Relief Market Rumors: Nationals, Giants, Rangers, Jeffress, Smith, Cubs, Nathan
Here’s a roundup of some bullpen-related rumors about teams who may be looking to add, subtract or stand pat in regards to their relief corps…
- The Nationals, Giants and Rangers are the three teams “poised to be most aggressive in pursuit of late-inning relief help” in the opinion of rival evaluators, ESPN’s Buster Olney writes (subscription required). The latter two clubs aren’t a surprise given how injuries and ineffectiveness have hampered both the San Francisco and Texas bullpens, but the Nats entered today with the fourth-lowest bullpen ERA (3.15) of any club in baseball. Despite good results overall, closer Jonathan Papelbon has outperformed his peripheral stats and seen a velocity drop, so Washington could be looking to make a midseason closer addition for the second straight year. All three teams have been linked to Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller if and when the Yankees make their star relievers available.
- Brewers relievers Jeremy Jeffress and Will Smith are getting a lot of attention from scouts, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter link). Jeffress was recently ranked by MLBTR’s Jeff Todd as one of the top 20 trade candidates leading up to the deadline, as the righty has performed quite well as Milwaukee’s closer. It was an injury to Smith that opened the door for Jeffress to take over the ninth-inning role, and Smith has pitched well himself in 17 innings since returning from the DL.
- The Cubs have been heavily connected to bullpen trade rumors, though they could potentially receive help from within if veteran Joe Nathan is able to regain any of his old form, CSN Chicago’s Patrick Mooney writes. Nathan signed a minor league deal with the Cubs in May as the 41-year-old looks to return from the second Tommy John surgery of his career. Mooney and Cubs skipper Joe Maddon both provide some detail on Nathan’s promising appearances over six games for Chicago’s Double-A affiliate. Nathan struggled in 2014 and missed virtually all of 2015, of course, so you would think the Cubs would look for a more solid relief option even if Nathan does look good.
AL East Notes: Kim, Bautista, A-Rod, Arcia
Let’s check in with some news from around the AL East…
- Hyun Soo Kim suffered a hamstring strain while running out a grounder and had to leave Sunday’s game after just an inning of play. The Orioles outfielder will undergo some tests on Monday and manager Buck Showalter told reporters (including Dan Connolly of Baltimore Baseball) that he hopes Kim can heal during the All-Star break and not require any DL time. Kim entered today with a very impressive .331/.413/.457 slash line over his first 172 plate appearances in the big leagues.
- Jose Bautista has begun to hit off a tee and the Blue Jays are hopeful the slugger can return before the end of July, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith writes. Bautista has been sidelined since mid-June due to turf toe, already missing a bit more time than expected with the injury. The outfielder was hitting .230/.360/.455 with 12 homers in 286 PA — a down year by Bautista’s standards, though he’ll still have at least two months to position himself for a big contract in free agency this winter.
- Alex Rodriguez will take grounders at first base over the All-Star break and continue to work at the position once the season resumes, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News reports. Rodriguez made the first two appearances of his long career at first base last season, though those were two of just six total games A-Rod played in the field in 2015. This season, Rodriguez has appeared only as a DH and pinch-hitter, and his playing time has been cut due to both his season-long slump and the Yankees‘ desire to use Carlos Beltran as a DH (for both injury reasons and to improve their outfield defense). With Mark Teixeira also a health question mark, A-Rod could get some limited action at first, particularly against left-handed pitching.
- Oswaldo Arcia is happy to be with the Rays but is still disappointed the Twins traded him, the outfielder tells Fangraphs’ David Laurila. “I don’t think I got the opportunity to show what I could really do,” Arcia said. “I know the class of player that I am. I don’t know that I got the time to show that. You’re going to struggle — there are ups and downs in this game — and you’re going to make adjustments. Everybody in this room is making adjustments every day.” Arcia also said he pressed too hard after being demoted to Triple-A last season, which didn’t help his path back to the bigs: “If you try to do too much, you’ll end up doing less.”
- In other AL East news from earlier today, we covered some Red Sox and Yankees items in the latest edition of AL Notes, and the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo shared several interesting trade buzz items from around the division (and all of baseball).
Braves Outright Emilio Bonifacio
TODAY: Bonifacio has been outrighted off the Braves’ 40-man roster and assigned to Triple-A, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. Bonifacio had the option of rejecting this assignment and becoming a free agent, but he will indeed head to Gwinnett.
