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Padres Acquire Garrett Cooper

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The Padres have acquired first baseman Garrett Cooper and minor league lefty Sean Reynolds from the Marlins in exchange for left-hander Ryan Weathers, per an announcement from both teams. San Diego designated outfielder Preston Tucker for assignment in a corresponding roster move.

Cooper, 32, will give the Padres a seasoned bench bat with a productive track record at the big league level. He’s picked up five-plus years of MLB service to this point in his career, making him a free agent at season’s end and a pure rental for San Diego, but one who has more often than not been a quietly strong offensive performer.

Although Cooper’s .256/.296/.426 batting line in 2023 doesn’t stand out, it’s only narrowly been worse than league average, by measure of wRC+ (97). Moreover, Cooper’s bat has picked up as the season has worn on. Dating back to June 1, he’s posted a far more palatable .276/.319/.468 batting line with eight big flies and six doubles. That’s good for a 115 wRC+ (i.e. about 15% better than league-average production, after weighting for home park) — which is right in line with Cooper’s career output.

Since making his MLB debut with the Yankees back in 2017, Cooper owns a .271/.338/.437 batting line in nearly 1700 trips to the plate. He’s been particularly productive with the Marlins in the past few seasons, batting .271/.352/.443 from 2020-22. Cooper has never had massive over-the-fence power but hits plenty of doubles and from 2018-22 drew walks at a healthy 9% clip.

Perhaps “healthy” is a dicey word to use in any regard when describing Cooper, as the primary knock against him as been a penchant to land on the injured list. Since 2018, Cooper has been on the injured list due to a wrist sprain, a calf strain, a lumbar strain, an elbow sprain, a concussion and an inner ear infection, among other maladies. Productive as his bat has been, he’s never logged more than 119 games or 469 plate appearances in a single season.

Cooper is healthy right now, however, and the Padres have gotten little to no production out of their bench this year. Veterans Rougned Odor (recently released), Nelson Cruz (released) and Matt Carpenter have provided no help, and the Friars have relied on a combination of journeymen and organizational depth pieces (e.g. Brandon Dixon, Matthew Batten, Taylor Kohlwey) in the other spots. Cooper’s above-average track record at the dish will be a significant boost, and he can slide in at first base if the Padres need to push Jake Cronenworth to second base to accommodate Ha-Seong Kim’s recent injury.

In addition to Cooper, the Padres will pick up the 25-year-old Reynolds — a 2016 fourth-round pick and converted first baseman/outfielder who’s emerged as an interesting bullpen prospect. The 25-year-old Reynolds made the move to the mound full time in 2021 and has found a good bit of success in the upper minors. Through 48 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this season, the 6’8″ left-hander has pitched to a 2.77 ERA with a 26% strikeout rate, 11.2% walk rate and just two homers allowed. Reynolds features a four-seamer in the mid-to-upper 90s, a mid-80s slider and a changeup.

In exchange for the final couple months of Cooper’s services and a potential six seasons of control over Reynolds, the Marlins will pick up the 23-year-old Weathers — a former first-round pick and top Padres prospect who’s long looked like a change-of-scenery candidate. He’s seen action in each of the past three seasons, but other than his rookie campaign when injuries forced him to the Majors as a 21-year-old, Weathers has never received a particularly long look.

In 143 big league innings, Weathers has a 5.73 ERA. He’s fanned just 16.8% of his opponents but sports a respectable 8.3% walk rate and 42.9% ground-ball rate in that time. He’s also pitched decently in 40 2/3 Triple-A innings this season — 4.20 ERA, 29.2% strikeout rate, 13.5% walk rate in eight starts — and has a minor league option remaining beyond the current year. The Marlins’ vaunted pitching depth has been thinned out by the trades of Pablo Lopez and (earlier today) Jake Eder, as well as injuries to Trevor Rogers, Max Meyer and Sixto Sanchez. Weathers will add a former No. 7 overall pick to the stockpile, and the Marlins can take this year and next to try to coax some better performance out of the lefty.

As for the 33-year-old Tucker, he’ll lose his 40-man spot before appearing in a big league game with the Padres. The older brother of Astros star Kyle Tucker, Preston was once a well-regarded prospect himself but has never found sustained success in the minor leagues. He had a nice three-year run with the Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization from 2019-21 and has a career .274/.353/.471 slash in parts of eight Triple-A seasons — including a .293/.433/.565 showing so far in 2023.

