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Heyman’s Latest: Britton, Tigers, Tanaka, CC, Darvish, Holland, Moore

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The trade that would have sent Zach Britton from the Orioles to the Astros included third baseman Colin Moran, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, but medical issues ultimately sank the deal. Moran was already on the disabled list after having suffered a concussion and a facial fracture when he fouled a ball off his face in mid-July, per Heyman, but there were also medical issues with one of the prospects that would have gone to Baltimore. That issue was found as the O’s sifted through medical paperwork, and though Houston tried to resurrect the deal in the final hours leading up to the non-waiver deadline, the two sides were ultimately unable to find a common ground. None of Kyle Tucker, Derek Fisher, Francis Martes, Forrest Whitley or Yordan Alvarez were offered in either iteration of the deal, he adds.

Some highlights from Heyman’s weekly American League and National League notes columns…

  • The Tigers are “disappointed” in Nick Castellanos’ defense at third base once again, as he’s taken a step back in that regard after seemingly making improvements in 2016. Heyman suggests that Castellanos may be available in trades this winter, and since he’s already cleared waivers, he could technically be moved anytime moving forward. (He wouldn’t be eligible for a postseason roster if he’s traded after today.) Heyman also notes that Ian Kinsler’s preference may be to play for a contender, and the Tigers will again field offers on him this winter after making an easy call to exercise his $10MM option.
  • The Yankees aren’t currently planning on “chasing” Masahiro Tanaka if he opts out of the remaining three years on his deal, with one source telling Heyman that the Yanks wouldn’t offer anything beyond the $67MM he’s still guaranteed. Tanaka has a 3.79 ERA with 116-to-19 K/BB ratio in 99 2/3 innings since May 26 and a 3.32 ERA with 10.3 K/9 against 1.4 BB/9 since the calendar flipped to July. Heyman also notes that the Yankees could also be interested in retaining left-hander CC Sabathia on a one-year deal this offseason.
  • Prior to trading Yu Darvish to the Dodgers, the Rangers “made clear” that they were “completely willing” to trade Darvish to the Astros. The Rangers, according to Heyman, asked for top-tier prospects from their division rivals, however, before ultimately landing on a package comprised largely of high-ceiling players in A-ball. Houston offered currently suspended (PEDs) top prospect David Paulino in a deal, and the two sides apparently never got especially close to reaching an agreement.
  • Even with his recent struggles, Rockies closer Greg Holland still plans to decline his $15MM player option at season’s end in order to retest the free agent market. Holland looked unhittable for the season’s first two months before showing some red flags in June and July (as Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron recently pointed out). Those troublesome trends have caught up to Holland in August, as he’s been torched for 14 runs on 14 hits (four homers) and six walks with eight strikeouts in 9 1/3 innings this month.
  • Left-hander Matt Moore “sailed through” revocable trade waivers when the Giants put him through that process this month, per Heyman. Whether the Giants would want to or even be able to trade Moore is another question, but the possibility will be open through season’s end. Moore would have to be traded to a new team today in order to be eligible for that club’s postseason roster, though from a purely speculative standpoint, a non-contending club could look to buy low on Moore with an eye toward the 2018 campaign. The 28-year-old has struggled through the worst full season of his career in 2017, logging a dreadful 5.49 ERA with 7.7 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a 37.4 percent ground-ball rate in 154 innings of work. He’s been somewhat better since the All-Star break, but Moore’s stock is still at a low point. He has a $9MM option for the 2018 season and a $10MM option for 2019.

