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AL News & Rumors: Rangers, Kela, Beltre, Red Sox, Jays, Vlad Jr., Twins

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There were five teams on hand Saturday to scout Rangers closer Keone Kela, Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram reports. The Diamondbacks and Pirates – both of whom have had previously reported interested in Kela – as well as the Red Sox, Indians and Giants were in attendance, according to Wilson. Kela didn’t pitch, though the 25-year-old has bolstered his trade value this season with a 3.28 ERA/2.85 FIP, 10.85 K/9 against 3.03 BB/9 and 23 saves in 24 chances over 35 2/3 innings. Adding to Kela’s appeal, he’s making a relative pittance this season ($1.2MM) and still has three more arbitration-eligible years remaining. The Dodgers are interested in Kela, too, per the Dallas Morning News’ Evan Grant, who adds that LA has also been scouting fellow Texas relievers Jose Leclerc, Alex Claudio and Jake Diekman,

  • More on the Rangers, who have yet another potential trade chip in pending free-agent third baseman Adrian Beltre. While the Braves have been connected to Beltre this week, one source “downplayed” their interest in the future Hall of Famer to Wilson. Grant passes along different information, writing that the Braves’ interest in Beltre is “serious.” Whether a deal comes together will largely be up to the 39-year-old Beltre, who, as a 10-and-5 player, has full no-trade rights. Beltre spoke about his future Saturday, telling Grant and others in regards to the Rangers: “We have talked. I’ve always been at peace with being here. Obviously, we have talked before [about a trade], and if it makes sense for both parties, I would consider it. But up until now, there’s nothing concrete that we can sit and talk about.”
  • Red Sox manager Alex Cora told Ian Browne of MLB.com and other reporters Saturday that third baseman Rafael Devers is likely headed to the disabled list with a hamstring injury. It would be the second DL placement this month for Devers, who went on the shelf July 12 on account of left shoulder inflammation, thus adding to a disappointing season for the well-regarded 21-year-old. After an impressive debut in 2017, Devers has batted a below-average .245/.295/.425 in 396 plate appearances this season, though he has shown off respectable power (15 home runs, .180 ISO).
  • Blue Jays uber-prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is now one step from the majors, having been promoted from Double-A to Triple-A on Saturday. The 19-year-old third baseman tore through Double-A pitching in 266 PAs this season, hitting .402/.449/.671 with 14 home runs and nearly as many walks (21) as strikeouts (27) prior to his promotion. Both Baseball America and MLB.com regard Guerrero as the game’s best prospect.
  • The Twins brought third baseman Miguel Sano back to the majors on Saturday. Sano earned a surprise demotion to the minors in mid-June after opening the season with a .191/.247/.353 line with seven home runs and 30 strikeouts against a mere two walks in 73 PAs. The 25-year-old’s only a season removed from an All-Star campaign in which he slashed .264/.352/.507 with 28 homers over 483 PAs.

Twins’ Kyle Gibson Drawing Trade Interest

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According to a report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Twins are receiving “as much interest in Kyle Gibson as in any of their players.” The Twins have waved the white flag on the 2018 season this week, shipping out both infielder Eduardo Escobar to the Diamondbacks and right-handed reliever Ryan Pressly to the Astros.

Of course, it should be noted right of the bat that Rosenthal’s source believes the Twins would need to be “blown away” to trade the right-hander. After a mostly mediocre career, the former number 22 overall pick is finally showing the brilliance Minnesota had always hoped they’d see. After back-to-back 5.07 ERA seasons, Gibson sports a 3.42 mark across 129 innings so far in 2018. He’s also struck out nearly a batter per inning and sports a healthy 46.2% ground ball rate, making him a fairly safe bet to continue his solid production moving forward.

It’s odd that the Twins don’t seem motivated to move Gibson, considering he’s only controllable through the 2019 season; Pressly was set to become a free agent at the same and he was dealt only yesterday. Of course, it’s certainly possible that the club was “blown away” by the return they got for Pressly, as Houston’s 10th- and 15th-best prospects came back to Minnesota in that deal. Gibson’s playing on a $4.2MM salary this season, meaning he will still remain quite affordable even after an arbitration bump in the coming winter.

