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Archives for June 2017

White Sox Agree To Terms With First-Rounder Jake Burger

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The White Sox have agreed to terms with first-round draft pick Jake Burger, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). Burger, the 11th overall selection, will reportedly take home a $3.7MM bonus. With a slot value of $4,199,200  available at that pick, Chicago will save a bit of cash to put towards other players.

Burger played his college ball at Missouri State, excelling there as a power-hitting third baseman. Scouts note that he succeeds despite lacking smooth baseball actions. Indeed, one who spoke with the MLB.com prospect team “compared him to Hunter Pence for his ability to get the job done in less than pretty fashion.”

MLB.com ranked Burger 16th overall among draft prospects, while Baseball America slotted him at 20th and ESPN.com’s Keith Law had him at 21st and Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen placed him 24th on his board. All agree that Burger has significant power potential and a solid overall profile at the plate, though those that are less bullish see a lower likelihood that he’ll be able to handle the hot corner at the major league level.

Athletics Agree To Terms With First-Rounder Austin Beck

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9:41am: Oakland has also agreed with supplemental first-round selection Kevin Merrell, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis (Twitter link). He’ll receive $1.8MM, leaving the club some savings on the $2,033,500 slot value at the 33rd overall selection.

8:15am: The Athletics have a deal in place with first-round pick Austin Beck, according to Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com. He is expected to be introduced to fans at today’s game.

Beck, a high-school outfielder from North Carolina, was selected with the sixth overall pick of the draft. The slot value for that selection is $5,303,000, and that’s just what Beck will receive, per Baseball America’s Hudson Belinsky (via Twitter).

Prospect rankings expressed broad agreement on Beck’s placement in the pecking order. Each of Baseball America, MLB.com, and Fangraphs rated him the ninth-best draft-eligible prospect. ESPN.com’s Keith Law placed Beck at 16th on his board, though he didn’t disagree that Beck has significant tools and upside.

Credited with huge bat speed, projectable power, good wheels, and a big arm in the outfield, Beck has the profile of a star. It doesn’t hurt that he has a chance to stick in centerfield. But all of the evaluators cited the relative uncertainty he brings to the table. Beck missed significant time with an ACL tear, robbing scouts of a chance to see him put his tools to the test against the best prep arms with wood bat.

Oakland obviously believes that the youngster can make good on his talent; as Stiglich notes, the club had focused on him after an impressive recent workout out the Coliseum. As for Beck, he’ll forgo his commitment to the University of North Carolina in order to begin his professional career.

MLBTR Seeking Team Facebook Page Managers

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Are you an avid Facebook user and a diehard fan of the Yankees, Cardinals, Red Sox, Cubs, or Braves?  Then MLBTR might have a job for you.

For many years, MLBTR has run a Facebook page for each of the 30 MLB teams.  For example, here’s our Yankees page.  From inception, these pages have been entirely automated, and thus, nothing special.  We can do better.  That’s why we’re launching an experiment in which actual human fans will curate our five most popular team Facebook pages.

You may notice that for these five teams, the names have been changed.  For example, the Facebook page is now New York Yankees News & Rumors.  We feel that MLBTR has the rumors, hot stove, and transaction information pretty well-covered for each club, and the team Facebook pages will continue to link to MLBTR for that.  But there’s ample team-related news that would be of interest to fans, but would not fit on MLBTradeRumors.com.  In this experiment, our curators will be posting news on those topics as well.  For example, each game will have a game thread,  postgame post, and links to highlight videos, for the purpose of discussion with fellow fans.  Other types of news, like a lineup change, breakout performance by a top prospect, schedule and promotional information, interviews with current and former players, and All-Star voting updates will also be covered on these team Facebook pages.  This will also be a space for the curator to share links to opinion and analysis articles from high-quality outlets.  If you’re interested in applying to be one of our five curators for this experiment, read on…

