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José Bautista To Officially Retire

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José Bautista hasn’t played in a big league game since 2018 but had never officially retired in the years after his last appearance. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet was among those to report today that Bautista will sign a one-day contract with Toronto to officially retire as a Blue Jay, as part of the ceremony wherein he will be added to the club’s Level of Excellence on Saturday.

Bautista, now 42, didn’t have the typical path to baseball stardom as he wasn’t a high draft pick or top prospect. The Pirates selected him in the 20th round of the draft in 2000 and he would get some modest attention from prospect evaluators after that, with Baseball America ranking him #14 in the system in 2002 and #7 in 2003.

In 2004, he had an especially unusual season, getting selected by the Orioles in the Rule 5 draft. As the season wore on, he was claimed off waivers by the Devil Rays, then was subsequently traded to the Royals, Mets and back to the Pirates. He would stick with the Pirates for a few years, mostly as a third baseman but also playing some outfield. He showed glimpses of his potential at the plate, hitting 16 home runs in 2006, 15 the year after and another 15 in 2008.

That 2008 season saw him traded to the Blue Jays in August for a player to be named later, which was eventually revealed as Robinzon Díaz. A fairly forgettable transaction at the time, it would later prove to be the start of the defining era of Bautista’s career.

His first full season as a Blue Jay wasn’t especially noteworthy, as Bautista hit 13 home runs in 2009, though there were a few developments that would prove to be important in later years. He began incorporating a leg kick into his swing and also started to spend more time in right field, with his strong throwing arm a good fit for that spot.

In 2010, at the age of 29, Bautista broke out in stunning fashion. He launched 54 home runs for the Jays that year, setting a new single season record for the franchise. He also showed a keen eye at the plate, drawing walks in 14.6% of his plate appearances. His .260/.378/.617 batting line amounted to a wRC+ of 165, indicating he was 65% better than the league average hitter. The Jays decided to bank on that breakout, giving Bautista a five-year, $65MM extension that covered his final arbitration season and four free agent years, with a club option for 2016.

He followed that up with an even better season overall. His home run tally dropped to 43 in 2011, but his patient approach allowed him to take advantage of pitchers giving him less to hit. He was walked in 20.2% of his trips to the plate in 2011, leading to a .302/.447/.608 slash line. His 180 wRC+ was the best in the majors that year and would eventually prove to be his personal best as well. He was considered to be worth 8.1 wins above replacement by FanGraphs and 8.4 by Baseball Reference. He came in third in AL MVP voting behind Justin Verlander and Jacoby Ellsbury.

His production would continue in fairly similar fashion for years to come, defined by both his power output and on-base abilities. From 2012 to 2016, he hit between 22 and 40 home runs each year with his walk rate never finishing below 13.1%. Despite that excellent production, and that of another late-blooming star in Edwin Encarnación, the Jays struggled to push too far beyond .500 in most of those seasons.

The 2015 season finally changed that, with the Jays aggressively bolstering the roster by adding Josh Donaldson, Russell Martin and others in the offseason. The trade deadline saw further aggression, with the club adding a batch of players headlined by Troy Tulowitzki and David Price. The moves paid off when the Jays surged in the final months of the season and finished 93-69, winning the American League East and cracking the postseason for the first time since 1993.

Bautista’s first opportunity to play in the playoffs would lead to a singular moment and image that are now cemented in the minds of millions of baseball fans. The Jays squared off against the Rangers in the Wild Card series, which had a best-of-five format at that time. The Jays lost the first two games but rallied to tie it up and force a fifth contest.

In the deciding game, the Jays fell behind in the top of the seventh 3-2 on a strange play wherein Rougned Odor scored when Martin’s attempted throw back to pitcher Aaron Sanchez hit the bat of Shin-Soo Choo and ricocheted away. Home plate umpire Dale Scott initially ruled the ball dead but the umpiring crew eventually allowed the run to score. That soured the mood in the stadium, with many fans throwing debris to express their displeasure.

