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Alex Rodriguez Reportedly Unhappy With Mets’ Sale Process

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It appears the Mets’ next owner will be Steve Cohen, who entered exclusive negotiations to purchase the franchise from Fred Wilpon and Jeff Wilpon last Friday. Cohen became the favorite after beating out multiple big-money groups, including one headlined by former major leaguer/current television analyst Alex Rodriguez and famous fiancee Jennifer Lopez. The Rodriguez-Lopez team was willing to offer $2.3 billion for the Mets before losing out to Cohen, according to Josh Kosman and Thornton McEnery of the New York Post.

Now, after falling short, A-Rod is crying foul on the process, as he believes bidding was rigged in Cohen’s favor, Kosman and McEnery report. Mets banker Steve Greenberg asked Rodriguez what his group was willing to pay before final bids were due, per Kosman and McEnery, who write that the 14-time All-Star “reluctantly” gave Greenberg the information. Cohen then offered $2.35 billion for the franchise, which will apparently end up as the winning bid.

“They took the bids and showed them to Cohen,” a source close to Rodriguez told the New York Post. Another source said the sale “was fixed” because Rodriguez & Co. did not get a chance to match Cohen’s offer. Rodriguez has tried contacting Fred Wilpon since last Friday but to no avail, Kosman and McEnery report.

With Rodriguez out of the picture, it should only be a matter of time before Cohen finalizes a deal, though Major League Baseball will spend three months investigating his background before a sale goes through, Kosman and McEnery relay. If Cohen does get the team for $2.35 billion, though, it would represent a lower amount than the $2.6 billion he was willing to fork over in the winter before negotiations between him and the Wilpons fell apart.

White Sox Outright Ryan Goins, Release Drew Anderson

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The White Sox have outrighted infielder Ryan Goins to their alternate site, James Fegan of The Athletic reports. Goins is now a member of their taxi squad. Additionally, Chicago released right-hander Drew Anderson.

The White Sox designated Goins for assignment on Monday, which came just over a month after they re-signed him to a minor league pact and selected his contract. The 32-year-old Goins took 14 trips to the plate as a member of the White Sox this season before they designated him, and he went hitless during that span. Of course, offense has never been a strong suit for Goins, who has combined for a .228/.278/.333 line across 1,690 plate appearances among the White Sox, Blue Jays and Royals.

The 26-year-old Anderson, formerly with the Phillies, was a minor league offseason pickup for Chicago who made just one appearance with the team this year. It went rather poorly for Anderson, who gave up six earned runs on four hits (including two homers) and two walks in 1 1/3 innings of an Aug. 8 loss to the Indians. The White Sox outrighted him shortly after that.

Cubs Release Cody Allen, A.J. Ramos; Outright Josh Phegley, Ian Miller

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The Cubs have released right-handed relievers Cody Allen and AJ Ramos, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com was among those to report. They also outrighted catcher Josh Phegley and outfielder Ian Miller to their alternate site after the pair cleared waivers, Jay Cohen of the Associated Press tweets.

Allen, who signed with the Cubs in July, was a dominant closer during his heyday. The former Indian logged a sub-3.00 ERA in each season from 2013-17 and racked up 122 saves during that span. Allen totaled another 27 saves in 2018, his final season with the Indians, but his production tailed off significantly then and continued to worsen during a 23-inning run with the Angels in 2019. The Halos signed Allen to an $8.5MM contract before last season, but after he struggled to a 6.26 ERA/8.38 FIP with 7.83 BB/9 and a career-worst 92.3 mph average fastball velocity, they released him in June. The 31-year-old hasn’t pitched in the majors since then.

Ramos, who will turn 35 on Sept. 20, had a terrific run in Miami from 2012-17, when he notched 99 saves and posted a 2.78 ERA in 327 1/3 innings. They traded him to the Mets in the last of those seasons, though, and Ramos proceeded to slump to a 5.59 ERA in New York over 38 2/3 frames in parts of two seasons. Ramos hasn’t pitched in the majors since May 2018 after undergoing shoulder surgery, though he hoped to make a return to the bigs as a member of the Cubs. He’ll now have to try to latch on elsewhere if he still plans on continuing his career.

