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Archives for July 2015

Rosenthal On Gomez, Rangers, Choo, Gyorko

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The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…

  • Brewers center fielder Carlos Gomez is attracting interest from contenders and non-contenders alike.  The Rangers and Indians have reached out, while the Giants and Astros find Gomez appealing.  Rosenthal notes that the Giants may not have the prospects required, while the Astros “appear more focused on bullpen help.”  Gomez is under contract next year for just $9MM, after which he’ll reach free agency as a 30-year-old.  In a June 1st poll, 80% of MLBTR readers said the Brewers should trade Gomez this summer.  He would appeal to many teams beyond the four listed by Rosenthal.
  • The Rangers are “acting aggressively as both buyers and sellers,” according to Rosenthal.  That explains the interest in Gomez and Cole Hamels and their willingness to listen on pitchers Yovani Gallardo and Wandy Rodriguez, who will be free agents after the season.  I should note that Colby Lewis will also be a free agent after the season, but he’s chosen to stay with Texas multiple times when given the opportunity to shop around.  On Friday, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram had quotes from Rangers GM Jon Daniels about the team’s deadline stance.
  • Rosenthal says the Indians are similarly looking at both additions and subtractions this week, “exploring deals for players who could fit for next season and beyond while listening to proposals for their starting pitchers and corner players such as David Murphy and Ryan Raburn.”  Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca wrote yesterday that the Indians came close to trading pitcher Carlos Carrasco to the Blue Jays, but the deal fell apart for unknown reasons and is no longer on the table.
  • The Rangers are expected to trade Shin-Soo Choo this offseason, Rosenthal writes.  I imagine that may require some kind of bad contract swap, as Choo recently turned 33, can block deals to ten teams, and is owed $102MM from 2016-20.
  • The Padres are shopping second baseman Jedd Gyorko hard, tweets Rosenthal.  The 26-year-old signed an extension under the previous Padres regime, and at the deadline he’ll be owed more than $33MM through 2019.  MLBTR’s Steve Adams wrote about Gyorko and all the other second base trade candidates last week.  Rosenthal suggests the Padres could rid themselves of Gyorko’s contract by attaching him to a more desirable player, pitcher Tyson Ross for example.  The Braves employed this tactic in April, pairing Melvin Upton with Craig Kimbrel.

Royals Interested In Martin Prado, Ben Zobrist

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JULY 27: Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star tweets that the Royals are expected to remain in the Ben Zobrist market “until the end,” which adds another versatile target to the list of Royals targets.

Zobrist, unlike Prado, is a rental player that’s eligible for free agency this offseason. He’s a bit more affordable, though, earning $7.5MM this season (of which $2.9MM remains). Zobrist is a better hitter than Prado and comes with the bonus of being a switch-hitter. He’s batting .268/.354/.447 and would be an excellent stopgap for Kansas City until Gordon is healthy enough to return to the lineup. Upon his activation, Zobrist would then be an immediate upgrade over Infante. The Athletics, who have already traded Scott Kazmir and could soon trade Tyler Clippard, are believed to be willing to part with Zobrist as well.

The Royals, it seems, will remain active even after picking up Johnny Cueto from the Reds in what has easily been the largest trade of the summer thus far.

JULY 26: The Royals have interest in Marlins infielder Martin Prado, FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi tweets. The 31-year-old Prado recently returned from a shoulder injury and is batting .277/.316/.374 in 308 plate appearances in his first season in Miami. He’s making $11MM this season and next, although the Yankees are paying $3MM of that in each season. Morosi notes that the Royals would need to receive cash from the Marlins in the deal. Whether the Marlins would agree to send any is unclear — another recent report indicated that they weren’t interested in dealing Prado at all.

In any case, the Royals have a good player, Mike Moustakas, at third base, where Prado has played most of this year. But Royals second baseman Omar Infante has mostly struggled, so Prado could potentially help at that position. Also, he can help the Royals in the corner outfield while they wait for Alex Gordon to return from the DL — right fielder Alex Rios has hit just .256/.290/.333 this season.

