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Minor MLB Transactions: 8/31/20

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A round-up of some smaller moves with the trade deadline in the rearview mirror:

  • The Mariners announced they’ve transferred left-hander Nestor Cortes to the 45-day injured list with a left elbow impingement. He’d been placed on the 10-day IL August 15. The former Yankee long reliever was bombed in his five appearances for Seattle this season, surrendering 14 runs (13 earned) on six home runs with eight strikeouts and six walks in 7.2 innings. The move clears a space on Seattle’s 40-man roster.
  • The Angels announced they’ve selected the contract of catcher José Briceño. The 27-year-old saw action in 46 games for Los Angeles back in 2018, hitting .239/.299/.385 in 128 plate appearances. Briceño will step into the #2 catching role behind Anthony Bemboom. The Angels traded starting backstop Jason Castro to the Padres yesterday.
  • The Brewers have selected the contract of right-hander Justin Topa, the team announced. The 29-year-old will be making his MLB debut whenever he first gets into a game. Milwaukee signed Topa out of independent ball after the 2018 season, and he went on to put up a 2.63 ERA in 24 innings in Double-A in 2019. He’ll step into the bullpen void left by today’s trade of David Phelps to the Phillies.
  • The Red Sox announced they have selected the contracts of three players: infielder Yairo Muñoz, left-hander Mike Kickham and right-hander Robinson Leyer. Muñoz, 25, signed with Boston on a minor-league deal after a bizarre end to his time with the Cardinals. Kickham, 31, hasn’t pitched in the majors since tossing 30.1 innings with the 2013-14 Giants. Leyer, 27, has yet to make his major league debut. He has a 4.01 ERA in parts of five Double-A seasons.

AL Injury Notes: Twins, Jays, Kennedy, Hernandez, Odor

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Some notes on prominent injury situations around the American League:

  • Twins’ manager Rocco Baldelli provided encouraging updates on a trio of injured players, via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com (Twitter links). Star third baseman Josh Donaldson and center fielder Byron Buxton are seemingly nearing their returns, with each scheduled to play in an intrasquad game at the team’s alternate training site this afternoon. Right-hander Cody Stashak is evidently a bit further behind, but he’s lining up for a bullpen session soon, Park reports. If all goes well, he could be back on the active roster shortly thereafter.
  • Blue Jays’ closer Ken Giles will throw a live batting practice session tomorrow, reports Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (Twitter link). An impending free agent, Giles has been limited to two appearances this season by a forearm strain. Fellow right-handed reliever Jordan Romano, who looked on his way to breaking through as one of the game’s top strikeout artists before going down with a strained finger, has not yet progressed to throwing, Nicholson-Smith adds. The Toronto organization hopes he’ll be able to return this year, though.
  • Royals’ reliever Ian Kennedy is headed to the 10-day injured list with a left calf strain, the club announced. He’ll have an MRI tomorrow, reports Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com (Twitter link). So continues a nightmarish season for the 35-year-old, who has allowed 17 runs (14 earned) in 14 innings. 2020 is the final year of Kennedy’s five-year, $70MM contract.
  • The Red Sox are sending reliever Darwinzon Hernández to the 10-day injured list with a sprained AC joint, via Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). The hard-throwing southpaw missed the first three weeks of the season after testing positive for COVID-19, limiting him to three appearances. They’ve been more of the same for Hernández, who continues to rack up otherworldly strikeout totals while issuing an alarming number of walks.
  • Rougned Odor is headed to the Rangers’ 10-day injured list with an eye infection, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). In his stead, shortstop Elvis Andrus is returning from an IL stint of his own. The Rangers discussed an Odor deal with the Red Sox earlier today, but the underperforming second baseman will instead remain in Arlington.

Deadline Day DFAs: Phillies, White Sox, Cubs, Marlins

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Given the flurry of transactions around the deadline, a number of players have been designated for assignment. This is, of course, the natural consequence of such a dramatic amount of shuffling to the roster via trade. These players will be available to the 29 other teams via waiver claim. We’ll use this post to track some of the more recent DFAs around baseball.

