Royals Acquire Anthony Misiewicz
The Mariners announced that they have traded left-hander Anthony Misiewicz to the Royals for cash considerations. The lefty had been designated for assignment yesterday.
Misiewicz, 27, seemed to have a nice breakout during the 2020 season, throwing 20 innings out of Seattle’s bullpen during that shortened campaign with a 4.05 ERA, with a 28% ground ball rate, solid 7.2% walk rate and excellent 30.1% strikeout rate. Unfortunately, he couldn’t quite carry that over into the following seasons, as his ERA shot up to 4.61 in both 2021 and here in 2022. His strikeout rate fell to 22.5% last year and dropped even further to 14% here in 2022. He got optioned to Triple-A in June and has fared better in a small sample of 12 1/3 innings, logging a 3.65 ERA, 23.6% strikeout rate, 10.9% walk rate and 51.5% ground ball rate.
For the Royals, they will add a controllable reliever to their lefty bullpen depth chart. Misiewicz came into the season with exactly two years of MLB service time and won’t be able to cross the three-year mark this year due to his having already spent about six weeks in the minors. They can keep him in the minors and see if he can get into a good groove. Amir Garrett is currently the only southpaw in the big league club’s bullpen, meaning there’s a path for Misiewicz to earn his way back onto the roster.
AL Central Trade Rumors: Taylor, Braves, Plesac, Phillies, Fulmer, Sox, Robertson, Givens
The Braves and Royals have already swung one trade together this month, and we’re a year removed from the huge-in-hindsight swap that sent Jorge Soler to Atlanta. Now, the Braves have interest in another K.C. outfielder, as MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter) reports that Michael A. Taylor is under consideration. Taylor is delivering his usual excellent center field defense while also enjoying the best offensive season of his career, with a 111 wRC+ from hitting .275/.345/.395 in 262 plate appearances.
Since Taylor is under contract through 2023, he represents a longer-term option for an Atlanta club that could lose Adam Duvall in free agency this winter. Duvall is already out for the rest of the season due to wrist surgery, so Taylor could step right in as the right-handed hitting side of a left field platoon with Eddie Rosario. Taylor also provides cover in center field if star rookie Michael Harris starts to slump, but playing Taylor and Harris in the same outfield would also make for an excellent defensive pairing.
More from around the AL Central…
- Reports surfaced earlier this week that the Guardians were open to discussing their controllable starting pitchers in trade talks, and Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports that the Phillies have interest in right-hander Zach Plesac. A trade for Plesac or any controllable pitcher would be a little complex, since Cleveland is naturally in the playoff race and is likely looking for at least some players that can provide immediate help. This could perhaps help the Phils, who don’t have a terribly deep farm system, and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski recently said that “I just don’t think we’re there” in terms of having the flexibility to deal their top prospects. Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia thinks the Phillies are likelier to move position-player prospects than young pitchers. Speculatively, a top-100 prospect like catcher Logan O’Hoppe could be of particular interest to a Guardians team that has been looking for a long-term answer behind the plate.
- The Blue Jays are one of the teams showing interest in Tigers reliever Michael Fulmer, according to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter). The former AL Rookie of the Year has revived his career with two strong years as a relief pitcher, and is a natural trade chip for the struggling Tigers since Fulmer is scheduled for free agency after the season. Toronto’s bullpen has been generally solid but somewhat inconsistent, and Fulmer would help reinforce the high-leverage innings in front of All-Star closer Jordan Romano.
- Cubs relievers David Robertson and Mychal Givens are among the bullpen arms being considered by the White Sox, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. While it used to be quite rare to see the two Windy City rivals combine on trades, the Sox landed Craig Kimbrel and Ryan Tepera in separate deals just last year, not to mention the Jose Quintana/Eloy Jimenez/Dylan Cease blockbuster back in 2017. Left-handed hitting outfield help also appears to be on the Southsiders’ radar, as Gonzales writes that the White Sox had interest in David Peralta before the Diamondbacks traded Peralta to the Rays earlier today.
Royals Activate Salvador Perez From Injured List
The Royals announced Friday that catcher Salvador Perez has been reinstated from the injured list. Infielder Emmanuel Rivera was optioned to Triple-A Omaha to open a spot on the roster.
