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Deadline Notes: Red Sox, Giants, Relievers, Torres, Verlander, Cozart, Cabrera

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The Red Sox do not need to stay under the luxury tax line in making their deadline moves, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said in an appearance today on WEEI (h/t to Rob Bradford, on Twitter). Recent estimates put Boston about $9MM shy of the threshold, which has added implications under the new CBA since the tax escalates when it is owed in consecutive seasons. While the Sox will no doubt weigh that factor in assessing possible trades, it’s notable that the organization doesn’t feel compelled to stay within those limits. Boston is likely to be involved in the market for third basemen — I looked at possible targets recently — and could also add pitching.

Here’s more …

  • The Giants are clearly in position to deal a few veterans, but it’s not yet known just how significant the moves will be. Signs are, though, that San Francisco is willing to listen to offers on just about any player, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi writes. The Giants are not interested in moving Madison Bumgarner, Buster Posey, and Brandon Crawford, per the report. That could leave some other interesting names available, with Morosi even suggesting that first baseman Brandon Belt could be available. He calls the Angels a potentially “intriguing fit” — though it’s not clear whether there’s any firm interest from Los Angeles — while noting that several other buyers will be looking at a variety of left-handed-hitting first basemen on what seems still to be a wide-open market.
  • Unsurprisingly, interest in relief pitching will be robust at this year’s deadline, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com writes. Executives suggest that there’ll be a premium on pen arms, as usual, though the expectation remains that none will fetch the kind of immense returns that Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller commanded last year.
  • The Padres have inquired with the Yankees about elite shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. That said, there’s no indication the Yanks have any interest in parting with the talented youngster — even though he is expected to miss the remainder of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. That injury doesn’t really change his long-term value, of course, and it’s not altogether clear what Padres players the Yankees might target that could command that kind of trade value. Lefty Brad Hand and former New York infielder Yangervis Solarte may well be of interest, as Heyman notes, but it’s tough to imagine the Yankees parting with such an elite prospect for either or both of them.
  • Heyman also weighs in on veteran Tigers hurler Justin Verlander, who has seen his name begin to come up in trade rumors. At this point, a deal seems less than likely, a source tells Heyman, but there is a real possibility that the righty (and his contract — which promises $56MM over 2018 and 2019) could end up on the move. Three or four teams are said to have participated in exploratory talks on Verlander, per the report, though any deal would require Verlander to waive his no-trade protection.
  • Reds shortstop Zack Cozart, a clear trade candidate with his strong play and expiring contract, tells Heyman that his preference would be to remain in Cincinnati. While he says he understands and accepts that a deal “is more than likely to happen,” Cozart noted that he has informed the front office that he’d be amenable to exploring a long-term contract instead. It’s not terribly surprising, particularly given their internal options, that the Reds haven’t yet made an offer to the 31-year-old.
  • Mets infielder Asdrubal Cabrera is walking back his recent call to be traded after being moved from short to second, as Dan Martin of the New York Post writes. Cabrera explains: “In that moment when I said that, I wasn’t saying I want to get traded. I was just saying it didn’t seem like they had a plan for me. … If they’ve got a plan, they should tell me.” He went on to say that he is “fine with playing second base,” saying that his complaint related more to a lack of communication. In any event, it remains unclear just how much demand there’ll be for the veteran, and also how inclined the Mets are to bring him back next year at a $8.5MM price tag (versus a $2MM buyout).

Nationals To Sign Kevin Jepsen

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The Nationals have agreed to a deal with righty Kevin Jepsen, according to Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (Twitter link). It’s a minors pact with a July 26th opt-out opportunity, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets.

Jepsen, who’ll soon turn 33, recently put on a showcase in hopes of landing a new opportunity. He spent the spring with the Diamondbacks, but struggled in game action and was released before the start of the season.