Latest Updates

  • The Marlins have designated left-hander Adam Conley for assignment, MLBTR has learned. The 30-year-old hasn’t pitched this season after going on the injured list in the wake of Miami’s clubhouse COVID-19 outbreak. Conley was a prominent member of the pitching staff, recently as a pure reliever, from 2015-19. He struggled to a miserable 6.53 ERA/5.19 FIP last season, although he posted much more palatable 4.09/3.60 marks the year prior.

Earlier Today

  • In perhaps the most surprising DFA of the day, the Phillies designated catcher Deivy Grullón for assignment, per the team. Grullon had been the Phillies presumptive third catcher after J.T. Realmuto and backup Andrew Knapp. The 24-year-old has long appeared on Philly prospect boards, making his first big-league appearance last season, going 1 for 9 in limited action. Rafael Marchan and Logan O’Hoppe are the other catchers in the Phillies’ 60-man player pool.
  • Philadelphia also DFA’ed right-hander Reggie McClain. The 27-year-old McClain had appeared in 5 games this season with a 5.06 ERA across 5 1/3 innings. These moves came as a consequence not of trades, necessarily, but because Jay Bruce and Ranger Suárez both were reinstated from the injured list.
  • The White Sox designated infielder Ryan Goins for assignment after activating Yolmer Sanchez, per Scott Merkin of MLB.com. Goings, 32, is a veteran of the Blue Jays and Royals. He appeared in 14 games for the White Sox this season, often as a pinch-runner. At the plate, he was 0 for 9 with a walk and a strikeout. Sanchez rejoins the White Sox after being designated for assignment by the Giants. Sanchez spent 2014 to 2019 with the White Sox.
  • The Cubs DFA’ed Ian Miller and Hernan Perez, per Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter links). Miller and Perez are making room for Andrew Chafin and Josh Osich, respectively, the pair of lefties acquired from the Diamondbacks and Red Sox. Miller, 28, is a speed specialist who appeared in just one game for the Cubs as a pinch-runner. Perez never cracked the rotation in Chicago after several years of regular reps with the Brewers. He appeared in just 3 games for the Cubs, going 1 for 6.

Cubs Acquire Josh Osich

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The Cubs have acquired left-handed reliever Josh Osich from the Red Sox for a player to be named later, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first suggested Osich would likely end up as a Cub.

This is the second lefty pickup of the day for Chicago’s bullpen, which previously grabbed Andrew Chafin from the Diamondbacks. Osich, whom the Red Sox claimed from the White Sox last fall, has posted 11.87 K/9, 2.87 BB/9 and a 50 percent groundball rate over 15 2/3 innings this season, but he has still struggled to prevent runs despite those impressive figures. The 31-year-old owns a 5.74 ERA and has seen his average fastball velocity drop from the 94-95 mph range to 92.4.

In 2019, Osich was one of the game’s more effective relievers against left-handed hitters.  Among those with at least 100 left-handed batters faced, Osich allowed a .229 wOBA, punching out 30 against four walks.  That success hasn’t continued in the brief 2020 sample, as Osich has allowed homers to lefty batters Chance Sisco and Michael Conforto.

Rockies To Acquire Kevin Pillar

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The Rockies will acquire outfielder Kevin Pillar and cash from the Red Sox for a player to be named later and 2019-20 international slot money, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

This season has been a major letdown for the Red Sox, but Pillar proved to be a good investment during his month-plus in their uniform. After signing a one-year, $4.25MM contract in the offseason, the former Blue Jay and Giant slashed a respectable .274/.325/.470 with four home runs over 126 plate appearances. Pillar also lined up at all three outfield positions as a member of the Red Sox, though he primarily played right field.

In Colorado, which will enter Monday 17-17 and as a surprising playoff contender, Pillar will hand the club another proven outfielder to join a group highlighted by Charlie Blackmon, Raimel Tapia and David Dahl.

