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AL East Notes: Odorizzi, Navarro, Bradley, O’s

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Rays right-hander Jake Odorizzi will visit a doctor on Monday to determine the severity of the oblique injury that forced an early departure from Friday’s start.  Though the extent of the injury is yet to be determined, manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin) that it’s “fair to say” that Odorizzi will miss some time.  Needless to say, the last thing the Rays need is another starter on the DL given how their staff has already been ravaged by injuries this season.  Odorizzi was enjoying an excellent season, owning a 2.47 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and 4.2 K/BB rate through 76 2/3 innings as he and Chris Archer have been carrying the beleaguered Tampa rotation.  Here’s some more from around the AL East…

  • Dioner Navarro has returned from the DL and has resumed being one of the Blue Jays’ primary trade chips, Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star writes.  Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos candidly discussed Navarro’s trade candidacy in a recent chat with reporters, saying that catcher was “an area of depth” for Toronto.  “He could be an everyday guy for somebody. We like him on the team. He’s valuable,” Anthopoulos said.  “We’re glad he’s on this team, but if there’s that opportunity we improve the club and it gets him an everyday playing spot, we would do that and I’ve said that to him as well. He understands that.”  In short, Anthopoulos’ stance on Navarro hasn’t changed from what he was saying about the catcher’s trade status during the offseason.  He noted that he had spoken to Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart about Navarro within the last few weeks.
  • In addition to the Blue Jays’ known need for relief help, Anthopoulos noted that the Blue Jays were also looking for outfield depth.  Dalton Pompey’s demotion has led to backup Kevin Pillar playing almost every day, and injuries to Michael Saunders and Jose Bautista led to variety of infielders (including Chris Colabello and Danny Valencia) filling the corner outfield slots with mediocre defensive results.  Griffin figures that Navarro may be dangled as trade bait for an outfielder since the Jays’ remaining payroll space may be targeted for bullpen upgrades.
  • The Red Sox aren’t looking to trade Jackie Bradley, Fangraphs’ David Laurila reports, nor is Bradley “in the proverbial doghouse” with team management.  The Sox, however, have been using other outfield options and have no plans to promote Bradley from Triple-A despite his strong play, leading Laurila to wonder if his source was correct.
  • Since the Orioles’ roster may be depleted by free agent departures this winter, MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski wonders if the team could draft college players to provide immediate help for 2016.  This theory is countered, however, by an interview with MLB.com’s Jim Callis, who feels that it’s generally safer to just take the best player available, regardless of whether he’s a high schooler or a college kid.
  • MLBTR’s Zach Links covered a couple of Yankees and Red Sox items in an East Notes post earlier today.

Draft Notes: Stephenson, D’Backs, Twins, Rays

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The Diamondbacks announced that starting with this week’s draft, they will name their annual 34th round selection the “Cory Hahn 34th pick,” Jake Rill of MLB.com writes.  Hahn, who works in Arizona’s scouting department, suffered a fractured vertebrae after playing just three games as a freshman with Arizona State.  Before hiring him, the D’Backs selected Hahn with their 34th round pick (for his No. 34 jersey) in 2013.  “This is an extremely humbling gesture and an honor for not only myself, but my family as well,” Hahn said in a press release. “I’m beyond grateful to be a part of the D-backs family.”

Here’s a look at the latest draft news as we get set for Monday night…

  • High school catcher Tyler Stephenson has made a swift rise up many draft boards, including some speculation that the Diamondbacks may take him with the first overall pick.  Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic profiles Stephenson, who said that he has attended pre-draft workouts for the D’Backs, Braves and Phillies.
  • The revised slotting system instituted in 2012 has added another layer of difficulty for drafted high schoolers trying to decide if they’ll start their pro careers or play college ball, Bill West of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes.  Pirates starters Gerrit Cole and Vance Worley chose to attend college, while Max Moroff, a 16th-round pick in 2012, decided to go pro early and accepted a $300K bonus from the Bucs.
  • In a retrospective piece, ESPN.com’s Christina Kahrl chooses the top player chosen in each of the 50 previous amateur drafts.  While most of Kahrl’s choices came from the first couple of rounds, you can never tell where the next superstar might come from in any given draft, as evidenced by late choices like Albert Pujols, Ian Kinsler, Mark Buehrle or (most famously) Mike Piazza.

