Blue Jays Place Marco Estrada On 10-Day DL
The Blue Jays announced today that righty Marco Estrada has been placed on the 10-day disabled list. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by outfielder Dwight Smith Jr.
Estrada is dealing with a glute strain that drove him from his most recent outing, on July 3rd. The club had held off on a DL placement, but has now made the move. Estrada’s placement is backdated as far as permissible, to July 10th, and the impact of the absence will be limited owing to the All-Star break.
There’s no real indication at this point that Estrada will be out for a lengthy stretch. But the news could impact his potential trade candidacy. If Estrada is able to return after the minimum required absence, though, it’s still possible he could make two or even three starts before the trade deadline.
Of course, as trade candidates go, the veteran righty likely isn’t a top priority for contenders. He’s carrying only a 4.72 ERA on the year, though as we recently examined, there are some reasons to believe that there will be some interest. Of course, his $13MM salary also makes him an obvious candidate to be dealt in the month of August, as he’d almost certainly clear waivers.
Mariners Place James Paxton On DL, Select Mike Morin
The Mariners announced today that they’ve placed lefty James Paxton on the 10-day DL due to lower back inflammation and selected the contract of righty Mike Morin from Triple-A Tacoma. The Mariners also optioned Gordon Beckham and Nick Rumbelow to Triple-A, recalling righties Christian Bergman and Casey Lawrence to fill those roster spots.
Luckily for the M’s, the Paxton injury isn’t serious. GM Jerry Dipoto told Joel Sherman of the New York Post earlier today, even, that the plan is to utilize the All-Star break to get Paxton some extra rest after back discomfort forced him from last night’s game in the first inning (Twitter link). He’s scheduled to start the Mariners’ fourth game of the second half, so it seems this is somewhat of a procedural move to get some additional fresh arms in the ‘pen.
Morin, 27, saw two games of action earlier in the season with Seattle before being outrighted off of the 40-man. He has spent the bulk of the season at Triple-A, where he owns a 3.60 ERA over 35 frames with an appealing blend of 9.3 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9. Over 172 career innings in the bigs, Morin carries a 4.60 ERA.
Orioles, Indians Have Discussed Adam Jones Trade
The Orioles and Indians have held discussions on a number of players, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com (Twitter link), who calls a trade of Adam Jones to Cleveland a “viable” possibility. The Indians, Morosi notes, have been in the market for a right-handed-hitting outfield bat.
Of course, any discussion of Jones as a trade candidate should begin with the fact that he’s spent the past 11 seasons with the Orioles and, as such, has full 10-and-5 rights that allow him to veto any trade scenario. Jones’ future is entirely in his own hands, and late last month, he spoke with the Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli about that unfamiliar situation. To this point, there’s been no indication that Jones will approve a trade, though the virtually inevitable reality that the last-place Orioles will trade away teammates Manny Machado, Zach Britton and Brad Brach (among others, potentially) could motivate Jones to approve a trade sending him to a contending club.
The Indians certainly fit that bill, as they lead the Twins in the American League Central by 7.5 games with the All-Star break looming. Cleveland has already lost Lonnie Chisenhall for up to 10 weeks, and Bradley Zimmer has struggled tremendously at the MLB level so far in 2018. The team has also received a woeful lack of production from right-handed-hitting outfield options Brandon Guyer and Rajai Davis.
All of that said, there’s also cause to wonder just how much of an upgrade Jones might be — especially relative to his cost. The 32-year-old has plenty of name value after making five All-Star teams earlier in his career, but he hasn’t even produced at a league-average rate himself in 2018. While Jones would unequivocally be an upgrade over Guyer and Davis, he’s sitting on a flat .300 on-base percentage and is slashing .275/.300/.422 overall (99 OPS+, 95 wRC+).
From a defensive standpoint, Jones has remained in center field for the Orioles for years despite the fact that nearly any defensive metric in existence paints him as a dismal performer there. Jones rated as a premium defender in center earlier in his career, but he’s been among the worst in the league there this season by measure of Defensive Runs Saved (-16), Ultimate Zone Rating (-10) and Outs Above Average (-8).
