Nationals, Cardinals Swap Jon Lester For Lane Thomas
The Cardinals added a second veteran lefty just prior to the trade deadline, agreeing to acquire longtime division rival Jon Lester from the Nationals in exchange for outfielder Lane Thomas. Both teams announced the swap.
Lester joins fellow graybeard J.A. Happ as a new addition to a Cardinals rotation that has been decimated by injury. The Cards are currently without ace Jack Flaherty (oblique strain), while Carlos Martinez is done for the year after undergoing thumb surgery. Miles Mikolas has pitched just four innings this year owing to another forearm strain. The Cards knew Dakota Hudson wouldn’t pitch in 2021 after he had Tommy John surgery last September. They’ve also seen absences for Kwang-hyun Kim and Daniel Ponce de Leon at times; the latter is on the shelf with a shoulder issue at the moment, in fact.
With so many injuries on the staff, the Cards had already turned to veteran lefty Wade LeBlanc to soak up some innings, and their acquisitions of Happ and Lester come with similar goals. Neither Happ nor Lester has pitched all that well in 2021, though Lester has the far better results of the two. He’s worked to a 5.02 ERA in 76 innings for the Nats and generated respectable ground-ball (42%) and walk (8.5%) rates. His 14.9 percent strikeout rate, however, is about nine percent worse than the league-average.
Lester, at this point, is primarily a five-inning pitcher. He’s recorded an out in the sixth inning or later in just five of his 16 trips to the mound this season and has been rocked at a .333/.386/.627 clip on the rare occasions he’s been asked to turn a lineup over for a third time. He’s not the innings eater that he once was, but if the Cardinals don’t try to push him into the sixth and seventh innings on the regular, he ought to be able to keep them in games and help bridge the gap until Flaherty and Mikolas are hopefully able to return. Lester is on a one-year, $5MM contract and will be a free agent at season’s end.
As for the Nationals’ return, the 26-year-old Thomas has yet to produce in the big leagues outside a quick cup of coffee late in the 2019 season, although it’s still rather surprising to see the Cardinals part with a big-league-ready outfielder who can be optioned both this year and next. Thomas is hitting just .104/.259/.125 this year, though it’s just a sample of 58 plate appearances. He’s an overall .172/.289/.336 hitter in a similarly small sample of 142 plate appearances.
Thomas ranked as the Cardinals No. 14 prospect at FanGraphs as recently as last summer, drawing praise for his defensive prowess in center field and the potential to pair that with some improved power and plate coverage. His lack of production in the big leagues notwithstanding, Thomas is a .269/.342/.468 hitter in parts of three Triple-A seasons, including a .265/.339/.451 showing in Triple-A Memphis this season.
The move to the Nationals seems like a good opportunity for Thomas, who’d been squeezed out of the outfield picture in St. Louis in favor of Tyler O’Neill, Harrison Bader and Dylan Carlson. With the Nationals, who traded Kyle Schwarber and have a struggling Victor Robles in center field, opportunities for Thomas ought to be more plentiful. He might be a long shot to break out as an everyday option in D.C., but Thomas should at least get that chance. For two months of a struggling veteran starter, it’s a pretty nice roll of the dice for the Nats to inherit.
Jesse Rogers of ESPN broke the news (via Twitter) that Lester was going to St. Louis. Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reported that the Nats were getting Thomas in return.
Yankees Acquire Andrew Heaney
The Yankees made a late deal to bolster the back of their rotation prior to Friday’s trade deadline, announcing the acquisition of Angels left-hander Andrew Heaney. New York is sending minor league righties Janson Junk and Elvis Peguero back to the Halos in the deal.
Heaney, 28, will be a rental option for the Yankees, as he’s playing out his final arbitration season on a $6.75MM salary. He’s posted an unsightly 5.27 ERA in 94 innings this season, although he’s been sharp in his past couple starts and the underlying metrics suggest he’s been a bit unlucky.
Heaney has excellent strikeout (28.2%) and walk (7.7%) rates on the season and consistently posts strong swinging-strike and opponents’ chase rates. He’s been done in, to an extent, by a low strand rate and a penchant for the long ball that has increased in recent years. A move to Yankee Stadium doesn’t figure to help that latter issue, though the Yankees surely have some ideas to help him curb those troubles.
