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Nick Tropeano Diagnosed With UCL Tear; Tommy John Surgery Likely

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Angels right-hander Nick Tropeano has been diagnosed with a medium- to high-grade tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, the team informed reporters (Twitter link via Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times). While he’s headed for a second opinion, Tommy John surgery is the likely outcome. While he could potentially aim for the same stem-cell treatment that teammates Andrew Heaney and Garrett Richards have utilized — Heaney has been ticketed for Tommy John surgery in spite of said alternative — MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez notes (links to Twitter) that doing so would mean that Tropeano’s recovery would linger well into the 2018 season if he attempts the treatment and ultimately finds it unsuccessful.

[Related: Updated Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Depth Chart]

For the Angels, the highly likely loss of Tropeano adds to what has been a nearly unprecedented deluge of pitching injuries. The Halos have now lost Richards, Heaney and Tropeano to UCL tears, while left-hander C.J. Wilson will not pitch this season due to shoulder surgery. Further complicating matters for the Halos has been Jered Weaver’s significant dip in velocity, as the former ace has limped to a 5.02 ERA in 107 2/3 innings this season with a fastball that sits in the 82-83 mph range. Left-hander Tyler Skaggs has yet to pitch at the big league level this season due to setbacks in the recovery from his own Tommy John surgery (in late 2014), though he’s said to be nearing a return to the big league rotation at long last.

The Angels were already clearly out of the picture in the American League West and in the AL Wild Card race, but the loss of so many arms with injuries that will cost them some or all of the 2017 season calls into question how willingly they can part with potential trade chips like Hector Santiago and Matt Shoemaker. Anaheim’s farm system has been largely depleted by trades and the forfeiture of high draft picks to sign free agents, and the team has very little in the pipeline that is on the immediate horizon. If the club is able to acquire some near-term rotation options in trades for either of those arms or for potential trade chips like Yunel Escobar and Huston Street, it’d be a major boon to the system. However, as it stands, the club’s rotation consists of Weaver, Shoemaker, Santiago and the struggling Tim Lincecum, with Skaggs, Jhoulys Chacin and prospect Nate Smith serving as possible alternatives.

While the Angels have seen their share of struggles out of the rotation this season, Tropeano had been a bright spot, logging a 3.56 ERA with 9.0 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 and a 33.3 percent ground-ball rate in 68 1/3 innings. Acquired from the Astros alongside Carlos Perez (in exchange for catcher Hank Conger), Tropeano is under control through the 2021 season, so even if Tommy John surgery is the ultimate outcome, the 25-year-old will have plenty of time to contribute to future Angels’ pitching staffs down the line.

Latest On Clayton Kershaw’s Injury

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Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw “didn’t feel great” on Sunday following a 60-pitch simulated game on Saturday, tweets Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times. Kershaw will be shut down until his back pain subsides, manager Dave Roberts told the L.A. media, and his return to the Dodgers’ rotation is “uncertain.” Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets that Kershaw hasn’t picked up a ball since Saturday and will have his back re-examined in the next day or two.

Suffice it to say, that’s not the type of update the Dodgers were hoping to provide following Kershaw’s most recent throwing session. His uncertain timeline further compounds the depleted starting pitching depth for a Dodgers club that was forced to place Hyun-jin Ryu back on the disabled list earlier today with soreness in his left elbow. With Kershaw’s apparent setback and Ryu back on the disabled list, the Dodgers will once again turn to Julio Urias, tweets McCullough, who notes that Bud Norris will make the start for the Dodgers tomorrow with Urias going on Thursday.

The Dodgers, then, will have a rotation consisting of Norris, Urias, Brandon McCarthy, Scott Kazmir and Kenta Maeda for the time being. Names like Brock Stewart, Mike Bolsinger, Carlos Frias and Ross Stripling await as depth at the minor league level, with Brett Anderson and Alex Wood looming as eventual possibilities on the Major League disabled list. However, the Dodgers have also been connected to Rays starters Jake Odorizzi, Matt Moore and Chris Archer in recent weeks (each of whom president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman knows well from his days as GM of the Rays) and has also been linked to Rich Hill this week. While there’s no reason yet to get overly speculative about Kershaw’s injury status, one has to imagine that any further bad news from his upcoming examination would only hasten Friedman and his staff’s efforts to add to the team’s rotation picture.

