AL West Notes: Chavez, Smyly, Beltre, Fowler
The Angels are moving right-hander Jesse Chavez from the rotation to the bullpen, reports Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). That in and of itself is somewhat noteworthy, but the timing of the move is more interesting. As Moura points out, Chavez is one start away from unlocking a significant boost in his contract’s incentives package and could earn as much as $1.7MM between now and season’s end. While the timing of the move probably won’t sit well with Chavez, he certainly hasn’t helped his own cause as of late. The 33-year-old has allowed 25 runs on 40 hits and 16 walks over his past 32 2/3 innings, making for a 6.89 ERA in his past seven starts. Right-hander Troy Scribner will step into the rotation in place of Chavez, according to Moura.
A few more notes from the division…
- The Mariners acquired Drew Smyly this past offseason in hopes of a breakout over the course of his remaining two years of control, but last month’s unfortunate diagnosis of a torn ulnar collateral ligament means he may not throw a single regular-season pitch for the Mariners. Smyly is almost certain to be non-tendered this winter due to his Tommy John operation, but manager Scott Servais tells Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times that he hopes the front office will look to retain Smyly (presumably on a more affordable deal) so that he can eventually impact the rotation down the line. “I still would love to have him going forward,” said Servais. “Those are deals that Jerry (Dipoto) and his agent have to work out. But I still think there’s a very good fit for him here. … I did say to [Smyly], ‘I’d like to see what you could do pitching in Seattle for a year,’ and he smiled and said, ‘I’d like to see it too.'”
- Adrian Beltre didn’t sugarcoat his words in telling the media that he wasn’t pleased with the Rangers‘ trade of Yu Darvish, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Beltre acknowledged that he understands the business side of the game but still hadn’t given up on the 2017 season when Texas flipped its ace to the Dodgers in exchange for three prospects. The future Hall of Famer, playing at the age of 39, also made clear that he’s not interested in playing for a rebuilding club, if that’s the direction the Rangers go. “At this stage of my career, I’m not here for a rebuild,” said Beltre. “But I don’t think it will be. I think there is a possibility of this team playing better this year.” Beltre said a rebuild would “absolutely” change his mind about wanting to remain in Texas, though GM Jon Daniels downplayed the notion that such a path is even under consideration. Asked if the Darvish trade was the onset of a lengthier rebuild, Daniels replied: “I don’t look at it that way at all.”
- Though he won’t play again this season due to the freak knee injury he suffered in his MLB debut with the Yankees, Dustin Fowler is expected to compete for the Athletics‘ Opening Day center field spot in 2018, writes John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. Manager Bob Melvin offered strong praise for the type of player he hopes to be getting in the 22-year-old Fowler. “He looks to be exactly the type of athlete we’re looking for,” said the skipper. “We need to get a little bit more athletic within our system. He’s a good start for that, and it looks like [Jorge] Mateo is as well.” Both Fowler and Mateo were acquired (alongside righty James Kaprielian) in Monday’s Sonny Gray blockbuster.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/2/17
We’ll use this post to track the day’s minor moves…
- Mets left-hander Josh Edgin, who was designated for assignment in advance of the non-waiver trade deadline, has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Las Vegas, tweets James Wagner of the New York Times. The 30-year-old southpaw missed the 2015 season due to Tommy John surgery and returned to throw 10 1/3 innings in the Majors for the Mets last season. He’s posted a 3.65 ERA through his first 37 frames in 2017, but that seemingly solid mark came with an uninspiring 6.6 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9. He’s also surrendered a .280/.374/.400 line to opposing left-handed batters, which assuredly didn’t help his cause.
Earlier Moves
- The Padres have released righty Logan Bawcom, per Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network (via Twitter). While the 28-year-old has yet to earn a promotion — with San Diego or in his prior stints with the Dodgers and Mariners organizations — he once held a 40-man spot in Seattle and has at times produced interesting results in the upper minors. Thus far this year, he carries a 2.70 ERA with 9.1 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9 in his 53 1/3 innings over 36 appearances at Triple-A El Paso. It seems, then, that this move was made to allow Bawcom to seek an opportunity with another organization; Rosenthal notes that he’s expected land elsewhere in the next day or two.
