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Relief Pitching Deadline Day Rumors

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The market for relievers is always moving on deadline day, as teams look to add pen pieces that will bolster their depth down the stretch.  Fernando Abad is off the board, having been traded to the Red Sox today.   We’ll keep tabs on the remaining relievers here:

  • The Orioles and Marlins are shopping for a low-end left-handed reliever, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Sherman feels the Braves’ Hunter Cervenka could be one such candidate, while ESPN’s Jayson Stark names Cervenka as a last-minute target for the Fish.
  • Sherman also notes that the Rangers are among the teams looking at Braves righty Jim Johnson.  The Braves have kicked around Johnson as well, tweets Marc Carig of Newsday, but nothing appears close.
  • While they are also pursuing larger targets, the Giants have perused the second tier of the relief market, per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). While the top targets have perhaps mostly already been traded, San Francisco has scouted the Brewers’ strong group of relievers as well as increasingly valuable Rockies southpaw Boone Logan — though last we heard he may not be traded. Jeanmar Gomez of the Phillies is another name the Giants have checked, though he too isn’t sure to be dealt. And even as the Giants talk with the Rays on starter Matt Moore, the club has also watched right-handed swingman Erasmo Ramirez, per Crasnick.
  • The Astros are kicking around some left-handed reliever options, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter links). That’s arguably the team’s biggest area of need. Some of the names mentioned include Logan and Jake McGee of the Rockies and the Brewers’ Will Smith — all of whom are at or near the remaining market for relief southpaws. It’s not immediately clear whether any are real options at this stage, as Crasnick notes that nothing has “materialized” to this point.

Deadline Notes: Braun, Braves, Sale, Rays, Cubs, Beltran, Astros

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Before acquiring Matt Kemp, the Braves looked into a deal for outfielder Ryan Braun, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports tweets. Braun, certainly, would have been the more intriguing addition, given that he has significantly out-produced Kemp this year, though presumably Milwaukee is much less interested in holding onto a big chunk of Braun’s salary to facilitate a deal. Atlanta GM John Coppolella acknowledged the importance of the financial component of the pact in recent comments, as Bowman reports. “We didn’t give up a draft pick, and we didn’t trade away any prospects,” he said. “So, we were able to stick with the plan that we had while still filling a major need for us with right-handed power.”

We’ll round up the remainder of the chatter on the eve of deadline day:

  • Right-handed reliever Jim Johnson still seems to be the likeliest Braves player to be traded, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets. While the team would love to find a taker for shortstop Erick Aybar, though, there simply isn’t any interest in him, per the report.
  • Chatter surrounding White Sox ace Chris Sale continues to suggest that he’s an unlikely trade candidate, but the mere possibility of a trade certainly warrants attention. The Rangers, Dodgers, and Red Sox are three clubs still working the phones to see if something can be worked out, per Heyman, who goes on to discuss some of the names being kicked around in possible deal frameworks.
  • The Rays’ own controllable starters seem more likely to be moved, though that too is far from a certainty. Tampa Bay is still holding talks with many teams, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. Meanwhile, the Cubs are at least still looking into acquiring a quality arm from that — or another — organization, Bruce Miles of 670thescore.com tweets. We also heard tonight that the Giants are chasing Rays lefty Matt Moore.
  • Though the Yankees still haven’t fielded offers that it likes for outfielder Carlos Beltran, rival executives tell Heyman (Twitter link) that they think the veteran will be moved tomorrow. You can read up on the latest rumblings on Beltran right here.
  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow said over the weekend (on Saturday, to be exact) that his team is “50-50” to make a move in advance of the deadline, as Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports. “We’ve got some things in the works, but nothing getting close to going over the finish line at this point,” said Luhnow, who also acknowledged the high price that starting pitching is commanding this summer. Houston doesn’t appear to have any real needs, strictly speaking, but is surely interested in exploring ways to bolster the roster — particularly in the rotation.

Latest On Jim Johnson

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9:08pm: Johnson is entering tonight’s game in a save situation, so it certainly doesn’t appear that a deal is nearing finalization at this moment.

6:01pm: The Braves are nearing a deal involving veteran right-hander Jim Johnson, according to SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter links). He adds that the Blue Jays and Mets are among the teams that have shown at least some interest in the reliever. As MLB.com’s Mark Bowman notes on Twitter, Atlanta is carrying ten pen arms tonight, which could be due in part to the possibility of a swap going down.

