Cubs Rumors

Brad Ziegler Rumors: Tuesday

By Steve Adams | July 31, 2018 at 11:26am CDT

Though an MLB.com report of a near agreement on a Brad Ziegler trade between the Cubs and Marlins was ultimately retracted, there’s still plenty of chatter on the veteran submariner, who looks quite likely to change hands today. Ziegler is owed about $2.95MM of his $9MM salary through the end of the season and has pitched to a brilliant 0.93 ERA with 22 strikeouts, 11 walks and a superlative 80.3 percent ground-ball rate in 29 innings over the past two months. Here’s the latest chatter…

The Marlins are moving closer to a trade involving Ziegler, but the Cubs are not in the mix anymore, tweets Frisaro. The field, it seems, is down to only a couple of teams.
Meanwhile, both Mish and Nightengale have tweeted that Ziegler has been traded, though multiple reports have stated otherwise. Neither Mish nor Nightengale has been able to glean exactly where Ziegler is headed. It seems fairly obvious that Ziegler will be moved, but things appear to be fluid as the Marlins try to hammer out a final deal.
Sean McAdam of the Boston Sports Journal, meanwhile, tweets that the Red Sox aren’t likely as they’re prioritizing power arms.

Earlier Updates

The Yankees have been in touch with the Marlins about both Cameron Maybin and Ziegler, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter links). New York has reportedly been eyeing an extra outfielder with Aaron Judge and Clint Frazier on the DL, and Maybin would fit that bill, while Ziegler would further deepen an already solid ’pen by giving them a strong weapon against right-handed opponents.
The Cubs do not have an agreement in place with the Marlins, but they remain the front-runner to land his services, per MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. However, other teams remain in the mix to acquire him, per Frisaro, who notes that the Indians, Red Sox, Dodgers and Astros have all scouted Ziegler in recent weeks.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that the Cubs are indeed expected to land a reliever today and are engaged with the Marlins in trade talks surrounding Ziegler (Twitter link).
SiriusXM’s Craig Mish tweets that the Indians are still in the picture for Ziegler as well. Mish also suggested last night that the Marlins are aiming to move Ziegler to a team that can absorb the remaining money on his contract (roughly $2.95MM, as previously noted above) and also has international bonus pool money to spare. Miami was connected last week to top international prospect Victor Victor Mesa (per MASNsports.com’s Byron Kerr, on Twitter), so it’d be reasonable to see the Fish try to boost their pool as teams await Mesa to be cleared for free agency by MLB.

Latest On Brad Ziegler

By Jeff Todd | July 30, 2018 at 9:52pm CDT

11:54pm: Morosi has now reversed his report, tweeting that a deal is in fact “not close.” He does note on Twitter that the Chicago organization remains involved in talks for Ziegler.

11:48pm: The Cubs are close to reaching agreement on a deal to bring veteran Marlins reliever Brad Ziegler to Wrigley, according to Jon Morosi of MLB.com (via Twitter). Details of the prospective arrangement remain unknown.

While the Chicago organization has already acted to bolster its relief unit, adding swingman Jesse Chavez, it obviously feels it could still stand to improve. The Cubs have been tied to a variety of names in recent weeks, including Ziegler.

Cubs Eyeing Jays' Tepera, Padres' Yates

By Steve Adams | July 30, 2018 at 2:58pm CDT

The Cubs are among the slew of teams continuing to monitor the market for bullpen upgrades, and they’ve “closely” scouted Blue Jays right-hander Ryan Tepera and Padres righty Kirby Yates, per Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago/670 The Score. Both relievers figure to come with a relatively high cost of acquisition, as Yates is controlled through the 2020 season, while Tepera is controlled all the way through 2021. Each is in the midst of a fine season, though Yates has been among the NL’s best relievers thanks largely to a newly adopted splitter that has been a wipeout offering in 2018. Tepera is sitting on a 3.71 ERA with nearly 10 strikeouts per nine innings pitched in a tough AL East (and a tough home park, Toronto’s Rogers Centre). Both players are plenty affordable, with Tepera not yet eligible for arbitration until this offseason and Yates earning just $1.0625MM in his first trip through the arb process last winter.

