Archives for July 2017

Reds Place Scott Feldman On 10-Day DL

By Jeff Todd | July 18, 2017 at 10:07am CDT

The Reds have placed righty Scott Feldman on the 10-day DL, per a club announcement. His precise injury situation isn’t yet known, but the placement is clearly related to Feldman’s early exit with an apparent knee injury yesterday, as C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

The 34-year-old has evidently been dealing with the balky joint for some time, but the situation reached a breaking point yesterday. Feldman was knocked around, exhibiting severely diminished velocity before he was pulled after just one inning.

With the move, the Reds have not only suffered yet another hit to their beleaguered rotation, but may have lost one of their more likely deadline trade pieces. Feldman has been solid all year long, with a 4.34 ERA even after his brutal outing. With only a $2.3MM base salary, he looked to be an affordable depth option for organizations hoping to shore up their rotations down the stretch.

It’s still conceivable that Feldman could be dealt, but the Reds will have a much harder time achieving a worthwhile return. The 13-year MLB veteran won’t return until just before the deadline, if he’s able to make it back by that point at all. And while he could conceivably be moved during August, that’s not typically a time when sellers have much leverage.

Yankees Nearing Deal To Acquire Todd Frazier, David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle

By Steve Adams | July 18, 2017 at 9:00am CDT

This post was originally published on the evening of Tues., July 18, prior to the announcement of the trade.

9:59pm: Levine tweets that there are four players going to the White Sox in the deal. Sherman adds that the fourth player will be another prospect, so it doesn’t seem as though anyone else on the big league roster is in the deal.

9:27pm: MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets that the White Sox would indeed take Clippard’s contract back in the trade as a means of offsetting some salary. Sherman tweets that there will be no cash considerations exchanging hands. Clippard is earning $6.125MM this year in the second season of a two-year, $12.25MM pact. About $2.5MM of that sum is still owed to the veteran reliever, so he’ll offset roughly one quarter of the nearly $10MM the Yankees are adding to the payroll by taking on the salaries of Robertson and Frazier.

9:17pm: Sherman reports that left-handed pitching prospect Ian Clarkin would also head to the ChiSox as part of the package (Twitter link).

9:09pm: Outfield prospect Blake Rutherford, New York’s first-round selection from the 2016 draft, would head to the White Sox as part of the package, reports USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (on Twitter).

9:04pm: Heyman tweets that the two teams are hoping to finalize a deal tonight, suggesting that well-regarded but lower-level prospects will likely be headed to the ChiSox in return.

8:01pm: The Yankees are indeed “pushing hard” for that trio, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post, though he notes that the deal is not yet at the finish line.

7:52pm: The Yankees are “very close” to a deal with the White Sox that would bring Todd Frazier, David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle to New York, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports (on Twitter). Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago first tweeted that the Yankees were the “closest” team to landing that trio.

Notably, Frazier was announced as a healthy scratch by the White Sox tonight. A move to grab all three of those players would obviously be a significant upgrade for the Yankees’ roster, particularly the bullpen, but would also be important in that it’d keep Frazier (and possibly Robertson) away from the division-rival Red Sox. Boston was reportedly in talks with Frazier within the past hour, and there were some rumblings connecting Robertson to the BoSox as well.

While Frazier has been primarily a third baseman in his career, he does bring quite a bit 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 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 would be a marked improvement, but if he can sustain his recently increased production, it’d 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.

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. He’s still owed $4.92MM of his $12MM salary this season and is set to earn $13MM in 2018 as well.

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 would give 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 pairing would figure to 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.

That group doesn’t even make mention of young righty Jonathan Holder, who has also impressed this season. Suffice it to say, the sheer volume of quality relief options this deal would give the Yankees would leave little room for struggling veteran Tyler Clippard on the Yankees’ roster, though there’s yet to be any mention of Clippard losing a roster spot or being included in the deal as a means of offsetting some salary.

