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White Sox Release Corey Knebel

By Mark Polishuk | August 3, 2024 at 7:43am CDT

The White Sox released right-hander Corey Knebel earlier this week, as reported by Sox Machine’s James Fegan (X link) and other members of the team’s beat.  MLB.com’s profile page for Knebel lists the transaction as an “elected free agency,” which implies that Knebel exercised an opt-out clause in the minor league contract he signed last winter.

Knebel suffered a capsule tear in his right shoulder almost two years ago, and after missing the 2023 season entirely, he returned to action in June as part of a rehab assignment with Chicago’s rookie league affiliate.  Moving up the ranks to high-A and then to Triple-A once he was officially activated from the IL in July, Knebel ha a 5.91 ERA over 10 2/3 total innings this season, though five of his seven earned runs were surrendered in one rough outing at high-A ball.

At Triple-A, Knebel had a perfect 0.00 ERA across 5 1/3 innings, with a 44.4% strikeout rate and 11.1% walk rate.  Despite that impressive work in the small sample size, it doesn’t seem as though the White Sox intended to bring Knebel up to the majors.  While it certainly be argued that the 27-85 White Sox (losers of 18 straight games) need all the help they can get, it would appear that the team is prioritizing innings for younger pitchers the rest of the way, and thus Knebel likely chose to go elsewhere.

The 32-year-old Knebel last pitched in the majors in 2022, when he had a 3.43 ERA in 44 2/3 innings out of the Phillies’ bullpen.  The shoulder capsule tear is the latest in a series of long-term injuries — he missed all of 2019 due to Tommy John surgery, and a lat strains limited him to 25 2/3 innings as a member of the Dodgers in 2021.

Over 306 2/3 innings over parts of eight seasons in the bigs, Knebel has a 3.26 ERA, highlighted by his 2017 All-Star season as the Brewers’ closer.  This track record means that he’ll very likely catch on with another team on a minor league deal, and more good numbers in the minors will give him a shot of getting back to the big leagues before the 2024 season is out.

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Chicago White Sox Transactions Corey Knebel

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Orioles Acquire Austin Slater, Livan Soto

By Mark Polishuk and Darragh McDonald | July 31, 2024 at 10:18am CDT

Today: Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports that the Reds will receive cash considerations in the deal, not a player to be named later.

July 30: Just before the deadline, the Orioles have picked up Austin Slater and infielder Livan Soto and cash considerations in a trade with the Reds, per announcements from both clubs. The Reds receive cash considerations or a player to be named later.

Slater is on the move for the second time this month, as Cincinnati acquired the outfielder in a deal with the Giants only three weeks ago. But the Reds recently nabbed Ty France from the Mariners, perhaps leading to Slater being squeezed out of their plans.

He has long been a solid defender with a right-handed bat that performs well with the platoon advantage. He’s hit just .226/.316/.334 against righties in his career for an 84 wRC+ but his slash against southpaws is .274/.364/.433, which leads to a 122 wRC+.

On the defensive side of things, Slater has close to 3,000 outfield innings on his ledger, with almost 1,200 of those in center field. Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating consider him subpar in center but good in a corner, while Outs Above Average considers him to be strong in all three spots.

The O’s traded Austin Hays for Cristian Pache and Seranthony Domínguez but were reportedly looking for a right-handed hitting outfielder to take some of the at-bats that were available in the wake of Hays’ departure. It would appear that Slater will be the one to step up for that job.

Soto, 24, is clearly a favorite of the Baltimore front office. They claimed him off waivers from the Angels in February, but the Angels claimed him back later that month. The O’s claimed him a second time back in April but then also quickly put him back on waivers, when the Reds claimed him.

He has a small sample of major league experience, with 23 games scattered over this season and the previous two. He’s hit .280/.378/.376 in Triple-A this year for a 101 wRC+. He’s capable of playing the three infield spots to the left of first base and even has a small amount of center field experience. He can still be optioned for the rest of this year and an additional season as well.

