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Cubs Interested In Nicholas Castellanos, Shane Greene

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2:45pm: David Kaplan of NBC Sports Chicago adds (via Twitter) that the Cubs have also checked in on Tigers closer Shane Greene. The two teams could pursue a package deal that sends both Greene and Castellanos to Chicago, though as Kaplan notes, the Cubs would have to surrender considerable prospect capital to consummate such an agreement. The aforementioned pair includes two of the Tigers’ most coveted assets, and Detroit will be careful not to be undersold. Greene, unlike Castellanos, is controllable through the 2020 season.

11:01am: The Cubs are among the teams with interest in Tigers right fielder Nicholas Castellanos, per Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. “This one has some teeth,” McCosky adds.

Whether it’s Chicago or another team that acquires Castellanos, he’s a near lock to leave the Motor City by the July 31 trade deadline. The Tigers likely aren’t going to extend the 27-year-old impending free agent, so they figure to get what they can for him. For now, he’s on a $9.95MM salary.

While the Tigers don’t seem to want him around for the long haul, Castellanos is amid his fourth straight quality offensive season with the club. Castellanos has slashed .280/.339/.467 (111 wRC+) with 10 home runs in 404 plate appearances, and has posted a formidable .887 OPS over the past 30 days.

There’s little question Castellanos has value at the dish, but the same isn’t true of his work as a defender. And if he goes to the Cubs, he won’t be able to slot in as a designated hitter. Castellanos has combined for minus-33 Defensive Runs Saved and a minus-24.6 Ultimate Zone Rating since moving from third base to right in 2017. He’s at minus-7 and minus-4.0 in those categories this year.

For the Cubs, acquiring Castellanos would likely mean moving bounce-back right fielder Jason Heyward to center, where the Cubs have deployed the light-hitting Albert Almora for most of the season. On the offensive side, a Castellanos pickup would almost surely improve the NL Central-leading Cubs’ outlook against left-handed pitchers, who have held their hitters to a below-average .232/.317/.405/ line. The righty-swinging Castellanos, on the other hand, has been a terror versus southpaws, whom he has crushed to the tune of .377/.451/.639.

Cubs Place Adbert Alzolay On Minor-League Injured List

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The Cubs have placed young righty Adbert Alzolay on the injured list at their top affiliate, as Tony Andracki of NBC Sports Chicago was among those to cover on Twitter. Alzolay, who was pulled from his most recent outing, is said to be dealing with biceps inflammation.

That’s not necessarily a worrying bit of injury news — so long as it’s not a euphemistic way of characterizing a more serious underlying problem. But it will no doubt be handled with an abundance of caution for a talented, 24-year-old pitcher who already missed a long stretch late last year with a lat injury.

Alzolay had put himself firmly on the MLB map. He reached the majors for the first time earlier this year, allowing nine earned runs in 11 1/3 innings with a 12:7 K/BB ratio. Like many other pitchers, he was done in by long balls (4). But he also showed a 94 mph heater and 10.6% swinging-strike rate in his brief stint. Though Alzolay has also been hit around a bit at Triple-A this year, he’s also carrying 12.4 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9 through his 43 2/3 innings at the club’s top affiliate.

Having already dealt Mike Montgomery, and without the possibility of swinging any trades after the end of this month, the Cubs would surely like to have Alzolay available as a rotation option if a need arises. And there’s always the chance of a live-armed youngster functioning in some kind of relief capacity down the stretch and even into the postseason.

Cubs Activate Danny Hultzen At Triple-A

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Long-lost former second-overall draft pick Danny Hultzen has been trying to reestablish himself as a relief pitcher with the Cubs. Yesterday marked an important milestone in that effort, as he was formally activated for the first time at the organization’s top affiliate.

Hultzen had already been in uniform at Triple-A Iowa, but was technically operating in a rehab capacity. His initial showing has been rather promising, as he’s now through 3 2/3 innings of scoreless ball having recorded six strikeouts while allowing only a pair of baserunners (one hit, one walk).

Cubs president of baseball ops Theo Epstein has acknowledged that hurdles remain for Hultzen to get a shot at the majors, but indicates he’s seen internally as having a real chance. With the Chicago pen in need of depth down the stretch, particularly from the left side, Hultzen suddenly seems to be an interesting option.

Now 29 years of age, Hultzen’s dash towards the majors was halted back in 2013, when he impressed at Triple-A but ended up blowing out his arm by trying to pitch through injuries. Hultzen discussed his collapse and quiet reengagement with the game in a great interview with Dillon Mullan of the Washington Post. While he did appear on the bump last year in the Cubs system, the outcome remained entirely uncertain. This year’s increasingly eye-opening showing has still made for quite a pleasant surprise.