Then again, the Twins might consider Gibson to be a valuable element of their hopes to jump back into contention in 2019. After all, Escobar was only controllable through the end of the year, so while we’re likely to see Brian Dozier moved in the coming days, it’s possible Minnesota might rely on bounceback seasons from Ervin Santana, Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano along with some minor-league reinforcements in order to field a competitive team next year. After all, they’re in a division that looks to be very weak for years, outside of the AL Central-leading Indians.

There are certainly teams that might be willing to overwhelm Minnesota in order to land a quality starter. The Brewers appear poised to make an aggressive run at a postseason berth, and their rotation looks unsightly at the moment due in part to injuries. Also in the NL Central, the pitching-needy Cardinals don’t appear willing to punt the 2018 season and are certainly hoping to make a push in 2019. Gibson would also prove an upgrade over some of the Diamondbacks’ in-house options, and the same could be said of the Nationals, to whom he could also serve as insurance in case Stephen Strasburg is unable to return to health and form. This is all purely speculative, but regardless, if Gibson’s not dealt, it will be due to lack of an aggressive offer, not lack of suitors.

Indians, Giants Showing Interest In Brian Dozier

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Following trades of Eduardo Escobar and Ryan Pressly, Twins fan favorite Brian Dozier seems all but destined to be donning another uniform on August 1st. Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press reports that both the Indians and Giants have been scouting the second baseman this week, who’s set to become a free agent at season’s end.

Dozier, 31, has been having a down season by his standards, slashing just .226/.307/.409 across the season’s first four months. He’s played below-average defense by measure of both UZR and DRS, and he’s on pace for his lowest homer total since 2014. Fangraph’s WAR formula pegs him as a slightly-below-average major leaguer so far this season after being at least a 5-win player in each of the past two campaigns.

Then again, Dozier’s been known to go off in the season’s second half. Dozier’s career wRC+ following the All-Star Break (116) is a full 13 points higher than his lifetime performance before it (103). His wOBA and triple-slash paint a similar picture. Just last season, in fact, exactly half of Dozier’s 34 homers came in either August or September, as did 33 of his 78 walks. While that doesn’t mean an acquiring team can lean heavily on that type of production as a pattern, it’s certainly encouraging for his many suitors.

One of those suitors, the Indians, have been known to be looking for help on offense, and Berardino notes that they’re still checking in on second and third base options as well as outfielders. Cleveland has also been connected to Joey Gallo within the past 24 hours, and could be even more heavily motivated to get some help on offense following recent news that Tyler Naquin is likely headed to the DL. As Berardino points out, longtime Tribe second baseman Jason Kipnis is enduring another down season, evidenced by his season batting line of .219/.306/.362 (though it’s worth noting that he’s picked up the pace significantly in the past six weeks).

While Dozier could potentially eat into Kipnis’ playing time, another possible scenario would be for Dozier to push Kipnis into the outfield mix, where the Indians are without particularly inspiring options. A stint in center field last season didn’t have good results for Kip, but it’s entirely possible he would be a better option there than the 37-year-old Rajai Davis or rookie Greg Allen. The Indians also probably don’t know what to expect from Lonnie Chisenhall, either, who has yet to amass 100 plate appearances this season due to a series of calf injuries, so it’s not difficult to imagine Kipnis being useful in right field, either.

As for the Giants, the fit is more obvious. Joe Panik has spent significant time on the disabled list this season and remains there at present. Even when the 27-year-old has been able to take the field, the results haven’t been great; he’s slashing 240/.309/.345 across 224 plate appearances and is rated as being roughly replacement level by Fangraphs. Then again, it’s a bit of a surprise to see the Giants taking a long look at Dozier in the first place considering he’s a pure rental and the Giants currently sit 6.5 games back of the division with significant questions in almost every area of their roster. While they’re a bit closer in the NL Wild Card race at just five games back, there are also five teams ahead of them in that race that they’d need to leapfrog just to secure a spot in the one-game playoff.

