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Blue Jays To Sign Brett Anderson

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The Blue Jays have agreed to a minor-league pact with free-agent lefty Brett Anderson, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Anderson still must undergo a physical before the deal is finalized.

Toronto has struggled to fill out its rotation, with injuries leaving openings and the team dealing away Francisco Liriano at the deadline. While a Wild Card run still seems generally unlikely, there’s enough of an opening that it certainly makes sense for the Jays to seek out some new options. And there could be a greater rotation need if the club ends up dealing Marco Estrada.

Anderson will represent a free-roll for Toronto. The Cubs promised the 29-year-old a $3.5MM payday for the current season and remain on the hook for the remainder after releasing him earlier this summer. Toronto would only need to pony up the league-minimum rate of pay for any time that Anderson spends on the MLB roster.

Both Anderson and the Jays will hope for a bounceback performance after Anderson struggled with Chicago. Back issues have again been a significant problem, and Anderson’s 22 MLB innings have not gone well. In that span, he was roughed up to the tune of 20 earned runs on 34 hits and a dozen walks.

There have been better days in the past, of course. For most of his career, Anderson has turned in quality results when healthy. As recently as 2015, he was able to spin 180 1/3 innings of 3.69 ERA ball, though that was his first full season since 2009 and ending up giving way to an injury-shortened 2016 campaign.

Should the southpaw earn his way back up to the majors, he ought to have enough time to showcase his form for possible winter suitors. While the injury history significantly limits his earning upside, Anderson could still conceivably score a MLB deal over the offseason if he’s able to turn in a handful of effective starts for Toronto.

Ian Kinsler Fails To Clear Revocable Waivers

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TODAY: Kinsler will remain with the Tigers, Heyman tweets, as no trade was worked out with the team that claimed him.

FRIDAY, 5:23pm: The Brewers did not win the claim for Kinsler, Heyman tweets. Milwaukee had reportedly shown interest in the veteran in recent weeks.

4:54pm: It seems unlikely a deal will be worked out, Heyman hints (Twitter links). The (still unknown) claiming team tried and failed to land Kinsler before the non-waiver deadline and hasn’t made headway since winning the claim. There’s “no optimism” of that changing, per the report.

3:20pm: Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler will not make it through revocable waivers, as an as-yet unidentified team has placed a claim on the veteran, per a report from Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). It’s not yet known whether Kinsler will end up in a new uniform, though.

Detroit still remains in control of Kinsler’s fate. It can work out a trade to send him to the claiming team, allow that club to take on his contract without compensation, or choose instead simply to revoke the waiver placement. In the last scenario, Kinsler would remain under control of the Tigers, but in effect he would no longer be able to be traded this year. (Detroit could still put him on waivers again, but this time would not have the option to revoke the placement.)

According to prior reports, Kinsler’s waiver period ended at noon CST yesterday. From that point on, any claiming team would have 48 hours to work out a deal, meaning we’re just past the halfway point in that period. It’s likely, then, that the Tigers are still working with the mystery team to resolve Kinsler’s fate.

The 35-year-old is a steady performer, even if he may not again match last year’s top-quality output. Kinsler has consistently rated as a premium defender at second and has long been an above-average hitter. That he’s now carries a below-average batting line on the year isn’t much of a concern given his track record, evidence of poor fortune in 2017 (.260 BABIP on a career-best 37.1% hard-hit rate), and the high floor that his glove creates.

That profile makes Kinsler’s contract seem like a fairly valuable asset. He’s earning $11MM this year — with something like $3MM left to go — and can be retained via club option for $12MM for 2018. (The $5MM buyout likely won’t come into play.) Plugging in a perennial first-division regular at that kind of rate would hold appeal to quite a few organizations; clearly, at least one has real interest. Whether or not the claiming team has significant enough interest to get the Tigers to bite on a deal, though, remains to be seen.

