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Quick Hits: Cano, Mets, Familia, D-backs, S. Miller, White Sox

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Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano has been out since mid-May on account of both an 80-game suspension and a fractured right hand. In his absence, the Mariners have deployed Dee Gordon at second, and they’re not going to waver from that upon Cano’s return. “We are looking at Dee as our second baseman,” general manager Jerry Dipoto said Friday (via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times). “There may be a time, especially mid-August to the end of the season where he slides out to center field for a day. But primarily he’s going to play second base.” With Gordon poised to continue at second, it seems Cano will primarily handle first base when he comes back. Although the 35-year-old Cano has never lined up at first, he certainly has the bat for the position. If Cano’s his usual self at the plate, he’ll be an easy upgrade over Seattle’s current starting first baseman, Ryon Healy, though the former’s suspension means won’t be eligible for the postseason if the contending Mariners earn a spot.

Here’s more from around the game…

  • The Mets pulled off a major trade Saturday in sending pending free-agent closer Jeurys Familia to the Athletics for third baseman William Toffey, right-hander Bobby Wahl and $1MM in international bonus money. Keith Law of ESPN (subscription required) isn’t impressed with the Mets’ half of the deal, writing that Toffey and Wahl are “two fringe-at-best prospects” and lambasting the big-market club for its penny-pinching ways. Law, who credits the A’s for paying next to nothing for a proven reliever, goes on to offer in-depth assessments of Toffey and Wahl in his piece.
  • If Diamondbacks right-hander Shelby Miller returns this season from elbow inflammation, he may work as a reliever, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters (including Zach Buchanan of The Athletic) on Friday. For now, Miller’s in the midst of a 10- to 14-day shutdown period, Buchanan notes, though he doesn’t have any UCL damage. Miller, out since July 12, endured a nightmarish few starts before going on the DL. In his first action since undergoing May 2017 Tommy John surgery, Miller yielded 19 earned runs on 24 hits and seven walks in 15 innings (four starts).
  • White Sox reliever Nate Jones suffered a setback in his recovery from a pronator muscle strain and will be shut down for two weeks, Scott Merkin of MLB.com tweets. The team still expects Jones to come back this year, Merkin adds, though it seems too late for him to emerge as an in-season trade chip. The 32-year-old Jones has already been out for more than a month, making this his second straight injury-shortened campaign. Jones, whom elbow problems limited to 11 2/3 innings last year, has thrown 24 2/3 frames this season and registered a 2.55 ERA/4.61 FIP with 9.85 K/9 and 5.11 BB/9.

Athletics Acquire Jeurys Familia

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In a trade that has been widely expected since last night, the Athletics have officially acquired right-hander Jeurys Familia from the Mets. In exchange, the Athletics have sent a pair of minor leaguers back to New York: third baseman William Toffey and right-hander Bobby Wahl. The Mets will also receive $1MM in international bonus money, while the Athletics will take on all of Familia’s ~$3MM remaining salary.

With Familia set to reach free agency at season’s end, and the Mets suffering through a miserable 40-55 season thus far on the year, the closer’s ticket out of Queens has been all but purchased for weeks. Familia earned the number two spot on our Top 75 Trade Candidates At The All-Star Break list owing in part to the above factors as well as his excellent start to the 2018 season. Thus far, Familia’s managed an excellent 2.88 ERA and 17 saves to go along with 9.52 K/9 and a 50.5% ground ball rate.

Familia’s excellence goes beyond the common surface stats, too. His peripherals have earned him a 2.54 FIP, for one. He’s also been excellent at limiting homers, with a minuscule 2.8% homer-to-fly-ball rate on the season. An even deeper dive reveals that Familia has allowed hard contact at just a 26.8% clip during a season in which hard contact is up on the whole, and he’s also managed to induce swinging strikes on 12% of his pitches. According to Statcast, the batted ball profile of hitters against Familia gives him an xwOBA of just .289, which is only a few points above his actual wOBA (.273).

