Phillies Pull Hamels Back From Waivers
1:53pm: The Phillies have pulled Hamels back off waivers after the two sides were unable to strike a deal, tweets Paul Sulivan of the Chicago Tribune.
FRIDAY, 8:43am: In an updated version of his original article, Wittenmyer writes that the Cubs may prefer to add an ace-caliber starter via free agency this winter. They’ll have multiple options to do so with Max Scherzer, James Shields and Jon Lester (whom Cubs president Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer know well) hitting the open market. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports hears the same, reporting that the Cubs are “expected to be aggressive” on the free agent market.
THURSDAY: As many have been speculating since Cole Hamels was placed on revocable waivers, the Cubs have indeed been awarded the claim on the Philadelphia ace, Mike Missanelli of ESPN 97.5 in Philadelphia first tweeted. However, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that a deal is almost certainly not going to happen. The Phillies, according to Wittenmyer’s sources, have asked the Cubs for one of their prized young shortstops as the centerpiece to a trade. Because both Starlin Castro and Javier Baez are already on the 40-man roster and would therefore be subject to revocable waivers themselves, Addison Russell (and others) is the likely asking price, according to Wittenmyer.
The two sides will have 48.5 hours from the moment of the claim in order to work out a trade. Any 40-man roster players to change hands in a theoretical deal would also need to clear waivers. If and when the two sides decide that a deal cannot be reached, the Phillies can simply pull Hamels back off waivers. Hamels’ contract does allow him to block trades to 20 teams, but as ESPN’s Jayson Stark reported earlier today, the Cubs are not one of those 20 clubs. So, in the unlikely event that a deal is agreed upon, Hamels would have no say in vetoing the transaction.
While the Cubs have the financial capability to assume the remaining $100MM+ on Hamels’ contract and the prospect depth to acquire nearly any available player via trade, Wittenmyer reports that the team has “no desire” to use both surpluses on a single player.
It’s certainly not outlandish for the Phillies to ask for Russell and other high-end prospects in order to part with Hamels. The Cubs, after all, acquired Russell (along with 2013 first-rounder Billy McKinney and controllable starter Dan Straily) in exchange for a year and a half of Jeff Samardzija‘s services and three months of Jason Hammel.
Clearly, Hamels has more long-term value than the combination of the two arms the Cubs sent to Oakland. While his salary is sizable, a $22.5MM annual commitment is actually below-market for a top-of-the-rotation arm, which Hamels clearly is. He’s pitched to a 2.42 ERA with 9.1 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and a 46.9 percent ground-ball rate in 137 1/3 innings this season. He’s controlled through the 2018 season at that same $22.5MM rate, and his vesting option for the 2019 campaign comes with a $6MM buyout. However, if the Phils truly wish to shop Hamels — and there’s been little to no indication that they do — they’d likely be better suited to wait until the offseason, when all 29 other teams could bid for his services and potentially drive up the price.
For those who are unfamiliar with revocable waivers or post-July 31 trading, check out MLBTR’s primer on August trades.
Cubs Acquire Jacob Turner
The Cubs have bought low on another once-promising right-hander, as they’ve announced the acquisition Jacob Turner from the Marlins in exchange for minor league right-handers Tyler Bremer and Jose Arias. Chicago placed a claim on Turner earlier this week after Miami designated the once prized prospect for assignment and placed him on revocable waivers.
Turner, who only recently turned 23, is a former first-round pick of the Tigers, and it wasn’t long ago that he was regarded as one of baseball’s top prospects. Acquired by Miami as the centerpiece to 2012’s Anibal Sanchez/Omar Infante trade with Detroit, Turner has struggled with the Marlins and was designated for assignment because he is out of minor league options. While the Marlins reportedly had lost patience with Turner after his struggles in both the rotation and the bullpen, the move is a curious one for a team that typically doesn’t spend much; cost-controllable starters with this type of upside are hard to come by, and Turner’s rotation spot will reportedly be filled by Brad Penny, making this decision a puzzling one, to say the least.
