NL Central Notes: Cubs, Stroman, Burnes, Wainwright
As the trade deadline on August 1 creeps ever closer, the Cubs stand as one of a handful of teams that has yet to make a decision regarding whether they will be buyers or sellers this trade season. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer spoke to 670 The Score on Friday regarding the club’s plans. Hoyer asserted that “there is nothing we want more than to add” at the coming deadline, though he made clear the club was willing to pivot if buying at the deadline seemed imprudent.
The Cubs currently sit at a record of 43-48 following today’s win against the Red Sox, a record that will leave them seven games out of first place following this evening’s game between the Reds and Brewers. While the club’s +27 run differential is by far the best in the NL Central, Hoyer acknowledged that in order to justify buying at the deadline, “We need to make up ground on first place, and we need to make up ground on .500.”
Should the Cubs fail to do so over the next two weeks, the club seems poised to shop players like center fielder Cody Bellinger and right-hander Marcus Stroman to contending clubs. Stroman, whose lack of extension talks with the club has been well documented, told reporters (including Bruce Levine of The Score) today that he does not expect an extension offer from the Cubs prior to the trade deadline. Even if he’s traded, however, Stroman indicated he would have interest in returning to Chicago on a new contract during the offseason. Stroman can opt-out of the final year and $21MM on his contract after the 2023 campaign comes to a close, and seems all but certain to do so after posting a 2.88 ERA in 118 2/3 innings across his first 20 starts of the season.
More from around the NL Central:
- While Stroman’s future is up in the air, the same can’t be said for Brewers ace Corbin Burnes, who told reporters (including MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy) that GM Matt Arnold has privately told him that he will not be traded. That matches what Arnold has said publicly, as he previously indicated that Milwaukee would look to add at the deadline and would not consider moving either Burnes or shortstop Willy Adames. The news hardly comes as a surprise given the step back Burnes has taken this season relative to the Cy Young-caliber performance he offered from 2020-22, during which time he posted a 2.62 ERA and 2.40 FIP across 428 2/3 innings of work. In 2023, Burnes has been more solid than spectacular, with a 3.73 ERA and 4.07 FIP in 19 starts with a reduced 24.8% strikeout rate.
- Cardinals veteran Adam Wainwright has endured a difficult season as he prepares to retire following the 2023 campaign. In 11 starts with St. Louis this season, Wainwright posted a ghastly 7.66 ERA and 5.87 FIP prior to heading to the injured list prior to the All-Star break with a shoulder strain. Wainwright is expected to return to the mound this season, however, and manager Oli Marmol today provided an update on the veteran’s status. In conversation with reporters, including MLB.com’s John Denton, Marmol noted that Wainwright was set to resume throwing off a mound on Monday after receiving multiple shots in his shoulder to help alleviate pain. Once back on the mound, Wainwright will be built up to return to the club’s rotation later this season.
Brewers Release Eddy Alvarez
The Brewers have released utilityman Eddy Alvarez, according to his MLB.com profile page. Jim Goulart of BrewerFanatic.com reports (via Twitter) that Alvarez exercised an opt-out clause in the minor league contract he signed with Milwaukee back in December.
That deal had yet to translate into a call-up to the big league roster, even though Alvarez has hit .283/.397/.473 with seven homers and 16 steals (in 18 chances) over 257 plate appearances for Triple-A Nashville. Goulart notes that “a bit of a roster crunch” impacted Alvarez’s playing time, which certainly must’ve influenced his decision to trigger the opt-out and look for a new opportunity elsewhere.
Alvarez isn’t exactly an up-and-comer at age 33, but his Triple-A performance and multi-positional versatility could very well land him a new minors deal with another team. Alvarez is a veteran of three MLB seasons, hitting .183/.262/.262 over 142 plate appearances and 50 games with the Marlins and Dodgers from 2020-22. Best known for his outstanding Olympic career as a silver medalist in both speed-skating and baseball, Alvarez has spent much of his 10-year pro baseball career in the minors with the White Sox and Marlins.