The excellent figures above are a well-timed bounce back from a miserable 2017 season for Familia that began with a 15-game domestic violence suspension and got even worse when it was revealed that the righty had an arterial clot in his right shoulder that would ultimately require surgery to repair. By the time he was finally able to return on August 26th, he looked nothing like himself, posting a 4.70 ERA while walking 4.11 batters per nine and not even notching a strikeout per inning. His 2018 comeback not only allowed the team who signed and developed him to capitalize on his success and reap a prospect return, but it also earned Familia a trade to a contending team, and the promise of pitching in meaningful games by which he can boost his free agent pay day.

That team, the Athletics, didn’t look like a serious player for the American League West crown early on in the season. But thanks to a torrid stretch during which they’ve gone 21-7, the Athletics have vaulted themselves into contender status and currently sit just four games out of the second AL Wild Card spot currently owned by the division rival Mariners. A breakout season from third baseman Matt Chapman, a career year from infielder Jed Lowrie, and the continued success from young core players such as Matt Olson and Sean Manaea are all contributing factors to the A’s owning an impressive 55-43 record at this juncture.

Familia will join an elite-level A’s bullpen that’s already 38-0 this season when leading after seven innings. That group includes breakout closer Blake Treinen along with other excellent 2018 performers such as Lou Trivino, Chris Hatcher, Ryan Buchter and Yusmeiro Petit. There’s no word on who will handle the closing duties in the Familia era in Oakland, but it seems quite possible that Familia could supplant the incumbent Treinen in order to suppress his saves, a stat that holds an inordinate amount of weight in baseball’s arbitration process and would therefore help to drive up Treinen’s price tag in future seasons.

As for the Mets, it signals the waving of a white flag on the 2018 season. It’s not clear yet, however, whether the move signals a short retooling phase or a longer-term, larger-scale rebuilding process that could drive them to ship out players with longer-term club control such as Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Michael Conforto. With the meteoric rises of the division-rival Braves and Phillies, and the Nationals unlikely to go south anytime soon, the NL East doesn’t figure to get any easier in the ensuing seasons. Add to that uncertainty surrounding the future of the injured Yoenis Cespedes (who will likely require surgery and a nine-month rehab period), and the development of young players like Amed Rosario and Dominic Smith not working out as planned, it’s possible the Amazins could be motivated to tear down the major league roster and start from scratch.

Though manager Mickey Callaway stated this morning that the Mets would go with a closer-by-committee approach in the post-Familia era, it’s worth noting that he made the exact same comment at the beginning of the season before proceeding to use Familia as his 9th-inning hurler almost exclusively. During times when Familia was unavailable, Callaway turned to multi-inning workhorse Robert Gsellman, who’s earned five saves on the season (including one last night when Familia was kept on the pine amidst trade discussions).

With Familia headed to Oakland, the market figures to focus its attention on Zach Britton, who earlier today was deemed “the next Oriole out the door” by beat reporter Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. In a concurring report, Buster Olney of ESPN tweeted that Baltimore is expected to move Britton as soon as this weekend. Joakim Soria, Raisel Iglesias and Fernando Rodney represent some right-handed alternatives to Familia who could now garner increased attention from the Cubs, Diamondbacks, Indians, Red Sox and Braves (Jon Heyman of Fancred reports that those clubs were all players for Familia). Meanwhile, Zach Duke and Felipe Vazquez could earn the focus of clubs looking for a southpaw.

The trade of Familia marks the latest development in a surprisingly fast-moving trade market for relief pitchers. The Mariners acquired Alex Colome from the Rays back in May, the Nationals landed Kelvin Herrera from the Royals in June, the Indians pried Brad Hand from the Padres before the All-Star break came to a close, and the Cubs traded for Jesse Chavez later that night; and it’s still ten days in advance of the actual trade deadline. It falls in line with a trend we saw this past offseason in which teams are aggressively pursuing reliable relievers, perhaps because they seem to be more valuable than ever before.

Toffey, 23, is a left-handed-hitting third baseman who came to the Athletics by way of their fourth-round pick in the 2017 draft. In 197 plate appearances at Class A Advanced this season, he’s hit .244/.357/.384. Baseball America ranked him as Oakland’s 19th-best prospect headed into the 2018 season, noting his excellent plate discipline. Though he doesn’t possess any serious raw power, scouts believe it’s possible he’ll be able to hit some bombs simply by virtue of his ability to wait and swing at his pitch. Toffey’s best tool, perhaps, is his glove, though his fringe-average speed may prevent his defense from reaching its true ceiling.

