AL Notes: Twins, Hill, Indians, Norris, Rangers
While details are non-existent, Twins general manager Rob Antony dropped an intriguing note to reporters including Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press (Twitter link). Minnesota nearly swung a three-team trade before the deadline, the newly-minted interim GM said. That’s certainly fun to ponder, though it’s awfully difficult to assess what kind of scenario might have materialized with so many moving parts. (Don’t let that stop you from trying in the comments!)
Here’s more from the American League:
- Before he was traded by the Athletics to the Dodgers, southpaw Rich Hill was seeking around $28MM over two years in the extension talks between the sides, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. That’s certainly an interesting number to ponder: it’s shockingly high for a player of Hill’s background, but is rather cheap compared with the cost of top-end starting pitching on the open market, particularly given the dearth of arms coming this winter. Despite the risk, Hill has pitched at an extremely high level when healthy, and the guess here is that plenty of teams would be happy to take that chance for less than the expected annual rate of a qualifying offer (which is expected to be $16.7MM). Last fall, Marco Estrada commanded $26MM over two years in a deal struck while he pondered a QO, providing something of a comparable, though Hill is older and probably should come with wider band of reasonable performance expectations. Regardless whether that was a reasonable request for a raise over Hill’s current $6MM salary — which he landed despite only a four-start audition late last year — it provides some insight into the thinking of an interesting pending free agent. (Notably, the trade also means that Hill won’t be eligible to receive a qualifying offer.)
- The Indians considered a move for Padres catcher Derek Norris after their agreement to add Jonathan Lucroy was vetoed by the veteran backstop, according to Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer. Talks didn’t go very far, though, as Cleveland wasn’t enticed by a reportedly high asking price. The Indians also looked at Steve Pearce, but the team’s scouts weren’t enthused by his defensive profile at third.
- The Rangers‘ efforts to strike a deal for a new ballpark are still moving along, as Robert Cadwallader of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. The Arlington City Council voted unanimously to push ahead with a November ballot item seeking approval for the funding package, which has received plenty of criticism given its taxpayer-backed terms and the fact that the Rangers seemingly play in a rather acclaimed, quite youthful ballpark at present. Another vote is needed to send the matter to the voters.
Injury Notes: Salazar, Cabrera, Gregerson, Teheran, Rosenthal, Hochevar
A trio of notable players just hit the 15-day DL, so we’ll cover them all right here:
- The Indians announced that they have placed righty Danny Salazar on the 15-day DL while he rests his prized right elbow. Fortunately, an MRI seems only to have revealed inflammation, so the hope is that Salazar won’t miss an extended period of time. And Cleveland has plenty of rotation depth on hand, including Cody Anderson and Mike Clevinger, with the latter getting the nod for the time being. Still even a relatively brief absence will have an impact; Salazar has been nothing short of outstanding, and the AL Central-leading club holding a four-game cushion in the division race.
- After already recently placing infielder Jose Reyes on the shelf, the Mets have now done the same with shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. He suffered a strained patellar tendon and is headed for an MRI. The team also added just-signed outfielder Justin Ruggiano to the 15-day ranks. Cabrera’s loss is notable for an organization that was already scrambling to fill in for missing infielders. Matt Reynolds will come up for the meantime to help fill the void, but it seems there’s some real concern that the injury could require a fairly lengthy absence.
- Astros reliever Luke Gregerson is headed to the 15-day with an oblique strain, the team announced. That not only will keep him out of action for a bit, but will clear the way for Ken Giles to take over as the team’s closer with Will Harris struggling of late. Gregerson has been rather excellent this year despite himself losing the 9th-inning job previously, with ERA estimators valuing him even more highly than his 3.09 ERA.
- The Braves have added righty Julio Teheran to the DL as well. He is dealing with a lat strain that isn’t believed to be serious. Atlanta will obviously want to exercise plenty of caution in handling the injury, even if it isn’t particularly worrisome, as Teheran is a key piece of the organization’s rebuilding plans and there’s no need to rush him back.
- Cardinals reliever Trevor Rosenthal has been given platelet-rich plasma injections in his bothersome righty shoulder, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets. GM John Mozeliak says that it’s possible Rosenthal Of course, St. Louis will be looking for more than just physical improvement; it’ll also hope that he can fix his skyrocketing walk rate during a rehab stint.
