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J.P. Crawford

AL West Notes: Angels, Crawford, Bailey

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After opting out of their stadium lease last October, the Angels agreed to a one-year lease extension with the city of Anaheim back in January. However, Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times reports that the extension doesn’t mean the team’s lease now expires after the 2020 season. Rather, the January agreement was merely an extension of the opt-out agreement — effectively delaying the team’s final say on whether it’ll opt out at all or remain in its current lease with Angel Stadium, which runs through 2020. The Angels have explored the possibility of building new stadium in Long Beach and in Anaheim, but a third option would simply be to remain in their current park through the end of their current lease in 2029. Angels ownership will have until Dec. 31 to ultimately make that call; Shaikin suggests that any agreement on a Long Beach development would require the renegotiation of a short-term lease in the current facility while the new structure is built.

More news and notes out of the AL West…

  • Prior to embarking on the team’s rebuild, Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto tasked upwards of 20 baseball operations and analytics staffers with identifying potential acquisitions, writes Corey Brock of The Athletic (subscription required). “The most oft-mentioned hypothetically-acquired player was J.P. [Crawford], who was identified by virtually all of those who took part in the project,” Dipoto tells Brock. The organization widely viewed Crawford as an affordable and potentially available shortstop of the future, and Dipoto now says the club is more confident than ever that Crawford can be just that type of piece. The 24-year-old already dropped jaws across the baseball world with one of the season’s most spectacular defensive plays late last month (video link), and the club believes the work he’s put in with infield coach Perry Hill has improved his footwork to the point that he can be a consistent plus with the glove. Crawford’s .241/.321/.398 (95 wRC+) batting line isn’t all that eye-catching, the Mariners are optimistic that his bat will improve as his glove has this season. Crawford spent enough time in the minors this season that he can be controlled through the 2025 season.
  • Last night’s gem from Homer Bailey — seven shutout innings of two-hit ball with one walk and seven strikeouts — was well-timed but doesn’t secure the veteran’s place in the Athletics’ rotation, writes Ben Ross of NBC Sports Bay Area. Bailey has pitched well in all of his home starts and last night’s road outing in San Francisco, but he’s also been torched in visits to Minute Maid Park (Astros) and Wrigley Field (Cubs). Each of Mike Fiers, Brett Anderson, Tanner Roark and Chris Bassitt appears locked into a rotation spot now, and the A’s will soon welcome back Sean Manaea from the injured list. A healthy Manaea would be Oakland’s best starter, leaving Bailey’s status somewhat unclear. The A’s also added Matt Harvey on a minor league contract last night, giving them another potential alternative to Bailey (depending, of course, on his performance in Triple-A Las Vegas).

Health Notes: Mize, Buxton, Astros, D-backs, M’s

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On Friday, one day after Casey Mize left his Double-A start early, the Tigers placed the prized right-hander on the minor league injured list with inflammation in his pitching shoulder. Any shoulder injury for a pitcher obviously isn’t an ideal outcome, but it seems Mize and the Tigers dodged a bullet in this instance. Mize, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft and one of the majors’ elite prospects, had been utterly dominant in the minors this season before going on the IL. Between the High-A and Double-A levels, the 22-year-old has logged 78 innings of 0.92 ERA pitching with 8.7 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9.

Now for some major league health updates…

  • Center fielder Byron Buxton exited the Twins’ game Friday after taking a pitch off the right wrist from Royals starter Brad Keller. Luckily for Buxton and the Twins, though, he avoided a serious injury, La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune reports. “Byron’s doing fine. Wrist contusion,” said manager Rocco Baldelli, who added it’s “pretty positive news.” The 25-year-old Buxton looks to be on track for a career season, having hit .266/.324/.527 (120 wRC+) with nine home runs, 10 steals and 2.2 fWAR in 227 plate appearances.
  • Speaking of center fielders in fine form, the Astros’ Jake Marisnick departed their game Friday with left knee discomfort, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports. It’s unclear whether the issue will force the Astros to send yet another player to the IL. Marisnick, 28, has paired above-average offense with his usual excellent defense en route to 1.3 fWAR in 156 trips to the plate this year.
  • An MRI on Diamondbacks righty Jon Duplantier’s shoulder confirmed he’s dealing with inflammation, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com tweets. Like Mize, it seems Duplantier has avoided a catastrophic injury. The D-backs placed the 24-year-old on the IL on Wednesday, cutting off an encouraging start to his career. Duplantier has pitched to a 4.32 ERA/3.83 FIP with 8.64 K/9 and 3.24 BB/9 in 25 innings (eight appearances, three starts).
  • The Mariners reinstated shortstop J.P. Crawford from the IL on Friday and placed reliever Brandon Brennan on the IL with a strained right shoulder, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Crawford had been out since suffering a left ankle sprain May 28. The injury to Brennan continues what has been a shaky season for the 2018 Rule 5 pick from the Rockies. Brennan leads Mariners relievers in innings (34) and has posted 9.26 K/9 with a 55.4 percent groundball rate, but a high walk rate (5.29 BB/9) has helped produce a 5.56 ERA/4.39 FIP.