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Click here to view the transcript for MLBTR Chat With Jason Martinez: August 2, 2017
8 Impending Free Agent Hitters With Slipping Stock
Major League Baseball’s 2017 non-waiver trade deadline passed this week, which means we’re unlikely to see a significant amount of high-profile players change hands from now through season’s end. The current campaign is down to its final three months, though, so the offseason and its action-packed free agent period are on the horizon. Unfortunately for many impending free agents, 2017 has been a struggle. Here, we’ll highlight several established hitters who are in the midst of mediocre or worse platform seasons.
Carlos Gonzalez, RF, Rockies | Salary: $20MM
Raise your hand if you expected the well-regarded CarGo to rank last among position players in fWAR at the outset of August. It’s hard to believe, but at minus-1.8, no one has been less valuable than Gonzalez this season. A career .291/.347/.521 hitter entering 2017 (albeit with help from Coors Field), Gonzalez has slumped to an unfathomable .228/.301/.333 line through 349 plate appearances this year.
Gonzalez’s plate discipline numbers look normal, but his ground-ball rate is at a personal-worst 51.7 percent (up from a career 45.8 percent mark) and his power has abandoned him. The lefty-swinger has swatted between 22 and 40 home runs six times since 2010, his first full season, yet has left the yard on just six occasions this year and posted a horrid .109 ISO – representing nearly a 100-point drop-off from his 2016 figure (.207). Statcast data doesn’t paint an optimistic picture of the 31-year-old Gonzalez’s performance, either, as Baseball Savant shows his expected weighted on-base average (.282) aligns with his subpar wOBA (.287).
Jose Bautista, RF, Blue Jays | Salary: $18MM
Technically, Bautista isn’t an impending free agent, but he’ll reach the open market when – not if – the Blue Jays decline their half of his $17MM mutual option for 2018. Before re-signing with Toronto last January, Bautista surprisingly went without a team for two-plus months. The Jays legend’s offensive output went in the wrong direction in 2016, which somewhat explained his difficulty in free agency. However, Bautista was still an above-average producer at the plate, and as sabermetrician Tom Tango tweeted in January, there were reasons to expect a revival this year. Instead, though, Bautista has continued going backward during his age-36 campaign, closely resembling the lackluster form he showed prior to his stunning breakout in 2010.
An offensive marvel in his heyday, Bautista has batted a paltry .216/.326/.383 in 466 trips to the plate this season, thanks in part to increasing swing-and-miss tendencies. Bautista’s strikeout percentage (23.4) is the highest of his career, and both his contact and swinging-strike rates are at their lowest since his 96-PA debut in 2004. Bautista’s underwhelming offense, poor numbers in the outfield (minus-10 defensive runs saved, minus-2.2 Ultimate Zone Rating) and dreadful work on the base paths each represent serious red flags. All that considered, the former superstar looks like an over-the-hill player who’s in for a far less successful return trip to the market than even last winter’s tepid showing.
Carlos Beltran, DH, Astros | Salary: $16MM
The Astros have easily been the top team in the American League throughout the season, so Beltran’s woes have flown under the radar nationally. But the big-money offseason pickup and potential Hall of Famer has looked his age at the plate (40), having hit .244/.297/.423 in 367 PAs during his second stint with the Astros. Further, Beltran’s xwOBA sits at a measly .280 – one point above light-hitting Angels outfielder Ben Revere‘s, to cite one name in his company – which doesn’t indicate his results have been the product of unluckiness. While it’s unknown if Beltran will look to continue his career past 2017, another high-paying pact should be out of the question if he does.
Matt Holliday, DH, Yankees | Salary: $13MM
This is the second consecutive year in which Holliday has logged so-so offensive results, which is all the more concerning when you consider the ex-outfielder’s sole function nowadays is to help a team with his bat. Of course, it’s worth noting that the former Cardinal was a boon to the Yankees’ offense through the first few months of this year. Holliday then went on the disabled list June 28 with a viral infection and has recorded miserable numbers since returning in mid-July. Pre-illness, the 37-year-old gave the Yankees a stellar .262/.366/.511 line and was seemingly on pace to reel in another nice offseason contract. Holliday’s now at an unspectacular .235/.326/.441 in 353 PAs – though his .342 xwOBA (compared to a .329 wOBA) is encouraging – and looking like someone whose next payday won’t approach the one New York gave him last winter.
