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Blue Jays Acquire Whit Merrifield

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The Blue Jays announced they’ve acquired infielder Whit Merrifield from the Royals, with right-hander Max Castillo and minor league infielder Samad Taylor going to Kansas City,

The deal officially ends a run of more than a decade in the Kansas City organization for Merrifield, who entered pro ball as a 2010 draftee. He reached the big leagues in 2016 and had cemented himself as a regular by the following season. He’d spent the next few seasons as a top-of-the-order presence and consistently productive contact hitter. Merrifield twice led the American League in steals, twice more led the league in hits and was selected to a pair of All-Star Games. As recently as last season, he paced the circuit in doubles and swiped 40 bags, although his overall offensive output had begun to dip.

Merrifield’s production has continued to fall this year, as he’s amidst the worst offensive season of his career. He’s hitting .240/.290/.352 through 420 plate appearances, although that’s largely a reflection of a dismal April in which he hit .141/.190/.179. From May 1 onwards, he has a roughly league average .266/.315/.397 mark, striking out in only 14.9% of his plate appearances. He’s connected on just six home runs, but Merrifield brings a high-contact bat to the Jays lineup.

The 33-year-old is also a versatile defensive option capable of covering either of second base or in corner outfield. Public defensive metrics have been mixed on his performance at the keystone so far this season, but he’s typically a highly-regarded defender there. Santiago Espinal has had a nice season overall as the Jays primary second baseman, but he slumped offensively in July. Merrifield adds some cover there while also adding some extra right-handed depth to a bench that currently skews left-handed.

The Jays are a bit of a surprising destination for Merrifield, who was placed on the restricted list during a recent series while still with K.C. That indicates he wasn’t vaccinated against COVID-19 at the time — and was thus ineligible to cross the border — but Merrifield indicated he was open to receiving the vaccine to contribute to a playoff contender. General manager Ross Atkins declined to comment when asked about Merrifield’s vaccination status this evening (via Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet), but it’s difficult to imagine Toronto topping the trade market if they weren’t confident he’d be available for half their games.

Merrifield is under contract for another season and a half. He and the Royals agreed to a restructured deal just before Opening Day. He’s making $7MM this season, around $2.5MM of which is still to be paid out. He’ll receive a $6.75MM figure next season, and he’s due a $500K buyout on an $18MM mutual option for 2024. That’s a more than reasonable tab for the Jays if they believe Merrifield has put his rough April behind him.

Kansas City has resisted trade overtures on Merrifield for years, holding onto him throughout their recent rebuild. Amidst another down season and with his window of club control falling, however, president of baseball operations Dayton Moore and his staff finally made him available this summer. In exchange, they bring back a pair of young players with extended windows of club control who could contribute to the major league team shortly.

Castillo has already gotten to the big leagues, making his debut in mid-June. The 23-year-old righty has a 3.05 ERA through his first 20 2/3 frames, primarily working as a multi-inning option out of the bullpen. He’s punched out 24.7% of batters faced, induced grounders on more than half his batted balls, and only walked 6.2% of opponents. The Venezuela native has averaged around 93 MPH on his fastball and leaned heavily on his changeup during his limited big league time.

Baseball America recently named Castillo the #14 prospect in the Jays farm system, praising his feel for pitching and crediting him with average command. The outlet suggests his lack of a true plus offering is likely to relegate him to a back-of-the-rotation or swing role, but there’s still value in that kind of arm while he’s affordable. Castillo won’t reach arbitration-eligibility until 2025 at the earliest, and he still has all three minor league option years remaining. He gives the Jays an affordable rotation depth option for the coming seasons.

