A Case For Phillies To Pursue Andrew McCutchen
- Sticking with the McCutchen theme, Ryan Lawrence of PhillyVoice.com opines that the in-state rival Phillies should pursue a deal for the 30-year-old. Given that the Phillies have the majors’ worst record (27-53), McCutchen wouldn’t help them vie for a playoff berth this year, but Lawrence argues that he’d still be a worthwhile addition. Philadelphia could acquire McCutchen with the goal of extending him past next season, when his team control expires. If they fail to reach a multiyear agreement by next summer and the Phillies aren’t in the playoff hunt, they’d potentially be able to flip McCutchen, contends Lawrence.
NL International Signings: 7/2/17
Here are some notable National League international signings not yet covered elsewhere on MLB Trade Rumors. All signing information can be found in these invaluable compilations of the initial flurry of July 2 action from Baseball America’s Ben Badler and MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez; the information here is from those sources unless otherwise credited…
- The Mets agreed to deals with Dominican shortstops Ronny Mauricio and Adrian Hernandez. Mauricio will get a $2.1MM bonus while Hernandez receives $1.5MM.
- The Phillies reached agreement with Dominican shortstop Luis Garcia on a deal with a $2.5MM bonus.
- The Marlins have agree to sign Ynmanol Marinez, a shortstop from the Dominican Republic. The exact figures on Marinez’s bonus aren’t known, though the 16-year-old will get in the neighborhood of $1.3MM-$1.5MM.
- The Brewers agreed to sign Dominican outfielder Larry Ernesto for a bonus in the range of $1.7MM-$1.8MM (BA had the lower figure, MLB.com the higher). Milwaukee has also reached a deal with Venezuelan outfielder Carlos Rodriguez for a $1.355MM bonus.
- The Cubs agreed to sign Mexican shortstop Luis Verdugo for a $1MM bonus.
- The Diamondbacks have an agreement with outfielder Kristian Robinson. The 16-year-old native of Nassau, Bahamas will receive $2.5MM from Arizona.
Howie Kendrick To Undergo MRI
- Phillies outfielder/infielder Howie Kendrick, who went on the DL on Friday with an injured left hamstring, will probably miss longer than 10 days, writes Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Kendrick will undergo an MRI in Philadelphia during the upcoming week, and the team’s bigwigs are undoubtedly hoping nothing serious crops up to prevent them from fetching a decent return at the trade deadline for the impending free agent. President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail suggested Friday that there should be plenty of interest in the 33-year-old Kendrick, saying, “If I wanted a professional hitter, I sure wouldn’t have any pause.”
Phillies Don't Have Any Untouchables At Major League Level
While the Phillies will shop players with expiring contracts leading up to the trade deadline, team president Andy MacPhail also suggested Friday that general manager Matt Klentak would at least listen to offers for all of their big leaguers, writes Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. “He needs to keep a wide spectrum, wide horizon, and any opportunity that makes sense for us going forward, he should explore,” MacPhail said of Klentak. The Phillies own the majors’ worst record (26-52), but they’re not devoid of intriguing, controllable players who might pique teams’ interest in the next month. Outfielders Aaron Altherr and Odubel Herrera stand out in their group of position players, while Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff, Vince Velasquez and Hector Neris are among their cheap pitchers who could be on clubs’ radars.
MacPhail On Phillies' Deadline Plans
- In a lengthy chat with the media that’s well worth a full read, Phillies president Andy MacPhail addressed the frustrating first half of the year for his organization. (Via CSNPhilly.com.) Generally, he expressed an inclination to continue staying the course, noting that the team is focused on evaluating its internal options and has maintained a mostly open balance sheet for future campaigns. As regards the coming deadline, MacPhail suggested that righty Pat Neshek and outfielder/infielder Howie Kendrick ought to draw significant interest, saying that it will be GM Matt Klentak’s “job” to “find a motivated buyer” for Neshek, in particular. He also said the organization does not see any untouchable players in its system. Klentak’s boss said that the GM “needs to keep a wide spectrum, wide horizon and any opportunity that makes sense for us going forward, he should explore.”
Phillies To Place Howie Kendrick On DL, Promote Nick Williams
The Phillies are set to promote outfield prospect Nick Williams to the Majors, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com (via Twitter). The move means that left fielder Howie Kendrick will land on the 10-day disabled list due to an injured left hamstring, tweets MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki.
