- ESPN’s Mark Saxon reports that the Cardinals have “no interest” in trading for a short-term bat (links to Twitter). St. Louis is only interested in acquiring a hitter unless it would be a long-term acquisition. While some may connect the dots and suggest that Carlos Gonzalez fits that bill, to an extent, Saxon adds that top Cardinals officials aren’t as high on Gonzalez as many seem to think they are. Some reports earlier this summer connected the Cards to the Rockies slugger, but Saxon’s report certainly downplays that as a possibility.
Rockies Rumors
Rosenthal’s Latest: Yankees, Marlins, Rays, Rockies, Braves
Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal, via a pair of videos on FOX Sports.
- The Yankees will be willing to deal pending free agents Aroldis Chapman and Carlos Beltran if they’re not in serious contention for a playoff spot by the August 1 deadline, Rosenthal says. They do not want to trade Andrew Miller right now, however. It’s also possible they could deal starting pitchers like CC Sabathia, Nathan Eovaldi and Michael Pineda, but they are not in active discussions to sell right now and they could wait to deal members of that trio this offseason, since all are under control in 2017.
- The Marlins would deal Adeiny Hechavarria and replace him at shortstop with Miguel Rojas if they could get a top starter like Chris Archer of the Rays in return, Rosenthal says. From this vantage point, that sounds like a lot to ask for a shortstop who has hit .238/.274/.336 this season (although Hechavarria is a stellar defender), and one would think Hechavarria would have limited value in a deal for an ace, even as part of a package. Rosenthal unsurprisingly notes that the Rays aren’t interested in trading Archer for a package that has Hechavarria as its centerpiece. The Marlins are also very interested in Archer’s fellow Rays starters Jake Odorizzi and Matt Moore, although their weak minor league system poses difficulties in lining up a trade.
- The Rockies don’t seem overly motivated to trade Carlos Gonzalez and have passed on opportunities to do so, Rosenthal says. Gonzalez’s contract runs through 2017, coinciding with the end of GM Jeff Bridich’s deal, and Rosenthal implies it might be in Bridich’s best interest to keep Gonzalez around to increase the Rockies’ chances of being competitive until then.
- The Tigers aren’t likely to make big moves before the deadline, with a large payroll that will limit their flexibility and a number of tough-to-move contracts on the books. They could, however, become a seller if they do especially poorly in the next two weeks, potentially dealing Francisco Rodriguez and/or other relievers.
- Braves GM John Coppolella continues to insist his team will not deal Julio Teheran, Rosenthal says. Coppolella believes Teheran (who is under team control through 2020) can be a key player on the next contending Braves team, although he acknowledges that won’t happen this season.
Current Stretch Could Decide Rockies' Deadline Plans
- The Rockies’ next 16 games might decide whether they hold or sell at the deadline, opines Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. At 42-48, Colorado sits six games out of a Wild Card position, but it has a chance to inch closer with its next eight matchups coming against the bottom-feeding Braves and Rays. If not, outfielders Carlos Gonzalez and Charlie Blackmon, left-handed starter Jorge De La Rosa and southpaw reliever Boone Logan are among the players the Rockies could ship out, Saunders contends.
Rockies Not Eager To Move CarGo
- Carlos Gonzalez is perhaps the best player among current trade candidates, but the Rockies don’t feel the need to get out from underneath his contract in the same manner they did with Troy Tulowitzki, so he’s far from a lock to be moved. CarGo is batting an excellent .318/.367/.557 this season, and it’s interesting to note that over the past 365 days, he’s hitting .304/.354/.592 with a hefty 46 homers in 156 games played. His $17MM salary in 2016 and $20MM salary in 2017 are both reasonable sums for that level of production.
No Current Indications Of Extension Talk With Rockies, Weiss
- There’s been “no sign so far” that the Rockies and manager Walt Weiss are discussing an extension, per Nick Groke and Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post in their midseason Rockies podcast. Saunders notes that while Weiss is well-liked by his players overall, there are some within the clubhouse that wish he was a bit tougher and demanded more from his team. Weiss’ current contract runs through the end of the 2016 season. Groke is later joined by Benjamin Hochman from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the two discuss the possibility of the Rockies and Cardinals matching up on a trade for Charlie Blackmon.
Latest On Royals’ Search For Rotation Help
The Royals are known to be on the lookout for starting pitching, having been connected to the likes of Ervin Santana, Rich Hill and Matt Moore in recent weeks. Their needs have been accelerated by the struggles of Chris Young and injury setbacks for Mike Minor and, more recently, Kris Medlen. As Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star writes, Medlen suffered a Grade 1 strain in his throwing shoulder while pitching on a rehab assignment from rotator cuff inflammation at Triple-A Omaha and will be shut down from throwing for at least the next two weeks due to the injury.
