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NL Notes: Marlins, Stanton, Phillies, Giants, Cubs

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If the payroll-cutting Marlins only trade one of center fielder Christian Yelich or left fielder Marcell Ozuna this offseason, it’s more likely to be the former, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. Parting with Yelich instead of Ozuna would save the Marlins less money in the near term, but they value Ozuna’s on- and off-field contributions so much that they’re inclined to keep him, per Cafardo. Ozuna is a Scott Boras client with just two years of control remaining and a projected $10.9MM coming his way in 2018. Yelich, on the other hand, will make $7MM next year – the third season of a long-term deal that looks like one of the most team-friendly contracts in baseball. The soon-to-be 26-year-old is controllable for five more seasons, including a 2022 club option for $15MM, at a combined $58.25MM.

Of course, the highest-profile Marlins outfielder is Giancarlo Stanton, who also has the biggest contract ($295MM through 2028, unless he opts out after 2020). While Stanton will be popular in the rumor mill over the next several months, there was “buzz” late in the season that he’d use his full no-trade clause to reject a deal to the Phillies, who are interested in him and Yelich, Cafardo relays. Stanton has made it clear that he’s tired of losing, something the Phillies have done plenty of in recent years, though they’re seemingly trending upward and figure to return to their high-payroll ways in the near future.

More from the National League:

  • The Giants are interested in hiring Jim Hickey as their next pitching coach, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN reports (on Twitter). The position opened up Saturday when San Francisco shifted longtime pitching coach Dave Righetti to its front office. Like Righetti, the well-regarded Hickey brings vast experience working with hurlers, having served as the Rays’ pitching coach from 2006-17.
  • Hickey is also drawing serious interest from the Cubs, according to Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic (subscription required and recommended). He’d take over for Chris Bosio, whom the Cubs fired Saturday, and would reunite in Chicago with former Rays manager Joe Maddon. Letting go of Bosio may have been a front office-driven move, posits Sharma, who notes that president of baseball operations Theo Epsein was particularly disappointed in the bullpen’s last-ranked walk rate in 2017. The struggles of midseason acquisition Justin Wilson, who was terrific out of Detroit’s bullpen but undependable as part of Chicago’s, likely helped lead to Bosio’s ouster, Sharma suggests. Across 17 2/3 innings with the Cubs, Wilson walked 19 (compared to 16 in 40 1/3 innings as a Tiger) and logged a 5.09 ERA. Consequently, he appeared in only one of the Cubs’ 10 playoff games.

Poll: The Future Of Miami’s Outfield

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Those who have visited this website with any regularity over the past few months know that Marlins outfielders Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna have frequently come up as potential trade chips. With the MLB offseason set to begin in earnest in a few weeks, questions regarding the trio will continue to abound, especially with a fresh ownership group at the helm. While the Marlins’ new face of baseball operations, part-owner Derek Jeter, essentially did nothing but win during his acclaimed career as the Yankees’ shortstop from 1995-2014, he’s likely in some for some tough times in Miami.

The Marlins’ most recent playoff trip came in 2003 – a season in which they knocked off Jeter & Co. in the World Series – and given their limited talent in the majors, a weak farm system that Baseball America ranks last in the sport and a dire financial situation, the future Hall of Famer’s newest chapter in the game will begin with at least a few lean years. Jeter realizes that, judging by some of the comments he made during the introductory press conference he and principal owner Bruce Sherman held in Miami last week. Although Jeter was reluctant to say that losing will continue for the Marlins in the near term, he did admit that there’s a need to “rebuild the organization,” adding that “there’s going to be at times unpopular decisions that we make on behalf of the organization.”

To a Marlins fan base that loathed the franchise’s prior owner, Jeffrey Loria, in part because of his penny-pinching ways, there probably wouldn’t be a less popular move than trading Stanton – especially after he enjoyed an MVP-caliber 2017 in which he smashed a league-high 59 home runs. But getting out from under at least some of the $295MM he could rake in through 2028 would improve the franchise’s bottom line, so it seems likely Miami will consider offers for the 27-year-old. In theory, Stanton’s full no-trade rights – not to mention an opt-out clause after 2020 – could scuttle a potential deal, but it doesn’t seem he’d stand in the way of a swap if an acquiring team would give him a chance to play meaningful baseball into the fall.

