Archives for 2021

Phillies – Nationals Game Postponed Due To COVID Issues

By Anthony Franco | July 28, 2021 at 5:05pm CDT

5:05 pm: There are twelve total positive cases, manager Dave Martinez told reporters (including Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post). Those are four players (including Turner) and eight staff members. Eleven of the twelve have been vaccinated, according to Martinez. Fortunately, no one involved feels seriously ill, which the skipper attributed to the high vaccination rate among those infected.

MLB has tentatively scheduled a doubleheader tomorrow to make up tonight’s game. That, of course, is pending additional follow-up testing.

4:34 pm: Tonight’s game between the Phillies and Nationals has been postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests within the Washington organization, Jeff Passan of ESPN was among those to report. “Multiple players and coaches” with the club have tested positive, according to Passan, who suggests the current outbreak might be the most significant MLB has seen in 2021. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic first reported the game might be in jeopardy.

Star shortstop Trea Turner was pulled from last night’s game after testing positive, and follow-up testing today revealed further spread among the club. The teams are scheduled to play tomorrow evening, although it certainly seems possible that game could also be in jeopardy given Passan’s report of multiple people now afflicted with the virus. Notably, tomorrow evening’s game is Max Scherzer’s final scheduled start before the trade deadline.

Washington is one of the teams to have crossed the 85% vaccination threshold for Tier 1 personnel, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com was among those to note. The Nationals also dealt with COVID spread at the beginning of the season, forcing the postponement of the first four games of their season.

Padres Reportedly Hoping To Include Eric Hosmer In Potential Joey Gallo Trade

By Anthony Franco | July 28, 2021 at 4:52pm CDT

It’s no secret the Padres have been interested in Rangers star Joey Gallo for at least the past few weeks. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News sheds some light on the teams’ conversations, reporting that San Diego has inquired about Texas’ willingness to acquire Eric Hosmer as part of the deal. If Texas were willing to take on some of Hosmer’s contract, the Friars could potentially make top outfield prospect Robert Hassell III available, according to Grant.

Ken Rosenthal and Dennis Lin of the Athletic reported earlier this week that the Padres were discussing potential Hosmer trades. The goal, of course, would be to clear some of the first baseman’s remaining contract from the books. Hosmer signed an eight-year, $144MM deal during the 2017-18 offseason. He’s playing this season on a $20MM salary (of which around $7.2MM remains through the end of the year), and he’ll make the same amount next season. He’ll make $13MM each season from 2023-25, unless he triggers an opt-out clause after the 2022 campaign.

Rosenthal and Lin reported that San Diego currently sits a couple million dollars north of the $210MM luxury tax threshold. While ownership is reportedly willing to exceed that mark, the Padres have also explored ways to duck back underneath, with a potential Hosmer deal part of that equation.

Unsurprisingly, Grant writes that the Friars would have to include some amount of cash to facilitate a swap involving Hosmer and Gallo. Hosmer’s hitting an average .265/.329/.378 through 363 plate appearances this season, hardly enough to hold much appeal to other teams given his significant price tag.

The Rangers’ long-term books are relatively open, which could make Texas more receptive to taking on some of Hosmer’s contract in order to add one of the game’s most dynamic prospects to the farm system. Hassell was the eighth overall pick in last year’s draft, and he’s hitting .307/.403/.455 across 325 plate appearances in Low-A this season. Baseball America ranked the 19-year-old the game’s #50 overall prospect in their midseason top 100 update.

Of course, doing so would require parting with Gallo, who is hitting a fantastic .223/.379/.490 with 25 home runs through 388 trips to the plate this year. With Gallo only controllable through 2022 and Texas looking unlikely to contend as soon as next season, he’s a sensible trade candidate. It doesn’t seem a lock he’ll be moved, as Texas has attempted to broker an extension with the slugger. However, Grant writes the sides have apparently “made little in the way of progress” on a long-term deal in recent days.

Failure to work out an extension wouldn’t make a Gallo trade a foregone conclusion, but it would make a deal seem likely. In addition to the Padres, the Yankees and Blue Jays have previously been tied to Gallo, and Grant adds that the Braves have “inquired” about his availability as well.

Gallo’s athletic enough to handle the outfield or first base, broadening his appeal to potential suitors. If a deal involving Hosmer, cash and prospects sent Gallo to San Diego, the two-time All-Star would likely step in as the Friars regular first baseman. Atlanta already has franchise icon Freddie Freeman entrenched at first and is surely looking at Gallo as a potential outfield option.

