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Archives for July 2021

Diamondbacks Sign First-Rounder Jordan Lawlar

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4:19PM: The D’Backs have officially announced their agreement with Lawlar.

3:45PM: As originally reported yesterday by John Gambadoro of 98.7FM Phoenix, the Diamondbacks reached an agreement with sixth overall pick Jordan Lawlar.  The high school shortstop signed for a hefty $6,713,300 bonus, according to MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis (Twitter links).  This is both well over the $5,742,900 assigned slot price for the sixth pick, and the largest bonus for any position player in the 2021 draft.

The highly-touted Lawlar was seen by some as a potential first overall pick, and as a consensus top-five selection, it was perhaps a bit of a surprise that he fell to the D’Backs.  Arizona used the remaining money in its $11,271,900 draft pool to sign Lawlar, so the Diamondbacks didn’t exceed the threshold by more than five percent and thus won’t have to surrender any future draft picks.

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo each ranked Lawlar as the best prospect of the 2021 draft class, with McDaniel calling Lawlar “the best combination of skills, hit tool and track record” of all the top high school shortstops available this year.  The 19-year-old has strong all-around ability, and Collazo feels that Lawlar has a “regular all-star” ceiling if he develops a bit more power.

Deadline Notes: Rockies, Story, Mets, Bryant, Gibson, Nationals, Dodgers

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The Rockies reportedly received offers for All-Star shortstop Trevor Story from the Yankees, Brewers, White Sox, and Rays prior to Friday’s trade deadline, per Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter). The Rockies have been criticized for their failure to move Story, given that they are all but assured to lose him as a free agent after the season. They will get a draft pick when he departs, and their front office did not deem any of the offers received as appreciably better than that draft pick will be.

  • Despite all the talk, the Mets never came particularly close to acquiring Kris Bryant from the Cubs, per Mike Puma of the New York Post (via Twitter). The two clubs were obviously in steady communication — and eventually consummated a deal for Javier Baez — but the Cubs kept the conversation away from Bryant. Given how long Bryant had been “on the block,” the Cubs certainly had a sense of what was available.
  • The Mets did, however, explore the cost for Kyle Gibson of the Rangers, notes Puma, but the Rangers informed them that they had a better offer on the table from the Phillies.
  • The Nationals had the pieces in place for a deal that would have sent Max Scherzer to the Padres on Thursday night, but they also had a deal in place with an American League East team, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com. The Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays, and Red Sox were all said to have interest in Scherzer at one point or another.
  • As for the Dodgers’ side of that deal eventual deal, they were intent on holding onto Ryan Pepiot, Bobby Miller, and Landon Knack, despite wide-ranging interest in that trio of arms.

Astros Select Jake Meyers, Designate Nivaldo Rodriguez For Assignment

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The Astros announced a number of roster moves today. Phil Maton — acquired yesterday from the Indians — was added to the active roster, while Jake Meyers had his contract selected. To make room on the active roster, Bryan Abreu was optioned to the taxi squad and Brandon Bielak was optioned to Triple-A. To create a spot on the 40-man roster, right-hander Nivaldo Rodriguez was designated for assignment, tweets Mark Berman of Fox 26.

Meyers, 25, is the most interesting addition of the bunch here, despite his lack of prospect status and unheralded beginnings as a 13th-round pick. His revelatory play in Triple-A this season seems to be one of the driving factors in Houston’s decision to trade Myles Straw for Maton. It’s certainly not standard operating procedure for a first-place team like the Astros to deal their starting centerfielder for a middle reliever in the middle of a playoff race — especially with Straw being cheap and controllable through 2025.

But Meyers raked in Triple-A, slashing .343/.408/.598 with 16 home runs for the Sugar Land Skeeters. He brings a less extreme version of Straw’s positive approach at the plate, but with the added benefit of some power potential. Meyers has walked at an 8.2 percent clip while striking out just 19.4 percent of the time. He has benefited from a .389 BABIP, and the power marks – .255 ISO, .598 SLG — are way above his career averages prior to this season.