Trade Market For Relievers

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There’s never any shortage of teams in need of pen arms. As the Cardinals’ early strike for Steve Cishek shows, even high-performing bullpens can often benefit from depth. Of course, we’ve also seen teams benefit in recent seasons by adding premium arms to their late-inning mix, as the Orioles did last year with Andrew Miller. But as that trade also demonstrates, the price for pen arms (in that case, Eduardo Rodriguez) is never higher than at the deadline.

Closers & Premium Set-Up Men

Jonathan Papelbon (Phillies), Francisco Rodriguez & Will Smith (Brewers), Aroldis Chapman (Reds), Craig Kimbrel & Joaquin Benoit (Padres), Koji Uehara & Junichi Tazawa (Red Sox), Tyler Clippard (Athletics), Joakim Soria (Tigers), Jim Johnson (Braves), Brad Ziegler (Diamondbacks), Brad Boxberger & Jake McGee (Rays)

  • At this point, Papelbon has largely silenced concerns about his ability to dominate with decreased velocity. At 34 years of age, he no longer racks up the double-digit K/9 tallies that he used to, and he’s outperformed his peripherals somewhat, but Papelbon still owns an outstanding 1.87 ERA with 8.7 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9 since the start of 2014. He’s playing on a $13MM salary this year and is close to triggering a vesting option for the same amount next season, but that doesn’t seem an outlandish commitment at this point and the Phils are reportedly willing to keep a good piece of the cost. The major limiting factor on Papelbon’s market is his 17-team no-trade list and perhaps his preference to go to a team that will use him in the ninth inning.
  • K-Rod may be the second most obvious closer trade piece. He’s cheaper than Papelbon, but not by as much as you might think (at least in the future). His backloaded deal includes $9.5MM in commitments after this season, including a $2MM buyout of a $6MM club option for 2017. Regardless, that’s a more appealing contract than that of the Phillies closer. And the 33-year-old has been every bit as excellent, with a 1.54 ERA and 10.0 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 on the year.
  • Next up: the two best relievers in baseball, Chapman and Kimbrel. Both certainly could be had for the right price, but it remains to be seen how motivated their teams are to sell. Chapman has probably overtaken Kimbrel as the most dominant closer in the game, as he continues to compile truly remarkable strikeout numbers (16.0 per nine on the season) while Kimbrel has cooled down (relatively speaking) to the 13-per-nine range. Chapman is only controllable for one more season after the present, after earning just over $8MM this year through arbitration, while Kimbrel is guaranteed $25MM over the next two seasons and has a club option that could bring the total bill for his services to $37MM from 2016-18. You could debate their relative value at this point, but contenders would probably prefer to slot the Cincinnati lefty into their pen down the stretch.
  • Uehara lands in his own category, in large part because it’s unclear how inclined the Red Sox will be to consider moving him. The 40-year-old carries a 2.52 ERA this year, identical to his output last season, and continues to put up double-digit strikeouts while walking well under two batters per nine innings. He’s owed the same reasonable $9MM salary next year that he’s earning in 2015, but that may make Boston inclined to keep him.
  • Clippard and Soria are both working as closers, but look like set-up targets for contenders. Both are well-paid this year ($8.3MM and $7MM, respectively), and are pure rentals. It remains to be seen whether the latter will be marketed, but both would figure to draw fairly strong interest. His strikeouts are down and his walks are up (8.8 K/9 against 4.9 BB/9), causing ERA estimators to shudder, but Clippard still carries only a 2.79 ERA. Likewise, though Soria has shown increased velocity and carries a 2.93 ERA, he has fallen back to 7.7 K/9 (against 2.5 BB/9). Rumor has it that a Clippard trade could come as soon as today.
  • Johnson, too, could be viewed as a setup man, though he has a lengthy track record as a closer, including a pair of season in which he led the AL in saves. He’s back in the ninth inning following the Braves’ trade of Kimbrel and an injury to Jason Grilli. Johnson has a $1.6MM base salary, and his contract can max out at $2.5MM, which makes him one of the better buy-low pickups of the offseason and means that any team could afford his contract.
  • Benoit, Ziegler, and Tazawa all occupy similar positions as long-established late-inning arms on likely sellers who come with an additional season of control. Ziegler is serving as the D’backs closer, and Benoit has closed in the past, but all three profile as potential set-up additions for most teams. The first two are well compensated ($8MM and $5MM annual salaries, respectively), while Tazawa is a bargain at $2.25MM. As for 2016, it’s a similar story, as Benoit comes with a $8MM option, Ziegler’s option will cost $5.5MM, and Tazawa is controllable via arbitration. All three have typically stellar earned run averages, but Tazawa has the best peripherals this year, is by far the youngest of the group, and comes with the most appealing contract situation.
  • Smith and McGee represent two of the best late-inning lefties that could potentially be had at the deadline this year. The Brewers may well hold onto Smith, who is nearly certain to reach arbitration eligibility as a Super Two but will still be relatively cheap for some time given his lack of saves (or even holds). He’s put it all together this season, with a 1.75 ERA and 12.5 K/9 vs. 3.5 BB/9. Meanwhile, McGee has a somewhat lengthier track record and has been even better than Smith: he’s down to a 1.14 earned run average with a remarkable 10.7 K:BB ratio on the year. On the other hand, he already costs $3.55MM and will likely get nice raises each of the next two years in arbitration. That’s not as desirable as Smith’s status, but makes him quite a valuable piece — and one that is expensive by Tampa Bay’s standards.
  • Boxberger is an interesting trade chip for the Rays, who are reportedly considering a move involving one or more of their excellent arms. He has been plenty useful this year, though his run prevention and K:BB tallies are not a match for 2014 (when he posted a 2.37 ERA with 14.5 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9, along with a minuscule but BABIP-aided 4.7 hits per nine). There’s no urgency for Tampa Bay to move Boxberger, as he can be controlled through 2019 and will be eligible for arbitration only three times, but the club could be interested in selling high from an area of some surplus.

