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Braves Looking For High-Leverage Relief Help

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With the deadline now a day away, the Braves are looking for pitching, with Jon Heyman of The New York Post relaying that help at the back of their bullpen is a target area.

The club in Atlanta is in a stronger position than any other in the majors. They have a lead of 11.5 games in the National League East, while none of the five other division leaders have a gap larger than two games. They are the closest thing to a lock in baseball right now, with a potent lineup that’s strong from top to bottom and a rotation that’s set to see Max Fried come off the injured list soon.

Considering all that, there’s not too much for them to improve, but even the best teams can squeeze in another high-quality reliever. The bullpen in Atlanta is already in strong shape as it is, with their collective 3.67 earned run average the sixth-best in the majors. They’ve recently added Pierce Johnson into the mix but there’s no reason they couldn’t bolster the group even further.

There’s some precedent for the club adding to the top end of their bullpen even when it’s already in good shape, as it was just a year ago that they traded for Raisel Iglesias despite having Kenley Jansen already in the closer’s role. That was a bit of a future-focused move, as Jansen was an impending free agent but Iglesias still had three more years on the deal he originally signed with the Angels. It beefed up the relief corps for the stretch run while also allowing them to fill the closer vacancy before it even became vacant.

Here in 2023, Iglesias has taken a bit of a step backwards from his previous work. He suffered a right shoulder strain during Spring Training and began the season on the injured list but was able to return by early May. Since then, he’s recorded 20 saves, posting a 3.69 ERA in 34 appearances. That’s not a disastrous figure, but it’s a drop from his 2.55 mark across the three previous seasons. His 31.1% strikeout rate and 6.8% walk rate are both strong numbers, but slightly off from his 34.8% and 5.1% marks in that 2020-2022 stretch.

Most clubs would love to have an elite reliever like Iglesias, but the fact that Atlanta thinks it can upgrade in this department just goes to show how few holes the club has at the moment. But beyond Iglesias, their other high-leverage relievers also have some question marks. A.J. Minter got off to a terrible start, as he had a 7.43 ERA on May 26. He righted the ship with a 1.56 ERA over his next 20 appearances but then landed on the IL due to shoulder inflammation, just getting activated today. Kirby Yates has a 3.38 ERA but is working around a 13.1% walk rate thanks to a .226 batting average on balls in play and 87.1% strand rate. Collin McHugh has a 3.98 ERA as his strikeouts have been vanishing, punching out 16% of batters this year compared to 28.7% in the previous two campaigns. The club also has each of Dylan Lee, Jesse Chavez, Nick Anderson and Tyler Matzek currently on the 60-day injured list.

If Atlanta can find an elite arm to add into that mix, there’s some room for improvement. Heyman mentions Josh Hader of the Padres and David Bednar of the Pirates, but both will be hard to pry loose from their respective clubs. The Friars are five games out of a playoff spot but reporting seems to indicate they want to try to go for it rather than give up on their season. Unless they get blown away prior to the deadline, they might just hang on to Hader. The Bucs are out of contention but control Bednar for another three years and he’s a fan favorite, having grown up in the Pittsburgh area.

Scott Barlow of the Royals is probably available but he’s having a down year, with his 5.35 ERA more than double the 2.30 mark he had over the past two seasons. He’s probably been a bit unlucky given his .340 batting average on balls in play and 61.6% strand rate, but his 12.5% walk rate is also a big jump for his 8.4% clip in 2021-2022. The Mariners are reportedly willing to listen to offers on Paul Sewald, who has a 2.88 ERA from the start of 2021 to the present, striking out 35% of hitters in the process. The list of trade candidates includes many other potential options, with varying degrees of availability and skill.

Guardians Trade Aaron Civale To Rays

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3:30pm: The Guardians and Rays have both formally announced the trade. It’s a straight one-for-one swap.

2:33pm: The Rays and Guardians are in agreement on a trade sending right-hander Aaron Civale from Cleveland to Tampa Bay, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Top first base prospect Kyle Manzardo is headed back to Cleveland in the deal.

