George Miller | MLB Trade Rumors

MLB Expected To Release Schedule On Monday

By George Miller | at July 4, 2020 5:11pm CDT

Major League Baseball is expected to officially release the 2020 regular season schedule on Monday, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

As we know, teams will play 60 regular season games against teams in their division and the geographic counterpart in the opposite league; that is, the AL East will play other AL East teams along with NL East clubs. The regional format of the season will no doubt offer an intriguing twist to an exceedingly abnormal year.

With the release of the schedule, Nightengale says, we’re expected to learn that the year will kick off on July 23 with two nationally-televised games: Yankees at Nationals and Giants at Dodgers, with the other 26 teams opening the season the following day. If those are indeed the first games of the year, it’d be hard to dream up a better way to welcome baseball back, with the matchup between the Yankees and Nats presumably pitting new Yankee Gerrit Cole against Max Scherzer. Not to mention one of the fiercest rivalries in baseball on the West Coast, it’d certainly be an attention-grabbing Opening Day.

We’ll eagerly await the release of the MLB schedule in the coming days, signaling the hopeful return of (safe) baseball on the horizon, as well as all the excitement, expectation, and intrigue that comes with it.

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Coronavirus

David Price Opts Out Of 2020 Season

By George Miller | at July 4, 2020 3:54pm CDT

Dodgers left-hander David Price announced that he will not play during the 2020 season via a post on his Instagram page, as first reported by Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe. Price becomes the highest-profile player to opt out of this year’s campaign, joining the likes of Ian Desmond and Ryan Zimmerman, with others likely yet to come.

The Dodgers acquired Price, 34, in the February blockbuster trade that also sent Mookie Betts to Los Angeles. He was set to embark on his first year in Los Angeles after a stint with the Red Sox that included a memorable postseason run culminating in a World Series title. However, with Price choosing not to play this year, the trade certainly looks a bit bleaker from the Dodgers’ point of view. Whereas the team thought it would get at least a whole year with Betts in the lineup and Price in the rotation, it’s looking increasingly likely that the pair will not play a game together in Los Angeles, with Betts set to reach free agency at season’s end.

By choosing not to play this year, Price will forfeit his prorated 2020 salary, which would have been roughly $11.9MM for a 60-game season. He will remain under contract with the Dodgers for two more years, valued at $64MM total. It’s worth mentioning that, with the Red Sox agreeing to shoulder half of Price’s $32MM salary for this year, Boston will also save nearly $6MM this season.

From a baseball perspective, Price’s absence will certainly be detrimental to the Dodgers’ title aspirations in 2020. With no Price in the rotation, expect to see Ross Stripling or Dustin May bumped into a regular starting role. The Dodgers have enviable depth in their starting pitching core, so they’re uniquely well-positioned to work around decisions like Price’s: Between Stripling, May, and Tony Gonsolin, the Dodgers have a host of young starters who can share the load in the rotation.

In the statement Price posted to social media, he says that he’s “decided it is in the best interest of my heath and my family’s health for me to not play this season.” His concerns are no doubt shared by plenty of players across baseball, with the Angels’ Mike Trout expressing a similar sentiment yesterday. We’ll see just how many players choose to forego the season out of concern over the coronavirus, but it’s almost certain the Price won’t be the last big name to do so.

The Dodgers, for their part, had the following to say regarding Price’s decision:

The Dodgers fully support David’s decision to sit out the 2020 season. We have been in constant contact with David and we understand how much this deliberation weighed on him and his family. We know he’ll be rooting hard for the club every day and look forward to having him back with us in 2021.

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Los Angeles Dodgers Newsstand Transactions David Price

Red Sox Sign RHP Caleb Simpson

By George Miller | at July 4, 2020 3:12pm CDT

The Red Sox have signed right-handed reliever Caleb Simpson and added him to their 60-man player pool, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com. His addition comes not long after the Red Sox revealed that two relievers, Darwinzon Hernandez and Josh Taylor, have tested positive for COVID-19.

