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Rangers Had High Price On Lynn; Deals With Dodgers, Braves Didn’t Get Close

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Despite vast interest from around the majors, the Rangers decided to retain right-hander Lance Lynn through at least the rest of the season. The Braves were among the teams in on Lynn, but the Rangers understandably placed a high asking price on the AL Cy Young contender and his year-plus of affordable control. Texas wanted either Cristian Pache or Drew Waters from Atlanta as the headliner in a package for Lynn, according to David O’Brien of The Athletic, though the Braves clearly were unwilling to part with either of the highly touted outfield prospects.

Both Pache and Waters are 21-year-old outfielders who rank among the game’s top 50 prospects, and it stands to reason that the Rangers would’ve pushed for additional pieces to be added. Had either Pache or Waters changed hands in a deal with Texas or another club, they’d have been the highest-ranked prospect dealt in a deadline season that was punctuated more by players to be named later and mid-tier prospects.

The Braves and the Dodgers were known to be in on Lynn, with L.A. reportedly making a late push but ultimately failing to close a deal. Specific names that were discussed haven’t come to light, but Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels made clear that sufficient value wasn’t presented.

“I would not have been proud of some of those deals if we made them,” Daniels told reporters following the deadline (link via Sam Blum of the Dallas Morning News). “I don’t think our fans would have been happy about it, either.”

All of the top baseball operations execs involved in Lynn discussions has made similar statements in the hours and days since the deadline passed. Via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, Dodgers president of baseball ops Andrew Friedman acknowledged his efforts to add an “impactful” starter who could’ve lined up behind Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw in the postseason rotation. Lynn fits that description following his past season-plus with the Rangers, but Friedman characterized those as talks that never “got all that close.”

Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos, meanwhile said in a recent radio appearance on 92.9 The Game that his club set a threshold they weren’t willing to cross — much as they do with regard to free-agent negotiations. “The moves that we could’ve made, for us, would not have been good deals,” Anthopoulos said. “…It just came down to — and it’s no knock on anybody — we made the decision that the price for us, we didn’t think that made sense.”

Daniels and the Rangers will have another opportunity to shop Lynn this winter, and while they’re now only marketing one season of Lynn (and one postseason push involving him), interest should still be high as long as Lynn remains healthy. If the 2021 season sees a return to a standard 10-team postseason field, clubs may be more motivated to add impact pieces like Lynn, knowing that multiple postseason spots in each league have been eliminated. That doesn’t guarantee a huge return for the Rangers, of course, but a full season of a high-end starter on a below-market contract ($8MM in 2021) and the right to make him a qualifying offer after the season should still be able to fetch a respectable haul.

Dodgers Place Justin Turner On 10-Day IL

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The Dodgers announced that they’ve placed third baseman Justin Turner on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Aug. 29, with a left hamstring strain. They activated infielder Edwin Rios and left-hander Alex Wood (post) from the IL in other moves.

The Dodgers have gone without Turner since he exited their game against the Rangers last Friday with the injury. Hamstring problems can often lead to lengthy absences, though manager Dave Roberts has said Turner only suffered a “low-grade” strain.

The loaded Dodgers, owners of baseball’s best record, should be able to carry on without Turner for however much time he misses, but they’ll obviously want him healthy when the playoffs roll around. The 35-year-old has enjoyed yet another high-quality season, having slashed .282/.384/.410 with a pair of home runs in 138 plate appearances.

With Turner on the shelf for the past few days, the Dodgers have relied on Max Muncy to man the hot corner. Muncy got off to a rough start this season, but his production has trended in the right direction of late. Rios could also be an option at third, where he has seen action in five games this year. He came out of the gates quickly this year before landing on the IL on Aug. 17 with a left hamstring strain of his own.

Dodgers To Activate Alex Wood; Walker Buehler To Return Wednesday

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The Dodgers will activate left-hander Alex Wood from the injured list Tuesday, manager Dave Roberts told Ken Gurnick of MLB.com and other reporters. Wood will work from the bullpen upon his return. Meanwhile, righty Walker Buehler will come off the IL on Wednesday, per Roberts. Buehler has been out for a little over a week with a blister.

