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Marlins Have Pursued Triston Casas In Trade Talks With Red Sox

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The Red Sox and Marlins have been discussing trade scenarios, with recent reporting indicating the Sox have have some interest in veteran infielders Joey Wendle and Miguel Rojas. It seems that they have also discussed a much more significant trade as well, with the Fish attempting to acquire young first baseman Triston Casas, per a report from Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald.

Since Wendle and Rojas are both in their 30s and impending free agents, their trade value would be fairly modest. Casas, however, is turning 23 years old later this month, still has six remaining years of control and is generally considered one of the top 50 prospects in the game. If he were to be involved in any trade, it would surely go beyond a deal for Rojas or Wendle. The report from the Herald indicates Miami tried to pry Casas loose from Boston in discussions involving their starting pitchers.

There’s nothing to suggest that Boston is open to dealing Casas or ever gave serious consideration to the overtures coming from Miami. Still, it’s noteworthy that such a monumental deal has even been discussed. The Marlins have reportedly been trying to use their rotation surplus for a lineup boost for quite some time, but haven’t yet landed a deal to their liking. While ace Sandy Alcantara and top prospect Eury Pérez are reportedly off limits, the Fish seem to be willing to part with one of Pablo López, Jesús Luzardo, Trevor Rogers or Edward Cabrera in a trade that would give them an impact bat and targeted Casas to be that guy.

The 26th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Casas mashed his way up the minor league ladder and reached the majors last year at the age of 22. He struck out in 24.2 percent of his trips to the plate, which was a bit above league average, but he also walked 20 percent of the time and launched five home runs in just 27 games. His lopsided .197/.358/.408 slash line resulted in a 120 wRC+, indicating he was 20 percent better than league average. That’s a very small sample size, but he’s also hit extremely well in the minors. In 72 Triple-A games last year, he hit .273/.382/.481 for a wRC+ of 127.

Though it makes sense that the Marlins would be interested in an exciting young player like that, it also makes sense that the Sox would want to hold onto him. Boston acquired Eric Hosmer from the Padres at last year’s deadline but then were seemingly impressed enough by the debut of Casas that they released Hosmer in December. To suddenly pivot and include Casas in a trade would be quite shocking.

The Marlins are also potentially interested in Ceddanne Rafaela, another highly-touted Boston prospect but one further away from the majors. The 22-year-old infielder/outfielder reached Double-A in 2022 and should be ready for exposure to Triple-A this year. He’s generally not ranked as highly as Casas but still has some hype, with Baseball America currently considering him the #78 prospect in all of baseball and MLB Pipeline placing him in the #96 slot. However, Jackson and Mish report that the Marlins are prioritizing improving the 2023 team, making Rafaela less interesting to them than the MLB-ready Casas.

The general framework of a trade isn’t totally inconceivable, in the sense that the Sox could surely use the starting pitching that the Marlins have to offer. Chris Sale and James Paxton have hardly pitched in the past three years while recent signee Corey Kluber is about to turn 37 and has injury question marks of his own. Garrett Whitlock has worked well in relief but seems to be headed for a move to the rotation despite just nine career MLB starts to this point in his career. Nick Pivetta is arguably the most reliable member of the bunch but he’s never posted an ERA below 4.53. Adding some more insurance into that group would make sense but it seems the acquisition costs being discussed with Miami are steep.

Though the Marlins have enough starting pitching to interest the Red Sox and many other teams around the league, these talks perhaps give us some insight as to why a deal still hasn’t come to fruition, given their high asking price. With those talks yet to bear fruit, the club has been limited to free agency in their pursuit of upgrading an offense that produced an 88 wRC+ in 2022, good enough for 25th place in the league.

The club had known interest in José Abreu, with Jackson and Mish reporting they offered a two-year deal in the $40MM range. Instead, Abreu joined the Astros on a three-year deal with a similar salary, amounting to a $58.5MM guarantee. The Marlins then pivoted to Justin Turner and offered him a one-year deal worth $15MM. He instead joined the Red Sox on a deal that pays him $15MM in 2023 but also has a player option for 2024 that would push his guarantee to $21.7MM over two years. The Fish also reportedly offered Brandon Drury $19MM over two years but he ended up taking a slightly smaller $17MM deal with the Angels. It had been recently reported by Sam Blum and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic that Drury grew up an Angels fan and also had a pre-existing relationship with Angels’ manager Phil Nevin from when Nevin was managing the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A team that Drury was on in 2015 and 2016. After missing out on Abreu, Turner and Drury, the Marlins then got a deal done with Jean Segura.

