Pitching Market Notes: Kintzler, Santana, Astros, Dodgers, Cubs, Verlander, Reed, Lynn
Here’s the latest chatter on the trade market for pitching …
- The Red Sox and Diamondbacks are among the teams with interest in Twins righty Brandon Kintzler, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com (via Twitter). Kintzler, 32, represents an interesting potential addition to the trade market as Minnesota ponders a change in plans. The sinkerballer owns a 2.84 ERA with 27 saves on the year. As regards the interest from Boston, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that the Red Sox had looked into Pat Neshek before he was dealt to the Rockies, due in part to their desire to add a “different look” to their setup mix. With the side-armer now off the market, Boston isn’t a lock to move onto other targets such as the Mets‘ Addison Reed or the Marlins‘ AJ Ramos, Crasnick notes.
- While the Astros continue their search for arms, the club has done some “background work” on Twins righty Ervin Santana, per Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press (Twitter links). Santana’s velocity has wavered a bit, though perhaps that’s not the real issue in assessing his value. The veteran righty has produced a strong 3.37 ERA over 136 1/3 innings, following up on last year’s near-identical 3.38 mark, but he’s managing just 6.9 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 and has benefited from a .227 BABIP and 82.9% strand rate.
- The Dodgers are also looking at starters, of course, and Morosi hears they are (Twitter links) increasingly confident in landing a big name. Currently, Los Angeles is focused more on Rangers star Yu Darvish than either Sonny Gray of the Athletics or Justin Verlander of the Tigers, he notes. Of course, at this point it’s still unclear whether Darvish will be marketed at all, and it’s not really known how keen the Dodgers’ interest is in the other two starters.
- The Cubs are the most interested team in Verlander, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, but suggests that the Tigers star’s contract may simply be too great an obstacle to overcome. CBS Chicago’s Bruce Levine hears similarly, tweeting that there’s “no traction” between the Cubs and Tigers at this point, though he notes that talks aren’t completely dead. As Nightengale suggests, Verlander would be easier to move in the offseason when teams have greater payroll flexibility.
- Given the lack of interest they’re receiving in many of their trade assets, the Mets could look to package closer Addison Reed with another piece, reports Newsday’s Marc Carig. Lucas Duda may have been one possibility for such an approach, though he was just dealt alone. Infielder Asdrubal Cabrera, outfielders Jay Bruce and Curtis Granderson, and catcher Rene Rivera are among New York’s other potential chips that could be paired with Reed in trades to various teams, which could allow the Mets to enhance the return they’d receive, relative to what they’d net in separate deals, Carig continues.
- Adam Wainwright‘s recent injury won’t have any bearing on whether the Cardinals decide to trade Lance Lynn, nor will their recently improved play, per MLB Network’s Ken Rosenthal (all links to Twitter). The Cardinals are open to moving Lynn if they’re presented with an offer they find appealing, as they’re not likely to make Lynn a qualifying offer and risk paying him $18.1MM or so in light of the diminished draft-pick compensation for players that reject a qualifying offer. The Cards are trying to balance winning now with staying competitive in the future, per Rosenthal, who notes that they’d like to strengthen their 2017 bullpen. Reading between the lines, perhaps they’d be amenable to moving Lynn for some MLB-ready relief help, though that’s just speculation at this point.
Justin Wilson Trade Rumors: Thursday
Justin Wilson has been among the most talked-about assets on the trade market, and the sheer volume of updates on the expansive market for his services is enough to warrant its own dedicated post with the deadline looming. Here’s the latest on the Tigers southpaw, who currently boasts a 2.75 ERA with 12.6 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a 36.1 percent ground-ball rate…
- It seems the list of possible suitors isn’t getting any shorter just yet. To the contrary, the Indians have also asked about Wilson’s price tag, according to ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). Cleveland is down a lefty after losing Boone Logan.
Earlier Updates
- The Yankees have joined the pursuit of Tigers lefty Justin Wilson, reports Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. It was New York that traded Wilson to the Tigers in the first place (for righties Chad Green and Luis Cessa), and while the Yanks have already beefed up their ‘pen with the additions of David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle, they appear further interested in adding a shutdown lefty. The Tigers, though, are aiming extremely high in talks for Wilson, with Fenech suggesting that they’re seeking an Aroldis Chapman -esque return for Wilson. While the 29-year-old Wilson is earning a bargain $2.7MM salary and can be controlled through 2018 via arbitration, that’s still a sky-high ask. The Cubs sent Gleyber Torres, Billy McKinney, Adam Warren and Rashad Crawford to New York in exchange for Chapman last summer.