Right-Handed Middle Relief Targets

John Axford (Rockies), Jason Frasor & David Aardsma (Braves), Jonathan Broxton (Brewers), Kevin Jepsen (Rays), Edward Mujica & Ryan Cook (Athletics), Fernando Rodney, Mark Lowe & Tom Wilhelmsen (Mariners), Shawn Kelley (Padres), Matt Albers (White Sox), Ryan Webb (Indians), Burke Badenhop & Ryan Mattheus (Reds), Jeanmar Gomez (Phillies), Addison Reed (Diamondbacks)

  • Axford is a former closer that signed a fairly meager deal as a free agent over the winter, only to find himself back in the 9th inning due to injuries. He’s put up solid results, but ERA estimators value him more as solid-average than a late-inning stud, and contending teams likely will as well. That being said, his affordable contract and good recent work make him an appealing trade targets.
  • Otherwise, this group includes a wide array of potentially interesting players, ranging from struggling and expensive power arms (Broxton, Rodney, Reed) to affordable middle relievers with good recent numbers (Jepsen, Lowe, Gomez), with a wide variety of options in between.

Left-Handed Middle Relief Targets

Mike Dunn (Marlins), Oliver Perez (Diamondbacks), Marc Rzepczynski (Indians), Zach Duke (White Sox), Fernando Abad & Eric O’Flaherty (Athletics), Neal Cotts (Brewers), Manny Parra (Reds), Joe Beimel (Mariners)

  • Clubs in need of arms capable of registering outs against left-handed hitting will surely look closely at the players on this list, especially if Smith and/or McGee can’t be had at reasonable rates. The first five names on the list were outstanding last season, but they’ve all posted higher earned run averages and worse peripherals. We haven’t heard anything about the White Sox considering a move involving Duke, though it’s hard to imagine many clubs having interest in his big contract. Parra is on the disabled list but could be an August trade candidate.

