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Yankees Shopping Miguel Andujar

By Steve Adams | July 29, 2022 at 10:42am CDT

Miguel Andujar’s journey from American League Rookie of the Year runner-up to organizational depth in the Bronx has been well-chronicled by now, and the it’s long seemed possible he could find himself with a clean slate and fresh opportunity before next Tuesday’s trade deadline. Jon Heyman of the New York Post writes in his latest notes column that the Yankees are “trying to deal” Andujar, who first requested a trade in early June.

Still just 27 years old, Andujar finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting with a .297/.328/.527 batting line and 27 home runs back in 2018. A shoulder injury ruined his 2019 season, however, and a series of other Yankees acquisitions and/or breakouts (e.g. DJ LeMahieu, Gio Urshela, Josh Donaldson, Joey Gallo) have combined to limit Andujar’s opportunities in the Majors since that time. He’s worked to improve his defensive versatility, learning left field and first base in addition to his customary slot at the hot corner, but it still hasn’t resulted in much in the way of big league playing time.

Since returning from that 2019 shoulder surgery, Andujar has received just 279 plate appearances with the Yankees. In the team’s defense, he hasn’t hit well at all in that time, slashing just .249/.280/.358. Then again, the playing time has been sporadic, with Andujar always keenly aware that he could be optioned at any time. The Yankees have optioned Andujar to Triple-A Scranton a whopping nine times since Opening Day 2020, and even during his stints with the big league club, he hasn’t been a regular in the lineup.

There’s no denying that Andujar hasn’t forced the team’s hand, and with stronger big league production he’d likely have found his way back into the fold. We often hear about hitters struggling through inconsistent usage, though, and at least based on his Triple-A output, there’s a case to be made that Andujar’s big league struggles can be at least partially attributed to his lack of a role. The competition in Triple-A is obviously far weaker, but Andujar has nonetheless slashed .304/.355/.516 with 15 home runs, 13 doubles, five stolen bases (in five tries) and just an 11.4% strikeout rate through his past 299 Triple-A plate appearances (2020-21). Despite that production, the Yankees have given him 52 big league plate appearances this season.

Trading Andujar is something of a tricky notion for a few reasons. The Yankees clearly value him as a depth option and don’t simply want to give him away for nothing of value in return. At the same time, his stock isn’t exactly at a high point, given the lack of recent MLB production. A contending club isn’t likely to surrender a prospect pf any note and plug Andujar right into the lineup at third base as they push for a postseason berth. Similarly, a club in the midst of a pure rebuild (the Nationals, for instance) may not relish the idea of surrendering long-term value in order to acquire a player who’s only controlled another two years beyond the current season.

Regardless of the specific fit, a deal involving Andujar seems likely to come together either in the next few days or over the winter. He’s in his final minor league option season, meaning the Yankees will need to carry him on the Major League roster next year or else place him on waivers before being sent down to Triple-A, and he’d surely be claimed by another club at that point. The Andujar dilemma has been ongoing in the Bronx for what seems like forever, but perhaps it’s finally headed toward a resolution.

Starting Pitching Rumors: Cardinals, Castillo, Mariners, AL Central

By Steve Adams | July 29, 2022 at 9:13am CDT

The Cardinals are “intent on upgrading the rotation, not just spackling it,” Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports in a comprehensive look at the team’s potential deadline trajectories. While past deadline trades have often brought stopgaps options to St. Louis (e.g. Jon Lester and J.A. Happ just last year), the Cardinals could aim a bit higher this time around. Athletics right-hander Frankie Montas and Marlins righty Pablo Lopez are among the starters in whom the Cards have expressed interest, per the report. Goold also lists Angels right-hander Noah Syndergaard as a name of interest, and there are surely others the Cardinals are considering as they look to offset injuries to Jack Flaherty, Steven Matz, Alex Reyes and Dakota Hudson (who has struggled even when healthy this season).

