Quick Hits: Harper, DBacks, Phillies, Gregorius
Here’s the latest from around the league as the evening winds down:
- Bryce Harper may be likely to enter free agency after the 2018 season, but Yankees fans shouldn’t start counting their chickens just yet. Bill Shaiken of the LA Times believes the Dodgers have a better chance to sign Harper. The Yankees roster is aging and none of their prospects are among Baseball America’s top 30. Meanwhile, the Dodgers may have a brighter future when Harper is a free agent. They have a young, talented active roster with Corey Seager and Julio Urias waiting in the minors. Harper could prove to be a valuable supplement to young assets like Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig, and Yasmani Grandal. Of course, this all assumes the Nationals can’t manage an extension or that they won’t trade him to another team that can.
- Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart “does not seem inclined” to trade for pitching at the trade deadline, tweets Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. The club has plenty of young depth both in the majors and the minors, but Stewart wants to continue developing internally. Arizona is currently fourth in the NL West and 7.5 games behind the first place Dodgers. They’re also five games back in the Wild Card hunt. In my opinion, there will be more pressure to improve the rotation and bullpen if the club is within a few games of the plays at the deadline.
- Don’t expect the Phillies to sit on their veteran assets at the trade deadline, writes Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News. Last July, the Phillies controversially opted to hold steady, but the club is now more thoroughly committed to rebuilding. Lawrence runs through possible destinations and hypothetical trade packages for the team’s remaining veterans. Interestingly, he believes the performance and complicated contracts of Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz will make them harder to trade than Ryan Howard.
- The Yankees trade to acquire Didi Gregorius doesn’t look so bad after the Tigers optioned starter Shane Greene to Triple-A, opines Brendan Kuty of NJ.com. Greene began the season with a 0.39 ERA in three starts, but he has since allowed just under a run per inning. Of course, Gregorius has hardly lit the world on fire with a .228/.287/.298 line and 0.4 UZR. While it’s much too early to declare a winner of this modest trade, perhaps we should be looking at the Diamondbacks. They acquired Robbie Ray in the swap. Through three starts, he has a 1.53 ERA with 6.62 K/9 and 2.55 BB/9. Just don’t forget how Greene looked through three starts!
NL Central Notes: Cubs, Soriano, Ramirez
The Cubs have shifted from developing players to playing for the win, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. The eye-opening moment came last week when manager Joe Maddon removed closer Hector Rondon from the ninth inning of a 5-4 game. Now the club is going with a closer-by-committee approach – a familiar tactic from Maddon’s days in Tampa Bay. Maddon himself confirms that he prefers to have a set closer – it makes his job easier. However, doing the best thing for the club is a positive wake up call for the entire roster.
Here’s more from the senior circuit’s central division:
- Maddon says that recently signed reliever Rafael Soriano may not reach the majors until around the All-Star break, tweets MLB.com’s Bruce Levine. Before he can shake off the rust in the minors, Soriano must obtain a visa. As we learned on Friday, the reliever can opt out of his deal if he’s not on the active roster by the All-Star Game. He’ll earn a pro-rated $4.1MM base salary with up to $4MM in incentives. Additional visa delays could have implications for his salary and opt-out clause.
- Brewers third baseman Aramis Ramirez does not have a no trade clause, but he’s not letting trade rumors affect him, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Ramirez has hit just .223/.263/.406 on the season. He had his best game yesterday, bopping three doubles and driving in five RBI. Ramirez plans to retire after the 2015 season so it’s reasonable to assume he’s open to finishing the season with a contender. He has recently been tied to the Mets, but New York is looking for either a clear upgrade at third base or a versatile player. Ramirez will need more games like yesterday to fit the bill.
Athletics Agree To Terms With Dakota Chalmers
The Athletics have agreed to a $1.2MM bonus with third-round draft pick Dakota Chalmers, tweets Jim Callis of MLB.com. Slot value for pick 97 is $586.9K. The deal is $613.1K over slot value.