  • The Yankees, Cardinals, Red Sox, Cubs, and Braves are the teams in our initial experiment, simply because their MLBTR Facebook pages are our most popular.  If the experiment is a success, we’ll add more teams.  So, we’re looking for superfans of these five teams only right now.  Please mention which team you support in the subject line of your email application.
  • The pay for this is a flat $50 per month.
  • This position requires prompt posting of MLBTR articles related to your team, as well as a minimum of five additional posts per day (whether an image, video, link, gif, meme, discussion thread, or poll).  We also hope you’ll engage with your fellow fans in the comment section on the Facebook posts.
  • These pages will be more laid-back than MLBTR itself, so humor is encouraged.  Still, the pages will remain family friendly.
  • You’ll need to know your way around Facebook, to ensure you are posting in the proper format.  The position will require usage of our Trade Rumors app for notifications.  We’re seeking strong writers, to ensure proper spelling and grammar.  And of course, the gig requires deep knowledge of your team and a good understanding of hot stove concepts.
  • If you’re interested in managing and curating MLBTR’s Facebook page for the Yankees, Cardinals, Red Sox, Cubs, or Braves, please email mlbtrhelp@gmail.com explaining your qualifications and why you’re the right person for the job.

Health Notes: Pollock, Smith, E-Rod, Villar, Hughes, Zobrist, AGon, Semien, Werth, Flaherty

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Diamondbacks outfielder A.J. Pollock has suffered a new injury while on a rehab assignment, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets. Pollock, who is working back from a groin strain, is now said to be day-to-day with tightness in his right quad. The severity isn’t yet known, though the presence of another lower-body muscle issue will surely cause the organization to proceed with caution. With the Snakes locked in a surprising and increasingly fascinating battle in the NL West, they will be anxious to get Pollock back, though clearly the long view is required for such an important player with such a checkered injury history.

Let’s check in on a few more injury situations from around the game:

  • The Blue Jays placed righty Joe Smith on the 10-day DL before today’s game, per a club announcement. He is dealing with shoulder inflammation. That’s a big loss for a Toronto club that has made huge strides after a woeful start to the year. Smith has been quite effective while maintaining a heavy workload; through 34 appearances, he carries a 3.41 ERA. More impressively, Smith has nearly doubled last year’s strikeout rate (13.4 K/9) while maintaining a 13.0% swinging-strike rate that dwarfs any of his prior single-season marks.
  • While the Red Sox wait to learn more about the status of second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who took a pitch to the ribcage on Sunday, the club has continued to receive good news on lefty Eduardo Rodriguez. As Rob Bradford of WEEI.com tweets, skipper John Farrell says that Rodriguez will face live hitters this week and possibly head out for a rehab assignment thereafter.
  • Things are clearing up for Brewers infielder Jonathan Villar as well, as MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy tweets. Villar, who has struggled in the wake of a breakout 2016 season, says that his lower back is feeling so much better that he might be ready for a rehab stint soon. Milwaukee may well need a healthy and more effective Villar if it hopes to continue to outpace the rest of the NL Central.
  • In other forthcoming rehab stints, Twins righty Phil Hughes is scheduled for a start at Triple-A on Wednesday, as Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. It seems that he has avoided the worst-case scenario after experiencing some symptoms akin to those that led to thoracic outlet surgery. Minnesota is also giving a rehab start to lefty Hector Santiago, who seems likely to avoid a lengthy DL stint for his shoulder issue.
  • Veteran Cubs infielder/outfielder Ben Zobrist got some good news, as Jeff Arnold of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. An MRI came back clean, leaving the club hopeful that the veteran will be able to return as soon as Friday. That said, Zobrist acknowledged that he still needs to test out the wrist at full speed, noting that “we’re not going to push it.”
  • Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts provided an update on first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times was among those to tweet. The veteran has received an epidural to treat his lower back issues, says Roberts, with the organization hopeful that Gonzalez will be able to return sometime around the All-Star break next month.
  • The Athletics will send shortstop Marcus Semien out on a rehab assignment later this week, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. He has been participating in baseball activities to test his surgically repaired wrist, and it seems the progress is sufficient to allow him to take the next step.
  • Meanwhile, the going is somewhat slow for Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth. As Dan Kolko of MASNsport.com tweets, manager Dusty Baker says that the veteran is still not ready for baseball activities. Instead, he’s still focused on taking care of his bruised left foot.
  • The Orioles don’t appear likely to welcome back infielder Ryan Flaherty any time soon, as Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports on Twitter. His balky shoulder didn’t respond well to an attempt to ramp up a throwing program, so the team will slow things down. Were it not for the injury, Flaherty would likely have represented part of the plan for dealing with the more recent DL placement of J.J. Hardy.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/19/17