While Segura is a solid addition, it seems the Marlins are still trying to complete a significant trade that will make an even larger impact on their lineup. It doesn’t seem likely that Casas will be the one, but it gives some sense of the type of impact player they have their eyes on. With about six weeks remaining until Spring Training, it will be very interesting to see what other players they pursue and if they can line up on a deal.

Angels Designate Oliver Ortega For Assignment

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The Angels are designating reliever Oliver Ortega for assignment, tweets Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. That’s the corresponding 40-man roster move for infielder Brandon Drury, who has officially inked a two-year free agent contract.

Ortega has appeared in the majors in each of the past two seasons. The right-hander debuted as a September call-up in 2021, making his first eight MLB appearances late in the year. He logged a fair bit of action in 2022, coming out of the bullpen on 27 occasions and tallying 34 innings. Ortega posted a solid 3.71 ERA over that stretch, though his peripherals were less impressive. He struck out a slightly below-average 22.3% of opponents while walking batters at a lofty 12.2% clip.

It was a different story at Triple-A Salt Lake, where a rough ERA belied better underlying marks. In 25 2/3 innings as a Bee, he was tagged for a 5.96 ERA. His 22.3% strikeout rate there was a match for his MLB figure, but he nearly halved his walk rate to a solid 6.6% clip. Ortega posted slightly better than average ground-ball numbers at both stops.

Ortega throws fairly hard, averaging a bit north of 96 MPH on his fastball during his MLB time. He’s paired that with a low-80s curveball that has been a quality swing-and-miss offering. Both pitches have been hit hard when opponents have made contact, however. The 26-year-old has shown inconsistent control throughout his minor league career, and the walks contributed to squeezing him off the Halos roster entirely.

Initially an amateur signee out of the Dominican Republic, Ortega has played seven-plus seasons in the Los Angeles organization. His time with the franchise could now be nearing its end, as the Halos will have a week to trade him or try to run him through waivers. He still has two minor league option years remaining, meaning another team could freely move him between MLB and the upper minors for the foreseeable future if they’re willing to keep him on the 40-man roster. Ortega doesn’t have the requisite service time to refuse an outright assignment, so he’d stick in the organization if he goes unclaimed on waivers.

Angels Sign Brandon Drury To Two-Year Deal

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DECEMBER 22: Drury’s contract is now official. The Angels announced the move on Thursday evening.

DECEMBER 20: The Angels have continued their active offseason, agreeing to a two-year contract with free agent infielder Brandon Drury. The deal reportedly guarantees the Wasserman client $17MM.

Drury earns the first multi-year guarantee of his career after a personal-best season. He looked to have settled into journeyman territory in recent years. After a few seasons playing a semi-regular role with the Diamondbacks, Drury suited up with all of the Yankees, Blue Jays and Mets from 2018-21. He hit just .211/.254/.360 in 137 games with Toronto from 2019-20, resulting in his outright at the end of that season. Drury played well in a limited look for the Mets the next year, but New York designated him for assignment at year’s end.

The Oregon native signed a minor league contract with the Reds shortly after the lockout. While the move generated little fanfare at the time, it might’ve been the best non-roster pact signed all offseason. Drury broke camp with the big league club and almost immediately played his way into everyday reps. He connected on 20 home runs in 92 games as a Red, posting a cumulative .274/.335/.520 line across 385 plate appearances.

While Cincinnati struck gold on their minor league arrangement with Drury, their 2022 season on the whole was a disaster. With the team well out of contention by the deadline, the impending free agent became one of the sport’s most obvious trade candidates. Cincinnati dealt Drury to the Padres for infield prospect Victor Acosta on deadline day. He played the final couple months in San Diego, offering solid but not spectacular production.

Drury connected on a grand slam in his first at-bat as a Padre, but his work from that point forward was roughly average. While connected on eight homers in 185 trips to the dish, that came with a meager 4.9% walk rate and a .290 on-base percentage. It was a similar story in the postseason, with Drury reaching base in just eight of 31 trips to the plate.

