Headlines

Go To Hoops Rumors
Go To Pro Football Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors
Go To Pro Football Rumors

Rockies Acquire Zac Rosscup From Cubs For Matt Carasiti

By | at

The Rockies and Cubs have announced a swap of pitchers, with the Rockies adding the southpaw Zac Rosscup out of DFA limb. Heading to Chicago in return is right-hander Matt Carasiti.

The 29-year-old Rosscup will provide Colorado with a potential lefty specialist. Over his career, he has struggled against righties (and with his command) while dominating opposing lefties to the tune of a .162/.303/.284 slash. He has spent most of the current season at Triple-A, posting 17 strong appearances there (12.7 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 2.60 ERA).

It’ll be interesting to see if there are any near-term roster moves from Colorado that help explain the move. The club already has two power, late-inning lefties in the pen in Jake McGee and Mike Dunn, though the latter has been hit hard. And converted starter Chris Rusin, another southpaw, continues to post excellent numbers in a relief role.

As for Carasiti, 25, he lost his MLB roster spot after making his debut last year. He hasn’t been called back to the majors in 2017, but has been awfully impressive at Triple-A. Over 30 1/3 innings, he owns a 2.37 ERA with 12.8 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9.

Rockies Place Carlos Gonzalez, Tyler Anderson On 10-Day DL

By | at

The Rockies have placed both outfielder Carlos Gonzalez and southpaw Tyler Anderson on the 10-day DL, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports on Twitter. Two relievers will take the open roster spots, with Chad Qualls returning from the DL and Jairo Diaz receiving a call-up.

[RELATED: Updated Rockies Depth Chart]

A sore shoulder has bothered Gonzalez of late, and seems to be the cause for the move. But he’ll also surely welcome a chance to clear his head after a brutal start to the season. Over his 277 plate appearances, CarGo owns a .221/.300/.348 slash line with just six home runs — well shy of his typical output and even worse when adjusted for his advantageous home ballpark.

Meanwhile, Anderson returns to the DL after re-injuring his left knee. That same joint kept him on the shelf for most of June. Anderson was excellent last year for Colorado as a rookie, but has struggled for the most part in 2017. Notably, he has already allowed more homers (15) this year than he did last, in barely half as many innings. Anderson carries a 6.11 ERA — albeit with a strong 9.0 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 — through 63 1/3 frames.

While Gonzalez is the bigger name here, of course, Anderson’s situation is probably of greater importance to the Rockies’ deadline plans. While Jon Gray is set to return in short order, adding to the top of the rotation, it’s fair to wonder whether the club will at least explore the trade market for starters. The team’s youthful staff has been much better than expected, though the sustainability remains a question and several hurlers have hit rough stretches.

Deepening the relief corps is also a deadline possibility for Colorado, it would seem. Just how much of a priority that will be could depend upon the performances of Qualls and Diaz. The former has not been terribly effective since joining the Rox last year, while the latter has been strong at Triple-A thus far as he works back from Tommy John surgery. Diaz missed all of 2016 after turning in 19 promising innings in the majors in the prior season, when he worked to a 2.37 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 while sitting at 97 mph with his fastball.

Tyler Anderson Leaves Start With Knee Issue

By | at

  • Rockies southpaw Tyler Anderson was forced to leave during the third inning of today’s start due to an apparent injury to his left knee, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding was among those to report.  This was Anderson’s first start back since hitting the DL in late May due to inflammation in that same knee, though he made a one-inning relief appearance earlier last week.  Advanced metrics indicate that Anderson has pitched better than his 6.11 ERA would indicate, as he has been plagued by home runs (a whopping 25% homer rate) and bad BABIP luck (.337) over his 63 1/3 IP this season.

Jon Gray To Return Next Weekend

By | at

  • Right-hander Jon Gray will make his long-awaited return to the Rockies’ rotation during their series against Arizona next weekend, per Nick Groke of the Denver Post (Twitter links). Gray entered the season as the de facto ace of Colorado’s staff, but he has been out since mid-April with a stress fracture in his left foot. Still, the Rockies have stormed out of the gates at 47-30, and Gray’s return should only help the team’s already high playoff odds. The Rox will deploy a five-man rotation when Gray comes back, meaning someone will have to exit the group, observes Groke.

Rockies Unlikely To Trade Tyler Chatwood

By | at

  • A Tyler Chatwood trade “would be difficult for the [Rockies] to make,” a source with knowledge of the team’s thinking tells Rosenthal.  If anything, Colorado will be looking to add pitching rather than move a solid rotation arm.  Chatwood has a 4.08 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and a very strong 57.6% ground ball rate over 90 1/3 IP this season.  He is a free agent this winter and he has a strong track record (career 3.10 road ERA) away from Coors Field, plus he may not be a prime candidate for a long-term deal given that Chatwood has twice undergone Tommy John surgery.  Despite those factors, Chatwood probably has more value to the Rockies as a player than as a potential trade chip as the team battles in the competitive NL West.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Rockies Sign Ryan Vilade To Slot Deal

By | at

  • The Rockies announced the signing of second-rounder Ryan Vilade, and Callis tweets that he’ll sign for the No. 48 pick’s slot value of $1,425,400. A high school shortstop out of Oklahoma, Vilade was committed to Oklahoma State but will instead embark on his pro career. He draws the most praise for his raw power and big arm strength, though a move to third base may be in order.

