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Orioles Acquire Eloy Jimenez

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The Orioles and White Sox pulled off a trade sending outfielder/designated hitter Eloy Jimenez and cash from Chicago to Baltimore for minor league reliever Trey McGough. Chicago is reportedly kicking in $4MM to cover almost all of the approximate $4.26MM remaining on his contract. The Sox would also pay down $1.5MM of the $3MM buyout on Jimenez’s 2025 club option, which the O’s are virtually certain to decline.

Jimenez, 27, was one of the highest-profile international signings in recent memory and one of the top-ranked prospects in all of baseball prior to his big league debut. He signed a then-record six-year, $43MM deal before ever playing a big league game. He’s earning $13MM this season in the final guaranteed season of that contract, which also contains club options valued at $16.5MM and $18.5MM for the next two seasons. The O’s should pay the $3MM buyout on his 2025 option, making Jimenez a free agent.

In the early stages of his career, Jimenez largely delivered on the hype, hitting .276/.327/.504 with 71 homers in his first 316 games. That includes a down year in 2021, but the Cuban-born slugger was well above-average in 2019, 2020 and 2022 — including a monster .295/.358/.500 slash with 16 homers in only 84 games in ’22.

Injuries have derailed Jimenez’s career, however. He’s been on the injured list for multiple hamstring strains — including a tear that sent him to the 60-day IL — an adductor strain, an appendectomy procedure, an ulnar nerve injury and a high ankle sprain. His once-potent bat has produced only a .240/.297/.345 output in 2024. Jimenez’s 18.9% strikeout rate is actually a career-low, however, and he’s averaging 92.4 mph off the bat with a huge 50.8% hard-hit rate. The O’s will hope that a change of scenery and those underlying metrics can bring about improvement of some degree, if not a return to peak form.

If that type of turnaround is to come to fruition, Jimenez will need a radical overhaul in his swing, however. He’s posted an astonishing 59.6% ground-ball rate this season — far and away the highest in baseball among active players. (Tim Anderson, released by the Marlins this year, technically leads him at 62.4% but isn’t with a team.) For a player that ranks in the sixth percentile of MLB players in terms of average sprint speed, pounding the ball into the ground that often is never going to yield much benefit — regardless of how hard the ball is put into play.

The Orioles, having moved Austin Hays in last week’s trade bringing reliever Seranthony Dominguez over from the Phillies, were reportedly on the hunt for a right-handed bat. Jimenez will fill that role to some extent, and it’s worth noting that he’s posted a strong .304/.360/.370 batting line against lefties in 2024. Again, however, he’s simply been far too prone to grounders whether facing lefties (59%) or righties (59.7%).

McGough, a 26-year-old lefty, came to the Orioles from the Pirates via the minor league phase of the 2022 Rule 5 Draft. He recently moved to the bullpen after recovering from Tommy John surgery and owns a sparkling 1.99 ERA in 54 1/3 frames between Double-A and Triple-A. He’s fanned 25.5% of his opponents and walked 9.7% of them. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen recently listed him 37th among O’s prospects, calling him a potential low-leverage reliever whose best pitch is an above-average slider.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the Orioles were finalizing a deal for Jimenez. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported the White Sox were receiving McGough. Ronald Blum of the Associated Press reported the cash breakdown.

Royals Acquire Paul DeJong

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4:01PM: The trade has been officially announced, and the Royals have designated righty John McMillon for assignment to create roster space for DeJong.  McMillon made his MLB debut with four innings of 2.25 ERA ball with K.C. in 2023, but has struggled in posting a 6.53 ERA across 30 1/3 innings with Triple-A Omaha this year.

2:51PM: The Royals have bolstered their infield depth by acquiring shortstop Paul DeJong from the White Sox, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (via X).  Right-handed pitching prospect Jarold Rosado is headed to the Sox in return, as per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times.  The deal will become official after a medical review.  Since the Royals and White Sox are playing each other tonight in Chicago, DeJong might be able to make a quick debut for his new club against his old club.

In a dismal White Sox season, DeJong has been a relatively bright spot, hitting .228/.275/.430 with a team-leading 18 homers in 363 plate appearances.  While his 95 wRC+ is still below the league average, it still represents a significant step up from the 73 wRC+ DeJong posted over the 2020-23 seasons, while hitting .200/.273/.352 in 1213 PA for the Cardinals, Blue Jays, and Giants.

DeJong’s strikeout and walk rates are among the worst in baseball, but he still makes a decent amount of hard contact and can generate power when he does square up.  Beyond the power-centric offensive profile, DeJong doesn’t offer much in the field, as his glovework has sharply declined after once being one of the sport’s better defensive shortstops.

While the Royals are more than set already at shortstop with Bobby Witt Jr., DeJong brings some extra pop to a K.C. team that ranks 19th of 30 teams in homers.  Witt and Salvador Perez (each with 19 round-trippers) are the only Royals players with more home runs than DeJong, so he could bring some power off the bench, or in a part-time capacity at second or third base.

