Archives for 2023

The Opener: Trade Deadline, Syndergaard, Cubs, Reds

By Nick Deeds | July 31, 2023 at 8:39am CDT

With trade season in full swing, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. The Trade Deadline Draws Near:

MLB’s trade deadline is less than 36 hours away, and things kicked into gear in a big way over the weekend. The Rangers transformed their rotation by adding Max Scherzer in a deal with the Mets and Jordan Montgomery in a deal with the Rangers. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays found a replacement for the injured Jordan Romano in Cardinals closer Jordan Hicks. The Angels added depth to their position player group by acquiring Randal Grichuk and C.J. Cron from the Rockies, while the Braves added infield depth of their own by dealing for Nicky Lopez from the Royals.

Looking ahead, the Red Sox are at least listening on outfielder Alex Verdugo, who could hold extra appeal to teams seeking a lefty-hitting outfielder after the Cubs took Cody Bellinger off the trade market. Among the biggest question marks headed into the last day before the deadline is Mets ace Justin Verlander. He signed a two-year, $86.666MM deal with the Mets during the offseason that included a no-trade clause, though comments from Verlander have indicated that the club’s decision to deal Scherzer and that decision’s implications for the club’s competitiveness in 2024 could make him willing to waive that no-trade protection. The Dodgers, Astros, Braves, and Reds have all been connected to the future Hall of Famer.

2. Thor Starts In Cleveland:

Right-hander Noah Syndergaard was recently shipped from the Dodgers to the Guardians in a change of scenery deal that sent infielder Amed Rosario the other way. He’ll make his first start for his new club today, taking the mound this evening against J.P. France and the Astros in Houston this evening. It will be Syndergaard’s first start since a three-inning, six-run blowup against the Reds in Cincinnati that raised his season ERA in 7.16. That was nearly two months ago, as the Dodgers placed Syndergaard on the IL with a blister issue. Now that Syndergaard is presumably fully healthy, the Guardians will hope that a new organization can help him get back on track, allowing Syndergaard to stabilize a Cleveland rotation that will be without Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie for the foreseeable future.

3. Series Preview: Reds @ Cubs

The NL Central has been one of this summer’s most back-and-forth division races, and a coming four-game set between the Reds and Cubs at Wrigley Field could once against turn the tides in their division. The Reds took the lead in the Central yesterday, putting them half a game ahead of Milwaukee and four games ahead of Chicago. The Reds are 3-3 in their last six games, while the Cubs just saw an eight-game win streak snapped by a loss last night. The Reds will try to pull further ahead in the Central with rookie left-hander Andrew Abbott on the mound (1.90 ERA). The Cubs will counter with right-hander Marcus Stroman (3.51 ERA) as they try to gain ground in the division.

Braves Designate Charlie Culberson For Assignment

By Nick Deeds | July 31, 2023 at 8:08am CDT

The Braves made a series of roster moves this morning, per a club announcement. The club designated infielder Charlie Culberson for assignment to create room on the 40-man and active rosters for newly-acquired infielder Nicky Lopez. Meanwhile, left-hander A.J. Minter was activated from the 15-day injured list. Minter claimed a roster spot that was vacated by right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver when he was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett last night.

Despite the fact that Culberson was selected to the Major League roster on June 30, he appeared in only one game with the Braves and tallied a single plate appearance on July 16, during which he delivered a base hit. He’s otherwise been on-hand as bench depth but hasn’t been plugged into a game. This is the second time this season Atlanta has designated the veteran utilityman for assignment; he cleared waivers, elected free agency and quickly re-signed on a new minor league deal last time around.

Culberson, 34, has also appeared in 24 Triple-A games this season, batting .204/.234/.255 through 107 trips to the plate. It hasn’t been a strong year on the whole, but he’s beloved in the Braves organization, from the clubhouse to the fanbase, for his prior stints there in 2018-20. During that three-year period, Culberson delivered roughly league-average offense on the whole and appeared at every position other than catcher and center field. His penchant for clutch hits and walk-offs endeared him to Braves fans during that time, and Culberson enjoyed a career-best season with Atlanta in 2018 when he hit .270/.326/.466 with a dozen homers in 322 plate appearances.

