Latest On Cubs’ Deadline Plans
The Cubs swung perhaps the most shocking trade of the summer so far today when they acquired third baseman Isaac Paredes from the Rays in exchange for young slugger Christopher Morel, relief prospect Hunter Bigge, and pitching prospect Ty Johnson. Paredes, as one of the best hitters available this summer, was rumored to be of interest to a number of win-now clubs such as the Dodgers, Yankees, and Mariners, but instead ended up in Chicago with a club that’s just 51-56 last year and recently saw its president of baseball operations admit the club was prioritizing the future with its approach to this year’s deadline.
The addition of Paredes, who is controllable through the end of the 2027 season, doesn’t necessarily go against that stated ethos. The same can be said for the club’s acquisition of Blue Jays reliever Nate Pearson, who is controlled through the end of the 2026 campaign. It appears the Cubs may be interested in adding pieces that aren’t set to remain with the club long-term, however, as Jon Heyman of the New York Post suggested this afternoon that the Cubs are among the teams showing interest in Giants lefty Blake Snell. The reigning NL Cy Young award winner got off to a rough start this year but has begun to right the ship in recent weeks, leading The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal to suggest yesterday that teams view Snell as likely to opt out of the remainder of his contract at season’s end.
That reported interest in Snell is somewhat surprising, particularly given the fact that the Cubs have seemingly been fielding interest on veteran right-hander Jameson Taillon in recent weeks. The starting rotation has been an undeniable strength for the Cubs this year, as their 3.72 rotation ERA ranks 6th in the majors thanks primarily to elite performances from Taillon, Justin Steele, and Shota Imanaga. While adding a pitcher of Snell’s caliber would surely bolster the club’s rotation and could even allow the club to deal Taillon without suffering a short-term dip in production, the fact that clubs seemingly view Snell as more likely than not to head back to free agency this fall seems to directly contradict the club’s stated plan to focus on the future this summer.
Regardless of what the Cubs’ plans are regarding Taillon or a possible pursuit of Snell, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reported prior to today’s trade for Paredes that the Cubs are “listening” to offers regarding almost anyone on the roster but are focusing on trying to trade from their bullpen mix. Per Sharma, four relief arms in particularly are most frequently brought up by contenders interested in dealing with the Cubs over the coming days: right-handers Hector Neris, Julian Merryweather, and Mark Leiter Jr. as well as southpaw Drew Smyly. Of the quartet, Sharma suggests that veterans Smyly and Neris are the most likely to move, as each could become a free agent at season’s end.
Neris, who has posted an uneven season with a 3.68 ERA and 4.54 FIP this year, has a $9MM team option in his contract that will convert into a $9MM player option in the event that he reaches either 60 appearances or 45 games finished this year. With 39 appearances and 27 games finished so far this year, both benchmarks are within the realm of possibility, and Sharma suggests that this aspect of his contract “complicates” the possibility of a trade. Smyly, who sports a 2.79 ERA and 4.52 FIP in 38 2/3 innings of work this year, has a much less complicated contractual situation; his contract comes with a $10MM mutual option that is certain to be declined by one side or the other in favor of a $2.5MM buyout.
While Neris and Smyly seem unlikely to command massive returns, The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney, Will Sammon, and Katie Woo recently discussed the hefty price tags that have come with controllable relievers this season. Mooney, Sammon, Woo, and Sharma all believe that the Cubs intend to deal Leiter and Merryweather only if they can leverage that sellers’ market for cost-controlled relief arms, with Sharma noting that the asking price is “high” for Leiter in particular. The 33-year-old’s 4.37 ERA this year is unspectacular, but his massive 34.5% strikeout rate, a sparkling 2.18 FIP, and the fact that he can be controlled through the end of the 2026 season all could make him a very appealing addition for contenders in search of relief help. As for Merryweather, the 32-year-old has been injured much of this year but is now healthy, sports a 3.33 ERA and 3.44 FIP since joining the Cubs prior to the 2023 campaign, and comes with the same two additional season of club control that Leiter does.
