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Astros Interested In Robbie Ray, Matt Barnes

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With a pitching staff ravaged by injuries, it isn’t any surprise that the Astros are exploring adding some hurlers at the deadline.  Brittany Ghiroli and Eno Sarris of The Athletic (subscription required) report that two of Houston’s targets include Diamondbacks southpaw Robbie Ray and Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes.

Ray has been a popular figure in trade rumors for a couple of years, and the most recent round of speculation has had some teams interested in acquiring him as a relief pitcher due to his rough performance in 2020.  Over seven starts, Ray has a 7.84 ERA in 31 innings, due in large part to a 2.6 HR/9 and a major loss of control — Ray has a league-leading 31 walks and six wild pitches.  It’s possible Houston could be one of the teams eyeing Ray as a reliever, perhaps the team feels it can fix his control problems and again turn him into a solid starter.

Barnes has also had a tough go of it this season, and for some of the same reasons as Ray.  Barnes has a 6.00 ERA over 12 IP out of Boston’s pen, with a 2.3 HR/9 and a career-worst 6.8 BB/9.  As per Fangraphs, only 3.2% of Barnes’ offerings have resulted in soft contact this season, as he has a 45.2% hard-hit ball rate and 51.6% medium-hit rate.

The common element between the two pitchers is a lot of missed bats.  Ray has a 12.5 K/9 this season and a 12.1 K/9 since the start of the 2017 season; in that same timeframe, Barnes has a 13.2 K/9, which includes an 11.3 K/9 in 2020.  After ranking at or near the top of the league in strikeouts from 2017-19, Astros pitchers have combined for an 8.64 K/9 this season, ranked 21st of 30 teams.

Ray is a free agent after the season, while Barnes has one more year of arbitration eligibility before hitting the open market himself in the 2021-22 offseason.  This extra year of control might mean Barnes could actually have a higher trade value than Ray at this point, despite Ray’s ability to start games.  Astros GM James Click knows Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom well from their time together in the Rays front office, while Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen swung a very notable deal (the Zack Greinke blockbuster) with the Astros at least year’s deadline.

Reds Not Planning To Sell At Trade Deadline

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The Reds have won three straight games to improve to a 14-17 record, putting them one game out of second place (and an automatic playoff berth) in the NL Central and one game out of the NL wild card race.  With the postseason still within reach, Cincinnati isn’t planning to sell any meaningful pieces by Monday’s trade deadline, and if anything will be deadline buyers, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson (audio link) has the same information, with the intriguing tidbit that “a Twins official” was recently told by the Reds that Trevor Bauer wasn’t going to be dealt.  This would seem to imply that Minnesota had some interest in Bauer, and could now turn their attention at another front-of-the-rotation type if Bauer isn’t on the market.

Bauer will be a free agent after the season, though moving him would subtract from a rotation that has thus far been the Reds’ biggest strength.  As for the rest of the team, as Heyman puts it, the “Reds mainly need to get hitters and relievers to play to their abilities.”  Eugenio Suarez, Mike Moustakas, Joey Votto, Shogo Akiyama, and Tucker Barnhart have all yet to heat up at the plate, while the struggles of the normally reliable late-game duo of Raisel Iglesias and Michael Lorenzen have been a big reason why the Reds bullpen ranks 23rd in ERA and 29th in HR/9.

Adding a new arm to the relief corps seems like a logical move, though upgrading the lineup may be slightly more difficult, as so many of their struggling stars are entrenched in their positions (though longtime franchise icon Votto has been benched for the last three games).  With Nick Senzel on the injured list, left or center field could be an area of need, as Akiyama and rookie Mark Payton have been getting the bulk of playing time with Senzel out and the scorching-hot Jesse Winker alternating between left field and DH.  From a more speculative point of view, Cincinnati could also look to replace Barnhart with a more productive catching option — Red Sox backstop Christian Vazquez would cost the most in prospects, though other potential trade candidates include the Angels’ Jason Castro or the Mariners’ Austin Nola.

Cubs Asked Tigers About Cameron Maybin

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Cameron Maybin’s name has emerged as part of trade discussions between the Tigers and Cubs, the Athletic’s Eno Sarris and Brittany Ghiroli report (subscription required).  Maybin would be a pure rental piece, as the outfielder is only signed through the 2020 season and is owed roughly $280K for the remaining month of action.

