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Blue Jays Shopping Roberto Osuna, Rental Players

By | at July 30, 2018 11:20am CDT

11:20am: Beyond Osuna, it doesn’t seem that the Jays are marketing much in the way of controllable players. ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that their deadline talks are centered around Osuna, Tyler Clippard, John Axford, Aaron Loup and Curtis Granderson — each of whom is a free agent after the 2018 season.

8:45am: The Blue Jays are actively trying to trade closer Roberto Osuna, whose suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy will conclude on Aug. 5, execs with other teams tell Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter links).

While there’s been speculation of a potential Osuna trade over the past couple of months, Rosenthal’s report is the first recent indication that the Jays are actually shopping their closer in an effort to find a deal. Previously, GM Ross Atkins had made strong on-record indications that the organization fully anticipates Osuna to step back into the closer’s role upon returning from his league-imposed 75-game ban.

Obviously, any club weighing a trade for the 23-year-old Osuna will have multiple layers to consider. Beyond any moral and public relations considerations, Rosenthal noted last week that Osuna’s next hearing is set for Aug. 1 — the day after the non-waiver trade deadline. A criminal conviction could result in additional time away from the field and/or complications in his ability to travel with a team.

It should be noted that unlike players who are suspended for performance-enhancing drugs, those suspended under the league’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse policy are eligible for postseason play. Osuna, who was generally regarded as one of the game’s best relievers prior to his suspension, would be able to pitch in the playoffs this season for any club that acquired him.

Another element that teams will surely consider will be that of Osuna’s service time — or, more specifically, the lack thereof. Players do not accrue MLB service time while serving suspensions pertaining to domestic violence, meaning that Osuna won’t accrue enough time in 2018 to reach four full years of Major League service. As such, the suspension has delayed his path to free agency by a full year. He entered the season on pace to reach the open market following the 2020 campaign, but he’ll now be controlled through the 2021 season and will be arbitration-eligible thrice more.

As always, weighing the on-field abilities and the business perspective of someone facing these types of personal allegations is a dicey line for teams to walk, though Chapman’s 2016 suspension, trade and subsequent free-agent contract serve as evidence that clubs will still pay a premium for talent even if it comes with this of baggage. Through 223 innings at the big league level, Osuna owns a career 2.87 ERA with 10.2 K/9, 1.6 BB/9, 0.77 HR/9 and a 38 percent ground-ball rate. Virtually every contending club in MLB is looking to bolster its bullpen in the day and a half leading up to tomorrow’s non-waiver trade deadline, and there are some clubs who are out of contention in 2018 but remain open to adding long-term pieces that could help in 2019 and beyond as well.

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Cardinals Open To Offers On Bud Norris, Jose Martinez

By | at July 30, 2018 9:57am CDT

The Cardinals are receiving trade inquiries into closer Bud Norris, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, with the Rockies and Red Sox among the teams that have shown interest to this point. In a second column, Goold adds that the club is “open to discussing offers” for both Norris and first baseman/outfielder Jose Martinez.

The Red Sox have been tied to countless relievers of late, it seems, and Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM tweets that they, along with the Phillies, Astros and Mariners, are “in” (to varying extents, of course) on practically every bullpen arm that is available on the market at this point.

Norris wasn’t supposed to be the Cardinals’ top bullpen addition of the offseason — far from it — but that’s unequivocally how things have played out. While the Cardinals gave Greg Holland a one-year, $14MM contract to serve as their closer and also signed Luke Gregerson to a two-year, $11MM deal, Norris and his one-year, $3MM deal have been the lone bullpen signing to pay dividends. Holland was released on Friday amid a seismic shakeup of the St. Louis pitching staff, while Gregerson been plagued by injuries all season and owns a 7.11 ERA through just 12 2/3 innings thanks to multiple DL stints.

Norris, meanwhile, stepped up and seized the ninth-inning gig from Holland and Dominic Leone (another offseason ‘pen addition who has yet to pan out). Through 43 innings, the 33-year-old Norris boasts a 3.14 ERA with 11.7 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, 1.05 HR/9 and a 41 percent ground-ball rate. His fastball and sinker are both averaging nearly 95 mph, the best of his career, and Norris’ ridiculous 38.3 percent chase rate (that is, out-of-zone pitches that have induced a swing from opponents) ranks seventh among 158 qualified relievers.

Earlier this month, Norris spoke to the Post-Dispatch’s Rick Hummel about his hopes to sign a long-term deal to remain with the Cardinals, though his affordable salary and excellent results could make him as appealing a trade candidate as they do an extension candidate for the St. Louis front office. As it stands, he’ll be a free agent at the end of the season and is still owed $1MM of his $3MM salary, making him affordable for any team in search of a upgrade.

