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Trade Chatter: Jones, Kela, Beltre, A’s, Gibson, Phillies

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The Orioles haven’t yet approached Adam Jones about the possibility of waiving his no-trade clause, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. That doesn’t mean that the Orioles won’t be moving him, however, and Crasnick echoes previous reports in writing that both the Phillies and Indians have some degree of interest in Jones, who’d likely play right field for either club. Per Crasnick, there are some in the industry who feel Jones would want an extension in order to waive his full no-trade protection — Jones has 10-and-5 rights — though there’s been no firm indication of that from Jones’ camp, it seems.

Meanwhile, Jones himself chatted with MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski about the possibility of being moved, calling reported interest from other teams “humbling” and “flattering.” The longtime Baltimore center fielder, though, says he has not yet discussed the possibility of approving a trade away from the Orioles with his family. “If the scenario is right, I want to win, I want play ball,” says Jones. “You look at these kind of scenarios and what is the best fit for you. When all the information comes and we get more information, I’ll be able to make a better decision based on the information.”

More trade chatter from around the league…

  • With Cole Hamels on his way to the Cubs, pending medical reviews, the next player the Rangers move could be closer Keone Kela, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Per Passan, clubs that have spoken to Texas about Kela “get a sense they’re getting close to something.” The Pirates have been the team most prominently linked to Kela in recent days, though a hard-throwing, 25-year-old reliever who can be controlled affordably through the 2021 season clearly won’t have any shortage of interested parties. Kela might be the Rangers’ best trade chip, given that remaining club control, although that control also lessens the Rangers’ sense of urgency in finding a trade partner.
  • Sticking with the Rangers, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan reports that the Braves have emerged as somewhat of a longshot suitor for third baseman Adrian Beltre. Atlanta wouldn’t be looking to supplant Johan Camargo at third base, but Beltre would share some time at the hot corner with the much younger Camargo while deepening the Atlanta bench and providing some leadership on a youthful club. Beltre has the ability to veto any trade, of course, and reports have painted the possibility of a trade surrounding him to be remote. Sullivan also notes that, with regard to the Pirates and their interest in Kela, the Rangers could have some interest in starting pitching prospects Clay Holmes and Taylor Hearn.
  • The Athletics remain on the hunt for a rotation upgrade, but Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that the A’s “haven’t sounded particularly enthusiastic” about that market. If the A’s can’t find a starter at a price point they deem acceptable, they could instead look to add to their bullpen as a means of shortening games and taking some pressure off the current members of their rotation.
  • The Twins “have fielded inquiries” on right-hander Kyle Gibson, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post, but they’re more interested in dealing their impending free agents than Gibson, who is controlled through 2019 and is in the midst of a breakout season. The former first-round pick was brilliant against the Red Sox last night, allowing one run over eight innings and lowering his ERA to 3.42 in the process. Through 129 innings, Gibson has averaged 8.8 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 and 0.91 HR/9. His fastball is up nearly a mile per hour over its 2017 average, and his 12.2 percent swinging-strike rate is easily a career-high. The Twins are currently seven games back of the division lead in the AL Central, but they’ve won four in a row. With three games in Boston and another hosting Cleveland before Tuesday’s non-waiver deadline, Minnesota faces a tough road to closing that gap.
  • Sherman also reports that the Phillies, after missing out on Manny Machado, would at the very least like to add a defensive upgrade at shortstop. Interestingly, he notes that the Phils have at least had internal discussions about reacquiring Freddy Galvis from the Padres. He also lists the Rays’ Adeiny Hechavarria and the Tigers’ Jose Iglesias as players that the Phillies’ front office has considered. The Phils have also been tied to Eduardo Escobar since Machado went to L.A.

Mets To Sign Austin Jackson

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The Mets have reached an agreement to sign free-agent outfielder Austin Jackson, reports Fancred’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). Jackson, who is represented by Octagon, was released by the Rangers last week. MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo tweets that Jackson is signing a Major League deal.

Jackson will give New York another outfield option in the wake of Yoenis Cespedes’ season-ending surgery. Because the Rangers are paying his salary after acquiring him from the Giants, though, the Mets only owe Jackson the pro-rated league minimum for any time spent on the MLB roster. Jackson is earning $3MM in both 2018 and 2019, and whatever the Mets pay him this season will be subtracted from the sum the Rangers are paying.