Wahl is perhaps the better of the two prospects in this deal. Though his September cup of coffee last season was average at best (four earned runs, eight strikeouts and four walks in 7 2/3 innings), Wahl’s been mowing down opponents at Triple-A Nashville so far this season. Across 39 2/3 innings, the right-hander owns a 14.75 K/9 figure against 3.86 BB/9 and has posted a 2.27 ERA that’s not too far below his 2.52 FIP. If he’s able to produce something close to those numbers at the major-league level, he could be a fixture in the Mets’ bullpen for years to come.

Despite the interesting upside for Wahl, the general consensus in the industry is that the prospect return in this trade isn’t particularly impressive, especially considering the trade value of Familia. It could be that the $1MM in international bonus money is the true prize in this deal, and if that’s the case, we could see the Mets come to terms with one of the top remaining international prospects in the coming days; high-upside Cuban righty Osiel Rodriguez currently tops the list of unsigned players.

Jane Lee of MLB.com was the first to report that two sides had come to an agreement involving two prospects and international bonus pool money. Shortly thereafter Joel Sherman of the New York Post revealed which prospects were headed back to the Mets. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle first noted that the international bonus pool amount was $1MM, and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic made first mention that the A’s were taking on all of Familia’s remaining salary. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Athletics, Cubs Among Teams Showing Interest In Mets Closer Jeurys Familia

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The Athletics are “among the teams hoping to land” righty Jeurys Familia from the Mets, according to a report from Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The Cubs are also showing interest in Familia, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets.

It seems these organizations are hardly the only ones with interest. At least seven or eight contenders have made contact regarding Familia, according to reports from Andy Martino of SNY.tv and MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. The precise timeline of a deal isn’t at all clear, and will surely depend upon how talks progress. But the Mets are already “exchanging names” of potential prospects with interested teams, Martino adds.

It really isn’t surprising to hear of this broad interest. Familia is an established closer who’ll hit the open market this fall after the struggling Mets wrap things up for the year. We recently tabbed Familia as the #2 player on our list of the top 75 trade deadline candidates. (The top name on the board, of course, has since been moved.)

Some might raise eyebrows, though, to hear that the A’s are one of the teams poking around. The club may only have hopes of challenging the Mariners for a Wild Card spot, after all, and getting Familia would mean offering more than motivated rivals. Plus, the Oakland club already has received impressive performances at the back of its bullpen.

Still, president of baseball operations Billy Beane has made clear he sees the deadline as a chance to get better. While the rotation remains a more obvious area of need, finding a significant improvement there may prove quite challenging given the supply-and-demand situation. And despite the good late-inning work from existing hurlers, modern baseball teams can never have enough good relief pitching. Indeed, the A’s just cut loose veteran righty Santiago Casilla, so they clearly aren’t fully satisfied with their current mix.

From the Mets’ perspective, the hope clearly will be that multiple contenders will push hard for Familia. Heading into the All-Star break, he had compiled 40 2/3 innings of 2.88 ERA ball with 9.5 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, and a 50.5% groundball rate. While there are plenty of talented relievers that could be had, relatively few of those are clearly slated to be dealt away by their current organizations. Zach Britton, Joakim Soria, and Fernando Rodney are perhaps the top alternative pitchers of this ilk.

A’s Release Santiago Casilla

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The A’s announced Thursday that they’ve released veteran right-handed reliever Santiago Casilla, whom they’d recently designated for assignment.

The 37-year-old Casilla had a solid surface-level ERA, pitching to a 3.16 mark through 31 1/3 innings of relief. However, he’s issued 20 walks, hit four batters and thrown four wild pitches in that time while striking out just 22 hitters. The righty’s 92.9 mph average fastball velocity was the lowest mark of his career, and his nine percent swinging-strike rate is his lowest full-season mark as well.

Casilla is earning $6MM in 2018 — the second season of a two-year, $11MM free-agent deal he signed with the A’s in the 2016-17 offseason. He’s still owed about $2.35MM of that sum through season’s end. As a free agent, he’ll be able to sign with any club, and a new team would only owe him the pro-rated portion of the league minimum through season’s end. The Oakland organization will remain on the hook for the rest of that salary.

