Braves Acquire Lucas Duda
5:28pm: The Royals are covering about half of Duda’s remaining salary, tweets David O’Brien of The Athletic.
4:45pm: The Royals and Braves have both announced the move.
4:19pm: The Royals have traded first baseman Lucas Duda to the Braves in exchange for cash, reports Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com (via Twitter). He reportedly cleared revocable trade waivers earlier this month and recently ranked 17th on MLBTR’s list of the top 20 remaining August trade candidates. The teams have not yet formally announced the move.
Duda, 32, will give the Braves some left-handed punch off the bench over the final five weeks of the regular season and, the team hopes, into the playoffs. While he hasn’t had a strong overall season, hitting just .242/.311/.415 on the year, those pedestrian numbers are in some part due to the fact that the Royals have played him against left-handed pitching far more than his track record against southpaws should dictate. Duda has taken 30 percent of his plate appearances against left-handed opponents in 2018 and, unsurprisingly, struggled at a .180/.255/.258 clip.
However, in 239 plate appearances while holding the platoon advantage, Duda has been a vastly superior hitter. He’s hit righties at a .267/.335/.479 clip, swatting 11 of his 13 homers and 11 of his 12 doubles in those matchups. Atlanta had reportedly already attempted to claim Matt Adams from the Nationals to fill a similar role, but the Cardinals had waiver priority over Atlanta and wound up acquiring him instead.
Duda signed a one-year deal with Kansas City this past offseason and is playing the year on a $3.5MM base salary. He earned a $100K bonus for taking his 300th and 325th plate appearance this season, and he’ll take home an additional $100K for every 25th plate appearance he takes in 2018. Because of those incentives, that base salary has risen to $3.7MM and will soon be bumped to $3.8MM, but with a presumably limited role on the horizon in Atlanta, he’s not likely to unlock much more of that incentives package.
[Related: Updated Kansas City Royals depth chart and Atlanta Braves depth chart]
Atlanta has been a middle-of-the-pack offense against right-handed pitching to this point in the season, hitting .256/.321/.413 — good for a 96 wRC+ that is tied for the 16th-best mark in baseball. Duda will give them some additional thump to use in those matchups in late-game settings and will instantly become the team’s best left-handed option off the bench. Prior to the trade, Rio Ruiz was the team’s lone lefty on the bench.
Braves To Acquire Rene Rivera
The Braves have acquired catcher Rene Rivera from the Angels, per an announcement from the Los Angeles organization (h/t Jon Morosi of MLB.com, via Twitter). The Halos allowed Rivera to depart via a straight waiver claim.
With the move, the Atlanta organization will take over Rivera’s contract. Just under $500K remains on his $2.8MM salary for the year. The veteran receiver will be a free agent at season’s end.
Rivera, 35, is best known for his excellent work behind the dish. He has typically graded as an excellent framer, though he has been more in range of average over the past two seasons. Rivera has also traditionally been quite effective at limiting the running game.
While he missed a big chunk of time this year due to injury, limiting him to 30 games of action on the season, Rivera has also been reasonably productive with the bat. He carries a .244/.287/.439 slash with four home runs over 87 plate appearances, though he has drawn only four walks to go with 32 strikeouts.
In Kurt Suzuki and the just-extended Tyler Flowers, the Braves already have two catchers who have combined to form a strong overall duo. The organization did just drop veteran depth receiver Chris Stewart from its 40-man roster, so perhaps it sees this as an opportunity to ensure there’s a reliable player in place in the event of injury. He’ll also help spread the burden down the stretch for a club that now has the inside track to winning the NL East.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Braves Extend Tyler Flowers
1:31pm: The Atlanta organization has announced the deal.
12:36pm: The Braves have agreed to an extension with catcher Tyler Flowers, according to Jon Heyman of Fancred (Twitter links). He’ll receive a $6MM guarantee, including a $4MM salary for 2019 and a $2MM buyout for a 2020 option year that will cost $6MM if exercised. Flowers is represented by O’Connell Sports Management.
It’s not terribly unusual for veteran players to reach shorter-term extensions at this stage of the season, but this contract still rates as a surprise. Flowers has been a quality performer since coming to Atlanta before the 2016 season, after all, and likely would have drawn interest from a fair number of other organizations had he waited to return to the open market.
Flowers, 32, carries a strong .264/.365/.409 batting line with the Braves. While he has trended south in terms of output in 2018, he’s also walking at a much-improved 13.5% rate. And batted-ball measures suggest he’s still capable of doing plenty of damage.
