Archives for July 2015

Red Sox Acquire Ryan Cook

By Tim Dierkes | July 31, 2015 at 3:19pm CDT

The Red Sox acquired reliever Ryan Cook from the Athletics, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The A’s will receive a player to be named later, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.

Cook, 28, has pitched in the Majors for parts of five seasons with solid overall numbers. Acquired by the A’s from the D’Backs in the December 2011 Trevor Cahill trade, Cook made the All-Star team in 2012 and saved 14 games. However, he missed time with a shoulder injury and forearm strain last year, and was optioned to Triple-A out of spring training. That’s where he’s spent most of this season, compiling a 4.05 ERA in 33 1/3 innings. The Red Sox will potentially control Cook through 2018 as an arbitration eligible player.

Pirates, Dodgers Swap Jose Tabata, Michael Morse

By Jeff Todd and charliewilmoth | July 31, 2015 at 3:18pm CDT

The Pirates have announced that they’ve acquired Michael Morse and cash from the Dodgers for outfielder Jose Tabata. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com was the first to tweet that a deal had been struck.

The Dodgers recently acquired Morse in the 13-player Mat Latos / Hector Olivera deal, although Morse was seemingly included in the deal mostly so that the Marlins could shed his salary. He’s making $7MM this year and $8MM next, and is in the midst of a bad season, batting .213/.276/.313, a very poor line, particularly given that he provides little defensive value. Nonetheless, he’s right-handed and hit well in 2014, and the Pirates have struggled to find right-handed hitting depth, given injuries to Josh Harrison, Jordy Mercer and Corey Hart, along with Hart’s own poor performance. The Pirates also might hope that Morse can help the left-handed Pedro Alvarez at first base.

Tabata’s is surely headed the Dodgers’ way largely to offset Morse’s salary. The Pirates had already repeatedly outrighted the disappointing Tabata, who has about $6.75MM remaining on the long-term deal he signed with the Bucs in 2011. He’s spent most of the season with Triple-A Indianapolis, where he’s batted .291/.364/.345 in 165 plate appearances. Nonetheless, he’s young enough (with a listed age of 26) and has enough on-base ability that he might be able to help someone in a bench role. He will not need to be added to the Dodgers’ 40-man roster.

Cubs Acquire Dan Haren

By Jeff Todd | July 31, 2015 at 2:50pm CDT

The Cubs have acquired righty Dan Haren from the Marlins for shortstop Elliot Soto and righty Ivan Pineyro. The Marlins will also send $500K in the deal, as Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets.

Haren, 34, has had a nice season in Miami after several marginal campaigns over the last three years. He’s worked to a 3.42 ERA with 6.1 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9 on the year.

But those results have come in spite of a continued velocity decline (86 mph on his fastball on the year) and, more worryingly, less-than-excellent peripherals. ERA estimators see him as a 4+ ERA arm in terms of his actual contributions, with a low BABIP (.248) and high strand rate (82.6%) aiding his run prevention.

That being said, Haren has provided 129 innings already, showing the kind of durability that he did as a much younger starter. And the Cubs have reportedly been seeking not only young, controllable starting pitching but also depth pieces for the current season. With Haren set to become a free agent after the year, he certainly figures to fill some innings down the stretch.

Financials have played a big role in Haren’s market, with some teams talking with Miami asking for cash to come with him. It’s unclear as yet how that will work out in this trade.

The Marlins picked up Haren in the offseason as part of the Dee Gordon deal, with the Dodgers chipping in $10MM (the equivalent of Haren’s salary this season) in the trade. In the meantime, though, he’s begun racking up incentives through his high games started and innings tallies. If he maxes them out, as he’s on pace to do, he’d tack on another $3MM in obligations.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Wittenmyer initially reported that Haren was headed to Chicago, with Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reporting the Marlins would receive Soto and Pineyro.

No Traction Between Yankees, Padres On Kimbrel; Astros Out Too

By Steve Adams | July 31, 2015 at 2:48pm CDT

2:48pm: Drellich tweets that the Astros are out on Kimbrel as well.

2:25pm: There have been “zero talks” between the Yankees and Kimbrels in the run-up to the deadline, Sherman tweets.

2:17pm: Rosenthal tweets that there’s no traction between the Yankees and Padres in Kimbrel talks.