As for Martinez, there’s little question about the late-blooming 30-year-old’s ability to produce at the plate. He’s mashed at a .304/.371/.487 pace since making his Major League debut in 2016, and his current .294/.359/.461 output is considerably better than that of a league-average bat (23 to 24 percent better, when adjusting for park and league, per OPS+ and wRC+). Martinez’s power is down a bit from 2017, but he’s still walking at a solid 8.9 percent clip and has improved his strikeout rate, which sits at just 16 percent. He can be controlled through the 2022 season and won’t even be eligible for arbitration until after the 2019 season.

While all of that is decidedly positive, Martinez’ glovework is on the opposite end of the spectrum. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak candidly acknowledged earlier this month that Martinez’s defensive shortcomings at first base were “putting a lot of stress on everyone,” and the team has since shifted him into a part-time role and given him more time in the outfield recently. Martinez, though, has played 328 innings in the outfield and turned in dismal defensive marks (-8 Defensive Runs Saved, -5 Ultimate Zone Rating). He hasn’t fared any better at first base, though, and there’s been speculation that he could ultimately land on an American League club where his bat would be better serve in a DH capacity.

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AL Central Rumors: Escobar, Gibson, Royals, ChiSox

By | at July 29, 2018 10:36pm CDT

Prior to trading infielder Eduardo Escobar to the Diamondbacks, the Twins approached Escobar’s camp about a potential extension, reports La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. However, talks between the two sides didn’t gain much in the way of momentum, which ultimately led Minnesota to move him for a package of three prospects. Neal adds that the Twins are open to trading impending free agents Brian Dozier, Zach Duke and Lance Lynn, though he offers a similar sentiment to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal in reporting that Minnesota isn’t inclined to trade Kyle Gibson, who is controlled through 2019. Rather, Neal suggests that Minnesota may offer Gibson an extension this winter on the heels of what is increasingly shaping up to be a breakout season. Any such conversation with Gibson’s camp has yet to take place, though, as 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson recently tweeted.

Here’s more from the division…

  • Following the acquisitions of outfielder Brett Phillips and right-hander Jorge Lopez in the Mike Moustakas trade, Royals general manager Dayton Moore suggested to reporters that his club may not be eyeing an especially lengthy rebuilding process (link via Maria Torres of the Kansas City Star). Moore indicated that the proximity of both Phillips and Lopez to the Majors held significant appeal to the Kansas City front office. “We didn’t want to do a prospect-type deal in this case, because of the nature of where we are at the major-league level and what we’re trying to accomplish,” said Moore. “We don’t like losing games and we don’t like where we are right now with the major-league team, so we wanted to try to seek talent that was going to help us sooner than later.” That meshes nicely with the Royals’ targeting of college arms in the top several rounds this year’s draft.
  • Though White Sox fans are ravenously anticipating the promotion of prospects Eloy Jimenez and Michael Kopech (particularly the former), general manager Rick Hahn preached patience  when asked about the pair’s timeline to the Majors (link via Tom Musick of the Chicago Sun-Times). “While you can look at a stat line or you can look at a box score and say, ‘This guy looks like he’s doing well, looks like he’s ready,’ our checklist that we want these guys to answer is a little more lengthy than that,” Hahn said, though he declined to delve into specific elements that need improvement with each player. Hahn added that even a trade of a player on the roster (an outfielder or starter) wouldn’t necessarily prompt a promotion for either. “It’s not going to be a function of any level of eagerness that fans or coaches or myself or the front office has,” said Hahn. The GM also discussed the trade of Joakim Soria and potential for other moves.
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MLB Weekend Roster Roundup: Altuve, Devers, Dickerson, Puig

By | at July 29, 2018 9:47pm CDT

ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM
(July 28th-July 29th)

NATIONAL LEAGUE

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

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FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES

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Trade Talks On Chris Archer “Intensifying”

By | at July 29, 2018 7:43pm CDT

7:43pm: In an interview with Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, Archer called the trade chatter surrounding him “unsettling.” Topkin again notes that the industry sense is that Tampa Bay is more willing than ever to trade Archer, and he adds that a young catcher and a power-hitting outfield prospect would be “a good start” to a package from the Rays’ vantage point.

July 29, 8:58am: The Padres are still regarded as the favorites to land Archer if the Rays deal him, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets. The Braves are also interested, per the New York Post’s Joel Sherman, who adds that the Rays had a pair of scouts watching Yankees pitching prospect Justus Sheffield at Triple-A on Saturday. However, it’s “a long shot” that the Yankees will acquire Archer, Sherman writes.

