Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Michael Fulmer

Trade Rumors: Montgomery, Hernandez, Castro, Mets, Span, Stratton, Fulmer

By | at

Left-hander Mike Montgomery wants to be a starting pitcher, and would like that opportunity with another team if there isn’t a spot for him in the Cubs’ rotation, sources close to Montgomery tell The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.  Montgomery hasn’t told the Cubs about any desire to be traded, though he has told the team about his preference to start.  The 28-year-old has been a valuable swingman for Chicago since he was acquired in a trade from the Mariners in July 2016, and the team has been so actively looking for starting pitching that it seems Montgomery’s role won’t change in 2018.  Cubs GM Jed Hoyer told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times and other media that Rosenthal’s report “kind of caught me by surprise….There hasn’t been any dialogue that should have spurred a report like that.  You just don’t know where it comes from.  But sometimes that happens.  Mike’s a great teammate.”  Montgomery is a valuable asset with four remaining years of team control, though he could also become a big trade chip for the Cubs if they did consider moving him.

Some more rumblings about trade talks….

  • The Phillies’ Cesar Hernandez is the latest second baseman on the Mets’ list of targets, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  Hernandez may come with the highest asking price, however, of any of the players — Ian Kinsler, Josh Harrison, Jason Kipnis — the Mets are considering, given Hernandez’s controllable salary.  One infielder the Mets aren’t interested in is new Marlins second baseman Starlin Castro.
  • The Giants are believed to have offered Denard Span as one of the three players going to the Marlins for Giancarlo Stanton, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.  Span would have helped fill the hole in Miami’s outfield and his $11MM salary would’ve helped the Giants offset a small portion of Stanton’s enormous contract.  The Giants continue to be linked to the Marlins in talks for Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna, though Span wouldn’t be part of those potential trades given the far different salary parameters involved.  It is fair to wonder whether Span will be wearing a different uniform in 2018, given how the Giants are looking to thoroughly upgrade their outfield both offensively and defensively.  Also in the piece, Giants GM Bobby Evans said that teams have been asking about San Francisco’s top prospects and younger players, including right-hander Chris Stratton.
  • Giants prospect Heliot Ramos is being asked about in almost every trade proposal, The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly writes.  Ramos, 17 ,was the 19th overall pick of the 2017 amateur draft and he has already turned a lot of heads in his brief pro career.
  • Also from Baggarly, Bobby Evans said that teams have approached the Giants about trades that would see the Giants send a large-salaried player (and some prospects) elsewhere in what would essentially be a case of the other club buying minor league talent.  Evans said he isn’t considering those types of deals at this time, though Baggarly also writes that the Giants may be increasingly keen on getting under the luxury tax threshold this winter in order to position themselves for larger spending in the future.
  • The Rangers are one of the teams known to have contacted the Tigers about Michael Fulmer, though Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Fress Press reports that the two sides haven’t gotten very far in negotiations.  Fulmer’s ability and years of team control make him an attractive target for any club, especially the pitching-needy Rangers, though the Tigers have naturally put a huge asking price on their young righty.

Yankees Considering Michael Fulmer, Patrick Corbin In Trade Talks

By | at

The Yankees are among the teams with interest in Tigers righty Michael Fulmer, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). New York also has considered Diamondbacks lefty Patrick Corbin, per the report.

Clearly, the Yanks are interested in finding a rotation upgrade, as the club was also linked yesterday to Pirates righty Gerrit Cole. Currently, the first four members of the staff seem set: Masahiro Tanaka, Luis Severino, Sonny Gray, and Jordan Montgomery. But the fifth slot is much less settled.

[RELATED: Yankees, Tigers & Diamondbacks Depth Charts]

While the Bronx powerhouse is still committed to remaining under the luxury tax line for 2018, the club obviously sees some ways to fit high-quality hurlers into the payroll. Of course, GM Brian Cashman is also reportedly looking into moving some existing salary to open yet more space.