Another consideration for the Cubs, whether they’re adding or subtracting from the current roster, figures to be the luxury tax. Chicago currently sports a luxury tax payroll of just under $234MM according to RosterResource, a figure that puts them a little more than $3MM under the first threshold of the luxury tax. The addition of a player with a hefty salary like Snell would surely put them well beyond that threshold, while dealing a player like Taillon or even a less expensive relief arm like Neris or Smyly would likely offer the Cubs additional breathing room below the tax threshold. Given the fact that Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts suggested back in February that the “natural” place for the club’s payroll to land was right up against the tax threshold, it would be something of a shock for ownership to greenlight spending beyond the luxury tax in a year where the club evidently is not expecting to make the postseason.
Yankees Designate J.D. Davis For Assignment
The Yankees announced this afternoon that they’ve activated infielder/outfielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. after acquiring him from the Marlins yesterday. Chisholm will take the place of infielder J.D. Davis on the active roster, as the club designated him for assignment today to make room for their new acquisition. The Yankees’ 40-man roster now stands at 39.
Davis, 31, was acquired by the Yankees in a trade with the A’s late last month. It’s been a tumultuous year for the slugger, as he kicked off 2024 by heading to an arbitration hearing with the Giants. Davis won that hearing but was controversially released by San Francisco after they signed Matt Chapman to play third base instead. Davis wound up signing with the A’s just two weeks before the season began and managed to secure a guarantee of just $2.5MM from Oakland, a far cry from his previously-awarded arbitration salary even after factoring in the roughly $1.1MM in termination pay he received from San Francisco.
On the field, Davis performed decently for them with a 96 wRC+ in 39 games while splitting time between first base, third base, and DH but he eventually found himself on the outside looking in when he was DFA’d as the club opted to give more playing time at the hot corner to Abraham Toro and Tyler Nevin. A move to the Bronx seemed to suggest he could find more playing time going forward amid injuries to Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo, but haven’t turned out that way as he’s appeared in just seven games with the club over the past month and has hit an anemic .105/.227/.158 in that limited playing time. Club manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch) today that Stanton is expected to return to the lineup as soon as tomorrow, meaning even that limited playing time was likely to dry up for Davis in the coming days.
While Davis’s 2024 season has been a brutal one, prior to 2024 he’d been a consistently above-average hitter ever since first taking a regular role with the Mets back in 2019. In five seasons with the Mets and Giants between 2019 and 2023, Davis slashed a strong .268/.352/.443 with a 120 wRC+, flashed 20-homer power and walked at a 10.2% clip despite an elevated 27.2% strikeout rate. That type of production could be a useful addition to plenty of teams, particularly those in need of help at first or third base. The Yankees will have one week to attempt to pass Davis through waivers, and if he goes unclaimed he would have the opportunity to elect free agency in favor of accepting an outright assignment. Of course, it’s possible that the club tries to put together a trade involving Davis prior to the upcoming trade deadline on Tuesday, and it seems likely they’ll wait to waive Davis until after the deadline in order to explore his market fully.
Pirates Place Nick Gonzales On 10-Day Injured List
The Pirates announced this afternoon that they’ve placed second baseman Nick Gonzales on the 10-day injured list due to a left groin strain. Infielder Alika Williams was recalled to replace Gonzales on the club’s active roster. Gonzales is likely to be out for some time; as noted by MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf, Pirates GM Ben Cherington noted on a local radio program today that while the club expects the youngster to play again this year, his absence figures to be a long one that’s “measured in weeks, not days.”
That news is a tough blow for the Pirates, as Gonzales has locked down the keystone in Pittsburgh to this point in the season. The seventh overall pick from the 2020 draft and a former consensus top-50 prospect in the sport, Gonzales has slashed a decent .258/.293/.387 (87 wRC+) in his first taste of action as a big league regular this year, though that line is mostly floated by a hot start to the 2024 campaign. Since the calendar flipped to June, Gonzales has struggled badly at the plate with a .235/.259/.330 (61 wRC+), a far cry from the 150 wRC+ he posted in the month of May.
Even in spite of that lackluster offensive production in recent weeks, however, Gonzales is still a clear improvement over the club’s other second base options. Jared Triolo has gotten reps at second base in recent days since Gonzales went down with injury, but his slash line this year is a brutal .202/.277/.272 (57 wRC+) on the year. Williams, meanwhile, has slashed just .210/.234/.290 with a wRC+ of 43 in 68 trips to the plate in the majors this year. There’s at least some room for optimism that he could put up stronger numbers going forward, however, as he’s delivered a strong .327/.421/.394 slash line (122 wRC+) at the Triple-A level this year.