Civale, 28, is in the midst of a fine season and earning just $2.6MM with another two years of club control remaining beyond the 2023 season. The Guardians have been mulling the idea of shopping him, given their need for offense, their rich stockpile of pitching talent, and the general demand for rotation help throughout the league.

The Rays, needing rotation help with Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen falling to season-ending injuries — Tommy John surgery and flexor surgery, respectively — have been in the market for rotation help throughout the month. They previously had interest in Jordan Montgomery before his trade to the Rangers and in Cubs righty Marcus Stroman before Chicago won eight straight games and went from expected seller to potential buyer.

Civale will fill that need for the Rays, stepping into the rotation alongside Shane McClanahan, Tyler Glasnow, Zach Eflin and Taj Bradley. The Rays have been regularly deploying bullpen games and using openers since Springs and Rasmussen went down, but Civale will give them a conventional — and quite strong — five-man rotation moving forward. He’s sitting on a 2.34 ERA in 77 innings this season, and while the right-hander’s below-average 19% strikeout rate, tiny .242 average on balls in play and huge 82.7% strand rate all make that ERA seem bound for some regression, he’s nonetheless a solid big league starter.

In 433 career innings, Civale touts a 3.77 ERA, 21.1% strikeout rate, 6.1% walk rate and 42.4% ground-ball rate. While he doesn’t throw hard, averaging just 91.8 mph on his heater, Civale has long boasted excellent command, limited hard contact well enough and posted enough swinging-strikes with his versatile repertoire to find plenty of success. He uses a cutter as his primary fastball but also has a traditional four-seamer and a sinker in his quiver.

Civale’s go-to breaking pitch has been a curveball that has graded as an excellent offering throughout his career. Opponents have batted just .182/.215/.299 in the 358 times the right-hander has finished off a plate appearance with that pitch — including a .186/.205/.302 showing in 2023. A hefty 36.3% of those plate appearances have yielded a strikeout.  Civale will throw very occasional sliders and changeups as well, but his curve functions as far and away his most frequent offspeed/breaking offering.

Civale is a clear upgrade to the Rays’ staff and could help them through the 2025 season, but he’s not without his own red flags and durability concerns. He’s avoided major injury and hasn’t had any surgeries, but Civale has never topped the 164 2/3 innings he pitched in the minors back in 2017 — his first full season as a professional. Since that time, he’s been on the injured list (minors and majors alike) with a litany of issues, including a lat strain, shoulder tightness, a wrist sprain, a finger sprain, forearm inflammation and an oblique strain (earlier this season).

There’s little doubting that he’s a quality performer when healthy, but Civale has only reached 100 innings in one Major League season and has only twice reached 20 starts. On the other hand, Civale’s frequent trips to the injured list have stunted his earning power in arbitration. He’s earning just $2.6MM this season, and his subsequent pair of arbitration raises will be based off that sum, which should tamp down his earnings a bit further (at least relative to other starters throughout the game).

In exchange for those two and a half seasons of affordable control, the Rays will  part with one of the top bats in their system. Manzardo, 23, was Tampa Bay’s second-round pick in 2021 and quickly hit his way onto top-100 prospect rankings throughout the sport. He’s had a rough go in his first run at Triple-A as a 22-year-old, hitting just .238/.342/.442 with 11 homers in 313 plate appearances. Manzardo is walking at a huge 13.4% clip, however, and has a lower-than-average 20.8% strikeout rate despite facing older and more experienced competition. He’s also just one season removed from hitting a combined .327/.426/.617 with nearly as many walks (59) as strikeouts (65) between High-A and Double-A.

Manzardo entered the season as a consensus top-100 prospect, and even with a lackluster showing in Triple-A so far he’s still quite highly touted. He ranks as the game’s No. 31 prospect at FanGraphs, No. 37 prospect at MLB.com and No. 69 at Baseball America on each publications midseason, post-draft rankings. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen writes in his scouting report that “every aspect” of Manzardo’s profile at the plate is plus, with the exception of his raw power, which is closer to average. He’s lauded for keen strike zone knowledge, consistent hard contact, an all-fields approach, his bat control and a potentially plus-plus hit tool that should allow him to hit for a high average with high-end on-base percentages.

