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Padres Designate Jose Castillo For Assignment

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The Padres have designated left-hander Jose Castillo for assignment and optioned righty Matt Waldron to Triple-A El Paso, per a team announcement. That pair of moves clears roster space for righty Robert Suarez, who has been formally reinstated from the 60-day injured list.

Castillo, 27, posted a strong 3.23 ERA through his first 39 big league innings back in 2018-19 but has since seen that promising debut derailed by injury. His 2019 season was cut short by a torn ligament in his hand, and he missed the 2020 season due to a lat strain. Castillo’s 2021 campaign and much of his 2022 season were then wiped out by Tommy John surgery. He’s pitched just two total MLB frames dating back to 2019.

While Castillo posted solid numbers in the upper minors last year as he returned from that deluge of injuries, he’s struggled immensely in 2023. His lone MLB appearance saw him yield four runs in one-third of an inning, and he’s been tagged for a 9.82 ERA in 18 1/3 frames of Triple-A ball.

Castillo is in his final option season and will be arbitration-eligible this winter. The Padres will have a week to trade him, attempt to pass him through outright waivers or release him. If another team picks him up, he can be optioned for the remainder of the season but would need to be carried on the active MLB roster beginning next season. That said, if he can get back on track with a new club, he’d have an additional two seasons of club control remaining.

Suarez, 32, fanned 32% of his opponents and notched a 2.27 ERA as a 31-year-old rookie in San Diego last season after a years-long run of excellence in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. The Friars re-signed to a five-year, $46MM deal with an opt-out clause early last offseason, but he’s yet to pitch this season due to an elbow issue. He’ll give San Diego a high-quality arm to slot into the late innings as the Padres try to salvage an immensely disappointing start to their 2023 season.

Rays Have Some Interest In Marcus Stroman

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The Rays could use some starting pitching and apparently have some interest in Cubs right-hander Marcus Stroman. On the Onto Waveland podcast with Brett Taylor, Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney, they relay that the Rays aren’t currently in on Cody Bellinger but are “doing homework” on Stroman. (Discussion around the Rays starts around the 29-minute mark.)

It’s fairly logical that the Rays would be interested in Stroman, who has a long track record of big league success and is having an excellent season. He has a career 3.55 earned run average in 1285 2/3 innings dating back to his 2014 debut. This year, his ERA is down to 2.88 through 20 starts. His 21.3% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate are both close to league average, but Stroman’s always been a ground ball specialist and his 58.4% rate in that department is his highest since 2018.

Despite Stroman’s contributions, the Cubs aren’t having a great season overall. They are 45-50, putting them 7.5 games back of the Brewers in the National League Central with the Reds in between, and seven games back in the Wild Card race as well. Perhaps a hot streak in the next week or so could change the calculus, but it seems fair to expect the club to consider selling off some players who aren’t part of their long-term plans.

Stroman has one more year left on his contract, set to make $21MM next year, but has the ability to opt out and return to free agency after the current campaign. Given his strong results, it will be a fairly easy decision for him to trigger that opt-out and secure a larger guarantee on another multi-year deal. He has been quite candid about his desire to stick with the Cubs via a long-term extension, but the club reportedly doesn’t share his same enthusiasm to work out a new deal. All those factors seem to point to Stroman being traded in the coming days and he was placed in the #6 slot on MLBTR’s list of top deadline trade candidates.

The Rays could use another starter, given that they have dealt with multiple significant injuries to their rotation. Shane Baz had Tommy John surgery last year and was known to be a non-factor this year, but they have since lost Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs to season-ending surgeries with Josh Fleming seemingly set for a significant absence as well. They still have a solid front four in Shane McClanahan, Taj Bradley, Tyler Glasnow and Zach Eflin, but each of those pitchers except for Bradley has been on the IL this year, leading the club to deploy bullpen games at various points.