It’s a remarkably swift turnaround for the veteran Perez, who underwent surgery on June 24 to repair a torn ligament in his thumb. At the time of the surgery, manager Mike Matheny told reporters that doctors expected Perez to require about eight weeks to mend from the surgery. Instead, he’s back on the big league roster after exactly five weeks and having appeared in just three minor league rehab games (during which he went 4-for-8 with a double).
Perez, 32, is playing out the first season of a four-year, $82MM contract extension that stands as the largest contract in Royals franchise history. The seven-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner had a season for the ages in 2021 when he slugged a league-leading 48 homers and plated an MLB-best 121 runs, but the pendulum has swung in the other direction thus far in 2022. It’s been arguably the worst offensive season of Perez’s career, as he’s slashed just .211/.254/.426 through his first 236 trips to the plate.
Of course, the thumb issue that required surgical repair could well have played into those doldrums at the plate. Perez first went on the injured list in early May with what the team termed a sprain in his thumb, and while he returned in just three weeks’ time, he was back on the injured list and headed for surgery less than a month later.
The hope for both Perez and the Royals is that the newly mended thumb will bring about a return to form. No one should be surprised if Perez never matches his incredible 2021 output — it’s unrealistic to expect anyone, let alone a catcher with Perez’s workload to replicate those numbers — but there’s obviously quite a bit of room for improvement over his early scuffles at the dish.
Twins, Brad Peacock Agree To Minor League Deal
The Twins signed veteran righty Brad Peacock to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A St. Paul, Brandon Warne of Access Twins tweets. Peacock was recently granted his release from a minor league deal with the Royals.
Once a high quality starter and reliever for the Astros, the now-34-year-old Peacock’s career has been derailed by injuries in recent seasons — most notably 2020 shoulder surgery. Peacock also battled persistent neck and shoulder issues throughout the 2019 campaign.
From 2016-19, Peacock was one of the most valuable and underrated members of the Houston staff, logging a combined 320 1/3 innings of 3.48 ERA ball through 42 starts and another 86 relief appearances. He handled both roles well, pitching as a starter, a one-inning setup option and a multi-inning reliever throughout that time.
Unfortunately, thanks to the slate of neck and shoulder issues, Peacock has pitched a total of 7 2/3 Major League inning since that time. The results have been poor, to say the least: 11 runs on nine hits, four walks and a pair of hit batsmen. He’s fanned just six of 38 opponents in that time (15.8%) and worked with diminished fastball velocity.
None of that sounds particularly promising, but Peacock’s 2022 campaign gives far greater cause for optimism. The right-hander was nothing short of outstanding with the Royals’ top affiliate this year, pitching to a 1.64 ERA with a 27.6% strikeout rate, a 9.8% walk rate and a strong 50% ground-ball rate through 38 1/3 innings of relief (across 35 appearances).
The Twins are widely expected to acquire at least one, if not multiple relievers between now and Tuesday’s 5pm CT trade deadline, and the signing of Peacock won’t change that outlook or reduce their urgency to augment what has been an awful bullpen outside of righties Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax. That said, there’s no harm in taking what’s effectively a free look at a once-excellent reliever who’s enjoying a resurgence at the Triple-A level this season. If Peacock continues to show well with the Saints, it’s conceivable that he could get a look in the Majors sooner than later, but his addition amounts to little more than a dice roll that will complement more impactful acquisition(s) in the coming few days.
Yankees Acquire Andrew Benintendi From Royals
The Yankees and Royals have made the biggest move of deadline season to date. New York announced an agreement to acquire outfielder Andrew Benintendi from Kansas City in exchange for pitching prospects Beck Way, T.J. Sikkema and Chandler Champlain.
Benintendi has been one of the game’s most obvious trade candidates for the past few months. The Royals entered 2022 with designs on competing, but they stumbled to a 16-32 record through the end of May. That made Kansas City an obvious deadline seller, and an impending free agent like Benintendi likely to change uniforms.
New York adds a contact-oriented bat to their outfield mix. Benintendi owns a .321/.389/.399 line on the year, walking at a strong 10.1% clip while only punching out in 13.5% of his trips to the plate. He’s only connected on three home runs, but Benintendi leads the majors with 91 singles and has picked up 14 doubles. He hasn’t looked like the 15-20 homer bat he was during his early seasons with the Red Sox, but he’s made contact on a strong 82.6% of his swings.
