Rosenthal’s Latest: McCutchen, Cole, Hand, Cubs
In his latest notes column, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes that while there’s a pretty good chance of an Andrew McCutchen trade this summer, the Pirates aren’t by any means planning a full tear-down of the roster. As such, Rosenthal notes that right-hander Gerrit Cole isn’t likely to be traded, considering he’s controllable for two more years beyond the current campaign. Trading McCutchen, whose bat has come to life over the past few weeks, wouldn’t be done as a means of waving a white flag on the 2017 campaign. Rather, the team could look to replace him in the lineup with a more affordable and/or controllable trade acquisition, as the Bucs did last year when replacing Melancon and Francisco Liriano with Felipe Rivero and Ivan Nova. McCutchen has a club option for the 2018 season that is valued at $14.5MM, and he’ll be a free agent thereafter.
A couple more highlights…
- The Padres are seeking a “Will Smith” type of return for lefty setup man Brad Hand, one rival executive tell Rosenthal. The Brewers traded Smith to the Giants last season in exchange for right-hander Phil Bickford, who at the time was 14 months removed from being a first-round pick, and catcher Andrew Susac — a former top prospect with MLB experience already under his belt. The Padres, of course, needn’t look to mirror that exact structure, but it seems fair to believe that GM A.J. Preller and his staff are hopeful of acquiring one near-MLB-ready asset and another highly touted young prospect in any deal for Hand, who is controllable through 2019. A pair of recent rough outings have made Hand’s numbers look a bit more mortal, but he’s still sporting a strong 2.84 ERA with 11.4 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 50 percent ground-ball rate through 38 innings.
- Rosenthal also writes that fans shouldn’t expect to see the Cubs trade any of their young MLB-level hitters this summer. He suggests that Kyle Schwarber, Willson Contreras, Albert Almora and even the less-experienced Ian Happ are all unlikely to be moved, though Chicago certainly has a number of upper-level prospects that would entice rival teams to part with talent that could help turn around the season for the reigning World Series champions. Rosenthal also spoke with right-hander Jake Arrieta at length in an interesting interview about his struggles this season. While the former Cy Young winner conceded that his workload in 2015-16 may be having more of an effect on him than he’d like to admit. As Rosenthal notes, virtually every member of the Cubs’ rotation that pitched into the World Series has had some level of struggle this season, and the same is largely true of the Indians.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Wilson, Madson, Nats, Cutch, Lynn, Darvish
Some hot stove tidbits from FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal in his latest Full Count video…
- The Nationals have yet to engage in serious talks with the Tigers about Justin Wilson or with the Athletics about Ryan Madson, though the relievers are “two of the Nationals’ prime bullpen targets.” There isn’t any indication yet that Detroit is open to moving Wilson, however, since the team is still in the race. If the Tigers do become sellers, however, they’ll get plenty of interest in the southpaw, who took over from Francisco Rodriguez as closer earlier this season. Wilson has a 2.67 ERA, 3.55 K/BB rate and 39 strikeouts over 27 innings.
- The Pirates aren’t likely to deal Andrew McCutchen if they feel they can contend, though Rosenthal reminds us that the Bucs dealt Mark Melancon last season despite being just three games out of a wild card spot. This season, it looks like Pittsburgh’s best path to the postseason is through the NL Central; the Bucs are just five games out of first place despite their 31-37 record (they’re 11.5 games back in the wild card race). Trading McCutchen also wouldn’t necessarily mean that the Pirates would give up hope of contending this year, as Rosenthal notes that the club actually played better after dealing Melancon before a swath of September injuries ruined their chances.
- The Cardinals are one of several teams that could be both buyers and sellers at the deadline. For instance, St. Louis could consider trading Lance Lynn (a pending free agent) and then replace him in the rotation with one of the organization’s several young arms. After missing all of 2016 due to Tommy John surgery, Lynn has rebounded to post a 2.69 ERA, 8.67 K/9 and 2.37 K/BB rate over 73 2/3 IP this season. Peripheral numbers (.207 BABIP, 86.5% strand rate) indicate that Lynn has perhaps been a bit fortunate, as his ERA indicators (4.75 FIP, 4.40 xFIP, 4.35 SIERA) are well above his actual 2.69 ERA.
