Anyone bored with the trade deadline still? Hold onto your butts:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>A source confirmed <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffPassan">@JeffPassan</a>'s report: Cody Asche is coming to Philadelphia. <a href="http://t.co/fUzrJtjOe2">http://t.co/fUzrJtjOe2</a></p>— Matt Gelb (@magelb) <a href="https://twitter.com/magelb/statuses/362249089330581505">July 30, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Yep, you read it right -- Cody Asche (pronounced "Ashy") will be coming to a third base near you. Or, at least one that is visually more proximate. Asche earned the call-up with a shiny 295/352/485 line in 446 AAA plate appearances this year. He hit 15 home runs and stole 11 bases, as well. I also have no confirmation on this, but I am comfortable saying that, while he was almost certainly inferior in the grission statistic, he will be an upgrade defensively from incumbent Michael Young. No guess as to if he is squarer and more stilted than Young; probably not.
As for Young, it should come as no surprise that this promotion of Asche has fueled trade rumors in a fairly serious way. Behold, Passan!
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Source: Phillies plan on calling up 3B Cody Asche. Points to Michael Young being traded today.</p>— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/statuses/362245334807756801">July 30, 2013</a></blockquote>
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We'll keep you posted, but stay tuned. Could end up being a fairly exciting couple of hours!
UPDATE (1:30 EST): Fantastic news for all of you Michael Young fans out there!
/crickets
...anyway. Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the class act king himself has apparently told the Phillies that he will only accept a trade to Texas. Because apparently professional baseball players can act like petulant children, and we need to respect them for that. Because no trade clauses aren't meant to save players from being shifted around like objects, but instead meant to flip the balance of power so that man-children who think that they have to keep some sort of nebulous, fictitious legacy intact can hold the future of a massive franchise at bay, frustrating not only the management who may deserve it, but fans who don't.
But that's not Michael Young. God, no, I didn't mean him. That would be so cynical! The reporters say such nice things about him, after all. All hail new mayor of Philadelphia (for the next half season and several million dollars) Michael "Coitus Interruptus" Young.