C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic first reported on X that Slater was going to the O’s. Mark Sheldon of MLB.com relayed Soto’s inclusion on X. Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer first relayed the cash on X.

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Baltimore Orioles Cincinnati Reds Newsstand Transactions Austin Slater Livan Soto

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Dodgers Designate Nick Ramirez, Gus Varland For Assignment

By Mark Polishuk | July 30, 2024 at 9:22pm CDT

After a busy deadline day, the Dodgers cleared some space on the 40-man roster by designating left-hander Nick Ramirez and right-hander Gus Varland for assignment.  Ramirez has previously been outrighted in his career, so if he clears waivers, he can opt to reject another outright assignment in favor of free agency.

Ramirez came to L.A. in a trade from the Yankees back in early April, and he has a 6.35 ERA over 11 1/3 innings this season amidst several trips back and forth from the majors and Triple-A Oklahoma City.  Because he has been recalled the maximum five times from the minors, Ramirez no longer be sent down again without first clearing outright waivers, so the Dodgers may be parting ways entirely by simply pursuing a DFA route.

Over 162 2/3 innings in parts of five Major League seasons, Ramirez has a 4.20 ERA, a 47% grounder rate, 18.5% strikeout rate, and 8.7% walk rate.  He has been a pretty durable reliever capable of pitching more than one inning, and his big league tenure was highlighted by a 2.66 ERA over 40 2/3 IP with New York last season.

Varland is in his second MLB season, and he has also been a frequent visitor on the Triple-A shuttle though he hasn’t hit his maximum number of recalls.  The righty has made seven appearances and posted a 3.00 ERA in six relief innings for Los Angeles, though with more walks (four) than strikeouts (three) in that small sample size.  A member of the Dodgers organization since 2021, Varland briefly went to the Brewers via the Rule 5 Draft in 2023 and he made his big league debut in a Brewers uniform, but Milwaukee returned him to Los Angeles later in the season.

With the trade deadline now passed, either pitcher could have an increased chance at being claimed off waivers, as teams can now no longer freely pursue trades in order to add new arms to their depth charts.  Ramirez in particular might have extra appeal as a left-hander, which could make him more apt to elect free agency should he clear waivers.

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Los Angeles Dodgers Transactions Gus Varland Nick Ramirez

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Diamondbacks Place Christian Walker On 10-Day IL, Designate Miguel Castro

By Mark Polishuk | July 30, 2024 at 8:39pm CDT

The Diamondbacks placed Christian Walker on the 10-day injured list earlier today, as the star first baseman is suffering with a left oblique strain.  First baseman Pavin Smith was called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move to Walker’s IL placement, and right-hander Miguel Castro was designated for assignment in another move to create roster space in the wake of Arizona’s deadline-day trades for Josh Bell and Dylan Floro.

Walker left Monday’s game due to what was described as soreness in his left oblique area, and he received some good news today in the form of a relatively positive MRI result.  Walker told reporters (including Nick Piecoro and Jose M. Romero of the Arizona Republic) that his strain was of the minor variety, and he estimated roughly a three-week stint on the IL.

While oblique injuries can linger and a three-week-absence is still a big chunk of the two months remaining in the regular season, it’s obviously a sigh of relief for Walker and the D’Backs and the first baseman’s season doesn’t appear in jeopardy.  The Diamondbacks’ quick move to acquire Bell from the Marlins today was a clear sign that Walker would be missing some significant length of time, but if Walker is indeed able to return in three weeks’ time, Bell will become an interesting backup or part-time DH option to bolster Arizona’s bench.

Landing Bell and recalling Smith are stopgap options for the Diamondbacks, as there’s no way to truly replace Walker’s all-around contributions.  In addition to being arguably the game’s best defensive first baseman, he has been a consistent force at the plate, including his 23 home runs and .254/.338/.476 slash line in 461 plate appearances this season.  With the Snakes in a pitched battle for a wild card spot, they’ll face an extra challenge in trying to stay afloat while missing one of their top players for the better part of August.