True, Flowers was somewhat fortunate to carry batting averages on balls in play of .366 and .342 in his first two seasons with the Atlanta organization. This year, he’s back down to .286 while carrying only a .110 isolated slugging mark. While it’s tempting to label that regression to the mean, it may well be that he’s actually experience markedly poor fortunate in 2018. Indeed, Statcast credits him with a strong .368 xwOBA, in contrast to the .317 wOBA that has actually resulted.
Notably, too, Flowers has graded consistently as one of the best pitch framers in all of baseball over the past several seasons. That’s a skill that the market would have valued. Flowers is generally regarded as at least a solid backstop in other regards, leaving him as an overall positive on the defensive side of the equation.
Given the always-limited supply of quality backstops, it seemed Flowers was well-placed to have his pick of opportunities. He’d likely be viewed as a possible starter or heavily-used timeshare candidate by a variety of organizations. It’s certainly arguable he’d be seen as a more desirable player than some or all of last winter’s highest-paid backstops, including Welington Castillo (two years, $15MM), Jonathan Lucroy (one year, $6.5MM), and Chris Iannetta (two years, $8.5MM).
Certainly, there were no guarantees that Flowers would have done significantly better in free agency. This winter’s market will certainly include some high-quality alternatives. And it’s reasonable to assume that the deal works out for Flowers. No doubt, the fact that he’s a Georgia native played into the decisionmaking.
Nevertheless, the signing leaves the Braves with a high-quality player at an appealing price for next year, with an extra season of flexible control to boot. That the organization was able to get a head start on its 2019 checklist even while trying to finish out an exceedingly exciting 2018 season represents a positive outcome for the club.
With Flowers on the books, the Braves now have a major box checked without breaking the bank. The club will likely pursue another backstop, which could (but need not) be a significant player, depending upon the other opportunities available.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Braves Designate Chris Stewart
The Braves have designated catcher Chris Stewart for assignment, Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. To take Stewart’s 25-man roster spot, the team recalled infielder Rio Ruiz from Triple-A Gwinnett.
This is the second time this year the Braves have designated Stewart, whom they just brought back to the majors this past Wednesday. Atlanta has used the 36-year-old journeyman sparingly when he has been in the majors this season, as he has totaled just 16 plate appearances. Stewart has spent the majority of 2018 with Gwinnett, where he has batted just .209/.287/.269 line with no home runs in 152 trips to the plate. That line’s fairly similar to the .230/.297/.292 slash Stewart has put up across 1,333 major league PAs.
Cafardo’s Latest: Posey, Braves, Bumgarner, Yanks, O’s, Jones
Some San Francisco-heavy rumblings from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe:
- Giants catcher Buster Posey drew trade interest from the Braves prior to the July 31 non-waiver deadline, Cafardo reports. Moreover, “there was talk” Boston was interested in Posey, but a team source shot down that, Cafardo adds. Regardless, it’s no surprise the Giants didn’t trade Posey, a franchise institution who remains a high-end catcher at the age of 31. It was revealed this week, however, that Posey will undergo season-ending hip surgery – a procedure which could also prevent him from being ready to start next year on time. The 2019 campaign will be the third-to-last guaranteed season of the nine-year, $167MM extension Posey signed in 2013.
- Like Posey, Giants ace Madison Bumgarner isn’t someone who has been seen as a realistic trade candidate to this point. But that didn’t stop the Yankees from being “in the hunt” for Bumgarner around the deadline, per Cafardo, who notes that “the price was too high” for the Bombers’ liking. Although San Francisco hasn’t been willing to part with Bumgarner, its control over the 29-year-old is running out. As of now, he’s slated to rake in a $12MM club option in 2019 and then reach the open market during the ensuing offseason.
- The Orioles won’t trade center fielder Adam Jones this month, according to Cafardo, who writes that the 33-year-old “was open to going elsewhere.” Jones’ apparent willingness to leave Baltimore runs counter to various reports from last month, when he would not waive his 10-and-5 rights to join a contender for the stretch run. Now, having cleared revocable waivers this month, Jones is eligible to be traded anywhere, but it appears the longtime Oriole will end the season with them. After that, he’s scheduled to reach free agency.
East Notes: G. Sanchez, Pedroia, Mets, Alonso, Braves
Catcher Gary Sanchez may be in line to rejoin the Yankees on Sept. 3, when they start what could be a crucial series in Oakland, per George A. King III of the New York Post. Sanchez, out since July 24 with a groin injury, began a rehab assignment at the rookie level Saturday and will eventually progress to Triple-A before returning to the majors. This has been a surprisingly rough year for Sanchez, a star from 2016-17 who has endured two DL stints and slashed a disappointing .188/.283/.416 in 279 plate appearances. Nevertheless, Sanchez’s return will be a welcome one for New York, which has seen backup catcher Austin Romine plummet to earth offensively after a terrific first half of the season.