Marlins outfielders

“I don’t want to rebuild. I’ve lost for seven years,” the right fielder said last month.

Despite their best efforts, Yelich and Ozuna have joined Stanton in doing plenty of losing as Marlins. Considering their affordability, moving either would be far less complicated for Miami than trading Stanton, and it would beef up the team’s farm system.

Yelich, the 25-year-old center fielder, has been worth 4.5 fWAR in three of four seasons since becoming a full-time major leaguer (including in 2017) and is signed to a palatable deal. He’s due a guaranteed $43.5MM through 2021 and will collect either a $15MM salary or a $1.25MM buyout in 2022. Yelich is all the more appealing when considering the best outfielders who could hit free agency next month (J.D. Martinez, Justin Upton and Lorenzo Cain) are already over 30 and will rake in far contracts than his.

Ozuna doesn’t come with Yelich-esque team control, but the left fielder still has two arbitration-eligible years remaining after making $3.5MM in 2017, a career season. Across 159 games and 679 trips to the plate, the 26-year-old slashed .312/.376/.548 with 37 homers – much better production than he put up over the previous four years, though he was still a fairly respectable contributor from 2013-16. With an appreciable raise on the way this offseason and a trip to free agency only a couple years off, now may be the time for Miami to wave goodbye to the Scott Boras client.

There are other players the Marlins figure to market in the next few months, but their highest-profile chips are their starting outfielders, a trio that hit a combined .288/.368/.519 this year and topped the NL in fWAR (16.1). Marlins fans may not like it, but with the franchise going in a new direction, it stands to reason Stanton, Yelich and Ozuna have lined up in the same outfield together for the last time. Which player(s) do you think the Fish will part with in the offseason?

(Poll link for app users)

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins

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Giancarlo Stanton discusses his future with the Marlins in a big new feature by Fan Rag’s Jon Heyman. Here are the highlights.

  • Stanton isn’t interested in being around for a rebuild, should the Marlins go that route, as seems fairly likely, under new ownership. “I don’t want to rebuild,” he tells Heyman bluntly. “I’ve lost for seven years.” Stanton’s take on the Marlins’ situation is worth noting, since he has a full no-trade clause, plus an opt-out after 2020.
  • “I’m sick of the negativity,” Stanton says. “Anything positive I’ve done, there’s still negativity. I’m doing this … but the owner’s doing that. I’m doing this, but the team’s doing that.” Stanton further notes that even upon the announcement of his record-setting contract, “most of the questions were negative.”
  • Stanton describes his chase for 60-plus home runs as “a fun little obstacle,” but adds that “[i]f it doesn’t happen … oh well.”
  • A rival executive tells Heyman that one potential issue with trading Stanton is that the Marlins would have to compensate for the backloading of the contract — Stanton has only made $30MM so far (meaning he’s been underpaid — by about a factor of three, Heyman figures), and $295MM is left on the deal.
  • This isn’t directly Stanton-related, but Heyman notes as an aside that in the Marlins clubhouse, veterans are wondering out loud about where they might be traded over the winter. Some feel the Cardinals are a possibility. Heyman doesn’t name them, although the Cardinals have been connected to Marcell Ozuna and Christian Yelich in the past.
  • Yelich and catcher J.T. Realmuto are the two players potential trading partners ask about most frequently, Heyman adds.

NL Notes: Marlins, Dodgers, Phillies, Padres

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This weekend could go down as the the final time outfielders Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna take the field together for the Marlins, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald observes. While all three enjoy playing with one another, each realizes the organization is in flux, which might bring about the end of their successful partnership. “I think everyone is kind of aware of the situation,” said Yelich, the center fielder. “We really don’t know what’s going to happen, [but] we realize what the possibilities could be. Everybody knows that.” The only member of the trio who could block a trade is Stanton, he of 57 home runs in 2017 and a $295MM contract that runs through 2028 (or 2020, depending on an opt-out decision). The 27-year-old MVP candidate suggested that he wouldn’t be keen on embarking on a rebuild, something Miami might have to do in order to slash payroll and restock a weak farm system. “What else are you here for? I don’t do this just to show up. I’m here to try to win, get a ring,” the right fielder said (via Tim Healey of the South Florida Sun Sentinel). “There’s a point otherwise, but that’s your ultimate goal.”

