The trade that would have sent Zach Britton from the Orioles to the Astros included third baseman Colin Moran, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, but medical issues ultimately sank the deal. Moran was already on the disabled list after having suffered a concussion and a facial fracture when he fouled a ball off his face in mid-July, per Heyman, but there were also medical issues with one of the prospects that would have gone to Baltimore. That issue was found as the O’s sifted through medical paperwork, and though Houston tried to resurrect the deal in the final hours leading up to the non-waiver deadline, the two sides were ultimately unable to find a common ground. None of Kyle Tucker, Derek Fisher, Francis Martes, Forrest Whitley or Yordan Alvarez were offered in either iteration of the deal, he adds.
Some highlights from Heyman’s weekly American League and National League notes columns…
- The Tigers are “disappointed” in Nick Castellanos’ defense at third base once again, as he’s taken a step back in that regard after seemingly making improvements in 2016. Heyman suggests that Castellanos may be available in trades this winter, and since he’s already cleared waivers, he could technically be moved anytime moving forward. (He wouldn’t be eligible for a postseason roster if he’s traded after today.) Heyman also notes that Ian Kinsler’s preference may be to play for a contender, and the Tigers will again field offers on him this winter after making an easy call to exercise his $10MM option.
- The Yankees aren’t currently planning on “chasing” Masahiro Tanaka if he opts out of the remaining three years on his deal, with one source telling Heyman that the Yanks wouldn’t offer anything beyond the $67MM he’s still guaranteed. Tanaka has a 3.79 ERA with 116-to-19 K/BB ratio in 99 2/3 innings since May 26 and a 3.32 ERA with 10.3 K/9 against 1.4 BB/9 since the calendar flipped to July. Heyman also notes that the Yankees could also be interested in retaining left-hander CC Sabathia on a one-year deal this offseason.
- Prior to trading Yu Darvish to the Dodgers, the Rangers “made clear” that they were “completely willing” to trade Darvish to the Astros. The Rangers, according to Heyman, asked for top-tier prospects from their division rivals, however, before ultimately landing on a package comprised largely of high-ceiling players in A-ball. Houston offered currently suspended (PEDs) top prospect David Paulino in a deal, and the two sides apparently never got especially close to reaching an agreement.
- Even with his recent struggles, Rockies closer Greg Holland still plans to decline his $15MM player option at season’s end in order to retest the free agent market. Holland looked unhittable for the season’s first two months before showing some red flags in June and July (as Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron recently pointed out). Those troublesome trends have caught up to Holland in August, as he’s been torched for 14 runs on 14 hits (four homers) and six walks with eight strikeouts in 9 1/3 innings this month.
- Left-hander Matt Moore “sailed through” revocable trade waivers when the Giants put him through that process this month, per Heyman. Whether the Giants would want to or even be able to trade Moore is another question, but the possibility will be open through season’s end. Moore would have to be traded to a new team today in order to be eligible for that club’s postseason roster, though from a purely speculative standpoint, a non-contending club could look to buy low on Moore with an eye toward the 2018 campaign. The 28-year-old has struggled through the worst full season of his career in 2017, logging a dreadful 5.49 ERA with 7.7 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a 37.4 percent ground-ball rate in 154 innings of work. He’s been somewhat better since the All-Star break, but Moore’s stock is still at a low point. He has a $9MM option for the 2018 season and a $10MM option for 2019.
Hopefully Tanaka opts out. I don’t have a problem Signing CC for 1 year at a reasonable salary with some incentives. Cash is in Japan today.
I think peeler is too
Preller
I definitely agree with signing CC to a reasonable 1-year contract. Maybe with some appearance or innings related incentives.
Keep him on a year to year basis like we used to do with Hiroki Kuroda
I recall a few years where David Wells was quite happy on a incentive heavy deal and he produced, until the ’03 Series…
Castellanos is a good example of over rating prospects by many baseball experts. Defense should be valued as much as hitting when talking about prospects. In AAA there are many players that can hit the ball but have no position to play because of poor defense.
Dodgers traded AAA second baseman Willie Calhoun to the Rangers in addition to a highly regarded young pitching prospect Alexy and young SS/2b/3b prospect Davis. Calhoun on pace for 30+ home runs this season in AAA was a key part of the trade.
Alexy isn’t a highly regarded pitching prospect. He’s young but he’s nowhere remotely close to a top 100 prospect and has struggled in A ball. Calhoun has some pop but he’s also horrible on defense.
Alexy’s A ball numbers this season:
94.1 IP, 3.53 ERA, 59 H, 6 HR, 113 K, 52 BB, .180 opp BA, 1.18 WHIP
Calhoun in 276 innings (33 games) since transitioning to LF: 0 errors
yeah saying the Rangers settled for a trade package of A-ball players for Darvish just isnt true. They got like the number 40 overall prospect and a couple of high ceiling A-ball guys. The sentence should read, “after not getting close to a trade with the Astros, the Rangers instead got arguably the best hitter in minor league baseball and a couple lower level lottery tickets from the Dodgers”
The Tigers let Suarez go and kept Castellanos… bad move all around. Suarez is a better hitter and fielder. And, it isn’t “Nick” any more, it is “Nicholas”.
Nick could button his jersey.
The Tigers will be stuck with Kinsler and Verlander, if they don’t lower their asking price. Both players are past their prime. And owed a lot of money.
I get JV, but it blows my mind kinsler isn’t gone yet. He’s a gold glove 2nd basemen that “can” hit for average. He can turn it on and would for a shot at a ring. A contender could use him.
JV is pasted his prime huh? I guess you haven’t been watching him pitch lately, including last night. Yeah, he’s 34, but he’s still one of the best in the game. The asking price is high because he’s damn good.
I think that in the end, Holland is going to be sorry that he declined that option.
Agree.
If Paulino was their best offer then no wonder Darvish isn’t an Astro. What a laughably bad return.
Agree. Ridiculous.
2018 Rotation
Gray
Severino
Montgomery
Adams
CC
Like it a lot
Colin Moran for Zach Britton? That’s astronomically bad that the orioles considered accepting that.