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Deadline Notes: Turner, Phelps, Cards, Brewers, Phils

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The Nationals don’t expect to go without shortstop Trea Turner for more than two months, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports on Twitter. As such, the report suggests, Washington doesn’t currently intend to pursue a replacement at the position. The Nats do have internal options, of course, in veteran Stephen Drew and youngster Wilmer Difo, who could make for a functional platoon pairing. And the team is still holding a sizable lead in the division, although there’s still time for that to change. Regardless of whether any other position players are ultimately pursued, the biggest need in D.C. remains in the bullpen.

  • Elsewhere in the division, the Marlins are lining up to sell barring a sudden turnaround, with their relief corps looking to be an area of focus for rival organizations. Indeed, the Fish have already been contacted by half the teams in baseball about righty David Phelps, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets. That may be due to the fact that the team just pushed to move the salary of shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, perhaps leading other organizations to smell some blood in the water. Surely, though, Miami will wait to allow interest to build to maximize the return on Phelps, who has continued to pitch well after a breakout 2016 season.
  • Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. discussed his organization’s approach with the trade deadline coming, as Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. DeWitt said he “never” believes it’s advisable to “go all in for a season and sacrifice the future.” Obviously, that applies now as the Cards find themselves in a somewhat strange position — not playing terribly well and way out of the Wild Card race, but still within range of the division lead. He did say its possible the team could “try to do something with a short-term asset to get a long-term asset” — if, that is, the Cardinals end up being “totally out of the race.” As newly minted president of baseball operations John Mozeliak noted, even if the Cardinals are in the thick of things, it’s not clear to what extent they’ll be buyers. “When I look at the future we have to embrace our farm system,” he said. “For us unless there was this one thing that we felt could change the outcome of our season, then I might look at it a little differently. But we haven’t been able to identify what that one thing might be.”
  • Brewers owner Mark Attanasio also commented on his team’s state of affairs, and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has the story. While Milwaukee has surprisingly managed to stay out in front in the NL Central, Attanasio says he has expressed to GM David Stearns and skipper Craig Counsell that “there would be no pressure from me to divert from the plan.” (That, of course, is a reference to the organization’s long-term vision to build a sustainable winner.) Attanasio suggested that Stearns’s sober decisionmaking process has bought him significant operation leeway, though surely that same fact will lead to a calculated approach to the deadline. Still, the owner acknowledged that he’s excited to see his team in first: “I’ll admit my expectations are higher. How could they not be?”
  • In a lengthy chat with the media that’s well worth a full read, Phillies president Andy MacPhail addressed the frustrating first half of the year for his organization. (Via CSNPhilly.com.) Generally, he expressed an inclination to continue staying the course, noting that the team is focused on evaluating its internal options and has maintained a mostly open balance sheet for future campaigns. As regards the coming deadline, MacPhail suggested that righty Pat Neshek and outfielder/infielder Howie Kendrick ought to draw significant interest, saying that it will be GM Matt Klentak’s “job” to “find a motivated buyer” for Neshek, in particular. He also said the organization does not see any untouchable players in its system. Klentak’s boss said that the GM “needs to keep a wide spectrum, wide horizon and any opportunity that makes sense for us going forward, he should explore.”

Yankees To Promote Clint Frazier

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The Yankees will promote top outfield prospect Clint Frazier in time for tomorrow’s game. Brendan McGair of the Pawtucket Times first caught wind of the news (Twitter link), with George A. King III of the New York Post reporting on Twitter that Frazier is indeed en route.

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New York has engaged in a flurry of moves involving intriguing young players of late. It had seemed Gleyber Torres might earn a mid-season call-up, but he ended up suffering a season-ending injury. Miguel Andujar had a stellar debut, but was optioned back immediately thereafter. Then, Dustin Fowler came to the Bronx only to suffer a stunning, season-ending injury of his own, leading both to the return of Andujar and this latest promotion.

Now, it’s Frazier’s turn. Like Torres, he came to the Yanks last summer as the team engineered big returns for relief aces Andrew Miller (the deal that brought Frazier) and Aroldis Chapman. While the club will need to wait to see what it has in the elite infield prospect, Frazier is now set to debut.