With uncertainty permeating their rotation, Kansas City is casting a wide net in looking at trade candidates, writes MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. Among the pitchers they’re considering are right-handers Jeremy Hellickson and Andrew Cashner as well as lefties Hill and Jorge De La Rosa, according to Morosi. Each of those names would constitute a strict rental, as each is a free agent at season’s end, though previous ties to Santana and Moore suggest that the Royals are possibly open to the steeper price (be it financial or in terms of prospect cost) of adding a player controlled beyond the 2016 campaign. Indeed, McDowell’s colleague Rustin Dodd linked Kansas City to multiple Rays starting pitchers just last night. GM Dayton Moore called the rotation an “area of vulnerability” and confirmed that he’s been “evaluating the landscape” of potentially available options, writes the Star’s Vahe Gregorian.
Royals starters currently rank 29th in the Majors in collective innings pitched at 455 2/3, and they’re a mere one-third of an inning ahead of the rebuilding Reds in that woeful distinction. More troublesome than that sum is the fact Royals starters simply haven’t pitched well even when they’re on the mound. The Royals’ excellent bullpen could perhaps cover persistently short starts if the team were regularly receiving quality five-inning outings from its starting staff, but Royals starting pitchers have posted a collective 5.02 ERA that ranks 25th in the Majors this season. The bullpen has helped to stop the bleeding, but the recent loss of Wade Davis has thinned out the relief corps, and even if he’s not on the shelf for long, they’re on pace for a lofty total of 556 2/3 innings from the bullpen this season.
With that in mind, Hellickson strikes me as the most logical target among the names listed by Morosi. He’s made 18 starts this season and, after a patch of struggles in late April/early May, has averaged 6 1/3 innings per start over his past 11 turns (nine of which have been quality starts). He’s been the most durable of the bunch and probably offers the best blend of affordability in terms of salary ($7MM in 2016) and prospect cost. Hill is earning $1MM less but has pitched considerably better when on the mound, so he should be expected to command a larger return than Hellickson in a trade. Cashner, meanwhile, is earning $7.15MM but has been limited to 59 innings by a hamstring strain and a neck strain. And De La Rosa, a former Royal (2006-07), is earning $12MM this season and lost his rotation spot in May before righting the ship and regaining his starting job recently.
For the time being, the Royals are relying on a rotation consisting of Yordano Ventura, Ian Kennedy, Danny Duffy and Edinson Volquez, with either Dillon Gee or Brian Flynn slated to step into Young’s spot on Sunday following Young’s move to the bullpen. While Duffy has been scintillating since returning to the rotation — a trend that continued last night — and Kennedy has given the club 100 solid innings (3.97 ERA), Ventura has struggled since April. Volquez, meanwhile, has been highly inconsistent, yielding four or more runs in half of his 18 starts this season.
Carlos Gonzalez Denies Interest In Being Traded
7:09pm: Gonzalez went on-record with Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post to deny that he is interested in being traded by the Rockies. “Nothing is true, because, obviously I haven’t talked to anybody and haven’t said that to anybody. Not my wife or my kids or my mom,” said Gonzalez when asked if he wanted out of Denver. “Whenever I get home, I’m frustrated because maybe I didn’t do well, or we didn’t win the game, but I never complain about it … or say I want to go somewhere else.”
Gonzalez went on to praise the Rockies’ emerging core of young players, mentioning Trevor Story and Jon Gray by name and saying that he wants to be a part of the next contending Rockies club. “I have been here for a lot of bad moments and tough situations, so I want to see the bright (side),” he told Saunders. “I want to be here when that happens.”
4:02pm: Heyman now tweets clarification that Gonzalez is amenable to a trade but hasn’t had a meeting with team officials on the matter. Rockies GM Jeff Bridich denied that a meeting took place when asked by SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (links to Twitter), adding that he’s never had a strong desire to deal his star outfielder and will be “patient as it pertains to the deadline.”
12:25pm: Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez “expressed an interest” in being dealt in a recent meeting with the Rockies’ front office, Jon Heyman of todaysknuckleball.com reports. Colorado could explore deals for both CarGo and fellow outfielder Charlie Blackmon this summer, per the report.
Gonzalez, 30, is running up a .319/.368/.556 batting line with 18 long balls on the year. While you have to discount that somewhat for his home-field advantage at Coors, there’s little question that he’d be a premium offensive asset on the trade market. With a $17MM salary this year and $20MM due for 2017, Gonzalez isn’t cheap — but he does come with a much more affordable contract than he’d command on the open market. Despite his variety of past injury problems, Gonzalez has been healthy in 2016 and doesn’t come with a hugely lengthy contract commitment.