Johnson, 33, could join infielder Kelly Johnson in signing with the Braves in consecutive years, only to be dealt each summer. Last season, he went to the Dodgers as part of the monster, three-team swap engineered at the deadline, only to re-sign with Atlanta on a one-year, $2.5MM pact.

For the season, Johnson carries a 4.21 ERA with 7.9 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9. Johnson’s average fastball velocity has dropped just below 93 mph for the first time in his career, but that hasn’t stopped the sinker-baller from checking in with a hefty groundball rate — it stands at 56.4% at present. He has been prone to the long ball when batters have put it in the air, with a 16.7% HR/FB rate, but he’s only allowing 0.74 dingers per nine.

Clearly, Johnson isn’t going to be valued like he was in his heyday as the Orioles closer. But teams looking to add depth to their pen will surely take a look, particularly if they are intrigued by the idea of adding an arm that’s capable of generating lots of grounders without adding significant payroll or coughing up much in terms of prospects.

Bullpen Rumors: Davis, Dodgers, Johnson, Hochevar, Nationals, Jays

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Royals closer Wade Davis is “someone who interests the Dodgers,” reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. The Dodgers, of course, have one of the best closers in all of baseball in the form of Kenley Jansen and actually rank first in the National League in bullpen ERA, but as Heyman notes, that didn’t stop the club from pursuing a massive bullpen upgrade this winter when they made a run at Aroldis Chapman. The Dodgers have been plagued all season by rotation injuries, and adding a reliever of Davis’ ilk would lessen the workload from a starting staff that is presently a bit of a question mark for Los Angeles. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is quite familiar with Davis, having drafted him while serving eas GM of the Rays. Davis, 30, has a 1.10 ERA in 32 2/3 innings this season and has a $10MM club option on his contract for the 2017 season. Theoretically, he could step into the ninth inning for the Dodgers next season if a trade does come to fruition, though it’d be a surprise if they didn’t at least attempt to re-sign Jansen.

A few more notes on the market for relievers…

  • The Braves are getting some hits on right-hander Jim Johnson, per ESPN’s Jayson Stark. With Lucas Harrell traded to the Rangers and little interest in names like Erick Aybar and Gordon Beckham to this point, Johnson could seemingly be the next Braves chip to move. He’s toting a pedestrian 4.58 ERA on the season but, as Stark points out, has pitched to a much improved 2.49 ERA since coming off the disabled list in early June. His strong 56 percent ground-ball rate and respectable marks of 7.6 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 lead ERA estimators to project a mark more in the mid-3.00s than his current figure, and Johnson’s $2.5MM salary figures to be appealing to clubs looking for an affordable middle relief arm.
  • Royals righty Luke Hochevar is a potential target for the Giants as San Francisco searches for relief upgrades, tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. Hochevar’s name hasn’t been out there much, but the mutual option on his contract means that he’ll almost certainly be a free agent at season’s end, as such options are rarely exercised. The former No. 1 overall pick has settled in as a quality bullpen arm in Kansas City and has recovered nicely from 2014 Tommy John surgery, as he owns a 3.86 ERA with 9.6 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a 36.1 percent ground-ball rate in 37 1/3 innings this year. While his velocity isn’t at its 95.5 mph peak from the 2013 season, he’s still averaging a strong 94.4 mph in 2016, and SIERA pegs him at a more favorable 3.16.
  • The walk-off loss suffered by the Nationals last night following a blown save from Jonathan Papelbon has only intensified their pursuit of a dynamic late-inning relief arm, tweets Jon Morosi of MLB.com. Washington has been tied to a number of bullpen arms as of late, including Davis, Andrew Miller and David Robertson. FOX’s Ken Rosenthal writes that the Nats considered Joe Ross, Lucas Giolito, Trea Turner, Reynaldo Lopez and Victor Robles untouchable in Chapman talks, so one can imagine that they’d be reluctant to part with any of those names in other trade talks (though Miller’s two years of control beyond 2016 might at least make such an idea more palatable).
  • Blue Jays manager John Gibbons told reporters, including Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (Twitter link), that following yesterday’s acquisition of Joaquin Benoit, Toronto is “probably” more likely to pursue rotation help than additional bullpen depth.
  • ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets that given the high asking price for impact relievers and the desire of clubs like the Nationals and Giants to acquire such an arm, it makes sense for the Pirates to listen to offers on Mark Melancon. Left-hander Tony Watson could step into the ninth inning in his stead, and Melancon would be a highly sought-after commodity that could bring back a significant return for the Bucs. Earlier this morning, I discussed that very possibility with Josh Taylor of TribLive Radio in Pittsburgh (link), suggesting that the Pirates have the pitching depth to absorb the loss and could recoup greater value right now than through a potential qualifying offer, which seems unlikely from the budget-conscious Pirates anyhow. There’s yet to be any concrete word that Pittsburgh will market its closer, however.

