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Closer Market Rumors: Diaz, Vazquez

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The Mets have numerous top trade chips on the market right now, including marquee offseason acquisition Edwin Diaz. The talented young closer remains highly valuable despite his 4.95 ERA, though it’s likewise true that there’s little chance the Mets would be able to recoup what they gave up to get him over the winter. Beyond the fact that Diaz is now just months away from arbitration, the Mets simply paid a hefty fee for Diaz at the outset. In addition to parting with rising prospects Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn, the club took on $64MM in new salary (after netting out the cash and salaries exchanged).

While that’s a particularly painful price in retrospect, the New York organization must now think primarily about what it wants its roster and payroll to look like moving forward. The latest on Diaz and the rest of the closer market:

  • Despite Diaz’s struggles in the earned-run department, there’s “significant” demand for his services, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (subscription link). At present, the Dodgers, Rays, Braves, and Padres are teams with active interest. Several of those teams have been linked clearly to Diaz of late.
  • While Rosenthal had also listed the Red Sox, who were connected yesterday to Diaz by ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, it seems that possibility has already fizzed. That match “remains unlikely,” Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports on Twitter. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand adds Raisel Iglesias of the Reds and Shane Greene of the Tigers as other top relievers unlikely to end up in Boston. (Twitter link.) The Braves, on the other hand, do indeed still seem to be in pursuit of Diaz. Per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, via Twitter, the Mets have continued to examine the Atlanta farm. From the Braves’ side, it seems Diaz is the top target, with starters Noah Syndergaard and Zack Wheeler of ongoing but lesser interest.
  • If there’s a clear alternative to Diaz, it’s ace Pirates reliever Felipe Vazquez. The high-octane lefty has hit another gear in 2019, with 14.1 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 to go with his shiny 1.87 ERA on the season. We’ve seen him connected recently to the Dodgers, but there’s no indication the sides have momentum. Indeed, Rosenthal adds (in the above-linked column) that the Bucs are putting such a high price on Vazquez that he “essentially is not available.” That may be a bargaining ploy to see if a rival comes forward with a monster offer, but it’s certainly understandable that the Pirates aren’t just putting Vazquez up for auction. Rosenthal cites anonymous front office opinion that the Pittsburgh roster doesn’t have enough to compete in the near-term to justify keeping an asset such as Vazquez. That may well be the case, but it doesn’t mean the club should sell him short — particularly after seeing what the M’s were able to pry from the Mets for Diaz last winter.

Reds Activate Alex Wood, Designate Ryan Lavarnway

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The Reds have activated left-hander Alex Wood from the injured list and designated catcher Ryan Lavarnway for assignment, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic tweets.

As expected, the 28-year-old Wood will finally make his Reds debut against the Rockies on Sunday. He joined the Reds in the offseason as part of a radical makeover of their rotation. In addition to Wood, whom the Reds acquired from the Dodgers, they brought in fellow starters Sonny Gray and Tanner Roark via trades. Gray and Roark have performed well, which has helped lead to a vastly improved Cincy staff, but back problems have prevented Wood from pitching this year. The pending free agent will now try to rebuild some of his stock as he gears up for a potential trip to the open market in a few months.

Lavarnway, 31, just signed with the Reds on July 18 after the Yankees released him. Cincinnati added Lavarnway to help cover for catchers Curt Casali and Kyle Farmer, who went on the IL that day, but the team activated Farmer on Sunday.

Once a top prospect with the Red Sox, Lavarnway has struggled considerably over 445 major league plate appearances with several teams since he debuted in 2011. He did mash in a small sample size with the Reds before they designated him, though, as Lavarnway hit .278/.316/.722 with two home runs in 19 plate appearances. However, Lavarnway batted an uninspiring .213/.333/.315 with three HRs in 129 PA with the Yankees’ highest minor league affiliate before they let him go.

Yasiel Puig, Scooter Gennett Among Reds Who Are “In Play”

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Along with the previously reported Raisel Iglesias and Tanner Roark, Reds outfielder Yasiel Puig and second baseman Scooter Gennett are “in play” as Wednesday’s trade deadline nears, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required).

