Nats Notes: Strasburg, Scherzer, Kieboom
While there’s no denying that huge money drove Stephen Strasburg‘s return to the Nationals, there were some other key elements that informed his decisionmaking this winter. As Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic reports (subscription link), Strasburg actually worked in family-related travel benefits into his negotiations and contract. Those changes will redound to the benefit of other players with the organization. Strasburg also negotiated for year-round access to Nationals Park and access to certain equipment for training.
The whole story provides a nice look at the shy but increasingly assertive Nats’ co-ace. More from D.C. …
- Strasburg has toiled quietly even under intense scrutiny. Max Scherzer isn’t exactly a trash-talker, but his mound-stalking and glowering certainly represent a challenge to opposing hitters. Both arms, and both personalities, have made the Nats’ pitching staff one of the best in the business for some time now. But for how long? Todd Dybas of NBC Sports Washington looks at the question whether Scherzer could end up inking a new deal with the club. The 35-year-old is presently two high-priced seasons away from a return to the open market. While it’s tough to imagine losing the rare pitcher that has outperformed a mammoth free agent deal, it’s also not an obvious situation for an extension. Scherzer says it’d be up to the team to “drive those conversations” if it wishes. On his side, he says he’s going to “stay in the moment” and not think too hard about the future.
- The Nats’ hopes for a repeat crown obviously rest on quite a few players. If there’s a clear wild card, it’s probably young infielder Carter Kieboom. MLB.com’s Jessica Camerato checks in on his progress at learning to handle the third base position. The top prospect is accustomed to the left side of the infield, having spent plenty of time at shortstop, but says it’s still an adjustment to move to the hot corner. He’s keeping a steady demeanor and focusing on the big picture, but it’s obvious he’s also receiving something of a trial by fire this spring. Both Kieboom and manager Dave Martinez expressed confidence … and emphasizing the need for loads of reps both in practice and at game speed. “We really believe that he could be our third baseman,” says Martinez.
NL Notes: Kieboom, Harrison, Giants
Let’s check in on a few roster situations from the National League.
- The Nationals plan to give Carter Kieboom an opportunity to win the third base job, manager Dave Martinez told reporters (including Todd Dybas of NBC Sports Washington). The 22-year-old is a consensus top prospect coming off a year in which he hit .303/.409/.493 with 16 home runs in 494 plate appearances. Kieboom has played mostly in the middle infield in the minors, but Martinez indicated he’ll be used strictly as a third baseman for the time being. Washington hadn’t previously had room for Kieboom at the hot corner, but the departure of Anthony Rendon and failure to reel in Josh Donaldson created an opening. If Kieboom doesn’t prove ready for everyday playing time on a contender, Asdrúbal Cabrera gives Martinez a fallback option. Starlin Castro is on hand, too, but it seems Washington will keep him at second base full-time, relays Sam Fortier of the Washington Post.
- Marlins’ outfield prospect Monte Harrison has an opportunity to win a spot on Miami’s season-opening roster, relays Joe Frisaro of MLB.com as part of a reader mailbag. Harrison, one of Miami’s top prospects, slashed a solid but unspectacular .274/.357/.451 in his first crack at Triple-A last season. Given the continued struggles of Lewis Brinson, who was acquired alongside Harrison in the regrettable Christian Yelich trade, there could be an opportunity for Harrison to claim the center field job. As Frisaro notes, Harrison is already on the Marlins’ 40-man roster, so no further move would be necessary.
- Mike Yastrzemski seems likely to get the first crack at the center field job for the Giants, relays Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. That could give an opportunity for prospect Jaylin Davis, acquired last summer from the Twins, to stake a claim to a corner outfield spot. Yastrzemski was quite good for San Francisco in 2019, slashing .272/.334/.518 (121 wRC+) while serving primarily in the corner outfield, although he did start a pair of games in center. It’s an open question whether he can sustain that level of offensive production, considering he was previously an unheralded 28-year-old rookie. Steven Duggar’s also on hand and is a more natural fit in center defensively, but Pavlovic notes that he’s unlikely to have an everyday role. That’s not surprising, as Duggar owns a woeful .241/.286/.358 line (72 wRC+) over the past two seasons.
