Reds Acquire Archie Bradley
The Reds have acquired closer Archie Bradley in a last-second deadline deal with the Diamondbacks, per announcements from both clubs. Utility man Josh VanMeter and outfield prospect Stuart Fairchild are headed to the D-backs in return for Bradley, and Arizona will also reportedly kick in $100K to help cover Bradley’s remaining salary.
Bradley, 28, is in his second season as Arizona’s primary closing option and has been a quality member of the ’pen for the past four years now. The former No. 7 overall pick was long one of the game’s most highly regarded pitching prospects, but he struggled in 34 big league starts before finding a home in the D-backs’ relief corp. Dating back to 2017, Bradley has pitched to a strong 2.98 ERA and 3.17 FIP with averages of 10.1 strikeouts, 3.2 walks and 0.7 homers per nine innings (despite pitching in a hitter-friendly home park).
Controlled through the 2021 season, Bradley agreed to a $4.1MM salary in arbitration this past winter. That’s been prorated to about $1.48MM in this year’s shortened schedule, and roughly $617K of that sum remains to be paid out. He’ll be eligible for arbitration once more this winter.
Bullpen help has been a major area of need for the Reds throughout the 2020 season, as their relievers have combined to post a grisly 5.48 ERA and 5.20 FIP. Closer Raisel Iglesias has struggled to an ERA north of 5.00, while some of his top projected setup men, Michael Lorenzen (6.75 ERA) and Pedro Strop (designated for assignment) have not risen to the occasion. Cincinnati has received strong showings from Amir Garrett, Lucas Sims and Tejay Antone, but an established arm has long looked a sensible addition as they look to tread water in a disappointing NL Central that has seen the Cubs pull away from the pack for the division lead. The Reds, Cardinals and Brewers are all sub-.500 clubs vying for a second-place seed and perhaps a Wild Card spot.
As with most of the Diamondbacks’ trades today — Arizona also sent Starling Marte to the Marlins, Robbie Ray to the Blue Jays and Andrew Chafin to the Cubs — they’ll pick up an MLB-ready asset who can jump right onto the roster in VanMeter. The D-backs also added lefty Caleb Smith in the Marte swap and lefty Travis Bergen in the Ray deal. Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen and his staff have regularly chosen to prioritize controllable MLB pieces as the returns in their trades rather than pure prospects, and that trend carries over to the Bradley swap as well.
VanMeter, 25, is out to a 2-for-34 start in 2020 but posted a .237/.327/.408 slash in 260 plate appearances last year. He’s also a career .287/.353/.536 hitter in 573 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, pointing to potential for growth at the plate. Beyond his minor league track record, VanMeter possesses plenty of positional versatility, which is another hallmark of D-backs players under Hazen’s watch. He’s primarily been a second baseman in the big leagues but also carries experience at all four corner positions (plus 810 minor league innings at shortstop).
That said, Fairchild is very arguably the bigger get for the D-backs in this deal. A second-round pick in 2017, he’s regarded as an above-average runner with an above-average arm and the ability to play all three outfield slots. Fairchild posted big numbers in two very pitcher-friendly leagues last year, slashing .258/.335/.440 (130 wRC+) in Class-A Advanced and .275/.380/.444 (142 wRC+) with just a 12.8 percent strikeout rate in Double-A.
Fairchild was generally ranked in the Reds’ top 15 prospects, landing 10th at Baseball America, 11th at MLB.com, 13th at FanGraphs. That there’s not a more highly regarded prospect within the deal likely speaks to several factors: the team’s opinion of VanMeter and Fairchild as well as some possible pressure from ownership to reduce payroll.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported the deal (via Twitter). John Gambadoro of 98.7 Arizona Sports reported the return (Twitter link). The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan added that the D-backs were sending $100K to Cincinnati as well.
Cubs Acquire Andrew Chafin
2:27pm: Arizona’s getting a player to be named later, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The D-backs could also include money in the swap, per Nightengale.
2:16pm: The Cubs have acquired Chafin, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.
2:10pm: The Cubs are working to acquire Diamondbacks left-hander Andrew Chafin, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.
