NL East Notes: Phillies, Gomez, Mets’ Bullpen, Prado
The Phillies may not possess any top-flight trade deadline pieces, but the organization does have some worthwhile assets. As MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes, GM Matt Klentak says trade talks have been “very active” of late. The Phils have “more confidence” in moving veterans with several top minor leaguers seemingly ready for an opportunity, said Klentak, who nevertheless stressed that he doesn’t feel compelled to make any deals. Reports have recently indicated that if (or when) right-hander Jeremy Hellickson is moved, another promising right-hander, Jake Thompson, will get a look in the rotation. Thompson, acquired in last summer’s Cole Hamels blockbuster, has a 0.58 ERA in his past 62 1/3 innings at Triple-A. His 37-to-17 K/BB ratio in that time is a bit more pedestrian, and he’s been aided by a .233 BABIP over that stretch, but he certainly seems ready for a call-up after impressing for much of the season.
A bit more on the Phillies and their division…
- Jeanmar Gomez has elevated his stock substantially in 2016, Zolecki writes, noting that he entered the season a a multi-inning middle reliever but has handled a move to the ninth inning with aplomb. Gomez isn’t a traditionally dominant power arm that is often associated with closing gigs, but he’s sporting a 2.76 ERA thanks in part to some of the strongest control and ground-ball rates he’s ever displayed. Gomez has averaged just 5.7 K/9 but is also yielding walks at a 2.2 per nine clip and has a 52.1 percent ground-ball rate in 45 2/3 innings. The Phillies have Hector Neris and Edubray Ramos serving as potential ninth-inning replacements in the event that Gomez is flipped.
- The Mets are monitoring right-handed relievers Joe Smith of the Angels, Chris Withrow of the Braves and Jeremy Jeffress of the Brewers, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post. Despite Bartolo Colon‘s recent struggles and uncertainty surrounding the bone spurs of both Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz, the Mets’ front office isn’t sure there’s a rotation upgrade to be had that would be worth the asking price. Notably, Puma also writes that a reunion with Tyler Clippard, whom Arizona GM Dave Stewart has said is available in trades, doesn’t seem likely. Smith’s asking price would be the lowest of the bunch, in my estimation, as he’s a pure rental. Jeffress and Withrow both have three years of club control remaining beyond this one, and Jeffress has had a better season than Withrow while emerging as Milwaukee’s closer this season, so he’s probably the toughest of the bunch to pry loose. As Puma pointed out earlier this week (on Twitter), Jim Henderson won’t be an option in the near future, as a hamstring injury suffered in the minors has forced him to restart his rehab assignment.
- The Marlins have yet to approach Martin Prado about a contract that would keep him in Miami beyond the 2016 season, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, though Jackson notes that he does fully expect Miami to attempt to re-sign the third baseman even if it waits until the offseason. A new deal for Prado would give the Marlins three players for second base and third base, leading Jackson to suggest that either Dee Gordon or Derek Dietrich could be moved for pitching this winter. Gordon’s 80-game PED suspension notwithstanding, it’s tough to imagine the Fish moving him this winter.
Marlins Seeking Left-Handed Reliever
The Marlins have long been known to be in the market for a starter to round out the back of their rotation, but MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets that they’re also looking for left-handed bullpen help. Miami, in fact, was in on Mike Montgomery before the Mariners traded him to the Cubs in a four-player deal on Wednesday.
Miami currently has just one left-handed reliever, Mike Dunn, in its bullpen, and he spent the first two months of the season on the disabled list due to a strained left forearm. Dunn has a 3.24 ERA in 16 2/3 innings since returning, but he’s also seen significant declines in his strikeout rate and ground-ball rate this season in that small sample. (Then again, his velocity has been steadily ticking upward since his activation, so perhaps more effective days are on the horizon.)
Whatever the remainder of the season holds for Dunn, a second lefty would be a nice addition to provide first-year Marlins manager Don Mattingly with greater flexibility to play matchups late in the game. Miami has cycled through some options already this season, as it recently released veteran southpaw Craig Breslow and has fellow veterans Chris Narveson, Cory Luebke and Jo-Jo Reyes pitching in Triple-A. Cody Ege and Raudel Lazo represent healthy left-handed options that are currently pitching in the minors but are already on the 40-man roster.
