Archives for July 2017

Bartolo Colon Has Considered Retirement

By Steve Adams | July 19, 2017 at 12:24pm CDT

Veteran right-hander Bartolo Colon tells ESPN’s Marly Rivera that he’s considered retirement recently. The 44-year-old signed a minor league pact with the Twins and made his debut in Minneapolis last night, surrendering four runs in four innings vs. the Yankees. Colon hasn’t made up his mind yet, and it sounds as if he’s planning to make his next start (which comes against the Dodgers in L.A. on July 24), but Rivera notes that his performance in that outing could directly impact his future.

The 2017 season has been brutal for the affable Colon. Signed to a one-year, $12.5MM contract on the heels of an excellent age-43 season with the Mets, Colon limped to an 8.14 ERA with the Braves before last night’s poor outing with Minnesota. Colon did navigate the Yankees’ lineup rather successfully twice through, allowing just one run in his first four innings of work, but he allowed some hard contact in the fourth before kicking off the fifth with a single and a pair of ringing doubles that ended his night.

Colon’s admission is somewhat reminiscent of 40-year-old Bronson Arroyo’s candor with the media earlier this season, in which the veteran Reds right-hander bluntly acknowledged to the Cincinnati media that if he didn’t soon “see something a little bit crisper and able to keep us in the ballgame a little bit better, maybe you’re at a dead end street.”

Obviously, the Twins and Colon will both hope for better results in his next scheduled outing. If he’s able to soak up some innings for a Minnesota club that finds itself a surprising contender in late July, he’d be a quality asset simply by functioning as a durable innings eater. That, however, hasn’t been the case to this point. There’s no evidence to suggest that the Twins would try Colon in a long relief role, and it’s not known how open he’d be to that at this stage of his career.

If things do go south for Colon once again in his next time out and it does prove to be the end of the line, he’ll have turned in a fairly remarkable career. Colon has spent parts of 20 seasons in the Major Leagues, totaling 3329 1/3 innings while appearing as a member of the Indians, Angels, Mets, Athletics, White Sox, Expos, Twins, Braves, Red Sox and Yankees. In that time he’s worked to a 235-171 record with a 4.02 ERA, 6.7 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 and been named to four All-Star teams in addition to taking home 2005 American League Cy Young honors.

Yankees Designate Rob Refsnyder, Ji-Man Choi For Assignment

By Steve Adams | July 19, 2017 at 10:54am CDT

The Yankees announced that they’ve designated infielder/outfielder Rob Refsnyder and first baseman Ji-Man Choi for assignment in order to clear space on the roster for last night’s acquisitions of Todd Frazier, David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle. A third 40-man spot wasn’t needed, as Tyler Clippard went to the White Sox in the trade as well. However, the Yankees did option left-hander Chasen Shreve to clear a 25-man spot.

[Related: Updated New York Yankees depth chart]

The 26-year-old Refsnyder generated a fair bit of optimism among Yankees fans as he rose through the system, but he’s never gotten an extended big league look due to questions about his defense. He’s appeared in 94 games across the past three seasons, logging time at second base, first base and in the outfield corners, but his bat has produced just a .241/.312/.332 output through 240 plate appearances. Those questions about his defense always made him more of a favorite among Yankee fans than in prospect rankings, but Refsnyder does carry a solid .292/.372/.424 batting line through 1244 career PAs at the Triple-A level.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that he’s gotten the sense that enough other clubs are intrigued by Refsnyder’s contact skills that the Yankees will be able to trade him before his DFA window expires. (The new CBA changed that allotted window from 10 days to seven days.) The return isn’t likely to be much, but he’s optionable for the remainder of the season, which could appeal to some clubs in need of bench depth.

