Athletics Likely To Trade Rich Hill, Won’t Reach Extension
TODAY: Hill won’t reach a deal with the A’s on a new contract, Rosenthal tweets, making him likely to be dealt today.
YESTERDAY: The A’s are discussing an extension with left-hander Rich Hill while also discussing trade scenarios with other teams, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link).
Hill has been one of the most talked-about names on the trade market all season long but has scarcely been able to pitch since late May due to a groin strain and, more recently, a blister on his left middle finger. The latter of those two maladies landed him on the disabled list yesterday, and while the stint is expected to be minimal, it does cast a shadow on the club’s ability to trade Hill. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle characterized a Hill trade as a “long shot” today due to his placement on the disabled list, but she noted that the Blue Jays, Tigers, Dodgers and Orioles have all scouted Hill extensively (though Baltimore has reportedly struck a deal with the Mariners to acquire Wade Miley). The club would be happy to hang onto Hill even after tomorrow’s deadline she writes, adding that the club would consider a qualifying offer for Hill at season’s end. FOX’s Ken Rosenthal added the Astros, Rangers and Pirates to the list of clubs with interest in Hill (Twitter link).
That, of course, would represent a massive offer to a player that, prior to 2016, had never earned more than $1MM in a given MLB season. But, Hill has upped his game dating back to last September and pitched brilliantly thanks to an increased use of his curveball, pitching to a sterling 2.06 ERA with 10.8 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a near-50 percent ground-ball rate. Durability is a factor both in trade talks and extension talks, to be sure, but Hill’s recent results are difficult to ignore. Hill’s age figures to limit the length of any contract — more than two years would be a major surprise — but the fact that he hasn’t earned much in his career (relative to most of his peers) might actually play into Oakland’s favor, as any type of significant contract offer would figure to carry quite a bit of weight for Hill.
White Sox Interested In Yasiel Puig
The White Sox have interest in Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (via Twitter). Chicago had checked in on Puig over the winter but he wasn’t available at the time, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter), who says that’s quite the opposite at present.
Puig, 25, has undeniably had a down year on the field even as he is said to be improving in his attitude and approach. Though he remains a quality defender, Puig is running out a below-average batting line that falls well shy of the top-notch production he put up earlier in his career. He does remain controlled beyond the year, of course, though he can opt into arbitration — which means the cost of those years could float with his performance.
Those teams have reportedly at least engaged on Chicago’s top starters, Chris Sale and perhaps also Jose Quintana, though it’s entirely unclear at this point how the interest in Puig could relate. Indeed, Los Angeles could conceivably have interest in a variety of the South Siders’ players — including starter James Shields, closer David Robertson, outfielders Adam Eaton and Melky Cabrera, and third baseman Todd Frazier. To be clear, none of these players has been connected directly to Los Angeles; I’m pointing them out only because the trade possibilities seem wide open at present.
Mets The Favorites For Jay Bruce
The non-waiver trade deadline is just under nine hours away, and rumors/transactions figure to be flying around quickly today. Reds outfielder Jay Bruce remains one of the likeliest candidates to be dealt between now and the 4pm ET deadline. As of Sunday, the Giants were said to be making a “strong push” for Bruce, who is also said to be a prime target of the Mets. Bruce has also drawn interest from the Indians, Dodgers and Rangers, among others, over the past few days, and the Rays have at times been mentioned as a possible factor in three-team trade scenarios involving Bruce.
We’ll keep track of all the day’s Bruce rumors here in this post…
- Morosi now tweets that the Mets and Reds have made progress on a deal involving Bruce.
- Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweets that the Mets are the favorites to land Bruce, but the Rangers and Giants are still in. Talks could stretch into the afternoon, he notes.
Earlier Updates
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports/MLB.com tweets that the Mets remain in active talks with the Reds as of Monday morning. ESPN’s Jayson Stark also tweets that conversations with the Mets remain active, while talks with the Giants and Dodgers are currently in “slow mo.”
- Heyman tweets that the Mets don’t seem to have heard anything on Bruce this morning (Twitter link). He also tweets that the Giants haven’t heard anything about Bruce being dealt this morning.
- USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that the Reds have “found a match” for a Bruce trade and expects Cincinnati to trade Bruce to a National League club this morning. That team is not the Dodgers, according to Nightengale. The Giants and Mets are the two non-Dodgers NL clubs that have been most heavily linked to Bruce in the past day or two.
- Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports tweets the Giants, Mets, Indians and others have been in on Bruce recently. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, meanwhile, lists the Giants, Dodgers, Mets, Rangers and Blue Jays all as teams that still have some interest in Bruce as of Monday morning.
Deadline Notes: Braun, Braves, Sale, Rays, Cubs, Beltran, Astros
Before acquiring Matt Kemp, the Braves looked into a deal for outfielder Ryan Braun, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports tweets. Braun, certainly, would have been the more intriguing addition, given that he has significantly out-produced Kemp this year, though presumably Milwaukee is much less interested in holding onto a big chunk of Braun’s salary to facilitate a deal. Atlanta GM John Coppolella acknowledged the importance of the financial component of the pact in recent comments, as Bowman reports. “We didn’t give up a draft pick, and we didn’t trade away any prospects,” he said. “So, we were able to stick with the plan that we had while still filling a major need for us with right-handed power.”
We’ll round up the remainder of the chatter on the eve of deadline day:
- Right-handed reliever Jim Johnson still seems to be the likeliest Braves player to be traded, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets. While the team would love to find a taker for shortstop Erick Aybar, though, there simply isn’t any interest in him, per the report.
- Chatter surrounding White Sox ace Chris Sale continues to suggest that he’s an unlikely trade candidate, but the mere possibility of a trade certainly warrants attention. The Rangers, Dodgers, and Red Sox are three clubs still working the phones to see if something can be worked out, per Heyman, who goes on to discuss some of the names being kicked around in possible deal frameworks.
- The Rays‘ own controllable starters seem more likely to be moved, though that too is far from a certainty. Tampa Bay is still holding talks with many teams, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. Meanwhile, the Cubs are at least still looking into acquiring a quality arm from that — or another — organization, Bruce Miles of 670thescore.com tweets. We also heard tonight that the Giants are chasing Rays lefty Matt Moore.
- Though the Yankees still haven’t fielded offers that it likes for outfielder Carlos Beltran, rival executives tell Heyman (Twitter link) that they think the veteran will be moved tomorrow. You can read up on the latest rumblings on Beltran right here.
- Astros GM Jeff Luhnow said over the weekend (on Saturday, to be exact) that his team is “50-50” to make a move in advance of the deadline, as Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports. “We’ve got some things in the works, but nothing getting close to going over the finish line at this point,” said Luhnow, who also acknowledged the high price that starting pitching is commanding this summer. Houston doesn’t appear to have any real needs, strictly speaking, but is surely interested in exploring ways to bolster the roster — particularly in the rotation.
Latest On Yasiel Puig
The Dodgers are “still trying to move” outfielder Yasiel Puig, tweets Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. Puig’s name has popped up in trade rumors lately — most recently surfacing in rumors involving Reds outfielder Jay Bruce.
Puig, as Heyman points out, has seen his overall offensive output decline in each of his four Major League seasons. Now 25 years of age, Puig burst onto the scene in 2013 at the age of 22 with a scintillating .319/.391/.534 slash in 104 games. That was good for an OPS+ of 159, but his OPS+ dipped to 145 in 2014, 110 in 2015 and just 89 in 2016, marking the first season of his career in which he’s actually been a below-average contributor. Puig still draws positive marks from defensive metrics like Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved, but he no longer looks like the bargain he did during the first two seasons of his career.
Signed to a seven-year, $42MM contract out of Cuba prior to the 2012 season, Puig’s deal allows him to opt into arbitration upon accruing three years of Major League service, which he’s done this year. He’s slated to earn $6.5MM in 2017 and $7.5MM in 2018, but he could stand to earn more via the arbitration process, so he could very well go that route. The three remaining years on Puig’s deal could make him an appealing option for both contenders and rebuilding clubs, although the fact that those three years come at an escalating salary makes it more difficult to ask a team to surrender high-quality talent in return.
