Archives for 2021

Red Sox Acquire Hansel Robles From Twins

By Tim Dierkes | July 30, 2021 at 3:17pm CDT

The Red Sox acquired reliever Hansel Robles from the Twins, tweets ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The Twins are including $500k in the deal, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com (via Twitter). That should cover much of the remaining money owed to the right-hander, who signed a one-year, $2MM deal with the Twins this past winter. In exchange, the Twins will receive RHP Alex Scherff, the teams announced.

Robles fills a need for Boston as a hard-throwing righty in the pen. He will slot in somewhere behind setup man Adam Ottavino and closer Matt Barnes in the pecking order – though it’s worth noting that bullpen usage is hardly ever that clean, and Robles should no doubt expect some high-leverage work in the heart of the AL East playoff race.

Robles spent three and a half years with the Mets and two and a half years with the Angels before joining the Twins this offseason. He closed for a short time in LA, notching 23 saves in 2019 while tossing 7 2/3 innings and marking a stellar 2.48 ERA/2.88 FIP. He looked like a borderline elite bullpen arm at that point, but he hasn’t matched those run prevention numbers in the two seasons since.

The overall numbers for Robles this season aren’t all that confidence-inspiring: 45 appearances covering 44 innings with a 4.91 ERA/4.82 FIP worth -0.7 rWAR. He does have 10 saves as he stepped up to cover some high-leverage situations throughout the year. He’s struggled of late, however, with an 11.12 ERA in his last 12 appearances dating back to late June. He doesn’t have to be “the guy” in Boston, however, where he’ll make up just one part of manager Alex Cora’s final line of defense to close out games.

For the Twins, they are adding an intriguing bullpen arm to their system. The 23-year-old Scherff has split this year between High-A and Double-A, racking up exceptional strikeout numbers. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs notes that his fastball is “is 92-96 with a good changeup”.

Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com was the first to note that Scherff was the return.

Brewers Acquire John Curtiss

By Steve Adams | July 30, 2021 at 2:57pm CDT

The Brewers and Marlins have agreed to a swap sending right-handed reliever John Curtiss from Miami to Milwaukee in exchange for minor league catcher Payton Henry, the teams announced just prior to Friday’s trade deadline.

Curtiss, 28, was at one point a fairly well-regarded bullpen prospect in the Twins system but never panned out in Minnesota, Anaheim or Philadelphia after bouncing around in a series of transactions. Like so many others, however, he found a home with the Rays in 2020, pitching to a brilliant 1.80 ERA in 25 innings of relief and posting a 25.3 percent strikeout rate against a masterful 3.0 percent walk rate. The Rays nevertheless flipped Curtiss to the Marlins in a late offseason trade for minor league first baseman Evan Edwards — perhaps not sold on Curtiss being able to sustain his otherworldly command.

While Curtiss’ command has indeed backed up a bit — sustaining a three percent walk rate is a near impossibility for any pitcher — it’s still sitting at a brilliant 5.6 percent so far in what has been a terrific 2021 season. Curtiss pitched 40 innings for the Marlins and notched a tidy 2.48 ERA with a solid 24.8 percent strikeout rate.

Beyond his excellent production, Curtiss was no doubt appealing to the Rays due to the fact that he’s not yet arbitration-eligible and is controlled through the 2025 season. Curtiss won’t even reach arbitration until the 2022-23 offseason, so there’s potential for him to step up as a long-term bullpen piece for the Brew Crew.

The Brewers will gain those four and a half years of control at the expense of the 24-year-old Henry, whom they selected in the sixth round of the 2016 draft. Henry ranked among the Brewers’ top 30 prospects at Baseball America each season from 2018-20 but fell off this year. He’s still 25th among their farmhands over at FanGraphs, where Eric Longenhagen notes that he was a bat-first catcher in the draft who has made enough defensive gains to stick behind the plate. Henry’s raw power is his best tool.

So far in 2021, however, that pop hasn’t really been on display. He’s batted a combined .297/.372/.390 with just two homers between Double-A and Triple-A. That said, Henry has curbed his once-problematic strikeout rates by a wide margin this year; he fanned in 32 percent of his trips to the plate in Class-A as recently as 2018, but he’s down to an even 25 percent between Double-A and Triple-A this year (with fewer punchouts in Triple-A).

