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The Angels’ Top Rental Trade Chip

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The Angels have had another disappointing first half, one that sets them up as deadline sellers. After a blistering April, they’ve had losing records in each of the following three months. They have a woeful 11-26 mark going back to the start of June, and at 11 games under .500, there’s little hope of playing themselves back into contention before the August 2 trade deadline.

That makes it all but certain general manager Perry Minasian and his staff will field offers on some shorter-term contracts. They’re unlikely to tear things down and move notable players controllable into 2023, but there’s little reason not to try to deal veterans ticketed for free agency at the end of this season.

Of the Halos six rental players, Noah Syndergaard stands out as by far the most interesting. There will perhaps be modest  interest in Matt Duffy, Kurt Suzuki or Jonathan Villar. Archie Bradley is on the 60-day IL and ineligible to return until well after the deadline. The Halos seemed likely to find a taker for Michael Lorenzen, but a trip to the injured list last week seems to diminish those chances. Syndergaard, however, is likely to be a target for contenders looking for short-term rotation help.

The Angels signed the right-hander to a one-year, $21MM guarantee last offseason. The Halos surrendered a draft choice to woo him away from the Mets, hoping he’d solidify a rotation that had dealt repeated hits to the club’s chances of contending in years past. There was an obvious risk in investing in a pitcher who’d made just one big league appearance since 2019 due to March 2020 Tommy John surgery, but the Halos gambled he’d rediscover his pre-injury form.

That hasn’t come to pass, although Syndergaard has been solid overall. He’s avoided the injured list and taken the ball 13 times as part of the Angels six-man rotation. He’s allowed three or fewer runs in 10 of those appearances, generally working into the middle innings and keeping the club in games. Syndergaard hasn’t resembled his top-of-the-rotation peak in Queens, but he carries a season-long 3.84 ERA with fielding-independent numbers (4.10 SIERA, 3.83 FIP) that generally align with the run prevention.

Syndergaard entered the majors as one of baseball’s most electrifying arms. For his first few seasons, his fastball sat in the upper-90s and routinely crested triple-digits, earning him the ’Thor’ moniker for his appearance and on-mound presence. In each of his first two years, he punched out nearly 30% of opponents while inducing ground-balls at a quality clip. Paired with consistently low walk totals and an ability to handle hitters from both sides of the plate, he looked like a prototypical ace. Through the end of the 2017 campaign, he carried a sparkling 2.89 career ERA.

After losing much of the 2017 season to a lat tear, however, Syndergaard settled in as more of a high-end mid-rotation starter. His formerly elite swing-and-miss numbers took a slight step back, and he posted a 3.73 ERA between 2018-19. Then came the ill-timed UCL tear that cost him basically all of his final two seasons as a Met and positioned him to take a one-year deal during his first trip through free agency.

While Syndergaard has stayed healthy for his first post-TJS season, he’s lost quite a bit of life on his arsenal. The 29-year-old is averaging around 94 MPH on both his four-seam and sinker — solid velocity, but nowhere near his pre-surgery levels. He’s essentially scrapped the upper-80s cutter-slider he featured in New York for a low-80s slider with a bit more depth. The only of Syndergaard’s offspeed pitches generating strong swing-and-miss rates is his curveball. He’s used that offering so infrequently the huge whiff rate is likely more a reflection of hitters being kept off-balance than an indication that is an overpowering pitch on its own.

Not surprisingly, Syndergaard’s strikeout and swing-and-miss numbers have dropped as his stuff has slowed down. This season’s 18.8% strikeout rate is easily a career-low, as is his 10.9% swinging strike percentage. The league is making a bit more contact this year than it has it recent seasons, but Syndergaard’s strikeout rate is a couple points below the 21.1% average for starting pitchers. His swinging strike number is marginally above the 10.6% league mark.

