Rangers' Asking Price For Yu Darvish "Awfully High"
- As one would expect, the Rangers will have an “awfully high” asking price for ace Yu Darvish if they do market him, relays Rosenthal. Even though Darvish is an impending free agent on a team that doesn’t look likely to make the playoffs, trading him isn’t as obvious as it might seem, contends Rosenthal. Not only do the Rangers “have an unusually close relationship” with the 30-year-old and a desire to keep him for the long haul, but retaining Darvish for the stretch run will give them a better chance to make up a 4.5-game deficit in the wild-card race. Also, they’d lose the ability to make Darvish a qualifying offer after after the season, which Rosenthal regards as a formality. The Rangers will net a pick after the second round if they issue Darvish a QO and he rejects it.
Yankees May Have Interest In Yu Darvish
The Yankees had scout Brandon Duckworth in attendance to watch Texas’ game in Tampa Bay on Friday, leading to speculation that the Bombers are interested in Rangers ace Yu Darvish, writes George A. King III of the New York Post. New York is one of many potential suitors for Darvish, who struck out 12 Rays in eight innings Friday. For the Yankees, Darvish would more than make up for the loss of Michael Pineda to Tommy John surgery and give the playoff hopefuls another front-line starter to join Luis Severino. However, it’s unclear whether they’d be willing to pay what figures to be a heavy price for a rental.
Chi Chi Gonzalez To Have Tommy John Surgery
Rangers righty Chi Chi Gonzalez has been dealing with additional elbow pain and will have Tommy John surgery, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets. He will miss not only the rest of 2017, but all of 2018 as a result.
It’s been an awful run of luck for Gonzalez, who was diagnosed with a partial UCL tear in Spring Training and has not pitched competitively in 2017. The plan at the time was for Gonzalez to receive a platelet-rich plasma injection and sit out for six weeks, thus avoiding Tommy John surgery. It appears, however, that that plan didn’t do the trick.
The 25-year-old Gonzalez was the 23rd overall pick in the 2013 draft out of Oral Roberts. He advanced through the Rangers’ system as a top prospect and made it to the Majors in 2015, posting a 3.90 ERA in 67 innings despite a very weak 4.0 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9. He struggled in three big-league starts in 2016, spending most of the year in the Triple-A Round Rock rotation.
Rangers Scouting Cubs, Dodgers
- The impending returns of McHugh and Keuchel don’t mean the Astros are out of the market for rotation help, however. Jon Morosi of MLB Network tweets that the team watched Rangers star Yu Darvish pitch yesterday. The team is keeping tabs on all significant potential rotation additions, Morosi adds. Darvish has lately been connected to a variety of teams, including the Dodgers and Cubs.
- Speaking of Darvish, the Rangers have recently been scouting the Dodgers’ and Cubs’ Triple-A teams, Evan Grant of SportsDay writes. Of course, teams frequently scout one another’s affiliates for any number of reasons, but right now, the Rangers’ interest in the Dodgers’ and Cubs’ minor-leaguers could set the groundwork for a trade. Grant adds, though, that the Cubs might be more interested in catcher Jonathan Lucroy than in Darvish. (The 31-year-old Lucroy is in the midst of a down season in Texas, with a .248/.297/.351 line so far; he’s eligible for free agency after the season. He would complement Willson Contreras behind the plate if the Rangers were to trade him to Chicago.) Grant also notes that rival clubs didn’t scout Darvish’s own start particularly heavily last night, perhaps because the 46-50 Rangers are still on the fringes of contention. It’s still not yet entirely clear what their approach to the deadline will be.
Dodgers Scouting Yu Darvish
The Dodgers (and the Cubs, whose interest we’ve already noted) were among the teams scouting Rangers star Yu Darvish last night, the MLB Network’s Jon Morosi tweets. Darvish struck out 12 Rays batters over eight innings. The Dodgers already have good starting pitching, with Clayton Kershaw, Alex Wood, Rich Hill, Brandon McCarthy and Kenta Maeda all healthy, but Darvish would of course improve any team’s rotation. The righty currently has a 3.45 ERA, 9.4 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 over 125 1/3 innings. He’s eligible for free agency after the season. Here’s more from the NL.
