Cubs Have Expressed Interest In David Price
TODAY: Though Chicago is pursuing a starter, the team has no interest in “pay[ing] a premium price for a rental,” tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. There are several different ways to interpret that, of course: it could mean that the club prefers to go after controllable assets, that it is looking more at mid-tier arms, or just that it won’t part with its best young talent in a rental deal (but still might be involved).
YESTERDAY: The Cubs were among the first teams to express interest in left-hander David Price, multiple sources tell Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago.
Levine’s careful to note that while the Cubs have expressed preliminary interest, eight or more teams are likely to kick the tires on Price, in the event that the Tigers do indeed decide to trade him. (Multiple reports have expressed doubt that the former Cy Young winner will actually be moved.) The Tigers are reportedly considering a sale of Price, Yoenis Cespedes and other free agents to be, such as Joakim Soria, Rajai Davis and Alex Avila.
The connections between the Cubs and Price are many. The majority of Price’s career has come with the Rays, and Cubs manager Joe Maddon was Tampa Bay’s manager for every single one of those contests. Cubs top decision-makers Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod long watched Price terrorize the AL East when they filled executive roles with the Red Sox. Price is also more than familiar with bench coach Dave Martinez, who followed Maddon from St. Petersburg to Chicago.
Chicago has the minor league talent to entice the Tigers to part with Price, but the question will be whether or not Epstein & Co. want to part with premium young players for two-plus months of Price. The thought of a playoff rotation consisting of Price, Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta is enticing, but the Cubs would need to make it to an actual playoff series before that becomes a reality. The Cubs are nine games back in the NL Central with two teams to leapfrog, so as it stands, their best chance of reaching the NLDS would be via one-game Wild Card playoff. Paying the steep price of acquisition for Price when their postseason hopes still ride on a one-game playoff may not be the way in which the front office prefers to operate.
The Cubs have been linked to Cole Hamels, but he’s a long-term piece that could help them in 2015 and beyond. Price is the first pure rental of note — at least among pitchers — to whom the Cubs have been linked. Previous reports have indicated that the team hopes to add another top-flight pitcher for the 2016 season, but that end may ultimately be achieved by trading for a someone controlled beyond this season or by investing heavily in free agency for a second straight winter. The interest in Price is indeed notable, but as Levine notes in writing that the Cubs won’t trade their very best prospects, “proper perspective of him being a two-month rental is needed.”
David Freese To Be Placed On DL With Fractured Finger
Angels third baseman David Freese was hit by a pitch from Minnesota’s Mike Pelfrey tonight and will be placed on the disabled list with a fractured in his hand, tweets Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com. Gonzalez further clarifies that it’s a fractured index finger for Freese. The finger is already in a splint, which Freese will have to wear for at least the next two weeks (Twitter links). Freese’s hope is that he can return within three weeks.
The loss of Freese comes on the heels of a report from Gonzalez that the Angels, who are looking for help at the leadoff spot and in the middle of the order, are slightly prioritizing a power bat over a top-of-the-order catalyst. Freese and his roughly league-average production have occupied the five spot in the Halos’ lineup for much of the season, but according to Gonzalez, they were already interested in adding a bat, possibly in left field, that could move into that spot and push Freese down the lineup. One would imagine, then, that the loss of Freese only serves to enhance the club’s desire to add an authoritative presence behind Mike Trout and Albert Pujols in the heart of the order.
Gonzalez and the OC Register’s Jeff Fletcher both reported today that the Angels, who previously had been said to prefer controllable bats, have now warmed to the idea of adding rental players. Fletcher added that beyond that openness, the club is now considering right-handed bats after previously preferring lefty hitters.
The Angels do have a fairly Major League ready replacement in Kyle Kubitza. The 25-year-old prospect was acquired from the Braves this winter and is hitting .276/.346/.446 at Triple-A this season. His first taste of Major League action earlier in the year didn’t go particularly well, though, and while the Angels hope that he’s their third baseman of the future, it’s not certain that they’re willing to hand him a significant role in the midst of a pennant race while Freese mends. He could be a short-term stopgap, but adding a player that’s at least capable of playing third base would seem to be a reasonable target for the Halos.
The Angels have been linked to outfield bats such as Jay Bruce, Yoenis Cespedes, Josh Reddick, Ben Revere and Gerardo Parra, though I personally wonder if the injury to Freese will lead to interest in players capable of handling multiple infield spots. Ben Zobrist‘s name is popular on this year’s trade market, but someone such as Juan Uribe of the Braves strikes me as a logical target. Uribe could fill in at third base in the short term and, upon Freese’s return, could potentially be an offensive upgrade at second base in the event that Johnny Giavotella‘s recent offensive struggles continue.
