Dominic Smith

Mets Rumors: Gonzalez, Infield, Nimmo, Harrison

By Steve Adams | January 16, 2018 at 9:04pm CDT

Veteran Adrian Gonzalez will have the inside track to be named the Mets’ primary first baseman in 2018, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post. The 35-year-old first baseman (36 in May) reportedly agreed to a deal with the Mets over the weekend, though that agreement is still pending a physical. That shouldn’t be considered a formality, given the back issues that Gonzalez has had in recent years. The Mets still view young Dominic Smith as a piece of the future, per Puma, but the organization is not convinced that he’s ready for the big leagues just yet. While Gonzalez comes with virtually no risk — the Mets will only pay him the league minimum, with Atlanta on the hook for the remainder of his $22.35MM salary — he’s coming off a woeful season in which be batted just .242/.287/.355 with three homers and multiple DL stints due to persistent back injuries.

A few more notes on the Mets…

Puma also tweets that the Mets, even after adding Jay Bruce on a three-year, $39MM contract, are focused on infield additions. New York could conceivably upgrade at either third base or second base (with Asdrubal Cabrera playing the other spot), though the team’s preference is to add a second baseman, according to Puma. He also notes that a free-agent signing is likelier than trade. There are a number of veteran options available in free agency both at second base and at third base (links via MLBTR’s Free Agent Tracker). Options range from Brandon Phillips, Jose Reyes and Neil Walker to Yunel Escobar, Todd Frazier and Eduardo Nunez, with several other veterans that could be had on minor league contracts also available.
Prior to being traded to the Giants, Andrew McCutchen was a known target of the Mets in trade talks. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic shines some more light on the matter (subscription required and strongly recommended), reporting that New York wouldn’t part with outfielder Brandon Nimmo for a one-year rental of McCutchen. New York still believes Nimmo will develop into a quality big leaguer, though Rosenthal adds that the team believes he could be part of a package in talks with the Pirates regarding Josh Harrison. The 24-year-old Nimmo, who was selected 13th overall in the 2011 draft, hit .260/.379/.418 with five homers and a pair of steals in 215 plate appearances as a rookie last season. It would seem that if the Mets are to entertain the notion of moving him, they’d prefer multiple years of control over whichever more established asset they acquire in his place.
Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News hears the same as Rosenthal, reporting that the Mets would indeed be willing to include Nimmo in a trade that would pry Harrison away from the Pirates. However, she adds that the Mets would not part with Dominic Smith in order to obtain Harrison, even with Gonzalez in the fold for 2018 and Bruce (who figures to see some time at first base) locked up through 2020. Ackert adds that the Mets were approached about Smith in multiple trade negotiations this winter but weren’t inclined to include him in any of the proposed scenarios. She also notes that Eduardo Nunez, Neil Walker and Jose Reyes are among the team’s potential infield targets in free agency.

Latest On The Mets’ Offseason Plans

By Mark Polishuk | December 10, 2017 at 10:15pm CDT

Here’s the latest from Mets GM Sandy Alderson, who spoke with reporters (including Newsday’s Marc Carig, and Mike Puma and Joel Sherman of the New York Post) about where his team stands headed into the Winter Meetings…

