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Phillies To Promote Jake Thompson

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As had been widely expected, the Phillies will promote righty Jake Thompson to the big leagues for the first time, per Ryan Lawrence of the Philly Voice (Twitter link). He’ll make his debut start on Saturday.

Mar 3, 2016; Clearwater, FL, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Jake Thompson (75) warms up before the start of the spring training game against the Houston Astros at Bright House Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

The move is partially tied to Philly’s placement of fellow young righty Aaron Nola on the 15-day DL, which opened a rotation spot. But the real driver is Thompson’s performance. Over his 129 2/3 innings on the year in his first attempt at Triple-A, Thompson carries a 2.50 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9.

While that strikeout rate isn’t all that compelling, Philadelphia obviously felt it was time to give him a shot at the game’s highest level. The Phils are quickly building a formidable young rotation, and the organization surely hopes not only to give Thompson his first taste of the majors, but also to get a sense of how ready he will be to shoulder a full starter’s load in 2017.

In years past, Thompson has seen his name in headlines this time of year for rather a different reason. After being shipped from the Tigers to the Rangers in 2014’s Joakim Soria deal, Thompson went to the Phils last summer as a piece of the Cole Hamels package. Thompson will again be looking for a new place to stay this August, but this time it’ll be with the same organization.

A second-round pick in the 2012 draft, Thompson has rated as a leaguewide, top-100 prospect entering each of the last two seasons. There are varying ways to characterize his potential, with some giving him a shot at harnessing his four-pitch mix to become a top-of-the-rotation presence and others viewing him more as a durable, solid piece who has a somewhat limited ceiling.

The Phillies will soon begin to get an idea of just what they have in Thompson, who was arguably the key piece in the Hamels swap. Philadelphia’s big league roster already features three very promising young hurlers in Nola, Jerad Eickhoff, and Vincent Velasquez, and Thompson will be bidding to take up a similar place in a new-look staff.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Phillies Place Aaron Nola On 15-Day DL

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[Related: Updated Phillies Depth Chart]

  • The Phillies have placed righty Aaron Nola on the 15-day DL after he experienced some elbow discomfort, as Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Voice writes. Though there doesn’t appear to be any grave concern, it’s also not clear that Nola will throw again in the majors this year. He’s set to be shut down for at least a week, and if it goes much longer than the team may not see the benefit in trying to ramp him back up for only a few outings.

Phillies Designate Andrew Bailey For Assignment

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The Phillies announced today that they have designated right-hander Andrew Bailey for assignment and recalled fellow righty Luis Garcia from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Bailey, 32, signed a minor league contract with the Phils back in December, and while he didn’t make the club out of Spring Training, he had his contract selected in mid-April and has been in their bullpen ever since. The former A’s closer pitched quite well through his first 16 appearances with Philadelphia, but he’s been scored upon in seven of his past 10 appearances and has a dreadful 10.26 ERA dating back to June 3. Collectively, he’s logged a 6.40 ERA in 32 1/3 innings this season. Bailey’s averaged more than a strikeout per inning this year but has had some issues with his control (4.2 BB/9) and has been susceptible to the long ball while averaging a career-low 92 mph on his heater.

While Bailey’s career got off to a highly promising start — he was a two-time All-Star and the 2009 American League Rookie of the Year during a three-year run as Oakland’s closer — his career went awry following a 2012 trade to the Red Sox. Bailey required thumb surgery early in his Boston tenure, causing him to miss the majority of the 2012 campaign, and his career since that time has been slowed first by a biceps injury and eventually by 2013 shoulder surgery. Bailey didn’t pitch at any level in 2014, and he logged just 8 2/3 innings with the Yankees last season, so the very fact that he’s been able to take a big league mound with some degree of regularity is a step in the right direction for him. With nearly six years of Major League service time under his belt, Bailey has the right to refuse an outright assignment in favor of free agency if he’s put through waivers.

GM Matt Klentak On Phillies’ Quiet Trade Deadline

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There’s no question that the Phillies are rebuilding, with some of their better prospects—see J.P. Crawford, Nick Williams and Jake Thompson—closing in on the Major Leagues. As a result, there was an expectation that general manager Matt Klentak would, at the least, trade away free agents-to-be Jeremy Hellickson and David Hernandez, both of whom are having strong seasons, and veteran catcher Carlos Ruiz, who has a $4.5MM club option in 2017. But the first-year general manager came up empty during his first trade deadline.

