Braves Targeting Pitching From Royals, Rangers
The Braves have a relatively strong hold on the National League East as they have pushed their lead back up to 5 1/2 games over the Nationals and 6 1/2 games over the Phillies. Much like their trailers in the East, the Braves are exploring reinforcements for a bullpen that has let the club down at times.
Much like other contenders, the Braves have looked into acquiring lefty Jake Diekman from the Royals, per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (via Twitter). Diekman remains one of the most likely players to move before Wednesday’s deadline, but the Royals are apparently in no rush to make a decision. Bowman names Ian Kennedy as another name that makes sense for the Braves, though the Royals are less interested in paying down the money owed Kennedy, making him a less likely target.
Though the same targets seem to make their way around the rumor mill from team-to-team, the Braves have not yet been tied to oft-rumored Tigers Shane Greene, Nicholas Castellanos or Matthew Boyd. A more likely trading partner for Atlanta is the Rangers, who can offer Mike Minor for the rotation or right-hander Jose Leclerc out of the pen.
Both Rangers come with future years of control, with Leclerc in particular being an interesting target as the 25-year-old recently signed an extension that has him under contract for five years after this season (through 2024). After recording 12 saves with a 1.56 ERA 59 games last season, Leclerc struggled out of the gate this year, ultimately losing his closer’s role and even taking a few turns as an Opener. That said, he turned things around since the slow start, currently holding a 4.02 ERA (3.31 FIP) in 47 games, making him worth 1.0 WAR by measure of both Baseball-Reference and Fangraphs.
It would be at least understandable if the Rangers were looking for a mulligan on the Leclerc extension, but that’s not to say they’re looking to sell low on their power righty. The Braves plethora of pitching in the upper levels of the minors give them the bullets they need to acquire whomever they need, should they decide to pull the trigger.
Rangers Haven’t “Seriously Engaged” Teams On Danny Santana
Rangers utilityman Danny Santana has been one of the most surprising success stories of the 2019 season. Santana’s career began with a flourish as a member of the Twins in 2014, but he then performed terribly over parts of the next four seasons divided between Minnesota and Atlanta. Booted from the Braves’ 40-man roster last year, Santana caught on with the Rangers on a minor league contract over the winter.
Since the Rangers promoted Santana to the majors in the middle of April, the switch-hitting speedster has slashed .316/.346/.567 (128 wRC+) with 14 home runs, 12 steals and 2.0 fWAR in 281 plate appearances. Despite Santana’s best efforts, including a three-hit, six-RBI showing in a win over the Athletics on Thursday, the Rangers have backslid in recent weeks after looking like contenders for a while. The club’s still a decent 53-51 overall, but at five games behind wild-card position, rallying for a playoff spot probably isn’t realistic.
The Rangers’ place in the standings could influence them to sell by Wednesday’s deadline, and the 28-year-old Santana has come up as a speculative trade candidate. Jon Morosi of MLB.com reported last weekend Santana has drawn interest from other teams, but that’s vague. There was no specification as to whether talks had gotten serious with anyone. Well, now we have an answer. According to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas has “heard from only a few teams” in regards to Santana, and it hasn’t “seriously engaged any club in trade talks” for him.
With the Rangers set to open a new ballpark in 2020, when perhaps they’ll be better equipped to contend, Santana could stay as an important part of their roster going forward. As Wilson notes, although Santana has little third base experience, it’s possible he’ll take over as the Rangers’ starter there next season for Asdrubal Cabrera, who’s set to become a free agent. Otherwise, Santana may continue to function as the Rangers’ version of a Swiss Army knife. Thus far in Texas, he has totaled between five and 35 appearances at all three outfield spots and every infield position but third.
Not only has Santana been terrific at the plate and extraordinarily versatile in the field, but he has done it for a league-minimum salary. Santana also won’t rake in a ton next year via arbitration, and he’ll still be controllable for another season after that.
While Santana’s affordable control counts as a reason to keep him, it could likewise be an argument for the Rangers to cash him in for a rich return during the upcoming week. There’s also the fact that we’ve been down a familiar road with Santana in the past. His stellar rookie-year production came in spite of an ugly K/BB ratio and an unsustainable .405 batting average on balls in play. Santana’s K/BB issues have worsened since then – he has fanned 28.5 percent of the time and drawn walks at a meager 3.9 percent clip – while his BABIP (.401) is once again flying way too close to the sun and sure to plummet.
