MLB Trade Rumors and News: Yankees sweep Red Sox in London, 2019 All-Stars announced

Your 2019 All-Star class has arrived.

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• The Rays find themselves right in the thick of the playoff hunt as they sit at 48-36 and currently leading the AL wild card race. They added some major reinforcements over the weekend as one of their top prospects, pitcher Brendan McKay, made his major league debut on Saturday. McKay took a perfect game into the sixth and earned his first major league win, showing off just how dominant he is ready to be for Tampa Bay. The young pitcher also decimated a Rays record: retiring 16 consecutive batters to start a game. Talk about getting off on the right foot.
• It seems like each week, we are talking about a different Yankee hitting the injured list. It hasn’t bothered the team too much to this point of the season as they have one of the better records in baseball, but it is still fairly alarming. Now, it looks like the cycle is looping back around as Giancarlo Stanton is back on the injured list, this time due to a PCL injury. A biceps strain cost him a month and a half or so of the season already.
• Speaking of the Yankees, the injury-riddled team had no problem across the pond in the first ever London Series, defeating the Red Sox in both games held at London Stadium this weekend. With a shallow center field at just 338 feet, both teams scored an insane amount on runs across both games, with final scores or 17-13 and 12-8, respectively. The Cubs and Cardinals are up next in 2020! Get your passports ready, folks.
• Adley Rutschman, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s MLB Draft, has reached an agreement with the Orioles that includes an $8.1 million signing bonus, breaking the record for a draft pick that was previously set by Gerrit Cole in 2011. Rutschman made his first public appearance at Camden Yards on Tuesday, taking batting practice and getting introduced to media members and fans.
• Your 2019 All-Stars have officially been...er, chosen? After a new and confusing voting process, the players who will head to Cleveland as the tops at their positions have been revealed. Among the notable names are Pete Alonso, Tommy La Stella, and Ronald Acuna.
• The Cardinals’ Jordan Hicks has been lighting up radar guns since he got into the league with a fastball that routinely is in excess of 100 mph. Unfortunately, we were reminded that the laws of physics and the human body do not always get along as Hicks was diagnosed with a torn UCL on Monday.
• It is no secret that the Rays both have had real trouble drawing any meaningful crowds to their games (despite a strong product on the field) and that they are quite unhappy with their current stadium situation. However, an interesting wrinkle has developed as MLB has granted the Rays permission to explore a “two-city” model which would have the Rays call both Tampa AND Montreal home. Let’s get weird.
• How many bases can you rack up in a single MLB game? Play SB Nation’s new immersive game and find out.
• Fan safety has been a hot topic of late, particular regarding foul balls that very often come screaming into crowds before anyone has time to react. While some would argue that this is long overdue, the Nationals and White Sox are joining a growing number of teams that are extending the netting along the foul lines.
• Wilkin Castillo was the hero in his first MLB game in 10 years. If that’s not heartwarming and what baseball is all about, I’m not quite sure what is. Never give up your dreams, kids. That also low-key means his hit streak is 10 years long, which is a nice loophole.
• The 2019 MLB Draft has come and gone, but who are the teams that made out like bandits and who are the teams that, well, didn’t impress. Our own Matt Powers went through the National League and reviewed each team’s draft classes while highlighting the good, the bad, and the puzzling.
• The trade deadline will be here before you know it, and we are already starting to hear whispers of which teams are going to be buyers and sellers despite the actual deadline being over a month away. Andersen Pickard went ahead and picked five stars who could have new homes before the trade deadline passes.
• The Mets continue to be your drunk uncle who ruins family holidays, this time just with extra fighting. Both Jason Vargas and skipper Mickey Callaway had some heated words to say to a Mets beat writer for Newsday, with Vargas saying to the reporter, “I’ll knock you the f--- out.” The Mets have released an official statement and we can all guess at the one they’re drafting up next — Callaway’s walking papers.
• Eric Sogard is having one of the most unexpected breakouts in baseball history.
• Giovanny Gallegos is very quietly and dominantly striking everyone out. Jordan Hicks who?
• 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.
• David Ortiz is expected to make a full recovery after being shot in the lower back in the Dominican Republic.
• 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.