East Notes: Yankees, Mets, Nava, Orioles, De Leon
Both the Yankees and Mets acted rationally with their approaches in trades this summer, opines Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Yankees showed a willingness to deal from the middle range of their considerable prospect depth to avoid luxury taxation, as they did with the Jaime Garcia trade and reportedly tried to do in their pursuits of Jay Bruce and Neil Walker. Sherman writes that the Yankees asked the Mets to eat $2.7MM of the remaining $3.7MM on Bruce’s contract in exchange for two prospects. The Mets clearly didn’t deem the difference between that pair and Ryder Ryan (whom they acquired from the Indians for Bruce) to be sizable enough to eat that cash. While many Mets fans chastise the organization for not spending, Sherman points out that the Mets have taken on salary (Bruce, Addison Reed, Yoenis Cespedes) in recent years. They’ve also already begun spending for 2018, Sherman adds, pointing to the acquisition of AJ Ramos. In that sense, saving money in trades to better stock the team’s offseason war chest could have relatively immediate impact on the team’s fortunes. Of course, it remains to be seen how their offseason plays out.
A bit more from the game’s Eastern divisions…
- The Phillies announced tonight that outfielder Daniel Nava has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a lower back strain. The veteran Nava’s injury is especially noteworthy given the fact that he seemed a logical August trade candidate for the Phils. The 33-year-old switch-hitter hasn’t done much against left-handed pitching this year — he’s always been weaker as a right-handed bat — but he’s clubbed righty pitching at a .347/.427.492 clip through 143 PAs and could’ve been a solid bench addition for a contender. There’s still time for Nava to get back and demonstrate his health to interested parties, but his back injury clearly diminishes the chances of a trade.
- Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com writes that Orioles GM Dan Duquette has a long history of making August deals — six in the past five years — but opines that there’s not much worth pursuing for the O’s this summer. Baltimore’s greatest need is starting pitching, but the remaining available arms are mostly fringe fifth starters that don’t represent a clear upgrade over the Orioles’ current options. Nonetheless, Connolly states that he does find it likely that Duquette and his staff make some kind of move, noting that the Orioles have “always had a little interest in” Derek Holland and are quite familiar with Miguel Gonzalez — both currently pitching for the rebuilding White Sox. I’d agree with Connolly that neither seems to represent an upgrade, though the O’s could probably acquire either pitcher primarily in exchange for salary relief.
- Rays right-hander Jose De Leon is on the minor league disabled list for the third time this season, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. De Leon, who has previously dealt with forearm/flexor issues, now has tendinitis in his right elbow, per Topkin. It’s been a frustrating first season with the Rays organization for De Leon — a highly touted pitching prospect that was acquired in a straight-up swap that sent Logan Forsythe to the Dodgers. De Leon has appeared in just one big league game with the Rays and has only 38 1/3 minor league innings under his belt, though he’s logged a 3.05 ERA with 44-to-16 K/BB ratio in the minors when healthy.
Mets To Release Fernando Salas
Aug. 15: The Mets have now requested release waivers on Salas, tweets DiComo. Assuming he clears waivers, Salas will be a free agent in 48 hours.
Aug. 10: The Mets have designated reliever Fernando Salas for assignment, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (Twitter link). His spot will go to newly promoted first base prospect Dominic Smith.
Salas is in his second season with the Mets, who acquired him from the Angels at the end of August last year and saw the right-hander improbably turn into a key component in their run to a wild-card berth. Salas gave the Mets 17 1/3 innings of 2.08 ERA pitching last September and piled up 17 strikeouts against no walks, leading them to re-sign him to a one-year, $3MM over the winter. The wheels have come off this season, though, as the 32-year-old Salas has logged a 6.00 ERA over 45 frames.
The Mets will surely hope a taker comes along for Salas, who has less than $1MM left on his deal. Perhaps some bullpen-needy club will overlook his bloated ERA and focus on more hopeful numbers, including career-best ground-ball (45.1 percent) and swinging-strike (13 percent) rates. Salas has also yielded a lofty .379 batting average on balls in play and managed only a 64.1 percent strand rate, both of which could regress in his favor before the year’s out.
Mets Acquire Travis Snider, Sign Neil Wagner
The Mets have announced two minor acquisitions, with outfielder Travis Snider joining the club through a trade with the Rangers and righty Neil Wagner signing a minors deal with the organization. Both players will head to Triple-A Las Vegas.
