The Daily Bernie, 7/30/15: Oakland A's are quiet during evening of huge activity

Welcome back to The Daily Bernie! It's the best dance in the game, so let's get rolling once more!

Remember when it was the morning of July 23rd, and no trades of any significance had taken place, frustrating an anxious baseball world? Yeah, I don't remember that either. Ever since the A's dealt lefty Scott Kazmir that morning, the market has taken off in a way that hasn't been seen in a long time. Wednesday continued this trend, as many marquee names are reportedly switching teams.

• First and foremost, lefty ace Cole Hamels has finally, after years of speculation, been traded. He, along with lefty reliever Jake Diekman and money, will head to the Texas Rangers, per Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News. In return, the Rangers will send young catcher Jorge Alfaro, righty Jerad Eickhoff (source), outfielder Nick Williams, righty Alec Asher (source), fellow righty Jake Thompson (source), and older left-hander Matt Harrison (source), all per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com (Thompson's inclusion is per Grant). The Rangers managed to pull off this blockbuster without including prized youngsters Joey Gallo or Nomar Maraza, and managed to dump Matt Harrison's contract in the process. However, Williams, Alfaro, and Thompson should prove to be great pieces of the Phillies future, and each side made out fairly well in this massive, franchise-altering deal.

• The Dodgers, Braves, and Marlins are nearing a massive three-team deal. The confusing trade will send starters Mat Latos and Alex Wood, along with reliever Jim Johnson and top prospect Jose Peraza to the Dodgers, marquee Cuban signing Hector Olivera, first baseman Michael Morse, righty prospect Zach Bird, and the Marlins' competitive balance pick to the Braves, and three young (unknown) arms to the Marlins, as Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reports. The trade makes sense for each team - the Marlins dump the salary of Morse while getting a return for Latos, the Braves acquire Olivera, whom they coveted in the offseason, and deal from a position of strength (starting pitching), and the Dodgers grab two above-average starters for a relatively low cost. Passan notes that those in the industry have seemed to sour on Peraza. The Dodgers front office continues to think outside of the box to acquire talent, and many think they could even use Peraza or Wood to acquire lefty ace David Price from the Tigers.

• The Mets also came very close to acquiring a star. Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez would have headed to New York in exchange for young infielder Wilmer Flores and young (injured) right-handed starter Zack Wheeler, per Joel Sherman of The New York Post. The deal was complete, pending physicals. However, it had become the cause of controversy - Flores, playing shortstop for the Mets, remained in the game for two at-bats after the trade's leak. Upon taking the field in the eighth, tears were visible in Flores' eyes, as the 23 year-old had seemingly finally learned of the deal - and was still sent out to play the inning. Flores reportedly heard of the trade from the fans, and was overcome with emotion, as the infielder had signed with the Mets at the young age of sixteen. However, it seems the trade has since been nixed. The physicals were not approved, as Sherman reports. In a post-game interview, Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson very officially stated that a Gomez deal "will not transpire." It seems this wild controversy has been all for naught, and Flores will (happily) remain a Met, as will Wheeler.

• Some other news and notes from around the league: Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday has (possibly) re-torn his right quad and will miss an unknown amount of time (link); the Tigers have decided to reboot and sell off free-agents-to-be such as David Price, Yoenis Cespedes, and Rajai Davis (link);  the Price market is alive, with the Dodgers, Giants, Blue Jays, and Yankees being the current front-runners (link); the White Sox have decided to buy at the deadline, taking righty Jeff Samardzija off the trade block (link); the Padres have shown strong interest in young Cubs middle infielder Javier Baez (link).

Bernie's Daily Deal: Josh Reddick and Ike Davis to the St. Louis Cardinals for Stephen Piscotty and Darren Seferina

Reddick and Davis each make quite a bit of sense for the Cardinals, who might be without both Matt Holliday and Matt Adams for quite some time after injuries. Both players are under team control through 2016, and while Reddick is much more valuable, Davis wouldn't be a bad buy-low pick-up for the Cards.

However, they would have to pay a premium for a young hitter of Reddick's caliber, with above average defense. Stephen Piscotty, recently promoted to the majors, is a 24 year-old righty-hitting outfielder. Piscotty has shown above average plate discipline and contact throughout his minor league career, and has a plus arm. His highest ceiling seems to be what Reddick is now, but from the right side of the dish. However, Piscotty has yet to impress as far as power goes, making that Reddick ceiling a bit farther off. Darren Seferina, on the other hand, is a 21 year-old infielder in Single-A. While far from the majors, Seferina possesses good speed and walks at a nice clip, making him a decent throw-in piece. While this could seem a little expensive for the Cardinals, Reddick's extra year of team control is extremely valuable, especially if St. Louis finds themselves unable to re-sign outfielder Jason Heyward this offseason.

That's all for today. The A's, behind righty Chris Bassitt, will take on the Carlos Carrasco and the Cleveland Indians at home at 7:05 P.M. PST. Feel free to dump any links in the comments below. Until tomorrow - lean on, A's fans!