Simpson, 28, had spent his entire career in the Giants’ minor-league system before earning a chance with the Cubs as a non-roster invite during this year’s Spring Training.

Last season, Simpson reached Double-A with the Giants’ affiliate, pitching 29 1/3 innings and posting a solid 2.45 ERA. Evidently, he’s got impressive stuff in his arsenal, striking out 41 batters—good for a 12.6 K/9 rate.

However, as is the case with many pitchers of Simpson’s ilk, control and precision has been an issue at times: those 41 strikeouts were accompanied by 18 walks. In Spring Training this year, Simpson walked 8 batters in 4 2/3 innings of work. To be sure, there’s some potential here, and the Red Sox will hope they can hone in Simpson’s mechanics and consistency as he strives to break into the Majors.

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Two Red Sox Players Test Positive For Coronavirus

By George Miller | at July 4, 2020 1:55pm CDT

The Red Sox have announced that left-handed pitchers Darwinzon Hernandez and Josh Taylor have both tested positive for COVID-19, MLB.com’s Ian Browne was among those to report. Taylor’s positive test came during the intake at Red Sox camp, whereas Hernandez stayed at home. Both players will be quarantined and unable to return to the team until they’ve tested negative twice.

Evidently, both players gave the team permission to reveal their identities as the players who received positive test results. Boston skipper Ron Roenicke wouldn’t say whether Taylor and Hernandez were exhibiting symptoms, which could alter their timeline in returning to the diamond.

Fellow Red Sox lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, who has abstained from reporting to Boston, is awaiting test results after coming into contact with a person who may have contracted the virus.

Both Hernandez and Taylor figure to be important pieces in the Boston bullpen this year, and there’s a considerable chance that the Sox will have to start the season without them. The two lefties each got their first foray into the big leagues last year, with Hernandez tossing more than 30 innings for Boston and Taylor tallying almost 50. Their roles this year might have been amplified, with relatively limited left-handed options in the bullpen mix for the Red Sox. Josh Osich is the other lefty reliever in the Boston 60-man player pool.

Clearly, though, the primary focus will be on the health and recovery of the Red Sox pitchers, and we wish them a quick and orderly return to health. We’ll hope to see Hernandez and Taylor on the mound and in good health at Fenway Park in the near future.

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Reds’ Blake Trahan Retires

By George Miller | at June 28, 2020 6:30pm CDT

Reds shortstop Blake Trahan was invited to participate in the Reds’ training camp but instead opted to retire, GM Nick Krall told reporters including C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic.

Just 26 years old, Trahan will close the books on his MLB career entering a season in which he figured to be a depth option for the Cincinnati infield mix. Though he didn’t appear in an MLB game last year, he very well could have gotten another crack at the Majors this year or next.

A 2015 third-round selection from UL-Lafayette, Trahan spent his entire career in the Reds organization, breaking into the big leagues in 2018. In 11 games at the Major League level, Trahan played all over the infield and notched a 3-for-14 batting line. In his minor league career spanning parts of five seasons, Trahan hit 14 home runs and stole 56 bases in 79 attempts.

We at MLB Trade Rumors wish Mr. Trahan all the best in his future endeavors, baseball-related or otherwise.

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Cincinnati Reds Transactions Blake Trahan

Cardinals Announce Initial 60-Man Player Pool

By George Miller and Anthony Franco | at June 28, 2020 5:59pm CDT

Today marks the deadline for teams to submit to Major League Baseball their initial spring training player pools, which can comprise up to 60 players. Players are not eligible to participate in either a spring training or regular season game until they are included in the pool. Teams are free to change the makeup of the pools as they see fit. However, players removed from a team’s 60-man (for reasons unrelated to injury, suspension, etc.) must be exposed to other organizations via trade or waivers.

Not all players within a team’s pool are ticketed for MLB playing time, of course. Most teams will include well-regarded but still far-off prospects as a means of getting them training reps with no intention of running them onto a major league diamond this season. A comprehensive review of 2020’s unique set of rules can be found here.

The Cardinals’ initial player pool consists of the following players.

Right-handed pitchers