More from the NL:

  • An ailing back continues to trouble the Dodgers’ Adrian Gonzalez, leading the club to shut him down for the year, manager Dave Roberts announced Wednesday (via Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times). Gonzalez played in just 71 games this season and batted a career-worst .242/.287/.355 for the NL’s top seed, though he did hit a home run Tuesday in what proved to be his last contest of 2017. The 35-year-old felt tightness in back on Wednesday, however, which forced the Dodgers to bring his season to a close prior to the playoffs. Regarding 2018, the final year of Gonzalez’s contract (in which he’ll make $21.5MM), he said: “My plan is to be an everyday player again and give it a go to have a really good season. Like I expected for this year.”
  • Phillies right-hander Clay Buchholz has been out of action since suffering a partial tear of the flexor pronator mass in his pitching arm on April 11, but the 33-year-old expects to be ready for spring training, per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. He’ll start throwing Oct. 9, roughly a month before he’ll be eligible to depart Philadelphia as a free agent. “It’s my first go around with the whole free-agent deal,” Buchholz said of the upcoming offseason. “I’ll have to prove that I’m ready to go and I’m healthy, I’m sure. But I’m looking forward to it.” While Buchholz will go down as a failed on-field pickup for the Phillies, who acquired him from Boston last winter, he did mentor their young pitchers behind the scenes, as Zolecki details.
  • Third baseman Christian Villanueva has hit four homers in 10 games since the Padres selected his contract Sept. 18, putting him in position to compete for a 25-man spot next spring, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com writes. The offseason minor league signing and former top 100 prospect with the Cubs will have an opportunity to win a starting job at second or third base in the spring, relays Cassavell, who notes that he could at least be a useful right-handed hitter off the bench. While Villaneuva, who was once part of trade involving Kyle Hendricks and Ryan Dempster, has slashed .333/.333/.778, his success has come over a minuscule amount of PAs (27). Manager Andy Green needs to see more, saying that “I don’t think you prove anything in September in such a short sample.”

Latest On Marlins’ Sale And Deadline Plans

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As discussions on the possible sale of the Marlins continue to drag on, it’s beginning to seem questionable whether any resolution will be found before the deadline. New reports suggest ongoing uncertainty as to just who will end up buying the team, and cast new doubt as to whether the organization will make any major deadline moves with that situation still open.

Jorge Mas had emerged recently as the possible favorite to land the Fish. But that now seems in doubt. Charles Gasparino of FOX Business reported yesterday (Twitter link) that the league is concerned Mas may even drop out of the bidding. As Dave Hyde of the Sun Sentinel and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald further explore, the team may be expecting just that result.

Mas is said to be frustrated by the unwillingness of current owner Jeffrey Loria to agree to an exclusive bargaining window. For his part, Loria seems to be holding open the possibility that further competition will boost the offers to his current price of $1.2B. But the constant stream of information, frequently pointing in different directions, seemingly poses its own risks to the club’s efforts.

With that backdrop, the Marlins are not presently interested in considering trade proposals for their three most interesting possible trade pieces, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Talks on outfielders Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, and Marcell Ozuna will need to wait for the offseason, per the report. MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro hears much the same, noting on Twitter that other controllable players such as J.T. Realmuto and Dan Straily remain off limits at present.

In some regards, that’s not a new development. Prior reports — see here and here — have said as much. But it has seemed at times that the stance could conceivably change in advance of the deadline, particularly if some of those assets could help the club free itself of some other contracts. Miami is said to be weighing offers on its relievers, with an apparent willingness to move infielders Martin Prado (who’s now on the DL) and Dee Gordon, so there’s still business to be done — and, perhaps, still time for the club to reconsider its stance on the players noted above.

Marlins’ President Hill On Team’s Trade Talks

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The Marlins have been perhaps the most oft-discussed teams in baseball with MLB’s non-waiver trade deadline just three weeks away, but president of baseball operations Michael Hill threw some cold water on rumors surrounding some of the team’s most appealing assets. Speaking to FanRag’s Jon Heyman, Hill stated that the Marlins “aren’t talking about” controllable stars Christian Yelich, J.T. Realmuto and Marcell Ozuna in trade discussions.

