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Braves Acquire Eddie Rosario

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The Indians and Braves have announced a deal sending corner outfielder Eddie Rosario and cash considerations to Atlanta in exchange for corner infielder Pablo Sandoval. It’s the first of two outfield pickups on deadline day for the Braves, who reacquired Adam Duvall from Miami as well. Atlanta also picked up Joc Pederson earlier this month as part of an effort to rebuild the outfield in the wake of Ronald Acuña’s ACL tear.

Rosario is currently on the 10-day injured list with an intercostal strain but is expected to return at some point in the coming weeks. Signed to a one-year deal over the offseason, Rosario struggled over his time in Cleveland, hitting .254/.296/.389 with seven home runs in 306 plate appearances. He’d been a slightly to well above-average bat in each of his final four seasons with the Twins, however, and the Braves are clearly betting on a return to that form.

The acquisition cost is minimal. Sandoval has picked up sporadic playing time, serving mostly as a designated pinch-hitter. The 34-year-old is hitting .178/.302/.342 over 86 trips to the plate. He’s almost certainly being included as a salary offset, with about a third of his $1MM figure still to be paid.

For Cleveland, the appeal is in shedding an undisclosed amount of Rosario’s salary. The Indians will cover some of the deal, but Rosario’s $8MM contract still has a little less than $2.8MM to be paid out. The Braves will assume some of that tab to add a lefty bat to their outfield mix while the Indians save some money in a season where they’re no longer competing anyways.

Terry Francona Steps Away From Indians For Remainder Of 2021 Season

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The Indians announced this evening that manager Terry Francona will take a leave of absence from the team to address health concerns. Bench coach DeMarlo Hale will assume interim managerial duties for the remainder of the season. Hale was named Cleveland’s bench coach last November and has managed four games at the major league level (with the Blue Jays in 2015-16).

Francona is going for a hip replacement next week and will also need to undergo foot surgery in the coming months, reports Mandy Bell of MLB.com (Twitter link). Given those health issues, he obviously didn’t feel capable of continuing in his current capacity over the season’s final two months.

The veteran skipper also missed a significant amount of time last season on account of health concerns. There’s no indication the 62-year-old will not return to the Cleveland managerial chair next year, however. He has led the team since October 2012, winning three consecutive AL Central titles from 2016-18. MLBTR wishes Francona the best in his recovery.

White Sox Acquire Cesar Hernandez

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After searching the infield market for second base upgrades over the past few weeks, the White Sox announced Thursday that they’ve acquired veteran Cesar Hernandez from the division-rival Indians in exchange for minor league left-hander Konnor Pilkington. Chicago released right-hander Tyler Johnson in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Cesar Hernandez | Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Second base has been a clear area of focus for a White Sox team that lost Nick Madrigal for the season (torn hamstring) earlier this year. Chicago has been hit hard by injuries in the outfield, but with Eloy Jimenez returning this week and Luis Robert on the mend, the infield began to look like a more logical target. The Sox have been connected to Jonathan Schoop, Trevor Story, Adam Frazier and other infield targets, but they’ll go with the solid, switch-hitting Hernandez to step in and solidify the lineup.

Hernandez, 31, is playing the season on a one-year, $5MM contract that contains a $6MM club option for the 2022 campaign. He’s still owed about $1.8MM of that $5MM sum through season’s end, and there’s no buyout on the option, so it’ll be a straight $6MM call for Chicago after the season. Given that Madrigal is expected to be healthy for the 2022 campaign, Hernandez could well be viewed as a rental option for the South Siders, although the $6MM price point isn’t so steep that he couldn’t be kept as a potential utility option.

Hernandez isn’t hitting for average as he typically does, but his 18 home runs already represent a career-high mark. He’s not striking out any less often than he did in 2020, when he batted .283, but Hernandez has been plagued by a career-low .256 average on balls in play that sits 74 points below his career mark. It’s possible, then, that he’s in for some positive regression over the season’s final couple months.

