MLBTR Chat Transcript: Latest Swaps, Market Impact, Brewers, Giants, More

Latest On Chris Archer

By Jeff Todd | July 20, 2018 at 12:17am CDT

Rays starter Chris Archer has been one of the most consistently discussed potential trade chips in baseball for several years, yet he has stayed in Tampa Bay even as many rotation mates have been traded away. Now, though, it could finally be time for a deal to go down, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes.

Archer, who turns 30 later this season, expressed a desire to “experience winning” in comments to Topkin. Though Archer chose his words carefully and hardly issued anything approaching a trade demand, the right-hander perhaps at least hinted that it might be best for the sides to part ways — depending, at least, upon the Tampa Bay organization’s intentions. As he put it:

“If I’m going to be here. I want the process of not going to the playoffs to be expedited. … I’ve seen the transition. I’m not saying I’m not happy, but I know that we are still transitioning. And the faster we can speed that up and get back to the 2008 through ’13, ’14 days, the better.”

Ratcheting up the contention timeline hardly appears to be the present priority for a Rays front office that has been hard at work moving large contracts and adding future-oriented assets. While the team’s solid play has been quite a pleasant surprise, the postseason seems out of reach in a monumentally stratified American League.

It came as no great surprise, then, when the Rays shipped out Alex Colome and Denard Span earlier in the season. And the club’s focus at the trade deadline figures to be on finding homes for a few pending free agents while also weighing bigger potential swaps. With the Rays having perhaps already placed emergent starter Blake Snell out of reach, the attention seems likely to end up on Archer.

To be sure, Archer has not been at his best this year — or, in truth, for the past two seasons either. Despite still-strong K/BB numbers, continued mid-nineties velocity, and a steady ~12-13% swinging-strike rate, Archer has allowed more than four earned per nine since the start of 2016. And this year, he’s allowing hard contact at a career-worst 41.5% rate.

Along with the less-than-exciting results, the cheapest years of Archer’s early-career extension are now in the past. But he certainly still remains a respected arm who comes with an appealing price tag. The deal promises him $7.5MM next year and includes $9MM and $11MM options that come with $2MM in cumulative buyouts.

With the end of the deal now in sight, and Archer no longer nearly the incredible value as he once was, the stars could be lining up for a move. It doesn’t hurt that, given the shabby state of the market for rental starters, teams in search of higher-end arms will be forced to go after pitchers whose present clubs are not compelled to make a move. That could drive prices up, though at some point there’ll presumably also be enough demand to interest one or more selling organization. Archer is one of several starters in the same general boat, as we covered in our recent ranking of the 75 top deadline trade candidates.

As Topkin notes, at the end of the day the Rays will need to see enough of a return to make it worth their while to part with a player who still holds plenty of upside. Particularly given that Archer only just returned from the DL, his next few outings my help determine whether another organization puts a compelling offer on the table.

Cubs Acquire Jesse Chavez

By Jeff Todd | July 19, 2018 at 9:43pm CDT

The Cubs have acquired right-hander Jesse Chavez from the Ranges, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported (via Twitter). Lefty Tyler Thomas is heading to the Rangers in return.

Chavez, 34, is owed $1.5MM on the season under his one-year deal. (That includes an additional $500K over the base $1MM guarantee that was tacked on when he made the active roster to open the season.) While he has flown under the radar on a Rangers club that’s mired in last place, Chavez earned a reasonably lofty placement (#38) on MLBTR’s recent ranking of the 75 top summer trade candidates.

Much of the appeal in Chavez lies in his ability to function as a swingman. He has alternated between relief and rotation work over the past several seasons, generally providing useful innings in either capacity. While he’ll surely be asked to join the relief corps in Chicago, Chavez will also help pad the club’s rotation depth.

On the heels of a tough 2017 campaign in which he worked mostly as a starter, Chavez has settled into a role as a multi-inning reliever in Texas. He carries a 3.51 ERA through 56 1/3 innings over thirty appearances, with 8.0 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9.

Notably, Chavez’s velocity has trended up by over a full tick (to 93.1 mph with his average fastball) after fading somewhat last year. He’s also generating an 11.0% swinging-strike rate that’s near his personal best. Chavez has, however, allowed a few too many home runs for three years running.

For their minimal investment in Chavez, the Rangers seem to have done reasonably well to pick up Thomas. The 22-year-old was a 2017 seventh-round pick out of Fresno State. He has thrown well this year at the Class A level, turning in 75 innings of 2.88 ERA ball with 9.7 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Yankees Activate Gary Sanchez

By Jeff Todd | July 19, 2018 at 9:32pm CDT

The Yankees have activated catcher Gary Sanchez heading out of the All-Star break, per a club announcement. Backstop Kyle Higashioka was optioned to clear a roster spot.

