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Market Notes: Red Sox, Hosmer, Royals, Cards, Donaldson, Mets, Kipnis, A-Gon

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Signing Mitch Moreland doesn’t take the Red Sox out of the market for hitting, president of baseball ops Dave Dombrowski told reporters including Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. And adding another stick wouldn’t necessarily mean trading away from the current roster to create space, the club’s top baseball decisionmaker added. But it surely does not seem that Boston will sign another first baseman; rather, a DH/corner outfield bat seems the likeliest possibility.

  • Boston’s decision seems to take it out of the market for Eric Hosmer, which has raised some eyebrows in Royals country. As Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star writes, there are still many barriers remaining to a return to Kansas City for Hosmer, including the possibility that agent Scott Boras will find a way to bring some new suitors into the picture. But keeping Hosmer in Royals blue for the future now seems more plausible than might have been expected when the organization began giving indication it would rebuild. Of course, even if that comes to pass, the general rebuilding plan will remain, the Star’s Rustin Dodd notes on Twitter.
  • The Cardinals appear to be showing more interest in veteran Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson than in Manny Machado of the Orioles, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Nightengale posits that the club may believe it’s better situated to pursue a long-term deal with Donaldson — who’s much older than Machado, though both will hit the open market at the same time — which would increase his appeal. Of course, it’s important to bear in mind there’s still no real indication that Toronto will move Donaldson and the St. Louis front office has suggested recently that it’s not all that keen on giving up significant assets for a rental.
  • While there has been some chatter recently connecting the Mets to Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post says that possibility is not as likely as it has come to seem. Especially with Carlos Santana moving on, says Davidoff, the Indians are not particularly inclined to part with Kipnis’s contract for a marginal return. New York is trying to thread the needle in finding an upgrade at the position, with the organization concerned with giving up too much in salary or prospect value to make a deal. As the Post’s Joel Sherman writes, the Mets’ lack of top-end, marketable pre-MLB talent has posed an under-appreciated barrier to its winter activity.
  • The Mets, of course, are also eyeing the addition of another option at the first base position. New York had some interest in Moreland, per the above-cited Cafardo piece. And as James Wagner of the New York Times tweets, the Mets intend at least to take a look at the newest entrant onto the open market: Adrian Gonzalez. The veteran will be looking to bounce back after a rough, injury-plagued 2017 season, though he could conceivably bring some upside at a very appealing price.

Braves Release Adrian Gonzalez

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The Braves have formally released Adrian Gonzalez, tweets Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Gonzalez was acquired over the weekend in a stunning five-player salary dump and immediately designated for assignment. As David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes, being designated and immediately released into the free-agent pool was actually a prerequisite for Gonzalez to waive his no-trade protection in the first place, as doing so gives him more say over where he’ll spend the 2018 campaign.

Gonzalez, 36 in May, was limited to just 71 games this season because of a significant back issue that has also clearly sapped his productivity at the plate. In the 252 plate appearances for which the five-time All-Star and former MVP candidate was healthy, he batted just .242/.287/.355 with three homers and 17 doubles. That, of course, is a far cry from the production Dodgers fans had come to expect after he hit .282/.344/.465 with 95 homers in 2577 plate appearances from 2013-16. Gonzalez ended his Dodgers tenure with a bang, though, belting a home run in his final plate appearance of the season (and, presumably, of his Dodgers career).

The release of Gonzalez underscores that Saturday’s blockbuster was a financial move for the Dodgers and Braves more so than a move that was motivated by interest in the players that changed hands. Gonzalez is still owed a total of $21.5MM for the 2018 season in the final year of a seven-year, $154MM contract and will be available to any team that has interest in him for the pro-rated portion of the league minimum (for any time spent in the Majors). That sum will be subtracted from the $21.5MM for which Atlanta is on the hook, but the remainder of the deal, nearly $20MM, will come out of Atlanta’s pockets regardless.

Of course, the Braves are fine with that outcome. The trade allowed Atlanta to dump Matt Kemp’s contract onto the Dodgers, freeing Atlanta of a multi-year albatross and paving a path for ballyhooed prospect Ronald Acuna to join the big league club once he’s deemed ready. Meanwhile, the Dodgers were able to dump a significant amount of 2018 payroll in exchange for spreading out that salary over the life of two seasons — and in doing so dramatically reducing their luxury tax payroll (which is calculated by average annual value).

