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Health Notes: McCann, Castillo, Polanco, Severino

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Veteran Braves backstop Brian McCann hasn’t yet decided on his future but feels great in the present, he tells David O’Brien of The Athletic (subscription link) as part of a lengthy and entertaining chat. The 35-year-old backstop would say only that “we’ll see what happens” when pressed on his intentions for playing beyond the current campaign. It certainly seems like a tempting proposition for McCann, who says he “feel[s] amazing” after undergoing knee surgery last year. While he has had some ups and downs at the plate this season, McCann carries a solid .257/.328/.427 batting line over 198 plate appearances and has been an excellent value for the Braves at $2MM. His ongoing knee health seems to bode well for the organization down the stretch.

More on a few health situations from around the game …

  • The White Sox announced today that they have activated catcher Welington Castillo. He ended up missing about a month with an oblique strain. It remains to be seen how the Chicago org will allocate playing time, but odds are James McCann will continue to receive the lion’s share of the duties behind the dish. Castillo could conceivably be moved later this month, if only because teams will be looking to stash depth in advance of the single trade deadline, but he won’t hold much appeal given his ugly .196/.289/.364 slash. The veteran backstop is also earning a hefty $7.25MM this year and is owed a $500K buyout on a $8MM club option for 2020. The White Sox may also just hang tight and see if their club can make a surprise run at a Wild Card slot.
  • Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco won’t bounce back to the majors quite as quickly as had been hoped. As Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes, Polanco was pulled from a rehab contest with left shoulder tightness. For now, the club only intends to give him a brief rest without interrupting the rehab assignment. As Mackey notes, the timing is of some consequence to the Bucs. The club is in a tough spot as the trade deadline approaches, having slipped into the NL Central cellar. It’s arguably positioned to sell a left-handed-hitting outfielder regardless of what else it does — highly paid pending free agent Corey Dickerson seems a particular candidate — but it’ll be tough to pull the trigger on a deal if there’s uncertainly regarding Polanco’s availability.
  • As expected, Yankees righties Luis Severino and Dellin Betances resumed throwing yesterday, as MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reports. Indications are that all went well for both hurlers in limited sessions, designed only to begin reintroducing their strained lats to the rigors of the MLB mound. Severino told reporters that he’d be willing to work back in a relief capacity if that’s the organization’s preference. While that’d bring him aboard quicker, it probably isn’t the optimal outcome for a club that has a need for quality rotation pieces and can probably afford to be patient.

MLBTR Poll: What Should The Braves Do With Ender Inciarte?

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The Braves are clicking on just about every cylinder at the moment, allowing the team to maintain a healthy advantage in the division even as the Nats have mounted a charge. While the Atlanta organization is no doubt preparing to make some pitching additions in the coming weeks, the position player mix seems mostly to be in fine working order.

Typically, a veteran returning from an injury makes for welcome news in advance of the trade deadline. But much of the Atlanta fan base seems to view the impending return of outfielder Ender Inciarte — who’ll be back as soon as Thursday — with something less like excitement and more like dread.

We’ve been through this topic before, but that was a month-and-a-half back. Some things have changed. Austin Riley looked at the time like a breakout star. But let’s check in on the youngster’s wRC+ by month: 186 (May), 96 (June), 32 (July). Needless to say, that’s not an optimal arc for a contending team. Switch-hitting utilityman Johan Camargo has perked up in the meantime, though he’s also the only position player other than Riley that is a conceivable candidate to be optioned down. Charlie Culberson and Matt Joyce occupy fairly limited roles, but has each been superb. Of course, Inciarate has also been in action of late on his rehab assignment. Let’s just say that his struggles from the early portion of the season have carried over. He has produced just seven singles and three walks in forty trips to the plate.

It’s possible to imagine quite a few possible roster permutations. There are arguments on every side of the discussion. Optioning Riley may or may not be good for his development, but it would mean taking one of the club’s highest-upside bats out of the MLB picture for at least a stretch. Sending Camargo down makes some sense on paper, but he’s an immensely useful player if he’s back to being an above-average hitter. It’s somewhat easier to imagine the club parting with Joyce than Culberson, but the 34-year-old Joyce carries a .296/.400/.494 slash with 14 walks against just 18 strikeouts. Inciarte could be jettisoned, or traded for whatever the team can get, but that’d mean selling quite low on a player who has been such a solid presence and still makes long-term roster sense. (Inciarte has more than five years of service time and therefore may not be optioned without his consent.)