- The Astros could be the most focused team on Tigers southpaw Justin Wilson, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). Wilson has leapfrogged Orioles closer Zach Britton on the Astros’ list of targets, though all indications are that the ask on Wilson is extremely high. Houston is hardly alone in its pursuit of Wilson and has yet to definitively separate itself from the pack, however, per Crasnick (Twitter links). There are at least six teams still in on Wilson, with the Nationals “strongly” in the mix. Lastly, Crasnick tweets that the odds of a package deal sending Wilson and Justin Verlander to a team “are not good” due to the complex nature of such negotiations.
- FanRag’s Jon Heyman writes that the Brewers, Astros and Red Sox were recently considered to be the leaders in the Wilson sweepstakes, though others are in on him as well. Heyman lists the Cubs, Rockies, D-backs, Dodgers and Nationals as other potential landing spots in a trade.
Tigers Exploring Package Trade Scenarios
The Tigers have several players known to be available, and ESPN’s Buster Olney reports (on Twitter) that the team is currently exploring trade scenarios involving multiple players as a means of clearing some salary off the books. That would mesh with a recent report from Olney’s colleague, Jerry Crasnick, in which Crasnick reported that Detroit has tried to attach second baseman Ian Kinsler to Justin Wilson in trade talks with the Brewers. (Not to say that Kinsler is a pure salary dump, of course, as he too carries value to other clubs.)
[Related: Taking Inventory — Detroit Tigers | Detroit Tigers depth chart | Detroit Tigers payroll outlook]
In addition to Wilson and Kinsler, the Tigers are expected to move catcher Alex Avila and are reported to have shopped Justin Verlander around the league. Detroit could also conceivably move right-hander Anibal Sanchez, who has been much improved in six starts since returning from the minors. The team’s enormous commitment to righty Jordan Zimmermann looks largely immovable right now thanks to Zimmermann’s struggles and full no-trade clause, and while Justin Upton has absolutely raked over the past calendar year, he’s owed $88.5MM from 2018-21 and has the right to opt out of his contract at season’s end as well.
Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press adds some more context to the Tigers’ stance on Verlander, reporting that Detroit has shown a willingness to pay off the remainder of Verlander’s $28MM salary in 2017 — a sum of about $10.4MM — but they’re not interested in picking up any of the $56MM he’s owed from 2018-19. That hasn’t been enough to generate any serious talks surrounding Verlander to date.
Michael Fulmer is the most intriguing name to pop up in trade talks this summer, and Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that it’s been difficult to gauge exactly what the Tigers’ plans are for the reigning Rookie of the Year. Sherman writes that some execs have been told that Fulmer is firmly off limits, while others say the Tigers have briefly floated his name before turning talks to Justin Verlander. Perhaps most interestingly, Sherman writes that one exec said the Tigers pitched a scenario in which Fulmer would be packaged with the remaining money on the contracts of Zimmermann ($80.7MM through 2020) or Upton ($96.7MM through 2021).
MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that the Brewers and Tigers remain engaged in ongoing talks pertaining to Kinsler and Wilson, though he also cautions that no deal is close. Earlier tonight, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reported that the Rockies are interested in both Avila and Wilson, which would create another package scenario, though not one that would give the Rox much of an opportunity to shed salary, as both are highly affordable. The Cubs have been frequently connected to both Verlander and Avila as well, with Morosi tweeting a couple of hours ago that Chicago has maintained some level of interest in Verlander but is reluctant to pick up his whole contract in a trade (as are the rest of the teams in MLB). Fenech notes in his above-linked column that the Cubs have had scouts at each of Verlander’s past three starts.
Pitching Market Notes: Gray, Nats, Yankees, Verlander, Royals, Brewers
We checked in already today on one key factor for the pitching market: the availability of Rangers righty Yu Darvish. And we have just provided an overview of the remaining arms that could be available this summer. Here are some more notable pieces of information with a week to go until the trade deadline:
- The Nationals and Athletics are still engaged after completing one significant trade, per MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. Whether A’s righty Sonny Gray could come up between the organizations isn’t yet clear, but there are now indications that the Nats are at least beginning to think about the possibility of pursuing a starter. The organization likely would do just that if it finds cause for significant concern with Stephen Strasburg, who just left his most recent start with forearm tightness. And it is worth bearing in mind that Washington will need another starter for 2018 with Joe Ross expected to miss the entire season after Tommy John surgery. But unless the Nationals find evidence of a larger problem for Strasburg, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post wrote yesterday, the club will probably keep its sights set on continuing to improve the bullpen. But a mounting list of injuries could perhaps force the organization to weigh alternatives even as it continues to pace the NL East by a hefty margin.