While the 2021 season hasn’t been Heaney’s best, he’s a former first-round pick — No. 9 overall to the Marlins in 2012 — and top prospect who came into the 2021 season with a decent track record. From 2018-20, Heaney pitched 342 innings for the Halos and worked to a solid 4.42 ERA with strikeout and walk rates that were notably better than the league average. He’s not a flamethrower, but he’s been a solid fourth starter whose K/BB profile has long made him appear as though he’s capable of taking another step.
Beyond having an outstanding name for a pitcher, the 25-year-old Junk is having an outstanding season in Double-A, where he’s pitched 65 2/3 innings of 1.78 ERA ball with a 26.8 percent strikeout rate and a 7.9 percent walk rate. A 22nd-round pick in 2017, Junk has never ranked among the Yankees’ best prospects but provides the club with an arm who’s enjoyed some decent success in the upper minors this year — albeit with the help of a .233 average on balls in play and a 91 percent strand rate.
Peguero, 24, is another strong performer who was omitted from prospect rankings of the Yankees system. He’s split the season between Class-A Advanced and Double-A, working to a combined 2.23 earned run average with a 57-to-16 K/BB ratio in 44 1/3 innings of work. Peguero’s ground-ball rate checks in at 53 percent. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen gave him a mention as an unranked player in his latest overview of the Yankees’ system, noting that Peguero is a strong 6’5″ righty who experienced a big bump in velocity recently, which suggests that he could see his stock rise.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported (via Twitter) that the Yankees were acquiring Heaney. The YES Network’s Jack Curry reported the return.
Braves To Acquire Jorge Soler
The Braves have acquired outfielder Jorge Soler from the Royals, reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweets that Kansas City will receiver minor league right-hander Kasey Kalich in return.
In the wake of Ronald Acuna’s season-ending ACL tear and Marcell Ozuna‘s dislocated fingers and subsequent domestic violence arrest, Braves President, Baseball Operations & General Manager Alex Anthopoulos has remade his outfield by acquiring Soler, Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario, and Adam Duvall in trades. Despite being a game below .500, the Braves are only four games out in the NL East.
Soler, 29, has logged 46 games in right field this year while serving as a DH in 44. As you might expect from the time spent at DH, Soler is not known for his defensive chops. His best year came in 2019, when he shook off a history of injuries to play in 162 games and post a 136 wRC+ with 48 home runs in 679 plate appearances. Soler has fallen on hard times since then, with a 90 wRC+ in 534 PA. His bat seems to have come alive in his last 14 games, with seven home runs during that span. Soler is earning $8.05MM this year, and it’s unclear if the Royals are picking up any of the tab. He’s due for free agency after the season.
Signed to a nine-year, $30MM deal out of Cuba by the Cubs back in 2012, Soler came to the Royals in the December 2016 Wade Davis deal. Oddly, he’s one of six key members of the 2016 Cubs to be traded in the last few days, along with Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, Jon Lester, and Kyle Schwarber.
Kalich, a 23-year-old righty reliever, has a 3.26 ERA, 24.6 K%, and 12.0 BB% in 30 1/3 High-A innings this year. Baseball America gave him a 45 grade prior to the season, noting that Kalich “overwhelms hitters with a powerful two-pitch combination” and “has the stuff to pitch in late relief.”
Brewers Acquire John Curtiss
The Brewers and Marlins have agreed to a swap sending right-handed reliever John Curtiss from Miami to Milwaukee in exchange for minor league catcher Payton Henry, the teams announced just prior to Friday’s trade deadline.
Curtiss, 28, was at one point a fairly well-regarded bullpen prospect in the Twins system but never panned out in Minnesota, Anaheim or Philadelphia after bouncing around in a series of transactions. Like so many others, however, he found a home with the Rays in 2020, pitching to a brilliant 1.80 ERA in 25 innings of relief and posting a 25.3 percent strikeout rate against a masterful 3.0 percent walk rate. The Rays nevertheless flipped Curtiss to the Marlins in a late offseason trade for minor league first baseman Evan Edwards — perhaps not sold on Curtiss being able to sustain his otherworldly command.
While Curtiss’ command has indeed backed up a bit — sustaining a three percent walk rate is a near impossibility for any pitcher — it’s still sitting at a brilliant 5.6 percent so far in what has been a terrific 2021 season. Curtiss pitched 40 innings for the Marlins and notched a tidy 2.48 ERA with a solid 24.8 percent strikeout rate.
Beyond his excellent production, Curtiss was no doubt appealing to the Rays due to the fact that he’s not yet arbitration-eligible and is controlled through the 2025 season. Curtiss won’t even reach arbitration until the 2022-23 offseason, so there’s potential for him to step up as a long-term bullpen piece for the Brew Crew.