Blackmon has been great this year, Tapia has provided solid production in his own right, and Sam Hilliard has given the club passable numbers. However, the oft-injured Dahl – who has been on the IL for about two weeks – has stumbled, as have the rest of the Rockies’ outfield options. Beyond this year, though, it remains to be seen whether Pillar will stay in Colorado, as he’s slated to reach free agency again over the winter.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Christian Vazquez

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1:47pm: The Mets-Vazquez talk “is overblown,” Rosenthal hears.

12:19pm: The Mets are showing interest in Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez, per reports from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com) and Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

While the Mets have gotten off to a subpar 15-19 start, they’re nonetheless in the playoff race in a wide-open National League. And catcher is one of the areas they’re looking to upgrade, as Heyman reports that they’re hoping to at least add depth behind the plate. The club was previously in on Jason Castro before the Padres acquired him from the Angels on Sunday, according to Heyman.

Mets catchers have collectively logged middling offensive numbers this year, largely because starter Wilson Ramos is amid one of the worst offensive years of his career. On the other hand, the normally light-hitting Tomas Nido has posted impressive production, though his success has come over a paltry 26 trips to the plate.

With Ramos likely to become a free agent after the season (New York has a $10MM option or a $1.5MM buyout decision), the Mets could be in the market for a new No. 1 backstop during the winter. In acquiring Vazquez, though, they’d seemingly remove the need to pursue catchers in  the offseason. Vazquez, after all, is controllable next season for $6MM and has a $7MM option (or a $250K buyout) for 2022. As such, there may not be any urgency for Boston to move Vazquez, but the out-of-contention club is at least open to it.

Vazquez, who turned 30 on Aug. 21, hasn’t hit much since his career began in 2014. He seemed to turn a corner in that regard last year with a .276/.320/.477 line and 23 home runs in 521 plate appearances, but he has slumped to a .252/.286/.411 mark with four homers in 112 PA this season. At the very least, though, Vazquez is an accomplished defender – one who has thrown out a whopping 40 percent of would-be base thieves this season and during his career.

Rangers, Red Sox Have Discussed Rougned Odor-Nathan Eovaldi Trade

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The Rangers and Red Sox have discussed a trade that would send second baseman Rougned Odor to Boston for right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets. It’s unclear whether the trade would include Texas taking on extra money or if prospects would be in the deal, according to Grant.

Odor, who’s making a prorated $9MM in 2020, is in the fourth season of a six-year, $49.5MM contract that includes a remaining $27MM. The deal also features a $13.5MM club option for 2023, but the way Odor’s career has gone, his employer’s sure to buy him out for $3MM. When Odor signed his pact in 2017, he was coming off back-to-back 2.5-fWAR seasons, but he has seldom revisited that form since then. In fact, going back to the first season of the contract, Odor has slashed a less-than-stellar .216/.281/.412 with 81 home runs, 38 stolen bases and 0.6 fWAR across 1,853 plate appearances. His 17 wRC+ this season over 86 trips to the plate ranks next to last among 224 hitters who have amassed 80-plus PA.

Eovaldi, whom the Red Sox acquired from the Rays in 2018, was one of their many standouts during their run to a World Series that year. He was on the cusp of free agency at the time, but his down-the-stretch success convinced Boston to hand him a four-year, $68MM contract during the ensuing offseason. Unfortunately for both sides, though, the move hasn’t gone well. Eovaldi, 30, missed a large portion of last season with injuries and, despite 97 mph velocity and 8.65 K/9 against 1.57 BB/9, hasn’t done well to keep runs off the board this year. Overall, he has pitched to a woeful 5.65 ERA/5.45 FIP in 102 innings since landing his big payday. He’ll be due another $34MM after this season, and his annual $17MM luxury tax bill is another negative for a Red Sox team trying to avoid the line, as Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe notes. Odor’s CBT bill comes in at a much more palatable $8.25MM.

Should this change-of-scenery swap go down, the Red Sox would be landing a potential second base starter who’s still just 26. The injury-plagued Dustin Pedroia has barely been a factor since 2018, and he may never play again because of knee issues. And his year’s primary second base options – Jose Peraza and Jonathan Arauz – have mustered weak production. Meanwhile, Eovaldi would at least give the Rangers another arm in a rotation that’s in flux. The Rangers just parted with Mike Minor in a trade with the Athletics on Monday, and it appears Lance Lynn could also move before the 3 p.m. CT deadline.