Astros To Acquire Ryan Pressly

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The Astros have officially struck a deal to acquire reliever Ryan Pressly from the Twins, as Ken Rosenthal and Robert Murray of The Athletic first reported (Twitter links). Prospects Jorge Alcala and Gilberto Celestino are going to Minnesota in the deal, as first mentioned by Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter).

Pressly, 29, has taken a big step forward this year after showing solid peripherals — but generating only a 4.70 ERA — in his 61 1/3 innings last year. Through 47 2/3 innings in the present campaign, the right-hander is sporting a 3.40 ERA with an eye-opening 13.0 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9.

Better still, Pressly is earning just $1.6MM this year with another season of arbitration eligibility left to go. While the ’Stros were likely not overly concerned with cost, they obviously valued the additional season of control and surely were not unaware of the fact that it’ll come at a manageable price tag.

Just how things will shake out at the back of the Houston pen remains to be seen. For now, usual closer Ken Giles remains at Triple-A. Despite his increasingly interesting output, Pressly has not recorded any saves this year and only has eight holds. It seems likely, then, that Hector Rondon will remain the top option in the ninth, barring another move or a return to grace for Giles.

Despite his relative lack of late-inning experience, Pressly will represent another weapon for a relief unit that’s already among the best in baseball. Long noted for his impressive spin rate, Pressly has finally put it all together. This year, he’s sporting a dominant 17.9% swinging-strike rate while mixing a slider and curve off of his 96+ mph four-seamer. Much of the bump in the swing-and-miss has come from his slider, though the contact rate on that pitch has trended up over the course of the season.

While the Twins didn’t need to move Pressly, it seems the market interest was enough to force the club’s hand. Whether or not other non-rental assets will be parted with remains to be seen. Clearly, after previously moving Eduardo Escobar, there’ll be more moves to come. Infielder Brian Dozier and relievers Fernando Rodney and Zach Duke seem likeliest to end up on other rosters.

The team has picked up some interesting new assets to go with the youthful pieces added in the deal it completed earlier today. Alcala, who turns 23 tomorrow, is a pure flamethrower who’s still working to refine his secondary offerings. He has turned in 79 1/3 innings of 3.29 ERA ball with 9.3 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 this year, splitting his time between High-A and Double-A, and graded as Houston’s tenth-best prospect on MLB.com’s most recent list. Celestino checked in at #15 on that ranking and was recently noted by Baseball America as the Astros’ top defensive outfield prospect. The 19-year-old has hit quite well this year at the low-A level, posting a .317/.383/.476 slash with four home runs.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

D-Backs Acquire Eduardo Escobar

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The Diamondbacks have officially struck a deal with the Twins that sends infielder Eduardo Escobar to Arizona. Ken Rosenthal and Dan Hayes of The Athletic (Twitter link) reported an agreement was close, while Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets that there is in fact a deal in place.

In return, the Twins will get three Class A ballplayers in the deal, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets. Righty Jhoan Duran and outfielders Ernie De La Trinidad and Gabriel Maciel are all going to Minnesota. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 had tweeted that a trio of minor-leaguers would go to the Twins in the deal.

Escobar will reach free agency at season’s end, making him an obvious trade piece for the Twins. While the Minnesota club is still not fully buried in the AL Central, with a seven-game deficit, the club obviously determined that it was not close enough to the talented Indians to hold off on moving veteran assets.

With the deadline drawing near, Escobar arguably rated as the top infielder available. He is earning just $4.8MM this year, so his salary was rather easy to absorb for most contenders. Esobar sat at 18th on MLBTR’s recent listing of the top 75 trade deadline candidates, though he would have been significantly higher had it been clear that the Twins were ready to deal.

Even with Escobar leaving the market, there still remain quite a few other potential infield targets. Top rentals include now-former teammate Brian Dozier (who is likely limited to second base), Asdrubal Cabrera, Adrian Beltre, Ian Kinsler, and a group of veteran shortstops (Adeiny Hechavarria, Jose Iglesias, Freddy Galvis).

For the time being, at least, it seems likely that Escobar will slot in at third base, which is where he has spent most of the year. D-Backs incumbent Jake Lamb is dealing with a shoulder injury that may require a DL stint. He has also struggled mightily at the plate this year after two consecutive quality campaigns.

