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Mets Notes: Syndergaard, Harvey, Collins, Bruce, D’Arnaud

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Westeros is a long way from Citi Field, though that didn’t stop Noah Syndergaard from appearing in tonight’s episode of Game Of Thrones.  The Mets right-hander was on set last November in Spain to work as an extra as part of a large battle scene.  Without giving away spoilers, Syndergaard gets to show off his throwing motion in the form of tossing a spear, though he faces an even larger challenge than trying to get through the Nationals lineup.

Here’s some more news from King’s Landing Queens…

  • The futures of Terry Collins and Matt Harvey are examined by ESPN.com’s Buster Olney in his latest subscriber-only column.  Collins’ contract is up at the end of the season, and the manager hinted last fall that he could potentially step away from the game due to the increasingly tough grind of the 162-game schedule.  Olney opines that the seeming lack of any extension talks could be a sign that the two sides could be close to parting ways, and that Collins and the Mets should figure out “a graceful resolution” in a nod to Collins’ success with the club.
  • As for Harvey, it is widely expected around the game that the right-hander won’t return to the Mets after he becomes a free agent after the 2018 season.  If this is the case, Olney wonders if the Mets should simply part ways with Harvey now if they don’t think he can be a solid contributor to next year’s team, whether due to continued health problems or off-the-field issues.  Newsday’s Marc Carig reports that some teams have explored buy-low trade offers for Harvey, but the Mets aren’t interested.  If the righty was shopped, it appears there would be some interest; Olney hears from agents and evaluators that Harvey would receive a deal in the neighborhood of $10MM with incentives if he were a free agent available on a one-year contract this offseason.
  • The Mets received “zero bites” on Jay Bruce prior to the trade deadline, a team official tells Newsday’s Marc Carig.  Only a few teams called about the veteran slugger at all, and Carig notes that the lack of interest may have been due to multiple reasons apart from Bruce’s actual performance (such as teams putting more value on prospects than on rental players, a lack of contenders looking for corner outfield or first base help, or the fact that Bruce’s power bat is no longer quite as special due to the explosion of home runs around the league).  As Carig notes, this could be a bad sign for Bruce as he hits free agency this offseason, which could potentially lead to the outfielder re-signing with the Mets, if probably not accepting a qualifying offer should the Mets extend one.
  • Also from Carig’s piece, he writes that Travis d’Arnaud is still part of the Mets’ future plans, as per a team source.  The catcher has hit .240/.293/.421 with nine home runs over 239 PA this season and, perhaps most importantly, has stayed relatively healthy (apart from a few missed weeks in May due to a wrist bruise.  D’Arnaud is under team control through the 2019 season, though his name did surface in trade talks last year as the Mets exploring upgrading behind the plate.

NL West Notes: CarGo, Chacin, Duplantier

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The Rockies offered Carlos Gonzalez a new four-year deal during extension talks last spring, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports.  The two sides explored an extension for the long-time Colorado outfielder during the offseason, though talks never seemed to get too far — this four-year proposal is the only known offer exchanged, apart from some “initial suggestions” from Rockies management that were rejected out of hand by Gonzalez’s representatives in early December.  Gonzalez said that he and the team hadn’t engaged in serious talks as of last February 22, and negotiations were reportedly “on hold” as of early March.  The dollar value of the offer isn’t known (Nightengale describes it as “lucrative”), though the fact that Colorado was willing to offer four years to a player who will be 32 next Opening Day is in itself significant, especially since the Rockies have several other interesting outfielders on their big league roster and in the minors.  The lack of an extension looms large for Gonzalez in the wake of his disappointing 2017 season — he has suffered through two DL stints and is batting a career-worst .228/.299/.345 over 365 plate appearances.

(Apart from the Gonzalez item, Nightengale’s piece focuses on how several of baseball’s biggest names are dealing with the extra pressure facing them as they approach free agency.  The piece includes quotes from Jake Arrieta, J.D. Martinez, John Lackey and more, and is well worth a full read.)

