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Orioles Select Mark Kolozsvary, Place Ryan Mountcastle On Injured List

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The Orioles announced a last-minute move before tonight’s matchup with the Blue Jays. Catcher Mark Kolozsvary has been selected onto the big league roster while first baseman Ryan Mountcastle is headed to the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 10, due to vertigo. In order to clear a 40-man roster spot, Baltimore designated minor league righty Noah Denoyer for assignment.

Kolozsvary is in position to make his O’s debut. Baltimore claimed him off waivers from the Reds at the start of the offseason. A few weeks later, they successfully passed him through waivers to keep him in the organization. He’s made 20 appearances for their top affiliate in Norfolk, hitting .162/.250/.265 with 26 strikeouts and five walks.

The 27-year-old backstop has never been much of an offensive threat. He’s a career .171/.283/.290 hitter at the Triple-A level. His glove secured him a 10-game MLB audition with Cincinnati last season. It’ll similarly land him at least a brief look in Baltimore behind Adley Rutschman and James McCann.

Mountcastle hasn’t played since August 8 because of an illness. Teams can backdate an IL placement for a maximum of three days. The O’s have decided to give the righty-swinging infielder at least another week to sort through vertigo symptoms that have apparently been plaguing him. It has been a tough season for Mountcastle, who carries a career-worst .227/.264/.421 batting line through 261 trips to the plate. Ryan O’Hearn and Josh Lester have gotten first base looks in his absence recently.

Denoyer landed a 40-man roster spot early last offseason. The 6’5″ hurler would otherwise have been eligible for the Rule 5 draft. He’d been coming off a 2.89 ERA showing across three minor league levels and the O’s were evidently concerned another team would take a shot on him as an MLB middle reliever.

His results have backed up this season, his first full year in Norfolk. Denoyer has tallied 30 1/3 innings across 14 outings (four starts), typically working 2-3 frame stints. He’s managed a 5.04 ERA. That’s largely a reflection of a massive spike in free passes. After walking just 6.1% of opponents last season, he has walked over 15% of batters faced this year. Denoyer’s 23.3% strikeout percentage and 48.8% ground-ball rate are still solid, but the newfound control issues pushed him off the roster.

Baltimore will trade him or put him on waivers within the next week. He’s in his first of three option years, so any team that takes a shot on him could keep him in the upper minors for the foreseeable future if they’re willing to put him on the 40-man.

Latest On Orioles Rotation

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  • The Orioles recalled left-hander Cole Irvin to start today’s game against the Royals, per a team announcement. Acquired this past offseason in a trade with the A’s, Ivin has not built on a strong 2022 campaign (3.98 ERA in 181 innings) during his first season as an Oriole, posting a 10.38 ERA in 13 innings of work in the majors. That being said, his work at Triple-A has been much better, with a 3.21 ERA in seven starts (42 innings). With youngster Grayson Rodriguez relegated to Triple-A for the foreseeable future, it’s possible Irvin could earn himself a more permanent spot in the rotation with a quality performance this afternoon.

Big Hype Prospects: Cowser, De La Cruz, Rushing, Vientos, Keith

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Last week’s lead Big Hype Prospect, Andrew Abbott, is already on his way to the Majors. Let’s see if we can pull the trick two weeks in a row.

Five Big Hype Prospects

Colton Cowser, 23, OF, BAL (AAA)
186 PA, 8 HR 5 SB, .347/.484/.590

When he hit the injured list with a quad injury in mid-May, Cowser was playing his way into Major League consideration. Cowser returned to action over the weekend, going a combined 4-for-5 with two walks, a double, and a homer. He’s produced multiple hits in 14 of 39 games this season. Cedric Mullins is currently sidelined with a groin injury. Although replacement center fielder Aaron Hicks has played well in his absence, underlying metrics suggest Hicks is toast. The club also has a partial opening at designated hitter which can be filled on a more permanent basis by Anthony Santander. Cowser has the athletic ability to stick in center field, but he could be a truly plus defender in the outfield corners. There’s concern he’ll struggle against left-handed pitching early in his career. At worst case, he looks like a high-probability strong-side platoon hitter. That’s why he’s creeping towards Top 10 prospect status on many lists.

Elly De La Cruz, 21, 3B/SS, CIN (AAA)
186 PA, 12 HR, 11 SB, .297/.398/.633

My recent fantasy chat included at least a half dozen questions about when De La Cruz will debut. I don’t have any special insight into the Reds thought process. The decision is complex, made even more so due to new service time and draft pick compensation rules. Role playing as the Reds, there is a certain attractiveness to following the Corbin Carroll model. As you’ll recall, Carroll debuted in late-August and performed decently in his debut. He’s now on pace to handily win the NL Rookie of the Year Award. The timing of his initial promotion ensured he would be club-controlled through 2028 (a contract extension has since further extended the Diamondbacks control). A later debut for De La Cruz would ensure he’s under control through at least 2029.