Groke On Rockies' Potential Trade Chips

By | at

  • Nick Groke of the Denver Post fielded some Rockies trade questions in his latest chat with readers, noting that there’s virtually no chance that the Rockies would even consider moving top shortstop prospect Brendan Rodgers this summer. Groke does, however, feel that outfielder Raimel Tapia is a plausible trade chip. The 23-year-old outfielder entered the season widely ranked among baseball’s top 100 prospects and is hitting .286/.375/.357 through a small sample of 32 plate appearances in a limited role.

Pitching Health Notes: Gray, ERod, Urias, MadBum, Chargois

By | at

Rockies righty Jon Gray made his first rehab start, as Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports. He may need only one or two more minor league outings before rejoining the Colorado rotation, but holds out the promise of providing a significant boost upon his return. Likewise, southpaw Tyler Anderson is making his way back toward the big leagues, meaning the Rox will face some rotation questions in short order.

Here’s more on a few other pitching health matters from around the league:

  • It’s possible that the Red Sox may soon welcome back lefty Eduardo Rodriguez. per an update from manager John Farrell (h/t Peter Abraham of the Boston Glove; links to Twitter). Rodriguez was “ecstatic” after a 33-pitch pen session today, says Farrell, who indicated that the southpaw may be only one rehab start away from returning to the majors. That would surely be excellent news for Boston; Rodriguez’s knee issue seemed rather frightening when it arose, since he has dealt with significant problems in the joint in the past.
  • Likewise, the Dodgers got good news on young southpaw Julio Urias, as Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports (Twitter links). While he’ll still be shut down until the soreness in his shoulder subsides, Urias did not exhibit any structural issues in an MRI.
  • With the Giants back in Colorado, the team is seeing continued progress from ace Madison Bumgarner, who is still recovering from the shoulder injury he suffered in an off-day dirtbiking accident during the team’s prior trip out to Denver. As John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets, Bumgarner is set to face live hitting on Sunday and report to the organization’s spring facility. After that, he’d only be a rehab assignment away from a return, though the club will undoubtedly exercise ample caution given the club’s unenviable position in the standings.
  • As the Twins continue to hold onto a surprising AL Central lead, despite one of the league’s worst bullpens, the front office is surely at least thinking of ways to bolster the MLB roster while also remaining mindful of the broader organizational mission. Unfortunately, the club seemingly won’t be able to call upon relief prospect J.T. Chargois, per Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, who tweets that a “stress reaction on the outside of his elbow” will keep the young righty out for some time. The fireballer already missed significant time earlier in his career with elbow problems. Minnesota already lost out on another possible mid-season boost to the bullpen when Nick Burdi required Tommy John surgery earlier this year.

Rockies Activate Tom Murphy, Option Ryan Hanigan

By | at

The Rockies have activated catcher Tom Murphy from the 10-day DL, which he has been stuck on all year. In a corresponding move, veteran backstop Ryan Hanigan was optioned to Triple-A.

Murphy, 26, was expected to play a significant role behind the dish for the Rockies after a promising 21-game stint in 2016. But he was sidelined in camp with a fractured forearm and has yet to appear at the major league level in the current season.

Colorado will hope for a boost on offense by swapping in Murphy. He has been a steady producer at the plate as a professional, including his rehab time in 2017. Through 31 plate appearances at Triple-A, Murphy owns a .414/.419/.724 slash — though he has also gone down on strikes nine times.

As for Hanigan, his consent was required for the move given his lengthy service time. Playing a supporting role to Tony Wolters, the 36-year-old has produced a .256/.304/.395 slash in his 46 trips to the plate on the year. He’ll wait in Triple-A to see if a need arises.

Nationals Ownership Nixed Deal With Holland In Offseason

By | at

The Nationals’ terrible results from the bullpen have been frustrating fans all season, and it’s begun to take a toll on the clubhouse as well, per Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post. Svrluga quotes unnamed Nationals players that are exasperated by the persistently blown leads, quoting one who states, “We feel like we have to win the game three times.” As has been reported on multiple occasions in the past, Svrluga writes that Nationals ownership vetoed a trade that would have netted the Nats David Robertson from the White Sox this offseason. However, Svrluga now reports that GM Mike Rizzo also had an agreement in place with current Rockies closer Greg Holland, only for the Lerner family to once again step in and nix that deal. (FanRag’s Jon Heyman previously reported that ownership balked at the concept of a vesting player option for Holland, though Svrluga is seemingly the first mention of an actual agreement that fell through.) The bullpen will assuredly be Rizzo’s prime target in trades this summer, though reports suggest that he certainly tried to be proactive in addressing the matter this winter but wasn’t granted the freedom to do so.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Networkscroll to top