[Related: Taking Inventory — Miami Marlins | Marlins Depth Chart]

Asked specifically about first baseman Justin Bour and right-hander Dan Straily, Hill offered similar sentiments, stating that Bour “goes into the same basket” and that Straily’s status as a successful, pre-arbitration pitcher lands him in that same category. The recently extended Miami president stopped short of suggesting that Giancarlo Stanton was off limits, though Hill does say that the Marlins haven’t put his name out to other teams. And, of course, Stanton has a full no-trade clause and an enormous sum remaining on his 13-year contract, making it tough for another team to take on his contract anyway.

Hill’s comments mesh with yesterday’s report from the New York Post’s Joel Sherman suggesting that Miami’s primary focus is on dealing away its more expensive relievers (e.g. Brad Ziegler, AJ Ramos, David Phelps) and other veterans on the roster, with names like Martin Prado and Edinson Volquez both popping up as of late. Of course, any developments in the apparently ceaseless negotiations of a sale of the Marlins could impact deadline maneuverings. (Heyman has a separate update on the latest developments on that front.) But, it’s nonetheless notable to see Miami’s head of baseball ops firmly suggest that the team’s most appealing assets are likely to remain in house, as things stand.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale recently reported that the Fish have had talks with three clubs about second baseman Dee Gordon as well, and a Marlins source confirmed to Heyman that his name has at least been mentioned in talks, though there’s nothing in either report to indicate that talks are serious. (I’ll note that I respectfully disagree with Heyman when it comes to Gordon’s contract being a “vast overpay”; the 29-year-old remains a quality defender and one of MLB’s top baserunners in addition to a solid .295/.342/.358 batting line, helping to mask his lack of pop.) Heyman adds that it’s a similar story with Prado, who has been connected to both the Yankees and Red Sox but isn’t high on either club’s list.

Even with the team’s top names unlikely to be marketed, Miami could still fetch varying levels of interest in Ramos, Phelps, Kyle Barraclough, Dustin McGowan, Volquez, Derek Dietrich and Tom Koehler, so there could still be plenty of action for the Marlins on the trade market.

Furthermore, it stands to reason that the Marlins will be more open to parting with larger names once this week’s All-Star festivities have passed. In addition to the fact that the league generally frowns on trades during this time, urging teams not to take focus off the Midsummer Classic and its surrounding festivities, Miami is hosting this year’s event. Embarking on a significant fire sale before the All-Star Game rolls through town isn’t a good look for any franchise’s fans.

Rosenthal’s Latest: CBA, Cardinals, Marlins, Torres, Orioles

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Here are highlights of the latest notes column from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

  • Some teams pursued free agents last winter with the idea that the new CBA would allow them to have 26-man rosters in 2017. That plan, along with a related move to reduce September roster expansion to 28 players, did not wind up in the CBA, but owners and the union are open-minded to the possibility of revising it next winter, although such a change to the current CBA would likely only take place along with the addition of pace-of-play rules.
  • It would make sense for the Cardinals to discuss a trade with the Marlins involving outfielder Marcell Ozuna, Rosenthal writes. The Cardinals would get a middle-of-the-order hitter who is controllable through 2019. The Marlins, meanwhile, want to add prospects and it’s doubtful they can extend Ozuna, who is represented by Scott Boras. (Rosenthal recently reported that the Marlins would consider trading Ozuna.) Rosenthal also argues that the Marlins’ best path forward right now is to rebuild. Past attempts to win now have resulted in the team giving up too many small pieces of their future (including players like Andrew Heaney and Josh Naylor) in recent trades.
  • Top Yankees infield prospect Gleyber Torres has limited experience in the high minors, but he might be promoted to replace Chase Headley (who’s batting just .228/.300/.348 over 203 plate appearances this season) at third base in the near future, since the first-place Yankees could see Torres as a better option than dealing prospects to acquire a veteran third baseman.
  • Outfielder Howie Kendrick and reliever Pat Neshek have performed well for the Phillies this season and could provide the team with good trade value, perhaps along with Joaquin Benoit, once Benoit returns from a DL stint caused by a knee strain.
  • A source tells Rosenthal the Orioles want lefty relief help, although he notes that Double-A lefty Tanner Scott could become an option at some point. Scott, a sixth-round pick in 2014, has a 1.64 ERA and 11.7 K/9 in 33 innings thus far this season, although he might need to work on his 6.0 BB/9 so far before making it to the Majors. The O’s currently have Donnie Hart and Richard Bleier pitching as lefties out of their bullpen; another lefty reliever, Zach Britton, is out for an extended period with a forearm strain, although he doesn’t pitch in a typical lefty role anyway.