Even if that’s not the case, however, his .231/.307/.431 batting line is a solid enough plug-in to a strong ChiSox lineup. That production is exactly league-average after adjusting for Hernandez’s league and park, by measure of wRC+, which falls right in line with what Hernrnadez has been for the past six seasons.

On the Indians’ side of the swap, they’ll add Pilkington, a 23-year-old lefty whom the White Sox selected out of Mississippi State in the third round of the 2018 draft. He’s spent this season pitching in Double-A and has fared well, working to a 3.48 ERA with a 30.5 percent strikeout rate, a 9.0 percent walk rate and a 43.4 percent ground-ball rate in 14 starts — a total of 62 innings.

Pilkington wasn’t presently ranked among the White Sox’ top prospects, though that’s surely at least in part due to scouts not being able to get a look at him during 2020. He entered the ’20 campaign ranked 17th among Sox farmhands at Baseball America, and FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen tabbed him 21st in the system last year. BA’s 2020 report on the lefty noted that he lacks the “knockout repertoire” evaluators prefer to see but suggested he could still be a fifth starter. That type of profile is also the type that could tick up in the bullpen, of course, so it’s possible that’s where Pilkington ultimately lands. Given his age and success at the Double-A level, Pilkington is a relatively near-term addition for Cleveland.

The 25-year-old Johnson’s release comes after the 2015 fifth-rounder has struggled across three minor league levels in 2021. The South Carolina product has spent time at Triple-A and both Class-A affiliates in Chicago’s system but allowed a combined 23 runs (17 earned) in 16 innings of work.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the trade was close (Twitter link). The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported that a deal had been reached. Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extra Base first reported that Pilkington was going back to the Indians (Twitter link)

Indians Claim Alex Young, Transfer Aaron Civale To 60-Day IL

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The Indians on Monday claimed lefty Alex Young off waivers from the Diamondbacks and opened a spot on the 40-man roster by transferring right-hander Aaron Civale from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list, according to a club announcement. Young was optioned to Triple-A Columbus.

Young, 27, was designated for assignment in Arizona last week after struggling over the past two seasons. The former second-round pick (No. 43 overall) had a solid rookie season back in 2019 when he tossed 83 1/3 innings of 3.56 ERA ball over the life of 17 appearances (15 starts). Young’s 20.3 percent strikeout rate that season wasn’t especially impressive, but he had strong control (7.7 percent walk rate), kept the ball on the ground at an above-average 48.1 percent clip and was generally stingy when it came to allowing hard contact. It was a generally promising debut for a 25-year-old with a strong draft pedigree.

Things haven’t panned out as hoped since that time. Young has pitched 88 innings since that time, mostly out of the bullpen (36 relief appearances, nine starts). His strikeout rate and walk rate have each gone in the wrong direction, but only by about one percent. However, Young has begun yielding hard contact in droves while surrendering more fly balls; as one might expect, he’s been immensely homer-prone since those trends began. Over his past 88 frames, Young has served up 22 home runs en route to a 5.83 ERA.

While Young’s time with the D-backs didn’t go as the organization (or the player himself) hoped, he’ll get a fresh start with a new club that has a reputation for pitching development. Young can be optioned both in 2022 and 2023, so he gives Cleveland a potential depth arm for the foreseeable future — or a potential piece to the big league pitching staff if he can indeed right the ship following his change in environs.

The move to shift Civale from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day now means that he won’t return until at least late August. We’re just over one month past Civale’s initial placement on the 10-day injured list due to a finger sprain. He was initially projected to miss four to five weeks, so the fact that he’s now shelved for a minimum of two months suggests that his rehab from that injury has not been as swift as initially expected.

