Pirates, Mets To Swap Jon Niese, Antonio Bastardo
The Mets have reacquired left-hander Jon Niese from the Pirates, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports (on Twitter). Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports that lefty Antonio Bastardo is going back to the Pirates (Twitter link). Both teams have announced the move, and Pittsburgh notes that they’re receiving cash considerations from the Mets in the deal.
The swap of left-handers reunites each southpaw with his 2015 team, as Niese spent his entire career prior to the 2016 campaign in Queens and Bastardo pitched for the Bucs last season. Pittsburgh picked up Niese in what now looks to be an ill-fated swap that netted the Mets Neil Walker, while Bastardo inked a two-year, $12MM contract with the Mets. Neither pitcher has performed up to his standards, though, with Niese posting a 4.91 ERA and briefly losing his spot in the rotation and Bastardo logging a similar 4.74 ERA in 43 2/3 innings of relief.
Niese posted a 4.13 ERA, 5.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in New York last season, while Bastardo had a 2.98 ERA, 10.0 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 last year in Pittsburgh. The trade seems to suggest an optimism on the part of their old teams that the flaws the two players showed this year (a vanishing strikeout rate and home-run problems in Niese’s case; control and home-run problems in Bastardo’s) might be painted over. Niese is making $9MM this season, plus a $500K buyout on his 2017 option. Bastardo, who will rejoin the Pirates’ bullpen, is under contract through 2017, when he’ll receive $6.5MM. He’s making $5.25MM this year.
Mariners, Reds Fail To Complete Zack Cozart Trade
3:25pm: Seattle didn’t pull off any deals, Dutton tweets, so evidently the sides were not able to line up on Cozart.
9:05am: The Mariners and Reds are closing in on a trade involving Zack Cozart, reports Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune (on Twitter). While the trade isn’t done yet, both sides are confident that a deal can be worked out, according to Dutton, who notes that talks are still fluid at this time. ESPN’s Jayson Stark reported last week that Seattle had asked the Reds about Cozart.
Cozart, 30, is one of the game’s premier defenders at shortstop and has also substantially elevated his offensive game over the past couple of seasons, hitting a combined .263/.314/.461 with 24 homers over 615 plate appearances. He’s earning a reasonable $2.925MM salary in 2016 and is controllable through the 2017 season via arbitration.
The Mariners have a young shortstop option in Ketel Marte that looked to have cemented himself at the position with a strong rookie campaign in 2015, but the 22-year-old’s bat has taken a huge step backwards in 2016. After a .283/.351/.402 slash in 247 plate appearances last year, Marte has batted a mere .273/.299/.358 in a larger sample of 300 PAs in 2016. Beyond that, Marte has missed time this season with a sprained thumb and, more recently, a bout of mononucleosis (for which he is currently on the disabled list). Adding Cozart to the fold wouldn’t necessarily preclude Marte from emerging as Seattle’s primary shortstop down the line, but it could relegate him to a utility role next year before giving him another crack at a more regular role in 2018.
From the Reds’ vantage point, moving Cozart could open up an avenue for prospect Jose Peraza to at last get regular at-bats. Cincinnati picked up Peraza in the Todd Frazier deal this offseason, but he’s played sparingly of late while spending more time on the bench than the club would presumably like for a piece that could be a long-term asset in their lineup. The 22-year-old speedster has 93 plate appearances in 33 games since being recalled from Triple-A back on June 15.
Twins, Angels Swap Ricky Nolasco, Hector Santiago In Four-Player Deal
In a surprising move, the Twins announced that they’ve picked up left-hander Hector Santiago and minor league righty Alan Busenitz from the Angels in exchange for Ricky Nolasco and minor league righty Alex Meyer.
