Here’s a look back at this week’s top stories here at MLBTR.
The Astros agree to terms with Yulieski Gurriel. The Astros made a huge splash late this week, agreeing to sign Cuban superstar Yulieski Gurriel to a five-year, $47.5MM deal. The move further strengthened what had already been a very strong projected Astros infield, but the team has no plans to trade top prospect Alex Bregman. Instead, the Astros plan to promote Gurriel later this season, and when both he and Bregman are in the Majors, they could use them both at a variety of positions. Gurriel had lately also been connected to the Dodgers and Mets.
The Red Sox continue to add. Dave Dombrowski and the Red Sox had already been busy on the trade market, adding Brad Ziegler and Aaron Hill, but this week they reached even higher, nabbing Drew Pomeranz from the Padres. They can keep Pomeranz in Boston through 2018, so he isn’t a rental, but they paid heavily to get him, sending top pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza to San Diego. On a related note, shortly after the Ziegler deal last week, it emerged that Sox closer Craig Kimbrel would have to miss three to six weeks due to a knee injury; the Sox have said the Ziegler deal wasn’t directly related to Kimbrel’s situation, but Ziegler certainly provides the Red Sox’ bullpen with a convenient bit of help. The Padres’ willingness to deal Pomeranz, meanwhile, might not mean they’ll be opening the shop on all their veterans — both they and first baseman Wil Myers are interested in an extension.
The Diamondbacks demote Shelby Miller. The Diamondbacks’ controversial winter trade for Shelby Miller took another turn for the worse this week, as they demoted the slumping starter to Triple-A Reno after he posted a 7.14 ERA in 14 starts. The Diamondbacks as a team, meanwhile, are just 38-53 despite their flashy offseason, and there are whispers within the game that the organization could fire manager Chip Hale.
The Blue Jays extend Justin Smoak. The Jays signed first baseman Justin Smoak to a somewhat two-year extension Saturday, removing an infielder from next year’s free agent market. Toronto also, of course, has a couple higher-profile sluggers in Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion who remain set to become free agents. Via a tweet from Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi, the Jays maintain that the Smoak deal has no impact on their ability to re-sign Bautista and Encarnacion, but it’s hard not to see Smoak’s extension a bit of insurance if the Jays aren’t able to retain those players.
The draft signing deadline passes. The deadline to sign players from the 2016 draft was Friday. While many key draftees signed earlier in the summer, a few key picks waited until just before the deadline, including Jason Groome (Red Sox), Braxton Garrett (Marlins) and Anthony Kay (Mets).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Any semi-notable guys that didn’t sign?
I just read Pomeranz has a loser BAA than KershAw this season.
He may walk people, but his third new cut pitch is solid. I think he’s going to be good, not as good as his first half, but still make the Padres regret getting an 18 y/o for a veteran having a career year with 2.5 years of control remaining. I can’t get over how dumb that was. If the kid was a number 1 prospect then I would say quality over quantity but with prospects as they die out all the time you want quantity over quality. Plenty of 5-18th rounders have been major mlb all stars and contributors. I would
Never bet on a guy in low A no matter what scouts say…
(Plus the kid on low A had an elbow stress fracture in 2014)
I also wouldn’t put the blame on Chip Hale for the Diamondbacks. You could possibly blame Tony LaRusso if you wanted to put it on hale is not fair. People are hurt. That’s what happens in baseball ; at least give the dude a chance while everyone is healthy and the pitchers they’ve acquired get back into form. I hate hastily fires from bottom feeder teams thinking they just need a new manager to beat out the LAD and SFG. Delusional. What do Dback fans think of Hale?
The organizational blame falls on Stewart’s shoulders for me. He’s made several moves that look bad in hindsight (both this year and in years past).
Didi is blossoming in NYY while Ray hasn’t shown much.
Throwing away Touki to shed Arroyo’s contract seems hasty.
The Grenkie and Miller deals looked questionable at the time and have quickly gotten worse.
Hellickson trade didn’t work out at all.
Both arms from the Miley deal have had little to no impact (De La Rosa being the little)
It’s seems like the only move he’s had luck with is the Segura trade and I’m not overly confident Jean’s success will last.
Hey chat, I have a question…
Is the subscription for ESPN Insider worth it (for MLB), and Baseball America?
Are they both worth the money? Thx in advance
Not sure what you are looking for, but ESPN insider isn’t that great any more. I originally subscribed for the rumors section to get an edge in fantasy sports, but this site is all you need for that. There are some good articles, but it’s nothing special any more.