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White Sox Listening On Chris Sale, Jose Quintana

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SATURDAY,9:26pm: The White Sox aren’t motivated to trade either Sale or Quintana, multiple major league sources told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.

7:52pm: The Rangers are currently unwilling to trade Mazara for Sale, but they’re open to dealing Gallo, Profar and some of their pitching prospects, per Sullivan.

3:06pm: Rangers outfielder Nomar Mazara is on Chicago’s wish list if it swings a deal with Texas involving Sale, reports Sullivan (Twitter link).

FRIDAY, 5:23pm: The Rangers are “making [a] serious effort” to pry Sale loose from the White Sox, according to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan (via Twitter). Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported recently that the two teams were already chatting about Sale (and Quintana, too) before it became apparent that Chicago was leaning toward selling.

There’s “no indication” as yet whether these talks are going to go anywhere, Sullivan notes, so it doesn’t sound as if there’s anything building in the immediate term. Indeed, Grant adds on Twitter that no “serious talks” have occurred as of this point. The key takeaway seems to be that Texas at least plans to take a real shot at pulling off a blockbuster.

Indications are that Chicago would have interest in Joey Gallo and Jurickson Profar in any scenario involving Sale. We’ve heard those two names quite a bit of late, and obviously the pair carries a lot of trade value. Still, it’s quite likely that Texas would need to add some real talent to that package to get the White Sox to budge.

Sale, after all, is just 27 years of age, remains under control at cheap rates through 2019, and carries a 3.18 ERA over a league-leading 133 frames on the year. Particularly with the contracts factored in, Sale is one of the most valuable single pitching assets in all of baseball — with Quintana not far behind him.

3:47pm: The White Sox are taking quite a few calls from rival organizations after reports emerged yesterday that the club is prepared to sell. While the extent of the sell-off isn’t yet apparent, and staff aces Chris Sale and Jose Quintana figure to be the most difficult pieces to pry loose, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag writes that the South Siders are at least willing to hear scenarios involving the top southpaws.

Per the report, the Red Sox are among the teams to have logged a phone call with the Chicago brass. Heyman suggests that Boston could theoretically also have interest in reliever David Robertson, and also notes that the Dodgers will surely check in on Sale and Quintana. No doubt plenty of other teams will also; as the recent chatter surrounding Chris Archer shows, controllable standouts draw wide interest no matter the time of year.

Ultimately, it seems that the White Sox are mostly looking to gauge the market for Sale and Quintana as they assess how far to go with their sales plan. GM Rick Hahn has acknowledged that the team won’t buy short-term assets, but hasn’t declared his organization open for business on the sell side, and it’s possible to imagine the club taking various routes given its array of veteran talent. Certainly, there’s no urgency to deal a top arm, though perhaps the Sox wonder if the time could be ripe with the market seemingly lacking the supply to match the demand.

The most likely pieces to be traded, generally, would be pending free agents. But as Chicago’s depth chart shows, the team’s walk-year vets don’t hold much appeal: Austin Jackson and Alex Avila are hurt, while Dioner Navarro has been ineffective and Justin Morneau only just returned to the big leagues. The Sox have one more season of arb control over infielders Todd Frazier and Brett Lawrie; there’s one more year on the contract of southpaw reliever Zach Duke and two to go for Robertson. Both Melky Cabrera and James Shields could draw interest, though their expensive contracts will require some number-crunching.

The team’s true core, though, lies in the players it has locked up to lengthy deals. First baseman Jose Abreu has had some down moments, but remains an appealing asset. Outfielder Adam Eaton is a great value on his contract. And then there’s Sale and Quintana, who are probably the most appealing White Sox trade chips of all. Of course, their extremely favorable contracts, young age, and top-level production all make them important assets to an organization that probably doesn’t intend to oversee a full-blown teardown. But taking a package of near-MLB prospects could theoretically still make sense, and it seems that Chicag would like to at least know what’s possible.