St. Louis has upwards of $155MM already on the books for the current season, though that number will dip to around $90MM for the 2023 campaign (not including several notable arbitration raises). The Cardinals are still nearly $10MM shy of their record Opening Day payroll ($164MM), and they’ve gone a bit further than that with some midseason acquisitions in recent years, so there should still be payroll space to accommodate players making substantial salaries. They also have one of the game’s deepest farm systems, allowing them to bid competitively for the market’s top arms.

Some more notes on the trade market for starters…

The Mariners are looking for rotation help, and Ken Rosenthal reports in his latest appearance with FOX Sports that Reds ace Luis Castillo “seems to be their main focus and target” at this juncture (Twitter link, with video). Seattle’s top four starters — Logan Gilbert, Robbie Ray, Marco Gonzales and Chris Flexen — have made at least 19 starts, and they’ve received good results from top prospect George Kirby since plugging him into the rotation (3.50 ERA through 13 starts). However, Kirby is at 96 innings between the minors and big leagues combined, which is already a notable jump from last year’s total of 67 2/3 innings. Gilbert’s 123 innings effectively match last year’s total of 124 1/3 frames. Beyond that, the Mariners probably can’t expect to avoid any notable injuries on the starting staff all season — few teams can — so there’s good sense in adding another arm to support the group. In Castillo’s case, he’d of course slot right in alongside Gilbert and Ray into a playoff rotation and give the M’s an excellent trio upon which to lean both this season and next.
For all the teams seeking pitching help, however, it’s the trio of AL Central front-runners that are the most aggressive at the moment, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweets. The Twins, Guardians and White Sox are all looking to bolster their pitching staffs (rotation and/or bullpen help alike). The American League Central is the one division in the sport where there are three legitimate contenders for the division crown at the moment, and both Cleveland and Chicago (who currently trail Minnesota) are within 3.5 games of a Wild Card berth as well. There’s been prior speculation (here included) about the White Sox potentially going another direction, but they’ve been playing some of their best ball of the season this month and have thusly not had any discussions about the possibility of trading away veteran arms like Lance Lynn and Lucas Giolito, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets.
As for the Twins, 1500 SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson suggested in yesterday’s podcast that Reds right-hander Tyler Mahle could be the likeliest name to land in Minnesota by Tuesday’s deadline, though the Twins are casting a wide net as they seek both rotation and bullpen help. Minnesota has also spoken to the Marlins about righty Pablo Lopez, Wolfson added.

Red Sox Inform Xander Bogaerts They Have No Intention Of Trading Him

By Anthony Franco | July 28, 2022 at 11:00pm CDT

Red Sox executives have told Xander Bogaerts they won’t trade him this summer, the star shortstop told reporters tonight (via Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald). Asked whether he’s been given personal assurance from the front office he would not be dealt, Bogaerts replied, “Yeah. I don’t know if I should say that, but I hope I don’t get in trouble. But yeah, much better like that. Communication is always huge in everything in life. To get that type of feedback is beneficial, I would say.”

It’s not a surprising revelation, as recent reports have suggested the Red Sox weren’t likely to make Bogaerts available. CEO Sam Kennedy and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom have each publicly stated there’s been no internal consideration of dealing the four-time All-Star, with Bloom adding they “don’t plan to” have those conversations. That they’ve apparently reinforced those sentiments in private with Bogaerts seems to solidify that he won’t change teams before next Tuesday’s deadline.

Bogaerts can (and almost certainly will) opt out of the final three years of his contract this offseason. Boston took tonight’s contest from the Guardians to climb back to .500, but their 50-50 mark still has them narrowly behind the Orioles at the bottom of the AL East. More importantly, they’re 3 1/2 games behind the Rays, current owners of the final Wild Card spot, with Cleveland and Baltimore also in between. Even after tonight’s win, Boston has only taken seven of their 24 games this month. That raises some questions about how Bloom and his staff will approach the deadline.

Even had Bloom and company wanted to move the slugging infielder, executing a trade would’ve been easier said than done. There’d have surely been no shortage of interest in a 29-year-old star shortstop, but Bogaerts has full no-trade protection. Bogaerts could’ve dictated where he’d have been dealt or blocked a move entirely, but he nevertheless seems relieved to hear he won’t have to consider those possibilities.