MLBTR Polls: Washington Nationals’ Recent Additions
The defending champion Washington Nationals began their offseason in a holding pattern, awaiting the fates of two of their brightest stars: Anthony Rendon and Stephen Strasburg. What shook out couldn’t have been more on-brand for the pitching-focused Nats. Strasburg re-upped with the only professional organization he’s known, while Rendon joined Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, and Joe Maddon on an Angels’ team frontrunning for Best Smiles in the AL West, if not the division crown.
Following those twining, superstar sagas, the Nats embarked on a period of relative calm throughout much of December. While waiting in the hallway with the Twins and Braves for Josh Donaldson to make his final contract demands, Nats’ GM Mike Rizzo contented himself with bringing back as much of the championship gang as he could manage. Living legend Howie Kendrick will be back for three-to-five starts per week somewhere in the infield, Yan Gomes returns to block Patrick Corbin sliders and share in the catching duties with Kurt Suzuki, and even mid-season bullpen stabilizer Javy Guerra will get another crack to stick in the bullpen on a minor league deal. Ryan Zimmerman continues to wait in the shadows, certain to re-sign at some point, though how regularly Mr. National will see the field in 2020 is entirely unclear.
This week, however, the Nats grew tired of waiting for Donaldson and moved to add a trio of free agents. Asdrubal Cabrera is the most familiar new/old face. The man most-often charged with protecting Juan Soto in the lineup during 2019’s second half returns to Washington on a one-year, $2.5MM guarantee. Cabrera put up insane numbers in August and September for the Nats (.323/.404/.565). While he bonded nicely with the club in his second stint in the District, the Nats’ can hardly expect Cabrera to put up anything close to the Rendonian line he boasted over the season’s final two months. Somewhere between Kendrick, (presumably) Zimmerman, and top prospect Carter Kieboom, Cabrera represents a capable option to gather loose change at-bats between first, second, and third base.
But the Nationals added a rival to that infield mix as well, inking Starlin Castro to a somewhat surprising two-year, $12MM deal. Ten years into his big league career, Castro turns just 30-years-old in March while carrying an uninspiring .280/.319/.414 career line. The Nats plan to let Castro have second base until Kieboom or somebody else takes it from him, and while he fits an organization ethos that trusts veteran contributors more than the average big league team, it’s hard to get too excited about a guy whose only real elite skill has been volume. He doesn’t strike out a ton, but he won’t take walks, and neither his speed nor power elicit much awe.
Castro did absolutely rip left-handed pitching in 2019, and in the right light, Castro’s home/road, left/right and 1sthalf/2ndhalf splits can all point to a player who deserves more credit than I’m giving him. For instance, he hit .302/.334/.558 in the second half and .286/.332/.447 away from Marlins Park. Together, Cabrera and Castro give the Nats two relatively similar players whose contributions will have to be monitored, like your favorite sublet, on a month-to-month basis.
Perhaps the most unassailable move made in this past week, funny enough, is the addition of spin-rate-savant Will Harris. Nats’ fans no doubt already hold a fondness for Harris after he surrendered the World Series winning home run to Kendrick late in game seven. Years of playoff disappointment prior to 2019 should have those in the District well-prepared to look beyond the volatility of playoff results and appreciate Harris for what he is: one of the best relievers in the league. After all, Astros’ manager AJ Hinch is hardly a doofus, and quibble if you will about his decision to let $324MM man Gerrit Cole languish away in the bullpen while Harris and Kendrick put the foul pole to work – but his decision to pitch Harris in that moment was entirely defensible. That he wanted Harris on the hill should further brighten the hearts of Nats’ fans, even if the three-year, $24MM deal given him at age-35 might cause some seat-squirming. Still, this is a guy with a 2.36 ERA/2.99 FIP over the last five seasons, and he insures the Nats’ bullpen against further wear-and-tear on Sean Doolittle or stagnation from hard-throwing righty Tanner Rainey.
Donaldson could still find himself suiting up next to Trea Turner on the left side of the Nats’ infield, but Rizzo has historically stuck to his number with position players, and if Donaldson’s demands have stretched beyond his comfortability, don’t expect the disciplined Rizzo to panic. Cabrera, Castro and Harris may not be the cavalry Nats’ fans expected to ride in to defend their first ever championship, but they’re here to help all the same. The question is, do they?