Castro has a 5.93 ERA over 13 2/3 innings and only 11 appearances this season, as the righty just returned to action just prior to the All-Star break after missing close to three months on the injured list due to shoulder inflammation.  It is safe to say his injury impacted his performance, yet with the D’Backs bringing new bullpen arms into the fold, Castro is now the odd man out.

Castro signed a free agent contract with Arizona during the 2022-23 offseason that paid him a guaranteed $3.5MM salary for 2023, and carried a $5MM vesting option for 2024 which triggered if Castro appeared in at least 60 games last season and passed a season-ending physical.  He easily locked in that extra year with 75 appearances, tossing 64 2/3 innings in a workhorse role out of the bullpen and posting a 4.31 ERA.

If Castro is claimed on waivers, a new team will assume the remaining $1.6MM or so remaining of his 2024 salary, which probably isn’t too likely given his lack of production.  Should he clear waivers, Castro has enough MLB service time to reject an outright assignment to the minors and instead opt for free agency.

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Arizona Diamondbacks Transactions Christian Walker Miguel Castro Pavin Smith

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Padres Acquire Martin Perez

By Mark Polishuk | July 30, 2024 at 8:04pm CDT

8:04PM: The Pirates will send around $1.3MM to the Padres in salary relief, Dejan Kovacevic of DK Pittsburgh Sports writes (X link).  The Bucs were willing to pay because they “coveted” landing Jimenez in return.

4:59PM: The Padres have landed left-hander Martin Perez in a trade with the Pirates, according to reporter Francys Romero (links to X).  Left-handed pitching prospect Ronaldys Jimenez will head to Pittsburgh in exchange.

There were some pre-deadline rumblings that the Bucs could deal from their relative pitching surplus, and Pittsburgh ended up moving Quinn Priester to the Red Sox and now Perez to San Diego, albeit for more projectionable players than players that could help the Pirates win immediately.  There is also a financial element to the Perez trade, as the Padres will receive some money from the Pirates to cover a portion of the roughly $2.5MM remaining of Perez’s $8MM salary for the season.

After signing that one-year, $8MM pact last offseason, there was always an expectation that the Pirates would look to flip Perez at the deadline in some fashion.  The veteran southpaw didn’t help his market by posting a 5.20 ERA in 83 innings, and he also spent a month on the injured list recovering from a groin strain.  Perez’s Statcast page has a troubling amount of blue ink, with a set of below-average metrics in every category except grounder rate.

The 33-year-old Perez does bring plenty of experience and an ability to eat innings, which is no small matter for a San Diego rotation that is currently relying heavily on a lot of younger arms behind ace Dylan Cease.  With Joe Musgrove still on the IL and Yu Darvish away from the team dealing with a family matter, the trio of Michael King, Randy Vasquez, and Matt Waldron have all been logging a lot of innings, leading the Padres to explore for some rotation help.  The bulk of San Diego’s deadline moves focused on the bullpen, so while bolstering the relief corps does aid the rotation in a more indirect fashion, the Perez trade brings on a veteran arm to cover some starts down the stretch.

The 18-year-old Jimenez was an international signing for the Padres in 2023, and he has started his pro career this year with three starts for the Padres’ Dominican Summer League squad, delivering a 1.50 ERA in six innings of work.  Jimenez is a lottery ticket-type of prospect for the Pirates to develop over the long term, which the club probably counts as a good result from its investment in Perez.

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Newsstand Pittsburgh Pirates San Diego Padres Transactions Martin Perez

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Evan Carter Unlikely To Play Again During 2024 Season

By Mark Polishuk | July 30, 2024 at 7:46pm CDT

Rangers rookie outfielder Evan Carter has probably played his last game of the season, as GM Chris Young told reporters (including Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News) that the team doesn’t expect Carter to return from the injured list before the regular-season schedule wraps up.  A postseason return might be possible, but not probable given the long-term nature of Carter’s injury.  Carter has missed over two months due to a lumbar strain in his back, and the Rangers officially moved him to the 60-man IL yesterday in order to create some space on the 40-man roster.

