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MLB Trade Rumors Podcast: The Angels Trade for Infielders, Indecisive NL Central Teams and Aaron Judge’s Toe

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The latest episode 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 Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss:

  • The Angels acquired Eduardo Escobar from the Mets and Mike Moustakas from the Rockies (1:25)
  • The Pirates and Cubs and Cardinals are thinking about their respective trade deadline approaches (7:20)
  • The Yankees’ hopes are hanging on Aaron Judge’s toe (16:05)

Plus, we answer your questions, including:

  • How do you think the Red Sox will approach the deadline? Will they try to toe the line like last season (which did not work)? (18:50)
  • I would like to know what you think the Padres are going to do? They have numerous holes in that lineup, they are selling out game after game at home? You think major trades forthcoming? Or what? (22:40)
  • What do you think are the chances that the Braves trade Vaughn Grissom at the deadline? What caliber of player do you believe a package built around Grissom would bring in? (25:35)

Check out our past episodes!

Red Sox Acquire Andres Nunez From Royals

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The Red Sox have acquired right-hander Andres Núñez from the Royals, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The return for the Royals isn’t listed, suggesting it’s likely a cash deal. Núñez wasn’t on a 40-man roster, so no corresponding moves will be necessary. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Worcester.

Núñez, 27, was selected by the Royals in the 29th round of the 2018 draft. The reliever has been quite effective in the minors but has seen his results take a step back this year. In 2018 and 2019, he posted a combined 2.43 ERA in 77 2/3 innings, pitching in Rookie ball and Single-A. The minor leagues were canceled by the pandemic in 2020 and Nunez has been in the upper levels since. He split 2021 between Double-A and Triple-A with a combined 3.98 ERA that year, then had a solid 3.61 ERA mark in Triple-A last year.

Here in 2023, however, things have generally gone in an unfavorable direction with a 6.66 ERA through 24 1/3 innings. He’s allowed a .355 batting average on balls in play and has a 59.6% strand rate, which could point to some bad luck. On the other hand, he generally ran strikeout rates of 25-30% in previous seasons but is down to 17.5% this year. Similarly, his walk rate has jumped to 12.3% after being much lower in previous seasons.

Those poor results have apparently prompted the Royals to accept some cash and move on, while the Sox clearly believe they can get him back on track. He’ll head to Worcester and give the club some extra bullpen depth in Triple-A. He’s yet to crack a 40-man roster but will be eligible for the upcoming Rule 5 draft if not added ahead of time.

Big Hype Prospects: Westburg, Matos, Crawford, Whisenhunt, Anthony

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The Orioles are finally calling up one of their top hitting prospects, and it isn’t the one I expected to get the first call. Jordan Westburg will make his debut later today. I expected Colton Cowser to win the race to the Majors. With Cedric Mullins recently returning, Cowser is left to await another injury or Aaron Hicks’ inevitable collapse (good outcomes, deeply terrible EVs).

Five Big Hype Prospects

Jordan Westburg, 24, 2B/3B/SS, BAL (AAA)
301 PA, 18 HR, 6 SB, .295/.372/.567

There’s a disconnect between public perceptions of Westburg and scouting reports. The bat will play, though Westburg’s penchant to swing-and-miss could result in long slumps as reports identify exploitable weaknesses. His minor league exit velocities would rate as above average in the Majors. Additionally, Westburg seemingly mixes discipline and targeted aggression in a way that could help keep his strikeouts under control – it has thus far in the minors.

The trouble is his defense. He’s trained all over the infield. Some think he’ll eventually land in left field. We see these sorts of bat-first players all over the league. His flexibility enables the club to view him as a tenth man akin to Chris Taylor (to be clear, Taylor is a far superior fielder). When approaching roster construction, Westburg can be slotted into whatever spot needs filling or else rotate with the regulars to keep everyone fresh.

Luis Matos, 21, OF, SFG (MLB)
45 PA, 1 HR, 2 SB, .282/.378/.385

On the back of a mediocre AFL performance, it wasn’t guaranteed the Giants were going to roster Matos this year. He would have likely gone early in the Rule 5 draft if they hadn’t. Matos immediately rewarded San Francisco’s decision to protect him. Though discipline has long been a weakness, he has more walks than strikeouts through 45 plate appearances after hitting .398/.435/.685 in 116 Triple-A plate appearances. The 21-year-old has looked like a new hitter this year.