- As expected, Royals righty Luke Hochevar underwent a procedure today to help deal with a diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome, as Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star tweets. He is expected to be out for six months, which would conceivably mean that he’ll be ready for a full spring camp if the rehab goes according to plan. It seems likely that the Royals will decline their end of a $7MM mutual option on the reliever, which would make him a free agent, though certainly it’s possible to imagine him staying with Kansas City on some kind of creative, two-year deal of the sort that the team has reached in recent years with several injured hurlers.
Central Notes: Salazar, Volquez, Pirates, Reds
Indians right-hander Danny Salazar is headed for what the club is calling a precautionary MRI due to discomfort in his right elbow, as MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian writes. “There’s something in my elbow,” said Salazar following a rough outing against the Twins on Monday. “I don’t know what it is. We don’t know. I think we’re going to find out tomorrow.” Manager Terry Francona said that Salazar’s elbow has been bothering him for at least a couple of weeks. Salazar had Tommy John surgery prior to making his big league debut and said the discomfort he feels in his elbow feels “totally different” than the pain he felt when he tore his ulnar collateral ligament. Nonetheless, there’s clearly some cause for concern, especially due to a recent decline in Salazar’s velocity (as Bastian highlights in his column).
A few more notes from the game’s Central divisions…
- The Royals‘ decision to stand pat at yesterday’s trade deadline was a surprise to some, considering the fact that Kansas City has fallen to 50-55 and has at best a narrow window to make the postseason. General manager Dayton Moore spoke about the team’s lack of trades with Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star, stating that he wants to give his players a chance to “dig back out of this mess we’re in.” More interesting, perhaps, was his take on righty Edinson Volquez, who has a mutual option on his contract for the 2017 season that figures to be declined one way or another. While he wouldn’t firmly commit to the notion, Moore suggested that the team could very well make Volquez a qualifying offer at season’s end, which is projected to be worth $16.7MM, as ESPN’s Buster Olney recently reported. Said Moore of Volquez: “We’ll see. Obviously we have to evaluate that, but that’s certainly a part of our thinking.”
- The Pirates had a tough decision when determining whether the club was better-served by betting on Francisco Liriano returning to form or acquiring multiple years of Drew Hutchison and creating some financial flexibility, GM Neal Huntington explained to MLB.com’s Adam Berry. As Berry notes, the financial flexibility the Pirates gained by shedding the remaining money on Liriano’s contract will be significant in 2017 when Gerrit Cole and Tony Watson, among others, are due arbitration raises and other players signed to extensions see their salaries naturally escalate. Huntington said that the Pirates have liked Hutchison and right-hander Ivan Nova (also acquired at yesterday’s non-waiver deadline) for quite some time, adding that while it was difficult to part with outfield prospect Harold Ramirez and catching prospect Reese McGuire, the team dealt from positions of depth. Berry adds that the Bucs talked with the Rays about their starters at length but were asked for a minimum of two of their top five prospects in return — too lofty a price for Huntington’s liking.
- Reds president of baseball operations Walt Jocketty spoke with the Cincinnati Enquirer’s C. Trent Rosecrans about the difficulty of trading away a homegrown slugger like Jay Bruce even in the midst of a rebuild. “It was extremely tough to make the deal,” said Jocketty. “We’ve talked about it for some time, but until it actually happens, it doesn’t set in. …It was tough to say goodbye to him.” Reports on Monday indicated that medical concerns over one of the minor leaguers that was said to be in the initial iteration of the Bruce deal — said to be centered around outfielder Brandon Nimmo — slowed the deal. Rosecrans,though, hears that multiple prospects that would’ve come to the Reds failed to live up to the Reds’ medical standards, leading to further discussion. Jocketty also spoke a bit about Zack Cozart, who was reportedly nearly traded to Seattle, stating that Cozart isn’t someone the team is actively looking to move. Rosecrans adds that talks with the Mariners did take place but fell apart over the course of the day.