The move is certainly a curious one for both clubs, as neither would’ve been pegged to add starter that is only controllable through the 2017 season. However, the Twins’ signing of Nolasco has been a bust, and they’ll now swap him out for a starter that has had more success in recent seasons. That Minnesota will come away with the superior big league arm in this deal is a positive if the team intends to contend in 2017, as it has previously indicated. Santiago is sporting a 4.25 ERA on the season and has a solid 3.75 ERA with 8.0 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9 in 577 2/3 innings dating back to 2013 — the first season in which he was primarily a starter at the big league level. He’s one of the more homer-prone pitchers in baseball, though for a club that hopes to deploy Byron Buxton, Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler in a spacious outfield next season, the Twins may not be as worried about Santiago’s fly-ball/home run tendencies as a club in a smaller park.
They’ll lose Meyer — the more highly regarded minor league arm in this trade — as the cost of upgrading the current roster, though the addition of Busenitz gives them an arm that has performed well in Double-A this year, even if he’s never been been all that highly regarded. The 25-year-old Busenitz is a former 25th-round pick and posted a 1.93 ERA with 8.8 K/9 against 1.4 BB/9 in 32 2/3 innings before being promoted to Triple-A Salt Lake, where he has struggled considerably. Busenitz has served up 11 runs in 13 Triple-A innings, though the 13-to-5 K/BB ratio he’s posted is at least somewhat encouraging.
Meyer, formerly regarded as a top 50 prospect, has battled significant shoulder injuries and hasn’t pitched since early May due to injury. Scouts have long viewed him as a potential bullpen piece, and the Twins used him primarily in the ‘pen last season. It’s unclear how the Halos will attempt to utilize Meyer, who will turn 27 this offseason, but it’s possible they’re looking at him as a buy-low option to plug into a farm system that is devoid of upper-level talent. Whether the Halos look at Meyer as a potential power arm for the bullpen or a possible starter in 2017 and beyond, his ceiling is higher than not only that of Busenitz but than the vast majority of the prospects in their barren farm system.
The Angels will slot Nolasco into their big league rotation and hope that he can right the ship after a brutal two and a half years in Minnesota. Nolasco signed a four-year, $49MM contract prior to the 2014 season and has missed significant time with a right elbow strain, right elbow inflammation and a right ankle impingement while with the Twins. His work with Minnesota has resulted in an ugly 5.44 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in just 321 innings of work. Of course, prior to signing with the Twins, Nolasco was a fairly durable innings eater with the Marlins and Dodgers, From 2010-13, he averaged 188 innings per season and posted a 4.33 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9. If a change of scenery and a return to his native SoCal can revitalize Nolasco and see him return to that form, he could be either a solid contributor to the 2017 Angels or at least turn into a reasonable trade chip. That the Twins are on the hook for $4MM of his 2017 salary should help increase his appeal on the market if he is able to rebound.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that Santiago, Nolasco and Meyer were all in the cash-neutral deal (links to Twitter). MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez tweeted that Busenitz was going to Minnesota. Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune chipped in some specifics on the finances (links to Twitter).
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pirates To Acquire Ivan Nova
The Pirates have reached a deal to acquire Ivan Nova from the Yankees, reports FanRag’s Jon Heyman (on Twitter). MLB.com’s Adam Berry tweets that the Yankees will receive two players to be named.
The Bucs will lean on the 29-year-old Nova to help their beleaguered rotation. Nova hasn’t had the best season himself, posting a 4.90 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 over 97 1/3 innings, although his struggles this year are due in part to a very high 21.3% HR/FB rate that the Pirates probably feel will improve in Pittsburgh. Nova’s 54.3% ground ball rate was likely appealing to the Bucs, as was the fact that ERA estimators like xFIP and SIERA are almost a run lower than his actual ERA.
Nova is eligible for free agency after the season, so he’ll be a rental for the Pirates. (The 52-52 Yankees likely felt there was limited downside in dealing him, given that he wasn’t pitching particularly well and was set to depart anyway.) The Bucs will have limited time to help Nova improve, but they have a reputation for helping struggling pitchers and did quite well in acquiring the previously-nondescript J.A. Happ as a rental at last year’s deadline, so perhaps they feel they can do so again.
