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Curtis Granderson Clears Revocable Waivers

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Mets outfielder Curtis Granderson has cleared revocable waivers, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweets. Like his teammate Jay Bruce, he can now be traded without being claimed. Unlike Bruce, Granderson does not have a limited no-trade clause.

There were various reports about the possibility the Mets would trade Granderson prior to the July 31 deadline, and he was linked to the Brewers. In the end, obviously, the Mets held onto him. Granderson is in the middle of what’s become a fairly typical Granderson season — he has a very low batting average (.223), but compensates for it with walks (48 in 358 plate appearances) and good power (14 home runs). The 36-year-old doesn’t have the speed he once did and rates as a below-average defender in center, although he still grades out fairly well in right. He rated fifth in our recent list of the top August trade candidates.

Granderson is in the last season of the four-year, $60MM deal he signed with the Mets in December 2013. He’s owed a bit under $5MM for the remainder of the season.

West Notes: Gattis, Diamondbacks, Cain, Span

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Astros catcher and designated hitter Evan Gattis appears headed to the disabled list after receiving a concussion diagnosis yesterday, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. The end of a Corey Dickerson swing caught Gattis in the head on Thursday. The team currently plans to option first baseman A.J. Reed to Triple-A Fresno and promote third baseman J.D. Davis, who was hitting .282/.345/.527 in the high minors this season. The team will have to make another move to add a catcher if it does place Gattis on the DL, however. Here’s more from the West divisions.

  • The Diamondbacks’ rotation has gone from second worst in the Majors last year to second best this season, MLB.com’s Mike Petriello notes. Petriello credits big improvements in the Snakes’ outfield defense and catching, along with Robbie Ray’s breakout, and Taijuan Walker’s addition. He also notes that Zack Godley moved from relieving to starting for the big club this year, while Archie Bradley did the opposite; both moves had a big impact on the fortunes of Arizona’s starting pitchers.
  • The 42-69 Giants are finding new roles for two veteran players, as Andrew Baggarly of the Bay Area News Group noted earlier this week. The team will use Matt Cain, who’s in the midst of a third straight season with an ERA above five, as a long reliever until his contract expires at the end of the season. (The team does have an option on Cain for 2018, but almost certainly won’t exercise it.) Chris Stratton will take Cain’s place in the rotation. And the team has told center fielder Denard Span it plans to move him to left field, although he might not actually make that move until next spring. Span, for his part, since he has “no problem” with the move, as John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. “If you look around the league, you don’t see too many everyday center fielders who are 33 years old,” he says. “By the same token, I think I can still play center.”

East Notes: Altherr, Snitker, Rays

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The Phillies are placing Aaron Altherr on the DL after the outfielder aggravated his injured hamstring, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. Altherr spent ten days on the DL due to a hamstring problem last month. When healthy, the 26-year-old has been a highlight of the Phillies’ season, batting .285/.357/.536 with 16 home runs in 336 plate appearances, but now it appears he’ll be on the shelf for at least a short time. Here’s more from the East divisions.

  • The Braves are “almost certain” to retain manager Brian Snitker next season, Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Snitker took over as the Braves’ interim manager last season, and the Braves hired him full-time (although only for a one-year deal plus an option) after he led the rebuilding club to a 59-65 record following a brutal 9-28 start under Fredi Gonzalez. After a 50-58 start this year, it appears both the Braves’ players and its front office appreciate having Snitker around. Snitker has “done everything possible to help us win,” says Freddie Freeman. “He deserved the managerial job when he got, and we all hope that he’s back.” Team president of baseball operations John Hart suggests Snitker will return. “[L]et’s just say that Brian hasn’t done anything to make us look around for candidates like we were doing at this time last year, when we were compiling names,” says Hart. “If you broke into my office in the dead of night, you would find no slips of paper in my desk.”
  • Prior to yesterday’s game, the Rays optioned lefty and former top prospect Blake Snell to Triple-A Durham, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times noted. They also recalled lefty Jose Alvarado (giving the Rays’ bullpen an extra arm for the time being), activated infielder Daniel Robertson, and optioned infielder Taylor Featherston. The 24-year-old Snell has a 4.98 ERA this season with 8.0 K/9 and a too-high 5.1 BB/9. This is the second time he’s been sent down — he also spent a six-week stint with Durham beginning in mid-May. Topkin notes that it’s unclear who will take Snell’s rotation spot, although the team has an off-day Monday, so there will be time to sort that out. One possibility is that Austin Pruitt (who pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings against Houston earlier this week) could remain in the rotation after Jake Odorizzi returns from a back strain. But Topkin also mentions that the team could promote 22-year-old top prospect Brent Honeywell, who has a 3.95 ERA, 11.6 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 100 1/3 innings in his first season with Durham.

