Notes

Astros Notes: Garza Jr., James, Bregman, Báez, Brantley

By Darragh McDonald | August 1, 2021 at 6:27pm CDT

The Astros have designated Ralph Garza Jr. for assignment, according to Chandler Rome of The Houston Chronicle. Rome speculates that this move is to facilitate the activation of Josh James. Before today’s game, general manager James Click told reporters, including Fox 26’s Mark Berman, that James was close to returning. James has shown flashes of excellent for the club over the past few years, especially his 2018 debut, wherein he threw 23 innings with an ERA of 2.35. But since that time, he’s struggled with both inconsistency and injuries, most notably undergoing hip surgery in October of 2020. The Astros made some additions to their bullpen before Friday’s trade deadline, bringing in Kendall Graveman, Yimi Garcia, Rafael Montero and Phil Maton. Getting James back into the fold could further bolster the relief corps as the team gears up for a pennant race. The club is currently atop the AL West, 5 1/2 games ahead of the Athletics.

As for Garza, he made his major league debut earlier this year and has thrown 11 innings out of Houston’s bullpen, with an ERA of 4.09 and a solid strikeout rate of 28.6%, but a poor walk rate of 14.3%. Although those numbers aren’t excellent, Garza is 27 years old and can be optioned to the minors, meaning he could be of interest to a club that just created some vacancies at the deadline.

Draft Deadline Notes: Rocker, Ulloa, Zavala

By Darragh McDonald | August 1, 2021 at 5:32pm CDT

The 4PM CT deadline for teams to sign their draft picks has now passed. The biggest storyline is that the Mets and first-round pick Kumar Rocker could not come to an agreement. Reports indicate that there was a dispute between the team and Rocker’s camp about a health issue, though the exact nature of any supposed injury is not known for sure.

Mike Puma of The New York Post says the Mets didn’t make Rocker an offer. Speculatively speaking, that would indicate that the difference of opinion about the alleged medical issue was wide enough that they were nowhere near finding common ground.

Draft notes from elsewhere…

Ian Browne of MLB.com passes on some words from Chaim Bloom about team’s inability to sign second-round pick Jud Fabian. “We knew that if we were unable to sign him, we would be able to get the pick again next year. That made it worth the risk in our minds.” The Red Sox will receive the 41st draft pick in next year’s draft as compensation.

Earlier Updates

The Astros failed to sign fourth-round selection Alex Ulloa, according to a team announcement. Since the Astros were not allowed to make a selection in the first or second round as punishment for 2017’s sign stealing scandal, this is perhaps even more of a disappointment than it would appear on its surface. Ulloa is an 18-year-old shortstop out of Florida’s Calvary Christian Academy.
The Rangers agreed to terms with second-round selection Aaron Zavala, according to Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline. In a later tweet, Callis provided further context. The outfielder signed for $830K, less than half of the $1.95MM slot value for his pick. Callis adds that, similar to the Rocker situation, there was a post-draft medical issue. But unlike with Rocker, the two parties were able to put pen to paper in this instance.

Rays Notes: Springs, Johnson, McHugh, Archer

By Darragh McDonald | August 1, 2021 at 5:32pm CDT

The Rays have placed Jeffrey Springs on the IL with a knee sprain, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Topkin also says Springs is relieved that it’s just a sprain and not something involving structural damage. Springs gives his own recovery timeline as 2-4 weeks. Acquired in an offseason deal with the Red Sox, the lefty has become a key contributor in the Rays’ bullpen this year, throwing 44 2/3 innings with an ERA of 3.43 with an excellent strikeout rate of 35.2%, though his walk rate is a tad high at 7.8%. Getting him back within that injury timeline will allow him to rejoin the club for what figures to be a tight pennant race. The Rays are now sitting atop the AL East, but just half a game ahead of the Red Sox, whom they are hosting tonight.

Red Sox Notes: Bloom, Scherzer, Sale, Fabian

By Mark Polishuk | August 1, 2021 at 2:27pm CDT

Acquiring one of the game’s better power hitters in Kyle Schwarber doesn’t exactly make for a quiet deadline season, though compared to what other AL contenders did in July, the Red Sox were comparatively modest in picking up Schwarber and relievers Hansel Robles and Austin Davis. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told MLB.com’s Ian Browne and other reporters that the Sox looked into several trade possibilities, but teams put a very high price tag on pitchers in particular, leaving Bloom’s front office unwilling to sacrifice too much of the future for a short-term gain.

