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Cafardo On Mariners, Pirates, Zobrist

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In today’s column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe looked at five teams that need to make a move before the trade deadline.  That list includes the Mets, who have pitching they can trade for hitting.  The most obvious fit for them would be Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, but Cafardo also mentions teammate Carlos Gonzalez as well as A’s hitters Josh Reddick and Steven Vogt.  As always, Cafardo’s entire column is worth a read, but we also compiled a handful of highlights below..

  • The Mariners continue to consider Phillies outfielder Ben Revere as the deadline approaches, Cafardo hears from a major league source.  The M’s need a leadoff hitter and while his slash of .294/.335/.377 doesn’t make him the ideal guy for that, Revere does have 21 steals on the year.  Earlier today we learned that the Pirates also have their eye on Revere.  However, it’s worth noting that Revere is also dealing with hamstring issues at the moment and that could delay a possible trade.
  • The Pirates recently watched Marlins right-hander Dan Haren pitch at Fenway Park.  Haren has been mentioned quite a bit as a trade candidate and while he made demands in the offseason, he has now settled into the fact that he might get moved.
  • Speaking of the Marlins, former closer Steve Cishek is drawing interest despite his difficult season and mechanical issues. The Twins, Tigers, Blue Jays, Red Sox, and other clubs have been keeping an eye on the 29-year-old.
  • Now that Marlins first baseman/outfielder Michael Morse is healthy once again, Cafardo wonders if teams like the Mets, Pirates, Nationals, and Royals could come calling.  A team acquiring Morse would have to pay the rest of his $7.5MM salary for 2015 and his $8.5MM salary next season, but Cafardo hears that he is in fact being scouted by clubs. Recently, MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth ran down the Marlins’ possible trade chips, including Haren and Cishek.
  • The Mets, Yankees, Giants, and Nationals are among the teams with interest in A’s outfielder/infielder Ben Zobrist.  Zobrist has played in left field, second base, and right field this season and Cafardo notes that he could also play third base if needed, despite having only four career games there.
  • One AL exec tells Cafardo that he thinks the Tigers could listen on David Price.  “It bears watching,” said the executive. “I don’t think he’s going back there. The Tigers need to revamp their farm system, so it’s not cut and dried that they won’t entertain a package for him.” Cafardo, however, doesn’t see Price going anywhere.  He envisions Detroit possibly adding a starter.

Tigers Sign Neftali Feliz

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The Tigers have officially announced that they’ve signed Feliz, according to MLive.com’s Chris Iott. Feliz will join the team later today. The Tigers have optioned righty Jeff Ferrell to the minors, Iott tweets. MLB legend Pedro Martinez reported on MLB Network last night that the Tigers would sign Feliz. Feliz is a client of California Sports Management.

The 27-year-old Feliz posted a 4.58 ERA, 7.3 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 19 2/3 innings with the Rangers before they designated him for assignment last week. Feliz then cleared waivers and opted to become a free agent.

It’s no surprise that Feliz signed quickly. He’s still young and has a track record as a closer, having saved 93 games in his career. He also still throws in the mid-90s (although his velocity is lower now than it was several years ago) and was very effective as recently as last season. It’s been awhile since he’s had strong peripherals, however — he struck out 11.3 batters per nine innings as a rookie in 2009, but his strikeout rate has declined significantly since then, and his walk rate has crept up a bit as well as he’s struggled with injuries over the years. If Feliz does return to his early-career form down the stretch, however, the Tigers will be able to take him through the arbitration process and control him for the 2016 season.

Joakim Soria is having a good season as the Tigers’ closer, and Feliz seems unlikely to supplant him in that role. The Tigers’ bullpen ERA of 4.04 ranks sixth worst in the Majors, though, so it seems reasonable that Detroit would want to take a chance on Feliz. The Tigers recently remade their bullpen by dropping Joba Chamberlain and Tom Gorzelanny, giving them plenty of innings for Feliz to cover. This is, however, not the first time the Tigers have depended on a big name from outside the organization. They have a significant recent track record of acquiring closers like Feliz, Joe Nathan, Jim Johnson, Octavio Dotel and Soria to plug a perpetually leaky bullpen, but the quality of those acquisitions has been uneven.

