The ICC have released the playing conditions for the inaugural World Test Championship, which begins on August 1 with the first Ashes Test between England and Australia at Edgbaston. Here's what's new.

Separating teams level on points

If at the end of the group stage, two or more teams are level on points, the team with more series wins will take the higher spot on the table. If they are level on that front, runs-per-wicket ratio - defined as runs scored per wicket lost, divided by runs conceded per wicket taken - will be factored in.

Abandoned matches

An abandoned match will be treated as a draw. But if the match is abandoned because of an unfit pitch or outfield, the home team will be penalised, and points for a win will be awarded to the visiting side.

ALSO READ: All you need to know about the 2019-21 World Test Championship

Over-rate calculations

Over rates will be calculated the same way in which it is currently used, with an expectation of 15 overs per hour. However, the playing conditions have introduced some new exclusions for when a team bowls out a side quickly or does not bowl more than 60 overs in the match.

• When a side is bowled out in 60 overs or less, and the bowling team has not exceeded the over-rate limit, that innings will not be included in the bowling team's match over-rate calculation.

• When a side bowls out the opposition twice, and in doing so does not complete more than 120 overs in total, that team will be exempt from any over-rate penalties.

• When a team doesn't bowl more than 60 overs in a match, that team will be exempt from any over-rate penalties.

Over-rate penalties

As previously announced, captains will no longer bear a bigger brunt for slow over-rates than the rest of the members of his team, and there will be no danger of suspension for being behind the required rate. Instead, all players will face equal fines, and teams will lose WTC points if they are found to be behind the rate.

• For each over a team is found to be short, a Penalty Over will be incurred

• For each Penalty Over, there will be two WTC points deducted from the team's total

• All players will be fined the same as the captain for over-rate offences - 20% of their match fee per Penalty Over, up to a maximum of 100%

• There will be no escalation in penalties for repeat offences

Concussion substitutes

As revealed earlier this month, teams will be able to replace players who suffer concussions on the field of play with a like-for-like replacement. For this to happen, the following conditions must be met.

• The player must be diagnosed with a concussion suffered on the field of play by a team medical representative

• A request for a substitute is put in within 36 hours of the incident

• Teams must name a like-for-like replacement, to be approved by the ICC match referee

• Once replaced, the concussed player may take no further part in the game

Like-for-like replacements will be at the discretion of the match referee, to ensure a team doesn't change the balance of their team through a substitution. For example, a fast bowler should replace a fast bowler, except when the team only has a batting innings remaining, where a spin bowler of similar batting ability would be considered a like-for-like replacement. The match referee may place restrictions on the role a substitute can play. For example, if an allrounder replaces a batsman in the side, the replacement will not be allowed to bowl.

Decision Review System

DRS will be mandatory for all matches.

The final

The World Test Championship final will be played from June 10-14 2021, with a reserve day available. If the final is tied or drawn, the title will be shared.

The full World Test Championship Final Playing Conditions will be announced in early 2021.

Lord's may have to give up one of two bilateral Test matches it is scheduled to host in 2021 if the ICC is to get its wish for a showpiece World Test Championship (WTC) final at an iconic venue after the fashion of the Centenary Tests of 1977 and 1980.

Those matches, between England and Australia at the MCG and Lord's, were part of the inspiration for the concept of a Test Championship, culminating in a gala one-off match to determine the best team in the world over the preceding two years. Lord's, widely known as 'the home of cricket', might be viewed as an obvious venue for the final and is understood to be the preferred location by some at the ICC.

But Lord's is already scheduled to host two Tests in the English summer of 2021. While only one of them, a match between England and India, is currently confirmed, it is anticipated the ground will also host Afghanistan's first Test against England earlier in the season.

Were Lord's to be allocated the Test Championship final, one of those matches - probably the Afghanistan Test; it is hard to envisage any ground giving up the right to host an India Test - would almost certainly need to go elsewhere. Edgbaston, who are not scheduled to host a Test in 2021, would be one obvious candidate should such a game become available, though The Oval, the oldest Test ground in England, and Old Trafford, would be among those keen to host the WTC final.