Were it up to me, he would be in the Majors tomorrow. Of all prospects in the minors, he has the least to prove. To my eyes, he’s the most physically impressive prospect since Fernando Tatis Jr. Among his most impressive traits are a 93.4-mph average exit velocity with a 118.8-mph max EV. This season, Matt Olson leads the league with a hardest-hit ball of 118.6-mph.

Dalton Rushing, 22, C, LAD (A+)
188 PA, 7 HR, 1 SB, .261/.431/.507

Rushing has followed up a wild 2022 debut with an impressive, discipline-forward performance. Defensive reviews of the left-handed hitting catching prospect skew vaguely negative. He’s a high-effort receiver who will need to work hard to polish his game. Since his bat is so advanced, a move to a corner position might be required so he can progress through the minors at a more rapid pace. The Dodgers are blessed with a number of highly regarded catchers. They can certainly afford for Rushing to play elsewhere. It might be advisable to get Rushing’s bat in Double-A before he becomes too accustomed to a 19.7 percent walk rate. Discipline is an excellent trait to possess, but it needs to be coupled with selective aggression within the strike zone.

For clarity the speculation about Rushing moving off catcher is my own based on the Dodgers inventory. I’ve not seen a scout suggest it’s necessary.

Mark Vientos, 23, DH, NYM (MLB)
(AAA) 166 PA, 13 HR, .333/.416/.688

Vientos possesses (and gets to) incredibly consistent power in-game. Although he’s only hitting .188/.206/.281 in 34 plate appearances, his exit velocities (96.1-mph average, 112.8-mph max) tell another story. Among hitters with over 30 plate appearances, only Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton have tallied higher average exit velocities. While it’s in part a small sample fluke, Vientos did average 94.5-mph in Triple-A. The flaws in his game could limit his ceiling. In particular, he tends to make low-angle, pulled contact. He’s expected to be strikeout prone. He could find himself cast as a second-division starter or limited to facing certain pitcher types.

Colt Keith, 21, 3B, DET (AA)
217 PA, 10 HR, 1 SB, .321/.396/.563

Keith has built upon a breakout 2022 in High-A by doing much the same in Double-A. He’s even trimmed three points from his swinging strike rate. There’s risk he’ll continue to move down the defensive spectrum. He was being trained as a second baseman last season, but he’s made only three starts at the keystone in 2023. His bat is his carrying characteristic, fueled by plus discipline and a willingness to ambush mistakes in the zone. Wherever he winds up defensively, his bat looks like it will play in the Majors.

Three More

Bryan Woo, SEA (23): The Mariners opted to jump Woo straight from Double-A for his debut last Saturday. His performance in Double-A was masterful (44 innings, 2.05 ERA). His first start, not so much (2 IP, 7 H, 6 R). Scouts have long loved the life and shape of his fastball. His slider and changeup remain works in progress.

Chase Hampton, NYY (21): One of the top-performing pitching prospects in the minors, Hampton is beginning to draw attention from scouts. His mid-90s fastball reportedly tunnels well with a plus slider and curve. As with many young power pitchers, his changeup lags behind his other offerings. Hampton has an 18.8 percent swinging strike rate in High-A.

Luken Baker, STL (26): A former second-round draft pick, Baker experienced a breakthrough in Triple-A this season, bashing 18 home runs in 244 plate appearances. He produced a 92.8-mph average and 113.5-mph max EV. Baker made his debut as the designated hitter on Sunday.

Did I miss a detail or nuance? DM me on Twitter @BaseballATeam to suggest corrections.

Best Deadline Rental Returns In Recent History: Honorable Mentions

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The calendar has flipped to June, and more than one-third of the season is in the rearview mirror. While there’s still plenty of time for the standings to change in dramatic fashion — just ask the 2022 Phillies or 2019 Nationals — the “early” portion of the season is a bit behind us. As the weather heats up and playoff pictures begin to take a more definitive shape, the baseball world inherently turns its focus to a few things: the looming All-Star Game, the upcoming amateur draft and, of course, the annual trade deadline.

June trades of note are admittedly rare — particularly over the past ten years or so — but we’re fast approaching the portion of the season where trade needs, potential trade candidates and many other deadline-adjacent minutiae begin to crystallize. It’s common for fans of rebuilding and/or underperforming clubs to begin to wonder just what sort of returns their favorite team might be able to eke out for veteran players with dwindling club control.

Some of the most common questions we’re asked in chats at MLBTR these days center around what a team might be able to get for a certain player — rentals in particular. Names like Lucas Giolito, Cody Bellinger, Jordan Montgomery and Jeimer Candelario were just a few readers asked me about this past week. To be clear, it’s not a given that all or even any of those specific names will change hands in two months’ time (or sooner), but it’s obviously a hot topic that’s on people’s minds.