Callis adds (via Tweet) that Chalmers is an 18-year-old right-handed pitcher from Georgia. He tops out at 98 mph with his fastball and flashes quality breaking stuff with an improving changeup. He was viewed as a possible first round selection. FanGraphs’ Kiley McDaniel ranked him 64th overall. He’s shown decent command and control.
The over slot signing likely means that the Athletics expect to save money on first round pick Richie Martin ($2.214MM slot) and/or second round pick Mikey White ($979.6K).
Rosenthal’s Latest: Reds, A’s, Orioles, Marlins
The Reds are doomed by injuries and an 11.5 game deficit, says FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal in his latest video. However, owner Bob Castellini is not yet ready to concede. The baseball operations staff understands that the club needs to convert veterans and soon-to-be free agents into future talent – they just have to convince their boss.
- The A’s have performed well by run differential as well as the BaseRuns metric used by FanGraphs. However, they are 13 games below .500 and 10 games back in the AL West. The bullpen is a serious issue. Other clubs are looking to snipe players like Ben Zobrist and Tyler Clippard. Expect GM Billy Beane to jump on a properly enticing offer.
- The Orioles have nine impending free agents. They should act as both buyers and sellers at the trade deadline. The club needs a power hitting corner outfield. They could trade a starter like Bud Norris.
- The Marlins may also look to deal a starter. Jarred Cosart will return from the disabled list soon. Jose Urena or Tom Koehler are candidates to be optioned. However, there will be a surplus once Jose Fernandez returns from Tommy John surgery. At that point, the club could look to trade Dan Haren or Mat Latos. The Marlins are currently nine games below .500 but just six back in a weak NL East.
- If Cincinnati shops Aroldis Chapman, count the Marlins among the potential suitors. The club is always a fit for Cuban talent. Personally, I’m not sure if Chapman is the best use of Miami’s resources. Reliever A.J. Ramos has ably replaced Steve Cishek as the closer, but he has bouts of wildness in his track record. However, Carter Capps is standing by should Ramos falter.
Indians To Promote Francisco Lindor
The Indians are expected to promote shortstop prospect Francisco Lindor, tweets Yahoo’s Jeff Passan. He will join the team tomorrow.
The 21-year-old is widely viewed as a top 10 prospect. He’s ranked fourth by Baseball Prospectus, sixth by ESPN’s Kieth Law, and ninth by Baseball America. FanGraphs’ Kiley McDaniel is the sole guru to rank him outside the top 10 (14th). Lindor was the eighth overall pick of the 2011 Rule 4 draft.
The switch-hitter slashed .279/.346/.398 in 259 Triple-A plate appearances. Unlike other notable prospect promotions like Kris Bryant, Joey Gallo, Carlos Correa, or Byron Buxton, Lindor’s bat isn’t expected to be special in the near future (he could certainly develop). He’s viewed as a high contact, gap-to-gap hitter, but it’s his speed and defense that ooze potential.
The decision to promote the youngster is not surprising. The team recently demoted Jose Ramirez after he hit just .180/.247/.240. Cleveland would probably like to move Mike Aviles (.284/.344/.405) back into a reserve role. He’s viewed as a modest defensive liability at shortstop and can also be used to spell Giovanny Urshela and Jason Kipnis. Lindor should add stability to a sometimes shaky Indians defense.
Like the promotion of Buxton by the Twins earlier today, Lindor is unlikely to qualify as a Super Two. He’ll remain club controlled through 2021 at the very least. Lindor is reportedly battling some minor injuries. Expect the club to handle their top prospect carefully.
Mets Acquire Alex Torres
Jun 13: The player to be named later is left-handed pitcher Brad Wieck, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. He’ll now head to the Padres. The southpaw was the Mets’ seventh round pick in the 2014 Rule 4 draft. He has a 3.21 ERA with 11.89 K/9 and 3.38 BB/9 in 56 Low-A innings. FanGraphs prospect analyst Kiley McDaniel says Wieck’s fastball works in the low 90’s. The 23-year-old could move quickly as a situational reliever.