- While plans could change if the Rangers fall out of the race, a Yu Darvish deadline trade seems pretty unlikely right now since the team is playing better. There are also longer-term considerations in play, as Texas wants to re-sign the star right-hander when Darvish hits free agency this winter and “the relationship between the Rangers and Darvish is deeper than most,” Rosenthal reports. There’s also the interesting wrinkle that Darvish’s presence could help the Rangers in their pursuit of Shohei Otani, as Otani idolizes Darvish.
Mariners Claim Pat Light From Pirates, Outright Ryne Harper
The Mariners have announced they’ve claimed righty Pat Light from the Pirates and assigned him to Triple-A Tacoma. They’ve also outrighted righty Ryne Harper to Triple-A Tacoma.
The Pirates designated Light for assignment last Saturday. The reliever is a former first-round pick of the Red Sox and has tantalizing velocity, but he has long struggled with his control, as his 5.1 BB/9 this year for Triple-A Indianapolis suggests. The 26-year-old pitched briefly in the big leagues for the Red Sox and Twins last season and allowed 22 runs in 16 2/3 innings, though he did average 95 MPH with his fastball.
The Mariners selected the 28-year-old Harper’s contract late last month, then optioned him to Tacoma before he threw a pitch for them. He has pitched parts of seven seasons in the minors but has never appeared in a big-league game despite having been on a big-league roster and being part of a trade for a big-leaguer (the 2015 deal that sent Jose Ramirez to Atlanta). He has, however, fared well this season for Tacoma, posting a 3.00 ERA, 10.9 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 24 innings there.
Pirates Sign First-Rounder Shane Baz
FRIDAY: Pittsburgh has announced the signing. Baz gets $4.1MM, just over the slot value, per Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter).
WEDNESDAY: The Pirates and No. 12 overall pick Shane Baz have agreed to terms, reports Mark Berman of Houston’s FOX 26 (Twitter links). Baz, a Houston-area native, tells Berman that the Pirates made an offer that he “can’t pass up,” calling it a “tough decision” to forgo his commitment to Texas Christian University.
Terms of the deal have yet to be reported, though Baz’s No. 12 slot comes with an assigned value of $4,032,000. The Pirates have a bonus pool of $10,135,900 and can go over that assigned slot value to sign Baz if they save money on other picks further down the draft board.
Baz ranked No. 11 on the pre-draft rankings of ESPN’s Keith Law, Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen and Baseball America. Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com pegged him as the draft’s No. 12 prospect. Considered the top prospect in the state of Texas, Baz draws praise for his mid-90s fastball that has already reached 98 mph. He also draws potential plus grades on a cutter, slider and curveball, with each of the listed scouting reports offering varying levels of praise. Baseball America, in particular, suggests that his secondary offerings create a lofty ceiling, writing that Baz “has the ingredients to surpass [Hunter] Greene going forward due to his more potent breaking pitches.”
The 6’3″, 190-pound Baz would’ve played both third base and pitched had he attended TCU — both BA and MLB.com reference his plus raw power — but he’ll focus on pitching now that he’s embarking on his pro career. He’s one of the younger prospects in the top echelon of the draft class, as he has yet to turn 18 years of age. Most of the above-linked reports agree that Baz still needs to refine his command and doesn’t yet feature enough deception in his delivery, though there’s potential for him to develop into a front-line starter down the road. He becomes the first of this year’s first-round draftees to agree to terms.
Yankees Acquire Matt Frawley From Pirates
The Yankees announced that they’ve acquired minor league right-hander Matt Frawley from the Pirates to complete the April 17 trade that sent right-hander Johnny Barbato to Pittsburgh in exchange for a player to be named later. Frawley, 21, will be assigned to the Yankees’ Class-A affiliate in Charleston.
Frawley was Pittsburgh’s 17th-round selection in last year’s draft and has gotten off to a fine start in his pro career. After posting a 4.18 ERA though 28 innings with Pittsburgh’s short-season Class-A affiliate in 2016, he’s tossed 33 1/3 innings of 1.62 ERA ball with 8.6 K/9 against 1.1 BB/9 in with Class-A West Virginia in the South Atlantic League thus far in 2017. The Purdue product isn’t especially young for that level, however, so it’ll be more telling to see how he performs against higher levels of competition. Baseball Amercia wrote at the time of the draft that he sits in the low 90s with his fastball and has a fringy curveball as well.