As Klentak explained on a conference call earlier today, he was open-minded to making a deal and had dialogue with quite a few teams on a number of their players.

“We had offers out to other teams that, if accepted, we would have done,” Klentak said. “At the end of the day, there was nothing we felt made sense for the organization at this time.”

Citing a focus on appropriately balancing the present and the future, Klentak believes that Ruiz and Hellickson are playing a key role in the development of their younger players.

“We want to make sure our young players are being mentored by the right veterans,” Klentak explained. “Chooch has had a great career with the Phillies, and we value what he means to the organization and to the younger players. We like what he brings to this team.”

With regard to the 29-year-old Hellickson, who was acquired from the Diamondbacks last winter, Klentak stressed the importance of having a reliable innings-eater with many of the Phillies’ young pitchers beginning to approach innings totals that they haven’t reached in their careers.

“The reason we went out and acquired him last offseason is to provide stability to our rotation and mentor our young pitchers,” Klentak said. “I think he’s been outstanding in that role.”

While Klentak said that they have not determined whether Hellickson will be given a qualifying offer, which is estimated to be $16.7MM, they are mindful that a new Collective Bargaining Agreement could be in place by the offseason. With a very supportive ownership group and few future commitments, however, he wouldn’t rule it out. He also didn’t rule out the possibility of an August trade, although there are more hurdles to clear that would make it complicated.

As far as opening up playing time for young prospects, Klentak said that he never looked at the trade deadline as the platform that would allow them to play. The important thing, he said, is to call them up when they’re ready and never have to send them back because they’re not ready.

“[The lack of trades] doesn’t set back the timeline for any promotion,” he says. “We will promote them when they’re ready. If we need to create room, we will do so. There’s a decent chance we’ll see another somewhat notable promotion of a first-time big-leaguer before the season’s up.”

Deadline Day Rotation Rumors

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While we’ll certainly break out any stories that seem to have some helium, we’ll use this post to keep tabs on less pressing developments in the market for starting pitching:

  • The Pirates are talking to the Yankees about Ivan Nova, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
  • The Marlins are now looking for another starter after sending Colin Rea back to the Padres, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets.
  • Angels lefty Hector Santiago is still on the Tigers’ radar, along with Hellickson, per Morosi (via Twitter). Santiago has been talked about a decent bit in recent weeks, but we haven’t heard very many strong connections. Los Angeles is likely willing to deal him in the right situation, but surely puts a high value on a useful starter who is controllable beyond the year.
  • The Astros are mostly just “dabbling” in the market for starters, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. Edinson Volquez of the Royals represents one possible target, though Houston is said not to be terribly interested in the veteran righty.
  • While we haven’t heard much in the way of specifics, the Cubs are said to be eyeing an impactful rotation addition, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that’s still the case. (He adds that the team prefers not to overpay for a left-handed-hitting outfielder, which is also on their wish list.)
  • The Phillies may well hold onto righty Jeremy Hellickson, ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark tweets. Philly hasn’t changed its asking price — last we heard, at least one quality prospect — but the market is changing. The Giants and Tigers aren’t in the bidding, per Stark, while the Rangers and Blue Jays have other names higher on their priority lists. With that being said, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets that Detroit is still looking at Hellickson, among other starters, as they seek to add to their rotation.

Relief Pitching Deadline Day Rumors

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The market for relievers is always moving on deadline day, as teams look to add pen pieces that will bolster their depth down the stretch.  Fernando Abad is off the board, having been traded to the Red Sox today.   We’ll keep tabs on the remaining relievers here:

  • The Orioles and Marlins are shopping for a low-end left-handed reliever, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Sherman feels the Braves’ Hunter Cervenka could be one such candidate, while ESPN’s Jayson Stark names Cervenka as a last-minute target for the Fish.
  • Sherman also notes that the Rangers are among the teams looking at Braves righty Jim Johnson.  The Braves have kicked around Johnson as well, tweets Marc Carig of Newsday, but nothing appears close.
  • While they are also pursuing larger targets, the Giants have perused the second tier of the relief market, per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). While the top targets have perhaps mostly already been traded, San Francisco has scouted the Brewers’ strong group of relievers as well as increasingly valuable Rockies southpaw Boone Logan — though last we heard he may not be traded. Jeanmar Gomez of the Phillies is another name the Giants have checked, though he too isn’t sure to be dealt. And even as the Giants talk with the Rays on starter Matt Moore, the club has also watched right-handed swingman Erasmo Ramirez, per Crasnick.
  • The Astros are kicking around some left-handed reliever options, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter links). That’s arguably the team’s biggest area of need. Some of the names mentioned include Logan and Jake McGee of the Rockies and the Brewers’ Will Smith — all of whom are at or near the remaining market for relief southpaws. It’s not immediately clear whether any are real options at this stage, as Crasnick notes that nothing has “materialized” to this point.

