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East Notes: Red Sox, Teheran, Hamels, Rays, Crawford

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Cole Hamels, whose contract permits him to block deals to 20 teams, would not have prevented the Phillies from sending him to the Red Sox, writes WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford. “It was a team I would have played for,” says Hamels, who adds that he believes the two sides were never close to trade. The Red Sox pursued Hamels before the Phillies traded him to Texas, but the lefty could block a trade to Boston, and at least some members of the organization believed that was an obstacle. The Hamels deal has, of course, worked out well for the Rangers so far — Hamels was solid down the stretch last year and has a 2.79 ERA, 8.8 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 this season. There’s still plenty of time for the trade to turn out well for the Phillies, however, with Jerad Eickhoff already performing well in the big leagues and Nick Williams, Jake Thompson, Jorge Alfaro and Alec Asher all looking like potential future contributors. Here’s more from the East divisions.

  • The Red Sox have the strong farm system necessary to acquire Julio Teheran and Arodys Vizcaino from the Braves, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. Braves GM John Coppolella, of course, recently said he wasn’t going to trade Teheran, but Cafardo dismisses that claim as “GM speak” and points out that Red Sox senior vice president of baseball operations Frank Wren was GM of the Braves when Teheran and Vizcaino were coming through their system. (Vizcaino played minor league ball in the Yankees and Cubs organizations as well.) Cafardo points to the Red Sox’ 2005 trade of Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez to the Marlins for Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell and Guillermo Mota. The Red Sox paid heavily, as they would likely have to do to acquire Teheran and Vizcaino, but they won the 2007 World Series partially because of the deal.
  • It’s less likely that the Rays will pursue a reunion with free agent Carl Crawford now that they’ve acquired fellow outfielders Oswaldo Arcia and Eury Perez on a pair of minor deals, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweets. Arcia, in particular, is out of options, which would somewhat limit the Rays’ flexibility in adding another outfielder, such as Crawford, to their roster. The Rays’ outfield has been decimated by injuries, with Kevin Kiermeier, Steven Souza, Brandon Guyer, Mikie Mahtook and Steve Pearce (who the Rays have used as an infielder and DH but who has ample outfield experience) all on the DL. The Rays currently have Arcia, Desmond Jennings, Taylor Motter and Jaff Decker to man the outfield positions. Crawford, formerly a standout with the Rays, batted .185/.230/.235 in 87 plate appearances with the Dodgers before being released earlier this month.

Braves GM John Coppolella Discusses Braves’ Rebuilding Efforts

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In a lengthy Twitter dialogue with fans today, Braves GM John Coppolella discussed a variety of interesting topics rather forthrightly. There’s plenty to chew on here (all links on the chat are to Twitter):

  • Starter Julio Teheran has drawn quite a bit of attention as a possible trade candidate; as I noted recently in ranking him amongst the 15 top trade candidates, the team could conceivably cut a deal in a market that could be short of quality rotation pieces. MLBTR has examined that matter from both sides recently (see here and here). But the GM didn’t seem to think that was a compelling concept. “I don’t see us trading Teheran at this point,” said Coppolella. “He’s almost into ’right-arm’ type status for us right now.”
  • That last note was a reference to his now-famous comment about the unavailability of first baseman Freddie Freeman. It seems that other clubs have received the message loud and clear, as Coppolella says that he has not received any recent trade inquiries on the young slugger.
  • The long-term catching situations remains a “big need” that the Braves will look at in free agency, says the Atlanta point-man. It certainly promises to be an interesting area to watch this winter, with players like Wilson Ramos, Matt Wieters, and Jason Castro among the soon-to-be free agents. (And if you’re curious: yes, the Braves would have interest in injured Cubs backstop Kyle Schwarber; but no, it’s not expected he’ll be available.)
  • More generally, the team’s “primary objective” over the winter will be to improve upon a marginal offensive unit, he said. As he seeks to accomplish that, the organization expects to put its various financial improvements to work to “invest in the team,” he said. Atlanta “will have more money to spend this off season than in any of the 10 years I’ve been here,” per Coppolella. He also suggested that the Braves will be increasingly willing to deal prospects for controllable, MLB-level players.
  • Big offensive numbers had been the hope when Atlanta acquired Hector Olivera last summer. Instead, that deal has long been a source of frustration for Braves fans, and Coppolella says he agrees with the concern. It was a “bad trade for us and one that I wish we had back,” he said, adding that “all we can do is learn from it and move forward.”
  • If you’re looking for specific possibilities to find a big bat, it appears there’s at least one name on the wish list and another that can be crossed off. Coppolella says he has contacted Padres GM A.J. Preller “multiple times” to inquire about slugger Wil Myers, though obviously nothing has come to fruition as of yet. He is apparently less intrigued by veteran Cuban star Yulieski Gurriel, however, as the club does not intend to pursue him.
  • For a bit of intrigue, Coppolella suggested that there is plenty of trade chatter going on. He says that he spoke with a dozen general managers from rival clubs yesterday and even hinted that there’s a possible trade in the works as we speak (though he noted it certainly may not come to fruition).

