Rockies Designate Aaron Laffey
The Rockies have designated reliever Aaron Laffey for assignment, tweets Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. The transaction was part of a series of moves that allowed the club to recall Christian Bergman, Scott Oberg, and Kyle Parker. Pitcher Kyle Kendrick and outfielder Corey Dickerson were placed on the disabled list. The Rockies also designated Laffey on July 11, but he ultimately remained with the team.
The 30-year-old lefty has spent most of the season at the Triple-A level where he’s compiled a 4.78 ERA, 5.86 K/9, and 4.01 BB/9 in 58 innings. He’s tossed just seven and one-third innings in three relief appearances in the majors this year. Laffey checks in around 87 mph. He’s thrown 494 innings over his career with a 4.44 ERA, 4.46 K/9, and 3.62 BB/9.
Athletics Designate Eric O’Flaherty
The Athletics have announced that they’ve designated lefty reliever Eric O’Flaherty for assignment. The move clears space on the Athletics’ active roster for righty and recent trade acquisition Aaron Brooks, who has been promoted from Nashville to start tonight.
The 30-year-old O’Flaherty has struggled this season, posting a 5.91 ERA, 6.3 K/9 and 5.9 BB/9 in 21 1/3 innings while dealing with shoulder trouble. He’s also dealt with elbow and back issues in recent years. The A’s signed O’Flaherty to a two-year, $7MM contract before the 2014 season, and his rather expensive $5.5MM 2015 salary and uneven performance likely ensure he won’t be claimed.
East Notes: Valencia, Red Sox, Fulmer
The Blue Jays‘ somewhat surprising decision this morning to designate Danny Valencia for assignment confused many fans. Valencia has, after all, had a very strong season at the plate, batting .296/.331/.506, and he’s capable of playing several positions and raking against lefties. As Sportsnet.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith explains, manager John Gibbons told GM Alex Anthopoulos that he wanted new acquisition Ben Revere to play every day rather than platooning, leaving one of Valencia or Chris Colabello without much of a role. The Blue Jays ultimately decided to keep Colabello, and Anthopoulos thinks Valencia will be claimed on Monday. The GM suggests the Jays aren’t done tweaking their roster, so they could make a minor move or two to improve it, perhaps adding an outfielder.
- The Red Sox were relatively quiet at the deadline, but they expect to look quite different by April, Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston writes. “I think it’s incumbent upon us to make real improvement between now and Opening Day,” says GM Ben Cherington. “We didn’t feel like it had to be this week. And so we went into it with the mindset, we’re going to pursue things we think fall in line with ways we need to improve between now and Opening Day.” Cherington notes that it’s still possible the Red Sox could make deals in August. Potential trade candidates include Mike Napoli and Alejandro De Aza.
- The Mets repeatedly refused to trade pitching prospect Michael Fulmer, and were able to acquire Yoenis Cespedes from the Tigers only when they finally relented, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press writes. To Tigers exec Dave Dombrowski, Fulmer was the key to the deal (which also included another solid pitching prospect, Luis Cessa). “We consider Fulmer a premium-type guy,” Dombrowski says.
Padres Designate Tim Federowicz
The Padres have designated catcher Tim Federowicz for assignment, Corey Brock of MLB.com tweets. Federowicz was completing a rehab assignment for a meniscus tear that has cost him the entire season so far. He was out of options, and the Padres evidently decided they were happy with Derek Norris and Austin Hedges at catcher, so as Federowicz approached full health, the Padres were forced to a decision.
Federowicz, 27, has a career .194/.247/.300 line in parts of four big-league seasons, all with the Dodgers. He does, however, have a good defensive reputation. The Dodgers sent him south last December in the Matt Kemp / Yasmani Grandal trade.
Drew Pomeranz Changes Agents
Athletics pitcher Drew Pomeranz is changing agents to CAA Sports, Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan tweets. The 26-year-old Pomeranz will be arbitration eligible for the first time in the coming winter.
The lefty currently has a 4.04 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 64 2/3 innings split between starting and relieving. Those numbers are roughly in line with his career numbers in parts of five seasons split between Colorado and Oakland.
