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Indians Acquire Leonys Martin

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The Indians struck a trade with the Tigers that will bring center fielder Leonys Martin to Cleveland for shortstop prospect Willi Castro as well as minor league righty Kyle Dowdy.  The deal is now official.

This match makes quite a lot of sense on paper. The Indians, after all, are running away with things in the AL Central but had a clear need in the outfield. In particular, the team was missing a left-handed-hitting outfielder capable of playing center after watching Bradley Zimmer struggle and ultimately go down for the year with an injury.  Martin will likely share time up the middle with veteran Rajai Davis, who hits from the right side. There’s not much left on Martin’s tab for the present season, as he’s earning just $1.75MM. He’ll also be controllable for 2019 via arbitration, so could represent a piece of the puzzle next year as well.

Though Martin’s .251/.321/.409 batting line is below average, it’s still the best work of his career to date.  A left-handed batter, Martin is an ideal candidate for a platoon.  He’s long been a defensive asset in center field, with strong metrics dating back to 2013.

On the other side of this swap, the Tigers had every reason to get what they could for Martin. While he could certainly have been retained, cashing him in now better fits the team’s priorities.  Castro, a shortstop signed five years ago out of Puerto Rico, earned a 50 overall grade from MLB Pipeline.  Currently at Double-A, Castro is a switch-hitter with an above average bat and a good chance to stick at shortstop, according to MLB Pipeline and Baseball America.  The Tigers did well to sign Martin affordably in December, and then spin him into Castro several months later.  Dowdy, a 25-year-old righty, began the year as a Double-A reliever, then jumped into the Triple-A rotation for the Toledo Mud Hens before a move back to Double-A.

Robert Murray of The Athletic broke the trade, with Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free-Press adding the Dowdy detail.  Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Tigers Hold Mike Fiers At Deadline

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3:05pm:tweets Fiers won’t be going anywhere today, Fenech now .

2:39pm: Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle has a pair of sources who do not think the A’s are close to a deal for Fiers, according to this tweet.

2:20pm: The Athletics are closing in on a deal that would deliver Tigers righty Mike Fiers to Oakland, according to Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter).

Fiers, 33, has a 3.54 ERA, 6.6 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 1.54 HR/9, and 38% groundball rate in 20 starts across 117 innings for the Tigers this season.  He adds veteran depth to an Oakland rotation that currently includes Sean Manaea, Brett Anderson, Edwin Jackson, and Trevor Cahill.  Fiers inked a $6MM free agent deal with Detroit in December, and can be controlled for 2019 as an arbitration eligible player.  Fiers was a 22nd round draft pick of the Brewers back in 2009.  The soft-tosser has carved out a solid career, making 123 starts for the Brewers and Astros prior to this year.

The Athletics are currently just two games back from the Mariners for the second Wild Card spot, with FanGraphs giving them a 35% shot at the playoffs.  Ten days ago, they bolstered their bullpen with the addition of Jeurys Familia.

 

Dodgers Interested In Shane Greene

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  • Along with the previously reported Brad Brach, the Dodgers have been scouting Tigers reliever Shane Greene, according to Cafardo. The 29-year-old Greene has pitched to a 4.19 ERA/3.98 ERA with 9.63 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a 43.5 percent groundball rate in 43 innings this season. He’s on a meager salary this year ($1.95MM) and scheduled to go through arbitration one more time.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Tigers Claim Josh Smoker, Designate Warwick Saupold

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The Tigers announced today that they’ve claimed left-hander Josh Smoker off waivers from the Pirates and optioned him to Triple-A Toledo. In order to clear room for him, the club has designated right-hander Warwick Saupold for assignment.

Smoker, 29, endured seven rough outings with the Pirates this past year spanning 5 2/3 innings. The southpaw coughed up seven earned runs while walking five and notching just a pair of strikeouts. Smoker’s been great at whiffing batters in the past, but he’s always struggled to avoid the home run ball, as evidenced by his 19.5% career HR/FB mark. He’s also never managed a full season with an ERA below 4.70. A supplemental first round pick by the Nationals in 2007, he never reached his lofty pre-draft billing.

Saupold, 28, has had a significant presence in the Tigers’ bullpen across the past season and a half, if for no other reason than for lack of more reliable arms within the organization. The right-hander owns a career ERA of 4.98, which actually looks like good fortune when compared to his 5.25 FIP. Saupold’s never known any organization outside of the Tigers, but he’ll now be entering the waiver wire.

 

Phillies Have Considered Jose Iglesias

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  • Sherman also reports that the Phillies, after missing out on Manny Machado, would at the very least like to add a defensive upgrade at shortstop. Interestingly, he notes that the Phils have at least had internal discussions about reacquiring Freddy Galvis from the Padres. He also lists the Rays’ Adeiny Hechavarria and the Tigers’ Jose Iglesias as players that the Phillies’ front office has considered. The Phils have also been tied to Eduardo Escobar since Machado went to L.A.