Mariners Notes: Healy, Gordon, Crawford, Sadzeck

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Seattle sent outfielder Mitch Haniger to the 10-day IL on Friday with a rather unfortunate injury, making him the latest notable Mariner to land on the shelf. Here are updates on a few others, courtesy of Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter links: 1, 2, 3)…

  • Infielder Ryon Healy had been nearing a rehab assignment, but that’s now on hold after he suffered a setback in his recovery from lower back inflammation. He’ll undergo further tests to determine the severity. Healy, who headed to the IL on May 21, has come up in trade rumors during his absence. Although, neither this setback nor the numbers he has posted over the past couple seasons will do his value any favors. Since a strong rookie showing with the Athletics in 2016, Healy has slashed an unspectacular .252/.290/.436 (96 wRC+) with 56 home runs in 1,316 plate appearances between Oakland and Seattle.
  • Second baseman Dee Gordon, another trade candidate, went to the IL the same day as Healy with a right wrist contusion. But unlike Healy, Gordon actually is progressing toward a return. The 31-year-old speedster started a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma on Friday. He could return to the majors as early as Tuesday, per Divish. Gordon continued his light-hitting ways before his IL stint, as he batted .281/.310/.369 (85 wRC+) in 173 PA, though he did swat three homers (one fewer than he put up 2018) and steal 12 bases on 14 attempts.
  • Fellow banged-up middle infielder J.P. Crawford will begin his own own rehab assignment at the Single-A level on Tuesday. Crawford, down since May 29 with a sprained left ankle, may be back in the bigs by June 14. The offseason trade acquisition showed well in Tacoma at the beginning of the year, leading the Mariners to promote him May 10 and demote then-starting shortstop Tim Beckham to the bench. It looked as if Beckham would temporarily get his old job back when Crawford suffered his injury, but the lion’s share of playing time has gone to Dylan Moore instead. As someone who started 2019 in excellent fashion before seeing his production fall off a cliff, Beckham’s a microcosm of his team. He could also wind up on the move by the July 31 trade deadline.
  • The Mariners put reliever Connor Sadzeck on the IL on Tuesday with a right flexor mass, which doesn’t seem to be healing properly. Sadzeck “felt discomfort in his elbow” while playing catch, according to Divish, who adds the 27-year-old will undergo an MRI.

Mariners Notes: Sadzeck, Gordon, Healy, Crawford

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The Mariners sent reliever Connor Sadzeck to the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a flexor mass in his right elbow, per Greg Johns of MLB.com. Sadzeck will be out “at least a couple weeks,” Johns writes. His roster spot went to right-hander Andrew Moore, whom they recalled from Double-A Arkansas. Moore started the Mariners’ game against the Astros on Tuesday.

The injury to Sadzeck will deprive free-falling Seattle and its shaky bullpen of one of most utilized options for the time being. The 27-year-old Sadzeck joined the Mariners in an April 1 trade with the division-rival Rangers, who acquired righty Grant Anderson in return. Sadzeck has produced good bottom-line results in 23 2/3 innings since then, thanks in part to a 96 mph four-seamer and a 94 mph sinker. He has pitched to a 2.66 ERA with 10.27 K/9 and a 46 percent groundball rate, though a bloated BB/9 (5.7) and a 4.66 FIP do curb enthusiasm about Sadzeck’s performance.

In better injury-related news for the Mariners, infielders Dee Gordon, Ryon Healy and J.P. Crawford are all nearing rehab assignments, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times suggests. Gordon (right wrist contusion) and Healy (lower back inflammation) have each been on the IL since May 21, while Crawford went down less than a week ago on account of a left ankle sprain.

