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Heyman’s Latest: Mets, Wheeler, deGrom, Syndergaard, Jackson, Phils, Braves

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“About a half-dozen teams” have some interest in Mets right-hander Zack Wheeler, FanCred Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets.  Wheeler’s name has been mentioned in trade rumors for a few weeks now, with such teams as the Reds, Yankees, and Diamondbacks all reportedly linked to the 28-year-old.  With the Mets firmly in sell mode as the deadline approaches, Wheeler certainly still appears to be the likeliest of New York’s starting pitchers to be moved in the coming days.  In other tweets,, Heyman notes that though the Mets are doing their due diligence on current offers for Jacob deGrom or Noah Syndergaard, it’s more probably the team would wait until the offseason to deal either ace.  Waiting until the winter opens up a wider array of potential suitors for trades, and thus would increase the Mets’ chances of landing their desired return of MLB-ready talent.  Of course, the chances of Syndergaard being now seem “infinitesimal” since the righty is now on the 10-day DL after contracting hand, foot, and mouth disease.

Here’s some more transactions buzz from Heyman’s Twitter account…

  • The Red Sox and Giants are among the teams who are showing interest in veteran outfielder Austin Jackson.  San Francisco, of course, just traded Jackson to the Rangers as part of a salary dump, and Jackson is now available in free agency (for the prorated MLB minimum salary) after Texas released him.  Jackson has hit only .242/.309/.295 in 165 PA this season, though he could provide several teams with veteran outfield depth.  He is more natural backup outfield fit, for instance, than current Red Sox roster members Steve Pearce or Brock Holt.  The Giants have a pretty crowded outfield mix already, though Jackson is more experienced than the likes of Austin Slater or Steven Duggar.
  • The Braves and Phillies have been linked to several major names this summer, and Heyman says the two NL East rivals have indeed been “involved in most/all the big stuff” on the trade front.  According to some, however, Atlanta and Philadelphia have also seemed less likely than other contenders to move their top prospects.  This jibes with recent comments from Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos, who was looking to make upgrades but expressed wariness about dealing top prospects, particularly for rental players.  Both the Braves and Phils are somewhat in the same boat as teams who are somewhat unexpected contenders coming out of a lengthy rebuild, and since both are looking to begin some sustained success, they aren’t necessarily looking to make a big all-in push this year.

At Least Six Teams Pursuing Zach Britton

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SUNDAY, 8:01pm: Last year’s failed Britton trade talks between the Astros and Orioles won’t play any factor in this year’s negotiations, The Athletic’s Jim Bowden tweets.  A source tells Bowden that Houston is “all in” on acquiring Britton.

3:48pm: The Rockies and Brewers are also in the mix, Heyman tweets.

1:38pm: There are indeed teams ahead of the Dodgers in Britton talks, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, who lists the Astros, Cubs and Red Sox as being “more active” than LA.

8:06am: It doesn’t appear the Dodgers or Braves are “quite as engaged” on Britton as other teams are, Crasnick relays. LA’s wary of the luxury tax, as mentioned below, while the Braves aren’t keen on giving up prospects for short-term help, Crasnick suggests.

SATURDAY, 8:44pm: It’s “at least” a six-team race for Britton, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets.

8:14pm: The Orioles are seeking a return equal to or better than the one the Royals received for reliever Kelvin Herrera in a trade last month, Buster Olney of ESPN reports. Washington acquired Herrera for three prospects, though none ranked among the Nationals’ absolute best farmhands at the time.

7:39pm: Both the Cubs and the Astros “are trying to match up prospects with the Orioles,” Jerry Crasnick of ESPN tweets. The Dodgers are also among those who would like to acquire Britton, Dan Connolly of The Athletic reports, though Rosenthal notes that it may be difficult because of LA’s desire to stay under the luxury-tax threshold. No matter where Britton goes, the O’s hope to make a deal happen within the next few days, Crasnick adds.

