Archives for July 2016

NL Notes: Mets, Nats, Pirates, Cardinals, D-backs

By Connor Byrne | July 10, 2016 at 1:29pm CDT

With right-hander Matt Harvey’s season over thanks to thoracic outlet syndrome, the reigning National League champion Mets are unsure if it makes sense to deal prospects for major league help at this year’s trade deadline, according to the New York Daily News’ John Harper. “There’s a lot of grey area right now,’’ a Mets source told Harper. Only two Mets prospects – shortstop Amed Rosario (No. 18) and first baseman Dominic Smith (No. 76) – cracked Baseball America’s just-released midseason top 100 prospects, notes Harper, who points out that the 47-40 team lacks blue-chip pipeline talent to trade. Harper’s also skeptical of the quality of starters set to move by the deadline, though he adds that the Wild Card-holding Mets might be willing to part with Smith for a capable rotation piece.

More on New York and four other NL cities:

The Mets’ tough-it-out approach with injured young starters Harvey, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz is backfiring on them, while the Nationals are benefiting from a more guarded method, opines Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post. Harvey missed the entire 2014 season because of Tommy John surgery and then responded with a 238 2/3-inning workload last year, writes Boswell, who points out that Harvey and agent Scott Boras expected the Mets to shut him down late in the campaign. However, general manager Sandy Alderson had no such expectation and Harvey elected to keep pitching after dealing with backlash from fans and media. Meanwhile, the Nats have taken care of ace Stephen Strasburg, another Boras client, having shut him down early during their 98-win showing in 2012. They also sent Strasburg to the disabled list last month rather than take a chance with his upper back injury. Strasburg dominated before landing on the DL and has continued doing so since returning July 3. Moreover, while Strasburg might have been this year’s NL All-Star starter, he and the club made the “mutual decision” to keep him out of the game, per president and GM Mike Rizzo.
Having won 12 of 15, the 46-42 Pirates now sit just 1.5 games back of a Wild Card spot. Thus, they’re approaching the trade deadline as buyers. “Our expectation is we are going to add,” GM Neal Huntington told Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Our mindset is we are going to add and put ourselves, for the first time in the franchise history, in position to make the postseason four consecutive years.” The Pirates’ resurgence has come without ace Gerrit Cole and catcher Francisco Cervelli, of which Huntington is cognizant. “We’ve gone through this toughest part of our schedule,” he said. “We’re going to get guys back healthy.”
Cardinals GM John Mozeliak acknowledged that the idea of promoting Baseball America’s second-ranked prospect, Triple-A right-hander Alex Reyes, as a bullpen option is an enticing one. “So when you think about that type of tool set and putting it in the bullpen it’s certainly exciting,” Mozeliak told Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “You’d be hard pressed to find that type of talent in the trade market and let alone (it would be a) zero acquisition cost.” On the other hand, the flame-throwing 21-year-old hasn’t totaled more than 116 1/3 frames in a season since joining the Cardinals organization in 2013, and they want him to accrue innings so he can help their rotation in 2017. “If all he ended up with is 75 innings what can we expect from him as a starter next year?” Mozeliak said. Reyes, who served a 50-game marijuana suspension to begin the season, has racked up 41 1/3 innings this year.
Before the Diamondbacks traded Brad Ziegler to Boston on Saturday, they asked the pending free agent reliever if he’d be open to a contract extension. Ziegler said yes, but, “Next time I heard from them, they told me I was traded” (via ESPN’s Scott Lauber).

Phillies Designate Mario Hollands For Assignment

By Connor Byrne | July 10, 2016 at 11:33am CDT

The Phillies have designated left-hander Mario Hollands for assignment, the team announced.

Hollands has thus far spent his entire career as part of the Philadelphia organization, which picked him in the 10th round of the 2010 draft. The 27-year-old’s only major league experience came over a fairly extensive sample size in 2014, as he amassed 47 innings of 4.40 ERA pitching to go with a 6.7 K/9, 4.02 BB/9 and 51.2 percent ground-ball rate. As a minor leaguer, Hollands has totaled 115 appearances (67 starts) and 431 1/2 innings. He owns a 3.92 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 outside the majors.