Reactions To And Effects Of Dodgers-Braves Trade

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The Dodgers and Braves swung an out-of-nowhere, payroll-geared trade Saturday consisting of five major leaguers, with just one (Matt Kemp) going to Los Angeles in exchange for Adrian Gonzalez, Scott Kazmir, Brandon McCarthy and Charlie Culberson. LA, which made the trade for luxury tax purposes, previously tried to send Gonzalez, Kazmir and McCarthy to the Marlins as part of a package for now-Yankee Giancarlo Stanton, according to Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times. Although that failed, Dodgers brass already had a fallback option in the Braves, whose general manager – Alex Anthopoulos – worked in LA’s front office until mid-November. The two sides began discussing the parameters of Saturday’s trade shortly after his hiring, per McCullough. Talks gained steam during this week’s Winter Meetings before culminating in an agreement Saturday.

  • The Braves immediately designated Gonzalez for assignment after his acquisition, but the 35-year-old had to waive his no-trade clause before the deal could occur. Gonzalez touched on that choice afterward, saying in a statement: “My final decision was not based on playing time, as I had agreed to a limited bench role. It is a way to test the free-agent market and see what opportunities are out there for me so I can make the best decision moving forward for me and my family. Lifting the no-trade clause is the hardest decision I have ever made in my career due to the fact that I loved every single second being a Dodger.”
  • The Padres will consider a reunion with Gonzalez if they’re unable to reel in free agent first baseman Eric Hosmer, Bob Nightengale of USA Today suggests (Twitter link). Gonzalez was a franchise player in San Diego from 2006-10, slashing .288/.374/.514 with 161 home runs in 3,425 plate appearances and earning three All-Star nods.
  • Shortly after the news broke, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the Dodgers would likely trade or release Kemp before he ever plays another game in their uniform (he was previously with LA from 2006-14). The Dodgers will first try to flip Kemp, confirms McCullough, who adds that they “appear willing to offer prospects” to help convince someone to take some of his contract. Kemp, 33, is due $21.5MM in each of the next two seasons. Keith Law of ESPN opines that he wouldn’t even be worth picking up if the Dodgers ate all of that money (subscription required and recommended). Regarding a discussion he had with Kemp, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said: “I was very open and honest with him about what the future might hold. It’s just too difficult to say, definitively, at this point.”
  • Having completed this trade, it seems the Braves’ heavy lifting for the offseason is mostly over, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution details. They improved their defense by getting rid of Kemp, thus freeing up a spot in the outfield for elite prospect Ronald Acuna (he’ll be in the majors early in 2018, whether it’s Opening Day or a bit later); added a veteran starter in McCarthy (possibly two if Kazmir recovers from a hip injury); and landed a backup infielder they like in Culberson. While Anthopoulos said the Braves could still seek a third baseman and relief help, he noted that those areas are not priorities, O’Brien writes.
  • Meanwhile, Nightengale, Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs and Bill Shaikin of the LA Times agree that this trade will help set up an action-packed offseason in a year. Now that the Dodgers are unlikely to exceed the $197MM luxury tax threshold in 2018, they can be more aggressive in trying to reel in certain members of a star-studded class of free agents next winter. One of their own standouts, left-hander Clayton Kershaw, could be a prominent part of that group.

Dodgers Acquire Matt Kemp For Adrian Gonzalez, Kazmir, McCarthy, Culberson

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In a stunning swap of big contracts, the Dodgers have traded first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, left-hander Scott Kazmir, right-hander Brandon McCarthy and infielder Charlie Culberson to the Braves in exchange for outfielder Matt Kemp. The Braves will also receive $4.5MM in cash. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was the first to report news of the trade. Furthermore, Mark Bowman of MLB.com adds that the Braves have already designated Gonzalez for assignment. A source close to Rosenthal tells him that the Dodgers are likely to trade or release Kemp (Twitter link).

