Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

White Sox Designate Bruce Rondon, Select Jeanmar Gomez

By and | at

The White Sox have designated right-hander Bruce Rondon for assignment, per a club announcement. Replacing him on the roster will be fellow righty reliever Jeanmar Gomez, whose contract was selected.

Rondon, 27, was in his first season with the Sox after previously spending the entirety of his pro career in the Tigers organization. Rondon enjoyed a fairly promising start in his new environs, working to a solid 3.68 ERA with 31 strikeouts against 12 walks through his first 22 innings with the Pale Hose. But things derailed quickly for Rondon, as he was hammered for a stunning 19 earned runs over his next 7 2/3 innings — including another three-run meltdown in Tuesday night’s bludgeoning by the Cardinals. In the end, Rondon’s ERA with the White Sox will be a dismal 8.49. He’s out of minor league options, so the Sox don’t have the luxury of sending him to Triple-A to sort things out without first exposing him to waivers.

Rondon still throws plenty hard, averaging 96.4 mph on his heater, and he clearly has little trouble when it comes to missing bats; he punched out 40 hitters in 29 2/3 innings of work and notched a quality 14 percent swinging-strike rate. As has typically been the case for Rondon, though, he showed a significant lack of control in his time with the Sox, walking 27 batters, hitting another and throwing six wild pitches.

The Sox will have a week to either trade Rondon, run him through outright waivers or release him. It’s possible that another organization will be intrigued by his velocity and ability to miss bats, but they’d have to allow him to try to sort things out at the big league level due to that lack of minor league options. If Rondon does clear waivers, he has enough big league service time to reject a outright assignment and seek a new opportunity with another organization.

As for Gomez, 30, this will be his first shot at the majors since he fell out of fortune last year with the Phillies. He had turned in a few solid seasons, even becoming the Phils’ closer for a stretch, but was knocked around in 2017. Though he carried a career-high 8.5 K/9 in his 22 1/3 innings, Gomez was tagged for 31 hits (seven of which left the yard) and 18 earned runs prior to being cut loose.

Gomez spent a bit of time in the upper minors last year, throwing well but failing to make his way back up. He landed with the White Sox on a minors deal over the winter and has performed admirably thus far at Triple-A. Through forty frames over thirty appearances with Charlotte, Gomez owns a 2.02 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9. If he can show well over the next few weeks, perhaps it’s not out of the question that he could turn into something of a trade candidate. If not, he may simply help the rebuilding White Sox fill innings down the stretch.

Rangers Designate Austin Jackson

By | at

The Rangers have designated outfielder Austin Jackson for assignment, per a club announcement. He had been acquired recently from the Giants but never reported to his new team, at its request.

As Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News explained at the time, the swap that brought Jackson and reliever Cory Gearrin to Texas was designed from the outset as a prospect purchase. “Our primary motivation was acquiring Jason Bahr,” GM Jon Daniels said of the deal. The Giants, who are just barely south of the $197MM luxury tax threshold, were willing to give up the young hurler in order to clear over $5MM in salary from their books as part of their own deadline maneuvering.

Jackson, 31, struggled badly at the plate this year in San Francisco. Over 165 plate appearances, he carries a meager .242/.309/.295 batting line. That power outage came along with a 35.8% strikeout rate that is far higher than the ~20% level Jackson has maintained in recent seasons.

It’s still possible, of course, that the Rangers will try to line up a trade involving the veteran outfielder. He did have a productive 2017 campaign, leading the Giants to give him a two-year, $6MM contract over the winter. But it seems unlikely that there will be much of a market for his services at the moment. Certainly, no other teams will have interest in taking on the salary, if any are even willing to give him a MLB roster spot.

Royals Place Ian Kennedy On 10-Day DL

By | at

The Royals announced this morning that righty Ian Kennedy is heading back to the 10-day disabled list. He had only just been activated to pitch yesterday, but left his outing after three frames.

