Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Yankees Rumors

Yankees To Sign First-Round Pick Kyle Holder

By | at

The Yankees have agreed to a $1.8MM bonus with first-round pick Kyle Holder, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo reports on Twitter. That represents a savings of $114,900 as against the allocated bonus money for the 30th overall pick.

Mayo and the MLB.com prospect team praised Holder as a premium defender at shortstop — arguably the best fielder at the position in this year’s draft. The question, then, is whether his bat can improve enough to make him a big league regular. Baseball America was highest on him coming into the draft, explaining that he has shown good contact ability.

Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs (66) and Keith Law of ESPN.com (95) are more bearish in rating Holder. The latter says that the collegiate infielder has “a high-effort swing without much explosiveness,” indicating that he has a lot of work to do in building a stroke to match his useful strength and hand-eye coordination.

New York Notes: Cueto, Leake, Phillies, Mets

By | at

Here’s the latest from the Big Apple…

  • The Yankees had a scout watching Johnny Cueto’s last start, and George A. King III of the New York Post reports that same scout (Jeff Datz) also saw Mike Leake pitch the next day for the Reds.  King adds that Cincinnati has also been scouting the Yankees’ farm system, and he speculates that prospects like Mason Williams, Ramon Flores and Bryan Mitchell could interest the Reds as part of a package for one of the two starting pitchers.  The Reds are sure to ask about top prospects Luis Severino and Aaron Judge, though King doubts the Yankees would move either for Cueto or Leake since both hurlers are free agents this winter.
  • Also from King, the Phillies had scouts watching the Yankees/Orioles game on Sunday.  King isn’t sure the Yankees would want to either cover Cole Hamels’ substantial remaining contract or give up the prospects Philadelphia wants for the ace southpaw.  Some in the industry believe Hamels is an ideal fit for the Orioles, who have received some shaky outings from their rotation this season.
  • The perception of the Mets around the league is that they won’t be willing to take on salary in midseason trades, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports (subscription required).  Club ownership also hasn’t given any indication that it’s willing to extend payroll.  It “makes no sense” to Olney that the Mets wouldn’t be willing to spend on some needed reinforcements for what looks like a playoff contender.
  • The Mets have been rumored to be exploring infield upgrades, though they may have found an internal solution in Dilson Herrera.  Manager Terry Collins told reporters (including Adam Rubin of ESPN New York) that Herrera is likely to retain the starting second base job once Daniel Murphy returns from the DL next week.  This would mean that Murphy would play third, which would address the Mets’ need at the hot corner with David Wright out of action.

AL East Notes: Sox, Cueto, Parmelee, Reimold

By | at

It was only a couple of weeks ago that the AL East boasted only one team with a winning record.  Now, the Yankees, Rays and Blue Jays are over the .500 mark and the Orioles are right on the line with an even 31-31 record.  The only team yet to turn things around are the Red Sox, who have lost six in a row to drop to 27-37 on the season (tied with the Marlins for the fourth-worst record in baseball).  Here’s some news from around the division…

  • Though the Red Sox have continued to struggle, manager John Farrell and GM Ben Cherington “remain safe for now,” Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports.  Earlier this month, owner John Henry said both men were in no danger of being fired.
  • The Red Sox, Yankees and Tigers each had a scout at Johnny Cueto’s last start, FOX Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi reports (Twitter links).  As Morosi notes, it’s hard to see Boston buying at the trade deadline given their current record, and Cueto isn’t a fit on a non-contender since he’s only under contract through 2015.
  • Chris Parmelee is thought to have a June 15 opt-out date in his minor league deal with the Orioles, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter).  Parmelee, owner of a .709 OPS over 901 PA with the Twins from 2011-14, took a .319/.388/.454 slash line over 260 Triple-A plate appearances into today’s action.  If the Orioles don’t promote Parmelee and he opts for free agency, Rosenthal lists the Rays as a team that could be interested the first baseman/outfielder’s services.
  • Nolan Reimold’s agent and some family members thought a “fresh start” might be best for the outfielder rather than rejoining the Orioles last offseason, but he tells MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski that he wanted to return to Baltimore.  Reimold signed a minor league deal with the O’s and returned to the bigs last Tuesday, already delivering two homers and a 1.232 OPS over his first 16 plate appearances.