Though Turner’s ERA jumped from 3.74 last year (in 118 innings) to 5.97 in this year’s 78 1/3 innings, there’s plenty to like about the rest of his numbers in 2014. Turner’s K/9 rate, swinging strike rate and average fastball velocity have all increased (though he has not shown a significant jump in the latter measure when taking into account only his innings as a starter). Meanwhile, his BB/9 rate has dipped from 4.1 to 2.6. He’s also seen his ground-ball rate spike from a solid 45.7 percent to a strong 51.3 percent this season. Sabermetric ERA estimators such as FIP (4.01), xFIP (3.93) and SIERA (3.98) all feel that Turner has been markedly better than his earned run average would suggest in 2014.
Turner, who signed a Major League deal out of the draft (before the CBA banned such contracts), has a $1MM option for next season and can be controlled via arbitration once he has accumulated three years of Major League service. He’s controllable through at least the 2018 season for the Cubs and represents a chance for Chicago to buy low on another talented but struggling arm, as they did in 2013 with Jake Arrieta.
Turner, of course, may never bounce back to the level which Arrieta has in 2014, but the marginal cost to acquire him made this a fairly easy call for president Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer once the Rockies surprisingly neglected to make a claim.
The 24-year-old has a 3.10 ERA with 10.8 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in in 52 1/3 innings of relief between Class-A Kane County and Class-A Advanced Daytona this season. Arias, a 23-year-old Dominican hurler, has a 1.77 ERA with 11.3 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 40 2/3 innings at Kane County this season. Neither pitcher ranked among the Cubs’ top 30 prospects (per Baseball America) heading into the season.
ESPN’s Keith Law first broke the news of the trade (on Twitter). Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune tweeted that two Class-A pitchers were headed to the Marlins, with Law tweeting that both were relievers. Bremer’s brother, Noah, first tweeted his inclusion in the deal, while ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers tweeted that Arias was the second pitcher.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Giants Release Dan Uggla, Outright Tyler Colvin
AUG. 8: The Giants have released Uggla and outrighted Colvin to Triple-A Fresno, according to the team’s transactions page.
AUG. 4: Uggla has declined to go to Triple-A, Pavlovic tweets, and it is “hard to see him back with [the] Giants at any point.” As for Colvin, Giants assistant GM Bobby Evans told Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link) that the outfielder has been informed that the Giants would like to keep him at Triple-A if he clears waivers. Colvin has the option of becoming a free agent.
AUG. 1: The Giants have designated Uggla and Colvin for assignment, tweets Alex Pavlovic of the Mercury News.
JULY 30, 9:21pm: The Giants have actually optioned Colvin to Triple-A, and have yet to formally make a move regarding Uggla, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. The club has not confirmed that Uggla has or will be released, tweets Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com.
8:46pm: The Giants have released second baseman Dan Uggla and outfielder Tyler Colvin, reports MLB.com’s Chris Haft. San Francisco is expected to undertake several roster moves, possibly including new additions as well as the activation of several regulars from the DL.
While the club has been rumored to be pursuing several possible options at second base, nothing has reportedly come to fruition at this point. The Giants need roster space regardless, as Angel Pagan, Brandon Belt, and Hector Sanchez are all expected to be activated in relatively short order.
Uggla struggled mightily in his short time in San Francisco, failing to register a hit in 12 plate appearances while striking out six times (to go with three errors in the field). Of course, that is a continuation of his difficult time this year and last in Atlanta. Since the start of 2013, the 34-year-old has slashed .171/.291/.326 over 694 plate appearances, racking up 217 strikeouts along the way.
Colvin, meanwhile, owns a meager .225/.270/.384 line in 148 plate appearances on the season. He joined the Giants on a minor league deal after spending the prior two seasons with the Rockies. Once a well-regarded prospect, the 28-year-old had a strong 2012 campaign but has not produced at the MLB level since.
Dodgers Not Done Pursuing Pitching Help
The Dodgers swung a trade with the Phillies yesterday and acquired right-hander Roberto Hernandez due to concerns over the health of Josh Beckett, but GM Ned Colletti told reports, including Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times, that he hopes to make at least one more move. “There’s another pitcher out there we’re trying to get,” Colletti said.