Now a veteran of 14 MLB seasons with eight different teams, Maybin signed a one-year, $1.5MM deal with the Tigers last winter in the wake of one of his most productive years at the plate.  Maybin his .285/.364/.494 with a career-best 11 home runs over 269 plate appearances with the Yankees in 2019, becoming one of several unheralded bench players to step up big for the injury-riddled Bronx Bombers roster.

Thus far in 2020, Maybin has hit .256/.310/.436 over just 42 PA, as he missed two weeks of action due to a quad injury.  Albeit in a very small sample size, Statcast metrics such as hard-hit percentage and barrels indicate that Maybin is continuing the improved solid contract he played last year in New York.  Detroit has used Maybin only as a right fielder this season, and while he can still play center in a pinch, the 33-year-old is probably best suited for corner outfield duty at this point in his career.

This might be all the Cubs would be looking for in a depth piece, as Chicago’s outfield corps has been thinned by injuries to Steven Souza Jr. and part-time outfielder Kris Bryant.  In theory, Maybin’s right-handed bat would provide cover against left-handed pitching (particularly since the left-handed hitting Jason Heyward and Kyle Schwarber have both struggled against southpaws), but Maybin has been something of a reverse-splits hitter for much of his career.

Rays Interested In Christian Vazquez

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Looking to upgrade behind the plate in both 2020 and beyond, the Rays have shown interest in Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez, according to The Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli and Eno Sarris (subscription required).  “Early discussions” between the two clubs have seen the Sox look at adding young pitching in return.

With the Rays holding World Series aspirations, the Red Sox in seller mode, and former Rays VP of baseball operations Chaim Bloom now running Boston’s front office, the two AL East rivals make a lot of sense on paper as natural trade partners.  Vazquez in particular would fill a major need for Tampa Bay, given that catcher has been a longstanding problem position for the team.

The catching combo of Mike Zunino and Michael Perez have produced sub-replacement level numbers in 2020, as the duo (and Kevan Smith, who made two plate appearances) have combined for a collective .160/.241/.340 slash line in 112 PA.  While Vazquez himself hasn’t had an exceptional year at the plate, his .260/.294/.423 line over 109 still represents a marked improvement over the Rays’ current catching mix.  Plus, Vazquez’s highly-regarded defensive and game-calling abilities would also provide a boost.

After hitting .276/.320/.477 with 23 homers last season, Vazquez’s production has taken a step backwards.  The catcher’s 27.5% strikeout rate and 4.6% walk rate are both career lows, his hard-hit ball rate is down considerably from 2019, and his .253 xwOBA is in the bottom fifth percentile of any player in baseball.  Now in his sixth MLB season, Vazquez’s offensive numbers have been somewhat all over the board, as he preceded his career-best 2019 with a dreadful 2018 campaign.  Evaluating Vazquez’s bat through only 112 PA, of course, is a difficult task — in a normal season, Vazquez could just be off to a slow start.

As with any Rays trade target, money is a factor, though Vazquez’s contract is reasonable for even a low-spending team like Tampa Bay.  He is owed approximately $780K for the remainder of this season, $6.25MM in 2021, and there is a $7MM club option his services for 2022 that can be bought out for $250K.  Since the Rays were willing to commit $4.5MM to Zunino this season, it stands to reason that they would be open to spending a bit more in 2021 for what they hope would be considerably better production both offensively and defensively.

Vazquez’s modest contract and extra year (or years) of control make him a particularly interesting trade chip for a Red Sox team that seems to be more or less open to moving almost anyone prior to Monday’s trade deadline.  While the Rays can technically only trade players currently on their 60-man player pool, they could work around that restriction simply by making a handshake deal to trade any prospect now and then reveal that prospect as a “player to be named later” within a few months’ time.  Bloom’s familiarity with Tampa Bay’s highly-rated farm system could put any number of minor league arms in play for a potential deal.

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Minor MLB Transactions: 8/28/20

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Friday’s minor moves…

  • The Marlins announced that they’ve sent infielder Logan Forsythe to the 60-day injured list with a right oblique strain. That should wrap up the 2020 season for Forsythe, whom the Marlins signed July 29. He made his Marlins debut Aug. 4 and went on to hit a miserable .118/.211/.235 with one HR in 35 plate appearances before going on the IL. Overall, it has been a rough few years for Forsythe, a once-valuable member of the Rays who has combined for minus-0.3 fWAR since the beginning of the 2018 campaign.
  • The Angels outrighted Michael Hermosillo to their alternate training site after he cleared waivers, the team announced. Hermosillo, whom the Angels designated for assignment last Sunday, has slashed a paltry .188/.288/.287 with one home run 118 plate appearances with the Angels since 2018. The 25-year-old outfielder has been far better at the Triple-A level, where he has batted .261/.344/.478 with 32 homers over 748 trips to the plate.

