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Braves Acquire Eddie Rosario

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The Indians and Braves have announced a deal sending corner outfielder Eddie Rosario and cash considerations to Atlanta in exchange for corner infielder Pablo Sandoval. It’s the first of two outfield pickups on deadline day for the Braves, who reacquired Adam Duvall from Miami as well. Atlanta also picked up Joc Pederson earlier this month as part of an effort to rebuild the outfield in the wake of Ronald Acuña’s ACL tear.

Rosario is currently on the 10-day injured list with an intercostal strain but is expected to return at some point in the coming weeks. Signed to a one-year deal over the offseason, Rosario struggled over his time in Cleveland, hitting .254/.296/.389 with seven home runs in 306 plate appearances. He’d been a slightly to well above-average bat in each of his final four seasons with the Twins, however, and the Braves are clearly betting on a return to that form.

The acquisition cost is minimal. Sandoval has picked up sporadic playing time, serving mostly as a designated pinch-hitter. The 34-year-old is hitting .178/.302/.342 over 86 trips to the plate. He’s almost certainly being included as a salary offset, with about a third of his $1MM figure still to be paid.

For Cleveland, the appeal is in shedding an undisclosed amount of Rosario’s salary. The Indians will cover some of the deal, but Rosario’s $8MM contract still has a little less than $2.8MM to be paid out. The Braves will assume some of that tab to add a lefty bat to their outfield mix while the Indians save some money in a season where they’re no longer competing anyways.

Blue Jays Acquire Jose Berrios

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12:02pm: The Blue Jays have announced the trade.

11:31am: The Blue Jays and Twins have a deal in place sending right-hander Jose Berrios to Toronto, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). MLB.com’s Jon Morosi reports that top pitching prospect Simeon Woods Richardson is part of the return. Infielder Austin Martin, the No. 5 overall pick from last summer’s draft, is also going to Minnesota, reports Dan Hayes of The Athletic.

Jose Berrios | Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Berrios, 27, gives the Blue  Jays perhaps the second-best pitcher on this summer’s trade market, trailing only Max Scherzer, who is expected to join the Dodgers later today. Unlike Scherzer, he’s controllable beyond the 2021 season, as he’s only in his second arbitration season. Berrios is earning $6.1MM in 2021 and will be due one more arbitration raise this winter before reaching free agency upon conclusion of the 2022 campaign.

Berrios will join Hyun Jin Ryu and the resurgent Robbie Ray atop the Toronto rotation, comprising what now looks to be a formidable trio. He’s in the midst of one of his finest seasons, pitching to a 3.48 ERA with a career-best 25.7 percent strikeout rate, an excellent 6.5 percent walk rate and a career-high 43.6 percent ground-ball rate. He’s posted those numbers through 20 starts and a total of 121 1/3 frames, standing out as one of the dwindling number of pitchers in today’s game who averages six-plus frames per outing.

Of course, Berrios isn’t simply durable on a per-game basis. He’s been one of the game’s most durable starting pitchers overall, throughout the entirety of his career. He’s never been on the Major League injured list and is currently on pace for what would be his fourth straight season of a full slate of starts. He made 26 appearances back in 2017 — the final season he was optioned to the minors — and has since made 32 starts, 32 starts, 12 starts (a full workload in last year’s 60-game season) and 20 starts so far in 2020.

During that time, he’s never posted an ERA above 4.00 and has pitched to an overall 3.76 mark with a 24.2 percent strikeout rate and a 7.2 percent walk rate. Berrios may not quite be a Cy Young-caliber, top-of-the-rotation ace, but he’s as consistent and durable as it comes for a second/third starter.

The Blue Jays paid a steep price to acquire a year and a half of that consistency. Martin, last year’s No. 5 overall pick, was viewed by many in the industry as the best all-around player in the draft class. It was a legitimate surprise when he slipped beyond the No. 2 overall pick and fell to the Jays with the fifth selection. He’s currently ranked as the No. 16 prospect in the game at MLB.com, No. 21 at Baseball America and No. 23 at FanGraphs.