Taylor, 24, is an upper minors infielder. A former tenth-round pick, he’s played his way to Triple-A and had a decent season in Buffalo. Through 280 plate appearances, the righty-hitting second baseman owns a .258/.337/.426 line with nine home runs and 23 stolen bases. BA slotted Taylor 23rd in the Toronto farm system, writing that he could be a utility type in the big leagues. He’ll be eligible for the Rule 5 draft if he’s not added to the 40-man roster at the end of the season.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com first reported the Royals were trading Merrifield, while Jon Heyman of the New York Post was first to report the Jays were the acquiring team. Feinsand was first with the return.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Pirates Acquire Jeremy Beasley

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The Pirates have acquired right-hander Jeremy Beasley from the Blue Jays just prior to the trade deadline, with Toronto getting cash considerations in return.  Beasley has been assigned to Pittsburgh’s Triple-A squad.

The 26-year-old Beasley has a 5.84 ERA over 24 2/3 innings in the majors, appearing in parts of the 2020-22 seasons with the Diamondbacks and Blue Jays.  While Beasley cut back on the control problems that hampered him in 2021, home runs have plagued the righty during his brief career — Beasley has allowed seven homers over his 24 2/3 IP as a big leaguer.

In the minors, Beasley has had a lot more success, including a 3.39 ERA over 327 innings at the Triple-A level.  Since the Jays landed him from the D’Backs in another cash considerations deal in April 2012, Beasley’s strikeout rates have shot upwards, topping the 30% threshold in both of his seasons with Triple-A Buffalo.  His problems keeping the ball in the park have still continued throughout an otherwise strong 2022 season with Buffalo, but clearly the Pirates must feel they can perhaps correct Beasley’s home-run tendencies.

From the Jays’ perspective, Beasley was something of an extra depth arm for the bullpen, and this trade opens up a 40-man roster spot for Toronto’s newer additions.  The Jays landed Whit Merrifield, Mitch White, Zach Pop, and Anthony Bass in today’s trade action, reinforcing the bullpen and adding a former All-Star in Merrifield to the position-player mix.

Blue Jays Acquire Mitch White From Dodgers

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The Blue Jays and Dodgers have agreed to a trade sending righty Mitch White from Los Angeles to Toronto in exchange for minor league pitchers, tweets FanSided’s Robert Murray. The teams have since announced the trade, with White and minor league infielder Alex De Jesus headed to Toronto in exchange for minor league righty Nick Frasso and minor league lefty Moises Brito.

White, 27, has been an up-and-down member of the Dodgers’ staff for the past couple seasons, generally pitching well when with the big league club but never getting a consistent, long-term spot in the rotation or in the bullpen. He’s logged 38 games, 14 of them starts, from 2020-22 and recorded a sturdy 3.58 ERA with a 22% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate and a 42.8% ground-ball rate in 105 2/3 innings.

A second-round pick back in 2016, White had a hiccup in his first run at the Triple-A level in 2019 but has generally fared well both there (six earned runs in 43 2/3 innings) and in the Majors over the past two seasons. White is in his final minor league option season, so he’ll need to stick on the Jays’ roster in 2023 and beyond. He’ll presumably be a back-of-the-rotation candidate, though he could also emerge in a role held by fellow Dodger-turned-Blue-Jay Ross Stripling, serving as a long man and spot starter. (Stripling, of course, has since moved into the Toronto rotation.)

The 20-year-old De Jesus, meanwhile, ranked 18th among Dodger farmhands on Baseball America’s midseason update, drawing praise for his plus arm, above-average power and a potentially average hit tool. De Jesus has split the 2022 season between Class-A and Class-A Advanced, hitting at a combined .272/.386/.447 clip with 11 homers, 20 doubles and three triples. He’s sporting an unsightly 28.6% strikeout rate but also an encouraging 14.9% walk rate.

Frasso, a fourth-rounder in 2020, was the Jays’ No. 13 prospect on Baseball America’s summer rankings. He boasts an outstanding 0.74 ERA with a 41.6% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate in 36 2/3 innings split across two Class-A levels. The former Loyola Marymount right-hander has primarily faced younger competition thus far, so he’s not yet tested against more advanced hitters, but it’s an impressive stat line nevertheless. Frasso had Tommy John surgery in 2021 and has thusly had his workloads limited in his return effort, but the 6’5″ righty has reached triple digits with his heater and gives the Dodgers a power arm to dream on.

