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Marlins Trade Colin Rea Back To Padres Following Elbow Injury

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12:57pm: The Marlins announced that Rea has indeed been traded back to San Diego in exchange for Castillo. In essence, then, last Friday’s swap boils down to Miami acquiring Cashner and Guerrero in exchange for Cosart, Naylor and Capps.

12:52pm: The Marlins will be getting Castillo back from the Padres, tweets Rosenthal.

12:49pm: In a fairly stunning bit of news, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the Marlins will send right-hander Colin Rea back to the Padres (links to Twitter). Rea left his Marlins debut with an elbow injury and was quickly placed on the 15-day disabled list with an elbow sprain. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweets that the Marlins were “absolutely livid” and felt as though they were traded damaged goods by the Padres. Rosenthal notes that the exact structuring of the deal isn’t exactly clear, but the Padres will effectively trade Rea back to San Diego in a separate deal and keep Andrew Cashner, who came to Miami along with Rea in Friday’s seven-player trade.

Rea fired off 3 1/3 shutout innings in his Marlins debut, allowing just a lone hit and no walks with four strikeouts before departing with the aforementioned elbow injury. It’s not clear precisely how Miami will be compensated in this instance, as the swap is virtually unprecedented in nature. The Marlins sent first base prospect Josh Naylor, hard-throwing Class-A righty Luis Castillo, injured reliever Carter Capps and right-hander Jarred Cosart to the Padres in that deal in exchange for Rea, Cashner and right-hander Tayron Guerrero.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/1/16

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Let’s catch up on a few recent minor moves:

  • Kyle Lohse is back on the free agent market after refusing an outright assignment with the Rangers, per a team announcement. Lohse, 37, did not look good in his two outings for Texas, and was also struggling at Triple-A — albeit not nearly to the same extent — before his promotion. He nevertheless remains a plausible depth addition for teams needing innings over the next few months.
  • Recently claimed and then designated infielder Matt Duffy has been outrighted to Triple-A by the Rangers, the club also announced. The 27-year-old has had a rough year at the Triple-A level, posting a cumulative .222/.299/.344 slash over 301 plate appearances with the Rangers’ and Astros’ top affiliates.
  • The Marlins released veteran righty Jeremy Guthrie in the wake of its pitching overhaul, as the club’s Triple-A broadcaster, Tim Grubbs, reports in a tweet. Now 37 years of age, Guthrie has long provided plenty of innings to teams in need of them, but hasn’t seen the majors since he was cut loose by the Royals last year. He had caught on with Miami after opting out of his minor league deal with the Padres.
  • Utilityman Don Kelly has been outrighted by the Marlins, per a club announcement. The 36-year-old didn’t hit much in a limited sample in the majors this year, and owns only a .223/.288/.273 slash in his 153 Triple-A plate appearances on the season.
  • Joining the Tigers on a minor league deal is veteran lefty Cesar Ramos, the club announced. Ramos was just released by the Rangers. The 32-year-old put up a nice 2.75 ERA in 52 1/3 relief innings last year, but was touched for 32 earned runs in his 47 2/3 frames this season with Texas, posting 5.1 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9 in four starts and a dozen relief appearances.
  • The Blue Jays recently released catcher Tony Sanchez, as Sportsnet.ca duo Ben Nicholson-Smith and Shi Davidi report. He lost his spot at the Triple-A level when the club signed Erik Kratz. Once considered a quality prospect with the Pirates, Sanchez has scuffled to a .201/.292/.309 batting line this year in 168 trips to the plate at Triple-A.
  • Meanwhile, the Blue Jays announced that outfielder Junior Lake has been outrighted to Triple-A. Lake has seen action in each of the last four major league campaigns, putting up a .236/.279/.377 overall batting line in 702 plate appearances. He was producing right at that rate during his limited time in Toronto.

Marlins Still Looking At Starters

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  • ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports that the Giants’ interest in Phillies right-hander Jeremy Hellickson has been overstated (Twitter link). San Francisco isn’t currently in the mix for Hellickson, says Crasnick, despite prior connections. As MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes, Hellickson left his last start after bruising his hand at the plate, but the issue seems to be a minor one. Zolecki notes that, in addition to the Orioles — who could be out of the market after acquiring Wade Miley — clubs including the Blue Jays, Tigers, and Marlins have sent scouts to watch Hellickson’s recent outings.
  • The Marlins have talked with the Red Sox about righty Clay Buchholz, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). But Miami wasn’t enamored of Boston’s asking price, Heyman says, so it’s doesn’t appear as if there’s any traction between the sides at present. Miami seemingly addressed its rotation needs with the acquisition of Andrew Cashner and Colin Rea, but the latter was lost in the middle of his first start for his new team to an elbow sprain and is already headed to the DL.

