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Orioles Outright Luis Sardinas

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The Orioles announced today that they have activated infielder Luis Sardinas from the 60-day DL and outrighted him from the 40-man roster. He has the right to decline the assignment, having previously been outrighted, but is presently listed as a member of the Norfolk Tides roster.

Sardinas re-joined the O’s over the winter on a minor-league deal. He was brought onto the roster earlier this year, but lasted only eight days until he hit the shelf with back and then ankle issues.

Though he’s regarded as a quality defender at short, second, and third, Sardinas has never hit much. Through an even five hundred MLB plate appearances, he owns a .224/.274/.292 slash line with five home runs.

Manny Machado Trade Rumors: Friday

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5:45pm: If the O’s are to strike an early deal involving Machado, it seems they may not be able to do so with the Phillies. Per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, via Twitter, the Philadelphia organization has “moved on from Machado for now, as [the] Orioles’ asking price is too high.” Of course, a change of heart on either side could take place at any moment, so there’s no reason to think the match is off the table at this early stage of the summer trade period.

12:38pm: Though Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic recently reported that trade talks surrounding Manny Machado have “accelerated” this week, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that teams still aren’t offering anything close to what the Orioles are hoping to obtain for Machado. That sounds like a similar situation to the one Baltimore encountered in the offseason, when its front office sought a pair of MLB-ready rotation pieces in exchange for the final year of Machado’s contract but could not find a taker at that exorbitant price tag.

Controllable pitching has reportedly been among the Orioles’ top priorities once again, and they’re also said to be interested in landing some type of replacement for Machado in the infield. But, with Machado set to hit free agency at season’s end, extracting multiple MLB-ready assets from a rival club is a difficult, if not borderline unrealistic goal for the Orioles.

As Crasnick notes, the rental market, in general, has proven less fruitful for sellers in recent seasons, and talented as Machado may be, he’ll be a free agent at season’s end. While many fans have wishfully speculated about negotiating windows and extension scenarios that could prevent Machado from reaching the market, the reality is that he’s going to explore free agency in search of a record-setting contract this winter.

[Related: MLBTR Poll — Which Team Will Land Manny Machado?]

To that end, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi wrote yesterday that the Phillies would be reluctant to part with either top prospect Sixto Sanchez or big league right-hander Zach Eflin in order to acquire Machado. While Eflin’s success in the Majors is limited — he struggled greatly in 2017 — he’s looked legitimately impressive through 63 2/3 frames so far in 2018. In 11 starts, Eflin has a 2.97 ERA with 8.9 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 0.71 HR/9 and a 37.1 percent ground-ball rate. His 2.90 FIP helps to support that ERA, and he’s sporting career-bests in swinging-strike rate (10.8 percent) and average fastball velocity (94.2 mph). Eflin has moved away from his two-seamer/sinker in favor of a vast increase in four-seam fastballs and sliders, and the results, to this point, have been outstanding.

Morosi also discusses potential reluctance on Atlanta’s behalf, though it’s not clear what prompts the specific scenarios he explores; the Braves haven’t been rumored to have significant interest in Machado — to the contrary, they’re rumored to have limited funds available — and Morosi’s specification of Ian Anderson and Max Fried appears to be a purely speculative package which one source deemed too rich. (For that matter, it’s unclear why the column focuses solely on the NL East.) That shouldn’t come as any real surprise, given that the O’s weren’t able to acquire to arms of that caliber for a full season of Machado this past offseason and are now marketing just two to three months of his talents.

Meanwhile, Fancred’s Jon Heyman writes that the Brewers have “checked in” on Machado, largely echoing Rosenthal’s previous assessment that the Brew Crew has done “due diligence” on Machado but isn’t likely to meet the Orioles’ asking price. That meshes with today’s report from Heyman, who cites a person “with Brewers ties” in stating that the Brewers check in on virtually every player available (as one would expect from contending clubs).

