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A’s Reinstate Paul Blackburn From Injured List

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The Athletics reinstated Paul Blackburn from the 60-day injured list to start tonight against the Angels. Oakland had an opening on the 40-man roster. They optioned Hogan Harris to clear space on the active roster.

Blackburn takes the ball for the first time since early May. He missed two and a half months with a stress reaction in his right foot. The 30-year-old righty had started eight times before the injury. He worked to a 4.11 ERA through 46 innings. His 19.1% strikeout rate was a little below average, while his 6.9% walk percentage and 47.1% grounder rate were both a bit better than par. That’s about what’s expected of Blackburn, who has been a control-oriented league average starter for a few seasons.

The righty will only make one start before next Tuesday’s deadline. Blackburn could generate some trade interest, though the A’s never seriously seemed to entertain moving him last offseason. They probably won’t do so coming off an extended injury absence which has dealt a hit to his value. There’s little incentive for the A’s to sell low, as Blackburn is playing on a modest $3.45MM salary and is under arbitration control next season.

The Blue Jays Shouldn’t Be Resisting A Reset

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The 2024 season clearly hasn't gone the way the Blue Jays hoped. Expected to contend for a Wild Card spot at the very least, the Jays have instead encountered notable injuries (Jordan Romano, Alek Manoah) and seen career-worst performances from several key players (Bo Bichette, Alejandro Kirk, Justin Turner, Kevin Kiermaier). Top prospect Orelvis Martinez received an 80-game PED suspension. Very, very little has gone well in Toronto -- as evidenced by their 46-56 record and -82 run differential.

Unsurprisingly, Toronto has become a deadline seller. The front office reportedly isn't interested in any kind of large-scale rebuild, however, and is focused on primarily selling off rental assets. Reliever Yimi Garcia has already been traded to the Mariners. Starter Yusei Kikuchi and the aforementioned Turner are among the candidates to change hands. That'll bring back some modest returns in terms of prospects. It's also not sufficient for a team in Toronto's situation.

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Mets Acquire Ryne Stanek

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The Mariners announced they’ve traded reliever Ryne Stanek to the Mets for minor league outfielder Rhylan Thomas. New York has yet to announce the move and will need to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Stanek, who turns 33 today, has worked in generally high-leverage spots. His performance has been uneven. Stanek owns a 4.38 ERA across 39 innings spanning 46 appearances. He has fanned an above-average 25.9% of opponents while walking nearly 10% of batters faced. It’s a reasonable enough strikeout and walk profile, but Stanek has fallen on hard times of late. He has allowed five runs over 5 2/3 frames this month, giving up a pair of homers and issuing six walks in the process.

Over parts of eight MLB seasons, Stanek owns a 3.54 earned run average. He throws very hard, averaging north of 98 MPH on his fastball. Stanek misses bats but has fringy command and occasionally struggles with home runs. He’s a potential setup option who could fit more cleanly in the middle innings.

The Mariners upgraded their setup core this afternoon, bringing in Yimi García from the Blue Jays. That evidently made Stanek expendable. New York takes a low-cost flier to add a power arm to their bullpen. The Mets brought in Phil Maton — coincidentally, a teammate of Stanek’s for the past few seasons with the Astros — in a trade with the Rays earlier this month. While Stanek and Maton are different types of pitchers, this is a similar kind of move. The Mets take on a few million dollars to add to their bullpen without expending much prospect capital.

Stanek is playing this season on a $4MM base salary. He’s on a one-year deal and will return to free agency at the end of the year. He’s due around $1.4MM in salary through season’s end. His deal contains up to $2MM in performance bonuses. Stanek would lock in $250K for reaching 50, 60 and 70 appearances. He should at least hit the first two of those markers. He’d earn $250K for reaching 20 games finished, with another $250K available for every five games finished up to 40. He’s at 12 so far and will probably work in middle relief for the Mets, so he could fall short of even the lowest of those thresholds. Any incentives he unlocks will be paid proportionally between the two teams. He also picks up a $250K assignment bonus because of the trade.