Bogaerts is certain to receive and reject a qualifying offer if he opts out this winter, so the Red Sox would stand to collect a compensatory draft choice if he signs elsewhere. The more immediate concern is whether the club can right the ship over the final couple months and more closely resemble last year’s 92-win team that earned a trip to the ALCS.

The Red Sox’s deadline approach can still go in myriad ways. Boston has a handful of impending free agents who’d be in-demand trade targets. They’re reportedly listening to offers on J.D. Martinez, who’d be one of the best hitters available. Nathan Eovaldi would be arguably the top rental starting pitcher on the market. Catcher Christian Vázquez, starters Michael Wacha and Rich Hill, and reliever Matt Strahm have all had decent seasons, although each of Wacha, Hill and Strahm is currently on the injured list.

Should Bloom and his staff look to add to the roster, the bullpen stands out as an obvious possible target. Wacha and Hill aren’t far off returning, but the recent Chris Sale injury could lead the team to look into rotation upgrades. First base and right field, meanwhile, have each been problem areas all season. Adding a corner bat or two to bolster the lineup depth would be a sensible goal. The Sox haven’t tipped their hand much about the direction they plan to take, but in either event, it appears the fanbase can count on Bogaerts remaining at shortstop for the final few months of the season.

Mets Acquire Tyler Naquin, Phillip Diehl From Reds

By Anthony Franco | July 28, 2022 at 9:52pm CDT

The Reds and Mets have lined up on a trade sending outfielder Tyler Naquin and minor league reliever Phillip Diehl from Cincinnati to New York. In exchange, the Reds are acquiring a pair of low minors prospects, right-hander Jose Acuña and second baseman Hector Rodríguez. Both clubs have announced the agreement.

Naquin had been one of the more obvious trade candidates around the league. The 31-year-old is set to reach free agency at the end of the season, so there was little reason for the last-place Reds not to look to move him for future value. He’ll head to Queens as the second left-handed bat the Mets have added in as many weeks. New York picked up first baseman/designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach in a deal with the Pirates last Friday.

A former first-round pick of Cleveland, Naquin had an excellent rookie season back in 2016. His offensive productivity was up-and-down for the rest of his time there, but he’s settled in as a solid platoon bat over the past two years. Naquin signed a minor league deal with Cincinnati over the 2020-21 offseason, and he cracked the Opening Day roster last year. That paved for the way for a season and a half as a Red, in which he posted a .262/.324/.462 line through 655 plate appearances.

That overall offensive productivity is a hair above average, and Naquin has been quite good when holding the platoon advantage. He’s popped 23 homers in 542 plate appearances against right-handed pitching over the past couple seasons, compiling a .278/.338/.503 mark against righties. That power has translated outside of the Reds hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park, and the Mets figure to leverage him as a platoon player down the stretch.

The Mets have one of the game’s best outfields, with a trio of Mark Canha, Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte manning the grass. Canha and Marte will continue to pick up the lion’s share of playing time in the corners, but Naquin complements those veteran right-handed bats. He’ll also supplement a DH group that includes Vogelbach and Dominic Smith from the left side, as well as the righty-swinging J.D. Davis.

Naquin’s acquisition seemingly increases the likelihood that at least one of Smith or Davis gets dealt before next Tuesday’s deadline. The Mets have been on the hunt for offensive help for weeks, largely due to dissatisfaction with Smith’s and Davis’ performance. Adding a pair of DH/bench bats to an already full outfield and with superstar Pete Alonso at first base further clutters that group. Each of Smith and Davis has minor league options remaining, and the Mets have already optioned Smith this year. That’s a possibility if the club simply wants to stockpile as much depth as possible, but it also stands to reason they’d be open to trade opportunities.

The Mets will seemingly add a bit of money to the payroll, as there’s no indication cash considerations are changing hands. Naquin is playing this season on a $4.025MM salary, around $1.525MM of which is still to be paid. The Mets luxury tax figure is narrowly above the $290MM threshold, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, a team that exceeds $290MM (the fourth and highest tier of CBT penalization) is taxed at an 80% rate for every dollar thereafter.

