Nationals Pull Back Bryce Harper From Revocable Waivers Following Claim By Dodgers
8:10pm: Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets that the Dodgers did indeed claim Harper, but they did so purely as a means of blocking other contenders from landing him. Los Angeles had “no expectation” of completing a trade when it claimed Harper, per Plunkett.
2:03pm: Despite moving other pending free agents today, the Nationals have pulled back superstar Bryce Harper from revocable waivers. Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com tweeted that the Nationals had not reached any further agreements after their two earlier swaps, meaning Harper’s previously reported trip onto the waiver wire would not result in an agreement. More specifically, Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweets that Harper’s waiver period has expired, and no deal has been announced.
Harper, who’ll qualify for the open market at season’s end, had evidently been claimed by the Dodgers, per Grant Paulsen of MLB Network Radio (via Twitter). But he won’t be following Manny Machado in making a mid-season, pre-free agency move from the Mid-Atlantic to Los Angeles.
Having failed to work out a deal with the Dodgers, the Nationals revoked the waiver request rather than letting Harper walk for nothing. That means that the Nats will still be on the hook for nearly $5MM of salary between now and the end of the season.
To be sure, Harper could in theory be placed on waivers again later this month. But that’d almost certainly mean losing a franchise player for no compensation other than salary relief — an outcome the team just rejected by pulling him back today. Instead, the Nationals surely plan to issue Harper a qualifying offer, setting the stage for draft compensation if he does not end up reaching a new deal to remain in D.C.
Mariners Select Ross Detwiler, Designate Zach Vincej
The Mariners announced that they’ve selected the contract of left-hander Ross Detwiler from Triple-A Tacoma and designated infielder Zach Vincej for assignment to open space on the 40-man roster. Righty Chasen Bradford was optioned to Tacoma to open a spot for Detwiler on the active roster.
The move will give the Mariners some important length in the bullpen, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets that Mike Leake has been scratched from tonight’s start due to illness. Reliever Nick Vincent will start in his place, so the Mariner look to have a bullpen day on their hands with Leake unable to take the ball.
Detwiler, 32, returns to the big leagues after spending the entire 2017 season at the Triple-A level between the Athletics and the Cubs. The former No. 6 overall pick was a solid back-of-the-rotation arm for the Nationals earlier in his career and had success out of the Nationals’ bullpen in 2014 as well. However, his career took a turn for the worse following a trade to the Rangers in 2015, and he was clobbered for a combined 6.73 ERA in 107 innings between Texas, Atlanta, Oakland and Cleveland from 2015-16.
Detwiler opened the 2018 season with the York Revolution of the independent Atlantic League and pitched 30 strong innings before the Seattle organization purchased his rights. In 71 1/3 frames with Tacoma, he’s posted an uninspiring 5.15 ERA with a 46-to-24 K/BB ratio. He was slated to start tonight before being scratched from his start, though, and since he’s been working in the rotation anyhow, he could enter the game in relief of Vincent and give the Mariners several innings.
Vincej, 27, went 2-for-4 in his lone game with the Mariners earlier this season but has spent the rest of the year in Tacoma. An offseason waiver claim out of the Reds organization, he’s capable of playing multiple infield positions and has batted .246/.314/.346 with six homers, 13 doubles and a pair of triples in 391 plate appearances so far in Tacoma. He’s a former 37th-round pick (Reds, 2012) who owns a career .268/.336/.359 batting line in the minors while playing shortstop, second base and third base.
Starlin Castro Reportedly Clears Revocable Trade Waivers
Marlins second baseman Starlin Castro has cleared revocable trade waivers and is now eligible to be dealt to any club, reports SiriusXM’s Craig Mish (Twitter link).
Castro, 28, is still owed the balance of this season’s $10MM salary (roughly $2.19MM) in addition to next year’s $11MM salary and a $1MM buyout of a $16MM option for the 2020 season. In total, Miami still owes him a fairly sizable $14.19MM through the end of the 2019 campaign. Given the team’s salary-shedding measures in the 2017-18 offseason, it’s possible that the Marlins would’ve been happy to simply let another club pick up the remainder of that tab and further clear payroll, so it’s not a huge surprise to see him go unclaimed.
