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Cafardo’s Latest: Gray, A’s, Giants, Twins, Pads

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Athletics executive vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane is elite at maximizing players’ values, opines the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo, who writes that Beane is in prime position to shine as this year’s trade deadline approaches. The last-place A’s, who are likely to sell, have appealing trade chips like outfielder Josh Reddick, starter Rich Hill and relievers Ryan Madson, Sean Doolittle and John Axford. None will be as intriguing as 26-year-old right-hander Sonny Gray if the A’s put him on the block, though. The A’s are unsure about whether to make Gray available, per Cafardo, who reports that double-digit scouts from contenders take in each of his starts.

More rumblings from Cafardo:

  • The Giants are aggressively shopping for relief help and a middle-of-the-order hitter to fill the void left by the injured Hunter Pence. Bullpen possibilities include Twins righty Kevin Jepsen and southpaw Fernando Abad, both of whom the Giants have recently scouted. As far as the outfield goes, any of Ryan Braun – whom the Giants have discussed with Milwaukee – struggling Padre Matt Kemp or free agent Carl Crawford could end up in San Francisco. Kemp has recovered at the plate from a nightmarish May this month, but he remains a defensive liability who’s owed $21.5MM annually through 2019.
  • Jepsen and Abad aren’t the only Twins who might change uniforms this summer. Third baseman Trevor Plouffe and infielder Eduardo Nunez could also pique contenders’ interest. Nunez is surprisingly excelling this year, hitting .318/.348/.485 with nine home runs and 16 steals – the fifth-highest total in the majors – through 249 plate appearances. He’s on a mere $1.48MM salary this season and is scheduled to make one more trip through arbitration.
  • The Red Sox, Royals and Blue Jays are potential landing spots for Padres center fielder Jon Jay, who’s batting a solid .299/.345/.410 through his first 287 PAs of a contract year. Jay, 31, is earning $6.23MM this season.
  • With Colorado having designated him for assignment Wednesday, 33-year-old shortstop Jose Reyes will soon be looking for a new home, and the scuffling White Sox are a team to watch. Chicago already released one veteran shortstop, Jimmy Rollins, earlier this week. His replacement, 22-year-old prospect Tim Anderson, has gone 9 of 34 with four extra-base hits, nine strikeouts and no walks.

MLB Announces Suspensions For Yordano Ventura, Manny Machado

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JUNE 18, 6:36pm: Machado will begin serving a four-game suspension Sunday, Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com was among those to report (via Twitter). That will end Machado’s consecutive games played streak at 229. While the superstar infielder isn’t pleased that he’ll sit out four games and Ventura will miss just one start, he didn’t like his chances with an appeal, reports Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). Orioles manager Buck Showalter agrees with Machado’s stance, telling reporters (including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com), “A good player doing good things and we won’t have him for four days because somebody hit him with a pitch.”

4pm: MLB has reduced Ventura’s suspension to eight games and he has dropped his appeal, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets.

JUNE 9: Major League Baseball has announced suspensions of Royals starter Yordano Ventura and Orioles infielder Manny Machado. The former gets a nine-game ban, meaning he’ll likely miss only a single outing, while the latter will sit for four contests.

Both players appear set to appeal their punishments stemming from a recent brawl. The melee was sparked when Ventura hit Machado with a pitch, prompting the latter to charge the mound. Both players swung at each other and went to the ground as both dugouts emptied.

The suspensions don’t appear to be major causes for concern for either club, though neither is in great position to deal with a loss at their respective positions. Baltimore is already without shortstop J.J. Hardy, with Machado sliding over from third to cover for him. And the Royals have had plenty of struggles in its starting staff.

This is the second significant set of suspensions relating to on-field fisticuffs in recent weeks. Previously, Rougned Odor led a series of other players from the Rangers and Blue Jays by taking an eight-game suspension (later reduced to seven) for slugging Toronto slugger Jose Bautista.