With transaction-happy general manager Jerry Dipoto at the helm, Gordon and Healy could be trade chips when they return to health. Both players have managed uninspiring production since they arrived in Seattle heading into the 2018 season, though, and likely wouldn’t bring back much in a deal.

Gordon and Healy may not be long-term building blocks for the Mariners, but the hope is Crawford will emerge as one. Acquired from the Phillies in a blockbuster trade last December, the formerly elite shortstop prospect got off to a nice start with his new organization before landing on the IL. Crawford, 24, hit well with Triple-A Tacoma and then began his M’s tenure by batting .279/.343.426 (112 wRC+) in 67 plate appearances between his promotion on May 10 and his IL placement on the 29th.

Mariners Place J.P. Crawford On Injured List

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12:10pm: Crawford is indeed headed to the IL, with infielder Dylan Moore coming up to replace him on the roster, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (via Twitter). Manager Scott Servais says the sprain isn’t believed to be too serious but will keep Crawford sidelined for at least a few weeks. (Via Shannon Drayer of 710 Seattle, on Twitter.)

1:11am: Shortstop J.P. Crawford left the Mariners’ game against the Rangers on Tuesday with an apparent left ankle injury. He’ll undergo X-rays, though a stint on the injured list is already considered likely, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times.  Crawford departed after an eighth-inning rundown on the base paths and needed assistance getting off the field (video here via Greg Johns of MLB.com).

Crawford’s not even three weeks into his big league tenure with the Mariners, who promoted him May 10 when fellow infielder Dee Gordon went on the IL. The 24-year-old Crawford performed well in 67 plate appearances between the call-up and the injury, slashing .279/.343/.426 (112 wRC+). Before that, the former star prospect hit .319/.420/.457 with 19 walks against 25 strikeouts in 138 trips to the plate with the Mariners’ top minor league affiliate in Tacoma.

Crawford’s output has been an encouraging sign for the Mariners, who acquired him from the Phillies as part of a December blockbuster trade centering on Jean Segura. This injury could temporarily halt the potential building block’s progress, though. It would also serve as another blow to a Mariners infield that lost Gordon and Ryon Healy to the IL earlier this month. However, Seattle does have an obvious shortstop fill-in, Tim Beckham, who has started most of the team’s games there this season. Since Crawford’s promotion, the M’s have cut Beckham’s playing time.

Mariners Promote J.P. Crawford, Shed Long

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2:33pm: The move is now official. Moore was placed on the 10-day IL and righty Chasen Bradford was optioned to create roster space.

10:49am: The Mariners are promoting young infielders J.P. Crawford and Shed Long in advance of this weekend’s series against the Red Sox, per Corey Brock of The Athletic (Twitter link). Both players are on their way to Boston to join the club. The pair of promotions comes after Dee Gordon exited Thursday’s game against the Yankees after taking a fastball to the wrist. Infielder Dylan Moore, too, is being hampered by a wrist injury and had been slated to undergo testing to determine the root of the issue.

Both Crawford and Long are considered potential long-term pieces in the Seattle infield. Each arrived in the organization this winter as part of general manger Jerry Dipoto’s whirlwind of trades to “re-imagine” the roster moving forward. Crawford, the 16th pick in the 2013 draft, was long considered to be the Phillies’ shortstop of the future and for years ranked among the game’s top 20 overall prospects. However, he was the key piece acquired by Seattle in the trade that sent Jean Segura to Philadelphia, and it’s now the Mariners who hope that Crawford can lock down the shortstop position for the foreseeable future. He’s not ranked among the organization’s top prospects due to the fact that he has too much big league service time to technically be considered a prospect anymore, but the organization nevertheless views him as a vital long-term cog.

Long, meanwhile, will be making his MLB debut the first time he gets into a game and is widely considered to be one of Seattle’s best farmhands. The Mariners thought highly enough of Long to trade last season’s second-round pick, outfielder Josh Stowers, to the Yankees in a straight-up swap for him back in January — barely seven months after the draft. The Yankees had just acquired Long as part of the trade that sent Sonny Gray to Cincinnati, though the Mariners’ interest in Long predated that three-team swap. He’s played second base, third base and left field with the Mariners organization this season, though second base or left field seems to be his likeliest long-term home. Long draws praise for above-average power and speed, and he has a track record of drawing walks at a healthy clip to help offset a strikeout rate in the 22 to 23 percent range.

