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MLBTR navigated the trade deadline today with a six-person team working doggedly to bring you all the latest rumors and deals.  As we have for nearly 18 years, our team strives for timeliness, accuracy, context, and analysis.

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Royals Explored Trades Involving Salvador Perez

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Longtime Royals catcher Salvador Perez looks to have been an under-the-radar trade candidate heading into the deadline, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweeted that the Marlins and White Sox each had interest, and the Padres also “checked on” the backstop, as per the Post’s Jon Heyman.  The Marlins might have been relatively closest to making something happen, as The Athletic’s Jayson Stark reports that Perez was “open to” playing in Florida (where he lives), and Miami and K.C. revisited talks this afternoon but a deal didn’t emerge.

On paper, it isn’t surprising that a non-contender like the Royals looking into moving a high-salaried veteran player.  However, the fact that Perez was discussed to even some extent counts as a bit of a surprise, given his longstanding status as the face of the Royals franchise.  In mid-June, Kansas City general manager J.J. Picollo flatly denied the possibility of such a move, saying the Royals didn’t “have any intention of trading Salvy and it’s not something we are looking to do,”  and that “he has told us over and over again he wants to be a Royal his whole career.”

Perez is a 10-and-5 player, meaning that he achieved full no-trade protection by achieving 10 years of MLB service time and five years with the same team.  He could’ve therefore vetoed any proposal, but it creates an interesting question of what scenario arose first — Perez telling the Royals he was open to being dealt in the right scenario, or the Royals approaching Perez with any offers received.

Of course, the extent of the talks with any of these three clubs isn’t known, as even the negotiations with the Marlins might’ve been little more than due diligence.  Miami and San Diego both known to be looking for catching upgrades, and given the thin market for quality backstops, it makes sense that each team would at least place a call to Kansas City, even if the chances of a Perez trade might have been remote.

The White Sox are a more surprising suitor, and it seems unlikely that Perez might have agreed to join another AL Central team.  According to Sherman, Sox manager Pedro Grifol might’ve been a factor in trying to bring his old friend to town, as Grifol spent a decade on the K.C. coaching staff before being hired by Chicago.  The White Sox saw Perez as a replacement for Yasmani Grandal, who is a free agent after the season and was surely a trade candidate in his own right as the Sox looked to rebuild, though Grandal was one of the few pending White Sox free agents who wasn’t moved at the deadline.

If Perez and the Royals are perhaps considering parting ways, it adds an interesting wrinkle to the offseason trade market.  Given how badly the Royals have stumbled this season, Perez might feel that the team won’t be able to contend again before his contract is up, so he might be more open to joining a contender for the latter stages of his career.  From the Royals’ perspective, losing the 33-year-old Perez would represent the end of an era in K.C. baseball, but it might be a decision the team is ready to make if it has to reboot what looks like a stalled rebuild plan.

Perez is still owed at least $44MM through the 2025 season ($42MM in salary and a $2MM buyout of a $13.5MM club option for 2026), so he would be a pricey addition for any team.  There is also the fact that Perez is having a down year, hitting .246/.288/.427 with 17 homers (and 89 wRC+) over 396 plate appearances and posting subpar defensive numbers according to both Statcast and Fangraphs’ metrics.  It could be that Perez might be recharged with a change of scenery, or he might simply be starting to wear down after 12 MLB seasons.

Dallas Keuchel Opts Out Of Twins Contract

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Left-hander Dallas Keuchel has opted out of his minor league deal with the Twins, The Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli reports (Twitter link).  Minnesota now has a couple of days to decide whether or not to add Keuchel to the active roster, or else release the veteran southpaw.

Since inking that minors pact in June, Keuchel has a very impressive 1.13 ERA over six starts and 32 Triple-A innings.  His 21.2% strikeout rate and 9.1% walk rate are nothing to write home about, but his 61.5% grounder rate indicates that the 35-year-old is still very capable of keeping the ball in the park.  The Triple-A numbers are at least a hint that Keuchel might have something left in the tank, after a 6.35 ERA over 222 2/3 innings with the White Sox, Diamondbacks, and Rangers during the 2021-22 seasons left some impression that Keuchel’s career might be over.