In the bottom of the frame, several defensive miscues from the Rangers allowed the Jays to tie the game up before Bautista launched a two-out, three-run home run to give the Jays a 6-3 lead. Bautista reacted to the emotionally-charged atmosphere by flipping his bat high into the air, which proved to be controversial in some baseball circles, though it would quickly become an iconic moment among Jays’ fans. Toronto held on to win that game but would lose to the Royals in the ALCS.

After Bautista’s extension ended, the Jays gave him a $17.2MM qualifying offer for 2017. He rejected that and became a free agent but eventually returned to Toronto via a one-year, $18.5MM deal. He still hit 23 home runs and walked in 12.2% of his plate appearances, but his overall production fell to .203/.308/.366 and a wRC+ of 81.

In 2018, he returned to the journeyman status that started his career, bouncing to the Braves, Mets and Phillies. He didn’t sign with a club in the years to come, though he did reportedly consider a comeback as a two-way player in 2020, but later threw some cold water on those reports. He played for the Dominican Republic team in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were pushed to 2021 by delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now it seems his playing days will be officially ended during this weekend’s festivities, tying a bow on one of the more unique baseball journeys. Though Bautista began and ended his career as a journeyman, he had a late bloom that led to a lengthy stretch as one of the best players in the league. From 2010 to 2015, he hit 227 home runs, easily the most in the league for that time with Miguel Cabrera second at 199. He slashed .268/.390/.555 in that time for a wRC+ of 156 and tallied 33.2 fWAR, that latter figure placing him sixth among position players. His 60 outfield assists in that stretch were topped by just three other big leaguers. He engineered many memorable moments during that peak, too many to list here, featuring both his tremendous talents as well as his fiery and standout personality.

Over his career as a whole, he played 1,798 games and took 7,244 trips to the plate. He launched 344 home runs and walked at a 14.2% rate, leading to a .247/.361/.475 batting line and 126 wRC+. He had 1,496 hits, 1,022 runs scored, 975 driven in and stole 70 bases. He tallied 35.3 fWAR and 36.7 bWAR. He made six straight All-Star teams from 2010 to 2015, led the league in home runs twice, earned a couple of Hank Aaron awards and three Silver Sluggers. As a Blue Jay, his tallies of 38.3 bWAR and 36.2 fWAR are both the best in franchise history among position players, with only Dave Stieb and Roy Halladay ahead of him overall.

We at MLB Trade Rumors salute Bautista on an incredibly special career and wish him the best in all his post-playing endeavors.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Injury Notes: Means, Neto, Treinen, Heim

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The Orioles are sending left-hander John Means on a minor league rehab stint on Thursday, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. He’ll take the ball for their Double-A club in Bowie.

It’ll be Means’ first game action since he underwent Tommy John surgery last April. The 16-month recovery timetable is towards the longer end of the typical TJS rehab, in part due to a back strain Means suffered this past May. The rehab outings represent his final steps as he builds back to MLB readiness. Pitchers are typically allotted 30 days on a stint, though players working back from Tommy John procedures can get a longer window with league approval.

If all goes well, it stands to reason Means will be back on the Camden Yards mound sometime next month. The 2019 All-Star will get to pitch in a pennant race for the first time in his career. After tonight’s dramatic loss at the hands of the Astros, Baltimore holds a two-game lead on Tampa Bay in the AL East.

A few other health situations around the game:

  • The Angels placed shortstop Zach Neto on the 10-day injured list on Friday due to lower back inflammation. A specific recovery timetable is unclear, though he’ll be out well past the minimal stay. Manager Phil Nevin informed reporters (including Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com) that Neto will be out for several weeks after recent imaging revealed increased inflammation. The club still expects the rookie infielder back before season’s end, but it’s another hurdle for a team that has been floundering since the deadline. Luis Rengifo has kicked over to shortstop with Neto out while Brandon Drury handles second base.
  • Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen has missed the entire season after undergoing shoulder surgery last November. The club announced a rough 10-month recovery timetable at the time of the operation. Almost exactly 10 months out, Treinen has yet to begin a rehab assignment. The veteran right-hander has been throwing bullpen sessions, however, and he told reporters this afternoon he remains hopeful of getting back to the majors this year (relayed by Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). Treinen has barely pitched over the last two seasons because of shoulder woes but had a 1.99 ERA over 72 1/3 frames in 2021. The Dodgers hold an option for next year valued somewhere between $1MM and $7MM depending on his health status.
  • Rangers All-Star backstop Jonah Heim took batting practice and caught a bullpen session this afternoon, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. It’s his first cage work since tearing a tendon sheath in his left wrist two weeks ago. The Rangers expressed initial concern that Heim would require season-ending surgery, though it seems he’ll be able to play through the discomfort (likely before an offseason surgery). Grant notes that Heim — normally a switch-hitter — may have to swing solely from the left side for the time being, as the wrist is in more pain when he hits right-handed. Heim has been excellent from both sides of the dish this season, and Texas has righty-swinging catchers Mitch Garver and Austin Hedges as their duo with Heim out. Even if skipper Bruce Bochy wanted to limit Heim’s looks against left-handed pitching, Garver — a career .272/.366/.523 hitter against southpaws — should be well equipped to step in.

Orioles Claim Jacob Webb

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The Orioles announced Monday that they’ve claimed righty Jacob Webb off waivers from the Angels. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, right-hander Austin Voth was transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL. Voth has already been out since mid-June due to elbow discomfort.

Webb, 29, was designated for assignment in Anaheim over the weekend. He’s appeared in 29 games this season, pitching to a 3.98 ERA through 31 1/3 innings. Webb has fanned 24.3% of his opponents but has also issued free passes at a far-too-high 14.3% clip so far on the season. He’s sitting just shy of 95 mph with his average fastball, inducing swinging-strikes at a strong 12.5% rate and has shown a knack for inducing fly-balls in the infield. On the flip side, Webb has been far too homer prone and has benefited from a .218 average on balls he’s unlikely to sustain.

Since Webb is out of minor league options, he’ll report directly to the big league bullpen. The O’s can’t send him down to the minors without first designating him for assignment and passing him through waivers. If Webb is able to continue his run of strong results and/or improve upon the command issues he’s experienced in Anaheim this season, he’d be arbitration-eligible through 2026 season.

Prior to his stint with the Halos, Webb’s only big league experience had come with the Braves, for whom he pitched during the 2019-21 seasons. He’s compiled a career 2.91 ERA in 108 1/3 innings, albeit with a roughly average strikeout rate (22.6%), a hefty walk rate (11%), and this year’s uncharacteristic home run problems (1.71 HR/9 in ’23; 1.16 career).

Orioles Acquire Jack Flaherty From Cardinals

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The Orioles have acquired right-hander Jack Flaherty from the Cardinals, per announcements from both clubs. Infielder César Prieto, left-hander Drew Rom and right-hander Zack Showalter are heading the other way.

Flaherty, 27, has seemed like a clear trade candidate for a while now. He’s an impending free agent on a Cardinals club that has struggled all year, currently sporting a record of 47-60 that has them 10 games out of a playoff spot. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak admitted about three weeks ago that the Cards would have to make moves aimed at improving their chances in 2024. With his impending free agency, Flaherty was one of the obvious pieces to go and recently received interest from clubs such as the Dodgers and Rays.

Not too long ago, Flaherty seemed to be a burgeoning ace in St. Louis. He tossed 151 innings over 28 starts in 2018, allowing 3.34 earned runs per nine innings. He followed that up with an even better showing in 2019, dropping his ERA to 2.75 in 196 1/3 over 33 starts. He struck out 29.9% of batters faced that year while walking just 7.1%, finishing fourth in the voting for National League Cy Young.

But it’s been a different story since then. He struggled in the shortened season by posting a 4.91 ERA in nine starts. The year after, he made multiple trips to the injured list, being sidelined by a left oblique issue and then a right shoulder strain and ultimately tossing 78 1/3 innings that year. Those shoulder issues lingered into 2022 and he was only able to throw 36 innings last year.

