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Red Sox Notes: Bloom, Deadline Plans, First Base, Sale

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A little under three weeks ago, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom wasn’t yet sure how the Red Sox might approach the trade deadline, or whether not the team might lean more towards buying or selling.  Since then, the Sox have been doing their best to force the front office’s hand, winning nine of their last 10 games and moving to a 49-43 record.  The Red Sox are two games out of a wild card berth and, despite a competitive AL East and AL playoff picture in general, it looks like Boston will be some kind of factor in the coming weeks and months leading up to October.

That said, Bloom’s overall perspective about the deadline hasn’t entirely changed, though naturally he is happy with how the Sox have been playing.

“I think the this bigger picture of how we’ve gotten here and how it’s come through a lot of progress from a lot of good performances from our long-term core — whether that’s young players or veteran players — is really encouraging in terms of where the arrow is pointing,” Bloom told Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com.  “We’re gonna keep that in mind, too.  We feel like we’re making a lot of progress and we just want keep layering on more and more positive things toward that ultimate goal of a championship club.”

Bloom was clear that long-term competitiveness is still the front office’s overarching goal, yet competing this season certainly seems possible.  The CBO noted that the core’s development “has not only given us a chance to stay in this race in 2023, but I think has made us — and hopefully a lot of people who care about this team — really optimistic about where this is headed longer-term….Obviously what happens in the short-term, on some level we’re gonna need to factor that in and be responsive to it.  As long as we keep seeing the things we wanna see from our core guys, that’s obviously something that we’re gonna keep front and center.”

Trade talks have already been ongoing in advance of the August 1 deadline, and Bloom again implied that the Red Sox (like many teams) won’t be clear buyers or sellers.  The Sox could try to make deals that fall into either category, or they “might just be baseball trades that help everybody accomplish what they’re trying to accomplish.”  While the standings could certainly provide more clarity over the next two weeks, there are enough teams at least on the fringes of contention that Bloom feels “the [trade] conversations are just gonna require more creativity.”

While Bloom didn’t cite any areas of need heading into the deadline apart, Bloom did make a point of saying that the Red Sox weren’t looking for first base help, since the team is happy with its tandem of Triston Casas and (when he isn’t at DH or third base) Justin Turner.  It amounts to a vote of confidence in Casas, who has finally started hitting after a lengthy cold streak to begin the season.  Casas hit .184/.300/.342 over his first 180 plate appearances, but has since delivered a much improved .297/.383/.515 slash line in his last 115 PA.

Obviously the Red Sox weren’t going to just give up on a former top prospect who is only in his second MLB season, yet Casas’ recent results have helped solidify his place in Boston’s core, and as a contributor to their 2023 plans.  “Triston is learning and growing.  He’s clearly not a finished product yet, but when you look at the trajectory, he is moving in the right direction here offensively,” Bloom said.

Pitching would also seem to be a target need at the deadline, as while the Red Sox have a lot of injured arms projected to return relatively soon, there isn’t any guarantee that those hurlers will return on schedule, or be effective when they do return.  “Just because you have some of those guys that you expect to be back in action in August doesn’t mean you’re not looking to find other ways to help yourself,” Bloom said.

Chris Sale is one of those injured pitchers on the road to recovery, and manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MLB.com’s Ian Browne) that Sale is slated for a bullpen session on Tuesday.  Sale suffered a stress reaction in his shoulder blade and will be out until at least the start of August, as per the minimum absence time required by his 60-day IL placement.  Since Sale is only starting to throw off a mound now, it seems likely that his ramp-up and rehab work will keep him out for longer than the first week of August.  Sale also noted two weeks ago that his injury “isn’t a very common issue” for a pitcher, so it may be a while before a solid rehab plan is finalized.

Royals’ Josh Staumont To Undergo Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Surgery

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TODAY: Staumont will undergo thoracic outlet syndrome surgery, according to Anne Rogers (Twitter link).  It’s a big setback for Staumont, who will miss the rest of the season and face something of an uncertain recovery timeline, given the still-new nature of TOS procedures.  Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post recently wrote about the two different kinds (vascular and neurogenic) of TOS, and how vascular cases are by far the less-serious of the two, while neurogenic TOS surgery could be career-threatening.