That’s not to say that Castro is overpaid, though. He’s more than lived up to his contract thus far in 2018, hitting at a .287/.335/.407 clip with 10 homers, 26 doubles and a triple while playing roughly average defense at second base. While other clubs may not be keen on absorbing the remainder of his salary obligations at this time of year, especially with few contenders in the market for second base upgrades, the Marlins could potentially drum up some interest if they express a willingness to offset some of that salary.
The Indians, in particular, have been connected to some second basemen on the rumor circuit in recent weeks, though there’s been nothing to suggest that Cleveland (or any other club) has any substantial interest in Castro. To that end, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported earlier this month that the Marlins didn’t receive any serious interest in Castro prior to the non-waiver trade deadline.
Castro doesn’t seem especially likely to move even after today’s report, but even if he stays put, the Miami front office figures to gauge interest in him (and other shorter-term assets) once again this offseason as it continues to take a long-term approach to rebuilding the organization.
Astros Activate Jose Altuve From Disabled List
The Astros announced tonight that they’ve activated reigning American League MVP Jose Altuve from the disabled list. He’d been out since July 26 due to a right knee injury. Houston also selected the contract of lefty Framber Valdez (as had already been reported) and optioned both Cionel Perez and Kyle Tucker to Triple-A Fresno.
Altuve returns amid a pivotal series against the Mariners, who sit just 3.5 games back of the Astros and the surprising Athletics in an AL West race that is vastly closer than most expected heading into the season. Prior to landing on the shelf, he was in the midst of another excellent season, albeit one that hasn’t quite matched last year’s extraordinary pace. Through 454 trips to the plate, Altuve is hitting .329/.392/.464 with nine homers, 24 doubles, two triples and 14 steals.
In Altuve’s absence, Yuli Gurriel and Marwin Gonzalez picked up much of the slack at second base. Gurriel now figures to return to first base, with Gonzalez continuing to be deployed all over the diamond in a super-utility role.
Zach McAllister Elects Free Agency
The Tigers announced Tuesday that right-hander Zach McAllister has cleared waivers and elected free agency after being designated for assignment over the weekend. He’s free to sign with any team for the pro-rated league minimum for the remainder of the year, with the Indians on the hook for the bulk of his $2.45MM salary.
McAllister, 30, was with the Tigers for all of eight days before being designated for assignment for the second time this season. The longtime Cleveland setup man was hammered for eight earned runs on the strength of 10 hits (one homer) in three appearances with the Tigers. In total, he tossed just 3 1/3 innings in a Detroit uniform, though he did collect five strikeouts without issuing a walk.
While the 2018 season has been a disaster for McAllister (6.20 ERA in 45 innings), he was a quality bullpen piece for the Indians over the past three seasons. From 2015-17, he pitched to a pristine 2.99 ERA with 10.0 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 through 183 1/3 innings of work. To his credit, McAllister is still averaging a healthy 95.3 mph on his fastball in 2018, and his swinging-strike rate (9.7 percent) and chase rate on pitches out of the strike zone (31.3 percent) are both improved from recent seasons — particularly the latter, which is easily a career-best.
McAllister now has more than six years of big league service after crossing that threshold earlier this summer, meaning any team that signs him will merely be in control of him for the final few weeks of the season. His performance hasn’t been worthy of a spot on a postseason roster anyhow, but if he hooks on with another club prior to Sept. 1, he’d be eligible for the playoffs with his new team, should he be able to demonstrably right the ship over the season’s final five weeks.
Yu Darvish Out For Season With Stress Reaction In Elbow
Cubs righty Yu Darvish has been diagnosed with a stress reaction in his right elbow and will be out for the remainder of the season, president of baseball operations Theo Epstein told reporters (Twitter links via Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune and Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago). The injury comes with a minimum six-week recovery timetable that won’t allow Darvish enough time to make it back in 2018.
An MRI taken today revealed the injury in addition to some lingering triceps inflammation, Gonzales adds (Twitter links). If there’s any silver lining for Darvish, it’s that the MRI determined his ligament to be in stable condition.
The hopes of Darvish returning in 2018 already looked to be dwindling, and today’s announcement from the team formally puts an end to his first season in Chicago — one that will be marked as abject disappointment for all parties involved. Darvish, signed to a six-year deal worth a total of $126MM in the offseason, managed to pitch just 40 innings in his debut season with the organization. In that time, he struggled to a 4.95 ERA with a characteristically impressive 11.0 K/9 mark but far too many walks (4.7 BB/9) and homers allowed (1.6 HR/9).
