Trade Chatter: Jones, Kela, Beltre, A’s, Gibson, Phillies
The Orioles haven’t yet approached Adam Jones about the possibility of waiving his no-trade clause, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. That doesn’t mean that the Orioles won’t be moving him, however, and Crasnick echoes previous reports in writing that both the Phillies and Indians have some degree of interest in Jones, who’d likely play right field for either club. Per Crasnick, there are some in the industry who feel Jones would want an extension in order to waive his full no-trade protection — Jones has 10-and-5 rights — though there’s been no firm indication of that from Jones’ camp, it seems.
Meanwhile, Jones himself chatted with MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski about the possibility of being moved, calling reported interest from other teams “humbling” and “flattering.” The longtime Baltimore center fielder, though, says he has not yet discussed the possibility of approving a trade away from the Orioles with his family. “If the scenario is right, I want to win, I want play ball,” says Jones. “You look at these kind of scenarios and what is the best fit for you. When all the information comes and we get more information, I’ll be able to make a better decision based on the information.”
More trade chatter from around the league…
- With Cole Hamels on his way to the Cubs, pending medical reviews, the next player the Rangers move could be closer Keone Kela, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Per Passan, clubs that have spoken to Texas about Kela “get a sense they’re getting close to something.” The Pirates have been the team most prominently linked to Kela in recent days, though a hard-throwing, 25-year-old reliever who can be controlled affordably through the 2021 season clearly won’t have any shortage of interested parties. Kela might be the Rangers’ best trade chip, given that remaining club control, although that control also lessens the Rangers’ sense of urgency in finding a trade partner.
- Sticking with the Rangers, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan reports that the Braves have emerged as somewhat of a longshot suitor for third baseman Adrian Beltre. Atlanta wouldn’t be looking to supplant Johan Camargo at third base, but Beltre would share some time at the hot corner with the much younger Camargo while deepening the Atlanta bench and providing some leadership on a youthful club. Beltre has the ability to veto any trade, of course, and reports have painted the possibility of a trade surrounding him to be remote. Sullivan also notes that, with regard to the Pirates and their interest in Kela, the Rangers could have some interest in starting pitching prospects Clay Holmes and Taylor Hearn.
- The Athletics remain on the hunt for a rotation upgrade, but Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that the A’s “haven’t sounded particularly enthusiastic” about that market. If the A’s can’t find a starter at a price point they deem acceptable, they could instead look to add to their bullpen as a means of shortening games and taking some pressure off the current members of their rotation.
- The Twins “have fielded inquiries” on right-hander Kyle Gibson, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post, but they’re more interested in dealing their impending free agents than Gibson, who is controlled through 2019 and is in the midst of a breakout season. The former first-round pick was brilliant against the Red Sox last night, allowing one run over eight innings and lowering his ERA to 3.42 in the process. Through 129 innings, Gibson has averaged 8.8 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 and 0.91 HR/9. His fastball is up nearly a mile per hour over its 2017 average, and his 12.2 percent swinging-strike rate is easily a career-high. The Twins are currently seven games back of the division lead in the AL Central, but they’ve won four in a row. With three games in Boston and another hosting Cleveland before Tuesday’s non-waiver deadline, Minnesota faces a tough road to closing that gap.
- Sherman also reports that the Phillies, after missing out on Manny Machado, would at the very least like to add a defensive upgrade at shortstop. Interestingly, he notes that the Phils have at least had internal discussions about reacquiring Freddy Galvis from the Padres. He also lists the Rays‘ Adeiny Hechavarria and the Tigers‘ Jose Iglesias as players that the Phillies’ front office has considered. The Phils have also been tied to Eduardo Escobar since Machado went to L.A.
Pirates Showing Interest In Keone Kela
6:01pm: Rosenthal now tweets that while the Rangers have done background work on that quartet of players, they’re actually not a part of the current discussions surrounding Kela.
July 26, 5:29pm: The Rangers are considering right-handed starter Tyler Eppler, outfielder Jordan Luplow, shortstop Kevin Newman and right-handed reliever Dovydas Neverauskas in their talks with the Pirates, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). Those are just some of the names being discussed, it seems, and it’s not clear exactly which combination(s) of those players is on the table.
July 25: As they look to extend an excellent pre-deadline run of success, the Pirates may now be looking into making some roster improvements. According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, the Bucs have “legitimate interest” in Rangers closer Keone Kela.