In addition to Naquin, the Mets add some non-roster bullpen depth. Diehl, who was outrighted off the Reds 40-man roster in May, won’t immediately occupy a spot on New York’s 40-man. He’s spent the bulk of the season with the Reds top affiliate in Louisville, working to a 4.24 ERA through 23 1/3 innings. The 27-year-old has an excellent 30.6% strikeout rate against a decent 8.2% walk percentage, although his fly-ball oriented approach has made him fairly home run prone.

New York’s left-handed relief depth is thin, with Joely Rodríguez and recent waiver claim Sam Clay the only two bullpen southpaws on the 40-man roster. Clay has been hit hard in four appearances with Triple-A Syracuse and has yet to appear in an MLB game as a Met. Rodríguez, acquired from the Yankees shortly before the season, owns a 5.93 ERA across 27 1/3 innings on the year. He’s striking out batters and inducing grounders at a decent clip, but he’s also walked a massive 16.3% of batters faced. Left-handed relief help figures to continue to be a target over the next few days even with Diehl bolstering the organizational depth.

To create space for Naquin on the 40-man roster, the Mets announced they’ve designated reliever R.J. Alvarez for assignment. The righty was selected onto the roster earlier this month but didn’t wind up making an MLB appearance. He’s had a nice season in Syracuse, working to a 3.16 ERA through 31 1/3 frames. The Mets will presumably place the 31-year-old on waivers in the coming days.

The Reds, meanwhile, add some talent to the lower levels. Rodríguez, an 18-year-old infielder, was recently ranked by Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs as the #30 prospect in the Mets organization. Longenhagen writes that the left-handed hitter has excellent bat control, but he has limited power upside in a 5’8″ frame. He was recently signed out of the Dominican Republic. Acuña, 19, was recently promoted to Low-A. He has never appeared on an organizational prospect list at FanGraphs or Baseball America.

It’s the first move of what’s likely to be a busy few days for Cincinnati general manager Nick Krall and his staff. Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle are the club’s top trade candidates, but they also have a host of rental bats who should generate interest. Beyond Naquin, Cincinnati could market impending free agent hitters Brandon Drury, Donovan Solano and Tommy Pham to contenders.

Robert Murray of FanSided first reported the Mets were acquiring Diehl. Joel Sherman of the New York Post first reported the Mets were acquiring Naquin. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com was first to report the prospect return.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Latest On Mike Trout

By Anthony Franco | July 28, 2022 at 8:35pm CDT

The Angels have been without Mike Trout for a couple weeks. The three-time MVP went on the injured list on July 18 with rib cage inflammation, and while he’s technically now eligible to return, his timetable to get back on the field remains uncertain.

Yesterday, the team’s head trainer Mike Frostad addressed Trout’s injury with reporters (including Sam Blum of the Athletic and Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register). Frostad said Trout had been diagnosed with “a costovertebral dysfunction” in his back, which he called “a pretty rare condition.” The trainer added the situation was something the club “(has) to look at as — he has to manage it, not just through the rest of this season, but also through the rest of his career probably.”

Frostad’s note about the necessity to monitor the condition throughout Trout’s career was an impetus for understandable concern among the Angels fanbase, but the future Hall of Famer quickly reassured he’s not worried about the issue long-term. “I appreciate all the prayer requests, but my career isn’t over,” Trout half-jokingly told reporters about the public response to Frostad’s comments. Trout added he feels he’s made progress in his recovery over the past few days, and replied “of course, that’s my goal” when asked whether he expected to return to the field in 2022. He conceded he’ll need to “stay on top of the routine I do on a daily basis to prevent it from coming back,” to Frostad’s point about managing the condition, but expressed optimism it won’t be particularly problematic.

Trout’s hopefulness is certainly welcome news for Halos fans and the organization at large, but it seems he’s still set to be out of action for the near future. He’s yet to begin baseball activities after receiving a cortisone injection last week. Trout will see a back specialist this weekend, he told reporters, and hopes to receive clearance to ramp up his work beyond the cardio and core stability training he’s been doing.