Add in the fact that Jones is still owed about $7.22MM of this season’s $17MM salary through season’s end, and it’s worth questioning just how much any club would be willing to surrender in order to rent him for his final couple of months before free agency. Certainly, the Orioles could help their cause by offering to pay down some of Jones’ salary, though it’s not clear if they’d be willing to do so. That’d likely be a particularly enticing offer for the Indians, though, as they entered the 2018 season with a franchise-record payroll of roughly $136MM, and adding Jones at his current price point would carry them into completely unprecedented territory in terms player payroll.
Mets Activate Noah Syndergaard
The Mets announced today that they’ve activated right-hander Noah Syndergaard from the 10-day disabled list. Left-hander P.J. Conlon was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas in order to open a spot on the active roster.
Syndergaard, 25, has been out since late May with a ligament injury in his right index finger, but he’ll now rejoin the rotation just weeks before the non-waiver trade deadline. In his absence, the Mets have declared themselves to be sellers and will reportedly at least entertain trade offers on both Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom, though the asking price on either hurler is assured to be staggering. Syndergaard, after all, is controlled through the 2021 season and is still plenty affordable, earning $2.975MM this season after avoiding arbitration as a Super Two player in the offseason.
Though he’s missed ample time due to a lat tear and the aforementioned finger injury over the past two seasons, Syndergaard has been nothing short of dominant when healthy enough to take the hill. He boasts a 3.06 ERA with 10.6 K/9, 1.8 BB/9, 0.7 HR/9 and a 47.7 percent ground-ball rate through 64 2/3 innings so far in 2018. Dating back to his debut season in 2015 (when he finished fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting), Syndergaard has a career 2.92 ERA with 10.4 K/9, 1.9 BB/9, a 13.6 percent swinging-strike rate and an average fastball velocity of 97.6 mph through 428 2/3 innings.
D-backs, Reds, Yankees Have Varying Levels Of Interest In Zack Wheeler
July 13: The Yankees’ interest in Wheeler, at this point, is considered to be “mild,” Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports in a deeper look at the right-hander’s market. Scouts from at least eight teams watched Wheeler’s most recent start, and of that group, Ackert lists the Diamondbacks as a club that came away from the outing with interest in the righty. The Reds, despite their rebuilding status, are planning to watch him again this weekend.
The D-backs’ interest is easy to parse. Arizona has lost Taijuan Walker for the season and is now once again concerned over the right elbow of Shelby Miller, who only recently returned from Tommy John. The resurgent Clay Buchholz is currently on the disabled list as well. Beyond that, Arizona could lose Patrick Corbin to free agency this winter, and Miller’s future is currently anything but certain. Wheeler, controlled through 2019, would give them an affordable arm to add not just for this season but also next year.
As for the Reds, their inclusion is a bit more surprising. Cincinnati has played considerably better in recent months, but their rotation picture still looks to be largely a mess. President of baseball ops Dick Williams said recently, though, that the team plans to up its payroll in 2019. Adding Wheeler now could amount to doing a bit of their offseason shopping in advance, and his modest price tag would allow the team to pursue more costly rotation upgrades this winter, with the goal of pairing those arms with an increasingly encouraging core of position players.
July 12: Though Yankees fans might prefer a different target from the Mets’ rotation, the Bronx Bombers have “recently inquired” into the availability of right-hander Zack Wheeler, according to Marc Carig of The Athletic (via Twitter). While Carig cautions that the contact may mostly be a matter of conducting due diligence, it’s still a notable potential connection between these infrequent trade partners.
The thought long has been that the Yankees would pursue starters, but the level of quality they’ll ultimately end up achieving is still in doubt. Many would argue that the team needs to chase a top-end arm to pair with Luis Severino at the top of its staff in order to take down the rival Red Sox and make a lengthy postseason run.
With no rental arms available that meet that description — unless buyers are fully ready to believe in Nathan Eovaldi, at least — the attention has been on more controllable pitchers. That may suit the Yanks just fine, as they could well end up considering rotation upgrades at season’s end regardless.
That said, the asking prices for the very best assets figure to be astronomical. That’s no doubt the case for Wheeler’s teammate, Jacob deGrom, whose name has already made the rounds in the rumor mill as a crosstown trade candidate. His complete dominance — 1.68 ERA in 123 1/3 innings — and two remaining seasons of arbitration control make deGrom arguably the very top deadline pitching target in the game. Though indications are that the Mets will at least be open-minded, they’ll understandably be holding out for a truly compelling trade package.