Deadline Rumors: Sale, Mazara, Rays, Profar, Rangers, Twins, Inciarte

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Here’s the latest on some names who may or may not be on the move by the August 1 trade deadline…

  • The White Sox are reportedly asking for “five top prospects” for Chris Sale, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports.  It’s an incredibly high asking price but one that at least one rival executive thinks will be met, though others believe Chicago may not actually be serious about dealing its ace.  The Marlins are among the teams who have inquired about Sale but with such a thin farm system, Miami doesn’t seem close to meeting Chicago’s demand.  The Red Sox and Rangers do have deep systems and have asked about Sale, though Heyman reports that the Rangers/White Sox talks haven’t led to much progress.
  • The Rangers are known to be widely scouring the starting pitching market, and if Sale can’t be obtained, Texas will turn to the Padres’ Andrew Cashner or the Rays’ Jake Odorizzi or Matt Moore, tweets T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.
  • The Rays continue to ask for Jurickson Profar from the Rangers in exchange for a starting pitcher and Texas is still refusing, FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi reports (Twitter links).  Several other Rangers prospects have been mentioned in talks between the two teams, including lefty Yohander Mendez and first baseman Ronald Guzman.
  • The Twins are seen as something of a “backup plan” for multiple contending teams in case other deadline plans ball through, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports (Twitter link).  Ervin Santana, Eduardo Nunez, Fernando Abad and Kurt Suzuki are a few of the Twins mentioned as possible trade chips, though since none of these players are top-tier upgrades, it makes sense that contenders would explore other options first.
  • Barring a knockout offer, it doesn’t look like the Braves will move Ender Inciarte at the deadline, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman writes.  Inciarte received some trade interest even after Atlanta acquired him from the D’Backs last offseason, though a hamstring injury sidelined him for a month and he hasn’t delivered much at the plate.  Still, Inciarte has so much defensive value in center field that the Braves consider him to be a strong piece for the future.

Rangers Notes: Gimenez, Gallo, Mazara

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Rangers general manager Jon Daniels told reporters today that it’s unlikely that catcher Chris Gimenez will remain with the club following his DFA (Twitter link via Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). While Gimenez has in the past cleared outright waivers, Daniels says there’s trade interest in the 33-year-old, who batted .255/.330/.490 in 113 PAs with the Rangers last season. Gimenez’s overall big league numbers, of course, are nowhere near that strong, but he’s off to a fairly solid start in Triple-A this season (.240/.345/.360) and certainly makes sense for a club in need of a backup catcher. Speaking from a purely speculative standpoint, the Indians, White Sox and Reds have all recently incurred injuries in the catching department, while the Twins, Rays and Blue Jays all seem like clubs that could reasonably look for an alternative to their current backup catcher.

A few more late-night notes on the reigning AL West champs…

  • Top prospect Joey Gallo will miss the next three to four weeks with a Grade 1 left groin strain, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Many have wondered at what point the slugger will force Texas’ hand due to not only his excellent batting line but his greatly improved strikeout rate in the minors this season. Gallo is hitting .250/.400/.642 with seven homers in just 85 plate appearances to open the Triple-A season, but most importantly, perhaps, is that he’s struck out a relatively low 21 times in those 85 PAs. A 25 percent strikeout rate at Triple-A wouldn’t necessarily be encouraging for every player, but for a prospect with 80-grade power that whiffed at a 39.5 percent clip in Triple-A last year, the gains are indeed notable. With Adrian Beltre locked up for another two seasons, it’s unlikely that Gallo will settle into his natural position, third base, in the Majors anytime soon. However, Texas could find room for him in the outfield, at first base or at DH later this season, once the groin injury is behind him.
  • Fellow top prospect Nomar Mazara isn’t likely to return to the minor leagues, writes Grant in a full column. Originally called up as a replacement for the injured Shin-Soo Choo, Mazara burst onto the scene as a 20-year-old (he’s since turned 21), batting an outstanding .325/.375/.468 with three homers through 88 plate appearances after tonight’s game. The Rangers have Ian Desmond in left field (whose bat is heating up), Delino DeShields in center and Mazara in right for the time being, but with Choo and Josh Hamilton on the mend, there’s been some curiosity as to what will become of Mazara as the veterans return to health. “If things continue the way they are, the answer will be: Play him,” Daniels tells Grant. Daniels hedged his strong words a bit by cautioning that things could change — a Choo setback or a prolonged slump for Mazara could arise — but Grant writes that it’s becoming clear that Mazara will stick in the Majors. Notably, Grant writes that DeShields could ultimately end up as a fourth outfielder or even in Triple-A, with Desmond sliding over to center while Choo and Mazara man the corners. DeShields was a nice success story in the Rule 5 Draft last season, but he’s hitting just .239/.316/.307 after an 0-for-4 showing tonight.

