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Yankees Interested In Brad Hand, Zach Britton

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The Yankees already possess perhaps the game’s premier bullpen, but they could nonetheless add to their relief corps in the coming weeks. The club’s among the teams interested in a pair of established lefty relievers – the Padres’ Brad Hand and the Orioles’ Zach Britton – Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets.

While Britton is the better known of the two, Hand has eclipsed him in value since his breakout 2016. Hand previously landed on the Yankees’ radar last July and looked like a strong bet to leave San Diego via trade, considering the Padres were nowhere near playoff contention. Instead, the Padres kept Hand and then inked him to an extension worth a guaranteed three years and $19.75MM over the winter. The deal also features a $10MM club option, which Hand’s employer will pick up if he continues at anything resembling his current pace.

Since 2016, Hand leads qualified relievers in innings (210) and has posted a 2.66 ERA with 11.83 K/9, 3.04 BB/9 and a 46.8 percent groundball rate. The 28-year-old is now in his second season a full-time closer, during which he has converted 24 of 28 save chances, but he’d work in a setup role with the Yankees because of closer Aroldis Chapman’s presence (though Chapman has battled left knee tendinitis since early May, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com tweets). He’d accompany Chapman to give the Yankees two lights-out southpaws and yet another tremendous option alongside setup men Chad Green, Dellin Betances, David Robertson and Jonathan Holder.

In addition to Chapman, Green, Betances, Robertson and Holder, New York has gotten terrific results from relievers Adam Warren and A.J. Cole this season. The team also has 2017 standout Tommy Kahnle on hand in the minors. It may not behoove the World Series-contending Yankees to meet the still-rebuilding Padres’ reportedly high asking price for Hand, then, especially given New York’s need to address its rotation and maybe even its first base situation during the next few weeks.

Contrary to Hand, Britton does not look like a top-end reliever at this point, nor is he controllable beyond this season. Since an incredible 2016 in which he compiled a .54 ERA in 67 innings, Britton has dealt with a decline in output and a ruptured Achilles. He returned from that injury, which he suffered over the winter, last month and has since allowed six earned runs (with just eight strikeouts against seven walks) in 10 1/2 frames and experienced a dip in velocity.

Along with his newfound performance issues, Britton comes with a high salary. He’s owed the balance of $12MM, and the Yankees could be wary of that given their desire to stay south of the $197MM competitive-balance tax threshold. They’re plenty familiar with the 30-year-old Britton, though, as he has spent his entire career with AL East rival Baltimore. The Orioles are far out of playoff contention and figure to sell off as many pending free agents as possible, including Britton, in the coming weeks.

AL East Notes: Orioles, Yankees, Royals, Loaisiga, Hicks, Morales

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It’s an open question as to what the Orioles’ front office will look like beyond 2018, though ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick writes that it seems both executive VP Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter will both stay in their jobs for the remainder of the season.  Beyond that, “any and all options are on the table,” including the surprising possibility that Duquette and Showalter could both be retained.  Even with John and Louis Angelos (the sons of owner Peter Angelos) taking a larger role in team business, there remains a perception around the league that the family will still have a strong voice in baseball operations.  “As long as the Angelos name is attached to it, you know you’re going to have to run the team not the way you want to run it but the way someone else thinks it should be run,” one personnel executive tells Crasnick.  This could mean, if Duquette is replaced, that the O’s could lean towards an experienced general manager who has been out of baseball for a while and thus has less leverage to demand more authority, or perhaps the team could hire an executive who has experience in Baltimore and knows how the organization operates.  Crasnick suggests that candidates like farm director Brian Graham or Phillies assistant GM Ned Rice could fit the latter description.  The whole piece is well worth a full read for a look at how the Orioles operate, and what changes could be coming on and off the field in the coming weeks and months.