Matt Shoemaker Considering Surgery

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Angels righty Matt Shoemaker is now considering a surgical option as he “continues to experience progressive symptoms related to radial nerve compression,” the club announced today.

Obviously, a decision on the course of treatment has yet to be made. And it’s not entirely clear just what procedure — and what sort of outlook and timeline for a return — is under contemplation. Shoemaker had been building back toward the majors after a rest period, but was forced to halt a pen session today, according to Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).

The 30-year-old righty last appeared for the Halos in the middle of June, and it seems increasingly likely that he may not make it back to the majors this year. He hadn’t exactly been at his best before that, with a 4.52 ERA over 77 2/3 innings on the year, but was at least giving Los Angeles much-needed innings as they deal with a barrage of pitching injuries.

Rather remarkably, the Angels have stayed in the AL Wild Card picture despite questionable work from the rotation, which has produced middle-of-the-pack results that outpace the peripherals. But the promise of late-season returns from Shoemaker and others — Tyler Skaggs, Andrew Heaney, and Garrett Richards — has held out hope of a real push for a postseason berth.

Shoemaker’s new status certainly doesn’t improve the picture, though there’s optimism still regarding the others. Both Skaggs and Heaney are due back soon. As for Richards, he was able to throw twenty pitches off of a mound today, Moura tweets, and says he has no doubt he’ll return this year as well.

White Sox Sign Al Alburquerque

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The White Sox have signed righty Al Alburquerque to a minors deal, Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago reports on Twitter. He’ll report to Triple-A Charlotte.

Alburquerque, 31, becomes the latest veteran reliever to join a Chicago organization that is stockpiling arms after a flurry of deadline activity. He’ll join veterans such as Mark Lowe, Jean Machi, and Danny Farquhar as recent additions to the depth chart.

Most recently, Alburquerque pitched with the Royals. He took his free agency after losing his roster spot following ten innings of 3.60 ERA ball. He’s still throwing 94 and getting swings and misses, though his career-long walk problems were also still evident. That said, Alburquerque did manage to allow only 1.7 BB/9 in his 26 Triple-A frames on the year, over which he also recorded 9.7 K/9 while carrying a 2.08 ERA.

Boone Logan Unlikely To Return In 2017

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The Indians will likely go the rest of the way without lefty Boone Logan, as Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer reports on Twitter. While he probably won’t need surgery to address his lat injury, Logan is expected to require a lengthy period of rest and rehab.

If Logan doesn’t make it back, it’ll complicate the team’s decision on his $7MM club option, which comes with a $1MM buyout. Soon to turn 33, Logan has bumped his typically outstanding swinging-strike rate to a career-best 18.5% while averaging a dozen strikeouts per nine, drawing grounders on half of the balls put in play against him, and throwing as hard as ever. He has also managed only a 4.71 ERA, though perhaps he has been unfortunate to carry a .353 BABIP-against as well as a 62.5% strand rate. Cleveland has deployed Logan mostly against lefties, calling on him for only 21 innings over 38 appearances.

Since Logan initially hit the DL, the Indians have also lost star southpaw Andrew Miller — though he wasn’t exactly a situational piece. That potentially adds to the need left with the departure of Logan, though. Cleveland does have some internal options. Tyler Olson has carried his intriguing Triple-A numbers into the majors thus far, though that’s in just a four-appearance sample. And the club just added veteran southpaw Craig Breslow on a minors deal; of course, he did not exactly thrive earlier this year with the division-rival Twins.