Braves To Sign Jordan Pacheco

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The Braves have agreed to a minor league deal with catcher and utlityman Jordan Pacheco, according to Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (via Twitter). Pacheco had elected free agency after being outrighted by the Reds.

Atlanta could conceivably deploy Pacheco in any number of ways if and when he’s needed at the major league level. He has spent time behind the dish and at first, second, and third base. Of course, the 30-year-old has never been much of a threat at the plate, as he delivers a solid batting average but doesn’t draw many walks or deliver a lot of power.

On the year, Pacheco has a .157/.157/.235 slash over 51 plate appearances. His best season came in 2012 with the Rockies, when he hit .309/.341/.421 in 505 trips to the plate — though even then, that rated as below league average in terms of overall productivity once accounting for hitter-friendly Coors Field.

Red Sox Have Shown Interest In Julio Teheran, Arodys Vizcaino

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The Red Sox have reached out to the Braves to inquire about ace Julio Teheran and closer Arodys Vizcaino, reports Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link). However, it would appear that the talks are somewhat preliminary in nature, as he adds that there’s no traction between the two sides at this time. In an audio clip from MLB Network Radio, Bowden adds that the problem for the Sox is that Atlanta is interested in the likes of Yoan Moncada and Andrew Benintendi (understandably so — most clubs would ask for those names when potentially dealing their top players), and the Sox are loath to surrender either.

The two sides do, as Bowden points out, make a fairly logical match in terms of a trade. MLBTR’s Connor Byrne noted as much several weeks ago when examining Teheran’s market and trying to find the most reasonable trade partners. Boston has a high volume of top-tier prospects, many of whom are effectively blocked at the Major League level. That’s not the case for Benintendi (left field for the Sox has been a season-long problem), which one would imagine makes it even more difficult for the Red Sox to part with him. But, the Braves are said to want MLB-ready talent in any trade that would send Teheran away, and that’s presumably an even greater point of emphasis in a package that would see Atlanta part with both Teheran and Vizcaino. Benitendi has already spent five weeks at the Double-A level and has recently begun hitting quite well there after some early struggles. It’s not inconceivable that he could be ready to contribute in 2016, and 2017 certainly seems like a realistic expectation.

Both Teheran and Vizcaino make sense as long-term options for the Sox. Teheran is guaranteed about $28MM through the 2019 season, and his contract contains a $12MM club option for the 2020 campaign, at which point he’ll still be just 29 years of age. Vizcaino, meanwhile, is controllable through 2019 by way of arbitration. Both players solve not only 2016 needs for the Sox but represent long-term upgrades. With Koji Uehara and Junichi Tazawa both slated to depart after 2016, the long-term appeal of Vizcaino, in particular, is easy to see.

From a bigger-picture perspective, the Red Sox’ search for pitching likely won’t be limited to just Atlanta. Boston has received stunningly excellent results from knuckleballer Steven Wright this season, and David Price has improved after a slow start while Rick Porcello has been a solid mid-rotation piece. Beyond that trio, however, the likes of Eduardo Rodriguez, Joe Kelly, Clay Buchholz and Henry Owens have been decidedly ineffective, resulting in a team that ranks 18th in the Majors with a collective 4.53 ERA from its starting pitchers. The bullpen has been better, pitching to a combined 3.56 ERA, but Uehara has struggled this season and Matt Barnes is averaging nearly five walks per nine innings despite a solid 3.21 ERA. Additionally, the team lost one of its top projected bullpen arms when offseason acquisition Carson Smith underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this year. Given the lack of traction in talks referenced by the initial report, the Sox may ultimately deem Atlanta’s asking price too steep and venture elsewhere to address their pitching needs, but this figures to be the first of many times that the Sox are connected to this pair of arms as the Aug. 1 non-waiver deadline approaches.

