Marlins Agree To Terms With First-Rounder Noble Meyer
The Marlins have agreed to terms with their first-round pick Noble Meyer, per Craig Mish of the Miami Herald. Meyer will get a signing bonus of $4.5MM, south of the $5.48MM slot value for the 10th overall pick.
Meyer, 18, is a right-handed pitcher that was selected out of Jesuit High School in Beaverton, Oregon. Coming into the draft, he was a consensus first-round talent, though with disagreement about where to rank him amid the top 30 available players. Baseball America placed him #7 in the class, MLB.com #8, ESPN #9, FanGraphs at #12 and Keith Law of The Athletic at #26.
The 6’5″ righty is noted for having a fastball that sits in the low 90s that has can get to the high 90s. His slider is considered his best secondary offering, with his changeup deemed a work in progress. Law explains that he thinks Meyer could have been a top-1o talent but his relatively lower ranking is due to the lower success rate of high school pitchers taken in the first round.
The Marlins have shown a tendency to stockpile pitching depth in recent years, frequently having enough viable arms that they show up in trade rumors. They finally pulled off a significant deal along those lines in the most recent offseason, trading Pablo López and a couple of prospects to the Twins for Luis Arraez. Bringing Meyer into the system will add to their overall pitching corps, though he’s likely a ways away from the reaching the majors given his young age.
Yankees Select Matt Bowman, Transfer Josh Donaldson To 60-Day Injured List
The Yankees announced that they selected the contract of right-hander Matt Bowman yesterday and optioned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. In order to open a spot for him on the 40-man roster, third baseman Josh Donaldson was transferred to the 60-day IL.
Bowman, 32, signed a minor league deal with the club in the offseason and has been in Triple-A all year. He’s made 30 appearances and tossed 38 1/3 innings with a 3.29 earned run average. Neither his 22% strikeout rate nor his 11% walk rate are especially strong but he’s kept the ball on the ground at a 59.6% clip. It was reported on the weekend that Bowman triggered an opt-out in his deal, giving the club 72 hours to either add him to their roster or return him to the open market. It seems they have decided on the former, though he will stay in Triple-A for now. As soon as he spends 20 days on optional assignment, he will burn that final option and be out of options in 2024.
This will be his first time on a major league roster in almost three years. It was reported in September of 2020 that Bowman, then with the Reds, would require Tommy John surgery. He was outrighted by that club shortly thereafter and the Yanks then signed him to a two-year minor league contract covering the 2021-2022 seasons. Unfortunately, he didn’t pitch in either of those seasons before rejoining the Yankees on another minor league deal for 2023. Prior to those obstacles, he had made 183 major league appearances for the Cardinals and Reds with a 4.02 ERA.
As for Donaldson, 37, he was placed on the 10-day IL on the weekend due to a calf strain. It was reported in recent days that further testing placed his strain somewhere between a Grade 2+ and Grade 3. Manager Aaron Boone said it would be “a decent amount of time” before Donaldson would be back and it seems the club has decided he’s unlikely to return until very late in the season at the earliest. He’s now officially ineligible to return until 60 days from that initial IL placement, which would be in the middle of September in a best-case scenario.
That leaves a small window for Donaldson to return late in the year but raises the possibility that his tenure with the Yankees is effectively done. That’s not guaranteed, as the club hasn’t provided any more specifics on his estimated absence, but it seems to be on the table. Acquired from the Twins in a five-player trade prior to the 2022 season, his offensive production tailed off immediately after that deal. He hit .272/.373/.514 from 2013 to 2021 but has hit just .207/.293/.385 since donning pinstripes. He also missed almost two months earlier this year due to a right hamstring strain.
He’s in the final guaranteed season of his contract, with a $16MM mutual option for 2024 that comes with a $6MM buyout if the team declines. Given his downturn in production, injury issues and the fact that he turns 38 in the winter, it seems unlikely that the Yankees would have much interest in that net $10MM price point.
Cardinals Designate Ryan Tepera For Assignment
The Cardinals announced that they have activated outfielder Tyler O’Neill from the 60-day injured list, with right-hander Ryan Tepera designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
It’s been quite an unusual season for Tepera, who began the year with the Angels. He had parlayed his track record as an effective reliever into a two-year, $14MM deal with the Halos going into 2022. Last year was par for the course for him, as he posted a 3.61 earned run average in 59 appearances.
This year, however, he struggled through his first 10 outings, with a 7.27 ERA in those. He was released by the Angels and signed a minor league deal with the Rangers. He pitched eight scoreless Triple-A innings while striking out 37.9% of opponents, triggered an opt-out and then quickly landed a major league deal with the Cards. He tossed two innings for St. Louis, allowing two earned runs before getting bumped off the roster.
