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Wade Davis Placed On Disabled List

By Steve Adams | July 31, 2016 at 11:45am CDT

JULY 31: The Royals announced that Davis has been placed back on the 15-day disabled list with a flexor strain in his right arm. The move is retroactive to July 27, and no timeline has been issued on Davis’ recovery. Lefty Matt Strahm is coming up from Double-A to take his roster spot.

[Related: Updated Kansas City Royals Depth Chart]

JULY 30: Royals closer Wade Davis is flying back to Kansas City to undergo an MRI on his right elbow, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets that the MRI is to examine Davis’ forearm, though regardless of the specific portion of the arm that is being checked out, the test is still an ominous bit of news out of Kansas City. Casey Jones first tweeted that Davis was flying back to K.C. for an examination.

Davis, 30, has seen his name pop up frequently in trade rumors over the past week as the Royals have reportedly begun to consider selling veteran pieces prior to Monday’s non-waiver trade deadline. The uncertainty around his elbow now, however, would seem to all but eliminate the already minimal chances of Davis being moved. Even if the MRI yields positive results, it’d be difficult for a club to meet Kansas City’s exceptionally high asking price just a day or two after the MRI.

Reports over the past week have suggested that the Royals sought names like Lucas Giolito from the Nationals in trade talks or hoped to package Ian Kennedy and the remaining $62.5MM on his contract with Davis in trade talks. That would indicate a daunting asking price even if Davis were healthy and in top form on the mound, but now it looks that neither of those is the case. While Davis has a terrific 1.60 ERA and 21 saves on the season, he’s averaging just 8.6 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 after averaging 12.1 K/0 and 2.8 BB/9 from 2014-15 with Kansas City. His velocity, while still a strong 94.9 mph, is down a full mile per hour from last season as well.

Davis spent two weeks on the disabled list with a forearm strain earlier this month, making the news of an MRI all the more troubling for the Royals. The two-time All-Star, who has a 1.09 ERA in 173 regular season innings out of the Royals’ bullpen since 2014, is earning $8MM this year and has a $10MM club option for the 2017 season.

Jonathan Lucroy Exercises No-Trade Clause, Vetoes Deal To Indians

By Steve Adams | July 31, 2016 at 11:25am CDT

11:25am: Hoynes reports that the Indians weren’t planning on cutting Lucroy’s playing time in 2017. Hoynes’ source indicated to him that the club wouldn’t have been willing to part with the level of talent it had agreed to without having every intention of allowing Lucroy to start behind the plate (links to Twitter).

10:35am: Brewers GM David Stearns tells reporters that Lucroy talks with the Indians are “totally dead” (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy), while Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets that the Indians are no longer negotiating with Lucroy.

10:29am: Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reports (via Twitter) that Lucroy asked the Indians to void his 2017 club option in order to hit the open market at the end of the season in order to approve the deal (Twitter link). Understandably, Cleveland was in no way willing to meet that request, as the option is a significant factor in Lucroy’s value to the club. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, meanwhile reports that the Indians weren’t promising Lucroy that he’d be their starting catcher in 2017, which gave him pause in approving the deal. Cleveland planned to rotate Lucroy between catcher, first base and DH in 2017.

10:15am: ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets that the efforts to convince Lucroy to approve the trade will continue, so the book on the proposed trade may not be fully closed just yet. Lucroy, it should be noted, is on one of the most team-friendly contracts in Major League Baseball, and teams will often utilize financial incentives to convince players to waive no-trade clauses. An extension or at least a restructuring of his 2017 salary ($5.25MM) could make sense, though that’s simply speculation on my behalf.

9:58am: Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that Jonathan Lucroy has exercised his no-trade clause and vetoed a trade that would have sent him to the Indians in exchange for four prospects (Twitter link).

It was reported last night that the Brewers and Indians had agreed to a trade sending Lucroy to Cleveland in exchange for four minor leaguers: catcher Francisco Mejia, shortstop Yu-Cheng Chang, outfielder Greg Allen and right-hander Shawn Armstrong. However, despite repeated statements about his desire to play for a contending club, Lucroy has chosen not to play for the Indians, who were one of the eight teams to which he could veto a trade under his contract’s limited no-trade provision.