AL Notes: Red Sox, Yankees, Beltran, Twins

By Connor Byrne | July 10, 2016 at 10:16am CDT

On the heels of acquiring reliever Brad Ziegler from Arizona early Saturday, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald that their bullpen is “pretty well set.” Dombrowski, who said the Red Sox had been working on landing Ziegler “for a while,” is optimistic about how the club’s relief corps will fare after Craig Kimbrel returns in a few weeks from knee surgery, stating, “Kimbrel’s coming back, and then you’ve got Kimbrel, you’ve got Koji (Uehara), you’ve got (Brad) Ziegler. I know Taz (Junichi Tazawa) is going through a little bit of tiredness in his arm and shoulder. They don’t think it’s anything major.” Drellich is less bullish about the unit than Dombrowski is, though, as he opines that the Sox shouldn’t bank on the health of Kimbrel or Tazawa down the stretch, nor should they assume effectiveness from 41-year-old Uehara and Heath Hembree.

More on Boston and a couple other AL clubs:

With the Aug. 1 trade deadline approaching, the middling Yankees can take disparate lessons from last year’s White Sox, Tigers and Rangers, all of whom the current Bombers compare to, writes Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. The White Sox – like the Tigers, Rangers and this year’s Yanks – went into the deadline with a below-.500 record and a negative run differential, but they elected to stand pat instead of selling. That meant keeping right-hander Jeff Samardzija, who walked in free agency after Chicago missed the playoffs. The White Sox did, however, receive a first-round pick as compensation for his departure. The Tigers, meanwhile, dealt Yoenis Cespedes, David Price and Joakim Soria instead of clinging to postseason dreams. As a result, they now have highly promising 23-year-old righty Michael Fulmer, whom they acquired from the Mets for Cespedes. After making a bold trade for southpaw Cole Hamels, Texas turned its season around en route to a playoff berth. The Yankees have plenty of movable assets and will have to decide in the coming weeks which of those three teams they’ll mimic.
If the Yankees sell, 39-year-old All-Star Carlos Beltran seems likely to end up in another uniform. The right fielder/designated hitter has already submitted his 15-team no-trade list to the Yankees, per Davidoff, with Beltran revealing it includes “a little bit of both” leagues. The potential future Hall of Famer would be open to another stint in the NL, which would mean playing the field every day. “DH is great, but I played all my life in the outfield, so there’s nothing wrong with it. I just want to play baseball, man,” he commented.
Injuries have beset the Red Sox this year in left field, where Chris Young, Blake Swihart and Brock Holt have each missed extended periods of time. However, Dombrowski is comfortable with his in-house options. Regarding the possibility of acquiring a left fielder, Dombrowski said (via Drellich), “I’m not really looking to do that. At some point, Blake Swihart is going to come back, too. … Chris Young is coming back. Brock Holt looks like, when I went in there earlier, it looks like he doesn’t have to be on the disabled list. Bryce Brentz has done a nice job for us.” Notably, Boston is in possession of an elite prospect, Double-A outfielder Andrew Benintendi, who could solve their issues in left if he receives a major league promotion.
While Padres managing partner Peter Seidler admitted Saturday that they probably won’t be ready to compete until at least 2019, the bottom-feeding Twins aren’t taking the same approach.“Everybody wants to win next year. We’re not looking at 2020,” general manager Terry Ryan said (Twitter link via Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press). After posting a solid 83-79 record last year, Ryan’s Twins have gone an AL-worst 31-56 this season. Needless to say, winning next year seems like a tall order.

Cafardo’s Latest: BoSox, Royals, O’s, Jays, Yanks, Rays, A’s, Phils, Twins, Angels