Carlos Santana, 1B, Indians | Salary: $12MM
After scuffling during the first few months of the season, the switch-hitting Santana has raked over the past several weeks and boosted his line to a respectable .249/.350/.442 in 443 PAs. One problem for his earning power, however, is that fellow soon-to-be free agent first basemen Eric Hosmer, Logan Morrison, Yonder Alonso and Lucas Duda have each enjoyed markedly better years than Santana. As such, those players could negatively affect Santana’s market as he seeks a multiyear contract in the offseason. A lack of demand for defensively limited sluggers might also prove to be a hindrance for him and others, as it was for Santana-esque players last winter. So, while Santana has been good and durable since he debuted in 2010, the 31-year-old may be in for a letdown when he gets to free agency.
Matt Wieters, C, Nationals | Salary: $10.5MM
Wieters and Bautista could have empathized with each other last winter during their drawn-out unemployment periods. Wieters’ lasted several weeks longer than Bautista’s, though, as the longtime Oriole didn’t land a contract until the end of February. Fortunately for Wieters, agent Scott Boras was able to secure a $10.5MM player option for 2018 in the deal, meaning the catcher can still rake in a sizable sum next season. Judging by the 31-year-old’s .242/.291/.369 line through 323 PAs, he’d be wise to exercise that option in lieu of pressing his luck again in free agency. This is the second straight uninspired season at the plate for the switch-hitting Wieters, whose bat has never really lived up to the immense hype it generated when he was a prospect. As a defender, Baseball Prospectus has pegged Wieters as a minus framer for the past several years, but he’s now suffering through his worst season in that facet. Considering he’s oversized for his position, the 6-foot-5 Wieters may have trouble turning it around in the framing department as he continues aging, as FanGraphs’ Travis Sawchik wrote last week.
Todd Frazier, 3B, Yankees | Salary: $7.5MM
Admittedly, whether Frazier’s stock has dipped much since the start of the season is up for debate. But if the hope was that he’d return to his prior form — from 2012-15, Frazier batted a combined .258/.322/.465 and averaged 3.7 fWAR per year for the Reds — then it surely qualifies. Frazier’s .208/.331/.413 line is exactly league average, per wRC+, and has not really deviated in bottom-line productivity from last year’s .225/.302/.464 (102 wRC+). With 17 homers and a .208 ISO, Frazier’s power has dropped since last season’s 40-HR, .239-ISO outburst. At the same time, he’s running what’s easily a career-high walk rate (13.9 percent), thanks to personal-best chase and swinging-strike rates, and has a ridiculously low batting average on balls in play (.218) that should increase. In the field, Frazier, 31, has combined for five DRS and a 1.0 UZR while manning the hot corner for the White Sox and Yankees. Frazier’s performance this season has been acceptable, then, though he’s clearly not as effective as he was during his days in Cincinnati.
Jonathan Lucroy, C, Rockies | Salary: $5.25MM
Lucroy, one of Gonzalez’s newest teammates, is also in the throes of a shocking and precipitous decline. At the 2016 non-waiver deadline, both the Rangers and Indians agreed that the then-Brewer was worth a major return. The Rangers ultimately emerged with Lucroy, who chose not to waive his no-trade clause for Cleveland, acquiring him as part of a deal that cost them highly touted outfield prospect Lewis Brinson. Giving up Brinson for more than a year of control over the multi-talented Lucroy was understandable at the time, and he kept hitting after the trade last year, but the gamble hasn’t paid off in 2017 for Texas general manager Jon Daniels.
Lucroy was among Texas’ worst regulars this season before the sub-.500 club shipped him to the Rockies last week for a player to be named later. All told, Lucroy batted a meager .242/.297/.338 in 308 PAs and saw his ISO plummet from .208 during his 24-homer 2016 to .096 during a four-HR year with the Rangers. Alarmingly, Lucroy’s ground-ball rate has spiked from 37.2 percent to 56.2 percent since 2016, while his line drive rate has fallen from 24.2 percent to 17.1 percent. The 31-year-old’s problems also extend beyond the offensive side: The once-celebrated pitch framer ranks last in that category this season, per Baseball Prospectus and StatCorner.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Mariners Outright Evan Marshall
The Mariners activated right-hander Evan Marshall from the 60-day disabled list and sent him outright to Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets.