Rangers Receiving Heavy Interest In Jurickson Profar

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The Rangers are receiving a “ton of calls” expressing interest in infielder Jurickson Profar, according to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan. Texas appears to be weighing whether it truly wants to part with the 23-year-old, but Sullivan hints that it’s at least a possibility in the right scenario.

Among the suitors, the Rays appear to stand out with interest. Tampa Bay has several potential starting pitching trade pieces that could be a fit, though Sullivan suggests that the Rangers may not value pitchers like Jake Odorizzi, Matt Moore, and Drew Smyly highly enough to give up Profar.

Rotation help continues to stand out as the biggest need for Texas, though as Sullivan notes it’s also possible to imagine Profar being packaged in a deal for a catcher. That might be Jonathan Lucroy, he says, or perhaps an alternative backstop who matches Profar in terms of control and upside — though it isn’t easy to come up with any clear examples of such a player who might be available.

The real question underlying the decision for the Rangers, perhaps, is how to value Profar — both in general and with regard to roster fit. He only has three more years of control left, all via arbitration, because his prior injuries occurred when he was on the major league roster. And the team does have big-dollar shortstop Elvis Andrus around for the foreseeable future.

Still, it’s possible that Texas could view Profar as worthy of handling regular shortstop duties as soon as 2016, per the report. In that case, Andrus would likely move into the sort of utility role that Profar currently fills.

The Rangers have several other plausible trade pieces that it could utilize instead of Profar. Chief among them, perhaps, is slugger Joey Gallo. Like Profar, he seems ready to contribute at the major league level, but has veterans ahead of him on the depth chart. And similarly, he could be viewed as somewhat expendable — with Adrian Beltre now locked up at third base for another two years — or as an important future piece, given that he could step in at first base with Mitch Moreland departing.

What seems most clear from the report is that Texas won’t be moving Profar for anything short of a high-quality asset. That’s plenty understandable given his top-flight pedigree and .318/.366/.455 batting line in 142 plate appearances this year. The long-term health of his shoulder remains a concern, and the relatively short timeline of control limits his upside, but the Rangers surely have little reason to deal him if they aren’t able to get an impact player in return.

Twins Fire Terry Ryan

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The Twins announced today that they have relieved general manager Terry Ryan of his duties. Longtime assistant GM Rob Antony will act as the team’s new general manager on an interim basis. Unlike many teams the dismiss their GM midseason, the Twins will not delay their search for a new general manager until the offseason and are expected to begin considering candidates in the coming weeks, reports Jon Morosi of FOX Sports and MLB.com (via Twitter).

“Since joining our organization as a player in 1972, Terry has been a dedicated, loyal and respected member of the Minnesota Twins family,” said Twins owner Jim Pohlad in a statement. “Terry has been a gifted leader of the baseball department for over eighteen seasons. It is impossible to overstate his contribution to our game, our team and the Upper Midwest baseball community. The decision to part with Terry was difficult, painful and not obvious. We are extremely grateful and very thankful to Terry, his wife Karilyn, and their family for being a part of the Minnesota Twins.”

Ryan has spent two separate stints as the Twins’ general manager, first from 1994 through 2007 and once again from 2011 through present day. Longtime Ryan lieutenant Bill Smith was Minnesota’s GM between Ryan’s two stints, though the Twins’ tailspin into their current status as AL Central bottom-dwellers began under Smith, prompting the club to replace him with Ryan. Trades of Wilson Ramos and J.J. Hardy as well as the ill-fated signing of Tsuyoshi Nishioka under Smith set the club back, and while Ryan did well to rebuild a farm system that has received plenty of national acclaim, the Twins have seen few of those farmhands convert into difference-making talent at the big league level. Moreover, the Twins have simply performed as one of the worst teams in baseball over the past half-decade under Ryan’s watch, and while his defenders can point to a bolstered farm system, the Twins had no shortage of missteps in terms of free-agent signings and trades for big league talent under Ryan’s watch.

