Write For MLB Trade Rumors
UPDATE: We are also seeking a writer who is available to work every Saturday from 7am-3pm central time. Ultimately, we’re likely to make two hires. If you’re interested in either the Saturday or the Sunday shift, please apply. We have not yet looked at all the applications that we’ve received so far, but those who are advancing to the second round should hear back next week.
We’re looking to add to the MLBTR writing team, in a part-time position that pays hourly. The criteria:
- Availability to work every Sunday from 7am-3pm central time. This would be your regular weekly shift. The ability to occasionally fill in on Saturdays as well would be helpful.
- Exceptional knowledge of all 30 baseball teams, no discernible bias. Knowledge of hot stove concepts like arbitration, the competitive balance tax, and new aspects of the latest collective bargaining agreement.
- A high school degree is required, and further education is preferred. Please include your highest completed level of education in your application.
- Writing experience is necessary, and online writing experience is preferred.
- Attention to detail and ability to follow the MLBTR style and tone.
- Ability to craft intelligent, well-written posts analyzing and contextualizing MLB hot stove news quickly and concisely.
- Ability to use Twitter, Tweetdeck, and WordPress. Experience with these is strongly preferred.
- Ability to incorporate feedback to improve performance.
- If you’re interested, email mlbtrhelp@gmail.com and explain how you stand out and qualify in a couple of short paragraphs. Please attach your resume to the email. We often receive several hundred applications, so unfortunately we will not be able to reply to each one.
At the end of your application, please fill in the blank: After the ____ season ends, assuming he does not sign a contract extension or go to the minors, Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal will become a free agent. Rather than give an explanation, simply write, “Skubal question: [Year]” at the end.
Support MLBTR With A Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription
The MLBTR team works hard every single day to bring you all the hot stove news and rumors, as we have for over 16 years. We’d appreciate your support in the form of a Trade Rumors Front Office subscription, which costs $2.99 per month or $29.89 per year.
This is not a request for charity! Our subscribers love the service, which includes ad-free browsing and weekly exclusives including my mailbag, a subscriber-only chat with Anthony Franco, and articles from Anthony, Steve Adams, and Brad Johnson. Check out all the benefits here and consider giving it a try!
Sign Up For The Free MLBTR Newsletter
Did you know MLB Trade Rumors sends out a free newsletter five times per week? The newsletter is written by Cliff Corcoran, who has an extensive resume contributing to Sports Illustrated, The Athletic, Baseball Prospectus, and other outlets. Cliff will take you through the hot stove highlights of the previous day, boiling down MLBTR’s posts into the essential stories.
This free newsletter comes out Monday through Friday in the morning. Be sure to check your inbox and click the link in the confirmation email. If you’re not seeing the box to input your email, you can simply click this link to sign up.
10 Potential Trade Deadline Rental Bats Off To Strong Starts
As always, this year’s trade deadline will prominently feature many players who will be eligible for free agency after the season. Here’s a look at 10 rental hitters off to strong starts who could be available in trade. All of the teams included in this post currently feature playoff odds below 35%.
- Josh Bell, Nationals: 178 wRC+. Off to a blistering start, Bell has sliced his strikeout rate to less than 10% in the early going. There’s a strong chance the Nats send him to a contender this summer. The Twins would make for a nice fit.
- Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox: 157 wRC+. There’s little question Bogaerts will opt out of his contract after the season, but the 10-19 Red Sox at least have a fighting shot at the playoffs this year (FanGraphs gives a 21.8% chance). If the team fades further, it’ll make sense to put Bogaerts on the market. However, Bogaerts has full no-trade protection, so he controls his fate. The Angels and Cardinals could make for good matches.
- Brandon Drury, Reds: 157 wRC+. Drury showed some pop last year for the Mets as well, and he has a .274/.324/.524 line with 10 home runs in 182 plate appearances since 2021. And Drury does have the Statcast hard-hit data to back up his success this year. He joined the Reds on a minor league deal in March, and the 29-year-old figures to be spun into some kind of modest trade deadline return.