The Marlins are known to have been looking for potential long-term options behind the dish, and while Henry is a long shot to step up as their everyday option back there, he gives the Fish an upper-minors option who is producing at the dish and may not be too far from getting a shot in the big leagues.

MLB Network’s Jon Heyman first reported the deal (Twitter link).

Blue Jays To Acquire Joakim Soria From Diamondbacks

By Tim Dierkes | July 30, 2021 at 2:54pm CDT

The Blue Jays are acquiring reliever Joakim Soria from the Diamondbacks, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. The Jays will send a pair of players to be named later back to Arizona, according to the team. Outfielder Jonathan Davis was designated for assignment to open a spot for Soria.

Soria, 37, joins the ninth team of his career. A legendary closer in his first four seasons with the Royals back in 2007-10, Soria is now more of a useful depth piece. This year the veteran owns a 4.30 ERA, 24.8 K%, and 6.4 BB% in 29 1/3 innings. He lengthens a Blue Jays bullpen that also added Brad Hand, Adam Cimber, and Trevor Richards this summer. Blue Jays Executive Vice President, Baseball Operations & General Manager Ross Atkins saved his big splash for the rotation, acquiring Jose Berrios from the Twins for Austin Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson.

The Blue Jays, who return to the Rogers Centre in Toronto tonight for the first time in 670 days, are currently 4.5 games out of a wild card spot.

Astros, Indians Swap Myles Straw For Phil Maton

By Mark Polishuk | July 30, 2021 at 2:48pm CDT

The Astros and Indians have made a trade that will see Cleveland acquire outfielder Myles Straw, while Houston will land right-handed reliever Phil Maton and minor league catcher Yainer Diaz. Both teams have announced the swap.

Straw, 26, becomes the latest acquisition in a long line of attempts for the Indians to find some consistency in the outfield. It’s been an ongoing organizational issue for the past several seasons, with center field in particular standing out as a problem.

Center field has been Straw’s lone position for Houston in 2021 (though he does have experience at shortstop as well). He’s handled the position quite nicely, turning in two Defensive Runs Saved and a 6.6 Ultimate Zone Rating in 831 innings there. At the plate, Straw has virtually no power of which to speak, but he’s still batting a passable .262/.339/.326 thanks in large part to a strong 10.3 percent walk rate. Straw’s speed is nothing short of excellent, which has contributed both to those strong defensive ratings and to his value on the basepaths, where he’s swiped 17 bases in 22 attempts on the year.

Straw is a long-term option in center for Cleveland, as he’ll finish out the season with just two-plus years of service time. He won’t have quite enough days to reach Super Two status, so he won’t be eligible for arbitration until the 2022-23 offseason at the earliest. He’s controllable through 2025.

Maton, 28, gives the ’Stros a bullpen option for the remainder of this year and for each of the two subsequent seasons, as he’s controllable through 2023 via arbitration. He’s posted a 4.57 ERA through 41 1/3 innings this season and carries a career 4.74 mark through 190 frames.

Those numbers may not seem like much, but there’s good reason to believe that Maton could have a breakout in him. A rather pedestrian strikeout rate for the right-hander jumped to 33.3 percent last year upon arriving in Cleveland, and he’s managed that uptick so far in 2021 as well (34.3 percent). Command is something of an issue, but Maton’s rough ERA is in many ways tied to an awful and rather unfortunate .356 average on balls in play. He’s posted that .356 mark despite generally limiting hard contact nicely.

In fact, it’s possible Maton is already experiencing the positive regression those numbers seem to foreshadow. Over his past 18 games — a span of 17 2/3 innings pitched — he’s posted a 2.04 ERA while punching out 25 of his 76 opponents. Maton’s 11 walks in that time are still too plentiful, but the hits have stopped dropping in quite so frequently. He’s certainly not going to sustain this 2.00-ish ERA pace, but metrics like SIERA (3.13), FIP (also 3.13) and xFIP (3.56) all think he’s pitched far better than his raw earned run average would indicate.

The 22-year-old Diaz, meanwhile, wasn’t considered to be among Cleveland’s better prospects, but he’s having a nice season in Class-A, where he’s batting .314/.357/.464. He’s hit at every minor league stop he’s made since signing as an amateur back in 2016. He’ll be Rule 5 eligible this winter if the Astros don’t add him to the roster, though it might be hard for some clubs to justify carrying a 23-year-old catcher who’s scarcely played above A-ball (assuming he gets a late promotion to Double-A, even). Still, the Astros have been thin on catching depth in recent years, so there’s a decent chance they protect him if he keeps tearing up minor league pitching.