By Connor Byrne | July 10, 2016 at 8:51am CDT

Scouts from the Red Sox, Royals, Orioles and Blue Jays were on hand to watch Athletics left-hander Rich Hill’s Thursday start, according to the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo, who writes that the 36-year-old would likely prefer a return to Boston. With the help of ex-major league pitcher Brian Bannister at Triple-A Pawtucket, Hill began reviving his career as part of the Red Sox organization late last summer after a stint in the independent Atlantic League.“Brian pointed out that (Clayton) Kershaw threw his curveball 45 percent of the time,” said Hill. “He basically emphasized that, take what you think are your best pitches and use them correctly. So with me, it was not only throwing the curveball but throwing it at different speeds, changing the shape of it as well as manipulating the spin on the fastball.” Hill took Bannister’s advice and has relied almost exclusively on his curveball and fastball since the Red Sox called him up last September. The results? Ninety-nine innings of 2.06 ERA ball to accompany a 10.8 K/9, 2.83 BB/9, 49.6 percent ground-ball rate and 17.9 percent infield fly mark. Hill could soon end up as the premier starter dealt by the Aug. 1 deadline, and the pitching-challenged Red Sox – who added Bannister to their coaching staff earlier this week – seem like a logical fit. For now, Hill is scheduled to start again Friday for the A’s, who bought low on him in the offseason (one year, $6MM) and have reaped the rewards.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: D-backs, Teheran, Jays, Brewers, Bucs

By Connor Byrne | July 10, 2016 at 8:37am CDT

This week’s spin around the baseball blogosphere…

Inside the ’Zona has a plan for the Diamondbacks as the trade deadline nears.
Outside Pitch MLB suggests the Braves should trade right-hander Julio Teheran.
BaseballDocs believes the Red Sox and Dodgers are the teams likeliest to land Teheran.
Chin Music Baseball analyzes Astros second baseman Jose Altuve’s offensive brilliance.
BP Toronto details how Marco Estrada has become the Blue Jays’ ace.
Brew Crew Fever breaks down which Brewers could switch uniforms by the deadline.
Call To The Pen wants to revamp the All-Star voting process.
Jays From The Couch investigates what left-hander JA Happ is doing differently in his second stint with the Blue Jays.
Pirates Breakdown is excited about the Bucs’ chances of competing for championships with their “dream rotation” taking shape.
Think Blue Planning Committee looks at whether the Dodgers should pursue offensive upgrades before the deadline.
AZ Snake Pit doesn’t see the Diamondbacks contending in 2017 without making notable changes to their outfield.
Rotisserie Duck lists the 10 best and worst batting averages on balls in play and tries to figure out what’s ahead for the 20 players.
Total Sports Live thinks the Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros, Mets and Dodgers are equipped to make second-half runs.
Yanks Go Yard names the five biggest surprises of the Yankees’ first half.
The Runner Sports mulls the possibility of the Astros trading elite infield prospect Alex Bregman.
Blue Jay Hunter covers what Troy Tulowitzki’s resurgence could mean for the Blue Jays.
A’s Farm highlights the Athletics’ best minor league players of 2016 at the midpoint.
That Ball’s Outta Here points to an adjustment struggling Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola could make.
Orioles on Deck offers ways for the Orioles to fix their pitching woes.
Rum Bunter is bullish about the recent work done by the Pirates’ bullpen.
Motor City Bengals tries to find a fit for the Tigers among the Rays’ starting pitchers.
Jays Journal checks in on the players the Blue Jays gave up in recent key trades.
Brew City Sports Report has a positive outlook on the Brewers’ rebuild.
North Shore Nine hopes the newly promoted Josh Bell can buck the Pirates’ long-running trend of relying on forgettable first basemen.
The Point of Pittsburgh is optimistic about Bell’s future.
RSN Stats delves into the remarkable numbers Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz has put up this year.
Halo Headquarters looks into whether the Angels should aim for the No. 1 pick in the 2017 amateur draft.
The Ranger Report is worried about the Rangers’ pitching.
Baseball Hot Corner regards right-hander Aaron Sanchez as a possible extension candidate in the near future for the Blue Jays.
Philliedelphia could see a playoff contender picking up free agent shortstop Jimmy Rollins for the stretch run.
Sports Heaven ponders Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun’s future.
Camden Depot revisits its preseason standings projections.
The First Out At Third examines the prospects the Brewers received from the Red Sox in exchange for Aaron Hill.
Big Three Sports explores the fantasy baseball ramifications of Cardinals star Matt Carpenter’s injury.