With all of those issues, he came into 2023 having only thrown 154 2/3 innings in the previous three years combined. That made him a fairly unknown quantity, but he has settled in somewhere in between his previous ace form and the more recent struggles. He’s stayed healthy all year, having taken the ball 20 times and logging 109 2/3 innings already, but with a 4.43 ERA that’s not terribly exciting. His 21.9% strikeout rate and 11.1% walk rate are both a few ticks worse than league averages, with his 44.6% ground ball rate only slightly better.

If one wanted to be more charitable, they could look to the fact that his results have gotten better over time, in a sense. He had a 6.29 ERA through the first week of May, thanks in part to a 10-run disaster against the Angels on May 4. Since then, he’s posted a much nicer 3.58 ERA over 75 1/3 innings. Any pitcher’s stats would look better if you removed their worst start, but with Flaherty’s limited workload in the previous three years, perhaps he was still getting into a groove.

The Orioles will seemingly be hoping that the charitable outlook on Flaherty is correct. They have shot up to the top of the American League with a 65-41 record, though mostly on the backs of their position players and bullpen. Their starting rotation has been an obvious weak point, with a collective 4.48 ERA that puts them 16th out of the 30 major league teams. They were connected to various starting pitchers from Justin Verlander, Michael Lorenzen and Shohei Ohtani but the deadline has now passed with Flaherty as their sole rotation upgrade.

The club recently optioned Tyler Wells, leaving them with a rotation of Kyle Gibson, Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer and Kyle Bradish, with Flaherty added in. Bradish is the only one of that group with an ERA better than 4.40. They have shown they can win with this group, but it will be an interesting gambit come playoff time, when the front of a club’s rotation tends to become more important.

For the Cardinals, they have added many young players to their system this week by trading away Jordan Montgomery, Jordan Hicks, Paul DeJong, Génesis Cabrera and Flaherty. In this deal, they will add three more players to their system.

Prieto, 24, broke into the Cuban National Series as a teenager before signing with the Orioles in January of 2022. He split last year between High-A and Double-A, hitting .273/.314/.404 for a wRC+ of 96. This year, he’s hit .349/.393/.475 between Double-A and Triple-A, leading to a 132 wRC+. He’s played all three of the infield positions to the left of first base this year. Baseball America recently ranked him the #14 prospect in the Orioles’ system with FanGraphs putting him at #26.

Rom, 23, has been starting in Triple-A this year with a 5.34 ERA over 86 innings. He’s struck out 25.1% of batters while walking 11.5% and getting grounders at a 47.7% clip. It’s possible his .391 batting average on balls in play is pushing some extra runs across the board, leading to his 4.21 FIP. BA ranked him the #16 prospect in Baltimore’s system with FanGraphs at #30. Showalter, 19, was just drafted in the 11th round last year and has been pitching in the lower levels of Baltimore’s system this year.

For the Cardinals, this trade and the others have allowed them to stockpile some young talent as they look to reload for 2024. For the Orioles, this is their first competitive season since Mike Elias became the general manager in November of 2018. The club has generally been cautious in free agency in that time, having not given out any multi-year deals to free agents. Now their first deadline in buyer position has seen them acquire two rental pitchers in Flaherty and Shintaro Fujinami.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported that the O’s were close to getting Flaherty. Francys Romero first had Prieto’s involvement. Jeff Passan of ESPN first had Rom while Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com added Showalter.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Mariners Acquire Eduard Bazardo

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The Mariners have acquired right-hander Eduard Bazardo from the Orioles in exchange for minor league righty Logan Rinehart, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports (Twitter link).  Baltimore designated Bazardo for assignment two days ago.

Bazardo has seen limited action in each of the last three Major League seasons, debuting with three innings for the Red Sox in 2021, 16 1/3 more frames (over 12 appearances) in 2022, and then 2 1/3 innings over three games with the Orioles this year.  The Sox also DFA’ed Bazardo after last season and he opted for minor league free agency, landing with the O’s on a minors deal during the offseason.  That minor league contract was selected in early July, with Bazardo only getting a few weeks of big league time before being designated once more.

