Archives for July 2015

Mets Designate John Mayberry Jr. For Assignment

By Jeff Todd | July 24, 2015 at 10:31pm CDT

The Mets have designated outfielder John Mayberry Jr. for assignment, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports on Twitter. New York needed his roster spot as part of the just-announced acquisition of Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson.

Mayberry, 31, joined the club over the winter on a one-year, $1.45MM deal. The idea, it seemed, was for his right-handed bat to spell lefties Curtis Granderson in right and Lucas Duda at first. But Mayberry has produced disappointing results thus far, compiling a sub-par .165/.229/.321 slash over 118 plate appearances.

While Mayberry’s struggles made him vulnerable, the move still comes as something of a surprise. The call-up of Michael Conforto adds another outfield bat, as does the acquisition of Johnson, but both hit from the left side. Mayberry had seemed a good bet to see a good deal of time while Michael Cuddyer works back from the DL.

It’s tempting to wonder whether moving on from Mayberry is the precursor to an addition of another right-handed-hitting outfield bat. The club has been connected to various corner outfielders, and there are a number of high-quality options (both rental and controllable) that could be had over the next week. And having added Uribe to the infield and Johnson in a potential utility role, New York may have completed most of its other shopping without giving up any of its best-regarded young talent.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/24/15

By Jeff Todd | July 24, 2015 at 8:50pm CDT

Here are the day’s minor moves:

The Cubs have optioned lefty Clayton Richard, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com tweets. It appears that the previously reported DFA only removed him from the 25-man roster, to permit the club to seek optional assignment waivers. Richard could have declined the assignment himself, but apparently chose not to.
The Blue Jays have released infielder Ramon Santiago, as Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports on Twitter. Santiago, 35, slashed just .202/.283/.218 in his 139 plate appearances this year at Triple-A Buffalo. He has seen big league action in 13 straight seasons, but now seems likely to see that streak come to an end.
Toronto has also added righty Phillippe Aumont, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi tweets. The former Phillies hurler has never gained traction at the big league level, and hit the open market after declining an outright assignment. He did post a 2.35 ERA over 65 innings at the Triple-A level this year, his best showing in some time.
Lefty Ryan Buchter has agreed to a minor league deal with the Cubs, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reports on Twitter. The 28-year-old was released by the Dodgers recently after exercising his opt-out. Buchter threw 32 2/3 innings of 1.65 ERA ball at Triple-A, with 10.7 K/9 against 4.4 BB/9.

Trade Market For Corner Outfielders

By Jeff Todd | July 24, 2015 at 7:06pm CDT

There’s no shortage of teams with potential interest in the corner outfield market, with the Angels, Mets, Royals, and Orioles all having notable potential needs. Other clubs, too, could see an opportunity to upgrade or add a new bench piece. Note that we’ve already covered some corner outfield possibilities in the center field trade market piece. Contenders certainly may consider moving for players like Gerardo Parra, Will Venable, Ben Revere, or even Carlos Gomez with intentions of using them in a corner role.

Here are some names that could come up in the coming week:

Starters

Jay Bruce & Marlon Byrd (Reds), Justin Upton (Padres), Yoenis Cespedes (Tigers), Carlos Gonzalez (Rockies), Josh Reddick (Athletics), Brandon Moss (Indians), Mark Trumbo (Mariners), Andre Ethier & Carl Crawford (Dodgers), Melky Cabrera (White Sox)