It’s not yet clear when Manzardo will get his first big league opportunity, but it won’t be immediately. He’s been on the minor league injured list since early this month with a shoulder issue, though Cleveland clearly doesn’t believe it to be a major concern. He’ll be a candidate for a call-up late in the season and certainly will have a chance to break the Opening Day roster for the Guardians in 2024.

Since Cleveland isn’t getting an immediate big leaguer in return, there’s little doubting that this move hurts their chances of squeaking out a postseason berth in 2023. The American League Central has been the game’s most feeble division all year, and Cleveland made this trade of one of its best starters despite the fact that Shane Bieber was recently placed on the 60-day injured list and despite the fact that the Guards are only a half-game behind the Twins in the standings. That speaks volumes about how the front office views the club’s chances of faring in a potential postseason series even if they’d managed to overtake a middling and de facto first-place Twins club.

With Civale out of the picture, the Guardians’ rotation will consist of Noah Syndergaard and rookies Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams and Logan Allen. The latter trio has all found immediate success in the Majors, and each is generally living up to his own top prospect billing. The hope for Cleveland will be that righty Cal Quantrill can return from his current bout of shoulder inflammation sooner than later. Both Bieber and right-hander Triston McKenzie are on the 60-day IL and aren’t expected back anytime soon. Depth options in Triple-A include Cody Morris, Joey Cantillo, Hunter Gaddis and Chris Vallimont — all of whom are on the 40-man roster.

The acquisition of Manzardo also has some implications for breakout Guardians star Josh Naylor, who’s turned in an excellent .308/.347/.504 slash and 15 homers this year. Naylor has spent the bulk of his time at first base, but he could well be pushed to an outfield corner whenever Manzardo is called up for his debut. Manzardo is widely regarded as a first-base-only prospect, whereas Naylor has his share of experience in the outfield. It’s possible the two could eventually split the first base and designated hitter duties, but Cleveland also has veteran Josh Bell currently playing on a two-year deal. Bell can turn down a player option for 2024 and return to free agency this winter, but his underwhelming .233/.319/.385 slash makes that feel rather unlikely.

Positional alignment to the side, the Guardians have clearly been focused on adding a controllable bat to their system for some time now, just as the Rays have been looking for some quality, affordable innings to round out the rotation behind a strong quartet. In that sense, today’s one-for-one swap fills a goal for both parties and allows each to deal from a position of depth in order to satiate that need. The Rays get the more immediate boost to their roster, but the hope among Cleveland brass is surely that Manzardo will be holding down a key spot in the lineup long after Civale would’ve otherwise reached free agency in the 2025-26 offseason.

Astros Claim Jake Cousins From Brewers, Designate Blake Taylor

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The Astros have claimed right-hander Jake Cousins off waivers from the Brewers, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. There had been no prior indication Cousins had been removed from Milwaukee’s 40-man roster, so this will drop their count to 39. The Astros have now announced the claim, with left-hander Blake Taylor designated for assignment in a corresponding move and Cousins optioned to Triple-A.

Cousins, 29, was first added to Milwaukee’s roster in June of 2021. He made 30 appearances for them the rest of the way, allowing 2.70 earned runs per nine innings. He struck out 35.2% of batters faced and kept 47.4% of balls in play on the ground, but also issued walks at a 15.2% clip. In 2022, he missed most of the year with a right elbow effusion, or a build up of fluid in the area. He was only able to make 12 appearances with the big league club.

Here in 2023, Cousins was frequently optioned to Triple-A and recalled for the first few months of the season. He made nine appearances with the big league club, posting a 4.82 ERA. He’s also made 13 Triple-A appearances with a 7.30 ERA, though a .533 batting average in balls in play and 58.3% strand rate are clearly inflating that number in the small sample.

The Brewers evidently tried to quietly sneak Cousins through waivers to open a roster spot, though the Astros swooped in to stop that from happening. He’s struck out 31.4% of major league hitters he’s faced in his career but has also walked 16.2% of them. They will surely try to help him better harness his stuff as he provides them with some bullpen depth. He has a pair of option years remaining, one of which he’s burning here in 2023, but can be sent to the minors for one more season in the future.