The Marlins’ farm system is weak, but the club has already landed a right-handed setup option for closer A.J. Ramos by picking up Fernando Rodney in a deal with the Padres, and there figure to be plenty of left-handed relievers that could make a difference as well. Setting aside top-tier names like Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman, pitchers such as Fernando Abad, Boone Logan, Will Smith, Zach Duke, Ian Krol and Tony Cingrani stand out as lefty relief options on losing clubs that could potentially make sense to be dealt.
West Notes: Hill, Reddick, Dodgers, Giants, Gurriel
Athletics lefty Rich Hill still isn’t ready to throw from a mound due to a blister on his pitching hand, manager Bob Melvin told reporters including Comcast’s Joe Stiglich (via Twitter). Though he is keeping his arm in shape by throwing with the blister area covered, the overall progress doesn’t seem quite as advanced as might be hoped. At this point, Oakland just has to hope that Hill can fully recover in time to make one more start before the trade deadline and show that he’s past the issue.
Here’s more from Oakland and elsewhere out west:
- Outfielder Josh Reddick expressed frustration with the fact that he and the Athletics haven’t engaged in recent extension talks, Stiglich also tweets. Reddick called the situation “kind of disheartening,” presumably referring to the fact that he’s likely to be traded with no new deal in place. Player and team have long been said to be engaging in dialogue over a new deal, but it now seems that the time has passed for an agreement.
- The Dodgers are still weighing the addition of a power bat even as they consider starters, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. That very likely won’t be the Brewers’ Ryan Braun, per the report, as Los Angeles has not shown any inclination to go after him. Jay Bruce of the Reds may be the most realistic target, he suggests, though Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies could also be pursued. (For what it’s worth, I’d wager that Colorado will be quite reticent to move CarGo within the division, if it’s willing to do so at all.)
- Giants executive VP of baseball ops Brian Sabean tells Alex Pavlovic of CSNBayArea.com that his club isn’t just looking to build out the depth in its relief corps. “It’s not just going to be the average Joe coming in,” he said. “You’re thinking it’s going to be a meaningful piece, but the competition on the premium people is going to be real stiff and it already is.” Sabean explained that the preference is for a high-strikeout arm who “could really get through an inning and not have much flak in getting through the inning” — rather than what he described as “contact relievers.”
- Astros manager A.J. Hinch said appearance yesterday on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link) that he expects just-signed third baseman Yulieski Gurriel to be ready for the majors in relatively short order. “We want his bat in the line-up, we want him to get acclimated as much as possible,” said Hinch. “That’s probably 2 or 3 weeks.” In the meantime, outfielder Preston Tucker has been called back to the big league club to take the place of the optioned A.J. Reed.
Indians To Sign Joe Thatcher
The Indians have agreed to a minor league deal with lefty Joe Thatcher, according to SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). He had been released by the Dodgers after opting out of his deal with the team.
Thatcher, 34, has seen action in each of the last nine major league seasons, but has yet to receive a big league opportunity thus far in 2016. He was working at the Triple-A level for the Dodgers, posting a 3.60 ERA in 15 frames but also running up an impressive 21:5 K/BB ratio.
Cleveland will presumably consider Thatcher as a LOOGY option down the stretch. He was useful in such a role last year for the Astros, who asked Thatcher for just 22 2/3 innings in 43 appearances but received 3.18 ERA ball from him in that limited capacity.
Heyman’s Latest: Archer, Gray, Shoemaker, Teheran, Vizcaino, Cubs, Mariners
After breaking down the dismal state of the starting pitching supply on this summer’s trade market, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag goes on to provide news and notes on all thirty teams. Among those of chief relevance to the trade deadline:
- At least one unnamed executive thinks that Rays righty Chris Archer is a good bet to be traded, as ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark reports. But an anoynymous general manager tells Heyman that he’s getting quite a different feel. “There’s no belief Chris Archer will be traded,” the GM reportedly said. It’s always tough to know how to interpret the signals on high-level, controllable players, but suffice to say that Archer remains a player to watch — but not one who should be assumed to be on the move.