The right-handed hitting DeJong could pair with the left-handed hitting Michael Massey for a natural platoon at the keystone, or DeJong could get some at-bats ahead of the offensively-struggling Maikel Garcia at third base.  DeJong hasn’t played much second base in his career and had never played any third before this season, but another infield position might be the better option given the decline in his shortstop work.

DeJong is a free agent after the season, making him one of the more clear-cut players to be dealt by the rebuilding White Sox.  The infielder (who turns 31 later this week) signed a one-year, $1.75MM deal with Chicago last winter, so the remaining $580K or so on his deal represents a pretty small financial burden for Kansas City to assume.

Rosado just turned 22 earlier this month, and the former international signing has a 1.85 ERA, 29.4% strikeout rate, and 7.2% walk rate over 39 relief innings for A-level Columbia this season.  Injuries cost Rosado the entire 2022 season and limited him to 10 innings in 2021 and 26 innings last year, but he has looked much sharper and reduced his walk rate significantly in his first healthy pro season.

Garrett Crochet Rumors: Deadline Day

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White Sox ace Garrett Crochet has been the hottest name on the trade market this month, both because of the Sox’ own failed attempt to extend him and because his camp has since indicated that the left-hander wants an extension before pitching in October for a new club. Crochet’s 114 1/3 innings this season have already eclipsed his prior career total. He’s said to be against a move to the bullpen, believing that staying on a starter’s routine is best for his health, and aiming for financial security before pushing his workload even deeper into postseason waters.

It’s rubbed many fans the wrong way to see such a business-like approach, and it’s taken many in the industry aback — White Sox GM Chris Getz included, apparently. Via Sox Machine’s James Fegan, Getz spoke with reporters yesterday and acknowledged that he was “surprised and taken back” by how Crochet’s camp handled the situation, particularly as he’d had a conversation with the left-hander’s agent at CAA just the night before.

“I think most fans and even players without knowing everything, it makes sense,” said Getz. “We understand why a stance would be taken. Now how you go about expressing that is what was a bit hurtful, quite honestly, considering I felt like we could have handled it a little bit differently and still I think everyone accomplished what they wanted to accomplish. … But Garrett and I are fine, we are good. I’ll continue to be one of his top supporters. In regard to how it affects the coming days, tough to tell.”

We’ll round up today’s Crochet chatter here and break out any major developments into their own posts…

  • USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that the White Sox have become increasingly optimistic that they’ll find someone to meet their asking price on Crochet even in the wake of his extension revelation. Per Nightengale, the Sox believe that they’ll trade Crochet between now and the 5:00pm CT deadline but expect to hang onto center fielder Luis Robert Jr. — as was reported to be the case regarding Robert just last night.
  • Both Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and Bruce Levine of 670 The Score suggest that Crochet’s market remains strong. Rosenthal lists the Padres, Dodgers, Braves, Phillies, Red Sox and Orioles as teams with varying levels of interest. Levine echoes much of that same list and quotes an executive from a rival AL club stating the relative obvious: “You don’t get a chance to find a top pitcher like that often. You must get creative.”
  • The Yankees inquired on Crochet at some point but were told in those initial talks that the two parties “didn’t match up” in a trade, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The Yankees could always revisit talks, particularly with so many alternative rotation options off the board. New York has been tied to Tigers righty Jack Flaherty as well, and the Yankees are seeking a rotation upgrade as they simultaneously explore the possibility of moving Nestor Cortes in a separate deal.

Mets Considering Tanner Scott, John Brebbia

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The Mets have already added Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek to their bullpen this month. They don’t appear to be content with that pair of acquisitions as they remain linked to a handful of relievers.

Tim Britton and Will Sammon of the Athletic write that the Mets have discussed a pursuit of White Sox righty John Brebbia. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that New York is one of multiple teams that has engaged Chicago on southpaw Tanner Banks. While the Sox relievers are more middle innings or setup options, FanSided’s Robert Murray suggests the Mets have also shown interest in top rental closer Tanner Scott.

Brebbia and Scott are both very likely to land elsewhere tomorrow. They’re each impending free agents on last place teams. Brebbia’s contract contains a $6MM mutual option with a $1.5MM buyout, but it’s fair to presume that will not be exercised by both parties. The Sox righty is playing this season on a modest $4MM deal.

While he owns an underwhelming 5.71 earned run average, Brebbia has more intriguing peripherals. He has fanned almost 30% of batters faced against a tidy 6.6% walk percentage. A lofty .346 average on balls in platy against him is the primary reason for his disappointing run prevention mark. The bat-missing ability should get him a middle relief spot on a contender.

Banks is a less clear trade candidate because he’s controllable for the foreseeable future. Yet he’s already 32 years old on a Sox team at the nadir of a rebuild. It’s unlikely that Banks is playing a meaningful role the next time the White Sox are in contention. He’s having a solid ’24 season, fanning nearly 27% of opposing hitters against a 7.3% walk rate. Banks has logged 48 innings of 4.13 ERA ball. He’s still two seasons away from qualifying for arbitration.