Relatively slow finish aside, Drury had an impressive year overall. He picked up 28 homers (plus one more in the postseason), managing a .263/.320/.492 line in 568 plate appearances. Cincinnati’s very hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park certainly played to his strength, as Drury posted a .298/.354/.561 mark in 223 trips to the plate at that venue. His .240/.299/.447 line in 345 plate appearances in all other parks was closer to average, but the Angels will take a shot on him bringing an above-average bat to Orange County.

Drury has an aggressive offensive approach and rarely walks, drawing free passes just 6.7% of the time this past season. He makes contact at an above-average clip and has solid power from the right-handed batter’s box, though. Drury’s 42.2% hard contact rate was around seven percentage points higher than the league mark. He put the bat on the ball on 81.2% of his swings this year, around five points better than average. This year’s 28-homer showing is an outlier compared to the rest of his career, but he’s topped 15 longballs on two other occasions while hitting north of .260 in three years.

The 30-year-old has some defensive flexibility. He’s played mostly second and third base throughout his big league career, logging around 1500 innings at both spots. Public metrics have been mixed on his work, though both Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast feel he’s better suited at the keystone than at the hot corner. Drury isn’t likely to win a Gold Glove, but he’s rated as a capable defender at both positions. He also has a decent amount of experience at first base and in the corner outfield, though he’s not a regular option in center field or at shortstop.

The Halos have focused on upgrading their roster with solid but not elite additions, attacking the lack of depth that has burned them repeatedly in recent seasons. They landed the final years of arbitration control over Gio Urshela and Hunter Renfroe via trade and inked Tyler Anderson and Carlos Estévez to free agent deals. Drury now looks as if he’ll join that mix, serving a similar role to Urshela as a righty-swinging infielder who can bounce around the diamond.

Second base seems likely to be Drury’s primary home. Playing him there regularly could push David Fletcher and/or Luis Rengifo more frequently to shortstop, where the Angels got nothing offensively this past season. Urshela can also occasionally factor in at shortstop while serving as injury insurance for Anthony Rendon at third base. Both players offer potential platoon complements at first base to the lefty-swinging Jared Walsh, as well.

There’s not a whole lot locked in around Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, Taylor Ward and Renfroe in the everyday lineup. General manager Perry Minasian and his group have worked hard to bring in better offensive options for manager Phil Nevin to move around the diamond in 2023, and the coaching staff has a few more weapons at their disposal than they had this past season.

They’ve kept those investments to relatively short terms, with Anderson’s three-year pact standing as the longest of their offseason commitments. There was plenty of uncertainty hanging over the organization with owner Arte Moreno exploring a sale of the franchise, but the front office has at least had plenty of leeway to make notable short-term commitments. Drury’s contract falls right in line with MLBTR’s prediction of two years and $18MM.

The specific financial breakdown has yet to be reported, but an even salary distribution would push the club’s payroll projection around $206MM, per Roster Resource. They’ll easily top this past season’s $189MM franchise-record Opening Day figure as they seek to compete with the defending World Series champion Astros, Mariners and upstart Rangers in the AL West. Regardless of the financial distribution, the deal will count for $8.5MM against the club’s luxury tax ledger. That’s suddenly a relevant consideration for the Halos, with Roster Resource projecting them for a CBT number around $220MM. That’s $13MM shy of the $233MM base tax threshold.

Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic first reported the Angels and Drury were in agreement on a two-year, $17MM contract.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Latest On Marlins’ Free Agent, Trade Possibilities

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The Marlins have shown interest in free agent starter Johnny Cueto, tweets Jon Morosi of MLB.com. Miami joins the Blue Jays and Reds as clubs known to have touched base with the veteran righty’s camp.

Miami’s an odd fit for a rotation pickup. They’re already deep in starting pitching, with Trevor Rogers, Pablo López, Edward Cabrera, Braxton Garrett and Jesús Luzardo on hand as options behind Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara. There’s enough talent on the pitching staff the Fish have apparently looked for ways to swap out a starter for offensive help this offseason, though nothing has come together on that front.

Any interest in Cueto would seem to be contingent on dealing one of their current starters. He’s sure to find a rotation spot somewhere after a solid 2022 season in Chicago. The 36-year-old (37 in February) made 25 appearances and threw 158 1/3 innings this past season. Cueto posted a 3.35 ERA, based largely on his plus control. He only walked around 5% of opponents, maintaining the quality strike-throwing ability he’s shown throughout his career. He struck out a below-average 15.7% of batters faced while averaging just above 91 MPH, but his pitch-to-contact approach served him well this year.