It’s clearly going to be difficult for Santana to continue to perform anywhere near this well as a hitter. At the same time, though, his Statcast profile shows he has made legitimate strides this season. Santana’s .335 expected weighted on-base average does pale in comparison to his .386 real wOBA, but it’s nothing to scoff at coming from an inexpensive player who can line up all over the diamond. The positives outweigh the negatives in the estimation of the Rangers, who seem content to keep Santana.
Notes & Rumors: Dyson, Romo, Twins, Brewers, Dodgers
There’s “a lot of trade interest” in Diamondbacks outfielder Jarrod Dyson, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network. We already know the Cubs are among the teams that have eyed Dyson. It’s not clear, though, whether the Diamondbacks – who are in the wild-card hunt – will trade the 34-year-old. Dyson, who’s in the last season of a two-year, $7.5MM contract, has enjoyed a considerable bounce-back campaign with the bat. He’s still not much of a threat offensively, having hit .250/.332/.360 (83 wRC+) in 298 plate appearances, but the fleet-of-foot Dyson’s exemplary defense-base running combination gives him a high floor and could help someone in the postseason.
- The Twins, continuing their wide-ranging search for relief help, have shown interest in Marlins closer Sergio Romo, Craig Mish of FNTSY Sports Radio tweets. The soft-tossing, 36-year-old Romo has pitched well for the Marlins since he joined them on a $2.5MM guarantee last winter, making him a strong bet to depart by the trade deadline. Romo has recorded a 3.58 ERA/3.89 FIP over 37 2/3 innings, also adding 7.88 K/9, 3.11 BB/9 and 17 saves in 18 opportunities.
- The injury that forced Brewers righty Jhoulys Chacin to the IL on Thursday is a lat strain – not an oblique strain, as was previously believed – per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. The Brewers expect Chacin to miss two to four weeks. After back-to-back productive seasons, the 31-year-old has managed an awful 5.79 ERA/5.69 FIP across 88 2/3 innings in 2019. Chacin’s struggles, not to mention his injury, are among the reasons the Brewers could bolster their rotation ahead of the deadline.
- Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told Casey Stern of MLB Network Radio on Friday that Will D. Smith will take the reins as their primary catcher going forward. The Dodgers recalled the well-regarded Smith from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday and sent their previous No. 1 backstop, the slumping Austin Barnes, to the minors. Smith, 24, is now teaming with the grizzled Russell Martin to comprise the Dodgers’ catchers. Martin started LA’s win over Washington on Friday, but the plan is for Smith to handle the Dodgers’ next two games.
- More on the Dodgers, who sent corner infielder David Freese to the IL on Friday with a left hamstring strain. The move made room for just-acquired first baseman Tyler White. It seems especially inauspicious that Freese went to the IL with the same injury just over a month ago. It cost him a minimal amount of time then, but it’s unclear whether that will be the case again. When healthy, the 36-year-old has been one of the Dodgers’ most effective hitters, albeit in a limited role. Through 163 trips to the plate, Freese has slashed a tremendous .300/.399/.579 (157 wRC+) with nine homers.
Latest On Yankees, Marcus Stroman
The Yankees’ pitching staff turned in its latest dud Friday, continuing what has amounted to a week-long series of hideous performances. Dating back to last Sunday’s loss to Colorado, New York has surrendered 64 runs in six games – including a combined 29 in a pair of shellackings in Boston over the past two nights – en route to four defeats.
As you’d expect, the Yankees’ rotation has been a key culprit in its recent run-stopping woes. Starter James Paxton struggled again Friday, yielding seven earned runs on four innings, and likely hasn’t met the Yankees’ expectations this season after coming over from the Mariners in a significant trade last winter. Likewise, the Yankees haven’t gotten enough from a group of Masahiro Tanaka, Domingo German, C.C. Sabathia and J.A. Happ.
Despite an AL-best 66-37 record, the Yankees are very much in the market for rotation help leading up to the July 31 trade deadline. Blue Jays hurler Marcus Stroman has been among the many starters on the Yankees’ radar, though Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported Thursday the Yankees aren’t the leading candidates to acquire him. Similarly, Andy Martino of SNY.tv tweets the Yankees haven’t been the most aggressive team after Stroman. Nevertheless, the two sides are still “in contact” in regards to the right-hander, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets.
The rebuilding, division-rival Blue Jays have predictably aimed high – albeit to a wholly unrealistic extent – in their quest to seek the best possible return for Stroman. During their talks with the Yankees, the Jays have requested middle infielder Gleyber Torres, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports. They’ve also asked for 20-year-old righty Deivi Garcia, the Yankees’ No. 1-ranked prospect.
