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Mariners Acquire David Phelps

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12:02pm: The trade is now official, as the Marlins and Mariners have announced the swap.

10:40am: The Mariners and Marlins have reportedly agreed to a trade that will send right-handed setup man David Phelps from Miami to Seattle in exchange for a package of four prospects. Center field prospect Brayan Hernandez is the headliner, while the other names in the deal reportedly include right-handers Brandon Miller, Pablo Lopez and Lukas Schiraldi.

David Phelps | Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Seattle has been playing well of late, getting back to the .500 mark and drawing within 1.5 games of an American League Wild Card spot. However, the Mariners are also 15.5 games back from the Astros in the AL West, which has reportedly led them to look for assets that can be controlled beyond the current season, as their best playoff hope in 2017 is a one-game playoff.

[Related: Updated Seattle Mariners and Miami Marlins depth charts]

The 30-year-old Phelps fits the bill, in that sense, as he’s controlled through the 2018 campaign via arbitration. He’s earning $4.6MM in 2017, with about $1.86MM of that sum yet owed to him through season’s end.

The former Yankee initially went to Miami alongside Martin Prado as part of the trade that sent Nathan Eovaldi to New York. After spending much of his career as a starter and long reliever, Phelps’ career took off with a 2016 move to a late-inning role. The righty’s velocity ticked from the low 90s to an average in the 93-94 mph range, and he’s dramatically upped his strikeout rate while pitching in a setup capacity.

Dating back to Opening Day 2016, Phelps has worked to a 2.69 ERA with 11.1 K/9, 4.0 BB/9 and a 46.4 percent ground-ball rate through 133 2/3 innings. His strikeout rate is “down” in 2017, but he’s still averaging 9.8 punchouts per nine innings pitched. His arm will be a boost to a Mariners relief corps that currently ranks 13th in baseball with a 4.05 ERA but carries more troubling marks in both FIP (4.44) and xFIP (4.45). Those ERA alternatives come in at 25th and 21st in baseball, respectively, indicating that the Mariners are perhaps fortunate to have gotten the results they have out of their bullpen to date. (Then again, Seattle boasts a superlative defense, particularly in the outfield, so perhaps it should be expected that their pitchers would outperform fielding-independent metrics.)

The Seattle ’pen is currently anchored by sophomore closer Edwin Diaz, who has been inconsistent in 2017 but can overpower opposing lineups with a triple-digit fastball and one of baseball’s best strikeout rates. Nick Vincent has also been brilliant in Seattle, working to a 2.04 ERA in 39 2/3 innings, while southpaw James Pazos has averaged nearly 11 strikeouts per nine innings en route to a 3.68 ERA. Former Mariners closer Steve Cishek represents another right-handed option, but health has been an issue for him in recent years as his numbers have declined.

Beyond that, Seattle has seen some of its anticipated setup men, particularly right-hander Dan Altavilla, take a step back in 2017. Phelps figures to pick up some of that slack and will join Diaz, Vincent, Pazos, Cishek, Tony Zych and Marc Rzepczynski in the Mariner bullpen.

Hernandez is the big get for the Marlins in the deal. The 19-year-old ranked as one of the 10 best international free agents in the 2014-15 crop and inked a $1.85MM bonus with Seattle at the time. Hernandez split the 2016 season between the Dominican Summer League and the Rookie-level Arizona League, hitting a combined .278/.325/.425, and he’s off to a .252/.306/.408 start with the Mariners’ short-season Class-A affiliate.

Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com rank Hernandez as Seattle’ No. 6 prospect, noting that he flashes all five tools but is still projection over performance at the moment. He received 60 grades on his speed and arm from Callis and Mayo with a 55 on his glove, and their report notes that his overall offensive development will determine if he can reach his ceiling as an everyday center fielder. Baseball America rated him 16th among Seattle farmhands this past winter, agreeing that the defensive tools are impressive and praising his “solid, consistent contact” but also questioning his ability to generate power now or in the future.