Choi tallied just 18 PAs in his brief big league tenure with the Yankees but made them count, slugging a pair of homers and a double in his six games in pinstripes. That impressive showing notwithstanding, he’s a career .181/.279/.386 hitter in 147 PAs between the Halos and Yanks, though like Refsnyder he does come with an impressive Triple-A track record. Through 851 PAs at that level, Choi has raked at a .300/.391/.462 clip. He has one option year remaining after the 2017 season, which could be appealing to clubs on the hunt for depth pieces, but he’s also cleared waivers in the past and came to the Yankees on a minor league deal this past January.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Dodgers, Morrow, Astros, Mets, Yankees

By Steve Adams | July 19, 2017 at 9:25am CDT

Some highlights from the latest notes piece from Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network and FOX Sports (mostly via his Facebook page, due to FOX’s bizarre decision to go video-only in its web coverage of baseball)…

The $192MM that the Dodgers spent to retain Kenley Jansen, Justin Turner and Rich Hill this offseason was largely a measure against having to make an aggressive splash at the trade deadline for a second consecutive season, Rosenthal writes. The Dodgers don’t want to part with either top outfield prospect Alex Verdugo or top pitching prospect Walker Buehler, as both could help the team this season (Verdugo in the case of an outfield injury, Buehler as a September callup in the bullpen). If they’re to make a trade involving high-ceiling prospects, the Dodgers prefer to deal from the lower levels of their system, where those high-upside names aren’t quite so close to the Majors. The Dodgers would like to add an impact left-handed reliever, but “[are] wary of overpaying for 15-20 innings of a pitcher who will have zero impact on them winning the division.”
One tweet from Rosenthal a couple of days ago that flew under our radar: the Dodgers are open to dealing either Brandon Morrow or Sergio Romo to create an opening for the potential addition of a lefty reliever. While Romo’s numbers look decidedly unappealing despite a promising strikeout rate — 6.12 ERA, 11.2 K/9, 4.3 BB/9, 2.5 HR/9 — Morrow has been quietly excellent in an admittedly small sample. Through 15 2/3 innings, Morrow has allowed just four runs on a dozen hits with a gaudy 20-to-2 K/BB ratio. Seemingly healthy once again, Morrow’s average fastball velocity has soared to 97 mph, and he’s earning just the pro-rated portion of a $1.25MM base salary this season. The injury history and limited 2017 sample limit his overall value, but the 32-year-old could be viewed by some as an intriguing pickup.
The Astros, too, would like to add a left-handed reliever and may find more of a difference-maker in that pursuit than in seeking rotation upgrades, Rosenthal writes in his column. If the Astros don’t land Sonny Gray, they’ll likely at least look at rotation rentals, but they’d have to be convinced that whoever they acquire is an upgrade over Charlie Morton and/or the returning Collin McHugh. A more definitive upgrade would be easily apparent in the ’pen.
The Mets are willing to include cash in trades of veterans in order to net better prospects in trades, Rosenthal reports. Specifically, he mentions Jay Bruce and Asdrubal Cabrera. New York, for instance, knows it’d be on the hook for the $2MM buyout on Cabrera’s $8.5MM club option either way and would likely be willing to include that sum in a potential trade. They’d also be willing to pay down some of the remaining $5.26MM on Bruce’s salary, recognizing that said sum is a significant amount for many clubs to add at the midway point of a season. Other rentals the Mets have include Curtis Granderson ($6.07MM remaining), Addison Reed ($3.13MM) and Lucas Duda ($2.93MM). It’s worth noting that Rosenthal didn’t specifically mention Granderson, Reed or Duda by name.
Rosenthal also tweets that one reason the Yankees shifted course and acquired Todd Frazier, David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle from the White Sox is due to the high asking prices they encountered when seeking rotation upgrades. The Yanks are still on the lookout for starting pitching upgrades — both rental pieces and controllable assets, he adds.