Scott is a much bigger name and would be tougher to land. The hard-throwing southpaw is on the radar of most contenders. He’s striking out 29.1% of opposing hitters with a sterling 1.18 ERA across 45 2/3 frames for the Marlins. Scott has locked down 18 of 20 save chances.

White Sox “Unlikely” To Move Luis Robert Jr. By Trade Deadline

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While the White Sox have been one of the primary sellers in the deadline market, one of their top trade candidates doesn’t appear to be going anywhere, as reporter Francys Romero (X link) hears from sources that Luis Robert Jr. is “unlikely” to be on the move at this point.  MLB.com’s Scott Merkin concurs, and so while an unexpectedly big trade offer might change things before tomorrow’s 5pm CT deadline, odds are Robert will still be in a White Sox uniform on July 31.

Robert missed about two months this season due to a hip flexor strain, and is hitting .201/.242/.440 with 12 homers and 13 steals over 220 plate appearances entering today’s action.  With just a 99 wRC+ to show for his production, Robert isn’t exactly putting on a show for potential suitors, so it isn’t surprising that the White Sox might want to hold off until the offseason to reignite any trade talks.  If Robert returns to his 2023 form over the season’s final two months, it will do a lot to re-establish his trade value and to help Chicago’s chances at finding a suitable return.

Signed to a six-year, $50MM contract before his MLB career even began, Robert is still something of an unproven quantity as he approaches his 27th birthday, as injuries have limited his full potential.  Playing in 145 games last season, Robert hit .264/.315/.542 with 38 homers and finished 12th in AL MVP voting, which provided evidence that Robert can be an elite player when healthy.  A more serious hip flexor issue in 2021 and then a variety of injuries in 2022 limited him to 166 games over those two seasons, though he still managed a .307/.344/.486 slash line and 25 home runs in 697 PA, basically delivering the equivalent of one impressive full season.

Beyond Robert’s production on the field, his contractual control adds to his value as a trade chip.  He is owed $15MM in 2025, and the White Sox then hold $20MM club options on his services for both 2026 and 2027.  This is quite a reasonable price for a player with a superstar ceiling, and thus the Sox could add for a huge trade package to further aid their rebuilding efforts.

Given the potential length of Robert’s deal, the White Sox could even still view him as a contributor to their next winning team, if they feel they’re starting to make headway on a revived roster.  Of course, that would require a lot of progress in pretty short order from a 27-81 team that is threatening to deliver one of baseball’s worst-ever seasons, so it might seem like a long shot if the Sox are able to get on track before Robert’s time with the club is over.

Cardinals Acquire Fedde, Pham; Dodgers Acquire Edman, Kopech In Three-Team Deal With White Sox

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What’s a trade deadline without a convoluted three-team swap? The Cardinals, White Sox and Dodgers have announced a three-team, eight-player deal (possibly including up to 10 players) that breaks down as follows:

It’s a massive exchange of veteran names that’ll have significant postseason implications for a pair of National League contenders. The Cardinals, in need of rotation help and a right-handed bat, checked two boxes with today’s swap, while the Dodgers added some needed positional versatility to help cover multiple weak spots in the lineup and a hard-throwing reliever with an extra season of club control.

Starting with the Cardinals, they’ll bolster their starting staff not just this season but also in 2025. Fedde, a former first-round pick and top prospect with the Nationals, flamed out in five seasons here in MLB before heading to the KBO’s NC Dinos for one year. He spent the 2023 season in South Korea, added a splitter and changed the shape of his breaking ball, and dominated KBO opponents en route to an MVP Award. He returned to MLB on a two-year, $15MM deal with the White Sox and has immediately established himself as a new and highly improved pitcher.

In 121 2/3 innings for the ChiSox, Fedde has pitched to a sharp 3.11 ERA. His 21.5% strikeout rate is shy of league-average by one percentage point, but his 6.8% walk rate is strong and his 44.7% grounder rate is also a bit better than average. He’s avoided hard contact (88.1 mph average exit velocity, 36% hard-hit rate) and kept opponents off balance with a four-pitch mix including a cutter, sinker, slider and split-changeup.

Fedde solidifies the back of a veteran Cardinals rotation that has been without lefty Steven Matz (back strain) since late April. The Cards have been relying on righty Andre Pallante to help patch things over, and while he’s been a godsend in that role (3.42 ERA in nine starts), the 25-year-old is also already just four innings shy of his 2023 total and can be a vital piece in the bullpen as well.

The addition of Fedde will prove vital for a Cardinals club that only had three starters signed through the 2025 season as well. Sonny Gray is being paid $25MM annually from 2024-26, while Miles Mikolas is owed $20MM next year. Matz will be in the fourth and final season of his own $44MM contract next year, but his ongoing health troubles make it tough to bank on him. The Cardinals hold club options over veterans Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson, but neither is a lock to be picked up. Fedde, owed $7.5MM this year and next, gives the Cardinals some long-term stability at a highly affordable rate.