As such, it only seemed natural to take a look back through recent history and look at some high-profile trades of rental players and see which panned out the best for the team selling off the veteran player in question. Over the next couple weeks, we’ll roll out a look at the ten “best” returns for rental players in recent trade deadline history.

A few caveats of note! At times, it can take three, four, five years or even longer for a team to begin reaping the benefits from such a deal. An immediate return isn’t always apparent, particularly when you’re only selling two months of a player or players. As such, we’re not considering trades completed at last year’s deadline for our top ten, even though they could well prove excellent as soon as 2024 or 2025. It’s simply too soon to evaluate those swaps. Also, these rankings are subjective; they’re not based on a hard-and-fast WAR criteria or anything of the sort. If you think we should’ve ranked No. 7 higher and No. 4 lower, let us know. It’s all part of the fun.

While I said we’re omitting last year’s deadline from our top ten, that doesn’t mean we’ll completely ignore the results of the 2022 deadline. To kick off the series, here’s a quick look at three honorable mentions from 2017-21 as well as a handful of 2022 trades that will be worth keeping an eye on in the years to come. Present-day impact of these 2022 trades has either been minimal or nonexistent, but each brought the “selling” team some nearly MLB-ready help that could be impactful as soon as this season. These honorable mentions and 2022 swaps aren’t ranked — they’re just sorted alphabetically by the last name of the player who was traded.

Let’s begin!

Honorable Mentions

Orioles acquire RHPs Dillon Tate, Cody Carroll and LHP Josh Rogers from the Yankees in exchange for LHP Zack Britton (7/24/18)

Two-thirds of this return for Baltimore wound up making little to no impact, but the acquisition of Tate, a former No. 4 overall draft pick, wound up paying dividends. Though Tate isn’t the rotation piece the Rangers hoped for when drafting him or the Yankees envisioned when acquiring him for Carlos Beltran, he’s emerged as a quality setup man at Camden Yards. The O’s gave Tate just ten starts after the trade before moving him to the bullpen, and while his rookie effort in 2019 left plenty to be desired, he’s since pitched quite well.

Dating back to 2020, Tate has a 3.65 ERA in 158 innings of relief, adding 25 holds and eight saves along the way. Tate’s 19.1% strikeout rate is below-average, but his 6.8% walk rate is better than average and his 57.9% grounder rate is outstanding. In 2022, he pitched to a pristine 3.05 ERA through 73 2/3 frames, tallying five of those saves and 16 of those holds. A forearm strain has kept Tate out of action this year, however.

Tate isn’t peak Britton and likely never will be, but trading two months of an elite reliever and winding up with six years of club control over an above-average reliever isn’t a bad outcome for Baltimore. As for the Yankees, they got the tail end of Britton’s prime. He notched a 2.88 ERA in 25 innings down the stretch and re-signed on a three-year deal with a fourth year option (that had to be exercised after the contract’s second season to prevent a Britton opt-out). Britton posted a sub-2.00 ERA in both 2019 and 2020, but he pitched just 19 innings over his final two years in New York due to injuries.

Rays acquire LHP Jalen Beeks from the Red Sox in exchange for RHP Nathan Eovaldi (7/25/18)

Few could’ve predicted what an impactful trade this would end up being at the time it was made. At the time of the swap, Eovaldi was in his first season back from Tommy John surgery and had pitched 57 innings of 4.26 ERA ball for Tampa Bay. He’d long intrigued teams with his power arsenal but was inconsistent and carried a career ERA that more or less matched that season total.

Eovaldi took off in Boston, however, tossing 54 frames of 3.33 ERA ball as the Sox marched to the postseason, where he cemented his status in Red Sox lore. Eovaldi was a star that October, tossing 22 1/3 innings of 1.61 ERA ball with a 16-to-3 K/BB ratio. Those are impressive numbers on their own, but they only tell part of the tale. Eovaldi won his first two starts of the playoffs before moving to the bullpen and picking up a pair of holds. But it was Game 3 of the World Series, where Eovaldi gutted out six innings of relief in an 18-inning marathon and finished out the game, that many will remember. The Dodgers wound up winning when Eovaldi’s 97th (!) pitch out of the bullpen was deposited in the seats by Max Muncy, but he saved the Boston bullpen with six innings of one-run ball that night. The Sox went on to win the World Series in five games.

As for the Rays, they came away with a lefty who’d come up through Boston’s system as a starter but would be used in a jack-of-all-trades role in St. Petersburg. Beeks has served as a long reliever, a setup man and an opener in parts of five seasons with Tampa Bay, totaling 258 innings of 4.12 ERA ball along the way. He’s been the type of versatile arm whose value can’t be neatly encapsulated in what looks like an otherwise modest WAR total. Beeks has handled just about any role the Rays could ask, and he’s generally been effective in doing so. He’s not a star, but he’s been an important member of their pitching staff for a half decade now and is still under team control through the 2024 season.