To this point in his career, the 30-year-old Chafin has only been a member of the Diamondbacks, who drafted him 43rd overall in 2011 and who has largely pitched well in their uniform since he made his debut in 2014. Chafin owns a 3.68 ERA/3.20 FIP with 9.54 K/9, 3.88 BB/9 and a 52.2 percent groundball rate in 271 2/3 innings, but keeping offenses at bay has been a problem this season. He has already given up six earned runs on nine hits and four walks (10 strikeouts) through 6 2/3 frames in 2020. Chafin has also been on the injured list for about two weeks because of a left finger sprain.
If he returns to health soon, Chafin’s history suggests he’ll give the NL Central-leading Cubs another credible reliever – which they certainly need. They’ll enter Monday’s action with a replacement-level bullpen that has recorded a 5.42 ERA/5.10 FIP over a month into the season. Chafin may not be long for the Cubs organization, though, as he’s due to reach free agency after the season. In the meantime, he’s earning a prorated $3.045MM.
Blue Jays To Acquire Robbie Ray
The Blue Jays have acquired lefty Robbie Ray from the Diamondbacks, tweets Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun. The D’Backs will receive southpaw Travis Bergen in return, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. Arizona will also be sending over $300K in cash, according to Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. Ray has approximately $1.42MM left on his contract this year.
Ray, 29 in October, has pitched the vast majority of his career for Arizona after they acquired him in a December 2014 three-team trade. He’s long been one of the game’s top strikeout pitchers, with an 11.9 K/9 mark that ranks third in MLB for qualified starters from 2016-19. Never known for his control, walks have become problematic at times for Ray. The issue has been particularly bad in this brief 2020 season, as Ray has issued free passes to more than a fifth of the batters he’s faced, easily the highest rate in MLB this year. The result has been an unsightly 7.84 ERA, through seven starts, well out of line with his career work. Ray will be eligible for free agency after the season, and in light of his performance this year, it’s unlikely the Diamondbacks would have been willing to issue a qualifying offer.
At present, the 18-14 Blue Jays are in line to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Ray marks the second addition to Toronto’s rotation in five days, as Executive Vice President, Baseball Operations & General Manager Ross Atkins added Taijuan Walker from the Mariners last Thursday. Atkins has assembled a veteran group, which also includes offseason pickups Hyun-Jin Ryu, Tanner Roark, and Chase Anderson. Matt Shoemaker went down last week due to a lat strain, while uber-prospect Nate Pearson went on the shelf on August 19th for a flexor strain. That pair hopes to return this year, while Trent Thornton is out for the season with an elbow injury. The club will hope pitching coach Pete Walker can diagnose Rays’ control issues and help him bounce back over the season’s final month.
Today will mark the third time in Ray’s career he’s received that life-changing phone call from his GM informing him of a trade. After being drafted by the Nationals in the 12th round in 2010, Ray was the centerpiece of the deal that sent Doug Fister from the Tigers to the Nats in 2013. Just a year later, Ray landed with the Diamondbacks in a deal that sent Didi Gregorius to the Yankees and Shane Greene to the Tigers. Ray blossomed into a fine pitcher for the D’Backs, putting together four separate seasons of at least 2.3 WAR and snagging an All-Star nod and seventh-place Cy Young finish in 2017. By the 2018-19 offseason, Ray was a regular on the rumor circuit, but Executive Vice President & General Manager Mike Hazen didn’t pull the trigger until today, with most of the lefty’s trade value lost.
Bergen, 27 in October, was drafted by the Jays in the seventh round in 2015 out of Kennesaw State and has been used mostly in relief in his pro career. Though the Giants picked up Bergen in the 2018 Rule 5 draft, they wound up designating him for assignment and returning him in August of last year after he returned from an IL stint for a shoulder injury. His fastball ticked up to 93.7 mph this year for the Jays, more than three miles per hour than he showed in his rookie campaign. But with all due respect to Bergen, it would appear this trade was mainly about salary relief from Arizona’s standpoint.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Marlins Have Shown Interest In Archie Bradley, Starling Marte
1:21pm: The Marlins are also interested in Arizona center fielder Starling Marte, tweets Heyman. Like Bradley, he’s controlled through 2021 and would give the Fish an upgrade this year and next. Numerous clubs figure to have interest in Marte, should the D-backs ultimately move him, although as Heyman rightly notes, Miami has plenty of young pitching to offer. And it’s worth noting, at least tangentially, that the two sides lined up on last year’s Zac Gallen-for-Jazz Chisholm swap.