(Poll link for app users)
Grade the Nats' re-signing of Asdrubal Cabrera
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B 40% (3,620)
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C 34% (3,046)
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A 17% (1,487)
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D 6% (575)
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F 3% (241)
Total votes: 8,969
(Poll link for app users)
Grade the Nats' signing of Starlin Castro
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B 41% (3,418)
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C 32% (2,657)
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A 16% (1,316)
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D 9% (736)
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F 3% (224)
Total votes: 8,351
(Poll link for app users)
Grade the Nats' signing of Will Harris
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A 43% (3,526)
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B 37% (3,034)
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C 14% (1,146)
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D 3% (266)
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F 2% (155)
Total votes: 8,127
Nationals Interested In Shane Greene, Sam Dyson
Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said Friday the club’s going into the July 31 trade deadline seeking controllable talent, especially in the bullpen. Already connected to relievers Mychal Givens and Jake Diekman so far this month, a couple more late-game arms are now on the Nationals’ radar. The club is interested in Tigers closer Shane Greene and Giants setup man Sam Dyson, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
Not only are Greene and Dyson thriving in 2019, but they’re under wraps via the arbitration process through next season. Greene’s currently on a $4MM salary, while Dyson is making $5MM. There’s plenty of value in both cases, but if acquiring either would force the Nationals to give up prized shortstop prospect Carter Kieboom, it’s not going to happen. The Nats haven’t been willing to include Kieboom “in any deal,” according to Jamal Collier of MLB.com, and the Tigers were unsurprisingly turned down when they asked for Kieboom in exchange for Greene.
Widely regarded as one of the game’s premier prospects, the 21-year-old Kieboom would indeed be a big ask for a year-plus of a reliever, even though the Nationals are desperate for bullpen help. Despite having been weighed down by one of the majors’ worst relief groups from the get-go this year, the Nationals have gotten off to a 51-45 start and hold a one-game lead over the NL’s No. 1 wild-card spot.
With the Giants also in contention (they’re just 3 1/2 back of the Nats), acquiring Dyson could be difficult for Washington. Regardless, based on his performance this season, the 31-year-old Dyson would be an enormous get for the Nats’ relief corps. The right-hander has logged a sterling 2.68 ERA/2.67 FIP with 8.81 K/9, 1.15 BB/9 and a 55.1 percent groundball rate over 47 innings.
The 30-year-old Greene, also a righty, has put up similarly impressive numbers this season as the Tigers’ closer. Not only has Greene saved 22 of 24 chances, but he has recorded an eye-popping 1.03 ERA across 35 frames. Like Dyson, Greene’s strikeout, walk and grounder numbers are terrific. He has fanned 9.51 and walked 2.57 batters per nine, adding a 53.9 percent grounder mark for good measure. As we noted earlier this week, there’s quite a bit of good fortune baked into Greene’s output, but he has nonetheless impressed in 2019. And unlike San Francisco, Detroit’s way out of contention, making it almost a lock the Tigers will deal Greene by the deadline.
NL East Notes: d’Arnaud, Anderson, Kieboom
The Mets‘ decision to cut Travis d’Arnaud so early in the season calls into question the decision to ever tender him a contract in the first place, Joel Sherman of the New York Post opines in a lengthy look at the process. The team’s stance is that it has spent the past two months — Spring Training included — evaluating d’Arnaud, though he’s received only 25 big league plate appearances in part due to a stint on the IL. General manager Brodie Van Wagenen simply stated a belief that Tomas Nido, recalled to replace d’Arnaud, “makes us better.” The defensive-minded Nido does give the team a glove-first backup to a more bat-first primary catcher in Wilson Ramos, though that much was always apparent — even from the time the Mets tendered d’Arnaud a $3.52MM contract while he worked his way back from Tommy John surgery. Van Wagenen asserted that he has no regrets about tendering d’Arnaud and added that he couldn’t let “a few dollars shortchange” the team or d’Arnaud from an opportunity to get a look at him this season, though as Sherman points out, those “few dollars” seem all the more costly given ownership’s track record of spending at a lesser level than one would expect from a team in the game’s largest market. More broadly, the column looks at whether d’Arnaud was a scapegoat of sorts and whether any reactionary moves might follow.
