Mychal Givens

Bullpen News & Rumors: Davis, Nats, Shaw, Rodney, Tigers, Mets, Reed, Givens

By Mark Polishuk | December 12, 2017 at 9:12pm CDT

The reliever market is picking up steam, here are the latest updates…

The Nationals are one of the suitors for Wade Davis, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter), though the team isn’t close to signing any relievers. D.C. hadn’t thought to have been looking for any major bullpen upgrades this winter after the team landed Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson last summer, though the combination of Davis with those two relievers would make for a formidable end-game trio. Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post hears that the Nats haven’t yet officially started to go afte Davis, though several representatives for free agent relievers feel Davis is one of Washington’s top offseason targets.
In another tweet from Janes, she reports that the Nationals weren’t in on Bryan Shaw, who agreed to a three-deal with the Rockies tonight.
Fernando Rodney’s name has been increasingly mentioned in recent days, with the Mets and Tigers the latest teams to express interest in the veteran reliever, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. New York and Detroit join the previously-reported Twins, Diamondbacks and Rangers as candidates for Rodney’s services. Rodney posted solid numbers as Arizona’s closer last season, and likely wouldn’t require a multi-year commitment given that he turns 41 in March. Detroit could install him at closer with Shane Greene moving back to a setup role, and Rodney could also become a trade chip for the rebuilding Tigers at the deadline. Rodney might not close with the Mets, but he would further augment a back-of-the-pen mix that includes Jeurys Familia, AJ Ramos and Jerry Blevins.
Speaking of Mets relief targets, the team is still in on Addison Reed, Newsday’s Marc Carig tweets.
The Orioles are receiving lots of calls on Mychal Givens, Dan Duquette tells Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun and other reporters. The hard-throwing Givens has posted strong numbers in his first three big league seasons and is still a year away from arbitration eligibility, so it isn’t any surprise that he is a popular target. Of course, he also has great value to an O’s team that likely prefers to unload costlier relievers like Zach Britton or Brad Brach if they do choose to make a bullpen trade.
Francisco Rodriguez is hoping to keep pitching for his 17th big league season, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman writes. After years as an effective closer, K-Rod suffered through a disastrous 2017 campaign that saw him post a 7.82 ERA over 25 1/3 IP for the Tigers. He pitched in the Nationals’ farm system on a minor league deal before being released last July.

Cafardo’s Latest: Abreu, Giants, Rox, Pads, Braun, Reds, A’s, O’s

By Connor Byrne | December 10, 2017 at 10:35am CDT

The Red Sox are “very interested” in White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, which runs contrary to previous reports. The Cardinals are also after Abreu, Cafardo adds, which isn’t surprising for a team that just lost out on Giancarlo Stanton and continues to seek a power bat. Abreu, who will turn 31 in January, slashed .304/.354/.552 with 33 home runs in 675 plate appearances last season. He comes with two years of arbitration eligibility and will earn a lofty sum – a projected $17.9MM – in 2018. The White Sox want “top prospects” for Abreu, per Cafardo.

More from Cafardo, whose latest column previews the Winter Meetings for all 30 clubs:

With an obvious need at third base, the Giants are primed to go after the top two free agents at the hot corner – Mike Moustakas and Todd Frazier – Cafardo notes. The 29-year-old Moustakas (a California native) figures to reel in a much larger pact than Frazier (32 in February). Moustakas is also a qualifying offer recipient, so signing him would cost the Giants their second- and fifth-highest draft picks in 2018 and $1MM in international bonus pool space.
Free agent first baseman Logan Morrison has drawn interest from the Rockies, per Cafardo. Signing Morrison, who MLBTR projects will land a three-year, $36MM payday this offseason, would presumably send Ian Desmond to the outfield full time as Carlos Gonzalez’ replacement. It could also give the Rockies a significant offensive boost, with the 30-year-old Morrison having slashed .246/.353/.516 with a personal-high 38 homers in 2017.
The shortstop-needy Padres will pursue the premier player available at the position, Zack Cozart, according to Cafardo. Cozart was one of the best players in the majors last season, pairing his usual excellent defense with uncharacteristically great offense (.297/.385/.548 with 24 homers in 507 PAs), but the longtime Red isn’t a free agent at a time when many teams are seeking a shortstop, as MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk recently explained. That could negatively affect his market, then, though MLBTR still forecasts a respectable contract (three years, $42MM) for the 32-year-old.
The Brewers would consider proposals for left fielder Ryan Braun, Cafardo suggests. Milwaukee has no shortage of outfielders, which could open the door for a Braun trade, but moving him would be challenging. The 34-year-old posted one of his worst seasons in 2017, thanks in part to injuries, and still has $57MM coming his way (including a $4MM buyout in 2021). He also has full no-trade rights as a 10-and-5 player.
Along with the previously reported Raisel Iglesias, the Reds are “open to offers” for left fielder Adam Duvall, Cafardo relays. Duvall, 29, would provide cheap power to a team in need of it – he’s not eligible for arbitration until next winter and is fresh off his second 30-home run season in a row (though he hit an underwhelming .249/.301/.480 in 2017).
The Athletics expected to retain infielder Jed Lowrie as of October, but now they’d “certainly be willing” to trade him, Cafardo reports. Lowrie will enter his age-34 campaign in 2018, in which he’ll earn a very reasonable $6MM, after turning in one of the healthiest and best years of his career last season.
Orioles reliever Mychal Givens will be in “great demand” at the meetings, Cafardo writes. The 27-year-old is coming off his second terrific full season in a row and is under control for the next four years, including a pre-arb season in 2018. For those reasons, the Orioles may decide to keep the right-hander.

Bullpen Rumors: Hand, Reed, Wilson, Britton, Givens, Kintzler

By Steve Adams | July 30, 2017 at 11:33am CDT

The Padres’ asking price for lefty Brad Hand remain a key factor to watch over the next 24 hours. ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter links) had suggested the ask was dropping, but later cited executives from other teams that indicated San Diego has not moved. Regardless of what the Friars are seeking, Crasnick says that most of the offers received thus far have included players with “limited ceilings” — prospects ranked in the 15 to 20 range within their respective organizations. The Padres’ front office hasn’t deemed any of those offers worth considering, and Crasnick notes that chairman Ron Fowler’s comments about being willing to hold onto Hand into the offseason weren’t posturing.

Orioles’ Owner Gives Approval To Explore Trades Of Relievers, Smith

By Mark Polishuk | July 18, 2017 at 6:55pm CDT

JULY 18: Rosenthal now reports (via Twitter) that Angelos has indeed given Duquette his approval to explore trades involving the team’s top relievers as well as Smith.

JULY 16: As long as Orioles ownership approves, executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette has told other teams that he is open to trading three of his top relievers (Zach Britton, Brad Brach and Darren O’Day) as well as outfielder Seth Smith, Ken Rosenthal reports via his Facebook page.

Also noteworthy in Rosenthal’s report is the list of names the O’s apparently aren’t willing to trade. The club isn’t listening to offers for Manny Machado or Adam Jones, and though Mychal Givens is receiving interest from rival clubs, the O’s also don’t plan on dealing the righty, who is controllable through the 2021 season.

This would indicate that the Orioles aren’t approaching the deadline with an eye towards a full-blown rebuild. Dealing a controllable player like Givens (who is likely being groomed for a larger role should one of the veteran relievers be dealt) or moving cornerstone players like Machado or Jones would imply that Baltimore wasn’t planning on contending in 2018. Instead, the team looks to be attempting to free up some payroll space in the form of pricey relief contacts, and move some excess pieces in the bullpen and bench with an eye towards reloading for next season. With this in mind, Rosenthal opines that Welington Castillo could also be a trade chip, as the catcher can become a free agent this winter if he doesn’t exercise his player option for 2018.

