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Trade Chatter: Gio, Brewers, Granderson, Mets, O’s

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Major League teams have until midnight ET tonight to acquire players who can still be eligible for their postseason roster. While this deadline isn’t likely to be as significant as the July 31 non-waiver deadline, major swaps can still take place. Andrew McCutchen has already gone from the Bay Area to the Bronx, and it was one year ago today that the Astros pulled off a trade for Justin Verlander that played an absolutely pivotal role in their eventual World Series victory. While there is understandably a large focus on Josh Donaldson, who seems likely to be traded today, here are some other rumblings from around the game…

  • The Nationals are discussing a trade of left-hander Gio Gonzalez, tweets Jon Morosi of MLB.com, though it’s not clear if multiple clubs are showing interest in the veteran southpaw with tonight’s deadline looming. Gonzalez has been rocked in three of his past five starts, causing his ERA to balloon from 3.78 on July 28 to its present mark of 4.57. He’s still averaging 7.8 K/9 with quality home-run and ground-ball rates, but he’s walking batters at a higher clip than he has since 2009 (4.6 BB/9). Gonzalez has a lengthy track record as a solid mid-rotation arm, though, and he’s one of very few starers reported to have cleared waivers. He’s still owed about $2MM of this season’s $12MM salary.
  • The Brewers are still looking into multiple upgrade possibilities, and though their fans are clamoring for rotation help, they’re also looking at adding a left-handed bench bat, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. Curtis Granderson is one possibility to land in Milwaukee, he notes. Granderson has already cleared trade waivers, meaning the Blue Jays can shop him around to any team in the league. He’s owed the remainder of this year’s $5MM salary (about $829K) and is hitting well against right-handed pitching (.250/.345/.443). USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that Granderson is expected to be traded at some point before midnight.
  • Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets that the Mets don’t expect to trade either Jerry Blevins or Devin Mesoraco today. Both are free agents at season’s end, and Blevins was already reported to have cleared waivers (while Mesoraco was also a virtual lock to do so). If that indeed proves to be the case, the May trade in which the Mets and Reds swapped Mesoraco and Matt Harvey won’t have garnered either team any value beyond the current season (unless either player’s time in his new organization leads him to re-sign there).
  • The Post’s Joel Sherman tweets that the Orioles have actually made a surprising number of waiver claims recently, though obviously none have led to a trade just yet. The O’s clearly aren’t going anywhere in 2018, so it’s likely they’ve been attempting to acquire pieces that are controlled into 2019 (and likely beyond). Such players are difficult to acquire in the first place, and doing so in the allotted 48-hour window is all the more difficult.

Brewers Designate Ariel Hernandez, Select Aaron Brooks

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The Brewers announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Aaron Brooks from Triple-A Colorado Springs and designated fellow righty Ariel Hernandez for assignment to open a space on the 40-man roster. Milwaukee also recalled Jacob Barnes from Triple-A and optioned right-handers Freddy Peralta and Taylor Williams.

The series of roster moves comes on the heels of a 10-inning, 13-12 slugfest last night, during which the Brewers burned through six pitchers, including both Peralta (the game’s starter) and Williams (who has now pitched on consecutive days). Both Peralta and Williams figure to be back with the club in the very near future.

Hernandez, 26, has bounced from the Reds to the Dodgers to the Brewers so far in 2018, showing a definitive knack for missing bats but also the same alarming control problems that have prevented the flamethrowing righty from making an impact at the big league level. Hernandez averaged 98 mph on his fastball last season in a 24-inning cup of coffee with the Reds, during which he racked up 29 punchouts but also issued 22 walks.

It’s been much of the same this year in the minors, as he has a 54-to-40 K/BB ratio in 55 1/3 innings of work across three organizations and two minor league levels. He’d only landed in Milwaukee via waivers about three weeks ago and appeared in just five games with their Triple-A affiliate before being designated once again today.

As for Brooks, the 28-year-old will be returning to the big leagues for the first time since the 2015 season with today’s promotion. Back in 2015, he was traded alongside Sean Manaea as the second piece traded sent from the Royals to the A’s in exchange for Ben Zobrist. Brooks spent a season-plus with the Cubs before the Brewers picked him up, and he’s enjoyed a solid 2018 campaign despite pitching in an enormously hitter-friendly environment. Through 99 1/3 frames in Colorado Springs, he’s notched a 3.35 ERA with 6.7 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, 0.72 HR/9 and a 55.1 percent ground-ball rate.