Wood’s in his second stint with the Dodgers, who signed him to a one-year, $4MM contract last winter after an injury-plagued season with Cincinnati. Unfortunately, this has been yet another limited year for the oft-injured Wood, who made his lone start/appearance of the season July 25 before landing on the IL with shoulder inflammation.

When healthy, the 29-year-old Wood has been highly effective in the majors, where he has pitched to a 3.42 ERA/3.50 FIP with 8.25 K/9, 2.58 BB/9 and a 49.1 percent groundball rate in 842 innings. While most of Wood’s experience has come as a starter, he has amassed 43 appearances in relief. He’ll return to that role for a World Series hopeful LA team that dealt swingman Ross Stripling to the Blue Jays on Monday, leaving the Dodgers with Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin and Julio Urias as their starting five.

Dodgers Acquire Kendall Williams As Part Of Ross Stripling Trade

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The Dodgers have acquired right-hander Kendall Williams as one of the players to be named later in yesterday’s trade that sent Ross Stripling to the Blue Jays.  Williams was Toronto’s second-round pick in the 2019 draft, and the 20-year-old took an above-slot bonus to begin his pro career rather than attend Vanderbilt.

MLB Pipeline ranks Williams as the 13th-best prospect in the Jays’ farm system, calling him “the quintessential projectable high school right-hander” with “potentially huge upside.”  The 6’6″ right-hander has a fastball that is approaching mid-90’s velocity, though his biggest asset could be his overall four-pitch arsenal rather than any one signature offering.  Baseball America’s scouting report cites Williams’ slider, curveball, and changeup “could all be average or better.”

There’s certainly enough potential here to see why the Dodgers would be intrigued in adding such a young arm to their already-deep minor league talent pool, particularly for a solid but non-elite pitcher like Stripling who wasn’t even a full-time rotation member.  From the Jays’ perspective, they naturally see a promising but longer-term asset like Williams (who isn’t one of the upper-tier prospects in their farm system) as a reasonable price for Stripling, who has already shown that he can deliver at the MLB level and can help the Blue Jays win both in 2020 and in 2021-22 before he is scheduled to reach free agency.

NL West Trade Deadline Recap

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With the deadline in the rearview mirror, we’ll look back at each NL West team’s trade activity over the past month.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Colorado Rockies

Los Angeles Dodgers

San Diego Padres

San Francisco Giants

Blue Jays Acquire Ross Stripling

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In yet another buzzer-beating deadline swap, the Blue Jays agreed to acquire right-hander Ross Stripling from the Dodgers, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reports (via Twitter).  It’s the third pitching addition of the deadline week for Toronto, as the Jays also added Taijuan Walker and Robbie Ray.  Los Angeles will receive two players to be named later from the Jays.

Stripling is finally on the move out of Dodger Stadium, as the righty was seemingly dealt to the Angels (along with Joc Pederson) back in February before that deal fell apart for still-unknown reasons.  In the aftermath, Stripling has struggled through the worst of his five MLB seasons, posting a 5.61 ERA, 2.45 K/BB rate, and 7.2 K/9 over 33 2/3 innings and seven starts for L.A.  Stripling has allowed a league-high 12 homers for a ghastly 3.2 HR/9 this season, as his career-long issues with keeping the ball in the park have become a full-fledged problem.

It isn’t too different, in fact, from Ray’s problems with homers (2.6 HR/9) this year, and even Walker has a 1.4 HR/9 this season.  Clearly the Jays feel they have a solve for all three pitchers’ home run woes, and in the process they have bolstered a rotation that has been hampered by injuries by Matt Shoemaker, Nate Pearson and (in season-ending fashion) Trent Thornton.

Ross StriplingHyun Jin Ryu, Chase Anderson, and Tanner Roark sit atop Toronto’s rotation, with Walker, Ray, and now Stripling potentially able to make it a six-man rotation, or someone could be shifted to the bullpen.  Stripling has been used as a swingman in the past, though if the Jays were one of the teams interested in using Ray as a reliever, it could be the ex-Diamondbacks hurler who joins the relief corps.  Further adjustments could be made once Shoemaker and Pearson return to action.

