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Angels Listening To Offers On Hector Santiago; Marlins Have Expressed Interest

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5:38pm: Miami has reached out to the Halos on Santiago and other, unspecified starters, according to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter).

3:25pm: The Angels have received inquiries from a number of teams about left-hander Hector Santiago, and they’re willing to listen to offers for him, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). The team is also getting hits on Matt Shoemaker, perhaps unsurprisingly, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter).

Los Angeles is said to be amenable at least to considering scenarios involving the two controllable starters, but only if it would improve the team’s roster right now or in the “near future.” That near-term focus is precisely why it’s hard to see a match coming together, particularly for Shoemaker.

Santiago, 28, is earning $5MM this season and is controlled through the 2017 campaign via arbitration, so he’s more appealing than a number of arms that are of similar quality but either hit free agency at season’s end or are making considerably more money. The lefty is in the midst of his weakest season at the Major League level but still owns a respectable 4.32 ERA with 7.8 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and a career-best 38.7 percent ground-ball rate. His 91.8 mph average fastball is a notable step up over last season’s average of 90.3 mph and represents the highest mark he’s ever posted in a full season out of the rotation.

Metrics such as FIP, xFIP and SIERA feel that Santiago’s been fortunate to keep his ERA where it is this season, but Santiago has long outperformed those metrics. As a fly-ball pitcher that generates a large number of pop-ups, Santiago has been able to routinely post BABIP marks that are considerably lower than the league average (having Mike Trout and Kole Calhoun in the outfield doesn’t hurt), and he’s also proven to be adept at stranding runners; his 76.6 percent left-on-base percentage is 14th in the Majors over the past five years among starters with at least 500 innings pitched. Those factors have contributed heavily to the career 3.78 ERA Santiago has been able to post out of the rotation in spite of ERA estimators that project his earned run average to check in somewhere in the vicinity of a full run higher.

Crasnick lists the Orioles, Pirates and “possibly” the Astros and Mets as speculative fits for Santiago after speaking to a pair of big league executives (links to Twitter). Those two execs also listed Miami as a possible fit, but Crasnick adds that the Marlins, who are known to be looking for a stabilizing force near the back of the rotation, are currently “aiming their sights higher” than Santiago. Considering their desire for a large quantity of innings down the stretch, perhaps that’s not surprising; Santiago’s career-high in innings pitched was last year’s 180 2/3 frames, but he averaged a lesser 152 innings from 2013-15 due to some time spent in the bullpen in 2013 and 2014.

The Orioles have long been tied to a left-handed rotation upgrade, and Santiago would be an improvement over many of the names that Baltimore has trotted out to the mound this season. Santiago wouldn’t fit the Pirates’ mold of pursuing pitchers with high ground-ball rates, but he’d give them a capable arm for the back of the rotation that could take some of the pressure of their bounty of young starters that could be leaned upon heavily over the final months (e.g. Tyler Glasnow, Jameson Taillon, Chad Kuhl, Steven Brault). The Astros have a short porch in left field which could spell problems for a fly-ball prone lefty, while the Mets reportedly continue to prioritize bullpen help. However, given the uncertainty that currently exists in their starting ranks, it wouldn’t be a total shock to see them jump into the market for a starter over the next week as the non-waiver deadline approaches.

Cubs Acquire Aroldis Chapman

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2:37pm: The Cubs and Yankees have each formally announced the trade. Warren will join the Yankees’ Major League roster, while McKinney will head to Double-A Trenton. Torres and Crawford are each bound for Class-A Tampa.

11:03am: After months of being linked to a hard-throwing left-hander for their bullpen, the Cubs have reportedly acquired the hardest-throwing pitcher in all of Major League Baseball, reaching an agreement with the Yankees that will send Aroldis Chapman from New York to Chicago in exchange for shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres, right-hander Adam Warren and minor league outfielders Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford.

Aroldis Chapman

The Cubs have been linked to Chapman and fellow lefty Andrew Miller for months, but the Yankees seemingly never wavered from their asking price of Kyle Schwarber in exchange for Miller, and the Cubs never budged on their refusal to discuss the injured slugger. Instead, the Cubs will pick up Chapman — long one of the best closers in all of baseball but also a free agent at season’s end, making the four-player package headlined by Torres a steep price to pay. However, the Cubs have more wins than any team in Major League Baseball and are making a clear effort to deepen their roster not just to get to the postseason but to thrive upon arriving there. The structure of the postseason schedule allows clubs to more heavily rely on their bullpen arms due to the frequency of off-days in the schedule, making Chapman that much more valuable in a five- or seven-game series.