Fulmer and Corbin each represent quite different assets. There’s some reason to believe that either could be made available, but for differing reasons.

With regard to Fulmer, he’s one of the most intriguing young starters in baseball. The 24-year-old is on track to qualify for Super Two status next year but won’t be a free agent until 2023. And he has already turned in 323 2/3 innings of 3.45 ERA pitching in his first two MLB seasons. While offseason surgery to deal with a nerve issue in his elbow may give some pause, that particular procedure does not seem to come with significant future concern. Accordingly, the asking price is expected to be astronomical, even if the Tigers will hear out teams with interest.

As for Corbin, the D-Backs are in a tight payroll situation that will present challenges as they seek to return to the postseason. GM Mike Hazen indicates yesterday that a “creative” approach will be required, as MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert notes on Twitter. With Corbin projected by MLBTR to take home a $8.3MM payday via arbitration, he could be a useful trade piece, perhaps bringing back pieces that could fill other needs while also freeing up some spending money. The 28-year-old southpaw turned in a solid 2017 campaign, running up 189 2/3 innings of 4.03 ERA ball with 8.4 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9. While Arizona would surely prefer to retain Corbin, they have four other strong rotation pieces on hand along with a few internal candidates to battle for a spot.

Rangers Have Inquired On Michael Fulmer, Marcell Ozuna

By | at

After missing on Shohei Ohtani, the Rangers are spreading a wide net in search of improvements. The latest word is that they have asked about two of the top potential trade assets on this winter’s market.

Texas is one of several teams to have inquired on the availability of Tigers righty Michael Fulmer, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter). Grant also discussed the possibility earlier, noting some of the many complications but also the fact that Detroit seems willing to entertain offers. The pre-arb righty is recovering from nerve transposition surgery but has an early-career track record that will support a massive asking price from the rebuilding Tigers.

And while the club has alternatives on hand to play the outfield, the Rangers have also put out feelers with the Marlins regarding Marcell Ozuna, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). Ozuna is projected by MLBTR to earn a hefty $10.9MM in his second-to-last trip through arbitration, but that’s still a bargain rate after his breakout 2017 campaign. For the cost-cutting Marlins, though, now may well be the time to move Ozuna — so long as the team can secure an appropriately significant return.

Of course, it’s important to bear in mind that the Rangers have also been connected to a wide variety of others in recent days. On the pitching side, that includes free agents Yu Darvish (link) and Alex Cobb (link) as well as possible trade candidates Gerrit Cole (link) and Matt Harvey (link). And Texas is reportedly among the many teams still in on free agent first baseman Carlos Santana (link).

The broader takeaway, then, seems to be that the Rangers are engaged in a broad effort to find a high-quality player or two to bolster their roster. With several areas susceptible of improvement, and also perhaps some flexibility with some existing pieces, it’s still possible to imagine the roster developing in any number of different ways.

Trade Chatter: Machado, Phils, Yanks, Bucs, Cole, Ellsbury, Tigers, Brewers

By | at

Should the Orioles decide to trade superstar third baseman Manny Machado prior to 2018, his contract year, they could find a taker in Philadelphia. The Phillies are among “the more interested parties” in Machado, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports. The Orioles have studied the Phillies’ farm system in the event of a deal, and they now “covet” right-hander Sixto Sanchez (Baseball America’s 61st-best prospect), per Kubatko. Second base prospect Scott Kingery and major league shortstop Freddy Galvis could also be involved in a potential trade, Kubatko writes. But a swap would require a 72-hour window for the Phillies to extend the 25-year-old Machado, according to Kubatko, and hammering out an agreement could be a tall order given that he’s so close to hitting the open market.