AL Notes: Angels, Indians, Bautista, Astros

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Angels first baseman C.J. Cron has come up as a possible trade candidate in the wake of the team’s agreement with free agent Luis Valbuena on Thursday, but the Halos’ decision to add another corner infielder has more to do with Albert Pujols’ uncertain status, according to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. Pujols could miss the beginning of next season as a result of December foot surgery. In the meantime, the Angels will play the lefty-swinging Valbuena against right-handed pitching and deploy him at Pujols’ positions – designated hitter and first base – as well as third base, writes Rosenthal. When Pujols returns, the club could take advantage of the fact that Cron and Jefrey Marte have minor league options remaining and send either to Triple-A Salt Lake City, Rosenthal notes. Looking ahead a year, third baseman Yunel Escobar could depart in free agency next winter. That would enable Valbuena to take over at the hot corner on a full-time basis in 2018.

More from the American League:

  • Right fielder Jose Bautista, who brought an end to a drawn-out saga when he re-signed with the Blue Jays earlier this week, didn’t seriously consider joining the Indians, reports Terry Pluto of cleveland.com. The Indians inquired about Bautista, but it doesn’t seem as if either side was gung-ho about a union. After all, manager Terry Francona declared that the Tribe’s pursuit of Bautista in free agency – which may have included a bid – was overstated.
  • While the Astros committed a guaranteed $14MM to Charlie Morton earlier this offseason, the right-hander isn’t a lock to win a spot in their rotation, general manager Jeff Luhnow suggested to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (Twitter link). Luhnow does expect Morton to end up in the Astros’ starting five, but he’s only “softly” part of the rotation for now. The Astros have been pushing to add a front-line starter all winter, and picking one up could relegate Morton to a bullpen role. As of now, in addition to established starters Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers, Collin McHugh, Mike Fiers and Morton, the team has intriguing young options – including Joe Musgrove and Francis Martes  – knocking on the door.
  • Once regarded as key building blocks for the Astros, first baseman A.J. Reed and third baseman Colin Moran are long shots to crack the big league roster this year after rough seasons, writes Jake Kaplan of Baseball America (subscription required/recommended). Reed, whom BA ranked as baseball’s 11th-best prospect a year ago, got his first taste of major league action in 2016 and batted a weak .164/.270/.262 with a 34 percent strikeout rate in 141 plate appearances. The soon-to-be 24-year-old did rake at Triple-A Fresno (.291/.368/.556 in 296 PAs), though he’s now behind $47.5MM man Yulieski Gurriel and Marwin Gonzalez on the Astros’ first base depth chart. With Carlos Beltran and Evan Gattis also on hand, Reed  stands even less of a chance to garner at-bats as a DH. Moran, the sixth overall pick in the 2013 draft, didn’t help his cause in Fresno – .259/.329/.368 in 511 trips to the plate – and the emergence of Alex Bregman in Houston only added to his problems. Bregman looks like the Astros’ long-term solution at third, putting the 24-year-old Moran’s future in question.

AL Notes: Buxton, Travis, Severino, Gomez

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The Twins have recalled Byron Buxton to take the roster spot of fellow outfielder Danny Santana, who’s headed to the 15-day DL with a strained left hamstring. Long considered one of the game’s truly elite prospects, Buxton scuffled badly in the early going this year, racking up 24 strikeouts in just 49 plate appearances. He’s been laying waste to Triple-A pitching since his demotion, however, posting a .333/.402/.605 slash with six home runs and four steals over 127 plate appearances. Buxton entered the year with 113 days of service to his credit, and has added another twenty thus far in 2016, so he’d stand to pass one year of service time if he can stick for a reasonable stretch.

Here’s more from the American League:

  • Red Sox prospect Sam Travis has suffered a torn left ACL, Boston announced. The first baseman will be out for the rest of the season, though the team says the expectation is he’ll be ready for 2017. Travis looked like a useful depth piece in the near-term, and some had suggested that the young first baseman could factor into the team’s plans next year. While that may still prove to be the case, he’ll miss a big stretch of development and a chance to show that he’s ready. That makes it difficult to imagine Boston altering its spending plans based on the promise that the 22-year-old will be ready for a major role. A second-round pick in 2014, Travis had posted a solid (but hardly dominant) .272/.332/.434 slash in 190 plate appearances at Triple-A.
  • The Yankees are playing the long game in optioning prized righty Luis Severino, as Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees Blog reports. After an excellent debut in 2015, the 22-year-old had allowed 29 earned runs and eight long balls in his 35 innings of work to start the year. While the triceps strain that landed Severino on the DL appears to be a blip, the organization has broader concerns and obviously decided that he was due for some further polishing. Skipper Joe Girardi explained: “This is a kid with a lot of talent, and we want, the next time he comes up, to be a finished product. He came up last year — some of it was based on need — and did very well. Sometimes when you enter your second season and people have seen you, you have to make adjustments probably more than you’ve ever had to make, it’s not always so easy. So that’s why I think that he’ll get through this and it’s going to make him a better pitcher.”
  • Outfielder Carlos Gomez will be activated tomorrow by the Astros, the team announced. Houston is hoping that the 30-year-old former star can turn things around after a dreadful start. He’ll take the roster spot of third baseman Colin Moran, who’ll be optioned back to Triple-A. Moran, 23, managed only two base hits while striking out six times in his twenty plate appearances, though that represented a limited opportunity in his first taste of the majors.

Astros To Promote Colin Moran

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The Astros will promote third base prospect Colin Moran to join the team for tonight’s game, according to Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com (via Twitter). It’s not yet clear what the club will do to make space on its active and 40-man rosters.

Moran, 23, was taken sixth overall in the 2013 draft and entered the minors considered by some to be a top-100 prospect leaguewide. But he’s lagged far behind fellow third bagger Kris Bryant, who went before him in that year’s draft, and has failed to develop in the power department.

Houston got Moran in a 2014 deadline deal with the Marlins that makes for an interesting swap to look back at. The Marlins haven’t received what they hoped for from Jarred Cosart (who was the key piece), quickly shipped Enrique Hernandez out to L.A., and have watched outfielder Austin Wates struggle at Triple-A. Over on the Astros’ side, the club has made use of Jake Marisnick, but he’s been demoted, and it’s now set for a first look at Moran. But the real upside may be yet to come, as pitcher Francis Martes has turned into a major prospect and the ’Stros were able to parlay the Marlins’ 2015 compensation pick into Daz Cameron.

It remains to be seen whether Moran will ever do quite enough damage at the plate to be a regular in the majors. He had a strong campaign last year at Double-A, earning a spot at Houston’s top affiliate to open 2016. But he’s only hitting at a .288/.331/.416 clip through 136 plate appearances, with three long balls, and has seemingly yet to make real strides in bolstering his evident hitting ability with greater pop.

That kind of offensive profile would be easier to credit were it not for the fact that Moran isn’t well-regarded in other aspects of his game. As Baseball America wrote entering the year, he’s not considered a good runner and doesn’t move well in the field — though he does have a big arm. That means that his bat will largely need to carry his value.

Houston, certainly, hopes there’s still some upside to be tapped into. Regardless, the organization will look for Moran to provide a near-term boost while beginning to evaluate how important a piece he’ll be after this season. Needless to say, the Astros have disappointed thus far, and regular third baseman Luis Valbuena has been a big part of the struggles. A pending free agent, Valbuena is off to a .208/.306/.340 start to his season and has hit just two home runs a year after swatting 25.

AL Notes: Panda, Rangers, Sanchez, White, Angels

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The Padres have sent a scout to watch Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports. It’s far from clear whether that is an indication of serious interest, of course, let alone whether the scout is watching more than just Sandoval. Regardless, it’s the latest hint that there could be some remaining trade chatter to be held between these organizations, who already struck a significant swap early in the offseason.