To this point in the season, the 24-year-old Crawford is hitting .319/.420/.457 with three homers, seven doubles, three steals and nearly as many walks (19) as strikeouts (25) through 138 plate appearances in Triple-A Tacoma. The 23-year-old Long, meanwhile, is hitting .276/.350/.504 with five homers, 10 doubles and four triples while posting 14 walks against 31 strikeouts (also in 138 plate appearances).

The arrival of both well-regarded young infielders likely signals a trip to the injured list for Gordon and/or Moore, and given how important they are to the Mariners’ future, both will probably be afforded everyday at-bats. That’ll likely cut into the playing time of Tim Beckham, although the veteran infielder’s bat has predictably cooled after a torrid start to the season. Beckham hit .410/.477/.846 through his first 10 games but has turned in just a .206/.260/.361 batting line with a 35.5 percent strikeout rate in 104 plate appearances since.

From a service-time vantage point, even if both infielders stay in the Majors from this point forth, the Mariners will control Crawford for five years beyond the 2019 campaign and control Long for six. Crawford came into the season with a year and 20 days of MLB service under his belt, but there are only 144 days remaining in the 2019 campaign, so he can’t reach the 172-day mark he’d need to cross the threshold into two full years of Major League service time. The promotion could very well put both players on track for Super Two status, which would make them both eligible for arbitration four times rather than three — Crawford beginning after the 2020 season and Long beginning after the 2021 campaign. All of that, of course, could change depending on whether either is optioned back to Tacoma.

Mariners Option J.P. Crawford

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The Mariners announced tonight that they’ve optioned shortstop J.P. Crawford to Triple-A Tacoma. While the move isn’t entirely unexpected after Seattle signed Tim Beckham as a stopgap at shortstop this winter, it’s still of some note. Crawford will eventually receive the opportunity to prove that he can be the Mariners’ shortstop of the future, though the former first-round pick and highly touted prospect has yet to establish himself at the MLB level (hence the Phillies’ willingness to move him as part of the Jean Segura trade).

Crawford came to the Mariners with a year and 20 days of big league service time, meaning he’ll need to accrue 152 days of service in 2019 to reach the two-year plateau. As it stands, the Mariners control him through the end of the 2023 season, although if he remains in the minors for five weeks, the Mariners would control him through the end of the 2024 campaign.

The extent to which that’ll be a factor in determining his timeline to Seattle remains to be seen, but that seems like a distinct possibility given the signing of Beckham and Crawford’s generally tepid output in an injury-shortened 2018 season. Crawford was slowed last season first by a forearm strain and later by a fractured hand, limiting him to just 123 plate appearances in the minors and 138 PAs in the Majors. In his time with the Phillies last year, the now-24-year-old Crawford mustered only a .214/.319/.393 batting line.

Clearly, the lack of big league production to this point in his career hasn’t dissuaded the Mariners from buying into Crawford’s potential, but it was clear at the time the organization signed Beckham that Crawford would have to force his way up to the big league roster, and that’s yet to transpire. Beckham signed a modest one-year, $1.75MM salary and is coming off an ugly .230/.287/.374 showing in the big leagues last season himself, and he’s capable of moving around the infield if and when the organization feels Crawford merits a look. At that point, Beckham won’t stand in the way of Crawford’s arrival. For the time being, however, Beckham will team with Ryon Healy on the left side of the Seattle infield following the recent injury to Kyle Seager.

Phillies, Mariners Announce Trade Involving Jean Segura, Carlos Santana, J.P. Crawford

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The Phillies and Mariners have struck a deal that sends shortstop Jean Segura to Philadelphia along with relievers Juan Nicasio and James Pazos. On the other end of the swap, the Seattle organization will receive veteran first baseman Carlos Santana and young infielder J.P. Crawford.

Money is a major aspect of this deal, but it seems the clubs were able to work things out by swapping contracts rather than paying down portions of any deals. Segura will receive a $1MM bonus for waiving his no-trade clause. It seems the M’s will pay, though that’s not fully clear. Segura will keep his NTC rights moving forward in Philly.