Surrendering Torres is a nonstarter for the Yankees, who have seen him blossom from high-end prospect to high-end major leaguer since they acquired him from the Cubs in a July 2016 blockbuster. Torres was a Rookie of the Year candidate in 2018 who has gotten even better this season, just his age-22 campaign, having slashed .294/.360/.511 (127 wRC+) with 20 home runs and 2.6 fWAR in 398 plate appearances. As someone who’s not even on track to become eligible for arbitration until after 2020, the Yankees are in position to reap the benefits of Torres’ presence for a long time.
The same could be true in regards to Garcia, though the Yankees have at least reportedly shown a willingness to trade him for Mets righty Noah Syndergaard. However, there’s seemingly less of a chance of the Yankees giving up Garcia for Stroman, in part because he comes with one fewer year of control than Syndergaard. (Speculatively, perhaps the Yankees would be more amenable to sending Garcia to Toronto as part of a package for both Stroman and closer Ken Giles, whom they’ve also eyed.)
Stroman’s on a more-than-fair $7.4MM salary this season and under wraps through next year, so it’s reasonable for Toronto to expect a sizable return for him. It also helps that Stroman’s having a terrific season – better than Syndergaard’s – having put up a 2.96 ERA/3.52 FIP with 7.15 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 56.3 percent groundball rate in 124 2/3 innings. That doesn’t make Stroman worth close to as much as Torres, though, and it may not even be enough for the Yankees to hand over Garcia for him.
Latest On Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler
10:35pm: It isn’t definite the Mets will trade Syndergaard, per reports from Anthony DiComo of MLB.com and Anthony Rieber of Newsday, though Rieber adds the club’s “working hard” to move him. The Astros are “pessimistic” about their chances of acquiring Syndergaard, DiComo writes. Meanwhile, it “doesn’t sound like” the Mets and Twins have made headway toward a deal, Martino tweets.
3:58pm: Mets righty Noah Syndergaard has emerged as the perhaps the most talked-about name on the trade market, and his name once again figures to dominate headlines — much as it did in the offseason. Meanwhile, scouts will be watching closely as fellow starter Zack Wheeler takes the hill tonight for his lone pre-deadline showcase start. Here’s the latest on both hurlers …
Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the Mets are seeking an MLB-ready starter who can step right into the rotation in place of Syndergaard, then some additional high-end prospects after that. The pitcher in question needn’t technically be the headliner in the deal, but presumably the Mets are eyeing a controllable (pre-arbitration) starter as well as premier minor leaguers beyond that point.
That aligns with recent reports from SNY’s Andy Martino (Twitter links), who suggests that the Mets view the Padres, Braves, Dodgers, Rays and Yankees as the best on-paper fits in a deal. The Padres and Braves, in particular, are rich with MLB-ready pitchers in the upper minors, and Sherman lists that pair of organizations as the two that the Mets feel are best-positioned to work out a deal.
Notably, Sherman calls the Astros the “most aggressive” pursuer of Syndergaard, but Houston has seen its top pitching prospects take a step back in 2019. Forrest Whitley (shoulder fatigue) has barely pitched in 2019. Corbin Martin underwent Tommy John surgery. Martino suggests that neither the Astros nor Twins are viewed as prime trade partners — likely because other interested parties have better MLB-ready arms to offer. It was reported this morning that the Twins and Mets have discussed Syndergaard, with the Mets showing particular interest in shortstop Royce Lewis and outfielder Alex Kirilloff.
Looking at the teams the Mets apparently believe to be fits, it’s a bit of an eyebrow-raiser to see the Yankees and Braves listed. The Yankees and Mets haven’t lined up on a trade in more than a decade, and the frequent reports out of New York portraying the contempt that Mets owner Fred Wilpon has toward the Yankees make a deal of this nature seem decidedly unlikely. Meanwhile, trading Syndergaard to a division rival would be difficult for Mets fans to stomach, particularly given that he’s controlled through the 2021 season.
Whether the Houston organization can put together a compelling package for Syndergaard, they’ll have other things to talk about with the Mets front office. The ‘Stros are “one of many” teams that have interest in Wheeler, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). Martino tweets that the Yankees also remain interested in Wheeler and will be watching intently this evening.
Gio Gonzalez Exits With Shoulder Tightness
10:34pm: Gonzalez may have avoided a serious injury. Manager Craig Counsell said after the game, which the Brewers came back to win, that Gonzalez is day-to-day and could make his next start (via Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).
10:03pm: The Brewers announced that left-hander Gio Gonzalez exited his start against the Cubs on Friday with shoulder tightness. That’s a potentially ominous development for a Milwaukee club already down two starters, Brandon Woodruff and Jhoulys Chacin, because of injuries.