Latest On Jose Reyes

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The Rockies acted decisively on Wednesday of this week, designating Jose Reyes for assignment rather than affording him the opportunity to settle into a bench role upon returning from his suspension under the league’s domestic violence policy. Said manager Walt Weiss today in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (audio link): “To bring in Reyes, we were going to lose either [Cristhian] Adames or [Daniel] Descalso. … Adames is a young player who’s a very good player, there’s not a lot of at-bats for him or innings for him right now because we got three potential All-Stars in the infield. … Don’t want to lose him, especially at his age. And Descalso has meant so much to this club and in the clubhouse. He’s one of those guys that’s been the constants of our team, and he’s swinging the bat very very well. … You’re going to lose one of those guys if you bring in Reyes. And Story, certainly is going to be looking over his shoulder if that’s the case. For our club, for the culture of our club and what we’re doing right now and the good thing we’ve got going, I think it was going to be counterproductive. I think it’s the best thing for Jose, too.”

Here’s the latest on Reyes, who figures to be released in the coming days…

  • ESPN’s Alex Cora tweeted yesterday that the Royals have looked into Reyes as a second base option following the DFA of Omar Infante, though his colleague Jerry Crasnick later tweeted that while there was a brief inquiry, it may have been little more than due diligence. Both Whit Merrifield and Christian Colon are playing well right now, so there isn’t necessarily a clear need to take a chance on Reyes. MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan, meanwhile, tweeted that rumors suggesting that the Royals have interest in Reyes were “simply not true.”
  • Neither the Yankees nor the Mets have interest in adding Reyes, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. Some Mets fans have expressed hope that the team will pursue a reunion with its former All-Star shortstop in the wake of injuries throughout the infield, but Heyman writes that a reunion for the two sides “simply isn’t in the offing” despite a potential need in the infield. Newsday’s David Lennon writes that having spoken to people close to Reyes, a reunion with the Mets would be his preference, and Reyes is willing to move over to third base. That, of course, is largely inconsequential if there’s no interest from the Mets’ side of the equation, and both Heyman and ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin have reported that to be the case since Reyes was designated on Wednesday.
  • The Rockies never wanted Reyes in the first place, writes Bob Nightengale of USA Today, but his inclusion in last summer’s trade helped to offset Troy Tulowitzki’s remaining salary and allowed the team to add a trio of intriguing of young arms to to its minor league ranks. Colorado has been trying to trade Reyes since last July without success, Nightengale writes, and ultimately his suspension and off-field issues left the team with no choice but to release him. “It’s fair to say it was responsible to the situation and to the organization that we talk through every sort of conceivable situation,” GM Jeff Bridich said following Reyes’ DFA. “We certainly had enough time to do that. At the end of the day, we determined that it was best we part ways — best for the direction of the organization, best for what was going on in the clubhouse and best for Jose.”

Draft Signings: 6/16/2016

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There are a lot of notable draft deals to work through from the last two days. Among them:

  • Blue Jays second-rounder Bo Bichette announced that he’s signed a deal, which Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets is for a $1.1MM bonus. A son of long-time big leaguer Dante Bichette, the high-school shortstop landed above the $978,600 value at the 66th overall pick. Fellow second-rounder J.B. Woodman inked for $975K, Callis adds on Twitter. An outfielder from Mississippi, he also will deliver some savings to Toronto. The 57th selection came with a $1.124MM slot value. The Jays also added third-round pick Zach Jackson, Callis tweets. The Arkansas righty signed for $540K, leaving the team with $45,100 in savings.
  • Another second-round pick who’s ready for a minor league assignment is C.J. Chatham, who goes to the Red Sox for $1.1MM, per MLB.com (via Twitter). Chosen 51st overall, the Florida Atlantic shortstop rated just outside the top 100 per Baseball America. His signing saves the club $132,800 against the slot value.
  • The Brewers agreed with second-rounder Lucas Erceg for $1.15MM, Callis reports on Twitter. The Menlo College third baseman rated 47th on the draft board of ESPN.com’s Keith Law. He was taken 46th overall, which came with an allocation of $1,386,900.
  • The Twins are in agreement with second-rounder Ben Rortvedt on a $900K bonus, per another Callis tweet. Minnesota saves $241,600 against the slot value while adding the Wisconsin high school backstop. Cotillo tweets that Twins third-rounder Griffin Jax, a righty from the Air Force Academy, has agreed to an at-slot, $645.6K bonus.
  • The Dodgers agreed to a $590,800 bonus with second-round pick Mitch White, MLB.com’s Jim Callis tweets. The Santa Clara righty ended up going for over $400K less than the 65th pick’s pool allocation, so Los Angeles can put that money to work in other areas.
  • Rays third-round choice Austin Franklin signed for a $600K bonus that falls a bit shy of the $676,200 slot value, Callis tweets. Franklin is a high-school righty out of Florida.
  • The Royals have an above-slot deal with third-rounder Khalil Lee, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets, though the exact bonus isn’t known. Taken with the 103rd selection, the Virginia high school outfielder rated 121st on BA’s board.
  • The Athletics have locked up third-rounder Sean Murphy for an at-slot, $753,100 bonus, Callis tweets. Baseball America had rated him 63rd among draft-eligible prospects, but Oakland got him with the 83rd pick.
  • Bryson Brigman appears to be in agreement with the Mariners for $700K, just under the $708,200 slot value, per a tweet from Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. A shortstop from the University of San Diego, Brigman went 87th overall.
  • The Giants have given an at-slot, $625,900 bonus to Heath Quinn, Callis tweets. The power-hitting Samford outfielder was taken with the team’s third-round selection.
  • The Cardinals signed fourth-rounder Jeremy Martinez, a catcher from the University of Southern California, for $600K, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. That lands over the $421,600 allocation that came with the 136th selection in the draft.
  • Brewers fourth-round selection Corbin Burnessigned for a slot bonus of $536,400, Callis tweets. A righty from St. Mary’s, Burnes took the 57th slot on the Baseball America draft chart on the basis of improving velocity and the possibility of sticking as a starter.

Central Notes: Wong, Nathan, Ventura, Indians, Brewers

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Demoted Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong has begun to play some center field with Triple-A Memphis as a means of expanding his versatility to the team, as MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch writes. Wong, who signed a five-year/$25.5MM extension back in March only to be optioned in June after struggling all season, has experience playing center field from his college days but hadn’t suited up there as a pro until Monday night. “”That’s kind of what our club is all about right now, being able to play multiple positions and give yourself a chance to help us in ways you may not see as obvious,” said Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. “He’s got speed, instincts. All those put together really make him able to play almost anywhere.” The struggles of Randal Grichuk and regression from April star Jeremy Hazelbaker could lead to an opportunity for Wong in center field if his bat returns to form.