Earlier Updates

  • Scouting director Deric Ladnier says the Diamondbacks have settled on who they’ll take No. 1 overall tomorrow, but he’s not tipping his hand as to who it’ll be, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic tweets.  Ladnier says the club has reached out to five players to let them know they’re in consideration,  but none of them have been notified as to whether they’ll be the pick (link).  That group almost certainly includes the likes of Vanderbilt shortstop Dansby Swanson and Florida high school shortstop Brendan Rodgers.
  • Twins GM Terry Ryan told reporters, including Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press (on Twitter) that he doesn’t know who the team will take with the No. 6 overall pick yet. “Not yet. Somebody is going to fall,” Ryan said.
  • The Rays know that they have to draft better this year than they have in recent years, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes.  Tampa Bay owns the No. 13 pick in tomorrow night’s first round of the draft, their highest pick since taking Tim Beckham No. 1 overall in 2008.   Within the article, Topkin looks back at the Rays’ 2011 class, which was supposed to shape the future of the franchise.  To date, that hasn’t been the case.
  • The Mariners don’t have a first round pick, but they expect plenty of talent to be there at No. 60, as Greg Johns of MLB.com writes.

Diamondbacks Designate Jordan Pacheco

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The Diamondbacks designated C/IF Jordan Pacheco for assignment, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets. The move clears space for third baseman Jake Lamb, who returns from the disabled list.

The Diamondbacks claimed Pacheco from the Rockies last season, then outrighted him and signed to a minor-league deal over the winter. He’s been one of many catchers who’ve suited up for the D-backs (who’ve also used Tuffy Gosewisch, Gerald Laird, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and now Welington Castillo at the position), but Pacheco doesn’t have a strong defensive reputation and was hitting just .242/.333/.333 in 78 plate appearances. Pacheco can also play the corner infield spots, but with Saltalamacchia and Castillo at catcher and Lamb returning, there weren’t many opportunities available to him at any position.

Amateur Notes: Gourriel Brothers, Martinez, Draft

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We’ve had a lot of news of players leaving Cuba of late, but two of the country’s most prominent names — brothers Yulieski and Lourdes Gourriel, rated first and fourth among the island’s players as big league prospects — have thus far not made any public moves towards the big leagues. As Ben Badler of Baseball America explains, however, both players are now set to miss the Cuban national team’s upcoming appearance in the Pan American Games. The younger of the two, Lourdes, was surprisingly left off the original roster, while Yulieski (the country’s biggest star) is said to have taken himself out of the tournament — after both recently seemed to have passed on chances to earn significant money playing in Japan. For now, it’s entirely unclear whether there is any movement afoot for the brothers to come stateside, but Badler notes that MLB clubs are watching with keen interest.

Here are some more amateur notes as we enter the final weekend before the draft:

  • As he prepares to join the professional ranks after being declared a free agent, Cuban outfielder Eddy Julio Martinez has moved into the top spot on MLB.com’s international prospect list, as MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez writes. It’s unclear as yet whether Martinez will sign in this period or the new one beginning July 2, but he’ll have to put pen to paper in short order if he’s to head to the Yankees or Angels. Those two clubs will be unable to spend more than $300K after this July 2 class closes, and they are among the teams who Sanchez lists with interest. The Cubs, Blue Jays, Nationals, Rockies, Tigers, Dodgers, and Giants have also reached out to Martinez’s camp, per the report. “I’m working hard to get to my goal to play in the Major Leagues, ” says the 20-year-old. “That’s what I have always wanted to do.”
  • The makeup of the amateur draft has changed over time, as Ben Lindbergh of Grantland explains. Mocking the draft is a more-or-less hopeless endeavor, says Lindbergh, but some trends have emerged. For one thing, the number of pitchers has continued to rise rather significantly. While this year’s class lacks premium talent, Christopher Crawford of Baseball Prospectus tells Lindbergh, some teams — the Rangers (who have the fourth overall pick) chief among them, based on their recent history — could well continue to stockpile arms. The Diamondbacks, who of course sit at first overall, have leaned toward position players recently, although they have an entirely new front office installed this time around. Meanwhile, the percentage of high school players taken has plummeted in the long run, but has jumped more recently. In particular, says Lindbergh, the Red Sox and Blue Jays have moved toward heavy drafting of prep players, who of course represent generally riskier but (in some cases) higher-upside investments. The Nationals have skewed most heavily toward college players — the spread is rather amazingly wide — though that could be due in part to draft circumstances. There are plenty more details in the piece, and I highly recommend a read to prepare for the coming draft.
  • Bonus allocations (which come with the penalty of stark limitations in future drafts) have had a marked impact on clubs’ total outlay on draft-eligible talent, argues Ronald Blum of the Associated Press (via the Denver Post). Draft spending has remained flat over the last three years, with Blum calculating that an analogous increase of total cash commitments to that observed in free agency — which was often the case prior to the new rules — might have delivered an additional $100MM to amateur players over that span. This area is obviously full of complicated questions, including considerations of an international draft, and it’s extremely difficult to identify clear-cut solutions. The piece is full of interesting quotes from notable figures around the game, and is well worth a full read.

Podcast: Evan Grant On Rangers; Talking Trumbo

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Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News joins host Jeff Todd to discuss the Rangers’ call-up of Joey Gallo and what moves the club could make this summer. Next, MLBTR’s Steve Adams returns to the show to discuss the Mark Trumbo trade from the perspectives of the Mariners and Diamondbacks.

Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and please leave a review! The podcast is also available via Stitcher at this link.

The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast runs weekly on Thursday afternoons.

NL West Notes: Castillo, Olivera, Jansen, Peralta

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Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart joined Mike Ferrin of MLB Network Radio (audio link) to discuss last night’s multi-player deal sending Mark Trumbo to the Mariners. He explained that Welington Castillo (acquired in the deal) was not initially a backstop that had interested him upon taking the helm in Arizona — as he hinted, the club conceivably could have made that move when shipping Miguel Montero to the Cubs — but that the loss of Tuffy Gosewisch forced the team’s hand. “The first guy on my list of catchers was [Dioner] Navarro up in Toronto,” said Stewart, who explained that he “had [him] in my sights even in the winter months, before the Winter Meetings.” Stewart added that prospect Gabby Guerrero, who also comes over in the trade, impressed the club this spring.

That deal is a subject that Steve Adams and I tackle in today’s podcast, which will be available in a few hours. Meanwhile, here’s more from the NL West:

  • New Dodgers infielder Hector Olivera will make his professional debut tomorrow at Double-A, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets. Director of player development Gabe Kapler had positive things to say about Olivera’s early time in the organization, as Plunkett also reports. “He clearly can handle either” second or third, Kapler added.
  • Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen was unavailable last night for unknown and somewhat mysterious reasons, as Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com reports. Something apparently occurred during the game itself that changed his status, but what that is has yet to be reported. Meanwhile, four other relievers oversaw a 9th-inning meltdown in Colorado. After the game, the team said that Jansen “wasn’t feeling well, while ESPN’s Rick Sutcliffe tweeted that he was “sending [his] prayers” to the Dodgers and their closer, adding to the intrigue. The outstanding power pitcher has dealt with heart issues in the past, including experiencing an irregular heartbeat while in Denver.
  • Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta has changed agencies and is now a client of ACES, Devan Fink tweeted recently and ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick confirms (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has quickly established himself as a solid major leaguer, and owns a .280/.323/.460 slash line in his first 490 plate appearances. With just 120 days of service accumulated last year, he’ll likely not qualify for arbitration until 2018.