All this trade talk assumes, of course, that Orioles owner Peter Angelos is willing to green-light the proposed deadline moves. Rosenthal points out that Angelos hasn’t permitted his team to make significant trades of veterans at the deadline since 2000, though the O’s are only on the fringes of contention this year. The Orioles entered the day tied with the Blue Jays for fourth place in the AL East with a 42-48 record, 8.5 games out of first place and five games out of a wild card berth.

Britton posted one of the best years of any closer in baseball history in 2016, though he has only pitched 13 innings for Baltimore this season due to a pair of forearm strains. Despite the worrying nature of such injuries, Britton’s track record ensures that he would be a prized commodity at the deadline, with such teams as the Dodgers and Astros already showing some interest.

Britton’s rise to elite closer status has coincided with his arbitration years, as he is playing this season on an $11.4MM salary. Though his injury woes will probably limit the size of his raise in his fourth and final trip through the arb process this winter, Britton still has another $12MM+ salary coming his way in 2018, and there were whispers all winter that the O’s could move Britton and go with a less-expensive option at closer.

Brach, for instance, is only earning $3.05MM this season and is controlled through the 2018 season. This contract situation and Brach’s own strong performance this year as Britton’s replacement at closer has put Brach perhaps even in higher demand than Britton. It probably isn’t likely that both Britton and Brach would be dealt, as the club likely sees one or the other as their closer in 2018.

The veteran O’Day missed some time due to a shoulder strain this year and was hampered by injuries in 2016, though he had continued to post his usual solid numbers when healthy. O’Day has a 3.77 ERA, 11.3 K/9 and 2.79 K/BB rate over 31 frames for Baltimore this year. O’Day is owed $9MM in both 2018 and 2019 and has roughly $3MM remaining salary for this year. The veteran also has a partial no-trade clause in his contract that allows him to block deals to seven teams, so O’Day has some control over his destiny if the Orioles do want to trade him.

Smith was acquired in a trade with the Mariners last winter to boost the Orioles’ left-handed hitting outfield depth, and he has a solid .259/.328/.436 slash line through 244 PA. Trey Mancini has stepped into an everyday corner outfield role, so the O’s could use a platoon of Joey Rickard and Hyun Soo Kim in the other corner spot should Smith be dealt.

Beltway Notes: Buy Or Sell, Britton, MASN, Solis

By Jeff Todd | July 13, 2017 at 12:12pm CDT

Here’s the latest from the broader beltway region:

Some in the Orioles front office apparently see the merit in weighing at least a partial sell-off if the club’s fortunes don’t change before the trade deadline, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag writes. But that will still require the sign-off of owner Peter Angelos, who Heyman notes may not be inclined to give up on the current season. Though the O’s are still within sight of the Wild Card chase, there’s no indication at present that the team’s starting pitching woes will really improve. Then again, the organization has managed to surprise quite a bit in the recent past.
Even if the O’s do begin marketing some pieces, Heyman says there’s no indication they’ll be willing to part with their core position players. But relievers could be fair game, he suggests, with late-inning arms Zach Britton, Brad Brach, and Mychal Givens all generating phone traffic from rival organizations. The Dodgers are one team with interest in Britton, Heyman writes, as Los Angeles looks into the possibility of adding a big-time lefty to the pen. It seems the Nationals may also be at least looking into Britton, though obviously relations between the Nats and O’s aren’t exactly sunny.
Indeed, the long-broiling MASN television rights fees dispute between the Orioles and Nationals is still ongoing. But it did reach an important point today, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post notes on Twitter. A New York appellate court ruled that the proper arbitral forum for the dispute is MLB’s Revenue Sharing Definitions Committee — the same body that gave the Nats an award for past years’ rights fees that spurred the current legal battle. That ruling itself can still be appealed, of course, and even then it seems the sides could still need to go through another arbitration process (barring settlement but also possibly subject to its own appeal). While that appears to be a nice win for the Nationals, then, it’s not as if the team will suddenly gain access to the money it has long sought from the Orioles, who control the jointly owned television network.
Meanwhile, as the Nats weigh all manner of bullpen possibilities, the team has officially announced that lefty Sammy Solis was optioned to Triple-A. He had only just been activated from a lengthy DL stint, but was hammered in four outings since his return. Presumably, the Nats will hope to work out the kinks for the power lefty over the next few weeks, but his struggles could feature prominently in the team’s thinking at the deadline.

