Andrew Cashner doesn't have the gaudy résumé of Madison Bumgarner, doesn't have the mound presence of Marcus Stroman, and hasn't built the social media platform of Trevor Bauer. For all those reasons and more, Cashner wasn't really coveted in the trade market the way those other stars are.
But he will feed a need for the Red Sox at the back end of their rotation, and at modest cost; Boston surrendered a couple of 17-year-old prospects (or, more accurately, long-term lottery tickets). The same is true with Homer Bailey, who steps into the Oakland rotation after being acquired from the Kansas City Royals.
The way those deals are being translated by other organizations is that the Red Sox and Athletics had no interest in paying the higher prices currently attached to Bumgarner, Stroman, Robbie Ray and others, and wanted to make sure they landed some rotation relief.
But what those trades could do is place a greater squeeze on the teams dangling starting pitchers, because the balance between buyers and possible sellers appears lopsided.
The major contenders who have a serious need for a starting pitcher:
1. Astros
2. Yankees
3. Twins
4. Brewers
Other contenders who could use a starter but might only strike if the right value deal develops:
1. Cardinals
2. Angels
3. Rays
4. Phillies
Now here is a partial list of starting pitchers being discussed by evaluators:
1. Bauer, Indians
2. Stroman, Blue Jays
3. Ray, Diamondbacks
4. Bumgarner, Giants
5. Matthew Boyd, Tigers
6. Aaron Sanchez, Blue Jays
7. Zack Wheeler, Mets, who was just put on the injured list by the Mets because of shoulder fatigue, a breakdown that torpedoes his trade value. "No team is going to invest anything big unless they can expect he's going to pitch the last two months," one executive said.
8. Zack Greinke of Arizona, although some other teams believe a trade for the right-hander would be greatly complicated by his salary and the question of how much the Diamondbacks would have to eat.
9. Caleb Smith, Marlins, who is having a good season.
Some executives believe that list has a chance to grow significantly if teams on the edge of the playoff races -- the Reds, the Pirates, the Padres, the Rangers, among others -- become sellers in the days leading up to the deadline. There is interest in San Diego's Joey Lucchesi and Cincinnati's Tanner Roark, and of course, Texas is in position to ask for a high price for Mike Minor.
With two weeks remaining before the trade deadline, the sellers continue to wait for the contenders to step up and say yes to their big ask -- and look, Arizona doesn't have to trade Ray. The Blue Jays don't have to trade Stroman or Sanchez. Boyd could remain under team control with the Tigers through the 2022 season, theoretically. The Indians could keep Bauer through next year.
But it would probably behoove Cleveland to trade Bauer sooner rather than later, and similarly, the safe and conservative play for the Jays is to move the oft-injured Sanchez and meteoric Stroman this year, while contenders would pay for them to be part of two pennant races rather than one.
And the presence of what appears to be many more sellers than motivated buyers could make it difficult for some teams to get the premium return they seek.
A similar dynamic played out two years ago. Early in the 2017 season, it appeared the most coveted starting pitcher available might be the Rangers' Yu Darvish. The right-hander pitched well, carrying a 3.11 ERA into July. What Texas hoped for was a hyperaggressive set of buyers bidding against each other to land him.
But that dream scenario simply never evolved, and Darvish's last start for Texas was a disaster in the time of year when small sample size really matters -- he gave up 10 runs in 3⅔ innings -- and the Rangers scrambled in the final hours before the deadline to make a discounted deal with the Dodgers.
Only the sellers know for sure if they're going to be willing to drop their prices before the deadline; only they know if what they're doing is an extended bluff. But because of the way the market conditions are evolving, with buyers like the Red Sox and Athletics quickly grabbing bargains, some sellers should probably consider trying to make their best deals sooner rather than later, lest their leverage collapse in the way it did in the Darvish situation.