The 22-year-old Miller has spent the season with the Mariners’ Class-A affiliate in the Midwest League, working to a 3.65 ERA with 8.4 K/9, 2.0 BB/9 and a 46.8 percent ground-ball rat in 101 innings/18 starts at that level. Callis and Mayo list his heater at 90-93 mph with good command of the pitch and give him credit for a plus slider, though reports indicate that he lacks an average third offering and could be destined for a bullpen role. He ranked 16th among Mariners prospects, per MLB.com, while BA pegged him 25th among Seattle prospects this offseason. Both reports tout his fastball’s exceptional spin rate. If all breaks right, Miller could pan out as a back-of-the-rotation starter.

Lopez is a 21-year-old starter that has spent the year in Class-A Advanced. While his 5.02 ERA through 100 innings doesn’t look appealing, he’s posted an excellent 89-to-13 K/BB ratio with a 49 percent ground-ball rate, creating some optimism that he’s been hit with some poor luck. (A .341 BABIP lends further credence to that notion.) MLB.com placed him 22nd in Seattle’s system and gave him three average offerings (fastball, curveball, changeup) but no plus pitch. He was 31st on BA’s offseason rankings, and their report notes that he has a 2014 Tommy John surgery in his history but is a “supreme strike-thrower” with impressive ground-ball tendencies.

Schiraldi comes from good baseball genes, as his father, Calvin, played in the Majors for parts of eight seasons with the Mets, Red Sox, Padres, Cubs and Rangers. The younger Schiraldi didn’t crack any Mariners top prospect rankings but has a gaudy 15.2 K/9 rate in 37 1/3 innings of work at Class-A Advanced. However, he’s also not particularly young for the level at 23 years of age, and he’s worked to a 4.58 ERA with a 6.5 BB/9 rate.

Ultimately, the Marlins will secure four players in exchange for a year and a half of a quality setup man while also saving a bit of cash for the remainder of the 2017 season. While it’s tempting to look at the sheer volume of players and wonder how this will impact the market for other relievers — especially those that are controlled beyond the 2017 season, such as Brad Hand and Zach Britton — it’s also worth emphasizing that Seattle’s farm system is generally regarded as weak. That bit of context should absolutely be considered when debating the value of other relief arms, and it seems unlikely that the volume of the Phelps deal “raises the bar” for other relievers throughout the league.

MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand first reported that the Mariners were in talks to acquire a reliever and that Phelps was the target. MLB.com’s Jon Morosi termed the deal “fairly close,” and Yahoo’s Jeff Passan pushed it further to “imminent.” FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweeted that the trade was indeed finalized, while Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweeted that Seattle was sending multiple minor leaguers to Miami. Passan and Heyman added a bit more detail on the return (Twitter links), with Passan ultimately reporting Hernandez as the headliner. Sherman broke news of the other three players in the deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

David Phelps Trade To Mariners Reportedly “Imminent”

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9:52am: Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweets that the trade is at the finish line, and a deal is “imminent.” MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports that the Marlins are seeking a pair of quality prospects in exchange for Phelps (Twitter links). Fellow right-hander AJ Ramos is not a part of this trade and is being discussed with multiple other teams, Frisaro adds.

9:12am: MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that the two sides are actually “fairly close” to completing a trade that would send Phelps to Seattle.

8:56am: FOX’s Ken Rosenthal also hears the two sides are talking but says there’s no match to this point, as the Marlins don’t love the Mariners’ minor league system (Twitter link).

8:48am: The two sides are indeed discussing a possible Phelps swap, Feinsand tweets. Nothing between the two sides is done just yet, as talks are apparently ongoing.

Phelps, 30, would give Seattle a setup arm that can be controlled through the 2018 season. He’s earning $4.6MM this season on the heels of a breakout 2016 campaign and has worked to an impressive 2.69 ERA with 11.1 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9 through 133 2/3 innings dating back to Opening Day 2016. Phelps also has a 46.4 percent ground-ball rate in that time, which checks in a couple of percentage points above the league average, and he’s working with a career-best 94.4 mph average fastball velocity in 2017 as well.