Diamondbacks Receiving Lots Of Interest In Miller, Corbin

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While Diamondbacks general manager Dave Stewart emphasizes that his organization has in no way given up on struggling righty Shelby Miller, he also tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that he has received “a ton” of trade interest in the 25-year-old. Arizona isn’t shopping Miller, Piecoro writes, and the D-backs aren’t willing to part with him for pennies on the dollar just months after acquiring him in exchange for the sky-high price of Ender Inciarte, Dansby Swanson and Aaron Blair. Similarly, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that many clubs have called expressing interest in left-hander Patrick Corbin, but the D-backs aren’t inclined to move him, either.

If the Diamondbacks do ultimately move Miller, the key player coming back in the package would have to be Major League ready, according to Stewart, who recognizes that it’d be “difficult” to find the value they’d hope to receive in light of Miller’s 2016 troubles. “We know what he is,” said Stewart. “We know what we have. We believe he is the guy that we traded for. I don’t know that we’re going to be better off trying to go out there and find a guy to do what we think he’s already capable of doing.” Piecoro reports that the Marlins have had talks with the D-backs about Miller, and right-handed pitching prospect Luis Castillo’s name was a part of those talks. However, the Class-A flamethrower was included in Friday morning’s Andrew Cashner trade, so the two sides would have to find another piece to replace him if talks were to be revisited.

At just 25 years of age and just a season removed from a 3.02 ERA with the Braves, it’s natural that Miller is drawing interest as a buy-low candidate. Selling low an asset whom they acquired when his stock was at an all-time high seems like an unlikely route for the D-backs, though. While detractors will point to the fact that Miller has looked entirely ordinary (or worse) after a superhuman run in April and May of last season (4.90 ERA dating back to June 1 of last year), Miller has long been a coveted arm and has had success in both St. Louis and Atlanta prior to his Arizona implosion.

A similar line of of thinking could be applied to Corbin. While they’re not in identical situations, Corbin has endured his own struggles this season. The 27-year-old looked like an emerging force in the Diamondbacks’ rotation in 2013 but missed the 2014 season and a portion of the 2015 campaign due to Tommy John surgery. Corbin was sharp in his return to the bigs last season but has allowed the most earned runs in the National League this year en route to a 5.31 ERA. With two years of control remaining beyond the 2016 season, it’s tough to see the D-backs moving Corbin with his value at its lowest point since his operation.

In other D-backs news, Sherman also reports that Daniel Hudson, whom the D-backs were reportedly on the brink of trading on Friday before the deal fell through, isn’t likely to simply be given away (Twitter link). The Diamondbacks still view Hudson, who carried a minuscule 1.55 ERA as recently as June 21 but has been torched since (23 earned runs on 28 hits in eight innings), as a talented reliever who has gone through a bad stretch. Hudson has been plagued by a .610 BABIP over that incredibly poor run, so there’s some element of poor luck in play. He’s also yielded a stunning 48 percent line-drive rate over that slump, though, suggesting that he’s offering opposing batters far too many pitches to square up.

Marlins Place Colin Rea On DL With Elbow Sprain

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Right-hander Colin Rea, acquired by the Marlins alongside Andrew Cashner in Friday’s seven-player trade with the Padres, left his Marlins debut last night in the fourth inning with soreness in his right elbow, as MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweeted at the time. The injury was ominous even last night, and it hasn’t gotten any better, as the Marlins have placed Rea on the 15-day DL, and MLB.com’s Jon Morosi has tweeted that he’ll undergo an MRI tomorrow.

[Related: Updated Miami Marlins Depth Chart]

If the injury proves to be relatively minor and requires only a minimal DL stay, the Marlins can probably patch things together in the short-term. If it’s a longer-term injury, however, the Marlins could be forced into trying to scrounge up one more starter to round out the rotation before Monday’s non-waiver deadline (or, perhaps, via trade waivers in August). That’s not great news for a Marlins club that has depleted what was already a thin farm system in trades to acquire Rea, Andrew Cashner and Fernando Rodney from the Padres. Reporters have already begun to speculate on possible alternatives for the Marlins, with USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeting that Jon Niese would make a good low-cost (in terms of prospects) rental, and FanRag’s Jon Heyman suggesting Ivan Nova (Twitter link).