C.J. Wilson Likely Out For Season
Angels starter C.J. Wilson believes he might be out for the season, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez (Twitter links). The Angels had previously announced that the results of a recent MRI showed left elbow impingement secondary to arthritis. Wilson says he has bone spurs in his elbow that have expanded. As Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times tweets, the bone spurs have been an issue for several months, but Wilson is now opting for surgery because of a decreased range of motion and an increased risk of injury to his shoulder.
Wilson had similar surgery following the 2012 season and returned to pitch 212 1/3 good innings in 2013. (He also had surgery for the issue late in 2008.) Still, the news is unfortunate for the Angels. Shaikin tweets that Wilson informed the Angels before the trade deadline that he would likely need surgery, so they had enough time to make a deal if they wanted to. They did not, however, perhaps figuring that they already had enough depth — they currently have Garrett Richards, Matt Shoemaker, Hector Santiago and Andrew Heaney in their rotation, with Jered Weaver set to return soon from a hip injury.
The 34-year-old Wilson has had an effective season with the Angels, with a 3.89 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 132 innings. He’s making $18MM in 2015 and will make $20MM next year before the expiration of the five-year, $77MM deal he signed prior to the 2012 season.
Dodgers, Braves, Marlins Complete 13-Player Trade
AUGUST 1: The Dodgers are paying just $500K of the remainder of Arroyo’s deal, Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles tweets. Arroyo is owed about $8MM, including his 2016 buyout, and it appears the Braves are paying almost all of that amount.
JULY 30: The Dodgers, Marlins and Braves have swung one of the most complex three-team trades in recent history. The “basic” structure of the deal (though there’s nothing basic about this move) is as follows: the Dodgers will receive right-hander Mat Latos and first baseman Michael Morse from the Marlins. They’ll also add top prospect Jose Peraza and pitchers Alex Wood, Bronson Arroyo, Jim Johnson and Luis Avilan from the Braves. Atlanta, in turn, will receive infielder Hector Olivera, lefty Paco Rodriguez and minor leaguer Zachary Bird from the Dodgers. The Braves are also picking up Miami’s Competitive Balance Round A pick in next year’s draft (No. 35 overall). The Marlins will come out of this deal with three minor league pitchers — Kevin Guzman, Jeff Brigham and Victor Araujo — plus the financial relief of shedding the remaining $14.3MM that is owed to Latos and Morse. Each team has announced the trade’s completion.
In making this trade, the Dodgers bolster their rotation not only for the remainder of the 2015 season but also potentially through the 2019 campaign. Latos, who is earning $9.4MM in 2015 and has $3.6MM of that sum remaining on his contract, is a free agent at season’s end, but Wood can be controlled for four years beyond the current campaign.
While he’s battled injuries and struggled early in the season, Latos has increased his velocity and upped his results since returning from a DL stint (as noted by MLBTR’s Steve Adams when examining his trade candidacy). All told, the 27-year-old Latos owns a 4.48 ERA with 8.0 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 over 88 1/3 innings on the year. But ERA estimators view him more as a mid-3.00 ERA contributor, and that has shown up in his last seven starts, over which he’s allowed 15 earned runs in 45 2/3 frames with a 43:9 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Wood is perhaps the more intriguing name here for the Dodgers, though. The 2012 second-round pick was never vaunted as a Top 100 prospect, but he’s emerged as a reliable cog in the Braves’ rotation over the past few seasons. Though many have expressed long-term health concerns with Wood and his numbers are down in 2015, his overall body of work is nonetheless impressive. Wood has a lifetime 3.10 ERA in 368 2/3 big league innings with very strong averages of 8.2 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 to go along with a 46.5 percent ground-ball rate. Both Latos and Wood will join co-aces Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke in the Dodgers’ rotation, solidifying the starting five down the stretch. Those additions, however, demonstrate a different approach than many pundits expected, as L.A. was heavily rumored to be involved with the top names on the trade market.