If there was a general theme to Alderson’s comments, it was that the Mets will be patient when it comes to making their moves, particularly in the relief pitching market. The team seemed poised to make a quicker jump for a bullpen arm earlier this winter, though now New York appears to be taking a step back. “We’re not going to chase players. There are a lot of guys out there, and a lot of teams looking for relief pitching,” Alderson said. “We think there’s some values out there. And to the extent that the market gets overheated, I wouldn’t think that we’ll jump into the inferno. But we do want to improve our bullpen.” In a follow-up tweet from Puma, Alderson “is sending out signals to” some agents that the Mets might not sign a reliever until after the Winter Meetings or possibly even into January. The Mets are one of the teams who made a three-year offer to Bryan Shaw, though Carig suggests that Shaw would be holding out for a fourth year or perhaps is looking for an offer from a team whose Spring Training camp is in Arizona (where Shaw owns a home).
Dominic Smith “is still very much in the mix” for regular time at first base, Alderson said. Smith received some criticism from Mets officials, including Alderson himself, after the season, though recent reports had the team looking for just part-time first base help, either in the form of a platoon partner like Adam Lind or an outfielder who could fill in at first like Jay Bruce. “I wouldn’t expect us to do something that totally eliminates Dominic as a possibility,” the GM said. “We are still very high on Dominic — some of my comments earlier in the offseason notwithstanding. I would be surprised if we did anything that precluded him from not having an opportunity in Spring Training.”
Asdrubal Cabrera is almost certainly going to be used at third base next season, so Alderson said the Mets will look for second base help. A trade for a second baseman is possible, though “our farm system right now is not brimming with prospects, so in that sense, making a trade isn’t as attractive,” Alderson said.
The Mets were never linked to the Giancarlo Stanton trade rumors, as Alderson said he “just didn’t think, given the contract, a variety of circumstances, it made any sense for us to feign any interest for purposes of public consumption.” While the Mets no longer have to worry about Stanton as an intra-division rival, they’ll get a regular dose of the slugger as both an interleague foe with the Yankees.

Mets Rumors: Ohtani, Smith, Asdrubal, Bullpen, Free Agency

By Steve Adams | November 14, 2017 at 9:27pm CDT

The Mets are weighing an earnest pursuit of Japanese star Shohei Ohtani if and when he is posted by the Nippon Ham Fighters, David Lennon and Marc Carig of Newsday report. While the Mets are limited in what they can offer at present, the team could potentially trade for additional pool money. The greater allure than the signing bonus they can offer, though, comes with the endorsement opportunities available to Ohtani by signing with one of the two teams in the nation’s largest market, Carig and Lennon posit. The Mets also have a strong relationship with Ohtani’s agency, CAA, and they could offer Ohtani opportunities to bat not only on the days he’s pitching but occasionally in the outfield. Lennon notes that the Mets should still be considered a long shot, but it’s nonetheless worth noting that another large-market club could be in the mix for his services.

A few more notes out of Queens…

Mike Puma of the New York Post reports that the Mets are indeed interested in Carlos Santana, as FanRag’s Jon Heyman recently suggested, adding that the interest in Santana has a correlation with some executives’ feelings toward prospect Dominic Smith. The former first-round pick made his big league debut late in the 2017 season and didn’t do much to impress, hitting just .198/.262/.395 with a 26.8 percent strikeout rate in 183 plate appearances. Smith is still just 22 years of age, and Puma hardly suggests that the team has completely given up on the young slugger. But, assistant GM John Ricco also suggested to Puma and other reporters that the club could trade from its big league roster if it meant acquiring other big league talent. He also specifically indicated that Wilmer Flores could platoon with Smith, so there’s certainly the possibility that he could yet play a large role for the Mets moving forward.
Puma notes within that seem piece that Ricco suggested Asdrubal Cabrera currently factors into the plan as a third baseman. The Mets could shift him to second base if a better option at the hot corner arises, though MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets that the Mets are most likely to add a second base option this offseason with Cabrera penciled in at third base. Puma writes that while the Mets are being open-minded when it comes to the infield, they are not likely to pursue either Eric Hosmer or Mike Moustakas in free agency.
The Mets are “ramping up” to make a play that has previously been uncharacteristic for them, tweets Carig. New York, it seems, is prepared to add a reliever to their bullpen even at the cost of a three- or four-year contract. Alderson has typically eschewed such commitments, but Carig notes that it’s considered a high priority for the team. The Post’s Joel Sherman points out that new manager Mickey Callaway and pitching coach Dave Eiland bring some insight into a group of free-agent relievers. Joe Smith, Bryan Shaw and Boone Logan pitched for Callaway in Cleveland (Smith was also drafted by the Mets), while Eiland was the pitching coach for Mike Minor in Kansas City.
Further adding to the notion that the Mets are poised for an active offseason, Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM tweets that Ricco joined him on the air tonight and “made it clear” that the Mets are going to be players on the free-agent market. Bowden notes that position players seem likelier than pitchers, though, with center field, first base, second base and third base all potential areas for addition. The Mets were already linked to center fielder Lorenzo Cain earlier this evening.

