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Multiple Teams Now Showing Interest In Eduardo Escobar

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July 2: While a deal sending Escobar to the ChiSox was in the works recently, Heyman tweets that multiple other clubs jumped into the mix this week and began showing interest, which has slowed the process. An eventual Escobar trade still feels inevitable, given his status as a pending free agent on MLB’s worst club.

June 28: The White Sox and Diamondbacks have been discussing a potential Eduardo Escobar deal for the past week, and it seems as though talks could be accelerating. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, who initially reported the talks between the two sides, suggests in his latest notes column that the D-backs are “on the verge” of starting a sell-off that will begin with an Escobar trade. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets this morning that the two sides have made “progress” in a trade that would send Escobar from the D-backs to the ChiSox — the organization that originally signed Escobar out of Venezuela back in 2006.

Escobar is a sensible target for a Sox club that has lost Nick Madrigal for the season and now faces a notable hole at second base. The 32-year-old Escobar has spent more time at third base in recent years but has logged 227 innings at second base in 2021 and carries 849 career innings at the position. He’s also emerged as a reliable source of power and, over the past six weeks, been on a tear at the plate.

The switch-hitting Escobar fell into a considerable slump in early May, with his OPS bottoming out at .655 on May 14. In 152 plate appearances since that time, he’s mashed at a .306/.342/.563 clip with 10 homers, five doubles and a triple. That hot streak has boosted his season batting line to a respectable .253/.298/.481 and bumped his 2021 home run total up to 17. Escobar’s walk rate is down to 6.1 percent — a drop of some note from its 8.2 percent peak in 2018 — and he’s striking out at a career-high 22 percent clip. That’s still below the league average in today’s brand of strikeout-centric baseball, however.

Escobar is earning $7.5MM in 2021 — the final season of a three-year, $21MM contract extension he signed with Arizona in lieu of his first trip to the free agent market back in 2018. There’s still about $3.9MM yet to be paid out on that salary between now and season’s end. While rental players aren’t always ideal for contending clubs, it’s a rather sensible route for the Sox to take with regard to their infield needs. Yoan Moncada is locked in as the long-term answer at third base in Chicago, and the White Sox expect Madrigal back in 2022.

If a deal does ultimately get pushed across the finish line, Escobar would figure to be the first of multiple additions for a White Sox team that is in first place despite several injuries to key contributors. Eloy Jimenez hasn’t played in a game this season after suffering a ruptured pectoral tendon during a Spring Training game, and Luis Robert has been out since early May with a Grade 3 hip flexor strain. Fellow outfielders Adam Eaton and Adam Engel, meanwhile, are on the shelf owing to hamstring strains — the second of the season in Engel’s case.

As for the D-backs, Escobar is one of many veteran pieces who could change hands between now and the July 30 trade deadline. Asdrubal Cabrera, another pending free agent, seems all but assured to move. Outfielder David Peralta and right-hander Merrill Kelly are both affordably signed through the 2022 season. Backup catcher Stephen Vogt and reliever Joakim Soria aren’t having their best seasons, but they’re both impending free agents with solid track records and reasonable $3.5MM salaries. Ketel Marte, of course, is the Diamondbacks’ premier trade chip, as he’s controlled all the way through the 2024 season. That said, he’s also dealing with a hamstring issue and is undergoing additional imaging today as the team continues to evaluate that injury.

Diamondbacks Trade Tim Locastro To Yankees

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The Yankees and Diamondbacks announced an agreement on a trade sending outfielder Tim Locastro from Arizona to New York in exchange for minor league right-hander Keegan Curtis.

Tim Locastro | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Locastro, 28, is one of the fastest players in the Majors and gives the Yankees a potential outfield option, though he’s in the midst of a rough year at the plate. After slashing .290/.395/.464 in 82 plate appearances with the D-backs in 2020, Locastro is hitting just .178/.271/.220 in 133 trips to the plate so far in 2021.