6:38pm: With Brad Hand and Jeurys Familia now off the market, Orioles left-hander Zach Britton may be the best soon-to-be traded reliever in baseball. The 30-year-old has drawn widespread interest in recent weeks, too, with Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reporting “virtually every top contender” is in on him (video link). The NL Central-leading Cubs are among that group, and they “remain deeply involved” in the Britton discussions, sources tell Patrick Mooney of The Athletic (subscription required).

In at least the near term, Britton would likely serve as a replacement for Cubs closer Brandon Morrow, who went on the disabled list this week on account of right biceps inflammation. Britton has also endured injuries, most recently a ruptured Achilles that shelved him from the start of the season until mid-June. The two-time All-Star got off to a less-than-dominant start in his first action of the season as he returned from that injury, though he has been better of late as the deadline approaches.

Not only has Britton gone eight straight appearances (eight innings) without yielding an earned run, but he has seen his velocity climb closer to its past levels in the process. Of course, Britton has also walked a batter in three straight outings and has issued an unpalatable 10 free passes against 13 strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings this year. To Britton’s credit, though, he has posted a 3.45 ERA and a terrific groundball rate (64.1 percent).

While the Cubs are high on Britton, Mooney wonders if they have a good enough farm system to win a bidding war for the pending free agent. Chicago has Baseball America’s 28th-ranked prospect pool, which seemingly places it behind the 8-ball, and Rosenthal notes Britton is likely to yield a “strong” return with so many championship hopefuls chasing him.

Given the competition for his services, Britton to the Cubs may be a long shot. However, if acquired, Britton would further strengthen a bullpen that ranks fifth in the majors in ERA and just added ex-Ranger Jesse Chavez via trade this week.

The Cubs’ relief corps has received great results from Morrow, Steve Cishek, Pedro Strop, Justin Wilson, Carl Edwards Jr., the unit’s top five innings leaders. Although, only one of those hurlers (Wilson) is a lefty, and fellow southpaws Brian Duensing and Randy Rosario are difficult to trust. Duensing has endured a brutal year, having logged a 7.31 ERA with more walks (23) than strikeouts (18) across 28 1/3 innings. Rosario, on the other hand, has done well preventing runs over 27 2/3 innings (1.95 ERA), but with 5.2 K/9, 4.23 BB/9, a sky-high 94.2 percent strand rate and a .238 batting average on balls in play against, he’s an obvious regression candidate. It’s likely Britton would be an upgrade over those two, and if his track record is any indication, he’d join Wilson in giving the Cubs a second formidable lefty reliever.

Red Sox, A’s, Others “Evaluating” Mike Fiers

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TODAY: The Athletics are also interested in Fiers, according to reports from the Detroit News’ Chris McCosky and MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi, though there haven’t yet been any serious talks between Oakland and Detroit.

SATURDAY: Tigers right-hander Mike Fiers started against the Red Sox on Saturday, but he may find himself on Boston’s roster soon. With the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline nearing, the Red Sox are one of several clubs “evaluating” Fiers, Buster Olney of ESPN tweets.

Although Boston possesses the majors’ best record (69-30) and a five-game lead in the AL East, injuries have recently taken a bite out of its rotation. Mid-rotation arm Eduardo Rodriguez incurred “serious damage” to his right ankle last week, forcing him to the disabled list, and both Drew Pomeranz and Steven Wright are currently on the DL with him. Pomeranz will return Tuesday, but he has been woeful in eight starts this year (6.81 ERA/5.37 FIP across 37 innings). Wright, meanwhile, has been battling left knee problems that have shelved him for the past month and will keep him out for the foreseeable future.

In the absence of Rodriguez, Pomeranz will join either Brian Johnson or Hector Velazquez and the high-end trio of Chris Sale, Rick Porcello and David Price to comprise Boston’s rotation. At best, the 33-year-old Fiers would be Boston’s fourth starter in Rodriguez’s absence, but he’d nonetheless provide the team a proven back-end option. A former Brewer and Astro, Fiers has generally been respectable since debuting in 2011, evidenced by a 4.10 ERA/4.31 FIP with 8.28 K/9 and 2.72 BB/9 over 141 starts (830 2/3 innings).