July 20, 1:02am: Seattle “had been working on” a scenario involving David Phelps of the Marlins, Feinsand tweets, though it’s not yet clear if he’s the player that is currently nearing a uniform swap.

July 19, 12:37am: The Mariners are closing in on a trade to pick up a relief arm, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). It’s unclear at this point just who could be heading to Seattle, or even whether it’s a significant trade.

With a victory today, the M’s have pulled back to .500 and are firmly in the Wild Card hunt — though the AL West is still a one-horse race. While the club arguably is most in need of rotation upgrades, rare is the team that couldn’t improve by adding another piece to the bullpen.

In Seattle’s case, the current unit has produced middle-of-the pack overall results (4.07 collective ERA), though the metrics suggest that the true performance hasn’t been quite that good overall. Closer Edwin Diaz has had his peaks and valleys, though he has been firmly on the upswing during a dominant July. Indeed, that holds true of the entire relief corps.

The youthful Diaz could be bumped into a roving role if GM Jerry Dipoto aimed big. Setup man Nick Vincent has been the team’s best reliever, but perhaps could stand to be paired with another quality late-inning arm in front of Diaz. It’s conceivable that a big lefty would make sense. Southpaws James Pazos and Marc Rzepczynski have generated good results in the earned run department, but the former has been knocked around of late and the latter has increasingly shown worrying control issues.

Or, of course, the M’s could simply be bolstering their depth with a relatively insignificant addition. Given Dipoto’s sometimes frenzied trading history, it’s anyone’s guess just what this apparently pending transaction might represent.

Trade Chatter: Iglesias, Reds, Royals, Asdrubal, Mariners, Dodgers, Astros

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Though Raisel Iglesias’ name has somewhat frequently been mentioned on the rumor circuit, Reds general manager Dick Williams tells Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer that he’s not marketing his closer to other teams. That doesn’t mean that Williams won’t listen to offers on the 27-year-old, but the GM’s comments suggest that a trade isn’t especially likely “[I]f somebody really gave you an opportunity to improve your franchise, you’d have to consider it,” said Williams of listening to offers on Iglesias. “But I really like a lot of the pieces we have, and I see us not that far from being competitive if we can get some of these young pitchers to turn the corner. If I were to trade him, you’d want something back that could help us real soon.”

Some more trade chatter to kick off Thursday morning…

  • From that same piece, Williams tells Buchanan that he’s more open-minded when it comes to dealing impending free agents such as Zack Cozart, Drew Storen and recently injured Scott Feldman. The knee injury that landed Feldman on the disabled list seems particularly unfortunate, as Buchanan reports that the Reds had received trade interest in Feldman prior to that issue. His timetable for a return isn’t yet known. There’s technically time for him to be activated before the deadline if it proves to be short-term in nature, though one can imagine that most interested parties would prefer to see him make a start before moving forward with a trade. Buchanan also speculates on the possibility of a Tony Cingrani trade, noting that he’s pitching well and controlled for two more seasons, while Cincinnati has quite a few younger arms it’d like to take a look at in the ’pen.
  • The Royals are once again struggling, having dropped seven of their past 10 games, but ESPN’s Buster Olney hears that they’re not deviating from their course as deadline buyers. Kansas City has been hopeful of adding two “cost-efficient” starting pitchers and are also looking into adding a reliever. It’d take a total collapse between now and the deadline for the Royals to change course and sell off their impending free agents, Olney adds.
  • Olney also tweets that the Mets would improve their chances of finding a trade partner for Asdrubal Cabrera by playing him at third base. Rival evaluators are hopeful of seeing him at that position before making a determination, per Olney, and it now appears likely that the Mets will accommodate them. Newsday’s Marc Carig reports that Cabrera is set to begin taking grounders at the hot corner, and manager Terry Collins confirmed as much to Carig’s colleague, David Lennon (Twitter link).
  • The Mariners “appear willing” to trade outfield prospect Tyler O’Neill this summer, reports Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. The 22-year-old O’Neill entered the season ranked among the game’s 50 or so best prospects on several notable lists (Baseball America, MLB.com, Baseball Prospectus) but got off to a poor start to the season in Triple-A. He’s recovered with a 1.127 OPS over his past 26 games to bring his batting line back up to a respectable .241/.326/.462, but Dutton notes that the emergence of Mitch Haniger and Ben Gamel has the M’s more open to a deal. Despite the presence of that duo, however, Seattle hasn’t shown an inclination to deal top organizational prospect Kyle Lewis.
  • ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick writes that the Dodgers and Astros have put themselves in such strong position that neither strongly needs to make a move prior to the trade deadline. However, both Dodgers president Andrew Friedman and Astros GM Jeff Luhnow are viewed as extremely opportunistic types and figure to look at ways to upgrade their roster anyhow. Crasnick classifies the Dodgers’ interest in Orioles closer Zach Britton as “legitimate” but notes that they’re a bit cautious due to his 2017 forearm issues. Ken Rosenthal wrote yesterday that L.A. is reluctant to part with prospects Alex Verdugo and Walker Buehler in trades, and Crasnick echoes that statement while also adding righty Yadier Alvarez to the list. While the three aren’t quite “untouchable,” none of the three seems especially likely to go. As for the Astros, they’ll continue looking for a starter that could join the playoff rotation behind Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers, though they, too, could look instead to a late-inning lefty like Britton or Detroit’s Justin Wilson.

