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COVID Notes: 7/31/21

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The latest on coronavirus situations from around baseball…

  • Marlins manager Don Mattingly has tested positive for COVID-19, the team announced (MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola was among those to report the news).  Mattingly is experiencing some mild symptoms but has been vaccinated against the coronavirus.  Bench coach James Rowson will serve as acting manager while Mattingly is absent for the mandatory quarantine period.  Tests of other Marlins personnel revealed no other positive cases.
  • Brewers right-handers Hunter Strickland and Jake Cousins both tested positive for COVID-19, manager Craig Counsell told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Haudricourt (Twitter links) and other reporters.  Righty Jandel Gustave is also not available due to contact tracing.  No official moves have been made in regards to the COVID-related injured list or roster replacements, though newly-acquired relievers John Curtiss and Daniel Norris are both on hand and could be activated for tonight’s game.  Counsell said that Strickland and Cousins both reported mild symptoms, and both relievers have been vaccinated.

July Headlines: National League

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This year’s trade season did not disappoint. After a wild couple of days, we’re gonna do our best to recap the action from one of the busiest trade deadlines in recent memory. Let’s start with the headlines coming out of the Senior Circuit this month…

The Champs Are Still The Champs: This phrase, in many ways, could serve as an ironic headline for this year’s trade deadline, as we saw the dismantling of a couple of former championship teams. The reigning champ, however, was not one of them. The Dodgers reasserted themselves as the team to beat in the National League by making the splashiest move of the deadline in acquiring Max Scherzer and Trea Turner from the Nationals.

The Dodgers stepped up, and now they have perhaps the most intimidating starter of his generation slotted into a rotation with Clayton Kershaw, probably the best pitcher of his generation, along with young stud Walker Buehler. It’s an amazing collection of talent for a single team.

That said, the Turner acquisition might be even more impactful, as he’s under team control  through next season. Turner and Mookie Betts as a 1-2 punch in the lineup are devastating. Interestingly, the Dodgers also got Corey Seager back from the injured list today, and it remains to be seen how the Dodgers will deploy their pair of All-Star shortstops (to say nothing of Gavin Lux and Chris Taylor). The Dodgers have options now and for the future. Remember, Seager is a free agent after the season. They can still bring back their World Series MVP at the right price point, but they won’t be pressured to now that they have Turner in the fold.

The Padres Don’t Land Mad Max: The trade deadline madness really began on Thursday night when it was announced that the Padres and Nats had agreed on the players involved in a Scherzer deal. That didn’t sit well with the Dodgers, who swooped in to remind the Padres of who still runs the West. The Padres were expected to turn their attention to Jose Berrios, but they weren’t able to get him either.

At the end of the day, the Padres didn’t get Scherzer, Berrios, Joey Gallo, or any other of the big names. They did add Adam Frazier, a versatile defender and good contact hitter, along with Daniel Hudson, who is a legitimate get for the bullpen, and Jake Marisnick, who compliments their centerfield options nicely, even if he’s not much more than a depth piece. It was a less impactful deadline than expected, but what’s worse: Fernando Tatis Jr. promptly reaggravated his shoulder injury. Add it all up, and the swing from potentially acquiring Scherzer to potentially losing Tatis is enough to give any Padres fan whiplash.

Giants Add Bryant: The Padres took a big swing and missed, the Dodgers took their swing and connected, and sure to form, the Giants played the deadline slow and steady. Does the tortoise win again? Time will tell, but the Giants did ultimately nab a former MVP in Kris Bryant without giving up a top prospect. Bryant fits their profile like a glove, and he’ll be able to fill in at third until Evan Longoria returns and then move to the outfield.

Remember: The Giants have a three-game head start on LA and a five-game lead on the Padres. Adding Bryant has game-changing potential, while Tony Watson was a solid, low-key add to the pen. The Dodgers are scary, but if the Giants keep playing their game, LA may find themselves in the wild card game anyway.

