Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Pirates Acquire Taylor Davis

By | at

The Orioles acquired minor league outfielder Jose Berroa from the Pirates for catcher Taylor Davis, reported Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com among others.

Davis, 31, picked up 20 games of big league experience with the Cubs from 2017-19.  He signed a minor league deal with the Orioles in January 2020, and played in 12 games for the Norfolk Tides this year.  Davis may not have made much of a big league impact yet, but he did garner fame for “shooting icy stares at the Iowa Cubs’ cameras,” as SI’s Dan Gartland put it in 2017.  Davis will now make the trip to the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate.  The Indianapolis Indians open a six-game set against the Memphis Redbirds tonight.

Berroa, 19, did not fall within FanGraphs’ top 51 Pirates prospects back in February.  He played 56 games in the Dominican Summer League in 2019 and will be assigned to the Orioles’ Florida Complex team in Sarasota.  He was a July 2 signing out of the Dominican Republic back in 2018.

Tigers’ Matt Manning To Make MLB Debut Thursday; Matthew Boyd To IL

By | at

The Tigers announced a series of roster moves today, the most exciting of which is the planned MLB debut of acclaimed pitching prospect Matt Manning.  Manning, 23, will start Thursday night in Anaheim against the Angels.  Additionally, pitchers Matthew Boyd and Alex Lange hit the IL, Wily Peralta and Miguel Del Pozo had their contracts selected, and Jeimer Candelario was reinstated from the IL.

Manning was drafted ninth overall by the Tigers in 2016 out of high school.  Prior to the season, Baseball America ranked Manning as the 33rd-best prospect in the game.  The COVID-19 pandemic deprived Manning and many others of a minor league season in 2020, and he also dealt with a right forearm strain.   Manning made his Triple-A debut on May 4th of this year.  He’s scuffled to an 8.07 ERA in seven starts, with more than 27% of his flyballs leaving the yard.  Still, Manning’s last outing was solid, and he retains “frontline starter potential” according to Baseball America.  He’ll get a tough assignment, going up against Shohei Ohtani.

Boyd, 30, exited Monday’s start due to an arm injury that Tigers manager A.J. Hinch described today as “more toward the elbow.”  Through 13 starts, he was experiencing a resurgent season with a 3.44 ERA in 70 2/3 frames.  With a strikeout rate of just 18.8%, Boyd is likely still a 4.50 ERA type pitcher whose flyballs happened to stay in the yard over a brief sample.  Still, he’s under team control through 2022 as an arbitration eligible player and should be a solid late July trade candidate if the injury turns out to be minor.  Boyd joins rotation-mate Spencer Turnbull on the IL.

Lange, a 25-year-old rookie reliever, struggled to the tune of a 7.31 ERA over 18 fairly low-leverage outings before hitting the IL with a shoulder strain.  He was rated as a 40-grade prospect by Baseball America prior to the season.

Peralta and Del Pozo will be new additions to the Tigers’ 40-man roster.  One such spot was opened with the transferring of Rony Garcia to the 60-day IL.  Peralta, 32, joined the Tigers on a minor league deal back in February.  He was once a productive member of the Brewers’ rotation, peaking with a 3.53 ERA in 198 2/3 innings back in 2014.  He managed to give the Mud Hens six mostly solid but brief outings and is an option to take Boyd’s spot Saturday in Anaheim, Hinch told reporters.

Del Pozo has 13 big league innings to his name.  The 28-year-old southpaw inked a minor league deal with the Tigers back in January.  He’s been dominant in a dozen Triple-A relief outings, punching out 34.7% of batters faced and walking only 6.1%.

Corey Dickerson Placed On IL For Foot Contusion

By | at

Marlins left fielder Corey Dickerson is headed to the IL, manager Don Mattingly told reporters today.  Mattingly said Dickerson had an MRI and it’s “not very promising,” according to SportsGrid’s Craig Mish.  The team later described Dickerson’s injury as a “left foot contusion.”  Earlier today, we learned that the Marlins are calling up prospect Jesus Sanchez from Triple-A.  Sanchez is batting fifth against the Cardinals’ Kwang Hyun Kim, who came off the IL today.

With 45 days until the trade deadline, it appears the last-place Marlins may have missed their chance to recoup some value on Dickerson.  The 32-year-old wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire with a 102 wRC+, the Marlins may have been able to unload the $2.8MM that will remain on Dickerson’s contract come July 30th.  Dickerson had signed a two-year, $17.5MM free agent deal with the Marlins in January 2020.  Dickerson’s contract still marks by far the largest free agent signing of the Bruce Sherman/Derek Jeter era, with no one else topping $5MM.