Red Sox Notes: Flores, Devers, Swihart, Frazier

By Steve Adams | July 19, 2017 at 8:42am CDT

After a great deal of speculation and legions of rumors connecting the Red Sox to Todd Frazier, the now-former White Sox third baseman instead went to the division-rival Yankees in a huge seven-player trade last night. Boston was linked to Frazier right up until the end, but they’ll now look elsewhere as they seek an upgrade at the hot corner. Here’s the latest out of Boston…

The Red Sox have been connected to multiple other third basemen, and FanRag’s Jon Heyman adds Wilmer Flores of the Mets to the pile (Twitter link). Heyman notes that the Sox have scouted Flores, Asdrubal Cabrera and T.J. Rivera recently, which meshes with a recent report from the Boston Herald’s Michael Silverman. The 25-year-old Flores (26 next month) and his modest $2.2MM salary wouldn’t put the BoSox in danger of crossing the luxury tax threshold, and he’s versatile enough to slide into a utility role if/when the Red Sox ultimately give Rafael Devers the reins at third base. Flores is hitting .280/.310/.445 with seven homers and a dozen doubles this season, and he’s controllable through 2019.
Speaking of Devers, it may come as little surprise, but MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand hears that the 20-year-old top prospect isn’t available in any trade, as far as the Red Sox are concerned (Twitter link). Devers was recently moved up to Triple-A Pawtucket, and while it’s not known exactly how long he’ll remain there — Boston’s pursuit of third basemen in trades suggests that he’s not viewed as an immediate option — he’s believed to be their third baseman of the future. Devers recently landed within the game’s top six prospects on the midseason rankings of Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus and ESPN’s Keith Law.
Looking to another of Boston’s now-former top prospects, Blake Swihart is still unable to catch regularly following last year’s ankle injury and is beginning to work out at first base and third base, manager John Farrell told reporters (Twitter link via ESPN’s Scott Lauber). Once one of the very best prospects in all of baseball, Swihart’s stock is now seemingly at a low point with another experiment at a new defensive home and a lack of production in Pawtucket to this point in the season. Through 163 plate appearances there, he’s hitting .213/.265/.327 with three homers, six doubles and a triple.
Evan Drellich of CSN New England offers some praise for Red Sox president of baseball ops Dave Dombrowski for exhibiting restraint by not pulling out all the stops to bring Frazier to Boston. Dombrowski has spoken publicly about retaining some of the team’s prospect depth after several significant trades, Drellich writes, and he stuck to that last night. However, Drellich continues by noting that last night also serves as a reminder of the “harsher reality” that following the acquisitions of Chris Sale, Drew Pomeranz, Craig Kimbrel and Tyler Thornburg, the Sox have a lack of power in the current trade market. Most of those deals have paid dividends, of course (Sale, in particular), but a deal that significantly upgrades the team’s offense doesn’t look especially likely this year.

White Sox Promote Yoan Moncada

By Steve Adams | July 18, 2017 at 11:17pm CDT

The White Sox announced following tonight’s blockbuster trade that they will promote minor league infielder Yoan Moncada to the Majors tomorrow. Acquired in the team’s offseason trade of Chris Sale, Moncada is widely regarded as one of the game’s top overall prospects and ranks as MLB’s No. 1 prospect according to Baseball America, MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus.

Moncada, 22, is off to an excellent start in Triple-A Charlotte, hitting .285/.381/.452 with a dozen homers, nine doubles, three triples and 17 steals (in 24 attempts). He should get everyday at-bats for the Sox at second base, where he’s played exclusively thus far in Triple-A this season.

This won’t be Moncada’s first exposure to the Majors, as he appeared with the Red Sox late in the 2016 campaign but looked overmatched by big league pitching at the time. In a tiny sample of 20 plate appearances, Moncada was able to notch four hits but also struck out a whopping 12 times. Strikeouts remain an issue for Moncada in Triple-A, though he’s made modest improvements in both his strikeout and walk rates this season.

Reports on the switch-hitting Moncada tout him as a potential five-tool player — one who can hit for high average with power, speed, and above-average defense at second base for years to come. His left-handed swing has drawn comparisons to that of Robinson Cano. Baseball America’s report on Moncada marvels at his athleticism, touting that he “possesses the size and strength of a linebacker and he runs like a runaway locomotive.”

