Jonathan Villar Elects Free Agency
The Angels announced that veteran infielder Jonathan Villar has cleared waivers and elected free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Salt Lake.
Villar, 31, began the season with the Cubs after signing a one-year, $6MM contract in free agency. It looked to be a nice enough value add by the Cubs, as Villar had been an above-average hitter with a nice blend of power and speed in two of the past three seasons (the exception being the shortened 2020 campaign). Even with an ugly showing in 2020, Villar came to the Cubs with a .259/.327/.417 slash over his past 1456 plate appearances.
Unfortunately for Villar and for both of the teams for which he’s suited up this year, his 2022 season looks a lot more like his 2020 campaign than his strong 2019 and 2021 years. The Cubs cut Villar loose after he hit just .222/.271/.327 through 166 plate appearances, and things deteriorated even further with the Angels. In 54 trips to the plate as a Halo, Villar hit just .163/.226/.224.
This year’s rough showing notwithstanding, Villar is a 10-year Major League veteran with a decent track record and some versatility. The switch-hitting Villar has logged 3456 career innings at shortstop, 2911 innings at second base and 1380 innings at third base (to say nothing of some very brief forays into outfield work). He hasn’t been considered a strong defender at any of the three positions but, until the 2022 season at least, had generally rated as a roughly average option at second base.
Villar could very well still latch on with a club looking for some infield depth, although given this season’s struggles, he’ll likely be asked to settle for a minor league deal and look to get back on track in Triple-A.
Angels Have Listened To Offers On Shohei Ohtani; Trade Seen As Unlikely
A deadline season that already has one of the highest-profile trade candidates ever in Juan Soto could add another to the list. Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of the New York Post report that while a deal is ultimately unlikely, the Angels have not turned away interested teams as they’ve made inquiries and submitted trade proposals for two-way star and reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani. The Post duo spoke with three executives whose teams have reached out to the Angels, all of whom characterized the chances of a trade as extremely low due to an unsurprisingly enormous asking price.
The mere notion of an Ohtani trade will ignite a frenzy of speculation and wishful thinking — and with good reason. The 28-year-old is in the midst of yet another incredible season, having pitched to a 2.81 ERA with a 36.4% strikeout rate and 5.8% walk rate through 99 1/3 innings. He’s also hitting .254/.349/.486 with 21 home runs and 11 stolen bases. Dating back to last season, Ohtani has hit .256/.363/.550 with 67 home runs in 1052 plate appearances while also pitching 229 2/3 innings of 3.02 ERA ball with a 32.3% strikeout rate. It’s a legitimately historic performance, the likes of which current fans have not seen in their lifetimes.
That the Angels will at least listen is certainly of note and is only understandable in light of yet another disastrous season. Despite Ohtani and three-time MVP Mike Trout anchoring the roster, the Halos are sitting on a 42-57 record and find themselves already all but eliminated from postseason contention. Incredibly, that’s a common refrain in Anaheim, where the Angels haven’t reached the playoffs since way back in 2014 — three seasons prior to Ohtani’s MLB debut. Repeated injuries up and down the pitching staff have regularly coupled with immediate declines from high-priced stars like Josh Hamilton, Albert Pujols and Anthony Rendon to leave the Angels with a top-heavy roster that has rarely even sniffed playoff contention.
Ohtani, meanwhile, has arguably been the game’s greatest bargain since arriving on the scene. Rather than wait until he was old enough to qualify as a professional player on the international market (25 years old), he instead opted to make the jump to Major League Baseball at just 23 years old. In doing so, Ohtani knowingly subjected himself to the international bonus pool restrictions that govern MLB teams’ signing of amateur players, leaving hundreds of millions of dollars on the table in order to accelerate his path to the world’s top league.
Shocking as that was at the time, Ohtani could yet find himself positioned for a historic contract before long. He’s currently playing on just a $5MM salary in his second year of arbitration eligibility, but he’ll receive a presumably massive raise this winter and is eligible to become a free agent following the 2023 season. Any team submitting offers for Ohtani will do so knowing they can only control him for one and a half seasons, and that the right to do so will cost them an enormous segment of the farm system. One executive who spoke to Heyman and Sherman indicated that the Angels “want something like your top four prospects” in exchange for Ohtani’s final season-plus of club control.
