Heyman’s Latest: White Sox, Marlins, Brewers, Yankees, Gurriel, Saunders
FanRag’s Jon Heyman kicks off his weekly notes column by ranking the 20 best trades in the past two years, with the Blue Jays’ Josh Donaldson acquisition topping the list. Certainly a good deal of hindsight is used when crafting any such list, and the development of certain prospects could change the way we perceive some of these still-fresh deals, but many of the swaps listed do indeed look lopsided one way or another at the moment.
Some highlights from the column…
- The White Sox never even put Chris Sale or Jose Quintana on trade waivers last month, knowing that there wouldn’t be time to negotiate a sufficient return in the limited 47-hour window after the respective aces were claimed. They’ll instead explored trade scenarios for both pitchers once again this winter, though owner Jerry Reinsdorf isn’t keen on rebuilding. Todd Frazier was claimed on trade waivers but pulled back, according to Heyman, whereas outfielder Melky Cabrera made it through waivers but remained in Chicago despite his above-average offensive production dating back to last June.
- The Marlins will try to find a No. 2 type starter this winter to slot between Jose Fernandez and Wei-Yin Chen, but the usual caveats apply: this offseason bears a historically poor crop of free-agent starting pitching, and the Marlins’ paper-thin farm system makes it difficult to land a high-quality pitcher via trade. Per Heyman, the Marlins are frequently asked about Christian Yelich and J.T. Realmuto but are loath to part with either rising star. He also adds that manager Don Mattingly is strongly in favor of the team re-signing Martin Prado.
- Jonathan Villar‘s strong play for the Brewers this season has apparently created some wishful thinking among other clubs, as there’s been increased interest in top prospect Orlando Arcia, but the Brewers are “not entertaining offers” for the highly touted 22-year-old.
- Aaron Judge‘s struggles notwithstanding, the Yankees won’t seek outfield help this offseason, GM Brian Cashman told Heyman. In addition to Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, Judge and Aaron Hicks, Cashman pointed out that the Yankees also have Clint Frazier and Mason Williams, commenting that players with Frazier’s level of talent can force their way onto the big league roster quickly. The GM also expressed confidence that Luis Severino can stick as a starting pitcher and talked about the rapid development of Gary Sanchez on the heels of the young catcher’s stunning late-season breakout.
- Lourdes Gurriel Jr., the younger brother of Astros infielder/DH Yulieski Gurriel, will host a showcase for interested teams on Sep. 14 in Panama City, according to Heyman. The Cardinals are one of about 20 teams planning to go watch the young shortstop, he notes. While the showcase will allow teams to get a look at the younger Gurriel, I can’t envision him actually signing until his 23rd birthday passes on Oct. 19. At that point, Gurriel will no longer be considered an amateur, and thus will no longer be subject to international signing bonuses.
- The Blue Jays will make the obvious decisions to extend qualifying offers to Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista, and they’re also considering a QO for Michael Saunders. While that might’ve seemed like a highly implausible scenario a few months back, Saunders has been quite good in a full, healthy season. In 500 plate appearances, the 29-year-old is slashing .266/.348/.505 with 23 homers — though he hasn’t been as good in the season’s second half. Saunders’ injury history could at least create some pause, but given his quality offensive output and lack of a platoon split in 2016, I think he’d be able to secure a nice multi-year pact even if he turned down the sizable one-year offer.
Quick Hits: Murphy, Volquez, Yankees, Fernandez, Ruiz, Morneau
The Mets felt comfortable in letting Daniel Murphy go in free agency for several reasons, a decision that ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin notes is certainly worth second-guessing given Murphy’s huge season with the Nationals. Perhaps the biggest factor for the Mets was their belief that Murphy could deliver a good average but little else. Murphy, of course, has contributed 25 homers and a .340/.383/.593 slash line, pretty resounding the Mets’ criticisms about his lack of power or plate discipline. (He has also been above average on the basepaths, as per Fangraphs’ baserunning metric.) Murphy is looking like a bargain signing for the Nats while second base is a question mark for the Mets heading into 2017.