Perhaps more interestingly, Eno Sarris of The Athletic recently endeavored to see just what exactly can be made of the metrics that suggest Machado’s defense at shortstop to be so unsightly (subscription link). In an excellent exploration of Machado’s glovework, Sarris notes that Machado’s season at shortstop rates among the worst ever recorded by measure of Ultimate Zone Rating. However, UZR doesn’t include plays on which a defender is shifted to the opposite side of second base. Beyond that, 80 percent of the balls hit to Machado this season have been routine plays that are made 90 to 100 percent of the time, and Machado, accordingly has converted about 97 percent of those plays.

Subtracting the given outs and the shift plays, Sarris concludes that data suggesting Machado has been a historically bad defender is based on a matter of roughly 56 plays — and that small of a sample may not be a fair means of judging a player who is re-acclimating himself to a position he hasn’t played this frequently in more than a half-decade. Of course, there’s little evidence to suggest that Machado has been an especially good (or even average) shortstop, either, but the extent of his deficiencies remains difficult to accurately evaluate.

Poll: Which Team Will Land Manny Machado?

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The recent indication is that trade chatter on Orioles star Manny Machado has picked up of late. Of even greater note is the fact that the team evidently is interested in completing an early deal for its best player, rather than waiting until the deadline itself.

It seems, then, that there’s a real possibility of a deal coming together in the coming days — perhaps even tomorrow, on Machado’s 26th birthday — though the O’s could certainly still decide to wait if offers aren’t yet to their liking. The early movement itself is notable, as the broader market situation could be quite a bit different in a few weeks’ time.

The evident pace of negotiations does not necessarily indicate that one or another team is a favorite. Indeed, as discussed in the above link, there are still quite a few organizations — some identified, some perhaps not — that are engaged to some extent on Machado.

Let’s run through some of the top possibilities on paper (in alphabetical order) before assessing the market in a poll …

  • Athletics: The A’s could stand to upgrade over Marcus Semien at short, but face a tough road to the postseason and may not be eager to pay up for a rental. There’s no indication that the Oakland org has been involved in talks to this point. It’s quite a longshot, though it warrants a mention given the on-paper fit and good play of late from the A’s.
  • Braves: While the focus has long been on third base, there’s arguably a greater need at short. Johan Camargo has out-hit Dansby Swanson, after all. Regardless, an addition on the left side of the infield would deepen the overall mix. With the Braves continuing to pace the NL East, an immediate postseason push no longer seems overly hopeful at all.
  • Brewers: The middle infield has been a problem all year for an otherwise strong Brewers club. While there’s an equally strong argument for pursuit of a starter, the Milwaukee organization could potentially reap huge benefits from a major upgrade at short. And every win will matter in the NL Central race.
  • Cardinals: The team is loaded with useful infielders, but could still benefit by adding a star and shuffling some other roster pieces. If the St. Louis organization hopes to keep pace with its division rivals — discussed immediately above and below — it may take a bold strike.
  • Cubs: This match made more sense before Addison Russell started turning things on at the plate. It’d be a bit of a surprise at this point if the Cubbies beat the market for Machado with arguably greater needs elsewhere, though they can’t be counted out for a bold move for a rental after the 2016 acquisition of Aroldis Chapman.
  • Diamondbacks: Perhaps no other organization has been tied as strongly to Machado as the D-Backs, who benefited greatly last year from the mid-season addition of J.D. Martinez and are now trying to hold off rivals in a tightly-packed NL West. The offensive production from the 4 through 6 positions in Arizona has been lacking, so it’s easy to see the reason for the interest.
  • Dodgers: When Corey Seager went down for the year, speculation turned immediately to the possibility of a move for Machado. But with Chris Taylor stepping in at short and blazing hot bats up and down the lineup, it’s not clear that Machado would really be the most sensible player to pursue.
  • Indians: The Cleveland organization finds itself in an interesting spot with the division all but in hand but also plenty of holes that could be filled. Adding Machado to play third would mean moving Jose Ramirez to second and Jason Kipnis into the outfield mix. But Machado is not a cheap player, even for a half-season rental. And adding him would likely mean doing less to address struggles in the outfield and bullpen.
  • Phillies: One of the clear favorites to land Machado as a free agent, the Phils also look like a prime destination for him in trade. The left-side combo of Scott Kingery, Maikel Franco and J.P. Crawford has been a dud in 2018. While there’s likely still hope for some of those players to shake out in the future, a move for Machado would come with the promise of huge near-term impact.
  • Red Sox: While they aren’t interested in parting with or giving up on Rafael Devers, the Red Sox could still see Machado as a near-term upgrade at third. There’s no solid indication that this is a distinct possibility, but a bold strike of this ilk can’t be ruled out given the classic AL East battle that’s shaping up.
  • Yankees: The same basic reasoning supports involvement from the Yankees, though frankly there’s much less cause for the New York organization to make Machado its prime deadline target. Starting pitching remains the obvious focus, but perhaps the recent injury to Gleyber Torres — which isn’t believed to be serious, but has already driven him to the DL — provides a bit of daylight to consider a strike for Machado.