There are still worrying details under the surface. His 89.5-mph average and 107.5-mph max exit velocities suggest middling power. Given his age, he could easily grow into more power – several evaluators believe this will happen. It’s my expectation Matos will soon enter a slump due to poor quality of contact. However, I’m optimistic about the long-range picture. In addition to burgeoning hitting skills, Matos is a plus defensive center fielder.

Justin Crawford, 19, OF, PHI (A)
202 PA, 0 HR, 32 SB, .346/.395/.456

I was surprised to recently discover Crawford had crept onto Baseball America’s Top 100 list. That’s not meant as a knock against Crawford. There happens to be a large number of high-quality prospects around the league. Crawford is more projection than actuality at this stage of his development.

The 17th pick of the 2022 draft, Crawford was seen as the sort of toolsy, incomplete prospect the Phillies have historically loved – and struggled to develop. He’s performing decently in Low-A where his first-rate speed is on display. A .423 BABIP has allowed him to get away with too many swinging strikes for his current low-power profile. He’s expected to age into roughly average pop, so this problem could go away in a couple ways. Comparisons to his father, Carl Crawford, come naturally as they share quite a few traits. He’s reportedly comfortable making adjustments to his hitting mechanics which further increases the volatility of his prospectdom.

Carson Whisenhunt, 22, SP, SFG (AA)
(A/A+/AA) 49.2 IP, 12.9 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 2.90 ERA

Whisenhunt would rank higher among evaluators if not for off-field issues. As it is, he’s still in consideration for the back-end of Top 100 lists. The simplest issue to comment on publicly is his failed PED test in college. You’ll notice, it’s rare for college players to be caught for PEDs, and it’s not because they’re squeaky clean. For his part, Whisenhunt blames a tainted supplement. The skinny southpaw leads with a double-plus changeup and is only just reaching a level where hitters will have some capacity to cope with the pitch. His changeup is such that he won’t truly be tested until he reaches the Majors. The profile and build are reminiscent of Cole Hamels.

Roman Anthony, 19, OF, BOS (A+)
(A/A+) 251 PA, 5 HR, 12 SB, .236/.379/.382

Anyone statistically minded is going to like Anthony. A 19-year-old performing well in High-A is exciting stuff, particularly when said 19-year-old has a 171 wRC+ in 49 plate appearances. He was considerably more ordinary in Low-A, posting a 110 wRC+ in 202 plate appearances. A sweet-swinging lefty slugger, Anthony has considerable development ahead of him if he’s to continue this speedy race toward the Majors. The P-word gets thrown around. Against better competition, Anthony will find himself behind in the count all too often. Passivity isn’t a death knell. We saw Gunnar Henderson defeat it entering last season and again about a month ago. It’s a trait which has a way of echoing. But for the passivity, Anthony has all the traits of a starting corner outfielder.

FanGraphs gives Anthony a four-paragraph writeup that says more than I can in this space.

Three More

Edouard Julien, MIN (24): The star of the 2022 AFL, Julien is on the verge of losing his prospect “eligibility.” He’s batting .252/.336/.439 through 123 plate appearances. A 34.1 percent strikeout rate has held him back. He also has a 12.5 percent swinging strike rate – nearly double that of his Triple-A performance. Defensively limited, Julien appears in need of an adjustment or two. He has the tools to pull it off.

Jacob Misiorowski, MIL (21): It’s good to be unique as a pitcher. Misiorowski certainly checks the “unique” box. The 6’7’’ right-hander has the sort of funky arm action that makes it hard to identify balls and strikes. Misiorowski lacks a changeup, but we’ve seen plenty of starters succeed without one in recent years, especially those who can live up in the zone with hard heat. He currently has poor command.

Quinn Priester, PIT (22): Priester has been on the radar for a while, bouncing in and out of the Top 100 prospects. He’s a ground ball pitcher who manages around a strikeout per inning while limiting walks and piling up ground balls. Since his fastball isn’t particularly effective, he should be viewed as a potential back-of-the-rotation guy – the type who keeps his team in the game.

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

AL East Notes: Duvall, McClanahan, Givens

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Speculation has begun to swirl around Red Sox outfielder Adam Duvall as a potential trade chip for the club this summer. Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe notes that rival executives think that Boston is play Duvall virtually every day despite the success of Jarren Duran in center field earlier this season in hopes that the 34-year-old slugger will catch fire and become a tradable asset ahead of the deadline on August 1. Meanwhile, MassLive’s Sean McAdam echoes the sentiment that Chaim Bloom’s front office could look to move Duvall, noting that starting pitching, left-handed relief, and middle infield help are among the weaknesses the Red Sox could look to patch up in return for Duvall’s services.

