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Giants Do Not Trade Carlos Rodon, Joc Pederson Prior To Deadline

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5:00pm: There was no last-minute trade of either Rodon or outfielder Joc Pederson, tweets Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic. Both remain with the Giants and are now ineligible to be traded with the deadline passed. The Giants can still issue a qualifying offer to both players, with Rodon standing out as a particularly obvious candidate to receive one.

2:20pm: The Yankees have also checked in on Rodon, though they’re seen as a “long shot,” Jon Heyman of the New York Post tweets.

Jayson Stark of The Athletic adds that Rodon’s $22.5MM player option has indeed been a complicating factor in talks to this point, given the aforementioned downside it presents an acquiring club.

1:20pm: The Giants are in discussions with teams about Carlos Rodón, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Slusser suggests they’re not motivated to sell low, however, indicating they’d only accept an offer for “full value.”  Slusser lists the Phillies, Twins, and Cardinals as interested parties.  At 51-52, the Giants sit 4.5 games out for a wild card spot and have 16.6% playoff odds as calculated by FanGraphs.

Rodon dominated through his first 16 starts last year for the White Sox, but then seemed to wear down and was handled carefully the rest of the year.  The White Sox chose not to issue a qualifying offer, and Rodon went into free agency as a high-risk, high-reward pitcher.  After the lockout, the Giants gave Rodon a two-year, $44MM deal that allows him to opt out of the remaining $22.5MM for ’23 if he reaches 110 innings, a condition the lefty has already met.

So far, Rodon has silenced any concern about his health, as he’s tossed 123 innings without a dropoff in velocity or production, resulting in his second consecutive All-Star nod.  Over his last five starts, Rodon has punched out over 36% of batters faced, whiffing ten in each of his last two.

As with any opt-out clause, Rodon will exercise it if he thinks he can top the remaining $22.5MM.  Barring a significant injury, it seems likely Rodon will indeed explore free agency again unless he’s extended by a new team.  The Mariners and Yankees, respectively, have landed the top two starters on the trade market in Luis Castillo and Frankie Montas.  Back-end options Jose Quintana and Jake Odorizzi are off the board as well.

A healthy Rodon is a potential Game 1 or 2 playoff starter, and can impact a playoff race.  However, he is owed over $7.5MM for the remainder of the season, plus the downside risk of his opt-out clause and the chance of a repeat of last year’s late fade.  He’ll need a suitor with financial flexibility and tolerance for risk.  If the Giants don’t find an offer to their liking, they can still tender a qualifying offer to Rodon after the season.

Marlins Not Expected To Trade Pablo Lopez

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4:57pm: Talks are not expected to result in a deal, Feinsand tweets. Lopez will remain a Marlin.

4:36pm: The Yankees are in talks with the Marlins on Lopez, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The Dodgers, however, have dropped out of the bidding, per Feinsand.

Aug. 2, 4:12pm: The Dodgers “might” be making a late push to land Lopez, tweets Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, who adds that the asking price on the Miami right-hander remains quite high.

Aug. 1: Reports from earlier this week suggested the Marlins were “no longer dismissing calls” (in the words of Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald) about Pablo Lopez’s availability, and thus it isn’t surprising that the aggressive Dodgers have reached out.  Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports that Lopez is among the many players the Dodgers have discussed as tomorrow’s trade deadline looms.

The Twins and Cardinals have also been linked to Lopez in trade rumors, and given Lopez’s value as both an immediate rotation boost and a longer-term answer, it’s probably safe to guess that just about every contender has checked in with Miami general manager Kim Ng.  Of course, since Lopez is controlled via arbitration through the 2024 season, he has a ton of value to the Marlins as well, particularly since Miami has enough talent on the roster that they’re surely aiming for a return to contention in 2023.

That means that if the Marlins did move Lopez, it would very likely be for players who are ready to contribute in the big leagues right away, as opposed to just intriguing prospects.  Since the asking price for Lopez is sure to be huge, not many teams could necessarily meet the Marlins’ demands….but the Dodgers could certainly be one of those clubs, given their deep farm system.