Mets Select Akeem Bostick

By Anthony Franco | July 28, 2021 at 4:42pm CDT

4:42 pm: New York has officially selected Bostick and designated Eickhoff for assignment to open active and 40-man roster space.

3:39 pm: The Mets are planning to select the contract of right-hander Akeem Bostick prior to this evening’s game against the Braves, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (Twitter link). The 26-year-old will be making his major league debut if he gets into a game.

Bostick was a second-round pick of the Rangers back in 2013. The Astros acquired him in January 2015, and he spent the next few seasons in the Houston farm system. Bostick never made the majors with the Astros, though, and was let go in 2019. He signed with the Cardinals but didn’t make an official appearance with the St. Louis organization because of last year’s cancelled minor league season.

New York signed Bostick to a minor league deal in May. He’s spent the year with Triple-A Syracuse, tossing 37 2/3 innings of 6.21 ERA ball across ten appearances (eight starts). Bostick’s peripherals aren’t much better, as he’s struck out a below average 16.8% of batters faced while walking an elevated 13.3% of opponents.

It hasn’t been a banner season for Bostick, but he is at least stretched out. He’s worked up to five innings in a few starts for Syracuse. With the Mets pitching staff hit hard by injuries, New York has tried to patch things together on the mound in recent days. Jerad Eickhoff was re-signed to start last night’s ballgame but didn’t fare well, allowing ten runs in 3 1/3 innings.

Astros Designate Austin Pruitt For Assignment

By Steve Adams | July 28, 2021 at 2:25pm CDT

The Astros have designated right-hander Austin Pruitt for assignment, tweets Jake Kaplan of The Athletic. Last night’s trade of Abraham Toro and Joe Smith to the Mariners in exchange for Kendall Graveman and Rafael Montero led to some roster shuffling, with infielder Robel Garcia being called up in Toro’s place and Graveman formally being activated in place of Smith. But the Astros needed another spot to activate Montero, and they’ll do so at the expense of Pruitt’s spot on both the 26- and 40-man rosters.

Pruitt, 31, is a Texas native whom the Astros acquired from the Rays in Jan. 2020. At the time, he was viewed as a potential fifth starter or swingman, having pitched to a 4.55 ERA with below-average strikeout rates but excellent control and an above-average 49.9 percent ground-ball rate in his past 116 innings with Tampa Bay. Like many Astros acquisitions, Pruitt stood out for top-of-the-scale spin rate on his curveball, even though it hadn’t translated into a breakout at the MLB level.

Unfortunately for both Pruitt and the organization, what was initially diagnosed as a bone bruise instead proved to be a hairline fracture in his pitching elbow. Pruitt eventually required surgery for the injury — a procedure that sidelined him well into the 2021 season. Pruitt made his Astros debut not two weeks ago and ultimately only appeared in a pair of games, yielding a pair of solo homers in 2 2/3 innings with one strikeout and no walks.

All in all, Pruitt has a 4.89 ERA in 202 1/3 Major League innings with sub-par strikeout rates but strong walk numbers and an above-average grounder rate. He’s out of minor league options, however, so any club that acquires him will need to carry him on the big league roster. If he does land with another club and stick, he’d be controllable three more years via arbitration. The Astros can trade him between now and Friday’s deadline, otherwise he’ll likely head to outright waivers and be available for any team to claim.

Houston’s 40-man roster is now at 39 players.

Marlins Trade Starling Marte To Athletics For Jesus Luzardo

By Steve Adams | July 28, 2021 at 1:30pm CDT

In a deadline-season stunner, the Athletics and Marlins have agreed to a straight-up, one-for-one swap sending outfielder Starling Marte to Oakland in exchange for left-hander Jesus Luzardo. The teams have announced the move. The Marlins are reportedly paying the entirety of the $4.57MM remaining on Marte’s $12.5MM salary for the 2021 season. Marte will be a free agent at season’s end.

The A’s haven’t been mentioned as a primary suitor for Marte, who’s previously been linked to the Giants, Astros and Yankees. That said, Marte is capable of playing all three outfield spots and would improve just about any team’s outfield mix. The 32-year-old is hitting .305/.405/.451 with four home runs, 22 steals and a career-high 11.6 percent walk rate in 275 plate appearances so far in 2021.