Martin starred at Vanderbilt in college, hitting .368/.474/.532 in his college career. The Jays dropped him right into Double-A to begin 2021, his first professional season, and it hasn’t looked like he’s missed a beat. In 250 plate appearances, Martin has posted a .281/.424/.383 with a pair of homers, ten doubles, two triples and nine stolen bases. He’s walked at a hearty 14.8 percent clip against a 21.2 percent strikeout rate. That batting line is 32 percent better than league average in an immensely pitcher-friendly Double-A environment, by measure of wRC+.

The main question on Martin is simply one of where he’ll play. He’s split his time evenly between shortstop and center field in Double-A this season. At the time of the draft, some scouts questioned whether he could stick at shortstop in pro ball, but the Jays have been giving him that chance. Even if shortstop isn’t his ultimate home on the diamond, however, most scouting reports on the 22-year-old Martin agree that his athleticism will translate to third base, center field or second base. The general expectation surrounding Martin is that he’ll be an above-average regular regardless of where he settles in on the diamond.

Woods Richardson has had a rougher season as Martin’s teammate in Double-A, but he’s only 20 years old — nearly five years younger than the average age of his competitors at that level. He entered the season widely regarded as a top 100 prospect, and while he’s since dropped off Baseball America’s list following the draft, he still ranks 49th at FanGraphs and 68th at MLB.com.

The Jays initially acquired Woods Richardson from the Mets in the trade that send Marcus Stroman to Queens. He’s made 11 starts in New Hampshire this season and posted a grisly 5.76 ERA, although that number is inflated by a .359 average on balls in play and an abnormally low 58 percent strand rate. Woods-Richardson has walked too many hitters (12.8 percent) but also fanned a third of his opponents so far on the year. Woods Richardson is away from the club right now, pitching for Team USA in the Olympics (as is fellow newly acquired Twins pitching prospect Joe Ryan).

FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen writes that Woods Richardson works with both a four-seamer and a two-seamer, also praising the righty’s changeup and the shape of his curveball. MLB.com’s report praised Woods Richardson’s changeup as the best in Toronto’s system, and the general consensus on the right-hander is that if he can add a little velocity as he continues to fill out, he has the makings of a No. 2 or No. 3 starter.

It’s an impressive haul for the Twins, though the organization has to be disappointed that the season came to this. Minnesota entered the year as defending AL Central champs and hopeful contenders, but their season spiraled out of control early and has yet to recover. That’s prompted the front office to pivot to what certainly looks like it’ll be an accelerated retooling of the roster.

The Twins still have an impressive crop of controllable hitters, and the additions of Martin, Woods Richardson, Ryan and Drew Strotman in their first two trades of deadline season give them four upper-minors talents who could impact the club by 2022 (perhaps 2023, in Woods Richardson’s case). Parting with Berrios means bidding adieu to the best pitcher the organization has developed in more than a decade, but they’ll hope that the recent influx of talent quickly supplements their foundation of young hitters and produces another arm or two of Berrios’ caliber before long.

Royals Notes: Moore, Duffy, Merrifield, Barlow

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The Royals parted ways with Danny Duffy yesterday, trading the veteran left-hander to the Dodgers for a player to be named later.  Given Duffy’s long history with the Royals, it was a tough call for GM Dayton Moore, who told reporters (including Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star) that Duffy was “a family member” for the organization.

It remains to be seen if more difficult decisions are in store for Moore and company, as the Royals have a number of interesting trade chips.  However, Moore indicated that the club would be more apt to move rental players, as opposed to players who are controlled beyond the 2022 season.  By name, Moore said that the team didn’t want to move any of Whit Merrifield, Carlos Santana, or Mike Minor, though said the Royals would remain “open” to ideas.