Of course, the fact that Lucroy didn’t approve this trade doesn’t ensure that he’ll be remaining with Milwaukee. There are 21 teams to which Lucroy cannot block a deal, and two of those clubs — the Rangers and Mets — have both been linked to him frequently within the past week. For the time being, however, Lucroy will remain with the only organization he’s ever known, as GM David Stearns and his staff determine the next-best course of action.

If Cleveland still wants to acquire another catcher, there’s not shortage of available options. Division-rival Kurt Suzuki of the Twins figures to be available and is in the midst of a strong offensive season, while the Padres’ Derek Norris is also widely known to be available. Neither represents the upgrade that Lucroy would have to the Cleveland roster, but considering the dearth of production from incumbent options Yan Gomes (who is now injured), Chris Gimenez and Roberto Perez, a catching acquisition still seems like it would be prudent for the Indians, who are in clear go-for-it mode after acquiring Andrew Miller this morning.

Yankees Acquire Tyler Clippard

By Steve Adams | July 31, 2016 at 10:50am CDT

10:50am: The Diamondbacks have announced the trade — a one-for-one swap of Clippard and Campos.

10:19am: The D-backs are receiving right-hander Vicente Campos from the Yankees in the trade, reports MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert (via Twitter).

9:29am: The Yankees have reached a deal to acquire right-hander Tyler Clippard from the D-backs, reports FanRag’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). The Clippard acquisition signals that in spite of this morning’s stunning trade of Andrew Miller to Cleveland, the Yankees aren’t waving a white flag on the 2016 season just yet. Joel Sherman of the New York Post was first to report that the Yankees were looking for veteran bullpen help even after moving Miller (Twitter link).

[Related: Updated Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees Depth Charts]

Clippard, 31, is in his first season with the D-backs after signing a two-year, $12.25MM contract, so the Yankees will control him for this season and next. He’s pitched to a 4.30 ERA this season, averaging 11.0 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9 in 37 2/3 innings with Arizona. Clippard is an extreme fly-ball pitcher (though he did reduce his fly-ball rate to a career-low 45.9 percent in 2016), which unsurprisingly didn’t mesh well with Arizona’s homer-happy stadium. The seven homers already allowed by Clippard in 2016 are just four shy of his career-high 11, and and his 1.7 HR/9 and 17.1 percent homer-to-flyball ratio are both the highest of his career. In that sense, shifting to Yankee Stadium and its short right-field porch might continue to cause problems for Clippard.

However, Clippard has a long track record of success, having pitched to a 2.68 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 524 1/3 innings from 2009-15. There were some red flags in his 2015 campaign — namely his K/BB ratios going in the wrong direction and his velocity dipping — but Clippard’s track record made him appealing to a number of clubs this winter and likely to the Yankees in this instance. It presumably helped that the Yankee front office is already familiar with Clippard, having originally drafted him back in 2003 before trading him to the Nationals several years later.

In Campos, the D-backs will receive a 24-year-old righty that reached Triple-A for the first time this season and is in the midst of a strong overall year. Campos, originally acquired by the Yankees in the Michael Pineda/Jesus Montero swap, has a 3.20 ERA with 7.8 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 121 innings across three levels this season. MLB.com ranked him 14th among Yankees farmhands on their midseason update of the team’s farm system, noting that he has three potentially above-average offerings but also serious concerns about his durability. The 121 innings Campos has thrown already represent a career-high, and it’s possible that he could head to the bullpen eventually if he cannot prove capable of handling a full workload in the rotation. He has mid-rotation upside but could end up as a power arm in the bullpen when all is said and done.

Cardinals Acquire Zach Duke

By Steve Adams | July 31, 2016 at 9:38am CDT

The Cardinals announced that they have acquired left-handed reliever Zach Duke from the White Sox in exchange for minor league outfielder Charlie Tilson.

