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Blue Jays Interested In Extending Marco Estrada

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Blue Jays right-hander Marco Estrada is scheduled to become a free agent in the offseason, but a trip to the open market isn’t a certainty. A member of the Toronto organization informed FanRag’s Robert Murray that there’s mutual interest in keeping Estrada in a Blue Jays uniform beyond this season.

“The player loves Toronto, the agent says publicly he doesn’t want to go anywhere,” the source said. “Frankly, we are open to extending him.”

Estrada is on the verge of completing the two-year, $26MM contract he signed with the Blue Jays prior to the 2016 season. Given his status as an impending free agent and Toronto’s longshot playoff hopes, Estrada seemed like a plausible summer trade candidate. And while the AL East rival Yankees claimed Estrada on revocable waivers this month, they did so in a blocking maneuver, Murray reports (Twitter link). Even if New York had real interest in acquiring Estrada before his 48-hour trade window expired, the Blue Jays weren’t keen on parting with him. In fact, manager John Gibbons told reporters Tuesday that the Jays “need” Estrada.

Despite Gibbons’ endorsement, the 34-year-old Estrada’s 5.09 ERA through 139 2/3 innings likely means his stock has dropped to some extent since the outset of the campaign. He entered the year having combined for a 3.30 ERA over 357 innings from 2015-16, his first two seasons in Toronto. Estrada did so in spite of unremarkable strikeout (7.46 K/9), walk (3.03 BB/9) and ground-ball (32.8 percent) numbers, though he overcame those figures by generating weak contact. No starter posted a better infield fly rate (14 percent) or a lower batting average on balls in play (.224) over that two-year span than Estrada, who’s third in the majors this season in the infield pop-up department (14.5 percent). However, Estrada’s BABIP allowed has skyrocketed to .312 – an increase that has come even though he has continued to do a nice job suppressing strong contact. Estrada’s expected weighted on-base average against is just .303, a far cry from his actual wOBA surrendered (.349, via Statcast and Baseball Savant).

There is some misfortune at play with respect to Estrada’s bloated ERA, then, and it’s also worth noting that his 9.21 K/9, 23.3 strikeout percentage and 11.4 percent are all above average relative to his career numbers. While Estrada’s walk (3.87 BB/9) and grounder (30 percent) rates continue to underwhelm, he remains a capable starter – one who’d generate a decent amount of interest in free agency. Although, if both the Jays and Estrada have it their way, potential suitors among the league’s other 29 teams may not even get the opportunity to bid on him.

Yankees Notes: Chapman, Estrada, Tanaka

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Not even a full season into signing a five-year, $86MM contract – a record deal for a reliever – Aroldis Chapman is out as the Yankees’ closer, manager Joe Girardi announced Saturday, per Erik Boland of Newsday (Twitter link). The move isn’t necessarily permanent, however, but a measure to “try and get him right,” said Girardi, who revealed that Chapman reacted well to the news. One of the most dominant relievers of all-time, the 29-year-old flamethower hasn’t been himself this season, as his pedestrian ERA (4.29), plummeting strikeout percentage and falling swinging-strike rate indicate. Chapman’s also amid arguably the worst stretch of his illustrious career, one in which he has yielded two earned runs in three straight appearances for the first time, and made a couple mental errors in the Yankees’ loss to the Red Sox on Friday. Chapman was responsible for a double steal when he neglected to keep tabs on the Red Sox’s runners on first and second base, and he then failed to back up home plate on a two-run single by Jackie Bradley Jr. Those slip-ups led to an animated mound visit from Girardi, who figures to turn to David Robertson and Dellin Betances as his ninth-inning choices while Chapman attempts to overcome his struggles in a different role. (Follow @CloserNews, MLBTR’s sister Twitter site, for more on the Yankees’ late-game configuration and news about all ninth-inning situations around the majors.)