- Youthful outfielders are the Athletics‘ top priority in Gray talks, Morosi notes in the above post and a subsequent tweet. One prospect that has drawn their attention is Yankees youngster Estevan Florial, Morosi says, with MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand noting on Twitter that New York is “not against including him in a trade package.” Of course, several other organizations rumored to have eyes for Gray also seem to have the types of young outfielders that would draw Oakland’s interest.
- While the Cubs addressed their most pressing rotation needs already, they are continuing to watch and discuss Justin Verlander with the Tigers, Morosi further reports. As Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network writes (Facebook link), Chicago seems to have the future payroll space needed to add Verlander without risking luxury tax complications. While it’s still unclear just how motivated the Cubs are on the veteran righty, it seems that a match remains plausible.
- Even after adding Trevor Cahill yesterday, the Royals are continuing to eye the market for rotation upgrades, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). Kansas City could even bump Cahill into the bullpen if a significant enough piece were to be found, Heyman notes. It’s worth noting that K.C. was able to add three arms to its current roster without taking on significant salary obligations; perhaps, then, there’s still a bit of flexibility remaining for the organization to make another upgrade.
- While the Brewers perhaps no longer are a favorite to land Gray, they could still be active on other hurlers. Rosenthal tweets that veteran Blue Jays reliever Joe Smith was of interest to Milwaukee in the offseason and could be pursued at the deadline. Smith has been knocked around a bit in his two most recent outings, which occurred on both ends of a DL stint. But he was carrying a 2.64 ERA prior to that point and is only earning $3MM this year. With 49 strikeouts and just eight walks in Smith’s 32 2/3 innings on the year, there’s obvious appeal; perhaps the Brewers could see an opportunity to achieve value on a solid relief option, though surely some other contenders will feel the same way.
Pitching Rumors: Gray, Verlander, Darvish, Dodgers, Straily
With the non-waiver deadline a week from today, here’s a look at some of the talk pertaining to the top names available on the pitching market…
- MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand writes that the Mariners could be considering a run at Sonny Gray. Though intradivision trades are rare, GM Jerry Dipoto has already made multiple trades within the division (including the Danny Valencia trade with Gray’s Athletics), Feinsand observes. (Additionally, A’s president Billy Beane has also dealt with division rivals more frequently than most presidents/GMs). One obstacle, of course, would be the Mariners’ farm system. Seattle has already dealt Tyler O’Neill to the Cardinals for Marco Gonzales, and the M’s acquired David Phelps for a four-prospect package headlined by well-regarded young outfielder Brayan Hernandez as well. Feinsand notes that Gray would very likely require the Mariners to part with top prospect Kyle Lewis, though there’d need to be additional prospects in any package, and it’s not clear if Seattle could cobble together a bid that would top the rest of the field.
- The Tigers are “aggressively shopping” Justin Verlander, Feinsand hears, but Detroit also “doesn’t appear willing to eat much” of Verlander’s remaining contract to facilitate a deal. Feinsand spoke to one American League GM that termed most of the talks regarding Verlander as “idle conversation,” though that GM also predicted that the former Cy Young winner will be moved by next Monday’s deadline.
- The Dodgers were interested in Rangers ace Yu Darvish even before Clayton Kershaw‘s back injury, writes Jon Morosi of MLB.com. The timetable for Kershaw’s return, once determined, will further impact their level of interest in Darvish and other arms on the market. Morosi hears that among Dodgers’ top prospects, the team is most attached to right-hander Walker Buehler, who has already ascended to Triple-A and could conceivably help the club in 2017. Texas, meanwhile, would likely target two of the Dodgers’ top four prospects (Buehler, Yadier Alvarez, Alex Verdugo and Willie Calhoun), per Morosi, which is a steep but largely unsurprising ask with the Rangers seemingly on the fence about whether to move Darvish at all.
- The Marlins are missing an important opportunity to try to convince a team to overpay for right-hander Dan Straily, opines Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Teams like the Cubs, Twins, Brewers and Mariners are all on the hunt for controllable arms, and Straily is controlled through 2020 with very solid numbers dating back to Opening Day 2016. The paucity of quality arms available could allow the Fish to accelerate their rebuild by cashing in on Straily, but the Marlins are instead shopping only their relievers and “perhaps Dee Gordon,” according to Sherman.