There’s always the option of demoting or designating a reliever, but that’d likely only be a temporary measure, since the Braves are already carrying a four-man bench. Likewise, a temporary move involving one of the reserve players (optioning Camargo or finding a phantom injury list stint) would presumably only delay the inevitable decision. There’ll ultimately be a choice, even if it’s kicked down the road by a few weeks.

How do you think the Braves should handle the return of Inciarte? (Poll link for app users.)

Cardinals Reportedly Open To Trading Young Outfielders, Carlos Martinez

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The Cardinals are giving rival organizations the sense that they’ll consider trading a young outfielder or even talented righty Carlos Martinez this summer, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. In particular, Rosenthal’s source cites Tyler O’Neill and Lane Thomas as potential outfield trade pieces for the Cards. The note comes in the course of a broader column (subscription link) on some key questions for the upcoming trade deadline.

It’s a bit difficult to parse this news. O’Neill and Thomas have each seen MLB action this year, though only the former has spent enough time in the majors to tell us much. O’Neill faces long-term questions about his on-base ability, but has been plenty productive (.269/.313/.505) in 224 total plate appearances at the game’s highest level. Thomas hasn’t quite followed up on his strong ’18 output in the upper minors, but he’s seen as a legitimate prospect with at least fourth-outfielder potential.

There are arguments to be made that both of these players ought to be seen as important future pieces for the Cards. Marcell Ozuna is headed for free agency (and presently sidelined with injury), Jose Martinez hasn’t hit enough to make up for his awful outfield glovework, and Harrison Bader has taken a big step back this season. Dexter Fowler has bounced back but still isn’t quite worth his contract. Of course, the St. Louis organization has cycled through quite a few outfield pieces in recent years, having dealt away prime, cost-controlled seasons of players such as Tommy Pham, Stephen Piscotty, and Randal Grichuk.

It’s even harder to gauge the team’s thinking with regard to Martinez. The saga has continued for the hurler even as he has produced excellent results when healthy, no matter in what capacity. He’s through 20 2/3 innings of 2.18 ERA ball as a reliever this year, with 9.6 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9 and a hefty 63.3% groundball rate. While he’s not a particularly cheap player, especially if viewed as a reliever, Martinez’s contract is hardly worrisome for a 27-year-old with his ability level and track record. He’s due $11.5MM this year along with the ensuing two seasons before a pair of club options become available. That’d be a bargain if Martinez can get back to being a quality rotation piece, and not a bad rate if he carves out a new role as a quality back-end reliever.

Generally, it seems each of these three players fits the needs of the St. Louis organization. Unless the club prefers to pick up a better but lesser-controlled outfielder, or shave Martinez’s contract obligations while he’s in a stable place in terms of health and performance, it’s not immediately obvious why any would be dangled in particular.

Notably, we still haven’t heard a definitive statement or report on the Cardinals’ plans for attacking the trade deadline. The club has not strayed too far from the lead in the NL Central, but it also hasn’t moved out of the orbit of an approximately .500 record. As things stand entering play today, the Red Birds are two games over even and an equal number back of the division-leading Cubs. One might think that the St. Louis organization’s postseason drought makes it a win-now buyer, but it’s also arguable that the club shouldn’t overvalue its competitive position and should act in a restrained manner — or, perhaps, target only assets that will also deliver future value.

If the club’s general stance is unclear, it’s also debatable which areas of the roster are most susceptible of improvement. You could certainly make a case for one or more big bats. Frankly, there’s probably room in either the infield or the outfield. It’s equally arguable that a high-end starter should be a priority. The relief unit has some nice pieces, but what bullpen couldn’t stand to be upgraded — especially with a high-leverage arm?

Multiple Teams Showing Initial Interest In Robbie Ray

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TODAY: You can add the Brewers to the stack of club’s showing initial interest in Ray, Morosi tweets. It seems safe to presume that just about every organization with a rotation need will at least take a look at the southpaw.

