Well, the thread is entitled trade deadline "speculation" so here is one. Eflion is supposed to pitch on Sunday, after his normal 4 days of rest. Yet the Phils are announcing that Sunday's starter is TBD, and when asked about this Kapler said something to the affect that they will see what happens with the bullpen over the next couple of days.
Now its possible that in a perfect world the Phils would like to give Eflin an extra day of rest and start him on Monday as part of the DHer in New York. Seems reasonable. But the Phils are also saying that on Monday, its Nola and TBD.
Again, probably nothing there. But...I do find it strange that out of all the players the Phils have, and given how secretive the Phils are in regards to trades [they are among the most secretive now], the name Eflin filters out and I do not believe it came from Baltimore. I also found it interesting that the Phils are publicly saying they won't move Eflin and even used Zolecki to say that odds of the Phils getting MM are negligible.
Here's what I think. I think the Phils are trying to give the Orioles cover by giving them a chance to trade MM for a player that the Phillies said they wouldn't move. Its interesting how much I have been hearing and reading about Eflin this week...a guy that we barely talked about a couple of weeks ago and would gladly have used as the centerpiece for a MM deal.
I believe if push comes to shove, the Phils will deal Eflin and a couple of lesser lights to the O's for MM, I just think they want him so badly, believe he could make the difference between first and third place in the NL East and are equally confident that they can present MM an environment that he not only feels comfortable in, but can convince him to stay.
I acknowledge that there is lots of reading between the lines here...but I still wonder why Eflin's name suddenly got put out there and who did it? Let's face it, the O's are going to face a huge public relations bomb when they move MM but it would mitigate this somewhat if they got a player that was deemed "untouchable."
Perhaps the Phils are trying to help alleviate this PR nightmare?