Braves Sign Jim Johnson

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5:28pm: The deal is for $2.5MM, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets.

5:04pm: The Braves have signed righty Jim Johnson to a one-year deal, the club announced via press release. Johnson, 32, is a client of Moye Sports Associates.

Jul 21, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves relief pitcher <a rel=

With the move, Atlanta has re-acquired one of the many players it traded away least year. Johnson was a part of the 13-player deadline swap between the Braves and Dodgers that also saw several more controllable assets change hands.

Johnson first joined the Braves on a fairly cheap, one-year deal after enduring a disastrous 2014 campaign. He bounced back nicely, tossing 48 innings of 2.25 ERA ball with 6.2 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9.

But things turned south again once Johnson reported to Los Angeles. He surrendered 21 earned runs in just 18 2/3 innings of work for the Dodgers. While he upped his strikeouts (to 8.2 K/9) and held his walk rate to under three free passes per nine, Johnson was done in by an over-.400 BABIP and 1.4 HR/9 rate in L.A.

The Braves will hope that Johnson can once again steer clear of the control problems that ruined his 2014 season while continuing to generate something close to the 58.3% groundball rate he owns for his career. Metrics tend to think his ultimate 4.46 ERA last season was somewhat unlucky. Another feather in his cap: Johnson continues to deliver about a 94 mph average fastball, and even trended up in velocity last year.

Atlanta has long been said to be targeting bullpen upgrades this winter. The team has relatively few sure things in the pen, though it received a promising campaign from Arodys Vizcaino and will eventually bring back the injured Jason Grilli. It’s not immediately clear whether the addition of Johnson means that the club will bow out of the higher-end pen market — where it’s been said to have at least done some window shopping — but Bowman adds on Twitter that “a setup man and another lefty reliever” remain on the organization’s shopping list.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Dodgers Claim Brooks Brown, Designate Jim Johnson

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The Dodgers announced that they’ve claimed right-hander Brooks Brown off waivers from the Rockies. In order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, right-hander Jim Johnson has been designated for assignment.

Brown, 30, has spent parts of the past two seasons in the Majors with the Rockies, working to a 3.97 ERA with 6.3 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a 53.8 percent ground-ball rate in 59 innings. Primarily a three-pitch pitcher, Brown complements a two-seam fastball that has averaged 93.6 mph in his career with a changeup and a slider, each of which clock in the mid 80s. The former D-Backs farmhand was selected 34th overall in the 2006 draft out of the University of Georgia but has struggled for much of his minor league career, working to a 4.31 ERA overall and a 4.76 ERA at the Triple-A level.

Johnson, of course, led the American League in saves while closing for the Orioles from 2012-13, but he faltered upon being traded to the Athletics in the 2013-14 offseason. After signing a one-year deal with the Braves this offseason, Johnson looked to have rediscovered his form in Atlanta, notching a 2.24 ERA with 6.2 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and a huge 60.8 percent ground-ball rate. However, Johnson imploded upon being sent to the Dodgers in a 13-player trade on July 30, as he’d go on to yield 21 earned runs in 18 2/3 innings with the Dodgers.