Details On Yu Darvish's No-Trade List
Yu Darvish is pitching tonight for the Rangers, so clearly there’s nothing imminent. Indeed, Texas seems likely to take its decision on the ace to the latest possible moment, even as it begins to solicit interest. As that process begins to take place, it’s important to note that Darvish possesses partial no-trade rights. While it’s not at all clear whether he’d get in the way of a deal, particularly given that he’ll be a free agent in a few months regardless, that adds another potential hurdle. Per Jim Bowden of Sirius XM, via Twitter, Darvish currently can block trades to the Cubs, Indians, Pirates, Red Sox, and Rockies (along with five other teams that are in no position to consider a rental starter).
Cubs Interested In Yu Darvish
1:30pm: There hasn’t been much progress in talks between the Rangers and Cubs, Morosi tweets. While the Cubs continue to have interest in Darvish, they’d still prefer to add a starter who is controlled beyond just this season.
9:18am: The Cubs have checked in with the Rangers about Yu Darvish, according to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. Earlier today, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan reported that Texas was open to at least discussing its ace with other teams, even if a trade doesn’t seem imminent.
Given that Chicago has been so aggressively pursuing starting pitching this summer, it isn’t any surprise that Theo Epstein and company have looked into Darvish. Even after landing Jose Quintana in a blockbuster deal with the White Sox, the Cubs have continued to seek out arms, asking about such names as Chris Archer, Marcus Stroman, and (perhaps most seriously) Sonny Gray. The Cubs were still interested in Gray as of last night, Morosi reports.
[Related: MLBTR’s Chicago Cubs Facebook page]
A Darvish trade, however, would represent a shift in Chicago’s thinking. The Cubs have been looking into controllable pitchers that can sustain the rotation over the long term since Jake Arrieta and John Lackey will be free agents this winter. Darvish is a free agent himself in the offseason, so he would be a pure rental for the Cubs. After already surrendering several top prospects in the deals for Quintana and for Aroldis Chapman last July, the Cubs are likely wary about giving up even more top minor leaguers for just two-plus months of Darvish’s services. Then again, since Darvish would clearly be the best rental pitcher on the market, the Cubs may be willing to take the plunge in this specific case in order to emerge from the crowded NL Central race and take a run at another world championship.
With Darvish’s short-term status in mind, it is possible that a Rangers/Cubs deal could expand to more than just the star right-hander. For instance, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News “would not be surprised” if Jonathan Lucroy also became involved in trade talks between the two clubs, as the Cubs have been looking for a catching upgrade since parting ways with Miguel Montero.
Rangers Discussing Yu Darvish With Rival Clubs
The Rangers are putting out feelers with other organizations to gauge interest in star righty Yu Darvish, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. While Texas isn’t yet ready to pursue a trade, per the report, it seems the club’s recent skid has put that option firmly on the table.
While there’s still plenty of uncertainty, the news is still notable. Darvish, after all, would represent the only clear impact rental starter on the market. Other top potentially available arms on expiring contracts include Trevor Cahill, Marco Estrada, Jhoulys Chacin, Jeremy Hellickson, and Jaime Garcia (who may be en route to the Twins).
If the 30-year-old is indeed made available, the Rangers would surely command a rather steep price. He wouldn’t be eligible for a qualifying offer from an acquiring team, so there’s no real value beyond the present season (apart from laying some groundwork for a possible free-agent pursuit), but Darvish could significantly impact an organization’s run to and through the postseason.
Over his 125 1/3 innings this year, Darvish has delivered a 3.45 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9. That’s not the kind of elite performance he delivered prior to undergoing Tommy John surgery, but still represents top-level performance — particularly in the current run-scoring environment.
Darvish is throwing as hard as ever and generating swinging-strikes at near-typical levels. Any long-term health concerns are out the window. And with just $11MM owed to him over the course of the season, he’s quite affordable for his performance level.
Presumably, just about any organization currently seeking rotation help would need to consider the Japanese ace. Some clubs will still prefer controllable hurlers, most notably Sonny Gray, but the market is otherwise starved for top-end starters that would be expected to represent significant upgrades for a hypothetical postseason rotation.