If there are any questions about Moncada, they’re largely about his hit tool, though not to the point where many evaluators are too concerned about his future. ESPN’s Keith Law isn’t quite as high on Moncada, but even as a slightly more skeptical observer, he pegged him as baseball’s No. 13 overall prospect earlier this month. Law writes that Moncada still profiles as an above-average regular at second even if his discipline never fully comes around.

Moncada entered the season with just 31 days of Major League service time, and given the timing of his promotion, there aren’t enough days left on the calendar for him to reach the requisite 172 days of service to notch his first full year. The best he can do is wrap up the season with 106 days of service, which would eventually leave him shy of Super Two status after the 2019 campaign (assuming no further demotions to alter his service time trajectory). Moncada, then, wouldn’t be eligible for arbitration until after the 2020 season and wouldn’t qualify as a free agent until the 2023 season wraps up.

Of course, financial considerations aren’t necessarily as great a concern for Moncada as they are for most young players. After leaving Cuba, Moncada signed with the Red Sox for a record-shattering $31.5MM signing bonus (that came with a full dollar-for-dollar penalty, meaning he cost Boston $63MM).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Yankees Acquire Todd Frazier, David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle In Seven-Player Deal

By Steve Adams | July 18, 2017 at 11:01pm CDT

The White Sox and Yankees have agreed to a blockbuster deal that will send Todd Frazier, David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle to New York in exchange for outfield prospect Blake Rutherford, left-handed pitching prospect Ian Clarkin, outfield prospect Tito Polo and veteran right-hander Tyler Clippard. The White Sox have formally announced the deal.

While Frazier has been primarily a third baseman in his career, he does bring 740 innings of experience at first base to the table. That’s a clear area of need for the Yankees, who have seen injuries ruin the seasons of Greg Bird and Tyler Austin, while offseason acquisition Chris Carter has been twice designated for assignment and now cut loose back to the open market. The Yankees could deploy Frazier at first base with regularity or put him at third and slide Chase Headley across the diamond, where even his modest production would be an upgrade.

The 31-year-old Frazier is set to hit free agency at season’s end, and while his production this year hasn’t been up to par, he’s turned things on since the the calendar flipped to June. Over his past 37 games, Frazier has batted .234/.361/.508 with nine homers and eight doubles. For a Yankees team that has seen its first basemen bat a collective .208/.295/.391, even Frazier’s overall .207/.328/.432 batting line represents a marked improvement, but if he can sustain his recently increased production, it’ll be a particular boon for manager Joe Girardi’s lineup.

And, in fact, there are plenty of signs that point to some positive regression for Frazier. The slugger has upped his walk rate to a career-high 14.3 percent in 2017 while also cutting his strikeout rate by more than three percent — from 24.5 percent in 2016 to 21.2 percent in 2017. Beyond that, Frazier has cut his infield-fly rate and seen increases in his line-drive and hard-contact rates. As such, it stands to reason that he could continue to improve upon a .214 batting average on balls in play that is currently the second-worst mark among all qualified Major League hitters. Frazier is earning $12MM in 2017, and there’s about $4.92MM of that sum remaining on his contract.

[Related: Updated New York Yankees depth chart and Chicago White Sox depth chart]

Robertson, of course, is a known commodity to the Yankees. The righty spent the first seven years of his career in the Bronx, working to an excellent 2.81 ERA with 12.0 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9. Most of his career in New York was spent setting up for future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera, but Robertson thrived in the ninth-inning spotlight in his final season with the Yanks (following Rivera’s retirement), setting him up to sign a four-year, $46MM contract that was at the time one of the five largest contracts ever inked by a reliever.