With that remaining control dwindling, however, the Angels have a dilemma. On the one hand, it’s easy to say they should be willing to do whatever is necessary to ink Ohtani to the historic contract extension he’d surely command. At the same time, the Angels already have both Trout and Rendon on the books at more than $35MM annually for the foreseeable future — Rendon through 2026, Trout through 2030. Ohtani would undoubtedly add another annual salary of more than $35MM to the ledger (perhaps well north of that sum).
That’d be a justifiable expenditure, but it takes two to strike a deal. Ohtani has spoken multiple times in the past about his desire to play for a contending club and reach the MLB postseason, and the Angels have instead stumbled through a difficult-to-fathom stretch of futility during his time with the organization. Asked just last night about his desire to remain with the Angels long-term, Ohtani told The Athletic’s Sam Blum:
“Regardless of where I’m playing, I want to give it my all, try to win the ball game that’s right in front of me. I’m with the Angels right now, and I’m very thankful for what they’ve done. I really love the team. I love my teammates. Right now I’m an Angel, and that’s all I can really focus on at this point.”
While that’s far from a direct declaration that he hopes to be traded, it’s of course notable that, when presented with the opportunity, Ohtani did not express a hope to remain with the Angels for the long haul. Perhaps a record-setting offer would still lead to an agreement, but that can’t be known. It’s generally fair to assume that when discussing MLB contracts, money wins out at the end of the day. As previously noted, however, Ohtani has already once forgone what might have been a $200MM+ contract as an international free agent to instead sign for a $2.315MM signing bonus — which wasn’t even the top available bonus to him at the time of his original agreement with the Angels in 2017.
Even if a deal is highly unlikely to come together in such a short amount of time, it’s nevertheless a fascinating wrinkle added to what’s already shaping up to be one of the most interesting deadlines in MLB history. There’s been almost no movement of note to this point, which generally sets the stage for unbridled chaos in the final 48 to 72 hours leading up to Tuesday’s 6pm ET deadline.
Starting Pitching Rumors: Cardinals, Castillo, Mariners, AL Central
The Cardinals are “intent on upgrading the rotation, not just spackling it,” Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports in a comprehensive look at the team’s potential deadline trajectories. While past deadline trades have often brought stopgaps options to St. Louis (e.g. Jon Lester and J.A. Happ just last year), the Cardinals could aim a bit higher this time around. Athletics right-hander Frankie Montas and Marlins righty Pablo Lopez are among the starters in whom the Cards have expressed interest, per the report. Goold also lists Angels right-hander Noah Syndergaard as a name of interest, and there are surely others the Cardinals are considering as they look to offset injuries to Jack Flaherty, Steven Matz, Alex Reyes and Dakota Hudson (who has struggled even when healthy this season).
St. Louis has upwards of $155MM already on the books for the current season, though that number will dip to around $90MM for the 2023 campaign (not including several notable arbitration raises). The Cardinals are still nearly $10MM shy of their record Opening Day payroll ($164MM), and they’ve gone a bit further than that with some midseason acquisitions in recent years, so there should still be payroll space to accommodate players making substantial salaries. They also have one of the game’s deepest farm systems, allowing them to bid competitively for the market’s top arms.
Some more notes on the trade market for starters…
- The Mariners are looking for rotation help, and Ken Rosenthal reports in his latest appearance with FOX Sports that Reds ace Luis Castillo “seems to be their main focus and target” at this juncture (Twitter link, with video). Seattle’s top four starters — Logan Gilbert, Robbie Ray, Marco Gonzales and Chris Flexen — have made at least 19 starts, and they’ve received good results from top prospect George Kirby since plugging him into the rotation (3.50 ERA through 13 starts). However, Kirby is at 96 innings between the minors and big leagues combined, which is already a notable jump from last year’s total of 67 2/3 innings. Gilbert’s 123 innings effectively match last year’s total of 124 1/3 frames. Beyond that, the Mariners probably can’t expect to avoid any notable injuries on the starting staff all season — few teams can — so there’s good sense in adding another arm to support the group. In Castillo’s case, he’d of course slot right in alongside Gilbert and Ray into a playoff rotation and give the M’s an excellent trio upon which to lean both this season and next.
