Nationals Release Jonathan Papelbon
The Nationals have officially announced that they’ve released former closer Jonathan Papelbon, making him a free agent. The Nats had initially told Papelbon they intended to designate him for assignment, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post writes (Twitter links). Papelbon instead requested to be released, since the process of being designated for assignment could result in him being in DFA limbo for up to ten days. The Nationals agreed, although they waited for much of the day Saturday to make the move official. Papelbon’s release clears space for Reynaldo Lopez, who will start tonight against the Braves.
The 35-year-old Papelbon has had a hard time this year, with a 4.37 ERA, 8.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 35 innings, and his struggles had deepened recently — he allowed a total of nine runs in his last five outings, and he hadn’t pitched in a week. Those struggles coincided with the Nats’ recent addition of Mark Melancon to replace him at closer, and Melancon has had great success so far in Washington. Also, while Papelbon pitched well in previous seasons despite steadily declining velocity, his average fastball continued to slow this year, dropping to 90.9 MPH five years after peaking 95.0 MPH in 2011.
The release ends Papelbon’s tenure in Washington, which began just over a year ago when they acquired him (with cash) from the Phillies for a minor leaguer. His on-field performance was satisfactory down the stretch for Washington last year, although he was involved in an ugly incident near the end of the season in which he choked teammate Bryce Harper in the dugout.
After struggling in 2016, Papelbon would have had little or no trade value, given his performance, his salary ($13MM for the year) and his dodgy clubhouse reputation. He’s due for free agency this winter. The Nationals surely gauged trade interest before releasing him, but it’s easy to imagine that there wasn’t much.
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick was first to report that the Nationals were likely to make a move with Papelbon, and that he had asked to be released (all Twitter links).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Yankees Release Alex Rodriguez, Will Hire Him As Special Advisor
Designated hitter Alex Rodriguez played his final game with the club Friday, and the Yankees have officially released him. They will sign him to a new contract that will keep him in the organization through 2017 as a special instructor and advisor, as Andrew Marchand of ESPN.com notes (on Twitter). However, the 41-year-old Rodriguez hasn’t closed the door on resuming his playing career at some point.
Notably, Rodriguez will continue to count against the luxury-tax threshold as he collects the $26.5MM that he has left on the 10-year contract he signed with the Yankees in 2007. That deal, a then-record-setting $275MM accord, was set to run through next season. Rodriguez secured the contract after opting out of his previously record-setting pact (10 years, $252MM) that he signed with the Rangers before the 2001 campaign.
Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner, who was instrumental in keeping Rodriguez in pinstripes in 2007, issued a statement praising the 22-year veteran:
“After spending several days discussing this plan with Alex, I am pleased that he will remain a part of our organization moving forward and transition into a role in which I know he can flourish. We have an exciting group of talented young players at every level of our system. Our job as an organization is to utilize every resource possible to allow them to reach their potential, and I expect Alex to directly contribute to their growth and success. Baseball runs through his blood. He’s a tireless worker and an astute student of the game. Alex has already proven to be a willing and effective mentor to many players who have come through our clubhouse, and I am confident that this next phase of his baseball life will bring out the best in Alex and the next generation of Yankees.”
The news of Rodriguez’s departure from the Yankees’ roster isn’t particularly shocking after they scheduled a Sunday morning press conference that would feature some sort of announcement regarding his future. Speculation then abounded that the team would either cut Rodriguez or he’d retire. It turns out both could be true.
“We had no choice here, given the performance,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said of releasing the declining Rodriguez, who now looks primed to walk away from playing a sport he has been a prominent part of since the Mariners selected him first overall in the 1993 draft.
For his part, Rodriguez commented, “I love this game. I love this team. Today I’m saying goodbye to both.”
If this is the end of Rodriguez’s playing career, he’ll go down as one of the most productive performers in baseball history. Since debuting in 1994 as an 18-year-old phenom, he has combined to hit .295/.380/.550 with 696 home runs, the fourth-highest total ever, in 12,000-plus plate appearances. He’s also 13th among position players in fWAR (113.0) and has collected 3,114 hits – which ranks 19th all-time – a record 25 grand slams, 14 All-Star appearances and three MVPs. Further, Rodriguez made a significant impact for the Yankees’ latest World Series-winning club, slashing a jaw-dropping .365/.500/.808 with six homers in 52 at-bats during the team’s run to a championship in 2009.
