Mark Polishuk | MLB Trade Rumors

Athletics Interested In Andrew Vaughn

By Mark Polishuk | April 10, 2022 at 10:25pm CDT

The White Sox were among the many teams showing interest in the Athletics’ available starters, with Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas on Chicago’s target list. Manaea has since been dealt to the Padres, with USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reporting that the White Sox “nearly” landed Manaea instead, and are still looking at Montas. However, the A’s want young slugger Andrew Vaughn back in return, and the Sox are balking at the demand.

It isn’t surprising that the A’s would make such a big ask, considering that Montas is under team control through the 2023 season. Likewise, it is natural that the White Sox wouldn’t be eager to part with a former star prospect who was already in the majors less than two years after being picked third overall in the 2019 draft.

Oakland could also be looking to leverage Chicago’s sudden lack of pitching depth, as Lance Lynn (knee surgery) will be on the injured list until late May and Lucas Giolito (abdominal tightness) is also on the verge of being placed on the IL for what looks like could be the majority of April. The White Sox did recently sign Johnny Cueto, but the veteran will need some ramp-up time after missing all of Spring Training, and might not be available for a few weeks anyway.

Dylan Cease, Dallas Keuchel, Michael Kopech, and Vince Velasquez are now the top four in the White Sox rotation, with Reynaldo Lopez, Jimmy Lambert, or Tanner Banks candidates to fill in for Giolito. Adding a pitcher of Montas’ caliber would be a major help both in the immediate future and beyond, as this is the last guaranteed season of Keuchel’s contract, and it seems unlikely that the Sox will exercise their $20MM club option on his services for 2023.

Then again, Vaughn is also a possible long-term answer as an heir apparent to 35-year-old Jose Abreu, who is also in the final season of his contract. There does remain a solid chance that the Sox will sign Abreu to another extension, so Vaughn could play in a first base/DH timeshare with Abreu, or perhaps see more time as a corner outfielder, even if Vaughn isn’t ideally suited for outfield work.

Another complicating factor is that the White Sox could also use Vaughn’s bat right now, given that the injury bug has also extended to the position player side. Yoan Moncada is on the 10-day IL with an oblique strain and AJ Pollock left yesterday’s game with a sore hamstring, though Pollock doesn’t believe the injury is terribly serious.

Vaughn hit .235/.309/.396 with 15 homers over 469 plate appearances in his 2021 rookie season, resulting in a 93 OPS+/94 wRC+. These are certainly respectable numbers for a player’s first taste of the majors, especially since Vaughn still has so little overall pro experience. After being drafted, Vaughn played in 55 minor league games in 2019 but then didn’t see any official game action at all in 2020 due to the canceled minor league season, instead doing his work at Chicago’s alternate training site. Vaughn spoke with The Athletic’s James Fegan about his rookie year and the adjustments he has made both at the plate and in the field, which includes even taking some grounders at third base as a possible fallback option in Moncada’s absence.

Between Vaughn’s prospect pedigree and his big league-readiness, he is the type of player the A’s have traditionally targeted on the trade market, particularly during their most recent selloff of notable veterans. The likes of Cristian Pache, Shea Langoliers, Adrian Martinez, Kevin Smith, and Adam Oller have all been acquired since the end of the lockout, with Pache, Smith, and Oller already on the active roster.

Injured List Placements: Thompson, Bolt, Cabrera

By Mark Polishuk | April 10, 2022 at 2:35pm CDT

Catching up on some of today’s injury news…

Nationals right-hander Mason Thompson was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right biceps strain. Washington called up Hunter Harvey from Triple-A in the corresponding move, with the former Orioles top prospect getting his first look with his new team since the Nats claimed him off waivers from the Giants two weeks ago. Thompson threw only three pitches before being forced out of last night’s outing against the Mets. X-rays are negative, and Thompson is also undergoing an MRI today, Washington manager Dave Martinez told MLB.com’s Jessica Camerato and other reporters.
The Athletics placed Skye Bolt on the 10-day IL with a right oblique strain. Left-hander Adam Kolarek was called up from Triple-A. After debuting with five games for Oakland in 2019, Bolt didn’t see any action in 2020 and then played in 34 total games with the Giants and A’s last season. Bolt has some big numbers with Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate but hasn’t brought that pop to the majors, with only an .090/.116/.164 slash line over 71 career plate appearances in the Show.
Edward Cabrera has been placed on the minor league injured list, as the former Marlins top prospect is dealing with a right biceps injury. Beyond the delayed start that everyone faced for Spring Training, Cabrera’s spring work was also delayed by a visa issue, hence his extra time in the minors. While this particular injury isn’t thought to be too serious, Cabrera did miss two months last season due to an inflamed nerve in that same right biceps. Among the many highly-touted young arms in the Marlins organization, Cabrera is one of the most promising, regularly featuring on top-100 lists over the last three seasons. The right-hander made his MLB debut last season, posting a 5.81 ERA over 26 1/3 innings for Miami.