Here’s some more from around baseball…
- For now, “the most logical scenario” between the Royals and Edinson Volquez is that the club will issue Volquez a qualifying offer that the righty will decline in search of a multi-year contract elsewhere, Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star writes as part of a reader mailbag piece. It may seem odd that the Royals would risk issuing a one-year, $16.7MM deal to a 33-year-old with a 5.02 ERA through 166 2/3 innings, though the starting pitching market is so thin that Volquez may indeed be able to find a longer-term commitment. If Volquez leaves, Dodd figures K.C. will pursue inexpensive free agent starters, or possibly look for a higher-caliber arm by trading one of its core roster players.
- The Yankees heavily reloaded on blue chip minor leaguers with their deadline trades, and John Harper of the New York Daily News wonders if the club will try to deal from this newfound prospect depth to acquire a frontline starter this winter. Jose Fernandez may be the most available ace on the market, given that the Marlins may not have the money to keep him before he hits free agency after the 2018 season. Landing Fernandez would likely cost the Yankees Clint Frazier, Justus Sheffield, one of Jorge Mateo or Gleyber Torres and probably one more pitching prospect. It might take an even biggest prospect package than that to acquire Chris Sale given Sale’s club-friendly contract, while the Athletics’ Sonny Gray or the Rays’ Chris Archer are coming off down years and may be too risky for the Yankees given the prospect cost it would take to acquire them.
- Cuban second baseman Jose Miguel Fernandez and righty Norge Ruiz will play for Aguilas Cibaenas of the Dominican League this winter, Baseball America’s Ben Badler reports. It will present both players with a valuable opportunity to perform in front of MLB scouts, particularly Fernandez since the infielder hasn’t in competitive games for almost two full years. That long layoff may have contributed to Fernandez still being unsigned despite being declared a free agent in April, though Badler notes other factors like teams being pretty set at second base and scouts having questions about Fernandez’s power, fielding and speed. Ruiz left Cuba in May 2015 but has yet to be officially declared a free agent, which Badler finds curious given how several Cuban players have been cleared by the league in far less time.
- Justin Morneau hopes to play some first base if he plays in 2017, CSN Chicago’s Dan Hayes writes. Morneau has only served as a DH since joining the White Sox, thanks to his rehab from elbow surgery and his lack of a Spring Training. With a proper spring under his belt next season, Morneau feels he can return to his old position at least a couple of times per week. It should also be noted that Morneau’s free agent value will obviously increase if he is able to play a position rather than be limited to a designated hitter role.
AL Central Notes: Sale, Quintana, Davis, Wang, Santana
Over the weekend, Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago reported that the Red Sox weren’t willing to include Jackie Bradley in a trade for either Chris Sale or Jose Quintana, and this morning, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports adds to that a bit. “If they didn’t get Jackie Bradley, there was no way they were doing the deal,” a person familiar with the talks told Heyman in reference to the White Sox. While there’s been plenty of speculation (and optimism from fans of other teams) that the Pale Hose could market one of their two ace-caliber lefties this winter, Heyman spoke to multiple people that indicated owner Jerry Reinsdorf still has little to no interest in parting with either Sale or Quintana, as his primary focus is putting a winner on the field right now. Sale, 28 next March, is controllable from 2017-2019 season for $38MM, while Quintana, who turns 28 in January, is owed $36.85MM from 2017-20.
More notes from the division…
- The Royals are planning to activate All-Star closer Wade Davis from the disabled list on Friday, writes Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star. Davis might’ve been activated prior to Wednesday’s contest, he notes, but a rainout at Triple-A earlier this week delayed his final rehab appearance and, thus, his return to the active roster. Davis has been out since July 31 due to a forearm strain, and the Royals’ fortunes have certainly changed since that injury. At the time of Davis’ placement on the disabled list, he was an oft-rumored trade candidate for a Royals team that had fallen quite a ways out of contention in the American League Central and in the AL Wild Card hunt. However, despite lacking one of the game’s best relievers for more than a month, Kansas City has gone 20-8 since Davis was placed on the disabled list. They’re now 6.5 games back in the division and just three games out of the second Wild Card spot in the AL.
- While Davis is returning, the Royals will lose right-hander Chien-Ming Wang to the disabled list, Dodd notes within that same piece. Wang is being placed on the 15-day DL due to tendinitis in his right biceps. While Wang’s numbers don’t stand out (4.22 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 3.0 BB/9), he’s yielded just two runs in his past 11 innings while working in a multi-inning role. Kansas City is hopeful that he’ll be able to return in the minimum 15 days, though expanded September rosters give Kansas City the luxury of taking things a bit slowly with his recovery.
