Trade Deadline Notes: D’Backs, Price, Zobrist, Lee, Cubs
With the draft in the rear-view mirror, the league’s attention will increasingly turn to the coming summer trade market — though, with so many teams still in the hunt and so much money owed to many possible trade candidates, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wonders if it will be a sluggish market.
Here’s the latest on some teams and players who could be discussed:
- The Diamondbacks, who feature a roster with several attractive veteran pieces, have also been widely noted for their abundance of quality young middle infielders. As Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (Twitter links), current Triple-A shortstop Nick Ahmed has sparked interest from multiple other clubs. Ahmed, 24, is known as an outstanding defensive player and has enjoyed his most productive season at the plate this year with a .304/.385/.401 line in 250 plate appearances in his first run at Triple-A.
- The Rays should consider putting ace David Price on the market now rather than waiting for the deadline to approach, opines MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince. Tampa may not achieve the return it hopes for if it waits, says Castrovince, citing a variety of reasons — including the current proliferation of teams still in the hunt, the possibility that Cubs hurler Jeff Samardzija may approach or even surpass him in value, and the potential introduction of Royals’ ace James Shields into the discussion.
- Price may be the Rays‘ most valuable trade chip, but the versatile Ben Zobrist would draw the widest interest if he is put on the block, tweets Rosenthal. The 33-year-old jack of all trades is owed just $7MM this year and comes with an attractive $7.5MM club option for 2015.
- Indeed, Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com writes that Zobrist is “the perfect acquisition for a team like the Tigers, Giants, or Dodgers.” As I noted a few days ago, he would also make sense for a team like the Nationals if they decide to add an impact veteran, and there are surely many others with possible interest.
- Gammons goes on to cite a few other possibly overlooked trade possibilities. He lists Bartolo Colon of the Mets and Steve Cishek of the Marlins in addition to some more commonly mentioned names like Jason Hammel of the Cubs, and Chase Headley of the Padres.
- Cliff Lee of the Phillies, a hypothetically intriguing trade candidate, finally threw a baseball yesterday for the first time since May 18, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. After what he described as a “light throwing session,” Lee said that his elbow was feeling “better.” Of course, he would need to make it back for at least a few starts to allow Philadelphia to recoup anything close to maximum value were they to shop him.
- In today’s Baseball Tonight podcast (audio link), ESPN’s Buster Olney says that hears the Cubs will approach this year’s deadline as they did in 2013, dealing one pitcher early as they did with Scott Feldman last year and waiting until later to move a second, as they did with Matt Garza. Presumably, that’d mean Jason Hammel would be moved first, with Jeff Samardzija being moved later. His colleague, Keith Law, feels the strategy can work, as there will never be enough starting pitchers for all the teams looking to buy, and the price for Hammel isn’t as difficult to agree upon. Moving Hammel early on forces interested clubs to force on the bigger target later in the deadline as the need becomes greater.
- Olney lists the Blue Jays, the Orioles and the Athletics as teams that could have early interest in Hammel, and he wonders if the recent injuries to the Pirates‘ rotation would cause them to jump into the mix. Law feels the Angels could be added to that mix, as their weak farm system would prevent them from adding a big-name starter.
Diamondbacks Designate Nick Evans For Assignment
The Diamondbacks have designated utilityman Nick Evans for assignment, the club announced via press release. Evans’ roster spot will go to Jordan Pacheco, who (the club confirmed) was claimed from the Rockies.
The 28-year-old Evans received only 11 plate appearances this year for the D’backs, making his first appearance on an active MLB roster since a stretch of time with the Mets over 2008-11. He has been quite effective at Triple-A, however, slashing .335/.393/.641 with 11 home runs through 191 plate appearances in 2014.
D’backs Option Trevor Cahill
JUNE 12: Cahill has been optioned to the Diamondbacks’ Single-A Advanced affiliate, the club announced on Twitter. He will take the ball as the starter for Visalia tonight, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, which confirms both that he has accepted the assignment and that he will look to stretch out again as a starter.
JUNE 10: The club has secured optional waivers on Cahill, tweets Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona, meaning that he can be sent to the minors if he consents to the assignment.
JUNE 9, 7:48pm: Cahill has indicated that he would be amenable to taking a minor league assignment, tweets MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert.
5:58pm: The Diamondbacks announced today that they have designated right-hander Trevor Cahill for assignment as part of a series of transactions (Twitter links). The club also reinstated J.J. Putz from the 15-day disabled list, recalled Will Harris from Triple-A Reno, and placed Eric Chavez on the 15-day DL.