In addition to their desired rotation upgrade, the Cards will get the right-handed bat they’ve been seeking. It’ll come in the form of a reunion with Pham, whom they originally selected in the 16th round of the 2006 draft. Pham made his big league debut with the 2014 Cardinals and spent the next three-plus seasons in St. Louis before being traded to the Rays in a deal that brought Genesis Cabrera and Justin Williams back to the Cardinals.

Pham, now 36, has since played for six additional teams. The Rays traded him Padres after two seasons, and he’s since signed free-agent deals with the Reds, Mets and White Sox — getting traded at the deadline in three consecutive seasons. Pham has remained productive at the plate even as he’s become a year-to-year mercenary in his mid-30s. He slashed .256/.328/.446 between the Mets and D-backs in 2023 and owns a .266/.330/.380 output in 297 plate appearances with the White Sox.

Pham won’t receive everyday at-bats in his return to Busch Stadium, but Pham’s hefty .255/.377/.471 line against lefties will make him a useful part-time player for manager Oli Marmol. He’ll make for a nice platoon partner for glove-first center fielder Michael Siani (with Pham presumably taking over in left field and Lars Nootbaar manning center against southpaws).

In order to open a 40-man roster spot, the Cardinals designated catcher Nick Raposo for assignment. The 26-year-old signed with the Cards as an undrafted free agent after the truncated five-round draft in 2020. He was selected to the MLB roster earlier this summer to help account for some catching injuries, but he didn’t get into a big league game. He’s hitting .193/.251/.349 in Triple-A this season but turned in a more encouraging .241/.321/.386 slash last year between Double-A and Triple-A. The Cards could trade him before tomorrow’s deadline, and if not, he’ll be placed on outright waivers.

That the Cardinals were able to acquire both Fedde and Pham while only surrendering Edman and a 17-year-old they just signed as an international free agent earlier this year is somewhat remarkable. It’s a nice feather in the cap of president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, general manager Mike Girsch and the rest of the St. Louis baseball ops staff. The Cards added two big league contributors to a contending club and did so not only without sacrificing any prospects — but without sacrificing anyone who’s contributed to their second-place team at any point this season.

That’s not to denigrate Edman as a player, of course — far from it. The switch-hitting 29-year-old is as versatile as he is talented when healthy, and he’ll presumably be healthy enough to join the Dodgers in short order. Edman hasn’t played this season due to a longer-than-expected recovery process from offseason wrist surgery and an ankle sprain he suffered while rehabbing that wrist. Edman has played four games with the Cardinals’ Double-A affiliate on a minor league rehab assignment and figures to now continue his rehab work in the Dodgers’ system. He’ll have about two more weeks of rehab window before he needs to be activated, though Los Angeles can certainly do so sooner if they see fit.

Edman has spent four-plus seasons in the big leagues, playing second base, shortstop, third base and all three outfield positions. He rather incredibly grades out as an above-average defender at each of those positions, per Statcast and Defensive Runs Saved alike. That jack-of-all-trades skill set is emblematic of the type of player the Dodgers try to roster as often as possible. Edman, once healthy, will give L.A. an option at shortstop or second base, helping to cover for the loss of Mookie Betts. Once Betts returns, Edman can either play shortstop (with Betts moving to second base), second base (with Betts at short and Miguel Rojas in a utility role) or anywhere in the outfield (with Rojas and Betts handling middle infield duties).

Beyond the defensive wizardry, Edman has proven himself a capable hitter. He’s yet to recreate the terrific .304/.350/.500 line he posted as a Cardinals rookie in 2019, but he’s a career .265/.319/.408 hitter in 2425 plate appearances. He’s not a big home run threat but has hit between 11 and 13 homers in all four of his full big league seasons (plus five homers in the shortened 2020 campaign). He doesn’t walk especially often (6.2%) but also rarely strikes out (16.5%). On top of that, Edman offers 88th percentile sprint speed (per Statcast) and has swiped 106 bags in 123 attempts at the MLB level (86.2%).

Edman signed a two-year, $16.5MM contract in the 2022-23 offseason, buying out his final two seasons of arbitration eligibility. He’s earning $7MM this season and another $9.5MM next year. The Dodgers are a third-time luxury tax offender in the top tier of penalization, so they’ll pay a 110% tax on the average annual value both of Edman’s contract and of Kopech’s one-year deal with the club.

Onto Kopech, the 28-year-old former top prospect gives the Dodgers one of baseball’s hardest-throwing relievers for the remainder of this year and all of 2025. He’ll be arbitration-eligible this winter and owed a raise on this year’s modest $3MM salary.