The Mets are paying a 110% tax on any money they take on. They’re absorbing around $1.54MM in taxes and would be taxed at the same rate for whatever incentives Stanek earns. The overall cost will probably check in around $4MM by season’s end.

New York also relinquishes their 11th-round pick from two seasons ago. A USC product, Thomas is a left-handed hitting outfielder. He has split his time between the top two minor league levels this year, hitting .265/.318/.387 over 305 plate appearances. Thomas hasn’t hit for power or drawn many walks, but he’s striking out at only a 12.1% clip. The 24-year-old can play anywhere in the outfield and likely projects as a fifth outfielder. Baseball America does not rank him among New York’s top 30 prospects.

Andy Martino of SNY first reported the Mets were acquiring Stanek for Thomas.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Rays Acquire Cole Sulser From Mets

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The Rays announced they’ve acquired reliever Cole Sulser from the Mets for cash and optioned him to Triple-A Durham. Tampa Bay had three openings on the 40-man roster, so no further moves were necessary.

New York had designated Sulser for assignment on Monday as the corresponding move for the signing of catcher Logan Porter. The righty had pitched four times for the Mets since they added him to their 40-man roster in April. He allowed five runs over 4 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts and three walks.

A former Cleveland draftee, Sulser made his major league debut with the Rays back in 2019. Tampa Bay lost him on waivers to Baltimore at the end of that season. The Dartmouth product had one excellent year out of the O’s bullpen in 2021. He turned in a 2.70 ERA across 63 1/3 frames behind a 28.4% strikeout rate. Sulser’s numbers fell off after the Orioles traded him to the Marlins the next winter, though. He has barely pitched in the big leagues since then, logging minimal action for the Diamondbacks and Mets.

The 34-year-old Sulser has spent the bulk of the year in Triple-A. He owns a 1.48 earned run average across 30 1/3 innings with New York’s top affiliate. Sulser has fanned an above-average 28.1% of batters faced while issuing walks to a lofty 13.2% of minor league opponents. He’s in his final option year and could get a look in the Tampa Bay bullpen after the deadline, especially if they trade someone like Pete Fairbanks or Jason Adam.

Anthony DiComo of MLB.com first reported the Mets were trading Sulser to Tampa Bay for cash.

Cubs Select Christian Bethancourt

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The Cubs announced today that they have selected the contract of catcher Christian Bethancourt. He’ll take the roster spot of fellow backstop Tomás Nido, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right knee sprain, retroactive to July 25. To open a 40-man roster spot, right-hander Ben Brown was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Bethancourt, 32, began the year with the Marlins but struggled significantly with that club. He hit .159/.198/.268 through 88 plate appearances and was released by the end of June. The Cubs had just two catchers on their 40-man roster in Nido and Miguel Amaya, so they brought Bethancourt over on a minor league deal.

He hasn’t done much to inspire hope that he’s put his offensive woes behind him since then. In seven Triple-A games since signing that pact, he has a line of .192/.222/.192. That’s a tiny sample size but the combination of that with his work with the Marlins earlier this year is fairly bleak.

The Cubs will seemingly be hoping for a bounceback. As recently as 2022, Bethancourt hit .252/.283/.409 in the majors for a wRC+ of 100. But he slipped to .225/.254/.381 and a wRC+ of 74 last year and, as mentioned, has been awful this season.

Even if he doesn’t hit, Bethancourt is fairly well regarded for his work in controlling the running game, though his framing metrics aren’t that strong. The move will at least come with a minimal cost, as the Marlins are on the hook for the majority of his $2.05MM salary, with the Cubs only having to cover the prorated version of the league minimum salary for any time spent on the roster. That will be subtracted from what the Fish pay.

As for Brown, he landed on the 15-day injured list June 9. His ailment was initially listed as a neck strain though it was later reported to actually be a stress reaction in his neck. He’s now ineligible to return until 60 days from that initial IL placement, which would be early August. He has yet to begin a rehab assignment and will presumably need at least a week or two to ramp up whenever he’s cleared to do so. Taking that into consideration, this may not indicate any kind of setback in his recovery.