Rather than overpowering hitters, the seven-year veteran is succeeding on the strength of excellent control and a fairly balanced arsenal. He’s turned to each of his four-seam, sinker, changeup and slider between 20% and 27% of the time. He’s willing to use all of his secondaries against batters from both sides of the plate. Incongruous as it may be with his reputation, Syndergaard now looks the part of a pitchability mid-rotation arm. No single pitch in his 2022 repertoire has been jaw-dropping, but he’s varying his pitch mix and filling up the strike zone to generally keep hitters off the bases. Opponents have a .245/.292/.390 line in 292 plate appearances.

This version of Syndergaard wouldn’t be as impactful an addition as Luis Castillo, Frankie Montas or even Tyler Mahle. There’ll be plenty of contenders that don’t land any of that group, though, and Syndergaard represents a solid fallback option. He’d still be one of the five best starting pitchers on the majority of clubs. It’s unlikely anyone eyes the former All-Star as a Game One playoff starter, but there’s always a market for solid mid-rotation production. Perhaps some teams will be concerned about the extent of the workload he could shoulder coming off two lost seasons, but his impending free agency reduces any long-term injury concerns for a deadline buyer.

While an acquiring club wouldn’t be on the hook for any commitments beyond 2022, Syndergaard would be a fairly expensive add for the stretch run. He’ll be owed a bit more than $7.5MM from deadline day onwards, a tab that could deter lower-budget teams or those already in luxury tax territory. That’s a fair bit of money for clubs to take on midseason, but the Angels could retain some salary to improve their prospect return.

It stands to reason the Halos will be motivated to make a deal, particularly if they’re able to land an upper minors infield or rotation option who could contribute in 2023 when the team takes another shot at contending. It’s unclear precisely how draft pick compensation for free agents might work next offseason — the existence of the qualifying offer is pending the league’s and union’s negotiations on an international draft — but Syndergaard would be ineligible for a QO because he received one from the Mets last year. Were the Angels to keep him all season, they’d likely receive no compensation if he walks in free agency.

Syndergaard won’t be as in-demand a trade target as the controllable starters (Castillo, Montas and Mahle) who figure to dominate headlines over the next three weeks. Yet he’s a strong candidate to change uniforms, and he’d be a more notable acquisition than other rentals like José Quintana and Chad Kuhl for clubs willing to assume some of his remaining salary. He’s no longer the Thor of old, but Syndergaard is still a strong option for teams on the hunt for mid-rotation help.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Luis Castillo Drawing Widespread Interest; Reds Not Close To Any Deal

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July 12: The Reds aren’t close to any trades as of this morning, tweets Jim Bowden of The Athletic, who adds that “most” contending clubs have checked in on Cincinnati. That includes both the Cardinals and the Mariners, who have not been prominently linked to Castillo until this point (but who both make logical sense as a potential landing spot).

July 11: The Dodgers and Reds have had preliminary talks about Cincinnati starter Luis Castillo, reports Jon Morosi of MLB.com (Twitter link). Los Angeles joins a growing list of contenders known to be in contact with the Reds front office.

Castillo is one of the sport’s most obvious trade candidates, placing fourth on MLBTR’s Top 50 list last week. The right-hander is arbitration-eligible through 2023, but Cincinnati has no hope of competing this season. With the opportunity to market two possible postseason pushes to contenders, Castillo’s value around the league will never be higher than it is this summer. Teams like the Twins, Padres, Mets, Yankees, and Blue Jays have all been reported to have inquired in recent weeks. That’s presumably not an exhaustive list, as virtually every contender is likely to check in with Cincinnati general manager Nick Krall and his staff.

The 29-year-old Castillo carries a personal-best 2.92 ERA through his first 12 starts of the season. He’s been in peak form of late, tossing 20 innings of three-run ball with 25 strikeouts and five walks over his past three outings. Of course, Castillo has a multi-year track record as one of the sport’s better pitchers. He’s allowed fewer than four earned runs per nine innings in five of his six big league campaigns. One of the game’s hardest throwers, he typically blends a rare combination of swing-and-miss and ground-ball upside. This season’s respective 25.3% strikeout rate and 49.7% grounder percentage are both down a bit from his best levels, but each remains decidedly above-average.

