Angels Promote Jo Adell, Chris Rodriguez
The Angels have recalled outfield prospect Jo Adell and right-hander Chris Rodriguez from Triple-A Salt Lake, per a club announcement. Rodriguez, who was in the team’s bullpen earlier this season, will make his first MLB start tonight against the Rangers.
This will be the second call to the Majors for Adell, 22, who struggle mightily in his first go-around last summer. At the time, Adell had just 27 Triple-A games under his belt when making the jump to the big leagues. He’d have garnered more experience there if possible, but the cancellation of the 2020 minor league season deprived him of that opportunity.
So far in 2021, Adell has certainly looked like a player who’s benefited from the extra developmental opportunity in Salt Lake. After hitting just .161/.212/.266 in 132 Major League plate appearances last summer, Adell has returned to Salt Lake and posted a hearty .289/.342/.592 slash with 23 home runs in 339 plate appearances. By measure of wRC+, that’s “only” about 19 percent better than league-average in a supercharged Triple-A offensive environment, but Adell’s recent work has certainly been improving. Since the calendar flipped to July, Adell has absolutely mashed to the tune of a .339/.387/.615 line. He’s dropped his long-problematic strikeout rate to 24.4 percent in that time.
Adell entered the 2020 season as a consensus Top 10 prospect in all of baseball and still ranked No. 13 on Baseball America’s preseason list heading into the current campaign. He fell a bit shy of a full year of service time in 2020, so the timing of his 2021 promotion has no real impact on his path to free agency. Adell accrued 153 days of service in 2020, leaving him 19 days shy of a full year. He’d have finished the current season as a one-plus player whether he was called up on Opening Day or called up on Sept. 1. The later nature of his promotion does remove the possibility of him qualifying as a Super Two player — barring future demotions that further alter his service time — but he’d have been controllable through the 2026 season in virtually any scenario that saw him called to the Majors in 2021.
As for Rodriguez, the 23-year-old righty is a well-regarded farmhand himself. He hasn’t drawn Adell’s level of national fanfare, but he impressed with 19 2/3 frames of 3.66 ERA relief as a 22-year-old earlier this season and will now transition into the rotation — a role the Angels hope he can hold down over the long term.
A back injury that ultimately required surgery has limited Rodriguez’s innings count since he was selected in the fourth round of the 2016 draft. Accordingly, he’s pitched just 117 2/3 innings in total since that selection — including this year’s work both in the minors and in the big leagues. He’ll add a potential power arm to the team’s rotation mix, as he averaged just shy of 97 mph on his heater as a reliever earlier in the year. Given that lack of total innings, it’s not a surprise that the Angels started Rodriguez in the bullpen this year to limit his workload and build him up for future seasons.
Between Rodriguez and the recently promoted Reid Detmers, the Halos are hoping that some of their farm system’s most-promising arms can both help them claw back into the 2021 Wild Card hunt and also gain some vital experience for future seasons. Neither pitcher is guaranteed a spot in the 2022 rotation, but it stands to reason that the final two months could serve as an audition — as is the case with Adell in the corner outfield.
Injury Updates: Guillorme, Rendon, Trout, Walsh, Ohtani, Schwarber, Lamet
The Mets placed Luis Guillorme on the IL today with a left hamstring strain, according to Mike Puma of The New York Post. RHP Geoff Hartlieb was added to the roster in a corresponding move. Guillorme has been a solid contributor on a Mets team that has dealt with its fair share of injuries this year. Across 57 games, Guillorme has racked up a wRC+ of 116 while filling in at second base, third base and shortstop. The timing isn’t so bad for the Mets, as they just strengthened their infield by adding Javier Baez in a deadline deal with the Cubs. As for Hartlieb, he’s produced solid results at Triple-A this year. Despite a walk rate of 10.5%, he has an ERA of 1.86, thanks to a hefty strikeout rate of 34.2%. His numbers at the major league level aren’t as good, but in a very small sample size of six innings.