The Cubs invested heavily in hopeful rotation upgrades this past offseason, namely signing Darvish and fellow righty Tyler Chatwood for a combined $164MM in guaranteed money. Neither move has paid any semblance of dividends, though, with Darvish unable to remain healthy and Chatwood unable to throw strikes (93 walks in 101 1/3 innings). The disastrous season for that pair of high-priced rotation pieces prompted Epstein and the rest of the Cubs’ front office to pivot prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, striking a deal to acquire Cole Hamels from the Rangers which, to this point, has produced brilliant results.
It already seemed likely that the Cubs would be on the lookout for additional rotation help between now and the Aug. 31 deadline for postseason eligibility, as a productive return from Darvish appeared to be a long shot. With Darvish officially out for the season and Mike Montgomery on the disabled list, though, the likelihood is only enhanced. Chatwood is still being utilized as a starter in spite of his struggles, joining Hamels, Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks and Jose Quintana in the team’s rotation. But both Lester and Quintana have hit a rough patch as of late, and the Cubs are in a tight division race, leading the Brewers by three games and the Cardinals by just a half-game more.
Astros Select Framber Valdez
The Astros have selected the contract of lefty Framber Valdez, as MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart was among those to report on Twitter. He’ll take the roster spot of fellow young southpaw Cionel Perez, who was optioned back to Triple-A.
Valdez, 24, gets the call not long after reaching the highest level of the minors for the first time. In his 103 innings on the season, most of them at Double-A, he’s carrying a 4.11 ERA with a healthy combination of 11.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9. Valdez has also induced grounders on more than half of the balls put in play against him.
The move will put Valdez on the roster in time for the evening’s contest, in which the ‘Stros are expected to utilize multiple relievers. He’ll come out of the pen but will offer some extra innings. As Jake Kaplan of The Athletic notes on Twitter, Valdez would have required protection from the Rule 5 draft over the winter regardless.
MLBTR Chat Transcript: Nationals, Murphy, August Deals, Awards, Cardinals, More
Click here to read a transcript of today’s chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams.
Cardinals Acquire Matt Adams Via Waiver Claim
1:50pm: The Cardinals have announced the waiver claim. Fowler has been moved to the 60-day DL to open space on the 40-man roster, while corner infielder Patrick Wisdom has been optioned to Triple-A Memphis.
1:36pm: Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports (on Twitter) that Adams is headed to St. Louis via waiver claim, meaning there’s no trade at play here. Rather, the Nationals will simply offload the remainder of his salary on the Cardinals in the deal. Adams is still owed about $877K of his $4MM salary through season’s end.
1:24pm: The Cardinals have agreed to a deal with the Nationals that will bring first baseman/outfielder Matt Adams back to St. Louis, reports Yahoo’s Jeff Passan (on Twitter). Between this move from the Cards and the reported impending deal sending Daniel Murphy to the division-rival Cubs, it appears that the Nationals have embarked on a late-August sale. General manager Mike Rizzo has called a press conference for 3pm ET in which he will presumably address these and any other deals that have been made with the media.
With this trade, the 29-year-old Adams returns to the organization with which he cut his teeth as a pro player. The Cards selected Adams in the 23rd round of the 2009 draft and watched him eventually blossom into a solid Major League hitter across parts of six seasons in the organization. However, St. Louis flipped Adams to the Braves early in the 2017 season in order to loosen an infield logjam. Though Adams produced at a solid clip in Atlanta, he was non-tendered in the offseason and eventually signed a one-year, $4MM deal in Washington.
Thus far in the 2018 season, Adams has produced numbers that are roughly in line with his career marks. Through 277 trips to the plate — nearly all of which have come against right-handed pitching, given Adams’ deficiencies against left-handers — he’s logged a quality .257/.332/.510 slash with 18 home runs and nine doubles.
It’s not clear just yet how the Cardinals will utilize Adams. He’s limited to first base or the occasional dalliance into left field, and the Cards already have options at both of those positions in the form of Matt Carpenter and Marcell Ozuna, respectively. But Carpenter is capable of bouncing all over the infield and could see time at second base or third base in the event that the Nationals wish to get Adams some time at first base against right-handed opponents.