Getting another starter into the mix would strengthen the overall group for the postseason push, but acquiring a rental could be a logical move for the Rays. Each of their four current starters are still under contract or under club control for next year. Baz could rejoin the rotation going into 2024, with Springs and Rasmussen potentially coming back in the middle of the next campaign as well. Getting a short-term fix would require the club to send a lesser return the other way, compared to a pitcher with a longer window of control. The Rays have already been connected to impending free agents like Jordan Montgomery, Jack Flaherty and Lance Lynn, the latter of whom has a club option for 2024.

Stroman would also fit the bill, given his ability to opt out of his deal this fall. His ground ball tendencies would also be a good fit for a Tampa club that generally has strong defense. The Rays collectively have 16 Defensive Runs Saved from the shortstop position, the best mark in the league. Their 10 Outs Above Average at that spot are second only to the Cubs. Their tallies at second and third base are a bit lower but still above average. Their first base marks are subpar, but it’s still a solid group overall.

It’s worth pointing out, however, that Stroman’s opt-out does complicate his trade candidacy slightly. As mentioned, he’s currently looking like a lock to exercise that opt-out in a few months, given his good numbers on the year. But there’s always the risk of that situation changing after a deal. If the Rays were to acquire Stroman and he then suffered some sort of injury that would carry into next year, perhaps he would decide against triggering that opt-out, instead just taking the $21MM that he already has in hand.

Some clubs might be fine with taking that risk, but the Rays are one of the lowest-spending clubs among contenders. A $21MM salary might be a drop in the bucket to some clubs — but not to Tampa Bay. Their highest-paid player this year is Eflin, who’s making $11MM. They also have a big spike coming up next year, with Glasnow’s salary set to jump from this year’s $5.35MM to next year’s $25MM, a big financial outlay they made in order to push his free agency back by one year.

Per Roster Resource, the Rays have already committed $74MM to next year’s club, just shy of this year’s $78MM payroll. That’s before even factoring in arbitration raises for players like Randy Arozarena, Harold Ramírez, Jason Adam and others. The Rays often find ways to save money in the offseason by trading players with significant salaries, but they are currently trending to have a larger payroll next year. Although Stroman is likely going to be opting out, the Rays would be taking on at least some risk of an extra $21MM being added to that equation.

Any team acquiring Stroman would be in a similar situation, but most would have a bit more financial wiggle room. He is still likely to generate plenty of interest regardless and has already been connected to the Astros and Blue Jays. The trade deadline is on August 1, less than two weeks away.

The Opener: Suarez, Bader, Quintana

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With the trade deadline just around the corner, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Suarez to return:

The Padres have been without right-hander Robert Suarez since Spring Training due to elbow inflammation. That’s expected to change today, as manager Bob Melvin confirmed to reporters (including Dennis Lin of The Athletic) that Suarez set to be activated from the 60-day injured list prior to this afternoon’s game against the Blue Jays in Toronto. A corresponding move will be necessary to clear space for Suarez on the 40-man and active rosters.

After a lengthy career overseas, Suarez made his MLB debut last year at the age of 31 and threw 47 2/3 excellent relief innings of San Diego, with a 2.27 ERA (168 ERA+) and a 3.22 FIP. That stellar performance led the Padres to re-sign Suarez on a five-year, $46MM deal during the offseason. While that contract hasn’t worked out to this point due to Suarez’s injury issues, he has the potential to provide closer Josh Hader with an elite set-up option as the Padres attempt to work their way back into contention. Alternatively, if the Padres decided to trade Hader, a pending free agent, Suarez seems like a top candidate to slide into the closer’s role in San Diego.

2. Bader to undergo testing:

Yankees center fielder Harrison Bader exited yesterday’s game against the Angels after getting hit in the back with a 95 mph sinker from young right-hander Jose Soriano. According to Greg Joyce of the New York Post, Bader had a welt on his back and a posterior rib contusion following the incident. Bader’s expected to undergo more tests before the Yankees make a decision regarding a potential trip to the injured list. A stint on the shelf for Bader would be disastrous for the Yankees, as the center fielder has been a key player both offensively and defensively while Aaron Judge has been on the IL with a toe injury. Should Bader miss time, the club figures to rely on Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Billy McKinney in center field in his absence.