More out of the NL East…
- Just a month into the season, the Marlins have “at least temporarily” moved Brian Anderson from third base back to right field, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Sun-Sentinel reports. The organization’s stance heading into the season was that Anderson would move back to his natural position, but manager Don Mattingly acknowledged that right field “turned into kind of a mess,” thus prompting the switch. Miami entered the season hoping that a combination of Garrett Cooper, Peter O’Brien, Austin Dean and Rosell Herrera could hold down the fort in right, however, so it’s hardly a surprise that the club ran into troubles there. The 28-year-old, 6’6″, 230-pound Cooper entered the season with all of 125 professional innings in right field and profiles better at first base, while O’Brien (also 28) is years removed from being an interesting power prospect with substantial defensive question marks. Mattingly wouldn’t comment on how long Anderson will be in the outfield, but the lack of solid in-house alternatives suggests that Anderson’s full-time move back to the hot corner won’t be anything close to “full-time” after all.
- Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post looks at the timing of Carter Kieboom‘s promotion in an attempt to determine what prompted the Nationals to make the move when they did. While Kieboom’s promotion ensures that he won’t be able to tally the 172 days of MLB service needed to reach one full year of service, Dougherty points out that service time considerations haven’t been a factor in the past when the Nats promoted star prospects like Bryce Harper, Victor Robles and Juan Soto. Rather, he speculates that perhaps Trea Turner‘s timeline is closer to the eight-week time period than originally hoped, and the lack of offense from shortstop proved glaring. As for what’ll become of Kieboom, who has already homered twice, when Turner returns from his broken index finger, GM Mike Rizzo didn’t out keeping the 21-year-old Kieboom around. While Rizzo stated that Turner would return to shortstop once healed, he also indicated that the club could find a way to keep Kieboom on the big league roster at that point. The Nats kept Soto at the MLB level last year when he was initially promoted as an injury replacement, so there’s some recent precedent for that type of path. Turner is also still weeks away from a return, and it’s possible that other injuries on the roster will create a clearer opening for Kieboom to stick at the big league level even with Turner at shortstop.
Nationals Promote Carter Kieboom
April 26: The Nats have formally announced the move. Righty Koda Glover was transferred from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster.
April 25, 5:59pm: Infielder Jake Noll is in the lineup for the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate tonight, indicating that he’ll be a corresponding 25-man roster move. The Nats will still need to clear a 40-man roster spot for Kieboom.
4:52pm: The Nationals will promote top infield prospect Carter Kieboom prior to Friday’s series opener against the Padres, reports Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. Kieboom, a top 50 league-wide prospect in the eyes of Baseball America, MLB.com, Baseball Prospectus, Fangraphs and ESPN, is not on the Nationals’ 40-man roster. A corresponding move to fit him onto the roster will be necessary.
Kieboom, 21, was Washington’s top pick (No. 28 overall) in the 2016 draft. He’s hit at every level throughout his quick ascension to the big leagues, though the torrid start he’s enjoyed thus far in his first exposure to Triple-A pitching is his best work yet. Through 83 plate appearances, Kieboom has crushed opponents with a .379/.506/.636 batting line, three homers, six doubles and a triple. Since being drafted, Kieboom is a combined .286/.373/.471 hitter across all levels at which he’s played — despite the fact that he has consistently been hitting against older, more experienced pitchers.
The exact manner in which the Nationals will utilize Kieboom is not yet clear, but it stands to reason that if the Nats are calling him up this early, the plan is for him to get regular at-bats. Kieboom is a shortstop by trade but has split his time between both middle-infield positions this season. The Nats are without Trea Turner for what figures to be another couple of weeks and have been starting the light-hitting Wilmer Difo in his place, but third baseman Anthony Rendon has also been banged up and out of the lineup for a few days. Offseason signee Brian Dozier has yet to hit much, but he’ll presumably be given a longer leash to get things right.
Though the Nationals’ infield is crowded with veterans when at full strength, they’ve shown a willingness to promote prospects early in the past and carry them for the duration of the season — as was the case with Rookie of the Year runner-up Juan Soto last season. Kieboom has a long way to go before forcing the organization’s hand in that same manner, but if he’s up in the big leagues for good, the Nationals would be able to control him through the end of the 2025 season (though he’d be a slam dunk Super Two player in arbitration).