All that being said, it remains largely unknown at this point whether there’s significant interest on the market in a player who has had his ups and downs both on and off the field. Heyman notes on Twitter that the Mets, who are among the clubs rumored to be looking at bats, don’t have any interest in Puig. While other contending organizations may have different views of his potential to contribute in 2016 — it’s always tough to know a given team’s front office sees in a player — we certainly haven’t heard rumors of any particular pursuer.
The smart money, perhaps, is on a club that doesn’t have an immediate need for production taking a chance on Puig returning to his established ceiling. Doing so probably means taking on at least some of the remaining financial commitments, which is certainly a deterrent, but it’s possible to imagine a higher-dollar veteran being moved to facilitate a deal. That, presumably, was part of the general thrust of the chatter relating to Bruce. It’s never wise to rule out the creative machinations of the L.A. front office, which has engineered various complicated scenarios in recent years. Unless and until we learn of interest from another team, though, it’s tough to guess at what kind of arrangement might be concocted to lead to a trade of the enigmatic Puig.
Injury Notes: Asdrubal, Norris, Tulowitzki
The non-waiver trade deadline is less than 24 hours away, and there are a handful of injuries from today’s games that could potentially impact the manner in which teams approach the trade market. A quick look at the day’s notable injury news…
- Asdrubal Cabrera left today’s game with a strained left patellar tendon, and Newsday’s Marc Carig tweets that Mets manager Terry Collins is “very concerned” about Cabrera, though Collins has yet to check in with GM Sandy Alderson about the course of action in the event that Cabrera requires a trip to the disabled list. The Mets lost one insurance policy at shortstop when Jose Reyes was placed on the disabled list yesterday. ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin writes that the injury is the same as the one suffered by Cabrera in Spring Training, when he returned in less than two weeks, but Collins points out that Cabrera didn’t have to be carried off the field when he was injured in Spring Training. In today’s instance, Cabrera was unable to put any pressure on his leg. The team could potentially just look for short-term stopgaps depending on the severity of Cabrera’s injury, and the fact that former Met Ruben Tejada is presently in DFA limbo at least merits a mention. You can check out their internal options at Roster Resource.
- Dodgers right-hander Bud Norris exited Sunday’s start against the D-backs after facing just two hitters due to muscle tightness in his back, the team announced. The severity of Norris’ injury remains unclear, but with the Dodgers already aggressively seeking rotation upgrades, another physical issue for one of their rotation members is a troubling development. The Dodgers figure to give further updates on Norris after the game.
- Troy Tulowitzki has a “small little chip fracture” in his right thumb, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons told reporters, including Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (Twitter link). Tulowitzki is hopeful that he can avoid the disabled list, but Nicholson-Smith tweets that he’ll first need to demonstrate that he can grip a bat and throw. He was not able to grip a bat today, Nicholson-Smith notes.
Rangers, Brewers Discussing Jonathan Lucroy; Joey Gallo “Likely” Involved
Jonathan Lucroy stunned fans and many in the industry when he exercised his no-trade clause and vetoed a trade from the Brewers to the Indians. There are varying reports on the reasons behind Lucroy’s decision (which are examined in further detail here), but suffice it to say, talks between the two sides appear to be dead. Lucroy, of course, still can be traded to a number of other clubs, as his no-trade clause reportedly consists of the Indians, Tigers, Twins, Angels, Athletics, Padres, Mariners and Nationals. It should be noted that, as was the case yesterday, Lucroy has been held out of the Brewers’ lineup to eliminate the risk of an injury that would torpedo his value.
With Lucroy back on the market, we’ll run down all of the Sunday rumors pertaining to him in this post…
- Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star Telegram tweets that the Rangers and Brewers are discussing Lucroy and a reliever, with Gallo indeed likely involved in the talks. However, he notes that nothing is imminent between the two sides at this time.
- MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan reports that slugging third base prospect Joey Gallo is “likely” involved in talks between the Rangers and the Brewers (Twitter link).
Earlier Updates
- MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that one scenario being discussed has one of Yohander Mendez or Luis Ortiz going to the Brewers (obviously, among other pieces).
- FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets that the Mets are out on Lucroy, but the Rangers and “others” are still in the mix.
- ESPN’s Jayson Stark tweets that the Brewers and Mets are no longer discussing Lucroy — an indicator that the Rangers could becoming an increasingly likely landing spot.
- Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram characterizes talks between the Brewers and Rangers as “serious.” (Twitter link)
- Mets officials are focused on trying to get a trade for Lucroy or Jay Bruce completed by tomorrow’s 4pm ET non-waiver deadline, writes ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin. They’re back in the mix alongside the Rangers as well, it seems.
- The Rangers are “strongly in the mix” for Lucroy, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Grant, meanwhile, tweets that the Rangers are having “productive” trade conversations, which he presumes pertain to Lucroy.
- The Dodgers expressed interest in Lucroy recently, per FanRag’s Jon Heyman (on Twitter), but the talks were part of a larger deal that would have involved more teams. FOX’s Ken Rosenthal agrees with Heyman, tweeting that the Dodgers were likely to spin him elsewhere if the deal had been worked out. In addition to Lucroy, Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes is drawing interest from other clubs, tweets Yahoo’s Jeff Passan, so there could be a wide array of moving parts. Speculatively, Barnes could be a near-MLB-ready fit to head back to the Brewers in a potential three-team deal.
- Heyman also reports that the Cubs were in the mix as one of the aforementioned “mystery teams” on Lucroy, but talks never got especially far, as Chicago felt that the Brewers were factoring an “in-division” tax into talks (Twitter link).
- ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that the Tigers have lingered on the fringes of the Lucroy market and have a slight chance of jumping back into the fray, but they’re more focused on starting pitching upgrades at this time. Additionally, it should be noted that Detroit is one of the other seven clubs on Lucroy’s no-trade list, so similar issues could arise if the Brewers engage the Tigers in serious talks.
- The Mets are holding internal meetings to discuss whether they should jump back into the Lucroy mix, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. That could mean changing their offer, coming up with a new package entirely or simply deciding to step away altogether. There are at least some indications that the latter of those options is the likeliest, as Sherman’s colleague Mike Puma hears that the Mets are out on Lucroy. Passan tweets that in addition to Travis d’Arnaud and outfield prospect Brandon Nimmo, the Brewers asked the Mets to include another MLB-ready player.
- Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes that he believes the Rangers would prefer the Brewers to add a reliever to the deal if talks regarding Lucroy are to become serious. For the time being, the Rangers’ primary focus remains on adding an impact starting pitcher to the rotation, though the club figures to remain involved in Lucroy talks to at least some extent based on previous interest.
Jay Bruce Rumors: Saturday
Since it’s probably fair to assume we’re going to learn quite a bit of new information on Reds outfielder Jay Bruce today, we’ll go ahead and kick off the weekend’s deadline chatter with a post to house it. You can check back on last night’s whirlwind series of reports right here. Bottom line: there was talk of movement with the Dodgers, possibly involving Yasiel Puig and/or a third team, but nothing has come to fruition as of yet.
Here’s the latest on the veteran slugger, who is putting up career-best numbers at the plate and comes with another season of control via a $13MM club option:
- Rosenthal tweets that the Mets and Reds continue to discuss a Bruce swap, but nothing is close at this time.
- The Mets are “very involved” in the pursuit of Bruce, according to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon (Twitter link). New York, of course, discussed Bruce with Cincinnati at last year’s trade deadline but ultimately secured Yoenis Cespedes instead.
- Stark reports that the Reds aren’t asking for elite prospects for Bruce but want two or three good players from the next tier down (Twitter link).
Earlier Updates
- The Rangers have at least “checked in” on Bruce, per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). Texas could be a fit with Prince Fielder out for the year and Shin-Soo Choo dealing with ongoing back issues, though Crasnick notes that pitching remains the priority.
- The Mariners were said yesterday to be both out and then in on Bruce, but Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says (Twitter links) that there’s nothing happening on that front (though the teams are discussing shortstop Zack Cozart). Another team with questionable interest is the Giants, and Rosenthal suggests that they are still kicking around the idea of adding Bruce. The idea would be to slot his bat into the outfield mix now, and then use him as a replacement for free agent-to-be Angel Pagan in 2017.