YESTERDAY, 10:25pm: The Yankees are also among the teams interested in Ray, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Considering they’ve historically liked Ray, that’s not surprising.

4:48pm: Diamondbacks starter Robbie Ray is one of the top rotation targets on this summer’s trade market. The Arizona organization will have to decide whether the time is right to cash in on the southpaw, who’s earning $6.05MM in 2019 and can be controlled via arbitration for one more season beyond the present.

The Astros and Phillies are two of the teams showing “recent interest” in Ray, according to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. It’s unsurprising to see this particular connection; both of those organizations is in obvious need of starting pitching and already pursued Ray over the offseason. No doubt other organizations are also taking a look at Ray in anticipation of the Snakes entertaining offers.

At this point, it’s unclear just how the Arizona organization will behave at the deadline. The club itself does not fully know, GM Mike Hazen has indicated. Final decisions will surely come down to details that aren’t yet known: where exactly are the Snakes in the Wild Card standings? And what package of young talent can they achieve for Ray and others?

The ’Stros and Phils are surely interested in gaining an understanding not just of what kind of pieces the D-Backs would want, but how inclined they are to pursue a deal in earnest. While the Houston organization will surely be in on rental assets, it has reasons to prefer controllable arms. It makes much more sense for the Philadelphia club to focus on the latter class, given its recent struggles.

It’ll certainly be interesting to see how negotiations progress on Ray. He’s a particular target for strikeout-loving teams — so long as they can live with his walk issues and a few more long balls than might be preferred. Since the start of his breakout 2017 campaign, Ray has thrown nearly four hundred innings of 3.47 ERA ball with 12.0 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 along with 1.3 dingers per nine. Though the best run of results came at the front end of that time period, by most measures Ray has been much the same pitcher throughout. There were some health hiccups last year, but he has stayed on the mound this season. All things considered, Ray is quite an appealing target for the right contender.

The situation is made all the more interesting by the D-Backs’ own circumstances. Both Hazen and CEO Derrick Hall have made clear the organization isn’t looking for anything close to a full rebuild. That’s not to say that they wouldn’t be interested in highly talented but far-off prospects, but the Arizona org is not going to punt on the present entirely. That stance promises to impact the sort of deal structures that are pursued. The Snakes acquired talented players at or near the majors — Luke Weaver, Carson Kelly, and Andy Young — in last winter’s Paul Goldschmidt deal, which could provide something of a model for a Ray swap.

The Rising Athletics And The Starting Pitching Market

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One month ago today, the Athletics sat a dozen games off the pace in the AL West with a dead-even 36-36 record. The Oakland org was still a Wild Card contender but seemed all but buried in the division. That was a mild disappointment for a 2018 playoff team but hardly all that surprising given that the A’s were chasing a powerhouse Astros club.

To say that the fortunes have swung in the interim would be to put it lightly. The streaking A’s have dropped just five of their past 22 games. After blitzing past the Rangers in the standings, they’re laying siege to Houston. With the Astros encountering some choppy waters, particularly in the rotation, the lead has dwindled to a decidedly less-than-insurmountable 5.5 games.

Let’s be honest here: the Houston club still seems the prohibitive favorite. With rather deep pockets, some immense talent just reaching or knocking on the door of the majors, and one of the game’s best core groups at the MLB level, the ’Stros are a legitimate powerhouse. And the padding certainly still factors in; even if all else was equal, the existing 5.5-game lead represents a big head start.

Still, the increasing threat from the A’s creates an interesting dynamic in the division that will have a spillover effect onto the rest of the trade market. These clubs clash directly 11 more times this season, affording the ever-scrappy Oakland org plenty of opportunities to make up ground directly — or for their rivals to kick them back down the ladder. There’s enough of a threat here that the Astros can’t just presume they’ll cruise to a division win. At the very least, they’ll need to account for the rest of the regular season in making deadline acquisitions, rather than simply considering how to structure their roster for an easily assumed postseason run. (That’s a luxury that few teams can afford — only the Dodgers, this year — but it once seemed within reach for Houston.)