This is the second of two opt-out dates in Keuchel’s contract, as he passed on triggering his first date on July 21.  Since his second opt-out date fell on the day of the trade deadline, it was more logical for Keuchel to wait and access his options to see what the Twins or other teams might need pitching-wise now that they’re prohibited from addressing those needs on the trade market.

The Twins’ pitching depth led to some trade calls pre-deadline, though Minnesota chose to retain all of their starters.  As such, the Twins will make their push for the AL Central title with their current staff of Joe Ryan, Pablo Lopez, Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda, Bailey Ober, plus Louie Varland and Simeon Woods Richardson are in the minors as depth, and Chris Paddack might be back from Tommy John surgery in September.

On paper, there doesn’t appear to be a clear opening for Keuchel to make regular starts in Minnesota, so the Twins might pass on keeping the veteran in the organization.  Keuchel might instead find an opportunity on a team that is out of the race and looking to fill innings down the stretch, or it’s even possible that a contender might see Keuchel as a fallback option if that club didn’t add a starter at the deadline (or if an injury arises in the coming days).  Ghiroli previously reported that if Keuchel’s contract is selected to the majors, he’ll earn the prorated portion of a $2.05MM salary.

Minor 40-Man Moves: Adams, Ortega, Capra

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With the trade deadline behind us, a few smaller 40-man transactions from throughout the day that weren’t previously covered:

  • The Angels selected outfielder Jordyn Adams onto the big league roster while transferring Jo Adell and Sam Bachman to the 60-day injured list. The 17th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Adams is set for his major league debut. The 23-year-old outfielder is hitting .264/.351/.466 through 389 plate appearances with Triple-A Salt Lake. Strikeout issues have knocked down his former top prospect stock, but he’s capable of playing center field and has stolen 37 bases in 42 attempts this year.
  • The Pirates selected infielder Vinny Capra. Pittsburgh acquired the 27-year-old for catcher Tyler Heineman in a minor swap with the Blue Jays at the end of April. His big league experience consists of eight games with Toronto last season. The right-handed hitter owns a massive .350/.457/.485 showing with more walks than strikeouts over 34 games at Triple-A Indianapolis for the Bucs.
  • The Mets selected Rafael Ortega. Signed to a minor league deal in mid-June, the lefty-hitting outfielder returns to the big leagues for a seventh season. Ortega hit .265/.344/.408 for the Cubs between 2021-22. He owns a .228/.352/.388 line between two Triple-A affiliates this season. The 32-year-old will be eligible for arbitration after the season if he finished the year on the MLB roster.

Injured List Transactions

Rays Acquire Alex Jackson

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The Rays and Brewers agreed to terms on a minor swap earlier today that sent catcher Alex Jackson to Tampa Bay in exchange for right-hander Evan McKendry. The Rays have announced the swap.

Jackson, 27, was the sixth selection overall in the 2014 draft by the Mariners and made his big league debut with the Braves in 2019. Though he’s appeared in the majors every season since then, he’s never managed to stick on a big league roster or hit in the majors, with a career slash line of just .141/.243/.227 in 185 major league plate appearances. He’s hit better in the minor leagues, with a career slash line of .244/.327/.523 in 905 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level. Between those minor league results, his previous draft pedigree, and his relative youth, Jackson is an interesting depth addition for a Rays club that needed additional catching depth after Francisco Mejia went on the injured list with a sprained knee two weeks ago.

To acquire Jackson, they’ll part with McKendry, a 25-year-old pitching prospect the club selected in the ninth round of the 2019 draft. With a career 4.00 ERA in 110 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level and a 23.6% strikeout rate during that time, McKendry figures to provide the Brewers with upper-level pitching depth going forward, a particularly valuable commodity given right-hander Julio Teheran’s recent placement on the injured list. While the Rays have dealt with plenty of pitching injuries of their own, McKendry’s loss is made up for by today’s acquisition of right-hander Adrian Sampson, to say nothing of yesterday’s blockbuster that brought back Aaron Civale.