Williams, 23, rated as a consensus top 100 prospect headed into the 2016 season but saw his stock dip following an awful year with Philadelphia’s Triple-A affiliate last year (.258/.287/.427, 26% strikeout rate). Those struggles dipped him off most prospect lists this season, though Baseball Prospectus still ranked him 51st headed into the year, and MLB.com currently rates him fourth among Phillies prospects.
Thus far in 2017, Williams has demonstrated a large number of the skills that made him such a touted prospect and a key piece to the 2015 Cole Hamels blockbuster, though there’s still some work to be done. Through 302 plate appearances, he’s hitting a much-improved .277/.326/.511 with 15 homers, 16 doubles and two triples. He’s upped his walk rate a bit, but the boost from 3.6 percent to a still-modest 5.3 percent and Williams’ actually elevated 29.8 percent strikeout rate still indicate room for improvement.
That said, Williams has the potential to provide power and speed with solid defense in an outfield corner for years to come if he can manage to refine his approach at the plate. Whether he remains on the roster to stay or is only up in the big leagues for a brief period is unclear, though certainly one would imagine that a strong first showing could force Williams into the mix with Kendrick on the shelf and veteran Michael Saunders now back with the Blue Jays organization following his release.
As for Kendrick, his second trip to the disabled list saps some of the trade value he’d built up over the past month. Kendrick missed roughly six weeks of the season with an abdominal injury, but he returned swinging a blazing bat. In 96 plate appearances following his most recent activation from the DL, Kendrick slashed a ridiculous .356/.406/.471 with a pair of homers, four doubles and seven stolen bases.
It remains to be seen how long he’ll miss, but the injury seems minor enough that he’ll be back with time to spare before the July 31 non-waiver deadline. However, with a pair of DL stints under his belt, roughly $4-5MM remaining on his contract and his status as a rental player, Kendrick doesn’t figure to fetch a premium return, even though a number of teams will be intrigued by the thought of adding a well-respected veteran with some defensive versatility.
NL East Notes: Bartolo, Kendrick, Nationals
The Mets will at least consider a reunion with 44-year-old righty Bartolo Colon following yesterday’s DFA by the Braves, reports MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (Twitter link). They are, however, understandably wary of his poor performance in Atlanta. Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News spoke to one Mets person who expressed some intrigue regarding the possibility of once again pairing Colon with pitching coach Dan Warthen to see if Colon could succeed in a bullpen role in New York. And, as Ackert points out, the additional depth would hardly be a bad thing for a Mets pitching staff that has been decimated by injury.
Elsewhere in the NL East…
- The Phillies could be facing a trip to the disabled list for Howie Kendrick, writes CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury. Kendrick has been bothered lately by a sore hamstring, and while he was in the lineup as a DH on Tuesday this week, he told manager Pete Mackanin that he didn’t feel good enough to go on Wednesday. Mackanin acknowledged that the Phils have to consider a DL stint for Kendrick, which would be a disappointing development for the organization, as Kendrick’s hot bat has elevated his trade candidacy since returning from a lengthy six-week stint on the DL earlier this year. Salisbury wonders whether the Phils would bring up a prospect such as Nick Williams or Dylan Cozens and give him regular playing time in lieu of Kendrick, though that suggestion appears to be made somewhat speculatively.
- Although the Nationals have a well-documented need for bullpen upgrades, sorting out the roster in the wake of a move won’t be as easy as one would imagine, writes Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. Ownership typically doesn’t love the notion of adding significant contracts midseason in the first place, she writes, and the concept of adding a reliever and then cutting a player already on a relatively significant deal (e.g. Joe Blanton) may not be appealing to the Lerner family — especially if it meant acquiring another significant contract. Janes runs down a list of virtually every relief option on the roster, noting that the team’s best-performing relievers (Matt Albers, Enny Romero) are among the most affordable options. Despite Shawn Kelley‘s struggles, Janes writes, he’s a well-liked clubhouse presence that is under contract through 2018, and it’s unlikely that the Nats would simply eat the rest of his contract to free up a roster spot.