However, the elder Tucker brother carries just a .222/.281/.403 slash in parts of three Major League seasons, and the Padres’ acquisitions of Cooper and Ji-Man Choi have beefed up their reserve options a bit. That left Tucker without a clear role moving forward. Normally, players who are designated for assignment have a week to be traded, placed on outright waivers or released. But, since the trade deadline has now passed and Tucker has been on a 40-man roster this year, he’s ineligible to be moved. He’ll hit waivers within the next week and be available to all 29 other clubs. Even if he clears, he’d have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.

Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald first reported the trade.

Blue Jays Acquire Paul DeJong

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The Blue Jays moved quickly in the wake of Bo Bichette’s knee injury last night, acquiring veteran shortstop Paul DeJong and cash from the Cardinals for minor league righty Matt Svanson.  The Jays designated outfielder Jordan Luplow for assignment to clear a roster spot for DeJong.

DeJong, who turns 30 tomorrow, has bounced back offensively this year from an increasingly rough three-year period.  DeJong has a 96 wRC+ on the season with 13 home runs in 306 plate appearances.

DeJong burst on the scene with a 123 wRC+ for the Cardinals in 2017, hitting 25 home runs and garnering a second place Rookie of the Year finish.  In March of the following year, the Cards inked him to a six-year, $26MM extension.  That deal includes a $12.5MM club option with a $2MM buyout for 2024, plus a $15MM option with a $1MM buyout for ’25.  For the remainder of this season, DeJong is owed about $3MM.  According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals are covering buyouts and half of DeJong’s remaining salary.

The Blue Jays are set to pay the competitive balance tax this year for the first time in franchise history.  Their current CBT payroll appears to be right around the second tier of $253MM, beyond which a 32% tax will be paid.

DeJong’s bat slipped to a league average level in 2018-19, but he still popped 30 home runs, made the All-Star team, and posted a career-best 3.7 WAR in ’19.  However, his offense fell further in 2020, and by 2022 Tommy Edman supplanted him as the Cardinals’ primary shortstop by defensive innings played.  2022 was a low point for DeJong, as he was optioned to Triple-A for a period of nearly three months.

This year, DeJong started the season on the IL with a back injury, joining the Cardinals in late April.  He was able to regain the team’s starting shortstop job on the strength of a huge couple weeks.

As a defender, DeJong has posted above-average marks in recent years.  His Statcast outs above average ranks 21st among qualified shortstops since 2021, similar to Brandon Crawford and Ha-Seong Kim.  His defensive runs saved ranks 15th in that time, despite fewer innings than many of those ahead of him.

DeJong might not be the right-handed bat the Blue Jays had been seeking, but assuming he can continue as a league average hitter, he’s likely the best possible shortstop replacement for Bichette that GM Ross Atkins could find on deadline day.

Svanson, 24, was drafted in the 13th round by the Blue Jays in 2021 out of Lehigh University.  Though he made some A-ball starts last year, Svanson has worked exclusively in relief this year as he’s made his way to High-A.  At that level, he has a 1.23 ERA, 31.3 K% and 9.6 BB%.  Svanson has deployed his sinker to get a nifty 56.3% groundball rate in his 29 1/3 innings.  He’ll now head to Double-A with his new organization.

Luplow, 29, signed a one-year, $1.4MM deal with the Braves in December of last year.  He was designated for assignment in early April and claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays.  The Jays had booted Luplow off their 40-man by the end of that month, but he returned in July for three games with the big club.  Luplow had a 92 wRC+ in 208 Triple-A plate appearances this year.

GMs Ross Atkins of the Jays and John Mozeliak of the Cardinals have gotten along well in recent weeks, striking separate trades that sent relievers Genesis Cabrera and Jordan Hicks to Toronto.  Neither GM expected to be in such a position on deadline day: the Blue Jays adding a shortstop, and the Cardinals acting as a seller.  St. Louis has also shipped off Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton, with Jack Flaherty likely on the way out within the next four hours.

Jon Morosi of MLB Network was first to report a deal was close and name the player coming to the Cardinals, while Katie Woo of The Athletic reported the agreement was in place.

Eduardo Rodriguez Not Traded; Vetoed Deal To Dodgers

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5:05pm: The Tigers did not trade Rodriguez, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.  If Rodriguez opts out of his contract after the season as expected, the 2023 trade deadline will have to be viewed as a missed opportunity for the club, as he is ineligible for a qualifying offer.  According to Rosenthal’s colleague Fabian Ardaya, Rodriguez vetoed the trade to the Dodgers due to “a desire to remain closer to family on the east coast.”