Rangers Acquire Carlos Beltran
The Rangers have reportedly agreed to a deal to acquire veteran outfielder Carlos Beltran from the Yankees. Righties Dillon Tate, Erik Swanson and Nick Green head to New York in the deal, which caps a partial but significant sell-off from the Bronx Bombers. The Rangers will pay $2.5MM of the approximately $5MM left of Beltran’s 2016 salary, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets.
Bringing in Beltran not only gives Texas an immediate upgrade to its lineup, helping to cover for injuries to Prince Fielder (out for the season) and Shin-Soo Choo (who recently returned to the DL), but may help the team stomach a deal of top prospect Joey Gallo. The young slugger was perhaps an increasingly important part of the near-term picture given the losses, but the Rangers are working hard to add pitching and he looks like a prime trade piece. Texas is also still in the market for catcher Jonathan Lucroy, with Gallo a possible piece in that prospective swap.
Beltran’s next birthday will be his fortieth, but that hasn’t prevented him from posting an outstanding .301/.342/.538 batting line and 21 home runs over 383 plate appearances on the year. His late excellence makes him not only a legitimate Hall-of-Fame candidate, but also a quality option down the stretch and in the post-season.
Indeed, Beltran has been at his best in the past under the brightest lights. He has produced a .332/.441/.674 slash and 16 home runs in 223 turns at the plate in the playoffs. Now, he’ll join a strong Texas club with designs on its own deep run.
Defense remains a question, of course, as Beltran has slowed considerably since his days of playing a solid center field. He’s limited to right at present, and is a marginal defender there. But the Rangers will presumably place him most often in the DH role, taking the spot vacated by Fielder.
The fourth overall pick in last year’s draft, Tate has seen his prospect star fade a bit this year. After opening the season as a consensus top-100 prospect, he has struggled to a 5.12 ERA with 7.6 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9 at the Class A level.
Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News said the Yankees were moving toward a deal (via Twitter). MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan said the Rangers were the team involved (via Twitter). Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the inclusion of Tate (Twitter links). Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported the deal was done (Twitter links). Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported the inclusion of another prospect (via Twitter). Jack Curry of the YES Network tweeted the full package.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Indians Designate Juan Uribe For Assignment
The Indians designated third baseman Juan Uribe for assignment, according to an announcement from the team. The move clears a roster spot for new acquisition Brandon Guyer, acquired in a trade with the Rays today. Uribe, 37, posted a .206/.259/.332 line in 259 plate appearances for the Indians this year, tallying over 500 innings at the hot corner. The team had signed the beloved veteran to a $4MM free agent deal in February.
Indians Acquire Brandon Guyer
The Indians announced today that they’ve acquired outfielder Brandon Guyer from the Rays. Minor league outfielder Nathan Lukes is going to Tampa Bay, as is minor legaue right-hander Jhonleider Salinas.
Guyer, 30, will give the Rays a massive upgrade against left-handed pitching, as he’s crushed southpaws at a .344/.488/.594 clip in 82 plate appearances this season and has a career .283/.384/.464 slash when holding the platoon advantage. He can also provide manager Terry Francona with quite a bit of defensive versatility, as he’s capable of handling all three outfield positions. Guyer is earning $1.185MM this season and is arbitration eligible two more times before reaching the open market upon completion of the 2018 season.
Neither of the two names heading back to Tampa Bay in this deal cracked the midseason version of the Indians’ Top 30 prospects at MLB.com. Lukes, 22, recently moved up to Class-A Advanced after hitting .301/.375/.453 with five homers and 14 steals in 393 plate appearances in the Class-A Midwest League. The 20-year-old Salinas, meanwhile, has logged 30 innings in the Arizona Rookie League and compiled a 3.30 ERA with a 38-to-14 K/BB ratio in 30 innings of work.
Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times first reported that Guyer had been traded (via Twitter) and that Salinas was in the deal. FanRag’s Jon Heyman reported that Guyer was going to Cleveland and Lukes was part of the package.
Mets The Favorites For Jay Bruce
The non-waiver trade deadline is just under nine hours away, and rumors/transactions figure to be flying around quickly today. Reds outfielder Jay Bruce remains one of the likeliest candidates to be dealt between now and the 4pm ET deadline. As of Sunday, the Giants were said to be making a “strong push” for Bruce, who is also said to be a prime target of the Mets. Bruce has also drawn interest from the Indians, Dodgers and Rangers, among others, over the past few days, and the Rays have at times been mentioned as a possible factor in three-team trade scenarios involving Bruce.