Marte missed time this season with a fractured rib he sustained on a diving catch in center field, but he’s been excellent when healthy, continuing what has been a generally underrated career to date. He’s a former All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner with a pair of 20-homer seasons under his belt and an overall .288/.345/.450 batting line through parts of ten Major League seasons between Pittsburgh, Arizona and Miami.

Acquiring Marte allows the A’s to trot out a regular outfield of Marte, Mark Canha and Ramon Laureano. The trade likely cuts into Stephen Piscotty’s playing time, though his right-handed bat will still be utilized against left-handed pitching. Any of Piscotty or the other three outfielders could get a turn at designated hitter against left-handed starters, given Mitch Moreland’s longstanding struggles against southpaws and generally underwhelming results so far in 2021.

More broadly, the move speaks to the fact that the Athletics view themselves as legitimate contenders with an immediate window to make a deep postseason run. Parting with Luzardo is an extraordinarily steep price to pay, but he’s struggled both in the Majors and in Triple-A this season. It’s possible the willingness to trade him is a reflection that the A’s are now questioning whether he’ll ever fulfill the potential that made him one of the top ten overall prospects in baseball a few years back. However, it’s also likely that Oakland views the forthcoming postseason run as something of a do-or-die moment.

The A’s are a perennially low-payroll club, and they’re set to have one of their largest and most expensive arbitration classes in recent memory. They’ll see each of Sean Manaea, Chris Bassitt, Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Frankie Montas and the aforementioned Laureano reach arbitration this winter — to say nothing of more complementary players like Chad Pinder, Tony Kemp, Burch Smith and J.B. Wendelken. It’s a sizable group that the Athletics have to at least wonder about retaining, from a financial standpoint, so it makes good sense that Oakland is pushing strongly to surround that core with the best talent possible when they’re in possession of a Wild Card spot and a manageable six games back in the division.

That said, it’s still a legitimate stunner to see the 23-year-old Luzardo traded in a rental deal — even for a player as good as Marte. Luzardo was regarded as one of the five to ten best prospects in all of baseball from 2019-20, and he did little to sway that thinking when he debuted as a 21-year-old and pitched to a 3.68 ERA with a 25.5 percent strikeout rate and a 6.8 walk rate through his first 71 innings.

Entering the 2021 season, Luzardo was a popular breakout pick and was viewed clear member of the A’s rotation, but it’s instead been a nightmarish season for him. The lefty posted uneven results through his first five starts of the season, looking excellent at times but also yielding five runs in two different outings. He then fractured his pinkie finger in what he called an “immature” mistake, hitting his hand on a table while playing video games just hours before a scheduled start. Luzardo spent nearly a month on the shelf and pitched poorly upon his return, serving up 11 runs in 10 innings — this time out of the bullpen.

Luzardo was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas on June 21, where he’s been stretching back out as a starter. The results have not been pretty, however. He’s pitched in eight games, tallying just 29 innings while limping to a 6.87 ERA with uncharacteristically poor strikeout (19.3) and walk (11.1) percentages. Las Vegas is an extremely hitter-friendly setting, but it’s impossible to simply chalk struggles of that magnitude up to a difficult environment.

The trade brings Luzardo a perhaps needed change of scenery and represents a homecoming, as the lefty attended high school in the Miami area. It’s fair to view him as something of a project, given this year’s struggles, but even a few months ago the notion of trading Luzardo for a rental player would have seemed utterly preposterous. It’s easy to see why the Marlins jumped at the chance to acquire him, even if they already have an impressive stockpile of young pitching.

In fact, that could well be part of a broader overall gambit. The Marlins have reportedly been eyeing long-term options in center field and at catcher, and adding Luzardo to a core group that already includes Sandy Alcantara, Pablo Lopez, Trevor Rogers, Sixto Sanchez, Elieser Hernandez, Max Meyer, Edward Cabrera, Braxton Garrett and several other intriguing arms gives the Fish one of the deepest stocks of controllable, near-MLB pitching talent in all of baseball. The Marlins could well look to parlay some of that wealth of pitching depth into a new, controllable option at a position of need — as they did a couple years back when they surprisingly shipped then-rookie right-hander Zac Gallen to the D-backs in exchange for infielder Jazz Chisholm.

Setting aside the initial, jarring reaction to a low-budget club acquiring a premium rental in exchange for a pitcher who entered the year as a top 10 prospect in all of MLB — there’s some sense to both sides of the equation. The A’s are fortifying their roster in what could be their last run at the postseason with this iteration of their core. Luzardo has struggled badly in 2021, but acquiring a player with his raw talent in a rental swap is too tantalizing to pass up for a club in their position. Not only does Luzardo possess a front-of-the-rotation ceiling, but his demotion to Triple-A has pushed his free agency back to the 2026-27 offseason, at the earliest.