With Civale and reigning Cy Young winner Shane Bieber on the shelf, the Indians have been relying on Zach Plesac, Triston McKenzie, Cal Quantrill, J.C. Mejia, Eli Morgan and Sam Hentges to start. Despite the team’s aforementioned knack for churning out quality young pitchers, this particular group has struggled for the most part. Plesac only just returned from a broken thumb and hasn’t been as sharp as usual. Quantrill has a solid enough 3.84 ERA on the season, but he has a 5.11 ERA as a starter and a 1.88 mark as a reliever. Young could give Cleveland another option to add to that carousel, depending on how he’s used.

AL Central Notes: Duffy, Dodgers, Ramirez, Twins

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The Dodgers have interest in injured Royals southpaw Danny Duffy, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports (via Twitter).  This completes the trio of NL West contenders looking at Duffy, since the Padres and Giants have also been linked to the veteran left-hander.  San Francisco is known to be interested despite Duffy’s injury, and it can be assumed that the Dodgers are in the same position, considering that Duffy has been on the 10-day injured list for five days now.

Duffy is out of action with his second left flexor strain of the season, so he might not be available until at least early September, based on the timeline of his last IL visit.  Since the NL West teams currently have a big lead on the rest of the National League for the two wild card positions, the Dodgers can be reasonably comfortable of reaching the postseason in one form or another, so Duffy could be saved as a late-season reinforcement.  While it can certainly be argued that Los Angeles should spend its prospect capital on a healthy pitcher, the Royals’ asking price for Duffy probably isn’t very high, considering his injured status.  Duffy controls his trade destiny thanks to 10-and-5 rights, and the California native might be willing to waive those rights to join a team in his home state.  (If this is the case, the Angels and Athletics would also seem like hypothetical fits for a Duffy trade.)

More from the AL Central…

  • It remains to be seen if the Indians will be buyers, sellers, or a bit of both at the trade deadline, but there don’t appear to be any plans to move Jose Ramirez.  MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (Twitter link) reports that Cleveland isn’t having “active talks” about a Ramirez deal with any rival team, which perhaps isn’t surprising considering the big-picture ramifications of such a trade.  Moving a star player with such an affordable contract would seemingly indicate a turn towards a rebuild for the Tribe, who haven’t given any indication they’re not planning to contend again in 2022.  Unsurprisingly, “the asking price is extremely high” for Ramirez, Morosi writes.
  • The Twins are considering all options as the trade deadline approaches, including the possibility of including two or more players together in a single trade.  In an interview on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM earlier today, Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey told Jon Morosi and company that such a package deal is “something we have talked about.”  Possibilities abound for such trades, though since the Twins are reportedly not keen to move players controlled beyond 2021, however, I would think a package deal might be more suited as a way of generating a greater return for rental players.  Someone like Andrelton Simmons or Michael Pineda alone might not bring back much in the way of prospects, but putting the two veterans into one deal might get a team to budge on a slightly higher-tier minor leaguer.  Conversely, the Twins could also look into packaging a rental player with someone with more control (i.e. Byron Buxton or Taylor Rogers).

Indians Transfer Shane Bieber To 60-Day Injured List, Reinstate Cam Hill

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Indians right-hander Cam Hill was reinstated from the injured list and optioned to Triple-A, per Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal (via Twitter). Hill has been out for the entire season after having arm surgery that was the result of a car accident. He made the first 18 appearances of his career last season, tossing 18 1/3 innings with a 4.91 ERA/5.43 FIP.

Shane Bieber was transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster for Hill, per the team. Bieber has been out for 39 days with a subscapularis strain. When he went on the injured list (June 14), it was not at all clear how long Cleveland would be without their ace. The earlier’s he’ll now return is three weeks from today around August 15th.

At the time of his injury, the reigning AL Cy Young was the Major League leader in innings pitched with 90 2/3 IP. He worked to a 3.28 ERA with a 33.9 percent strikeout rate that ranked seventh in the Majors. Since Bieber went down, the Indians have fallen from 4.5 games behind the White Sox to now trailing the division leader by nine games.

