Giants Could Deal From Rotation Depth
The Giants have drawn interest in their starting pitchers, and while ace Logan Webb rather clearly figures to be off the table in any discussions, San Francisco has a handful of shorter-term options that could make for more realistic trade possibilities. FanSided’s Robert Murray wrote last week that lefty Alex Wood could be an option to change hands, and Ken Rosenthal and Jayson Stark of The Athletic have now similarly mentioned the possibility of trading Wood or another bulk-innings option as a means of acquiring either middle infield help or prospect depth.
A free agent at season’s end, the 32-year-old Wood has voiced a preference to remain with the Giants (link via Evan Webeck of the San Jose Mercury News). However, he’s also made clear he wants to start games, and San Francisco has frequently used him as a bulk option behind an opener. Four of Wood’s past six appearances have come in relief of an opener. He hasn’t reached six innings in an appearance all season and hasn’t recorded an out in the sixth inning since May 26.
The Giants have been careful about limiting the number of times Wood faces opponents in a game, and with good reason. In 2022, when the lefty was deployed solely as a starter, he held opponents to a .241/.300/.344 batting line on the first trip through the order and a .256/.307/.399 slash the second time around. In the 95 plate appearances where Wood turned a lineup over for the third time, opponents exploded for a .326/.368/.573 batting line. He had similarly problematic splits in 2021, too.
Wood could certainly still be of interest to clubs seeking help at the back of the rotation, although he currently looks like something of a buy-low candidate and might need to be swapped out for an infielder in similar standing with his organization. The veteran southpaw has a pedestrian 4.75 ERA on the season, and his 18.8% strikeout rate, 11.2% walk rate, 43.6% ground-ball rate and 1.19 HR/9 mark have all gone in the wrong direction, relative to his 2021-22 output. Wood is pitching in the second season of a two-year, $25MM deal and will reach free agency again following the season. About $4.167MM of this year’s salary remains to be paid out.
San Francisco has other arms to peddle in similar scenarios. Right-hander Ross Stripling and lefty Sean Manaea are both in the first season of two-year deals that guarantee them the same $25MM promised to Wood. Both, however, can opt out at season’s end. Neither has pitched up to his career standards, but both have been considerably better after a tough start to the year. Since returning from the injured list in late June, Stripling carries a 3.64 ERA and a sensational 22-to-1 K/BB ratio in 29 1/3 innings. Manaea, since a full-time move to multi-inning relief work, has 4.03 ERA with a 29.2% strikeout rate against just a 5.9% walk rate. The recent trends are encouraging, but the Giants might still have a tough time extracting present-day value in a trade — and it’s quite possible one or both will forgo his opt-out opportunity at season’s end. That’ll depend largely on how the final two months play out.
It’s worth noting that since reports about interest in the Giants’ rotation depth first emerged, right-hander Anthony DeSclafani was placed on the injured list. An MRI revealed a Grade 1 flexor strain, and DeSclafani is expected to miss a “few weeks” with the injury, at the very least. That, coupled with his prior struggles leading up to the IL placement (21 runs in his past 23 1/3 innings), figures to all but remove him as a trade candidate.
Mariners Willing To Listen To Trade Offers On Ty France, Teoscar Hernández
The Mariners are listening to offers on certain players on their roster, with Bob Nightengale of USA Today listing Ty France, Teoscar Hernández and Paul Sewald among those being discussed. Their openness on Sewald was reported last week.
The fact that the Mariners are listening to offers isn’t necessarily a shock, as most front offices these days take the approach that no one on the roster is untouchable and it’s worth hearing out all offers as a way to gauge the market. But the Mariners are in a position where dealing major league players might not be an outlandish thought.
Their 54-51 record is solid, but has them in fourth place in a strong American League West. The teams above them in the division have already been some of the most aggressive this week, with the Rangers recently acquiring Max Scherzer, Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton while the Angels grabbed Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López, C.J. Cron and Randal Grichuk. The Astros haven’t been quite so bold but did get Kendall Graveman from the White Sox, in addition to welcoming Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez back from the injured list.