With Gonzales seemingly out for some time and the club’s internal options all leaving something to be a desired, it’s feasible that the Pirates could look to explore external additions at the position in the days leading up to the trade deadline. After all, the 52-52 Pirates have been very public about their intention to buy this summer, and recent reporting suggested they could look at dealing from their pitching depth to add offense. Adding a second baseman may be easier said than done, however, as there aren’t many infielders expected to be moved this summer—particularly after recent deals sent Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the Bronx and Isaac Paredes to the North Side of Chicago.
Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner, Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres, and Blue Jays infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa are among the players with experience at second base who are rumored to be available, but none of that group appears at all guaranteed to be moved in the coming days. Even if the Pirates don’t end up making an addition at the keystone, however, the loss of Gonzales makes the club’s need for additional offense all the more acute. They’ve been connected to plenty of other hitters this summer, including outfielder Taylor Ward of the Angels, first baseman Yandy Diaz of the Rays, and outfielder Bryan De La Cruz of the Marlins, either of whom could upgrades the Pittsburgh offense in other areas to make up for the loss of Gonzales.
Guardians Select Joey Cantillo For MLB Debut
10:29AM: Cantillo has been officially selected to the big league roster, and right-hander Peter Strzelecki was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move.
7:14AM: The Guardians are poised to select left-hander Joey Cantillo to the big league roster today, according to Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com. Per Hoynes, Cantillo is expected to start today’s game against the Phillies opposite lefty Kolby Allard. The corresponding move to make room for Cantillo on the club’s active roster is not yet known.
Cantillo, 24, was a 16th-round pick by the Padres in the 2017 draft and was flipped to Cleveland during the shortened 2020 season as part of the package that brought Mike Clevinger to San Diego. Following the 2022 season, the Guardians added Cantillo to their 40-man roster ahead of that winter’s Rule 5 draft, though he’s not yet made his big league debut after reaching Triple-A for the first time last year. The lefty struggled in his first taste of Triple-A action with a 4.64 ERA despite a 26.1% strikeout rate in 95 innings of work at the level, thanks primarily to an elevated 12.9% walk rate.
The lefty entered 2024 hoping to put those struggles behind him, though a hamstring strain near the end of Spring Training wound up costing him the first two months of the regular season this year. Despite the late start to his season, Cantillo has looked much better in eight appearances (seven starts) in his return to Triple-A this year, posting an excellent 2.79 ERA over 29 innings while striking out a whopping 30.2% of batters faced. Unfortunately, those impressive strikeout numbers come with an even ghastlier walk rate than last year — a whopping 14.7%. That lack of command over the strike zone could complicate Cantillo’s future in the majors if he continues to be unable to harness his stuff.
For now, however, Cantillo is poised to start against the Phillies later today. It’s not currently clear if Cantillo will remain in the club’s rotation or if he’ll return to Triple-A after the spot start, though with both Triston McKenzie and Logan Allen already optioned to the minor leagues due to lackluster performance, the Guards are running low on options to fill out its rotation mix behind Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, Ben Lively, and Carlos Carrasco. The Guardians could give Cantillo a longer look in their rotation mix, particularly in the event that they don’t add another starter prior to the July 30 trade deadline.
Mets Acquire Jesse Winker
7:47AM: The trade has been officially announced.
TODAY, 7:25AM: The Nationals will be acquiring right-handed pitching prospect Tyler Stuart in the trade, The Athletic’s Will Sammon reports (via X). Stuart was a sixth-round pick in the 2022 draft, and he has a 3.96 ERA, 25.4% strikeout rate, and 5.6% walk rate in 84 innings for Double-A Binghampton this season. The 6’9″ righty was a reliever at Southern Miss but has worked almost exclusively as a starter in his pro career, and MLB Pipeline (which ranks Stuart 17th in the Mets’ farm system) feels he’ll need to develop a third pitch beyond his solid slider and 94mph fastball in order to stick as a starting pitcher.
YESTERDAY: The Mets are poised to acquire outfielder Jesse Winker from the Nationals, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. As noted by Andrew Golden of The Washington Post, the deal is currently in place pending a physical. The return headed to D.C. in exchange for Winker’s services is not yet known.