Bruce and Byrd are both appealing trade pieces, in different ways, for a struggling Cincinnati club that is said to be looking to shed salary. The former is controllable and affordable, with two years and $25.5MM left on his deal after this year (the latter season via club option). And after a rough 2014, he’s back on track for a typical .800+ OPS, thirty-homer, ten-steal, solid defensive campaign. The ageless Byrd, meanwhile, is still delivering impressive power, with a .465 slugging percentage and 16 long balls. He makes plenty of sense as a rental for a team in need of that skillset.
San Diego is probably out of it, and has a lot of young talent to recoup after its offseason acquisition spree. Upton is slashing a relatively light (for him) .252/.331/.426, though Petco is doing him no favors and he has contributed 15 long balls and 17 stolen bases. He’s probably the best clearly available rental piece.
It remains to be seen whether Cespedes will be marketed, as the Tigers make their final assessments, but he’d be in high demand. (One recently-reported twist: if Detroit wants to bring him back, it basically must either extend him or trade and re-sign him.) Cespedes is delivering his best overall season thus far, with well-above-average offensive production and quality defensive ratings.
CarGo’s value is down with ongoing injury concerns and a rough early start, but he’s coming on with big numbers in June (.865 OPS) and July (1.016). His contract is no longer the asset it used to be, but the two years and $37MM remaining after this year are a reasonable price and risk for a player with his track record. Gonzalez does face the same questions as most hitters who succeed at Coors Field, but the bigger concern may be his abysmal numbers against left-handed pitching this year (.162/.222/.176 in 82 plate appearances). And the bigger question, as always, is whether the Rockies are really willing to move one of their more marketable players.
Reddick may not be available, but the Athletics will surely at least listen with one year of control remaining. He’s put up a strong .283/.337/.456 slash line (considering he plays half his games at the O.Co Coliseum) and has always been a highly-regarded defender, though his metrics are off this year. Given that Reddick will only be building off of a $4.1MM arb salary next year, it’s going to take a legitimate haul to pry him loose.
Last we heard, Moss won’t be made available by the Indians. He isn’t putting up the big numbers he had in recent campaigns, but seems to have been a bit unlucky on the hard contact he’s made. Like Reddick, he’s affordable ($6.5MM this year) and controllable for another season, making him an asset to a Cleveland team that hopes to contend next season.
Trumbo falls roughly in the same camp as Reddick and Moss, but he’s not as good an overall player. And the 29-year-old has not hit much (.213/.250/.287) since coming over to Seattle. The Mariners are said to be reluctant to sell, despite having fallen well off the pace in the AL West, so Trumbo seems a good bet to stay.
The Dodgers aren’t sellers, of course, but Ethier and Crawford are just two of many options for the position-player-rich club. With big dollars remaining on both of their deals, the pair of 33-year-olds will have a limited market. They’ll also have quite different markets, as Ethier has produced at his in-prime level at the plate while Crawford has struggled with injury and performance. That makes the former a much more valuable asset, with the latter factoring more as a salary swap candidate.
Speaking of offloading salary, Cabrera’s $29MM in post-2015 obligations are not looking too good at present. The up-and-down performer is in the latter camp at present, though he has picked things up of late. It’s not clear that there’s much of a market or much impetus to deal him, but it can’t be ruled out if the White Sox look to free some future salary space.

Platoon Candidates & Backups

Alejandro De Aza, Shane Victorino & Daniel Nava (Red Sox), Jonny Gomes (Braves), David Murphy & Ryan Raburn (Indians), Alex Guerrero & Scott Van Slyke (Dodgers), Dustin Ackley (Mariners), Domonic Brown & Jeff Francoeur (Phillies)

Boston is probably better served by getting an extended look at other options in the outfield — Jackie Bradley Jr. and Rusney Castillo chief among them — and would find at least some interest in its trio of veterans. De Aza has impressed since coming over earlier in the year, and would be a nice fourth outfield piece elsewhere. Victorino, on the other hand, has struggled with injuries and owns a meager .247/.330/.303 slash, so moving him would likely be a matter of saving a bit of cash at the tail end of his deal. And Nava, who himself only just been activated after a long DL stint, has been even worse (.159/.250/.190). Unlike the others, he has control after this year, though he profiles as a non-tender candidate.
There are several classic veteran platoon pieces among the next several names on the list that could draw varying levels of interest. Murphy is a veteran righty-masher who’s been successful this year. Gomes and Raburn have good numbers against left-handed pitching and are exactly the type of veteran part-time pieces that contenders often look to add. Francoeur has traditionally done the same, though he’s posted reverse platoon splits this season and was wholly unproductive from 2012-14.
The other players noted come with additional control, but don’t really look like pieces that a team would expect to plug into a starting role. Guerrero and Van Slyke are both enjoying solid years and are part of a busy mix in Los Angeles, though the former can become a free agent after the year if traded and the latter may be too cheap and flexible a piece for the Dodgers to move him.
As for Ackley and Brown, there are a fair number of similarities. The 27-year-olds once looked like future stars but have fallen shy of expectations. They are each earning $2.6MM this year with two more arb seasons to go. It’s hard to imagine a contender having a ton of interest, and the non-tender specter looms, but either could in theory be change-of-scenery candidates.