The team indicates that a left oblique strain is again to blame for the placement, though the outlook isn’t yet clear this time around. Kennedy only missed one start in his prior stint on the DL, so perhaps there’s hope that this is still a fairly minor ailment. It surely helps that the All-Star break is right around the corner.

Of course, hitting the shelf now won’t do much for Kennedy’s prospects as a trade candidate. Truth be told, though, there was never much likelihood he’d be moved with a $16MM salary this year and $33MM left to go over the next two seasons.

Since joining the Kansas City staff in the 2016 campaign, the now-33-year-old Kennedy has compiled 444 1/3 innings of 4.58 ERA ball. But the results have headed in the wrong direction of late, as he has allowed more than five earned per nine over the past two seasons, due in large part to allowing far too many home runs.

Red Sox Interested In Significant Bullpen Addition

By | at

As they look to improve a roster that has performed at a high level this year, the Red Sox are interested in adding impact in their late-inning relief mix, according to a report from Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. We heard yesterday that the team has interest in Orioles southpaw Zach Britton (see here and here), but he’s certainly not the only potential target.

At the moment, it is not clear if the Boston organization has any particular pitcher in mind. Crasnick indicates that the team is “blanketing the relief market,” so it appears that there are still quite a few possibilities.

It’s not surprising, of course, to learn that a clear contender wants to improve its bullpen. That’s almost a given in this day and age, when the ability to deploy a variety of quality relief arms in optimal fashion can make all the difference in high-leverage situations in critical games.

The key takeaway, though, is that the Sox aren’t just looking to add another solid set-up option. Rather, the report indicates that the organization wishes to obtain a high-end, difference-making arm. Notably, Crasnick suggests that the pending free agency of elite closer Craig Kimbrel is a factor, perhaps indicating that the Red Sox will be particularly interested in a controllable player.

The Red Sox did just welcome Tyler Thornburg into the fold after a lengthy rehab process. He has worked in the 93 to 94 mph range in his first two outings, below but also in sight of his most recent levels. But the club really can’t know quite what to expect yet from him.

One interesting element to consider here is the fact that the Red Sox depth chart exhibits an obvious weakness from the left side. The just-recalled Jalen Beeks is currently the only southpaw in the pen, though perhaps Drew Pomeranz could ultimately be utilized in relief once he’s back to health.

Clearly, a power lefty would make particular sense, which helps explain the look at Britton. And there are other premium late-inning southpaws that could be available — though none at a low price. Brad Hand of the Padres and Felipe Vazquez of the Pirates are perhaps intriguing speculative targets, but they will require a massive haul to pry loose given that both recently inked high-value extensions.

There ought to be other potential hurlers to consider on the left side, of course. Zach Duke of the Twins has been excellent and is an affordable rental player. The Marlins’ Adam Conley is showing that his stuff can play up from the pen. Despite a thin track record of late, he comes with cheap control, meaning the ask will likely be fairly high. Other possible options include Jake Diekman (Rangers), Jerry Blevins (Mets), Aaron Loup (Blue Jays), and Luis Avilan (White Sox).

It seems, though, that the need for a southpaw will not necessarily drive the team’s approach when it comes to installing a high-end arm. Per Crasnick, the Red Sox have taken a scouting look at Kyle Barraclough of the Marlins and even “checked in” to see if the Rockies might be interested in parting with veterans Wade Davis or Adam Ottavino. (Crasnick added mention of Ottavino in a follow-up tweet.) All of those hurlers throw from the right side, of course. And they are in quite different contract situations, with Barraclough on the cusp of arbitration eligibility, Ottavino set to hit the open market, and Davis still in the first season of his three-year, $52MM contract.

