Mark Melancon

Evans, Sabean Discuss Bullpen, Cain, Posey, Arroyo, Coaches

By Steve Adams | October 13, 2016 at 7:56pm CDT

The Giants’ season ended in a devastating defeat that saw a gem from Matt Moore — two runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts across eight innings — go to waste as five relievers turned a three-run lead into a one-run deficit in the ninth inning of Game 4 of the NLDS vs. the Cubs. In the wake of that stunning defeat, executive vice president of baseball operations Brian Sabean and general manager Bobby Evans spoke to the San Francisco media on Thursday, and Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area has published three different stories on the media session. (Giants fans would do well to read each in its entirety, as they contain far more quotes and context than this overview.)

Sabean and Evans emphasized that the Giants will pursue late-inning relief help this winter. A top-flight closer appears high on the wishlist for the longtime San Francisco baseball ops duo, though as Pavlovic notes, there won’t be a complete overhaul of the bullpen. The Giants are encouraged by the overall output of Derek Law, Hunter Strickland, Josh Osich, Steven Okert and Will Smith, and Evans confirmed that right-hander George Kontos will be tendered a contract as well. However, as Evans explained, the Giants believe there’s a benefit to all members of the relief corps if there’s no question as to who will be closing out games.

“The bullpen performs at a much higher level when you know who your ninth-inning guy is,” said the GM. “It puts everybody at ease and helps [manager Bruce Bochy] as he defines roles. With ambiguity, it creates tension and unknowns that can add to or detract from performance and ultimately lead to struggles.” As for how he’ll go about acquiring a closer, Evans implied a no-stone-left-unturned approach, stating that he’ll be active in free agency, trades and even evaluating his internal options.

The top three relievers in free agency are Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen and Mark Melancon. Pavlovic rightly notes that the Giants would need to make overwhelming offers to win a bidding war with teams like the Cubs, Yankees and division-rival Dodgers for the services of Jansen or Chapman, opining that Melancon is the likeliest target. That could be especially true when considering the fact that Evans has previously been candid about his pursuit of a Melancon trade in July. Of the team’s trade efforts, Sabean indicated that the Giants lacked the prospect firepower to play for top names like Chapman and Andrew Miller at this year’s deadline, ultimately concluding: “In every case that a closer didn’t come to the Giants, they went elsewhere for probably a lot more than we could have been involved in.”

Shifting to the other side of the pitching staff, Evans said that Matt Cain will have every opportunity to make the team’s starting rotation next year, but the former ace will be competing with young left-hander Ty Blach to win the fifth rotation spot behind Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija and Moore. Pavlovic wonders if Cain and his four-pitch mix could transition to the bullpen in a similar manner to Joe Blanton. (If that shift in roles is indeed possible, then perhaps Cain could eventually emerge as a late-inning option.)

There’s little doubt, of course, as to who will be calling the games for the majority of the pitchers discussed thus far. Buster Posey remains one of baseball’s premier backstops, but he did fade down the stretch, in part due to some nerve irritation in his right thumb. The former NL MVP won’t require surgery — no member of the roster is in line to go under the knife following the season, in fact — and he isn’t likely to see a marked decrease in terms of time behind the plate next season, either. Some have wondered if catching a career-high 122 games contributed to Posey’s second-half decline, but Evans said there’s no thought to giving Posey more time at first base. “We’re always monitoring his health,” said Evans. “We’re still confident that (catcher) is the best spot for him.”

A full season of productivity out of Posey would certainly aid the Giants in returning to playoff baseball next season, and while many fans feel that the addition of Christian Arroyo to the big league roster would do the same, Evans’ expectation is that Arroyo will begin next year in the minors. The 21-year-old, believed by many to be the team’s third baseman of the future, has yet to play above the Double-A level and slashed only .274/.316/.373 in 119 games there this season. With Arroyo likely headed for the minors, Eduardo Nunez and postseason hero Conor Gillaspie “are locks” to make the roster, writes Pavlovic.