Rodriguez joined the Yankees in 2004 after they famously acquired him from the Rangers in exchange for second baseman Alfonso Soriano and prospect Joaquin Arias. New York beat out hated Boston for Rodriguez’s services, further fueling what was then a red-hot rivalry. To that point, Rodriguez had been an excellent defensive shortstop, but he agreed to move to third base with the Yankees because of Derek Jeter‘s presence. Like Jeter, Rodriguez is now one of the most accomplished Yankees ever, as he’s eighth among the franchise’s position players in rWAR (54.4) and sixth in home runs (351).
“I want to be remembered as someone who tripped and fell a lot, but kept getting up,” added Rodriguez, whose Hall of Fame-worthy career achievements are tainted in the eyes of many who follow the game.
Rodriguez is a central figure when it comes to steroids’ ties to baseball, having admitted in 2009 to using performance-enhancing drugs from 2001-03 as a member of the Rangers. He also sat out the entire 2014 season as a result of a 162-game suspension the league handed him for his role in the Biogenesis scandal. That ban was originally for 211 games, but an appeal knocked 49 contests off it. At the time it disciplined Rodriguez, the league accused him of using and possessing “numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances, including Testosterone and human Growth Hormone, over the course of multiple years.” It also alleged that he attempted “to cover up his violations” and engaged “in a course of conduct intended to obstruct and frustrate the Office of the Commissioner’s investigation.”
On the heels of his ignominious suspension, Rodriguez returned to playing last year and improbably hit .250/.356/.466 with 33 homers in 620 trips to the plate. That proved to be a dead cat bounce season, however, as Rodriguez has batted a disappointing .204/.252/.356 in 234 PAs in 2016. With the Yankees unlikely to qualify for the playoffs and now building toward the future, they have phased Rodriguez out of their lineup this year, having given him just one at-bat in August. He’s now the second franchise linchpin whose playing career with the Yankees is on the cusp of ending, joining first baseman Mark Teixeira – who announced earlier this week that he intends to retire after the season.
FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal was first to report that the Yankees would release Rodriguez (Twitter links).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Yankees To Promote Aaron Judge, Tyler Austin
The Yankees’ lineup against the Rays today includes both Aaron Judge (in right field and batting eighth) and Tyler Austin (at first base and batting seventh). FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweeted yesterday that Austin would be promoted. Both players will make their MLB debuts today. The moves coincide with the Yankees’ expected release of Alex Rodriguez., a move that is now official. The Yankees have also optioned righty Ben Heller and placed righty Conor Mullee (hand) on the 60-day DL.
[Related: Updated Yankees Depth Chart]
Of the two prospects, the 24-year-old Judge has the higher (and, literally, bigger) profile. A hulking (6’7, 275 pounds) slugger with huge raw power, the 2013 first-round pick has hit 19 home runs this season for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, batting .270/.366/.489 in the process. MLB.com currently rates him the No. 27 prospect in the Majors, comparing his build and raw power to Giancarlo Stanton. (Baseball America rated Judge the game’s 76th-best prospect heading into the season.) Judge ranks as the Yankees’ fourth-best prospect, behind newcomers Clint Frazier and Gleyber Torres as well as Jorge Mateo.
It’s unclear how much success Judge will have right away, as his minor league numbers, while certainly fine overall, haven’t always been overwhelming. His strikeout tendencies (he had 144 whiffs last season and 98 so far this year) might be an area upon which he could improve. His potential tape-measure home runs, however, could make for any number of exciting highlights, and he won’t to hit like a superstar to improve upon current right fielder Aaron Hicks, who has batted just .198/.259/.314 this season.
