Kyle Schwarber Drawing Trade Interest
2:05pm: The Giants are also in the mix for Schwarber, tweets Sherman. He adds that the while the Yankees still have interest but at the moment appear to have their focus on other targets.
1:17pm: Despite being on the injured list with a hamstring strain, Nationals slugger Kyle Schwarber is generating trade interest and could be moved sometime today, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman lists the Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays as possible trade partners for the Nats.
Schwarber, 28, was the hottest hitter on the planet prior to his injury. His overall .253/.340/.570 line was plenty solid in its own right, but the former No. 4 overall draft pick had gone an a legitimately historic tear to close out June, homering 16 times in 19 games. In his final 21 games before hitting the injured list, Schwarber posted an almost comically dominant .338/.409/.974 batting line over the life of 88 plate appearances.
The Cubs non-tendered Schwarber this past offseason, and he eventually latched on with the Nationals on a one-year, $10MM deal that now looks quite affordable. That deal comes with an $11MM mutual option, but mutual options are little more than accounting measures the vast majority of the time. Generally speaking, if team picks up their end of the option it’s because the player has played well enough to price himself out of that salary (as would be the case with Schwarber, based on his production to date). If the player picks up his end, it’s usually due to poor performance or injury, and the team then declines.
While Schwarber’s hamstring injury obviously hampers his trade value, he’s been running in the outfield recently and could return sometime in mid-August. With the elimination of August trade waivers, the Nationals are faced with the choice of trading him now or keeping him for the remainder of the year then losing him for nothing. They could, of course, make Schwarber a qualifying offer, but that’d nearly double his 2021 salary in the event that he accepted, which the Nationals may not prefer.
The Yankees have been connected to Schwarber for years, so it’s no surprise to see Sherman suggest them as a possibility. That said, with their recent acquisition of Joey Gallo, they’re something of a tough fit. The Yanks now have Gallo, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton already on the roster. It’s possible they could just plug Schwarber into left field in the event that they’re comfortable committing to Gallo in center for the remainder of the year, however. It wouldn’t be an ideal defensive alignment, obviously, but that’d be a balanced and rather terrifying heart of the order for opposing pitchers to navigate.
The Jays and Red Sox present their own problems. Toronto already has a crowded outfield mix featuring Lourdes Gurriel Jr., George Springer, Teoscar Hernandez and Randal Grichuk. They were tied to Nelson Cruz earlier in the month however, and acquiring Cruz could be viewed in a similar lens. He’d give them an option at DH or in left field, pushing Grichuk into a fourth outfield role. Over in Boston, the Red Sox have Alex Verdugo, top prospect Jarren Duran and Hunter Renfroe in the outfield, with J.D. Martinez shoring things up at designated hitter. Schwarber has played all of three games at first base in the minors, for those who are wondering.
At Least Eight Teams In The Mix For Max Scherzer
As many as eight clubs are in the mix for Nationals ace and three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer, per Jayson Stark of The Athletic (Twitter link). The Dodgers, Giants, Padres, Red Sox, Rays, Blue Jays, Astros and Mets are all interested, according to Stark, who adds that the Yankees also inquired but were told Scherzer isn’t likely to waive his no-trade rights for a move to New York. That meshes with recent reporting from SNY’s Andy Martino, who wrote earlier this afternoon that Scherzer wouldn’t approve a trade to the Mets (nor would the Nationals be keen on dealing their ace to the current division leaders).
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported earlier in the day that Scherzer preferred a West Coast club, though MLB Network’s Jon Heyman adds that the ostensible West Coast preference is more about Scherzer wanting to go to a team with a chance to win in 2021 and beyond. Scherzer prefers to go to “a team he could stay with” on a possible extension, per Heyman. Agent Scott Boras indicated as much earlier in the summer, although at the time Boras suggested an extension might be necessary in order for Scherzer to waive his no-trade protection at all. That no longer seems to be the case, but as evidenced by Scherzer’s unwillingness to go to a New York club, the no-trade rights can help him choose his eventual landing spot.
If the Nats are to ultimately trade Scherzer, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the team’s preference is to do so within the next 48 hours. Doing so would leave ample time to sort through the no-trade obstacles and any potential compensation for waiving those rights (e.g. alterations to deferrals, taxes, etc.).
