MLBTR Chat Transcript
Click here to read a transcript of today’s chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams.
Phillies Designate Andrew Bailey For Assignment
The Phillies announced today that they have designated right-hander Andrew Bailey for assignment and recalled fellow righty Luis Garcia from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Bailey, 32, signed a minor league contract with the Phils back in December, and while he didn’t make the club out of Spring Training, he had his contract selected in mid-April and has been in their bullpen ever since. The former A’s closer pitched quite well through his first 16 appearances with Philadelphia, but he’s been scored upon in seven of his past 10 appearances and has a dreadful 10.26 ERA dating back to June 3. Collectively, he’s logged a 6.40 ERA in 32 1/3 innings this season. Bailey’s averaged more than a strikeout per inning this year but has had some issues with his control (4.2 BB/9) and has been susceptible to the long ball while averaging a career-low 92 mph on his heater.
While Bailey’s career got off to a highly promising start — he was a two-time All-Star and the 2009 American League Rookie of the Year during a three-year run as Oakland’s closer — his career went awry following a 2012 trade to the Red Sox. Bailey required thumb surgery early in his Boston tenure, causing him to miss the majority of the 2012 campaign, and his career since that time has been slowed first by a biceps injury and eventually by 2013 shoulder surgery. Bailey didn’t pitch at any level in 2014, and he logged just 8 2/3 innings with the Yankees last season, so the very fact that he’s been able to take a big league mound with some degree of regularity is a step in the right direction for him. With nearly six years of Major League service time under his belt, Bailey has the right to refuse an outright assignment in favor of free agency if he’s put through waivers.
Central Notes: Salazar, Volquez, Pirates, Reds
Indians right-hander Danny Salazar is headed for what the club is calling a precautionary MRI due to discomfort in his right elbow, as MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian writes. “There’s something in my elbow,” said Salazar following a rough outing against the Twins on Monday. “I don’t know what it is. We don’t know. I think we’re going to find out tomorrow.” Manager Terry Francona said that Salazar’s elbow has been bothering him for at least a couple of weeks. Salazar had Tommy John surgery prior to making his big league debut and said the discomfort he feels in his elbow feels “totally different” than the pain he felt when he tore his ulnar collateral ligament. Nonetheless, there’s clearly some cause for concern, especially due to a recent decline in Salazar’s velocity (as Bastian highlights in his column).
A few more notes from the game’s Central divisions…
- The Royals‘ decision to stand pat at yesterday’s trade deadline was a surprise to some, considering the fact that Kansas City has fallen to 50-55 and has at best a narrow window to make the postseason. General manager Dayton Moore spoke about the team’s lack of trades with Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star, stating that he wants to give his players a chance to “dig back out of this mess we’re in.” More interesting, perhaps, was his take on righty Edinson Volquez, who has a mutual option on his contract for the 2017 season that figures to be declined one way or another. While he wouldn’t firmly commit to the notion, Moore suggested that the team could very well make Volquez a qualifying offer at season’s end, which is projected to be worth $16.7MM, as ESPN’s Buster Olney recently reported. Said Moore of Volquez: “We’ll see. Obviously we have to evaluate that, but that’s certainly a part of our thinking.”
- The Pirates had a tough decision when determining whether the club was better-served by betting on Francisco Liriano returning to form or acquiring multiple years of Drew Hutchison and creating some financial flexibility, GM Neal Huntington explained to MLB.com’s Adam Berry. As Berry notes, the financial flexibility the Pirates gained by shedding the remaining money on Liriano’s contract will be significant in 2017 when Gerrit Cole and Tony Watson, among others, are due arbitration raises and other players signed to extensions see their salaries naturally escalate. Huntington said that the Pirates have liked Hutchison and right-hander Ivan Nova (also acquired at yesterday’s non-waiver deadline) for quite some time, adding that while it was difficult to part with outfield prospect Harold Ramirez and catching prospect Reese McGuire, the team dealt from positions of depth. Berry adds that the Bucs talked with the Rays about their starters at length but were asked for a minimum of two of their top five prospects in return — too lofty a price for Huntington’s liking.