“There were a lot of things that were put to us where we just felt we’re not doing our jobs and ultimately we’re going to let our fans down, whether it be tomorrow or whether it be next year or the year after or all of the above if we did some of things we could’ve done to make more of a splash,” Bloom said. The $210MM luxury tax threshold “was never a hard line” that prevented the Sox from making a trade, and Bloom said the team indeed considered some moves that would put them in excess of the $210MM figure. However, “we just didn’t feel like it was worth the cost in talent, let alone the additional effects of going over the line.”

Bloom also denied a report that ownership put pressure on the front office to land Max Scherzer. The Sox were known to have interest in the former Nationals ace, and Scherzer was reportedly open to the idea of waiving his no-trade protection to come to Boston, before he eventually agreed to be dealt to the Dodgers.

Angels Notes: Deadline Trades, Minasian, Cobb, Ward

By Mark Polishuk | July 31, 2021 at 5:46pm CDT

The Angels acted as sellers rather than buyers at yesterday’s trade deadline, moving Andrew Heaney to the Yankees and Tony Watson to the Giants in a pair of deals. However, these were the only moves made, as “we were not focused on tearing down this team by any stretch,” GM Perry Minasian told The Los Angeles Times’ Jack Harris and other reporters. The club also explored adding players (including “higher-salary players,” as Minasian put it) to the big league roster, but couldn’t work out any such trade prior to the deadline.

“I think this group has earned the opportunity to continue to compete. To me, we did not go into this trade deadline with the mindset of, ‘Let’s do a total rebuild’ or anything like that.”

With a 51-52 record, the Angels are only on the outskirts of the playoff race, sitting seven games out of a wild card slot and 12.5 games behind the Astros in the AL West. Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon are still on the injured list, so it isn’t entirely out of the question that Anaheim could mount a late charge once those two stars eventually return, and even this slim chance of contention was enough to hold the front office off on unloading all of its rental players. Rumors circulated around closer Raisel Iglesias in particular, though Iglesias remains in an Angels uniform.

Alex Cobb is another of the rental players who wasn’t dealt, and it could be that the veteran righty’s health situation factored into that situation. Cobb was placed on the 10-day injured list last night (after the deadline) due to inflammation in his right wrist, though the injury is thought to be relatively minor.

Acquired in a trade from the Orioles last February, Cobb’s first Angels season has been very solid, as he has delivered a 3.84 ERA/3.62 SIERA over 77 2/3 innings despite dealing with blister issues and now his current wrist problem. Re-signing Cobb would certainly seem like a solid option for a Halos team that still needs pitching, and Cobb told MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger that he has let Minasian know that he would like to stay in Los Angeles, though the two sides haven’t yet had any official extension talks.

“I knew this was somewhere I wanted to be months ago….I’ve told a lot of people, you can kind of see which team is on the verge of being a championship-caliber team, and I don’t know that ’on the verge’ is right, because we have so many talented guys,” Cobb said.

In less-positive news for the Angels, the team announced that Taylor Ward suffered a non-displaced left rib fracture during a Triple-A game yesterday, and Ward has been placed on the minor league injured list. There isn’t any current word on how long Ward could be out of action.

It’s a tough break on multiple levels for Ward, who won’t accumulate any MLB service time while on the minors IL. He was only optioned to Triple-A last week after spending much of the season on the Angels’ roster, hitting a respectable .240/.322/.426 over 232 plate appearances and playing at all three outfield positions.

COVID Notes: 7/31/21

By Mark Polishuk | July 31, 2021 at 4:47pm CDT

The latest on coronavirus situations from around baseball…

Marlins manager Don Mattingly has tested positive for COVID-19, the team announced (MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola was among those to report the news). Mattingly is experiencing some mild symptoms but has been vaccinated against the coronavirus. Bench coach James Rowson will serve as acting manager while Mattingly is absent for the mandatory quarantine period. Tests of other Marlins personnel revealed no other positive cases.
Brewers right-handers Hunter Strickland and Jake Cousins both tested positive for COVID-19, manager Craig Counsell told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Haudricourt (Twitter links) and other reporters. Righty Jandel Gustave is also not available due to contact tracing. No official moves have been made in regards to the COVID-related injured list or roster replacements, though newly-acquired relievers John Curtiss and Daniel Norris are both on hand and could be activated for tonight’s game. Counsell said that Strickland and Cousins both reported mild symptoms, and both relievers have been vaccinated.