Tigers Notes: Verlander, Avila, Wilson
Some trade rumblings out of the Motor City…
- The Tigers are reportedly willing to pay the rest of Justin Verlander‘s remaining 2017 salary in order to facilitate a deal, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports. This works out to roughly $10.89MM. Reports earlier this week indicated that Detroit was open to including some money as part of a Verlander deal, though according to rival executives who have spoken with Fenech, the Tigers would need to bump that figure up to $25MM-$30MM if the club hopes to receive a good prospect return for Verlander. The former Cy Young Award winner’s future salary obligations ($28MM in each of the next two seasons, and a $22MM vesting option for 2020) and his struggles in 2017 have greatly limited his trade value, though Fenech notes that teams like the Cubs and Dodgers still had scouts at Verlander’s most recent outing.
- The Cubs have expressed the most interest in catcher Alex Avila, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (Twitter links), and Nightengale feels Avila will be the next notable Tiger to leave Detroit now that J.D. Martinez has been traded. Nightengale figures the Tigers would “ideally” receive a mid-level prospect in exchange for Avila, who is enjoying a career year just before hitting free agency this winter. Detroit is reportedly getting a lot of interest in Avila, though the Cubs and Blue Jays are the only teams specifically linked to the catcher (and Toronto has since acquired Miguel Montero).
- Also from Nightengale, he reports that the Brewers “have been aggressive” in their pursuit of Tigers closer Justin Wilson. The Astros, Nationals, Rays and Red Sox are among the other teams known to be checking in on Wilson, who has only elevated his stock since taking over the ninth inning for Detroit. Milwaukee has been linked to any number of relievers and controllable starters, with Wilson joining such names as Brad Hand, Addison Reed and Sonny Gray.
Latest On Sonny Gray
6:25pm: Houston may actually be setting its sights elsewhere at the moment, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (Twitter links). Indeed, he says it’s not even clear if the sides are engaged presently in “serious talks.”
He adds that the Athletics have “named their price” on Gray with the Yankees. While there’s no indication that those two clubs are near to a deal, that certainly suggests it’s still an open situation.
10:28am: Trade talks between the Astros and Athletics pertaining to Sonny Gray are “heating up,” according to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (Twitter links). Morosi adds that while Houston is in talks with the A’s, the Astros are also maintaining interest in trying to work out a deal that would net both Justin Verlander and Justin Wilson from the Tigers.
Rumors connecting the Astros to Gray date back to the offseason and have been persistent throughout the regular season. The Astros’ roster lacks a clear need, though most reports indicate that if they’re to make a splash, it’d be for someone that could step into the postseason rotation. Gray certainly fits that bill, as he’s rebounded from a triceps injury in 2016 and a lat strain earlier this season to look more and more like his old self in recent months.
Over the past two months, Gray has made 11 starts and totaled 68 1/3 innings with 9.0 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 54.9 percent ground-ball rate. The resulting 3.56 ERA is solid but appears unspectacular, however the Athletics have also backed Gray with one of baseball’s worst defenses. Fielding-independent metrics like FIP (2.87) and xFIP (3.12) are much more bullish. It’s also worth noting that Gray’s past month has been especially impressive, as he’s posted a 1.62 ERA in his past 33 1/3 innings across five starts.
If talks with the Athletics do come to a head, the Astros will be getting a boost not only for their 2017 postseason chances but also through the 2019 season. Gray is earning just $3.575MM in 2017 — a slight silver lining resulting from last year’s injury troubles — and will be eligible for arbitration twice more before hitting the open market in the 2019-20 offseason. He’d slot into the Houston rotation behind 2015 Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel and righty Lance McCullers, who are controlled through 2018 and 2021, respectively.
The talks for Verlander and Wilson are another story entirely, as the hurdles involved with a potential Verlander trade have been well documented by this point. The 34-year-old Verlander is having a down season with more than $65MM owed to him through the 2019 season, and he also has a full no-trade clause that would allow him to veto any deal. The Tigers wouldn’t be able to both shed Verlander’s salary and command a significant prospect return for him, and given his status as an icon in Detroit, it’d be a tough sell to the fans to simply move him to shed his contract.
Adding Wilson to the talks would obviously sweeten the pot and could allow the Detroit front office to extract a more lucrative return, though they could potentially do better simply by trading Wilson in a standalone deal. Interest in the dominant setup-man-turned-closer has been extremely strong this month, and he stands out as Detroit’s best trade chip. Unlike J.D. Martinez, an excellent player that nonetheless commanded a lukewarm return due to a lack of a market for his services, more than a third of the league could conceivably have legitimately strong interest in Wilson.
