Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Newsstand

Pirates Release Gregory Polanco

By | at

3:29PM: The Pirates have actually released Polanco, as the team issued a correction to their initial announcement.

3:03PM: The Pirates have designated outfielder Gregory Polanco for assignment.  According to the team’s official media release, infielder Cole Tucker “is expected” to be called up from Triple-A to take Polanco’s spot on the active roster.

The move comes less than a week after Polanco was placed on outright waivers, though he remained in the organization after no other teams claimed him.  Today’s release officially cuts ties between Polanco and the Bucs, and the team will remain on the hook for the roughly $5.28MM still owed to Polanco — his remaining 2021 salary, and the $3MM buyout of his $12.5MM club option for 2022.

“Gregory has been a true professional throughout his entire Pirates career, including in our conversation with him regarding today’s roster move,” Pirates GM Ben Cherington said.  “He has been a great teammate who always handled himself with class and took a great deal of pride in representing the Pirates and the city of Pittsburgh.  We wish him nothing but success moving forward.”

After rising through the minor league ranks as one of baseball’s top prospects, Polanco had some stops and starts in his efforts to establish himself as a productive Major League regular, though that didn’t stop the Bucs from locking him up on a five-year, $35MM contract extension in April 2016.  Strong seasons in both 2016 and 2018 (the latter a 23-homer, .839 OPS campaign over 535 plate appearances) seemed to indicate that the Pirates had made a wise investment, yet shoulder surgery in September 2018 ended up essentially derailing Polanco’s career.

Recurring shoulder problems limited him to only 42 games in 2019.  In 723 PA since the start of the 2019 season, Polanco has hit only .203/.270/.364 with 24 home runs.  Between this dropoff and increasing annual salaries in the latter years of the extension, Polanco became something of an untradeable albatross as the Pirates entered another rebuilding phase.

Though Polanco is a veteran of eight MLB seasons, he still doesn’t turn 30 years old until September.  It stands to reason that another team will take a flier on Polanco to see if a change of scenery could get his career back on track, since that new team would only owe Polanco the prorated portion of the minimum salary (the Pirates would pay the rest of the money owed).

Kenta Maeda To Undergo Elbow Surgery

By | at

Kenta Maeda will undergo elbow surgery next week, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters (including Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com). It won’t be known exactly what procedure Maeda will require until he goes under the knife, but it’s possible he’ll need a full Tommy John surgery.

Obviously, Maeda’s timetable will depend on the kind of procedure he ultimately undergoes.  If Maeda does require a complete reconstruction, that would probably rule him out for the entirety of the 2022 season, since Tommy John surgeries typically require rehab timelines of fourteen-plus months. Even a surgery of lesser severity could threaten his readiness for the start of next season.

For instance, Astros left-hander Kent Emanuel had an undetermined amount of ligament damage in his elbow at the time he underwent surgery in June. As with Maeda, it wasn’t clear at the time whether Emanuel would need a full reconstruction. During the operation, it was determined that he didn’t need to undergo TJS, but the procedure he did undergo still came with a nine-month recovery timeline. That’s just one example, and it’s not a given that Maeda is facing the same options Emanuel was. But it’s illustrative that even avoiding Tommy John surgery in these situations could still require a significant recovery period.

The Twins are playing out the string for the rest of 2021, so the effects of losing Maeda for the remainder of this season are relatively minimal. His absence potentially extending into 2022 would be devastating for a Minnesota team hoping to return to contention next season. With José Berríos traded to the Blue Jays before this summer’s deadline, Maeda is by far the most accomplished member of Minnesota’s starting staff.

Michael Pineda is slated to hit free agency this offseason, leaving Bailey Ober, Charlie Barnes, Griffin Jax, Lewis Thorpe and Randy Dobnak as the other starters controllable into 2022. That’s an unproven group insufficient for a hopeful contender. Prospects like Jordan Balazovic or Joe Ryan could pitch their way into the mix at some point soon, but starting pitching already looked to be the biggest area of need for Minnesota this winter. Even if Maeda doesn’t require Tommy John surgery, the front office will have to proceed through the offseason without the comfort of seeing their top in-house pitcher having logged any game action after an elbow procedure of some note.

It’s a disappointing end to the toughest season of Maeda’s six-year big league career. The right-hander consistently posted above-average numbers between 2016-19 with the Dodgers. Minnesota acquired him over the 2019-20 offseason and he had a career-best campaign in last year’s shortened season. Maeda worked to a 2.70 ERA over 66 2/3 innings, earning a runner-up finish in AL Cy Young award balloting.