[Related: Updated Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals Depth Charts]

Duke, 33, is pitching well in the second season of a three-year, $15MM contract signed with the White Sox prior to the 2015 campaign. He currently leads the American League with 53 relief appearances, though he’s clearly been deployed in a largely specialized role, as he’s totaled just 37 2/3 innings in those 53 contests. Duke has posted a 2.63 ERA with 10.0 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9 and a 58.8 percent ground-ball rate. While Duke has been used in left-on-left matchups with great frequency, he’s held right-handed opponents in check this season (albeit with the help of a .238 BABIP). He’ll give the Cardinals some needed bullpen depth and join Tyler Lyons and Kevin Siegrist as a third left-handed option for manager Mike Matheny.

Duke is earning $5MM this season — of which about $1.78MM remains — and is owed $5.5MM for the 2017 season as well. Cardinals fans may recall Duke from his days with the Pirates, but he reinvented himself as a reliever with the Brewers in 2014 and parlayed a brilliant season with Milwaukee into his current contract. Since that 2014 breakout, Duke has a 2.87 ERA with 10.4 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a 57.2 percent ground-ball rate.

Tilson, meanwhile, ranked 10th among Cardinals prospects on Baseball America’s midseason update of the organization’s top prospects and 12th on MLB.com’s version of the Cards’ top 30. BA writes that he has some of the best speed in the organization and strong contact skills but bottom-of-the-scale power. MLB.com agrees, noting that he’s selective at the plate, can bunt for hits and is capable of hitting to all fields but lacks pop. Tilson has the speed and range to play center field, and both reports indicate that he can be at least a fourth outfielder in the Majors, if not an everyday player whose game is geared toward speed, contact and defense.

Indians Acquire Andrew Miller

By Steve Adams | July 31, 2016 at 8:50am CDT

The Indians have dramatically fortified their bullpen as they look to further pad their lead on the American League Central, announcing on Sunday morning the acquisition of left-hander Andrew Miller from the Yankees in exchange for outfield prospect Clint Frazier, minor league left-hander Justus Sheffield and minor league right-handers Ben Heller and J.P. Feyereisen.

[Related: Updated Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees Depth Charts]

Miller, 31, has been one of baseball’s most dominant relievers for the third year in a row, but the 2016 season has been arguably his best. He’s pitched to a lights-out 1.39 ERA with a 77-t0-7 K/BB ratio and a 52.9 percent ground-ball rate in 45 1/3 innings. He’s earning $9MM this season and in each of the next two to come — a highly reasonable price for a pitcher that has shown his level of dominance late in games. That he’s controllable for another two campaigns beyond 2016 undoubtedly made this deal more palatable for the Indians, who have a deep enough farm system to make this move without gutting their entire pipeline of prospects. However, the price that looks to have been paid is unequivocally steep, as Frazier is widely regarded as one of the top 25 or so best prospects in the game, and Sheffield has worked his way onto a number of top 100 rankings as well.

While future iterations of the Indians may suffer down the line if Frazier and Sheffield reach their ceilings, Cleveland holds a 4.5 game lead over the American League Central division and has definitively announced itself to be in win-now mode. Cleveland reportedly had an agreement in place with the Brewers to acquire Jonathan Lucroy, but that move was blown up when Lucroy exercised his no-trade clause to nix the deal. Whether or not the Indians can pull off another major acquisition, they have filled one clear need on their roster with a top-of-the-market upgrade as they push to capture their first World Series title since 1948.

The Yankees, meanwhile, have seemingly become reluctant deadline sellers, now trading two-thirds of what was one of the most dominant late-inning trios Major League history. Dellin Betances will step into the ninth inning for the Yankees, who have parlayed their investments in Miller and Chapman into a slew of intriguing prospects. The Yankees’ farm system is now teeming with top-tier talent, positioning them well for the future either by allowing them to develop a number of core young players or put together a package for controllable, impact talent at the Major League level.

Frazier, 21, is one of the game’s most highly touted outfield prospects and draws rave reviews for his exceptional bat speed. He was recently promoted to Triple-A after hitting .276/.356/.469 with 13 homers and 13 steals in 391 plate appearances against much older competition at Double-A Akron. He rated 21st on Baseball America’s midseason list of the game’s top 100 prospects, 24th on MLB.com’s same version of that list, 26th on Baseball Prospectus’ midseason top 50 and 34th on Keith Law’s midseason top 50 at ESPN.com. He’s playing center field right now, but he may have to eventually move to a corner spot, where his bat will still play. Frazier draws positive reviews for his plus raw power and improving plate discipline. His walk and strikeout rates have improved significantly since his debut in pro ball, and given the fact that he’s already in Triple-A, he could be an option for the Yankees as soon as next season if his development doesn’t stall at the top minor league level.