The Mariners aren’t totally buried, currently sitting 5.5 games back in the division and 4.5 in the Wild Card race. FanGraphs still gives them a 16.9% chance of making the playoffs while Baseball Prospectus puts them at 15.2%. But since their position isn’t strong enough to be firm buyers, they might have to at least consider some selling, something that president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto recently admitted.
Listening on Hernández is understandable, as he’s an impending free agent. This summer’s market is generally considered to be light on impact bats, which could lead to the M’s receiving notable offers that help them in the future. But they would have to weigh those offers against hurting their chances here in 2023.
Acquired from the Blue Jays in the offseason, Hernández isn’t having his best season. His .238/.288/.408 batting line amounts to a wRC+ of 93, or seven percent below league average. But he hit .283/.333/.519 with the Jays from 2020 to 2022 for a 132 wRC+. The M’s were undoubtedly hoping for something more when they gave up Erik Swanson and Adam Macko for Hernández, especially considering his $14MM salary, but perhaps they can still recoup something before the deadline. Despite his diminished production, perhaps some club is willing to bank on his track record, especially with the aforementioned market conditions.
France would be a very different situation, as he can still be retained via arbitration for two more seasons beyond this one. Like Hernández, he’s having a down year relative to his own previous production, having hit .285/.355/.443 from 2020 to 2022 for a 128 wRC+ but just .253/.324/.367 this year for a 100 wRC+. That means that trading him now would be selling low and also punting on a player who could still help in the seasons to come. He’s making $4.1MM this year and will be due raises in the next two years before reaching free agency after 2025.
The Mariners have received a tremendous showing from Mike Ford recently, who was added to their roster at the start of June and has hit 11 home runs since then, serving primarily as the club’s designated hitter. His .238/.302/.540 batting line amounts to a wRC+ of 131. He comes with three further seasons of arbitration control, so perhaps the M’s might have some willingness to cash in France and try to put Ford at first base, but that would be a risky path. Ford’s breakout this year has come in just 139 plate appearances while he’s continued to strike out at a 35.3% clip and see 30.6% of his fly balls clear the fence. Since he hit .201/.301/.387 in 468 plate appearances prior to this year, he seems ripe for some regression.
The M’s might have to make some difficult decisions between now and the deadline, given the spot they’re in. They’re not totally out of it but would have to leapfrog teams like the Angels, Yankees and Red Sox before they’re even on the edge of a playoff spot. They could decide to make some moves that help them next year, though it might involve further limiting their chances here in 2023. It might also require them to sell low on players like Hernández and France. But the trade market was already light on impact bats, even before the Cubs pulled Cody Bellinger off the market. It’s understandable why the M’s might want to assess their options and see what a light selloff can do for them, but it would surely be a tough pill to swallow after they made the postseason last year for the first time since 2001.
Latest On Dodgers’ Pursuit Of Justin Verlander
Following the Mets’ decision to deal future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer to the Rangers over the weekend, eyes around the baseball world have turned toward the other Cooperstown-bound veteran in Queens: Justin Verlander. Previous reporting had connected the Astros, Dodgers, Braves, and Reds to the veteran ace, though the Astros and Dodgers have appeared to be the frontrunners for Verlander’s services, in the event that he’s moved before the deadline.
More recent reports have echoed that sentiment, with SNY’s Andy Martino indicating that “three or four” clubs, including the Dodgers and Astros, have engaged with the Mets on Verlander, though no talks have progressed to the point of an agreement on specific players. ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez expanded on the Dodgers’ reported interest with some specifics on negotiations between the sides.
Per Gonzalez, a deal between the sides is “unlikely” given the complicating factor of Verlander’s 2025 vesting option, which would convert to a player option if he pitches at least 140 innings in 2024. That being said, Gonzalez notes that the Mets were willing to pay down the majority of the money Scherzer was owed in order to extract a top prospect in the former of infielder Luisangel Acuna from the Rangers. Given the Mets’ dearth of top pitching prospects and the access LA enjoys, Gonzalez indicates that the likeliest path toward a Verlander deal would be the Dodgers putting together a prospect package of young pitchers that entices the Mets to pay down a significant portion of his salary.
