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Marlins Activate Giancarlo Stanton

By Steve Adams | September 6, 2016 at 5:11pm CDT

In a surprising turn of events, the Marlins announced that Giancarlo Stanton has been reinstated from the disabled list and activated for tonight’s game against the Phillies. Stanton suffered a Grade 3 groin strain back in mid-August, and it was initially believed that a six-week recovery time was a best case scenario. That would’ve allowed Stanton to return to the Majors, at best, for the final week of the season. However, he’s now set to return to the roster in about half that time.

Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald tweets that for the time being, Stanton will be limited to pinch-hitting duties, though certainly his activation creates some optimism that he could eventually be tabbed for more regular time before season’s end (though Spencer adds that there’s no definitive timeline on Stanton’s return to the lineup).

The 26-year-old Stanton is in the midst of his worst season at the plate, but even a down year for the game’s premier slugger is markedly above-average relative to the rest of the league (121 OPS+, 117 wRC+). At the time he landed on the disabled list, Stanton had a .244/.329/.496 batting line with 25 homers, but he’d been on a blistering hot streak dating back to mid-June. In 48 games leading up to his injury, Stanton had posted an outstanding .299/.361/.582 batting line with 13 homers, raising his OPS 108 points in the process.

Of course, it remains to be seen how Stanton’s groin injury will impact his ability to hit, even in a limited role. His mere presence on the bench, however, will factor into the decision-making process of rival managers, as will the presence of returning first baseman Justin Bour, who was also activated from the DL today. In Stanton and Bour, the Fish will get their two top power threats back into the mix as they look to stay alive in the National League Wild Card race. Miami has dropped a dreadful nine of its past 10 games, falling to five games back of the second Wild Card spot in the Senior Circuit.

Brewers Acquire Ryan Cordell To Complete Jonathan Lucroy Trade

By Steve Adams | September 5, 2016 at 1:53pm CDT

The Brewers announced on Monday that they have acquired minor league third baseman/outfielder Ryan Cordell from the Rangers as the player to be named later in the Jonathan Lucroy/Jeremy Jeffress deadline blockbuster. In total, then, the Brewers will acquire outfielder Lewis Brinson, right-hander Luis Ortiz and Cordell for the pair of Lucroy and Jeffress.

The 24-year-old Cordell is rated as the Rangers’ No. 6 prospect, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo. Baseball America rated him as the team’s No. 9 prospect in their own midseason update (Brinson and Ortiz were ranked second and third, respectively, on that same list). Cordell has played exclusively in the outfield this season (seeing time at all three positions) but also has 300+ innings of experience at third base and saw some time at shortstop last season as well. He’s spent the entire year with Texas’ Double-A affiliate and batted .264/.319/.484 with 19 homers, 22 doubles, five triples and 12 stolen bases.

Baseball America noted in their write-up on him that he’s made strides in his plate discipline, chasing fewer out-of-zone pitches in his second trip through Double-A, and that bears out in his strikeout rate; Cordell walked in just 4.9 percent of his plate appearances in Double-A last season, compared to a woeful 30.2 percent strikeout rate. This year, however, he’s walked at a 7.1 percent clip and cut his strikeout rate to 21.8 percent. In MLB.com’s scouting report, Callis and Mayo write that Cordell has “some of the best all-around tools” in the Rangers minor league system and could eventually have average-or-better tools across the board. His best tool right now is his speed, but he also has the bat speed to hit for power as well.

MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy points out (via Twitter) that Cordell’s season ended this year due to an Aug. 2 knee injury, and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets that the injury was sustained when Cordell crashed into the outfield wall. However, the Brewers clearly aren’t overly concerned about the long-term implications of that collision and will count on a full season from Cordell in 2017. Given his production and experience at the Double-A level, it’s not far-fetched to think that Cordell could either open the season with Triple-A Colorado Springs or, at the very least, be promoted to that level early in the 2017 campaign.

Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News first reported that Cordell was the player to be named later (via Twitter).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Padres Release Alexei Ramirez

By Connor Byrne | September 4, 2016 at 12:44pm CDT

The Padres have released shortstop Alexei Ramirez, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com (Twitter link). Cassavell reported Saturday that the Padres were unlikely to pick up their end of Ramirez’s $4MM mutual option for 2017 during the offseason. A day later, his time with the Padres has ended. He’ll collect what’s left of his $3MM salary for this season and a $1MM buyout for 2017.