- Reds president of baseball operations Walt Jocketty spoke with the Cincinnati Enquirer’s C. Trent Rosecrans about the difficulty of trading away a homegrown slugger like Jay Bruce even in the midst of a rebuild. “It was extremely tough to make the deal,” said Jocketty. “We’ve talked about it for some time, but until it actually happens, it doesn’t set in. …It was tough to say goodbye to him.” Reports on Monday indicated that medical concerns over one of the minor leaguers that was said to be in the initial iteration of the Bruce deal — said to be centered around outfielder Brandon Nimmo — slowed the deal. Rosecrans,though, hears that multiple prospects that would’ve come to the Reds failed to live up to the Reds’ medical standards, leading to further discussion. Jocketty also spoke a bit about Zack Cozart, who was reportedly nearly traded to Seattle, stating that Cozart isn’t someone the team is actively looking to move. Rosecrans adds that talks with the Mariners did take place but fell apart over the course of the day.
Aledmys Diaz Placed On DL Due To Fractured Thumb
The Cardinals have placed shortstop Aledmys Diaz on the 15-day disabled list with a hairline fracture in his left thumb that was suffered on Sunday when he was hit by a pitch, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. “And it will likely be longer [than 15 days],” general manager John Mozeliak made when announcing the move.
As Goold writes, initial X-rays revealed only a deep bone bruise, but the fracture was revealed upon further testing after the swelling in his hand had reduced. While the Cardinals had the diagnosis prior to Monday’s non-waiver trade deadline, Mozeliak explained to Goold that the didn’t feel pressured to dive into the trade market in search of infield depth due to the fact that Jhonny Peralta will return from the DL tonight and Matt Carpenter will return by Friday. “You’re not going to go out and find that kind of impact player and the fact that we get Jhonny Peralta activated (Tuesday) I think he can slide in right there,” said Mozeliak. “…I think we’re covered. Trying to find a middle infielder that would have had some type of impact on this roster — I think it would be hard to top.”
The Cardinals entered the year expecting to utilize Kolten Wong at second base, Peralta at shortstop and Carpenter at third base. However, a Spring Training thumb injury sidelined Peralta into June, giving Diaz a chance to establish himself in the Majors. His performance was strong enough (and Wong’s struggles were great enough) that upon Peralta’s return to health, he played third base, with Carpenter displacing Wong at second base. Now, with both Carpenter and Peralta both returning from DL stints of their own, Peralta will man shortstop while Carpenter reclaims his original spot at third base, for the time being.
Suffice it to say, the Cardinals have plenty of depth in the infield to cushion the blow of losing Diaz for a fairly sizable portion of the remainder of the season. Nonetheless, it’s a notable loss, as Diaz has been nothing short of sensational at the plate, hitting .312/.376/.518 with 14 home runs in 401 plate appearances. His defense leaves plenty to be desired (16 errors, -8 UZR, -3 DRS), but Diaz’s bat has played a major role in the Cardinals’ 56-49 record, which currently has them just a half game out of the second Wild Card spot in the National League.
Brewers Promote Orlando Arcia
The Brewers are promoting top prospect Orlando Arcia prior to today’s game, the team announced overnight. Rays outfielder Oswaldo Arcia — Orlando’s older brother — first suggested as much by welcoming his younger brother to the Majors on Instagram.
[Related: Updated Milwaukee Brewers Depth Chart]
Arcia, 21, will take over as the Brewers’ shortstop, as MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy writes, thereby pushing Jonathan Villar over to third base. Arcia ranked seventh, 13th, 14th and 16th on the respective midseason rankings of the game’s top overall prospects from Baseball Prospectus, MLB.com, Baseball America and ESPN. Arcia draws huge amounts of praise for his defense at shortstop, his speed and his hit tool, giving him the potential to be a top-of-the-order hitter with Gold Glove caliber defense at a premium position if all pans out. He hasn’t exactly forced his way onto the roster with outstanding play at the Triple-A level like many top-tier prospects do, as he’s batted a modest .267/.320/.403 in a very hitter-friendly environment (the Pacific Coast League’s Colorado Springs). He’s extremely young to already have spent several months in Triple-A, though, and his perhaps underwhelming 2016 results clearly didn’t cause him to slip down prospect rankings much.
“The thinking is it’s time to get him started,” manager Craig Counsell tells McCalvy. “We’ve still got [58] games left, a good chunk of the season left, where we’re hopeful that it gives him good experience going into next year. I think it’s a little shot in the arm for us, a little boost for us, as well.”