Here’s more from the eastern divisions:

  • The Rangers are not only continuing their search for another catcher, but could look outside the organization for rotation help, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. A.J. Griffin may have the inside track to take the fifth starter’s job at present, says Grant, but there’s some concern about the overall starting pitching depth as camp comes to a close. As for the backstop situation, it doesn’t appear that much has changed, but Texas is still looking to improve upon its reserve options — if not to strike a more significant upgrade. (Grant notes that the club has inquired on Derek Norris of the Padres and Bryan Holaday of the Tigers.)
  • Of course, interest doesn’t always mean that a deal gets done, and significant spring trades are rare. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports also reports that the Rangers have real interest in both areas (Twitter links), but he says the club thinks it has only an “outside chance” at adding a catcher and is “doubtful” to find a new pitcher. All in all, both reports suggest that Texas is looking at its options but is hardly certain to add outside pieces. And still others suggest there’s not much reason to expect movement. Jeff Wilson of the Forth Worth Star-Telegram tweets that outside inquiries have mostly been tire-kicking exercises, while MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan adds on Twitter that club officials have suggested to him that the final rotation piece will come from inside the organization.
  • Reclamation righty Matt Bush isn’t in the mix for an Opening Day pen spot with the Rangers, Grant also writes, but he has been enormously impressive this spring and could be an option later in the season. Bush’s story is well-known, of course — the former first overall draft pick recently finished a prison term for severely injuring a man in a DUI.
  • Aaron Sanchez has been named as the Blue Jays’ fifth starter, manager John Gibbons told reporters (including John Lott of Blue Jays Nation) this morning.  It won’t be a season-long assignment for Sanchez, however, as the righty seems to be under an innings cap and will eventually be transitioned into the bullpen as he approaches his limit.  The 23-year-old has never thrown more than 133 1/3 innings in a season.  Sanchez and Gavin Floyd emerged as the top two contenders for the fifth starter’s job during camp, and Floyd will join Jesse Chavez in the bullpen while Drew Hutchison has been optioned to Triple-A.  It stands to reason that Floyd, Chavez or Hutchison will all be rotation candidates when Sanchez is moved back to relief pitching.
  • The Astros have decided to give an Opening Day roster spot to young first baseman Tyler White, as Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports. Houston’s first-base situation has been in flux all spring, but it appears that the 33rd-round draftee is in line for a significant opportunity to take the position and run with it. He is one of several players in the organization who have impressed this spring; third base prospect Colin Moran has also compiled a 1.000+ OPS in more than thirty plate appearances, though Drellich notes on Twitter that he’s not considered a roster option at this point. The same holds true of A.J. Reed, of course, who could also have a chance to make an impact later in the season.
  • Angels GM Billy Eppler says that he is “not optimistic” of adding to his roster before the season starts, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez reports. Gonzalez provides a deep rundown of the club’s remaining roster considerations.

West Notes: Ryu, Tucker, Moran, Reddick, Gentry

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The Dodgers’ latest update on the shoulder of Hyun-jin Ryu is not a good one. As Zach Helfand of the Los Angeles Times reports, Ryu sat in the 82 to 83 mph range in his last bullpen session. Manager Don Mattingly says that level was below what the team was comfortable with to continue his progression, with the club preferring instead to give Ryu extra rest. Mattingly acknowledged some concern, though he indicated it is too early to tell whether Ryu will get back on his expected timetable. The Dodgers’ summer trade plans could hinge in large part on Ryu’s health.