Both the ICC and member nations are hopeful that the WTC will inject far broader interest into Test cricket beyond its strongholds in England and Australia, where the prestigious nature of the fight for the Ashes has long defined the long-from game in both countries.

Other nations, particularly the likes of South Africa, New Zealand and the West Indies, have struggled to maintain interest in Test cricket in part because they lack the chance to lift a trophy in a single defining moment as world champions - something afforded to teams in both the ODI and Twenty20 formats.

England has been chosen as the venue for the final in part because of the popularity for Test cricket in the country and the hope that the grounds would be full even if England are not playing.

Should the Australian touring team want a few pointers on how to deal with a febrile Edgbaston crowd over the next five days, they would do well to ponder the experiences of Mark Taylor.

22 years ago he was right at the centre of the storm leading Australia into a Test match that has gone down in history as the loudest and most raucous Test match ever played in England. Taylor entered the match in the grips of what might easily have been a career-ending slump, 11 Tests and 19 innings without passing 50, and ended it on the losing side.

But along the way he found a way to carve out a century that broke the sequence, and helped to take the heat out of an issue that was threatening to engulf the team. 1-0 down but having righted the ship, Taylor's men went on to claim the series, 3-2. Asked to recall how he dealt with an Edgbaston crowd that was in tumult in day one, when the Australians were shot out for 118 having been 50 for 8, Taylor had recollections that may well be relevant to Steven Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft in particular.

"In 1997 when I went out to bat in that second innings, I made a conscious effort to look at the crowd," Taylor told ESPNcricinfo. "When I looked around as I walked out, I didn't see people booing me and wanting to continue my slump. I saw people, yes, wanting England to win, but also saw people wanting good cricket. Maybe that's looking through rose-coloured glasses, but I remember when I made my hundred in that game that I took my helmet off and I looked around and I could see people were genuinely thrilled for me.

"They're the same crowd that's going to be there on Thursday. Yes, sure they're going to bring in bits of sandpaper and they're going to talk about what happened in South Africa and what have you. And they're going to hope that England are going to win the first Test. But at the same time they're also going to want to see some good cricket, that's the way I've always looked at crowds, and therefore they haven't really worried me that much over the years - that's how I would be approaching it."

Taylor is in England to commentate on the series for Nine, and was reminded of 1997 via the unusual sleeping hours familiar to many an Australian just arrived in the UK. "I woke up at 5am because I was a bit jetlagged and they were going through Edgbaston Test matches. It got to 1997 and I watched it," he said. "The crowd, I didn't realise they were that loud, I don't remember them being that loud.

"And when they won on the final day, Alec Stewart hit Warney to the extra cover boundary, the crowd stormed onto the field, they were nuts. I didn't remember that, I just remembered thinking we had to improve. If your head's in the crowd, it means you're not worrying about your own game. I think Smithy, Warner and Cam Bancroft, they shouldn't be thinking about the crowd, they should be thinking about how they play their best cricket, and if they do that, they'll keep that crowd quiet."

As captain of Australia, Smith had listed Taylor as one of his mentors, and the pair have maintained contact over the past year, vexed as it was by the decision of the Cricket Australia Board - of which Taylor was then a member - to ban Smith and Warner for a year, and Bancroft for nine months. The intense and introspective visage of Smith has been noticeable to many since he arrived in England, and Taylor believes that the 30-year-old needs the validation of a Test century to feel more at ease with the world.

"I think with Smithy, what he needs, and is still yearning for, is a big score," Taylor said. "We saw in the World Cup semi-final that he's still a class player - he looked a class above the rest in that innings. I think when he makes a big score, hopefully in this series, that'll be him fully back in the Australian side. There's probably a part of him that would still like to captain the side again, and maybe he will, but I think he also loves the game and playing the game so he's happy enough at this stage to be back.

"He'd love to be making runs like he was 18 months ago. When he makes a big score and raises the bat for a Test match hundred, that'll be a great sign for Australian cricket that he is back. I think David Warner has already got himself back with the World Cup, so Smithy now needs that big score to tick the last box.