Now 26, Cahill came to Arizona from the Athletics (along with Craig Breslow) back in December of 2011. The Diamondbacks gave up a significant haul to acquire his rights, parting with Jarrod Parker, Collin Cowgill, and Ryan Cook. While Cowgill has moved on from Oakland, both Parker and Cook are key parts of the club’s staff (though the former is out for the year for Tommy John surgery and the latter has been limited with his own arm troubles).
Less than a year before he was dealt, Cahill had signed a five-year, $30.5MM pact with Oakland. That contract, no doubt, was part of his appeal, especially as he owned a 3.91 ERA through 583 career innings at the point of the trade. Though he was coming off of a less impressive 2011 campaign, the then-23-year-old had tossed 196 2/3 innings of sub-3.00 ERA ball in 2010.
Now, of course, most if not all of the remainder of that contract is likely to stay on Arizona’s books — and it no longer looks like a bargain. While Cahill combined for 346 2/3 innings of 3.87 ERA ball in his first two seasons with his new club, he missed time last year with a hip injury and has struggled to a 5.66 ERA through 41 1/3 frames in 2014. Though he is striking out batters at a 9.6 K/9 rate that is far and away the best in his career, he is also surrendering a career-low 5.4 BB/9 while dropping below a 50% groundball rate for the first time since his rookie year.
On the other hand, since shifting to the pen, Cahill has worked to a 3.04 ERA while holding the opposition to a .681 OPS. And on the whole, advanced metrics see Cahill as being much the same pitcher now as he has always been. For instance, since his first year in the bigs, his SIERA has never been above 4.11 or below 3.84 (and stands at 3.96 for 2014).
The contract, which includes successive club options for 2016-17, guarantees Cahill the rest of his $7.7MM salary this year as well as $12.3MM for 2015 and a buyout. The question becomes whether not only those obligations, but also Cahill himself, will stay in Arizona. GM Kevin Towers says that the “hope is to retain him,” as the team “still think[s] there is value there,” reports Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (via Twitter).
Though he has options available, as a veteran with over five years of service time to his name, Cahill would need to agree to any assignment from the D’backs — and would not sacrifice future salary if he declines. Towers implied that he has agreed to do just that, says Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (links to Twitter): “There’s a game plan in place for what we’re ultimately going to do, but as of right now he’s just designated.” Presumably, the club would allow Cahill to try to work out his issues while stretching back out as a starter.
Jeff Todd contributed to this post.
Diamondbacks Claim Jordan Pacheco From Rockies
The Diamondbacks have claimed infielder/catcher Jordan Pacheco off waivers from the Rockies, reports Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (via Twitter). Pacheco, 28, was designated and then placed on outright waivers recently by Colorado.
Pacheco is best known for his defensive versatility and contact skills. He has seen significant time at catcher, third, and first with the Rockies over recent seasons. And in 2012, he posted a sturdy .309/.341/.421 triple-slash over 505 plate appearances. Those numbers have turned south recently, however, as Pacheco owns only a .238/.282/.320 line over the last two seasons.
As MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes reported back in March, Pacheco is out of options. Arizona is currently relying on Tuffy Gosewisch as the primary backup to Miguel Montero behind the dish, though the 30-year-old has seen only 37 plate appearances (slashing an underwhelming .194/.216/.306).
Diamondbacks To Sign Isan Diaz, Brent Jones
The Diamondbacks have agreed to a below-slot bonus with competitive balance round B selection Isan Diaz, reports MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo (via Twitter). Diaz gets $750K, meaning that Arizona will save about $58.6K as against the slot assignment for the 70th overall choice.
Diaz, a high school middle infielder who had been committed to Vanderbilt, was viewed as a fifth-round talent by observers like Baseball America and MLB.com. The latter outlet’s Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis explained that he is expected to shift to second base, but has an excellent left-handed bat and solid defensive skills. But ESPN.com’s Keith Law placed Diaz within his top 100 available prospects (at the 90th slot).
The club has also added fourth-round pick, Brent Jones, for $350K, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com. That falls $82.3K below the assigned slot for the 120th overall selection, which combines with the savings on Diaz to free about $141K to put towards other selections.
Draft Signings: White, Oliver, LaValley, Greiner
Hundreds of draft-pick signings will be reported over the coming weeks, and we’ll run down today’s most notable agreements in this post…
- Junior righty Chad Sobotka, the fourth round choice of the Braves, has agreed to an above-slot deal, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com. He will receive $400K, slightly more than the 133rd pick’s $381.3K allotment.
- The Marlins have given a $350K bonus to 11th round choice Nick White, a high school righty, tweets Callis. That is the largest bonus for a post-tenth-rounder thus far, says Callis. $250K of White’s bonus will be charged to Miami’s $14.2MM total pool.