The Marlins still have a solid trade chip in center fielder Starling Marte, who owns a 174 wRC+ on the season.  Shortstop Miguel Rojas may also generate interest, though the club holds a $5.5M club option for 2022 that will become guaranteed if he reaches 500 plate appearances.  Though controlled through 2022, first baseman Jesus Aguilar may also be available.  Adam Duvall, also controlled through ’22, has had a rough year so far.  On the pitching side, top reliever Yimi Garcia is slated for free agency and should be popular on the trade market.

Nick Madrigal Out For The Season

By | at

White Sox second baseman Nick Madrigal “underwent successful surgery to repair the proximal tendon tears in his right hamstring,” the club announced today.  He’ll be out for the season and is expected to be restriction-free in spring of 2022.  Madrigal’s injury was known to be potentially season-ending last week, as he was placed on the 60-day IL.

The White Sox have done a remarkable job weathering major injuries already this year, sitting in first place in the AL Central with the league’s second-best record despite early-season losses of Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez.  Jimenez could potentially join the club in August after rupturing his left pectoral tendon in late March, while Robert suffered a Grade 3 right hip flexor strain.  Neither player has an official timetable for return from the White Sox.

Madrigal, Chicago’s high-contact 24-year-old rookie second baseman, had a 117 wRC+ on the season that ranked seventh among qualifiers.  Danny Mendick and Leury Garcia have taken over at second since Madrigal’s injury.  Should the White Sox look to upgrade, Adam Frazier, Josh Harrison, Eduardo Escobar, and Jonathan Schoop could be among those available.

2021-22 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings

By | at

It’s time for a fresh installment of our 2021-22 MLB Free Agents Power Rankings, where we rank players by their potential earning power should they reach the open market as scheduled.  For this exercise, I’m setting aside the uncertainty of the collective bargaining agreement expiring on December 1st.  For the full list of free agents, click here.

1.  Corey Seager.  Seager suffered a broken hand after getting hit by a pitch in mid-May, and seems likely to return around early July.  It will be interesting to see how Seager hits once he returns.  In 169 plate appearances to start the season, he sits at a 122 wRC+.  That’s strong work, but perhaps a bit short of Seager’s own standards, as he entered the season with a career mark of 130.

2.  Carlos Correa.  Correa is raking this season, with a 147 wRC+ that ranks second only to Xander Bogaerts among shortstops.  He’s also managed to play in all but three of the Astros’ games and hasn’t been on the IL since late in the 2019 season.  I debated Correa vs. Trevor Story back in mid-April…but can Correa move past Seager?  Correa’s Statcast hitting numbers are strong this year, and he even ranks fifth among shortstops in Outs Above Average on defense.  Plus, Correa is not set to turn 27 until September.

3.  Kris Bryant.  Bryant is having a monster season, posting a 160 wRC+ that ranks second among all free agents (assuming the Astros pick up Yuli Gurriel’s option).  Bryant is on pace for a six or seven WAR season.  That’s on par with the production of the first three years of his career, which netted him the 2016 NL MVP award.  Though Bryant once looked like an obvious trade candidate, the Cubs are currently clinging to first place in the NL Central.  FanGraphs puts their playoff odds at about 40%.  If that holds for the next month, trading Bryant won’t be a viable option for GM Jed Hoyer.  In that case, Bryant’s final overture from the Cubs may come in the form of a qualifying offer after the season.

4.  Trevor Bauer.  After the season, Bauer must decide whether to opt out of the remaining two years and $62MM on his contract with the Dodgers (causing a large chunk of his ’21 salary to be deferred) or potentially opting out of only the 2023 season, leaving just $17MM on the table.  Bauer’s calculus may be changing in light of MLB’s impending crackdown on the use of foreign substances.  Through Bauer’s first 12 starts, his four-seam fastball had 2,840 RPM at a velocity of 93.8 mph.  But on June 6th in Atlanta, Bauer’s spin rate dropped to 2,612 while staying at virtually the same velocity.

Will Bauer continue to post Cy Young level numbers for the remainder of the season if MLB’s sticky stuff rules are fully enforced?  If he slips – even if it has nothing to do with foreign substances or spin rate – the perception might be enough to prevent him from opting out.

5.  Trevor Story.  Story owns just an 89 wRC+ through 50 games; he hasn’t had a stretch this bad since 2017.  Plus, he hit the IL with right elbow inflammation in late May.  He’s expected to be activated today, and has plenty of time to right the ship before the Rockies most likely trade him in July.

6.  Freddie Freeman.  In 2018, a season in which Freeman finished fourth in the NL MVP voting, he had a 58-game stretch during which he posted a .780 OPS, which is a bit worse than what he’s done this year.  I don’t think there’s anything to worry about with the reigning NL MVP, even with a wRC+ all the way down to 111.  But the timing isn’t great for Freeman, who turns 32 in September and may have to be content getting a bit past Paul Goldschmidt’s five-year, $130MM deal.