In order to take a shot on Cousins, the Astros are risking losing Taylor, who originally came to Houston in the 2019 trade that sent Jake Marisnick to the Mets. Taylor spent most of 2020 to 2022 with the big league club in Houston, making 92 appearances with a 3.06 ERA, 19.1% strikeout rate, 12.6% walk rate and 44.3% ground ball rate. Here in 2023, he began the season on the injured list due to a left elbow strain. He was activated in mid-April and immediately optioned to Triple-A. He’s made 35 appearances at that level with a 5.15 ERA. His 43.7% ground ball rate there has been solid but his 14.9% strikeout rate and 13.1% walk rate are both well worse than average.

The Astros will now have a week to trade Taylor or pass him through waivers, though the timeline on the trade option is much tighter with tomorrow’s deadline. Left-handed relief tends to always be in demand and Taylor still has an option year beyond this one, though time will tell if his poor results this year dampen the interest from rival clubs.

Rockies Activate Brendan Rodgers From 60-Day IL

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The Rockies announced Monday that they’ve reinstated infielder Brendan Rodgers from the 60-day injured list. Rodgers has yet to play in a game this season after suffering a shoulder injury during spring training. Colorado also recalled infielder Coco Montes from Triple-A Albuquerque. That pair of moves will fill the roster spots vacated by last night’s trades of Randal Grichuk and C.J. Cron (both to the Angels in the same deal). Rodgers also fills one of what had been three vacancies on the 40-man roster.

Originally, there was concern that Rodgers’ injury would prove to be season-ending in nature. Ultimately, it’ll still end up costing him about two-thirds of the 2023 campaign, though that’s surely a preferable result for the 26-year-old, as opposed to an entirely lost season. Rodgers has been on a minor league rehab assignment for a couple weeks now and has hit particularly well (7-for-20 with a homer and two doubles) since moving up from Class-A to Triple-A. He appeared in 10 minor league games and tallied 38 plate appearances before being deemed ready to go.

Rodgers, the third overall pick in 2015, has tallied 996 plate appearances from 2021-22 as the Rockies’ primary second baseman, turning in a solid .274/.326/.434 slash with 28 homers, 51 doubles, six triples and strong defense at second base. Defensive Runs Saved credited Rodgers with a whopping +22 mark at the position in 2022, and while metrics like Ultimate Zone Rating (7.9) and Outs Above Average (3) weren’t quite as bullish, he universally graded as an above-average defender and was recognized as such when he captured his first Gold Glove Award last year.

It’s deadline season and the Rockies are sellers, so it’s technically plausible that the Rox could be surprised by an over-the-top offer for Rodgers in the 26 hours between now and tomorrow’s trade deadline, though that seems quite unlikely. Rodgers has another two years of affordable club control remaining beyond the current season, and the Rox surely aren’t keen on trading away such a major piece of their roster when his value is down fresh on the heels of a season-long IL stint. Given the general state of the Rockies, however, Rodgers could emerge as an offseason trade candidate if he performs well in the final two months and sufficiently proves that the shoulder injury is behind him.

Giants Could Deal From Rotation Depth

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The Giants have drawn interest in their starting pitchers, and while ace Logan Webb rather clearly figures to be off the table in any discussions, San Francisco has a handful of shorter-term options that could make for more realistic trade possibilities. FanSided’s Robert Murray wrote last week that lefty Alex Wood could be an option to change hands, and Ken Rosenthal and Jayson Stark of The Athletic have now similarly mentioned the possibility of trading Wood or another bulk-innings option as a means of acquiring either middle infield help or prospect depth.

A free agent at season’s end, the 32-year-old Wood has voiced a preference to remain with the Giants (link via Evan Webeck of the San Jose Mercury News). However, he’s also made clear he wants to start games, and San Francisco has frequently used him as a bulk option behind an opener. Four of Wood’s past six appearances have come in relief of an opener. He hasn’t reached six innings in an appearance all season and hasn’t recorded an out in the sixth inning since May 26.