Winker, 31 next month, was a first-round pick by the Reds back in 2012 and posted excellent numbers across five seasons with the club. From 2017 through 2021, Winker slashed .288/.385/.504 with a 132 wRC+ as the club’s regular left fielder, though he was generally protected from left-handed pitching during his years in Cincinnati. Even as he typically sat against southpaws, however, Winker’s ability to mash right-handed pitching earned him an All-Star nod back in 2021 when he posted a 148 wRC+ in 485 trips to the plate. Following the 2021 season, Winker found himself dealt to Seattle alongside Eugenio Suarez in a blockbuster that sent Justin Dunn, Jake Fraley, and Brandon Williamson to Cincinnati.
Upon departing the Reds, however, Winker began to struggle. A down season in Seattle where he posted a wRC+ of just 108 alongside a career-low isolated slugging percentage led the Mariners to deal Winker back to the NL Central following the 2022 campaign, this time alongside Abraham Toro in order to land second baseman Kolten Wong from the Brewers. Winker’s time in Milwaukee represented a low point for him, as he battled neck injuries and struggled badly when healthy enough to take the field. While Winker walked at his typically strong 13.2% clip with the Brewers, he hit .198 while mustering just one home run in 197 trips to the plate, leaving him with a 65 wRC+ that was 35% worse than league average last year.
That disastrous 2023 campaign led Winker to sign with the rebuilding Nationals on a minor league deal in his first trip through free agency last winter, and Winker found himself selected to the club’s Opening Day roster. While splitting time between left field and DH for the Nationals, Winker has rebounded back to the level of offense that was standard for him in his days with the Reds. In 100 games with Washington this year, he’s hit an impressive .253/.372/.417 with 11 home runs, 14 stolen bases, and a fantastic 14.1% walk rate in 376 trips to the plate this year.
Winker’s production still comes predominantly against right-handed pitching, against whom he sports a 138 wRC+ on the year, but he’s improved substantially against southpaws this year to post a roughly average 93 wRC+ against them. That’s a major step up from his career year in 2021 when he posted a wRC+ of just 57 against lefties.
For the Mets, Winker appears unlikely to be an everyday player given the presence of J.D. Martinez as the club’s regular DH and Brandon Nimmo patrolling left field on an everyday basis. With usual center fielder Harrison Bader currently dealing with an ankle injury, it’s possible that Winker could see some starts in left field with Nimmo sliding over to center while Bader is injured. Both Nimmo and Winker also have sporadic experience in right field through their careers as well, meaning the Mets could look to install each into an outfield corner on either side of Bader while Starling Marte is on the injured list in a move that would likely push Jeff McNeil either out of the lineup or back onto the infield dirt.
Regardless of how often Winker figures to be in the Mets lineup, he’s sure to provide a boost to the club’s offense. DJ Stewart is currently being utilized as a defensively-limited bat off the bench in Queens but has delivered a wRC+ of just 95 with a .674 OPS against right-handed pitching. Winker’s 128 wRC+ and .834 OPS against right-handers both clear those marks easily, and it’s easy to imagine Winker being used in a similar role to the one Stewart has accumulated 184 trips to the plate in this year while bouncing between DH, the outfield corners, and even first base as needed.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Yankees Acquire Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. is on his way to the Big Apple. The Yankees announced they’ve acquired Chisholm from the Marlins for three prospects: catcher Agustin Ramirez and infielders Jared Serna and Abrahan Ramirez.
Chisholm, 26, was a consensus top-100 prospect when the Marlins acquired him from the Diamondbacks in the deal that sent right-hander Zac Gallen to Arizona. While Gallen has blossomed into one of the NL’s top starters since arriving in the desert, Chisholm’s time in Miami has been far less consistent. After a rookie 2021 campaign where he split time between shortstop and second base with roughly league average offense, Chisholm committed to second full-time in 2022 and broke out in a big way with an excellent .254/.325/.535 (136 wRC+) slash line that year. Unfortunately, Chisholm’s All-Star campaign was cut short by a stress fracture in his back that limited him to just 60 games that year.