While Jackson has had a dreadful season at the plate, hitting just .242/.309/.295 through 165 PAs, he’s only a season removed from raking at a .318/.387/.482 pace with the 2017 Indians. Jackson also still drew positive grades for his baserunning with the Giants, though he drew poor defensive ratings from Defensive Runs Saved (-10), Ultimate Zone Rating (-7.5) and Outs Above Average (-3) through just under 300 innings in center field this season. That said, Jackson’s defense would likely rate better in a corner slot.

As a bench option who can play center in a pinch and fill in against left-handed pitchers — for all his struggles, he did hit .288 against lefties and post a .360 OBP this season — Jackson could still provide some value to the Mets, especially when considering the minimal price tag. For the time being, he could share time in center field with Matt den Dekker, though it’s also possible that the addition of Jackson will come at den Dekker’s expense.

Latest On Matt Harvey, Reds

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The Brewers and Reds are maintaining “ongoing” talks about the potential for a Matt Harvey swap, tweets MLB.com’s Jon Morosi, but outside of a move to send out their lone impending free agent, is seems the Reds may have a quiet deadline. President of baseball ops Dick Williams told MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon yesterday that “other teams aren’t spinning their wheels talking about players we’re not interested in moving at this point,” and there’s even been talk of Cincinnati adding pieces controlled beyond the 2018 season in an effort to return to contending next season.

Williams, in fact, confirmed as much to C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic on Thursday (subscription required), plainly stating that the Reds have inquired on players they “see as fits for us in the next few years.” Rosecrans likens the possibility to Cincinnati’s 2009 acquisition of Scott Rolen as a sub-.500 team at the deadline (and takes an interesting look back at that scenario, talking to Williams, former GM Walt Jocketty and first baseman Joey Votto about that swap). “We think our window is opening up and we may not be able to wait until the offseason to acquire a player we like,” said Williams before going on to acknowledge that starting pitching is an area of need.

Of course, to simply call the rotation an area of need would be underselling the importance of bolstering the starting staff in Cincinnati. Reds starters have pitched to a combined 5.25 ERA that ranks among the 15 worst performances of any collective starting staff in Major League Baseball dating back to the 2010 season. The only Reds starters with an ERA under 5.00 are Matt Harvey, who will be traded within the next few days, and Tyler Mahle (4.53). The Cincinnati rotation ranks last in the Majors in FIP (5.30), 23rd in xFIP (4.57) and 26th in SIERA (4.61).

To be sure, the Reds have youth on their side in many cases, as none of Mahle, Luis Castillo or Sal Romano is even 26 years old yet (nor are Triple-A options Robert Stephenson, Cody Reed and Jose Lopez). Nonetheless, it’s still eye-opening to see a team without even one starting pitcher performing at a league-average level begin to discuss adding pieces with an eye toward contending in the very near future. And given that multiple teams in the National League Central appear well-positioned to maintain some success heading into 2019, the road back to competitive baseball in Cincinnati looks all the more difficult to navigate in the short term.

That said, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal is the latest to tweet that dealing Harvey might be the only trade the Reds end up making. Cincinnati is “inclined to keep” affordable relievers like Raisel Iglesias, David Hernandez and Jared Hughes, each of whom has been at least speculated upon as a trade candidate.

It’s not entirely clear who the Reds even have eyes on attempting to acquire. The starting pitching market, generally speaking, has a dearth of quality controllable arms available in the first place. Rays righty Chris Archer is the most prominent name with a seemingly realistic chance of being moved, especially now that the Tigers are even unlikelier to deal Michael Fulmer when he’s on the disabled list. Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom, of course, have been prominently mentioned, though most reports indicate that the Mets are planning to hold onto both. Clubs have been inquiring on Orioles right-handers Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy, but there’s been little indication that the O’s are open to moving either. The rebuilding Royals, meanwhile, reportedly have “no intention” of trading southpaw Danny Duffy.

The field may expand when looking at players controlled only through the 2019 season (e.g. Zack Wheeler, Kyle Gibson), though should be wary of surrendering much in the way of future assets in exchange for a player controlled for just one more season, given the uncertainty surrounding their current starters and the strength of the teams atop their division.

MLB Daily Roster Roundup: Belt, Bryant, Eovaldi, Longoria, Strasburg

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ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM
(July 25th-26th)

NATIONAL LEAGUE

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

  • LOS ANGELES ANGELS | Depth Chart
    • Promoted: C Francisco Arcia (contract purchased)
      • Arcia was the catcher and batted 8th in his MLB debut on Thursday.
    • Reinstated from Restricted List: RP Dayan Diaz
      • Diaz was optioned to High-A.