"Talking to Steve Waugh, one of the things he noticed from this team and someone like Smithy is how many balls he hits, and that's one of the biggest differences he's seen with the training. In our day we had net sessions and liked to hit balls, but nowhere near the volume of balls that someone like Steve Smith does. He's in a different stratosphere in terms of ball hitting. He had a 45-minute net today, that's a huge net, that'd be three nets from yesteryear - you used to get about 15 minutes."

As an opening batsman, the 1997 century gave Taylor three out of three in the first Tests of the series he played in England, also including 1989 and 1993. Those innings and their circumstances have left him thinking that Warner and Bancroft may well be hoping to be sent in to bat on Thursday, for a chance to capitalise on nervous bowlers while also feeling like the pressure is off them.

"Making that hundred on day one at Headingley was huge for me and the team at the time. AB went after the bowling, which helped, and I got a lot of confidence from the fact that they sent us in," Taylor said. "I used to love being sent in as an opening batsman, because I always felt that took the pressure off me as a batsman, the opposition captain thinks it is going to do plenty, so they put you in. Straightaway the onus is on the bowling team to bowl you out, not necessarily you to make runs, even though that is your job.

"I batted out there with Boony and Swamp for a while and it didn't do a lot. It swung a little bit, then AB came in and took them on and before you knew it we were 2 for 120 and I thought 'hey this is going alright'. In 1993, there'd been a lot of rain around and they put us in again, and then Slats and I both made runs to be 0 for 100. Slats made 50 in his first Test, I made 100, and once again, bowling first can be a huge disadvantage if you don't get it right."

More than two decades since the 1997 century, Taylor still carries the air that helped him so much as captain of Australia: jovial, confident but not arrogant, and conscious that life could be so much worse than not making enough runs. "I've always tried to look at cricket as a game," he said.

"Whether Australia wins or loses the Ashes is not going to change the world" Mark Waugh

"I remember Rick McCosker said that to me at Newcastle Sports Ground in about my second season: 'just remember it's a game'. That's what it is. It can be all-consuming sometimes and I've even felt that in the last couple of years on the board. But you've got to remember you're talking about a game of cricket. People are supposed to be enjoying this, players are supposed to be enjoying it, fans are supposed to be enjoying it, and it's nothing more than that.

"Whether Australia wins or loses the Ashes is not going to change the world. So when I walked away from games of cricket during my slump, I'd go home to my wife and, I wouldn't laugh about it, but there was no reason why I was making low scores. My eyes were OK, my fitness was OK, my wife wasn't leaving me, my kids weren't ill, there was nothing I could put my finger on that suggests I shouldn't be making runs. Eventually, fortunately at Edgbaston I did make runs."

Of course, by 1997, the Australians were filled with memories of beating England in the previous four series, a history that imbued them with confidence. Taylor reckons that for Tim Paine's 2019 team, the challenge is not dissimilar to that of 1989, when England were not exactly flying, but Australia faced uncertainty about their own quality and a barren recent history in England, having not won a series there since 1975.

"Looking at the 1990s when we won six Ashes in a row, things changed in 1989, with us coming over, considered an ordinary side, world's worst side, and we won," Taylor said. "England had rebel tours going on and all of a sudden they were in disarray. We belted them again in Australia, came back in 1993 and belted them again here. All of a sudden we were getting bigger and bigger and England were trying to regroup.

"By the end of the 1990s they were playing better, 1997 was a closer series. But we had this belief, even with me playing badly at the start, that we were going to beat them, even 1-0 down we had this belief, and England didn't have the belief they were going to beat us. It wasn't until 2005 when Michael Vaughan's team turned it around in a big way and beat a very good Australian side. I didn't think England would beat Australia until 2009, yet they won in '05.