A bit more on the Yankees, who will try to avoid falling six games behind Chris Sale-led Boston for the AL East lead on Saturday:

  • It was either the Yankees or the Orioles who claimed right-hander Marco Estrada off waivers from the division-rival Blue Jays earlier this week, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Regardless, Estrada isn’t going anywhere because the Jays were unable to agree to a trade with the claiming team within the 48-hour window.
  • Estrada would’ve been a quality reinforcement for the Yankees’ rotation (or Baltimore’s), but the Bombers will get some in-house help on that front. Masahiro Tanaka, on the disabled list since last Saturday with shoulder inflammation, is set to make his return Tuesday against Detroit, Girardi informed reporters (Twitter link via Boland). Rotation mate C.C. Sabathia will come off the 10-day DL and start in Boston tonight. Friday’s starter, rookie Jordan Montgomery, is headed back to Triple-A to make room for Sabathia, the team announced.

Marco Estrada Claimed On Revocable Waivers

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5:22pm: Toronto manager John Gibbons bluntly told reporters that he doesn’t expect Estrada to go anywhere (via MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm).

“Yeah, but nothing is going to happen,” said the skipper. “We need him. Most guys go through that; most of them probably get claimed anyway. Nothing’s going to happen.” Gibbons went on to indicate that he hopes the front office will work out a deal to bring Estrada back to Toronto in 2018 and beyond, though that’s likely an issue that won’t be addressed until the offseason.

Notably, Estrada is lined up to start tonight’s game, and there’s been no indication that anything has changed in that regard.

2:52pm: Toronto is not all that interested in parting with Estrada, even via trade, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). It remains unknown what team was awarded the claim, though Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets that it’s “believed” an AL East competitor did so.

2:36pm: Blue Jays righty Marco Estrada has been claimed on revocable waivers by an as-yet unidentified team, according to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter). It is not yet known whether he will end up changing uniforms.

The teams will have 48 hours from the point that the claim was awarded to attempt to work out a trade. If no deal can be completed, Toronto will be able to elect whether to allow the other team to take over Estrada’s contract or instead to pull him back. In the latter case, Estrada could not be traded without being exposed again to the waiver wire — this time without the right to revoke. (Click here for more on how August trades work.)

While claims happen all the time without player movement resulting, Estrada seems a particularly plausible candidate to find a new home. Indeed, he placed first on MLBTR’s latest ranking of possible August trade chips. Toronto is still hanging around the fringes of the AL Wild Card race, but has quite a few teams to leapfrog in the standings as well as several key players on the disabled list.

While the team has also emphasized that it wishes to continue fielding a quality product, and also that it may have interest in retaining Estrada past the present season, this waiver claim represents an opportunity to save a big chunk of change and perhaps to add some young talent.

Estrada, 34, is owed $14MM this year before returning to the open market at season’s end. (He won’t be eligible for a qualifying offer after previously having receiving one from the Jays, which led to his current contract.) With about a quarter of the calendar still yet to be played out, there’s about $3.5MM left to pay the veteran righty.

It has been a frustrating season for Estrada, who carries a 4.85 ERA through 135 1/3 total innings. But there are reasons to believe he could be a quality hurler down the stretch. Estrada was excellent last year, has managed 140 strikeouts against just 56 walks on the current season, and has now turned in four consecutive effective outings after a rough stretch for much of June and July. He’s carrying an 11.4% swinging-strike rate that sits above his career average and is showing typical velocity.

Opposing hitters had managed very low batting averages on balls in play against Estrada over recent years, helping to drive his success. But that number has jumped to .305 in 2017, despite the fact that he carries a rather familiar mix of grounders versus flies (0.62), infield pops (15.2%), and hard contact (27.7%). If he can drive the BABIP back down to where it was in 2015 and 2016, Estrada could again make for a strong rotation presence.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Blue Jays, White Sox, Brewers, Gray

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Blue Jays right-hander Marco Estrada drew “virtually no interest” in advance of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, reports FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. Estrada has been at top form since then, however, making it likely someone will claim the impending free agent on revocable waivers this month, a rival executive told Rosenthal (Twitter link). The Jays placed Estrada on waivers Friday, per Rosenthal, though he adds that they’re not bent on trading the 34-year-old unless a solid offer comes along. Because Toronto still has a shred of playoff hope and is averaging almost 40,000 fans per home game, it’s not ready to wave the white flag.