The signing of Ricky Nolasco, to this point, hasn’t worked out in the least, and the three-year extension of Phil Hughes on the heels of his breakout 2014 campaign looks questionable with the benefit of hindsight. Injuries, of course, have played a role in each of those now ill-fated contracts, though the Nolasco deal in particular seemed to come with limited upside even at the time of the signing. The three years that Mike Pelfrey spent in a Twins uniform produced little to no on-field value, and the decision to re-sign him to a two-year deal following a woeful debut campaign was questioned by many. Minnesota also inked Ervin Santana to a four-year, $55MM contract under Ryan, and while he’s performed reasonably well when on the field — Santana served an 80-game PED suspension before ever throwing a regular-season pitch in a Twins uniform — the Twins already had a host of mid-rotation arms at that point.

On the trade front, swapping three years of Denard Span for Alex Meyer hasn’t paid off (though, again, Meyer’s balky shoulder has largely contributed to that disappointment), and the additions of Vance Worley and Trevor May in exchange for Ben Revere haven’t yielded much big league value for the Twins outside of a solid 2015 campaign for May. The Kevin Jepsen pickup panned out well in 2015, but Jepsen has struggled all season in 2016 and was recently released by Minnesota.

All that said, Ryan was a significant factor in the Twins’ rise to prominence in the early to mid-2000s. Faced with minimal payrolls and an unflattering home venue that made it difficult to use the limited resources he had to lure free agents to Minnesota, Ryan and his staff were able to bring the Twins from the brink of contraction to perennial contender in the American League Central. Ryan remained loyal to Minnesota even in the face of contraction, turning away the opportunity to join the Blue Jays due to his longstanding place within the Twins organization. Those in the media and in the industry persistently offer nothing but the utmost praise and respect for the longtime executive. The Twins’ 2000s core of Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Torii Hunter and Michael Cuddyer were all success stories from the draft, and the club’s Rule 5 pickup of Johan Santana will go down as one of the best in history. Ryan’s trade of A.J. Pierzynski for Francisco Liriano, Joe Nathan and Boof Bonser is to this day lauded as one of the more lopsided swaps in recent memory.

History aside, the 2016 Twins are considered one of the most, if not the single most disappointing team in baseball, having gone from an 83-win club that looked to be headed in the right direction to a last-place team that is on pace for fewer than 60 wins and has seen rising young talent like Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario, and Kyle Gibson all perform considerably below expectation. With Ryan out of the picture and former manager Ron Gardenhire swapped out for Minnesota native Paul Molitor, the Twins have moved on from one of the longest-tenured leadership pairings in all of Major League Baseball.

The question, then, is whether the Twins will continue their traditional trend of promoting from within the organization or look to move in another direction entirely in the front office. The Twins are regarded as a largely traditional club, typically eschewing more modern statistical analysis in favor of traditional scouting tactics. That’s not to say that the club has no analytics department in place whatsoever, of course, but it’ll be interesting to see if the club follows the path of organizations such as the Brewers and Phillies — who hired young, analytically inclined execs David Stearns and Matt Klentak — or mirror an organization like the D-backs, which replaced an “old-school” GM (Kevin Towers) for a similarly traditional blend of executives (Tony La Russa, Dave Stewart).

Shifting from a more long-term outlook to a short-term lens, the decision to part with Ryan will task Antony, special assistant Wayne Krvisky (formerly the Reds’ GM) and vice president of player personnel Mike Radcliff with navigating the team’s trades in the coming two weeks. Ryan has previously said that he felt it necessary to be open to listening on any player, and given Minnesota’s standing, it’d be a surprise if the remaining decision-makers employed a different approach to the non-waiver deadline. Players like Santana, Eduardo Nunez, Kurt Suzuki, Fernando Abad and Brandon Kintzler each could hold appeal to teams in the hunt for midseason upgrades, as each is performing well and offers limited remaining control for the Twins.

Passan’s Latest: Yanks, Cubs, Hill, Gallo, Ziegler, Shoemaker, Reds

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The latest 10 Degrees column from Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports is rife with trade talks as the non-waiver deadline now sits just two weeks away. Passan begins by dedicating further ink to the oft-discussed Kyle Schwarber, writing that no player in baseball is more appealing to Yankees GM Brian Cashman, but the Cubs remain steadfast in their desire to hold onto him. Passan writes that perhaps if the Yankees were willing to part with both Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman, the Cubs could waver, but the commonly repeated refrain at this point seems to be that Chicago simply isn’t interested in moving Schwarber.