Currently in the Minors

Oswaldo Arcia (Twins), Justin Ruggiano, James Jones, & Stefen Romero (Mariners), Robbie Grossman & Alex Presley (Astros), Alfredo Marte & Roger Kieschnick (Angels), Dayan Viciedo & Ryan Roberts (Athletics), Michael Choice (Rangers), Roger Bernadina (Rockies), Chris Heisey (Dodgers)

There are some reasonably interesting names on this list, including some players who could still have some upside remaining in Arcia, Jones, Grossman, and Choice. It remains to be seen how much patience their organizations have, but any could conceivably factor into various trade scenarios. And for contenders seeking depth or final bench piece options, there are some guys with a good bit of big league experience who are playing well at Triple-A, with Ruggiano representing perhaps the most interesting name in that regard.

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You can check out the rest of this ongoing series by using the “2015 Trade Market” tag, or by clicking on these links: Catchers, First Basemen, Second Basemen, Shortstops, Third Basemen, Center Fielders.

Latest On Mets Corner Outfield Situation

By Jeff Todd | July 24, 2015 at 5:34pm CDT

The Mets were pushing to deal for Brewers outfielder Gerardo Parra up until last night, Marc Carig of Newsday reports on Twitter, building upon a prior report from Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). When the deal could not be made, per the reports, the club instead went ahead and promoted Michael Conforto to take the roster spot of the DL’ed Michael Cuddyer. (Note that a team source denies the report to ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin, on Twitter.)

It’s not clear whether the two teams are still in talks, though Mets GM Sandy Alderson made clear earlier today that adding Conforto does not necessarily change the team’s shopping plans (via Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com). “This is not indicative of how aggressive or less aggressive we’re going to be,” Alderson said. “This is somewhat independent.”

Certainly, the equation has not changed much in the interim, so continued talks would seem to make sense. Parra has put up a somewhat uncharacteristically excellent .317/.355/.510 slash this year, creating broad interest in his services. That may not be sustainable, but he’s always been a solid hitter with a top-notch defensive reputation. For the Mets, presumably, Parra would step into the everyday lineup now and serve as an active fourth outfielder once Cuddyer returns.

One other name worth at least watching as the Mets look to get help to a sagging offense is Josh Reddick of the Athletics. Martino says that the club inquired, but was not given the impression that Oakland was too keen to deal him. Reddick fits roughly the same profile as Parra: both have top-regarded gloves, good left-handed bats, and playing at peak form this season. But Reddick has a higher offensive ceiling, is cheaper (in terms of 2015 salary), and comes with another season of control.

It remains to be seen how much flexibility New York truly has in structuring a deal. While insurance money relating to David Wright’s extended absence won’t free baseball ops resources, Alderson said that the team can take on some salary. (Via Mike Vorkunov of NJ.com, Twitter links.)

Indians “Not Motivated” To Deal Starter; Dodgers, Red Sox Have Inquired

By Jeff Todd | July 24, 2015 at 3:17pm CDT

The Dodgers and Red Sox have expressed interest in the Indians group of controllable, high-quality starters, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. But Cleveland is “not motivated” to move an arm unless a “very compelling deal” is presented, per the report (and as GM Chris Antonetti recently said himself).

We heard yesterday that the Blue Jays were looking hard at Carlos Carrasco, with the Indians willing at least to listen. But it seems that Toronto’s efforts have fallen short, at least for the present.

It’s not surprising to hear that Cleveland is getting hits on its starters, which include Carrasco, reigning Cy Young winner Corey Kluber, and younger arms such as Danny Salazar and Trevor Bauer. (Which particular pitchers are receiving the interest has not been reported.) With lengthy and affordable control over all of those pitchers, it would surely take a very significant offer to get something done.

While the Dodgers are an obvious buyer, the Red Sox are not — at least in the traditional sense. But we’ve heard that Boston is considering future-oriented buy-side moves, and that makes Cleveland an interesting potential trade partner.