That injury combined with the Marlins’ lack of quality options in the outfield led Miami to move Chisholm out of the infield ahead of the 2023 season, installing him in center field. The results of that experiment were somewhat mixed, as Chisholm took a step backwards on offense with a 103 wRC+ and was limited to just 97 games by a bout of turf toe but proved to be surprisingly solid defensively in center with +4 Outs Above Average, although Defensive Runs Saved disagreed with that assessment and graded him as one of the ten worst outfield defenders in the sport last year with a -14 figure. Chisholm’s offense hasn’t rebounded much in 2024 as he’s slashing .249/.323/.407 (104 wRC+) on the year, but his defensive metrics have settled in a bit more to paint him as a roughly scratch defender (+1 OAA, -4 DRS) in center field. Perhaps most importantly, the youngster has stayed healthy and on the field this year as he’s appeared in 101 of Miami’s 104 games while even getting some work in at second base again in recent weeks.
Chisholm’s versatility is surely part of what makes him an attractive addition for the Yankees. While Aaron Judge and Juan Soto‘s otherworldly 2024 campaigns have kept the Yankees offense afloat for the most part to this point and allowed the club to post a solid 60-45 record overall, they’ve gone just 6-13 in the month of July thanks in part to a lackluster supporting cast that has seen only catcher Austin Wells post above average numbers by measure of wRC+ among healthy Yankees players with at least 100 PA this year not named Judge or Soto.
With so many spots in the lineup that could do with an upgrade, Chisholm’s slightly better than average bat and versatility figure to be a major asset for the Yankees. SNY’s Andy Martino was among those to suggest following news of the trade that Chisholm’s position with the Yankees is not yet fully set in stone, and it’s easy to see why. Chisholm’s ability to play center could allow manager Aaron Boone to turn to struggling left fielder Alex Verdugo, who has posted a wRC+ of just 56 since the start of June, less often while pushing Judge to a less taxing spot in the outfield or perhaps even allowing him to DH on days where both Chisholm and Verdugo are roaming the outfield.
On the other hand, Gleyber Torres is having a relative down season (96 wRC+) as the club’s regular second baseman and third base has been a massive hole for the Yankees all season, though neither Torres nor Chisholm have any experience at the hot corner in the majors. Given Torres’s excellent 119 wRC+ against lefties and Verdugo’s brutal 63 wRC+ against fellow southpaws this season, it’s possible even to imagine Chisholm (who sports a decent 96 wRC+ against southpaws in spite of his own lefty bat) playing the outfield against lefty starters while mixing into the infield more often against righties, allowing the Yankees to play matchups more effectively for both Verdugo and Torres, especially in the event that New York brass don’t want to have either Chisholm or Torres learn third base on the fly.
Of course, another factor in Chisholm’s value to the Yankees is the fact that he’s controlled through the end of the 2026 season. For an offense that figures to see Soto, Torres, Verdugo, J.D. Davis, and perhaps Anthony Rizzo all depart for free agency following the 2024 campaign, adding Chisholm to the lineup as a long-term building block alongside sluggers Judge and Giancarlo Stanton as well as youngsters Wells, Anthony Volpe, and Ben Rice offers the Yankees the ability to decide Chisholm’s long-term home on the diamond based on both his defensive performance and the needs of the roster surrounding him in an offseason where re-signing Soto figures to be the top priority. It’s possible to imagine Chisholm settling in as a fixture of the club’s mix in either the infield or outfield depending on both the club’s external additions this winter and the performance of up-and-coming youngsters in the club’s system like infielder Oswald Peraza and outfielder Jasson Dominguez, both of whom could vie for everyday roles in 2025.
As for the Marlins, they’ll receive a package of three prospects in return for the youngster who has been the club’s lone productive hitter this year ever since Luis Arraez was dealt to San Diego back in May. The closest to making an impact at the major league level of that group is Ramirez, a 22-year-old catcher who is already on the 40-man roster and reached the Triple-A level earlier this year. The youngster is just the #20 prospect in the Yankees system according to MLB Pipeline but is a far more robust third in the system according to Baseball America.