Regarding the Braves, there’s a fairly split camp on whether Teheran should be shopped at all. The entire MLBTR staff recently weighed in on the matter, and no consensus was reached. Similarly, a poll of MLBTR readers within that same roundtable showed that about two thirds of our reader base felt it worthwhile to shop Teheran, whereas the other third felt him valuable of a building block to surrender.

Heyman’s Latest: Vizcaino, Outfield Market, Chapman, Padres

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Jon Heyman of todaysknuckleball.com has another lengthy report full of trade rumors and rumblings. Among the highlights:

  • Closer Arodys Vizcaino is drawing “intense” interest and is receiving more attention on the trade market than any other Braves player, according to Heyman. A high level of interest in Vizcaino should come as no surprise; the 25-year-old boasts a 1.83 ERA dating back to Opening Day 2015 and is earning just $897,500 this season after avoiding arbitration for the first time as a Super Two player this past winter. He can be controlled through the 2019 season, so the Braves would assuredly have a considerable asking price for three and a half years of Vizcaino.
  • The Indians continue to monitor the market for outfield help, and they’re also in the market for some bullpen reinforcements, though they have competition on that front. The health of Michael Brantley will impact how aggressive Cleveland is in its search for outfielders, though there’s yet to be any definitive word on how long Brantley will be sidelined.
  • The Royals, too, are on the lookout for outfield help, and Heyman lists Jon Jay and Melvin Upton Jr. as possibilities, though he does so in a fairly speculative manner. Heyman further splashes some cold water on the Yordano Ventura trade rumors from earlier this month, quoting an anonymous Royals exec: “With starting pitching at a premium, of course we aren’t trading him.”
  • Aroldis Chapman’s name continues to come up in speculation, but Heyman writes that the Yankees haven’t ruled out signing the lefty to an extension as opposed to entertaining trade offers. Heyman adds that the Yankees have yet to even have internal discussions about selling off parts of their MLB roster.
  • If the Athletics end up selling — which they aren’t yet prepared to do — the team will consider anything, per Heyman. But GM Billy Beane is least interested in parting with Sonny Gray and Sean Doolittle, both of whom come with extended, cheap control.
  • Across the bay, the Giants are still willing to consider acquiring a starting-level outfielder even though Hunter Pence appears on track to return before the end of August. The idea would be to move Angel Pagan into a reserve role, it seems.
  • Derek Norris is available on the trade market, but the Padres players receiving the most interest at this time are Jon Jay and Fernando Rodney, per Heyman. He adds that the Padres are open to trading anyone, but an early deal for Wil Myers shouldn’t be expected due to the fact that he’s the team’s official All-Star Game ambassador in San Diego this season. Beyond that, a “Padres-connected” source told Heyman the team would expect four top-tier prospects to part with the controllable Myers, who is having a breakout season at the plate.
  • The Mariners are set to shop for starting pitching this summer, per Heyman, though they could also aim for relief help. It’s not unusual for depth issues to creep up in a pitching staff, but Seattle is probably less than enthused with the fact that Felix Hernandez is now in the midst of an extended DL stint after a less-than-promising start to the season (despite his strong results).
  • Multiple clubs are trying to buy low on Francisco Liriano, but the Pirates aren’t inclined to sell at this time. The Orioles, it appears, are one such team, as MLB.com’s Jon Morosi reported yesterday that Baltimore has interest in the underperforming southpaw.
  • The Angels “are officially out” on Cuban third baseman Yulieski Gurriel, according to Heyman. The 32-year-old figures to command a significant multi-year deal, and adding another eight-figure average annual salary to the ledger would severely impede the Halos’ ability to avoid continual luxury tax penalization. Heyman also notes that Tim Lincecum could eventually become trade bait for the Angels if the team continue to struggle and if Lincecum performs well.

East Notes: Red Sox Outfield, Phillies, Syndergaard, Teheran

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Red Sox outfielder Chris Young hit the DL with a hamstring injury, as Chris Mason of the Boston Herald writes. He joins Brock Holt and Blake Swihart as unavailable left field options for Boston, which already had ample justification to pursue an upgrade at the position. There’s some optimism for both of those players, at least, as Holt has begun a rehab assignment and Swihart is out of his walking boot.