Also on the Cubs front, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that while it should be considered a “long shot,” the Cubs can’t be ruled out as a candidate to add a controllable starting pitcher. Doing so would likely mean building a package around young infielder/outfielder Ian Happ, controlled through the 2023 season, or a similarly enticing young hitter. Happ, 24 in two weeks, has displayed plenty of promise this year with a .253/.375/.445 slash, but while he walks at an impressive 16.1 percent clip, he’s also punched out in more than 35 percent of his plate appearances.

Cubs Rumors: Brach, Ziegler

By Connor Byrne | July 29, 2018 at 1:09pm CDT

Both the Braves and Cubs are making pushes for Orioles reliever Brad Brach, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. Brach, a pending free agent on a $5.165MM salary, looks like a shoo-in to move prior to Tuesday’s non-waiver deadline. The 32-year-old has endured an uncharacteristically mediocre season, however, with a 4.85 ERA/4.01 FIP and unexciting strikeout and walk rates (8.77 K/9, 4.38 BB/9) over 39 innings.

More from Feinsand, who observes that the Marlins shouldn’t have difficulty finding a taker for pending free-agent reliever Brad Ziegler. In the end, though, it may be a relatively quiet deadline for the Marlins, who are “intent on keeping their crop of controllable players, including their young, talented bullpen pieces,” Feinsand writes. That may rule out trades involving the likes of Kyle Barraclough, Drew Steckenrider and Adam Conley, each of whom has come up in the rumor mill this summer. Unlike those three, Ziegler hasn’t enjoyed a strong season overall (4.06 ERA/4.69 FIP with 6.18 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 51 innings), but the 38-year-old has gotten much better results since June and is continuing to induce ground balls at a ridiculous clip (74.5 percent). Ziegler has approximately $3.5MM coming his way through season’s end. The Cubs, Indians and possibly the Red Sox are among the teams with interest in Ziegler, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

NL Notes: Mesoraco, Cubs, Bucs, Nats, Brewers

By Connor Byrne | July 28, 2018 at 8:43pm CDT

There’s not much “momentum” on a trade involving Mets catcher Devin Mesoraco, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets, though he notes that a deal still may come together by the non-waiver deadline on Tuesday. Mesoraco has already been part of one trade this year, as he joined the Mets in May in a deal for now-Reds righty Matt Harvey. The 30-year-old Mesoraco has batted .230/.206/.393 with eight home runs in 219 plate appearances and caught 26 percent of would-be base stealers this season. He’ll be a free agent in the offseason.

Cubs "Looking At" Jake Diekman, Keone Kela

By Connor Byrne | July 28, 2018 at 6:43pm CDT

The Cubs and Rangers have already made a pair of trades in recent weeks, as Chicago acquired both Jesse Chavez and Cole Hamels from Texas. That may not be the end of the two teams’ dealings, though, with Cafardo writing that the Cubs are “looking at” Rangers relievers Jake Diekman and Keone Kela.

[SOURCE LINK]

Frisaro’s Latest: Straily, Ziegler, Barraclough, Realmuto

By Kyle Downing | July 28, 2018 at 10:44am CDT

Following this past offseason’s fire sale of MLB assets, the Marlins are likely to ship out a few more players in the coming days prior to the non-waiver trade deadline. MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro has some updates on the market for a wide number of Miami assets as we approach July 31st.