After a subpar 2015 in his final campaign as a member of the White Sox, with whom he spent the first eight seasons of his career, the Padres bought low on Ramirez during the winter. However, he failed to live up to his modest deal. As a result of both Ramirez’s poor performance and the rebuilding Padres’ shift toward youth, the club began phasing the soon-to-be 35-year-old out at shortstop recently, instead turning to the likes of Jose Rondon and Luis Sardinas.

The right-handed Ramirez began working in right field as a way to stay in the Padres’ lineup against southpaws, but that wasn’t enough for him to remain with the team through season’s end. Ramirez batted a disappointing .240/.275/.331 in 440 plate appearances with the Padres and wasn’t any better in the field, where he’s currently last among 2016 shortstops in Defensive Runs Saved (minus-17) and Ultimate Zone Rating (minus-14.4). All told, he has been worth a league-worst minus-2.0 fWAR this year.

Before his decline began in earnest last season, Ramirez was a useful player for several years. The one-time All-Star batted a combined .275/.313/.395 with 78 home runs in 3,868 trips to the plate from 2009-14, also playing no fewer than 148 games in each season, adding 105 steals and totaling 18.5 fWAR.

Brewers Won Claim For Yasiel Puig; Trade Talks Involved Ryan Braun

By Jeff Todd | September 2, 2016 at 6:41pm CDT

The Brewers were the team that won the claim for Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). Milwaukee engaged in serious conversations about acquiring the 25-year-old before the waiver placement was revoked by Los Angeles.

Intriguingly, the trade dialogue between the two organizations included star Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun. It seems reasonably likely that there were quite a few other moving parts involved, but those two players undoubtedly make for fascinating centerpieces on either side.

It is not yet clear whether the clubs intend to revisit the matter in the offseason, though it certainly seems plausible. Los Angeles was not interested in parting with Puig unless it obtained a “better player” in the swap, per Rosenthal. If that remains true this winter, then Braun — who is older and more expensive — would certainly fit the mold of the type of asset that could be pursued.

Puig remains controllable for three more seasons, his age-26 through age-28 campaigns. Two of those are guaranteed at $14MM total, and Puig can still opt into arbitration, but the total commitment falls shy of his talent level. The question, of course, is whether his poor recent play and somewhat spotty track record at maintaining focus can be reversed.

There’s really no question as to the current performance level of Braun, who is carrying a .312/.374/.544 batting line with 24 home runs and 14 steals over 468 plate appearances this year. But he will turn 33 in November and has battled through a laundry list of injury issues.

Braun does have a rather robust no-trade clause, but the Dodgers are not on this year’s iteration, meaning he can be traded there without his consent — at least until he has his next opportunity to modify the list. Even assuming his PED past is mostly a non-issue at this point, Braun’s large contract is also a factor in limiting his marketability. He is owed $76MM over the next four years, including the buyout on a $15MM option for 2021.

Neil Walker To Undergo Season-Ending Back Surgery

By Steve Adams | September 1, 2016 at 3:00pm CDT

SEPT. 1: Walker will indeed undergo a microdisectomy operation to repair the herniation in his back which comes with a best-case scenario of a three-month recovery, per ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin. Doctors strongly recommended the procedure to him because of the potential for additional weakness and numbness in his lower half. Walker has been experiencing numbness in his toes and is still unable to feel one of them to this day due to the fact that the disk in his back is pressing against a nerve, per the New York Times’ James Wagner (Twitter link).

AUG. 31Mets second baseman Neil Walker is “probably opting for surgery” to repair the herniated disk in his back, manager Terry Collins told reporters after tonight’s game (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo). Clearly, that will end the season for the free-agent-to-be.

News of Walker’s herniated disk broke earlier this morning, and while GM Sandy Alderson originally expressed some optimism, manager Terry Collins said prior to tonight’s contest that surgery was an option, though the team and Walker were waiting on a second opinion before making a final decision. That decision, now, looks to have been made, and it comes as a significant blow for a Mets team that topped the Marlins tonight and currently sits just two games back of the second Wild Card spot in the National League.

Walker, 30, has been one of the Mets’ best hitters in 2016, batting .282/.347/.476 with 23 home runs in 458 plate appearances. With the switch-hitter removed from the picture, the Mets can turn to a combination of Kelly Johnson, Wilmer Flores, Jose Reyes and T.J. Rivera to share time between third base and second base.

From Walker’s standpoint, the injury represents a poor way to wrap up what has been an otherwise outstanding contract year. He’ll now enter free agency with the specter of a notable surgery hanging over him and without any in-game setting via which to demonstrate his health to interested parties. Walker has been included in the top 10 on MLBTR’s Free Agent Power Rankings on multiple occasions over the course of the season, though the surgery certainly diminishes his earning power on the open market. It could also make the Mets a bit more hesitant to tender a qualifying offer to Walker following the season, though I’d still wager they’ll be making the offer, as a one-year deal for Walker following a full offseason of recovery is hardly an unappealing outcome for the team.