Such a package would certainly be feasible for the Dodgers to put together, if they so chose. Five of the club’s top ten prospects are pitchers, per MLB Pipeline, and youngsters like Emmet Sheehan, Gavin Stone, and Ryan Pepiot are either already in or approaching the majors. That list also doesn’t include young hurler Bobby Miller, who was the club’s top pitching prospect before he became a key cog in the 2023 club’s rotation. While the Dodgers surely wouldn’t consider moving Miller, dealing from the aforementioned trio of prospects could be a reasonable course of action for the Dodgers, perhaps paired with a lower-level arm like Nick Frasso or Landon Knack.
With other top-tier options like Scherzer, Lucas Giolito, and Jordan Montgomery having already moved this deadline, it’s possible that the Dodgers may be running out of alternative options in their pursuit of rotation upgrades. Gonzalez indicates that the club is only expected to add further pitching if it’s an impactful addition, and with the likes of Blake Snell and Marcus Stroman seemingly unlikely to move, Verlander and Tigers lefty Eduardo Rodriguez could be the only arms left of that caliber.
Brewers Interested In Further Offensive Additions
The Brewers are hoping to add another bat to their lineup ahead of the deadline even after landing first baseman Carlos Santana in a deal with the Pirates last week, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. That Milwaukee is looking to add to their offense is hardly a surprise. The club’s collective wRC+ this season stands at just 88, bottom five in the sport and ahead of only the Rockies in the NL. While Santana addresses their lack of production from first base, they nonetheless have plenty of offensive holes to fill around their roster.
The club has gotten below average offensive production from every position around the diamond except for left field this season, though that certainly doesn’t mean they’ll be looking to upgrade their entire offense. Shortstop Willy Adames figures to be secure in his role, for example, and newly-promoted outfielder Sal Frelick figures to handle right field on a regular basis going forward. Given Joey Wiemer‘s quality defense in center field, it seems reasonable to expect him to remain a fixture in the lineup as well despite a lackluster wRC+ of 82.
The club could look to add offense to its infield by swinging a deal for third baseman Jeimer Candelario of the Nationals or second baseman Gleyber Torres of the Yankees, but the market for Candelario appears to be quite crowded and the Yankees currently appear more likely to buy than sell. That being said, either player would inject a well above-average bat into the club’s infield alongside Adames and Andruw Monasterio, the latter of whom can play anywhere on the infield as needed to accommodate a potential acquisition.
While an infield addition would make sense, the most straightforward way for the Brewers to improve their offensive production would be targeting an addition at DH. The club has gotten a pathetic 55 wRC+ from their DH slot to this point in the season, dead last in the majors. Adding a surefire, above-average bat who can be slotted in at DH on a daily basis would transform the look of the club’s lineup, and Matt Arnold‘s front office seems to know that given their reported interest in White Sox slugger Eloy Jimenez.
Jimenez, a former top prospect with a career 123 wRC+ and a contract that allows his club to control him through the end of the 2026 campaign, would be an excellent pickup for the Brewers, though he would likely come at a fairly hefty acquisition cost considering those positive attributes. There are a handful of rental options that could also be available to impact the club’s offensive profile at what would likely be a much more affordable prospect cost. Tommy Pham of the Mets, in particular, is a free agent after this season but has delivered a .268/.348/.472 slash line in 264 trips to the plate this season. Other possible options include Pham’s teammate Mark Canha or Red Sox slugger Adam Duvall.
While the Brewers are focused on adding to their offense, they appear to feel comfortable with their pitching staff as is with Rosenthal noting that Milwaukee does not expect to jump into the starting pitching market even after the loss of right-hander Julio Teheran to the injured list. Left-hander Wade Miley is expected to be activated from the 15-day injured list on Wednesday, while Rosenthal notes that righty Brandon Woodruff is set to make a rehab start tomorrow and could also rejoin the rotation in the near future.
