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Pirates, Mariners Complete Arquimedes Caminero Swap

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The Pirates and Mariners have completed the deal that sent righty Arquimedes Caminero to the Mariners a few weeks back. Per an announcement from Seattle, lefty Jake Brentz and righty Pedro Vasquez will go to Pittsburgh to wind up the trade.

Caminero, 29, has been a solid piece for the M’s since the deal, cutting his walk rate but otherwise largely continuing to deliver useful but hardly world-beating frames. On the year, he has thrown 55 innings of 3.60 ERA ball with 7.0 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9.

Pittsburgh will pick up a pair of young arms in return. The 21-year-old Brentz has experienced some command issues early in his career, but generated better than a strikeout per inning at the Class A and High-A level for most of the season. Vasquez, 20, earned a mid-season promotion out of Rookie ball and has turned in a 2.28 ERA with 6.2 K/9 against just 0.8 BB/9 in his eight starts at Class A Clinton.

Heyman’s Latest: Dodgers, McCann, Napoli, Ichiro, Colon, Price

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The Dodgers intend to pursue reunions with at least four prominent free agents, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. Excellent third baseman Justin Turner, relief ace Kenley Jansen, late-breaking lefty Rich Hill, and veteran second baseman Chase Utley would all hold interest to Los Angeles, per the report, though age considerations and the presence of internal alternatives could limit the club’s willingness to top the market for those players. The 28-year-old Jansen may be the highest priority among this group, Heyman suggests. While the Dodgers haven’t exactly broken the bank on relief arms under president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, it seems Jansen could warrant an exception given his unbelievable performance level. All said, Heyman suggests it would be surprising if L.A. doesn’t bring back at least two of those four players.

Here are some more of Heyman’s latest notes, from his weekly column:

  • The Braves and Yankees have tabled any talks pertaining to catcher Brian McCann until the offseason, which may not bode well for New York’s chances to trade him to Atlanta. Heyman writes that the Braves have interest in Matt Wieters, Jason Castro and top free agent catcher Wilson Ramos, whom they’d love to snatch away from the division-rival Nationals. Atlanta is willing to pay half of the remaining $34MM McCann is owed from 2017-18. They’re also looking to add a rotation piece for 2017 and beyond, if not two, as a number of their top-ranked minor league arms are still a ways off from the Majors (which, of course, could make them appealing trade chips in an offseason where the free agent market is devoid of talented starters).
  • Mike Napoli, who is enjoying a rebound season at the plate with the Indians, has said he’d like to remain in Cleveland, though the two sides aren’t engaged in talks. Napoli’s defense and baserunning have torpedoed his WAR totals, but he’s batted a well-above-average .259/.345/.494 with 29 home runs in his first season with Cleveland. His bat should draw plenty of interest this winter despite the fact that he’ll turn 35 on Halloween.
  • Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki hopes to play again in 2017 and would like to stay in Miami, per the report. With his club option valued at only $2MM, that may be a fairly easy pick-up for the organization. Playing in his age-42 season in 2016, Ichiro has compiled a useful .294/.365/.366 batting line over 296 plate appearances, continues to rate as an average or better fielder and overall baserunner, and has even cracked double-digit stolen bases for the 16th-straight season.
  • Another aging veteran who intends to continue his career, says Heyman, is Mets righty Bartolo Colon. It’s not yet clear how his market will develop — we don’t know what level of interest New York will have, or whether the 43-year-old will be looking for multiple years — but there certainly ought to be ample interest given that Colon has provided 158 2/3 innings of 3.35 ERA pitching thus far in 2016. Even if the peripherals don’t quite line up with those bottom-line results, he’ll be among the more durable and effective pitchers available on a forthcoming seller’s market for starters.
  • There’s no sense that the Reds are interested in making a change at manager, Heyman says. Skipper Bryan Price’s contract does expire after the year, but with some positive signs in the second half — excluding a current four-game skid, at least — it seems he could be retained.

D-Backs Not Interested In Trading Zack Greinke This Winter

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The Diamondbacks obviously won’t be trading veteran righty Zack Greinke this year, as he wouldn’t be eligible for the postseason with a new team now that the calendar has flipped to September. But the club also isn’t interested in trying to move his massive contract this winter, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (via Twitter).

