Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Diamondbacks Rumors

Draft Signings: Reds, Brewers, Yankees, Tigers

By | at

Here are some of the day’s notable draft signings:

  • The Reds have agreed to terms with three of their top four picks, according to reports from MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon (on Twitter) and Jim Callis (also via Twitter). 32nd overall selection Jeter Downs and 38th pick Stuart Fairchild have both signed for at-slot bonuses, per Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter). Downs, a high-school shortstop, will receive $2,084,400 to forgo his commitment to the University of Miami. The MLB.com prospect team was the only one to place him inside the top 50, at #37, citing his solid all-around profile and rising status entering the draft. Fairchild, a junior outfielder out of Wake Forest, will take the $1,802,800 slot money. ESPN.com’s Keith Law was the highest pundit on Fairchild, ranking him 31st among eligible players while noting his strength and potential ability to remain in center field as a professional. Meanwhile, third-round pick Jacob Heatherly will land well over the $743,900 slot value of the 77th overall pick. The prep lefty will take home a $1,047,500 bonus, per Callis.
  • Brewers second-rounder Caden Lemons has struck a deal with his new team, he tells Kyle Parmley of the Vestavia Voice. The Ole Miss commit elected to turn pro for a still-unreported bonus amount. Lemons was taken 46th overall, a pick that comes with a $1,493,500 allocation. Entering the draft, the righty was ranked as high as 52nd overall. He received that grade from ESPN.com’s Keith Law, who cites Lemon’s projectability as well as concerns about his ability to stick in the rotation with a slight build.
  • The Yankees are in agreement with their second-round pick, righty Matt Sauer, pending a physical, MLBTR’s Steve Adams reports on Twitter. Bonus terms remain unknown at this time, but the 54th overall pick comes with a $1,236,000 allocation. Sauer, a California high-schooler who had been ticketed for the University of Arizona, drew top-thirty billing from MLB.com, Baseball America, and Fangraphs. While Sauer’s big fastball and slider point towards significant upside, the analysts agree he’ll need to work on a third offering to make it in a MLB rotation.
  • Tigers second-rounder Reynaldo Rivera is in agreement on a $850K bonus, Callis tweets. That’ll save the organization nearly $300K against the slot value to utilize on other players. Rivera, a power-hitting first baseman from Chipola Junior College, did not draw any top-100 prospect tabs but did land in the 150th place on MLB.com’s board.
  • Diamondbacks supplemental second-round choice Daulton Varsho will receive the slot value of $880,100 that comes with the 68th overall pick, Callis reports on Twitter. The Wisconsin-Milwaukee backstop, who’s the son of former big leaguer Gary Varsho, was the last player to reach the top 100 on Baseball America’s ranking.
  • In bonus news, the Rays gave second-round pick Michael Mercado $2,132,400, Callis tweets, which is well over the $1,714,500 bonus allocation for the 40th overall pick. His signing had previously been reported. Angels second-rounder Griffin Canning will indeed receive the slot value of $1,459,200, Callis tweets, as had previously been suggested.

Health Notes: Pollock, Smith, E-Rod, Villar, Hughes, Zobrist, AGon, Semien, Werth, Flaherty

By | at

Diamondbacks outfielder A.J. Pollock has suffered a new injury while on a rehab assignment, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets. Pollock, who is working back from a groin strain, is now said to be day-to-day with tightness in his right quad. The severity isn’t yet known, though the presence of another lower-body muscle issue will surely cause the organization to proceed with caution. With the Snakes locked in a surprising and increasingly fascinating battle in the NL West, they will be anxious to get Pollock back, though clearly the long view is required for such an important player with such a checkered injury history.