Expectations were and are quite high for the 22-year-old. Selected with the fifth overall pick of the 2013 draft, he has rated as a consensus top-fifty prospect since his first showing as a professional.

But Frazier had only just cracked Triple-A when he changed organizations — he then moved over to New York’s top affiliate — and success did not come right away. In his 108 plate appearances for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Frazier posted a .228/.278/.396 batting line with thirty strikeouts.

The talent has expressed itself anew in 2017, however. Over 319 plate appearances, again at Triple-A, Frazier carries a .257/.345/.474 slash line with a dozen long balls. He has also restored the plate-discipline numbers hecarried previously in his minor-league career, with a 21.3% strikeout rate and 11.6% walk rate on the year.

With Aaron Hicks on the 10-day DL and Fowler hitting the shelf for the rest of the season, the Yankees will now get their first look at Frazier at the game’s highest level. An active roster opening will be needed — perhaps leading to another debate over Andujar and beleaguered first baseman Chris Carter. And a 40-man spot will as well, though that can presumably be found by making a 60-day DL placement.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Reds Activate Zack Cozart; “Mutual Interest” In Exploring Extension

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The Reds activated shortstop Zack Cozart from the 10-day DL today, as had been expected. While that seemingly removes any remaining obstacles to a trade involving the pending free agent, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that it’s also possible the club could first pursue long-term contract talks.

“I know there’s mutual interest in the future with Zack,” president of baseball operations Dick Williams said. “Maybe we can figure out a way to make that happen.” While that comment perhaps left some ambiguity as to whether near-term extension talks were truly being contemplated, Williams went on to say that “we need to at least initiate some discussions now” given that Cozart will be fielding offers in free agency once the season is over.

Cozart, who’ll turn 32 later this season, said recently that he would have interest in remaining with the only MLB organization he has played for beyond the current campaign. Clearly, then, both team and player are amenable to exploring a new contract. But that hasn’t yet occurred, Williams tells Buchanan.

While talks of some kind now seem likely, a new contract still appears to be a bit of a longshot. Cozart has played extremely well this year while earning an affordable $5.325MM salary, enhancing his appeal to the incumbent team but also increasing his future earning power and trade value. For the rebuilding Reds, cashing in Cozart’s next three or four months for prospects — which seems all the more plausible with the Diamondbacks and Nationals losing their regular shortstops to injury — holds obvious appeal.

While Williams says the organization values the presence of the veteran shortstop, he has also overseen a series of deals in recent years that brought in interesting and youthful middle-infield options. Eugenio Suarez, Jose Peraza, and Dilson Herrera are all at or near the MLB level. While Suarez has lined up at third, it’s worth bearing in mind that the organization also has premium hot corner prospect Nick Senzel on the fast track to the majors.

In the aggregate, there’s an argument to be made that the Reds shouldn’t have much real interest in pursuing an extension with Cozart. But the team could see if he’s willing to take something of a hometown discount and hope that the roster is ready to begin contending in the near-term. (Improvements in the pitching staff will likely be required for that to occur.)

Of course, it’s only fair to note that a plausible extension scenario also functions to enhance the Reds’ trade leverage to some extent. Interestingly, Williams also noted that he has yet to field calls from other clubs looking into a possible deal for Cozart, though that’s sure to change over the coming weeks. Even if Cozart is dealt, the good vibes could conceivably lead to a reunion via free agency. The veteran’s ultimate market value will obviously depend upon his performance down the stretch and the level of need around the game come this fall.

Angels Acquire Nick Franklin

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The Angels have acquired infielder/outfielder Nick Franklin from the Brewers, per a team announcement. He had been designated for assignment; the deal sends cash or a player to be named later to Milwaukee.

The Halos’ plans for the versatile Franklin aren’t immediately clear, though he will be heading to the active roster as he is out of options. That will most likely be easier to assess when the club makes a corresponding move to open a roster spot, which hasn’t yet occurred.

Franklin, who’s still just 26, hasn’t hit much this year, with a .195/.258/.317 slash in his 89 plate appearances for Milwaukee. But he hit much better (.270/.328/.443) in reserve duty last year and was long regarded as a quality prospect before he reached the majors.