Dodgers Acquire Tyson Miller From Brewers
The Dodgers announced that they have acquired right-hander Tyson Miller from the Brewers in exchange for cash considerations. The righty had been designated for assignment by Milwaukee on the weekend. To open a spot on their 40-man roster, the Dodgers transferred righty Daniel Hudson to the 60-day injured list.
Miller, 28 later this month, has been with the Brewers since being claimed off waivers from the Rangers in November. He has spent this year as an up-and-down depth arm, getting frequently optioned to Triple-A and recalled as needed. He has thrown 9 1/3 innings in the majors with a 5.79 ERA in that small sample. In 25 2/3 Triple-A innings, he has a 3.86 ERA, striking out 24.5% of hitters while walking 9.1% of them and getting grounders on 45.7% of balls in play.
He’s also seen some brief time in the majors with the Cubs and Rangers in previous seasons, currently sporting a 7.92 ERA over 25 career innings. His 4.75 ERA in 225 1/3 Triple-A innings might not excite much either, but he’s struck out 25.1% of hitters at that level and the Dodgers will surely try to coax more of that out of him going forward. He is in his final option year here in 2023, allowing the club to potentially keep him in the minors for the next few months but he’ll be out of options next year. But he has less than a year of service time and won’t be able to get to that one-year mark, meaning he could stick with the Dodgers for another six seasons if he can take a step forward.
The Dodgers essentially had a roster spot to burn as Hudson suffered an MCL sprain last week that’s going to keep him out of action for significant time. This transfer means he’ll be officially ineligible to return until 60 days from that initial IL placement, which would be early September. They’ve used Hudson’s roster spot and a bit of cash to add Miller to the system for a bit more depth on a club that’s dealt with a number of injuries this year, with 12 different pitchers currently on the IL.
Brewers Outright Mike Brosseau
Brewers infielder Mike Brosseau has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. That leaves Brosseau to remain as a member of the Brewers organization going forward, though he won’t occupy a 40-man roster spot. The club had previously designated Brosseau for assignment last week. Brosseau had the option to reject the outright assignment, though in doing so would have forfeited the remainder of his $1.4MM salary this season.
Acquired from the Rays during the 2021-22 offseason, Brosseau had a solid first season in Milwaukee in 2022 as a bench player. In 160 plate appearances across 70 games, Brosseau slashed .255/.344/.418 with a wRC+ of 118 while playing mostly third base for the club. That production earned Brosseau a roster spot with the club entering the 2023 campaign, though things did not go as well in Brosseau’s sophomore season in Milwaukee. Brosseau’s BABIP, which stood at .345 last year, cratered to just .224 in 78 plate appearances this season. Combined with a dip in walk rate, that drop in BABIP caused Brosseau’s production to drop to just .205/.256/.397 with a well below-average wRC+ of 74.
While Brosseau struggled badly with the Brewers in the majors this season, it’s easy to see why the club would want to retain him as a depth option moving forward. Since making his debut with the Rays in 2019, Brosseau owns a career slash line of .242/.313/.428 with 26 home runs in 647 career plate appearances. All that adds up to a wRC+ of 105 that registers as slightly above average, which when combined with his ability to play all four infield spots and both outfield corners makes for a very useful bench option.
Unfortunately for Brosseau, the Brewers are overflowing with similar utility options on their 40-man roster. Brian Anderson, Brice Turang, Willy Adames, and Owen Miller are currently handling the club’s infield on a daily basis in the big leagues. Andruw Monasterio and Jahmai Jones are the top options off the bench, while Luis Urias and Abraham Toro are both currently in the minors acting as depth already on the 40-man roster. With Brosseau so blocked, it seems likely that the club would have to clear space in their infield through either a rash of injuries or, perhaps, moves at the trade deadline on August 1 for Brosseau to return to the majors with the club this season.
Brewers Designate Tyson Miller For Assignment
The Brewers announced that right-hander Tyson Miller has been designated for assignment. Fellow righty Abner Uribe was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move, and Uribe’s first appearance for the Brewers will mark his MLB debut. Reporter Hector Gomez initially had the news about Uribe’s promotion, including a touching video of Uribe calling his parents to inform them of the big news.