No Progress On Extension For Dave Dombrowski

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The Tigers have not made any recent progress on an extension for president and GM Dave Dombrowski, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports writes. Dombrowski’s contract expires after the season. Morosi notes that it’s unclear whether the situation reflects a desire for change on owner Mike Ilitch’s part, or whether he plans to offer Dombrowski a new deal at some point. It is, of course, clearly possible that it’s the latter — Dombrowski and the Tigers did not agree to his last extension until August 2011, just months before his previous deal was set to expire.

If Dombrowski were to leave Detroit, an established executive of his caliber would surely attract interest elsewhere, and Morosi suggests that the Angels GM job or Blue Jays president position might be good fits. The Tigers won the AL Central four straight times from 2011 through 2014, and Dombrowski has proven to be adept in the trade market in particular, landing key current and former players like Miguel Cabrera, Max Scherzer, Carlos Guillen, Anibal Sanchez, Yoenis Cespedes and others in deals that have turned out quite well for the Tigers. Dombrowski also led the Tigers to the World Series in 2006 and won a championship as GM of the 1997 Marlins. The Tigers are, however, currently in the midst of an underwhelming 44-41 season.

Tigers Release Joba Chamberlain

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The Tigers have released righty Joba Chamberlain, the club announced. The veteran reliever was recently designated for assignment.

Chamberlain signed with the Tigers for just $1MM this offseason and was installed in a set-up role. But he was unable to repeat a fairly productive 2014 campaign, working to a 4.09 ERA over 22 frames before being cut loose.

The 29-year-old has posted a useful strikeout-to-walk ratio of just over 3:1 (6.1 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9), but he’s been victimized steadily by the long ball. As things stand, he’s permitted a 21.7% HR/FB rate, with 2.05 long balls leaving the yard per nine innings.

It would be surprising if Chamberlain does not get another look at the big leagues in relatively short order, though he may be forced to take a minor league deal. His average fastball velocity (93.4 mph) is an exact match for last year’s mark, and he has been victimized by a .360 BABIP-against, leaving some room for optimism.

West Notes: A’s, Kazmir, Machi, Ibanez

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The Athletics are in a “holding pattern” on trade talks as they continue to see how things progress in the coming weeks, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (Twitter links). Nevertheless, likely buyers appear to be taking a close look at Oakland’s roster, as Rosenthal counts the Blue Jays, Astros, Royals, Tigers, Nationals, and Pirates among the clubs that sent scouts to last night’s game.

  • Scott Kazmir threw for the A’s last night, of course, and left after just three innings of work with forearm tightness. Kazmir insisted after the game that it was not a major source of concern, and indeed Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle notes on Twitter that he was able to play catch today without apparent issue.
  • Giants reliever Jean Machi appears at risk of becoming a roster casualty when the club welcomes back Jeremy Affeldt and/or Tim Lincecum, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle notes on Twitter. The 33-year-old has produced outstanding results in each of the last two seasons, putting up 119 1/3 innings of 2.49 ERA pitching. But it’s been a different story in 2015, as Machi has suffered a notable decline in his strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.8 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9, presently) and owns a 5.29 ERA in 32 1/3 frames.
  • The Rangers got a bargain on recent international signee Andy Ibanez, writes Ben Badler of Baseball America. Texas landed the 22-year-old infielder for just $1.6MM, but Badler pegs him as roughly equivalent in value to a supplemental first-round or second-round draft pick.

