{"id":76585,"date":"2025-07-19T23:33:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T23:33:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/76585\/"},"modified":"2025-07-19T23:33:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-19T23:33:10","slug":"whats-ahead-as-the-trade-deadline-looms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/76585\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s ahead as the trade deadline looms?"},"content":{"rendered":"

PITTSBURGH \u2014 Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa ripped a 2-2 sinker to left-center leading off the third inning Friday against the Chicago White Sox.<\/p>\n

It looked like a sure double.<\/p>\n

But Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. was in pursuit. Robert raced over and made a sensational diving catch<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, \u201888, you\u2019re my favorite player,\u2019 after he made that catch,\u201d Sox starter Jonathan Cannon said, referring to Robert\u2019s uniform number. \u201cI get a great view from the mound, like I can see the ball going down. I\u2019m like, \u2018Crap, that\u2019s a double.\u2019 Then he just came out of nowhere and caught it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018Oh, my gosh, that may be the best catch we\u2019ve had all year.\u2019 I always say he\u2019s the best center fielder I\u2019ve had play behind me and that rang true again (Friday).\u201d<\/p>\n

How long Robert remains roaming center field for the Sox is a critical question as the July 31 MLB trade deadline looms.<\/p>\n

Robert has been mentioned in trade speculation well before the 2025 season began. He has fielded numerous questions on the topic<\/a> but told reporters on July 9 he isn\u2019t tired of being asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just something that\u2019s not on my mind,\u201d Robert said through an interpreter.<\/p>\n

It could be an active trade deadline for the Sox, who with a 33-65 record entering Saturday\u2019s game against the Pirates find themselves in a position to be potential sellers.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery year is different,\u201d assistant general manager Josh Barfield said before Saturday\u2019s game at PNC Park. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of teams right now that are teetering on the line of buying or selling, so I think as we get closer to the deadline, we\u2019ll have a better idea of just how active we will be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barfield said buzz has generally picked up \u201ca little bit\u201d following the MLB draft, which concluded Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seemed like it quieted down there during the All-Star break and the draft because everybody is so focused on those couple of days,\u201d Barfield said. \u201cI think it\u2019s going to start to pick up here during this next week or so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"WhiteWhite Sox starter Adrian Houser gestures to the plate umpire at the start of a game against the Giants on June 28, 2025, at Rate Field. (John J. Kim\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Every contender is looking for pitching<\/a>, and Adrian Houser has been one of the most impressive starters in the majors since signing with the Sox on May 20.\u00a0The right-hander entered Saturday\u2019s start against the Pirates with a 1.56 ERA.<\/p>\n

The Sox brought in Houser to add depth and veteran presence to a young rotation. General manager Chris Getz is taking it all under consideration.<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely want to protect our young arms,\u201d Getz said on July 7. \u201cThat was quite honestly the motivation in acquiring Adrian Houser and (Aaron) Civale to be able to give guys extra days rest or if someone gets nicked up and needs to go on the IL for a little bit, we could have someone step up and fill those quality innings.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, when it comes to the upcoming deadline, first and foremost, it\u2019s my job to continue to build this organization and have this long-term view. But weighing the protection of these young arms and perhaps acquiring some future assets that they can help you win some games in the future. It\u2019s not a straightforward answer. It isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou look at our minor-league system and you look at (Double A pitcher) Tanner McDougal, the kid who\u2019s really taken some strides (with a 0.89 ERA in six starts for the Barons). And (big-league starter) Davis Martin will be back (from the injured list) here shortly. And you look at the potential acquisitions that you can make with some of the deals as well. And perhaps it\u2019s an arm that can help you right away. So we\u2019ve got some time to work through it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Generally speaking, manager Will Venable said it\u2019s important to remain aware of how the speculation can affect a player.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing into it, you (as a player) hear things but you also kind of create your own narrative of what the deadline might mean to you,\u201d Venable said Saturday. \u201cAnd that can be distracting. That\u2019s part of our job as a staff, my job, is as this deadline approaches, touch base with individuals and making sure we are staying focused on what we need to. Because it could be challenging.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd for some guys the noise is louder than others and it\u2019s even more challenging to deal with those distractions. It\u2019s certainly something we\u2019ll give attention to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shane Smith goes on IL<\/p>\n

The Sox placed the All-Star pitcher<\/a> on the 15-day injured list with a left ankle sprain. The move is retroactive to Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The setback occurred while running outside during Thursday\u2019s workout day.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did the imaging, everything came back clean for the most part,\u201d Barfield said. \u201cIt shouldn\u2019t be too long after he\u2019s eligible to be reinstated.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sox made three additional roster moves Saturday, recalling pitcher Wikelman Gonz\u00e1lez from Triple-A Charlotte, reinstating infielder\/outfielder Brooks Baldwin (lower back strain) from the IL and optioning outfielder Will Robertson to Charlotte.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PITTSBURGH \u2014 Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa ripped a 2-2 sinker to left-center leading off the third inning…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":76586,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[21049,960,1274,18034,5386,1818,52994,13247,52993,13250],"class_list":{"0":"post-76585","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-adrian-houser","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-white-sox","11":"tag-chris-getz","12":"tag-il","13":"tag-illinois","14":"tag-josh-barfield","15":"tag-luis-robert-jr","16":"tag-mlb-trade-deadline","17":"tag-will-venable"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114882517697875546","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76585\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}