12:54pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the Yankees believe the Padres to be discussing a larger deal with other teams that involves Kimbrel.

11:39am: Both Rosenthal and Olney (Twitter links) now say there haven’t been any discussions between the Yankees and Padres regarding Kimbrel recently. Olney says there have been none “so far in this work day,” which could suggest that talks have stalled since their overnight discussions.

Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets that multiple teams say GM A.J. Preller has consistently asked for “a ton” in return for Kimbrel.

11:24am: The Yankees are currently the team that is in the hottest pursuit of Kimbrel, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link).

7:48am: The Yankees and Padres spent much of the night working on a trade to send closer Craig Kimbrel from San Diego to New York, according to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. The Astros, too, are in the mix for Kimbrel. Stark’s colleague, Buster Olney, tweets that he’s hearing the Yankees connected to Kimbrel as well.

Reports last night indicated that the Yankees would be willing to take on all of the $28MM that Kimbrel is guaranteed through the 2017 season. Stark hears the same but adds that the Yankees are continuing to balk at the possibility of including top prospects Luis Severino, Greg Bird and Aaron Judge in a potential swap. CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets that the Padres have sought top shortstop prospect Jorge Mateo as well but been denied to this point.

Late last night, Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reported that the Padres and Astros were at least discussing something big that involved Kimbrel and possibly one of Tyson Ross or Andrew Cashner. Stark adds today that it’s not known how much of Kimbrel’s contract the Astros would be able to take on after absorbing the $12MM remaining on Carlos Gomez’s deal yesterday.

Blue Jays Acquire Ben Revere

By Jeff Todd | July 31, 2015 at 2:39pm CDT

2:39pm: Revere acknowledges that he’s been traded, Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News tweets. Pitchers Jimmy Cordero and Alberto Tirado are headed to Philly in return, Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports on Twitter.

1:07pm: The Blue Jays have agreed to acquire outfielder Ben Revere from the Phillies, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports on Twitter. He joins a bevy of other additions heading to Toronto in a busy deadline for GM Alex Anthopoulos.

Revere owns a .298/.334/.374 slash on the year and while contributing 24 steals. That’s a fairly typical line for the speedy, left-handed-hitting outfielder. As Steve Adams of MLBTR noted earlier today, that brings something of a different element to Toronto’s high-powered offense.

In spite of his running ability, Revere is not generally considered an excellent defensive outfielder. But he has drawn much more positive ratings from both UZR and Defensive Runs Saved in 2015.

For Toronto, Revere could make sense as a platoon partner for Kevin Pillar in center as well as the team’s combination of Danny Valencia and Chris Colabello in left. All of those players hit from the right side of the plate.

The Phillies will pay the remainder of the $1.2MM owed Revere this season, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca tweets. The Jays can control him for two more seasons through arbitration.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Alex Wood

By Jeff Todd | July 31, 2015 at 2:35pm CDT

2:35pm: A Cubs-Dodgers deal was never discussed, per Rosenthal (on Twitter). But the Indians did have talks on Wood in a “larger deal.”

2:09pm: The Cubs and Dodgers are discussing lefty Alex Wood, who was just acquired by Los Angeles, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. A match appears to be “a longshot,” a source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link).

Red Sox, Cubs, Dodgers In On Carlos Carrasco

By Tim Dierkes | July 31, 2015 at 2:31pm CDT

2:32pm: One executive tells Rosenthal that he does not expect a Carrasco trade (Twitter link).

2:12pm: The Dodgers are one of many to discuss Carrasco with the Tribe, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

1:03pm: Boston’s efforts are focused on Carrasco or Tyson Ross of the Padres, tweets Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com. Outfielder Jackie Bradley, Jr. could go in a deal.

7:36am: The Cubs are “among [the] teams engaged in ongoing dialogue” with the Indians about starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Red Sox are in the market for controllable pitching, tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, and they have also talked to the Indians about Carrasco. Rosenthal says teams continue to call the Indians and make offers on the 28-year-old, who pitched a complete game last night. Crasnick says the Tribe has been involved with a large number of teams on Carrasco.

Since rejoining the Indians’ rotation on August 10th of last year, Carrasco has been a new man, with a 3.07 ERA, 10.0 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, and 0.64 HR/9 in 196 1/3 innings. The Indians deftly signed him to a four-year extension in April, which could run through 2020 if both club options are exercised. As he’s guaranteed only about $21MM through 2018, Carrasco is a very valuable commodity.