In landing Johnson, the Dodgers are picking up a reliever that was serving as Atlanta’s closer and doing so quite well. Johnson led the AL in saves from 2012-13 before a down season in 2014. Atlanta snatched him up on a one-year, $1.6MM contract with enough incentives to carry the deal to $2.5MM if he maxes it out. He’s been an outstanding buy-low piece for the Braves and will carry a 2.25 ERA, 6.2 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and 60.8 percent ground-ball rate into the Dodger bullpen, where he’ll help set up for Kenley Jansen.
The 26-year-old Avilan gives the Dodgers another left-handed relief option to pair with J.P. Howell and Ian Thomas, though it’s debatable whether he’s a long-term improvement over Rodriguez, who heads to Atlanta in the deal. Avilan has a 3.58 ERA on the season with a 31-to-10 K/BB ratio (though two of the walks were intentional) in 37 2/3 innings. He’s upped his velocity this season and his strikeout rate as well, but Avilan’s previous good fortune in terms of homer-to-flyball ratio has dried up this season, and he’s near the league average (above it, in fact) in that regard for the first time in his career. Avilan hasn’t missed a ton of bats throughout his career but does have strong overall totals against left-handed hitters.
Morse doesn’t really fit on the Dodgers’ roster and was likely included as a means of offsetting some salary, so it’s possible his stay with the Dodgers will be brief, at best. Los Angeles designated Eric Stults for assignment immediately upon acquiring him from the Braves earlier this year and did so with Ryan Webb as well, so there’s certainly precedent for them to flex their financial muscle as a procedural necessity and simply cut ties with the unwanted or superfluous players in a deal.
Arroyo serves as a second example of the Dodgers flexing their financial muscle. The veteran right-hander signed a two-year deal with the D-Backs prior to the 2014 season but underwent Tommy John surgery last summer and hasn’t pitched this season. Arizona unloaded his contract in a prior trade with the Braves, and that money will now go to the Dodgers, bringing the total amount of cash they’re eating in this deal to roughly $43.5MM. It’s possible, at least, that Arroyo could pitch at the back of the L.A. rotation down the stretch.
Dealing Peraza away was probably a tough pill to swallow for the Braves, who have long lauded him as one of their top prospects. The 21-year-old entered the season as a consensus Top 50 prospect in the game, and though his offensive numbers are down somewhat, that’s not necessarily a red flag for someone playing at the minors’ top level at the age of 21. That’s not to say, of course, that Peraza’s numbers are poor; he’s hitting .295/.319/.380 this season. Peraza ranks as the game’s No. 26 prospect on the midseason Top 50 from Baseball America and No. 30 on MLB.com’s midseason update to their own Top 100 prospect list. Peraza began his career as a shortstop and eventually moved to second base, but it’s not certain where the Dodgers project him in the future. He has little power but draws rave reviews for his speed and glove, and he’s swiped 149 bases over his past 310 minor league contests. I feel it should be noted that Peraza, too, could be a piece that the Dodgers will consider dealing, as they’re reportedly reluctant to part with their own top prospects: Corey Seager and Julio Urias.
As for the Braves, they’ll finally land a player they pursued extensively this offseason in the form of Olivera. Atlanta simply couldn’t match the Dodgers’ enormous $62.5MM offer to the 30-year-old infielder, but $28MM of that came in the form of a signing bonus that is to be paid in three installments. The Dodgers will pay the final two installments of Olivera’s signing bonus, tweets David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That means the Braves are essentially taking on Olivera on a six-year, $32.5MM contract that began this season. He’s earning $2MM in 2015, of which about $754K remains, so their total financial commitment to him will be about $31.25MM over the course of five and a half years. That’s a much more palatable obligation for the Braves (who have notably shed significant payroll from their books by moving Melvin Upton Jr. and Craig Kimbrel since Olivera signed.)
Olivera, a right-handed hitting third baseman/second baseman, was said at the time he signed to be a safe bet to post strong average and OBP marks due to his pure hitting abilities and a keen eye at the plate. The question was how much power he’d show in the Majors, but some felt that he could be a 20-homer bat on a yearly basis. He’s looked sharp to this point in the minors, hitting .348/.392/.493 across three levels and reaching Triple-A. The Braves undoubtedly consider him to be a major component of their long-term future in the infield, though the specific position he’ll play is yet an unknown.
