AL East Notes: Miller/Chapman, Yankees, Floyd, Young, Sox
While there have yet to be any firm indications that the Yankees will shop Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman this summer, ESPN’s Buster Olney writes that some executives from other clubs are becoming more and more convinced that the Yankees will indeed hold a “two-tiered auction” on their imposing lefties. In Miller’s case, the belief is that the Yankees will name a specific price for interested organizations (e.g. Kyle Schwarber from the Cubs) and tell the teams to take it or leave it. Chapman’s status as a free agent at season’s end gives him a lower price tag, Olney notes. He goes on to list the Nationals, Dodgers, Rangers, Cubs and Red Sox as teams with potential interest in late-inning bullpen help, though I personally have a tough time envisioning the Sox and Yankees connecting for a trade of that magnitude.
More from the AL East…
- The Yankees received positive news on Carlos Beltran, who exited last night’s contest with a hamstring injury, writes ESPN New York’s Andrew Marchand. An MRI revealed no damage to the muscle, and the organization’s hope is that he’ll only miss a day or two. In the event of a setback, Marchand notes that the Yankees could hand right field to the combination of Aaron Hicks and Rob Refsnyder with Alex Rodriguez again receiving regular DH at-bats, or the team could elect to give Aaron Judge a long-awaited look in the Majors. GM Brian Cashman recently suggested that Judge had more work to do at the minor league level, however. The Yankees will hope to not have to even ponder such options, however; Beltran has been the club’s best hitter in 2016, batting .297/.336/.570 with 19 home runs. If the Yanks do end up selling veteran pieces, as Olney speculated above, Beltran’s bat would surely be in demand.
- Yankees prospect James Kaprielian, the team’s first-round pick in the 2015 draft, has been diagnosed with a strained right flexor tendon, reports Newsday’s Anthony Rieber. He’s headed to Los Angeles this week to meet with renowned surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache. Kaprielian, a product of UCLA, has been limited to three games this season but has posted impressive numbers in his 29 innings since being drafted. The 22-year-old has a 1.55 ERA with a 36-to-5 K/BB ratio in that time.
- The Blue Jays also received some bad news on the injury front, as Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star writes that Gavin Floyd‘s torn lat muscle will cost the right-hander eight to 12 weeks of action. While Floyd’s injury doesn’t require surgical repair, that timeline could sideline Floyd until anywhere from mid August to late September. The 33-year-old hasn’t been one of manager John Gibbons’ highest-leverage relievers, but Floyd has delivered 31 innings of 4.06 ERA ball with a 30-to-8 K/BB ratio. His loss further thins out a bullpen that currently has Brett Cecil on the disabled list and has seen struggles from Drew Storen all season long. (You can check out the Jays’ updated depth chart here.)
- Red Sox manager John Farrell tells Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal that outfielder Chris Young underwent an MRI in Boston on Monday, and the test revealed “a little bit more injury” than Young’s initial tests did (Twitter link). What that means for Young’s return is not yet clear; the outfielder hit the disabled list with a hamstring strain on June 24. Boston has been using the inexperienced Bryce Brentz and Ryan LaMarre in left field since Young hit the disabled list.
- Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports that Red Sox prospect Christopher Acosta has been placed on the restricted list after he left the club’s extended Spring Training facility to travel to the Dominican Repbulic without permission. Since returning to the Dominican, Acosta hasn’t reported to the team’s academy there despite being asked to do so. Boston signed the now-18-year-old Acosta in July 2014 and gave the Dominican native a $1.5MM signing bonus, Speier notes. The reasons for his actions aren’t clear, though Speier adds that Acosta doesn’t intend to quit baseball.
AL East Notes: Yanks, Sox, Beltran, Miller, ERod
The Red Sox have inquired about high-end starting pitchers like the Marlins’ Jose Fernandez and the Pirates’ Gerrit Cole this season, but Boston has unsurprisingly balked at sending back shortstop Xander Bogaerts or right fielder Mookie Betts, a source told Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. With a rotation whose ERA (4.66) and K/BB ratio (2.4) are both below average, the Red Sox are looking for starters who can help them “in the present or the future,” a source informed Silverman.