  • The Astros have placed star outfielder George Springer on the 7-day concussion DL and promoted fellow youngster Preston Tucker to take his place, as Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports on Twitter. Tucker, 24, entered the year listed by Baseball America as the 14th best prospect in a deep system. The power-hitting outfielder is off to a .320/.378/.650 start with ten long balls in 111 Triple-A plate appearances. Houston will need to make a 40-man move tomorrow.
  • Meanwhile, Astros third base prospect Colin Moran will miss four to six weeks after suffering a broken jaw, Drellich tweets. Moran, 22, was scuffling somewhat at Double-A, where he owns a .268/.318/.378 line in 88 turns at bat. He was acquired last summer as part of the deal that also brought Jake Marisnick to the Stros in exchange for Jarred Cosart (among other pieces). The club is still waiting for him to find his expected development arc; whether he is able to do so will have important implications on the club’s long-term planning.
  • Josh Reddick has had a breakout month at the plate for the Athletics, Dave Cameron writes for FOX Sports. Beyond his impressive results, Reddick has put up an outstanding mix of good and frequent contact, writes Cameron, who explains that a change in approach may be to credit. Reddick has just one season of arbitration eligibility remaining after this year, and he looks to be on pace to significantly boost his earning power. Another Oakland outfielder, Craig Gentry, has been headed in the opposite direction and will return to Triple-A on an optional assignment to work out his struggles. Gentry, too, is playing out his second-to-last arb-eligible campaign.

Marlins To Sign First-Rounder Colin Moran

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The Marlins and No. 6 overall draft pick Colin Moran have agreed to terms for the full slot bonus of $3,516,500, tweets Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. MLB.com's Joe Frisaro adds that completion of a physical is the only step remaining in the signing process (Twitter link). Moran is advised by Excel Sports Management.  Moran

The 20-year-old Moran was one of the most highly touted prospects heading into this season's draft when he ranked sixth among draft prospects according to MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo, seventh according to Baseball America and ninth according to ESPN's Keith Law.

Aside from No. 2 overall selection Kris Bryant, Moran was thought to be the best college bat in the class. Mayo wrote that Moran is a polished hitter who should be able to stay at third base long-term and grow into some more power. Law praised his discipline, noting his "absurd" strikeout-to-walk ratio (he finished with 55 walks and just 20 strikeouts in 60 games), but raised some questions about his unorthodox swing.

Moran is the first college bat that the Marlins have taken with their top pick since they selected Mark Kotsay out of Cal State Fullerton in 1996 (they did select Chris Coghlan out of Ole Miss in the supplemental first round in 2006). Moran is just the eighth college player the Marlins have selected in the first round in franchise history, dating back to 1992.

Now that Moran has agreed to terms with the Marlins, the only question mark for tomorrow's 4pm central time signing deadline is Blue Jays pick Phil Bickford.

MLB.com's Joe Frisaro first reported that a deal was close and could be completed Thursday.

Steve Adams contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Marlins Notes: Moran, Deluzio, Ruggiano, Payroll

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Ricky Nolasco shared some emotional goodbyes with his Marlins teammates on Sunday morning, the right-hander told Andre C. Fernandez of the Miami Herald, but he is excited about going home to southern California and pitching for the Dodgers.  The Marlins figure to have more moves up their sleeves before the trade deadline so here's the latest out of the Sunshine State…

  • The Marlins are confident they will be able to sign first round draft pick Colin Moran, though they're not sure about third-rounder Ben Deluzio, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.  The Marlins have offered both players contracts that match the assigned slot prices of the sixth (approximately $3.516MM) and 80th ($681.7K) overall picks.  While Moran is coming out of UNC, Deluzio is a high schooler who "is reportedly leaning toward attending Florida State."
  • Also from Spencer, he thinks pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs and relievers Chad Qualls and Ryan Webb could all be dealt before the trade deadline.  The two right-handers have already drawn interest from reliever-needy teams.
  • We heard earlier today that the Yankees, Rangers and other teams had checked in on Justin Ruggiano but the Marlins aren't particularly interested in dealing the outfielder, Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.  Moving Ruggiano could create a depth problem in the outfield given Chris Coghlan's injury status, Christian Yelich's relative under-performance in Double-A and the team's desire to keep Jake Marisnick off the 40-man roster this season.
  • The Nolasco trade seemed to be primarily about dumping salary in 2013 rather than building for the future for the Marlins, Fangraphs' David Cameron opines.  Cameron wonders if situations like this could lead the MLB Players Association to seek some type of "salary floor" in the next collective bargaining agreement.