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/22/15
Here are some recent minor moves from around the game:
- The Mariners have acquired Triple-A reliever Tyler Knigge from the Phillies in exchange for cash, Jake Kaplan of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports on Twitter. Knigge, 26, was a 12th-rounder back in 2010 that has advanced as far as Triple-A. He’s spent time there in both 2014 and 2015, working to a 4.89 ERA with 5.5 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in 70 innings. His numbers at Double-A and Class-A Advanced were markedly better.
- Braves reliever David Carpenter was outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Carpenter — not to be confused with the former Atlanta reliever and current Nationals reliever of the same name — has worked 3 2/3 innings in the bigs this season and 46 2/3 innings at the Major League level as a whole. He’s struggled to a 5.40 ERA, though the 27-year-old has a more palatable 2.73 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 over the life of his minor league career.
- The Dodgers recently released righty Ryan Buchter after he opted out of his deal, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The 28-year-old notched a stellar 1.65 ERA with 39 strikeouts against 16 walks in 32 2/3 innings at Triple-A this season.
- And the Rays released infielder Vince Belnome, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. The 27-year-old Belnome has been solid throughout most of his Triple-A tenure, but he’s slumped to a triple-slash of just .169/.293/.225 in 191 plate appearances this season.
- The Brewers announced yesterday that they’ve signed lefty Jeremy Horst and released right-hander John Ely. Horst, 29, saw a fairly significant amount of Major League action from the 2011-13 seasons with the Reds and Phillies. He has a career 3.32 ERA with 8.7 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9 in 72 2/3 innings. Horst began the season with the Dodgers’ Double-A affiliate, where he tallied a 1.64 ERA with 42 strikeouts against 16 unintentional walks in 38 1/3 innings. As for Ely, the now-29-year-old Ely logged 115 2/3 innings with the Dodgers from 2010-12 but hasn’t appeared in the bigs since. Injuries have played a role in his absence from the league, but he also struggled to a 7.42 ERA in 13 1/3 innings between Rookie ball and Triple-A this season.
Orioles Trying To Trade Bud Norris
The Orioles are currently attempting to move right-hander Bud Norris, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
Norris, a free agent at season’s end, has struggled quite a bit this year, working to a 6.82 ERA entering tonight’s contest. His sub-par work in the rotation caused him to lose his starting spot, and the move to the bullpen hasn’t yielded better results (four runs in six relief innings, though he did work a scoreless inning with one strikeout in tonight’s game).
The good news for Norris is that he’s still averaging 93.4 mph on his fastball, and his 41.8 percent ground-ball rate is above his career mark. That’s not much of a silver lining when considering that his 6.7 K/9 is a career-low, his control has taken a step back, and he’s allowing homers at a higher rate than ever before. His 2015 struggles aside, though, Norris has a solid track record. From 2011-14, he averaged 174 innings per season with a 4.06 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 between Houston and Baltimore.
Moving Norris figures to be a difficult feat for Orioles general manager Dan Duquette; in addition to his struggles, Norris is still owed approximately $3.6MM of his $8.8MM salary. Duquette said earlier today that his team was a deadline buyer regardless of its record over the next week and a half, with his primary focus being to add an outfield bat and pitching depth.
Angels Open To Adding Rental Hitters, Righty Bats
The Angels prefer to acquire a bat that is controlled beyond the 2015 season, but they’re warming to the idea of acquiring a rental, Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com tweets. That includes Yoenis Cespedes, though the cost of acquisition will obviously be key to any deal. At the very least, he adds, they’d like to add a bench piece they’re comfortable starting a couple of times per week.
Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register also hears that the Angels are opening up to not only the idea of rental players, but also to the idea of adding a right-handed bat. (Previously, the Angels have been said to prefer left-handed bats due to the heavily right-handed nature of their lineup.) According to Fletcher, the only player that seems off limits in the Angels’ minor league system is Sean Newcomb. Pitchers Chris Ellis and Nate Smith — two of the club’s top-ranked prospects — could potentially be had. Fletcher adds (via Twitter) that Andrew Heaney is probably not available either.
Gonzalez wrote yesterday that the Angels are seeking both a leadoff hitter and a power bat to slot in fifth behind Mike Trout and Albert Pujols in the batting order, though they may not be able to acquire both. In a followup tweet to the article, Gonzalez says he’s getting the sense that the Angels would prefer the power bat. David Freese has spent the bulk of the time hitting fifth in Anaheim this season but has batted a fairly pedestrian .240/.308/.409.