Marlins Could Consider Offers For Yelich, Ozuna, Realmuto

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At 23-31 and nine games out of a National League wild-card spot, the Marlins are on track for a potentially interesting sale around the trade deadline, according to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (video link). Barring a turnaround, the Marlins will be “wide open” entering the deadline, says Rosenthal, who reports they’d be willing to listen to offers for outfielders Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna and catcher J.T. Realmuto.

Miami has put Ozuna on the block in the past, but considering proposals for Yelich and/or Realmuto would represent a 180 for the franchise. Back in November, the Marlins weren’t interested in entertaining offers for either player, but the team surely had designs on contending for a playoff spot at the time. Now, with that looking unlikely, dealing from their young core could help the Marlins restock a farm system that ESPN’s Keith Law (subscription required and recommended) ranked as the majors’ second worst before the season.

Yelich, in Year 3 of a seven-year, $49.57MM contract that also includes a $15MM club option or $1.25MM buyout for 2018, would surely appeal to all outfield-needy teams as a trade chip. The 25-year-old established himself as one of the game’s top young outfielders from 2013-16, but he hasn’t quite performed to expectations in the first two months of the current campaign. Still, Yelich has hit a decent .270/.349/.410 with seven home runs in 229 plate appearances, posted a 10 percent walk rate in line with his career average (10.4 percent) and logged a personal-best strikeout mark of 17.5 percent (compared to a lifetime 20.6 percent). One of Yelich’s main problems, it seems, has been a .301 batting average on balls in play – down from a career .356. Defensively, the strong work Yelich did in left field from 2013-16 has transferred this year to center, where he has taken over for Ozuna and recorded four Defensive Runs Saved and a 7.5 UZR/150.

Ozuna doesn’t come with as much control as Yelich, on the other hand, but he’s on an affordable salary this year ($3.5MM) and scheduled to go through arbitration two more times. The 26-year-old is enjoying his best season, having slashed .322/.385/.563 with 14 homers and a personal-high 9.5 percent walk rate in 231 trips to the plate. While Ozuna’s .357 BABIP – up from a career .322 – might not last, his .371 expected weighted on-base average (via Baseball Savant) suggests his success hasn’t been a fluke. The defensive switch has paid off, too, as Ozuna has saved six runs and managed a 15.2 UZR/150 a year after logging minus-12 DRS and a minus-3.4 Ultimate Zone Rating in center.

Realmuto, meanwhile, is the cheapest of the three at the moment ($562,500 salary) and slated to go through arbitration for the first time during the upcoming offseason. Given that he’s under control through 2020 and among the majors’ premier catchers, the 26-year-old Realmuto would surely bring back a haul in a trade. Realmuto broke out last year when he racked up 3.5 fWAR and hit .303/.343/428 with 11 homers and 12 steals across 545 PAs. He was a mixed bag defensively, though, registering minus-8 DRS and ranking toward the bottom of the league as a pitch framer, according to both Baseball Prospectus and StatCorner. Realmuto did draw plus marks as a thrower and blocker, however, and that has continued this season. Moreover, he’s in the midst of a major turnaround as a framer, per BP, which has him near the top of the majors in the early going.

While the Marlins won’t have any difficulty moving Yelich, Ozuna or Realmuto if they’re motivated to do so, the same likely won’t be true regarding right fielder Giancarlo Stanton. The slugger could still rake in $295MM over the next 10 years on his current contract, and getting out from under that might make the up-for-sale franchise more palatable to potential buyers. However, the Marlins probably won’t be able to deal Stanton until at least the offseason, suggests Rosenthal, and his full no-trade clause only further complicates matters.

NL East Notes: Marlins, Mets, Ramirez, Fedde

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Though a potential ownership change has many Marlins fans hoping for an increased payroll, FOX’s Ken Rosenthal argues that any new owners should operate in familiar fashion and tear down the organization with an aggressive rebuild. Miami’s farm system is barren, and the team already has as much as $95MM committed to players in 2018. Rosenthal suggests that the Marlins should prepare to deal some relief pitching and market breakout outfielder Marcell Ozuna — while perhaps also beginning to think about what to do with the massive contract of Giancarlo Stanton.