"England have had belief since then that at least here in this country. There's a lot of talk about the pitches and the balls, a lot of those things to me are almost red herrings. It's who's going to play the better cricket and win those big sessions. But it's changing the belief in their head as much as anything. I think they've got the talent to win this series and win it well. But they've got to believe it. They won't be thinking about 2001 and not winning here since, but they will be thinking are we good enough to beat this England team. I think they are."

Mark Taylor will be commentating on the Ashes for the Nine network

New York Yankees first baseman Luke Voit is headed back to the injured list with a sports hernia and could be sidelined well into September if he needs surgery, manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday.

Boone said the Yankees will evaluate Voit over the next few days. Options include treating the injury on a day-to-day basis or having surgery, which would keep him out of the lineup for six weeks.

"Over the next 24 hours, we'll determine a course of action," Boone said. "Hopefully it's a shorter-term situation with Luke, but worst-case, we'll hopefully have him back before the end of the season, and we have all the people capable of withstanding that."

Voit left Tuesday's 4-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fifth inning and had an MRI following the game.

One of Voit's swings during an at-bat in the bottom of the third that ended in a strikeout raised a few eyebrows in the Yankees' dugout, as they thought something looked a little off. Voit later told Boone and the training staff that he had been having trouble getting loose all day.

Voit is batting .278 with 19 homers and 54 RBIs in 94 games.

This is the second time this season that he's dealt with an injury around his torso. On July 2, he landed on the 10-day IL due to an abdominal strain.

Boone couldn't definitively say whether the two core-muscle injuries were related, but they certainly appear to be.

"That's possible that there's some correlation there," Boone said. "This is something that frankly goes back before that [July 2 injury]. Something that's been in there for a while. The sports hernia that has declared itself now, is the best way I can kind of put it."

Also, All-Star infielder DJ LeMahieu will miss his fourth straight game Wednesday because of a groin injury. He is tied with Boston's Rafael Devers for the AL lead in batting average at .332.

Boone said LeMahieu is likely to return for Friday's series opener against the Red Sox.

Starting pitcher CC Sabathia, who went on the injured list Sunday, received a cortisone injection in his often-balky right knee Tuesday, Boone said.

In other moves, the Yankees placed right-hander David Hale on the injured list with a lumbar spine strain and recalled right-hander Jonathan Holder and infielder Breyvic Valera from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Valera is an option to help replace Voit, and he also could provide relief for LeMahieu at any of his infield positions if needed. Once back in the lineup, LeMahieu can play first base in place of Voit, as can Edwin Encarnacion, who started there Wednesday.

Third baseman Gio Urshela also is an option at first base as Voit rehabs. Greg Bird, however, is not, as he remains in an early rehab phase of a plantar fascia tear at the team's complex in Tampa, Florida.

ESPN's Coley Harvey contributed to this report.

Pro Football Hall of Fame middle linebacker Nick Buoniconti, an undersized overachiever who helped lead the Miami Dolphins to the NFL's only perfect season, has died at the age of 78.

"Today, with a heavy heart and profound sorrow, my family and the entire Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and Buoniconti Fund community mourn the loss of a man who was truly larger than life, my father, NFL Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti," Marc Buoniconti said in a statement. "My dad has been my hero and represents what I have always aspired to be: a leader, a mentor and a champion.

Family spokesman Bruce Bobbins said Nick Buoniconti died Tuesday in Bridgehampton, New York. A cause of death wasn't immediately known.

A native of Springfield, Massachusetts, Buoniconti played guard on offense and linebacker on defense for Notre Dame. But at 5-foot-11 and 220 pounds, he was small for an NFL linebacker.

Buoniconti was taken in the 13th round by the Boston Patriots of the upstart AFL and played for them from 1962 to 1968. He made the AFL All-Star Game six times and had 24 career interceptions for the Patriots, including three in a single game in 1968.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Nick Buoniconti. pic.twitter.com/kcgtLRWzo7

— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) July 31, 2019

We are saddened to learn of the passing of Nick Buoniconti. pic.twitter.com/xif4HjsDXr

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) July 31, 2019

Buoniconti played for the Miami Dolphins from 1969 to 1974 and in 1976. He was the leader of Miami's famed "No-Name Defense,'' and in 1973 he set a team record with 162 tackles.

