The Windup Newsletter ⚾ | This is The Athletic’s MLB newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Windup directly in your inbox.The trade deadline is a week from today, and the trades are beginning. Plus: Jayson Stark was in Cooperstown for HOF weekend, we saw a trio of impactful injuries and we revisit those matchup rankings from Friday. I’m Levi Weaver — welcome to The Windup!Trade Deadline: It’s (nearly) timeNone of these qualify as blockbusters, but with the trade deadline next Monday, the first cracks in the dam have sprung leaks. Here’s who changed uniforms since last we spoke:
Red Sox send LHP Connelly Early to Nats for INF Curtis Mead: The Nationals needed — still need, actually — pitching for now and the future. The Red Sox needed a right-handed bat with some pop. This checks those boxes, but there’s risk on each side: Early is currently on the IL with elbow inflammation, and Mead was DFA’d by the White Sox earlier this year before breaking out in D.C.Keith Law called the trade a “no-brainer” for Washington, and Nats beat writer Spencer Nusbaum gave Washington an “A.” Plus we have our trade grades. For the Nats, the big questions remain: Will CJ Abrams be traded? What about Foster Griffin?