Maeda couldn’t replicate that success this season, as that ERA ballooned to a career-worst 4.66 over 106 1/3 frames. The 33-year-old has seen significant declines in strikeout and ground-ball rates relative to last season, which looks like a bit of an outlier. But Maeda’s strikeout and walk numbers are still solid, and his 3.97 SIERA suggests he’s at least still a quality arm as he was for his couple seasons in Los Angeles.

If Maeda is forced to miss significant time in 2022, that’d come with serious financial consequences. His original eight-year deal with the Dodgers was heavily incentive-laden because of the L.A. front office’s concern about his medical outlook. Maeda is guaranteed just $3.125MM annually, with millions of dollars in bonuses available via games started and innings thresholds.

Patrick Sandoval Out For The Season

By | at

Angels southpaw Patrick Sandoval is out for the year with a stress fracture in his back, per Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group (via Twitter). Sandoval was placed the injured list on August 15th, but the severity of the injury was not clear at that time.

For Sandoval, this is an unfortunate setback right at a time when he appeared to be establishing himself in manager Joe Maddon’s rotation. For the Angels, then, this is particularly disheartening considering how much they’ve struggled to find and develop arms.

Still, the 25-year-old can count 2021 as a success. He has a 3.62 ERA/4.03 FIP in 87 innings with a 25.9 percent strikeout rate, 9.9 percent walk rate, and solid 50.7 percent groundball rate. Sandoval’s walk rate remains a little high, but paired with an above-average strikeout rate, he’s been able to limit hard contact and post the best home run rate of his young career.

In the long run, the Angels will slot Sandoval into a rotation slot for 2022. Their success next year may very well depend on who else joins Sandoval and Shohei Ohtani in that rotation. Griffin Canning — also out for the season — will join them, and they’re sure to look for outside additions. Promising young arms like Reid Detmers, Chris Rodriguez, and Packy Naughton will also get a look.

For now, however, the Angels will continue to make due. Alex Cobb is working to return soon from injury after a better-than-usual start to the season. Cooper Criswell gets the start tonight, making his Major League debut.

Reds Claim Asdrubal Cabrera

By | at

1:45pm: The Reds and D-backs have officially announced the move.

12:44pm: The Reds have claimed veteran infielder Asdrubal Cabrera off waivers from the Diamondbacks, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). The teams have yet to announce the move. Cincinnati already has multiple vacancies on its 40-man roster, so the Reds will only need to open a spot on the active 26-man roster.

Cabrera, 35, will give the Reds a switch-hitting infield option off the bench for the final month-plus of the regular season — and for the postseason, should they qualify. Because Cabrera is being claimed prior to Sept. 1, he’ll be eligible for postseason play with his new club.

It hasn’t been a great year at the plate for Cabrera, but he’s posted a respectable .244/.324/.392 batting line in 321 plate appearances while splitting his time between the infield corners (in addition to one lone inning at shortstop). He’s playing out the season on a one-year, $1.75MM contract and is owed about $358K of that sum through season’s end. The Reds will be on the hook for the remainder of that salary.

The veteran Cabrera looked like an obvious trade candidate prior to the deadline, but the D-backs apparently didn’t find much interest. They’ll clear a bit of cash now that he’s been claimed, although the primary motivation here could simply have been to give a veteran player a chance to join a playoff contender.

Cincinnati doesn’t have everyday at-bats available for Cabrera — not with Joey Votto at first base, Jonathan India at second base and Mike Moustakas over at third base. However, Cabrera has been quite productive against left-handed pitching over the past two seasons and has slightly better numbers against lefties than against righties over the course of his lengthy career. And as potent as the Reds’ lineup can be, Cincinnati has quietly been one of the game’s least-productive groups against southpaws, hitting just .231/.313/.380 as a team. Their collective 86 wRC+ against lefties ranks 28th in the Majors. Cabrera gives them a slight upgrade in that regard and also gives manager David Bell some versatility for late-game maneuvering.

Blue Jays Claim Jarrod Dyson

By | at

1:11pm: The Royals and Blue Jays have now both announced the move.

12:39pm: The Blue Jays have claimed outfielder Jarrod Dyson off waivers from the Royals, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (Twitter link). Neither club has formally announced the move just yet.

Kansas City never formally designated Dyson for assignment, but it’s not uncommon for clubs to quietly place a player on waivers without first announcing a DFA. The Blue Jays, by claiming Dyson, are now on the hook for the remainder of his $1.5MM salary — about $306K between now and season’s end.