Defensively, he has split his time evenly between all three outfield spots this year. Back in June, Kevin Goldstein of Fangraphs noted that he profiles as an above-average defensive centerfielder, though without Straw’s arm. If his power proves to be for real, Meyers ought to be an upgrade in centerfield, assuming he can outbid Chas McCormick for playing time. The 26-year-old McCormick has a head start on the starter’s job with a 113 wRC+ through 178 plate appearances this season.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, will be left exposed to waivers as a result of Houston’s trade deadline additions. The 24-year-old righty has nine career appearances between this season and last. He logged 16 innings, allowing eight earned runs on 19 hits and 10 walks while serving up five long balls. Given the need for pitching league-wide, there’s certainly a possibility somebody takes a chance on Rodriguez either as a starter or a reliever with multi-inning potential.

A’s Place James Kaprielian On 10-Day Injured List, Designate Domingo Acevedo, Jacob Wilson For Assignment

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The A’s made a number of roster moves today to make room for the additions of recently acquired Yan Gomes and Josh Harrison. Aramis Garcia was optioned to Triple-A, and James Kaprielian was placed on the 10-day injured list with a shoulder impingement. To make room on the 40-man roster, Domingo Acevedo and Jacob Wilson were designated for assignment, per Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links).

Kaprielian was supposed to start tomorrow’s ballgame. Daulton Jefferies will get the call-up to take his place, so another roster move will need to be made at that point, tweets Kawahara. Jefferies made his debut in a two-inning outing last season but has spent the entirety of 2021 at Triple-A thus far. He’s made 12 starts with a 5.19 ERA spanning 59 innings.

Kaprielian, meanwhile, came up and seized a rotation spot this season. He’s marked a 3.24 ERA/4.15 FIP across 72 1/3 innings with a 26.5 percent strikeout rate and 9.1 percent walk rate. The Athletics don’t expect the shoulder issue to be significant, so the hope is that he’ll be able to return to the rotation before long.

Acevedo and Wilson will now be exposed to waivers. Acevedo, 27, made three appearances with the big league club, while Wilson was just 1-for-7 in limited playing time.

More significantly, perhaps, is Garcia’s demotion, as he’s likely to remain in Triple-A for some time as Gomes takes over the backup role to Sean Murphy. Garcia came over from Texas as part of the Elvis Andrus/Khris Davis deal that also saw Oakland swap out Jonah Heim. Garcia was intended to serve as a stopgap backup, but he hit just .205/.239/.318 in 94 plate appearances.

Braves Option Orlando Arcia, Sean Newcomb

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Deadline acquisitions Richard Rodriguez and Jorge Soler are in Atlanta and active for tonight’s ballgame, per the team. To make room for their arrival, Orlando Arcia and Sean Newcomb have been optioned to Triple-A.

Arcia came over from the Brewers midseason and had mostly played left field for the Braves — his first outfield appearances in the Majors save for one game in center last season. Arcia doesn’t carry enough bat to hold down the position long-term, however, and the Braves added Soler, Eddie Rosario, and Adam Duvall to go along with Joc Pederson in the outfield corners. Arcia hit just .204/.264/.347 in 53 appearances with the Braves.

Newcomb has been up and down this season. Despite a 5.68 ERA, however, he has a 3.79 FIP in 25 1/3 innings in the Majors with a career-best 27.3 percent strikeout rate and career-worst 17.4 percent walk rate. Because Newcomb has already been optioned this season, he’s an obvious candidate for the demotion here, with only Edgar Santana as the only other real option from the Braves’ veteran bullpen.

Rodriguez saved 14 games for the Pirates this season, but he was acquired to step into a setup role in Atlanta. That’s a role Rodriguez is familiar with, as he had just five career saves coming into this season.

Soler’s usage, too, will be an issue worth monitoring in Atlanta. The slugger doesn’t offer much with the glove and therefore fits awkwardly as an everyday player on a National League club. He has struggled mightily at the plate as well this season, slashing just .192/.288/.370. That said, he is just two years removed from leading the American League with 48 home runs in 2019.