While both of those clubs are obviously among the larger-budget teams in the sport, that doesn’t make productive, cost-controlled pitching any less valuable to them. Of course, Los Angeles and Boston are also among the organizations best-equipped to take on other salary commitments from the Indians in order to facilitate a trade.

Cardinals Acquire Steve Cishek

By Jeff Todd | July 24, 2015 at 2:06pm CDT

The Cardinals have officially struck a deal with the Marlins to add righty Steve Cishek, as Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald was first to report (Twitter links). Heading back to Miami in the deal is Double-A righty Kyle Barraclough. St. Louis will take on the remainder of the $6.65MM left on Cishek’s contract this year, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets.

Before a rough stretch to open the 2015 campaign, the 29-year-old Cishek had established himself as one of the game’s most reliable late-inning arms. Over 2011-2014, he put up 253 1/3 innings of 2.70 ERA pitching, with 10.0 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9. Despite racking up 91 saves over that stretch, Cishek lost his closing role to A.J. Ramos and was eventually optioned earlier this year.

Things have gotten better of late for the side-armer, but it’s hard to ignore his poor early results. Cishek has lost a mile an hour off of his average fastball velocity, with his double-digit strikeout-per-nine tallies from last year falling to 7.9 K/9 this season. Cishek has managed to maintain a swinging strike rate of 9.3%, in line with previous seasons, but that has not translated into the results and he has also walked over a hitter per nine innings more than he did in 2014.

All said, Cishek has worked 32 innings and put up a 4.50 ERA. But there are signs of promise. He has been victimized by a high BABIP (.350) and low strand rate (66.4%), and is inducing soft contact at better-than-usual levels. And, of course, the results are much better of late. He has allowed just one earned run over 12 2/3 innings since he was recalled on June 14.

For St. Louis, the move resembles the 2012 trade to acquire Edward Mujica and the 2013 deal that brought in John Axford. As in those situations, the team will add an underperforming arm to bolster depth and take a bet on improved results going forward.

While the Cards have received excellent work from their bullpen, top set-up man Jordan Walden is still working back from injury and the club has leaned heavily on pitchers such as Trevor Rosenthal, Kevin Siegrist, and Seth Maness. And as Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com notes on Twitter, the Cardinals have moved righty Matt Belisle to the 60-day DL to create roster space, which indicates that they will be without one of their internal options for some time.

For Miami, meanwhile, the deal paints the team as a seller after a disappointing performance this year. The Fish held onto Cishek last summer, when his value was much higher, in hopes that he’d anchor the pen of a contender.

The Marlins did at least manage to turn an asset of little function to the team — Cishek was a likely non-tender candidate after the year — into a potentially useful future piece. But it seems that the organization’s developmental staff will have some work to do. Barraclough, 25, dominated the High-A level early in the year and earned a promotion to Double-A, where his control issues have become more pronounced. He’s worked to a 3.28 ERA with 10.2 K/9 against 7.3 BB/9 over 24 2/3 frames at Springfield.

Photo courtesy of USA Today.

Heyman On Padres, Tigers, Cubs, Phillies, Orioles, Sox, Reds, Marlins, Yankees

By Jeff Todd | July 24, 2015 at 1:44pm CDT

The real question facing the Padres at present is not whether to buy or sell, but how far to go in moving pieces, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. At least one rival GM expects the club to “sell big,” and Heyman says that San Diego is “offering around” closer Craig Kimbrel and starter James Shields, both of whom are under long-term control. While the former would figure to have a wide market, potentially including the Blue Jays, Nationals, and Dodgers, another GM says that he believes the club would have to chip in cash to move Shields. That may indicate that he could become an August trade piece, Heyman suggests, because he could well clear waivers. San Diego is interested in adding a young shortstop, he goes on to note, and has looked at several of the Brewers options (Jean Segura, Luis Sardinas, and top prospect Orlando Arcia).