Here’s more from the East Coast:
- Left knee problems have limited Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia to 13 PAs this season and shelved him since May 31, though there is optimism he’ll return in 2018, according to manager Alex Cora (via Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald). “We don’t have anything set as far as timetables, but we’re feeling good with the progress,” Cora said of Pedroia, adding that the 35-year-old will “contribute here in the dugout” even if he’s unable to play again this season. The Pedroia-less Red Sox haven’t gotten much production from any of their second base options this year, evidenced in part by their minus-0.2 fWAR at the position, though the team has still managed easily the majors’ best record (90-40).
- The Mets may promote one of their top prospects, first baseman Peter Alonso, when rosters expand next month, manager Mickey Callaway told Brian Heyman of MLB.com and other reporters on Saturday. The 23-year-old Alonso, whom Baseball America, MLB.com and FanGraphs regard as a top-75 prospect, has slashed .243/.345/.545 with 17 home runs in the hitter-friendly environs of Triple-A Las Vegas this season. In the process, Alonso has overtaken the struggling Dominic Smith as the Mets’ best first base prospect. Smith earned his first promotion last August, when multiple outlets viewed him as a top-50 prospect, but his stock has plunged since then. The Mets, despite being well out of contention, demoted him to Las Vegas on Friday in order to give veteran outfielder Jay Bruce an extended look at first.
- The NL East-leading Braves expect to get closer Arodys Vizcaino and fellow relievers Shane Carle, Brandon McCarthy and Peter Moylan back by mid-September, perhaps “much sooner” in some cases, Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. The two most effective members of that group this season have been Vizcaino and Carle, though both have battled shoulder issues. McCarthy has been on the shelf since June 24 because of knee troubles, meanwhile, and he’ll be pitching the final innings of his career when he does come back. The 34-year-old announced earlier this month that he’s going to retire at season’s end.
Braves Outright Ryan Flaherty
The Braves outrighted Ryan Flaherty after he cleared waivers, as Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was among those to tweet. The veteran infielder has accepted the assignment, but can still choose to elect free agency at season’s end.
Flaherty, 32, rushed out to a hot start at the plate but steadily trailed off over the course of the season. Through 172 total plate appearances in 2018, he’s slashing just .222/.298/.301 — good for a meager 59 wRC+ that falls in line with his numbers in recent seasons.
Flaherty’s role diminished as well with Johan Camargo returning to action and Charlie Culberson engaged in his own surprising run of success. (Interestingly, Statcast actually gives Flaherty the slight edge in xwOBA for the year over Culberson, taking a rather dim view of both players’ batted-ball output.) When a roster spot was needed recently, Flaherty was designated for assignment. He had taken only 32 plate appearances over the preceding two months.
Despite his offensive struggles, Flaherty will “likely” be added back to the MLB roster at some point in September, Burns tweets. Of course, that would still require the Atlanta organization to open a 40-man spot, so other considerations could still intervene. Presumably, if he does make it back to the majors this season, Flaherty will see occasional time as a defensive and baserunning replacement.
Nationals Pulled Mark Reynolds Off Revocable Waivers Following Claim By Braves
The Nationals placed first baseman Mark Reynolds on revocable trade waivers earlier this week but pulled him back after he was claimed by the Braves, reports Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter). That Reynolds has already been pulled off waivers makes him unlikely to change hands at this point. While the Nats could try to pass him through waivers a second time, those waivers would no longer be revocable.
Reynolds, 35, is hitting .255/.335/.497 with 11 home runs in 172 plate appearances with the Nats after signing a minor league deal back on April 17. He eventually played his way onto the MLB roster and has rewarded the organization’s minimal investment of a $1MM base salary with a solid season of production — largely in a bench role.
Reynolds’ minimal salary gave the Nationals little reason to let go of him as a means of cost savings — he’s owed about $209K more as of this writing — and the Nats may simply not have been keen on helping the chances of a division rival in this manner. While the Nats’ playoff hopes are obviously slim, at best, they’re still technically within striking distance of the Braves at eight games out of first place. It’s extremely unlikely that they’ll overcome that deficit, but teams have erased larger leads with less time to play in the past. Beyond that, fan reaction to simply letting Reynolds go to a division rival in exchange for a mere couple hundred thousand dollars would surely have been quite negative.