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • Veteran righty Tom Wilhelmsen is on the open market after clearing waivers, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports on Twitter. The 33-year-old carried a 4.44 ERA over his 26 1/3 innings with the D-Backs, posting 17 strikeouts against a dozen walks to go with a 49.4% groundball rate. While Wilhelmsen was still working off of a mid-nineties heater, his swinging-strike rate has fallen to just 6.2% — well below his 10.6% career average.
  • The Rangers have selected the contract of righty Tanner Scheppers, per a club announcement. To clear a 40-man spot, the club shifted A.J. Griffin to the 60-day DL. Scheppers, 30, is back in the bigs for the first time this year. He wasn’t especially good in his 16 Triple-A appearances, posting a 4.64 ERA with 5.9 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9. Through 179 career MLB innings, Scheppers owns a 4.17 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9.
  • The Reds recently released reliever Louis Coleman, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports on Twitter. The 31-year-old righty was putting up strong numbers at Triple-A, where he carried a 2.21 ERA through 36 2/3 frames. (In fact, it’s worth wondering whether Coleman exercised an opt-out, though that’s just speculation at this time.) Coleman landed with the Reds organization on a minors deal after giving the Dodgers 48 innings of 4.69 ERA pitching last year after missing much of the prior campaign.

Taking Inventory: Atlanta Braves

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This is the eighth entry in MLBTR’s Taking Inventory series. Click for entries on the White Sox, Royals, Phillies, Pirates, Giants, Padres, and Reds.

Entering today’s action, the Braves sat in a tie for the second spot in the National League East. Had they been asked before the season, the organization would’ve been thrilled to learn that fate. But the sheen is decidedly lessened by the context: Atlanta still sits six games under .500 and is more than ten games out of a postseason spot of any kind.

Despite the placement in the standings, then, the Braves are highly likely to be in a position to sell at the trade deadline. That doesn’t mean, though, that the club will be terribly willing to consider dealing its more controllable players. It doesn’t even necessarily mean that certain veterans will be sold off for a reasonable return. And it’s still possible that Atlanta will at least look into dealing away some prospects to acquire an established starter with long-term control. With the organization determined to embark upon real contention in 2018, and to leave a good impression on fans even as the excitement of a new ballpark begins to wear off, a major tear-down isn’t likely.

Let’s take a look at some of the possible trade assets on the MLB roster:

Rentals

Jaime Garcia, SP | Salary: $12MM

Garcia looks to be the class of the Atlanta rental crop. He’s through 82 2/3 innings with a 3.59 ERA, so he has been both healthy and effective. While the southpaw is producing less strikeouts (6.5 per nine) and more walks (3.4 per nine), he’s running a 56.5% groundball mate that’s an exact match for his career mark. It’s unlikely Garcia will be viewed as a mid-3.00 pitcher at the deadline, and he’s likely due for a bit of regression before that point, but he ought to hold real appeal.

Bartolo Colon, SP | Salary: $12.5MM

Colon’s pinpoint command just hasn’t been there in his age-44 season. He’s working at nearly double the average walk rate he carried over the prior five seasons and has been in the zone just 43.5% of the time (against a 52.4% career average). That is perhaps showing up in other ways, too, as Colon hasn’t allowed this frequency of long balls since he was pitching for the Angels. There’s likely also some poor fortune baked in the hefty .353 BABIP opposing hitters are carrying against Colon, as well as his meager 48.5% strand rate, but at this point he has minimal trade value after 59 innings of 7.78 ERA ball.

Brandon Phillips, 2B | Salary: $1MM (remainder of $14MM salary paid by Reds)

Phillips carries an attractive .306/.351/.431 batting line, but that’ll drift back as his .342 BABIP faded. Since he’s no longer an elite defender, Phillips just doesn’t profile as a first-division regular. That said, he’s cheap and comes with plenty of experience, so it’s easy to imagine interest — though it’s anybody’s guess whether he’d be happy playing in a bench role.