Escobar certainly has not had any difficulties putting bat to ball in 2018. He’s sporting a career-best .274/.338/.514 batting line with 15 home runs through 408 plate appearances. That’s a fair sight more than the switch-hitter has ever produced at the plate over a full season in the past, though Escobar has posted roughly league-average batting lines in three of the past four campaigns.

Of course, the Diamondbacks will surely still hope that Lamb can return and provide a boost. It’s notable, then, that Escobar has extensive experience at shortstop and also has spent time at second base (as well as the corner outfield). He may ultimately end up moving around the diamond as needs dictate down the stretch.

On the Twins’ side, there’s some interesting young talent coming back. Per MLB.com’s recently updated organizational rankings, Maciel ranked as the 11th-best prospect in the Arizona system, with Duran listed in the 19th spot. Maciel is valued for his ability to get aboard and do damage on the basepaths when he does. Entering the season, Baseball America rated both of those players among the thirty best Diamondbacks prospects. In their latest look, they bumped Duran into the club’s top-ten list on the basis of his big heater and “power curve.” While he still needs a third pitch to profile as a future starter, it seems there’s a lot to like about his arm.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Twins’ Ryan Pressly Drawing Significant Trade Interest

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“Virtually every contender” has reached out to the Twins to inquire about the availability of reliever Ryan Pressly, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). The strong levels of interest have compelled the Twins to “at least listen” to offers on Pressly, who is controlled through the 2019 season.

Pressly, 29, is in the midst of his best season in the Majors to date. The former Rule 5 pick (out of the Red Sox organization in 2012) has seen his velocity trend upward in recent years, and he’s averaging 95.8 mph on his heater with a ridiculous 13.0 K/9 mark against 3.6 BB/9 through 47 2/3 innings this season. His 18 percent swinging-strike rate ranks fifth among qualified relievers. Pressly also has an above-average 47.9 percent ground-ball rate, and though his 3.40 ERA is plenty solid, fielding-independent metrics are even more bullish; FIP pegs Pressly at 2.95, while xFIP has him at 2.86 and his SIERA sits at 2.72.

Rosenthal notes that Pressly has the second-highest spin rate in the Majors — a nod to Pressly’s curveball, which does indeed check in second behind only Garrett Richards in terms of its spin, per Statcast (min. 100 curves thrown). It’s also worth noting that Pressly’s four-seamer has the seventh-highest spin rate, and his slider ranks 16th in that regard (again, min. 100 of each pitch type thrown).

Pressly is earning just $1.6MM in 2018 and would be controlled for one more season via the arbitration process. As Jake Kaplan of The Athletic points out (also on Twitter), Pressly fits the Astros’ preferred template of a high-spin four-seamer and curveball, though surely that skill set holds a fairly broad level of appeal throughout the Majors.

Robust as the interest in Pressly may be, it’s not yet clear whether the Twins have any intent to move pieces that are controlled beyond the 2018 season. The American League Central is still generally looks weak, and while the current season hasn’t played out as Minnesota had hoped, the team has a number of quality young pieces locked up into 2019 and beyond. The New York Post’s Joel Sherman recently reported with regard to Kyle Gibson, who is also controlled through ’19, that the Twins have “fielded inquiries” but are more open to moving impending free agents.

At present, the Twins are seven games back in the American League Central, though they’ve won four in a row. Their final four games before Tuesday’s deadline come against some of the best competition in the AL, with three games remaining in their current series in Boston plus a Monday tilt against the division-leading Indians. If Minnesota can pull within another game or two before Tuesday afternoon, perhaps it’ll hang onto most of its trade assets, though the team could choose to operate in a variety of ways. GM Thad Levine told 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson earlier this month that his team could also look to add some pieces that are controlled into 2019 as a means of doing some offseason shopping in advance.