3:54pm: Tigers lefty Eduardo Rodriguez invoked his no-trade clause to kill a trade to the Dodgers, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.  Passan writes that a deal was in place pending Rodriguez’s approval, but is now dead.  Rodriguez’s contract allows him to block deals to ten teams annually, and the Dodgers were on his list.  Now, the Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris has approximately one hour before today’s trade deadline to find a new deal for Rodriguez.

Earlier this afternoon, the Tigers reached an agreement to send Rodriguez’s rotation-mate Michael Lorenzen to the Phillies for infield prospect Hao-Yu Lee.  Finding a match for Rodriguez is crucial for Detroit, because he’s possibly the best starting pitcher on the trade market, he’s ineligible for a qualifying offer after the season, and he’s likely to opt out of his remaining three years and $49MM.  The Tigers still have 19 teams to which Rodriguez cannot block a deal.

The Padres were said to have interest in Rodriguez, but that may have changed upon their acquisition of Rich Hill.  Plus, it’s possible Rodriguez’s aversion to the Dodgers is a geographical thing and the Padres are also on his list.  The Orioles, Reds, and Diamondbacks could still be possibilities.

The Dodgers, though they’ve added Lance Lynn, have now missed out on top targets Justin Verlander and Rodriguez.  It’s unclear on where they may turn; yesterday, Jack Harris of the L.A. Times suggested Plan C could be to do nothing.  The Cardinals’ Jack Flaherty is still a candidate to move.

White Sox Not Trading Dylan Cease

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5:01pm: The MLB trade deadline has passed, and the White Sox did not trade Cease, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

1:26pm: The White Sox are taking offers on everyone on the roster aside from star center fielder Luis Robert, reports Bruce Levine of 670 The Score (on Twitter). Most notably, that includes 2022 Cy Young runner-up Dylan Cease.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post tweets the asking price was high enough that rival teams feel he’s unlikely to move. Nevertheless, The Post’s Joel Sherman indicates the Sox are “more serious” than they had been about the possibility.

Certainly, there’s no guarantee the White Sox will make a deal. They’d need to be blown away by the package of young talent to do so. Yet it seems they’re at least more open to the idea than they had been, and that they consider Robert on a different level of unattainability than they do Cease.

Cease hasn’t been as dominant as he was last season. His ERA has jumped nearly two runs, up from 2.20 to 4.15 across 119 1/3 innings. There’s been a slight dip in the underlying performance, though it’s not as dramatic as the ERA differential would indicate. Cease’s strikeout rate has decreased from 30.4% to 27.6%, while his swinging strikes have fallen from 15% to 13.6%. Both latter marks are still well above-average, though.

The biggest factor in Cease’s more middling ERA is simply a change in ball-in-play results. Last year’s .260 opponents’ BABIP always looked unlikely to maintain, though this year’s .320 mark probably represents an overcorrection. Cease issues a few more walks than ideal, but he’s capable of missing bats at a rate matched by few other starters and is at least a high-quality #2 arm.

With multiple years of control, Chicago’s asking price should be astronomical. Cease is playing this year on a $5.7MM salary, around $1.87MM of which is yet to be paid out. He’ll be due a pair of arbitration raises before getting to free agency after the 2025 campaign.

Chicago is clearly in sell mode, though their moves to date have mostly been on players with limited control windows. Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López, Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly all seemed likely to hit free agency after this season. Kendall Graveman was under contract for another year, but he’s a setup reliever having a fine but not overwhelming season. Moving Cease would deal a far greater hit to their chances of reversing their fortunes in 2024, though it stands to reason they’d look for upper minors or controllable MLB talent in those discussions.

Other Chicago players seem far likelier to go. Middle reliever Keynan Middleton is an impending free agent who’ll almost certainly move. The club holds a $14MM option on shortstop Tim Anderson, who is having a very poor season. Anderson has hit well over the last two weeks but still holds a .245/.286/.293 batting line in 357 plate appearances overall. That could leave the Sox with a borderline decision on the option and/or a tough call whether to part with him this afternoon. Russell Dorsey of Bally Sports tweets that the Sox have discussed Anderson with multiple teams; the Marlins were loosely linked to the two-time All-Star in a report from ESPN’s Jesse Rogers last week.