More highlights from Passan’s column, which is well worth a full look-through…

  • The Yankees “are going to trade Chapman” within the next two weeks, Passan definitively notes on more than one occasion. While New York won’t fully tear down the roster, rental players like Chapman and Carlos Beltran figure to draw plenty of attention. Beltran’s poor defense makes him a tough sell to an NL club, but an AL club with a need at DH and some occasional outfield at-bats would significantly boost its lineup by adding Beltran to the mix.
  • The Red Sox, Rangers, Orioles, Blue Jays and Dodgers are all expected to be in the bidding for Athletics ace Rich Hill, as are the Tigers, who have been calling around and asking about rotation upgrades, per Passan. The A’s, however, haven’t been willing to hold any meaningful talks about Sonny Gray, whose stock is at a low point right now in the wake of some highly uncharacteristic struggles. Passan also notes that Josh Reddick is “very unlikely” to reach an extension with Oakland at this juncture, though if the A’s were really only open to a three-year deal even as recently as July 9, I’d contend that it was never really a possibility in the first place.
  • A match between the Rangers and Rays centering around controllable pitching is readily apparent, and some sources have expressed to Passan that they believe the Rangers are willing to part with prized slugger Joey Gallo in order to land a long-term rotation piece. Gallo, of course, is arguably the most powerful prospect in all of Minor League Baseball but doesn’t have a clear long-term fit on the Rangers’ roster now that Adrian Beltre has been extended. He could theoretically be shifted across the diamond to first base or transition to the outfield, though, if the Rangers do hold onto him, so it’s not as though he has nowhere to play on the club in the near future.
  • Clubs that were pursuing Brad Ziegler were stunned by what the D-backs accepted in exchange for him, according to both Passan and Peter Gammons of the MLB Network (links to Twitter). Passan writes that the Indians, Blue Jays and Cubs all expressed interest in Ziegler and were all met with asking prices of Top 100-type or even Top 50-type prospects in return. Arizona, however, acquired a pair of prospects that weren’t nearly that well regarded in return. One NL GM who spoke to Gammons wondered if Dave Dombrowski’s close relationship with Tony La Russa impacted the negotiations.
  • Scouts have raved about Matt Shoemaker since his return from the minors, with one telling Passan that his splitter is the best he’s seen this season. The Angels don’t want to go into a full rebuild and are loath to move controllable pitching, but Shoemaker would draw strong interest.
  • The Reds don’t want to trade Anthony DeSclafani, but the dearth of quality arms on this summer’s trade market and on the upcoming free agent market gives Cincinnati a chance to cash in on what could potentially be a big chip. MLBTR’s Jeff Todd noted as much when examining the trade market for starting pitchers last week.
  • The Indians, Rangers, Nationals, Orioles, Giants and Dodgers have all at least checked in on Reds outfielder Jay Bruce. Passan writes that Cleveland could be the favorite, which seems curious in light of Tyler Naquin’s recent breakout and reports that Michael Brantley is making better progress than expected. If such reports about Brantley are more of a smokescreen from the Cleveland front office than a genuine representation of the star outfielder’s progress, the interest in Bruce would make more sense. If not, it’s tough to see where Bruce would fit in with Naquin, Brantley, Rajai Davis and Jose Ramirez all representing outfield options (to say nothing of Lonnie Chisenhall, who is hitting well but not exactly replicating last season’s eye-popping defensive metrics). Cleveland has been more heavily tied to bullpen help of late, and, from my vantage point, had a greater need behind the plate than in the outfield even before the weekend injury to Yan Gomes.

Astros Sign Yulieski Gurriel

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SUNDAY: Gurriel will become a free agent at the conclusion of his contract, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (Twitter links), even though the infielder will be short of the standard six years of Major League service time.  The Astros (or whichever club controls Gurriel after the 2020 season) can issue him a qualifying offer, provided the QO still exists in the new collective bargaining agreement.

SATURDAY: The Astros have officially announced the deal.