Kurt Suzuki, C | Salary: $1.5MM

The veteran receiver has been dealt twice at the deadline before (and probably should have been a third time). He’s swinging a pretty good stick for a catcher — .227/.342/.402 through 118 plate appearances — and could fill a gap for an organization that ends up thin at the position.

Jason Motte, RP | Salary: $535K (remainder of $5MM salary paid by Rockies)

As his 35th birthday approaches, Motte owns a seemingly resurgent 1.86 ERA. But even a quick glance behind the results shows that it’s likely a mirage. He is averaging less than six strikeouts per nine with 3.7 BB/9 while benefiting from a very low BABIP (.192) and 100% strand rate. It’s still imaginable another club will like how he’s throwing the ball, but the offers may not be significant enough to make it worth it for the Braves to make a move.

Controlled Through 2018

Jim Johnson, RP | Salary: $5MM in 2017; $5MM in 2018

Atlanta could have a somewhat difficult decision to make on Johnson, who is pitching quite well but might also help solidify the back of the bullpen next year. He’s generating a 9.7% swinging-strike rate — best of his career — to complement his typically excellent groundball induction efforts (56.0% groundball rate, currently). Johnson profiles as a setup man on a contending team, which could have a fair bit of value.

Nick Markakis, OF | Salary: $11MM in 2017; $11MM in 2018

The veteran keeps on posting roughly league average offensive seasons, so you generally know what you’re going to get. Currently, he’s getting on base at a nice clip (.371) but showing a total lack of power (.092 isolated slugging). Unless the Braves are willing to pay down quite a bit of money, it’s hard to see rival organizations getting too excited at that profile from an older corner outfielder.

R.A. Dickey, SP | Salary: $8MM in 2017; $8MM club option ($500K buyout) in 2018

Dickey is outperforming Colon, but that’s about where the plaudits end. He owns a 5.35 ERA through 77 1/3 innings, with his strikeout and walk rates each heading in the wrong direction. Dickey’s 7.6% swinging-strike rate is the lowest he has carried since his Cy Young campaign. All said, it’s hard to see where the interest would come from, and the Braves might hold in case a second-half turnaround makes the option appealing.

Tyler Flowers, C | Salary: $3MM in 2017; $4MM club option ($300K buyout) in 2018

After a strong offensive season in 2016, Flowers has opened the current year with a blistering .333/.435/.473 slash. There are lots of reasons to think that won’t last, but the 31-year-old doesn’t need to hit at that pace to be a significant offensive threat for a catcher. He’ll likely draw some interest, but Atlanta needs a catcher for 2018 and seems likely to hold.

Matt Adams, 1B | Salary: $2.8MM; arb-eligible in 2018

The 28-year-old has thrived since finding a second chance in Atlanta, though his overall profile as a hitter hasn’t changed much. It’s not clear there’ll be a ton of demand, though it’s also not clear what the Braves will do with Adams once Freddie Freeman returns.

Longer-Term Assets

Julio Teheran, Matt Kemp, Arodys Vizcaino

Plenty of sub-.500 teams have interesting calls to make on controllable veterans, but it’s not clear that holds true for Atlanta. Freeman is hurt and wouldn’t be dealt anyway. (Neither will Ender Inciarte and Dansby Swanson.) Teheran is back on the downturn after a strong 2016 and is needed for the future anyway with multiple rotation spots unaccounted for past this season. Though Kemp is mashing, he has had some injury troubles and still looks like a defensive liability; plus, the Braves don’t have replacements lined up and surely like the idea of carrying him as a middle-of-the-order star heading into 2018.

And then there’s Vizcaino, who may be the most likely of this group to be traded at the deadline. He’s throwing well again, with a 1.93 ERA and 10.6 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 through 28 frames, and the Braves control him for only two more years. There’s surely no need for Atlanta to push the flamethrower out the door, but it may be worth cashing in on a somewhat volatile asset if there’s a good enough offer on the table.