Arizona reportedly listened to interest from the Dodgers after Greinke cleared waivers, but those talks didn’t progress. Still, the fact that the club’s ace was able to pass through unclaimed obviously suggests that other organizations don’t view his contract as an asset.

Greinke is owed $157.5MM in salary over the next five years, though some of it is deferred, with Arizona also obligated to make continued signing bonus payouts. That contract represents a major chunk of the D-Backs’ middle-of-the-road budget.

While any premium free agent signing represents a calculated gamble, this one looked questionable from the outset and hasn’t started off in the right direction. The accomplished hurler may have been somewhat unfortunate to post a 4.17 ERA in his 136 innings to date in 2016. (Of course, the opposite was true of his sparkling 1.66 earned run mark a season ago, which earned him the massive payday.) But ERA estimators are lower on him now (3.64 FIP, 3.85 xFIP, 3.99 SIERA) than they have been since at least 2007.

The biggest issue, perhaps, isn’t Greinke’s somewhat underwhelming but nevertheless-useful season. It’s the fact that he is already nearly 33 years old. Greinke is still a quality starter — he’d easily be the best on this winter’s market were he eligible — but it’s certainly fair to ask whether Arizona ought to cut its losses while he is still marketable. A performance turnaround is always possible, but so is the inverse, and Greinke’s age will remain as a deterrent.

Nevertheless, the earliest the D-Backs will consider moving Greinke, per the report, is next summer. Despite its miserable 2016 campaign, the club believes it is still primed to contend in the near-term and evidently isn’t interested in jeopardizing that possibility by trading its best pitcher. The return of A.J. Pollock lends some credence to the idea that Arizona could be a postseason factor in 2017, to be sure, but other developments have been less promising.

Ultimately, it’s impossible to evaluate any decision for or against a trade without knowing the possible return and other market developments. But an openness to listen, at least, would seem wise. After all, the remarkably weak upcoming free agent pitching class may create opportunity, and the D-Backs may be wise to explore options for avoiding some of the risk posed by the back half of the Greinke contract.

Marlins Promote Ogando, Ellington, Telis, Hood; Designate Raudel Lazo

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The Marlins announced a series of roster moves to take advantage of expanded September rosters. The team recalled righties Nefi Ogando and Brian Ellington, along with catcher Tomas Telis, while also selecting the contract of outfielder Destin Hood. That last move required a 40-man spot, which was opened when Miami designated lefty Raudel Lazo.

Ogando, 27, has minimal major league experience but owns a 3.08 ERA in 52 2/3 career Triple-A frames. Ellington, 26, has permitted only ten earned runs over his 44 2/3 innings in the majors over the last two years, though he has accomplished that while compiling only 7.3 K/9 against 4.8 BB/9. He has struggled with command at Triple-A this year, but his upper-nineties fastball has helped him generate 14.0 K/9 in 34 2/3 frames at the highest level of the minors.

While those two players add depth to the Miami pen, Telis and Hood will represent additional options in the position player ranks. Telis has been productive at Triple-A, slashing .310/.362/.429 over 368 plate appearances, but has a long way to go to make up for the fact that the Fish parted with Sam Dyson to get him last year.

As for Hood, this represents his first major league action. The 26-year-old was once seen as a fairly promising prospect with the Nationals, but he hadn’t yet earned a call-up. His current .267/.316/.435 Triple-A slash doesn’t exactly scream “promotion,” but he has some speed and pop that could come in handy off of the bench.

Lazo reached the majors last year after a quality season at Triple-A. He fared well in a brief big league stint, but hasn’t yet been asked back despite some solid numbers. The 27-year-old Cuban has pitched at three levels of the minors this year, mostly at the highest, compiling a composite 2.68 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9.

Indians Designate Collin Cowgill For Assignment

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The Indians have designated outfielder Collin Cowgill for assignment, the team announced as part of a series of roster moves. Cowgill’s roster spot will go to catcher Adam Moore, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Columbus. Cleveland has also activated Danny Salazar from the paternity list, officially added Coco Crisp to the roster and recalled Cody Anderson, Joe Colon and Erik Gonzalez from Columbus.

Cowgill, 30, received just 14 plate appearances with the Indians this season and spent the bulk of the year in Columbus, where he batted .236/.310/.326 with four homers and seven steals in 392 plate appearances. He’s known primarily for his glovework but has nonetheless managed to rack up 759 plate appearances over the past six seasons, including 293 trips to the plate with the 2014 Angels. That year marked the best season of Cowgill’s career, as he batted .250/.330/.354 with solid defensive work in the outfield.

