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Padres To Acquire Jason Adam From Rays

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The Padres acquired right-hander Jason Adam from the Rays in exchange for three prospects, per announcements from both clubs. The Padres are sending righty Dylan Lesko, outfielder Homer Bush Jr. and catcher J.D. Gonzalez to Tampa. The Friars designated right-hander Glenn Otto for assignment to open a roster spot while the Rays reinstated Jeffrey Springs from the 60-day injured list to take Adam’s spot.

Like so many other players before him, Adam bounced around the league before finally becoming his best self in Tampa. He was drafted by the Royals back in 2010 and subsequently spent time in several organizations, including the Padres, as well as the Twins, Blue Jays and Cubs. He was non-tendered by the Cubs after 2021, at that point sitting on a 4.71 earned run average through 78 1/3 major league innings. He had struck out 27.9% of batters faced but also given out walks at a high rate of 11.4%.

The Rays signed him going into 2022 and he has taken his game to another level since then. He made 170 appearances as a Ray with a 2.30 ERA, 30.4% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate and 44.7% ground ball rate. He has 24 saves and 51 holds in that time. That includes 47 appearances this year with a 2.49 ERA. His 27.8% strikeout rate in 2024 is a few ticks below recent years but his 47.3% ground ball rate is a personal best.

All contending clubs are looking to bolster their bullpens at this time of year and that’s especially true of the Padres. Their relief corps has a combined ERA of 4.19, which places them in the bottom third of the league. They’ve received good results from Robert Suarez, Jeremiah Estrada, Yuki Matsui and others but guys like Wandy Peralta and Enyel De Los Santos have struggled, with Peralta currently on the injured list.

Adding Adam and his skills to that relief group is understandably appealing, as is his modest salary. Though he turns 33 years old next month, his long journey to being established at the major league level has led to him having a delayed path to notable earnings. He qualified for arbitration for the first time going into 2023 as a Super Two player and made $1.775MM last year, getting a modest bump to $2.7MM here in 2024. He is eligible for two more arbitration seasons before he’s slated for free agency after 2026.

The Padres had to make significant salary cuts in the offseason, which led to Juan Soto getting trading to the Yankees. They have still attempted to field a competitive team here in 2024 and have succeeded. They are currently on a seven-game winning streak that has bumped them to 57-50 and possession of a National League Wild Card spot. But they seemingly want to avoid the competitive balance tax this year and are currently on pace to do so.

RosterResource calculates their CBT number at $225MM, roughly $12MM away from the $237MM base threshold. That appears to give them a decent amount of wiggle room but that’s an unofficial estimate. Adam has less than a $1MM left to be paid out this year, so he will only marginally increase San Diego’s CBT number, perhaps leaving the front office room for further moves.

The Rays aren’t buried in the standings but have decided to do some selling this year anyway, seemingly due to a combination of strong depth as well as a seller’s market. Their record is currently 53-52, just four games out of a playoff spot, yet they have already traded multiple established big leaguers for younger talent. They have sent Zach Eflin to the Orioles, Aaron Civale to the Brewers, Randy Arozarena to the Mariners and now Adam to the Padres.

They still have a chance to compete down the stretch but have not been shy about making these kinds of moves, seemingly content to add some young talent and save some money while trying to backfill the lost talent from within their own system. With Springs, Shane Baz and Drew Rasmussen nearing returns from elbow surgeries, they had readymade rotation replacements. Baz came up to take Civale’s spot and Springs is about to do the same for Eflin. Arozerena’s playing time can be given to guys like Richie Palacios or Jonny DeLuca, while the club always has intriguing bullpen arms on hand and can likely put together a solid relief corps even without Adam.

Lesko, 20, is viewed as the most intriguing part of their return in this deal. The Padres selected him 15th overall in 2022 and he has received plenty of love from prospect evaluators since then. His time in the minors has seen him miss plenty of bats but also the strike zone. He has thrown 69 2/3 innings over 16 starts at the High-A level this year with a 6.46 ERA. He has struck out 25% of batters faced but walked 16.5% of them.

Despite the control issues, he is still considered one of the better prospects in the league. FanGraphs currently lists him #88 overall and MLB Pipeline #76. Baseball America had him #38 overall coming into the year but he’s no longer on the top 100 and was recently bumped to #5 in the Padres’ system. Perhaps the Padres are moving on from a prospect that they have soured on or they have simply accepted this as the price of getting a quality reliever who is affordable and controllable. Either way, Tampa has a strong reputation of getting the best out of players and could perhaps get Lesko back on track in the years to come.