Draft Notes: Cubs, Brewers

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The 2013 amateur draft begins Thursday evening with the first 73 picks, continues Friday with rounds 3-10, and concludes Saturday with rounds 11-40. The Astros have the first selection in the draft and nearly half of MLBTR readers believe Oklahoma's Jonathan Gray will be the one to hear his name called. Earlier today, we learned Gray, Stanford's Mark Appel, San Diego's Kris Bryant, and North Carolina's Colin Moran are the Astros' top possibilities, with high school outfielder Clint Frazier a distant fifth. Let's take a look at today's other draft notes:

  • The Cubs have spent most of their recent draft prep discussing their second and third round selections (41st and 75th overall) rather than who to take with the second overall choice, reports MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. "We’ve probably discussed No. 2 for about two hours of the four days we’ve been here," said Jason McLeod, the Cubs' senior vice president for scouting and player development. "We’ll get into those guys more this week."
  • Those guys are Gray, Appel, Bryant, and Moran, according to Muskat in that same piece.
  • McLeod doesn't want the Cubs to pigeonhole themselves into using the second overall pick on need (starting pitching); but, instead are looking for a player "to provide significant impact and hopefully get us to where we want to go on a consistent basis," writes Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald. 
  • The Brewers are confident they will land a big league talent even though their first pick won't come until the second round at number 54, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "I enjoy the challenge," Brewers amateur scouting director Bruce Seid told Haudricout. "You might miss the chance for a so-called impact player in the first round but there will be some (future) big-leaguers in there. We've just got to find them." The Brewers forfeited their first round draft choice (17th overall) when they signed free agent Kyle Lohse.
  • Within that same column, Haudricourt blames the Brewers' current woes, as well as a farm system thin on projected impact players, on their failure in the 2008 and 2009 drafts. The Brewers had 11 selections in the first two rounds of those drafts and none of those players have spent a day with the club at the MLB level and the top six picks in the 2008 draft are no longer with the organization.
  • Many teams have held pre-Draft workouts to get a better look at the prospects. MLB.com's Adam McCalvy provided an inside look at those workouts from the viewpoint of a former participant, Milwaukee outfielder Logan Schafer, who attended a Brewers' workout in 2008 and was later drafted by the team in the third round that year.  

Draft Notes: Moran, Gray, Astros, Appel, Twins

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Third baseman Colin Moran is shooting up draft boards and Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com hears that he could even go first overall to the Astros.  Could the UNC product jump past both Jonathan Gray and Mark Appel to be the top choice in the 2013 draft?  Here's today's draft links..

  • Senior scouting officials from the Astros met with Gray during the recent Big 12 Tournament, MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports.
  • Appel made the right call in not taking the Pirates' offer in 2012 and re-entering the draft this year, suggest sources of ESPN's Jason Churchill.
  • The latest mock draft from Keith Law of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) has Moran slated to go to the Astros.  Law doesn't think Houston will make a formal decision on the pick until Thursday, but the buzz within the industry has them leaning towards Moran.  The reasoning is that the third baseman's next-best alternative is to go No. 5 to Cleveland, where his slot value is less than $3.8MM.  Because of that, the Astros could offer him about $4MM or so and know he'd accept it.  The value of the No. 1 pick is $7.2MM, which would leave the Astros with enough to grab top talents who fall to picks 40 and 74.  They could take Gray but they wouldn't pocket much by doing that and they're not on Clint Frazier or Kris Bryant.  Appel doesn't seem to be one of their top two options either.  Also noteworthy – Law's scenario has Gray falling to the Indians at No. 5.
  • Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com's mock draft has Gray going No. 1 followed by Appel and Bryant.  At No. 4, Mayo now has right-hander Kohl Stewart going to the Twins.  Yesterday, Twins VP Mike Radcliff told Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN that he won't rule out Stewart due to his diabetes.

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