Let’s check in on a few more injury situations from around the game:

  • The Blue Jays placed righty Joe Smith on the 10-day DL before today’s game, per a club announcement. He is dealing with shoulder inflammation. That’s a big loss for a Toronto club that has made huge strides after a woeful start to the year. Smith has been quite effective while maintaining a heavy workload; through 34 appearances, he carries a 3.41 ERA. More impressively, Smith has nearly doubled last year’s strikeout rate (13.4 K/9) while maintaining a 13.0% swinging-strike rate that dwarfs any of his prior single-season marks.
  • While the Red Sox wait to learn more about the status of second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who took a pitch to the ribcage on Sunday, the club has continued to receive good news on lefty Eduardo Rodriguez. As Rob Bradford of WEEI.com tweets, skipper John Farrell says that Rodriguez will face live hitters this week and possibly head out for a rehab assignment thereafter.
  • Things are clearing up for Brewers infielder Jonathan Villar as well, as MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy tweets. Villar, who has struggled in the wake of a breakout 2016 season, says that his lower back is feeling so much better that he might be ready for a rehab stint soon. Milwaukee may well need a healthy and more effective Villar if it hopes to continue to outpace the rest of the NL Central.
  • In other forthcoming rehab stints, Twins righty Phil Hughes is scheduled for a start at Triple-A on Wednesday, as Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. It seems that he has avoided the worst-case scenario after experiencing some symptoms akin to those that led to thoracic outlet surgery. Minnesota is also giving a rehab start to lefty Hector Santiago, who seems likely to avoid a lengthy DL stint for his shoulder issue.
  • Veteran Cubs infielder/outfielder Ben Zobrist got some good news, as Jeff Arnold of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. An MRI came back clean, leaving the club hopeful that the veteran will be able to return as soon as Friday. That said, Zobrist acknowledged that he still needs to test out the wrist at full speed, noting that “we’re not going to push it.”
  • Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts provided an update on first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times was among those to tweet. The veteran has received an epidural to treat his lower back issues, says Roberts, with the organization hopeful that Gonzalez will be able to return sometime around the All-Star break next month.
  • The Athletics will send shortstop Marcus Semien out on a rehab assignment later this week, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. He has been participating in baseball activities to test his surgically repaired wrist, and it seems the progress is sufficient to allow him to take the next step.
  • Meanwhile, the going is somewhat slow for Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth. As Dan Kolko of MASNsport.com tweets, manager Dusty Baker says that the veteran is still not ready for baseball activities. Instead, he’s still focused on taking care of his bruised left foot.
  • The Orioles don’t appear likely to welcome back infielder Ryan Flaherty any time soon, as Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports on Twitter. His balky shoulder didn’t respond well to an attempt to ramp up a throwing program, so the team will slow things down. Were it not for the injury, Flaherty would likely have represented part of the plan for dealing with the more recent DL placement of J.J. Hardy.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/19/17

By | at

Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • Veteran righty Tom Wilhelmsen is on the open market after clearing waivers, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports on Twitter. The 33-year-old carried a 4.44 ERA over his 26 1/3 innings with the D-Backs, posting 17 strikeouts against a dozen walks to go with a 49.4% groundball rate. While Wilhelmsen was still working off of a mid-nineties heater, his swinging-strike rate has fallen to just 6.2% — well below his 10.6% career average.
  • The Rangers have selected the contract of righty Tanner Scheppers, per a club announcement. To clear a 40-man spot, the club shifted A.J. Griffin to the 60-day DL. Scheppers, 30, is back in the bigs for the first time this year. He wasn’t especially good in his 16 Triple-A appearances, posting a 4.64 ERA with 5.9 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9. Through 179 career MLB innings, Scheppers owns a 4.17 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9.
  • The Reds recently released reliever Louis Coleman, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports on Twitter. The 31-year-old righty was putting up strong numbers at Triple-A, where he carried a 2.21 ERA through 36 2/3 frames. (In fact, it’s worth wondering whether Coleman exercised an opt-out, though that’s just speculation at this time.) Coleman landed with the Reds organization on a minors deal after giving the Dodgers 48 innings of 4.69 ERA pitching last year after missing much of the prior campaign.