As for Moore, 32-year-old will return to Cleveland for his second stint with the Indians. Moore picked up just four PAs with Cleveland last season but has 287 Major League PAs under his belt. He’s batted a sub-par .201/.241/.309 in that time but has sound numbers in Triple-A: a .275/.334/.421 slash in parts of seven seasons. The former top prospect will serve as a third catcher for the time being, joining Chris Gimenez and Roberto Perez in that regard. Cleveland also hopes to get injured starter Yan Gomes back before the season is over.

Neil Walker To Undergo Season-Ending Back Surgery

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SEPT. 1: Walker will indeed undergo a microdisectomy operation to repair the herniation in his back which comes with a best-case scenario of a three-month recovery, per ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin. Doctors strongly recommended the procedure to him because of the potential for additional weakness and numbness in his lower half. Walker has been experiencing numbness in his toes and is still unable to feel one of them to this day due to the fact that the disk in his back is pressing against a nerve, per the New York Times’ James Wagner (Twitter link).

AUG. 31Mets second baseman Neil Walker is “probably opting for surgery” to repair the herniated disk in his back, manager Terry Collins told reporters after tonight’s game (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo). Clearly, that will end the season for the free-agent-to-be.

News of Walker’s herniated disk broke earlier this morning, and while GM Sandy Alderson originally expressed some optimism, manager Terry Collins said prior to tonight’s contest that surgery was an option, though the team and Walker were waiting on a second opinion before making a final decision. That decision, now, looks to have been made, and it comes as a significant blow for a Mets team that topped the Marlins tonight and currently sits just two games back of the second Wild Card spot in the National League.

Walker, 30, has been one of the Mets’ best hitters in 2016, batting .282/.347/.476 with 23 home runs in 458 plate appearances. With the switch-hitter removed from the picture, the Mets can turn to a combination of Kelly Johnson, Wilmer Flores, Jose Reyes and T.J. Rivera to share time between third base and second base.

From Walker’s standpoint, the injury represents a poor way to wrap up what has been an otherwise outstanding contract year. He’ll now enter free agency with the specter of a notable surgery hanging over him and without any in-game setting via which to demonstrate his health to interested parties. Walker has been included in the top 10 on MLBTR’s Free Agent Power Rankings on multiple occasions over the course of the season, though the surgery certainly diminishes his earning power on the open market. It could also make the Mets a bit more hesitant to tender a qualifying offer to Walker following the season, though I’d still wager they’ll be making the offer, as a one-year deal for Walker following a full offseason of recovery is hardly an unappealing outcome for the team.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Mark Melancon

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This winter’s free agent starting pitching class is so thin that two relievers (Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen) easily carry the most earning power of any arm on the open market.  It wouldn’t be a surprise to see more teams choosing to spend their pitching dollars on their relief corps rather than their rotations this offseason given the lack of starting options, not to mention baseball’s growing trend of ultra-deep bullpens.

In short, the opportunity is there for Mark Melancon to score a very nice multi-year contract.  He won’t cost as much as Chapman or Jansen, though he is maybe only a step behind that elite pair of closers in terms of performance and several steps above the next-best free agent stopper, Santiago Casilla, as well as recent ninth-inning men such as Brad Ziegler and Jonathan Papelbon.  (Of the closers who could be free agents if their club options aren’t picked up, only Wade Davis stands out as superior to Melancon, though the Royals will almost surely exercise their $10MM option on Davis for 2017.)

Aug 30, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Mark Melancon (43) celebrates the win against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Nationals defeated the Phillies, 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Looking at how Melancon, Chapman and Jansen have performed since the start of the 2013 season, Melancon is the clear bronze medalist within this “big three” of free agent closers, though he brings a different skillset to the table.  He records far fewer strikeouts but also generates far more grounders, and Melancon has the lowest BB/9 (1.45), home run rate (5.5%) and ERA (1.74) of the trio.