Draft Signings: 7/24/21

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Here are the latest Day Two draft picks to sign with their teams.  For more on the 2021 draft class, check out the prospect rankings and scouting reports compiled by Baseball America, Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.  As well, here is MLB Pipeline’s breakdown of the slot values assigned to each pick in the first 10 rounds, as well as the bonus pool money available to all 30 teams.

All signings were reported by MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis, unless specified otherwise.

  • The Angels signed St. Mary’s College left-hander Ky Bush for a $1.75MM bonus, spending slightly beyond the 45th overall pick’s assigned value of $1,650,200.
  • The Nationals signed Daylen Lile for $1.75MM, going a bit overslot ($1,580,200) for the 47th overall pick to get the high school outfielder to forego his commitment to Louisville.
  • The White Sox went overslot to sign second-round pick Wes Kath, signing the high school third baseman for a $1.8MM bonus.  The 57th overall selection has an assigned price of $1,243,600, but the Sox had some money to spare after going well underslot to sign college players picked within their first 10 selections.
  • The Athletics signed University of Virginia third baseman Zack Gelof for $1,157,400, matching the slot price for the 60th overall pick.  Oakland has now signed all of its picks from the first 10 rounds of the draft.
  • The Royals signed 66th overall pick Peyton Wilson for an at-slot ($1,003,300) bonus.  Wilson is listed as a second baseman, but Callis notes that the University Of Alabama product can also play catcher and center fielder.
  • The Indians signed Florida right-hander Tommy Mace for $1.1MM, according to MLB Pipeline’s Jonathan Mayo.  Mace’s bonus is above the $929.8K slot price for the 69th overall pick.
  • The Orioles have reached agreements with 20 of their 21 picks, with some notable overslot bonuses among the signings  Eighth-rounder Creed Willems had the most eye-opening number, as the high school catcher landed a $1MM bonus that went way over the $187.7K assigned slot price for the 227th pick.  MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports that the Orioles also went well above the $818.2K slot price for 76th overall pick John Rhodes, who signed for $1.375MM.

Cleveland Indians To Change Name To Cleveland Guardians

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The Indians announced in a video package on Twitter this morning that their new franchise name will be the Cleveland Guardians. It was reported last night that a decision had been reached and an announcement could be forthcoming. The name change will formally go into effect after the 2021 season.

Cleveland Guardians

The franchise announced early last July that a name change was under consideration, and by December it had become clear that the organization would move forward with a new name in the near future. The team selected “Guardians” from a list of nearly 1200 initial possibilities and has provided some insight into its selection process in conjunction with today’s announcement.

The new “Guardians” moniker is a nod to the eight sculptures along Cleveland’s Hope Memorial Bridge, referred to as the “Guardians of Traffic.” The name has been among the reported favorites for some time now. Others that were popular speculative possibilities included the Spiders (a callback to the late-1800s Cleveland baseball franchise) and the Rocks or Rockers (a nod to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame).

It’s not the first name change in franchise history — far from it — but it is the first in more than a century. The franchise was founded as the Grand Rapids Rustlers in 1894 and very briefly changed its name to the Lake Shores upon moving to Cleveland in 1900. After a series of one-year stints for Lake Shores, Bluebirds and Broncos, the team renamed itself the “Naps” — after star infielder Nap Lajoie — from 1903-1914.

The “Indians” moniker has been in place since that time. There were inklings of change on the horizon long before the announcement of a forthcoming name change. The organization phased out the former “Chief Wahoo” logo from its caps, jerseys and official merchandise beginning in 2019, and talks about potential names and/or branding changes predate that logo’s departure by several years.

