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Pirates, Mets To Swap Jon Niese, Antonio Bastardo

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The Mets have reacquired left-hander Jon Niese from the Pirates, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports (on Twitter). Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports that lefty Antonio Bastardo is going back to the Pirates (Twitter link). Both teams have announced the move, and Pittsburgh notes that they’re receiving cash considerations from the Mets in the deal.

The swap of left-handers reunites each southpaw with his 2015 team, as Niese spent his entire career prior to the 2016 campaign in Queens and Bastardo pitched for the Bucs last season. Pittsburgh picked up Niese in what now looks to be an ill-fated swap that netted the Mets Neil Walker, while Bastardo inked a two-year, $12MM contract with the Mets. Neither pitcher has performed up to his standards, though, with Niese posting a 4.91 ERA and briefly losing his spot in the rotation and Bastardo logging a similar 4.74 ERA in 43 2/3 innings of relief.

Niese posted a 4.13 ERA, 5.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in New York last season, while Bastardo had a 2.98 ERA, 10.0 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 last year in Pittsburgh. The trade seems to suggest an optimism on the part of their old teams that the flaws the two players showed this year (a vanishing strikeout rate and home-run problems in Niese’s case; control and home-run problems in Bastardo’s) might be painted over. Niese is making $9MM this season, plus a $500K buyout on his 2017 option. Bastardo, who will rejoin the Pirates’ bullpen, is under contract through 2017, when he’ll receive $6.5MM. He’s making $5.25MM this year.

Mets Out On Lucroy; Rangers Still In Pursuit

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Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy scuttled a trade to the Indians yesterday, but he’s still in play in advance of today’s trade deadline.  Milwaukee has their Triple-A catcher Manny Pina up with the big league team in San Diego to prepare for a Lucroy trade, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  Haudricourt further notes that Lucroy remained in Milwaukee last night, and will fly to San Diego in time for tonight’s game in the event he’s not traded.   The latest:

  • The Rangers are deep in talks on Lucroy, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). Gallo would indeed be the centerpiece, he adds.
  • The Mets are now out on Lucroy, Buster Olney of ESPN.com tweets.
  • With the Rangers adding Carlos Beltran, Gallo is now more available to go in a deal for Lucroy, Haudricourt tweets.

Earlier Updates

  • Meanwhile, the Mets are still working on a Lucroy deal, Marc Carig of Newsday tweets.
  • Even if the trade for Jay Bruce goes through, it wouldn’t take the Mets out of the race for Lucroy, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets. Milwaukee is seeking infielder Dilson Herrera in a deal, per Rosenthal (via Twitter). A package would also still include catcher Travis d’Arnaud, as has long been rumored. Perhaps that ask is what leads Jon Heyman of Fan Rag to tweet that New York’s interest is “on life support” at this time, though.
  • It seems that Joey Gallo is on the table for Lucroy, as we’ve heard suggested before, but only if there’s an arm included in the deal as well, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter). It’s not clear exactly what pitcher that might be, but certainly there are several relievers that could make sense, as Grant explains. The Brewers could be looking into whether a preferable deal is available involving only the backstop, Haudricourt suggests on Twitter.
  • Texas and Milwaukee haven’t chatted since last night, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. He suggests it is possible that other teams could get involved, with the Astros named as a speculative possibility, though he goes on to note via Twitter that the Tigers aren’t among them. Of course, it’s also possible that the Rangers and Brewers know each others’ positions, with Milwaukee now just circling back to other organizations before making a call.
  • The Rangers “keep plugging away on Lucroy,” tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick.  Crasnick, however, believes the Brewers may need to lower their expectations to get a deal done today. From Milwaukee’s perspective, though, that isn’t going to happen, per a Haudricourt tweet. The team would rather hold Lucroy for offseason trade market than sell him short of his value now, per the report. A lively game of chicken certainly seems to be set up for these teams today.

Mets, Reds Nearing Completion Of Bruce Trade

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2:34pm: The two sides have been able to re-work the trade and a deal is “all but done,” tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

2:30pm: Olney tweets that things are back on track and the Mets are almost done with the trade.

1:59pm: Minor league lefty Max Wotell is one of the players that could be headed to the Reds if the deal goes through, tweets Rosenthal.

1:13pm: Rosenthal tweets that the medical issue is not with Bruce or with Nimmo. The Reds and Mets are trying to restructure the trade at the moment, he adds.