Benintendi’s production has been propped up by a career-high .368 batting average on balls in play. As a line drive hitter who uses the entire field, he typically generates solid results on batted balls, although it’s unlikely the Yankees are anticipating his 2022 mark remaining quite so high. Even if his BABIP regresses closer to his .325 career figure, his plate discipline and bat control should support a solid on-base percentage.
Those plus bat-to-ball skills contrast Benintendi sharply with the player whom he’s likely to displace from the lineup, Joey Gallo. New York’s biggest deadline pickup last summer, Gallo has struggled mightily since landing in the Bronx. He’s a .160/.293/.371 hitter in 498 plate appearances as a Yankee, striking out at a massive 38.4% clip over that stretch. Among hitters with 200+ plate appearances this season, Gallo has the third-highest strikeout rate (38.1%) and third-lowest rate of contact on swings (62.2%).
The Yankees are now set to roll out an outfield of Benintendi, MVP candidate Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks — owner of a massive .333/.471/.593 line this month after a slow start to the season — on most days. Giancarlo Stanton is the primary designated hitter, although he landed on the injured list yesterday. New York has already begun to cut back Gallo’s playing time while working the scorching hot Matt Carpenter into the corner outfield mix, and tonight’s acquisition is the firmest signal yet the Yankees are prepared to squeeze Gallo out entirely. It stands to reason they’ll try to find a taker for him in trade before next Tuesday’s deadline.
Judge has adequately handled a move from right to center field this year, leaving Hicks and Benintendi to play the corners. The latter has played exclusively left field since landing in Kansas City’s spacious home ballpark, rating well in the eyes of both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating. Statcast’s Outs Above Average has pegged him as exactly a scratch defender in each of the past two years. He should add an adequate to above-average glove in the outfield while offering a notable improvement over Gallo’s recent work at the plate. It’ll be a boost to a lineup that already led the majors with 523 runs scored.
That the Yankees pulled the trigger on a Benintendi deal is sure to raise a few eyebrows for an off-field reason. He was placed on the restricted list before the Royals recent series in Toronto, indicating he’d not been vaccinated against COVID-19 at the time. That renders him unavailable for series in Toronto barring a change in his vaccination status or the removal of the ongoing prohibition of unvaccinated athletes crossing the border. Reports shortly thereafter emerged the Yankees could be dissuaded from pursuing him due to concerns about his availability.
That obviously proved not to be the case in the end. Jon Heyman of the New York Post and Andy Martino of SNY each suggest (Twitter links) that some close to Benintendi believe he’s now willing to be vaccinated. Ken Rosenthal and Jayson Stark of the Athletic indicate that vaccination status didn’t come up in talks between the Yankees and Royals front offices (Twitter link). Whether that’s because the Yankees anticipate he’ll eventually be eligible to play in Toronto or whether they’ve just decided to accept his possible absence for a few games isn’t clear.
The Yankees, who ironically open a four-game series against the Royals tomorrow, only have three regular season games remaining in Toronto. With an 11 1/2 game cushion over the Jays in the AL East, a three-game absence — if it comes to that — seem unlikely to have much of an effect on the regular season standings, although it could be relevant in the event the Yankees and Jays meet in the playoffs.
Benintendi is playing this season on an $8.5MM salary, around $3.3MM of which will be paid out through the remainder of the season. The teams didn’t make any mention of cash considerations, so it seems the Yankees will assume the remainder of that tab. New York’s luxury tax payroll now sits just under $265MM, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. They’re paying a 20% tax on their first $20MM over the $230MM base threshold, with a 32% fee on every dollar spent between $250MM and $270MM. If they exceed $270MM via future trades, they’d owe a 62.5% tax on any money up to $290MM (with higher fees thereafter). It’s a franchise-record level of spending for the Yankees, who seem likely to explore both rotation and bullpen upgrades over the next few days.
Turning to the Royals return, they’ll bring in a trio of lower minors arms. Way, Sikkema and Champlain were each ranked among the Yankees top 30 prospects at Baseball America, with Way topping the group at #13 in the system. Kiley McDaniel of ESPN concurs that Way is the headliner of the return, tweeting that he looks like a possible mid-rotation starter.