Turning 27 next month, Bazardo has posted some solid numbers throughout his minor league career, including a 3.05 ERA, 27.2% strikeout rate, and 7% walk rate over 38 1/3 frames with the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate this season.  He makes for some interesting bullpen depth for a Mariners team who just dealt Paul Sewald, and could potentially have more openings in the bullpen depending on how other moves may shake out on deadline day.

Rinehart was a 16th-round pick for the Mariners in the 2019 draft, though between the canceled 2020 minor league and a Tommy John surgery, he missed two full seasons of work.  Returning to the mound in 2022, Rinehart has mostly pitched with Seattle’s high-A affiliate and looked good, particularly with a 2.84 ERA, 51.2% grounder rate, and 33.6% strikeout rate over 38 innings.  This is Rinehart’s first season as a full-time reliever, so the 25-year-old’s ultimate future may be in the bullpen.

Orioles, Mets Have Discussed Justin Verlander

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Despite possessing the American League’s best record, the Orioles have had a quiet deadline. They rolled the dice on Shintaro Fujinami’s recent improvements and triple-digit heater, hoping to deepen an already strong bullpen, but the rotation — arguably their top need — has gone unaddressed. The O’s were linked to multiple starters who have since been traded elsewhere, but other targets (e.g. Michael Lorenzen, Rich Hill) remain available. And, Baltimore clearly hasn’t ruled out a much higher-profile addition. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes that the O’s are “on the periphery” of the Justin Verlander market, and MLB Network’s Jon Morosi tweets that the O’s are among the teams with whom the Mets are actively discussing Verlander. Morosi adds that the Orioles and Tigers are also talking — presumably about Lorenzen and/or Eduardo Rodriguez.

At least on paper, it’s hard to find a better fit for Verlander than the Orioles. Baltimore has the American League’s best record, is as deep in young talent as virtually any team in the game, and has a blank slate when it comes to long-term payroll. Perhaps no contending club could more easily accommodate the remaining $14.444MM on Verlander’s 2023 salary and the $43.333MM he’s owed in 2024. His contract also contains a conditional $35MM player option for the 2025 season that would vest if Verlander throws 140 innings next year. That’s been an understandable hurdle in talks with multiple clubs; Verlander will pitch the 2025 season at age 42.

The only guaranteed contract on Baltimore’s books in 2024 is backup catcher James McCann, and the Mets are picking up all but $2.5MM of next year’s salary as part of the trade that sent him to the Orioles. Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander, John Means, Tyler Wells, Austin Hays and Ryan Mountcastle are among the many notable members of the Orioles’ arbitration class, but it’s nonetheless as close to a pristine payroll outlook as you’ll find for a contending club.

Meanwhile, starting pitching has long been reported to be the Orioles’ top need. It’s easy enough to understand why. Good as the team’s overall record is, their rotation’s 4.48 ERA ranks 16th in the Majors. With the exception of veteran innings eater Kyle Gibson, the bulk of the Baltimore staff is approaching or has already exceeded 2023’s innings total. Dean Kremer is just 15 innings shy of last year’s total. Kyle Bradish is 36 innings shy of his own 2023 total. Wells and Grayson Rodriguez have already topped last season’s workloads.

The Mets traded one high-priced, future Hall of Famer over the weekend when they sent Max Scherzer to the Rangers, paid down all but $22.5MM of the salary he was still owed, and acquired top prospect Luisangel Acuna in return. They’re reported to hold Verlander in even higher regard, setting both a higher prospect asking price and showing less willingness to pay down significant money.

The Verlander market is generally thought to be accelerating, and there’s a real chance he’s traded today. SNY’s Andy Martino reports that the Mets’ Verlander talks “picked up steam” late last night with multiple clubs. The Astros, according to Martino, have made a formal offer. At least one other team has done the same, and there are two to three more clubs also involved. Jon Heyman of the New York Post dusted off a time-honored trade deadline favorite this morning, tweeting that there’s at least one “mystery team” beyond the previously reported Astros and Dodgers.