NL East Notes: Marlins, Givens, Acuna, Mets, Red Sox

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Mychal Givens was a popular figure in trade speculation before the Rockies acquired him from the Orioles earlier today, and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link) reports that the Marlins were one of the clubs who also had an interest in Givens’ services.  With Givens now off the board, the Fish will continue to pursue relief pitching help, and Rosenthal notes that, unsurprisingly, Miami’s “young starting pitchers are popular with other clubs.”  MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro (Twitter links) reports that the Marlins have thus far been asked about the likes of Elieser Hernandez, Edward Cabrera, Braxton Garrett, and Trevor Rogers, but the Fish have thus far been resistent to such demands.

Caleb Smith could potentially be a different story, as Frisaro tweets that Miami is at least “exploring his market” with potential suitors.  It remains to be seen if the Marlins will actually send any of these young arms elsewhere, though it’s worth remembering that last year’s trade deadline saw Miami send a young starter in Trevor Richards (as well as a very notable young reliever in Nick Anderson) to the Rays for a reliever in Ryne Stanek and an outfield prospect in Jesus Sanchez.  One would imagine the Marlins would only move any of Hernandez, Cabrera, etc. if they could land a similarly controllable piece back, rather than a rental player.

More from around the NL East…

  • Ronald Acuna Jr. left tonight’s game “as a precaution with right hamstring tightness,” according to the Braves’ official update.  Acuna has already missed a good chunk of the season with a wrist injury, and another injured list visit (especially over something as potentially pesky as a hamstring issue) would leave the Braves without their best player for much of the stretch drive.  More will be known once Acuna is tested, though in the short term, one wonders if this could lead Atlanta to look into adding a bat as a security measure by tomorrow’s trade deadline.
  • The Braves acquired Tommy Milone from the Orioles today but aren’t likely to stop there in their pursuit of starting pitching, as reporter Robert Murray tweets that Atlanta has considered “every starter imaginable.“
  • The Mets’ deadline wish list includes a catcher and pitching (both starting and relieving) help, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets.  Perhaps in a related item, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes that the Red Sox have been “doing background on Mets minor leaguers,” which could hint at a potential trade.  Rosenthal figures Christian Vazquez would be a natural fit to address the Mets’ catching needs, and we’ve already heard that the Sox have discussed Vazquez with the Rays in recent days.  Speculatively, such Red Sox hurlers as Martin Perez, Matt Barnes, or Ryan Brasier could potentially be on the Mets’ radar, though the Sox just lost potential trade chip Nathan Eovaldi to the injured list.

Padres Acquire Mitch Moreland

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The Padres have acquired first baseman Mitch Moreland from the Red Sox. Prospects Hudson Potts and Jeisson Rosario are headed to Boston in return.

Moreland, 34, has been in Boston since the start of 2017. On the whole, he’s been a little better than average at the plate, combining for a .251/.332/.471 line (108 wRC+). He has been on an absolute tear this season, though, blasting eight home runs in 79 plate appearances en route to a .328/.430/.746 slash. Moreland has always hit the ball hard, generally avoided strikeouts and drawn his fair share of walks.

Like incumbent Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer, Moreland’s a left-handed bat, but he could complement right-handed hitting DH Ty France. Thanks in part to strong contributions from Hosmer and France, San Diego’s lineup has been among the best in baseball this season. Moreland is owed the balance of his $925K prorated salary and comes with an affordable $3MM club option for 2021.

In exchange, Boston picks up a pair of well-regarded prospects. Both Potts and Rosario were included among Baseball America’s top 30 Padre farmhands midseason. Potts, a 21-year-old third baseman, draws praise for his big-time raw power and comes with a first-round pedigree, but some scouts question his bat-to-ball skills. He performed well in the low minors, but scuffled a bit last season, when he hit .227/.290/.406 with a 28.6% strikeout rate in Double-A. In fairness, Potts was very young for that level, and the Texas League’s an extremely pitcher-friendly environment regardless.