Yankees, Athletics In Talks On Yonder Alonso

By Jeff Todd | July 18, 2017 at 8:23am CDT

The Yankees and Athletics are discussing possible trade scenarios involving first baseman Yonder Alonso, according to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. There’s no indication, at this point, that a deal is particularly likely to materialize, though it’s easy to see how the teams could line up.

Indeed, the potential match between Oakland and New York has long been speculated. But a firm connection had not previously been established. The former has had eyes on the latter’s farm system of late, Ken Rosenthal reported yesterday on Twitter, suggesting that the sides could see a potential path to a swap of some kind.

As both reporters noted, it seems that righty Sonny Gray would also make for a sensible target for New York, though it is unclear at this point whether he has been the focus of any discussions between the organizations. There’ll be loads of competition for Gray, but he would help fill a need both now in the future for the Yanks.

It’s quite a different situation with regard to Alonso, who has morphed into an offensive force this year. There are several other quality first basemen who’ll likely be available — Lucas Duda of the Mets and Matt Adams of the Braves perhaps representing the most obvious options — and few contenders that have a clear need at the position. That seems to leave the Yankees in rather a strong bargaining position.

James Loney Signs With KBO’s LG Twins

By Jeff Todd | July 18, 2017 at 7:44am CDT

Veteran first baseman James Loney has signed on with Korea’s LG Twins, Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap reports on Twitter. He’ll earn a $350K salary during his first foray into the Korea Baseball Organization.

Loney, 33, has struggled to find a major league opportunity this year after eleven straight seasons of action in the majors. He opened the year in the Tigers’ system but was released after a rough start. And he landed with the Braves after Freddie Freeman’s injury, but then requested his release when the club went out and got Matt Adams to step in at the major league level.

Last year, Loney was able to find big league time after starting out at Triple-A. His early-season stint with the Padres’ top affiliate was his first non-rehab time in the minors since 2007. But Loney soon found a spot with the Mets, who needed a replacement for Lucas Duda. Loney ended the 2016 season with 366 plate appearances of .265/.307/.397 hitting.

That output fell shy of Loney’s typical offensive production. While he has never been much of a power threat — last year’s .131 ISO actually falls over his career average — Loney has typically hit for average and reached base at a steady clip. He also once drew top marks for his glovework at first, but has fallen back into the general range of average in recent campaigns.

All that said, the 33-year-old represents a polished hitter for his new club. We’re accustomed to reading of the exploits of power hitters in the KBO, with its high run-scoring environment. It’ll be interesting to see whether Loney finds his power stroke, but at a minimum he figures to make for a tough out for pitchers facing the LG Twins.

Twins To Select Contract Of Bartolo Colon, Outright Dillon Gee

By Jeff Todd | July 17, 2017 at 11:28pm CDT

The Twins have prepared their roster moves to accommodate the promotion of recently signed veteran Bartolo Colon. Minnesota will outright fellow righty Dillon Gee, per Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press (via Twitter), with slugger Kennys Vargas being optioned for an active roster spot.

Once that move is official, the 44-year-old Colon will be ready join his tenth MLB organization. The twenty-year MLB veteran signed on with the Twins on a minors deal after a disappointing start to the year with the Braves, who’ll remain responsible for the vast majority of his $12.5MM salary.

With the Minnesota front office eyeing possible pitching upgrades at the trade deadline — with a focus on controllable arms, per reports — it’ll have a few chances to see Colon pitch again in the majors before making any final decisions. It’s unlikely that the ageless wonder will significantly alter the club’s decisionmaking, but if he shows well the team would obviously have somewhat less incentive to consider giving up talent or taking on salary for a short-term rotation boost.

Though Colon was knocked around with the Braves, coughing up 57 earned runs on 92 hits in his 63 frames, he has been much better in recent years. In 2016, in fact, he spun 191 2/3 innings of 3.43 ERA ball. That kind of productivity isn’t to be expected, of course, but perhaps there’s reason to hope he can still turn in some reliable frames. That’d be a welcome development for the Twins, who hope to stay in the postseason hunt but surely don’t wish to push in too many chips to do so as the organization’s new front office keeps the focus on achieving sustainable contention.