Seattle has pulled off a series of significant moves this winter, in service of what the club hopes will be a relatively quick reboot. Cost savings aren’t the only relevant pursuit, but it’s clearly important. In a way, then, this trade feels like a bit of a surprise at first glance.

After all, Segura is not only a high-quality player, his contract rights are generally appealing. He doesn’t turn 29 until March, and he is controlled through the 2022 season on a contract that will pay him $58MM over those four seasons (including a $1MM buyout of a $17MM club option for 2023). With Nicasio’s $9MM salary for 2019 added in, there’ll be $67MM in total heading to the Philly books.

On the other side, the M’s are taking back $35MM owed to Santana over the next two seasons (including the $500K buyout of his 2021 option, which is priced at $17.5MM). Since the other two players in the deal are not yet eligible for arbitration, the Seattle ledger will be left about $32MM lighter at the end of the day.

Beyond the financial savings, which are significant but nevertheless disappointing given Segura’s performance, the Mariners are adding an intriguing replacement at shortstop. Crawford has been a consensus top-16 prospect in the sport (as per Baseball America and Baseball America) in each of the last three seasons, though his messy, injury-plagued 2018 season has certainly dimmed his stock.

Crawford, the former 16th overall pick, first reached Triple-A in 2016. He scuffled at the plate in his first exposure, but came into his power in the following season and seemed primed for a breakthrough. Unfortunately, forearm and hand injuries intervened, limiting Crawford’s time. It’s notable, too, that he went down on strikes in 26.8% of his plate appearances while walking at a good-but-not-great 9.4% rate. Plate discipline, after all, is his calling card. On the other hand, his .214/.319/.393 slash still worked out to a 96 wRC+ and there’s still surely room to grow. Crawford, after all, will not turn 24 until January.

Even while recognizing the very real value that still lies in the rights to Crawford, it’s hard to escape the sense that this wasn’t a deal the Mariners really loved making. While there was some interest from other quarters in Segura — the Yankees reportedly took a look, while the Padres and Mariners discussed a potential blockbuster that would’ve sent Segura and Mike Leake to San Diego in exchange for Wil Myers — it seems it never reached a boiling point. It’s certainly true, as Jeff Sullivan of Fangraphs wrote tonight, that there was a thin market at shortstop. And some whispers of clubhouse issues (including a scrap with Dee Gordon) probably didn’t help. As Dipoto explained tonight: “If the market were higher, we would have made a higher level trade.”

There’s certainly some value in Santana, too, despite his tepid output in 2018. It was just last winter, after all, that the market made him something of an exception for its newfound dislike of lumbering sluggers. The switch-hitter’s plate discipline remains top-notch, and he not only handles first base well but showed he can give some innings at the hot corner.

If you look at it long enough, you can begin to wonder why it is the Phillies were interested in giving up Santana after adding him only one year back. Surely, the team can see that his .231 batting average on balls in play is likely to rise and that he’s more or less the same player they targeted. In this case, though, GM Matt Klentak and co. were faced with some incongruous roster occupants and a clear mandate to improve.

Last year’s experiments provided information, but perhaps not of the kind the Phils were hoping for. Rhys Hoskins failed to make the transition from first base to the corner outfield, creating a dilemma. Meanwhile, Crawford wasn’t quite ready to become a regular at short; neither was Scott Kingery.

This swap, then, suits a variety of needs in Philadelphia. Finding a reasonable way to move on from Santana was clearly necessary. Hoskins can step back in at first base while leaving a corner outfield spot open for some other impactful hitter who can handle the position defensively.

The addition of Segura, though, was surely the driving force. He has become a highly productive offensive player, with a .308/.353/.449 slash line to go with 41 homers and 75 steals over the last three seasons. While Segura is highly reliant on contact, he’s also quite good at avoiding strikeouts (personal-low 10.9% K rate in 2018) and getting aboard when he puts the ball in play (.320 lifetime BABIP). Perhaps he won’t revisit his high-water power point (twenty long balls and a .181 ISO in 2016), but Segura seems likely to deliver above-average work with the bat for much of the remainder of his deal.

It’s not as if Segura is a stretch to play at shortstop, either. He has mostly graded in range of average over the years, with DRS generally valuing him as a slight plus and UZR shading the other way. Regardless, he can handle the job. Segura hasn’t scored as well for his overall baserunning in recent years, but obviously can still run and should probably be viewed as a positive performer in that regard as well.