NL Central Notes: Murphy, Garrett, Finnegan, Brewers

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Fans and pundits alike were surprised when Daniel Murphy fell to the Cubs on revocable waivers, and that was the reaction of the Cubs’ front office as well, GM Jed Hoyer explains to Jesse Rogers of ESPN. Hoyer says the Cubs had been claiming anywhere from one to as many as “eight or nine” players per day without much to show for it and were indeed “surprised” to learn they’d been awarded the claim on Murphy. (Interestingly, Rogers notes that the Cubs also tried to claim Bryce Harper, though the Dodgers reportedly blocked other contenders from succeeding in that regard.) Hoyer delves into negotiations with the Nationals a bit and reveals that the Murphy trade came together all of two minutes before his waiver period was set to expire.

Rogers’ column gives interesting insight into the mechanics behind the waiver process from the team perspective, explaining how clubs go about placing claims and learning when they have or have not succeeded in claiming a player. Rogers also chats with Murphy himself about the waiver process and the transition from the Nationals to the Cubs. Those looking to learn more about August trade maneuverings and the nuts and bolts behind these claims will want to check out the column in full to gain some additional perspective. And, of course, we’d be remiss to not thank Murphy for his readership, as the veteran infielder tells Rogers he “frequents” MLBTR and first learned of his placement on waivers right here.

Here’s more from the division…

  • The Reds announced this afternoon that lefty setup man Amir Garrett has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a bone bruise in his foot. Righty Jackson Stephens was activated from the 10-day DL and added to the roster in his place. As Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer examines, the situation illustrates just how far Brandon Finnegan’s standing within the organization has fallen. Interim skipper Jim Riggleman suggested to reporters that the team wouldn’t bring up a lefty in the short term and, asked specifically about Finnegan, wouldn’t commit firmly to a September call-up for the 25-year-old. Finnegan was very arguably the headliner of the 2015 trade that sent Johnny Cueto to Kansas City, but he’s struggled immensely in 2018 and, since being moved to the bullpen in Triple-A, has an ERA north of 7.00 with 19 walks against 20 strikeouts.
  • Brewers fans are growing increasingly restless as they clamor for the team to make some kind of upgrade between now and month’s end, and general manager David Stearns addressed his lack of activity to this point in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM earlier today (Twitter link, with full audio). Stearns made clear that he has confidence in the Brewers’ current pitching staff and suggested that expanded September rosters will allow Milwaukee to take pressure off the rotation by shortening games, but he also plainly stated that he’s staying active in trade discussions as he seeks upgrades. “You generally know who has cleared waivers,” said Stearns. “At this point, most of the guys have gone through. We are having conversations. I think most contending clubs are having conversations.” Stearns added that the limited rental period for impending free agents acquired this time of season makes the cost of acquisition even more crucial but said the Milwaukee front office is still “out there looking to improve the team if we can find the right match.”

Yankees Sign Quintin Berry

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The Yankees announced today that they have signed outfielder Quintin Berry to a minor-league deal. Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com had reported the news on Twitter.

Berry had spent the season in the minors in the Brewers organization before his recent release. In 98 plate appearances on the year, the 33-year-old carries a .216/.296/.318 slash. He was also successful on ten of eleven stolen-base attempts, however. Likewise, through over two thousand career plate appearances at the highest level of the minors, Berry is just a .241/.337/.309 hitter but has swiped 159 bags.

It’s something of an annual tradition for Berry to pop up on the radar at this time of year. He has been utilized as a late-season and even postseason bench piece, owing to his sterling reputation as a baserunner. It’s possible, then, that he’ll show up on the Yankees roster at some point once rosters expand, though the organization would have to open a 40-man spot to utilize him in the majors.

Reds Pull Matt Harvey Off Revocable Waivers

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1:14pm: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that Reds owner Bob Castellini “loves” Harvey, which could’ve played a role in the decision to retain him. Heyman agrees, tweeting that Castellini ultimately did not want to trade the right-hander, which could indicate that the Reds will push to re-sign him this winter.

12:20pm: Even more definitively, Reds GM Nick Krall tells C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic that Harvey will remain with the team (Twitter link).

12:15pm: Bob Nightengale Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Harvey will not be traded to the Brewers before the deadline expires (Twitter link). He’ll start today’s game in a Reds uniform and, presumably, remain with the Reds through season’s end.

7:23am: The Brewers are the team that placed the winning claim on Reds right-hander Matt Harvey on Wednesday, reports Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter). They’ve yet to agree to a trade with the Reds, it seems, though there’s still time to do so before waivers on Harvey expire this afternoon at 1:30pm ET. Harvey recently landed 12th on MLBTR’s latest ranking of the Top 20 August trade candidates in baseball.

