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Cafardo’s Latest: Braun, Moore, CarGo, Bruce, Santiago

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Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun is “the hot name out there” on the trade market, a National League scout told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The scout listed the Astros, Cardinals, Giants, Mets, Phillies, Red Sox and White Sox as potential buyers for the 32-year-old Braun, who has resembled his past NL MVP-winning self offensively this season in slashing .351/.424/.583 with nine home runs in 170 trips to the plate. Braun is in the first season of a five-year extension that could be worth either $94MM or $105MM, depending on what happens with the contract’s mutual option for 2021.

Here’s more from Cafardo’s weekly column:

  • With prospect Blake Snell knocking on the door and Alex Cobb nearing a return from 2015 Tommy John surgery, the Rays could soon have a glut of starting pitching. Thus, they’d be willing to deal southpaw Matt Moore for both a major leaguer and a quality minor league piece. The soon-to-be 27-year-old Moore is controllable through 2019 on a cheap contract, but the former top prospect already has a Tommy John surgery under his belt and has run up a bloated 5.37 ERA in 120 2/3 frames since last season.
  • If the Rockies decide to trade right fielder Carlos Gonzalez, one talent evaluator told Cafardo that the Red Sox could be an ideal fit. “Their offense is cranking right now, but there’s an outfield position there that could possibly be enhanced if the Red Sox don’t think Brock Holt or Blake Swihart or Chris Young are the answer. They might be. But Cargo fits them as a top all-around player with power.” After slugging 40 home runs last season, Gonzalez has hit .294/.333/.471 with a somewhat modest seven homers this year. Gonzalez would presumably play left for the Red Sox, whose left fielders have hit .241/.321/.377 with four long balls. Their struggles haven’t exactly crippled baseball’s highest-scoring offense, however. Gonzalez, who will turn 30 in October, is making $17MM this year and will rake in another $20MM next season.
  • While Reds right fielder Jay Bruce is available, he won’t come cheap if the team has its way. The Reds nearly sent Bruce to Toronto during the winter, but the deal fell through after Cincinnati got cold feet over the health of one of the prospects whom it was supposed to acquire. The lefty-swinging Bruce was coming off two uncharacteristically subpar offensive seasons at the time, but he has perhaps rebuilt some of his value with an above-average .261/.313/.497 line to pair with eight homers in 176 PAs this year. Bruce, 29, is currently on a $12.5MM salary and has a $13MM club option ($1MM buyout) for 2017.
  • Angels left-hander Hector Santiago is a name to watch around the trade deadline if the Halos drop out of the race, though he’ll likely need to start faring better if the team wants to move him. Santiago, who’s collecting $5MM and has a year of arbitration eligibility remaining, has thrown 55 innings of 4.58 ERA ball this year to accompany a 7.04 K/9 and 3.44 BB/9.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/26/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…

  • The Reds announced tonight that right-hander Steve Delabar has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A after clearing waivers. (SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo first tweeted the move earlier this afternoon). Cincinnati designated Delabar, 32, for assignment on Sunday after he struggled through eight innings of relief at the big league level this season. Delabar, who posted a 3.49 ERA in 131 2/3 innings between the Mariners and Blue Jays from 2011-13, has struggled to rediscover that form in the seasons to follow. His 2016 work the the Blue Jays resulted in six earned runs on five hits and an alarming 10 walks in eight innings, though he did also pick up 10 strikeouts in that time. He’ll look to get back on track in Triple-A, where he excelled in 2014, 2015 and earlier this season as well.
  • The Marlins announced that lefty Tim Berry, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, has been outrighted to Class-A Advanced Jupiter. The former Orioles farmhand had a dreadful first run between Class-A and Double-A this year, surrendering an astounding 22 earned runs on 35 hits and nine walks with 17 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings. Berry showed some promise as starter in 2014 with the Orioles organization, but he struggled to repeat that success, and his troubles have continued even following a shift to the bullpen.

