Phillies Designate Daniel Stumpf
The Phillies have designated lefty Daniel Stumpf for assignment, per a team announcement. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by righty Severino Gonzalez.
[Related: Updated Phillies Depth Chart]
Stumpf was a Rule 5 selection over the winter, meaning that he had to be kept on the active roster (or the 15-day DL) for the duration of the year for the Phillies to retain his rights. He was only recently activated after serving an 80-game PED suspension, and evidently didn’t show enough to warrant a roster spot.
It’s a short sample, but the numbers certainly weren’t there for Stumpf. He allowed six earned runs on nine hits and two walks, while recording just a pair of strikeouts, in five frames over seven total appearances on the year.
Diamondbacks Considering Managerial Change
The Diamondbacks are considering replacing skipper Chip Hale, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Tim Montemayor of Arizona’s AM 1060 first tweeted that there were rumors circulating.
If Arizona goes ahead and moves Hale aside, Triple-A manager Phil Nevin would likely take his place at the helm of the big league club, per the report. General manager Dave Stewart declined to comment on the matter when asked about the rumors by Rosenthal.
Hale, 51, has managed the D-Backs since the start of last year, when he was selected by Stewart and chief baseball officer (and Hall-of-Fame manager) Tony LaRussa to run the club on the field. Things seemed on the upswing after year one, as Arizona showed improvement and logged a 79-83 record. Indeed, the organization picked up Hale’s 2017 option at the start of camp this spring.
The promising showing in 2015 emboldened the organization to make several major additions over the winter. That included, most prominently, the stunning signing of Zack Greinke and the acquisition of Shelby Miller for a trio of critical assets.
With over half of the games in the books this year, it is evident that things haven’t gone as hoped. Arizona sits in the NL West basement at the moment with a 40-55 record on the year. It would be hard to pin all of that on Hale, of course. Star center fielder A.J. Pollock was lost during camp, Miller has been dreadful (as have other recent acquisitions like Yasmany Tomas), and the club has somewhat predictably failed in its outfield defense — among other areas of concern.
Blue Jays Designate Dustin Antolin; Activate Estrada, Morales
The Blue Jays announced that they have designated righty Dustin Antolin for assignment. His 40-man spot was needed to accommodate a host of roster moves, including the activation of righty Marco Estrada and lefty Franklin Morales from the DL.
[Related: Updated Blue Jays Depth Chart]
The 26-year-old Antolin was hit hard in his first-ever MLB appearance this year, but has showed promise in the upper minors of late. In his 38 frames this year at Triple-A, he has pitched to a 2.37 ERA with 9.9 K/9 against 5.4 BB/9. The free passes are a bit concerning, though he has generally shown a bit better command on his way up the ladder.
Toronto will be glad to welcome back its two injured arms. Estrada has continued his remarkable renaissance this year, and his ability to maintain his performance is a critical element of the team’s post-season hopes. While Morales hasn’t really contributed yet in 2016, the club obviously has high hopes since it allowed his $2MM salary to become guaranteed even while he was on the DL.
West Notes: Hill, Reddick, Dodgers, Giants, Gurriel
Athletics lefty Rich Hill still isn’t ready to throw from a mound due to a blister on his pitching hand, manager Bob Melvin told reporters including Comcast’s Joe Stiglich (via Twitter). Though he is keeping his arm in shape by throwing with the blister area covered, the overall progress doesn’t seem quite as advanced as might be hoped. At this point, Oakland just has to hope that Hill can fully recover in time to make one more start before the trade deadline and show that he’s past the issue.
Here’s more from Oakland and elsewhere out west:
- Outfielder Josh Reddick expressed frustration with the fact that he and the Athletics haven’t engaged in recent extension talks, Stiglich also tweets. Reddick called the situation “kind of disheartening,” presumably referring to the fact that he’s likely to be traded with no new deal in place. Player and team have long been said to be engaging in dialogue over a new deal, but it now seems that the time has passed for an agreement.
- The Dodgers are still weighing the addition of a power bat even as they consider starters, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. That very likely won’t be the Brewers’ Ryan Braun, per the report, as Los Angeles has not shown any inclination to go after him. Jay Bruce of the Reds may be the most realistic target, he suggests, though Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies could also be pursued. (For what it’s worth, I’d wager that Colorado will be quite reticent to move CarGo within the division, if it’s willing to do so at all.)