Looking to the coaching staff, the Giants made the decisions to part ways with first base coach Bill Hayes and third base coach Roberto Kelly, with Evans explaining that the team needs to “grow our leadership in terms of how we approach our base running and our overall efforts first-to-third, second-to-home.” Furthermore, the GM said that bench coach Ron Wotus has been contacted by another club, though Pavlovic notes that it’s not clear which team, nor is it clear whether Wotus will interview for one of the managerial vacancies with the division-rival D-backs or Rockies.

NL Notes: Pirates, Melancon, Dodgers, Cardinals

By Connor Byrne | September 24, 2016 at 7:58pm CDT

Given the dearth of quality starting pitchers set to hit free agency during the offseason, it might make sense for the Pirates to use their money on bullpen upgrades if they’re unable to re-sign Ivan Nova, writes Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The Pirates and Nova have engaged in extension talks, but the 29-year-old’s late-season breakout could price him out of the team’s range. If so, Sawchik suggests a reunion with soon-to-be free agent closer Mark Melancon, whom the Bucs traded to the Nationals at this year’s non-waiver trade deadline. As a 31-year-old who lacks eye-popping strikeout numbers, Melancon is likely to garner the cheapest contract among fellow impending free agent bullpen aces Kenley Jansen and Aroldis Chapman. Melancon made his return to Pittsburgh on Friday as a visitor and received an ovation from its fans, though he suffered his first blown save as a National in a 6-5 loss.

NL Notes: Giants’ Pen, Garcia, Murphy, McCarthy, Rodriguez

By Jeff Todd | September 23, 2016 at 9:43pm CDT

As the Giants have struggled to lock up the ninth inning down the stretch, GM Bobby Evans discusses his decision not to push harder for a top-tier closer at this year’s deadline, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Evans told Jon Heyman of Fan Rag that the struggles have made him feel like a “knucklehead,” though he notes to Schulman that he was saying that in jest. The San Francisco general manager went on to explain a bit more about the team’s efforts to acquire Mark Melancon, who ended up with the Nationals, from the Pirates. “It was very comparable to what they ultimately got,” he said of the Giants’ offer. “You think about it. ’Was there something else I could have done? Was there another name I could have pushed across the table?’ They ended up getting one guy who throws 100 and another who throws 98.” But as Evans went on to discuss, it’s ultimately a matter of hindsight. “Those are just reflections,” he said. “… All I can do is think about how I handled it and how far I went.”

The Cardinals are still tinkering with their pitching mix, and will now re-insert Jaime Garcia into the rotation in the place of Luke Weaver, as Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports. Garcia has shown well in his brief move to the pen, while Weaver has struggled in his most recent outings after an excellent start to his major league career.
Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy has been diagnosed with a strained glute, as MLB.com’s Jamal Collier reports on Twitter. Murphy last played a full game on September 17th and will rest for a few more contests before returning to action. Obviously, the Nats will be sure to rest him well with the NL East in hand, as Murphy figures to be a key piece of the team’s postseason hopes after posting a remarkable .347/.391/.596 batting line thus far.
Brandon McCarthy will become the latest Dodgers pitcher to return to action on Saturday, when MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick says the veteran righty will be activated (Twitter link). The 33-year-old has produced strong results despite allowing over six walks per nine in his eight starts on the year, with a 9.9 K/9 mark and just twenty hits allowed helping to offset the free passes. It remains to be seen what role he’ll play in the postseason for Los Angeles after working back from a hip injury.
Phillies reliever Joely Rodriguez looks to be a keeper, as Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Acquired in the Antonio Bastardo trade, the 24-year-old southpaw has developed upper-nineties heat in a relief capacity. He has allowed just a single hit in his first 5 1/3 major league innings, with four strikeouts and two walks also on his ledger.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Mark Melancon

By Mark Polishuk | September 1, 2016 at 1:53pm CDT

This winter’s free agent starting pitching class is so thin that two relievers (Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen) easily carry the most earning power of any arm on the open market. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see more teams choosing to spend their pitching dollars on their relief corps rather than their rotations this offseason given the lack of starting options, not to mention baseball’s growing trend of ultra-deep bullpens.