12:55pm: The Reds are balking at the medical reports on one of the minor leaguers in the package, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.

12:37pm: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick now tweets that a medical issue may be holding up the Mets’ acquisition of Bruce. Crasnick adds that the severity of the issue isn’t known, but the medicals are no longer a formality.

11:47am: The Mets and Reds will have a deal, tweets Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that two low-level minor leaguers are going to the Reds alongside Nimmo.

11:32am: Outfield prospect Brandon Nimmo will be part of the package going to the Reds, reports Yahoo’s Tim Brown (on Twitter). Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweeted that the Giants and Rangers tried to jump back into the mix with late offers on Bruce but did so too late.

11:26am: The Mets are “on the verge” of completing a trade to acquire outfielder Jay Bruce, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney (on Twitter). This marks the second straight year in which the Reds have been linked to Bruce leading up to the deadline, although last year’s would-be deal never crossed the finish line, and the Mets eventually shifted their focus from the Reds and Bruce, coming away with a last-minute pickup out outfielder Yoenis Cespedes from the Tigers.

Bruce, 29, now has the chance to join Cespedes in the New York outfield. The career-long Red is in the midst of not just a resurgent season at the plate, but the finest offensive season he’s ever produced. Bruce is batting .265/.316/.559 with 25 homers, 22 doubles and six triples this season while playing on a reasonable $12.5MM salary. He’s still owed about $4.3MM of that sum through season’s end, and his contract comes with a $13MM club option for the 2017 season as well.

Cincinnati came close to moving Bruce during Spring Training in a supposed three-team deal, but medical reviews of some of the minor leaguers involved torpedoed the deal. That looks quite fortuitous for Cincinnati now, as Bruce’s huge season has rebuilt his trade stock substantially. Bruce underwent arthroscopic knee surgery early in the 2014 season and rushed back in less than a month, and he didn’t look like himself at the plate in either 2014 or 2015 (combined .222/.288/.406 slash line). Now, he seems likely go to New York for what is presumably a considerably stronger package of young talent than he’d have fetched about four months ago.

Bruce will provide the Mets with a power bat to slot into the corner outfield mix, although his acquisition likely pushes some combination of Curtis Granderson and Michael Conforto into center field due to Yoenis Cespedes’ now-infamous preference to remain in left field. Certainly, that defensive alignment is sub-optimal, as Bruce’s defensive ratings have plummeted this season, but the Mets have long appeared more concerned with ratcheting up their offensive production (e.g. placing Yoenis Cespedes in center field, signing Asdrubal Cabrera to play shortstop) and seem content to live with a sub-par defensive alignment in order to achieve that end.

From the Reds’ vantage point, Bruce has long been one of their most obvious trade candidates due to the team’s rebuild and the Bruce’s timeline to free agency. In landing Nimmo, they’ll secure a former first-round pick that can essentially step directly into the outfield in Bruce’s absence. The 23-year-old made his big league debut with the Mets this season but has struggled through 60 plate appearances, batting .236/.300/.291. However, Nimmo has torn up the Pacific Coast League (albeit an extremely hitter-friendly environment) by slashing .336/.409/.517 in 325 plate appearances this season and ranked third on Baseball Ameica’s midseason list of Mets prospects and fifth on the midseason top 30 over at MLB.com.

Earlier today, Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reported that the Mets were the favorites to land Bruce.

Relief Pitching Deadline Day Rumors

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The market for relievers is always moving on deadline day, as teams look to add pen pieces that will bolster their depth down the stretch.  Fernando Abad is off the board, having been traded to the Red Sox today.   We’ll keep tabs on the remaining relievers here:

  • The Orioles and Marlins are shopping for a low-end left-handed reliever, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Sherman feels the Braves’ Hunter Cervenka could be one such candidate, while ESPN’s Jayson Stark names Cervenka as a last-minute target for the Fish.
  • Sherman also notes that the Rangers are among the teams looking at Braves righty Jim Johnson.  The Braves have kicked around Johnson as well, tweets Marc Carig of Newsday, but nothing appears close.
  • While they are also pursuing larger targets, the Giants have perused the second tier of the relief market, per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). While the top targets have perhaps mostly already been traded, San Francisco has scouted the Brewers’ strong group of relievers as well as increasingly valuable Rockies southpaw Boone Logan — though last we heard he may not be traded. Jeanmar Gomez of the Phillies is another name the Giants have checked, though he too isn’t sure to be dealt. And even as the Giants talk with the Rays on starter Matt Moore, the club has also watched right-handed swingman Erasmo Ramirez, per Crasnick.
  • The Astros are kicking around some left-handed reliever options, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter links). That’s arguably the team’s biggest area of need. Some of the names mentioned include Logan and Jake McGee of the Rockies and the Brewers’ Will Smith — all of whom are at or near the remaining market for relief southpaws. It’s not immediately clear whether any are real options at this stage, as Crasnick notes that nothing has “materialized” to this point.