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FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES

Braves Acquire Jonny Venters From Rays

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The Rays have traded left-handed reliever Jonny Venters to the Braves in exchange for international bonus pool space, according to announcements from both teams. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports (on Twitter) that the Braves sent the minimum $250K to Tampa Bay in return for Venters.

Jonny Venters | Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Venters’ remarkably implausible return to the Majors after three Tommy John surgeries and a five-year absence was already among the best storylines of the 2018 season, but the fact that he’s now been reunited with his the organization for which he made his MLB debut only adds to the feel-good nature of his comeback.

The 33-year-old Venters broke into the Majors with Atlanta back in 2010 and immediately emerged as one of the better relievers in the National League, starring in a setup role for Craig Kimbrel from 2010-12 before going down with an elbow injury. Venters, incredibly, did not pitch in the Majors at all from 2013-17 before this season’s return as a member of the Rays.

So far in 2018, Venters has appeared in 22 games for Tampa Bay and been utilized as a left-handed specialist, as evidenced by the fact that he’s totaled just 14 innings. He’s posted a 3.86 ERA and an 11-to-6 K/BB ratio in that time, though one of those free passes was intentional. Venters’ 2011 season featured a 72.5 percent ground-ball rate — the eighth-highest mark in MLB history — and he’s been in vintage form so far this year, inducing grounders at a 70 percent clip. Venters has faced 26 lefties on the season and held them to an awful .167/.231/.292 slash, while the 32 righties he’s seen have hit him at a .250/.344/.357 pace.

Venters will give the Braves a fourth left-handed reliever, joining A.J. Minter, Sam Freeman and Jesse Biddle in the current relief corps for the time being. It’s not clear how the Braves will open a 25-man roster spot for Venters, though rookie Evan Phillips seems like a candidate to be optioned out.

The Rays’ return is minimal, though some of the motivation behind the deal may simply have been to do right by the veteran Venters. They’ll boost their 2018-19 pool enough to be able to pad their offer to some of the remaining talent on the international market or to make another few lower-priced signings. For the Braves, their pool allocations aren’t as important as they are to other clubs, as Atlanta is barred from signing any individual player for more than $300K anyhow.

Enny Romero Elects Free Agency

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The Royals announced earlier today that left-hander Enny Romero, who was recently designated for assignment, has cleared waivers and elected free agency rather than accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A. He’ll be free to sign with any club.

Kansas City claimed Romero, 27, off waivers from the Pirates earlier this month, but the hard-throwing southpaw lasted just four innings in the Royals’ bullpen. Romero was hammered for nine runs on 11 hits (three homers) and a pair of walks with three strikeouts in his short time as a Royal — a continuation of what has been a nightmarish followup to a solid 2017 campaign.

Last year, Romero worked to a 3.56 ERA with 10.5 K/9, 3.7 BB/9, 1.13 HR/9 and a 39 percent ground-ball rate through 55 2/3 innings with the Nationals. He ranked among the hardest-throwing pitchers in the game, averaging 98 mph on his fastball over the course of the 2017 campaign. In 2018, though, Romero’s velocity has dropped substantially — averaging 95.2 mph. He’s also surrendered four homers in 10 innings between the Nats, Pirates and Royals after allowing just seven homers in both the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

Cubs, Rangers Making Progress On Cole Hamels Trade

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7:02pm: Patrick Mooney of The Athletic also hears that the two sides are making progress on a deal (Twitter link). Mooney notes that Class-A Advanced right-hander Rollie Lacy was scratched from tonight’s start.

6:58pm: A trade between the Cubs and Rangers is “getting close,” tweets Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago. Chicago made a “strong push” for Hamels earlier today, thus leading to the increased buzz surrounding their involvement in the Hamels market.

5:36pm: While the Cubs appear to be the “front-runner” for Hamels, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter), there are still other clubs in play for the lefty. Rosenthal and Steve Phillips of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link) both suggest that the Braves are in the mix for Hamels, and T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com tweets that the Phillies may still be involved as well.

4:55pm: Sherman tweets that there are stronger signals that a trade of Hamels to the Cubs could come together — perhaps even today.

4:25pm: The Cubs are in “strong pursuit” of Hamels and would send lower-level prospects to Texas in the deal currently being discussed, tweets Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM. Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweets that there’s a “decent chance” of a deal coming together between the two sides.