While the 2018 season hasn’t been a good one for Casilla, he pitched to a 2.66 ERA with much better marks of 8.4 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 in 435 2/3 innings between San Francisco and Oakland from 2010-17.

All-Star Notes: Red Sox, Lowrie, Markakis, Abreu

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While the focus this time of year is obviously on trade possibilities, the All-Star break also provides reporters an opportunity to ask players about their own long-term preferences. It’s not surprising, then, that we’ve seen a run of stories on players who won’t be traded away, but also aren’t under long-term control.

  • The Red Sox have certainly enjoyed an excellent opening run, led by excellent performances from a number of core players. It’d be a surprise to see any mid-season dealmaking, but the club might be expected to look into some new arrangements in the offseason to come. Closer Craig Kimbrel represents the most pressing situation, since he’ll be a free agent. As Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports, Kimbrel says he and his family would “love to stay” but certainly indicated he’ll wait to see what the market bears. Though he only arrived a few months ago, slugger J.D. Martinez says he’d be open to exploring a new pact that might eliminate some of his opt-out opportunities, as he tells Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. Of course, there’s plenty of time left before he’s scheduled to have a shot at returning to the open market (post-2019), and there’s reason to wonder whether the organization really would want to pay up to enhance its control rights. In between those two players in terms of contract situation is staff ace Chris Sale. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe argues that, with one more option year left to go, the Boston organization ought to look into locking up the 29-year-old for the foreseeable future.
  • It seemed at one time that infielder Jed Lowrie would feature as a trade chip, but the surging Athletics obviously now have no plans to sell. Instead, attention has turned to the question whether he might end up returning to Oakland at season’s end. As John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle writes, Lowrie says the front office has “expressed interest this time” around — unlike the prior time his contract with the A’s was nearing an end. Lowrie, a first-time All-Star in his 11th MLB season, indicated that he’d be open to working something out to return for a sixth campaign in Oakland, though it’s not clear whether any effort at mid-season talks will be made.
  • It’s a similar story for Braves outfielder Nick Markakis, another respected veteran who finally earned an All-Star nod. As Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes, Markakis indicated he expects to keep playing after his contract runs out this fall — which is no surprise given his strong performance thus far. Whether that’ll take place in Atlanta or elsewhere, though, isn’t yet on his mind. “We’ll deal with that stuff in the offseason when the time comes,” says the veteran.
  • Those sorts of questions have long floated around White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu, who stands out as a quality veteran on a very youthful roster. As Steve Greenberg of the Chicago Sun-Times reports, Abreu says he hopes to have a chance to win before his time is up in Chicago. His focus is on “just trying to enjoy the moment with the team” at the moment, but the slugger also indicated that he’s at least open to spending more time on the South Side. “I’d like to stay with this team,” says Abreu. “And I’m going to do all in my power to make this team good as soon as possible.”

AL West Notes: Mariners, Hamels, Parker, Anderson, Bedrosian, A’s

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Some news from around the AL West, as the division heads into the All-Star break with four teams over the .500 mark…