Cubs Collapse, Dismantle 2016 World Series Champs: In a vacuum, the Cubs had a pretty good deadline. They added a number of buzzy, interesting young players like Nick Madrigal, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Alexander Canario. But it came at a cost. After years of rumors, Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Javier Baez were finally shipped out of town, along with Craig Kimbrel, Andrew Chafin, Ryan Tepera, Marisnick, and Trevor Williams. New players — and new narratives — are long overdue in Chicago, and the next chapter awaits.

Nationals Collapse, Dismantle 2019 World Series Champs: It’s appropriate that the Cubs are in DC to play the Nats this weekend, because really, the two clubs are mirror images of one another, right down to their interconnecting pieces like Kyle Schwarber and Jon Lester. Both teams were trying to contend on the legs of recent title teams, both teams had disastrous months of July, and both clubs desperately needed an influx of young talent. Both teams got it on Friday.

The Nats farm system was even more barren than Chicago’s and their need to restock even direr given the presence of young superstud Juan Soto. So Washington said their fare-thee-wells to  Scherzer, Turner, Hudson, and Yan Gomes from the title team, plus recent additions Lester, Schwarber, Brad Hand, and Josh Harrison. GM Mike Rizzo does not sell off pieces willy nilly, but in doing so, they got some high-end, near-ready pieces as they look to quickly rebuild a contender in context around Soto before the Scott Boras client reaches free agency after the 2024 season.

Brewers Take Their Place Atop The NL Central: Milwaukee made their big acquisition back in May, and Willy Adames has transformed himself and the club since his arrival. They were last under .500 on the day before Adames arrived, they’ve gone 41-19 since and taken firm hold of the NL Central. Still, some tinkering remained on the docket for July, as the Brewers picked up Eduardo Escobar, Rowdy Tellez, John Curtiss, and Daniel Norris.

Injuries Keeping Mets From Runaway Division Title: The Mets left deadline day with a more acute awareness of what they lost than what they gained: Jacob deGrom has been shut down for another couple of weeks, leaving the all-world hurler out until at least September. That’s heartbreaking for a Mets team with a clear path to an NL East title. Plenty of upside remains in the Mets rotation with Marcus Stroman and Taijuan Walker posting career years, Carlos Carrasco set to make his debut, and Tylor Megill providing the surprising rookie breakout contenders seek. Still, deGrom and Noah Syndergaard are questionable at best for the rest of the season, and the only rotation additions the Mets made at the deadline were Rich Hill and Trevor Williams.

They did, however, account for Francisco Lindor’s injury by adding Javier Baez, Lindor’s friend and countrymate who can ably fill in while Lindor is out and then slide to second or third when he returns. Baez isn’t, perhaps, the former Cub that Mets fans expected, but he’s an excellent fit alongside Lindor and should bolster the pitching staff with his stellar glove — even if acquiring him did cost them a former first-rounder in Crow-Armstrong.

Braves Lose Acuna For The Season: The deadline might have looked a lot different for Atlanta had they not lost Ronald Acuna Jr. for the season back on July 10th. Without Acuna and Mike Soroka, the Braves weren’t expected to make any major swings at contention. But even a 13-12 July was enough to keep them within four games of first. A fourth consecutive NL East title remains in reach. So they nabbed one of the top available relief arms in Richard Rodriguez, as well as, seemingly, all the outfielders: Jorge Soler, old pal Adam Duvall, Eddie Rosario, and Joc Pederson, plus Stephen Vogt to reinforce their catching corps.