Angels Place Jose Quijada On 10-Day Injured List, Select Brian Moran, Designate Kyle Tyler

By Mark Polishuk | April 10, 2022 at 1:30pm CDT

The Angels announced a trio of corresponding roster moves, including the placement of left-hander Jose Quijada on the 10-day injured list due to a right oblique strain. Quijada’s placement is retroactive to April 8. Fellow southpaw Brian Moran will replace Quijada on the active roster after the Halos selected his contract, and right-hander Kyle Tyler was designated for assignment to create a 40-man roster spot.

It seems as though Quijada’s injury may have taken place last night, as Jeff Fletcher of The Southern California News Group (Twitter link) notes that Quijada was warming up in the bullpen, but then didn’t come into the game as expected to face a left-handed batter. The southpaw might now face a lengthy absence given the nature of oblique injuries, and depending on the severity of the strain.

Quijada has spent three of his four MLB seasons with Los Angeles, amassing a 4.85 ERA over 29 2/3 relief innings. Counting his rookie season with the Marlins in 2019, Quijada has a 5.31 ERA in 59 1/3 career innings, as his tenure has included a lot of missed bats (32% strikeout rate) but also a lot of wildness (15.6% walk rate).

Aaron Loup was the only other lefty in the Angels’ bullpen, necessitating the selection of Moran’s minor league contract. After joining L.A. on that minors deal back in November, Moran is now lined up to make his first MLB appearance since 2020. Moran is another former Marlin, with a 6.55 ERA over 11 career Major League innings with Miami and Toronto in 2019-20.

While that represents Moran’s big league resume, he has bounced around to several different organizations since the Mariners picked him in the seventh round of the 2009 draft. This is actually Moran’s second stint with the Angels, as the Halos acquired him via a post-Rule 5 Draft trade in 2013, but Tommy John surgery sidelined Moran for all of 2014 and kept him from ever pitching for L.A. Moran has a solid 3.05 ERA over 516 1/3 career innings in the minors.

Tyler has now been designated for assignment four times in under a month, and his first three trips to the DFA wire saw the righty switch teams. Originally an Angel back on March 19, Tyler was designated and then claimed/designated by both the Red Sox and Padres before landing back in Anaheim on another waiver claim on Friday. Tyler made his Major League debut last season, with a 2.92 ERA over 12 1/3 innings out of the Angels’ bullpen

Twins Considering Justin Upton

By Mark Polishuk | April 10, 2022 at 1:25pm CDT

The Twins “have checked in on” Justin Upton now that the veteran outfielder has hit the open market, SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson reports (Twitter link). The Angels designated Upton for assignment last week and then released him after he cleared DFA waivers.

Should Minnesota or any other team sign Upton, they would only owe him a prorated minimum salary. The Angels are still responsible for the remainder of the $28MM owed to Upton for the 2022 season (minus that minimum salary). As such, it isn’t surprising that Upton sailed through the waiver wire without a claim, as any club claiming Upton would’ve absorbed that entire salary.

This isn’t to say that Upton didn’t receive some looks while in DFA limbo, as USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that two “small-market, non-contending teams” were in touch with the Angels about potential trades. It isn’t known how far along trade talks actually got between Los Angeles and these two mystery clubs, but it was a moot point, since Upton used his full no-trade protection to reject the possibility of going to either team.

This sets up an interesting guessing game about what teams might have asked about an Upton trade. Nightengale’s description could include such teams as the rebuilding Pirates and Orioles, or perhaps teams like the Reds or Athletics who spent the offseason cutting payroll, if not going into full overhaul mode. The Diamondbacks (Upton’s initial team) could also perhaps fit, though the D’Backs did make some modest moves to improve themselves for 2022.