That, of course, could be the Orioles, but given Verlander’s status and the league-wide need for starting pitching, it’s only natural to assume others are involved. The Reds, Angels and D-backs have all been rumored to be in the market for varying levels of rotation help as well, and virtually no major name hits the trade market without the Padres throwing their hat into the ring as well. None of those teams has been directly connected to Verlander, to be clear, but the day is young.

Orioles, Cardinals Have Discussed Dylan Carlson

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The Cardinals’ sell-off is in full swing, with Jordan Montgomery, Jordan Hicks and Chris Stratton already out the door. Prior to trading Montgomery and Stratton to the Rangers, the Cardinals spoke to the Orioles about the left-hander, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. He adds that the O’s have also talked to the Cardinals about switch-hitting center fielder Dylan Carlson.

Goold suggests that Carlson hasn’t necessarily been a focal point in talks but rather a value add in addition to the starters they’ve marketed. Even if Carlson were viewed as a standalone target for Baltimore, there’d be some sense to it. The O’s are bursting with young talent, but they’re currently without center fielder Cedric Mullins due to a groin strain. Aaron Hicks, who’s hit well since being released by the Yankees and signing in Baltimore, is also on the injured list at the moment (hamstring strain). The O’s have gotten strong production from corner outfielders Austin Hays and Anthony Santander, but top outfield prospect Colton Cowser has struggled immensely in his first 59 plate appearances since being recalled.

Carlson, unlike the other three players the Cardinals have traded in the past 24 hours, is not a free agent at season’s end. He has three years of club control remaining beyond the current season. A former top prospect himself, the 24-year-old’s standing in St. Louis has seemingly deteriorated as he’s produced at a roughly league-average level since turning in a strong 2021 campaign.

The O’s don’t necessarily need a long-term fix in center field, as Mullins is also under team control for multiple years beyond the current season (through 2025). However, even when Mullins returns, there’d theoretically be room for both him and Carlson in the lineup. Anthony Santander could see more time at designated hitter, perhaps cutting into the playing time of struggling Ryan Mountcastle (though Mountcastle’s offense has ticked up over the past couple weeks). A speculative outfield of Hays, Mullins and Carlson would be defensively superior to the current alignment. Adding Carlson to the mix would also open further avenues for offseason deals. Santander is only controlled through the 2024 season and is due a raise on his $7.4MM salary, for instance.

The Cardinals, notably, are virtually certain to trade 27-year-old right-hander Jack Flaherty before Tuesday’s deadline. If Baltimore’s interest in the Cardinals’ pitchers extended beyond Montgomery, then it stands to reason that a deal surrounding Flaherty and Carlson could still be discussed, though the extent of the Orioles’ potential interest in Flaherty isn’t known. The right-hander is three years younger than his now-former teammate, Montgomery, but is also having a weaker season. Flaherty’s ERA is a full run higher, and he’s sporting inferior strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates.

Orioles Designate Eduard Bazardo For Assignment

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The Orioles have designated right-hander Eduard Bazardo for assignment, per a club announcement. In corresponding moves, the club has selected the contract of right-hander Joey Krehbiel and optioned right-hander Tyler Wells to Double-A Bowie.

Bazardo, 27, made his big league debut back in 2021 with the Red Sox, pitching for them in parts of two seasons. Bazardo then elected free agency after being designated for assignment in October 2022. That December, he landed with Baltimore on a minor league deal before being selected to the roster earlier this month. In all, Bazardo sports a career 3.74 ERA and 5.26 FIP in 21 2/3 innings in the majors. He’s posted similar numbers at the Triple-A level in his career, with a 3.86 ERA with a 24.5% strikeout rate in 107 innings of work at the level, which includes a strong 3.05 ERA in 38 1/3 innings with the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk this season.

The Orioles have a week to trade, waive, or release Bazardo, though of course any trade would have to come prior to the trade deadline on August 1. In the event that Bazardo clears waivers successfully, the Orioles will have the opportunity to outright him to the minor leagues, though Bazardo has the right to reject that assignment as a player who’s been outrighted previously in his career.

