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Trade Chatter: Archer, Rockies, O’s, Astros, Steckenrider, D-backs, Kela

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With the Padres’ lengthy rebuilding moving ever closer to its conclusion, the team has been inquiring about controllable MLB pieces to add to its rotation. They’ve already been tied to Noah Syndergaard on the rumor mill, and they reportedly asked the Yankees about Miguel Andujar during Brad Hand talks. Adding to that line of thinking, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes today (subscription required) that an executive that is with neither the Padres nor the Rays tells him that San Diego is pursuing a Chris Archer trade. Rosenthal is careful to stress that neither the Friars nor the Rays confirmed as much, though the two sides have had at least some level of discussions regarding Archer, he notes. As Rosenthal explores at length, however, there are myriad roadblocks to a deal.

Whether San Diego’s interest in Archer is serious or more along the lines of due diligence, it’s an interesting look at the calculus both the Padres and Rays need to consider when weighing future-oriented moves. And it’s certainly another notable data point suggesting that Padres GM A.J. Preller and his staff are beginning to look at improving the big league roster with pieces that could be controlled beyond the 2020 season.

Some more trade talk from around the league…

  • In addition to the Rockies’ previously reported interest in Zach Britton, Colorado has also asked the Orioles about right-handers Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman, Jon Morosi of MLB.com reports (via Twitter). There’s no momentum in talks regarding Bundy and Gausman, however, Morosi adds. To this point, it’s not at all clear whether the O’s would even consider moving Gausman (controlled through 2020) or Bundy (through 2021). There’s little reason for the Orioles not to seriously entertain offers, from my vantage point, as they’re not likely to contend in either 2019 or 2020 with the Yankees and Red Sox both poised for long-term success. Obviously, that’s not to say they should simply take the best offer presented before July 31, but the Orioles should be amenable to moving just about anyone on the roster for a strong enough return.
  • The Athletic’s Jayson Stark cites execs from teams that have spoken with the Astros in reporting (via Twitter) that Houston has been “adamant” about hanging onto its very top tier of prospects in trade talks (e.g. Forrest Whitley, Yordan Alvarez). The Astros’ farm system is plenty deep, of course, and it stands to reason that any of the rental targets they’re pursuing — they’ve been oft-linked to Zach Britton, for instance — would come with a lower price tag than that anyhow.
  • The Marlins’ ask on its controllable relievers appears to be quite high, with Morosi tweeting that Miami indicated to the Red Sox that Jay Groome or Michael Chavis alone would not be enough to land Drew Steckenrider. (Morosi doesn’t suggest that either was ever offered up by the Red Sox — only that the Marlins wouldn’t have considered a one-for-one swap in either case.) While Groome and Chavis are generally regarded as Boston’s top two prospects, Groome underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this summer. Chavis, meanwhile, missed the first 80 games of the season due to a PED suspension and has only logged 10 games since being activated.
  • Morosi also tweets that the Diamondbacks have shown interest in Rangers relievers Keone Kela and Jose Leclerc. There’s no indication that talks between the two sides are serious, but the Rangers are reportedly open to moving Kela, who is controlled through the 2020 season. The 25-year-old is currently sporting a 3.18 ERA with 10.9 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 through 34 innings of work and has a 2.97 ERA with better than 11 K/9 dating back to 2017. Leclerc would be tougher to pry away, as he’s controlled for another four seasons beyond the current campaign and currently boasts a 2.06 ERA with a 51-to-18 K/BB ratio through 35 innings.

Red Sox Notes: Iglesias, Deadline, Lind, Chavis

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The Red Sox and Astros are among the teams with interest in Reds closer Raisel Iglesias, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Houston, in particular, is “looking hard at Iglesias,” Cafardo writes. The Astros had been eyeing fellow late-game option Kelvin Herrera, per Cafardo, though he’s no longer on the market after the Royals traded him to the Nationals earlier this month. Unlike Herrera, a free agent at season’s end, Iglesias could be a multiyear solution for an acquiring team. The 28-year-old standout is under control through 2020 for affordable salaries ($4.5MM this season, $5MM in each of 2019 and ’20), though he could elect to opt into arbitration over the winter in hopes of securing a raise. Given Iglesias’ track record and remaining team control, the Reds would surely require an impressive haul to consider moving him. It’s worth noting, then, that the Astros have Baseball America’s 10th-best farm system, while the Red Sox’s prospect pool is just 24th.