3. Quintana to make season debut:

Veteran lefty Jose Quintana has yet to throw a pitch in the majors this season after undergoing rib surgery back in March. He was reinstated from the 60-day IL last week, but still has yet to take the mound for the Mets since landing with the club on a two-year deal this past offseason. That’s set to change today, as Quintana is slated to take the ball opposite White Sox right-hander Michael Kopech this afternoon at Citi Field.

When healthy, Quintana has been a solid mid-rotation starter throughout his career with a 3.75 ERA (115 ERA+) and 3.62 FIP in 1055 1/3 career innings. He had a particularly impressive campaign last year with the Pirates and Cardinals, posting a 2.93 ERA that was 39% above league average and backed by a 2.99 FIP. With both Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer not living up to their ace-caliber standards this season and Carlos Carrasco struggling to a 5.35 ERA in 13 starts, a strong performance from Quintana down the stretch could help steady the Mets’ rotation as they attempt to stay relevant in the playoff picture ahead of the trade deadline on August 1.

Subscribe To The Free MLBTR Newsletter

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The MLB trade deadline is less than two weeks away!  It’s the perfect time to sign up for the free MLBTR newsletter.  The newsletter is written by Cliff Corcoran, who has an extensive resume contributing to Sports Illustrated, The Athletic, Baseball Prospectus, and other outlets.  Cliff will take you through the hot stove highlights of the previous day, boiling down MLBTR’s posts into the essential stories.  It’s a great morning read that will help you stay on top of the biggest MLB stories.

 

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MLB Trade Rumors Podcast: All Eyes on the Angels, Cardinals Trade Options and Buyers or Sellers

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss:

Plus, we answer your questions, including:

  • Do you feel that the Yankees should be sellers? (17:25)
  • If the Rangers were to acquire Marcus Stroman and Cody Bellinger from the Cubs, would that make them the favorite in American League? (21:30)
  • What are the Blue Jays going to target at the deadline? (24:00)

Check out our past episodes!

Orioles Acquire Shintaro Fujinami From A’s

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The Orioles added an upside play to their bullpen, acquiring Shintaro Fujinami from the A’s. Minor league reliever Easton Lucas is going back to Oakland in a one-for-one swap. Baltimore designated infielder Josh Lester for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot.

Fujinami signed a one-year, $3.25MM free agent contract over the winter. The A’s took a flier on his upside despite an inconsistent decade-long run in Japan. The 6’6″ righty brought high-octane stuff but a spotty performance track record and wobbly control to the big leagues.

A cursory glance at Fujinami’s season line would suggest the experiment didn’t pay off. He concluded his A’s tenure with an 8.57 ERA through 49 1/3 innings. No other pitcher with 40+ frames has allowed more than eight earned runs per nine.

That ghastly season line is skewed by an incredibly poor first couple months. Initially penciled into the starting rotation, Fujinami was tagged for a 14.26 ERA across seven starts. The A’s understandably kicked him mostly to relief work by late April.

Fujinami’s 5.40 ERA over 31 2/3 relief innings isn’t eye-catching itself. That’s also skewed by some growing pains early on. The 29-year-old has worked scoreless outings in 15 of his last 20 appearances. Since May 27 — an admittedly arbitrary endpoint — Fujinami owns a 3.32 ERA in 21 2/3 frames. He’s striking hitters out at a quality 25.6% clip against a modest 7% walk rate in that time.

There’s risk in placing too much emphasis on a player’s recent trajectory compared to their overall body of work, of course. It’s perhaps easier to buy into Fujinami’s stronger results of late given the quality of his arsenal. Working in shorter stints has pushed the average velocity on his four-seam fastball from an already strong 97 MPH to the 99-100 MPH range. He’s also leaned more heavily on a 93-94 MPH split while scaling back on his mid-80s cutter.