- For all the teams seeking pitching help, however, it’s the trio of AL Central front-runners that are the most aggressive at the moment, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweets. The Twins, Guardians and White Sox are all looking to bolster their pitching staffs (rotation and/or bullpen help alike). The American League Central is the one division in the sport where there are three legitimate contenders for the division crown at the moment, and both Cleveland and Chicago (who currently trail Minnesota) are within 3.5 games of a Wild Card berth as well. There’s been prior speculation (here included) about the White Sox potentially going another direction, but they’ve been playing some of their best ball of the season this month and have thusly not had any discussions about the possibility of trading away veteran arms like Lance Lynn and Lucas Giolito, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets.
- As for the Twins, 1500 SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson suggested in yesterday’s podcast that Reds right-hander Tyler Mahle could be the likeliest name to land in Minnesota by Tuesday’s deadline, though the Twins are casting a wide net as they seek both rotation and bullpen help. Minnesota has also spoken to the Marlins about righty Pablo Lopez, Wolfson added.
Latest On Mike Trout
The Angels have been without Mike Trout for a couple weeks. The three-time MVP went on the injured list on July 18 with rib cage inflammation, and while he’s technically now eligible to return, his timetable to get back on the field remains uncertain.
Yesterday, the team’s head trainer Mike Frostad addressed Trout’s injury with reporters (including Sam Blum of the Athletic and Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register). Frostad said Trout had been diagnosed with “a costovertebral dysfunction” in his back, which he called “a pretty rare condition.” The trainer added the situation was something the club “(has) to look at as — he has to manage it, not just through the rest of this season, but also through the rest of his career probably.”
Frostad’s note about the necessity to monitor the condition throughout Trout’s career was an impetus for understandable concern among the Angels fanbase, but the future Hall of Famer quickly reassured he’s not worried about the issue long-term. “I appreciate all the prayer requests, but my career isn’t over,” Trout half-jokingly told reporters about the public response to Frostad’s comments. Trout added he feels he’s made progress in his recovery over the past few days, and replied “of course, that’s my goal” when asked whether he expected to return to the field in 2022. He conceded he’ll need to “stay on top of the routine I do on a daily basis to prevent it from coming back,” to Frostad’s point about managing the condition, but expressed optimism it won’t be particularly problematic.
Trout’s hopefulness is certainly welcome news for Halos fans and the organization at large, but it seems he’s still set to be out of action for the near future. He’s yet to begin baseball activities after receiving a cortisone injection last week. Trout will see a back specialist this weekend, he told reporters, and hopes to receive clearance to ramp up his work beyond the cardio and core stability training he’s been doing.
The Angels lost Trout for the majority of last season. He played in 36 games before suffering a calf strain in May. While the club initially hoped he could return within two months, the injury lingered long enough they eventually shut him down for the season. Trout has returned to get into 79 games thus far in 2022, and he’s had a typically stellar year. Through 326 plate appearances, the ten-time All-Star is hitting .270/.368/.599 with 24 home runs. Among hitters with 300+ trips to the plate, only Yordan Álvarez, Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Judge and Rafael Devers have a wRC+ higher than Trout’s 167 — a mark that indicates he’s been 67 percentage points better than the league average batter.
In a script all too familiar, Trout’s excellence hasn’t been enough to overcome the roster’s other flaws. The Halos enter play Thursday with a 42-56 record that’ll almost certainly lead to an eighth consecutive year without reaching the postseason. The club’s place in the standings figures to increase their caution in bringing Trout back, as it did last year.