We’ll keep track of all the day’s Bruce rumors here in this post…
- Morosi now tweets that the Mets and Reds have made progress on a deal involving Bruce.
- Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweets that the Mets are the favorites to land Bruce, but the Rangers and Giants are still in. Talks could stretch into the afternoon, he notes.
Earlier Updates
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports/MLB.com tweets that the Mets remain in active talks with the Reds as of Monday morning. ESPN’s Jayson Stark also tweets that conversations with the Mets remain active, while talks with the Giants and Dodgers are currently in “slow mo.”
- Heyman tweets that the Mets don’t seem to have heard anything on Bruce this morning (Twitter link). He also tweets that the Giants haven’t heard anything about Bruce being dealt this morning.
- USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that the Reds have “found a match” for a Bruce trade and expects Cincinnati to trade Bruce to a National League club this morning. That team is not the Dodgers, according to Nightengale. The Giants and Mets are the two non-Dodgers NL clubs that have been most heavily linked to Bruce in the past day or two.
- Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports tweets the Giants, Mets, Indians and others have been in on Bruce recently. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, meanwhile, lists the Giants, Dodgers, Mets, Rangers and Blue Jays all as teams that still have some interest in Bruce as of Monday morning.
Red Sox, Astros Among Teams Discussing Carlos Beltran With Yankees
As the Yankees continue to chart a unique deadline course, the team is entertaining dialogue regarding outfielder Carlos Beltran with several interested competitors, per ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (via Twitter). Among the teams in discussions are not only the Indians and Rangers, who have frequently been mentioned in the past, but also the Astros and even the rival Red Sox.
Though it sounds as if there’s a fair bit of action on the 39-year-old slugger, that doesn’t mean that anything is close. Indeed, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter), no scenarios have been put in front of Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner — which would be the case if there were real “momentum” toward a deal.
New York doesn’t appear to be simply looking to get whatever it can for Beltran, given the team’s attempt to straddle the line between a full sell-off and continued pursuit of the playoffs. Last we heard, there’s a pretty high price tag on his services. That being said, it’s hard to imagine that he’s not an achievable target given that the club has already dealt top-quality late-inning arms Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller.
Unsurprisingly, all the clubs listed above are in the American League. While Beltran’s bat has been sensational even as he approaches forty years of age, he’s no longer the quality center fielder he once was. Instead, Beltran is now limited to playing right field — which he has done passably, though not terribly well, this year. And the wise move will likely remain to slot him in as a DH rather liberally; the Yankees have given him about a third of his overall action there.
Though he has limits as a player, Beltran is quite appealing as a rental bat. He owns a stellar .301/.342/.538 batting line and has already popped 21 long balls in his 383 plate appearances in 2016. Questions of health and age won’t be as pressing given his high-quality current performance, and the same holds of his fairly lofty salary. Beltran is earning $15MM this year before hitting the open market, with about $5.34MM left to go on the season.
It’s worth noting, too, that Beltran has been nothing less than a monster in the postseason. Over his 223 plate appearances, he owns a robust .332/.441/.674 slash with 16 home runs. And Beltran is obviously a highly respected veteran who’d add to any clubhouse, increasing his appeal to teams with designs on a deep run.
Indians Designate Joey Butler For Assignment
The Indians announced today that they have designated outfielder Joey Butler for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Andrew Miller.
The 30-year-old Butler has a bit of MLB experience but hasn’t played in the Majors with the Indians this season, instead spending the 2016 campaign at Triple-A Columbus, where he’s slashed a disappointing .238/.306/.360 with eight homers in 381 trips to the plate. Butler spent the 2015 season with the Rays organization and hit .276/.326/.416 with eight homers in 276 PAs. This season’s poor results notwithstanding, Butler has a nice track record in Triple-A over the course of his professional career. In 2187 PAs at that level, Butler is a .294/.383/.459 hitter.