The Reds have all but faded out of the playoff race, but they could still buy as well as sell in the next few days, Rosenthal writes. It would be logical to deal anyone who’s down to his last year of control, which includes Roark, Puig and Gennett. Puig’s the only member of the trio who’s a potential qualifying offer candidate, so the Reds could consider holding the ex-Dodger if they’re dissatisfied with the offers that come in for him. Alternatively, the club could attempt to extend Puig – something general manager Nick Krall has suggested they’re open to doing.

After a glacial start to the season, his first as a Red, Puig has come much closer to resembling his usual self over the past several weeks. Puig owned a sub-.650 OPS at the beginning of June, but the number has climbed about 150 points since then. The 28-year-old now owns a .260/.309/.489 line with 22 home runs and 13 steals on 18 tries. Puig has also once again graded out respectably in right field, where he has accounted for 3 Defensive Runs Saved and a 0.7 Ultimate Zone Rating.

Puig’s collecting a $9.7MM salary, while Gennett’s making a bit more at $9.775MM. That looked like a reasonable figure entering the season for Gennett, who transformed from waiver fodder into one of the game’s most valuable second basemen from 2017-18, yet this has been a nightmare of a campaign for the 29-year-old. It began inauspiciously at the end of March when Gennett suffered a severe groin strain – one that kept him out of action until June 28.

While it’s a small sample size, Gennett has come back to hit a stunningly subpar .185/.211/.222 with zero homers (he combined for 50 from 2017-18) over 57 trips to the plate in the past month. That production has been good for a single-digit wRC+ (9), owing in part to a horrid K:BB ratio of 17:1. There’s time for a rest-of-season turnaround for Gennett, but his trade value has surely dropped to a considerable degree this year.

Reds Rumors: Garrett, Roark, Yankees

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The Reds had been clinging to the hope of buying this deadline season, but their recent skid could turn them into sellers prior to Wednesday. Now at 46-55, the National League’s third-worst record, the Reds sit a lofty 7 1/2 games out of wild-card position. We already know the club is willing to entertain offers for Raisel Iglesias as a result of its pre-deadline slide. Cincinnati also has at least a couple other pitchers generating interest in reliever Amir Garrett and starter Tanner Roark, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports (Twitter links).

“Many teams covet” the 27-year-old Garrett, Heyman writes, but the Reds are in the same boat. They’re actually more likely to trade Iglesias than Garrett, per Heyman. Garrett’s playing this season for a minimal salary and will do the same again in 2020 before potentially taking three trips through the arbitration process. Not only does Garrett bring four-plus years of team control to the table, but the left-hander has seemingly broken out this season.

Garrett fell flat as a starter in 2017, his rookie campaign, before faring far better as a reliever a year ago. The switch from the Reds’ rotation to their bullpen has led to a significant velocity increase for Garrett, who has averaged 95 mph on his fastball after clocking in just below 92 in his previous role.

During his debut as a reliever in 2018, Garrett registered a 4.29 ERA/3.89 FIP with 10.14 K/9, 3.57 BB/9 and a 38 percent groundball rate in 63 innings. That’s useful production, but Garrett has found another gear in 2019. Across 39 frames, he has pitched to a 1.85 ERA/3.09 FIP, and though his walk rate has soared to 5.08 per nine, Garrett’s strikeout and grounder marks have skyrocketed with it. Garrett has fanned 13-plus per nine and induced worm burners at a 53.8 percent clip. He has also stymied same- and opposite-handed hitters alike, evidenced by the .260 weighted on-base average lefties have managed off him and the .285 wOBA righties have put up. They’ve combined for a .274 wOBA, but Statcast’s xwOBA metric (.256) suggests Garrett has been even more dominant.

It’s no surprise the Reds want to keep Garrett, but there’s a strong argument it would make sense to trade Roark – a pending free agent who’s not a qualifying offer candidate. Along with the previously reported Phillies, the Yankees “have checked in on” Roark, according to Heyman. As Heyman notes, that may have been due diligence on the part of a Yankees team searching high and low for starting help.