  • Plenty of other National League East competitors are struggling as well, with the Mets in particular playing well shy of expectations. As John Harper of the New York Daily News writes, there’s no easy solution for an organization that has been beset with injuries. The club’s short-term veteran assets are all fairly expensive, and all but Jay Bruce have had their own issues with injury and/or performance downturns. Having dealt from the farm in recent years, the upper ranks are somewhat depleted; and with needs set to arise in the near future, dealing from what’s left (particularly given the poor start) may not be advisable.
  • New Mets reliever Neil Ramirez discussed his recent signing with reporters including MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, who tweets a video of the righty’s comments. Ramirez says he feels he was throwing well with the Giants despite some poor earned-run results. When the Blue Jays claimed and then outrighted him, he elected to test the market in search of “an opportunity to stick” with another team. His deal with the Mets came together in very short order.
  • With the Nationals still struggling to find reliable relief arms, the team has moved top pitching prospect Erick Fedde into a bullpen role, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post tweets. While it seems likely that the organization still views Fedde as a starter in the long run, the consensus top-100 prospect may be of greater use in the near term out of the pen. He has impressed thus far at Double-A, throwing 42 2/3 innings of 3.16 ERA ball with 7.4 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9, and could conceivably function as a multi-inning option in the majors. While a deadline deal or two remains all but inevitable for the division-leading Nats, utilizing Fedde in that manner might provide a boost while limiting the need to part with young talent later this summer. Of course, the team tried something similar last year with Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez with less-than-ideal results, though both were still able to return a big piece in Adam Eaton over the winter.

Quick Hits: Ozuna, K-Rod, JD Martinez, Darvish

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New ownership would obviously lead to many changes for the Marlins, though it’s too early to speculate on what a possible sale of the team would mean for Marcell Ozuna’s long-term future in Miami, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro writes as part of a reader mailbag.  It seemed as if Ozuna had fallen out of favor with Jeffrey Loria two years ago, though Ozuna wasn’t dealt in the 2015-16 offseason after much speculation.  Ozuna delivered a solid season in 2016 and is off to a great start this year, hitting .319/.380/.595 with nine homers in his first 129 PA.  Since Ozuna isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2019 campaign, his future isn’t a pressing concern for whomever ends up running the Marlins, though an extension could be unlikely regardless since Ozuna is represented by Scott Boras.  At the very least, the outfielder is lining himself up for a massive raise in his second year of arbitration eligibility after agreeing to a $3.5MM salary for 2017.

Here’s some more from around the big leagues…

  • After two blown saves in as many days for Francisco Rodriguez, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus told reporters (including MLB.com’s Alex Espinoza) that the team is “going to have to have a discussion” about the closer role.  Rodriguez has blown four saves in 11 opportunities this season, and his ERA ballooned to 8.49 after today’s ugly performance.  K-Rod has seen a marked increase in hard contact this season (36.8%, as opposed to 29.2% last year) and he has lost a mile off his fastball from last season, now averaging 88.2mph on his heater.  With that being said, there may also be some bad luck involved in Rodriguez’s poor start, such as a .405 BABIP, 29.3% grounder rate and 21.1% fly ball rate that all seem destined to eventually normalize.  Set-up man Justin Wilson is off a very good start and could seem like the logical candidate to take over as closer if Rodriguez is indeed demoted.  Be sure to check out @CloserNews (MLBTR’s affiliate Twitter feed) for all the latest updates on ninth-inning situations from around the majors.
  • In other Tigers news, Ausmus told Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press and other media that J.D. Martinez could make his season debut next weekend.  The slugging outfielder has been on the DL since suffering a Lisfranc sprain in Spring Training, and the Tigers announced today that Martinez will take the next step his minor league rehab process by moving from Class-A to Triple-A on Monday.
  • The Rangers dropped to 13-19 after today’s loss to the Mariners, and if Texas can’t turn things around, Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron opines that Yu Darvish could be a major trade chip at the deadline.  Darvish is only under contract through this season, though as Cameron notes, other rental starters dealt in recent years have still merited big returns, so the Rangers could look for something like the package the Tigers obtained from the Blue Jays for David Price in 2015.  The Yankees and Cubs are best-equipped to afford this outlay of young talent (though it remains to be seen if Chicago will make another big deadline splash), with other teams like the Rockies, Astros and Red Sox also possible fits as trade partners.

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