The 2016 season has seen Chapman continue his on-field excellence,  posting a pristine 2.01 ERA with 12.6 K/9, a career-best 2.3 BB/9 and a 37.3 percent ground-ball rate. Chapman’s fastball has averaged a staggering 100.1 mph this season, which is a strong driving factor behind an 18.2 percent swinging-strike rate that is the fourth-highest in MLB. Since taking over as the Cincinnati closer back in 2012, Chapman has compiled a 1.91 ERA with 165 saves and a ridiculous 500-to-117 K/BB ratio in 287 innings of relief work. He’s earning $11.325MM this year and has about $4.33MM remaining on his salary through season’s end.

Chapman becomes the second hard-throwing lefty to join the Cubs’ bullpen in the past week, as Chicago also picked up lefty Mike Montgomery from the Mariners in a trade that sent slugging (and blocked) minor league first baseman Dan Vogelbach to Seattle. Chapman figures to supplant Hector Rondon as the Chicago closer, pushing Pedro Strop to the seventh inning. Montgomery and right-hander Carl Edwards Jr. will mix in as well, as will right-hander Justin Grimm and veteran right-hander Joe Nathan, who was just brought to the Majors over the weekend after completing rehab from Tommy John surgery. Travis Wood has pitched to a 2.88 ERA this season and is second among Chicago relievers in terms of innings pitched, so he’s likely to become the third lefty in manager Joe Maddon’s bullpen. As such, the acquisition of Chapman could push left-hander Clayton Richard, who has a 6.43 ERA in 14 innings this year, out of the picture.

[Related: Updated Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees Depth Charts]

Chapman’s time with the Yankees will ultimately prove to be brief in nature, as he spent just a few months in the organization and only a bit more than two months on the active roster due to a 30-game suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy. Chapman was investigated by the league this offseason following allegations of assaulting his girlfriend at a party and later discharging a handgun in his garage, though he was never arrested nor were any charges filed. While the moral and ethical implications of acquiring a player associated with that investigation can be debated to no end, from a pure baseball perspective, the investigation drastically lowered the price for the Yankees to acquire Chapman this winter. They’ll now swap out Eric Jagielo, Rookie Davis, Caleb Cotham and Tony Renda for a significantly more talented package of talent, headlined by Torres and McKinney.

Warren will return to the Bronx with two and a half years of service time, and he’ll be a familiar face for the Yankees, who just this offseason traded him to the Cubs in order to acquire Starlin Castro. However, Chicago proved to be a struggle for Warren, who pitched to a 5.91 ERA in 35 innings with the Cubs. Considering the strong work that Warren did from 2013-15 with the Yankees — 3.23 ERA, 7.7 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 45.3 percent ground-ball rate — the extent of his struggles was fairly surprising. The primary culprits for Warren were a dramatic spike in his walk rate (4.9 BB/9) and a massive increase in homers. A fluky 16.7 percent homer-to-flyball ratio undoubtedly impacted his 1.8 HR/9 rate, but Warren’s general problems with locating his pitches actually led to a greater percentage of pitches in the strike zone, particularly when behind in the count.

Torres, 19, is the most highly regarded prospect joining the Yankees’ ranks. One of the prizes of the Cubs’ pool-shattering international spending spree three summers ago, the shortstop entered the season as a consensus Top 50 prospect around the league and has only continued to boost his stock. Torres is hitting .275/.359/.433 with nine homers and 19 stolen bases in 409 plate appearances while playing against considerably older competition. ESPN’s Keith Law rated Torres 26th on his midseason list of the game’s top prospects, and Baseball America pegged him 27th. Law noted that Torres has put on weight and filled out a bit, making it less certain that he’ll stick at shortstop but adding to the power output he’s delivered in a pitcher-friendly home park as one of three teenagers receiving regular at-bats in the Carolina League this year. BA notes that he’s recovered from a dreadfully low start — indeed, he’s hitting .302/.379/.468 since May 1 — and has shown enough added pop to profile at second or third base even if he has to move off of shortstop.