In short, the opportunity is there for Mark Melancon to score a very nice multi-year contract. He won’t cost as much as Chapman or Jansen, though he is maybe only a step behind that elite pair of closers in terms of performance and several steps above the next-best free agent stopper, Santiago Casilla, as well as recent ninth-inning men such as Brad Ziegler and Jonathan Papelbon. (Of the closers who could be free agents if their club options aren’t picked up, only Wade Davis stands out as superior to Melancon, though the Royals will almost surely exercise their $10MM option on Davis for 2017.)

Looking at how Melancon, Chapman and Jansen have performed since the start of the 2013 season, Melancon is the clear bronze medalist within this “big three” of free agent closers, though he brings a different skillset to the table. He records far fewer strikeouts but also generates far more grounders, and Melancon has the lowest BB/9 (1.45), home run rate (5.5%) and ERA (1.74) of the trio.

Like Jansen, Melancon’s chief weapon is a cut fastball. Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post recently detailed how Melancon’s emergence as a force within the Pirates bullpen in 2013 was due to a full embrace of the cutter, and his reliance on that pitch and his curveball have only become more pronounced. The breakdown of Melancon’s pitch selection in 2015 reveals that he used his standard fastball only eight percent of the time and a changeup 0.3% of the time, while tossing 64.6% cutters and 27.1% curves. Never a particularly hard thrower, Melancon averages 91.7 mph on his heater (not a big drop from his high of 93 mph as a rookie in 2009) and has averaged around 90.7 mph on his cutter in 2015-16, down from roughly 91.7 mph in 2013-14.

As Castillo’s piece notes, there are some concerns about how the cutter can tax a pitcher’s elbow. Melancon underwent Tommy John surgery a decade ago, but has been very durable since. Ultimately, he carried only a slightly above-average risk factor for another UCL injury in last February’s statistical assessment of MLBTR contributor Bradley Woodrum.

Jansen has his own notable injury history and Chapman has a wholly separate set of issues due to his suspension under MLB’s domestic violence policy, so Melancon’s top free agent competition also has some baggage. Still, beyond health and strikeout rate, age is the most obvious reason Jansen and Chapman are better-positioned than Melancon for a pricier long-term contract. Both will be 29 next Opening Day while Melancon will be 32 years old.

MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes feels both Chapman and Jansen could land five-year deals worth more than $70MM, which would set a new standard for relief pitching contracts. It isn’t totally out of the question that either could land an unprecedented (for a reliever) six guaranteed years, though their rising tide wouldn’t lift Melancon’s boat into the realm of a five-year deal. No reliever has received five guaranteed years* since B.J. Ryan’s free agent deal with the Blue Jays way back in the 2005-06 offseason, and while Chapman and Jansen likely have a chance to crack that threshold, no team is making that big a commitment to a 32-year-old relief pitcher.

*Sean Doolittle’s extension with the A’s in April 2014 was technically a five-year pact, though it doesn’t really count given that the first year of that deal was already underway. Doolittle was also still a pre-arbitration player when he signed, so it’s not really a good comparable for Melancon’s situation.

A four-year deal, however, seems like a logical target for Melancon and his representatives at Relativity Baseball. Over the last two offseasons, David Robertson ($46MM), Andrew Miller ($36MM) and Darren O’Day ($31MM) all found four-year contracts on the open market. O’Day was entering his age-33 season and is a setup man rather than a proven closer, so there’s a good argument to be made that O’Day’s four years/$31MM is the floor of what Melancon can hope to receive this winter.

Robertson had only one season of closing experience at the time of his deal with the White Sox, while Miller had only one career save and, really, only one season as a truly reliable bullpen option under his belt when he signed with the Yankees. That said, those two pitchers signed their deals going into their age-30 seasons, and those two extra years of youth could very well carry more weight than Melancon’s three-plus years of an outstanding track record. If Melancon does land a four-year pact, his dollar figure should land somewhere much closer to Miller’s $36MM than it will Robertson’s $48MM salary.