Here’s more from around the NL West…

  • Jhoulys Chacin has expressed openness to re-signing with the Padres this winter, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes.  Chacin has posted good results after signing a one-year, $1.75MM deal with the Padres last winter, and it isn’t surprising that the righty would like to stay at Petco Park — Chacin has a 1.86 ERA over 12 home starts (77.1 IP) this year, as opposed to a 7.35 ERA over 10 starts (49 IP) on the road.  Those large splits were one reason, Lin notes, why the Padres may not have been able to move Chacin before the deadline, though Lin was surprised the team couldn’t have found at least one suitor willing to part with more than a token prospect.
  • The Diamondbacks received some interest in minor league right-hander Jon Duplantier prior to the trade deadline, Fangraphs’ David Laurila reports.  The 23-year-old Duplantier, a third-round pick for Arizona in the 2016 draft, has a 1.53 ERA, 10/1 K/9 and 4.25 K/BB rate over 106 combined innings at the high-A and A-ball levels this season.  MLB.com ranks Duplantier as the second-best prospect in Arizona’s system, citing his “power curve,” solid changeup and fastball in the 91-96 mph range, though the righty has also already had some shoulder and elbow issues early in his career.  A source with another club tells Laurila that the D’Backs put a high asking price on Duplantier in trade talks.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/6/17

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Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…

  • Conor Gillaspie accepted an assignment to the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, manager Bruce Bochy told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jonathan Hawthorne).  Gillaspie had the option to become a free agent after being designated for assignment earlier this week, though he chose to remain in San Francisco’s organization after clearing waivers.  The infielder has been plagued by back problems this season and hit just .163/.218/.288 over 87 plate appearances.

How August Trades Work

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Now that the July 31 trade deadline has passed, teams can still make trades, only with more restrictions than before.  The full list of rules surrounding post-deadline trades have, of course, been shared elsewhere, most notably in an article by Jayson Stark (then with ESPN.com) from all the way back in 2004, and in greater detail at Cub Reporter. Since the rules surrounding August deals are confusing, though, they’re worth reviewing here.

  • After the trade deadline, a big-league player must pass through revocable waivers before his team can trade him without restriction. These waivers last 47 hours. If no one claims him in that period, his team can trade him anywhere.
  • If a player is claimed, his team can do one of three things. It can trade the player to the claiming team, revoke the waiver request (in which case the player will remain with his original team), or simply allow the claiming team to take the player and his salary (although a player with no-trade rights can block this from happening).
  • A recent example of an August trade that developed from a waiver claim was the Mariners’ acquisition of Arquimedes Caminero from the Pirates last season.  The Mariners claimed Caminero and then worked out a deal with the Bucs to bring the right-hander to Seattle for two players to be named later. An example of a claim that didn’t result in a trade occurred in 2015, when an unknown team claimed Brewers reliever Francisco Rodriguez. The two sides couldn’t strike a deal, so the Brewers revoked their waiver request, and K-Rod remained in Milwaukee. Examples of teams simply letting players go via revocable waivers are more rare, particularly with big-contract players. That being said, it is always possible; in 2009, the White Sox claimed Alex Rios from the Blue Jays, who simply let him go to Chicago without a trade. The White Sox were thus responsible for all of the approximately $62MM remaining on Rios’ contract.
  • A team has 48.5 hours to trade a claimed player, and can only negotiate with the team awarded the claim on him.
  • It’s common for teams to place players on revocable waivers, and their having done so does not necessarily mean they have serious plans to trade them. As Stark points out, teams commonly use waivers of certain players purely as smokescreens to disguise which players they really are interested in trading. In fact, sometimes teams place their entire rosters on waivers.
  • If more than one team claims a player, priority is determined by worst record to best record in the league of the waiving team, followed by worst record to best record in the other league. For example, if an NL team places a player on revocable waivers, the team with the NL’s worst record will get first priority on claims, followed by every other team in the NL from worst to best, followed by AL teams from worst to best.
  • If a team pulls a player back from waivers once, it cannot do so again in August. So if a team places a player on waivers for a second time, those waivers will be non-revocable.
  • Players not on 40-man rosters are eligible to be traded at any time without passing through waivers.
  • A player on the disabled list can only pass through waivers if his minimum period of inactivity has passed and he is healthy and able to play at his accustomed level.
  • Teams can still make trades in September, but players acquired after August 31 can’t play in the postseason.