As for the leadoff role, Johnny Giavotella has assumed that spot lately but struggled there, and his .261/.315/.349 batting line is below the league average. The Angels, according to Gonzalez, are monitoring Chase Utley‘s rehab as a possible alternative. However, they’d only have true interest were the cost “minimal” and should Utley begin to show his old form at the plate. (Utley, of course, is a potential August trade candidate, as one would think his contract, injury troubles and lack of production make him a lock to clear trade waivers.)
Ben Revere has been oft-connected to the Angels in the past, as has Cincinnati’s Jay Bruce. Gonzalez speculates (on Twitter), too, that Gerardo Parra of the Brewers might be a nice rental piece for the Angels.
Heyman On Pitching Market, Astros, Angels, Hamels, Jays
Though many consider this to be a sellers’ market, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports kicks off his latest Trade Buzz column by writing that the starting pitching market could swing in favor of buyers. Only four teams are in desperate need of a rotation upgrade, he notes — the Blue Jays, Royals, Astros and Dodgers — and new names are being added to the pitching market as the deadline nears. Many executives, however, still wonder if the Tigers will really sell. Several throughout the game expect David Price to stay put with the Tigers, Heyman writes. Here are some highlights from his notes on the pitching market as well as the rest of the trade market…
- It’s likely that the Rangers will end up trading Yovani Gallardo, and Heyman points out that an NL team would consider Gallardo a bonus, as he’s hit 13 homers in his career as at the plate. The Rangers could also end up trading Colby Lewis, who could step into the back of a rotation for a club in need of some stable innings.
- The Astros are determined not to trade outfield prospect Brett Phillips, who one Astros-connected person referred to as “an absolute stud” when talking to Heyman. Houston is also interested in virtually every pitcher on the market, though one notable exception is Mike Leake, as the club’s evaluators aren’t particularly high on the Reds right-hander.
- The Angels‘ recent offensive surge has calmed their search for a left fielder, but they still have some interest in both Jay Bruce and Ben Revere. There are concerns among decision-makers, however, that Bruce fits the same streaky profile that the departed Josh Hamilton embodied. Carlos Gonzalez isn’t on the Halos’ radar at this time.
- Scouts that spoke to Heyman don’t seem overly concerned with a pair of poor outings for Cole Hamels. Instead, some believe that he may be feeling the rigors of being on the trade block for more than a year. One AL scout said of Hamels’ last start: “He looks fine. It was 100 degrees. He’s playing for a miserable team. And it may be hard to get motivated.” A pair of AL execs opined that the Phillies will be able to get back at least one “huge prospect.”
- The Giants need to bolster their bench, but a reunion with Juan Uribe isn’t likely. Uribe wasn’t amenable to a bench spot the last time he was with San Francisco, and part of the reason he was dealt from Los Angeles to Atlanta was to get more playing time.
- The Blue Jays‘ interest in Jonathan Papelbon is “fairly limited” at this point, as the club’s focus at this point is primarily on adding to the rotation.
Jason Vargas To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
6:27pm: Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star reports (via Twitter) that the Royals have insurance on Vargas’ contract. If he misses all of the 2016 season, roughly $6MM of the $8.5MM he’s owed is covered by the policy.
1:39pm: Royals starter Jason Vargas has hit the DL with a torn UCL in his left arm, the club announced. He will require Tommy John surgery, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets.
Needless to say, that diagnosis does not bode well for Vargas’s status this year or next. The surgery almost always requires more than a full year before a pitcher can return to action. That rough timeline would suggest that Vargas will not be available until late in 2016 at the earliest.
Vargas is playing on a four-year, $32MM deal that he signed as a free agent before the 2014 campaign. He is owed $8.5MM next year and $8MM for 2017.
The loss of Vargas represents a significant hit to Kansas City’s rotation depth. The club was already sporting the league’s 7th-highest composite starter ERA, and ERA estimators were even less optimistic of the quality of the current staff. Righty Yordano Ventura will take the open roster spot, but he had just been demoted after falling shy of expectations in the season’s first half.
In spite of the rotation difficulties, of course, the Royals entered today’s action with the American League’s best record. Adding a starter of some kind seemed an inevitability, with the question being whether GM Dayton Moore would aim for big impact or sturdy innings. It isn’t clear that the Vargas injury changes the equation in that regard, though it certainly adds impetus to the team’s need to add an arm (or two).
Henderson Alvarez Joins Beverly Hills Sports Council
Marlins right-hander Henderson Alvarez has switched representation and is now a client of agents Rick Thurman and Rafael Nieves of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, tweets Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. Alvarez is the second notable pitcher to switch agents today, as Fernando Rodney joined the Octagon agency earlier this afternoon.