Tigers Place Riley Greene On Injured List

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The Tigers announced that outfielder Riley Greene has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain. Infielder/outfielder Ryan Vilade has been recalled from Triple-A Toledo in a corresponding move.

At this point, it’s unclear how long Greene is expected to be out of action and the player himself couldn’t provide much clarity. “It’s Grade 1 or 2, whatever it is,” Greene said, per Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic on X. “It could have been worse. I’m glad it’s not. There’s really no timeline behind it. It’s based on how I’m feeling, and go from there.”

Even with that murky prognosis, it could be a notable development nonetheless as Greene has easily been the club’s best position player this year and the Tigers are one of many in-between teams that could impact Tuesday’s trade deadline.

In 101 games for Detroit this year, Greene has 17 home runs. His 25.5% strikeout rate is a bit on the high side but he’s also drawn walks in 11.9% of his plate appearances. His .264/.357/.485 batting line leads to a 136 wRC+, indicating he’s been 36% better than the league average hitter.

Greene’s glovework has also received strong reviews. He has played all three outfield slots, though mostly in left field. Thus far, he’s racked up nine Defensive Runs Saved and two Outs Above Average.

Combining his offensive and defensive contributions, Greene has been worth 2.9 wins above replacement this year, per the calculations of FanGraphs. No other position player on the Tigers has been worth more than 1.5 fWAR this year so Greene is essentially doubling all of his non-pitching teammates in that department.

The Tigers are one of many clubs within sight of a playoff spot but not necessarily with a great shot. They are 51-53 and currently 5.5 games back of an American League Wild Card spot. The Playoff Odds at FanGraphs give them an 8.8% chance of getting into the postseason while the PECOTA Standings at Baseball Prospectus have them a tad lower at 7.7%.

If they decide to sell between now and the deadline, they could make some very interesting players available. Jack Flaherty is viewed as the top rental starting pitcher on the market and the Tigers have other possible rentals in Carson Kelly, Mark Canha and Gio Urshela. They have 2025 club options on Andrew Chafin and Shelby Miller. Though Tarik Skubal has two years of club control remaining after this one, rival clubs are undoubtedly trying their best to get him out of Detroit.

The Tigers are playing the Twins this weekend, one of the clubs they are chasing in the playoff race. Perhaps their results this weekend will impact what kind of moves they make. Losing Greene figures to hurt their chances in those upcoming games and the ones to come after that, making this a potentially significant IL stint.

Pirates Designate Josh Fleming For Assignment

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The Pirates announced that infielder/outfielder Ji Hwan Bae has been recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis and right-hander Hunter Stratton has been reinstated from the 15-day injured list. They opened one roster spot yesterday by placing outfielder Bryan Reynolds on the bereavement list and opened another today by designating left-hander Josh Fleming for assignment.

Fleming, 28, signed with the Bucs in the offseason and now gets the DFA treatment for the second time this year. The first time resulted in him clearing waivers and accepting an outright assignment, which eventually led to his second stint in the big leagues this year.

He has logged 31 1/3 innings for the Pirates between those two stints, allowing 4.02 earned runs per nine. His 54.3% ground ball rate is quite strong but both his 12.3% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk are subpar.

Fleming is out of options and can’t be sent down to the minors without first being exposed to waivers. He was non-tendered by the Rays at the end of last year and signed a deal with the Bucs that pays him $850K in the majors and $240K in the minors. As a player with more than three years of major league service time, he has the right to reject outright assignments in favor of free agency. But since he’s south of the five-year service mark, doing so means forfeiting whatever money he’s still owed. That’s likely why he accepted his assignment the last time Pittsburgh sent him through waivers and why he may do so again.

His numbers this year are fairly similar to his time with Tampa. Overall, he has a 4.77 ERA in 254 2/3 innings. He has struck out just 14.6% of batters faced but has kept walks down to a 7.6% clip and kept balls in play on the ground at a 58.4% rate.