That said, a trade taking place prior to Thursday’s game would put an acquiring team in a tough spot. Scherzer was scratched from his weekend start due to a triceps issue and is set to return to the mound Thursday. A recent MRI came back clean, and any team acquiring Scherzer would obviously have access to the results from that imaging and other testing. Still, a clean MRI may not inspire as much confidence as seeing Scherzer go out and actually perform. If interested clubs prefer to wait until Scherzer has taken the mound, there’d be fewer than 24 hours between the conclusion of Thursday’s start and Friday afternoon’s deadline.
Any trade involving Scherzer is going to be financially complicated, but looking at Stark’s list of interested parties, there are a few particularly complex scenarios. The Dodgers are already into the final luxury-tax bracket, meaning they’d pay a 62.5 percent overage penalty on any additional money added to the books. For Scherzer, whose remaining luxury hit clocks in at roughly $10.03MM post-deadline and $10.49MM as of this writing, that’d mean paying between $6.27MM and $6.56MM on top of the approximately $12.2MM he’s still owed in actual 2021 salary. (Luxury tax is calculated based on a contract’s average annual value, but Scherzer’s backloaded contract comes with a $35MM salary in 2021 — albeit with much of that sum deferred.)
The Padres are reportedly just above the luxury tax threshold, but are still considering moves that could take them back under that line. A Scherzer acquisition, however, would push them well above the mark. That’s also true of the Astros and the Red Sox, who are both within just a few million of the $210MM threshold. The Rays, of course, have an entirely different sort of financial obstacles to consider (namely, their perennially cellar-level payroll). The Jays and Giants, as teams with deep pockets and no real luxury concerns of which to speak, ostensibly represent the “cleanest” fits of the bunch.
That’s not to say that the Dodgers, Padres, Astros, Rays or Red Sox shouldn’t be considered legitimate contenders for Scherzer. (Although if Scherzer is hoping to stay with the club that acquires him, the low-payroll Rays are an admittedly tough fit.) Most clubs this summer have voiced some iteration of a “we’d exceed the threshold for the ‘right’ player” stance. It’s hard to imagine a player who fits that billing more than a bona fide ace and three-time Cy Young winner who has a 2.92 ERA in 49 1/3 postseason innings with the Nats since 2016. But with the Nats theoretically negotiating with a rapidly ticking clock, any complicated financial elements of a deal are magnified.
Latest On Interest In Cubs’ Trade Chips
12:41PM: The White Sox and Red Sox are two of at least seven teams interested in Kimbrel, 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine writes, while the White Sox have also scouted another Cubs reliever in Ryan Tepera.
10:49AM: The Cubs completed another trade last night in sending Andrew Chafin to the Athletics, setting the stage for what should be a very busy week of transactions for Chicago in advance of Friday’s 3pm CT trade deadline. Many of the biggest names remain, and rumors continue to circulate about where these top names could land.
Closer Craig Kimbrel is drawing much of the buzz, and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the Padres are among the teams interested in the veteran reliever. While many of the Cubs’ most notable trade chips are rental players, Kimbrel is controlled through the 2022 season due to a $16MM club option. He also has around $5.5MM remaining in salary for this season, so he isn’t an entirely inexpensive proposition for a team looking at the right-hander as just a rental.
This is a particular factor for a team like the Padres, who are facing a luxury tax overage for the first time in franchise history. Team ownership is willing to make that leap beyond the $210MM payroll threshold, though the Padres are naturally exploring ways (such as unloading Eric Hosmer‘s contract) to avoid the tax if at all possible.
The Red Sox “have at least had preliminary conversations ” with the Cubs about first baseman Anthony Rizzo, ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan reports, which seems like a natural fit considering how little production the Sox have received from the first base position this season. Boston is the first team officially linked to Rizzo on the rumor mill, as Passan writes that Rizzo’s market “is not so robust” since he is a veteran position player who is a free agent after the year.
In fact, there has been more speculation about Rizzo possibly staying with the Cubs rather than leaving, even though extension talks in Spring Training failed to produce a new contract. Recent reports suggested that the Cubs would look to again discuss extensions with both Rizzo and Javier Baez prior to the deadline, but NBC Sports Chicago’s Gordon Wittenmyer reports that “no extension talks are happening with” either player.
This doesn’t mean that either will be traded, however. In fact, Wittenmyer hears from sources around baseball that the Cubs will be keeping both Baez and Kyle Hendricks beyond Friday’s deadline. (MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported last night that the Cubs weren’t looking to move Hendricks and that a trade was unlikely.) It isn’t quite as firm about whether or not Rizzo could remain or be dealt to Boston or another team, but if the first baseman is kept, Wittenmyer writes that the Cubs will again look into extending both Rizzo and Baez before they reach free agency this winter.