July Headlines: National League

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This year’s trade season did not disappoint. After a wild couple of days, we’re gonna do our best to recap the action from one of the busiest trade deadlines in recent memory. Let’s start with the headlines coming out of the Senior Circuit this month…

The Champs Are Still The Champs: This phrase, in many ways, could serve as an ironic headline for this year’s trade deadline, as we saw the dismantling of a couple of former championship teams. The reigning champ, however, was not one of them. The Dodgers reasserted themselves as the team to beat in the National League by making the splashiest move of the deadline in acquiring Max Scherzer and Trea Turner from the Nationals.

The Dodgers stepped up, and now they have perhaps the most intimidating starter of his generation slotted into a rotation with Clayton Kershaw, probably the best pitcher of his generation, along with young stud Walker Buehler. It’s an amazing collection of talent for a single team.

That said, the Turner acquisition might be even more impactful, as he’s under team control  through next season. Turner and Mookie Betts as a 1-2 punch in the lineup are devastating. Interestingly, the Dodgers also got Corey Seager back from the injured list today, and it remains to be seen how the Dodgers will deploy their pair of All-Star shortstops (to say nothing of Gavin Lux and Chris Taylor). The Dodgers have options now and for the future. Remember, Seager is a free agent after the season. They can still bring back their World Series MVP at the right price point, but they won’t be pressured to now that they have Turner in the fold.

The Padres Don’t Land Mad Max: The trade deadline madness really began on Thursday night when it was announced that the Padres and Nats had agreed on the players involved in a Scherzer deal. That didn’t sit well with the Dodgers, who swooped in to remind the Padres of who still runs the West. The Padres were expected to turn their attention to Jose Berrios, but they weren’t able to get him either.

At the end of the day, the Padres didn’t get Scherzer, Berrios, Joey Gallo, or any other of the big names. They did add Adam Frazier, a versatile defender and good contact hitter, along with Daniel Hudson, who is a legitimate get for the bullpen, and Jake Marisnick, who compliments their centerfield options nicely, even if he’s not much more than a depth piece. It was a less impactful deadline than expected, but what’s worse: Fernando Tatis Jr. promptly reaggravated his shoulder injury. Add it all up, and the swing from potentially acquiring Scherzer to potentially losing Tatis is enough to give any Padres fan whiplash.

Giants Add Bryant: The Padres took a big swing and missed, the Dodgers took their swing and connected, and sure to form, the Giants played the deadline slow and steady. Does the tortoise win again? Time will tell, but the Giants did ultimately nab a former MVP in Kris Bryant without giving up a top prospect. Bryant fits their profile like a glove, and he’ll be able to fill in at third until Evan Longoria returns and then move to the outfield.

Remember: The Giants have a three-game head start on LA and a five-game lead on the Padres. Adding Bryant has game-changing potential, while Tony Watson was a solid, low-key add to the pen. The Dodgers are scary, but if the Giants keep playing their game, LA may find themselves in the wild card game anyway.

Cubs Collapse, Dismantle 2016 World Series Champs: In a vacuum, the Cubs had a pretty good deadline. They added a number of buzzy, interesting young players like Nick Madrigal, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Alexander Canario. But it came at a cost. After years of rumors, Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Javier Baez were finally shipped out of town, along with Craig Kimbrel, Andrew Chafin, Ryan Tepera, Marisnick, and Trevor Williams. New players — and new narratives — are long overdue in Chicago, and the next chapter awaits.

Nationals Collapse, Dismantle 2019 World Series Champs: It’s appropriate that the Cubs are in DC to play the Nats this weekend, because really, the two clubs are mirror images of one another, right down to their interconnecting pieces like Kyle Schwarber and Jon Lester. Both teams were trying to contend on the legs of recent title teams, both teams had disastrous months of July, and both clubs desperately needed an influx of young talent. Both teams got it on Friday.