That solid showing is likely to earn him a raise over this past season’s $4MM base salary. A pitcher-friendly home ballpark would be a particularly strong fit. Cueto has shown himself capable of succeeding in the hitter-friendly Guaranteed Rate Field (to say nothing of his run of high-end play early in his career with Cincinnati), but he saw just 7.7% of fly balls surrendered clear the fences this year. He’s unlikely to replicate a rate that extreme, but a more spacious park could help mitigate the effect of any regression in that department.

Marlins Park certainly qualifies, though there’s no room in the Opening Day rotation for Cueto at present. Morosi suggests an earnest free agent pursuit may be more of a fallback possibility in the event they align with another club on a López trade. There haven’t been many substantive rumors on the righty this offseason, though reports have suggested Miami would consider trades of anyone other than Alcantara or top prospect Eury Pérez. Teams like the Dodgers and Yankees were linked to López at this past summer’s trade deadline. New York has since acquired Frankie Montas and signed Carlos Rodón, but the Dodgers still make sense as a speculative fit for a rotation addition.

As part of a reader mailbag, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes that the Rockies have shown modest interest in López but don’t seem to be heavily pursuing him. Colorado entered the offseason seeking starting pitching help. They’ve yet to make any acquisitions of note outside of the bullpen. Yet Saunders suggests that López’s remaining two seasons of arbitration control may not align with the Rox’s target, as they’re facing an uphill battle to compete for a playoff spot in the next couple years.

Other teams with a more immediate path to contention figure to show stronger interest in the 26-year-old hurler. Dealing López would be one way to add to a lineup that was among the league’s worst in 2022, though the Marlins could also dip into the lower tiers of free agency in that regard. Craig Mish of SportsGrid reported last night (Twitter link) that Miami had shown interest in Brandon Drury, but the righty-hitting infielder instead agreed to terms on a $17MM deal with the Angels.

Diamondbacks Showing Interest In Brandon Drury

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9:27pm: The D-Backs have checked in on Drury, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. He’s obviously a familiar target for the organization after spending three seasons there, and he aligns with the team’s search for a righty-hitting infielder.

Arizona GM Mike Hazen has noted a few times this offseason the team was hoping to bring in a right-handed bat. They were linked to Justin Turner before he landed with the Red Sox and have been connected to Evan Longoria, who remains available. Arizona presently looks likely to turn to the lefty-swinging Josh Rojas at third base, though he’s capable of bouncing around the diamond in a bat-first utility role. Emmanuel Rivera, acquired from the Royals midseason, is the top right-handed hitting third base option on the roster. He hit reasonably well in 38 games with Arizona but owns a .238/.298/.393 mark in 457 career plate appearances overall.

1:21pm: Utility player Brandon Drury is one of the most interesting free agents left still unsigned and his market is “very active,” reports Jeff Passan of ESPN.

As Passan notes, many of the bat-first players have been coming off the board recently, with Justin Turner, Michael Brantley and J.D. Martinez all agreeing to terms in the past few days. For teams still looking for an extra bat in their lineup, some of the best names still left out there include Drury, Michael Conforto, Jurickson Profar and Matt Carpenter. No specific teams are connected to Drury, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a deal come together soon on the heels of those other agreements.

The widespread interest for Drury, 30, is understandable given his defensive versatility. In his career, he’s played all four infield positions as well as the outfield corners, making it easy to imagine him on various rosters. His shortstop experience is limited, with most of his work coming at second and third base, but he’s also logged more than 300 innings at first base and each of the outfield corners. He’s not really graded as an expert defender anywhere, but that ability to play passable defense at multiple positions means just about any team could find a way to fit him into their plans one way or another.

Once he’s slotted in somewhere, he should be able to provide an impact bat that would upgrade any lineup, at least based on his 2022 performance. Drury launched 28 home runs this year en route to producing a batting line of .263/.320/.492. That production was 23% better than league average, as evidenced by his 123 wRC+. His maximum exit velocity was in the 85th percentile, his barrel rate in the 72nd and his hard hit rate in the 62nd.