Whether or not Kela ends up on the Pittsburgh roster, the news marks a notable potential shift in that club’s approach. It had long seemed that the Pirates were trending toward at least a light sell-off of some veterans. But now, with less than a week left until the trade deadline, the team has flown back to within six games of the division pace and three out of Wild Card position.
Of course, even if the Pirates decide to push for contention, that does not necessarily mean they will hit the trade market at full throttle. There’s not much reason to expect that the light-spending organization will part with significant young talent to add rental pieces, for example.
Kela, though, would potentially be a reasonable target who’d add value now and into the future. The Pirates already have a quality closer under control for years to come in Felipe Vazquez, and have received excellent production from several members of their relief unit, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t stand to improve.
It’s fair to note, too, that the Pirates have in the past pursued somewhat non-linear approaches to the deadline. There’s time still for shifts in the standings to change their approach. And the club may also be weighing some roster re-positioning that’s not targeted solely at getting better right away. To offer one wholly speculative concept, the Bucs could hypothetically consider trying to achieve value on a pitcher like Kela while also selling Vazquez, if a contender (the Red Sox come to mind) is willing to offer a whopping package for the electric left-hander.
Whatever the case, Kela’s remaining contract rights make for an interesting asset on this summer’s trade market. The Rangers are surely focused first on moving more expensive or less controllable players, to the extent possible. But now may also be a good time to cash in a pitcher who has had plenty of ups but also some downs (arm health and some off-field issues) in recent seasons. And the Pirates could perhaps be amenable to sending some controllable starting pitching depth in a trade, which is just what the Rangers appear to be seeking.
Since he broke into the big leagues, the 25-year-old Kela has mostly been a high-quality hurler. He owns a 3.42 ERA over 168 2/3 career innings, with 11.0 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9, and the bottom-line results would look much better were it not for a forgettable 2016 campaign. Though he blew his first save of the current season just last night, Kela has locked down 23 victories for the Rangers this year.
Cost is always a factor, of course, and Kela is earning a budget-friendly $1.2MM this year. He entered the current season with exactly three years of MLB service, so he comes with two more years of arbitration control after the present season. While the save tallies will boost his earnings, Kela figures to remain rather affordable until he reaches the open market.
Pirates Designate Josh Smoker, Select Casey Sadler
The Pirates announced today that they have designated lefty Josh Smoker for assignment. Additionally, infielder Max Moroff was optioned. Both of those moves make way for Casey Sadler to join the active roster after his contract was selected.
Smoker struggled in limited action this season for the Bucs and had been on optional assignment at Triple-A. He has been better there, spinning 35 frames of 2.83 ERA ball while recording 39 strikeouts against a dozen walks.
As for the 28-year-old Sadler, he’s back in the big leagues for the first time since 2015. He has turned in solid results this year while pitching alongside Smoker at Indianapolis, working to a 3.46 ERA with 7.3 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9.
NL Central Notes: Epstein, Cubs, Pirates, Martinez
The latest from around the NL Central…
- “Pitching is our main need” heading into the trade deadline, Theo Epstein told 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine and other reporters. The Cubs were known to be looking for bullpen help even before Brandon Morrow hit the DL with biceps inflammation, and since Morrow’s injury isn’t expected to keep him out for long, Epstein said that the closer’s absence didn’t impact the team’s deadline plans. Yu Darvish‘s return from the DL theoretically helps a rotation that has been inconsistent, though Epstein gave a realistic view of what Darvish could contribute, given the right-hander’s own struggles this season. “You can’t be overly reliant on someone who hasn’t been able to go out there and perform this year….if you put yourself in a position where you are overly reliant and defending on it at this point, it is on you then,” Epstein said.
- Beyond pitching, Epstein also noted that “we will probably look in August for someone who can play defense or steal a bag.” He predicted multiple moves prior to September 1, and felt the team would make one more trade prior to the July 31 deadline. Though the president of baseball operations doesn’t “think it’s impossible” that the Cubs make a big-ticket transactions, smaller deals seem more likely, as Epstein felt “we are going to be a little more selective and opportunistic” with their options after dealing top prospects in other trades in recent years. For instance, the Athletic’s Patrick Mooney writes that it seems “highly unlikely” that the Cubs would move catching prospect Miguel Amaya for a rental player like Baltimore’s Zach Britton.