7.  Kevin Gausman.  Gausman has sustained his strikeout rate from last year, improved his control, and has benefitted from a 7.1% home run per flyball rate and .212 BABIP.  Since joining the Giants in 2020, Gausman has a 2.29 ERA in 137 1/3 innings.  Maybe his skills are more indicative of a 3.00 ERA, but that’s still top shelf work that may put him in the $100MM discussion.  Gausman bet on himself this year by accepting the Giants’ qualifying offer, and that decision is looking prudent so far.

8.  Javier Baez.  It’s tough to predict how the market will treat Baez.  The Cubs’ 28-year-old shortstop continues to do things you’ve never seen before on a baseball field, but he also owns a .240/.276/.480 swing-for-the-fences batting line with a 36.7 K%.  With potentially nine starting shortstops on the free agent market this winter, teams will have options.

9.  Clayton Kershaw.  Kershaw has thrown four clunkers in his last seven starts, sending his ERA from 2.09 to 3.66.  Overall, though, I don’t think his skills have changed.  The 33-year-old should still be able to land a three-year deal at a premium salary, even if he limits his potential destinations.

10.  Max Scherzer.  Scherzer turns 37 in July, and will be highly sought-after if the Nationals are willing to trade him this summer.  Normally a pitcher at Scherzer’s age has little chance at a three-year deal, but so far he has a 2.22 ERA, 36.1 K%, and 5.2 BB%.  I think someone might spring for the third year.

Honorable mentions

Nick Castellanos, J.D. Martinez, Mark Canha, Brandon Crawford, Chris Taylor, Marcus Semien, Buster Posey, Starling Marte, Craig Kimbrel, Lance Lynn, Carlos Rodon, Robbie Ray, and Marcus Stroman are among those having big years, though if we set the bar for the top ten at $100MM they’ll have a hard time getting there.

A couple of Mets, Michael Conforto, and Noah Syndergaard, have been bumped from the top ten.  Conforto has failed to hit for power thus far, while Syndergaard had a setback in his rehab from Tommy John surgery.  Dylan Bundy also fell off the list, as he’s given up 23 runs in his last 21 innings.  There are others who fall somewhere in-between, having a solid but not spectacular year, like Anthony Rizzo, Avisail Garcia, Zack Greinke, Anthony DeSclafani, and Wade Miley.

Check Out The Benefits Of An MLBTR Subscription

By | at

If you’re a regular MLB Trade Rumors reader, we’d love you to consider a subscription!  For just $2.99 per month or $29.89 per year, you can enjoy ad-free browsing of the website and app, my weekly MLB mailbag, exclusive articles and chats from Steve Adams and Connor Byrne, a subscriber-only discussion forum, and other perks!  We plan to continue adding more and more value to membership, and members are loving it so far.  Check out Trade Rumors Front Office today!

MLB Trade Rumors Has A New Agency Database

By | at

We have revamped our agency database!  The database is now mobile-friendly, so you can search for players’ agencies from your phone.  You can search by player name or by agency.

The universe of players in this database is anyone who played in the Majors in the previous three completed seasons, which right now means 2018-20.  Once this season ends, it’ll become 2019-21.  We have agency info for many players, and we’ll continue to do our best to keep it up-to-date.  If you work for an agency and one of your players is blank or incorrect, please drop us a line at mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

You may also recall that in October, I decided to stop doing posts on agency changes on MLBTR, with the exception of significant national stories.  We are still monitoring agency-related news and we will be entering changes into the database.

The agency database is available for all MLBTR readers.  Check it out today!

Which Contract Year Players Are Performing The Best?

By | at

You’ve seen our 2021-22 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings, but which contract year players are actually performing the best at this point in the young season?  These are the top 2021-22 free agents ranked by FanGraphs WAR.  Note: I’m using Baseball-Reference’s excellent Span Finder frequently in this post.  For the full list of 2021-22 MLB free agents, click here.

Hitters

  • Kris Bryant – 1.8 WAR, 180 wRC+ in 124 PA.  As good as Bryant has been, this level of production has plenty of precedent for him.  He’s hit more than eight home runs in a 29-game span many times, including 12 in a stretch in 2019.  It’s not going to be hard to make a case for a huge free agent contract for the 29-year-old Bryant, who may be traded by the Cubs in July.
  • J.D. Martinez – 1.8 WAR, 215 wRC+ in 126 PA.  Like Bryant, the odd 2020 season is the only recent blip in Martinez’s career.  As Boston’s DH continues to light up Statcast, the question becomes whether he should opt out of the remaining $19.375MM on his contract for 2022, which will represent his age-34 season.  The universal DH would help.
  • Buster Posey – 1.4 WAR, 218 wRC+ in 78 PA.  The last time Posey hit seven home runs in 20 games?  Late in the 2014 season, when he finished sixth in the MVP voting.  He hit seven home runs in 114 games in his previous season in 2019.  Clearly, a year off did the 34-year-old Posey good.  A multiyear deal is materializing for the Giants legend.
  • Nick Castellanos – 1.4 WAR, 166 wRC+ in 114 PA.  Castellanos’ early mashing this year is reminiscent of his brief stint with the Cubs, in which he posted a 154 wRC+ in 225 PA.  If he keeps it up, the 29-year-old right fielder might find it easy to opt out of the remaining two years and $34MM left on his contract with the Reds after this season.
  • Starling Marte – 1.0 WAR, 151 wRC+ in 70 PA.  Things were looking up for Marte until he fractured a rib a couple weeks ago, potentially knocking him out until June.  Assuming a healthy return, trade partners will begin knocking on the Marlins’ door at that point.
  • Other impending free agents playing well in the early going: Yadier Molina, Nelson Cruz, Chris Taylor, Josh Harrison, and Corey Dickerson.