Despite all those reasons for Drury to have plenty of interest, there are also things to be concerned about, which will likely lead to some variance in how teams value him going forward. Drury’s first full season in 2016 was a decent showing, as he hit .282/.329/.458 for the Diamondbacks, leading to a 102 wRC+. However, he slipped to a 92 wRC+ in 2017 and then had a miserable three-year stretch over 2018-2020 with the Yankees and Blue Jays. He dealt with various injuries in that time and hit just .205/.254/.346 for a 56 wRC+. He bounced back with a solid season for the Mets in 2021 and then was even better in 2022, though there’s concern there as well. Drury hit .274/.335/.520 with the Reds but then dipped to .238/.290/.435 after getting traded to the Padres. That latter performance was still above average with a 105 wRC+, but it was a big dip from his 131 wRC+ as a Red.

Even with those concerns, MLBTR predicted he could secure a two-year, $18MM contract. While the early offseason saw many of the top free agents soaring past their predictions, it hasn’t exactly carried down to the lower tiers. Looking at the other bats mentioned off the top, Brantley re-signed with the Astros for one year and $12MM, a bit below MLBTR’s $15MM prediction, though he can come out ahead via $4MM of incentives. Martinez was projected at two years and $30MM but settled for $10MM over a single season with the Dodgers. Turner did well for himself though, as he was predicted for a one-year, $14MM deal but secured a two-year deal with an opt-out. Sources differ on the guarantee but it seems to be in the range of $22MM.

Padres Unlikely To Pursue Other Shortstops After Missing Out On Trea Turner

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The Padres’ bid to sign Trea Turner —  which reportedly included a larger offer than he accepted in Philadelphia, even after accounting for California’s higher income tax — caught plenty of fans and pundits off-guard. The Padres already have Fernando Tatis Jr., Ha-Seong Kim, Manny Machado and Jake Cronenworth as options in the infield, and San Diego also has a pair of $300MM players on the roster in Machado and Tatis (though the former could opt out following the 2023 season).

There’s been speculation (here included) about whether Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller will pivot and look into the remaining All-Star shortstops in free agency, but Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Turner was viewed as a special case and that the Padres were singularly interested in him, rather than adding another shortstop to the mix. As such, it’s unlikely that the Friars will pursue any of Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts or Dansby Swanson in the wake of being spurned by Turner. The Athletic’s Dennis Lin does write that the Padres have checked in with Bogaerts this offseason, but Lin adds that Turner was the team’s “clear” preference. MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell adds that the Padres have not spoken to Kim or Cronenworth about a position change at this time.

Preller acknowledged the team’s interest in Turner and the disappointment in not landing him when speaking with Acee and others on the San Diego beat Monday evening. Part of Turner’s appeal, as Preller explained, was his athleticism and experience playing positions other than shortstop, which the Friars believed could create some more flexible lineup choices.

Even if the Padres are out of the mix (or, at best, on the periphery) for the remaining shortstops, the strong bid for Turner is still plenty notable. It underscores that even with a star-studded roster and a payroll that many expected to be reaching its maximum levels, Padres ownership is willing to spend at levels commensurate with the sport’s very biggest financial powers. The Padres paid the luxury tax in 2022, have a projected $210MM bottom-line payroll in 2023 and a projected $230MM in luxury-tax obligations, per Roster Resource, but were apparently still content to put down a $300MM+ offer on Turner.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that San Diego will pivot and dive headlong into the bidding for Aaron Judge, but it also at least opens the door for speculation about such top-of-the-market pursuits. Preller spoke of a corner bat and a starting pitcher as his top needs. Acee suggests that San Diego has looked into reunions with Josh Bell and Brandon Drury in addition to the recently non-tendered Dominic Smith, illustrating the  vast breadth of possibilities the team is considering with Turner now in Philadelphia.

Padres Notes: Martinez, Morejon, Suarez, Drury, Myers

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The Padres made it to the NLCS for the first time since 1998, but their season came to a close yesterday when they were knocked off by the Phillies in five games. San Diego now turns its attention to the offseason, where they’ll face a decent amount of possible roster turnover around a star-studded core.

San Diego will see Mike Clevinger, Sean Manaea, midseason trade pickups Josh Bell and Brandon Drury and relievers Pierce Johnson and Craig Stammen all hit free agency. A handful of other players have contractual options that could get them to the open market. Each of Nick Martinez, Robert Suarez and Jurickson Profar has the ability to opt out of their contracts this winter. Wil Myers, meanwhile, has a $20MM team option that is certain to be bought out for $1MM.