There’s a ton to unpack here, but the biggest motivator of the trade appears to be money, and more specifically luxury tax implications for the Dodgers. Rosenthal notes in another tweet that the trade is “effectively cash-neutral overall,” but adds that the swap will put the Dodgers below the $197MM luxury tax threshold for the 2018 season. That will allow the Dodgers to reset the escalating luxury tax penalties, which seems to have been a significant objective for the club this offseason. The money owed to Kemp is spread out across the 2018-2019 seasons, while Gonzalez, Kazmir and McCarthy all have just one year remaining on their contracts.

Rosenthal offers further clarification yet, as he points out that the Dodgers have paid the luxury tax for five consecutive seasons. Their penalty for 2017 was over $30MM, but if they keep their payroll below $197MM, their penalty will drop from 50% on the overage to 20% the next time they exceed the luxury tax threshold.

Adrian Gonzalez

Joel Sherman reports in his own tweet that the Braves are planning to release Gonzalez, but can’t do so until Monday since MLB teams can’t release players on weekends during the offseason. Gonzalez actually had to waive his no-trade clause in order to make this trade possible, and Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports reports that he did so mainly because the Dodgers told him he’d be buried on the bench and receive limited at-bats.

[RELATED: Updated Dodgers Depth Chart; Updated Braves Depth Chart]

As for the Braves, the $4.5MM they’ll get in the deal will even out the overall dollars swapped in the trade (hat tip to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports). GM Alex Anthopoulos says that McCarthy satisfies the team’s “desire to add a veteran starter,” while Culberson fills their need for a bench player (via Mark Bowman of MLB.com). Kazmir has some upside as a rotation piece too.

Not insignificant is the fact that the Dodgers have opened up multiple spots on their 40-man roster, including one that was already earmarked for Tom Koehler, with whom the Dodgers have recently agreed to a one-year deal.

Matt Kemp (vertical)

Kemp, 33, was a sixth-round selection of the Dodgers back in 2003. He made his major league debut in 2007, and went on to have some great seasons for Los Angeles, including a 2011 campaign in which he finished as the runner-up in the MVP voting. Later that year, the club signed the outfielder to an eight-year, $160MM extension. Not long after that, his performance began to decline; Kemp has only topped 1 WAR once in the past four seasons as his contract has been tossed between the Padres, Braves and Dodgers. For the 2017 season, Kemp hit .276/.318/.463, making him a roughly average major league hitter (100 wRC+). However, his poor defense in the outfield dropped his overall value to -0.5 fWAR.

Gonzalez, now 35 years of age, went to the Marlins with the number one overall pick in the 2000 draft. His breakout season came with the Padres in 2006; that year began a streak of ten consecutive seasons wherein the left-handed-hitting first baseman posted at least 2.9 fWAR. Across those years, he posted a .292/.366/.501 slash line and mashed 283 homers. This past season, however, Gonzalez battled injuries throughout the year and didn’t hit well when healthy; he amassed only 252 plate appearances across 71 games with the Dodgers and managed a career-worst .355 slugging percentage. All told, Gonzalez was valued at 1.1 wins below replacement level.

Kazmir’s story is a roller coaster of sorts; he was a great pitcher during his early years with the then-Devil Rays, including a 2007 season in which he posted a 3.48 ERA with 239 strikeouts across 206 2/3 innings. However, Kazmir began to struggle with injuries and ineffectiveness in 2009, and though he experienced a resurgence in July that prompted a trade to the Angels, his ERA during the 2009 postseason was an ugly 7.59. Those struggles continued into the 2010 season, and by 2011 Kazmir was pitching for the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate and was cut before June was over. After spending 2012 out of MLB entirely, the Indians took a chance on him in 2013, and he rewarded them with a 4.04 ERA (and 3.51 FIP) campaign that earned him the Comeback Player of the Year Award. He signed a two-year deal with the Athletics the following offseason, and seemed to be “back.” The Dodgers signed Kazmir to a three-year, $48MM deal, but the injury bug struck once again, marring his 2016 performance and keeping him off the field entirely in 2017.

The 34-year-old McCarthy has a career 4.15 ERA across 1,145 big league innings with the White Sox, Rangers, Athletics, Diamondbacks, Yankees and Dodgers. He’s generally provided value while on the field, but has only topped 140 innings twice in his twelve-year career. Part of that can be attributed to injuries, including a 2015 Tommy John surgery when he famously noted on Twitter that “31 years is a lot to ask for from a ligament.” During the past two seasons, he’s put up a 4.27 ERA while striking out 116 batters in 132 2/3 innings.