All said, the news that Logan is likely down for the count could well spur the Indians to make a move — if, that is, an appealing option becomes available. While deadline targets like Brad Hand and Zach Britton weren’t traded, it’s far from clear that either would represent plausible candidates to move in August. And MLBTR’s list of the most likely August trade chips isn’t exactly loaded with lefty relievers. But it’s reasonably likely a contender or two will make an interesting arm available after they fall out of the race, and there are a few starters (say, Clayton Richard and Derek Holland) that could conceivably move into a relief role.

Anthony DeSclafani Cleared Of New Structural Damage To Elbow

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Reds fans can breathe a sigh of relief, as righty Anthony DeSclafani has not suffered any new damage to his sprained ulnar collateral ligament, as Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. He left his rehab outing yesterday with forearm discomfort, but that was diagnosed as stemming from tendinitis.

Today’s news is the”best-case scenario,” as DeSclafani himself noted. But it’s still a disappointing turn, as he has already missed the entire season to this point and had finally begun pitching in game action. DeSclafani was also sidelined for a significant stretch last year, though he was excellent upon his return and ended the 2016 season with 123 1/3 innings of 3.28 ERA pitching.

The talented righty will rest for at least a few days, but there remains ample cause to take care in bringing him back to full speed. It’s certainly possible, then, that he’ll still be able to return to the majors this year, but that will all depend upon how his forearm feels over the coming weeks.

That’d represent a desirable development for the Reds, who will enter the winter with quite a bit of uncertainty in the rotation yet again. Many of the team’s younger starters have struggled to find their footing, while the more established pitchers (DeSclafani, Scott Feldman, Bronson Arroyo, and even Brandon Finnegan) have dealt with injuries.

Top 25 August Trade Candidates

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The MLB “trade deadline” comes with an important caveat: it’s still possible to trade players thereafter — as we explained recently. This year, in particular, August could be a prime time for deals, with numerous possible trade candidates still playing for teams that aren’t in contention. (And that’s all before considering players that could become available as the standings shift; we’ll track any such developments as this ranking evolves over the coming weeks.)

Generally, the most likely August movers are veterans on big contracts and role players (utility infielders and middle relievers) who’ll reach the open market at season’s end. Such players typically clear waivers or are claimed by teams with serious interest, thus facilitating player movement, while more appealing players are typically snared by a waiver claim and pulled back when no deal materializes.

Here’s an initial list of the top August trade candidates — ordered by factoring both their trade likelihood and trade value:

1. Jim Johnson, Braves: Johnson has already been placed on revocable waivers, so we should know shortly whether he made it through or was claimed. Given his affordable $5.5MM salary in 2018 and solid results thus far in 2017, the former AL saves leader could help a contending club in a setup capacity.

2. Marco Estrada, Blue Jays: Estrada’s results have fallen off since early June, but he’s still missing plenty of bats. The Jays may well have to eat some of the remaining $4.5MM of his $14MM salary, but Estrada’s 2015-16 track record could make him an appealing target for clubs looking to stabilize the back of their rotation. Kansas City had interest shortly before the non-waiver deadline.

3. Asdrubal Cabrera, Mets: The Mets are “warming” to the idea of exercising Cabrera’s option, per Newsday’s Marc Carig, but he’s a respectable bat that can help out at three infield positions. He’s a nice insurance piece for a contending club’s bench, at the least, and he can be controlled through the 2018 season.

4. Jay Bruce, Mets: Bruce didn’t garner much interest prior to the non-waiver deadline, but he’s been pretty consistent at the plate throughout the 2017 season. Any club that sees its offense struggle or incurs an injury in the outfield (or at first base) over the next four weeks would probably consider Bruce the best bat on the August trade market.

5. Curtis Granderson, Mets: As was the case in 2016, the Grandy Man has recovered from a terrible start to the season. He’s hitting .280/.404/.578 over his past 198 plate appearances and can help out in either corner spot or in center from time to time. The remaining $4.8MM on his deal should clear waivers.

6. Jed Lowrie, Athletics: Similar to Cabrera, Lowrie is a solid bat that can play all over the infield — even if he’s not a standout defender at any one spot. He’s also hitting .270/.347/.442 this season while playing on a modest $6.5MM salary with a $6MM team option for 2018.