AL Notes: Sanchez, Red Sox, Indians, Logan, Yankees

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Blue Jays righty Aaron Sanchez left his start today after coming down with another blister, as MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm reports (Twitter links). While the 25-year-old says he is holding out hope of avoiding another DL stint, that may be optimistic. Sanchez had only just returned from a lengthy absence prompted by the same injury, though it does not appear to have occurred in precisely the same place. Ongoing uncertainty with such a key player doesn’t help the already murky outlook for Toronto, which fell to eight games under .500 with a loss today. It seems reasonable at this point to anticipate at least a minor sell-off of short-term veterans, though most of the players the team would be most willing to move have struggled in 2017.

Here’s more from the American League:

  • The Red Sox now have Giants infielder Eduardo Nunez atop their list of possible third-base targets, a source tells MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link). Indeed, the clubs have discussed Boston’s interest in both Nunez and reliever Hunter Strickland, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports. It seems the Sox are also still engaged with the Marlins on third bagger Martin Prado (as well as reliever David Phelps) along with Pirates infielders David Freese and Josh Harrison. Of course, it’s worth bearing in mind that Prado is on the DL, while the Bucs may be hesitant to deal given the team’s improved outlook. All told, it still seems to be a wide-open search.
  • It’s not clear if talks have occurred between the Indians and Giants, but Cleveland is scouting Nunez as well, per ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (via Twitter). With the defending AL champs still battling for a postseason spot, they can’t just wait idly for second baseman Jason Kipnis to return from the DL. And a player such as Nunez would also improve the team’s bench once Kipnis is back.
  • The Indians also got some bad news on the pitching front today, as lefty Boone Logan departed his appearance with an injury to his lat muscle, as MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets. Logan owns an ugly 4.95 ERA on the year, but he’s producing 12.2 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9 with a 49.0% groundball rate, with a .360 BABIP helping to explain the disconnect. Ryan Merritt is on hand to give the team another southpaw matchup option to go with relief ace Andrew Miller, though it’s possible to imagine the Indians weighing alternatives if Logan’s injury turns out to be serious.
  • With Todd Frazier now in pinstripes, the Yankees intend to work Chase Headley in at first base, manager Joe Girardi told reporters including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (Twitter link). The switch-hitting Headley will pair with new addition Garrett Cooper for the time being, though that duo doesn’t promise to deliver the kind of offensive output that might be hoped for from the position. It remains to be seen whether the Yankees will continue to dabble in the market for first basemen.