Since Tepera was released by the Angels, the Cardinals were only paying him the prorated league minimum, with the Halos on the hook for the remainder of his salary. The Cards will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers, though he has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency. He’ll likely wind up back on the open market, where another club can give him a shot for essentially no financial risk. With several relief pitchers likely to be traded between now and the deadline, some job opportunities might be opening up.
As for O’Neill, he’s been on the injured list since early May due to a lower back strain. He was in top form in 2021, hitting 34 home runs and stealing 15 bases while playing excellent defense, but has struggled since then. Going back to the start of 2022, he’s hit .228/.303/.380 for a wRC+ of 95. He’s played just 125 games while making trips to the IL due to a right shoulder impingement, a couple of left hamstring strains and this year’s back issues.
Despite those recent struggles, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak recently indicated the club plans on having O’Neill serve as the club’s everyday left fielder now that he’s back. With Lars Nootbaar, Jordan Walker, Tommy Edman, Alec Burleson and others in a crowded outfield mix, that’s led to speculation that Dylan Carlson could wind up traded in the coming days, something that MLBTR covered earlier today.
Pirates Release Travis Swaggerty
The Pirates have released outfielder Travis Swaggerty, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He was already removed from their roster when he was designated for assignment earlier this week, so this won’t impact their 40-man roster count.
The release appears to be a result of Swaggerty’s frustration injury situation. Earlier this summer, he spoke to Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about how he’s been dealing with migraines since November. “It’s been crazy, and there’s been times I’ve been at the plate where it felt like I could barely see because I had a migraine or I was having that vertigo,” Swaggerty said.
Swaggerty has been placed on the minor league injured list a couple of times this year due to the issue, including on June 16. He started a rehab assignment on July 7 but played just one game and hasn’t returned to a lineup since. Players on the injured list can’t be placed on outright waivers and Swaggerty doesn’t seem to have been formally activated from the IL, leaving the Pirates little choice but to release him.
Players in this situation will often sign a new deal with the releasing club, but that’s no guarantee and Swaggerty will at least have the opportunity to peruse other offers. Prior to his setbacks this year, he was a prospect of note, having been selected in the first round of the 2018 draft with the 10th overall pick. But the pandemic wiped out the minor leagues in 2020 and Swaggerty required shoulder surgery in 2021 after just 12 games.
After missing almost two whole years, he returned to the field last year and hit .254/.348/.399 in 107 Triple-A games. That was above-average production, but just barely, translating to a 102 wRC+. He also got into five major league games but struck out in four of his nine plate appearances and recorded just one hit, a single. Now this year’s migraine issues have prevented him from building off that healthy season, as he’s played just 22 minor league games this year.
Cardinals Sign Casey Lawrence To Minor League Deal
The Cardinals announced Thursday that they’ve signed right-hander Casey Lawrence to a minor league contract. Lawrence, a client of the Big League Management Company, opted out of a minor league deal with the Blue Jays earlier this week. The Cards have assigned him to Triple-A Memphis for the time being.
The 35-year-old Lawrence has appeared in parts of three big league seasons, pitching 96 2/3 frames but struggling to a 6.80 ERA. He has a much better track record in Triple-A, where he’s logged a 3.80 ERA in parts of eight seasons (544 1/3 innings). He also spent the 2019 season pitching overseas in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, where he recorded a 4.51 ERA in 105 2/3 innings.
Lawrence has spent the season to date with the Jays’ Triple-A club, logging a 4.67 ERA with a 20.5% strikeout rate, 7.3% walk rate and 45% ground-ball rate in 90 2/3 innings.
The Cardinals have been stockpiling experienced pitching depth over the past week. In addition to Lawrence, they’ve also added reliever Jacob Barnes on a minor league pact and signed Ryan Tepera to a big league deal, designating southpaw Genesis Cabrera for assignment in order to clear a spot for the veteran righty.
Mariners Place Jarred Kelenic On 10-Day IL, Promote Cade Marlowe
1:00pm: Mariners manager Scott Servais tells reporters that Kelenic’s injury occurred last night after he kicked a water cooler out of frustration following a ninth-inning strikeout (Twitter link via Adam Jude of the Seattle Times).
An emotional Kelenic met with reporters and expressed remorse (video link via Divish). “I let the emotions get the best of me,” said Kelenic. “I just feel terrible — especially for the guys. I just let them down, and I take full responsibility for it. It’s on me. It can’t happen.”
12:33pm: The Mariners announced that Kelenic has been placed on the 10-day IL due to a fracture in his left foot. A timeline for his return was not provided.