Much has been mad about the Brewers perceived need for rotation help, though in truth, all five members of their current rotation have generally outperformed Harvey even since his trade to the Reds. Jhoulys Chacin, Chase Anderson, Junior Guerra, Freddy Peralta and Wade Miley all have ERAs of 4.02 or better, and of that bunch, only Anderson lags behind Harvey’s 4.50 FIP.

[Related: Milwaukee Brewers depth chart]

Having said that, there’s certainly plenty of reason to maintain interest in Harvey all the same; Miley has been injured for much of the season and has totaled just 45 1/3 innings after a pair of dismal seasons in the American League in 2016-17. Peralta, meanwhile, is a rookie who has already thrown a combined 130 1/3 innings between the Majors and minors after totaling 120 frames in 2017. Anderson is among the game’s most homer-prone starters. Guerra has had a solid season but pitched at sub-replacement level in 2017. Adding Harvey to the staff, especially considering the improvements he’s made since being traded from New York to Cincinnati, has plenty of merit even if it can be argued that it shouldn’t be an imperative.

Harvey has unquestionably improved since changing uniforms a first time this season, working to a solid 4.28 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 1.39 HR/9 and a 43.1 percent ground-ball rate in 90 1/3 innings. Much of the damage against him came in one eight-run meltdown against the Pirates back on July 22, but the majority of Harvey’s starts with the Reds have at the very least been competitive efforts outside of that showing. He’s still averaging just 5 1/3 innings per start, but Harvey’s velocity has steadily increased with Cincinnati. He’s also seen a modest improvement in his swinging-strike rate (currently 8.9 percent) and seen substantial jump in his chase rate on out-of-zone pitches while also throwing first-pitch strikes at a considerably higher clip (up to 63.3 percent).

There’s little denying that Harvey would at the very least deepen the current pitching staff by adding another serviceable arm to the mix, and that depth is especially important with rosters set to expand in September. Even incremental upgrades for the Brewers should be viewed as important, given that they’re currently 3.5 games back of the National League Central-leading Cubs and a half-game behind the Cardinals in the division as well. Milwaukee is more favorably positioned in the Wild Card hunt — currently tied with Colorado for the second spot and a half-game back of the Cardinals, who hold the top spot.

For the Reds, there’s been no indication that they’d simply let Harvey go via waivers. His $5.6MM salary has about $1.13MM remaining to be paid out, so the financial implications aren’t exactly overwhelming. But if the Brewers are willing to offer even a modest prospect in return, the Reds should be happy to add to their continually improving farm system in exchange for a pitcher who is otherwise set to hit free agency after the season.

Brewers Option Corey Knebel, Zach Davies

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The Brewers have optioned righties Corey Knebel and Zach Davies, per the MLB.com transactions page. (H/t MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy & Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel; Twitter links.) Davies had been on a rehab assignment following an extended absence.

This move is notable enough for what it says about two of the team’s most important pitchers heading into the season. But it’s also an intriguing development with the revocable waiver trade deadline drawing near.

[RELATED: Brewers Depth Chart]

Knebel was expected to anchor the Milwaukee pen, but carries a 5.08 ERA through 39 innings on the season. He has generated 12.7 K/9 against 4.4 BB/9 along with a 50.0% groundball rate, but has also been touched for home runs on 28.0% of the flyballs put in play against him. Knebel is sitting just under 97 mph with his average fastball, but has lost some of swinging-strike gains from 2017, with his 13.9% rate falling to 11.6% this year. His struggles have deepened of late, as he has coughed up eight earned runs in his past 6 1/3 innings.

As for Davies, who turned in solid campaigns from the rotation in each of the past two years, the 2018 season has been a rough one thus far. He only managed a 5.23 ERA through eight starts before hitting the shelf with shoulder troubles. Davies has actually taken more starts in the minors this year than in the majors, owing to a halting rehab course.

While Knebel will head to Triple-A to work out the kinks, Davies was formally assigned to the organization’s nearby Class A affiliate. The reason for the latter’s placement isn’t entirely clear, but it could be that the club thinks it may need to bring him back onto the MLB roster on short notice or that he’ll be getting some added rest time without re-starting another rehab stint. Or, perhaps this is just a holding spot for the time being while the next steps are hammered out.