Like Jansen, Melancon’s chief weapon is a cut fastball.  Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post recently detailed how Melancon’s emergence as a force within the Pirates bullpen in 2013 was due to a full embrace of the cutter, and his reliance on that pitch and his curveball have only become more pronounced.  The breakdown of Melancon’s pitch selection in 2015 reveals that he used his standard fastball only eight percent of the time and a changeup 0.3% of the time, while tossing 64.6% cutters and 27.1% curves.  Never a particularly hard thrower, Melancon averages 91.7 mph on his heater (not a big drop from his high of 93 mph as a rookie in 2009) and has averaged around 90.7 mph on his cutter in 2015-16, down from roughly 91.7 mph in 2013-14.

As Castillo’s piece notes, there are some concerns about how the cutter can tax a pitcher’s elbow.  Melancon underwent Tommy John surgery a decade ago, but has been very durable since. Ultimately, he carried only a slightly above-average risk factor for another UCL injury in last February’s statistical assessment of MLBTR contributor Bradley Woodrum.

Jansen has his own notable injury history and Chapman has a wholly separate set of issues due to his suspension under MLB’s domestic violence policy, so Melancon’s top free agent competition also has some baggage.  Still, beyond health and strikeout rate, age is the most obvious reason Jansen and Chapman are better-positioned than Melancon for a pricier long-term contract.  Both will be 29 next Opening Day while Melancon will be 32 years old.

MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes feels both Chapman and Jansen could land five-year deals worth more than $70MM, which would set a new standard for relief pitching contracts.  It isn’t totally out of the question that either could land an unprecedented (for a reliever) six guaranteed years, though their rising tide wouldn’t lift Melancon’s boat into the realm of a five-year deal.  No reliever has received five guaranteed years* since B.J. Ryan’s free agent deal with the Blue Jays way back in the 2005-06 offseason, and while Chapman and Jansen likely have a chance to crack that threshold, no team is making that big a commitment to a 32-year-old relief pitcher.

*Sean Doolittle’s extension with the A’s in April 2014 was technically a five-year pact, though it doesn’t really count given that the first year of that deal was already underway.  Doolittle was also still a pre-arbitration player when he signed, so it’s not really a good comparable for Melancon’s situation.

A four-year deal, however, seems like a logical target for Melancon and his representatives at Relativity Baseball.  Over the last two offseasons, David Robertson ($46MM), Andrew Miller ($36MM) and Darren O’Day ($31MM) all found four-year contracts on the open market.  O’Day was entering his age-33 season and is a setup man rather than a proven closer, so there’s a good argument to be made that O’Day’s four years/$31MM is the floor of what Melancon can hope to receive this winter.

Robertson had only one season of closing experience at the time of his deal with the White Sox, while Miller had only one career save and, really, only one season as a truly reliable bullpen option under his belt when he signed with the Yankees.  That said, those two pitchers signed their deals going into their age-30 seasons, and those two extra years of youth could very well carry more weight than Melancon’s three-plus years of an outstanding track record.  If Melancon does land a four-year pact, his dollar figure should land somewhere much closer to Miller’s $36MM than it will Robertson’s $48MM salary.

It figures to be a busy market for closers this winter, in no small part because some of the game’s biggest spenders (such as the Cubs, Dodgers, Nationals and Giants) have their own stoppers hitting free agency and will be looking to re-sign or replace those ninth-inning standouts.  The Rangers, Marlins, Cardinals, Mariners, Angels, Twins, Braves, Rockies, Diamondbacks and Yankees could also be looking for a new closer; the teams on that list who already have pretty steady closers could shift them into roles as Melancon’s setup man, thus improving overall bullpen depth.  It also wouldn’t be a surprise to see a team with both an established closer and setup man get into the hunt for Melancon, in order to create a three-headed bullpen monster a la the 2015 Royals or the 2016 Yankees.

One market-limiting factor Melancon won’t have to worry about is the qualifying offer, as Melancon was traded from the Pirates to the Nationals at the deadline.  The deal allowed the Bucs to obtain two promising young arms (Felipe Rivero and Taylor Hearn) for a reliever they wouldn’t have been able to afford re-signing, whereas Washington was making a win-now move to upgrade their bullpen.  Melancon has been superb since joining the Nats, and continued excellence down the stretch and potentially through the postseason would certainly do a lot to raise his already-high profile heading into free agency.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