Sanchez ended up missing just under a month with a groin strain. Higashioka produced good power numbers (.500 SLG) while joining with Austin Romine to fill in for Sanchez, but managed only a .242 OBP. Clearly, the Yanks will be pleased to welcome back one of their most talented players.

In addition to getting up to full speed after the injury, Sanchez will be looking to get his offensive numbers back to where they were in prior seasons. He’s slashing just .190/.291/.433 on the year, well off his 2016-17 output, with 14 home runs in his 265 plate appearances.

Of course, that’s still within range of league-average overall production despite the fact that Sanchez owns only a .194 batting average on balls in play. Notably, he is credited by Statcast with a .369 xwOBA that dwarfs his .311 wOBA. Clearly, it’s reasonable to expect some positive regression in the second half.

Shelby Miller Cleared Of UCL Damage

By Jeff Todd | July 19, 2018 at 8:07pm CDT

Diamondbacks righty Shelby Miller has been cleared of any new damage to his surgically replaced ulnar collateral ligament, Jack Magruder of The Sports Xchange reports on Twitter. That’s the news the club was hoping for when it sent Miller’s MRI results to surgeon Neal ElAttrache.

Miller, 27, has only made four starts since working back from Tommy John surgery. The alarm bells went off recently when he was forced out of his most recent outing with elbow tightness, though it emerged thereafter that there was cause for optimism.

It’s anyone’s guess how much time Miller will miss, but Magruder notes that the veteran right-hander will remain on ice for at least another seven days. At this point, he has only been down for a week, but his ultimate rehab timeline will surely depend upon how his elbow responds to the rest and how quickly he’s able to resume throwing.

While Miller was tagged for 19 earned runs in his first 15 innings on the year, he also ran up 19 strikeouts and was pumping mid-nineties heaters. Despite the struggles, then, the organization would surely like for him to be working out the kinks in major-league games. After all, the D-Backs will need to maximize all their resources for the stretch run in a tough NL West.

It seems Miller will be replaced by Clay Buchholz, reversing the DL/rotation swap those two hurlers made in late June. While the Snakes would surely prefer to have both at full health, the tag-team approach is at least keeping the rotation filled out so far.

Shohei Ohtani Cleared To Begin Throwing Progression

By Jeff Todd | July 19, 2018 at 5:44pm CDT

Angels starter/DH Shohei Ohtani has been cleared medically to resume throwing, per a club announcement. The news came on the heels of his examination after six weeks of rest following stem cell and platelet-rich plasma treatment.

Ohtani, who took MLB by storm in his first season after coming over from Japan, hit the shelf in early June after being diagnosed with a grade 2 sprain of his ulnar collateral ligament. The two-way star has since returned to the active roster to continue working as a hitter, but has not yet begun moving back toward the mound.

It obviously seems to be promising news that Ohtani will be able to attempt to return to the hill as soon as the present season. The announcement states that Ohtani’s UCL “continues to show improved healing.” He’ll doubtlessly be watched closely as he ramps back up and will certainly need some time to get back to full speed. It’ll also be interesting to see how the Halos balance the need to get Ohtani rehab outings with the fact that he’s already an active part of the MLB roster.

Of course, skeptics will note that this club has pursued this route before, with at most a mixed record. While Garrett Richards was able to stave off Tommy John surgery for a while after electing not to undergo the procedure in May of 2016, he experienced some intervening setbacks and only made it back for 22 total starts before ultimately requiring a UCL replacement. Teammate Andrew Heaney initially charted a similar course at nearly the exact same time, but ultimately did not return to competitive action before needing a TJ procedure. Interestingly, though, to this point Heaney has 22 MLB outings of his own since both he and Richards faced the same choice.

It’s worth noting that Ohtani has been cleared to begin ramping up after just six weeks of rest. That’s the same hope that was expressed at the time that Richards underwent his initial treatment, but he ultimately did not begin his own throwing program until mid-August of 2016 — about three months later. Whether that suggests greater cause for optimism in Ohtani’s case isn’t really clear.

Of course, even if Ohtani is able to make it back later this year, it’s far from clear that he’ll have any impact on the team’s 2018 prospects for reaching the postseason. Since he left the rotation, the club has plummeted in the standings and now sits nine games out of a Wild Card spot.

That’s not to say that there isn’t anything to be gained by avoiding the surgery. At this stage of the year, TJ would likely prevent Ohtani from pitching for most or all of the 2019 season. That essential outlook would remain the same if, say, Ohtani ends up undergoing a procedure this fall. The Richards example shows that there are risks in the rehab approach, too, but it’s also far from guaranteed that a pitcher who undertakes such a serious surgery will end up back at full strength.