Nova will soak up starts in a Pirates rotation that has leaned heavily on struggling veterans like Jeff Locke, Jon Niese (who was traded back to the Mets today) and Francisco Liriano (who headed to the Blue Jays). The Bucs had previously traded closer Mark Melancon to the Nationals, but their trade for Nova looks to be at least a tepid move toward improving their chances of winning a Wild Card spot this season.
Mets Out On Lucroy; Rangers Still In Pursuit
Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy scuttled a trade to the Indians yesterday, but he’s still in play in advance of today’s trade deadline. Milwaukee has their Triple-A catcher Manny Pina up with the big league team in San Diego to prepare for a Lucroy trade, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Haudricourt further notes that Lucroy remained in Milwaukee last night, and will fly to San Diego in time for tonight’s game in the event he’s not traded. The latest:
- The Rangers are deep in talks on Lucroy, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). Gallo would indeed be the centerpiece, he adds.
- The Mets are now out on Lucroy, Buster Olney of ESPN.com tweets.
- With the Rangers adding Carlos Beltran, Gallo is now more available to go in a deal for Lucroy, Haudricourt tweets.
Earlier Updates
- Meanwhile, the Mets are still working on a Lucroy deal, Marc Carig of Newsday tweets.
- Even if the trade for Jay Bruce goes through, it wouldn’t take the Mets out of the race for Lucroy, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets. Milwaukee is seeking infielder Dilson Herrera in a deal, per Rosenthal (via Twitter). A package would also still include catcher Travis d’Arnaud, as has long been rumored. Perhaps that ask is what leads Jon Heyman of Fan Rag to tweet that New York’s interest is “on life support” at this time, though.
- It seems that Joey Gallo is on the table for Lucroy, as we’ve heard suggested before, but only if there’s an arm included in the deal as well, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter). It’s not clear exactly what pitcher that might be, but certainly there are several relievers that could make sense, as Grant explains. The Brewers could be looking into whether a preferable deal is available involving only the backstop, Haudricourt suggests on Twitter.
- Texas and Milwaukee haven’t chatted since last night, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. He suggests it is possible that other teams could get involved, with the Astros named as a speculative possibility, though he goes on to note via Twitter that the Tigers aren’t among them. Of course, it’s also possible that the Rangers and Brewers know each others’ positions, with Milwaukee now just circling back to other organizations before making a call.
- The Rangers “keep plugging away on Lucroy,” tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. Crasnick, however, believes the Brewers may need to lower their expectations to get a deal done today. From Milwaukee’s perspective, though, that isn’t going to happen, per a Haudricourt tweet. The team would rather hold Lucroy for offseason trade market than sell him short of his value now, per the report. A lively game of chicken certainly seems to be set up for these teams today.
Dodgers To Acquire Jesse Chavez
The Dodgers have struck a deal to acquire righty Jesse Chavez from the Blue Jays, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Presumably the deal was done in conjunction with Toronto’s acquisition of Scott Feldman. Righty Mike Bolsinger is headed to Toronto in return, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter), with cash also moving form Toronto to Los Angeles, per a tweet from Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca.
Chavez, 32, has a 4.57 ERA but with a solid 9.1 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 41 1/3 innings of relief this year. He spent most of the 2014 and 2015 seasons starting for the Athletics (when he briefly shared an organization with current Dodgers GM Farhan Zaidi).
The 28-year-old Bolsinger has made six starts for the Dodgers and hasn’t had much success, with a 6.83 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9. He fared better with Triple-A Oklahoma City, with a 3.41 ERA and solid peripherals over 29 innings. He only throws in the upper 80s, which would appear to give him limited upside either as a back-end rotation option or as a reliever, but he does give the Blue Jays the advantage of providing flexibility, since he’ll be controllable for five more years beyond this one.
Blue Jays To Acquire Scott Feldman
The Blue Jays are acquiring right-hander Scott Feldman from the Astros, reports MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart (Twitter link). The Astros will receive minor league pitcher Lupe Chavez in return, tweets Yahoo’s Jeff Passan.