Based on his age and team control, the soon-to-be 29-year-old Culberson is the one player in this deal who looks capable of being a long-term piece. The Georgia native won’t even be eligible for arbitration until next winter, meaning the Braves could control him for the next four seasons. The righty-hitting Culberson hasn’t found much big league success since debuting in 2012, though, having hit just .229/.269/.321 in 443 PAs with three NL West clubs – the Giants, Rockies and Dodgers. Culberson racked up a mere 83 trips to the plate in two seasons with the Dodgers, but he did swat a couple dramatic homers during his LA tenure.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Reactions To And Effects Of The Giancarlo Stanton Trade

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The Yankees shook the baseball world early Saturday when they agreed to acquire 2017 National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton from the Marlins. As you’d expect, the deal has elicited no shortage of media reactions, many of which we’ve rounded up here:

  • While the Los Angeles-born Stanton would have preferred to go to the Dodgers, they didn’t make an offer that “intrigued” the Marlins, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. Sending Stanton to the Dodgers would have required the Marlins to take on more bad contracts than they were “comfortable with,” according to Sherman, who reports that LA wanted Miami to accept one or both of Adrian Gonzalez or Scott Kazmir and absorb $30MM of Stanton’s contract. The Marlins found acquiring Starlin Castro from the Yankees much more appealing, as he’s someone they could slot in at second base or flip elsewhere.
  • The Dodgers’ wariness toward a more aggressive Stanton pursuit stemmed from the back-loaded nature of his 10-year, $295MM commitment, per Buster Olney of ESPN (subscription required and recommended). If he doesn’t opt out of his contract after 2020, Stanton will rake in $96MM over the final three years of his pact, when he’ll be in his late 30s. The Yankees will be able to slot him in at designated hitter then if his work in the field sharply declines with age, whereas the Dodgers would have had to continue running him out as a defender.
  • Adding Stanton gives the Yankees as many as six major league-caliber outfielders, thereby making Jacoby Ellsbury and Clint Frazier potential trade candidates. The Yankees will work to rid themselves of Ellsbury, even if it means eating “a lot” of the $68.3MM left on his contract, George A. King III of the New York Post reports. Ellsbury was reportedly uninterested in leaving the Yankees as of earlier this week, but that was before the acquisition of Stanton relegated him to the role of a fifth outfielder. While Ellsbury, who has a full no-trade clause, would be a salary dump, the 23-year-old Frazier would likely bring back a quality return – perhaps a starter, King suggests. Additionally, the Yankees “would certainly listen on offers” for third baseman Chase Headley, per King. Headley is entering the last year of his contract, in which he’ll make $13MM.
  • With new Marlins owners Derek Jeter and Bruce Sherman on a mission to continue paring down payroll to the $90MM range, Castro looks like their most obvious trade chip, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. By parting with Castro – who has two years and $22MM left on his pact – and not taking back another guaranteed contract, Miami would still be about $15MM above its spending goal, Jackson notes. Further payroll slashing could come from deals involving some combination of Marcell Ozuna, Christian Yelich, Martin Prado, Brad Ziegler and Junichi Tazawa. Moving Castro, Ozuna, Ziegler and Tazawa would likely obviate any need to trade Yelich, Jackson suggests.
  • Prior to the Yankees’ Stanton acquisition, they looked poised to go after Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper in free agency a year from now. That may be out the window now, leading Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post to posit that the trade probably helps the Nationals to some degree because it appears to erase a would-be Harper suitor. However, several other teams will make big offers to Harper, Janes points out, so retaining him on what should be a record contract still figures to be a tall order for the Nats.
  • Harper is among the losers in this trade, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic opines (subscription required and recommended). Unsurprisingly, Harper’s agent, the always colorful Scott Boras, disagrees. “A Bronx opera . . . The Three Tenors . . . Hal’s genius, vision,” Boras told Rosenthal via email, referencing Harper, Stanton, Aaron Judge and Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner. Boras added that the Harper-Stanton-Judge trio would be “a galaxy of international popularity” on the same team. While Boras clearly isn’t ruling out a Yankees-Harper union, Rosenthal sees Manny Machado as a more likely target for the club in free agency next year.
  • The fact that Stanton is set to join a Yankees team that was just one win from securing a World Series trip last season is a major blow to parity in the AL, Dave Cameron of FanGraphs argues. Cameron classifies the Astros, Yankees, Red Sox and Indians as potential “super teams” heading into next season, and the Angels could be on their way to the playoffs after winning the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes. As impressive as those clubs look, there’s now less incentive for others to play for the last wild-card spot, Cameron contends, which could lead certain fringe teams to rebuild.