A fourth-round pick in 2020, Way has spent this season at High-A Hudson Valley. He’s worked 72 1/3 innings of 3.73 ERA ball, striking out an above-average 27.6% of opposing hitters. The 22-year-old righty (23 next month) has posted strong ground-ball numbers throughout his early pro career, and he’s walking a career-low 9% of batters faced. Way’s control has previously been spotty, but BA credits him with a mid-90’s fastball and a promising sweeping slider.
Sikkema was the 38th overall pick in the 2019 draft. The canceled minor league season in 2020 wiped out his first full professional season, and he missed all of last year on the injured list. That confluence of factors means he’s made just 15 appearances as a professional, but he owns a 2.48 ERA with a huge 38% strikeout percentage and a strong 6.3% walk rate through 36 1/3 innings in High-A this year. BA praises his strike-throwing ability and suggests his lower arm slot adds some deception to his delivery. He’ll have to be added to the Royals 40-man roster at the end of the season or be exposed to the Rule 5 draft.
Champlain was a ninth-round draftee out of USC last season. The 23-year-old has spent the entire year with Low-A Tampa, posting a 4.30 ERA with a 30.5% strikeout rate against a 6.2% walk percentage in 16 outings against generally younger competition. Baseball America credits him with a mid-90s fastball and a promising slider.
The Benintendi deal will be the first of plenty of dominoes to fall over the next few days. Rosenthal and Stark report that the Blue Jays, Brewers and Dodgers were among the teams that had some interest in Benintendi, and it stands to reason the remainder of that group could look for other ways to add to their outfield. Ben Gamel, David Peralta and Tyler Naquin are among the other lefty-hitting rental outfielders who should be available, although none seems likely to draw as much interest as Benintendi.
Jack Curry of the YES Network was first to report the Yankees were acquiring Benintendi. Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the Royals were receiving three minor leaguers, whom Joel Sherman of the New York Post initially specified were Way, Sikkema and Champlain.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Injury Notes: Alvarez, Reynolds, Garcia, Witt
Yordan Alvarez wasn’t in today’s Astros lineup, as the slugger is still dealing with soreness in his right hand. The same injury already sent Alvarez to the 10-day injured list for a minimum stay prior to the All-Star break, and medical tests during that IL stint didn’t reveal any structural damage. Still, manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including Chandler Rome of The Houston Chronicle) that the Astros will be giving Alvarez some occasional time off due to this seemingly lingering injury. “We knew we were going to have to give him a blow every now and then, but he was sore and we don’t want it to get more sore,” Baker said.
With two homers in 13 plate appearances in his four games since returning from the IL, Alvarez didn’t seem too hampered by this recurring hand problem, though some additional rest could certainly prevent a more severe injury. The last thing Alvarez and the Astros would want is a lengthier IL trip interrupting both Alvarez’s spectacular season and his potential availability for the playoffs. Alvarez is hitting a whopping .307/.407/.668 over 329 PA in 2022, leading the majors in both slugging percentage and OPS.
More injury updates from around baseball….
- Bryan Reynolds told Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he is aiming to return from the 10-day injured list during the Pirates‘ upcoming two-games series with the Cubs on Monday and Tuesday. A left oblique strain sent Reynolds to the 10-day injured list on July 11, though it seems as though he has avoided the lengthy absence that can often come from oblique problems. In fact, the IL stint may have prevented a longer-term issue, as Reynolds said the injury “had been bothering me for a few series before. It got to the point where I needed to say something. I didn’t want to make it worse.” While his return prior to the trade deadline will inevitable spur on more rumors, there isn’t much expectation that the Pirates will actually deal Reynolds, unless another club meets Pittsburgh’s huge demands.
- It looks as though Rony Garcia is heading back to the injured list, as Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jason Beck) that Garcia felt bicep discomfort during today’s start. Garcia was only just activated from a three-week IL stint (due to shoulder soreness) to pitch today, but the biceps issue forced Garcia from the game after only 2 2/3 innings. Hinch said Garcia will be shut down for the time being, creating yet another vacancy in Detroit’s injury-riddled rotation. Five other starters are already on the IL with temporary or season-ending injuries, plus Eduardo Rodriguez is still on the restricted list. Today’s abbreviated outing pushed Garcia’s ERA to 4.59 over 51 innings for the Tigers this season.