Now 32 years of age, Robertson is halfway through the third year of that contract and is in the midst of his best season with the Sox. Through 33 1/3 innings on Chicago’s South Side, Robertson has worked to a 2.70 earned run average with 12.7 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and an even 40.0 percent ground-ball rate. Like Frazier, Robertson is still owed $4.92MM of a $12MM salary this season. He, however, is signed through next year and is set to earn $13MM in 2018.

As for Kahnle, the 27-year-old was also once property of the Yankees, having risen through their minor league ranks before eventually making his big league debut in Colorado. The flamethrowing righty has long displayed a propensity for missing bats, but he’s taken that skill to new heights in 2017 while also dramatically slashing his walk rate. Through 36 innings in 2017, Kahnle has posted a ridiculous 15.0 K/9 rate to go along with a 41.1 percent grounder rate. The resulting 2.50 ERA looks impressive on its own, but metrics like FIP (1.47), xFIP (1.63) and SIERA (1.62) all feel that he may actually be unfortunate to be sporting an ERA even that high.

Further adding to Kahnle’s value is that he very much comes with long-term potential. If this proves to be a breakout rather than an aberration, he’d be controllable through the 2020 season via the arbitration process. Kahnle entered the year with just over two years of big league service time, so he’ll wrap up the 2017 campaign with three-plus years of service and be arbitration-eligible for the first time.

Adding Robertson and Kahnle to a bullpen that already features both Aroldis Chapman and Dellin Betances gives the Yankees a powerhouse relief corps to work with not only in 2017 but also through at least 2018, after which Robertson will be eligible for free agency. That group will be joined by an excellent multi-inning weapon in the form of Adam Warren as well as 26-year-old Chad Green, who is in the midst of his own breakout season — one that closely resembles that of Kahnle (1.75 ERA, 12.3 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 in 36 innings). Chasen Shreve is in the midst of a solid season and seems likely to stick as a left-handed option.

Clippard’s inclusion in this deal is primarily a means of offsetting some of the salary that the Yankees are taking on. Signed to a two-year, $12.25MM deal prior to the start of the 2016 season (by the D-backs), Clippard was a solid midseason pickup for New York last year but has struggled to a 4.95 ERA this year thanks to a recent spike in his home run rate. He’s still owed about $2.5MM of this season’s $6.125MM salary, so his inclusion will negate about a quarter of the $9.85MM that the Yankees are adding to their 2017 payroll in acquiring Frazier and Robertson. He’ll also give the ChiSox a veteran option at the back of a very inexperienced bullpen.

Clippard’s inclusion may have helped sway the Yankees into parting with a bit more in a what is essentially a three-player package that is headlined by Rutherford. The 20-year-old Rutherford was New York’s first-round pick in 2016 (No. 18 overall) and is off to a .281/.342/.391 start with Class-A Charleston. While those numbers don’t immediately jump out, he ranked as the game’s No. 36 overall prospect on Baseball America’s midseason update less than two weeks ago.

Rutherford entered the year as MLB.com’s No. 30 overall prospect, though his unspectacular start to the season may well cause that ranking to dip a bit. (He did not, for instance, rank on the midseason Top 50s of ESPN’s Keith Law or Baseball Prospectus.) Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo noted that he has the potential to hit for average and power, though their report notes that he’s likely to end up in an outfield corner — probably left field due to an arm that is more average than great.

The Yankees dealt from an area of depth in moving Rutherford, as Aaron Judge has cemented himself in right field, while Clint Frazier is doing his best to cement himself as a big leaguer right now. Beyond that, Aaron Hicks is controlled through 2019, Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner both remain under contract, and the team is obviously hoping for a full recovery from Dustin Fowler, who suffered a severe knee injury in his MLB debut.

Clarkin, meanwhile, ranked 19th in a stacked Yankees farm system this winter, per Callis and Mayo, while ESPN’s Keith Law had him 13th. peg him as a possible mid-rotation starter if all goes according to plan, praising a fastball that sits 90-93 mph and reaches 95 mph. Clarkin commands the pitch well, and Baseball America gives him a chance to have an above-average curveball. He’s repeating Class-A Advanced and has impressed with a 2.61 ERA, 7.1 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a 53.7 percent ground-ball rate. With 175 1/3 innings under his belt in High-A, the former first-round pick (No. 33 overall, 2013) could conceivably be in line for a promotion to Double-A this summer.