Some more from around the AL East…

  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman “wouldn’t comment” to media (including the New York Post’s George A. King III) on a recent report from MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi about the Yankees’ interest in Mike Moustakas as a possible first base option.  King did note that the Royals recently had scouts watching not just the Yankees, but also New York’s Double-A and Triple-A teams as well, so Kansas City seems to be checking out both Major League and minor league players in the organization.  In terms of what the return could be on a potential Moustakas trade, King doubts that the Yankees would part with current first baseman Greg Bird for just two-plus months of Moustakas’ services.
  • An MRI revealed inflammation in Jonathan Loaisiga’s throwing shoulder, as reported by MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch and others.  The Yankees right-hander will meet with doctors in New York on Monday to further access the problem.  Loaisiga made his Major League debut earlier this season and pitched well in four starts, posting a 3.00 ERA with 10.5 K/9 and a 2.63 K/BB rate over 18 innings.  That performance did much to elevate his value, particularly with the Yankees short on rotation depth options.  Loaisiga had been sent down to the minors last week but was expected to be recalled for a start on Monday when the Yankees had a double-header against the Orioles,
  • Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks was taking some grounders at second base prior to Friday’s game, George A. King III of the New York Post writes.  It isn’t very likely that Hicks will actually see time at the keystone with Gleyber Torres on the DL, as New York already has Neil Walker, Brandon Drury, and Tyler Wade (all of whom were also participating in the fielding drills) on hand to play the position.  It could be that the Yankees were simply exploring all options, perhaps with a very long view towards maximum roster flexibility during a playoff series, or something of that nature.  Hicks also did some warmups as a first baseman last season, underscoring his athleticism and versatility.
  • Kendrys Morales had a measly .499 OPS in his first 109 plate appearances this season, but has since posted an .899 OPS over his last 129 PA.  While a swing tweak or perhaps simple reversion to the mean could be behind the turnaround, Sportsnet.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith writes that Morales’ hot streak coincides with his decision to stop wearing glasses at the plate.  Morales had produced strong hard-hit ball numbers all season long, though he is now putting the ball in the air with far more regularity since losing the frames.  It isn’t likely that Morales has revived his value enough to become a legitimate trade chip for the Blue Jays, as he is limited to a DH role and is still owed roughly $17MM through the 2019 season, though it is a bit of a relief for Toronto given that Morales looked like a release candidate through the first six weeks.

Yankees Designate David Hale For Assignment, Promote Clint Frazier

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The Yankees have designated right-hander David Hale for assignment, as per a team press release.  Clint Frazier has been called up from Triple-A to take Hale’s spot on the 25-man roster.

This is the third time in less than three months that New York has DFA’ed Hale, and the Yankees in fact made this exact same transaction (designating Hale to call up Frazier) back in May.  The previous two designations led to Hale leaving the organization, once to briefly join the Twins on a waiver claim, and the other leading to Hale quickly re-signing a new minor league deal to rejoin the Yankees.

Hale has a 4.61 ERA, 1.6 K/BB rate, and 5.3 K/9 over 13 2/3 combined innings for the Twins and Yankees this season.  He tossed 5 2/3 relief innings last night in New York’s 6-2 loss to the Blue Jays, so he likely wouldn’t have been available for another outing for the next day or two.  The Yankees had also been deploying a nine-man bullpen, so they had need for an extra position player off the bench.

Frazier has a .908 OPS over 24 plate appearances this season, as he hasn’t much opportunity to crack the big league roster thanks to a concussion suffered during Spring Training and the simple fact that the Yankees are already deep in outfield options.  The top prospect has a scorching .312/.391/.577 slash line over 215 Triple-A plate appearances this season and would likely already be getting regular big-league playing time for most teams.  For New York, however, Frazier could potentially be a trade chip as the club looks to make additions at the deadline.

Yankees, Others Reportedly Considering Moustakas As First Base Option

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Multiple teams, including the Yankees, have at least considered the notion of trading for Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas and shifting him across the diamond to first base, Jon Morosi of MLB.com reports. It’s worth noting that there’s no indication from the report that the Yankees’ interest is especially serious or extends anywhere beyond internal discussions at this point.

Moustakas, 29, stands out as one of the more obvious trade candidates in the league, given his standing as an impending free agent who is playing on an affordable contract (one year, $6.5MM) with a rebuilding Royals club that has already begun to trade away pieces (Kelvin Herrera, Jon Jay). He’s hitting .258/.312/.478 with 16 homers to this point in the 2018 season.

Of course, it should be asked just how much of an upgrade Moustakas would even represent for the Yankees. Despite Greg Bird’s woeful .200 average, his .306 on-base percentage only narrowly trails Moustakas’ .312 mark. Bird walks at a substantially higher clip than Moustakas and has also been more prone to getting hit by pitches in recent seasons, though he’s also much more strikeout-prone (27.3 percent to Moustakas’ 14.9 percent). Bird has also hit for slightly more power, sporting a .219 isolated power (slugging percentage minus batting average) to Moustakas’ .214.