The 24-year-old Barbato has logged 22 1/3 innings with the Pirates this year, resulting in an uninspiring 4.84 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 5.2 BB/9 and a 35.2 percent ground-ball rate. Barbato has averaged better than 94 mph on his fastball and does come with a strong Triple-A track record, though, so the Pirates have plenty of time to turn him around into a more serviceable member of the big league bullpen.
Injury Notes: Taillon/Bettis, Davis, Cespedes, Reddick
The Pirates received an incredibly encouraging start yesterday from young righty Jameson Taillon, who returned from the DL after being treated for testicular cancer. As Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes, that outing coincidentally came against the Rockies, meaning that Chad Bettis — who has also battled the same affliction — was on hand. Of course, the road back has not been quite as straightforward thus far for Bettis, who needed chemotherapy, though he has now progressed to participating in long toss. The two right-handed hurlers have communicated often this year, Nesbitt writes in an interesting piece.
Here’s more on some health situations from around the game:
- Orioles slugger Chris Davis left last night’s contest with what the team is calling a right oblique strain. He is undergoing an MRI this morning, as Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun tweets. Skipper Buck Showalter expressed a generally pessimistic view of Davis’s outlook after the game. Indeed, it’s likely that Davis will head to the DL, according to Jon Morosi of MLB.com (via Twitter), though there’s still nothing official. It’s tough news for a fading O’s team.
- Also failing to make it through yesterday’s game was Mets star Yoenis Cespedes, who only just returned from a DL stint for leg muscle issues. It turns out, though, that he was dealing with pain in his left heel, as Laura Albanese of Newsday tweets. The heel is actually a long-term issue, rather than a new injury, and it seems there’s hope that it won’t limit Cespedes too significantly. That’ll surely be the team’s hope, as it attempts to climb back from a dreadful start to the season.
- Astros outfielder Josh Reddick was diagnosed with a “mild concussion” after running into the outfield wall, as Mark Berman of FOX 26 was among those to tweet. His outlook isn’t yet known, and surely depends upon further medical evaluation today. Reddick has provided Houston with a quality .281/.338/.443 batting line though 238 plate appearances, helping the organization to the best record in baseball and a dozen-game lead in the AL West.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Pirates, Orioles, Twins, Mariners
At 27-35, the Pirates on track to miss the playoffs for the second straight year. But the club’s recent woes aren’t threatening the job security of either GM Neal Huntington or manager Clint Hurdle, says FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, who reports that the two are good bets to sign contract extensions before the season ends. Huntington has been at the helm since 2007, Hurdle dating back to 2011, and the team has gone to the playoffs three times during their six-plus-year partnership. The Pirates are now headed for their fourth sub-.500 season under the Huntington-Hurdle tandem, though, and look as if they’ll sell at the deadline, as MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth wrote earlier Saturday.
More from Rosenthal:
- The Orioles have experienced a fair amount of success since 2012, when they hired GM Dan Duquette to team with manager Buck Showalter. Despite that, Duquette and Showalter have an “unsteady” relationship, according to Rosenthal. Therefore, with their contracts set to expire after next season, one or both might end up on the outs in the near future. Showalter, who will be 62 after next season, could take over Duquette’s current job, per Rosenthal.
- If the 32-26 Twins remain in contention around the deadline, not only will they have a hard time parting with trade candidates such as Ervin Santana and Brian Dozier, but they could end up as buyers, suggests Rosenthal. In that situation, the Twins would likely target cheap starting help to aid a rotation that’s missing Phil Hughes and Hector Santiago, both of whom are on the disabled list. Hughes and Santiago have struggled even when healthy this year for Minnesota, whose rotation entered Saturday a solid 12th in the majors in ERA but a troubling 26th in FIP.
- The Mariners will have to address long-term needs in their rotation either at the deadline or during the offseason, notes Rosenthal. Hisashi Iwakuma, Yovani Gallardo and Drew Smyly are only under control for another two years at the most (the first two have club options for 2018), leaving Seattle with James Paxton, Felix Hernandez and Ariel Miranda as its only current prominent starters under contract through 2019.
Pirates Designate Pat Light For Assignment
The Pirates announced today that they’ve designated righty Pat Light for assignment. The move clears space on the Bucs’ 40-man roster for righty Edgar Santana, who was promoted today, as anticipated, along with fellow reliever A.J. Schugel. The move fills the Bucs’ 25-man roster after the demotions of starter Tyler Glasnow and reliever Dovydas Neverauskas.