The 33-year-old Gonzalez only just returned from his own IL stint. Thanks to a dead arm, Gonzalez went from May 27 until July 20 without taking the ball at the major league level. During the eight starts Gonzalez has made this year, including his 6 1/3-inning, two-run performance against the Cubs, he has recorded an effective 3.48 ERA/3.30 FIP with 7.84 K/9, 2.61 BB/9 and a 42.8 percent groundball rate over 41 1/3 innings.
The Brewers couldn’t have realistically expected the type of results they’ve received from Gonzalez on a per-inning basis when they signed him in late April. That came after an odd several months for Gonzalez, who – despite years of quality work with the Athletics and Nationals – was unable to find a guaranteed contract in the offseason. Gonzalez instead settled for a minor league deal with the Yankees toward the end of March, ultimately opting out of it to take a better opportunity in Milwaukee.
As of this writing, the Brewers are trailing the Cubs, 2-1, in the eighth inning of the NL Central rivals’ hugely important matchup. First-place Chicago entered this weekend’s three-game set with a two-game lead over Milwaukee, which is 1 1/2 back of wild-card position. General manager David Stearns suggested earlier this week the loss of Woodruff’s unlikely to affect the Brewers’ plans heading into the July 31 trade deadline. However, the team appeared as if it needed starting help even before Woodruff suffered an oblique strain that will keep him out several weeks, and that will become all the more obvious if it sees Gonzalez join him and Chacin on the shelf.
Giants Rumors: Sogard, Watson, Cardinals
The Giants’ surge up the standings this month has turned them from surefire trade deadline sellers to potential buyers. To that end, the Giants have “inquired” about Blue Jays infielder Eric Sogard, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets.
Considering the 33-year-old Sogard is a pending free agent, acquiring him would be a win-now move by the Giants, who have climbed to 52-51 and within 3 1/2 of a wild-card spot. Sogard is primarily a second baseman – a position that has that has been problematic this season for San Francisco. Main Giants option Joe Panik has struggled to a .235/.309/.317 line with a 69 wRC+ and three home runs over 369 plate appearances. Sogard, meanwhile, has slashed a far superior .299/.363/.480 (124 wRC+) with 10 HRs in 317 trips to the plate.
As MLBTR’s Jeff Todd explained a couple weeks ago, Sogard’s production doesn’t look sustainable – especially factoring in that he has seldom approached it over a career consisting of 2,000-plus trips to the plate. Nevertheless, Sogard’s 2019 offensive output, defensive versatility and league-minimum salary should make it easy to for rebuilding Toronto to find a taker in the next few days.
Whether the Giants should buy Sogard or anyone else is up for debate, depending on how much you’re convinced of their sudden brilliance. If the club goes the other way by the 31st, it still has several useful trade chips it could unload, including reliever Tony Watson. The Cardinals, who are seeking another left-hander for their bullpen, have done their “due diligence” on Watson, according to Mark Saxon of The Athletic. However, the Redbirds are leery of the escalator clauses in his contract, per Saxon.
Watson’s current salary has skyrocketed from a guaranteed $3.5MM to $8.5MM with the help of incentives, and it could increase to $10.5MM if he accrues 50 appearances. That seems inevitable for the 34-year-old, who has already piled up 44 this season. Along the way, the typically reliable Watson has thrown 41 innings and pitched to a 2.85 ERA (with a much less dominant 4.20 FIP) while posting 6.8 K/9, 1.1 BB/9 and a 46.9 percent groundball rate.
Regardless of whether Watson finishes the season in San Francisco or elsewhere, a trip to free agency looks probable for the winter. Watson’s pact features a $2.5MM club option for 2020, though it’s likely he’ll turn that down in favor of a $500K buyout. Meantime, it’s iffy at best the Giants will trade Watson, let alone to a wild card-leading Cardinals team they’re trying to chase down.
Latest On Marlins’ Trevor Richards
Marlins right-hander Trevor Richards has surfaced as a trade candidate in advance of next week’s deadline, but he’s now changing roles. Richards will shift to the Marlins’ bullpen, and fellow righty Elieser Hernandez will take his spot in the Marlins’ rotation, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com relays. That could make Richards more expendable to the Fish, as Frisaro writes that he’s “the primary candidate to be dealt” among their starting options.
Richards’ most recent start, a loss to the White Sox this past Monday, didn’t go well. Although he notched seven strikeouts against one walk, the 26-year-old yielded seven earned runs on seven hits (two home runs) over five innings. Richards has now gone seven straight starts of fewer than six innings, which reflects the difficulty he has encountered against opposing lineups the more they’ve seen him.