More of the latest trade chatter:

  • The Yankees reportedly came away from talks with the Pirates with the impression that they won’t move righty Gerrit Cole. However, the Pirates are at least willing to listen to offers for Cole, per Buster Olney of ESPN (Twitter link). The Yankees and Bucs match up well for a potential Cole trade, sources tell Olney, who notes that Bombers general manager Brian Cashman and the Pirates’ Neal Huntington have swung plenty of deals in the past.
  • In the wake of the Giancarlo Stanton acquisition, the Yankees are loaded with outfielders. Although that seems to be bad news for Jacoby Ellsbury, who’s toward the bottom of the Yankees’ current outfield depth chart, he’s still “unlikely” to waive his no-trade clause, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweets. The belief is that the Yankees would eat roughly half of the $68MM to jettison Ellsbury, according to Jon Heyman of FanRag, but it could be a moot point if he’s unwilling to go anywhere. And Cashman said Monday that Ellsbury “has a spot on the roster” and “will compete to take his job back,” Alex Speier of the Boston Globe relays (Twitter link). On the other hand, if the Yankees make 23-year-old outfielder Clint Frazier available, the Athletics would unquestionably have interest, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (via Twitter). However, the price to acquire Frazier would likely be too high, Slusser adds.
  • The Tigers expect to deal second baseman Ian Kinsler, GM Al Avila told Evan Woodbery of MLive.com and other reporters (Twitter link). Meanwhile, they’ve gotten “mild inquiries” on arguably their most valuable trade chip – righty Michael Fulmer – but they’re not actively shopping him (via Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press, on Twitter). “There are a handful of teams out there that have the players to do it, but we have not come close to those conversations,” Avila said of a potential Fulmer trade (Twitter link via Jason Beck of MLB.com).
  • While the Brewers are listening to offers for outfielder Domingo Santana, there’s not a lot of traction in trade talks, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN tweets. The Brewers want “an affordable impact starter” for Santana, Crasnick suggests. GM David Stearns told reporters Monday that “if we’re going to even consider trading someone who is such an important part of our team, we are going to expect a sizable return” (via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, on Twitter).

Michael Fulmer To Undergo Ulnar Nerve Transposition Surgery

By | at

Top Tigers starter Michael Fulmer will undergo ulnar nerve transposition surgery in his right elbow tomorrow, manager Brad Ausmus told reporters (Twitter link via Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press). Katie Stang of the Athletic reported earlier today that the procedure was a possibility for Fulmer (Twitter link). MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweets that the procedure comes with a three- to four-month recovery period, which should put Fulmer on track to be back up to strength prior to Spring Training 2018.

Fulmer, 24, won American League Rookie of the Year honors in 2016 on the heels of a tremendous 3.03 ERA with 7.5 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 49.1 percent ground-ball rate in 159 innings out of the Tigers’ rotation. The former Mets farmhand — Fulmer was acquired in the 2015 Yoenis Cespedes swap with New York — largely replicated that success to open the 2017 campaign. However, over his final seven starts of the season, Fulmer allowed five or more runs on five occasions, causing his earned run average to balloon from to 3.06 to its now season-ending mark of 3.83. The injury certainly explains that rough stretch, as Fulmer himself has recently cited numbness and tingling in his fingers when describing the reasons for a DL placement.

While an arm-related surgical procedure for a top young starter always carries a certain level of concern, there’s no indication at present that there’s a significant level of worry moving forward. Fulmer has time to get ready for Spring Training, and the Tigers certainly aren’t playing for much in 2017 after trading away the majority of their veteran core over the past year. For comparison, Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom also had surgery to re-position the ulnar nerve in his right arm last September and has returned to toss 188 1/3 innings thus far in 2018 (though certainly every injury situation has its own intricacies).

Fulmer had been a speculative trade piece for the rebuilding Tigers, though the chances of that have long seemed somewhat slim. News of an arm operation seems to further dampen that possibility, as Detroit is unlikely to sell a player that it controls for another five seasons when his value is at a relatively diminished level. Fulmer won’t be eligible for arbitration this winter, though he’ll very likely qualify as a Super Two player following the 2018 campaign.