Players traded last August included such notable names as Caminero, Fernando Salas, Michael Bourn, Dioner Navarro, Sean Burnett, Coco Crisp, A.J. Ellis, Carlos Ruiz, Jeff Francoeur, Mike Aviles and Erick Aybar.  Due to the number of restrictions in place, it isn’t often that you see a true blockbuster deal go down in August, though it isn’t totally out of the question.  The biggest August trade in recent memory is easily the nine-player swap between the Dodgers and Red Sox in 2012 that saw Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett head to L.A.  That deal not only set the tone for the Dodgers’ free-spending ways over the last five years, but it also allowed the Red Sox to clear tens of millions in salary commitments off their books, paving the way for the team to reload in the offseason and go on to win the 2013 World Series.

This post is adapted from a prior series of posts.

Deadline Aftermath Notes: Profar, Marlins, Luhnow, Avila, Indians

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Jurickson Profar didn’t appear in the lineup for the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate tonight, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports that Profar was frustrated that he wasn’t traded in a deadline deal.  Profar has long been a staple of trade rumors dating back to his time as baseball’s top prospect, though injuries and a lack of production over 718 big league plate appearances have dimmed his star considerably.  Profar is still just 24 years old and he’s been hitting well at Triple-A this year, though without a clear path to playing time or even a stable position ahead of him in Texas, it appears as though Profar is looking for a change of scenery.  Of course, if other teams now know that Profar wants out, it will be harder for the Rangers to recoup value for him in a deal, so Profar may not have any immediate route to another team.  He is under team control through the 2019 season.

Here’s more from around baseball as we wrap up a busy deadline day…

  • The Marlins rejected offers for Dan Straily and Dee Gordon prior to the deadline, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.  It initially appeared as though the Marlins weren’t going to be shopping Straily, though they apparently tested his market and drew interest from at least four teams, though none were willing to meet Miami’s high asking price.  As for Gordon, several teams were under the impression that Gordon was available in a salary dump type of trade and thus offered little in the way of prospects for the second baseman.  The Marlins, however, didn’t see Gordon’s remaining salary (just over $41MM) as onerous to give away for virtually nothing in return.
  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow tells reporters (including Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle) that the team was working on some potential trades that “at times I would’ve put them at 90 percent-plus that we were going to get them done.”  Instead, the only deal Houston made was to acquire Francisco Liriano, a much lower-profile move than some of the trades made by other World Series contenders at the deadline.  Outfield prospect Derek Fisher was asked about in almost every possible deal, Luhnow said.
  • Several high-salaried Tigers players were mentioned in trade whispers, though only some relatively small contracts or pending free agents were moved by GM Al Avila in deadline trades.  Avila told the Detroit Free Press’ Anthony Fenech and other reporters that the roster reshuffling wasn’t about cutting costs.  “I do not have a mandate to dump salary.  Never have, and I won’t have it and I’ve been told it will never happen.  So that’s a tremendous thing,” Avila said.  The Tigers already have over $140MM on the books for 2018 — assuming they pick up Ian Kinsler’s option and that Justin Upton does not opt out of his contract — though some of that salary could end up being pared back via winter trades, even if payroll considerations don’t strictly demand it.
  • The Indians figure to be active on the waiver front in August, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer opines, since the club didn’t address its primary deadline needs of a utility infielder or left-handed reliever.  The Tribe didn’t want to meet the asking price for the likes of Justin Wilson and Brad Hand, though Hoynes notes that the team did “push hard” for Orioles closer Zach Britton.  Cleveland is currently going with recent waiver claim Tyler Olson as the situational lefty in the pen, with star southpaw Andrew Miller reserved for a more prominent setup or multi-inning role.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/31/17

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Here’s a wrap-up of some recent minor league moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the post.