Soft Buys From The Fringes Of Contention: The Giants and Dodgers made headline additions, while the Nats and Cubs took a firm step away from contention. In the middle, there were a number of clubs that neither sold the farm nor raised the white flag. Such as…

…the Phillies… who seemed poised to add a bevy of arms given their bullpen situation, not to mention a starting rotation that’s received underwhelming performances from the back end. Instead, only Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy came to help, and they cost the Phillies’ top prospect Spencer Howard. Howard’s handling had been in question all season, and now he’s been served an unceremonious end to his Philly tenure. Gibson’s had a fine season thus far with the Rangers, but his groundball approach will be tested in front of Philly’s subpar infield defense. Sure, Freddy Galvis brings his glove back to help out, but will that be enough?

…and the Reds… who looked to undo their winter penny-pinching by restocking the bullpen. Justin Wilson, Luis Cessa, and Mychal Givens will try to help a bullpen that ranks 29th with a 5.31 ERA. The Reds’ inconsistent play in July kept them squarely on the deadline fence, however, and now that Nick Castellanos is on the injured list, they’re seven games behind the Brewers and looking like longshots for the postseason.

…and the Cardinals…who added a few pieces at the deadline, despite being 9.5 games behind the Brewers and 6.5 out of a wild card spot. The additions were modest, however, as St. Louis went on a run of graybeard southpaws in July, adding 36-year-old Wade LeBlanc, 37-year-old Jon Lester, and 38-year-old J.A. Happ to a rotation fronted by 39-year-old Adam Wainwright and caught by 39-year-old Yadier Molina.

Cellar Dwellers Sell: The Marlins, Pirates, and Diamondbacks, each in last place of their respective divisions, made some moves to turn expiring talent into youth for the future. The Marlins added the biggest fish in Jesus Luzardo, but the Pirates did well for themselves, too, by adding some plug-and-play talent like Michael Chavis from Boston and Bryse Wilson from Atlanta, while also grabbing two prospects from Seattle for Tyler Anderson. The Dbacks weren’t quite as active, but they did move Escobar and Joakim Soria, though a COVID-19 outbreak has brought more pressing issues to their attention.

The Rockies Don’t Trade Trevor Story Or Jon Gray: The most perplexing moves of the deadline were the trades that didn’t happen. Despite having no shot at contention in a division with zero margin for error (in the short-and-long term), the Rockies chose to stand pat rather than build for the future. Holding Gray is one thing, but Story has stated his desire to move on, so their decision not to acquire a prospect or two for him before he walks might be the biggest shock of deadline season.

Draft Signings: 7/30/21

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Today’s most notable signings from last week’s amateur draft.  As always, you can get more background on these players via the prospect rankings and scouting reports compiled by Baseball America, Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.  As well, here is MLB Pipeline’s breakdown of the slot values assigned to each pick in the first 10 rounds, as well as the bonus pool money available to all 30 teams.

  • The Diamondbacks signed first-round selection Jordan Lawlar, according to Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline. Lawlar will receive almost $1MM above slot value. As Callis notes, this was the highest number the team could give without exceeding their bonus pool.
  • Marlins have also signed their first-round selection Kahlil Watson, pending a physical. Callis expects Watson to get well above slot, similar to Lawlar.
  • The Nationals have also signed their first-round pick Brady House, according to a team announcement. Terms were not disclosed. But the slot value is $4.55MM.
  • The Red Sox have signed fifth-round pick Nathan Hickey, $1MM on a slot of $410k. As noted by Callis, this is the highest bonus given to any player in rounds 4 through 10 so far this year.

 

Deadline Day Roster Moves

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After what was arguably the wildest trade deadline in years with dozens of deals around the league, multiple teams made follow-up roster moves. Trades end up squeezing some players off of rosters, or creating holes that need to be filled. This post will itemize the many 40-man roster moves that teams made after a dizzying array of blockbuster deals earlier in the day.

AL East

AL Central

  • Pablo Sandoval was released by the Indians. This was just hours after he was acquired in the Eddie Rosario trade. Based on his release, it’s clear that he was only included as salary offset.
  • The Tigers selected the contract of reliever Ian Krol. The left-hander is back after being designated for assignment earlier in the week.