As to what could have been offered in an Upton trade, an interested team could have looked to acquire Upton and a chunk of his salary if the Angels had included a notable prospect to sweeten the pot. Or, perhaps a team was looking to unload another undesirable contract in exchange, either in pure salary dump fashion, or maybe this other big-mooney player might have provided some help to the Angels’ roster.

For a Twins team that had two left-handed hitters (Max Kepler and Alex Kirilloff) in corner outfield positions, the right-handed hitting Upton could be a nice veteran complement. Upton has been a replacement-level player over the last three seasons, but could benefit from a part-time role, as most of his struggles over the last two seasons have come against right-handed pitching.

Diamondbacks Place Luke Weaver On 10-Day IL

By Mark Polishuk | April 10, 2022 at 12:44pm CDT

The Diamondbacks announced that right-hander Luke Weaver has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to right elbow inflammation. The placement is retroactive to April 8. Left-hander Kyle Nelson has been called up from Triple-A to take Weaver’s spot on the active roster. In other moves, the D’Backs outrighted southpaw Caleb Baragar and righty Humberto Mejia to Triple-A, as both of the recently-designated pitchers cleared waivers.

Weaver tossed two-thirds of an inning of relief work in Thursday’s 4-2 Arizona win over the Padres, allowing a run on three hits. An elbow issue could be the reason behind that shaky outing, though Weaver was also dealing with a blister problem during the end of Spring Training. Weaver worked exclusively as a starter in 2019-21, but the D’Backs are using him as a reliever in the early going of the season, so this IL stint could delay any eventual return to the rotation.

Nelson will now step into Arizona’s bullpen, and the southpaw’s first appearance will mark his Diamondbacks debut. Nelson has pitched in each of the last two seasons, with only a 12.19 ERA to show for 10 1/3 innings in The Show. The D’Backs claimed Nelson off waivers from the Guardians in November, after Nelson had spent all five of his professional seasons in Cleveland’s organization.

Giants Promote Heliot Ramos

By Mark Polishuk | April 10, 2022 at 12:03pm CDT

12:03PM: The Giants have officially announced the move. Right-hander John Brebbia has been placed on the bereavement list to create a 40-man roster space.

8:12AM: The Giants are promoting outfield prospect Heliot Ramos to the big leagues, as initially reported by Munger English Sports Management (Ramos’ agency). Ramos is expected to make his debut today for the Giants’ game against the Marlins.

With southpaw Trevor Rogers scheduled to start for Miami, the right-handed hitting Ramos is a logical fit for tonight’s lineup, and perhaps for throughout the season given the left-handed tilt of the Giants outfield. Mike Yastrzemski, Joc Pederson, Steven Duggar, and the currently-injured LaMonte Wade Jr. all swing from the left side, though San Francisco also has Darin Ruf, Austin Slater, Mauricio Dubon, and Luke Williams as available right-handed bats. Utilityman Williams might end up being the odd man out to make room for Ramos, as Williams still has three minor league options.

The 22-year-old Ramos has long been seen as one of the Giants’ best prospects, and he has been a regular on top-100 rankings since he was selected 19th overall in the 2017 draft. His stock has somewhat dropped as a result of not playing in 2020, and then a 2021 campaign that saw Ramos hit a modest .254/.323/.417 over 495 combined plate appearances at the Double-A and Triple-A levels. Still, The Athletic’s Keith Law rated Ramos 70th on his preseason top-100 list, Baseball America had Ramos in the 94th spot, and Fangraphs has Ramos ranked 101st.

Ramos only just turned 22 in September, and BA’s scouting report notes that Ramos has made his way up the minor league ladder “usually as one of the younger players at every stop.” Along the way, Ramos has shown glimpses of his potential, if there is some master-of-none aspect to his performance. As Fangraphs’ report puts it, “while it’s easy to call him a five-tool player since he’s competent in every aspect of the game, scouts struggle to figure out what Ramos’ one carrying tool is.”