THURSDAY: The Braves announced this afternoon that they’ve activated infielder Gordon Beckham from the disabled list and designated veteran utilityman Emilio Bonifacio for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster.
Bonifacio, 31, was brought up to the Majors last month after opening the season in Triple-A. He appeared in 15 games with Atlanta in what was his second stint with the Braves (he also played for Atlanta back in 2012) and batted .129/.206/.129 in 36 trips to the plate this time around. The fleet-footed Bonifacio has enjoyed better results at Triple-A Gwinnett this season, hitting .271/.321/.319 in 252 trips to the plate. Assuming he’s outrighted, Bonifacio has the necessary service time to reject an assignment to a minor league club in favor of free agency, though it’s not uncommon for veterans in his spot to accept an outright assignment.
In parts of 10 big league seasons, Bonifacio is a career .257/.314/.334 that has averaged 34 stolen bases per 162 games played.
Central Notes: Tigers, Indians, Cardinals
Two members of the Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate in Toledo, outfielder Anthony Gose and manager Lloyd McClendon, were involved in a contentious argument in the dugout during the first game of a doubleheader Saturday, writes Katie Strang of ESPN.com. McClendon then removed Gose from Toledo’s lineup in the third inning and the 25-year-old didn’t play in the second game. Gose’s personal belongings were not in his locker afterward, per the Toledo Blade. When asked about it, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said, “Anytime a player reacts that way to a manager, it’s a concern, but it’s certainly not anything that can’t be dealt with or gotten past.” However, Gose failed to report to the ballpark Sunday, according to Tigers vice president of player development Dave Littlefield, who said their front office will discuss the matter during the All-Star break and decide how to proceed (Twitter link via George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press). The speedy Gose, whom the Tigers acquired from the Blue Jays for second baseman Devon Travis in November 2014, has appeared in 170 games with Detroit (30 this year) and hit .247/.315/.363 in 636 plate appearances.
A couple more notes from the majors’ two Central divisions:
- Indians left fielder Michael Brantley, on the shelf since May 10 because of right biceps tendinitis, will begin a Class-A rehab assignment Monday, reports Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com. The Indians are “excited” about the progress Brantley has shown since receiving a cortisone shot June 21, said manager Terry Francona. Brantley underwent November shoulder surgery and didn’t make his 2016 debut until April 24, and he then succumbed to more trouble in that area after appearing in only 11 games. At 52-35, first-place Cleveland has been surprisingly effective without Brantley, who batted a superb .319/.382/.494 with 35 homers and 38 steals in 1,272 trips to the plate from 2014-15. One of many reasons for the Indians’ success is Jose Ramirez, but he’ll lose playing time when Brantley returns, per Hoynes. Ramirez, who has mostly divided his time between third base and left field, has slashed .296/.354/.418 with 26 extra-base hits in 315 PAs.
- Since 2010, the versatility-driven Cardinals have had no fewer than 20 players advance at a position more challenging or of a different discipline than the one they arrived playing, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch details. Among the group is Double-A backstop Carson Kelly, a 2012 second-round pick who shifted from third base to catcher in 2014 and will partake in Sunday’s Futures Game. “When you look at the modern game, there does seem to be a real value in having a roster with some flexibility,” general manager John Mozeliak told Goold. “Having multi-position players is a benefit.”
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/10/16
Sunday’s minor transactions from around baseball:
- The Orioles have outrighted right-hander David Hale off their 40-man roster and assigned him to Triple-A Norfolk, the team announced. The Orioles claimed Hale off waivers from the Rockies in April, but he didn’t throw a pitch for Baltimore prior to the club outrighting him. The 28-year-old swingman has a 4.48 ERA, 6.04 K/9, 3.12 BB/9 and 52 percent ground-ball rate in 178 2/3 career major league innings.
- The Brewers have traded minor league righty Jaye Chapman to the Rays for cash, per an official announcement. The Rays will be the fourth organization for the 29-year-old Chapman, who has also spent time at various minor league levels with the Braves and Cubs. Since Atlanta selected Chapman in the 16th round of the 2005 draft, the reliever has logged a 3.94 ERA, 9.5 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 486 2/3 minor league innings. Chapman’s only major league experience came in 2012 as a member of the Cubs, with whom he threw 12 frames.