Colletti said that the Dodgers would like to add a swingman to replace Paul Maholm, who is out for the season with a torn ACL, and added that the club is also looking at back-of-the-rotation arms and late-inning relievers. Referring to the Hernandez trade, Colletti candidly admitted that the trade talks accelerated quickly, as he hoped to swing a deal before news of Beckett’s injury broke. “Ruben [Amaro Jr.] could hold me up for even more,” he stated.
A number of back-end arms that I mentioned in last month’s look at the trade market for starting pitchers could likely be had for very little return from the Dodgers, including Kyle Kendrick, Kevin Correia and Colby Lewis. Bartolo Colon could represent a potentially more expensive but still effective option, assuming he clears waivers (which is highly likely). MLBTR’s Jeff Todd examined the trade market for right-handed relievers and left-handed relievers, and while some of them have since been dealt (as have some from the list of starters), many of those names could come into play as well.
Angels Searching For Rotation Help On Waiver Wire
The Angels claimed Vinnie Pestano off waivers from the Indians and subsequently worked out a trade for the righty earlier today, but GM Jerry Dipoto tells reporters, including the Orange County Register’s Jeff Fletcher, that he’s actively claiming other players and trying to bolster his rotation (Twitter links). However, acquiring starting pitching upgrades at this time of year is very difficult, Dipoto added (rival clubs, of course, can pull their players back off revocable waivers).
The Halos clearly passed on Josh Beckett when he was placed on waivers, as he’s the lone starting pitcher on MLBTR’s list of players that have already cleared revocable waivers. Beyond that, however, there figure to be multiple possibilities on the market, though several would come with significant financial commitments. A.J. Burnett of the Phillies, for example, was said to be on waivers earlier this week. So, too, were Kyle Kendrick, Jason Hammel and Wade Miley, although each would come with road blocks (e.g. Kendrick’s salary and mediocre performance, Hammel’s presence on the roster of a division rival and Arizona’s unwillingness to move Miley).
The Angels’ pitching depth took a hit when Tyler Skaggs was lost to the disabled list due to a strained flexor tendon in his left arm last week. At the same time, C.J. Wilson, who is returning from injury, pitched poorly in his first time back on the mound and has allowed six runs in four of his past five outings.
For the time being, Wilson will pair with Garrett Richards and Jered Weaver atop the rotation, with Hector Santiago and Matt Shoemaker rounding out the quintet. However, Dipoto will have several options available to him. Last month, I took a look at the trade market for starting pitchers, and while several arms I listed in the post have since been moved, a good number of the pitchers listed could make sense for the Halos. Bartolo Colon, for example, would be a sensible option to add some stable innings down the stretch for Anaheim, and his salary makes him a likely candidate to clear waivers (his name is purely my own speculation, of course).
Angels Acquire Vinnie Pestano
6:43pm: Angels GM Jerry Dipoto tells Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register that Pestano was acquired after the Angels claimed him on waivers (Twitter link).
5:05pm: The Angels have added yet another reliever to their ranks by acquiring right-hander Vinnie Pestano from the Indians in exchange for minor league righty Michael Clevinger. Both teams have announced the trade.
The 29-year-old Pestano emerged as a lights-out setup man for the Indians in 2011-12, posting a combined 2.45 ERA with 10.6 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a 40 percent ground-ball rate in 132 innings of work. Pestano’s excellent work was worth 4.4 rWAR and 2.5 fWAR in that time, suggesting that he was one of the game’s more valuable relief options.
Pestano fell on hard times a bit in 2013, however, as his BB/9 rate climbed north of 5.0, and his ERA spiked to 4.08. Things between him and the Indians organization appeared to be tense the following offseason, when Pestano lost an arbitration hearing after Cleveland used comments that Pestano himself made to the press against him in a trial. Pestano had told Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, “I’ve been battling all year. As soon as I think I’ve got something figured out, I go out there and the results are the same. It’s getting really frustrating. I’m still the same pitcher in my head, I’m just not throwing the same way I used to.”
