While just about any team in need of bullpen help would love to get its hands on Tigers closer Gregory Soto, Detroit is setting a lofty asking price, tweets Jon Morosi of MLB.com. The Tigers are seeking multiple MLB-ready or nearly MLB-ready pieces and will surely be focused on players with several years of club control remaining, given that Soto himself has three years of team control beyond the current campaign. The 27-year-old is averaging a massive 98.6 mph on his heater and has pitched to a 2.36 ERA with a 25.5% strikeout rate, a 10.3% walk rate, a 46.5% ground-ball rate and 19 saves so far in 2022. Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports that the Astros are among the clubs with interest. Houston hasn’t had a single left-handed reliever eclipse ten innings this season, so it’s no surprise they’d have their eyes on a high-end southpaw like Soto.
More rumblings on the bullpen market…
- The White Sox picked up Jake Diekman in a deal with the Red Sox this evening, but they’re still on the hunt for relief help. Bruce Levine of 670 the Score reports that the Sox are among the clubs with interest in Cubs reliever Mychal Givens (Twitter link). The veteran righty is quite likely to move by tomorrow evening’s deadline, as he’s on track to hit free agency after the season. Givens’ deal contains a 2023 mutual option, but those are rarely exercised by both sides. The righty is due what remains on a $3.5MM salary for this season, plus a $1.5MM buyout on the option. Givens, who signed with the Cubs over the offseason, has a 2.66 ERA across 40 2/3 innings. He’s punched out an excellent 29.7% of opponents, although his 11% walk rate is a bit higher than ideal. Nevertheless, a relatively affordable middle reliever with a strong track record and Givens’ bat-missing abilities should attract interest from contenders.
- As part of an overview on the Rangers deadline outlook, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News posits that reliever Matt Moore is the most likely player on the club to be traded. MLBTR’s Steve Adams explored Moore’s trade candidacy a few weeks ago, noting that the veteran southpaw has adapted well to a bullpen conversion after a career as a primary starter. Signed to a minor league deal over the winter, Moore made the big league roster two weeks into the season. He’s followed with 48 2/3 innings over 36 outings, posting a 1.66 ERA with an above-average 26.1% strikeout rate and a huge 52.5% grounder rate. An elevated walk percentage (12.1%) stands as a bit of a black mark on his record, but that combination of strikeouts and grounders will no doubt appeal to contending clubs. Jon Heyman of the New York Post wrote last night that Moore — as well as Tigers reliever Michael Fulmer — was on the Yankees radar, but it’s not clear whether those hurlers are still on the wish list after New York brought in Scott Effross and Lou Trivino in separate deals this afternoon.
I see what you did there.
Click bait.
Another deadline of Al Avila being a mf moron.
He still has around 19 hours to make a couple of good trades. Admittedly, this sort of thing is not exactly his strong point.
There are 2 scenarios for Detroit:
A- Avila asks for the moon, Jupiter, and 2 newly found galaxies for Soto. He ends up with nothing, keeps Soto, and then Soto ends up with TJ surgery by the end of the year.
B- Avila trades Soto and gets a bag of beat up softballs, 3 broken bats, and a used toilet bowl brush in return.
Al loves to say no to great offers. He had them for Fulmer & Boyd. Then, he makes awful trades for JV JD Castellanos. Worst GM in all of sports!
Fact. I think it’s time Chris fires him (ideally) or at least send him to Stevie Y’s How to GM school
It’s been a bussy kinda night for all of these teams.
*BUSY……
Bussy lol
Ruth or Gary?
No idea why my autocorrect would do that 🙂
Your user name says otherwise.
you reminded me of Erik Kratz saying “we’re throwing it back at Citizens Bank Park” the other day.
Ok. So what do the Jays need to give up for Soto the releiver?
No Moreno, No Groshans, No Martinez. No Tieddeman.
Not sure there’s a conversation to be had, is Detroit willing to settle for AA or A ball types?
They badly need multiple RP with gas, who can strike guys out. Fulmer and Soto would be nice.
But the next best 2 prospects (by rankings) are Lopez (eta 2023) and Jiminez (Eta 2024).
Both are middle inf prospects under 6′
Van Eyk and Kloffenstein (pitchers) have tumbled down the rankings and aren’t exactly lighting things up.
Is Biggio in play?
A trade for Gregory Soto without at least one of those 4 included is wishful thinking. Somebody will outbid you then, this time of year is overpay time if you are a contender. Houston and New York appear all-in on this year so the Blue Jays really need to pony up if they expect to beat those two this year.
I guess of those 4 Groshans is the easiest to part with as he has no spot on the club.
But Groshans for Soto seems like a drastic overpay, not just the usual deadline overpay.
Now Fulmer and Soto together? What else goes
Biggio and Groshans?
Soto will be part of the trade for the other Soto.