Overall, the fleet-footed Locastro a career .234/.339/.324 hitter who has gone 31-for-34 in stolen base attempts. Locastro strikes out at a below-average clip but doesn’t walk as much as one might expect; rather, the source of his OBP is a penchant for getting plunked (as explored at length and in entertaining fashion in one of the many indispensable videos at Foolish Baseball). For a player with Locastro’s speed, getting to first base by any means necessary is particularly valuable, as he’s always a threat to swipe a base.

It’s not the impact move most Yankees fans would hope to see with the their first move of deadline season, but Locastro gives the club a strong glove and some needed depth. Aaron Hicks has already been lost for the season, and fellow outfielder Clint Frazier is now undergoing testing after exiting last night’s game due to dizziness. Locastro can still be optioned for the remainder of the 2021 season and is controllable through the 2024 campaign via arbitration.

For the D-backs, Locastro figures to be the first of several players traded between now and July 30. They’ve been MLB’s worst club by a wide margin and are generally expected to be willing to listen on veteran players as they look to restock the farm system.

The 25-year-old Curtis, while not regarded as one of the Yankees’ top prospects, does give the Snakes an interesting arm to add to the upper levels of their system. Since being selected in the 22nd round of the 2018 draft, Curtis has tallied 65 2/3 innings out of the bullpen and pitched to a 3.29 ERA across three levels in the Yankees’ minor league ranks. He’s currently at the Double-A level, where he’s posted a 3.94 ERA while punching out 27 of the 69 batters he’s faced (39.1 percent) against seven walks (10.1 percent).

Lindsey Adler of The Athletic (Twitter link) first reported the terms of the agreement.

Kole Calhoun Sent For MRI On Hamstring

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  • Kole Calhoun might have suffered a setback in his recovery from left hamstring surgery. The Diamondbacks outfielder’s minor league rehab assignment was recently halted, as he was sent back to Phoenix to undergo an MRI after feeling something in the hamstring while attempting to dodge a hit-by-pitch, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. It’s been something of a lost season for the veteran, who has been limited to 51 plate appearances by injuries. If healthy, Calhoun would be an obvious trade candidate for the last-place Diamondbacks. The 33-year-old hit a strong .292/.333/.479 in 2020 and is in the final guaranteed season of his two-year, $16MM contract with the organization. Calhoun’s deal comes with a $9MM club option (or a $2MM buyout) for 2022.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/28/21

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Some minor news and notes from around baseball:

  • Right-handed pitcher Chris Smith announced his retirement this afternoon (on Twitter). Smith appeared in the big leagues in 2017, tossing five innings over four games with the Blue Jays. He spent parts of five seasons in the minors. The 32-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Tigers last year, but he was released after the season was canceled. MLBTR wishes him the best in his future endeavors.
  • The Brewers announced that they’ve acquired minor league outfielder Matt Lipka from the Diamondbacks in exchange for cash considerations. He has been assigned to Triple-A Nashville. The 29-year-old was selected by the Braves with the 35th overall pick way back in 2010, but he has yet to make the majors. Lipka has spent parts of four seasons at Triple-A, and he’s been especially productive there in 2021. Through 118 plate appearances with the D-Backs’ affiliate in Reno, the right-handed hitting Lipka has compiled a .333/.393/.505 line with a pair of home runs. He was not on the Arizona 40-man roster, so he’ll serve as non-roster organizational depth in the Milwaukee system.

Diamondbacks Place Ketel Marte On Injured List

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The Diamondbacks announced they’ve placed center fielder Ketel Marte on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 27, with a left hamstring strain. Righty Humberto Castellanos has been recalled from Triple-A Reno to take his place on the active roster.

Marte left last Tuesday’s game with hamstring tightness. After resting for three days, he attempted to return to action on Saturday. Marte almost immediately aggravated the injury upon his return, pulling up while jogging out a first-inning single. He departed Saturday’s game and was sent for further testing today.

There’s no reason for the Diamondbacks to take any chances with their franchise player. At 22-57, any hope Arizona had of competing this season has long since gone out the window. That’s through no fault of Marte, who has a fantastic .370/.419/.556 line through 148 plate appearances.

Marte’s performance and the D-Backs place in the standings has led to some speculation he’d be a potential midseason trade candidate. That never seemed especially likely, though. Marte is under affordable team control through 2024, and Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen has pushed back against the notion the team needs to undergo a full-scale rebuild. Marte’s trip to the IL only seems to reduce the possibility he changes uniforms this summer.