More from Rosenthal:

  • The rebuilding White Sox are still deciding on the futures of first baseman Jose Abreu and outfielder Avisail Garcia, says Rosenthal. As a bat-first type who doesn’t play a premium position and will turn 31 in January, Abreu would be the harder of the two to trade, observes Rosenthal, who also points out that he’s not cheap ($11MM salary in 2017 with two arbitration trips left). With that in mind, the White Sox could end up keeping the veteran around as a lineup anchor and a mentor to their younger players, including fellow Cubans Yoan Moncada and Luis Robert. Garcia, meanwhile, is amid a career year and still fairly young (26), so he could be an extension candidate if the White Sox don’t “trade him at peak value,” suggests Rosenthal. Garcia’s making a reasonable $3MM this season and, like Abreu, has two arb-eligible years remaining.
  • Contrary to a report last month, the Brewers’ unwillingness to part with high-end outfield prospect Lewis Brinson did not kill their chances of landing righty Sonny Gray from the Athletics, according to Rosenthal. The A’s would have accepted a package of other prospects from the Brewers’ talented farm system, relays Rosenthal, but the two sides still couldn’t work out a deal leading up to July 31. Oakland ultimately sent Gray to the Yankees for a trio of prospects on deadline day, officially ending any chance of the Brewers acquiring him.

Post-Deadline Notes: Gray, Cards, Darvish, Britton, Estrada, Braves

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The Cardinals “float[ed]” a trade proposal for Sonny Gray before the Athletics shipped him to the Yankees, according to MLB Network’s Ken Rosenthal. In concept, at least, St. Louis would have considered sending young outfielder Stephen Piscotty to Oakland along with a promising starter (Luke Weaver or Jack Flaherty), though it seems talks never got going. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks closer at the Cards’ lack of action on deadline day. Top baseball decisionmaker John Mozeliak acknowledged “a level of frustration” that nothing got done, though he also said the team wasn’t inclined to make deals just for the sake of action. Ultimately, momentum never built toward a deal for Lance Lynn, and the club’s other chatter never materialized into a trade. You’ll want to peruse the lengthy column for all the details.

Here are some more post-deadline links of note:

  • The Dodgers’ acquisition of Yu Darvish came together quite late, as Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports explains in fascinating detail. It became apparent the Dodgers wouldn’t get Zach Britton from the Orioles within a half hour of the deadline, but the team had already “abandoned hope” of landing Darvish. The Rangers, meanwhile, had run through their alternative trade partners for the ace righty and found none availing. The paths of the two organizations converged just twenty minutes before the deadline. You’ll certainly want to give the story a full read; Texas fans will also want to check out this piece from Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News on the team’s unannounced but still-evident rebuilding path.
  • In the end, there just wasn’t that much demand in the marketplace for Darvish, Rosenthal also notes — so much so that the Dodgers were nearly in position to land both Darvish from the Rangers and lefty Zach Britton from the Orioles. That said, there was “some overlap” between the prospects in both potential deals, and it obviously would’ve required a steep overall price to get both arms. Instead, Los Angeles added two different lefties, Tony Watson and Tony Cingrani.
  • As regards Britton, Rosenthal had some stern words for how things played out. The Orioles spurned not only the Dodgers but likely also the Astros. For Baltimore, the deadline approach “was disturbingly short-sighted,” by Rosenthal’s reckoning. And when Houston wasn’t able to find another top-end arm, says Rosenthal, its body of deadline work became a “lost opportunity.” It does seem worth bearing in mind, particularly regarding the Astros, that the August trade period appears to be full of opportunities for making further moves if the need is there.
  • Over in Toronto, the Blue Jays ended up holding onto righty Marco Estrada and then watched him turn in a strong outing last night. As Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca writes, Jays GM Ross Atkins suggested yesterday that the organization may yet see Estrada as a part of the team’s future — though his contract is up at year’s end and he perhaps remains a plausible August trade piece. With Estrada remaining in Toronto through the deadline, said Atkins, “we’ll start thinking about not only how he impacts us now, but how he can potentially impact us beyond 2017.”
  • Be sure also to check out the trade deadline rundown from Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, who assesses some winners and losers from the day’s action. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney also issued deadline grades in an Insider piece.
  • With the Braves holding on deadline day, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman takes stock of the months to come. Second baseman Brandon Phillips, reliever Jim Johnson, and starter R.A. Dickey could all be possible August trade chips, he notes, while the inclination of the organization remains to consider deals involving first baseman Matt Adams over the offseason. Meanwhile, Atlanta continues its long-standing pursuit of controllable pitching, though that’ll surely await the end of the current season.