Castillo missed the first month of this season with shoulder soreness. That set him off on a less than ideal start, but he’s rounded into form over the past few weeks. Although his fastball velocity was down a tick in May, he’s built arm strength as the season has worn on. According to Statcast, Castillo has averaged 97.7 MPH on his four-seam and 97.1 MPH on his sinker through his two starts this month. That’s in line with or better than last year’s respective 97.1 MPH and 97.3 MPH season averages, seemingly putting away any concerns clubs might’ve had stemming from his early-season injury.

Alongside teammate Tyler Mahle and A’s hurler Frankie Montas, Castillo is one of three high-octane controllable starters widely expected to be available at the deadline. Mahle is on the 15-day injured list with a shoulder strain, while Montas is dealing with some shoulder inflammation. Mahle has indicated he expects to be reinstated well in advance of the August 2 deadline, though, and the A’s remain hopeful that Montas can avoid the IL entirely and start this week (link via Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle). Even if all three pitchers are healthy, one could argue for Castillo to land the strongest return based on his track record and recent dominance.

The Reds are understandably setting their sights high in discussions. Jon Heyman of the New York reports that Cincinnati has sought one of Anthony Volpe or Oswald Peraza as a headliner in talks with the Yankees. Each player is a top shortstop prospect, with Volpe topping the Yankees’ farm rankings and placing among the 15 best farmhands leaguewide at each of Baseball America, FanGraphs, ESPN and the Athletic heading into the 2022 season. Peraza is generally regarded as the second or third-best player in the New York system; he landed second in the organization and 79th overall on BA’s recent Top 100 update.

It’s hard to envision New York parting with Volpe in any trade, but a player of Peraza’s caliber is a reasonable starting point for the Cincinnati front office. The Blue Jays sent the Twins two prospects generally regarded as top 100 talents (Austin Martin and Simeon Woods-Richardson) for a year and a half of José Berríos’ services last summer. Martin was a somewhat divisive player but just a season removed from being drafted fifth and ranked by most outlets as a top 50 overall talent at the time of the deal.

Peraza isn’t having a great season offensively in Triple-A (.242/.313/.411 through 275 plate appearances), but he’s young for the level, having just turned 22. He’s viewed as a strong defensive player, and the Yankees’ belief in he and Volpe was cited frequently as a reason for the club declining to aggressively pursue the big-ticket free agent shortstops available last winter.

Whether or not the Yankees are willing to entertain the possibility of putting Peraza in a Castillo trade, the lofty reported ask reflects the Reds’ leverage in dangling an arm of his caliber. They’ll certainly look towards the upper ranks of the farm systems of other clubs inquiring over the next few weeks. In all likelihood, talks with myriad teams will continue until the days immediately preceding the deadline and perhaps into August 2 itself.

Brewers Release David Dahl

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The Brewers announced that outfielder David Dahl has been released from his minor league contract. The 28-year-old heads back to free agency in search of another opportunity elsewhere.

Selected by the Rockies with the #10 overall pick a decade ago, Dahl developed into one of the sport’s top prospects. He reached the majors in 2016 and hit at an above-average level (even after accounting for Coors Field) for his first few seasons. Various injuries limited him to 239 MLB games through the end of the 2019 campaign, but the lefty-swinging Dahl compiled a strong .297/.346/.521 line when he was healthy enough to take the field.

That seemed to position him as a key piece of Colorado’s long-term future, but the Rox made the surprising decision to cut bait after the 2020 season. Dahl had a woeful 24-game stretch and missed extended chunks of action with back and shoulder injuries that year. The Colorado front office nevertheless came under some fire for not retaining him for an arbitration salary that would’ve still been fairly modest.