Tigers acquire RHP Reese Olson from the Brewers in exchange for LHP Daniel Norris (7/30/21)

The 23-year-old Olson made his big league debut on Friday when he stepped into the Detroit rotation to take the spot of the injured Eduardo Rodriguez. As far as debuts go, it was nearly as good as a young pitcher could ask for. Olson carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning before being tagged for a pair of runs and departing five frames of two-run ball in the books.

Olson isn’t regarded among the sport’s top 100 prospects and isn’t even universally considered to be among the Tigers’ top 10 prospects, but he’s missed bats consistently in the upper minors and is regarded as a potential long-term rotation piece if he can improve upon the command of his fastball. Scouting reports at Baseball America, FanGraphs, The Athletic and MLB.com praise Olson’s secondary pitches, particularly his changeup, which he’s begun using effectively even in right-on-right situations.

Detroit has seen a lot of turnover in the baseball operations department since this trade, but former GM Al Avila, AGM David Chadd and others will be in line for some praise if the Tigers get a viable big leaguer in exchange for two months of the veteran Norris, who was sitting on a 5.38 ERA in 36 2/3 innings at the time of the deal. Norris had been tough on lefties, and the Brewers surely felt they could coax a higher level of performance out of him with some tweaks. That didn’t happen, however, as Norris was rocked for a 6.64 ERA in Milwaukee, walking 15 of the 63 batters he faced (23.8%) and serving up five homers in 20 1/3 frames (2.2 HR/9).

2022 Deadline Swaps to Watch

Pirates acquire RHP Johan Oviedo, INF Malcom Nunez from the Cardinals in exchange for LHP Jose Quintana, RHP Chris Stratton (8/2/22)

Yes, technically this isn’t a pure rental. Stratton had an additional year of club control, and that surely factored into the return. But he was also sitting on a 5.09 ERA at the time of the deal, and this was largely a trade centered around getting Quintana to land some much-needed rotation help in St. Louis.

The Cardinals got just what they wanted out of this deal — and then some. Quintana stepped into the rotation and not only solidified the staff but pitched to a brilliant 2.01 ERA in 62 2/3 frames down the stretch. The lefty was so excellent that St. Louis wound up tabbing him as the Game 1 starter in last year’s National League Division Series. Quintana had signed a one-year, $2MM deal in the offseason and was acquired as a back-end starter but pitched like an ace. The script doesn’t get much better for the acquiring team.

That said, this trade also has the makings of a winner for Pittsburgh. The 25-year-old Oviedo has been inconsistent but shown flashes of brilliance with the Bucs. He’s throwing fewer fastballs and more breaking pitches — particularly more curveballs, which has been an extremely effective offering for him through 11 starts. Oviedo’s 4.50 ERA in 58 innings looks pretty pedestrian, but he’s upped his ground-ball rate and improved his velocity even in a rotation role. He’s allowed one or zero runs in six of his 11 starts this year. The Pirates can control Oviedo for four more years beyond the current season, and if he’s a legitimate starter or even a multi-inning relief piece, that’ll be a fine return for their modest Quintana flier. Nunez, meanwhile, hit .286/.381/.476 in Double-A following the trade and is at .255/.338/.369 in 160 Triple-A plate appearances this year.

Cubs acquire RHP Ben Brown from the Phillies in exchange for RHP David Robertson (8/2/22)

Robertson was one of the most in-demand relievers — or trade candidates in general — at last year’s deadline, and the rebuilding/retooling Cubs needed to get their return right. So far, it looks like they’ve done just that. Brown is out to a sensational start in the upper minors this year, pitching to a combined 2.63 ERA with a 35.5% strikeout rate against a less-appealing 11.7% walk rate. Baseball America ranked him sixth among Cubs prospects heading into the season, and The Athletic’s Keith Law called him a “heck of a get for two months of a 37-year-old reliever.” FanGraphs currently has him ranked 87th on their top-100 prospect list, and MLB.com moved him into its top-100 just this morning.

Despite Brown’s wide-reaching acclaim, the Phillies might not even regret making the swap. Robertson struggled with his command following the trade but still posted 22 1/3 innings of 2.70 ERA ball and saved six games for Philadelphia down the stretch in a tight Wild Card race that saw them edge out the Brewers by exactly one win. The Phillies needed every single victory, and if they’d held onto Brown and targeted a different reliever(s), who knows whether they’d have reached the playoffs? Were it not for Robertson — who pitched 7 2/3 innings of one-run ball in the playoffs — the Phils may never have experienced J.T. Realmuto’s NLDS inside-the-parker, Rhys Hoskins’ four-homer NLCS, or Bryce Harper’s iconic NLCS-clinching bomb.