At the plate, Ramos has hit .270/.340/.448 over 1625 PA in the minors, with 47 homers and 41 steals (out of 64 attempts). He has also struck out in 440 of those at-bats, and evaluators note that his swing lacks some loft, and that Ramos has looked a little susceptible to off-speed pitches. Ramos is expected to eventually move to right field due to his relative lack of top-tier speed and his good throwing arm, but Ramos has mostly played as a center fielder throughout his career and has looked decent up the middle. The Giants are probably likely to use Ramos primarily in center, though he has the flexibility to play at any of the three outfield positions based on situations.

Ramos hit well in the small sample sizes of Spring Training (10 PA) and the early stages of the Triple-A season (13 PA). While he didn’t break camp with the team, his quick promotion means that Ramos should still clock a full year of service time should he remain on San Francisco’s active roster for the remainder of the season. The newly-instituted Prospect Promotion Incentive could also somewhat mitigate the Giants’ service-time concerns, though Ramos may technically not qualify. As per The Athletic’s Evan Drellich, prospects are PPI eligible if they “are included in two or more of the preseason top-100 prospect lists put out by Baseball America, MLB.com or ESPN,” and of those three specific outlets, Ramos only cracked BA’s list.

Red Sox Extend Garrett Whitlock

By Mark Polishuk | April 10, 2022 at 11:19am CDT

The Red Sox have announced a four-year extension with right-hander Garrett Whitlock, with club options also covering the 2027 and 2028 seasons. Whitlock will earn $18.75M over the four guaranteed years (2023-26) of the deal, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, and the 2027 option is worth $8.25MM with a $1MM buyout. The 2028 option would pay Whitlock $10.5MM, with a $500K buyout. With escalators, the option years can be worth up to $4MM more in extra money per season.

Whitlock was already controlled via arbitration through the 2026 season, so the extension gives the Red Sox some cost certainty and also some extra control over his first two free agent years. Sean McAdam of The Boston Sports Journal (Twitter link) has the annual breakdown, starting with a $1MM signing bonus. Whitlock earns $1MM in 2023, $3.25MM in 2024, $5.25MM in 2025, and $7.25MM in 2026.

If the escalators both max out, Whitlock will land a total of $44MM over the six-year term of the extension. Cotillo adds that Whitlock is also still eligible for the league’s bonus pool for pre-arbitration players both this season and in 2023, so the righty has the opportunity to land even more money.

It’s not a bad payday for a pitcher who is barely a year removed from his MLB debut, and who has still never pitched at the Triple-A level. An 18th-round pick for the Yankees in the 2017 draft, Whitlock had some strong numbers in his first three pro seasons but underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2019. Without any sort of 2020 season, Whitlock was seen as something of an under-the-radar choice when the Red Sox selected him away from New York in the December 2020 Rule 5 Draft.

As it turned out, Whitlock now stands as one of the best Rule 5 success stories in recent memory. The rookie posted a 1.96 ERA, 49.7% grounder rate, 27.2% strikeout rate, and 5.7% walk rate over 73 1/3 innings, acting as a lockdown multi-inning reliever out of the Red Sox bullpen. Whitlock’s surprise emergence was a major factor in Boston’s run to the ALCS, and the team has now locked him up as a contributor for the better part of the decade.

The contract escalators are tied in part to innings totals, which reflects the possibility that Whitlock might eventually go from the bullpen to the rotation. There was some consideration given to deploying Whitlock as a starter this year, but the Sox are opting to be as flexible as possible with the righty’s usage. Whitlock will be teamed with Rich Hill in piggyback fashion to begin the year, which also frees Whitlock up to pitch in other games in high-leverage situations.

This is the third extension of Chaim Bloom’s tenure as Boston’s chief baseball officer, and the second involving a relief pitcher, following the two-year, $18.75MM pact finalized with Matt Barnes last summer. Despite the similar guaranteed salaries, there isn’t much of a comp between the two contracts, as Barnes was just a few months away from entering the free agent market. Whitlock, on the other hand, turns 26 in June, and thus wouldn’t have been hitting the open market until he was on the verge of his age-31 season.