Baltimore will hope the simplified pitch mix and continued experience against big league hitters allows Fujinami to maintain his form of the past six weeks. He’ll add a power arm to the middle innings of an already excellent relief corps. Baltimore’s bullpen entered play Wednesday ranked eighth in the majors with a 3.79 ERA. They’re fourth with a 26.1% strikeout percentage.

It’s a little more top-heavy than the typical bullpen, though. Félix Bautista and Yennier Cano have been fantastic at the back end, while veteran Danny Coulombe has excelled as the top southpaw. Bryan Baker and Mike Baumann have been generally effective, but both have issued a few too many walks. Fujinami is far from a control artist himself, but he provides skipper Brandon Hyde with another option to bridge the gap to Cano and Bautista.

The addition is solely about 2023. Fujinami will be a free agent again at season’s end. Even though he’ll only have one year of major league service, players signing out of Asian professional leagues are almost always granted the ability to return to the open market once their MLB contract plays out. Baltimore will take on the approximate $1.3MM in salary still owed to the righty through the end of the season.

Oakland offloads a small amount of cash and brings in an upper level relief option. Lucas is a 6’4″ southpaw who was selected by the Marlins in the 14th round of the 2019 draft. Miami traded him to Baltimore over the 2019-20 offseason for veteran infielder Jonathan Villar.

The 26-year-old is amidst a strong season in the upper minors. He’s split his time almost evenly between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk. Over 29 2/3 combined frames, he owns a 2.73 ERA with an excellent 31.9% strikeout percentage and tolerable 9.5% walk rate. He’s holding left-handed hitters to a .200/.265/.378 batting line.

Lucas will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft if he’s not added to the 40-man roster at the end of the season. Considering his upper minors success and Oakland’s MLB-worst 5.72 bullpen ERA, he’ll probably get a big league look at some point in the coming weeks.

It’s the first of what is likely to be multiple moves for both clubs. The A’s have already stripped the roster most of the way down, but players like Paul Blackburn, Tony Kemp and Seth Brown could still find themselves on the move. Baltimore has pulled ahead of the Rays (on a percentage point basis) in the AL East and figures to look for rotation upgrades over the next two weeks.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported Fujinami was being dealt to the Orioles and that Lucas was the return. John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle and Martín Gallegos of MLB.com had previously observed that Fujinami was saying goodbye to his Oakland teammates.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Red Sox Outright Jake Faria

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The Red Sox sent right-hander Jake Faria through outright waivers, the club informed reporters (including Chris Cotillo of MassLive). Boston had designated him for assignment on Monday.

Faria had a very brief stay on the MLB roster. He pitched just once, allowing five runs in two innings as a mop-up reliever. That marked his first big league outing in two years. Faria has otherwise spent the season with Boston’s top affiliate in Worcester. He’s started nine of 19 appearances there, allowing a 6.47 ERA over 55 2/3 innings. Faria has a below-average 17.5% strikeout percentage while walking 13.3% of opponents.

The 29-year-old has struggled at the top minor league level over the past few seasons. He posted a 7.48 ERA in 12 outings with the Twins’ Triple-A team a year ago. In parts of seven campaigns there, he carries a 4.79 ERA. He’s logged MLB action in five different years, working to a 4.87 ERA through 205 innings.

Faria has been outrighted on multiple occasions in his career. He can therefore decline a minor league assignment in favor of free agency. He chose to stick with Worcester after being outrighted in mid-April, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he does the same this time around.

Cardinals Sign Jacob Barnes To Minor League Contract

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The Cardinals have signed righty Jacob Barnes to a minor league deal. He made his organizational debut with Triple-A Memphis this evening, tossing 1 2/3 innings of middle relief.

Barnes is on his third minor league deal of the season. He signed with the Rangers and made 13 appearances for Texas’ top affiliate. Barnes posted a 2.21 ERA in 20 1/3 innings but didn’t have particularly strong strikeout and walk numbers. The Rangers released him in late May and he caught on with the Phillies a week later.