Regardless of whether it’s the Yankees or someone else, it’s unlikely Cincinnati would have trouble finding a team for Roark. He is making a somewhat expensive $10MM salary, but Roark has justified the price tag this season. Since joining the Reds in a trade last winter, the 32-year-old ex-National has notched a 3.95 ERA/4.15 FIP with 8.92 K/9 and 2.86 BB/9 in 107 innings. There isn’t much difference between Roark’s bottom-line production in 2019 and the output that enabled him to total four seasons of at least 2.0 fWAR over the prior half-decade. He’s already at 1.8 in that category this year.

Reds Willing To Entertain Offers On Raisel Iglesias

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A pair of executives say the Reds are willing to listen to offers on closer Raisel Iglesias, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). The likelihood of a deal coming together isn’t clear at this point.

Iglesias, 29, has been one of the game’s more consistently effective closers for a few years now. But he’s mired in his worst season as a big leaguer. Meanwhile, the Reds’ hopes of maintaining competitiveness this year have taken a big hit over the past several weeks.

Through 43 innings on the season, Iglesias carries an unsightly 4.60 ERA. He does own a career-best 11.7 K/9, though he’s also dishing out too many walks (4.0 per nine) and long balls (1.9 per nine). That said, the 29-year-old is maintaining a career-best 15.6% swinging-strike rate and seems a candidate to bounce back if he can figure out how to get the home runsunder control.

Iglesias’s contract situation is also appealing. He’s earning $6MM this year with $9MM and $9.125MM guarantees for the ensuing two campaigns. That’s not especially cheap, but it’s quite a manageable rate of pay for an elite reliever — if that’s indeed how other organizations view him.

We’ve wondered in years past if the Reds would deal Iglesias, but the club has held its closer in hopes that the rest of the roster would catch up. There’s hope that high-leverage situations will have greater meaning in 2020, but perhaps also a sense that this could be an opportune moment to cash in on Iglesias. Several other quality relievers figure to be available, but the Giants’ run back into contention could also create a window for the Cincinnati organization to take advantage of a lack of supply.

Phillies Showing Interest In Tanner Roark

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The Phillies are showing some interest in Reds righty Tanner Roark, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). It sounds as if a few other organizations are also looking into the veteran starter, whose trade availability is not really clear.

It wasn’t long ago that the Reds were putting out word that they intended to function as a buyer at the trade deadline. But the club’s position is increasingly grim, with eight games and three teams separating it from the NL Central lead.

If the Cincinnati organization does decide to sell a few players, Roark would be one of the clear pieces to move. He’s among the pending free agents who’d be of interest to contenders. Other rental candidates include Alex Wood, David Hernandez, Jared Hughes, Yasiel Puig, Scooter Gennett, and Jose Iglesias.

As for the Phillies, we’ve continued to see them connected to most of the available arms. The club is obviously looking far and wide for possible arms to buttress its rotation and pen. While the preference remains to acquire with control, as Heyman notes and the front office has made clear, there’s surely also room for rental pieces at the right price.

[RELATED: Trade Candidate: Tanner Roark]

Roark has been as solid as the Reds could have hoped for when they acquired him from the Nationals over the winter. He’s through 107 innings of 3.95 ERA pitching over twenty starts, with 8.9 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9. In terms of peripherals and pitch quality, it has been much of the same sturdy work that Roark has provided over the past several campaigns. He’s hardly an ace, but is about as dependable as any back-of-the-rotation starter and would surely represent a nice upgrade for the right contender.

Alex Wood Scheduled For Season Debut On Sunday

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TODAY: Wood is scheduled to start Sunday’s game against the Rockies, the Reds announced (Twitter link).

TUESDAY: Rehabbing Reds left-hander Alex Wood finally looks to be nearing his 2019 major league debut, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com writes. Barring setbacks, Wood – who began a 30-day rehab stint July 6 – figures to join the Reds sometime in the next two weeks.

The 28-year-old Wood, out all season with back spasms, created plenty of optimism during a rehab start Monday with Double-A Chattanooga. It was the fourth minor league start of 2019 for Wood, who threw six innings and 85 pitches of one-run ball. Reds manager David Bell was encouraged afterward, saying: “Excellent reports. He was really good. He felt great. He pitched really well, was really sharp. Everything was positive.”