Trade Chatter: Jones, Kela, Beltre, A’s, Gibson, Phillies

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The Orioles haven’t yet approached Adam Jones about the possibility of waiving his no-trade clause, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. That doesn’t mean that the Orioles won’t be moving him, however, and Crasnick echoes previous reports in writing that both the Phillies and Indians have some degree of interest in Jones, who’d likely play right field for either club. Per Crasnick, there are some in the industry who feel Jones would want an extension in order to waive his full no-trade protection — Jones has 10-and-5 rights — though there’s been no firm indication of that from Jones’ camp, it seems.

Meanwhile, Jones himself chatted with MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski about the possibility of being moved, calling reported interest from other teams “humbling” and “flattering.” The longtime Baltimore center fielder, though, says he has not yet discussed the possibility of approving a trade away from the Orioles with his family. “If the scenario is right, I want to win, I want play ball,” says Jones. “You look at these kind of scenarios and what is the best fit for you. When all the information comes and we get more information, I’ll be able to make a better decision based on the information.”

More trade chatter from around the league…

  • With Cole Hamels on his way to the Cubs, pending medical reviews, the next player the Rangers move could be closer Keone Kela, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Per Passan, clubs that have spoken to Texas about Kela “get a sense they’re getting close to something.” The Pirates have been the team most prominently linked to Kela in recent days, though a hard-throwing, 25-year-old reliever who can be controlled affordably through the 2021 season clearly won’t have any shortage of interested parties. Kela might be the Rangers’ best trade chip, given that remaining club control, although that control also lessens the Rangers’ sense of urgency in finding a trade partner.
  • Sticking with the Rangers, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan reports that the Braves have emerged as somewhat of a longshot suitor for third baseman Adrian Beltre. Atlanta wouldn’t be looking to supplant Johan Camargo at third base, but Beltre would share some time at the hot corner with the much younger Camargo while deepening the Atlanta bench and providing some leadership on a youthful club. Beltre has the ability to veto any trade, of course, and reports have painted the possibility of a trade surrounding him to be remote. Sullivan also notes that, with regard to the Pirates and their interest in Kela, the Rangers could have some interest in starting pitching prospects Clay Holmes and Taylor Hearn.
  • The Athletics remain on the hunt for a rotation upgrade, but Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that the A’s “haven’t sounded particularly enthusiastic” about that market. If the A’s can’t find a starter at a price point they deem acceptable, they could instead look to add to their bullpen as a means of shortening games and taking some pressure off the current members of their rotation.
  • The Twins “have fielded inquiries” on right-hander Kyle Gibson, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post, but they’re more interested in dealing their impending free agents than Gibson, who is controlled through 2019 and is in the midst of a breakout season. The former first-round pick was brilliant against the Red Sox last night, allowing one run over eight innings and lowering his ERA to 3.42 in the process. Through 129 innings, Gibson has averaged 8.8 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 and 0.91 HR/9. His fastball is up nearly a mile per hour over its 2017 average, and his 12.2 percent swinging-strike rate is easily a career-high. The Twins are currently seven games back of the division lead in the AL Central, but they’ve won four in a row. With three games in Boston and another hosting Cleveland before Tuesday’s non-waiver deadline, Minnesota faces a tough road to closing that gap.
  • Sherman also reports that the Phillies, after missing out on Manny Machado, would at the very least like to add a defensive upgrade at shortstop. Interestingly, he notes that the Phils have at least had internal discussions about reacquiring Freddy Galvis from the Padres. He also lists the Rays’ Adeiny Hechavarria and the Tigers’ Jose Iglesias as players that the Phillies’ front office has considered. The Phils have also been tied to Eduardo Escobar since Machado went to L.A.

Pitching Market Rumors: Stroman, Wheeler, Harvey, Yankees, Giles

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The Braves are known to be in the market for rotation upgrades, and Jon Morosi of MLB.com reports that GM Alex Anthopoulos has reached out to his old team, the Blue Jays, to discuss a potential Marcus Stroman trade. However, Morosi also adds that there’s “no evidence of progress in those negotiations.” Anthopoulos has suggested recently that he’s not interested in surrendering significant talent to acquire a rental, so it’s not surprising to see Atlanta exploring the possibility of adding a pitcher who is controlled through the 2020 season. The Jays, of course, have been active on the trade market in the past 24 hours, dealing Seunghwan Oh to the Rockies and J.A. Happ to the Yankees. But GM Ross Atkins downplayed the possibility of moving players controlled beyond the 2018 season earlier today, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (Twitter link). “We’re not aggressively having those discussions,” Atkins replied when asked about moving some of his more controllable assets.

