NL East Notes: Hamels, Braves, Pierzynski, Rizzo
Assuming normal rest, Cole Hamels is scheduled to start for the Phillies on July 19, July 25 and July 31, Jake Kaplan of the Philadelphia Inquirer notes. That July 31st start is a night game, so Hamels could be scratched if he’s dealt prior to the deadline earlier that afternoon (assuming he hasn’t already been traded before the 31st). Here’s some more from Philadelphia and elsewhere around the NL East…
- The Braves had discussed packaging Jason Grilli and Jim Johnson together in trade talks, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports, with the idea that two relievers would bring back a larger return from a bullpen-needy team. That plan was scuttled when Grilli suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon tear yesterday, though Johnson remains a trade candidate.
- Bowman’s piece lists several possible trade chips on the Braves roster, including Johnson, Chris Johnson, Kelly Johnson, Cameron Maybin, Juan Uribe and A.J. Pierzynski. In regards to Pierzynski, Bowman believes Atlanta will try to bring the catcher back in 2016 even if they do trade him this year.
- Nationals GM Mike Rizzo broadly discussed his team’s general deadline plans with reporters, including Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. The Nats lineup will be boosted by the returns of several stars from the DL, and while Janes feels Washington could use another relief arm, Rizzo praised the job done by current relievers like Aaron Barrett and Blake Treinen.
- It’s only a matter of time before Aaron Nola is promoted to the majors, CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury writes, and he believes the Phillies could call Nola up within “the next couple of weeks, possibly in tandem with a trade deadline move.” This is just my speculation, but promoting Nola to fill Hamels’ roster spot would be a good the-future-is-now type of move.
- Several scouts believe former Angels GM Jerry Dipoto would be a good fit as the Phillies‘ next general manager, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. Interestingly, Dipoto’s former assistant GM in Anaheim, Matt Klentak, has also been mentioned in connection to a job in the new Andy MacPhail-run Phillies front office.
- In NL East news from earlier today, the Pirates have interest in Phillies outfielders Ben Revere and Jeff Francoeur.
AL Central Notes: Mondesi, Swisher, Johnson, Tigers
Raul Mondesi is the Royals‘ “most appealing asset for trade discussions,” rival evaluators tell Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star, though “the Royals have little interest in parting with him.” Mondesi was a consensus top-40 prospect in preseason rankings from Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus and MLB.com, with BA listing him 28th before the year began and updating his status to 25th in their recent midseason rankings. Despite a less-than-stellar showing at Double-A this season, the 19-year-old Mondesi has been discussed as a possible September call-up. Here’s some more from around the AL Central…
- Before Nick Swisher went on the DL, the Indians and Braves discussed a trade that would’ve sent Swisher to Atlanta in exchange for Chris Johnson, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter links). The Braves ended talks since Swisher is owed significantly more than Johnson (approximately $6.25MM to $2.5MM) over the remainder of the 2015 campaign. Johnson is guaranteed $17.5MM over the 2016-17 seasons while Swisher is owed $15MM in 2016 and he has a $14MM vesting option for 2017. The deal would’ve been an interesting case of clubs essentially swapping one disappointment for another, as both Swisher and Johnson have posted underwhelming numbers over the last two seasons.
- Indians scouting director Brad Grant discusses his team’s top three draft picks (Brady Aiken, Triston McKenzie and Juan Hillman) with Fangraphs’ David Laurila, noting how the Tribe wasn’t shy to take a pitcher recovering from Tommy John surgery and two high school arms.
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski has a very impressive history at the trade deadline, as Tony Paul of the Detroit News lists nine deals that benefited the team over Dombrowski’s tenure.
Draft Signings: Tyler Watson, Josh Rogers
Here are today’s notable draft signings, with all slot information courtesy of Baseball America…
- The Nationals have signed 34th-rounder Tyler Watson to a contract with a $400K bonus, MLB.com’s Jim Callis reports (Twitter link). As with any draft pick past the 10th round who signs for more than $100K, the excess (in this case $300K) will count against the club’s draft pool. Washington had room to spare in its approximately $4.120MM draft pool after signing its prospects from the first 10 rounds to just under $3.350MM. Watson is a left-handed high schooler described by Callis as possessing a 91mph fastball and a curveball that “shows promise.”
- The Yankees went roughly $400K above slot to sign 11th-rounder Josh Rogers, a left-handed sophomore from Louisville. Callis reports Rogers signed for “early fourth-round money,” which would indicate a bonus in the $500K-$538K range. Rogers has a fastball can touch the 92mph mark and he can throw three pitches for strikes, according to Callis. As noted in a follow-up tweet from Callis, this leaves New York with around $2.7MM in remaining pool money to sign first-rounder James Kaprielian, who carries a $2.543MM slot value as the 16th overall pick.
Red Sox To Sign Ronald Belisario
The Red Sox will sign right-hander Ronald Belisario, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter). Belisario is represented by the McNamara Baseball Group.