July 28, 12:50pm: Add the Yankees and Dodgers to the list of teams who’re pursuing Archer, according to a recent tweet from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

10:43am: Chris Archer has been the subject of trade speculation all season, and now talks surrounding Tampa Bay’s prized right-hander are “intensifying”, per a report from ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick.

A trade isn’t quite imminent, it seems, as Crasnick notes that it’s difficult to judge whether or not a team will actually pay the Rays’ asking price. After all, Archer can be controlled through 2021 for an average of less than $8MM per season, and is unsurprisingly being donned with a “No. 1 starter type of price tag”. It’s certainly plausible that Archer could be a part of the next contending Rays ballclub considering the wealth of talent in Tampa Bay’s farm system (recently ranked the fourth-best in baseball by MLB.com), which boasts six players among MLB Pipeline’s top 70 prospects.

Then again, the Rays have seen a host of promising prospects go down with Tommy John surgery this season. Right-handers Brent Honeywell and Jose De Leon and lefty Anthony Banda were all considered to be about major-league ready this season before each sprained his UCL and had to go under the knife. While one would expect all three to be ready to pitch again by the middle of next season based on the normal Tommy John recovery timeline, we know by now that the surgery isn’t a sure thing, and can lead to deeply-diminished production (Brady Aiken comes to mind as an example). It wouldn’t be out of the question, then, for the Rays to attempt to acquire an upside young arm along with some other valuable pieces in a package for their ace.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports noted soon after Crasnick’s report that the Padres (who have already been connected to Archer this season) have made progress in talks with the Rays, in part because Tampa Bay has shown “a greater willingness” to deal him. But Passan adds a dissent in agreeing that the price remains high, which has the Padres “balking for now.” We already know that the Padres are unwilling to exchange either of their top two prospects (shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. and southpaw Mackenzie Gore), though they’ve shown a willingness to deal second baseman Luis Urias, right-hander Cal Quantrill and even recently-acquired catching prospect Francisco Mejia.

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch adds that the Cardinals “remain interested” in Archer, noting that the club attempted to deal for the 29-year-old just this past winter. Goold’s sources tell him that the Cards believe they can line up a “competitive offer”. It’s no surprise that St. Louis would be checking in on all available options to patch their injury-ravaged rotation; the club’s seen right-handers Michael Wacha and Carlos Martinez succumb to oblique injuries and can’t know what type of late-2018 contributions to expect from either at this point. Meanwhile, top prospect Alex Reyes, who was expected to play a big role in the club’s plans this year, suffered a season-ending lat injury at the tail end of May. Adam Wainwright continues to be injury-prone and can’t be counted on for any type of meaningful production. The club is currently placing its playoff hopes on the resurgent Miles Mikolas and a cast of rookies including Jack Flaherty, Luke Weaver and John Gant.

To be fair, it’s not clear whether Archer is truly worth the price of an “ace”. The right-hander has posted ERAs north of four in each of the past two seasons and currently sports a six-year high figure of 4.31. While it’s true that his FIP (3.62) suggests quite a bit of bad luck has been involved, the same can also be said of each of his previous three seasons- Archer has a reputation as a pitcher whose results consistently fail to keep up with his peripherals. Still, it’s easy to imagine him catching fire and putting together an impressive second-half run, a possibility which plenty of contenders would like to take a chance on.

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Pitching Market Rumors: Gausman, Pirates, Wheeler, Kela, Ziegler

By | at July 29, 2018 6:24pm CDT

With Brad Brach now on his way to Atlanta and Adam Jones seemingly unwilling to waive his 10-and-5 rights at present, the Orioles may turn to weighing offers on more controllable pieces, tweets Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic. Biertempfel suggests that the Pirates have been “chasing” right-hander Kevin Gausman and wonders if the club would try to expand talks to get the Orioles to somehow part with both Gausman and setup man Mychal Givens in what would then be a fairly substantial trade. There’s been no indication that the O’s are strongly considering moving either Gausman (controlled through 2020) or Dylan Bundy (2021) anyhow, and they’re reportedly loath to consider trades involving the controllable Givens, either. It’s not surprising to see the Bucs tied to affordable long-term pieces, though prying even one of those pieces, let alone two, would likely require a fairly substantial haul in return from Pittsburgh (or any other interested team).