Trade Rumors: CarGo, Beltran, Pirates, Angels, Tigers, Athletics
The Rockies aren’t planning on moving Carlos Gonzalez or Charlie Blackmon, reports FanRag’s Jon Heyman. While CarGo is a perennial trade candidate, the Rockies’ excellent play since the All-Star break has the team back at .500 and within a stone’s throw of a Wild Card playoff berth. Whether the Rockies will actually remain in the hunt remains to be seen, especially as other clubs in the race move to fortify their rosters, but Colorado has looked impressive as of late and could always extract value in trades of Gonzalez and/or Blackmon in the offseason if the club falls shy this season and wishes to add more pitching to its minor league ranks over the winter.
Some more trade rumors from around the league with the non-waiver deadline just over 24 hours away…
- The Yankees are listening to offers on right fielder/designated hitter Carlos Beltran, tweets ESPN’s Buster Olney. However, executives from other clubs tell Olney that they consider the asking price on Beltran to be “beyond their reach.” As a free agent at season’s end, Beltran represents a logical trade candidate for the Yankees, who are walking a tightrope and trying to balance a desire to remain competitive in 2016 with a desire to build their farm system for the long haul. The Yankees have already traded both Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller, but they’ve also added righties Tyler Clippard and Adam Warren in an effort to keep the bullpen fairly stable. Beltran is hitting .301/.342/.538 with 21 homers on the season and is earning $15MM in the final season of a three-year, $45MM contract. He’s still owed about $5.34MM of that sum, and while his defense may cause some NL clubs to shy away, American League teams that can give him some occasional time at DH undoubtedly would be intrigued by adding the 39-year-old’s still-productive bat to their lineups.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington said after yesterday’s trade of Mark Melancon that he’s still looking to add talent before the non-waiver deadline (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Adam Berry). Berry noted that the Bucs scouted the Rays and Yankees last night in a matchup of Drew Smyly vs. Nathan Eovaldi. Meanwhile, the Post-Gazette’s Bill Brink tweets that the Pirates asked the Braves about Julio Teheran but were told the right-hander isn’t moving.
- The Angels have received the most trade interest in right-hander Cam Bedrosian, tweets MLB Network’s Peter Gammons. However, Gammons implies that a Bedrosian trade isn’t likely, suggesting that the Halos view him as a future closer. The 24-year-old is in the midst of an incredible season, having pitched to a 0.92 ERA with a 48-to-11 K/BB ratio and a 50.5 percent ground-ball rate. He’s controllable through the 2021 season, so it’s understandable that the Angels would strongly prefer to hang onto him. Then again, elite relief arms are commanding strong results, and while Bedrosian doesn’t have the track record that Ken Giles brought into the offseason, it’s possible that the Halos could get some meaningful pitching talent to add to their system if they did market him.
- ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that the Tigers have been checking in on fourth/fifth starter types, including Jeremy Hellickson of the Phillies, Wade Miley of the Mariners, Edinson Volquez of the Royals, Hector Santiago of the Angels and Erasmo Ramirez of the Rays. Detroit is looking to bolster its rotation and doesn’t seem keen on dealing away any potential long-term options in the rotation, as Crasnick’s colleague Jayson Stark tweets that clubs who have spoken to the Tigers say they’ve repeatedly turned away offers including Daniel Norris and Matt Boyd. (Notably, Stark mentioned the refusal to include Boyd and Norris in connection to some speculation on Jonathan Lucroy, but Detroit’s reluctance to part with either left-hander is worth mentioning all the same.)
- MLB Network’s Peter Gammons reported earlier this week that the Dodgers have asked the Athletics about a package including both Rich Hill and Josh Reddick, and now Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Blue Jays have done the same. Toronto did acquire Melvin Upton Jr. earlier this week, potentially lessening the need for an outfield upgrade. But, Reddick would help to balance out a very right-handed lineup, and adding Hill to the mix would give the team a top-tier arm (if he can get healthy) to replace Aaron Sanchez if he is ultimately moved to the bullpen.
- The Indians held some interest in Athletics lefty Marc Rzepczynski as of last night, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). Of course, Slusser’s report was prior to the Indians’ blockbuster acquisition of Andrew Miller, so it’s not entirely certain that they’ll be in the market for another lefty. However, they’ve regularly trotted out an entirely right-handed relief corps this season, so adding a more situational lefty like Rzepczynski to complement Miller, who dominates everyone and needn’t be limited to specialized matchups, makes some sense.