The team has received similar production from Blackmon, who is hitting .305/.371/.496 with a dozen home runs and eight stolen bases. Though he isn’t running as much as he did last year, and is considered more of an average defensive center fielder than a top-flight glove-man, there’s plenty of value here. That’s all the more true given Blackmon’s reasonable $3.5MM salary and two future years of control. He’d quite likely be the premier center field-capable player available.
It’s worth bearing in mind that the club is far from committed to a selling posture, let alone parting with either or both of these core players. Colorado is on the outskirts of the playoff picture, but Heyman suggests that there’s some encouragement on the team’s ability to compete.
Still, there’s a big gulf separating the Rox from the division-leading Giants, and it seems that Gonzalez isn’t sanguine about the organization’s chances. Per Heyman, he’s increasingly frustrated at the club’s performance and wants to play for a winning club.
Rockies GM Jeff Bridich has already shown a willingness to part with well-loved superstars, as he shipped out shortstop Troy Tulowitzki last summer in a bid to bolster the team’s stock of young pitching. Certainly, both Gonzalez and Blackmon would profile as major assets that should draw top-quality prospects if they follow Tulo out the door.
Yohan Flande Elects Free Agency
JULY 6: The Rockies announced last night that Flande has rejected an outright assignment and elected free agency. The 30-year-old Flande will now be free to sign with any club on what would most likely be a minor league contract.
JULY 2: The Rockies have designated left-handed swingman Yohan Flande for assignment, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post was among those to report (Twitter link). Flande’s departure clears roster space for lefty reliever Jake McGee, who’s returning from a three-week stay on the disabled list because of a sprained knee.
[Related: Updated Rockies Depth Chart]
Flande spent 2008-13 with the Phillies and Braves before cracking the majors in Colorado, where he has been since 2014. In 131 innings and 37 appearances (20 starts) with the Rockies, Flande has racked up a 5.15 ERA, 5.29 K/9 and 3.02 BB/9. The 30-year-old threw 3 2/3 frames for the Rockies this season and allowed five earned on eight hits and three walks before the club designated him. Flande does own an outstanding 58.3 percent ground-ball rate in the big leagues, though a lack of strikeouts and a high home run rate (19.4 percent) have limited his effectiveness.
Rockies Place Justin Miller On DL, Activate Adam Ottavino
The Rockies have placed righty Justin Miller on the 15-day DL, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding tweets.* His roster spot will go to fellow right-hander Adam Ottavino, who has been activated from the disabled list.
[Related: Updated Rockies Depth Chart]
Miller, 29, had pitched to a 5.35 ERA over 35 1/3 innings on the year, with 9.4 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9. That represents a somewhat disappointing follow-up on a 2015 campaign in which he allowed just over four earned per nine — no mean feat when pitching at Coors Field — with a 3.45 K/BB ratio, making him quite a productive minor-league signee.
Certainly, a .360 BABIP-against has not helped Miller’s cause, but he’s also been more prone to the long ball — making for a poor combination with an elevated walk rate. Miller is still in the zone just as much as he was last year, but is getting less swings and misses as batters have resisted his off-the-plate offerings.
It’ll certainly be interesting to see how Ottavino returns after missing most of 2015 due to Tommy John surgery. He had claimed Colorado’s closer role after two straight quality campaigns. Ottavino had not allowed an earned run in 10 1/3 innings before he busted his ulnar collateral ligament, with 11.3 K/9 against just 1.7 BB/9.
In the meantime, the Rox have added Jake McGee and more recently elevated Carlos Estevez to 9th-inning duties, so Ottavino probably won’t go right back to closing. But Ottavino signed an offseason extension with the club while rehabbing, so he’s a fixed-cost asset. That increases the appeal of allowing him to rack up the saves rather than the other pitchers, each of whose future earnings would be impacted by counting statistics in the arbitration process.
*An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that Miller had been designated for assignment. Harding has since clarified that he was moved to the disabled list.
Who Could The Rockies Move At The Deadline?
- Rockies GM Jeff Bridich tells Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post that the team is “going to keep our eyes and ears open to everything” heading into the trade deadline. While Bridich was excited that the Rockies are still within striking distance of the NL wild card race, Saunders figures the club will ultimately end up being deadline sellers, rather than buyers. Saunders cites Jorge De La Rosa as “Colorado’s most realistic trade possibility,” with the likes of Daniel Descalso, Nick Hundley, Boone Logan and Mark Reynolds also possible candidates to be moved. Carlos Gonzalez will garner the most trade buzz but Saunders believes Gonzalez will remain with the team not just through the rest of this season but into the 2017 campaign as well.