- Willson Contreras, Cubs: 148 wRC+. Contreras figures to be highly sought after at the trade deadline, especially with the average catcher putting up an 81 wRC+. Unless the Cubs change their mind about extending their soon-to-be-30-year-old longtime backstop, he’s quite likely to be dealt. The Guardians or Mets could make sense.
- J.D. Martinez, Red Sox: 148 wRC+. Of the three Red Sox regulars who are actually hitting this year, two of them are headed toward free agency after the season. And Rafael Devers isn’t far behind. Martinez is earning a hefty $19.375MM this year and can block trades to three teams.
- Ben Gamel, Pirates: 142 wRC+. Gamel is one of a handful of bright spots on the Pirates, but he’s also earning only $1.8MM this year and is slated for free agency.
- Andrew Benintendi, Royals: 133 wRC+. There’s a chance the Royals extend Benintendi, but as of now he’s on track for free agency. He hasn’t shown much pop this year, but he’s sixth in the AL with a .330 batting average.
- Jean Segura, Phillies: 128 wRC+. Like the Red Sox, the Phillies are another potential trade deadline seller that isn’t out of contention yet. Segura, who is earning $14.25MM this year and has a $17MM option for ’23, does have full no-trade protection.
- Jesus Aguilar, Marlins: 122 wRC+. The Marlins’ first baseman hasn’t hit for much power this year, but with the deadened baseballs, standards have changed. There’s a good chance he’s traded.
- Tommy Pham, Reds: 118 wRC+. The Reds have limited trade bait on the position player side, but Drury and Pham figure to be sent packing.
Though this post is focused on trade targets who have hit well through the season’s first month, the rental market will certainly feature others with track records of success, such as Nelson Cruz, Mitch Haniger, and Adam Frazier.
Dodgers Designate Robbie Erlin For Assignment
The Dodgers designated lefty Robbie Erlin for assignment, according to an announcement from the team. The move accompanies the club’s selection of Ryan Pepiot‘s contract.
Erlin, 31, spent 2021 with the Nippon Ham Fighters of NPB. He inked a minor league deal with the Dodgers in February, and returned to a 40-man roster when his contract was selected Saturday, allowing him to serve as the 27th man in a doubleheader against the Cubs. In his first big league action in nearly 20 months, Erlin posted a scoreless mop-up inning Sunday and then gave up a pair of runs to put a game in Pittsburgh further out of reach on Monday.
Considered one of the 35 best prospects in the game when the Rangers sent him to San Diego in the Mike Adams deal at the 2011 trade deadline, Erlin underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2016. The Padres bounced him from their 40-man in October 2019, and then he moved to the Pirates and Braves before heading overseas.
In that classic MLB circle of life, Erlin has surrendered his Dodgers 40-man roster spot to Pepiot, who ranked 90th on Baseball America’s top 100 prospect list. Pepiot, a 24-year-old righty, is a 55-grade prospect with what BA describes as a “devastating” changeup but “below average control.” Pepiot hasn’t yet solved the control issue in his 68 Triple-A innings, but the Dodgers needed a starter for this afternoon’s game in Pittsburgh.
Tigers To Designate Drew Hutchison For Assignment
The Tigers will designate righty Drew Hutchison for assignment prior to tonight’s game against the A’s, the team announced yesterday. The move will create a spot on the active 26-man roster for rookie Joey Wentz, whose call-up was covered here yesterday. Wentz will make his MLB debut tonight, and then the Tigers will decide whether he or fellow rookie Alex Faedo will get a start next week.
The Hutchison DFA will drop the Tigers’ 40-man roster down to 39. Hutchison, 31, is no stranger to being bounced off a 40-man roster. The Blue Jays’ 2015 Opening Day starter, Hutchison was outrighted by the Pirates in 2017, the Pirates and Rangers in 2018, and his current team, the Tigers, last year. So far, Hutchison has added another 15 2/3 innings to his resume in 2022, working as a low-leverage reliever for Detroit.