“We are excited to usher in the next era of the deep history of baseball in Cleveland,” owner/chairman Paul Dolan said Friday morning in a press release announcing the change. “Cleveland has and always will be the most important part of our identity. Therefore, we wanted a name that strongly represents the pride, resiliency and loyalty of Clevelanders. ‘Guardians’ reflects those attributes that define us while drawing on the iconic Guardians of Traffic just outside the ballpark on the Hope Memorial Bridge. It brings to life the pride Clevelanders take in our city and the way we fight together for all who choose to be part of the Cleveland baseball family. While ‘Indians’ will always be a part of our history, our new name will help unify our fans and city as we are all Cleveland Guardians.”

Cleveland Indians Decide On New Team Name

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The Cleveland Indians have decided on a new name for their franchise, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  It remains to be seen exactly when the new name will be revealed, as “a source would neither confirm nor deny” if the organization would soon be making any sort of official announcement.

It was just over a year ago that the Tribe announced that “ongoing discussions” were taking place within the organization about potentially changing the team name, and news broke last December that a name change was in the works.  While owner Paul Dolan indicated in March that the decision might have to be pushed back to 2023, it now looks like Cleveland’s club will indeed have their new nickname in place for the 2022 season.

There hasn’t been any official indication of what the new team name might be, apart from Dolan stating in December that the Indians wouldn’t simply become “the Tribe” or anything else related to Native Americans or Native American culture.  Reports last month stated that the franchise had a final list of name candidates, though none of the potential choices were leaked.  Of course, public acknowledgement of any choices on the short list could lead to further complications in trademarking the new nickname — as Dolan said in March, “There aren’t many words in the English language that somebody doesn’t own in some shape or form. Particularly in the sports realm, that’s a real challenge.”

Close to 1100 name choices were on the Indians’ initial list, a sign of just how exhausting the process has been in landing on a new nickname for the organization.  Countless more selections have been floated by fans, ranging from past names for the franchise (i.e. the Grays, Naps, Bronchos) prior to the adoption of the “Indians” name in 1915, references to other teams in Cleveland’s baseball history (i.e. the Spiders), references to local Cleveland landmarks (i.e. the Guardians or the Rockers), tributes to past players (i.e. the Dobys or the Fellers), or even references to modern pop culture (i.e. the Avengers).

MLBTR Poll: Most Dangerous Second Half Teams

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With the unofficial second half of the season set to kick off tomorrow night, it’s worth taking a moment to look at the current standings. If the season were to end today, the American League postseason field would consist of the White Sox, Astros, Red Sox, Rays and A’s. The National League entrants would be the Giants, Brewers, Mets, Dodgers and Padres.

In all likelihood, though, that field will change a bit over the coming months. According to FanGraphs’ playoff odds, the probability of all ten current would-be playoff teams reaching the postseason is just 14.9%. With that in mind, we’ll turn it over to the MLBTR readership to opine on which teams stand the best chance of making a run and unseating a member of the postseason picture.

For simplicity’s sake, we’ll exclude any team with postseason odds below 3%. That rules out the Nationals, Cardinals, Twins, Marlins, Orioles, Tigers, Royals, Rangers, Pirates, Rockies and Diamondbacks.

American League

Yankees (46-43, playoff chances: 40.4%)

It has been a disappointing season to date for a Yankees team that entered the year with World Series aspirations. The lineup, one of the league’s best on paper, has been thoroughly average to this point. The rotation has been similarly middle-of-the-pack, although that was a bit more foreseeable. The bullpen was one of the league’s best early but has hit a skid recently. With all the talent on the roster, the Yankees feel like they should be better, but their +1 run differential reinforces that they’ve played at a merely OK level so far.

Blue Jays (45-42, playoff chances: 34.5%)

The Jays have had an elite offense all year. They had four All-Star position players, three of whom started for the American League. They’re among the top 5 teams in runs scored and wRC+. The pitching has been less impressive, although the rotation and bullpen are both among the top 15 units in ERA. The Jays have had some ill-timed relief issues, though. A 6-10 record in one-run games (including a 2-5 mark in extra innings) has them just three games over .500 despite the AL’s fourth-best run differential.