Zach Eflin Avoids Injured List, Cleared To Start Tuesday
Rays fans were bracing for bad news when righty Zach Eflin exited his most recent start after four innings and went for an MRI on his left knee, but Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that he’s expected to avoid the injured list entirely. Eflin threw a 25-pitch bullpen session over the weekend and is now slated to start Tuesday against the Yankees. He’s not expected to have any limitations on his workload tomorrow.
It’s a sigh of relief for a Rays club that already lost Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen for the season. A third major injury would’ve surely accelerated Tampa Bay’s pursuit for rotation help, which has been ongoing, but it seems Eflin has avoided an injury of any real note. The right-hander’s chronic knee issues are well known; he’s spoken openly about them in the past, underwent surgery on both knees in 2016 and had a second surgery on his right knee in 2021.
That history of knee issues didn’t dissuade the Rays from making an aggressive bid to sign Eflin in free agency, ultimately inking him on a three-year, $40MM contract. He’s in the midst of perhaps the finest season of his career, tossing 116 1/3 innings of 3.64 ERA ball with a strong 25.2% strikeout rate, a masterful 3.7% walk rate and a career-high 51.7% ground-ball rate. He’ll remain in the rotation alongside Shane McClanahan, Tyler Glasnow and Taj Bradley.
The Rays were in the market for starting pitching help even before Eflin’s injury scare, and it stands to reason they’ll still be poking around that market, albeit with less urgency than if Eflin had endured a significant injury. Tampa Bay has been connected to the Cardinals’ available starters, and while Jordan Montgomery has since been traded to the Rangers, righty Jack Flaherty remains on the block. They were also tied to Marcus Stroman a few weeks ago, but that was before the Cubs rattled off an eight-game winning streak that thrust them back into the competition in the NL Central. He’s now unlikely to be moved. Lance Lynn, another Rays target, has since been traded to the Dodgers.
Even with those misses, there are still several names available. Michael Lorenzen, Eduardo Rodriguez, Justin Verlander, Jose Quintana, Aaron Civale and old friend Rich Hill are just some of the many pitchers whose names have been bandied about the rumor circuit over the past week or so.
Guardians Have Considered Making Aaron Civale Available
The Guardians’ rotation has been ravaged by injury this season, with right-handers Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie, Aaron Civale and Cal Quantrill all spending significant time on the injured list. They’ve already added Noah Syndergaard to help patch things over. Civale is healthy and pitching well right now, however, and the Guardians have at least pondered the possibility of selling high on him if it means acquiring a controllable young hitter, reports Zack Meisel of The Athletic. Cleveland has little appetite to trade prospects for a rental acquisition at this point, Meisel further notes.
MLBTR’s Anthony Franco looked at Civale’s trade candidacy two weeks ago, outlining the reasons he’d draw interest (strong results, affordable $2.6MM salary, two-plus seasons of club control remaining) and the reasons the Guardians could be reluctant to move the 28-year-old righty (an otherwise young rotation with workload concerns, injuries to other key starters, a desire to remain competitive in a weak AL Central, and that remaining club control that piques others’ interest). Little has changed in the equation since Anthony wrote that piece, perhaps with the exception of Civale’s ERA, which has continued to drop. Civale has taken the ball four times since that was written, and he’s posted a 1.85 ERA in 24 1/3 frames — dropping his season-long ERA from 2.56 to a stellar 2.34.
There are reasons to be skeptical of Civale’s ability to continue at quite such a strong pace. His career-low 19% strikeout rate is below the league average, and both his .242 average on balls in play and 82.7% strand rate seem bound to regress. He entered the season with respective marks of .281 and 72.3% in those areas. He’s also seen just 5.6% of his fly-balls turn into home runs, which is less than half the 12.5% league average and the 14% mark he carried into the current season.
Even when factoring for some expected regression, however, Civale is still a quality big league pitcher. He’s logged 430 innings in his career and touts a 3.77 ERA. Civale has regularly showed strong command, which has helped him limit hard contact at better-than-average levels. There are durability concerns, as he’s never reached 130 innings in a Major League season and never topped the combined 164 2/3 innings he pitched in the minors back in 2017 — his first full professional season. Civale has been on the minor league and big league injured list with a variety of injuries, including a lat strain, shoulder tightness, a finger sprain, a wrist sprain, forearm inflammation and, most recently, an oblique strain. It’s a lengthy list, but also one that notably does not include any surgeries.