Miller has been back and forth between the majors and minors a couple of times this season, and Milwaukee just called up back up earlier this week, resulting in one appearance — two-thirds of an inning pitched in yesterday’s 7-3 Brewers victory over the Reds. Uribe was already on the 40-man roster so a DFA wasn’t exactly necessary to move Miller off the active roster, yet the Brew Crew have apparently decided to create some extra space at the risk of exposing Miller to the waiver wire.
Miller has already changed teams twice via waiver claim, going from the Cubs to the Rangers in June 2021 and then from Texas to Milwaukee last November. The right-hander has a 5.79 ERA over 9 1/3 innings of MLB work this season, and a 7.92 ERA over 25 innings in parts of three seasons with Milwaukee, Texas, and Chicago. He has a 4.75 ERA in 225 1/3 career innings at the Triple-A level, but that includes an improved 3.86 ERA over 25 2/3 frames for Triple-A Nashville this year, as Miller has allowed only one homer. That is a promising development for a pitcher who has been often hurt badly by the long ball in past seasons.
The hard-throwing Uribe was added to the Brewers’ 40-man roster last November in advance of the Rule 5 Draft, as while Uribe missed most of the 2022 season due to meniscus surgery, the club still wanted to keep his promising arm away from other teams. Uribe returned to action in fine form, posting a 1.96 ERA over 23 combined innings at Double-A and Triple-A in 2023, with a huge 42.23% strikeout rate. However, Uribe’s career-long control issues have persisted, even if his 16.5% walk rate in the minors this year is actually an improvement over his past numbers.
MLB Pipeline ranks Uribe as the ninth-best prospect in the Brewers’ farm system, giving him an 80-grade for his blazing triple-digit baseball and a 60-grade for his plus slider. There is obviously plenty of potential here for the 23-year-old to develop into an elite bullpen arm if he can post even an average walk rate, and with such good results in a brief showing at Triple-A, Uribe is now getting an opportunity to show what he can do against big league hitters.
MLB Trade Rumors Podcast: Free Agent Power Rankings and Aroldis Chapman to the Rangers
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss:
- Free Agent Power Rankings: June Edition (1:30)
- Upcoming list of top trade candidates (18:20)
- Royals trade Aroldis Chapman to the Rangers (19:15)
- Padres Chairman Peter Seidler on deadline approach (22:25)
- Brewers GM Matt Arnold on deadline approach (25:35)
Check out our past episodes!
- The Angels Trade for Infielders, Indecisive NL Central Teams and Aaron Judge’s Toe – listen here
- Exciting Youth Movements in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, Bad Central Divisions and the Dodgers Want Pitching – listen here
- Marcus Stroman Lobbies for Extension, Mets’ Woes and Astros Seeking Bats – listen here
Brewers Designate Mike Brosseau For Assignment, Select J.C. Mejía
The Brewers announced a series of roster moves today, reinstating infielder/outfielder Brian Anderson from the paternity list, recalling right-hander Tyson Miller and selecting the contract of righty J.C. Mejía. In corresponding moves, they optioned relievers Clayton Andrews and J.B. Bukauskas in addition to placing first baseman Rowdy Tellez on the 10-day injured list due to right forearm inflammation. To get Mejia onto the 40-man, infielder Mike Brosseau was designated for assignment. Additionally, left-hander Thomas Pannone, who was designated for assignment on the weekend, was released.
Brosseau, 29, has alternated hot and cold in his career, serving as a utility player for the Rays and Brewers. He hit .284/.343/.500 for the Rays over 2019 and 2020 but then slumped to a line of .187/.266/.347 in 2021. He was then traded to the Brewers and bounced back with a .255/.344/.418 showing last year for a 118 wRC+.
He and the club avoided arbitration in the offseason by agreeing to a $1.4MM salary for this year. He had shown an ability to provide above-average offense while playing every infield position, the outfield corners and even some mop-up duty on the mound, making that a relative bargain price. Unfortunately, he’s having another down season at the plate here in 2023. He hit .205/.256/.397 for a wRC+ of 74 and got optioned to the minors about a month ago. He’s been even worse in Triple-A since then, hitting .188/.232/.375 in 69 plate appearances.