Today’s trade sets the stage for additional acquisitions by both parties. The A’s aren’t spending any money on Marte, meaning they should still have some resources with which to work. The Marlins’ crop of arms is even deeper now, and that allows GM Kim Ng and her team to more aggressively explore the market for controllable young hitters. It’s as close to a blockbuster swap as you’ll see in a straight one-for-one flip, but it’s unlikely this is the final piece of the deadline puzzle for either team.

Craig Mish of the Miami Herald broke the news (via Twitter) that the A’s were close to a deal for Marte. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported a deal had been reached. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported that Luzardo would go the Marlins in the deal (Twitter link). ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on the financial component of the swap (Twitter links).

Reds Designate Josh Osich For Assignment

By Steve Adams | July 28, 2021 at 1:08pm CDT

The Reds announced that they’ve designated lefty Josh Osich for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster for right-hander Mychal Givens, whose previously reported acquisition from the Rockies has now been formally announced by the club.

Osich, 32, signed a minor league deal with the Reds last December and has pitched 14 1/3 innings out of the bullpen this season. He’s yielded nine runs (eight earned) on 15 hits and five walks with nine strikeouts in that time, resulting in a 5.02 ERA. Those numbers are in line with Osich’s career marks; he’s spent parts of seven seasons in the Majors with five big league clubs, pitching to a combined 5.02 ERA, a 20.7 percent strikeout rate and a 9.0 percent walk rate.

The Reds can try to find a trade partner for Osich between now and Friday’s deadline, but it seems likelier that they’ll place him on outright waivers. If he goes unclaimed, Osich has enough service time to reject an outright assignment to Triple-A Louisville and instead test free agency.

Reds Acquire Mychal Givens

By Steve Adams | July 28, 2021 at 12:59pm CDT

The Reds have added their third bullpen arm in the past 12 hours, announcing the acquisition of right-hander Mychal Givens from the Rockies. Colorado will receive minor league right-handers Case Williams and Noah Davis in return. Cincinnati also picked up Luis Cessa and Justin Wilson from the Yankees in a late trade last night.

Givens, 31, will join the Reds as a rental for the remainder of the season before becoming a free agent. He’s being paid $4.05MM this year and has about $1.48MM of that sum yet to be paid out between now and season’s end. The longtime Orioles righty landed in Colorado at last year’s deadline, and while he had a bit of a rough time in May before eventually landing on the IL with a back strain, he’s been sharp as of late.

Overall, Givens has a 2.73 ERA on the year, which he’s complemented with strong 27.4 percent strikeout rate but an elevated 11.3 percent walk rate. His 31.3 percent ground-ball rate is, as usual, well below the league average. Givens has always been more of a fly-ball pitcher, and while he managed to avoid many home runs early in his career in spite of that tendency (and in spite of the AL East), he’s been more homer-prone in recent years. Dating back to 2019, he’s yielded 23 home runs in 115 frames (1.8 HR/9).

Still, Givens is an accomplished reliever with a long track record of missing bats and performing in high-leverage situations. He’s posted a sub-4.00 ERA in six of his seven MLB seasons (2021 included) and fanned at least a quarter of his opponents in all seven of his seasons — even earlier in his career when the league-wide strikeout rate was demonstrably lower than in today’s Major League climate.

Bullpen help has been an acute need for Cincinnati for much of the season, as the Reds have dealt with injuries to key relievers Tejay Antone, Michael Lorenzen and Lucas Sims at various points. The Cincinnati bullpen ranks last in the Majors in ERA (5.36) and FIP (4.86). Reds relievers, to their credit, do rank sixth in baseball with a collective 26.7 percent strikeout rate, but they also have the game’s second-highest combined walk rate, at 12 percent. No team’s relief corps has surrendered more home runs than Cincinnati’s 66. Part of that has to be attributed to their homer-friendly home park, but it’s been an ugly year for Reds relievers on the whole.

Of course, much of those bullpen woes have been self-inflicted. The Reds traded closer Raisel Iglesias to the Angels in a salary dump that netted them right-hander Noe Ramirez and Leonardo Rivas. (Ramirez was released in Spring Training and returned to the Angels; he’s now pitching well for the D-backs.) Cincinnati also non-tendered Archie Bradley, their primary deadline pickup from last summer’s trade deadline. Bradley has spent much of the 2021 season on the injured list in Philadelphia but at the time was a rather surprising cut by the Reds.