The Rangers signed Dahl that offseason, buying low on a $2.7MM guarantee. Texas hoped they’d unearth a long-term outfield contributor, but he instead continued to scuffle. Dahl hit only .210/.247/.322 across 220 plate appearances, seeing his power numbers take a dramatic step back. Texas released him last August, and Milwaukee brought him aboard on a multi-year minor league deal last summer.

Dahl has spent the past year with the Brewers’ top affiliate in Nashville. He’s shown well at the dish, hitting .327/.375/.536 in 31 games down the stretch last season. He’s had another quality performance this year, posting a .294/.357/.468 mark with nine round-trippers in 280 trips to the plate. Milwaukee has Christian Yelich and Hunter Renfroe as their primary corner outfielders, leaving them without a clear path to at-bats for Dahl in the outfield. Center field has been a problem area, but Dahl has played almost exclusively in right field with Nashville.

Milwaukee could’ve given him a look at designated hitter, but they’ve stuck with righty-hitting veteran Andrew McCutchen in that role. Instead, the Brewers will let Dahl search for other opportunities. Between his prospect pedigree, strong minor league performance and history of big league success, he shouldn’t have much problem latching on somewhere else on a minor league pact.

Cardinals Release Nick Wittgren

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The Cardinals have released reliever Nick Wittgren, tweets Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The veteran will head back to the open market upon clearing waivers.

St. Louis signed Wittgren to a one-year contract during Spring Training that guaranteed him $1.2MM. He’ll receive the remainder of that salary, with the Cards on the hook for the tab. A club that signs the righty will only be responsible for the prorated portion of the $700K league minimum for any time he spends on their MLB roster. That figure would be subtracted from the Cardinals obligations.

Wittgren, 31, appeared in 29 games for St. Louis. He tossed a matching number of innings, posting a disappointing 5.90 ERA while striking out a career-low 12.7% of opponents. That was a marked drop relative to the league average 23.6% mark he posted for Cleveland last season, and a particularly stark decline from his personal-best 28.6% during the truncated 2020 campaign. Wittgren demonstrated continued strong control, but the downturn in swing-and-miss led the Cardinals to go in a different direction.

A seven-year MLB veteran, Wittgren has also suited up with the Marlins and Indians during his career. He’s allowed just under four earned runs per nine over 300 1/3 innings, posting slightly below-average strikeout and grounder rates but working as a generally durable and reliable middle innings arm. He’ll surely get another opportunity elsewhere, although it’s likely to be of the minor league variety given his slow start in 2022.

Should The Orioles Rethink Their Trade Deadline Approach?

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Few teams in baseball are playing as well as the Orioles lately. That’s not what anyone would have imagined entering the season or as recently as a couple weeks ago. As the calendar flipped to July, Baltimore was 35-43 and separated by six teams in the American League Wild Card standings. They were among the handful most clear-cut deadline sellers in the sport. Six Baltimore players were placed among MLBTR’s Top 50 trade candidates last Friday.

Fast forward just a few days, and the O’s have done everything in their power to make the front office think twice about selling. They’ve rattled off successive sweeps of the Rangers and Angels and carry an eight-game win streak. Pair that with a dreadful past week and a half for teams like the Blue Jays and Guardians — who were at or near the top of the Wild Card heap — and Baltimore has closed a stunning amount of ground. They head into play Monday two back of the final AL playoff spot, which is currently shared by the Mariners and Jays. They’ll have a chance to climb back to .500 tomorrow evening against the Cubs.

The Orioles aren’t going to continue winning indefinitely, of course. Their successive sweeps came against two below-average teams, and the Angels in particular have been in an absolute tailspin. Yet their solid play hasn’t been confined just to the past week and a half. They’re 22-14 since the start of June, outscoring opponents by 29 runs (170-141) over that stretch. That’s an arbitrary cutoff, and one can’t dismiss a 7-14 April that buried them in the standings right out of the gate. Yet this has at least been the best stretch of play for the franchise since their rebuild began in 2018, and they’ve gotten themselves into the playoff picture.