Because he was a free agent at season’s end and not on the postseason roster, Johnson’s DFA boils down to nothing more than a procedural move; he’d have come off the 40-man roster upon conclusion of the postseason anyhow, so the Dodgers simply accelerated the timeline of his departure.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Dodgers, Mets, Hamels, Jays, Astros

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An elite starting pitcher was a luxury good for the Dodgers, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. That’s why Los Angeles passed on talents like Cole Hamels, David Price, and Johnny Cueto despite possessing the prospect depth to acquire their pick of the litter. Instead, the club flexed its financial might to acquire Mat Latos, Alex Wood, Jim Johnson, Luis Avilan, and Jose Peraza. The biggest piece dealt away by the Dodgers was 30-year-old Cuban infielder Hector Olivera. The utility man has not yet reached the majors after signing a six-year, $62.5MM deal with the Dodgers. A full $28MM of that was in the form of a signing bonus.

Here’s more from Rosenthal:

  • Cynics may find a way to criticize the Mets deadline transactions. Perhaps they didn’t add enough to the payroll or were too small minded? However, the moves for Yoenis Cespedes, Tyler Clippard, Kelly Johnson, and Juan Uribe provided essential upgrades to a roster that was showing signs of stress. GM Sandy Alderson deserves kudos for improving the club while working within tight constraints. To me, this was Rosenthal’s money quote, “Mets fans will not be satisfied –€“ and should not be satisfied –€“ until the team raises its payroll to a level more commensurate with the New York market.“
  • Echoing the sentiments of many analysts, both the Phillies and Rangers did well in the Hamels trade. With the Phillies taking on Matt Harrison and chipping in cash, the Rangers will pay Hamels an average of $13MM to $14MM per season if his option vests. They also hung onto top prospects Joey Gallo and Nomar Mazara. On Philadelphia’s end, acquiring three quality prospects will do much to bolster their future.
  • The Blue Jays, unlike the Dodgers, are often described as a cash strapped organization. Instead of taking on payroll like L.A., the Blue Jays dealt 11 prospects and Jose Reyes to acquire Troy Tulowitzki, David Price, Ben Revere, Mark Lowe, and LaTroy Hawkins. They’re 6.5 games back in the AL East and 1.5 games behind the Twins for the second Wild Card slot.
  • The Astros also spent their prospect chips for major league upgrades. They made the first deadline strike by acquiring Scott Kazmir then paid a princely sum for Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers. Interestingly, mid-market teams like the Astros, Blue Jays, Mets, and Royals used prospects in their search for October baseball. The Yankees and Dodgers opted to use money or stand pat.

Pitching Notes: Leake, Astros, Pirates, Angels, Johnson, Royals

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The sudden availability of David Price will shake up the starting pitching market, of course, but there are plenty of less significant, but still notable developments to cover. Let’s take a look in at a few notes on the pitching market.

  • Reds starter Mike Leake is among the many pitchers still being considered by the Blue Jays, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Per Rosenthal, the club is looking at a variety of arms at a similar level of ability, with the hope of getting the best value out of a deal.
  • The Astros are “monitoring” the market for bullpen pieces, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. They have given at least some thought to quality arms like Craig Kimbrel, Joaquin Benoit, and Francisco Rodriguez. Houston is also still involved on Cole Hamels, though it still doesn’t seem that they are terribly likely to get him, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • The Pirates, meanwhile, seem to be looking more at middle relief options, per MLB.com’s Tom Singer. And the Angels are also looking to add another arm to their pen, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez reports on Twitter. Los Angeles is looking for something on the order of last year’s addition of Jason Grilli says Gonzalez. Presumably, the same holds for Pittsburgh, which sent Grilli out west last summer in exchange for Ernesto Frieri.
  • With many teams (including those just noted) looking to add arms, the Braves are “getting lots of play” on righty Jim Johnson, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com tweets. Johnson isn’t too expensive, has been solid this year, and has obviously spent a lot of time in high-leverage situations, so it stands to reason that he’ll be moved to a contender looking to build out their stable of relief arms.
  • The Royals asked the Tigers about Price before acquiring Johnny Cueto, but moved on to the righty when they learned that Price was not yet being marketed, Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star tweets.
  • Wondering who the teams listed above could target? MLBTR recently listed the starters and relievers most likely to be available at this year’s trade deadline.

NL Notes: Tulo, Teheran, Braves, Reds, Niese

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In an appearance on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM, Rockies GM Jeff Bridich said that he is “at least open to considering” a deal involving star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (Twitter link). Last we checked in, Tulowitzki said he was not interested in being dealt, and he is believed to have significant sway with club ownership over his status. All said, there remains little reason to believe at present that Tulo is a serious trade candidate.