A bat-first catcher who slashed an impressive .290/.372/.570 in 58 games at the Double-A level this year prior to his promotion to the next level, Ramirez offers enticing raw power and a knack for making contact in the zone, though upper-level breaking balls have given him trouble and both Pipeline and BA suggest that he’ll need to improve his swing decisions a bit to reach his potential as a hitter. Scouts have plenty of questions about whether or not Ramirez will be able to stick behind the plate in the majors, though there’s optimism that he’ll have a future in the big leagues even if he ends up moving off catcher to a more offensively demanding position like first base.
Also heading to Miami in the return is Serna, a 22-year-old infielder in the midst of a solid season at the High-A level. The club’s #19 prospect per Pipeline and #11 prospect per BA, Serna has slashed a respectable .253/.341/.444 in 88 games with the Yankees’ affiliate in Hudson Valley while swiping 11 bags and slugging 13 home runs, although his body doesn’t project for much more power and he’s expected to slug at below average levels in the majors. Serna is also viewed as unlikely to stick at shortstop long-term, with BA noting that his fringey arm means he’s likely to end up at second base although he does have experience in the outfield and at the hot corner as well.
As for the latter Ramirez, he signed with the Yankees out of Venezuela back in 2022 on a $30,000 bonus (h/t Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com) and made his stateside debut earlier this year. In 49 games in complex ball this year, the 19-year-old has looked good with an excellent .348/.447/.513 slash line in 189 trips to the plate while splitting time between shortstop as well as second and third base. Ramirez is not ranked within the Yankees’ top-30 prospects by any major public-facing evaluators at the moment, although given his youth and big numbers in complex ball it wouldn’t be a shock to see him make some noise in that regard with Miami at some point in the future.
Craig Mish of SportsGrid first reported the Yankees and Marlins were in talks about a deal that’d send Chisholm to New York for three prospects. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic was first to say the deal was done. ESPN’s Alden González reported Agustin Ramirez was the headliner and Abrahan Ramirez’s inclusion. Christina De Nicola of MLB.com had Serna’s inclusion.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Phillies Acquire Carlos Estevez
The Phillies are acquiring right-hander Carlos Estevez from the Angels, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the Phillies are sending pitching prospects George Klassen and Samuel Aldegheri to Anaheim in return for Estevez. Both teams have since announced the trade.
Estevez, 31, first joined the Angels on a two-year deal prior to the 2023 season on the heels of a breakout season with the Rockies where he posted a 3.47 ERA despite playing half his games at Coors Field. It’s a deal that’s gone quite well for Anaheim, as the righty was an All-Star in 2023 with a sterling 1.80 ERA in the first half last year. Estevez’s overall season numbers took a dive after he struggled badly to a 6.59 ERA with a 4.46 FIP in 27 1/3 innings of work after the All-Star break last year, but he’s rebounded in a big way in 2023 to become one of the most attractive rental relief arms on the market.
This year, Estevez has collected 20 saves as the Angels’ closer in 34 innings of work while posting a strong 2.38 ERA in that time. While his 25.8% strikeout rate actually comes in a tad below his 27.8% figure from last year, he’s taken a major step forward in terms of command this year. After walking 11% of batters faced last season and entering the 2024 campaign having offered free passes to 9.3% of opponents in his career, Estevez has cut his walk rate to a clip of just 4% this year.
In conjunction with just three home runs allowed this season, it’s left the right-hander with a strong 2.85 FIP, a 2.67 xERA, and a 3.35 SIERA that all indicate he’s been one of the league’s best late-inning relief arms.
In trading for Estevez, the Phillies have not only replaced right-hander Seranthony Dominguez in their bullpen after shipping him to Baltimore yesterday in order to acquire outfielder Austin Hays, but they’ve found a bonafide closer to pitch the ninth inning after the struggles of southpaw Jose Alvarado left him replaced by right-hander Jeff Hoffman in recent weeks. The addition of Estevez should allow Alvarado, Hoffman, and lefty Matt Strahm to pitch in leverage spots earlier in games, deepening a bullpen that has posted a middling 3.96 ERA (16th in the majors) this year as the club gears up for a playoff run.