Other injury updates from around the league…
- Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register provides some updates from manager Joe Maddon on various injured Angels. Anthony Rendon “still isn’t doing any baseball activity,” since going on the IL almost a month ago. “I spoke with him yesterday and he wasn’t highly optimistic about things,” Maddon is quoted as saying. This seems to be yet another in a series of disappointments for Rendon this year. He’s been injured multiple times and, even when healthy, played well below his usual level from recent years. There’s also a murky update on Mike Trout and his injured calf. Doctors have told him he’s “free to do more work when he no longer feels discomfort,” which seems to imply that the discomfort remains. The update on Jared Walsh, out with a right intercostal strain, is slightly better. The first baseman “has been able to hit and throw.” As for Shohei Ohtani, who was recently hit on his thumb by a foul ball while in the dugout, Maddon says they expect him to start again on Thursday or Friday.
- The Red Sox swung a trade before the deadline to add Kyle Schwarber, even though he was on the IL at the time with a hamstring injury. But it doesn’t seem like he’s too far removed from making his Boston debut. Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe spoke to Alex Cora, who said that Schwarber is “close” to a rehab assignment. The plan is for Schwarber to get work at first base, since the Red Sox already have their outfield and DH slots filled by Alex Verdugo, Jarren Duran, Hunter Renfroe and J.D. Martinez. The first base playing time has largely been going to Bobby Dalbec and his wRC+ of 74. Before going on the IL, Schwarber’s wRC+ was sitting at 137. Assuming he can play passable defense, that would be a tremendous upgrade for the team. But he’s played only one major league game at first, which was back in 2017.
- Dinelson Lamet is going to begin a rehab assignment on Wednesday, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. The plan seems to be to prepare Lamet for a bullpen role, since there’s not much time remaining in the season to build him back up for a full workload, and because he’s struggled to stay healthy this year. The righty was utterly dominant in 2020’s shortened season, throwing 69 innings with an ERA of 2.09 and a superb strikeout rate of 34.8%. This year, in between stints on the IL, his numbers have faded to an ERA of 3.67 and 25.5% strikeout rate. The club will be hoping that a smaller workload will help Lamet bridge some of that gap.
Angels Promote Reid Detmers
TODAY: The Angels officially announced that Detmers’ contract has been selected. Infielder Kean Wong was also recalled from Triple-A, while James Hoyt and Luis Rengifo were optioned to Triple-A yesterday to open up roster space.
JULY 30, 8:10PM: Cobb is indeed going on the IL, according to the team. But it’s because of “right wrist inflammation” and not a blister.
7:19 PM: The Angels are going to promote top pitching prospect Reid Detmers to make his major league debut, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. Although Bollinger originally said the debut would be Saturday, the club later announced a change of plans, with Detmers starting on Sunday. Detmers is not on the 40-man roster but a corresponding move may not be necessary since the Angels subtracted from their roster with the earlier trades of Andrew Heaney and Tony Watson. Detmers, a 22-year-old lefty, is the Angels #2 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, behind only Brandon Marsh, who was himself recently promoted.
This marks a fast jaunt through the minors for Detmers, having been drafted just over a year ago. He was the 10th overall selection in the 2020 draft and is widely-considered one of the top prospects in the game. He is currently ranked #24 at Baseball America, #57 at MLB Pipeline and #39 at FanGraphs. The Angels started Detmers in Double-A earlier this year and saw him flourish immediately. In 54 innings, he had a 3.50 ERA with an amazing strikeout rate of 43.1% and a stingy walk rate of just 3%. After being promoted to Triple-A, Detmers made one start, throwing six shutout innings with nine strikeouts and no walks. The Angels obviously felt they had seen enough to fast-track him to the majors.
Detmers will step into a six-man rotation that has struggled thus far this season. Despite some excellent contributions from Shohei Ohtani, Patrick Sandoval and Alex Cobb, the rotation ERA currently sits at 4.82 on the year, which puts them 21st in the league. That’s thanks to some woeful performances from Griffin Canning, Jose Quintana and Dylan Bundy.