The Tigers’ rotation is the more pressing concern, with an ERA that ranks 22nd in baseball and has averaged 4.71 innings per start. Tarik Skubal has been a revelation, and free agent signings Eduardo Rodriguez and Michael Pineda have done acceptable work. Matt Manning is working his way back from a shoulder injury, while Casey Mize is set for his first rehab start tomorrow after an elbow sprain. Though Wentz, Faedo, and Beau Brieske are not considered top prospects, the rookies will continue to deserve as the Tigers’ primary depth options once everyone is healthy.
David Fletcher To Miss “A Couple Months” Due To Surgery
A key member of the Angels’ middle infield will likely be out until July, as David Fletcher underwent surgery on both adductor muscles. In this article from Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com, Angels head trainer Mike Frostad explained the procedure, which also repaired Fletcher’s abdominal muscles. “We’re hoping he’ll be back within a couple months,” noted Frostad. Fletcher initially tried cortisone shots, but they did not suffice.
At the moment, the Angels sit atop the AL West, one game ahead of the Astros. The club is riding high this morning after Reid Detmers shocked the world with the 12th no-hitter in franchise history, and Anthony Rendon provided entertainment by turning around left-handed to swat a home run off Brett Phillips.
Thus far, the Angels have mainly featured Andrew Velazquez at shortstop and Tyler Wade at second base, with the second base mix also including Jack Mayfield and Matt Duffy. As a November waiver claim who wasn’t able to crack the Angels’ Opening Day roster, the 27-year-old Velazquez is an unlikely candidate to start at shortstop for a playoff team. Wade, picked up in a minor trade that same month, has also generally been considered a bench player. Fletcher was something of a question mark in his own right before the surgery, as he’s posted a 69 wRC+ in 706 plate appearances dating back to 2021. Naturally, the Halos may eventually turn to the trade market this summer for reinforcements.
With the Red Sox disappointing in the early going and holding playoff odds below 23%, the availability of shortstop Xander Bogaerts could become a key summer storyline. Bogaerts is widely expected to exercise his opt-out clause after the season, and the Sox made only a token attempt to extend him. Other shortstops who might be available include Kyle Farmer, Elvis Andrus, Paul DeJong, Alcides Escobar, Didi Gregorius, and Kevin Newman. The Braves’ Dansby Swanson is in his contract year, but that club still has playoff odds over 70% according to FanGraphs. At second base, the Angels could consider Cesar Hernandez, Jonathan Schoop, Jean Segura, Adam Frazier, Rougned Odor, and Tony Kemp.
Mets Release Robinson Cano
May 8: As expected, Cano has now been released, per Tim Healey of Newsday.
May 2: The Mets designated second baseman Robinson Cano for assignment, according to an announcement from the team. The club also optioned Yoan Lopez to Triple-A to get down to 26 players on the active roster.
The Mets owe Cano about $37.6MM through 2023, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Mets have set Cano’s eventual release in motion, so they’ll be eating the money owed to him.
Cano, 39, kicked off his career with nine seasons for the Yankees that included five All-Star appearances and MVP votes in six campaigns. In a deal brokered by agent Brodie Van Wagenen with involvement from newly-certified agent Jay-Z, Cano left the Yankees for a landmark ten-year, $240MM free agent contract with the Mariners. After a strong start to his Seattle career, things started going south for Cano in May of 2018 with an 80-game PED suspension.
Months later, Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto, who hadn’t been in the organization when Cano was signed, set to work trading him. In December 2018, Dipoto sent Cano, reliever Edwin Diaz, and $20MM to the Mets for outfielder Jay Bruce, right-hander Anthony Swarzak, right-hander Gerson Bautista and prospects Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn. At the time, the Mets’ new GM was none other than Van Wagenen. The trade, which was more about Diaz than Cano for the Mets, came at the high cost of Kelenic, who went on to become one of the game’s top prospects. For more on this disastrous trade, check out Jeff Todd’s superb YouTube video.