Diamondbacks Outright Stefan Crichton

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JUNE 27: Crichton cleared waivers and has been sent outright to Reno, the D-Backs announced.

JUNE 23: The Diamondbacks announced Wednesday that they’ve designated right-handed reliever Stefan Crichton for assignment and recalled outfielder Nick Heath from Triple-A Reno in his place.

Crichton, 29, worked some high-leverage spots for the Snakes early in the season and even tallied four saves in the season’s first five weeks. In fact, Crichton is the only D-backs reliever with multiple saves this season and leads the team with nine saves dating back to Opening Day 2020.

The right-hander’s results have tanked as of late, however, leading to a 6.04 ERA that surely prompted Wednesday’s DFA. Crichton has totaled only 11 innings over his past 15 appearances, during which time he’s been tagged for 10 earned runs on 16 hits (two homers) with more walks (six) than strikeouts (five).

From 2019-20, Crichton was a solid member of the D-backs’ relief corps, tallying 56 1/3 innings of 3.04 ERA ball with a 50.3 percent grounder rate, a 24.1 percent strikeout rate and a 7.3 percent walk rate. His velocity, strikeout rate and walk rate have all gone in the wrong direction for two consecutive seasons, however. This year’s middling 13.9 percent clip is barely half what it was back in 2019 when he notched a career-best 26.8 percent mark.

The Diamondbacks will have a week to trade Crichton or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. This year’s struggles and velocity dip, paired with the fact that he’s out of minor league options, might temper optimism among other clubs, however.

Diamondbacks Activate Brett de Geus, Option Corbin Martin

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After claiming right-hander Brett de Geus off waivers from the Rangers yesterday, the Diamondbacks added him to their active roster today, the team announced. Because he was a Rule 5 pick, de Geus will need to remain on the active roster for the remainder of the season to stay in the Dbacks’ organization.

Arizona was 21-56 coming into today, owners of the worst record in baseball, and while that was hardly the plan for the Snakes, it does allow them to take a chance on a young player like de Geus. As a waiver claim, he’s a no-risk addition to the bullpen, which will also allow them to give more development time to other prospects.

Corbin Martin is one such arm. Martin was optioned to Triple-A to make room on the roster for De Geus. The 25-year-old Martin came to the desert from the Astros as part of the Zack Greinke deal.

Martin has appeared overmatched in five outings (three starts). The former second-round pick started yesterday’s game against the Padres, but he faced just seven hitters, recording one out while giving up four earned runs on three hits (two home runs), a pair of walks, and a hit batsman. He’s been tagged for 19 earned runs in 16 innings for a 10.69 ERA.

de Geus’ numbers with the Rangers don’t suggest he’s a huge upgrade — 8.44 ERA in 19 appearances — but an organization change always brings the possibility of a change in approach or mechanics that could spark something for de Geus, who’s still just 23 years old.

2021 Amateur Draft Rumors: Pirates, Mayer, Orioles, Mock Drafts

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The 2021 amateur draft begins on July 11, and with the later date comes more time for analysis, predictions, smokescreens, rumors, and possible major changes up and down teams’ draft boards.  With this in mind, there is naturally quite a bit of uncertainty over which prospects will land with which teams, as a real consensus has yet to develop in almost every single spot in the first round.

Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo, The Athletic’s Keith Law, MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis, and ESPN.com’s Kiley McDaniel have all published new mock drafts within the last week, and one constant emerged between the four pundits — the Pirates taking California high school shortstop Marcelo Mayer with the first overall (1-1) pick.  It isn’t a sure thing by any means, however, as the Pirates are said to be focused “only on position players at this point,” according to Law, so such candidates as Louisville catcher Henry Davis (Callis cites Davis as Pittsburgh’s apparent “Plan B”) or high school shortstops Jordan Lawlar and Khalil Watson could still be in the mix.  Collazo also believes the Pirates are considering Vanderbilt right-hander Jack Leiter.

