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Yankees Discussing Chapman Trade Scenarios With Other Clubs

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The Yankees are “going full bore in shaping possible deals” with other clubs regarding Aroldis Chapman, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney (via Twitter). According to executives to whom Olney has spoken, the Nationals, Rangers and Indians are a few of the involved parties at this time.

Reports out of New York and recent quotes from president Randy Levine to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports have indicated that the Yankees have yet to determine whether they’ll sell off veteran pieces at the deadline, but there’s long been speculation that Chapman, a free agent at season’s end, could be moved even if the team hangs onto more controllable pieces like Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances.

All three clubs listed by Olney have been linked relief help over the past couple of weeks, with left-handed relief help in particular said on many occasions recently to be Cleveland’s top priority of late. The Rangers are known to be seeking rotation help, but they also currently sport the second-worst bullpen ERA of any club in baseball, at 5.08. The Nationals, meanwhile, have been said to be in pursuit of a top-tier bullpen arm dating back to last summer’s trade deadline and have been linked to Chapman on more than one occasion in the past. Earlier today, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that Chapman was the Nationals’ “most likely” target on the trade market.

Yahoo’s Jeff Passan wrote earlier this week that the Yankees “are going to trade” Chapman prior to the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline, though a full roster tear-down is unlikely. There’s been some word that the Yankees are internally discussing the possibility of trying to extend Chapman, though the reports from Passan and now Olney would certainly seem to indicate that a long-term pact isn’t an overly likely possibility.

The 28-year-old Chapman, who is owed about $4.64MM of his $11.325MM salary through season’s end, has pitched to a 2.22 ERA with 12.7 K/9 and a much improved 2.5 BB/9 rate since returning from a 30-game suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy earlier this season.

Central Notes: Brantley, Bruce, Royals, Twins, Cardinals, CarGo

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Indians left fielder Michael Brantley has apparently suffered another setback in his recovery from shoulder surgery, as Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (via Twitter) that Brantley is headed for an MRI tomorrow after his shoulder once again started barking. Arguably Cleveland’s best player when healthy, Brantley has instead totaled just 43 plate appearances over 11 games this year after following a recovery timeline that was a bit more aggressive than initially projected. In his absence, the Indians have received a breakout performance from rookie Tyler Naquin as well as a strong performance from veteran Rajai Davis, who inked a one-year pact in the offseason. Lonnie Chisenhall and Jose Ramirez have each contributed nicely in the absence of Brantley as well, leading to a considerably more productive outfield mix than most pundits expected this season. Nonetheless, the return of a healthy Brantley would be a massive boost the the Indians’ chances of not only reaching the postseason but thriving in the playoffs.

More from the game’s Central divisions…

  • Sticking with Cleveland, FOX’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the Indians “are not on” Reds right fielder Jay Bruce despite some other reports that have connected the two clubs. Rather, Cleveland is seeking left-handed relief pitchers and, when it comes to their preference between Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller, Cleveland prefers the more controllable Miller to Chapman.
  • Within that same piece, Royals general manager Dayton Moore tells Rosenthal that he plans to do everything in his power to improve his club’s roster prior to the non-waiver trade deadline. While the Royals aren’t perched atop the division like they were for much of the 2015 campaign that saw them win the World Series and have notably received poor performances from the starting rotation, Moore expressed confidence in his 2016 group of talent. However, Rosenthal adds that Kansas City is “almost certainly going to be limited financially,” which could prompt the club to again have to surrender better prospects in trades as a means of persuading other teams to add money into potential deals.
  • The Twins are receiving the most trade interest in shortstop Eduardo Nunez, catcher Kurt Suzuki, right-hander Brandon Kintzler and left-hander Fernando Abad, sources indicated to Rosenthal. Right-hander Ervin Santana has not drawn the same level of interest, likely due to the $28MM remaining on his contract beyond the 2016 campaign. Suzuki, a free agent following the season (unless he reaches 485 plate appearances, at which point a $6MM vesting option will trigger), has had a torrid seven-week stretch during which he’s batted .352/.381/.556 with four homers and 10 doubles. Nunez, Abad and Kintzler can all be controlled through 2017 via the arbitration process, and Nunez in particular has had a productive run, hitting .299/.332/.455 with 16 homers and 30 steals in 154 games dating back to Opening Day 2015.
  • Regarding Suzuki, while the Twins were in this position with him a couple of years ago and elected to sign him to a two-year, $12MM extension, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that there have been no extension talks at all between the two sides this time around. That would seemingly make a trade more likely, especially in light of his improved production over the past month and a half.
  • ESPN’s Mark Saxon reports that the Cardinals have “no interest” in trading for a short-term bat (links to Twitter). St. Louis is only interested in acquiring a hitter unless it would be a long-term acquisition. While some may connect the dots and suggest that Carlos Gonzalez fits that bill, to an extent, Saxon adds that top Cardinals officials aren’t as high on Gonzalez as many seem to think they are. Some reports earlier this summer connected the Cards to the Rockies slugger, but Saxon’s report certainly downplays that as a possibility.