Mariners Acquire Mark Trumbo In Six-Player Deal

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With an offense that is again struggling to score runs in Seattle and a logjam of corner outfield types in Arizona, the Diamondbacks and Mariners have agreed to a rare, significant early-June trade that will send Mark Trumbo from Arizona to Seattle, the teams announced. Left-hander Vidal Nuno is also heading to the Mariners, who will send catcher Welington Castillo, right-hander Dominic Leone and prospects Gabby Guerrero and Jack Reinheimer to the D-Backs.

Mark Trumbo

From the Mariners’ perspective, Trumbo will add significant power to a lineup that has struggled to score runs, as they rank 28th in the Majors with 191 runs. However, Seattle has thrived as a collective unit against left-handed pitching, which is where Trumbo does most of his damage. The 29-year-old is a lifetime .263/.311/.528 hitter against southpaws but owns a more pedestrian .242/.293/.444 line against same-handed pitching. Despite questionable OBP skills and his so-so numbers against right-handed pitching, Trumbo does figure to make the Mariners’ offense more formidable, though it may come at the cost of some defensive value. The acquisition of Trumbo also forces the team to either displace Logan Morrison at first base or utilize one of Trumbo or Nelson Cruz in the corner outfield, where both are regarded as defensive liabilities. Trumbo, who is earning $6.9MM in 2015 and is under team control through 2016 via the arbitration process.

Looking at the trade from Arizona’s perspective, it’s not difficult to see why the team felt the need to move Trumbo. The signing of Yasmany Tomas this offseason gave them a pair of slow-footed corner outfielders whose most appealing asset was right-handed pop. The D-Backs have been playing Tomas at third base while highly regarded prospect Jake Lamb is on the disabled list, but Lamb is nearing a return, and Tomas’ defensive work in the infield has not been particularly strong. With this move, Tomas can shift to right field in Trumbo’s place, joining A.J. Pollock and a combination of Ender Inciarte and David Peralta in the outfield. The move also saves the D-Backs some significant money; Trumbo is owed $4.68MM for the remainder of the 2015 season, compared to Castillo’s $1.43MM, making for a total savings of about $3.25MM.

Nuno has been told that he will be joining the Mariners’ rotation, the lefty himself told reporters, including MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has struggled throughout his brief MLB career as a starter, but he’s pitched quite well in a long relief capacity for Arizona this season, posting a 1.88 ERA with a 19-to-5 K/BB ratio in 14 1/3 innings. Of course, that small sample consists of just three appearances, and Nuno’s larger body of work is relatively suspect. He’s tallied 196 innings at the Major League level between the Yankees and Diamondbacks, posting a 4.13 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and a 38.1 percent ground-ball rate.

As a fly-ball pitcher, his first stint in an expansive, pitcher-friendly environment figures to benefit Nuno, but his peripheral profile doesn’t exactly indicate that he’s been the recipient of much poor luck. Metrics such as FIP (4.36), xFIP (4.15) and SIERA (3.97) all feel that Nuno’s ERA are more or less reflective of his talent level. The Mariners will hope that he can produce improved results in a more favorable setting, however, and if not, he seems like he could at least be a useful bullpen piece. Nuno has stifled opposing lefties to this point in his career, yielding just .191/.271/.317 batting line in 190 plate appearances. The Mariners will be able to control him through the 2019 season.

Castillo is the most established player headed back to Arizona in the trade, and he will pair with Jarrod Saltalamacchia behind the dish to form the D-Backs’ new catching tandem. That’s a far more established duo than Tuffy Gosewisch and Jordan Pacheco, who have handled the bulk of Arizona’s catching duties this season. Arizona GM Dave Stewart stated on multiple occasions this offseason that he had no intent of adding a catcher, and he held to his word through Opening Day, but he’s since seen Gosewisch go down for the year due to a torn ACL, while a back injury has ended veteran Gerald Laird’s season. Rule 5 pickup Oscar Hernandez is on the shelf as well, creating an even larger dearth of catching options for the Diamondbacks.