- With the Pirates on a run of 10 wins in their last 11 games, GM Neal Huntington said in a radio appearance today (hat tip to Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) that his team “would love to add” at the trade deadline. “If there’s something out there that makes sense and makes us better, we’re absolutely open to that,” Huntington said. The Pirates are still just a modest 51-49 on the season and are battling several other teams in a crowded NL playoff picture, though the Bucs are now four games back of the Braves for the final wild card slot (and 4.5 games behind the struggling Brewers, who hold the first wild card position).
- Jose Martinez‘s poor defense has made him a part-time player with the Cardinals, despite 13 homers and a .295/.361/.471 slash line this season. Martinez tells Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he understands the team’s decision, and that he “would love to be a Cardinal for my career” even though he seems far more suited for a DH role with an American League team. With the Cards not really positioned to be buyers or sellers, Frederickson suggests that the club could approach the coming trade deadline as “an overdue round of roster maintenance that addresses the easiest-to-solve problems and optimizes returns on pieces that don’t fit into the puzzle moving forward.” This would include dealing Martinez, as “his value to AL teams might never be higher” given his current success and his long-term controllability through the 2022 season.
Pirates Notes: Meadows, Cervelli, Deadline
The Pirates announced yesterday that they’ve optioned outfielder Austin Meadows to Triple-A Indianapolis. Long one of the game’s top prospects, Meadows posted solid but unspectacular numbers in Indianapolis this season before breaking into the Majors on an otherworldly tear. Through his first 83 plate appearances, Meadows hit .346/.373/.654 with five homers, five doubles and two triples. But, he went on to slash just .247/.291/.288 in his next 79 PAs and had been largely relegated to a bench role when he was finally optioned. General manager Neal Huntington told reporters (link via MLB.com’s Adam Berry) that the move to send Meadows down to the minors “probably happened two or three days later than ideally it would have,” but the team wanted to preserve its outfield depth and flexibility with a doubleheader on Saturday this weekend. “It’s in his best interest and our best interest to continue to grow and develop,” said Huntington of Meadows, who seems certain to factor into the team’s plans at the big league level once again at some point this season.
More on the Buccos…
- Francisco Cervelli hit the 7-day concussion DL for the fourth time in the past two seasons this past weekend, and there’s no indication as to when he’ll return just yet, writes Elizabeth Bloom of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. But while Cervelli recently worked out at first base and impressed manager Clint Hurdle with his instincts and athleticism there, the organization isn’t yet considering a move from behind the plate for Cervelli. Huntington stressed that, first and foremost, the immediate concern is getting Cervelli the best medical care he can as he battles through his current post-concussive symptoms. “There is concern that multiple concussions, where do we go long-term, but I’m not at that point where we need to or want to have those discussions just yet,” said Huntington. Cervelli, as Bloom notes, suggested earlier this season that he’d consider retirement if injuries ever forced him out from behind the plate.
- The Pirates’ 7-1 performance over the past week has put pressure on Huntington and the rest of the front office as the non-waiver trade deadline approaches, writes Tim Benz of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Huntington spoke candidly last weekend when discussing the team’s situation, noting that with their record, the Pirates weren’t in position where a run of .500 ball would change their outlook. A sweep of the Brewers and a move to within five and a half games of a Wild Card spot, however, could at least move the Bucs from a definite seller to a team in “wait and see” mode as the deadline draws nearer. Huntington acknowledged as much, stating that the Pirates “need to do more” despite an excellent week of play. Indeed, the Pirates are still just 48-49 and nine games back in the NL Central, but their recent winning streak at least has the potential to alter their deadline approach.
NL Central Notes: Cardinals, Girardi, Cubs, Darvish, Cervelli, Villar
The Cardinals’ players are now “on notice” after the team fired manager Mike Matheny on Saturday, Mark Saxon of The Athletic tweets. If the Cardinals (47-46) don’t turn things around during the coming weeks under interim manager Mike Shildt, there may be “sweeping changes” to their roster, per Saxon. St. Louis’ front office, for its part, “has pined for years to be a seller and stock up for the future,” Saxon writes. With the All-Star break on the doorstep and the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline soon to follow, the Cardinals won’t have a lot of time to reverse course on the field in the next couple weeks, though they’re only four games out of a wild-card spot.
- Since Matheny’s ouster, former Yankees and Marlins skipper Joe Girardi has come up frequently as a speculative fit for St. Louis. The Cardinals will indeed consider Girardi, who already has a “good rapport” with president John Mozeliak and is thought of highly by the organization, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. It’s unknown whether Girardi will want to get back into managing after a long, successful run in New York, however. Girardi was unwilling to comment on St. Louis’ managerial situation when Joel Sherman of the New York Post contacted him.