2:21pm: The Cubs have recently scouted Rangers lefty Cole Hamels, and Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (via Twitter) that Chicago appears to be “making inroads” to try to acquire Hamels from Texas. While Hamels has a 20-team no-trade clause, the Cubs are not on that list.

Hamels, 34, has delivered middling results with the Rangers in the final guaranteed season of his six-year, $144MM contract. Through 114 1/3 innings, he’s worked to a 4.72 ERA with 9.0 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 1.81 HR/9 and a 43.4 percent ground-ball rate. Hamels’ velocity has bounced back after an alarming downturn early in the season, but he’s still been plagued by home runs more so than at any point in his career; thus far, just over one out of five fly-balls allowed by Hamels has resulted in a long ball.

Of course, those struggles have been largely confined to Hamels’ hitter-friendly home park. While Wrigley Field isn’t exactly a pitcher’s paradise, no stadium in baseball has been more conducive to home runs thus far in 2018 than Hamels’ current home of Globe Life Park in Arlington, per ESPN’s park factors. Baseball Prospectus’ park factors paint a similarly grim picture. Between a move to a friendlier park and a move to the National League, there’s certainly some reason to believe that Hamels’ performance could yet improve.

Hamels is earning $22.5MM in 2018 and is still owed about $7.98MM of that sum through season’s end, plus at least a $6MM buyout on his $20MM option for the 2019 season. The Cubs, however, don’t appear to be discussing the possibility of taking on all of that nearly $14MM commitment. Rather, Sherman further tweets that they’d pick up about $4MM of his deal and send secondary prospects to the Rangers in return.

Chicago entered the season with a solid on-paper rotation featuring Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana and offseason signees Yu Darvish and Tyler Chatwood, but Darvish has missed significant time due to a triceps issue while Chatwood has walked more hitters than anyone in baseball. The Cubs have about $14MM of breathing room beneath the $197MM luxury tax threshold,so taking on roughly $4MM of Hamels’ remaining salary would allow them to supplement their rotation while leaving some room for additional acquisitions between now and the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

Pitching Market Rumors: Stroman, Wheeler, Harvey, Yankees, Giles

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The Braves are known to be in the market for rotation upgrades, and Jon Morosi of MLB.com reports that GM Alex Anthopoulos has reached out to his old team, the Blue Jays, to discuss a potential Marcus Stroman trade. However, Morosi also adds that there’s “no evidence of progress in those negotiations.” Anthopoulos has suggested recently that he’s not interested in surrendering significant talent to acquire a rental, so it’s not surprising to see Atlanta exploring the possibility of adding a pitcher who is controlled through the 2020 season. The Jays, of course, have been active on the trade market in the past 24 hours, dealing Seunghwan Oh to the Rockies and J.A. Happ to the Yankees. But GM Ross Atkins downplayed the possibility of moving players controlled beyond the 2018 season earlier today, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (Twitter link). “We’re not aggressively having those discussions,” Atkins replied when asked about moving some of his more controllable assets.

Some more chatter on the market for pitchers…

  • Morosi also tweets that the Brewers and Mets have discussed a possible Zack Wheeler trade, though they’re not close to a deal. The Brewers, who acquired Joakim Soria from the White Sox earlier today, have been tied more to infield upgrades than rotation help in recent days, though they’ve generally been tied to myriad upgrade possibilities. Wheeler would affordably slot into the Milwaukee rotation both this year and next, before reaching free agency, and he’s been raising his profile as of late. In his past 10 starts, he’s worked to a 3.50 ERA with 7.8 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 0.56 HR/9 and a 40.2 percent ground-ball rate through 64 1/3 innings. Of course, the Brewers are hardly alone in their interest. Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets that there are eight to 10 teams that’ve shown some level of interest in acquiring Wheeler.
  • Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams spoke to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon about the looming non-waiver trade deadline, and while he declined to go into too many specifics, Williams acknowledged his ongoing Matt Harvey negotiations with other clubs. While Harvey was shelled for eight runs in his most recent outing, that one poor showing didn’t do much to hinder interest. “I certainly didn’t have anybody call and drop out after that,” Williams told Sheldon. “…I think the body of work is there that shows that he’s been a good, consistent Major League pitcher since we acquired him. And the potential for him to help a team down the stretch is certainly there.”
  • Prior to the their acquisition of J.A. Happ, the Yankees also spoke to the Twins about Ervin Santana “and others,” per Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter). Both Jake Odorizzi and Kyle Gibson are controlled through the 2019 season and could theoretically emerge as trade candidates, while Lance Lynn is a free agent at season’s end and is quite likely already available (though he has not fared well at all in 2018). It seems likely, though, that New York’s pickup of Happ will end their looks at the Twins’ available starters.
  • Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports in his latest notes column (subscription required) that some executives within the industry believe the Astros would sell low on recently demoted closer Ken Giles. Rosenthal adds that one team approached the Mariners about the possibility of a three-team trade, believing that they could get Giles and flip him to Seattle. While the M’s had interest, however, talks failed to progress. The Astros maintain that they’re not shopping Giles, however, per the report.

