Here are three things well be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day: 1. Are the Royals buyers? The first post-draft trade of the year took place yesterday and, while it shouldnt shock anyone that the Pirates sold off veteran infield rental , its at least a mild surprise that the buying club was the Royals. Kansas City has a pedestrian 47-50 record to this point in the year and remains 4.5 games out of Stan Mikita Jersey the AL Wild Card picture. While they arent buried in the postseason picture, FanGraphs gives them just an of making the postseason. That left many a suming that they were more likely to sell off short-term pieces like than add rental players this summer, though its at least po sible Frazier is something of a special case. The Royals are familiar with the 33-year-old after he was part of the club last year, and given the fact that hes hitting just .255/.318/.336 this season he wasnt exactly expensive in trade. Still, the deal makes the Royals a team to keep an eye on coming out of the break, as a win streak could push them further away from selling. The Royals open the second half with three games in Miami, followed by three in Chicago against the Cubs. Theyll then host the Guardians and Braves in their final two series prior to the July 31 deadline. 2. Bubble teams nearing decision time: While the Royals may have tipped their hand about their deadline plans to some extent, theyre far from the only team on the bubble between buying and selling. Fresh rumors about the deadline strategy surfaced yesterday, and it wouldnt be a shock if teams like the Braves, Twins, Rangers, and Reds joined them in sending some additional signals about their trade deadline strategies coming out of the All-Star break. Depending on how many teams decide to sell this summer, perhaps theres even room for an opportunistic club more clearly on the buy-side of things like the Red Sox or Rays to part ways with a piece like or ( of have been in the rumor mill) in the right deal. 3. Transactions kicking up ahead of return to play: Yesterday saw a handful of transactions around the league as teams start to begin preparations for the second half. The Rangers placed on the injured list to maximize their ability to backdate the IL stint, and its po sible that any players around the league nursing potential injuries who played on Sunday could similarly be placed on the shelf today if their club believes a minimum stint is on the table. Aside from that, there was some movement surrounding the waiver wire as was by the Orioles while was . Multiple players triggered opt-out provisions in their minor league contracts as well. Additional minor transactions like those could begin to take place today as teams prepare for their impending return to the field tomorrow, to say nothing of the po sibility of another trade or two breaking today. Seth Jones Jersey