- Danny Santana‘s season is over, as the Twins utilityman has suffered a Grade 2 sprain of the AC joint in his left shoulder and will require four to six weeks to recover from the injury, writes Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. As Berardino notes, Santana once rated as one of Minnesota’s top 10 to 15 prospects, but his struggles over the past two seasons now leave his future with the team in doubt. Santana, 25, burst onto the scene in 2014 with a .319/.353/.472 slash in 101 games, but his production was largely propped up by a BABIP north of .400. Regression was easy to project thanks to that bloated BABIP, but he’s fallen farther than even pessimistic forecasts might’ve indicated. Over the past two seasons, the switch-hitter has slashed just .227/.259/.308 in 525 plate appearances. Santana is out of minor league options, so he’ll have to remain on the active roster or be exposed to waivers before he’s eligible to be sent outright to the minors.
Players That Have Cleared Revocable Waivers
The first three two and a half weeks of August yielded only a few minor trades, featuring pickups by the Mariners (Arquimedes Caminero and Pat Venditte), a swap of veteran infielders (Erick Aybar and Mike Aviles) and the Marlins adding some left-handed depth to their ‘pen (Hunter Cervenka). Since that time, several names have changed hands, though, including Carlos Ruiz, A.J. Ellis, Dioner Navarro, Jeff Francoeur, Daniel Nava, Marc Rzepczynski and Erick Aybar. A trade sending veteran outfielder Coco Crisp to the Indians should be announced on Wednesday as well.
Before diving into the names, a few items bear repeating. The majority of Major League players will be placed on trade waivers this month, with most instances going unreported. There are undoubtedly players (quite a few of them, most likely) who have already cleared waivers but have not been reported to have done so. Players can be traded into September, as well, but only those traded on or before Aug. 31 will be eligible for the postseason with their new teams, so there’s some urgency for contending clubs to complete deals by month’s end. And, of course, for those who aren’t familiar with the inner-workings of waiver trades, MLBTR published a full explanation of how August trades work earlier this month. Onto the known names…
- Ryan Braun (link): Although Braun has slashed an excellent .315/.377/.551 with 24 homers and 14 steals through 454 plate appearances this season, his pricey contract enabled him to slip through waivers. Braun, 32, is owed $76MM through 2021, and any team acquiring him would likely need Milwaukee to pick up a sizable chunk of his contract, according to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. That doesn’t seem to bode well for the possibility of a trade this month.
- Ervin Santana (link): Santana, 33, is due $13.5MM per year through 2018, which makes him a fairly expensive investment, but he’s in the midst of another fine season. The righty has been among the few bright spots for the last-place Twins, having recorded a 3.54 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 2.38 BB/9 in 147 1/3 innings. Given that he cleared waivers, the Twins might have to eat some of Santana’s contract if they wish to move him for a decent return. However, Minnesota reportedly needed to be “overwhelmed” to deal Santana in July, and it’s doubtful their bullish opinion of him has changed since then.
- Ryan Howard (link): It seems as if any possibility of a Howard trade has gone out the window with his time with the Phillies drawing to an increasingly pleasant end. But he does still deliver more pure power than most hitters — albeit almost exclusively against righties — with 19 long balls in less than half a season worth of plate appearances.
- Matt Wieters (link): Not only is Wieters expensive ($15.8MM salary this year), but he’s also underperforming both offensively and defensively. Thus, with fellow backstops Kurt Suzuki and Brian McCann having already cleared waivers, it’s no surprise that Wieters did, too. Regardless of his struggles, Wieters is the starting catcher for a playoff contender with no better in-house option in place, making a trade involving the impending free agent all the more unlikely.
- Scott Kazmir (link): Kazmir is owed $16MM in each of the next two seasons, but he has the ability to opt out of his deal after this year. Kazmir’s run prevention (4.41 ERA) has been a letdown in 132 2/3 innings this season, although he has recorded an outstanding K/9 (9.02) to go with a 3.32 BB/9 and a superb 15.2 percent infield fly rate. The positives weren’t enough for anyone to claim Kazmir, though, and it’s doubtful the injury-riddled Dodgers will move out a healthy starter in the middle of a playoff race.