 

Rockies Designate Chad Qualls, Reinstate Jon Gray

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The Rockies have announced a series of interesting transactions. Reliever Chad Qualls was designated for assignment, making way for the return of top righty Jon Gray from the DL. And veteran catcher Ryan Hanigan was recalled, with Tom Murphy optioned back to Triple-A.

It’s not terribly surprising to hear that the Rockies are moving on from Qualls. The 39-year-old has produced a typically strong 57.4% groundball rate on the year, but has managed just 5.9 K/9 to go with 2.7 BB/9. He has coughed up 1.6 home runs per nine, helping to explain his ugly 5.40 ERA.

That said, there are some signs that there could be something left in the tank. Qualls is still generating a 10.3% whiff rate and has probably been somewhat unlucky only to strand 61.8% of opposing baserunners.

Still, there’s little denying that Qualls has fallen shy of hopes since arriving in Colorado on a two-year, $6MM deal. (Fellow veteran Jason Motte followed a similar course.) It seems unlikely any rival organizations will take over the rest of the $3.25MM total that Qualls is owed this year. The Rockies will pay the remainder unless they are able to find a team that will take some cash in a trade or Qualls makes it to the majors elsewhere after signing a minors deal (in which case he’d earn a pro-rated portion of the league-minimum salary from his new team).

Gray, meanwhile, will hope to provide a much-needed boost to a Rockies team that has dropped eight straight ballgames. He has only managed three starts this year, exiting the last of those with what proved to be a stress fracture in his left foot. The prized righty has been sharp in his rehab outings and returns with big expectations.

Meanwhile, the Rox effectively reversed the move they made a few weeks ago in activating Murphy from the DL. The 26-year-old, considered quite a talented hitter for his position, is off to a miserable 1-for-22 start to the season. While Hanigan doesn’t offer nearly the same offensive ability, the veteran will hopefully help to settle the pitching staff while allowing Murphy to work back into form at Albuquerque.

Red Sox Release Allen Craig

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The Red Sox have released veteran first baseman/outfielder Allen Craig, according to a club announcement (h/t Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal, via Twitter).

Craig, 32, will hit the open market after an ill-fated stint in the Sox organization. He was acquired back in 2014 along with righty Joe Kelly in the surprising trade that sent John Lackey to the Cardinals.

At the time, Craig was viewed as a possible bounce-back piece. Though he was carrying only a .237/.291/.346 batting line at the time of the deal, Boston obviously saw upside in the remainder of Craig’s contract extension. After all, prior to 2014, he owns an excellent career .306/.358/.492 batting line.

Unfortunately, the rebound never occurred. Craig only appeared in 65 MLB games with the Red Sox, posting a .432 OPS. And he has never shown much life while banished to Triple-A. Though Craig continues to reach base at a solid clip, he has hit just one home run and carries a .316 slugging percentage this year at Pawtucket.

Boston has long since written off his salary as an investment that won’t deliver any return, but it’s still a notable sum. Craig will still be entitled to the remainder of his $11MM guarantee this year, and will also take home a $1MM buyout on a $13MM option for 2018.

Orioles Sign First-Rounder DL Hall

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The Orioles have announced the signing of first-round pick DL Hall. He’ll receive a $3MM bonus, per Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com (via Twitter).

That payday lands just over the $2,892,400 slot value for the 21st overall pick with which Hall was selected. He and second-rounder Adam Hall both commanded more than was allocated for their picks, but the O’s have cleared added funds by signing later-round choices to below-slot deals.

Hall (the first-rounder) is a high-school southpaw out of Georgia. Coming into the draft, he was ranked well above his ultimate draft position by prospect observers.

Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs and Keith Law of ESPN.com both viewed Hall as one of the draft’s top ten prospects. He drew praise for having three promising pitches (with his change running behind a quality fastball/curve combination) and good athleticism.

While he doesn’t carry a large frame and could stand to further develop his command, per Longenhagen, that’s an intriguing package for a left-handed pitching prospect. MLB.com (#14) and Baseball America (#16) concurred that Hall is one of the most promising players in this year’s crop of talent.