Quintana and Bundy have also been making appearances out of the bullpen lately. But it’s unclear how the rotation will proceed in the short-term. Ohtani might have his start pushed back after recently getting hit on the thumb of his throwing hand by a foul ball, notes Bollinger. Additionally, Alex Cobb‘s blister issue has persisted enough that he may hit the IL, according to Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.
July Headlines: American League
We covered the National League yesterday, so let’s look at the American League’s biggest transactional headlines from a wild month of July…
Windy City Trade Winds: “Help from within” had a few different meanings for the White Sox last month, as the return of Eloy Jimenez from the injured list and Luis Robert beginning his own rehab assignment could end up being the biggest factors for the Pale Hose down the stretch. However, the Sox also found help from within the Chicago city limits, lining up with the Cubs (of all times) on a pair of trades that brought Craig Kimbrel and Ryan Tepera into an already-solid bullpen. A prospect package of Nick Madrigal and Cody Heuer was required to land Kimbrel, but it was a steep price the White Sox were willing to pay.
Madrigal’s season-ending hamstring tear in June created a vacancy for the White Sox at second base, so once again, the Sox looked within the AL Central and picked up Cesar Hernandez from the Indians. Hernandez could be a rental player, or he might be a factor for the 2022 team considering his affordable $6MM club option for next season.
Rays On Cruz Control: It was in many ways a typical deadline month for the Rays, who both added and subtracted some key personnel in order to constantly improve the roster (and payroll) situations. Landing Nelson Cruz from the Twins was perhaps the atypical move, as the Rays took on Cruz’s $4.8MM in remaining salary, yet Cruz offers superstar-level power to the lineup. Beyond Cruz, Tampa Bay also at least looked into the likes of Trevor Story, Craig Kimbrel, Kris Bryant, Jose Berrios, and Kyle Gibson.
Lower-level trades saw Tampa add Jordan Luplow and DJ Johnson (from the Indians), Shawn Armstrong (from the Orioles), and JT Chargois from the Mariners. That same Seattle trade saw Diego Castillo head to the M’s, while the Rays also dealt left-hander Rich Hill to the Mets in yet another move. You’d think a team moving its nominal closer and a veteran starter would fall into the “seller” category, but that isn’t how the AL East-leading Rays operate.
Athletics Stock Up: The A’s focused mostly on the position player side of their roster, highlighted by the trade that brought Starling Marte from the Marlins in exchange for prized (albeit oft-injured) pitching prospect Jesus Luzardo. Miami will eat the rest of Marte’s approximate $4.57MM salary for the season, so the Athletics were willing to part with a quality young arm for essentially a free rental player who should provide an immediate jolt to the Oakland lineup. A subsequent deal with the Nationals brought even more veteran depth in Josh Harrison and Yan Gomes.
On the pitching side, the Athletics landed Andrew Chafin in a deadline deal with the Cubs, while also adding Sam Moll as further depth in an early-July swap with the Diamondbacks. While the A’s definitely fortified themselves for the wild card race and a challenge to the Astros’ AL West lead, Oakland didn’t make any rotation adds — a decision that loomed large when James Kaprielien landed on the injured list yesterday.
Rangers’ Rebuild Continues: As one of the AL’s clear sellers, the Rangers were a popular team for trade calls, and the end result was seven young players added — four from the Yankees in exchange for the power-hitting Joey Gallo and lefty reliever Joely Rodriguez, and then another trio from the Phillies for Kyle Gibson, closer Ian Kennedy, and a noteworthy prospect in righty Hans Crouse. The deal with Philadelphia netted the most notable name of the seven in Spencer Howard, who has yet to emerge after 52 2/3 MLB innings but is still considered one of baseball’s better young arms.
Texas was able to score such a haul since Gibson’s career year drew him a lot of attention, and Kennedy (a minor league signing in the offseason) bounced back from a rough 2020 to continue his late-career reinvention as a quality bullpen arm. The Rangers looked into a contract extension with Gallo, but when talks failed to extend the team’s control beyond the 2022 season, the decision was made to move the homegrown All-Star while he still held a lot of value. Time will tell if the Rangers made the right calls, yet the hope is that at least some of these seven newcomers will become building blocks of the next winning Texas club.