Phillies, Pirates To Swap Bailey Falter For Rodolfo Castro

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The Phillies and Pirates are nearing a swap of left-hander Bailey Falter and infielder Rodolfo Castro, reports Jayson Stark of The Athletic (Twitter link). The deal has been agreed upon, pending medical reviews, tweets Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Falter, who turned 26 earlier this season, will give the Pirates an immediate option in the rotation. He’s struggled in 2023, logging a 5.13 ERA in 40 1/3 frames, but is only a season removed from 84 innings of 3.86 ball over the life of 20 appearances (16 of them starts) with Philadelphia. Though Falter has struggled both in the Majors and in Triple-A this season, he’s generally pitched with excellent command (career 4.7% walk rate in MLB, 7.3% in Triple-A). He’s not a hard-thrower, but Falter has still missed bats in the upper minors and can be controlled for an additional five years via arbitration.

Falter is in the last of his three option years. He can be shuttled between Triple-A Indianapolis and Pittsburgh for the remainder of the current season, but the Bucs will need to keep him on the Opening Day roster in 2024 or else designate him for assignment and risk exposing him to waivers. Today’s trade of Rich Hill to the Padres and injuries to others (e.g. JT Brubaker, Vince Velasquez) have created enough uncertainty in the Pittsburgh rotation that there ought to be room for Falter to have a trial run in the season’s final two months. Pittsburgh’s starting staff currently includes Mitch Keller, Johan Oviedo and rookies Quinn Priester and Osvaldo Bido.

As for the Phillies, they’ll add a switch-hitter with experience at three infield spots. Much like Falter, Castro is in his final option season, potentially has five years of club control remaining, and is struggling in 2023 after a solid showing in 2022. Last year saw the 24-year-old turn in a .233/.299/.427 batting line (103 wRC+) with 11 home runs and seven doubles in 278 plate appearances. That’s not exactly standout production, but Castro drew solid defensive grades at the hot corner and looked like a potential utilityman moving forward, at the very least.

Castro got out to a huge start in 2023, batting .286/.378/.468 through the end of April, but his bat has cratered. Since May 1, he’s hitting just .192/.271/.283 with three homers, two doubles and a 30.1% strikeout rate in 133 plate appearances. He’s drawn nice grades for his defense a second base this season but lesser reviews for his work at third base and shortstop. On the whole, Castro is a switch-hitter with a bit of pop who can perhaps be relied upon at second or third base but is more of an in-a-pinch option at shortstop.

The Phillies were known to be looking for right-handed bats, and while Castro likely wasn’t on many (or any) radars in that regard, he does fill the need. The switch-hitter touts a career .277/.341/.559 line as a right-handed hitter (just .193/.272/.293 as a lefty) and is hitting .290/.368/.538 from the right side of the dish this season.

It’s an interesting swap of a pair of young change-of-scenery candidates. The Phillies, having acquired Michael Lorenzen to pair with Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Taijuan Walker and Ranger Suarez, didn’t have any immediate need in the rotation for Falter, who’s also been passed on the depth chart by Cristopher Sanchez. The Pirates, meanwhile, now have Liover Peguero, Nick Gonzales and Alika Williams in the infield mix alongside injured hopeful cornerstones Ke’Bryan Hayes and Oneil Cruz. There wasn’t a clear long-term role for Castro. It’s something of a “challenge” trade for a back-end starter and potential role player, beefing up depth for each organization in potential areas of need.

Yankees Acquire Keynan Middleton

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The Yankees and White Sox have agreed to a trade that will send Keynan Middleton to the Bronx, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports (Twitter link).  Right-hander Juan Carela will head from New York to Chicago in return, according to YES Network’s Joe LoGrippo (via Twitter).

Middleton becomes the latest player moved in what has been a significant pre-deadline selloff from Chicago, while the Yankees have now made their first notable deadline move.  While New York had been reportedly looking to add some controllable pieces, the Bombers will instead make a short-term move in Middleton, who is a free agent after the season.

Signed to a minor league deal by the White Sox over the winter, Middleton was looking to rebuild his career after a trio of rocky seasons with the Angels, Mariners, and Diamondbacks.  Breaking into the majors as a member of the Angels’ bullpen in 2017, Middleton showed some intriguing promise in his rookie season but Tommy John surgery sidelined him for most of the next two years.