  • There was some buzz last month about the Mariners discussing a trade for Cole Hamels, though the Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish hears that the Mariners’ “interest was greatly overplayed.”  Whatever talks the M’s and Rangers had about Hamels could have been simply due diligence on the part of Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto, who “checks in on every player and will never toss away any proposal immediately.”
  • The Mariners’ general need for pitching is further explored by Divish as part of his mailbag piece, as he isn’t sure Seattle will necessarily target a starter.  For one, a clear top-of-the-rotation arm may not be available.  The team’s search for such a pitcher is further complicated by the fact that some members of Mariners ownership and the upper-level management team aren’t keen on acquiring players who are only under contract for the rest of this season (i.e. Hamels or J.A. Happ, another pitcher linked to Seattle on the rumor mill.)  It should be noted that Hamels is technically under control for 2019 via a club option, though at a steep cost of $20MM.  As for a more controllable arm on a frequent Mariners trade partner, Divish doesn’t believe the M’s have the prospect depth to obtain Chris Archer from the Rays.
  • The Angels have been getting calls about such relievers as Blake Parker, Cam Bedrosian, and Justin Anderson, Ken Rosenthal reports in a video update for FOXSports.com.  All three right-handers have pitched well this season, with Parker stepping up as Anaheim’s first choice at closer in the wake of Keynan Middleton’s Tommy John surgery.  Rosenthal suggests the Angels will be open to selling high on these arms due to the “volatile” nature of relief pitchers on a year-to-year basis, though obviously L.A. would want a decent return since all three come with multiple years of control.
  • With the Athletics positioned to make additions at the trade deadline, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser figures the team will look to add pitching in some form.  Though the rotation is Oakland’s biggest need, Slusser suggests the A’s could “get creative” by bolstering its already-solid relief corps, which would allow the starters to make shorter outings before turning things over to the bullpen.  If the A’s do pursue a starter, it will be a mid-tier arm rather than a frontline ace — Slusser suggests the Twins’ Jake Odorizzi or Lance Lynn as the types of starters Oakland would look at obtaining, though there isn’t any indication that the A’s have specific interest in either of those Minnesota pitchers.

Athletics Designate Santiago Casilla, Select J.B. Wendelken

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The Athletics have made a series of roster moves; most notably among them is the DFA of right-hander Santiago Casilla. The club also selected the contract of 25-year-old righty J.B. Wendelken, while simultaneously optioning righty Ryan Dull, promoting infielder Franklin Barreto and reinstating righty Daniel Mengden from the 10-day DL.

It’s been a solid enough season for the 37-year-old Casilla on the surface, who owns a 3.16 ERA through 31 1/3 innings pitched. But his 4.08 FIP and 5.80 xFIP paint a wildly different picture. He’s also walked nearly as many hitters (20) as he’s managed to strike out (22), in part due to a career-low 9.0% swinging strike rate. As Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle notes, he’s likely to go unclaimed; Casilla is in the second season of a two-year, $11MM deal, and any claiming team would be on the hook for the prorated portion of his salary. He’ll likely be given the choice to accept a minor league assignment.

Wendelken will be making his first appearance in the majors since 2016, when he tossed 12 2/3 rough innings for the Athletics to the tune of a 9.95 ERA. The right-hander ultimately required Tommy John surgery, and remained out of commission until the beginning of this season. Thus far at the Triple-A level, he’s chucked a healthy 28 1/3 innings, managing a 3.49 ERA (2.39 FIP). The most impressive part about Wendelken’s performance this year is a whopping 14.29 K/9 against just 2.54 BB/9; it certainly seems likely that he’ll prove an upgrade over Casilla.

Mengden, 25, hasn’t pitched since June 23rd after suffering a right foot sprain during a start in which he gave up five earned runs across just two innings. While Mengden certainly isn’t known as an overpowering pitcher (5.46 K/9), he limits walks (1.89 BB/9) and has posted a 4.47 ERA on the season thus far in 90 2/3 innings.

Billy Beane Says He Sees Athletics As Buyers

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It sounds as if the Athletics won’t shy away from improving their roster despite facing a challenging path to the postseason. President of baseball operations Billy Beane indicated he’s “preparing” to act as a buyer this summer in an interesting chat with Tim Kawakami of The Athletic (subscription link).

Clearly, the A’s front office will be realistic both about the odds of the postseason and the need to keep an eye on the future. As Beane says, the club will “have to be calculating and not go scorched earth” at the deadline, particularly given that it is still facing a big gap in the Wild Card race and a very tall order to challenge in the division.

That said, Beane made clear that he sees a chance to make this a season to remember. “The idea that we can sort of push off an opportunity because we think we’ll be better next year is just a bad approach from our standpoint,” he said. “We’ve got to do everything we can.”

While there are no promises that any additions will be made, and there are still a few weeks until the deadline, it’s clear there’s a sense of optimism in Oakland. The A’s entered play today twelve games over .500, after all, even while cobbling together a rotation that is missing many of its most promising young arms due to injury.

Unsurprisingly, Beane suggested the starting staff is the primary area he’ll target at the deadline. That certainly seems to be the clearest area for improvement on the roster, though it’ll at least be interesting to see just how bold the organization ends up being — and whether moves in other areas are at least contemplated.