JULY 14: The Royals announced today that left-hander Ángel Zerpa was reinstated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Omaha. To open a spot on the 40-man roster, right-hander Josh Staumont was sent the other way, transferred to the 60-day IL.

Staumont, 29, has been on the injured list since June 6 due to a neck strain. A couple of weeks ago, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reported that he suffered a setback and would require further testing. His current timeline isn’t known, but he’ll now be officially ineligible to return until 60 days from his initial IL placement, which rules him out until early August. He’s yet to begin a rehab assignment, so it doesn’t seem like he’s especially close to returning anyhow. The righty has an ERA of 4.01 in his career, striking out 26.2% of batters faced but walking 13%.

Zerpa, 23, suffered a shoulder injury during Spring Training and has been on the injured list for the entire season until this point. He was able to collect major league pay and service time for the past few months, crossing over the one-year mark in the process, but that will stop for the time being. He has 16 innings of major league experience from the previous two seasons with a 1.13 ERA in that small sample.

He was stretched out as a starter during his recent rehab assignment and will provide the club with some rotation depth. He has just one option year remaining and will burn that last option as soon as he spends 20 days on optional assignment here in 2023. If he’s not quickly recalled in the next few weeks, he’ll be out of options in 2024.

Royals Sign First-Round Pick Blake Mitchell

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The Royals have agreed to a deal with eighth overall pick Blake Mitchell, according to MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis (via Twitter).  Mitchell will receive a $4.9MM bonus, below the $5,980,100 slot price attached to the eighth overall selection.

The 18-year-old Mitchell is a high schooler from Texas who had committed to LSU, but he’ll now forego college ball and start his pro career.  Mitchell and Kyle Teel (from the University of Virginia) were considered the two best catching prospects of this year’s draft class, and Mitchell was taken ahead of Teel on draft night, as Teel lasted until the Red Sox selected him with the 14th overall pick.  Mitchell was rated as the 14th-best prospect of the overall draft class by Pipeline, with Baseball America (15th), Keith Law (20th), Fangraphs (20th), and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel (29th) all giving somewhat varied first-round evaluations.

The pundits feel Mitchell needs to cut down on his strikeouts and improve his contact hitting in general, but his left-handed swing and approach hints at some quality power potential.  Defensively, Mitchell’s natural athleticism lends itself to pitch-blocking, and he has an outstanding throwing arm that will give pause to would-be basestealers.  The arm strength is no surprise since Mitchell was also an intriguing pitching prospect, and Pipeline’s scouting report felt he could have been selected as a pitcher alone before the end of the second round.  However, Mitchell will stick to catching, and he now projects as Kansas City’s long-term successor to Salvador Perez behind the plate.

Braves Place A.J. Minter On 15-Day Injured List

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The Braves announced that left-hander A.J. Minter has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to left shoulder inflammation.  The placement is backdated to July 12, and right-hander Dereck Rodriguez was called up from Triple-A to take Minter’s spot on the active roster.

Minter left last Saturday’s game due to what was described by the team as left pectoral tightness, though the southpaw said he was feeling better just a day later.  It isn’t yet known if this shoulder problem was related to the pectoral tightness, or if this is a new injury altogether.  Regardless, the Braves will now be without one of their top bullpen arms for at least another 12 days.

The bottom-line numbers don’t really reflect Minter’s overall quality, as he has a 4.91 ERA over 40 1/3 innings this season.  Of his 22 earned runs allowed, 11 of them came over a disastrous stretch of 4 2/3 innings over five appearances in April.  Minter has a 3.04 ERA over 26 2/3 innings since that rough patch, and both his 2.88 SIERA and his largely above-average Statcast numbers indicate that he has been a lot more effective than his 4.91 ERA would suggest.

There isn’t yet any suggestion that Minter could miss a lot of time or that his shoulder problem is anything serious, though inflammation is something of a tricky injury to gauge.  Fellow Atlanta southpaw Dylan Lee has been out of action since mid-May with his own case of shoulder inflammation, and has been throwing some bullpen sessions as he works his way back from the 60-day injured list.

The league-leading Braves don’t have many overt weaknesses, but Minter’s absence could give the club something to address heading into the trade deadline.  With Lee sidelined, Minter and Lucas Luetge were the only left-handers in Atlanta’s bullpen, so southpaw depth was perhaps a need for the Braves even before Minter’s injury.  Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos is typically aggressive at the deadline, and left-handed relief figures to be high on his list of targets as he looks to put the final touches on what looks like a World Series contender.