- The Athletics are “not engaging” competitors in talks on Sonny Gray, which obviously supports the idea that there’s no real interest in exploring a deal while his value is down. Neither are the Angels inclined to chat on Matt Shoemaker, albeit for somewhat different reasons.
- Likewise, the Braves are putting out the vibe that they won’t trade Julio Teheran. But that’s not necessarily the case with regarded to reliever Arodys Vizcaino. Though he’s on the DL with an injured oblique — which is certainly not an easy injury to gauge a timeline from — Atlanta is still getting trade hits and may yet look to move him, per the report. Personally, I have a hard time seeing a sufficient offer developing given the uncertainty.
- Though the Braves would love to find a taker for struggling shortstop Erick Aybar, Heyman says there’s no real interest in the veteran. Atlanta has mostly been engaged in discussions on its part-time role players, and doesn’t seem particularly likely to be involved in any major swaps — though it’s wise never to rule out a creative surprise. After all, who saw last summer’s 13-player trade coming together?
- The Cubs remain on the periphery of the starting pitching market but are suggesting to other organizations that they don’t expect to land a starter. Certainly, it seems, Chicago won’t burn up too much prospect capital just for a back-end hurler. That’s not surprise, as the Cubs have a perfectly sturdy starting five as well as some depth options.
- That’s not to say that the Cubs aren’t still poking around, with Heyman noting that the team spoke to the Mariners about James Paxton and Taijuan Walker. Other organizations have as well, including the Rangers. A Seattle source tells Heyman that a trade of either young starter remains unlikely, though the team isn’t taking anything off the table at this point. From where I sit, it’s tough to imagine either player changing hands; Seattle will surely want to see whether Paxton can harness his improving stuff, while Walker isn’t at full health.
- It’s not clear how the Tigers will be able to upgrade their starting staff, but the report suggests they’d like to. Detroit doesn’t want to deal any of its significant prospects and doesn’t have a lot of room to add salary, per Heyman. That doesn’t really leave much of a realistic path to improvement, though perhaps the team can find some supplemental assets with a little creativity.
Trade Market For First Basemen
If all else fails, teams looking for pop can usually shoehorn a slugger into a first base and/or DH role, and it’s easier to carry such players with the knowledge that rosters will expand in fairly short order. Last year, we saw Mike Napoli and Brandon Moss move at the deadline. But is the demand there this time around?
Truth be told, there aren’t a lot of situations that scream for improvement. John Jaso hasn’t been stellar for the Pirates, though Sean Rodriguez has made for a useful companion and the team has top prospect Josh Bell on hand (if it’s willing to trust him in the field). It’s hard to imagine the Nationals giving up on Ryan Zimmerman — and we haven’t heard any chatter to suggest it — but he is hurt and hasn’t been effective, while lefty bench bat Clint Robinson isn’t matching last year’s productivity. Justin Bour has shown well for the Marlins, but he’s not being trusted to face southpaws and could probably stand to be paired with a better platoon mate than the struggling Chris Johnson (though the return of Dee Gordon will effectively deepen the overall infield mix). The Astros haven’t really landed on a first baseman, but the team may have already made its corner infield move with the signing of Yulieski Gurriel. With the loss of Prince Fielder, and the team’s seeming lack of interest in giving Joey Gallo a shot, perhaps the Rangers shouldn’t be counted out.
If those or any other organizations go hunting for new bats, here are some of the names they might consider:
Rentals
Logan Morrison & Steve Pearce (Rays), Adam Lind & Dae-ho Lee (Mariners), Mark Reynolds (Rockies), Justin Morneau (White Sox), Michael Morse (Free Agent)
- We considered Pearce in the discussion of second basemen, and he’ll probably also appear as a corner outfield option, but perhaps he’s best considered as a somewhat unique, floating, semi-regular slugger. He’s a health risk, but he’s also very affordable and is flat-out raking this year (.324/.393/.553).