The Angels lost Trout for the majority of last season. He played in 36 games before suffering a calf strain in May. While the club initially hoped he could return within two months, the injury lingered long enough they eventually shut him down for the season. Trout has returned to get into 79 games thus far in 2022, and he’s had a typically stellar year. Through 326 plate appearances, the ten-time All-Star is hitting .270/.368/.599 with 24 home runs. Among hitters with 300+ trips to the plate, only Yordan Álvarez, Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Judge and Rafael Devers have a wRC+ higher than Trout’s 167 — a mark that indicates he’s been 67 percentage points better than the league average batter.

In a script all too familiar, Trout’s excellence hasn’t been enough to overcome the roster’s other flaws. The Halos enter play Thursday with a 42-56 record that’ll almost certainly lead to an eighth consecutive year without reaching the postseason. The club’s place in the standings figures to increase their caution in bringing Trout back, as it did last year.

Brewers Sign Aaron Ashby To Five-Year Extension

By TC Zencka and Mark Polishuk | July 28, 2022 at 7:50pm CDT

The Brewers have announced a five-year contract extension with left-hander Aaron Ashby, running through the 2027 and including club options for 2028 and 2029. Ashby will earn $20.5MM over the five guaranteed years of his extension, as per Joel Sherman of The New York Post (Twitter link). He can more than double that total if the contract is maxed out, as Sherman notes that another $25.5MM is available if both options are exercised and Ashby hits all his escalators. Ashby is represented by Turner-Gary Sports.

Robert Murray of FanSided reports the specific breakdown of terms (on Twitter). The young southpaw receives a $1MM signing bonus, and the year-by-year salary breakdown is as follows:

2023: $1MM
2024: $1.25MM
2025: $3.25MM
2026: $5.5MM
2027:$7.5MM

There’s a $1MM buyout on the 2028 option, which is valued at $9MM. The ’29 option is valued at $13MM.

The extension only cements Ashby’s place as an important piece of the Brewers’ future, and it also gives the 24-year-old some guaranteed money and security early in his career. Ashby (the nephew of former big leaguer Andy Ashby) was a fourth-round pick in the 2018 draft, and he moved quickly through the minors, winning the Brewers’ minor league Pitcher Of The Year honors in 2019 and then making his MLB debut in 2021.

Pitching as both a starter and reliever over his two seasons in the Show, Ashby has a 4.56 ERA, 58% grounder rate, 27.5% strikeout rate, and 9.9% walk rate. The unimpressive walk total is really the only blemish on Ashby’s resume, as other advanced metrics (including a career 3.40 SIERA and only a .291 xwOBA this season) indicate that his ERA is a bit misleading. A .339 BABIP this year, for instance, weighs heavier on a groundball-heavy pitcher like Ashby.

Still, there is obviously a lot for the Brewers to like with his performance to date, and Ashby has moved from swingman to full-fledged starter in the wake of injuries in Milwaukee’s rotation. Freddy Peralta and Adrian Houser are still on the injured list, though Peralta is set to begin a rehab assignment this weekend and Houser is expected back sometime in August.

With Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff both getting more expensive in their arbitration years and both scheduled for free agency after the 2024 season, it remains to be seen how the Brewers will address their rotation over the long term. Eric Lauer will also be a free agent that same winter, and Lauer is raising his own price tag with a strong performance in 2022. In locking up Ashby and Peralta to extensions, president of baseball operations David Stearns has already planted some cornerstones for a possible future without any of their other three starters, and the franchise’s proven ability to find and develop pitching continues to be a key factor in the Brewers’ ability to compete.

Peralta’s extension is an obvious comp for Ashby’s deal. Signed back in February 2020, Peralta (with just over a year of MLB service time) inked a deal also consisting of five guaranteed years and two club option years, except worth $15.5MM in guaranteed money and $14.5MM more over the option seasons. At the time, Peralta was also a swingman who had yet to fully establish himself as a rotation fixture, and Ashby’s larger guarantee could reflect his better big league results and perhaps simply two-plus years of salary inflation.