Red Sox Designate Jorge Alfaro For Assignment

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The Red Sox have designated catcher Jorge Alfaro for assignment, according to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. The move makes room for catcher Reese McGuire on the active roster after he was activated from the 10-day injured list this evening.

Alfaro, 30, joined the Red Sox in early July on a major-league deal after previously signing a minor league pact with the club this past offseason. Alfaro opted out of that minors deal and tested the open market, where he landed with the Rockies for a ten-game stint. He was then DFA’d and returned to the Red Sox organization for an eight-game stint.

Once a key piece in the deal that sent J.T. Realmuto to Philadelphia, Alfaro is now enduring his fourth consecutive season of significant struggles. Since the start of the shortened 2020 campaign, Alfaro has slashed just .236/.278/.354 in 737 plate appearances, good for a wRC+ of just 75. While that would be a manageable figure for a quality defensive catcher, Alfaro is generally regarded as a well below-average receiver behind the plate.

Now DFA’d for the second time this summer, Alfaro figures to test the open market for the fourth time in the past calendar year unless he is claimed on waivers. With the trade deadline in the rear-view, Alfaro could be an attractive depth option at catcher given his previous prospect pedigree, years of major league experience, and presumably risk-free acquisition cost of a minor league deal. As for the Red Sox, they’ll return to their typical catching tandem of Connor Wong and McGuire going forward, with Ronaldo Hernandez, Stephen Scott, and Caleb Hamilton available as depth options at the Triple-A level.

Angels Acquire Dominic Leone

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The Angels have acquired right-hander Dominic Leone from the Mets, per Will Sammon of The Athletic. Mike Puma of the New York Post first reported that the Mets were engaged in discussions on a Leone deal. According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Mets received infield prospect Jeremiah Jackson in return.

Leone, 31, first broke into the big leagues with the Mariners back in 2014 with an impressive 2.17 ERA (168 ERA+) and 3.07 FIP in 66 1/3 innings of work. Since then, he’s bounced around the league, playing for Arizona, Toronto, Cleveland, St. Louis, and San Francisco in addition to Seattle and New York. The Angels will be the eighth team of his ten-year career in the majors. The veteran hurler sports a career 3.75 ERA and 4.01 FIP in 386 1/3 innings of work.

He’ll join the Angels following a rather difficult stint in New York. While he’s posted a 4.40 ERA that’s roughly league average by measure of ERA+ in 31 appearances, his 5.26 FIP is more concerning. While Leone’s 26% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate rate among the best marks of his career, he’s seen his groundball rate plummet to just 35.4%, far lower than his career 42.5% rate. While that isn’t entirely a problem by itself, Leone has also allowed a whopping 13.4% barrel rate this season, resulting in 18.4% of his fly balls leaving the year for home runs.

While Leone’s tendency to allow the long ball has severely limited his effectiveness this season, he should nonetheless be a useful arm for an Angels bullpen that ranks bottom four in the majors with just 1.3 fWAR as a collective unit. While Carlos Estevez and Matt Moore form a quality duo with which the club can close out games, Leone can help the likes of Aaron Loup and fellow deadline acquisition Reynaldo Lopez cover the middle innings for the Angels.

As for the Mets, they’ll receive a quality prospect in return for a veteran rental arm in the midst of a difficult season. Headed to Queens in exchange for Leone is Jackson, the Angels’ #9 prospect per MLB Pipeline. The 23-year-old infielder has shortstop, second base, third base, center field, and left field during his minor league career and has swiped 56 bags in 73 professional attempts. His been a league average hitter with Double-A Rocket City this year, slashing .248/.321/.447 in 349 plate appearances.