Martinez and Suarez were two of San Diego’s higher-leverage relievers down the stretch, raising the possibility of a good portion of the Padres bullpen hitting the open market. As part of a broader look at questions facing the roster (a piece worth a read in full), Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune suggests Martinez is likely to test the open market. The right-hander signed a four-year, $25.5MM guarantee last winter following a three-season run in Japan, with the contract affording him an opt-out chance after each season. He’s due $19.5MM over the next three years but would be due a $1.5MM buyout if he opts out, meaning he’s left to decide whether he can top a three-year, $18MM guarantee on the open market.

MLBTR’s Steve Adams took a detailed look at the situation last month, noting that Martinez’s strong performance out of the bullpen made that an interesting call. Acee indicates Martinez could prioritize finding a rotation opportunity after working in a swing role this year. The 32-year-old started 10 of his first 12 outings but moved to the bullpen full-time in mid-June. At the time of his bullpen transfer, he had a 4.05 ERA with an average 21.9% strikeout rate and a slightly elevated 10.4% walk percentage. Following the move to relief, Martinez worked 46 frames of 2.74 ERA ball. He cut his walk rate to 7.4%, but his strikeout rate dipped a percentage point. Despite lacking power, swing-and-miss stuff, Martinez picked up eight saves and served as a generally versatile bullpen piece for manager Bob Melvin.

Martinez’s ostensible desire for a rotation spot shouldn’t inherently rule him out in San Diego. While he was squeezed out of the mix midseason, the Friars went on to deal MacKenzie Gore in the Juan Soto trade. Coupled with the aforementioned free agencies of Clevinger and Manaea, there should be a fair bit of opportunity behind Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish and Blake Snell. Acee indicates the Padres don’t want to abandon the possibility of using Adrián Morejón as a starter, however. The southpaw, once one of the game’s top pitching prospects, worked out of the bullpen 26 times this year after missing almost all of last season due to Tommy John surgery. Morejón isn’t guaranteed a season-opening rotation spot next year, but it seems the Friars are open to stretching him back out after a healthy offseason.

Suarez was a more straightforward power bullpen arm. Also a signee out of NPB last offseason, he went on to make 45 regular season appearances despite a two-month absence with right knee inflammation. He posted a 2.27 ERA across 47 2/3 innings, striking out a whopping 31.9% of opponents. Suarez’s control was erratic, but he brandished an upper-90s fastball and was Melvin’s most trusted bullpen arm by season’s end. It concluded on a sour note, with Suarez surrendering the go-ahead homer to Bryce Harper that brought San Diego’s year to a close, but he pitched out of a number of jams earlier in the postseason. With that kind of velocity and swing-and-miss stuff, he’s a lock to bypass the final $5MM on his deal in favor of a $1MM buyout and test free agency.

Things are a bit more settled on the position player side, but president of baseball operations A.J. Preller and his staff will have to make a few key decisions there as well. First is whether to retain any of the impending free agents. Acee writes that the team is open to bringing back Drury, who hit eight homers in 46 games as a Padre. He only had a .290 on-base percentage during that time, but he’d posted a .274/.335/.520 showing with 20 homers for the Reds over the season’s first few months. Drury can cover any non-shortstop position on the infield and could serve as a corner outfield option with the team potentially losing Profar and Myers.

For his part, Myers indicated that he’s open to a return to San Diego (link via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com). It certainly won’t be on the $20MM option, but Myers will find a big league deal on a lower base salary this offseason. He’s typically provided the Friars with slightly above-average offense, and that was again the case in 2022. Myers hit .261/.315/.398 over 286 plate appearances. He didn’t offer much against right-handed pitching but he popped six homers in 90 plate appearances against southpaws and carries a career .255/.351/.453 line while holding the platoon advantage.

With Bell’s possible departure, the Friars don’t have an obvious in-house first base option, perhaps opening the door for Myers to return at a lower rate. They could certainly dip into the free agent class there, although Acee notes there’s some support in the organization for playing Jake Cronenworth more frequently at first. Cronenworth is an above-average defensive second baseman, making that something of an odd fit, but San Diego has one of the sport’s most talented infields. Ha-Seong Kim proved himself an everyday player filling in for Fernando Tatis Jr. at shortstop, while Manny Machado is an MVP candidate at the hot corner.