“His back continues to give him a little bit of trouble when he ramps up his hitting progression,” Young said.  “We’ve seen multiple specialists in the past week and determined that he is going to need a more lengthy time period to rest his back without rotational activities.  So, I’m not overly optimistic that we’re going to see Evan again in the regular season.  It’s just going to take some time and we want to protect him.  He is a huge part of our future.”

It seemed like Carter was making decent progress earlier this month and was starting to take part in more baseball-related activities in preparation for a minor league rehab assignment.  However, Texas manager Bruce Bochy explained to media yesterday that Carter had been shut down due to continued discomfort in his back, and that extended period now looks like it will bring Carter’s 2024 campaign to an end.  Neither Young or Bochy mentioned the possibility of a surgery to address the issue, so it seems as though Carter will try to go on the mend with just rest and recovery.

So much has already happened in Carter’s young career that it is easy to forget that he doesn’t turn 22 until next month, and he made his Major League debut less than 11 months ago.  Carter was one of baseball’s more highly-touted prospects at the time of his debut, yet he exceeded all expectations by hitting .306/.413/.645 in his first 75 plate appearances in the regular season, and followed that up with a .300/.417/.500 slash line in 72 PA in the postseason.

This starring role in the Rangers’ World Series run made Carter a heavy favorite for AL Rookie of the Year honors heading into 2024, but he hit only .188/.272/.361 over 162 PA this season.  The back problem was obviously a factor in that lack of production, and as Grant noted, Carter also missed a lot of the 2021 minor league season with a stress fracture in his back.  Since Carter recovered from that prior injury in good form, there’s hope he can similarly rebound in 2025, yet two significant back problems in four years is certainly a bigger-picture cause for concern.

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Texas Rangers Evan Carter

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Cardinals Designate Giovanny Gallegos For Assignment

By Mark Polishuk | July 30, 2024 at 6:19pm CDT

TODAY: The Cardinals weren’t able to find a taker for Gallegos before the trade deadline passed, so he’ll hit the waiver wire.  Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that the Cards will release Gallegos and eat his remaining salary if nobody makes a claim.

JULY 28: The Cardinals announced that right-hander Giovanny Gallegos has been designated for assignment.  Right-hander Kyle Leahy was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move, and the Cards now have an open space on their 40-man roster.

The DFA underscores a disaster of a season for Gallegos, who has a 6.53 ERA over 21 appearances and 20 2/3 innings.  After emerging as a cornerstone of the St. Louis bullpen from 2019-22, some red flags appeared last season when Gallegos’ ERA shot up to 4.42 (in 55 innings) as his strikeout rate declined and batters suddenly started to make much more solid contact against his offerings.

Things got worse for Gallegos this season, as he has allowed six homers over his 20 2/3 frames and his strikeout rate (22.3%) and walk rate (10.6%) are both career worsts.  The sudden loss of control is particularly troubling, as even amidst Gallegos’ struggles in 2023, he still sat in the 92nd percentile of all pitchers in terms of walk rate.  Health could be an issue since Gallegos missed a month and a half due to a shoulder impingement, though he wasn’t pitching well either before or after his stint on the 15-day injured list.

Despite these significant struggles, Gallegos’ track record means that he’ll likely catch on with another team pretty quickly, if perhaps not via waiver claim.  A team that puts in a claim would assume the remainder of Gallegos’ salary — roughly $1.84MM in 2024 salary, plus a $500K buyout of his $6.5MM club option for the 2025 campaign.

Unless a trade is worked out during the DFA period and before Tuesday’s deadline, clubs might prefer to wait until Gallegos clears waivers and is then likely released by the Cardinals.  A new team would then owe Gallegos just the prorated portion of a MLB minimum salary, and St. Louis would be on the hook for the remaining money owed.  Since Gallegos has more than five years of MLB service time, he has the right to refuse an outright assignment from the Cardinals if he does clear waivers.

Led by star closer Ryan Helsley, the Cardinals have gotten solid results in general from their bullpen this season, with Gallegos uncharacteristically being the relief corps’ weak link.  St. Louis, like most contenders, was known to be exploring the market for some bullpen reinforcements heading into the deadline, and moving Gallegos (and freeing up a 40-man roster spot) would hint that some kind of plans are in mind for the Cards before July 30.