Fiers endured a difficult 2017 with the title-winning Astros, but he has rebounded this season with the Tigers after signing a one-year, $6MM deal in free agency. Through 111 innings, including 6 1/3 scoreless frames versus the Red Sox on Saturday, Fiers has worked to a 3.49 ERA with 6.65 K/9, 1.95 BB/9 and the game’s 17th-best infield fly percentage among qualified starters (12.7). On the other hand, some of Fiers’ other numbers aren’t so encouraging (39.4 percent groundball rate, 4.57 FIP/4.76 xFIP/4.49 SIERA), which is something the Red Sox and other teams will have to weigh when considering swinging a trade for him. In the event the Tigers do find a taker for Fiers, he could also be on the acquiring team’s roster in 2019 – his final year of arbitration eligibility.

Injury Updates: Turner, Suter, Cespedes, Frazier

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A right adductor strain had kept Justin Turner out of the Dodgers’ starting lineup since July 11, though his return to his regular third base spot today didn’t last long.  Turner had to leave today’s 11-2 win over the Brewers in the middle of the third inning due to right groin tightness.  Talking to media (including the Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett) after the game, Turner said that his injury “definitely didn’t get worse but wasn’t as good as I’d hoped.”  A DL stint could potentially be in the cards, though Turner will first receive further examination from the team’s medical staff.

Turner already missed the first six weeks of the season due to a fractured wrist, and it’s fair to say that his performance has suffered due to these injuries.  He is still delivering above-average (110 wRC+) production, though his .259/.354/.398 slash line is below his usual standards, particularly in the power department.  If he does hit the DL, Los Angeles likely already has enough infield depth that they wouldn’t look for any more help at the deadline, especially since the Dodgers already made a big infield addition in Manny Machado.  It might be interesting to monitor if Machado gets any time at the hot corner if Turner if out, though it’s more likely that Machado will simply remain at shortstop.

Some more injury updates from around baseball…

  • That same Dodgers/Brewers game also saw Milwaukee southpaw Brent Suter leave after three innings due to a forearm strain.  Manager Craig Counsell told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Haudricourt and other reporters that Suter would undergo an MRI, though Suter is expected to land on the disabled list.  Suter had a brief DL stint earlier this month with tightness in that same forearm, so it isn’t surprising that the team would be cautious with such an injury even if the MRI doesn’t reveal anything serious.  Milwaukee was already rumored to be looking for pitching at the deadline, and that search is likely to intensify with Suter out of action.  Suter was rocked for six runs today to boost his season ERA to 4.80, though Suter has just a 1.64 BB/9 to go along with a 7.46 K/9 rate, and ERA predictors (such as a 4.04 xFIP) are generally more favorable about his performance.
  • Yoenis Cespedes’ recent comments about considering surgery to fix calcification in his heels caught the Mets by surprise, assistant GM John Ricco told the New York Times’ James Wagner (Twitter links) and other reporters.  Still, Ricco stressed that surgery would be Cespedes’ “last resort” to solve his ongoing leg problems, and that Cespedes’ comments could have been made out of simple frustration.  The outfielder will visit doctors tomorrow, though Ricco said that an examination of Cespedes’ feet in June indicated that the injury could be managed without immediate need for surgery.
  • Yankees outfielder Clint Frazier was placed on the seven-day concussion DL this weekend while playing at Triple-A, though his status has been changed to a 10-day stint on the Major League disabled list.  (NJ.com’s Brendan Kuty was among those who had the news.)  Beyond the specifics of his placement, Frazier’s injury could also impact his immediate future in the organization, as the prospect has often been cited as a popular trade chip for the Yankees at the deadline.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/22/18