The Giants have been careful about limiting the number of times Wood faces opponents in a game, and with good reason. In 2022, when the lefty was deployed solely as a starter, he held opponents to a .241/.300/.344 batting line on the first trip through the order and a .256/.307/.399 slash the second time around. In the 95 plate appearances where Wood turned a lineup over for the third time, opponents exploded for a .326/.368/.573 batting line. He had similarly problematic splits in 2021, too.

Wood could certainly still be of interest to clubs seeking help at the back of the rotation, although he currently looks like something of a buy-low candidate and might need to be swapped out for an infielder in similar standing with his organization. The veteran southpaw has a pedestrian 4.75 ERA on the season, and his 18.8% strikeout rate, 11.2% walk rate, 43.6% ground-ball rate and 1.19 HR/9 mark have all gone in the wrong direction, relative to his 2021-22 output. Wood is pitching in the second season of a two-year, $25MM deal and will reach free agency again following the season. About $4.167MM of this year’s salary remains to be paid out.

San Francisco has other arms to peddle in similar scenarios. Right-hander Ross Stripling and lefty Sean Manaea are both in the first season of two-year deals that guarantee them the same $25MM promised to Wood. Both, however, can opt out at season’s end. Neither has pitched up to his career standards, but both have been considerably better after a tough start to the year. Since returning from the injured list in late June, Stripling carries a 3.64 ERA and a sensational 22-to-1 K/BB ratio in 29 1/3 innings. Manaea, since a full-time move to multi-inning relief work, has 4.03 ERA with a 29.2% strikeout rate against just a 5.9% walk rate. The recent trends are encouraging, but the Giants might still have a tough time extracting present-day value in a trade — and it’s quite possible one or both will forgo his opt-out opportunity at season’s end. That’ll depend largely on how the final two months play out.

It’s worth noting that since reports about interest in the Giants’ rotation depth first emerged, right-hander Anthony DeSclafani was placed on the injured list. An MRI revealed a Grade 1 flexor strain, and DeSclafani is expected to miss a “few weeks” with the injury, at the very least. That, coupled with his prior struggles leading up to the IL placement (21 runs in his past 23 1/3 innings), figures to all but remove him as a trade candidate.

Mariners Willing To Listen To Trade Offers On Ty France, Teoscar Hernández

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The Mariners are listening to offers on certain players on their roster, with Bob Nightengale of USA Today listing Ty France, Teoscar Hernández and Paul Sewald among those being discussed. Their openness on Sewald was reported last week.

The fact that the Mariners are listening to offers isn’t necessarily a shock, as most front offices these days take the approach that no one on the roster is untouchable and it’s worth hearing out all offers as a way to gauge the market. But the Mariners are in a position where dealing major league players might not be an outlandish thought.

Their 54-51 record is solid, but has them in fourth place in a strong American League West. The teams above them in the division have already been some of the most aggressive this week, with the Rangers recently acquiring Max Scherzer, Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton while the Angels grabbed Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López, C.J. Cron and Randal Grichuk. The Astros haven’t been quite so bold but did get Kendall Graveman from the White Sox, in addition to welcoming Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez back from the injured list.

The Mariners aren’t totally buried, currently sitting 5.5 games back in the division and 4.5 in the Wild Card race. FanGraphs still gives them a 16.9% chance of making the playoffs while Baseball Prospectus puts them at 15.2%. But since their position isn’t strong enough to be firm buyers, they might have to at least consider some selling, something that president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto recently admitted.

Listening on Hernández is understandable, as he’s an impending free agent. This summer’s market is generally considered to be light on impact bats, which could lead to the M’s receiving notable offers that help them in the future. But they would have to weigh those offers against hurting their chances here in 2023.

Acquired from the Blue Jays in the offseason, Hernández isn’t having his best season. His .238/.288/.408 batting line amounts to a wRC+ of 93, or seven percent below league average. But he hit .283/.333/.519 with the Jays from 2020 to 2022 for a 132 wRC+. The M’s were undoubtedly hoping for something more when they gave up Erik Swanson and Adam Macko for Hernández, especially considering his $14MM salary, but perhaps they can still recoup something before the deadline. Despite his diminished production, perhaps some club is willing to bank on his track record, especially with the aforementioned market conditions.