- James Shields (link): The right-hander was previously a high-end option that every team would’ve loved to slot into its rotation. At 34, he’s now pitching like a DFA candidate. The White Sox, who acquired Shields from the Padres earlier this year, owe him $10MM per season through 2018. Thanks largely to a plummeting strikeout rate and a propensity for allowing HRs, Shields has run up a 7.62 ERA in 69 2/3 innings with Chicago. Overall, he has a 5.98 ERA in 137 frames this year. While Shields is on track for a 10th straight 30-start season, there’s no point in trading for someone who isn’t at least keeping his team in games every fifth day.
- Nick Markakis (link): The negatives seem to outweigh the positives with Markakis, who’s on a $10.5MM salary through 2018 and doesn’t bring the offensive value to the table that he used to. Since leaving Baltimore for Atlanta last year, the right fielder has hit .285/.360/.384 with a mere 12 HRs in 1,200-plus plate trips. The average and on-base percentage are clearly pluses. Fact is, though, a corner outfielder who has little power, doesn’t grade well defensively and isn’t all that cheap isn’t too appealing.
- Mitch Moreland (link): Moreland is amid his third straight 20-homer season and isn’t overly expensive ($5.7MM salary) in the last year of his contract, so it wouldn’t have been shocking had someone claimed him. Instead, the lifetime .251/.316/.481 hitter got through waivers and looks likely to remain with World Series-contending Texas for the rest of the season.
- Matt Kemp (link): Once an MVP-level player, the 31-year-old Kemp has fallen off thanks to defensive issues and a decline at the plate. As a roughly league-average hitter on a $21.5MM salary through 2019, he was fully expected to go unclaimed had the Braves placed him on waivers. They did, and that’s exactly what happened. Atlanta’s on the hook for $18MM per year of Kemp’s money for the duration of his contract. The Padres, his previous team, make up the difference. For any deal to happen, the Braves would likely have to eat a hefty portion of that cash.
- Joakim Soria (link): The 32-year-old Soria has become increasingly homer prone and displaying some concerning control issues in 2016, so it’s not surprising that no team risked claiming the remaining $19.72MM that he is owed through the completion of the 2018 season. Soria’s 92.8 mph average fastball is actually a career-high, and his strikeouts and ground-ball rate both remain sound, so perhaps he could be moved if Kansas City were to eat some of the remainder on that deal.
- Eric O’Flaherty (link): Once a powerhouse out of the Braves’ bullpen, O’Flaherty’s second stint with Atlanta hasn’t gone nearly as well. He’s never fully regained his form after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2013, and his ERA in 2016 rested just shy of 7.00 when word of his clearing waivers broke. His $1.75MM salary wouldn’t be prohibitive were he pitching well, but even opposing lefties have roughed up O’Flaherty this season, and he’s been positively obliterated by right-handed opponents.
- Kurt Suzuki (link): The Twins’ catcher was reported to have cleared waivers just yesterday. Unlike a number of players that clear waivers in the month of August, Suzuki is relatively affordable, making it something of a surprise that no teams placed a claim on him. While he’s not regarded as a highly skilled defensive backstop, he’s hitting .281/.321/.431, which is quite a step up from the league-average catcher (.242/.311/.380). He doesn’t walk much, but he’s also very tough to strike out (12.9%), and he was owed just $1.54MM through season’s end when he reportedly cleared on Aug. 16.
- Brian McCann (link): It’s no surprise that McCann cleared waivers, as he’s owed a hefty $34MM beyond the 2016 campaign. McCann’s offensive production has wilted a bit in recent weeks, and while his .232/.333/.404 batting line and 15 homers are still solid marks for a catcher, it’s tough to imagine the Yankees moving him without absorbing a fair amount of the money that remains on his contract. Also standing in the way of a potential deal is the fact that teams looking for catching help beyond this year have a fair number of choices on the upcoming free agent market.
One final note: outfielder Jeff Francoeur (link) and catcher Carlos Ruiz (link) were both reported to have cleared waivers as well, but each has already been traded to a new team, with Francoeur going to the Marlins and Ruiz going to the Dodgers.
Sox Rumors: Sale, Quintana, Bradley
The White Sox discussed left-handed aces Chris Sale and Jose Quintana with the Red Sox prior to the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline, but Boston was unwilling to part with center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. for either, reports Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago.
It’s unclear if any other players were involved in the teams’ talks, but had the Red Sox given up Bradley for Sale or Quintana, they would have damaged one area of their roster to improve another. That’s something contending teams are especially loath to do during the season. However, the two clubs could resume negotiations in the offseason, writes Levine.