- Morrison and Lind haven’t done a whole heck of a lot at the plate in 2016 — at last look, each carried an 88 OPS+ — but they’re rental pieces that could hold some appeal as lefty bench bats. Much the same holds for Reynolds, albeit from the right side. His .277/.345/.438 batting line is obviously propped up by the advantages of altitude, but he could still garner consideration.
- Lee has been hitting, and doing equal damage against pitchers of both kinds, so it’ll be interesting to see if another organization takes a liking to the 34-year-old slugger — who is owed just $1MM this year. It’s not clear from public reports whether he’ll be controllable after the season, but odds are his minor league contract stipulates that he must be put back into the free agent pool.
- Morneau is a mystery — he has taken just 38 professional plate appearances since his offseason elbow surgery — and he’s 35 years old. There’s not much chance that he’ll do anything in the next ten days to prompt a deal, let alone that the White Sox will look to trade him in that time. But if he starts putting up numbers and Chicago falls back in August, the veteran first bagger could conceivably be moved in August.
- It still seems a bit odd that Morse hasn’t signed since his early-season release by the Bucs, but he is 34 years old and may not be interested in taking a minor league deal. It’s tough to see a contender calling with a MLB offer at this stage.
Future Control
Chris Carter (Brewers), Danny Valencia & Yonder Alonso (Athletics), Byung-ho Park & Kennys Vargas (Twins), Brett Wallace (Padres)
- Teams looking for pop could well zero in on Carter, who can also be kept around for two more years via arbitration. He’s producing right at his career rates, which means a borderline OBP and loads of long balls.
- Valencia has barely cracked 100 innings at first, but he’s beginning to see a bit of action there and clubs could consider him in that role (at least on a part-time basis) as a way to get the bat in the lineup. Both he and his teammate, Alonso, have another year of arb eligibility remaining. And they are headed in opposite directions, with Valencia slumping through July while Alonso has posted .800+ OPS figures in each of the last two months.
- The Twins don’t seem particularly likely to discuss either of their two young DH candidates, and other organizations don’t seem particularly likely to come calling. San Diego would surely be willing to listen on Wallace, but he hasn’t followed up on last year’s short-sample success and his two years of future control don’t carry any significant value.
Big Contracts
Billy Butler (Athletics), Joey Votto (Reds), Mark Teixeira & Alex Rodriguez (Yankees), Albert Pujols (Angels), Joe Mauer (Twins), Ryan Howard (Phillies)
- Of the players listed here, Butler might be the likeliest to be traded. He has enjoyed a rebound of sorts over the last two months or so, but overall he has been even less productive this year than last. As a pure DH who is owed $10MM this year and next, it’s far from clear that he’ll be targeted.
- The remaining names are all largely implausible trade pieces for somewhat varied, but somewhat overlapping reasons. All have produced at times since signing their monster contracts, but only Votto (who has emerged from his early-season malaise) is putting up big numbers at present — and he not only has gobs of cash still left on his deal, but possesses a full no-trade clause that he doesn’t seem inclined to waive.
Dream On
Freddie Freeman (Braves), Paul Goldschmidt (Diamondbacks), Wil Myers (Padres), Jose Abreu (White Sox)
- I feel compelled to mention these three players, if only to check all the boxes, but there are really no plausible scenarios where they end up moving. That’s due in some part to the lack of demand, but also their teams’ stances. Braves GM John Coppolella prefers Freeman to his own right arm; Goldschmidt is one of the most valuable assets in the game and plays for a club that hopes to contend again soon; and Myers constitutes the signature addition of Pads GM A.J. Preller’s tenure. There’s probably at least some minute chance of Myers being dealt, but with possible extension talks on the horizon it’s a poor bet.