Angels acquire OFs Mickey Moniak, Jadiel Sanchez from the Phillies in exchange for RHP Noah Syndergaard (8/2/22)

This trade might not have gone as well as the Phillies hoped. Syndergaard was decent down the stretch, pitching to a 4.12 ERA in 10 appearances, nine of them starts. He started just twice in the postseason and made one relief appearance. Syndergaard pitched like a fourth or fifth starter but saw his already diminished velocity and strikeout rate step even further back following the trade. Again, the Phils needed every last win to get to the playoffs, though, so it’s hard to say they’d definitively have done anything different. They won six of Syndergaard’s nine starts and also picked up the victory in the lone game they used him out of the bullpen, when he tossed two scoreless frames.

At least thus far, Angels fans can’t complain about the return. Moniak isn’t going to sustain a .429 batting average on balls in play, but he’s hitting .327/.340/.694 in 50 plate appearances. The BABIP and a 34% strikeout rate scream for regression, but the former 1-1 pick has already hit as many homers through 50 trips to the plate with the Halos (four) as he did in 167 with the Phillies. He’s played good defense, run well and given some hope that he can carve out a role moving forward.

Red Sox acquire INF Enmanuel Valdez, OF Wilyer Abreu from the Astros in exchange for C Christian Vazquez (8/1/22)

Trading Vazquez was part of a disjointed Red Sox trade deadline that saw Boston trade away their longtime catcher and lefty reliever Jake Diekman while also acquiring Eric Hosmer and Tommy Pham. It wasn’t clear that their 2023 roster was improved, and the decision to hold onto other trade targets while adding Pham’s salary left them just over the luxury tax line (thereby reducing their compensation for qualifying offers extended to Xander Bogaerts and Nathan Eovaldi).

Digression aside, the swap might prove beneficial to the Sox in the long run. Valdez has already made his big league debut, and although his bat faded after a hot start, he’s still sporting a passable .244/.292/.422 batting line (91 wRC+) in his first 97 big league plate appearances. He’s picked up four homers, four doubles and three steals (in four tries) while subbing in at second base in the wake of a slew of middle-infield injuries. Valdez posted absolutely massive numbers in 205 Double-A plate appearances last year (.357/.463/.649) before moving up to Triple-A and hitting .265/.327/.488.

Abreu, meanwhile, was added to the 40-man roster over the winter and is hitting .264/.379/.479 in 40 Triple-A games so far. He’s regarded as a potential plus outfield defender, and his success in Triple-A and status on the 40-man roster mean the Red Sox could possibly have two MLB contributors within a year or so of trading Vazquez.

It’s hard to say anything moves the 2022 Astros made “didn’t work out,” as the team won the World Series in the end. But Vazquez took a backseat to Martin Maldonado both in the regular season and the playoffs, hitting just .250/.278/.308 in 108 regular-season plate appearances following the swap (plus .235/.316/.235 in just 19 playoff plate appearances).

Upcoming Club Option Decisions: AL East

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Last week, MLBTR took an early look at offseason option decisions facing teams in the National League. We’ll continue our division by division series by checking in on players in the AL East whose contracts contain club or mutual options for next season. The Rays are the only AL East team not slated to have any option calls to make.

Previous entries: NL East, NL Central, NL West

Baltimore Orioles

  • Mychal Givens: $6MM mutual option ($2MM buyout if team declines, $1MM buyout if player declines)

Givens has bounced around in journeyman fashion over the past few seasons. The middle reliever returned to his original stomping grounds in Baltimore on a $5MM free agent guarantee. He hasn’t had any chance to get into a rhythm yet, however. He opened the season on the injured list with left knee inflammation. He was out until late May and made four appearances, allowing six runs in four innings while working with diminished velocity. The O’s put him back on the IL last week, citing inflammation in his throwing shoulder.

Boston Red Sox

Kluber signed a $10MM free agent guarantee with Boston over the offseason. He’d been a reliable innings-eating veteran for the Rays last year. Kluber hasn’t been a Cy Young-caliber pitcher for quite some time, but Boston envisioned him as a stabilizing mid-rotation presence in a starting staff full of unproven or injury-riddled options.

It hasn’t worked out that way. Kluber was tagged for a 6.26 ERA through his first nine starts. His strikeout rate dropped to a career-worst 17.7% clip, and he served up home runs at an untenable 2.38 HR/9 pace. The Sox bumped Kluber out of the rotation two weeks ago, pushing him into multi-inning relief. He’s tossed three innings of two-run ball in his first bullpen appearances in a decade.

An injury to Chris Sale could get Kluber another rotation opportunity, but he’ll have to pitch much better than he did in the first two months of the season for the Sox to entertain an $11MM+ option. The option price would escalate by $500K if Kluber makes 20 starts and an additional $750K apiece at 25 and 30 starts (which look unlikely based on the bullpen move).