  • Right-hander Al Alburquerque cleared waivers and elected to become a free agent, the Kansas City Star’s Rustin Dodd tweets.  The Royals designated Alburquerque for assignment last week and requested release waivers on him two days ago; Alburquerque was previously DFA’ed earlier this season, though that time he accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A.  The righty signed a minors deal with Kansas City last winter and has a 3.60 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 over 10 innings out of the Royals bullpen.
  • Infielder Nick Franklin cleared waivers and was outrighted to the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate, the team announced on Twitter.  Franklin was designated for assignment two days ago, and it was his third DFA of 2017 — he was designated by the Rays in April and then claimed by the Brewers, then designated by the Brewers and traded to the Angels in late June.  After posting above-average production in a part-time role with Tampa Bay last season, Franklin has been unable to get things going this year, with a combined .179/.269/.283 slash line over 119 PA with the Angels and Brewers.
  • The Diamondbacks released catcher Hank Conger, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports.  Conger signed a minor league deal with the Snakes last winter and has a .239/.316/.394 slash line over 206 PA at Triple-A Reno.
  • Also from Eddy, the Rockies released outfielder Domonic Brown.  Colorado signed Brown to a minors contract in the offseason.  Once considered one of baseball’s top prospects when coming up in the Phillies system, Brown was an All-Star in what looked like a breakout season in 2013, though badly struggled in his next two seasons and hasn’t since returned to the big leagues.  Brown did hit a decent .304/.327/.449 over 171 PA at the Triple-A level this season, though in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
  • Earlier this week, the Marlins announced that first baseman Chris Parmelee had been signed to a minor league deal.  Best known for his stint as a part-timer with the Twins from 2011-14, Parmelee appeared in just eight MLB games last season (with the Yankees) and has yet to reach the Show this season after being released from a minors contract with the A’s in June.
  • Catcher Eric Fryer elected to become a free agent last week, the Cardinals announced.  Fryer was designated for assignment on July 21 and had been outrighted to Triple-A before opting to hit the open market.  The light-hitting catcher has played in parts of seven seasons in the bigs, most recently serving as Yadier Molina’s backup in St. Louis.
  • The Rangers released veteran southpaw Wesley Wright earlier this month.  Wright posted a 4.16 ERA in 307 innings over eight big league seasons from 2008-15, though he hasn’t been back to the majors since, plus he’s struggled at the Triple-A level in the Texas and Boston organizations over the last two seasons.
  • Earlier this month, the Dodgers signed left-hander Tommy Layne to a minor league deal, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets.  Layne posted good numbers out of the Red Sox and Yankees bullpens in 2015-16, though his career-long struggles with control plagued him this year, as Layne posted a 7.62 ERA over 13 IP for New York, with eight walks against just nine strikeouts.

Brewers Designate Kirk Nieuwenhuis For Assignment

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The Brewers have designated outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis for assignment, the team announced (via Twitter).  The move creates 25-man roster space for Jeremy Jeffress, who was acquired by Milwaukee earlier today.

This is the second time Nieuwenhuis has entered DFA limbo this season, as the outfielder was previously designated and then outrighted off Milwaukee’s roster in April.  Nieuwenhuis will again have the option of rejecting an outright assignment (if he isn’t claimed or a trade isn’t worked out) to become a free agent, though he chose to remain in the Brewers organization during his first outright.

Nieuwenhuis just had his contract purchased by the Brewers two days ago when Milwaukee designated Wily Peralta for an assignment.  In 16 games and 31 overall plate appearances for the Crew this year, Nieuwenhuis has just a .115/.258/.269 slash line.  The six-year veteran played in a career-high 125 games for the Brewers in 2016, getting some playing time for the rebuilding club after four previous seasons as a part-timer with the Mets and Angels.

AL East Notes: Trumbo, Orioles, Dombrowski, Atkins, Bautista

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The Orioles placed Mark Trumbo on the 10-day DL due to a strain in his right rib cage, and the slugger will undergo an MRI tomorrow to determine the full extent of the injury.  O’s skipper Buck Showalter told The Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli and other media that he is concerned Trumbo may have suffered an oblique strain, which generally means a DL stint of at least a month.  After hitting 47 homers and posting a 123 wRC+ in 2016, Trumbo has delivered sub-replacement production this season, with -0.5 fWAR thanks to below-average defensive numbers and a .238/.300/.405 slash line and 17 homers through 443 plate appearances.