The Brewers will gain those four and a half years of control at the expense of the 24-year-old Henry, whom they selected in the sixth round of the 2016 draft. Henry ranked among the Brewers’ top 30 prospects at Baseball America each season from 2018-20 but fell off this year. He’s still 25th among their farmhands over at FanGraphs, where Eric Longenhagen notes that he was a bat-first catcher in the draft who has made enough defensive gains to stick behind the plate. Henry’s raw power is his best tool.
So far in 2021, however, that pop hasn’t really been on display. He’s batted a combined .297/.372/.390 with just two homers between Double-A and Triple-A. That said, Henry has curbed his once-problematic strikeout rates by a wide margin this year; he fanned in 32 percent of his trips to the plate in Class-A as recently as 2018, but he’s down to an even 25 percent between Double-A and Triple-A this year (with fewer punchouts in Triple-A).
The Marlins are known to have been looking for potential long-term options behind the dish, and while Henry is a long shot to step up as their everyday option back there, he gives the Fish an upper-minors option who is producing at the dish and may not be too far from getting a shot in the big leagues.
MLB Network’s Jon Heyman first reported the deal (Twitter link).
Athletics To Acquire Yan Gomes, Josh Harrison
2:21pm: Shayna Rubin of the San Jose Mercury News reports the A’s are sending three minor leaguers to the Nats: catcher Drew Millas, righty Richard Guasch and righty Seth Shuman.
1:53pm: The Athletics have agreed to a deal acquiring catcher Yan Gomes and infielder/outfielder Josh Harrison from the Nationals, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan (via Twitter). The deal is pending medical review of the involved players.
Gomes, 34, is in the second season of a two-year, $10MM contract and has gotten out to a strong start, hitting at a .271/.323/.454 clip with nine homers, 11 doubles and a triple as the primary backstop in D.C — a demonstrable uptick from the league-average .226/.307/.387 slash posted by catchers so far in 2022. He’ll pair with Sean Murphy to give the A’s a pair of backstops who are outpacing that average level of offense behind the plate. Gomes also carries a terrific defensive reputation, which is supported by strong framing numbers and a robust 36 percent caught-stealing rate on the year.
Harrison, meanwhile, gives the A’s a versatile 34-year-old bench piece who has done nothing but hit since signing in Washington. He’s playing the year on a $1MM base salary and has turned in his best offensive showing since an All-Star 2014 campaign. Overall, Harrison has turned in a .291/.363/.431 slash in 450 plate appearances in parts of two seasons with the Nats. He’s experienced at second base, third base and in the outfield corners, so he’ll give manager Bob Melvin a right-handed bat with plenty of versatility for matchup-based lineup construction.
Millas, 23, was drafted by the A’s in the seventh round out of Missouri State by the A’s back in 2019. Baseball America labeled him a 40-grade prospect prior to the season, calling him “one of the top defensive college catchers” in his draft class. His bat is considered more of a question mark. Millas is hitting .255/.372/.359 in 266 High-A plate appearances this year.
Guasch, 23, has worked to a 4.67 ERA, 26.8 K%, and 11.4 BB% in 54 High-A innings this year.
More to come.
Cardinals, Twins Swap John Gant For J.A. Happ
In a swap of two struggling pitchers, the Cardinals and Twins swapped righty John Gant for lefty J.A. Happ, per announcements from both clubs. Minnesota also picks up minor league southpaw Evan Sisk in the deal.
Gant, unlike Happ, is controllable for another year beyond the current campaign. The 28-year-old Gant has long worked as a swingman in St. Louis, pitching to a 3.72 ERA in 339 innings dating back to his 2016 debut with the Braves. He’s sporting a solid-looking 3.42 ERA on the season, but that’s a deceiving mark; Gant has issued a staggering 56 walks in 76 1/3 innings this year, to go along with an identical 56 punchouts. That lack of command makes him a surefire regression candidate if he can’t right the ship.
That said, while command has never been Gant’s strong suit, he’s also never struggled to quite this level. Gant walked a still-too-high 12.1 percent of batters from 2017-20, but he’s seen that mark balloon to 16.2 percent in 2021. Meanwhile, his 20.6 percent strikeout rate from 2017-20 has dropped, matching that 16.2 percent walk rate.