Tigers Notes: Greene, Liriano, Castellanos

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  • Dodgers scouts have been watching Tigers closer Shane Greene both before and after Greene’s recent DL stint, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports.  Greene only missed 12 days due to some minor shoulder inflammation, and has since pitched in five games.  He has posted solid numbers (4.19 ERA, 9.63 K/9, 2.3 BB/9) despite some issues with allowing home runs (1.5 HR/9).  Kenley Jansen obviously isn’t going anywhere as the Dodgers’ ninth inning arm, so Greene would bolster the Los Angeles setup corps.
  • Also from Fenech’s piece, he reports that a Red Sox executive was recently in attendance to see Francisco Liriano in action, and notes that Liriano could be a fit as a left-hander out of Boston’s bullpen.  The Sox are currently going with eight right-handed relievers, with southpaws Bobby Poyner, Robby Scott, and Williams Jerez down at Triple-A, all of whom are far less experienced than a veteran arm like Liriano.  While Liriano has struggled overall as a starting pitcher for the Tigers this year, he has dominated left-handed hitters and would fit as a LOOGY in a return to relief work.
  • The Braves have a lot of trade options to consider, chiefly in adding starting and/or relief pitching, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman explores in an overview of the team’s deadline plans.  If Atlanta does look for hitting, there is some speculation that Tigers third baseman Nick Castellanos could be a target, as Detroit has had scouts looking at the Braves farm system (though the Braves’ past interest in Michael Fulmer surely also played a role in those evaluations).  Castellanos may be available, if not outright shopped, in trade talks, though the Tigers have put a high asking price on the slugger.

Latest On Michael Fulmer, Nicholas Castellanos

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  • It seems the Tigers likely won’t be moving some of their most notable potential trade assets. Jayson Stark of The Athletic had tweeted that Detroit isn’t interested in structuring a deal involving starter Michael Fulmer while he’s on the DL and likely won’t be moving outfielder Nicholas Castellanos “barring a huge overpay.” He has pared down those rather definitive characterizations in a subsequent tweet, suggesting greater openness on the Tigers’ part to consider trade scenarios. There’s still no real indication that either player is particularly likely to be moved, though it seems that talks could still take place.

Latest On Michael Fulmer

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  • Though an oblique strain sent Michael Fulmer to the DL on Friday, at least one team still has some trade interest in the Tigers right-hander, a rival scout for the mystery team told The Athletic’s Emily Waldon (Twitter link).  Much depends, obviously, on how quickly Fulmer is able to return from the injury, as he wouldn’t be able to pitch in the postseason for any club that acquired him after August 31.  I’d think that unless Fulmer makes an unusually speedy recovery, the Tigers would prefer to wait until the offseason so they could gain full value for what might be their best trade asset.  The Athletics can probably be ruled out as the team still in on Fulmer, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link) notes that the A’s had “some interest,” though that was prior to the injury news.

Red Sox, A’s, Others “Evaluating” Mike Fiers

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TODAY: The Athletics are also interested in Fiers, according to reports from the Detroit News’ Chris McCosky and MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi, though there haven’t yet been any serious talks between Oakland and Detroit.

SATURDAY: Tigers right-hander Mike Fiers started against the Red Sox on Saturday, but he may find himself on Boston’s roster soon. With the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline nearing, the Red Sox are one of several clubs “evaluating” Fiers, Buster Olney of ESPN tweets.

Although Boston possesses the majors’ best record (69-30) and a five-game lead in the AL East, injuries have recently taken a bite out of its rotation. Mid-rotation arm Eduardo Rodriguez incurred “serious damage” to his right ankle last week, forcing him to the disabled list, and both Drew Pomeranz and Steven Wright are currently on the DL with him. Pomeranz will return Tuesday, but he has been woeful in eight starts this year (6.81 ERA/5.37 FIP across 37 innings). Wright, meanwhile, has been battling left knee problems that have shelved him for the past month and will keep him out for the foreseeable future.

In the absence of Rodriguez, Pomeranz will join either Brian Johnson or Hector Velazquez and the high-end trio of Chris Sale, Rick Porcello and David Price to comprise Boston’s rotation. At best, the 33-year-old Fiers would be Boston’s fourth starter in Rodriguez’s absence, but he’d nonetheless provide the team a proven back-end option. A former Brewer and Astro, Fiers has generally been respectable since debuting in 2011, evidenced by a 4.10 ERA/4.31 FIP with 8.28 K/9 and 2.72 BB/9 over 141 starts (830 2/3 innings).

Fiers endured a difficult 2017 with the title-winning Astros, but he has rebounded this season with the Tigers after signing a one-year, $6MM deal in free agency. Through 111 innings, including 6 1/3 scoreless frames versus the Red Sox on Saturday, Fiers has worked to a 3.49 ERA with 6.65 K/9, 1.95 BB/9 and the game’s 17th-best infield fly percentage among qualified starters (12.7). On the other hand, some of Fiers’ other numbers aren’t so encouraging (39.4 percent groundball rate, 4.57 FIP/4.76 xFIP/4.49 SIERA), which is something the Red Sox and other teams will have to weigh when considering swinging a trade for him. In the event the Tigers do find a taker for Fiers, he could also be on the acquiring team’s roster in 2019 – his final year of arbitration eligibility.

Jose Iglesias Drawing Trade Interest

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  • Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias is of interest to “at least” one team, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free-Press reports. The 28-year-old, a pending free agent on a $6.275MM salary, is enjoying one of his most productive seasons at an opportune time. With 1.8 fWAR in 350 plate appearances, he’s on pace to surpass the 2.0 fWAR mark for the fourth time. The light-hitting defensive specialist owns a .269/.307/.385 batting line and an 8.9 Ultimate Zone Rating, which ranks second among shortstops.
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