Heyman’s Latest: Cole, Cutch, Fulmer, Iglesias, Abreu, Bruce, Alonso, Darvish
The Pirates are on a roll in the NL Central, having just swept the division-leading Brewers in a four-game series. Even prior to today’s win, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports wrote in his weekly notes column that Pittsburgh not only continues to look unlikely to trade Gerrit Cole but is now also unlikely to deal outfielder Andrew McCutchen, who has undergone a remarkable turnaround at the plate since late May.
More highlights from Heyman’s latest, including his American League and National League breakdowns:
- The Tigers appear all but entirely unwilling to move young starter Michael Fulmer, per Heyman. That’s largely unsurprising, though perhaps it might have been expected that the club would at least entertain some scenarios in the interest of covering all its bases. While he’d surely draw a major haul, it would probably be tough for the team to part with its best asset while so many expensive veterans remain under contract. Meanwhile, Heyman notes that shortstop Jose Iglesias could be had for the right price, though it’s hard to see that coming together with such limited demand at the position.
- Though the White Sox are clearly in the midst of another aggressive sale, Heyman writes that there are no plans to move Jose Abreu at this time. The slugger is in the midst of a fine season, but there’s a limited market for first base help at this time. With another two years of control beyond this season, the ChiSox will perhaps have more opportunistic times to market him. Derek Holland, on the other hand, could very well be moved in the coming week, and the South Siders would like to move Melky Cabrera as well but would probably need to pay down most of the remainder of this year’s $15MM salary.
- The Indians are a possible landing spot for Jay Bruce, as their offense is currently without the injured Lonnie Chisenhall and Jason Kipnis. The Mets are known to be looking to move Bruce, and it’s worth noting that USA Today’s Bob Nightengale recently reported that Cleveland was in the mix for slugger J.D. Martinez right up until the time he was traded.
- With limited trade partners for Yonder Alonso — especially following the Yankees’ acquisition of Todd Frazier — the Athletics once again touched base with Yonder Alonso’s reps at MVP Sports about an extension, per Heyman. They’ll circle back again and do so later this week as the two sides attempt to find a middle ground. Oakland is in the midst of an all-out rebuild, as executive vice president of baseball ops Billy Beane recently indicated, but Alonso could provide some leadership for the team’s younger players. And, if he sustains his breakout through season’s end and into 2018, he could certainly become a marketable asset in the future when there’s more of a need at his position.
- The Rangers aren’t likely to re-sign Yu Darvish after the season, Heyman writes, as Darvish’s camp has already thrown out Stephen Strasburg‘s seven-year, $175MM contract as a potential comp. Texas isn’t prepared to bid that highly to retain Darvish, which is why they’ve at least signaled to teams that they’ll listen to offers on Darvish if they struggle too much between now and the deadline. There’s no plan to move Cole Hamels at this time, though, he adds.
- While the Diamondbacks may have made their biggest move already, the club is still looking at ways to bolster the pitching staff. Heyman pegs Blue Jays righty Marco Estrada as a possibility, though it’s unclear if he’s actively under consideration. It’s fair to wonder, too, whether the club would be better suited to focusing on bullpen help — though, of course, looking at starters doesn’t preclude that possibility.
- While the Cubs have made at least some contact with the Athletics on righty Sonny Gray even since acquiring Jose Quintana, Heyman says that it’s not at all clear that Chicago will be “a strong player” for another controllable starter.
- With Jaime Garcia seemingly going off the board, there ought to be greater focus now on Phillies righty Jeremy Hellickson. He ought to be easier to obtain now than he was last year, Heyman notes, as the Phils are willing to hold onto at least some of his $17.2MM salary to improve the prospect return.
Rangers Designate Pete Kozma For Assignment
The Rangers announced that they’ve activated Keone Kela from the disabled list and designated infielder Pete Kozma for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster.
The 29-year-old Kozma has appeared in 39 games between the Yankees and Rangers this year — his first big league action since the 2015 season in St. Louis. His offensive struggles have continued, though, as he’s batted a combined .111/.200/.178 through 51 plate appearances between those two clubs (41 with Texas). Kozma has always been a glove-first player, but teams have had a hard time justifying carrying his bat on the Major League roster (with the exception of the 2013 Cardinals).
In parts of six Major League seasons between the Cards, Yankees and Rangers, Kozma is a .212/.282/.285 hitter through 740 plate appearances.