Here’s more from the eastern divisions:

  • The Red Sox are stretched thin in left even as Rusney Castillo looks less and less like a viable major leaguer. Rob Bradford of WEEI.com takes an interesting look at the process that led the team to sign him to a contract that now seems like an expensive miss.
  • Phillies GM Matt Klentak says that the “feeling out process” has begun for summer trade activity, as Corey Seidman of CSNPhilly.com reports. Still, he suggests that it’s largely been quiet for Philly thus far. Klentak also discussed the progress of top prospect J.P. Crawford, explaining that some early struggles at Triple-A are just part of the maturation process and noting that he has continued to exhibit a mastery of the strike zone.
  • The Mets appear to believe that Noah Syndergaard’s valuable right elbow isn’t at risk despite a recent scare, as MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports. An MRI showed only inflammation, and manager Terry Collins noted that Syndergaard has dealth with minor flare-ups at times in the past without any real structural issue arising. He’s set to make his next scheduled start.
  • Over at Fangraphs, Eno Sarris explores an important question for the Braves as well as potential suitors for righty Julio Teheran: just how good is he? He suggests that Teheran may be able to continue to outperform ERA estimators somewhat, though perhaps some movement toward those marks is to be expected. In the end, Sarris calls him “a good pitcher on a great contract,” which seems like a fair appraisal.

Marlins Among Teams With Interest In Bud Norris

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Braves righty Bud Norris had a dismal start to the season, but he’s righted the ship over the past seven weeks or so and is drawing trade interest from multiple clubs, including the Marlins, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports (via Twitter).

Norris, 31, isn’t exactly a marquee trade chip but would be an affordable arm for contenders that could pitch either out of the rotation or bullpen if teams are convinced that his recent turnaround has some sustainability. Norris was rocked for an 8.74 ERA through five starts in April, but since that time he’s pitched quite well, recording a 2.43 ERA (2.80 FIP, 3.74 xFIP) with 7.8 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and a 52.4 percent ground-ball rate across 40 2/3 innings between the Atlanta ’pen and rotation. (Norris has recovered his starting job after briefly losing it due to the aforementioned struggles.) He’s earning a modest $2.5MM this season after inking a one-year deal in the winter, and he’s owed about $1.38MM of that sum through the end of the season. As such, he’s affordable to virtually any team in the Majors from a financial standpoint.

It’s unrealistic to expect a significant return for Norris, his recent success and low financial commitment notwithstanding. He did, after all, struggle tremendously in 2015 when he posted a combined 6.72 ERA in 83 innings between the Orioles (who designated Norris for assignment and subsequently released him last summer) and the Padres. His track record prior to the ’15 campaign was that of a mid-rotation starter but not necessarily an innings eater; he logged a respectable 4.06 ERA from 2011-14 with the Astros and O’s but averaged just 174 innings per season in that time. The Braves may be able to leverage his recent success and improved ground-ball tendencies into a fringe prospect, and that was probably Atlanta’s ideal scenario when signing him to that one-year deal in the offseason in the first place.

Heyman also lists the White Sox, Mariners and Tigers as possible teams that Norris could assist, though he does so in a speculative fashion as opposed to listing those clubs as teams to have inquired with the Braves. The Marlins, though, appear to be casting a fairly wide net in their search for rotation help. Norris is the third starting pitcher this week that’s been directly connected to the Fish, who reportedly have interest in Rays right-hander Jake Odorizzi and Padres lefty Drew Pomeranz as well. Norris is a much more plausible target for Miami, as the team has one of the weakest farm systems in the game, and the asking price on Norris will be considerably lower than the price on a controllable, prime-aged arm like Odorizzi or Pomeranz.

Mallex Smith Out 8-10 Weeks Due To Fractured Thumb

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The Braves announced today that left fielder Mallex Smith has been placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a fractured left thumb that will sideline him for the next eight to 10 weeks. To fill his spot on the roster, the Braves have selected the contract of fleet-footed veteran Emilio Bonifacio from Triple-A.

[Related: Updated Atlanta Braves depth chart]

Smith, 23, came to Atlanta in the 2014-15 offseason’s Justin Upton trade and worked his way onto the big league roster earlier this season when Ender Inciarte hit the disabled list. However, even upon Inciarte’s activation, Smith stuck on the roster. The speedster is hitting .237/.312/.379 with three homers and 14 steals in the Majors this season and has drawn excellent marks from both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating while splitting his time between left field and center field.