The Brewers will now have a week to trade Brosseau or pass him through waivers. He’s obviously having a rough year but has plenty of past success that could interest other clubs. He also has a couple of option years, including this one, meaning he wouldn’t even require an active roster spot. That could hold some appeal for a club looking for a bit of extra versatile depth.
Mejía, now 26, was acquired from Cleveland prior to the 2022 season but received an 80-game suspension for a positive PED test in May of that year. He was outrighted off the 40-man in August. This year, he’s been in Triple-A, tossing 30 1/3 innings over 23 appearances. He has a 3.86 ERA in that time, striking out 25.2% of opponents against a 10.2% walk rate. He’s also kept the ball on the ground at an incredible 64.5% clip.
The Brewers have used their bullpen quite a bit in recent days, including last night’s contest which went to 11 innings and saw the club use six different pitchers. They’ve brought up Mejía and Miller to provide the bullpen with some fresh arms, with five games left before the All-Star break.
Pannone has previously been outrighted in his career and therefore would have had the right to reject another such assignment. The club has skipped that formality and just sent him back to the open market to look for his next opportunity. He made one appearance for the Brewers in his brief time on the roster, tossing 2 2/3 innings with two earned runs allowed. In 53 1/3 Triple-A innings this year, he posted a 2.70 ERA.
Brewers Release Matt Bush
The Brewers have released reliever Matt Bush, tweets Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. That was expected once the Brew Crew designated him for assignment two days ago.
Bush joined Milwaukee at the 2022 trade deadline, heading over from the Rangers in a deal that sent utility player Mark Mathias and pitching prospect Antoine Kelly to Texas. The hard-throwing righty was sitting on a 2.95 ERA while fanning just under 30% of opposing hitters at the time of the swap. Milwaukee hoped for more of the same, but the 37-year-old struggled upon landing in American Family Field.
In 23 innings down the stretch, Bush posted a 4.30 ERA while seeing his homer rate spike. The velocity and whiffs led Milwaukee to retain him on a $1.85MM arbitration salary. Bush’s results continued going in the wrong direction, punctuated by a blown save last Friday.
Milwaukee was operating with a thin bullpen in a divisional matchup against the Pirates. The Brewers entrusted Bush with the ninth inning holding a two-run lead. The veteran allowed hits to three of five batters faced, including a Carlos Santana walk-off homer. It was the fifth longball he’d surrendered in 10 1/3 innings this season.
Asked about using Bush to close things out after the game, manager Craig Counsell told the Milwaukee beat “(he’s) on the roster and he hasn’t pitched in a while and he was fresh, and it was his job to get the outs in the ninth. He just couldn’t get them,” (relayed by Adam McCalvy of MLB.com).
A day later, the Brewers moved on. Bush is out of minor league option years, so a DFA was the only way to take him off the big league club. He crossed the five-year MLB service threshold earlier in the season, so he’d have the right to decline an outright assignment while retaining his salary. Rather than go through that process, Milwaukee released him entirely.
The Brewers remain on the hook for that sum. If another team adds Bush to their MLB roster, they’ll only owe him the prorated portion of the $720K minimum. He’s likely to attract interest based on his results in Texas and swing-and-miss upside, but his recent struggles might limit him to minor league offers.
Brewers Sign Jahmai Jones
The Brewers announced Monday that they’ve signed infielder Jahmai Jones and added him directly to their 26-man Major League roster for today’s game. Infielder/outfielder Brian Anderson was placed on the paternity list in a corresponding roster move. Milwaukee already had an open spot on the 40-man roster. Jones, an ACES client, opted out of a minor league contract with the Dodgers over the weekend.
Jones, 26 next month, was a second-round pick by the Angels back in 2015 and long rated as one of the Halos’ best prospects, even cracking most top-100 lists heading into the 2018 season. He’s only logged 29 games in the big leagues to this point, hitting just .176/.228/.216 in 79 trips to the plate during that tiny sample, most of which came with the 2021 Orioles.
Struggles in that small collection of big league games notwithstanding, Jones has a strong Triple-A track record, including an excellent .293/.428/.543 slash in 263 plate appearances with the Dodgers’ top affiliate in 2023. He’s clubbed nine homers, connected on 20 doubles and added three triples this season, walking at a massive 17.5% clip against a 20.9% strikeout rate.