Bell likely thought he’d be gushing over Wood all season, as the hurler was one of the Reds’ key pickups during the winter. He came aboard in a noteworthy December trade with the Dodgers that also delivered Yasiel Puig, Kyle Farmer and the now-unemployed Matt Kemp to Cincinnati. Wood was then coming off an eminently productive three-plus-year run in LA, with which he put up a 3.46 ERA/3.50 FIP, 8.3 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 52.1 percent groundball rate over 434 2/3 innings.

In light of what Wood accomplished as a Dodger, the Reds were banking on him to help fix what had been a terrible rotation. Even without Wood, though, the Reds’ starting staff has taken enormous steps forward this season. Luis Castillo has turned into a front-line performer, offseason additions Sonny Gray and Tanner Roark have met or exceeded expectations, and Tyler Mahle and Anthony DeSclafani have been fine in complementary roles.

Despite the vast improvement of their rotation, the long-suffering Reds possess the NL’s fourth-worst record (45-53, putting them 6 1/2 back of a playoff spot). Whether the team will sell at the July 31 trade deadline is unknown, but it’s clear the pending free agent Wood won’t be among its trade chips. However, it does appear that Wood will have around two months to showcase himself to Cincy and the rest of the league before a scheduled trip to the open market.

Quick Hits: Scherzer, F. Vazquez, Broxton, Reds

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The Nationals are expecting ace Max Scherzer to return from the injured list by Thursday or Friday, Byron Kerr of MASNsports.com reports. Scherzer, out since July 13 with right shoulder bursitis, threw a full bullpen session Monday and offered an encouraging assessment afterward, per Kerr. The Nationals have maintained a playoff spot during Scherzer’s absence, but the three-time Cy Young winner is their MVP and someone they likely can’t go without for much longer. The 34-year-old Scherzer was amid another all-world season before hit hit the shelf, with a 2.30 ERA/2.02 FIP, 12.6 K/9, 1.6 BB/9 and 5.5 WAR in 129 1/3 innings.

More on a few other clubs…

  • Back on July 1, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington downplayed the possibility of trading closer Felipe Vazquez. The Bucs have lost 10 of 16 since then, putting them six games out of playoff position, but Huntington’s mind hasn’t changed. He once again made it clear Sunday that the Pirates expect to push for contention in the near future with Vazquez on their roster (via Adam Berry of MLB.com). On a potential Vazquez trade, Huntington said: “If we were expecting to lose 100 games next year, then it’s a different approach. But our expectation is to be right back in this — if we don’t get there this year — to be right back in this next year, and to have a guy like that in the back end is really important.” The Pirates haven’t made the playoffs since 2015, the year before they acquired the electric Vazquez, and appear as if they’ll extend their drought this season. Vazquez is controllable through 2023, giving the Pirates time to take advantage of his presence; on the other hand, Vazquez’s team-friendly contract is one of the reasons he’d bring back so much in a trade. Huntington appears to have no interest in giving up one of the greatest acquisitions of his tenure, though.
  • When the Orioles designated center fielder Keon Broxton for assignment Sunday, manager Brandon Hyde suggested the O’s would lose him, saying (via Joe Trezza of MLB.com): “I’m hoping he’ll get picked up by somebody, especially someone who needs outfield defense and baserunning for the postseason. I wish Keon the best.” It appears Broxton will indeed end up elsewhere in the coming days, as Trezza reports “a few teams” have checked in on the 29-year-old. Broxton can run and defend, as Hyde noted, though horrid hitting has torpedoed his value in 2019. Broxton has struck out in 43 percent of his 165 plate appearances, thus limiting him to a .184/.244/.289 line (42 wRC+). With no minor league options left, both the Mets and Orioles have given up on the once-promising Broxton this season.
  • The Reds put right-hander Tyler Mahle on the injured list Monday with a left hamstring strain and recalled fellow righty Sal Romano from Triple-A Louisville. The 24-year-old Mahle’s IL placement came after a pair of rough starts that saw him allow a combined 14 runs (10 earned) in 9 2/3 innings in losses to Colorado and St. Louis. Mahle has now mustered a 4.93 ERA in 102 1/3 innings, though he has also logged a much better 4.32 FIP, posted 9.32 K/9 against 2.29 BB/9 and notched a 45.6 percent groundball rate.