What’s most interesting, perhaps, is the fact that these two AL West rivals are set to compete (at least indirectly) in the trade market. The chief need in both cases is pitching, particularly starting pitching, which is also largely true of the other major American League competitors. Teams with controllable rotation pieces — many of whom feature on our recent ranking of the top sixty trade deadline candidates — are no doubt taking uniform measurements for the top prospects currently populating these contenders’ farm systems.

We’ll pause here to acknowledge the aforementioned, division-rival Rangers. While our focus in this post is on the two current division leaders, the Texas club still has an interesting role to play. If they fade a bit further back, the Rangers could have some of the most intriguing starters on offer, with veterans Mike Minor and Lance Lynn both throwing quite well on affordable contracts. If they move back into the picture, at least for the Wild Card, they’d surely be looking to add to their staff. It’s also possible they’ll simply hold. The Athletics’ run will likely weigh to some extent on the Rangers’ decisionmaking; with three game now separating the teams, it makes a surprising Texas postseason appearance feel all the less likely.

To be fair, the A’s and ’Stros haven’t exactly received problematic rotation work to this point. They’ve each had top-ten overall units by measure of ERA. Unfortunately, that doesn’t tell the whole story of where these clubs stand in terms of starting pitching.

As GM Jeff Luhnow’s latest comments reflect, the Astros have an immediate need for a rotation plug, a broader need for a high-level starter or two down the stretch, and a long-term need to account for multiple rotation spots. Brad Peacock’s setback, coupled with some struggles and health issues from young MLB pitchers and top prospects, have left the team with quite a few questions behind aces Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander and steady veteran Wade Miley. While the club has a few notable position players working back from injury, it’s far from clear that it’ll find solutions to its rotation needs from within.

Over in Oakland, rather improbably, the A’s have received sub-4.00 output from each of Mike Fiers, Brett Anderson, and Chris Bassitt over 15+ start samples. Each of those pitchers has vastly outperformed his peripherals; they hover in the 5.00 range by measure of ERA estimators such as xFIP and SIERA. All of those things are true also of Daniel Mengden, albeit over just 33 1/3 frames and six starts. While the Oakland staff has collectively limited the long balls plaguing most of the rest of the league, it’s reasonable to anticipate regression — perhaps in no small amount.

The A’s just added Homer Bailey, who’ll help shore up the depth. But he’s no replacement for Frankie Montas, the breakout righty who’ll be able to return later this year from a PED suspension but won’t be eligible for the postseason. While the Oakland org has long hoped for late-season reinforcements from the injured list, it remains to be seen what they’ll get. Jesus Luzardo is back on the shelf and seems increasingly unlikely to make his MLB debut this season. A.J. Puk is still building up length and working out the kinks. And Sean Manaea just began his own rehab assignment. Whether and when those talented southpaws will arrive, and what they’ll be capable of contributing, won’t really be known before the trade deadline.

This all sets the stage for something of a showdown between the teams’ respective top baseball ops decisionmakers: Jeff Luhnow of the Astros and Billy Beane of the Athletics. Both have swung notable deadline deals for starters in the recent past. The Houston club’s dramatic acquisition of Verlander will have a prominent place on Luhnow’s GM gravestone. But that was nothing compared to Beane’s all-out 2014 effort, in which he pulled off a Fourth of July double-dip and followed that up with a stunningly clever (some would say too clever) strike for Jon Lester.

Luhnow and Beane have each been here before. They have some excellent trade chips to work with, several of which could instead be utilized as immediate (and long-term) pieces at the MLB level. Will the Astros seriously consider moving Kyle Tucker? What of top pitching prospect Forrest Whitley, a potential top-shelf ace who has run into trouble this season. Could they consider parting with the flamethrowing Josh James, currently working as a reliever, or can Luhnow convince a rival to accept a package of second-tier prospect talent to make the necessary rotation upgrades? On the A’s side, there are endless possibilities as well. Much of the team’s best upper-level talent is presently unavailable due to injuries or suspensions, but that doesn’t mean those players wouldn’t have value to other organizations. Though the A’s probably won’t want to go too wild in pursuit of rental talent, since the division remains a tall order, perhaps they’ll also see the deadline as an opportunity to add pieces for the future.