Bush is naturally the son of former big leaguer Homer Bush. The younger Bush was a fourth-round pick of the Padres last year. He is a speed-and-defense specialist with a contact-based approach at the plate. In 130 minor league games, he has seven home runs, a 9.5% walk rate and 15.7% strikeout rate, leading to a line of .290/.383/.379. He also has 65 steals in 76 tries. BA currently ranks him 12th in the Padres’ system.

Gonzalez was a third-round pick last year and BA currently ranks him #8 in the system. He is only hitting .205/.322/.230 in Single-A this year but is projected to potentially be a two-way player from behind the plate someday.

Otto was claimed off waivers in September. He began the year on the injured list with a right teres major strain. He began a rehab assignment in early June and was optioned later that month. He has tossed 15 1/3 innings in the minors this year with a 7.63 ERA. The Friars will have a few days to consider trades or put him on waivers.

The Padres have made a notable upgrade to their bullpen for the stretch run but surely aren’t done. Bob Nightengale of USA reports on X that they are now going to turn their attentions to the rotation. The Rays have already made a number of future-focused moves but could perhaps consider more, with players like Pete Fairbanks, Brandon Lowe and Yandy Díaz candidates to go in the coming days.

Robert Murray of FanSided first reported that Adam was heading to the Padres on X. Kiley McDaniel of ESPN reported Lesko’s inclusion on X. Jeff Passan of ESPN reported on X that Bush and a third prospect were also going to Tampa. Joel Sherman of The New York Post first relayed Gonzalez on X.

Rockies Unlikely To Extend Cal Quantrill

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Right-hander Cal Quantrill’s first season in Colorado has gone quite well, but Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post wrote recently that the club does not appear intent on keeping the hurler in Colorado long-term. Per Saunders, the club has not approached Quantrill regarding an extension and is unlikely to do so. That might result in his Rockies tenure being a fairly short one given that Saunders also notes that the Rockies have received calls on Quantrill ahead of the impending trade deadline, though they hadn’t received any firm offers as of Friday afternoon.

Quantrill, 29, was a first-round pick by the Padres back in 2016 and was shipped to Cleveland as a headliner in the package that brought Mike Clevinger to San Diego at the 2020 trade deadline. He was a clearly above average starter with the club from 2021 to 2022 with a 3.16 ERA and 4.10 FIP in 336 innings of work during that time despite a lackluster 18% strikeout rate. Quantrill suffered a down season last year as he struggled to a 5.24 ERA in 19 starts as he posted a career-worst 13.1% strikeout rate against a then career-worst 7.9% walk rate while surrendering eleven homers in just 99 2/3 innings of work.

That brutal performance left the Guardians to designate Quantrill for assignment back in November prior to the non-tender deadline. The club shipped him to the Rockies shortly thereafter, and the right-hander avoided arbitration with his new club by signing a one-year, $6.55MM deal ahead of the 2024 campaign. Things can hardly have been expected to go better for Quantrill during his first year with the Rockies, as he’s posted a 4.10 ERA in 114 1/3 innings of work that’s actually 10% better than league average by ERA+ thanks to the righty calling Coors Field home this year. Quantrill’s strikeout rate has crept back up to a more respectable 17.8% this year, although he’s walking a career-worst 8.9% of opponents so far. Most importantly for a pitcher in Colorado, Quantrill has seen his groundball rate tick up significantly to 46.4%, the best of his career.

Given Quantrill’s solid bounce back year while pitching in such a tough environment, it would hardly be a surprise if the Rockies wanted to retain the right-hander, who is controllable via arbitration next season, long-term. Saunders suggests that’s unlikely to be the club’s plan, however, noting that while Quantrill has expressed openness to the possibility of an extension, he also hopes to pitch for a contender and would likely want a three-year deal that the Rockies are hesitant to offer. A three-year pact would guarantee the right-hander a contract through his age-32 season, and Saunders suggests that the club believes they have pitching prospects currently developing in the system who will be ready to step into the rotation within the next two years.

That’s a somewhat surprising stance to take given the rarity of starting pitchers who have proven they can handle home games at Coors Field, but if the Rockies don’t intend to keep Quantrill long-term it’s hardly a surprise that they’re listening to offers on the righty. Given Quantrill’s relatively affordable price tag, extra season of team control, and experience pitching out of both the rotation and the bullpen in his career, the right-hander would surely be an attractive addition to several rotations in need of depth around the league.

While no specific names have been connected to Quantrill to this point, the Twins, Padres, and Brewers are among the clubs known to be in the market for starting pitching that could be restricted by financial limitations, a possibility that would make Quantrill a more attractive option given his aforementioned $6.55MM salary this year. The Guardians are another club that falls into that category, though it’s fair to wonder how realistic it is to think that Cleveland would give up significant prospect capital for a player they parted ways with just eight months ago.