Diamondbacks Designate Tom Wilhelmsen For Assignment

By | at

The Diamondbacks have announced that they’ve reinstated outfielder Socrates Brito (finger) from the 60-day DL and optioned him to Triple-A Reno. They’ve also activated righty Zack Greinke from the paternity list and designated righty Tom Wilhelmsen for assignment.

[Related: Updated Arizona Diamondbacks Depth Chart]

Wilhelmsen was a key contributor in the Mariners’ bullpen from 2011 through 2015, but his career briefly went off the rails after a trade to Texas prior to the 2016 season. He fared reasonably well after being released by the Rangers and re-signing with the Mariners last June, then signed a minor-league pact with the Diamondbacks last winter and made the team out of Spring Training. He produced a 4.44 ERA with the Snakes with a disappointing 5.8 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 over 26 1/3 innings. The 33-year-old still boasts a fastball in the mid-90s and a 49.4 GB%, however, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he wound up back in the big leagues in the near future.

NL West Notes: Schimpf, Romo, Avilan, Descalso, D’Backs

By | at

Here’s the latest from around the NL West…

  • The Padres have optioned infielder Ryan Schimpf to Triple-A, calling up right-hander Jose Valdez in a corresponding move.  Despite Schimpf’s team-leading 14 homers, he has been an overall below-average performer at the plate, hitting .158/.284/.424 with a whopping 70 strikeouts over 197 plate appearances.  A .145 BABIP is partially to blame, but as MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell notes, Schimpf has also seen a drop in average exit velocity, which is particularly damaging to an extreme fly ball hitter like Schimpf (and especially when such a hitter plays half his games at Petco Park).  Cory Spangenberg will take over at third base for Schimpf, with second baseman Yangervis Solarte also moving over for the occasional start at the hot corner.
  • The Dodgers activated southpaw Luis Avilan from the disabled list but placed another reliever on the injured list, as Sergio Romo will hit the 10-day DL with a left ankle sprain.  Avilan (who has a 3.00 ERA, 2.5 K/BB rate and a 12.00 K/9 in 15 IP this year) has missed the last two weeks with triceps soreness in his throwing arm.  It has been a much tougher ride for Romo in his first season as a Dodger; the former Giants closer has allowed five homers over his 19 2/3 IP to balloon his ERA up to 6.41.  By comparison, Romo has only surrendered most than five homers in an entire season just twice in his previous nine years.
  • Daniel Descalso tells the Arizona Republic’s Scott Bordow that the Diamondbacks were interested in him from the very beginning of free agency, and he picked the team in part because he felt he could fill a need for left-handed hitting infielders.  The utilityman signed a one-year, $1.5MM deal with the D’Backs last winter that also includes a $2MM club option for 2018.  Descalso said that he received interest from several teams over the offseason, including his former club, the Rockies.
  • Descalso is one of many unheralded veterans signed by the Diamondbacks over what looked like a pretty low-key offseason on paper,  As Bordow writes, however, players like Descalco, Gregor Blanco, Chris Iannetta, J.J. Hoover, and others have not only helped on the field, but manager Torey Lovullo credited their veteran experience with helping the younger players perform as well.

NL West Notes: Giants, Turner, Padres, Hoffman, Mathis

By | at

With the trade deadline approaching, the bottom-feeding Giants may soon have to “take some bold, big-picture steps,” writes Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. One potential problem for the Giants, if they end up selling, is that they might not have any players they could deal who would do much to restock their mediocre farm system, notes Crasnick. And even if they do try to move trade candidates such as Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija, there are roadblocks in the way. Cueto has the ability to opt out of his contract at season’s end, of course, and neither that nor his relatively unspectacular output this year are doing his trade value any favors. Samardzija, meanwhile, has a 21-team no-trade clause, making it likely he’ll remain in San Francisco.