Under the circumstances, it’s not surprising to learn that the Yankees are at least taking a closer look at Wheeler. True, Wheeler owns only a modest 4.42 ERA over his 99 2/3 innings on the year. But he’s carrying a solid 8.9 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 and, more importantly, has shown some other interesting trends.
Wheeler is working at the top of his career velocity levels (96.2 mph average fastball), getting more swings and strikes (11.0%) than ever, and permitting an average exit velocity lower than all but seven other pitchers in baseball. And the results have improved quite a bit of late, coinciding with a rise in Wheeler’s velocity and a steady reduction of his fastball usage in favor of his slider.
The 28-year-old would not necessarily be an instant upgrade to the team’s anticipated playoff rotation, though perhaps there’d be some hope that he’d further establish himself down the stretch. Regardless, there would clearly be value in having him on hand to help a tough AL East battle. And even if he doesn’t currently project to be a postseason ace, Wheeler might be an interesting arm to deploy creatively — say, in a pairing with veteran lefty CC Sabathia, to offer one hypothetical possibility.
There’s added value in Wheeler’s contract rights, though that’s also countered by his spotty health history. He’s earning just $1.9MM this season before qualifying for arbitration a final time this coming offseason. The low cost may also be a factor as the Yankees contemplate other upgrades — including, perhaps, other hurlers — as it’d leave plenty of room left to work with under the luxury tax line.
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/13/18
We’ll track Friday’s minor moves from around the league here…
- Right-hander Chris Beck cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Mets and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Las Vegas, Erin Fish of MLB.com reports (via Twitter). Claimed off waivers out of the White Sox organization earlier this year, Beck tossed 10 1/3 innings for the Mets and allowed six runs on 10 hits (three homers) and more walks issued (nine) than strikeouts recorded (five). The former second-rounder once rated as one of the more promising arms in the White Sox’ system, but he’s struggled to a 5.88 ERA with 6.0 K/9, 5.1 BB/9, 1.87 HR/9 and a 43.1 percent ground-ball rate in 130 Major League innings.
Injury Notes: Paxton, Kuhl, Urias, Adolfo
Mariners fans are holding their collective breath after James Paxton exited last night’s start in the first inning with an apparent injury. Per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times, Paxton was lifted due to some discomfort in his lower back. Clearly, this would’ve been Paxton’s last start before the All-Star break anyhow, so the plus for the team is that he’ll have an extended period of time to rest up and hopefully return in healthier form. If the Mariners want to truly be cautious with their ace, they could slot him into the back of the rotation coming out of the break, giving him extra time in an effort to ensure that his back issue is cleared up. The injury doesn’t appear to be serious, though there’ll understandably be at least some apprehension around the situation until Paxton can make it through a start or two without further incident. Seattle can ill-afford to lose Paxton, who heads into the break with a 3.70 ERA, 11.7 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 through 119 1/3 innings.
Some more injury updates from around the league…
- Pirates righty Chad Kuhl will be shut down from throwing entirely until Aug. 8, writes Elizabeth Bloom of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. At that point, he’ll be reevaluated and, if all goes well, begin throwing from flat ground. There’s no definite timetable on Kuhl’s return from the current forearm injury that has him on the shelf, though Bloom notes that Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk doesn’t expect that Kuhl will ultimately require any type of surgical procedure to correct the issue. The 25-year-old Kuhl had pitched to a 3.76 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 36.2 percent ground-ball rate through 14 starts before he was rocked for 10 runs across two starts (six innings). He exited that final start early due to the forearm issue and was subsequently placed on the DL.
- Julio Urias faced live hitters this week for the first time since undergoing major shoulder surgery last June, tweets Pedro Moura of The Athletic. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters that the left-hander’s fastball reached as high as 92 mph in that session, and while that’s not quite as high as the 93.1 mph he averaged last season before surgery, it’s an encouraging sign in the early stages of his return to throwing. At the time of Urias’ procedure, Dodgers president of baseball ops Andrew Friedman suggested that the prized young lefty’s rehab could be as long as 14 months. It still seems possible that Urias could return before season’s end, though the team will undoubtedly exercise caution with a player of his upside. Urias had one of the most meteoric rises through the minors of any pitcher in recent history, debuting in the Majors as a 19-year-old in 2016.