Angels (45-44, playoff chances: 15.1%)

There’s no doubting the Angels’ high-end position player talent. Getting Mike Trout back to join Shohei Ohtani, Jared Walsh and Anthony Rendon will make them one of the more fearsome middle-of-the-order groupings. The ever-persistent question is on the pitching staff. Angels starters rank just 25th leaguewide with a 5.04 ERA, and the relief corps hasn’t been much better. The defense hasn’t done the pitchers many favors. Despite the quality lineup, the Angels have been outscored by 26 runs.

Indians (45-42, playoff chances: 6.6%)

The Indians hung around the AL Central for quite a while despite an underwhelming offense. A strong bullpen and a trio of quality starting pitchers kept the team in games, but Cleveland lost each of Shane Bieber, Aaron Civale and Zach Plesac to the injured list. Plesac’s back, but the team has predictably sputtered without their top pitchers. They’re still only 4.5 games back in the Wild Card race, but they’ll have to turn things around against a tough schedule coming out of the Break.

Mariners (48-43, playoff chances: 3%)

Seattle’s offense has been a weak point this season. Only the Rockies have a lower team wRC+, although the M’s have hit well enough with runners in scoring position to plate runs at a near-average rate. Both the rotation and bullpen have higher-than-average ERA’s, and the Mariners -50 run differential is the worst among plausible contenders. The projections are highly skeptical they can keep up that kind of high wire act (hence the low odds), but those wins can’t be taken away and the Mariners enter the second half closer to the playoffs than anyone else in the AL discussion.

Which American League Team Is Most Likely To Make The Playoffs In 2021?
Blue Jays 47.80% (8,909 votes)
Yankees 23.67% (4,413 votes)
Angels 11.68% (2,177 votes)
Mariners 8.43% (1,571 votes)
Indians 8.42% (1,570 votes)
Total Votes: 18,640

 

(poll link for app users)

National League

Reds (48-42, playoff chances: 22.2%)

The Reds have been the National League’s analogue of the Blue Jays. The lineup has been good, ranking sixth in wRC+ and eleventh in runs. The rotation has been solid. Bullpen issues have been Cincinnati’s undoing, as Reds relievers have MLB’s fourth-worst ERA. The Reds are 3.5 games back in the Wild Card race and four back in the NL Central and were playing well leading up to the Break.

Phillies (44-44, playoff chances: 17.8%)

The Phillies lineup has a few stars, but it’s been rather top-heavy and a middle-of-the-pack unit overall. It’s the same story in the rotation, where the back end has continued to be problematic. And the bullpen has blown a league-worst 22 saves. It has been a good core surrounding by a weak enough complimentary cast to keep the team hovering around average. That’s been a common refrain in Philadelphia over the past couple seasons, but few teams can match the Phils’ top-end talent.

Braves (44-45, playoff chances: 7.5%)

One of the more disappointing teams of the first half, Atlanta entered the year as a World Series hopeful but hasn’t gotten into a groove. The lineup has been good, although the loss of Ronald Acuña Jr. is certainly going to be tough to overcome. Starting pitching has been fine but unspectacular, but the bullpen — as with the Reds and Phillies — has been an issue in Atlanta. At +19, the Braves have the best run differential in the NL East, but a 2-6 record in extra-inning games has contributed to them underperforming in the standings.

Cubs (44-46, playoff chances: 4.1%)

The Cubs were in the thick of the NL Central race a few weeks ago. An 11-game losing streak knocked them well back in the standings, though. The current lineup still has some high-end talent, and the bullpen has been great this year. But the rotation has predictably proven an issue, and it seems likely the front office will move some players off the big league roster in the coming weeks.

Which National League Team Is Most Likely To Make The Playoffs In 2021?
Reds 55.88% (11,382 votes)
Phillies 19.96% (4,066 votes)
Braves 18.21% (3,710 votes)
Cubs 5.95% (1,211 votes)
Total Votes: 20,369

 

(poll link for app users)

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