It was a little over five years ago that Lopez was dealt as part of a four-player package from the Mariners to the Marlins in exchange for David Phelps, a deal that ended up being a significant win for Miami.  After posting decent numbers over 31 starts in 2018-19, Lopez has quietly been one of the more effective starters in baseball, posting a 3.33 ERA, 48.1% grounder rate, 25.7% strikeout rate, and 6.9% walk rate over 278 2/3 innings since the start of the 2020 season.

A rotator cuff strain sidelined Lopez for most of the second half of the 2021 season, but he has rebounded with another strong performance this year.  An above-average strikeout pitcher, Lopez has posted the best whiff rate of his career, while also getting a lot of grounders and soft contact (even if his low barrel-rate numbers suggest that batters can really capitalize on the relatively few occasions they do connect).

Clayton Kershaw is only signed through the 2022 season, as the long-time Dodgers ace seems to be taking a season-by-season approach to the remainder of his career.  Beyond Kershaw, Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney are scheduled for free agency this winter, so trading for Lopez would give Los Angeles another controllable arm to go along with Julio Urias (arb-controlled through 2023), Dustin May (2025), and Tony Gonsolin (2026).

Blue Jays Acquire Mitch White From Dodgers

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The Blue Jays and Dodgers have agreed to a trade sending righty Mitch White from Los Angeles to Toronto in exchange for minor league pitchers, tweets FanSided’s Robert Murray. The teams have since announced the trade, with White and minor league infielder Alex De Jesus headed to Toronto in exchange for minor league righty Nick Frasso and minor league lefty Moises Brito.

White, 27, has been an up-and-down member of the Dodgers’ staff for the past couple seasons, generally pitching well when with the big league club but never getting a consistent, long-term spot in the rotation or in the bullpen. He’s logged 38 games, 14 of them starts, from 2020-22 and recorded a sturdy 3.58 ERA with a 22% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate and a 42.8% ground-ball rate in 105 2/3 innings.

A second-round pick back in 2016, White had a hiccup in his first run at the Triple-A level in 2019 but has generally fared well both there (six earned runs in 43 2/3 innings) and in the Majors over the past two seasons. White is in his final minor league option season, so he’ll need to stick on the Jays’ roster in 2023 and beyond. He’ll presumably be a back-of-the-rotation candidate, though he could also emerge in a role held by fellow Dodger-turned-Blue-Jay Ross Stripling, serving as a long man and spot starter. (Stripling, of course, has since moved into the Toronto rotation.)

The 20-year-old De Jesus, meanwhile, ranked 18th among Dodger farmhands on Baseball America’s midseason update, drawing praise for his plus arm, above-average power and a potentially average hit tool. De Jesus has split the 2022 season between Class-A and Class-A Advanced, hitting at a combined .272/.386/.447 clip with 11 homers, 20 doubles and three triples. He’s sporting an unsightly 28.6% strikeout rate but also an encouraging 14.9% walk rate.

Frasso, a fourth-rounder in 2020, was the Jays’ No. 13 prospect on Baseball America’s summer rankings. He boasts an outstanding 0.74 ERA with a 41.6% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate in 36 2/3 innings split across two Class-A levels. The former Loyola Marymount right-hander has primarily faced younger competition thus far, so he’s not yet tested against more advanced hitters, but it’s an impressive stat line nevertheless. Frasso had Tommy John surgery in 2021 and has thusly had his workloads limited in his return effort, but the 6’5″ righty has reached triple digits with his heater and gives the Dodgers a power arm to dream on.

There’s little in the way of public info on Brito, a 20-year-old righty who’s just 12 games into his first professional season. He’s slightly older than his average competition in the Dominican Summer League, but his 1.86 ERA and gaudy 32-to-1 K/BB ratio through 29 innings of work stand out.