Dyson, 37, returned  for a second stint with the Royals this offseason when he inked a one-year, $1.5MM contract in free agency. He’s appeared in 77 games but tallied just 132 plate appearances, instead being utilized more for his blistering speed and defensive acumen late in games. Dyson carries a .221/.256/.311 batting line in that time. He hasn’t homered in 2021 but has doubled seven times, tripled twice and gone 8-for-11 in stolen base attempts this year.

The Royals likely didn’t find much interest in Dyson at the trade deadline, but he’ll only cost the Jays cash and a roster spot at this point. He’ll give the team some needed depth in center field with George Springer again on the shelf, and he’ll also provide Toronto with a dynamic late-game defensive replacement and pinch-running option as they try to close a deficit of five and a half games in the hunt for the second Wild Card spot.

The Royals will save a but of cash by placing him on waivers, but the move is surely more about giving a veteran player the organization respects an opportunity to return to the postseason. By waiting until late in the month of August to place Dyson on waivers, the Royals ensured that the cost of acquiring him was quite minimal, thereby enhancing the chances he’d be claimed. Because he’s joining the Jays organization prior to Sept. 1, Dyson would be eligible for their postseason roster, should Toronto manage to close that considerable gap in the standings.

Tejay Antone To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

By | at

Reds reliever Tejay Antone announced (on Twitter) that he will undergo Tommy John surgery tomorrow. It’ll be the second time of the right-hander’s career, as Antone previously underwent the procedure in 2017.

It’s a disappointing, if not especially surprising, development. Antone spent most of the past few months on the injured list with forearm troubles. He was activated from the IL on Tuesday but pulled himself from that night’s game just five pitches amidst obvious discomfort. Cincinnati placed him back on the IL yesterday with what the team termed a forearm strain.

While no timetable has been announced, it seems likely Antone will miss the entire 2022 season. Tommy John procedures often require fourteen-plus months of recovery time, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the team is particularly cautious with Antone’s rehab given that he’s already undergone the procedure once before.

It’s a notable blow for the Reds, as Antone has been the club’s best reliever. The 27-year-old worked 33 2/3 innings across 23 appearances as a high-leverage weapon, pitching to a 2.14 ERA. Antone punched out hitters at a massive 32.8% clip on the back of an above-average 12.9% swinging strike rate. It’s the second consecutive high-end season to begin Antone’s MLB career, as he broke into the big leagues with 35 1/3 frames of 2.80 ERA ball in 2020.

Despite Antone’s contributions, the bullpen has been a problem for the Reds for much of the year. Cincinnati relievers have a 5.27 ERA that ranks 28th in the league, while they’re closer to middle-of-the-pack in SIERA (4.07) and strikeout/walk rate differential (14.3 percentage points). They’ve been marginally better since remaking their bullpen the week of the trade deadline — when they acquired Luis Cessa, Justin Wilson and Mychal Givens — but Reds’ relievers still have an even 5.00 ERA over the past thirty days. Antone has been on the injured list for almost all of that time already, but holding late leads will be all the more difficult with no possibility of him making it back at this point. At 69-59, the Reds hold a one-game advantage over the Padres in the NL Wild Card race.

Antone will likely be placed on the 60-day injured list whenever the Reds need a spot on the 40-man roster. He’ll need to return to the 40-man over the offseason but can go back on the 60-day IL for the entirety of next season. Antone will continue to accrue service time on the IL and is scheduled to reach arbitration eligibility for the first time after the 2022 campaign.

Rhys Hoskins Done For The Season

By | at

Rhys Hoskins was placed on the 10-day injured list earlier today. Unfortunately, the news has only gotten more dire since then. Speaking to reporters, Hoskins said that he will not play again this season, per Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). He will undergo surgery to repair a tear in his lower abdomen, adds MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki (via Twitter).

Interestingly, the earlier designation for his IL placement was for a groin injury. The abdomen issue was a preexisting injury that Hoskins has been dealing with for some time now. The two injuries in tandem, however, seemed to push the point for Hoskins, leading to the decision to have the surgery now. It’s an unequivocal bummer for Hoskins, who had put together a bounce-back season after a difficult 2020.

Big picture, this is a crushing revelation for the Phillies. They have very little margin for error as they strive to make the postseason for the first time in the Bryce Harper era. It’s been a tough month of August for the Phillies, who were leapfrogged by the Braves for first place in the NL East. Girardi’s club now sits 5.0 games out of first and 5.5 games out of a wild card spot.

All this comes amidst a front office shakeup and the demotion of Alec Bohm, their top prospect and starting third baseman for much of the year. Add in the yo-yo treatment of Spencer Howard’s development before he was dealt to Texas, as well as their wild swings in the standings since the trade deadline, and it all adds up to a rather disjointed situation in Philly, at least in terms of the optics.