Sheffield, 20, is currently holding his own against much older competition in the Class-A Advanced Carolina League. He’s worked to a 3.59 ERA with 8.8 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9 with a 45 percent ground-ball rate in 19 starts this season, spanning a total of 95 1/3 innings. Cleveland selected Sheffield with the 31st overall pick in the 2014 draft, and he currently rates 69th on BA’s midseason top 100 and 95th on MLB.com’s version of the list. Sheffield’s fastball has some sink to it and sits in the 92-93 mph range, occasionally reaching as high as 96 mph, per MLB.com. He’s a bit undersized at 5’10”, but most scouting reports on Sheffield peg him as a potential mid-rotation starter with a potentially plus curveball and a developing changeup.

Both Heller and Feyereisen could help the Yankees’ bullpen in the near future, tweets MLB.com’s Jim Callis. Heller rated as the Indians’ No. 30 prospect, per Callis and colleague Jonathan Mayo, He’s currently pitching at Triple-A after posting a dazzling 0.55 ERA with 12.7 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 16 1/3 Double-A innings to open the season. The 24-year-old Heller has had continued success since moving up a level, logging a 2.49 ERA with a 25-to-7 K/BB ratio in 25 1/3 innings. Heller’s fastball sits in the upper 90s and can touch 100 mph, and his slider draws above-average reviews from Callis and Mayo. The 23-year-old Feyereisen is currently pitching in Double-A, where he’s compiled a 2.23 ERA with a 56-to-20 K/BB ratio in 40 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. Though he’s averaged 4.5 walks per nine innings this season, control hasn’t been a major issue for him in past seasons.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported that Miller had been traded to Cleveland (Twitter link). ESPN’s Buster Olney reported that Frazier, Sheffield and two others were in the deal (links to Twitter). FanRag’s Jon Heyman reported the inclusion of Heller and Feyereisen (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Padres To Designate Hector Olivera For Assignment

By Steve Adams | July 30, 2016 at 9:39pm CDT

The Padres will immediately designate infielder/outfielder Hector Olivera upon his activation from a suspension on Aug. 2, tweets Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. He had just been acquired from the Braves in exchange for Matt Kemp.

The news will sound bizarre to those unfamiliar with the situation or the contract statuses of either player, but the trade essentially boils down to a financial tactic for the Padres, who will save $25.5MM in the deal. San Diego owed Kemp $64.5MM from 2017-19 ($10.5MM of which was coming from the Dodgers via the trade in which they initially acquired Kemp), whereas Olivera is owed $28.5MM from 2017-20. Olivera is currently serving an 82-game suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy after being arrested and charged with assault of a woman at a Washington D.C.-area hotel back in April. Understandably, neither the Braves nor Padres wanted any part of Olivera , who hasn’t produced at the plate in either the minors or Majors since signing a six-year deal with the Dodgers in 2015 and also comes with a very poor defensive reputation.

San Diego has been rapidly trimming its payroll over the past nine months, shipping out expensive veterans Craig Kimbrel, Melvin Upton Jr., Fernando Rodney and Andrew Cashner in an effort to not only shed payroll but to aggressively accumulate minor league talent. Much of the Padres’ financial savings have been immediately redirected to international free agency, where they’ve been the most active and highest-spending team on the 2016-17 international free agent market. Most notably, the Padres have signed 17-year-old Cuban left-hander Adrian Morejon to an $11MM bonus and 19-year-old Cuban outfielder Jorge Ona to a $9MM bonus (each of which comes with a 100 percent luxury tax because the team has shattered its league-allotted spending pool).

The series of moves represents a significant change in course from a Padres front office that was one of the most aggressive buyers of the 2014-15 offseason. A season and a half of dismal play from the Friars has pushed the team into rebuild mode, and further moves should be expected in advance of Monday afternoon’s non-waiver trade deadline. Derek Norris stands out as perhaps the likeliest remaining Padre to be traded.