He was an eight-time Pro Bowler and won Super Bowl titles with the Dolphins in 1972, for a team that finished 17-0, and 1973. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001.

He said in November 2017 that he would donate his brain for CTE research. He revealed in May of that year that he was suffering from memory loss and could not use his left hand, among other ailments.

After his son Marc was paralyzed at age 19 while playing football, Buoniconti was a driving force behind the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, raising hundreds of millions of dollars for research. Nick and Marc were on a Wheaties box in 1997 as part of the Miami Project.

"He selflessly gave all to football, to his family and to those who are less fortunate," Marc Buoniconti said in his statement. "He made a promise to me that turned into a revolution in paralysis research. We can best honor his dedication and endless commitment by continuing with our work until that promise is fulfilled and a cure is found,"

Nick Buoniconti also had a successful post-football career in broadcasting and business.

Following retirement, Buoniconti worked as an attorney, as president of U.S. Tobacco and as an agent to such athletes as Bucky Dent and Andre Dawson.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

First baseman Jesus Aguilar has been traded from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Tampa Bay Rays, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan on Wednesday.

Right-hander Jake Faria is headed back to Milwaukee in the deal.

Aguilar, an All-Star in 2018, fills the Rays' search for a right-handed bat. He is hitting .225 with eight home runs and 34 RBIs this season. His batting average and OPS (.694) were both his worst in three seasons in Milwaukee, but his numbers were up to .298 and .920 in July.

The 29-year-old is arbitration eligible for three more seasons.

He had a career year last season with a .274 average, 35 homers and 108 RBIs.

Faria, 26, has thrown 10 innings this season and has a 2.70 ERA. He has appeared in 40 MLB games -- with 26 starts -- over three seasons and has a 4.18 ERA and 9-8 record.

The Brewers are currently 1.5 games out of first place in the NL Central and one game out of a wild-card spot. The Rays are 7.5 games out of first in the AL East and a half-game out of a wild-card spot.

Major League Baseball's trade deadline is at 4 p.m. ET.

CINCINNATI -- Major League Baseball is reviewing video of the latest fight between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds, with Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle expecting suspensions on both sides.

Reds manager David Bell, who had already been ejected earlier in the game, faces a significant suspension for running onto the field and going after Hurdle during the ninth inning of Pittsburgh's 11-4 win Tuesday night.

Hurdle spoke with chief baseball officer Joe Torre before Wednesday's game, which will conclude the raucous series. Hurdle said MLB was reviewing video of the numerous confrontations during the game. One of the confrontations turned into a fight in the ninth when Reds reliever Amir Garrett charged the Pittsburgh dugout.

Four from each team were ejected, including Yasiel Puig, who was traded Tuesday night to the Cleveland Indians.

"Yeah, I anticipate suspensions, and seeing some of the things that our guys were involved with, there definitely could be ramifications coming our way as well," Hurdle said.

On Wednesday, Hurdle pulled starting pitcher Dario Agrazal in the fourth inning after the right-hander hit the Reds' Tucker Barnhart and Jesse Winker with pitches. Umpires got together, but decided against ejecting Agrazal before Hurdle came out to make the change. Both Reds players went to first base without further incident.

The NL Central rivals have a history of run-ins that crept into this season when Derek Dietrich admired his home run at PNC Park in April, prompting a fracas. Puig was at the center of the fight, taking on the Pirates by himself at one point. Puig got a two-game suspension and Bell a one-game ban.

Tempers flared again Tuesday night in the eighth inning when Keone Kela threw up-and-in to Dietrich. Joey Votto yelled into the Pirates dugout between innings, taking exception to the pitch.

Bell was then ejected for arguing after a strike was called during Puig's at-bat in the eighth.

Jared Hughes hit Starling Marte with his first pitch in the ninth, bringing things to a boil. Garrett later traded words from the mound with Pittsburgh's Trevor Williams, who was in the dugout. Garrett ran to the dugout and started swinging as the benches emptied.