- Though the Dodgers are still involved on Bruce, last night’s chatter of a three-team swap is dead, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark (via Twitter). It was never entirely clear just what that scenario might have looked like, though it seemed that Puig was a piece of the picture.
- Bruce’s market represents a “moving target,” Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets. (Those of you who followed yesterday’s frenzy will surely understand this.) As things stand as the weekend begins, the Orioles are out, per Heyman. The Nationals are focused first on improving their bullpen, though seemingly remain involved. That leaves the Dodgers as the obvious suitor, with the Mets and Mariners among the other organizations that have at least some ongoing interest in Bruce.
Dodgers Among Teams In Talks On Jay Bruce; Yasiel Puig May Be Involved
8:31pm: Morosi says the Rays are still a player; he tweets that the team could end up shipping out two starters, one to each of the two other teams.
It seems that the reason for the involvement of a third team is that Cinci prefers position-player prospects, per Heyman (via Twitter), while the Dodgers are somewhat more inclined to deal arms. Of course, an earlier report suggested that the Rays’ role could involve sending a pitcher to the Reds, so the entire situation still seems in flux at present.
8:08pm: Tampa Bay is actually not involved in any Dodgers-Reds scenarios, Stark tweets.
7:36pm: The Rays appear to be the potential third team, per a Morosi tweet. Tampa Bay has been chatting with Los Angeles about scenarios that “could link up” with the talks between the Reds and Dodgers.
7:23pm: Talks between the Reds and Dodgers involving Bruce and Puig “didn’t materialize,” according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). He adds, though, that there are other trade scenarios still being tossed around between the clubs.
6:59pm: Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig could be in play in the talks regarding Bruce, Stark tweets. He’d presumably be pushed out of a regular role if a significant corner outfielder is added, and Stark says that L.A. has been trying to move him in proposals with other teams.
6:24pm: The Reds and Dodgers could be putting together another three-team arrangement after joining up for such a deal over the winter, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com tweets. Details — including the would-be facilitator — remain unclear, but Bruce would end up in Los Angeles if it comes to fruition.
5:46pm: The Dodgers remain in the hunt for Bruce, with MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon tweeting that there’s dialogue between the clubs and Jon Heyman of Fan Rag adding (via Twitter) that he has heard the same. Los Angeles isn’t keen on the idea of giving up much in the way of prospects to make a deal, though, per C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link).
Heyman also lists the Nationals, Orioles, Mariners, and Mets as teams with ongoing interest — many of whom have been tied to Bruce in recent days (if not for longer). Despite the report below suggesting that Seattle had left the Bruce market, Heyman’s report adds to another suggesting that he’s still in play. And while the Giants were also said to be out on Bruce, Nightengale tweets that they are still holding talks — even with Hunter Pence now set to return from the DL.
5:28pm: Two new entrants in the market have ratcheted up the bidding on Bruce, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). The pair of mystery teams has been “aggressive,” per the report.
It remains somewhat difficult to guess where exactly the most focused interest could come from. Bruce, after all, would be a flexible addition for most AL contenders and could also fit with an NL team that is looking to add pop and has favorable scouting reports on his glove in right. With an added year of team control through an affordable-enough option, there’s also some future value — and the possibility of an offseason deal to return something different if Bruce isn’t needed past the present season in his new home.
2:16pm: The Mets are among the clubs that have spoken with the Reds about outfielder Jay Bruce, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (via Twitter). Among the other teams in dialogue with Cincinnati are the Dodgers, Nationals, and Orioles, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick adds on Twitter.
New York’s level of interest isn’t too great at the moment, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link). And Crasnick adds that the Nats and O’s appear to have their sights set on other areas at present. Likewise, we’ve heard that the Dodgers have engaged on a number of other possibilities, including Josh Reddick.