Reds’ Jon Moscot Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Reds right-hander Jon Moscot announced (on Twitter) today that he underwent elbow surgery, and C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweeted soon after that the 24-year-old underwent Tommy John surgery.

Moscot, a fourth-round pick of the Reds in 2012, debuted for Cincinnati last season and tossed 11 2/3 innings across three starts, and he’s made five starts for the 2016 Reds as well. Though Moscot has a solid minor league track record, having pitched to a 3.79 ERA with 7.1 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in 448 1/3 innings, but he’s yet to see that success translate to the Majors. In 33 big league innings, he’s posted a 6.82 ERA with a 16-to-15 K/BB ratio and a 38.1 percent ground-ball rate. His 2015 campaign came to an end when he dislocated his non-throwing shoulder.

While Moscot has been working out of the club’s Triple-A rotation, his loss will serve as a hit to the club’s depth chart, though Cincinnati certainly has a large number of arms to vie for spots in the rebuilding rotation. Anthony DeSclafani, Dan Straily, Cody Reed and Brandon Finnegan currently sit in the Cincinnati rotation, with a mending Homer Bailey working his way back to join. Beyond that, the Reds have the recently demoted John Lamb in Triple-A as well as top prospects Robert Stephenson and Amir Garrett as options in the near future. Beyond that grouping, right-handers Michael Lorenzen and Raisel Iglesias have both worked as starters for Cincinnati over the past year, though each is currently in the big league bullpen.

Nick Tropeano Diagnosed With UCL Tear; Tommy John Surgery Likely

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Angels right-hander Nick Tropeano has been diagnosed with a medium- to high-grade tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, the team informed reporters (Twitter link via Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times). While he’s headed for a second opinion, Tommy John surgery is the likely outcome. While he could potentially aim for the same stem-cell treatment that teammates Andrew Heaney and Garrett Richards have utilized — Heaney has been ticketed for Tommy John surgery in spite of said alternative — MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez notes (links to Twitter) that doing so would mean that Tropeano’s recovery would linger well into the 2018 season if he attempts the treatment and ultimately finds it unsuccessful.

[Related: Updated Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Depth Chart]

For the Angels, the highly likely loss of Tropeano adds to what has been a nearly unprecedented deluge of pitching injuries. The Halos have now lost Richards, Heaney and Tropeano to UCL tears, while left-hander C.J. Wilson will not pitch this season due to shoulder surgery. Further complicating matters for the Halos has been Jered Weaver’s significant dip in velocity, as the former ace has limped to a 5.02 ERA in 107 2/3 innings this season with a fastball that sits in the 82-83 mph range. Left-hander Tyler Skaggs has yet to pitch at the big league level this season due to setbacks in the recovery from his own Tommy John surgery (in late 2014), though he’s said to be nearing a return to the big league rotation at long last.

The Angels were already clearly out of the picture in the American League West and in the AL Wild Card race, but the loss of so many arms with injuries that will cost them some or all of the 2017 season calls into question how willingly they can part with potential trade chips like Hector Santiago and Matt Shoemaker. Anaheim’s farm system has been largely depleted by trades and the forfeiture of high draft picks to sign free agents, and the team has very little in the pipeline that is on the immediate horizon. If the club is able to acquire some near-term rotation options in trades for either of those arms or for potential trade chips like Yunel Escobar and Huston Street, it’d be a major boon to the system. However, as it stands, the club’s rotation consists of Weaver, Shoemaker, Santiago and the struggling Tim Lincecum, with Skaggs, Jhoulys Chacin and prospect Nate Smith serving as possible alternatives.

While the Angels have seen their share of struggles out of the rotation this season, Tropeano had been a bright spot, logging a 3.56 ERA with 9.0 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 and a 33.3 percent ground-ball rate in 68 1/3 innings. Acquired from the Astros alongside Carlos Perez (in exchange for catcher Hank Conger), Tropeano is under control through the 2021 season, so even if Tommy John surgery is the ultimate outcome, the 25-year-old will have plenty of time to contribute to future Angels’ pitching staffs down the line.