Mar 30: The Mets announced that they have acquired left-handed reliever Alex Torres from the Padres in exchange for Minor League right-hander Cory Mazzoni and a player to be named later.
Torres, 27, will give the Mets a much-needed left-handed option in the bullpen. Josh Edgin, who had projected to be New York’s top southpaw reliever, underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this month, leaving the team precariously thin in this department. Since that time, rumors have circulated about potential matches for the Mets, who have been linked to Baltimore’s Brian Matusz as well as J.P. Howell, Paco Rodriguez and Adam Liberatore of the Dodgers. Colorado’s Rex Brothers was also suggested as a fit.
In Torres, New York receives a pitcher that has posted a 2.49 ERA with 9.1 K/9, 4.3 BB/9 and a 44.7 percent ground-ball rate over the past two seasons. Torres has benefited from a perhaps unsustainbly low homer-to-flyball ratio of just 3.1 percent, though Citi Field’s generally pitcher-friendly dimensions may help him to sustain an above-average rate in that regard.
Torres does come with some control issues, as he averaged 5.5 walks per nine innings pitched in 2014. That, combined with some correction for his good fortune on home runs, leads sabermetric ERA estimators to peg him for an ERA in the mid-3.00s rather than to sustain his sub-3.00 mark.
Somewhat curiously, most of Torres’ control problems come against left-handed hitters. Right-handers have batted a meager .175/.260/.251 against Torres dating back to 2013, while lefties have exploited his lack of control and gotten on base at a .341 clip against Torres. Of course, they’ve also batted just .213 and slugged .276, so if he can rein in his control, he could post dominant overall numbers.
With one year and 141 days of service time under his belt, Torres can be controlled via arbitration through the 2019 season. However, because he’ll end up with two years, 141 days next offseason (assuming a full year of service time is accrued, as one would expect), he’s a likely Super Two player, meaning he will be arbitration-eligible four times as opposed to three.
The 25-year-old Mazzoni was New York’s second-round pick back in 2011 and is generally ranked as the Mets’ 15th-20th best prospect, per Baseball America, MLB.com and Fangraphs. Mazzoni split the 2014 campaign across four levels, spending the bulk of his time at Triple-A where he worked to a 4.67 ERA with 49 strikeouts against just 12 walks in 52 innings. Mazzoni has spent much of his career as a starter, but most feel that he’s likely destined for relief work if he surfaces in the Majors, where his low 90s fastball will instead reach the mid-90s, serving as a complement to an above-average slider.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported (via Twitter) that the Mets had acquired Torres.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Minor Moves: Gott, Young, Santos, Lindgren
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The Angels have selected the contract of right-handed reliever Trevor Gott. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal was the first to note the move (via Twitter). Gott was a sixth round pick of the Padres who traded him as part of the Huston Street deal. FanGraphs’ Kiley McDaniel ranked Gott the Angels’ 10th best prospect, noting a 93-97 mph fastball and an above average curve. He has a 2.25 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 28 innings across two levels. The club’s 40-man roster was at 39 players after Kirk Nieuwenhuis was designated last week.
- Braves outfielder Eric Young Jr. has accepted his outright assignment to Triple-A, tweets Chris Cotillo of SBNation. Atlanta announced the move yesterday, but Young Jr. had the right to elect free agency. He hit a meager .169/.229/.273 in 85 plate appearances.
- The Yankees have selected the contract of right-handed reliever Sergio Santos, tweets Rosenthal. He’ll take the place of Esmil Rogers in a decidedly left-handed New York bullpen. Santos was initially signed to a minor league deal on June 9th. The Dodgers had previously designated him for assignment, and he elected free agency on June 6th. The righty threw 13 and one-third innings this season with 10.13 K/9, 4.73 BB/9, and a 4.73 ERA.