AL West

NL East

NL Central

NL West

  • The Diamondbacks claimed outfielder Jake Hager off waivers from the Mariners. This will be Hager’s fourth club on the season, having been previously designated for assignment by the Mets, Brewers and Mariners. Arizona also selected the contracts of infielder Drew Ellis and left-hander Miguel Aguilar.
  • The Dodgers announced that they claimed catcher Chad Wallach off waivers from the Marlins. Wallach was recently designated for assignment when Brian Anderson was reinstated from the IL.

Brewers Acquire John Curtiss

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The Brewers and Marlins have agreed to a swap sending right-handed reliever John Curtiss from Miami to Milwaukee in exchange for minor league catcher Payton Henry, the teams announced just prior to Friday’s trade deadline.

John Curtiss | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Curtiss, 28, was at one point a fairly well-regarded bullpen prospect in the Twins system but never panned out in Minnesota, Anaheim or Philadelphia after bouncing around in a series of transactions. Like so many others, however, he found a home with the Rays in 2020, pitching to a brilliant 1.80 ERA in 25 innings of relief and posting a 25.3 percent strikeout rate against a masterful 3.0 percent walk rate. The Rays nevertheless flipped Curtiss to the Marlins in a late offseason trade for minor league first baseman Evan Edwards — perhaps not sold on Curtiss being able to sustain his otherworldly command.

While Curtiss’ command has indeed backed up a bit — sustaining a three percent walk rate is a near impossibility for any pitcher — it’s still sitting at a brilliant 5.6 percent so far in what has been a terrific 2021 season. Curtiss pitched 40 innings for the Marlins and notched a tidy 2.48 ERA with a solid 24.8 percent strikeout rate.

Beyond his excellent production, Curtiss was no doubt appealing to the Rays due to the fact that he’s not yet arbitration-eligible and is controlled through the 2025 season. Curtiss won’t even reach arbitration until the 2022-23 offseason, so there’s potential for him to step up as a long-term bullpen piece for the Brew Crew.

The Brewers will gain those four and a half years of control at the expense of the 24-year-old Henry, whom they selected in the sixth round of the 2016 draft. Henry ranked among the Brewers’ top 30 prospects at Baseball America each season from 2018-20 but fell off this year. He’s still 25th among their farmhands over at FanGraphs, where Eric Longenhagen notes that he was a bat-first catcher in the draft who has made enough defensive gains to stick behind the plate. Henry’s raw power is his best tool.

So far in 2021, however, that pop hasn’t really been on display. He’s batted a combined .297/.372/.390 with just two homers between Double-A and Triple-A. That said, Henry has curbed his once-problematic strikeout rates by a wide margin this year; he fanned in 32 percent of his trips to the plate in Class-A as recently as 2018, but he’s down to an even 25 percent between Double-A and Triple-A this year (with fewer punchouts in Triple-A).

The Marlins are known to have been looking for potential long-term options behind the dish, and while Henry is a long shot to step up as their everyday option back there, he gives the Fish an upper-minors option who is producing at the dish and may not be too far from getting a shot in the big leagues.

MLB Network’s Jon Heyman first reported the deal (Twitter link).

Braves Acquire Adam Duvall

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The Braves have picked up slugger Adam Duvall in a trade with the Marlins, as originally reported by Craig Mish of The Miami Herald (Twitter links).  Catcher Alex Jackson is heading to the Marlins.

It is the second outfield trade in a matter of minutes for the Braves, who also just acquired Eddie Rosario from the Indians.  Since Rosario is still on the injured list recovering from a right abdominal strain, Duvall will now immediately step into an outfield picture that has been entirely remade in the last few weeks, including the Braves’ trade with the Cubs for Joc Pederson.

Duvall is a known quantity in Atlanta, and was initially acquired by the team exactly three years ago to the day as part of another deadline deal with the Reds.  Duvall didn’t perform well down the stretch in 2018, but he then hit .248/.307/.545 with 26 home runs over 339 plate appearances for the team during the 2019-20 seasons.