- The White Sox received some more tough news on a promising young prospect, as the team announced to reporters this week that outfielder Micker Adolfo will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of the season (Twitter link via WGN’s Adam Hoge). The silver lining, if there’s any, is that the procedure comes with a quicker recovery time for position players than for pitchers, and Adolfo is expected to be recovered in eight to 10 months. That would put him on track to be back up to speed anywhere from early Spring Training to early May Adolfo, 21, had turned in a quality .283/.368/.466 slash with 11 homers but a more concerning 27.2 percent strikeout rate through 78 games against older competition in Class-A Advanced. Fangraphs ranked him ninth among ChiSox farmhands earlier this year, while he currently ranks 10th in their system over at MLB.com.
David Hale Signs With KBO’s Hanwha Eagles
The Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization announced yesterday that they’ve signed right-hander David Hale for the remainder of the season (link via South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency). Hale will earn $500K with the Eagles, per the announcement.
The 30-year-old Hale opened the season in the Yankees organization after signing a minor league contract over the winter. He made one appearance for New York after having his contract selected before being designated for assignment and claimed by the Twins, who’d also had offseason interest in him. However, the Twins, too, designated Hale after just one appearance.
Hale would ultimately clear waivers and elect free agency, only to return to the Yankees organization on a new minor league contract and largely repeat the cycle twice more. He found himself back in the Majors after Jordan Montgomery went down with Tommy John surgery, but was again designated for assignment after one long relief outing. That led to a third minor league contract with the Yanks, followed by yet another selection of his contract and, once again, a DFA after one long-relief outing.
Hale’s season is one of the stranger in recent memory; he has as many DFAs on the season as he does Major League appearances (four), but he’ll now have a more stable and more lucrative opportunity in the KBO. He’ll carry a career 4.49 ERA with 6.0 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a 51.2 percent ground-ball rate through 192 1/3 big league innings with him to South Korea, where he’ll join the second-place Eagles. Hale will be replacing former Twins left-hander Jason Wheeler, who has been waived by the club, per Yonhap’s report.
Trade Chatter: Britton, Merrifield, Mets, Beltre, Braves
Zach Britton‘s most recent outing was an encouraging one for scouts, writes Jon Heyman of Fancred in his latest notes column. One scout tells Heyman that the Orioles‘ closer was finally beginning to look like himself in a recent save against the Yankees. Heyman notes that Britton was throwing 96-98 mph, although data from both Fangraphs and Brooks Baseball isn’t quite as bullish as that scout’s radar gun was. Certainly, though, Britton’s past few outings have been encouraging. In five scoreless frames, he’s averaged a slightly improved 95 mph on his heater and posted a strong 66.7 percent grounder rate with four strikeouts against one walk. Britton has thrown a first-pitch strike to just 41 percent of the hitters he’s faced in that time, and his ground-ball rate, velocity and swinging-strike rate are all still shy of his peak levels. Nonetheless, he’s certainly trending in the right direction — a welcome sight for the Orioles. Heyman notes that the Astros are believed to once again have interest in Britton after the Orioles backed out of a trade involving him last season, which would’ve sent Colin Moran and a Double-A outfielder to Baltimore.
Some more Thursday night trade rumblings…
- Heyman also notes that he’s heard the Red Sox mentioned in connection with Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield. The 29-year-old has reportedly drawn interest from the Phillies and from the Brewers already, and the Sox would be a logical addition to that market, depending on the status of Dustin Pedroia. As Heyman notes, Merrifield is particularly enticing for the Sox given his minimal salary and their proximity to the top tier of luxury tax penalization. He’s shown, too, that he can play a number of positions, which would make him ideal for a utility role if the Sox get everyone healthy. That said, there’s no characterization of particularly strong interest in the report, the Sox have a thin farm system, and the Royals are under no urgency to trade Merrifield, who is controlled through 2022. Bullpen help has been rumored to be Boston’s primary focus on the trade market so far.
- One more from Heyman, who notes that the Mets aren’t especially anxious to listen to offers on lefty Steven Matz. New York will certainly entertain offers on its entire roster, as they’re at least listening on Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard, but it sounds like Matz is closer to that pair than to the more available Zack Wheeler. The report also indicates that offers for Asdrubal Cabrera, to this point, have been underwhelming and that the Mets have actually received some inquiries about Jose Bautista, who was hitting .230/.389/.425 in 144 PAs for the Mets before homering in tonight’s contest.