Cubs Rumors: Trade Deadline, Maldonado, Caratini, Hamels

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The Cubs, buoyed by a weekend sweep of the Pirates and a dramatic walk-off victory Tuesday, are likely to approach the trade deadline as a buyer. However, president of baseball operations Theo Epstein tells Patrick Mooney of The Athletic (subscription required) that “it would take a special deal to sacrifice the very top of the farm system.” Epstein plainly states that while his goal is to win in 2019, the team is simultaneously trying to build its farm back up after years of aggressive, win-now deals. Epstein himself doesn’t list specific untouchables, though one can presume that players like Miguel Amaya, Nico Hoerner, Adbert Alzolay and Aramis Ademan will be tough to pry away. The Cubs have recently been linked to left-handed bullpen upgrades, and manager Joe Maddon spoke recently about his desire to add a more consistent veteran bat to the lineup.

More Cubs rumblings…

  • Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times dispels some speculative theories following the Cubs’ surprise acquisition of Martin Maldonado. Adding a third catcher to the mix doesn’t indicate that Willson Contreras’ foot injury is worse than has been suggested. To the contrary, Contreras said he expects to be cleared for full baseball activity by the end of the week, calling his injury a “bruise” after a visit with a specialist. The Maldonado trade was not made with the intent of either shopping Victor Caratini or optioning him back to Triple-A, Wittenmyer further reports. The Cubs have a history of acquiring a third catcher in recent August waiver periods — Bobby Wilson in 2018, Rene Rivera in 2017 — but there’s no opportunity to do so now that August trade waivers have been eliminated. “You can never have enough good catching, especially catching that is playoff-experienced and respected by veteran pitchers and coaches alike,” GM Jed Hoyer said following the Maldonado deal.
  • An early August return could be in the cards for lefty Cole Hamels, Wittenmyer writes in a second piece. Hamels will have a mound session today after a previous pair of throwing sessions from flat ground. The southpaw conceded that while he “hates it,” he’ll need to make at least one minor league rehab start because it’s the “smart thing to do.” If today’s session goes well, that could put him in line to reclaim his rotation spot on Aug. 3, tentatively putting his total absence at a period of about five weeks. Hamels, 35, had pitched to a terrific 2.98 ERA with 8.8 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 0.81 HR/9 and a 51.1 percent ground-ball rate in 99 2/3 innings when he landed on the IL late last month. He’d been doing his best work of the season prior to being shelved, making his absence all the more costly for the Cubs. In six June starts (37 innings), Hamels allowed five earned runs with a 37-to-9 K/BB ratio.

Cubs Acquire Martin Maldonado For Mike Montgomery

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The Cubs have acquired catcher Martin Maldonado from the Royals, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. Left-hander Mike Montgomery’s going to Kansas City in the swap, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports. The teams have confirmed the trade.

With Willson Contreras and Victor Caratini having combined to offer excellent behind-the-plate production in 2019, the Cubs don’t look like a fit for Maldonado on paper. However, Conteras is heading to the injured list with a strain of the arch muscle on his right foot, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic was among those to report. The Cubs don’t expect Contreras to need longer than the minimum 10-day IL stint, Sharma adds.

Playoff-contending Chicago’s getting a capable stopgap in Maldonado, whom it showed interest in during the offseason. Maldonado chose against signing with the Cubs over the winter because he wanted to join a team that would offer him more playing time than he’d have gotten in Chicago. It proved to be a wise decision on Maldonado’s part. With Salvador Perez out for 2019, the 32-year-old Maldonado ultimately became Kansas City’s primary catcher after signing for $2.5MM guarantee a few weeks before the season.

Long known as a tremendous defender with a questionable bat, Maldonado lived up to his reputation with the Royals. In 261 plate appearances in KC, Maldonado hit .224/.288/.359 (71 wRC+) with six home runs. On the other end, he threw out an above-average 33 percent of would-be base stealers and earned quality reviews from Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average metric.

In exchange for Maldonado, a soon-to-be free agent, the out-of-contention Royals are getting two-plus years of control over Montgomery. A swingman for most of his career and a full-time reliever this year, Montgomery, 30, will slot into the Royals’ rotation immediately, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com tweets. He’ll also rejoin the organization that spent a first-round pick on him in 2008. Four years later, the Royals traded Montgomery to the Rays in a blockbuster that also included James Shields, Wade Davis, Wil Myers and Jake Odorizzi.