Trade Chatter: Market, Darvish, Lucroy, Giants

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With baseball’s draft in the rear-view mirror, the focus for many clubs will begin shifting to trades over the next several weeks. In light of that, Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron breaks the league down into nine definite buyers, nine very likely sellers and a dozen bubble teams that are hovering around the .500 mark. As Cameron notes, there’s a case to be made in either direction for virtually all of the 12 fringe clubs, whose playoff odds, as calculated by Fangraphs, range from six percent (Angels, Twins) to 36 percent (Blue Jays). The proximity of stars such as Yu Darvish, Josh Donaldson and Manny Machado to free agency all have a bearing on a team’s decision, as does the overall composition of the roster. (The Mariners, for instance, have a significant amount invested in winning now with a number of aging key players, seemingly making them likelier to push for a postseason spot.) It’s a well-reasoned and comprehensive look at the competitive landscape of baseball in mid-June 2017 and is well worth a full read-through.

Onto some actual rumors pertaining to the trade market…

  • Even if the Rangers fall out of contention, they’re not planning to move Darvish, sources tell Yahoo’s Jeff Passan. Texas badly wants to retain their staff ace beyond the 2017 season, though Passan points out that there are only 11 free-agent pitchers that have ever signed a $100MM+ deal — and each has done so with a new team. Still, the Rangers want Darvish to hit the market with Arlington being the only place he’s called home during his Major League career rather than giving him a taste of a new city that could push him further away. I’d add that retaining him also allows the Rangers to make a qualifying offer, though for top-tier free agents such as Darvish, the QO isn’t the same free agency death knell that it has been for second- and third-tier names that have been tied to draft pick compensation.
  • Jonathan Lucroy, on the other hand, could potentially be marketed this summer if the Rangers drop far enough out of the race, Passan continues. Texas gave up a massive amount of talent to land Lucroy and Jeremy Jeffress last year, sending prospects Lewis Brinson, Luis Ortiz and Ryan Cordell to the Brewers for a year and a half of Lucroy and three years of Jeffress. Dealing Lucroy would allow the Rangers to get some value back if they can’t remain in contention, though Lucroy’s down season at the plate has been a factor in the Rangers’ underwhelming performance. Through 205 plate appearances, Lucroy is hitting a pedestrian .269/.307/.389. That’s perfectly acceptable for a catcher, but it’s a far cry from the .292/.355/.500 that he slashed last year.
  • The Giants have yet to hold a “we’re open for business” meeting despite their awful standing in the NL West and NL Wild Card race, reports Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area. Giants sources tell Pavlovic that the team has been focused on the draft, but they’ll begin to look more closely at their 2017 roadmap now. Dealing Eduardo Nunez is an “easy decision” for the Giants to make, Pavlovic opines (I agree), but they’ll have more complicated questions to ponder when it comes to pitchers Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija and Matt Moore. While some may feel that Cueto would be best served to forgo his opt-out, Passan points out that James Shields got four years and $75MM late in the offseason when he was two years older than Cueto will be this winter. Cueto has four years and $84MM remaining following the 2017 season.

Orioles Place J.J. Hardy On DL With Wrist Fracture, Select Paul Janish

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5:08pm: Janish will be promoted to take the open roster spot, per a club announcement.

2:27pm: Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy has been diagnosed with a fracture in his right wrist and won’t be able to resume baseball activities for four to six weeks, the Orioles announced to reporters (Twitter link via the Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli). Hardy won’t undergo surgery but will be in a soft cast for some time. He’ll need additional time to ramp back up after that initial four- to six-week healing period. Speculatively speaking, a late-July return seems like a best-case scenario, though his absence certainly could linger into August as well.

[Related: Updated Baltimore Orioles depth chart]

Hardy was struck on the wrist by a 93mph fastball from Lance Lynn over the weekend, and manager Buck Showalter told reporters yesterday that the prognosis was “not good” following initial x-rays. The O’s have Ruben Tejada on the roster as a backup, and he could conceivably step into the everyday shortstop role for the next several weeks. Veteran Paul Janish and the younger Luis Sardinas are both options to step into a utility slot if Tejada does take on a larger role with the O’s, though neither is on the 40-man roster.