Bazardo’s exit makes room for Krehbiel on the 40-man roster. A 12th-round pick by the Angels in the 2011 draft, Krehbiel broke into the majors with the Diamondbacks and the Rays before settling in with the Orioles midway through the 2021 campaign. He became a major piece of Baltimore’s bullpen in 2022, with a 3.90 ERA that clocked in at exactly league average by measure of ERA+.

While his work last season was certainly solid, Krehbiel was ultimately designated for assignment early in the 2023 season, before making an appearance at the major league level this season. He performed well at the Triple-A level this year after accepting an outright assignment, with a 3.00 ERA in 30 innings of work. That performance has earned Krehbiel another chance in the majors, where he figures to cover the middle innings for the Orioles alongside the likes of Bryan Baker and Shintaro Fujinami.

Perhaps the most surprising news of the day is the club’s decision to option Wells to make room for Krehbiel on the active roster. Wells has pitched fairly well as a member of the club’s rotation this season, with a 3.80 ERA in 113 2/3 innings of work. That quality run prevention figure belies his recent control problems, however. In the month of July, Wells has walked 13 batters in 21 innings, nearly as many as he’s struck out (16). That’s contributed to a 6.43 ERA and a 7.76 FIP this month, the latter of which has ballooned his FIP to a worrisome 5.17 figure on the season.

It’s unclear how long Wells figures to remain in the minor leagues, but his struggles and subsequent demotion highlight the club’s need for starting pitching ahead of the trade deadline on August 1. Only eight teams in the majors have gotten less fWAR out of their starters than Baltimore, and of those only the Yankees, Reds, and Red Sox have any hope of making the playoffs this season.

Cardinals Rumors: Montgomery, Flaherty, Bullpen, Outfield

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The Cardinals are perhaps the most intriguing seller of this trade deadline. The preseason favorite for the NL Central expected to build upon a 93-win campaign in 2022, the team has failed to live up to expectations with a brutal 46-60 record that leaves them in last place in the division and ahead of only the Rockies and Nationals in the NL. With the club’s eyes turned toward the future, speculation has run rampant regarding many of the club’s interesting pieces, both those who are set to hit free agency after the season and those who are under team control longer-term.

Despite their status as the league’s premiere seller, the Cardinals have largely been quiet to this point with the trade deadline just over 48 hours away. While reports earlier in the week hinted at the possibility of a blockbuster involving third baseman Nolan Arenado, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak firmly shut those rumors down yesterday. While Arenado may not be on the move, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently discussed a bevy of other rumors regarding the club’s options ahead of the trade deadline.

Most clearly positioned to move over the next two days are the club’s duo of mid-rotation rental starters: left-hander Jordan Montgomery and right-hander Jack Flaherty. Goold notes that both players, along with closer Jordan Hicks, are generating interest throughout the league, though the returns on each of those players, if traded by themselves, would reportedly not fit the mold of the Cardinals’ preferred return: controllable, major-league ready starting pitching.

That’s hardly a surprise, given controllable starters are typically regarded as some of the most valuable commodities in the sport. Given this, Goold indicates that the club could get creative and pair rental players with younger, controllable pieces would yield their desired return. In particular, Goold name-checks outfielders Alec Burleson and Dylan Carlson alongside relievers Giovanny Gallegos and Ryan Helsley as longer-term pieces who could be moved. In terms of potential Cardinals targets, Goold references both Yankees prospect Clayton Beeter and Mariners right-hander Logan Gilbert, though Goold cautions that Gilbert would require a “high-ceiling return.”

Recent reporting had previously indicated trade interest in Burleson from multiple clubs, and Goold reaffirms the Yankees’ previously reported interest in Carlson. Goold adds that, in addition to Carlson, the Yankees have interest in Hicks, who has also drawn interest from the Rangers. Additionally, Goold notes that the market for Flaherty and Montgomery includes the Marlins, who have scouted Flaherty in person this trade season, while the Rays are noted to have interest in St. Louis’s available pitchers more generally.