So, where do you think Machado is most likely to go? (Link for app users.)

Which team will acquire Manny Machado?
Diamondbacks 22.58% (5,194 votes)
Phillies 19.09% (4,392 votes)
Dodgers 17.22% (3,961 votes)
Braves 8.40% (1,932 votes)
Cardinals 6.15% (1,414 votes)
Brewers 5.94% (1,367 votes)
Yankees 4.73% (1,088 votes)
Cubs 4.27% (982 votes)
Indians 4.06% (935 votes)
Other 3.97% (913 votes)
Red Sox 2.74% (631 votes)
Athletics 0.86% (198 votes)
Total Votes: 23,007

AL East Notes: Harvey, Orioles, Rays, Eovaldi

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Some rumblings from around the AL East…

  • The Yankees are known to be exploring the starting pitching market but Matt Harvey isn’t a big target for the team, Fancred’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  Harvey has recovered a bit of his former value by pitching well over 10 starts for the Reds, though the Yankees are wary of the right-hander due to the “potential circus” of extra media attention that would accompany Harvey’s return to New York.
  • The Orioles are taking a new approach to this year’s trade deadline, rival evaluators tell ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (Twitter link).  The O’s “seem much more focused, much more organized, much more aggressive, much more engaged” this season than in past years.  Baltimore is facing some pivotal, long-term decisions in weighing trades of Manny Machado and other major stars, and so it isn’t any surprise that the organization is looking at this deadline with particular intensity.  The change in approach could also have something to do the seemingly power shift in the ownership and front office, as Peter Angelos’ sons have been taking larger roles in the Orioles’ operations.
  • Evaluators from the Red Sox, Phillies, Cubs, and Braves were on hand to watch Nathan Eovaldi’s Monday start for the Rays, MLB.com’s Bill Chastain writes.  Of course, several other players on the Rays or Marlins were also likely under observation, though Eovaldi represents an interesting low-cost option for teams in need of rotation help — of the teams listed, only the Cubs wouldn’t appear to be in need of starting pitching depth.  After missing all of 2017 recovering from Tommy John surgery and then missing time due to minor elbow surgery and a rib muscle strain at the beginning of this season, Eovaldi has returned to post a 3.92 ERA, 49.6% grounder rate, 7.6 K/9, and a minuscule 1.3 BB/9 rate over his first 41 1/3 frames.  He has received some significant help in the form of a .211 BABIP, a 79.6% strand rate and a .285 wOBA that is well under his .321 xwOBA, though ERA indicators (4.75 FIP, 3.59 xFIP, 3.57 SIERA) are largely in line with his real-world ERA.  Eovaldi is also averaging 97mph on his fastball.

AL East Notes: MASN, Happ, Estrada, Machado

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While the ongoing television rights dispute between the Orioles and Nationals has been out of the news for some time, that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been any action behind the scenes. Jeff Barker of the Baltimore Sun recently provided a notable update on the situation. While the Baltimore organization has “grown weary of battling Major League Baseball over the [MASN] network” and has tried to work out a settlement, there’s still no resolution. At present, there’s no indication that the stalemate will be broken voluntarily; barring a change in that dynamic, the next big event on the calendar is a scheduled arbitration hearing in November.