Both pitchers will need to remain on optional assignment for at least ten days unless an active roster spot opens due to a DL placement. It’s at least worth noting that, to this point of the season, MLB players have only accrued 147 days of service. Knebel, a Super Two this year, will cross into the 3+ service class regardless of whether he returns to the MLB roster. Davies, though, entered the campaign with 2.020 service years on his ticker and is therefore still a few days shy of reaching arbitration eligibility in the coming offseason. He would still likely qualify as a Super Two, but that’d mean pushing back his eventual free agency by one season. Whether or not that’s a factor isn’t at all clear; it certainly could be that the organization plans to bring Davies back when rosters expand, if not sooner.

For the time being, there’s no known replacement for Knebel on the active roster. Milwaukee is off today. As Rosiak notes, he could be replaced by Joakim Soria, if he’s activated from the DL tomorrow. But the open roster spot could also be filled from the outside. Several starting pitchers are rumored to be on waivers or to have cleared waivers. It’s certainly possible — but by no means certain — that the Brewers are contemplating the acquisition of an outside arm.

[RELATED: Top 20 August Trade Candidates]

NL Central Links: Hamels, Schoop, Aguilar, Reds

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Some items from the NL Central…

  • Cole Hamels has been nothing short of excellent since joining the Cubs, posting a microscopic 0.72 ERA over his first 25 innings with the team.  With Hamels pitching like an ace again, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News wonders if this could bode well for the Rangers, as Texas wouldn’t be on the hook for the $6MM buyout of Hamels’ $20MM option for 2019 if Chicago decided to exercise that option.  There are some complications, Grant notes, as the Cubs may not want to spend that much on a pitcher who turns 35 in December, no matter how well Hamels performs down the stretch.  The Cubs already have quite a bit of money tied up in their rotation, and keeping Hamels would put them in danger of surpassing the luxury tax threshold (MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes has written in the past about the Cubs’ strange reluctance incur a tax penalty, despite the relatively meager financial cost they’d face as “a first-time payor.”)
  • “There are rumblings that the Brewers will try to flip” Jonathan Schoop after the season, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes.  If a trade partner can’t be found, Milwaukee might just non-tender Schoop.  The middle infielder earned $8.5MM this season and, despite his struggles, will be due a raise in 2019 in his third and final year of arbitration eligibility.  Schoop has posted just a .384 OPS over 50 PA this joining the Brewers, and he has only started two of Milwaukee’s last five games.  Barring a turn-around, it’s hard to see Schoop generating much interest on the trade front.
  • After being designated for assignment by the Indians in the 2016-17 offseason, Jesus Aguilar told Tyler Kepner of the New York Times that he considered leaving MLB due to overseas interest.  “I even was thinking about Korea and Japan,” Aguilar said. “When they put me on waivers, my agent was talking to me: ’They got people there. They want me there, too.’ ” This career crossroads ended when Aguilar was claimed by the Brewers, and the first baseman blossomed after receiving more playing time, hitting .280/.366/.579 with 29 homers and a league-best 89 RBI over 413 plate appearances this season.
  • The Reds’ recent front office shuffle was likely due to the team’s lack of recent success at developing pitchers and finding international prospects, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes.  While the Reds signed Aroldis Chapman and Raisel Iglesias out of Cuba, they haven’t had a real find in the Dominican or Venezuelan player markets since Johnny Cueto back in 2004, which Fay argues could stem from parting ways with scout Johnny Almaraz in 2007.  (Almarez has since gone on to become the Phillies’ director of amateur scouting.)

Injury Updates: Altuve, Nationals, Red Sox, Brewers

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Here’s the latest key injury news from around Major League Baseball:

  • Astros second baseman and reigning American League MVP Jose Altuve will play a rehab game at the Triple-A level on Sunday, and it’s possible he’ll be back in the majors Monday, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Right knee soreness has kept Altuve out of action since July 25, and the Astros have gone just 7-12 without him and fallen out of sole possession of first place in the AL West. They lost to the Athletics on Saturday, putting the two teams in a first-place tie atop the division.
  • There is a chance that starter Stephen Strasburg and reliever Kelvin Herrera will rejoin the Nationals during their next series against the division-rival Phillies, which begins Aug. 21, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com writes. Strasburg has been out since July 20 with a pinched nerve in his neck, while Herrera hasn’t pitched since Aug. 7 because of a right rotator cuff impingement. Starter Jeremy Hellickson and reliever Ryan Madson have joined those two on the DL this week, making it all the more important for the disappointing Nats to get back both Strasburg and Herrera as they try to make up a seven-game deficit in the National League East.
  • Red Sox knuckleballer Steven Wright, out since June 26 with left knee inflammation, is closing in on a rehab assignment, manager Alex Cora told Christopher Smith of MassLive.com and other reporters. Wright will work out of Boston’s bullpen when he does return, Cora added. The 33-year-old Wright has served as a reliever in six of 10 appearances this season and registered a 3.38 ERA/4.49 FIP with 6.98 K/9, 4.5 BB/9 and a 53.2 percent groundball rate in 40 innings.
  • While Brewers GM David Stearns and manager Craig Counsell indicated Wednesday that Jimmy Nelson probably won’t pitch this year, the righty said Saturday that he still hopes to return in 2018 (via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). “I’m still doing everything in my power,” said Nelson, who hasn’t taken a major league mound since Sept. 8, 2017, because of shoulder problems. Nelson’s absence has robbed the Brewers of someone who was seemingly turning into a front-line starter before he went down, but they’ve still managed a 68-56 record and a half-game lead on a wild-card spot without him this season.