Snider, 29, comes over in a minor swap with the Rangers. He did not need to clear waivers since he was on the 40-man roster. Cash considerations will go to Texas in return, per Marc Carig of Newsday (via Twitter).
Though he has not seen the majors since 2015, Snider has taken nearly two thousand plate appearances at the game’s highest level with the Blue Jays, Pirates, and Orioles. He had been playing with the Rangers’ top affiliate this year, posting a .294/.375/.435 batting line over 413 trips to the plate.
New York doesn’t have a clear need at the major league level for Snider right now, but perhaps that could change. The club has moved numerous veterans already, and may still consider swaps involving Curtis Granderson.
Wagner, too, could either function as upper-level depth or provide a fresh arm to the pen. Like Snider, he has appeared in the bigs with Toronto; he also had a brief debut stint with the A’s. Wagner hasn’t seen the majors since 2014, but was pitching well this year at Triple-A in the Rays organization. Through 44 innings, he owns a 3.07 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9.
Brewers Acquire Neil Walker
AUGUST 15: Milwaukee took on $3MM of Walker’s salary, per an Associated Press report (via USA Today). New York sent just under $1.7MM in the deal to cover the rest of the obligation.
AUGUST 12: The Brewers have acquired second baseman Neil Walker and cash from the Mets for a player to be named later, according to announcements from both teams. Walker has nearly $5MM remaining on his contract, but it’s unclear how much the Mets will pay. The 31-year-old cleared waivers last week and was therefore eligible to be traded to any club.
There might have been more buzz about Walker at the July trade deadline had he not just recently come back from a six-week stint on the DL with a partial hamstring tear. The Yankees reportedly had a deal in place to acquire Walker then, but it fell apart for medical reasons. Walker hit poorly in the week immediately following his return, but has had success lately, batting 7-for-18 in his past five games.
Injury aside, Walker is having a fairly typical season in 2017, batting .264/.339/.442 with his set of unspectacular but well-rounded offensive skills. He’s graded as approximately average defensively thus far this year, with UZR marking him as a bit better than most and DRS indicating he’s a bit worse. He’s making $17.2MM after accepting the Mets’ qualifying offer last winter and is eligible for free agency at season’s end.
Walker bolsters a Brewers infield that currently features Eric Sogard at second base. Sogard has batted a robust .283/.392/.405 this season, although that sort of offensive production is atypical for him, and he’s hit .108/.214/.108 in 43 plate appearances while battling injury over the past month. Another Brewers second baseman, Jonathan Villar, is in the midst of a disappointing .222/.281/.346 season after a 2016 breakout. The Brewers’ offense as a whole has been one of baseball’s worst since the start of the second half, with their 91 runs in that span placing ahead of only the Rays. That span has roughly corresponded to the team’s recent slide in the standings — the Brewers are 9-18 since the All-Star break. The team had apparently targeted second base as a potential area they might upgrade, with previous reports connecting them to Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler.
With Walker gone, the Mets will surely continue to give rookie Amed Rosario the bulk of the playing time at shortstop. Some combination of Asdrubal Cabrera and Wilmer Flores will likely man second and third.
FanRag’s Jon Heyman first tweeted that the teams had agreed to a Walker trade. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal was first to report that a deal was close (on Twitter). Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweeted that New York would include cash in the trade. Mike Puma of the New York Post noted (via Twitter) that the Mets would receive a player to be named later. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NL Notes: Bettis, Granderson, Familia, Baker, Roberts, Davis
Rockies right-hander Chad Bettis made his return to the major league hill tonight after a long road back following treatment for testicular cancer. To call it a success would be an understatement: Bettis, 28, scattered six hits over seven scoreless frames. MLBTR congratulates him on an inspiring return to the game’s highest level of competition.
Here’s more from the National League:
- While there has been at least some chatter surrounding the idea that the Nationals could have interest in Mets outfielder Curtis Granderson, that’s not the case, per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (via Twitter). While the Nats’ original starting outfield trio is shelved on the DL, it seems the organization feels good enough about the health outlook to forego pursuit of a player such as Granderson. The hope remains that both Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth will be able to return in time to gear up for the postseason, with a variety of other players — including Brian Goodwin, Michael Taylor, and just-acquired veteran Howie Kendrick — slated to cover for the longstanding absence of Adam Eaton, who is not expected to play again this year.