The White Sox have used Kopech both as a starter and reliever, but lackluster command of his dynamic arsenal has undercut his effectiveness in both roles. He’s been used exclusively out of the ’pen in 2024 and saved nine games while pitching 43 2/3 innings of 4.74 ERA ball. The earned run average isn’t going to draw much fanfare, but Kopech has averaged a blistering 98.5 mph on his four-seamer, fanned 30.9% of his opponents and generated a gaudy 14.1% swinging-strike rate. He’s been plagued by a 12.6% walk rate and 1.65 HR/9, but Kopech has shown flashes of potential as a powerhouse, shutdown reliever.

Kopech is currently in the midst of his best stretch of the season. After getting blown up for four runs back on July 7, he’s rattled off 5 2/3 shutout innings with an 8-to-1 K/BB ratio. The Dodgers, who have a knack for maximizing pitching performances, are surely thrilled to get their hands on a pitcher with Kopech’s blazing heater and hard slider. Whether they can coax the level of performance from him that has long seemed dormant in Kopech’s talented but inconsistent right arm remains an open question, but if they’re able to do so, he’s a high-octane weapon who can take on a leverage role in a bullpen that has seen closer Evan Phillips struggle of late.

Los Angeles will also pick up the 17-year-old Gonzalez, who’s not considered to be among the Cardinals’ top-ranked prospects but did command a relatively notable $400K signing bonus out of Panama just seven months ago. The 6’4″, 200-pound righty has pitched 21 1/3 innings for the Cardinals’ Rookie-level Dominican Summer League affiliate and posted a 4.22 ERA while punching out 28.6% of his opponents against a 7.7% walk rate.

Turning to the rebuilding White Sox’ end of the deal, their return is headlined by Vargas, who’ll presumably step right onto the big league roster. The 24-year-old ranked among the sport’s top 100 prospects heading into the 2023 season but has fallen down the depth chart in Los Angeles after struggling to carry his excellent minor league production over to the majors. Vargas has appeared in 129 big league games and taken 434 plate appearances, but he’s a .201/.294/.364 hitter in that time.

Rough as those numbers are, Vargas has continued to absolutely pummel Triple-A pitching this season. He’s hitting .290/.440/.556 in Oklahoma City and has a career .297/.412/.512 batting line there in 996 plate appearances. He’s played third base, second base, first base and left field in his career, with the bulk of his experience coming at third base and second base. Vargas has regularly been blocked by more veteran, more expensive players at those positions but should get a full run at third base or second base with his new team.

Some Sox fans may bristle at the notion of a former top prospect headlining this deal, rather than a current one, but Vargas still has five seasons of club control remaining and has already gotten his feet wet in the majors. He’s an on-base machine who’s walked at an impressive 11.1% clip even while struggling in the big leagues and has fanned in a below-average 20.7% of his MLB plate appearances. It’s not hard to envision a scenario where he improves on both of those rate stats as he gets more big league experience and begins to solidify himself as a bona fide MLB-caliber hitter.

Joining Vargas in the White Sox’ system will be Albertus and Perez: both 19-year-old infielders who signed with the Dodgers as international free agents in 2022 (Albertus out of Aruba, Perez out of the Dominican Republic). Baseball America ranked both players inside the Dodgers’ top-20 prospects heading into the 2024 season, and both currently reside in that same range on MLB.com’s updated list of the top 30 Dodgers prospects.

Albertus has split the season between the Dodgers’ Rookie-level Arizona Complex League affiliate and Class-A affiliate. He tore through the former at a .342/.479/.459 pace with more walks (18.9%) than strikeouts (14%) and is hitting .229/.317/.329 in 82 plate appearances against more advanced pitching. Baseball America credits him with a plus hit tool and the potential for average power, calling him a bat-first infield prospect who could see regular playing time across multiple positions. MLB.com lauds him for having one of the most disciplined approaches in a deep Dodgers system and calls him a potential regular at second or third.

Perez has spent the entire season in Class-A and carries a hearty .264/.380/.420 batting line with 10 homers in 350 trips to the plate. He’s walked at a huge 13.7% clip against a 22% strikeout rate despite being just over two years younger than the average player in the league. Both BA and MLB.com note that he lacks a true plus tool but is solid across the board. Like Albertus, he draws praise for an advanced approach at the plate that’s well beyond his years. Perez has good contact skills and the ability to play multiple positions.

For a White Sox club that is often characterized by low-OBP, all-or-nothing hitters, the focus on bringing in three infielders with huge on-base ceilings feels like a rather targeted focus. None of the three players are going to jump to immediately land among the top 50 prospects in the game — Vargas isn’t even prospect-eligible anymore — but they all have a relatively similar feel and offer a potential glimpse at the type of hitters that rookie GM Chris Getz would prefer to see populating his roster in future seasons.

KPRC-2’s Ari Alexander reported Sunday night that the Sox, Dodgers and Cards had engaged in some level of discussions on a three-team deal involving Fedde and Edman. Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reported Monday that a three-team deal was nearing the finish line. Ken Rosenthal and Katie Woo of The Athletic reported that Fedde would go to the Cardinals and Edman to the Dodgers. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale first reported that Vargas, Perez and Albertus were headed to the White Sox. FanSided’s Robert Murray reported that Pham was going to the Cardinals. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the Cardinals were giving up an low-level minor leaguer.