Royals Discussing J.A. Happ, Marco Estrada With Blue Jays

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The Royals have already made several additions, but they have engaged with the Blue Jays on a pair of starting pitching targets, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). Kansas City is discussing both lefty J.A. Happ and righty Marco Estrada with Toronto, which just agreed to send southpaw Francisco Liriano to the Astros.

Happ, 34, is certainly enjoying more success at the moment among the two pitchers under consideration. He owns a 4.15 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 over his 78 frames on the year. Happ isn’t exactly cheap — he’s owed $13MM this year and next — but has been well worth the salary commitment for his production. That additional year of control, though, has led to prior suggestions that Toronto isn’t all that interested in moving him.

As for Estrada, he has been tied to the Royals for some time. While he’s punching out 9.6 batters per nine on strikes, the veteran has stumbled to a 5.43 ERA — though he has also been healthy, with 114 1/3 innings on his ledger. The pending free agent is playing on a $14.5MM salary this year, and the Jays would surely need to hold onto a decent chunk of what’s left (or add an underperforming contract in return) to make a deal.

Blue Jays, Royals “Making Progress” On Francisco Liriano Trade

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6:13pm: Among the clubs with at least some interest in Liriano are the Cubs, per Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network (via Twitter), who would view the lefty as a possible reliever.

2:32pm: Sherman tweets that the Jays and Royals had discussed both Liriano and Marco Estrada, but Liriano now looks to be their sole focus. Morosi tweets that other clubs have had interest in Liriano, though there’s no readily apparent indication that talks with other teams have produced any kind of traction.

2:14pm: The Jays and Royals are “making progress” on a deal involving Liriano, reports MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter).

2:03pm: Francisco Liriano has struggled mightily this season, but Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the lefty is still drawing some interest. Sherman adds that the Blue Jays “may be close to dealing him.” To this point, the Royals have been the one club that has been definitively connected to the 33-year-old Liriano.

Playing out the final season of a three-year, $39MM contract, Liriano has seen his strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates each trend in the wrong direction, and his ERA has correspondingly soared to an unpalatable 5.99. Liriano’s 8.2 K/9, 4.9 BB/9 and 43.1 percent grounder rate would all rank as his worst marks since a disastrous 2012 campaign split between the Twins and White Sox. The lefty reinvented himself upon signing with the Pirates in 2013 and had three strong seasons there before being dealt to Toronto last season at the halfway point of the free-agent deal he signed to return to the Bucs.

Liriano was outstanding for Toronto down the stretch in 2016, averaging 9.5 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 and a 52.2 percent ground-ball rate en route to a 2.92 ERA. Obviously, he’s been wholly unable to replicate that production in 2017. He’s still owed the balance of his $13MM salary in 2017 — a sum of about $4.69MM.

Yesterday, when profiling the trade market for left-handed relievers, I speculated that it’s at least plausible that some clubs would view Liriano as a relief option. Nearly all of his struggles this season have come against right-handed hitters (.289/.394/.512), as he’s limited opposing lefties to a putrid .241/.267/.379 batting line. Liriano has a 16-to-1 K/BB ratio against lefties in 2017 and has struck out nearly 27 percent of the left-handed hitters he’s faced. His heater is still averaging 92.6 mph as a starter, and one has to imagine that said velocity would tick upward if Liriano were to move to a short-relief role.

Then again, some clubs may simply look at the past success Liriano has had as a starting pitcher and think that a change of scenery could get him back on track. Consistency has long been a problem for Liriano in the Majors, but he’s often flashed stretches of brilliance when his mechanics are at their best. Considering his struggles in 2017, it wouldn’t cost an acquiring club much of anything (in terms of prospect value) to get its hands on Liriano and hope that he can again deliver some value, be it in a rotation or relief capacity.