Ryan Madson Drawing Trade Interest
With right-hander Ryan Dull in the midst of a breakout season, the 38-50 Athletics could be more inclined to listen to trade offers for other relievers prior to the Aug. 1 deadline, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Teams were already showing interest in southpaw Sean Doolittle as of two weeks ago, but that was before he hit the disabled list June 30 with a shoulder strain. Clubs are now looking at fellow late-game option Ryan Madson, reports Slusser, who lists the Blue Jays, Nationals and Cubs as teams on the hunt for relief help. There are no indications, however, that the A’s are looking to deal anyone from their bullpen, per Slusser.
Madson, 35, joined the A’s on a three-year, $22MM contract last December and has converted 17 of 22 save opportunities in his first 37 1/3 innings in Oakland. One of those five blown save chances occurred Sunday for the righty, who has recorded a 3.62 ERA, 7.47 K/9, 3.13 BB/9 and 39.1 percent ground-ball rate.
Madson’s 2016 output has been markedly worse than the production he compiled last year as a member of the World Series champion Royals, with whom he posted a 2.13 ERA, 8.24 K/9, 1.99 BB/9 and 55 percent ground-ball mark in 63 1/3 frames. That represented an improbable and tremendous rebound for Madson, who hadn’t pitched in the majors since 2011 because of elbow issues. Previous to that, he served as a relief weapon in Philadelphia for several years. Madson averaged in the 94 mph range with his fastball during his days as a Phillie, and he has continued to do that since returning to the league last season.
NL Notes: Mets, Nats, Pirates, Cardinals, D-backs
With right-hander Matt Harvey‘s season over thanks to thoracic outlet syndrome, the reigning National League champion Mets are unsure if it makes sense to deal prospects for major league help at this year’s trade deadline, according to the New York Daily News’ John Harper. “There’s a lot of grey area right now,’’ a Mets source told Harper. Only two Mets prospects – shortstop Amed Rosario (No. 18) and first baseman Dominic Smith (No. 76) – cracked Baseball America’s just-released midseason top 100 prospects, notes Harper, who points out that the 47-40 team lacks blue-chip pipeline talent to trade. Harper’s also skeptical of the quality of starters set to move by the deadline, though he adds that the Wild Card-holding Mets might be willing to part with Smith for a capable rotation piece.
More on New York and four other NL cities:
- The Mets’ tough-it-out approach with injured young starters Harvey, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz is backfiring on them, while the Nationals are benefiting from a more guarded method, opines Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post. Harvey missed the entire 2014 season because of Tommy John surgery and then responded with a 238 2/3-inning workload last year, writes Boswell, who points out that Harvey and agent Scott Boras expected the Mets to shut him down late in the campaign. However, general manager Sandy Alderson had no such expectation and Harvey elected to keep pitching after dealing with backlash from fans and media. Meanwhile, the Nats have taken care of ace Stephen Strasburg, another Boras client, having shut him down early during their 98-win showing in 2012. They also sent Strasburg to the disabled list last month rather than take a chance with his upper back injury. Strasburg dominated before landing on the DL and has continued doing so since returning July 3. Moreover, while Strasburg might have been this year’s NL All-Star starter, he and the club made the “mutual decision” to keep him out of the game, per president and GM Mike Rizzo.
- Having won 12 of 15, the 46-42 Pirates now sit just 1.5 games back of a Wild Card spot. Thus, they’re approaching the trade deadline as buyers. “Our expectation is we are going to add,” GM Neal Huntington told Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Our mindset is we are going to add and put ourselves, for the first time in the franchise history, in position to make the postseason four consecutive years.” The Pirates’ resurgence has come without ace Gerrit Cole and catcher Francisco Cervelli, of which Huntington is cognizant. “We’ve gone through this toughest part of our schedule,” he said. “We’re going to get guys back healthy.”
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak acknowledged that the idea of promoting Baseball America’s second-ranked prospect, Triple-A right-hander Alex Reyes, as a bullpen option is an enticing one. “So when you think about that type of tool set and putting it in the bullpen it’s certainly exciting,” Mozeliak told Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “You’d be hard pressed to find that type of talent in the trade market and let alone (it would be a) zero acquisition cost.” On the other hand, the flame-throwing 21-year-old hasn’t totaled more than 116 1/3 frames in a season since joining the Cardinals organization in 2013, and they want him to accrue innings so he can help their rotation in 2017. “If all he ended up with is 75 innings what can we expect from him as a starter next year?” Mozeliak said. Reyes, who served a 50-game marijuana suspension to begin the season, has racked up 41 1/3 innings this year.