Now 29 years old, Middleton finally started to get back on track this season in Chicago.  He has a 3.96 ERA over 36 1/3 innings, with an excellent 30.3% strikeout rate and elite chase and whiff rates.  Control has been an issue, as Middleton’s 10.3% walk rate is well below league average, and he also has a 9.8% barrel rate despite good hard-hit ball numbers overall.

A lot of that damage has come within the last month.  Middleton had a 2.33 ERA through his first 29 appearances and 27 innings, but he has since posted an 8.68 ERA over his last 9 1/3 innings of work, allowing at least one earned run in six of 10 appearances.  These recent struggles surely impacted Chicago’s asking price, but the Yankees felt comfortable enough to take the plunge on the low-cost addition.

The right-hander joins a New York bullpen that has been one of the game’s better relief corps this season, and since the Yankees were otherwise very quiet with their deadline moves, it seems as though the club is doubling down on its strong pen to try and sneak into a wild card berth.  Clay Holmes and Michael King get most of the save chances and highest-leverage work, but there’s plenty of flexibility for Middleton to earn him more looks in key late-game situations.

The 21-year-old Carela has a 3.67 ERA over 83 1/3 innings (starting 16 of 17 games) with the Yankees’ high-A affiliate in Hudson Valley this season, with a 9.1% walk rate and an impressive 31.1% strikeout rate.  MLB Pipeline ranked Carela as the 29th-best prospect in New York’s farm system, describing the right-hander as a possible back-end rotation piece if he improves his control and command.  Carela has a plus slider as well as a sweeper, a pitch taught to many hurlers in the Yankees organization in recent years.

Mets Acquire Phil Bickford, Adam Kolarek From Dodgers

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The Mets acquired pitchers Phil Bickford and Adam Kolarek from the Dodgers, tweets Robert Murray of FanSided.  The Dodgers will receive cash as compensation, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Bickford, a 28-year-old righty, was designated for assignment on Saturday to clear a spot for the newly-acquired Joe Kelly.  Bickford made the Dodgers’ Opening Day bullpen this year, but hit the IL in June with lower back tightness.  All of his key stats moved in the wrong direction this year, with his strikeout rate dropping to 25.3%, his walk rate spiking to 13.7%, and his groundball rate dropping to 29.5%.  That’s led to a 5.14 ERA, which is up from 4.72 last year.  At his best for the Dodgers in 2021, Bickford was able to punch out nearly 30% of batters and walk fewer than 10%.

Kolarek, a 34-year-old southpaw, signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers last December.  Despite some shaky work at Triple-A, the Dodgers selected his contract in mid-June, which resulted in his lone big league appearance so far this year.  After that, Kolarek cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A.  He has 144 2/3 big league innings to his name, also logging time with the Rays and A’s.

The pair of arms represent a couple of depth pieces for the Mets, who recently shipped out relievers Dominic Leone and David Robertson as well as future Hall of Famers Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.  Despite plans to take a step back for at least the 2024 season, the Mets held on to veteran relievers Adam Ottavino and Brooks Raley.

Mariners Designate Kolten Wong For Assignment, Red Sox Interested

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The Mariners have designated second baseman Kolten Wong for assignment, per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. Wong’s stay in DFA limbo could be a short one, as the Red Sox have interest in a trade for the veteran infielder.

Wong, 32, came over to Seattle in the swap that sent Jesse Winker and Abraham Toro to Milwuakee this past offseason. The Mariners acquired him hoping he could solidify second base for them, but things didn’t go according to plan as Wong posted by far the worst season of his career in 2023. In 216 trips to the plate this season, Wong has batted a brutal .165/.241/.227 that checks in 64% worse than league average by measure of wRC+. That unplayable offense has been paired with below average defense at the keystone, combining to create a package worth -1.0 fWAR in 67 games with Seattle this season.

Prior to this disastrous season in Seattle, Wong had spent the past nine season as a quality, major league regular at second base. After being drafted 22nd overall by the Cardinals in the 2011 draft, Wong made his MLB debut in a 32-game stint with St. Louis during the 2013 season. He became a fixture at second base in 2014 and would remain there for seven seasons, slashing .263/.336/.389 (98 wRC+) over that time while winning the NL Gold Glove at second base in both 2019 and 2020.