NL East Notes: Stanton, Phillies, Mets Needs, Nats, Werth

By Jeff Todd | November 13, 2017 at 10:14pm CDT

With the GM Meetings underway, we’ll be rounding up the key bits of information from around the league. Let’s get things started with the NL East:

While the Marlins haven’t yet committed to trading Giancarlo Stanton, his pursuit could be the first major piece of the offseason puzzle. As Tim Healey of the Sun-Sentinel reports, Miami president of baseball operations Michael Hill acknowledges that the front offices has “a sense” of where Stanton would be willing to go via trade. While the team isn’t disclosing that publicly, it’ll obviously be a key factor as the team tries to craft a trade that will meet its needs and receive approval from Stanton, who can veto any swap through his no-trade clause. Hill did also say it’s “definitely a possibility” that Stanton won’t be dealt, though the team’s payroll plans make him an exceedingly tough fit. [RELATED: MLBTR’s breakdown of Stanton’s market and compilation of the latest rumors]
One team that has been tied to Stanton, the Phillies, may not be that realistic a suitor after all. Per Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia organization has not engaged the Marlins in “substantive talks” and do not see the slugger as a fit. As Gelb notes, GM Matt Klentak emphasized today that the club is “pretty comfortable with our position-player group right now” and prefers to “let those young players play” — barring, at least, “a pretty unique set of circumstances.” Klentak also acknowledged that “this offseason is the first time since I’ve been here that we will explore contracts of more than one year with free agents.”
As they seek to modernize the use of their pitching staff, the Mets seemingly hope to improve the rotation without necessarily spending resources on new acquisitions. As Marc Carig of Newsday writes, GM Sandy Alderson plans both to buttress the training approach and to improve the team’s bullpen. New York could be a player for pitchers such as Brandon Morrow, Mike Minor, and Bryan Shaw — each of whom MLBTR predicts to land a three-year deal. That said, achieving depth will surely involve multiple additions. The team is considering righty Wily Peralta as one swingman candidate, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets.
Of course, the Mets also have other needs, and committing resources to the pen will make for sacrifices. Second base is an obvious need, though Carig suggests the club may not look to commit too big a chunk of salary to filling that hole. The Mets will also look for a quality hitter that can play right field and/or first base, helping to cover for the questions surrounding Michael Conforto and Dominic Smith (the latter of whom was the recipient of some blunt words from Alderson). It sounds like the team is more or less seeking the same thing it was when it inked Michael Cuddyer a few years back. A righty bat would make the most sense from a platoon perspective, though that could mean giving the lion’s share of time in center to Juan Lagares — a possibility that Carig credits.
Nationals president of baseball ops Mike Rizzo downplayed the possibility of the organization landing a top-flight starter, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports on Twitter. He did, however, say that depth in the rotation and the pen were on his offseason wish list. It’s interesting to hear that Rizzo isn’t keen (at least publicly) to pursue more significant additions to the pitching staff. After all, the lineup is also mostly set; on the whole, the ballclub has few holes in terms of its major contributors (with catcher arguably representing a major exception). But with a mandate to pursue an elusive, deep playoff run, that has left some wondering where the team will look to improve. Perhaps building out a strong supporting cast will be the focus; then again, it could be that larger moves could be pursued in a stealthier manner.
Rizzo said he wouldn’t rule out the possibility that the Nationals would retain Jayson Werth, as Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post reports on Twitter. “We haven’t really discussed that or gone down that road yet,” said Rizzo, “but I wouldn’t close the door on it.” He did note that such a move would “have to fit into what we want to do,” likely hinting at a much-reduced role for the veteran. In honesty, it’s somewhat difficult to see just how Werth would fit in with the team’s current alignment, though perhaps it’s possible he’d mostly work as a bench bat and depth option.