While Ray and Walker are both pending free agents, Stripling is more than a rental, as he is controlled through arbitration through the 2022 season.  It therefore stands to reason that the Dodgers’ two players to be named later could be fairly significant (if not elite) prospects, despite Stripling’s struggles this year.  The PBTBL designation allows the Jays and Dodgers to agree on two players who aren’t necessarily on Toronto’s current 60-man player pool, as only players within the pool can be dealt during the year.

Prior to his tough 2020, Stripling was showing plenty of signs of being a quality pitcher.  He had a 3.51 ERA, 4.14 K/BB rate, and 8.8 K/9 over 387 innings, starting 52 of 136 games from 2016-19.  The Dodgers moved Stripling in and out of their rotation as their needs dictated, though Stripling would have certainly been a regular starter on just about any other team that didn’t have the Dodgers’ unusual amount of pitching depth.

Speaking of that depth, Stripling’s departure creates a regular turn for Tony Gonsolin in the Los Angeles rotation.  Walker Buehler will naturally regain his old spot once he returns from the injured list, and Alex Wood is also nearing a return from the IL.  With a rotation that also includes Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, and Julio Urias, L.A. is still pretty fortified pitching-wise, though it is interesting that the Dodgers at least checked in on some bigger-name arms as Lance Lynn and Mike Clevinger.  Rather than swing a blockbuster trade, however, the Stripling deal represents the Dodgers’ only deadline move.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Dodgers, Rangers Fail To Reach Lance Lynn Deal

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3:00pm: The Dodgers and Rangers were ultimately unable to come together on a Lynn trade, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

2:40pm: The two sides are still far apart, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets. That said, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi also hears that the Dodgers have intensified their pursuit. There’s room for both of those things to be true, of course, and it’s not uncommon for major deals to come together in the final 15 to 20 minutes running up to the trade deadline.

2:34pm: The Dodgers have “stepped up” their efforts to pry right-hander Lance Lynn away from the Rangers in the past hour, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports (via Twitter). MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, however, hears that the likeliest scenario is still that Lynn stays put, barring a last-minute increase in the offer from an interested suitor (Twitter link).

The 33-year-old Lynn, signed through the 2021 season, is regarded as arguably the best starting pitcher available on the trade market. Since signing in Texas, he’s pitched to a 3.33 ERA with 10.5 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 259 2/3 innings of work while averaging 6 1/3 frames per outing.

Adding Lynn would be a luxury for a Dodgers club that can already has the likes of Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, Julio Urias, Ross Stripling and Tony Gonsolin on its depth chart. That said, Buehler is currently sidelined by a blister on his hand, and the Dodgers typically thrive in large part due to their largely unrivaled depth. It’s also possible that a younger arm like Gonsolin could go back to Texas in that type of arrangement, though that’s only my own speculation.

White Sox, Indians Reportedly Discussing Mike Clevinger Trade

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The White Sox and Indians are “actively involved” in trade talks surrounding Cleveland right-hander Mike Clevinger, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Jon Heyman of MLB Network adds the Braves, Yankees, Padres and Dodgers among Clevinger’s pursuers, adding that the right-hander has a “good chance” to be dealt.

As recently as Friday, it seemed unlikely Clevinger would go anywhere, with Cleveland apparently setting an extremely high price tag on him. The price tag seemingly remains high. Heyman hears that Cleveland would want big league talent in return (Twitter link), while Robert Murray reports that the initial ask was “four quality prospects.”

Clevinger’s violation of the Indians’ coronavirus protocols and subsequent demotion are well-known at this point and have made him an interesting trade candidate, although there’s no urgency (at least from an on-field perspective) for Cleveland to move him. Clevinger is controlled through 2022 via arbitration and has offered front-end production for most of the past four years.

The Braves and Yankees have been known to be targeting starting pitching, and Heyman adds that the Padres are seeking another starter. The Dodgers, meanwhile, are targeting players with multiple years of control, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Bill Punkett of the Orange County Register), so Clevinger fits the bill.