Angels Reinstate David Fletcher

By Anthony Franco | July 28, 2022 at 6:36pm CDT

The Angels have activated infielder David Fletcher from the 60-day injured list. He’s in tonight’s lineup at second base. Michael Stefanic was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake in a corresponding move. To create space on the 40-man roster, the Halos transferred veteran infielder Matt Duffy from the 10-day to the 60-day IL.

It has been a rough season for Fletcher, who’s spent the bulk of the year on the shelf. He missed the first three weeks of the year recovering from a strain in his left hip. Fletcher returned to action for about two weeks, then went back on the IL with recurring hip issues. He underwent adductor surgery in mid-May and has spent nearly three months recovering.

In Fletcher’s absence, the Angels have struggled to a 42-56 record that has them ahead of only the A’s, Royals and Tigers in the American League standings. Lack of production at second base has been among the factors for that, as the Halos have gotten a meager .236/.294/.319 showing out of the position. Six players — Fletcher, Stefanic, Duffy, Luis Rengifo, Tyler Wade and Jack Mayfield — have tallied at least 20+ plate appearances as part of the second base rotation.

Duffy has been out since June 27 with what the team originally termed lower back spasms. There hasn’t been much word on his status over the past month, but he’s evidently not close to a return. The 60-day window backdates to his original IL placement, so Duffy won’t be back on the diamond at Angel Stadium until at least the final week of August.

Red Sox Notes: Deadline, Bogaerts, Devers, Bell

By Mark Polishuk | July 28, 2022 at 4:31pm CDT

“We’re trying to make the postseason,” Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told NESN’s Tom Caron prior to Tuesday’s game (hat tip to MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith). This declaration, made a week prior to the trade deadline, seemingly ended some speculation that the Red Sox would look to be deadline sellers, though Bloom did couch his statement with some intriguing caveats: “So whatever that means, we’re going to explore a lot of stuff [at the trade deadline]. Some of them might be things people expect. Some of them might not be. But you know, we want to get this group into the postseason.”

It is worth noting that the Sox lost to the Guardians on both Tuesday and Wednesday, dropping Boston’s record to 49-50 for the season. With a 7-19 mark over their last 26 games, the Red Sox have gone from leading the wild card race to four games out of a wild card slot altogether, and in last place in the competitive AL East.

If Boston can’t string some wins together quickly, it is possible the Sox could turn into more full-fledged sell mode by the August 2 deadline. However, Bloom’s comments seem to hint that the team could try to thread the needle and both buy and sell at the same time — perhaps moving some pending free agents, but adding longer-term pieces that could also still provide some immediate help.

Beyond Bloom’s public comments, The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier writes that when it comes to deadline plans, “typical responses from those inside and outside the organization have ranged from ’it’s all in play’ to ’maybe both’ to objections to the buy/sell dichotomy to shrugs of uncertainty.” Despite all of these options, a truly big shakeup doesn’t appear to be in order, as both Bloom and (in an interview on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show) team president/CEO Sam Kennedy each ruled out the possibility of Xander Bogaerts or Rafael Devers being dealt.

“There’s been no discussions or commentary internally or externally about moves related to the trade deadline involving Xander, Raffy, or anyone else to my knowledge. At this point, we’re focused on getting back in this thing and winning,” Kennedy said. Not only have talks about the two All-Stars not taken place, “we don’t plan to” hold such talks, Bloom added.

Bogaerts can opt out of his contract following the season, and ever since Boston signed Trevor Story to a free agent deal, there has been widespread feeling that Bogaerts will be playing elsewhere in 2023. Extension talks with both Bogaerts and Devers prior to the season didn’t result in any progress, which then led to increased speculation about Devers also perhaps leaving in free agency following the 2023 campaign.

If a teardown isn’t in order, and standing pat doesn’t appear to be an option for a team with clear roster needs, it then becomes a question of what types of upgrades the Red Sox will pursue by August 2. One obvious name on paper doesn’t appear to be a priority, as NBC Sports Boston’s John Tomase reports that the Sox have had only “cursory interest” in Nationals first baseman Josh Bell. While the Sox have had some talks about Bell, “their interest was described more as kicking the tires.”