Earlier Moves

  • The Twins have placed outfielder Darin Mastroianni on the DL and filled his roster spot by selecting the contract of left-hander Buddy Boshers from Triple-A Rochester, per a club announcement. Minnesota transferred closer Glen Perkins to the 60-day disabled list to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Boshers, 28, spent the 2015 season on the independent circuit but has turned in a strong showing at the Triple-A level this year, working to a 1.42 ERA with a 21-to-5 K/BB ratio in 19 innings out of the Rochester bullpen. Perkins, meanwhile, has been out since early April due to a shoulder injury and recently suffered a setback in his rehab. The earliest he could be activated would be June 10, though that seems unlikely given recent updates on his status.
  • Right-hander Seth Simmons has agreed to a minor league contract with the Padres, MLBTR has learned. Simmons, a former D-backs farmhand, split the 2015 season between Arizona’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, working to a 2.99 ERA with 10.4 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 in 75 1/3 innings. The 27-year-old struggled out of the gates with Arizona at the Triple-A level this season and was granted his release recently. The 27-year-old has yet to pitch in the Majors but has posted strong numbers for most of his minor league career, working a 2.97 ERA with averages of 11.6 strikeouts and 3.9 walks per nine innings. The Padres would seem to be somewhat of a logical connection, as San Diego skipper Andy Green has previously managed Simmons during his days as a minor league skipper with the D-backs.

Yankees Claim Layne Somsen From Reds

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The Yankees have claimed righty Layne Somsen off waivers from the Reds, per an announcement from New York. It appears that he was placed on outright waivers to clear a 40-man spot.

Somsen, who’ll soon turn 27, was greeted roughly in his first two major league appearances. But he’s shown some promise in the minors, including a 19-inning run at Triple-A this year in which he’s allowed just four earned runs on ten hits with a strikeout per frame against seven walks.

Reds Acquire International Bonus Slots From Orioles

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TODAY: The signing slots acquired are worth around $700K, per Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com (Twitter link). That would appear to suggest that the Reds have added Baltimore’s first ($538,800) and fourth ($154,500) pool allocations.

YESTERDAY: The Reds have picked up two international signing slots from the Orioles in exchange for minor league righty Franderlyn Romero, according to a Baltimore announcement. Dayton Dragons pitching coach Derrin Ebert had revealed the news that Romero was headed to the O’s earlier today (via Dayton broadcaster Tom Nichols, on Twitter).

This move fits alongside Baltimore’s draft pick deal earlier today. In both instances, the club picked up questionable minor league talent while passing off some of its amateur spending capacity. The other trade also saw the O’s shed just under $3MM in salary, in the form of Brian Matusz’s contract. Only certain draft picks may be dealt, but teams are able to trade individual signing allotments, subject to certain restrictions.

It’s not yet known which slots were sent to Cincinnati, but Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes on Twitter that they are for the current signing season, not the one set to begin on July 2 of this year. What that means for the Reds’ plans remains to be seen, but it’s an important distinction. After all, most of the talent available for the 2015-16 period has already signed, though there are some notable Cuban players who could sign in either period.

Among those players is Cuban shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez, who had a reported deal with the Reds. As Steve Adams of MLBTR explains here, that created some issues and raised some questions. The organization has seemingly sought to push the signing back to this summer so as to avoid incurring a two-year ban on future signings. After all, Cinci enters the coming July 2 period with a total bonus pool of just over $5MM (second-highest in the league), and the club would surely like to utilize that availability to boost its talent pipeline.

In return, Baltimore picks up a 23-year-old hurler who’s yet to advance past the Class A level. Romero opened the year there after previously making just one outing above Rookie ball. He’s off to a solid start for Dayton, at least, with a 2.87 ERA in 47 frames and 8.0 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9.

Cafardo’s Latest: Markakis, Bruce, McLeod, Fernandez, Lincecum, Reddick

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Here are some hot stove items from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe…