Here are more highlights from the column:

Heyman hears that the Tigers are still weighing their options, too, and have not decided to sell. The club could even add an arm, he says, and is likely to see how its next two series play out before reaching a final conclusion.
While the Cubs are indeed willing to consider including Starlin Castro or Javier Baez in a deal for Cole Hamels of the Phillies, a source tells Heyman that the team would not be interested in moving both to add the lefty. Philadelphia’s plans for Hamels remain something of a mystery, but per the report the club may be backing down from its previous high-end demands from clubs like the Dodgers (Corey Seager or Julio Urias) and Red Sox (Mookie Betts or Blake Swihart).
There is now virtually no chance that Phillies lefty Cliff Lee will try to make it back this year, and he appears likely to retire over the winter.
As they approach the deadline and look ahead to free agency, the Cubs have some limitations on their spending capacity but will nevertheless try to add David Price (at least once he hits the open market). Meanwhile, the team has at least some interest in Reds starter Mike Leake as a trade piece but are somewhat hesitant to pursue rental options. While the Giants have plenty of rotation options, they too have considered Leake.
While we’ve just heard a suggestion that the Orioles could reverse course, Heyman says that they are still weighing outfield additions. The team has considered rental pieces like Marlon Byrd, Gerardo Parra, and Justin Upton. And he suggests that Carl Crawford or Shane Victorino could make sense as well; presumably, Baltimore would only be interested in either if their current clubs paid down a good bit of salary.
The Orioles intend to make qualifying offers after the season not only to Matt Wieters and Chris Davis, but also to lefty Wei-Yin Chen. The 30-year-old never seemed like a qualifying offer-level player, but was strong last year and has put up even better results in 2015 (while significantly outperforming his peripherals, it should be noted).
The Red Sox have received no trade interest in struggling first baseman Mike Napoli, says Heyman, but has gotten hits on Victorino as well as bullpen arms Koji Uehara and Junichi Tazawa.
The White Sox are looking to add some volume if they deal righty Jeff Samardzija, says Heyman. Chicago would like to pick up four young pieces in any trade.
While the Marlins have fielded interest in righty Tom Koehler and super utilityman Martin Prado, the club is not interested in dealing either player at present. Meanwhile, Miami is open to dealing veteran Dan Haren, but has rebuffed at least one club that asked for money to be sent along with him.
The Yankees are looking at both second base and top rotation candidates, says Heyman, but don’t feel a pressing need to add in either area. New York has no interest in veteran Diamondbacks infielder Aaron Hill, he adds.
Be sure to check out the rest of the piece for more notes on many of the teams around the league.

Alex Presley Clears Outright Waivers

By | July 24, 2015 at 1:03pm CDT

JULY 24: Presley has cleared outright waivers, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. Though he can decline an assignment to Triple-A, he already accepted an outright once earlier in the season to avoid sacrificing the remainder of his $1MM salary.

JULY 18: The Astros have designated outfielder Alex Presley for assignment, the Astros announced via Twitter. In a corresponding move, Scott Feldman has been activated from the disabled list and will start tonight.

Presley, 29, was recalled by the Astros in early July. He had three hits and five strikeouts in 13 plate appearances. At Triple-A, the left-handed outfielder hit .308/.345/.392. Presley has split his career between the Astros and Pirates, compiling 1,105 major league plate appearances across parts of seven seasons. Per Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (Tweet), Houston may find a suitor for Presley. The Orioles are among the teams with interest.

Feldman is returning from a right-knee injury that has sidelined him for a chunk of the 2015 season. He’s made 10 starts with a 4.80 ERA, 5.55 K/9, and 2.10 BB/9. His return will help Houston manage prospect Vincent Velasquez’s innings. He was optioned to Double-A 10 days ago despite a solid debut. Brett Oberholtzer was also optioned to Triple-A prior to the All Star Break.

Pirates Looking To Add Reliever; Nothing Close At Present

By Steve Adams | July 24, 2015 at 12:59pm CDT

JULY 24, 12:59pm: There isn’t anything close on deal for a relief arm, Rosenthal now tweets. While Pittsburgh does want to bolster its pen, there are “multiple options in play.”

7:15am: The Pirates are not working on a trade for any of the Diamondbacks’ relievers at this time, a source tells Zach Buchanan of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link). Brad Ziegler is one name with the D-Backs that’s been said to be receiving interest, while Addison Reed and Oliver Perez are believed to be available as well. However, it appears the Pirates are looking elsewhere at this time.

JULY 23: Hours after acquiring Aramis Ramirez, the Pirates are working on a second trade, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Rosenthal adds that the target of the current trade is believed to be a relief pitcher, though no specific name or team has been reported at this time.