The 21-year-old McKinney was a Top 100 prospect entering the season but has seen his stock dip a bit, part of which BA attributes to adding “some bad weight” and slowing down both in terms of foot speed and bat speed. In 349 plate appearances at the Double-A level this season, McKinney is hitting .252/.355/.322 with just one home run. However, he’s quite young for the level and is just a year removed from hitting .300/.371/.454 as a 20-year-old between Class-A Advanced and Double-A, so there’s certainly room for a rebound. And, as evidenced by McKinney’s 47 walks (13.5 percent) against 68 strikeouts (19.4 percent), he still possesses strong discipline at the plate that should play into his favor as he continues to develop. The Yankees will be the third organization for McKinney, who was selected 24th overall by the A’s in 2013 but traded to the Cubs alongside Addison Russell in the Jeff Samardzija/Jason Hammel blockbuster back in 2014.

As for Crawford, the 22-year-old was an 11th-round pick out of high school by the Cubs back in 2012 and is in his first season at Class-A Advanced. He’s hitting .255/.327/.386 with three homers and 22 steals in 28 tries through his first 370 trips to the plate. Crawford didn’t land on any top 30 lists for the Cubs, but BA’s J.J. Cooper tweets that as a toolsy center fielder with plus speed and plus defense, Crawford is the “perfect” fourth player/lottery ticket to add some further upside to the deal for the Yankees.

Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports was the first to report that the two were talking about a trade involving Chapman and Torres and also the first to say a deal was in place (via Twitter). Joel Sherman of the New York Post first reported Warren’s inclusion (links to Twitter). Sahadev Sharma of TheAthletic.com first reported that McKinney was in the deal (also via Twitter). Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago reported that Crawford was the fourth player (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Blue Jays Designate Junior Lake For Assignment

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The Blue Jays have designated outfielder Junior Lake for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster for right fielder Jose Bautista, who has been activated from the disabled list, tweets Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star.

Lake, 26, appeared in 19 games with the Jays this season, though he totaled just 38 plate appearances and batted a paltry .206/.289/.382 in his short stay north of the border. Lake first debuted with the Cubs back in 2013 at the age of 23 and posted an impressive .284/.332/.428 batting line with six homers in 254 plate appearances. That production, though, was buoyed by a .377 BABIP that he’s never since come close to replicating. Lake has also demonstrated a prolonged susceptibility to strikeouts in the Majors, having punched out in 31.1 percent of his plate appearances as a big leaguer. All told, he’s a career .236/.279/.377 hitter in the Majors.

Bautista returns to the Blue Jays from a foot injury that has sidelined him since mid-June. Bautista is getting on base at a strong clip and hitting for power, but his .230/.360/.455 slash line is a departure from his recent seasons of excellence. He’ll hope for better results over the season’s final two and a half months as looks to bolster his stock heading into the free agent market.

Phillies Return Rule 5 Pick Daniel Stumpf To Royals

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The Phillies announced today that left-hander Daniel Stumpf has cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. Stumpf, a Rule 5 pick back in December, has been offered back and returned to his original organization, the Royals. Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star tweets that procedure dictated that Stumpf be optioned back to Triple-A (his level at the time of his selection in the Rule 5), but the Royals will immediately transfer him to Double-A. Stumpf, 25, broke camp with the Phillies but quickly found himself slapped with an 80-game suspension after testing positive for dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, a substance that is banned under Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Agreement.

In total, Stumpf logged just five innings with the Phillies, during which time he yielded six earned runs on nine hits and a pair of walks with two strikeouts. Stumpf spent the 2015 season with the Royals’ Double-A affiliate and pitched to a 3.57 ERA with a 76-to-31 K/BB ratio in 70 2/3 innings of work. While he held right-handed batters in check for the most part, Stumpf was an overwhelming force against lefties last year, limiting same-handed opponents to an dismal .167/.289/.250 batting line over the course of the year. Those high-quality results led to Stumpf’s selection in the Rule 5, but he’ll now look to work his way back to the Majors with the organization that originally drafted him in the ninth round of the 2012 draft.