Mets The Favorites For Jay Bruce

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The non-waiver trade deadline is just under nine hours away, and rumors/transactions figure to be flying around quickly today. Reds outfielder Jay Bruce remains one of the likeliest candidates to be dealt between now and the 4pm ET deadline. As of Sunday, the Giants were said to be making a “strong push” for Bruce, who is also said to be a prime target of the Mets. Bruce has also drawn interest from the Indians, Dodgers and Rangers, among others, over the past few days, and the Rays have at times been mentioned as a possible factor in three-team trade scenarios involving Bruce.

We’ll keep track of all the day’s Bruce rumors here in this post…

  • Morosi now tweets that the Mets and Reds have made progress on a deal involving Bruce.
  • Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweets that the Mets are the favorites to land Bruce, but the Rangers and Giants are still in. Talks could stretch into the afternoon, he notes.

Earlier Updates

  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports/MLB.com tweets that the Mets remain in active talks with the Reds as of Monday morning. ESPN’s Jayson Stark also tweets that conversations with the Mets remain active, while talks with the Giants and Dodgers are currently in “slow mo.”
  • Heyman tweets that the Mets don’t seem to have heard anything on Bruce this morning (Twitter link). He also tweets that the Giants haven’t heard anything about Bruce being dealt this morning.
  • USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that the Reds have “found a match” for a Bruce trade and expects Cincinnati to trade Bruce to a National League club this morning. That team is not the Dodgers, according to Nightengale. The Giants and Mets are the two non-Dodgers NL clubs that have been most heavily linked to Bruce in the past day or two.
  • Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports tweets the Giants, Mets, Indians and others have been in on Bruce recently. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, meanwhile, lists the Giants, Dodgers, Mets, Rangers and Blue Jays all as teams that still have some interest in Bruce as of Monday morning.

Latest On Yasiel Puig

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The Dodgers are “still trying to move” outfielder Yasiel Puig, tweets Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. Puig’s name has popped up in trade rumors lately — most recently surfacing in rumors involving Reds outfielder Jay Bruce.

Puig, as Heyman points out, has seen his overall offensive output decline in each of his four Major League seasons. Now 25 years of age, Puig burst onto the scene in 2013 at the age of 22 with a scintillating .319/.391/.534 slash in 104 games. That was good for an OPS+ of 159, but his OPS+ dipped to 145 in 2014, 110 in 2015 and just 89 in 2016, marking the first season of his career in which he’s actually been a below-average contributor. Puig still draws positive marks from defensive metrics like Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved, but he no longer looks like the bargain he did during the first two seasons of his career.

Signed to a seven-year, $42MM contract out of Cuba prior to the 2012 season, Puig’s deal allows him to opt into arbitration upon accruing three years of Major League service, which he’s done this year. He’s slated to earn $6.5MM in 2017 and $7.5MM in 2018, but he could stand to earn more via the arbitration process, so he could very well go that route. The three remaining years on Puig’s deal could make him an appealing option for both contenders and rebuilding clubs, although the fact that those three years come at an escalating salary makes it more difficult to ask a team to surrender high-quality talent in return.

All that being said, it remains largely unknown at this point whether there’s significant interest on the market in a player who has had his ups and downs both on and off the field. Heyman notes on Twitter that the Mets, who are among the clubs rumored to be looking at bats, don’t have any interest in Puig. While other contending organizations may have different views of his potential to contribute in 2016 — it’s always tough to know a given team’s front office sees in a player — we certainly haven’t heard rumors of any particular pursuer.

The smart money, perhaps, is on a club that doesn’t have an immediate need for production taking a chance on Puig returning to his established ceiling. Doing so probably means taking on at least some of the remaining financial commitments, which is certainly a deterrent, but it’s possible to imagine a higher-dollar veteran being moved to facilitate a deal. That, presumably, was part of the general thrust of the chatter relating to Bruce. It’s never wise to rule out the creative machinations of the L.A. front office, which has engineered various complicated scenarios in recent years. Unless and until we learn of interest from another team, though, it’s tough to guess at what kind of arrangement might be concocted to lead to a trade of the enigmatic Puig.