FOX 26’s Mark Berman first reported the trade.

Giants, Rockies Continue To Discuss Trevor Story

By Anthony Franco | July 30, 2021 at 2:26pm CDT

2:26 pm: The Giants and Rockies remain engaged on Story with a little more than a half hour to go before the deadline, reports Feinsand.

1:03 pm: With just under two hours before the deadline, the Rockies have lowered their asking price on Story, one executive tells Sherman. That person suggests it’s now more likely than not that Story will be traded.

12:03 pm: There’s little traction between the Rockies and either of Tampa Bay or Toronto on a Story deal at the moment, hears Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Of course, the Jays just parted with a pair of top prospects to land José Berríos from the Twins, so it’s possible they might be disinclined to continue to mine the farm system for Story.

11:29 am: Some rival executives think the Rays and Blue Jays are the main contenders to land Rockies shortstop Trevor Story before this afternoon’s trade deadline, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Bob Nightengale of USA Today adds that the Rays, in particular, are making a “hard push” to land Story. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com suggests the Giants also have interest, while Thomas Harding of MLB.com indicates the Rockies have had discussions regarding Story with the Cardinals as well.

Of course, that’s only if Story winds up traded at all, which Sherman confirms is far from a lock. The Rockies have expressed comfort with holding onto Story for weeks. While that could just be public posturing, it seems Colorado’s planning to hang onto fellow impending free agent Jon Gray past the deadline.

The end game there, however, is to try to hammer out a long-term deal with Gray. Story, on the other hand, isn’t seen as especially likely to sign an extension. The Rockies instead would be more likely to make him a qualifying offer and receive a compensatory draft choice if/when he rejects and signs elsewhere in free agency.

Of course, Story’s play this season has complicated matters. While he looked like an obvious trade candidate coming into the year on the heels of a .293/.361/.544 performance from 2019-20, he’s struggled to produce at the plate this season. The 28-year-old has a below-average .240/.312/.429 line (84 wRC+) over 375 plate appearances. That’s surely depressing the caliber of prospect teams are willing to part with, so there’s some sense for Colorado in recouping a high 2022 draft choice if rivals aren’t putting forth especially strong offers.

The Rays, Jays, Giants and Cardinals are all new reported entrants into the Story market. Sherman adds that the Mets — who have been linked to Story for a while — are still on the periphery but that the Rockies shortstop doesn’t seem to be their top priority at this time. The Yankees, Brewers and White Sox have also all been tied to Story in the past but seem less likely after adding to their infield in other ways (Anthony Rizzo, Eduardo Escobar and César Hernández, respectively).

Athletics To Acquire Yan Gomes, Josh Harrison

By Steve Adams | July 30, 2021 at 2:21pm CDT

2:21pm: Shayna Rubin of the San Jose Mercury News reports the A’s are sending three minor leaguers to the Nats: catcher Drew Millas, righty Richard Guasch and righty Seth Shuman.

1:53pm: The Athletics have agreed to a deal acquiring catcher Yan Gomes and infielder/outfielder Josh Harrison from the Nationals, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan (via Twitter). The deal is pending medical review of the involved players.

Gomes, 34, is in the second season of a two-year, $10MM contract and has gotten out to a strong start, hitting at a .271/.323/.454 clip with nine homers, 11 doubles and a triple as the primary backstop in D.C — a demonstrable uptick from the league-average .226/.307/.387 slash posted by catchers so far in 2022. He’ll pair with Sean Murphy to give the A’s a pair of backstops who are outpacing that average level of offense behind the plate. Gomes also carries a terrific defensive reputation, which is supported by strong framing numbers and a robust 36 percent caught-stealing rate on the year.

Harrison, meanwhile, gives the A’s a versatile 34-year-old bench piece who has done nothing but hit since signing in Washington. He’s playing the year on a $1MM base salary and has turned in his best offensive showing since an All-Star 2014 campaign. Overall, Harrison has turned in a .291/.363/.431 slash in 450 plate appearances in parts of two seasons with the Nats. He’s experienced at second base, third base and in the outfield corners, so he’ll give manager Bob Melvin a right-handed bat with plenty of versatility for matchup-based lineup construction.