- Mets closer Jeurys Familia is set to begin a rehab assignment tomorrow, as James Wagner of the New York Times reports on Twitter. Familia will open in the Gulf Coast League as he begins to move back toward the majors following surgery for a blood clot in his shoulder. It’s obviously too late for his return to impact the Mets’ long-lost hopes of contending, but the 27-year-old will still presumably be aiming to get some work in late this year to set the stage for a rebound in 2018. The coming campaign will be his final year of arbitration control; with only 9 1/3 innings on his ledger to date in 2017, Familia will likely only be able to earn a relatively modest raise on his $7.425MM salary.
- While the Nationals and Dodgers hold the two best records in the National League, each team’s manager — Dusty Baker and Dave Roberts, respectively — currently lack long-term job security. In Baker’s case, per Janes, it seems unlikely that his future will be addressed until after the season (when his contract will expire), though it seems the general expectation in the organization remains that something will be worked out. There’s a similar tone with regard to Roberts, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes. Roberts says he’s not thinking about a new deal in the middle of the year, but did say he hopes to continue his “dream job” beyond his current term (the three-year deal runs through 2018 and includes a club option for one more season).
- Shaikin also takes a look in at the interesting transition to the mound currently being attempted by Ike Davis and the Dodgers. The former Mets first baseman — and one-time Arizona State closer — has already earned plaudits for his outstanding attitude in heading down to Rookie ball, and there are some reasons to think he could have a new future in the game at thirty years of age. “The early reviews have been really good,” said Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.
NL News & Rumors: Jeter, Stanton, Granderson, Giants, Kershaw
While the much-maligned Jeffrey Loria will soon hand off Marlins ownership to a group including Derek Jeter, the team’s spending habits aren’t going to change – at least not in the short term – says Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Marlins are in the red, losing tens of millions per year, and are in need of a new local television deal. Additionally, Rosenthal points out that Miami already has $95MM set aside for just eight players next season, and in his estimation, it would take roughly a $150MM payroll for the club to contend in 2018. Given the Marlins’ economic difficulties, they’re simply not in position to spend anywhere near that amount.
Despite the franchise’s financial troubles, one thing Jeter & Co. can’t do is unload world-class slugger Giancarlo Stanton‘s mammoth contract, opines Buster Olney of ESPN. Doing so would serve as an immediate public relations hit to the new ownership team because it would give off a “same old Marlins” vibe, Olney reasons. Stanton, who hit his major league-leading 42nd home run Sunday, has $295MM remaining on his deal. That, plus Stanton’s full no-trade clause, could prove to be roadblocks even if the Jeter-led faction tries to jettison the soon-to-be 28-year-old.
More from the National League:
- Mets outfielder Curtis Granderson, who cleared revocable trade waivers on Aug. 5, hasn’t generated much interest on the market, Marc Carig of Newsday reports. That could be thanks in part to the approximately $4.27MM remaining on Granderson’s contract. Even factoring in a nightmarish April in which he hit .128/.174/.221, Granderson has had another fine offensive season. Because the lefty-swinger remains a threat the plate, it’s still possible the Mets will find a taker for him in the next two-plus weeks, Carig writes. Regardless of where he finishes the season, Granderson would like to continue his career in 2018, which would be his age-37 campaign.
- The Giants have considered moving starter Matt Moore to the bullpen, according to Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News (on Twitter). Moore has pitched in relief just twice in 131 career appearances, both of which occurred during the left-hander’s short major league introduction with the Rays in 2011. The former big-time prospect has been somewhat disappointing as a starter, though, and has seen his velocity tumble this year amid what may be a career-worst season (5.71 ERA/4.67 FIP/4.91 xFIP in 135.2 innings). The Giants can either bring the 28-year-old Moore back next season on a $9MM club option or buy him out for $1MM.
- The inimitable Clayton Kershaw could return to the Dodgers’ rotation by month’s end, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Kershaw, out since July 23 with lower back tightness, completed a second bullpen session Sunday and will pitch a simulated game Wednesday. Amazingly, the Dodgers have gone 15-3 without Kershaw, whose injury has prevented him from being part of the same rotation as ballyhooed trade deadline acquisition Yu Darvish. Those two figure to line up for Games 1 and 2 of the Dodgers’ NLDS matchup in October.