FRIDAY: The Astros have agreed to a five-year, $47.5MM deal with infielder Yulieski Gurriel, Yussef Diaz of PelotaCubanaBlog.com was first to report. The 32-year-old infielder makes for an interesting pre-deadline addition for the streaking Houston franchise.

Whether or not Gurriel will make a major impact in the present season remains to be seen. That’s not due to developmental considerations — he has long been considered a top-flight talent who is more than ready for the majors — so much as the need for preparation. Gurriel hasn’t played competitively since the end of the 2015 season in Cuba’s Serie Nacional.

His most recent performance, though, only heightens the intrigue surrounding his MLB arrival. Long a star in the top Cuban league, Gurriel topped his own standards in a season for the ages. Over 224 plate appearances, he recorded a hit in exactly half of his at-bats, took 38 walks while striking out just three times, and knocked 15 long balls en route to a .874 slugging percentage.

Then, there’s the question of how the ’Stros will deploy Gurriel. The organization already has a superstar combination up the middle, with Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve, which would seem to make Gurriel a fit at third. But highly touted shortstop prospect Alex Bregman is pressing for a call-up, and he too would seemingly command a spot on the left side of the infield.

It’s certainly possible that Bregman will beat Gurriel to the majors, as he is obviously already in mid-season playing form. But if the two both vie for time this year, it seems that Gurriel will be the choice at third, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that Houston sees him fitting at the hot corner. It’s impossible to imagine the Astros dealing Correa or Alture, while Bregman would be untouchable for anything short of a top-end, controllable starter, so there seems to be a bit of a logjam here. Either the youngster or (perhaps more likely) the veteran Cuban could ultimately end up in the corner outfield — whether this year or in the future.

Regardless of how that’s sorted, Houston obviously expects Gurriel to bring not only smooth glovework but also a big bat with him to the majors. Gurriel has spent most of his career knocking around Cuban pitching with a 1.000+ OPS. He did spend some time in Japan, though, which also helps to guide expectations. In 258 plate appearances in the top-level NPB back in 2014, Gurriel slashed .305/.349/.536 with 11 home runs and 40 punch-outs to go with 15 walks. That’s certainly excellent, but it’s not quite the superhuman output that he’s run up in his home nation.

The five-year term of the contract will include the present season, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag Sports (via Twitter). Gurriel is set to earn $3.5MM for that partial campaign, with salaries of $14MM, $12MM, $10MM, and $8MM lined up for the four years to come.

Houston has been in the process of ramping up its payroll after cutting it to the bare minimum in 2013. The club sat at $96.9MM as of Opening Day of this year but will now push past $100MM for the second time in franchise history (back in 2009). But with the league flush with cash, and the Astros turning out a compelling product on the field, that number continues to rise.

Notably, the ’Stros had been committed to less total future spending than they just promised to Gurriel for the 2017-2020 campaigns. Houston was obligated for less than $20MM next year, another $8MM in the following campaign, and only a $500K buyout to Jonathan Singleton for 2019. Even with Gurriel on board, and big arbitration raises lined up for players like Dallas Keuchel, George Springer, Collin McHugh, and Will Harris, the Astros ought to have plenty of payroll flexibility to work with.

Nationals To Promote Reynaldo Lopez

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The Nationals are promoting right-handed pitching prospect Reynaldo Lopez to the majors, reports Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (on Twitter). The 22-year-old could take the mound Tuesday for the Nats, who haven’t announced a starter for that evening’s matchup against the Dodgers.

Lopez, a native of the Dominican Republic, has experienced a meteoric rise since signing with the Nationals for a paltry $17K in 2012. Thanks to his work this year, Lopez climbed to a personal-best 48th in Baseball America’s newly updated Top 100 Prospects list. BA ranked him 92nd after last season, a steep drop from his place (49th) following the 2014 campaign, but Lopez has since tossed 87 1/3 effective innings at the Double-A and Triple-A levels. The bulk of Lopez’s 2016 experience (76 1/3 frames) has come as a member of Double-A Harrisburg, with which he has posted a 3.18 ERA, 11.79 K/9 and 2.95 BB/9.