Here’s the latest from the AL East:

  • The Yankees may be the “main player” for Blue Jays starter J.A. Happ, per Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter). Not only is Happ arguably the best rental starter on the market, but it seems the Yanks hold him in high regard. They won’t be alone in pursuing the Toronto southpaw, however. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets that the Jays are directing some scouting resources toward the Brewers farm system, perhaps in anticipation of interest from the Milwaukee organization.
  • Fellow Blue Jays starter Marco Estrada left last night’s game with a sore hip, as MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm was among those to tweet. For now, the severity isn’t known, though perhaps it’s promising that the Toronto organization made a roster transaction today but did not feel compelled to rush Estrada onto the disabled list. As we recently examined, Estrada’s strong performance of late has made him seem increasingly like a potential trade candidate this summer, but he’ll only be a useful asset for the Jays if he’s in good health.
  • Orioles third baseman Manny Machado is said to be drawing wide and increasingly active interest from a variety of rival organizations. That’s no surprise, as he’s a mid-prime rental asset of rare ability. The Diamondbacks have held “consistent” talks with the Baltimore organization, per MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (Twitter links), which largely confirms the steady stream of reports we’ve seen on Arizona’s engagement. Morosi adds that the O’s are interested in young D-Backs prospect Jon Duplantier, whose current injury has “complicated” efforts to put together a package that suits both teams. It’s hard to gauge to what extent Duplantier’s status will impact the broader Machado situation, in no small part because it is not apparent whether he’s a player the Snakes would be willing to part with for a rental. Meanwhile, the Braves do have some interest in Machado, Morosi also tweets, but are mostly exploring the market for “controllable relievers” at the moment. Again, that dovetails with what we’ve heard out of Atlanta in recent weeks.

Manny Machado Trade Talks Have Reportedly Accelerated

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Though there’s still four weeks until the 2018 non-waiver trade deadline, trade talks surrounding Manny Machado have “accelerated” in recent days, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription link). The Orioles, according to Rosenthal, would prefer to move Machado “sooner rather than later,” as they can extract more in a trade if the acquiring team controls Machado for three months as opposed to two months.

To this point in the summer, the teams most connected to Machado have been the Dodgers, Phillies, Diamondbacks and Indians. The Brewers and Cubs have been more loosely tied to Machado on the rumor mill, though Rosenthal reports that while Milwaukee is doing its due diligence, the team is unlikely to meet Baltimore’s asking price.

That, it seems, could be true of the Phillies as well. MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports that the Phillies should be considered “longshots” in the Machado trade sweepstakes. Zolecki writes that while the Phillies “love” Machado and plan to make a serious run at him in the offseason, the team doesn’t feel itself to be one piece away from a World Series. That, of course, makes it considerably more difficult to meet what is likely a rather lofty asking price from the O’s.

Rosenthal suggests that the D-backs and Indians could be the “most motivated” teams in the Machado market, and Zolecki, too, specifically lists the D-backs as a club likelier to acquire Machado than the Phillies.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, meanwhile, tweets that the Dodgers continue to “aggressively” pursue Machado, adding that the Orioles have been scouting L.A.’s system heavily and are particularly interested in Class-A Advanced right-hander Dustin May. There’d obviously be more at play than a mere one-for-one swap, but May, a third-round pick in 2016, is generally considered to be among the Dodgers’ more promising young arms. He’s off to a strong start in 2018 as well, having pitched to a 3.18 ERA with 9.1 K/9, 1.7 BB/9 and a 54.1 percent ground-ball rate through 65 innings (12 starts).

Of course, there could still be other organizations involved in discussions. Jim Bowden of The Athletic tweets that eight teams have had at least some engagement with the O’s regarding Machado within the past ten days. That would suggest that there are at least a few mystery teams hanging around the periphery of talks.