Latest On Rangers’ Trade Talks For Starters

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The Rangers are actively seeking rotation upgrades, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, who points out that GM Jon Daniels said in a radio appearance this morning that he’s had the opportunity to make trades but has yet to find the right fit. The problem for the Rangers, according to Grant, is that teams speaking to Texas have persistently asked for either Joey Gallo or Jurickson Profar in exchange for available starting pitchers, either of which appears to be a deal-breaker for the time being.

Texas has heavily scouted the Rays and does have interest in right-hander Jake Odorizzi and lefty Matt Moore — senior director of player personnel Josh Boyd watched each pitch last week, per Grant — but Texas doesn’t seem keen on parting with either Profar or Gallo in a trade for Moore or Odorizzi. The Rangers would prefer Lewis Brinson to headline a deal for either pitcher, per Grant. They’d also like the Rays to be more willing to talk about Chris Archer, who is in the midst of a down season but was one of the American League’s most dominant starters last season and has maintained an elite strikeout rate.

Archer has been plagued by home runs this season but is still averaging 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings and is on one of the game’s more team-friendly deals (assuming some degree of a rebound), as he’s earning $2.75MM in 2016 and is owed a combined $20.25MM through 2019. That $20.25MM figure includes the $1.75MM buyout on a 2020 option worth $9MM, and Archer’s contract also comes with a 2021 option for $11MM. All told, he can be controlled for five seasons beyond the 2016 campaign at a total of $38.5MM. It’s understandable, then, why teams are so enamored of the 27-year-old Archer despite his downturn in production this year.

If the Rangers aren’t able to persuade the Rays to surrender one of their arms for a price with which Daniels and his staff are comfortable, Texas may turn to the Yankees. According to Grant, they’ve been looking Nathan Eovaldi, Ivan Nova and even CC Sabathia despite his significant contract. None of the three figures to come with an exorbitant asking price. Nova is a free agent at season’s end and is a fourth or fifth starter, while Sabathia is owed an enormous $25MM this season plus $25MM more in 2017 via a vesting option that will trigger so long as Sabathia doesn’t incur a significant shoulder injury in the season’s final two months. As such, one can imagine that the asking price on Sabathia would be negligible, though I can’t imagine Texas seriously considering a deal without the Yankees adding some degree of financial compensation.

Eovaldi, meanwhile, is earning $5.6MM this year and is controllable through 2017 but has wilted after a strong start to the year. The hard-throwing 26-year-old had a solid 3.71 ERA as recently as Memorial Day but has been shelled since June 1, pitching to a 9.20 ERA across six starts. That dismal slump saw Eovaldi banished to the bullpen, though he’s slated to return to the Yankees’ rotation tonight after pitching 7 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. His 2016 struggles and relatively brief amount of remaining club control could make Eovaldi attainable for second- or third-tier prospects, though it’s not clear if the Yankees will ultimately sell off pieces that are controllable beyond the current season. If they do, Grant notes that the Rangers can be added to the extremely long list of teams with interest in lefty Andrew Miller, though unlike the other Yankees mentioned here, the asking price on Miller would be astronomical.

While Rangers fans undoubtedly would prefer to see action sooner rather than later, Grant writes that Daniels is taking a patient approach and is waiting to see if any additional clubs enter the seller’s market in the 13 days between now and the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline.

Latest On Clayton Kershaw’s Injury

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Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw “didn’t feel great” on Sunday following a 60-pitch simulated game on Saturday, tweets Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times. Kershaw will be shut down until his back pain subsides, manager Dave Roberts told the L.A. media, and his return to the Dodgers’ rotation is “uncertain.” Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets that Kershaw hasn’t picked up a ball since Saturday and will have his back re-examined in the next day or two.

Suffice it to say, that’s not the type of update the Dodgers were hoping to provide following Kershaw’s most recent throwing session. His uncertain timeline further compounds the depleted starting pitching depth for a Dodgers club that was forced to place Hyun-jin Ryu back on the disabled list earlier today with soreness in his left elbow. With Kershaw’s apparent setback and Ryu back on the disabled list, the Dodgers will once again turn to Julio Urias, tweets McCullough, who notes that Bud Norris will make the start for the Dodgers tomorrow with Urias going on Thursday.

The Dodgers, then, will have a rotation consisting of Norris, Urias, Brandon McCarthy, Scott Kazmir and Kenta Maeda for the time being. Names like Brock Stewart, Mike Bolsinger, Carlos Frias and Ross Stripling await as depth at the minor league level, with Brett Anderson and Alex Wood looming as eventual possibilities on the Major League disabled list. However, the Dodgers have also been connected to Rays starters Jake Odorizzi, Matt Moore and Chris Archer in recent weeks (each of whom president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman knows well from his days as GM of the Rays) and has also been linked to Rich Hill this week. While there’s no reason yet to get overly speculative about Kershaw’s injury status, one has to imagine that any further bad news from his upcoming examination would only hasten Friedman and his staff’s efforts to add to the team’s rotation picture.