The Braves will have until tomorrow evening’s trade deadline to trade Culberson if they choose, but it seems likelier that they’ll hope to pass him through outright waivers. He’d have the ability to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency once again, but given how quickly he re-upped with the Braves on a new minor league deal last time around, the same sequence could play out following his second DFA of the season.

Rangers Acquire Jordan Montgomery, Chris Stratton

By Mark Polishuk | July 30, 2023 at 11:59pm CDT

The Rangers continue to bolster their pitching ranks, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan (Twitter links) reports that Texas and St. Louis have completed a trade to send Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton to Arlington. The Cardinals will receive left-hander John King, as well as infield prospect Thomas Saggese and right-handed pitching prospect Tekoah Roby. In the Rangers’ official announcement of the deal, it was noted that Texas also received an international bonus pool slot from the Cardinals. To create roster space, Texas designated right-hander Joe Barlow for assignment.

With the Cards in seller mode, Montgomery and Stratton were seen as two of the likeliest players to be moved prior to the deadline, as both pitchers are free agents after the season. Between this swap with the Rangers and the Cardinals’ move to send Jordan Hicks to the Blue Jays earlier this afternoon, it’s fair to guess that Jack Flaherty (another pending free agent) might also soon be headed elsewhere, and St. Louis could also look to some surplus position players with more team control as the Cards look to reload for 2024.

As for the Rangers, acquiring Max Scherzer on Saturday and now Montgomery today throughout reinforces the team’s rotation. Despite season-ending injuries to Jacob deGrom and Jake Odorizzi, Texas had gotten solid results from its starters for much of the year, but some cracks have begun to show. Most prominently, Nathan Eovaldi hasn’t pitched since July 18, and was placed on the 15-day injured list today due to a forearm strain.

It’s an ominous diagnosis for a pitcher who already has two Tommy John surgeries on his health history, and the Rangers obviously aren’t taking any chances with Eovaldi’s recovery or in their pitching staff’s ability to thrive without Eovaldi in action. Manager Bruce Bochy told reporters (including MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry) today that the team is “pretty confident” Eovaldi will be able to return after just the minimum 15 days, though Eovaldi will visit with a doctor for precautionary purposes.

Scherzer and Montgomery now join a rotation that also includes Martin Perez, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, and Dane Dunning, though it remains to be seen if Texas will stick with a six-man staff. Keeping an extra starter might be useful to help keep everyone fresh for the pennant race (and, the Rangers hope, through October), yet moving Dunning back to a relief role might also be an option. On the other hand, Dunning has pitched quite well since his return to starting work, whereas Perez and Heaney have been much more inconsistent and Gray has been struggling over the last month.

Montgomery was already part of a notable deadline trade last year, when the Yankees sent the left-hander to the Cardinals in a one-for-one trade for Harrison Bader. In his first full year with the Cardinals, Montgomery has a 3.42 ERA over 121 innings, though his SIERA is a less-impressive 4.30. The southpaw has done his usual above-average job of avoiding free passes (6.9% walk rate) and limiting hard contact, though Montgomery now has a second straight season of a below-average strikeout rate (21.2%). While Montgomery has never been a huge strikeout pitcher, his whiff rate has also taken a tumble to 24.1% in 2023 after years of much more solid results.

If Scherzer is expected to be more of a front-of-the-rotation arm, then Montgomery represents a mid-rotation starter who can be relied on to take the ball every fifth (or sixth) day and deliver respectable results. Likewise, Stratton won’t be displacing Will Smith as the Rangers’ closer or even taking over a top set-up role, but he gives Texas another good arm for higher-leverage situtions late in games.

Montgomery and Stratton will each be reuniting with Mike Maddux, who was the Cardinals’ pitching coach from 2018-22 before moving on to join the Rangers’ coaching staff this year. Stratton is also a known quantity to skipper Bruce Bochy, as Stratton broke into the majors in the Giants organization back when Bochy was managing the team in 2016.

Stratton is also on the move for the second straight year at the deadline, as the Pirates sent Jose Quintana and Stratton to the Cardinals last August. Stratton’s 2022 numbers picked up considerably after that deal, and he has somewhat continued that form this season, even if his bottom-line results haven’t been reflective. Stratton has a 4.36 ERA in 53 2/3 innings, though a 3.48 SIERA and 3.06 FIP indicate some bad luck on Stratton’s part, perhaps due to an unusually low 61.6% strand rate.