The Sox signed Rodríguez to a $2MM free agent deal at the beginning of last offseason. He suffered an oblique strain in Spring Training and was knocked out of commission for six weeks. The 31-year-old has returned to pitch in four games but surrendered nine runs. He went back on the 15-day IL over the weekend with shoulder inflammation. This appears on its way to a buyout.

Rodríguez isn’t the only veteran lefty reliever who’s battling injury problems. Bleier landed in Boston via a change-of-scenery bullpen swap that sent Matt Barnes to Miami. While the soft-tossing southpaw is inducing ground balls at a strong 51.5% clip, that’s below the career 61.5% grounder rate he carried into the year. He’s never missed bats. The 36-year-old is a grounder specialist with elite control. He’s been uncharacteristically prone to hard contact in his early stint in Boston, contributing to a 5.85 ERA through 20 innings. The Sox placed Bleier on the 15-day IL due to shoulder inflammation a couple weeks ago. It’s early but trending towards a buyout as well.

New York Yankees

Donaldson is playing out the final guaranteed season of the four-year free agent deal he signed with the Twins in 2020. The Yankees took on the contract in the 2022 trade that also brought in Isiah Kiner-Falefa. (That trade converted a ’24 club option into a mutual option.) It’s a move New York would like to have back, with both Kiner-Falefa and Donaldson underwhelming in the Bronx.

Donaldson, the 2015 AL MVP, had his worst offensive showing in a decade last year. He hit .222/.308/.374 over 546 plate appearances while striking out at a career-worst 27.1% rate. Public metrics still loved Donaldson’s defense at the hot corner. Despite some offseason speculation the Yankees could try to offload some of his contract, they didn’t seem to come close to finding a taker and opened this season with Donaldson back at third base. He played only five games before suffering a right hamstring injury that cost him almost two months. The Yankees activated him from the IL over the weekend, and he promptly hit two home runs in his return — followed by an 0-for-4.

With a hefty $6MM buyout, there’s only a $10MM net call on the option. That’s not an outlandish price for a solid everyday player, but Donaldson’s offensive drop-off, age, and recent injury history all raise questions about whether he should be a regular on a team with playoff aspirations. Barring a summer offensive outburst from the three-time All-Star, the team is probably buying this out.

Toronto Blue Jays

  • Chad Green: Team has three-year, $27MM option (if declined, Green and team have conditional options)

Green signed a complex free agent deal as he works back from May ’22 Tommy John surgery. He’s making $2.25MM this year. At season’s end, the Jays will have to decide whether to trigger three consecutive $9MM options (essentially a three-year, $27MM contract for 2024-26). If the team declines, the right-hander would get a $6.25MM player option for next year only. If Green passes on that, the Jays would have to make a call on a two-year, $21MM option for 2024-25.

With a year removed from surgery, Green recently progressed to throwing batting practice (via MLB.com injury tracker). A post All-Star Break return to MLB action is on track. While guaranteeing Green $27MM based on a couple good months after Tommy John surgery seems unlikely, the Jays were at least open enough to the possibility to sign him to the contract in the first place. There haven’t been any notable setbacks in the four months since they put pen to paper.

The Jays acquired Merrifield from the Royals last summer. It was a buy-low move while the former American League hits leader was scuffling, and he’s gotten on track north of the border. Merrifield has a .292/.339/.413 batting line as a Blue Jay. That includes a .299/.349/.399 showing in 2023 that has locked him in as Toronto’s starting second baseman.

While Toronto has gotten what they’d wanted from Merrifield, it’s hard to envision them exercising this option. The $17.5MM price point is lofty, particularly when considering the market has tended to devalue contact-oriented second basemen. The Phillies bought out a $17MM option on Jean Segura last winter, for instance; he found a $17MM guarantee spread over two years from the Marlins on the open market. The Brewers did exercise a $10MM option on Kolten Wong but promptly traded him to Seattle in a buy-low flier for Jesse Winker. An $8-12MM per-year salary for Merrifield is more reasonable, particularly when considering that he’ll turn 35 next January.

  • Yimi García: $5MM club option ($1MM buyout); option vests at $6MM with 49 appearances or 49 innings pitched in 2023

García signed a two-year guarantee with a club/vesting option over the 2021-22 offseason. The option would vest at $6MM if he combines for 110 innings or 110 outings between 2022-23. García threw 61 innings in as many appearances last season, leaving 49 more to check off.

He’s well on his way to doing so. García has made 26 appearances and tossed 24 2/3 innings entering play Monday. He’s 23 outings or 24 1/3 frames shy of triggering the vesting provision. Unless the veteran righty sustains a notable injury, he should clear that threshold.