Davis, in particular, appears to be rather an unlikely player to move, as Crasnick notes. But the fact that the team has even considered that pursuit seems telling. There really aren’t all that many excellent late-inning rental relievers likely to be made available — Jeurys Familia is probably the best among them — but there are quite a few quality pitchers with lengthy control rights that could perhaps be had. Raisel Iglesias of the Reds, Kirby Yates of the Padres, Nate Jones of the White Sox, and Keone Kela of the Rangers are all pitchers that could at least conceivably interest the Red Sox. All are in the same essential situation as that of Barraclough, though: with multiple seasons of affordable control remaining, their teams don’t have to make a move.

As things stand, then, the possibilities still seem rather open-ended. That only makes it all the more interesting to see how talks shape up over the next twenty days.

Garrett Richards To Undergo MRI For Forearm Injury

By | at

The Angels announced tonight that right-hander Garrett Richards exited tonight’s start due to irritation in his right forearm. He’ll undergo an MRI tomorrow to further evaluate the injury.

It’s the latest in a seemingly ceaseless line of injuries to an Angels pitching staff that has struggled to stay healthy over the past several seasons. Richards himself only recently returned from a hamstring injury and was making just his second start since being reinstated from the disabled list.

Any serious injury to Richards would be impactful to the Angels on multiple levels. First and foremost, he’s among the team’s most talented options in the rotation and is in the midst of a solid season, having pitched to a 3.68 ERA with 10.3 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, 1.3 HR/9 and a 49.3 percent ground-ball rate through 76 1/3 innings.

Beyond that, the Angels are buried 14.5 games back in the American League West and are a similarly daunting 11 games back from an American League Wild Card spot (though they’re poised to move up a game in those standings with a late lead over Seattle at present). If the team can’t put together a significant winning streak in the coming weeks, GM Billy Eppler and his lieutenants may very well be forced to sell off some short-term assets and begin looking toward 2019. Richards would be among the team’s best trade chips with the deadline looming, but this latest injury calls even that possibility into question.

MLB Roster Roundup: Doolittle, Garcia, Hernandez, Puig, Tanaka

By | at

ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM
(July 9th-July 10th)

NATIONAL LEAGUE

—

AMERICAN LEAGUE

  • HOUSTON ASTROS | Depth Chart
    • Placed on Bereavement List: SP Gerrit Cole
      • Cole is expected to return for his next scheduled start on Saturday.
    • Promoted: OF Jake Marisnick
      • Marisnick played CF and batted 9th on Tuesday.

—

FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES

Red Sox Have Checked In On Manny Machado, Have Interest In Zach Britton

By | at

8:49pm: Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets that the Sox did indeed check in on Machado, but there’s “nothing substantial” to those talks at this time. Boston, however, “seems to have definite interest” in Britton.

8:39pm: The field of teams reported to be showing interest in Orioles shortstop Manny Machado is growing, as both Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun and Rich Dubroff of PressboxOnline.com (Twiter link) report that the Red Sox have recently reached out to the Orioles regarding Machado. Schmuck notes that Boston’s interest is seemingly a response to recent reports that the Yankees have again displayed some renewed interest.

The Red Sox don’t represent a perfect fit for Machado by any means, with Xander Bogaerts thriving at shortstop (.277/.351/.512) and Rafael Devers slotted in at third base. Devers, though, has struggled to the tune of a .290 OBP, and while the Sox certainly wouldn’t part with him for a Machado rental, Boston could in theory add Machado and send Devers to Triple-A Pawtucket for further development. Devers, after all, is still just 21 years of age and only played nine games in Triple-A before ascending to the Majors last year.

To this point, it’s not clear whether Boston’s interest constitutes anything more than due diligence, and there’s not yet anything to suggest that they’re embarking upon an aggressive pursuit of Machado. The Dodgers, Brewers and, to a lesser extent, the Diamondbacks were said to be the most most aggressive parties on the Machado front as recently as this afternoon, with the Cubs and Cardinals both now said to be largely out of the mix.