- That brings us to Abreu, who is in something of his own category. We’ve heard that the White Sox are prepared to listen on most of its roster, and it doesn’t seem that Abreu is being put behind glass with a select few others. He has turned things around after a rough start, and though he no longer looks to be quite the elite asset that he once was, Abreu would still draw significant interest given his affordable control. But I’m still not convinced that Chicago is going to part with the slugger for an equivalent-value package, so I’m shoe-horning him in this category.
White Sox Reportedly Open To Dealing Veteran Bats, Relievers
4:34pm: GM Rick Hahn acknowledged that his club will not be pursuing short-term upgrades to the MLB roster, as Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago was among those to tweet. He added that the Sox will be willing to consider all other transactions.
Those comments don’t squarely paint Chicago as a seller, but certainly lean as strongly in that direction as might be expected in a public statement. Hahn bemoaned the fact that, as he put it, the team is “mired in mediocrity,” so it certainly appears that the organization is ready to shake things up.
1:20pm: The White Sox appear to have reversed course in the midst of a significant slump, as Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the club is now open to selling off veteran pieces this summer (Twitter link). The Sox intend to keep their rotation intact — taking Chris Sale, Jose Quintana and presumably Carson Fulmer and Carlos Rodon off the table, much to the chagrin of interested parties — and are intent on holding onto top shortstop prospect Tim Anderson as well. Other than that, however, Nightengale suggests that the rest of the roster is “in play.”
Optimistic fans will likely take the report and try to come up with ways in which the potentially selling Sox could be overwhelmed to part with Sale or Quintana, but FOX’s Ken Rosenthal emphasizes (via Twitter) that Sale won’t be moved, reporting that an unnamed team is said to have offered Chicago a “king’s ransom” for its ace within the past 48 hours, only to be met with a flat “no.” Another rival executive tells Rosenthal that teams have been asking for Quintana in trades for years, and the Sox have steadfastly refused (Twitter link).
Nightengale’s report is fairly surprising in that it suggests that Sox will at least entertain the notion of trading outfielder Adam Eaton, who has become one of baseball’s biggest bargains thanks to his elite all-around play and affordable contract. (I’d have pegged him to be among the “untouchable” group.) Eaton is hitting .271/.353/.393 with five homers, 11 steals and exceptional defense in right field, and he’s guaranteed just $21MM through the 2019 season (plus two options valued at $9.5MM and $10.5MM for the 2020 and 2021 campaigns). FanRag’s Jon Heyman reported earlier this morning that the Sox have already been receiving calls on Eaton, although I have to imagine that the asking price on him would be exorbitant.
Slugging first baseman Jose Abreu, too, would be a consideration under such criteria. He’s had a bit of a down season overall, slashing .266/.323/.423 but has turned things around at the plate dating back to June 1 (.299/.349/.478). He’s owed $38.04MM through the end of the 2019 season, including the remainder of this year’s salary, though his contract allows him to opt into arbitration following the 2016 season if he wishes.
Heyman also reported this morning that closer David Robertson is receiving quite a bit of attention on the trade market as clubs look to acquire impact relievers. While Robertson’s 4.03 ERA on this season is a departure from his normal excellence, he’s been clobbered for 10 of his 17 earned runs in just two of his 37 appearances this season but has been largely effective outside of those hiccups. He’s owed $29.45MM through the end of the 2018 season and is still averaging 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings, though he’s also averaging 4.9 walks in that same stretch as well. Both Nate Jones and Dan Jennings are having strong seasons and come with three-plus years affordable control (Jones via a three-year, $8MM extension with a pair of club options and Jennings via arbitration). Jones’ strong season and considerable control could make him tough to surrender, though.
Beyond those long-term assets, the South Siders have several other short-term and mid-term assets that are controllable through the end of the 2017 campaign as well as a few rentals. Todd Frazier, Brett Lawrie, Melky Cabrera and Zach Duke are each free agents at the end of the 2017 season, while Dioner Navarro, Alex Avila and Justin Morneau are free agents following the current season. Frazier is tied for the Major League lead with 28 homers and is due an arbitration raise on his $8.25MM salary, while Lawrie has been about league-average at the plate and will get a bump from his $4.125MM salary. Cabrera has quietly been quite solid at the plate dating back to June 1 of last season, hitting .294/.338/.456 with 20 homers in 827 plate appearances, but the remaining $20.66MM on his deal is fairly steep. Duke is owed about $7.52MM from now through the end of his own contract and has logged a 2.97 ERA with 10.5 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and a 58.1 percent ground-ball rate this year.