Twins Acquire Michael Fulmer From Tigers

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The Twins announced they’ve acquired reliever Michael Fulmer from the Tigers. Pitching prospect Sawyer Gipson-Long is headed back to Detroit.

Fulmer is one of the better rental relievers available on the summer market. The 29-year-old has worked to a 3.20 ERA across 39 1/3 innings, his second straight season with strong run prevention. Fulmer’s 23.1% strikeout rate and 11.5% swinging strike percentage are more solid than great, but he’s consistently done an excellent job keeping the ball in the yard.

Minnesota can’t count on Fulmer sustaining this season’s 2.2% HR/FB rate, but he also did well to avoid hard contact last year. He’s induced plenty of infield fly balls over the past couple seasons, and he’s held opposite-handed hitters to a woeful .190/.256/.298 line on the season. That’s no doubt appealing to a Minnesota club that only has Jovani Moran as a left-handed bullpen option with Caleb Thielbar on the injured list.

Fulmer is an impending free agent, so he’s a pure stretch run play with the Twins a game ahead of the Guardians in the AL Central. He’s not as impactful an addition as this morning’s pickup of All-Star closer Jorge López from Baltimore, but he becomes a much-needed extra boost to a relief corps that has been the club’s Achilles heel. Fulmer is making $4.95MM, around $1.8MM of which is still to be paid out.

Detroit picks up a 6’4″ right-hander in the deal. Gipson-Long was a sixth-round pick out of Mercer in 2019. He’s split the year between High-A Cedar Rapids and Double-A Wichita, thriving at the former destination while struggling at the latter. Overall, he owns a 4.23 ERA across 87 1/3 innings with a decent 24.2% strikeout rate and a minuscule 5.3% walk percentage.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported the Twins were acquiring Fulmer. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported that Detroit would receive Gipson-Long in return.

Mariners Acquire Curt Casali, Matthew Boyd From Giants

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The Mariners added a backup catcher and strengthened their pitching depth just prior to Tuesday’s deadline, acquiring catcher Curt Casali and lefty Matthew Boyd from the Giants in exchange for minor league righty Michael Stryffeler and catcher Andy Thomas. The Casali and Boyd were initially reported separately but were announced by the teams as part of the same swap. Seattle announced that left-hander Tommy Milone has been released to make room on the 40-man roster for Casali. Boyd is on the 60-day injured list and does not yet require a roster spot.

Casali adds some depth behind Seattle starter Cal Raleigh. The 33-year-old backstop has had a nice showing in limited playing time with the Giants this season. Through 102 plate appearances, Casali is hitting .231/.325/.370, connecting on four homers and a trio of doubles. That’s a nice blend of power and patience from a depth catcher, even when paired with Casali’s typically lofty level of swing-and-miss. He’s also plenty familiar with newly acquired ace Luis Castillo from the pair’s days together in Cincinnati.

Seattle’s No. 2 backstop Luis Torrens has underwhelmed this year, hitting .208/.262/.225 in 42 games. Torrens can’t be optioned to the minor leagues, so Casali’s addition could conceivably squeeze him off the 40-man roster entirely. Raleigh will continue to play most days amidst a breakout season, and the M’s may not want to carry three backstops on the active roster. Casali is currently on the injured list after suffering an oblique strain last month, but he’s on a rehab assignment and should be reinstated to the majors shortly. Casali is making $2.6MM this season, around $928K of which has still to be paid. He’ll be a free agent at season’s end.

Boyd, 31, inked a one-year, $5.2MM deal with the Giants after a mostly solid four-year run with the Tigers. A brutal showing in 2020 skewed his numbers in his final few seasons with Detroit, but Boyd often flashed quality bat-missing ability and typically posted low walk rates throughout his time in the Detroit rotation. He twice looked as though he may be among the more appealing arms available at a trade deadline — first in 2019 when he was sitting on a 3.95 ERA and 152 strikeouts in 114 innings and again in 2021 when he’d posted a similar ERA and reduced home-run rate (albeit with a diminished strikeout rate).