Padres, Braves Swap Matt Kemp, Hector Olivera

By Steve Adams | July 30, 2016 at 9:02pm CDT

The Braves and Padres have agreed to a swap of bad contracts, announcing a trade of Hector Olivera from Atlanta to San Diego in exchange for Matt Kemp and cash considerations (which reportedly total $10.5MM). If there was any question about this being a purely financial move from the Padres’ vantage point, that was answered with the news that Olivera will be immediately designated Olivera for assignment once his suspension is complete.

[Related: Updated San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves Depth Charts]

The 31-year-old Kemp is owed $21.5MM in each of the next three seasons. The Padres had been slated to pay $18MM of that annually, with the Dodgers kicking in $3.5MM per year. That $3.5MM from the Dodgers will now reportedly be redirected to the Braves. Atlanta already owed Olivera $28.5MM from 2017-19, so the trade effectively amounts to the Braves adding Kemp for an additional $25.5MM over three years — an annual rate of $8.5MM.

A Kemp trade has long been difficult to imagine, as his considerable power is largely negated by his poor defense and his difficulty getting on base. Though he’s clubbed 24 homers this season, Kemp is hitting .262/.285/.489 overall, which translates to just a few ticks above the league-average batting line, per park-adjusted metrics like OPS+ and wRC+. However, while Olivera is owed less money than Kemp, his recent off-field issues look to have motivated the Braves to rid themselves of him before he ever has the opportunity to play another game in their uniform.

Olivera is currently serving a suspension through Aug. 1 under MLB’s domestic violence policy after being arrested and charged with assault of a woman at a Washington D.C.-area hotel back in early April. He’s the third player this season to serve a suspension under the newly implemented policy and has received the strongest punishment of the three. The Braves’ acquisition of Olivera has been ill-fated from the start, as defensive questions at third base quickly forced him into left field, and he’s yet to produce the plate whatsoever in an Atlanta uniform. The 31-year-old has tallied 108 plate appearances in the Majors, but the resulting .245/.296/.378 slash is considerably below the league average, and he hasn’t been productive in his limited minor league time, either. Olivera is owed $28.5MM from 2017-20.

From the Padres’ perspective, the deal is entirely about shedding some of the remaining money on Kemp’s contract and, presumably, clearing a spot for slugging corner outfield prospect Hunter Renfroe to debut with the big league club, whether it’s now or later on in the summer. (Renfroe, 24, was San Diego’s first-round pick in 2013 and has slashed a combined .323/.351/.594 in 121 games at the Triple-A level.) The trade that brought Kemp to San Diego in exchange for Yasmani Grandal, Joe Wieland and Zach Eflin was a head-scratcher at the time and has proven to be a bust for the Padres, but they’ll avoid paying everything that was left on Kemp’s contract with this trade, which continues GM A.J. Preller’s quest to shed payroll and give an opportunity to younger players.

As for the Braves, they’ll accept a portion of Kemp’s contract as a means of getting out from underneath a similarly regrettable trade. One year ago to the day, Atlanta traded Alex Wood, Jose Peraza, Luis Avilan and Jim Johnson to the Dodgers in a three-team deal (also including the Marlins) that sent Olivera, Paco Rodriguez and Zach Bird to the Braves. Atlanta had reportedly coveted Olivera as a free agent but lost out to the Dodgers’ huge offer of $62.5MM. Atlanta had seemingly hoped that Olivera could become a long-term option at third base, but things certainly haven’t panned out that way. GM John Coppolella candidly called the Olivera deal “a bad trade for us and one that I wish we had back” in a Twitter Q&A with fans last month, and he’s at least managed to rid himself of an asset from which the organization very clearly wanted to distance itself.

While Kemp’s defense and OBP will most likely continue to detract from his value, he’ll certainly add some power to a lineup that is currently bereft of home run threats outside of Freddie Freeman. He figures to play left field for the Braves while Mallex Smith is on the shelf, and the possibility of a Nick Markakis deal could open right field for Kemp in the long term. Given Atlanta’s rebuild and stockpiling of young talent, however, it seems reasonable to expect that they may eventually be open to moving Kemp themselves as a means of clearing way for a more youthful option to join Smith and Ender Inciarte in the outfield.