The right-hander doesn’t have the high-velocity arsenal associated with most relievers, nor are his hard-contact or walk rates anything special. However, Stratton does bring durability in his ability to pitch multiple innings, and he has some of the most elite fastball and curveball spin rates of any pitcher in baseball.

Without any reports of money changing hands between the two teams, it looks like the Rangers will be absorbing the remainder of the 2023 salaries for Montgomery (roughly $3.5MM) and Stratton (around $1MM). It’s not a big financial commitment to a team that has already been splurging on big-name talent over the last two seasons, and Roster Resource projects that Texas is still just barely under the $233MM luxury tax threshold. The Rangers reportedly don’t have any issue crossing the tax threshold, so if another upgrade presents itself before Tuesday’s trade deadline, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the front office make another deal or two.

Among the players going back to the Cardinals, King is the best-known name to fans, as the lefty has a 4.27 ERA over 126 1/3 innings out of the Texas bullpen since he made his big league debut in 2020. A grounder specialist who has a very impressive 61.7% career groundball rate, King is naturally more susceptible than most to batted-ball luck, so his huge .379 BABIP over 18 2/3 innings has been the main factor in his 5.79 ERA.

The Rangers have sent King back and forth from Triple-A on a couple of occasions this season, and he is under team control through the 2026 campaign. The Cardinals will have the rest of the year to take a look at King and see if he might be an option for their bullpen going forward, plus in a more immediate sense King will add some left-handed depth to the St. Louis relief corps.

That said, Roby and Saggese are the bigger parts of this trade from the Cards’ perspective, as they join the three youngsters obtained in the Scherzer and Hicks deals as part of the sudden reload of the St. Louis farm system. MLB Pipeline ranked Roby as the Rangers’ 11th-best prospect and Saggese 14th, while Baseball America had a similar tack in placing Roby 13th and Saggese 15th.

Roby was a third-round pick for Texas in the 2020 draft, and he has a 5.05 ERA over 46 1/3 innings and 10 starts at Double-A Frisco this season. While he has cut back on his walks and home runs allowed, Roby’s strikeout rate has also tumbled during his three pro seasons, though his 25.6% mark this year is still respectable. The scouting reports from both Pipeline and BA pinpoint Roby’s command as his biggest issue, as his overall arsenal is solid. Pipeline gives a 55 grade (on the 20-80 scale) to all four of Roby’s pitches, though their report notes that the 21-year-old “may not have a true plus pitch” as a go-to offering.

Adding Roby will help St. Louis restock the minor league pitching ranks, while Saggese seems to fit the Cardinals’ preferred profile of a multi-positional infielder. Saggese has mostly played second and third base over his three pro seasons, while also getting a good chunk of action as a shortstop. He isn’t necessarily a standout defender at any position, but Pipeline liked his ability to stick at second base, and Saggese’s versatility is surely an asset as he climbs the ladder towards the big leagues.

The 21-year-old was also a 2020 draft pick (taken in the fifth round), and Saggese has done nothing but hit in the minors, including a .314/.380/.514 slash line and 15 homers over 417 plate appearances at Double-A in 2023. The pundits note that Saggese’s aggression at the plate can sometimes backfire, yet he has shown a bit more patience this season with an 8.2% walk rate.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

NL West Notes: Kim, Padres, JDM, Smith, DeSclafani, Giants

By Mark Polishuk | July 30, 2023 at 10:43pm CDT

Ha-Seong Kim suffered what Padres manager Bob Melvin described as a “jammed shoulder” that led to an early exit from today’s game against the Rangers. Kim suffered the injury while diving to score a run in the third inning, and partially colliding with Texas catcher Sam Huff while trying to reach and touch the plate. The good news is that tests revealed no structural damage, and Kim expressed hope that he might be able to play as early as Monday when the Padres start the series in Denver with the Rockies.