More from the game’s Central divisions…

  • Former All-Star Joe Nathan, who signed a minor league deal with the Cubs earlier this season, spoke to Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago about his recovery from a second Tommy John surgery and his eventual aspirations of pitching for the big league club. Nathan said he’s received encouraging feedback from the medical staff thus far and is on pace to pitch in a game on Friday of this week with three bullpens under his belt. Nathan tells Rogers that when he initially spoke to president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, he made it clear that he was willing to pitch in any situation if he is ultimately able to work his way back to the Majors. “I basically told him I know how good your ballclub is with or without me,” said the 41-year-old Nathan. “I’m not here to try and disrupt anything. If you need me to throw in the sixth inning, seventh inning, I’m here for you. Whatever you want.” Nathan could begin a rehab assignment with Double-A later this month, Rogers adds.
  • There’s been plenty of talk as of late regarding Royals right-hander Yordano Ventura, with some reports indicating that he’s been offered to other teams in trades and another from MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan in which a team source called the notion “utter nonsense.” Rob Bradford of WEEI.com adds his hat to the mix, writing that as of Monday this week, a source close to the situation told him that Kansas City is not currently shopping Ventura. The Royals, according to Bradford, are reluctant to part with Ventura because of a lack of an immediate replacement for the 25-year-old and due to the friendly nature of his contract.
  • Indians president of baseball ops Chris Antonetti said in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM today (Twitter link) that top outfield prospects Bradley Zimmer and Clint Frazier have become options for him, though he hedged the statement somewhat, adding: “…whether that becomes the latter part of this year, we’ll see.” A recent report suggested that Frazier and Zimmer — the organization’s top two prospects — wouldn’t be options at the big league level this season even after Marlon Byrd was suspended for 162 games. Cleveland, however, is still without Michael Brantley (whose injury situation is the source of plenty of uncertainty) and has lost both Byrd and Abraham Almonte to PED suspensions. Zimmer, 23, was the 21st pick of the 2014 draft and is hitting .233/.359/.479 with 10 homers and 21 steals at Double-A Akron. Frazier, his Akron teammate, has been even more impressive; the No. 5 pick from the 2013 draft is hitting .308/.402/.500 on the season. Both were consensus Top 50 prospects entering the season.
  • Ryan Braun tells MLB.com’s Michael Wagaman that he’s aware of the trade rumors swirling around his name and has had conversations with Brewers GM David Stearns about the possibility of such a move. Braun says he has a “great relationship” with the team’s management. “As far as I know I don’t think that there’s anything that’s that close,” he adds. “But if it was up to me, if I was running an organization there would never be anybody that was off-limits. I would be open to anything, I would listen to any proposals anybody else has. Certainly they should be doing that with every player on our roster, as should every other team.”

Royals Claim Tyler Olson From Yankees

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The Royals announced that they have claimed left-hander Tyler Olson off waivers from the Yankees and optioned him to Triple-A Omaha. In order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Olson, who had previously been designated for assignment by the Yankees, the Royals have transferred third baseman Mike Moustakas to the 60-day disabled list. (Moustakas is out for the season due to a torn ACL.)

The 26-year-old Olson pitched just 2 2/3 innings for the Yankees this season and struggled, as he’s done in his 27 1/3 innings with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season. He’s had an active calendar year on the waiver wire, beginning with the Mariners before being picked up by the Dodgers and then the Yankees prior to today’s move. Olson has a 4.74 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 81 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level in his career. The 2013 seventh-round pick out of Gonzaga began his pro career as a starter but was shifted primarily to the bullpen with the Mariners last season. He’s made three starts and eight relief appearances with the Yankees’ top minor league affiliate this year.

AL Central Notes: Rollins, Ventura, Nunez

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Following his DFA from the White Sox, Jimmy Rollins hopes to continue his career, per ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). Crasnick speculates that Rollins could make a nice addition as a bench piece for a contender, which seems like a reasonable role for him at this juncture of his career. Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, meanwhile, tweets that Rollins, a Bay Area native, hasn’t been interested in playing for the Giants in the past but has long been open to the idea of playing for the Athletics, for whom he grew up cheering.

