MLB trade deadline: What it’s like for first-time All-Stars dealing with rumors

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Can that get exhausting?

“I think it’s just the same answer, you know?” he continued. “It is what it is. It’s out of our hands. We just have to adapt to the circumstances, but that’s kind of the game we play, and I think that’s what makes the great players great, is their ability to adapt — within the game, outside the game, everything.”

On Tuesday, Miller struck out both Shohei Ohtani and Trea Turner in a scoreless inning in his first career All-Star appearance, reaching back for a 103.6 mph fastball in the process. It was the type of performance that left contenders salivating, dreaming of adding an arm like his for the stretch run.

The 25-year-old closer has been able to ignore the rumor mill better than many.

“I’m not a huge social media guy,” Miller said, “so, not a big deal for me.”

After this year in Oakland, the Athletics plan to spend the next three or four seasons in Sacramento. A’s owner John Fisher is still in the process of lining up financing for a new stadium with the hopes of moving the team to Las Vegas in 2028 or 2029.

Miller, who won’t be a free agent until 2030, will be under team control throughout that time.

Needless to say, acquiring his services will take a haul. The same goes for the fellow 25-year-old flamethrower who preceded Miller in Tuesday’s All-Star Game.

Both Miller, the reliever with the highest strikeout rate in Major League Baseball this year, and Garrett Crochet, the starter with the highest strikeout rate in MLB this year, are among the most coveted players who could be available for the right price later this month.

Crochet, whose final year of arbitration isn’t until 2026, is the South Siders’ prized asset, a crown jewel capable of overhauling the White Sox’s farm system should the worst team in baseball decide to deal him at the deadline.

When the year began, that wasn’t so clear.

Entering spring, Crochet didn’t know if he’d even get the chance to start, let alone if he’d begin the season with the major-league club. All 72 of his appearances entering the year had come in relief. Now, he’s an All-Star, MLB’s strikeout leader and, in a couple of weeks, possibly the most talented player who’ll be switching uniforms.

“It’s a huge compliment to even be considered in that conversation,” Crochet said this week. “But at the same time, I have to be where my feet are and just keep performing.”

Crochet leads all pitchers in FanGraphs’ version of wins above replacement and is showing no signs of slowing down, logging a 1.61 ERA in 13 starts since the beginning of May. Still, one factor could complicate the market for the 2020 first-round pick, who underwent Tommy John surgery two years ago.

For the rest of the year, every pitch Crochet throws will send him further into uncharted territory.

He has already thrown nearly twice as many innings as he had in any previous season, even going back to his time in college at Tennessee. While there’s no set plan for how he’ll be handled the rest of the year, Crochet has made it known that his preference is to stay on a five-day routine. The White Sox attempted to ease his workload heading into the break, limiting him to two innings last Friday. He struck out four of the six batters he faced.

On Tuesday, he added a scoreless inning in his first career All-Star appearance.

Two innings prior, Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal did the same.

Another first-time All-Star starring for a team currently on the outside of the playoff picture, Skubal will be a fascinating name to track leading up to the deadline, even if the odds of the Tigers dealing their Cy Young contender are slim. At 27, he has established himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball and, like Crochet, is under team control for another two years after this one. If the Tigers don’t get a massive, franchise-altering offer, there’s no rush to move him.

The Orioles, Dodgers, Brewers, Guardians, Twins and Padres are among the many contenders that could use another elite arm in the rotation, though it would take some hefty prospect capital to acquire a player of Skubal or Crochet’s caliber. There will be no shortage of teams interested.

Skubal, like so many other pitchers in his position, tries not to put much value into the deadline chatter.

“I have no say in it,” he said, “so what’s the point?”

He can’t control the rumors, but he can control how he handles them. So, if he sees his name brought up on his phone, he’ll swipe to something else. If he hears his name on the television, he’ll flip the channel.

It’s pretty easy, according to the Detroit lefty, who’ll take a 10-3 record and an American League-leading 2.41 ERA into the second half.

“It crossing your mind can sometimes deter what you’re trying to do,” Skubal said. “But you just can’t let it get to you. Then, just keep doing your job. My job is to go out there and put my team in a position to win.”

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, L.A. Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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