  • The Royals and Phillies are among the teams looking at Braves outfielder Nick Markakis.  “The money is an issue there, especially with the Royals,” Cafardo writes; Markakis is owed $10.5MM in each of the next two seasons and roughly $7.25MM remaining on his 2016 salary.  Markakis entered Sunday hitting .252/.362/.348 in 185 PA, and his near-total power dropoff over the last two seasons has surely hurt his trade value, as MLBTR’s Connor Byrne pointed out earlier today.  While both K.C. and the Phils could use help in right field, Markakis has delivered only replacement-level production this season, with an even 0.0 fWAR.
  • The Reds’ Jay Bruce is another target for the Royals and other teams looking for a left-handed hitting outfielder.  Bruce’s terrible defensive metrics (-9 Defensive Runs Saved, -34 UZR/150) have his overall value at below replacement level (-0.2 fWAR) though he’s enjoying a good year at the plate, hitting .270/.327/.518 with eight homers through 156 PA.  Bruce is under contract only through the 2016 season, owed approximately $8.1MM more in remaining salary plus a $1MM buyout of a $13MM club option for his services in 2017.  Cincinnati has been shopping Bruce for months, including one proposed offseason trade that nearly saw him get shipped to the Blue Jays.
  • Jason McLeod, the Cubs’ senior VP of player development and amateur scouting, would eventually like to run his own front office but is content to remain with Chicago, having already turned down interviews with the Mariners and Padres in recent years.  McLeod figures to be one of the game’s most sought-after GM candidates should he decide to pursue a general managing position.  Between his stints running the scouting departments for the Cubs, Padres and Red Sox, several well-regarded young prospects and currently stars were drafted on McLeod’s watch.
  • Cuban infielder Jose Miguel Fernandez is eligible to sign at any time, though he could possibly have to wait until the offseason simply due to awkward timing.  Though Fernandez is 28, an eight-year veteran in Cuba’s top league and is pitched by his agent Alan Nero as a Ben Zobrist or Dustin Pedroia type of player, he won’t be able to immediately help an MLB club.  Fernandez hasn’t played since 2014 so he’ll need some minor league time to get back into game shape.
  • As per “a couple of GMs” and at least one AL talent evaluator, Tim Lincecum made a mistake in coming to the American League to sign the Angels.  “I just don’t see his style of pitching at this juncture in his career working in the AL,” the evaluator said.  “The designated hitter makes a big difference, and when you have a guy who relies on having to be pinpoint, that makes it a tough league to succeed.”  Lincecum was known to prefer pitching for a West Coast team so his choices were somewhat limited in that sense, especially given that the two-time Cy Young Award winner also wanted to start.
  • As of last week, Josh Reddick told Cafardo that there wasn’t any progress towards an extension with the Athletics.  Much has changed, of course, since Reddick’s chat with Cafardo, as the outfielder suffered a fractured left thumb and will miss several weeks of action.

Reds Make Several Roster Moves

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The Reds have selected the contracts of three Triple-A right-handers — Dayan Diaz, A.J. Morris and Josh Smith — and transferred both starter Anthony DeSclafani and outfielder Yorman Rodriguez to the 60-day disabled list, per a club announcement.

DeSclafani, the closest thing to a household name the group offers, has missed the entire season so far with an oblique issue. The 26-year-old had a positive bullpen session earlier this week, however, and could make his way back to the team’s injury-plagued, subpar rotation sometime soon. DeSclafani was solid last year, his first full big league season, in totaling 184 2/3 innings of 4.05 ERA/3.67 FIP/3.97 xFIP pitching.

Rodriguez (hamstring) has also been out for all of 2016, but the out-of-options 23-year-old was expected to push for a roster spot with the Reds during the spring. Rodriguez signed with the Reds as a 16-year-old in 2008 for $2.5MM, then a record bonus for Venezuelan amateurs. In 2,546 minor league plate appearances, Rodriguez has hit .261/.314/.399 with 50 home runs. He got his first (and only) taste of the majors in 2014, collecting 29 PAs in 11 games.

The Reds are the fourth organization for the 27-year-old Diaz, who hasn’t yet pitched in the majors. Diaz has posted mostly sterling numbers across 10 minor league seasons, however, with a 2.04 ERA, 9.1 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 344 innings.

Like Diaz, Morris also looks poised to make his big league debut. The 29-year-old was a fourth-round pick of the Nationals in 2009 and also spent time with the Cubs and Pirates organizations before joining the Reds this season. He has worked as both a starter and reliever in the minors, amassing 472 1/3 innings of 3.22 ERA ball to accompany a 7.1 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9.

Smith, finally, tossed 32 2/3 innings in nine appearances (seven starts) with the Reds in 2015 and put up a nice K/9 (8.27), but he offset that with control problems (5.79 BB/9) and an unpalatable 6.89 ERA. Smith has fared better at Triple-A this year, compiling a 3.86 ERA, 7.29 K/9 and 2.79 BB/9 in 42 innings (eight starts).

Reds Designate Steve Delabar For Assignment

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The Reds have designated right-hander Steve Delabar for assignment, tweets C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer. They’ve also optioned relievers Jumbo Diaz and Keyvius Sampson to Triple-A Louisville.

Delabar, whom the Reds promoted from the minors earlier this month, gave up six earned runs on five hits and a whopping 10 walks in just eight innings as part of the club’s historically awful bullpen. Prior to his promotion, Delabar issued 11 free passes in just 12 1/3 innings for Louisville. As evidenced by this season, the 32-year-old has experienced an appreciable decline in performance since his 2013 All-Star campaign with the Blue Jays. In 62 innings dating back to 2014, Delabar has recorded a 5.37 ERA, 8.71 K/9 and 6.1 BB/9. One of those frames came Saturday for Delabar, who allowed one base runner (on a walk) and picked up a strikeout in a scoreless showing.

