Wade Davis

MLB's August 1 non-waiver trade deadline is quickly approaching, and the rumor mill is churning. 

Trade season is officially upon us, and with less than a week to go until baseball's August 1 non-waiver trade deadline arrives, things are sure to pick up.

We've already seen one big trade go down this week, with the Chicago Cubs acquiring closer Aroldis Chapman from the New York Yankees for a package that included the team's top prospect, shortstop Gleyber Torres.

Two key pieces of the World Series champions won't be going anywhere in 2016. The Kansas City Royals announced on Thursday that they picked up the options for Wade Davis and Alcides Escobar next season.

To examine the data, skim over the analytics and listen to the brains that have firmly entrenched themselves in every single major league front office, clutch does not exist.

It is not tangible. It is not readily quantifiable. Players do not perform better, over time, in certain situations. Other players do not fold, over time, in the same ones.

"Clutch" does not exist.

The veneer of invincibility that struck fear and intimidation into so many opponents has faded, and it has been replaced by a sense, real or perceived, of vulnerability.

Sometimes that's all it takes to lose the advantage.

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Wade Davis recently set a franchise record by recording 25 consecutive scoreless appearances, per MLB Stat of the Day.

Following a pair of scoreless innings against the Cleveland Indians over the weekend, his Royals record now stands at 27 straight appearances, covering 26.2 innings. Davis has pitched exactly one inning in all but one of those games, having thrown two-thirds of a frame July 31 against the Minnesota Twins.

Most teams are paying their big-name starting pitchers a fortune to provide 200 innings this season. But for a few of those pitchers, their performance is crippling teams that hope to contend, and that brings their job security into question.

Some of these pitchers have long track records that afford them a longer leash. They may not lose their jobs based on a bad first month, but if the struggles continue into June, teams may begin looking for alternatives.

The Kansas City Royals finally got their ace, acquiring right-handed pitchers James Shields and Wade Davis in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays for prospects Wil Myers, Mike Montgomery, Jake

Earlier this week, Joe Maddon named his starting five for the Tampa Bay Rays pitching staff and Wade Davis found himself to be No. 3 on that list, in front of Jeff Niemann and Jeremy Hellickson.

Before the 2008 season, Baseball America named Wade Davis the 17th-best prospect in all of baseball.

Then in 2009, Davis resurfaced on the list as No. 32, and in 2010 he reappeared as No. 34.