Angels Reinstate David Fletcher
The Angels have activated infielder David Fletcher from the 60-day injured list. He’s in tonight’s lineup at second base. Michael Stefanic was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake in a corresponding move. To create space on the 40-man roster, the Halos transferred veteran infielder Matt Duffy from the 10-day to the 60-day IL.
It has been a rough season for Fletcher, who’s spent the bulk of the year on the shelf. He missed the first three weeks of the year recovering from a strain in his left hip. Fletcher returned to action for about two weeks, then went back on the IL with recurring hip issues. He underwent adductor surgery in mid-May and has spent nearly three months recovering.
In Fletcher’s absence, the Angels have struggled to a 42-56 record that has them ahead of only the A’s, Royals and Tigers in the American League standings. Lack of production at second base has been among the factors for that, as the Halos have gotten a meager .236/.294/.319 showing out of the position. Six players — Fletcher, Stefanic, Duffy, Luis Rengifo, Tyler Wade and Jack Mayfield — have tallied at least 20+ plate appearances as part of the second base rotation.
Duffy has been out since June 27 with what the team originally termed lower back spasms. There hasn’t been much word on his status over the past month, but he’s evidently not close to a return. The 60-day window backdates to his original IL placement, so Duffy won’t be back on the diamond at Angel Stadium until at least the final week of August.
NL West Notes: Ohtani, Padres, Walker, Rodon, Giants, Bard
The Angels reportedly don’t have any interest in trading Shohei Ohtani, but that hasn’t stopped the team from at least listening to offers out of due diligence, Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of the New York Post write. The Padres are one of those teams who have called about Ohtani, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, who adds that this is the type of aggressive move that has become typical of San Diego president of baseball operations A.J. Preller. There doesn’t seem to be any indication that the Padres have caught the Halos’ attention, except in the broader sense that the Padres have the depth of premium young talent that the Angels would undoubtedly want if they actually did considering sending Ohtani elsewhere.
Frankie Montas and Luis Castillo have also been linked to the Padres in trade rumors, and as Rosenthal notes, it is noteworthy in itself that San Diego is looking at pitchers despite having plenty of rotation depth on paper. However, MacKenzie Gore was recently placed on the injured list, Sean Manaea has struggled as of late, and the Padres could be trying to land a pitcher controlled through at least 2023 considering that Manaea, Joe Musgrove, Mike Clevinger, and Nick Martinez could all potentially enter the free agent market this winter. Furthermore, someone like Blake Snell could be dealt to try and stay under the luxury tax threshold, as avoiding another tax payment is another consideration for Preller to manage as the deadline approaches.
More from around the NL West…
- Also from Rosenthal, Diamondbacks officials are “doubtful” that Christian Walker will be traded. The first baseman’s name has been mentioned in trade speculation, but the D’Backs understandably have a high asking price for an all-around productive player who is under team control through the 2024 season.
- A seven-game losing streak has dropped the Giants to 48-50, but as of last night, the team wasn’t planning on selling at the deadline, ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets. Chasing down the Dodgers for first place is probably out of the question, but San Francisco is still only 3.5 games out of the final wild card spot, and a +26 run differential argues that the Giants are at least a little better than their losing record indicates. That said, the Giants have several intriguing trade options, including Carlos Rodon (who can opt out of his deal after the season) as a rental piece. SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson speculates that the Twins would be one of many interested parties if the Giants did shop Rodon, as Minnesota “were right there” in trying to sign Rodon last winter.
- Rockies closer Daniel Bard is drawing interest from more than one team, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports. Bard (who turned 37 last month) is enjoying a career revival as the Rockies’ ninth-inning man, recording 21 saves and posting a 1.91 ERA over 37 2/3 innings. Despite these numbers and the fact that Bard is a free agent after the year, however, most of the buzz around Bard has focused on Colorado’s efforts to extend him, rather than shop him at the deadline.
Angels Designate Jonathan Villar For Assignment, Select Magneuris Sierra
The Angels have designated veteran Jonathan Villar for assignment, per the team. The move makes room for Magneuris Sierra, whose contract was selected from Triple-A.