Bell emerged from the Reds dugout and ran across the field toward Hurdle, who was shoved to the ground. Pirates hitting coach Rick Eckstein got Bell in a headlock, and Bell screamed profanities at Hurdle as he left the field.

"There's a lot of adrenaline and even rage," Bell said Wednesday.

Bell contends the Pirates throw at batters purposely and has complained that Major League Baseball hasn't clamped down. Bell and Hurdle exchanged lineup cards with the umpires before Wednesday's game but didn't interact.

"I told him exactly how I felt about it last night," Bell said.

Hurdle pointed out pregame Wednesday that he was hit in the head three times as a player. He said he's never told one of his pitchers to throw at a hitter, contrary to Bell's opinion.

"He's going to think what he thinks; he's going to feel what he feels," Hurdle said. "I just shared with him, as he was telling me what I was [during the brawl]. I just said, 'You have no idea what you're talking about.'"

Bell, Puig, Garrett and bench coach Freddie Benavides were ejected from the Reds. Williams, Chris Archer, Kyle Crick and Francisco Cervelli -- who is on the injured list -- were ejected from the Pirates.

Garrett said Wednesday that he can't explain how he lost his cool and charged the Pirates dugout.

"I don't know what to say," Garrett said. "I got out of character. That's not my character. I don't pretend to be a tough guy."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Washington Nationals have acquired right-handed reliever Daniel Hudson from the Toronto Blue Jays, sources confirmed to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Toronto gets 23-year-old right-handed pitching prospect Kyle Johnston in return. He is 9-9 with a 4.03 ERA in 20 starts at the Class A level this season.

Hudson, 32, was seen leaving the Blue Jays bullpen and hugging teammates before heading to the clubhouse during Wednesday's game in Kansas City.

He is 6-3 this season with 2 saves, 48 strikeouts and a 3.00 ERA, which is his lowest mark since posting a 2.45 ERA across 95 1/3 innings in 2010.

We got off to a slow start to the trade deadline, and then Marcus Stroman was traded to the New York Mets, and then we had the three-team blockbuster Tuesday night that sent Trevor Bauer to the Cincinnati Reds, Yasiel Puig, Franmil Reyes and Logan Allen to the Cleveland Indians and Taylor Trammell to the San Diego Padres. That was fun. What will happen before the MLB trade deadline arrives on Wednesday? Those two trades were certainly unpredictable, so maybe that foretells a crazy few hours before the 4 p.m. ET deadline hits. Here are some final questions to consider:

What will the Mets do?

With their playoff odds hovering below 10%, the Mets put a monkey wrench into the final days before the deadline when they acquired Stroman, one of the best starters available and who was presumably headed to a contender in a stronger position than the Mets. Instead, the Mets got him without giving up a top-100 prospect -- a trade many considered a great deal for the Mets.

Stroman is signed through next season, so the trade was sold as a rotation addition for 2020, but the Mets have remained on the fringes of the wild-card race, with five straight wins. They traded Jason Vargas, who was very good the past two months, for a catcher hitting .195 in Double-A. Where does that leave the Mets for Wednesday? They have four options:

• A. Trade Noah Syndergaard

• B. Trade Zack Wheeler

• C. Trade Edwin Diaz

• D. Trade some combination of the above

• E. Do nothing

This being the Mets, they'll probably try Option F. The unknown part of the Syndergaard equation: If the Mets are going for it in 2020, isn't their best chance of winning to ride a front three of Jacob deGrom, Syndergaard and Stroman? The same sort of applies to Diaz, while Wheeler is a free agent after this season and likely will be traded.

If the Mets flip Syndergaard for a package that can help in 2020, such a deal could involve a trade partner such as the Padres, who have MLB-ready talent and a deep farm system (though a report from USA Today's Bob Nightengale on Tuesday night said those talks are dormant). The Padres made the big deal on Tuesday, but they didn't get the controllable veteran starter they've been seeking to add to their rotation.