Millas, 23, was drafted by the A’s in the seventh round out of Missouri State by the A’s back in 2019. Baseball America labeled him a 40-grade prospect prior to the season, calling him “one of the top defensive college catchers” in his draft class. His bat is considered more of a question mark. Millas is hitting .255/.372/.359 in 266 High-A plate appearances this year.

Guasch, 23, has worked to a 4.67 ERA, 26.8 K%, and 11.4 BB% in 54 High-A innings this year.

More to come.

Cardinals, Twins Swap John Gant For J.A. Happ

By Steve Adams | July 30, 2021 at 2:18pm CDT

In a swap of two struggling pitchers, the Cardinals and Twins swapped righty John Gant for lefty J.A. Happ, per announcements from both clubs. Minnesota also picks up minor league southpaw Evan Sisk in the deal.

Gant, unlike Happ, is controllable for another year beyond the current campaign. The 28-year-old Gant has long worked as a swingman in St. Louis, pitching to a 3.72 ERA in 339 innings dating back to his 2016 debut with the Braves. He’s sporting a solid-looking 3.42 ERA on the season, but that’s a deceiving mark; Gant has issued a staggering 56 walks in 76 1/3 innings this year, to go along with an identical 56 punchouts. That lack of command makes him a surefire regression candidate if he can’t right the ship.

That said, while command has never been Gant’s strong suit, he’s also never struggled to quite this level. Gant walked a still-too-high 12.1 percent of batters from 2017-20, but he’s seen that mark balloon to 16.2 percent in 2021. Meanwhile, his 20.6 percent strikeout rate from 2017-20 has dropped, matching that 16.2 percent walk rate.

Gant is earning $2.1MM this year and is due a raise in arbitration this coming offseason, so there’s no guarantee he’ll be tendered by the Twins. But he’ll give his new club some length in the bullpen or perhaps even as a starter down the stretch, where he’ll have a couple months to prove he can improve his command and contribute next year.

In Happ, the Cards will pick up a veteran innings eater, but one whose struggles have been rather alarming. The 38-year-old has soaked up 98 1/3 innings for the Twins this season but been clobbered for a 6.77 ERA along the way. Happ has been impacted a bit by an elevated .332 average on balls in play, but he’s also been among the game’s most homer-prone pitchers, averaging 1.92 dingers per nine innings pitched.

Even more perplexing is that Happ’s struggles have only grown in recent weeks. He hasn’t made a quality start since April 28 and hasn’t surrendered fewer than three runs in an outing since the end of May. Dating back to June 1, Happ is toting an 8.13 ERA, and sticking to just the month of July, he’s yielded more runs (28) than innings pitched (27).

Even with the Twins taking back Gant’s contract and kicking in cash, it’s something of a surprise to see the Cardinals include a minor leaguer in this deal. Sisk isn’t one of the organization’s top prospects, but he’s turned in a 3.31 ERA in 32 1/3 innings out of the bullpen between Class-A Advanced and Double-A so far in 2021. He’s fanned a very strong 29.1 percent of his opponents, but he’s also walked batters at an ugly 12.7 percent clip. Sisk, the Cardinals’ 16th-rounder back in 2018, induces grounders at a strong clip and at least has a chance of eventually emerging as a lefty option in the Minnesota ’pen.

It’s probably more than most would’ve expected the team to get for the struggling Happ, but it underscores the Cardinals’ need to simply accumulate innings to fill out the rotation after doing little to address their questionable starting pitching depth in the offseason.

La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune first reported the Twins were moving a starting pitcher. Robert Murray of FanSided first reported that the Twins were acquiring Gant. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweeted Happ was going to Minnesota. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweeted that the Twins were also getting Sisk in the deal

Rays To Acquire Jordan Luplow

By Anthony Franco | July 30, 2021 at 2:00pm CDT

The Rays are picking up outfielder Jordan Luplow and reliever DJ Johnson from the Indians, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Pitching prospect Peyton Battenfield is heading back to Cleveland.

Originally a third-round draft pick of the Pirates back in 2014, Luplow found himself on the way to Cleveland after two relatively anonymous seasons with the Pirates. The trade came in November, 2018, sending Luplow and Max Moroff to Cleveland for Dante Mendoza, Tahnaj Thomas, and Erik Gonzalez. He had a career .194/.274/.371 line in 190 plate appearances when he left Pittsburgh, but he quickly unlocked a new level of production in Cleveland.