Though Cano was able to muster up a strong but brief 2020 season for the Mets, the hits kept coming with a 162-game PED suspension in November 2020 – not long after Steve Cohen bought the team and fired Van Wagenen. With Cohen, Mets president Sandy Alderson, GM Billy Eppler, and manager Buck Showalter having no connection to the Cano deal, the clock was ticking if he didn’t produce this year after returning from his second suspension.
With a .195/.233/.268 line in 43 plate appearances, Cano struggled in his first big league action in more than 18 months. As Tim Healey of Newsday and other Mets reporters have noted, even with Dominic Smith, J.D. Davis, and Luis Guillorme having minor league options, the correct baseball decision was to move on from Cano. At 16-7, the Mets own the best record in the National League and chose not to let Cano’s contract dictate their roster. Cano, who will eventually be released, will have the rest of his contract paid by the Mets less the prorated portion of the $700K league minimum if he hooks on elsewhere.
Cano indeed plans to continue searching for opportunities. Van Wagenen, who has again assumed a role in Cano’s representation upon joining Roc Nation Sports after being fired by the Mets, tells Sherman the 39-year-old “absolutely still wants to play. Given the right situation, he can still make a meaningful contribution for a team.”
It remains to be seen whether there’ll be a ton of interest in Cano’s services. In addition to the lost 2021 season and rough bottom-line numbers this year, he’s seen his contact rate plummet to a career-worst 73% in this season’s early going. He has chased nearly half the pitches he’s been thrown outside the strike zone, and he’s probably limited defensively to a rotation between second base, first base and designated hitter. It’s not the easiest profile for a team to roster unless they’re confident Cano can match or improve upon the .275/.321/.463 line he managed between 2019-20 as he gets further from his second suspension.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
18 Potential Starting Pitcher Trade Targets This Summer
Less than three months remain until the August 2nd MLB trade deadline, and starting pitching is always a hot commodity. Here’s a look at 18 starters who might be available in the coming months.
Top of the rotation-ish
- Frankie Montas, Athletics: Under team control through 2023, Montas continues to be an obvious trade candidate who can make a major impact on a contending team. He’s picked up right where he left off last year, with a 3.44 ERA and the skills to match. Having moved Sean Manaea and Chris Bassitt after the lockout ended, the A’s are now primed to spark a bidding war for Montas.
- Luis Castillo, Reds: Castillo has shown the ability to pitch near the top of a rotation, even though he struggled in his first ten starts of 2021. Like Montas, Castillo is under team control through ’23. Castillo opened the season on the IL due to a shoulder injury, but he’s penciled in for his debut Monday. If he remains healthy, Castillo should be able to make around 15 starts prior to the trade deadline, so suitors will have plenty of information. The Reds may be able to extract a premium prospect for Castillo.
- Marcus Stroman, Cubs: Stroman may not be thought of as a true ace, but a 3.02 ERA in 33 starts last year is nothing to sniff at. Though Stroman’s ERA sits at 5.13 through five starts, his skills seem unchanged. I generally expect the Cubs to keep Stroman, as trading a player this early into a trumpeted three-year deal is a bad look. Plus, Stroman is on a three-year, $71MM contract with an opt-out after ’23, which may not hold appeal to certain clubs.
- Yu Darvish and Blake Snell, Padres: Once Snell returns from a groin strain IL stint this month, the Padres will simply have too many starting pitchers if everyone else remains healthy. Trading Darvish or Snell would alleviate that situation and give them financial flexibility to improve elsewhere. The Padres may not wait until the trade deadline to address the logjam. While Darvish and Snell had disappointing seasons in 2021, both remain capable of pitching near the top of a rotation. With more than $40MM owed and a 12-team no-trade clause, Darvish could be tricky to move.
Middle and back of the rotation
- Tyler Mahle, Reds: Mahle pitched to a 3.72 ERA with a 28.1 K% from 2020-21, but he owns a 7.01 ERA through his first six starts this year. Mahle, who seems to have cut his slider usage significantly this year, is not missing bats like he has in the past and is averaging only 4.28 innings per start. Mahle is under team control through 2023, and given his past success will be targeted whether or not he’s able to right the ship with the Reds.