Mets To Promote Dominic Smith

By Connor Byrne | August 10, 2017 at 4:20pm CDT

The Mets will promote first base prospect Dominic Smith to the majors on Friday, general manager Sandy Alderson told reporters, including Marc Carig of Newsday (Twitter link). Smith will follow shortstop Amed Rosario as the second well-regarded prospect to join the out-of-contention Mets since the non-waiver trade deadline passed July 31.

The extended wait for Smith came thanks in part to the Mets’ logjam of veteran position players, but they mitigated that in recent weeks by trading first base options Lucas Duda and Jay Bruce. When they dealt Bruce to the Indians on Wednesday, it became obvious that the 22-year-old Smith would be bound for the majors sooner than later.

Smith is among the game’s top 50 prospects, according to MLB.com and Baseball America, with the former noting in its free scouting report that he has lived up to the hype that accompanied him as a first-round pick in 2013. The lefty-swinger owns “a very advanced approach at the plate” with “outstanding defensive ability,” per MLB.com, which touts Smith as a potential everyday first baseman.

Smith got his first taste of Triple-A action this year and slashed a terrific .330/.386/.519 with 16 home runs in 500 plate appearances. While he had the benefit of playing in both the extremely hitter-friendly setting of Las Vegas and the offense-driven Pacific Coast League, Smith still posted a line 33 percent better than the PCL average, according to FanGraphs’ wRC+ metric. He was similarly effective at lower levels from 2013-16.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Quick Hits: Alonso, Mariners, Pirates, Kang, Mets

By Connor Byrne | August 6, 2017 at 4:42pm CDT

Seattle acquired first baseman Yonder Alonso from Oakland in a waiver trade on Sunday. It turns out the Mariners had been pursuing Alonso since before the non-waiver deadline on July 31, general manager Jerry Dipoto told reporters, including Greg Johns of MLB.com. Dipoto “couldn’t quite push it over the goal line,” though. The executive went on to suggest that Alonso, an impending free agent, could be more than a rental for the Mariners. “In this case, it’s a guy who fits us not just now, but potentially moving forward. What better way to get to know a player than have him join you?”

More on Seattle and a pair of National League clubs:

While the Mariners bolstered their lineup Sunday in picking up Alonso, their bullpen may have taken a sizable step backward. Reliever David Phelps, whom the M’s acquired in July from the Marlins, left the first game of Seattle’s doubleheader against the Royals on Sunday with right elbow discomfort. That’s “never a good thing,” notes the Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish, who relays that Phelps’ fastball velocity was noticeably down during his shortened, seven-pitch frame. The Mariners are now left to hope for positive news regarding Phelps, who has been lights-out since joining his new club. Phelps has pitched seven innings of six-hit, two-run ball and posted an 11:1 K:BB ratio as a Mariner.
The Pirates made a noteworthy trade of their own this weekend when they reacquired utilityman Sean Rodriguez from the Braves on Saturday. Rodriguez will provide further infield insurance in the event Jung Ho Kang never returns to the United States, writes Adam Berry of MLB.com. Kang has been stuck in South Korea and unable to get a visa since he was arrested and charged with his third DUI over the winter. GM Neal Huntington admitted last month that Kang probably won’t return this year. He took a more drastic step Sunday, saying: “That’s been an unfortunate reality from the outset that he may never get a visa again. We worked the process, worked the process again and have not gotten a different result. We’ll attack it in different ways again the next time through and hope there is a different outcome. We do need to begin to prepare as if he’s not coming back.” Because Kang’s on the restricted list, he hasn’t collected any of his $2.75MM salary for this season. He’s under Pirates control through 2019.
The Mets will promote first base prospect Dominic Smith this month, GM Sandy Alderson implied to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com and other reporters. It just hasn’t happened yet because of the Mets’ logjam of veteran infielders, including the first base platoon of Jay Bruce and Wilmer Flores. Bruce is an obvious trade candidate, but even if the Mets are unable to find a taker for the soon-to-be free agent this month, Smith will come up soon and start garnering experience at first. “At some point, we’ll just do it,” Alderson said. “There are player transactions that do take place in the month of August. Often, though, that doesn’t happen until the end of August. But I think at some point, if necessary, we’ll just make the playing time available.” The 22-year-old Smith, Baseball America’s 50th-ranked prospect, has slashed .332/.389/.524 in 486 plate appearances with Triple-A Las Vegas this season. Those numbers have come in an extremely hitter-friendly setting, though Smith’s line is still 34 percent better than Pacific Coast League average, per wRC+.
Back to the Pirates, who have a highly touted outfield prospect in Austin Meadows, BA’s 22nd-ranked farmhand. Huntington indicated Sunday (via Berry) that Meadows won’t receive a major league promotion this season, thanks to a strained right hamstring. Meadows hasn’t played a Triple-A game since June 21 and is currently rehabbing at the rookie level. Given the time that he has missed, the Bucs have talked to Meadows’ representatives about having him play winter ball.

Mets To Promote Amed Rosario

By Steve Adams | July 31, 2017 at 4:21pm CDT

The Mets will promote top prospect Amed Rosario for tomorrow’s game against the Rockies, general manager told reporters this afternoon (Twitter link via Newsday’s Marc Carig). He’ll play shortstop at Coors Field in his Major League debut. Tyler Kepner of the New York Times tweets that the GM said first base prospect Dominic Smith is “not far behind.”

Rosario, 21, was ranked by ESPN’s Keith Law as the No. 1 prospect in baseball in his midseason update of the game’s 50 best prospects. He rated fourth on Baseball America’s midseason Top 100 and second on the midseason top 100 over at MLB.com.

Thus far, Rosario has slashed an impressive .328/.367/466 with seven homers, 19 doubles and seven triples in 425 plate appearances while playing in the hitter-friendly Triple-A Pacific Coast League (specifically, in a favorable Las Vegas setting). He’s also swiped 19 bases in 26 tries, showing off the wheels that have earned him plus ratings in many scouting reports.

Rosario is regarded as a plus defender at shortstop with a plus hit tool and some potentially emerging power. (His seven home runs are already a career-high.) Scouting reports agree that he’s a slam dunk to stay at shortstop where he should provide the Mets with anywhere from above-average to superlative defense for the next several years.

While the Mets’ somewhat crowded infield picture still features veterans Jose Reyes, Asdrubal Cabrera and Neil Walker, it seems all but certain that Rosario will be given the chance to play on a daily basis in the Majors. Walker and Cabrera are definite August trade candidates via the trade waiver process. However, even if that pair remains in Queens for a good portion of the month — or even all of the month — it’s in the Mets’ best interest to ensure that Rosario takes the field at shortstop on an everyday basis as opposed to navigating the difficulties of inconsistent playing time as a part of a time share.