- The Phillies have agreed to a $550K bonus with fourth-rounder Chris Oliver, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). That represents a $83K overage as against the $467K pool assigned to the 112th pick. MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo pegged Oliver as the 48th-rated draft prospect, while Baseball America rated the University of Arkansas righty as the 66th best player available.
- Gavin LaValley, the Reds‘ fourth-rounder who was reported to have agreed to terms yesterday, will receive $525K, tweets Jim Callis of MLB.com. That is a good bit over the $411.9K slot assignment that came with the 125th overall choice.
- The Tigers and third-rounder (No. 99 overall) Grayson Greiner have agreed to terms at the full slot value of $529,400, reports MLB.com’s Jim Callis (on Twitter). Callis notes that the South Carolina catcher draws more praise for his defense than his bat. Greiner was a Top 100 prospect per MLB.com, Baseball America and ESPN.
- The Diamondbacks saved $202K on their sixth-round selection, as MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo tweets that they inked Middle Tennessee State left-hander Zac Curtis for just $40K. Arizona’s savings on Curtis will come in handy, as they inked Comp Round B pick Marcus Wilson earlier today to a deal that was $179K over slot. Baseball America ranked Curtis 373rd among draft prospects.
- Cotillo also tweets that Reds third-rounder Wyatt Strahan received the full slot value of $588,700. MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reported last night that the two sides had agreed to terms.
Diamondbacks To Sign Marcus Wilson
The Diamondbacks are in agreement with their Competitive Balance Round B selection, Marcus Wilson, on a $1MM bonus, reports MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link). Wilson, selected 69th overall, receives an above-slot deal that will sign him away from his Arizona State commitment. The assigned pick value to his draft slot was $821,100.
Wilson was ranked 31st among draft prospects by ESPN’s Keith Law, while Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com ranked him 35th, and Baseball America considered him the draft’s 44th-best prospect.
Law calls Wilson — a prep outfielder from southern California — “an impressive athlete who is still more athlete than baseball player right now,” and that sentiment is shared by MLB.com and BA. In their scouting reports, BA referred to Wilson as a “classic high-risk, high-reward prospect.” All three outlets seem to agree that Wilson has five-tool potential, with plus speed being his best current tool to go along with intriguing right-handed bat speed, but he needs work to develop his raw tools into more polished baseball skills.
NL Notes: Polanco, Sellers, CarGo, Cuddyer, Matzek, Draft
The rise of Pirates call-up Gregory Polanco from a virtually unknown international signee to a top prospect has been quite rare in recent history, writes Alex Speier in an ESPN Insider piece. Slowly but surely, the 22-year-old tightened his skills to match his raw tools, and his now-obvious upside emerged.
Here’s more from the National League:
- While Polanco is undoubtedly an exciting addition for the Pirates, the team should nevertheless be prepared to sell over the summer, opines Paul Swydan of ESPN.com (Insider link). Russell Martin and Francisco Liriano are among the pieces that the team could consider moving, he says. Meanwhile, the Mets and Padres are other NL clubs that Swydan says should look to move pieces.
- While Swydan does not discuss their situation, the Phillies also seem like possible sellers, though it is hard to know the club’s thinking. Corey Seidman of CSNPhilly.com discusses the trade-worthiness of several of the team’s possible deadline chips.
- The Mets‘ struggles this year are bad enough that they have shifted the team’s seemingly promising trajectory, writes Kevin Kernan of the New York Post. The team’s key cog, third baseman David Wright, says that he remains committed to the Mets and has no desire to be dealt. (Of course, that seems a rather unlikely outcome regardless.) “I knew that when I signed my extension, I knew that things were not going to be easy,” he said. “If I wanted the easy way out, I would have signed somewhere else. The challenge of it, the loyalty to the organization, the direction I think we’re going, yes, we’ve gone through some rough stretches … but that is the process.”
- The Rockies, who dropped their ninth of ten games tonight, are now dealing with another spate of bad injury news. In addition to placing recent top prospect call-up Eddie Butler on the 15-day DL after his first big league start, the team learned today that it will be without two key veterans for some time. Star outfielder Carlos Gonzalez will undergo exploratory surgery on the left index finger that has bothered him this year, reports Nick Groke of the Denver Post (via Twitter). And right fielder Michael Cuddyer has suffered a fracture of the glenoid socket in his right shoulder, which will keep him out for at least six to eight weeks, as Cody Ulm of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Now well off the pace in the NL West, the Rockies would need a quick turnaround to position themselves as contenders as the trade deadline approaches.