Twins Fall Short Of A True Fire Sale: Minnesota thought their 2021 side would be “the next winning Twins club,” except a disastrous start to the season made it apparent early that the Twins would be sellers. The team took calls on pretty much every notable veteran on the roster, but since Minnesota is looking to limit the disappointment to just one year, the Twins mostly focused on moving players only under control through 2021. The ageless Nelson Cruz was the biggest name of this bunch, as Cruz was traded to the Rays while J.A. Happ (Cardinals) and Hansel Robles (Red Sox) were also sent elsewhere.
Jose Berrios was the exception, as the right-hander is controlled through 2022 but the Blue Jays made too good of an offer for the Twins to pass up. In acquiring top prospects Austin Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson from Toronto, big league-ready young arms Joe Ryan and Drew Strotman for Cruz, change-of-scenery candidate John Gant from St. Louis, and even high-strikeout righty pitching prospect Alex Scherff from Boston, the Twins brought in a collection of players that could help them as early as 2022.
Yankees Load Up The Left Side: After a lackluster first half of the season and a lot of ground to make up on the Red Sox and Rays, there was some sense that the Yankees might be deadline sellers rather than buyers. Uh, nope. The Yankees added a pair of left-handed hitting sluggers (Joey Gallo, Anthony Rizzo) to their heavily right-handed lineup, picked up southpaw Andrew Heaney in a trade with the Angels, and also brought left-hander Joely Rodriguez from Texas as part of the Gallo trade. Just to break up the left-handed theme, righty Clay Holmes was also acquired in a deal with the Pirates.
New York had to give up a lot of quality prospects to make these trades, and also had to carve out some luxury tax space by moving Luis Cessa and Justin Wilson to the Reds. However, the Yankees were able to make these sorely-needed upgrades without moving any of their true blue-chip prospects, and they also continued their season-long quest to stay under the $210MM luxury tax threshold.
Blue Jays Win The Berrios Sweepstakes: Jose Berrios’ ability and his extra year of control made him a hot commodity on the trade market, and Toronto had to move two big prospects (Austin Martin, Simeon Woods Richardson) to get the Twins’ attention. While Berrios will help the club beyond just 2021, the Jays are similar to the Yankees in not being discouraged by a big deficit in the AL East standings, as the Blue Jays feel their powerful lineup and the benefit of actually playing in Toronto again will fuel a surge.
Since late-game breakdowns have led to a number of tough losses, the Blue Jays have prioritized bullpen additions in July. They picked up Trevor Richards from the Brewers early in the month, then added two veterans in Brad Hand and Joakim Soria to join with incumbent closer Jordan Romano in protecting late leads. Between all the trades and the injuries that led to Toronto’s bullpen predicament in the first place, the Jays’ bullpen mix is almost entirely different from their collection of relievers on Opening Day.
Who’s On First At Fenway: Kyle Schwarber‘s unreal home run tear in June added to his reputation as one of the sport’s better power bats, and with the Nationals in pure selling mode, the Red Sox took advantage in landing Schwarber (probably a rental player, given his 2022 mutual option) for a solid but non-elite pitching prospect in Aldo Ramirez. Boston’s lineup will become even more dangerous with Schwarber returns from the 10-day IL, though the team reportedly intends to use Schwarber to fill its first base vacancy, despite the fact that Schwarber has played exactly one game at first base in his 10 professional seasons.
The Red Sox otherwise added bullpen depth in acquiring Hansel Robles from the Twins and Austin Davis from the Pirates, with the latter deal sending former top-100 prospect Michael Chavis to Pittsburgh and former Red Sox GM-turned-Bucs GM Ben Cherington. Like the A’s, the Sox didn’t bring in any rotation help, which stood out as perhaps Boston’s biggest need heading into the deadline. The Red Sox will be counting on Chris Sale to essentially be that midseason rotation boost, as the ace continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery rehab.