France would be a very different situation, as he can still be retained via arbitration for two more seasons beyond this one. Like Hernández, he’s having a down year relative to his own previous production, having hit .285/.355/.443 from 2020 to 2022 for a 128 wRC+ but just .253/.324/.367 this year for a 100 wRC+. That means that trading him now would be selling low and also punting on a player who could still help in the seasons to come. He’s making $4.1MM this year and will be due raises in the next two years before reaching free agency after 2025.

The Mariners have received a tremendous showing from Mike Ford recently, who was added to their roster at the start of June and has hit 11 home runs since then, serving primarily as the club’s designated hitter. His .238/.302/.540 batting line amounts to a wRC+ of 131. He comes with three further seasons of arbitration control, so perhaps the M’s might have some willingness to cash in France and try to put Ford at first base, but that would be a risky path. Ford’s breakout this year has come in just 139 plate appearances while he’s continued to strike out at a 35.3% clip and see 30.6% of his fly balls clear the fence. Since he hit .201/.301/.387 in 468 plate appearances prior to this year, he seems ripe for some regression.

The M’s might have to make some difficult decisions between now and the deadline, given the spot they’re in. They’re not totally out of it but would have to leapfrog teams like the Angels, Yankees and Red Sox before they’re even on the edge of a playoff spot. They could decide to make some moves that help them next year, though it might involve further limiting their chances here in 2023. It might also require them to sell low on players like Hernández and France. But the trade market was already light on impact bats, even before the Cubs pulled Cody Bellinger off the market. It’s understandable why the M’s might want to assess their options and see what a light selloff can do for them, but it would surely be a tough pill to swallow after they made the postseason last year for the first time since 2001.

Latest On Dodgers’ Pursuit Of Justin Verlander

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Following the Mets’ decision to deal future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer to the Rangers over the weekend, eyes around the baseball world have turned toward the other Cooperstown-bound veteran in Queens: Justin Verlander. Previous reporting had connected the Astros, Dodgers, Braves, and Reds to the veteran ace, though the Astros and Dodgers have appeared to be the frontrunners for Verlander’s services, in the event that he’s moved before the deadline.

More recent reports have echoed that sentiment, with SNY’s Andy Martino indicating that “three or four” clubs, including the Dodgers and Astros, have engaged with the Mets on Verlander, though no talks have progressed to the point of an agreement on specific players. ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez expanded on the Dodgers’ reported interest with some specifics on negotiations between the sides.

Per Gonzalez, a deal between the sides is “unlikely” given the complicating factor of Verlander’s 2025 vesting option, which would convert to a player option if he pitches at least 140 innings in 2024. That being said, Gonzalez notes that the Mets were willing to pay down the majority of the money Scherzer was owed in order to extract a top prospect in the former of infielder Luisangel Acuna from the Rangers. Given the Mets’ dearth of top pitching prospects and the access LA enjoys, Gonzalez indicates that the likeliest path toward a Verlander deal would be the Dodgers putting together a prospect package of young pitchers that entices the Mets to pay down a significant portion of his salary.

Such a package would certainly be feasible for the Dodgers to put together, if they so chose. Five of the club’s top ten prospects are pitchers, per MLB Pipeline, and youngsters like Emmet Sheehan, Gavin Stone, and Ryan Pepiot are either already in or approaching the majors. That list also doesn’t include young hurler Bobby Miller, who was the club’s top pitching prospect before he became a key cog in the 2023 club’s rotation. While the Dodgers surely wouldn’t consider moving Miller, dealing from the aforementioned trio of prospects could be a reasonable course of action for the Dodgers, perhaps paired with a lower-level arm like Nick Frasso or Landon Knack.

With other top-tier options like Scherzer, Lucas Giolito, and Jordan Montgomery having already moved this deadline, it’s possible that the Dodgers may be running out of alternative options in their pursuit of rotation upgrades. Gonzalez indicates that the club is only expected to add further pitching if it’s an impactful addition, and with the likes of Blake Snell and Marcus Stroman seemingly unlikely to move, Verlander and Tigers lefty Eduardo Rodriguez could be the only arms left of that caliber.