Following the 2020 campaign, Wong tested free agency for the first time in his career and landed with the Brewers on a two-year deal. His defense took a step back during his time in Milwaukee, as he rated as roughly average in 2021 and landed in just the third percentile among qualified fielders by measure of Outs Above Average last year. That slip in terms of defensive value was made up for by improved performance at the plate, as Wong slashed .262/.337/.439 with a wRC+ of 113 in 989 plate appearances during his two seasons with Milwaukee.

While Wong has struggled badly in Seattle, that extensive track record as an above-average regular has evidently caught the attention of the Red Sox, who have struggled to get production out of their middle infield with shortstop Trevor Story having missed the entire season to this point. They’ve relied on a variety of options up the middle this season, including Enrique Hernandez, Yu Chang, Christian Arroyo, Pablo Reyes, and Enmanuel Valdez. As for the Mariners, Dylan Moore, Jose Caballero, and the newly-acquired Josh Rojas are among the club’s options at the keystone going forward.

Orioles Acquire Jack Flaherty From Cardinals

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The Orioles have acquired right-hander Jack Flaherty from the Cardinals, per announcements from both clubs. Infielder César Prieto, left-hander Drew Rom and right-hander Zack Showalter are heading the other way.

Flaherty, 27, has seemed like a clear trade candidate for a while now. He’s an impending free agent on a Cardinals club that has struggled all year, currently sporting a record of 47-60 that has them 10 games out of a playoff spot. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak admitted about three weeks ago that the Cards would have to make moves aimed at improving their chances in 2024. With his impending free agency, Flaherty was one of the obvious pieces to go and recently received interest from clubs such as the Dodgers and Rays.

Not too long ago, Flaherty seemed to be a burgeoning ace in St. Louis. He tossed 151 innings over 28 starts in 2018, allowing 3.34 earned runs per nine innings. He followed that up with an even better showing in 2019, dropping his ERA to 2.75 in 196 1/3 over 33 starts. He struck out 29.9% of batters faced that year while walking just 7.1%, finishing fourth in the voting for National League Cy Young.

But it’s been a different story since then. He struggled in the shortened season by posting a 4.91 ERA in nine starts. The year after, he made multiple trips to the injured list, being sidelined by a left oblique issue and then a right shoulder strain and ultimately tossing 78 1/3 innings that year. Those shoulder issues lingered into 2022 and he was only able to throw 36 innings last year.

With all of those issues, he came into 2023 having only thrown 154 2/3 innings in the previous three years combined. That made him a fairly unknown quantity, but he has settled in somewhere in between his previous ace form and the more recent struggles. He’s stayed healthy all year, having taken the ball 20 times and logging 109 2/3 innings already, but with a 4.43 ERA that’s not terribly exciting. His 21.9% strikeout rate and 11.1% walk rate are both a few ticks worse than league averages, with his 44.6% ground ball rate only slightly better.

If one wanted to be more charitable, they could look to the fact that his results have gotten better over time, in a sense. He had a 6.29 ERA through the first week of May, thanks in part to a 10-run disaster against the Angels on May 4. Since then, he’s posted a much nicer 3.58 ERA over 75 1/3 innings. Any pitcher’s stats would look better if you removed their worst start, but with Flaherty’s limited workload in the previous three years, perhaps he was still getting into a groove.

The Orioles will seemingly be hoping that the charitable outlook on Flaherty is correct. They have shot up to the top of the American League with a 65-41 record, though mostly on the backs of their position players and bullpen. Their starting rotation has been an obvious weak point, with a collective 4.48 ERA that puts them 16th out of the 30 major league teams. They were connected to various starting pitchers from Justin Verlander, Michael Lorenzen and Shohei Ohtani but the deadline has now passed with Flaherty as their sole rotation upgrade.

The club recently optioned Tyler Wells, leaving them with a rotation of Kyle Gibson, Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer and Kyle Bradish, with Flaherty added in. Bradish is the only one of that group with an ERA better than 4.40. They have shown they can win with this group, but it will be an interesting gambit come playoff time, when the front of a club’s rotation tends to become more important.

For the Cardinals, they have added many young players to their system this week by trading away Jordan Montgomery, Jordan Hicks, Paul DeJong, Génesis Cabrera and Flaherty. In this deal, they will add three more players to their system.