The Nats farm system was even more barren than Chicago’s and their need to restock even direr given the presence of young superstud Juan Soto. So Washington said their fare-thee-wells to  Scherzer, Turner, Hudson, and Yan Gomes from the title team, plus recent additions Lester, Schwarber, Brad Hand, and Josh Harrison. GM Mike Rizzo does not sell off pieces willy nilly, but in doing so, they got some high-end, near-ready pieces as they look to quickly rebuild a contender in context around Soto before the Scott Boras client reaches free agency after the 2024 season.

Brewers Take Their Place Atop The NL Central: Milwaukee made their big acquisition back in May, and Willy Adames has transformed himself and the club since his arrival. They were last under .500 on the day before Adames arrived, they’ve gone 41-19 since and taken firm hold of the NL Central. Still, some tinkering remained on the docket for July, as the Brewers picked up Eduardo Escobar, Rowdy Tellez, John Curtiss, and Daniel Norris.

Injuries Keeping Mets From Runaway Division Title: The Mets left deadline day with a more acute awareness of what they lost than what they gained: Jacob deGrom has been shut down for another couple of weeks, leaving the all-world hurler out until at least September. That’s heartbreaking for a Mets team with a clear path to an NL East title. Plenty of upside remains in the Mets rotation with Marcus Stroman and Taijuan Walker posting career years, Carlos Carrasco set to make his debut, and Tylor Megill providing the surprising rookie breakout contenders seek. Still, deGrom and Noah Syndergaard are questionable at best for the rest of the season, and the only rotation additions the Mets made at the deadline were Rich Hill and Trevor Williams.

They did, however, account for Francisco Lindor’s injury by adding Javier Baez, Lindor’s friend and countrymate who can ably fill in while Lindor is out and then slide to second or third when he returns. Baez isn’t, perhaps, the former Cub that Mets fans expected, but he’s an excellent fit alongside Lindor and should bolster the pitching staff with his stellar glove — even if acquiring him did cost them a former first-rounder in Crow-Armstrong.

Braves Lose Acuna For The Season: The deadline might have looked a lot different for Atlanta had they not lost Ronald Acuna Jr. for the season back on July 10th. Without Acuna and Mike Soroka, the Braves weren’t expected to make any major swings at contention. But even a 13-12 July was enough to keep them within four games of first. A fourth consecutive NL East title remains in reach. So they nabbed one of the top available relief arms in Richard Rodriguez, as well as, seemingly, all the outfielders: Jorge Soler, old pal Adam Duvall, Eddie Rosario, and Joc Pederson, plus Stephen Vogt to reinforce their catching corps.

Soft Buys From The Fringes Of Contention: The Giants and Dodgers made headline additions, while the Nats and Cubs took a firm step away from contention. In the middle, there were a number of clubs that neither sold the farm nor raised the white flag. Such as…

…the Phillies… who seemed poised to add a bevy of arms given their bullpen situation, not to mention a starting rotation that’s received underwhelming performances from the back end. Instead, only Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy came to help, and they cost the Phillies’ top prospect Spencer Howard. Howard’s handling had been in question all season, and now he’s been served an unceremonious end to his Philly tenure. Gibson’s had a fine season thus far with the Rangers, but his groundball approach will be tested in front of Philly’s subpar infield defense. Sure, Freddy Galvis brings his glove back to help out, but will that be enough?

…and the Reds… who looked to undo their winter penny-pinching by restocking the bullpen. Justin Wilson, Luis Cessa, and Mychal Givens will try to help a bullpen that ranks 29th with a 5.31 ERA. The Reds’ inconsistent play in July kept them squarely on the deadline fence, however, and now that Nick Castellanos is on the injured list, they’re seven games behind the Brewers and looking like longshots for the postseason.

…and the Cardinals…who added a few pieces at the deadline, despite being 9.5 games behind the Brewers and 6.5 out of a wild card spot. The additions were modest, however, as St. Louis went on a run of graybeard southpaws in July, adding 36-year-old Wade LeBlanc, 37-year-old Jon Lester, and 38-year-old J.A. Happ to a rotation fronted by 39-year-old Adam Wainwright and caught by 39-year-old Yadier Molina.

