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NL Notes: Realmuto, Mets, Brewers, Dodgers

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Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto suggested last month he’d be open to discussing a contract extension with the club, but if he’s uninterested in signing a deal over the winter, “there’s a good chance” the team will trade him, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. The 25-year-old Realmuto, one of the game’s elite backstops, is controllable via arbitration through the 2020 season.

More from the National League…

  • The Mets are considering Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava and Rays special assistant Bobby Heck as candidates to be their next general manager, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  Neither man has been a GM before, though both LaCava and Heck have a wealth of front office experience, particularly in the areas of scouting and player development.  LaCava has been with the Blue Jays since 2002, when J.P. Ricciardi (now a Mets special advisor) was Toronto’s GM.  Heck has been with the Rays since 2012, following lengthy stints with the Astros and Brewers that saw him play a notable role as both those clubs amassed a strong collection of young talent.
  • Brewers right-hander Zach Davies hasn’t pitched in the majors since May 29, owing to shoulder and back problems, and there’s still no timetable for his return, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. But Davies’ absence hasn’t been crippling for the Brewers, as Haudricourt writes that they’ve “been satisfied” with the current members of their rotation. Further, after serving as a solid starter from 2016-17 (his first two full seasons), Davies came out of the gates slowly this year with a 5.23 ERA/5.29 FIP in 43 innings.
  • The Dodgers’ decision to move Kenta Maeda to the bullpen may negatively affect the righty from a financial standpoint, given that he has incentives in his contract based on games started and innings pitched. However, the Dodgers and Maeda’s reps at the Wasserman Agency “have a good relationship,” tweets the Los Angeles Times’ Andy McCullough, who notes it would be sensible for both sides to change the language in his deal to include incentives for relief appearances. If the two sides do attempt to work something out, the MLBPA would have to sign off on it.

Marlins Acquire Chris Bostick

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The Marlins have acquired utilityman Chris Bostick from the Pirates, Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  Pittsburgh will receive cash considerations in the deal.  Bostick had been designated for assignment by the Bucs earlier this week.

Bostick’s Major League career consists of 20 games for Pittsburgh in 2017 and two games this season, with a .276/.382/.345 slash line over 34 total plate appearances.  Originally a 44th-round pick for the Athletics in the 2011 draft, Bostick will be joining the fifth different organization of his pro career.

The 25-year-old Rochester native has hit .271/.337/.416 with 60 homers and 122 steals (out of 176 chances) over 3491 PA in the minor leagues, though his greatest calling card might be versatility.  Bostick has spent much of his career as a second baseman, but has logged substantial time at third base, shortstop, and all three outfield positions.

Added To The 40-Man: Ortega, Stewart, Sobotka, Kelly

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There has been a fair amount of roster movement today. We’ll use this post to keep tabs on the players moving onto MLB rosters:

  • After shipping out first baseman Justin Bour earlier today, the Marlins announced they would replace him by selecting the contract of outfielder Rafael Ortega. The 27-year-old Ortega got a solid shot with the Angels in 2016 but could not take advantage. He had a productive season last year with the plate at Triple-A and has been solid as well at the highest level of the minors in 2018, though he hasn’t sustained the power he showed in 2017. In the current season, he has slashed .275/.375/.404 with an impressive combination of 44 walks and 31 strikeouts over 328 plate appearances.
  • The Twins will select the contract of righty Kohl Stewart, according to Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press (via Twitter). Chosen fourth overall in the 2013 draft, Stewart is now slated for his MLB debut after being left unprotected from the Rule 5 draft last winter. Through 108 2/3 innings this season in the upper minors, he owns only a 4.47 ERA. But Stewart has seen a real boost in his K/BB numbers over past years. He’s carrying 8.4 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 along with a 57.3% groundball rate on the season.
  • As part of a series of pitching moves, the Braves purchased the contract of righty Chad Sobotka. He and lefty Chad Bell will join the active roster as the team has optioned down relievers Wes Parsons and Adam McCreery. Sobotka is a 25-year-old reliever who came to the Atlanta organizatino as a fourth-round pick in 2015. He had already climbed to Triple-A for the first time after dominating performances at High-A (2.21 ERA, 28:7 K/BB in 20 1/3 innings) and Double-A (2.89 ERA, 37:13 K/BB in 28 innings). He has been giving out too many free passes so far at the highest level of the minors (eight in 6 1/3 frames) but has still been getting strikeouts and keeping runs off the board.
  • The Giants announced that they selected the contract of righty Casey Kelly, bumping Johnny Cueto to the 60-day DL as he continues to rehab from Tommy John surgery. Kelly, a first-round pick way back in 2008, has seen brief MLB action in parts of three seasons. He owns only a 4.78 ERA in his 130 Triple-A innings this year, with 7.2 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9.