As ever, it’s worth bearing in mind that most contending clubs will at least gauge the price tag on most of the top trade pieces available. Fancred’s Jon Heyman recently reported that the Red Sox have been scouting Baltimore’s Zach Britton in recent weeks anyhow, and it’s fairly logical to expect that if they were inquiring with the Orioles on Britton, they’d at the very least check in on the Machado price tag. Players of Machado’s caliber are rarely available on the summer trade market, after all, and acquiring him represents something of a rare opportunity for any contender — particularly one in a tightly contested division race such as the current AL East.

Boston is a particularly difficult fit for the Machado, though, given the money he’s owed through season’s end and the luxury tax penalization the Sox would incur if payroll hiked much further north. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported at the time of the Steve Pearce trade that the money the Blue Jays sent to the Red Sox in that deal helped keep Boston’s luxury tax ledger just south of $237MM.

That’s an important figure, because despite the fact that much of the focus with regard to the luxury tax is placed on the initial $197MM barrier, there are increasingly steep penalties for exceeding that threshold by more than $40MM. Namely, the Sox would be taxed at a hefty 42.5 percent clip for any amount over that $237MM mark and, more significantly, would have their top pick in next June’s amateur draft knocked back by 10 spots. Machado is currently owed about $7.05MM through season’s end, and the Red Sox’ luxury tax payroll (per Cot’s Contracts) sat at $235.325MM before even accounting for the $1.5MM they took on in the Pearce trade. That figure is an estimate, of course, it nonetheless demonstrates that the Sox are only narrowly south of that threshold.

It’s certainly possible that the Sox have genuine interest in adding Machado to the mix, recognizing that they’re in a close battle for the division and that every win will prove crucial to avoiding a one-game Wild Card playoff. However, given Boston’s luxury tax situation, an already-crowded left side of the infield and a thin farm system, it’s difficult to see them emerging as a top suitor for Machado.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/10/18

By | at

We’ll use this post to track the day’s minor moves …

  • The Indians announced that right-hander George Kontos cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Columbus. The veteran has enough service time to elect free agency but will instead remain with the organization in hopes of a return to Cleveland. Kontos, 33, tossed 5 1/3 innings and allowed a pair of runs in his brief run with the Indians at the big league level. He’s seen his velocity and strikeout rate fall off substantially in 2018 but has a lengthy track record as a quality reliever with the Giants and, more briefly, the Pirates spanning from 2012-17 (3.00 ERA, 7.4 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 in 324 1/3 innings).

Earlier Moves

  • The Yankees announced that righty David Hale has elected free agency after clearing outright waivers. He was recently designated by the New York organization for the third time this year. Hale will test the open market, but presumably remains a candidate to return on another minor-league pact, as he has done previously. In the aggregate, Hale has pitched to a 4.61 ERA with 5.3 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in his 13 2/3 total MLB innings this year. The 30-year-old has worked as a starter at Triple-A, turning in 55 2/3 frames of 4.20 ERA ball there on the year.

Trade Rumblings: Happ, Giants, Britton, Red Sox, Richards

By | at

The Yankees continue to hold Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ in high regard and have him near the top of their list of “realistic” trade targets as the deadline approaches, tweets Fancred’s Jon Heyman. (Notably, Heyman adds that the Yankees don’t consider either Jacob deGrom or Noah Syndergaard to fall into that “realistic” category.) However, to this point, the Yankees believe the asking price on Happ to be too high for talks to become serious.  The Mariners and Cubs have also been linked to Happ in recent weeks, and it seems it’s merely a matter of time until the southpaw finds himself in a new jersey. Though he was hit hard in his past two starts, Happ is averaging nearly 10 strikeouts per nine innings pitched against 2.9 BB/9 with a 4.44 ERA. Metrics like FIP (3.97), xFIP (3.79) and SIERA (3.64) all feel he’s been substantially better than his ERA would indicate.