Brewers Release Eddy Alvarez

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The Brewers have released utilityman Eddy Alvarez, according to his MLB.com profile page.  Jim Goulart of BrewerFanatic.com reports (via Twitter) that Alvarez exercised an opt-out clause in the minor league contract he signed with Milwaukee back in December.

That deal had yet to translate into a call-up to the big league roster, even though Alvarez has hit .283/.397/.473 with seven homers and 16 steals (in 18 chances) over 257 plate appearances for Triple-A Nashville.  Goulart notes that “a bit of a roster crunch” impacted Alvarez’s playing time, which certainly must’ve influenced his decision to trigger the opt-out and look for a new opportunity elsewhere.

Alvarez isn’t exactly an up-and-comer at age 33, but his Triple-A performance and multi-positional versatility could very well land him a new minors deal with another team.  Alvarez is a veteran of three MLB seasons, hitting .183/.262/.262 over 142 plate appearances and 50 games with the Marlins and Dodgers from 2020-22.  Best known for his outstanding Olympic career as a silver medalist in both speed-skating and baseball, Alvarez has spent much of his 10-year pro baseball career in the minors with the White Sox and Marlins.

Clayton Kershaw Undergoes MRI, Hopes To Return In Early August

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Clayton Kershaw hasn’t pitched since June 27, as the longtime Dodgers ace has been on the 15-day injured list due to soreness in his left shoulder.  There wasn’t much concern at the time that Kershaw would miss much beyond the minimum 15 days, as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts thought Kershaw would return soon after the All-Star break.  However, Kershaw now looks to miss at least another couple of weeks, as he told The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya and other reporters that he could be out of action until early August.

It’s safe to consider this timeline as fluid, due to the somewhat unusual nature of Kershaw’s shoulder problem.  “I feel completely fine.  The shoulder feels good,” he said, and yet due to the results of an MRI, “I’ve just been told it has to rest.  It’s a weird deal.  I’ve never had anything like it, to the point where, like I’m gonna go play catch today and throw it as hard as I can, and they say it needs to rest.  It’s just weird, honestly.  I don’t know what to make of it.  But I’m just gonna have to listen to [doctors].”

Shoulder-related issues sent Kershaw to the IL in both 2014 and 2019, though he missed less than two months total.  Of course, the left-hander is no stranger to the injured list in general, as Kershaw has spent at least some time on the IL in every season since the 2015 campaign.  It could be that Kershaw’s shoulder is simply showing some accumulated wear-and-tear after 16 Major League seasons, so while Kershaw physically feels like he can pitch, the doctors are simply showing some extra caution to prevent any further issues.

It isn’t good news for a Los Angeles rotation that battled through injuries all season, to the point that three rookies (Bobby Miller, Emmet Sheehan, Michael Grove) are currently lined up for turns in the starting five.  Julio Urias and Tony Gonsolin have each missed time on the IL but are now the Dodgers’ only experienced healthy arms, as Kershaw and the struggling Noah Syndergaard are both sidelined.  Dustin May has been lost for the season due to flexor tendon surgery, and it remains to be seen if Walker Buehler will be available at all this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last August.

Kershaw’s absence only deepens the Dodgers’ need for starting pitching, which was already a target area as the trade deadline approaches.  L.A. figures to cast a wide net in looking for arms, ranging from innings-eater types to the top of the market, including such sought-after rental pitchers as White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito.  The Dodgers have the prospect depth to get into the conversation about any available pitcher, yet right now there’s plenty of uncertainty over how many rotation holes Los Angeles might need to fill, if Kershaw’s return indeed doesn’t happen until after the August 1st trade deadline.

Angels Will Reportedly Consider Shohei Ohtani Trade Offers; Deal Seen As Unlikely

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As the trade deadline is now just over two weeks away, various clubs on the fringes of contention will have to make tough decisions about which players to trade and which to hang onto. The toughest decision and the one that is sure to get the most attention in the coming weeks is whether or not the Angels will trade two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani.

As of a few weeks ago, general manager Perry Minasian said the club’s position was “self-explanatory” at a time when they were 41-34 and in possession of a Wild Card spot. That seemed to suggest the club had no intention of trading Ohtani, though much has changed since then, with the club sliding in the standings prior to the All-Star break while also getting the grim news that Mike Trout is going to miss four to eight weeks after undergoing surgery for a fractured hamate.