7. Drew Storen, Reds: Cincinnati isn’t going anywhere in 2017, and Storen has been a solid, if unspectacular presence in the Reds’ bullpen. His 7.8 K/9 rate and 3.4 BB/9 rate are both far cries from the dominant levels he posted in 2015, and Storen is also sitting on a 90.4 mph average fastball. The results have been solid, though, and his $3MM salary is affordable. For a team looking at cheap middle relief help, he could fit the bill.

8. Yonder Alonso, Athletics: Alonso’s bat has cooled since his ludicrous run in May, but he’s still hit at a decidedly above-average clip since June 1. There have been some conflicting reports about what type of extension talks (if any) his camp has had with the A’s, but there’s never been any suggestion that a long-term deal is likely.

9. Neil Walker, Mets: Walker has just two hits in 19 plate appearances since returning from a partial hamstring tear and is earning $17.2MM after accepting a qualifying offer last winter. That makes him extremely likely to clear waivers, but he’ll need to pick up the pace with his bat to garner legitimate interest.

10. Lance Lynn, Cardinals: As it stands, the Cards are 4.5 games back from the NL Central lead, making a trade of Lynn tough to imagine. St. Louis reportedly put a big asking price on him at the deadline. But things could certainly look quite a bit different by the end of the month. Interestingly, division rivals have both the potential need and the waiver position to represent strong potential fits for Lynn, which could make for an interesting situation to watch.

11. Jhoulys Chacin, Padres: Chacin has quietly been excellent over his past 10 starts, and the remainder of his $1.75MM salary (~$564K) wouldn’t be a deterrent to any contender. GM A.J. Preller told Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune that he held Chacin because the Padres’ farm is stocked to the point where there’s no sense in adding a non-prospect just to make a deal. But, if a team is willing to part with a youngster the Pads like, Chacin would represent a low-risk opportunity to stabilize a rotation (and, perhaps, work from a pen in the postseason).

12. Brandon Phillips, Braves: Not many contenders have needs at second base, but Phillips has shifted over to the hot corner in the wake of Ozzie Albies’ promotion, which could add to his appeal if he looks passable there. The Reds are paying all but $1MM of his salary and he’s hit fairly well, so he could be a reasonable bench target for a contending team.

13. Bud Norris, Angels: The Halos’ only trade on deadline day was moving David Hernandez, and they’re currently just three games out of the AL Wild Card race. Norris has given up a pair of grand slams recently but has been stellar for most of the season with career-best strikeout numbers largely supporting his bullpen breakout. If the Angels slide by month’s end, the impending free agent is a logical trade candidate.

14. Yusmeiro Petit, Angels: Petit has been one of the best multi-inning relievers in the game this season — a trait that could be highly beneficial to a contender looking to rest its staff down the stretch without sacrificing much in the way of quality innings. His ability to work multiple innings would be nice to have in the postseason as well.

15. Matt Belisle, Twins: Belisle had a terrible May, was solid in June and didn’t allow a single run in the month of July. He posted a 13-to-2 K/BB ratio in 12 2/3 frames last month and has a 1.80 ERA, 2.99 FIP and 3.86 xFIP dating back to June. He’s earning $2.05MM this year.

16. Brad Ziegler, Marlins: Ziegler is expensive and has been injured, but the Fish would likely pick up part of the tab for submariner. He’s still racking up ground-balls at a premium rate and is still deadly against righties, but he’s owed $11.3MM through 2018.

17. Carlos Gomez, Rangers: Despite trading Yu Darvish, Texas doesn’t seem set to call it a season just yet. Were that to change, Gomez’s above-average bat and solid work in center might intrigue a team in need of help at any of the three outfield spots.

18. Mike Napoli, Rangers: His strikeout rate is higher than ever, and he’s scarcely hitting .200, but Napoli has seven homers in 77 PAs against lefties. His .325 isolated power (slugging minus batting average) against southpaws would fit well on a contender’s bench if the Rangers absorb some salary.

19. Daniel Nava, Phillies: As is par for the course for the switch-hitting Nava, he’s crushed right-handed pitching and struggled mightily against lefties. A team in search of a veteran bat and off the bench could take a look.

20. Tyler Clippard, White Sox: He’s somehow allowed only two runs despite yielding five hits and five walks with a pair of wild pitches in 5 1/3 innings since going to Chicago. Any team taking on Clippard would be looking to buy low on his track record. A team with a deep ’pen, though, could gamble on a return to form for Clippard.