While the injury to Rea, who was in the midst of an excellent debut (3 1/3 innings, one hit, no walks, four strikeouts), is an unquestionable stroke of bad luck for the Marlins, the misfortune goes both ways. Right-hander Chris Paddack, who went to San Diego from Miami in exchange for Rodney, has been diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament and is likely to require Tommy John surgery, per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (on Twitter). Paddack has been nothing short of sensational this year and has rapidly elevated his prospect status, but he now stands to lose a full year of development. Given the late stage of the season in which he has incurred the injury, Paddack could conceivably miss nearly all of the 2017 season as he recovers from the injury.

Rays Asked Marlins For Big Return In Talks On Starters

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Marlins Acquire Andrew Cashner, Colin Rea In Seven-Player Deal

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2:19pm: The Padres will cover around $2.275MM of the $2.5MM remaining on Cashner’s contract this year, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets.

12:33pm: The deal is official, with both clubs announcing it. There’s money heading from San Diego to Miami in the swap, per the announcement, though details remain unreported.

9:58am: After more than a month of searching for a starting pitcher to fill out the back of their rotation, the Marlins have succeeded in landing a pair of starters, reportedly agreeing to a trade that will net them right-handed starters Andrew Cashner and Colin Rea as well as righty reliever Tayron Guerrero from the Padres. In exchange, Miami is sending right-hander Jarred Cosart, top first base prospect Josh Naylor, minor league righty Luis Castillo and injured reliever Carter Capps, who underwent Tommy John earlier this year, to San Diego.

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Miami has been said to be frantically searching for an upgrade to the back of its rotation, and Cashner will provide the steady innings they’ve been seeking — with the upside for more — so long as he stays healthy. That’s not a given for Cashner, it should be noted; he’s missed time in 2016 with a hamstring strain and a neck strain, and the 2014 season saw him endure separate stints on the disabled list for soreness in his right shoulder and inflammation in his right elbow.

Injuries have, to some extent, played a role in Cashner’s weaker-than-expected results across the past two seasons. After pitching to a 2.87 ERA in 289 1/3 innings from 2013-14, Cashner posted a 4.34 ERA in 184 2/3 innings last season and is at 4.76 in 79 1/3 innings in 2016. However, he’s pitched quite well over his past three outings and still comes with some degree of upside. He is, after all, less than two years removed from a season that saw him deliver a strong 2.55 ERA in 123 1/3 innings, and he still averages just under 94 mph on his heater to go along with an above-average ground-ball rate. That last point is key for a Marlins infield that has plus defenders in Martin Prado at third base, the recently reinstated Dee Gordon at second base and defensive wizard Adeiny Hechavarria at shortstop.

Rea, 26, is an entirely different type of asset for the Marlins. He’s in just his second season at the big league level and is controllable through the 2021 season, giving Miami a potential long-term piece in the rotation, though his early results have admittedly been mixed. The former 12th-round pick has a 4.81 ERA in 131 career innings at the Major League level, averaging 7.0 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 to go along with a 45.5 percent ground-ball rate. Rea, though, entered the 2015 season as the Padres’ No. 4 prospect at MLB.com and No. 7 prospect at Baseball America. Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com noted at the time that the new Padres regime considered Rea to be a pleasant surprise, as he’d added velocity to his fastball, more power to his curveball and also improved his command. The changes gave Rea the upside of settling in as a third or fourth starter in the Majors, per the report, and while Rea isn’t there just yet, there certainly seems to be some untapped potential with which VP of pitching development Jim Benedict (who came over from the Pirates this winter) can work.

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Cashner and Rea will slot into a Marlins rotation that is fronted by ace Jose Fernandez and impressive sophomore Adam Conley. Miami, however, just lost its top offseason signing, left-hander Wei-Yin Chen, to the disabled list with an elbow sprain, further magnifying an already pressing  need to add to the rotation. Right-hander Tom Koehler can provide a steady stream of mostly reliable innings at the back of the rotation, and Rea seems likely to step into the starting mix ahead of the inexperienced Jose Urena in the fifth spot.