Deadline Notes: Rockies, Story, Mets, Bryant, Gibson, Nationals, Dodgers

By TC Zencka | July 31, 2021 at 3:07pm CDT

The Rockies reportedly received offers for All-Star shortstop Trevor Story from the Yankees, Brewers, White Sox, and Rays prior to Friday’s trade deadline, per Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter). The Rockies have been criticized for their failure to move Story, given that they are all but assured to lose him as a free agent after the season. They will get a draft pick when he departs, and their front office did not deem any of the offers received as appreciably better than that draft pick will be.

Despite all the talk, the Mets never came particularly close to acquiring Kris Bryant from the Cubs, per Mike Puma of the New York Post (via Twitter). The two clubs were obviously in steady communication — and eventually consummated a deal for Javier Baez — but the Cubs kept the conversation away from Bryant. Given how long Bryant had been “on the block,” the Cubs certainly had a sense of what was available.
The Mets did, however, explore the cost for Kyle Gibson of the Rangers, notes Puma, but the Rangers informed them that they had a better offer on the table from the Phillies.
The Nationals had the pieces in place for a deal that would have sent Max Scherzer to the Padres on Thursday night, but they also had a deal in place with an American League East team, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com. The Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays, and Red Sox were all said to have interest in Scherzer at one point or another.
As for the Dodgers’ side of that deal eventual deal, they were intent on holding onto Ryan Pepiot, Bobby Miller, and Landon Knack, despite wide-ranging interest in that trio of arms.

Royals Notes: Moore, Duffy, Merrifield, Barlow

By Mark Polishuk | July 30, 2021 at 11:50am CDT

The Royals parted ways with Danny Duffy yesterday, trading the veteran left-hander to the Dodgers for a player to be named later. Given Duffy’s long history with the Royals, it was a tough call for GM Dayton Moore, who told reporters (including Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star) that Duffy was “a family member” for the organization.

It remains to be seen if more difficult decisions are in store for Moore and company, as the Royals have a number of interesting trade chips. However, Moore indicated that the club would be more apt to move rental players, as opposed to players who are controlled beyond the 2022 season. By name, Moore said that the team didn’t want to move any of Whit Merrifield, Carlos Santana, or Mike Minor, though said the Royals would remain “open” to ideas.

The Royals signed both Santana and Minor as part of a rather busy offseason, indicating that the team felt it was to some extent on the other end of its semi-rebuild phase. After a hot start, Kansas City has since faded to a 45-56 record, though it makes sense that the Royals wouldn’t want to deal all their veterans and entirely start from scratch heading into 2022.

Merrifield’s name has been floated in trade rumors, as the Royals have reportedly been at least a little more willing than in the past to hearing what other clubs had to offer for the multi-position speedster. However, the Royals were known to be putting a hefty price tag on Merrifield, and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports that Merrifield “is likely” to remain in K.C. beyond today’s deadline.

Given Moore’s hesitations about moving veterans controlled for just one more season, it seems even more far-fetched that Kansas City would trade a player like Scott Barlow, though The Athletic’s Jayson Stark hears that multiple clubs have some interest in the right-hander. Barlow has a 2.70 ERA/3.36 SIERA and a 31% strikeout rate over 50 innings out of the Royals’ bullpen this season, and has been generally solid since making his MLB debut in 2018. Barlow is controllable through the 2024 season, so the Royals could demand for quite a bit in a reliever-hungry trade market, assuming they’re inclined to deal Barlow at all.

Blue Jays Are Leading Suitor For Jose Berrios

By Steve Adams | July 30, 2021 at 11:18am CDT

With Max Scherzer now likely headed to the Dodgers, Twins right-hander Jose Berrios becomes the clear top starter left on the trade market. The 27-year-old righty is earning $6.1MM in 2021, is controlled through 2022 via arbitration, and is in the midst of arguably his best season yet. Through 121 2/3 innings, Berrios has pitched to a 3.48 ERA with a strong 25.7 percent strikeout rate and an excellent 6.5 percent walk rate. Berrios has been as durable as they come, and while he might not be the bona fide, Cy Young-caliber ace that Scherzer is, he’s a clear option to start in a playoff game for most contenders.