Cafardo’s Latest: Stanton, Arrieta, JBJ, Zimmermann

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The latest on Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton comes from the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo, who reports that the Red Sox currently have “tepid” interest in the NL MVP. Notably, Miami isn’t enamored of Boston’s farm system, per Cafardo, though he notes that the Marlins’ main motivation in trading Stanton would be to rid themselves of his contract. As such, one shouldn’t rule out Stanton to the Red Sox if they’re willing to take on a significant portion of the $295MM coming his way over the next decade.

While it’s unclear how much of Stanton’s deal the Red Sox would be open to absorbing, the Giants are “willing to take on a lot” of it, Cafardo writes. The Giants have shown more interest than anyone else in Stanton, Cafardo hears, and he adds that they’re prepared to exceed the luxury tax threshold for the fourth straight year if necessary. As of now, they and the Cardinals are the only known teams that have submitted offers to the Marlins to acquire Stanton.

More from Cafardo:

  • In addition to the previously reported Brewers and Twins, the Blue Jays, Rockies and Rangers have shown interest in free agent right-hander Jake Arrieta, Cafardo relays. All of those teams have contacted agent Scott Boras about Arrieta, though it’s unclear how serious any of them are about the 31-year-old. The Rangers seem to have the greatest need for Arrieta, who MLBTR projects will land a nine-figure contract, but as Steve Adams pointed out when previewing their offseason, they don’t have a lot of payroll flexibility.
  • The Giants, White Sox and Royals “will likely keep inquiring” about Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. throughout the offseason, Cafardo contends. Each of San Francisco, Chicago and Kansas City have pursued Bradley recently, but the Royals already had Lorenzo Cain occupying center when they went after JBJ in 2015. Now, with Cain likely to depart via free agency, the fit between the Royals and the affordable Bradley is obvious. However, it’s fair to wonder whether the Royals have a good enough farm system to put together a deal for Bradley, who’s controllable through 2020 and will make around $5.9MM next season.
  • The Nationals are interested in reuniting with righty Jordan Zimmermann, but the Tigers would unsurprisingly have to eat some of his contract, according to Cafardo. Zimmermann was at his best with the Nats from 2011-15, but he has experienced a sharp decline since signing a five-year, $110MM pact with Detroit entering the 2016 campaign. The 31-year-old has pitched to an ugly 5.60 ERA in 265 1/3 innings as a Tiger and is owed an unpalatable $74MM over the next three seasons.
  • Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez has a full no-trade clause – not a partial NTC – agent Jim Boggs tells Cafardo. Regardless, coming off a back injury-shortened season in which he accounted for minus-1.1 fWAR in 252 plate appearances, finding a taker for Gonzalez, 35, figures to be a tall task for the Dodgers. LA may simply eat the $21.5MM Gonzalez is owed next season in order to jettison him, Cafardo suggests.

NL Notes: Marlins, Dodgers, Phillies, Padres

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This weekend could go down as the the final time outfielders Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna take the field together for the Marlins, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald observes. While all three enjoy playing with one another, each realizes the organization is in flux, which might bring about the end of their successful partnership. “I think everyone is kind of aware of the situation,” said Yelich, the center fielder. “We really don’t know what’s going to happen, [but] we realize what the possibilities could be. Everybody knows that.” The only member of the trio who could block a trade is Stanton, he of 57 home runs in 2017 and a $295MM contract that runs through 2028 (or 2020, depending on an opt-out decision). The 27-year-old MVP candidate suggested that he wouldn’t be keen on embarking on a rebuild, something Miami might have to do in order to slash payroll and restock a weak farm system. “What else are you here for? I don’t do this just to show up. I’m here to try to win, get a ring,” the right fielder said (via Tim Healey of the South Florida Sun Sentinel). “There’s a point otherwise, but that’s your ultimate goal.”