Guerrero, meanwhile, gives Miami a buy-low arm on a pitcher that rated among San Diego’s top 30 prospects entering the season but has had a dreadful start to his 2016 campaign. Guerrero, 25, posted a very strong 3.05 ERA and punched out 61 hitters in 56 innings between Double-A and Triple-A last year, but control problems have always been an issue for him, and he’s become more hittable in 2016. This year, he’s sporting a 5.30 ERA in 35 2/3 innings between those same levels. While his strikeout and walk rates are similar to those of his 2015 campaign, he’s allowed considerably more hits and been more homer-prone this year. Guerrero offers a blistering fastball and the potential for an above-average slider but is something of a project for the Fish. He did make his big league debut earlier this year, though, and if Miami can get him back on track he could conceivably add a very live arm to their bullpen later this season.

The loss of both Cashner and Rea leaves the rebuilding Padres rather thin in the rotation, especially with Tyson Ross still on the DL due to his season-long shoulder woes, Robbie Erlin out for the year due to Tommy John surgery and Erik Johnson (who came over in the trade that removed James Shields from the San Diego rotation) also on the disabled list due to a right flexor sprain. Incredibly, the Padres have traded away nearly their entire Opening Day rotation, as Ross is the only remaining member (and likely only remains due to his injury status). The Friars, for now, are left with Edwin Jackson, Christian Friedrich and Rule 5 righty Luis Perdomo in their rotation, and they will presumably be joined by Cosart.

The 26-year-old Cosart, who had made just one start for the Marlins since returning from Triple-A, will go through yet another change of scenery in hopes of finally capitalizing on the potential that made him a consensus top 100 prospect from 2011-13. Originally drafted by the Phillies, he went to Houston in the original Hunter Pence trade and then to Miami alongside Enrique Hernandez in exchange for Jake Marisnick, Colin Moran and a competitive balance draft pick. Cosart has shown glimpses of his potential in the Majors and even posted a 3.69 ERA in 180 1/3 big league innings back in 2014, but he’s never been able to string much success together. He’ll bring plenty of grounders to the table (career 55.3 percent ground-ball rate), but he’s never missed many bats despite averaging 94 mph on his fastball (5.6 K/9) and hasn’t shown great control either (4.3 BB/9).

San Diego, though, will have some time to try to get Cosart on track. He entered the season with two years and 20 days of service time, and he’ll fall shy of the 152 days of big league service he’d have needed to reach three years of Major League service. As such, Cosart will be controlled through the 2020 season.

The addition of Capps to the deal is a high-upside wild card for the Padres. Capps broke out as one of baseball’s most dominant relievers last season, posting a 1.16 ERA with a 58-to-7 K/BB ratio and a 40.8 percent ground-ball rate in 31 innings of work. With a fastball that averaged 98.1 mph and appeared even faster due to delivery that was as controversial as it was unorthodox — the legality of Capps’ delivery came into question on multiple occasions in 2015 — Capps had all of the makings of an elite bullpen arm before his UCL gave out in Spring Training. If he rehabs and comes back looking anything like the 2015 version of himself, the Friars will be a legitimate relief ace on their hands.

The top-ranked prospect in this deal is Naylor — the No. 12 overall pick in the 2015 draft and the No. 100 prospect in Major League Baseball according to Baseball America’s midseason Top 100 list. MLB.com rated Naylor second among Marlins farmhands on its midseason update to Miami’s prospect rankings, placing him only behind 2016 first-rounder Braxton Garrett. The 19-year-old Naylor has held his own despite being well below the average age of competitors in the Class-A South Atlantic League this season, batting .269/.317/.430 with nine homers, 24 doubles, two triples and 10 stolen bases. His 5.9 percent walk rate isn’t wowing anyone just yet, but he’s shown a knack for making contact, striking out at a respectable 16.7 percent clip against older competition. The 10 steals are somewhat of a surprise for a 6’0″, 225-pounder that is said to lack speed, though he could see that stolen base total come down as he continues to progress throughout the minors (especially considering he’s still just 19 and could add further weight/size). Based on his bat alone, Naylor would probably be a more highly regarded prospect; MLB.com’s report on him states that his bat could be “special,” praising his plus-plus raw power and strong contact skills. However, Naylor is seen as a first baseman only, and a below-average one at that, with very little speed, meaning that scouts feel he’ll be a bat-first type of player that needs to hit to provide everyday value.