An Athletics scout paid a visit to Marlins Park this past Thursday, and Frisaro reports that he was there to watch right-hander Dan Straily pitch. Straily fell just short of a quality start in that outing, allowing three runs in 5 2/3 innings with six strikeouts against three walks. Astonishingly, Straily’s been able to hold together a 4.07 ERA this season despite a cataclysmic 5.41 FIP. After flashing improved control across the past two seasons, Straily has relapsed back to a 4.29 BB/9 and dealt with right forearm inflammation at the outset of the season, so it remains to be seen whether he’d be an attractive trade target to the A’s organization that drafted and developed him.
After a rough start to the season that saw him lose his job as the team’s closer, sidewinder Brad Ziegler has rebounded nicely to post a 3.08 ERA in 39 appearances since the start of May (though peripherals paint a worse picture). The Marlins have plenty of potential suitors for the right-hander, Frisaro says, and lists the Cubs, Indians, Red Sox and A’s as potential fits. It’s worth noting that the latter two clubs are already familiar with Ziegler, as he’s spent time pitching for both organizations. The 38-year-old has already been traded twice in his lengthy career, and is playing out the final months of a two-year, $16MM deal.
Ziegler’s not the only reliever fielding interest, Frisaro notes, as nearly a dozen scouts have been in Miami recently to watch Kyle Barraclough, Drew Steckenrider and Adam Conley pitch. Last we heard, the Marlins had placed a high price on each of the three, but it’s still certainly plausible that many teams would be willing to pay that price for relievers that come with such controllable relief arms; each of the aforementioned three is under team control through at least 2021.
The Nationals still aren’t having any luck trying to pry catcher J.T. Realmuto from the hands of the Marlins. Frisaro reports that Miami’s NL East rival once again checked in on the club’s best trade asset, but were told that any package for Realmuto would require Washington to fork over both outfield prospect Victor Robles and shortstop prospect Carter Kieboom, both of whom are generally seen as top 100 prospects. Unsurpringly, conversations didn’t go far.

Latest On Asdrubal Cabrera, Zack Wheeler

By Steve Adams | July 27, 2018 at 12:03pm CDT

12:03pm: Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that the Mets and Brewers have discussed a package deal that would send both players to Milwaukee, though there’s no indication that anything is close to being completed. The D-backs are indeed in the mix for Cabrera, he adds.

9:05am: Teams who’ve spoken to the Mets about the availability of Asdrubal Cabrera have gotten the impression that he’ll be traded soon, reports Andy Martino of SNY.tv. While “soon” is a relative term, especially with the non-waiver trade deadline just four days away, Martino adds that the Mets then plan to shift their “full attention” to finding a trade partner for Zack Wheeler. Presumably, they’ll want to leave themselves ample room to discuss that swap, so it stands to reason that they’d hope to wrap up a Cabrera swap in short order.

ESPN’s Buster Olney tweeted yesterday that the Diamondbacks have “checked in” on Cabrera as they seek to bolster their own infield mix. Joel Sherman of the New York Post adds the Indians and the Phillies to the fray, though he notes that Philadelphia’s interest would be stronger were Cabrera still viewed as a capable shortstop. Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweets that the Braves and Brewers, too, may be in the market. While a number of teams have inquired to some extent, the Post’s Mike Puma surmised yesterday that there are three or four teams with legitimate interest in Cabrera (Twitter link). As for Wheeler, he’s generating interest from the Brewers and Reds, per Martino. The Cubs had shown interest, though yesterday’s agreement to acquire Cole Hamels would quite likely put an end to that pursuit.

While the Mets have had just about everything possible go wrong for them over the past couple of seasons, their signing of Cabrera in the 2015-16 offseason has proven to be an excellent one. He’s earning $8.5MM in the third year of what proved to be a $25MM contract (after his 2018 option was exercised) and is hitting .277/.329/.488 with 18 homers, 23 doubles and a triple. Cabrera, though, has received dreadful defensive ratings for his work at second base (-18 Defensive Runs Saved, -6 Ultimate Zone Rating), which won’t do his trade value any favors.

As for Wheeler, he’ll obviously have the greater value of the pair, given his affordable salary, the fact that he’s controlled through 2019, his recent success and the plethora of teams seeking to bolster their rotation in the coming days. Over his past 10 starts, Wheeler has worked to a 3.50 ERA (3.40 FIP, 4.17 xFIP) with 7.8 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and 0.56 HR/9 with a 40.2 percent ground-ball rate. His fastball has averaged 96.4 mph in that span, and he’s posted a strong 11.3 percent swinging-strike rate. Puma noted yesterday that as many as 10 teams have displayed some level of interest.

