regarded prospect, Vogelbach struggled this abridged season, slashing an anemic .094/.250/.225 over his first 64 plate appearances. It’s hard to imagine that this same player was selected for last year’s All-Star Game. Let’s hope a change of scenery can set him up for an underdog comeback that we all desperately need this season. Please, something, anything that’s good news.
• When Reds fans tuned into last week’s game against the Royals, they definitely got more than they bargained for when announcer Thom Brennaman was picked up on a live mic calling some city a homophobic slur before diving right into his analysis. The fallout was swift as later in the broadcast, Brennaman apologized while simultaneously calling a home run and then was pulled from the air.
• The Astros are not having the best of seasons when it comes to injuries and, well, a lot of other things that are entirely their fault. Justin Verlander’s season is in question and Yordan Alvarez needs season ending-knee surgery. Now, Alex Bregman will miss extended time with a hamstring strain.
• Rangers manager Chris Woodward and reliever Ian Gibaut were suspended following their ridiculous attempt to enforce the “unwritten rules” against Fernando Tatis Jr. after he hit a grand slam on a 3-0 count.
• Rays lefty (and occasional DH) Brendan McKay will miss the rest of the 2020 season after having shoulder surgery.
• We’ve updated our MLB Power Rankings, and yes, they are as weird and out there as the ramifications of this season have led them to be.
• Aaron Judge will be taking his talents to the IL for at least ten days, Newsday’s Roger Rubin reports. The slugger is currently recovering from a minor calf strain and while he’s told the media he “feels 100%”, he’s not eligible for play until Saturday. He was taken out of the game in the sixth inning against the Braves last Tuesday due to what the team was reporting as “lower body tightness”, subsequently missing Wednesday to have a follow up MRI. While the 28-year old chalks the strain up to playing on turf, citing that the discomfort began while the team was away at Tampa Bay, the Yankees are taking the cautious route and giving him the full time on the IL.
• Players getting ejected from games for arguing balls and strikes is a fairly common occurrence and normally wouldn’t warrant much attention. However, Stephen Strasburg somehow managed to get ejected from a game while sitting in the stands, which is delightfully weirder. Strasburg was watching the game from the stands as he tries to get healthy and apparently his heckling of the umpire was enough to get kicked out despite the fact that he wasn’t even in a dugout. What a time to be alive.
• Indians starters Zach Plesac and Mike Clevinger were sent home and placed on the restricted list after it was discovered that they violated league safety protocols and went out in Chicago. Both pitchers released apologies that could be viewed by some as less than sincere, and teammates Francisco Lindor and Adam Plutko spoke on the pitchers’ decisions, with Plutko being the most critical of his rotation mates, saying that the starters “hurt us bad,” “lied to us,” and “sat here in front of (the media) and publicly said things that they didn’t follow through on.”
• Astros hitting coach Alex Cintron was suspended 20 games after instigating a brawl with the Athletics on Sunday. Seems like an appropriate punishment for someone who was blatantly trying to start a fight when social distancing is so important.
• Marcus Stroman’s return this season was already looking pretty sketchy due to a muscle tear in his calf. Given the apparent severity of the injury and the shortened season, the logistics of getting him back on the field were a bit daunting. However, Stroman took the guesswork out of the situation by opting out of the rest of the season and potentially playing his last game with the Mets.