Even if Rosario is in the Majors for the remainder of the 2017 season, the most service time he can accrue will be 62 days. That’ll leave him well short of Super Two trajectory and will put him on pace to reach arbitration eligibility following the 2020 season and free agency upon completion of the 2023 season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NL Notes: D-backs, Mets, Phillies, Nats

By Connor Byrne | April 23, 2017 at 7:08pm CDT

The Diamondbacks could be in for bad news regarding right-hander Shelby Miller, who, as Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com tweets, exited his start Sunday with forearm tightness. Arizona is scheduling an MRI for Miller, who lasted four-plus innings and allowed three earned runs in a loss to the Dodgers. Manager Torey Lovullo is trying to be optimistic, notes Bloom, but Steve Gilbert of MLB.com observes (on Twitter) that the situation is “not good.” Forearm tightness often portends Tommy John surgery, which would be the biggest setback yet in Miller’s rocky tenure with the Diamondbacks. The club’s previous regime drew seemingly endless criticism for sending a Dansby Swanson– and Ender Inciarte-led package to the Braves for Miller two winters ago. General manager Dave Stewart and senior vice president of baseball operations De Jon Watson lost their jobs last fall after Miller struggled through a 2016 to forget, pitching to a 6.15 ERA in 101 major league innings and enduring a demotion to the minor leagues. Thanks in part to improved velocity, though, Miller has fared respectably this year with a 4.09 ERA and 3.29 FIP in 22 frames.

Latest On Jonathan Lucroy Sweepstakes

By Steve Adams | July 29, 2016 at 10:56pm CDT

10:54pm: The Rangers could view a strike for Lucroy as a way to improve their pitching, given his highly-regarded work behind the plate, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. With Texas finding high asking prices on the pitching market, the report suggests, the club could make a move for a group of Milwaukee pieces that might include Lucroy, a quality reliever, and possibly even a starter.

3:41pm: There’s a mystery team involved on Lucroy, tweets Jon Heyman of Fan Rag, and it isn’t the Red Sox or the Mariners. Those two clubs would certainly have been among the plausible suitors for the veteran.

2:49pm: The Braves have inquired on Lucroy, according to Rosenthal (via Twitter). At present, though, it doesn’t appear as if the sides are likely to strike a deal. Atlanta’s interest is limited, it seems, because it would need to extend the veteran receiver in order to justify trading him.

The teams is “wary of paying twice” — first in the swap, then in a hypothetical extension — though certainly that’s the price of poker when just a fact of life for a club that would competing with teams that have a much higher present need for a top-quality backstop. It’s no sure thing, either, that Lucroy himself would agree to a new contract.

12:29pm: Yesterday, Milwaukee asked teams with interest to make offers of a certain “minimum standard,” Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (Twitter links). It’s not entirely clear whether the request was for best and final offers, but Rosenthal adds that discussions are still taking place.

Among several teams to put their chips on the table are the Mets, per the report. With the Brewers still evaluating their options, multiple teams remain in the hunt.

11:27am: Jonathan Lucroy is one of the most talked-about names on the trade market right now, and ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick adds some context to the complications in working out a deal, reporting the eight teams to which Lucroy can block a trade (Twitter link). Lucroy can block trades to the Twins, Angels, Athletics, Padres, Mariners, Nationals and, most interestingly, the Indians and Tigers. Both of the two latter teams have been connected to Lucroy in trade rumors this week, though both Crasnick and his colleague Jayson Stark were told this morning that the Tigers are no longer in the picture (links to Twitter).

Cleveland’s presence on Lucroy’s no-trade list certainly doesn’t preclude a deal from happening — Lucroy has candidly stated to the media that he wants to play for a contending team on multiple occasions in the past six months — but it does further complicate matters for the Indians. While Lucroy’s postseason aspirations could make him willing, to some extent, to waive his no-trade rights, he could also wield that clause as leverage in an attempt to coerce the Indians into an extension or, at the very least, restructuring his contract to give him a raise on next year’s wildly affordable $5.25MM salary.