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MLBTR Originals

By Connor Byrne | July 10, 2016 at 8:07am CDT

Here’s a recap of the original analysis MLBTR offered this week:

Although we’re not yet at the trade deadline, this season is already three months old. That means the offseason is creeping closer, so Tim Dierkes updated his free agent power rankings for the upcoming winter. Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes tops the group for the second straight month.
Jeff Todd’s weekly top trade candidates series has now grown to 25 players as the Aug. 1 deadline approaches. The Athletics and Brewers lead the way with four representatives apiece.
This week’s version of Jason Martinez’s “Knocking Down the Door” series features five more prospects who are trying to force their way into the big leagues. Right-hander Aaron Wilkerson graced the list Tuesday and then switched organizations via trade Thursday, going from the Red Sox to the Brewers.
Jeff also came up with a list of 10 under-the-radar players who could find new homes in the weeks leading up to the deadline. Included are three relievers, a starter, a swingman, two infielders and three outfielders.
Finally, Jason broke down the five most important roster decisions that happened in Major League Baseball from Monday through Friday. Three star players landed on the disabled list in that time frame.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Hill, Upton, Bruce, Hellickson, Stanley, Mets, Puig

By charliewilmoth | July 9, 2016 at 11:05pm CDT

Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal, via a pair of videos on FOX Sports:

When the Athletics put Rich Hill on the market, they can be expected to charge a high price for him, Rosenthal says. Hill’s stats — if only for this season — compare favorably to David Price’s last year, and he might be amenable to an extension with his new team.
Prior to this season, there was no trade interest in Melvin Upton unless the Padres took on the rest of his contract. After a .268/.315/.464 performance this year, though, that’s changing, at least to a degree. San Diego still owes Upton a little under $40MM through 2017, but teams are now willing to give up talent, with the Padres’ return increasing depending upon how much salary they’re willing to take on. The Padres might be motivated to deal Upton and/or Matt Kemp to clear space for former first-round pick Hunter Renfroe, who’s batting .335/.362/.611 for Triple-A El Paso. Austin Hedges has also hit well for the Chihuahuas, which means the Padres could also look to move fellow catcher Derek Norris to clear space in the big leagues.
Jay Bruce to the Blue Jays would make sense, Rosenthal opines. Acquiring Bruce from the Reds would allow the Jays to move Jose Bautista (who’s currently on the DL with a toe injury) to DH and reduce playing time for the underwhelming Justin Smoak. The Jays have a greater need for pitching, but might play to the strengths of the market by acquiring hitting instead.
The Phillies could consider keeping Jeremy Hellickson, who’s in the midst of a solid season — he could eat innings for them down the stretch, with the Phillies perhaps gambling on him by extending a qualifying offer this coming winter and hoping to grab a draft pick as a result. But they would still “jump” at a good trade offer. Of their relievers, the Phils are more likely to deal David Hernandez or Andrew Bailey than Jeanmar Gomez, who they can control for 2017. Other Phillies candidates to be dealt include Andres Blanco and Peter Bourjos.
Rosenthal begins the second video with a brief discussion of an article of his from earlier today about former Cardinals minor leaguer Cody Stanley, who has already received a 162-game suspension and expects to receive a lifetime ban for repeatedly testing positive for the steroid Turinabol. Stanley claims to not know why he keeps testing positive. “I will never apologize for something I didn’t do,” Stanley said in a statement. “We will not stop searching for why all of this has happened.” Chris Colabello of the Blue Jays, Alec Asher and Daniel Stumpf of the Phillies and Boog Powell of the Mariners have all tested positive for Turinabol and received suspensions, and all claim not to know what happened. “Who would be stupid enough to take the same steroid again?” Stanley asks Rosenthal.
The Mets are likely to trade for pitching after a series of injuries to their hurlers, Rosenthal says. Recent injuries to Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard could have the team looking in different directions this month than previously anticipated, perhaps to starters, perhaps to relievers.
The Dodgers will consider dealing Yasiel Puig before the August 1 deadline, Rosenthal suggests. Whether they actually do deal him could depend, however, on the timing of Andre Ethier’s return and whether they acquire another outfielder.

Royals Among Teams Interested In Josh Reddick

By Connor Byrne | July 9, 2016 at 10:44pm CDT

The Athletics and right fielder Josh Reddick have not restarted contract talks, thereby increasing the likelihood of a trade by the Aug. 1 deadline, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The A’s offered Reddick a three-year, $36MM contract extension during the spring, but his camp countered with $56MM over four years and might have been amenable to $50MM to $52MM, according to Slusser. As of now, Oakland is unwilling to give a four-year commitment to Reddick, who will turn 30 next February.