Some reports had indicated that just-acquired Mariners right-hander Anthony Swarzak was to be passed along in the swap. Instead, it’s Nicasio, who has a similar salary to that of Swarzak and functions in the same essential capacity in this trade. Actually, the 32-year-old Nicasio looks to be one of the most interesting buy-low relief candidates out there on the heels of a bizarre 2018 campaign. He was tagged for six earned per nine over 42 frames, but also posted a pristine combination of 11.4 K/9 and 1.1 BB/9. Clearly, a .402 BABIP and 58.1% strand rate played a big role in the struggles.

Meanwhile, Pazos could be a cost-effective boon to the Philadelphia relief corps, having pitched to a 3.39 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 across 103 2/3 innings for the Mariners from 2017-18. He’s not yet arbitration-eligible and can be controlled through the 2022 season. As Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times notes on Twitter, Pazos exhibited some worrisome trends late in the year, with some velocity loss and “mechanical issues.” Still, it’s an easy chance for the Phillies to take on a potentially quality reliever who’ll still earn the league minimum.

For both organizations, then, this was quite a notable swap — and one that could set the stage for further dealing.

On the Phillies’ side, the club has found an answer at short, but perhaps not in the way some anticipated entering the winter. Manny Machado now looks to be a potential target to line up at third base, which isn’t his preferred position, as Klentak has made clear that the club sees Segura as its shortstop. Having made a significant upgrade without adding much salary (and even while resolving the Santana issue), the Phils also now still seem to have ample flexibility to work with in exploring further major acquisitions.

Meanwhile, Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto has now moved three more established players after already shipping out James Paxton, Mike Zunino, Alex Colome, Robinson Cano, and Edwin Diaz in less than four weeks’ time. Mike Leake and Kyle Seager are also being shopped. And perhaps the team’s most recently added veterans shouldn’t be ruled out, either, with Santana joining Jay Bruce and Anthony Swarzak as pieces that could be moved if the M’s see a chance to add talent and/or save further coin. It’ll be most interesting to see whether any further controllable talent — most notably, Mitch Haniger and Marco Gonzales — could be on the move this winter.

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported that a deal was nearing (Twitter link). USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted further detail, as did Rosenthal (Twitter links). Rosenthal (in a tweet) and colleague Jayson Stark (on Twitter) had details on Segura’s no-trade rights.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NL East Rumors: Fish, Realmuto, Braves, Keuchel, Phils, M’s

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A few National League East-themed rumblings…

  • The Braves reunited with catcher Brian McCann in free agency Wednesday, giving them a decent behind-the-plate tandem with him and Tyler Flowers. Atlanta’s not necessarily out of the sweepstakes for Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto, though, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported this week (subscription link). It appears Miami would need to significantly lower its asking price in order for Realmuto to join the NL East rival Braves, however. Per Rosenthal, the Marlins requested second baseman Ozzie Albies and more from the Braves in the teams’ discussions. Unsurprisingly, the Braves haven’t been willing to part with the 21-year-old Albies, who turned in a 3.8-fWAR rookie campaign in 2018 and is under wraps for the foreseeable future, for two seasons of control over Realmuto, 27.
  • Sticking with the Braves, free-agent left-hander Dallas Keuchel is “high on their wish list,” Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. Keuchel rejected a qualifying offer from the Astros in favor of reaching the open market, but because the Braves received revenue sharing and didn’t exceed the competitive balance tax in 2018, they’d only lose their third-highest draft pick in signing him. While Keuchel does figure to ink one of the richest contracts in this winter’s free-agent class, the Braves may have the money to reel him in, even after committing a combined $25MM to McCann and Josh Donaldson this week. Atlanta has plenty of young starting pitching on hand, but it’s arguably in need of a quality veteran starter like the soon-to-be 31-year-old Keuchel – especially with integral 2018 contributor Anibal Sanchez now a free agent and Julio Teheran looking like a potential trade chip.
  • More from Rosenthal, who tweets that the Mariners have shown interest in Phillies shortstop J.P. Crawford in the clubs’ talks centering on Seattle’s Jean Segura. Acquiring Segura wouldn’t take the Phillies out of the running for free-agent shortstop/third baseman Manny Machado, Rosenthal adds. If the Phillies were to land both, they’d use Segura at short and Machado at third, according to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Although, considering Machado has made it known he prefers shortstop, Salisbury notes that it’s unclear whether Philadelphia would be able to sell him on the hot corner – where he has spent the majority of his career. As for Crawford, he’s young (24 in January), affordable and controllable for a while, making him a fit for the rebuilding Mariners in those respects. Crawford hasn’t lived up to the elite prospect billing he once had, however. Across 138 major league plate appearances last season, Crawford turned in a passable batting line (.214/.319/.393 – good for a 96 wRC+), though he also posted subpar defensive numbers (minus-6 DRS, minus-3.4 UZR) in 229 innings at short.