The 25-year-old Alvarez, Miami’s Opening Day starter, has been limited to just 22 1/3 innings in the Majors this season due to shoulder injuries, but he’s currently in the midst of a rehab assignment. Formerly a client of Praver/Shapiro, Alvarez was one of six players traded from Toronto to Miami in the Jose Reyes/Mark Buehrle/Josh Johnson blockbuster back in 2012. He’s made steady progress since debuting in the Majors with the Blue Jays in 2012, as his ERA has dropped from 4.85 in 187 innings in 2012 to 3.59 in 107 innings in 2013 and finally 2.65 in 187 innings last year.
The jury is still out on how much Alvarez will contribute to the Marlins in 2015, though obviously his absence has contributed to the current state of affairs in Miami. The loss of innings in 2015 has undoubtedly harmed Alvarez’s second trip through arbitration, however — the first that will be handled by his new agents at BHSC. Alvarez agreed to a one-year, $4MM contract last winter and will be eligible for arbitration twice more when he hits the open market following the 2017 season. He’ll be entering just his age-28 season at that point, so if he can remain healthy in 2016-17, he’ll be an uncommonly young free agent (barring an extension, of course).
For information on more than 2,000 Major League and minor league players, check out MLBTR’s Agency Database. If you see any notable omissions or errors, please let us know via email: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.
Trade Notes: A’s, Gallardo, Reds, Jays, Padres, Victorino
The sense among the industry is that the Athletics are now “open for business,” tweets ESPN’s Buster Olney. The A’s, Olney notes, have pieces that figure to draw widespread interest, including free-agents-to-be Scott Kazmir and Ben Zobrist. I’d add that Tyler Clippard is another impending free agent, and right-hander Jesse Chavez is a relatively short-term asset that’s broken out over the past 18 months as well. (Chavez is controlled through 2016.) Josh Reddick has drawn inquiry from the division-rival Angels, although reports at the time indicated that Oakland had no interest in moving its right fielder.
We’re nine days from the trade deadline, so trade action should escalate rapidly in the coming week. Here’s more from around the league…
- FOX’s Ken Rosenthal wrote last night that the Rangers aren’t motivated to trade Mitch Moreland, and ESPN’s Jayson Stark hears the same thing (Twitter link). According to Stark, the only player that the Rangers are strongly marketing is right-hander Yovani Gallardo — another player who is eligible for free agency at season’s end. Gallardo is having a nice rebound season in his first year with Texas, and Moreland’s strong season has gone somewhat unheralded; the 29-year-old is batting .287/.333/.529 with 16 homers. He’s still struggling against lefties, though a bit less so than in previous years.
- Via MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon (Twitter link), Reds general manager Walt Jocketty has spoken with a number of clubs about trades but has yet to receive what the Cincinnati front office considers to be a compelling offer. Said the veteran GM: “We’ve been talking with a lot of different people but we haven’t been receiving offers that have us wanting to commit.”
- Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that the Blue Jays and Padres have had recent discussions about pitchers — both relievers and starters. San Diego starters Tyson Ross, Andrew Cashner, James Shields and Ian Kennedy have all seen their names surface on the rumor mill of late, though it would seem that Shields, at least, is too expensive for Toronto from a financial standpoint. Joaquin Benoit stands out, to me, as the most obvious trade candidate for the Padres in the bullpen.
- Though the Mets are in need of outfield help, a source tells Rob Bradford of WEEI.com (Twitter link) that the Red Sox‘ Shane Victorino is of no interest to them. That’s not exactly shocking to hear, given Victorino’s $13MM salary and meager .247/.333/.306 batting line in 2015.
Orioles Release Wesley Wright
JULY 22: The Orioles announced that Wright has been released. The Reynolds Sports Management client is free to sign with any club.
JULY 15: The Orioles have designated lefty Wesley Wright for assignment, the team announced. The MLB.com transactions page first cited the move. Wright had been on the 60-day DL, but now hits DFA limbo immediately upon being activated.
Wright, 30, only made it into two big league games this year after signing a one-year, $1.7MM free agent deal with Baltimore. Shoulder issues have plagued the southpaw, who has struggled to a 7.71 ERA in ten rehab appearances at Triple-A, striking out five and walking seven in 11 2/3 innings. Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com adds that Wright has struggled to regain his usual velocity.
Last year, Wright was an effective member of the Cubs bullpen. Over 48 1/3 frames, he put up a 3.14 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and a 52.1 percent ground-ball rate. Wright was especially dominant against opposing lefties, and should get another look from a team in need of depth in that specialty.