Gee, 31, was briefly called up after joining the Twins on a minors deal. But he did not appear before being optioned back to Triple-A. He made four appearances earlier in the year with the Rangers, but has spent most of the season at Triple-A. Gee has been rather effective in his 66 innings over a dozen starts, working to a 3.00 ERA with 7.0 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9. A veteran of eight MLB campaigns, Gee is looking to reestablish himself at the game’s highest level after a pair of rough seasons.

Marlins Place Martin Prado On 10-Day DL

By Jeff Todd | July 17, 2017 at 10:08pm CDT

The Marlins have placed third baseman Martin Prado on the 10-day DL with a right knee sprain, per a team announcement. He’ll be replaced by infielder Miguel Rojas on the active roster.

That’s a new malady for Prado, who has hit the DL twice previously with hamstring problems. And it comes at a poor moment for Miami, which has reportedly been working on potential trade scenarios for the veteran.

Prado, 33, has struggled when healthy this year. Through 145 trips to the plate, he owns a .254/.283/.362 slash with a pair of home runs. And he’s hardly cheap, with an $11.5MM salary this year and $28.5MM still to go over the coming two seasons.

Still, it’s not surprising to see interest from organizations such as the Red Sox and Yankees. The respected veteran has long provided solid production, with a slightly above-average bat and quality glovework. He also has some defensive versatility, with plenty of time at second and left field in his past — though he has played third almost exclusively over the past several campaigns.

Prado is a clear August trade candidate given his contract. But teams hunting a third baseman will be motivated to explore all their options before the non-waiver deadline on July 31st. Whether Prado can return to the active roster before that date remains to be seen, though he’d only have a few potential games of action to show he’s back at full health.

The injury could help boost the market for the remaining third basemen that could be available. There are quite a few possibilities, though several may or may not be available. Pending free agents Todd Frazier and Eduardo Nunez both still appear to be the likeliest candidates to end up on the move.

Trade Chatter: Gray, Fulmer, Cards, JDM, Marlins, Lowrie, Red Sox, Reed

By Steve Adams | July 17, 2017 at 7:06pm CDT

Athletics righty Sonny Gray is an obvious target for contenders, and he’s among the players touched upon in a report from Bob Nightengale of USA Today (which also delves into some analysis and predictions). The Brewers “may be the most aggressive” suitor for the Oakland starter, per Nightengale, with the Royals even entering the picture to some extent. He guesses, though, that the Astros are most likely to land Gray. That’s not to say that it’s Houston’s first choice; Nightengale says that the team spoke with the Tigers on Michael Fulmer but “came up empty.”

We’ll see if the ’Stros continue to push for Fulmer, who’d surely require a major haul of prospects. Here are some more notes from Nightengale and others:

If Gray is the top starter who’s likely to be dealt, the best position player on the market is probably Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez. The Cardinals were said previously to have looked into the high-powered slugger, but Nightengale says they won’t spend big on a rental of his ilk. Rather, he says, the Dodgers, Red Sox, and Diamondbacks are the three clubs that have “shown the most interest” in Martinez. We’ve also heard of a few other organizations poking around on the righty slugger, so there seems to be no shortage of interest.
The Phillies aren’t in contention — far from it — but are still showing interest in Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon, Nightengale adds. Other organizations are also said to be looking into the speedy veteran, who is under contract for $38MM over the next three seasons. It’s a bit surprising to see this particular link, as the Phils already control Cesar Hernandez and have variety of interesting middle infield prospects moving toward the majors. CSNPhilly.com’s Corey Seidman argues as much, but notes that Gordon could conceivably be involved in some of the broader talks between the clubs.
As many as 10 teams are still in the mix for Marlins righty David Phelps, tweets Nightengale. Phelps is indeed an attractive trade chip, though it’s unlikely that all 10 of those clubs are expressing serious interest and making competitive bids to acquire him. Nightengale names the Yankees, Red Sox, Brewers, Cubs, Rockies, and Rangers as the chief pursuers of Phelps.
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand provides a variety of market notes. Among them: the Marlins are shopping Brad Ziegler aggressively. The team is willing to hold onto a major portion of his salary to get a deal done, per the report. That’s no surprise, given that he struggled through 29 innings before hitting the DL with a back issue. With a discount on the free-agent deal, there ought to be some interest. After all, the crafty 37-year-old maintained a 2.05 ERA over 136 innings in the prior two campaigns.
It’s not surprising to hear that the Tigers are asking for quite a haul in exchange for Fulmer, given that he doesn’t need to be dealt. And the organization is perhaps well served to maintain a lofty ask on Martinez, allowing suitors to bid up his return. But dealing some of the organization’s other veterans may require more give and take. A pair of rival executives tell ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter) that Detroit may have trouble making deals at its current asking prices.
Jed Lowrie has been one of the most oft-speculated trade candidates of the summer, but MLB Network’s Peter Gammons tweets that, to this point, the Athletics haven’t received so much as a single inquiry into his availability. Lowrie is obviously available in trade — as is the case with most of the Oakland roster — and it is indeed somewhat surprising to hear that interest in him is so scant. The versatile, switch-hitting 33-year-old is batting .272/.339/.455 with 10 homers, 27 doubles and two triples this year. Even if a contending club doesn’t view Lowrie as a starter, his $6.5MM salary and $6MM club option aren’t exactly outlandish for a productive utility option.
The Red Sox are one team rumored to have some level of interest in Lowrie, though Boston has been most closely connected with Todd Frazier in its third base search. Odds are, a source tells ESPN.com’s Scott Lauber (Twitter link), the Sox won’t be parting with significant prospect assets to meet its needs at the hot corner and in the bullpen. That likely wouldn’t be necessary for Lowrie or Frazier; one wonders, though, whether the club will still at least look into more significant deadline additions.
We haven’t heard much detail as yet on Mets righty Addison Reed, who looks to be one of the best available relievers. But he’s generating “plenty of trade interest,” in the words of Newsday’s Marc Carig (via Twitter). That’s to be expected given the dominant form of the pending free agent. Over 43 2/3 innings this year, Reed owns a 2.47 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and just 1.0 BB/9.

Braves Activate Sean Rodriguez

By Jeff Todd | July 17, 2017 at 4:34pm CDT

The Braves have announced the activation of infielder Sean Rodriguez, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman first reported on Twitter, with fellow utilityman Danny Santana also returning from a shorter DL stint. Infielder Jace Peterson and righty Jason Hursh were optioned to create active roster space, while righty Armando Rivero was bumped to the 60-day DL to open a 40-man spot (via David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, on Twitter).

Rodriguez, 32, signed a two-year, $11.5MM deal to join the Braves over the offseason. At the time, he seemed to be lined up to take regular duties at second base, while also providing an option at the hot corner depending upon how the season progressed.

An offseason car accident changed everything, though. Rodriguez has steadily worked back from a shoulder injury ever since. While it was believed at the time that he might miss the entire season, he was obviously able to make it back with plenty of games left to go.

It’s opportune timing for Atlanta, which has climbed back to .500 even as the Wild Card leaders have fallen back to earth. Qualifying for the postseason still looks to be a tall order, but it’s hardly out of the question. And Rodriguez — who slashed a career-best .270/.349/.510 last year — could provide a significant boost.

At this point, it’s not clear just how the Braves will line up. Brandon Phillips has handled everyday duties at second after being acquired to replace Rodriguez. And Freddie Freeman is now spending significant time at third base to allow Matt Adams a lineup spot at first. It seems likely that manager Brian Snitker will mix and match his lineups on a day-to-day basis, at least preliminarily.