A few more notes pertaining to the AL Central…

  • Following up on Jeff Passan’s report from earlier this week regarding Yordano Ventura, FOX’s Ken Rosenthal wrote that he, too, heard that Ventura had been offered to other clubs in trades as recently as a couple of weeks ago. However, Rosenthal adds that when he questioned a Royals official on the matter, he was met with a reply about how perilously thin the Kansas City rotation is even with Ventura on board. That’s not a firm denial, of course, and the Royals could conceivably ask for a rotation piece back in theoretical trade scenarios. Trade talks aside, Rosenthal wrote that the Royals have spoken to Ventura about his maturity issues over and over again with seemingly little effect. The issues go beyond his fiery demeanor, Rosenthal notes, as Ventura is known to even add some dramatic flair to his pitching mechanics during games; while he looks smooth and fluid in side sessions, he’s taken to finishing with a high, exaggerated leg kick during games — a trend the Royals would like to stop. Rosenthal opines that Ventura’s career is at a crossroads, noting that he was a rock in their rotation as recently as 2015 postseason but hasn’t demonstrated a willingness to curtail his emotions.
  • Eduardo Nunez has been an unexpected bright spot in an otherwise dismal season for the Twins, writes 1500 ESPN’s Judd Zulgad, which is the precise reason that he opines the Twins should look to sell high on him this summer. Every action the Twins make from this point forth needs to be with 2017 and beyond in mind, he continues, and moving Nunez (who can be a free agent following the 2017 season) while his value is at or near its peak would return young talent and allow the Twins an extended look at top infield prospect Jorge Polanco. The Mets are one speculative trading partner for the Twins with regards to Nunez, who is batting an excellent but likely unsustainable .332/.357/.531 through 209 plate appearances this season and is capable of playing shortstop, second base, third base and left field.

Latest On Yordano Ventura

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1:32pm: A source strongly contested the report that Ventura had been shopped, telling MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan that it was “complete and utter nonsense.” GM Dayton Moore declined to address the matter, saying that “it’s highly inappropriate and reckless to discuss any specific trade talks about players with the media.”

Passan, meanwhile, stands by his report, which he says has since been corroborated by additional sources (Twitter link).

8:25am: Last night’s plunking of Manny Machado was the latest in a line of questionable actions from Royals righty Yordano Ventura, and Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports writes that his attitude is wearing thin on the Kansas City organization. Indeed, per the report, executives from at least two other teams say that the Royals have offered to deal Ventura away within the last month.

Expectations had been that the now-25-year-old with the high-octane fastball would be entrenched in the K.C. staff for years to come. After all, the club inked him to a five-year, $23MM extension before the start of the 2015 season. That deal also includes two option years valued at $12MM apiece.

There always seemed to be a bit of injury risk, but otherwise the pact seemed a nice bargain for a quality young arm. While he’s been healthy and still delivers mid-90s heat, however, Ventura has arguably been more provocative than productive on the mound over the last two years.

Ventura took a step back last year in the earned run department, seeing a year-over-year ERA shift from 3.20 to 4.08. But his peripherals all seemed in line with his prior work. It’s been different thus far in 2016, as Ventura has retired just six batters per nine innings via strikeout while issuing free passes at a rate of 4.8 BB/9. He’s allowing less groundballs to go with more contact and home runs. After last night’s outing, Ventura owns a 5.32 ERA in 66 innings over a dozen starts this year.

The extension once seemed an asset, but now may no longer have surplus value. Though we’re now one and a half years into the contract, the vast majority of the guarantee remains to be paid. Ventura has received just over $1MM of what he’s owed so far, with an escalating structure that mimics the arbitration process still to come. And there’s no doubt that other organizations will have concerns about Ventura’s questionable reputation and on-field antics.

It’s not exactly clear what Kansas City would be looking to accomplish via trade. Contenders would certainly hesitate to add Ventura to a rotation, and it’s a big commitment even if a club hoped to utilize his live arm in the pen. A swap that would allow the Royals to fill a need at the major league level without adding payroll could make some sense, though that’s just generalized speculation on my part.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/5/2016

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Today’s minor moves from around baseball:

  • Right-hander Jeff Walters has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Las Vegas and will remain with the Mets organization, according to ESPN’s Adam Rubin. Walters, whom the Mets designated for assignment earlier this week, had the option of becoming a free agent after clearing waivers. He’ll instead try to improve on the 9.27 ERA he put up 22 1/3 innings with Las Vegas prior to his designation.
  • The Royals have signed infielder Irving Falu to a minor league contract, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports (via Twitter). Falu, 32, was with the Royals organization from 2006-13 and then spent time with the Brewers, Padres and Reds the previous two seasons. He opened 2016 in the Mexican Baseball League and slashed .359/.410/.476 with five home runs in 237 plate appearances, also adding nine steals. In 130 career major league PAs, Falu has hit .277/.320/.345.