- Giants executive VP of baseball ops Brian Sabean tells Alex Pavlovic of CSNBayArea.com that his club isn’t just looking to build out the depth in its relief corps. “It’s not just going to be the average Joe coming in,” he said. “You’re thinking it’s going to be a meaningful piece, but the competition on the premium people is going to be real stiff and it already is.” Sabean explained that the preference is for a high-strikeout arm who “could really get through an inning and not have much flak in getting through the inning” — rather than what he described as “contact relievers.”
- Astros manager A.J. Hinch said appearance yesterday on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link) that he expects just-signed third baseman Yulieski Gurriel to be ready for the majors in relatively short order. “We want his bat in the line-up, we want him to get acclimated as much as possible,” said Hinch. “That’s probably 2 or 3 weeks.” In the meantime, outfielder Preston Tucker has been called back to the big league club to take the place of the optioned A.J. Reed.
Indians To Sign Joe Thatcher
The Indians have agreed to a minor league deal with lefty Joe Thatcher, according to SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). He had been released by the Dodgers after opting out of his deal with the team.
Thatcher, 34, has seen action in each of the last nine major league seasons, but has yet to receive a big league opportunity thus far in 2016. He was working at the Triple-A level for the Dodgers, posting a 3.60 ERA in 15 frames but also running up an impressive 21:5 K/BB ratio.
Cleveland will presumably consider Thatcher as a LOOGY option down the stretch. He was useful in such a role last year for the Astros, who asked Thatcher for just 22 2/3 innings in 43 appearances but received 3.18 ERA ball from him in that limited capacity.
Heyman’s Latest: Archer, Gray, Shoemaker, Teheran, Vizcaino, Cubs, Mariners
After breaking down the dismal state of the starting pitching supply on this summer’s trade market, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag goes on to provide news and notes on all thirty teams. Among those of chief relevance to the trade deadline:
- At least one unnamed executive thinks that Rays righty Chris Archer is a good bet to be traded, as ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark reports. But an anoynymous general manager tells Heyman that he’s getting quite a different feel. “There’s no belief Chris Archer will be traded,” the GM reportedly said. It’s always tough to know how to interpret the signals on high-level, controllable players, but suffice to say that Archer remains a player to watch — but not one who should be assumed to be on the move.
- The Athletics are “not engaging” competitors in talks on Sonny Gray, which obviously supports the idea that there’s no real interest in exploring a deal while his value is down. Neither are the Angels inclined to chat on Matt Shoemaker, albeit for somewhat different reasons.
- Likewise, the Braves are putting out the vibe that they won’t trade Julio Teheran. But that’s not necessarily the case with regarded to reliever Arodys Vizcaino. Though he’s on the DL with an injured oblique — which is certainly not an easy injury to gauge a timeline from — Atlanta is still getting trade hits and may yet look to move him, per the report. Personally, I have a hard time seeing a sufficient offer developing given the uncertainty.
- Though the Braves would love to find a taker for struggling shortstop Erick Aybar, Heyman says there’s no real interest in the veteran. Atlanta has mostly been engaged in discussions on its part-time role players, and doesn’t seem particularly likely to be involved in any major swaps — though it’s wise never to rule out a creative surprise. After all, who saw last summer’s 13-player trade coming together?
- The Cubs remain on the periphery of the starting pitching market but are suggesting to other organizations that they don’t expect to land a starter. Certainly, it seems, Chicago won’t burn up too much prospect capital just for a back-end hurler. That’s not surprise, as the Cubs have a perfectly sturdy starting five as well as some depth options.
- That’s not to say that the Cubs aren’t still poking around, with Heyman noting that the team spoke to the Mariners about James Paxton and Taijuan Walker. Other organizations have as well, including the Rangers. A Seattle source tells Heyman that a trade of either young starter remains unlikely, though the team isn’t taking anything off the table at this point. From where I sit, it’s tough to imagine either player changing hands; Seattle will surely want to see whether Paxton can harness his improving stuff, while Walker isn’t at full health.
- It’s not clear how the Tigers will be able to upgrade their starting staff, but the report suggests they’d like to. Detroit doesn’t want to deal any of its significant prospects and doesn’t have a lot of room to add salary, per Heyman. That doesn’t really leave much of a realistic path to improvement, though perhaps the team can find some supplemental assets with a little creativity.