Gant is earning $2.1MM this year and is due a raise in arbitration this coming offseason, so there’s no guarantee he’ll be tendered by the Twins. But he’ll give his new club some length in the bullpen or perhaps even as a starter down the stretch, where he’ll have a couple months to prove he can improve his command and contribute next year.
In Happ, the Cards will pick up a veteran innings eater, but one whose struggles have been rather alarming. The 38-year-old has soaked up 98 1/3 innings for the Twins this season but been clobbered for a 6.77 ERA along the way. Happ has been impacted a bit by an elevated .332 average on balls in play, but he’s also been among the game’s most homer-prone pitchers, averaging 1.92 dingers per nine innings pitched.
Even more perplexing is that Happ’s struggles have only grown in recent weeks. He hasn’t made a quality start since April 28 and hasn’t surrendered fewer than three runs in an outing since the end of May. Dating back to June 1, Happ is toting an 8.13 ERA, and sticking to just the month of July, he’s yielded more runs (28) than innings pitched (27).
Even with the Twins taking back Gant’s contract and kicking in cash, it’s something of a surprise to see the Cardinals include a minor leaguer in this deal. Sisk isn’t one of the organization’s top prospects, but he’s turned in a 3.31 ERA in 32 1/3 innings out of the bullpen between Class-A Advanced and Double-A so far in 2021. He’s fanned a very strong 29.1 percent of his opponents, but he’s also walked batters at an ugly 12.7 percent clip. Sisk, the Cardinals’ 16th-rounder back in 2018, induces grounders at a strong clip and at least has a chance of eventually emerging as a lefty option in the Minnesota ‘pen.
It’s probably more than most would’ve expected the team to get for the struggling Happ, but it underscores the Cardinals’ need to simply accumulate innings to fill out the rotation after doing little to address their questionable starting pitching depth in the offseason.
La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune first reported the Twins were moving a starting pitcher. Robert Murray of FanSided first reported that the Twins were acquiring Gant. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweeted Happ was going to Minnesota. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweeted that the Twins were also getting Sisk in the deal
Twins Listening On Maeda, Buxton, Donaldson
1:45PM: The Twins are also listening to offers on righty Kenta Maeda, tweets Heyman. He’s signed through 2023 with an annual base salary of just $3MM, although he can earn an additional $10MM of incentives based on starts and innings pitched each season.
1:36PM: Both Buxton and Josh Donaldson are being shopped by the Twins, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets. Donaldson is in the second season of a four-year, $92MM contract with Minnesota.
12:56PM: The Twins have already traded Nelson Cruz and Jose Berrios, and they’re surely not done for the day, with several other players to shop to contending clubs. Center fielder Byron Buxton‘s market has picked up steam since last night, tweets Dan Hayes of The Athletic, although it’s no sure thing he’ll be moved just yet. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that the Phillies “love” Buxton and are one six or seven teams inquiring with the Twins.
Buxton, 27, is currently on the 10-day injured list with a fractured hand that he sustained when he was hit by a pitch earlier in the summer. He’d only just come off the injured list after missing more than a month due to a strained hip flexor.
The Twins and Buxton have had extension talks as recently as this month, but those negotiations didn’t bring about a contract. Minnesota was reportedly willing to offer upwards of $80MM and include some incentives to boost the contract’s overall value. It’s not the first time the Twins and Buxton have talked extension, but nothing has come of those efforts just yet and Buxton now finds himself 15 months from reaching free agency at the conclusion of the 2022 season. He’s said even after those extension talks broke down that he hopes to remain in Minnesota long-term and is very much open to future talks.
Buxton is one of the toughest players in the game to value either in a trade or on an extension. He’s arguably the best defensive player in all of baseball, at any position, and is among the sport’s five or so fastest players as well. While the former No. 2 overall pick struggled at the plate in his first several seasons, he’s batted .282/.322/.581 with 33 homers, 44 doubles and four triples in his past 540 plate appearances — a star-level offensive output.
Of course, the problem is that those 540 plate appearances have been spread across three seasons. Buxton has been on the Major League injured list a whopping 11 times, and while some have come as the result of freak injuries — the current broken hand, a foot fracture suffered on a foul tip — the lack of durability is an obvious concern both for the Twins and for potential trade partners.
Buxton is nearing a return from the injured list, and his play so far in limited at-bats in 2021 would be MVP-caliber over the course of a full season. He’s batted .369/.409/.767 with 10 homers and 11 doubles in just 110 plate appearances. The Twins figure to set a high asking price, as they did on both Cruz and Berrios. Whether another club will part with impact young talent and take on the health risks associated with Buxton remains to be seen.