Rosario, 20, was a high-priced international signee from the Pads’ vaunted 2016 J2 class. He draws ample praise for his athleticism and center field defense, although it’s up in the air how much impact he’ll make offensively despite seemingly exceptional plate discipline. Rosario has topped out at the High-A level, where he hit .242/.372/.314 with three home runs in 525 plate appearances.

All told, it’s a pretty strong haul for Boston, especially since Moreland’s fantastic start hadn’t helped propel them past an 11-22 record. That said, roster rules help explain why the Padres were willing to part with both players. Each needs to be added to the 40-man this offseason or else be exposed to the Rule V draft. The Pads, who continue to progress their swath of strong prospects to the high minors and above, have a seeming roster crunch incoming. The Red Sox, on the other hand, don’t have a particularly well-regarded farm system and can more easily find roster space for Potts and Rosario this offseason.

To clear immediate space for the prospects in their 60-man player pool, Boston released infielder Marco Hernández. The 27-year-old amassed a .265/.300/.342 line in parts of three seasons in Boston.

Robert Murray first reported that Moreland had been traded to San Diego (Twitter link). Dennis Lin of the Athletic first reported the return (via Twitter).

Red Sox Unlikely To Trade Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez

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At 11-22, the Red Sox are one of the league’s few clear sellers. In recent days, teams have been connected to each of Matt Barnes, Christian Vázquez, Kevin Pillar and Jackie Bradley, Jr. While those players all look like strong trade candidates, star shortstop Xander Bogaerts and designated hitter J.D. Martinez are unlikely to be traded before Monday’s deadline, hears Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter).

That’s not particularly surprising, as Bogaerts and Martinez were always something of longshots to move because of their contractual situations. The former signed a six year, $120MM extension last April that’ll pay him around $3.5MM the rest of this season and guarantee him $20MM every year from 2021-25. For a player of Bogaerts’ caliber, that’s a more than reasonable rate in a vacuum. But teams are often reluctant to take on hefty financial commitments mid-season, and that’s all the more true in a year when every team is facing massive, pandemic-driven revenue losses.

It’s possible the Sox could explore a Bogaerts trade this offseason, although getting a deal done would hardly be much easier. His extension comes with a potential full no-trade clause that will kick in September 6, meaning Bogaerts could block any offseason move. He also has an opt-out clause after 2022, further complicating matters. If Boagerts continues to perform at an elite level, he’d very likely exercise that opt-out and hit free agency two-plus years from now. If he were to underperform or get bogged down by injury, any acquiring team would be on the hook for the entirety of the deal at fairly significant rates.

Those logistical challenges cast doubt on the likelihood of a trade, but Bogaerts continues to offer fantastic production. He’s been the seventh most valuable position player by fWAR since the start of 2018, hitting a robust .299/.372/.541 (137 wRC+) with solid defense at shortstop. Disappointing 2020 aside, Boston doesn’t seem ticketed for any sort of large-scale rebuild. They’d certainly be happy to continue slotting Bogaerts into the middle of the lineup if they’re not bowled over by a great offer.

While Bogaerts has continued to perform up to his lofty standards, Martinez has not. The 33-year-old would’ve been an obvious trade candidate had he been hitting anywhere near his 2018-19 levels, when he combined for a .317/.392/.593 line (154 wRC+) with 79 home runs in 1306 plate appearances. He’s off to a miserable start in 2020, though, mustering just a .207/.295/.371 mark through 31 games. More worrisome, Martinez’s average exit velocity is down over two miles per hour from last season (and over four MPH from his 2018 peak).

One poor month doesn’t negate Martinez’s elite track record, but it makes him a risky buy for potential contenders. He’s due a little over $4MM for the rest of this season and is guaranteed $38.75MM over the next two years. Martinez can opt out at the end of this season or next; while he once seemed a strong candidate to test free agency after 2020, it’s unlikely he’d do so unless he turns things around quickly. With ownership groups across the league hesitant to absorb much money, it seems Martinez will try to recapture his old form down the stretch at Fenway.

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