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Cubs, Orioles Have Discussed Jonathan Villar

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The Cubs have discussed a Jonathan Villar trade with the Orioles, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, though he adds that a match between the two teams appears unlikely at this time.

Chicago was tied to Eric Sogard before he was traded from Toronto to Tampa Bay, and Addison Russell’s recent demotion to Triple-A Iowa further illustrates that the Cubs could be in the mix for a second baseman. The potential return of Ben Zobrist, who is slated to head out on a minor league rehab assignment, could lessen any urgency to make an outside addition, though.

Villar has split the 2019 season between shortstop and second base in Baltimore, drawing negative reviews at second base from both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating a year after rating quite well in both categories. His familiarity with shortstop would also be a welcome addition for the Cubs, given that Russell’s demotion left the MLB roster without a true backup to Javier Baez there.

The 28-year-old Villar is hitting .262/.326/.421 with 13 home runs, 22 doubles, two triples and 22 stolen bases (in 28 attempts). Villar’s speed is an element the Cubs’ roster currently lacks. His 22 steals are only seven fewer than the Cubs have totaled as a team. Villar’s wheels likely hold some interest to the Cubs — they’ve also been connected to fleet-footed D-backs outfielder Jarrod Dyson — but Villar’s 24.1 percent strikeout rate (26.7 percent for his career) don’t align with Chicago’s reported interest in adding hitter with plus contact skills (e.g. Sogard, Dyson).

From a contractual standpoint, Villar is affordable. He’s being paid $4.825MM in 2019 (with about $1.66MM yet to be paid out) and is controllable via arbitration for the 2020 season as well. The Orioles were also willing to include some cash in the trade that sent Andrew Cashner to Boston, providing reason to believe they’d be willing to do so with their other trade assets as a means of sweetening the prospect return. Given his relative proximity to free agency and the Orioles’ aggressive tear-down, Villar is a logical trade candidate in the next three days. However, the demand for pitching help throughout the league is far greater than the demand for middle infielders, and the Orioles don’t necessarily need to move Villar if no appealing offer materializes.

Orioles Notes: Mancini, Means

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  • The Orioles are discussing Trey Mancini with “multiple suitors,” MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (Twitter link).  I looked at Mancini as a trade candidate back in May, and he has kept raking ever since, with 24 homers and a .279/.338/.531 slash line over 429 plate appearances this season.  Mancini isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2022 season, though since the O’s may not be out of rebuilding mode even in three years’ time, it makes sense that they would see if they could strike a big deal while Mancini’s value may be at its highest.
  • Orioles left-hander John Means is hopeful that his current stint on the injured list will only result in a single missed start, as he told MLB.com’s Joe Trezza and other reporters that an MRI on his left biceps didn’t reveal any structural damage, and only minor rotator cuff inflammation.  Means has been one of the few bright spots on the pitching front for Baltimore this season, posting a 3.12 ERA over 98 innings and representing the O’s in the All-Star team.

Orioles Designate Nate Karns, Promote Dillon Tate, Place John Means On IL

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The Orioles announced multiple pitching moves this evening. One player is now likely headed out of the organization, as righty Nate Karns was reinstated from the 60-day injured list and designated for assignment.

Young hurler Dillon Tate, the former fourth overall pick, was promoted for his first attempt at the majors. Righty Evan Phillips will accompany Tate onto the active roster.

Unfortunately, the O’s also announced that southpaw starter and rookie All-Star John Means was placed on the 10-day injured list with a biceps strain. Lefty Tanner Scott was optioned down to create the other necessary roster opening.

Karns landed with the Baltimore organization over the winter. He threw 5 1/3 scoreless frames to open his tenure but hit the shelf early with a forearm strain. The 31-year-old struggled mightily on his rehab assignment, dishing out ten walks and recording only five strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings.

It’s also unwelcome news as concerns Means. It had already been a bit of a rough month, as his ERA has moved north from 2.50 to 3.12, but it’s never preferable to hear of any issues in the arm of a young pitcher. There’s no indication as of yet regarding the severity, but the club will surely hope it’s only a minor blip for the 26-year-old.

As he prepares to debut at 25 years of age, Tate won’t face the massive expectations he once did. Arm issues and inconsistencies have changed the trajectory of the twice-traded righty. He has been solid at Double-A, working to a 3.48 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 over 33 2/3 innings in 15 relief appearances and a pair of starts.