- Before the Diamondbacks traded Brad Ziegler to Boston on Saturday, they asked the pending free agent reliever if he’d be open to a contract extension. Ziegler said yes, but, “Next time I heard from them, they told me I was traded” (via ESPN’s Scott Lauber).
Phillies Designate Mario Hollands For Assignment
The Phillies have designated left-hander Mario Hollands for assignment, the team announced.
Hollands has thus far spent his entire career as part of the Philadelphia organization, which picked him in the 10th round of the 2010 draft. The 27-year-old’s only major league experience came over a fairly extensive sample size in 2014, as he amassed 47 innings of 4.40 ERA pitching to go with a 6.7 K/9, 4.02 BB/9 and 51.2 percent ground-ball rate. As a minor leaguer, Hollands has totaled 115 appearances (67 starts) and 431 1/2 innings. He owns a 3.92 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 outside the majors.
AL Notes: Red Sox, Yankees, Beltran, Twins
On the heels of acquiring reliever Brad Ziegler from Arizona early Saturday, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald that their bullpen is “pretty well set.” Dombrowski, who said the Red Sox had been working on landing Ziegler “for a while,” is optimistic about how the club’s relief corps will fare after Craig Kimbrel returns in a few weeks from knee surgery, stating, “Kimbrel’s coming back, and then you’ve got Kimbrel, you’ve got Koji (Uehara), you’ve got (Brad) Ziegler. I know Taz (Junichi Tazawa) is going through a little bit of tiredness in his arm and shoulder. They don’t think it’s anything major.” Drellich is less bullish about the unit than Dombrowski is, though, as he opines that the Sox shouldn’t bank on the health of Kimbrel or Tazawa down the stretch, nor should they assume effectiveness from 41-year-old Uehara and Heath Hembree.
More on Boston and a couple other AL clubs:
- With the Aug. 1 trade deadline approaching, the middling Yankees can take disparate lessons from last year’s White Sox, Tigers and Rangers, all of whom the current Bombers compare to, writes Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. The White Sox – like the Tigers, Rangers and this year’s Yanks – went into the deadline with a below-.500 record and a negative run differential, but they elected to stand pat instead of selling. That meant keeping right-hander Jeff Samardzija, who walked in free agency after Chicago missed the playoffs. The White Sox did, however, receive a first-round pick as compensation for his departure. The Tigers, meanwhile, dealt Yoenis Cespedes, David Price and Joakim Soria instead of clinging to postseason dreams. As a result, they now have highly promising 23-year-old righty Michael Fulmer, whom they acquired from the Mets for Cespedes. After making a bold trade for southpaw Cole Hamels, Texas turned its season around en route to a playoff berth. The Yankees have plenty of movable assets and will have to decide in the coming weeks which of those three teams they’ll mimic.
- If the Yankees sell, 39-year-old All-Star Carlos Beltran seems likely to end up in another uniform. The right fielder/designated hitter has already submitted his 15-team no-trade list to the Yankees, per Davidoff, with Beltran revealing it includes “a little bit of both” leagues. The potential future Hall of Famer would be open to another stint in the NL, which would mean playing the field every day. “DH is great, but I played all my life in the outfield, so there’s nothing wrong with it. I just want to play baseball, man,” he commented.
- Injuries have beset the Red Sox this year in left field, where Chris Young, Blake Swihart and Brock Holt have each missed extended periods of time. However, Dombrowski is comfortable with his in-house options. Regarding the possibility of acquiring a left fielder, Dombrowski said (via Drellich), “I’m not really looking to do that. At some point, Blake Swihart is going to come back, too. … Chris Young is coming back. Brock Holt looks like, when I went in there earlier, it looks like he doesn’t have to be on the disabled list. Bryce Brentz has done a nice job for us.” Notably, Boston is in possession of an elite prospect, Double-A outfielder Andrew Benintendi, who could solve their issues in left if he receives a major league promotion.
- While Padres managing partner Peter Seidler admitted Saturday that they probably won’t be ready to compete until at least 2019, the bottom-feeding Twins aren’t taking the same approach.“Everybody wants to win next year. We’re not looking at 2020,” general manager Terry Ryan said (Twitter link via Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press). After posting a solid 83-79 record last year, Ryan’s Twins have gone an AL-worst 31-56 this season. Needless to say, winning next year seems like a tall order.