Yankees Shopping Luke Voit
1:11pm: NJ.com’s Brendan Kuty also hears the Yankees are shopping Voit, however he adds that they’ve yet to receive much interest.
July 30, 12:33pm: The Yankees are “looking to trade” Voit, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports (Twitter link). Newly acquired Anthony Rizzo is slotting in at first base over him for the remainder of the season, and the Yankees can look to add a shortstop this winter, moving Gleyber Torres to second base and DJ LeMahieu to first base.
July 29: Luke Voit‘s name has come up in trade discussions the Yankees are having with various teams, reports the YES Network’s Jack Curry (via Twitter). Voit is currently on the injured list with a bone bruise in his knee, but he’s nearing a return to the active roster.
It’s been an injury-marred season for 30-year-old Voit, who missed the first month-plus after undergoing surgery to repair a meniscus tear and then quickly landed back on the injured list with an oblique strain. This is his third IL stint of the year, and that trio of maladies has combined to limit him to 29 games and 122 plate appearances.
Voit got out to a slow start when he initially returned from knee surgery, but he was hitting quite well prior to his most recent knee troubles. In 17 games and 72 plate appearances from June 22 through July 11, Voit slashed at a .281/.361/.453 clip with a pair of homers, three doubles and a triple. That’s still a far cry from Voit’s powerhouse showing in 2020’s shortened slate of games. He appeared in 56 of the Yankees’ 60 contests last summer, hitting .277/.338/.610 and pacing all of Major League Baseball with 22 home runs.
When he’s at his best, Voit is a force to be reckoned with at the plate, but some of the Yankees’ recent dealings and rumored targets call his fit with the lineup into question. New York, for instance, has been repeatedly linked to Rockies shortstop Trevor Story in recent days. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweeted not long ago, in fact, that the Yankees’ interest in adding Story is quite real. However, acquiring Story would likely necessitate sliding Gleyber Torres to second base, thus pushing DJ LeMahieu to first base, where Voit is traditionally stationed. The presence of Joey Gallo, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton crowds the DH scene, and if New York’s reported interest in Kyle Schwarber manifests in a trade, that would only further muddy Voit’s role.
Voit is playing the 2021 season on a $4.7MM salary and will be due a raise in arbitration this winter. The lack of playing time and diminished production from his injuries will curb his earning power to an extent, but it’s fair to expect his salary to climb north of $6MM. He’s a Super Two player, so he’ll be eligible for arbitration in each of the next three offseasons before reaching free agency upon the conclusion of the 2024 campaign.
Twins Claim Edgar Garcia From Reds
The Twins announced that they’ve claimed right-handed reliever Edgar Garcia off waivers from the Reds and optioned him to Triple-A St. Paul. Cincinnati designated Garcia for assignment earlier in the week.
The 24-year-old Garcia has seen MLB time with the Phillies, Rays and Reds but limped to a 7.14 ERA in 46 1/3 innings. His Triple-A numbers are quite good, however, as he’s pitched to a 3.28 ERA with a 31.4 percent strikeout rate and 10.2 percent walk rate in 57 2/3 innings. Garcia averaged 95.1 mph on his heater in his brief time with the Reds and is in the last of his three minor-league option years. He can be shuttled between Triple-A and the big league roster for the rest of the season if the Twins choose, but he’ll be out of options next spring.
Blue Jays Acquire Jose Berrios
12:02pm: The Blue Jays have announced the trade.
11:31am: The Blue Jays and Twins have a deal in place sending right-hander Jose Berrios to Toronto, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). MLB.com’s Jon Morosi reports that top pitching prospect Simeon Woods Richardson is part of the return. Infielder Austin Martin, the No. 5 overall pick from last summer’s draft, is also going to Minnesota, reports Dan Hayes of The Athletic.
Berrios, 27, gives the Blue Jays perhaps the second-best pitcher on this summer’s trade market, trailing only Max Scherzer, who is expected to join the Dodgers later today. Unlike Scherzer, he’s controllable beyond the 2021 season, as he’s only in his second arbitration season. Berrios is earning $6.1MM in 2021 and will be due one more arbitration raise this winter before reaching free agency upon conclusion of the 2022 campaign.