White Sox Select Touki Toussaint

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The White Sox selected Touki Toussaint onto the MLB roster on Monday evening. Chicago had a pair of vacancies on their 40-man roster.

Toussaint is up for the first time this season. Chicago had outrighted him off the roster at the end of Spring Training. He has worked in a swing role with Triple-A Charlotte, starting eight of 17 outings. In 50 2/3 innings, he owns a 5.15 ERA with a modest 20.4% strikeout rate and an alarming 16.3% walk percentage.

A former D-Backs first-round pick, Toussaint owns a 5.21 ERA across parts of six big league campaigns. He has pitched for four teams, including a brief stint with the ChiSox late last season. While his Triple-A production this year is lackluster, he can work in long relief for a team that already dealt Michael Kopech and will probably move another reliever or two by Tuesday’s deadline.

Braves Interested In Garrett Crochet

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White Sox lefty Garrett Crochet continues to be one of the most interesting names in the lead-up to the deadline. With just over 24 hours left to go, it’s unclear if he will be traded at all, but plenty of teams are interested. He’s already been connected to the Dodgers, Phillies and Padres to varying degrees, with Jon Heyman of The New York Post adding Atlanta to the pile today on X. Travis Sawchik of theScore reported on X last week that the Sox would prefer not to trade Crochet within the division, so the odds of him landing with another A.L. Central team would appear to be low.

Crochet is fairly unprecedented as a trade candidate due to his unusual trajectory. He was quickly called up to the majors in 2020 when he was only 21 years old. The Sox kept him in a relief role the year after and he pitched fairly well, but then Tommy John surgery wiped out most of his 2022 and 2023 seasons.

That left him in a strange spot coming into 2024. He had only thrown 73 major league innings due to the missed injury time and another 12 1/3 in the minors as part of his rehab assignment while coming back from surgery last year. But he collected service time while on the injured list and crossed three years of service in 2023, qualifying for arbitration. Since he had hardly pitched, his salary only got bumped to $800K, barely above the league minimum.

The Sox stretched him out as a starter here in 2024 and the results have vastly outpaced any reasonable expectations. The lefty has thrown 114 1/3 innings, already eclipsing his workload over the four previous years combined. He has allowed just 3.23 earned runs per nine innings, striking out 34.6% of batters faced. He has also limited walks to a 5.6% clip and gotten grounders on 46.8% of balls in play.

Most clubs would be clinging tightly to a pitcher who suddenly became an ace at the age of 25 but there are also factors pushing him onto the trade block. As mentioned, he has already qualified for arbitration and has just two years of club control remaining beyond this one. The Sox are absolutely awful this year, despite Crochet’s contributions, with a 27-81 record that could see them finish as one of the worst clubs of all time.

Given the low point the Sox are at, it’s fair to wonder if they can be competitive again in their window of control over Crochet. They reportedly explored an extension with him but didn’t get far, so he’s likely more valuable to them as a trade chip than as a player.

An ace pitcher with a tiny salary and two extra years of club control should give Crochet massive trade appeal but there are also complications. With the limited workload that he carried into this year, it’s led to questions about the best way to press forward, with some suggesting a move to relief work down the stretch would be the best option.

According to reporting from last week, Crochet prefers to continue in a starting role, believing that would be best for his health. He would want to sign an extension with any new club before being moved to the bullpen.

Relievers work fewer innings than starters overall but they have to pitch more frequently and essentially on-call. Perhaps Crochet believes he can better prepare his body for the regular schedule of starting, whereas bullpen work could involve pitching at any time, even on back-to-back days. It’s also possible that he and his reps are simply trying to leverage the trade interest into locking in some financial security, which is understandable. For a guy that has already missed significant time, it would be nice to have some money in the bank before a club leans on him heavily for a World Series run.

That could perhaps scare off some clubs that don’t want to both send significant prospects to Chicago and also commit notable dollars to Crochet. However, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports today that the Dodgers don’t view the extension as an obstacle.

This situation is somewhat analogous to the Tyler Glasnow circumstances from the offseason. While not exactly the same as Crochet, he had some workload concerns and was available in trade, though the Rays reportedly made an extension a condition of trade talks. In the end, the Dodgers sealed the deal, sending Ryan Pepiot and Jonny DeLuca to the Rays for Glasnow and Manuel Margot and locking Glasnow up through 2028.

It’s understandable why they might want to go down that path again, given their pitching challenges. Dustin May and Emmet Sheehan both required season-ending surgeries while Walker Buehler and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are each on the injured list as well. Bobby Miller struggled so bad that he got optioned down to the minors.

The club’s current rotation is fronted by Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw. Glasnow has a spotty health track record while Kershaw just returned from a lengthy absence due to shoulder surgery. They are backed up by three rookies in Gavin Stone, River Ryan and Justin Wrobleski. General manager Brandon Gomes has said the club is looking for “impact” additions and Crochet would certainly qualify. They already have lined up with the Sox on one major trade today, a three-team blockbuster that also involved the Cardinals.