12:28pm: The Mariners are planning to recall outfield prospect Cade Marlowe prior to today’s game, reports Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. The 26-year-old will be making his MLB debut when he first takes the field. The team has not yet announced Marlowe’s promotion or a corresponding transaction, but Divish adds that Jarred Kelenic is wearing a walking boot pregame, so it seems likely there’s a pending trip to the injured list on the horizon.
Marlowe, a 20th-round pick in 2019, has elevated his stock from that humble draft status with consistently solid minor league showings — including a combined .287/.377/.487 slash between Double-A and Triple-A last year. Baseball America ranked him 16th among Mariners prospects heading into the season, noting that his speed, glove and power could make him at least a reserve outfielder in the Majors — despite questions about his hit tool.
Those concerns on his bat-to-ball skills were on display last year when he fanned in 38% of his 60 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. He’s pared that back to a more tolerable 25.4% in 2023, but Marlowe’s .255/.332/.461 slash in 319 plate appearances also represents a step back from last year’s production (and checks in below average in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, per wRC+). He’s still popped 11 homers this season and gone 25-for-29 in stolen base attempts this season.
Marlowe is already on the 40-man roster, so the Mariners don’t need to make a corresponding move in that regard. With Kelenic sidelined, Marlowe will be in line for plenty of at-bats in left field. Like Kelenic, he’s a left-handed hitter.
Kelenic, 24, got out to a blistering start this season when he hit .308/.366/.615 in the season’s first month. He’s cooled off considerably since that time but still possesses a solid overall .252/.320/.429 batting line with 11 homers, 24 doubles, a pair of triples and a dozen stolen bases through 326 trips to the plate.
Outfield help already seemed like a potential area of focus for the Mariners in advance of the Aug. 1 trade deadline — they were linked to Mets outfielder Mark Canha just this morning — and the loss of Kelenic only figures to add to that. Offseason signee AJ Pollock has delivered just a .169/.222/.325 slash since signing a one-year deal, and trade acquisition Teoscar Hernandez has fallen shy of expectations with a .240/.294/.419 batting line in his first 395 plate appearances.
Mets Place Starling Marte On Injured List
The Mets have informed reporters, including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, that they have placed outfielder Starling Marte on the 10-day injured list due to migraines. The corresponding move might not be known right away since the Mets are playing right now and won’t be able to make use of a new player until tomorrow’s night game. The move is retroactive to July 17.
Marte, 34, hasn’t played in a game since Sunday. He was originally in Tuesday’s lineup but was a late scratch due to this migraine situation, per Andy Martino of SNY. He’s still not in the lineup today and it seems the club has decided to give him some time to try to get past the issue. Since the move is backdated by three days, he could potentially be back in a week if he’s able to feel better.
The veteran is struggling through arguably the worst season of his career. Signed to a four-year, $78MM deal going into 2022, he continued at his established level last year. He hit 16 home runs and batted .292/.347/.468 overall for a wRC+ of 136. This year, unfortunately, he’s down to a line of .254/.308/.332 and a wRC+ of 83.
While that diminished production might make it seem like not such a big loss for the Mets, there are reasons to expect that he might have rounded into his previous form eventually. His 39.9% hard hit rate this year is actually much higher than last year’s 33.9% clip. His 88.4 mph average exit velocity is his highest since 2019. His .309 batting average in balls in play is well south of his .342 career mark and just 7% of his fly balls are leaving the yard. That’s well below his career 13.5% rate and the 12.4% league average. Even without a bounceback at the plate, Marte remains a threat on the basepaths, having already swiped 24 bags this year.
At this point, there’s nothing to suggest Marte is slated for an extended absence, but the timing is notable. The Mets have been floundering for much of the year and are currently 45-50, seven games back of a Wild Card spot. There’s now less than two weeks until the August 1 trade deadline as the Mets try to figure out which kind of moves they want to make. Owner Steve Cohen recently talked about how it would be “silly” to make additions if they stayed well out of contention.
For at least the next week or so, the club will proceed without Marte. Brandon Nimmo is a fixture in center and figures to be flanked by some combination of Mark Canha, Tommy Pham and DJ Stewart, though the upcoming corresponding move could also put someone else in the mix. Jeff McNeil is the regular second baseman but also plays some outfield on occasion. Both Pham and Canha are impending free agents and speculative trade candidates, with Canah reportedly drawing interest from other clubs.
Mark Canha Drawing Trade Interest
Other clubs have been calling the Mets about the potential availability of outfielder Mark Canha, per ESPN’s Buster Olney, who lists the Mariners as a “possible match” given Seattle’s prior interest in the 34-year-old as a free agent (Twitter link).