Reyes Moronta Passes Away

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Former MLB reliever Reyes Moronta, who last pitched in the majors last season, has passed away per an announcement from the Mexican League’s Bravos de Leon. According to a report from Mike Rodriguez, Moronta’s tragic passing came following a traffic accident earlier this evening. Moronta, who pitched for the Giants, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, and Angels in a big league career that spanned parts of six seasons, was just 31 years old.

Moronta began his pro career in September 2010 at just 17 years old, when he signed with the Giants out of the Dominican Republic on a $15,000 bonus. The righty made his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League the following year and immediately impressed with a 2.13 ERA in 42 1/3 innings of work. He made his stateside debut the following year and slowly climbed his way through the minor leagues before making his MLB debut with San Francisco in 2017 at the age of 24. That first cup of coffee at the big league level ultimately lasted just seven appearances, but he pitched to a strong 2.70 ERA in 6 2/3 innings of work while striking out 37.9% of batters faced.

That strong showing in his first taste of big league action earned Moronta are larger role with the Giants headed into the 2018 season, and over the next two years the righty emerged as one of the most dominant forces in the club’s bullpen with a 2.66 ERA (50% better than league average by ERA+) as he punched out an excellent 29.3% of opponents, more than making up for an elevated 13.8% walk rate. Unfortunately, injury woes began to complicate what was an excellent start to Moronta’s young career when he underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder in September of 2019.

The right-hander missed the entire 2020 campaign while rehabbing following that surgery and returned to the mound in 2021 to kick off his age-28 campaign. The injury bug continued to bite Moronta, however, and he was sidelined after just four innings of work by an elbow sprain that cost him the majority of the 2021 season. Moronta was outrighted off the Giants roster late in the year and elected free agency following the season, eventually signing with the Dodgers on a minor league deal prior to the 2022 campaign. Moronta wasn’t quite as dominant in his age-29 season as he had been earlier in his career with the Giants, but he nonetheless pitched solidly for the Dodgers and Diamondbacks that year with a combined 4.30 ERA in 37 2/3 innings of work, even as he struck out a reduced 23.6% of opponents that year.

Moronta returned to free agency after being non-tendered by Arizona that offseason. He signed with the eventual World Series champion Rangers on a minor league deal and pitched in camp with the club that spring, but was cut loose just before the season began after not making the roster. That allowed him to catch on with the Angels on a minor league deal last May, and he made two appearances at the big league level for the club last year before finishing out the season at Triple-A with a 3.32 ERA and 28.4% strikeout rate in 40 2/3 innings of work. Moronta did not sign with a club in affiliated ball this winter, instead joining the Bravos de Leon for whom he struck out 24 batters in 19 2/3 innings of work this year. Overall, Moronta posted a 3.05 ERA in 170 games during his MLB career while racking up 202 strikeouts and recording three saves.

Those of us at MLBTR extend our condolences to Moronta’s friends, family, former teammates and coaches, as well as all of those mourning his tragic passing.

Latest On Cardinals’ Interest In Erick Fedde

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White Sox right-hander Erick Fedde has been connected to plenty of teams in the run-up to this summer’s trade deadline, including the Brewers and Astros, but no team has been more frequently connected to the right-hander than the Cardinals. The club’s “strong interest” in the 2023 KBO MVP’s services was reported last week, and since then multiple reports have connected Fedde to St. Louis as the Cards scour the market for an affordable starting pitching option to bolster their current rotation of Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson, Miles Mikolas, and Andre Pallante.

The fit between St. Louis and Fedde is a fairly obvious one given the club’s uncertain rotation situation headed into 2025 and Fedde’s additional year of team control after 2024. Even setting the contractual fit aside, the right-hander sports a strong 3.11 ERA and 3.76 FIP in 21 starts with Chicago this year. If Fedde were in the St. Louis rotation with those numbers, he’d have the lowest ERA by more than half a run and the second-lowest FIP behind only Sonny Gray’s sterling 2.85 figure. With the Cardinals just one game back of a Wild Card spot and six games behind the Brewers in the NL Central, the addition of Fedde would not only help them as they look to return to the postseason after a last place finish in their division last year but would also give the club a solid front-of-the-rotation arm to start alongside Gray in a potential Wild Card series.

Clear as the fit between the Cardinals and Fedde may be, there appear to be some hurdles preventing a deal from coming together for the time being. With so many potential suitors for his services, the White Sox appear to have set a hefty asking price in trade for the 31-year-old. According to SoxMachine’s James Fegan, the South Siders have “at least tried” to include young outfielder Jordan Walker in trade talks with the Cardinals regarding Fedde. St. Louis’s first-round pick in the 2020 draft, Walker was a consensus top-5 prospect in the sport prior to the 2023 campaign but has struggled somewhat at the big league level so far.