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Newsstand St. Louis Cardinals Transactions Giovanny Gallegos Kyle Leahy

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Rays Acquire Dylan Carlson

By Mark Polishuk | July 30, 2024 at 5:03pm CDT

Dylan Carlson is on his way to the Rays, as MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (X links) report that Tampa has acquired the former Cardinals top prospect for right-hander Shawn Armstrong.  The Angels, Guardians, and Nationals were all linked to Carlson’s market leading up to the deadline, but it was Tampa who sealed the deal for the 25-year-old outfielder. Ronald Blum of the Associated Press reports that St. Louis included around $98K in the deal.

Trade speculation has swirled around Carlson for years, even when he was on the way up the ladder as one of the top minor leaguers in the St. Louis farm system.  Both before and after Carlson made his MLB debut in 2020, there were whispers that the crowded nature of the Cards’ outfield picture might inspire the team to move Carlson to address another need, and it is perhaps now easy to second-guess the Cardinals’ decision to retain a player they once saw as a building block.

Carlson seemingly lived up to that early hype with a third-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2021, but injuries curtailed both his production and his playing time in 2022-23.  A left hamstring strain and a thumb sprain hampered him in 2022, and ankle problems (and an eventual ankle surgery) limited Carlson to 76 games in 2023.  Playing in 204 of 324 games over the 2022-23 seasons, Carlson hit .230/316/.364 over 743 plate appearances.

The struggles continued into this year, as Carlson has a .198/.275/.240 slash line in 138 PA while in a clear part-time capacity.  Still just 25 years old, Carlson will now get a change of scenery with this trade to the Rays and a chance at a fresh start to his Major League career.

The Rays’ flurry of deadline moves has left plenty of opening around the roster, including the left field spot recently occupied by Randy Arozarena.  Carlson’s center field defense has been declining along with his offense, but the metrics indicate that he is an average to solid defender in the corner outfield spots.  Between that outfield versatility and his switch-hitting, Carlson somewhat fits the Rays’ preferred model of players who can shuffled around to different places on the diamond, though he’ll naturally need to show more at the plate in order to win regular playing time.  Carlson is still under arbitration control through the 2026 season, so Tampa Bay has time to evaluate Carlson and decide whether or not he has something to offer as a big leaguer.

Armstrong has a 4.18 ERA over 327 1/3 career innings with Cleveland, Miami, Seattle, Baltimore, and two separate stints with Tampa Bay during his 10 Major League seasons.  The righty is a free agent after the season and is therefore a rental pickup for the Cardinals, who will use Armstrong as some extra depth in their bullpen.

A big .370 BABIP has impacted Armstrong’s performance in 2024, as his 5.40 ERA is considerably higher than his 3.86 SIERA.  It hasn’t all been plain bad luck, however, as Armstrong’s walk and hard-contact rates are all below average, and his 23.4% strikeout rate is decent but inspiring.  Left-handed batters have a .982 OPS against Armstrong this season, while he has continued to pitch well against same-sided hitters, limiting righty-swingers to a .690 OPS.

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Newsstand St. Louis Cardinals Tampa Bay Rays Transactions Dylan Carlson Shawn Armstrong

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Pirates Acquire Isiah Kiner-Falefa

By Mark Polishuk | July 30, 2024 at 4:27pm CDT

The Pirates and Blue Jays have agreed to a trade that will send utilityman Isiah Kiner-Falefa to Pittsburgh.  The Bucs will also get some cash considerations as part of the deal, while the Jays will receive outfield prospect Charles McAdoo in return.  The trade has been officially announced by both clubs. Toronto is reportedly paying down $1MM of the approximate $2.5MM remaining on Kiner-Falefa’s deal this season; they’ll also pick up roughly $1.22MM of the $7.5MM on his contract for next season.