Phillies Acquire Justin Bour

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2:15PM: The Marlins will receive left-hander McKenzie Mills, Fancred’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  Mills was an 18th-round pick for the Nationals in the 2014 draft, and the 22-year-old has a 3.51 ERA, 2.58 K/BB rate, and an 8.5 K/9 over 89 2/3 IP for high-A Clearwater this season, with Mills starting 16 of his 20 appearances.  This is the second notable trade Mills has already been part of in his young career, as he was sent to the Phillies from the Nationals last summer in the Howie Kendrick deal.

2:07PM: The minor league pitcher headed to the Marlins is an A-ball player, according to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia.  MLBPipeline.com’s Jonathan Mayo notes that the prospect wasn’t ranked as one of MLB.com’s top 30 minor leaguers in the Phillies’ system.  (Both links to Twitter.)

1:09PM: The Phillies have acquired first baseman Justin Bour and cash considerations in a trade with the Marlins, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter links).  Miami will receive a minor league pitcher in return.  The two sides worked out a trade after Philadelphia claimed Bour on revocable waivers.

The Marlins will cover roughly half of Bour’s remaining salary for the season, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports (via Twitter), which works out to around $450K of the $900K left on the $3.4MM Bour won in an arbitration case with the Phils last winter.

[Updated Phillies and Marlins depth charts at Roster Resource]

Justin BourBour has two more years of arbitration eligibility remaining, though he doesn’t necessarily have a long-term role in Philadelphia with Carlos Santana locked in at first base (at a $20MM average annual salary) at least through the 2020 season.  It could be that the Phillies look to deal or maybe even non-tender Bour this winter, as Rosenthal suggests, and for now they’ll use him as a perhaps overqualified left-handed bench bat.  Bour has badly struggled against southpaws this year while the switch-hitting Santana has hit only a modest .209/.362/.387 against right-handed pitching, so there is some room for a platoon situation.  The Phillies’ collective 93 wRC+ against righty pitching this season ranks just 21st in baseball, so the offense can certainly benefit from some pop from the left side of the plate.

Bour drew a lot of trade attention last winter in the midst of the Marlins’ fire sale, though we didn’t hear much buzz about the first baseman until deadline day itself, when he was the subject of some late-breaking talks.  Bour’s numbers were dampened by an extended slump throughout July, though he is still posting above-average (108 wRC+, 113 OPS+) offensive numbers overall, hitting .227/.347/.412 with 19 homers in 447 plate appearances.

Still, 2018 is shaping up as the weakest of Bour’s four seasons as a regular Major Leaguer, and certainly a step back from his breakout 2017 campaign.  Limited to just 429 PA last year due to a variety of injuries, Bour still managed 25 homers and slash .289/.366/.536 for a 133 wRC+ and 142 OPS+, even if his overall value (2.2 fWAR) was lowered by subpar baserunning and defense.

This season, however, Bour is hitting for less power (.184 ISO compared to .247 last year) while also striking out slightly more often and making a bit more soft contact.  Bour also enjoyed a .322 BABIP in 2017 as opposed to a .267 BABIP this year, and there’s also the simple fact that opposing pitchers can focus more directly on Bour since Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna, and Christian Yelich are no longer in the Marlins’ lineup.  That said, there is also some evidence that Bour could be due for an uptick in production, as evidenced by that low BABIP and a .352 xwOBA that outpaces his real-world .329 wOBA.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

East Notes: Realmuto, Pomeranz, Showalter

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The latest from the East Coast…