Arizona values prospect Peter O’Brien’s bat quite a bit, but scouts have long questioned whether or not he can handle catching from a defensive standpoint. Late in Spring Training, those questions became even more pronounced when O’Brien developed an issue throwing the ball back to the mound. He’s seen more time in the corner outfield this season at Triple-A than he has behind the plate.

Therefore, Castillo and Saltalamacchia give the Diamondbacks a more experienced tandem without forcing them to try O’Brien at catcher before he is ready (if he ever is). Castillo is a career .250/.316/.392 hitter that posted a combined 105 OPS+ from 2012-13 before taking a step back in 2014. All told, his bat has been about five percent below the league average over the course of his career, which is solid offensive output from a catcher. Castillo has also caught an above-average 30 percent of attempted base stealers in his career, though like Saltalamacchia, he does not grade out well in terms of pitch-framing metrics. Castillo is under team control through the 2017 season.

In Leone, the Diamondbacks will acquire a 23-year-old reliever who was dominant in his 2014 rookie campaign but has struggled to repeat that success. Leone emerged from out of nowhere in 2014 to post a 2.17 ERA with 9.5 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 54.7 percent ground-ball rate in 66 1/3 innings for the Mariners. Both FIP and xFIP pegged him at 3.07, while SIERA was more bullish at 2.81. Entering the 2015 season, Leone looked like a potential long-term bullpen cog. However, he’s seen his control erode dramatically, issuing nine walks in 11 1/3 innings against just seven strikeouts. The 94.6 mph he averaged on his heater in 2014 has dropped to 93.3 mph, leading to further cause for concern. His ERA to this point is a sky-high 6.35, while ERA estimators peg him for a mark in the 5.40 to 5.80 range. Put simply, Leone is a reclamation project for the Diamondbacks, but if he can return to anything close to his 2014 output, he’d be one of the most effective pieces in Arizona’s relief corps, if not the most effective piece.

Guerrero, 21, is the best prospect in the deal, despite a rough year at Double-A so far (.215/.262/.305). The nephew of famed slugger Vladimir Guerrero, Gabby has ranked among the Mariners’ Top 15 prospects in each of the past three offseasons, topping out at seventh this past winter. In their most recent scouting report, BA noted that Guerrero has plus-plus raw power, a plus-plus arm in right field (sound familiar?) and plus range as well, but he’s overly aggressive at the plate and swings too hard too often. Guerrero has baseball in his genes and is a high-risk, high-reward type of prospect; BA and other outlets such as MLB.com (where he ranks fifth among Mariners prospects) and Fangraphs (eighth) all feel that he could ultimately be an everyday right fielder, but the likelihood isn’t great without adjustments to his approach.

The 22-year-old Reinheimer reached Double-A for the first time this season and has slashed .277/.323/.351 thus far. Ranked as Seattle’s No. 17 prospect by BA, he also ranks 19th per Fangraphs and 14th per MLB.com. Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis at MLB.com call Reinheimer a singles hitter at the moment, noting that he has above-average speed and the range/arm to handle shortstop defensively. Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs agrees for the most part and comps him to Mariners shortstop Chris Taylor, noting that there’s very little power and a utility player might be the ultimate outcome.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported that Trumbo and Nuno had been traded to Seattle in exchange for Castillo, Leone and two prospects (Twitter links). 

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NL West Notes: Dahl, Aardsma, Bradley, Cahill

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Rockies prospect David Dahl was at one point thought to be out for the season following a collision that led to a massive laceration on his spleen, but he’s now opted for a splenectomy and, incredibly, is hoping to return to the field within six weeks, agent Adam Karon tells ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. “David has put in an incredible amount of work the last two offseasons, and he just couldn’t fathom the idea of a shortened season,” Karon told Crasnick. “…A normal person would just leave the spleen in. But for an athlete, there’s an additional risk of the spleen rupturing again in a collision. David said, ’I can’t play the rest of my career worrying about this, and I don’t want to miss any more time this year than I have to.'” Dahl got off to a slow start at Double-A this season, but it seems likely that he’ll get a chance to improve those numbers yet — an outcome that seemed impossible as recently as one week ago.