Even if García doesn’t vest the option, it’s not out of the question the Jays would bring him back. There’d be a $4MM difference between the club option price and the buyout. García was solid in year one, working to a 3.10 ERA with a 23.5% strikeout rate. A massive .368 average on balls in play has led to a 6.20 ERA thus far in 2023, but García’s peripherals are strong as ever. He’s striking out 26.5% of batters faced while inducing grounders on half the batted balls he allows. He’s averaging 96 mph on his heater. His ball in play results figure to stabilize.

Note: Austin Voth signed an arbitration contract that contained a 2024 club option. He’d remain eligible for arbitration next season even if the option is declined and has accordingly been excluded from this list.

Orioles Select Josh Lester

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The Orioles announced that they have selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Josh Lester from Triple-A.  In corresponding moves, righty Dillon Tate was moved to the 60-day injured list, and left-hander Danny Coulombe was placed on the bereavement list.

Lester was a 13th-round pick for the Tigers in the 2015 draft, and he spent his entire career in Detroit’s organization until this past offseason, when he elected to become a minor league free agent rather than an accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Toledo.  Lester’s stint in Motown at least culminated in his Major League debut, as he appeared in two games for the Tigers last season.

After catching on with Baltimore on a minor league deal, Lester has been crushing Triple-A pitching, hitting .282/.339/.549 with 14 homers over 231 plate appearances at Norfolk.  Even with all of the star prospects in the Orioles’ farm system, it could be that the O’s prefer giving what might be a brief stint in the majors to a more experienced player, rather than interrupt the development of a more long-term asset.  It’s hard to argue that Lester’s slash line wasn’t worth at least another cup of coffee in the Show, and he’ll provide some depth as a corner infielder and corner outfielder.

Tate suffered a flexor strain back in November and hasn’t yet pitched in the majors in 2023, but he has logged 10 appearances in the minors as he works his way back.  The move to the 60-day IL doesn’t impact Tate’s timetable, as the 60-day placement retroactively applies to his initial 15-day placement on Opening Day.

Orioles Acquire Jose Godoy From Yankees

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The Yankees have traded minor league catcher José Godoy to the Orioles, according to an announcement from New York’s Triple-A affiliate. While there were no specifics on the return, transactions of this nature tend to see a nominal amount of cash sent the other way. Godoy is not on the 40-man roster, so no additional move was necessary.

Godoy, 28, signed a minor league deal with New York in late March. He’d spent Spring Training with the Angels but was cut loose before the season started. He suited up 11 times with the Yankees’ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre affiliate, hitting .270/.341/.514 in 41 trips to the plate. He hadn’t played in a game since May 7 and has spent the past few weeks on the development list (typically used to send non-injured players to an organizational complex).

A left-handed hitter, Godoy has 26 MLB games under his belt. He’s divided those among three teams, logging cups of coffee with each of the Mariners, Pirates and Twins. The Venezuela native is a .271/.324/.412 hitter in parts of four Triple-A campaigns.

The Orioles have a pair of Triple-A catchers — Anthony Bemboom and Maverick Handley — on the minor league injured list. Godoy joins Mark Kolozsvary in Norfolk as a healthy non-roster depth option. The Yankees recently optioned Ben Rortvedt to take the majority of their Triple-A catching work.

MLBTR Trade Rumors Podcast: The Wide-Open NL Wild Card Race, Returning Pitchers and Cast-Off Veterans

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Episode 9 of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss:

Plus, we answer your questions, including:

  • Will the Giants impact the National League West race? (13:20)
  • What do the Padres do with Juan Soto if they fall out of the race? (16:20)
  • What will the Twins do before the trade deadline? (18:20)
  • What can the Angels do with their rotation? (22:00)

Check out our past episodes!

Orioles Sign Aaron Hicks, Place Cedric Mullins On IL

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The Orioles announced that they have signed outfielder Aaron Hicks to a major league contract and placed fellow outfielder Cedric Mullins on the 10-day injured list with a right groin strain. They already had a vacancy on their 40-man roster and won’t require a corresponding move in that regard. JoezMcFly of Pinstripe Strong had reported on the signing of Hicks earlier today.

Hicks, 33, quickly finds a new landing spot after being released by the Yankees last week. That move was prompted by a tepid performance over the past two-plus seasons. Since the start of the 2021 campaign, Hicks has hit .209/.315/.310 for a wRC+ of 83, indicating he’s been 17% below league average in that time. That includes an even worse .188/.263/.261 showing here in 2023.

Prior to that, however, he had been an all-around contributor. From 2017 to 2020, he hit a much stronger .247/.362/.457 for a wRC+ of 123. He combined that with 26 stolen bases and solid defense, much of that in center field. He was worth 8.7 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs, over those three full seasons plus the shortened 2020 campaign.

In the midst of that strong run, the Yankees placed a bet on Hicks by signing him to a seven-year, $70MM extension going into 2019. While the first couple seasons of the deal were fairly smooth sailing, Hicks’ performance fell off, as mentioned. That caused the Yanks to cut bait, even though there’s still more than two years remaining on the contract. He’s making $10.5MM this year, with roughly $7MM left to be paid out, and a $9.5MM salary in each of the next two years. The Yanks will remain on the hook for almost all of that, as well as a $1MM buyout on the 2026 club option.