  • As the best player on a rebuilding team, Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto has been mentioned in trade speculation for a while, but it sounds as if first-year co-owner Derek Jeter wants to keep the star in the fold. “I don’t ever like to talk about specific players, in terms of their futures, but he’s a guy we’d love to have long term,” Jeter told Joe Frisaro of MLB.com and other reporters on Wednesday. Realmuto wanted out of Miami as recently as last February, but he sounded more open to staying there when discussing his future last month. For now, the Marlins are in position to control the 27-year-old via arbitration through the 2020 season.
  • Left-hander Drew Pomeranz has been one of the few weak links on this year’s juggernaut Red Sox team, and he may not be long for their roster as a result, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com suggests. Boston has an upcoming 25-man roster crunch, Cotillo points out, and it’s likely Pomeranz, Hector Velazquez or Ryan Brasier won’t survive it. Working in Pomeranz’s favor is that he, unlike fellow hurlers Velazquez and Brasier, is out of minor league options. That means Boston could simply send either Velazquez or Brasier down and keep all three players in the organization. On the other hand, parting with Pomeranz would mean saying goodbye to a player whom the Red Sox paid a high price to acquire from the Padres prior to the 2016 non-waiver trade deadline. Pomeranz was a high-end starter at that point, but injuries and inconsistency have weighed him down in Boston. Thus far in 2018, the 29-year-old pending free agent has posted a 6.31 ERA/5.95 FIP with 7.71 K/9 and 5.61 BB/9 in 51 1/3 innings.
  • Considering Buck Showalter’s contract is up at season’s end and the Orioles are beginning a full rebuild, the manager isn’t a lock to continue with the club into 2019. The O’s would be wise to re-sign Showalter, though, opines Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com, who argues that he’s the right fit for the franchise in its current state. And Showalter, even though he’s 62 years old, is “fully on board with the team’s new direction,” writes Dubroff.

Quick Hits: Realmuto, Marlins, Astros, Red Sox, Angels, Eloy

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Along with the previously reported Nationals, the Astros had interest in Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Both teams’ interest in Realmuto dates back to at least last offseason, but neither they nor anyone else have been able to pry the star backstop out of Miami. Instead of Realmuto, the Astros ended up acquiring the much less exciting Martin Maldonado from the Angels before the deadline. He’s backing up Max Stassi, who has emerged as the Astros’ starter since Brian McCann underwent knee surgery a month ago. Stassi got off to a great offensive start this year before cooling off significantly over the past couple months, though he is having an elite season behind the plate.

  • The Red Sox inquired about Marlins closer Kyle Barraclough before the deadline, but Boston ultimately “backed off,” Cafardo writes. Barraclough wound up staying with the Marlins, who placed a high asking price on the flamethrowing right-hander. The 28-year-old hasn’t been good of late, as his ERA has skyrocketed from .99 to 3.28 since the beginning of July, but he still comes with a quality track record and affordable team control. As a result, the Marlins elected to keep Barraclough, who will make his first of three possible trips through arbitration during the winter.
  • In an interestingly timed move, the Angels announced Sunday that special assistant Eric Chavez will manage their Triple-A team in Salt Lake for the rest of the season. Previous manager Keith Johnson will finish the year on the Angels’ coaching staff, and GM Billy Eppler said Sunday that the Halos want him to work with their young infielders (Twitter link via Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times). The decision to replace Johnson with Chavez raised eyebrows, though, given that the latter has come up as a potential replacement for Angels skipper Mike Scioscia, who’s reportedly going to retire at the end of the season. The 40-year-old Chavez, a longtime major league third baseman, had never managed at any level until the Angels handed him the Triple-A reins.
  • Standout White Sox outfield prospect Eloy Jimenez is “getting really close” to earning a major league promotion, director of player development Chris Getz said Sunday (via 670 The Score, on Twitter). The 21-year-old Jimenez, whom Baseball America, MLB.com and FanGraphs all regard as the game’s third-best prospect, has hit an astounding .376/.425/.679 with eight home runs and a .303 ISO in 120 plate appearances since the White Sox moved him to Triple-A Charlotte in late June.

International Notes: Yankees, Vargas, Mesa, Marlins, Orioles

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The Yankees have been one of the most aggressive teams on the international free agent market for the past several seasons, and they’ve already put the considerable amount of international funds they acquired in trades with the Cardinals ($1MM) and the White Sox ($1.5MM); New York announced today that it has signed Cuban righty Osiel Rodriguez and Cuban shortstop Alexander Vargas. Rodriguez’s $600K signing had previously been reported, but MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reports (via Twitter) that the newly signed Vargas received a whopping $2.5MM bonus. Vargas, 16, ranked eighth on MLB.com’s rankings of this year’s international prospects, drawing praise for his range, arm and instincts both at shortstop and in center field.