Latest On Jeremy Hellickson

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  • ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports that the Giants’ interest in Phillies right-hander Jeremy Hellickson has been overstated (Twitter link). San Francisco isn’t currently in the mix for Hellickson, says Crasnick, despite prior connections. As MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes, Hellickson left his last start after bruising his hand at the plate, but the issue seems to be a minor one. Zolecki notes that, in addition to the Orioles — who could be out of the market after acquiring Wade Miley — clubs including the Blue Jays, Tigers, and Marlins have sent scouts to watch Hellickson’s recent outings.

Tigers Interested In Hellickson

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  • ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that the Tigers have been checking in on fourth/fifth starter types, including Jeremy Hellickson of the Phillies, Wade Miley of the Mariners, Edinson Volquez of the Royals, Hector Santiago of the Angels and Erasmo Ramirez of the Rays. Detroit is looking to bolster its rotation and doesn’t seem keen on dealing away any potential long-term options in the rotation, as Crasnick’s colleague Jayson Stark tweets that clubs who have spoken to the Tigers say they’ve repeatedly turned away offers including Daniel Norris and Matt Boyd. (Notably, Stark mentioned the refusal to include Boyd and Norris in connection to some speculation on Jonathan Lucroy, but Detroit’s reluctance to part with either left-hander is worth mentioning all the same.)

Rangers, Phillies “Unlikely” To Reach Velasquez Deal

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9:00pm: Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com also characterizes a deal as “unlikely,” reporting that the Phillies were asking for at least two young hitters in the deal — requiring that one be ready to immediately step into the Majors. As Salisbury notes, that would likely mean players such as Nomar Mazara, Joey Gallo, Lewis Brinson and Jurickson Profar came up in talks.

JULY 30, 8:15am: Despite the action on Velasquez, a deal is still considered unlikely, a source tells ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link).

JULY 29: 9:35pm: Things may be heating up between the Phillies and Rangers, as the teams are said to be in “pretty deep” trade talks regarding Velasquez, per a report from Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. He adds that Jeremy Hellickson is also of interest to Texas, albeit as more of a secondary target.

7:56pm: The Rangers have scoured the market for starting pitching, ranging from controllable arms to rentals, so perhaps it isn’t surprising that the team has looked at Phillies righty Vince Velasquez — as MLB.com’s Jon Morosi reported recently on Twitter. While a deal still seems rather unlikely for the young hurler, reports tonight suggest that Texas is dedicating some real resources into making Velasquez an option, with other rumblings suggesting that the team could have other big targets in its sights as well.

The Rangers are “all over” the talented 24-year-old, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). He says that the team has done extensive diligence, though it has done the same for a variety of other major potential investments. Texas has multiple scouts on hand to watch Velasquez pitch tonight, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki adds on Twitter, with Morosi tweeting that this suggests serious interest.

Velasquez has been enormously impressive this year, pitching to a 3.34 ERA with 10.1 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9. With just 86 days of MLB service entering the season, however, he’s got a ton of cheap control left. For the big-market Phillies, who’ll no doubt hope to ramp up their competitiveness in relatively short order, it’s impossible to imagine a deal coming together without a truly impressive array of talent coming in return.

Meanwhile, Texas has placed Jurickson Profar in left field for the first time tonight, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News notes (Twitter link). The Rays have eyes on that game, and Texas is among several organizations watching the Rays this evening with Jake Odorizzi on the hill, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.

Grant adds in another tweet that numerous other teams with pitching to sell also are scouting Texas. The Rangers’ top pitching targets remain Chris Sale of the White Sox and Chris Archer of the Rays, per MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, though that could be said of many other organizations, too. Sullivan adds that progress from injured Texas pitchers could impact the team’s deadline plans.

Of course, you’ll find those kinds of reports regarding who is sitting in the stands for many other teams. After all, it’s extremely common for a variety of scouts from multiple teams to show up at any given game, so it’s tough to read too much into those reports.