Here’s some deadline aftermath reaction from around the AL East…

  • The Orioles weren’t deadline sellers nor were they significant buyers, leaving Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com feeling underwhelmed by the team’s midseason deals.  The acquisitions of Jeremy Hellickson and Tim Beckham, in Connolly’s opinion, leave the O’s just treading water instead of firmly making a postseason run or beginning a rebuild.  “They aren’t significantly better. They didn’t keep up with their division rivals. And they didn’t get considerably better for the future,” Connolly writes.
  • The Red Sox looked far and wide for bullpen help, with president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski telling reporters (including Chad Jennings of the Boston Herald) that the team considered over 20 right-handed relievers “and a lot of lefties, too.”  Without revealing names, Dombrowski said that the Sox had interest in another relief pitcher who was traded within the last week, but the team that landed this mystery bullpen arm “gave a little more than we were willing to give at that particular time.”  Of course, Boston’s quest for relievers ended in a big way today when the Sox acquired Addison Reed, who will step right into the eighth-inning role to set up closer Craig Kimbrel.  Also of note, Dombrowski said that he didn’t get into any serious talks with other teams about starting pitching.
  • The Blue Jays dealt away Francisco Liriano and Joe Smith today, though GM Ross Atkins told reporters (including Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm) that the team was “pretty close” on roughly 15 potential trades.  Jose Bautista’s name was mentioned in talks, though “Nothing came to fruition where we had to say, is this something you would do or not do?” Atkins said, in regards to Bautista having no-trade protection via his 10-and-5 rights.

Twins Release Craig Breslow

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July 30: The Twins announced that Breslow has been released.

July 23: The Twins have designated veteran left-hander Craig Breslow for assignment, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports (Twitter link).

Breslow signed a minor league deal with Minnesota last winter that ended up paying him $1.25MM in guaranteed money when he broke camp with the team after Spring Training.  After getting off to a good start in his first 21 outings, Breslow struggled in June and then spent much of July on the DL with a rib injury.  Overall, Breslow has a 5.34 ERA, 5.3 K/9, 1.64 K/BB rate over 30 1/3 IP for the Twins.

Twins manager Paul Molitor told Berardino and other reporters that Breslow (who turns 37 on August 8) intends to continue his career.  Despite the lackluster overall numbers, there is still evidence that Breslow has something left in the tank — he held left-handed hitters to just a .176/.262/.235 slash line this season.  Since right-handed batters (.992 OPS) were responsible for much of the damage against Breslow this season, he could still provide value to another team in a strict specialist role.  With several teams looking for bullpen help, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Breslow get some calls should he hit the open market, or perhaps even a club could work out a minor trade to acquire Breslow from Minnesota during the DFA period.

Looking For A Match In A Yonder Alonso Trade

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Yonder Alonso turned himself from non-tender candidate last winter to the Athletics’ representative at the All-Star Game two weeks ago.  Thanks in large part to an offseason swing change aimed to deliver more fly balls, Alonso is enjoying by far the best of his eight big league seasons.  The first baseman is batting .263/.361/.527 with 21 homers over 346 plate appearances, and is producing 38% more runs than the average hitter as per the wRC+ metric.  Beyond just putting the ball in the air more often, Alonso is also exhibiting more discipline at the plate, with a career-best 12.7% walk rate.

It all adds up to a nice platform year for Alonso as he heads into free agency this winter, and the A’s gain an extra trade chip they perhaps didn’t expect to have when they decided to bring Alonso back on a one-year, $4MM contract for 2017.  With only about $1.31MM remaining on Alonso’s deal and his big numbers, he stands out among other remaining rental players as a particularly inexpensive lineup upgrade.

Yonder AlonsoThe counter-argument for Alonso as a prime deadline pickup is that his numbers significantly cooled off in June and July after a torrid start to the season.  Since Alonso was little more than a league-average hitter from 2010-16, some teams could believe that he is simply a two-month wonder rather than a true breakout player.  He also carries pronounced splits (a .950 OPS against right-handed pitching against just a .685 OPS against southpaws). When that’s combined with Alonso’s subpar defense and baserunning stats, he doesn’t bring much to the table unless he can keep punishing righties.