Quick Hits: Harper, DBacks, Phillies, Gregorius

By | at

Here’s the latest from around the league as the evening winds down:

  • Bryce Harper may be likely to enter free agency after the 2018 season, but Yankees fans shouldn’t start counting their chickens just yet. Bill Shaiken of the LA Times believes the Dodgers have a better chance to sign Harper. The Yankees roster is aging and none of their prospects are among Baseball America’s top 30. Meanwhile, the Dodgers may have a brighter future when Harper is a free agent. They have a young, talented active roster with Corey Seager and Julio Urias waiting in the minors. Harper could prove to be a valuable supplement to young assets like Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig, and Yasmani Grandal. Of course, this all assumes the Nationals can’t manage an extension or that they won’t trade him to another team that can.
  • Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart “does not seem inclined” to trade for pitching at the trade deadline, tweets Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. The club has plenty of young depth both in the majors and the minors, but Stewart wants to continue developing internally. Arizona is currently fourth in the NL West and 7.5 games behind the first place Dodgers. They’re also five games back in the Wild Card hunt. In my opinion, there will be more pressure to improve the rotation and bullpen if the club is within a few games of the plays at the deadline.
  • Don’t expect the Phillies to sit on their veteran assets at the trade deadline, writes Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News. Last July, the Phillies controversially opted to hold steady, but the club is now more thoroughly committed to rebuilding. Lawrence runs through possible destinations and hypothetical trade packages for the team’s remaining veterans. Interestingly, he believes the performance and complicated contracts of Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz will make them harder to trade than Ryan Howard.
  • The Yankees trade to acquire Didi Gregorius doesn’t look so bad after the Tigers optioned starter Shane Greene to Triple-A, opines Brendan Kuty of NJ.com. Greene began the season with a 0.39 ERA in three starts, but he has since allowed just under a run per inning. Of course, Gregorius has hardly lit the world on fire with a .228/.287/.298 line and 0.4 UZR. While it’s much too early to declare a winner of this modest trade, perhaps we should be looking at the Diamondbacks. They acquired Robbie Ray in the swap. Through three starts, he has a 1.53 ERA with 6.62 K/9 and 2.55 BB/9. Just don’t forget how Greene looked through three starts!

Minor Moves: Gott, Young, Santos, Lindgren

By | at

Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The Angels have selected the contract of right-handed reliever Trevor Gott. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal was the first to note the move (via Twitter). Gott was a sixth round pick of the Padres who traded him as part of the Huston Street deal. FanGraphs’ Kiley McDaniel ranked Gott the Angels’ 10th best prospect, noting a 93-97 mph fastball and an above average curve. He has a 2.25 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 28 innings across two levels. The club’s 40-man roster was at 39 players after Kirk Nieuwenhuis was designated last week.
  • Braves outfielder Eric Young Jr. has accepted his outright assignment to Triple-A, tweets Chris Cotillo of SBNation. Atlanta announced the move yesterday, but Young Jr. had the right to elect free agency. He hit a meager .169/.229/.273 in 85 plate appearances.
  • The Yankees have selected the contract of right-handed reliever Sergio Santos, tweets Rosenthal. He’ll take the place of Esmil Rogers in a decidedly left-handed New York bullpen. Santos was initially signed to a minor league deal on June 9th. The Dodgers had previously designated him for assignment, and he elected free agency on June 6th. The righty threw 13 and one-third innings this season with 10.13 K/9, 4.73 BB/9, and a 4.73 ERA.
  • The Yankees also optioned left-handed reliever Jacob Lindgren and recalled righty Jose Ramirez, writes Brendan Kuty of NJ.com. Lindgren had a 5.14 ERA in seven innings. Most damagingly, he allowed three home runs in his brief work. He did show a health 10.29 K/9, but it was offset by 5.14 BB/9. His minor league work has produced similar strikeout and walk rates. Ramirez has one lousy inning at the major league level (four earned runs allowed). He pitched well in Triple-A with 9.32K/9, 3.86 BB/9, and a 2.25 ERA.