Prieto, 24, broke into the Cuban National Series as a teenager before signing with the Orioles in January of 2022. He split last year between High-A and Double-A, hitting .273/.314/.404 for a wRC+ of 96. This year, he’s hit .349/.393/.475 between Double-A and Triple-A, leading to a 132 wRC+. He’s played all three of the infield positions to the left of first base this year. Baseball America recently ranked him the #14 prospect in the Orioles’ system with FanGraphs putting him at #26.

Rom, 23, has been starting in Triple-A this year with a 5.34 ERA over 86 innings. He’s struck out 25.1% of batters while walking 11.5% and getting grounders at a 47.7% clip. It’s possible his .391 batting average on balls in play is pushing some extra runs across the board, leading to his 4.21 FIP. BA ranked him the #16 prospect in Baltimore’s system with FanGraphs at #30. Showalter, 19, was just drafted in the 11th round last year and has been pitching in the lower levels of Baltimore’s system this year.

For the Cardinals, this trade and the others have allowed them to stockpile some young talent as they look to reload for 2024. For the Orioles, this is their first competitive season since Mike Elias became the general manager in November of 2018. The club has generally been cautious in free agency in that time, having not given out any multi-year deals to free agents. Now their first deadline in buyer position has seen them acquire two rental pitchers in Flaherty and Shintaro Fujinami.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported that the O’s were close to getting Flaherty. Francys Romero first had Prieto’s involvement. Jeff Passan of ESPN first had Rom while Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com added Showalter.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

D-Backs Acquire Tommy Pham

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The Diamondbacks acquired outfielder Tommy Pham and cash considerations from the Mets. New York received minor league infielder Jeremy Rodriguez in return. The Mets are reportedly paying down half the money that remains on Pham’s deal.

Pham got off to a relatively slow start after signing with the Mets over the offseason. He hit only .196/.283/.348 through the end of April, leading to some speculation the Mets could cut into his playing time. The veteran put that behind him and has been one of the league’s better hitters since the start of May.

Over the past three months, the 35-year-old is hitting .286/.365/.503. He’s up to a .268/.348/.472 line in 264 plate appearances overall. Pham has connected on 10 home runs, walked at a strong 11% clip and kept his strikeouts to a decent 21.2% rate. It’s easily his best offensive showing in four years, more or less a return to his peak form.

A right-handed hitter, Pham has done the bulk of his damage against left-handed pitching through the course of his career. He has had more balanced results in 2023, posting a .255/.339/.532 line versus southpaws and a .277/.355/.431 showing against right-handed pitching. That kind of production fits well in the middle of a batting order.

Pham’s bat is his calling card. He has started five games in center field this year but is primarily a left fielder. Public metrics have pegged him as a slightly below-average defender for the past few seasons. It’s been a similar story through 395 2/3 innings this year.

The Mets have dramatically reshaped the roster within the past week. They’ve been expected to listen to offers on rentals, but the magnitude of their sell-off has outstretched expectations. The deals of Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander represent a massive change in direction for the organization. Moving shorter-term role players like Pham is relatively small in comparison.

Pham received a $1MM signing bonus and is playing this season on a $5MM salary. He’s due roughly $1.64MM from now through the end of the season, with each club picking up around $800K. He’ll tack on a good chunk more in incentives. Pham has already triggered $400K in bonuses and will earn another $200K for every 25 plate appearances between 275 and 450.

Arizona has a number of young outfielders at the major league level. Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas and Jake McCarthy all hit from the left side. Thomas hasn’t produced much offensively in his career, while McCarthy has slumped to a .251/.326/.346 line through 75 games after a promising 2022 campaign. Arizona brought in Kyle Lewis and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in offseason trades to balance the outfield. Lewis has spent most of his time in Triple-A; Gurriel got off to a torrid start in the desert but has just a .180/.225/.337 line since the beginning of June.

The Pham acquisition presumably pushes Gurriel into more of a bench/designated hitter role. The D-Backs have rotated a number of players through the DH spot to keep them fresh throughout the season.

Rodriguez is a 17-year-old infielder from the Dominican Republic. The Snakes signed him for $1.25MM just a few months ago. Ben Badler of Baseball America praised his left-handed swing and infield actions in reviewing Arizona’s international signing class. Rodriguez is nowhere close to the majors but resents another upside lottery play for New York, a similar mold to the two players they acquired from the Marlins for David Robertson last week.

Andy Martino of SNY first reported the Diamondbacks were acquiring Pham. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported the Mets would get Rodriguez in return. Tim Britton of the Athletic reported the cash considerations.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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