Cafardo’s Latest: BoSox, Royals, O’s, Jays, Yanks, Rays, A’s, Phils, Twins, Angels
Scouts from the Red Sox, Royals, Orioles and Blue Jays were on hand to watch Athletics left-hander Rich Hill‘s Thursday start, according to the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo, who writes that the 36-year-old would likely prefer a return to Boston. With the help of ex-major league pitcher Brian Bannister at Triple-A Pawtucket, Hill began reviving his career as part of the Red Sox organization late last summer after a stint in the independent Atlantic League.“Brian pointed out that (Clayton) Kershaw threw his curveball 45 percent of the time,” said Hill. “He basically emphasized that, take what you think are your best pitches and use them correctly. So with me, it was not only throwing the curveball but throwing it at different speeds, changing the shape of it as well as manipulating the spin on the fastball.” Hill took Bannister’s advice and has relied almost exclusively on his curveball and fastball since the Red Sox called him up last September. The results? Ninety-nine innings of 2.06 ERA ball to accompany a 10.8 K/9, 2.83 BB/9, 49.6 percent ground-ball rate and 17.9 percent infield fly mark. Hill could soon end up as the premier starter dealt by the Aug. 1 deadline, and the pitching-challenged Red Sox – who added Bannister to their coaching staff earlier this week – seem like a logical fit. For now, Hill is scheduled to start again Friday for the A’s, who bought low on him in the offseason (one year, $6MM) and have reaped the rewards.
More from Cafardo:
- In the event the Braves shop right-hander Julio Teheran, one major league source told Cafardo, “The Braves don’t want anyone’s B- list. It’s got to be at the top of anyone’s prospect list, and it just looks complicated.” As a strong, in-his-prime performer who’s controllable through 2020 on an extremely team-friendly contract, Teheran is one of rebuilding Atlanta’s best assets.
- The Red Sox recently sent senior vice president of baseball operations Frank Wren – their top talent evaluator – to St. Petersburg, Fla., to observe division-rival Rays righty Jake Odorizzi. Last-place Tampa Bay is considering shopping Odorizzi, who should draw plenty of interest given his cheap salary ($520,700) and three years of arbitration eligibility remaining. The 26-year-old has compiled a 4.33 ERA, 8.49 K/9, 2.98 BB/9 in 99 2/3 frames this season. He previously combined for 337 1/3 innings of 3.74 ERA pitching and similar strikeout and walk rates from 2014-15.
- The water-treading Yankees would want a far better return for dominant lefty closer Aroldis Chapman than the one they gave up for him during the winter. The Bombers sent prospects Eric Jagielo, Tony Renda, Rookie Davis and Caleb Cotham to Cincinnati for Chapman amid his domestic violence allegations last December. Chapman ended up sitting out the first month-plus of the season because of a suspension related to that incident, but the soon-to-be free agent has continued his reign as one of baseball’s premier relievers since.
- As of earlier this week, the Red Sox were scouting Phillies 29-year-old right-hander Jeremy Hellickson, a pending free agent who has posted a 3.92 ERA, 7.92 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 105 2/3 innings this season. Preparing for a possible trade, the Phillies have reciprocated by scouting Boston’s farm system.
- Various major league executives think highly of Twins righty and potential trade piece Ervin Santana as a mid-rotation option. While Santana has a suspension for performance-enhancing drugs in his past, the 33-year-old has long served as a respectable starter. That includes this year, in which has logged a 4.06 ERA, 6.58 K/9 and 2.52 BB/9 over 93 innings. Santana is signed through 2018 at $13.5MM per annum, so he wouldn’t be a rental.
- The Red Sox considered trading for Athletics infielder Jed Lowrie before acquiring Aaron Hill from the Brewers on Thursday. But Hill’s relationship with Red Sox infield coach Brian Butterfield helped tip the scales in his favor. Lowrie played in Boston from 2008-11 after the franchise drafted him 45th overall in 2005.
- The Angels are likely to deal right-handed setup man Joe Smith, whom many teams are eyeing. The 32-year-old has pitched poorly this season, though, with a 4.80 ERA, 6.6 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 across 30 innings. Smith, who’s on a $5.25MM salary, entered the year off five straight strong campaigns and is set to become a free agent at season’s end.