Will that be enough to deter the front office from moving some players off the roster for future talent? General manager Mike Elias struck a cautious tone speaking with reporters last week (link via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com). “Everything that I do or that we do has tradeoffs, and all I can say is, we do everything from a very global, a very thoughtful perspective about what is the right thing to do for the health of the Orioles’ franchise,” Elias said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m saying we’re taking a look at everything as we make these decisions and we’ll see what happens.”

The front office certainly doesn’t seem ready to declare the rebuild over and part with high-end talent to add pieces for the 2022 stretch run. Each of FanGraphs and Baseball Reference has the club’s odds of reaching the playoffs below 10%. Even as they’ve played their way back into the picture, it’s fair to wonder whether the roster — the starting rotation especially — can hold up for another two and a half months. Few would argue the Orioles are a better team than the Blue Jays, Mariners, Rays or Red Sox, yet they’ll have to outplay multiple members of that group (and hold off a handful of teams just behind them) to get to the playoffs. Even were they to add some rotation help and/or upgrade on any of Jorge Mateo, Ramón Urías or Rougned Odor around the infield, the O’s would remain postseason longshots.

If Elias and his staff aren’t likely to pivot and aggressively add before the deadline, there’s still room for them to stay the course without selling. By and large, the O’s current core can be kept around beyond this season. Baltimore has just three impending free agents on the roster. Odor and backup catcher Robinson Chirinos aren’t going to attract trade interest anyhow, meaning the only key rental for the O’s to decide upon is Trey Mancini. (His deal technically contains a $10MM mutual option for 2023, but he’s likely to decline that and seek a multi-year free agent deal).

Mancini is having a good season, carrying a .281/.353/.420 line across 331 plate appearances. He’d attract a decent amount of interest as one of the better rental bats available were the Orioles to shop him over the next few weeks. Still, as an impending free agent with defensive limitations, he won’t bring back an eye-popping return. Baltimore almost certainly wouldn’t recoup a prospect generally regarded as a top 100 caliber player in a deal. In all likelihood, they’d land a couple of players most evaluators view as middle-tier prospects from another organization.

A Mancini trade would add talent to an already-deep farm system, but would there be enough appeal to pull the trigger if the Orioles remain within three or four games of a Wild Card spot by the August 2 deadline? In addition to his on-field value, the 30-year-old first baseman is generally regarded as a strong clubhouse presence. He’s a fan favorite, and his overcoming a 2020 battle with colon cancer makes him one of the sport’s easiest players to support. Dealing Mancini if the Orioles were 10+ games back would’ve been unpopular with some segment of the fanbase; trading him if the team continues playing well and remains on the fringes of contention would be even more so. That’d be equally true in the clubhouse.

Baltimore’s highest-value assets are under a longer window of club control. Outfielders Cedric Mullins and Austin Hays can be kept around through 2025. They looked unlikely to change hands no matter how this season’s first half went, and that’s all the more true with the club showing signs of life. Closer Jorge López could be more likely to move given the inherent volatility with relief pitching, but he’s arbitration-eligible through 2024. That’s also true of corner outfielder Anthony Santander, who’d have more modest interest than any of Mullins, Hays or López given his defensive shortcomings and up-and-down career track record at the dish.

Things should get harder for the O’s over the next few weeks. After a two-game set with Chicago, they’ll split their next ten games between the Rays (seven) and Yankees (three). Their final series of July will be in Cincinnati, followed by one pre-deadline matchup with Texas. Drop ten or 11 of those contests, and the O’s probably end up as sellers, at least parting with Mancini. If they can go 8-8 or 9-7 over that stretch, though, Elias and his staff will have to decide on a team hovering around .500 and likely within shouting distance of a playoff spot for the first time in six years.