Trade Chatter: Gray, Blue Jays, Twins, Red Sox, Reed

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There’s a belief among teams that most clubs have let the Athletics know which piece or pieces they’re comfortable parting with as headliners in a potential Sonny Gray trade, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Interested parties feel that one club will eventually separate itself before Gray’s scheduled start on Sunday, Sherman continues, adding that the current belief is that the Yankees have offered the best package thus far. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported yesterday that the Yankees were “making progress” in negotiations with the Athletics and added that New York has also discussed Yonder Alonso in those talks.

Some more rumblings with Monday’s 4pm ET non-waiver deadline looming…

  • Also from Sherman, the Blue Jays are still only interested in dealing their impending free agents and haven’t changed their unwillingness to move players like Josh Donaldson, Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez or Roberto Osuna. Toronto plans to try to move Marco Estrada, Francisco Liriano, Joe Smith and Jose Bautista, and, as Sherman notes, could find success in dealing Bautista in August if a match doesn’t surface this month. (I’d add that like Bautista, Liriano is also highly likely to clear revocable trade waivers next month.) Despite struggling through his worst season since breaking out with the Blue Jays seven years ago, Bautista has generated a bit of interest from other clubs, according to Sherman.
  • MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that the Twins are at least open to the idea of moving Ervin Santana and Jaime Garcia if their recent struggles don’t turn around before the non-waiver deadline. Minnesota dropped below .500 for the first time since April after a pair of losses to the Dodgers, and the Royals are surging toward the top of the division as well. Santana has struggled over the past month and a half but would still figure to draw interest as a fairly reasonably priced rotation stabilizer, even if his ERA has never been supported by peripheral metrics. And while some may raise an eyebrow at the notion of moving Garcia, I’d point out that since the Twins took on all of the money owed to Garcia, they could offer to flip him, still pay his contract, and potentially receive a better prospect than the Huascar Ynoa, whom they traded to Atlanta to get Garcia in the first place.
  • The Red Sox may not add another bat to the mix after acquiring Eduardo Nunez, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter links). Boston has seen Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi and Mitch Moreland each struggle of late, but the team believes that when that group emerges from its slump, the offense won’t be much of an issue. Rather, the BoSox are currently focusing on adding another arm to the bullpen.
  • ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that he spoke to a scout whose team has interest in Mets closer Addison Reed that expressed some concern that Reed has been overworked by manager Terry Collins. Only 10 relievers in baseball have more appearances than Reed’s 47, and five of them are situational relievers whose innings count is considerably lower than Reed’s total of 48. By my count, Reed has worked more than an inning on six occasions this year, and he’s also worked on three consecutive days four different times.

Royals Discussing Francisco Liriano With Blue Jays

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The Royals are “in talks” with the Blue Jays on starter Francisco Liriano, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Kansas City has been rumored to be looking at starters even after striking a deal to add Trevor Cahill from the Padres. The club may also have some interest in Jays righty Marco Estrada, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation notes on Twitter.

Liriano, a 33-year-old southpaw, has had a rocky season thus far, posting a 5.99 ERA over 76 2/3 innings over 17 starts. After providing good results late in 2016 upon arriving in Toronto, his longstanding walk problems have resurfaced as his swinging-strike rate has fallen to a career-low 9.7%. On the year, he has managed only 8.2 K/9 to go with 4.9 BB/9.

The Jays are surely interested in finding a taker for Liriano with the club sputtering in the standings. Doing so will undoubtedly require eating a significant portion of the remainder of his $13MM salary. As K.C. looks to find improvements without giving up much in the way of prospects or taking on huge additional payroll obligations, the pending free agent could represent something of a buy-low candidate; he might also conceivably pair well with Cahill if the team sees merit in the idea of piggybacking the two pitchers rather than dedicating a single rotation spot to either.

That said, it is unclear as yet whether the Royals will ultimately choose to go after Liriano. MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan hears (Twitter link) that Kansas City has watched his last two outings. But the southpaw’s “inconsistency has been concerning” to the Royals’ talent evaluators.