- Mike Minor, Reds: Minor is battling a shoulder injury and working his way toward a minor league rehab assignment. If he’s healthy and pitching acceptably, the Reds may flip him at the deadline to save money.
- Zack Greinke and Brad Keller, Royals: Greinke’s early success includes a strikeout rate of just 6.5%. He’s on a one-year, $13MM deal and the Royals figure to defer to his preferences regarding a potential trade. Keller, who is under team control through ’23, also doesn’t miss bats, but does sport a strong groundball rate and ERA in the early going.
- Kyle Hendricks, Drew Smyly, Wade Miley, Cubs: Hendricks’ unique soft-tossing approach has resulted in a 4.90 ERA since 2021, and he has about $27MM remaining on his contract through ’23. Trading him at this stage would be a disappointing end to a player who has meant so much to the franchise. On an affordable one-year deal, Smyly is more likely to go, though his skills have been middling since ’21. Miley has yet to make his Cubs debut due to elbow inflammation, but he’s set to make a minor league rehab start tonight in St. Paul. While the Cubs in a sense have a starting rotation full of trade candidates, the returns wouldn’t be impressive and the club might elect not to decimate that group without worthy replacements.
- Martin Perez, Rangers, Jose Quintana, Pirates, Michael Pineda, Tigers: Though early results are good, there’s nothing skills-wise to recommend these guys. Their teams could could flip them to someone looking for depth, but there’s little urgency.
- Jordan Lyles, Orioles: The Orioles signed Lyles to eat some innings, so they might as well let him eat some innings this year. But they could probably be convinced to trade him.
- Patrick Corbin, Nationals: With $78MM remaining on his contract, Corbin could only be moved as part of a salary dump.
- Stephen Strasburg, Nationals: With $169MM remaining through 2026, Strasburg has one of the least tradeable contracts in baseball. He was set to face live hitters yesterday at the Nats’ spring training facility as he recovers from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery underwent last July. I suppose there’s a scenario where he pitches for a month in the Majors and looks like 2019 Strasburg, and someone goes about the complicated process of taking on some of his contract, but it’s unlikely.
As always, the market will take shape around the middle of July. The Phillies still have a reasonable shot at the playoffs at present despite a disappointing start, but if they fall further, impending free agents like Zach Eflin and Kyle Gibson could be traded. The Red Sox are in a similar place, and could put some interesting names on the market like Nathan Eovaldi, Chris Sale, and James Paxton.
Cardinals Outright Aaron Brooks
TODAY: The Cardinals announced that Brooks has been outrighted to Triple-A Memphis, after clearing waivers.
MAY 2: The Cardinals have designated righty Aaron Brooks for assignment, according to Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat. He notes that the club also optioned Packy Naughton to Triple-A Memphis to get down to the requisite 26 players on the active roster.
Brooks, who recently turned 32, signed a minor league deal with St. Louis after spending two years with the KBO’s Kia Tigers. He broke camp with the team but allowed runs in four of his five appearances. Ultimately, he allowed eight runs in 9 1/3 innings and served up a trio of homers during his first big league exposure since 2019.
A ninth round draft pick of the Royals back in 2011, Brooks and Sean Manaea were traded to the Athletics for Ben Zobrist and cash at the 2015 trade deadline. During the following spring training, Brooks was shipped to the Cubs for Chris Coghlan. He then bounced to the Brewers, A’s, and Orioles before heading to South Korea.
Notably, Brooks did show the best velocity of his big league career in his brief time with St. Louis, averaging 93.2 miles per hour on his fastball. Brooks has always had excellent control, and his ground-ball rate in KBO was through the roof, a big factor in the Cards adding him in the first place. It remains to be seen if his strong KBO numbers and personal-best fastball velocity will lead another team to give him a longer look than St. Louis afforded.