NL East Notes: Mike Fast, Braves, Nationals,
Analytics guru Mike Fast joined the Atlanta Braves organization this Wednesday, he announced via Twitter. Fast was formerly the director of research and development in Houston before leaving the organization in late September. The former semiconductor engineer will serve as a special assistant to GM Alex Anthopoulous, who has made it a priority to improve the Braves’ analytics department ever since his hiring in November of 2017, writes the Athletic’s David O’Brien. Per Anthopolous himself, Fast will be part of Atlanta’s senior leadership team, giving his input into all areas of baseball operations. Now, some other rumblings from around the NL East…
- Right field and catcher clearly require the attention of the Braves’ front office this winter, where current free agents Kurt Suzuki and newly-minted Silver Slugger Nick Markakis have left holes, but improving the bench is not much further down their winter checklist, writes Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Versatile defender Charlie Culberson was a bright spot for the bench unit in 2018, but they could use a power bat to fill the spot once occupied by Matt Adams (and most recently by current free agent Lucas Duda). Outfielder Adam Duvall was acquired from the Reds last season in part to fill that role, but he struggled mightily in his 33 games as a Brave. Duvall projects to earn $3.1MM his first time through arbitration this winter, which makes him a likely non-tender candidate. He is a career .230/.291/.454 hitter. Still, while GM Alex Anthopoulos said they will be more “open-minded” about spending significant dollars on the bench this season, that’s not a development likely to happen early in the free agent season.
- The Nationals do not see upgrading at second base as a priority this offseason, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. Earlier this week Dougherty tweeted that the Nats were comfortable going into next season with Howie Kendrick and Wilmer Difo manning the keystone. Still, it’s a bit surprising given Kendrick is coming off a ruptured achilles, and Difo hardly looked the part of a starter last season when he hit only .230/.298/.350 in 456 plate appearances. Interestingly, Rizzo cites the organization’s depth, specifically prospects Carter Kieboom and Luis Garcia as reasons for their optimism about the position moving forward. Rizzo’s comments are interesting because it means the Nationals are presumably comfortable keeping Trea Turner at shortstop for the foreseeable future. Further, Washington may view Kieboom and/or Garcia to be closer to the majors than it might otherwise appear. Garcia spent the 2018 season between Single-A Hagerstown and High-A Potomac, though he won’t even turn 19 until May. The 21-year-old Kieboom is the more likely of the two to make a surprise jump to the bigs (a la Juan Soto), as he played the final 62 games of 2018 at Double-A Harrisburg, hitting .262/.326/.395. The Nationals have, however, reportedly expressed some interest in Josh Harrison, though the former Pirates utilityman could back up multiple positions around the diamond.
Nats Fielding Offers On Rental Relievers, Also Still Involved In Realmuto Negotiations
3:24pm: Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that the Nationals are indeed taking offers on impending free-agent relievers such as Herrera, Madson and Kelley. However, Rosenthal adds that Washington is trying to pry more away from rival teams than it gave up to acquire Herrera in the first place, seeking top-tier prospects in return.
Passan, meanwhile, tweets that he’s heard even further since writing this morning’s column that the Nationals’ clubhouse is a growing problem, and organizational confidence in Martinez has faded. Nationals ownership has been notoriously fickle with its managerial preferences, and the reported discord between Martinez and higher-ups is merely the latest data point in that bizarre trend.
Beyond all that, Janes now reports (via Twitter) that the Nationals and Marlins have held “extensive” negotiations regarding Realmuto in recent days, but Washington still deems the price tag to be too high. At the same time, they’re also listening to offers on rental players whose subtraction would help to reduce payroll, she adds.
1:27pm: The 52-53 Nationals have emerged as one of the most interesting teams to watch with just under 26 hours remaining before the non-waiver trade deadline. The presumptive NL East favorites sit six games back in a divisional race that has seen them outplayed by the upstart Phillies and Braves to this point in the season.
It was reported late last week that the Nats were preparing for the possibility of selling some veteran pieces in the event that their four-game set against the Marlins didn’t go well. Washington took the first two games of that series, only to see Miami rally and salvage a 2-2 split. The Nats have actually made up a game in the standings since the time of that report, but the talk of a potential sale persists.
For instance, Yahoo’s Jeff Passan kicks off his weekly 10 Degrees column with a lengthy, fascinating exploration of the apparent disarray in the clubhouse of a Nationals team that has underperformed in a transitional year both in terms of on-field management (where rookie skipper Dave Martinez replaced veteran Dusty Baker) and in terms of ownership (after owner Ted Lerner ceded control of the organization to his son, Mark). One source bluntly told Passan that the Nats’ clubhouse “is a mess,” and three others backed that sentiment. The details are well worth a full read-through for anyone, though Nats fans in particular should take a look.