Trade Market For First Basemen
If all else fails, teams looking for pop can usually shoehorn a slugger into a first base and/or DH role, and it’s easier to carry such players with the knowledge that rosters will expand in fairly short order. Last year, we saw Mike Napoli and Brandon Moss move at the deadline. But is the demand there this time around?
Truth be told, there aren’t a lot of situations that scream for improvement. John Jaso hasn’t been stellar for the Pirates, though Sean Rodriguez has made for a useful companion and the team has top prospect Josh Bell on hand (if it’s willing to trust him in the field). It’s hard to imagine the Nationals giving up on Ryan Zimmerman — and we haven’t heard any chatter to suggest it — but he is hurt and hasn’t been effective, while lefty bench bat Clint Robinson isn’t matching last year’s productivity. Justin Bour has shown well for the Marlins, but he’s not being trusted to face southpaws and could probably stand to be paired with a better platoon mate than the struggling Chris Johnson (though the return of Dee Gordon will effectively deepen the overall infield mix). The Astros haven’t really landed on a first baseman, but the team may have already made its corner infield move with the signing of Yulieski Gurriel. With the loss of Prince Fielder, and the team’s seeming lack of interest in giving Joey Gallo a shot, perhaps the Rangers shouldn’t be counted out.
If those or any other organizations go hunting for new bats, here are some of the names they might consider:
Rentals
Logan Morrison & Steve Pearce (Rays), Adam Lind & Dae-ho Lee (Mariners), Mark Reynolds (Rockies), Justin Morneau (White Sox), Michael Morse (Free Agent)
- We considered Pearce in the discussion of second basemen, and he’ll probably also appear as a corner outfield option, but perhaps he’s best considered as a somewhat unique, floating, semi-regular slugger. He’s a health risk, but he’s also very affordable and is flat-out raking this year (.324/.393/.553).
- Morrison and Lind haven’t done a whole heck of a lot at the plate in 2016 — at last look, each carried an 88 OPS+ — but they’re rental pieces that could hold some appeal as lefty bench bats. Much the same holds for Reynolds, albeit from the right side. His .277/.345/.438 batting line is obviously propped up by the advantages of altitude, but he could still garner consideration.
- Lee has been hitting, and doing equal damage against pitchers of both kinds, so it’ll be interesting to see if another organization takes a liking to the 34-year-old slugger — who is owed just $1MM this year. It’s not clear from public reports whether he’ll be controllable after the season, but odds are his minor league contract stipulates that he must be put back into the free agent pool.
- Morneau is a mystery — he has taken just 38 professional plate appearances since his offseason elbow surgery — and he’s 35 years old. There’s not much chance that he’ll do anything in the next ten days to prompt a deal, let alone that the White Sox will look to trade him in that time. But if he starts putting up numbers and Chicago falls back in August, the veteran first bagger could conceivably be moved in August.
- It still seems a bit odd that Morse hasn’t signed since his early-season release by the Bucs, but he is 34 years old and may not be interested in taking a minor league deal. It’s tough to see a contender calling with a MLB offer at this stage.
Future Control
Chris Carter (Brewers), Danny Valencia & Yonder Alonso (Athletics), Byung-ho Park & Kennys Vargas (Twins), Brett Wallace (Padres)
- Teams looking for pop could well zero in on Carter, who can also be kept around for two more years via arbitration. He’s producing right at his career rates, which means a borderline OBP and loads of long balls.
- Valencia has barely cracked 100 innings at first, but he’s beginning to see a bit of action there and clubs could consider him in that role (at least on a part-time basis) as a way to get the bat in the lineup. Both he and his teammate, Alonso, have another year of arb eligibility remaining. And they are headed in opposite directions, with Valencia slumping through July while Alonso has posted .800+ OPS figures in each of the last two months.
- The Twins don’t seem particularly likely to discuss either of their two young DH candidates, and other organizations don’t seem particularly likely to come calling. San Diego would surely be willing to listen on Wallace, but he hasn’t followed up on last year’s short-sample success and his two years of future control don’t carry any significant value.
