Rangers left-hander Neal Cotts will not be traded, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link). Cotts was recently claimed by an unknown club, giving the Rangers and this mystery team a 48.5-hour window to work out a trade. Since no deal was worked out and Texas isn’t letting the claiming team take Cotts for nothing, it would appear that the veteran reliever will spend the rest of the season in Arlington.
Cotts, 34, has a 3.48 ERA, 9.6 K/9 and 2.90 K/BB rate over 54 1/3 IP out of the Rangers’ bullpen this season. It marks his second straight quality season with Texas (he had a 1.11 ERA over 57 IP in 2013), and Cotts’ performance is all the more impressive considering that he didn’t pitch at all in the majors from 2010-12 due to injury. The southpaw will be a free agent this winter.
The Nationals were rumored to have interest in Cotts after the July 31st trade deadline had passed, though there’s no indication they were the team who claimed him. It’s pretty unlikely that Cotts even reached the Nats given that every other team in baseball would’ve had to pass on the lefty before NL-leading Washington could’ve claimed him.
“The southpaw will be a free agent this winter”. Then he’s gone one way or another. Jon Daniels doesn’t sign pending free agents – he lets them go on to star for other teams like leading the AL in HR’s (Go Nellie!)
The rangers extended him a QO. It’s Daniels fault Nelson said no to 14mill and chose to take 7mill elsewhere? Yeah not Daniels fault Nelson Nelson Cruz over estimated his value in the off season after his PED suspension. Even after this year doubt he gets 14 mill on the market long term. He’s looking at maybe 10-11.
Cruz had at least one other offer from the Rangers after turning down the QO. He just had an inflated estimate of what he was worth. And given the Rangers unprecedented injuries, I don’t think he would have made that much difference anyway.
Ok, so Nelson Cruz is a star?? Have you seen his splits?? The dude has been a Mendoza Line guy for almost 3 entire months!! He put his bat down at the end of May and hasn’t found it since. 4 Rangers have a higher August OPS than Cruz, and of course one is Beltre. The other 3? Dan Robertson, Robinson Chirinos, and Adam Rosales.
Sure Cruz is leading the majors in HRs, currently, however, he has as many HRs in the last 3 months combined as he had in the month of May.
Sounds like many hard headed GM’s out there who want too much for players who get claimed on waivers.