- In need of arms, the Rockies will call up 23-year-old lefty Tyler Matzek to start on Wednesday against the Braves, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports on Twitter. Once a top-25 prospect league-wide and the 11th overall choice in the 2009 draft, Matzek has climbed through the minors even as his prospect shine has dimmed somewhat. After opening the year rated 12th among Colorado prospects by Baseball America, which noted that struggles with consistency and command could push him to the bullpen, Matzek has worked to a 4.05 ERA in his first 66 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level. More importantly, perhaps, he has worked to a career-best 4.2 BB/9 at Colorado Springs while also racking up 8.2 K/9.
- ESPN.com’s Keith Law has posted his round-up (Insider link) of the draft haul from National League clubs. He says that the Diamondbacks brought back an impressive haul across the board, and casts some doubt on some of the Cubs‘ early-round selections while noting that the team went after high-upside arms further down.
Minor Moves: Tomko, Burres, Aceves, Paxton
Here are today’s minor league transactions from around baseball, with the latest moves at the top of the post…
- Veteran Brett Tomko has found a new home with the Rockies on a minor league deal, reports Robert Murray of Sports Rumor Alert. Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (Twitter link) also cites a source saying that the 41-year-old righty is headed to Colorado Springs. Tomko, who was recently set loose by the Royals, last threw in the bigs in 2011 with the Rangers. He owns a 4.65 ERA over 1,816 career innings with ten clubs, much of them as a starter.
- Pitcher Brian Burres has also signed a minor league deal with the Rockies and will join their Triple-A affiliate, reports Mike Ashmore of MyCentralJersey.com (via Twitter). MLBTR reported back in May that Burres, most recently of the independent league Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, was drawing interest. The 33-year-old owns a 5.75 ERA through 358 1/3 career MLB frames.
- Alfredo Aceves has accepted his outright assignment to Triple- A rather than electing free agency, MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo tweets. Aceves was designated for assignment last week and outrighted to Triple-A on Sunday.
- The Mariners moved southpaw James Paxton to the 60-day disabled list in order to open a 40-man roster spot for Ji-Man Choi, the team announced. Paxton has already spent more than 60 days on the DL while recovering from shoulder inflammation. Choi will return to Double-A action after serving a 50-game PED suspension.
- The Mets selected the contract of catcher Taylor Teagarden on Sunday, the team announced. Teagarden will replaced the demoted Travis d’Arnaud on New York’s 25-man roster. For making the Major League roster, Teagarden will earn $725K, as per the minor league deal he signed with the Mets in January. The 30-year-old Teagarden posted a .950 OPS in 127 PA at Triple-A Las Vegas, a notoriously hitter-friendly park.
- The Angels released outfielder Chevy Clarke, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports. Clarke was picked in the first round (30th overall) of the 2010 draft as a high schooler, but he has yet to play above the high-A level, hitting .219/.306/.337 with 23 home runs over 1542 career PA.
- Also from Eddy, the Diamondbacks released right-hander Eric Smith. Originally taken by Arizona in the second round of the 2009 draft, Smith posted a 5.10 ERA over 429 minor league innings (65 starts, 77 relief appearances). Smith was hit with a 50-game suspension last season for taking a drug of abuse, his second such violation.
- The Rangers released right-hander Chris Schwinden last week, as announced by the team’s Triple-A affiliate (via Twitter). Schwinden was hit hard in three starts for Round Rock, posting an 11.25 ERA over 12 innings. The 27-year-old pitched 29 2/3 innings for the Mets in 2011-12 and has pitched for five different organizations (plus an independent league team ) since the start of the 2012 season.
Diamondbacks Sign Second-Rounder Cody Reed
The Diamondbacks have agreed to terms with second-round pick Cody Reed, reports Josh Bean of the Alabama Media Group. Bean’s piece includes video of an interview with Reed on his decision to sign. MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo reports that he signed for the slot value of $1,034,500 (Twitter link).
Reed, a high school left-hander out of Alabama, ranked as the draft’s No. 52 prospect per Baseball America. Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com ranked Reed 61st overall, while ESPN’s Keith Law had him 92nd on his pre-draft rankings. Reed, who had committed to Vanderbilt, boosted his draft stock by upping his fastball velocity from 88-90 mph to 92-95 mph, according to MLB.com. BA notes that of his four-pitch mix, his slider and curveball both have the potential to be above-average pitches as well.
Law is among many evaluators to have voiced concern over the 6’3″, 260-pound Reed’s weight, though he notes that Reed has repeated his delivery well in spite of that size. As Mayo and Callis note, however, many scouts are intrigued by the possibility of his velocity increasing even further if he is able to get himself into better shape as a pro.