A look at the rest of the National League West:

  • Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner, on the disabled list since May 19 on account of a hamstring strain, could rejoin the team by the end of the week, tweets Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. Turner will begin a rehab assignment with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga tonight. As they continue to await Turner’s return, the Dodgers are likely to recall utilityman Mike Freeman from Triple-A, according to J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group. Freeman, whom Los Angeles claimed off waivers from Seattle on May 26, would join Logan Forsythe and Enrique Hernandez in giving the Turner-less Dodgers another third base-capable option.
  • The Padres’ attempt to turn Christian Bethancourt into a viable pitcher probably isn’t going to pan out, observes Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The 25-year-old catcher/outfielder struggled mightily as a major league reliever this season before the Padres outrighted him in late April, and the experiment hasn’t gone much better in the minors. Across 10 1/3 innings with Triple-A El Paso, Bethancourt has given up 13 earned runs on 15 hits and 12 walks, with just five strikeouts. Bethancourt’s Triple-A woes have come in the notoriously hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, leading Lin to wonder if the Padres would’ve been better off sending him to Double-A to develop.
  • Like Bethancourt, Padres catcher Luis Torrens has fared poorly this season. Nevertheless, the club hasn’t considered jettisoning the Rule 5 pick, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. Torrens, a former Yankees farmhand and one of an unprecedented three Rule 5 selections on the Padres’ roster, has collected a mere five hits (four singles and a double) and two walks in 41 plate appearances. Still, San Diego remains bullish on Torrens, particularly as a defender, suggests Cassavell.
  • A lack of self-awareness kept Rockies right-hander Jeff Hoffman in the minors to begin the season, manager Bud Black told Nick Groke of the Denver Post. “You have to critically evaluate your performance,” Black said. “Was that a good pitch? Was that located well? Was that pitch truly where I intended it to be? Was the homer I gave up a good piece of hitting?” Hoffman seems to have improved in that aspect, as Black noted that the 24-year-old has “come a long way in a short amount of time in a lot of areas.” Ranked as Baseball America’s 27th-best prospect, Hoffman has produced spectacular results this year over 20 2/3 innings in Colorado (2.61 ERA, 11.32 K/9, .87 BB/9), and has made a case to stay in the team’s rotation even when the injured Jon Gray and Tyler Anderson return.
  • Thanks to his pitch-framing skills, Diamondbacks catcher Jeff Mathis has emerged as an important offseason signing, opines Travis Sawchik of FanGraphs. The light-hitting Mathis, whom the Diamondbacks added on a two-year, $4MM deal, has been a sizable upgrade behind the plate over predecessor Welington Castillo, as Sawchik details. The change in backstops seems to be benefiting right-hander Zack Greinke, who has pitched to Mathis in all 12 of his starts this year and bounced back from a pedestrian 2016.

NL West Notes: Bettis, Gray, Dahl, Walker, Bradley, Wood, Giants

By | at

Rockies righty Chad Bettis is set to report to the club to begin moving toward a return, Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports on Twitter. Bettis, who underwent chemotherapy treatment for testicular cancer, has already been throwing and running. Needless to say, it’s great to see that he’s ready to start working in earnest. Notably, too, Bettis could conceivably represent quite an impactful late-season addition if the Rockies stay in contention and he’s able to move through a rehab assignment.