Tatis didn’t play in 2022 because of injuries and a performance-enhancing drug suspension, but he’ll be back with the club in late April next year. Tatis still has 20 games remaining on his 80-game suspension — he missed 48 regular season contests and 12 playoff games this year — but will be back in the everyday lineup a few weeks into next year. Penciling him back in at shortstop could require kicking Kim to the other side of the second base bag. That’d form one of the sport’s top defensive infields, of particular value with forthcoming limitations on shifting. San Diego has also explored the possibility of playing Tatis in center field while curtailing Trent Grisham’s playing time on the heels of a .184/.284/.341 line. That could again be under consideration, but Tatis has previously expressed his preference for sticking at shortstop.

NL West Notes: Drury, Slater, Gilbreath

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The Padres placed infielder Brandon Drury on the seven-day concussion injured list, retroactive to September 3, prior to today’s matchup with the Diamondbacks. Catcher Jorge Alfaro has been activated from the 10-day IL to take the vacated active roster spot. Drury was hit in the head by a Dustin May curveball on Friday. He remained on the active roster over the weekend but hasn’t played since then, and he’s apparently still battling concussion-like symptoms. The 30-year-old is eligible to return as soon as Saturday, although his specific recovery timetable is unclear.

Acquired as part of San Diego’s massive trade deadline, Drury has struggled through his first month in Southern California. While he’s connected on five home runs as a Padre (including a grand slam in his first at-bat), he’s hitting only .220 with a .262 on-base percentage over 107 plate appearances since the trade. That’s a notable dip from the excellent .274/.335/.520 line he posted through the first four months of the year as a member of the Reds. Despite the drop in production, Drury has remained an everyday player for a Friars team battling for a Wild Card spot. The season’s final month is also important for him personally, as he’s slated to hit the open market at the end of the year.

Let’s check in on a couple other injury situations within the division:

  • The Giants placed outfielder Austin Slater on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to yesterday, with a left hand sprain. Reliever Yunior Marte is up from Triple-A Sacramento to take the roster spot. Part of a matchup-heavy outfield in San Francisco, Slater has emerged as a highly productive role player when in the lineup for manager Gabe Kapler. He’s hitting .267/.378/.396 over 286 plate appearances this season, his third straight above-average campaign. The righty-hitting Slater carries a .257/.357/.424 line dating back to the start of 2020, including a massive .284/.389/.497 showing against left-handed pitching. Luis González has been in the lineup each of the past four days as Slater has nursed the injury that’ll now send him to the IL.
  • Rockies reliever Lucas Gilbreath is being shut down for the season, reports Danielle Allentuck of the Colorado Springs Gazette (Twitter link). The left-hander is on the injured list with a flexor strain in his throwing elbow, and he’s headed for a platelet-rich plasma injection. Allentuck adds that Gilbreath’s offseason work will be delayed by the issue, but the expectation is that he’ll avoid surgery and should be ready for Spring Training. Gilbreath has been a trusted relief option for skipper Bud Black this year, getting into 47 games and working 43 innings. He posted a 4.19 ERA with above-average strikeout (26.2%) and ground-ball (46.7%) marks, but he battled some control inconsistency.

NL Central Notes: Matz, Perez, Pirates, Reds Deadline

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Steven Matz suffered a torn left MCL in late July, leading to fear that the left-hander’s season would possibly be over, even if surgery wasn’t required.  However, Matz is now making increased progress towards a return, with Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol telling reporters (including MLB.com’s John Denton) that Matz’s knee was pain-free while fielding some grounders on Wednesday.  Matz also threw 30 pitches off the mound during the warm-up session.  It could mean that Matz is nearing a minor league rehab assignment, though the Cardinals will continue to closely monitor his status considering his lack of workload.

Matz has pitched just once since May 22, as a shoulder impingement kept him on the injured list for almost two months, and he then suffered his MCL injury in his first start back off the IL.  St. Louis has Miles Mikolas, Adam Wainwright, and trade deadline acquisitions Jordan Montgomery and Jose Quintana all thriving in the rotation, so if Matz is able to return, he could be used in a bullpen role or competing with Dakota Hudson, Jake Woodford, or another rehabbing starter in Jack Flaherty for that final spot in the rotation.  The Cardinals could potentially also explore using a six-man rotation down the stretch, or perhaps just give some of their regulars some rest if the Cards can clinch the NL Central title relatively early.  With a 17-5 record thus far in August, the Cards have opened up a 5.5-game lead over the struggling Brewers in the division race.