The youngster hit a solid but unspectacular .276/.342/.445 in his rookie season last year and was optioned back to the minor leagues back in April after an abysmal .155/.239/.259 showing in his first 20 games this season. Since returning to Triple-A, Walker has continued to struggle as he’s hit just .237/.305/.372 in 295 trips to the plate at the level this year. Despite those deep struggles, however, Walker is still just one season removed from being an above-average hitter in the big leagues, won’t be a free agent until after the 2029 season, and is still very young at just 22 years old. That’s an incredibly steep price to pay for one-plus years of a starting pitcher, even one as talented as Fedde.

Given there’s no indication that the Cardinals have been at all receptive to including Walker in a Fedde deal, it seems as though the sides may be facing a gap in trade talks. Even if that’s the case, though, that doesn’t necessarily mean a deal sending Fedde to St. Louis couldn’t eventually come together. As noted by Ari Alexander of KPRC-2, the White Sox and Cardinals have “discussed” the potential framework of a three-team trade that would also involve the Dodgers. Los Angeles is known to have interest in Cardinals switch-hitting utilityman Tommy Edman, and The Athletic’s Katie Woo reported earlier today that St. Louis is hoping to acquire cost-controlled starting pitching in return for Edman.

That would make a hypothetical three-team trade in which the Cardinals acquire Fedde from the White Sox while giving up Edman to the Dodgers seemingly reasonable framework, although it’s unclear whether the Cardinals would have to part with more pieces than just Edman to make the deal work, nor is it clear which pieces the Dodgers would ship to Chicago to complete their end of the bargain. Speculatively speaking, if the White Sox were interested in acquiring Walker as the centerpiece of a deal for Fedde, the Dodgers could dangle a young hitter of their own such as James Outman or Miguel Vargas as a centerpiece for their part of the trade.

Alexander reports that no deal between the sides is in place as things stand, but the discussions seem to confirm a willingness to get creative on the part of all sides as the Cardinals continue their pursuit of pitching upgrades while the Dodgers look to lengthen a lineup that has lost key pieces like Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, and Miguel Rojas to injury, leaving them with well below average production in the back half of their lineup.

Latest On Rangers’ Deadline Plans

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The Rangers made their first move of the summer earlier this evening by dealing a pair of prospects to the Tigers in exchange for catcher Carson Kelly, who figures to replace Andrew Knizner in the club’s catching tandem alongside 2023 All-Star Jonah Heim. The move confirms that the reigning World Series champs won’t be full-blown sellers despite a lackluster 51-55 record that leaves them 4.5 games back of the Astros and Mariners in the AL West, but that doesn’t mean the club necessarily plans to buy exclusively in the coming days, either.

As noted by Joel Sherman of the New York Post in a report this evening, the Rangers are making right-hander Michael Lorenzen available on the trade market. The news comes after The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal suggested that Lorenzen (as well as right-hander Jon Gray) could be made available prior to the deadline earlier this week. The 32-year-old Lorenzen has pitched solidly as a back-of-the-rotation option for Texas this year with a 3.87 ERA in 18 starts, though the veteran’s 5.26 FIP and 11.9% walk rate could be worrisome to prospective buyers.

In a sellers’ market starved for pitching options, it’s easy to imagine how a pitcher like Lorenzen who has plenty of experience both as a starter and as a reliever could be an attractive trade target even in spite of worrisome peripheral numbers. Meanwhile, dealing Lorenzen would allow the Rangers to recoup some long-term value for a pending free agent who could be forced out of his current role on the team by the impending returns of Tyler Mahle, Jacob deGrom, and Cody Bradford from injury.

That doesn’t mean that Lorenzen is a lock to be moved, however, as Jeff Wilson of Rangers Today writes that the Rangers could opt to take the right-hander off the market in the aftermath of Gray exiting his start today without throwing a pitch due to a groin injury. As noted by Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News, Gray is set to undergo imaging to determine the severity of the issue. With none of Mahle, Bradford, nor deGrom likely to be ready to step into the club’s rotation just yet, a significant absence for Gray could complicate the club’s plans to deal Lorenzen by leaving them with only Nathan Eovaldi, Max Scherzer, and Andrew Heaney as active members of the starting rotation.