Latest On Mets’ Deadline Plans: Bruce, Granderson, Walker, Cabrera

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It’s tough to imagine at this point that the Mets won’t end up selling a few players at the deadline, but just how many will move remains to be seen. The uncertainty doesn’t really involve the team’s willingness to deal away controllable assets — all indications are it won’t, perhaps barring a surprising offer. Instead, as explored below, there are some questions regarding the short-term veterans that the team is almost certainly willing to trade.

The Mets have received only tepid interest thus far in veteran outfielders Jay Bruce and Curtis Granderson, according to a report from Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network. Perhaps that’s unsurprising, given the inability of the Tigers to draw top-tier prospect talent for elite slugger J.D. Martinez. Both Bruce and Granderson are performing rather well, but neither is to Martinez’s standard and each earns at a higher rate ($13MM and $15MM, respectively).

All that being said, it’s still hard to imagine that these two players wouldn’t represent upgrades for many teams. Both are producing at quality rates — Bruce for the entire season, Granderson since a terrible opening month (though he has been limited by injury of late). Notably, too, New York is amenable to paying down some of their remaining salary obligations, per Rosenthal, if that means enhancing the prospect return.

One interesting element of the Mets’ decisionmaking is the possibility of issuing a qualifying offer to Bruce after the season, as Rosenthal suggests could be the case. If the team is indeed willing to pay him at a steep one-year rate, were he to accept (or recoup draft compensation if not), then that would suggest a higher barrier to a trade. Retaining Bruce does appear to be a plausible strategy given the club’s evident hopes of bouncing back in 2018, particularly since the team’s other top left-handed bat, first baseman Lucas Duda, will enter free agency (and may yet be traded away first). Dealing Granderson instead might help the team avoid an awkward playing time scenario; according to the report, the Mets are telling these two veterans, as well as long-term assets Yoenis Cespedes and Michael Conforto, that the reps will be split evenly at least until the deadline.

Granderson doesn’t appear likely to factor in the Mets’ plans beyond the current season regardless. And he suggests Howie Kussoy of the New York Post that retirement is at least a possibility as soon as the coming offseason. “I’ve made my peace with it,” Granderson says of the eventual end of his playing career. “I’m going to enjoy this season. If an opportunity presents itself for me to play, that’s great. If not, I’ve had a great run and I enjoyed it. … We’ll see what happens, but there are other things I know I want to do.” That statement is hardly a clear sign, given that Granderson is sure to draw interest, but it does bear watching as his next stint on the open market draws near.

As the outfield situation awaits resolution, the team is also surely weighing its options with some veteran infielders. Second baseman Neil Walker is finally ready for a rehab assignment to test his hamstring, beginning on Friday, per MLB.com’s Chris Bumbaca. If all goes well, it seems that Walker could be back in the majors in time to prove his health in advance of the deadline. Though Walker’s $17.2MM salary makes him a possible August trade chip as well, that’s still of note. After all, teams considering second base upgrades may need to make final decisions on alternatives by the end of the month.

Meanwhile, the return of Walker will presumably push Asdrubal Cabrera off of the position that he reluctantly took over recently. According to Newsday’s Marc Carig, Cabrera will prepare to shift over to third base (with Jose Reyes presumably remaining at short, at least until the team decides it’s time to promote Amed Rosario). That’s a nod to the logistics, but perhaps will also allow possible suitors an opportunity to evaluate Cabrera at the hot corner, which he has manned just once previously in the majors. It’s also possible that the Mets could weigh Cabrera as a candidate there for 2018, given that the team could still pick up his option.

Finally, Carig also touches upon the status of two other Mets infielders, T.J. Rivera and Wilmer Flores. Both have drawn some trade inquiries, but it seems the Mets are rather uninterested in trading the controllable options. Indeed, Adam Rubin tweets that a source tells him the Mets “asked for an obscene return” when approached by another organization.

Cameron Maybin Diagnosed With MCL Sprain

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July 19, 6:20pm: Maybin has gone on the DL, the team announced. The Halos selected the contract of Shane Robinson to take his place.