Pitcher Notes: Scherzer, Bundy, Turnbull, Garrett, Alexander

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With summer storms peppering much of the country today, we’ve got our own torrent of pitcher-related news to sort through. Out of D.C., we hear from MLB.com’s Jamal Collier that Nationals ace Max Scherzer threw 15 pitches off of a mound this afternoon (Twitter link). The superlative hurler has been dealing with inflammation in the bursa sac under his right shoulder blade and hasn’t appeared in a game since a seven-inning win against the Royals on July 6th. That Scherzer is throwing again–and could possibly throw another bullpen on Monday–is a sign that he apparently took well to a recent cortisone shot in his ailing back. Given the notoriously fickle nature of back injuries, the Nats are likely to be over the moon at this positive step in Scherzer’s recovery.

The latest on a few other waylaid hurlers…

  • The Orioles’ Dylan Bundy will apparently come off the injured list as soon as he is eligible, with MLB.com’s Joe Trezza reporting that the righty will start Tuesday in Arizona (link). Bundy, who has never really delivered on the promise that was conferred upon him when he was selected 4th overall in the 2011 draft, has a 5.28 ERA and 5.32 FIP in 92 innings this year. He has been on the shelf since July 13th with right knee tendinitis.
  • Chris McCosky of the Detroit News has reported on separate channels that Tigers starter Spencer Turnbull has suffered a back injury that will usher him to the IL. Apparently, Turnbull, who has put together a quietly effective 2019 campaign, experienced a strain during a workout Friday–a strain that persisted in a post-workout game of catch (Twitter link). In a subsequent piece, McCosky cogently points out that this injury could actually serve as a convenient means of limiting Turnbull’s innings–the 26-year-old was expected to pitch around 140 frames this year and had already logged 98.2 entering the weekend (link).
  • Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the Reds will welcome back two bullpen stalwarts with the activation of Amir Garrett and Raisel Iglesias from the injured list and paternity list, respectively (Twitter link). Garrett has been sidelined since July 4th with a left lat strain–an injury he presumably incurred from striking out most of the league this season en route to a 13.14 K/9 rate across 37 innings. To accommodate these moves, the Reds optioned righties Jimmy Herget and, as MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reported, Matt Bowman (link).
  • In concerning news, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has relayed to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com that veteran reliever Scott Alexander has been shut down for foreseeable future with a “nerve and thumb problem” (link). Alexander has been solid in 17-plus innings for Los Angeles this year, but injuries have been a prominent theme. Originally sidelined in June with a forearm ailment, issues with Alexander’s thumb have subsequently followed, and this latest language regarding his nerve is certainly ominous from a medical perspective. The lefty has posted a 3.63 ERA on the season.

Reds Sign Ryan Lavarnway, Designate Jesus Reyes

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The Reds have signed catcher Ryan Lavarnway to a one-year, Major League contract, as per a team announcement (Twitter link).  Lavarnway’s signing was one of a flurry of moves from Cincinnati, as the club also designated right-hander Jesus Reyes for assignment and placed righty David Hernandez and catchers Curt Casali and Kyle Farmer on the injured list.  Taking their places on the roster are Lavarnway, and Triple-A callups Lucas Sims and Josh VanMeter.

Farmer is headed to the seven-day version of the IL due to a concussion, while Casali is on the 10-day IL (retroactive to Tuesday) due to a right knee sprain.  With starting catcher Tucker Barnhart also injured, the Reds were left in sudden need for help behind the plate, opening the door for Lavarnway to land a guaranteed deal almost immediately after he was released from his minors contract with the Yankees.

Lavarnway has recorded some big league playing time in each of the last two seasons, appearing in six games each with the A’s in 2017 and Pirates in 2018.  Best known as a former top prospect in the Red Sox system, the 31-year-old Lavarnway has a .208/.268/.326 slash line over 426 career plate appearances in the majors.  He’ll join Juan Graterol as the Reds’ makeshift catching duo until some reinforcements come off the injured list.

Reyes made his MLB debut in 2018, posting a 3.18 ERA over 5 2/3 relief innings.  Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2014, the 26-year-old has a 3.65 ERA, 7.2 K/9, and 1.88 K/BB rate over 406 2/3 career innings in the minors, though Reyes has struggled badly at Triple-A this season.

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