It figures to be a busy market for closers this winter, in no small part because some of the game’s biggest spenders (such as the Cubs, Dodgers, Nationals and Giants) have their own stoppers hitting free agency and will be looking to re-sign or replace those ninth-inning standouts. The Rangers, Marlins, Cardinals, Mariners, Angels, Twins, Braves, Rockies, Diamondbacks and Yankees could also be looking for a new closer; the teams on that list who already have pretty steady closers could shift them into roles as Melancon’s setup man, thus improving overall bullpen depth. It also wouldn’t be a surprise to see a team with both an established closer and setup man get into the hunt for Melancon, in order to create a three-headed bullpen monster a la the 2015 Royals or the 2016 Yankees.

One market-limiting factor Melancon won’t have to worry about is the qualifying offer, as Melancon was traded from the Pirates to the Nationals at the deadline. The deal allowed the Bucs to obtain two promising young arms (Felipe Rivero and Taylor Hearn) for a reliever they wouldn’t have been able to afford re-signing, whereas Washington was making a win-now move to upgrade their bullpen. Melancon has been superb since joining the Nats, and continued excellence down the stretch and potentially through the postseason would certainly do a lot to raise his already-high profile heading into free agency.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Nationals Acquire Mark Melancon

By Jeff Todd | July 30, 2016 at 3:54pm CDT

3:54pm: FanRag’s Jon Heyman reports that the Pirates sent about $500K to the Nationals as part of the deal (Twitter link).

2:00pm: The Nationals officially have struck a deal to acquire Pirates closer Mark Melancon, finally getting the late-inning upgrade they’ve been seeking. Southpaw Felipe Rivero is heading to Pittsburgh in return, with lefty pitching prospect Taylor Hearn rounding out the package.

Washington also gets cash in the deal, per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (via Twitter). Melancon is playing on a $9.65MM salary this year before reaching free agency. As a result of the mid-season move, the righty will not be eligible to receive a qualifying offer, which means he’ll enter the market free and clear of draft compensation.

The Nats have long been connected to the top of the relief market with incumbent Jonathan Papelbon struggling to hold down the ninth. The Nats picked him up this time last year, but while he had at least gotten the job done despite declining peripherals, the results have been bleak of late. While the team chased Aroldis Chapman, it wasn’t willing to meet the high asking price. And the Nats also balked at the apparent requests of a top-tier prospect in exchange for top closers Andrew Miller and Wade Davis — each of whom come with future control.

[Related: Updated Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates Depth Charts]

Melancon, 31, unquestionably constitutes a significant upgrade, though the loss of Rivero means that the team has lost a high-powered lefty from its roster. Still, it’s hard to argue with the decision to plug an established late-inning arm into the mix. The Nats can still turn to another power southpaw in Sammy Solis as well as crafty veteran Oliver Perez. Taking the broader perspective, the club certainly got more than it might have hoped for when it acquired Rivero as part of the early-2014 deal that brought backup catcher Jose Lobaton to D.C. in exchange for righty Nate Karns.

Interestingly, Melancon fits more the profile of Papelbon than of the other arms that D.C. reportedly targeted. He works in the 91 to 92 mph range with his average fastball and carries a swinging strike rate in the low-double digits. But as the now-aging Papelbon once did, Melancon has an increasingly lengthy record of pure excellence. Since coming to Pittsburgh in a seemingly minor trade, he has pitched to a 1.80 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and just 1.5 BB/9 across 260 1/3 innings. It has been more of the same this year, though Melancon’s typically outstanding groundball rate has dipped just below 50%. He currently sports a 1.51 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9, right at his now-established rates.

For the Bucs, it’s surely tough to part with such an integral part of the team with contention still in sights. But the club faces something of an uphill road despite its 52-49 record, with a powerful Cubs team still pacing the division and several other quality clubs angling for a Wild Card berth. After losing two consecutive play-in games, Pittsburgh obviously felt it wasn’t worth passing on this opportunity — particularly since it still figures to have a solid combination of Tony Watson and Neftali Feliz working to close out wins.