9:50am: The Marlins are reportedly getting calls asking about their own closer, but they’re more focused on adding to the ‘pen than subtracting and have reached out to the D-backs on closer Archie Bradley, tweets MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. The Diamondbacks have fallen into a miserable slump and, at 14-21, could very well sell off some shorter-term pieces in advance of today’s 3pm CT trade deadline. They’re said to be open to offers for Bradley.
Bradley, 28, is in his second season as Arizona’s primary closing option and has been a quality member of the ‘pen for the past four years now. The former No. 7 overall pick was long one of the game’s most highly regarded pitching prospects, but he struggled in 34 big league starts before finding a home in the D-backs’ relief corp. Dating back to 2017, Bradley has pitched to a strong 2.98 ERA and 3.17 FIP with averages of 10.1 strikeouts, 3.2 walks and 0.7 homers per nine innings (despite pitching in a hitter-friendly home park).
Controlled through the 2021 season, Bradley agreed to a $4.1MM salary in arbitration this past winter. That’s been prorated to about $1.48MM in this year’s shortened schedule, and roughly $617K of that sum remains to be paid out. He’ll be eligible for arbitration once more this winter.
Frisaro notes that the Fish have expressed interest in “many” relievers around the league as they look to take advantage of a surprising start to the season and the emergence of some well-regarded youngsters who have helped thrust them into contention in a lackluster NL East division. Miami is just 14-15 on the season, but that’s good for a second-place tie in the East. And with the National League as a whole playing at pretty substandard levels — only four of the 15 teams have a winning record — there’s ample opportunity for some surprise clubs to find themselves in this year’s expanded playoff field.
Starling Marte, Archie Bradley Drawing Trade Interest
10:58PM: The Diamondbacks informed teams earlier this month that they were open to discussing almost anyone on the roster, the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro reports. Ketel Marte, Zac Gallen, and Christian Walker were among the club’s few untouchables.
6:14PM: With a 1-10 record over their last 11 games, the Diamondbacks are listening to offers heading into the trade deadline. The Snakes are “open” to discussing such major names as Starling Marte and Archie Bradley, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link). In a longer subscription-only notes post, Rosenthal reports that the Astros have shown interest in Bradley, while the New York Post’s Joel Sherman reports that the Yankees have “checked in” on Marte’s availability.
While the Yankees are loaded with outfielders on paper, injuries to Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton have thinned the depth, and Aaron Hicks just left today’s game with a potential injury to his leg. Marte would presumably immediately take over as the everyday center fielder, with Brett Gardner, Mike Tauchman, Clint Frazier, and Hicks if he’s healthy all handling corner outfield (and maybe DH alongside Mike Ford) duties until Judge and Stanton return.
Marte would also provide New York with potential longer-term help, as his contract contains a $12.5MM club option ($1MM buyout) for the 2021 season. Barring something unforeseen, the Yankees would surely exercise that option rather than let Marte leave for nothing, though they could potentially pick up Marte’s option and then flip him in another trade. Or, having Marte around to provide All-Star level production for at least one year could make the Yankees more open to moving Tauchman or Frazier in a deal this winter. (Assuming, hypothetically, that neither would be included as part of a Marte trade with Arizona in the first place.) Adding yet another outfielder with control could also spell the end of Gardner’s long tenure in the Bronx, as Gardner will himself be a free agent this winter if the Yankees decline their $10MM option on his services for 2021.
“The Yankees are believed to not want to add much, if any salary,” Sherman writes, which could be a complicating factor in a potential Marte trade. The veteran is earning the prorated portion of an original $11.5MM salary, and is owed a little under $2MM for the remainder of the 2020 campaign.