Red Sox Acquire Luis Urías

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The Red Sox announced that they have acquired infielder Luis Urías from the Brewers for minor league right-hander Bradley Blalock. Robert Murray of FanSided first had Urías going to the Red Sox while Adam McCalvy of MLB.com first reported on Blalock’s involvement.

Urías, 26, seemed to be establishing himself as a solid part of the Milwaukee roster in the previous two seasons. Over 2021 and 2022, he launched 39 home runs and hit a combined .244/.340/.426 for a wRC+ of 111. This year, however, has been an entirely different story.

He was placed on the injured list with a hamstring strain after the first game of the season and wasn’t able to return until June 5. In the next three-plus weeks, he hit just .145/.299/.236 for a wRC+ of 60. A .179 batting average on balls in play wasn’t doing him any favors, but his exit velocity, hard hit rate and barrel rate were all down a few points. That cold spell was pronounced enough for the Brewers to send him to the minors, his first time being optioned since he was a Padre back in 2019. Things haven’t gone much better in Triple-A, as he’s hitting .233/.345/.379 at that level this year for a wRC+ of 84.

Right after acquiring Urías, the Sox assigned him to Triple-A, so he’ll serve as infield depth for the time being. Infield depth has been an ongoing concern in Boston this year ever since Trevor Story required elbow surgery in the offseason. He’s still yet to make his season debut, currently out on a rehab assignment. Enrique Hernández came in from the outfield to take over shortstop but that experiment didn’t work and he’s since been traded to the Dodgers.

For now, the club has a mixture of Yu Chang, Pablo Reyes, Christian Arroyo and Justin Turner up the middle. Urías will join Bobby Dalbec among the depth options that are on the 40-man roster but currently stashed at Triple-A. Urías has another option year beyond this one but could wind up non-tendered as he’ll be due a raise on this year’s $4.7MM salary.

In exchange for a player that had fallen out of their plans, the Brewers will get Blalock. The 22-year-old was a 32nd-round selection of the Red Sox in 2019. He was able to get some professional experience in 2019 and 2021, with the pandemic canceling the minor leagues in 2020. Then his 2022 was wiped out by Tommy John surgery, costing him another year of development.

Here in 2023, he’s been putting himself back on the prospect map. He’s made 11 starts, split between Single-A and High-A, posting a 2.19 ERA in 53 1/3 innings. He’s struck out 27.6% of opponents against a 6.2% walk rate. Back in June, FanGraphs ranked him the #17 prospect in Boston’s system. They note that the Sox were set to have a difficult decision to make, as Blalock will be Rule 5 eligible this winter and could be an attractive pick, despite not yet reaching Double-A.

Marlins Acquire Josh Bell; Guardians Receive Kahlil Watson, Will Release Jean Segura

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The Marlins announced the acquisition of first baseman Josh Bell from the Guardians. Cleveland agreed to take on the contract of infielder Jean Segura — whom they intend to release — while acquiring infield prospect Kahlil Watson.

It’s an out-of-the-blue swap that continues a surprisingly active day for the Marlins. Miami shipped out pitching prospect Jake Eder to install Jake Burger at the hot corner. That apparently set the stage for them to move on from Segura, whose two-year free agent contract didn’t work at all as the club had envisioned.

That was a means of adding offense at one corner infield spot. They’ll hope for the same across the diamond, as they swapped in Bell for Garrett Cooper. Miami dealt their incumbent first baseman to the Padres for starting pitcher Ryan Weathers.

The series of moves results in a buy-low flier on Bell. As with Segura, he signed an ill-fated two-year free agent deal last offseason. The Guardians guaranteed the switch-hitter a two-year, $33MM pact. He can opt out of the deal at the end of the first season. It’s all but a given he’ll elect to play out the contract given the way in which his time in Cleveland transpired.