- Cubs right-hander Yu Darvish, out since late May with triceps tendinitis, told Carrie Muskat of MLB.com and other reporters Saturday that he’s hopeful he’ll be able resume throwing off a mound next weekend. However, there’s still no timetable for Darvish’s return to the Cubs’ rotation. With Darvish unavailable (and having struggled before his injury) and Tyler Chatwood in the throes of a rough year, the Cubs are looking for pitching as July 31 nears, according to general manager Jed Hoyer. “No matter what happens [with Darvish], we’re going to be trying to acquire pitching and try to acquire depth,” Hoyer said. “That’s our focus no matter what.”
- Head injuries have been an all-too-common occurrence for Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli, whom concussion issues forced to the disabled list on Saturday for the fourth time since last June. It doesn’t appear his playing days are in peril right now, though. Asked Saturday if Cervelli’s career could be in jeopardy, Pirates director of sports medicine Tom Tomczyk said (via Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic): “A good question. We have the head of neurology (at Allegheny Health System) leading the direction and advising our internal team of doctors … and that recommendation hasn’t been relayed to him as of yet.” One way the Pirates could make Cervelli’s life easier is by giving him some playing time elsewhere on the field, and they are considering using him at first base on occasion, Elizabeth Bloom of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette relays.
- The Brewers announced that they’ve placed second baseman Jonathan Villar on the 10-day DL with a right thumb injury and recalled outfielder Brett Phillips from Triple-A. It’s not known how much time Villar will miss, but it’s the latest disappointing development for a player who has experienced a marked drop-off since a great 2016. Villar has bounced back since a disastrous 2017 to some extent, though he has still batted a subpar .261/.315/.377 with six home runs and 14 steals in 279 plate appearances. The 27-year-old has been a key part of a generally weak middle infield, an area Milwaukee may bolster with a trade for Orioles shortstop Manny Machado. [UPDATE: An MRI revealed that Villar had just a sprained thumb and no structural damage, Brewers manager Craig Counsell told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other reporters.]
NL Injury Notes: D-backs, Cards, Cervelli, Mets, Cespedes
Diamondbacks right-hander Shelby Miller went on the disabled list Friday with elbow inflammation, though the club’s hopeful he dodged a major injury. The D-backs don’t believe Miller re-injured his ulnar collateral ligament, manager Torey Lovullo told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic and other reporters. Miller previously missed most of 2017 and some of this year after tearing his UCL and requiring Tommy John surgery. Arizona won’t know more on Miller’s status until next week when renowned orthopedist Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed Miller’s surgery, looks at the results of his MRI. If Miller’s able to return to the mound this season, he’ll try to shake off a dreadful four-start, 15-inning stretch in which he yielded 19 earned runs on 24 hits.
With Miller out for now, Arizona is set to reinstall righty Clay Buchholz into its rotation after the All-Star break, per Piecoro. Buchholz has been out since June 25, the day the Diamondbacks activated Miller, on account of a strained left oblique. The minor league signing looked like an excellent buy-low pickup before he went on the shelf, having pitched to a 2.56 ERA in his first 38 2/3 innings and seven starts as a D-back.
- Righty Michael Wacha likely won’t return to the Cardinals for at least another month, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggests. Wacha has already missed nearly a month with a left oblique strain, depriving the Cardinals of someone who had thrown 84 1/3 innings of 3.20 ERA ball before going on the DL. Meanwhile, righty Adam Wainwright will also be out into August, Hummel adds. Wainwright, who’s currently on the 60-day DL, has sat out just over two months with elbow problems, making this the second straight injury-shortened year for the former ace.
- Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli is headed to the seven-day concussion DL for the second time in less than a month, the team announced. Pittsburgh recalled backstop Jacob Stallings to take the place of Cervelli, who’s dealing with post-concussive symptoms. This continues a long history of head injuries for Cervelli and marks the fourth time since June 2017 that he has gone on the concussion DL. Although good health has been all too rare for Cervelli, the 32-year-old has been one of the majors’ best catchers in 2018 when he has taken the field.
- Rehabbing Mets infielder T.J. Rivera suffered a setback in the minors on Friday, Betsy Helfand of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. Rivera, who’s working back from September 2017 Tommy John surgery, exited Triple-A Las Vegas’ game early on account of “discomfort” in his right arm, Helfand writes. “His arm was not feeling the way it should have so we’re going to reevaluate him tomorrow, see what the plan is,” manager Tony DeFrancesco said. Rivera hasn’t appeared in a major league game in nearly a year (July 26, 2017).