If he’s in the Majors for good, Arcia will accrue 62 days of big league service in 2016 and fall well shy of Super Two status down the line. He currently projects to be controllable through the 2022 season and wouldn’t be eligible for arbitration until the completion of the 2019 campaign.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Red Sox Designate Tommy Layne, Michael Martinez
The Red Sox have designated left-hander Tommy Layne and utilityman Michael Martinez for assignment in order to clear spots on the roster for newly acquired southpaw Fernando Abad and newly promoted outfield prospect Andrew Benintendi, as MLB.com’s Ian Browne and Tim Britton of the Providence Journal first noted (links to Twitter).
[Related: Updated Boston Red Sox Depth Chart]
Layne, 31, has a 3.77 ERA with 7.9 K/9, 4.4 BB/9 and a 53.2 percent ground-ball rate in 28 2/3 innings out of the Boston bullpen this season. He posted fairly similar numbers in 2015, but the key difference between the two seasons is his performance against left-handed opponents. Last year, Layne was unhittable in such situations, limiting left-handed hitters to a comical .148/.248/.170 slash in 102 plate appearances. This year, though, lefties batted .259/.355/.333 against him, thus prompting the Sox to look outside the organization for an improvement, which they found by flipping hard-throwing relief prospect Pat Light to the Twins in exchange for Abad.
Martinez, meanwhile, scarcely saw playing time during his brief tenure with the Red Sox. He appeared in just four games and totaled seven plate appearances, going 1-for-6 with a walk and two strikeouts. The 33-year-old is a career .198/.244/.271 hitter in parts of six big league seasons (542 plate appearances). He has experience all over the diamond, having spent time in the outfield and at second base, third base and, to a lesser extent, shortstop.
Red Sox To Promote Andrew Benintendi
The Red Sox are having top outfield prospect Andrew Benintendi meet the team in Seattle tomorrow, Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald writes. The move means Benintendi will skip straight from Double-A Portland, where he’s batted .295/.357/.515 in 263 plate appearances this season, to the big leagues.
Benintendi has relatively little minor-league experience, with just 657 career plate appearances on the farm, but it sounds like the Red Sox are confident his lack of repetitions won’t be a significant hindrance. As GM of the Tigers, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski frequently moved top talents to the Majors quickly, whisking players like Justin Verlander, Andrew Miller, Rick Porcello and Jeremy Bonderman through the minors.
“Maybe,” Dombrowski had said Monday when asked whether Benintendi or fellow top prospect Yoan Moncada could join the team at some point this season. “It could be. They’re close enough that they could be. I’m not making that prediction, but they could be.”
Benintendi had been the subject of some speculation at this year’s trade deadline, but it’s unsurprising the Red Sox were apparently reluctant to move such a blue-chip player. Since the Red Sox picked him with the seventh overall selection in last year’s draft, the University of Arkansas product has rocketed through the Sox’ system, posting a .312/.392/.540 career line in four minor-league stops.
MLB.com currently rates Benintendi the second-best Red Sox prospect (behind only Moncada) and the game’s seventh-best overall prospect, praising him for his left-handed swing, plate discipline and all-around offensive game and noting that he could eventually hit .300 with 20 homers per season. (Heading into the season, Baseball America rated Benintendi the game’s No. 15 prospect.) Benintendi is a bit small, at 5’10 and 170 pounds, but there is no reason to think he can’t be an excellent big-league hitter.
It’s unclear how Benintendi will fit into the Red Sox outfield, which already features two top young players in Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley. Benintendi, who has played mostly center field in the minors, could take over left field and free Brock Holt, who also plays infield, to play other positions. If Benintendi sticks in the big leagues, he could become eligible for arbitration after 2019 and free agency after 2022.
Trade Deadline Recap: AL West
Last up in our series of divisional trade deadline recaps is the AL West, where the Rangers and Athletics made the most noise.
- The Astros shipped veteran righty Scott Feldman to Toronto in exchange for minor league pitcher Lupe Chavez, and they sent reliever Josh Fields to the Dodgers for young first baseman Yordan Alvarez.
- The Angels landed pitchers Ricky Nolasco and Alex Meyer from Minnesota in return for pitchers Hector Santiago and Alan Busenitz. They also sent righty Joe Smith to the Cubs for minor league pitcher Jesus Castillo.
- The Athletics sent lefty Rich Hill and outfielder Josh Reddick to the Dodgers in exchange for young right-handers Grant Holmes, Frankie Montas and Jharel Cotton. They also shipped speedy outfielder Billy Burns to Kansas City for fellow OF Brett Eibner.