In Rodriguez, they’ll pick up a left-handed reliever who could be out for the season but has pitched well when healthy. Rodriguez had surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow in late June — a procedure that will sideline him for eight to 10 weeks. However, the former second-round pick has been excellent while on the mound. He was the first player from the 2012 draft to reach the Majors, debuting the same year he was drafted, and he sports a lifetime 2.53 ERA with 9.6 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9.
The 21-year-old Bird has largely unimpressive numbers in the minors — a 4.74 ERA in 351 minor league innings — but MLB.com rated him 15th among L.A. farmhands. Per their scouting report, he made big strides with his velocity late in 2014 and has gone from a low-90s heater to a mid-90s offering that “threatens triple digits” at times. He still needs to get a better feel for his offspeed pitches and has a long ways to go as a slider, they add.
With all that said, we’re at last to the Marlins’ portion of the trade, which looks meager. Of the three names in question, only Brigham ranks among L.A.’s top 30 prospects, per MLB.com, who rank him 28th. Brigham had Tommy John surgery in college in 2012 and missed all of 2013 before pitching himself into the fourth round, their scouting report notes. He’s 90-94 mph with his fastball and has shown shaky control, though some of that can be attributed to the surgery. He’s punched out 75 hitters in 75 innings this year but has also walked 38 and has a 5.52 ERA.
Guzman is a 20-year-old starter pitching at the Class A level who has notched a 3.90 ERA with 6.7 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 in 83 innings this year. The 22-year-old Araujo is in his second stint with Class-A Advanced and hasn’t found very favorable results. He’s missed plenty of bats (55 strikeouts in 50 innings) with solid control (14 walks) but has been hittable and ultimately surrendered a 5.40 ERA this season.
The Marlins had a number of ways they could go in terms of dealing Latos, but it seems they either prioritized shedding the Morse contract or simply didn’t find that teams were willing to offer much in return given his rental status, health concerns and early struggles. In the end, while this trade started off being termed the “Mat Latos trade,” it will be more remembered as a deal that netted the Braves their second baseman or third baseman of the future in exchange for a promising young arm and one of their top prospects.
Gordon Wittenmeyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reported (on Twitter) that Latos and Morse were headed to the Dodgers. Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald (Twitter link) and MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro (Twitter link) reported the financial components for Miami/L.A. and the inclusion of the Marlins’ draft pick. Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM tweeted that a third team was potentially being brought in. Frisaro reported the prospects going to Miami. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the Braves’ inclusion (via Twitter). Joel Sherman of the New York Post said the Braves would get a young starter (Twitter links), and Rosenthal tweeted that Wood was the pitcher in question. Bowden tweeted Johnson’s inclusion. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman first suggested Peraza’s name (on Twitter) and Sherman confirmed his inclusion (via Twitter). Bowman also tweeted that Olivera was in the deal, and Bowden tweeted that Avilan was as well. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweeted that Bird was headed to Atlanta. Bowman added that Rodriguez was going to the Braves. Passan added the final wrinkle: Arroyo’s inclusion (Twitter links).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Deadline Reactions: Winners, Losers, Top Prospects
Here’s a roundup of recaps from yesterday’s trade deadline.
- The Blue Jays and Royals are the biggest winners of last month’s trades, while the Padres are the biggest losers, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman writes. All three choices were probably fairly easy ones, with the Blue Jays landing Troy Tulowitzki and David Price, the Royals grabbing Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist, and the Padres mostly standing pat. Further down both lists is where things get interesting, though — Heyman notes that the Phillies and Athletics did well in their trades of veterans, and that the Dodgers should have done better than Mat Latos and Alex Wood for all the payroll they’re taking on.
- The Astros, Royals, Phillies and Tigers, among other teams, deserve credit for their deadline deals, Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan writes. The Padres, meanwhile, did poorly. To expect the Padres to make the playoffs at this point “borders on lunacy,” Passan writes.