Broadly speaking, Passan goes on to suggest that the Nationals had hoped to win three of four games in the series they split with Miami this weekend, and though the one-game difference may not prove to be pivotal, ownership will be involved as the club weighs potential trades of short-term veterans. There’ll be a substantial swath of names for decision-makers to consider, with Kelvin Herrera, Ryan Madson, Shawn Kelley, Gio Gonzalez, Mark Reynolds, Matt Adams, Daniel Murphy, Brandon Kintzler and Jeremy Hellickson all serving as potential free agents.
The Nationals have not, to this point, given any real consideration to trading Bryce Harper, Passan adds, which aligns with last week’s comments from Mike Rizzo to the New York Post’s Joel Sherman, in which the general manager suggested that it’d take “something extreme” in order to consider trading Harper. Heyman, meanwhile, tweets that rival teams believe there’s virtually no chance the Nats will consider moving Harper, whom they hope to retain long-term.
Heyman adds, though, that other clubs expect the Nats to “investigate” possible trades of Herrera, Madson, Kelley and Of course, with so many relievers available on the market, it’s worth wondering just how much the Nationals could even extract for the majority of those bullpen rentals.
Given the sheer volume of rental players the Nationals could potentially peddle to other clubs, it’s also unlikely that there’d even be time to orchestrate an all-out sale. To that end, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post tweeted even after yesterday’s loss that she’d still be “stunned to see a major fire sale.” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that other teams expect the Nationals to largely stay the course, perhaps preferring to try to pass some players through waivers next month. It’s possible that some smaller-scale moves will come together, but it hardly seems that the Washington front office is prepared for any type of significant tear-down.
In fact, it seems it’s not yet entirely out of the question that the Nats would make a significant addition. Heyman tweets that they haven’t completely closed the door on a late push for Marlins star J.T. Realmuto. More interestingly, he suggests that the Nationals would at least consider parting with prized outfield prospect Victor Robles or top shortstop prospect Carter Kieboom, but the Marlins have been pushing for both to be included in a deal (as MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reported Saturday). Whatever talks have taken place have not been serious enough that anything has been brought to Marlins ownership, tweets Craig Mish of SiriusXM.
Though this isn’t any real indication that a Realmuto deal has a legitimate chance of coming to fruition, Josh Norris of Baseball America tweeted last night that Miami had vice president of player development and scouting Gary Denbo in Durham, where Robles and the rest of the Nationals’ Triple-A club squared off against the Rays’ top affiliate. As ever, it’s probably best not to read too much into one specific scouting assignment, but the timing of the two reports is of at least some note.
Suffice it to say, the Nats seem to have a number of avenues they can explore. While trading short-term veterans and acquiring a big-name player such as Realmuto would seemingly run counter to one another, the two ideas could coexist. Adding Realmuto would give the Nationals a boost for two years beyond the current season, as he’s controllable through 2020. Trading some veteran rentals, meanwhile, would modestly supplement the farm while saving some money that could be put toward adding to a core of Max Scherzer, Trea Turner, Juan Soto, Adam Eaton, etc. this coming offseason. With just over a day to make so many crucial decisions, the Nats will be at the center of much of the intrigue surrounding the 2018 deadline.
Frisaro’s Latest: Straily, Ziegler, Barraclough, Realmuto
Following this past offseason’s fire sale of MLB assets, the Marlins are likely to ship out a few more players in the coming days prior to the non-waiver trade deadline. MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro has some updates on the market for a wide number of Miami assets as we approach July 31st.
- An Athletics scout paid a visit to Marlins Park this past Thursday, and Frisaro reports that he was there to watch right-hander Dan Straily pitch. Straily fell just short of a quality start in that outing, allowing three runs in 5 2/3 innings with six strikeouts against three walks. Astonishingly, Straily’s been able to hold together a 4.07 ERA this season despite a cataclysmic 5.41 FIP. After flashing improved control across the past two seasons, Straily has relapsed back to a 4.29 BB/9 and dealt with right forearm inflammation at the outset of the season, so it remains to be seen whether he’d be an attractive trade target to the A’s organization that drafted and developed him.