Cubs Acquire Cole Hamels

By Steve Adams | July 27, 2018 at 11:17am CDT

Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish are teammates once again, as the Cubs and Rangers announced a Friday morning trade sending Hamels from Texas to Chicago. The Rangers will send cash to Chicago as part of the deal and will receive right-hander Eddie Butler, right-handed pitching prospect Rollie Lacy and a player to be named later in return. The Cubs will reportedly take on $5MM of the $13.86MM still owed to Hamels ($7.86MM of his $22.5MM salary plus at least a $6MM buyout on next season’s $20MM club option).

The 34-year-old Hamels isn’t the ace that he once was, and he’s had his share of struggles in 2018 — albeit nearly all of them coming at his homer-happy home stadium in Arlington. Hamels is surrendering home runs at a career-worst rate, but it’s somewhat telling that 16 of the 23 round-trippers he’s yielded have come at Globe Life Park. Hamels has a 6.41 ERA, a 6.16 FIP and a 4.49 xFIP when pitching at home this season but a 2.93 ERA, 4.17 FIP and 3.83 xFIP on the road.

Early in the season, there was some concern over a decline in Hamels’ velocity, but he’s regained nearly all of the lost zip on his heater — an encouraging sign for he Cubs, who’ll hope that a move to the National League and a more pitcher-friendly stadium will improve Hamels’ results. Starting pitching wasn’t supposed to be a significant concern for Chicago after spending a combined $164MM to sign right-handers Yu Darvish and Tyler Chatwood this offseason. Unfortunately for Theo Epstein & Co., Darvish has been hampered by triceps injuries throughout the season, while Chatwood has alarmingly walked more hitters than any pitcher in baseball.

It’s not clear exactly how Hamels will fit into the Chicago rotation, but he’ll surely be guaranteed a starting job. Mike Montgomery has stepped up beautifully with Darvish on the disabled list and may very well have forced Chicago’s hand in keeping him in the rotation. Then again, Montgomery has also been effective as a reliever and could help to strengthen the bullpen if it’s him, not Chatwood, who is dropped to a relief role. Alternatively, the Cubs could simply look to deploy a six-man rotation consisting of Jon Lester, Jose Quintana, Kyle Hendricks, Hamels, Montgomery and Chatwood — though they’d certainly need to shuffle that arrangement when Darvish returns from the disabled list.

The Cubs currently sit about $14MM south of the $197MM luxury tax threshold, so there’s still room for the team to add even after acquiring Hamels — especially if it proves accurate that Chicago is only taking on about $4MM of salary in the deal. Chicago already added right-hander Jesse Chavez to its bullpen in a separate swap with the Rangers, but they were also linked to bigger-name relief targets in recent days, including Zach Britton and Jeurys Familia. Each, of course, has since been traded elsewhere, though it stands to reason that the Cubs will continue to monitor the market for bullpen help now that they’ve fortified their rotation a bit.

It’s not yet clear how the Rangers will utilize Butler, who has worked as both a starter and reliever in recent seasons. Texas will need to replace Hamels in the rotation, of course, though Butler’s ability to pitch multiple innings could also make him a natural candidate to step into the long relief role that was vacated when Chavez was traded to Chicago last week.

The 27-year-old Butler once rated as one of the game’s best pitching prospects during his days as a minor leaguer with the Rockies, but he never fully realized that potential. He’s shown potential at times in the Majors but owns a lifetime 5.71 ERA with 5.2 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, 1.28 HR/9 and a 48.4 percent ground-ball rate. Butler is not yet arbitration-eligible and can be controlled through the 2022 season if the Rangers wish, though he’ll likely be arb-eligible as a Super Two player for the first time this offseason. Of course, considering his minimal track record and the fact that he’s spent the vast majority of the 2018 season on the disabled list due to a groin strain, Butler won’t command much of a salary in arbitration just yet.

Lacy, meanwhile, didn’t rank among the top 30 prospects in a thin Chicago farm system on today’s updated Top 30 rankings from Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. That said, he’s in the midst of a terrific season in the minors so far and has performed similarly well since being selected in the 11th round of the 2017 draft.

Lacy has pitched to identical 2.45 ERAs in both 2017 and so far in 2018, and he was recently moved from the Class-A Midwest League to the Class-A Advanced Florida State League. In a total of 80 2/3 innings this year, he’s averaged 10.5 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 with a ground-ball rate north of 60 percent. The 23-year-old Creighton product is only just now starting to face older competition, but his results to date are certainly encouraging.