There’s no sugar-coating Jepsen’s struggles in 2016. He threw 49 2/3 innings of 5.98 ERA ball for the Twins and Rays, with only 6.3 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9. Though he didn’t lose much on his mid-nineties fastball, Jepsen posted a 8.3% swinging-strike rate that fell short of his numbers over the prior two seasons.

If the drop in strikeouts wasn’t enough, Jepsen also struggled to manage contact, permitting hard contact at a career-worst 37.5% rate. Once a strong groundball pitcher, he managed to induce them at only a 31.1% clip while also allowing 2.2 homers per nine innings.

Still, there’s probably some hope of a return to form. Jepsen carried a 2.33 ERA over 69 2/3 innings in 2015 and was able to post 10.1 K/9 in his successful 2014 campaign. The Nationals will take a look at him over the coming weeks, just as they are doing with veteran Francisco Rodriguez, as the team decides upon a course of action at the trade deadline.

Levine: Twins Could Pursue Long-Term Assets At Deadline

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With the Twins sitting just a half-game out of the AL Central lead as June draws to a close, the team’s place in the standings has at least partially modified its approach to the trade deadline, GM Thad Levine tells MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. While the focus remains on the future, Minnesota is also taking account of the fact that there’s a real possibility of reaching the postseason in 2017.

Though the club’s general assessment of its roster and timeline hasn’t changed substantially, Levine suggests, the performance — and perhaps also the opportunity created by a tightly-bunched American League — has impacted the calculus. “I think it leaves us contemplating buying, and that’s how the season has impacted our decision-making.”

That said, fans shouldn’t expect significant win-now moves. As Levine explains, the Twins’ imperative of sustainable contention could potentially dovetail with an effort to improve the current roster. “We’re probably not going to be inclined to spend lavishly on short-term assets,” he says, “but we would be very open to spending aggressively on assets that we could use to propel our team forward this year and for years to come.”

Lower-cost rental pieces could be considered, of course, but it makes sense that the club isn’t interested in paying top dollar for such assets. “I don’t think we view it as we’re just one piece away and we’re not looking to finish off this club,” says Levin. “We’re looking to continue to build this club. We have a lot of core pieces that have a chance to be part of something special in the future, but we’re cognizant that we’re going to need to add to that core.”

Looking at the Twins’ depth chart, there likely isn’t a lot of room for major changes on the position-player side of the equation. Minnesota has received mostly solid production out of its regulars and reserves, and is rather committed to most of those players.

The pitching, though, is another story. Outside of veteran Ervin Santana and youngster Jose Berrios, the rotation has produced middling results and ugly peripherals. And though there are a few relievers throwing well — closer Brandon Kintzler, in particular — there’s surely room to upgrade there as well.

It’ll obviously be quite interesting to see what kinds of options Levine and chief baseball officer Derek Falvey pursue. Speculation on particular players would be just that at this point, but most of the conceivable possibilities can be found in our latest ranking of the top 50 trade deadline candidates (and the many other players listed there). No doubt their level of aggressiveness will depend upon how the standings look at the end of the month. Payroll — both this year and in the future — will also be a consideration; the Twins entered the season with about $108MM on the books, close to the highest rate the organization has carried.

Draft Signings: 6/29/17

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Let’s round up the latest significant draft signings:

  • Both of the Blue Jays’ top picks are under contract, per a team announcement. Both Logan Warmoth and Nate Pearson will receive above-slot bonuses, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (on Twitter), though neither went much over. MLB.com’s Jim Callis tweets that Warmoth will receive $2,820,200 ($25K over slot), while Pearson gets $2,452,900 (that’s $150K over the value of the 28th pick). Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith has the story on the deal from the team’s perspective. Warmoth, taken 22nd overall, received top-20 billing from Baseball America and Fangraphs. ESPN.com’s Keith Law was even higher on the UNC shortstop, crediting him with a top-level hit tool, good speed, and a strong chance to stick at short in the long run. Similarly, Pearson drew a consensus as being a top-30-ish prospect, but earned a higher grade from one outlet. BA ranked him 13th, noting that the JuCo righty has made huge strides in developing his arsenal and controlling it.
  • The Astros announced the signing of second-rounder Corbin Martin, a right-hander from Texas A&M. He’ll receive a $1MM bonus, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter), which lands a bit shy of the $1,178,600 allotment for the 56th overall selection. MLB.com was highest on Martin, ranking him 32nd, noting that some inconsistencies have clouded the status of a pitcher who has a promising array of pitches.
  • Indians supplemental second-round pick Tyler Freeman, a high-school shortstop from California, will get the slot value of $816,500, Callis tweets. He cracked the top 100 on BA’s list. While he’s said not to possess loud tools, Freeman is credited as a well-rounded player with a sense for the game and quality makeup.