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • Braves utilityman Danny Santana has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett, per Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Braves designated Santana on Thursday, less than a month after they selected his contract. The 27-year-old Santana has hit .279/.300/.539 with 11 home runs in 232 Triple-A plate appearances this season, but he has only managed a .179/.281/.286 line in 32 major league PAs. Santana was similarly woeful between Minnesota and Atlanta last year, when he batted .202/.243/.357 in 178 attempts.
  • The Nationals announced that they’ve reinstated reliever Koda Glover from the 60-day disabled list and optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse. The move gives the Nationals a full 40-man roster, and it puts Glover in better position to return to the majors in the near future. Glover, who served as Washington’s closer for some of last season, combined for 39 innings from 2016-17 and registered a 5.08 ERA/3.72 FIP with 7.62 K/9 and 2.54 BB/9. The hard-throwing 25-year-old hasn’t pitched in the majors this season on account of right shoulder issues, though he could be up soon, Dan Kolko of MASN tweets.
  • Rays right-hander Ryan Weber cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Durham, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Weber, whom the Rays designated July 14, has already been outrighted twice this season. The 27-year-old has spent the majority of the campaign in Durham, where he has recorded a sterling 2.05 ERA with 6.27 K/9, 2.05 BB/9 and a 51.9 percent groundball rate in 74 2/3 innings. The St. Petersburg native has scuffled with his hometown club, however, as he has yielded three earned runs on five hits and two walks (one strikeout) over a small sample of 5 1/3 frames.
  • The White Sox have released outfielder Mason Robbins, James Fegan of The Athletic tweets. Robbins, 25, had been with the organization since it selected him in the 25th round of the 2014 draft. He only recorded a .688 OPS during his time in Chicago’s system and was even poorer this year as a member of its Triple-A team, with which he batted .265/.289/.367 in 226 plate appearances.

Mets To Place Noah Syndergaard On DL

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The Mets are placing Noah Syndergaard on the 10-day disabled list after he contracted hand, foot and mouth disease, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com was among those to tweet. The club doesn’t expect it to be a long-term issue, per DiComo, and it believes he contracted the illness while working at a kids camp over the All-Star break, David Lennon of Newsday adds.

This is the second DL stint of the year for Syndergaard, who just returned on July 13 after missing nearly two months with a finger injury. It also continues an almost comical run of bad injury luck for the Mets dating back to last season, when a host of important players (including Syndergaard) began hitting the DL. This year has been more of the same for New York, which has stumbled to a 40-56 record and last place in the National League East.

With the Mets serving as deadline sellers this summer, Syndergaard has been an oft-speculated trade candidate. The Mets aren’t actively shopping him, however, and would understandably require an enormous return in order to move the flamethrowing 25-year-old. Even though he has only totaled 105 innings since last year (74 2/3 this season), Syndergaard remains one of the majors’ most valuable starters. While Syndergaard has racked up just 13 starts this year, he has already accumulated 2.3 fWAR, thanks to a 2.89 ERA/2.56 FIP and 10.0 K/9 against 1.81 BB/9.

Indians, Brewers, Phillies Interested In Asdrubal Cabrera

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Mets pending free-agent infielder Asdrubal Cabrera is enjoying one of his best seasons, and contending teams have taken notice. The Indians, Brewers and Phillies are among the clubs with interest in Cabrera, Buster Olney of ESPN tweets.

The switch-hitting Cabrera has already been a member of the Indians, with whom he played from 2007-14. Cabrera was primarily a shortstop during that span, but the Indians certainly don’t need help there with Francisco Lindor in the fold. Second base is another story, though, as Jason Kipnis is enduring his second straight subpar offensive season. The 32-year-old Cabrera has shifted to the keystone on a full-time basis and would seemingly be a significant offensive upgrade over Kipnis, having slashed .280/.332/.487 with 17 home runs in 388 plate appearances this season. At the same time, Cabrera has been a disaster in the field, as he has accounted for minus-17 Defensive Runs Saved and a minus-6.0 Ultimate Zone Rating this season.