  • A quicker path to relief for the Rockies rotation could be in the works, as Jon Gray was able to run on the field for the first time this week, per Groke. Gray is slated to face hitters in a sim game for the first time next week, which suggests he isn’t far from ramping it up in earnest. Groke also notes that the club isn’t interested in utilizing a six-man rotation; presumably, another hurler will step aside to make way for Gray when he’s ready.
  • The news wasn’t quite as promising for Rockies outfielder David Dahl, who has also missed the entire season thus far after a strong rookie campaign. His rib issues are still causing discomfort, so the club has sent him back to its spring facility to keep exercising and waiting for the problems to subside, per Thomas Harding of MLB.com (via Twitter). With Ian Desmond back, Mark Reynolds still producing, and Gerardo Parra showing much-improved form, the loss of Dahl hasn’t been as significant as might have been feared. Still, he’d represent another offensive threat, and his progress could be quite important if any needs arise between now and the trade deadline.
  • Diamondbacks righty Taijuan Walker isn’t quite ready to take the ball this weekend, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports on Twitter. Walker says his blister is nearly healed, but isn’t quite to the point that the club is comfortable putting him on the major league mound.
  • Meanwhile, D-Backs manager Torey Lovullo tells MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link) that the club isn’t interested in moving righty Archie Bradley back to the rotation at this point. That was a topic of discussion when Shelby Miller was lost for the year, says Lovullo, but ultimately the team felt Bradley was too valuable in his current role as a multi-inning-capable reliever. The 24-year-old, a former top prospect, had struggled as a starter in his prior MLB work. But he currently owns a sterling 1.46 ERA through 24 2/3 innings of relief, with 31 strikeouts against just six walks on the year.
  • Dodgers lefty Alex Wood, who is on the DL with sternum discomfort but was just named the NL pitcher of the month, got some promising news today. As Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times tweets, skipper Dave Roberts says a medical review came back “as benign as possible.” Wood is only expected to miss one more start before he’ll be ready to return.
  • Things are obviously not going well for the Giants in 2017; indeed, as Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News observes, not only is the major league outfit struggling, but all of the organization’s affiliates are currently sitting in last place. GM Bobby Evans says that may be due in part to the fact that the club has pushed younger players up the ladder somewhat rapidly — especially pitchers. Looking back at the MLB outfit, top righty Johnny Cueto had some notable words on the current atmosphere in the clubhouse. Drawing a distinction to his prior clubs, Cueto says the Giants players tend to be “on their own, just sitting at their locker, very quiet, just by themselves.”

Heyman’s Latest: Managers, Quintana, Royals, Cubs, Holland, Bush

By | at

There’ve been an average of 3.4 in-season managerial firings since the 2007, writes Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports in the intro to his latest weekly notes column, but the 2017 campaign may be the rare year where all 30 Opening Day skippers are still at the helm of their respective teams at the conclusion of the regular season. Heyman notes that while there’s been plenty of fan and/or media criticism of high-profile managers like John Farrell (Red Sox) and Terry Collins (Mets), no manager seems to be on a particularly hot seat at the moment. He also runs down a list of nearly half the managers in the league and examines their chances of being dismissed, though again, the primary takeaway is that most seem to be rather safe.