White Sox Acquire James Shields From Padres

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A week after talks between the Padres and White Sox regarding James Shields began gaining “significant momentum,” the two sides have officially reached a deal. The veteran right-hander and cash (reportedly $31MM of the remaining $58MM on his contract) will head to Chicago in exchange for fellow righty Erik Johnson and shortstop prospect Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres general manager A.J. Preller announced.

Since beginning the season with a red-hot 19-8 mark, the White Sox have fallen to 29-26 and have dropped to third place in the AL Central, though they’re only 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Royals. While their starters entered Saturday with the majors’ eighth-lowest ERA (3.61) and seventh-best fWAR (5.7), their pre-Shields rotation was a top-heavy group. Aside from superstar Chris Sale and the underrated Jose Quintana, who has posted ace-like numbers this year, the White Sox haven’t gotten overly impressive production from any of their other starters.

With Shields aboard, the expectation is that either Mat Latos or Miguel Gonzalez will lose his spot in the rotation. Regardless of whether the White Sox demote Latos or Gonzalez, their top four will likely consist of Sale, Quintana, Shields and Carlos Rodon as long as all four are healthy. Whether Shields will stay in that top four beyond 2016 is up in the air, though, as he could opt out of the final two years of his contract at season’s end. That would mean leaving $42MM on the table, however.

James Shields

Shields, 34, isn’t the pitcher he was during his best years with the Rays and Royals, but he remains a competent innings eater who’s on pace to exceed the 200-inning plateau and surpass the 30-start barrier for the 11th straight season. That aside, Shields does come with red flags. After a dreadful final start with the Padres, Shields’ ERA (4.28) is at its highest since 2010. Further, his strikeout rate – which spiked to a personal-best 9.61 per nine innings last year – has regressed to 7.62 (closer to his 7.84 career average) and the control that he displayed in his earlier days has declined. Shields’ walk rate is at 3.61 per nine innings, which is in line with last year’s 3.6, and his velocity has dipped. To Shields’ credit, he has long been a capable ground-ball generator – at 48 percent this year, there’s no sign he’s slowing down in that area. That should help his cause as he shifts to the hitter-friendly confines of U.S. Cellular Field, but he does have the third-highest home run rate among qualified starters since last season (16.9 percent).

For the Padres, this is undoubtedly a disappointing ending to a short-lived experiment. Shields joined the Friars on a lucrative long-term deal as a free agent in 2015, at which point the club gave up the 13th overall pick in that June’s draft to sign him. With Shields in the fold, the Padres had designs on competing for a playoff spot. They instead finished a disappointing 74-88, though, and have begun this season 22-34. San Diego is now rebuilding, so keeping Shields around wouldn’t have made sense.

The 26-year-old Johnson, who’s the more established player the Padres got for Shields, could figure into their rotation at some point. Johnson has posted a 4.50 ERA, 7.1 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 across 98 major league innings. In a 523 2/3-frame minor league sample size, Johnson’s strikeout rate (7.8) hasn’t looked much different, though he has walked fewer batters (3.1) while working to a terrific 3.23 ERA.

Tatis, meanwhile, signed with the White Sox for $700K as a 16-year-old last summer. The Dominican native is the son of former big leaguer Fernando Tatis, and Ben Badler of Baseball America wrote at the time of his signing that the 6-foot-1, 175-pounder pairs power potential on offense with a good arm on defense. Tatis, therefore, could potentially serve as a third baseman or outfielder in the majors.

Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported May 28 that the two teams were discussing a Shields trade, and he confirmed the return for the Padres today. Bob Nightengale of USA Today noted earlier today that a deal was close. FanRag Sports Jon Heyman then reported that the framework of a deal was agreed upon. Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago had Johnson going to San Diego. Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reported that the trade was done. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the amount of money the White Sox will receive in the trade.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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