More on both Boston and its archenemy:
- In the event the Yankees are deadline sellers, right fielder Carlos Beltran could draw significant interest, an AL scout told John Perrotto of FanRag Sports. “He would help a lot of teams. He’s swinging the bat as well as I’ve ever seen him. He still plays a passable enough right field to help a National League team and American League teams can use him as a designated hitter,” said the scout. In his age-39 season, the switch-hitting Beltran is slashing .283/.316/.567 with an impressive 18 home runs in 256 plate appearances.
- Yankees reliever Andrew Miller‘s name seems to surface in trade rumors on a daily basis, but the lefty told NJ.com (via Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune) that it doesn’t bother him. “I have zero control on it. I have zero leverage,” he said. “I don’t have any no-trade (clause). It comes with the territory I’m in. … I’m not immune to checking trade rumors because I want to see.” The 31-year-old Miller has already been dealt three times in his career, having gone from the Tigers to the Marlins to the Red Sox to the Orioles via the trade route.
- One potential reason the Red Sox are looking for rotation reinforcements is the struggles of southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez, whom Baltimore traded to Boston for Miller in 2014. Rodriguez has surrendered 16 earned runs while striking out 12 and walking nine in four starts (20 2/3 innings), though he’ll keep his rotation spot, per Chris Mason of the Boston Herald. Prior to his next start, which is Wednesday against the White Sox, Rodriguez will work on returning to the delivery he used during a successful rookie campaign a year ago. In 121 2/3 major league innings last season, Rodriguez compiled a 3.85 ERA, 7.25 K/9, 2.74 BB/9 and 43 percent ground-ball rate.
- First baseman Mark Teixeira could reenter the Yankees’ lineup as early as Saturday if all goes well in a rehab stint during the upcoming week, manager Joe Girardi said (via Randy Miller of NJ.com). That would represent a relatively quick comeback for Teixeira, who was a possibility for surgery after a cartilage tear in his right knee forced him to the disabled list June 4. Surgery still isn’t off the table in the event of a setback, though, and Girardi acknowledged that the injury could prevent Teixeira from serving as an everyday option. In his absence, the Yankees have turned to a platoon of Rob Refsnyder and the recently acquired Ike Davis at first.
AL East Notes: Ubaldo, Venters, Beltran, Red Sox
Ubaldo Jimenez‘s dreadful results with the Orioles this season (specifically over his past seven starts) may soon force the Orioles’ hand, writes MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko. Manager Buck Showalter declined to give an inkling of the team’s intentions with Jimenez, stating: “We have to look at other possibilities, but if we do something, he’s going to hear about it from us long before he reads about it.” As Kubatko points out, that type of sentiment from Showalter in the past has typically preceded a change, and the real question surrounding Jimenez is how drastic of a move the team will make. Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun wrote last night that a release isn’t likely given the remaining money on Jimenez’s four-year deal, but Kubatko hears differently, writing that the O’s are willing to cut bait in spite of the financial considerations. Jimenez is owed about $7.89MM through the end of the season and is earning $13.5MM in 2017 as well. He has a 6.89 ERA through 62 2/3 innings this season and has seen his once blistering fastball dip to an average of just 89.8 mph.
More from the American League…
- Former Braves setup ace Jonny Venters somewhat quietly returned to the mound after his third Tommy John surgery when he tossed a scoreless inning for the Rays‘ Class-A Advanced affiliate earlier this month, as MLB.com’s Sam Blum writes. The Rays signed Venters to a two-year minor league contract last season, and the plan for him is to make about five appearances with Class-A Charlotte before being moved up to Triple-A Durham. If Venters, whose fastball touched 93 mph in his first appearance with the Stone Crabs, can show Major League caliber pitches and prove capable of throwing on back-to-back days, he could get a look with the big league club. Venters tells Blum that he doesn’t feel bad for himself whatsoever even after all of his arm woes, rather that he feels fortunate to have accomplished what he has in his career and to still have a chance. Blum also spoke to Venters’ former teammate Craig Kimbrel about the 31-year-old’s long journey back to the mound. “It shows a lot about who he is,” said Kimbrel. “He has some of the nastiest pitches, pure stuff in the game. … He’s giving everything he’s got. It’s special to be able to play this game, and he feels like he can still do it.” Venters, who has a career 2.23 ERA in 229 2/3 MLB innings, is looking to become the second pitcher to ever return from a third TJ operation, joining Jason Isringhausen.