Fortunately, Ohtani has impressed nearly as much with his bat as with his arm, though it’s the combination of the two areas that makes him utterly unique at the game’s highest level. Through 157 plate appearances, he carries a .283/.365/.522 slash line with seven home runs. In nine starts, he posted a 3.10 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9. The Angels are clearly much better, and the overall game of baseball much richer, with Ohtani functioning in both a hitting and a pitching capacity

Cubs Place Brandon Morrow On 10-Day DL

By Jeff Todd | July 19, 2018 at 3:44pm CDT

The Cubs have placed closer Brandon Morrow on the 10-day disabled list with inflammation in his right biceps. The placement has been backdated to July 16th.

There’s no indication at present that a lengthy absence is anticipated. Indeed, skipper Joe Maddon suggests the opposite is true, as ESPNChicago.com’s Jesse Rogers tweets. Morrow hit the DL earlier this year owing to lower back tightness, but that was only a brief stint.

That said, the organization surely isn’t thrilled to see a key reliever dealing with any problems in that particular part of the body, particularly a hurler with the history of Morrow. Soon to turn 34, he has excelled in his second act as a reliever after injuries and inconsistency ended his time as a starter.

To this point, Morrow has delivered excellent value on the two-year, $21MM deal he signed with the Chicago organization over the winter. He owns a 1.47 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 over 30 2/3 frames, with 22 saves already in the bag. Though the Cubs have been careful not to push Morrow too hard — he has recorded more than three outs in only one appearance and just once has been asked to take the ball on three straight days — he’s giving them everything the club hoped when it did the deal.

For the time being, Anthony Bass will take the open roster spot but obviously won’t step into Morrow’s role. The Cubs can choose between pitchers including Steve Cishek, Pedro Strop, and Carl Edwards Jr. to take the ball in the ninth inning. Unless further examination reveals added cause for concern, it seems unlikely that the injury will alter the team’s deadline plans.

Twins Acquire Jeremy Hazelbaker From Rays

By Steve Adams | July 19, 2018 at 3:05pm CDT

The Twins have acquired outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker from the Rays organization in exchange for cash, the Twins’ top affiliate in Rochester announced today. Hazelbaker, who is not on the 40-man roster, has been assigned to Triple-A Rochester.

Hazelbaker, 30, opened the season in the D-backs organization but was quickly traded to the Rays in early April. He hasn’t had a very good season to date, hitting just .210/.293/.397 in 239 plate appearances with the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate in Durham. That said, he’s been swinging the bat better since June 1 and has a solid overall track record in parts of seven Triple-A campaigns, where he’s a lifetime .265/.328/.442 hitter in 1341 PAs.

Minnesota has a good bit of outfield depth on the roster already, and it seems unlikely that Hazelbaker would be called upon to return to the big league level at any point in the near future. To his credit, Hazelbaker does have a solid big league track record, however, despite his poor showing in Triple-A this year. In a small sample of 285 MLB plate appearances, he’s a .258/.327/.500 hitter with 14 homers.

A’s Release Santiago Casilla

By Steve Adams | July 19, 2018 at 2:52pm CDT

The A’s announced Thursday that they’ve released veteran right-handed reliever Santiago Casilla, whom they’d recently designated for assignment.

The 37-year-old Casilla had a solid surface-level ERA, pitching to a 3.16 mark through 31 1/3 innings of relief. However, he’s issued 20 walks, hit four batters and thrown four wild pitches in that time while striking out just 22 hitters. The righty’s 92.9 mph average fastball velocity was the lowest mark of his career, and his nine percent swinging-strike rate is his lowest full-season mark as well.

Casilla is earning $6MM in 2018 — the second season of a two-year, $11MM free-agent deal he signed with the A’s in the 2016-17 offseason. He’s still owed about $2.35MM of that sum through season’s end. As a free agent, he’ll be able to sign with any club, and a new team would only owe him the pro-rated portion of the league minimum through season’s end. The Oakland organization will remain on the hook for the rest of that salary.

While the 2018 season hasn’t been a good one for Casilla, he pitched to a 2.66 ERA with much better marks of 8.4 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 in 435 2/3 innings between San Francisco and Oakland from 2010-17.

Braves Designate Danny Santana For Assignment

By Steve Adams | July 19, 2018 at 2:31pm CDT

The Braves announced Thursday that they’ve recalled outfielder Michael Reed from Triple-A Gwinnett and designated fellow outfielder Danny Santana for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster.

Santana, 27, has spent parts of the past two seasons on the Braves’ big league roster, but he hasn’t produced at the plate, hitting just .199/.251/.345 in 184 plate appearances after coming over from the Twins in a minor trade.

More broadly, Santana’s bat has been in a veritable freefall since a terrific rookie campaign with the Twins back in 2014. The switch-hitter posted a .319/.353/.472 slash in 430 PAs that season and even garnered some Rookie of the Year consideration, finishing seventh in the AL voting. However, that rookie effort was buoyed by an enormous .405 average on balls in play — including a particularly fluky .343 average on grounders. As Santana’s BABIP has trended back to more normal levels, his overall offensive output has cratered. In 735 PAs since that time, he’s batted just .219/.256/.319.