Here’s more on Boston…

  • Red Sox president Dave Dombrowski told Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com and other reporters on Saturday that he’s talking trades with multiple teams, but he suggested he’s content with his roster as it is. Regardless of whether Boston makes more moves (it picked up infielder/outfielder Steve Pearce in a deal with Toronto this week), Dombrowski expects trade action to continue across the league well before the July 31 non-waiver deadline. “I will tell you, as we talk to various clubs, there are a lot more clubs that are motivated to do things quickly from a trading perspective, if they get what they want,” said Dombrowski, who added that the Red Sox’s desire to keep their payroll under $237MM won’t necessarily stop them from making further additions. Should the team exceed that figure, its top pick in the 2019 draft would drop 10 spots.
  • First baseman Adam Lind will have a chance to opt out of his minor league deal with the Red Sox on Sunday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic tweets. McCaffrey adds that Dombrowski is hopeful Lind will remain at Triple-A Pawtucket, where he has batted .263/.321/.455 in 109 plate appearances since inking his minors pact May 29. Given the presences of first basemen Pearce and Mitch Moreland – a fellow left-handed hitter – and corner outfield/designated hitter options Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi and J.D. Martinez, major league playing time looks as if it will be hard to come by for Lind if he stays with the organization.
  • The Red Sox will activate infielder Michael Chavis, their top-ranked prospect at MLB.com, on Sunday, Dombrowski announced (via Cotillo). Chavis served an 80-game suspension after testing positive for dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, a performance-enhancing drug. The 22-year-old will start with Class-A Lowell and eventually work his way back to Double-A Portland, where he played most of last season.

Michael Chavis Receives 80-Game Suspension

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Top Red Sox prospect Michael Chavis, a third baseman, has been hit with an eighty-game suspension by Major League Baseball. Per a league announcement, he tested positive for a prohibited performance-enhancing substance, dehydrochlormethyltestosterone.

The 22-year-old, who was taken 26th overall in the 2014 draft, turned in a breakout effort in 2017. Chavis entered the present season with consensus top-100 prospect status leaguewide.

It had been hoped that Chavis would continue to develop in the upper minors this year, perhaps even becoming an MLB option later in the summer or early in 2019. Now, though, he’ll miss about half of the coming season while serving his sentence.

After a few tough seasons, Chavis laid waste to the High-A level last year (.318/.388/.641) before turning in a productive second half at Double-A and then doing the same in the Arizona Fall League. While he’s not considered a standout defender, Chavis seems to have settled in as a palatable gloveman at third.

AL East Notes: JDM, Red Sox, Cobb, Gausman, Hicks

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In an interesting look back at recent history, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com explores the Red Sox’ decision-making process on finding a big bat over the just-concluded offseason. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski says the organization zeroed in from the outset on J.D. Martinez, despite knowing it could take a big salary to get a deal done. Giancarlo Stanton’s no-trade rights mostly took him out of consideration, says Dombrowski, while Marcell Ozuna came with too high a prospect price tag — reflecting his value as an outfielder, not just a DH, which was the Sox’ primary need.

Here’s more from the AL East:

  • Red Sox top prospects Jay Groome and Michael Chavis will open the season on the disabled list, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. Groome, 19, is dealing with a mild flexor strain that is similar to the injury that hampered him in 2017, though farm director Ben Crockett tells Speier that the injury isn’t serious in nature, calling it “pretty mild overall” and noting that Groome has already been symptom-free for “several days.” Chavis, 22, is dealing with an oblique strain that he suffered back in February. He’s begun swinging a bat, however, and could get into extended spring games next week.
  • Alex Cobb is nearing readiness to join the Orioles, Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun writes. It seems likely he’ll take the ball on Monday, though that won’t be finalized until the weekend. Baltimore skipper Buck Showalter said the club is mostly allowing Cobb to drive the process while understandably preferring to “err on the side of caution.” Trusting the veteran hurler but maintaining a conservative approach seems wise given Cobb’s health history and the team’s $57MM investment.
  • Orioles fans will certainly also want to check out this lengthy chat between righty Kevin Gausman and the Sun’s Jon Meoli. The talented 27-year-old has not quite turned the corner to being a front-line starter, despite showing hints of it at times. He’s now entering an important season in which he’ll try to bounce back from a messy 2017 showing in advance of his final two arb-eligible campaigns. Likewise, VP of baseball ops Brady Anderson recently joined the podcast of MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. He discussed how his history as a player helped spur his current career, as he began his post-playing involvement in the game by helping his former teammates. Though he’s hardly the only former player with a prominent executive role, Anderson is somewhat unusual in that he still gets down on the field quite a bit.
  • Aaron Hicks is confident that he can return to the active roster in time for the Yankees’ upcoming series against the Red Sox, which begins next Tuesday, writes MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. Beyond that, while recently claimed Trayce Thompson is initially reporting to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, skipper Aaron Boone tells Hoch that the optional assignment “doesn’t mean he won’t become an option very soon.”