The subsequent bullpen woes have no doubt played a role in the Reds’ seven-game NL Central deficit and the six-game gap they’re facing in the NL Wild Card standings. The quick flurry of bullpen strikes shows that they’re endeavoring to patch that hole and make a push for a postseason berth in the final third of the season. Given their “early” deals (relative to the rest of the league more so than the trade deadline itself, which is barely more than 48 hours away), it’s likely we’ll see the Reds continue to explore further upgrades.

Williams was the Rockies’ fourth-round pick in last summer’s draft, but he was traded to the Reds alongside Jeff Hoffman in the deal that brought Robert Stephenson and outfield prospect Jameson Hannah to Colorado.

Williams has spent the season with the Reds’ Class-A affiliate, pitching to a 5.55 ERA with nearly as many walks (33) as strikeouts (34) in 47 innings of work. The 19-year-old Williams has also hit six batters and thrown eight wild pitches.

It’s been a rough debut for Williams, but he’s about three years younger than his average competition in that league and is effectively jumping to A-ball after not pitching in more than a year due to last year’s scrapped seasons. The Rockies have seen a good bit of their front office and player evaluation team depart, so it’s perhaps not surprising to see them reacquire a player with whom they’re already rather familiar.

The 24-year-old Davis has made 13 starts with Cincinnati’s Class-A Advanced affiliate in 2021, pitching to a 3.60 ERA with a sharp 27.6 percent strikeout rate but a lofty 12.5 percent walk rate. He’s induced grounders at a 38.9 percent clip.

Davis relies primarily on a four-seamer and slider, per Baseball America, who ranked him as Cincinnati’s No. 15 prospect entering the year. He also throws a curveball that’s a bit behind those offerings. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen currently ranks him 36th in Cincinnati’s system, calling him a potential sixth starter/spot starter and noting that Davis had Tommy John surgery during his junior season at UC Santa Barbara.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported (via Twitter) that the Reds were nearing a deal to acquire Givens. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweeted that an agreement had been reached. MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reported (via Twitter) Williams’ inclusion in the deal. Feinsand added that Davis was the second piece going to Colorado.

Rangers Sign Jack Leiter

By Steve Adams and Anthony Franco | July 28, 2021 at 11:45am CDT

The Rangers announced Wednesday that they’ve signed No. 2 overall draft pick Jack Leiter. He’ll join the club on a bonus worth a bit more than $7.9MM, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports (via Twitter). That checks in slightly above the $7.7899MM slot value associated with the selection. It’s also more than $1MM north of the $6.5MM bonus for #1 overall pick Henry Davis and seems likely to wind up as the top bonus in this year’s class.

That’s not too surprising considering Leiter’s pedigree. The 21-year-old has been touted as one of the likely top picks in the draft for more than a year and only reinforced that hype with a dominant season at Vanderbilt in 2021. In 110 innings, the 6’1″, 205-pound righty pitched to a pristine 2.13 ERA while punching out 41.6 percent of his opponents. His 179 total strikeouts tied with Vandy teammate Kumar Rocker for tops in the country among Division I hurlers.

Leiter entered the draft as the consensus top arm available. Each of Kiley McDaniel of ESPN, Baseball America and Keith Law of the Athletic placed the righty as the best pitcher on their pre-draft rankings and among the five most talented players in the class overall. Leiter’s arsenal is headlined by a mid-90’s fastball with excellent life that plays above barrels at the top of the strike zone. His assortment of secondary offerings are solid, and Leiter has the athleticism and mechanics to project as an obvious starting pitcher. He’s polished enough that he should arrive in the majors rather quickly.

Latest On Max Scherzer

By Steve Adams | July 28, 2021 at 10:44am CDT

As of last night, there were at least eight clubs interested in Nationals ace Max Scherzer, who is open to waiving his no-trade rights but said to have a preference for a West Coast club that has the ability to keep him longer-term.

Scherzer figures to be one of the most talked-about trade candidates in recent memory, but his stay on the market may not go down to the wire like some other stars. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the Nationals want to get a framework for a trade in place as quickly as possible, in order to leave enough time to work out the details surrounding Scherzer’s no-trade rights and any compensation he’d require to waive them. MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that some involved in negotiations believe an agreement could come together by tonight.