Feldman opened the season as the Astros’ fourth starter, but by the end of April was spending most of his time working as a reliever. The 33-year-old is owed about $2.75MM this year, after which he’ll be a free agent. In another move, the Jays sent Jesse Chavez to the Dodgers for Mike Bolsinger.
Rangers Acquire Carlos Beltran
The Rangers have reportedly agreed to a deal to acquire veteran outfielder Carlos Beltran from the Yankees. Righties Dillon Tate, Erik Swanson and Nick Green head to New York in the deal, which caps a partial but significant sell-off from the Bronx Bombers. The Rangers will pay $2.5MM of the approximately $5MM left of Beltran’s 2016 salary, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets.
Bringing in Beltran not only gives Texas an immediate upgrade to its lineup, helping to cover for injuries to Prince Fielder (out for the season) and Shin-Soo Choo (who recently returned to the DL), but may help the team stomach a deal of top prospect Joey Gallo. The young slugger was perhaps an increasingly important part of the near-term picture given the losses, but the Rangers are working hard to add pitching and he looks like a prime trade piece. Texas is also still in the market for catcher Jonathan Lucroy, with Gallo a possible piece in that prospective swap.
Beltran’s next birthday will be his fortieth, but that hasn’t prevented him from posting an outstanding .301/.342/.538 batting line and 21 home runs over 383 plate appearances on the year. His late excellence makes him not only a legitimate Hall-of-Fame candidate, but also a quality option down the stretch and in the post-season.
Indeed, Beltran has been at his best in the past under the brightest lights. He has produced a .332/.441/.674 slash and 16 home runs in 223 turns at the plate in the playoffs. Now, he’ll join a strong Texas club with designs on its own deep run.
Defense remains a question, of course, as Beltran has slowed considerably since his days of playing a solid center field. He’s limited to right at present, and is a marginal defender there. But the Rangers will presumably place him most often in the DH role, taking the spot vacated by Fielder.
The fourth overall pick in last year’s draft, Tate has seen his prospect star fade a bit this year. After opening the season as a consensus top-100 prospect, he has struggled to a 5.12 ERA with 7.6 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9 at the Class A level.
Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News said the Yankees were moving toward a deal (via Twitter). MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan said the Rangers were the team involved (via Twitter). Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the inclusion of Tate (Twitter links). Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported the deal was done (Twitter links). Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported the inclusion of another prospect (via Twitter). Jack Curry of the YES Network tweeted the full package.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Mets, Reds Nearing Completion Of Bruce Trade
2:34pm: The two sides have been able to re-work the trade and a deal is “all but done,” tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
2:30pm: Olney tweets that things are back on track and the Mets are almost done with the trade.
1:59pm: Minor league lefty Max Wotell is one of the players that could be headed to the Reds if the deal goes through, tweets Rosenthal.
1:13pm: Rosenthal tweets that the medical issue is not with Bruce or with Nimmo. The Reds and Mets are trying to restructure the trade at the moment, he adds.
12:55pm: The Reds are balking at the medical reports on one of the minor leaguers in the package, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
12:37pm: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick now tweets that a medical issue may be holding up the Mets’ acquisition of Bruce. Crasnick adds that the severity of the issue isn’t known, but the medicals are no longer a formality.
11:47am: The Mets and Reds will have a deal, tweets Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that two low-level minor leaguers are going to the Reds alongside Nimmo.
11:32am: Outfield prospect Brandon Nimmo will be part of the package going to the Reds, reports Yahoo’s Tim Brown (on Twitter). Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweeted that the Giants and Rangers tried to jump back into the mix with late offers on Bruce but did so too late.
11:26am: The Mets are “on the verge” of completing a trade to acquire outfielder Jay Bruce, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney (on Twitter). This marks the second straight year in which the Reds have been linked to Bruce leading up to the deadline, although last year’s would-be deal never crossed the finish line, and the Mets eventually shifted their focus from the Reds and Bruce, coming away with a last-minute pickup out outfielder Yoenis Cespedes from the Tigers.