Bradley broke out offensively last summer and is now in the midst of his best full season at the major league level, having slashed .272/.349/.499 with 21 home runs in 510 plate appearances. He has also provided value on the base paths, with FanGraphs rating him as the 13th-best base runner in the league, as well as in the field. The 26-year-old ranks top five among center fielders in Defensive Runs Saved (nine), Ultimate Zone Rating (3.4) and UZR/150 (4.9). Bradley’s defensive work has earned plaudits since his major league career began in earnest two years ago, but it took some time for his output at the dish to catch up. Now, given his explosion with the bat, Bradley looks poised to land a significant raise in arbitration during the offseason as a likely Super Two player, which MLBTR’s Jeff Todd touched on earlier this week. That will be the first of four possible arbitration trips for Bradley, who has easily outperformed his $536,500 salary this season.
As is the case with Bradley, Chicago’s two 27-year-old front-line starters are bargains. Sale, who’s in his fifth straight year as an elite-level ace, is controllable from 2017-2019 for around $40MM. Like Sale, Quintana has turned in quality seasons for a half-decade, and his contract is even more appealing than his teammate’s. Quintana will make $14.35MM over the next two seasons and then up to $21MM more with a pair of $10.5MM club options that run through 2020.
While neither Sale nor Quintana is a lock to go anywhere during the winter, that could change if the White Sox decide to rebuild. Chicago is on track to miss the playoffs for an eighth straight year, and general manager Rick Hahn indicated Thursday that the franchise’s direction will become clear early in the offseason. If the White Sox choose to shop at least one of Sale or Quintana, the weak free agent market for pitchers would make the upcoming offseason an ideal time for it, as Levine notes. Any team in need of pitching – including Boston – would likely inquire on either or both, thereby enabling Chicago to spark a bidding war.
AL Notes: Sox, Rangers, Choo, Girardi
After dealing away Dioner Navarro on Friday, the White Sox may have further moves to make before the end of the month. As Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago tweets, GM Rick Hahn says that there are some other irons in the fire as contenders move to add players to their organization before the August 31 deadline to bring in postseason-eligible outsiders. “We were having dialogue with a lot of different clubs on a handful of different players,” says Hahn.
More from the American League:
- Rangers right fielder Shin-Soo Choo‘s chances of playing again this year are ostensibly poor after suffering a fractured left forearm Aug. 15, but he’s aiming to return in October. “I want to try for the postseason,” he said (via Ryan Posner of MLB.com). “I have a plan, I have a goal, I have the confidence.” Choo underwent forearm surgery Aug. 17, and the Rangers’ physician told him then that he’d need eight weeks to recover. That would set Choo up for a mid-October comeback, though the first-place Rangers might not be alive at that point. In the event they are, Choo could have difficulty working back into game shape if he’s unable to embark on a minor league rehab assignment sometime in September. Choo’s injury opened the door for the signing of Carlos Gomez, who has taken over as the Rangers’ everyday left fielder.
- Red Sox setup man Koji Uehara hasn’t looked like a sure bet to return this season since landing on the shelf with a strained pectoral in late July, but there is progress on that front, per Scott Lauber of ESPN.com. Uehara threw 53 pitches off a mound “with good intensity” Friday, said manager John Farrell. Uehara will throw again Monday and is “making some pretty good strides,” Farrell added. With a 4.50 ERA to accompany a bloated home run to fly ball rate (16.3 percent) and a minuscule ground-ball percentage (19.0), the battle-tested Uehara hasn’t been nearly as effective in 2016 as he was in previous seasons. On the positive side, the 41-year-old has posted outstanding strikeout and walk numbers (12.75 K/9 and 2.25 BB/9) across 36 innings.
- Yankees manager Joe Girardi spoke out Saturday against September roster expansion, telling reporters (including Brendan Kuty of NJ.com), “I think during the most important time of the year you look for advantages for matchups. You do that for five months and all of a sudden some of those advantages are gone because of all the call-ups.” Girardi also offered a year-round alternative to the 25-man roster, which is in effect from April through August, as well as the 40-man edition. “I think you should have to designate maybe 27 players to a roster, 28 players to a roster that day,” he said.
Blue Jays Acquire Dioner Navarro
The Blue Jays have acquired catcher Dioner Navarro from the White Sox, both teams have announced. Lefty Colton Turner is headed back to Chicago in the deal.