In the event the out-of-contention A’s do shop Reddick prior to the deadline, there should be no shortage of interest in the left-handed hitter. The Bay Area-rival Giants, Cubs, Dodgers, Blue Jays and Nationals are among the potentially playoff-bound clubs that have scouted Reddick, but the defending World Series champion Royals are following him the closest, per Slusser.

The 45-42 Royals, who are seven games behind AL Central-leading Cleveland and 3.5 out of the Wild Card, entered Saturday ranked 26th in the majors in runs scored (342) and tied for 19th in wRC+ (92). They’ve primarily relied on Paulo Orlando and Brett Eibner in right field, and both have posted above-average batting lines this year across a combined 264 plate appearances. Their track records fall well short of Reddick’s, however, so replacing them with Reddick and getting standout center fielder Lorenzo Cain back from a hamstring injury to team with left fielder Alex Gordon would give Kansas City an enviable trio of starting outfielders on paper.

Dating back to his first year in Oakland, 2012, Reddick has hit a solid .255/.320/.437 with 81 home runs in 2,300 plate appearances. Reddick has also graded out well on the base paths and (for the most part) defensively throughout his time with the A’s, though Ultimate Zone Rating has assigned him negative marks in the field going back to last season. A broken thumb suffered in May kept Reddick out of a large chunk of games earlier this year, but he returned late last month. Overall, he owns a .296/.371/.429 line with five homers and nearly as many walks (23) as strikeouts (25) in 213 trips to the plate this season.

It’s important to note that the A’s don’t necessarily have to trade Reddick, to whom they could extend a qualifying offer after the season ends. The A’s would then receive a first-round pick as compensation if he declines the QO – which should be worth in the $16MM to $17MM neighborhood – though they seem likely to land more enticing assets via trade from an outfielder-needy contender. Reddick is on an affordable $6.575MM salary this year, which could help to drive up the A’s potential asking price for him as Aug. 1 approaches.

Phillies Release Yoervis Medina

By Connor Byrne | July 9, 2016 at 10:40pm CDT

The Phillies have released right-handed reliever Yoervis Medina, reports Matt Eddy of Baseball America (Twitter link). Philadelphia originally acquired Medina from the Pirates in exchange for left-hander Jesse Biddle over the winter.

Medina, who hurt his elbow in March, hasn’t appeared in the majors this season. The hard-throwing 27-year-old’s only action has come in rookie ball for Philly, where he tossed four innings. He previously threw a combined 21 major league frames as a member of the Mariners and Cubs last season, logging a 4.71 ERA, 6.86 K/9 and 4.71 BB/9. Medina is perhaps best known for the strong results he delivered with the Mariners from 2013-14. During that two-year stretch, he racked up 125 innings and recorded a 2.81 ERA, 9.4 K/9, 4.9 BB/9 and 53.5 percent ground-ball rate.

NL Notes: Nats, D-backs, Mets, Pirates

By Connor Byrne and Jeff Todd | July 9, 2016 at 8:31pm CDT

The Nationals’ Trea Turner, whom Baseball America ranks as the sport’s fifth-best prospect, rejoined the club Friday when first baseman Ryan Zimmerman landed on the disabled list with a strained left rib. The middle infielder hasn’t slotted into the Nats’ lineup, though, which is no surprise in light of manager Dusty Baker’s comments on Friday. “Right now, there’s no real place for Trea to take,” Baker said, per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. “This isn’t a tryout camp. This is try to play the best team overall to win the game and win the pennant. Hopefully Trea will be a part of that while he’s here.” Turner has garnered some center field experience at the Triple-A level, though Baker is wary of putting him out there in the majors at this point. “I’m sure in time, he’ll show us all, but right now, he’ll probably remain in the infield unless I have to make a move out there in the outfield,” stated Baker. Between second baseman Daniel Murphy and shortstop Danny Espinosa, the Nats have an outstanding middle infield, so it doesn’t appear Turner will make much of an impact if those two remain healthy. The 23-year-old has batted an excellent .302/.370/.471 with 36 extra-base hits and 25 stolen bases in the minors this season.

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