Quotes like that one were fired back at Pestano in the arb hearing, which the reliever told MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian that he didn’t appreciate: “That was the only thing that I didn’t care for. I definitely think it’ll affect how I see things going forward. I don’t really know if I can be as honest and up-front anymore. I’ve got three more years of arbitration left. I don’t know what they’ll pick to use against me next year or two years from now.”
Pestano has once again been excellent in the minors this season, posting a 1.78 ERA with a strong 37-to-12 K/BB ratio in 30 1/3 innings for Triple-A Columbus. He joins a growing list of relievers acquired by Halos GM Jerry Dipoto this season, as Dipoto has also brought in Jason Grilli, Joe Thatcher and Huston Street. Because Pestano was on the Indians’ 40-man roster, he would either have had to clear waivers or have been claimed by the Angels in order to facilitate a trade. The Angels will be able to control Pestano, who is earning $975K this year, through at least the 2017 season. For the time being, he’ll head to Triple-A Salt Lake.
As for the Indians, they’ll receive Clevinger — a 23-year-old righty selected by the Angels in the fourth round of the 2011 draft. Clevinger tore through Class A this season, notching a 1.88 ERA in five starts before being promoted to Class-A Advanced. He’s struggled at that level, however, posting a 5.37 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 55 1/3 innings of work. Clevinger ranked 17th among Halos prospects entering the 2014 season, according to Baseball America, and MLB.com had him 10th among Angels farmhands on its midseason Top 20 list (though it should be noted that the Angels’ farm system is poorly regarded).
Clevinger underwent Tommy John surgery in 2012, at a time when it looked as if he could be emerging as Anaheim’s top pitching prospect, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com note in their free report. BA notes that he features a 91-93 mph fastball that he can cut well, in addition to three offerings — a changeup, slider and curveball — that could become average offerings. Effort in his delivery leads some scouts to project him as a reliever, though BA notes that the Angels wanted to give him as long a look in the rotation as possible due to a lack of organizational depth.
Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register first reported the trade (Twitter link).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Alex Rios Clears Revocable Waivers
Rangers outfielder Alex Rios has cleared revocable waivers, reports Calvin Watkins of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter link). That makes the 33-year-old Rios eligible to be traded to any team, though any deal would have to be finalized before Sept. 1 in order for Rios to be eligible for an acquiring team’s postseason roster.
Rios is hitting .293/.323/.412 with 22 doubles and eight triples, but he’s gone deep just four times this season despite playing at the hitter friendly Globe Life Park in Arlington. He’s owed $3.62MM through season’s end, plus a $1MM buyout on next year’s $13.5MM option (though the Rangers or another team could obviously elect to exercise that option). Rios drew interest from the Giants, Mariners, Royals, Reds and Indians prior to the deadline, and it stands to reason that those teams could have continued interest now that the financial commitment is even lower than it was during those talks.
ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets that teams are wary of Rios’ declining power, however, so the Rangers may have to kick in more salary than one would originally expect in order to facilitate a deal (that last part is just my speculation). Still, as a serviceable corner outfield bat, Rios should garner some interest on the trade market. Rios will now be added to MLBTR’s running list of players that have cleared revocable waivers.
Hamels, Byrd Claimed On Revocable Waivers; Papelbon Clears
THURSDAY: ESPN’s Jayson Stark reports that the previous details of Hamels’ no-trade clause were slightly incorrect, however the error is notable: the Red Sox are on Hamels’ no-trade clause, while the Cubs, according to Stark, are not (Twitter link). It’s still not known if the Cubs were the team to claim Hamels, but if they are the claiming team, he would not have any veto power over a potential deal.
WEDNESDAY: Phillies ace Cole Hamels has been claimed by an unnamed team on revocable waivers, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The Phillies will have 48.5 hours to work out a trade with the claiming team or pull Hamels back on waivers. Of course, if Hamels was claimed by any club other than the Red Sox, Angels, Nationals, Dodgers, Cardinals, Braves, Padres, Rangers or Yankees — the nine teams not included on his no-trade clause — he would have the right to veto the deal.