Polo, 22, is hitting .298/.358/.446 with five homers, 13 doubles, seven triples and 25 steals through 316 plate appearances between Class-A Advanced and Double-A this season. The former Pirates farmhand went to the Yankees as part of last season’s Ivan Nova trade with Pittsburgh but didn’t crack the team’s top 30 prospects this offseason.

Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago first tweeted that the Yankees were the “closest” team to landing this trio. Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports said a deal was “very close” (on Twitter). USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that Rutherford was the headliner (on Twitter). Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that Clarkin was in the deal (Twitter link). MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported that the White Sox would take back Clippard and his contract (also via Twitter). Sherman added that there was no additional cash changing hands. Levine tweeted that there was a fourth player in the deal.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Stephen Vogt Out At Least A Month With MCL Sprain

By Steve Adams | July 18, 2017 at 9:06pm CDT

The Brewers placed backup catcher Stephen Vogt on the 10-day disabled list due to a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee on Tuesday. As the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Todd Rosiak tweets, manager Craig Counsell told reporters that Vogt, who was claimed off waivers from the A’s last month, will be sidelined for “at least” a month due to the injury. Vogy sustained yesterday in a collision with Pirates righty Chad Kuhl.

Vogt hasn’t been playing regularly since his acquisition, but he’s hit quite well in a limited sample in his new environs. Through 32 plate appearances, Vogt has hit .250/.313/.679 with four homers. His injury means Jett Bandy will get another crack to establish himself as an option behind Manny Pina, who has enjoyed a somewhat surprising breakout with the Brew Crew in his age-30 season (.295/.355/.455 as of this writing, including tonight’s play).

Bandy has struggled to a .211/.287/.380 slash through 157 big league plate appearances this season after being acquired in a swap that sent Martin Maldonado to the Angels. Depending on how confident the Brewers are that Vogt can make it back to full health in 2017, a backup option behind the plate could be an area of focus in trades. With only 13 days until the non-waiver trade deadline, they may not have time to make that determination. However, if another option is deemed necessary next month, Milwaukee could always keep an eye out and claim an option off trade waivers in August (or swing a deal for a veteran that clears waivers).

Red Sox, White Sox “In Talks” On Todd Frazier

By Steve Adams | July 18, 2017 at 7:15pm CDT

The Red Sox and White Sox are “in talks” on third baseman Todd Frazier, tweets Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. Heyman notes that there’s nothing known to be done yet but adds that something could come together “fairly soon.” For what it’s worth, Frazier was announced as a healthy scratch from tonight’s lineup, which further lends credence to the notion that something could come together. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported over the weekend that the two sides had begun to move closer to a Frazier swap.

The 31-year-old Frazier is set to hit free agency at season’s end, and while his production this year hasn’t been up to par, he’s turned things on since the the calendar flipped to June. Over his past 37 games, Frazier has batted .234/.361/.508 with nine homers and eight doubles — all of which would be a mammoth upgrade over the woeful production that Boston has received at the hot corner this season. To date, Boston third baseman have collectively posted a miserable .227/.281/.325 batting line through 359 plate appearances.

Overall, Frazier’s .207/.328/.432 slash line is hardly eye-popping, but he’s also shown some positive indicators that point toward positive regression. He’s upped his walk rate to a career-high 14.3 percent in 2017 while also cutting his strikeout rate by more than three percent — from 24.5 percent in 2016 to 21.2 percent in 2017. Beyond that, Frazier has cut his infield-fly rate and seen increases in his line-drive and hard-contact rates. As such, it stands to reason that he could continue to improve upon a .214 batting average on balls in play that is currently the second-worst mark among all qualified Major League hitters.