Mychal Givens Changes Agents

By Jeff Todd | April 20, 2017 at 8:03am CDT

Orioles reliever Mychal Givens has changed his representation, per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). Excel Sports will now represent the right-hander.

Givens, 26, began his career as a shortstop after being selected in the second round of the 2009 draft. But he moved to the mound when his bat failed to develop.

That has proven to be a worthwhile change for both player and team, as Givens now rates as a high-quality bullpen arm with a mid-nineties fastball and quality slider. Since reaching the bigs in 2015, he owns a 2.67 ERA with 11.3 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9 over 111 1/3 frames.

Givens is off to a strong start in the results department through 6 2/3 innings in 2017, though his swinging-strike rate presently sits at just 4.9% after reaching 14.9% in 2016. He has allowed far more contact on pitches out of the zone (85.7%) than in his two prior years (when he sat below 60%), but perhaps that’ll prove to be little more than a small-sample blip.

Givens entered the current season with 1.069 years of MLB service on his ledger, meaning he will not be able to qualify for arbitration next year as a Super Two. Instead, his first of three seasons of arb eligibility will begin in 2019 — his age-29 campaign.

AL East Notes: Pineda, Ackley, Orioles, Rays

By Steve Adams | July 30, 2015 at 1:09pm CDT

Yankees right-hander Michael Pineda is dealing with a right arm injury, as WFAN’s Mike Francesca first reported, although the injury’s severity remains unclear. Joel Sherman of the New York Post cites Yankees executives in saying that the issue is a strained muscle in Pineda’s forearm as opposed to anything in his elbow, and it’s not believed to be serious at this time (Twitter links). Nonetheless, Marly Rivera of ESPN tweets that Pineda won’t start tonight’s game for New York, as had previously been scheduled. While many will speculate that there’s an increased need to add pitching, there’s been no definitive report on Pineda requiring a lengthy absence from the rotation. (And while some have said otherwise, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News tweets that there’s no issue with Ivan Nova’s arm at present.)

More on the Yankees and their division, which is still reeling from Toronto’s now-official addition of David Price…

The Yankees recently reached out to the Mariners to express interest in Dustin Ackley, reports Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). The two sides discussed a scenario in which outfielders Ramon Flores and Ben Gamel would’ve gone to the Mariners, but Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik wanted more for Ackley, and talks have since cooled, per Feinsand. Ackley, the former No. 2 overall pick in the draft, is again struggling this season and has batted a mere .215/.270/.366. Many have speculated that Zduriencik is loath to undertake in any type of sale, as his job security could be tied to the Mariners’ finish this season. Nonetheless, it’s a bit surprising to hear him holding out for any sort of return on Ackley, though Flores and Gamel admittedly aren’t all that well-regarded. Flores ranked 27th on MLB.com’s midseason edition of the Yankees’ Top 30 prospects, while Gamel didn’t place.
The Orioles are continually being asked for the likes of Kevin Gausman, Jonathan Schoop, Mychal Givens and even Manny Machado in trades, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). Each of those players is considered a deal-breaker for Baltimore, he writes. The Orioles have been seeking upgrades to their corner outfield situation recently.
The Rays are indeed listening to offers on Nate Karns (as was reported earlier today), tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. However, Topkin feels that the likeliest trade candidate, if the Rays move someone at all, remains right-hander Kevin Jepsen. Topkin reported last week that the Rays may very well trade a relief pitcher prior to the trade deadline.

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