It originally looked as though Berrios was a long shot to move, but the interest in him has been intense. The Athletic’s Dan Hayes reported yesterday that market for Berrios had exceeded the Twins’ expectations, making a deal increasingly likely. Virtually every contender or fringe contender has inquired, as you’d expect. Not all of them will remain in the mix as talks continue into the eleventh hour of deadline season, so with that in mind, we’ll run down today’s latest Berrios rumblings in this post…

The Blue Jays “appear” to be the leading suitor for Berrios at the moment, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets.

Earlier Updates

Darren Wolfson of 1500 SKOR North in the Twin Cities tweets that the Twins have at least four offers in hand, coming from teams on both coasts. The Padres, Wolfson adds, “will be in it until the end.” That meshes with last night’s report from AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, wherein he indicated that Berrios is now the Padres’ “primary target.”
The Padres, Rays and Mets are among the teams still talking to Berrios this morning, per The Athletic’s Jayson Stark (Twitter link). The Twins’ asking price has been too steep for the Mets for weeks, and that appeared to still be the case last night as well. The Rays haven’t been extensively tied to Berrios for long, but MLB Network’s Jon Heyman listed them as one of the most aggressive clubs on Berrios last night. It’s been a whirlwind deadline for the Rays, who’ve added Nelson Cruz but also subtracted some notable pieces in Diego Castillo and Rich Hill. Berrios would immediately become Tampa Bay’s top starter, at least as long as Tyler Glasnow is out. Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes that both the Rays and Blue Jays are still very much in the running.
The Yankees and Mariners also remain in the mix for Berrios, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, who also notes that interest in Berrios has picked up even since last night (Twitter links). It’s been an active deadline in both the Bronx and Seattle, although the Yankees have yet to address their starting pitching. Seattle has added Tyler Anderson, but he’s a rental and more of a back-of-the-rotation arm. Beyond that, with myriad injuries throughout their expected starting staff, the Mariners could certainly use multiple starters.

Rockies Rumors: Cron, Givens, Marquez

By Steve Adams | July 28, 2021 at 9:26am CDT

Rockies first baseman C.J. Cron left last night’s game with a groin strain and will be further evaluated today. Manager Bud Black said after the game that the Rockies have their “fingers crossed” that Cron won’t require a trip to the 10-day injured list (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Nick Groke), though that very comment is seemingly an acknowledgement of such a possibility. If Cron does head to the injured list, that would likely dash any hopes of the Rockies trading him — or at least of receiving much at all in return. (Injured players can still be traded.)

Cron has had a solid bounceback from last year’s knee surgery. Signed over the winter to a minor league contract with just a $1MM base salary, he’s batted .245/.357/.460 with 14 home runs. Cron played in just 13 games with the Tigers last season before incurring his season-ending knee injury, but he showed a massive uptick in plate discipline during that time — one that he’s carried over into 2021. This year’s 12.1 percent walk rate is more than double the career mark that Cron carried into the year. As a pending free agent with defensive limitations, he wouldn’t have commanded a huge return, but a healthy Cron earning barely more than league minimum would be a player of interest to contending clubs, even if it’s only as a bench bat against lefties.

More out of Denver…

Righty Mychal Givens is drawing plenty of interest on the market, tweets Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. That’s to be expected, as Givens is another impending free agent on a Rockies club that has zero postseason aspirations. He’s also a reasonably established late-inning reliever in the midst of a solid season, having pitched to a 2.73 ERA in 29 1/3 innings. Givens’ 27.4 percent strikeout rate is down about six percent from its 2019 peak, and his 11.3 percent walk rate is his highest since posting an 11.5 percent mark back in 2016. Both have been trending in the right direction over the past couple months, however. Givens would obviously help a contender’s bullpen, and with about $1.42MM of his $4.05MM salary owed beyond Friday’s deadline, he’s a pretty affordable option for other teams.
The Rockies remain “dead set” on keeping right-hander German Marquez, writes Nick Groke of The Athletic in his latest mailbag. Manager Bud Black plainly said earlier this month that the Rockies wouldn’t trade Marquez, noting that ownership and the front office felt similarly. Black indicated that the Rockies had already informed Marquez and several other players that they wouldn’t be moved at this year’s deadline. It’s a puzzling stance to take for a club in Colorado’s position, particularly if, as Groke later writes in response to another question, owner Dick Monfort wants interim Bill Schmidt to become the full-time general manager in the offseason. It’d be one thing if a club didn’t want an interim GM to make what could be a franchise-altering trade, but if the Rockies’ eventual GM search leads them back to the same executive who’s already pulling the strings, then there’s little reason to not at least listen to offers on Marquez — even if the preference is to keep him.

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