Athletics Select Contract Of Jeremy Bleich

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The Athletics have selected the contract of lefty Jeremy Bleich, per a club announcement. To open a 40-man spot, the club shifted Andrew Triggs to the 60-day DL.

This move is ten years in the making for Bleich, a 2008 sandwich round pick who has never yet seen the majors. Persistence paid off for the Stanford product, who was selected by the Yankees and has also spent time in the Pirates, Phillies, and Dodgers organizations.

Now 31 years of age, the southpaw has turned in a solid showing this year at Triple-A. Through 39 innings in 27 outings, he owns a 3.00 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9. While he has been tagged by right-handed hitters, Bleich has held opposing southpaws to a .200/.224/.291 slash.

AL West Notes: M’s, Cano, Cruz, A’s, Astros, Tucker

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Speaking with reporters (including Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times) on Saturday, Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano was apologetic about the 80-game suspension he has been serving since mid-May. Cano tested positive for Furosemide, which is a diuretic that masks the effects of PEDs, though he suggested that he didn’t knowingly take a banned substance. “The city of Seattle has become my second home for my family and I. I’m grateful to the organization, my teammates and the fans and as you guys know, I’ve been getting tested for the last 12 seasons and I’ve never had an issue with MLB policy,” Cano said. “I was being treated for some medical ailments and I was being supervised by a doctor. But at the same time, I understand that everything that goes into my body, I’m responsible for that.”

Because the Mariners (56-34) have been on a roll without Cano, who’s eligible to return Aug. 14 but ineligible for postseason play, it’s unclear whether he’ll man second base again when he comes back. Dee Gordon has moved from center field to second in Cano’s absence, and it’s possible the Mariners will keep Gordon at the keystone through season’s end. Asked if he’d be on board with shifting positions upon his return, Cano noted, “I haven’t talked to (general manager) Jerry (Dipoto) yet, but I would do anything for the team.” Should Gordon remain at second, the 35-year-old Cano could head to first, where Ryon Healy has only offered league-average offense this season.

Here’s more on Seattle and two other playoff hopefuls from the AL West:

  • Thanks in part to the presences of Gordon and Healy, not to mention Cano’s age, he may have to move to designated hitter as early as next year, Bob Condotta of KLAY 1180 AM writes. The Mariners have Nelson Cruz at DH now, but he’ll be a free agent after the season. While Cruz is having yet another outstanding campaign at the plate, he’s unlikely to land an overly long or expensive contract considering his age (38) and inability to contribute on defense, Condotta posits. As such, whether the Mariners re-sign Cruz may hinge more on roster flexibility than whether they’re interested in meeting his asking price. Bringing Cruz back would affect not only the DH situation in Seattle, but also the team’s infield and outfield pictures, as Condotta explains in his piece.
  • The Athletics announced that they’ve reinstated left-hander Brett Anderson from the 10-day disabled list and placed righty Paul Blackburn on the 10-day DL (retroactive to Saturday) with right elbow lateral epicondylitis. Anderson missed nearly two months with a left shoulder strain, adding to a long list of injuries in the 30-year-old’s career. He struggled in 15 1/3 innings before hitting the shelf, yielding 13 earned runs on 25 hits. Blackburn has endured a similarly poor season in the run prevention department (7.16 ERA in 27 2/3 frames), though ERA estimators FIP (3.56), xFIP (4.33) and SIERA (4.37) suggest he has deserved far better. It’s unclear how much time Blackburn could miss, but the location of his injury is alarming – especially considering he sat out all of April and May with a right forearm strain. Swapping Anderson for Blackburn will continue to leave the A’s with more than a full rotation’s worth of starters on the DL (depth chart).
  • The three weeks leading up to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline will serve as a left field audition for Astros prospect Kyle Tucker, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal says. If the just-promoted Tucker doesn’t look ready to contribute on a regular basis, the Astros will “likely” look to acquire a veteran stopgap, according to Rosenthal, who points out that left field has not been an area of strength for their offense this season. Tucker, 21, made his Astros debut Saturday and went 1 for 4 with three strikeouts and a walk.
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