The Royals signed both Santana and Minor as part of a rather busy offseason, indicating that the team felt it was to some extent on the other end of its semi-rebuild phase.  After a hot start, Kansas City has since faded to a 45-56 record, though it makes sense that the Royals wouldn’t want to deal all their veterans and entirely start from scratch heading into 2022.

Merrifield’s name has been floated in trade rumors, as the Royals have reportedly been at least a little more willing than in the past to hearing what other clubs had to offer for the multi-position speedster.  However, the Royals were known to be putting a hefty price tag on Merrifield, and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports that Merrifield “is likely” to remain in K.C. beyond today’s deadline.

Given Moore’s hesitations about moving veterans controlled for just one more season, it seems even more far-fetched that Kansas City would trade a player like Scott Barlow, though The Athletic’s Jayson Stark hears that multiple clubs have some interest in the right-hander.  Barlow has a 2.70 ERA/3.36 SIERA and a 31% strikeout rate over 50 innings out of the Royals’ bullpen this season, and has been generally solid since making his MLB debut in 2018.  Barlow is controllable through the 2024 season, so the Royals could demand for quite a bit in a reliever-hungry trade market, assuming they’re inclined to deal Barlow at all.

Blue Jays Are Leading Suitor For Jose Berrios

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With Max Scherzer now likely headed to the Dodgers, Twins right-hander Jose Berrios becomes the clear top starter left on the trade market. The 27-year-old righty is earning $6.1MM in 2021, is controlled through 2022 via arbitration, and is in the midst of arguably his best season yet. Through 121 2/3 innings, Berrios has pitched to a 3.48 ERA with a strong 25.7 percent strikeout rate and an excellent 6.5 percent walk rate. Berrios has been as durable as they come, and while he might not be the bona fide, Cy Young-caliber ace that Scherzer is, he’s a clear option to start in a playoff game for most contenders.

It originally looked as though Berrios was a long shot to move, but the interest in him has been intense. The Athletic’s Dan Hayes reported yesterday that market for Berrios had exceeded the Twins’ expectations, making a deal increasingly likely. Virtually every contender or fringe contender has inquired, as you’d expect. Not all of them will remain in the mix as talks continue into the eleventh hour of deadline season, so with that in mind, we’ll run down today’s latest Berrios rumblings in this post…

  • The Blue Jays “appear” to be the leading suitor for Berrios at the moment, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets.

Earlier Updates

  • Darren Wolfson of 1500 SKOR North in the Twin Cities tweets that the Twins have at least four offers in hand, coming from teams on both coasts. The Padres, Wolfson adds, “will be in it until the end.” That meshes with last night’s report from AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, wherein he indicated that Berrios is now the Padres’ “primary target.”
  • The Padres, Rays and Mets are among the teams still talking to Berrios this morning, per The Athletic’s Jayson Stark (Twitter link). The Twins’ asking price has been too steep for the Mets for weeks, and that appeared to still be the case last night as well. The Rays haven’t been extensively tied to Berrios for long, but MLB Network’s Jon Heyman listed them as one of the most aggressive clubs on Berrios last night. It’s been a whirlwind deadline for the Rays, who’ve added Nelson Cruz but also subtracted some notable pieces in Diego Castillo and Rich Hill. Berrios would immediately become Tampa Bay’s top starter, at least as long as Tyler Glasnow is out. Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes that both the Rays and Blue Jays are still very much in the running.
  • The Yankees and Mariners also remain in the mix for Berrios, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, who also notes that interest in Berrios has picked up even since last night (Twitter links). It’s been an active deadline in both the Bronx and Seattle, although the Yankees have yet to address their starting pitching. Seattle has added Tyler Anderson, but he’s a rental and more of a back-of-the-rotation arm. Beyond that, with myriad injuries throughout their expected starting staff, the Mariners could certainly use multiple starters.