Bonifacio will be returning to the Braves for his second stint, having previously spent the second half of the 2014 campaign with Atlanta following a trade from the Cubs. He’s hitting .271/.321/.319 with 22 stolen bases through 252 plate appearances with the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate this season. Presumably, he’ll see quite a bit of time in left field, though he’s also plenty experienced at second base and has more than 1000 big league innings at the hot corner, so Atlanta could bounce him around the diamond as needed.

Braves Agree To Over-Slot Deals With Picks No. 2-6

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JUNE 21: The Braves have also agreed to a $1.5MM signing bonus for No. 76 pick Brett Cumberland, MLBTR has learned (Twitter link). Cumberland, a catcher and draft-eligible sophomore out of Cal, receives a bonus that lands $661K over his slot value of $839,100. He ranked in the Top 100 draft prospects from BA, ESPN and MLB.com, with each praising him as one of the more advanced college bats in the draft but questioning his ability to stick behind the plate. Additionally, Callis reported over the weekend that fourth-rounder Bryse Wilson, a high school right-hander our of North Carolina, agreed to a $1.2MM bonus that represented a deal that was $653K over slot (Twitter link).

That means that the Braves’ second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth selections in the draft have combined to receive bonuses that exceed their pool allotments by a total of about $3.9MM. Atlanta also went $300K over slot for 11th-round pick Matt Bowland, as Callis tweeted last week. That’s a total of $4.2MM in excesses, although the Braves did save approximately $2.5MM by agreeing to a reported bonus of “about” $4MM with No. 3 overall pick Ian Anderson. And, as Callis and Jonathan Mayo have been tracking at MLB.com, the Braves have saved $134,600 on fifth-rounder Jeremy Walker, $281,600 on sixth-rounder Matthew Gonzalez and $219,700 on seventh-rounder J.B. Moss. Atlanta also has a string of college seniors at picks 8-10, and college seniors will often sign for about $10K.

The Braves entered this year’s draft with a $13,319,600 pool and bolstered that figure when they acquired a Competitive Balance pick in the Brian Matusz trade, bringing their total allotment to $14,158,500. They’ll be able to exceed that sum by about $797K without going into the penalty bracket that would force them to lose a future first-round pick. With the over-slot deals to their second through sixth picks as well as their 11th-rounder, the Braves have currently agreed to $13,760,000 in total commitments, placing them about $1.1MM shy of the threshold at which they’d lose a future first-round pick.

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Injury Updates: Fowler, Alvarez, A’s, Smith

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Here’s the latest on some notable injury situations around the game.  Be sure to check out Roster Resource to see how teams’ depth charts will be impacted by these injuries…

  • Dexter Fowler exited Saturday’s game in the first inning after suffering a hamstring injury while running out a grounder.  The Cubs haven’t yet made a decision on whether or not Fowler will need a DL stint, Joe Maddon told media (including MLB.com’s Cody Stavenhagen).  Fowler has cooled off in June after a blistering start to the season, though he’s still hitting .290/.398/.483 with seven homers over 284 plate appearances.  Jason Heyward is the most likely candidate to take over in center field should Fowler miss time, though with Jorge Soler and Tommy La Stella already on the DL, Fowler’s absence would be a big hit to the Cubs’ roster depth.
  • The Athletics have shut down Henderson Alvarez and the righty has a visit scheduled with Dr. James Andrews, manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jane Lee).  Alvarez was pitching in what was supposed to be his final minor league rehab start on Saturday night when he left the game early due to discomfort in his throwing shoulder.  He underwent surgery on that same shoulder last July and hasn’t thrown a Major League pitch since, which led to the Marlins non-tendering Alvarez over the winter and the A’s signing him to a one-year, $4.25MM contract.
  • In better injury news out of Oakland, Melvin said that Rich Hill and Sean Manaea both threw bullpen sessions on Sunday and are on track for, respectively, a simulated game and another session later this week.  Manaea is one of the Athletics’ top pitching prospects while Hill could be a major trade deadline chip if he proves he’s healthy after missing almost a month with a groin strain.
  • Speedy Braves outfielder Mallex Smith suffered a broken left thumb after being hit by a pitch on Sunday and is sidelined indefinitely, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.  More will be known about Smith’s DL timeline when he visits a hand specialist tomorrow.  Smith got off to a very slow start at the plate after making his MLB debut earlier this season and is still just hitting .241/.314/.386 , though he has displayed a good center field glove and is 8-for-8 in his last eight stolen base attempts.
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