Bell is hitting .233/.318/.383 over 393 trips to the plate. His 10.9% walk percentage and 20.6% strikeout rate are both solid, but his batted ball results are middling. Bell has managed just 11 home runs and a .272 batting average on balls in play. As has been an issue throughout his career, he’s had a tough time elevating the ball. Bell is putting the ball on the ground at a lofty 48.5% clip, an obviously suboptimal number for a player whose game is built around power.

Still, the high grounder tallies are nothing new. He’s had plenty of success in spite of a propensity for low-angle contact. He combined for a .264/.355/.448 line in more than 1200 plate appearances between 2021-22. At his best, he’s a middle-of-the-order caliber bat. Miami will obviously hope for a return to form in a new environment.

Miami general manager Kim Ng and her staff clearly believe there’s more untapped potential remaining for Bell than with Segura. The Fish had signed the longtime second baseman to a two-year, $17MM pact with a plan to bump him to third base. It was a risk defensively that hasn’t paid off, as the veteran received well below-average marks for his 720 1/3 innings at the hot corner.

More concerning, Segura didn’t bring anything approaching his previous offensive form. He’s long been a slightly above-average hitter, combining double-digit homer power with excellent contact skills. This was his worst offensive season, however, as he managed only a .219/.277/.279 showing through 326 plate appearances as a Marlin.

Segura’s underlying offensive marks aren’t that far off those of previous seasons. His 38.8% hard contact rate is a near match for last year’s mark. That’s also true of his 6.7% walk percentage and 14.4% strikeout rate. Segura’s results simply weren’t up to par and the Fish elected to move on.

Given that Cleveland is immediately releasing Segura, his inclusion in the trade is strictly a financial measure. Bell is making $16.5MM this season and next. Segura is making $6.5MM this year and $8.5MM next season, as well as a $2MM buyout on a 2025 option. Bell is owed roughly $5.41MM through season’s end; Segura will make $2.13MM down the stretch. Miami takes on roughly $3.28MM this year and $6MM beyond this season to upgrade from Segura to Bell.

Segura will go unclaimed on release waivers in the next couple days. The Guardians will pay out almost all of his remaining contract. Once he clears waivers and becomes a free agent, Segura will be free to choose his next employer. That signing team would only pay him the prorated portion of the league minimum for whatever time he spends on a big league roster over the next season and a half.

In addition to the financial relief, the Guardians are buying low on a one-time top prospect. Watson, a 20-year-old infielder, was the 16th overall pick in the 2021 draft. The high school product was widely regarded as a top five to ten player in the class on talent, only dropping to the middle of the first round because of a lofty bonus demand.

His first two full seasons in pro ball haven’t gone as anticipated. Watson struck out in nearly 36% of his plate appearances in Low-A a year ago, hitting .231/.296/.395 over 83 games. He also missed some time last season on a team-imposed disciplinary absence after a confrontation with an umpire, as Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs wrote in his write-up of Miami’s farm system.

Watson still ranked in the upper third of the Marlins’ top 30 prospects at both FanGraphs and Baseball America, though he’s no longer seen as a top 100 talent around the league. He’s hitting .206/.337/.362 over 243 trips to the plate in High-A this year. He’s connected on seven homers, walked at an elite 14.4% clip and stolen 14 bases. Yet he’s still striking out an alarming rate — 28% of the time. There’s clearly plenty of variability in Watson’s profile, but he has huge bat speed and the chance to stick at a middle infield position. It’s an upside play for Cleveland at a much lower cost than would’ve been required to pry him away 12 to 18 months ago.

Craig Mish of SportsGrid first reported the Marlins were acquiring Bell. Jeff Passan of ESPN reported the Guardians were receiving Segura and Watson.  Zack Meisel of the Athletic reported the Guardians planned to release Segura.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Dodgers Acquire Ryan Yarbrough

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The Dodgers have acquired left-hander Ryan Yarbrough from the Royals, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand and Juan C. Toribio (Twitter link).  Kansas City is receiving minor league infielders Devin Mann and Derlin Figueroa, Feinsand reports in a follow-up tweet.