Castillo was sixth among Marlins farmhands on Baseball America’s midseason update of their top prospects and eighth on MLB.com’s midseason Marlins rankings. The 23-year-old moved from the bullpen to the rotation for the first time last season at Class-A and has pitched very well in Class-A Advanced, working to a 2.25 ERA with 7.6 K/9, 1.4 BB/9 and a 51.9 percent ground-ball rate this season. BA notes that Castillo’s fastball has touched 101 mph and sits in the 96-97 mph range, adding that he shows feel for a changeup and a slider with some depth. MLB.com suggests that he’s no sure thing to stick in a rotation but adds that he has the stuff to be a power arm near the back of a bullpen if a move back to relief work ultimately proves necessary.

ESPN’s Buster Olney first reported that the Marlins had a deal to acquire Cashner (via Twitter). Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported that Rea was going to the Marlins as well (also via Twitter) . FOX’s Ken Rosenthal tweeted that Naylor was part of the return. Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald tweeted that a member of the big league roster was headed to San Diego prior to reports of Cosart’s inclusion. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reported Castillo’s inclusion (Twitter link), and ESPN’s Jayson Stark reported that Cosart was in the deal as well (on Twitter). The inclusion of Capps and Guerrero were the final pieces of the puzzle, both reported by Rosenthal (Twitter link).

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Marlins Pushing To Land Andrew Cashner; Rangers Out?

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FRIDAY, 12:37am: Texas isn’t landing Cashner, sources tell MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan (via Twitter). That would seem to leave the Marlins in position to finalize an agreement, and SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets the Fish are indeed getting closer to striking a deal.

THURSDAY, 11:29pm: The Marlins and Rangers are the two “current leaders” to acquire righty Andrew Cashner from the Padres, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Miami is “pushing hard to finalize” a swap that would send multiple prospects to San Diego for the much-needed starter, per MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro (via Twitter), though it seems as if there’s still competition for his services.

We’ve long heard of interest from a wide variety of clubs in the pending free agent, who seems among the likeliest trade pieces in all of baseball. The Orioles were said to be making a push to strike a deal on Cashner just yesterday, but now seem to be behind in the sweepstakes. Other contenders who have been linked include the Blue Jays and Giants.

Recent reports have suggested that the Pads were nearing a deal for Cashner at various points in time, but he remains in San Diego at present. That probably worked out to the benefit of his current team, as the up-and-down righty has put together his best work of the season over his last three outings, permitting five runs and running up 23 strikeouts against just three walks over 17 2/3 frames.

Still, on the year he’s carrying only a 4.76 ERA with 7.6 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 over 79 1/3 frames. Some home run troubles (16.0% HR/flyball rate) haven’t helped, and Cashner has also posted a career-worst 7.3% swinging striker rate with a slightly declining (but still-strong) average four-seam velocity of 94 mph.

Despite his rocky results, Cashner currently holds the fifth spot on MLBTR’s top trade candidate ranking. That’s due not only to his oft-noted talent, but also to San Diego’s aggressive selling posture, which has already resulted in deals for James Shields, Fernando Rodney, and Melvin Upton. There’s an argument to be made that Cashner is the most appealing rental starter currently available; Rich Hill has unquestionably been better, but also hasn’t pitched much of late, while Jeremy Hellickson arguably doesn’t have quite the ceiling of the other two.

Cashner is earning a relatively modest $7.15MM salary this year, so he’s just as affordable in terms of salary as Hill and Hellickson. In theory, the Pads could hold onto him and hope that he pitches well enough down the stretch to warrant a qualifying offer, but it seems that ship has sailed at this point — particularly with the starting pitching market seemingly primed for sellers to receive strong returns.

Marlins Expand List Of Pitching Targets

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  • Even as the Marlins reportedly make their pitch for Andrew Cashner, the team is continuing to look far and wide for their rotation needs, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. He adds three more names that the club has asked about: Edinson Volquez of the Royals, Matt Shoemaker of the Angels, and Julio Teheran of the division-rival Braves. Nothing in the Miami system is off limits, per the report, including first baseman Josh Naylor and righty Luis Castillo — each of whom have been asked about quite frequently by other clubs, per Jackson. Rival clubs get the sense that the Marlins are “desperate” to bolster their rotation, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick tweets, but it’s still not entirely clear how the team will make that happen given its thin farm. Of course, as the examples of Naylor and Castillo show, the system isn’t devoid of talent, but it would certainly sting to part with the organization’s best pieces, and it’s not at all clear that those players would be enough to score a quality, controllable arm.
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