Navarro, 32, will return to Toronto, where he had played over 2014-15 before joining the South Siders this winter on a one-year, $4MM deal. He’ll presumably function as both a reserve catcher and bench bat for the Jays, who utilize Russell Martin as their starter behind the dish and also have Josh Thole on hand as a receiver.
[RELATED: Updated White Sox & Blue Jays Depth Charts]
It’s not yet clear how the playing time will shake out, but the switch-hitting Navarro could nudge the left-handed-hitting Thole out of his role as the primary backup — if not off of the roster entirely. Thole owns a meager .151/.246/.198 slash line over his 124 plate appearances on the season. But he is also the personal catcher for knuckler R.A. Dickey, and with the Jays also in need of another bat off of the bench, it’s possible to imagine both players co-existing on Toronto’s 25-man.
While Navarro has been a solid hitter at times in the past — he put up a composite 107 OPS+ over 2013-15 — this hasn’t been his finest season. He is carrying only a .210/.267/.339 batting line with six home runs in his 298 plate appearances on the year for the White Sox.
Still, Navarro brings a sturdy veteran presence to a familiar clubhouse, and won’t cost much in terms of cash to add to the mix. The remainder of his contract will only cost Toronto around $850K. Plus, with roster set to expand within the week, he won’t clog things up too badly and can add flexibility.
In Turner, the Sox will land a 25-year-old southpaw who has shown some promise at times this year. He was dominant at the High-A level, allowing just two earned runs on 19 hits over 31 2/3 innings while generating 13.4 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9. But he has stalled since moving up to Double-A for the first time, where he has been tagged for six earned in 10 1/3 frames with a less-than-stellar 10:8 K/BB ratio.
AL Central Notes: Garcia, Hunter, Strahm
The remaining games in the 2016 season could very well determine Avisail Garcia‘s future with the White Sox, writes Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago/670 The Score. The 25-year-old will be arbitration-eligible for the second time (as a Super Two player) but has once again delivered a sub-par performance at the plate, hitting just .243/.310/.380 in 332 plate appearances. Garcia disappointed in a full season last year (.257/.309/.365) but was tendered a contract due to the team’s hopes for improvement, ultimately settling on a $2.1MM salary. His lackluster play notwithstanding, Garcia will be due another raise on top of that sum. Garcia will probably never rate as a plus (or even average) defender, but a strong finish at the plate could seemingly hold a great deal of influence over Chicago’s thinking. White Sox hitting coach Todd Steverson spoke to Levine about the work they’ve put in on trying to alter the contact point and launch angle in Garcia’s swing in an effort to generate more fly-balls and line drives.
More from the AL Central…
- The timing of the Indians‘ release of Tommy Hunter yesterday looked strange on paper, as the right-hander was working toward a return from a back injury and was deep into a rehab assignment. However, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (links to Twitter) that the Indians looked at their potential September call-ups and decided that they had more options they wanted to evaluate than roster spots available. The veteran Hunter was the odd man out, they decided, so they elected to release him now in order to give the 30-year-old a chance to sign with a new club before Sept. 1 — thus allowing him to be postseason-eligible with a new organization. Hunter injured his back in a fall at his home over the All-Star break but had pitched well for the Indians prior to his injury, logging a 3.74 ERA with 7.1 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 52.3 percent ground-ball rate in 21 2/3 innings.
- Rookie left-hander Matt Strahm has been sensational out of the Royals‘ bullpen since being promoted in the wake of Wade Davis‘ most recent injury — 0.84 ERA, 19-to-3 K/BB ratio in 10 2/3 innings — but GM Dayton Moore tells Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star that the organization views Strahm as a starting pitcher first and foremost. Strahm spent the season in the Double-A rotation, making a career-high 18 starts as he further distanced himself from 2013 Tommy John surgery, Dodd writes. In that time, the 24-year-old a 3.43 ERA with impressive rates of 9.4 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9, and that production, coupled with his excellence in the ‘pen, will have him in the mix for a rotation job next spring. The Royals will have Danny Duffy, Yordano Ventura, Ian Kennedy, Chris Young and Mike Minor in next year’s rotation mix, and there’s been speculation that they could try to bring Edinson Volquez back into the fold as well. Beyond that, lefty Jason Vargas figures to be recovered from Tommy John surgery and will be in the picture as well.