Duvall got off to one of the hottest starts to open the season across the league, slashing an incredible .455/.514/1.030 in eight games for the Red Sox prior to being sidelined with a fractured left wrist. He returned to action earlier this month, but has struggled in 13 games since returning from the IL with a slash line of just .146/.255/.268 in that time. Of course, both Duvall’s performance before and after the injury are incredibly small sample sizes, and the slugger has less than 100 plate appearances total on the season, meaning there’s still plenty of time for his numbers to stabilize one way or another as Boston weighs its options regarding their veteran outfielder.

More from around the AL East…

  • Rays fans can breathe a sigh of relief regarding ace Shane McClanahan today, as Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times notes that the young lefty woke up “in a good spot” Friday morning after exiting Thursday’s start with mid-back tightness. Still, Ackert notes that the club is exercising caution with its prized left-hander, and considering utilizing Monday’s off-day to push his next start back until next weekend against the Mariners in Seattle. Ackert adds that McClanahan was not sent for imaging and has continued his usual routine between starts. That McClanahan seems to be healthy is great news for the Rays, as the 26-year-old lefty has put himself squarely in the midst of the AL Cy Young award discussion with an MLB-leading 2.23 ERA in 93 innings of work this season.
  • Orioles right-hander Mychal Givens was scratched from his planned rehab appearance at Triple-A tomorrow, as noted by Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun. Instead, Givens is set to return to Baltimore for an evaluation. Further details about the evaluation are limited, though it certainly seems to be an ominous sign for the right-hander, who’s been on the shelf with shoulder inflammation since the beginning of the month and had the start to his 2023 campaign delayed by knee inflammation. While Givens has been limited to just four innings of work by those injuries, the Orioles bullpen has nonetheless excelled thanks to the emergence of Felix Bautista and Yennier Cano as perhaps the best relief duo in baseball this season. [UPDATE: Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and other reporters that Givens has some soreness in his throwing shoulder but there is a relatively “low level” of concern about a serious setback.]

Bobby Bolin Passed Away

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Former major league pitcher Bobby Bolin passed away earlier this month, as noted by the New York Post’s David Russell. He was 84.

A South Carolina native, Bolin entered the professional ranks in 1956 when he signed with the Giants out of high school. He reached the majors four years later, debuting in April ’61 not long after his 22nd birthday. The 6’4″ righty worked mostly in relief over his first few seasons.

Immediately effective, Bolin posted a sub-4.00 ERA in each of his first six campaigns. San Francisco increasingly entrusted him with rotation work midway through the decade. By 1966, he’d make 34 starts and log a personal-high 224 1/3 innings while pitching to a 2.89 ERA. Bolin rebounded from an uncharacteristic 4.88 mark to allow only 1.99 earned runs per nine over 176 2/3 frames in 1968.

Even in the colloquial “Year of the Pitcher,” that was standout run prevention. Bolin ranked seventh among qualified hurlers in ERA that season. He remained in San Francisco through the end of the decade. After the 1969 campaign, San Francisco traded Bolin to Milwaukee for outfielders Dick Simpson and Steve Whitaker. The Brewers wound up flipping him to the Red Sox later in the season.

Bolin closed his career with three-plus seasons in Boston. Moved back into exclusive relief work, he finished with another pair of sub-3.00 ERA campaigns.

Altogether, Bolin pitched in parts of 13 big league seasons. His peak came with the Giants, for whom he worked to a 3.26 ERA in just shy of 1300 innings. He tallied 1576 frames over 495 appearances (164 starts) overall. Bolin had a career 3.40 ERA, won 88 games, struck out just shy of 1200 batters and collected 51 saves. He never won a World Series but was on a San Francisco team that claimed the NL pennant in 1962; Bolin pitched twice against the Yankees in that year’s Fall Classic.

MLBTR sends our condolences to his family, loved ones and friends.

Red Sox Acquire Tayler Scott From Dodgers

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The Red Sox announced that they have acquired right-hander Tayler Scott from the Dodgers in exchange for cash considerations. Scott had been designated for assignment by the Dodgers on the weekend. To make room on the 40-man roster for Scott, the Red Sox transferred righty John Schreiber to the 60-day injured list.

Scott, 31, was signed by the Dodgers to a minor league deal in the offseason. He’s posted strong results in Triple-A this year, with a 1.37 ERA in 19 2/3 frames. His 12.5% walk rate is definitely on the high side but he’s paired that with a 31.3% strikeout rate. He was able to get added to the club’s 40-man roster but struggled in six big league innings, allowing six earned runs in that time. He was designated for assignment when the club added Bryan Hudson to the roster.