ESPN’s Keith Law first reported that the two sides were approaching a Kemp/Olivera swap (via Twitter). Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that it would be just those two players in the deal. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports added that there were cash considerations in the deal. Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported (on Twitter) that Olivera could be immediately be designated for assignment. David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweeted that an agreement was reached . Bowden tweeted the amount of cash changing hands. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted that the $10.5MM was the same $10.5MM the Padres were to receive from the Dodgers — not an additional $10.5MM.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

D-Backs’ Daniel Hudson Trade Falls Through

By Steve Adams | July 30, 2016 at 8:02pm CDT

July 30: General manager Dave Stewart tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link) that he’s had a deal which he believed to be close to completion before “the tide changed.” MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert tweets that Stewart was referencing the Hudson trade.

July 28: 2:33pm: The D-backs don’t expect to finalize a Hudson swap today but are getting heavy interest from three teams, Nightengale further tweets.

2:28pm: Despite the fact that the Mets have been linked to Hudson on occasion this summer, they’re not the team nearing a deal for him, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that three teams have been “aggressively” pursuing Hudson, though he doesn’t specify which teams.

2:13pm: The Diamondbacks are nearing a trade of right-hander Daniel Hudson, reports MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert (on Twitter). The team with which Arizona is negotiating remains unreported.

Hudson, 29, was a key piece to the D-backs’ bullpen in 2015 — his first season back from his second career Tommy John surgery — posting a 3.86 ERA in 67 2/3 innings with 9.4 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, a 43.2 percent ground-ball rate and a heater that averaged a strong 96.1 mph. However, this season has been a struggle, as he’s logged a 6.08 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in his 37 innings. His ground-ball rate is largely the same, and his heater is down just about a half mile from last year, but Hudson has struggled enormously with men on base, stranding just 52.5 percent of the baserunners he’s allowed/inherited.

All that said, Hudson is still reasonably young with a hard fastball and fairly promising peripherals to go along with a modest $2.7MM salary. He has about $974K of that sum remaining through season’s end, making him an affordable roll of the dice for a club in need of some upside at the back of its bullpen.

Nationals Acquire Mark Melancon

By Jeff Todd | July 30, 2016 at 3:54pm CDT

3:54pm: FanRag’s Jon Heyman reports that the Pirates sent about $500K to the Nationals as part of the deal (Twitter link).

2:00pm: The Nationals officially have struck a deal to acquire Pirates closer Mark Melancon, finally getting the late-inning upgrade they’ve been seeking. Southpaw Felipe Rivero is heading to Pittsburgh in return, with lefty pitching prospect Taylor Hearn rounding out the package.

Washington also gets cash in the deal, per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (via Twitter). Melancon is playing on a $9.65MM salary this year before reaching free agency. As a result of the mid-season move, the righty will not be eligible to receive a qualifying offer, which means he’ll enter the market free and clear of draft compensation.

The Nats have long been connected to the top of the relief market with incumbent Jonathan Papelbon struggling to hold down the ninth. The Nats picked him up this time last year, but while he had at least gotten the job done despite declining peripherals, the results have been bleak of late. While the team chased Aroldis Chapman, it wasn’t willing to meet the high asking price. And the Nats also balked at the apparent requests of a top-tier prospect in exchange for top closers Andrew Miller and Wade Davis — each of whom come with future control.

[Related: Updated Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates Depth Charts]

Melancon, 31, unquestionably constitutes a significant upgrade, though the loss of Rivero means that the team has lost a high-powered lefty from its roster. Still, it’s hard to argue with the decision to plug an established late-inning arm into the mix. The Nats can still turn to another power southpaw in Sammy Solis as well as crafty veteran Oliver Perez. Taking the broader perspective, the club certainly got more than it might have hoped for when it acquired Rivero as part of the early-2014 deal that brought backup catcher Jose Lobaton to D.C. in exchange for righty Nate Karns.