First base has been a weak link for the Red Sox all year long, and since Bell is perhaps the likeliest player to be moved prior to the deadline, the two sides seemed like a logical match. Bell would be a pure rental, as the slugger is set for free agency after the year, and the Nats would be in line to recoup a compensatory pick if Bell left given that the qualifying offer system will again be in place for the 2022-23 offseason.

Anything the Sox or other teams offer the Nationals for Bell, therefore, would have to top the value of that compensatory pick for Washington to go ahead with a deal. For a team like the Red Sox that is perhaps on the fringes of contending, that could be too much of a price to pay, whereas other known Bell suitors like the Astros, Mets, or Brewers could be more amenable since Bell would increase their chances of winning a championship.

Mets To Place Drew Smith On 15-Day Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | July 28, 2022 at 3:24pm CDT

3:24PM: Smith has a strained lat muscle, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports (Twitter link).

2:31PM: Mets right-hander Drew Smith is heading to the 15-day injured list due to “an unspecified arm issue,” according to The Athletic’s Tim Britton and Ken Rosenthal. The move is expected to be announced prior to Friday’s game, and will likely be retroactive to July 25 (Smith last pitched on the 24th).

Since making his MLB debut in 2018, Smith has been a generally solid reliever out of New York’s bullpen, and this season the righty has a 3.51 ERA and a strong 28.1% strikeout rate over 41 innings. Smith has been allowing a lot of hard contact, however, and his numbers have taken a downturn over the last month. Smith has a tiny 1.99 ERA through his first 29 games and 31 2/3 appearances, but he has allowed at least one run in six of his last eight appearances, resulting in an 8.68 ERA in that stretch. Home runs have continued to be a problem for Smith, as he has allowed eight long balls over his 41 IP.

It isn’t yet known if this is a relatively minor injury, or something that could threaten the remainder of Smith’s 2022 season. But even if Smith were to just miss the 15-day minimum, that won’t stop the Mets from aggressively seeking bullpen help, as Britton and Rosenthal write that “the Mets are trying to add multiple relievers.”

Bolstered by Edwin Diaz’s spectacular year, New York’s bullpen has good overall numbers, with Smith, Adam Ottavino, and Seth Lugo all covering high-leverage innings to get to Diaz in the ninth. The Mets are short on left-handed relievers in particular, so southpaws (or at least a righty who is effective against left-handed batters, a la trade target David Robertson) would seem to be at the top of the Amazins’ wish list. Some help could also come from within, as Trevor May is expected back from the IL next week.

NL West Notes: Ohtani, Padres, Walker, Rodon, Giants, Bard

By Mark Polishuk | July 28, 2022 at 3:18pm CDT

The Angels reportedly don’t have any interest in trading Shohei Ohtani, but that hasn’t stopped the team from at least listening to offers out of due diligence, Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of the New York Post write. The Padres are one of those teams who have called about Ohtani, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, who adds that this is the type of aggressive move that has become typical of San Diego president of baseball operations A.J. Preller. There doesn’t seem to be any indication that the Padres have caught the Halos’ attention, except in the broader sense that the Padres have the depth of premium young talent that the Angels would undoubtedly want if they actually did considering sending Ohtani elsewhere.

Frankie Montas and Luis Castillo have also been linked to the Padres in trade rumors, and as Rosenthal notes, it is noteworthy in itself that San Diego is looking at pitchers despite having plenty of rotation depth on paper. However, MacKenzie Gore was recently placed on the injured list, Sean Manaea has struggled as of late, and the Padres could be trying to land a pitcher controlled through at least 2023 considering that Manaea, Joe Musgrove, Mike Clevinger, and Nick Martinez could all potentially enter the free agent market this winter. Furthermore, someone like Blake Snell could be dealt to try and stay under the luxury tax threshold, as avoiding another tax payment is another consideration for Preller to manage as the deadline approaches.

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