White Sox Sign Kyle Crick To Minor League Deal

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The White Sox have signed reliever Kyle Crick to a minor league deal, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Crick, 28, posted a 4.44 ERA, 19.6 K% and 17.8 BB% in 24 1/3 innings this year, though he was able to avoid allowing any home runs.  Crick worked at 92.6 miles per hour this year, up from 2020, but well down from his 95-96 days of 2017-19.  The Pirates designated Crick for assignment and ultimately released him earlier this month.

Crick was drafted 49th overall out of high school back in 2011 by  the Giants as compensation for the loss of free agent Juan Uribe, luring him away from TCU.  Crick was viewed as a potential frontline starter back then.  Never able to work out his control issues, by 2017 Crick was permanently moved to the bullpen.  In January 2018, the Giants traded Crick and Bryan Reynolds to the Pirates for Andrew McCutchen.  Crick had success for the ’18 Pirates as a setup man, but he hit the IL for triceps tightness in April 2019.  At the end of that season, Crick underwent surgery on his right index finger after a fight with Felipe Vazquez, after Crick refused to turn off his music.  He dealt with shoulder and lat strains last year, making only seven appearances.  Crick then landed on the COVID-IL to start this season, and dealt with a triceps strain back in May.

If the White Sox add Crick to the 40-man roster, they’ll be able to control him beyond this year as an arbitration eligible player.  The Sox recently added Ryan Tepera in a trade with the Cubs, who will join Liam Hendriks, Ryan Burr, Garrett Crochet, and Michael Kopech in high-leverage situations.

Starlin Castro Suspended Thirty Games For Violation Of Domestic Violence Policy, Will Be Released By Nationals

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Major League Baseball has suspended Nationals infielder Starlin Castro for thirty games without pay for a violation of the MLB – MLBPA joint domestic violence policy. Under the terms of the policy, he’s officially barred from participating in any postseason games this year. He’ll also pay a fine of an undisclosed amount.

Castro was placed on administrative leave on July 16 after domestic violence allegations were made against him. Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo strongly suggested afterwards that Castro wouldn’t again play for the club. The team announced this morning that he’ll indeed be released upon the conclusion of his suspension.

The 31-year-old signed a two-year, $12MM deal with the Nationals over the 2019-20 offseason. His suspension will result in the forfeiture of approximately $1MM in salary.

Phillies, Pirates Swap Minor Leaguers

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The Phillies are acquiring minor league lefty Braeden Ogle from the Pirates, tweets Robert Murray of FanSided.  The Pirates will receive catcher Abrahan Gutierrez, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  Mackey also notes that the trade “likely plays into the Pirates’ impending Rule 5 crunch,” in that Ogle would be more likely to be taken than Gutierrez.  The Phillies have since announced the trade.

Ogle celebrates his 24th birthday today – happy birthday, Braeden!  The southpaw was drafted in the fourth round out of high school by the Pirates back in 2016, signing for above slot.  As of 2019, when he was in A-ball, Ogle moved to a bullpen role.  After finishing 2019 in High-A, Ogle was able to jump to Triple-A this year after the lost 2020 minor league season.  In 31 2/3 innings, he’s punched out nearly 31% of batters, but has also walked nearly 17%.  Ogle hasn’t appeared on a prospect list for a while, but before 2018 Baseball America assigned him a 50 grade on account of a 94-96 mile per hour fastball as well as a decent slider and changeup.

Gutierrez was one of the players the Pirates were to receive in the Tyler Anderson trade with the Phillies that fell through, notes Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  Gutierrez, 21, is hitting .288/.420/.429 in 2019 Low-A plate appearances this year. Prior to the season, Baseball America gave him a 40 grade, noting that Gutierrez “projects as a backup catcher if he can quicken his bat speed and make harder contact.”  He projects as an average defender, according to BA.  Gutierrez originally signed with the Braves out of Venezuela in 2017, but he was one of the 13 prospects who had his contract voided when GM John Coppolella was banned from MLB for life for circumventing international signing rules.  Gutierrez kept his $3.53MM bonus from the Braves, but then was able to sign a new contract with the Phillies.