The Tigers held onto Boyd both times, however, declining to move him in ’19 because they (justifiably) set a huge asking price given Boyd’s three-plus remaining seasons of club control. The 2020 season brought little opportunity to move Boyd, thanks to the aforementioned struggles (6.71 ERA in 12 starts), and by the time last year’s deadline rolled around, Boyd’s season was in jeopardy due to that forearm issue.

It’s unlikely that Boyd will be able to return and build up to a starter’s workload this season — but the Mariners, particularly after landing Castillo, don’t really need Boyd to step into the rotation anyhow. He could, however, provide them with an experienced left-hander to plug into the bullpen. Seattle hasn’t had much luck with its left-handed bullpen arms this season, so taking what’s surely a low-cost flier on Boyd is a sensible enough peripheral move at this stage of deadline season.

Stryffeler is a 26-year-old reliever who’s spent the 2022 campaign in Double-A. A right-hander, he owns an excellent 2.27 ERA through 35 2/3 frames. Stryffeler has fanned an elite 37.7% of batters faced but walked an elevated 12.6% of opponents. The Lake Erie college product will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter if he’s not added to San Francisco’s 40-man roster.

Thomas, meanwhile, was the Mariners’ fifth-round draft pick just last summer. He’s had a nice start to the season in High-A, where he’s posted a strong .264/.400/.444 with nine homers, a dozen doubles and a huge 16.2% walk rate. Thomas was a senior sign out of Baylor University, it should be noted, so he’s already 23 and is playing against notably younger competition. Time will tell how he fares against more advanced opponents, but the early results are promising. From a defensive perspective, he’s caught a roughly average 27% of attempted base thieves, but Baseball America questioned his overall receiving skills at the time of the draft.

Milone, 35, had been in his second stint with the Mariners. The journeyman southpaw has carved out a 12-year big league career, at times enjoying solid runs as a starter (2012-15, in particular) and as a reliever. The past several seasons have been a struggle for the soft-tosser, however, as evidenced by a 6.33 ERA in 69 2/3 frames. Milone was on the 15-day injured list due to a cervical sprain, but if he’s healthy in the season’s final couple months, he could latch on as a depth arm with another club.

In 944 1/3 innings at the big league level, Milone has a 4.60 ERA with a below-average 17.5% strikeout rate but an excellent 5.6% walk rate.

Robert Murray of FanSided first reported that Casali was headed to Seattle in exchange for Stryffeler (Twitter link). Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that Boyd was going to Seattle as well.

Orioles Acquire Brett Phillips

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4:40pm: The Rays announced that Phillips was traded to the Orioles in exchange for cash.

4:28pm: The Orioles are acquiring outfielder Brett Phillips from the Rays, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Tampa Bay designated Phillips for assignment yesterday after acquiring Jose Siri from the Astros. He was reported to have interest from multiple clubs earlier this morning.

Phillips, 28, is an all-world defender with prolific strikeout issues that have weighed down an otherwise enviable blend of power and speed. He’s hitting just .147/.225/.250 this season and carries a tepid career .190/.276/.350 batting line in 883 plate appearances. That said, Phillips has a more passable .212/.296/.407 slash against right-handed pitching, has swatted 28 home runs and has gone 36-for-41 in the rough equivalent of one and a third full season’s worth of plate appearances at the MLB level. He can also be controlled for another two seasons via arbitration.

It’s unlikely the O’s have an everyday role in mind for Phillips — barring a more stunning trade of an established outfielder such as Cedric Mullins or Austin Hays. But there’s good value to Phillips’ blend of speed, defense and power coming off the bench.

Red Sox Listening On Nathan Eovaldi, Rich Hill

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4:35PM: The Cardinals, Phillies, and Twins are all interested in Hill, as per WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford.