Perhaps some club will be interested in acquiring Fleming in the coming days. With the trade deadline on Tuesday, some teams will be opening holes on their rosters via trade and might need to fill some innings. Fleming could be retained via arbitration for three more years after this one but, as mentioned, he cleared waivers once already this year.

Rangers Among Clubs With Interest In Yandy Díaz

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Rays infielder Yandy Díaz has been on the restricted list for almost a week while attending to an undisclosed personal matter, but the Rays announced that they reinstated him today. They already had three vacancies on their 40-man roster, so this move brings their count to 38. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times relayed on X earlier that the club was hopeful of Díaz returning tonight. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported last night that the Rangers are interested in adding him to their lineup. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com says on X that the Astros, Mariners and Pirates are possible suitors, though it’s unclear if any of those clubs have engaged with the Rays.

Díaz, now 32, has been a fixture of the Rays for many years. He came to Tampa from Cleveland heading into 2019 as part of the three-team trade and quickly worked his way into being a regular for the Rays. From the start of 2019 to the present, he has drawn walks in 11.6% of his plate appearances while only striking out 14.5% of the time. His .288/.375/.439 batting line translates to a 133 wRC+, indicating he’s been 33% better than league average overall.

That offense is his best attribute. He’s not a burner on the basepaths and his third base defense was poorly regarded, though he’s been closer to average at first base and has been more or less permanently moved to that side of the diamond. But the 133 wRC+ that Díaz has put up from 2019 to the present is one of the top 15 marks in baseball among qualified hitters, highlighting that such consistently above-average production is hard to find.

Here in 2024, his season-long stats look mildly disappointing, a .273/.329/.396 line and 111 wRC+, but that’s mostly due to a brutal start that he has put behind him. He hit .211/.279/.276 through May 1 but his line of .302/.354/.453 since that time leads to a 134 wRC+, right in line with his overall track record.

The Rays don’t strictly have to move him but their behavior suggests he’s available. Going into 2023, he and the Rays signed an extension that runs through 2025 with a club option for 2026. He’ll make $10MM next year with the option valued at $12MM.

Tampa could certainly keep him but they have shown, both recently and in the past, that they are generally unafraid to move players nearing free agency. Although they are 52-51 this year and just four games out of a playoff spot, they have already traded Aaron Civale, Phil Maton and Randy Arozarena in recent weeks.

Some recent reporting suggested the Rays were more likely to trade arbitrations players than those signed to long-term deals, but that contradicts their past behavior. Players like Evan Longoria, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Manuel Margot have all signed extensions and then been traded before those contracts ended, so there’s no real reason to believe the Rays won’t be open to trade offers on Díaz.

Doing so wouldn’t even be a signal that the club is giving up on 2024, as players like Isaac Paredes and Curtis Mead could fill in at first base. Jonathan Aranda is currently hurt but could be in the mix later. Infielders like Junior Caminero, Austin Shenton and Osleivis Basabe could be called up to fill in elsewhere around the infield. In the long term, Xavier Isaac is a first baseman and considered one of the top 50 prospects in the league, though he’s yet to reach Double-A.

For the Rangers, Rosenthal relays that they are looking for “either a left-handed hitting outfielder/DH or a platoon-neutral right-handed hitter.” Díaz is better against lefties but isn’t a liability without the platoon advantage. He has a 148 wRC+ against southpaws in his career and a 121 wRC+ against righties. It’s a far wider split of 151 and 99 this year, though in a much smaller sample size.

Texas hitters have a collective line of .237/.309/.378 against right-handed pitching, with that line leading to a 93 wRC+, putting them ahead of just seven clubs in that split. They have Nathaniel Lowe at first base but don’t really have a regular designated hitter and should be able to fit both him and Díaz into the same lineup.

The Rays and Mariners already lined up on one deal, sending the aforementioned Arozarena to Seattle as the M’s look for more offense. Díaz could further augment their lineup, especially with the struggling Ty France have been recently designated for assignment and leaving an opening at first base. They have plugged Tyler Locklear into that spot but he has only 40 major league plate appearances thus far.