It’s equally possible to imagine either organization taking a fairly measured approach to this deadline. Luhnow has in the past been quite judicious in parting with top prospects that he sees as part of the long-term vision. And the A’s might not be willing to sell low on their own most interesting trade pieces, preferring to keep gathering affordable and decent depth pitching while waiting and hoping for a future with a rotation full of cost-controlled aces. But the potential for fireworks is certainly there, and the A’s mid-summer charge could just light the fuse.

Twins Owner Pohlad On Trade Deadline Approach

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Twins owner Jim Pohlad discussed his team’s surprisingly strong performance and trade deadline approach in a brief but interesting chat with Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Though he’s obviously not heavily involved in day-to-day baseball operations, Pohlad ultimately holds the purse strings for the organization.

So, will financial considerations limit the Minnesota organization from considering certain players? Not so, says Pohlad:

“I don’t really think, especially in these trade deadline deals, that money is the issue. It’s what you have to give up, really, and it’s not what you have to give up in terms of money, it’s what you have to give up in terms of players.”

Some may question whether the Twins owner will really be as free with the organizational wallet as that quote may indicate. In all likelihood, he doesn’t mean that chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and GM Thad Levine have free rein to spend. It’s more that, with only a relatively small portion of the season left to play, labor cost takes on a different tone. For one thing, most of a given player’s annual salary has already been paid out by his original team. For another, with a good sense of the competitive situation, teams have much more confidence in their assessment of the financial risk and reward of further payroll investment.

In the Twins’ case, too, there’s good reason to think that the organization has ample cash to work with. Many expected a bit more in the way of offseason outlay than actually took place. The team sat just under $120MM in Opening Day payroll, nearly ten million shy of the club’s high-water mark from 2018. But that’s still not a particularly hefty set of commitments, especially for a team that is in full-blown contention. More important still is the fact that Falvey and Levine have jealously guarded the club’s future payroll space. While they finally tied up a small amount in a pair of extensions (which have looked great to this point) and the signing of Marwin Gonzalez (which is also paying dividends), the books are still largely clear past 2019.

Given that financial picture and a start to the season that Pohlad characterizes as a pleasant surprise, it stands to reason that he has a good bit of confidence in the “Falvine” front office duo. He suggested that he’ll continue to entrust decisionmaking to the personnel he hired for the task, noting that “they certainly don’t ask my opinion on specific players.” Falvey and Levine “are just assembling the right team,” said the owner, running from their baseball ops department to the dugout and onto the MLB roster.

It’s promising for the Minnesota faithful to hear of such organizational harmony, though that’s to be expected when things are going as smoothly as they have thus far in 2019 for the Twins. It remains unclear precisely how the club will attack the deadline, in terms of targets, though it stands to reason that upgrades to the pitching staff will have top priority. As Pohlad says, that’s not really his bailiwick. But his comments do given insight into the organizational approach to structuring deals. It seems there’s some appetite and capacity for absorbing money, along with a clear desire not to part with the team’s best internal talent. That’ll surely impact which rival organizations line up best as trade partners — and, ultimately, which of the major deadline targets end up in Minnesota.

Pitcher Notes: Fried, Eovaldi, A. Wood, Brewers, Rangers

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Braves southpaw Max Fried exited his start Monday with a blister on his left index finger, David O’Brien of The Athletic writes (subscription link). The Braves will re-evaluate Fried on Tuesday, per O’Brien, who points out blister issues have “plagued” the 25-year-old in the past. Blisters can be serious enough to lead to injury list stints, though Fried is optimistic he’ll avoid an IL placement. The Braves’ 58-37 record and 7 1/2-game lead in the National League East have come thanks in part to Fried. He turned in five shutout innings in a victory over Milwaukee on Monday, giving him a 4.08 ERA/3.86 FIP in 103 2/3 frames on the season.