Canha is playing out the second season of a two-year, $26.5MM deal signed in free agency during the 2021-22 offseason. His contract contains an $11.5MM club option with a $2MM buyout — an effective $9.5MM net decision for the Mets or for any team that acquires him.
While Canha isn’t hitting for the same power he has in the past, he’s drawing walks at a robust 10.5% clip and enjoying a generally solid season at the plate. None of his rate stats stand out, but his .244/.346/.396 batting line checks in about 11% better than average, by measure of wRC+. He’s striking out at a lower-than-average 17.3% clip and has also swiped seven bases in seven tries. He rarely chases pitches off the plate and makes contact on those offerings at a well above-average rate when he does (69%, compared to the league-average 62.5%).
In the outfield, Canha is best deployed in a corner, although he’s seen plenty of work in center throughout his career and still possesses above-average speed (65th percentile, per Statcast). Statcast also rates his jumps on fly-balls near the bottom of the league in 2023, however, and his arm strength also checks in a bit below average. Canha also has ample experience at first base, and the Mets have played him there for 87 innings this season.
Canha is earning a $10.5MM salary this season, with about $4.12MM of that sum yet to be paid out as of this writing. Add in the $2MM buyout, and he’s still owed a total of $6.12MM. However, Mets owner Steve Cohen is the game’s most willing spender and could potentially enhance the return on a trade by paying that sum down for a trade partner. The Mets did as much when trading Eduardo Escobar to the Angels and were also willing to eat the remainder of Chris Flexen‘s contract in order to effectively purchase righty Trevor Gott from the Mariners.
Speaking of Seattle, the M’s make a sensible enough landing spot — if they choose to add at the deadline. Their offseason addition of veteran outfielder AJ Pollock was intended to add a platoon option in the outfield who could do damage against left-handed pitching, but it’s been an abject flop to date. Pollock is hitting .169/.222/.315 and has actually hit lefties worse than righties.
Canha isn’t a pure lefty masher — his career platoon splits are closer to even — but he’s been solid against southpaws in 2023. Granted, his .228 average when holding the platoon advantage is sub-par, but he’s getting on base at a strong .347 clip and slugging .418 when facing a lefty. That’s been par for the course in his career; he’s a lifetime .236/.327/.425 hitter against southpaws.
The Mets have arguably been the most disappointing team in MLB this season, sitting five games under .500 — 16.5 back in the division and seven back in the Wild Card race — despite an MLB-record payroll in excess of $300MM. Cohen said late last month, when his Mets were 36-43, that he “wouldn’t add” to the roster if his team was in a similar position at the deadline, calling it “silly” to do so.
New York is 9-7 in that time, including three straight wins, but they’ll likely need to rattle off a few more wins before even giving legitimate consideration to adding pieces at the deadline. In the meantime, short-term assets like Canha, Tommy Pham, David Robertson and Adam Ottavino will likely continue to be the focus of potential trade inquiries.
Padres Designate Jose Castillo For Assignment
The Padres have designated left-hander Jose Castillo for assignment and optioned righty Matt Waldron to Triple-A El Paso, per a team announcement. That pair of moves clears roster space for righty Robert Suarez, who has been formally reinstated from the 60-day injured list.
Castillo, 27, posted a strong 3.23 ERA through his first 39 big league innings back in 2018-19 but has since seen that promising debut derailed by injury. His 2019 season was cut short by a torn ligament in his hand, and he missed the 2020 season due to a lat strain. Castillo’s 2021 campaign and much of his 2022 season were then wiped out by Tommy John surgery. He’s pitched just two total MLB frames dating back to 2019.
While Castillo posted solid numbers in the upper minors last year as he returned from that deluge of injuries, he’s struggled immensely in 2023. His lone MLB appearance saw him yield four runs in one-third of an inning, and he’s been tagged for a 9.82 ERA in 18 1/3 frames of Triple-A ball.
Castillo is in his final option season and will be arbitration-eligible this winter. The Padres will have a week to trade him, attempt to pass him through outright waivers or release him. If another team picks him up, he can be optioned for the remainder of the season but would need to be carried on the active MLB roster beginning next season. That said, if he can get back on track with a new club, he’d have an additional two seasons of club control remaining.
Suarez, 32, fanned 32% of his opponents and notched a 2.27 ERA as a 31-year-old rookie in San Diego last season after a years-long run of excellence in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. The Friars re-signed to a five-year, $46MM deal with an opt-out clause early last offseason, but he’s yet to pitch this season due to an elbow issue. He’ll give San Diego a high-quality arm to slot into the late innings as the Padres try to salvage an immensely disappointing start to their 2023 season.