Giants Place Mark Melancon On 10-Day DL

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The Giants have placed closer Mark Melancon on the 10-day DL, per a club announcement. He is dealing with the same pronator issue that forced him out earlier this year. Dan Slania will take the open roster spot.

Melancon, 32, has not quite looked himself since joining the Giants on a four-year, $62MM deal over the winter. Through 20 2/3 innings on the year, he has allowed ten earned runs on 25 hits. Though he still maintains typically strong strikeout and walk numbers — 8.3 K/9 against 1.3 BB/9 — the veteran has also coughed up three long balls and seen his groundball rate drop to 50.8% with his swinging-strike rate falling to 9.7% (both far lower than in recent seasons).

Despite enduring a bit of a rough stretch, Melancon could still feature as a trade candidate over the summer. That all depends upon just how interested the Giants are in shedding from future salary — while also embarking upon another search for a closer. (Interestingly, recently acquired righty Sam Dyson will take over closing duties for the time being after washing out of that role with the Rangers.) Though San Francisco is buried in the standings, the organization still has an extensive array of high-priced veteran players and seems likely to attempt to contend again in 2018.

The injury, though, functions as a major bit of uncertainty. It’s still possible that he could be dealt if he’s able to return and pitch effectively before the deadline. And Melancon’s contract is big enough that he could also be moved in August. But the forearm certainly enhances the risk in the hefty remaining value on the deal, particularly in the case of an older relief pitcher.

Yankees Place Holliday On DL, Outright Carter, Promote Andujar

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The Yankees have announced a series of roster moves. Veteran DH Matt Holliday will go on the 10-day DL with an illness, with the club seemingly still working to determine how to treat it, while veteran first baseman Chris Carter has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A.

New York has also announced that it selected the contract of third baseman Miguel Andujar. (That move was first reported by Craig Mish of Sirius XM, on Twitter.) The 22-year-old had just earned a promotion to the highest level of the minors after hitting a robust .312/.342/.494 to open the year at Double-A.

The 37-year-old Holliday has had a resurgence at the plate with the Yankees thus far, batting a terrific .262/.366/.511 with 15 homers through 276 plate appearances. That puts the longtime Rockies/Cardinals slugger just five homers shy of his total from the 2016 season and just nine shy of the combined 24 homers he swatted with the Cards in 703 PAs from 2015-16.

The opposite held true for the much younger Carter, who signed a one-year deal to spend his age-30 season with the Yankees this past offseason. Though Carter led the National League in homers last year, he was non-tendered by the Brewers and found just a $3.5MM guarantee from the Yankees. Carter never recovered from a slow start to the year and ultimately was hitting just .204/.286/.383 with eight homers but a sky-high 70 strikeouts in 189 plate appearances (37 percent strikeout rate).

Andujar, just 22 years of age, will be making his big league debut for the Yanks and, in many regards, also auditioning for a longer-term role with the club. After tearing through Double-A pitching at a .312/.342/.494 pace to open the season, Andujar didn’t miss a beat during a quick Triple-A stop, where he slashed .308/.379/.462 in seven games prior to this promotion. He currently ranks ninth among Yankees farmhands, per Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. ESPN’s Keith Law pegged him 10th headed into the year, while Baseball America rated him 12th and Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen had him 11th. Andujar draws praise for above-average defense at the hot corner and strong contact skills.