The 24-year-old Austin has spent parts of seven seasons in the Yankees’ farm system, but has come on strong this season, batting .294/.392/.524 overall, including .323/.415/.637 with 13 home runs in 234 plate appearances for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He can play all four corner spots, although he’s spent most of this season at first base, where he’ll presumably take plate appearances from Mark Teixeira, who’s set to retire at the end of the season. If Judge and/or Austin stick in the big leagues, they’ll each be eligible for arbitration following the 2019 season and free agency following the 2022 campaign.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Matt Holliday Diagnosed With Fractured Thumb
The Cardinals received some bad news tonight, as outfielder Matt Holliday was diagnosed with a fractured right thumb, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter). He left tonight’s action after being struck by a pitch.
[Related: Updated Cardinals Depth Chart]
While the prognosis remains unknown, the loss of Holliday even for a few weeks would constitute a significant blow to a St. Louis organization that is battling for a post-season berth. While the division may well be out of reach, the Cards are in position for a Wild Card spot, but face several tough competitors to make it into the one-game playoff.
Holliday, 36, hasn’t produced to his typical levels thus far with a .241/.315/.451 slash over 419 plate appearances. Though he has regained the power he didn’t show last year — he already has 19 home runs — the veteran’s typical on-base abilities have been lacking. After posting double-digit walk percentages for each of the last eight years, Holliday has slipped to an 8.1% mark thus far in 2016. He has also been stung by a .250 BABIP despite a healthy 38.8% hard-hit ratio.
Despite those relative struggles, there’s plenty of reason to believe that Holliday is capable of putting up quality numbers. Indeed, after a rough month of July, he has hit more like himself through the first two weeks of August. Whether a full turnaround is in the cards may now have to wait.
In the near term, the Cardinals’ flexibility will be reduced — particularly with first baseman Matt Adams and also shortstop Aledmys Diaz already on the DL. Tommy Pham and Randal Grichuk represent right-handed-hitting outfield options to go with Stephen Piscotty, with Brandon Moss and Jeremy Hazelbaker available from the left side. Without Adams and Holliday in the mix, though, the club’s match-up options are greatly reduced.
Looking beyond this season, the injury only heightens the uncertainty surrounding Holliday’s future in St. Louis. He is controllable via a $17MM club option that comes with a $1MM buyout, and it was already unclear whether that would be exercised. It’s a hefty pay rate, but one that is unquestionably worth it for a typical Holliday season. After all, he carries a .292/.379/.493 slash over his eight years with the Cards. Even with his output dipping of late, Holliday was a well-above-average hitter before the present season. But without the chance to observe his play down the stretch, the investment becomes all the more questionable.
Prince Fielder’s Career Over
At a press conference Wednesday, Rangers designated hitter and first baseman Prince Fielder announced that he will not be able to resume his career after undergoing neck fusion surgery in late July.
“I can’t play Major League Baseball anymore,” said Fielder, who was placed on the DL last month with a herniated disk in his neck before having surgery.
It was the second season in the last three he has had season-ending neck surgery, also having undergone fusion surgery in 2014. There were already questions about whether Fielder would make a full recovery from this second surgery, which could result in restrictions on his flexibility. After playing a solid full season in 2015, Fielder struggled greatly in 2016, batting just .212/.292/.334 with only eight homers in 370 plate appearances, and he has said that he’s suffered symptoms similar to those he battled in 2014, when he hit just .247/.360/.360.
Nonetheless, the end of Fielder’s career comes as a bit of a jolt. He’s only 32, and he’s under contract through 2020 at $24MM per year. Given that Fielder is medically unable to play and not technically retiring, the Rangers will still owe him $9MM per season through 2020, with $6MM annually coming from the Tigers (as per the terms of the trade that brought Fielder to Texas) and $9MM coming via insurance payments due to Fielder’s inability to play. He’ll also remain on Texas’ 40-man roster each offseason through the end of his deal, though the club will be able to free up room during the season by placing him on the 60-day DL.
The Brewers made Fielder the seventh overall pick in the draft in 2002, with Milwaukee likely imagining that he could become a first baseman and fearsome slugger in the mold of his father Cecil. Despite skepticism from some quarters about his body type, Prince quickly emerged as a serious home-run threat, making it to the big leagues in 2005 in his age-21 season. He swatted an NL-leading 50 home runs in 2007 at the tender age of 23, and joined Ryan Braun as dynamic power threat in the middle of Milwaukee’s lineup. Fielder also proved surprisingly durable, missing only one game in total over the five years spanning 2009-2013. Fielder signed his massive $214MM contract with the Tigers prior to the 2012 season before heading to the Rangers for second baseman Ian Kinsler following the 2013 campaign.