There’s little in the way of public info on Brito, a 20-year-old righty who’s just 12 games into his first professional season. He’s slightly older than his average competition in the Dominican Summer League, but his 1.86 ERA and gaudy 32-to-1 K/BB ratio through 29 innings of work stand out.

Phillies, Blue Jays Reportedly Finalists In Noah Syndergaard Bidding

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4:22pm: MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that the Syndergaard bidding is down to the Phillies and Blue Jays.

8:09am: The Phillies are believed to have Syndergaard “at the top of their list” as they seek rotation upgrades, tweets Jayson Stark of The Athletic.

12:43am: The Blue Jays are “making a play” for Angels starter Noah Syndergaard, tweets Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Blue Jays Nation’s Brendon Kuhn was first to report the club’s contact with the Halos. Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets that the Jays, Braves and previously-reported Phillies were among the teams with recent interest in Syndergaard, although he notes that Atlanta’s acquisition of Jake Odorizzi could take them out of the market.

Morosi suggests a Syndergaard trade before the 6:00pm EST deadline is becoming “more likely.” That’s not particularly surprising, as the 29-year-old has looked like a strong trade candidate for weeks. The Halos have fallen well out of playoff contention, and Syndergaard is an impending free agent. Los Angeles also couldn’t tag him with a qualifying offer next offseason. Syndgeraard received and rejected a QO from the Mets last year, and the collective bargaining agreement prohibits players from receiving a QO multiple times in their careers. Should the Angels hang onto the righty past the trade deadline, they could lose him to free agency for no compensation.

It seems likelier that general manager Perry Minasian and his staff will find a contender willing to relinquish some future considerations to add Syndergaard for the stretch run. He’s made 15 starts and worked 80 innings of 3.83 ERA ball. He doesn’t throw as hard or miss as many bats as he did during his early-career days with the Mets, but he’s a quality strike-thrower who induces a decent number of grounders. Syndergaard still looks like a solid mid-rotation arm whom some clubs could view as a possible Game 3 or Game 4 playoff starter.

Syndergaard is among the costlier options on the market, however. He signed a $21MM deal with the Halos last winter, and approximately $7.5MM of that tab has yet to be paid out. Perhaps the Angels will be willing to kick in some money to facilitate a trade, but if they’re insistent on an acquiring club picking up the remainder of the money, the prospect return could be fairly minimal.

The Cardinals landed José Quintana from the Pirates tonight, subtracting one of the more appealing rental arms from the market. It’s a rather thin group of impending free agent starters, particularly if the Red Sox and Giants elect to hold onto Nathan Eovaldi and Carlos Rodón, respectively. Beyond Syndergaard, perhaps the top remaining rental starter likely to change hands is Drew Smyly. Controllable arms who could be available in the hours leading up to the deadline include Tyler Mahle, Pablo López and Zach Plesac.

Blue Jays Interested In Raisel Iglesias

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The Blue Jays are active in their hunt for pitching and have shown interest in Angels closer Raisel Iglesias, reports Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.

The fact that the Blue Jays are interested in Iglesias is not surprising. For one thing, they are known to be on the hunt for bullpen upgrades, having already been connected to relievers such as Michael Fulmer and acquiring Zach Pop and Anthony Bass earlier today. The team’s relievers as a whole have been middling this year, with a 3.89 ERA that’s 15th in the majors, a 4.20 FIP that’s 25th, 3.96 xFIP that’s 15th and a 3.64 SIERA that’s also 15th. For a team with postseason aspirations, there’s certainly room for improvement there.

Iglesias is also a fairly logical hurler for them to covet, as he’s been one of the best closers in baseball over the past six years. Since the start of the 2017 season, he has 150 saves, trailing only Kenley Jansen and Edwin Diaz in that timeframe. In that same window, Iglesias has a 2.99 ERA, 32% strikeout rate and 7.1% walk rate.