Wilson goes on to suggest, however, the Lorenzen isn’t the only name the club could consider shopping in the coming days. Wilson reports that first baseman Nathaniel Lowe’s “name has surfaced” as a potential trade chip for the Rangers this summer amid an excellent July that has boosted his overall season slash line to .266/.361/.390 (114 wRC+). While Lowe could certainly be a potentially valuable addition for certain teams, two of the most obvious suitors for a first baseman this deadline are the Rangers’ own division rivals in Houston and Seattle. Even in an age where intradivisional trading has become more common, its hard to imagine the Rangers helping either the Astros or Mariners improve in the short terms as they look to chase them down for the AL West title this year. Still, it’s possible the Rangers are able to find a suitor for Lowe’s services elsewhere, such as in Pittsburgh where the Pirates could look to upgrade over Rowdy Tellez at first base.

The loss of Lowe from the lineup would further weaken a beleaguered Rangers offense, but Wilson goes on to suggest that dealing Lowe could open up a spot in the club’s lineup for Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz. Diaz is currently on the restricted list due to an undisclosed personal matter, but the Rangers were connected to him earlier this week. Diaz has slashed just .272/.327/.400 (111 wRC+) this year following a slow start to the season but is just one year removed from a sixth-place finish in AL MVP voting with the Rays last season.

The 32-year-old is controllable through the 2026 season just like Lowe is, and it’s theoretically possible that the Rangers could look to upgrade first base while retaining the same amount of team control should they manage to land Diaz while shipping Lowe elsewhere. Alternatively, it’s certainly feasible that the club could retain both players and utilize one as their primary DH for the remainder of the 2024 campaign before looking to trade one this winter should the club decide to commit fully to buying this summer. Such a move would provide an undeniable boost to the Texas offense, which has gotten an MLB-worst 57 wRC+ from the DH spot in the lineup this year.

Yankees Interested In Tommy Edman

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The Yankees are among the teams that have inquired with the Cardinals regarding the availability of infielder/outfielder Tommy Edman, according to The Athletic’s Katie Woo. The Yankees join the Dodgers, whose interest in Edman’s services was discussed earlier today, in inquiring after the versatile switch-hitter.

Edman, 29, has yet to make his season debut in the majors after undergoing wrist surgery last fall. The recovery from that surgery has taken much longer than expected, and while he’s begun a rehab assignment at the Double-A level, that’s come entirely as a DH. It seems unlikely that Edman, who hit just .248/.307/.399 in 137 games for the Cardinals last year, would garner much interest from any club as a DH-only player. Any suitor would likely need to be confident of Edman’s ability to play the field for them this year in order to make a deal.

While his health status is something of a question mark, it’s hardly a surprise that the Yankees would be interested in Edman’s services. After all, the versatile defender has experience at every position on the diamond besides first base and catcher and has shown the ability to be a plus glove at each of those positions. That combination of versatility and defensive excellence is rather rare and, in conjunction with a switch-hitting bat that has produced an almost exactly league average wRC+ of 99 throughout his career, it would make Edman a valuable piece for almost any team. The Yankees, who have gotten below average production from virtually every spot in the lineup not occupied by Juan Soto or Aaron Judge this year, are no exception to that.

It may seem as though the recent deal that sent infielder/outfielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the Bronx would leave the Yankees without much motivation to acquire Edman. After all, Chisholm is another versatile defender who has experience at both shortstop and center field, and his 103 wRC+ this year is significantly better than the 92 wRC+ Edman posted with the Cardinals in 2023. It’s easy to imagine both players co-existing in the same lineup, however. After all, manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Brendan Kuty of The Athletic) earlier today that the club plans to use Chisholm at third base when he’s playing the infield. It’s a position that Chisholm has never played before in the majors, but Boone expressed a preference for keeping incumbent second baseman Gleyber Torres (who also has no experience at the hot corner) where he is, at least for the time being.

The addition of Edman, who has 94 games at third in the majors under his belt, could allow the Yankees to add a more experienced glove to the lineup at the hot corner while still providing a significant offensive upgrade over other internal options like DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera. By adding Edman to the mix at third base, the club could either utilize Chisholm as a super-utility type to maximize the club’s offensive production by resting players like Torres and Alex Verdugo against tough matchups, or perhaps the club could even look to deal a bat like Torres or Trent Grisham in order to acquire bullpen help as they’ve been rumored to be considering. Edman could also pair with Chisholm to offer some additional certainty to the Yankees headed into a 2025 season where Soto, Torres, Verdugo, and potentially Anthony Rizzo could all be ticketed for free agency, leaving plenty of holes to fill in the Bronx.

That doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be obstacles to a potential deal, however, even if Edman is healthy enough to be worth dealing for. According to Woo, the Cardinals are believed to be targeting “cost-controlled major-league starting pitching” in return for Edman’s services, with Woo suggesting that St. Louis could target Yankees southpaw Nestor Cortes in return. Cortes, 29, is controlled through the end of the 2025 season just like Edman is and has posted a 4.13 ERA with a 3.99 FIP in 22 starts this year. It’s unclear if the Yankees would be willing to part ways with Cortes or any of their starting pitching options, particularly as rumors swirl surrounding the possibility of them acquiring another arm that would allow them to manage Luis Gil’s innings with a second-half bullpen assignment.