Though Stumpf is back in the Royals organization, the Phillies still have one Rule 5 pick remaining on the roster; outfielder Tyler Goeddel is still with the club, although he’s batted just .211/.250/.337 in 177 plate appearances over the course of the year.

Passan’s Latest: Davis, Miller, Sale, Quintana, Miley, Upton

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Yahoo’s Jeff Passan has another edition of his 10 Degrees column posted, which focuses heavily on a number of potentially available names. A few highlights from within, though the entire column is worth a look…

  • When determining what they should ask in return for Wade Davis, should they make him available, the Royals internally discussed Nationals righty Lucas Giolito, per Passan. That would be a fairly staggering price to pay, as Giolito is, by many accounts, the top pitching prospect in all of baseball. Davis is earning $8MM this season (about $3.06MM of that remains) and has a $10MM option for the 2017 season on his contract as well, so there’s certainly value, but that price would almost certainly strike the Nats as exorbitant. However, as Passan notes, the Yankees plucked Gleyber Torres and three other pieces from the Cubs for a rental of Aroldis Chapman, so the Royals’ lofty asking price is understandable.
  • The D-backs are prepared to offer struggling right-hander Shelby Miller to other clubs in trades and are largely open for business overall, though a complete tear-down won’t happen. The D-backs are holding onto Paul Goldschmidt, Jake Lamb, A.J. Pollock, Zack Greinke, Patrick Corbin and Robbie Ray — a nice core, as Passan notes — but are willing to listen virtually anywhere else. Miller’s acquisition has been one of the most talked-about stories in the game since he was acquired for Dansby Swanson, Ender Inciarte and Aaron Blair this offseason, and his 7.14 ERA through 69 1/3 innings and subsequent demotion to Triple-A Reno have only intensified the scrutiny.
  • Chris Sale’s trade value hasn’t been hurt by his suspension for inappropriate conduct in this weekend’s bizarre jersey-cutting controversy. Any club wishing to acquire him would need to part with an MLB-ready, elite prospect, writes Passan, who lists Andrew Benintendi or Yoan Moncada of the Red Sox, Nomar Mazara of the Rangers, Alex Bregman of the Astros and Julio Urias of the Dodgers as hypothetical starting points — the White Sox would require another three to four valuable pieces beyond those names — if any of those teams want to make a legitimate run at Sale. I think the White Sox would be well within reason to start by asking for both Benintendi and Moncada from the Red Sox or Nomar Mazara and Joey Gallo from the Rangers before moving onto the secondary pieces in each deal. Sale is owed $3.5MM through the end of the current season and can be controlled through 2019, his age-30 season, for a total of $41.5MM. The surplus value there is astonishing, and the dearth of pitching talent on the trade market/upcoming free agent market only adds to Sale’s allure.
  • The White Sox are valuing lefty Jose Quintana quite similarly, Passan adds, noting that one executive tells him Chicago is valuing Quintana like a true No. 1 starter. That’s not quite an accurate representation of Quintana’s abilities, but he’s pitched closely enough to that level that it makes sense to ask. Quintana has a 3.32 ERA with 7.8 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a 43.9 percent ground-ball rate in 737 innings dating back to 2013. Like Sale, he’s a flat-out bargain for the South Siders, as he’s owed just $39.92MM through the 2020 season.
  • Wade Miley has been quietly shopped by the Mariners in recent weeks, per Passan. While Seattle isn’t necessarily selling despite their trade of Mike Montgomery and their shopping of Miley, it appears that they’re open to dealing from the big league roster in the right scenario. The Montgomery trade brought an MLB-ready talent back to the Mariners in Dan Vogelbach, and Seattle probably has the pitching depth to move Miley without subtracting much in the way of big league value from the current iteration of the club. Miley has just a 5.23 ERA in 105 innings for Seattle this season, though his strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates are all respectable (6.3 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 45.9 percent). He’s guaranteed about $11.55MM through the end of the 2017 season, though $500K of that is in the form of a buyout on a $12MM club option for the 2018 season, so he could be controlled longer if he rebounds.
  • The “safe money” is on Melvin Upton Jr. going to the Orioles to play as a corner outfielder/insurance policy for Adam Jones in center field, Passan writes. The O’s and Padres have reportedly discussed a swap of Upton and Ubaldo Jimenez, though the Orioles would need to send some prospect value back to San Diego in that trade. The contracts of Upton ($22.36MM through 2017) and Jimenez ($18.47MM) are similar, and Upton, unlike Jimenez, is providing present-day value. It’s still tough for me to envision the Padres getting much in the way of a prospect back — especially if they do indeed absorb Jimenez’s contract — and the Orioles don’t exactly have a deep farm from which to deal.