Looking around the league, there’s no shortage of contenders seeking starting pitching — particularly affordable arms with multiple years of club control remaining. Not all of those clubs, however, are in position to deal a big league bat with multiple years of control remaining himself. Two weeks ago, Anthony listed both the D-backs and Orioles as teams brimming with young position players who could make such a swap. Both remain logical fits, as do the Cardinals and the Reds, to name a couple more.
Cleveland has a wealth of pitching talent, with rookies Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen and Gavin Williams currently finding success in the rotation. Bieber, who might’ve been a trade candidate this month were it not for a right elbow injury that sent him to the 60-day IL, is controlled through the 2024 season. He’s due a raise on this year’s $10MM salary, however, and could potentially be moved over the winter. Triston McKenzie (through 2026), Cal Quantrill (through 2025) and Peyton Battenfield (through 2029) all have multiple years of club control remaining beyond the current season. Trades of Civale and/or (in the offseason) Bieber could potentially yield additional pitching talent, and the Guards have numerous other yet-to-debut prospects, including Joey Cantillo, Tanner Burns and the again-injured Daniel Espino.
The Opener: Trade Deadline, Syndergaard, Cubs, Reds
With trade season in full swing, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. The Trade Deadline Draws Near:
MLB’s trade deadline is less than 36 hours away, and things kicked into gear in a big way over the weekend. The Rangers transformed their rotation by adding Max Scherzer in a deal with the Mets and Jordan Montgomery in a deal with the Rangers. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays found a replacement for the injured Jordan Romano in Cardinals closer Jordan Hicks. The Angels added depth to their position player group by acquiring Randal Grichuk and C.J. Cron from the Rockies, while the Braves added infield depth of their own by dealing for Nicky Lopez from the Royals.
Looking ahead, the Red Sox are at least listening on outfielder Alex Verdugo, who could hold extra appeal to teams seeking a lefty-hitting outfielder after the Cubs took Cody Bellinger off the trade market. Among the biggest question marks headed into the last day before the deadline is Mets ace Justin Verlander. He signed a two-year, $86.666MM deal with the Mets during the offseason that included a no-trade clause, though comments from Verlander have indicated that the club’s decision to deal Scherzer and that decision’s implications for the club’s competitiveness in 2024 could make him willing to waive that no-trade protection. The Dodgers, Astros, Braves, and Reds have all been connected to the future Hall of Famer.
2. Thor Starts In Cleveland:
Right-hander Noah Syndergaard was recently shipped from the Dodgers to the Guardians in a change of scenery deal that sent infielder Amed Rosario the other way. He’ll make his first start for his new club today, taking the mound this evening against J.P. France and the Astros in Houston this evening. It will be Syndergaard’s first start since a three-inning, six-run blowup against the Reds in Cincinnati that raised his season ERA in 7.16. That was nearly two months ago, as the Dodgers placed Syndergaard on the IL with a blister issue. Now that Syndergaard is presumably fully healthy, the Guardians will hope that a new organization can help him get back on track, allowing Syndergaard to stabilize a Cleveland rotation that will be without Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie for the foreseeable future.
3. Series Preview: Reds @ Cubs
The NL Central has been one of this summer’s most back-and-forth division races, and a coming four-game set between the Reds and Cubs at Wrigley Field could once against turn the tides in their division. The Reds took the lead in the Central yesterday, putting them half a game ahead of Milwaukee and four games ahead of Chicago. The Reds are 3-3 in their last six games, while the Cubs just saw an eight-game win streak snapped by a loss last night. The Reds will try to pull further ahead in the Central with rookie left-hander Andrew Abbott on the mound (1.90 ERA). The Cubs will counter with right-hander Marcus Stroman (3.51 ERA) as they try to gain ground in the division.
Braves Designate Charlie Culberson For Assignment
The Braves made a series of roster moves this morning, per a club announcement. The club designated infielder Charlie Culberson for assignment to create room on the 40-man and active rosters for newly-acquired infielder Nicky Lopez. Meanwhile, left-hander A.J. Minter was activated from the 15-day injured list. Minter claimed a roster spot that was vacated by right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver when he was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett last night.