Montgomery never pitched for the Rays, instead joining the Mariners in a swap in 2015 – the year he made his major league debut. He lasted with the Mariners for approximately a season and a half, going to the Cubs in July 2016 in yet another deal.  A few months later, Montgomery earned the save in the Cubs’ historic Game 7 World Series win over the Indians.

Montgomery was effective even before his career-defining moment in ’16 and has largely fared well since, but his numbers have taken a significant turn for the worse this year. He logged a woeful 5.67 ERA/6.21 FIP with 6.0 K/9, 4.33 BB/9 and a 43.3 percent groundball rate over 27 innings in his final season with the Cubs.

Overall, Montgomery has pitched to a far better 3.72 ERA/4.21 FIP with 6.87 K/9, 3.47 BB/9 and a 53.9 percent grounder rate across 167 appearances and 56 starts in the majors. The Royals will hope he puts up numbers more in line with his lifetime marks as a member of their rotation, which lost veteran Homer Bailey in a trade with the Athletics on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Cubs had already been in search of a left-handed reliever before trading Montgomery. Therefore, this deal could further put the onus on president of baseball operations Theo Epstein to acquire a southpaw by the July 31 deadline. With Montgomery on a $2.44MM salary this year, the Cubs added a small amount of payroll in this swap.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cubs’ Mike Montgomery Reportedly “Involved” In Trade Discussions

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The Cubs are seeking a left-handed reliever in advance of the July 31 deadline, but one of their own southpaws – Mike Montgomery – “has been involved in trade talks,” Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com writes. However, it’s unclear whether there’s a deal featuring Montgomery on the horizon.

Now 30, Montgomery joined the Cubs in July 2016 as part of a trade with the Mariners for then-first base prospect Daniel Vogelbach, who has emerged as a formidable piece of the M’s offense this year. Montgomery was a quality member of the Cubs in his own right from 2016-18, notching 99 appearances and 38 starts of 3.56 ERA/4.10 FIP ball with 6.88 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and a 54.9 percent groundball rate over 293 innings.

The Cubs surely expected more of the same from Montgomery this year, but his production has cratered across 20 appearances and 27 frames (all in relief). To this point, Montgomery owns an ugly 5.67 ERA/6.21 FIP. His K/9 (6.0) has declined, albeit not a ton from its already underwhelming levels, while Montgomery’s control and ability to induce grounders have also faded. He’s walking a career-worst 4.33 batters per nine and generating grounders at a personal-low 43.3 percent clip.

Unsurprisingly, with hitters having an easier time elevating the ball against Montgomery, more of his pitches have been leaving the yard. Montgomery has yielded home runs on a whopping 28.6 percent of fly balls, which is the eighth-highest figure among all pitchers who have thrown at least 20 innings in 2019. Part of the problem for Montgomery has been a sudden inability to retire left-handed hitters, whom he fared decently against coming into this season. They’ve teed off on him for a ridiculous .557 weighted on-base average this season. Lefties and righties have combined for a .416 wOBA against Montgomery, which is right in line with a .415 expected wOBA that Statcast ranks fourth from the bottom among qualified pitchers.

Needless to say, the 2019 version of Montgomery hasn’t done his trade value any favors. He does have his pre-2019 performance to fall back on, though, not to mention a couple years of team control. Montgomery’s earning $2.44MM this season and comes with two more years of arbitration eligibility. While the struggling Montgomery’s current salary doesn’t look onerous, the Cubs may want him and his money out of the picture as they try to upgrade their roster by the end of the month.

Latest On Cubs’ Trade Deadline Focus

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The Cubs’ signing of Craig Kimbrel last month may have crossed one item off their trade deadline to-do list, but the NL Central division leaders aren’t necessarily sitting back. Manager Joe Maddon spoke openly over the weekend about the manner in which the team is missing the “consistent” and “professional” at-bats brought to the table by Ben Zobrist (link via Tom Musnick of the Chicago Sun-Times), and Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago/670 The Score reports that the Cubs are in the market for a veteran hitter to whom they can entrust leadoff duties.

Levine understandably pegs Kansas City’s Whit Merrifield as the ideal fit for the Cubs’ need but adds that the Royals have placed an enormous price on the 30-year-old, who signed an eminently affordable four-year, $16.25MM extension this past winter. The Kansas City front office would seek as many as three controllable, big-league-ready players in any trade involving Merrifield, per Levine. It stands to reason that virtually any contending team in baseball would want to get its hand on Merrifield, who is hitting .309/.361/.500 and vying for a second consecutive season in which he paces the league in hits. However, that type of ask would be a significant impediment for interested parties, even with forthcoming salaries of $5MM (2020), $6.75MM (2021), $2.75MM (2022), a $6.75MM club option (2023) and a luxury tax hit of just $4.0625MM.