- The Yankees also optioned left-handed reliever Jacob Lindgren and recalled righty Jose Ramirez, writes Brendan Kuty of NJ.com. Lindgren had a 5.14 ERA in seven innings. Most damagingly, he allowed three home runs in his brief work. He did show a health 10.29 K/9, but it was offset by 5.14 BB/9. His minor league work has produced similar strikeout and walk rates. Ramirez has one lousy inning at the major league level (four earned runs allowed). He pitched well in Triple-A with 9.32K/9, 3.86 BB/9, and a 2.25 ERA.
Phillies Recall Brown, Option Ruf
The Phillies will recall outfielder Domonic Brown and option Darin Ruf following today’s game, the team announced (via Twitter).
Brown was once Baseball America’s top prospect in baseball (ahead of Mike Trout no less). The 27-year-old has not lived up to expectations with a career .248/.308/.412 in 1,544 plate appearances. He missed the early portion of this season with left Achilles tendinitis. During his time in the minors, he hit .260/.315/.366 with slightly weaker numbers in 228 Triple-A plate appearances. The club would certainly like for the once toolsy prospect to feature some of the power, speed, and contact ability that was once expected of him.
Ruf’s demotion is somewhat expected given a modest .238/.282/.386 slash in 110 plate appearances. The Phillies consider the righty to be a situational hitter. True to form, he’s mashed southpaws this year with a .400/.436/.629 line in 39 plate appearances. Given that he had options available, it’s reasonable for the club to temporarily move the 28-year-old to Triple-A. He’s liable to return to the majors if Ben Revere or Ryan Howard are traded.
Twins Promote Byron Buxton
The Twins will promote top prospect Byron Buxton prior to tomorrow’s game, tweets Phil Miller of the Star Tribune.
The 21-year-old Buxton is the game’s number one prospect according to MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus. FanGraphs, ESPN’s Keith Law, and Baseball America all ranked Buxton as the second best prospect behind Kris Bryant. Buxton was selected with the second overall pick of the 2012 draft.
The call up is a mild surprise despite the club’s obvious need in center field. Buxton was hitting .283/.351/.489 with six home runs and 20 stolen bases at Double-A. By activating Buxton tomorrow, the Twins should avoid the Super Two cutoff if he remains in the majors for the remainder of the season. No matter how he’s used, he’ll remain club controllable through at least the 2021 season.
Unlike the Bryant promotion, service time considerations don’t seem like a major factor in the Twins decision. Buxton missed most of the 2014 season with various maladies. Given his age and inexperience above the High-A level, it made perfect sense for the club to continue developing him in the minors. Minnesota’s surprise contention and the poor performance of Aaron Hicks may have forced the team to reevaluate their development plans. Hicks is currently day-to-day with an elbow injury, and he’s hit just .247/.293/.301 on the season.
Manager Paul Molitor has not commented on how he plans to use Buxton, but one can assume he’ll play regularly. He may feature prominently in the lineup. He should provide a spark to an offense that has relied heavily on leadoff hitter Brian Dozier, third baseman Trevor Plouffe, and outfielder Torii Hunter.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Blue Jays Have Inquired About Tyler Clippard
The Blue Jays have asked the Athletics about the possibility of trading for reliever Tyler Clippard, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. The Blue Jays are seeking upgrades for both their rotation and their bullpen, Crasnick reports. Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote yesterday that Clippard might become a target for the Blue Jays, who were also interested in Clippard last offseason.
The Jays have gotten good results this year from Roberto Osuna, Liam Hendriks, Steve Delabar and current closer Brett Cecil, but their bullpen has been an area of concern throughout the season, and they’ve recently also had trade discussions with the Phillies regarding Jonathan Papelbon.
The 30-year-old Clippard would be a somewhat lower-wattage addition, but he’s in the midst of an effective season, with a 3.20 ERA and 7.8 K/9. His walk rate is elevated at 4.6 BB/9, however, and he’s allowed fly balls at an alarming 64.9% rate that’s somewhat atypical, even though he’s never been a ground-ball pitcher. He’s saved nine games in his first extended stint as a closer since 2012, when he saved 32 games for the Nationals. He’s making $8.3MM in his last year before free agency.