On the other hand, you can see the Astros' analytics department salivating about working with Syndergaard like it has in raising Gerrit Cole's game. (Suggestion No. 1: Syndergaard has allowed a .750 OPS on his four-seamer and an .860 OPS on his sinker, but he has thrown his sinker more often.) The Astros might be a tough match, however, as Forrest Whitley, who entered the season as the top pitching prospect in the game, has suffered through a lost season (10.97 ERA), and outfielder Kyle Tucker is a corner guy when the Mets need a center fielder. The Braves would be a match with all their young pitching, but an intra-division trade -- or one with the Yankees -- would seem unlikely.

With Stroman and Bauer off the market, Syndergaard's value has probably gone up, and it didn't hurt that he pitched one of his best games of the season on Tuesday, allowing one unearned run with 11 strikeouts in 7⅓ innings against the White Sox. After the game, Syndergaard told reporters, "I think I'm staying put."

Prediction: Zack Wheeler to the Astros.

What does the Bauer trade do to the starting pitching market?

To get Bauer, the Reds gave up a top-30 prospect in Taylor Trammell, who is struggling at Double-A (.236/.350/.338) but has loud tools and defensive chops in center field. The Reds' playoff odds are at just 4.2%, so acquiring Bauer is more about aligning him with Luis Castillo and Sonny Gray for 2020 -- unless the Reds decide to flip him. At this point, don't rule anything out.

Leaving out Bauer, the starting-pitching market looks something like this: Madison Bumgarner, Mike Minor, Robbie Ray, Zack Greinke, the two Mets, Tanner Roark ... maybe Matthew Boyd or Caleb Smith.

Who is looking for a starter? The Yankees ... the Astros ... maybe the Braves and Twins. One factor to consider is that this winter's free-agent market is thin outside of Cole and Bumgarner. That makes a pitcher such as Ray or Minor attractive given that both are under team control for another season. The Astros and Yankees are the teams most tied to Ray, and it appears the Diamondbacks are going to be sellers.

Prediction: Robbie Ray to the Yankees.

Will Bumgarner or Greinke get traded?

Hey, anything is possible. The rumor mill with Bumgarner keeps going back and forth, but Jeff Passan reported Tuesday that Bumgarner "remains available." The Giants' playoffs odds are slim -- just 6.2%, via FanGraphs -- but they're red-hot, he's a franchise icon and it's Bruce Bochy's final season. That's a lot of emotion tied into any Bumgarner trade, and as Buster Olney tweeted, the players have earned the right to give the postseason a shot. Heck, maybe the Giants just ride it out and end up re-signing him in the winter.

Greinke is even more complicated. He's still really good at 35 years old -- 10-4, 2.87 ERA, 128-18 strikeout-to-walk ratio -- but he's signed for two more seasons at a hefty $35 million per year. He also has a no-trade clause to 15 teams, reportedly including the Yankees. Any Greinke deal would likely include the Diamondbacks eating part of his salary to get some prospects in return.

Prediction: Bumgarner and Greinke are not traded.

What about the relief market?

We saw two relievers traded on Tuesday: The Cubs picked up David Phelps from the Blue Jays, and then Chris Martin went to the Braves from the Rangers, with Texas acquiring onetime top prospect Kolby Allard. That's not a bad return for a 33-year-old journeyman having the best four months of his career. Allard's star has lost some luster, but he's still just 21, so this trade sets a pretty high bar for some of the other relievers out there. Trade candidates include Sam Dyson and Will Smith of the Giants, Ken Giles of the Blue Jays (except he just had a cortisone shot for inflammation in his elbow), Mychal Givens of the Orioles and others. The two biggest questions: Will the Padres trade Kirby Yates (arguably the best closer in baseball right now), and will the Pirates trade hard-throwing lefty Felipe Vazquez (signed through 2023)?

Pretty much everyone needs bullpen help, so expect a lot of movement on the reliever front. The Nationals have a glaring need in front of Sean Doolittle, the Red Sox need a closer, the Twins could use some depth and the Dodgers need some setup help. Even the Yankees might look to add bullpen depth if they don't get a starting pitcher.