Chicago has already been tied to Arizona’s David Peralta, but there’s no guarantee that the Diamondbacks will even make him available due to the fact that he’s controlled through 2020. Beyond that, as ESPN’s Buster Olney briefly touched upon yesterday (subscription required), Peralta’s injury history — five absences in the past three and a half seasons, including two in 2019 — could create some hesitancy for a team eyeing stability. While Olney writes that the Cubs are “open-minded” about possibilities to upgrade their lineup, he also more broadly examines the fact that this year’s altered baseball and corresponding home run surge is making it difficult for teams to evaluate players.

That reality becomes all the more apparent when looking through some of the bats available to the Cubs and other clubs on this summer’s trade market. Sifting through our recent list of the market’s top trade candidates, names like Freddy Galvis, Eric Sogard and Kole Calhoun all stand out as hitters who could be moved amid career-best power performances. None of that bunch would be the “consistent” bat the Cubs are reported to be seeking, however, and the Cubs (like other teams) are surely wondering about the sustainability of their respective power surges.

Meanwhile, both Dee Gordon and Jonathan Villar are available, but both Gordon is enduring a poor season at the plate while Villar’s year-to-year performance is full of peaks and valleys. Corey Dickerson could be moved, but the Bucs would probably prefer not to trade him to a division rival. Perhaps Detroit’s Nicholas Castellanos would more aptly fit the “professional” hitter mold sought by the Cubs, but generally speaking, this year’s market isn’t exactly flooded with solid veteran bats — particularly not at positions the Cubs could easily accommodate.

Levine also lists a left-handed reliever as an item on the Cubs’ wishlist, though that’s been known to be the case for quite some time. Beyond his speculation on San Francisco’s Will Smith and Tony Watson, the market bears a few possibilities. The Royals’ Jake Diekman would certainly be a fit, as would the even more-affordable (financially speaking) Roenis Elias in Seattle, whose trade candidacy was recently explored here at MLBTR. Were the D-backs to end up as sellers and make Andrew Chafin available, he’d surely hold interest as well.

Payroll has been an ongoing issue for the Cubs, but any of Diekman ($2.75MM), Elias ($910K) or Chafin ($1.95MM) come with a more affordable rate than Smith ($4.25MM and the highest prospect price tag) or Watson ($10.5MM in 2019 if he reaches all of his incentives, which seems likely). Notably, the Cubs’ current luxury tax payments put them within about $4MM of the top penalty bracket. Crossing that threshold would mean paying a 75 percent tax on every additional dollar spent and also dropping their top pick in next year’s draft by 10 spots. The possible return of Zobrist could add some additional salary to the books, but the lack of certainty surrounding his status makes it difficult to forecast just how much salary he’d add onto the books.

Cole Hamels Close To Rehab

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  • Cole Hamels has begun playing catch as well, with the next steps being a team evaluation sometime today, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun Times. Hamels hit the shelf in late June after scoring a 1.22 ERA for the month. On the whole, Hamels’ Chicago rejuvenation has kept pace into 2019 with a 6-3 record and 2.98 ERA (3.57 FIP). The Cubs need only replace Hamels spot in the rotation once until early August, at which point a return is conceivable. In the meantime, Tyler Chatwood has held the line in three spot starts, though the Braves hit him hard the last time he got the nod. Alec Mills, 27, has looked ripe as ever with a 2.72 ERA over his last eight starts in Triple-A, where he holds a 4.72 ERA for the season. Mills doesn’t figure as a long-term piece for the Cubs, but he’s more than adequate for this brand of spot start. Before you ask, no, Adbert Alzolay won’t take Hamels next time through the rotation, as his rest days won’t align with the Cubs’ need after starting last night’s game for Iowa.

Cubs Release Junichi Tazawa

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The Cubs have released veteran right-hander Junichi Tazawa from their Triple-A affiliate in Iowa, as first reported by broadcaster Alex Cohen (Twitter link). He’ll return to the open market in search of a new opportunity as numerous clubs seek out bullpen depth in advance of the July 31 trade deadline.

Tazawa, who turned 33 last month, got a late start on his season but has appeared in 19 games with Iowa, pitching to an even 4.00 ERA with a 17-to-6 K/BB ratio through 18 innings in that time. He’s coming off an ugly two-year stint with the Marlins and Angels, during which time he logged a 6.16 ERA, 7.1 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 83 1/3 innings of work.