It was a little more than seven months ago that Marte was part of another major swap, coming to the D’Backs from the Pirates in a trade that Arizona thought would bolster the lineup of a potential contender. While Marte has done his part (entering today with a .322/.396/.458 slash line over 134 PA), the Diamondbacks as a whole have underachieved, leading to the team’s pivot to being deadline sellers.
The Astros were already known to be looking at Robbie Ray as a potential addition, and now have apparently cast their eyes towards another arm in Bradley. Like Marte, Bradley is also controlled through 2021, as Bradley has one more year of arbitration eligibility and should be due for a nice raise on his $4.1MM salary for 2020. The Astros could see Bradley as a boost to both their 2020 and 2021 teams, as Roberto Osuna‘s uncertain injury situation might yet lead to Osuna missing 2021 due to Tommy John surgery.
The righty has performed well as Arizona’s closer, posting a 3.60 ERA, 10.8 K/9, and 4.00 K/BB rate over 10 innings entering today’s play. While Bradley hasn’t surrendered any homers, Statcast indicates that Bradley has enjoyed some good luck (a .318 wOBA that is far beneath his .418 xwOBA) considering all the hard contact he allows.
White Sox Interested In Lance Lynn, Robbie Ray, Dylan Bundy
11:11AM: The White Sox also have interest in Angels righty Dylan Bundy, Morosi tweets.
10:24AM: The White Sox are looking into the starting pitching market, with MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reporting that Rangers ace Lance Lynn is under consideration, while MLB Network’s Jon Heyman adds that Diamondbacks left-hander Robbie Ray has also been discussed (both links to Twitter).
As MLBTR’s Steve Adams and Connor Byrne recently put it, “Lynn is arguably the most coveted arm on the trade market.” The right-hander has a 1.59 ERA, 9.9 K/9, and 3.57 K/BB rate through 45 1/3 innings this season, and while advanced metrics hint at some inevitable ERA regression, those same numbers suggest Lynn is pitching at roughly the same level as he did in 2019, when he finished fifth in AL Cy Young Award voting.
Beyond only his performance this season, Lynn is under contract for an $8MM salary in 2021, which stands as a more than reasonable price if he keeps pitching this well. As big a trade chip as Lynn is, however, his pluses also make him a valuable asset to the Rangers, who are at least open to hearing offers for Lynn but maybe not likely to actually move him unless another team steps up with a big trade package.
It’s probably safe to assume that Ray is much more available, though the southpaw’s value has dramatically dropped off in the wake of a brutal start to the 2020 season. Control issues and the home run ball have plagued Ray, who has a 7.84 ERA and 31 walks over 31 innings, despite a 12.5 K/9. Despite Ray’s struggles, he has drawn interest from the Astros and other teams, with some clubs reportedly interested in deploying Ray as a reliever.
The White Sox have gotten very good results from Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease, and Dallas Keuchel this season, but much less from a fourth/fifth starter mix that includes Gio Gonzalez, Reynaldo Lopez, and the injured Carlos Rodon. The league-wide perception, as least according to rival executives speaking with MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, is that the Pale Hose will land a starter prior to Monday’s trade deadline. The bullpen has been a strength overall, though it is short on left-handed pitchers (such as Ray) since Aaron Bummer is still on the injured list.
Acquiring Ray would be a pure short-term rental move, since he is a free agent after the year. Prying Lynn away from Texas would cost the Sox quite a bit more in prospect capital, though it’s worth noting that the White Sox and Rangers have been rather frequent trading partners since Rick Hahn became Chicago’s general manager. The White Sox are firmly in the playoff race this year and plan to be contenders for the foreseeable future, so Lynn is the type of pitcher that would also boost their chances of winning in 2021.
Astros Interested In Robbie Ray, Matt Barnes
With a pitching staff ravaged by injuries, it isn’t any surprise that the Astros are exploring adding some hurlers at the deadline. Brittany Ghiroli and Eno Sarris of The Athletic (subscription required) report that two of Houston’s targets include Diamondbacks southpaw Robbie Ray and Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes.