Hardy joins fellow infielder Chris Davis on the sidelines for the foreseeable future, which should leave Baltimore with an infield of Trey Mancini, Jonathan Schoop, Tejada and Manny Machado for the time being.

From a bigger-picture perspective, the injury makes it an absolute lock that Hardy will not trigger his $14MM vesting option for the 2018 campaign. The 34-year-old was roughly on pace to reach the requisite 600 plate appearances he’d have needed to accumulate in order to lock in that salary, but the option will now be a $14MM club option with a $2MM buyout.

Padres Claim Dillon Overton, Designate Zach Lee

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The Padres announced on Monday that they’ve claimed left-hander Dillon Overton off waivers from the Mariners and designated right-hander Zach Lee for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Overton has been optioned to Triple-A El Paso, per the Padres.

The 25-year-old Overton was a second-round pick by the Athletics back in 2013 and was traded to Seattle in the offseason. The Mariners, however, designated Overton for assignment this past weekend after a rough start to his 2017 season; through 18 1/3 innings at the big league level, Overton logged a 6.31 ERA with just eight strikeouts, albeit against a mere two walks. His minor league output has been worse, as he’s been rocked for a 9.33 ERA through 27 innings with Triple-A Tacoma.

However, Overton is just a few months removed from wrapping up a strong 2016 season in which he posted a 3.29 ERA with 7.5 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a 36.1 percent ground-ball rate through 125 2/3 innings (20 starts) for Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate. And with a pair of minor league options remaining, he’s a reasonable add for a Padres team that is thin on pitching depth and brought in most of its current rotation via free agency this past winter.

Lee, also 25, has allowed five runs in eight innings for the Padres this year while tallying more walks (eight) than strikeouts (six). Once regarded as one of baseball’s very best prospects while in the Dodgers’ minor league ranks, Lee’s career has never taken off as many scouts and prospect analysts had envisioned. He’s posted a 5.32 ERA with 15 walks and 14 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings at Triple-A this season and has compiled a 4.94 ERA across 435 1/3 career innings in Triple-A.

Gleyber Torres To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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The Yankees announced devastating news regarding their top prospect, Gleyber Torres, as the highly touted young infielder has been diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left (non-throwing) elbow and will require Tommy John surgery. Torres will miss the remainder of the 2017 season, though the Yankees note that they expect him to be ready for Spring Training 2018. (Recovery from Tommy John is typically shorter for position players than it is for pitchers.)

The diagnosis is crushing for the Yankees, who undoubtedly hoped to bring their prized infield prospect to the Majors at some point this summer. The 20-year-old Torres, acquired from the Cubs in last summer’s Aroldis Chapman blockbuster, opened the season in Double-A but had recently been promoted to Triple-A following a strong start to the year. A natural shortstop, Torres had been shifted over to third base, likely in order to prepare him for a summer promotion that would displace struggling veteran Chase Headley.

Torres reportedly suffered the injury while sliding into home plate over the weekend, and while he’d already been placed on the minor league disabled list, certainly this type of diagnosis was not what the Yankees or anyone else was anticipating.

Through a combined 235 plate appearances with the Yankees’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, Torres was batting .287/.383/.480 with seven homers, 14 doubles, two triples and seven stolen bases despite being one of the youngest players in the Double-A Eastern League and in the Triple-A International League.

If the Yankees do still decide they’d like an upgrade over Headley, who is hitting .244/.329/.364 on the season, the trade market should bear a number of hot-corner alternatives. White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier will be among the most readily available options at third base, and it’s also likely that the Giants will field offers for Eduardo Nunez. Mike Moustakas stands out as another rental option, though the Royals’ recently improved play will likely put a hold on any thoughts Kansas City might’ve had about trading veterans. Both Oakland’s Jed Lowrie and San Diego’s Yangervis Solarte (a former Yankee) should be available in trade talks as well, though each has played more second than third lately.

And it should, of course, be noted that Headley has performed better at the plate recently. While he’s still not showing much pop, he’s posted a .284/.395/.358 batting line over his past 81 PAs dating back to late May. While that’s not elite production, the gaudy OBP would compensate for a lack of power if Headley were able to sustain something close to that pace.

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