That’s perhaps the key element of the Cardinals’ acquisition of Adams. Prior to this deal, the only lefty bats on the roster were Carpenter, light-hitting second baseman Kolten Wong and backup infielder Greg Garcia. Switch-hitting Dexter Fowler gives the Cards another lefty bat when healthy, but he’s currently on the DL and is mired in the worst season of his professional career. Adding Adams will give the Cards a notable lefty bat both off the bench and against righty starters, helping to balance out the lineup and further fueling their recent surge under interim skipper Mike Shildt.
While Adams will surely receive a warm welcome in his return to St. Louis, the reunion could prove to be short-lived. He was non-tendered last winter in his final offseason of arbitration eligibility and will finish out the 2018 campaign with more than six years of big league service time. As such, he’ll be a free agent at the end of the year and free to sign with any team he chooses. It’s possible that the Cards will have interest in retaining a slugger they know well and clearly like as a player, but Adams will be able to field interest from 29 other teams as well.
Cubs Acquire Daniel Murphy
The Cubs have officially acquired veteran infielder Daniel Murphy from the Nationals, per announcements from both clubs. Prospect Andruw Monasterio is headed to D.C. in the deal, with the Nationals also sending an undisclosed amount of cash to Chicago.
Murphy was claimed on revocable trade waivers, so the Nationals had the option of pulling him back or allowing the Cubs to take over his contract without receiving compensation. Instead, the sides worked out the cash to enable the Washington organization to acquire the young infielder. It is still not known precisely how the sides have divvied up Murphy’s remaining salary obligations. He’s earning $17.5MM on the season, with just under $4MM left to be paid.
Having previously received a qualifying offer, Murphy would not have been eligible for one this winter from the Nationals. That surely helped convince the team to do the deal. Still, it’s perhaps a bit surprising that the club did not wait to see whether its fortunes might turn over the next week of play.
Instead, the Nationals are more or less throwing in the towel on a disastrous 2018 season — in the sense, at least, that they aren’t valuing their prospects this year in assessing player transactions. While the club remains on the fringes of contention, it has failed to capitalize on several opportunities of late to make up ground. There’s still enough talent on the roster (and more still working back from the DL) that a late run can’t be ruled out entirely, but additional swaps could still further deplete the MLB talent pool and today’s deals unquestionably dent the Nats’ immediate outlook quite substantially.
By moving Murphy now, the organization was able to acquire Monasterio, who Baseball America recently tabbed as an increasingly interesting young player. The 21-year-old Venezuelan has spent the season at the High-A level, where he carries a .263/.359/.336 slash with three home runs and ten steals — as well as an impressive combination of 52 walks and 64 strikeouts — over 436 plate appearances. Monasterio has mostly lined up at second base this year but has spent most of his prior professional time at shortstop.
Murphy was among several high-priced Nationals players slated to reach the open market at season’s end, so this is likely a precursor to further dealmaking. Indeed, the club has already made a move on fellow left-handed slugger Matt Adams. Other pending free agents could also be moved, though superstar Bryce Harper will not be among them and there’s no indication that the team will move controllable assets.
It’s certainly also an interesting strike from the Cubs’ perspective. Murphy is as polished a hitter as any in baseball, as the Chicago organization well knows from its memorable postseason encounters with him in recent seasons. He has bounced back from offseason knee surgery, and a slow start upon his mid-season return, to produce excellent results over the past six weeks. Since the start of July, Murphy carries a .336/.379/.893 slash with six home runs and an 11:11 K/BB ratio over 153 plate appearances.
For a Cubs organization that has had some offensive issues of late, the lineup will get a big boost when Murphy is in it. Presumably, the club will play Murphy mostly at second base while utilizing Javier Baez quite frequently at short. Addison Russell will likely see his playing time cut back in that event, though in all likelihood he’ll still get time against lefties and in late-game situations when defense is a priority. Despite his increasingly compelling form at the plate, after all, Murphy has never been regarded as a quality defender or baserunner and has struggled quite a bit in both areas this year.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Craig Mish of Sirius XM reported on Twitter that the Cubs had claimed Murphy and that a deal was being worked out. Robert Murray of The Athletic (via Twitter) reported that a deal was struck. Jon Heyman of Fancred (Twitter links) reported the return.