Even if Reynolds is extremely likely to stay put, though, the Nationals may not yet be done dealing. The Washington Post’s Jorge Castillo reported earlier today that Gio Gonzalez, Matt Wieters and Ryan Zimmerman have cleared waivers. Wieters and especially Zimmerman may be long shots as trade pieces, but Gonzalez could be viewed as a potential rotation option for a contender down the stretch. It also remains to be seen whether the Nationals will part with Kelvin Herrera, who is a free agent at season’s end and will not be receiving a qualifying offer.
Braves Select Chris Stewart
The Braves announced today that they’ve selected the contract of veteran backstop Chris Stewart. Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution first indicated that the veteran backstop was returning to the Majors (via Twitter). Stewart has been playing at Triple-A since being outrighted earlier this season.
The reason for the promotion seems to be an injury to catcher Kurt Suzuki, which he sustained last night upon being hit on the elbow/triceps area by a fastball from Pirates righty Clay Holmes. Fortunately, the Atlanta organization announced earlier today that Suzuki was cleared of a fracture and has been diagnosed only with a left triceps contusion. Whether a stint on the DL will be required is not yet known, but if one is deemed necessary, it doesn’t seem that it’ll come today. Outfielder Michael Reed was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett to open roster space for Stewart’s return.
Stewart, 36, rarely strikes out but has never hit much in the majors and has struggled in particular since the start of the 2016 season. He’s slashing only .209/.287/.269 this year in 152 Triple-A plate appearances with Gwinnett. Still, Stewart is regarded as a sturdy, defensive-minded reserve option to have on hand and will be trusted to support Tyler Flowers as needed while Suzuki is unavailable. He’s gone 10-for-27 (37 percent) in halting stolen bases at the Triple-A level this season and has a solid track record in terms of pitch framing.
Braves Select Bryse Wilson, Designate Ryan Flaherty, Outright Chad Bell
The Braves have selected the contract of right-hander Bryse Wilson from Triple-A Gwinnett, tweets David O’Brien of The Athletic. The Braves have since announced that he’ll start tonight’s game in place of Kevin Gausman, who, along with the rest of the Atlanta rotation, has had his start pushed back a day (Twitter link via O’Brien).
While the Braves only needed to make a 25-man roster move to accommodate Wilson’s promotion, they announced pair of corresponding 40-man moves: infielder Ryan Flaherty has been designated for assignment, while left-hander Chad Bell has been outrighted off the 40-man roster.
Wilson, 20, opened the 2018 season at Class-A Advanced but has skyrocketed through Atlanta’s system, topping out in Triple-A recently. The hard-throwing righty was the organization’s fourth-round pick in 2016 and currently ranks 13th in a deep Braves farm system, per the midseason prospect update from Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com.
Wilson’s meteoric rise to the Majors began with 26 2/3 innings of 0.34 ERA ball in High-A to open the season. Those five starts earned him a promotion to Double-A Mississippi, where he posted a 3.97 ERA through 77 innings but turned in a much more impressive 2.77 FIP / 3.33 xFIP on the strength of 10.4 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 0.35 HR/9 and a 44 percent ground-ball rate. He’s only made three starts in Triple-A so far, and while he had mixed results in his first two outings, his dominance against the Reds’ top affiliate last week landed him second on Baseball America’s Prospect Hot Sheet this week. BA’s J.J. Cooper noted that Wilson threw eight innings of one-hit ball without issuing a walk, facing the minimum number of hitters and racking up 13 strikeouts.
Remarkably, Wilson will join Mike Soroka, Kolby Allard and Ronald Acuna as prospects to debut in Atlanta before their 20th birthday this season. He draws praise for a fastball that sits 93-95 mph and can touch 97 mph with plenty of sink, as well as a slider and changeup that each have average or better potential.
Flaherty, 32, opened the season on a blistering hot streak for the Braves, but that was clearly unlikely to be sustained. The longtime Orioles utilityman managed a .315/.411/.435 slash through his first 107 plate appearance, but that production was buoyed by a .397 BABIP that was inevitably bound to regress. That has indeed been the case, as Flaherty has stumbled to catastrophic levels, going just 5-for-61 since mid-May while seeing his playing time evaporate.
Bell, meanwhile, has a 5.44 ERA In 41 1/3 innings for the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate after being claimed off waivers back in mid-May. Bell hasn’t had any issues missing bats (9.4 K/9), nor has he been especially generous in terms of yielding walks (2.6 BB/9) or home runs (0.65 HR/9). He has, however, been plagued by a .385 BABIP and a 64.7 percent strand rate. While fielding-independent pitching metrics are generally bullish on his work in Gwinnett, he went unclaimed on waivers and will remain with the Braves without occupying a 40-man spot.