Cellar Dwellers Sell: The Marlins, Pirates, and Diamondbacks, each in last place of their respective divisions, made some moves to turn expiring talent into youth for the future. The Marlins added the biggest fish in Jesus Luzardo, but the Pirates did well for themselves, too, by adding some plug-and-play talent like Michael Chavis from Boston and Bryse Wilson from Atlanta, while also grabbing two prospects from Seattle for Tyler Anderson. The Dbacks weren’t quite as active, but they did move Escobar and Joakim Soria, though a COVID-19 outbreak has brought more pressing issues to their attention.

The Rockies Don’t Trade Trevor Story Or Jon Gray: The most perplexing moves of the deadline were the trades that didn’t happen. Despite having no shot at contention in a division with zero margin for error (in the short-and-long term), the Rockies chose to stand pat rather than build for the future. Holding Gray is one thing, but Story has stated his desire to move on, so their decision not to acquire a prospect or two for him before he walks might be the biggest shock of deadline season.

Nationals Expected To Activate Josiah Gray, Mason Thompson

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In trading away much of their current roster before yesterday’s trade deadline, the Nationals prioritized talent that was close to Major League ready. The hope and expectation was that many of the players acquired over the past few days will soon join Juan Soto, Victor Robles, and company in DC to begin shaping the next Washington contender.

As such, it is expected that Mason Thompson — acquired from the Padres in the Daniel Hudson deal — will be activated and placed on the active roster later today, while Josiah Gray — a key piece in the Max Scherzer trade — will be activated to join the rotation later this weekend, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (Twitter links). They won’t need a corresponding roster move to add Thompson, as the Nats played with only a 25-man roster for yesterday’s game.

Gray immediately becomes the most interesting starter in the Nationals’ rotation — as well as the most important. There’s little reason to hold him in the minors for any length of time, except for the fact that the 24-year-old has very little pitching experience in the grand scheme of things and only 15 2/3 innings at Triple-A. Looking to maximize the three-year window following this season before Juan Soto hits free agency, the Nats have little time to waste in letting Gray try to establish himself as a pro-ready starter.

Besides, the Nationals have very few options in the upper minors, and they need to fill two rotation spots after trading Scherzer and Jon Lester. Gray will slot right into the rotation behind Patrick Corbin and Joe Ross, with Erick Fedde and Paolo Espino likely to hold down the other two spots.

The same is true in the bullpen, where the departures of Brad Hand and Hudson leave glaring holes. Kyle Finnegan has stepped in as the closer for now, but in the long-term, the rest of the bullpen is largely up for grabs. Tanner Rainey has been off all season, though they certainly hope he can find himself again before the year is out. Wander Suero has long been a middle reliever who sometimes plays up into a setup role for manager Dave Martinez. Will Harris should be a key man, but he can’t seem to stay healthy.

Thompson, 23, should have every opportunity to carve out a role for himself. Baseball America ranked him as the Padres’ 15th-ranked prospect in the midseason report — and he figures to be considerably higher in a talent-poor Nationals system. BA pegged him for middle or late relief, noting a 94-98 mph heater, 12-to-6 curve, and above-average change-up.

All in all, it’s prove yourself season in Washington, where Thompson, Gray, as well as Lane Thomas, Carter Kieboom, Luis Garcia, and probably Keibert Ruiz should have the next two months to prove they are ready to be regular Major Leaguers.

Diamondbacks Re-Sign Jon Duplantier

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July 31: As anticipated, the Diamondbacks did in fact re-sign Duplantier on a minor league contract, per the team.

July 28: The Diamondbacks have released right-hander Jon Duplantier, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The move clears a spot on the D-Backs 40-man roster.

Arizona is hoping to bring Duplantier back on a minor league deal, according to Piecoro. The righty recently suffered a season-ending lat strain while pitching in the minors. Injured players cannot be placed on outright waivers, so the D-Backs’ only options to clear a 40-man roster spot were to place Duplantier on the 60-day injured list (entitling him to big league pay and service time) or to release him. The organization has apparently chosen the latter course of action.