Yankees Shopping Ivan Nova

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The Yankees have been “pushing Ivan Nova in trade talks” over the past few weeks, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney, citing rival executives (Twitter link). The Nova report comes on the heels of indicators that the Yankees are also nearing a trade of Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs, so it seems that further rental pieces could continue to be shopped by GM Brian Cashman in the coming week.

The 29-year-old Nova had a brutal month of June but has otherwise been a solid piece for the Yankees’ pitching staff this season. His overall ERA sits at 4.65 in 93 innings of work, though he’s allowed just one run in three of his past four outings. Nova has also averaged 7.0 strikeouts against 2.1 walks per nine innings pitched and recorded a very strong 54.9 percent ground-ball rate, so there’s reason to believe that there could yet be improvement on the horizon in what is his first full season back from 2014 Tommy John surgery. (He did throw 94 innings last year but was sidelined until late June due to said surgery.) Nova’s velocity isn’t quite up to the 93 mph he averaged prior to Tommy John surgery, but he’s close to that mark, averaging 92.5 mph this year. Home runs have long been a problem for Nova, but he’s seen his homer-to-flyball ratio spike to nearly 21 percent this season, which is almost certain to regress moving forward. Escaping the homer-happy confines of Yankee Stadium certainly wouldn’t hurt, in that regard.

Nova is earning $4.1MM this season in his final year before reaching the free agent market. He’s still owed about $1.55MM of that sum through season’s end, making him a fairly affordable piece. While Nova certainly doesn’t have a track record of dominance, he’s displayed over the course of his career that he’s capable of delivering an ERA in the mid- to low-4.00s with a roughly average number of strikeouts, good control and plenty of ground-balls. For a club that’s hunting for innings at the back of its rotation as opposed to a front-line arm — the Marlins, Mets, Orioles and Tigers come to mind as a few speculative possibilities — he could be a reasonably priced piece, both financially and in terms of prospect cost.

Yankees, Cubs Nearing Aroldis Chapman Trade

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10:13am: Outfield prospect Billy McKinney would also be going from the Cubs to the Yankees, tweets Sahadev Sharma of TheAthletic.com.

8:48am: Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (links to Twitter) that the Cubs would send four players to the Yankees in the deal. In addition to Torres, former Yankees right-hander Adam Warren would likely return to New York. Jeimer Candelario, according to Sherman, is not in the deal. The trade has the approval of Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, Sherman notes. Rosenthal tweets that the trade is in its final stages, and the players have been agreed upon.

JULY 25, 8:32am: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that if the deal is completed, there will be “much more” than just Torres and another prospect in the deal. Jorge Soler will not be included in this trade, reports Jon Morosi of MLB.com (on Twitter).

JULY 24, 8:06pm: There hasn’t been any talk of a contract extension between Chapman and the Cubs, Heyman reports (Twitter link).  The trade is “looking likelier” but still not finalized, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan tweets.  Torres is one of “multiple” Cubs pieces that have been agreed upon as part of the deal.

7:04pm: The Yankees and Cubs are working towards a trade that would send star closer Aroldis Chapman to Chicago in exchange for top shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres and more, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports via Twitter.  Sports Illustrated’s Kenny Ducey reported (Twitter link) earlier tonight that Torres was scratched from the lineup for Chicago’s High-A affiliate, and SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo adds that Torres was indeed removed due to ongoing trade talks.

The Chapman sweepstakes were seemingly coming to a peak earlier today when the Yankees reportedly asked the Cubs, Nationals, Indians and a mystery fourth team to submit their best final bids for Chapman’s services, with the Rangers and Dodgers also seemingly on the periphery of the market.  Cleveland appeared to be in the lead since the Bombers apparently weren’t impressed by a Nats trade package headlined by pitching prospect Erick Fedde (as Joe Ross was seemingly the main piece the Yankees were seeking from Washington).