Unsigned Draft Pick Jack Conlon To Go To Texas A&M

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AUGUST 12: Rather than signing with the Giants, Conlon will head to Texas A&M, D1Baseball.com’s Kendall Rogers tweets. The Orioles originally drafted Conlon but failed to sign him over an issue with his physical. After he was granted free agency, he struck a deal with the Giants. That deal, however, has fallen through after his physical with the Giants turned up a different medical issue, as Rosenthal tweets.

JULY 17: The Giants have a deal in place with prospect Jack Conlon, pending a physical, per Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network (via Twitter). Conlon, a high-school righty who had been chosen by the Orioles in the fourth round of the recent Rule 4 draft, was granted free agency after failing to sign.

Baltimore determined that Conlon’s physical did not pass muster. When the team declined to offer him at least 40% of the slot value of the pick with which he was chosen — in this case, $409K — he qualified for the open market.

As Baseball America’s Hudson Belinsky recently explained, the Ballengee Group client was expected to command $1MM or more for a bonus. Conlon had committed to Texas A&M, and attending college remained at least a theoretical option prior to his agreement with the Giants.

Braves Acquire Kevin Franklin From Reds As PTBNL In Brandon Phillips Swap

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The Braves have received first baseman Kevin Franklin from the Reds, per an announcement from the Cincinnati organization. He represents the player to be named later from the February swap that sent infielder Brandon Phillips to Atlanta.

Franklin, 22, was taken in the second round of the 2013 draft. But he has yet to make much progress through the system. Indeed, he has topped out thus far at the High-A level, with tepid numbers all along the way. This year, Franklin has appeared in only 27 A-ball games, posting an ugly .179/.225/.238 batting line.

The trade remains something of an odd one, due largely to Phillips’s no-trade protection and sizable salary. Atlanta took on only $1MM of his salary in the trade, while sending pitchers Andrew McKirahan and Carlos Portuondo to the Reds. Neither of those hurlers has seen much action this year or shown a particular likelihood of contributing at the MLB level.

Mariners To Acquire Andrew Albers

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The Mariners have struck a deal with the Braves to acquire lefty Andrew Albers, per David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). Cash considerations will make up the return in the deal.

Albers had been working at Triple-A Gwinnett; now, he’ll help bolster the depth for the Mariners, who have suffered a variety of pitching injuries of late. The 31-year-old has limited experience in the majors, with just 17 total appearances  over parts of three seasons, but he has shown rather well this year at the highest level of the minors.

Through his 120 2/3 innings to date for Gwinnett — covering 17 starts as well as nine relief appearances — Albers carries a 2.61 ERA. He’s also carrying 8.6 K/9 against just 1.4 BB/9 as well as a solid 46.1% groundball rate.

Whether Seattle intends to bring Albers up in the near-term isn’t clear. At a minimum, he’ll provide the organization with a new depth piece as it filters arms up to account for the recent DL placements of David Phelps, Felix Hernandez, and James Paxton.

Mariners Place James Paxton On 10-Day DL

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The Mariners have placed top lefty James Paxton on the 10-day DL, per a club announcement. He is dealing with a strained left pectoral muscle. Young starter Andrew Moore has been recalled to take the open roster spot.

Paxton is expected to miss at least three weeks of action, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (via Twitter). That’s a significant blow for the M’s, who are already dealing with other pitching injuries while trying to edge out numerous other competitors for a Wild Card spot.

Losing Paxton, though, is about more than just the need to find a serviceable replacement. He has emerged as one of the game’s top starters this year, throwing 119 2/3 innings of 2.78 ERA ball with 10.4 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 to go with a 47.2% groundball rate. Seattle will go without the player who has easily been its best this year — at just about the worst possible time.

Unfortunately, there’ may not be much that the Mariners can do but dip into the farm and hope for the best. While the August trade market could still hold some possibilities, the best among them will be costly. Given the prior additions the club has made, it’s far from clear how much appetite there is to take on more salary or sacrifice additional prospects.