The Phillies’ bullpen currently sports a 4.57 ERA.  Lefty Ranger Suarez has been their highest-leverage reliever of late.  They have another southpaw in Jose Alvarado, who has an 8.68 ERA and 21 BB% in his last ten appearances.

Rays Acquire Shawn Armstrong From Orioles

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The Rays have acquired reliever Shawn Armstrong from the Orioles, for cash considerations, according to Baltimore.  Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com was first with the news.

Armstrong, a 30-year-old righty, was thought to be a saves candidate for the Orioles back in March.  However, he started his season with trips to the paternity and COVID-19 list.  After that Armstrong struggled mightily, with an 8.55 ERA in 20 innings – including five home runs allowed.  By June Armstrong was designated for assignment by Baltimore, clearing waivers and joining Triple-A Norfolk.  Armstrong spoke to Kubatko about his tumultuous start to the season, a good reminder of the human side of the game.  Things went better for Armstrong in his 17 innings there, as he posted a 3.18 ERA with a 26.6% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate.

The Rays would need to add Armstrong to their 40-man roster to deploy him in their big league bullpen, which has endured significant turnover this year.  Pete Fairbanks has seen the highest-leverage work this month, but he just hit the IL yesterday for shoulder inflammation.  Collin McHugh went on the IL recently as well.  Also yesterday, Diego Castillo was sent to the Mariners, with JT Chargois joining the Rays.  Matt Wisler, acquired in June, has played a prominent role this month.  And Drew Rasmussen and J.P. Feyereisen were acquired from the Brewers back in the May Willy Adames deal.  Nick Anderson, one of the club’s top relievers from last year, is currently on a minor league rehab assignment.

If the Rays do put Armstrong on their 40-man roster, they’ll retain control of him as an arbitration eligible player, since he entered the season with just over three years of MLB service time.

Blue Jays, Athletics Reportedly Interested In Yan Gomes

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8:55am: There is indeed a sense in the organization that Gomes could be moved today, tweets Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. That could, however be the final move for them, he adds.

Meanwhile, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet tweets that the Blue Jays do have “real interest” in bringing Gomes back to the organization.

1:59am: The Blue Jays and Athletics are among the teams interested in Nationals catcher Yan Gomes, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). The veteran backstop is widely expected to wind up on the move by Friday afternoon’s deadline as the Nationals continue to move players off the big league roster. Gomes recently missed a couple weeks with an oblique strain but he was reinstated from the injured list this morning.

As an impending free agent, Gomes is a logical trade candidate for the suddenly-retooling Nats. He’s on a $6MM contract for 2021, with about $2MM still to be paid out. That’s not too onerous a sum, although it might be noteworthy enough to concern the A’s, who have shown little willingness to take on payroll in any midseason deals to this point.

Gomes is having a nice season, hitting an above-average .271/.323/.454 across 235 plate appearances. That’s particularly strong output for his position, considering catchers entered play on Thursday with a cumulative .226/.307/.387 slash leaguewide.

The Jays would be something of an odd fit for Gomes, who actually broke in with Toronto back in 2012. The club already has Reese McGuire, Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen on the 40-man roster. That glut likely contributed to the Jays decision to trade young backstop Riley Adams to Washington for Brad Hand. That said, Gomes would add a veteran presence to the mix, and Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins are plenty familiar with the player from their days with the Indians.

A Gomes pursuit would be a more straightforward move for the A’s. Sean Murphy is having another good season, but backup Aramis Garcia has a .205/.239/.318 line in 94 plate appearances. Gomes would be an obvious upgrade and could help shoulder some of Murphy’s workload for the stretch run.