Despite the fact that Culberson was selected to the Major League roster on June 30, he appeared in only one game with the Braves and tallied a single plate appearance on July 16, during which he delivered a base hit. He’s otherwise been on-hand as bench depth but hasn’t been plugged into a game. This is the second time this season Atlanta has designated the veteran utilityman for assignment; he cleared waivers, elected free agency and quickly re-signed on a new minor league deal last time around.
Culberson, 34, has also appeared in 24 Triple-A games this season, batting .204/.234/.255 through 107 trips to the plate. It hasn’t been a strong year on the whole, but he’s beloved in the Braves organization, from the clubhouse to the fanbase, for his prior stints there in 2018-20. During that three-year period, Culberson delivered roughly league-average offense on the whole and appeared at every position other than catcher and center field. His penchant for clutch hits and walk-offs endeared him to Braves fans during that time, and Culberson enjoyed a career-best season with Atlanta in 2018 when he hit .270/.326/.466 with a dozen homers in 322 plate appearances.
The Braves will have until tomorrow evening’s trade deadline to trade Culberson if they choose, but it seems likelier that they’ll hope to pass him through outright waivers. He’d have the ability to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency once again, but given how quickly he re-upped with the Braves on a new minor league deal last time around, the same sequence could play out following his second DFA of the season.
Rangers Acquire Jordan Montgomery, Chris Stratton
The Rangers continue to bolster their pitching ranks, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan (Twitter links) reports that Texas and St. Louis have completed a trade to send Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton to Arlington. The Cardinals will receive left-hander John King, as well as infield prospect Thomas Saggese and right-handed pitching prospect Tekoah Roby. In the Rangers’ official announcement of the deal, it was noted that Texas also received an international bonus pool slot from the Cardinals. To create roster space, Texas designated right-hander Joe Barlow for assignment.
With the Cards in seller mode, Montgomery and Stratton were seen as two of the likeliest players to be moved prior to the deadline, as both pitchers are free agents after the season. Between this swap with the Rangers and the Cardinals’ move to send Jordan Hicks to the Blue Jays earlier this afternoon, it’s fair to guess that Jack Flaherty (another pending free agent) might also soon be headed elsewhere, and St. Louis could also look to some surplus position players with more team control as the Cards look to reload for 2024.
As for the Rangers, acquiring Max Scherzer on Saturday and now Montgomery today throughout reinforces the team’s rotation. Despite season-ending injuries to Jacob deGrom and Jake Odorizzi, Texas had gotten solid results from its starters for much of the year, but some cracks have begun to show. Most prominently, Nathan Eovaldi hasn’t pitched since July 18, and was placed on the 15-day injured list today due to a forearm strain.
It’s an ominous diagnosis for a pitcher who already has two Tommy John surgeries on his health history, and the Rangers obviously aren’t taking any chances with Eovaldi’s recovery or in their pitching staff’s ability to thrive without Eovaldi in action. Manager Bruce Bochy told reporters (including MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry) today that the team is “pretty confident” Eovaldi will be able to return after just the minimum 15 days, though Eovaldi will visit with a doctor for precautionary purposes.
Scherzer and Montgomery now join a rotation that also includes Martin Perez, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, and Dane Dunning, though it remains to be seen if Texas will stick with a six-man staff. Keeping an extra starter might be useful to help keep everyone fresh for the pennant race (and, the Rangers hope, through October), yet moving Dunning back to a relief role might also be an option. On the other hand, Dunning has pitched quite well since his return to starting work, whereas Perez and Heaney have been much more inconsistent and Gray has been struggling over the last month.
Montgomery was already part of a notable deadline trade last year, when the Yankees sent the left-hander to the Cardinals in a one-for-one trade for Harrison Bader. In his first full year with the Cardinals, Montgomery has a 3.42 ERA over 121 innings, though his SIERA is a less-impressive 4.30. The southpaw has done his usual above-average job of avoiding free passes (6.9% walk rate) and limiting hard contact, though Montgomery now has a second straight season of a below-average strikeout rate (21.2%). While Montgomery has never been a huge strikeout pitcher, his whiff rate has also taken a tumble to 24.1% in 2023 after years of much more solid results.