Kiner-Falefa hasn’t played a big league game since June 30 due to a left knee sprain, but he is two games into a minor league rehab assignment and is expected to be activated within the next few days, assuming no setbacks.  The 29-year-old now looks to be making his return in a new uniform, and joining a playoff race, with the Pirates two games back of an NL wild card slot.

Toronto signed Kiner-Falefa to a two-year, $15MM free agent deal this winter, and both the size of the contract and IKF’s landing spot surprised many pundits at the time.  Kiner-Falefa has a history as a glove-first player and was coming off a rough year at the plate with the 2023 Yankees, and the Jays seemingly had little need for a utility infielder given their number of infield options already on hand.  As it turned out, however, Kiner-Falefa ended up being an all-around bright spot in an otherwise disappointing Blue Jays season.

Over 281 plate appearances, Kiner-Falefa has hit .292/.338/.420 with seven home runs in a Jays uniform.  His 116 wRC+ far outclasses the 81 wRC+ he posted in his first six MLB seasons, even if a fair amount of good fortune has been involved.  Kiner-Falefa’s .331 wOBA is well above his .291 xwOBA, he has a .316 BABIP, and he ranks in the bottom tenth percentile of all hitters in walk rate, hard-hit ball rate, and barrel rate.  While the hard contact hasn’t been there, Kiner-Falefa has made a lot of contact in general, with an excellent 13.2% strikeout rate.

This unexpected offense has been paired with IKF’s customary strong defense, as he has helped the Jays at second base, third base, and shortstop this year.  Pittsburgh already has an elite defensive third baseman in Ke’Bryan Hayes and Oneil Cruz is locked into the shortstop role, so with Nick Gonzales now facing a lengthy stint on the 10-day IL, Kiner-Falefa figures to slide right into the Pirates’ second base role once he himself returns to good health.

After five straight losing seasons, the Pirates appear eager to mark the end of their rebuild with a postseason berth.  Kiner-Falefa, Bryan De La Cruz, Jalen Beeks, and Josh Walker have all been added in trades in the last few days, and another deal or two might be squeezed in before the deadline.  While none of these moves are exactly blockbusters, the sum total is a set of modest but needed upgrades to bolster some weaker links on the roster.

The financial element of the IKF deal shouldn’t be overlooked, as Kiner-Falefa is owed roughly $2.5MM for the rest of this season and then $7.5MM in 2025. The Jays included cash in a few of their deadline deals.

McAdoo ranked 12th in Baseball America’s most recent evaluation of the Pirates’ minor league system, and the 22-year-old has hit .315/.394/.538 with 14 home runs over 376 total PA at high-A and Double-A this season.  A 13th-round pick out of San Jose State in the 2023 draft, McAdoo has done nothing but hit in his brief pro career, and has already shown a lot of polish in his approach at the plate.  BA notes that McAdoo has shown elite bat speed and exit velocities to back up his impressive bottom-line numbers.

Defensively, McAdoo has played mostly third base in the minors, but with a good chunk of time at first base, second base, and in both corner outfield spots.  BA hasn’t been wowed by his defense and feels the corner outfield might ultimately be his defensive home, though for now, McAdoo looks like the kind of versatile multi-position type the Blue Jays have prioritized in recent years.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan (X link) was the first to report that IKF was headed to the Pirates, while MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand wrote (via X) about McAdoo’s inclusion. Ronald Blum of the Associated Press reported the specifics of the cash considerations.

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Newsstand Pittsburgh Pirates Toronto Blue Jays Transactions Isiah Kiner-Falefa

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Diamondbacks Acquire Josh Bell

By Mark Polishuk | July 30, 2024 at 4:21pm CDT

4:21PM: The trade has been officially announced, with the return to the Marlins being specified as cash considerations or a player to be named later.

1:23PM: The Diamondbacks have acquired first baseman Josh Bell from the Marlins, as per Craig Mish of the Miami Herald (links to X).  Miami placed Bell on waivers two days ago, and Mish reports that Arizona will send cash to the Marlins to cover some of the roughly $5.9MM still owed to Bell for the remainder of the 2024 season.  Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via X) writes that the D’Backs will cover $2.25MM of Bell’s remaining salary.