- Sticking with the Mets, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports that the team actually hasn’t received much in the way of inquiries on eiher deGrom or Syndergaard as of late (Twitter link). The general sense that the asking price would be overwhelming could be a factor; as Puma terms it, some teams may have sticker shock “without even seeing the sticker.” Puma also tweets, though, that the Mets are “confident” they’ll find a trade partner for Cabrera. That, he adds, would open a spot for 26-year-old Jeff McNeil — a potentially late-blooming prospect who has batted a combined .346/.417/.634 with 18 homers in 336 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A.
- Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News takes a look at the situation in which the Rangers find themselves with Adrian Beltre. The third baseman has full no-trade rights and has not yet given indication about whether he’d prefer to play out the season with a contender, though he has said he wants to play with the Rangers again in 2019. “His value to the organization is above how we would normally consider trade acquisitions,” GM Jo Daniels tells Grant. “For us to consider anything, it’s got to be mutually beneficial, good for all parties involved.” Beltre, 39, hasn’t shown much pop but is hitting .288/.349/.401 on the season. He’s been DHing more of late in an effort to keep his legs healthy.
- Though the Braves have a number of wants on the trade market — specifically upgrades to the pitching staff — they’re reluctant to trade any prospects of note for a rental piece, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic within his latest notes column (subscription required). Rosenthal also notes that a right-handed-hitting center field option to pair with Ender Inciarte would be appealing, though Inciarte’s glovework is so good that it lessens the blow of his 2018 struggles against lefties.
MLB, KBO Reportedly Agree To New Posting System
Major League Baseball and the Korea Baseball Organization have agreed to a revised version of the posting system that allows players who are not yet free-agent eligible to move from the KBO to MLB, according to a report from South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency. The new agreement runs through Oct. 31, 2021, according to the report.
Under the previous posting system, when a KBO team would post a player for MLB clubs before he reached free agency (which requires nine years in the KBO), they’d inform Major League Baseball of their desire to do so, and all interested teams would submit a blind bid. If the KBO team deemed the bid to be an acceptable number, the highest-bidding MLB team would be granted a 30-day window to negotiate a contract. If the bid was not accepted or agreement on a contract could not be reached, the player returned his KBO team. The MLB team was refunded the amount of its bid.
The new system, however, looks to largely mirror the recently agreed upon posting system between MLB and Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, which will go into effect this coming offseason. Once a player is posted, he’ll be free to negotiate with all 30 MLB clubs. The release fee paid to the KBO team that posted the player will now correlate to the size of the contract signed. Specifically:
- If a posted KBO player signs for $25MM or less, the release fee paid to the former KBO team will be 20 percent of the contract’s value.
- If a posted KBO player signs for more than $25MM and less than $50MM, the release fee paid to the former KBO team will be 20 percent of the first $25MM (i.e. $5MM) plus 17.5 percent of any amount over $25MM.
- If a posted KBO player signs for more than $50MM, the release fee paid to the former KBO team will be 20 percent of the first $25MM (i.e. $5MM), 17.5 percent of the next $25MM (i.e. $4.375MM), and 15 percent of any amount over $50MM.
As is the case with the posting arrangement between MLB and NPB, the new KBO posting period will run from Nov. 1 through Dec. 5. (Previously, KBO players could be posted at any point from Nov. 1 to March 1.)
It’s worth noting, of course, that the MLB collective bargaining agreement’s distinctions between amateur and professional players must still be considered. Per the CBA, a player must be at least 25 years of age and have at least six years of experience in a foreign professional league to be considered a professional player. If he meets both criteria, that player is free to sign a Major League deal for any amount and for length of time. If, however, the player is under 25 years of age or has fewer than six years of pro experience in another country, he’ll be limited to signing a minor league contract with a bonus that is taken from his new MLB team’s league-allotted international bonus pool.
Given the fact that most players from the KBO aren’t posted until they’ve spent seven or eight years playing professionally — i.e., when their teams are only a year or two from potentially losing them to free agency — it’s not likely that many players who are considered international amateurs will become available to MLB teams via this revised posting system.