The Braves non-tendered Duvall last winter rather than pay him a $4MM in projected arbitration salary, opening the door for Duvall to sign a one-year deal with the Marlins worth $5MM in guaranteed money.  Duvall is still owed the remainder of his $2MM salary for this season, and there is a $7MM mutual option on his services for 2022 that can be bought out for $3MM.

The 2021 season has seen Duvall continue his power-centric performance, hitting 22 homers and slugging .478 over 339 PA for Miami, though with only a .229 batting average and .277 OBP.  The right-handed hitting Duvall has actually performed better against righties than lefties this season, but he has pretty even splits over his career, so the Braves will likely look to swing some of platoon system between Duvall and the left-handed hitting Pederson and Rosario.

Once Rosario is healthy, the Braves can juggle between the three veterans in the corner outfield, and Duvall could even be an option in center field, as he has held his own over 53 innings up the middle for the Marlins this year.  That said, Duvall is a much more solid corner outfielder, if the Braves looked to prioritize their overall defense on the grass.  Between the trio of new acquisitions and other in-house options like Guillermo Heredia, Abraham Almonte, or Cristian Pache, Atlanta has managed to fortify an outfield that lost Ronald Acuna Jr. and Marcell Ozuna.

Jackson has only a .293 OPS over 50 career Major League plate appearances, but the 25-year-old has been consistently productive at the Triple-A level, with a .236/.320/.544 slash line and 42 home runs over 593 PA at Triple-A Gwinnett.  Selected sixth overall by the Mariners in the 2014 draft, Jackson hasn’t gotten much of an opportunity at the big league level, but might find more chances for a Marlins team that is thin at catcher.  Jorge Alfaro hasn’t hit well over the last two seasons, calling into question his status as the Marlins’ catcher of the future.

Garrett Cooper To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery

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Marlins first baseman/corner outfielder Garrett Cooper has been diagnosed with a torn UCL in his left elbow, reports Craig Mish of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). He’ll undergo season-ending surgery to correct the issue. Mish suggests it’s the same procedure Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins underwent last October. Hoskins was ready for the start of the 2021 season, so Cooper (who’ll go under the knife two months earlier in the year) should have no trouble being at full health for 2022.

That said, losing Cooper for the rest of this season is still a difficult blow. While Miami isn’t going to the postseason this year, the right-handed hitting Cooper had played well enough to be a plausible trade candidate. He’ll wrap up the campaign with a .284/.380/.465 line over 250 plate appearances. Cooper has always performed well when healthy, but he’s been plagued by a series of injuries over the course of his career.

With Cooper on the 60-day IL, Miami selected the contracts of outfielder Corey Bird and reliever Preston Guilmet, relays Christina de Nicola of MLB.com (Twitter link). Guilmet has been on and off the Miami roster a few times this season but didn’t get into a game until tonight. He tossed a scoreless inning of relief in Miami’s loss to the Orioles.

Bird is in line to make his major league debut. The 25-year-old has hit a productive .270/.362/.444 with six homers over 224 plate appearances with Triple-A Jacksonville this season. Miami’s seventh-round draft choice in 2016 out of Marshall, the lefty-hitting Bird has a .253/.325/.328 line across five minor league seasons and can cover all three outfield positions.

With Starling Marte traded to the A’s this afternoon, Bird could see some time in center field over the coming weeks. Miami’s known to be looking for a longer-term answer at the position, though, and general manager Kim Ng and her front office figure to continue to be active before Friday afternoon’s trade deadline.

Lefty reliever Richard Bleier is generating interest, Mish hears, and could wind up on the move. Corner outfielder Adam Duvall and first baseman Jesús Aguilar are other potential trade candidates. The Braves, who employed Duvall last season, made a push for him to address their corner outfield issues but were rebuffed, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link).