AL East Notes: Dominguez, Gallardo, Chavis, Red Sox

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The Blue Jays will indeed select the contract of third baseman Matt Dominguez today, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports on Twitter. Nicholson-smith had suggested the move was likely once Drew Hutchison cleared optional waivers and could be removed from the active roster, and it appears that Dominguez will indeed get his first chance at the majors since 2014. At one time, the Astros considered the 26-year-old an important future piece, even dabbling in extension talks after he hit 21 home runs in 2013. But while Dominguez has shown a good bit of power from the corner infield, he’s struggled to reach base at a reasonable clip and has drawn mixed reviews in the field. While he doesn’t strike out much, Dominguez also doesn’t draw many walks and owns a .255 BABIP in the majors. Meanwhile, DRS and UZR were split on his fielding in ’13, but both saw him as a negative the following year. While Jesus Montero seemed a more direct replacement option for the suspended Chris Colabello, Toronto evidently preferred a player who could also spell Josh Donaldson at third.

Here’s more from the AL East:

  • Another MRI on Yovani Gallardo’s ailing right shoulder has left the Orioles feeling fairly upbeat about his prognosis, MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli tweets. He only appears to be experiencing tendinitis, which seems to bode well for his chances of returning in relatively short order. Of course, the 30-year-old still faces plenty of questions after a rough start. Among other things, he’s lost over two miles per hour on his average fastball even after showing declines in recent years. And his already-falling swinging strike rate is down to 5.1%.
  • The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier corrects a previous report in which he tweeted that Red Sox prospect Michael Chavis has a torn ligament in his thumb (links to Twitter). Speier clarifies that he misunderstood his source when reporting the information, and Chavis’ diagnosis is not yet certain. The 2014 first-round draft pick will undergo an MRI on his thumb, but until that takes place, no diagnosis can be definitively made. A torn ligament remains a possibility for Chavis, per Speier, but the extent of his injury remains unknown for the time being. Chavis was off to a strong .356/.415/.576 start at the plate in a repeat run at the Class A level.
  • Shifting in baseball remains a fascinating subject to watch. As Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports explains, the Red Sox may be partaking in the strategy more than some numbers might suggest. For Boston, shifting and pitching strategies go hand in hand, with GM Mike Hazen explaining that “pitching to the shift” allows the team’s hurlers to “be more aggressive pitching inside.” While the Sox utilize frequent shifts, the team’s alignments may not be quite as dramatic as some others. “Some teams unilaterally shift,” per Hazen. “We’re more selective in how we shift. Even though we’re shifting in every game on a large group of players, it’s not as unilateral.” The club’s field staff also discusses the concept with Rosenthal in an interesting piece that warrants a full read.

Draft Prospect Q&A: Michael Chavis

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MLBTR is re-launching its Draft Prospect Q&A series this season in order to give our readers a look at some of the top names on the board in this year’s draft. MLBTR will be chatting with some of the draft’s most well-regarded prospects over the next couple of weeks as they prepare for the 2014 draft on June 5-7.

Michael Chavis

Scouts see Georgia high school prospect Michael Chavis as someone who can do it all thanks to his well-rounded skill set as well as his versatility.  Chavis spent most of his career at Sprayberry High School at the shortstop position but he also boasts arm strength that can allow him to play anywhere in the infield.  He’s got the speed to play second base or stick at shortstop, and while he has a bit of experience behind the plate and in the outfield, most say his big league future is at third base.  The Clemson commit is ranked No. 21 by MLB.com, No. 26 by Baseball America, and No. 27 by ESPN.com’s Keith Law.

The first-round prospect left high school on a high note, slashing .557/.580/.663 with 13 homers in his senior season.  At the plate, Chavis flashed his plus bat speed as well as his plus raw power, which helped him to win the Perfect Game Home Run Derby over other notable prospects such as Alex Jackson, Braxton Davidson, and Michael Gettys.

The charismatic and confident young man spoke with MLBTradeRumors recently about what position he wants to ultimately play, the prospect of going to Clemson, and more:

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