Orioles Select Jace Peterson’s Contract

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The Orioles have selected the contract of utilityman Jace Peterson from Triple-A, as per a team announcement.  Rio Ruiz was optioned to the minors earlier today, and no 40-man move was required since Baltimore had open space on its 40-man roster.

Signed to a minor league deal by the Orioles in the offseason, Peterson opted out of that deal on July 16, though he quickly re-signed a new minors contract just a few days later.  Now, Peterson is headed back to the big leagues, which would mark his sixth season of MLB competition.

The 29-year-old Peterson was an everyday player for Atlanta in 2015 and has spent the last three years as a bench piece for the Braves, Yankees, and Orioles.  Peterson originally joined Baltimore’s organization in April 2018 after being claimed off waivers from New York.  While Peterson has only a .228/.318/.330 slash line over 1524 plate appearances in the Show, he brings a lot of defensive versatility to the table — Peterson has started at least one game at every fielding position except catcher, playing primarily as a second baseman and also seeing significant time as a third baseman and left fielder.

Keon Broxton Drawing Interest

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  • When the Orioles designated center fielder Keon Broxton for assignment Sunday, manager Brandon Hyde suggested the O’s would lose him, saying (via Joe Trezza of MLB.com): “I’m hoping he’ll get picked up by somebody, especially someone who needs outfield defense and baserunning for the postseason. I wish Keon the best.” It appears Broxton will indeed end up elsewhere in the coming days, as Trezza reports “a few teams” have checked in on the 29-year-old. Broxton can run and defend, as Hyde noted, though horrid hitting has torpedoed his value in 2019. Broxton has struck out in 43 percent of his 165 plate appearances, thus limiting him to a .184/.244/.289 line (42 wRC+). With no minor league options left, both the Mets and Orioles have given up on the once-promising Broxton this season.

Indians, Braves, Dodgers Reportedly Interested In Mychal Givens

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Orioles reliever Mychal Givens has reportedly drawn interest from the Phillies and Nationals leading up to the July 31 trade deadline. The Indians, Braves and Dodgers are also among the clubs in on Givens, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes (subscription link).

With two-plus years’ team control remaining and a $2.15MM salary, Givens stands out as one of the Orioles’ strongest trade chips. Considering the Orioles are caught in what figures to be a long rebuild, it’ll be a surprise if they don’t part with Givens soon. Unfortunately for the Orioles, though, the 29-year-old right-hander hasn’t enjoyed as productive a season as he did over the previous four campaigns.

Through 38 1/3 innings this year, Givens has pitched to an unspectacular 4.23 ERA/4.63 FIP with eight saves on 13 tries and a weak 39.1 percent groundball rate. A large number of the fly balls Givens has surrendered have left the yard, evidenced by his bloated 22.9 percent fly ball rate. That said, Givens has been a lot steadier since his ERA was pushing 6.00 at the end of May. He has also fanned a career-high 12.21 batters per nine (against 3.99 walks), posted a personal-high 15.2 percent swinging-strike rate and kept his 95 mph velocity intact.

As for the the just-reported teams eyeing Givens, interest from the Indians isn’t anything new. They went after Givens last summer, but Baltimore elected to hold him. The Indians’ bullpen has been among the majors’ most effective this year, in part because of lights-out closer Brad Hand. There has been speculation about the Indians trading Hand, but considering their red-hot run, it seems the playoff hopefuls are more interested in adding to their bullpen than subtracting from it.

The bullpens of the Dodgers and Braves – the NL’s two leading teams – haven’t been as successful as the Indians’. Los Angeles and Atlanta have been linked to multiple trade candidate relievers as a result. In addition to Givens, Blue Jays closer Ken Giles seems to be a Braves target. Meanwhile, the Giants’ key relievers (Will Smith, Sam Dyson, Reyes Moronta), Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez, Tigers closer Shane Greene Royals lefty Jake Diekman have all been rumored to the Dodgers during their wide-ranging search for late-game aid.

Andrew Cashner Would Have Sat Out If Traded To Undesirable Team

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Back in May, right-hander Andrew Cashner suggested to Dan Connolly of The Athletic that he’d consider sitting out the rest of the season if the Orioles sent him to an undesirable destination by the July 31 trade deadline. Cashner, whom Baltimore traded to Boston last weekend, confirmed to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com that he indeed would have held out through year’s end had the Orioles dealt him somewhere he didn’t want to go.

“I mean what I said,” he told Cotillo. “This is one of the places I would come. It wasn’t a place that I would ever not come to. We’re talking about the World Series champions. Why would you not come here?”