Adding Torres to their offer, however, could well be what has apparently put the Cubs into the driver’s seat.  The 19-year-old shortstop was hailed as one of the top minor leaguers in baseball as per preseason top-100 rankings (ESPN’s Keith Law had Torres 15th, MLB.com had him 28th, and both Baseball Prospectus and Baseball America had him 41st).  Baseball America had Torres ranked as the top prospect in the Cubs’ system, no small feat given Chicago’s impressive amount of minor league depth.

Signed for a $1.7MM bonus as part of the Cubs’ international signing splurge in 2013, Torres has a .275/.359/.433 slash line and nine homers in 409 plate appearances at the high-A level this season.  MLB.com’s scouting report gives him plus grades in everything but power-hitting, and some scouts believe even that will eventually manifest itself in the form of 15-homer power.  While he could stick at shortstop, Torres could also move to third base or second, which may be his Yankee path as a long-term replacement for Chase Headley or Starlin Castro since Didi Gregorius has blossomed as New York’s regular shortstop.

With Chapman set for free agency this winter, Torres alone would’ve been quite a return for the Yankees.  Torres and even more young talent is quite a heavy price for Chicago to pay, though the Cubs are one of the few teams with enough position player depth at both the major and minor league levels to afford surrendering a top prospect like Torres for a rental player.

Of course, given how the bullpen is arguably the only semi-weak spot on the Cubs’ roster, adding a dominant force like Chapman may be the last piece Chicago needs to finally win another World Series.  Chapman has a 2.01 ERA, 12.6 K/9 and 5.5 K/BB rate over 31 1/3 innings this season, not seeing the field until May due to a 30-game suspension under the league domestic violence policy.

Hector Rondon has hardly done anything to earn a demotion given his own spectacular numbers, though the Cubs closer would move to a setup role if and when Chapman joins the fold, with Pedro Strop, Travis Wood and the newly-acquired Mike Montgomery serving to protect leads into the eighth inning.

Prospect Notes: D’Backs, Indians, Chang, Perez

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Since prospects are the backbone of any trade deadline season, here’s a look around the minor leagues…

  • Both Baseball America’s organizational rankings and rival sources from around the industry have unflattering opinions about the Diamondbacks’ minor league system, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes.  The prevailing view is that the D’Backs have several players who project as “a collection of back-end starters and relievers alongside utilitymen” but perhaps no impact regulars at the MLB level.  With not much interest in their prospects, the D’Backs may need to deal from their 25-man roster to address their many needs this offseason, though that could also hurt their depth.
  • Clint Frazier and Bradley Zimmer get much of the attention when discussing Indians prospects, though beyond those two top names, Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer lists several intriguing minor leaguers in the Tribe’s system.  Any of these youngsters could be of interest to the Brewers, as Pluto cites the recent reports of the Indians’ interest in Jonathan Lucroy and/or Milwaukee’s top relievers.
  • One Indians prospect not mentioned by Pluto is shortstop Yu-Cheng Chang, who ESPN’s Buster Olney reports was discussed by the Yankees when the two sides discussed Aroldis Chapman.  (The Tribe looked like the possible favorites for Chapman at one point today, though now it looks like the star closer will be going to the Cubs.)  Chang, who hails from Taiwan and turns 21 in August, has put up solid hitting numbers at high-A ball this season and was ranked by Baseball America as Cleveland’s 16th-best prospect prior to 2016.
  • Cuban third baseman Yanio Perez has drawn interest from the Astros, Padres, Rangers, Reds and Rockies, as per a report from MLB Pipeline (Twitter link).  The 20-year-old was ranked by Pipeline as the 10th-best player available in this year’s July 2 international market, and he is known to have impressive raw power, makeup and above-average speed.  Perez is subject to international bonus pool guidelines.