The change in course is a fairly surprising turn of events for a White Sox team that just last month proactively sprung to add James Shields in a trade with the Padres (Shields has righted the ship after a pair of early implosions with Chicago) and also added Justin Morneau while shedding Jimmy Rollins to open shortstop for Anderson. That series of win-now moves hasn’t changed the club’s fortunes, though, leading to a potentially uncharacteristic sell-off from a Sox club that is typically loath to do so. Owner Jerry Reinsdorf has long been said to be against such sales, and indeed, the Sox chose to hold onto the majority of their pieces last summer in spite of an opportunity to ship out veteran pieces, most notably Jeff Samardzija.
It remains, of course, far from clear that the Sox will clean house in any way. The very fact that they’re insistent in holding onto Sale, Quintana, etc. suggests they intend to aim for better results as soon as the 2017 season. As such, major dealings shouldn’t necessarily be the expectation, but the very fact that the Sox are open to the idea represents a rather significant philosophical change from where the team stood four to six weeks ago.
MLBTR Live Chat: 7/21/16
Click here to read a transcript of today’s live MLBTR chat with host Jeff Todd.
Orioles’ Hunter Harvey To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
Orioles top pitching prospect Hunter Harvey will undergo Tommy John surgery, general manager Dan Duquette revealed on today’s Baseball Tonight Podcast with ESPN’s Buster Olney (audio link). “He’s had a strain in his elbow, and we’ve been trying to see if he could pitch with it,” Duquette explained, “but he had another setback last week, and it looks like he’s going to need to have a ligament reconstruction procedure here.”
Harvey was selected with the No. 22 overall pick in the 2013 draft but has scarcely pitched since due to a series of injuries, including a flexor mass strain, a broken shin and surgery to repair a hernia. He’s frequently been rated among the game’s Top 100 overall prospects by the likes of Baseball America, MLB.com, Baseball Prospectus and ESPN’s Keith Law, but Harvey didn’t pitch at all in 2015, threw just 12 2/3 innings this season and will now miss most or all of the 2017 season as well. The injury serves as a blow to the Orioles from a depth standpoint and also undoubtedly comes as a crushing bit of news to a pitcher that is still just 21 years of age. From a deadline perspective, the injury also eliminates any possibility of Harvey’s inclusion in a deal to help augment the Orioles’ big league rotation, which currently ranks 27th in the Majors with a 5.11 ERA and last in total innings pitched at 503 1/3.
Harvey’s surgery will take place next Tuesday, according to Rich Dubroff of CSNMidAtlantic.com.
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/21/16
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…
- The Angels announced that right-hander A.J. Achter has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake. Acther, a longtime Twins farmhand who made his way to the Halos via waivers, has pitched to a 3.98 ERA in 20 1/3 innings with the Angels this season and issued just four walks. However, he’s also struck out just nine batters in that time and has only 28 strikeouts in 44 2/3 relief innings in the Majors. The 27-year-old was already outrighted once earlier this season, so he’ll have the opportunity to reject in favor of free agency or accept and head to Triple-A, where he has a career 2.94 ERA in 174 1/3 innings with a vastly superior 8.2 K/9 rate.
- The Dodgers announced that they’ve selected the contract of left-handed reliever Grant Dayton from Triple-A Oklahoma City and moved Chris Hatcher to the 60-day DL to open a spot on the 40-man roster. (Zach Links of MLBTR/Pro Football Rumors first reported, on Twitter, that Dayton would be promoted.) The 28-year-old Dayton has spent parts of seven seasons in the minors before today’s promotion, which looks to be well-earned. He’s posted a 2.44 ERA with eye-popping averages of 15.9 strikeouts and 1.9 walks per nine innings pitched through 48 minor league frames this year.