Ray has been a popular figure in trade rumors for a couple of years, and the most recent round of speculation has had some teams interested in acquiring him as a relief pitcher due to his rough performance in 2020. Over seven starts, Ray has a 7.84 ERA in 31 innings, due in large part to a 2.6 HR/9 and a major loss of control — Ray has a league-leading 31 walks and six wild pitches. It’s possible Houston could be one of the teams eyeing Ray as a reliever, perhaps the team feels it can fix his control problems and again turn him into a solid starter.
Barnes has also had a tough go of it this season, and for some of the same reasons as Ray. Barnes has a 6.00 ERA over 12 IP out of Boston’s pen, with a 2.3 HR/9 and a career-worst 6.8 BB/9. As per Fangraphs, only 3.2% of Barnes’ offerings have resulted in soft contact this season, as he has a 45.2% hard-hit ball rate and 51.6% medium-hit rate.
The common element between the two pitchers is a lot of missed bats. Ray has a 12.5 K/9 this season and a 12.1 K/9 since the start of the 2017 season; in that same timeframe, Barnes has a 13.2 K/9, which includes an 11.3 K/9 in 2020. After ranking at or near the top of the league in strikeouts from 2017-19, Astros pitchers have combined for an 8.64 K/9 this season, ranked 21st of 30 teams.
Ray is a free agent after the season, while Barnes has one more year of arbitration eligibility before hitting the open market himself in the 2021-22 offseason. This extra year of control might mean Barnes could actually have a higher trade value than Ray at this point, despite Ray’s ability to start games. Astros GM James Click knows Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom well from their time together in the Rays front office, while Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen swung a very notable deal (the Zack Greinke blockbuster) with the Astros at least year’s deadline.
NL Notes: Mozeliak, Cards, Pina, Gausman, Bumgarner
While the Cardinals are still going to explore trade deadline opportunities, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told The Athletic’s Mark Saxon and other reporters that his club faces something of a unique roster crunch due to the coronavirus outbreak that ravaged the Cards earlier this month. “I think that’s the biggest issue at hand for us, sort of navigating the health of the club vs. what potentially we could do in a trade,” Mozeliak said. “Candidly, the timing of it [the deadline] is not ideal for us, as we start to unwind people coming off of COVID back onto the roster….What it is to say is we haven’t been a team together, with the exception of the first five days together.”
With a whopping seven players still to be activated from the COVID-19 injured list, 40-man roster considerations will start to become a mounting concern for the Cardinals in the coming days, and certainly not everyone will be back before Monday’s trade deadline. One potential wrinkle, Mozeliak said, is that “other teams might be dealing with roster crunches, too, as they navigate Aug. 31,” and thus these rivals might not be as eager to make claims on any players the Cards might be forced to expose to waivers.
More from around the National League…
- Manny Pina left tonight’s game with a right knee injury, the Brewers announced. Pina suffered the injury while getting back to first base on a pickoff attempt during the second inning, and was replaced by Omar Narvaez. The initial outlook isn’t good, as manager Craig Counsell told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other reporters that Pina is on crutches and is having trouble putting weight on his right leg. Pina is in his fifth year in Milwaukee and has been hitting respectably well, bringing a .231/.318/.410 slash line (roughly his career average) over 44 plate appearances coming into today’s doubleheader with the Reds. Pina’s steady production has been helpful given Narvaez’s struggles this season, so Milwaukee would be particularly hampered behind the plate if Pina has to go on the injured list. Jacob Nottingham and David Freitas are the only catchers with MLB experience at the Brewers’ alternate training site.
- Kevin Gausman allowed two runs on three hits and two walks over 4 2/3 innings in the Giants‘ 2-0 loss to the Dodgers today, and with the trade deadline looming on Monday, Gausman might well have thrown his last pitch in the black and orange…at least in 2020. Gausman told Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group and other reporters that he would be open to re-signing with the Giants in free agency this winter, even if the club moves him prior to the deadline. His preference, of course, is to not be dealt at all, though the right-hander’s overall quality work this season and rental player status makes him one of the trade deadline’s top candidates to be sent elsewhere.
- Madison Bumgarner will throw a simulated game Saturday in the next step of his rehab plan, though Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told reporters (including the Arizona Republic’s Mark Faller) that the southpaw is still over a week away from returning to action. Assuming all goes well in the sim game, Lovullo said Bumgarner would still need another 7-10 days to ramp up for activation from the 10-day injured list. Bumgarner has been out of action since August 10 due to a back strain.