Aguilar has drawn some attention from contenders as well. He’s controllable through 2022 via arbitration, though, and the front office has given some consideration to offering him an extension that could tack on an additional year of control, Mish reports (Twitter link).

Astros Acquire Yimi Garcia From Marlins For Austin Pruitt, Bryan De La Cruz

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The Astros have bolstered their bullpen, acquiring right-hander Yimi Garcia from the Marlins. In exchange, Houston is sending outfield prospect Bryan De La Cruz and swingman Austin Pruitt to Miami. The Astros had designated Pruitt for assignment earlier today, so he’ll step right onto the Miami 40-man roster.

Yimi Garcia | Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Garcia, 32 next month, was non-tendered by the Dodgers after the 2019 season. The Marlins signed him to a low-risk Major League deal worth $1.1MM — an investment that proved to be well worthwhile. Garcia, whom the Fish retained into the 2021 season via arbitration, has pitched 51 1/3 innings since signing in Miami, working to a strong 2.63 ERA with a 25.6 percent strikeout rate and a solid 8.5 percent walk rate.

It should be noted that Garcia hasn’t been as effective in 36 1/3 innings this season as he was in 15 frames last summer, but he has a 3.47 ERA with roughly average strikeout and walk rates. He’s had a pair of rough outings so far in July, but his overall body of work in Miami has been sound.

Importantly for the Astros, who are trying to remain south of the luxury-tax line, Garcia is playing the 2021 season on a modest $1.9MM salary. He’s still owed about $694K of that sum through season’s end, and the luxury-tax hit on contract will match that amount (as with all one-year deals). Houston is less than $2MM from the $210MM luxury barrier, per Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez, so Garcia’s budget-friendly contract is a notable perk.

While Houston general manager James Click recently went on record to say there’s no ownership mandate to stay under the tax line, the past 24 hours worth of transactions strongly indicates that is indeed owner Jim Crane’s preference. The Astros targeted closer Kendall Graveman and his $1.25MM base salary and added other pieces to structure a largely cash-neutral, four-player trade with the division-rival Mariners; today’s focus on Garcia brings in another affordable option that won’t add much to the luxury ledger.

Turning to the Marlins’ side of the swap, they’ll add a 24-year-old outfielder who isn’t far from the big leagues. De La Cruz, who signed as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic back in 2013, has spent the season with Triple-A Sugar Land, hitting .324/.362/.518 with a dozen homers and 17 doubles. It’s certainly an impressive-looking stat line, though the supercharged offensive environments in Triple-A need to be kept in mind; after weighting for league and home park, De La Cruz’s bat has been about 12 percent better than league average, by measure of wRC+.

He’s never been ranked among Houston’s top 30 prospects at Baseball America or MLB.com, but De La Cruz ranked 38th on FanGraphs’ midseason rankings in 2020. Prior to the 2021 season, Eric Longenhagen called him a potential role player, suggesting he’s fringe-y in center field and a bit lighter on power than most corner types. He’s only walked at a 5.8 percent clip in Triple-A as well, so his OBP isn’t likely to carry his offense without some improvements in that area.

The Marlins will need to add De La Cruz to their 40-man roster this offseason or else expose him to the Rule 5 Draft, so there’s a chance he’ll get a look in the big leagues later this season. The Marlins have seeking long-term pieces at catcher and in the outfield, but while De La Cruz technically fits that bill, it seems fair to assume that the Fish will continue to set their sights higher and acquire a more clear-cut everyday option in the outfield.

Pruitt, meanwhile, is likely to step right onto the active roster. The 31-year-old is out of minor league option years, meaning Miami needs to keep him the big leagues or offer him to other clubs. He’ll be eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter and remains under club control through 2025, so Pruitt could stick in Miami for a few seasons if he impresses his new club.