Philadelphia was the only other team that showed reported interest in Cashner before his trade to the Red Sox, but the Phillies stopped their pursuit because of concerns over his makeup. The well-traveled Cashner then fell flat in his Red Sox debut in a loss Tuesday to the Blue Jays, who roughed him up for six runs (five earned) on eight hits and a pair of homers in five innings. Cashner had been much more productive than that toward the tail end of his Orioles tenure, though, and has managed a playable 4.09 ERA/4.53 FIP with 6.04 K/9, 2.75 BB/9 and a 48.9 percent groundball rate in 101 1/3 innings this season.

As of now, Cashner’s output looks as if it’ll earn him another guaranteed contract in the offseason – if he reaches free agency. The soon-to-be 33-year-old’s current deal includes a $10MM vesting option if he throws 340 innings from 2018-19 or a player option should he amass 360. But Cashner is well short of either figure, having accrued 254 1/3 dating back to last season, so another trip to the open market appears inevitable. Obviously, though, Cashner isn’t willing to simply play anywhere going forward. The hirsute Cashner also isn’t going to shave his beard at a team’s request, which – as funny as it sounds – could have an effect on where he pitches after this season.

Orioles Designate Keon Broxton For Assignment

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The Orioles announced today they’ve designated outfielder Keon Broxton for assignment. Right-handed reliever Branden Kline is up from Triple-A Norfolk to take Broxton’s place on the active roster.

So continues a lost season for the 29-year-old Broxton, who enters DFA limbo for the second time in three months. A former third-round draft choice of the Diamondbacks, Broxton was most famous for his time in Milwaukee, where he totaled 796 plate appearances between 2016 and 2018, showing flashes of plate discipline, power and elite defense in center field. The Brewers’ outfield depth, combined with concerns about Broxton’s huge swing-and-miss tendencies, led the club to flip him to the Mets in January for a package of three fringe prospects.

Broxton’s strikeouts have gotten completely out control in 2019, though, leading the Mets to send him to Baltimore in May for cash considerations. Those problems have gotten only more worrisome since, leading the Orioles to cut bait on the out-of-options outfielder. It’s not out of the question he’ll draw some interest around the league given the tools he’s shown in the past, but his .184/.244/.289 slash line and 43% strikeout rate make it seem more likely he’ll clear waivers for the first time in his career.

As for Kline, the 27 year-old rookie has gotten off to a slow start to his big-league career. Like seemingly every Oriole pitcher, Kline’s been plagued especially by the home run, allowing 2.49 HR/9, en route to a 6.75 ERA, with a 21.6% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate in 25.1 innings.

Orioles Re-Sign Jace Peterson

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The Orioles’ top affiliate announced today that Jace Peterson is back in the organization on a minors deal. He had recently opted out of his prior minor-league pact.

While he went searching for a better opportunity elsewhere, the 29-year-old Peterson obviously was unable to find one. He hasn’t yet received a chance to appear at the MLB level this year in Baltimore. Over 360 plate appearances this season at Triple-A, he’s slashing a productive .309/.394/.505 with nine long balls and a dozen steals.

To be sure, that offensive output needs to be viewed in the context of the incredible explosion of runs in the International League. And it must been seen against the backdrop of Peterson’s five-year MLB career, over which he carries only a .228/.318/.330 slash.

While his defensive versatility still holds appeal, Peterson never seemed terribly likely to catch a MLB job at this stage of the season. But he could end up getting a shot with the O’s, depending upon how their trade plans and roster needs develop. And it’s also possible that Peterson could end up being traded in August if an organization comes up with a sudden need for depth. Since he’s not playing on a MLB contract, the new trade deadline rules wouldn’t prevent him from being swapped — unless the Orioles put him on their MLB roster, that is.

Yusniel Diaz Making Progress Year After Machado Trade

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  • Thursday was the one-year anniversary of the Orioles-Dodgers blockbuster that sent former O’s franchise player Manny Machado to Los Angeles. Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun revisits the swap in a piece focusing on outfield prospect Yusniel Diaz, the headlining part of the Orioles’ five-player return. Diaz didn’t log great production with Baltimore’s Double-A affiliate after the trade last year, and he told Meoli via an interpreter he felt “a lot of pressure” trying to make good on the trade. That pressure has died down, though, and Diaz is now having a better season than last as a member of the Orioles’ Double-A affiliate. The 22-year-old has progressed with the help of Double-A hitting coach Keith Bodie, as Meoli details in his piece.
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