Some other items from around the Central…

  • Roberto Perez believes “there’s interest from both parties” in a new deal between the Pirates and the veteran catcher, Perez told Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link).  Perez inked a one-year, $5MMM free agent contract with the Pirates last winter, but played in only 21 games before undergoing season-ending surgery on his left hamstring.  The catcher confirmed that his season is indeed over, as he had been hoping to make enough rehab progress to return for the final few games of the schedule.  Re-signing Perez would add a seasoned backstop to a Pittsburgh catching mix that doesn’t include a lot of big league experience, though the Bucs are hoping that if all goes well, former first overall pick Henry Davis might be able to make his MLB debut before the 2023 season is up.
  • The Reds dealt away Luis Castillo, Tyler Mahle, and Brandon Drury at the trade deadline, in a flurry of rebuilding moves that added a lot of depth and quality to Cincinnati’s farm system.  Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer explores the front office’s approach to the deadline, which first included some last-minute contract extension talks with Castillo and Drury’s representatives.  When those talks didn’t result in much progress, the Reds shifted focus to the trade market, with GM Nick Krall noting that the interest in Castillo allowed them to make high initial asks.  If other clubs weren’t open to that first ask, “then we can just move on….It was a pretty good way to trim the number (of teams) down from the very beginning,” Krall said.  Cincinnati had always targeted Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo when speaking with the Mariners, and both of those highly-regarded infield prospects ended up included in the package the Reds received for Castillo.  The Reds also had several offers on the table for Mahle and Drury, with the front office ultimately deciding that the offers from the Twins (for Mahle) and Padres (for Drury) were the best of the group.

Brewers Notes: Stearns, Deadline, Rosenthal

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The contractual status of Brewers’ president of baseball operations David Stearns continues to be shrouded in mystery. It was once believed that 2022 was the final year of his contract, until it was reported in October of last year that Milwaukee had some sort of option over Stearns for 2023. In February, it emerged that Stearns was actually under contract for 2023 but could opt out of the deal if the Brewers reached the World Series in 2022. That was followed by a report in May from Jon Heyman of the New York Post that it was “believed” Stearns could actually opt out if Milwaukee reached the NLCS.

In another piece from Heyman in recent days, he hedges that a bit, saying that it’s “unconfirmed” whether the Brew Crew need to reach the NLCS or the World Series. Of course, the reason that all this is so newsworthy is that the Mets have been trying to pluck the New York native from Milwaukee for essentially the past year. The Brewers denied their request to interview him this winter, given the two years that were then remaining on his contract. The Mets eventually hired Billy Eppler to serve as general manager, but could theoretically still hire Stearns in the future as well, perhaps with the president of baseball operations title he currently holds in Milwaukee. Stearns would no doubt be intrigued by moving to New York, not just because he’s from there. The Mets also have significantly higher spending power, running out a $264MM Opening Day payroll this year, doubling the $132MM number of the Brewers.

Of course, those budgetary concerns were the primary motivator of the recent Josh Hader trade. As noted in the above report from Heyman, the club then tried to compensate for Hader’s loss by boosting the lineup. They apparently tried to acquire Brandon Drury and Josh Bell, losing the bidding to the Padres in both cases. They also targeted Joc Pederson, though the Giants decided against a major selloff and didn’t end up trading him. Joey Gallo was also considered, though he ended up going to the Dodgers instead. Perhaps due to the their lackluster deadline or perhaps coincidentally, the club has gone 4-7 this month, letting the NL Central lead slip to the Cardinals, with the Brewers now 1 1/2 games back.

As for the club’s Hader-less bullpen, Stearns acquired other pitchers to try and make up that loss, with one of those being Trevor Rosenthal. The righty has previously been one of the best relievers in the sport, but injuries have limited him to less than 40 total innings since the end of the 2018 campaign. He was signed by the Giants a couple of weeks before the deadline this year and immediately placed on the injured list due to a hamstring issue. The Brewers picked him up at the deadline in a high-risk move that would potentially have a high reward if Rosenthal could return to his previous form. We are on the verge of finding out whether it pays off or not, as Rosenthal told reporters, including Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, that he’s going on a rehab assignment this week. He also added that he recently touched 98 mph in a workout. His most recent action was in the shortened 2020 season, when he threw 23 2/3 innings with a 1.90 ERA along with an incredible 41.8% strikeout rate. If he can get anywhere close to that level here this year, he’ll give the Brewers a much-needed boost down the stretch.

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