Latest On Cubs’ Deadline Plans

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The Cubs swung perhaps the most shocking trade of the summer so far today when they acquired third baseman Isaac Paredes from the Rays in exchange for young slugger Christopher Morel, relief prospect Hunter Bigge, and pitching prospect Ty Johnson. Paredes, as one of the best hitters available this summer, was rumored to be of interest to a number of win-now clubs such as the Dodgers, Yankees, and Mariners, but instead ended up in Chicago with a club that’s just 51-56 last year and recently saw its president of baseball operations admit the club was prioritizing the future with its approach to this year’s deadline.

The addition of Paredes, who is controllable through the end of the 2027 season, doesn’t necessarily go against that stated ethos. The same can be said for the club’s acquisition of Blue Jays reliever Nate Pearson, who is controlled through the end of the 2026 campaign. It appears the Cubs may be interested in adding pieces that aren’t set to remain with the club long-term, however, as Jon Heyman of the New York Post suggested this afternoon that the Cubs are among the teams showing interest in Giants lefty Blake Snell. The reigning NL Cy Young award winner got off to a rough start this year but has begun to right the ship in recent weeks, leading The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal to suggest yesterday that teams view Snell as likely to opt out of the remainder of his contract at season’s end.

That reported interest in Snell is somewhat surprising, particularly given the fact that the Cubs have seemingly been fielding interest on veteran right-hander Jameson Taillon in recent weeks. The starting rotation has been an undeniable strength for the Cubs this year, as their 3.72 rotation ERA ranks 6th in the majors thanks primarily to elite performances from Taillon, Justin Steele, and Shota Imanaga. While adding a pitcher of Snell’s caliber would surely bolster the club’s rotation and could even allow the club to deal Taillon without suffering a short-term dip in production, the fact that clubs seemingly view Snell as more likely than not to head back to free agency this fall seems to directly contradict the club’s stated plan to focus on the future this summer.

Regardless of what the Cubs’ plans are regarding Taillon or a possible pursuit of Snell, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reported prior to today’s trade for Paredes that the Cubs are “listening” to offers regarding almost anyone on the roster but are focusing on trying to trade from their bullpen mix. Per Sharma, four relief arms in particularly are most frequently brought up by contenders interested in dealing with the Cubs over the coming days: right-handers Hector Neris, Julian Merryweather, and Mark Leiter Jr. as well as southpaw Drew Smyly. Of the quartet, Sharma suggests that veterans Smyly and Neris are the most likely to move, as each could become a free agent at season’s end.

Neris, who has posted an uneven season with a 3.68 ERA and 4.54 FIP this year, has a $9MM team option in his contract that will convert into a $9MM player option in the event that he reaches either 60 appearances or 45 games finished this year. With 39 appearances and 27 games finished so far this year, both benchmarks are within the realm of possibility, and Sharma suggests that this aspect of his contract “complicates” the possibility of a trade. Smyly, who sports a 2.79 ERA and 4.52 FIP in 38 2/3 innings of work this year, has a much less complicated contractual situation; his contract comes with a $10MM mutual option that is certain to be declined by one side or the other in favor of a $2.5MM buyout.

While Neris and Smyly seem unlikely to command massive returns, The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney, Will Sammon, and Katie Woo recently discussed the hefty price tags that have come with controllable relievers this season. Mooney, Sammon, Woo, and Sharma all believe that the Cubs intend to deal Leiter and Merryweather only if they can leverage that sellers’ market for cost-controlled relief arms, with Sharma noting that the asking price is “high” for Leiter in particular. The 33-year-old’s 4.37 ERA this year is unspectacular, but his massive 34.5% strikeout rate, a sparkling 2.18 FIP, and the fact that he can be controlled through the end of the 2026 season all could make him a very appealing addition for contenders in search of relief help. As for Merryweather, the 32-year-old has been injured much of this year but is now healthy, sports a 3.33 ERA and 3.44 FIP since joining the Cubs prior to the 2023 campaign, and comes with the same two additional season of club control that Leiter does.