As Rosenthal notes, the Phillies may prefer to wait until the offseason to listen to offers on Hamels, as they’ll be free to negotiate with multiple clubs at that time rather than the lone club that has currently placed a claim on Hamels. As a reminder, waiver priority would be determined by reverse order of record, beginning with the player’s current league. In other words, the Rockies, who have the NL’s worst record, would have the first crack at claiming Hamels. Every other NL team would have a chance to do so before Hamels was made available to the team with the worst record in the AL (the Rangers).
The 30-year-old Hamels is guaranteed $90MM from 2015-18 (plus a $6MM buyout of his 2019 option) and is enjoying yet another elite season on the mound. He’s posted a 2.42 ERA (2.85 FIP, 3.16 xFIP) to go along with 9.1 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and a 46.9 percent ground-ball rate in 137 1/3 innings. Hamels would be the ace of many staffs around the league and would appeal to a wide range of teams — even non-contenders. In his Insider-only blog today, ESPN’s Buster Olney speculated that it would behoove the Cubs to claim Hamels and try to work out a deal for the dominant southpaw, as he could serve as a building block for their rotation for several years.
Rosenthal also tweets that Marlon Byrd was claimed by an unknown team, while closer Jonathan Papelbon cleared waivers. Byrd is earning $8MM in 2014 and will earn the same in 2015, and he has an easily attainable vesting option at the same rate for the 2016 season. That obstacle proved to be problematic for Philadelphia GM Ruben Amaro Jr. while he was listening to offers on Byrd at the trade deadline this season, as he was vocal about his displeasure with the offers he received for Byrd. The 36-year-old Byrd is batting a healthy .269/.318/.474 with 21 homers and solid defense in right field. He can block trades to the Royals, Mariners, Blue Jays and Rays.
Papelbon, meanwhile, is earning $13MM in 2014 and will earn the same sum in 2015. He, too, has a vesting option at his current rate which can be easily attained if he remains healthy in 2015. Papelbon has a 1.71 ERA with 8.6 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 36.7 percent ground-ball rate in 47 1/3 innings for the Phillies this season. However, he’s also thrived thanks to a .238 BABIP and an 83.3 percent strand rate while seeing his average fastball velocity dip to a career-low 91.4 mph, leading many to believe that regression is around the corner. Papelbon has a limited no-trade clause but said last month that he would be more than willing to waive that right to approve a trade to a contending club.
Rangers Designate Chris Gimenez For Assignment
The Rangers have announced that they’ve designated catcher Chris Gimenez for assignment. He had been on the paternity list since Monday.
Gimenez collected 118 plate appearances for the Rangers this season, hitting .262/.331/.355. The 31-year-old journeyman has also played for the Indians, Mariners and Rays. Geovany Soto, who suffered a groin injury in July, is five games into a rehab assignment with Triple-A Round Rock, and the Rangers could soon reinstate him to take Gimenez’s spot on the Rangers’ active roster.
Dee On Black, Preller, Kennedy, Benoit
Padres president Mike Dee recently spoke to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal about the team’s future with new GM A.J. Preller. Here are the highlights:
- The Padres “never seriously considered” firing manager Bud Black despite the team’s struggles this season and the dismissal of GM Josh Byrnes, Dee says. He does note that it remains to be seen whether Preller will want Black to continue, but he expresses confidence in Black as a manager and he notes that Preller was open-minded during the interview process about keeping Black.
- Dee says he doesn’t have any directive in place that instructs Preller to make August trades. “That’s going to be up to him,” Dee says, noting that the Padres have both Ian Kennedy and Joaquin Benoit are under control for 2015. “It would have to be tremendous value,” says Dee.
- Preller does not view 2015 as a rebuilding year, Dee says. “A.J. is not looking at this like 2015 is a white-towel year while we restock the reservoir with talent,” says Dee. “He said very clearly yesterday (at his news conference) and he said to us privately, ‘As long as you have the quality of pitching that we have, you have a chance to win every night.'”