21. Santiago Casilla, Athletics: Casilla recently lost his grip on the ninth inning in Oakland and is owed $6.95MM through the end of the 2018 season. His velocity is still there, though, and he’s averaging 8.6 K/9.

22. Miguel Gonzalez, White Sox: Gonzalez was on a nice little run before the Red Sox shelled him for seven runs in 1 2/3 innings yesterday. He’s not an exciting addition, but he could be a stopgap fifth starter for a contender dealing with injuries.

23. Derek Holland, White Sox: Holland’s control has been a problem all year, and he’s been the most homer-prone starter in baseball this season as well. Getting out of Guaranteed Rate Field and pitching in front of a better defense could help his output, but his strong start to the year is a distant memory.

24. Ervin Santana, Twins: Minnesota traded only rental assets before the deadline, and there wasn’t much talk at all on players controlled beyond the 2017 season (i.e. Santana). A trade doesn’t seem very likely, but he’s on the list solely because he could be a potential difference-maker on a contender if things go really far south for the Twins.

25. Justin Verlander, Tigers: It’s even tougher to see Verlander moved with about $65MM still owed to him through 2019 and a full no-trade clause. But, he was the center of countless rumors last month, and that will continue now that he’s cleared revocable waivers.

Injured

Zack Cozart & Scott Feldman (Reds), J.J. Hardy (Orioles), Cameron Maybin (Angels), Tyson Ross (Rangers)

Also Considered

Yunel Escobar & Ricky Nolasco (Angels); Rajai Davis & Matt Joyce (Athletics); J.A. Happ & Jose Bautista (Blue Jays); R.A. Dickey, Kurt Suzuki, Matt Kemp & Nick Markakis (Braves); Denard Span, Jeff Samardzija & Nick Hundley (Giants); Giancarlo Stanton, Junichi Tazawa, A.J. Ellis, & Dee Gordon (Marlins); Darren O’Day, Zach Britton & Seth Smith (Orioles); Clayton Richard & Yangervis Solarte (Padres); Hyun Soo Kim (Phillies); Andrew Cashner (Rangers); Ian Kinsler (Tigers); James Shields & Mike Pelfrey (White Sox)

Braves Acquire International Pool Money From Reds

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The Braves have struck a deal to acquire some international spending capacity from the Reds, both teams announced. In return, Cincinnati will receive minor-league outfielder Randy Ventura.

$1.25MM in pool money is changing hands, per Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter). Under the new bonus system that goes into place this year, there’s a hard cap on spending. The Reds had started with $5.25MM in availability, while Atlanta had $4.75MM. It’s permissible for teams to trade away their entire allocation, though clubs can only boost their original pools by 75%.

This exchange of spending capacity is more about the volume of signings than aiding the pursuit of bigger fish. Both teams are serving bans on doling out bonuses of over $300K after blowing past their allocations in the prior signing period (when that was still permitted, albeit with penalties).

Both clubs have been rather aggressive with their international outlays in recent years — Atlanta, in particular. Indeed, that’s how the Braves landed Ventura, who signed during the 2014-15 period.

Despite a slight build, Ventura has drawn some attention for his tools — especially, his speed. He swiped 55 bags in just 58 games in the Dominican Summer League upon signing and has stolen 29 through 95 games of Low-A ball this year. That said, he has also yet to develop any pop, with his on-base percentage out-pacing his slugging percentage in each of his pro seasons. Through 413 trips to the plate in 2017, Ventura owns a .294/.338/.325 batting line.

Angels Designate Ramon Flores

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The Angels have designated outfielder Ramon Flores for assignment, per a club announcement. He’ll be replaced on the roster by righty Daniel Wright.

Flores, 25, saw just three games during his brief run with the Halos. He has spent somewhat more time in the majors in each of the prior two years, though still has only 331 MLB plate appearances on the ledger. He’s hitting just .204/.281/.256 at the game’s highest level.

That said, Flores has hit quite well at Triple-A over the years, including this one. The left-handed hitter carries a .291/.383/.436 slash in over a thousand trips to the plate there, with only 22 home runs but an intriguing 153:135 K/BB ratio.

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