For his career, Fielder clubbed 319 home runs (exactly the number his father hit) while batting an impressive .283/.382/.506 in parts of 12 seasons. He also made six All-Star appearances and finished in the top 20 in league MVP balloting six times.
Fielder’s departure from the sport is the latest in a string of high-profile recent MLB career endings. The Yankees are set to release Alex Rodriguez, who is signed through 2017, and Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira also recently announced he would retire at the end of the season. All three have been among the game’s most prolific sluggers in recent memory.
FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal first reported that Fielder’s career was ending. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Astros Designate Carlos Gomez For Assignment
In a stunning move, the Astros have designated center fielder Carlos Gomez for assignment, the team announced. Right-hander Jandel Gustave will come up from Triple-A Fresno to take Gomez’s roster spot.
Gomez’s designation represents a shocking fall from grace for the 30-year-old, whom Houston acquired from Milwaukee last July in a blockbuster deadline deal that also saw right-hander Mike Fiers join the Astros in exchange for four prospects. Two of those prospects – righty Josh Hader (No. 22) and outfielder Brett Phillips (No. 58) – currently rank among Baseball America’s Top 100. The Astros swooped in to land Gomez after the collapse of a trade between the Brewers and Mets, who were set to send righty Zack Wheeler and infielder Wilmer Flores to Milwaukee for Gomez before backing out over concerns regarding Gomez’s hip.
[RELATED: Updated Astros Depth Chart]
Gomez was a sought-after commodity last summer because he had established himself as one of the sport’s most well-rounded outfielders in previous seasons, combining excellence at the plate, on the base paths and defensively. From 2012-14, the former highly touted prospect batted .277/.336/.483 with 66 home runs in 1,686 plate appearances, stole 111 bases and accounted for 16.1 fWAR. Gomez was less effective prior to last season’s trade, though he still slashed a respectable .262/.328/.423 with eight homers in his final 74 games with the Brewers.
Gomez’s career began going off the rails after the Astros acquired him, as he hit a meager .242/.288/.383 in 41 contests down the stretch in 2015. But that line looks appealing compared to the .210/.272/.322 Gomez has compiled this season in 323 trips to the plate. Further, he has swatted only five homers while striking out a career-worst 31 percent of the time (a marked increase over his lifetime 23.1 percent mark) and posting his lowest ISO (.112) since 2010. From an offensive production standpoint, Gomez’s ability to steal bases (he’s 23 of 28 in Houston) is the lone aspect of his game that has continued to be above average since the Astros picked him up.
“It’s not a secret that I’m not doing my job and I’m really disappointed in myself,” Gomez admitted to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (Twitter link).
Continued Gomez, “I still have a long career. I wish the best to this organization, this team” (Twitter link via Mark Berman of FOX 26).
With Gomez now out of the picture, the Astros look primed to turn center field over to defensive whiz Jake Marisnick, though he has never hit particularly well in the majors and is carrying a .225/.265/.337 line across 191 PAs this season. Unless another team takes on Gomez’s salary via trade or claims him on waivers, the Astros will also be responsible for the remainder of the $9MM he’s owed. If he goes unclaimed and Houston releases him, another club could sign Gomez for the prorated league minimum. Of course, that would be an enormous drop for a player who entered the season as a candidate to sign a $100MM-plus deal as a free agent during the upcoming winter. In fact, in his preseason free agent power rankings for 2017, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes forecast a potential $150MM payday for Gomez. His career has since cratered, though, making that type of deal a pipe dream for the Scott Boras client.
Brian McTaggart of MLB.com first reported Gomez’s designation.
Padres Request Release Waivers On Hector Olivera
The Padres have requested release waivers on infielder Hector Olivera, per a club announcement. He had been formally designated for assignment back on Aug. 2, and his release will become official in 48 hours once he clears said waivers.