Some more chatter on the market for pitchers…

  • Morosi also tweets that the Brewers and Mets have discussed a possible Zack Wheeler trade, though they’re not close to a deal. The Brewers, who acquired Joakim Soria from the White Sox earlier today, have been tied more to infield upgrades than rotation help in recent days, though they’ve generally been tied to myriad upgrade possibilities. Wheeler would affordably slot into the Milwaukee rotation both this year and next, before reaching free agency, and he’s been raising his profile as of late. In his past 10 starts, he’s worked to a 3.50 ERA with 7.8 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 0.56 HR/9 and a 40.2 percent ground-ball rate through 64 1/3 innings. Of course, the Brewers are hardly alone in their interest. Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets that there are eight to 10 teams that’ve shown some level of interest in acquiring Wheeler.
  • Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams spoke to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon about the looming non-waiver trade deadline, and while he declined to go into too many specifics, Williams acknowledged his ongoing Matt Harvey negotiations with other clubs. While Harvey was shelled for eight runs in his most recent outing, that one poor showing didn’t do much to hinder interest. “I certainly didn’t have anybody call and drop out after that,” Williams told Sheldon. “…I think the body of work is there that shows that he’s been a good, consistent Major League pitcher since we acquired him. And the potential for him to help a team down the stretch is certainly there.”
  • Prior to the their acquisition of J.A. Happ, the Yankees also spoke to the Twins about Ervin Santana “and others,” per Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter). Both Jake Odorizzi and Kyle Gibson are controlled through the 2019 season and could theoretically emerge as trade candidates, while Lance Lynn is a free agent at season’s end and is quite likely already available (though he has not fared well at all in 2018). It seems likely, though, that New York’s pickup of Happ will end their looks at the Twins’ available starters.
  • Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports in his latest notes column (subscription required) that some executives within the industry believe the Astros would sell low on recently demoted closer Ken Giles. Rosenthal adds that one team approached the Mariners about the possibility of a three-team trade, believing that they could get Giles and flip him to Seattle. While the M’s had interest, however, talks failed to progress. The Astros maintain that they’re not shopping Giles, however, per the report.

Trade Buzz: Wheeler, Harper, Liriano, Greene, Castellanos, Braves

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Scouts from at least a dozen teams watched Zack Wheeler’s start on Tuesday, SNY.tv’s Andy Martino reports.  There’s enough interest in Wheeler that the feeling is “he should net a top 10 prospect and more” for the Mets, and he “could move any minute,” as Martino puts it.  Beyond the Yankees and Reds, who were already known to be looking at Wheeler, the list of interested parties also included such clubs as the Rangers, Mariners, and Red Sox.  It isn’t any surprise that contenders like Seattle and Boston are checking in, though the Sox may have already addressed their rotation need with their acquisition of Nathan Eovaldi earlier today.  Texas is an interesting name, as the Rangers could’ve been doing their due diligence or (since Wheeler is under control through 2019) considering making an early move to upgrade next year’s pitching staff, which will be a clear offseason need for the club.

Here are more rumblings from around baseball as we’re less than a week away from the trade deadline…