Mets Eyeing Multiple Cubs Players, Trevor Story

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The Mets and Cubs have discussed various permutations of deals including right-hander Zach Davies and one of Kris Bryant or Javier Baez, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (all Twitter links). SNY’s Andy Martino reports that the Mets are looking for pitching depth and a bat, with Bryant, Baez and Rockies shortstop Trevor Story among their targets. The Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders tweets that the Mets are “very” interested in Story, though Saunders has also suggested that if the Rockies trade Story, it’ll likely happen close to the actual deadline.

Reports connecting the Mets to Bryant, in particular, date back to the offseason. He’d give the Mets the right-handed bat they covet and a defensive upgrade over the reportedly available J.D. Davis at third base, in addition to providing a corner outfield option depending on injuries or pitching matchups. Baez, meanwhile, could step in for the currently injured Francisco Lindor until he’s able to return next month, then slide over to second base. That same scenario could apply to Story.

Of the three bats in question, Bryant is having far and away the best all-around season. The former Rookie of the Year and NL MVP is slashing .267/.358/.503 with 18 home runs. Bryant endured a miserable slump in June, collecting just nine hits in 88 plate appearances and going all month without a multi-hit game, but he’s bounced back in July with a hearty .290/.405/.516 showing. He’s earning $19.5MM in 2021 and comes with the highest price tag of this high-profile trio.

Baez, earning $11.65MM in his final year of club control, has shown the most power of the bunch but also the most concerning levels of plate discipline. He’s ripped 22 homers, but as his .248/.292/.484 slash shows, his on-base abilities (or lack thereof) are somewhat troublesome. Baez has walked at just a 4.2 percent clip this year, and while he’s always been a free swinger, his current 36.3 strikeout rate is the worst among all qualified hitters. That said, he and Lindor would form a dynamic defensive middle infield tandem.

The 28-year-old Story, like Baez and Bryant, is a free agent at season’s end. He’s having arguably the worst season of his career in 2021, hitting .240/.312/.429 (84 wRC+) with 13 home runs. Eight of those long balls have come since June 20. On the one hand, that’s encouraging. On the other, he’s batted .211 with a .270 OBP in that time. Story’s track record speaks for itself — he batted .292/.355/.554 with 83 home runs from 2018-20 — but he hasn’t really found much consistency in 2021. He’s earning $18.5MM this season.

As for Davies, he’d provide the Mets with a rental starter to help cover innings at the back of the rotation while their top starters mend. Jacob deGrom is currently on the injured list, while neither Noah Syndergaard nor Carlos Carrasco has thrown a pitch for the Mets so far in 2021. (Carrasco is expected to return this weekend.) The need for help at the back of the rotation has been exacerbated by injuries to David Peterson, Joey Lucchesi, Jordan Yamamoto and others.

Even among the Mets’ healthy starters, right-hander Taijuan Walker has begun to struggle, allowing 16 runs in his past 9 1/3 innings. The Mets already went out and acquired Rich Hill, but it seems they’re still understandably keen on stockpiling as much depth as possible for the final couple months of the season — and for a hopeful postseason bid.

The 28-year-old Davies has made 22 starts and pitched to a 4.39 ERA for the Cubs, but he’s averaged fewer than five innings per outing and carries some rather unsightly strikeout and walk rates. Davies’ 16.3 percent strikeout rate is third-lowest among qualified starters, while his 12.1 percent walk rate is the highest of any qualified starter in MLB. That 4.2 K-BB% differential is also last among qualified starters. Given that profile and the fact that he’s a pending free agent with an $8.625MM salary, Davies probably doesn’t carry too much standalone value.

It’s been a mostly quiet deadline season thus far for the Mets, who lead the NL East by three and a half games. The second-place Phillies, however, completed their second improbable walk-off comeback of the week yesterday to continue putting pressure on their rivals. Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News tweeted last night that owner Steve Cohen is pushing his front office to be active and improve the club, so it seems fair to anticipate some fireworks coming from Queens today.

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