There’s certainly an argument that moving Moustakas from the spacious Kauffman Stadium to Yankee Stadium and its notoriously short right-field porch would significantly boost his home run output. However, Moustakas’ lack of experience at first base, where he’s started just twice in his career, would likely result in a defensive downgrade over Bird.

Beyond all of that are the simple facts that Moustakas hasn’t hit much since mid-May and has been sidelined by back spasms this week. While he got off to a blistering start, Moose is hitting just .212/.292/.384 with six home runs over his past 40 games. He’s swung a bit better in his past five games, but the .299/.331/.531 slash he boasted in mid-May is now a distant memory.

Any trades the Yankees make, of course, need to be viewed through the lens of the competitive balance/luxury tax. New York was adamant about remaining under that $197MM threshold this past offseason and figures to stay on that same course on the summer trade market. The Yankees are roughly $16MM south of that line at this point, so it’s possible that they could add both Moustakas and a starting pitcher, which is rumored to be their top need. Depending on the specific rotation target, though, the Yankees may ask the opposing team to offset some of the financial load.

Alternatively, Morosi suggests a scenario in which the Yankees would ask another club to take on the remainder of Neil Walker’s $4MM contract in trades, which would have a similar effect on their bottom-line as relates to the luxury tax but would also require an improved prospect package. Indeed, the surprisingly poor play of Walker, who’d been a consistently solid offensive performer over the past eight seasons, is a large part of the reason the Yankees even need to entertain somewhat outside-the-box thoughts like adding Moustakas as a first-base option. Walker missed much of Spring Training while trying to find a deal in free agency and has never gotten on track in 2018, batting just .188/.268/.259 through his first 190 trips to the plate as a Yankee.

Ultimately, Moustakas doesn’t seem like a great fit for the Yankees or even a definitive upgrade over what Bird can bring to the table. The two have similar on-base and power numbers, with Bird representing a superior defensive option even if he’s more prone to strikeouts. Plus, if Bird’s .239 BABIP improves — which isn’t a given, considering his .251 career mark and extreme susceptibility to pull shifts in 2018 (56.9 percent pull rate) — he could even wind up with better OBP numbers than Moustakas.

Still, the fact that clubs are considering Moustakas as a first base option is nonetheless of note, as it could open the door for him to land with a club that might not have initially looked to be a fit at first glance.

East Notes: Ramos, Phillies, Wade

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Here are the latest notes from the game’s eastern divisions:

  • Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times checks in on Rays catcher Wilson Ramos, writing that the veteran seems likely to be playing elsewhere within the next few weeks. The burly receiver acknowledges that change is likely coming, though he says his focus is on putting his head down and “trying to do my job.” Topkin notes that there’s at least an argument to be made for the Rays to consider an early deal for Ramos, as there are a few other catchers that could potentially change hands this summer. A deal seems possible at any time, though we haven’t really heard all that much to this point regarding interest in Ramos, who’s slashing a robust .291/.340/.468 with a dozen home runs through 285 plate appearances.
  • There are a pair of interesting subscription pieces in The Athletic regarding the rising Phillies. Matt Gelb examines the team’s approach to the deadline, explaining how the changing state of affairs in the NL East — particularly, the recent fall-off of the Nationals — will impact things in Philadelphia. With the Nats now needing to climb out of a significant hole, the opportunity for the Phils to take a division title could certainly increase the appeal of buy-side moves. As the article covers, third base and right field stand out as potential areas for improvement. The club could certainly always look into pitching improvements as well. Meanwhile, Meghan Montemurro documents the Phillies’ efforts to unearth talent in non-traditional countries. It’s all about maximizing limited available resources in the international realm, where the focus has long been on a few Latin American and Asian nations.
  • The Yankees will bring up Tyler Wade to take the roster spot created when Gleyber Torres hit the DL, Jack Curry of the YES Network tweets. Wade, 23, has struggled mightily in limited MLB action over the past two seasons. And he has not exactly knocked the cover off of the ball at Triple-A despite carrying good numbers there last year. As Curry notes (via Twitter), however, Wade has been much better in recent weeks. That said, the infielder likely won’t get much of a shot in his return to the majors, as Neil Walker figures to remain ahead of him on the depth chart at second base. Brandon Drury is also a potential option at second, though he has yet to play there in New York.