Remember, they were 3.5 games behind the Mets at the trade deadline only to go on an 8-game win streak to begin August. They swiftly overtook the Mets for the division lead on August 6th. Their time at the top was short-lived, as they’ve gone just 6-10 in the games since, losing the top spot to surging Atlanta. Less than two weeks after they lost the division lead to the Braves, they sit just barely on the fringes of contention with a 17.6% chance of making the playoffs, per baseball-reference.

Losing Hoskins now adds insult to injury, especially because they’re roster is so thin after the superstars at the top. Hoskins’ 129 wRC+ and 2.4 fWAR were a key piece of scaffolding to the Harper-J.T. Realmuto core. Swapping in Brad Miller’s 93 wRC+ simply doesn’t make up enough ground for a team looking to make up ground. Miller’s going to be the guy, however, because there’s not much else in the organization by way of reinforcements — not unless Bohm can very quickly figure things out in Triple-A.

Molina: 2022 “Will Be My Final Season”

By | at

If there was any doubt after yesterday’s one-year contract extension, Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina confirmed in a press conference today that he plans to retire after the 2022 season. “Yes, yes it will be my final season,” Molina plainly stated (Twitter link via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch).

That was the expectation the moment the deal was finalized, as president of baseball operations John Mozeliak even called the 2022 campaign Molina’s final season in the team’s press release announcing the extension. Still, it’s notable to hear the player himself publicly confirm as much.

Molina, 39, is well past his peak production but is still delivering offense that falls roughly in line with that of a league-average catcher. He’s batting .259/.304/.375 with eight homers and 16 doubles so far in 2021, walking at a 5.7 percent clip and still striking out at a 15.7 percent rate that is well south of the league average. His 43 percent caught-stealing rate behind the dish is among the best in the game.

It was strange this past offseason to consider the possibility of Molina playing somewhere other than St. Louis, but he reached the free-agent market for the first time in his illustrious career and unsurprisingly drew interest from several clubs. He’ll avoid any speculation of playing for a new club this time around, cementing himself as a lifelong Cardinal with the extension and today’s announcement.

Notably, as Cardinals fans now turn their attention to Adam Wainwright, Molina touched on the subject of his longtime teammate’s future (Twitter link via Zachary Silver of MLB.com). Molina noted that Wainwright lobbied heavily for him to return to St. Louis last offseason. “Now, it’s my turn,” Molina said in reference to Wainwright, adding that he’d “love to finish my career with him.”

Wainwright is also playing the 2021 season on a one-year contract, and he’s said in the past that he’ll need to discuss the matter with his family before determining whether he’ll continue his own career into the 2022 campaign. Through 162 2/3 innings, Wainwright has a 3.10 ERA, three complete games and a shutout. He’ll turn 40 next Monday.

Cardinals Place Jack Flaherty On Injured List

By | at

10:38am: The Cardinals have formally placed Flaherty on the 10-day injured list and recalled right-handed reliever Junior Fernandez from Triple-A Memphis in a corresponding move.

10:12am: The Cardinals are placing right-hander Jack Flaherty back on the 10-day injured list, manager Mike Shildt announced to reporters during today’s pregame session (Twitter link via Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat). Flaherty, who only just returned from a two-month absence due to a severe oblique strain, has now been diagnosed with a strain in his right shoulder. Shildt indicated that imaging was “mostly negative,” suggesting that there’s no major structural issue in the shoulder.

There’s no timeline on Flaherty’s return just yet, but Shildt indicated that the club can’t firmly rule out the possibility that the talented young right-hander’s season is over. There are just under six weeks remaining on the regular-season calendar, and Flaherty will need some form of down period to allow the strain to heal before he can resume throwing and build back up.

Flaherty made just three starts between IL stints, and his velocity was down noticeably last night before departing the game. He told reporters after the contest that he began feeling “less comfortable as the game went on” and voiced frustration over having another start shortened by a physical ailment (link via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch).

With Flaherty now back on the shelf for a yet-to-be-determined period of time, the Cards are again operating at less than full strength in the rotation — just as they have throughout the entire summer. Kwang Hyun Kim recently returned from the injured list but was slated to work out of the bullpen; it’s at least possible that they’ll shift him back into a starting role now that Flaherty is out. Elsewhere in the rotation, the Cards have Adam Wainwright, Miles Mikolas, J.A. Happ and Jon Lester. For now, that group will lead the charge as the Cards attempt to close a 4.5-game deficit in the NL Wild Card standings. The division is effectively out of reach, as Milwaukee has a commanding 13-game advantage over St. Louis (and an 8.5-game lead over second-place Cincinnati).