Tigers Option Shane Greene To Minors

By | at

The Tigers have announced that they’ve optioned righty Shane Greene to Triple-A Toledo. The move was initially reported by Catherine Slonksnis of Bless You Boys. Greene’s demotion clears a spot on the Tigers’ active roster for lefty reliever Ian Krol. As Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press notes, the team will have to make another move on Saturday to open a spot for Justin Verlander, who’s set to return from the disabled list after missing the first two months of the season with a triceps strain. The Tigers don’t seem entirely sure of the reasons for Greene’s struggles, as comments from Greene and manager Brad Ausmus to MLive.com’s James Schmehl suggest, but perhaps a stint in Triple-A will help Greene get back on track.

The Tigers, of course, acquired Greene as part of a three-team trade with the Yankees and Diamondbacks in December. He allowed just two runs over 23 innings in his first three starts as a Tiger, but he’s struggled badly since then, and he now has a 5.82 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 for the season. Didi Gregorius has likewise struggled in New York, which leaves the Diamondbacks as the only team that’s likely currently happy with their end of the deal — Robbie Ray has been terrific in three big-league starts, although very young infield prospect Domingo Leyba has struggled with Class A+ Visalia.

Nationals Acquire David Carpenter From Yankees

By | at

The Yankees announced that they have traded recently designated right-hander David Carpenter to the Nationals in exchange for minor league second baseman Tony Renda. Outfielder Nate McLouth has been placed on the 60-day DL to accommodate Carpenter on the 40-man roster.

New York acquired Carpenter from the Braves this offseason on the heels of a pair of excellent seasons working as a setup man for Craig Kimbrel in the Atlanta bullpen. (That trade sent the previously vaunted Manny Banuelos to Atlanta and also netted the Yankees southpaw Chasen Shreve.) However, after posting a 2.63 ERA over 126 2/3 innings with 10.0 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 from 2013-14, Carpenter struggled quite a bit in his brief time with New York. As a member of the Yankees, the 29-year-old worked to a 4.82 ERA in 18 2/3 innings, striking out just 11 hitters against seven walks.

Carpenter maintained very strong fastball velocity with the Yankees, averaging 94.9 mph on his heater. He also posted a career-best 42.4 percent ground-ball rate and struggled with home runs, so perhaps the Nationals feel that a move back to a larger stadium in the National League will help to alleviate his troubles with the long ball. Of course, there will be additional work needed to sort out the righty’s control and restore his significantly diminished strikeout rate.

Carpenter is earning $1.275MM after avoiding arbitration this offseason, and the remaining $815K or so of that sum will be picked up by the Nats. If Carpenter is able to turn it around in D.C., the Nationals will have control of him through the 2017 season — his age-31 campaign.

The 24-year-old Renda, a second-round pick of the Nats in 2012, ranked as Washington’s No. 12 prospect this offseason according to Baseball America and currently ranks 22nd on MLB.com’s Top 30 list. BA praised his compact swing and line-drive stroke, noting that his bat has a chance to be above-average, and he’s tough to strike out. Both scouting reports agree that Renda lacks plus tools across the board but has outstanding makeup and work ethic. He’s not said to be a plus runner but has potentially average speed and is a “solid defender, capable of making the routine plays well,” per Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com, though the duo does refer to him as an “offensive-minded” second baseman. Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel didn’t rate Renda among his top Nats prospects this offseason, but he did mention that the infielder has a good approach and advanced bat control despite a lack of power. In 228 plate appearances at the Double-A level this season, Renda has batted .267/.330/.340 with a homer and 13 steals.

Injury Notes: Miller, Lynn, Cozart, Jennings

By | at

The Yankees today placed closer Andrew Miller on the disabled list with a strained left flexor mass. Manager Joe Girardi told reporters, including the New York Daily News’ Anthony McCarron, that an MRI on Wednesday morning revealed the injury. Miller will not throw for the next 10 to 14 days, and he will be re-evaluated after that time. Though the Yankees have an excellent alternative in Dellin Betances, the loss of Miller weakens the team’s relief corps substantially. After signing a four-year, $36MM contract this winter, Miller has been excellent in pinstripes, yielding just three runs with a 43-to-10 K/BB ratio in 26 1/3 innings as the team’s closer.