The front office is certainly going to remain mindful of the long-term outlook. They’re not going to suddenly jump into the Luis Castillo or Frankie Montas bidding, although perhaps they could entertain the idea of adding a lower-impact starter with a lengthier window of remaining control. Yet the team has played well enough of late to give themselves a shot to avoid subtractions. Much will depend on how they play over the next three weeks, but the Orioles may not be as motivated to deal as they’d seemed just a few days ago. That’s a credit to their surprisingly strong play over the past month-plus. The team has given themselves a shot to make the front office rethink their deadline outlook, and the next 15 games should be the franchise’s most important in a half-decade.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Reds Outright Robert Dugger

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10:17PM: Dugger accepted the assignment to Triple-A, Bobby Nightengale reports (Twitter link).

TODAY, 3:21PM: Dugger cleared waivers and has been outrighted to the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate, according to C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic (Twitter link).  It isn’t yet known if Dugger will accept the assignment or opt for free agency.

JULY 8: The Reds have designated reliever Robert Dugger for assignment, tweets Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The move clears an active roster spot for closer Alexis Diaz, who has been activated from the 15-day injured list.

This DFA is the latest step in what has become a fairly predictable pattern for the right-hander. This is the fourth time he has been designated for assignment in just over two months, each time after a fairly short stay in the big leagues. He started the year by signing a minor league deal with the Rays. He had his contract selected on May 1 and threw 5 1/3 innings of mop-up duty. After his first DFA of the year, he was claimed off waivers by the Reds. They, too, gave him a mop-up assignment, with Dugger getting to pitch for another three innings before his second DFA. He cleared waivers, was outrighted and then re-selected to the big league team, but got his third DFA without making an appearance. Selected yet again yesterday, Dugger tossed another 3 2/3 innings before this fourth DFA.

In total, he’s now thrown 12 MLB innings thus far this season, faring well in that small sample. He has a 4.50 ERA, 32.7% strikeout rate, 5.8% walk rate and 37.5% ground ball rate. Despite those decent results, Dugger hasn’t been granted anything beyond a very brief stay on a big league roster. Since he is out of options, the only way to replace him with a fresh arm is to send him back out into DFA limbo each time. His numbers in the minors this year aren’t quite as impressive, as he has a 5.06 ERA with a 17.6% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate through 48 Triple-A frames.

The Reds will have a week to trade him, pass him through outright waivers or release him. He will have the right to reject an outright assignment due to the fact that he has previously been outrighted in his career. But based on precedent, it’s possible that he clears waivers and accepts another outright assignment like he’s already done a couple of times this year.

Red Sox Release Hansel Robles

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July 9: Boston has released Robles, per Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). He is now a free agent.

July 5: The Red Sox are designating reliever Hansel Robles for assignment, reports Sean McAdam of Boston Sports Journal. The move frees an active roster spot for pitching prospect Brayan Bello, who will be recalled to make his major league debut tomorrow against the Rays. Boston’s 40-man roster tally will drop to 39.

Originally acquired from the Twins at last summer’s deadline, Robles spent the past couple months of the 2021 season in Boston. Despite erratic control, he was a generally serviceable late-game arm for manager Alex Cora. Through 25 innings, Robles posted a 3.60 ERA while striking out more than 30% of batters faced. After an offseason spent lingering on the open market, the right-hander returned to the organization on a minor league deal in Spring Training.

Robles made Boston’s Opening Day roster, locking in a $2.25MM salary in the process. He’s posting one of the worst seasons of his career, though, struggling to a 5.84 ERA across 24 2/3 frames. Robles has continued to battle spotty control, walking 12.6% of opponents. Yet the swing-and-miss promise he showed late last season has virtually evaporated, as he’s punched out under 19% of batters faced. Robles has also been tagged for five home runs, an issue with which he’s struggled in the past given his fly-ball propensity.