Flaherty has been excellent when healthy this season, as one would expect. The 25-year-old carries a 3.08 ERA, a 26.1 percent strikeout rate, a 7.7 percent walk rate and a 38.6 percent ground-ball rate through 76 innings thus far.

Cardinals Sign Yadier Molina To One-Year Extension

By | at

The Cardinals announced they’ve agreed to a one-year contract extension with Yadier Molina. The ten-time All-Star will remain in St. Louis for the 2022 season on a $10MM salary. Molina is a client of MDR Sports Management.

It’s not surprising the two sides were able to line up on terms, as they were known to be in extension discussions last week. Molina was believed to be seeking a one-year deal that matches or tops the $9MM salary on which he’s playing out the 2021 campaign, and he’s succeeded in landing exactly that. Molina didn’t sign that deal until this past January, and he’d been vocal about wanting to avoid lingering on the free agent market again this time around.

Molina’s no longer the MVP-caliber player he was at his peak, but he’s still a productive regular catcher even at age-39. This season, he’s hitting .259/.304/.376 with eight homers across 365 plate appearances, not far off the .268/.310/.388 slash line he compiled between 2019-20. That’s below-average offensive production overall, but it’s still fine work when considering the toll catching takes on players. Backstops have compiled just a .228/.307/.391 mark around the league. Molina’s offensive output is around par with the league average at the position.

That’s without considering his contributions on the other side of the ball. Molina is regarded as perhaps the best defensive catcher of his generation. As is the case with his bat, Molina’s glove has fallen off somewhat with age, but he’s still unquestionably a plus behind the dish. Molina has cut down seventeen of forty attempted base-stealers this season, a 42.5% rate that’s far better than the 24.4% league average.

In addition to neutralizing the running game, Molina has a reputation as one of the game’s best at the aspects of catching that are difficult or impossible to quantify. His once-elite framing metrics have fallen to around league average, but he still checks in as a viable receiver. And the Cardinals no doubt believe Molina brings intangible value from a leadership perspective to the pitching staff and clubhouse.

While Molina should still bring quite a bit to the table next season, it’s apparent his legacy as one of the best players in franchise history plays into the front office’s eagerness to keep him off the open market. No active player in MLB has been with their current team longer than Molina, who debuted with St. Louis in June 2004. The nine-time Gold Glove award winner was an integral part of the Cardinals’ 2006 and 2011 World Series teams. There’s plenty of reason for the club not wanting to risk a repeat of last offseason’s stalemate.

Molina recently hinted that next year could be the last of his illustrious career, and president of baseball operations John Mozeliak referred to 2022 as Molina’s “final season” in the press release accompanying the announcement of today’s extension. Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (Twitter link) notes that the current expectation for both Molina and the Cardinals is that 2022 will indeed be his final year as a player. If that ultimately proves to be the case, he would retire as the rare one-franchise star.

With Molina wrapped up, the Cardinals figure to turn to Adam Wainwright, another impending free agent who has been in St. Louis for ages. Wainwright made his debut in 2005 and has led the St. Louis rotation for a good portion of the past fifteen years. Despite turning 40 years old this month, Wainwright has been one of the better pitchers in the National League this season. Assuming he wants to keep playing beyond this year, the Cardinals would have every reason to look to hammer out an extension with Wainwright as well.

The Molina extension will push the Cardinals’ estimated 2022 player payroll just north of $90MM, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Nolan Arenado ($35MM if he doesn’t opt out), Paul Goldschmidt ($25.33MM), Miles Mikolas ($17MM) and Paul DeJong ($6.17MM) join Molina as players with notable guaranteed contracts on the books. St. Louis will also have to cover arbitration raises for Jack Flaherty, Harrison Bader, Alex Reyes, Dakota Hudson, and Tyler O’Neill, among others. The Cardinals opened the 2021 season with an estimated $163MM payroll.

St. Louis could look to address the rotation and middle infield this winter. Catcher, where Andrew Knizner has struggled in limited action as Molina’s understudy, would’ve been a question mark in the unlikely event Molina went elsewhere. It seems the Cardinals are prepared to roll with a Molina-Knizner pairing again next season, and top prospect Iván Herrera could be worked into the mix midseason with an eye towards 2023. The lion’s share of playing time behind the plate at Busch Stadium will fall to Molina, as it has for the past sixteen years.

Katie Woo of the Athletic first reported the agreement and its terms.

Show all

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

hide arrows scroll to top