  • “Something extreme would have to happen for us to consider moving [Bryce Harper],” Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  While short of an outright denial, it doesn’t seem like a Harper trade is even a longshot possibility for the Nats.  If anything, Rizzo said the team is still looking to add (in the form of starting pitching and a catcher), though Sherman notes that the general manager didn’t rule out the possibility of eventually selling some impending free agents if Washington can’t get back into the pennant race.  Such moves would be lower-level veterans and not Harper, as Sherman runs through the rather limited and difficult market the Nationals would face if they did make him available.
  • Dodgers scouts have been watching Tigers closer Shane Greene both before and after Greene’s recent DL stint, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports.  Greene only missed 12 days due to some minor shoulder inflammation, and has since pitched in five games.  He has posted solid numbers (4.19 ERA, 9.63 K/9, 2.3 BB/9) despite some issues with allowing home runs (1.5 HR/9).  Kenley Jansen obviously isn’t going anywhere as the Dodgers’ ninth inning arm, so Greene would bolster the Los Angeles setup corps.
  • Also from Fenech’s piece, he reports that a Red Sox executive was recently in attendance to see Francisco Liriano in action, and notes that Liriano could be a fit as a left-hander out of Boston’s bullpen.  The Sox are currently going with eight right-handed relievers, with southpaws Bobby Poyner, Robby Scott, and Williams Jerez down at Triple-A, all of whom are far less experienced than a veteran arm like Liriano.  While Liriano has struggled overall as a starting pitcher for the Tigers this year, he has dominated left-handed hitters and would fit as a LOOGY in a return to relief work.
  • The Braves have a lot of trade options to consider, chiefly in adding starting and/or relief pitching, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman explores in an overview of the team’s deadline plans.  If Atlanta does look for hitting, there is some speculation that Tigers third baseman Nick Castellanos could be a target, as Detroit has had scouts looking at the Braves farm system (though the Braves’ past interest in Michael Fulmer surely also played a role in those evaluations).  Castellanos may be available, if not outright shopped, in trade talks, though the Tigers have put a high asking price on the slugger.
  • Kyle Gibson could emerge as part of the talks between the Twins and Brewers, MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi tweets, should the two teams expand their negotiations beyond just infielders.  Milwaukee was in need of pitching even before recent bad injury news about Brent Suter and Zach Davies, and adding a controllable (through 2019) pitcher in the midst of a strong season like Gibson would be a major boost to the Brew Crew’s rotation.  Adding Gibson to the mix might help Minnesota get a better return in a trade, as Brian Dozier and Eduardo Escobar are only rental players.

Phillies Interested In Adam Jones, Eduardo Escobar

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The Phillies’ list of trade targets includes Orioles outfielder Adam Jones and Twins infielder Eduardo Escobar, Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman reports.  Indeed, MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi lists the Phillies and Indians as “two of the most serious contenders” to acquire Jones before the trade deadline.  (Morosi initially reported on Cleveland’s interest in Jones earlier this month.)

Philadelphia and Baltimore have been linked in trade talks for much of the summer, as the Phils were known to be suitors for Manny Machado and Zach Britton before both former O’s stars were dealt to the Dodgers and Yankees, respectively.  It’s fair to assume that the Orioles have a very good sense of the Phils’ farm system at this point, both from scouting and negotiations and the simple fact that there are more than a few former Baltimore executives in Philadelphia’s front office (chief among them club president Andy MacPhail and GM Matt Klentak).

Jones, who turns 33 on August 1, is owed roughly $7MM for the remainder of the season.  He’s a free agent this winter, so he’d represent a pure rental for the Phillies, who would get a veteran upgrade in their outfield that wouldn’t represent a long-term roadblock for younger talents like Nick Williams.

With Odubel Herrera locked into everyday center field duty, Jones’ likeliest role with the Phillies would be to take over from Williams as the regular right fielder.  It’s worth noting that Williams (.250/.329/.438 in 286 PA, 12 homers, 104 OPS+, 105 wRC+) is actually hitting better than Jones (.277/.304/.422 in 411 PA, 10 homers, 100 OPS+, 96 wRC+) this year, though Jones brings a much longer track record of performance to the table.  Williams also has been a very subpar defender in right field, so Jones should represent an upgrade in that area even if his own metrics in the more challenging center field position have been well below average for the last three years.  The recent demotion of Aaron Altherr left the Phillies in need of a backup outfielder, so Williams would step into that role.

Escobar has mostly played third base for the Twins this year, though with Maikel Franco hitting better in recent weeks, the Phillies would likely use Escobar in place Scott Kingery at shortstop.  Escobar is in the midst of an outstanding .278/.338/.522 campaign over 397 PA, and the 29-year-old has also delivered 15 homers and a league-best 37 doubles.  He is another rental player, and only has roughly $1.7MM still owed to him for the rest of the season.

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