- While Carlos Beltran is having a strong season and would love to remain with the Yankees beyond 2016, the team has yet to reach out to the free-agent-to-be about a new contract, reports Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com. Beltran has said he’d like to play for another two seasons beyond this one, Bloom adds. The 39-year-old slugger is hitting .277/.313/.554 with 16 homers on the season, placing him just three long balls shy of last season’s total of 19. As Bloom points out, Beltran’s excellent season is only further adding to a very legitimate Hall of Fame case; he ranks fourth among active players in WAR and reached a pair of notable milestones this season, belting his 400th homer and recording his 2500th hit (his 1500th RBI isn’t far off, either). Bloom spoke to both skippers who were present at Yankee Stadium this weekend — Joe Girardi and Brad Ausmus (a former teammate of Beltran) — and both said they think he’s already earned a spot in Cooperstown regardless of how the remainder of his career plays out.
- While the Red Sox are reportedly seeking both starters and relievers on the trade market, skipper John Farrell wouldn’t identify specific trade needs for his club when asked by WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford. Instead, Farrell chose to focus his comments on a need to get his team’s best players healthy. Farrell specifically mentioned Brock Holt, who has yet to pass IMPACT testing to clear him to return from the concussion he is currently battling. Farrell also took the opportunity to praise the replacement for Holt (and Blake Swihart), Chris Young, for his contributions in the clubhouse and on the diamond. Meanwhile, Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald tweeted yesterday that Farrell later added the hope for Holt is that he’ll be able to embark on a minor league rehab assignment this week.
Details On Carlos Beltran’s No-Trade Clause
Yankees outfielder Carlos Beltran can block trades to 15 clubs under the terms of his limited no-trade clause, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, who explores the possibility of a deal involving the veteran. Among the teams to which Beltran could be dealt without consent are the Indians, Nationals, Royals, Cardinals, Rays, Tigers, and Dodgers, per the report.
Of course, it’s far from clear whether New York will end up entertaining such a move. The club has moved back to within striking distance in the AL East already, and there’s plenty of time left before the deadline.
Parting with Beltran wouldn’t necessarily mean abandoning hope for the present season, Olney suggests. Shipping him out would free up opportunities for highly-regarded young players such as Aaron Hicks and Aaron Judge. They could be expected to provide value now while helping prepare for bigger roles in 2017 and beyond.
It’s fair to wonder just how much trade value Beltran would carry. On the one hand, he recently turned 39 and is a subpar outfielder (especially if one credits Defensive Runs Saved). On the other, he’s a highly respected veteran who is currently running out a productive .274/.299/.522 batting line, largely matching his overall production levels from last season (about 20% above league average).
Salary will certainly play a role, too, as Beltran is owed a healthy $15MM this season before reaching free agency at year’s end. Whether or not the market is receptive to that overall package remains to be seen, but presumably the Yankees won’t make a move unless they receive some kind of interesting return (barring a full-blown collapse in the next two months). That’s especially true given the uncertainty of Hicks and Judge as well as the fact that aging sluggers Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez come with their own blend of health, age, and performance questions.
Quick Hits: Beltran, Reyes, Blue Jays
History was made Sunday when Yankees right fielder Carlos Beltran slugged his 400th home run, becoming the 54th player to reach the milestone and just the fourth switch hitter to accomplish the feat. Beltran is now in a group with three other switch-hitting baseball luminaries in Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray and Chipper Jones. Two of those three are already in the Hall of Fame, and the other (Jones) is all but certain to get there eventually. Whether Beltran should join them in Cooperstown is up for debate, but as a 400-homer, 300-steal, 66-fWAR player, he certainly has a legitimate case.