The 2022 season has generally been disappointing, and the extent of his struggles has apparently led the Sox to move on. The 31-year-old does have plenty of big league success on his resume, however. He posted a sub-4.00 ERA in four of his first five big league campaigns, including a 2.48 mark through 72 2/3 innings with the 2019 Angels. Before this season, Robles had generated swinging strikes and punchouts at an average or better clip in virtually every year of his career (aside from a downturn with the Mets in 2017). He still possess plenty of arm strength, averaging 96 MPH on his heater and just under 89 MPH on the slider that serves as his primary secondary pitch.

Robles’ combination of pre-2022 body of work and extant arm strength will surely attract the interest of other teams, although that’s likely to come after he clears waivers. He’s still due around half of this season’s salary (a bit north of $1MM). Any team that claims him off waivers would assume the remainder of that obligation, a development that seems unlikely given his underperformance through the first three months of the year.

If he clears waivers, Robles would have the right to refuse a minor league assignment in favor of free agency while still collecting the remainder of his salary. (That’s afforded under the CBA to outrighted players with five-plus years of MLB service time). At that point, another team could add him for just the prorated portion of the league minimum for any time spent in the big leagues. The Red Sox would remain on the hook for the rest of the sum.

Jurickson Profar Diagnosed With Concussion, Neck Strain

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Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar has been diagnosed with a concussion and cervical neck strain, the club announced. He suffered the nasty injury in the fifth inning of last night’s win over the Giants. Tommy La Stella lofted a fly ball into shallow left-center field. Profar, playing left field, came in on the ball while shortstop C.J. Abrams tracked it over his shoulder.

The two players collided, and Abrams’ knee struck Profar underneath the chin. Trainers stabilized Profar’s neck and took him off the field on a cart. He was transferred to a local hospital for further evaluation. According to the team, he was released last night and has been recovering at home.

It’s a scary situation, one in which San Diego will no doubt prioritize Profar’s long-term health. The club hasn’t announced any sort of timetable for his return, though he seems likely to be placed on the seven-day concussion injured list shortly.

Profar has gotten the start in left field for 78 of the Friars’ 84 games. He’s playing at arguably a career-best level, carrying a .242/.343/.397 line with eight home runs across 361 plate appearances.

Latest On Pirates’ Trade Possibilities

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Few players who could plausibly be moved this summer would be as impactful a pickup as Bryan Reynolds. The Pirates center fielder isn’t performing at quite his star level from last season, but he’s having another well above-average campaign. Through 335 plate appearances entering play Friday, Reynolds owns a .257/.337/.463 line with 15 home runs, 10 doubles and a trio of stolen bases.

Controllable for another three-plus seasons, there’d be no shortage of interest if the Bucs make him available over the coming weeks. Jon Heyman of the New York Post lists the Yankees, Marlins, Phillies, Padres and Mariners among the teams likely to gauge his availability. There are no surprises among that group, as all five are known to be in the hunt for outfield help and/or have made unsuccessful attempts to pry Reynolds away in the past.

New York has relied on Aaron Judge in center field to great results, but they’ve grown dissatisfied with the continued struggles of Joey Gallo and (to a lesser extent) Aaron Hicks in the corners. They could eye Reynolds either to plug directly into left field or as a center field option capable of kicking Judge back to right. Miami and Philadelphia have direct needs in center field and figure to inquire about various possibilities at the position; the Fish have been linked to Oakland’s Ramón Laureano as well.

San Diego has holes in both corner spots and has watched center fielder Trent Grisham flounder for most of the year. Seattle may have the most robust outfield of any of the reported Reynolds suitors, but Jarred Kelenic struggled enough to be optioned to Triple-A and they’ve not gotten the production they’d anticipated from Jesse Winker or Mitch Haniger this season (the latter on account of injuries).

The quintet, of course, would certainly be joined by other suitors if the Pirates actively shopped Reynolds. Pittsburgh, however, has set a justifiably lofty asking price both at last summer’s deadline and over the winter. That makes him a longshot to actually change hands, and Heyman notes in a separate piece that it remains “unlikely” the Bucs will find a compelling enough offer to make a move.