1:24PM: Most of the talk regarding the Red Sox in recent days has centered on designated hitter J.D. Martinez and the since-traded Christian Vazquez, but Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports that the Sox are open to dealing right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, though they’re not planning to simply take the best offer presented for him. Boston is, after all, still on the periphery of the Wild Card race — and Eovaldi represents a potential qualifying offer candidate. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic adds that lefty Rich Hill is “almost certainly in play” as well.

Eovaldi stands as one of the higher-profile names on the rental market. However, he’s a fairly pricey option, earning $17MM this season (with just over $6MM of that sum yet to be paid out), and has had some struggles since a June trip to the injured list. A back injury sidelined Eovaldi for a month, from June 12 through July 15, and the right-hander was torched for 16 earned runs in his first three starts upon returning — a total of just 13 innings.

Eovaldi held a potent Astros lineup scoreless through 6 1/3 frames last night, which may ease some concerns, but the right-hander’s fastball velocity has been down since sustaining that back injury. After averaging 96.9 mph on his heater from Opening Day through June 3, Eovaldi has an average of 94.5 mph on the pitch in his past five appearances — including a 94.3 mph average last night.

It bears emphasizing that even with the recent struggles, Eovaldi is sporting a respectable 4.11 ERA with a roughly average 23.1% strikeout rate, a brilliant 4.3% walk rate and an above-average 47.8% grounder rate. Interested parties will surely place a premium, to some extent, on the right-hander’s considerable postseason resume as well. Eovaldi was an absolute juggernaut in the 2018 playoffs, propelling the Red Sox to a World Series victory with 22 1/3 innings of 1.61 ERA ball. He stumbled in the 2021 ALCS against the Astros, but Eovaldi nonetheless has a career 3.14 ERA and 41-to-8 K/BB ratio in 43 postseason frames.

As for the veteran Hill, he’s playing on a one-year, $5MM deal with some incentives that could reasonably boost the contract by another $500K to $1MM. Hill’s incentives package kicks in at 110 innings pitched, and he’s currently at 70 2/3 frames on the year. In that time, he’s pitched to a 4.20 ERA with a 19.5% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate. He’s averaging under five innings per start, so it’s unlikely he reaches the 150- and 160-innings thresholds at which his most lucrative bonuses are slated to kick in, but he stands a decent chance of upping that salary a bit if he can remain healthy.

Mariners To Acquire Jake Lamb

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The Mariners are acquiring Jake Lamb from the Dodgers for cash considerations, tweets Robert Murray of FanSided.

Lamb, 31, signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in March and had his contract selected in late June.  Much of his brief time with the Dodgers has been spent at designated hitter, but Lamb in left field and at first base for the club.  He’s primarily served as a third baseman in his nine-year career.  Lamb’s 2017 season was a highlight, as he hit 30 home runs and made the All-Star team as a member of the Diamondbacks.  A left-handed hitter, Lamb has struggled against southpaws in his career, though he’s shown a reverse platoon split in more recent years.  He’s hit well with a 121 wRC+ in his brief 77 big league plate appearances this year.

Lamb, a native of Seattle, may have become expendable for the Dodgers upon today’s acquisition of a more accomplished lefty bat, Joey Gallo.  Lamb can complement right-handed hitters for the Mariners, including Eugenio Suarez, Kyle Lewis, and Ty France.

Phillies, Blue Jays Reportedly Finalists In Noah Syndergaard Bidding

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4:22pm: MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that the Syndergaard bidding is down to the Phillies and Blue Jays.

8:09am: The Phillies are believed to have Syndergaard “at the top of their list” as they seek rotation upgrades, tweets Jayson Stark of The Athletic.

12:43am: The Blue Jays are “making a play” for Angels starter Noah Syndergaard, tweets Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Blue Jays Nation’s Brendon Kuhn was first to report the club’s contact with the Halos. Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets that the Jays, Braves and previously-reported Phillies were among the teams with recent interest in Syndergaard, although he notes that Atlanta’s acquisition of Jake Odorizzi could take them out of the market.