Both Phegley and Miller became Cubs on minor league contracts last offseason, but the team designated the two for assignment in recent days. Phegley, formerly the A’s starting catcher, went 1-for-16 as a Cub before they kicked him off their roster. The fleet-of-foot Miller appeared in one of Chicago’s games, but he didn’t record a plate appearance.

Brewers Designate Justin Smoak, Claim Daniel Vogelbach

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6:02pm: Milwaukee has announced the moves. The Brewers acquired Vogelbach via waivers.

3:23pm: The Brewers have designated first baseman Justin Smoak for assignment and acquired 1B/DH Daniel Vogelbach from the Blue Jays, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

The switch-hitting Smoak had a couple very good years with the Blue Jays from 2017-18, but his production went downward in ’19 during his final campaign in Toronto. The Brewers, hoping for a bounce-back effort, signed the 33-year-old Smoak to a $5MM guarantee last offseason, but the deal didn’t pay dividends for the club. Smoak logged an ugly .186/.262/.381 line with five home runs in 126 plate appearances this year before the Brewers designated him. Thanks in large part to Smoak, first base has been a black hole for Milwaukee, though Jedd Gyorko (who has totaled the second-most starts there for the club) has posted terrific production over a small sample.

Vogelbach could now wind up in the mix at first for the Brewers, but he hasn’t lined up there at all this year between Seattle and Toronto, instead playing all of his games as a DH. While Vogelbach was a Mariners All-Star a year ago, his numbers plummeted in the second half then, and he certainly hasn’t offered a DH-caliber bat this season. Between the M’s and Jays, he hit an abysmal .088/.246/.211 with two home runs in 69 plate appearances. Toronto designated Vogelbach after four at-bats as a member of the team.

Angels Place David Fletcher On 10-Day Injured List

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The Angels announced that they have placed utility player David Fletcher on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Aug. 31, with a left ankle sprain. The club recalled outfielder Taylor Ward in a corresponding move.

Tied for an American League-worst 12-25, there’s not much left to play for over the final few weeks of the season for the Angels. Nevertheless, it’s unfortunate to see Fletcher go down. After breaking out last year with a 3.4-fWAR showing and a .290/.350/.384 line in 653 plate appearances, Fletcher has been even stronger on offense this season with a .313/.377/.438 slash and almost as many walks (16) as strikeouts (17) across 162 PA.

As was the case in 2019, the 26-year-old Fletcher has added to his value by performing capably at multiple positions. Most of Fletcher’s work has come at shortstop, but he has also played five-plus games at second and third. He has combined for seven Defensive Runs Saved among those three spots.

Tigers Designate David McKay For Assignment

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The Tigers announced that they’ve designated right-hander David McKay for assignment. His roster spot will go to infielder Zack Short, whom the Tigers acquired from the Cubs for outfielder Cameron Maybin on Monday.

The 25-year-old McKay is in his second season with the Detroit organization, which claimed him off waivers from the Mariners in August 2019. He tossed a third of an inning with the Tigers this year and 19 1/3 last season, adding to the seven frames he threw as a Mariner. McKay hasn’t produced with either team, though, evidenced by his 6.08 ERA and 6.1 BB/9.

While McKay has done well racking up strikeouts in the majors (11.5 per nine) and at Triple-A (14.9 K/9), he has also had difficulty preventing runs and limiting walks at the minors’ highest level. He does have two minor league options left, though, so teams looking for an affordable and young bullpen option could take a chance on him in the coming days.

Red Sox Claim Deivy Grullon

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The Red Sox have claimed catcher Deivy Grullon from the Phillies, per an announcement from Philadelphia. The Phillies also outrighted hurler Reggie McClain to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Grullon, 24, was designated for assignment Monday even though he was one of the Phillies’ top 30 prospects at Baseball America over the past few seasons. To this point, however, Grullon has only taken nine MLB plate appearances (all last season). He’s the owner of an impressive .283/.354/.496 slash with 21 home runs in 457 Triple-A plate appearances, though.

McClain was another Monday DFA for the Phillies, who claimed him from the Mariners in January. The 27-year-old entered the pros as a 13th-rounder of the M’s in 2016, and he made his major league debut this season with 5 1/3 innings of three-earned run ball with two strikeouts, three walks and nine hits allowed.