Orioles’ Owner Gives Approval To Explore Trades Of Relievers, Smith

By Mark Polishuk | July 18, 2017 at 6:55pm CDT

JULY 18: Rosenthal now reports (via Twitter) that Angelos has indeed given Duquette his approval to explore trades involving the team’s top relievers as well as Smith.

JULY 16: As long as Orioles ownership approves, executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette has told other teams that he is open to trading three of his top relievers (Zach Britton, Brad Brach and Darren O’Day) as well as outfielder Seth Smith, Ken Rosenthal reports via his Facebook page.

Also noteworthy in Rosenthal’s report is the list of names the O’s apparently aren’t willing to trade. The club isn’t listening to offers for Manny Machado or Adam Jones, and though Mychal Givens is receiving interest from rival clubs, the O’s also don’t plan on dealing the righty, who is controllable through the 2021 season.

This would indicate that the Orioles aren’t approaching the deadline with an eye towards a full-blown rebuild. Dealing a controllable player like Givens (who is likely being groomed for a larger role should one of the veteran relievers be dealt) or moving cornerstone players like Machado or Jones would imply that Baltimore wasn’t planning on contending in 2018. Instead, the team looks to be attempting to free up some payroll space in the form of pricey relief contacts, and move some excess pieces in the bullpen and bench with an eye towards reloading for next season. With this in mind, Rosenthal opines that Welington Castillo could also be a trade chip, as the catcher can become a free agent this winter if he doesn’t exercise his player option for 2018.

All this trade talk assumes, of course, that Orioles owner Peter Angelos is willing to green-light the proposed deadline moves. Rosenthal points out that Angelos hasn’t permitted his team to make significant trades of veterans at the deadline since 2000, though the O’s are only on the fringes of contention this year. The Orioles entered the day tied with the Blue Jays for fourth place in the AL East with a 42-48 record, 8.5 games out of first place and five games out of a wild card berth.

Britton posted one of the best years of any closer in baseball history in 2016, though he has only pitched 13 innings for Baltimore this season due to a pair of forearm strains. Despite the worrying nature of such injuries, Britton’s track record ensures that he would be a prized commodity at the deadline, with such teams as the Dodgers and Astros already showing some interest.

Britton’s rise to elite closer status has coincided with his arbitration years, as he is playing this season on an $11.4MM salary. Though his injury woes will probably limit the size of his raise in his fourth and final trip through the arb process this winter, Britton still has another $12MM+ salary coming his way in 2018, and there were whispers all winter that the O’s could move Britton and go with a less-expensive option at closer.

Brach, for instance, is only earning $3.05MM this season and is controlled through the 2018 season. This contract situation and Brach’s own strong performance this year as Britton’s replacement at closer has put Brach perhaps even in higher demand than Britton. It probably isn’t likely that both Britton and Brach would be dealt, as the club likely sees one or the other as their closer in 2018.

The veteran O’Day missed some time due to a shoulder strain this year and was hampered by injuries in 2016, though he had continued to post his usual solid numbers when healthy. O’Day has a 3.77 ERA, 11.3 K/9 and 2.79 K/BB rate over 31 frames for Baltimore this year. O’Day is owed $9MM in both 2018 and 2019 and has roughly $3MM remaining salary for this year. The veteran also has a partial no-trade clause in his contract that allows him to block deals to seven teams, so O’Day has some control over his destiny if the Orioles do want to trade him.

Smith was acquired in a trade with the Mariners last winter to boost the Orioles’ left-handed hitting outfield depth, and he has a solid .259/.328/.436 slash line through 244 PA. Trey Mancini has stepped into an everyday corner outfield role, so the O’s could use a platoon of Joey Rickard and Hyun Soo Kim in the other corner spot should Smith be dealt.