Houston, We Have A Bullpen: The Astros had a relatively quiet deadline in comparison to many of the top contenders, though with a heavy-hitting lineup and a good amount of rotation depth, Houston had arguably fewer holes to fill than most. It’s also safe to say that avoiding the luxury tax was also a chief concern, given how the Astros’ moves played out.
That left the relief corps as the Astros’ primary target. Houston brought in Yimi Garcia (from the Marlins), Phil Maton (from the Indians) and, in a surprising deal between two division rivals, Kendall Graveman and Rafael Montero from the Mariners. The Astros gave up youngster Abraham Toro and veteran reliever Joe Smith to Seattle, while speedy center fielder Myles Straw went to Cleveland for Maton and catching prospect Yainer Diaz. It made for a decent but not overly substantial price to pay for bullpen upgrades, and the cost will look pretty negligible if the Astros make another deep playoff run
Trader Jerry At It Again: That aforementioned Graveman/Montero trade left some hard feelings within the Mariners’ clubhouse, considering that the surprising M’s are in the thick of the wild card race. However, GM Jerry Dipoto insisted that the move was part of a larger plan, and the Mariners indeed made some further pitching additions by acquiring Tyler Anderson for the rotation and Diego Castillo to replace Graveman in the bullpen. All in all, the Mariners made what they feel is an overall improvement to the roster, while not going overboard in dealing young talent when the team might really be looking at 2022 as its true return to contention.
Guarding Their Assets: Getting a new team name counts as a pretty big acquisition, but while the Indians aren’t out of the playoff race, their July moves were mostly geared towards saving some payroll space and preparing for a better run in 2022. Cesar Hernandez was traded to the White Sox and Eddie Rosario was dealt to the Braves, clearing some money off the 2021 books, and the Tribe also got an interesting pitching prospect in Peyton Battenfield in exchange for moving Jordan Luplow and DJ Johnson to the Rays. Losing Phil Maton to the Astros is an acceptable price for a new everyday center fielder, and Cleveland hopes it landed such a player in Myles Straw.
Royals Say Goodbye To A Franchise Staple: The Royals were undoubtedly disappointed to be deadline sellers considering their aggressive winter and their red-hot star to the season, but K.C. stuck to moving veteran rentals rather than any longer-term players (such as Whit Merrifield, who was again the topic of much trade speculation). The most notable name moved was longtime hurler Danny Duffy, who agreed to waive his no-trade protection to chase a ring with the Dodgers. Former AL home run leader Jorge Soler was also dealt to the outfield-needy Braves, ending Soler’s Kansas City tenure on the disappointing note of a rough 2021 campaign. The Royals also swung a few lower-level deals earlier in July, acquiring Joel Payamps from the Blue Jays and dealing Kelvin Gutierrez to the Orioles and Alcides Escobar to the Nationals.
Arms Leave Anaheim: The Angels had a pretty quiet deadline, perhaps befitting a team that doesn’t entirely want to sell (since stars like Mike Trout will return from the IL) but also faces a big hill to climb to truly get back into the playoff race. The Halos ended up moving a pair of impending free agents in starter Andrew Heaney and reliever Tony Watson, netting some prospects for the long term, but in the short term hampering a pitching staff that is already a weak link. In another minor deal earlier in July, the Angels dealt southpaw Dillon Peters to the Pirates.
Sellers Barely Sold: The Orioles and Tigers were seen the AL’s most clear-cut deadline sellers, yet in the end, neither team did much trading in July. Detroit’s only deal of the month sent Daniel Norris to the Brewers, while the Orioles traded Freddy Galvis to the Phillies and Shawn Armstrong to the Rays.
Marlins Discussed Trades Involving Bryan Reynolds, Brandon Marsh
Prior to the trade deadline, the Marlins were looking for outfield help, and explored what would have been a pair of major deals. Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of The Miami Herald report that the Marlins checked in with the Pirates about All-Star center fielder Bryan Reynolds, and also discussed a fascinating deal with the Angels that would have seen Miami acquire outfielder Brandon Marsh in exchange for Max Meyer, the third overall pick of the 2020 draft.