San Diego acquired Olivera’s contract from the Braves in exchange for Matt Kemp prior to the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline, but the acquisition was a formality. The Padres very clearly wanted nothing to do with Olivera, who was finishing up an 82-game suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy at the time, and only agreed to take on his contract as a means of off-setting some of the money they were sending to Atlanta in the form of Kemp’s salary. Ultimately, the trade will save San Diego about $25.5MM, and Olivera will never suit up in a Padres uniform.
The 31-year-old Olivera’s future in Major League Baseball is questionable at best, from this point forth. Neither Atlanta nor San Diego even feigned interest in having Olivera join their active rosters following his suspension, and it stands to reason that others throughout the league will take a similar approach. Olivera was arrested at a Washington D.C.-area hotel back in April and charged with misdemeanor assault and battery of a woman who was reportedly hospitalized and had visible bruising.
While the 2016 season has seen both Aroldis Chapman and Jose Reyes land new jobs after serving suspensions under the same policy, neither wound up going to trial — Chapman was never even arrested — which very likely helped their cases. Furthermore, Olivera has never been a productive player at the minor league or Major League level. And while on-field success would in no way excuse the heinous actions for which he was arrested and charged, his chances of finding additional employment within a Major League organization would be greater had he in any way justified the ill-fated six-year, $62.5MM contract to which he was signed by the Dodgers.
If, for some reason, another club does decide to take a chance on Olivera with what would assuredly be a minor league contract, that club would be responsible only for the pro-rated portion of the league minimum for any time he spends in the Majors. (That sum would be subtracted from the remainder of what he is owed by San Diego.) However, it also seems possible that Olivera’s career in Major League Baseball has come to an abrupt end.
Cardinals Place Michael Wacha On DL, Promote Alex Reyes
The Cardinals announced today that they’ve placed right-hander Michael Wacha on the 15-day disabled list due to inflammation in his right shoulder and purchased the contract of top prospect Alex Reyes to fill Wacha’s spot on the roster. Brayan Pena has been transferred to the 60-day DL in order to clear a 40-man spot for Reyes. Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets that Reyes will pitch out of the bullpen for the Cardinals, so he won’t be stepping directly into Wacha’s now-vacant spot in the starting five.
Reyes, 21, rates as one of the game’s top overall pitching prospects in the eyes of Baseball America, MLB.com, Baseball Prospectus and ESPN thanks largely to a fastball that touches triple digits, a very highly regarded curveball and a solid third offering in his changeup. He introduced himself to a national audience when he appeared in this summer’s Futures Game and pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings with four strikeouts. His biggest fault, to this point, has been a lack of control that has led him to average 4.6 walks per nine innings pitched throughout his minor league career. This season, his first at Triple-A, has been somewhat of a struggle, as Reyes has posted a 4.96 ERA with 12.8 K/9, 4.4 BB/9 and a 43.2 percent ground-ball rate in 14 starts.
The Cardinals will control Reyes through at least the 2022 season via the arbitration process, and the earliest he’d be eligible for arbitration right now would be upon completion of the 2019 season, as the remaining 54 days of service time that he can accrue will leave him well shy of Super Two status.
Craig Mish of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM first tweeted that Reyes had been promoted.
Tim Lincecum Accepts Outright Assignment, Will Pitch In Triple-A
TUESDAY: Lincecum has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. That means Lincecum will continue his career with the Salt Lake Bees, hoping to eventually get another shot in the Majors. As a former MLB star, that likely means Lincecum is swallowing his pride, but he also likely believes that heading to Triple-A provides his clearest path back to the big leagues at this point.
SATURDAY: The Angels have designated right-hander Tim Lincecum for assignment, reports Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). The club’s hope is that Lincecum will stay in the organization and accept an assignment to Triple-A Salt Lake, tweets Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Indeed, the Angels are under the impression Lincecum will head to Salt Lake, per Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com (on Twitter). In the meantime, Los Angeles has recalled righty Jose Valdez to take Lincecum’s roster spot.