While Miami is seemingly focused on Flaherty among the club’s duo of rental starters, Jon Morosi of MLBNetwork reported last night that talks surrounding Montgomery were “gaining momentum” and that a deal was becoming increasingly likely. While Morosi didn’t specify which team the Cardinals were discussing Montgomery with, he noted that both the Diamondbacks and Orioles have engaged in discussions with St. Louis in recent days.

Mike Elias On Orioles’ Deadline Plans

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Orioles general manager Mike Elias spoke with MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko, Baltimore Baseball’s Rich Dubroff, and other reporters Friday about what the American League leaders might do in advance of the August 1 trade deadline.  Speaking in broad terms about needs, Elias said that “I think that if we are going to make additional acquisition trades, I would bet heavily they are going to be on the pitching side of things.  I think it’s no secret that that would be the areas of the team where we could (A) either use more depth, or (B) look for upgrades.”

Elias obviously didn’t address specific reports or players, but the Orioles have been linked to such pitchers as Michael Lorenzen and (before the Angels pulled him off the market entirely) Shohei Ohtani on the rumor mill, hinting that the team in looking for rotation help.  The Orioles’ current starters are roughly around the middle of the pack in most statistical categories, with Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells standing out as the best two starters in terms of pure results.  Kyle Gibson and Dean Kremer have been more hit-and-miss, while Cole Irvin and highly-touted youngster Grayson Rodriguez haven’t delivered much in the way of results.  Apart from one Keegan Akin start, the top six hurlers have taken the ball for every other Baltimore game this season, so this durability and reliability has been helpful.

Beyond the rotation, Elias also suggested that middle relief was a target area.  The O’s have made one move in this regard by acquiring Shintaro Fujinami from the Athletics, with Elias saying that Fujinami can take over one of “a couple spots that were in flux.”  The Orioles gave up minor league pitching prospect Easton Lucas in that deal, a relatively minor expenditure given Baltimore’s deep farm system.

It remains to be seen if the O’s are willing to go into the upper levels of its minor league ranks for further trades.  On paper, the Orioles have enough top-tier prospects to get into the conversation about almost any trade asset, yet after years of rebuilding, “we can’t set the minor league system on fire just because we’re in first place,” Elias said.

“A big part of my job is worrying about the overall health of the team over the next several years.  So, you just try to balance all those things….Ultimately we’re measured on the results of how all these things go over a several-year period and it’s really not easy to do or get it right, so we’re just trying to take all of that into account.  But clearly, we’re going to want to stretch a little bit and try to help this really good 2023 team if we get within arm’s reach of something.”

While Elias didn’t close the door on the idea of trading any prospects, he also left open the possibility of moving big leaguers, even if that isn’t his first option.  “We have no intent of subtracting from the 26-man roster….but it comes up in conversations and if that’s something that we need to consider to make the trade that we want to make, we’ll balance all that.  I can’t rule it out,” the GM said.

In keeping with this overall “wide open” approach, Elias also said that the Orioles have some extra money to spend, as ownership has given the front office some ability “to make good baseball trades that could add to our payroll if we find them,” Elias said.

“I think the ball’s kind of in the court of the baseball ops department, which is great, and I think it’s a big testament to the management environment that we have here and how much trust this group’s gotten from partnership level, ownership level, John Angelos.  But it’s up to us to kind of navigate this and we have to find a match with other teams, and they’re doing their things, too.”

Given Elias’ generally cautious approach, it is probably safe to assume that the Orioles won’t suddenly take on a huge contract at the deadline.  For instance, their interest in a high-priced star like Ohtani might have been due diligence, or perhaps a singular pursuit given Ohtani’s uniquely elite skillset.  Still, considering that the O’s were spending $148MM as recently as 2018, adding one notable salary at the deadline doesn’t seem out of the question, considering that Baltimore has less than $61MM on the books for the season.  In theory, the Orioles’ potential ability to absorb salary might help them obtain a noteworthy player without giving up much of anything from the active roster or minor league ranks, though that naturally depends on how much financial “flexibility” Elias might truly have.

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