It’s probably safe to assume that almost every team in baseball at least asked the Pirates about Reynolds, who has delivered great results in two of his three MLB seasons. Reynolds has rebounded from a sophomore slump to hit .309/.388/.525 with 18 homers over 425 plate appearances this season, with an .385 xwOBA that ranks among the league’s best.
Reynolds turns 27 in January and is controlled through the 2025 season, making him one of the few assets that the rebuilding Pirates weren’t looking to move in general, and certainly not for anything short of a huge return. “Pittsburgh wanted more than the Marlins were willing to consider,” Jackson/Mish write, so talks ultimately didn’t pan out.
As for the negotiations with the Angels, other players may have been involved in the proposed deal, so it wouldn’t have been only a straight Marsh-for-Meyer swap. Such major trades of top prospects are rare, though this particular move would have addressed needs for both clubs. It isn’t any secret that the Angels are looking to add young arms, as evidenced by their two deadline day trades that netted five minor league pitchers, or their 20-player draft class consisting of nothing but hurlers.
Meyer might already be pretty close to the majors, after throwing three years of college ball and making his pro debut this year at Double-A. The right-hander has a 1.93 ERA over 70 innings for Double-A Pensacola and ranks 38th on Baseball America’s midseason top 100 prospects list.
As impressive as Meyer has been, he is only one of several impressive pitchers at both the MLB and minor league levels of Miami’s organization. With this surplus in mind, Jackson/Mish write that the Marlins are looking to deal a pitcher for “a front-line offensive prospect” like Marsh, who made his Major League debut earlier this month.
Marsh had an even higher placement on BA’s midseason list, ranking as the 26th-best prospect in all of baseball. His first taste of Triple-A ball was limited to 24 games due to shoulder inflammation, but he hit well over that limited playing time and earned his first look at the MLB level. Seen as a center fielder of the future, Marsh would be a natural replacement for Starling Marte up the middle in Miami, and the Angels might be willing to move such a player for premium pitching talent since L.A. has another big outfield prospect in Jo Adell.
Between Marte, Adam Duvall, and Corey Dickerson, the Marlins have traded three veteran outfielders in a little over a month’s time, making the position a target area for the offseason. Jesus Sanchez and the newly-acquired Bryan De La Cruz will be in the mix as potential starters, though Jackson/Mish write that Lewis Brinson and Monte Harrison aren’t seen as long-term options. For Harrison, “his future with the organization is uncertain” after an internal matter that reportedly involved Harrison having to be restrained after an argument with Marte.
Angels Notes: Deadline Trades, Minasian, Cobb, Ward
The Angels acted as sellers rather than buyers at yesterday’s trade deadline, moving Andrew Heaney to the Yankees and Tony Watson to the Giants in a pair of deals. However, these were the only moves made, as “we were not focused on tearing down this team by any stretch,” GM Perry Minasian told The Los Angeles Times’ Jack Harris and other reporters. The club also explored adding players (including “higher-salary players,” as Minasian put it) to the big league roster, but couldn’t work out any such trade prior to the deadline.
“I think this group has earned the opportunity to continue to compete. To me, we did not go into this trade deadline with the mindset of, ‘Let’s do a total rebuild’ or anything like that.”
With a 51-52 record, the Angels are only on the outskirts of the playoff race, sitting seven games out of a wild card slot and 12.5 games behind the Astros in the AL West. Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon are still on the injured list, so it isn’t entirely out of the question that Anaheim could mount a late charge once those two stars eventually return, and even this slim chance of contention was enough to hold the front office off on unloading all of its rental players. Rumors circulated around closer Raisel Iglesias in particular, though Iglesias remains in an Angels uniform.
Alex Cobb is another of the rental players who wasn’t dealt, and it could be that the veteran righty’s health situation factored into that situation. Cobb was placed on the 10-day injured list last night (after the deadline) due to inflammation in his right wrist, though the injury is thought to be relatively minor.