- In better news for the Mets, manager Mickey Callaway told reporters (including Tim Britton of The Athletic) on Saturday that left fielder Yoenis Cespedes could make his long-awaited return as early as next weekend. Cespedes, who has been out with a hip strain since mid-May, “could ramp up his rehab in the coming days,” Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweets.
Injury Notes: Paxton, Kuhl, Urias, Adolfo
Mariners fans are holding their collective breath after James Paxton exited last night’s start in the first inning with an apparent injury. Per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times, Paxton was lifted due to some discomfort in his lower back. Clearly, this would’ve been Paxton’s last start before the All-Star break anyhow, so the plus for the team is that he’ll have an extended period of time to rest up and hopefully return in healthier form. If the Mariners want to truly be cautious with their ace, they could slot him into the back of the rotation coming out of the break, giving him extra time in an effort to ensure that his back issue is cleared up. The injury doesn’t appear to be serious, though there’ll understandably be at least some apprehension around the situation until Paxton can make it through a start or two without further incident. Seattle can ill-afford to lose Paxton, who heads into the break with a 3.70 ERA, 11.7 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 through 119 1/3 innings.
Some more injury updates from around the league…
- Pirates righty Chad Kuhl will be shut down from throwing entirely until Aug. 8, writes Elizabeth Bloom of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. At that point, he’ll be reevaluated and, if all goes well, begin throwing from flat ground. There’s no definite timetable on Kuhl’s return from the current forearm injury that has him on the shelf, though Bloom notes that Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk doesn’t expect that Kuhl will ultimately require any type of surgical procedure to correct the issue. The 25-year-old Kuhl had pitched to a 3.76 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 36.2 percent ground-ball rate through 14 starts before he was rocked for 10 runs across two starts (six innings). He exited that final start early due to the forearm issue and was subsequently placed on the DL.
- Julio Urias faced live hitters this week for the first time since undergoing major shoulder surgery last June, tweets Pedro Moura of The Athletic. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters that the left-hander’s fastball reached as high as 92 mph in that session, and while that’s not quite as high as the 93.1 mph he averaged last season before surgery, it’s an encouraging sign in the early stages of his return to throwing. At the time of Urias’ procedure, Dodgers president of baseball ops Andrew Friedman suggested that the prized young lefty’s rehab could be as long as 14 months. It still seems possible that Urias could return before season’s end, though the team will undoubtedly exercise caution with a player of his upside. Urias had one of the most meteoric rises through the minors of any pitcher in recent history, debuting in the Majors as a 19-year-old in 2016.
- The White Sox received some more tough news on a promising young prospect, as the team announced to reporters this week that outfielder Micker Adolfo will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of the season (Twitter link via WGN’s Adam Hoge). The silver lining, if there’s any, is that the procedure comes with a quicker recovery time for position players than for pitchers, and Adolfo is expected to be recovered in eight to 10 months. That would put him on track to be back up to speed anywhere from early Spring Training to early May Adolfo, 21, had turned in a quality .283/.368/.466 slash with 11 homers but a more concerning 27.2 percent strikeout rate through 78 games against older competition in Class-A Advanced. Fangraphs ranked him ninth among ChiSox farmhands earlier this year, while he currently ranks 10th in their system over at MLB.com.
Dodgers Looking Into Multiple Potential Infield Targets
The Dodgers are widely rumored to be a major suitor for Orioles star Manny Machado. But they are also looking at multiple other possibilities for improving their lineup, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).
Per the report, the Los Angeles organization has not only “stepped up” its efforts to boost its infield mix, but has inquired into at least three specific options beyond Machado. Passan links the Dodgers to the Reds’ Scooter Gennett, the Twins’ Brian Dozier, and the Mets’ Asdrubal Cabrera. And Josh Harrison of the Pirates is also of some interest, per Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press (Twitter link). (He also notes that the Dodgers are interested in some of Minnesota’s veteran relievers.)
The precise interest level in each of those players isn’t clear. Needless to say, the Dodgers are not limiting themselves to a single option — or, really, even a single type of player. While Machado has spent his entire career on the left side of the infield, the other players now reportedly in the mix could fit in at second base.
Indeed, both Gennett and Dozier have more or less exclusively played at second in the majors. Though the latter did break in as a shortstop, he hasn’t lined up there since 2012. Cabrera has more extensive time at short and third, while Harrison has also played all over. Gennett swings from the left side, Dozier and Harrison the right. Cabrera is a switch-hitter. Both Dozier and Cabrera will be free agents after the season, while Gennett and Harrison can be controlled for one and two additional years, respectively.