Mariners Outright Pat Light

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The Mariners have outrighted right-handed pitcher Pat Light, per a club announcement. That opens a 40-man roster spot, though it’s not immediately clear whether the team has plans for how to use it.

Seattle claimed the 26-year-old Light off waivers from the Pirates just under two weeks ago, though his stay on the 40-man was brief. Light has gone from the Red Sox to the Twins (in exchange for Fernando Abad) to the Pirates (for cash) to the Mariners all in a span of roughly 11 months.

It’s not hard to see the appeal of Light, who runs his fastball up to the upper 90s and averages nearly 95 mph on the pitch. He’s had no trouble missing bats in the minors and turned in a tantalizing 2.37 ERA with 9.9 K/9 against 4.5 BB/9 in 38 Triple-A frames last season. However, control problems have plagued the hard-throwing Light throughout his career (63 walks in 99 Triple-A innings), and he’s posted particularly unremarkable numbers in Triple-A this season. Through 28 innings between the Triple-A affiliates for the Pirates and Mariners, Light has a 4.82 ERA with a greatly diminished 6.4 K/9 rate and a still-problematic 5.8 BB/9 rate.

Trade Rumblings: A’s, Prado, Marlins, Verlander, Hand

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Here’s the latest trade chatter from around the league:

  • The Athletics do not feel a need to wait until the deadline to begin moving veterans, sources tell MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. That may be true even (or especially) in the case of Sonny Gray. While he’s controllable, and doesn’t have to be traded, a rival exec says he thinks Oakland will be interested in dealing him early to avoid a month of injury risk. Possible rentals Yonder Alonso and Jed Lowrie are both said to be on the block as well, unsurprisingly.
  • Other teams beginning to explore sell-side moves, per Feinsand, are the Braves, Marlins, Mets, and Reds. Those clubs are all obvious suspects given their placement in the standings. Atlanta could be an interesting team, though, since the organization seems to be prioritizing improvement in the on-field results and doesn’t have a lot of clearly valuable trade pieces.
  • The Yankees and Red Sox are both looking over the Marlins roster and have asked about a few players, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Both New York and Boston have inquired on veteran third baseman Martin Prado, who is not terribly cheap and has spent a good chunk of the year on the DL. The Yanks are also expressing some interest in Miami first baseman Justin Bour, per the report; he’d offer a quality left-handed bat, though his affordable control will likely come with a fairly high asking price. The Fish are also said to have indicated an openness to dealing “anyone with a multi-year contract,” Nightengale adds. That would obviously free up quite a few intriguing potential trade candidates, including the club’s three quality young outfielders.
  • Rival executives feel that the Tigers will market veteran righty Justin Verlander, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports writes, though Detroit’s intentions (and asking price) remain unclear. He’d be an easy product to pitch were this 2016, when Verlander was in vintage form. But he hasn’t followed that up with any degree of consistency thus far in 2017. Still, the $56MM he’s owed in 2018 and 2019 seems fairly reasonable, and it’s hard to ignore the top-line upside that still seems to reside in Verlander’s powerful right arm.
  • The Padres, meanwhile, are apparently setting their sights high in talks involving southpaw Brad Hand, with one source telling Passan that GM AJ Preller hopes to achieve a return commensurate with that achieved last year by the Yankees for Aroldis Chapman. As Passan notes, that does seem steep — despite the fact that Hand does come with two more years of cheap arb control — but it likely won’t hurt to aim big at this stage of the proceedings.
  • There, are, of course, some other talented relievers available. Two Marlins hurlers are also drawing interest from “multiple teams,” per Passan. AJ Ramos and David Phelps appear to be solid (albeit hardly perfect) late-inning pen options for contenders; indeed, MLBTR ranked them in a tie for 11th in the most recent list of the top fifty trade targets leaguewide. Both hurlers are reasonably expensive ($6.55MM and $4.6MM, respectively), so the salary-conscious Fish may see an opportunity to avoid some obligations. They each also can be controlled for an additional season via arbitration.