Two other potential suitors — the Giants and Mariners — “appear to be out,” according to Crasnick. With Seattle and San Francisco apparently no longer in pursuit, and none of the teams listed above appearing to represent aggressive pursuers, it’s not hard to see why Cincinnati president of baseball operations Walt Jocketty expressed frustration yesterday over the response that Bruce has drawn on the market.
Bruce has put up quite a nice season after two straight duds. And he comes with control rights for 2017; though his $13MM option isn’t cheap, it looks more appealing than committing a similar annual amount for a longer term to an alternative on the free agent market this winter.
It has seemed at various times that Bruce’s big power numbers, added year of control, and eminent availability would make him a desirable and quite likely trade candidate. But Jocketty suggested a deal isn’t inevitable for a player that the Reds value quite highly.
Pitching Rumors: Sale, Rangers, Dodgers-A’s, Walker, Santana, Jays, Rays, Niese
The Rangers are still pushing hardest for White Sox ace Chris Sale, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports (Twitter links). Chicago is holding out with a high asking price, per the report, demanding Nomar Mazara and Joey Gallo as headliners. Presumably, the club is looking for more to go with that pair, though the full demands from the Sox remain unknown. Texas will obviously be hesitant to part with Mazara, in particular, since he’s not only an important future piece but has played a notable role on this year’s roster. On the other hand, he seems like a perfectly reasonable request; there simply aren’t very many pitchers out there that combine Sale’s track record and contract situation.
Here’s more on the market for starters:
- The Athletics and Dodgers have discussed trade scenarios involving both lefty Rich Hill and outfielder Josh Reddick, per ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. It seems that the sides have batted around concepts involving both players in a single swap, as well as scenarios involving each player separately. It’s not hard to see the interest here from a Los Angeles organization that not only desires to add a starter and a left-handed-hitting outfielder, but has exhibited more injury risk tolerance in acquiring starting pitching than any team in baseball.
- Other teams may be looking at Mariners righty Taijuan Walker, but Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto says that he’s not interested in offers, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. “We’re not currently discussing Taijuan with anybody,” said Dipoto. “He’ll stay right where he is.” Dipoto says that the same holds with regard to lefty James Paxton, as SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets.
- At this point, the Twins would need to be “overwhelmed” to deal away righty Ervin Santana, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). Minnesota is still said to be open to dealing relief assets, but apparently is rather committed to keeping the veteran righty in its rotation over the final two years of his contract.
- While the Blue Jays‘ tough call on whether to keep Aaron Sanchez in the rotation, or instead to move him to the pen to limit his innings, has long been building as an important decision. ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark takes a look at the subject with the trade deadline seemingly forcing the issue. While GM Ross Atkins says the club won’t let Sanchez’s status impact its plans, and stresses that the organization is looking at far more than a simple innings tally, Stark reports that rival executives see Toronto as an aggressive pursuer of starters. He suggests that Jeremy Hellickson could make a nice target as a back-of-the-staff rental that shouldn’t cost too much.
- Before striking a deal this morning for two starters, the Marlins tried to work something out with the pitching-rich Rays, according to multiple reports. Per Stark (Twitter links), the sides weren’t seeing eye to eye on Miami’s interest in Jake Odorizzi and Matt Moore. One source suggests that Tampa Bay wanted Christian Yelich and J.T. Realmuto — which would obviously be a non-starter — while another suggests it never got that specific, with Tampa Bay simply not interested in the Marlins’ farm.
- Moore seems now to be the Rays starter who is most likely to be traded, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Always regarded as a highly-talented pitcher, Moore has looked more like his pre-Tommy John self of late. His last poor outing came on June 24th, leaving him with a 5.04 ERA to that point on the year. Since that time, over seven starts, Moore has allowed just nine earned runs in 40 2/3 innings. He only has a 25: 14 K/BB ratio in that span, which isn’t all that exciting, and doesn’t have a velocity bump or increasing whiff rate to support the improved results,
- The Mets have chatted with the Pirates about a possible Jon Niese return, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. New York has previously been suggested to have some interest in the lefty, who was dealt from New York to Pittsburgh over the winter. As before, though, the Mets don’t appear to be prioritizing starting pitching, given that the club has reasonable back-of-the-rotation options at hand with Zack Wheeler still working toward a return