This is the second time this season that Villar finds himself designated for assignment. He began the year with the Cubs, but the utility man hit just .222/.271/.327 in 166 plate appearances with the Cubs. He didn’t fare much better with the Angels, hitting just .163/.226/.224 across 54 plate appearances.
Coincidentally, the 31-year-old made two errors in last night’s ballgame, and while that alone would not be the reason to DFA Villar, the bat-first Villar has long been viewed as a subpar defender, despite his versatility. With the Angels all but out of postseason contention, they may prefer to use the roster spot on someone with a longer-term future in Los Angeles.
Sierra, 26, isn’t necessarily that guy, but he does bring a little more youth to the roster spot. The speedy outfielder has not yet appeared in the Majors this season after spending the last four campaigns with the Marlins. Sierra has earned his opportunity with solid play in Triple-A where he has slashed .297/.358/.437 in 311 plate appearances.
Injury Updates: Trout, Rodriguez, Buxton, Thielbar, Meyer
Mike Trout hasn’t played since July 12 due to back spasms, and that absence morphed into a stint on the 10-day injured list due to inflammation in his left ribcage. The Angels placed the superstar on the IL on July 18, but head trainer Mike Frostad told reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group) that Trout will miss more than the minimum 10 days. Trout received a cortisone shot in his back “a few days ago.”
It isn’t yet known when Trout could return, and any sort of lingering problem is obviously bad news for the Angels and their fans — especially after last season, when Trout played in only 36 games due to a seemingly minor calf injury that simply never healed. Trout returned in 2022 to deliver another outstanding set of numbers, though it isn’t helped an Angels team that has fallen apart after an impressive first five weeks of play.
More injury updates from around baseball…
- Julio Rodriguez has missed both of the Mariners‘ games in the second half, as the rookie star is day-to-day with left wrist soreness. Rodriguez first suffered the injury while sliding during a stolen-base attempt last Sunday, and he told reporters (including MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer and other reporters) that he felt more soreness after participating in the Home Run Derby on during Monday’s All-Star week festivities. However, the injury is “feeling better already,” and Rodriguez doesn’t think he’ll miss much time. Rodriguez has exploded onto the scene in his first season, hitting .275/.337/.477 with 15 homers and 21 steals over his first 380 plate appearances in the majors.
- Byron Buxton will miss the Twins‘ weekend series in Detroit, as the outfielder received a PRP injection in his right knee on Wednesday. (Megan Ryan of The Minneapolis Star Tribune was among those to report the news.) Buxton has been plagued by tendinitis in his right knee for much of the season, though he opted to play in the All-Star Game for the first time rather than sit out the entire break. Since Minnesota has off-days sandwiched around this two-game series against the Tigers, Buxton will receive five days off anyway, and the hope is that he’ll be ready to play when the Twins face the Brewers on Tuesday.
- In other Twins injury news, Minnesota placed left-hander Caleb Thielbar on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to July 19) due to a left hamstring strain. Right-hander Yennier Cano was called up to take Thielbar’s spot on the active roster. Thielbar has a rather misleading 4.84 ERA over 35 1/3 relief innings this season, as he has outstanding hard-contact and strikeout numbers, plus only a 3.00 SIERA.
- Max Meyer made only 10 pitches before exiting tonight’s game due to what the Marlins described as right elbow discomfort. The ominous diagnosis comes on the heels of some ulnar nerve irritation that sidelined Meyer while he was pitching in the minors earlier this season. One of baseball’s top pitching prospects, Meyer was making his second career start after allowing five runs over 5 1/3 frames in his July 16 debut.
Angels Not Planning To Move Ohtani
Although teams are calling the Angels about the availability of two-way standout Shohei Ohtani, the Angels have no plans to move their international superstar, per Jon Morosi of the MLB Network (via Twitter).
The Angels are again mired in a disappointing season, one that has already resulted in the firing of manager Joe Maddon. At 39-54, the Halos are 15 games under .500 and more than 20 games behind the Astros for the division lead. They’re more than 10 games behind the last wild card spot. It certainly would seem like another lost season for Los Angeles.