Marshall, 27, was claimed off waivers out of the Diamondbacks organization back in early April and appeared in six games for the Mariners this season before landing on the shelf for a significant period of time due to a hamstring injury. In his 7 2/3 frames with Seattle this season, he surrendered eight runs on a dozen hits and five walks with four strikeouts.
It’s now been three years since Marshall enjoyed prolonged success in the Majors. As a 24-year-old rookie back in 2014, he worked 49 1/3 innings out of the Arizona bullpen and averaged a hearty 9.9 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 with a sensational 60.7 percent ground-ball rate. Since that time, though, Marshall has just 36 1/3 Major League innings to his credit with a 7.93 earned run average. His ground-ball and strikeout rates have each plummeted since that promising rookie showing, and his walk rate has gone in the opposite direction as well.
Marshall, who has a career 4.30 ERA in parts of five Triple-A seasons, will look to get back on track in Triple-A with the hopes of getting another crack in the Majors later this year.
Indians Place Andrew Miller On 10-Day DL
The Indians have placed star reliever Andrew Miller on the 10-day with right knee patella tendinitis, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets and the club has announced. Righty Adam Plutko was recalled to take his spot on the active roster.
Miller, 32, has been as nasty as ever this year, with a 1.67 ERA and 13.0 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9. But as Bastian goes on to note, he has not been quite as sharp as usual of late — relative, at least, to his usually otherworldly efforts.
Going without the outstanding Miller for any stretch would hurt Cleveland as it tries to hold off the Royals in the AL Central. But it’s especially harmful since the team just lost fellow southpaw Boone Logan to an injury. Perhaps the Indians will find some added motivation to look at lefties over the month of August, though Tyler Olson has looked good early on.
Cleveland also revealed that righty Josh Tomlin will likely miss about six weeks of action after suffering a left hamstring strain, as Bastian further tweets. That’s not a huge concern now that Danny Salazar is back, but does reduce the team’s depth in the rotation.
Braves Place Jim Johnson, R.A. Dickey On Revocable Waivers
The Braves have placed righties Jim Johnson and R.A. Dickey on revocable waivers, according to Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com (via Twitter).
These two veterans become the first to be reported of the many players who’ll hit the waiver wire this month. The placement is the first step toward possibly trading a player; you can read more about that here. It also means little in and of itself, since a team can always pull back a player if a claim is made (hence, “revocable”).
In this case, the news is worthy of note, since both Atlanta pitchers are conceivable trade candidates. Johnson, especially, figures to hold appeal. The 34-year-old has averaged 10.6 K/9 and a fifty percent groundball rate through 44 innings, even if the results (4.09 ERA) aren’t quite as exciting. And he’s earning a reasonable $5MM this year and next, making him a plausible candidate to be claimed.
It seems unlikely at this point that any contenders will show significant interest in Dickey. The 42-year-old knuckler is valued mostly for his steady innings, and is earning $7.5MM this year before the team makes a decision on his $8MM club option ($500K buyout) for 2018. Dickey has been solid, with a 4.08 ERA over 128 innings, but it’s less than clear there’s much demand for a pitcher of his ilk down the stretch.
MLBTR traditionally maintains a list of players who have cleared waivers and therefore can be traded freely, and will do so again this year once we learn the outcome on these or other players. Of course, it’s important to bear in mind that we typically don’t hear of all those who clear.
Knocking Down The Door: Honeywell, Kemp, Lopez, McMahon, Smith
“Knocking Down the Door” is a regular feature that identifies minor leaguers who are making a case for a big league promotion.
Brent Honeywell, SP, Tampa Bay Rays (Triple-A Durham) | Rays Depth Chart
While the Rays were busy adding first baseman Lucas Duda and a trio of relief pitchers prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, they didn’t make the splash that they were probably capable of making based on the depth and quality of their prospect talent. The team’s likely unwillingness to include the 22-year-old Honeywell in a deal is probably among the top reasons.
