The last-place Phillies will be open for business at the trade deadline, reports Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. While free agents-to-be like Pat Neshek, Howie Kendrick, Jeremy Hellickson, Joaquin Benoit and Daniel Nava stand out as obvious trade candidates, Zolecki suggests that the Phillies could also listen to offers for some controllable players. That list includes first baseman Tommy Joseph, injured second baseman Cesar Hernandez and shortstop Freddy Galvis. Joseph is currently on a minimum salary and won’t even be eligible for arbitration until 2020, but moving him would enable the Phillies to open up first base for prospect Rhys Hoskins, who’s destroying Triple-A pitching. Hernandez, meanwhile, is on a $2.55MM salary and has three arbitration-eligible years remaining. However, he’s blocking another hot-hitting prospect – Scott Kingery, who’s at Double-A. Galvis is the most expensive of the three right now ($4.35MM) and only has another year of arbitration eligibility remaining. Behind him is J.P. Crawford, who hasn’t hit much at Triple-A since debuting there last year. Nevertheless, he still ranks as Baseball America’s 19th-best prospect.
The latest on a few other NL teams…
- The Marlins probably won’t trade any major pieces as long as their ownership situation is in flux, tweets Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. If true, that would rule out deals involving the likes of Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna and J.T. Realmuto, all of whom have been part of rumors this year. However, Frisaro notes that trades featuring lesser players (including Adeiny Hechavarria, Tom Koehler and certain relievers) remain possible.
- The Cardinals will recall outfielder Randal Grichuk, whom they demoted to the minors May 29, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Redbirds sent down Grichuk after he batted a paltry .222/.276/.377 with a 29.8 percent strikeout rate in 181 plate appearances. He fared better at Triple-A, slashing .270/.313/.603 in 67 PAs, but struck out even more frequently (29.9 percent) and only posted a 4.5 percent walk rate. It’s unclear how often Grichuk will play in his return to St. Louis, at least initially, as the team has gotten terrific production in his spot (left field) from Tommy Pham. The Cardinals also have Dexter Fowler and Stephen Piscotty as everyday outfielders, of course, so there’s no obvious fit for Grichuk in a starting role.
- Right-hander Jon Gray will make his long-awaited return to the Rockies’ rotation during their series against Arizona next weekend, per Nick Groke of the Denver Post (Twitter links). Gray entered the season as the de facto ace of Colorado’s staff, but he has been out since mid-April with a stress fracture in his left foot. Still, the Rockies have stormed out of the gates at 47-30, and Gray’s return should only help the team’s already high playoff odds. The Rox will deploy a five-man rotation when Gray comes back, meaning someone will have to exit the group, observes Groke.
- Cubs righty Kyle Hendricks threw Saturday for the first time since going on the disabled list June 8, and he told reporters – including Glenn Sattell of MLB.com – that it was a pain-free session. “The arm felt good. I’ve been doing a lot of shoulder work. It took a few throws to find the arm slot and actually felt pretty normal,” said Hendricks. “I was actually surprised by it.” A return isn’t imminent, though, with manager Joe Maddon noting, “It’s probably aggressive to think he’d be back by the All-Star break, but I don’t want to rule anything out.”
So much for hech being traded in the next 24-48 hours
Haha. I was thinking the same thing.
grichuk needs to stay in memphis and work on the reduction of strikeouts.
Im going to the DBacks Rockies game on Friday and it would be cool if Gray pitched
Chatwood/Ray is the matchup.
Thats still a good matchup
Crawford has really struggled in AAA. He struggled last season when he was called up & he hasn’t hit at all this season. He’s hitting .205 and has been below the .200 for most of the season. Kingery is hitting well in AA and I like his game, but the Eastern League is a hitters league. I would hesitate to bring him up straight from AA. There have been several players in the Phillies organization that have hit well in AA, but then struggled in AAA. Most haven’t struggled to the extent Crawford has, but there has been an adjustment period. Now, the Phillies do have some players they could use as stop gaps for the rest of the season. They have Pedro Florimon in AAA who played well who could play out the season. They have Hector Gomez who can do the same. They also have Jesemul Valentin, who once healthy, can come and fill in for the rest of the season
Sucks and overrated
As a Marlins fan, I’ll keep saying it. We aren’t signing Ozuna. We have no pitching. We have no farm system. Trade everyone, including Ozuna, except for Yelich, Realmuto, and Stanton
Hoskins .305 is not destroying anything. He is about 50 points off the International League batting average lead and he is 3rd in SLG.
He has a .997 ops. Sarcasm?
Well, there are a few AAAA players who are doing as well in half as many at bats.
Hoskins has a great eye. He walks a ton. He’s a solid player. I wouldn’t rush him up though. Let him continue his growth. It isn’t like the Phillies are going anywhere
The Cubs line up – where crappy pitchers go to revitalize their careers.
I really hope Stanton opts out in 3 years ..he has never had protection. They throw money at you it’s the largest contract ever. He honestly didnt earn it. But opting out would be the best thing he could do. Leave Miami.
Marlins can hit. They can’t pitch to save their lives and have no depth…and obviously if he stays healthy, he’ll opt out
Steve Jeltz was better than J P Crawford
I’m afraid you might be right. Even Dom Brown hit at Lehigh Valley. Plus, I just watched a replay of the game when Steve Jeltz went yard from both sides of the plate against the Pirates.
Phillies need to just start the convo with the Angels – ANY 5 players at ANY level for Mike Trout