If Scherzer is expected to be more of a front-of-the-rotation arm, then Montgomery represents a mid-rotation starter who can be relied on to take the ball every fifth (or sixth) day and deliver respectable results. Likewise, Stratton won’t be displacing Will Smith as the Rangers’ closer or even taking over a top set-up role, but he gives Texas another good arm for higher-leverage situtions late in games.
Montgomery and Stratton will each be reuniting with Mike Maddux, who was the Cardinals’ pitching coach from 2018-22 before moving on to join the Rangers’ coaching staff this year. Stratton is also a known quantity to skipper Bruce Bochy, as Stratton broke into the majors in the Giants organization back when Bochy was managing the team in 2016.
Stratton is also on the move for the second straight year at the deadline, as the Pirates sent Jose Quintana and Stratton to the Cardinals last August. Stratton’s 2022 numbers picked up considerably after that deal, and he has somewhat continued that form this season, even if his bottom-line results haven’t been reflective. Stratton has a 4.36 ERA in 53 2/3 innings, though a 3.48 SIERA and 3.06 FIP indicate some bad luck on Stratton’s part, perhaps due to an unusually low 61.6% strand rate.
The right-hander doesn’t have the high-velocity arsenal associated with most relievers, nor are his hard-contact or walk rates anything special. However, Stratton does bring durability in his ability to pitch multiple innings, and he has some of the most elite fastball and curveball spin rates of any pitcher in baseball.
Without any reports of money changing hands between the two teams, it looks like the Rangers will be absorbing the remainder of the 2023 salaries for Montgomery (roughly $3.5MM) and Stratton (around $1MM). It’s not a big financial commitment to a team that has already been splurging on big-name talent over the last two seasons, and Roster Resource projects that Texas is still just barely under the $233MM luxury tax threshold. The Rangers reportedly don’t have any issue crossing the tax threshold, so if another upgrade presents itself before Tuesday’s trade deadline, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the front office make another deal or two.
Among the players going back to the Cardinals, King is the best-known name to fans, as the lefty has a 4.27 ERA over 126 1/3 innings out of the Texas bullpen since he made his big league debut in 2020. A grounder specialist who has a very impressive 61.7% career groundball rate, King is naturally more susceptible than most to batted-ball luck, so his huge .379 BABIP over 18 2/3 innings has been the main factor in his 5.79 ERA.
The Rangers have sent King back and forth from Triple-A on a couple of occasions this season, and he is under team control through the 2026 campaign. The Cardinals will have the rest of the year to take a look at King and see if he might be an option for their bullpen going forward, plus in a more immediate sense King will add some left-handed depth to the St. Louis relief corps.
That said, Roby and Saggese are the bigger parts of this trade from the Cards’ perspective, as they join the three youngsters obtained in the Scherzer and Hicks deals as part of the sudden reload of the St. Louis farm system. MLB Pipeline ranked Roby as the Rangers’ 11th-best prospect and Saggese 14th, while Baseball America had a similar tack in placing Roby 13th and Saggese 15th.
Roby was a third-round pick for Texas in the 2020 draft, and he has a 5.05 ERA over 46 1/3 innings and 10 starts at Double-A Frisco this season. While he has cut back on his walks and home runs allowed, Roby’s strikeout rate has also tumbled during his three pro seasons, though his 25.6% mark this year is still respectable. The scouting reports from both Pipeline and BA pinpoint Roby’s command as his biggest issue, as his overall arsenal is solid. Pipeline gives a 55 grade (on the 20-80 scale) to all four of Roby’s pitches, though their report notes that the 21-year-old “may not have a true plus pitch” as a go-to offering.