But holding onto Ohtani is a reasonable position to take, even considering the current state of the club. Ohtani is an All-Star for the second consecutive season, and he’s again producing on both sides of the ball. At the plate, Ohtani is slashing .256/.347/.482 over 386 plate appearances. He also owns a 2.80 ERA/2.41 FIP across 93 1/3 innings. All together, Ohtani could very well be looking at another MVP season.
Draft Signings: Angels, Mets, Braves, Cardinals, Brewers, Pirates
A pair of top ten picks, Gavin Cross and Elijah Green, agreed to terms with their teams today. A host of other high picks are set to enter pro ball, as well. We’ll round up other signings among the top 40 here:
- The Angels are in agreement with #13 overall pick Zach Neto, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (on Twitter). He receives a $3.5MM signing bonus, below the $4.41MM slot value associated with the pick. A 21-year-old shortstop out of Campbell, Neto was ranked the #16 prospect in the draft class by Baseball America. A well-rounded infielder, the righty-hitting Neto is seen as a possible hit-first shortstop at the major league level. He dominated Big South pitching over his three years with the Camels, including a .407/.514/.769 showing in 256 plate appearances as a junior.
- The Mets announced they’ve reached an agreement with #14 selection Jett Williams. The 18-year-old infielder signs for a $3.9MM bonus, reports Tim Healey of Newsday (on Twitter). That’s a bit below the $4.24MM slot value that accompanies the #14 pick. Williams, a switch-hitter from a Texas high school, had been committed to Mississippi State. The #15 prospect in the class according to BA, he’s credited with advanced bat-to-ball skills and surprising bat speed for a player who’s listed at 5’8″ and 185 pounds. The outlet raises some questions about whether he can stick at shortstop but suggests he’s athletic enough to play up-the-middle in some capacity.
- The Braves have an agreement with #20 selection Owen Murphy, Callis reports (Twitter link). It’s a $2.5569MM bonus, below the $3.4MM slot value. A right-hander out of an Illinois high school, Murphy will forego his commitment to Notre Dame. BA rated the 18-year-old as the #45 prospect in the class, writing that he relies heavily on an upper 70s breaking ball that has the potential to be a plus offering.
- The Cardinals announced they’ve signed #22 pick Cooper Hjerpe. Callis reports (on Twitter) that he’ll receive a $3.1822MM signing bonus that matches the pick’s slot value. Hjerpe was one of the top college pitchers in the country, tossing 103 1/3 innings of 2.53 ERA ball with a 39.6% strikeout rate during his junior season at Oregon State. BA rated Hjerpe as the #33 prospect in the class, praising the life he gets on his fastball at the top of the strike zone and his strike-throwing ability.
- The Brewers announced an agreement with #27 pick Eric Brown Jr., which Callis reports is worth $2.15MM (Twitter link). The slot value for the selection is $2.7MM. A shortstop from Coastal Carolina, Brown was the draft’s #55 prospect according to BA. The outlet coincidentally likens his unusual hitting setup to the one Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell utilized as a player, but notes that Brown consistently posts solid exit velocity numbers and has a chance to stick at shortstop. The 21-year-old hit .330/.460/.544 during his junior year in Conway.
- The Braves agreed to terms with #35 selection J.R. Ritchie, Callis reports (Twitter link). It’s a $2.4MM bonus, above the $2.0232MM slot value. A right-handed pitcher from a Washington state high school, Ritchie had been a UCLA commit. BA slotted the 19-year-old as the #52 prospect in the class, crediting him with a solid three-pitch mix (headlined by an above-average slider) and advanced control.
- The Pirates announced a deal with #36 selection Thomas Harrington. The right-hander out of Campbell receives a $2.05MM signing bonus, reports Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Twitter). That’s a hair south of the $2.15MM slot value. Harrington was the #45 prospect available, according to BA, which projects him for a pair of above-average secondary offerings (slider and changeup) and possible plus control. The 21-year-old worked 92 2/3 innings of 2.53 ERA ball this season, fanning 30% of batters faced with a sparkling 4.9% walk percentage.