Another complication is the fact that most contenders are already set at first base or designated hitter, and that fairly thin list of potential Alonso suitors got a bit thinner when the Rays acquired Lucas Duda from the Mets.  Alonso has played a bit of third base and left field in his career, but would hardly be a passable option at either position.  With only one team reportedly showing legitimate interest in Alonso, Oakland might have to get a bit creative to find a trade partner and recoup a good prospect or two in return, unless an injury shakes up the market.  Here are a few of the potential fits…

Yankees: This post really could be called “Looking For A Match In A Yonder Alonso Trade Besides The Yankees,” since the Bronx Bombers are Alonso’s only known suitors, and they’ve stood out for weeks as the most obvious candidates for his services.  New York and Oakland have been engaged in talks about not just Alonso, but also ace righty Sonny Gray, with recent reports suggesting that the Yankees could be trying to land both in a package deal.  First base has been a problem area all season long for the Yankees, with converted third baseman Chase Headley serving as the most recent option at first since Todd Frazier took over the everyday duties at the hot corner.  (Headley, a switch-hitter, has actually hit quite well over the last two months.) Alonso’s left-handed bat and his newfound ability to put the ball in the air would seemingly make him a perfect fit for Yankee Stadium’s short porch in right field, so New York has to be considered the leaders in the Alonso sweepstakes until proven otherwise.

Mariners: Alonso would supplant Danny Valencia as the everyday first baseman, and the two in tandem would create quite a formidable platoon given that Valencia has always mashed left-handed pitching.  These sluggers were teammates in Oakland last season before Valencia was dealt to the Mariners, so clearly the M’s and A’s are open to trading with each other.  Seattle doesn’t have a particularly deep minor league system, though one can’t rule GM Jerry Dipoto out of any trade scenario.

Red Sox: Mitch Moreland’s production has badly fallen off since suffering a broken toe, and Alonso could slot right into Moreland’s role as the regular first baseman (with Hanley Ramirez or perhaps rookie Sam Travis getting the odd start against lefty pitchers).  The Red Sox have been looking for ways to jumpstart a slumping offense, so Alonso would boost a lineup that has posted below-average numbers against right-handed pitching.

Royals: Eric Hosmer is firmly entrenched at first base, so Kansas City might explore Alonso as an upgrade over left-handed hitting DH Brandon Moss, who has just a .696 overall OPS for the season and only a .623 OPS against righties.  Moss has been red-hot in July, however, so this may no longer be quite as pressing a need as it was just a few weeks ago.  The Royals have been mostly on the lookout for pitching help at the deadline, though they did have an interest in J.D. Martinez before he was dealt to Arizona.

Astros: It’s hard to imagine that Houston’s lineup could actually get scarier, though DH Carlos Beltran is hitting just .234/.288/.405 and is on pace for a sub-replacement level season.  Alonso could add a left-handed hitting complement to righty bats Yuli Gurriel and Evan Gattis in the first base/DH mix.  Houston already has such an embarrassment of offensive riches that it might not be willing to give up much of a prospect return for what would be a pure luxury, especially when that prospect or prospects would be going to an AL West rival.  Then again, the Astros have also been linked to Sonny Gray, so they could also potentially look into a Gray/Alonso package deal.  GM Jeff Luhnow recently stated that the team is already looking ahead to potential needs for October, so if Luhnow feels the Astros need more left-handed balance in their lineup, Alonso could come onto their radar.

Rockies: Despite a league-worst wRC+ (78) against right-handed pitching and an overall offense that ranks 24th of 30 teams in fWAR, Colorado is still solidly holding on an NL wild card slot.  Without a designated hitter spot available, however, the Rockies don’t really have room for Alonso — they’re already shuttling Ian Desmond between first base and left field, with Mark Reynolds and Gerardo Parra handling whatever position Desmond isn’t occupying.  Even if Carlos Gonzalez’s nightmarish 2017 season results in a loss of his everyday job, the Rox might turn to internal options — such as top prospect Ryan McMahon — before looking at a player like Alonso to help the lineup.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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