While his $247.5K draft bonus was larger than usual for an 18th-rounder, and the new pre-arbitration pool provides an extra avenue for more earnings for pre-arb players, it isn’t hard to see why Whitlock (with a TJ surgery already on his resume) would be eager to guarantee himself a life-changing fortune so early in his career. There was obvious appeal from Boston’s side as well, since the extension is a good deal for the team even if Whitlock remains “only” a shutdown reliever. Should Whitlock eventually emerge as a starter, the Red Sox stand to benefit from this early investment in the right-hander.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Latest On Nationals’ Extension Talks

By Mark Polishuk | April 10, 2022 at 10:49am CDT

It doesn’t appear as though the Nationals have had any in-depth talks with Josh Bell about a long-term contract, as president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo told The Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty (Twitter links) that Juan Soto is still the top focus for an extension. There have been more “discussions” with Soto, but until that situation is settled, any negotiations with Bell will seemingly have to wait.

Bell avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $10MM salary for 2022, his final season of arb eligibility. Since most players prefer to not talk contract during the season, the Nats might be left with a pretty limited window of time to work out a new deal with Bell, possibly just from the end of Washington’s season to the official start date of free agency. Furthermore, Bell is represented by the Boras Corporation, and it is rare to see Scott Boras clients agree to extensions so close to a trip to the open market.

Since Soto is under team control through 2024, Bell is technically the more pressing concern, and yet it is easy to understand why the Nationals are prioritizing a new Soto deal. It’s fair to guess that a Soto extension would be the single largest contract in baseball history, as Soto (also a Boras client) has already turned down a 13-year, $350MM offer from the Nats earlier this winter. Soto is still only 23 years old and already has a phenomenal track record of success, so it isn’t hard to imagine Boras wanting to set new contractual benchmarks for both total value and average annual value.

Bell, meanwhile, had a strong performance in his own right during his first season in D.C. The first baseman was one of many Nationals players sidelined by a COVID-19 outbreak in April, but after a slow start, Bell caught fire over the last four months and finished with 27 home runs and a .261/.347/.476 slash line over 568 plate appearances.

Should Bell repeat this performance in 2022, it’ll line him up for a nice multi-year pact in free agency. Bell turns 30 in August and he is somewhat limited as a primary first baseman, though he did line up in both corner outfield positions on occasion last season. With the universal DH now in place, Boras can now fully market Bell to National League teams that might have previously been unsure about his fielding future — as well, defensive metrics indicated that Bell’s 2021 glovework was the best of his career.

Whether Bell’s future is in Washington or not remains to be seen, depending on the state of the Nats’ minor rebuild. There is obvious benefit to retaining Soto as the face of the franchise, but locking Bell up to an extension or re-signing him in free agency would be a clear sign that the Nationals plan to contend again sooner rather than later. Such a move would also undoubtedly factor into Soto’s decision process, as Soto has been clear that he wants to play for a winning team. Plus, if an extension with Soto doesn’t become a reality, the Nats might adopt a win-now approach to capitalize on Soto’s prime years while they still have him.

Considering that D.C. has topped the $200MM payroll mark as recently as 2019, the team does have the resources to extend both Soto and Bell. Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin take up an outsized chunk of future payroll, but they are also the only Nationals players guaranteed money beyond the 2022 season.

NL Central Notes: Happ, Cardinals, Sims, Solano, Castillo, Minor

By Mark Polishuk | April 9, 2022 at 11:08pm CDT

Cubs left fielder Ian Happ was removed from today’s 9-0 win over the Brewers after being hit in the left kneecap by a Trevor Gott pitch during the seventh inning. X-rays were negative, as Happ told NBC Sports Chicago’s Tim Stebbins and other reporters after the game. “It’s going to be pretty stiff [Sunday], I’m sure, but right now it’s not too bad,” Happ said. It would seem as if Happ is questionable for tomorrow’s lineup, and since the Cubs don’t play on Monday, Happ has some more time to heal up and receive further treatment to determine if an IL trip could be necessary.

The Cubs/Brewers series has thus far seen seven batters hit by pitches over two games, which has some a frequent occurrence in recent meetings between the two division rivals. The result was a skirmish that saw both benches and bullpens empty after Andrew McCutchen was hit by a Keegan Thompson pitch in the eighth inning, but ultimately nothing but harsh words were exchanged.

MLBTR Chat Transcript

By Mark Polishuk | April 9, 2022 at 10:02pm CDT

Click this link to read the transcript of tonight’s live baseball chat

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