NL Central Notes: Pirates, Walker, Pham, Uehara
Some items from around the NL Central…
- Gregory Polanco left Saturday’s game with another hamstring injury, and the Pirates outfielder was held out of today’s lineup after undergoing a “battery of tests,” manager Clint Hurdle told MLB.com’s Adam Berry and other reporters. The Bucs have an off-day on Monday, which could give Polanco time to recover and avoid his third hamstring-related DL placement of the season. In better injury news for the Pirates, Andrew McCutchen returned to the lineup as the DH today in Toronto, two days after leaving a game due to what appears to be a minor leg injury.
- The Brewers acquired Neil Walker as a second base upgrade, though GM David Stearns told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Twitter links) and other reporters that the team sees him as a “multi-positional” player who can handle spot duty at first or third base if necessary. The vast majority of Walker’s career has been played at the keystone, though he does have a bit of experience (17 career games at third, three games at first) at the other two positions, with five of those games coming this season with the Mets. Walker, in fact, is making his Brewers debut today at third base, filling in for Travis Shaw, who is sore after twice fouling balls off his lower right leg.
- Also, Stearns and Mets GM Sandy Alderson both hinted that it may be some months before the two teams determine the player to be named who will go to the Mets in return for Walker.
- Tommy Pham‘s breakout season has been an enormous boost for the Cardinals, though Benjamin Hochman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wonders if the Cards see Pham as a big part of their future. Dexter Fowler obviously isn’t going anywhere thanks to his big contract, while Stephen Piscotty and Randal Grichuk are still important future pieces, though both have struggled and spent time in the minors this year. (Piscotty, of course, is also locked up in a contract extension.) Hochman suggests that Pham could be a big trade chip for the Cardinals in the offseason, which is certainly true given Pham’s excellent performance and his four remaining years of team control. In my opinion, I’d say that Pham is too valuable for the Cards to deal for anything less than a huge return, especially given the uncertainty around Piscotty and Grichuk.
- Even at the age of 42, the Cubs’ Koji Uehara has been a quality reliever this year, but “there’s concern that this could be the end of the road,” Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. Uehara went on the disabled list Wednesday with a neck strain, though there aren’t any indications that it’s a major injury (via Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune). Before his DL placement, Uehara allowed an earned run in four of his most recent six appearances. He still owns a palatable 3.55 ERA over 38 innings, though, with 10.66 K/9 against 2.61 BB/9. Uehara, whom the Cubs signed to a one-year, $6MM deal last winter, suggested prior to the season that he wanted to pitch through at least 2018, which would give him an even 10 seasons in Major League Baseball. This would match the 10 years he pitched professionally in his native Japan.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/13/17
Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…
- The Mets have selected the contract of right-hander Kevin McGowan, who will fill the open roster spot left behind after Neil Walker‘s trade to the Brewers. McGowan, 25, was a 13th-round pick for the Mets in the 2013 draft and he owns a 3.90 ERA, 8.0 K/9 and 2.29 K/BB rate over 62 innings (one start in 44 appearances) at the Triple-A level this season.
- The Astros released left-hander Ashur Tolliver, as per Paul Braverman of the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies media relations department (Twitter link). Tolliver spent much of the season at Triple-A, where he struggled to a 7.13 ERA and 33 walks (against just 28 strikeouts) in 35 1/3 innings. He also appeared in three games at the big league level for the Astros, posting a 3.60 ERA in five innings but also walking four batters as the control problems continued. Houston outrighted Tolliver off its 40-man roster last month.
- The Mariners selected the contract of righty Christian Bergman prior to yesterday’s game (Bergman got some immediate use, tossing a scoreless inning in Seattle’s 6-3 loss to the Angels.) Right-hander Andrew Moore was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move. Bergman has a 5.32 ERA, 5.7 K/9 and 2.14 K/BB rate in 47 1/3 innings for the M’s this season, with eight of his 10 appearances coming as a starting pitcher. He was outrighted by the Mariners just last week, though made a relatively quick return to not just 40-man status, but the big league roster.
Jerry Blevins Claimed, Blocked On Waivers
Mets reliever Jerry Blevins was claimed and blocked on waivers by an unknown team, reports FanRag’s Jon Heyman. The move will prevent the Mets from trading the left-hander this season.
The 33-year-old Blevins drew plenty of interest leading up to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, but Mets general manager Sandy Alderson & Co. reportedly weren’t gung-ho on moving him. Indeed, Heyman notes that the Mets are fine with retaining Blevins, who comes with a reasonably priced $7MM club option for 2018.