Brewers Outright Tyler Cravy, Select Rob Scahill

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The Brewers have outrighted right-hander Tyler Cravy, per a club announcement. Milwaukee selected the contract of righty Rob Scahill while optioning righty Jorge Lopez — after just one outing — to open an active roster spot.

A need for fresh arms in the pen drove the decision. Obviously, Cravy himself represented an option, but evidently Milwaukee wasn’t swayed by his work this year at Triple-A.

Cravy, who’ll soon turn 28, worked to a 2.86 ERA over 28 1/3 MLB innings last year, with 7.0 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9. He also sported an intriguing 11.3% swinging-strike rate. But he had struggled during his time at Colorado Springs, and that continued in 2017. Over 26 2/3 frames thus far at the highest level of the minors, Cravy owns a 5.06 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9.

Instead, the club will go with Scahill, who has himself been removed from the 40-man roster once already this year. The 30-year-old, a six-year MLB veteran, managed only five strikeouts (while issuing nine walks, three of which were intentional) in his 17 2/3 MLB innings prior to that move. Scahill has gone on to post much better numbers at Tripe-A, with a 2.45 ERA and 6.9 K/9 against 1.5 BB/9 in his 16 appearances.

Braves Designate Bartolo Colon

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The Braves announced that they have designated veteran righty Bartolo Colon for assignment. Atlanta selected the contract of southpaw Rex Brothers to take his roster spot.

It always hurts to drop a player who’s owed a big salary — in this case, $12.5MM on the year — but his performance left the team with little alternative. Colon, 44, carries an unsightly 8.14 ERA through 63 innings with 6.0 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 and a 45.6% groundball rate.

Though a recent DL placement bought some time and afforded an opportunity for a reset, Colon struggled upon his return. He lasted only four innings against the Padres yesterday, coughing up six earned runs on eight hits and three walks.

Looking a bit deeper, things don’t get any more encouraging. While his velocity is holding steady, Colon has relied completely upon pinpoint command in his long and successful late-career run. That just hasn’t been there in 2017. A comparison of his heat maps (2016 vs. 2017) shows that the burly hurler just isn’t catching the edge as much as he needs to be useful. On the year, he has worked in the zone at a 42.9% rate — far shy of his 52.4% career mark. And when he does throw strikes, they have been knocked around for a .360 BABIP and 1.57 homers per nine.

Whether there’s another comeback attempt left in the tank remains to be seen. Other organizations may well believe there’s a chance he can again walk the fine line he’s been striding in recent years and provide some innings. (The Mets need some depth and would be seem an obvious possibility.) Regardless, there’s no chance that any will stake enough cash on that possibility to submit a claim.

No matter how things shake out, Colon’s amazing late-career run remains one of the game’s most intriguing achievements in recent memory. He sat out the 2010 season with arm issues, then returned for his age-38 campaign. Over the next six years, Colon placed 23rd in fWAR — edging James Shields, Yu Darvish, Doug Fister, and Jeff Samardzija — by running up over thousand innings of 3.63 ERA ball. Last year, Colon gave the Mets 191 2/3 innings of 3.43 ERA pitching at 43 years of age, which led to the ill-fated contract from the Braves. He also threw 14 2/3 quality postseason innings (with the 2013 A’s and 2015 Mets) in that period and left an array of memorable moments. (This one takes top honors for me.)

While the Braves are set in the rotation now without Colon — highly regarded prospect Sean Newcomb came up when he hit the DL — the disappointing performance does still tell on the organization. Most notably, Colon won’t be a trade chip, and he also won’t be available to help shoulder the load if the team moves other arms. And the club will owe the balance of his salary, less the pro-rated league-minimum for any time he spends with another team in the majors.

It’ll be interesting, though, to see the two lefties that the move makes way for. Newcomb has pitched well, with a 1.48 ERA over four starts, and figures to get a longer look and a real shot at locking up a rotation spot for 2018. And Brothers, who’s still just 29, has put up some interesting numbers in the minors. After posting huge strikeout figures at Double-A to open the year, the former Rockies reliever has thrown 4 1/3 scoreless at the highest level of the minors. Most notably, Brothers seems to have gotten a handle on the control problems that led to the end of his tenure in Colorado.

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