In return for Estevez’s services, the Phillies are sending a pair of pitching prospects to the Angels. Both rank within the top ten of the Philly system as of Baseball America’s most recent update, with Klassen ranked fifth in the system while Aldeghri currently ranks seventh. Klassen in particular was highlighted by BA’s Josh Norris earlier this month as a notable riser in the club’s system following his promotion to High-A earlier this year. The club’s sixth-round pick in the 2023 draft, the 22-year-old dominated Single-A pitching to the tune of a 0.71 ERA in nine starts prior to his promotion. While he’s struggled a bit more following his move to the next level with a 4.22 ERA in five starts, he’s still striking out an impressive 35.2% of batters faced even in High-A. A 10% walk rate raises some mild control concerns, but it’s easy to imagine the righty moving quickly through an Angels organization that tends to be aggressive in promoting youngsters.
As for Aldegheri, the lefty signed out of Italy with the Phillies back in 2019 but has raised his stock somewhat this year in 78 innings split between the High-A and Double-A levels. The 22-year-old sports a 3.23 ERA on the year with an excellent 34% strikeout rate against a 10% walk rate across fifteen starts. While BA suggests that the lefty lacks an obvious plus pitch, solid command and a five-pitch mix could nonetheless make him a viable starter in the big leagues. The pitching-heavy return for Estevez should be helpful for an Angels club that lacks much certainty in the rotation going forward, especially if veteran southpaw Tyler Anderson is also dealt before the deadline.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Notable Draft Signings: 7/27/24
A trio of draft prospects agreed to signing bonuses of more than $2MM today, each of which was first reported by MLB.com’s Jim Callis. (Links from X). Pre-draft rankings and scouting reports are provided by Keith Law of the Athletic, Baseball America, FanGraphs and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.
- The Diamondbacks signed first-rounder Slade Caldwell to a $3,087,000 deal. The agreement comes in just over the $3,045,500 slot value of the 29th overall pick. Caldwell, a high school outfielder from Arkansas, was a consensus top-50 talent in the draft class with some evaluators (including Law and BA) having him among the 20 best players in the draft. Formerly committed to Ole Miss, Caldwell is universally regarded as a plus to double-plus runner who will have little trouble sticking in center field and also features a plus hit tool. With that being said, Caldwell’s small frame (listed at 5’9”, 182 lbs) raises questions about his power potential as some reports indicated that his body is already largely maxed out.
- The Guardians signed two draftees to significant bonuses today. Supplemental first-rounder Braylon Doughty signed for the full slot value of the 36th overall pick ($2,569,200) while second-rounder Jacob Cozart signed for $2,050,000, which comes in a fair bit above the $1,938,900 slot value of the 48th overall pick. A right-handed hurler who was committed to Oklahoma State, Doughty was a consensus top-60 talent in this year’s draft with some services placing him as high as the top 30. Doughty receives universal praise for his breaking ball that he pairs it with a low-to-mid 90s fastball and is generally looked at as a possible future back-end starter. As for Cozart, the NC State product is generally considered to be a glove-first catcher who is expected to remain behind the plate long-term. With the bat, he offers solid raw power but there are questions regarding his hit tool, with Law noting that he has particular trouble with breaking pitches out of the zone.
Dodgers Recall Hunter Feduccia Ahead Of MLB Debut
The Dodgers recalled catcher Hunter Feduccia to the big leagues earlier today, who takes the place of Freddie Freeman after the former MVP was placed on the family emergency list. Feduccia was already on the 40-man roster after being added ahead of the Rule 5 Draft back in November, though his first game action will be his MLB debut.
Feduccia, 27, was the Dodgers’ 12th-round pick in the 2017 draft. The catcher climbed through the club’s minor league system to eventually reach the Triple-A level back in 2022 and has remained there ever since. His already solid offensive numbers have steadily improved during his time at the level, and he’s slashing a strong .295/.420/.451 with a 124 wRC+ and a 16.8% walk rate against an 18.6% strikeout rate in 64 games at the level this year. Ranked 25th in the Dodgers farm system by Fangraphs entering this season, Feduccia pairs those solid offensive numbers with fairly strong work behind the plate. His framing and blocking skills are both strong, though his arm is somewhat lackluster for the position and leaves him to struggle with controlling the running game at times.
With Will Smith as the Dodgers everyday catcher and Austin Barnes acting as the primary backup to Smith, Feduccia seems unlikely to get much playing time while he’s in the majors outside of possible pinch-hit appearances. That being said, its possible that the Dodgers take this opportunity to see how Feduccia performs at the big league level with Barnes currently in the final guaranteed year of his contract. The Dodgers have a $3.5MM team option on the 34-year-old’s services for 2025, however, and he’s rebounded from a brutal 2023 season to post roughly league average (99 wRC+) offensive numbers this season.