The Indians are said to be discussing Lucroy and left-hander Will Smith with the Brewers, but they face competition even if the Tigers and Astros are out of the market, as has been reported recently. The Rangers, Red Sox and Mets — none of whom are on his no-trade list — have all still been linked to Lucroy, and a premium player of his value figures to draw widespread interest. (Indeed, FanRag’s Jon Heyman last night again mentioned a mystery team in the mix.) The Mets were said to offer a package centered around Travis d’Arnaud, which was quickly dismissed, but FOX’s Ken Rosenthal reported last night that the two side “re-engaged” on trade talks. ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin adds a bit more detail to that story this morning, reporting that the Brewers circled back with the Mets and proposed a counter-offer that “was not out-of-hand rejected.” The Mets, he notes, have no intention of dealing either shortstop prospect Amed Rosario or first base prospect Dominic Smith, though.

NL Notes: Mets, Nats, Pirates, Cardinals, D-backs

By Connor Byrne | July 10, 2016 at 1:29pm CDT

With right-hander Matt Harvey’s season over thanks to thoracic outlet syndrome, the reigning National League champion Mets are unsure if it makes sense to deal prospects for major league help at this year’s trade deadline, according to the New York Daily News’ John Harper. “There’s a lot of grey area right now,’’ a Mets source told Harper. Only two Mets prospects – shortstop Amed Rosario (No. 18) and first baseman Dominic Smith (No. 76) – cracked Baseball America’s just-released midseason top 100 prospects, notes Harper, who points out that the 47-40 team lacks blue-chip pipeline talent to trade. Harper’s also skeptical of the quality of starters set to move by the deadline, though he adds that the Wild Card-holding Mets might be willing to part with Smith for a capable rotation piece.

More on New York and four other NL cities:

The Mets’ tough-it-out approach with injured young starters Harvey, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz is backfiring on them, while the Nationals are benefiting from a more guarded method, opines Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post. Harvey missed the entire 2014 season because of Tommy John surgery and then responded with a 238 2/3-inning workload last year, writes Boswell, who points out that Harvey and agent Scott Boras expected the Mets to shut him down late in the campaign. However, general manager Sandy Alderson had no such expectation and Harvey elected to keep pitching after dealing with backlash from fans and media. Meanwhile, the Nats have taken care of ace Stephen Strasburg, another Boras client, having shut him down early during their 98-win showing in 2012. They also sent Strasburg to the disabled list last month rather than take a chance with his upper back injury. Strasburg dominated before landing on the DL and has continued doing so since returning July 3. Moreover, while Strasburg might have been this year’s NL All-Star starter, he and the club made the “mutual decision” to keep him out of the game, per president and GM Mike Rizzo.
Having won 12 of 15, the 46-42 Pirates now sit just 1.5 games back of a Wild Card spot. Thus, they’re approaching the trade deadline as buyers. “Our expectation is we are going to add,” GM Neal Huntington told Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Our mindset is we are going to add and put ourselves, for the first time in the franchise history, in position to make the postseason four consecutive years.” The Pirates’ resurgence has come without ace Gerrit Cole and catcher Francisco Cervelli, of which Huntington is cognizant. “We’ve gone through this toughest part of our schedule,” he said. “We’re going to get guys back healthy.”
Cardinals GM John Mozeliak acknowledged that the idea of promoting Baseball America’s second-ranked prospect, Triple-A right-hander Alex Reyes, as a bullpen option is an enticing one. “So when you think about that type of tool set and putting it in the bullpen it’s certainly exciting,” Mozeliak told Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “You’d be hard pressed to find that type of talent in the trade market and let alone (it would be a) zero acquisition cost.” On the other hand, the flame-throwing 21-year-old hasn’t totaled more than 116 1/3 frames in a season since joining the Cardinals organization in 2013, and they want him to accrue innings so he can help their rotation in 2017. “If all he ended up with is 75 innings what can we expect from him as a starter next year?” Mozeliak said. Reyes, who served a 50-game marijuana suspension to begin the season, has racked up 41 1/3 innings this year.
Before the Diamondbacks traded Brad Ziegler to Boston on Saturday, they asked the pending free agent reliever if he’d be open to a contract extension. Ziegler said yes, but, “Next time I heard from them, they told me I was traded” (via ESPN’s Scott Lauber).

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