However, it would be surprising to see the Angels consider a move, given that they just signed him to a four-year, $58MM deal about eight months ago. Still, with a 43-59 record and a lost season, perhaps the Angels would consider shedding some payroll by subtracting from their bullpen.

Blue Jays Acquire Zach Pop And Anthony Bass From Marlins

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The Blue Jays have announced that they have acquired relievers Zach Pop, Anthony Bass and a player to be named later from the Marlins, who will receive prospect Jordan Groshans in return.

This will be the second stint with the Blue Jays for Bass, 34, who was with them in the shortened 2020 season. That year, Bass threw 25 2/3 innings out of the Toronto bullpen, putting up an ERA of 3.51 along with a 62.3% ground ball rate, 21% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate.

He reached free agency at the end of that campaign and signed with the Marlins on a two-year deal with a club option for 2023. In the first year of that deal, he put up fairly similar numbers to 2020, but he’s found another gear this year. As noted by MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently, Bass has started throwing his slider more this season and found excellent results. In 44 2/3 frames this year, he has a miniscule 1.41 ERA with a 26% strikeout rate that’s a career high. He’s also only walking 5.8% of batters faced, which is well below league average. He’s making a $3MM salary this year, with around $1MM left to be paid out, and has a $3MM club option for next year. By picking him up, the Blue Jays are adding a veteran that they know, having a career year on an affordable contract.

Pop, on the other hand, is just 25 years old, turning 26 next month. He was originally drafted by the Dodgers but went to the Orioles in the Manny Machado trade. In the 2020 Rule 5 draft, he was selected by the Diamondbacks, who flipped him to the Marlins. A ground ball specialist, Pop stuck with the Marlins for the entire 2021 season, throwing 54 2/3 innings out of their bullpen with a 4.12 ERA, 57.6% ground ball rate, 20.7% strikeout rate and 9.8% walk rate.

Here in 2022, he’s been bounced between Triple-A and the big leagues throughout the year, having been optioned and recalled three times. In his 20 MLB innings, he has a 3.60 ERA, 63.1% ground ball rate, 16.9% strikeout rate and 2.4% walk rate. In 24 1/3 innings at Triple-A, he’s posted fairly similar results, albeit with a few more walks. He logged a full year of service time last year but will fall short of the two-year mark this season because of that time spent in the minors. That means the Jays will be able to keep him around for five more seasons beyond this one, with Pop also capable of being optioned between the majors and the minors in the future. He comes with less of a track record than Bass but is cheap and controllable.

For the Marlins, they floated around the playoff race but have fallen off in recent weeks, currently 47-56 and 8 1/2 games out of a postseason spot. They are using some of their bullpen pieces to acquire Groshans, a prospect with strong pedigree but disappointing results this year. Selected by the Jays with the 12th overall pick in the 2018 draft, he was considered one of the top 100 prospects in the sport by Baseball America from 2019 to 2021. He was limited by injuries to just 23 games in 2019 and then saw the minor league wiped out in 2020.

He got back into a groove with a fine season in 2021, hitting seven home runs and slashing .291/.367/.450 in 75 Double-A games. However, this year has been a downturn, with Groshans struggling at Triple-A. He’s always had a good approach at the plate, walking almost as much as he strikes out, and that’s still true this year. His 12.5% walk rate and 16.5% strikeout rate are both much better than average, but he’s shown absolutely no power production on the season. He has one home run in 279 plate appearances on the season, leading to a tepid slash line of .250/.348/.296, wRC+ of 82.

For Miami, they are surely hoping that Groshans’ will eventually tap into more power to combine with his keen eye and bat-to-ball skills. He’s only 22 years old and could certainly still find another gear in that department. Groshans had played mostly shortstop thus far in his career but has gradually spent more time at third, with many prospect evaluators expecting him to eventually settle in at the hot corner. If that is indeed the case, he will certainly need to tap into more power in order to be a viable big league third baseman.