Inconsistency has indeed marked Liriano’s career. He was one of the game’s most productive hurlers from 2013 through 2015, when he turned in 510 innings of 3.26 ERA ball. But he has managed only a 5.11 mark in his 239 innings since. And this year, Liriano has made it through more than six innings only twice; he also spent time on the DL with shoulder inflammation.

Heyman’s Latest: Cole, Cutch, Fulmer, Iglesias, Abreu, Bruce, Alonso, Darvish

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The Pirates are on a roll in the NL Central, having just swept the division-leading Brewers in a four-game series. Even prior to today’s win, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports wrote in his weekly notes column that Pittsburgh not only continues to look unlikely to trade Gerrit Cole but is now also unlikely to deal outfielder Andrew McCutchen, who has undergone a remarkable turnaround at the plate since late May.

More highlights from Heyman’s latest, including his American League and National League breakdowns:

  • The Tigers appear all but entirely unwilling to move young starter Michael Fulmer, per Heyman. That’s largely unsurprising, though perhaps it might have been expected that the club would at least entertain some scenarios in the interest of covering all its bases. While he’d surely draw a major haul, it would probably be tough for the team to part with its best asset while so many expensive veterans remain under contract. Meanwhile, Heyman notes that shortstop Jose Iglesias could be had for the right price, though it’s hard to see that coming together with such limited demand at the position.
  • Though the White Sox are clearly in the midst of another aggressive sale, Heyman writes that there are no plans to move Jose Abreu at this time. The slugger is in the midst of a fine season, but there’s a limited market for first base help at this time. With another two years of control beyond this season, the ChiSox will perhaps have more opportunistic times to market him. Derek Holland, on the other hand, could very well be moved in the coming week, and the South Siders would like to move Melky Cabrera as well but would probably need to pay down most of the remainder of this year’s $15MM salary.
  • The Indians are a possible landing spot for Jay Bruce, as their offense is currently without the injured Lonnie Chisenhall and Jason Kipnis. The Mets are known to be looking to move Bruce, and it’s worth noting that USA Today’s Bob Nightengale recently reported that Cleveland was in the mix for slugger J.D. Martinez right up until the time he was traded.
  • With limited trade partners for Yonder Alonso — especially following the Yankees’ acquisition of Todd Frazier — the Athletics once again touched base with Yonder Alonso’s reps at MVP Sports about an extension, per Heyman. They’ll circle back again and do so later this week as the two sides attempt to find a middle ground. Oakland is in the midst of an all-out rebuild, as executive vice president of baseball ops Billy Beane recently indicated, but Alonso could provide some leadership for the team’s younger players. And, if he sustains his breakout through season’s end and into 2018, he could certainly become a marketable asset in the future when there’s more of a need at his position.
  • The Rangers aren’t likely to re-sign Yu Darvish after the season, Heyman writes, as Darvish’s camp has already thrown out Stephen Strasburg’s seven-year, $175MM contract as a potential comp. Texas isn’t prepared to bid that highly to retain Darvish, which is why they’ve at least signaled to teams that they’ll listen to offers on Darvish if they struggle too much between now and the deadline. There’s no plan to move Cole Hamels at this time, though, he adds.
  • While the Diamondbacks may have made their biggest move already, the club is still looking at ways to bolster the pitching staff. Heyman pegs Blue Jays righty Marco Estrada as a possibility, though it’s unclear if he’s actively under consideration. It’s fair to wonder, too, whether the club would be better suited to focusing on bullpen help — though, of course, looking at starters doesn’t preclude that possibility.
  • While the Cubs have made at least some contact with the Athletics on righty Sonny Gray even since acquiring Jose Quintana, Heyman says that it’s not at all clear that Chicago will be “a strong player” for another controllable starter.
  • With Jaime Garcia seemingly going off the board, there ought to be greater focus now on Phillies righty Jeremy Hellickson. He ought to be easier to obtain now than he was last year, Heyman notes, as the Phils are willing to hold onto at least some of his $17.2MM salary to improve the prospect return.

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