Michael Fulmer Will Miss At Least 2 Starts With Elbow Neuritis

By | at

9:57pm: Fulmer says that he received good news from an ultrasound, as Beck tweets. The ulnar nerve is straying from where it is supposed to sit, which explains his symptoms, but there’s no structural problem in the joint.

5:34pm: A flare-up of the elbow neuritis that sent him to the disabled list earlier this year will keep Tigers righty Michael Fulmer from making at least his next two starts, MLB.com’s Jason Beck is among those to report. Fulmer will take a trip to see Dr. James Andrews for further evaluation.

While the appointment with Andrews may open some eyes at first glance, it’s important to emphasize that there’s still no indication that Fulmer — one of the game’s best young starting pitchers — is dealing with any structural damage in his elbow. His prior DL stint was for the nerve issue alone and he returned quickly. While Fulmer has not been at his best since coming back, he’s also throwing as hard as ever and evidently hasn’t shown signs of any new injury.

That’s not to say there isn’t a possibility that the condition might require further action. While manager Brad Ausmus says the elbow hasn’t hampered Fulmer much while pitching, issues with tingling and numbness are still lingering.

“So, it’s more about the tipping point of being ready for next year should something more have to be done,” Ausmus said of the decision to send Fulmer in to see Andrews now.

That statement seems to imply that a surgical procedure and/or more intensive rehabilitation plan may be under consideration. The club will wait to decide whether or not Fulmer will attempt to return this season, but with the Tigers embarking upon a rebuild, the obvious focus is on his long-term health.

Nicholas Castellanos Clears Revocable Waivers; Jose Iglesias, Michael Fulmer Pulled Back

By | at

It’s already been reported this month that a number of expensive Tigers players — Justin Verlander, Jordan Zimmermann, Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, Justin Upton, Anibal Sanchez — have gone unclaimed on revocable trade waivers, but Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports adds more names to the list. Third baseman Nicholas Castellanos also went unclaimed on trade waivers, per Heyman, while right-hander Michael Fulmer and shortstop Jose Iglesias were claimed but did not change hands.

As Heyman notes, it registers as a modest surprise that Castellanos wasn’t claimed, though perhaps other clubs simply assumed that Detroit would pull the 25-year-old back off the wire. Castellanos has seen his offensive production drop in 2017, as he’s hitting just .244/.302/.440 — down from last year’s impressive .285/.331/.496.

However, there are reasons to be encouraged when looking at Castellanos’s batted-ball profile. His 44.9 percent hard-contact rate ranks sixth in baseball among qualified hitters, trailing only Corey Seager, Joey Gallo, Paul Goldschmidt, Miguel Sano and Cody Bellinger. Additionally, Castellanos’s 24.8 percent line-drive rate is the game’s 11th-highest, and his 89.5 mph average exit velocity is 50th among hitters with at least 100 batted ball events (per Statcast).

Castellanos avoided arbitration for the first time this past offseason, agreeing to a one-year deal worth $3MM. He’ll receive a raise on that figure in 2018 and can be controlled via the arbitration process through the 2019 campaign. There’s been no indication that the Tigers are looking to trade Castellanos, but Detroit did acquire an MLB-ready third base option from the Cubs in the form of Jeimer Candelario, so it’s at least plausible that they could explore interest in Castellanos and look to entrust third base to the somewhat younger — and certainly cheaper and more controllable — option. (Despite the gap in MLB experience, Castellanos is only 18 months older than Candelario; the latter, though, won’t be eligible for arbitration until at least 2020.)

As for the others named in Heyman’s report, it’s not in any way surprising to see Fulmer taken back off waivers. Detroit reportedly received plenty of interest in him leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline, but the reigning American League Rookie of the Year is in the midst of an excellent sophomore campaign and is controllable through the 2022 season. Perhaps the Tigers will again listen to offers this winter and see if any interested party will blow them away with a can’t-refuse offer, but such a package couldn’t realistically come together in the 48-hour waiver claim window.