The 33-year-old spent around six weeks in the Philadelphia system. He allowed 11 runs (seven earned) in 13 innings before being released last week. Between the two clubs, he owns a 2.97 ERA in 33 1/3 Triple-A frames. Barnes has a below-average 19.3% strikeout rate against a roughly average 9.3% walk percentage.

Barnes has yet to reach the majors this season but got to the highest level each year between 2016-22. He had a solid three-year run in Milwaukee to start his career. Going back to the start of 2019, Barnes owns a 6.37 ERA in 102 big league outings across seven teams.

St. Louis signed veteran righty Ryan Tepera to a big league contract a few days back. Barnes won’t get an immediate roster spot as Tepera did, but the Cards could clear some bullpen space over the next couple weeks. Jordan Hicks and Chris Stratton are each impending free agents on a team turning its attention towards 2024. They appear likely to be moved by August 1.

A’s Release Garrett Acton

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The A’s have placed reliever Garrett Acton on release waivers, according to the transaction tracker at MLB.com. The move drops Oakland’s 40-man roster tally to 39.

Acton, 25, made his big league debut after the A’s selected his contract in mid-May. He pitched six times, allowing eight runs in 5 2/3 innings. Oakland optioned him to Triple-A Las Vegas at the end of the month. Two weeks later, he was placed on the minor league IL with an undisclosed injury. He hasn’t pitched since June 11.

MLB rules prohibit teams from placing injured players on outright waivers. If the A’s wanted to take Acton off the 40-man roster, their options were to put him on the major league 60-day IL or release him. The former course of action would’ve required paying him at the prorated portion of the $720K MLB minimum for whatever time he was on the shelf. Instead, Oakland has opted for the release (which isn’t uncommon in situations like this).

If Acton goes unclaimed on waivers, he’ll be a free agent. Players in this scenario often re-sign with the team that just released them on a new minor league pact — thereby remaining in the organization without occupying a 40-man spot — but the Illinois product would have the ability to explore other opportunities.

Oakland hasn’t announced a corresponding move. It’s possible they’ll select the contract of a hitter who isn’t currently on the 40-man roster, however. First baseman Ryan Noda will be placed on the 10-day injured list tomorrow, relays Martín Gallegos of MLB.com (Twitter link). He has a fracture in his jaw that’ll keep him out for an indeterminate period of time.

Noda remarkably played through the injury yesterday against the Red Sox and hit a homer and a double. It was the continuation of a strong rookie season for the left-handed hitter, who has been an excellent find in the Rule 5 draft. The 27-year-old has a .229/.375/.418 line with 11 homers and a massive 17.6% walk rate through his first 341 big league plate appearances.

Commissioner Election Vote Scheduled For Next Week; Manfred Expected To Be Re-Elected

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Major League Baseball’s owners will vote next week to determine whether to keep Rob Manfred as commissioner, report Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. There’s little intrigue expected with the outcome, as one person told The Athletic it’s “a foregone conclusion” Manfred will be re-elected.

That’s no surprise. The last time Manfred’s job was up for debate — over the 2018-19 offseason — he was unanimously approved for a five-year extension. Manfred will only need to secure a simple majority for an extension, with 16 of the 30 ownership representatives approving. He’ll almost certainly get that and could have a chance at another unanimous vote.

The terms of a new extension aren’t clear. Manfred’s current deal runs through 2024. If he’s re-upped for another five years, that’d take him through the ’29 campaign.

Within the past few seasons, MLB and the Players Association were at odds both regarding the return-to-play measures during the 2020 pandemic peak and saw the first official work stoppage in more than two decades with the 2021-22 lockout. MLB revenues reportedly bounced back above pre-pandemic levels once the CBA was hammered out last spring, however. Manfred told Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times towards the end of last season that league revenues were approaching a record $11 billion for 2022. Manfred first took over as commissioner in November 2014.

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