Jones has primarily played second base in his professional career, but he does have nearly 1700 innings of experience in center field and another 369 frames in left field, so he could have some utility appeal for the Brewers in the short-term. Owen Miller has played first base, second base and third base for the Brewers this season, and he’ll likely step in at the hot corner while Anderson is on the paternity list for up to three days. Jones could be an option there as well, though he has just nine innings at third base since being drafted.
Brewers GM Matt Arnold Discusses Deadline Approach
The NL Central has been full of surprises this season, from the Cardinals’ shocking failure to get off the ground early in the season to Cincinnati’s recent torrid stretch catapulting them into contention. The one team seemingly immune to the division’s upheaval, at least so far, is the Brewers.
Entering play today, the Brewers sport a 44-39 record that leaves them tied with the Reds for the division lead in a relatively weak NL Central division. The club is currently two games into a ten game stretch against division rivals ahead of the All Star break; after splitting its first two games in Pittsburgh, they’ll play the Pirates in a series finale today before returning to Milwaukee to face the Cubs in a four game set. They’ll then finish up the first half with three games against the Reds. With so many games against their top division rivals, the club could take a much firmer hold of the division lead or slip in the standings somewhat prior to the All Star break.
Despite that lingering uncertainty, the club’s front office seems to have its course largely set with less than a month to go until MLB’s trade deadline on August 1. MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy discussed the club’s plans with GM Matt Arnold yesterday, and the GM was rather candid about his planned approach as we enter trade season.
“Look, we want to be competitive here in 2023,” Arnold said. “We will be opportunistic to try and improve this team where we can, responsibly, I think we have a lot of good players here.”
Arnold went on to point to right-hander Brandon Woodruff, left-handers Aaron Ashby and Justin Wilson, and outfielder Tyrone Taylor as potentially impactful “additions” the team could benefit from in the second half, and when prompted to elaborate on what he meant by behaving “responsibly” discussed the importance of balancing the farm system’s longer term outlook and the immediate value of pushing in to win now.
Those comments from Arnold certainly seem to indicate that the Brewers are unlikely to make a major splash by buying at the top of the trade market this month. Such a measured approach to the deadline is fairly typical of Milwaukee in recent years. The club’s biggest deadline acquisition in recent memory was rental infielder Eduardo Escobar during his All Star 2021 campaign. Other recent deadline additions have been smaller, such as the additions of Jordan Lyles and Drew Pomeranz in 2019 or the club’s acquisition of Matt Bush last season.
Of course, the most impactful deal by Milwaukee at the trade deadline in recent years happened last season, when the club shipped closer Josh Hader to the Padres for a four-player package. That deal has had some positives to it, as the club managed to ship outfielder Esteury Ruiz out in a three team deal that brought back catcher William Contreras this past offseason and left-handed prospect Robert Gasser is pitching fairly well at the Triple-A level. Still, the deal is often looked at as having sunk the club’s chances last season as the Brewers finished the season just 29-31 following the trade and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
Arnold suggested a similarly surprising sell-side deal isn’t in the cards this year. When asked if he would consider moving a player such as ace right-hander Corbin Burnes or All Star shortstop Willy Adames, Arnold firmly shut the possibility down, saying, “We’re not looking to move any of those guys. They’re huge parts of our team right now… I mean, I’m sure we’ll get phone calls on these guys, because they’re very good. But that’s not something we’re considering.”
It’s hardly a surprise that the club is disinclined to move either Burnes or Adames, considering neither of the pair has played up to their typical standards this season. Following a three year stretch that saw Burnes post a 2.62 ERA and 2.40 FIP in 428 2/3 innings of work, the 28-year-old righty has put up a rather pedestrian 4.00 ERA in 17 starts this season, only 6% better than league average by measure of ERA+. Meanwhile, Adames is in the midst of the worst offensive season of his career. His .203/.290/.373 slash line, good for a well below average wRC+ of just 81, would be a career worst in all four aforementioned stats if maintained over the rest of the season.