Inside the Article:
As the MLB Trade Deadline approaches one team has emerged from the woodwork in pursuit of the Detroit Tigers‘ Eduardo Rodriguez. Mark Feinsand, of MLB.com, just reported that as Rodriguez's name remains a hot-ticket item, the Padres are believed to be very high and him and could make a push. Add them to a list of about eight other teams that have also been linked to Rodriguez, and you can see why Scott Harris has held his play close to his chest.
Why it matters
The Padres have been an underwhelming team, that is coming off a sweep of the Texas Rangers and solidified themselves as non-sellers at the deadline. Feinsand has also reported that the Tigers' price remains high on both of their tradable assets and the Padres have some firepower left to get a deal done. It may require the Padres to part with Jackson Merrill if they want in the discussion, a prospect who is #3 in the MLB according to FanGraphs and is seemingly blocked with established MLBers on long contracts. This type of deal isn't out of the realm of possibility.
The bottom line
As we approach the six-hour mark of the deadline, the Tigers have stood pat and let the value of their pieces increase as teams bid against one another. This deadline is the first real test of Scott Harris and as long as his evaluations of the prospects he's asking for in return is solid, this will be a winner of a deadline. Hold on and buckle up because the next six hours are going to get crazy as rumors and reports continue to fly around the interwebs and names are connected with a number of different buyers. Here's to an exciting deadline, don't screw this up, Scott.