Acquired in a trade from the Orioles last February, Cobb’s first Angels season has been very solid, as he has delivered a 3.84 ERA/3.62 SIERA over 77 2/3 innings despite dealing with blister issues and now his current wrist problem. Re-signing Cobb would certainly seem like a solid option for a Halos team that still needs pitching, and Cobb told MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger that he has let Minasian know that he would like to stay in Los Angeles, though the two sides haven’t yet had any official extension talks.
“I knew this was somewhere I wanted to be months ago….I’ve told a lot of people, you can kind of see which team is on the verge of being a championship-caliber team, and I don’t know that ‘on the verge’ is right, because we have so many talented guys,” Cobb said.
In less-positive news for the Angels, the team announced that Taylor Ward suffered a non-displaced left rib fracture during a Triple-A game yesterday, and Ward has been placed on the minor league injured list. There isn’t any current word on how long Ward could be out of action.
It’s a tough break on multiple levels for Ward, who won’t accumulate any MLB service time while on the minors IL. He was only optioned to Triple-A last week after spending much of the season on the Angels’ roster, hitting a respectable .240/.322/.426 over 232 plate appearances and playing at all three outfield positions.
Yankees Acquire Andrew Heaney
The Yankees made a late deal to bolster the back of their rotation prior to Friday’s trade deadline, announcing the acquisition of Angels left-hander Andrew Heaney. New York is sending minor league righties Janson Junk and Elvis Peguero back to the Halos in the deal.
Heaney, 28, will be a rental option for the Yankees, as he’s playing out his final arbitration season on a $6.75MM salary. He’s posted an unsightly 5.27 ERA in 94 innings this season, although he’s been sharp in his past couple starts and the underlying metrics suggest he’s been a bit unlucky.
Heaney has excellent strikeout (28.2%) and walk (7.7%) rates on the season and consistently posts strong swinging-strike and opponents’ chase rates. He’s been done in, to an extent, by a low strand rate and a penchant for the long ball that has increased in recent years. A move to Yankee Stadium doesn’t figure to help that latter issue, though the Yankees surely have some ideas to help him curb those troubles.
While the 2021 season hasn’t been Heaney’s best, he’s a former first-round pick — No. 9 overall to the Marlins in 2012 — and top prospect who came into the 2021 season with a decent track record. From 2018-20, Heaney pitched 342 innings for the Halos and worked to a solid 4.42 ERA with strikeout and walk rates that were notably better than the league average. He’s not a flamethrower, but he’s been a solid fourth starter whose K/BB profile has long made him appear as though he’s capable of taking another step.
Beyond having an outstanding name for a pitcher, the 25-year-old Junk is having an outstanding season in Double-A, where he’s pitched 65 2/3 innings of 1.78 ERA ball with a 26.8 percent strikeout rate and a 7.9 percent walk rate. A 22nd-round pick in 2017, Junk has never ranked among the Yankees’ best prospects but provides the club with an arm who’s enjoyed some decent success in the upper minors this year — albeit with the help of a .233 average on balls in play and a 91 percent strand rate.
Peguero, 24, is another strong performer who was omitted from prospect rankings of the Yankees system. He’s split the season between Class-A Advanced and Double-A, working to a combined 2.23 earned run average with a 57-to-16 K/BB ratio in 44 1/3 innings of work. Peguero’s ground-ball rate checks in at 53 percent. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen gave him a mention as an unranked player in his latest overview of the Yankees’ system, noting that Peguero is a strong 6’5″ righty who experienced a big bump in velocity recently, which suggests that he could see his stock rise.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported (via Twitter) that the Yankees were acquiring Heaney. The YES Network’s Jack Curry reported the return.
Giants To Acquire Tony Watson From Angels
The Giants are acquiring reliever Tony Watson from the Angels, reports Jon Morosi of MLB.com (Twitter link). The Giants will send Sam Selman, Jose Marte, and Ivan Armstrong to Los Angeles, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter).
