Greg Piatelli and I recap Week 14 of the 2018 MLB Season and preview the non-waiver Trade Deadline. We go through their usual weekly business: the Hot & Cold Teams, Top Players of the Week, Stadium Snacks, and Bleacher Creatures. We also try to figure out what’s going on with the Yankees and why shorts are seemingly terrible for baseball according to one Braves announcer.

As we were recording the pod, the Yankees announced their acquisition of SP Lance Lynn from the Twins and we gave our reactions to that trade but it was just the tip of the iceberg. The Braves announced they acquired OF Adam Duvall from the Reds and by the end of the night, the Red Sox had traded for 2B Ian Kinsler from Angels.

For the Red Sox, the move makes a ton of sense. Dustin Pedroia has been hurt for most of the season so there has been a hole at second Kinsler can easily fill. The move also allows the Sox to re-add depth to their infield after Rafael Devers went on the DL as well. Even though Kinsler is having the best 2018, he’s slashing .239/.304/.406, he is an excellent defensive addition to this squad.

The Braves add depth to their outfield with Duvall and get a solid power option off the bench. Duvall is batting just .205 so it’s hard to see him taking a significant number of starts from Ronald Acuna, Ender Inciarte, and Nick Markakis. Duvall has hit 15 homers and 61 RBI and is batting .281 with runners in scoring position.

The biggest news came from an announcement made by  a source for the Washington Nationals:

“Going crazy” is probably the right phrasing to be used here. Greg and I talked about this on the pod but if the Nats really think Harper is walking away from DC this winter, they should try to at least get something for him. The Nats’ asking price will be a tight rope for any GM to walk, it can’t be too much or the Nats won’t get any nibbles. However, if the ask is too low, the Nats could feel fleeced by the deal and the other GM looks like a genius for not having to part ways with oh-so-many prized prospects.

If the Phillies were to go for Harper, it will be very interesting to see how Matt Klentak approaches the trade considering the prospects the Phillies weren’t willing to trade for Manny Machado. The Phils definitely another arm for the pitching staff so I’d rather see them go for a bullpen arm or a lefty starter. Today will be very fun to watch, though.