Only nine players have a better fWAR than Kim’s 3.7 total, as his bat (.279/.374/.447 with 14 homers and 21 steals in 391 plate appearances, for a 130 wRC+) and excellent defense (primarily as a second baseman but also at third base and shortstop) have somewhat quietly made him one of the better overall performers in baseball this season. Even if he misses a game or two, Kim’s presence is key to a team that might still be the biggest unknowns as the trade deadline approaches. The Padres are 52-54 and are five games out of a wild card spot, with three other non-playoff teams still ahead of San Diego in the standings. The Padres are known to be at least listening to trade offers for some of their top names, but The Athletic’s Dennis Lin and Ken Rosenthal write that their “asking prices for both [Blake] Snell and [Josh] Hader…have been exorbitant.” It seems increasingly likely that San Diego might wait until almost the last minute before deciding whether to sell, buy, or (the most probable course) a combination of both tactics.

Orioles, Cardinals Have Discussed Dylan Carlson

By Steve Adams | July 30, 2023 at 10:02pm CDT

The Cardinals’ sell-off is in full swing, with Jordan Montgomery, Jordan Hicks and Chris Stratton already out the door. Prior to trading Montgomery and Stratton to the Rangers, the Cardinals spoke to the Orioles about the left-hander, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. He adds that the O’s have also talked to the Cardinals about switch-hitting center fielder Dylan Carlson.

Goold suggests that Carlson hasn’t necessarily been a focal point in talks but rather a value add in addition to the starters they’ve marketed. Even if Carlson were viewed as a standalone target for Baltimore, there’d be some sense to it. The O’s are bursting with young talent, but they’re currently without center fielder Cedric Mullins due to a groin strain. Aaron Hicks, who’s hit well since being released by the Yankees and signing in Baltimore, is also on the injured list at the moment (hamstring strain). The O’s have gotten strong production from corner outfielders Austin Hays and Anthony Santander, but top outfield prospect Colton Cowser has struggled immensely in his first 59 plate appearances since being recalled.

Carlson, unlike the other three players the Cardinals have traded in the past 24 hours, is not a free agent at season’s end. He has three years of club control remaining beyond the current season. A former top prospect himself, the 24-year-old’s standing in St. Louis has seemingly deteriorated as he’s produced at a roughly league-average level since turning in a strong 2021 campaign.

The O’s don’t necessarily need a long-term fix in center field, as Mullins is also under team control for multiple years beyond the current season (through 2025). However, even when Mullins returns, there’d theoretically be room for both him and Carlson in the lineup. Anthony Santander could see more time at designated hitter, perhaps cutting into the playing time of struggling Ryan Mountcastle (though Mountcastle’s offense has ticked up over the past couple weeks). A speculative outfield of Hays, Mullins and Carlson would be defensively superior to the current alignment. Adding Carlson to the mix would also open further avenues for offseason deals. Santander is only controlled through the 2024 season and is due a raise on his $7.4MM salary, for instance.

The Cardinals, notably, are virtually certain to trade 27-year-old right-hander Jack Flaherty before Tuesday’s deadline. If Baltimore’s interest in the Cardinals’ pitchers extended beyond Montgomery, then it stands to reason that a deal surrounding Flaherty and Carlson could still be discussed, though the extent of the Orioles’ potential interest in Flaherty isn’t known. The right-hander is three years younger than his now-former teammate, Montgomery, but is also having a weaker season. Flaherty’s ERA is a full run higher, and he’s sporting inferior strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates.

Reds Place Jonathan India On Injured List

By Steve Adams | July 30, 2023 at 8:46pm CDT

The Reds announced Sunday that they’ve placed second baseman Jonathan India on the 10-day injured list due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot. The move is retroactive to Saturday. Outfielder Stuart Fairchild was recalled from Triple-A Louisville in a corresponding move.

After the move was made, India told Reds beat writers that he’s hopeful of requiring just a minimum stint (link via Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer). India acknowledged that he’s been playing through pain for some time but reached a point where it became untenable. “I can’t make this worse,” he said. “If it’s worse, I’m out the whole year.”

In 103 games this season, India is hitting .251/.336/.409 with 14 homers, 20 doubles and a dozen steals. That includes a swoon at the plate over the past couple months. India hit .290/.376/.440 for the season’s first two months, but dating back to Memorial Day weekend he’s limped to a .211/.292/.376 slash.