Blue Jays Sign Michael Saunders

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The Blue Jays have signed outfielder Michael Saunders to a minor-league deal, per a club announcement. He had been released recently by the Phillies, who’ll pay all but a pro-rated portion of his $8MM salary for the rest of the season.

Saunders, 30, struggled badly after landing in Philadelphia over the winter. He ended his tenure there with 214 plate appearances of .205/.257/.360 hitting and six home runs. The Phils will also owe Saunders a $1MM payment to buy out his $11MM club option for 2018.

Toronto is obviously quite familiar with the veteran outfielder, as he posted a strong year therein 2016. Finally healthy for a full season, Saunders turned in a .253/.338/.478 batting line with 24 long balls over 558 plate appearances. Of course, he also fell off quite a bit in the second half after earning his first All-Star Game berth.

For the time being, Saunders will head to Triple-A. But it’s not hard to imagine him arriving back in the majors before too long. The Jays currently feature a corner outfield mix consisting of right-handed hitters Jose Bautista and Steve Pearce along with the lefty bats of Ezequiel Carrera and Ian Parmley. Adding Saunders to the mix could potentially allow the Jays to utilize Pearce at second base on occasion as well.

Drew Smyly To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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The Mariners have announced that lefty Drew Smyly will undergo Tommy John surgery for a torn ulnar collateral ligament. He is expected to miss the standard twelve to fifteen months in recovery.

That’s obviously devastating news for the 28-year-old southpaw, who had been hoping to work back from elbow issues that have put him on the shelf all year. He had shown quite well in the World Baseball Classic, with enhanced velocity, leading to hopes for a big first season in Seattle.

Instead, it now seems possible that Smyly won’t ever make an appearance for the M’s, who traded Mallex Smith and others to acquire his rights over the winter. Smith had been added earlier that day in a clearly related swap that sent pitching prospect Luiz Gohara to the Braves.

Smyly is earning $6.85MM this year and would command the same through arbitration in 2018 — his final trip through the process. It’s still possible that Seattle could attempt to work out some kind of arrangement to keep him in the organization for the future, but it obviously makes little sense for the team to pay him a significant salary for a year that will be spent rehabbing.

Last year was a rough one for the southpaw, who scuffled to a 4.88 ERA over 175 1/3 innings, though it also represented his first thirty-start campaign in the big leagues. He also still managed a healthy 8.6 K/9 against 2.5 B/9, with 32 home runs and a below-average 67.7% strand rate contributing to the ugly results.

Given his age, Smyly still has a shot at returning for many more years of pitching. Of course, he’ll need not only to work back from the UCL replacement, but also to find a way to avoid future elbow problems. (He had been among the highest-risk players identified by MLBTR contributor Bradley Woodrum in a 2016 study, and the risks for another will only increase.)

For the Mariners, the news confirms what the club surely already feared: there won’t be a reinforcement coming to the team in 2017. With Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma showing their age, and James Paxton coming back down to earth of late, there are questions at the front of the staff.

There are depth concerns, too. While Sam Gaviglio owns a 3.38 ERA through 45 1/3 innings, the metrics don’t like his chances to maintain that performance. Similarly, Ariel Miranda has been solid but is benefiting from a likely-unsustainable .226 BABIP. It’s anyone’s guess what the team can hope to receive from Andrew Moore and others.

The fact that there’s a potential need doesn’t mean that the M’s can afford to go out and add a top-line starter, of course. Several quality arms could be available, of course, but there’ll be competition and steep asking prices. While Seattle has positioned itself as a win-now organization, it’s also a notable consideration that the AL West seems out of reach, meaning any present-focused moves come with the likely upside of earning a Wild Card berth.

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