The move seems like an instant reaction to the oblique injury that forced Christian Walker out of last night’s game.  Deemed as left oblique tightness at the time, the fact that the D’Backs have quickly pivoted to adding a new first baseman indicates that Walker has some type of a strain that will require a trip to the injured list.  The Diamondbacks figure to give an update on Walker’s condition later today, and Piecoro adds that the MRI revealed “relatively good news” about his status.  Walker will still need to hit the IL, and given how oblique issues can tend to linger, it could be difficult to project a recovery timeline.

Bell has now been traded at the deadline in each of the last three seasons.  The first baseman was dealt along with Juan Soto as part of the blockbuster swap between the Nationals and Padres two years ago, and in 2023, Bell was sent from the Guardians to the Marlins for Kahlil Watson and Jean Segura.

In keeping with the rather streaky nature of Bell’s career, those two trades yielded very different results for his new teams.  Bell was enjoying a nice season with Washington in 2022 but struggled badly after the deal to the Padres; last season saw Bell post middling numbers for the Guardians but he then caught fire after joining the Marlins, helping carry the Fish to a wild card berth.

Arizona can only hope for the repeat of Bell’s 2023 turn-around, and in fact the veteran first baseman has ended his Miami tenure on a high note.  Bell has a 1.515 OPS and five homers over his last 33 plate appearances, after hitting a much more underwhelming .224/.288/.349 with nine homers in his first 408 PA of the season.  While the Diamondbacks’ hand may have been somewhat forced by Walker’s injury, this recent production from Bell provides some evidence that he might be in another of his turns from ice-cold at the plate to red hot.

The switch-hitting Bell figures to step right into regular first base duty in Arizona.  Though his splits are pretty even this season, Bell has performed better against lefties than against righties in recent years, so the D’Backs might look to use him in something of a platoon with a left-handed hitter like Pavin Smith, whose seems like a good candidate to be called back up to the majors when Walker is officially placed on the IL.  Smith, Kevin Newman, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. have combined for 28 innings of work at first base this season, as Walker’s dominance at the position has left the D’Backs rarely in need of a backup plan.

Today’s deal is the second trade between the Marlins and Diamondbacks this week, as Arizona also picked up A.J. Puk in a separate swap.  The Snakes were primarily known to be looking at pitching help even after Puk was acquired, though Walker’s injury naturally led to this unexpected need at first base.

From Miami’s perspective, the team has now dealt Puk, Bell, Trevor Rogers, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. as part of their deadline selloff, not to mention the Luis Arraez trade earlier in the season that signaled the Marlins’ intention to rebuild.  Getting a bit of cash off the books for Bell is a decent return considering how he was struggling for much of the year, and the Fish will surely continue to be busy in swinging more deals before today’s 5pm CT deadline.

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Arizona Diamondbacks Miami Marlins Newsstand Transactions Christian Walker Josh Bell

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    Dodgers, Max Muncy Agree To Extension

    Brewers To Sign Gary Sánchez

    Francisco Lindor To Undergo Surgery For Hamate Fracture

    Dodgers Re-Sign Evan Phillips, Designate Ben Rortvedt

    Corbin Carroll To Undergo Surgery For Hamate Fracture

    Reese Olson To Miss 2026 Season Following Shoulder Surgery

    Braves Place Spencer Schwellenbach On 60-Day Injured List

    Rangers To Sign Jordan Montgomery

    Tigers Sign Justin Verlander

    Shane Bieber To Begin Season On Injured List; Bowden Francis To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Rays Sign Nick Martinez

    Recent

    Diamondbacks To Re-Sign Zac Gallen

    Royals Sign John Means To Minor League Deal

    Orioles Sign Chris Bassitt

    Brewers To Sign Luis Rengifo

    Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

    Cubs To Sign Shelby Miller

    Rangers Designate Zak Kent For Assignment

    Giants Sign Rowan Wick

    Reds, Nathaniel Lowe Agree To Minor League Deal

    Nabil Crismatt To Undergo UCL Surgery

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