Player Pool Additions: Giants, Mets, Rays, Nats

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Teams have been tinkering with their 60-man player pools throughout the 2020 season, at times cutting veterans to make room for prospects and at times cutting bait on some lower-tier organizational pieces in order to make room for more experienced additions (be they via waiver claim, free-agent signing, etc.). There have been several clubs to announce additions to their player pools already Friday, and while such moves seem innocuous, it’s of course worth pointing out that adding a player to the 60-man pool makes him eligible to be traded.

That doesn’t mean all of the players added to pools today are on the trading block — far from it. We’ve also already seen the Marlins (in the Richard Bleier trade) and the Blue Jays (in the Taijuan Walker trade) take advantage of using players to be named later to get around the rule that only players in a 60-man pool are eligible to be traded. Both sent a PTBNL to their trade partner, each of whom is expected to be a non-60-man player that will be announced after the season.

So while not all of today’s additions will change hands, it’s still notable that some of these players now could change hands without needing to be listed as a PTBNL. In that scenario, a new club could get a look at said player at its alternate training site and, if close enough to the Majors, perhaps even promote them in September.

Here’s a quick rundown…

  • The Giants announced that first baseman/outfielder Chris Shaw and righty Melvin Adon were added to the 60-man player pool. Shaw, 26, was San Francisco’s first-round pick (No. 31 overall) back in 2015 and rated among the club’s best prospects for several years. His shine has worn off, however, after some shaky showings in the upper minors and the Majors. Shaw carries a .280/.328/.538 slash in 1092 Triple-A plate appearances but has struck out at a 30 percent clip there. He’s hit .153/.244/.222 in 82 big league PAs. Speculatively, he seems like a change-of-scenery candidate. Adon, also 26, received an 80 grade on his heater at FanGraphs this offseason and was called the hardest thrower in the minors by Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel. However, they also gave him just 30 command on the 20-80 scale and called his chances of realizing his ceiling low due to his inability to locate. Adon walked 34 batters, hit another and threw 11 wild pitches in 55 1/3 innings last year.
  • The Mets added third baseman Brett Baty, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Baty, 20, was the No. 12 pick in the 2019 draft and is considered to be among the organization’s top prospects. He divided last year between rookie and Low-A ball, where he batted .234/.368/.452 with seven home runs in 228 plate appearances. Now that Baty’s in the fold, the Mets have all of their top five prospects in the player pool — including Andres Gimenez in the Majors — as DiComo points out.
  • Right-hander Brent Honeywell has been added to the Rays’ pool and reported to their alternate site in Port Charlotte, tweets MLB.com’s Juan Toribio. The highly touted Honeywell underwent Tommy John surgery in February 2018, hasn’t pitched since and may not take the mound for the Rays this season. By adding Honeywell to their pool, though, the Rays will give the 25-year-old an opportunity to rehab while facing professional hitters, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times notes. For now, though, “there are still plenty of boxes” for Honeywell to check before he makes his MLB debut, according to manager Kevin Cash.
  • The Nationals already added righty Sterling Sharp and outfielder Jeremy De La Rosa earlier today (as covered here), and this afternoon they announced two more additions: infielders Jackson Cluff and Drew Mendoza. Both have reported to the alternate site in Fredricksburg. Cluff was a 2019 sixth-rounder who spent his first pro season in Single-A, where he batted .229/.320/.367 with five homers and 11 steals in 280 trips to the plate. The 23-year-old is now generally regarded as one of the Nationals’ top 20 prospects. Mendoza, another 2019 draft choice (third round, No. 94), hovers around Washington’s top 10 farmhands at multiple outlets. The 22-year-old also spent 2019 at Single-A, slashing .264/.377/.383 with four HRs and three steals in 239 plate appearances.

Athletics Acquire Tommy La Stella For Franklin Barreto

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10:26pm: Both teams have announced the trade.

9:15pm: The Athletics have acquired infielder Tommy La Stella from the division-rival Angels, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. Fellow infielder Franklin Barreto is headed to the Angels, per Rosenthal.

Now 31 years old, La Stella was a capable part-time player with the Braves and Cubs from 2014-18, but he has found another gear since joining the Angels before last season. Going back to 2019, La Stella has slashed .289/.353/.483 (125 wRC+) with 20 home runs and as many walks as strikeouts (35). La Stella even earned his first All-Star nod a season ago, though he was unable to play in the game after suffering a fractured tibia.