- Bobby Witt Jr. is day-to-day with right hamstring tightness, as the Royals made what the club described as a “precautionary” removal of the star rookie after the first inning of today’s game. Tests didn’t reveal any significant damage, Witt told the Kansas City Star’s Lynn Worthy and other reporters, but it would seem likely that the Royals will give Witt a game or two off to heal up. Heralded as one of baseball’s top prospects, Witt has hit .258/.301/.459 over his first 379 PA in the big leagues.
Yankees “Serious Contenders” For Andrew Benintendi
While we know the Yankees have significant interest in superstar Juan Soto, the odds of a deal are long enough that New York has to explore other potential upgrades as well. The latest report pegs the Yankees to be “serious contenders” for Royals’ outfielder Andrew Benintendi, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).
The Yankees currently have the highest-producing outfield in the Majors by the measure of fWAR, but the group has been buoyed by Aaron Judge‘s MVP-type season. An addition could help secure the club against the possibility of injury heading into the postseason. A left-handed outfielder bat would also help to balance a lineup that leans to the right.
Given the struggles of Joey Gallo (88 wRC+), acquiring Benintendi wouldn’t necessarily take the Yankees out of the running for Soto, though that situation is hardly worth a consideration until the Yankees have at least one of the outfielders in hand. Furthermore, the Yankees could simply stick with Aaron Hicks, who has turned it around to post a 110 wRC+ on the year. Hicks has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career, so the Yankees might simply be seeking further depth in the outfield to protect against the worst-case scenario.
With the Royals out of the race and Benintendi heading towards free agency, he should be a relatively low-cost addition for some contender this trade season. Even considering his strong season (128 wRC+), acquiring Benintendi would cost only a shade of what it would take to acquire Soto.
Of course, it wasn’t long ago that reports had the Yankees out on Benintendi because of his vaccination status. The Yankees only have three games remaining in Toronto, however, so it wouldn’t necessarily become an issue until possibly the postseason.
Royals, First-Rounder Gavin Cross Agree To Terms
The Royals have agreed to terms with #9 overall pick Gavin Cross, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (Twitter link). He’ll receive a bonus of $5.2029MM, the slot value associated with the selection.
Cross, an outfielder from Virginia Tech, was always expected to go right in the range with which he was actually selected. Each of Baseball America, ESPN, The Athletic and MLB Pipeline placed him as the #10 player in the class on their pre-draft rankings. FanGraphs rated Cross as the draft’s #15 talent. Evaluators were generally aligned on his projection, praising his combination of bat-to-ball skills and power upside. Regarded as a possible above-average hitter with above-average or plus power, Cross is one of the safer offensive prospects in the class.
The 21-year-old played center field during his junior season in Blacksburg. Evaluators suggest his average speed means he’s likelier to move to right field as a professional, but the general belief is he’s a good enough offensive player to withstand a move down the defensive spectrum. Cross hit .340/.412/.609 through three seasons with the Hokies, including a .328/.411/.660 line as a junior to help Virginia Tech to superregionals.
Jake Brentz Undergoes UCL Reconstruction Surgery
The Royals announced that left-hander Jake Brentz had successful left elbow UCL reconstruction surgery.
The club hasn’t yet provided any further details about the surgery or the expected recovery timeline for Brentz. Although “Tommy John surgery” is the colloquial name for surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament, the club didn’t use that terminology in their announcement. Tommy John usually comes with a recovery period of 12 to 18 months, but there are other procedures that deal with damaged UCLs. For instance, Sean Doolittle of the Nationals just underwent an internal brace procedure that has a recovery timeline of five-to-six months.
Regardless of how long Brentz is out, it seems like 2022 will go down as a lost season at the very least. The timing is unfortunate for Brentz, as he was looking to build off a strong debut in 2021. He threw 64 innings out of the Royals’ bullpen last year with a 3.66 ERA, 49% ground ball rate and 27.3% strikeout rate, though a high 13.3% walk rate.
This year, he was able to throw 5 1/3 innings for the club before landing on the injured list in late April. He was shelled to the tune of 14 earned runs in that time, leading to an unsightly 23.63 ERA, though it seems fair to surmise that his damaged ligament deserves some of the blame for that. He is already on the 60-day injured list, having been transferred there in June, meaning this won’t have an impact on roster construction for Kansas City.