NL East Notes: Kintzler, Toussaint, Crawford, Arano

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It seems as if some behind-the-scenes drama contributed to the Nationals’ decision to trade Brandon Kintzler to the Cubs, Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman writes.  GM Mike Rizzo reportedly believed Kintzler was an unnamed source in two recent stories (by Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports and Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post) that detailed internal criticisms of the Nats’ clubhouse culture and Dave Martinez’s handling of pitchers.  Kintzler has vigorously denied these claims, saying as much to Rizzo personally.  Once word spread about the situation, Passan even contacted Cubs president of baseball ops Theo Epstein to state that he’d never been in contact with Kintzler and that the reliever wasn’t the one who provided the much-discussed quote about the Nationals’ clubhouse being “a mess.”  Furthermore, as Heyman notes, it seems odd that Rizzo would single Kintzler out for any role in Janes’ piece when several other Nats relievers were quoted by name.  Ken Rosenthal provided an alternate view on the Kintzler trade in a video for FOX Sports, saying that Washington’s primary reason for moving Kintzler may have been to escape his $5MM player option for the 2019 season.

Some more from the NL East…

  • The Braves plan to have right-hander Touki Toussaint make his Major League debut on Monday, manager Brian Snitker told Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link) and other reporters.  Toussaint would be making a spot start in one half of the Braves’ double-header against the Marlins.  Selected 16th overall by Arizona in the 2014 draft, Toussaint and Bronson Arroyo were dealt to the Braves in June 2015, with Atlanta taking Arroyo’s contract off the Diamondbacks’ hands in order to obtain the young righty.  A few middling seasons dropped Toussaint’s prospect stock, though he has gotten back on track with a combined 2.68 ERA, 10.7 K/9, and 2.84 K/BB rate over 86 Double-A innings and 31.1 Triple-A innings in 2018.  Fangraphs ranked Toussaint 51st in its midseason top-100 prospects list, while MLB.com ranks the 22-year-old 76th among all minor leaguers.
  • “It’s hard to see where [J.P.] Crawford fits into the future plans” of the Phillies following what “looks more and more like a lost season” for the infielder, The Athletic’s Matt Gelb writes (subscription required).  Due to both a forearm strain and a fractured hand, Crawford has been limited to just 34 games this season, and has thus been relegated to pinch-hit and utilityman duty behind third baseman Maikel Franco and newly-acquired shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera.  Franco has revived his stock with the club with a bounce-back season, and while Cabrera is a free agent after the year, the Phils also have Scott Kingery signed to an extension and in need of a regular spot on the diamond given the Phillies’ crowded outfield and the presence of Cesar Hernandez at second base.  Plus, there are the ever-present rumors that Philadelphia will soon push to acquire a major position player like Manny Machado.  It’s worth noting that Crawford is still just 23 and has only 199 MLB plate appearances to his name, so it’s far too early to write off a player who has been a consensus top prospect for the last four years.  Still, the Phillies could now consider Crawford as a trade chip rather than a future cornerstone, though it would be something of a sell-low scenario given Crawford’s rough 2018 season.
  • On the other side of the young talent equation, Gelb also writes about Victor Arano’s journey from trade afterthought to a major part of the Phillies bullpen.  Arano came to the organization as a player to be named later in the Roberto Hernandez trade with the Dodgers in August 2014, and he posted some good strikeout totals but overall only decent numbers as a minor leaguer.  Philadelphia promoted Arano from Double-A to the big leagues last year, and the right-hander has blossomed, with a 1.95 ERA, 9.9 K/9, and a 3.59 K/BB rate over 55 1/3 career innings.

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