With the trade deadline looming, the Chicago Cubs have extended president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer amid one of the team's best seasons.

The MLB Trade Deadline is Thursday at 6 pm Eastern time. We’ve already seen a few trades over the weekend, and rumors are now beginning to swirl with more ferocity. However, while everybody is focusing on the big-name players who could change teams, like Eugenio Suarez or Joe Ryan, there’s value in focusing on the “little guy.”

The executives running each team have wildly different ways of doing business — and this time of year, that governs which deals get done.

Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase — a rumored MLB trade deadline target — has been placed on paid leave in connection with a sports-gambling investigation, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Monday. Clase is reportedly on leave through Aug. 31, per The Athletic's Zack Meisel.

It’s crunch time for all involved with the Trade Deadline, and among that group is the intrepid Mark Feinsand, who is tracking all of the rumors, speculation and deals as the 6 p.m. ET Deadline on Thursday inches closer.

Eugenio Suarez still believes in the Diamondbacks and maintains that he would like to remain with them through the MLB trade deadline, Suarez said on Monday, July 28, prior to the Diamondbacks' series opener against the Tigers at Comerica Park.

Major League Baseball's trade deadline is scheduled for next Thursday, which means teams have less than a week to get their midsummer shopping done. The moves have already started, as the Mariners recently acquired Josh Naylor from the Diamondbacks while the Yankees acquired Ryan McMahon in a trade with the Rockies.