Quick Hits: Dodgers, Angels, Reds, Mets

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The Dodgers might be able to take advantage of a productive season from Andre Ethier to clear a logjam in their outfield and add pitching, Joel Sherman of the New York Post suggests. Ethier is in the midst of a resurgent .276/.361/.459 season, so now might be a good time to deal him and move Carl Crawford back into a starting role. The approximately $46MM remaining on Ethier’s contract would likely still be an obstacle. But Sherman suggests there might be a match with the Angels. In one scenario, the Angels could send the Dodgers C.J. Wilson, who has about $28MM remaining on his own deal. There aren’t any specific rumors connecting the Angels and Dodgers, and a deal involving Wilson and Ethier would surely be complex, due to the contracts involved. The Angels have, however, reportedly recently shown interest in another lefty hitter, David Murphy, and they’re about to get Jered Weaver back from the DL. So perhaps Sherman’s idea isn’t that far-fetched. Here are more quick notes from around the big leagues.

  • Reds players knew to expect the team to trade Johnny Cueto, but the team’s trade of Cueto to the Royals for three left-handed pitchers still stung, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon writes. “Shocking is not the word, but it’s kind of a blah feeling,” says Jay Bruce. “Because everybody anticipated it happening, but for it to actually happen and someone I’ve personally known for 11 years now, just poof, gone.” Bruce, of course, is himself a candidate to be traded this week, along with Mike Leake and perhaps others. It can be easy to forget that the trades we outsiders discuss so matter-of-factly do affect the players on a personal level.
  • In contrast, the Mets are excited to have the newly acquired Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson on their side, Tyler Kepner of the New York Times writes. “That versatility is enormous, to keep key, quality players on the field,” says Mets manager Terry Collins. “It’s hugely enormous.” As Kepner points out, that might be an overstatement, but the Mets are getting help, or are on the verge of getting it, from Uribe, Johnson, returning players Jenrry Mejia (suspension) and Travis d’Arnaud (elbow), and newly promoted top prospect Michael Conforto. The Mets do have reasons to be hopeful. “I’ve been in Chicago, and nobody’s thinking like Chicago’s winning. I’ve been in San Fran, and nobody’s thinking like San Fran’s winning. And they win,” says Uribe. “In baseball, you never know what could happen.”

Athletics Could Trade Clippard As Early As Monday

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Tyler Clippard, and not Ben Zobrist, seems likely to be the next Athletics player to be traded, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. That deal could take place soon, perhaps on Monday, with a Zobrist trade coming later. It’s unclear who the Athletics’ trade partner for Clippard will be, although Slusser lists the Nationals, Mets and Yankees as candidates. Clippard has been linked to all three teams in recent reports.

Clippard has posted a 2.79 ERA, 8.8 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 in his first season in Oakland. He also has 17 saves, although many potential trade partners would likely use him in a setup capacity anyway. He was originally drafted by the Yankees in 2003 and made his big-league debut with them four years later, and he spent the next seven years pitching in the Nationals bullpen.

AL Notes: Blue Jays, Carrasco, Rangers

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The Blue Jays, who are on the lookout for pitching help, are still in talks with the Padres about both starters and relievers, FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi tweets. The Padres, of course, have starters Ian Kennedy, James Shields, Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross, and relievers Craig Kimbrel and Joaquin Benoit. The Jays’ payroll could be an issue, however. Morosi writes that, for example, it would be tough for the Jays to take on the remainder of Kimbrel’s contract. Kimbrel is due about $4MM the rest of the season, plus $11MM in 2016, $13MM in 2017 and a $1MM buyout on a $13MM option in 2018. Here’s more from the American League.

  • The Blue Jays and Indians nearly completed a deal involving starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca writes. It’s not clear why the deal wasn’t completed, but Carrasco would have provided a long-term fix for the Jays’ rotation — Carrasco is signed through 2018, with team options for 2019 and 2020, and his outstanding peripherals (10.1 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 2015) suggest he has a strong foundation for future success. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported on Friday that the Jays had made a “big push” to trade for Carrasco.
  • The Rangers’ solid recent play suggests that they should make moves to improve their pitching, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. They’re still in the playoff race, but Rangers starters have struggled to work deep into games, and they have a weak bullpen. The team has already decided to steer clear of big names on the rental market, though they’ve been connected to Cole Hamels along with Cashner and Ross.