Blevins is in his third season with the Mets, who re-signed him to a two-year, $12.5MM deal (including the option) last winter. He has posted nearly identical numbers from 2016 to this season and owns a 2.78 ERA with 11.82 K/9 and 3.71 BB/9 over that 77 2/3-inning span, making him one of the game’s top southpaw relievers. Blevins certainly could have helped a playoff contender down the stretch, but he’ll remain with the Mets instead.
Heyman’s Latest: Yanks, Mets, Darvish, Astros, Twins, Bucs
The Yankees showed interest in Mets second baseman Neil Walker before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, according to FanRag’s Jon Heyman. The crosstown rivals actually had a deal for Walker in place, tweets Mike Puma of Newsday, but it fell through over medical concerns. Walker suffered a partially torn hamstring in mid-June and returned shortly before the deadline. At that point, the Yankees had recently lost second baseman Starlin Castro to a hamstring injury of his own, but he’s now nearing a rehab assignment, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com (Twitter link). As for Walker, the impending free agent has already cleared revocable waivers this month, making him eligible for a trade, though he’s owed sizable sum (around $6MM) through season’s end.
More from Heyman via a trio of columns, all of which are worth reading in full:
- The Rangers don’t expect to reunite with Yu Darvish in free agency, suggests Heyman, who adds that they decided a couple days before the non-waiver deadline that they were going to trade the ace. Texas ended up dealing Darvish to the Dodgers right before the clock ran out. The Astros were a rumored Darvish suitor leading up to then, but they didn’t make a real effort to land him, reports Heyman.
- Speaking of the Astros, their talks with the Tigers regarding Justin Verlander are all but dead, per Heyman, which jibes with a report from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. “It never got close,” a personal familiar with the discussions told Heyman, and that source expects Verlander to still be in a Tigers uniform when the 2018 season begins. Houston was unwilling to deal any of its best prospects for the expensive, aging Verlander (or any of its other deadline targets), but a Tigers official told Heyman, “You’re trading an icon, you’ve got to get something back.” The Astros have been conservative in terms of making acquisitions this summer, surely because a 71-42 team doesn’t need a ton of help, but GM Jeff Luhnow’s lack of bold moves has led to frustration within the organization, writes Heyman. Ace Dallas Keuchel voiced some displeasure immediately after the club’s quiet deadline (only scuffling lefty Francisco Liriano came aboard), and outfielder Josh Reddick followed suit Thursday in an interview with MLB Network Radio (Twitter link). Astros players were “down in the dumps” after the deadline, Reddick revealed.
- The Twins reportedly listened to offers for righty Ervin Santana in advance of the deadline, but their interest in dealing the solid mid-rotation starter was minimal, relays Heyman. Santana is under control through next season on fair $13.5MM salaries (his deal also features a $14MM club option for 2019), making it unlikely he’d go unclaimed on waivers this month, notes Heyman.
- Although GM Sandy Alderson is in the last year of his contract, people around the Mets expect him to return in 2018. There’s less certainty surrounding manager Terry Collins, who’s also in a contract year. Heyman lists Mets bench coach Dickie Scott, Dodgers bench coach Bob Geren (who previously held that post with the Mets) and Athletics third base coach Chip Hale as potential replacements for Collins if he’s not back next year.
- Meanwhile, both Pirates GM Neal Huntington and skipper Clint Hurdle appear safe. As long as the two want to return in 2018, the Pirates will exercise their options.
- The White Sox would like to deal veteran hurlers Derek Holland, Miguel Gonzalez and Tyler Clippard, which isn’t surprising considering they’re impending free agents on a rebuilding team. Given the seasons they’re having, Holland and Gonzalez probably won’t carry much appeal to rotation-needy contenders, though Clippard has put up six straight scoreless appearances out of Chicago’s bullpen. Across that seven-inning span, Clippard allowed three hits and three walks, with nine strikeouts. MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted Wednesday that Clippard’s a prime August trade candidate.
- The Diamondbacks were in on reliever Joe Smith before the Blue Jays dealt him to the Indians, but David Hernandez “seemed to be” Arizona’s top target, Heyman writes. The D-backs ended up acquiring Hernandez from the Angels, making this his second stint in Arizona. Hernandez has only thrown 2 2/3 innings in his return to the club, but they’ve been spotless (no runs, hits or walks allowed).