After all, Rivero will likely slot right into the Pirates pen, possibly constituting part of the Bucs’ late-inning mix — in the future, if not right away. The 25-year-old has monster stuff, even if his results have been uneven. The Pirates obviously put a high value on him, which is understandable given that he’s controllable through 2021 and is perhaps only just touching his potential. Rivero owns a 4.53 ERA in 49 2/3 innings on the year, but has posted 9.6 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9. If we’re being honest, it’s not out of the question that he could be every bit as good as Melancon right off the bat, though obviously he doesn’t come with anything near the veteran’s track record.

Hearn looks to be something of a younger version of Rivero. The 21-year-old features a huge fastball, but hasn’t yet advanced past the Class A level, where he owns a 3.18 ERA with 12.3 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 over 22 2/3 innings. Hearn was originally drafted by Pittsburgh, then ended up going to the Nats after being taken in the fifth round of last year’s draft.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the deal (links to Twitter), with Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweeting Hearn’s inclusion.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nationals “Focused” On Mark Melancon

By Jeff Todd | July 30, 2016 at 1:08pm CDT

As the Nationals continue their effort to add a quality reliever at the back of the pen, the club is “focused” on striking a deal to add Pirates righty Mark Melancon, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. The Nats have also been tied to hurlers such as Andrew Miller of the Yankees and Wade Davis of the Royals, but the asking prices have been incredibly steep.

That’s not to say that the Bucs will let Melancon go lightly. Jon Heyman of Fan Rag reports that the team would be looking for a deal along the lines of the Aroldis Chapman pact. The Cubs parted with one high-quality prospect in Gleyber Torres as well as a useful major-league arm in Adam Warren and two other nice prospect pieces to add the flamethrowing lefty.

It’s easy to see the analogy between the Cubs-Yankees agreement and what Pittsburgh would like to accomplish. They, too, reportedly hope to receive a useful set-up option in return — giving the team a player to slot in front of Tony Watson and Neftali Feliz while continuing to compete in 2016. And the Bucs obviously would only be motivated to make that kind of exchange if they can get a truly enticing prospect out of the bargain.

Washington was unwilling to go too big on Chapman, who is a more obviously dominant pitcher than is Melancon. Still, it’s hard to argue that Melancon has been any less effective. Quite the contrary, in fact: the 31-year-old owns a sparkling 1.80 ERA over his four years and 260 1/3 innings with Pittsburgh, and while he doesn’t carry an elite strikeout rate (8.3 K/9), he has issued only 1.5 free passes per nine.

Melancon isn’t cheap at a $9.65MM salary, but most of that has already paid down and it’s not the kind of number that should pose problems. Though the Nationals have been said in the past not to be willing to take on salary at the deadline, the team’s payroll is far lower than it was last year and there are always creative solutions.

In terms of a return, the Nats could theoretically offer up some of its youthful, high-upside relief arms, such as Blake Treinen and Felipe Rivero. And the club has a bevy of top prospects. It was reportedly not interested in giving up Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Trea Turner, or Victor Robles in a deal for Chapman, so it stands to reason the same holds true here — though the ongoing struggles of Jonathan Papelbon have perhaps made the Nats’ needs yet more pronounced.

Giolito, at least, isn’t going to be moved in such a trade, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter), and it’s nearly impossible to imagine Turner going in a trade given his role on the current MLB roster. There may be somewhat more flexibility on Lopez, at least in theory; like Giolito, he has received a few major league spot starts (including one tonight), but Joe Ross is expected to return in short order. Righty Erick Fedde is another quality young top-100 prospect that could be discussed — though that’s pure speculation at this point.

Nationals, Multiple Others Inquiring On Mark Melancon

By Steve Adams | July 29, 2016 at 2:36pm CDT

2:33pm: The Indians and Giants are among the other club showing interest, per Rosenthal (Twitter links). Pittsburgh is willing to consider proposals that include not only prospect value, but also a current major league reliever that would provide a solid set-up option for Pittsburgh.

11:07am: The Nationals and multiple other clubs are inquiring with the Pirates on closer Mark Melancon, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Washington is known to be in pursuit of a late-inning relief arm, particularly in the wake of Jonathan Papelbon’s recent implosion (seven earned in his past three appearances, spanning one inning).