Some highlights from both his American League and National League roundups…

  • The GM of a rival club tells Heyman that he doesn’t think the shaky start to the season for White Sox lefty Jose Quintana will negatively impact his trade value all that much. While some have suggested that the Sox missed an opportunity to move him this offseason, there are of course still three and a half very affordable years on Quintana’s contract, and his 8.95 K/9 rate is actually a career-best. In more loosely related ChiSox news, he notes that Brett Lawrie is still waiting for his ailing foot to get back to full health before seeking out a new team.
  • Though the Royals recently lost Danny Duffy for the next six to eight weeks, they’re still planning to see if there’s one more run with their longstanding core for the time being. A sale from Kansas City still looks likely to me, given that the Royals have the worst record in the American League and plenty of potential rental pieces to market this summer. It’s worth noting, though, that even with the worst record in the AL, they entered play today a relatively manageable six games back from the division lead and from a Wild Card spot.
  • The Diamondbacks have sent out indications that they’re planning to wait until the last minute to determine whether they’re going to add pieces prior to the non-waiver deadline or sell off some shorter-term assets. Arizona is currently a half-game back of the NL West division lead and is in possession of a Wild Card slot at the moment, though it seems that the new front office is understandably not looking to react rashly to the team’s hot start.
  • With both Jake Arrieta and John Lackey set to hit free agency (and a shaky mix in the five-spot in the rotation), the Cubs are likely to pursue at least two starters following the 2017 season, per Heyman. He lists Marco Estrada and Derek Holland as some semi-speculative picks, noting that one exec from another club feels they fit the mold of arms the Cubs are likely to eye. Chicago, of course, is certainly a candidate to add some rotation help this summer and could well pick up an arm controllable beyond the current season, which would impact their offseason trajectory.
  • The Nationals and Rangers were among the teams to make a play for Greg Holland, Heyman writes, but only the Rockies were willing to take the significant risk of including a vesting player option worth as much as $15MM. Washington GM Mike Rizzo was actually on board with the concept of a vesting player option, but Nationals ownership, on the other hand, was not. The Rangers didn’t come as close in talks as the Nats did, he adds. Holland’s $15MM player option will trigger once he finishes 30 games or appears in 50 (the former will happen first), and barring an injury he seems like a lock to turn that down and reenter free agency in search of a four- or five-year pact.
  • Jeb Bush’s departure from the potential Marlins ownership group he’d been assembling with Derek Jeter was due to a disagreement over who’d be the “control person,” Heyman writes. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald recently reported that Bush was set to commit less than $20MM to the sale, and Heyman now adds that Bush was on the hook for just $10MM of his own money, which would understandably make him a curious choice as the point person in the group. It’s still not known how much Jeter is planning to invest if his group is selected, but the Marlins were apparently aware that Bush could be leaving the group and remain interested in working out an agreement with Jeter and his investors.

9 Budget Free Agent Hitters Off To Strong Starts

By | at

Mining the free agent ranks for good value remains an art, with the potential for rather significant rewards. While it’s unusual for a team to find a true gem — think Justin Turner — there is quite a lot of potential for adding impact in part-time roles.

We already looked at some minor-league signees who have impacted their organizations’ bullpens. Now, let’s check in on some hitters who signed for little but have been rather useful through about two months of action:

  • Alexi Amarista, INF, Rockies — The 28-year-old has helped cover for the injured Trevor Story, and he’s doing more than just keeping the team afloat. Through 69 trips to the plate, he’s hitting .338/.348/.515. There’s obviously quite a lot of room for regression baked in — Amarista has drawn just one walk and carries a .412 BABIP — but he’s been a big help for the emerging Rockies team at the meager cost of $1.25MM.
  • Daniel Descalso, INF, Diamondbacks — After Colorado let the utilityman go over the winter, Descalso landed only $1.5MM despite a solid 2016 season. That has worked out just fine for Arizona, which has received 92 plate appearances of .218/.337/.410 hitting from the veteran, who is walking at a 13.0% clip and succeeding despite a .250 BABIP.
  • Chris Iannetta, C, Diamondbacks — Also earning a meager $1.5MM, Iannetta has helped the DBacks feel better about the decision to allow Welington Castillo to walk. Though the typically patient Iannetta is walking at about half of his career rate, he’s driving the ball like never before. Over eighty plate appearances, Iannetta has smacked six long balls and owns a .288 isolated slugging mark.
  • Franklin Gutierrez, OF, Dodgers — Taking home a modest $2.6MM salary, Gutierrez has been quite productive when healthy. While Los Angeles will only ask him to play a limited role, the team will be thrilled if he can keep producing at a .257/.350/.429 rate the rest of the way.
  • Austin Jackson, OF, Indians — After settling for a minor-league deal over the winter, Jackson came with low expectations. But he made the Opening Day roster and owns a .273/.327/.523 batting line that points back to his days as one of the game’s more promising young players.
  • Adam Lind, 1B, Nationals — Lind languished on the market along with a variety of other sluggers, eventually scoring just $1.5MM to function as a lefty complement to Ryan Zimmerman at first base. While the Nats have received plenty of production from Zimmerman, the team is also enjoying Lind’s robust output off the bench. He owns a .340/.400/.604 slash over sixty plate appearances, with as many walks as strikeouts (10.0% apiece).
  • Mark Reynolds, 1B, Rockies — Expected to land on the bench after returning to Colorado on a minors deal, Reynolds was thrown into a more significant role when Ian Desmond opened the year on the DL. He has responded with outstanding production: .313/.388/.555 with 13 home runs in 206 plate appearances.
  • Kurt Suzuki, C, Braves — At just $1.5MM, Suzuki has been quite the bargain. He’s outhitting most of the league’s catchers in his 88 plate appearances, with a .257/.379/.457 slash. Interestingly, Suzuki is walking 11.4% of the time — nearly double his typical levels — while also hitting for good power (.200 ISO).
  • Chase Utley, INF, Dodgers — The former star took home just $2MM in exchange for his services this year, and seemed ready to take a smaller role on the Dodgers’ bench. After a slow start, though, he has begun to deliver. 125 plate appearances into the season, he’s batting .252/.347/.430 with three dingers and three steals — the type of production not seen since back in 2013, when he was still with the Phillies.