Bruce, 29, now has the chance to join Cespedes in the New York outfield. The career-long Red is in the midst of not just a resurgent season at the plate, but the finest offensive season he’s ever produced. Bruce is batting .265/.316/.559 with 25 homers, 22 doubles and six triples this season while playing on a reasonable $12.5MM salary. He’s still owed about $4.3MM of that sum through season’s end, and his contract comes with a $13MM club option for the 2017 season as well.
Cincinnati came close to moving Bruce during Spring Training in a supposed three-team deal, but medical reviews of some of the minor leaguers involved torpedoed the deal. That looks quite fortuitous for Cincinnati now, as Bruce’s huge season has rebuilt his trade stock substantially. Bruce underwent arthroscopic knee surgery early in the 2014 season and rushed back in less than a month, and he didn’t look like himself at the plate in either 2014 or 2015 (combined .222/.288/.406 slash line). Now, he seems likely go to New York for what is presumably a considerably stronger package of young talent than he’d have fetched about four months ago.
Bruce will provide the Mets with a power bat to slot into the corner outfield mix, although his acquisition likely pushes some combination of Curtis Granderson and Michael Conforto into center field due to Yoenis Cespedes‘ now-infamous preference to remain in left field. Certainly, that defensive alignment is sub-optimal, as Bruce’s defensive ratings have plummeted this season, but the Mets have long appeared more concerned with ratcheting up their offensive production (e.g. placing Yoenis Cespedes in center field, signing Asdrubal Cabrera to play shortstop) and seem content to live with a sub-par defensive alignment in order to achieve that end.
From the Reds’ vantage point, Bruce has long been one of their most obvious trade candidates due to the team’s rebuild and the Bruce’s timeline to free agency. In landing Nimmo, they’ll secure a former first-round pick that can essentially step directly into the outfield in Bruce’s absence. The 23-year-old made his big league debut with the Mets this season but has struggled through 60 plate appearances, batting .236/.300/.291. However, Nimmo has torn up the Pacific Coast League (albeit an extremely hitter-friendly environment) by slashing .336/.409/.517 in 325 plate appearances this season and ranked third on Baseball Ameica’s midseason list of Mets prospects and fifth on the midseason top 30 over at MLB.com.
Earlier today, Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reported that the Mets were the favorites to land Bruce.
Deadline Day Rotation Rumors
While we’ll certainly break out any stories that seem to have some helium, we’ll use this post to keep tabs on less pressing developments in the market for starting pitching:
- The Pirates are talking to the Yankees about Ivan Nova, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- The Marlins are now looking for another starter after sending Colin Rea back to the Padres, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets.
- Angels lefty Hector Santiago is still on the Tigers‘ radar, along with Hellickson, per Morosi (via Twitter). Santiago has been talked about a decent bit in recent weeks, but we haven’t heard very many strong connections. Los Angeles is likely willing to deal him in the right situation, but surely puts a high value on a useful starter who is controllable beyond the year.
- The Astros are mostly just “dabbling” in the market for starters, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. Edinson Volquez of the Royals represents one possible target, though Houston is said not to be terribly interested in the veteran righty.
- While we haven’t heard much in the way of specifics, the Cubs are said to be eyeing an impactful rotation addition, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that’s still the case. (He adds that the team prefers not to overpay for a left-handed-hitting outfielder, which is also on their wish list.)
- The Phillies may well hold onto righty Jeremy Hellickson, ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark tweets. Philly hasn’t changed its asking price — last we heard, at least one quality prospect — but the market is changing. The Giants and Tigers aren’t in the bidding, per Stark, while the Rangers and Blue Jays have other names higher on their priority lists. With that being said, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets that Detroit is still looking at Hellickson, among other starters, as they seek to add to their rotation.