AL West Notes: Trout, Angels, Gamel, Sardinas, Vincent

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Angels superstar Mike Trout was involved in a car accident in southern California last night which left two people injured, but Trout himself walked away from the crash unharmed, as Scott Schwebke and Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register report. Both Angels GM Billy Eppler and Trout’s agent, Craig Landis, have stated that the center fielder is uninjured, with Eppler issuing the following statement: “Mike Trout was involved in a car accident earlier tonight. I have spoken with Mike this evening and he feels fine. He is at home with his roommate and is planning on traveling with the club to Seattle tomorrow afternoon. We will update as more information becomes available.” The video atop the above-linked Trout story includes a report from the scene which states that the accident occurred when Trout had to slam on his brakes because of another accident that had taken place in front of him, causing him to collide with another car. The California Highway Patrol does “not have any reason to believe right now that drugs or alcohol were a factor,” said Stacey Butler of CBS Los Angeles in the news report. More concerning at this time is the well-being of the woman in the car that was struck by Trout’s vehicle, as USA Today’s A.J. Perez reports that she suffered “major” injuries and was transported to Orange County Global Medical Center. We at MLBTR join all that are following this story in wishing her a full recovery.

Here’s more from the AL West…

  • The Angels are once again staring at an offseason of uncertainty at the second base position, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times writes. While there are internal options at the ready, it seems hard to imagine that the organization will feel comfortable giving regular playing time to Johnny Giavotella, Cliff Pennington, or Gregorio Petit. There’s some hope that Kaleb Cowart can transition over from third, though that remains a work in progress. From an outside perspective, it seems worth noting that Yunel Escobar is an option at second as well as the hot corner, which creates some flexibility this winter.
  • Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto spoke with Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times about yesterday’s trade to acquire outfielder Ben Gamel from the Yankees and implied that he will get an opportunity to prove that he can help the Mariners in 2016 and beyond. “He has 1,000 plate appearances at Triple A,” said Dipoto. “…He just won MVP [of the Triple-A International League] and he was rookie of the year last year in that league. He’s done what he can do at Triple A and now he deserves an opportunity. … He does a lot of things well. He’s optionable, he’s young and he’s athletic, three of things we are looking for. He’s a polished minor league minor league player who’s ready to cut his teeth in the big leagues.” Nori Aoki and Franklin Gutierrez are both free agents at season’s end, while Seth Smith has a $7MM club option remaining on his contract. As such, there could be plenty of at-bats to be won for Gamel in 2017 if he can prove capable of handling big league pitching.
  • Last month, the Mariners traded infielder Luis Sardinas to the Padres in exchange for a player to be named later or cash, and MLB.com’s A.J. Cassavell now reports that the deal has been completed, with San Diego sending cash to Seattle (Twitter link). The return for Sardinas was never expected to be all that high, considering the fact that he’d endured a poor 2016 season and had already been designated for assignment at the time of the trade. Since joining the Padres, Sardinas has seven hits in 22 at-bats, including a homer and a pair of doubles. On a somewhat related note, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets that the two sides have not yet formally wrapped up the Nick Vincent swap that took place all the way back in March (Twitter link). The Padres and Mariners have until Sept. 30 to complete the trade, which was announced as Vincent to Seattle in exchange for a player to be named later. Vincent has been a nice add for the Mariners, tossing 47 innings of 3.83 ERA ball.

Blue Jays Re-Sign Josh Thole To Major League Deal

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The Blue Jays have re-signed catcher Josh Thole to a Major League contract and optioned second baseman Devon Travis to the team’s rookie-level affiliate in the Appalachian League, the team announced to reporters (including Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith). While some Jays fans may recoil at the notion of Travis being optioned, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi tweets that Toronto’s Bluefield affiliate will see its season come to an end tonight, thus making Travis eligible to return to the big leagues tomorrow. Presumably, Thole’s re-signing was completed last night in order to make him postseason eligible if necessary, thus necessitating the brief demotion for Travis.

Thole, 29, was placed on irrevocable waivers and subsequently released earlier this week following Toronto’s weekend acquisition of Dioner Navarro. Even at the time of his release, however, Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star reported that it was likely that Thole would be quickly re-signed. While he’s managed just a .158/.246/.211 slash in 147 trips to the plate this year, Thole is of course eminently familiar with catching R.A. Dickey’s knuckleball and could continue to do so for the final month of the 2016 campaign. Because he’s once again on the 40-man roster, Thole would be eligible to be retained for the 2017 season via the arbitration process — he projects to finish the year about a week shy of six full seasons of big league service — though he’s a definite non-tender candidate even with a minimal salary.

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