Here’s more from the NL West…

  • The Dodgers are in the midst of a 72-hour window to make a decision on veteran right-hander David Aardsma, writes Jacob Unruh of The Oklahoman. The 33-year-old Aardsma has been lights-out in relief for the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City this year, but the team may not be able to find room for him on the 25-man roster. Aardsma’s contract contains a June 1 opt-out that triggers the 72-hour window; he must be added to the roster or he can elect free agency. Aardsma reworked his mechanics and went throw a program called Top Velocity this offseason in an effort to rediscover his velocity, and he tells Unruh that he feels he can contribute to a Major League bullpen again. If the results in Triple-A are any indication, that may well be true, as Aardsma has posted a 2.55 ERA with a 21-to-7 K/BB ratio and 15 saves in 17 2/3 innings thus far.
  • Archie Bradley is placing the Diamondbacks in a tough spot, writes Zach Buchanan of the Arizona Republic. The top prospect won a job in the rotation out of Spring Training — impressing the team so much that they traded Trevor Cahill to clear a place for him — but he’s struggled since returning from a frightening injury. Bradley missed two weeks after being struck in the face by a Carlos Gonzalez line drive, and since coming back, he’s averaged just four innings a start and allowed 19 runs in 15 2/3 innings. Bradley maintains that the injury isn’t the reason for his downturn in performance, but as Buchanan notes, the D-Backs rank at the top of the league in terms of innings pitched by their bullpen. Bradley’s current inability to work deep into games is further stretching the club’s relief corps, but despite that troubling trend, general manager Dave Stewart told Buchanan that there are “no plans right now” to make a move involving Bradley.
  • Speaking of Cahill, the right-hander recently spoke to the Republic’s Sarah McLellan about being traded to Atlanta at the end of Spring Training. Cahill said that it was “kind of shocking” to be traded with just one day of camp remaining, but he ultimately told himself to view the transaction as a new opportunity. Of his time with the Snakes, Cahill told McLellan, “I worked hard and competed as best as I could, but I wished I could have done more to help the team.” His struggles have persisted to this point in Atlanta, where he’s pitched to a 7.33 ERA with 12 strikeouts against 11 walks in 23 1/3 innings and ceded his spot in the rotation to young flamethrower Mike Foltynewicz.
  • A pair of NL West news items came in late last night as well, for those who had turned in for the evening: the D-Backs announced that Tuffy Gosewisch will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL, and veteran righty Juan Gutierrez opted out of his minor league deal with the Giants.

Tuffy Gosewisch Out For Year With ACL Tear

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Diamondbacks catcher Tuffy Gosewisch will miss the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a torn ACL, the club announced. The 31-year-old had already been placed on the 15-day DL.

Gosewisch earned his first opportunity at a regular role this year for Arizona. Generally a meager offensive producer in his time in the minors — most of it spent with the Phillies — Gosewisch was able to crack the lineup due to his quality glovework and the club’s lack of options behind the plate.

Through 138 plate appearances this year, Gosewisch largely matched the batting output he put up in reserve duty last year. All told, he has taken 317 turns at bat in the majors, slashing .212/.241/.285 with two home runs and two stolen bases. But Baseball Prospectus has valued him as a slightly above-average performer behind the dish.

Fellow backstop Wilson Ramos also suffered a May ACL tear back in 2012, ultimately missing the entire rest of the season. Despite missing the early part of Spring Training, he recovered in time to open the year on the active roster. Barring any setbacks, Gosewisch figures to follow approximately the same timeline.