Prior to acquiring David Price, the Blue Jays were “close to a deal that fell apart near the finish line” for Carrasco, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. According to Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun, the Jays offered Daniel Norris, Jeff Hoffman, and Dalton Pompey for Carrasco. Interest will presumably be strong from teams looking for more than a rental starting pitcher, but not every team could spare the young players needed to pull off a deal.

Latest On Aroldis Chapman

By Tim Dierkes | July 31, 2015 at 2:21pm CDT

The Reds are listening on flamethrowing closer Aroldis Chapman, an All-Star in each of the last four seasons. The 27-year-old is under team control through 2016. The latest:

A source tells Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle that the Astros are more likely to make a deal with the Reds than the Yankees (Twitter link).
The Diamondbacks say their talks with the Reds for Chapman are now completely dead, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
It looks like the Diamondbacks are no longer in on Chapman, tweets MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert.

Earlier Updates

Arizona’s offer for Chapman includes pitching prospect Braden Shipley and one or two more of their top ten, tweets Nightengale.
Nightengale says the Reds’ price tag on Chapman is high, but five teams are involved, three seriously. He feels someone will meet the Reds’ demands.
The Reds now have stronger offers for Chapman than the one made by the Diamondbacks, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today, and Arizona is considered a long shot to acquire him. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports notes that while the Yankees have checked in, that’s not likely to happen either. The Astros are another club that has been linked to Chapman, tweets Heyman. Their interest goes to the ownership level, he adds.

Cubs Leaning Toward “Smaller Deal For Reliever”; 3-Team Talks Denied

By Jeff Todd | July 31, 2015 at 2:17pm CDT

2:16pm: The Cubs now appear to be leaning toward striking a smaller trade for a relief arm, Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com tweets. He adds that there are strong denials that a three-team scenario was ever considered, as Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald also has reported.

1:45pm: San Diego and Chicago are primarily working directly together on a deal, tweets Nightengale, who says that they may not need the involvement of a third team to swing a major deal.

1:22pm: Chicago “would love” to swing a deal for Tyson Ross and Craig Kimbrel, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. It’s not entirely clear how realistic that scenario is, but it appears the Cubs at least have interest in pursuing it.

12:18pm: The Padres, Red Sox, and Cubs have discussed an unspecified three-team deal, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweets. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweeted earlier that there was industry speculation of discussions between the clubs, noting that there were many potential fits between them.

The parameters of a deal remain unreported at this time, but both Chicago (here and here) and Boston have been heavily connected to San Diego in recent days. The Padres are reportedly looking for a shortstop, and both Starlin Castro and Javier Baez of the Cubs have been mentioned as possible pieces that could be dangled. Meanwhile, the Cubs and Red Sox have frequently been said to be interested in controllable pitching.

Rangers May Hold Yovani Gallardo

By Steve Adams | July 31, 2015 at 2:05pm CDT

2:05pm: It doesn’t sound like the Rangers are getting any offers to their liking, as Heyman tweets that at this time, it appears that they may hold onto Gallardo.

10:17am: The Cubs and Blue Jays also remain in the mix for Gallardo, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Those three teams are his main suitors, Heyman says, noting that the possibility of the Rangers retaining Gallardo still remains.

10:02am: The Dodgers and Rangers are having “ongoing discussions” regarding right-hander Yovani Gallardo this morning, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link).

The 29-year-old Gallardo was an offseason acquisition by the Rangers, who acquired him from the Brewers in exchange for Luis Sardinas and Corey Knebel. He’s had a nice season overall with Texas, notching a 3.39 ERA 6.0 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 49.5 percent ground-ball rate. However, Gallardo’s recent performance hasn’t done the Rangers any favors in terms of trading him; he’s allowed five runs in three consecutive starts.

Gallardo’s strikeout numbers are way down from his 2009-11 peak, but his ground-ball rate is up, and his control numbers have sharpened as well. He’s earning $14MM this season in his final year of control before hitting the open market. Clearly, a trade would benefit his free agent stock, as he’d be ineligible for a qualifying offer.

The Dodgers have already added Mat Latos and Alex Wood to their rotation, though there have been indications that they’re still in the market for even more rotation help despite those trades.

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