Big Contracts
Billy Butler (Athletics), Joey Votto (Reds), Mark Teixeira & Alex Rodriguez (Yankees), Albert Pujols (Angels), Joe Mauer (Twins), Ryan Howard (Phillies)
- Of the players listed here, Butler might be the likeliest to be traded. He has enjoyed a rebound of sorts over the last two months or so, but overall he has been even less productive this year than last. As a pure DH who is owed $10MM this year and next, it’s far from clear that he’ll be targeted.
- The remaining names are all largely implausible trade pieces for somewhat varied, but somewhat overlapping reasons. All have produced at times since signing their monster contracts, but only Votto (who has emerged from his early-season malaise) is putting up big numbers at present — and he not only has gobs of cash still left on his deal, but possesses a full no-trade clause that he doesn’t seem inclined to waive.
Dream On
Freddie Freeman (Braves), Paul Goldschmidt (Diamondbacks), Wil Myers (Padres), Jose Abreu (White Sox)
- I feel compelled to mention these three players, if only to check all the boxes, but there are really no plausible scenarios where they end up moving. That’s due in some part to the lack of demand, but also their teams’ stances. Braves GM John Coppolella prefers Freeman to his own right arm; Goldschmidt is one of the most valuable assets in the game and plays for a club that hopes to contend again soon; and Myers constitutes the signature addition of Pads GM A.J. Preller’s tenure. There’s probably at least some minute chance of Myers being dealt, but with possible extension talks on the horizon it’s a poor bet.
- That brings us to Abreu, who is in something of his own category. We’ve heard that the White Sox are prepared to listen on most of its roster, and it doesn’t seem that Abreu is being put behind glass with a select few others. He has turned things around after a rough start, and though he no longer looks to be quite the elite asset that he once was, Abreu would still draw significant interest given his affordable control. But I’m still not convinced that Chicago is going to part with the slugger for an equivalent-value package, so I’m shoe-horning him in this category.
MLBTR Live Chat: 7/21/16
Click here to read a transcript of today’s live MLBTR chat with host Jeff Todd.
Rich Hill Doubtful To Make Next Start
Athletics lefty Rich Hill is doubtful to make a start on Sunday, the next open day in Oakland’s rotation, manager Bob Melvin told reporters including MLB.com’s Jane Lee (Twitter link). Hill left his most recent start after only five pitches when a blister on his left middle finger popped.
It seems that the ill-timed blister is still not responding well enough to get Hill back on the bump. Oakland now has a razor-thin margin for error in getting the southpaw back in action before the trade deadline. While it’s theoretically possible that he could be traded without making another start, there’s little question that it would seriously hamper his value — particularly given the 36-year-old’s lack of a big league track record.
Hill is already a highly unconventional trade candidate, having resuscitated his career late last season. He has been nothing short of masterful, though, since signing with the A’s over the winter, and carries a 2.25 ERA with 10.7 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 over 76 frames on the year.
Oakland surely felt it had dodged a bullet when Hill made it back from an earlier groin issue without any ill effects. In his first two starts of this month, he delivered 12 innings over which he permitted just three earned runs on seven hits and four walks, striking out 16 along the way. Excepting that most recent, truncated outing, however, he has now gone two weeks without pitching.
MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk recently examined the potential market for Hill’s services, discussing the impact of the blister — which now seems only to be rising in relevance. As the list of potentially available starters shows, there’s a significant dearth of pure rental rotation additions out there for the taking. But at this point, Hill won’t be able to log two more starts unless he’s able to make an appearance early next week. Odds are, it seems, the A’s will be banking quite a bit on a single remaining outing before accepting final bids on the unique lefty.
Nationals Designate Nick Lee For Assignment
The Nationals have designated lefty Nick Lee for assignment, the club announced. His 40-man spot was needed for the promotion of young righty Koda Glover, who’ll ascend to the big leagues for the first time. An active roster slot was cleared by optioning fellow rookie Reynaldo Lopez.
[Related: Updated Nationals Depth Chart]
Lee, 25, had worked to a 4.54 ERA with 9.1 K/9 against 7.6 BB/9 on the year over 35 2/3 Double-A frames. He has shown big strikeout potential during his minor league career, but has obviously yet to rein in his control.
Meanwhile, the promotion caps a stunning run from Glover, who was chosen in the eighth round of the 2015 draft and opened the year at High-A. He earned successive promotions in short order, and now will make it all the way to the majors. Over his 45 1/3 minor league frames on the year, the 23-year-old owns a 2.18 ERA with 10.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9.