Lopez complements a mid-90s fastball that can touch triple digits with a powerful, whiff-inducing curveball and a still-developing changeup, per BA (subscription required), which notes that he has dealt with inconsistencies in his delivery and must throw more quality strikes. Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com, meanwhile, don’t consider Lopez one of the sport’s 100 best prospects. The two rank Lopez fifth in the Nationals’ system and laud his three-pitch repertoire, though they also cite concerns with his delivery and strike-throwing abilities. However, while some scouts view Lopez as a long-term major league reliever, Callis and Mayo believe he’s on track to serve as a starter.

In the near term, it seems the flame-throwing Lopez’s best chance to stick in Washington will be out of the bullpen, as MLBTR’s Jason Martinez alluded to Monday in the latest version of his weekly “Knocking Down The Door” feature. The Nats have been on the hunt for relief help, for one, and they have a more-than-capable group of starters with Stephen Strasburg, Max Scherzer, Tanner Roark, Gio Gonzalez and the soon-to-return Joe Ross, who has been on the disabled list since July 3 with shoulder inflammation.

In terms of team control, Lopez will fall short of Super Two status if he remains in the majors for the rest of the season. The most service time he could accumulate in 2016 would be 77 days. Lopez will be eligible for arbitration after the 2019 season and under control through 2022 if he does not return to the minor leagues this year.

MLB Could Reduce Schedule Length

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With the collective bargaining agreement set to expire in December and negotiations for a new CBA underway, officials from Major League Baseball and the players’ union are discussing the length of the regular-season schedule, reports David Lennon of Newsday. Specifically, the idea of streamlining from 162 to 154 games is picking up steam, per Lennon, as it would be less taxing on the players than the current format. The American League previously switched from a 154-game schedule to 162 in 1961, while the National League followed suit in 1962.

Today’s teams have just 21 days off during the 183-day regular season, which Lennon notes has led to complaints from the players because of the grueling travel schedules they face. One reason there are calls for a shorter schedule relate to the league’s stricter performance-enhancing drug testing, according to Lennon. PEDs are tempting to use in part because they help players get through a rigorous schedule, but with tests becoming harder to beat, drugs perhaps aren’t the enticing option they were in the past.

Regardless of the players’ issues with the current setup, cutting the schedule could be unrealistic because of the negative financial consequences likely to accompany it. Teams are unsurprisingly reluctant to sign off on losing revenue from attendance and television ratings. Players would also be in danger of making less money, too, as commissioner Rob Manfred laid out earlier this week.

“There are ways to produce more off days in the schedule. Some of those have very significant economic ramifications that — if in fact we’re going down those roads — those economic ramifications are going to have to be shared by all of the relevant parties,” said Manfred. “You want to work less, usually you get paid less. But we are prepared to discuss the schedule issues and make proposals that are responsive to the ones that we’ve received from the MLBPA.”

The players’ best chance to ensure a lighter schedule and continue to rake in the same salaries would be to convince the league that the quality of performance will rise if they garner more rest, writes Lennon. Indeed, that factors into MLBPA executive director Tony Clark’s argument.

“I don’t agree that there would need to be a discussion about a loss of salary or a rollback of salaries,” commented Clark. “Because if there is a lessening of the games . . . the value of every game goes up as well. I’m not talking about raising ticket prices. What I’m talking about is the idea that if I’m a fan coming to a ballpark, or I’m purchasing a season ticket, I know I’m going to see my guys as a result of x, y, z being done to make improvements to their overall health.”

If the league and the union are ultimately unable to agree to an eight-game reduction, Lennon offers the possibility of a two- or four-game compromise. With no CBA in place yet for next season, a resolution should come soon.

Rangers Interested In Rays’ Starters, Andrew Cashner, Andrew Miller

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12:10pm: Texas would like the Yankees to take on a portion of Miller’s salary in the event of a trade, writes Wilson. Miller is under contract through 2018 at $9MM per year.

11:30am: The Rangers are also in talks with the Padres regarding righty Andrew Cashner, per Sullivan (Twitter link).

11:24am: In addition to Moore, the Rangers and Rays are also discussing Odorizzi and Drew Smyly, but not Chris Archer, tweets TR Sullivan of MLB.com. As for the bullpen, the Rangers are eyeing Yankees relief ace Andrew Miller, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link).