Quick Hits: Greinke, Hazen, D’Backs, Felix, Iwakuma, Royals

By | at

The trade that brought Zack Greinke to the Brewers from the Royals in December 2010 is still making an impact on multiple franchises over six years later, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes.  The players involved in that deal (Greinke and Yuniesky Betancourt for Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, Jeremy Jeffress and Jake Odorizzi) have since been involved in several other blockbuster trades and transactions, such as the Royals sending Odorizzi to Tampa Bay as part of the package that sent James Shields and Wade Davis to K.C., or the Brewers parting ways with Greinke in 2012 and getting Jean Segura back from the Angels.  It’s quite a remarkable list of trades linked to that original deal, with the Royals of course standing out as the big winner thanks to their 2015 World Series title.

Here’s some more from around the baseball world as we head into the new week…

  • While some reports have suggested that the Diamondbacks would be open to trading Greinke, A.J. Pollock or Patrick Corbin even if the team is in contention, GM Mike Hazen told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that such a major trade wouldn’t make sense for a team in the playoff race.  “If the opportunity has passed on trading one guy or two guys as opposed to the opportunity to win?  To me, I’m going to take that tradeoff.  That’s a tradeoff that I think we have to take,” Hazen said.  None of the aforementioned three players are free agents this winter, Hazen noted, so the club doesn’t have any specific need to trade any of them immediately.  Even after today’s loss to the Brewers, the D’Backs are still 31-21 on the year and they hold a 4.5 game lead on the second NL wild card slot.
  • Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma are tentatively scheduled to return to the Mariners rotation in mid-to-late June, MLB.com’s Greg Johns writes, though both pitchers are still in the very early stages of their recovery process.  Hernandez (righth shoulder bursitis) and Iwakuma (right shoulder inflammation) each threw their first bullpen sessions today, and still have multiple more bullpens and then minor league rehab outings to undertake before leaving the disabled list.
  • Teams interested in the Royals’ trade chips are being told that K.C. is still trying to contend, ESPN’s Buster Olney writes (subscription required).  At 21-28, the Royals have the worst record in the American League but they sit just 4.5 games out of a wild card spot and 6.5 games behind the AL Central-leading Twins.  Given the parity within the league and the Royals’ natural resistance to break up their longstanding core until they have to, it could still be some weeks before we know whether the Royals are clear buyers or sellers at the deadline.
  • Several contenders have been boosted by players capable of playing multiple positions, and the next step could be players who can provide bench depth both on the field and on the mound, Peter Gammons writes in his latest GammonsDaily.com entry.  The Dodgers are toying with the idea of using Brett Eibner as both an outfielder and reliever, and teams could consider grooming their own two-way players if Eibner succeeds in this role.
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top