More trade rumblings on the pitching market…

  • The Mets feel that Zack Wheeler has “turned a corner” and would like a return in a trade which they feel is reflective of that improvement, tweets Fancred’s Jon Heyman. To this point, however, “no one has come even close” to meeting the team’s asking price, Heyman adds, making it seem likelier that Wheeler stays with the team through the deadline (and, quite likely then, into the offseason). With six shutout innings today, Wheeler now has a 3.20 ERA and a 63-to-23 K/BB ratio across his past 70 1/3 innings (11 starts) dating back to June 1. The 28-year-old is earning $1.9MM in 2018 and is controlled through the 2019 season.
  • Keone Kela continues to draw trade interest, writes MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, with the Dodgers and the Braves being the two most aggressive clubs on the Rangers‘ closer as of Sunday afternoon. Notably, Sullivan’s column was published prior to Atlanta’s acquisition of Brad Brach, and while that pickup certainly doesn’t mean the Braves will drop out of the Kela market, it may lessen their urgency when it comes to adding further relief arms. The Dodger are expected to be “very active” in their pursuit of bullpen help in the next couple of days, Sullivan adds, while Atlanta has been keeping a close eye on the Rangers. The Braves are also said to have some level of interest in Adrian Beltre, though Beltre has full no-trade protection and there’s nothing to suggest just yet that he’ll be waiving those rights (nor that the Rangers are really shopping him).
  • Marlins setup man Brad Ziegler is “likely to be moved soon,” tweets Heyman, who notes that the Cubs and Red Sox are among the more plausible landing spots. The Indians and Astros, too, are potential destinations. The Sox are plenty familiar with Ziegler, having acquired him in late July just two years ago for the stretch run. A free agent at season’s end, Ziegler has been on a terrific run dating back to June 1, yielding just three runs on 15 hits and 11 walks with 22 strikeouts and an 81 percent ground-ball rate in 29 innings. He struck out a pair in a perfect inning of work today. Ziegler is earning $9MM in 2018 and is owed about $3.05MM of that sum through season’s end.
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Latest On Adam Jones’ Future

By | at July 29, 2018 5:15pm CDT

5:15pm: The Orioles “have had places to send” Jones, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post, but Sherman echoes Kubtako’s sentiments in reporting that Jones, to this point, does not want to waive his no-trade protection.

Specifically, Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweets that “there was a chance to go to Philly,” though it’s not clear if the two sides had firmly agreed on a deal that Jones vetoed or if he simply nixed the idea while the O’s and Phils were negotiating. Heyman cites Jones’ family, friends and charity works in the Baltimore community as reasons for Jones preferring to remain with the O’s, even at the cost of a potential playoff race in the season’s final couple of months.

11:43am: Orioles center fielder Adam Jones has been popular in the rumor mill as Tuesday’s non-waiver trade deadline looms, but it doesn’t appear he’ll be part of a deal in the coming days. As a guest on 105.7 The Fan on Sunday, Orioles general manager Dan Duquette revealed that Jones is likely to stay with the team through the the deadline (via Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com).

“I do. I believe he’ll be an Oriole on Wednesday,” Duquette said. “These veteran players it’s a tough, tough decision. Rest assured that we have wrestled with that decision.”

As Duquette alluded to, Jones has a major say in his future, given that the pending free agent is a 10-and-5 player. Jones would be able to veto any trade as a result, and so far, he has told the Orioles that’s what he plans on doing, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets.

Jones’ situation could change, Kubatko notes, but as Dan Connolly of The Athletic (subscription required) explained earlier this weekend, he may not be in position to waive his no-trade rights in the middle of the season. Not only is the 32-year-old a Baltimore institution who has ongoing charitable endeavors in the city, but Jones also has a young family — one he may not want to uproot with a couple months left in the season. Of course, Jones told Melewski earlier this week that he’d like to play for a winner, which isn’t going to happen if he stays in Baltimore through 2018. The Orioles are competing for the No. 1 pick in next year’s draft, not a playoff spot, whereas teams interested in Jones are pushing for postseason berths. To this point, Jones has reportedly landed on the radars of the NL East-leading Phillies, the AL Central-leading Indians and even the below-.500 Giants, per Kubatko, who adds that Philly was “making a strong push” to acquire the veteran.

In the event he’s not dealt this month, Jones could still have a change of heart and end up on the move in August, when his pricey salary (he’s currently owed roughly $7.2MM of his remaining $17MM) would make him a candidate to clear trade waivers. Jones may not be a significant upgrade for many teams at this stage of his career, though, and between that and his salary, he’s unlikely to bring back much in a trade. The five-time All-Star has only offered league-average offensive production thus far in 2018, having batted .281/.307/.431 with a 98 wRC+ in 424 plate appearances. Worse, Jones has endured a third straight rough season in center, where he has accounted for minus-15 Defensive Runs Saved, a minus-10.1 Ultimate Zone Rating and minus-8 Outs Above Average. Unsurprisingly, all of those figures rank toward the bottom of the majors.