Adding Roby will help St. Louis restock the minor league pitching ranks, while Saggese seems to fit the Cardinals’ preferred profile of a multi-positional infielder. Saggese has mostly played second and third base over his three pro seasons, while also getting a good chunk of action as a shortstop. He isn’t necessarily a standout defender at any position, but Pipeline liked his ability to stick at second base, and Saggese’s versatility is surely an asset as he climbs the ladder towards the big leagues.
The 21-year-old was also a 2020 draft pick (taken in the fifth round), and Saggese has done nothing but hit in the minors, including a .314/.380/.514 slash line and 15 homers over 417 plate appearances at Double-A in 2023. The pundits note that Saggese’s aggression at the plate can sometimes backfire, yet he has shown a bit more patience this season with an 8.2% walk rate.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
NL West Notes: Kim, Padres, JDM, Smith, DeSclafani, Giants
Ha-Seong Kim suffered what Padres manager Bob Melvin described as a “jammed shoulder” that led to an early exit from today’s game against the Rangers. Kim suffered the injury while diving to score a run in the third inning, and partially colliding with Texas catcher Sam Huff while trying to reach and touch the plate. The good news is that tests revealed no structural damage, and Kim expressed hope that he might be able to play as early as Monday when the Padres start the series in Denver with the Rockies.
Only nine players have a better fWAR than Kim’s 3.7 total, as his bat (.279/.374/.447 with 14 homers and 21 steals in 391 plate appearances, for a 130 wRC+) and excellent defense (primarily as a second baseman but also at third base and shortstop) have somewhat quietly made him one of the better overall performers in baseball this season. Even if he misses a game or two, Kim’s presence is key to a team that might still be the biggest unknowns as the trade deadline approaches. The Padres are 52-54 and are five games out of a wild card spot, with three other non-playoff teams still ahead of San Diego in the standings. The Padres are known to be at least listening to trade offers for some of their top names, but The Athletic’s Dennis Lin and Ken Rosenthal write that their “asking prices for both [Blake] Snell and [Josh] Hader…have been exorbitant.” It seems increasingly likely that San Diego might wait until almost the last minute before deciding whether to sell, buy, or (the most probable course) a combination of both tactics.
More from around the NL West…
- J.D. Martinez will undergo an MRI to determine the nature of his nagging left hamstring problem, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including MLB.com’s Juan Toribio). The veteran slugger has been bothered by the injury for almost a week, and tests should determine whether an IL stint might be necessary. Martinez missed close to three weeks due to back problems earlier this season, but it has otherwise been a strong year for the 35-year-old, who reached the All-Star Game and is hitting .260/.310/.562 with 25 homers over 365 PA.
- The Dodgers got another injury scare Sunday when Will Smith had to leave the game after being hit in the elbow by a Graham Ashcraft pitch. Smith remained in the game for three more innings after being hit and x-rays were negative, so the catcher is considered day-to-day and might be able to return as early as the Dodgers’ next game on Tuesday. Another Los Angeles All-Star, Smith has continued to be one of the game’s best catchers, entering today’s action with a 137 wRC+ (from 13 homers and a .279/.386/.474 slash line in 347 PA).
- The Giants placed Anthony DeSclafani on the 15-day injured list earlier today due to a right elbow flexor strain, with Tristan Beck recalled from Triple-A in the corresponding move. Manager Gabe Kapler told reporters (including Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle) that DeSclafani will miss “several weeks” with the injury, which at least creates some question as to whether or not DeSclafani might have thrown his last pitch of the 2023 season. An MRI revealed a grade 1 strain after DeSclafani reported some forearm discomfort during a bullpen session. DeSclafani’s injury might end whatever chance there was that the Giants might deal from their starting pitching depth, and it’s even possible San Francisco might look to add an arm before the deadline. Beck, Sean Manaea, or Jakob Junis could all be candidates to replace DeSclafani in the rotation or as bulk pitchers (behind an opener).
- Sticking with the Giants, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that San Francisco had interest in both Amed Rosario and Enrique Hernandez before the Dodgers landed both players in respective trades with the Guardians and Red Sox. With Brandon Crawford back from the injured list and Thairo Estrada also back soon, the Giants may no longer have quite as pressing a need for infield help, though Rosenthal feels the Giants could still trade from their pitching depth to address another need.