The latest on a few other hurlers…

  • Red Sox soon-to-be closer Nathan Eovaldi will embark on a rehab stint Wednesday or Thursday, likely with Triple-A Pawtucket, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe tweets. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Saturday that Eovaldi could rejoin Boston’s staff sometime this week. Eovaldi, who has been out since late April because of right elbow surgery, will be pitching in a full-time relief role for the first time in his career when he returns. The 29-year-old has started in 152 of 160 appearances thus far.
  • Reds lefty Alex Wood will make his third Triple-A rehab appearance Wednesday, when he’ll throw four innings and 60 to 65 pitches, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. It’s a good sign for Wood, whom back problems have stopped from pitching in in the majors in 2019. His return, if it comes, could be a boon for a Cincinnati team that isn’t waving the white flag on a playoff push despite a 43-48 record.
  • The Brewers placed right-hander Corbin Burnes on the injured list Monday because of shoulder irritation, recalling fellow righty Burch Smith from Triple-A San Antonio to take his place. The club put Burnes on the shelf in the wake of his most recent blowup Sunday, when he allowed four earned runs on four straight hits and failed to retire a batter in a loss to the Giants. Even though the 24-year-old Burnes has struck out just better than 13 batters per nine innings this season, struggles preventing home have led to an ineffectual 9.00 ERA/6.12 FIP across 46 frames. Burnes didn’t give up any homers Sunday, but he has allowed HRs on an astounding 39 percent of fly balls this season.
  • Rangers pitching prospect Yerry Rodriguez is done for the season because of a UCL sprain in his right elbow, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News relays. The club will shut Rodriguez down for six to eight weeks and then re-evaluate him. Rodriguez, who entered the season as FanGraphs’ 14th-ranked Rangers prospect, notched a brilliant 2.08 ERA/3.16 FIP with 10.38 K/9 against 2.57 BB/9 in 73 2/3 Single-A innings this season.

Mariners Release Jon Niese, Tyler Cloyd

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The Mariners have released left-hander Jon Niese and righty Tyler Cloyd, Triple-A Tacoma broadcaster Mike Curto reports. Both pitchers had been on the Rainiers’ roster.

Niese’s release is the latest unwelcome development in what has largely been a solid professional career. The 32-year-old lasted just under three months with the Mariners, who inked him to a minor league contract April 25, and threw 70 1/3 innings of 5.76 ERA ball with a microscopic strikeout rate (4.9 K/9, against 3.1 BB/9) as a member of Tacoma’s roster. It was the first true game action since 2016 for Niese, who – despite spending time with the Yankees in 2017 and the Rangers in ’18 – battled injuries that prevented him from pitching over the previous two seasons.

Niese struggled mightily in his most recent major league season, which he divided between the Pirates and Mets, but otherwise has enjoyed a better MLB career than most pitchers. He posted a 4.07 ERA/4.02 FIP with 6.92 K/9, 2.78 BB/9 and a 50.1 percent groundball rate in 1,189 1/3 innings – almost entirely with the Mets – from 2008-16.

Cloyd’s also 32, though his big league track record is nowhere near as long as Niese’s. In parts of four seasons with the Phillies, Mariners and Marlins from 2012-18, Cloyd totaled just 112 frames and recorded a 6.35 ERA/4.88 FIP with 6.83 K/9, 3.38 BB/9 and a 35.7 percent grounder rate. Cloyd reunited with the Mariners in late April, the same day Niese signed, and proceeded to put up an ugly 7.43 ERA/5.94 FIP in 66 2/3 innings in the difficult Pacific Coast League environment. Cloyd has typically performed far better at the minors’ top level, evidenced by his 4.31 ERA with 7.0 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 653 1/3 Triple-A innings.

Rays Have Asked About Zack Wheeler

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Mets right-hander and prime trade candidate Zack Wheeler went on the injured list Monday with shoulder fatigue – an issue that may damage or destroy his value. However, if Wheeler makes it back in the next couple weeks, the Rays could be among the teams competing for him around the July 31 trade deadline. They’ve asked about Wheeler, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Tampa Bay’s rotation currently has a notable omission of its own in righty Tyler Glasnow, who has been down since the beginning of May with a flexor strain. Rays manager Kevin Cash announced Monday that Glasnow may not make it back this season, which could intensify their efforts to acquire pitching before the deadline.

At 56-40, two games up on the American League’s No. 1 wild-card spot and five behind the AL East-leading Yankees, the Rays are in position to buy. The success the Rays have achieved this year is all the more impressive when considering their dearth of traditional starters. Charlie Morton, Blake Snell and Yonny Chirinos are all the team has right now in that regard, though Brendan McKay has performed well in the first three starts of his career and could return from Triple-A Durham soon.