Rick Hahn Disputes Reports Of Discord, Talks White Sox Plans
The White Sox sit at five games under .500 as September nears, which is certainly not what the organization expected coming into the season. With a disappointing campaign all but assured at this point, GM Rick Hahn discussed several notable topics with the media today.
Hahn vehemently denied that there is any discord in the Chicago front office, as has been suggested, saying that the members of the organization’s upper management “are of a similar mindset as to how best to proceed.” Collen Kane of the Chicago Tribune provides the full quote on Twitter. “We’ve had a number of conversations, both [president Kenny Williams] and I, as well as Kenny, [owner Jerry Reinsdorf] and I, about the best way to approach the offseason and what we want to accomplish,” said Hahn. “And once the offseason rolls around, we will start executing that plan.”
The big question remains whether the South Siders will push to supplement their talented core, embark upon a rebuild, or perhaps take a middle course of some kind. Hahn wasn’t inclined to tip his hand, but did suggest it should be rather easy to divine the team’s direction after it begins making moves this winter, as Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com tweets. Reading between the lines a bit, that would seem at least to hint that the team will chart a generally aggressive buying or selling course.
Hahn did make clear that selling off veteran pieces has at least received serious consideration from the organization, as Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com reports (Twitter links). “There also comes a point where there is a level of frustration with the way things have played out over the last couple of years,” said Hahn. “I’m not saying [a rebuild] is the route we’re going to go, but I assure you there is absolute openness from Jerry, Kenny, myself.”
Meanwhile, the veteran executive passed along some notable injury news. Center fielder Austin Jackson is almost certainly done for the year after failing to show sufficient progress from his meniscus tear, as Hayes was among those to report. He had signed with Chicago in hopes of re-entering the free agent market this year with a better platform season, but a rough start and lengthy injury absence have only further harmed his standing.
The Sox also expect that third baseman Matt Davidson will be out the rest of the way given the seriousness of his foot fracture. He had finally earned a big league promotion right before getting hurt, but will need to wait until next year for a full chance at an audition. Infielder Brett Lawrie, meanwhile, is dealing with what is now being called a knee and calf problem; he doesn’t have a specific timeframe to return but is expected back this year.
Four Veterans Clear Waivers
Braves right fielder Nick Markakis, Orioles catcher Matt Wieters, White Sox right-hander James Shields and Dodgers southpaw Scott Kazmir have each cleared trade waivers, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reported Friday (Twitter link). The four players’ teams are now free to trade them to any other major league club.
[RELATED: Players Who Have Cleared Revocable Waivers]
The only member of the group who’s unsigned beyond this season is Wieters, who’s a starter on an Orioles team that entered Saturday in possession of an American League wild-card spot and only 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Blue Jays in the AL East. The soon-to-be 31-year-old is amid one of the worst offensive seasons of his career, having posted a .240/.294/.381 batting line with 10 home runs in 340 plate appearances. Wieters has been a roughly league-average hitter throughout his career, including last season (.267/.319/.422 in 282 PAs). Defensively, StatCorner has assigned Wieters negative pitch-framing marks five years running, while Baseball Prospectus hasn’t looked favorably on his work in that department since 2012.
The Orioles tendered a $15.8MM qualifying offer last November to Wieters, who accepted it and is once again scheduled for free agency at the conclusion of this season. Baltimore could give him another qualifying offer (if they’re still around should a new collective bargaining agreement be in place by then), but that doesn’t seem likely to happen. It’s also doubtful the contending Orioles will trade Wieters, who has upward of $3.7MM remaining on his contract, especially given fellow backstop Caleb Joseph’s ugly performance this year.
Like Wieters, Kazmir is also part of a team with championship aspirations. Kazmir, who signed with the Dodgers over the winter, is owed $16MM in each of the next two seasons, but he has the ability to opt out of his deal after this year. Kazmir’s run prevention (4.41 ERA) has been a letdown in 132 2/3 innings this season, although he has recorded an outstanding K/9 (9.02) to go with a 3.32 BB/9 and a superb 15.2 percent infield fly rate. And while Kazmir has regularly dealt with injuries throughout his career, he has been one of the few consistently healthy Dodgers starters this year. As a member of a first-place team that’s in no place to be moving pitching depth, a Kazmir trade probably isn’t in the cards.