To his credit, La Stella has come back strong from his injury this year. He could soon emerge as the No. 1 option at second base for a contending Oakland club that has relied on Tony Kemp to handle the position so far.

Although La Stella was terrific as an Angel, they’re well out of contention, and he’s a pending free agent. As such, it made sense for the club to move on from La Stella and take on the 24-year-old Barreto, a former top prospect who didn’t receive consistent playing in Oakland.

Originally acquired from the Blue Jays as part of the two teams’ Josh Donaldson trade before 2015, Barreto batted a woeful .180/.210/.360 with nine homers in 219 plate appearances as an Athletic, and he has totaled just 10 trips to the plate this year. However, in addition to his prospect pedigree and youth, Barreto owns a strong track record in Triple-A, where he has hit .285/.356/.505 with 53 HRs in 1,285 PA. The Angels are obviously hoping Barreto will tap into his potential in their uniform, but because he’s out of minor league options, they won’t have the luxury of demoting him without possibly losing him.

Defensively, most of Barreto’s MLB playing time has come at second, where La Stella and Luis Rengifo have gotten the lion’s share of action for the club this year. But as the Angels go through the final month of what’s very likely to be another non-playoff season, they should be in position to evaluate Barreto as a possible everyday option at the keystone. The A’s, on the other hand, are taking a chance that La Stella will provide yet another weapon on a team aiming for an AL West title and a World Series this year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Steve Cohen In Exclusive Negotiations To Purchase Mets

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The Mets appear to be close to finding a new owner. Steve Cohen is now engaged in exclusive negotiations to buy the club, David Faber of CNBC reports. Alex Rodriguez, who has also been vying for the team, issued a statement to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic conceding defeat.

“The consortium led by Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez has informed the Mets that they are no longer pursuing the acquisition of the team,” Rodriguez said. “The consortium, which included Vincent Viola, Mike Repole, and Marc Lore had submitted a fully funded offer at a record price for the team which was supported by binding debt commitments from JP Morgan and equity commitment letters from credit worthy partners. The consortium said that they are disappointed to not be part of the revitalization of New York City and provide an exhilarating experience for the fans and wish the Wilpon family and the entire Mets organization well.”

Cohen, the Rodriguez-Lopez team and the Josh Harris-David Blitzer duo were the finalists to land the Mets, but current owners Fred Wilpon and Jeff Wilpon selected Cohen as the favorite, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network. It’s “believed” the Rodriguez group was willing to offer as much as $2.3 billion, per Faber, but they’ll lose out to Cohen.

While Cohen hasn’t reached the finish line yet, his approximate net worth of $15 billion, long-running pursuit of the franchise and his status as a minority owner of the Mets seem to make it unlikely he’ll fall short. Cohen’s previous attempt to buy the Mets fell apart over the winter, but the Wilpons’ urgency to sell the team has reportedly increased since then, owing in part to the financial losses they’ve taken as a result of the pandemic-shortened season with no fans in the stands. Now, any new owner would lose upward of $100MM this year and in 2021, Faber reports.

Cohen’s collapsed deal with the Mets included a five-year sale plan in which he’d assume 80 percent of the reins in 2025, but he’d take over as the team’s control person immediately in this instance, Faber writes. It’s unclear what a new agreement could look like in terms of cost or whether Cohen would receive any part of the coveted SNY Network in a sale. Cohen bid $2.6 billion before, but it’s now likely he’ll land the franchise for less, according to Faber.

Manny Ramirez Signs In Australia

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Manny Ramirez’s professional baseball career isn’t over yet. The 48-year-old has signed with the Sydney Blue Sox of the Australian Baseball League, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

Last we heard from Ramirez, he was pursuing a comeback in Taiwan in May. However, no deal ever materialized for Ramirez in the Chinese Professional Baseball League. He’ll now go to Australia in hopes of logging his first professional action since he played in the Dominican Winter League in 2014-15.

Although he’s statistically one of the greatest hitters Major League Baseball has ever seen, there’s little to no chance Ramirez will return to MLB as he approaches the age of 50. He last graced the majors in 2011 with the Rays, though he’s obviously better known for his highly successful runs with the Indians, Red Sox and Dodgers. Ramirez slashed .312/.411/.585 (153 wRC+) with 555 home runs and 66.3 fWAR in 9,774 plate appearances during his time in the bigs.

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