That will allow the Orioles to bring Hicks aboard and pay him only the prorated league minimum salary for any time he spends on the roster, with that amount being subtracted from what the Yankees pay. The O’s will be hoping that a change of scenery can help Hicks look more like the 2017-2020 version of himself as opposed to what he’s shown recently. It’s also possible that there have been reasons for his struggles. He only played 32 games in 2021 due to a wrist injury, then he tried to come back healthier and leaner in 2022. He spoke openly about how he felt that approach deprived him of his power, despite keeping him healthy enough to play 130 games last year. He only hit eight home runs on the year, compared to a career high of 27 in 2018. This year, he only had scattered playing time as the Yanks tried out various younger players in the outfield mix.

There will be essentially no financial risk to the O’s as they bring Hicks into the fold and see if he can move past those circumstances and perhaps find better results. Despite the low cost, there is still the risk that his poor results continue, but it seems they are willing to take that risk in order to try to deal with the absence of Mullins. It’s unclear exactly how long Mullins will be sidelined by this groin injury, but it will be at least 10 days. General manager Mike Elias tells reporters, including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, that he’s hoping it will be measured in weeks and not months.

It will be a blow to the club for as long as he’s out, whatever the eventual length of his IL stint. He’s been a key member of the Baltimore lineup, going back to his 2021 breakout. Since the start of that season, he’s hit .273/.341/.463 for a wRC+ of 122 while also stealing 77 bases and providing quality defense in center. Even a bounceback from Hicks will still be a drop-off from that kind of excellent production.

Time will tell exactly how much playing time Hicks gets. As a switch-hitter, he could perhaps take the large side of a platoon alongside right-handed hitters like Austin Hays and Ryan McKenna, with switch-hitter Anthony Santander also in the mix. Hicks has plenty of center field experience but has been more of a left fielder in recent years. Hays, meanwhile, is considered capable of playing center but has spent more time in the corners recently in deference to Mullins.

Orioles Showing Interest In Aaron Hicks

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The Orioles have shown “serious” interest in outfielder Aaron Hicks, whom the Yankees released last week following a DFA, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (Twitter link). Pinstripe Strong podcast host JoezMcFly first connected the two parties (Twitter link). The Baltimore Banner’s Andy Kostka tweets that no deal is finalized but adds that one could come together quickly. That could suggest that Hicks has yet to complete a physical, but regardless of whether things have progressed to that stage, it seems quite possible that Hicks will wind up remaining in the AL East.

The Baltimore outfield took a hit with yesterday’s injury to Cedric Mullins, who was diagnosed with an abductor/groin strain and is expected to land on the injured list. The veteran Hicks would give the O’s an alternative in the outfield, whether directly replacing Mullins in center or logging some time in left field while Austin Hays shifts up the defensive spectrum.

That’s assuming the two parties are discussing a big league deal, which certainly isn’t a given when considering the recent struggles from Hicks, who batted .188/.263/.261 in 76 plate appearances prior to his release. However, a Major League deal would only require Baltimore to pay Hicks the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the big league roster. The Yankees remain on the hook for the rest of Hicks’ $10.5MM salary, as well as the $9.5MM he’s owed in both 2024 and 2025 (and the $1MM on the buyout for his 2026 club option).

Both Hays and Ryan McKenna present alternatives to Mullins in center field. Prospect Kyle Stowers could also slot in there at some point — or in left field, with Hays sliding to center — but he’s been on the minor league injured list since May 23 due to inflammation in his shoulder. He’s thus not an option in the short term. Baltimore doesn’t have many other outfield options on the 40-man roster, but the O’s do have a 40-man vacancy at the moment, as they’ve yet to fill the spot that opened when catcher Luis Torrens rejected an outright assignment a couple weeks ago.

Hicks, 33, was a solid but oft-injured member of the Yankees outfield from 2017-20, batting a combined .247/.362/.457 (123 wRC+) in 1408 trips to the plate during that time. His offensive output cratered in 2021, however, and has yet to rebound. He’s batting just .209/.315/.310 in 655 big league plate appearances since Opening Day 2021, and his formerly strong glovework has taken a dip as well. With Mullins and Stowers ailing, Hicks presents a low-cost, game-ready option.

There’s minimal risk in bringing him aboard and seeing if he can bounce back to some extent outside Bronx spotlight. If he can successfully do so, he can stick around as a low-cost depth option. If not, the O’s could move on once their incumbent outfielders get a bit healthier (or sooner, if they want to take a look at a non-roster outfielder like former first-rounder Colton Cowser or minor league veterans such as Daz Cameron and Ben DeLuzio).

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