Padres “Pushing Hard” To Trade Big-Name Players

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The Padres are “pushing hard” to trade big-name stars, executives from other teams tell Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Obviously, Justin Upton, Will Venable and Ian Kennedy are clear trade candidates, since those players are due to become free agents after the season. But James Shields, Andrew Cashner and Craig Kimbrel, who all are controlled beyond 2015, have also come up very frequently in talks, according to Heyman. Other possibilities include Tyson Ross, who’s due for free agency after 2017, and Joaquin Benoit, whose contract contains a club option for 2015.

This isn’t the first time that any of these players have been mentioned in trade talks, of course, but rival executives now seem to think the Padres could be even more active at the deadline than had previously been anticipated. Given how aggressively GM A.J. Preller remade the team last offseason, it would come as little surprise if he were itching to make another round of big trades in the midst of what’s turned into a disappointing season.

Heyman adds that another potential motivation for the Padres to make trades could be to reduce payroll. (ESPN’s Buster Olney wrote earlier today that the Padres were feeling “pressure” to shed payroll beyond 2015 by making trades.) Via Cot’s Contracts, the Padres had an Opening Day payroll of about $108MM this season, about $17MM more than their 2014 figure. Trading someone like Shields, whose contract is backloaded, would help the Padres reduce their already significant payroll obligations for 2016 and beyond.

Angels Interested In David Murphy

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The Angels are among the teams interested in Indians corner outfielder David Murphy, Jon Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports report (on Twitter). The lefty-hitting Murphy is in the midst of a solid season in Cleveland in which he’s batted .299/.347/.443 in 224 plate appearances. The 33-year-old is making $6MM this season and has a $500K buyout on his $7MM 2016 team option.

The Angels already have lefty hitters (Matt Joyce and Kole Calhoun) in the outfield corners, although Joyce has struggled this season, and Murphy could also help righty C.J. Cron (who has a .679 OPS this season and has done most of his damage against lefties) at DH. Last week, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that the Indians would like to receive younger hitters in return for Murphy or Ryan Raburn.

More Fallout From The Johnny Cueto Trade

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We already collected one set of reactions to the trade of Johnny Cueto to the Royals. Here are a few more odds and ends from the deal.

  • In Brandon Finnegan, Cody Reed and John Lamb, the Reds are receiving three potential big-league starters, MLB.com’s Jim Callis writes. The Reds sacrificed a draft pick as a result of trading Cueto, but the three lefties they received have more than enough talent to make up for it. The Royals, meanwhile, traded from solid minor league pitching depth.
  • The Yankees scouted Cueto for five weeks, George A. King III of the New York Post writes. The Yankees and Reds also had brief discussions involving Cueto and Yankees starter Ivan Nova, but the talks did not develop. It is, of course, highly unlikely that Nova could have been centerpiece of any Cueto trade. The Yankees have thus far been unwilling to trade top prospects like Aaron Judge, Luis Severino or Greg Bird.
  • The Dodgers did have talks with the Reds about Cueto, GM Farhan Zaidi tells CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman (Twitter links). Zaidi thinks the Dodgers will be able to consummate some other trade before Friday’s deadline, presumably one involving starting pitching. Within the Dodgers’ clubhouse, Heyman writes, some players were disappointed that the team didn’t get Cueto, and would like the team to pursue David Price now that Cueto is off the market.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/26/15

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the game.

  • The Pirates activated infielder Justin Sellers from the disabled list and outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis, Adam Berry of MLB.com tweets.  Sellers, who has been dealing with an Achilles injury, had been on the 60-day DL, so the move does not change the Pirates’ 40-man roster, which currently stands at 39.
  • The Angels have outrighted lefty Adam Wilk to Triple-A Salt Lake, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. The team designated Wilk for assignment on Friday. Wilk has pitched two innings for the Angels and has spent most of the season in Salt Lake’s rotation, posting a 5.52 ERA, 6.4 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 102 2/3 innings.

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