Brewers Have Interest In Justin Verlander
The Brewers have interest in Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander, reports Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter links). Milwaukee has been linked on multiple occasions to rotation pieces that it can control beyond the 2017 season, though there’s yet to be much of a serious connection to the longtime Detroit ace. Notably, Fenech adds that the Cubs are still monitoring Verlander and further reports that while the Astros have interest, their involvement in talks “has been minimal.”
Milwaukee is currently trailing the division-rival Pirates in today’s game and has seen its lead on the NL Central dwindle to 1.5 games with both the Cubs and Pirates on winning streaks. The Brewers have had a top-heavy rotation for much of the season, and that only became a truer statement when Chase Anderson, their second-best starter in 2017, landed on the disabled list with an oblique strain that is likely to sideline him into the month of August.
The obstacles standing in the way of a Verlander trade (to any club) are notable. Verlander is owed about $67MM through the end of the 2019 season and has a full no-trade clause that allows him to veto any trade scenario with which the Tigers approach him. He’s also in the midst of one of his worst big league seasons, although he’s been sharper over his past three outings, which may at least present scouts with some confidence that he’s rounding into form.
Whether that’s enough of a sample to convince any team — let alone a fairly low-payroll club like the Brewers — to take on a significant chunk of his remaining contract remains to be seen. The Tigers are reportedly willing to include “some” cash in a trade to help enhance the return they’d get, but they’d likely have to pay down a major chunk of the contract in order to both find a taker and receive meaningful prospects in return. The Brewers have a fairly clean slate when it comes to their long-term payroll outlook, with only Ryan Braun and Eric Thames on guaranteed contracts beyond the current season, but they do have quite a few important players up for arbitration raises this winter (including Jimmy Nelson, Chase Anderson, Jonathan Villar, Hernan Perez and Carlos Torres).
While it’s certainly possible that there’s some gamesmanship at play here — it’d behoove the Tigers to play up the interest of two closely competing division rivals, after all — the Brewers have been linked to controllable rotation help frequently enough that it’d almost be a surprise if they didn’t check in on the Verlander market and gauge the asking price. As for the Cubs, they’ve already acquired Jose Quintana from the White Sox, but there have been indications since that time that they’re still on the lookout for pitching help, and for a team with considerable payroll capacity and questions in their long-term rotation, the notion of acquiring Verlander and having some of his $28MM salary in 2018-19 offset undoubtedly holds appeal.
The Astros were said, as of this morning, to still be in the market for Verlander, though there have also been reports that talks between Houston and Oakland regarding Sonny Gray have begun to intensify. The Brewers and Astros have both also been linked to Tigers lefty Justin Wilson, meanwhile, as each team looks to upgrade its bullpen.
Tigers Reportedly Willing To Include Some Cash In Verlander Trade
Two weeks ago, it was reported that while the Tigers were willing to discuss Justin Verlander in trades, they sought a significant prospect return and weren’t inclined to include any financial compensation to offset his sizable contract. Now, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that the Tigers have softened that stance and are willing to include “some” cash in a theoretical trade to help facilitate a deal. Verlander also has a full no-trade clause, though, so he’d need to green-light any deal the Tigers are interested in making, if such an opportunity even arises.
The 34-year-old Verlander is midway through the fifth season of a back-loaded seven-year, $180MM contract that calls for him to earn $28MM each year from now through 2019. Of this year’s $28MM, about $11.6MM remains, so adding that to the $56MM he’s owed in 2018-19 brings the total bill to just a shade under $68MM. Exactly what constitutes “some” cash for the Tigers isn’t clear, but given their desire to acquire top-shelf prospects, one can only imagine that the Tigers would need to pay off a significant amount of that remaining $68MM.
For all the name value that Verlander brings to the table, his 2017 performance has been underwhelming. His 4.4 BB/9 rate is the worst of his career, and his 8.4 K/9 rate is a notable departure from the 10.0 mark he posted in last year’s brilliant rebound campaign. Verlander’s chase rate, swinging-strike rate and contact rate are all among the worst of his career, and his 38.1 percent hard-contact rate represents a nearly 10 percent increase over his 2016 level. Beyond that, he’s averaging fewer than six innings per start for the first time as a Major Leaguer.