More from the NL:

  • An ailing back continues to trouble the Dodgers’ Adrian Gonzalez, leading the club to shut him down for the year, manager Dave Roberts announced Wednesday (via Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times). Gonzalez played in just 71 games this season and batted a career-worst .242/.287/.355 for the NL’s top seed, though he did hit a home run Tuesday in what proved to be his last contest of 2017. The 35-year-old felt tightness in back on Wednesday, however, which forced the Dodgers to bring his season to a close prior to the playoffs. Regarding 2018, the final year of Gonzalez’s contract (in which he’ll make $21.5MM), he said: “My plan is to be an everyday player again and give it a go to have a really good season. Like I expected for this year.”
  • Phillies right-hander Clay Buchholz has been out of action since suffering a partial tear of the flexor pronator mass in his pitching arm on April 11, but the 33-year-old expects to be ready for spring training, per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. He’ll start throwing Oct. 9, roughly a month before he’ll be eligible to depart Philadelphia as a free agent. “It’s my first go around with the whole free-agent deal,” Buchholz said of the upcoming offseason. “I’ll have to prove that I’m ready to go and I’m healthy, I’m sure. But I’m looking forward to it.” While Buchholz will go down as a failed on-field pickup for the Phillies, who acquired him from Boston last winter, he did mentor their young pitchers behind the scenes, as Zolecki details.
  • Third baseman Christian Villanueva has hit four homers in 10 games since the Padres selected his contract Sept. 18, putting him in position to compete for a 25-man spot next spring, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com writes. The offseason minor league signing and former top 100 prospect with the Cubs will have an opportunity to win a starting job at second or third base in the spring, relays Cassavell, who notes that he could at least be a useful right-handed hitter off the bench. While Villaneuva, who was once part of trade involving Kyle Hendricks and Ryan Dempster, has slashed .333/.333/.778, his success has come over a minuscule amount of PAs (27). Manager Andy Green needs to see more, saying that “I don’t think you prove anything in September in such a short sample.”

Dodgers Acquire Luis Ysla From Red Sox

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The Dodgers have acquired left-hander Luis Ysla from the Red Sox for cash considerations, per announcements from both teams. Ysla will report to Double-A Tulsa.

The 25-year-old Ysla’s time with the Red Sox all but ended when they acquired infielder Eduardo Nunez from the Giants on Wednesday. The Red Sox subsequently designated Ysla for assignment to open up a spot for Nunez, leading to their trade with the Dodgers. Ysla pitched himself out of the Boston organization’s plans by logging a 5.05 ERA, 8.5 K/9 and 6.2 BB/9 over 46 1/3 innings with its Double-A affiliate this season.

The Dodgers created 40-man roster room for Ysla by moving first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to the 60-day disabled list, retroactive to June 12, with a lumbar disc herniation. Thanks to his ailing back, the 35-year-old Gonzalez has appeared in just 49 games this season and hit an uncharacteristically weak .255/.304/.339 in 182 plate appearances.

West News & Rumors: Padres, Hand, Rangers, Dodgers

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Reliever Brad Hand is the most sought-after trade chip the Padres have had since A.J. Preller took over as their general manager in 2014, reports AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. “Half the league or more” has called about Hand, a team source told Cassavell, which helps explain the Padres’ reportedly high asking price for the southpaw. San Diego feels as though it’s justified in seeking a significant return for Hand, per Cassavell, as the 27-year-old has been among the majors’ top relievers since breaking out last season and comes with affordable control through the 2019 campaign.

  • One of Hand’s teammates, second baseman/third baseman Yangervis Solarte, is also a trade candidate, but Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune doesn’t expect the Padres to move him. Rumors connecting Solarte to other clubs have mostly been speculative, tweets Lin, who notes that the 30-year-old’s injury status seems to decrease the likelihood of a trade. He has been out for over a month with a strained oblique, and a return doesn’t look imminent as the July 31 trade deadline approaches. The switch-hitting Solarte hasn’t taken right-handed batting practice yet, which could change this weekend, and will still need to go on a rehab assignment after that happens.
  • Rangers GM Jon Daniels told reporters Saturday that he’s unsure whether the 46-50 club will buy over the next week-plus. If they do, though, Daniels indicated that the Rangers will seek controllable starting pitching, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). Everyone wants controllable starting pitching, so that’s not surprising, but it’s clear Texas needs it more than a lot of other teams do. After all, three members of the Rangers’ rotation – Yu Darvish, Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross – are scheduled to become free agents after the season.
  • A couple of injury updates on the Dodgers, courtesy of J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group (Twitter links): First baseman Adrian Gonzalez should return before Sept. 1, but outfielder Andre Ethier likely won’t. Back problems have been ruinous to both veterans this year – Gonzalez has been out since early June, and Ethier hasn’t played at all.