Belisario signed a split contract with the Rays last winter and only appeared in six big league games with the team, posting a 7.88 ERA over eight relief innings. Belisario then elected free agency after being outrighted off Tampa’s roster. Given how Boston’s bullpen has struggled this year, there’s certainly opportunity for the 32-year-old to find regular work in the Sox relief corps.
Prior to the 2015 season, Belisario held a career 3.75 ERA, 7.3 K/9 and 2.17 K/BB rate over 331 1/3 innings with the Dodgers and White Sox. He’s coming off a tough 5.56 ERA over 66 1/3 IP with Chicago in 2014, though advanced metrics indicate that Belisario was rather unlucky to post such an unsightly ERA. Belisario is a ground-ball specialist (60.9% career grounder rate), which should help him at hitter-friendly Fenway Park.
AL Notes: Tigers, Royals, Blue Jays
A.J. Preller is nearing his first trade deadline as a GM in San Diego and he’ll be applying some of what he learned as a member of the Rangers‘ front office.
“I think it’s a very valuable experience,” Preller said, according to Cody Stavenhagen of MLB.com. “I was able to work with good people, and I think we were able to learn from some early mistakes. I think being a part of managing some departments and being in the Draft and the international world and the player world on a grassroots level, I think it definitely helps you prepare for an opportunity in baseball, for this job.”
Preller’s current club is 10.0 games back of first place in the NL West, but his former club, the Rangers, is a little closer to the top of the division at 42-45. Here’s a look at the American League..
- Tigers president and GM Dave Dombrowski spoke with reporters Sunday morning and said, “We’re trying to win right now,” Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press tweets. Over the weekend the Tigers inked Neftali Feliz in an attempt to help turn around their bullpen which ranks amongst the worst in the majors in ERA. Meanwhile, Dombrowski’s future is uncertain as he is without an extension with just months to go on his contract.
- The Royals and Pirates are among the teams looking for outfield help, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Alex Gordon has a grade two-plus groin strain and is expected to miss eight weeks of action, so it makes sense that KC would be on the lookout for outfield help. Earlier today we learned that the Pirates are looking at Phillies outfielders Ben Revere and Jeff Francoeur.
- The Blue Jays‘ need for pitching is very obvious, but Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (on Twitter) wonders if their sub-.500 record will lead them to deal for controllable arms rather than rentals.
MLBTR Originals
A look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR the last seven days:
- On this week’s edition of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast, Jeff Todd spoke with Jon Heyman of CBS Sports to discuss the market for key teams and players as the trade deadline approaches. The two spoke about what could be in store for several teams, including the Brewers, Padres, Twins, Rangers, and Rockies. A new episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast will be released every Thursday and can be accessed on iTunes, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.
- Recently, MLB Trade Rumors launched a brand new official Instagram account: @MLBTradeRumors. Click here to give us a follow! For details, you can read all about it here.
- Many teams are in need of catching reinforcements and Steve Adams ran down the clubs that could be in a market for a backstop. Despite his down year offensively, Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy headlines the list of potentially available catchers thanks in large part to his track record and team-friendly contract.
- Late last week, Jeff looked at the market for first basemen in July. If there is a premium, controllable option to be made available, it could be Carlos Santana of the Indians, Jeff writes. Santana is under team control through 2017with a meager $6MM salary this year, a $8.25MM hit in 2016, and a $12MM option ($1.2MM buyout) for the final season of his deal. That makes him appealing but it also gives Cleveland little impetus to move him absent a big-time offer.
- If you missed out on Steve’s weekly chat, check out the transcript here.
NL Central Notes: Fernandez, Reds, Bruce, Pirates
Marlins star Jose Fernandez, who shut out the Reds on Thursday, could have been pitching for the other side if things went differently in 2011, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes. Fernandez was initially ruled ineligible by the Florida High School Association four years ago for issues stemming from his defection from Cuba. The Reds had a $1.3MM deal ready for Fernandez if he lost his appeal, but the hurler ultimately got the decision overturned.
“I talked to them,” Fernandez said. “But I ended up playing my senior year. I don’t know what would have happened. Life is crazy. You never know.”
Here’s more from the NL Central..
- One person familiar with the Reds thinking tells Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (on Twitter) that he believes there’s at least a 50/50 chance Jay Bruce is traded in July. Recently, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports heard that Bruce is as “as good a bet as anyone” on the team to be dealt. Bruce, 28, is controllable for three more years and offers an established power bat.
- Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette turned in his mid-season report card for the Pirates. Brink gave the Bucs’ front office an A grade for the offseason it had, including the signing for Jung-ho Kang, which was viewed as a risk by some at the time. Kang has given the Bucs a .267/.343/.385 slash line with four homers while playing solid defense at third base.
- Reading between the lines, Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel suspects that a transition to a new Brewers GM is underway. Haudricourt reasons that if Melvin was going to remain the team’s GM in 2016, the club would have announced it by now. Sometime before the end of the season, the scribe believes the Brewers will announce that Melvin is out as GM, giving them time to search for a successor and have someone in place for important offseason decisions. Earlier this month it was reported that Melvin is considering a new role within the club.