With Gosewisch down for the rest of the year, it seems likely that mid-season signee Jarrod Saltalamacchia will do most of the receiving, with Jordan Pacheco functioning as the backup. But the door is now slightly more open for prospect Peter O’Brien, who is bludgeoning Triple-A pitching (.339/.379/.650) while he continues to work to establish himself as a viable defensive option.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Trumbo, Grichuk, Morales, Bour, Zobrist, Starters

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For his latest notes column, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports spoke with Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart about the possibility of trading Mark Trumbo this summer — a notion which Stewart seems to strongly oppose. “We know there’s interest in Trumbo,” said Stewart. “…With all of our players, if you overwhelm me with something, I’ve got to listen. I guess most people would say the trade deadline is where we’ll find the best value. But at this moment, Mark Trumbo is my guy. He gives us something in our lineup that none of our other guys do other than Goldschmidt – a guy who can hit the ball out of the ballpark.” However, as Rosenthal points out, Trumbo is controllable only for one season beyond the 2015 campaign and will be bringing big power numbers to his final arbitration case just one year after landing a $6.9MM salary. Trumbo, hitting .273/.314/.533 with nine homers, will undoubtedly be expensive. And, the team has Jake Lamb nearing a return from the DL, and his return to third base would push Yasmany Tomas to the outfield. A trade does seem like something that the D-Backs will have to consider, though they could always move a different piece or option Tomas back to Triple-A. He’s hitting well, however, despite a lack of home runs.

A few more highlights from Rosenthal’s latest work…

  • Randal Grichuk’s importance to the Cardinals is only growing, Rosenthal writes. While he’s the type of bat that could find himself mentioned in trade rumors as the team looks to upgrade potential areas of need, Rosenthal wonders if the team can afford to part with Grichuk. The aging Matt Holliday is under control through 2017, but Jon Jay and Peter Bourjos are free agents after 2016, and Stephen Piscotty isn’t hitting as well as they’d hoped in the minors. Jason Heyward will be a free agent at season’s end and hasn’t hit at the level the Cards had hoped when they acquired him.
  • Rosenthal also spoke with Royals GM Dayton Moore about the team’s decision to sign Kendrys Morales to a two-year deal this winter. As he notes, many were surprised to see Morales land a $17MM commitment after a terrible 2014 season — you can include yours truly among those who did a double-take upon seeing the contract details — but Moore and his staff saw plenty to like in Morales. “Makeup, character, his desire to play, his professionalism, the way he competes in the batter’s box,” said Moore upon being asked what drew the Royals to Morales. Special assistants Luis Medina and Jim Fregosi Jr. were both high on Morales as well. Each felt that he still had good bat speed but faced a difficult challenge in jumping back into the Majors last June after a long layoff at a time when pitchers were peaking.
  • Marlins first baseman Justin Bour looks at this point to be one of the better bargains in the history of the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft, writes Rosenthal. As he notes, Baseball America has written that “almost no future big leaguers” come from the minor league portion of the Rule 5, which is used to fill out teams’ minor league affiliates more than anything else. Selecting Bour cost the Marlins $12K, but GM Michael Hill said the whole organization was high on him. “He played against us in the Southern League, so our staff liked him — as did our scouts that covered the league,” said Hill. Miami liked his peripherals and Double-A production.
  • Athletics second baseman Ben Zobrist “might be the player most certain to be traded before July 31,” writes Rosenthal. Zobrist was recently tied to the Cubs, and while the team lacks an obvious everyday spot on its roster, the connection to manager Joe Maddon and the front office’s love of Zobrist may very well outweigh a perceived lack of everyday at-bats. I’d imagine Zobrist could get some time in left field and play all around the infield in an effort to get him five or six starts a week. Injuries may also pop up between now and the deadline.
  • In a second article, Rosenthal looks at the upcoming class of free agent pitchers and notes that it might not be as great as many had expected. Doug Fister is on the DL and was below-average when healthy. Mat Latos has been injured and ineffective this season, and there have been recent injury concerns for both Johnny Cueto and Scott Kazmir. Rosenthal wonders how much more likely all of this makes Zack Greinke to opt out of his contract with the Dodgers, though I personally don’t think there was ever a great likelihood that a healthy Greinke would’ve gone any other route than opting out. Even at age 32, he can top the remaining three years and $71MM handily, even if it comes with a lesser average annual value.
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