The White Sox are also in the market for starters (even more so with Gio González hitting the injured list this afternoon), although a Clevinger deal would be extremely surprising. Players of his caliber with multiple years of control are seldom traded within the division, even less often between two immediate contenders.

Dodgers Call Up Gavin Lux

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The Dodgers have recalled infielder Gavin Lux up to their Major League roster, the team announced.  Right-hander Mitch White has been optioned to the team’s alternate training site to make roster space.

Lux is making a quick return to the L.A. roster just two days after making a one-game cameo as the 29th man in a doubleheader against the Giants.  That lone game (which saw Lux go 0-for-3 with two strikeouts) was the star prospect’s only bit of MLB action this season, as he has spent the rest of the year at the Dodgers’ alternate training site.

It remains to be seen if this promotion will stick, or if Lux could be on something of a regular shuttle between the Dodgers’ active roster and taxi squad.  Manager Dave Roberts indicated earlier this month that Lux wouldn’t be called up unless the team was ready to give him everyday playing time, and it’s possible a more regular role could emerge given the status of Justin Turner.  The veteran third baseman left last night’s game with a hamstring problem that Roberts hoped was only a cramp, though more won’t be known until Turner undergoes extra tests today.

Should Turner require a stint on the injured list, the Dodgers could shuffle their infield by giving third-base at-bats to any of Max Muncy, Enrique Hernandez, or Chris Taylor, thus opening the door for Lux to play second base.  As always with the Dodgers, they could easily rotate all of these players around the diamond (and through the DH spot) based on matchups.

Lux is one of baseball’s top prospects, and a dominant performance in Triple-A last season led to his first MLB promotion, and a .240/.305/.400 slash line over 82 plate appearances in 2019.  Lux has only played second base at the Major League level but he does a lot of minor league experience as a shortstop, so his arrival will give Los Angeles a bit of extra depth behind Corey Seager.

Dodgers To Option Gavin Lux Back To Taxi Squad

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9:39PM: Lux will be optioned back to the Dodgers’ taxi squad, Roberts told Gurnick (Twitter link) and other media after the game.

5:45PM: The Dodgers have called up infielder Gavin Lux from their alternate training site, with Lux set to serve as the extra 29th man for Game 2 of today’s doubleheader with the Giants.

Lux will appear on the Los Angeles roster for the first time this season, after he was somewhat surprisingly not included on the club’s roster for its July opener.  Lux did miss part of Summer Camp for unexplained reasons, and while there was speculation that Lux may have been kept in the minors for service-time reasons, manager Dave Roberts explained in early August that the Dodgers didn’t “feel he’s ready right now.”

“It was a short ramp-up for Gavin and he wasn’t right mechanically,” Roberts told MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick and other media on August 5.  “And he knows that, we know that.  He’s still getting there at [alternative training site] USC, getting at-bats daily, it’s coming.  I see video every day, it’s getting better.”

Roberts said at the time that Lux would only be called up to the Dodgers on an everyday basis, so though the “29th man” designation could imply some fluidity with Lux’s status, it would seem like the star prospect will now be part of the team’s regular mix.  Lux is in tonight’s starting lineup as a second baseman, which was also his position during his 23-game debut with Los Angeles last season.

Corey Seager obviously has Lux’s normal minor league position of shortstop covered at the MLB level, so Lux now looks to be the first-choice option at the keystone.  Enrique Hernandez, Max Muncy, and Chris Taylor have split time at second base this season with Hernandez getting the bulk of the playing time at that particular position, though all three players have been deployed elsewhere around the diamond given the Dodgers’ penchant for versatility.  With the DH spot in play for the 2020 season, Roberts should be able to find enough at-bats to keep everyone satisfied and rested as the Dodgers are already essentially in tune-up mode for the postseason.

Lux hit .240/.305/.400 over 82 PA with the Dodgers last season, plus an .856 OPS over 10 postseason PA.  A consensus top-five prospect in baseball coming into the 2020 campaign, Lux has dominated minor league pitching since being selected 20th overall in the 2016 draft, and now aims to be the next homegrown Dodgers prospect to find stardom in the majors.

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