The Astros acquired Pruitt from the Rays over the 2019-20 offseason, but a series of injuries limited the righty to just two appearances (both within the past few weeks) with Houston. Between 2017-19, he’d served as a frequently used multi-inning reliever and occasional starting option for manager Kevin Cash. All in all, Pruitt has a 4.89 ERA in 202 1/3 Major League innings with sub-par strikeout rates but strong walk numbers and an above-average grounder rate.

Ken Rosenthal and Dennis Lin of the Athletic were first to report the Astros were nearing a deal to acquire Garcia. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported the deal had been agreed upon, while Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported De La Cruz’s involvement in the deal.

Marlins Trade Starling Marte To Athletics For Jesus Luzardo

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In a deadline-season stunner, the Athletics and Marlins have agreed to a straight-up, one-for-one swap sending outfielder Starling Marte to Oakland in exchange for left-hander Jesus Luzardo. The teams have announced the move. The Marlins are reportedly paying the entirety of the $4.57MM remaining on Marte’s $12.5MM salary for the 2021 season. Marte will be a free agent at season’s end.

Starling Marte | Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

The A’s haven’t been mentioned as a primary suitor for Marte, who’s previously been linked to the Giants, Astros and Yankees. That said, Marte is capable of playing all three outfield spots and would improve just about any team’s outfield mix. The 32-year-old is hitting .305/.405/.451 with four home runs, 22 steals and a career-high 11.6 percent walk rate in 275 plate appearances so far in 2021.

Marte missed time this season with a fractured rib he sustained on a diving catch in center field, but he’s been excellent when healthy, continuing what has been a generally underrated career to date. He’s a former All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner with a pair of 20-homer seasons under his belt and an overall .288/.345/.450 batting line through parts of ten Major League seasons between Pittsburgh, Arizona and Miami.

Acquiring Marte allows the A’s to trot out a regular outfield of Marte, Mark Canha and Ramon Laureano. The trade likely cuts into Stephen Piscotty’s playing time, though his right-handed bat will still be utilized against left-handed pitching. Any of Piscotty or the other three outfielders could get a turn at designated hitter against left-handed starters, given Mitch Moreland’s longstanding struggles against southpaws and generally underwhelming results so far in 2021.

More broadly, the move speaks to the fact that the Athletics view themselves as legitimate contenders with an immediate window to make a deep postseason run. Parting with Luzardo is an extraordinarily steep price to pay, but he’s struggled both in the Majors and in Triple-A this season. It’s possible the willingness to trade him is a reflection that the A’s are now questioning whether he’ll ever fulfill the potential that made him one of the top ten overall prospects in baseball a few years back. However, it’s also likely that Oakland views the forthcoming postseason run as something of a do-or-die moment.

The A’s are a perennially low-payroll club, and they’re set to have one of their largest and most expensive arbitration classes in recent memory. They’ll see each of Sean Manaea, Chris Bassitt, Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Frankie Montas and the aforementioned Laureano reach arbitration this winter — to say nothing of more complementary players like Chad Pinder, Tony Kemp, Burch Smith and J.B. Wendelken.  It’s a sizable group that the Athletics have to at least wonder about retaining, from a financial standpoint, so it makes good sense that Oakland is pushing strongly to surround that core with the best talent possible when they’re in possession of a Wild Card spot and a manageable six games back in the division.

That said, it’s still a legitimate stunner to see the 23-year-old Luzardo traded in a rental deal — even for a player as good as Marte. Luzardo was regarded as one of the five to ten best prospects in all of baseball from 2019-20, and he did little to sway that thinking when he debuted as a 21-year-old and pitched to a 3.68 ERA with a 25.5 percent strikeout rate and a 6.8 walk rate through his first 71 innings.