That’s far from the only notable injury around the league today, however. Here’s the latest…

  • Lance Lynn is back in St. Louis for an MRI on his right forearm, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Lynn left Sunday’s outing after five innings due to tightness in his forearm and said the following day that he’s experienced the issue before. Earlier reports indicated that the Cardinals didn’t expect the injury to be serious, but Goold now writes that there is some concern among team officials. GM John Mozeliak would not address the situation until Friday when asked by Goold via email.
  • Reds shortstop Zack Cozart is likely headed to the disabled list with a knee injury, writes C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Manager Bryan Price told reporters after the game that Cozart underwent an MRI that will be checked out tonight by team physician Dr. Timothy Kremchek, but a stint on the DL seems likely. “It’s a collective sadness that he’s going to miss some time,” said Price. “It looks pretty certain he’ll miss some time.” The Reds will likely turn to offseason acquisition Eugenio Suarez, notes Rosecrans, but the loss of Cozart simply adds another name to a growing list of contributors for the Reds. Devin Mesoraco has scarcely played this season due to a hip impingement, and Marlon Byrd will be out for an extended period of time due to a fractured wrist. With the Reds 11 games out of the division lead, each notable injury will only fuel speculation that the team will begin selling off pieces in the near future.
  • The Rays will be without Desmond Jennings for an unknown period of time after the outfielder underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair the plica band in his left knee, writes Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune. Inflammation in the band caused it to compress on his knee, leading to pain whenever Jennings would try to extend the leg fully. Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters yesterday that the best case scenario for Jennings would be three to four weeks (via Sports Talk Florida’s Matt Stein, on Twitter), but the possibility that he’ll miss more time is certainly present.

AL Notes: Hanley, Zobrist, Tanaka

By | at

Here’s the latest from the American League:

  • Red Sox outfielder Hanley Ramirez expressed little inclination to return to the infield, as WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reports. He emphasized that he believes on the grass limits the wear and tear on his body, saying “I consider myself an outfielder.” Some have suggested that Ramirez could spend time at first, now or in the future, as the team looks to spark a lagging offense and find time for a large group of outfielders. But it sounds as if that is rather unlikely at this stage.
  • Though he’s back from knee surgery, Athletics utilityman Ben Zobrist has yet to look himself, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. The 34-year-old still appears to be a step slow, per Slusser, and has not yet turned things around at the plate. Oakland is well back in the standings and could conceivably move quickly if it sees a sterling opportunity to sell — as ESPN.com’s Buster Olney discussed today in an Insider piece — but one wonders whether that strategy would work for Zobrist, who may need to show more to maximize his value.
  • The Yankees’ risky call to keep Masahiro Tanaka away from the surgeon’s knife has paid dividends so far, writes John Harper of the New York Daily News. Tanaka has been outstanding since returning from the DL, and is running out a mid-90s heater after exhibiting a velocity dip earlier in the season. It remains to be seen whether he can stave off Tommy John surgery permanently, but it’s hard to argue with the decision to wait when he owns a 2.48 ERA with 9.7 K/9 against just 1.7 BB/9 over his first six starts of the year.

Yankees To Sign Sergio Santos

By | at

The Yankees are set to sign righty Sergio Santos to a minor league deal, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. He’ll reportedly head to Double-A.

Santos was designated by the Dodgers and ultimately elected free agency. He put up 13 1/3 innings for Los Angeles, producing a 4.73 ERA while striking out 10.1 and walking 4.7 batters per nine to go with a 46.2% groundball rate. Santos has held righties to a collective .555 OPS this year, though lefties have punished him with a .400/.409/.700 batting line.

New York’s pen has been quite good, though that is due in large part to the unbelievable contributions of Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances. The current relief corps is heavily left-handed, a rather unusual alignment that creates a window of opportunity for the former White Sox and Blue Jays hurler to step into.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top