With India on the shelf, Goldsmith notes that Elly De La Cruz will likely play shortstop regularly, with Matt McLain taking the majority of the reps at second base and Spencer Steer slotting in at third base. That crop of standout young hitters has been the driving factor behind the Reds’ surprising surge into postseason contention in 2023, and the depth they provide gives Cincinnati the ability to withstand a hopefully short-term absence for the 2021 NL Rookie of the Year.

India’s name has surfaced in trade rumors over the past few weeks, with the Reds reportedly willing to consider offers on him as a means of acquiring immediate, controllable rotation help. That’s different, of course, than the Reds actively shopping India — and a deal has never seemed especially likely. Now that he’s on the injured list and dealing with a plantar fasciitis diagnosis, it stands to reason that the already slim chances of a trade involving India have dwindled even further.

Angels Acquire Randal Grichuk, C.J. Cron From Rockies

By Mark Polishuk | July 30, 2023 at 8:31pm CDT

The Angels have acquired outfielder Randal Grichuk and first baseman C.J. Cron from the Rockies, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link). Right-hander Jake Madden and left-hander Mason Albright will be headed to the Rockies. The Angels have officially announced the deal, adding that they will also receive some cash considerations in return. Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports that infielder Kevin Padlo has been designated for assignment and Taylor Ward has been shifted to the 60-day injured list to create some space on the Angels’ roster.

The four-player swap is the latest move in what has been already been a busy month for an Angels team determined to contend. With Shohei Ohtani possibly departing in free agency after the season, the Angels are desperate to make the playoffs, and have added Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Eduardo Escobar, and Mike Moustakas in other trades to address roster needs.

Tonight’s trade also brings a pair of familiar faces back to Anaheim. Cron was selected 17th overall by the Angels in the 2011 draft, and he spent his first four Major League seasons with the club. The Halos had back-to-back picks in the first round of the 2009 draft and notably picked Grichuk 24th (one selection ahead of Mike Trout), but Grichuk never saw any MLB action for Anaheim, as he was dealt to the Cardinals as part of the November 2013 trade that brought David Freese to the Angels.

Colorado’s tendency to try and retain players it particularly likes in free agency has created some doubt about obvious trade candidates in the past, but on paper, Grichuk and Cron both looked like clear candidates to be moved prior to Tuesday’s deadline. Grichuk is in the last year of the original five-year, $53MM extension he signed with the Blue Jays back in 2019, and about $3.11MM remains in owed salary before the end of the season. Cron is in the final year of his own extension with the Rockies, and has roughly $2.42MM still owed in 2023 salary.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the cash considerations from the Rockies amount to $2MM, thus putting approximately $3.53MM extra onto the Angels’ books. This puts Los Angeles a bit further over the $233MM luxury tax threshold, as the Halos look poised to pay the tax for the first time since 2004 (the first year of Arte Moreno’s ownership). The actual dollar value of a first-time tax penalty is pretty minor, but it does underscore the Angels’ commitment to finally ending their string of losing seasons and non-playoff baseball.

This desire to win has been hampered by a number of significant injuries up and down the roster, so in a sense the Angels have had to be aggressive just in order to patch holes. Grichuk has experience at all three outfield positions, but figures to mostly play left field in place of Ward, whose season is probably over after he suffered facial fractures after a scary hit-by-pitch incident in Saturday’s game. In the best-case scenario, Ward is able to fully recover and get back to the lineup by late September, just in time to be available for what the Halos hope will be some playoff baseball.

Once Mike Trout returns from his hamate surgery and Jo Adell returns from his oblique strain, the Angels might even have an outfield surplus, considering that Ohtani has the DH spot locked up. Still, that’s a problem Los Angeles will happily face down the road if it means their lineup is finally back at something resembling full strength.

Grichuk is enjoying one of his best seasons at the plate, hitting .308/.365/.498 with eight homers over 263 plate appearances after missing most of April recovering from offseason surgery for a sports hernia. Turning 32 years old in a couple of weeks, Grichuk’s career hasn’t lived up to his first-round potential, as his propensity for strikeouts and an inconsistent overall offensive profile has limited his production. From 2019-22, Grichuk had only a 90 wRC+ over 1942 PA and totaled 1.8 fWAR, with a sub-replacement -0.2 mark in 2022.