Despite Cabrera’s defensive woes, the Brewers would welcome his presence at the plate. Their second basemen own the majors’ second-worst wRC+ (66), after all, with the Jonathan Villar-led group has having combined for a .227/.285/.340 line in 702 PAs. The Phillies, with on-base machine Cesar Hernandez at second, are in fine shape at the position. But they need help along the left side of their infield, where they’ve received underwhelming production from Maikel Franco, J.P. Crawford and Scott Kingery, among others. Cabrera has been dreadful at short in recent seasons, however, meaning he’d likely overtake Franco as Philly’s starting third baseman if acquired. One potential problem: Cabrera has made it known he’d prefer to play second.

Phillies Place Edubray Ramos On DL

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The Phillies announced that they’ve placed reliever Edubray Ramos on the 10-day disabled list with a left patella tendon strain. To take his roster spot, the team reinstated fellow reliever Luis Garcia from the DL.

At 54-43 and tied with the Braves for the NL East lead, the Phillies have been among the majors’ surprise teams this season. The 25-year-old Ramos has been partially responsible for their success, having logged a 1.91 ERA/3.21 FIP with 9.0 K/9 and 3.55 BB/9 in 32 2/3 innings.

Ramos has joined Seranthony Dominguez, Victor Arano, Tommy Hunter and Pat Neshek to comprise a formidable quintet in relief. Nevertheless, the Phillies have been on the lookout for bullpen help in advance of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, and losing Ramos for at least 10 days could further influence general manager Matt Klentak to upgrade his team’s relief corps.

Sonny Gray Drawing “A Bit Of Interest”

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Sonny Gray was part of a trade deadline deal last year, and the right-hander may end up on the move again this season. Gray, whom the Yankees acquired from the Athletics last July, is generating “a bit of interest” with July 31 nearing, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets. Heyman casts doubt on the Yankees shipping out Gray, though, noting that the playoff shoo-ins are more interested in adding starters than subtracting them.

The Gray experiment hasn’t worked out thus far for New York, and as a result, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reported Saturday that some teams believe the Yankees do want to move him. The 28-year-old Gray has been a quality mid-rotation starter for the majority of his career, but he’s now amid his second-worst season in terms of both ERA (5.34) and FIP (4.41). While Gray has managed the second-best strikeout rate of his major league tenure (8.53 K/9), he has partially offset that with a personal-worst walk rate (3.94 BB/9). He has also generated the fewest ground balls of his career (a still-respectable 47.6 percent), racked up just 96 innings in 19 starts and totaled only seven quality starts.

As poorly as Gray has pitched this year, he’s still one of the Yankees’ five best starting options right now, to which Heyman alluded. Despite their excellent record (63-34, 4 1/2 games behind AL East-leading Boston), the Yankees haven’t gotten much from any starters but Luis Severino and CC Sabathia – the latter of whom is a 38-year-old with past knee problems. One of Gray’s fellow established starters, Masahiro Tanaka, has also had difficulty preventing runs. Meanwhile, Jordan Montgomery is out for this year and at least some of 2019 on account of Tommy John surgery, rookie Domingo German hasn’t been part of the solution, and fellow first-year man Jonathan Loaisiga didn’t offer length during his first four starts before succumbing to shoulder troubles.

Given their obvious starting pitching issues, the Yankees are known to be on the hunt for rotation help in advance of the deadline. The problem is that no front-line starters appear destined to move, which could leave the Yankees to choose from uninspiring hurlers who, like Gray, bring clear flaws to the table. One such option is righty Dan Straily, whom the Yankees have spoken with the Marlins about, according to Heyman. But the teams “don’t appear to be close” to a deal, per Heyman, and Straily certainly wouldn’t represent a slam-dunk upgrade over Gray.

As a result of the weak pitching market, Gray may at least finish the season as a Yankee, and then the team will have to decide whether to retain him in 2019. Gray, who’s on a $6.5MM salary this season, is slated to go through arbitration one more time.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Hand, Harper, Brewers, Gennett, Castellanos, Mets

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This week in baseball blogs…

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