While Richards has held enemy teams to a .310 weighted on-base average the first time through the order and a .279 wOBA the second trip, they’ve smashed him for a .416 mark during the third go-around. Based on that, perhaps Richards is better suited for a bullpen job, though as someone who only averages 91 mph on his fastball, he doesn’t look like an intimidating late-game presence in the making.
Despite his recent struggles as a starter, Richards has largely been a usable back-end arm since he made his major league debut a year ago. He entered Friday with 109 innings of 4.62 ERA/4.78 FIP pitching, 8.26 K/9, 4.05 BB/9 and a 35.4 percent groundball rate this season.
Frankly, there’s little to nothing worth getting excited about over “a usable back-end arm.” But the fact that Richards is making the league minimum this season and still has two years of pre-arbitration control left could appeal to a team looking to fill out the end of its starting staff or its bullpen on the cheap. Should Richards stay in Miami past the deadline, it’s “likely” he’ll work as a reliever for the foreseeable future, Frisaro suggests. He threw a scoreless, two-strikeout inning out of the Marlins’ bullpen in a win over the Diamondbacks on Friday.
Reds Willing To Entertain Offers On Raisel Iglesias
A pair of executives say the Reds are willing to listen to offers on closer Raisel Iglesias, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). The likelihood of a deal coming together isn’t clear at this point.
Iglesias, 29, has been one of the game’s more consistently effective closers for a few years now. But he’s mired in his worst season as a big leaguer. Meanwhile, the Reds’ hopes of maintaining competitiveness this year have taken a big hit over the past several weeks.
Through 43 innings on the season, Iglesias carries an unsightly 4.60 ERA. He does own a career-best 11.7 K/9, though he’s also dishing out too many walks (4.0 per nine) and long balls (1.9 per nine). That said, the 29-year-old is maintaining a career-best 15.6% swinging-strike rate and seems a candidate to bounce back if he can figure out how to get the home runsunder control.
Iglesias’s contract situation is also appealing. He’s earning $6MM this year with $9MM and $9.125MM guarantees for the ensuing two campaigns. That’s not especially cheap, but it’s quite a manageable rate of pay for an elite reliever — if that’s indeed how other organizations view him.
We’ve wondered in years past if the Reds would deal Iglesias, but the club has held its closer in hopes that the rest of the roster would catch up. There’s hope that high-leverage situations will have greater meaning in 2020, but perhaps also a sense that this could be an opportune moment to cash in on Iglesias. Several other quality relievers figure to be available, but the Giants’ run back into contention could also create a window for the Cincinnati organization to take advantage of a lack of supply.
Zack Wheeler Throws Well In Potential Trade Showcase
The trade candidacy of Mets righty Zack Wheeler hit an uncertain patch when it emerged recently that he was dealing with a shoulder issue. Though all indications were that it was not a serious malady, teams considering giving up young talent to secure a few months of his services wanted to see for themselves.
Accordingly, Wheeler’s outing this evening represented a major test. It’s his last opportunity to show contenders what they’d be getting. That’s of more importance to the New York team than the player, but there’s something at stake here for him as well. Being dealt would not only create an opportunity for high-profile pitching in advance of his forthcoming foray into free agency, but would eliminate the possibility of a qualifying offer that could leave him burdened with draft compensation.
As it turns out, the night went about as well as could have been hoped for the 29-year-old. While there’s nothing special about allowing three earned runs over 5 1/3 innings, Wheeler ran up seven strikeouts without a walk and sat at his customary ~97 mph level with his four-seam fastball.
There are certainly some limits to Wheeler’s appeal as a trade piece. He’s one of the many pitchers who has seen his home-run rate rise this year. Through 124 1/3 frames, he carries an ugly 4.71 ERA. But Wheeler is also racking up 9.9 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 for the season and carries the same impressive arsenal that allowed him to deliver an excellent 2018 campaign. As a live-armed, younger hurler, he’s quite an appealing rental target. The injury blip will surely weigh on the market a bit, but he ought to generate significant interest now that it seems he has managed to come through his trial in fine shape.
We’ll see how the market develops over the coming days. There has been some chatter about the possibility of the Mets extending Wheeler rather than dealing him, but it’s not clear just how that’d work out. This is hardly a typical time of the year for contract negotiations, particularly with a pitcher that is just recovering from a health issue, and there are no assurances whatsoever that the club would be able to make a deal to its liking.