Jesus Luzardo | Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Entering the 2021 season, Luzardo was a popular breakout pick and was viewed clear member of the A’s rotation, but it’s instead been a nightmarish season for him. The lefty posted uneven results through his first five starts of the season, looking excellent at times but also yielding five runs in two different outings. He then fractured his pinkie finger in what he called an “immature” mistake, hitting his hand on a table while playing video games just hours before a scheduled start. Luzardo spent nearly a month on the shelf and pitched poorly upon his return, serving up 11 runs in 10 innings — this time out of the bullpen.

Luzardo was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas on June 21, where he’s been stretching back out as a starter. The results have not been pretty, however. He’s pitched in eight games, tallying just 29 innings while limping to a 6.87 ERA with uncharacteristically poor strikeout (19.3) and walk (11.1) percentages. Las Vegas is an extremely hitter-friendly setting, but it’s impossible to simply chalk struggles of that magnitude up to a difficult environment.

The trade brings Luzardo a perhaps needed change of scenery and represents a homecoming, as the lefty attended high school in the Miami area. It’s fair to view him as something of a project, given this year’s struggles, but even a few months ago the notion of trading Luzardo for a rental player would have seemed utterly preposterous. It’s easy to see why the Marlins jumped at the chance to acquire him, even if they already have an impressive stockpile of young pitching.

In fact, that could well be part of a broader overall gambit. The Marlins have reportedly been eyeing long-term options in center field and at catcher, and adding Luzardo to a core group that already includes Sandy Alcantara, Pablo Lopez, Trevor Rogers, Sixto Sanchez, Elieser Hernandez, Max Meyer, Edward Cabrera, Braxton Garrett and several other intriguing arms gives the Fish one of the deepest stocks of controllable, near-MLB pitching talent in all of baseball. The Marlins could well look to parlay some of that wealth of pitching depth into a new, controllable option at a position of need — as they did a couple years back when they surprisingly shipped then-rookie right-hander Zac Gallen to the D-backs in exchange for infielder Jazz Chisholm.

Setting aside the initial, jarring reaction to a low-budget club acquiring a premium rental in exchange for a pitcher who entered the year as a top 10 prospect in all of MLB — there’s some sense to both sides of the equation. The A’s are fortifying their roster in what could be their last run at the postseason with this iteration of their core. Luzardo has struggled badly in 2021, but acquiring a player with his raw talent in a rental swap is too tantalizing to pass up for a club in their position. Not only does Luzardo possess a front-of-the-rotation ceiling, but his demotion to Triple-A has pushed his free agency back to the 2026-27 offseason, at the earliest.

Today’s trade sets the stage for additional acquisitions by both parties. The A’s aren’t spending any money on Marte, meaning they should still have some resources with which to work. The Marlins’ crop of arms is even deeper now, and that allows GM Kim Ng and her team to more aggressively explore the market for controllable young hitters. It’s as close to a blockbuster swap as you’ll see in a straight one-for-one flip, but it’s unlikely this is the final piece of the deadline puzzle for either team.

Craig Mish of the Miami Herald broke the news (via Twitter) that the A’s were close to a deal for Marte. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported a deal had been reached. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported that Luzardo would go the Marlins in the deal (Twitter link). ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on the financial component of the swap (Twitter links).

Marlins Designate Luis Madero For Assignment

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The Marlins have designated righty Luis Madero for assignment, as The Miami Herald’s David Wilson was among to report.  First baseman Lewin Diaz has been called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.

This is already the third time Miami has DFA’ed Madero since the start of May, though amidst the roster maneuvering, the right-hander did make his Major League debut.  Madero has tossed four innings over three games for the Marlins, with one disastrous outing (five runs in one inning against the Diamondbacks on May 11) accounting for his 11.25 ERA.

Beginning his career as a 17-year-old in Arizona’s farm system in 2014, Madero pitched for the D’Backs, Angels, and was briefly in the Giants organization before joining the Marlins on a minor league deal last winter.  Starting 92 of his 110 career games in the minors, Madero has a 4.34 ERA and 20.73% strikeout rate over an even 500 minor league innings.

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