Morosi suggests a Syndergaard trade before the 6:00pm EST deadline is becoming “more likely.” That’s not particularly surprising, as the 29-year-old has looked like a strong trade candidate for weeks. The Halos have fallen well out of playoff contention, and Syndergaard is an impending free agent. Los Angeles also couldn’t tag him with a qualifying offer next offseason. Syndgeraard received and rejected a QO from the Mets last year, and the collective bargaining agreement prohibits players from receiving a QO multiple times in their careers. Should the Angels hang onto the righty past the trade deadline, they could lose him to free agency for no compensation.

It seems likelier that general manager Perry Minasian and his staff will find a contender willing to relinquish some future considerations to add Syndergaard for the stretch run. He’s made 15 starts and worked 80 innings of 3.83 ERA ball. He doesn’t throw as hard or miss as many bats as he did during his early-career days with the Mets, but he’s a quality strike-thrower who induces a decent number of grounders. Syndergaard still looks like a solid mid-rotation arm whom some clubs could view as a possible Game 3 or Game 4 playoff starter.

Syndergaard is among the costlier options on the market, however. He signed a $21MM deal with the Halos last winter, and approximately $7.5MM of that tab has yet to be paid out. Perhaps the Angels will be willing to kick in some money to facilitate a trade, but if they’re insistent on an acquiring club picking up the remainder of the money, the prospect return could be fairly minimal.

The Cardinals landed José Quintana from the Pirates tonight, subtracting one of the more appealing rental arms from the market. It’s a rather thin group of impending free agent starters, particularly if the Red Sox and Giants elect to hold onto Nathan Eovaldi and Carlos Rodón, respectively. Beyond Syndergaard, perhaps the top remaining rental starter likely to change hands is Drew Smyly. Controllable arms who could be available in the hours leading up to the deadline include Tyler Mahle, Pablo López and Zach Plesac.

Mariners To Acquire Matthew Boyd

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4:15pm: The Mariners and Giants announced this swap as part of a broader trade sending catcher Curt Casali and Boyd from San Francisco to Seattle in exchange for a pair of minor leaguers. You can read MLBTR’s full breakdown of the deal here.

3:56pm: The Mariners are set to acquire left-hander Matthew Boyd in a trade with the Giants, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter link). He’s currently on the injured list and has spent the entire season to date rehabbing from September surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon, but Boyd makes for an interesting roll of the dice and could give the M’s a quality arm late in the season if he’s able to return from that surgery.

Boyd, 31, inked a one-year, $5.2MM deal with the Giants after a mostly solid four-year run with the Tigers. A brutal showing in 2020 skewed his numbers in his final few seasons with Detroit, but Boyd often flashed quality bat-missing ability and typically posted low walk rates throughout his time in the Detroit rotation. He twice looked as though he may be among the more appealing arms available at a trade deadline — first in 2019 when he was sitting on a 3.95 ERA and 152 strikeouts in 114 innings and again in 2021 when he’d posted a similar ERA and reduced home-run rate (albeit with a diminished strikeout rate).

The Tigers held onto Boyd both times, however, declining to move him in ’19 because they (justifiably) set a huge asking price given Boyd’s three-plus remaining seasons of club control. The 2020 season brought little opportunity to move Boyd, thanks to the aforementioned struggles (6.71 ERA in 12 starts), and by the time last year’s deadline rolled around, Boyd’s season was in jeopardy due to that forearm issue.

It’s unlikely that Boyd will be able to return and build up to a starter’s workload this season — but the Mariners, particularly after landing Reds ace Luis Castillo, don’t really need Boyd to step into the rotation anyhow. He could, however, provide them with an experienced left-hander to plug into the bullpen. Seattle hasn’t had much luck with its left-handed bullpen arms this season, so taking what’s surely a low-cost flier on Boyd is a sensible enough peripheral move at this stage of deadline season.

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