Cubs Notes: Hammel, Pitching, Baez
Here’s a glance at the latest out of Wrigley..
- Good news for the Cubs and Jason Hammel as his MRI results were promising, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune tweets. The hurler is expected to make his next start after the All-Star break. Hammel, 32, owns a 2.86 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 through 17 starts this season. If Hammel was sidelined for a significant amount of time, the Cubs likely would have had to ramp up their pitching search even more.
- The Cubs survived a scare when it came to Hammel’s injury but that situation only underlined the team’s need for starting pitching help, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Sun Times writes. “Scare’s probably a good word,” GM Jed Hoyer said. “It makes you realize every team, every pitcher can go down at any time, and you have to have the depth to handle it. … We know we still have to continue to push that.”
- Javier Baez has been cleared to swing a bat but there’s no timetable for his return just yet, Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com tweets. The Cubs have been on the lookout for pitching and it was reported last last month that one possible deal was disrupted when Baez suffered a broken finger.
NL West Notes: Tulowitzki, Shields, Padres, Dodgers
Don’t expect to see Troy Tulowitzki traded anytime soon, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post writes. While the Rockies‘ star shortstop has been bandied around in trade rumors for some time, GM Jeff Bridich doesn’t necessarily see anything happening in the next few weeks. He also says that the Tulo trade talk of last winter was overblown.
“There was never anything in the wintertime that got to be of serious interest,” Bridich said. “Some teams were poking around. The (hip) injury was complicated. There was never anything that remotely came close to happening.”
Bridich continues to say he is open to all possibilities, but Saunders personally would be surprised if Tulowitzki is traded this summer. Here’s more out of the NL West..
- If the Padres trade James Shields, just signed to a monster deal last winter, they could risk turning off future free agents, Dennis Lin of U-T San Diego writes. Still, the temptation is probably there for San Diego as Shields’ contract is backloaded – he’ll go from $10MM this season to $21MM in each of the next three with an opt-out clause after the 2016 World Series.
- There has been some speculation that the Padres could rebuild given their disappointing year, but Padres lead investor Peter Seidler says that won’t be happening. “First, we want to provide an exceptional All-Star experience for everybody. Obviously, as part of that, we hope we have multiple players participating in the All-Star Game, because that will reflect on a strong team,” Seidler told Lin. “But our expectations are going to be high going into the next year as well as 2017 and every year beyond.”
- Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register (on Twitter) wonders if the Dodgers need to make a move for a starting pitcher. In all starts made by Dodgers pitchers besides Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Brett Anderson, and Brandon McCarthy, the club has a combined 4.53 ERA.
- In addition to their world-record payroll, the Dodgers are spending in other creative ways to gain an extra advantage, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes.
Cafardo On Mariners, Pirates, Zobrist
In today’s column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe looked at five teams that need to make a move before the trade deadline. That list includes the Mets, who have pitching they can trade for hitting. The most obvious fit for them would be Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, but Cafardo also mentions teammate Carlos Gonzalez as well as A’s hitters Josh Reddick and Steven Vogt. As always, Cafardo’s entire column is worth a read, but we also compiled a handful of highlights below..
- The Mariners continue to consider Phillies outfielder Ben Revere as the deadline approaches, Cafardo hears from a major league source. The M’s need a leadoff hitter and while his slash of .294/.335/.377 doesn’t make him the ideal guy for that, Revere does have 21 steals on the year. Earlier today we learned that the Pirates also have their eye on Revere. However, it’s worth noting that Revere is also dealing with hamstring issues at the moment and that could delay a possible trade.
- The Pirates recently watched Marlins right-hander Dan Haren pitch at Fenway Park. Haren has been mentioned quite a bit as a trade candidate and while he made demands in the offseason, he has now settled into the fact that he might get moved.
- Speaking of the Marlins, former closer Steve Cishek is drawing interest despite his difficult season and mechanical issues. The Twins, Tigers, Blue Jays, Red Sox, and other clubs have been keeping an eye on the 29-year-old.
- Now that Marlins first baseman/outfielder Michael Morse is healthy once again, Cafardo wonders if teams like the Mets, Pirates, Nationals, and Royals could come calling. A team acquiring Morse would have to pay the rest of his $7.5MM salary for 2015 and his $8.5MM salary next season, but Cafardo hears that he is in fact being scouted by clubs. Recently, MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth ran down the Marlins’ possible trade chips, including Haren and Cishek.
- The Mets, Yankees, Giants, and Nationals are among the teams with interest in A’s outfielder/infielder Ben Zobrist. Zobrist has played in left field, second base, and right field this season and Cafardo notes that he could also play third base if needed, despite having only four career games there.
- One AL exec tells Cafardo that he thinks the Tigers could listen on David Price. “It bears watching,” said the executive. “I don’t think he’s going back there. The Tigers need to revamp their farm system, so it’s not cut and dried that they won’t entertain a package for him.” Cafardo, however, doesn’t see Price going anywhere. He envisions Detroit possibly adding a starter.