Crochet’s modest salary is certainly part of the appeal for the Dodgers, as they are slated to be third-time payors of the competitive balance tax and are currently over the top tier. That means they will pay a 110% tax on any money they take on, so someone like Crochet would be more appealing than a veteran who is already making eight figures annually. The theoretical extension would increase his cost but the new deal would start in 2025 and wouldn’t impact his current CBT hit.

Turning to Atlanta, they have their own rotation challenges. Spencer Strider is out for the season due to UCL surgery while Max Fried, Hurston Waldrep and Huascar Ynoa are also on the IL at the moment. Reynaldo López was removed from his most recent start due to forearm tightness and is slated for an MRI.

That leaves them with a rotation nucleus consisting of Chris Sale and Charlie Morton. Sale is having a great season but missed most of the previous four years due to injury and is now 35 years old. Morton is 40 years old and his strikeout rate has been declining for four straight years. Spencer Schwellenbach has been filling in nicely but has ten big league starts to his name.

Adding Crochet in there would obviously be appealing and Atlanta is not afraid to sign extensions, having given multi-year pacts to most of their roster. Crochet’s minimal salary at present is also appealing on account of their CBT status. RosterResource has them at $273MM, just under the third CBT tier of $277MM. Going over that line would result in their top 2025 draft pick being bumped back ten spots, as well as an increased taxation rate.

As for the report that the Sox don’t want to move him within the division, that’s perfectly understandable. Most clubs don’t want to see their best players thriving on clubs that they play more often than others and the Sox should have plenty of suitors even while crossing a couple of teams off the list.

The Royals have a fairly strong rotation and just traded for Michael Lorenzen today, so they will probably be focused on adding offense in the days to come. The Twins and Guardians could use some rotation help but it seems they may have to shop in the non-Crochet aisle. The market also features such guys as Yusei Kikuchi, Jameson Taillon, Cal Quantrill and others.

Latest On Cardinals’ Interest In Erick Fedde

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White Sox right-hander Erick Fedde has been connected to plenty of teams in the run-up to this summer’s trade deadline, including the Brewers and Astros, but no team has been more frequently connected to the right-hander than the Cardinals. The club’s “strong interest” in the 2023 KBO MVP’s services was reported last week, and since then multiple reports have connected Fedde to St. Louis as the Cards scour the market for an affordable starting pitching option to bolster their current rotation of Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson, Miles Mikolas, and Andre Pallante.

The fit between St. Louis and Fedde is a fairly obvious one given the club’s uncertain rotation situation headed into 2025 and Fedde’s additional year of team control after 2024. Even setting the contractual fit aside, the right-hander sports a strong 3.11 ERA and 3.76 FIP in 21 starts with Chicago this year. If Fedde were in the St. Louis rotation with those numbers, he’d have the lowest ERA by more than half a run and the second-lowest FIP behind only Sonny Gray’s sterling 2.85 figure. With the Cardinals just one game back of a Wild Card spot and six games behind the Brewers in the NL Central, the addition of Fedde would not only help them as they look to return to the postseason after a last place finish in their division last year but would also give the club a solid front-of-the-rotation arm to start alongside Gray in a potential Wild Card series.

Clear as the fit between the Cardinals and Fedde may be, there appear to be some hurdles preventing a deal from coming together for the time being. With so many potential suitors for his services, the White Sox appear to have set a hefty asking price in trade for the 31-year-old. According to SoxMachine’s James Fegan, the South Siders have “at least tried” to include young outfielder Jordan Walker in trade talks with the Cardinals regarding Fedde. St. Louis’s first-round pick in the 2020 draft, Walker was a consensus top-5 prospect in the sport prior to the 2023 campaign but has struggled somewhat at the big league level so far.

The youngster hit a solid but unspectacular .276/.342/.445 in his rookie season last year and was optioned back to the minor leagues back in April after an abysmal .155/.239/.259 showing in his first 20 games this season. Since returning to Triple-A, Walker has continued to struggle as he’s hit just .237/.305/.372 in 295 trips to the plate at the level this year. Despite those deep struggles, however, Walker is still just one season removed from being an above-average hitter in the big leagues, won’t be a free agent until after the 2029 season, and is still very young at just 22 years old. That’s an incredibly steep price to pay for one-plus years of a starting pitcher, even one as talented as Fedde.

Given there’s no indication that the Cardinals have been at all receptive to including Walker in a Fedde deal, it seems as though the sides may be facing a gap in trade talks. Even if that’s the case, though, that doesn’t necessarily mean a deal sending Fedde to St. Louis couldn’t eventually come together. As noted by Ari Alexander of KPRC-2, the White Sox and Cardinals have “discussed” the potential framework of a three-team trade that would also involve the Dodgers. Los Angeles is known to have interest in Cardinals switch-hitting utilityman Tommy Edman, and The Athletic’s Katie Woo reported earlier today that St. Louis is hoping to acquire cost-controlled starting pitching in return for Edman.

