Latest News and Notes and across MLB

With the MLB trade deadline now in the rearview mirror and the calendar reading August, the final surge of the season is quickly approaching. 

Teams like the Dodgers, Giants, White Sox, and Yankees made some of the biggest splashes at the deadline as they look to better position themselves for a potential postseason run. 

The weekend featured a pair of lost series for teams in each league that are projected to compete for the pennant, and new faces on certain ball clubs are already starting to make an impact despite being traded just a few days ago.

Here is what you may have missed over the weekend.

Fernando Tatis Jr. on 10-IL

The Padres placed their superstar shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. on the 10-day injured list on Saturday, a day after he partially dislocated his left shoulder for the third time this season. 

 Padres manager Jayce Tingler said that season-ending shoulder surgery is “on the table” if Tatis’ shoulder does not improve enough over the next ten days. Tingler also said that Tatis was suffering from more soreness this time than he may have in the past with similar shoulder injuries suffered this season. 

Tatis leads the National League with 31 home runs and is hitting .292 with 70 RBIs this season, and is one of the front runners in the MVP race. Without Tatis, the Padres could potentially fall out of the second wild-card spot. 

Entering Monday’s games, the Padres are 6.5 games back of the San Francisco Giants in the National League West and are four games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds in the chase for the second Wild Card. The Los Angeles Dodgers currently own the first wild card by 3.5 games. 

The Padres also placed starting pitcher Chris Paddack on the 10-day injured list on Saturday with an oblique injury. 

Tampa Bay Rays Take Control of AL East

The Tampa Bay Rays swept the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay over the weekend to take over first place in the heated American League East. 

The Rays won Friday’s game by a score of 7-3 and then took Saturday’s game 9-5 before winning a tight Sunday night game 3-2. It is the first time that the Rays have been in first place in the American League East since June. 

The series sweep was a statement to the rest of the division because the Rays didn’t make any major moves at the deadline. The Yankees made a pair of majors moves for Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo while the Red Sox traded for Kyle Schwarber. The Blue Jays also were active with the additions of Jose Berrios and Brad Hand. 

Welcome to Your New Homes

The Cubs dealt away the entire core of their 2016 World Series Championship roster before the trade deadline. The first baseman, Anthony Rizzo, was traded to the Yankees. Middle infielder Javier Baez was traded to the New York Mets. Third baseman and outfielder Kris Bryant was moved to the Giants. 

While Cubs got a bunch of prospects in return for three of their star players, they also had to watch Rizzo hit two home runs for the Yankees this weekend, Baez hit a bomb to the Citi Field bleachers in left field on Saturday, and Bryant hit one into bleachers for the Giants on Sunday too. 

Cubs fans are pretty upset that Jed Hoyer seemed to move all of the club’s most valuable assets, aside from Willson Contreras, and seeing the former Cubs hit home runs for other teams didn’t make it any easier for Cubs fans.

Keep up with your latest MLB news coverage and betting pick previews at The Dunkel Index.