AL East Notes: Harvey, Orioles, Rays, Eovaldi

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Some rumblings from around the AL East…

  • The Yankees are known to be exploring the starting pitching market but Matt Harvey isn’t a big target for the team, Fancred’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  Harvey has recovered a bit of his former value by pitching well over 10 starts for the Reds, though the Yankees are wary of the right-hander due to the “potential circus” of extra media attention that would accompany Harvey’s return to New York.
  • The Orioles are taking a new approach to this year’s trade deadline, rival evaluators tell ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (Twitter link).  The O’s “seem much more focused, much more organized, much more aggressive, much more engaged” this season than in past years.  Baltimore is facing some pivotal, long-term decisions in weighing trades of Manny Machado and other major stars, and so it isn’t any surprise that the organization is looking at this deadline with particular intensity.  The change in approach could also have something to do the seemingly power shift in the ownership and front office, as Peter Angelos’ sons have been taking larger roles in the Orioles’ operations.
  • Evaluators from the Red Sox, Phillies, Cubs, and Braves were on hand to watch Nathan Eovaldi’s Monday start for the Rays, MLB.com’s Bill Chastain writes.  Of course, several other players on the Rays or Marlins were also likely under observation, though Eovaldi represents an interesting low-cost option for teams in need of rotation help — of the teams listed, only the Cubs wouldn’t appear to be in need of starting pitching depth.  After missing all of 2017 recovering from Tommy John surgery and then missing time due to minor elbow surgery and a rib muscle strain at the beginning of this season, Eovaldi has returned to post a 3.92 ERA, 49.6% grounder rate, 7.6 K/9, and a minuscule 1.3 BB/9 rate over his first 41 1/3 frames.  He has received some significant help in the form of a .211 BABIP, a 79.6% strand rate and a .285 wOBA that is well under his .321 xwOBA, though ERA indicators (4.75 FIP, 3.59 xFIP, 3.57 SIERA) are largely in line with his real-world ERA.  Eovaldi is also averaging 97mph on his fastball.

Yankees Place Gleyber Torres On 10-Day DL

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The Yankees have placed rookie phenom Gleyber Torres on the 10-day DL due to a right hip strain.  The injury caused Torres to be removed in the fourth inning of today’s game with the Braves, though Torres also didn’t play yesterday due to hip soreness.  It isn’t clear when Torres will be back in action, though the Yankees described the injury as “mild” (hat tip to Newsday’s David Lennon).  A corresponding move wasn’t immediately announced, and likely won’t be known until before to the Yankees’ next game, which is on Friday against Toronto.

Torres has been nothing less than spectacular in his rookie season, living up to his top prospect billing with a .294/.350/.555 slash line and 15 home runs over his first 241 Major League plate appearances.  He has immediately become New York’s everyday second baseman and thus his absence will create a significant hole in the lineup, though the club has several notable second base options on hand to fill the void.

Manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including The Athletic’s Marc Carig) that Neil Walker is the likeliest candidate to play the keystone while Torres is out, plus the Yankees also have Brandon Drury on the bench and Ronald Torreyes and Tyler Wade at Triple-A.

AL East Notes: MASN, Happ, Estrada, Machado

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While the ongoing television rights dispute between the Orioles and Nationals has been out of the news for some time, that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been any action behind the scenes. Jeff Barker of the Baltimore Sun recently provided a notable update on the situation. While the Baltimore organization has “grown weary of battling Major League Baseball over the [MASN] network” and has tried to work out a settlement, there’s still no resolution. At present, there’s no indication that the stalemate will be broken voluntarily; barring a change in that dynamic, the next big event on the calendar is a scheduled arbitration hearing in November.