- The Mariners dealt lefty Wade Miley to Baltimore for minor-league lefty Ariel Miranda. They also sent reliever Joaquin Benoit to Toronto in exchange for fellow reliever Drew Storen. Finally, they got close on a trade that would have netted Cincinnati shortstop Zack Cozart, but were unable to complete it.
- The Rangers landed one of the season’s biggest prizes, getting catcher Jonathan Lucroy (as well as reliever Jeremy Jeffress) from Milwaukee for outfielder Lewis Brinson, righty Luis Ortiz and a player to be named. They also acquired Carlos Beltran from the Yankees for righties Dillon Tate, Erik Swanson and Nick Green. Finally, they added pitchers Lucas Harrell and Dario Alvarez from Atlanta, giving up minor league infielder Travis Demeritte.
Trade Deadline Roundup: AL Central
Our series of trade deadline recaps continues with the AL Central, where the Indians grabbed the majority of the headlines.
- The White Sox sent lefty Zach Duke to St. Louis in exchange for outfielder Charlie Tilson but did not make any other significant moves.
- The Indians‘ potential trade for star catcher Jonathan Lucroy was scuttled when Lucroy vetoed the deal, but they still managed huge move this week, albeit at a significant cost — they got Andrew Miller from the Yankees for minor-league outfielder Clint Frazier and pitchers Justus Sheffield, Ben Heller and J.P. Feyereisen. They also got outfielder Brandon Guyer from Tampa Bay for prospects Nathan Lukes and Jhonleider Salinas.
- The Tigers hunted for pitching help but ultimately did not make any significant moves.
- There was no shortage of rumors surrounding various Royals pitchers, including Wade Davis, but Kansas City’s deadline was mostly quiet, as they only swapped Brett Eibner to Oakland for fellow outfielder Billy Burns.
- The Twins added Hector Santiago and minor-league righty Alan Busenitz from the Angels, giving up pitchers Ricky Nolasco and Alex Meyer. They also sent reliever Fernando Abad to Boston in return for relief prospect Pat Light, and infielder Eduardo Nunez to San Francisco for lefty Adalberto Mejia.
Trade Deadline Roundup: AL East
Our series of recaps of this week’s action continues with the AL East, which featured plenty of activity, particularly from the Yankees, Rays and Blue Jays.
- The Orioles acquired infielder Steve Pearce from the Rays in return for catching prospect Jonah Heim. They also picked up lefty Wade Miley from Seattle, giving up minor-league lefty Ariel Miranda. Finally, they signed righty Logan Ondrusek to a big-league deal.
- The Red Sox did most of their deadline shopping early and were relatively quiet this week. They did, however, acquire lefty reliever Fernando Abad from Minnesota for relief prospect Pat Light.
- The Yankees were one of the busiest teams this week. They shipped reliever Andrew Miller to Cleveland for a very impressive prospect package: outfielder Clint Frazier and pitchers Justus Sheffield, Ben Heller and J.P. Feyereisen. They also announced their trade of Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs, in which they received reliever Adam Warren and prospects Gleyber Torres, Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford. They sent Carlos Beltran to Texas for righties Dillon Tate (the fourth overall pick in last year’s draft), Erik Swanson and Nick Green. They also made a trade for a veteran, getting reliever Tyler Clippard from Arizona for righty Vicente Campos. Finally, they shipped righty Ivan Nova to Pittsburgh, receiving two players to be named in return.
- The Rays traded starter Matt Moore to San Francisco for infielder Matt Duffy and prospects Lucius Fox and Michael Santos. The Rays also shipped outfielder Brandon Guyer to Cleveland for minor league outfielder Nathan Lukes and pitcher Jhonleider Salinas. Finally, as mentioned above, they acquired Jonah Heim from the Orioles in return for Steve Pearce.
- The Blue Jays acquired Francisco Liriano plus prospects Harold Ramirez and Reese McGuire from Pittsburgh in exchange for righty Drew Hutchison. They also acquired Scott Feldman from Houston for minor league pitcher Lupe Chavez, then sent Jesse Chavez to the Dodgers in return for fellow righty Mike Bolsinger. They also made somewhat of a challenge trade with Seattle, sending Drew Storen (who had previously been designated for assignment) west in exchange for Joaquin Benoit, and they acquired Melvin Upton from San Diego for pitcher Hansel Rodriguez and cash.