Another consideration for the Cubs, whether they’re adding or subtracting from the current roster, figures to be the luxury tax. Chicago currently sports a luxury tax payroll of just under $234MM according to RosterResource, a figure that puts them a little more than $3MM under the first threshold of the luxury tax. The addition of a player with a hefty salary like Snell would surely put them well beyond that threshold, while dealing a player like Taillon or even a less expensive relief arm like Neris or Smyly would likely offer the Cubs additional breathing room below the tax threshold. Given the fact that Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts suggested back in February that the “natural” place for the club’s payroll to land was right up against the tax threshold, it would be something of a shock for ownership to greenlight spending beyond the luxury tax in a year where the club evidently is not expecting to make the postseason.

Yankees Designate J.D. Davis For Assignment

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The Yankees announced this afternoon that they’ve activated infielder/outfielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. after acquiring him from the Marlins yesterday. Chisholm will take the place of infielder J.D. Davis on the active roster, as the club designated him for assignment today to make room for their new acquisition. The Yankees’ 40-man roster now stands at 39.

Davis, 31, was acquired by the Yankees in a trade with the A’s late last month. It’s been a tumultuous year for the slugger, as he kicked off 2024 by heading to an arbitration hearing with the Giants. Davis won that hearing but was controversially released by San Francisco after they signed Matt Chapman to play third base instead. Davis wound up signing with the A’s just two weeks before the season began and managed to secure a guarantee of just $2.5MM from Oakland, a far cry from his previously-awarded arbitration salary even after factoring in the roughly $1.1MM in termination pay he received from San Francisco.

On the field, Davis performed decently for them with a 96 wRC+ in 39 games while splitting time between first base, third base, and DH but he eventually found himself on the outside looking in when he was DFA’d as the club opted to give more playing time at the hot corner to Abraham Toro and Tyler Nevin. A move to the Bronx seemed to suggest he could find more playing time going forward amid injuries to Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo, but haven’t turned out that way as he’s appeared in just seven games with the club over the past month and has hit an anemic .105/.227/.158 in that limited playing time. Club manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch) today that Stanton is expected to return to the lineup as soon as tomorrow, meaning even that limited playing time was likely to dry up for Davis in the coming days.

While Davis’s 2024 season has been a brutal one, prior to 2024 he’d been a consistently above-average hitter ever since first taking a regular role with the Mets back in 2019. In five seasons with the Mets and Giants between 2019 and 2023, Davis slashed a strong .268/.352/.443 with a 120 wRC+, flashed 20-homer power and walked at a 10.2% clip despite an elevated 27.2% strikeout rate. That type of production could be a useful addition to plenty of teams, particularly those in need of help at first or third base. The Yankees will have one week to attempt to pass Davis through waivers, and if he goes unclaimed he would have the opportunity to elect free agency in favor of accepting an outright assignment. Of course, it’s possible that the club tries to put together a trade involving Davis prior to the upcoming trade deadline on Tuesday, and it seems likely they’ll wait to waive Davis until after the deadline in order to explore his market fully.

Pirates Place Nick Gonzales On 10-Day Injured List

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The Pirates announced this afternoon that they’ve placed second baseman Nick Gonzales on the 10-day injured list due to a left groin strain. Infielder Alika Williams was recalled to replace Gonzales on the club’s active roster. Gonzales is likely to be out for some time; as noted by MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf, Pirates GM Ben Cherington noted on a local radio program today that while the club expects the youngster to play again this year, his absence figures to be a long one that’s “measured in weeks, not days.”

That news is a tough blow for the Pirates, as Gonzales has locked down the keystone in Pittsburgh to this point in the season. The seventh overall pick from the 2020 draft and a former consensus top-50 prospect in the sport, Gonzales has slashed a decent .258/.293/.387 (87 wRC+) in his first taste of action as a big league regular this year, though that line is mostly floated by a hot start to the 2024 campaign. Since the calendar flipped to June, Gonzales has struggled badly at the plate with a .235/.259/.330 (61 wRC+), a far cry from the 150 wRC+ he posted in the month of May.

Even in spite of that lackluster offensive production in recent weeks, however, Gonzales is still a clear improvement over the club’s other second base options. Jared Triolo has gotten reps at second base in recent days since Gonzales went down with injury, but his slash line this year is a brutal .202/.277/.272 (57 wRC+) on the year. Williams, meanwhile, has slashed just .210/.234/.290 with a wRC+ of 43 in 68 trips to the plate in the majors this year. There’s at least some room for optimism that he could put up stronger numbers going forward, however, as he’s delivered a strong .327/.421/.394 slash line (122 wRC+) at the Triple-A level this year.

With Gonzales seemingly out for some time and the club’s internal options all leaving something to be a desired, it’s feasible that the Pirates could look to explore external additions at the position in the days leading up to the trade deadline. After all, the 52-52 Pirates have been very public about their intention to buy this summer, and recent reporting suggested they could look at dealing from their pitching depth to add offense. Adding a second baseman may be easier said than done, however, as there aren’t many infielders expected to be moved this summer—particularly after recent deals sent Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the Bronx and Isaac Paredes to the North Side of Chicago.

Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner, Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres, and Blue Jays infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa are among the players with experience at second base who are rumored to be available, but none of that group appears at all guaranteed to be moved in the coming days. Even if the Pirates don’t end up making an addition at the keystone, however, the loss of Gonzales makes the club’s need for additional offense all the more acute. They’ve been connected to plenty of other hitters this summer, including outfielder Taylor Ward of the Angels, first baseman Yandy Diaz of the Rays, and outfielder Bryan De La Cruz of the Marlins, either of whom could upgrades the Pittsburgh offense in other areas to make up for the loss of Gonzales.

Cardinals Notes: Edman, Brebbia, Matz, Kloffenstein

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While the Cardinals are looking to buy at the deadline as they chase an NL wild card slot, the team could also pursue some strategic selling, as the Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya reports that the Dodgers have interest in Tommy Edman’s services.  The versatile Edman could provide depth or even a starting role at multiple positions for an injury-riddled Dodgers team, and it be can argued that St. Louis already has enough position-player depth to make Edman expendable.

Of course, the chief obstacle to a deal is Edman’s own health status, as he has still yet to play in a big league game this season.  Edman underwent wrist surgery last fall and the rehab process has taken considerably longer than expected — his recovery has been delayed by a couple of shutdowns due to recurring wrist soreness, as well as a sprained ankle.  He has played in seven games during his rehab assignment with Double-A Springfield, but only as a DH, rather than any action in the field.

The Cards would certainly be selling low on a player who generated 5.4 fWAR as recently as 2022, between Edman’s strong glovework all over the diamond and an above-average (106 wRC+) performance at the plate.  However, 2022 represented the high-water mark of Edman’s offensive production over a full season, as he had an 89 wRC+ in 2021 and a 92 wRC+ in 528 PA last season.

The two-year, $16.5MM extension Edman signed last January also puts a significant price tag on his services, with about $2.4MM still owed to him this season and then $9.5MM owed in 2025.  The Cardinals would almost certainly have to eat a big chunk of that money to accommodate a trade, unless they perhaps swapped Edman to the Dodgers or another team for another unfavorable contract.

Such a creative move might in some way address the Cardinals’ other deadline needs, which Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat outlines as a right-handed hitting outfielder, starting pitching, and some bullpen depth.  For this latter goal, Jones reports that the Cards have interest in White Sox reliever John Brebbia.

It would be a reunion between the Cardinals and the veteran reliever, as Brebbia broke into the big leagues with St. Louis in 2017 and quickly established himself as a workhorse.  Brebbia posted a 3.14 ERA over 175 relief innings over the 2017-19 season, but a Tommy John surgery kept him sidelined for the entire 2020 season, and the Cards non-tendered him following that lost year.  He re-established himself pitching for the Giants from 2021-23, and signed a one-year free agent deal with the White Sox this past winter that pays him $4MM in salary, with a $1.5MM buyout of a $6MM mutual option for 2025.

Brebbia’s work with the Sox has been a lot better than his 5.22 ERA might indicate, as a .352 BABIP has inflated the righty’s bottom-line numbers.  In terms of secondary metrics, Brebbia has a strong 29.5% strikeout rate and a 5.8% walk rate, as well as above-average hard-contact numbers.  With the White Sox in clear sell mode, Brebbia is a likely candidate to be on the move before the deadline, and St. Louis could among several terms intrigued by Brebbia’s Statcast line rather than his misleading ERA.

The Cardinals figure to land pitching even some internal arms are on the mend, as Steven Matz is tentatively slated to begin a minor league rehab assignment later this week (as per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch).  Matz’s injury-plagued tenure with the Cards has now seen him miss almost three months due to back problems, with the southpaw posting a 6.18 ERA over 27 2/3 innings in April before being sidelined.  Since Matz’s rehab work has already been shut down twice by recurring back pain, this next rehab assignment doesn’t represent a clear sign that the veteran is fully on the road to recovery, but he did log two simulated innings in a throwing session on Saturday.

In more concerning injury news, Adam Kloffenstein has discomfort in his right shoulder, manager Oliver Marmol told Jones and other reporters.  Kloffenstein is currently on the minor league injured list as testing is being done to determine the nature and extent of the problem.  Acquired in the Jordan Hicks trade with the Blue Jays last summer, Kloffenstein has a 4.74 ERA in 89 1/3 innings and 17 Triple-A starts this season, and he made his Major League debut in cup-of-coffee form with one inning in the Cards’ 6-5 win over the Giants on June 20.

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