For the Blue Jays, they’ve added a couple of interesting pieces to a middling bullpen as they gear up for a stretch run. For the struggling Marlins, they’ve bought low on a prospect that was once considered one of the best in the game, hoping to find some value for the future.

Shi Davidi of Sportsnet was the first to report a deal involving Pop and Groshans. Craig Mish of Sportsgrid was the first to report that Anthony Bass was also heading to the Jays. Jon Heyman of the New York Post relayed that the Jays would also get a smaller piece, which Davidi relayed as a player to be named later.

Ian Happ Rumors: Deadline Day

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The last time we checked in on Cubs outfielder Ian Happ, it was when ESPN’s Jeff Passan revealed last Friday that the team is “likely to trade him.”  Happ, 28 in August, has a 122 wRC+ on the season.  He’s got about $2.4MM remaining on his contract this year, and will be eligible for arbitration for 2023.  If the Cubs want to trade the 2015 first-rounder prior to the offseason, they’ve got fewer than nine hours to get it done.  Here’s the latest:

Blue Jays Interested In Jose Quintana

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  • The Blue Jays are in the mix for Pirates starter Jose Quintana, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, along with such previously-reported suitors as the Yankees and White Sox.  The veteran left-hander is having a bounce-back season after struggling in 2019-21, and Quintana could help bolster an inconsistent Toronto rotation.  Pirates GM Ben Cherington previously worked in the Jays’ front office, so this familiarity with the AL East side’s prospects could help the Blue Jays in the bidding, though the two sides haven’t completed a player-for-player trade in the two-plus years since Cherington went to Pittsburgh.

Latest On Frankie Montas

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TODAY: The Yankees, Cardinals, and Blue Jays seem to be the top suitors for Montas, as Jon Morosi of MLB Network writes that the right-hander’s “market is focused on” these three teams.

JULY 30: With Luis Castillo now on his way to Seattle following last night’s trade to the Mariners, Frankie Montas stands out as perhaps the best and likeliest arm left to be traded before Tuesday’s 5pm CT deadline. The majority of teams that held interest in Castillo are involved, to varying extents, in the Montas market, so it’s possible that last night’s deal begins to accelerate the pace of the pitching market overall.

The Yankees, for instance, were known to be Castillo suitors but have now made Montas their top target according to both Bob Nightengale of USA Today and Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter links). The Cardinals, who never seemed likely to be able to land Castillo from a fellow NL Central club, are continuing their pursuit of Montas, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Their pursuit, however, is complicated a bit by simultaneous interest in Nationals superstar Juan Soto; Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes in his latest column that some of the Cardinals prospects the A’s are targeting in return for Montas are also coveted by the Nationals.

Several other clubs were linked to both Montas and Castillo in the past week, including the Twins, Padres and Blue Jays. There are also surely other clubs on the periphery of the market whose presence isn’t publicly known. Both Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News and Rosenthal have indicated, for instance, that the Rangers had engaged with the Reds in talks regarding Castillo. Whether the A’s would seriously entertain sending Montas to a division rival isn’t clear, but it’s telling that Texas is in the market for arms that can be controlled into 2023.

The Athletics’ asking price on Montas was reportedly quite high even before last night’s trade of Castillo potentially upped Oakland’s leverage in talks. In profiling the Cardinals’ current rotation needs, Katie Woo of The Athletic wrote (prior to the Castillo deal) that Oakland is believed to be seeking a pair of top prospects and “potentially a currently rostered player with substantial team control remaining.” It’s a steep ask, to be sure, though not an unrealistic one given Montas’ trade value.

Blue Jays Interested In Michael Fulmer

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  • The Blue Jays are one of the teams showing interest in Tigers reliever Michael Fulmer, according to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter).  The former AL Rookie of the Year has revived his career with two strong years as a relief pitcher, and is a natural trade chip for the struggling Tigers since Fulmer is scheduled for free agency after the season.  Toronto’s bullpen has been generally solid but somewhat inconsistent, and Fulmer would help reinforce the high-leverage innings in front of All-Star closer Jordan Romano.
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