More from around baseball:
- Jim Bowden of SiriusXM has asked a dozen teams whether they’d be interested in acquiring suspended Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes if Colorado were to pick up the remaining money on his contract, and all 12 have passed on the idea (Twitter link). One of those clubs is the Blue Jays, for whom Reyes played from 2013 until midway through last season. General manager Ross Atkins told Bowden on Sunday that Toronto has no interest in Reyes (Twitter link), who would likely have difficulty finding playing time on a team with Troy Tulowitzki at short and second baseman Devon Travis nearing a return from offseason shoulder surgery.
- Although no one Bowden has spoken with wants any part of Reyes, who is serving a suspension through May 31 because of a violation of the league’s domestic violence policy, a National League executive told John Perrotto of Today’s Knuckleball that he expects the 32-year-old to get another opportunity. “While I don’t condone what he did, he had a good reputation of being a good guy and a good teammate to that point,” said the executive. “I’m sure whoever take a chance on him is going to let him know right up front that there will be a zero-tolerance policy. One misstep and he’s gone.” Also of importance: Commissioner Rob Manfred wanted to give Reyes a longer suspension than the 52-game ban he settled on, but there wasn’t enough evidence to levy a harsher punishment, a source told Perrotto.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Beltran, Royals, Gray, Astros
Here’s the latest from FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, via his weekly Full Count video…
- Carlos Beltran wants to keep playing beyond this season and there’s a chance he could return to the Royals in 2017. Kansas City will have a vacancy at DH next season since Kendrys Morales is a free agent, and the Royals made a push to sign Beltran in the 2013-14 offseason before the Yankees boosted their offer to include a third guaranteed year. Beltran, who turns 39 tomorrow, is still swinging a strong bat, and it’s possible he could better preserve himself in a regular DH role — Alex Rodriguez‘s presence in New York has kept Beltran mostly in right field as a Yankee.
- Aside from Ian Kennedy, the Royals also targeted free agent hurlers Zack Greinke, Wei-Yin Chen and Mike Leake as good fits for their rotation last winter. “All throw changeups, all field their positions well and, most importantly, all command their fastballs,” Rosenthal noted, and GM Dayton Moore told him that pitchers who tend to fall behind in the count didn’t mesh with the Royals’ style. K.C. ended up signing Kennedy to a five-year, $70MM contract, which was less than the five years/$80MM Leake and Chen respectively received from the Cardinals and Marlins and obviously well below Greinke’s $206.5MM megadeal with the Diamondbacks. (Leake, unlike the other three, didn’t have qualifying offer draft compensation to his services.) In the early going, Kennedy has been outstanding as a Royal, posting a 1.35 ERA over his first three starts.
- The Athletics‘ good start will make it less likely that Sonny Gray is traded, though Rosenthal notes that even if Gray was shopped and a team was willing to give up “a ton” for the star righty, the A’s would still face a tough decision about pulling the trigger on a deal. Gray will become eligible for arbitration next winter, and though his arb costs may eventually price him out of Oakland’s comfort zone, Gray would still certainly be “affordable” for the A’s in 2017 (and really a bargain if he continues to post ace-type numbers).
- In another video from Rosenthal, he notes that the Astros might eventually need to make a trade to add some velocity to their rotation. Houston’s starters entered today with the lowest average velocity (87.8 mph) of any club in baseball, with the Orioles next to last at 90.1 mph. The rotation woes are just one of many problems plaguing the Astros right now as the team is off to a rough 5-12 start.
AL Notes: Correa, Beltran, Gordon
Astros shortstop Carlos Correa is just the megastar-to-be for Major League Baseball, Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan writes — Correa is not quite as brash as Bryce Harper can sometimes be, but more outwardly confident than Mike Trout, and might just have that kind of exceptional talent. Last season, when he was a 20-year-old rookie, he quickly won over teammates with his play and with his confidence. “It was kind of like us saying; ‘Here you go, dude. You own this place,'” says outfielder George Springer. Here’s more from the American League.