This slate of candidates includes quite a lot of MLB experience, of course. All are relatively low-strikeout, contact-oriented hitters. Gennett and Cabrera have outproduced the others offensively this year, but there are other things for the L.A. brass to consider. Dozier has an excellent track record, a history of second-half productivity, and an explanation (.247 BABIP) for some of his woes. Harrison is surely the least-accomplished hitter of the bunch, but adds more value on the bases and in the field.
All things considered, it’s not strictly evident just what the Dodgers are most interested in finding beyond adding a player they like to their infield mix. The team has not received much from Logan Forsythe and Chase Utley, but those two have combined to take the lion’s share of time at second. Adding Machado might well mean bumping Chris Taylor to the other side of the bag, or to the outfield. If that fails, a different addition intended to address second base more directly could instead be pursued.
Of course, it’s somewhat debatable whether this is even an area the Dodgers really ought to be focused, even with Corey Seager gone for the year. Forsythe and Utley haven’t been great, true, but the entire rest of the lineup (excepting backup catcher Austin Barnes) has been excellent. Ensuring there’s a place for Max Muncy‘s bat to play is perhaps the more pressing need. Most recently, he has slotted in at second, though perhaps that’s not the club’s ultimate preference. In any event, it seems the L.A. front office is interested not only in maximizing depth, but also in guarding against any downturns in its potent lineup.
Quick Hits: Rays, Eovaldi, Ramos, Nats, Pirates, Reds
Ten teams were reportedly in attendance on Sunday to watch Rays right-hander Nathan Eovaldi pitch in New York, and he didn’t disappoint. Eovaldi delivered seven near-perfect innings against the Mets, striking out nine (against no walks) and allowing one hit. The Yankees, Diamondbacks, Braves, Brewers, Cubs, Giants, Reds and Marlins had scouts on hand to witness the performance, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports, though he notes that all of them aren’t necessarily interested in Eovaldi. The Yanks and Marlins are already familiar with Eovaldi, who has pitched for both teams in the past. Miami’s not going to buy Eovaldi, though, as it’s well out of contention and he’s a pending free agent. But the Yankees are World Series hopefuls who need a starter, so perhaps they’d consider a reunion with Eovaldi. The 28-year-old has returned from 2016 Tommy John surgery to post a 3.35 ERA with 8.19 K/9, 1.12 BB/9 and a 48.8 percent grounder rate over 48 1/3 innings.
- More on the Rays, who are “closely watching” the Nationals’ farm system as the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline draws closer, Jon Heyman of Fancred reports. The Nationals are interested in Rays catcher Wilson Ramos, per Heyman, which jibes with an earlier report from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. “There’s no sign” the Nationals have made any progress in trying to pry elite catcher J.T. Realmuto from the Marlins, Heyman writes, so Ramos may be the Nats’ best hope to upgrade behind the plate. Ramos spent 2010-16 in Washington and has landed back on the team’s radar amid what may be an All-Star season for the 30-year-old.
- With the Pirates having fallen to 41-48 since a good start to the season, “the optimism has turned to realism,” general manager Neal Huntington told reporters Sunday (via Jerry Dipaola of the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review). Huntington went on to explain that he projected the Pirates would win 78 to 82 games this year, but he was hopeful they’d exceed expectations. Instead, with the deadline looming and Pittsburgh nine games out of a playoff spot, the team looks like a seller in the making. Huntington will make a decision on the club’s direction in the coming days, it seems, as he noted that “this is one of those weeks where 4-4 doesn’t do us a lot of good. We need to make up some ground in a short period of time and we need to show we can continue to do that.”
- At 39-50, Cincinnati sits below Pittsburgh in the NL Central. But the two teams have been going in opposite directions in recent months, with the Reds having played respectable ball of late. As a result, they’re not necessarily inclined to sell this summer unless returns are compelling, president Dick Williams told Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. “Really, almost the whole 25-man roster is controlled beyond this year other than (Matt) Harvey,” Williams said. “That puts us in a good position of not feeling like you have to do anything with guys. You can be opportunistic. We want to have a very successful second half. We believe we’ll have the players here to keep this momentum going.” And even though the Reds have turned things around since firing manager Bryan Price on April 19 and replacing him with interim skipper Jim Riggleman, they’re not ready to hand the reins to Riggleman on a full-time basis, per Williams.