Berrios will join Hyun Jin Ryu and the resurgent Robbie Ray atop the Toronto rotation, comprising what now looks to be a formidable trio. He’s in the midst of one of his finest seasons, pitching to a 3.48 ERA with a career-best 25.7 percent strikeout rate, an excellent 6.5 percent walk rate and a career-high 43.6 percent ground-ball rate. He’s posted those numbers through 20 starts and a total of 121 1/3 frames, standing out as one of the dwindling number of pitchers in today’s game who averages six-plus frames per outing.
Of course, Berrios isn’t simply durable on a per-game basis. He’s been one of the game’s most durable starting pitchers overall, throughout the entirety of his career. He’s never been on the Major League injured list and is currently on pace for what would be his fourth straight season of a full slate of starts. He made 26 appearances back in 2017 — the final season he was optioned to the minors — and has since made 32 starts, 32 starts, 12 starts (a full workload in last year’s 60-game season) and 20 starts so far in 2020.
During that time, he’s never posted an ERA above 4.00 and has pitched to an overall 3.76 mark with a 24.2 percent strikeout rate and a 7.2 percent walk rate. Berrios may not quite be a Cy Young-caliber, top-of-the-rotation ace, but he’s as consistent and durable as it comes for a second/third starter.
The Blue Jays paid a steep price to acquire a year and a half of that consistency. Martin, last year’s No. 5 overall pick, was viewed by many in the industry as the best all-around player in the draft class. It was a legitimate surprise when he slipped beyond the No. 2 overall pick and fell to the Jays with the fifth selection. He’s currently ranked as the No. 16 prospect in the game at MLB.com, No. 21 at Baseball America and No. 23 at FanGraphs.
Martin starred at Vanderbilt in college, hitting .368/.474/.532 in his college career. The Jays dropped him right into Double-A to begin 2021, his first professional season, and it hasn’t looked like he’s missed a beat. In 250 plate appearances, Martin has posted a .281/.424/.383 with a pair of homers, ten doubles, two triples and nine stolen bases. He’s walked at a hearty 14.8 percent clip against a 21.2 percent strikeout rate. That batting line is 32 percent better than league average in an immensely pitcher-friendly Double-A environment, by measure of wRC+.
The main question on Martin is simply one of where he’ll play. He’s split his time evenly between shortstop and center field in Double-A this season. At the time of the draft, some scouts questioned whether he could stick at shortstop in pro ball, but the Jays have been giving him that chance. Even if shortstop isn’t his ultimate home on the diamond, however, most scouting reports on the 22-year-old Martin agree that his athleticism will translate to third base, center field or second base. The general expectation surrounding Martin is that he’ll be an above-average regular regardless of where he settles in on the diamond.
Woods Richardson has had a rougher season as Martin’s teammate in Double-A, but he’s only 20 years old — nearly five years younger than the average age of his competitors at that level. He entered the season widely regarded as a top 100 prospect, and while he’s since dropped off Baseball America’s list following the draft, he still ranks 49th at FanGraphs and 68th at MLB.com.
The Jays initially acquired Woods Richardson from the Mets in the trade that send Marcus Stroman to Queens. He’s made 11 starts in New Hampshire this season and posted a grisly 5.76 ERA, although that number is inflated by a .359 average on balls in play and an abnormally low 58 percent strand rate. Woods-Richardson has walked too many hitters (12.8 percent) but also fanned a third of his opponents so far on the year. Woods Richardson is away from the club right now, pitching for Team USA in the Olympics (as is fellow newly acquired Twins pitching prospect Joe Ryan).
FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen writes that Woods Richardson works with both a four-seamer and a two-seamer, also praising the righty’s changeup and the shape of his curveball. MLB.com’s report praised Woods Richardson’s changeup as the best in Toronto’s system, and the general consensus on the right-hander is that if he can add a little velocity as he continues to fill out, he has the makings of a No. 2 or No. 3 starter.
It’s an impressive haul for the Twins, though the organization has to be disappointed that the season came to this. Minnesota entered the year as defending AL Central champs and hopeful contenders, but their season spiraled out of control early and has yet to recover. That’s prompted the front office to pivot to what certainly looks like it’ll be an accelerated retooling of the roster.
The Twins still have an impressive crop of controllable hitters, and the additions of Martin, Woods Richardson, Ryan and Drew Strotman in their first two trades of deadline season give them four upper-minors talents who could impact the club by 2022 (perhaps 2023, in Woods Richardson’s case). Parting with Berrios means bidding adieu to the best pitcher the organization has developed in more than a decade, but they’ll hope that the recent influx of talent quickly supplements their foundation of young hitters and produces another arm or two of Berrios’ caliber before long.