Central Notes: Bruce, Benoit, Tigers, Cardinals

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Reds outfielder Jay Bruce is as “as good a bet as anyone” on the team to be dealt, team sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. That is rather a notable viewpoint given the club’s nice collection of even shorter-term assets. Bruce, 28, is controllable for three more years (the last via option), though Rosenthal adds that he rebuffed two offers of a second extension last year. It’s hard to gauge Bruce’s trade value given his rough 2014 and slow start to this season, but he’s bounced back nicely of late. Bruce is neither old nor expensive, offers an established power bat, and has at times graded rather well on defense and on the basepaths.

  • We’ve heard suggestions that the Twins could be looking at bullpen upgrades, and Rosenthal confirms that is Minnesota’s focus. One player the team could pursue is Padres righty Joaquin Benoit, per the report. The righty has been a consistent producer for some time now, and can be controlled for 2016 through a team option.
  • The Tigers should look to take out two needs with one move, argues Chris Iott of MLive.com. Dealing for a starter while shifting Alfredo Simon to the pen would upgrade both sides of the staff, suggests Iott.
  • While the Cardinals still have some padding, their NL Central lead is beginning to dwindle. Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch argues that St. Louis is in need of a move or two to capitalize on its nice first half. Miklasz says it’s time to add some punch to the lineup, noting that first base is the obvious area for an acquisition with Matt Adams out.
  • Miklasz does mention the possibility of shifting well-regarded outfield prospect Stephen Piscotty to first, and indeed colleague Derrick Goold indicates on Twitter that Piscotty could soon get a shot in the big leagues. The 24-year-old was nearly called up on Tuesday, and will now spend time at first at Triple-A to get ready for just that possibility. In his second run through Memphis this year, Piscotty owns a .270/.362/.471 slash with 10 home runs over 340 plate appearances. He has walked 41 times while making just 52 outs via strikeout.

Outrighted To Triple-A: O’Sullivan, Wilson, Gorzelanny

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Here are today’s outright assignments from around the league…

  • The Phillies announced that right-hander Sean O’Sullivan has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. O’Sullivan was outrighted earlier this week after spending the bulk of the first half in the Phillies’s rotation. The 27-year-old has never enjoyed much success in the Majors, but he’s soaked up 302 1/3 innings with the Royals, Padres, Angels and Phillies from 2009-15, including 71 frames for the Phils in 2015. O’Sullivan worked to a 6.08 ERA this year. That number is clearly unappealing, but he did provide a serviceable 4.79 ERA through his first 10 starts before allowing six runs in each of his final three turns.
  • Infielder Josh Wilson accepted an outright assignment from the Tigers after being DFA earlier this week, writes MLive.com’s Chris Iott. The versatile veteran actually hit quite well in a small sample with Detroit this season but doesn’t have a track record of offensive success. Rather, he’s carved out a career through defensive versatility, as he’s logged significant innings at shortstop, second base and third base in addition to brief cameos in left field and at first base.

Earlier Updates

  • Left-hander Tom Gorzelanny has accepted an outright assignment from the Tigers after clearing waivers, tweets MLB.com’s Jason Beck. Gorzelanny was designated for assignment alongside Joba Chamberlain on Friday and had the right to elect free agency and retain what remained of his $1MM salary. Instead, he’ll work on a sidearm delivery at Triple-A Toledo, according to Beck. The veteran Gorzelanny posted a 6.38 ERA in 24 innings for Detroit this season.

Tigers Designate Josh Wilson For Assignment

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The Tigers announced (via Twitter) that they have designated infielder Josh Wilson for assignment in order to clear space on the 40-man roster for Marc Krauss, who was claimed off waivers from the Rays yesterday.

The veteran Wilson appeared in just 11 games for the Tigers but hit well while with the team, slashing .381/.435/.429 in 23 plate appearances. Those numbers, naturally, are well above his career line of .229/.281/.318 and were due to come back down to earth anyhow.