Phillies Could Listen To Offers For Trio Of Infielders
The last-place Phillies will be open for business at the trade deadline, reports Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. While free agents-to-be like Pat Neshek, Howie Kendrick, Jeremy Hellickson, Joaquin Benoit and Daniel Nava stand out as obvious trade candidates, Zolecki suggests that the Phillies could also listen to offers for some controllable players. That list includes first baseman Tommy Joseph, injured second baseman Cesar Hernandez and shortstop Freddy Galvis. Joseph is currently on a minimum salary and won’t even be eligible for arbitration until 2020, but moving him would enable the Phillies to open up first base for prospect Rhys Hoskins, who’s destroying Triple-A pitching. Hernandez, meanwhile, is on a $2.55MM salary and has three arbitration-eligible years remaining. However, he’s blocking another hot-hitting prospect – Scott Kingery, who’s at Double-A. Galvis is the most expensive of the three right now ($4.35MM) and only has another year of arbitration eligibility remaining. Behind him is J.P. Crawford, who hasn’t hit much at Triple-A since debuting there last year. Nevertheless, he still ranks as Baseball America‘s 19th-best prospect.
Phillies Notes: Franco, Neshek, Galvis
Here’s the latest from the City Of Brotherly Love…
- Maikel Franco is “more than available” in trade talks, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports. Franco is struggling through a terrible 2017 season that has seen him hit just .224/.284/.371 over 285 plate appearances — between Franco’s subpar hitting, fielding and baserunning, he has delivered below replacement-level (-0.6 fWAR) production. A trade would be surprising given that Franco was seen as a potential building block piece for the Phillies less than two years ago, though it’s worth noting that he was also a below-average hitter (92 wRC+) in 2016, his first full season in the majors. Franco’s age (24) and past status as a well-regarded prospect would net him some trade interest, though Philadelphia would definitely be selling low on the third baseman.
- The Phillies have already received a “standing offer” for Pat Neshek, CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury reports. The veteran reliever is expected to draw wide interest in the weeks leading to the trade deadline and as Salisbury notes, the Phils must believe they can do better than the current offer on the table. It’s hard to predict who the Neshek suitor is, given the widespread need for bullpen help across the league (though feel free to speculate on the #MysteryTeam in the comments section!)
- The Adeiny Hechavarria trade buzz could be of interest to the Phillies as a gauge on what Freddy Galvis could net on the open market, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Galvis is seven months younger than Hechavarria, also a free agent after the 2018 season and is better known for his glove than his bat, though Galvis did manage 20 homers last year. Over their careers, Galvis has been worth 5.1 fWAR over 2059 PA as compared to Hechavarria’s 1.7 fWAR in 2402 PA. Gelb reasons that a team who fails to land Hechavarria could turn to Galvis as an alternate plan.
Phillies Release Michael Saunders, Jeanmar Gomez
- Veteran Phillies players Michael Saunders and Jeanmar Gomez were each released, according to the MLB.com transactions page. Both were designated at the same time recently, and the Phils evidently couldn’t find takers in trade — which isn’t terribly surprising given their pronounced struggles and big salaries. Saunders, 30, had a strong 2016 season and has mostly been a better-than-average hitter in the big leagues, so he’ll surely find a new opportunity elsewhere. The same holds for Gomez, who always seemed miscast as a closer but might provide some solid innings in a middle-relief role. Though both can now be had for the league minimum, it would perhaps be a surprise were either to sign directly only a MLB roster at this stage of the season.
- The Athletics signed left-hander Patrick Schuster last week, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports. Schuster joined the A’s organization just a couple of days after being released from his minor league deal with the Dodgers. This is Schuster’s second stint in Oakland, as he made his MLB debut last July before being claimed on waivers by the Phillies in September. Still just 26 and in his ninth year as a pro, Schuster has a 3.38 ERA over 474 2/3 IP in the minors (mostly as a reliever) as well as 11 big league games with the A’s and Phillies.
- Veteran Phillies players Michael Saunders and Jeanmar Gomez were each released, according to the MLB.com transactions page. Both were designated at the same time recently, and the Phils evidently couldn’t find takers in trade — which isn’t terribly surprising given their pronounced struggles and big salaries. Saunders, 30, had a strong 2016 season and has mostly been a better-than-average hitter in the big leagues, so he’ll surely find a new opportunity elsewhere. The same holds for Gomez, who always seemed miscast as a closer but might provide some solid innings in a middle-relief role. Though both can now be had for the league minimum, it would perhaps be a surprise were either to sign directly only a MLB roster at this stage of the season.