Watson is well known in San Francisco, of course, having only recently completed a three-year run with the Giants from 2018 to 2020. It’s been a bit of a down year for Watson, who owns a 4.64 ERA/4.10 FIP in 33 innings with the Angels. His walk rate, in particular, has bothered his performance, ballooning to 10.4 percent from a career 6.7 percent.
That said, the understated veteran has been remarkably reliable throughout his 11-year career. Giants’ President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi said of the acquisition (per Slusser), “He’s a battled-tested relievers, and we’re going to have a lot of important games down the stretch. His influence, his demeanor, is really an example we want to have set.”
The Angels, meanwhile, continue in their mission to add pitching to their organization. After using their entire draft to add pitchers, the Angels now add three more in the form of Selman, Marte, and Armstrong.
Selman has the best chance of simply taking Watson’s roster spot. The 30-year-old southpaw has appeared in each of the past three seasons for San Francisco, totaling 37 2/3 innings with a 4.06 ERA/5.00 FIP. Selman has been a fine option for the Giants, though he doesn’t come with the same track record that Watson does.
As for the youngsters, Marte, 25, made it as high as Double-A this season. He’s marked a 3.57 ERA in 19 appearances totaling 22 1/3 innings. Armstrong, 21, is a burler 6’5″, 247-pound right-hander pitching out of the bullpen in Single-A. He’s impressed with a 1.88 ERA in 38 1/3 innings while striking out 28.7 percent of opponents.
Angels Make Raisel Iglesias Available In Trade Talks
The Angels have added another entry to an already wild relief market, as MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports that Los Angeles has made closer Raisel Iglesias available in trade negotiations.
It would be the second trade in eight months for Iglesias, who was somewhat surprisingly acquired by the Angels last December as Cincinnati was looking to unload the $9.15MM salary owed to the closer in the final year of his contract. In terms of both 2021 success and overall track record, Iglesias is quite possibly the best closer on the market now that Craig Kimbrel has been dealt, so teams who missed out on Kimbrel could now turn Anaheim’s way.
It isn’t yet clear that Iglesias will actually be moved, of course, and the Angels might just be doing their due diligence in seeing if they can score a big offer for the veteran right-hander. But just the fact that the Halos are listening on Iglesias represents some change of direction for the 51-51 Angels, who are six games out of a wild card spot and 11.5 games back of the AL West lead. With Jared Walsh now on the injured list and some continued uncertainty about when Mike Trout will be able to return from the IL, it could be that Los Angeles is already looking ahead to 2022.
If the Angels were indeed still planning to make a big push this year, it can be argued that with their overall shaky bullpen, Iglesias might be one of the last players they’d look to trade. Iglesias has enjoyed an outstanding season, with a 3.23 ERA and only a 1.95 SIERA over 47 1/3 innings, and his 38.6% strikeout rate and 4.3% walk rate are both among the league’s best. The 31-year-old is making a strong case for himself in free agency this winter, and he can add to that platform by perhaps helping a contender achieve some playoff success.
Angels Place Jared Walsh On Injured List
The Angels announced they’ve placed first baseman Jared Walsh on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to July 27, with a right intercostal strain. Right-hander Austin Warren has been selected to the roster in his place. Additionally, Los Angeles recalled infielder Matt Thaiss and optioned righty Andrew Wantz to Triple-A Salt Lake.
There’s no timetable for Walsh’s return, although any absence is a tough blow to an Angels club on the outskirts of the Wild Card race. Los Angeles enters play tonight five games back of the Athletics for the American League’s final playoff spot, with the Mariners, Yankees, Blue Jays and Indians all above them in the pecking order. They’ll have to go at least the next week-plus without their All-Star first baseman, who has hit .266/.320/.516 with 22 home runs over 394 plate appearances.
Warren is now set to make his major league debut. The 25-year-old has worked 36 1/3 innings of relief with Salt Lake this season. While his 6.19 ERA isn’t appealing, Warren has struck out a lofty 27.1% of opposing hitters against a slightly elevated 10.8% walk rate.