While Jones has fallen off in center, he’s nonetheless primed to finish the year at the position should he stick with Baltimore. Otherwise, Jones could move to a corner if a trade occurs this season or at least vacate center heading into 2019. For now, the question will continue to be whether Jones will close the year as a member of the Orioles – with whom he has played since 2008 – or a World Series hopeful.

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Minor MLB Transactions: 7/29/18

By | at July 29, 2018 4:59pm CDT

The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The White Sox released outfielder Jacob May on Saturday, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Now 26, May was once a well-regarded prospect with the Sox, who chose him in the the third round of the 2013 draft. May was unable to produce much with the bat as he climbed through the minor league ranks, though, and he slashed a ghastly .056/.150/.056 during a 42-plate appearance major league debut last season. He opened 2018 with Triple-A Charlotte and hit an underwhelming .255/.303/.341 with two home runs and 15 stolen bases in 342 PAs prior to his release.
  • The Reds announced that left-hander Kyle Crockett was outrighted to Triple-A Louisville after clearing waivers. Cincinnati designated the 26-year-old for assignment Friday after he threw 9 1/3 innings with the club. Crockett allowed six earned runs on a whopping 16 hits in that span, but he also struck out 11 batters and issued only two walks. He’ll now return to Louisville, where he has pitched to a 4.00 ERA/3.24 FIP with 7.67 K/9 and 1.67 BB/9 in 27 innings this season.
  • Like Crockett, Orioles lefty Chris Lee has been outrighted after clearing waivers, the team announced. Lee’s headed to Double-A Bowie, where he hasn’t pitched since 2016. This has been an injury-shortened season for the 25-year-old Lee, who has combined for just 14 innings between rookie ball and the Triple-A level.
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Braves Acquire Brad Brach

By | at July 29, 2018 3:41pm CDT

The Braves have agreed to acquire reliever Brad Brach from the Orioles, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun tweets. In return for Brach, Baltimore received $250K in international bonus pool money, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Both teams have announced the trade.

With the Orioles in the early stages of a full-scale rebuild and Brach set to hit free agency over the winter, the 32-year-old was an obvious trade candidate for the club. The right-handed Brach drew vast trade interest as a result in recent weeks, and he’ll bring an impressive track record to Atlanta – which will pick up the balance of his $5.165MM salary.

During his Orioles tenure, which began in 2014, Brach pitched to a 2.99 ERA/3.51 FIP with 9.42 K/9, 3.65 BB/9 and a 42.1 percent groundball rate over 327 2/3 innings. He hasn’t been quite that effective through 39 frames this season, however, with a 4.85 ERA/4.01 FIP and 8.77 K/9 against 4.38 BB/9, though he has logged a career-best 46.5 grounder percentage. Brach has also continued to bring respectable heat while posting an above-average swinging-strike percentage (12.7).

The Braves, who have surprised this season during a playoff-contending campaign, will benefit from Brach’s presence if he’s able to channel his past success. Even though the Braves are 55-47 and sit just 1 1/2 games behind the NL East-leading Phillies and one back of a wild-card spot, their bullpen hasn’t been a strength this season. Their relievers entered Sunday 19th in the majors in ERA and 16th in fWAR, in part because closer Arodys Vizcaino has missed time on account of shoulder issues. As a result, the Braves have been aggressively seeking to upgrade their relief corps leading up to the July 31 non-waiver deadline. Brach’s the second notable bullpen pickup the team has made this week, in fact, joining just-acquired southpaw Jonny Venters. The Braves also landed Venters for $250K in international money.

Thanks to former general manager John Coppolella’s misdeeds, the Braves are unable to spend beyond $300K on any international prospect this year. Therefore, the money’s not difficult for them to part with if it means bolstering their playoff chances for this season. On the other side, the Orioles haven’t participated in the international market in recent years, largely because of ownership, but they’re committed to changing that as they rebuild. The money the Orioles acquired Sunday may help them sign Cuban outfield prospect Victor Victor Mesa, per Emily Waldon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Brach follows shortstop Manny Machado (Dodgers) and fellow reliever Zach Britton (Yankees) as the third proven veteran to exit the Orioles via trade this month. The team’s likely not done, either, as other established members of its roster have come up in trade rumors. Center fielder Adam Jones is part of that group, though he may deviate from Brach, Machado and Britton in finishing the season in Baltimore.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Mauer, Tribe, Harper, Gausman, Realmuto, Yanks

By | at July 29, 2018 2:35pm CDT

This week in baseball blogs…

Submissions: ZachBBWI @gmail.com

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