While the Dodgers made bids for such high-profile pitchers as Justin Verlander and Eduardo Rodriguez prior to the deadline, they’ll still come away with some rotation help in Yarbrough, who has a 3.08 ERA over 38 innings and seven games as a starter for Kansas City this season.  Of course, that also comes with a 7.62 ERA over 13 innings as a reliever, but Yarbrough has looked very sharp since he was moved into the K.C. rotation in April.

On-field performance has been a secondary story to Yarbrough’s 2023 season, as the southpaw suffered multiple facial fractures after being struck by a Ryan Noda line drive back on May 7.  The injuries sent Yarbrough to the 60-day IL, but he thankfully returned in good health and has been in great form on the mound, with a 2.19 ERA over 24 2/3 innings since being activated off the injured list.

Yarbrough’s secondary metrics are the definition of a mixed bag.  On the one hand, his 86.9% fastball velocity, fastball spin rate, and 13.7% strikeout rate are near the very bottom of the league.  His 3.8% walk rate, however, is among the league’s elite, and he has done an excellent job of inducing soft contact.  His 4.24 ERA is much lower than his 4.97 SIERA, which perhaps better reflects this curious set of Statcast numbers and the move from relief pitching to starting pitching.

The Dodgers have long had a knack for both helping pitchers find a new level of performance or helping them revive their careers altogether, so there’s plenty of promise for Yarbrough in this change of scenery.  The left-hander is likely to get some more starts in an L.A. rotation that includes another new face in Lance Lynn, and the Dodgers now technically have seven healthy starting options in Lynn, Yarbrough, Tony Gonsolin, Julio Urias, and rookies Bobby Miller, Emmet Sheehan, and Michael Grove.

At least two of the youngsters will be moved to Triple-A or to the bullpen in the aftermath of the deadline, and once Clayton Kershaw returned from the 15-day injured list.  Yarbrough could also work as a reliever himself, or in a swingman capacity as the situation warrants.  He is quite familiar with such a role, both with the Royals this season and from his previous time as a starter, reliever, opener, and bulk pitcher with the Rays from 2018-22.

It’s a rental move for Los Angeles, as Yarbrough is a free agent after the season.  He is still owed roughly $1.1MM as the remainder of his $3MM salary for the 2023 season, putting a bit of extra money on the ledger of a Dodgers team already well over the first luxury tax tier ($233MM).  With much still to be settled in the wake of the deadline, Roster Resource projects the Dodgers as just narrowly under the $253MM second tier, and staying under that threshold would at least mean a slightly lesser financial penalty for the Dodgers as they pay into the tax for the third consecutive season.

With a one-year deal, Yarbrough was seen as a potential deadline trade chip from basically the moment he signed with the Royals, and Kansas City’s disastrous season only made a deal even more likely.  The latest of K.C’s many swaps brings in two more prospects, including a player in Mann ranked by both Baseball America (24th) and MLB Pipeline (29th) within the top 30 of the Los Angeles farm system.

Mann was a fifth-round pick for the Dodgers in 2018, and might be ready for a big league look after hitting .307/.402/.541 with 14 homers over 386 plate appearances at the Triple-A level this season.  While the hitter-friendly nature of the Pacific Coast League brings some pause to Mann’s numbers, the 26-year-old has hit pretty well over the course of his minor league career.  “Mann is a well-rounded player who does a little bit of everything,” according to Baseball America’s scouting report, and his “bat and defensive versatility give him a chance to carve out a career as a lefty-mashing reserve.”  Mann has played all four infield positions and left field this season, and he has logged some time in the other two outfield positions in past years.

The 19-year-old Figueroa was an international signing for L.A. in 2021, and he has hit .237/.372/.376 over 113 PA at the rookie ball level this season.  While still very early in his pro career, Figueroa has at least shown a knack for getting on base, even if his overall hitting ability needs some polish.  Like Mann, Figueroa is a multi-positional player — he has seen time at first base and both outfield corners this season, and played all the other infield positions in his first two seasons.

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