In acquiring Wheeler, the low-budget Rays would be getting one of baseball’s hardest-throwing starters on a salary even they could afford ($5.975MM). But Wheeler’s not under control past 2019, which would make him a pure rental for Tampa Bay, and has had a difficult time preventing runs this year.

In spite of his 97 mph-plus fastball, the 29-year-old Wheeler has pitched to a below-average 4.69 ERA across 119 innings. While a subpar Mets defense has undermined Wheeler’s efforts, he has further hindered his cause by yielding home runs on a career-worst 13.7 percent of fly balls. FIP (3.66), xFIP (3.84), SIERA (3.99) and fWAR (2.6) all suggest Wheeler has deserved far better this season, though, and his 9.83 K/9 against 2.57 BB/9 presents another reason for bullishness. Of course, if Wheeler’s still out of commission by the deadline, his production could prove to be meaningless to the Rays and other July buyers.

Cubs Acquire Martin Maldonado For Mike Montgomery

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The Cubs have acquired catcher Martin Maldonado from the Royals, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. Left-hander Mike Montgomery’s going to Kansas City in the swap, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports. The teams have confirmed the trade.

With Willson Contreras and Victor Caratini having combined to offer excellent behind-the-plate production in 2019, the Cubs don’t look like a fit for Maldonado on paper. However, Conteras is heading to the injured list with a strain of the arch muscle on his right foot, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic was among those to report. The Cubs don’t expect Contreras to need longer than the minimum 10-day IL stint, Sharma adds.

Playoff-contending Chicago’s getting a capable stopgap in Maldonado, whom it showed interest in during the offseason. Maldonado chose against signing with the Cubs over the winter because he wanted to join a team that would offer him more playing time than he’d have gotten in Chicago. It proved to be a wise decision on Maldonado’s part. With Salvador Perez out for 2019, the 32-year-old Maldonado ultimately became Kansas City’s primary catcher after signing for $2.5MM guarantee a few weeks before the season.

Long known as a tremendous defender with a questionable bat, Maldonado lived up to his reputation with the Royals. In 261 plate appearances in KC, Maldonado hit .224/.288/.359 (71 wRC+) with six home runs. On the other end, he threw out an above-average 33 percent of would-be base stealers and earned quality reviews from Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average metric.

In exchange for Maldonado, a soon-to-be free agent, the out-of-contention Royals are getting two-plus years of control over Montgomery. A swingman for most of his career and a full-time reliever this year, Montgomery, 30, will slot into the Royals’ rotation immediately, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com tweets. He’ll also rejoin the organization that spent a first-round pick on him in 2008. Four years later, the Royals traded Montgomery to the Rays in a blockbuster that also included James Shields, Wade Davis, Wil Myers and Jake Odorizzi.

Montgomery never pitched for the Rays, instead joining the Mariners in a swap in 2015 – the year he made his major league debut. He lasted with the Mariners for approximately a season and a half, going to the Cubs in July 2016 in yet another deal.  A few months later, Montgomery earned the save in the Cubs’ historic Game 7 World Series win over the Indians.

Montgomery was effective even before his career-defining moment in ’16 and has largely fared well since, but his numbers have taken a significant turn for the worse this year. He logged a woeful 5.67 ERA/6.21 FIP with 6.0 K/9, 4.33 BB/9 and a 43.3 percent groundball rate over 27 innings in his final season with the Cubs.

Overall, Montgomery has pitched to a far better 3.72 ERA/4.21 FIP with 6.87 K/9, 3.47 BB/9 and a 53.9 percent grounder rate across 167 appearances and 56 starts in the majors. The Royals will hope he puts up numbers more in line with his lifetime marks as a member of their rotation, which lost veteran Homer Bailey in a trade with the Athletics on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Cubs had already been in search of a left-handed reliever before trading Montgomery. Therefore, this deal could further put the onus on president of baseball operations Theo Epstein to acquire a southpaw by the July 31 deadline. With Montgomery on a $2.44MM salary this year, the Cubs added a small amount of payroll in this swap.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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