Outrighted: Alec Asher, George Kontos

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We’ll track the day’s minor moves in this post …

  • The Brewers announced that Alec Asher was outrighted after recently being designated for assignment. That’s the second time this year the Milwaukee organization has sent Asher to Triple-A after he cleared waivers. He can choose instead to go into free agency now or at the end of the season. Asher, 26, has spent most of 2018 at Triple-A, where he owns a 5.42 ERA with 39 strikeouts and 32 walks in 88 innings.
  • Likewise, the Yankees say they outrighted veteran righty George Kontos, who was also in DFA limbo. As with Asher, he can elect the open market now or later. Kontos has seen time with three MLB teams this year, most recently making only a single appearance in New York. The eight-year veteran carries a 4.39 ERA with 5.1 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 in 26 2/3 innings in the majors this season.

Jimmy Nelson Unlikely To Return In 2018

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Brewers GM David Stearns and manager Craig Counsell indicated today that righty Jimmy Nelson is unlikely to make it back to the hill for the club this season, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel was among those to report (Twitter links: 1; 2; 3; 4; 5).

That conclusion was largely evident from the fact that Nelson had not yet begun a rehab assignment. Stearns acknowledged today what was becoming clear, saying that time is running short. Further comments from Counsell removed any remaining doubt as to the team’s expectations. While neither man would rule out the possibility that Nelson will make a surprising late-season return, it seems there’s not much reason at all to think that’ll take place.

Nelson, 28, turned in a strong 2017 effort before succumbing to a shoulder injury that required surgery. He spun 175 1/3 frames of 3.49 ERA ball with 10.2 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, and a 50.3% grounder rate. Despite the season-ending procedure, Nelson’s big year allowed him to command a $3.7MM salary in his first trip through arbitration, a sum the Brewers were glad to pay in hopes that he’d be able to return in 2018 and in order to retain their rights over his 2019 and 2020 campaigns. (He’ll surely command the same amount in arbitration this fall.)

Since Nelson underwent shoulder surgery last September, the organization has expressed varying degrees of optimism that he’d at least potentially be ready to return at some point in 2018. There seemed to be quite a bit of promise in the run-up to camp, with a June return presented as a potential target. Unfortunately, his anticipated mound work continued to be pushed back. As recently as late June, Stearns said the team expected Nelson to appear this season, but the final strides have evidently yet to be made.

As Counsell explains, Nelson’s early rehab work increased expectations. Unfortunately, that did not carry forward to a ramped-up timetable. But the skipper says the goal all along was never to get Nelson back on the mound this year so much as it was to get him back to full health at whatever pace the process would allow.

There isn’t any setback to blame for the fact that Nelson likely won’t return to the MLB roster this year, per Counsell. Rather, the club’s top uniformed decisionmaker says, “it’s just that where we are in the schedule, [Nelson is] not going to get [to] pitch in major-league games.” The goal at this point seems to have shifted to putting Nelson “in a competitive situation” before he takes a breather over the offseason. It’s also possible the righty could appear in winter ball or some kind of instructional league, per Stearns.

Observers have long wondered if Nelson’s absence would lead the Brewers to seek a significant rotation upgrade. The organization has foregone any major moves to this point, though, expressing confidence in a unit made up of preexisting internal options and a few modest additions (namely, Jhoulys Chacin and Wade Miley). Results have been solid thus far, though the starting staff could still represent an area to improve later this month and in the offseason to come. While the team surely maintains hope that Nelson will be ready to go when camp opens next spring, Stearns & co. will have to weigh the ongoing uncertainty in tweaking the roster over the winter.

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