Ultimately, the trade for the Rangers looks to have been more about cost savings than anything else. Lacy has shown some promise in the minors, and Butler gives them a lottery ticket who the Rangers hope can emerge as a viable big league arm, while the PTBNL could yet prove to be interesting as well. But at present, the likeliest outcome is that the money saved in this trade will represent the most valuable component of the swap for Texas.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post first made a strong connection between the Cubs and Hamels. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported (via Twitter) that an agreement had been reached. The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney first noted that Lacy had been scratched from his start, and Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reported more definitively that Lacy and a PTBNL were in the deal (Twitter link). Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweeted that the Rangers would receive a second pitcher who is “not a prospect” (which proved to be Butler). Fancred’s Jon Heyman reported (on Twitter) that the Cubs would take on $5MM of the remaining money owed to Hamels.

Cubs, Rangers Making Progress On Cole Hamels Trade

By Steve Adams | July 26, 2018 at 7:02pm CDT

7:02pm: Patrick Mooney of The Athletic also hears that the two sides are making progress on a deal (Twitter link). Mooney notes that Class-A Advanced right-hander Rollie Lacy was scratched from tonight’s start.

6:58pm: A trade between the Cubs and Rangers is “getting close,” tweets Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago. Chicago made a “strong push” for Hamels earlier today, thus leading to the increased buzz surrounding their involvement in the Hamels market.

5:36pm: While the Cubs appear to be the “front-runner” for Hamels, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter), there are still other clubs in play for the lefty. Rosenthal and Steve Phillips of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link) both suggest that the Braves are in the mix for Hamels, and T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com tweets that the Phillies may still be involved as well.

4:55pm: Sherman tweets that there are stronger signals that a trade of Hamels to the Cubs could come together — perhaps even today.

4:25pm: The Cubs are in “strong pursuit” of Hamels and would send lower-level prospects to Texas in the deal currently being discussed, tweets Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM. Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweets that there’s a “decent chance” of a deal coming together between the two sides.

2:21pm: The Cubs have recently scouted Rangers lefty Cole Hamels, and Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (via Twitter) that Chicago appears to be “making inroads” to try to acquire Hamels from Texas. While Hamels has a 20-team no-trade clause, the Cubs are not on that list.

Hamels, 34, has delivered middling results with the Rangers in the final guaranteed season of his six-year, $144MM contract. Through 114 1/3 innings, he’s worked to a 4.72 ERA with 9.0 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 1.81 HR/9 and a 43.4 percent ground-ball rate. Hamels’ velocity has bounced back after an alarming downturn early in the season, but he’s still been plagued by home runs more so than at any point in his career; thus far, just over one out of five fly-balls allowed by Hamels has resulted in a long ball.

Of course, those struggles have been largely confined to Hamels’ hitter-friendly home park. While Wrigley Field isn’t exactly a pitcher’s paradise, no stadium in baseball has been more conducive to home runs thus far in 2018 than Hamels’ current home of Globe Life Park in Arlington, per ESPN’s park factors. Baseball Prospectus’ park factors paint a similarly grim picture. Between a move to a friendlier park and a move to the National League, there’s certainly some reason to believe that Hamels’ performance could yet improve.

Hamels is earning $22.5MM in 2018 and is still owed about $7.98MM of that sum through season’s end, plus at least a $6MM buyout on his $20MM option for the 2019 season. The Cubs, however, don’t appear to be discussing the possibility of taking on all of that nearly $14MM commitment. Rather, Sherman further tweets that they’d pick up about $4MM of his deal and send secondary prospects to the Rangers in return.

Chicago entered the season with a solid on-paper rotation featuring Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana and offseason signees Yu Darvish and Tyler Chatwood, but Darvish has missed significant time due to a triceps issue while Chatwood has walked more hitters than anyone in baseball. The Cubs have about $14MM of breathing room beneath the $197MM luxury tax threshold,so taking on roughly $4MM of Hamels’ remaining salary would allow them to supplement their rotation while leaving some room for additional acquisitions between now and the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

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