Here’s the latest from the AL East:

  • The Yankees may be the “main player” for Blue Jays starter J.A. Happ, per Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter). Not only is Happ arguably the best rental starter on the market, but it seems the Yanks hold him in high regard. They won’t be alone in pursuing the Toronto southpaw, however. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets that the Jays are directing some scouting resources toward the Brewers farm system, perhaps in anticipation of interest from the Milwaukee organization.
  • Fellow Blue Jays starter Marco Estrada left last night’s game with a sore hip, as MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm was among those to tweet. For now, the severity isn’t known, though perhaps it’s promising that the Toronto organization made a roster transaction today but did not feel compelled to rush Estrada onto the disabled list. As we recently examined, Estrada’s strong performance of late has made him seem increasingly like a potential trade candidate this summer, but he’ll only be a useful asset for the Jays if he’s in good health.
  • Orioles third baseman Manny Machado is said to be drawing wide and increasingly active interest from a variety of rival organizations. That’s no surprise, as he’s a mid-prime rental asset of rare ability. The Diamondbacks have held “consistent” talks with the Baltimore organization, per MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (Twitter links), which largely confirms the steady stream of reports we’ve seen on Arizona’s engagement. Morosi adds that the O’s are interested in young D-Backs prospect Jon Duplantier, whose current injury has “complicated” efforts to put together a package that suits both teams. It’s hard to gauge to what extent Duplantier’s status will impact the broader Machado situation, in no small part because it is not apparent whether he’s a player the Snakes would be willing to part with for a rental. Meanwhile, the Braves do have some interest in Machado, Morosi also tweets, but are mostly exploring the market for “controllable relievers” at the moment. Again, that dovetails with what we’ve heard out of Atlanta in recent weeks.

Notable International Prospect Signings

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With the 2018-19 international signing period kicking off today, there will be dozens of six- and seven-figure bonuses handed out to teenage prospects, primarily out of Latin America, filtering in throughout the day today. Many of these have been in the works for quite some time, as is reflected by the fact that most of the top players’ destinations and signing bonuses have been previously reported/projected (and by the fact that the top agreements will all be reported in one swift avalanche today).

We’ll keep track of the notable National League signings here and the notable American League signings in a separate post. Note that you can read up on each of these players with the dedicated international coverage available from Ben Badler of Baseball America (subscription required), Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com and Kiley McDaniel & Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs, each of whom has scouting info on the top echelon of international amateurs. Badler is also tracking the all of the signings from all 30 teams.

Onto some of the more notable signings…

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Injury Notes: Tommy John Surgeries, Sanchez, Thornburg, Sandoval

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Tommy John surgeries have become alarmingly common in today’s baseball climate, but the most disturbing trend is the age at which the bulk of these procedures are performed. Craig Davis of the Sun Sentinel sheds some spotlight on a recent study showing that teens between the ages of 15 and 19 account for 75% of all Tommy John surgeries. Davis cites the words of Dr. Tommy John (son of the former major league pitcher and the procedure’s namesake), who bluntly says, “The success rate after Tommy John surgery is not good. You don’t want this surgery, especially if you have it in your teenage years.” One possible reason for the dramatic increase in youth Tommy John surgeries is single-sport specialization; Dr. Randolph Cohen of Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood seems to believe it’s a big issue. “There’s an overall kind of irrational push by parents on children who are playing sports for such long hours and such long durations and such great repetition that we’re seeing an increase in the injuries in children than say we saw 20 years ago, where injuries like that were much more rare,” he said.

A few injury-related notes from around major-league baseball…

  • Though injured Yankees star Gary Sanchez hasn’t begun running drills yet, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports that his recovery is going well. The Bombers are apparently hopeful he’ll be able to return around the All-Star break. Though he’s currently batting below the Mendoza line, the young Sanchez leads all MLB catchers with 14 homers to this point in the season.
  • The Red Sox are set to add a valuable reliever even before the July 31st trade deadline hits, as Chris Cotillo of masslive.com reports that Tyler Thornburg is expected to return to the club this week. The 29-year-old right-hander has yet to pitch in a game for the Red Sox since being acquired from the Brewers in exchange for Travis Shaw and a pair of minor-leaguers. There wouldn’t appear to be a great chance of salvaging the trade at this point, but if Thornburg can return to post something close to the 2.15 ERA and 12.06 K/9 he posted with Milwaukee back in 2016, he could be of great help to an already-strong bridge to Craig Kimbrel.
  • The Giants got some good news today, as it appears Pablo Sandoval has avoided any serious injury. Panda’s x-rays showed no fractures (according to a tweet from Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic), so his diagnosis is simply an elbow contusion after being hit by a Zack Godley pitch during today’s matchup against the Diamondbacks.
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