Interestingly, Melancon fits more the profile of Papelbon than of the other arms that D.C. reportedly targeted. He works in the 91 to 92 mph range with his average fastball and carries a swinging strike rate in the low-double digits. But as the now-aging Papelbon once did, Melancon has an increasingly lengthy record of pure excellence. Since coming to Pittsburgh in a seemingly minor trade, he has pitched to a 1.80 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and just 1.5 BB/9 across 260 1/3 innings. It has been more of the same this year, though Melancon’s typically outstanding groundball rate has dipped just below 50%. He currently sports a 1.51 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9, right at his now-established rates.

For the Bucs, it’s surely tough to part with such an integral part of the team with contention still in sights. But the club faces something of an uphill road despite its 52-49 record, with a powerful Cubs team still pacing the division and several other quality clubs angling for a Wild Card berth. After losing two consecutive play-in games, Pittsburgh obviously felt it wasn’t worth passing on this opportunity — particularly since it still figures to have a solid combination of Tony Watson and Neftali Feliz working to close out wins.

After all, Rivero will likely slot right into the Pirates pen, possibly constituting part of the Bucs’ late-inning mix — in the future, if not right away. The 25-year-old has monster stuff, even if his results have been uneven. The Pirates obviously put a high value on him, which is understandable given that he’s controllable through 2021 and is perhaps only just touching his potential. Rivero owns a 4.53 ERA in 49 2/3 innings on the year, but has posted 9.6 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9. If we’re being honest, it’s not out of the question that he could be every bit as good as Melancon right off the bat, though obviously he doesn’t come with anything near the veteran’s track record.

Hearn looks to be something of a younger version of Rivero. The 21-year-old features a huge fastball, but hasn’t yet advanced past the Class A level, where he owns a 3.18 ERA with 12.3 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 over 22 2/3 innings. Hearn was originally drafted by Pittsburgh, then ended up going to the Nats after being taken in the fifth round of last year’s draft.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the deal (links to Twitter), with Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweeting Hearn’s inclusion.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Athletics, Royals Swap Billy Burns, Brett Eibner

By Jeff Todd and Steve Adams | July 30, 2016 at 2:53pm CDT

The Athletics and Royals have announced a swap of outfielders, with the fleet-footed Billy Burns headed to Kansas City in exchange for Brett Eibner. Both were playing at the Triple-A level for their respective teams, but have been in the majors at points earlier in the year.

[Related: Updated Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals Depth Charts]

Burns, 26, brings to Kansas City an elite set of wheels that should play well in the spacious outfield at Kauffman Stadium, and his overall skill set should fit in well with the Royals’ general style of play. Burns boasts an extremely high contact rate and has fanned in just 13 percent of his plate appearances at the Major League level, which is characteristic of the approach the Royals have utilized to great effect in the past two seasons. However, his overall offensive game took a notable step back in his sophomore season. After posting a .294/.334/.392 slash in 555 PAs last season (good for fifth in the AL Rookie of the Year voting, though that award was really a two-horse race), Burns batted just .234/.270/.302 in 292 PAs before being optioned back to Triple-A earlier this summer.

Eibner, 27, has just 85 plate appearances at the Major League level, where he’s batted .231/.286/.429 with three homers and six doubles. He ranked among the Royals top 30 prospects, per Baseball America, in each of the past five offseasons, checking in at No. 17 overall on the two most recent iterations of said list. Though the former second-rounder is older than most would associate with the term “prospect,” he does have an impressive track record in Triple-A, where he’s hit .280/.354/.471 with 37 homers in 961 plate appearances in parts of three seasons. Oakland has been home to no shortage of late bloomers under president of baseball operations Billy Beane, and the hope for Eibner is that he’ll seemingly be the next such success story.

Depending on the Royals’ plans for Burns, he could be controllable through the 2020 or 2021 season. Burns entered the season with one year and 20 days of big league service time, and he picked up an additional 97 days of Major League service before being optioned out earlier this month. He’d need another 55 days of service time in the Majors this year to reach two full years, which would put him on track for free agency following the 2020 season. However, if the Royals view him as more of a September call-up for the expansion of Major League rosters, Burns will fall shy and won’t be eligible until following the 2021 campaign. Eibner, meanwhile, is controllable through the 2022 seeason.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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