Adding a relief pitcher would serve to strengthen an area of strength for the Pirates, who already rank third in the Majors with a collective 2.50 ERA from their bullpen. Of course, Pittsburgh’s 3.45 FIP and 3.56 xFIP from the bullpen rank 13th and 10th, respectively, and the Pirates likely know that their current group of relievers could be overachieving.

To this point, the Pirates have been most prominently connected to infield upgrades, back-of-the-rotation arms and possibly outfield upgrades. The bullpen hasn’t been rumored to be a focus for Pittsburgh GM Neal Huntington, though from a speculative standpoint, the Bucs could stand to potentially upgrade in a few spots. Antonio Bastardo’s overall numbers are underwhelming, although he’s at least held opposing lefties in check. Still, an improved second lefty could be an area of focus. Rob Scahill’s 2.08 ERA is strong, but it’s more than a full run and a half lower than his 3.87 FIP and 3.73 xFIP. Rookie Deolis Guerra has been sharp in his debut, but he’s hardly a battle-tested arm, so perhaps the Pirates prefer to deepen their bullpen by adding more experience to the mix.

The Brewers and A’s have both begun to sell pieces, and both have relief arms available. Oakland’s Tyler Clippard is expected by many to be moved prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, while the Brewers are likely open to moving both Francisco Rodriguez and lefty Neal Cotts.

AL East Notes: Orioles, Samardzija, Soria, Carrasco, Latos

By Steve Adams | July 24, 2015 at 12:56pm CDT

Despite very public statements indicating that the team is all in on 2015, the Orioles are now giving “serious consideration” to selling, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. As Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports notes (Twitter links), Baltimore owner Peter Angelos has previously been disinclined to authorize such a move, but that could change (at least in theory) with several of the team’s better players set to reach free agency. Of course, executive vice president Dan Duquette said on Wednesday that his club will be a buyer. But a sweep at the hands of the division-leading Yankees has certainly impacted the team’s chances of making a run at the AL East.

Here’s more from the division:

The Blue Jays remain in “active discussions” with the White Sox about right-hander Jeff Samardzija, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). The Jays have been said to have “strong” interest in adding Samardzija, a potential free agent at the end of the season. Upgrading the pitching staff is the Blue Jays’ top priority in the week leading up to the trade deadline, and Samardzija, whose eight-inning gem on Thursday dropped his ERA to 3.91, would certainly do that. Over his past eight outings, Samardzija has a 2.55 ERA, and he’s lasted at least seven innings in each of those contests. As Peter Gammons pointed out earlier today on Twitter, for a team with bullpen woes in addition to rotation troubles, adding a pitcher that is capable of effectively working deep into games should carry even greater appeal.
If the Tigers do end up selling, the Blue Jays will have interest in closer Joakim Soria, tweets Anthony Fenech of the Detroit News. Soria would be a pure rental, as he’s a free agent at the end of the year. He’s earning $7MM and has posted an even 3.00 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in his 39 innings this season, though he’s also had an unusually difficult time with home runs, which could make pitching at the Rogers Centre a challenge.
The Blue Jays’ pursuit of Scott Kazmir illustrates that it’s “becoming more clear” that the team is open to a rental acquisition, writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Davidi notes that the Kazmir talks were never going to get off the ground based on the asking price — “think Jeff Hoffman or Daniel Norris,” says Davidi — especially considering Kazmir’s injury scares. Health concerns are another reason to wonder if the Blue Jays will seriously pursue Johnny Cueto or not, he adds. While the Blue Jays may be warming to the idea of a rental arm, they can’t afford to have their acquisition miss any time, and Cueto’s had a pair of minor elbow issues in 2015.
While the Blue Jays made a “big push” to land Carlos Carrasco from the Indians, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link), the trade simply “didn’t get done.” Cleveland isn’t necessarily motivated to trade a starter, though they’re also not entirely ruling out the possibility.
The Yankees have shown at least some interest in Marlins righty Mat Latos, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports on Twitter. They join a growing list of clubs that have shown some inclination to take a chance on Latos’s resurgence and past success. New York has given public indication that it is not lining up any major moves, but it would be surprising if it does not at least make a few acquisitions at areas of need, and rotation depth could certainly make sense.

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