A few more notes on the international market…

  • Sanchez also recently took a lengthy look at the latest on the market for top outfield prospect Victor Victor Mesa. While the Cuban-born star has yet to be declared a free agent by Major League Baseball, there’s a fair bit of intrigue as to where he’ll sign once eligible. Victor Victor and his younger brother, Victor Jr., are both training in the Dominican Republic at present, according to Sanchez, but there’s no indication that either has established residency in another a country — a requisite step before being declared a free agent by MLB. Sanchez runs through the teams that are plausible landing spots for the brothers and takes a look at their potential timelines to signing.
  • Interestingly, Sanchez further notes that the Orioles and Marlins could be in line to make a significant play for Mesa (Twitter links). Both teams acquired international money prior to the non-waiver deadline and are interested in increasing their spending on the international front. The Orioles have a hefty $8.25MM they can offer, though it’s worth noting that GM Dan Duquette has suggested they could sign some international prospects as soon as this week (link via MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski). With the Mesas yet to reach free agency, that’d suggest that they’re not earmarking their entire pool one or both brothers. The Marlins, meanwhile, have $4.35MM to work with at present — the second-most of any team that is not limited to $300K signings. The Athletic’s Emily Waldon reported recently that the Orioles were working hard on a deal with the elder Mesa brother (Twitter link). MASNsports.com’s Byron Kerr tweeted that the Marlins are indeed planning a run at him as well, though he added that the Orioles could be closer. Of course, no deal can be announced until the league declares the Mesa brothers to be free agents, and there’s no real way of knowing when that process will be complete.

40-Man Moves: D-backs, Dodgers, Indians, Mets, Mariners, Cubs, Marlins, O’s

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This has been a trade-packed day across Major League Basbeall, meaning there are plenty of corresponding smaller moves that have been announced over the past couple of hours as teams make today’s agreed-upon deals official. Here’s a look at the DFAs, contract selections and other 40-man transactions that came along with today’s action…

  • The Diamondbacks designated left-handed reliever Jorge De La Rosa to make room for newly added southpaw Jake Diekman, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets. De La Rosa, a longtime Colorado starter who’s in his second season in Arizona, switched to a full-time relief role upon changing teams and hasn’t produced inspiring results. The 37-year-old has logged a 4.38 ERA/4.98 FIP with 7.51 K/9, 4.17 BB/9 in 86 1/3 innings since joining the D-backs. On the bright side, De La Rosa has posted a 48 percent groundball rate and been tough on left-handed hitters. Considering he’s only owed the balance of a $2.25MM salary, perhaps a team will be interested in taking a flyer on De La Rosa.
  • The Dodgers designated righty Ariel Hernandez for assignment to open a spot for John Axford, per the MLB.com transactions page. Hernandez, 26, scuffled through his first MLB action last year with the Reds and hasn’t made it back since. Over fifty frames this year in the upper minors, he’s carrying an appealing 2.52 ERA, but has also handed out 29 walks to go with his 49 strikeouts.
  • The Indians announced that they’ve designated outfielder Johnny Field for assignment. His spot on the 40-man will go to newly acquired outfield prospect Oscar Mercado, whom Cleveland acquired in a rare all-prospects trade with the Cardinals (full details here). Field, 26, only recently landed with the Indians himself after spending most of the year (and his entire professional career to that point) with the Rays. Field posted a meager .213/.253/.373 batting line in his first 179 MLB plate appearances, all accumulated earlier this season.
  • The Mets announced today that they’ve claimed infielder Jack Reinheimer, who was designated for assignment last week, off waivers from the Diamondbacks. A former fifth-round pick, Reinheimer received a cup of coffee with the D-Backs last year but hadn’t done much to force his way back to this point in 2018. In his fifty games at Triple-A, Reinheimer owns a .237/.312/.353 batting line. Additionally, outfielder Matt den Dekker cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Las Vegas. He’ll have the right to elect free agency now or at season’s end.
  • Outfielder Isaac Galloway is on his way to the Majors to make his MLB debut with the Marlins, the club announced. It’s a long time coming for an eleven-year pro who has never before tasted the majors. Through 356 plate appearances this year at Triple-A, Galloway carries a .262/.315/.429 triple-slash.
  • Galloway’s contract was selected following the trade of Cameron Maybin to the Mariners, who opened a spot for Maybin by moving right-hander Dan Altavilla from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL in yet another 40-man move. Similarly, Cubs righty Justin Hancock was transferred to the 60-day disabled list in order to open a spot for Brandon Kintzler, who was acquired from the Nationals today.
  • The Orioles are selecting the contract of right-handed reliever Cody Carroll, who will step into the roster spot of Kevin Gausman following today’s trade to Atlanta. Carroll landed with the Baltimore organization in the recent swap that sent reliever Zach Britton to the Yankees.
  • First baseman Ryan O’Hearn had his contract selected by the Royals, per a team announcement. Infielder Cheslor Cuthbert moved to the 60-day DL to open a spot. It’s the first crack at the majors for O’Hearn, who’ll get the call despite tepid results (.232/.322/.391) this year at Triple-A.
  • Righty Warwick Saupold cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A by the Tigers. The Aussie hurler threw 34 1/3 innings of 4.46 ERA ball this year in Detroit, but managed only 16 strikeouts and a 6.1% swinging-strike rate in that span.