While Scherzer has been connected to more than a quarter of the league, Rosenthal and Morosi both suggest that the three NL West contenders — the Padres, Dodgers and Giants — are the likeliest destinations at this time. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand suggested something similar yesterday. Both SNY’s Andy Martino and The Athletic’s Jayson Stark, meanwhile, have indicated that Scherzer would not approve a trade to either New York club.

Any of the three NL West contenders make for a sensible landing spot. The Giants hold the best record in Major League Baseball and ought to be motivated to aggressively strengthen their club down the stretch. The Dodgers’ rotation strength has dwindled since the season began, and the Padres are without several key rotation options themselves at the moment.

Of the bunch, only the Giants could acquire Scherzer without incurring any luxury-tax penalization. Scherzer’s deferral-heavy contract comes with an annual luxury hit of just under $30MM, and the prorated remainder of that hit as of this writing would be $10.49MM. (It’d drop to $10.03MM after the deadline.) The Dodgers, already in the top tax bracket for year-one offenders, would pay a 62.5 percent tax on that $10.03MM overage. The Padres are barely over the threshold at the moment and exploring some ambitious ways to drop back below the barrier; at the moment, they’d pay a 20 percent overage penalty.

Scherzer, who turned 37 yesterday, has pitched to a 2.83 ERA with a 35.1 percent strikeout rate (tying a career-high) and a 4.2 percent walk rate in 105 innings this year. He’s playing on a $35MM salary this year in the final season of a seven-year, $210MM contract, though the bulk of that 2021 salary is deferred to 2028. Schezer was scratched from his Saturday start against the Orioles due to a triceps issue, though the Nationals have indicated that an MRI came back clean. He’s listed as the probable starter for Thursday’s game against the Phillies. Of course, that recent health scare only muddies the water as teams try to put together a framework with the Nats.

Rockies Rumors: Cron, Givens, Marquez

By Steve Adams | July 28, 2021 at 9:26am CDT

Rockies first baseman C.J. Cron left last night’s game with a groin strain and will be further evaluated today. Manager Bud Black said after the game that the Rockies have their “fingers crossed” that Cron won’t require a trip to the 10-day injured list (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Nick Groke), though that very comment is seemingly an acknowledgement of such a possibility. If Cron does head to the injured list, that would likely dash any hopes of the Rockies trading him — or at least of receiving much at all in return. (Injured players can still be traded.)

Cron has had a solid bounceback from last year’s knee surgery. Signed over the winter to a minor league contract with just a $1MM base salary, he’s batted .245/.357/.460 with 14 home runs. Cron played in just 13 games with the Tigers last season before incurring his season-ending knee injury, but he showed a massive uptick in plate discipline during that time — one that he’s carried over into 2021. This year’s 12.1 percent walk rate is more than double the career mark that Cron carried into the year. As a pending free agent with defensive limitations, he wouldn’t have commanded a huge return, but a healthy Cron earning barely more than league minimum would be a player of interest to contending clubs, even if it’s only as a bench bat against lefties.

More out of Denver…

Righty Mychal Givens is drawing plenty of interest on the market, tweets Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. That’s to be expected, as Givens is another impending free agent on a Rockies club that has zero postseason aspirations. He’s also a reasonably established late-inning reliever in the midst of a solid season, having pitched to a 2.73 ERA in 29 1/3 innings. Givens’ 27.4 percent strikeout rate is down about six percent from its 2019 peak, and his 11.3 percent walk rate is his highest since posting an 11.5 percent mark back in 2016. Both have been trending in the right direction over the past couple months, however. Givens would obviously help a contender’s bullpen, and with about $1.42MM of his $4.05MM salary owed beyond Friday’s deadline, he’s a pretty affordable option for other teams.
The Rockies remain “dead set” on keeping right-hander German Marquez, writes Nick Groke of The Athletic in his latest mailbag. Manager Bud Black plainly said earlier this month that the Rockies wouldn’t trade Marquez, noting that ownership and the front office felt similarly. Black indicated that the Rockies had already informed Marquez and several other players that they wouldn’t be moved at this year’s deadline. It’s a puzzling stance to take for a club in Colorado’s position, particularly if, as Groke later writes in response to another question, owner Dick Monfort wants interim Bill Schmidt to become the full-time general manager in the offseason. It’d be one thing if a club didn’t want an interim GM to make what could be a franchise-altering trade, but if the Rockies’ eventual GM search leads them back to the same executive who’s already pulling the strings, then there’s little reason to not at least listen to offers on Marquez — even if the preference is to keep him.

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