It’s not uncommon for players in this kind of situation to eventually re-sign on a minor league pact. Franklin Perez re-upped with the Tigers in May, for instance, a few days after being released when he underwent season-ending shoulder surgery. As a free agent, though, Duplantier would have the right to explore options with other organizations — assuming he clears release waivers.

Duplantier was once one of the better pitching prospects in baseball, appearing on Baseball America’s preseason top 100 lists in both 2018 and 2019. A series of injuries has derailed his progress to this point, and he’s tallied just 49 2/3 major league innings to date. Duplantier made four starts for the D-Backs this year, allowing 19 runs across 13 frames.

Nationals Sign First-Rounder Brady House

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As reported yesterday, the Nationals signed first-round pick Brady House. His deal is worth $5MM, per Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter). The slot value for the 11th overall selection is $4.55MM.

House’s signing represents a bit of good news for Nats fans amid their sell-off yesterday. The high school shortstop was long considered one of the top prospects in the draft, but he ended up slipping to the Nats at number 11, largely because of signing concerns. Many of the small market teams picking ahead of the Nationals went with draft picks they could sign to below-slot deals.

The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked House as the 11th best prospect in the class, but he was the low man. ESPN had him as high as sixth on their draft board, Fangraphs at ninth, and Baseball America at seventh. The Nats represented a potential floor, then, at number 11 where they got him.

House brings a big bat, but there are some concerns about his hit tool, and most expect him to eventually move to third base. Still, his ceiling is tremendous, and for the Nats, he represents good value.

The Nats farm system looks much more robust today than it did yesterday with House joining trade acquisitions like Keibert Ruiz and Josiah Gray. Prior to those acquisitions, House was probably going to be near the very top of the Nats’ prospect chart. Now, he’ll slot in further down, but he’ll still be a top-ten prospect from the jump.

House represents a class of his own in some ways, however, as most of the prospects the Nationals targets should be in the big leagues within the next year or two. House’s timeline is probably further out than that. High school prep athletes tend closer to the three-to-five-year development path.

Trevor Story “Confused” By Lack Of Trade

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Rockies’ shortstop Trevor Story is “confused” after not being traded before today’s deadline, according to Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post. “I don’t have really anything good to say about the situation and how it unfolded,” Story says.

Story has been often mentioned as a logical trade candidate, given the fact that he’s a pending free agent on a non-competitive club. Even here at MLBTR, Steve Adams placed Story 7th on a list of top trade candidates just a few days ago, noting that it was unlikely the club would hang onto him, though admitting there was a slight chance of the club hanging onto the slugger and making him a qualifying offer at year’s end. That appears to have been the thinking in the Colorado front office.

“With what we were offered, we thought the (competitive balance) pick was better suited for us and we could have Trevor on our team for another two months,” general manager Bill Schmidt said. The White Sox, Rays and Blue Jays apparently made offers that didn’t match up to that draft pick, at least in the estimation of Schmidt and his team.

Perhaps the offer were somewhat dulled by Story’s subpar season. His wRC+ of 84 is well below his marks over the past three years, which all ranged between 117 and 128. But given that his strikeout and walk rates are in line with previous years and his BABIP is way down, some teams surely could have believed that regression was due. Regardless, Story will remain a Rockie for two more months, with his seeming frustration with management not boding well for their chances at re-signing him in free agency.

Jon Gray, another impending free agent, also remains a member of the club after the deadline. Saunders notes that Gray “wants to stay in Colorado” and the club has “begun preliminary talks about a new contract with him.” It will be interesting to see if such talks are able to come to fruition. Gray is having an excellent season, with his current 3.67 ERA tied for a career-best, especially impressive in the thin Colorado air. Normally, it might be tough to get a player to sign an extension when he’s so close to free agency and enjoying a solid platform year, although Gray has quite recently expressed interest in remaining in Colorado long term.

That desire comes despite the fact that the Rockies are at least 15 games behind each of the Giants, Dodgers and Padres. All three of those teams seem to have enough talent and resources to be well-positioned to continue playing at high levels into the future. With the already-struggling Rockies poised to lose a talent like Story, and perhaps Gray as well, it’s hard to envision them gaining so much ground on their competitors.

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