- Yankees slugger Carlos Beltran hopes to continue playing beyond the expiration of his contract following the 2016 season, ESPN’s Wallace Matthews writes. “My goal is to play 20 years,” Beltran says. “I would love to play 20 years in the big leagues. So that means two more years if possible.” Beltran’s first season in the big leagues was 1998, so playing through 2017 would mean he appeared in 20 straight big-league seasons. Beltran has become more and more of a defensive liability as he’s aged, but his hitting bounced back nicely in 2015, when he batted .276/.337/.471 with 19 home runs. His best path forward after 2016 might be as a DH, although, as Matthews notes, Alex Rodriguez appears set to man that position with the Yankees through 2017.
- Alex Gordon confirms that the White Sox had strong interest in him this offseason, Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago writes. His first choice, though, was always to head back to the Royals. “After every conversation I had with (agent Casey Close) it was always, ‘Have the Royals said anything?‘” says Gordon. “This is where I grew up. Its where I wanted to be. Coming from the bad times to really cherish the good times, why not stay here?” Both Gordon and Yoenis Cespedes were reportedly possibilities for the White Sox, although both ended up returning to their former teams, with Gordon taking a $72MM guarantee to stay in Kansas City.
Carlos Beltran May Retire After 2016 Season
Carlos Beltran may retire after the 2016 season, reports Zach Braziller of the New York Post. Beltran is entering his age 39 season and the final campaign of a three-year, $45MM deal signed prior to 2014. Beltran allowed that his decision will be affected by the level of performance he believes he can contribute in 2017. “If I feel like I produce well to the point where I can make a good impact on a team, then I can play one more year. Or if I feel like I have [had] enough, I’ll go home.”
After a rough 2014 campaign, the Yankees outfielder bounced back in 2015 with a .276/.337/.471 line and slightly below average defense in 531 plate appearances. Injuries have slowed Beltran in his time with New York too. While the original plan probably included using him at designated hitter with regularity, the returns of Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira last season forced Beltran into the outfield. The club will have to juggle a similar alignment this year.
If it is indeed the last season for Beltran, he’ll go out with an impressive 19-year resume. Over parts of 18 seasons, the switch-hitter has posted a career .280/.355/.490 line with 392 home runs, 311 stolen bases, and 2,454 hits in 9,929 plate appearances. He’s poised to reach 400 home runs, 2,500 hits, and 10,000 plate appearances this year. Defensive metrics also rated him as an excellent defender during his prime. With 66 career WAR, he has a legitimate case for Hall of Fame honors.
Bolstering his candidacy is a strong postseason track record. In 223 plate appearances, Beltran hit .332/.441/.674 with 16 home runs and 40 RBI. Win Probability Added (WPA), an advanced stat that measures the value of each play relative to the state of the game*, credits Beltran with about three wins in what amounts to about a third of a season. In other words, he hit like the 2015 version of Bryce Harper when the games counted the most.
Beltran has spent most of his career split between the Royals, Mets, Cardinal, and Yankees. He spent half the 2004 season with the playoff bound Astros – a year that included his best postseason performance. His .435/.536/1.022 October slash set up a seven-year, $119MM contract with the Mets. At the time, it was just the 10th deal to cross the $100MM threshold. Notably, the Giants traded Zack Wheeler for Beltran at the 2011 trade deadline.
*By comparison, WAR measures the value of each play without regard to game context. According to WAR, a walkoff grand slam down three runs in the bottom of the ninth is equally valuable as a grand slam in a 20-1 blowout. Using WPA, the walkoff grand slam is hugely valuable whereas the blowout grand slam is worth almost nothing.