[RELATED: Updated Angels Depth Chart]
Lincecum joined the pitching-needy Angels as a free agent in May after undergoing hip surgery and then showcasing himself around the majors in somewhat ballyhooed fashion, but his stint with the organization has been a disaster. In possibly his final start of the season, Lincecum surrendered six earned runs on nine hits, two walks and a strikeout in 3 1/3 innings of a 6-4 loss to the Mariners on Friday. That outing increased Lincecum’s ERA to a hideous 9.16 through nine starts, and manager Mike Scioscia was wary of committing to him afterward. Lincecum averaged just over four frames in those nine outings and recorded only one quality start, which came in his June 18 season debut.
A lofty walk rate (5.4 per nine innings) and a decrease in ground balls (40.7 percent rate, down from his career 46.4 percent mark), the latter of which helps to explain his unmanageable 22.9 percent home run-fly ball ratio, are largely behind Lincecum’s run prevention issues. So is a .432 batting average on balls in play, though FanGraphs indicates that Lincecum has been quite susceptible to hard contact, and the 32-year-old’s high-80s fastball velocity hasn’t helped his cause.
Struggles aren’t necessarily anything new for Lincecum, who posted a subpar 4.68 ERA in 615 1/3 innings with the Giants from 2012-15 as his mean fastball velo fell from the low- to mid-90s to the upper 80s. However, he did manage an impressive K/9 (8.4), a playable BB/9 (3.9) and a 45.9 percent grounder rate. Still, the version of Lincecum everyone has seen since 2012 is a far cry from his heyday, in which he was a dominant member of the Giants’ rotation from 2008-11 and took home a pair of National League Cy Young Awards.
The fact that Lincecum wasn’t able to hold a rotation spot, let alone a place on the roster, for an Angels team without fellow starters Garrett Richards, C.J. Wilson, Andrew Heaney and Nick Tropeano – all of whom are on the disabled list – obviously bodes poorly for his future. Barring a significant turnaround this year, his days as a starter could be over. Fortunately for the Angels, they only invested a prorated $2.5MM in Linceum upon signing him.
Nick Castellanos Fractures Left Hand
9:52pm: The Tigers expect Castellanos to miss a minimum of four weeks, according to manager Brad Ausmus (Twitter link via Beck). As a result, Castellanos will go to the DL and McGehee will take his place on the Tigers’ roster, tweets Beck.
9:16pm: The Tigers anticipate a three- to four-week absence for Castellanos, reports FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link). Toledo pulled McGehee out of its lineup in the wake of Castellanos’ injury, per Jason Beck of MLB.com, so it appears he’ll head to Detroit.
8:23pm: In what could be a blow to the Tigers’ playoff hopes, third baseman Nick Castellanos left the team’s game against the Mets on Saturday with a non-displaced fracture of the fifth metacarpal of his left hand, tweets Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. Castellanos sustained the injury when Mets righty Logan Verrett hit him in the hand with a fifth-inning pitch.
Castellanos, 24, has cooled down offensively over the past couple months, but he has still slashed an easily above-average .286/.331/.500 with 18 home runs in 432 plate appearances. Those numbers represent a breakout for the formerly well-regarded prospect, who hit .254/.304/.407 in a combined 1,174 PAs from 2014-15. Castellanos also struggled mightily at third in each of those seasons, which has continued this year. Among FanGraphs’ 20 qualifying third basemen, Castellanos ranks 18th in Ultimate Zone Rating (minus-6.8) and dead last in Defensive Runs Saved (minus-10). Still, given his nearly league-minimum salary of $536,500, Castellanos’ work at the dish this year has provided the postseason-contending Tigers significant surplus value.
While it’s unknown how much time Castellanos will miss, a stint on the disabled list seems like a strong possibility. That would leave the Tigers with Mike Aviles and Andrew Romine as fill-in options on their 25-man roster, and they also have longtime major leaguer Casey McGehee in Triple-A Toledo, as their depth chart shows. Castellanos is far superior to the three of them, though, and the fact that he’s now hurt after the non-waiver trade deadline passed only adds to Detroit’s misfortune. If the Tigers search for third base help via the trade market this month, it’s worth noting that the Athletics’ Danny Valencia rates highly on MLBTR’s Steve Adams’ list of the top 20 August trade candidates.