2017 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings

By Tim Dierkes | September 1, 2016 at 10:20am CDT

Most players have about 30 remaining regular season games to add to their free agent bona fides. Postseason heroics don’t always change a free agent’s valuation, as Daniel Murphy can attest. Still, the majority of players on this list will see their seasons extend into the playoffs, providing a chance to shine on baseball’s biggest stage. The players below are ranked on their expected earning power in free agency. To view the full list of 2016-17 MLB free agents, click here.

1. Yoenis Cespedes. Cespedes aggravated his quad in early August, but returned to close out the month with five home runs in 11 games. He’s showing more power than ever and has even started drawing walks. Cespedes, who turns 31 in October, told reporters recently he’d like to spend the rest of his career with the Mets, but he has not made a decision about his opt-out clause. Barring a large extension with the Mets, it is a virtual lock Cespedes opts out of the remaining two years and $47.5MM left on his contract in search of a bigger commitment.

2. Aroldis Chapman. Aside from a laborious save last night at Wrigley, Chapman had a fine month for the Cubs. He appears in line to score a record contract for a reliever this winter.

3. Kenley Jansen. Jansen had a few rare blips in August, but he’s still right there with Chapman as one of the game’s dominant ninth inning forces. Chapman, Jansen, and Mark Melancon are poised to take the free agent relief market to new heights in a few months. Of the three, only Jansen will be subject to a qualifying offer, if that system remains in place.

4. Edwin Encarnacion. Encarnacion had another fine month with the bat, slugging eight more home runs to bring his total to 36. His career-high of 42 bombs is within reach. Unfortunately, Encarnacion has drawn attention for a lawsuit in which a woman alleges he knowingly infected her with sexually transmitted diseases in February. Any team considering signing Encarnacion this offseason is going to have questions and concerns about this situation.

5. Wilson Ramos. Ramos had a respectable August, with his career-best home run total climbing to 20. Among full-time catchers, that mark ties him for second in all of baseball. Ramos celebrated his 29th birthday in August, and his youth opens up the possibility of a five-year deal in free agency. If the bidding results in a contract near Russell Martin’s five-year, $82MM pact, Ramos could be the second-biggest earner among all free agents. For more on Ramos’ market, check out Jeff Todd’s Free Agent Stock Watch.

6. Ian Desmond. Desmond hit a bump in the road in August, batting just .241/.276/.276 in 123 plate appearances for the Rangers. He’s no longer the free agent WAR leader. Desmond’s overall resurgent campaign still justifies a four-year deal, with strong contributions in hitting, baserunning, and defense.

7. Justin Turner. At 4.3 WAR, Turner is the most valuable free agent currently. The 31-year-old has combined his typical above average third base defense with newfound power at the plate. Turner’s 24 home runs marks a career high, though his batting average has slipped from the lofty heights of 2014-15. MLBTR’s Jeff Todd dissected Turner’s season and market position at length in this recent Free Agent Stock Watch.

8. Mark Trumbo. Trumbo leads all of MLB with 40 home runs, after adding ten more in August. It was an all or nothing month for the 30-year-old right-handed slugger, who hit .181/.280/.500 in 107 plate appearances. Oddly, Trumbo has struggled against left-handed pitching this year, after hitting .272/.328/.542 off southpaws from 2013-15. His poor defensive season is less of a surprise. Unlike a player like Desmond, Trumbo can only help a team in one area: power. I still think he has a reasonable chance at a four-year deal, though about 58% of MLBTR readers don’t think he’ll get one.

9. Jose Bautista. Bautista, 35, missed a chunk of August due to a knee sprain. While his offensive rate stats are down, the bigger concern is his health and defense moving forward. In the aforementioned survey, less than 13% of MLBTR readers think Bautista will get a four-year deal this winter. I agree with that assessment.

10. Josh Reddick. Reddick held the third spot on this list a month ago. Since being traded to the Dodgers, he’s hitting just .161/.223/.172 in 94 plate appearances. One month may not torpedo his free agent value entirely, and he still has September and October to build it back up. MLBTR’s writing team has debated whether Reddick can still land a four-year deal, with Jeff Todd’s Nick Markakis comp suggesting it’s possible. The ever-pessimistic MLBTR readership gives only a 26% chance of a four-year deal for Reddick. If they’re correct, he won’t hold a spot in the top ten.