With their record falling to 45-44 by last week, reporting indicated they seemed to be “leaving open the slight possibility” of making Ohtani available. After that report, the club lost two more games and went into the break at 45-46, fourth place in the West and five games back of the Blue Jays for the final Wild Card spot in the American League. Their playoff odds on FanGraphs are down to 10.7%. Today, Jon Morosi of MLB Network echoes that earlier reporting, taking to Threads to relay that the club will consider incoming trade scenarios, even though their bar for a trade remains incredibly high and a deal is still considered unlikely.

It’s not terribly surprising to hear that the club will listen to whatever offers come their way from other clubs. This is one of the toughest decisions a baseball club has ever had to make and it stands to reasons that they would want as much information as possible about each path before picking one.

The reasons for the difficulty of the decision are both due to the unique talent of Ohtani and the precarious position of the Angels. Ohtani’s skills are unprecedented and well-documented, but here’s a refresher if you need one. Dating back to the start of 2021, he’s hit 112 home runs, a tally bested only by Aaron Judge in that time. His combined batting line of .274/.369/.579 in those seasons amounts to a 154 wRC+, which places him fourth among qualified hitters in that stretch behind only Judge, Trout and Yordan Alvarez. He’s done all that while posting a 2.86 ERA as a pitcher in just under 400 innings, with that earned run mark the eight best among qualified pitchers.

One player managing to simultaneously serve as one of the best pitchers and best hitters in the game is something that seemed unfathomable until Ohtani came along and reshaped our perceptions of what is possible in this game. But despite being the only club that has such a player on their roster, the Angels haven’t been able to construct a winning team around him. They haven’t even been able to finish with a record above .500 since 2015. With Ohtani set to become a free agent in a few months’ time, their window for achieving that goal is rapidly closing.

This isn’t the first time the prospect of an Ohtani trade has come up, as similar reports emerged one year ago. The club still had a year and a half of Ohtani’s services to bank on at that time, but they were even further back in the standings, sporting a record of 42-57. Ultimately, a deal didn’t come together, with owner Arte Moreno reportedly being the one that prevented a deal from being seriously pursued. The club didn’t consider trades in the offseason either and had planned to give contention another try, hoping to both capitalize on Ohtani’s contributions while also convincing him to stay beyond the 2023 season by showing him they could win.

With the club now once again floundering outside of contention, they will have to pick their poison soon, with all signs pointing to the fact that the club’s performance in the next few weeks could push them in one direction one way or another. Ohtani’s unique abilities, not to mention marketability, would be highly sought after by all contending clubs. The Angels will undoubtedly have offers that will allow them to completely restock their farm system, which could help them in future seasons. But doing so would mean trying to win without Ohtani in those future seasons, and with Trout now into his 30s with injuries becoming a more frequent issue.

Trading the most uniquely-talented baseball player of all time would undoubtedly be incredibly painful, not to mention a potential public relations nightmare, which perhaps might lead the club to holding on and hoping for the best down the stretch. It’s worth reiterating that all reporting indicates a deal is still unlikely, merely that the club is listening to offers that other clubs are making, not that they are shopping him around. However, not trading him contains what is surely the worst-case scenario of missing the playoffs and then seeing him depart in free agency for next to nothing. The club would be able to issue him a qualifying offer and recoup a compensatory draft pick, but the value of that will be far less than whatever offers will be on the table in the next few weeks.

All things considered, it doesn’t seem hyperbolic to say that the future of the Angels will be determined in the coming weeks. Although a deal still seems unlikely, it doesn’t seem to be completely off the table. If they flounder in their upcoming games and decide to on a trade, it will likely be some kind of franchise-altering return that’s difficult to predict since a trade of this nature has never happened before. Last year, the club reportedly wanted “something like your top four prospects” in trade talks. The price may well have dropped now that Ohtani has just a few months of remaining control, but it would likely still be very high. Given the dilemma that the club’s decision makers are in, it stands to reason that they would want to give a thorough assessment to all offers so that they know exactly what their options are.