The Reds are hopeful that Delabar will clear waivers and remain in the organization, said manager Bryan Price (Twitter link via Rosecrans).

Quick Hits: Strike Zone, Reds, Twins

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MLB’s competition committee has agreed to changes in the strike zone and the intentional walk that could go into effect next season, reports ESPN’s Jayson Stark. The changes would raise the strike zone slightly, from the bottom of the hitter’s knees to the top, thus creating a smaller zone for hitters and likely increasing offense. Also as a result of the proposed changes, a team could immediately issue an intentional walk without throwing the requisite four pitches. The changes must next be approved by MLB’s playing rules committee, which is led by Mets GM Sandy Alderson. Here are more quick notes from around the game.

  • GM Dick Williams says the Reds will be creative in addressing their beleaguered pitching staff, but they have limited resources with which to pursue solutions, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes. The team now has six starting pitchers (Homer Bailey, Raisel Iglesias, Anthony DeSclafani, Michael Lorenzen, Jon Moscot and Tim Adleman) on the disabled list. “We will get creative. We always do. We find a way,” says Williams. “But this is putting an incredible strain on our resources.” They don’t seem likely to turn to top prospects like Robert Stephenson and Cody Reed, and Williams says there’s no “rainy day fund” with which to pursue outside replacements.
  • Twins GM Terry Ryan still supports manager Paul Molitor despite the team’s 10-31 start, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press writes. “I’m in this with (Molitor); we’re joined at the hip,” says Ryan. “No one’s pointing fingers around here. I’ve got to do a better job. The club has to do a better job. It starts with my chair. I’m aware of that. I take that as serious as anything because I’m the one that makes the decisions.” Molitor, of course, took the Twins managerial job last year and led the club to its first winning season since 2010. But this season, in which he’s presided over a club that’s last in the AL in both runs scored and runs allowed, has been a trying one.

Draft Notes: Phillies, Reds, Puk, Pint

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With the 2016 MLB Draft approaching on June 9, here’s a quick roundup of links on how the first round might play out.

  • The Phillies will take Florida lefty A.J. Puk with the top overall pick, MLB.com’s Jim Callis projects. Callis also suggests California high school outfielder Mickey Moniak or Mercer outfielder Kyle Lewis could also be possibilities, with the team likely saving significantly against their draft pool regardless of who they select. If the Phillies do pick Puk, Callis suggests, the Reds could go with Tennessee third baseman Nick Senzel. (Puk, by the way, left early in his start against LSU yesterday, but as Ross Dellenger of the Advocate writes, that was due to a stomach illness, not an injury.)
  • ESPN’s Keith Law (Insider-only), meanwhile, predicts the Phillies will take Puk, with the Reds taking Lewis. Law also lists Louisville outfielder Corey Ray and California high school outfielder Blake Rutherford as possibilities with the top pick.
  • Baseball America lists Puk as its top talent on its list of the draft’s top 500 prospects, noting his mid- to high-90s fastball, which plays up due to his 6’7 frame. Coming in second is Kansas high school pitcher Riley Pint, suggesting in the accompanying subscriber-only scouting report that he’s a “much better version” of Marlins prospect and former second overall pick Tyler Kolek. Pint throws 97-98 MPH, can hit 102, and has a changeup, curve and slider that could all potentially be good pitches.

Reds Outright Drew Hayes

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11:32pm: Hayes has already cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Triple-A, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon tweets.

2:35pm: The Reds have designated right-hander Drew Hayes for assignment, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon tweets. His roster spot will go to outfielder Steve Selsky.

Hayes, 28, has struggled in his first taste of the majors this year. Over 9 2/3 innings, he’s allowed nine earned runs on 15 hits, including three long balls. Hayes has struck out eight while issuing six walks in that small sample. He did turn in a nice season last year, tossing 58 innings of 2.95 ERA ball at the Triple-A level with 8.7 K/9 against 4.7 BB/9.

As for Selsky, 26, this represents his first crack at the big leagues. He was carrying a .275/.380/.383 slash line in 142 plate appearances for Triple-A Louisville. Though he did show greater pop in the lower levels of the minors, Selsky seems to have settled in as more of an on-base threat than a source of power as he’s moved up the ranks.

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