Orioles Place Colby Rasmus On Restricted List

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The Orioles announced today that they have placed outfielder Colby Rasmus on the restricted list. He informed the team that he has decided not to continue playing, Jon Meoli of the Baltmore Sun tweets.

This is the second time that Rasmus has elected to leave his current team in the middle of the season. Last July, the Rays made a restricted list placement when Rasmus decided he would leave the organization. But he ended up pursuing a comeback with the O’s over the ensuing winter, signing a minors pact that included a $3MM salary and $2MM in potential incentives if Rasmus cracked the MLB roster.

It was long apparent that Rasmus would likely go north with the O’s out of camp, and that’s just what happened. But he went onto the disabled list only ten days into the season, with a hip strain that cost him a long stretch.

Unlike last year, when Rasmus was quite effective when on the field, he has struggled quite a bit in 2018. Through 49 plate appearances, he has just six base hits — only two of which went for extra bases.

It is a bit difficult to imagine that Rasmus will resume playing after this decision, though there’s no indication as of yet that he has formally retired. Prior to his more recent teams, Rasmus played with the Cardinals, Blue Jays, and Astros over a ten-year career.

If this is the end of the line, the former first-round pick and top prospect will wrap things up with a mixed record. On the one hand, Rasmus turned in a few substantially above-average seasons as a hitter and defender. That said, he rarely put it all together on a consistent basis and ended several of his stops on less-than-favorable terms. In the aggregate, Rasmus compiled an approximately league-average .241/.310/.436 batting line and hit 166 home runs over 4,119 career MLB plate appearances.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/1/18

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Sunday’s minor moves…

  • The Indians cleared room for Rzepczynski by releasing lefty Shawn Morimando, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com tweets. Morimando, 25, had been with the organization since it selected him in the 19th round of the 2011 draft. He ascended to Triple-A in 2016 and has since pitched to a 4.45 ERA with 6.9 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 in 242 2/3 innings at the minors’ highest level. Morimando also had a 4 2/3-inning stint with the Tribe in 2016.

Earlier moves:

  • The Indians have selected the contract of left-handed reliever Marc Rzepczynski from Triple-A Columbus, per a team announcement. The club will need to create 40-man room for Rzepczynski, whom it signed to a minor league deal two weeks ago. “Scrabble” had been with the Mariners, who released him after he pitched to a 9.38 ERA with 13 hits allowed, nine walks and 10 strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings this season. In doing so, Seattle cut the cord on a player it signed to a two-year, $11MM deal entering 2017. Now, Rzepczynski’s set for his second stint in Cleveland, where he previously pitched from 2013-15. The 32-year-old, a veteran of seven major league teams, owns a 3.92 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 4.25 BB/9 and an impressive 59.7 percent groundball rate in 432 career innings. He has also held southpaw swingers to a weak .222/.295/.303 line in the bigs.
  • The Yankees announced that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander David Hale from Triple-A. The 30-year-old has yo-yoed between the Yankees and their top affiliate in Scranton this season, and he has also had a stint with the Twins. Hale has combined for just eight innings between New York and Minnesota in 2018, but he has amassed 55 frames in Scranton and pitched to a 4.20 ERA with 7.11 K/9 and 2.75 BB/9.
  • The Orioles announced that they’ve outrighted infielder Corban Joseph to Double-A Bowie. The club designated Joseph for assignment this week after he saw limited action in Baltimore, collecting just 10 plate appearances. The 29-year-old Joseph has spent most of this season with Bowie, where he has hit .332/.398/.534 in 281 PAs.

Amateur Draft Signings: 6/30/18

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Here are today’s most notable signings from the first few rounds of the draft.  Scouting reports and pre-draft rankings can be found courtesy of MLB.com, Fangraphs, Baseball America and ESPN’s Keith Law (the latter two available to subscribers only)…

  • The Orioles have agreed to a deal with the 37th overall pick, Oregon State shortstop Cadyn Grenier, Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com tweets. Financial details aren’t yet available, but the 37th choice comes with a slot value of $1,923,500. The 21-year-old Grenier was one of the heroes for an OSU team that just knocked off Arkansas to win the College World Series. Grenier hit an impressive .319/.408/.462 in 273 at-bats this season, though Law was the only one of the abovementioned prospect evaluators to place him in the top 50 entering this year’s draft (No. 46). Law noted then that Grenier could end up as a starting shortstop or a quality utility infielder in the majors.