Cardinals Place Jhonny Peralta On Disabled List, Designate Michael McKenry

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The Cardinals announced this afternoon that they’ve placed third baseman Jhonny Peralta back on the 15-day disabled list with a strained ligament in his left thumb. In corresponding moves, the team has recalled outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker. Additionally, right-hander Miguel Socolovich has been recalled from Triple-A, and catcher Michael McKenry has been designated for assignment.

[Related: Updated St. Louis Cardinals Depth Chart]

Word of Peralta’s injury is obviously a concern for the Cards, as surgery to repair a ligament in Peralta’s left thumb cost him the first two-plus months of the 2016 season. In his absence, Aledmys Diaz solidified himself as the everyday shortstop in St. Louis, prompting Peralta to shift to the hot corner and Matt Carpenter to displace the struggling Kolten Wong from the everyday role at second base. While Peralta initially hit well upon activation from the DL, he’s struggled considerably in his past 22 games, hitting just .185/.212/.383. While that’s a highly arbitrary endpoint, he’s hardly the first player to struggle in a return from hand surgery. The Cardinals’ press release did not give an indication as to when Peralta might be able to return to the lineup.

McKenry appeared in just three games with the Cards, collecting two plate appearances (one strikeout, one sacrifice bunt). He’s a veteran of six prior Major League seasons and has compiled a career .238/.318/.406 batting line with 29 homers in 953 plate appearances between the Rockies, Pirates and his ever-so-brief stay with the Cards. He becomes the second veteran backstop to find himself displaced from St. Louis this year, as the Cards also had to designate Eric Fryer for assignment recently in order to pave way for the return of fellow backstop Brayan Pena.

Hazelbaker, of course, began the season as one of the hottest hitters in baseball and drew quite a bit of fanfare from the media for his Herculean April (.317/.357/.683). However, as is often the case with early-season success stories, regression set in, and Hazelbaker ultimately was optioned to Triple-A after slashing .180/.206/.279 from May 1 through June 15. Socolovich, 29, returns to St. Louis for a second stint after spending much of the 2015 campaign in their bullpen and working to a pristine 1.82 ERA with a 27-to-10 K/BB ratio in 29 2/3 innings of work.

Orioles Designate Henry Urrutia For Assignment, Place Hyun Soo Kim On DL

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The Orioles announced today that they have placed left fielder Hyun Soo Kim on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 11, with a strained hamstring. In his place, the club has selected the contract of outfielder Julio Borbon from Double-A Bowie and designated outfielder Henry Urrutia for assignment. Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com first reported that Urrutia was to be designated for assignment.

[Related: Updated Baltimore Orioles Depth Chart]

The 29-year-old Urrutia received a $779K signing bonus when inking a minor league contract with the Orioles out of Cuba back in 2012 and has appeared in parts of big league seasons, hitting .272/.287/.337 in 94 plate appearances. Urrutia was an accomplished hitter in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, with a career line of .350/.426/.517, but he’s never tapped into that power with the Orioles organization. His work at the Triple-A level has yielded a .284 average and .333 OBP, but he’s slugged a timid .383 in that time (957 plate appearances).

Kim, 28, has come a long way since reportedly refusing a minors assignment in Spring Training. The O’s have brought him along slowly and the results have been excellent, as the man nicknamed the “Hitting Machine” in Korea has lived up to that billing with a .329/.410/.454 batting line in 173 trips to the plate. With that type of production, the O’s, who are clinging to a 1.5 game lead in the AL East, will hope that his absence is brief in nature.

The 30-year-old Borbon once looked like a potential catalyst atop the Rangers lineup but hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2013. He’s a career .272/.318/.347 hitter in the bigs and has delivered a .289/.353/.373 slash with 20 stolen bases in 83 games for Baltimore’s Double-A affiliate this season.

Pirates Designate Erik Kratz

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The Pirates designated catcher Erik Kratz for assignment, per a team announcement. Pittsburgh has activated fellow receiver Francisco Cervelli, precipitating the move. The Bucs also announced that Jameson Taillon has been activated, with fellow righty Chad Kuhl optioned to make way.

[Related: Updated Pirates Depth Chart]

The 36-year-old Kratz has endured an awful year offensively, recording only eight hits in 87 plate appearances, and owns a lifetime .200/.248/.362 batting line at the major league level. Like many veteran receivers, though, he’s valued more for his work behind the dish. It seems likely that he’ll either stick with the Pittsburgh organization after clearing waivers or move on to provide depth to another club.

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