Nevertheless, Grant notes on Twitter that the Brewers have scouts on hand to see the Rangers, which he says is unusual for Milwaukee. Texas still prefers to add pitching above all else, Grant tweets, but there’s a “more detailed exploration” of Lucroy underway. Presumably, the teams could also discuss pitching.

Given the wide variety of scenarios that all of the above information could suggest, it’s obviously best to turn a critical eye towards all the scuttlebutt. But it certainly seems that the Rangers are seeking to line up a major addition, with other organizations perhaps taking that possibility seriously enough to turn their own resources toward exploring the possibilities with a club that holds some impressive trade candidates at or near the major league level.

Injury Notes: Valbuena, Bourjos, Morrison, Boxberger, Cain, Pollock

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Injuries always play a major role in shaping the trade deadline; indeed, waiting to see how health issues shake out is one of the biggest reasons that clubs wait until they are under the gun to make their moves. We already have covered some notable recent developments — Rich Hill isn’t yet ready for a start for the Athletics; Mets center fielder Juan Lagares just went down to thumb surgery; the Rangers lost Prince Fielder for the season; and Royals reliever Luke Hochevar is likely headed for his own season-ending surgery.

Here are a few more less-impactful, but still notable injury updates from recent days:

  • The Astros added infielder Luis Valbuena to the DL yesterday with a hamstring injury, as Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Though it still seems like a relatively minor injury, it could shake things up for Houston. For one thing, it likely means extended exposure at the hot corner for top prospect Alex Bregman. For another, it could increase the need to get just-signed Cuban infielder Yulieski Gurriel into minor league action and then up to the majors. The really interesting question, though, is whether the injury opens some added daylight for the ’Stros to go after a big bat on the trade market. And it goes without saying that the injury snuffs out whatever meager chance there was that Valbuena would be moved as part of Houston’s deadline machinations. [Updated Astros Depth Chart]
  • This one is from two days back, but the Phillies’ placement of outfielder Peter Bourjos on the DL certainly seems to change things a bit on the center field market. He’d have represented a useful plug-in for teams in need of a swift-footed defender down the stretch. And even if his hot streak was destined to fizzle out, Bourjos has shown that he can still bring something to the table with the bat. As things stand, though, his shoulder is enough of a question mark that he’d be a tough player to add on speculation; given his cheap salary, moreover, Philadelphia will likely be forced to take a meager return should Bourjos be moved in the August waiver-wire period. [Updated Phillies Depth Chart]
  • Rays first baseman Logan Morrison has hit the shelf with a forearm strain, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported via Twitter. Given his struggles, Morrison’s departure from the first base market isn’t a major change. Still, though, Tampa Bay might have hoped to offload some of the remainder of Morrison’s $4.2MM salary this year, particularly given that he’ll be a free agent this fall. Though his overall .228/.304/.371 batting line on the year leaves quite a bit to be desired, LoMo has traditionally put up solid results (.754 OPS) against right-handed pitching. [Updated Rays Depth Chart]
  • Meanwhile, the Rays activated right-handed reliever Brad Boxberger from the DL. He still hasn’t made an appearance since returning from an oblique strain, and has only seen action in a single game this year. While that leaves him as an unlikely trade target, there’s an outside chance that a club seeking shelter from the high price tags on top pen arms could look for a buy-low opportunity. The Rays will surely hope he can rebuild some value over the next several months, but with Boxberger set to reach arbitration after the season, there’s likely to be added motivation to move him. Over his 178 MLB frames, Boxberger owns a 3.03 ERA with 11.9 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 — with even better results in 2014 — so there’s obviously some upside there.
  • To be sure, the odds of the Royals dealing Lorenzo Cain were always slight — even if the team is open to listening on him. But a hamstring injury and month-long layoff seemed to all but eliminate the already-feeble chances of a trade. Now Cain is back from the DL, and ready to get back to work at making this season’s batting line (.288/.338/.413) look more like that from 2015 (.307/.361/.477). It still seems that an offseason deal — if any — is more likely, but there’s no question that contenders would have serious interest in a player who has established himself as one of the game’s better all-around players in recent years. [Updated Royals Depth Chart]
  • Diamondbacks center fielder A.J. Pollock, who has missed the entire season after fracturing his elbow late this spring, faced live pitching for the first time yesterday, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets. Pollock’s status won’t directly factor into the deadline; he’s not going anywhere and the D-Backs aren’t shopping for a replacement. Still, though, the fact that he seems to be making progress toward a return in 2016 may fortify Arizona’s resolve to maintain its course as a modest seller over the coming days.
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