Diamondbacks Acquire Brad Ziegler

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1:31pm: The Marlins and Diamondbacks have announced the trade. Arizona moved Shelby Miller to the 60-day disabled list to open a 40-man roster spot — a move that could end Miller’s season.

12:20pm: The Diamondbacks have reportedly struck a deal to bring back veteran right-hander Brad Ziegler. They’ll send relief prospect Tommy Eveld to the Marlins in return.

Ziegler, 38, is a rental piece who is earning $9MM in 2018 and will hit free agency at season’s end. He’s still owed about $2.95MM of that sum through the end of the year, which the D-Backs will pick up in full.

While Ziegler’s 3.98 ERA on the season isn’t especially eye-catching, he’s been on absolute fire over the past two months, working to a sterling 0.93 ERA with a 22-to-11 K/BB ratio and an otherworldly 80.3 percent ground-ball rate through 29 innings dating back to June 1. Right-handed opponents are batting just .219/.305/.365 against Ziegler this season and have mustered only a .229/.285/.300 slash against him over the course of his Major League career.

The D-Backs are certainly plenty familiar with Ziegler, as he pitched for the organization from 2011 through 2016. He came to the organization at the deadline seven years ago today, then was spun off in a July 2016 deal that paid dividends for the Red Sox down the stretch. Ziegler joined the Marlins on a two-year pact in the ensuing winter. Over his time in Arizona, Ziegler worked to a sparkling 2.49 ERA and recorded 62 saves in 335 2/3 innings.

As for Evald, the 24-year-old is a recent ninth-round pick who only recently re-started his baseball career. He had recently moved up to the Double-A level after a dominant showing at High-A, where he spun 36 1/3 innings of 1.24 ERA ball with 10.4 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9.

Given how things looked after Ziegler’s ugly opening work this year, this counts as a clear win for the Marlins. Not only did they acquire a reasonably interesting pitching prospect, but they saved some real money on the tail end of Ziegler’s contract.

John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 tweeted the connection between the teams, with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter) saying a deal was close and Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter) reporting one was in place. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (in a tweet) had the return, with Zach Buchanan of The Athletic (on Twitter) providing the financial details.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mariners Acquire Cameron Maybin

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The Marlins and Mariners have announce a deal that sends veteran outfielder Cameron Maybin to Seattle, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets. Prospect Bryson Brigman and $250K of international pool money are heading to Miami in the deal, per reports from Divish, Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter), and MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter).

Maybin, 31, is earning just $3.25MM on the season under the one-year deal he inked over the winter. That makes him an affordable addition to the Seattle organization.

Though he struggled for much of the early portion of the season at the plate, Maybin has turned things on recently. Over the month of July, Maybin owns a .309/.427/.456 batting line with three home runs and five steals through 68 plate appearances. On the year, he’s producing at about 10% below the league-average rate, much as he did last year.

Of course, much of Maybin’s value is tied up in his legs and glove. He’s grading poorly on the basepaths this year, but that’s likely a blip for a player who was once an elite baserunner and has been quite good in the recent past. Maybin has performed well at all three outfield spots this year in Miami.

For the Mariners, this move adds another versatile piece to the outfield mix. The club added Denard Span a few months back, and he has performed quite well. Mitch Haniger has proven worthy of regular time and Ben Gamel has knocked around opposing righties. Maybin could ultimately displace Guillermo Heredia, who has stalled out at the plate, or join him to form a pair of right-handed options to go with the lefty-hitting Span and Gamel.

Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald (via Twitter) and Craig Mish of MLB Network Radio (via Twitter) reported that the Fish were about to make another swap.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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