Earlier updates:

  • The Royals have signed 12th-round pick Rylan Kaufman for a hefty $722.5K bonus, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports (Twitter links).  Kaufman is an 18-year-old high school left-hander from Texas, and he stands 6’4″ and owns a fastball in the 92-93mph range.  Since Kaufman was picked beyond the 10th round, $597.5K of his bonus will be counted against Kansas City’s draft bonus pool.  While the Royals entered this year’s draft with the most pool space ($12,781,900) of any team, they already have over $7.6MM of those funds spent (hat tip to Clint Scoles of Baseball Prospectus) and still need to sign their three of their top seven picks.  Two of the unsigned players are Kansas City’s top two selections — 18th overall pick Brady Singer and 33rd overall pick Jackson Kowar.

AL East Notes: Machado, Sabathia, Blue Jays

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With the Orioles having failed to extend Manny Machado in the past, the shortstop noted this weekend (via Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun) that “they never reached out and showed that appreciation like the Angels did to (Mike) Trout. It was a totally different situation.” Machado was referring to the Angels’ decision in 2014 to give the then-22-year-old Trout a six-year, $144.5MM extension – one that canceled out three arbitration-eligible seasons and three free-agent years. Now, Machado says he’s “grateful” he’ll hit free agency this offseason at the age of 26. So, while the Orioles are all but guaranteed to trade Machado to a contender in the next few months, it doesn’t sound as if his next employer will have a legitimate chance to prevent him from reaching the open market with a new contract. Of course, given that Machado is in line to sign one of the majors’ richest deals ever, it’s no surprise he’s eager to test the open market.

Here’s more on a couple other AL East teams:

  • Left-hander CC Sabathia suggested last month that he’d retire at year’s end if the Yankees were to win the World Series. But the 37-year-old now seems more open to returning in 2019 even if the Yankees aren’t the last team standing this season. “If we win the World Series and I pitch well and I’m healthy at the end of the year, then it’s 50-50 that I come back,” Sabathia said (via Marc Carig of The Athletic; subscription required). “It’s not an absolute.” Considering how well he’s pitching, it stands to reason the Yankees would welcome back a healthy Sabathia next year if he decides to keep pitching. In his age 37-season, Sabathia has pitched to a 3.02 ERA/4.04 FIP in 83 1/3 innings, thanks in part to his ability to limit hard contact. Sabathia ranks third among qualified pitchers in average exit velocity against (84.2 mph).
  • The value of Blue Jays first baseman Justin Smoak’s 2019 club option has climbed from $6MM to $7MM, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet tweets. In order for that to happen, Smoak needed to accrue 950 plate appearances from 2017-18. He surpassed that figure Saturday. And Smoak’s option will go from $7MM to $8MM if he amasses 150 more PAs this year (1,100 total from 2017-18), Davidi notes. Whether his salary ends up at $7MM or $8MM, both numbers look like reasonable salaries for Smoak – who’s enjoying his second straight above-average offensive season. Although, Smoak’s .235/.359/.438 line in 315 PAs falls well short of last year’s .270/.355/.529 showing.
  • More on the Blue Jays, whose willingness to eat portions of veterans’ contracts in trades has them in a good position as the July 31 non-waiver deadline nears, Davidi observes. When Toronto sent infielder/outfielder Steve Pearce to Boston this week, it acquired infield prospect Santiago Espinal in part because it ate $1.66MM of Pearce’s remaining salary. With Pearce gone, the Jays still have several other veteran trade candidates, and paying some of their contracts would improve the team’s returns in deals. Notably, the Jays “have the support of the organization to do it,” general manager Ross Atkins said.
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