Wilson has appeared in parts of eight Major League seasons, also seeing time with the Diamondbacks, Rangers, Mariners, Rays, Nationals, Marlins, Brewers and Padres. Though he’s never hit much in the Majors, Wilson is valued by teams for his defensive versatility, as he’s capable of playing second base, shortstop and third base. He’s also made brief appearances at first base and in left field. Defensive metrics such as Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved are particularly bullish on his work at second base.

Tigers Claim Marc Krauss From Rays

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The Tigers announced that they’ve claimed first baseman Marc Krauss off waivers from the Rays. Tampa Bay had designated Krauss for assignment over the weekend.

The claim of Krauss is a fairly logical move for the Tigers, who learned this weekend that they’ll be without two-time AL MVP Miguel Cabrera for the next six weeks due to a calf injury. Krauss, 27, hasn’t hit much in the Majors over parts of the past three seasons, but he does have some power, with 11 homers in 402 big league plate appearances and a career .198 ISO in the minors. With this move, he’ll join his fourth organization of the past seven months. The Angels claimed Krauss off waivers from the Astros back in December then traded him to the Rays earlier this season.

Central Notes: Richard, Tigers, Verlander, Royals, Cueto

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The Pirates’ trade of minor league starter Clayton Richard to the Cubs might not seem like huge news on the surface, but the move could prove to be significant if the Bucs have injuries in the rotation, Paul Zeise of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. With Richard out of the picture and the team’s rash of injuries, the Pirates’ organizational starting depth has been compromised.  Manager Clint Hurdle is not yet terribly concerned about it, saying “I still think we are in a place where we are covered.  If something were to happen here and we lost two starters, that might change. We have lost our surplus. We had great depth at one point, now our depth isn’t as deep.”  Richard, 31, was a productive starter for the Padres before shoulder issues derailed his career. In both 2010 and 2012, he put up 200+ innings with a sub-4.00 ERA. He last appeared in the big leagues in 2013, struggling badly before ultimately going under the knife.

A few more notes from the game’s Central divisions…

  • Just one week ago, the Tigers were locks to be buyers at this year’s trade deadline, but James Schmehl of MLive.com examines the possibility that they could become sellers in the wake of Miguel Cabrera’s injury. As Schemehl notes, the Tigers have a number of appealing trade chips in David Price, Yoenis Cespedes and Rajai Davis — each of whom is set to hit free agency at season’s end. However, Schmehl also notes that the team has made a significant investment in winning this season and may be more likely to add a pair of relievers with an eye on the postseason. Asked about the possibility of becoming a deadline seller, manager Brad Ausmus replied, “That’s not really my call, but I’d be surprised.” Given the Tigers’ win-at-all-costs approach over the past few seasons, it would be a surprise to me as well to see them as deadline sellers, though perhaps they’ll take a similar route to 2014 and deal from their big league roster as a means of strengthening the current on-field product.
  • The New York Post’s Joel Sherman makes a bleak comparison for Tigers fans, writing that Justin Verlander has become Detroit’s version of CC Sabathia. Verlander is in the first year of a five-year, $140MM extension and has struggled to deliver any form of positive results over the past two seasons while dealing with injuries. He notes that GM Dave Dombrowski even talks about Verlander in the same manner that his Yankees counterpart, Brian Cashman, discusses Sabathia. Sherman quotes Dombrowski: “We don’t think you will see MVP-season Justin, but he can still be a very good pitcher and that would be really big for us. … He has just been a little inconsistent. We just need him to get more comfortable.” Verlander’s not showing quite the depleted velocity that Sabathia has, however, so perhaps there’s hope for him yet.
  • The Royals should make an aggressive play to acquire the Reds’ Johnny Cueto prior to the deadline, opines ESPN’s Christina Kahrl. She feels that the Royals are already strong favorites to win the AL Central, but adding Cueto gives them the rotation depth necessary to be a force in shorter playoff series. With Cueto and perhaps a returning Kris Medlen in the fold, Kahrl notes, the Royals can be shielded from the need to start Jeremy Guthrie in a pivotal postseason contest.
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