Not only is Honeywell one of the top pitching prospects in baseball, there’s also a chance that he can help the Rays down the stretch in the same way that rookie David Price did in 2008 when he pitched 14 innings in September and another 5 2/3 frames in the playoffs for the AL Champs. Since being named the Futures Game MVP, the right-hander has continued to look more and more comfortable in Triple-A, allowing only three runs and 12 hits over his past 16 innings while striking out 22.
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Tony Kemp, OF/2B, Houston Astros (Triple-A Fresno) | Astros Depth Chart
The window could close quickly depending on how quickly George Springer returns from the disabled list, but the recent trade of Nori Aoki could allow the Astros to give Kemp a rare chance for semi-regular playing time in the big leagues.
Kemp is doing his best Jose Altuve impersonation down in Triple-A, and it’s not just because he’s a 5’6″ second baseman. The 25-year-old is slashing .324/.376/.465 with 19 stolen bases, 31 walks and 32 strikeouts in 90 games. His ability to play left field—he started 24 games there for the Astros in 2016—and left-handed bat should give him plenty of value on the Astros’ roster down the road, even if he’s destined to be a bench player. But it’s probably a good time to find out if he can be more than that.
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Reynaldo Lopez, SP, Chicago White Sox (Triple-A Charlotte) | White Sox Depth Chart
Somewhat surprisingly, the White Sox did not trade free agents-to-be Miguel Gonzalez and Derek Holland prior to the deadline, which would’ve cleared a path to the big league rotation for Lopez — one of several elite prospects that the team has acquired since the offseason.
The 23-year-old Lopez, who came to the ChiSox in the Adam Eaton trade, could be forcing the team’s hand anyhow, though. In his past six starts, he has a 1.97 ERA with 26 hits allowed, eight walks and 49 strikeouts over 36 2/3 innings. He hasn’t allowed more than two runs over that span and has three 10+ strikeout games. It will be a surprise if he makes more than two more starts in Triple-A.
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Ryan McMahon, INF, Colorado Rockies (Triple-A Albuquerque) | Rockies Depth Chart
Mark Reynolds has been productive enough in 2017 that a less-than-stellar month of July (.229/.319/.410) won’t cause him to lose his starting job, especially to a rookie with zero Major League at-bats. But it’s getting to the point in the season where it makes sense for the Rockies to at least give the 22-year-old McMahon, the No. 1 ranked player in Roster Resource’s MiLB Power Rankings, some occasional starts at first base while utilizing him occasionally at other spots on the diamond.
McMahon, who has played a good amount of games at first base, second base and third base this season, is 19 for his last 34 to push his Triple-A batting average to .396 (86-for-217). Overall, he’s slashing .364/.406/.598 between Double-A and Triple-A with 36 doubles and 17 homers. It’s safe to say that he has very little left to prove in the minors.
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Dominic Smith, 1B, New York Mets (Triple-A Las Vegas) | Mets Depth Chart
Despite hitting only 10 homers in the low minors over his first three professional seasons, Smith was a highly-touted prospect who many experts believed would develop power at some point. They were right. And it didn’t really take that long. Since reaching the upper minors as a 20-year-old in 2016, the left-handed hitting first baseman has 30 homers and 62 doubles while hitting over .300 and maintaining a disciplined approach at the plate.
Even after trading Duda, the Mets are holding off on calling up the 22-year-old Smith for some reason. That’s difficult to do after he slashed .385/.437/.725 in July, but this is the organization that called up Amed Rosario, arguably, two months after he was making it clear that he was ready for the Major Leagues. GM Sandy Alderson has suggested that they won’t wait much longer on Smith, though. He should settle in as the team’s first baseman before the end of the month.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
MLBTR Poll: Grading The Sonny Gray Trade
We asked you yesterday to grade the Yu Darvish swap, and today we’ll do the same thing with the other major deadline-day trade: the deal that sent righty Sonny Gray from the Athletics to the Yankees.
Unlike Darvish, the Yanks’ newest hurler can be controlled for an additional two seasons via arbitration. That contract status better lined up with New York’s needs looking forward while also allowing the team to make a significant near-term addition, installing a pitcher who has thrown quite well in 2017. Indeed, by measure of FIP and xFIP, Gray has actually been a bit better than his 3.43 ERA would suggest. While long-term durability questions continue to be aired, the 27-year-old has looked strong since opening the year on the DL.