9:04am: Looking to upgrade their rotation and bullpen prior to the Aug. 1 trade deadline, the scuffling Rangers are engaged in trade talks with the Rays, reports Jon Morosi of MLB Network (Twitter links). The clubs have discussed left-handed starter Matt Moore, to whom the Rangers have been connected previously, as well as relievers. Texas was also reportedly interested in Rays right-handed starter Jake Odorizzi as recently as July 5.

While the 54-38 Rangers hold a 4 1/2-game lead in the AL West, they and the second-place Astros have been going in opposite directions lately. Texas has dropped 11 of its last 14, and its rotation is missing righty Colby Lewis and southpaw Derek Holland – both of whom are on the 60-day DL – and has gone without ace Yu Darvish for most of the season. Darvish made his second return of the year Saturday, but the Rangers can’t necessarily count on him to be at full strength.

Even if Darvish and Cole Hamels stay healthy and effective, there are questions about the rest of the Rangers’ starters. A.J. Griffin hasn’t lasted longer than five innings in a start since May 2; Martin Perez has yielded 12 earned runs in 9 2/3 frames over his previous two outings, and his ugly 1.0 K-BB percentage this year ranks second to last among qualified starters; and Kyle Lohse has only made one start in Texas, a five-inning, six-earned run showing on July 9, since signing a minor league deal in May. It’s worth noting that Lohse was woeful as a Brewer last year, logging a 5.85 ERA in 152 1/3 innings.

On paper, Moore would be an upgrade over each of Griffin, Perez and Lohse. Considering the 27-year-old is under control through 2019 via reasonably priced club options, he’d also fit into president and general manager Jon Daniels’ plan to acquire pitching capable of helping the Rangers beyond this season. Moore isn’t without his flaws, though, as the previous Tommy John recipient has recorded somewhat pedestrian numbers this year (4.33 ERA, 7.58 K/9, 2.63 BB/9, 36.9 percent ground-ball rate) through 116 1/3 innings. His velocity is at its highest point since 2013, however, and he’s throwing more strikes and going deeper in games, as FanGraphs’ Jeff Sullivan wrote earlier this month.

In addition to potentially acquiring Moore, the Rangers would also like to bolster their bullpen, which has both the second-worst ERA (5.03) and K-BB percentage (8.9) in the majors – bettering only the Reds’ dreadful group in each category. Among their innings leaders, Sam Dyson, Jake Diekman (who’s on the DL with a finger laceration), Anthony Barnette, Matt Bush and Alex Claudio have fared well this season. Shawn Tolleson and Cesar Ramos have endured miserable years, on the other hand. Rays right-handed swingman Erasmo Ramirez has come up in trade rumors throughout the season, but he hasn’t performed well and it’s unclear if Texas is interested in him.

Blue Jays Extend Justin Smoak

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USATSI_9380505_154513410_lowresThe Blue Jays have announced that they’ve signed first baseman Justin Smoak to a two-year extension for $4.125MM per season, with a $6MM option or a $250K buyout for 2019. The value of the option can increase to $7MM with 950 plate appearances combined in 2017 and 2018, or $8MM with 1,100 plate appearances. Smoak, who is making $3.9MM this season, was scheduled to be eligible for free agency at season’s end. He is a client of the Bledsoe Agency.

[Related: Updated Blue Jays Depth Chart]

The 29-year-old Smoak is batting .234/.333/.402 with nine homers in 246 plate appearances, demonstrating his usual blend of low batting averages, decent power, good plate discipline and average or slightly above average first base defense. That base of skills is hardly overwhelming, and Smoak has posted just 0.1 fWAR for the season and 0.5 for his career.

From that perspective, it’s somewhat surprising that the Jays elected to extend Smoak, even at the modest total price tag of $8.5MM. Still, he could have value for an AL club as a left-handed option at first base and perhaps occasionally at DH, particularly since Smoak was rather young for an impending free agent. The extension also hedges against the possible departures of Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, who are both eligible for free agency this winter. There currently seems to be a gap between what Bautista is asking and what the Jays would like to pay, and Encarnacion appears set on testing the market.

SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (on Twitter) and Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reported details of the structure of the deal. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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