The Astros also cut ties with a struggling first baseman, releasing José Abreu earlier this year. They have mostly used Jon Singleton to fill that hole but he’s hitting just .231/.319/.343 this year for a 93 wRC+.

The Pirates have a bit less of a dire need as they held onto their struggling first baseman and were rewarded with a bounceback. Rowdy Tellez was hitting .177/.239/.223 through the end of May but has a line of .328/.364/.588 since the calendar flipped to June. His season-long line is still subpar thanks to that early slump but the Pirates probably feel less inclined to replaced Tellez on the heels of his hot streak this summer. They have Andrew McCutchen in the designated hitter spot most days, which makes the lineup fit a bit less clean unless they plan on moving on from Tellez, who is a free agent at season’s end.

Both the Astros and Rangers are set to pay the competitive balance tax at season’s end, so they may have to consider the taxes involved in taking on the Díaz contract. The Astros are set to be a first-time payor and have a base rate of 20% but RosterResource has their CBT number at $256MM. Crossing over the $257MM second tier would increase their tax rate to 32% for spending beyond that line. Recent reporting suggested they are trying to move Rafael Montero’s contract to lessen their tax burden but doing so will be difficult given his poor results of late. RosterResource has the Rangers at $249MM but they are set to be a second-time payor and have a base tax rate of 30%.

Mariners Still Active In Trade Market

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The Mariners’ acquisition of Randy Arozarena last night is perhaps the most notable swap of the season thus far, but Seattle isn’t content with that lone acquisition. MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that the M’s are still talking to other clubs, looking to add another bat and a high-leverage reliever. Adam Jude of the Seattle Times adds some context on the team’s search for bats, reporting that two of the top bats on the market — Oakland’s Brent Rooker and Chicago’s Luis Robert — may not be likely to land in Seattle. The A’s have been reluctant to trade with Seattle, per Jude, while an acquisition of Robert is considered “highly unlikely at this point.”

Both Rooker and Robert would add a controllable, high-end bat to what has been a stagnant Mariners offense. Rooker is arb-eligible for the first time this offseason and controlled three more years. Robert is signed through the 2025 season, and his contract contains a pair of $20MM club options.

The A’s haven’t always been reluctant to deal within the AL West, but the last time they completed a trade with the Mariners came back in 2017, when the two clubs swapped Emilio Pagan for Ryon Healy. In fact, the only trade they’ve made with a division rival in the past three years was this April’s acquisition of righty Brandon Bielak in a deal that sent cash back to the Astros. It’s always possible there’ll be a change in direction, but their once-frequent intra-division trades (e.g. Elvis Andrus, Khris Davis, Jed Lowrie, Jurickson Profar, Pagan, Healy) have dried up in recent years.

With regard to Robert, there’s no intra-division component to be considered, but traction on Robert hasn’t really picked up, it seems. ESPN’s Jeff Passan writes that the White Sox have set a high asking price and haven’t yet seen potential trade partners willing to meet it or even come particularly close.

The mere mention of Rooker and Robert aligns largely with the latest reporting from Daniel Kramer of MLB.com, who suggests that Seattle’s front office has been “aggressive” in trying to add multiple impact bats. Arozarena checks one box, but the Mariners’ lineup could use upgrades at multiple spots.

It’s even possible the M’s and Rays could line up on another deal; Kramer writes that the two teams discussed infielders Isaac Paredes and Yandy Diaz in the offseason. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweets that the Mariners are again a potential landing spot for Diaz, who is drawing trade interest and was reinstated from the restricted list within the past hour after a week-long absence to tend to an undisclosed family matter.

Like Arozarena, the 32-year-old Diaz got out to a slow start in 2024 but has heated up in recent months. Over his past 280 plate appearances, he’s slashing a robust .302/.354/.453 with seven homers, 16 doubles, a triple and just a 13.9% strikeout rate. He’d give the Mariners an upgrade over the recently designated Ty France and simultaneously accomplish the team’s ongoing goal of reducing their MLB-worst strikeout rate. He’s earning $8MM the second season of a three-year, $24MM contract extension and is owed $10MM in 2025 before the team must decide on a $12MM option for the 2026 season.