It’s far from certain that Grichuk has turned a corner, as his .367 BABIP and some significant home/road splits are warning signs that some regression is inevitable once Grichuk is out of Coors Field. That said, at a relatively low acquisition cost and a pressing need for offense, it is a risk the Angels are willing to take.

Cron figures to step right in as a regular first baseman, possibly solidifying a position that has been a revolving door all season in Anaheim. It remains to be seen how the rest of the field might shake out once the injured players start returning, but for now, Moustakas will probably take most of the time at third base while Escobar plays second. Zach Neto will presumably remain the regular shortstop unless he also needs to visit the IL after missing a few games with back soreness. Brandon Drury might be back from the 10-day IL within the next week, further bolstering the infield ranks and maybe moving Cron into a part-time role.

Cron has himself been dealing with a bad back, both within the last week and in the form of a trip to the injured list earlier this season that cost hm about six weeks of action. The 33-year-old has hit .260/.304/.476 with 11 homers in 224 PA, and Cron’s 93 wRC+ puts him on pace for his first below-average offensive season since 2017 (his final year with the Angels).

However, Cron has been hitting much better over the last month, with a .319/.347/.565 slash line in his first 72 PA since his IL stint. His three seasons at Coors Field led to some pretty drastic home/road splits, and the Angels will have to hope that he can both hit outside of the thin air and remain healthy enough to play first base, since Ohtani’s presence removes the safety net of the DH spot.

MLB Pipeline and Baseball America had something of a split opinion on Madden’s potential, as while Pipeline ranked the right-hander as the eighth-best prospect in the Angels’ farm system, BA rated him only 21st. Madden was a fourth-round pick for the Halos in 2022 and was getting his first taste of pro ball this season, with a 5.46 ERA over 64 1/3 innings for the Angels’ A-ball affiliate. His 12.9% walk rate underlines the issues that Baseball America’s scouting report had with his control and command, yet Madden’s big fastball can hit 98mph and his slider also looks like an above-average pitch. A Tommy John surgery limited Madden’s experience late in high school and in junior college, but Pipeline in particular likes his upside once the 21-year-old gets more experience on the mound.

Albright fell just inside the Angels’ top 30 rankings from Pipeline (28th) and Baseball America (29th), and the 20-year-old southpaw has posted a 3.62 ERA, 25.7% strikeout rate, and 6.0% walk rate over 79 2/3 innings with A-level Island Empire. A 12th-round pick for Los Angeles in 2021, Albright’s numbers have improved after a mechanical change, so some interesting upside exists if he continues to thrive after altering the arm action on his delivery. Pipeline puts a 50-grade on all four of Albright’s pitches, but while he doesn’t have a signature plus pitch, he can throw everything in his arsenal for strikes.

In short, the Rockies have now brought two new young arms into the organization, as Colorado continues its ever-lasting search for pitchers who can thrive at Coors Field. The 2023 season in particular has only underlined that need, as the Rox have been crushed by rotation injuries ever since Spring Training, leaving the team struggling just to find another healthy pitchers to eat innings. While the Rockies were seen as longshots to contend anyway, the team’s 41-64 record has put them at the bottom of the National League standings.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Angels Place Taylor Ward On 60-Day IL With Facial Fractures

By Nick Deeds | July 30, 2023 at 8:20pm CDT

8:20PM: Ward has been moved to the 60-day IL to create some roster space for the Angels’ acquisitions of Randal Grichuk and C.J. Cron from the Rockies. The move to the 60-day IL puts Ward out of action until late September at the earliest, and likely means that he isn’t expected to return this season.

9:30AM: The Angels announced this morning that outfielder Taylor Ward has been placed on the 10-day injured list with facial fractures. In a corresponding move, the club selected the contract of infielder Kevin Padlo. Padlo will take the 40-man roster spot vacated by left-hander Tucker Davidson, who was designated for assignment earlier in the week.

Ward’s injury stems from a scary moment during the club’s loss against the Blue Jays last night. As noted by MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger, Ward was struck in the face by a sinker from right-hander Alek Manoah. The 29 year old had to be carted off the field after the incident and was evaluated at a local hospital. Per The Athletic’s Sam Blum, Ward has since been released from the hospital but will not travel with the team to Atlanta for the series against the Braves, which begins tomorrow.