The Pirates’ $14,394,000 draft bonus pool is the highest of any team, and they plan to maximize value by drafting a player at 1-1 who is thought to be less willing to insist on the full slot price $8,415,300 slot price for the first overall pick.  “I think that’s what Pittsburgh’s pick will come down to: taking the one that is clearly cheaper to sign,” McDaniel writes, which certainly isn’t welcome news to Pirates fans long frustrated by the team’s unwillingness to spend.

That being said, many teams have deployed the strategy of spreading around their draft bonus money in the past.  The most famous example was the Astros’ pick of Carlos Correa (seen as a slight reach at the time) first overall in 2012, and Houston signed Correa to a below-slot bonus and then using that saved money to sign 41st-overall pick Lance McCullers Jr. to an above-slot deal.  It also isn’t like Mayer would be a controversial choice at 1-1, considering that MLB Pipeline ranks him first on their top 250 draft prospects list, and McDaniel’s most recent prospect ranking has Mayer second overall.

While Mayer looks like the favorite at the moment, it is quite possible the perceived price tags could still fluctuate in the next three weeks.  For instance, the three pundits all note that the Tigers love Mayer, so he isn’t likely to fall beyond Detroit at the third overall pick if the Pirates and Rangers (who pick second) both pass.  As McDaniel observes, this impacts Mayer’s leverage in potential negotiations with the Pirates, since the young shortstop can be reasonably certain of at least landing a bonus in range of the $7,221,200 slot price attached to the third overall pick.

There is no consensus whatsoever in the mock drafts after a hypothetical Pirates/Mayer 1-1 pick, so if Pittsburgh went in another direction, the draft boards would be entirely blown up.  To give you an idea of the wide range of scenarios, here is the list of players cited by Callis, Collazo, Law and McDaniel as possibilities for each team drafting in the top eight, along with which pundit selected which prospect for each top-eight team in their mock draft.

  • 1. Pirates: Mayer (Callis/Collazo/Law/McDaniel), Henry Davis, Jordan Lawlar, Khalil Watson, Jack Leiter
  • 2. Rangers: Leiter (Callis), Lawlar (Collazo/Law), Davis (McDaniel), Kumar Rocker, Mayer, Watson….in a contrast to the other three pundits, Callis writes that Texas has Lawlar and Davis “on the back burner” behind Watson, Mayer, and Leiter.  “Watson has real heat at this spot,” Collazo writes.
  • 3. Tigers: Mayer, Jackson Jobe (Callis/Collazo), Leiter (Law), Brady House (McDaniel), Lawlar, Watson, possibly Rocker “as a big maybe” in Collazo’s words
  • 4. Red Sox: Lawlar (Callis), Davis (Law), Leiter (Collazo/McDaniel)….Collazo doesn’t believe Leiter would fall beyond Boston at fourth overall,
  • 5. Orioles: Davis (Callis), Colton Cowser (Law), Watson (Collazo/McDaniel), House, Harry Ford, either of Mayer/Lawler if they happened to fall….Baltimore is widely expected to take a college position player at an under-slot price, as a way of keeping money in reserve to go over-slot on other picks.
  • 6. Diamondbacks: Rocker (Callis), Davis (Collazo), Watson (Law), Lawlor (McDaniel), Jobe
  • 7. Royals: Watson (Callis), Rocker (Collazo/Law/McDaniel)….this is another minor consensus area, as Law and McDaniel believe that Rocker isn’t likely to fall beyond Kansas City.  “The market for Rocker is weirdly specific,” Law writes, citing the Rangers, Red Sox, Royals, Nationals, and Mets as perhaps the only true interested parties.  Of course, Callis projected the D’Backs to take Rocker at sixth overall, so Arizona could also be a candidate for the Vanderbilt righty.
  • 8. Rockies: House (Callis/Collazo/Law), Benny Montgomery (McDaniel), Jobe

All four mock drafts are well worth reading in full, to get a sense of what the 29 teams with first-round picks are generally targeting this year or have historically looked for in past drafts.  (The Astros aren’t included, as they lost their first-rounder as part of their punishment for the sign-stealing scandal.)