Best Fits For A Whit Merrifield Trade
For the past few seasons, there’s been loose deadline speculation around the possibility of the Royals dealing Whit Merrifield. To this point, Kansas City has resisted that possibility. A career-long member of an organization that is generally among the game’s most loyal, Merrifield was a late-bloomer who signed an affordable early-career extension. That allowed the Royals to keep him at little cost through his prime seasons, which included consecutive MLB-leading hit totals in 2018-19 and a pair of All-Star appearances.
As recently as last season, Merrifield participated in the Midsummer Classic. He went on to appear in all 162 games, led baseball with 42 doubles and swiped an AL-best 40 bases. The Royals hoped he’d be a top-of-the-order sparkplug for a more competitive team in 2022, but that hasn’t panned out. Not only has the team found itself 20 games below .500 at the All-Star Break, Merrrifield is having a career-worst season. He owns a .240/.292/.343 line through 373 plate appearances, offense that checks in 22 percentage points below league average by measure of wRC+.
Merrifield is signed through the end of next season. The Royals restructured his deal during Spring Training, so he’s making $7MM this year (about $2.73MM of which will be paid out after the August 2 deadline) and $6.75MM next season. The deal also contains a $500K buyout on a 2024 mutual option. With the affordable control and Merrifield’s trade value at a low ebb, the Royals don’t have to force a trade over the next two weeks. Nevertheless, Jon Heyman of the New York Post wrote last month the club was more amenable to dealing him than they’ve been in years past.
Even during a down year, Merrifield should draw attention from other clubs. He remains a high-contact bat and an excellent baserunner, having stolen 14 more bags while being caught just twice. He’s typically a solid defender at both second base and in the corner outfield, although public metrics are down a bit on his first-half performance in that regard. Merrifield has also looked more like himself of late, hitting .269/.322/.392 with 15 doubles and 11 steals in 65 games since the start of May. His April was abysmal, but he’s been productive for the past two and a half months and has a quality career body of work.
If the Royals were to seriously market Merrifield over the next two weeks, which teams stand out as the best fits? With a season and a half of remaining control, it’ll have to be a team that realistically feels it can compete by 2023. The Pirates, Reds, A’s, Cubs, Diamondbacks and Nationals can probably be ruled out on that alone. The Rockies and Rangers have their sights set on competing next year, but neither is likely to preemptively acquire a second baseman this summer. The Tigers are perhaps a bit more plausible given the tough season they’ve gotten from Jonathan Schoop, but they’re going to be more focused on dealing some players than acquiring a notable veteran from a division rival with an eye towards 2023.
Of the remaining two-thirds of the league’s teams, which seem likeliest to be in touch with Royals president of baseball operations Dayton Moore and general manager J.J. Piccolo?
Best Fits
Mariners — Seattle has won 14 in a row to go into the All-Star Break owners of a 51-42 record. It’s still an uphill battle to catch the Astros in the AL West, but they’re firmly in the Wild Card mix and likely to look for ways to upgrade over the next two weeks. No position stands out more than second base, where Seattle has gotten a collective .212/.279/.299 line. Offseason acquisition Adam Frazier has underwhelmed, as has last year’s deadline pickup Abraham Toro. The M’s could move Ty France to second base, but he’s better suited for first base/designated hitter duty. Frazier’s headed towards free agency after this season anyhow, and Merrifield could be an affordable upgrade for both the remainder of this season and next.
White Sox — The White Sox have had a generally underwhelming season, but they’re coming out of the Break just three games back in the AL Central. The second base tandem of Leury García and Josh Harrison hasn’t panned out, although Harrison has been alright over the past month. Merrifield would still be a definitive upgrade there, and his relatively modest salary should be particularly appealing to a team already sporting a franchise-record payroll. Would the Royals be willing to deal Merrifield inside the division? They’d surely like to compete next season, so perhaps that’ll give them some hesitance, but he’d only be under contract for one season of plausible contention.
Dodgers — Heyman reported last week that the Dodgers have already been in touch with the Royals. Second base isn’t really a need for L.A., with former top prospect Gavin Lux enjoying his awaited breakout season. Lux has seen some time in left field of late while the Dodgers have been without Chris Taylor, though, and their offseason pickup of Hanser Alberto as a righty-hitting utilityman hasn’t worked. Landing Merrifield may lead to a bit of a position player surplus once Taylor returns from the injured list, but the Dodgers haven’t been deterred by having “too much talent” in recent years.