Pitchers

  • Clayton Kershaw – 1.3 WAR, 2.95 ERA in 39 2/3 innings.  Even after a clunker Tuesday against the Cubs, Kershaw leads free agent pitchers in WAR.  Is there any way he’d leave the Dodgers heading into his age-34 season?  Max Scherzer is another elder statesman future Hall of Fame pitcher who is off to an excellent start in his contract year.
  • Matt Barnes – 1.0 WAR, 2.12 ERA in 17 innings.  Generally known for high walk rates, Barnes has posted an excellent 5.1 BB% so far this year.  He’s actually had bouts of strong control before, with similar stretches in 2016 and ’17.  He’s also whiffed a phenomenal 49.2% of batters in 2021.  Barnes got off to a great start in 2019 as well, punching out half the batters he faced and walking only 6% over his first 16 games.  He’d go on to walk more than 15% of batters over the remainder of that season.  The point is that Barnes’ start could hardly be better, but these 17 innings do not prove he’s become a completely different pitcher.  At any rate, he’s positioned for one of the better contracts for free agent relievers.  Mark Melancon, Craig Kimbrel, Kendall Graveman, and Ian Kennedy are also getting it done in the early going.
  • Danny Duffy – 1.0 WAR, 0.60 ERA in 30 innings.  Duffy’s velocity is the highest it’s been since 2016.  His peripherals are strong, though he does owe some of his success to a .247 batting average on balls in play and a 6.1% home run per flyball rate.  As you might expect, this has been the best five-start stretch of Duffy’s entire 197-start career.  Duffy, 32, once tweeted, “Bury me a Royal” in response to December 2017 trade rumors.  So you’d think the Royals will find a way to work out a new deal with him.
  • Lance Lynn – 0.9 WAR, 1.82 ERA in 24 2/3 innings.  Lynn missed a couple weeks with a trapezius strain, but before that he whiffed 21 batters against zero walks in a pair of starts.  Lynn turns 34 next week, but if he remains healthy for the rest of the season he’s setting up for at least a three-year deal.
  • Carlos Rodon – 0.9 WAR, 0.72 ERA in 25 innings.  Lynn’s rotation-mate with the White Sox has been one of the offseason’s best signings at just $3MM.  He tossed a no-hitter against the Indians and has given up only two runs all year.  Among those with at least 20 innings, Rodon ranks eighth in baseball with a 37.9 K%.  He’d never previously whiffed batters at this rate over any prior four-start stretch.  Rodon’s 94.9 mile per hour average velocity is the best of his career, and he won’t turn 29 until December.  With a clean bill of health, Rodon could be one of the winter’s most intriguing free agent starting pitchers.
  • Kevin Gausman – 0.8 WAR, 2.04 ERA in 39 2/3 innings.  Gausman, 30, is underlining the fact that his excellent 2020 season for the Giants was no fluke.  In the era of five-inning starts, Gausman ranks fifth in MLB at 6.53 per outing.  Like Lynn, he’ll come free of a qualifying offer.
  • Anthony DeSclafani – 0.8 WAR, 2.00 ERA in 36 innings.  Of the six pitchers who have made starts for the Giants so far this year, five of them will be free agents after the season.  Four of them have an ERA of 2.04 or lower.  The Giants appear to have another successful reclamation project on their hands in DeSclafani.
  • Several other impending free agent starters currently sport a sub-3.00 ERA: Johnny Cueto, J.A. Happ, Alex Wood, Marcus Stroman, Michael Pineda, Trevor Bauer, and Wade Miley.

Now Offering Free Trial For Trade Rumors Front Office

By | at

Many MLBTR readers currently enjoy our Trade Rumors Front Office subscription service.  Aside from supporting the website directly, benefits include the removal of ads, exclusive MLB articles, and members-only live chats.  For those of you who have been sitting on the fence, we’re now offering a free trial!  You can check the service out for a month for free, no credit card required.  Click here and use the “free trial” button if you’d like to give it a try!

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top