Injury Notes: Asdrubal, Norris, Tulowitzki

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The non-waiver trade deadline is less than 24 hours away, and there are a handful of injuries from today’s games that could potentially impact the manner in which teams approach the trade market. A quick look at the day’s notable injury news…

  • Asdrubal Cabrera left today’s game with a strained left patellar tendon, and Newsday’s Marc Carig tweets that Mets manager Terry Collins is “very concerned” about Cabrera, though Collins has yet to check in with GM Sandy Alderson about the course of action in the event that Cabrera requires a trip to the disabled list. The Mets lost one insurance policy at shortstop when Jose Reyes was placed on the disabled list yesterday. ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin writes that the injury is the same as the one suffered by Cabrera in Spring Training, when he returned in less than two weeks, but Collins points out that Cabrera didn’t have to be carried off the field when he was injured in Spring Training. In today’s instance, Cabrera was unable to put any pressure on his leg. The team could potentially just look for short-term stopgaps depending on the severity of Cabrera’s injury, and the fact that former Met Ruben Tejada is presently in DFA limbo at least merits a mention. You can check out their internal options at Roster Resource.
  • Dodgers right-hander Bud Norris exited Sunday’s start against the D-backs after facing just two hitters due to muscle tightness in his back, the team announced. The severity of Norris’ injury remains unclear, but with the Dodgers already aggressively seeking rotation upgrades, another physical issue for one of their rotation members is a troubling development. The Dodgers figure to give further updates on Norris after the game.
  • Troy Tulowitzki has a “small little chip fracture” in his right thumb, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons told reporters, including Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (Twitter link). Tulowitzki is hopeful that he can avoid the disabled list, but Nicholson-Smith tweets that he’ll first need to demonstrate that he can grip a bat and throw. He was not able to grip a bat today, Nicholson-Smith notes.

Indians Are “Distinct Favorites” For Jonathan Lucroy; Mets, Rangers Out

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10:40pm: The Indians are the “distinct favorites” to acquire Lucroy from the Brewers, reports Yahoo’s Jeff Passan (on Twitter), who adds that the Mets and Rangers are “out” on Lucroy.

7:58pm: A mystery team remains in the mix for Lucroy, according to Heyman (Twitter link). The unknown team is not on Lucroy’s no-trade list, he adds. Rosenthal hears the same, tweeting that there’s a third team in play along with the Indians and Mets.

5:05pm: The Rangers are out on Lucroy and the Mets didn’t make any headway on talks with the Brewers today, per ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter links). Cleveland is looking more and more like the favorite, he notes.

4:40pm: The Brewers are “getting close” to a Lucroy trade, and the Indians are still in the mix, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Notably, Cleveland is on Lucroy’s no-trade list, though it’s not clear how much (if at all) that fact would impede talks. Lucroy has stated his desire to play for a winning club multiple times this year, and Cleveland has a 4.5 game lead on the AL Central.

4:34pm: Rosenthal tweets that a pair of rival general managers believe the Indians to be the front-runners for Lucroy. Rosenthal mentions Class-A catcher Francisco Mejia as a possible component in a Lucroy package.

3:43pm: Manager Craig Counsell tells reporters that GM David Stearns is “progressing” on a Lucroy trade (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy). USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that there is a “strong sense” among some Brewers officials that Lucroy has played his final game for the team.

3:31pm: Lucroy isn’t in the lineup tonight, and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets that he is not playing because he is being discussed in trades.

2:00pm: The Mets have made a three-player offer to the Brewers in a bid to land catcher Jonathan Lucroy, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. That package would be centered around current Mets receiver Travis d’Arnaud, with outfielder Brandon Nimmo or a “comparable” player constituting the second player on offer.

Previous reports had suggested that New York fell shy in its initial bid for Lucroy, which reportedly also was built on the talented but fragile d’Arnaud. He comes with three years of arb control and has long been regarded as a top catching prospect, so Milwaukee would be swapping in a longer-term solution behind the plate — if it believes in him.

Though d’Arnaud has showed his talent at times, he has also already been shelved with injuries at times and hasn’t yet put it all together at the plate. After a strong showing in 2015, d’Arnaud has fallen back to a .238/.291/.323 batting line with a pair of home runs in his 141 plate appearances this season.