In 409 trips to the plate this season, Ward has posted a solid .253/.335/.421 slash line, 8% better than league average by measure of wRC+. While that slash line is a departure from the 137 wRC+ Ward offered last year, he’s caught fire in July, slashing a whopping .304/.424/.623 in his last 85 plate appearances. The loss of Ward for what figures to be an extended period is a crushing blow to an Angels club that is already dealing with injuries to Mike Trout, Logan O’Hoppe, Gio Urshela, Anthony Rendon, Brandon Drury, Max Stassi, and Jo Adell among its position player corps.

With Ward on the shelf, the club figures to rely on an outfield of Mickey Moniak, Hunter Renfroe, and Trey Cabbage for the time being. Between the club’s significant injury woes on the position player side of things and their recent blockbuster deal to acquire right-handers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez from the White Sox, it seems reasonable to expect the Angels to investigate additions to the club’s offense. They’ve already discussed a Jeimer Candelario deal with the Nationals, and it’s possible that Ward’s injury could push them to explore the outfield market as well. Tommy Pham, Mark Canha, and Adam Duvall are among the outfielders who could potentially be on the move ahead of the trade deadline on August 1.

Ward’s trip to the IL makes room on the active roster for Padlo, a 27-year-old journeyman who has played for five teams in the majors since making his big league debut in 2021. Padlo briefly came up to the big league club earlier this season, slashing .125/.125/.250 in just eight plate appearances before being designated for assignment to make room for veteran infielder Mike Moustakas after he was dealt from the Rockies to the Angels. Aside from that short stint in the majors, Padlo has spent this season primarily with Anaheim’s Triple-A affiliate in Salt Lake City, where he’s slashed a solid .257/.385/.464 in 51 games. Padlo, who has experience at first base, second base, third base, and left field, figures to provide a bat-first utility option to the Angels for the corner spots, complementing the glove-first work of Andrew Velazquez up the middle.

Michael Conforto Reaches Vesting Option Threshold, Can Opt Out After 2023 Season

By Steve Adams | July 30, 2023 at 8:06pm CDT

Giants outfielder Michael Conforto reached 350 plate appearances on the season during Sunday’s game, and in doing so vested a provision in his contract that converts the second season of his two-year, $36MM contract into a player option. He’ll now have the right to decline that player option, valued at $18MM, and opt back into free agency this offseason.

Whether Conforto, 30, ultimately opts out of his deal will depend on his final couple months of play. As things stand, he’s had a roughly average season at the plate, batting .241/.331/.401 (102 wRC+) with 13 homers, 10 doubles, four stolen bases, a 10.5% walk rate and a 23.5% strikeout rate. As recently as late May, it looked like the longtime Mets slugger was trending toward an opt-out, but his bat has gone cold as the weather has warmed. Conforto was hitting .250/.347/.464 through his first 196 plate appearances, but he batted just .228/.303/.324 over his next 152 trips to the plate.

Conforto’s season-long numbers are respectable — but they’re also a far cry from the .265/.369/.495 slash he turned in across 1959 plate appearances from 2017-20. The former first-round pick might’ve commanded a nine-figure deal in free agency had he sustained that output for one more season, but Conforto’s production slipped to .232/.344/.384 through 125 games in 2021. He turned down a qualifying offer from the Mets at the end of that season, still hopeful of securing a multi-year deal, but an offseason shoulder injury required surgery that kept Conforto out of action for the entire 2022 season. He didn’t sign with a club until the 2022-23 offseason when he inked his current deal with the Giants.

Though Conforto performed at a star-caliber level during that 2017-20 peak, he’s now turned in tepid .237/.337/.392 slash over his past 827 plate appearances — his 2021 and 2023 campaigns combined. He’s still walking at a strong clip, and his exit velocity and hard-hit rate remain largely unchanged. However, he’s hitting the ball on the ground at the highest rate of his career (46.9%), and this season’s 17% line-drive rate is the lowest of his career. The plus defensive marks he regularly generated early in his career have also deteriorated; he’s sporting negative marks in Defensive Runs Saved (-3) and Outs Above Average (-3) so far in 2023.