- Nine of the top 100 prospects in baseball changed teams at the deadline, MLB.com’s Jim Callis writes. Daniel Norris (headed from the Blue Jays to the Tigers in the David Price trade) tops the list followed by Brett Phillips (from the Astros to the Brewers in the Carlos Gomez deal) and Jose Peraza (who went from the Braves to the Dodgers in the Mat Latos deal). Callis’ take on the Dodgers’ 13-player trade is quite different from Heyman’s — Callis writes that the Dodgers got plenty of big-league help in the deal while also getting a very impressive prospect in Peraza.
- Prospects among MLB’s top 50 include Norris, Phillips, Peraza, Hector Olivera (who went from the Dodgers to the Braves), Jeff Hoffman (Blue Jays to Rockies in the Troy Tulowitzki deal) and Jake Thompson (Rangers to Phillies in the Cole Hamels deal), J.J. Cooper of Baseball America writes.
NL East Notes: Mets, Amaro, Braves
The Mets did well with their series of trades before yesterday’s deadline, ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin writes. The addition of Yoenis Cespedes significantly improves the Mets’ offense, and while the Mets did give up a fair amount of pitching talent (particularly Michael Fulmer), they have plenty of good young starting pitching and were trading from depth. Here are more quick notes from the NL East.
- After the collapse of their trade for Carlos Gomez, Friday couldn’t have worked out better for Sandy Alderson and the Mets, David Lennon of Newsday writes. Not making a deal could have resulted in a “public relations catastrophe,” which the Mets avoided by turning their attention to Jay Bruce and then to Cespedes, finally making a trade right before the deadline.
- In Philadelphia, meanwhile, Mike Sielski of the Inquirer wonders whether Ruben Amaro might have saved his job with his performance in the Cole Hamels trade. The Phillies got three top prospects in Nick Williams, Jake Thompson and Jorge Alfaro as part of their return for their ace. “In this day and age, teams are much more willing to dole out money than they are prospects,” says Amaro. “The value of the prospects has increased dramatically. I’ve had to make a personal adjustment on that, to understand that a bit better and make the adjustment there. I think we did that with this deal.” Sielski writes that it was also striking that Amaro was the one speaking to the media, and Pat Gillick and Andy MacPhail weren’t present.
- One player who wasn’t traded yesterday was Braves outfielder Jonny Gomes, and he wants to remain in Atlanta, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution writes. Gomes also isn’t ruling out that the Braves can contend this year, even after trading a number of players (including Juan Uribe, Kelly Johnson, Alex Wood, Luis Avilan, Jim Johnson and Bronson Arroyo) near the deadline. “In 2012, Oakland A’s were 14 1/2 games back in mid-August, and we were in first place for the last four innings of the season,” says Gomes. “[I]ndividual accountability, how we’ve got to play the game — that doesn’t change.”
Blue Jays Designate Danny Valencia, Ezequiel Carerra
The Blue Jays have designated 3B/OF Danny Valencia and outfielder Ezequiel Carrera for assignment, Scott MacArthur of TSN tweets. The Jays also recalled middle infielder Munenori Kawasaki and optioned righty Ryan Tepera. The moves were likely made so that the team could add newcomers Ben Revere and Mark Lowe to their active roster, although those moves haven’t yet been announced.
Valencia, 30, is in the midst of a strong offensive season, hitting .296/.331/.506 in 173 plate appearances. With Devon Travis on the DL, though, the Jays were short in the middle infield, so Kawasaki will join the team instead. It’s still a bit surprising that the Jays would designate Valencia, however, given that the addition of Lowe will leave them with 13 pitchers on their staff. Valencia is making just $1.68MM this year, and he could become an attractive target in a trade or on the waiver wire, given his strong hitting this season (even if it’s somewhat out of character) and his ability to hit lefties and play third base, first base and outfield. He has also appeared in three games at second for the Jays this year. Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos says he expects Valencia will be claimed, as Sportsnet.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith tweets.
Carerra, 28, was batting .279/.327/.374 in 164 plate appearances this year. He became somewhat superfluous, however, with the Jays’ trade for fellow lefty hitter Revere. Carrera is a career .259/.311/.349 hitter in parts of five seasons also spent with the Indians, Phillies and Tigers.