East Notes: Encarnacion, Jays, Yankees, Niese
Blue Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion achieved ten-and-five rights yesterday, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports. It once seemed quite unlikely that the now-32-year-old would ever establish himself enough to earn a no-trade clause, as Davidi explains. Toronto can control Encarnacion next season with a $10MM club option, but his future beyond that remains unclear. “I like this city, I’d love to stay here but it’s not my choice,” said Encarnacion. “They have to decide what they’re going to do, if they’re going to sign me or not. I’m open to be here and to stay here in Toronto.”
Here’s more from Toronto and the rest of the east:
- All indications are that Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos “has been busy trying to make something happen for a while now,” writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. Toronto may be willing to give significant value for a truly high-quality player that makes a perfect fit for the club’s overall situation, says Davidi, much as it did in signing Russell Martin and trading for Josh Donaldson. That being said, it seems unlikely that Anthopoulos and Co. will part with its best young talent for a pure rental, the report suggests.
- Anthopoulos tells reporters that the Blue Jays nearly pulled off two trades in May, but has not come as close since, as Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star reports (Twitter links). The GM added that he’ll consider moving prospects for rentals if the price is right, noting that he discussed a deal last summer involving young players Kevin Pillar and Sean Nolin.
- he Yankees are in a solid position right now, but need to address three pressing questions, Joel Sherman of the New York Post argues. First, the club need to decide whether and when it will pull the struggling CC Sabathia from the rotation, and whether it will replace him with an outside addition (Sherman suggests Jeff Samardzija as a viable option). Another veteran, outfielder Carlos Beltran, has produced at the plate but not in the field, and Sherman wonders whether he could be a trade option for the Angels to plug in at DH. And New York must also decide how much it is willing to cough up to add the versatile Ben Zobrist, per the piece, if and when he’s made available by the A’s.
- Meanwhile, across town, the Mets are in no rush to deal Jon Niese, writes Newsday’s David Lennon, who explains that the club still needs innings from him given limitations on its younger starters. Of course, Niese (and his salary) could ultimately be part of a deal — whether to add a bat or future assets. But as things stand, it does not appear that there is much momentum towards any kind of trade. Indeed, per Lennon, the Mets have not even had “serious conversations with two teams (Cubs, Dodgers) that reportedly have interest in the lefty.
Quick Hits: Mets, Beltran, Dorn
The Mets are one of several teams helping Major League Baseball understand more about pitchers’ epidemic of elbow injuries, Mike Vorkunov of NJ.com writes. The Mets, along with four other teams, are having the pitchers in their 2014 draft class participate in a study by agreement with MLB and the MLBPA, along with the American Sports Medicine Institute. Vorkunov reports that the study will examine pitchers’ biomechanics, anatomy and flexibility to try to identify players who might be at risk. All 30 teams will have access to the results. “We as an industry probably should have taken the initiative long ago before this became such an epidemic,” says Mets GM Sandy Alderson. “But I’m happy we’re pursuing it now. That, I think, will help us with the next generation of baseball pitchers.” The problem is surely one that all clubs are curious about, although the Mets, who have lost Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler to Tommy John surgery in recent years, likely are especially interested. Here’s more from around the Majors.
- Carlos Beltran is becoming disliked by fans of both the Mets and the Yankees, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. It’s questionable whether Mets fans have reasonable grounds to dislike Beltran — as Sherman notes, Beltran played well with the Mets and landed them Wheeler. But many do. And the first year-plus of Beltran’s three-year, $45MM contract with the Yankees has been awful so far, particularly given his defensive limitations. Beltran, who turned 38 yesterday, is hitting .173/.241/.288 so far this season.
- 30-year-old 1B/OF Danny Dorn finally made it to the big leagues after 939 minor-league games after the Diamondbacks promoted him Tuesday, and he’s thrilled to be there, writes MLB.com’s Barry M. Bloom. “I can call myself a Major Leaguer,” says Dorn. “It’s been great. I just feel blessed and thankful for the opportunity.” Dorn has been climbing uphill his entire career — he was a 32nd-round draft pick all the way back in 2006, and although he hit well throughout the minors, he spent parts of seven seasons at Triple-A.