Brewers Interested In Further Offensive Additions

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The Brewers are hoping to add another bat to their lineup ahead of the deadline even after landing first baseman Carlos Santana in a deal with the Pirates last week, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. That Milwaukee is looking to add to their offense is hardly a surprise. The club’s collective wRC+ this season stands at just 88, bottom five in the sport and ahead of only the Rockies in the NL. While Santana addresses their lack of production from first base, they nonetheless have plenty of offensive holes to fill around their roster.

The club has gotten below average offensive production from every position around the diamond except for left field this season, though that certainly doesn’t mean they’ll be looking to upgrade their entire offense. Shortstop Willy Adames figures to be secure in his role, for example, and newly-promoted outfielder Sal Frelick figures to handle right field on a regular basis going forward. Given Joey Wiemer’s quality defense in center field, it seems reasonable to expect him to remain a fixture in the lineup as well despite a lackluster wRC+ of 82.

The club could look to add offense to its infield by swinging a deal for third baseman Jeimer Candelario of the Nationals or second baseman Gleyber Torres of the Yankees, but the market for Candelario appears to be quite crowded and the Yankees currently appear more likely to buy than sell. That being said, either player would inject a well above-average bat into the club’s infield alongside Adames and Andruw Monasterio, the latter of whom can play anywhere on the infield as needed to accommodate a potential acquisition.

While an infield addition would make sense, the most straightforward way for the Brewers to improve their offensive production would be targeting an addition at DH. The club has gotten a pathetic 55 wRC+ from their DH slot to this point in the season, dead last in the majors. Adding a surefire, above-average bat who can be slotted in at DH on a daily basis would transform the look of the club’s lineup, and Matt Arnold’s front office seems to know that given their reported interest in White Sox slugger Eloy Jimenez.

Jimenez, a former top prospect with a career 123 wRC+ and a contract that allows his club to control him through the end of the 2026 campaign, would be an excellent pickup for the Brewers, though he would likely come at a fairly hefty acquisition cost considering those positive attributes. There are a handful of rental options that could also be available to impact the club’s offensive profile at what would likely be a much more affordable prospect cost. Tommy Pham of the Mets, in particular, is a free agent after this season but has delivered a .268/.348/.472 slash line in 264 trips to the plate this season. Other possible options include Pham’s teammate Mark Canha or Red Sox slugger Adam Duvall.

While the Brewers are focused on adding to their offense, they appear to feel comfortable with their pitching staff as is with Rosenthal noting that Milwaukee does not expect to jump into the starting pitching market even after the loss of right-hander Julio Teheran to the injured list. Left-hander Wade Miley is expected to be activated from the 15-day injured list on Wednesday, while Rosenthal notes that righty Brandon Woodruff is set to make a rehab start tomorrow and could also rejoin the rotation in the near future.

Zach Eflin Avoids Injured List, Cleared To Start Tuesday

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Rays fans were bracing for bad news when righty Zach Eflin exited his most recent start after four innings and went for an MRI on his left knee, but Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that he’s expected to avoid the injured list entirely. Eflin threw a 25-pitch bullpen session over the weekend and is now slated to start Tuesday against the Yankees. He’s not expected to have any limitations on his workload tomorrow.

It’s a sigh of relief for a Rays club that already lost Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen for the season. A third major injury would’ve surely accelerated Tampa Bay’s pursuit for rotation help, which has been ongoing, but it seems Eflin has avoided an injury of any real note. The right-hander’s chronic knee issues are well known; he’s spoken openly about them in the past, underwent surgery on both knees in 2016 and had a second surgery on his right knee in 2021.

That history of knee issues didn’t dissuade the Rays from making an aggressive bid to sign Eflin in free agency, ultimately inking him on a three-year, $40MM contract. He’s in the midst of perhaps the finest season of his career, tossing 116 1/3 innings of 3.64 ERA ball with a strong 25.2% strikeout rate, a masterful 3.7% walk rate and a career-high 51.7% ground-ball rate. He’ll remain in the rotation alongside Shane McClanahan, Tyler Glasnow and Taj Bradley.