Blue Jays Designate Lucas Harrell For Assignment

By Steve Adams | July 17, 2017 at 3:17pm CDT

The Blue Jays announced that they’ve recalled right-hander Dominic Leone from Triple-A Buffalo and designated fellow righty Lucas Harrell for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster.

Signed to a minor league pact this offseason, the 32-year-old Harrell made his way to the Jays’ big league roster earlier this month and made four appearances out of the bullpen. In 6 1/3 innings, Harrell yielded five runs on 10 hits and four walks with six strikeouts, resulting in an unsightly 7.11 ERA. He’s had a nice season for the Jays’ Triple-A affiliate in limited action, though, pitching to a 2.11 ERA with a 15-to-8 K/BB ratio through 21 1/3 innings.

Harrell logged a 4.21 ERA in 47 innings between the Braves and Rangers last season and has totaled 455 big league innings to date. In that time, he has a career 4.81 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 between the White Sox, Astros, Braves, Rangers and Jays. The veteran seems fairly likely to make it through waivers, at which point he could either accept or reject an outright assignment back to Triple-A. However, a team in need of some short-term rotation depth or long relief could opt to grab Harrell and plug him into the 25-man roster.

Tigers Reportedly Willing To Include Some Cash In Verlander Trade

By Steve Adams | July 17, 2017 at 2:24pm CDT

Two weeks ago, it was reported that while the Tigers were willing to discuss Justin Verlander in trades, they sought a significant prospect return and weren’t inclined to include any financial compensation to offset his sizable contract. Now, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that the Tigers have softened that stance and are willing to include “some” cash in a theoretical trade to help facilitate a deal. Verlander also has a full no-trade clause, though, so he’d need to green-light any deal the Tigers are interested in making, if such an opportunity even arises.

The 34-year-old Verlander is midway through the fifth season of a back-loaded seven-year, $180MM contract that calls for him to earn $28MM each year from now through 2019. Of this year’s $28MM, about $11.6MM remains, so adding that to the $56MM he’s owed in 2018-19 brings the total bill to just a shade under $68MM. Exactly what constitutes “some” cash for the Tigers isn’t clear, but given their desire to acquire top-shelf prospects, one can only imagine that the Tigers would need to pay off a significant amount of that remaining $68MM.

For all the name value that Verlander brings to the table, his 2017 performance has been underwhelming. His 4.4 BB/9 rate is the worst of his career, and his 8.4 K/9 rate is a notable departure from the 10.0 mark he posted in last year’s brilliant rebound campaign. Verlander’s chase rate, swinging-strike rate and contact rate are all among the worst of his career, and his 38.1 percent hard-contact rate represents a nearly 10 percent increase over his 2016 level. Beyond that, he’s averaging fewer than six innings per start for the first time as a Major Leaguer.

That’s a host of red flags, but to be fair to Verlander, his velocity is as strong as ever (95.1 mph average fastball), and his strikeout and home-run rates are still better than those of a league-average starter. There’s certainly value in the big righty, even if his 4.66 ERA isn’t anything to write home about. Verlander brings a wealth of postseason experience to the table, and given the proximity of last year’s dominance — 227 2/3 innings, 3.04 ERA, 10.0 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 — one can hardly rule out a return to form.

But, this year’s plethora of troublesome indicators will also make teams reluctant to surrender a haul of prospects, even with a chunk of his salary included. FanRag’s Jon Heyman, for instance, recently reported that there’s been little to no serious interest in Verlander to this point given all of the hurdles in the way of a trade. One exec with another AL club told ESPN’s Buster Olney this weekend: “If you trade a player with that kind of history, you want something to show for it coming back. I’m not sure they can get that.”

Talk of a Verlander trade probably won’t let up even in the seemingly likely event that he remains with the Tigers beyond July 31, however. That huge financial commitment makes it likely that he’ll clear revocable trade waivers in August, at which point he’ll again be free to be traded to any club (so long as he waives his no-trade clause to approve the deal). And if no deal comes to fruition in August, then his name figures to be frequently mentioned this winter as well.

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