Pirates Showing Interest In Keone Kela

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6:01pm: Rosenthal now tweets that while the Rangers have done background work on that quartet of players, they’re actually not a part of the current discussions surrounding Kela.

July 26, 5:29pm: The Rangers are considering right-handed starter Tyler Eppler, outfielder Jordan Luplow, shortstop Kevin Newman and right-handed reliever Dovydas Neverauskas in their talks with the Pirates, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). Those are just some of the names being discussed, it seems, and it’s not clear exactly which combination(s) of those players is on the table.

July 25: As they look to extend an excellent pre-deadline run of success, the Pirates may now be looking into making some roster improvements. According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, the Bucs have “legitimate interest” in Rangers closer Keone Kela.

Whether or not Kela ends up on the Pittsburgh roster, the news marks a notable potential shift in that club’s approach. It had long seemed that the Pirates were trending toward at least a light sell-off of some veterans. But now, with less than a week left until the trade deadline, the team has flown back to within six games of the division pace and three out of Wild Card position.

Of course, even if the Pirates decide to push for contention, that does not necessarily mean they will hit the trade market at full throttle. There’s not much reason to expect that the light-spending organization will part with significant young talent to add rental pieces, for example.

Kela, though, would potentially be a reasonable target who’d add value now and into the future. The Pirates already have a quality closer under control for years to come in Felipe Vazquez, and have received excellent production from several members of their relief unit, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t stand to improve.

It’s fair to note, too, that the Pirates have in the past pursued somewhat non-linear approaches to the deadline. There’s time still for shifts in the standings to change their approach. And the club may also be weighing some roster re-positioning that’s not targeted solely at getting better right away. To offer one wholly speculative concept, the Bucs could hypothetically consider trying to achieve value on a pitcher like Kela while also selling Vazquez, if a contender (the Red Sox come to mind) is willing to offer a whopping package for the electric left-hander.

Whatever the case, Kela’s remaining contract rights make for an interesting asset on this summer’s trade market. The Rangers are surely focused first on moving more expensive or less controllable players, to the extent possible. But now may also be a good time to cash in a pitcher who has had plenty of ups but also some downs (arm health and some off-field issues) in recent seasons. And the Pirates could perhaps be amenable to sending some controllable starting pitching depth in a trade, which is just what the Rangers appear to be seeking.

Since he broke into the big leagues, the 25-year-old Kela has mostly been a high-quality hurler. He owns a 3.42 ERA over 168 2/3 career innings, with 11.0 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9, and the bottom-line results would look much better were it not for a forgettable 2016 campaign. Though he blew his first save of the current season just last night, Kela has locked down 23 victories for the Rangers this year.

Cost is always a factor, of course, and Kela is earning a budget-friendly $1.2MM this year. He entered the current season with exactly three years of MLB service, so he comes with two more years of arbitration control after the present season. While the save tallies will boost his earnings, Kela figures to remain rather affordable until he reaches the open market.

Nationals Place Stephen Strasburg On DL

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4:58pm: An MRI cleared Strasburg of any structural damage in his shoulder, tweets MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman. He’s also set to be evaluated by a neurologist.

8:48am: Strasburg is dealing with a pinched nerve in his neck, Janes tweets. In its announcement, the team labeled it a “cervical nerve impingement.”

8:05am: The Nationals have placed righty Stephen Strasburg on the 10-day DL, MLB.com’s Jamal Collier tweets (and as the MLB.com transactions page reflected). The placement, which will keep him from taking the ball for a scheduled start tonight, is retroactive to July 22nd.

Needless to say, this is quite unwelcome news for a club that is still struggling to find its footing. The Nats already profiled as a potential buyer of rotation depth, even after recently welcoming Strasburg back from a six-week stint on the DL.

Details on the injury are not yet available, but Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post tweets that it appears to be related to the shoulder inflammation that put him on the shelf previously. Strasburg threw with customary velocity in his first start back from the DL, though he also labored through 4 2/3 innings of six-run ball.

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