[Related: Updated Pittsburgh Pirates Depth Chart]
The 26-year-old Light has pitched this season for Triple-A Indianapolis, posting a 3.76 ERA and 6.8 K/9 over 26 1/3 innings, but with 5.1 BB/9. The former Red Sox first-round pick throws hard but has struggled with his control in the high minors and in brief big-league stints with Boston and Minnesota. The Bucs acquired him from the Twins in a minor deal in February.
The 25-year-old Santana got off to a late start to his pro career, making his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League at age 22, but he’s quickly emerged as one of the Bucs’ most interesting young relievers. This year, he’s posted a 1.93 ERA, 8.5 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 over 32 2/3 innings with Indianapolis. He ranks 21st in MLB.com’s list of the Pirates’ top 30 prospects, receiving praise for his 96-97 MPH fastball and his slider.
Pirates Option Tyler Glasnow, Will Activate Jameson Taillon
The Pirates have optioned starter Tyler Glasnow and reliever Dovydas Neverauskas to Triple-A Indianapolis, MLB.com’s Adam Berry tweets. The idea, as Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets, is that Jameson Taillon will return and start on Monday, with Chad Kuhl pitching in Glasnow’s rotation spot on Wednesday. There’s no official word on who will Glasnow and Neverauskas on the roster in the short term, although the agent for righty reliever Edgar Santana recently tweeted congratulations to his client for making it to the big leagues for the first time.
Of these moves, the most newsworthy is Taillon’s quick return. Taillon had surgery for testicular cancer in early May and returned almost immediately, hopping back into baseball activities and then making three rehab starts in the high minors during which he showed little rust. That he will have been able to rejoin the Pirates’ rotation so quickly is heartwarming news after his shocking cancer diagnosis. Before his surgery, he had a 3.31 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 over 31 1/3 innings this season.
Glasnow, who once joined Taillon atop lists of the Pirates’ best pitching prospects, has struggled greatly this season, posting a 7.45 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9 over 54 1/3 innings. The 23-year-old has size and elite stuff, with a mid-90s fastball and an excellent curveball, but he has made little evident progress in the development of his control.
Taking Inventory: Pittsburgh Pirates
MLBTR is launching a new summer series entitled Taking Inventory, in which we’ll preview the potential trade chips that could become available on a number of likely and borderline selling clubs throughout the league.
Heading into the 2017 season, the Pirates looked like a potential contender, as it wasn’t hard to imagine scenarios in which Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole bounced back, Jameson Taillon built on a strong rookie season, Josh Bell and Tyler Glasnow emerged as solid contributors and an offensive core built around McCutchen, Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco gave pitchers fits. Not much of that has happened, though, and the Bucs have also dealt with Jung Ho Kang‘s visa limbo, Taillon’s unexpected testicular cancer diagnosis and Marte’s PED suspension. They’re now 26-35. While there might still be an outside shot they’ll contend, since no other club has yet run away with the NL Central, it looks increasingly likely they’ll consider selling as the summer progresses. If they do, here’s what they’ll have to offer.
Rentals
Tony Watson, LHP (reliever) | Salary: $5.6MM
Watson at one point might have been a good trade chip, but the Pirates recently bumped him from the closer role, and he’s posted a 6.00 ERA since the start of May. Watson is still left-handed, can touch the mid-90s, and has a good overall track record, however, so there’s still a chance a team could part with a real prospect to get him, particularly if he can reemerge over the next six weeks. He did pitch a scoreless inning yesterday against the Marlins, which is perhaps a good sign.
Juan Nicasio, RHP (reliever) | Salary: $3.65MM
The hard-throwing Nicasio appears to have finally settled in as a key contributor to the Pirates’ bullpen this season, posting a 1.35 ERA, 8.4 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9. That low ERA probably unsustainable, but he’s a good bet to continue to be successful. A team could also conceivably use him as a starter, but since he’s almost completely scrapped his changeup and tends to fare better as a reliever, it’s likely teams will pursue him as a bullpen asset. He could further boost his stock by pitching well in any save chances he gets in the wake of Watson’s demotion from the closer role.