Prediction: The Dodgers go big and pry Vazquez from the Pirates; Yates stays put.

Who could be a surprise player who gets traded?

Whit Merrifield is a player every team could use because of his versatility and production. He's signed to a team-friendly contract that makes him even more valuable -- except he's 30 years old, and the Royals might not be good for a few years. This is how we get to this:

• The Royals keep him, and everyone wonders why, since they're a bad team.

• They trade him, and everyone complains that they just traded away their best player on a good contract and bad teams don't care and baseball has a tanking problem.

Prediction: Merrifield stays in Kansas City.

Prior ruling which temporarily suspended IAAF eligibility regulations has been reversed

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) says it welcomes a Swiss Federal Tribunal decision to revoke an order which had allowed Caster Semenya to race “without restriction” while her appeal against the IAAF’s new regulations on female classification is pending.

On Tuesday, Semenya’s team had announced that the Olympic and world 800m champion would be prevented from defending her world title in Doha following the new ruling by a Swiss Federal Supreme Court judge.

Semenya had submitted an appeal after she lost her landmark case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the IAAF’s new rules, which relate to restricting testosterone levels in female runners in certain events.

The ‘IAAF Eligibility Regulations for Female Classification (Athletes with Differences of Sex Development (DSD))’ had originally been due to come into effect on November 1, 2018, but were suspended. Following the CAS ruling, the regulations started on May 8.

Under the new rules Semenya – and other female athletes with DSD – would need to reduce their natural testosterone level in order to take part in women’s events from 400m to the mile in international competition.

At the beginning of June it was announced that the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland had “ordered the IAAF to immediately suspend the implementation of the eligibility regulations against Caster Semenya”.

It is that ruling which has been reversed.

“The IAAF welcomes the Swiss Federal Tribunal’s decision today to revoke its Super-Provisional Order of 31 May 2019 after hearing the IAAF’s arguments,” reads a statement from the international governing body.

“This decision creates much needed parity and clarity for all athletes as they prepare for the World Championships in Doha this September.

“In the remainder of the proceedings before the SFT, the IAAF will maintain its position that there are some contexts, sport being one of them, where biology has to trump gender identity, which is why the IAAF believes (and the CAS agreed) that the DSD Regulations are a necessary, reasonable and proportionate means of protecting fair and meaningful competition in elite female athletics.”

The Swiss Federal Tribunal decision document can be found here.

“For the time being, the “Eligibility Regulations for the Female Classification (Athletes with Differences of Sex Development)” (DSD Regulations) are again applicable to Caster Semenya,” reads the document in part.

“The Swiss Federal Supreme Court revokes its Super-Provisional Order of 31 May 2019 after hearing the counterparty (IAAF) and dismisses Caster Semenya’s request for the provisional suspension of the DSD Regulations, respectively for suspensive effect for her appeal against the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

“The Federal Supreme Court also rejects the request of Athletics South Africa (ASA), which had requested the suspension of the DSD Regulations for all female athletes. The Swiss Federal Supreme Court has, however, not yet reached a final decision on the appeal itself.”

It adds, in part: “Caster Semenya appealed to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court against the CAS decision. She requested that the Court adopt (super)provisional measures and grant her appeal supensive effect, in the sense that the DSD Regulations would not be applied to her during the course of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court proceedings. ASA requested the provisional suspension of the DSD Regulations for all female athletes. By Super-Provisional Order of 31 May 2019, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court initially suspended the application of the DSD Regulations to Caster Semenya in order to provisionally maintain the existing status until the hearing of the IAAF. A request for reconsideration by IAAF in this matter was dismissed by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court on 12 June 2019.”

The document also states, in part: “… the Swiss Federal Supreme Court concludes, in a first summary examination, that Caster Semenya’s appeal does not appear with high probability to be well founded.”

In a statement released by her team on Tuesday, Semenya said: “I am very disappointed to be kept from defending my hard-earned title, but this will not deter me from continuing my fight for the human rights of all of the female athletes concerned.”