We already touched upon a series of interesting rumors involving National League clubs earlier today, but here’s the latest out of the NL:

  • Despite recent chatter that the Braves could consider dealing starter Julio Teheran, the young righty is “not being shopped,” David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on Twitter. Given his cheap control, O’Brien says the team would need to be overwhelmed by an offer to consider such a move.
  • Indeed, the Braves are more likely to hold off on deciding whether to part with Teheran or outfielder Cameron Maybin, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports. The more likely trade pieces for Atlanta, he suggests, are veterans on one-year deals such as reliever Jim Johnson, utilityman Kelly Johnson, and catcher A.J. Pierzynski. The Braves have been asked about outfielder Nick Markakis, who still has three years left on his free agent deal, but the team is not making him available. And while Juan Uribe could well be dealt, the club reportedly prefers to attempt to move Chris Johnson first.
  • An executive of a club with interest in adding a hitter says the Reds are giving the impression that they are looking to “save money” wherever possible, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reports on Twitter. That seemingly speaks to the availability of outfielder Jay Bruce, who recent reports indicate is very much in play.
  • The Mets are still willing to deal Jon Niese, but are asking for a player with multiple years of control in return, Stark tweets. The southpaw has turned up his performance of late, racking up eight straight quality starts (at least 6 innings pitched, no more than 3 earned runs) since a run of rough outings to end the month of May. He is playing on a $7MM salary this year and represents a $9MM tab for 2016, but can be controlled thereafter through a pair of options ($10MM and $11MM, respectively, each with $500K buyouts). Given New York’s evident budgetary restrictions, it has seemed that moving Niese’s salary could be a way for the club to free resources to allocate to the struggling offense, but it’s not clear whether they’ll have much hope of pulling that off in a single transaction.

Trade Notes: Hamels, Pitching, Mets, Johnson, Beede

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Two weeks from this writing, the non-waiver trade deadline will be firmly in the rear-view mirror. Rumors pertaining to trades and actual trade activity should pick up substantially here over the coming 14 days, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports previews the deadline for all 30 clubs, examining each buyer’s biggest need, each seller’s greatest asset and what will determine the course of the teams that have yet to plot a course of action. Similarly, ESPN’s Buster Olney took a look at the biggest questions surrounding each of the 30 teams heading into the second half — many of which have revolve around trade deadline strategies (ESPN Insider subscription required).

General overviews aside, here’s the latest trade chatter from around the league…

  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post is surprised by the number of executives he’s spoken to that feel the Phillies will not trade Cole Hamels this summer, barring a no-brainer offer (Twitter links). Sherman says that many within the industry feel that new Phillies president Andy MacPhail may wait until the Winter Meetings to shop Hamels, as he’ll by then be more comfortable with the scouts that are giving him advice and have input from a more functional analytics department.
  • Newsday’s Marc Carig writes that while names like Justin Upton, Carlos Gomez and Jay Bruce would all have appeal to the Mets, each would also come with a steep prospect price. Such transactions aren’t commonplace for the Mets, Carig notes, but the addition of a versatile outfielder such as Will Venable or Gerardo Parra could help improve the club’s production at a lower cost. And, as ESPN’s Buster Olney notes (on Twitter), the Mets should be highly motivated to add pieces, as 17 of the team’s final 39 games come against a pair of selling clubs: the Phillies and Braves.
  • Sherman also hears that the Dodgers, Astros, Royals and Blue Jays are the four teams that are most aggressively trying to add pitching at this juncture (Twitter link). The Royals and Blue Jays scouted the Reds, who are said to be ready to move both Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake, heavily before the break.
  • Part of the reasoning behind the Braves’ signings of right-hander Jason Frasor and left-hander Ross Detwiler is that the team wanted to add some veteran leadership to a bullpen that will likely soon be without Jim Johnson, tweets MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. Johnson, in Bowman’s estimation, is very likely to be traded in the near future.
  • Giants prospect Tyler Beede’s name is in high demand in trade talks, manager Bruce Bochy tells Peter Gammons (Twitter link). Per Bochy, Beede’s name is the first one mentioned by opposing clubs in the majority of the Giants’ trade talks. San Francisco selected Beede with the No. 14 pick in the 2014 draft, and he has a 2.91 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 89 2/3 innings between High-A and Double-A in his first full pro season.
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