That would make a hypothetical three-team trade in which the Cardinals acquire Fedde from the White Sox while giving up Edman to the Dodgers seemingly reasonable framework, although it’s unclear whether the Cardinals would have to part with more pieces than just Edman to make the deal work, nor is it clear which pieces the Dodgers would ship to Chicago to complete their end of the bargain. Speculatively speaking, if the White Sox were interested in acquiring Walker as the centerpiece of a deal for Fedde, the Dodgers could dangle a young hitter of their own such as James Outman or Miguel Vargas as a centerpiece for their part of the trade.

Alexander reports that no deal between the sides is in place as things stand, but the discussions seem to confirm a willingness to get creative on the part of all sides as the Cardinals continue their pursuit of pitching upgrades while the Dodgers look to lengthen a lineup that has lost key pieces like Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, and Miguel Rojas to injury, leaving them with well below average production in the back half of their lineup.

Cardinals Notes: Edman, Brebbia, Matz, Kloffenstein

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While the Cardinals are looking to buy at the deadline as they chase an NL wild card slot, the team could also pursue some strategic selling, as the Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya reports that the Dodgers have interest in Tommy Edman’s services.  The versatile Edman could provide depth or even a starting role at multiple positions for an injury-riddled Dodgers team, and it be can argued that St. Louis already has enough position-player depth to make Edman expendable.

Of course, the chief obstacle to a deal is Edman’s own health status, as he has still yet to play in a big league game this season.  Edman underwent wrist surgery last fall and the rehab process has taken considerably longer than expected — his recovery has been delayed by a couple of shutdowns due to recurring wrist soreness, as well as a sprained ankle.  He has played in seven games during his rehab assignment with Double-A Springfield, but only as a DH, rather than any action in the field.

The Cards would certainly be selling low on a player who generated 5.4 fWAR as recently as 2022, between Edman’s strong glovework all over the diamond and an above-average (106 wRC+) performance at the plate.  However, 2022 represented the high-water mark of Edman’s offensive production over a full season, as he had an 89 wRC+ in 2021 and a 92 wRC+ in 528 PA last season.

The two-year, $16.5MM extension Edman signed last January also puts a significant price tag on his services, with about $2.4MM still owed to him this season and then $9.5MM owed in 2025.  The Cardinals would almost certainly have to eat a big chunk of that money to accommodate a trade, unless they perhaps swapped Edman to the Dodgers or another team for another unfavorable contract.

Such a creative move might in some way address the Cardinals’ other deadline needs, which Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat outlines as a right-handed hitting outfielder, starting pitching, and some bullpen depth.  For this latter goal, Jones reports that the Cards have interest in White Sox reliever John Brebbia.

It would be a reunion between the Cardinals and the veteran reliever, as Brebbia broke into the big leagues with St. Louis in 2017 and quickly established himself as a workhorse.  Brebbia posted a 3.14 ERA over 175 relief innings over the 2017-19 season, but a Tommy John surgery kept him sidelined for the entire 2020 season, and the Cards non-tendered him following that lost year.  He re-established himself pitching for the Giants from 2021-23, and signed a one-year free agent deal with the White Sox this past winter that pays him $4MM in salary, with a $1.5MM buyout of a $6MM mutual option for 2025.

Brebbia’s work with the Sox has been a lot better than his 5.22 ERA might indicate, as a .352 BABIP has inflated the righty’s bottom-line numbers.  In terms of secondary metrics, Brebbia has a strong 29.5% strikeout rate and a 5.8% walk rate, as well as above-average hard-contact numbers.  With the White Sox in clear sell mode, Brebbia is a likely candidate to be on the move before the deadline, and St. Louis could among several terms intrigued by Brebbia’s Statcast line rather than his misleading ERA.

The Cardinals figure to land pitching even some internal arms are on the mend, as Steven Matz is tentatively slated to begin a minor league rehab assignment later this week (as per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch).  Matz’s injury-plagued tenure with the Cards has now seen him miss almost three months due to back problems, with the southpaw posting a 6.18 ERA over 27 2/3 innings in April before being sidelined.  Since Matz’s rehab work has already been shut down twice by recurring back pain, this next rehab assignment doesn’t represent a clear sign that the veteran is fully on the road to recovery, but he did log two simulated innings in a throwing session on Saturday.

In more concerning injury news, Adam Kloffenstein has discomfort in his right shoulder, manager Oliver Marmol told Jones and other reporters.  Kloffenstein is currently on the minor league injured list as testing is being done to determine the nature and extent of the problem.  Acquired in the Jordan Hicks trade with the Blue Jays last summer, Kloffenstein has a 4.74 ERA in 89 1/3 innings and 17 Triple-A starts this season, and he made his Major League debut in cup-of-coffee form with one inning in the Cards’ 6-5 win over the Giants on June 20.

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