Iglesias, meanwhile, is a definite trade candidate to keep an eye this offseason. The 27-year-old doesn’t bring much to the table with his bat, but his glovework at shortstop is outstanding. Defensive Runs Saved pegs him at +10 in 2017, while Ultimate Zone Rating is largely in agreement at +9.0. Iglesias has batted .255/.298/.352 over the past two seasons and will be due one more raise on his $4.1MM salary in arbitration before hitting the open market as a free agent next winter. That short-term window of control could accelerate trade talks for him this winter, potentially clearing way for the Tigers to give a lengthy audition to 25-year-old Dixon Machado.

Braves Had Pre-Deadline Interest In Michael Fulmer

By | at

Atlanta pursued a trade for right-hander Sonny Gray before the Athletics dealt him to the Yankees at this past Monday’s non-waiver deadline, but he wasn’t the Braves’ prime target among controllable pitchers. Rather, the Braves had greater interest in Tigers righty Michael Fulmer, reports FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link).

[RELATED: Braves News & Rumors On Facebook]

While the Tigers ended up retaining Fulmer, they could revisit trade talks involving the 24-year-old during the offseason, suggests Rosenthal. The Braves would presumably still covet Fulmer, as would many other teams, considering he ranks among the game’s best young starters. Fulmer fired 159 innings of 3.06 ERA ball en route to American League Rookie of the Year honors in 2016, and he has also notched strong results in his sophomore campaign. Thus far, Fulmer has recorded a 3.59 ERA, 6.41 K/9, 1.99 BB/9 and a 49.7 percent ground-ball rate across 140 1/3 frames. Although he’s not exactly a strikeout machine, Fulmer has offset that by seldom allowing hard contact on balls put in play – he ranks a solid 26th among starters in infield fly percentage (10.2), and hitters have posted a meager .280 wOBA against him (compared to a .296 xwOBA, per Statcast).

Unfortunately for Fulmer, he hasn’t gotten through 2017 unscathed. He dealt with shoulder bursitis earlier in the year and landed on the disabled list Thursday with ulnar neuritis in his right elbow. The Braves, though, view him as less of an injury risk than Gray, and they also greatly value Fulmer’s team control. Fulmer hasn’t even gone through arbitration yet – that will happen as a Super Two player after the 2018 season – whereas Gray is on track to become a free agent at the conclusion of the 2019 campaign.

Considering his combination of performance, youth and club control, Fulmer would be at the center of a bidding war if the Tigers were to place him on the block in the winter. While any team would struggle to pry Fulmer out of Detroit, the Braves might be in the best position to make it happen. They have the premier farm system in baseball, according to recent assessments from Baseball America and ESPN’s Keith Law (subscription required and recommended), and may be willing to move prospect capital for young, proven commodities in an effort to leave their rebuild behind. At 50-58, the Braves are on their way to a fourth straight sub-.500 season.

Tigers Place Michael Fulmer On 10-Day DL

By | at

The Tigers have placed prized righty Michael Fulmer on the 10-day DL, as Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports. He has been diagnosed with ulnar neuritis in his right elbow.

While any elbow-related issue is always cause for some concern, there’s no reason to think there is any structural problem here. As manager Brad Ausmus noted, it is sometimes necessary to treat this issue with surgery — see, e.g., here — but that’s not currently an option. Regardless, there is no reason to think the nerve issue could balloon into a larger issue.

For the time being, Fulmer will simply take a week off while receiving treatment for inflammation. The idea, he says, is “to give me time to let the nerve calm down a little bit.” Fulmer added that he has experienced these symptoms — “numbing and tingling in the last two fingers” — for some time, but never previously during a game.

Fulmer, 24, will hope to bounce right back onto the mound after a brief layoff, though surely the club will be watching closely and won’t take any chances. After all, he is one of the best young starters in baseball. Fulmer has thrown 299 1/3 innings of 3.31 ERA ball since the start of the 2016 season, and won’t qualify for arbitration until after the 2018 season — when he’s lined up to be a Super Two.

Tigers Exploring Package Trade Scenarios

By | at

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.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top