On the A’s side of the deal, too, health is more a question than is talent. Indeed, two of the three youngsters in the swap — outfielder Dustin Fowler and righty James Kaprielian — are both in the midst of rehabbing very significant injuries. While Jorge Mateo is likely viewed as the headlining piece by Oakland, the club is clearly hoping the other two players will not only return to full health, but will quickly regain their previous trajectory.
So, how do you grade this deal from the perspective of the Yankees? Was it worth giving up this much talent or does Gray stand too great a chance of returning to his injury-riddled, ineffective 2016 form? (Link for app users.)
Grade the Yankees' Acquisition of Sonny Gray
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A 48% (7,300)
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B 37% (5,608)
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C 10% (1,511)
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F 2% (370)
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D 2% (323)
Total votes: 15,112
And how do you feel the A’s did in taking this package instead of others … or rather than holding onto Gray until the fall? (Link for app users.)
Grade the Athletics' Trade of Sonny Gray
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B 35% (4,698)
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C 30% (4,095)
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A 20% (2,679)
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D 10% (1,354)
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F 5% (738)
Total votes: 13,564
NL West Notes: Giants, Eibner, Dodgers, Hand, Chacin
After watching a last-place team make just one move prior to the non-waiver deadline, Giants fans felt plenty of frustration, but GM Bobby Evans spoke to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle about the front office’s recognition that changes need to be made before the 2018 season commences. “How much we can accomplish between now and the beginning of 2018 remains to be seen,” said Evans. “…Some of that has to be us on alert for what opportunities exist. As we sit here today, we’ve got a lot of ideas where clubs see our guys.” The offseason is a likelier time for significant changes than the August waiver trade season, Evans indicated. Schulman writes that the Giants are lacking both power and defense in the outfield, though the presence of veterans Denard Span and Hunter Pence, both signed through 2018, adds another layer of complexity to the front office’s quest for improvement.
More from the division…
- The Dodgers had been experimenting with outfielder Brett Eibner as a pitcher, but his season will come to an end due to Tommy John surgery, tweets J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group. Eibner hadn’t actually gotten into a game in the minors, as he’s been dealing with soreness in his arm for awhile now. The Dodgers’ reported plan for Eibner wasn’t to convert him to a pitcher on a full-time basis but to use him as an outfielder and occasional reliever. Eibner pitched and played in the outfield in his college days but had been exclusively a position player since turning pro.
- While the Dodgers have drawn headlines for their enormous Major League payrolls, their commitment to international spending has played a huge role in their success as well, writes Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times. As Shaikin notes, the Dodgers shipped out three prospects signed as international amateurs yesterday to acquire Tony Watson and Tony Cingrani, and their willingness to spend on that market has persistently left them with ammunition for trades. “The kind of scouting and player development infrastructure you have can pay off in terms of guys rising to the big leagues and impacting your team, or sometimes being able to make trades like this,” said GM Farhan Zaidi. “It’s certainly a credit to our scouting and player development staffs for giving us the players and prospect capital we needed to pull off these deals today.” The new hard cap on international spending will make that strategy more difficult, though the Dodgers have a history of finding creative ways to build up their farm by leveraging financial muscle.
- Padres general manager A.J. Preller chatted with Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune about his lack of trades at the non-waiver deadline — specifically the decision to hold onto lefty Brad Hand and righty Jhoulys Chacin. Preller indicated that he simply didn’t receive an offer that he deemed to bring more value to the organization than Hand, acknowledging that while it’s possible he’ll incur an injury or decline, it’s also possible that Hand sustains or enhances his value with improved performance. His comments on Chacin were more interesting. “I know it’s easy for somebody to say, ‘Well, he’s a free agent at the end of the year. Just take anything,'” said Preller. “We’ve built our (farm) system up to the point where, just to take a non-prospect for the purpose of making a trade, we weren’t interested in doing that.” The Friars could move Chacin in a waiver deal, but they’ll also explore the possibility of signing him beyond 2017, Preller tells Lin.