An honorable mention goes to Mets second baseman Neil Walker, who held the tenth spot on this list until news broke that he’s likely to undergo season-ending back surgery. I would not rule out a four-year deal for Walker, who set a career-high of 3.8 WAR in just 113 games. Others who are not too far from cracking the top ten: Dexter Fowler, Michael Saunders, and Mark Melancon. The market will also feature power bats Mike Napoli, Brandon Moss, and Carlos Beltran, great speed and baserunning in Rajai Davis, and high contact hitter Martin Prado.

You may have noticed the complete lack of starting pitchers mentioned. The free agent market for starting pitching looks historically bleak this winter, with Jeremy Hellickson, Ivan Nova, and Rich Hill as the top-ranked arms.

Mets Acquire Fernando Salas

By Steve Adams | August 31, 2016 at 9:38pm CDT

The Mets announced that they have acquired right-handed reliever Fernando Salas from the Angels in exchange for minor league right-hander Erik Manoah. Justin Ruggiano has been moved to the 60-day disabled list to make room for Salas on the 40-man roster.

Salas, 31, has pitched to a 4.47 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 41.6 percent ground-ball rate in 56 1/3 innings of relief for the Angels this season. A free agent at season’s end, he represents a pure rental for the Mets, but a fairly affordable one, as he’s earning $2.4MM in his final season of arbitration eligibility. Salas has $419K of that sum remaining on his salary through season’s end. While his numbers certainly aren’t eye-catching, it’s worth noting that Salas has largely righted the ship after a dreadful month of June and has pitched quite well since early July. While the endpoint here is highly arbitrary in nature, Salas has a 2.60 ERA with an 18-to-7 K/BB ratio and a 48 percent ground-ball rate in his past 17 1/3 innings out of manager Mike Scisoscia’s bullpen.

With the Mets, Salas figures to work primarily in the seventh inning, as the eighth inning is typically the property of resurgent setup man Addison Reed, while the Mets boast one of baseball’s best closers in the form of right-hander Jeurys Familia. By acquiring Salas tonight, the Mets have ensured that he can be a part of the club’s roster in the event that they make it to the postseason. The deadline for newly acquired players to receive postseason eligibility is midnight EST.

Manoah, 20, was the Mets’ 13th-round pick in the 2014 draft. The Miami-area prep product hasn’t performed particularly well in his pro career to date, pitching to an ERA north of 5.00 in both 2015 and 2016. However, he has shown a penchant for missing bats, racking up 63 strikeouts in 62 innings out of the rotation for the Mets’ short-season Class-A affiliate this year, and he also keeps the ball on the ground quite well, as evidenced by a 50 percent ground-ball rate.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Red Sox Promote Yoan Moncada

By Steve Adams | August 31, 2016 at 9:25pm CDT

The Red Sox announced on Wednesday evening that they will promote top prospect Yoan Moncada to the Major Leagues on Friday.

The 21-year-old Moncada is widely regarded as one of the top prospects in all of baseball, if not the top prospect. The switch-hitter was one of the most highly sought after international free agents in history when he left Cuba last year, prompting the Red Sox to agree to a $31.5MM bonus — far and away the largest ever for a player that is characterized by an amateur under Major League Baseball’s international prospect rulings. That bonus came with a 100 percent luxury tax, meaning that the Red Sox effectively spent $63MM simply to get Moncada into their farm system. That figure doesn’t account for any of the future salaries that Moncada will begin to earn as he works his way toward arbitration, but the early returns look to have been worth it for Boston.

In 486 plate appearances between Class-A Advanced and Double-A this season, Moncada is batting a scintillating .298/.411/.518 with 15 home runs, 31 doubles, six triples and 45 stolen bases (in 57 attempts). While the majority of his time in the minors has been spent as a second baseman, he recently began seeing some time at the hot corner in Double-A Portland, which is where he figures to fit into the Red Sox’ short- and long-term plans, thanks to the presence of franchise cornerstone Dustin Pedroia at second base.

Moncada ranked No. 1 on the midseason top prospect lists of both Baseball America and MLB.com, while Baseball Prospectus ranked him second and ESPN’s Keith Law rated him fifth (though it’s worth noting that three of the players ahead of Moncada on Law’s Top 50 are now in the Majors).

Orioles Acquire Michael Bourn

By Steve Adams | August 31, 2016 at 8:58pm CDT

The Orioles announced tonight that they have acquired center fielder Michael Bourn from the Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league outfielder Jason Heinrich. To make room for Bourn on the 40-man roster, Baltimore has transferred outfielder Joey Rickard to the 60-day disabled list.