But perhaps they stay close enough to decide against such a move, trying to compete without Trout for at least part of the near future. If it works, perhaps they can convince Ohtani to re-sign, though he hasn’t tipped his hand one way or another as to whether that’s something he would seriously consider or what his priorities will be in free agency beyond winning. The Angels start a homestand tonight against the Astros, Yankees and Pirates, then go out on the road to Toronto, Detroit and Atlanta before the August 1 deadline.

Notable Draft Signings: 7/14/23

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The Cubs and Reds agreed to terms with top 15 picks this afternoon. A few other top 40 selections are also set to put pen to paper.

(See pre-draft rankings from Baseball America, Keith Law of the Athletic, MLB Pipeline):

  • The Mariners have agreed to terms with all but two draft choices, reports Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. 29th overall selection Johnny Farmelo and 20th-rounder Will Watson are the only players who haven’t agreed to terms. First round pick Colt Emerson will receive a $3.8MM bonus, per Kramer. That’s above the $3.5MM slot value for the 22nd overall pick. A hit-first prep infielder out of Ohio, Emerson had been committed to Auburn. Seattle will sign 30th overall pick Tai Peete for $2.5MM, Kramer reports. That’s a little below the $2.73MM slot value. Peete is a 6’2″ infielder from a Georgia high school who draws praise for his power potential and athleticism but some hit tool questions. He’ll bypass a commitment to Georgia Tech.
  • The Mets are in agreement on a $2.75MM bonus with 32nd overall draftee Colin Houck, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (Twitter link). New York went a bit above the $2.61MM slot value to sign the Georgia high schooler out of a commitment to Mississippi State. Houck, a right-handed hitting infielder, ranked between 10th and 21st on the referenced pre-draft rankings. There are questions about whether he’ll outgrow shortstop and eventually kick over to third base, but he’s viewed as a well-rounded offensive player with power projection and the ability to stick somewhere on the infield dirt.

Mariners Sign Logan Allen To Minor League Deal

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The Mariners signed left-hander Logan Allen to a minor league contract this evening, according to an announcement from Triple-A broadcaster Mike Curto (on Twitter). He’ll join the M’s top affiliate in Tacoma.

Allen, 26, is a former Guardians southpaw who is not related to a current Cleveland pitcher of the same name. Seattle’s Allen has pitched in parts of four MLB campaigns, mostly with Cleveland. He has a 5.89 ERA through 96 1/3 MLB frames. He has a below-average 15.5% strikeout rate and a 9.6% walk percentage in that stretch.

The 6’3″ hurler was a fairly well-regarded prospect coming through the minor league ranks. He had strong numbers up through Double-A, including a 2.75 ERA at that level. Allen has yet to find much success beyond that point, allowing 6.35 earned runs per nine in parts of five Triple-A campaigns.

That includes a 7.20 ERA through 45 innings with the Rockies’ top affiliate earlier in the season. Allen signed a minor league deal with Colorado last August but had a rough time in an extremely hitter-friendly setting in Albuquerque. He was released two weeks ago.

Seattle has George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo and Bryan Woo in the rotation. Bryce Miller is on the injured list with a blister but expected to rejoin the rotation on Sunday. Allen isn’t going to crack that group if everyone’s healthy, but he’ll add an experienced upper minors depth option.

Reds Agree To Terms With First-Round Pick Rhett Lowder

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The Reds have agreed to terms with first round pick Rhett Lowder, tweets Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer. He’ll receive a $5.7MM bonus that comes in below the $6.28MM slot value of the seventh overall selection.

Lowder becomes the first top ten pick of the class to agree to terms. The Wake Forest right-hander appeared among the back half of the top 10 on pre-draft rankings from MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law and Baseball America. Evaluators credit him with a plus changeup, solid breaking ball and low-mid 90s velocity on a sinking fastball.

The 6’2″ hurler was the ACC’s pitcher of the year in each of his final two seasons for the Demon Deacons. He posted a 1.87 ERA over 120 1/3 innings as a junior. Lowder fanned 30.4% of opponents against just a 5.1% walk percentage.

Cincinnati used their first two choices on college pitchers, selecting LSU’s Ty Floyd with their Competitive Balance Round A selection. Second rounder Sammy Stafura and fourth round pick Cole Shoenwetter both appeared higher on most pre-draft rankings than their actual selection placements would suggest. Cincinnati could reallocate some of their savings on Lowder to overslot deals for those prep players.

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