Prior to signing an ill-fated two-year deal worth a guaranteed $12MM in Miami, Tazawa was a generally solid setup piece in the Boston bullpen. From 2012-16, he racked up 78 holds and four saves while pitching to a 3.20 ERA (3.08 FIP) with a pristine 291-to-61 K/BB ratio over the life of 283 2/3 innings (plus another 7 1/3 frames of one-run ball in the 2013 postseason).

Tazawa’s average fastball velocity was down considerably from its 93.9 mph peak this past season, averaging 91.5 mph, and his 7.1 percent swinging-strike rate was his lowest since his 2009 rookie campaign in Boston. He did enjoy a strong spring with the Cubs, as he notched 5 2/3 shutout innings with nine strikeouts, no walks and just a pair of hits allowed. That, paired with his respectable output in Iowa, could suggest that Tazawa has something left in the tank, although he’ll quite likely need to prove that on another minor league deal before returning to the Major with a new club.

Poll: Disappointing National League Teams

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It wouldn’t have been far-fetched at the beginning of the season to expect any of the Brewers, Cubs, Rockies, Cardinals, Phillies or Mets to end up as part of this year’s National League playoff field. Three of those clubs – Milwaukee, Chicago and Colorado – earned postseason trips a year ago and continued to boast capable rosters coming into 2019. St. Louis won 88 games in 2018 and then made a couple aggressive offseason moves in an effort to get over the hump. Philadelphia and New York were sub-.500 teams last season, though the NL East rivals were among the majors’ busiest franchises over the winter.

With the regular season having reached its brief summer recess, it’s fair to say all of the above clubs have disappointed to varying degrees so far. The Cubs (47-43) and Brewers (47-44) do hold playoff spots at the moment, while the Redbirds (44-44) are just two back of those teams in the NL Central. However, they’ve each contributed to the general mediocrity of their division.

Cubs president Theo Epstein just voiced disgust over his team’s weeks-long slump. Their closest competitors, the Brewers,  have gotten another otherworldly season from reigning NL MVP outfielder Christian Yelich. A thumb injury has helped lead to sizable steps back for 2018 outfield complement Lorenzo Cain, though, while first baseman Jesus Aguilar has a mere eight home runs after slugging 35 a season ago. Meanwhile, the Brew Crew’s pitching staff – like the Cubs’ and the Cardinals’ – has underwhelmed throughout the season. The Cards’ offense has also sputtered, in part because headlining offseason pickup and longtime superstar first baseman Paul Goldschmidt hasn’t resembled the player he was as a Diamondback.

The Rockies (44-45) reached the playoffs last year thanks largely to their starting pitching – something which has seldom been true about the team in its history. This season, though, reigning NL Cy Young candidate Kyle Freeland’s output has been so dreadful that he has spent the past month-plus trying to regain form in the minors. Aside from German Marquez and Jon Gray, nobody else in the Rockies’ starting staff has stepped up to grab a stranglehold of a spot.

Shifting to the NL East, the Phillies are in wild-card position at 47-43, but a .522 winning percentage and a plus-2 run differential may not have been what they had in mind after an action-packed offseason. A record-setting contract for Bryce Harper was the Phillies’ largest strike, but they also grabbed J.T. Realmuto, Andrew McCutchen, Jean Segura and David Robertson in other noteworthy transactions. However, at least offensively, Harper, Realmuto and Segura haven’t matched their 2018 production. McCutchen was enjoying another quality season before suffering a season-ending torn ACL a month ago, meanwhile, and Robertson got off to a terrible start in the year’s first couple weeks. The long-effective reliever has been on the injured list since mid-April with a flexor strain. Even with a healthy McCutchen and Robertson, the Phillies would still be riddled with problems in their pitching staff – including the rapidly declining Jake Arrieta, whose season may be in jeopardy because of a bone spur in his elbow.

The Mets are rife with concerns on and off the field, with recent behind-the-scenes drama involving GM Brodie Van Wagenen and manager Mickey Callaway the source of the franchise’s latest unwanted attention. Van Wagenen’s audacious offseason signings and trades were supposed to help the Mets snap a two-year playoff drought this season. Instead, the team’s an abysmal 40-50 through 90 games and on track to sell at the July 31 trade deadline. Trading for Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz hasn’t worked out at all, while splashy free-agent additions Jeurys Familia, Jed Lowrie (injured all season and possibly out for the year), Wilson Ramos (a potential trade candidate just a few months into a two-year contract) and Justin Wilson have also failed to meet expectations.

In a league where only the Dodgers and Braves have truly stood out so far, all of these clubs still have at least some chance to earn playoff spots this season. They’re each no worse than seven back of postseason position at the All-Star break. Considering your preseason expectations, though, who’s the biggest disappointment to date?

(Poll link for app users)

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