Latest On Bidding For Marlins

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FRIDAY: Jeter’s primary investor is Bruce Sherman, the former chairman of Private Capital Management, reports Heyman. Sherman was previously willing to chip in $200MM to aid Jeter, but he has since increased his commitment by an unknown amount. Jeter would only put $25MM toward a purchase, which could prove to be an obstacle for someone who wants to be the control person of an ownership group, notes Heyman. The retired shortstop’s faction has also received something “tantamount to a loan at a high (14 percent) rate of interest” from Michael Dell, the CEO of Dell Technologies, and Heyman doesn’t believe MLB would sign off on it. Mas, meanwhile, is seeking extra investors in an effort to improve his chances of landing the franchise.

THURSDAY: The Marlins sale process has quieted considerably since it became apparent that a deal wouldn’t be wrapped up before the All-Star Game, as once had been hoped. To this point, three primary bidding groups were said to be vying to purchase the club from Jeffrey Loria.

While there’s still no evident movement toward resolution, that same inaction may have contributed to the loss of one possible buyer. It now seems the Fish are down to two prospective new ownership groups. Per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the group that had included Wayne Rothbaum, Jeb Bush, and a host of former players is now out of the hunt. (Previously, that group had lost Tagg Romney but picked up Bush in the ever-changing bidding landscape.)

Rothbaum was the chief investor of that party, and reportedly was willing to lead the charge at a valuation of $1.17B. With that offer apparently waving in the wind, and with no resolution in sight, Rothbaum evidently determined it was no longer worth pursuing the club.

That said, it’s also possible that the Rothbaum group’s bid was never going to be quite to the Marlins’ expectations. Jon Heyman of Fan Rag suggests that the aggregation of would-be owners may have been sitting in a lower range — $1B to $1.1B.

Whatever the case, the chase for the Marlins now seems to be down to two possible bidding groups. One, guided by Miami businessman Jorge Mas, seems to be a fairly straightforward outfit led by one primary investor who’d also be the control person. Per Heyman, Mas remains the “best-financed” pursuer. But there’s still a possibility that MLB legend Derek Jeter could make a deal happen; while it’s somewhat odd that he’d represent the control person, given that he would not be investing a significant portion of any sale price, Jeter (like Mas) is said by Jackson to have “made progress in assembling the financing needed.”

Rangers Claim Jhan Marinez

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The Rangers have claimed righty Jhan Marinez off waivers from the Pirates, per an announcement from Texas. Marinez had been designated for assignment over the weekend.

Marinez, 28, already moved from the Brewers to the Bucs this year after a previous trip through DFA limbo. He has seen extensive action in the majors over the past two seasons after sporadic time earlier in his career. All told, through 118 1/3 innings, Marinez carries a 3.50 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9.

Yankees Place Clint Frazier On 10-Day DL, Activate Aaron Hicks

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The Yankees have placed outfielder Clint Frazier on the 10-day DL, per a club announcement. That move had been expected, as he’s dealing with an oblique strain.

Aaron Hicks will return from his own oblique-related DL placement to take the open roster spot. He has been out since late June, but was on quite the tear through his first sixty games. Hicks will look to pick up where he left off, with a .290/.398/.515 batting line.

Generally, the picture on the position player side of things has continued to evolve for New York. With Matt Holliday on the DL, the club looked into a trade for Jay Bruce — and could still consider adding a lefty bat. But the switch-hitting Hicks becomes the team’s active third outfielder that represents an option against righties, and first baseman Greg Bird still could make it back in a few weeks. If no new addition is made, it seems reasonable to anticipate that the Yanks will rotate the DH role to keep everyone fresh, at least until Holliday returns.

As regards Frazier, there have been signs of both good and bad. He’s slugging .477 over his first 117 MLB plate appearances, but has also managed only five walks against his 34 strikeouts and is reaching base at a mediocre .274 clip. He may have been set for an optional assignment were it not for the injury; instead, he’ll now likely be viewed as a candidate to come back when rosters expand in September, assuming he’s healthy by that point.

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