Bullpen Rumors: Street, Giants, Cashner, Brewers, Nationals, Robertson, Rosenthal

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With one potential relief pitching blockbuster in the works, let’s look around at some other news and rumors surrounding the bullpen market…

  • The Giants’ list of relief pitching targets includes Angels closer Huston Street, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Henry Schulman reports.  Street, who turns 33 in August, is enduring by far the worst season of his 12-year career — the veteran has as many walks (11) as strikeouts over his 19 2/3 innings pitched, and he missed a month due to an oblique strain.  His 5.03 K/9 would be a career low, while ERA indicators (5.69 FIP, 6.16 xFIP, 5.67 SIERA) show that Street is actually somewhat fortunate to “only” be posting a 5.03 ERA, though he also has a .358 BABIP.  With around $2.8MM still owed to Street this season and $9MM for 2017, the Angels would surely have to eat a big chunk of that contract to facilitate a deal given Street’s struggles.
  • Andrew Cashner has been cited as a possible Giants target, though interestingly, Schulman reports that San Francisco could explore converting the righty into a reliever.  I would guess that this scenario wouldn’t happen unless Matt Cain quickly rounds back into form.  The Padres are getting a lot of interest in Cashner and are certainly demanding a “starting pitcher” price tag for him, which the Giants likely wouldn’t be willing to pay unless they were totally committed to using Cashner in the rotation.
  • Brewers relievers Jeremy Jeffress and Will Smith are also Giants targets, with Schulman reporting that Milwaukee has been trying to include either reliever together with Jonathan Lucroy or Ryan Braun as part of a larger trade.  This tactic is of no interest to San Francisco since the Giants have no interest in Lucroy or Braun.
  • If the Nationals aren’t able to land Aroldis Chapman or Wade Davis, that won’t stop the team from searching for back-of-the-bullpen help, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman writes (Twitter links).  David Robertson will surely be a target if the White Sox shop him around, and Heyman figures the Cardinals’ Trevor Rosenthal will get a look.  Though St. Louis is no longer using Rosenthal as closer, Heyman isn’t sure the Cards would make him available.

Deadline Rumors: Hellickson, Reds, Rangers, Aybar, Gibson, Twins

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Here’s the latest on some notable players whose names have popped up in trade speculation…

  • The Phillies are scouting the Marlins’ rookie league affiliate for prospects in a possible Jeremy Hellickson trade, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link).  The two NL East rivals have been connected to Hellickson rumors for a few weeks now, as Miami is known to be searching for rotation help.  Given the lack of premium talent within the Marlins’ farm system, Hellickson could be a more reasonable acquisition than other Marlins targets like Jake Odorizzi, Matt Moore or even Chris Sale.  The Pirates, Red Sox and Orioles are among the teams also linked to Hellickson in trade rumors.
  • The Rangers are exploring many trade options and have been linked to multiple teams, though they don’t appear to have had any “substantive talks” with the Reds, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets.  Texas has been linked to Jay Bruce, and the right fielder could be a fit with Shin-Soo Choo constantly battling injuries and Prince Fielder gone for the season, though Grant seems to imply that the Rangers’ interest in Bruce didn’t get too far.  Anthony DeSclafani would certainly the attract the Rangers and other pitching-needy teams if Cincinnati made him available, though DeSclafani’s breakout year may have also made him into a building block for the rebuilding Reds.
  • The Braves are “aggressively shopping” Erick Aybar and left-handed relievers, a rival executive tells Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link).  Aybar would seem to have limited trade value given his horrible year at the plate, as his brief hot streak in June gave way to more struggles in July.  Southpaws Hunter Cervenka and Ian Krol have generated some trade buzz already, and it’s possible Atlanta could be trying to sell high on Dario Alvarez.  (UPDATE: Rosenthal’s tweet also listed Jeff Francoeur as a trade chip, but he has since issued a correction saying that the Braves aren’t shopping Francoeur and will only deal him if they get a big offer.)
  • The Twins are in “listening mode — at best” on right-hander Kyle Gibson, a source on a contender tells Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter links).  The Twins “appear more focused” on trading Ervin Santana or Ricky Nolasco, which is no surprise given that the team would love to get some salary relief from either of those big contracts.  Gibson has yet to truly live up to his former top prospect status, though he put up solid numbers in 2015 as a low-strikeout ground ball specialist.  Gibson will become eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter, and he is under team control through 2019.
  • Also from Berardino (Twitter links), he speculates that the Twins could try to position themselves as the proverbial “third team” in a three-team trade.  The Twins have some prospect depth that could be offered to contenders short on quality minor leaguers (Berardino cites the Marlins, Tigers, Mets and Orioles here) to help facilitate some deals, with Minnesota receiving some players who could help them next season but who are also still in their pre-arbitration years.

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