Prior to this year, Scott had seen some big league time with the Mariners, Orioles and Padres. He now has 34 1/3 innings of major league experience but with a 10.75 ERA in that small sample. That’s obviously less than ideal, but he’s generally fared much better in the minors. In 188 Triple-A innings over five separate seasons, he has a 4.02 ERA. He’s punched out 26.7% of batters faced at that level while walking 9.6%.

Scott has one option year remaining, which will likely be used here in 2023. A player has to spend 20 days on optional assignment before they burn one of their options and Scott is at 11 for the year so far. The Sox can move him from the majors to the minors fairly freely for the rest of the season, but he will likely be out of options for 2024. Though he hasn’t had much major league success yet, he’s shown flashes of promise in the minors and they will see if he can unlock that in the big leagues for them.

As for Schreiber, he’s been on the injured list since May 16 due to a right teres major strain. He’ll now be ineligible to return until 60 days from that initial IL placement, which would be mid-July. A recent report from MLB.com indicated that he had yet to advance to mound work. Since he still needs to ramp up and go on a rehab assignment, he may not have been in line to return before the middle of July anyway.

Red Sox Make Several Roster Moves

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The Red Sox announced a slate of roster moves this morning, recalling left-hander Brandon Walter and selecting the contract of catcher Caleb Hamilton from Triple-A Worcester. In corresponding 26-man roster moves, Boston placed outfielder Alex Verdugo on the bereavement list and placed catcher Reese McGuire on the 10-day injured list due to a strained oblique. Additionally, infielder Yu Chang was transferred from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list in order to open a spot for Hamilton on the 40-man roster.

The looming promotions of Walter and Hamilton were both reported last night, though the corresponding moves needed to get that pair on the roster weren’t clear until this morning. It’ll be the MLB debut for the 26-year-old Walter, who posted a 2.88 ERA with a ludicrous 68-to-3 K/BB ratio in 50 Double-A innings last year but has struggled so far in Triple-A — both in a late promotion there in ’22 and in a full season so far in ’23. Through his first 69 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level, Walter carries a 6.49 ERA, although a .362 average on balls in play hasn’t helped his cause.

Hamilton, meanwhile, will be on the roster and possibly suit up against the team for which he made his MLB debut last year, when the Red Sox wrap up their series against the Twins in Minneapolis. The 28-year-old went just 1-for-18 in his debut season with Minnesota, though that one hit was a big fly. Hamilton also drew four walks and scored each time, giving him the rare distinction of having come around to score every time he’s reached base in the Majors. He’s hitting .180/.285/.310 through 116 plate appearances in Worcester this season.

The Red Sox haven’t yet revealed how long McGuire will be sidelined, though oblique strains tend to require absences greater than the 10-day minimum and can often last upwards of a month. The 28-year-old McGuire, acquired from the White Sox last year, earned a look at a prominent role in Boston when he hit .337/.377/.500 down the stretch following a trade. He’s fallen well short of that in 2023, however, batting .267/.313/.352 (80 wRC+) and throwing out just two of the 26 runners who’ve attempted to steal against him. Connor Wong will take on an even larger role in McGuire’s absence.

As for Chang, his transfer to the 60-day IL is a procedural move that doesn’t impact his eligibility to return to the club. The “60-day” minimum stay on that list is retroactive to his original placement on the IL, which happened back on April 25. He originally went out on a minor league rehab assignment earlier this month, but that was paused due to continued discomfort in his surgically repaired hand. He’ll likely need another rehab stint before he can return anyhow, and since he’s already spent 58 days on the injured list anyway, the move to the 60-day IL amounts to little more than a formality.

Red Sox To Select Caleb Hamilton

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The Red Sox will select catcher Caleb Hamilton onto the big league roster, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive (Twitter link). He’ll take the active roster spot of Reese McGuire, who is headed to the 10-day injured list after straining his right oblique tonight.

Hamilton will join the Sox in Minnesota. He’s no stranger to Target Field, as his only MLB experience to date has come in a Twins uniform. A former 23rd-round selection by Minnesota, he reached the majors for 22 games last year. Minnesota put him on waivers at the end of the season.

Boston claimed him and successfully passed him through waivers themselves a month later. They kept him in the organization without dedicating a spot on the 40-man roster. Hamilton has spent the season with their top affiliate in Worcester, struggling to a .174/.281/.306 line over 114 trips to the plate. The right-handed hitter had a much better .233/.367/.442 slash in Triple-A with Minnesota last year.