That’s a host of red flags, but to be fair to Verlander, his velocity is as strong as ever (95.1 mph average fastball), and his strikeout and home-run rates are still better than those of a league-average starter. There’s certainly value in the big righty, even if his 4.66 ERA isn’t anything to write home about. Verlander brings a wealth of postseason experience to the table, and given the proximity of last year’s dominance — 227 2/3 innings, 3.04 ERA, 10.0 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 — one can hardly rule out a return to form.
But, this year’s plethora of troublesome indicators will also make teams reluctant to surrender a haul of prospects, even with a chunk of his salary included. FanRag’s Jon Heyman, for instance, recently reported that there’s been little to no serious interest in Verlander to this point given all of the hurdles in the way of a trade. One exec with another AL club told ESPN’s Buster Olney this weekend: “If you trade a player with that kind of history, you want something to show for it coming back. I’m not sure they can get that.”
Talk of a Verlander trade probably won’t let up even in the seemingly likely event that he remains with the Tigers beyond July 31, however. That huge financial commitment makes it likely that he’ll clear revocable trade waivers in August, at which point he’ll again be free to be traded to any club (so long as he waives his no-trade clause to approve the deal). And if no deal comes to fruition in August, then his name figures to be frequently mentioned this winter as well.
NL News & Rumors: Braves, Brewers, Phillies, Rockies
The Braves, on the hunt for starting pitching, sent a top scout to Detroit this weekend to watch Tigers right-handers Justin Verlander and Michael Fulmer, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com (on Twitter). Neither Verlander nor Fulmer seems like a realistic trade candidate, however. The Tigers reportedly want a noteworthy haul for Verlander, even though he’s 34, in the throes of a down season and still owed nearly $70MM through 2019. Verlander also has a full no-trade clause, so he could veto a deal even if the Braves do present an offer to the Tigers’ liking. Unlike Verlander, the 24-year-old Fulmer is both cheap and in his prime. Detroit would justifiably demand a ransom in return, then, but there’s no indication it’s interested in parting with him.
More from the National League:
- Realistically, no one would have expected the Brewers to hold a 5.5-game advantage in the NL Central this late in the season, which could lead to an agonizing deadline for the team’s decision-makers, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes. The Brewers, who were in on now-Cub Jose Quintana before the White Sox traded him Thursday and have interest in the Athletics’ Sonny Gray, must weigh whether to make a bold strike that eats into their farm system or take a more conservative approach. General manager David Stearns doesn’t seem eager to part with a prospect haul, telling Haudricourt: “We’ve worked very hard to build our system and organization as a whole where the level of young talent we have is a good place to be. I don’t see us, whether it’s this year or any year going forward, moving from that strategy.” Nevertheless, Haudricourt points to Gray’s team control, his connection to Milwaukee pitching coach Derek Johnson (who coached Gray at Vanderbilt) and the Brewers’ rotation questions as reasons why acquiring him would make sense.
- Speaking of the Brewers, their success has come without having left fielder Ryan Braun at full strength, and his health will continue to be an issue for the rest of the season. Manager Craig Counsell said Saturday (via the Associated Press) that the Brewers will evaluate Braun daily through the end of the year, given that a strained right calf has hampered him for a while and forced him to the disabled list twice. While the 33-year-old has once again been a quality contributor to Milwaukee’s offense, having hit .260/.343/.553 across 169 plate appearances, Counsell believes there’s enough talent on hand to weather Braun’s issues. “We certainly want a healthy Ryan Braun, but we’ve had success with this team because of depth and we’ll continue to rely on that if we have to,” Counsell said.
- Phillies outfielder/infielder and trade candidate Howie Kendrick has been out this month with an injured left hamstring, and a return doesn’t seem imminent. Kendrick will join the Phillies in Miami on Monday, but only so the team can evaluate him to see if he’s healthy enough to embark on a rehab assignment, tweets Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.
- Currently in possession of a wild-card spot, the Rockies will temporarily remove one of the best starters from their rotation in order to preserve his arm, according to Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Rookie left-hander Kyle Freeland, who’s top two among Rockies starters in innings (110 1/3), ERA (3.67) and ground-ball rate (55 percent), is likely to head to the bullpen and could then log some time in the team’s Triple-A rotation before resuming his starting role in Colorado. Another rookie, righty Antonio Senzatela, looks primed to take Freeland’s place in the meantime. Freeland threw three shutout, no-hit frames in relief Saturday, when the Rockies lost starter Tyler Chatwood to an undisclosed injury in the first inning, per Saunders.