AL East Notes: Rays, Red Sox, Yankees, Orioles
To some, the Rays recent trade of Rich Hill to the Mets may have seemed incongruous with their plans for contention, but this is how the Rays do business: players play for the present, front office plays for the future. GM Erik Neander suggested it was simply a matter of coming up on having too many guys for the rotation, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). He didn’t shut down the idea of upgrading the rotation, however, suggesting they weren’t in love with Hill’s output projections for this season. For now, Luis Patino and Chris Archer will soon round out the rotation, pending another deal in the coming days. Elsewhere in the AL East…
- Red Sox southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez was removed from his start in the second inning today with what’s being reported as “migraine symptoms,” per Steve Hewitt of the Boston Herald and others (via Twitter). Rodriguez has a 5.19 ERA in 95 1/3 innings this season, though a 3.51 FIP and 21.9 percent strikeout-to-walk rate suggests his performance has been quite a bit better. He threw just 25 pitches in today’s outing.
- The Yankees were also dealt a potential blow today as Gary Sanchez was removed from the game with back spasms. The Yankees are already without backup Kyle Higashioka, who will remain on the COVID-related injured list at least until next week, per Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). Rob Brantly would be the stand-in, should Sanchez need further days off.
- Orioles Rule 5 pick Tyler Wells was placed on the 10-day injured list today with right wrist tendonitis, per the team. His placement was backdated to July 20th, however, and the O’s don’t expect him to be out for longer than the minimum ten days, per The Athletic’s Dan Connolly (via Twitter).
Red Sox Sign First-Round Pick Marcelo Mayer
The Red Sox have reached an agreement with first-round draft pick Marcelo Mayer. The Athletic’s Chad Jennings (Twitter links) reports that the fourth overall pick will sign for a bonus of the assigned slot price of $6,664,000. While the team hasn’t yet officially announced the signing, Jennings and multiple other Boston reporters noted that Mayer and several team officials took part in what appears to be the official signing ceremony on the field at Fenway Park.
There was quite a bit of speculation prior to the draft that the Pirates would take Mayer with the first overall pick, though when Pittsburgh instead opted for Louisville catcher Henry Davis, it triggered something of a surprise drop for Mayer to Boston at the fourth pick. The Rangers drafted Vanderbilt righty Jack Leiter with the second selection, and the Tigers (rumored to be very high on Mayer) went with high school right-hander Jackson Jobe third overall.
Since Davis signed with the Pirates for a $6.5MM bonus that fell well below the $8.4153MM assigned slot price for the 1-1 pick, Mayer will end up actually making more money than Davis in his first pro contract. Since it’s fair to assume that Mayer might have insisted on full slot value wherever he was selected, that probably factored into the Pirates’ decision to take Davis and thus spread their bonus pool money around to multiple members of their draft class.
It could be that the Red Sox ended up with a steal, as Fangraphs’ scouting report on Mayer described him as nothing short of “the most well-rounded player in the draft, a teenage shortstop with a chance to hit for contact, power, and stay at a premium defensive position.” Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, and The Athletic’s Keith Law all ranked Mayer as the best overall prospect of this year’s draft class, while Baseball America and ESPN.com’s Kiley McDaniel had Mayer second on their boards.
A product of Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, California, Mayer is a left-handed hitter who is already 6’3″ and 188 pounds at 18 years old — according to Pipeline’s scouting report, he might yet develop more raw power as he grows. Mayer is considered a plus hitter overall, and a moderate speed tool might be the only semi-flaw in his toolkit. There isn’t much doubt amongst observers that Mayer will be able to remain at shortstop, with BA describing Mayer as “arguably the top defensive shortstop in a class that is deep at the position.”
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/17/2021
The latest minor league moves from around the sport…
- The Red Sox outrighted Austin Brice to Triple-A Worcester after the reliever cleared waivers. Brice was designated for assignment yesterday to create roster room for Jarren Duran‘s promotion to the big leagues. Since this is the second time Brice has been outrighted off Boston’s 40-man roster this season, he had the option of opting for free agency, but the right-hander has apparently decided to remain with the Red Sox. Over two seasons with the Sox, Brice has a 6.21 ERA over 33 1/3 innings.
- The Red Sox have acquired right-hander Victor Santos from the Phillies, both teams announced. The move officially completes the January trade that saw infielder C.J. Chatham dealt to Philadelphia way back in January. Santos will report to Boston’s Double-A affiliate, and will change organizations less than a week after celebrating his 21st birthday. The righty has looked good over 41 combined innings at high-A and Double-A ball this season, posting a 2.20 ERA and 24.24% strikeout rate while working exclusively as a starter in four Double-A outings.