As for Freeman, Noah Camras of Dodgers Nation relays that the first baseman’s wife, Chelsea, wrote in an instagram post earlier this week that their son, Maximus, was dealing with health issues. Freeman is now headed back home to L.A. from the club’s road trip to Houston, and manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register) yesterday that Freeman’s son was still undergoing tests and that he was not anticipating Freeman being available during the remainder of their series against the Astros.
With a day off on Monday, Roberts added that the club “will see” if a return to action for Freeman is possible when the club returns to California for series against the Padres in San Diego and the A’s in Oakland next week. In the meantime, Cavan Biggio has been handling first base in Freeman’s absence. The 29-year-old was acquired by the Dodgers from the Blue Jays last month after he was designated for assignment by Toronto, and he’s struggled in a bench role with L.A. ever since. In 59 trips to the plate since joining the Dodgers, Biggio has hit a paltry .180/.281/.240 with a 30.5% strikeout rate while splitting time between first base, third base, and right field.
Several Teams Showing Interest In Luis Garcia
Angels right-hander Luis Garcia is drawing widespread trade interest, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Heyman names the Yankees, Red Sox, and Royals as among the interested teams.
Garcia, 37, is a veteran of 12 MLB seasons and has been a steady middle relief arm for many yearss. After pitching to roughly league average results (99 ERA+) in six years with the Phillies to start his career, Garcia has bounced around the league to pitch for the Angels, Rangers, Cardinals, and Padres over the past half decade. With a better ERA+ than average in each of the last five 162-game seasons, Garcia sports a 3.94 ERA (107 ERA+) and a 4.00 FIP since the start of the 2019 campaign, though he’s only collected nine saves in that time as clubs have generally utilized him in the middle innings.
The veteran righty has put together a solid season this year in his second stint with the Angels, posting a 3.80 ERA with evens stronger peripherals (3.68 FIP, 3.44 SIERA). Garcia’s 22.3% strikeout rate and 7.8% walk rate this year, while perfectly solid, don’t exactly jump off the page, but in conjunction with his excellent 50.8% groundball rate this year they make for a quality relief arm who would improve the majority of the bullpens around the league. With so many teams in contention and a number of them facing bullpen struggles this year, it’s hardly a surprise that teams would be interested in Garcia’s services. For their part, the Angels removed any doubt regarding their willingness to deal rental players earlier today by shipping closer Carlos Estevez to Philadelphia.
As for Garcia’s potential suitors, each is known to be on the hunt for bullpen help this summer. Reporting earlier today indicated that the Yankees hope to add two relievers to their bullpen before the deadline, and while Garcia is unlikely to be the sort of shutdown closer New York is seemingly hoping to add in front of struggling righty Clay Holmes, Garcia could be an excellent secondary addition to work lower-leverage spots alongside arms such as Michael Tonkin and Tim Hill. The Red Sox, meanwhile, are also in the market for a reliever or two (as noted by MassLive’s Sean McAdam) following injuries to leverage righties Justin Slaten and Chris Martin. While Garcia’s 112 ERA+ isn’t quite on the level of Slaten’s 129 or Martin’s 128, he could certainly join the late-inning mix alongside Brennan Bernadino, Zack Kelly, and closer Kenley Jansen for a few weeks until Slaten and Martin can return to action for Boston.
The Royals may be the best fit for Garcia’s services of the three, however. MLB.com’s Anne Rogers reports that Kansas City was in on Estevez prior to him landing in Philadelphia, but were ultimately unwilling to part with their top tier of prospects in order to acquire a rental piece like Estevez. While Garcia is also a rental piece, his price tag shouldn’t approach that of Estevez, a former All-Star with a 180 ERA+ and 20 saves this year. A lower price tag doesn’t mean Garcia couldn’t still be impactful for the Royals, however, as the club’s 4.18 bullpen ERA ranks in the bottom ten in the majors this year. That leaves them likely to benefit considerably from the addition of a player of Garcia’s caliber, even after they swung a deal with the Nationals to acquire Hunter Harvey earlier this month.