12:15am: The Angels announced that an MRI revealed a Grade 1 MCL sprain in Maybin’s right knee. The Angels added that the “generic timetable for this injury is two to four weeks.” Even if Maybin is able to make it back on the shorter end of that timetable, he appears likely to be sidelined beyond the July 31 non-waiver deadline, which is a rough blow for the Halos whether they aim to contend or sell off veteran pieces.

July 18, 10:04pm: Angels left fielder Cameron Maybin suffered a knee injury when trying to steal second base in tonight’s game and had to be helped off the field, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets (video link via MLB.com). Maybin pulled up on an attempted steal of second base and slid awkwardly into the bag before immediately calling for the trainer to come out to second base.

[Related: Los Angeles Angels depth chart]

There’s no word on the extent of the injury just yet, though the move comes with plenty of implications for the Halos, who are reportedly deciding on how to proceed with the non-waiver trade deadline approaching. A hot streak out of the Angels could compel the team to attempt to add a few modest pieces, especially now that they have a healthy Mike Trout back in the lineup. Conversely, a week of struggles could lead to a sell-off of some shorter-term assets.

Even though he’s slumped recently, a healthy Maybin is an important piece of the Angels’ lineup. The 30-year-old is hitting a respectable .238/.342/.368 with six homers, 25 stolen bases and strong defense between left field and center field. His absence won’t do many favors for the Angels’ chances in a pivotal week for the franchise as it weighs deadline strategies.

Similarly, if the Halos ultimately sell off some short-term pieces, Maybin would’ve been a natural trade candidate, as he’s set to hit free agency at season’s end. The Angels have other rental options that they could market — Bud Norris, Yusmeiro Petit, David Hernandez, Yunel Escobar — though any notable injury to Maybin could cost them the opportunity to deal a player that could be viewed as a nice bench option, if not a bit more, by contending clubs.

Braves Telling Teams They Will Likely Keep Matt Adams

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The Braves are informing rival organizations that they expect to hold onto first baseman Matt Adams through the trade deadline, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports on Twitter.

Adams has generally been viewed as a plausible trade chip, and perhaps still would be if the right offer came along. But the Braves need not strike a deal, owing to Adams’s remaining control (one more year, via arbitration) and the team’s surprising decision to play Freddie Freeman at third base.

Though Adams, 28, has cooled somewhat at the plate since his torrid opening with the Braves, he’s still providing steady offensive production over the month of July. He has been nothing short of outstanding over the course of his 199 plate appearances since arriving from the Cardinals, slashing .284/.332/.596 with 14 home runs.

That said, the resurgent slugger has continued to struggle against left-handed pitching, and he has seen the bench when southpaws take the hill. And there are more alternatives now with Sean Rodriguez back from the DL. So long as the Braves trust Freeman at third, though, Adams remains an interesting part of the roster. With demand seemingly on the light side, the Braves may simply hold Adams to see how the Freeman experiment pans out over the second half — with the team’s offseason approach to be adjusted accordingly.

MLBTR Poll: Best Rental Starter

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Let’s get this out of the way: Yu Darvish will be the best rental arm available, if he is marketed. But all indications are the Rangers won’t do that, barring a total collapse over the next ten days.

Assuming that Darvish isn’t within reach, teams with interest in renting a rotation piece will be looking at a decidedly less accomplished group of starters. (And no, I don’t consider Johnny Cueto a pure rental, even if he is still likely to opt out of his contract.) Here are the best such hurlers that seem reasonably likely to be available (in alphabetical order). Which do you think is the top target?