Rays Have Some Interest In Marcus Stroman
The Rays could use some starting pitching and apparently have some interest in Cubs right-hander Marcus Stroman. On the Onto Waveland podcast with Brett Taylor, Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney, they relay that the Rays aren’t currently in on Cody Bellinger but are “doing homework” on Stroman. (Discussion around the Rays starts around the 29-minute mark.)
It’s fairly logical that the Rays would be interested in Stroman, who has a long track record of big league success and is having an excellent season. He has a career 3.55 earned run average in 1285 2/3 innings dating back to his 2014 debut. This year, his ERA is down to 2.88 through 20 starts. His 21.3% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate are both close to league average, but Stroman’s always been a ground ball specialist and his 58.4% rate in that department is his highest since 2018.
Despite Stroman’s contributions, the Cubs aren’t having a great season overall. They are 45-50, putting them 7.5 games back of the Brewers in the National League Central with the Reds in between, and seven games back in the Wild Card race as well. Perhaps a hot streak in the next week or so could change the calculus, but it seems fair to expect the club to consider selling off some players who aren’t part of their long-term plans.
Stroman has one more year left on his contract, set to make $21MM next year, but has the ability to opt out and return to free agency after the current campaign. Given his strong results, it will be a fairly easy decision for him to trigger that opt-out and secure a larger guarantee on another multi-year deal. He has been quite candid about his desire to stick with the Cubs via a long-term extension, but the club reportedly doesn’t share his same enthusiasm to work out a new deal. All those factors seem to point to Stroman being traded in the coming days and he was placed in the #6 slot on MLBTR’s list of top deadline trade candidates.
The Rays could use another starter, given that they have dealt with multiple significant injuries to their rotation. Shane Baz had Tommy John surgery last year and was known to be a non-factor this year, but they have since lost Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs to season-ending surgeries with Josh Fleming seemingly set for a significant absence as well. They still have a solid front four in Shane McClanahan, Taj Bradley, Tyler Glasnow and Zach Eflin, but each of those pitchers except for Bradley has been on the IL this year, leading the club to deploy bullpen games at various points.
Getting another starter into the mix would strengthen the overall group for the postseason push, but acquiring a rental could be a logical move for the Rays. Each of their four current starters are still under contract or under club control for next year. Baz could rejoin the rotation going into 2024, with Springs and Rasmussen potentially coming back in the middle of the next campaign as well. Getting a short-term fix would require the club to send a lesser return the other way, compared to a pitcher with a longer window of control. The Rays have already been connected to impending free agents like Jordan Montgomery, Jack Flaherty and Lance Lynn, the latter of whom has a club option for 2024.
Stroman would also fit the bill, given his ability to opt out of his deal this fall. His ground ball tendencies would also be a good fit for a Tampa club that generally has strong defense. The Rays collectively have 16 Defensive Runs Saved from the shortstop position, the best mark in the league. Their 10 Outs Above Average at that spot are second only to the Cubs. Their tallies at second and third base are a bit lower but still above average. Their first base marks are subpar, but it’s still a solid group overall.
It’s worth pointing out, however, that Stroman’s opt-out does complicate his trade candidacy slightly. As mentioned, he’s currently looking like a lock to exercise that opt-out in a few months, given his good numbers on the year. But there’s always the risk of that situation changing after a deal. If the Rays were to acquire Stroman and he then suffered some sort of injury that would carry into next year, perhaps he would decide against triggering that opt-out, instead just taking the $21MM that he already has in hand.
Some clubs might be fine with taking that risk, but the Rays are one of the lowest-spending clubs among contenders. A $21MM salary might be a drop in the bucket to some clubs — but not to Tampa Bay. Their highest-paid player this year is Eflin, who’s making $11MM. They also have a big spike coming up next year, with Glasnow’s salary set to jump from this year’s $5.35MM to next year’s $25MM, a big financial outlay they made in order to push his free agency back by one year.
Per Roster Resource, the Rays have already committed $74MM to next year’s club, just shy of this year’s $78MM payroll. That’s before even factoring in arbitration raises for players like Randy Arozarena, Harold Ramírez, Jason Adam and others. The Rays often find ways to save money in the offseason by trading players with significant salaries, but they are currently trending to have a larger payroll next year. Although Stroman is likely going to be opting out, the Rays would be taking on at least some risk of an extra $21MM being added to that equation.
Any team acquiring Stroman would be in a similar situation, but most would have a bit more financial wiggle room. He is still likely to generate plenty of interest regardless and has already been connected to the Astros and Blue Jays. The trade deadline is on August 1, less than two weeks away.