Yeah Avila is good at trading…. Lol every GM is lining up to work something… we haven’t received a useful player in his 7 years in a trade.
Yeah trade with Houston; the JV trade was great, not one player turned into a major leaguer.
Why is he still here?!?! He can’t draft, he can’t trade, and he signs bad FA just looking for money.
Gosh I miss Mr I, his son is a joke of an owner.
Tieddeman ++
Soto + Fulmer for Martinez.
Let’s go.
Soto is a such bum and the reason why he’s doing well right now is because he’s not throwing ANY off speed. He’s pretty much a one trick pony, he throws a fastball and a sinker that averages 98. Big whoop. His slider completely blows, and really majority of his advanced metrics are down from last year, he’s basically banking on the horizontal movement of his fastball and that’s it. He has horrible vertical movement on his pitches. His fastball usage is up nearly 35%, his sinker usage is down 20% and his slider usage is down 20% as well.
His FIP is nearly a run higher, and he’s gotten so lucky in a ton of situations, and you can tell he barely pitches with confidence out there. The second he gets hit, or hits a batter, or walks a guy, he breaks down until he luckily gets a double play, or lucks out of it. I’m just waiting, WAITING, for batters to wait on his fastball, because he has pretty horrid control this season, (I mean it is technically better than last season, at a 10.4% BB% compared to a 14.5%) but also he’s hit 7 guys this season, and once they start letting him miss the zone with his fastball, and forcing him to use his garbage slider he will start giving up home runs and blowing more games. His xERA is a 4.08, he has one of the lowest percentile rankings for exit velocity while tossing a fastball that is in the 98th percentile. His WHIP is only down .100 overall. He has a 0.3 HR rate this season compared to a 1.0 overall, while maintaining his average FB rate, however he is generating mainly straight line contact (nearly 20% higher) in Comerica, once batters start pulling the ball? Once players start making him throw his slider that has a 318 BA? He doesn’t strike out as many guys as you’d think for a dude hucking 98. Oh that’s because he can’t set it up at all with zero off speed usage. He lets up a lot of hard contact, has a middle line chase rate, he has like a 3.0% HR/FB rate, while managing a 92+ MPH EV, a 9.0% barrel rate, and a 45%ish barrel rate. I could go on, just peak at his baseball savant page, and you can just see the obvious, such obvious flaws. Once that horizontal movement fades on his fastball and sinker (his sinker isn’t really even that effective of a pitch, like he has a low BA on the pitch, but it’s nowhere near a pure strikeout pitch, he’s got like a 17% K rate on it) and teams force him to use his slider he’s toast.
He’s literally just humming in fastballs and getting lucky. Al would be an idiot (I mean he already is, he’s nearly won none of his trades, like the Jaimer trade, and I guess the Lange trade) not to trade him and get him out of here.
Why are we asking for so much, clearly teams see his flaws and would be stupid to give up multiple MLB talent for this guy. Please Al, get him out of Detroit! I’d take a little Caesar’s pizza coupon and a bucket of baseballs for this tire fire waiting to happen.
If Hoyer does deal Givens to the White Sox, he should insist the Sox take back Madrigal in the deal. What a useless, oft-injured “piece”. Nicky Two Strikes. Sure thing. What a sales job. LOL.
If a good club actually watched Gregory Soto for a while, they would not want him. “Multiple major league-ready pieces” indeed. That’s Pure Avila, trying to cover up past roster sins with the wild lefty.
Don’t wish for Soto if you are a fan of a contender. Fulmer might be useful to someone who can figure out how to right him. Run from Soto.
The Ilitch kid and Al Avila make a terrible combo. If you’re not in Michigan or pay much attention, then you have no idea. The posts here are Pure Michigan fact.
If I’m the Astros, I target Chaffin over Soto. Go for Chaffin and Derek Hill
What about a Jason Heyward for Joey Gallo swap? Change of scenery bad contract swap.
Mets in the mix? Vientos or Mauricio, cash and AA arm?
Could see Mauricio, Vientos, Khalil Lee with two lower level arms going for Soto, Haase and Skubal.
I only mention Skubal because others have, but Tigers should hang onto him.
White Sox have managed to completely neglect every other area of need except for RP since the off season. It is literally astonishing watching this team think that the offense they have is good enough.
Yes there have been many opportunities to grab what they need, but they are in foolish love with their youngsters. Gotta give to get.
At least Harrison finally helped win a game, by bunting in the ninth. They need some contact hitters, enough big swingers.
The “youngsters” have heaps of talent, but they can’t stay healthy. And as far as big swingers, they need to start hitting the damn ball outta the park. Their contact has actually been fine. It’s about the only part of their offense that has been consistent, with the lack of power and the completely and baffling stupidity on the bases.
Rock Hahn has been trying to wake up TLR to see what he needs….