Diamondbacks Designate Matt Grace For Assignment
The Diamondbacks have designated left-hander Matt Grace for assignment, as per a press release. The D’Backs also announced that infielder Andy Young and righty Joel Payamps were called up from the club’s alternate training site to take the roster spots left open by Grace and Kevin Cron, who was optioned to the training site after last night’s game.
Grace just had his contract selected by the D’Backs last week, though his three-game tenure with the club has been a rough one. Grace has a 54.00 ERA over one official inning pitched, as his last two outings have seen the southpaw charged with three earned runs without recording an out.
A veteran of six MLB seasons, Grace posted a 4.29 ERA, 2.69 K/BB rate, 53.4% grounder rate, and 6.7 K/9 over 176 1/3 relief innings for the Nationals from 2015-19. The highlight was a 2018 season that saw Grace deliver a 2.87 ERA over 59 2/3 frames, though he struggled to a 6.36 ERA over 46 2/3 innings in 2019 and was left off Washington’s postseason roster.
D-backs Likely To Alter Deadline Approach Amid Losing Streak
The Diamondbacks’ loss to the Rockies last night pushed their losing streak to eight games, and general manager Mike Hazen offered a less optimistic outlook on the trade deadline than he did a week ago when he spoke of adding bullpen help and perhaps an upgrade at the DH spot. “We’re going to have a lot of conversations around a lot of different things, but I’m not sure how aggressive we’re going to be on the buy side,” Hazen told reporters Wednesday (link via Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic).
Beyond the team’s poor play over the past week-plus, Arizona also learned that right-hander Merrill Kelly, one of the team’s most effective starters, isn’t likely to return in 2020. Kelly was found to have a blood clot in his shoulder, which necessitated surgery earlier this week. For a team that has seen its starters combine for a 5.26 ERA, losing a right-hander with a 2.59 ERA through his first 31 1/3 frames on the season is a particularly impactful blow.
The D-backs have regularly blurred the lines between the conventional “buyer” and “seller” labels under the Hazen regime; they dealt prospect Jazz Chisholm to acquire a controllable young arm, Zac Gallen, while swapping out ace Zack Greinke for a four-prospect package within hours of each other in the run-up to last year’s deadline. Those moves came just months after trading away franchise cornerstone Paul Goldschmidt in a package that focused more on controllable, MLB-ready talent (Luke Weaver, Carson Kelly) than on top prospects who’d yet to debut. The 2016 Jean Segura/Mitch Haniger-for-Ketel Marte/Taijuan Walker swap focused on exchanging controllable young assets. A full rebuilding effort has never appeared particularly close under Hazen’s watch.
That’s likely still the case, although the Diamondbacks will surely have the opportunity to sell off some shorter-term asset in the days to come, should they find offers to their liking. Left-hander Robbie Ray is a free agent at season’s end, and while his control has been awful in 2020, he’s still missing lots of bats. He’s reportedly drawn some interest as a bullpen piece. Closer Archie Bradley is a free agent after the 2021 season and would hold clear appeal to contending teams.
To be clear, there shouldn’t really be much in the way of urgency to shed payroll — at least not beyond the revenue losses that all teams are facing. The Diamondbacks entered the 2020 season with a payroll sitting at about $116.5MM (prior to prorating for the shortened season). With Ray, Jake Lamb, Mike Leake, Andrew Chafin and Yasmany Tomas all coming off the books, plus options on Hector Rondon, Junior Guerra and Stephen Vogt each looking unlikely to be picked up, Arizona has just over $51MM committed to next year’s payroll.
Granted, that number will rise when club options over Starling Marte ($12.5MM) and Kelly ($4.25MM) are picked up, and Bradley would be due a notable raise in arbitration (as would Kelly and Weaver). All told, though, the D-backs’ payroll shouldn’t be expected to check in at more than $75MM with the current group. So while players like Bradley and perhaps even Starling Marte figure to draw inquiries given their status as post-2021 free agents, there should be no financial pressure to move those players.