Some more trade talk from around MLB…

  • The Giants might not be done making moves to shed salary, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. The team seemingly dubbed Austin Jackson and Cory Gearrin expendable and shed their remaining salary in Sunday’s trade with the Rangers, and Schulman wonders if the Giants would also take a similar course with either Derek Holland or Sam Dyson. Holland has been solid dating back to early May, but he’s somewhat redundant with Ty Blach also on the roster (though certainly the depth is valuable). San Francisco could save another $1.4MM, Schulman adds, if Dyson is moved. It should be emphasized that the Giants’ goal certainly isn’t to shed payroll at all costs; rather, the aim would seem to be shedding expendable pieces who could be replaced by more affordable internal options, thus creating further distance from the $197MM luxury tax barrier. Schulman also notes that while finding a taker for Hunter Pence would obviously create ample breathing room in that regard, some within the organization, including manager Bruce Bochy, would hate to see Pence and his leadership depart.
  • The Red Sox have been scouting Zach Britton since he was activated from the disabled list, tweets Heyman. The Sox and Orioles aren’t frequent trade partners but did line up a couple of years back in the Andrew Miller/Eduardo Rodriguez swap, and Boston president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has already pulled off one intra-division swap in 2018, acquiring Steve Pearce from the Blue Jays. Britton hasn’t looked like himself since returning from surgery to repair his Achilles tendon, as his K/BB numbers and ground-ball rates have all been well south of his usual levels. Britton’s velocity has ticked upward in his past two outings, though he’s still falling behind far too many hitters and is owed more than $5MM through season’s end. That last bit may be of particular importance to the Red Sox, who after acquiring Pearce are just narrowly under the next level of luxury tax penalization. If they exceed the luxury tax by more than $40MM, the Red Sox would see their top pick in next year’s draft pushed back 10 slots.
  • Teams looking for rotation help on the trade market will have a close eye on the upcoming Mariners/Angels series, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. If Halos already trail the Astros by 14 games in the AL West and trail Seattle by 11 games in the AL Wild Card race. If the Mariners can widen that gap further, the Angels may have little choice but to turn an eye toward 2019, which would likely result in Garrett Richards being made available in trades. Sherman notes that Angels GM Billy Eppler told him just last week that his focus remained on reaching the postseason, but Sherman also writes that “those who know Eppler believe he will be pragmatic” if things don’t change quickly. The Yankees, Brewers, Braves, Cubs, Phillies and Mariners are among the teams looking for rotation upgrades, per Sherman.

Lonnie Chisenhall Out Eight To Ten Weeks

By | at

The Indians announced to reporters today that outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall will miss the next eight to 10 weeks due to a Grade 3 strain of his left calf muscle (Twitter link via Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon-Journal). That timeline will keep Chisenhall on the shelf until at least early September, and if there are any setbacks along the way in his recovery, it could potentially jeopardize the remainder of his season.

It’s a tough loss for the Indians, to be sure. While Chisenhall has been quite prone to injury over the past two seasons, he’s also been an extremely productive hitter when on the field, slashing .297/.368/.503 with 13 homers, 23 doubles and a pair of triples through 365 plate appearances. He was limited to 82 games last season by a concussion, a shoulder sprain and a calf strain, and this will now be his second extended absence of the 2018 season due to a calf injury.

Cleveland has recently been relying on Michael Brantley, Greg Allen and Tyler Naquin in the outfield, with Brandon Guyer and Rajai Davis also representing options on the big league roster. Former first-rounder Bradley Zimmer also remains on hand as an option at the Triple-A level.

For Chisenhall himself, the timing could scarcely be worse. He’s just months away from free agency, and in a best-case scenario, he’d have roughly four weeks to demonstrate his health to teams before the end of the season. He’s already been limited to a mere 95 PAs in 2018, and it’s now quite possible that he’ll head into free agency having played somewhere in the vicinity of 130 to 140 games combined in the two-year platform to his first trip to the open market. Given his success at the plate dating back to 2016 and the fact that he’ll be 30 years old for all of the 2019 season, Chisenhall should still find Major League offers on the market, but his stock is obviously weakened handily by what is now his third calf injury of the past calendar year.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top