The upcoming free agent class skews heavily toward pitchers, with very few impact bats available. A strong finish that looks more like Conforto’s peak years could position him as one of the better bats on the market, joining the likes of Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman. As far as pure corner outfielders, Conforto would be up against Teoscar Hernandez, Hunter Renfroe, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Joc Pederson, among others.

Latest On Justin Verlander

By Steve Adams | July 30, 2023 at 7:36pm CDT

7:36PM: The Braves have also “checked” on Verlander but aren’t currently in talks with the Mets, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi tweets.

5:50PM: Following the Mets’ trade of Max Scherzer to the Rangers led to further increased speculation about a trade of fellow high-priced, multi-time Cy Young winner Justin Verlander. Several teams have been tied to the nine-time All-Star, including the Rangers, Astros and Dodgers. However, Andy Martino of SNY reports that the Mets value Verlander much differently than Scherzer. They’ve placed a higher asking price in terms of prospects and aren’t willing to pay down salary to the same extent they were in order to move Scherzer.

Astros fans may be hoping for a reunion with Verlander, who won his third career Cy Young Award in Houston last season, but it doesn’t appear that’s likely. Astros GM Dana Brown tells Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM that his team isn’t in the market for a starting pitcher right now and is instead focused more on the back of the bullpen and a left-handed bat (Twitter link). Per Martino, the Astros indeed checked in on Verlander, but the teams were “nowhere close” to agreeing on his value.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale hears similarly, writing that while Houston and New York have indeed discussed a Verlander deal, an Astros source tells him they’d likely require the Mets to pay down a “significant” portion of Verlander’s salary this year and next. Verlander’s $35MM vesting option for the 2025 season, which triggers upon reaching 140 innings pitched next year, is another hang-up in a potential deal. All of that complicates a potential Verlander/Astros reunion, which clouds the water on a trade in general. Like Scherzer, Verlander has a full no-trade clause — and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes that the Astros are “perhaps” the team for which he’s most willing to waive that protection.

Broadly speaking, everything will hinge on Verlander’s preferences. Via SNY’s Steve Gelbs (Twitter link, with video), the 40-year-old righty said following Sunday’s game that his openness to a trade “largely depends on how the organization views next year,” adding that he’s “committed to trying to win a championship” in Queens but would be more open to waiving his no-trade protection if Mets decision-makers feel it’s best to take a step back in 2024. The Mets will have plenty of rotation questions with Scherzer now in Arlington and Carlos Carrasco hitting free agency at season’s end. Presently, Verlander, Kodai Senga and Jose Quintana are the only surefire starters signed into 2024. Depth options like David Peterson, Tylor Megill, Joey Lucchesi and Jose Butto all remain on hand as well.

Early indications are that the Mets don’t view this as a large-scale teardown. GM Billy Eppler plainly said after yesterday’s Scherzer trade that he does not view the current step back as a rebuild (link via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com) They’ll have ample financial firepower to pursue new arms to fill out the rotation in the offseason — with a particularly deep crop of free agent starters available. Shohei Ohtani, Julio Urias, Lucas Giolito, Aaron Nola, Blake Snell, Sonny Gray, Marcus Stroman, Jordan Montgomery and NPB ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto are among the names in the upcoming class of free agent arms.

The Mets already have nearly $220MM in guaranteed money on next year’s books, per Roster Resource — a number that includes the $26.833MM they’ll pay Scherzer. (Texas is picking up a reported $16.5MM of next year’s salary.) That’s before factoring in Brooks Raley’s $6.5MM club option or arbitration raises for a group of ten players, headlined by first baseman Pete Alonso. Owner Steve Cohen trotted out a record payroll of more than $350MM this season, so clearly the capacity for spending is there — it’ll just be a matter of whether the Mets want to spend to that extent again after this year’s efforts fell flat in notable fashion. Trading Verlander would radically lower that 2024 financial outlay, but it’d also only create another hole that the Mets would likely need to fill in the rotation (likely via free agency).

For now, they’ll have about 48 hours to see if anyone’s willing to meet their asking price on Verlander — and then to gauge whether the right-hander is amenable to the deal.

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