The Rays were in the market for starting pitching help even before Eflin’s injury scare, and it stands to reason they’ll still be poking around that market, albeit with less urgency than if Eflin had endured a significant injury. Tampa Bay has been connected to the Cardinals’ available starters, and while Jordan Montgomery has since been traded to the Rangers, righty Jack Flaherty remains on the block. They were also tied to Marcus Stroman a few weeks ago, but that was before the Cubs rattled off an eight-game winning streak that thrust them back into the competition in the NL Central. He’s now unlikely to be moved. Lance Lynn, another Rays target, has since been traded to the Dodgers.

Even with those misses, there are still several names available. Michael Lorenzen, Eduardo Rodriguez, Justin Verlander, Jose Quintana, Aaron Civale and old friend Rich Hill are just some of the many pitchers whose names have been bandied about the rumor circuit over the past week or so.

Guardians Have Considered Making Aaron Civale Available

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The Guardians’ rotation has been ravaged by injury this season, with right-handers Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie, Aaron Civale and Cal Quantrill all spending significant time on the injured list. They’ve already added Noah Syndergaard to help patch things over. Civale is healthy and pitching well right now, however, and the Guardians have at least pondered the possibility of selling high on him if it means acquiring a controllable young hitter, reports Zack Meisel of The Athletic. Cleveland has little appetite to trade prospects for a rental acquisition at this point, Meisel further notes.

MLBTR’s Anthony Franco looked at Civale’s trade candidacy two weeks ago, outlining the reasons he’d draw interest (strong results, affordable $2.6MM salary, two-plus seasons of club control remaining) and the reasons the Guardians could be reluctant to move the 28-year-old righty (an otherwise young rotation with workload concerns, injuries to other key starters, a desire to remain competitive in a weak AL Central, and that remaining club control that piques others’ interest). Little has changed in the equation since Anthony wrote that piece, perhaps with the exception of Civale’s ERA, which has continued to drop. Civale has taken the ball four times since that was written, and he’s posted a 1.85 ERA in 24 1/3 frames — dropping his season-long ERA from 2.56 to a stellar 2.34.

There are reasons to be skeptical of Civale’s ability to continue at quite such a strong pace. His career-low 19% strikeout rate is below the league average, and both his .242 average on balls in play and 82.7% strand rate seem bound to regress. He entered the season with respective marks of .281 and 72.3% in those areas. He’s also seen just 5.6% of his fly-balls turn into home runs, which is less than half the 12.5% league average and the 14% mark he carried into the current season.

Even when factoring for some expected regression, however, Civale is still a quality big league pitcher. He’s logged 430 innings in his career and touts a 3.77 ERA. Civale has regularly showed strong command, which has helped him limit hard contact at better-than-average levels. There are durability concerns, as he’s never reached 130 innings in a Major League season and never topped the combined 164 2/3 innings he pitched in the minors back in 2017 — his first full professional season. Civale has been on the minor league and big league injured list with a variety of injuries, including a lat strain, shoulder tightness, a finger sprain, a wrist sprain, forearm inflammation and, most recently, an oblique strain. It’s a lengthy list, but also one that notably does not include any surgeries.

Looking around the league, there’s no shortage of contenders seeking starting pitching — particularly affordable arms with multiple years of club control remaining. Not all of those clubs, however, are in position to deal a big league bat with multiple years of control remaining himself. Two weeks ago, Anthony listed both the D-backs and Orioles as teams brimming with young position players who could make such a swap. Both remain logical fits, as do the Cardinals and the Reds, to name a couple more.

Cleveland has a wealth of pitching talent, with rookies Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen and Gavin Williams currently finding success in the rotation. Bieber, who might’ve been a trade candidate this month were it not for a right elbow injury that sent him to the 60-day IL, is controlled through the 2024 season. He’s due a raise on this year’s $10MM salary, however, and could potentially be moved over the winter. Triston McKenzie (through 2026), Cal Quantrill (through 2025) and Peyton Battenfield (through 2029) all have multiple years of club control remaining beyond the current season. Trades of Civale and/or (in the offseason) Bieber could potentially yield additional pitching talent, and the Guards have numerous other yet-to-debut prospects, including Joey Cantillo, Tanner Burns and the again-injured Daniel Espino.

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