- After a rough start to the season that saw him lose his job as the team’s closer, sidewinder Brad Ziegler has rebounded nicely to post a 3.08 ERA in 39 appearances since the start of May (though peripherals paint a worse picture). The Marlins have plenty of potential suitors for the right-hander, Frisaro says, and lists the Cubs, Indians, Red Sox and A’s as potential fits. It’s worth noting that the latter two clubs are already familiar with Ziegler, as he’s spent time pitching for both organizations. The 38-year-old has already been traded twice in his lengthy career, and is playing out the final months of a two-year, $16MM deal.
- Ziegler’s not the only reliever fielding interest, Frisaro notes, as nearly a dozen scouts have been in Miami recently to watch Kyle Barraclough, Drew Steckenrider and Adam Conley pitch. Last we heard, the Marlins had placed a high price on each of the three, but it’s still certainly plausible that many teams would be willing to pay that price for relievers that come with such controllable relief arms; each of the aforementioned three is under team control through at least 2021.
- The Nationals still aren’t having any luck trying to pry catcher J.T. Realmuto from the hands of the Marlins. Frisaro reports that Miami’s NL East rival once again checked in on the club’s best trade asset, but were told that any package for Realmuto would require Washington to fork over both outfield prospect Victor Robles and shortstop prospect Carter Kieboom, both of whom are generally seen as top 100 prospects. Unsurpringly, conversations didn’t go far.
NL East Notes: Realmuto, Nationals, Eovaldi, Anthopoulos
The Nationals could be willing to “revisit” talks with the Marlins about J.T. Realmuto, according to Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman. The Nats have long been connected to Realmuto, though GM Mike Rizzo seemingly threw cold water on the potential of a trade a few weeks ago by saying that his team wasn’t willing to meet Miami’s very high asking price for the star catcher. Now, there is some belief that Washington could be open to dealing star outfield prospect Victor Robles, though Heyman notes that this is unconfirmed. The Nats were firmly against the idea of dealing Robles or Carter Kieboom to the Marlins for Realmuto, which is what brought talks to a halt in the first place.
Robles entered the season as a consensus top-10 prospect in baseball, and after making his MLB debut in 2017, there were whispers that he could emerge (like Juan Soto has) as an everyday option in Washington’s outfield this season. Instead, however, Robles has missed almost the entire year due to a hyperextended elbow, and has only recently begun a rehab assignment. He’ll have only a couple of weeks to fully return to action and prove his health prior to the July 31 trade deadline, though one suspects that Robles’ stock is high enough that he would have to appear drastically limited (or suffer another injury) to lose too much value as a trade chip.
Here’s some more from around the NL East…
- The Nationals are also one of the many teams interested in Rays starter Nathan Eovaldi, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. Washington won’t necessarily have any room in the rotation once assuming Stephen Strasburg returns from the DL when expected, though Eovaldi could conceivably replace Jeremy Hellickson or the struggling Tanner Roark. The Yankees, Brewers, and Braves have also been linked to Eovaldi, and scouts from at least five other teams have been watching his recent outings.
- Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos discussed his team’s trade deadline approach with Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, in the first part of a wide-ranging interview (the second part will be published on Monday). While the Braves have a deep farm system, the GM aren’t keen on dealing from that prospect depth for players only under contract through 2018. “We would prefer not to go after rentals unless the acquisition cost just makes so much sense for us,” Anthopoulos said. “There’s a lot of pain that has gone into putting together this young talent. We’re not ready to throw that all away just because of one season. That said, I do think we owe it to the players and the fan base and the organization to make this team better, one way or another.” Anthopoulos said that the trade market is currently flooded with teams shopping their pending free agents, estimating that “90 percent of the players that are actively available right now are rental players.”
- The Braves will be able to afford some upgrades at the deadline, as Anthopoulos said that the team set aside some payroll space before the season should some more spending be required midway through the year. That original total has now increased since team revenues have also risen as a result of the Braves’ success. “I’ve been given very specific instructions, and I can shop in any aisle. I can at least have a conversation. I can tell you right now in all the discussions and all the players we’ve discussed, there’s no single player that we can’t afford,” Anthopoulos said. “Where ultimately we’d have an (in-house) discussion is if we’re looking at adding three or four big-league guys at big contracts. That’s when maybe the numbers start to add up and we’d have to evaluate it. But one or two guys right now would not be a problem at all.”