NL West Notes: A-Gon, Pollock, Nunez, Arroyo, Espinoza, Padres

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Adrian Gonzalez’s season and possibly even his long-term playing future have been threatened by his recurring back problems, but the Dodgers first baseman tells Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times that he intends to return to the field in September even if his back is still bothering him.  “Put it this way: Even if I’m not quote-unquote 100%, I’m still going to go in September because what I have is what I have,” Gonzalez said.  “If it doesn’t get better with all this time off, it’s not going to get better, so I might as well learn to play with medication.”  If he isn’t healthy enough for regular play, Gonzalez said he is happy to take a pinch-hitting role or to cede playing time to Cody Bellinger since “I’m just here to win. It’s not about, ‘It’s my position,’ or, ‘It’s his position.’ It’s about winning as a team.”  The piece is well worth a full read, as Gonzalez also discusses how his back problems have raised the question of retirement.

Here’s more from around the NL West…

  • Outfielder A.J. Pollock has officially returned to action for the Diamondbacks, with the club announcing that he has been activated from the 10-day DL after a lengthy absence owing to a groin strain. Arizona hasn’t encountered any real troubles in his absence, but the return promises to make for an even more compelling roster. The surprising D-Backs not only seem a shoe-in for a Wild Card spot, but currently sit just two-and-a-half games out of the NL West lead.
  • Eduardo Nunez didn’t play in a scheduled rehab game on Sunday due to continued discomfort in his ailing hamstring, and the Giants infielder may not return to action until after the All-Star break, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes.  Nunez, who has been on the DL since June 24, is perhaps the Giants’ clearest trade chip as the club prepares to be deadline sellers.  If he can’t return until after the break, Nunez will have just over two weeks to keep up his solid pre-injury production and prove to interested trade suitors that he is healthy, or else the Giants will have trouble gaining full value in a deal.
  • Christian Arroyo suffered a fractured left hand after being hit by a pitch in minor league action on Saturday, and the Giants prospect is in danger of missing the rest of the season, MLB.com’s Chris Haft writes.  Manager Bruce Bochy said he was hoping Arroyo would be healthy in time to be a September call-up for the Giants.  Arroyo made his big league debut earlier this season and hit just .192/.244/.304 in 135 plate appearances, though San Francisco obviously wants to give one of its most highly-touted young players more experience in the Show.  Arroyo’s development has already been stalled by another hand injury in June; in fact, Arroyo’s first game back from that prior injury was Saturday’s contest.
  • Padres relievers Craig Stammen and Kirby Yates are under-the-radar candidates to be moved at the deadline, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune write as part of a reader mailbag.  Stammen has a 4.53 ERA in 45 2/3 IP, a number that is somewhat inflated by a few bad outings; 10 of Stammen’s 23 earned runs this year came during a three-game stretch in April, plus he allowed a grand slam in his last game.  Yates, meanwhile has an outstanding 2.08 ERA, 14.2 K/9 and 5.13 K/BB rate over 26 IP since being claimed off waivers from the Angels in April.  Neither pitcher is likely to net the Padres a big return in a trade, though as Lin notes, San Diego has little in the way of healthy trade chips aside from Brad Hand.
  • Also from Lin’s mailbag, he reports that star pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza is playing catch but hasn’t yet thrown off a mound.  Espinoza has yet to pitch at all this season after suffering forearm tightness in early April, and then additional soreness in May that led to a shutdown.  The Padres, as you might expect, are taking it slow with Espinoza’s recovery given his long-term value to the organization.  Lin notes that Espinoza might possibly not pitch at all this summer, as it will still be a while before the young righty is ready for game action.

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