Royals Designate Randy Rosario For Assignment, Promote Edward Olivares

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The Royals have designated left-hander Randy Rosario for assignment in order to open a spot on the active roster for outfielder Edward Olivares, who has been recalled from the alternate training site and will start tonight’s game in center field, manager Mike Matheny announced to reporters (Twitter link via Alec Lewis of The Athletic). Olivares was acquired in the trade that sent closer Trevor Rosenthal to the Padres.

Rosario, 26, was a somewhat promising bullpen prospect as he rose through the Twins’ system several years back, posting quality numbers in the upper minors before getting hit hard in a brief debut look in 2017. The new Minnesota front office took him off the 40-man roster, and upon landing with the Cubs, Rosario turned in a 3.66 ERA in 46 2/3 frames of work as a rookie in 2018. However, his 30-to-22 K/BB ratio in that time didn’t inspire much confidence, and Rosario has indeed been hit hard in subsequent seasons. Dating back to 2019, he has a 5.09 ERA in just 17 2/3 innings.

The Royals had spoken favorably of the hard-throwing Rosenthal, with GM Dayton Moore expressing a desire to keep him long-term, but the addition of Olivares to the Padres’ offer likely made it too tempting to overlook. The 24-year-old got out to a poor .176/.224/.294 start in his debut season this year, but that ugly line came in a tiny sample of just 36 plate appearances.

The overall body of work for Olivares in the minors is much more favorable, highlighted by a .283/.349/.453 showing in the Double-A Texas League last year. That production may not appear especially potent at first glance, but it was 23 percent better than that of a league-average hitter in an extremely pitcher-friendly environment, per wRC+, and Olivares adds plenty of value on the bases and in the field as well.

Beyond the 18 homers on which he connected last year, Olivares collected 25 doubles and a pair of triples while going 35-for-45 in stolen base attempts. Olivares has fanned in a relatively low 17.6 percent of his career minor league plate appearances and is considered an average or better outfielder capable of playing all three spots. At the very least, he seems capable of stepping in as a quality fourth outfielder, but the rebuilding Royals will likely give him ample opportunity to seize an everyday spot in their outfield moving forward.

Braves Release Matt Adams

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The Braves announced Thursday that they’ve released veteran first baseman Matt Adams. He was designated for assignment over the weekend when Atlanta acquired left-hander Tommy Milone from the Orioles.

Adams, 32, had a solid showing with the Braves in 2017 but returned with an ugly .184/.216/.347 slash in 51 plate appearances this season. The big slugger has long been a thorn in the side of right-handed pitching and long struggled against lefties. Between that and a defensive profile that limits him to first base (plus the occasional adventure in left field), Adams’ role has been that of a bench player for much of his time in the big leagues. He did provide some pop off the bench for the World Champion Nationals in 2019, slugging 20 big flies, but he also posted a lowly .276 on-base percentage.

Overall, Adams is a career .259/.307/.467 hitter in 2574 trips to the plate. Those numbers improve to .270/.322/.486 when you subtract his 452 unsightly plate appearances against lefties. A team looking for some thump off the bench could certainly pick Adams up and give him a look over the season’s final few weeks.

Rockies Claim Jesus Tinoco

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The Rockies have claimed right-hander Jesus Tinoco off waivers from the Marlins, per an announcement from both teams. Colorado traded Tinoco to Miami less than a month ago, receiving righty Chad Smith in return. The Rox will now have both right-handers in their organization. Tinoco has been optioned to the Rockies’ alternate training site.

Tinoco, 25, appeared in three games for the Marlins and tossed five hitless, scoreless innings. He walked three batters and picked up another three strikeouts along the way. Tinoco also logged 36 innings in the Colorado bullpen in 2019 and sports a career 4.17 ERA in his 41 frames. However, control problems have plagued Tinoco, and he appears rather fortunate to have maintained an ERA that respectable. The righty has averaged 5.5 walks and 2.6 home runs per nine innings in the big leagues, leading to an eye-popping 7.40 FIP and a 5.68 xFIP.

Originally acquired by the Rockies from the Blue Jays in the Troy Tulowitzki blockbuster, Tinoco has never missed bats or induced grounders at a particularly strong rate in the minors. The control issues that have emerged in the big leagues weren’t present throughout the bulk of his minor league career, however. Overall, Tinoco has a 4.71 ERA with 7.3 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in parts of eight minor league seasons.

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