Paredes, 25, is arguably one of the most appealing possibilities on the entire trade market. He’s played third base primarily of late, but the versatile infielder can handle all four infield positions and has emerged as a genuine middle-of-the-order slugger. Dating back to Opening Day 2023, he’s slashed .250/.353/.469 with 47 homers in 241 games. He’s earning only $3.4MM this season in the first of four arbitration seasons (as a Super Two player). Paredes’ versatility, productive bat, remaining control and currently affordable price tag could make the prospect cost to acquire him prohibitive, but the Rays are generally open to listen on anyone — and teams have been at least inquiring on Paredes recently.

Twins Outright Diego A. Castillo

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July 26: Castillo cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A St. Paul, per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com on X.

July 24: The Twins announced Wednesday that they’ve designated infielder Diego Castillo for assignment and optioned right-hander Ronny Henriquez to Triple-A St. Paul. Their spots on the roster will go to reliever Brock Stewart, who’s been activated from the 60-day injured list, and righty David Festa, who’s been recalled from St. Paul.

Castillo, 26, appeared in four games with the Twins and went 2-for-6 with a double, two walks and a strikeout in eight plate appearances. He’s had a nice season in the minors as well, hitting a combined .274/.382/.403 in 296 plate  appearances between the Triple-A affiliates for Baltimore and Minnesota. That marks the continuation of a long run of OBP-driven production in the upper minors. Castillo has played in parts of four Triple-A seasons, and while he doesn’t hit for a ton of power, he’s a .290/.402/.406 hitter in 1073 Triple-A plate appearances. He’s primarily been a shortstop (3906 innings) but also has 1922 innings at second base, 619 innings at third base, 535 innings in left field, 224 innings in right field and 66 innings at first base.

Despite that versatility and a strong Triple-A track record, Castillo hasn’t gotten much big league playing time. He made his debut with the 2022 Pirates and logged a career-high 283 plate appearances. However, he hit just .206/.251/.382. The D-backs gave him one big league plate appearance in 2023, and the Twins have given him all of eight.

It’s certainly arguable that Castillo deserves a longer look somewhere, but a Twins organization that’s deeper in the infield than anywhere else on the diamond was probably never going to have that opportunity. Even with each of Royce Lewis, Carlos Correa, Jose Miranda, Kyle Farmer and Alex Kirilloff on the injured list, Minnesota has Carlos Santana at first base, Edouard Julien at second base, All-Star Willi Castro at shortstop and top prospect Brooks Lee at third base. Several of the injured Twins will be back sooner than later, too. Lewis began a rehab assignment in Triple-A last night. Miranda will follow suit today.

Minnesota will either trade Castillo or place him on outright waivers within the next five days. Waivers themselves could be another 48-hour process. Castillo will know the outcome of his DFA within the next week.

As for Stewart, his return will be a significant boon for the Twins’ bullpen. The former Dodgers prospect has proven to be an exceptional find on a minor league pact. He’s missed time with injury in each of the past two seasons, but Stewart has added considerable velocity since his rotation days in the Dodgers’ system and has been a bullpen behemoth in Minnesota when healthy. He’s pitched 41 innings dating back to 2023 and carries a remarkable 0.66 ERA with a huge 34.8% strikeout rate against a 10.6% walk rate.

Stewart will slide right into a late-inning, high-leverage mix also including Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax and Jorge Alcala. Righty Justin Topa also also went out on a rehab assignment yesterday, providing another potential boost in the near future. He’s been out all season with a knee injury but posted a 2.61 ERA, 21.9% strikeout rate, 6.5% walk rate and 56.7% ground-ball rate in 69 innings for the Mariners last season. The Twins added Topa in the offseason trade that send Jorge Polanco to Seattle.

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