Cole Hamels Holds Showcase For Interested Teams
JULY 16: Twenty teams had representatives in attendance at today’s showcase, Heyman reports (Twitter link). The Angels and Cardinals were among the teams to send personnel, per reports from Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com and Katie Woo of the Athletic.
JULY 13, 3:59 pm: The Red Sox will also be in attendance, reports Rob Bradford of WEEI.
JULY 13, 2:51 pm: The Phillies and Mets will have scouts watching Hamels, according to Heyman (Twitter links). The Yankees will also be in attendance, The New York Post’s Joel Sherman tweets. As teams will inevitably be revealed as being part of this showcase, it should be noted (as Sherman does) that the Yankees and many clubs send evaluators to these showcases as a normal order of business.
JULY 9: Free agent left-hander Cole Hamels will hold a showcase in front of teams on July 16, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). The Dodgers are among the teams who will have personnel in attendance, reports Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter).
It has been a protracted stay in free agency for Hamels, who hasn’t signed anywhere since the 2020 season concluded. There was never any indication the veteran southpaw planned to sit out for all of 2021, though, and he was reported to be building up a throwing program last month.
Hamels essentially had a lost 2020 season. Signed by the Braves to a one-year, $18MM deal over the 2019-20 offseason, he dealt with shoulder soreness in Spring Training and then began the shortened season on the injured list with a triceps issue. Hamels returned to make one appearance in mid-September before landing back on the IL with a season-ending shoulder problem.
Before 2020, Hamels was a paragon of durability, tossing at least 130 innings in every season between 2006-19. He was also a model of consistency, never posting an ERA higher than 4.32 and allowing fewer than four earned runs per nine innings in eleven of those fourteen campaigns. He was still effective as recently as 2019, when he tossed 141 2/3 innings of 3.81 ERA ball with solid strikeout and walk rates (23.2% and 7.1%, respectively) with the Cubs. Between his track record and the volume of pitcher injuries around the league in 2021, there figures to be plenty of teams in attendance next week to gauge Hamels’ current form.
Red Sox Designate Austin Brice For Assignment
The Red Sox announced they’ve designated reliever Austin Brice for assignment. The move clears 40-man roster space for the previously-reported promotion of top outfield prospect Jarren Duran.
It’s the second time this season the Sox have designated Brice for assignment. The righty passed through waivers in May and remained in the organization. Between his pair of big league stints, Brice has made 13 appearances and tossed 13 2/3 innings of 6.59 ERA ball with subpar strikeout and walk rates (18.8% and 10.9%, respectively). It’s the second consecutive down year for Brice, who joined Boston on the heels of a solid 2019 campaign with the Marlins.
The Red Sox will have a week to trade Brice or expose him to waivers. He accepted an outright assignment after clearing waivers two months ago, but rejecting that assignment would’ve meant forfeiting the remainder of his $870K salary. Should he pass through outright waivers a second time in his career, Brice could elect free agency while still collecting all of his remaining guaranteed money.
Latest On Yankees’ COVID-19 Situation
JULY 16: Testing today has turned up zero new positive cases, manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Alex Speier of the Boston Globe and Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). However, Boone added that six Yankees players have been confirmed positive within the past week and are expected to miss at least ten days, suggesting that follow-up testing on Judge, Urshela and Higashioka has confirmed their positive results. Friday’s game against the Red Sox will be played, with yesterday’s postponement to be made up as part of a doubleheader on August 17.
JULY 15, 5:20 pm: Judge is indeed the Yankees All-Star in question, The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham reports (via Twitter). Gio Urshela, and Kyle Higashioka are the other two Yankees in COVID protocol, ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets.
JULY 15, 5:05 pm: Rafael Devers and other Red Sox All-Star representatives were asked to undergo additional COVID-19 testing after being told that one of the Yankees’ All-Star reps tested positive, ESPN’s Marly Rivera (Twitter links) reports. This would indicate at least one of Aaron Judge, Aroldis Chapman, or Gerrit Cole — Cole was replaced on the All-Star roster but was still present during festivities.
JULY 15, 3:39 pm: Tonight’s game between the Red Sox and Yankees has been postponed due to a COVID-19 situation within the Yankees’ clubhouse, as originally reported by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link). Major League Baseball released an official announcement about the postponement, noting “positive COVID-19 tests within the New York Yankees organization.” There isn’t yet any word about a make-up date for tonight’s contest, and it isn’t yet known if any other games in the scheduled four-game series could be in jeopardy.