As for Nimmo, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that Milwaukee is “fond” of the 23-year-old, who has reached the majors for the first time this year. He hasn’t shown much in his brief action in the bigs, but has enjoyed something of a breakout year at Triple-A, where he owns a .336/.409/.517 slash that dwarfs his prior output while rising through the system.

There certainly appear to be many other teams still in pursuit of Lucroy. The Brewers reportedly asked interested teams to submit bids for the outstanding receiver, whose highly favorable contract includes another year of cheap control. Lucroy received plenty of attention in the rumor mill yesterday, with a range of teams — including those of the mysterious variety — said to be sniffing around.

It’s not yet clear, though, what kinds of offers Milwaukee has fielded from other organizations. The club has placed an understandably high asking price on a player who is one of the best in the majors at a premium defensive position. There may not be any single team that has a desperate need for him, but as the Mets’ interest shows, clubs looking for ways to make and succeed in the postseason always have cause to pursue upgrades, and Lucroy is the type of player who can push out even a perfectly solid regular.

Jay Bruce Rumors: Saturday

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Since it’s probably fair to assume we’re going to learn quite a bit of new information on Reds outfielder Jay Bruce today, we’ll go ahead and kick off the weekend’s deadline chatter with a post to house it. You can check back on last night’s whirlwind series of reports right here. Bottom line: there was talk of movement with the Dodgers, possibly involving Yasiel Puig and/or a third team, but nothing has come to fruition as of yet.

Here’s the latest on the veteran slugger, who is putting up career-best numbers at the plate and comes with another season of control via a $13MM club option:

  • Rosenthal tweets that the Mets and Reds continue to discuss a Bruce swap, but nothing is close at this time.
  • The Mets are “very involved” in the pursuit of Bruce, according to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon (Twitter link). New York, of course, discussed Bruce with Cincinnati at last year’s trade deadline but ultimately secured Yoenis Cespedes instead.
  • Stark reports that the Reds aren’t asking for elite prospects for Bruce but want two or three good players from the next tier down (Twitter link).

Earlier Updates

  • The Rangers have at least “checked in” on Bruce, per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). Texas could be a fit with Prince Fielder out for the year and Shin-Soo Choo dealing with ongoing back issues, though Crasnick notes that pitching remains the priority.
  • The Mariners were said yesterday to be both out and then in on Bruce, but Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says (Twitter links) that there’s nothing happening on that front (though the teams are discussing shortstop Zack Cozart). Another team with questionable interest is the Giants, and Rosenthal suggests that they are still kicking around the idea of adding Bruce. The idea would be to slot his bat into the outfield mix now, and then use him as a replacement for free agent-to-be Angel Pagan in 2017.
  • Though the Dodgers are still involved on Bruce, last night’s chatter of a three-team swap is dead, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark (via Twitter). It was never entirely clear just what that scenario might have looked like, though it seemed that Puig was a piece of the picture.
  • Bruce’s market represents a “moving target,” Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets. (Those of you who followed yesterday’s frenzy will surely understand this.) As things stand as the weekend begins, the Orioles are out, per Heyman. The Nationals are focused first on improving their bullpen, though seemingly remain involved. That leaves the Dodgers as the obvious suitor, with the Mets and Mariners among the other organizations that have at least some ongoing interest in Bruce.

Mets Place Jose Reyes On DL, Sign Justin Ruggiano

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The Mets have placed infielder Jose Reyes on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left intercostal muscle and signed veteran outfielder Justin Ruggiano to a Major League deal, the team announced. Ruggiano is in the lineup for tonight’s game.

The Mets reunited with Reyes earlier this year in spite of a dreadful 2015 season and a 51-game suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy. Reyes has shown more extra-base pop than he has in years, but his overall productivity hasn’t been especially impressive; he’s hitting .239/.278/.493 in 72 plate appearances while primarily playing third base. The extent of Reyes’ injury isn’t known, but if he’s expected to miss significant time it could further motivate the Mets to add a bat to spend some time at third base.

Ruggiano, 34, was released from the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate earlier this week, where he’d batted .226/.321/.427 in 191 plate appearances. Those numbers are fairly pedestrian, but Ruggiano has a long track record of hitting left-handed pitching quite well at the Major League level. In parts of eight MLB seasons, he’s slashed .273/.336/.521 with 25 homers (538 PAs).

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