Antonio Bastardo, LHP (reliever) | Salary: $6.5MM
Bastardo is currently on the DL with a quad strain (though he’s close to a return) and pitched miserably in April (allowing 12 runs and six walks in 6 2/3 innings). One team, the Mets, has already essentially dumped his contract when they shipped him to Pittsburgh for Jon Niese at last August’s non-waiver deadline. It’s unlikely Bastardo will have much value this summer, although he’s perhaps worth watching as a possible addition to the lefty reliever trade market if he returns and pitches reasonably before then.
John Jaso, 1B/OF | Salary: $4MM
Jaso boasts a good eye at the plate and has gamely attempted to be versatile in the field. Unfortunately, his abilities to hit for contact and power seem to be fading (he’s batting just .236 this season and has only three homers in 140 plate appearances), and he isn’t really an outfielder. He might attract limited interest from a team interested in a veteran left-handed bat off the bench.
Controlled Through 2018
Andrew McCutchen, OF | Salary: $14MM
McCutchen has a team option for 2018 worth $14.5MM, with a $1M buyout. The former MVP once appeared to be a significant trade asset, of course; even after a down 2017 season, the Pirates appeared last winter to be on the verge of trading him to the Nationals for a package that included Lucas Giolito and Dane Dunning. McCutchen’s even worse hitting performance in 2017 (.237/.319/.411), though, makes his mediocre 2016 season look like less of an anomaly, leading to questions about whether the Pirates would even exercise his option if they were to keep him beyond this summer. McCutchen seems to have gotten back on the right track in the past few weeks, batting .350/.449/.525 over the past 14 days. Another month or so of that kind of hitting would go a long way toward solidifying his market.
Daniel Hudson, RHP (reliever) | Salary: $5.5MM
Hudson is also under contract for 2018 at $5.5MM. He has not pitched well in 2017 (5.33 ERA, 8.2 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, although he’s fared decently since a five-run blowup against Miami in late April), and the Pirates, who believe in their ability to boost the stock of struggling pitchers, might be inclined to keep him and hope he benefits from their coaching.
Wade LeBlanc, LHP (reliever) | Salary: $750K
LeBlanc has a $1.25MM option or a $50K buyout for 2018. He has fared reasonably well this year (3.89 ERA, 7.5 K/9, 1.7 BB/9 over 37 innings), although he wouldn’t be an exciting pickup, given his modest pedigree and limited velocity. He could still attract interest from a team in need of a reliever capable of pitching multiple-inning stretches, although he would continue to be useful for the Pirates thanks to that ability, particularly if they were to trade other pitchers.
Jordy Mercer, SS | Salary: $4.325MM
Mercer has been a steady but unspectacular regular shortstop throughout his career and would have only modest trade value despite a solid .347 OBP this season. Particularly with Kang still on the restricted list, the Pirates don’t yet have an obvious replacement for Mercer. They might therefore be inclined to keep him.
Chris Stewart, C | Salary: $1.4MM
Stewart also has a $1.5MM option or a $250K buyout for 2018. The backup is currently on the DL and would have very limited trade value even if he were healthy.
Longer-Term Assets
Righty Gerrit Cole is controllable through 2019 through the arbitration process. Connor Byrne recently examined Cole’s trade candidacy, noting that the problem with Cole as a trade asset is that he hasn’t pitched well recently — he’s given up a total of 23 runs over his last four starts. The Astros have reportedly had interest in Cole, and they’d surely join a long list of teams making calls about Cole should be the Bucs make him available (which they reportedly haven’t). The Pirates, though, might be reluctant to part with him given the years of control they have remaining and the possibility that they could be selling low. Of course, teams might be willing to pay high prices for him anyway, given his stuff, solid peripherals (7.8 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 45.7 GB%) and unsustainably high home-run rate. Cole could be an interesting player to watch as the summer unfolds.
Other longer-term assets who could potentially come up in trade discussions include Ivan Nova (controllable through 2019), Francisco Cervelli (2019), David Freese (2019) and Josh Harrison (2020). None of those players seem terribly likely to be traded, although it’s possible to imagine Cervelli or Freese heading elsewhere under certain circumstances. Cervelli is currently on the 7-day concussion DL, and youngster Elias Diaz has hit well in limited opportunities. Perhaps Cervelli could be dealt should the Pirates choose to rebuild more aggressively than it currently appears they will. Freese has batted .273/.376/.432 this season and would undoubtedly be an attractive trade candidate, although with Kang out, the Bucs can certainly still use him.