Speaking with The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler (all links to Twitter) and other reporters, Yankees GM Brian Cashman said the club has six ongoing COVID-19 cases, all of players. Cashman confirmed that the three players currently on the Yankees’ COVID-related injury list (left-handers Nestor Cortes Jr. and Wandy Peralta, and righty Jonathan Loaisiga) all tested positive for the virus, while three other potential cases are pending confirmation of positive results. ESPN’s Marly Rivera reports that “at least two” of the positive COVID tests were delivered by Yankees position players.
Most importantly, Cashman indicated that the cases appear to be asymptomatic, saying “As of right now, everybody is ok.” The Yankees as a whole have passed the league’s mandated 85% vaccination rate , though Cashman said that only “most” of the six players had received vaccines. Cortes, Peralta, and Loaisiga had all been vaccinated.
Cortes and Peralta were placed on the COVID-19 list earlier today, while Loaisiga’s placement came back on July 10. Loaisiga has yet to rejoin the team from their road trip in Houston, Cashman said, as the right-hander has been quarantined.
This is the second time the Yankees have been hit with a COVID outbreak this season, after eight players and coaches tested positive for the virus back in May. (New York manager Aaron Boone told Adler and other reporters today that Gleyber Torres‘ positive test at the time was actually a false positive.) That outbreak didn’t result in any postponed games, as while COVID-IL placements have still been rather common this season, today’s Red Sox/Yankees matchup is the only the eighth game of the season to be postponed for COVID-related reasons. The other seven postponements all took place prior to April 19.
Chris Sale To Begin Rehab Assignment; Red Sox To Recall Tanner Houck
3:25PM: Sale threw three innings of work rather than his scheduled two in his first rehab outing today, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports. The left-hander allowed three singles in his three shutout frames, and threw his fastball in the 94-95mph range, reaching as high as 97mph. As for Houck, manager Alex Cora told Speier and other reporters that Houck will probably start against the Blue Jays on Wednesday, and be used in the bullpen for Boston’s current series against the Yankees.
11:37AM: Chris Sale is going to begin a rehab assignment today, according to Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. Additionally, the Red Sox are planning on recalling Tanner Houck today, according to Dan Roche of WBZ.
As noted by Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe, this would be Sale’s first game since August 13th, 2019. Shortly after that, he was shut down with elbow inflammation but was not recommended for Tommy John surgery. Sale tried to come back for the 2020 season but eventually did require Tommy John and underwent the procedure in March of 2020, missing the entirety of that season.
Without Sale, the Red Sox floundered and wound up last in the AL East, finishing the shortened season with a record of 24-36. However, 2021 has been a complete reversal so far, as the club finds itself atop the division with a record of 55-36. Despite their strong placement in the standings, the rotation has not been a strong suit for them. The starters as a whole have produced an ERA of 4.47, 21st-best in the majors, although advanced metrics are a bit more charitable, with a FIP of 3.86, xFIP of 4.11 and a SIERA of 4.20. Concerns over the rotation have also become heightened lately. Garrett Richards has put up an ERA of 6.45 and Eduardo Rodriguez one of 5.35 since the start of June. Martin Perez and Nick Pivetta have not been much better, at 4.76 and 4.85 during that same timeframe, respectively. Nathan Eovaldi has been excellent but always comes with injury concerns. He’s he hasn’t surpassed 125 innings in a season since 2015 and has already tallied 103 1/3 this year.
Sale has been one of the best pitchers in baseball during his career and, if healthy, he would be a gamechanger for any rotation. From 2012 to 2019, Sale hurled 1535 1/3 innings with an ERA of 3.05, a strikeout rate of 30.8% and walk rate of 5.5%, which produced 42.8 fWAR and helped the Red Sox win the 2018 World Series in the process.
As the trade deadline approaches, the health and performance of Sale could impact the urgency with which Boston pursues rotation upgrades. The club has stayed under the luxury tax line so far, but just barely. (According to Roster Resource, their luxury tax hit is $208MM, just below the first threshold of $210MM.) That doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room, if they insist on limboing under that line. But a healthy Sale would be a bigger upgrade than any trade acquisition they could hope to land in a trade.
In the meantime, the pitching staff is hoping for a boost from Houck as they begin an important series against the Yankees. Houck has put up a 3.07 ERA with 19 Ks and 3 BBs in 14 2/3 innings in Triple-A since returning from a flexor tendon strain.