This season’s production isn’t eye-catching, but McGuire’s injury forced Boston’s hand. The Red Sox have only had two catchers on the 40-man roster all season. McGuire and Connor Wong have taken the entirety of the work. McGuire hurt himself on a swing this evening, necessitating a depth call-up from Triple-A.

Boston could’ve turned to Ronaldo Hernández, who has a more impressive .242/.327/.492 showing in Worcester this season. Hernández, a former top prospect, has yet to make his MLB debut. Boston will go with Hamilton, who has a bit of experience in a depth role. Both Sandy León and Mike Zunino were released Wednesday evening. The Red Sox make for a speculative fit for either player. León spent five years in Boston earlier in his career, while Zunino overlapped in Tampa Bay for a season with Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom.

For now, Wong ascends to the top of the depth chart. He’s hitting .245/.314/.447 in 53 games on the year. The Red Sox will need to create a spot on the 40-man roster for Hamilton, though that can be achieved by transferring Yu Chang to the 60-day injured list. The versatile infielder has already been out since April 25 after suffering a hamate fracture in his left wrist; his IL transfer would simply be a procedural formality.

Red Sox To Recall Brandon Walter For MLB Debut

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The Red Sox plan to recall pitching prospect Brandon Walter before tomorrow’s game in Minnesota, tweets Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe. He’s likely to make his MLB debut, either as the starter or as a bulk pitcher behind an opener. Chris Cotillo of MassLive first reported (on Twitter) this afternoon the Sox were mulling a Walter promotion.

It’s the initial big league call for Walter, who first entered pro ball as a 26th-round pick in 2019. A $35K signee out of the University of Delaware, the 6’2″ southpaw didn’t begin his career with much fanfare. After the 2020 minor league season was canceled, Walter put together a breakout showing between two A-ball levels in 2021. He combined for a 2.92 ERA while striking out over 36% of batters faced thanks to a velocity spike, establishing himself on the prospect radar. He split last season between the top two minor league levels.

Each of Baseball America, Keith Law of the Athletic and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN placed Walter in the 9-11 range among Boston prospects last winter. Evaluators praised a three-pitch arsenal led by a plus or better slider. All three outlets suggested he had some chance to stick at the back of a rotation but noted injury and/or delivery concerns that could point to a future in the bullpen.

The 26-year-old has had a tough few months with Triple-A Worcester to open the season. He’s started 12 of 13 games and allowed a 6.28 ERA over 61 2/3 innings. While Walter’s 22.4% strikeout percentage and 9.1% walk rate aren’t that far from average, a lofty .362 batting average on balls in play has led to an inflated ERA.

Boston will look past that and give Walter at least his first big league look. The Sox have an opening in the rotation after Tanner Houck was struck in the face by a comebacker last Friday. Boston hasn’t announced who’ll join James Paxton, Garrett Whitlock, Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford in the starting staff over the long haul. Perhaps Walter will get a few opportunities to stake a claim to that job.

The Red Sox added Walter to their 40-man roster last offseason to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. They’ll only need to clear a spot on the active roster to accommodate his promotion.

Red Sox Recall David Hamilton For Major League Debut

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The Red Sox announced that they have placed right-hander Corey Kluber on the 15-day injured list due to right shoulder inflammation. Infielder David Hamilton was recalled in a corresponding move.

Hamilton, now 25, was selected by the Brewers in the eighth round of the 2019 draft. He didn’t make his professional debut that year and then the pandemic wiped out the minor leagues in 2020. He finally got to play in the affiliated ranks in 2021, getting into 101 games between High-A and Double-A. He hit .258/.341/.419 between those two levels for a wRC+ of 110 while stealing 52 bases and playing both middle infield positions.

That showing was strong enough that the Red Sox took notice, acquiring him in the trade where they flipped Hunter Renfroe to the Milwaukee in exchange for Jackie Bradley Jr. Since Bradley was coming off a nightmare season, the Brewers threw a couple of prospects into the deal, including Hamilton.

Last year, Hamilton was in Double-A for the whole season. He hit .251/.338/.402 for a wRC+ of 104 while adding another 70 bases. At the end of the year, the Sox added him to their 40-man roster to prevent him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft. He’s moved up to Triple-A this year and has continued to do his thing, hitting .255/.339/.486 for a wRC+ of 102 while swiping another 27 bags.

Infielder Pablo Reyes has been dealing with an abdominal strain in recent days but feels he will avoid a stint on the injured list, per Ian Browne of MLB.com. Nonetheless, Hamilton will provide the club with another middle infield option for as long as Reyes needs to rest.

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