Melancon, 31, is earning $9.6MM in his final year before hitting the open market. A three-time All-Star with the Pirates, he’s sporting a stellar 1.51 ERA in 41 2/3 innings this season, averaging 8.2 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 to complement a 48.2 percent ground-ball rate. The notion of Pittsburgh trading its closer may sound counter-intuitive at first, but there’s some logic behind the thinking, as I discussed earlier this week with Josh Taylor of TribLive Radio in Pittsburgh (audio link). The budget-conscious Pirates may be wary of extending a qualifying offer to Melancon in an offseason where he’ll be heading into his age-32 campaign and face competition from the likes of Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen on the free-agent market. Beyond that, the thought of losing Melancon for nothing certainly can’t be an appealing one to Pittsburgh GM Neal Huntington and his staff, so it makes sense for bullpen-hungry clubs to at least see if the Bucs are willing to consider the possibility.

Then again, there is not yet any indication as to how willing the Pirates are to actually part with Melancon. The team does possess an excellent setup man in Tony Watson and a bevy of young arms that could conceivably shift to the bullpen late in the season in order to limit their rising innings totals, but subtracting Melancon from the bullpen would weaken the club to some degree as it looks to secure a Wild Card playoff spot. Rosenthal does say that the Nats are talking to the Pirates, so Huntington is seemingly at least willing to listen, though most GMs will approach the trade deadline with an open mindset.

If made available, Melancon would presumably draw interest from the same collection of teams that have demonstrated interest in Royals closer Wade Davis and Yankees closer Andrew Miller. In addition to the Nationals, we’ve seen the Dodgers, Cardinals, Indians, Rangers and Giants linked to top-tier bullpen help over the course of the week (though Cleveland, it seems, is more focused on a lefty, and an intra-division trade to the Cardinals is of course unlikely).

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

By Connor Byrne and Jeff Todd | July 9, 2016 at 8:31pm CDT

The Nationals’ Trea Turner, whom Baseball America ranks as the sport’s fifth-best prospect, rejoined the club Friday when first baseman Ryan Zimmerman landed on the disabled list with a strained left rib. The middle infielder hasn’t slotted into the Nats’ lineup, though, which is no surprise in light of manager Dusty Baker’s comments on Friday. “Right now, there’s no real place for Trea to take,” Baker said, per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. “This isn’t a tryout camp. This is try to play the best team overall to win the game and win the pennant. Hopefully Trea will be a part of that while he’s here.” Turner has garnered some center field experience at the Triple-A level, though Baker is wary of putting him out there in the majors at this point. “I’m sure in time, he’ll show us all, but right now, he’ll probably remain in the infield unless I have to make a move out there in the outfield,” stated Baker. Between second baseman Daniel Murphy and shortstop Danny Espinosa, the Nats have an outstanding middle infield, so it doesn’t appear Turner will make much of an impact if those two remain healthy. The 23-year-old has batted an excellent .302/.370/.471 with 36 extra-base hits and 25 stolen bases in the minors this season.

Heyman’s Latest: Yankees, Pirates, Teheran, Marlins

By Jeff Todd | June 30, 2016 at 8:45pm CDT

There appear to be different viewpoints in the Yankees front office about how to approach the deadline, Jon Heyman of todaysknuckleball.com writes. GM Brian Cashman may actually be more inclined to sell some assets than is the ownership and upper-level management, per the report.

After a long look at that situation, Heyman goes on to provide some other notes from around the game:

Some within the Yankees think there’s a very good chance that Aroldis Chapman will be around for the long-term, whether that comes about via extension or a re-signing over the winter. Meanwhile, a team official says the price on Andrew Miller is so high that the odds he’ll be dealt are miniscule.
The Pirates could sell off a few short-term pieces if the club isn’t in contention come late July, but a broader sale isn’t expected. Heyman suggests Francisco Liriano, Mark Melancon, David Freese, and perhaps Tony Watson as plausible trade chips. You could probably also throw names like Matt Joyce, Sean Rodriguez, and Juan Nicasio into the mix as well.
Julio Teheran may be pitching his way out of a trade for the Braves, says Heyman. Rival executives suggest that they see a trade as unlikely, and also gave some endorsement of his value. Heyman cites three who believe Teheran is a better trade piece than Sonny Gray of the Athletics at this stage.
There’s plenty of demand on the starting pitching market, which is perhaps one reason to think that some arms could end up being pried loose. Heyman lists the Orioles, Red Sox, Dodgers, Tigers, Rangers, Blue Jays, Astros, Mariners, and Yankees as looking for rotation pieces.
The Marlins are also reputed to be looking for starting pitching, with Drew Pomeranz on the wish list. But a Miami source tells Heyman that the team finds it “hard to trust Pomeranz” given his relatively thin track record.
The Padres “at least took a look” at Jose Reyes before he signed with the Mets, per Heyman. It isn’t clear what sort of opportunity San Diego was interested in offering, but it’s not surprising to hear that the organization is looking for low-cost ways to seek value.

Cafardo’s Latest: Valencia, Royals, Liriano, Melancon, Santana

By Mark Polishuk | June 26, 2016 at 9:29am CDT

Here’s the latest hot stove buzz from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe…

The Royals and Indians are among the teams looking at Athletics third baseman Danny Valencia. Kansas City has a void at third base with Mike Moustakas out for the season, and Valencia is a known quantity, having played for the team in 2014. The Tribe have also received below-replacement level production at the hot corner all season, though Jose Ramirez has played well splitting time between third and left field. Valencia could perhaps be a better fit for Cleveland in left given his rough defensive metrics (-13 Defensive Runs Saved, -26.9 UZR.150) at third base this season, though his bat certainly plays for either the Indians or Royals. Valencia is hitting .333/.381/.552 with 11 homers over 218 PA for the A’s, though that comes with the caveat of a .373 BABIP. The Mets are another team known to have interest in Valencia, though their subsequent signing of Jose Reyes may have addressed their infield needs.
While Valencia is a right-handed bat, Cafardo notes in another item that “the Royals seem to be in on every left-handed hitter.” K.C. has posted middle-of-the-pack offensive statistics against righty pitching this year and is lacking in lineup balance, though the return of Alex Gordon from the DL should help on both counts. Cafardo implies that Padres outfielder Jon Jay (a left-handed hitter) could be a Royals trade target.
The Marlins “possibly” have interest in Pirates southpaw Francisco Liriano. The lefty is having a down year, though the Fish could see Liriano as an answer to their pitching search due to the presence of Miami VP of pitching development Jim Benedict (who was credited with getting Liriano on track when the two were in Pittsburgh).
Speaking of Pirates arms, closer Mark Melancon is also drawing attention from teams in need of bullpen help. Cafardo cites the Astros, Giants, Mets and Red Sox as teams who could be potential fits. Melancon is a free agent at the end of the season and thus could be a logical trade candidate if the Bucs decide to become deadline sellers. Melancon has a 1.53 ERA through 29 1/3 IP this season, though advanced metrics indicate that this is the weakest of his four seasons as a Pirates. Melancon has a 2.93 FIP, 4.18 xFIP and 3.88 SIERA, while experiencing drops in his strikeout and grounder rates (and an increase in BB/9).
Ervin Santana “is seen as perhaps the most viable trade deadline pickup on the market,” with one AL assistant GM describing the Twins veteran as “the one guy out there who could be a sure thing in the middle of the rotation.” Santana has a 4.64 ERA, 6.37 K/9 and 2.39 K/BB rate over 77 2/3 innings this season, with ERA indicators backing up his unimpressive ERA. I would guess Minnesota would have to eat a fair amount of money in a Santana trade, as the righty is owed roughly $33.8MM through the 2018 season (plus a $14MM club/vesting option for 2019).
Even a mid-tier arm like Santana could draw trade interest, however, as Cafardo predicts that little pitching will be available at the deadline. Teams may focus more on offense, and Cafardo lists 15 position players who could be targeted as we approach August 1. Many of the names have already cropped up in trade rumors, though Cafardo speculates that some unlikely names as Joe Mauer or Khris Davis could also get some attention.

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