For more on the prospects themselves, you can check out the aforementioned lists from McDaniel and MLB Pipeline, Baseball America’s top 500 list, or some of the individual writeups from the Sports Info Solutions blog on such top college players as Florida outfielder Jud Fabian, Wake Forest right-hander Ryan Cusick, UCLA shortstop Matt McClain, and Mississippi right-hander Gunnar Hoglund.

Diamondbacks Claim Brett de Geus

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The D-backs announced Friday that they’ve claimed right-hander Brett de Geus off waivers from the Rangers, who’d designated him for assignment earlier in the week. The 23-year-old de Geus was the No. 2 pick in this past December’s Rule 5 Draft, going from the Dodgers to the Rangers.

It’s been a rough debut for de Geus, who has totaled 26 2/3 innings for Texas but been tagged for 25 runs in that time. He’s yielded 31 hits, including three home runs, issued 13 walks and plunked an alarming six batters. De Geus has punched out 26 hitters in those 26 2/3 frames, but a straight K/9 is a little misleading for a pitcher who has walked and hit so many batters; his 20.5 percent overall strikeout rate is well shy of the 24.6 percent league-average for a reliever.

While his MLB debut hasn’t gone particularly well, that’s not much of a surprise considering the fact that de Geus is a 23-year-old making the jump from A-ball to the Majors on the heels of a canceled 2020 minor league season. In May 2020, FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen tabbed de Geus as the No. 35 prospect in a deep Dodgers system, noting that a velocity spike upon moving to the bullpen had create some optimism about his chances of emerging as a viable MLB reliever.

Back in 2019, de Geus split the season between Class-A and Class-A Advanced, posting video-game numbers along the way. He combined for 61 2/3 innings of 1.75 ERA ball with a 29.8 percent strikeout rate, a 5.4 percent walk rate and a 56.1 percent ground-ball rate. He’s maintained those impressive ground-ball tendencies in the Majors, inducing grounders at a 55.6 percent clip with Texas.

Because de Geus was a Rule 5 pick, he’ll have to stick on the Diamondbacks’ roster for the remainder of the season or else again be placed on waivers. Were he to theoretically clear waivers if the D-backs exposed him to them a second time, he’d then need to be offered back to the Dodgers organization. Given the catastrophic nature of the Diamondbacks’ 2021 season, however, it shouldn’t be too hard for them to hang onto de Geus through the remainder of the year if they indeed want to permanently secure his rights. Arizona is currently 21-56, making them the only team in Major League Baseball with a sub-.300 winning percentage.

Ketel Marte Leaves Game Early With Left Hamstring Tightness

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10:26 pm: Marte was removed due to left hamstring tightness, the D-Backs announced.

10:10 pm: Diamondbacks star center fielder Ketel Marte left this evening’s game against the Brewers in the first inning. He hit a double but appeared to favor his left leg as he ran the bases, notes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link). Josh Reddick replaced Marte, with Pavin Smith moving from right to center field to accommodate Reddick’s entrance in right.

It’s a worrisome development for the D-Backs, who already lost Marte for six weeks earlier in the year due to a hamstring strain. His previous injury was to his right leg, while tonight’s appears to be to his left. When he has been healthy enough to take the field, the 27-year-old has been dynamic. Marte is hitting a fantastic .366/.415/.552 across 147 plate appearances this year. It’s a return to his 2019 form, when Marte finished fourth in NL MVP award voting, and a definitive bounce back from his average 2020 campaign.

Between his elite performance and the Diamondbacks league-worst 21-53 record, Marte has drawn plenty of attention from fans of other teams eyeing potential midseason upgrades. There’s been little indication the Arizona front office has any interest in moving Marte this summer, though. He’s guaranteed a modest $8MM in 2022 and controllable via cheap club options through 2024, so there’s no urgency for the D-Backs to part with him.

Indeed, general manager Mike Hazen seemed to cast doubt on a trade involving a player of Marte’s caliber last week. He didn’t explicitly rule out the possibility, of course, but Hazen spoke of “anchoring” the organization around a group of quality, controllable position players. Marte is precisely that type of player, so there’s not much evidence he’d be a particularly likely trade candidate, even if this latest injury doesn’t turn out to be a serious issue.

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