Diamondbacks Acquire J.D. Martinez

By Steve Adams | July 18, 2017 at 5:40pm CDT

The Diamondbacks have made a massive move to upgrade their offense, acquiring outfielder J.D. Martinez from the Tigers in exchange for infield prospects Dawel Lugo, Sergio Alcantara and Jose King. Both teams have announced the deal. There’s reportedly no cash changing hands in the deal, so the D-backs are on the hook for the $4.82MM that remains on Martinez’s $11.75MM salary.

In acquiring Martinez, the D-backs will be adding the very best rental bat on the market. The 29-year-old missed the first six weeks of the season due to a sprained ligament in his foot but has stormed back into the lineup with a .305/.388/.630 batting line and 16 homers through 232 plate appearances in 57 games. Arizona currently has Yasmany Tomas on the shelf and has been relying upon Daniel Descalso and Chris Herrmann to take at-bats in left field.

[Related: Updated Detroit Tigers depth chart and Arizona Diamondbacks depth chart]

By picking up Martinez, the Snakes will not only be massively upgrading their lineup, they’ll also be preventing one of their top division rivals and a potential Wild Card opponent, the Rockies, from acquiring the slugger. Colorado had also reportedly expressed interest in Martinez, but he’ll now slot into a D-backs lineup that already features the likes of Paul Goldschmidt, Jake Lamb, A.J. Pollock and David Peralta. Beyond that, though, the D-backs will add a drastically needed upgrade against left-handed pitching. Arizona ranks last in the Majors with a 65 wRC+ against lefties, and Martinez’s right-handed bat will be a significant boost.

From a defensive standpoint, Martinez won’t do the D-backs many favors, as he’s rated poorly in right field over the past couple of seasons, perhaps in part due to his foot troubles. (Martinez had graded out quite well in right as recently as 2015.) Then again, Tomas has regularly graded out as one of the game’s worst defenders in left field, while Descalso is an infielder that has been playing left out of necessity.

With Martinez set to be a free agent this offseason, the trade stands to benefit him as well. Because he’s been moved, he’ll no longer be eligible to receive a qualifying offer when the season is up, which should only strengthen his case on the open market.

Of the prospects in the deal, Lugo comes with the most fanfare. He entered the season ranked fourth among D-backs farmhands, according to Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. The 22-year-old is hitting .282/.325/.428 with seven homers, 21 doubles and four triples through 369 plate appearances in Double-A despite being a couple of years younger than the average age of his competition. He’s played shortstop and third base throughout his minor league career. Callis and Mayo note that he could project as a utility player, but he’s made enough strides recently that a future as a regular isn’t out of the question. Given his inclusion in the deal, the Tigers likely view Lugo as a potential regular at either one of those two positions.

Alcantara, also a middle infielder, ranked 15th among Arizona prospects on that same list prior to the season. He’s off to a .279/.344/.362 batting line with three homers, 15 doubles, a pair triples and 11 steals (albeit in 21 tries) in 378 PAs at Class-A Advanced. Also like Lugo, he’s rather young for his level, having turned 21 just last week. Callis and Mayo praise him as an outstanding defender and labeling him a “no-doubt-about-it shortstop.” He has the strongest arm in Arizona’s system, they add, and his glovework is so strong that he needn’t develop much as a hitter to be an everyday player in the Majors.

King, the youngest of the bunch at 18, recently opened his season in the Rookie-level Arizona League after spending the 2016 season in the Dominican Summer League. Baseball America’s Ben Badler ranked King among the best prospects in the DSL, praising his plus-plus speed and noting that he has 50-steal potential to go along with a compact swing and good bat speed. King is also an up-the-middle player and has split his time between shortstop and second base, though Badler notes that his slightly below average arm makes him a better fit at second base rather than shortstop.

Jon Morosi of MLB.com first said the two sides were close to a deal (Twitter link). Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported the deal was in place (on Twitter). Jon Heyman of FanRag and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports/MLB Network noted that the D-backs were sending multiple prospects to Detroit (Twitter links). Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweeted the prospects that were in the deal. Rosenthal tweeted that there’s no cash changing hands in the deal.

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