Giants — The Giants are in a similar boat as their archrivals. They have a handful of second base-caliber players, and righties Wilmer Flores and Thairo Estrada are playing well. Tommy La Stella is off to a rough start after opening the year on the injured list, and the Giants have already been tied to Brandon Drury. That suggests they’re open to adding another righty-swinging versatile infielder. Merrifield doesn’t have Drury’s power, but his high-contact game may be a better fit for Oracle Park.
Brewers — The Brewers are expected to look for another bat this summer as they battle the Cardinals at the top of the NL Central. Kolten Wong has been a slightly below-average hitter this year, and his public defensive metrics have tumbled. That’s not too dissimilar from Merrifield, and perhaps Milwaukee will feel he’s not much (if any) of an upgrade over Wong. However, Bob Nightengale of USA Today recently wrote that the Brew Crew could listen to offers on Wong even as they look for other ways to add to the offense.
Longer Shots
Orioles — The Orioles are within 3 1/2 games of a Wild Card spot despite their second basemen hitting only .196/.269/.363. Rougned Odor is just a stopgap, and the O’s are likely to look for a better second baseman this offseason. Actually reaching the playoffs this year is unlikely, but Merrifield is affordable and would be a good fit for a 2023 team that could more earnestly compete. With the 2022 club at least hanging around, there’s an argument for GM Mike Elias and his staff to strike a little early for a controllable player.
Angels — It’s a similar argument for the Angels, although their involvement in the bidding would be strictly about 2023. The Halos have gotten nothing from second base this year, one of the reasons they’re set to miss the playoffs again. Next season will be a turning point, with Shohei Ohtani slated to reach free agency after the year. They’re going to have to aggressively address the roster’s flaws over the next eight months. Nothing stops them from adding controllable players this summer while still dealing rentals like Noah Syndergaard and Michael Lorenzen.
Rays — The Rays haven’t gotten much out of second base this year, but that’s largely because Brandon Lowe missed more than a month. With Lowe back, the keystone is no longer a concern, although Tampa Bay’s myriad outfield injuries could cause them to look at a versatile infield/outfield type.
Braves — Atlanta hasn’t gotten much from Orlando Arcia since Ozzie Albies broke his foot. They acquired Robinson Canó as a stopgap and anticipate Albies returning late next month. That probably reduces the urgency to add a second baseman, although they’re in a tight battle with the Mets and could work Merrifield into the corner outfield once Albies returns.
Phillies — Continuing the theme of “contenders whose second basemen got hurt,” the Phils have been without Jean Segura since May. He’s expected back this year, though, and the presence of top prospect Bryson Stott gives Philadelphia some cover until then. Bullpen or center field help seems likelier.
No Pressing Second Base Need
Each of the Yankees, Twins, Marlins, Mets, Astros, Guardians, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Padres and Red Sox have everyday second basemen locked into the lineup. Merrifield’s ability to play the corner outfield could make him an option for some of this group — the Yankees and Padres, in particular, could look into outfield additions — but they seem less likely to be motivated than teams searching for a second baseman. Much of Merrifield’s appeal lies in his defensive flexibility, and pigeon-holing him into the corner outfield reduces a good bit of his value. Contenders looking for an impactful corner bat to upgrade the middle of the order seem likely to find cleaner fits elsewhere.
Merrifield’s vaccination status also impacts some teams’ pursuits, most notably the Blue Jays. He was not permitted to travel to Canada for the Royals series in Toronto last week, and similar concerns reportedly diminished the Yankees’ interest in teammate Andrew Benintendi. Merrifield told reporters he’d be open to reconsidering his stance on getting vaccinated if dealt to a playoff contender that could have to travel across the border for meaningful games. He stopped short of firmly declaring he’d do so, however, and questions about his availability for those games could be of concern for some teams.
There’s no guarantee the Royals will actually follow through on a Merrifield trade. This is far from the first time his name has made the rounds on the rumor circuit, and Kansas City has yet to pull the trigger on a deal (or seemingly come close). If the front office takes a different approach this summer, teams like the Mariners, White Sox, Dodgers, Giants and Brewers feel like the most plausible suitors.