Stock Up, Stock Down: Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers

The first two series after the All-Star break were pretty telling for some front offices. Leading into the end of the first half, the Boston Red Sox were one of the hottest teams and had a schedule in front of them to begin the second half to make a move in the Wild Card standings. However, splitting a six-game road trip with the Chicago Cubs and Oakland Athletics is not what you want to be doing in July.

What makes the trip more frustrating for manager Alex Cora and Boston is that they were playing themselves into a position that would force GM Chaim Bloom to become a buyer at the deadline, but dropping the final two games against Oakland in two uninspiring performances is not going to do it. To compound matters, they lost the final game, 6-5, despite the Athletics committing four errors.

The best team in the majors, the Atlanta Braves, has had a tough time coming out of the break as well. They dropped two out of three at home to the Chicago White Sox, then dropped two out of three to the Arizona Diamondbacks, who were coming off being swept in Canada by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Things are slowly falling into place with the trade deadline just 10 days away and some front offices are realizing that they are going to be buyers, sellers or, in some cases, just standing pat. As time begins to inch closer to August 1, let’s fire up the latest Stock Up, Stock Down.

Stock Up: Eduardo Rodriguez raising trade value for Detroit Tigers

Eduardo Rodriguez had an excellent first half for the Detroit Tigers and the lefty has picked up where he left off in his first two starts of the second half.

Against the Seattle Mariners, he went five innings, giving up three hits, two runs, and striking out seven. Five days later against the Kansas City Royals, he went seven innings, allowing four hits, and two runs and striking out seven to pick up his fifth and sixth wins of 2023.

For the season, Rodriguez is 6-5 with a 2.69 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. The American League Central is a division where .500 baseball could very well win it and get you into the postseason. Detroit is six games back and time is not on their side. This is where things get very interesting for him and the Tigers.

He is in the second season of a five-year, $77 million contract, however, he can exercise an opt-out clause and seek a bigger contract in free agency. With the season he’s having, this is the perfect opportunity for the Tigers to sell high and get something in return. A left-handed arm like Rodriguez’s in any contender’s rotation is worth a two-month rental until the end of the season. He will get one more start before the deadline to impress teams even more.

Stock Down: Miami Marlins’ disastrous second-half start

One of the better stories in the first half was the season the Miami Marlins were having. If it was not for the Braves, they would have been closer to the top of the National League East Division. In fact, they spent most of the first half with the second-best record in the NL.

Young star Luis Arraez was flirting with .400 in the first half and was a big reason for Miami’s start. He had multiple games with five hits, which is unheard of anymore. All of the good vibes the Marlins had in the first half disappeared quickly in the first six games after the break.

The second-half start could not be any worse as they were swept by the Baltimore Orioles, then were swept by the St. Louis Cardinals, who were sitting in the basement of the National League Central before the Marlins arrived in town. Arraez is getting a sign of what might come in the second half with teams pitching the lefty more cautiously.

Arraez has just eight hits after the break and Miami’s pitching has not been as good as it was before the break. They have gone from holding down the first Wild Card spot in the NL to being passed by the Philadelphia Phillies for the final spot just ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants. It’s safe to say that their upcoming three-game series at home against the Colorado Rockies is a must-sweep or getting two out of three at worst.

Stock Up: Texas Rangers get some separation from Houston Astros

Just how good are the Texas Rangers this season? In their first game after the break, they quickly fell behind the Cleveland Guardians, 4-0, but responded with 12 straight runs on their way to a win. That was just the beginning of an impressive first two series following the break.

Texas won the final two games, then swept the Tampa Bay Rays out of first place in the American League East. They won all three games of the series by a combined score of 13-6 and in the process, were able to increase their lead over the Houston Astros to 4.5 games in the division.

The key for Texas in the second half of the season will be keeping the Astros at bay to win the division. By winning the division, they will secure the second AL bye for the Wild Card series, which is huge. Forcing the Astros to play more games than they need to could benefit the Rangers, should the teams meet in October.

Expect Texas to be active at the trade deadline, despite already picking up Aroldis Chapman in June from the Kansas City Royals. Another arm and bat could be added to a roster that has been pitching well and hitting the baseball with the best teams in the league.