The 33-year-old Bourn becomes the second piece of outfield depth added by Baltimore today, as the O’s also picked up center fielder Drew Stubbs when they claimed him off release waivers from the Rangers. Bourn hasn’t been overly productive on the season overall in Arizona, but he’s had some productive stretches and has been swinging a hot bat as of late. The speedster is hitting .261/.307/.362 in 389 plate appearances with Arizona this season, but his .313/.345/.434 slash and five stolen bases over his past 20 games are more encouraging than his cumulative season stats.

With rosters set to expand tomorrow, Bourn will give the O’s a late-inning option to bring some speed off the bench and perhaps to upgrade the outfield defense over Mark Trumbo or Hyun Soo Kim, neither of whom grades out anywhere close to average with the glove. At 33 years of age and with a recent history of hamstring issues, Bourn isn’t the premium defender and elite baserunner that he once was, but he’s nonetheless graded out as roughly average in center field, per Ultimate Zone Rating, and four runs above average in the eyes of Defensive Runs Saved. As such, he should be a sizable upgrade in terms of run prevention if and when manager Buck Showalter inserts him into the mix late in games with slim leads.

Heinrich, 20, was the Orioles’ fifth-round pick in the 2015 draft. The Florida high school product and Alaska native has spent the season with Baltimore’s Low-A affiliate, batting .231/.301/.347 in 163 plate appearances and is a .251/.331/.365 hitter in a total of 341 plate appearances since being drafted last year. Heading into last year’s draft, Baseball America rated Heinrich as the No. 188 prospect available, writing that the right-handed hitter stood out for his plus raw power to the pull side and impressive bat speed. He profiles as either a right fielder or a first baseman in the long term, per BA.

FOX’s Ken Rosenthal first reported earlier this afternoon that the Orioles were trying to acquire Bourn, while USA Today’s Bob Nightengale called the deal close and FanRag’s Jon Heyman said the two sides had a principle agreement with only final details to be worked out.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Indians Acquire Coco Crisp

By Jeff Todd | August 31, 2016 at 2:25pm CDT

2:43pm: In total, the Indians will pay around $500K of the tab for Crisp, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets.

2:15pm: Cleveland will receive $1,673,497 in cash from Oakland in the deal, per Tom Withers of the Associated Press (via Twitter). By my count, Crisp has just under $2MM remaining in salary the rest of the way, so clearly the bulk will be retained by the A’s. It isn’t clear who is on the hook for a $750K buyout of next year’s $13MM option.

10:33am: The Indians and Athletics have announced a deal that sends veteran outfielder Coco Crisp to Cleveland in exchange for lefty Colt Hynes. MLBTR’s Steve Adams first reported that a deal was nearing and that Crisp had waived his no-trade protection (Twitter links), and John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group reported that the swap was finalized.

Crisp is a 36-year-old, switch-hitting outfielder who is set to hit the open market after the season — assuming that he doesn’t reach the 550 plate appearances or 130 games played that he’d need for his $13MM option to vest. Odds are, that won’t occur at this stage, particularly since Crisp is likely ticketed for part-time duty in his new home.

Though he understandably isn’t playing at his career-best levels, Crisp has managed to put up just-below-average overall offensive production with a .234/.299/.399 slash and 11 home runs over 434 plate appearances. Defensive metrics no longer view him as a plausible option in center, but Defensive Runs Saved credited him with average glovework in left this season.

As has long been the case, and as a glance at Cleveland’s current depth chart shows, the organization has made do thus far with a somewhat surprising mix of players in the outfield. Lonnie Chisenhall, Tyler Naquin, Abraham Almonte, Rajai Davis, Brandon Guyer, and Michael Martinez are all on hand as options, though one wonders whether the switch-hitting Martinez would lose his roster spot if Crisp is brought in.

Covering for the loss of Michael Brantley hasn’t been easy, but that group has rather remarkably combined to post the third-highest fWAR tally of any outfield in the game. Crisp will deepen the mix down the stretch and potentially provide another bat in the postseason.

For the A’s, facilitating a playoff run for a veteran while freeing up playing time for younger players appear to have been the primary considerations. The 31-year-old Hynes has been a popular waiver wire target at times, but still has only limited time in the majors. He is carrying 9.9 K/9 against just 1.7 BB/9 this year over 47 1/3 minor league frames, but he didn’t impress enough to receive a call-up from either the Blue Jays or the Indians.

The move represents something of a homecoming for Crisp, who began his major league career in Cleveland way back in 2002. From there, he moved on to the Red Sox, where he played under current Indians skipper Terry Francona, and stopped with the Royals before moving on to Oakland, where he has been since 2010. He is currently playing out the tail end of an extension he signed with the A’s in the spring of 2014.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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