Luplow hasn’t played in the Majors for the Indians since May 26th because of a left ankle sprain. He has been on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Columbus for the past 10 days, however, so he’s likely near ready to return to the big league club, should the Rays need him there. He does have an option remaining, and with Manuel Margot and Brett Phillips backing up Kevin Kiermaier, Randy Arozarena, and Austin Meadows, manager Kevin Cash may not have an immediate need for Luplow.

Kris Bryant Rumors: Deadline Day

By Tim Dierkes | July 30, 2021 at 1:54pm CDT

With free agency looming in November, Kris Bryant has likely already played his last game as a Cub. The 29-year-old sports a 132 wRC+ in 374 plate appearances this year, and has shown versatility in playing at least 80 innings at both infield corners and all three outfield positions. With a $19.5MM salary on the season, Bryant is still owed about $6.5MM this year. The 2016 NL MVP winner seems quite likely to be traded today, if the Cubs can muster up a return better than a compensatory draft pick. We’ll put the latest Bryant updates right here…

Latest Updates

The Giants and Bryant “are one pairing to watch,” tweets Jon Morosi of MLB Network. The Cubs are making trades left and right, sending Craig Kimbrel to the White Sox and Javier Baez to the Mets today.

Earlier Updates

“It’s not a sure thing that [the] Cubs trade Bryant at all,” tweets Andy Martino of SNY. That would certainly qualify as a surprise.
The Rays are talking with the Cubs about both Bryant and Craig Kimbrel, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Rosenthal notes that the Cubs may not necessarily package the two together, and a deal does not appear to be close.
The Mets and Cubs “remain apart in Kris Bryant talks,” tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

Twins Listening On Maeda, Buxton, Donaldson

By Steve Adams | July 30, 2021 at 1:45pm CDT

1:45PM: The Twins are also listening to offers on righty Kenta Maeda, tweets Heyman. He’s signed through 2023 with an annual base salary of just $3MM, although he can earn an additional $10MM of incentives based on starts and innings pitched each season.

1:36PM: Both Buxton and Josh Donaldson are being shopped by the Twins, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets. Donaldson is in the second season of a four-year, $92MM contract with Minnesota.

12:56PM: The Twins have already traded Nelson Cruz and Jose Berrios, and they’re surely not done for the day, with several other players to shop to contending clubs. Center fielder Byron Buxton’s market has picked up steam since last night, tweets Dan Hayes of The Athletic, although it’s no sure thing he’ll be moved just yet. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that the Phillies “love” Buxton and are one six or seven teams inquiring with the Twins.

Buxton, 27, is currently on the 10-day injured list with a fractured hand that he sustained when he was hit by a pitch earlier in the summer. He’d only just come off the injured list after missing more than a month due to a strained hip flexor.

The Twins and Buxton have had extension talks as recently as this month, but those negotiations didn’t bring about a contract. Minnesota was reportedly willing to offer upwards of $80MM and include some incentives to boost the contract’s overall value. It’s not the first time the Twins and Buxton have talked extension, but nothing has come of those efforts just yet and Buxton now finds himself 15 months from reaching free agency at the conclusion of the 2022 season. He’s said even after those extension talks broke down that he hopes to remain in Minnesota long-term and is very much open to future talks.

Buxton is one of the toughest players in the game to value either in a trade or on an extension. He’s arguably the best defensive player in all of baseball, at any position, and is among the sport’s five or so fastest players as well. While the former No. 2 overall pick struggled at the plate in his first several seasons, he’s batted .282/.322/.581 with 33 homers, 44 doubles and four triples in his past 540 plate appearances — a star-level offensive output.

Of course, the problem is that those 540 plate appearances have been spread across three seasons. Buxton has been on the Major League injured list a whopping 11 times, and while some have come as the result of freak injuries — the current broken hand, a foot fracture suffered on a foul tip — the lack of durability is an obvious concern both for the Twins and for potential trade partners.

Buxton is nearing a return from the injured list, and his play so far in limited at-bats in 2021 would be MVP-caliber over the course of a full season. He’s batted .369/.409/.767 with 10 homers and 11 doubles in just 110 plate appearances. The Twins figure to set a high asking price, as they did on both Cruz and Berrios. Whether another club will part with impact young talent and take on the health risks associated with Buxton remains to be seen.

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