  • Trevor Cahill, Padres: Like the other members of the Friars’ staff, the 29-year-old is quite affordable. He’s also sitting on a 3.14 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 through ten starts on the year, though he did miss time due to injury.
  • Jhoulys Chacin, Padres: Chacin has been rather effective, with a 4.33 ERA thus far, and has also racked up 108 frames. He is also throwing as hard as ever with a 92 mph average fastball.
  • Marco Estrada, Blue Jays: The results have been terrible, but Estrada has struck out 9.9 opposing hitters per nine and could represent quite an intriguing turnaround candidate.
  • Scott Feldman, Reds: He’s hurt now, but had been quietly providing solid innings, as he has for most of his career. If he’s able to bounce back quickly from the DL, Feldman could be valued for his steadiness.
  • Jaime Garcia, Braves: He’s earning a healthy $12MM salary, and has had his ups and downs, but has been quite good at times in the not-so-distant past.
  • Jeremy Hellickson, Phillies: Hellickson was failing to get strikeouts for much of the year, but has ramped things up of late. He also has allowed 11 earned in his past 30 1/3 innings.
  • Derek Holland, White Sox: It’s tough to sugarcoat Holland’s struggles since the calendar flipped to June, but he was carrying a 2.37 ERA to that point and has still mixed in some productive outings since.
  • Francisco Liriano, Blue Jays: Likewise, Liriano has not produced results. But he’s still bringing 93 from the left side and can miss bats; perhaps an organization with some ideas on how to get him back to form could take a shot on the enigmatic southpaw.

Which pitcher do you prefer? (Link for mobile users.)

Who is the best available rental starter?
Trevor Cahill 28.22% (2,571 votes)
Marco Estrada 24.73% (2,253 votes)
Jaime Garcia 13.69% (1,247 votes)
Jeremy Hellickson 13.49% (1,229 votes)
Francisco Liriano 8.20% (747 votes)
Derek Holland 6.22% (567 votes)
Scott Feldman 3.04% (277 votes)
Jhoulys Chacin 2.39% (218 votes)
Total Votes: 9,109

Red Sox Release Pablo Sandoval

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July 19: The Red Sox announced that Sandoval has been released.

July 14: The Red Sox announced that they have activated struggling third baseman Pablo Sandoval from the disabled list and designated him for assignment.

Sandoval is midway through the third season of a five-year, $95MM contract that proved to be a fatal misstep for the organization. Signed on the heels of a six-and-a-half-year span during which he posted a very strong .294/.346/.465 batting line through 3533 plate appearances with the Giants (to say nothing of his terrific postseason work), Sandoval flopped in year one of the pact, hitting just .245/.292/.366 with 10 homers in 505 plate appearances. He made just seven plate appearances in 2016 before undergoing shoulder surgery, and his 2017 work has resulted in a dismal .212/.269/.354 slash through 108 PAs.

Boston will now be on the hook for the remaining $49.8MM that Sandoval is owed through the end of the 2019 season. With a trade effectively unfathomable, Sandoval can either be outrighted to Triple-A (if he accepts the assignment) or released, at which point any club will be eligible to sign him for the pro-rated portion of the league minimum.

Further exacerbating the pain that Sandoval has caused the Red Sox is the fact that his presence likely factored into the team’s thinking when it came to trading Travis Shaw to the Brewers this past offseason. Shaw, meanwhile, has broken out and been one of baseball’s most productive third baseman in his first half season with the Brewers.

For the time being, the Sox are deploying a makeshift platoon of Deven Marrero and Tzu-Wei Lin at the hot corner, and while that pairing leaves plenty to be desired from an offensive standpoint, it undoubtedly provides more defensive value than Sandoval brought to the table. Nonetheless, the Sox figure to be heavily linked to all of the third basemen that will be available on this summer’s trade market in the 17 days between now and the non-waiver trade deadline.

Of course, Boston also has a rapidly rising in-house option in the form of top prospect Rafael Devers, who ranks among the game’s five to 10 best overall prospects on most midseason rankings (No. 3 per ESPN’s Keith Law, No. 6 per Baseball America, No. 5 per Baseball Prospectus). Devers has yet to take an at-bat at the Triple-A level, and the team has said that he’ll head to Pawtucket before being promoted. That said, Devers has the potential to come up and impact the playoff race at some point in the season’s second half — particularly if president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and his staff don’t acquire a more established option at the hot corner.

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