That may also be true of star closer David Bednar, whom Heyman floats as a possible trade candidate. One of five players the Pirates acquired in the January 2021 Joe Musgrove deal, Bednar has emerged as one of the sport’s best late-inning weapons. Since landing in Pittsburgh, the right-hander has posted a 2.26 ERA while holding opponents to a .187/.255/.321 line in just shy of 100 frames. That includes 39 innings of 2.31 ERA ball this season, with Bednar punching out more than a third of batters faced and likely to earn his first All-Star nod.

The 27-year-old comes with even more club control than Reynolds, as he’s slated to remain in Pittsburgh through 2026. Bednar won’t reach arbitration-eligibility until the 2024 campaign, so there’s no financial pressure for the Bucs to make a deal. Needless to say, they’d have to be blown away by a package to pull the trigger on a Bednar trade as well.

One player the Bucs are virtually assured of trading is starter José Quintana. The veteran southpaw is having a solid bounceback season after signing a $2MM free agent deal over the winter. He’s a sensible back-end rotation target for teams seeking pitching help, and the Bucs have already fielded hits from contenders. As an impeding free agent on a team that won’t come anywhere near the postseason, he’s as good a bet as any player in the league to change uniforms over the next few weeks.

Quintana suggested he’s not dwelling on the possibility of being dealt, saying he’s “(staying) focused on one start at a time” (link via Rob Biertempfel of the Athletic). He acknowledged a move was a possibility, but indicated he’d be open to returning to Pittsburgh in free agency next winter. “For sure, I want to come back here. But I think it’s too soon to talk about that. I want to keep my eyes focused on this season, one start at a time.” Nothing would preclude the Bucs from reengaging with Quintana’s representatives during the offseason if/when he’s dealt this month, but this season’s solid 3.33 ERA/3.96 SIERA make it likely he’ll land a loftier guarantee (and perhaps a two-year commitment) if he continues to pitch well down the stretch.

Juan Lagares Signs With KBO’s SSG Landers

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Free agent outfielder Juan Lagares has signed with the SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization, the team announced (h/t to Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News). The ACES client will be paid $495K for the remainder of the season.

It’s the first professional trip outside North America for Lagares, who has spent the past 16 years in the affiliated ranks. The 33-year-old has suited up with the Mets and Angels for 850 games in the major leagues. A Gold Glove caliber center fielder early in his career, he earned regular playing time on the strength of his glove for a good chunk of his stint in Queens.

Over the past few seasons, Lagares has settled in as a depth outfielder in the majors. His defensive metrics have tailed off and he’s posted well below-average numbers at the plate in each of the past two seasons. Lagares hit .236/.266/.372 through 327 plate appearances with the Halos last year. He returned on a minor league deal over the winter and earned another big league look in late May. After a disappointing 20-game showing, the Angels designated him for assignment last month. He cleared outright waivers and hit free agency, and he’ll now join a Landers team that has the KBO’s best record (52-26).

In a corresponding move, the Landers are releasing first baseman Kevin Cron. The former Diamondback spent the 2021 season in Japan and made the move to South Korea on a $750K contract last offseason. He’s struggled to a .222/.255/.420 line across 259 trips to the plate. While he’s hit 11 home runs and flashed some of the power potential he showed in the minor leagues, his on-base deficiencies mounted to the point the team decided to move on. The 29-year-old will be a free agent.

That also seems as if it’ll be true for veteran starter Iván Nova. Yoo adds the Landers are seeking a replacement for the 35-year-old righty, who signed for $900K over the winter. Nova has been tagged for a 6.50 ERA through 12 starts, only striking out 11% of the batters he’s faced. Yoo notes that various injuries could have played a part in that underperformance, but the club will look for an alternative nevertheless. An 11-year MLB veteran, Nova hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2020. KBO teams are permitted to carry two foreign-born pitchers on their rosters, so the Landers seem likely to look for a new option to pair with Wilmer Font, who is having an excellent season.

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