Quick Hits: Epstein, Mazara, Sandoval

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Some news as we head into Tuesday…

  • There isn’t much new to report on the extension talks between the Cubs and Theo Epstein, as the president of baseball operations told reporters (including Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com) that the two sides “haven’t talked a lot about” a new deal.  “The talks we have had [were] very amicable, productive, moving in the right direction,” Epstein said.  Epstein’s original five-year, $18.5MM deal is up after this season, though the lack of urgency in talks may reflect the seemingly small chance that he leaves Wrigleyville.  Both Epstein and Cubs management have both expressed a desire to continue their relationship, plus one has to think it would be unusual for Epstein leave just as the team is starting to enjoy the fruits of its rebuild.
  • Nomar Mazara’s big debut for the Rangers is already drawing a lot of attention, though as Baseball America’s Ben Badler recaps, many opposing scouts were stunned by the $4.95MM bonus Mazara signed in 2011, which is still a record for a 16-year-old international player.  Scouts at the time questioned Mazara’s ability to consistently make contact, and also the decision by Mazara’s trainer to keep him out of playing in actual games.  His evolution into a top-rated prospect and (through two games, at least) a promising big-leaguer, however, has made the Rangers’ investment look very solid.
  • In another Mazara piece, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News hears from rivals scouts who explain why Mazara is a more polished hitter than another well-regarded Rangers prospect, Joey Gallo.
  • The Red Sox didn’t use Pablo Sandoval to pinch-hit against righty reliever Mychal Givens today, leading ESPN Boston’s Scott Lauber to wonder if the Panda really has any place on the Sox roster if the club isn’t willing to use him even in seemingly tailor-made pinch-hitting situations.  Sandoval only appeared in three games and received seven plate appearances so far this season, after losing his starting third base job to Travis Shaw in Spring Training.

Rangers Notes: Mazara, Darvish, Catcher

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The latest on the Rangers, who lost to the Angels on Sunday but got the first major league glimpse of a player who could be a long-term linchpin:

  • Newly promoted right fielder Nomar Mazara, the aforementioned potential building block, began his career in red-hot fashion Sunday. Mazara – the youngest player in the league (20 years, 350 days) – went 3 for 4 with a home run in a 3-1 defeat, and Jim Callis of MLB.com believes he’s capable of rivaling the injured Shin-Soo Choo’s offensive production while providing superior defense. On Mazara’s offensive skills, manager Jeff Banister said (via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News), “He controls the strike zone. He can be patient, but he can jump on a fastball early if he needs to. Offspeed stuff did not seem to bother him that much this spring. He can hit when he’s down in the count.” That assessment proved true Sunday, as Grant writes.
  • In the next step in his recovery from March 2015 Tommy John surgery, Rangers ace Yu Darvish will throw live batting practice Wednesday, per T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. “Now it’s time to turn him loose,” pitching coach Doug Brocail said. “He’ll throw some live batting practice and then get in games.” The Rangers plan for Darvish to throw three BP sessions and then have him begin a minor league rehab assignment toward the end of April. Darvish would then make six starts in the minors before rejoining the Rangers in late May, according to Sullivan. The Rangers will monitor Darvish’s pitch counts when he returns to the big leagues and want him to pound the strike zone with more fastballs. “I’m not asking [Darvish] to throw 25 percent more fastballs,” Brocail stated. “I’m asking him to trust it more to get more quick outs. Just more strikes so he doesn’t have to go deep in counts.”
  • In the wake of catcher Robinson Chirinos’ forearm fracture, general manager Jon Daniels said that he considered outside options Sunday morning, but it was merely “due diligence” (link via Sullivan). The Rangers ultimately called up Brett Nicholas to serve as the backup to Bryan Holaday, who will be their regular catcher for at least a little while. “We’ve got a good start with Holaday here,” Banister said after Chirinos got hurt on a hit by pitch Saturday. “We are working through all of our other options right now. We’ve got limited, but multiple options.” The Rangers have two other potentially useful catchers under control in Chris Gimenez and Michael McKenry, but the former is recovering from a bacterial infection and the latter is on the mend from an abdominal strain.

Rangers Promote Nomar Mazara To Replace Injured Shin-Soo Choo

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The Rangers have promoted top prospect Nomar Mazara, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Mazara will take the 25-man roster spot of Shin-Soo Choo, who will be out four to six weeks with a calf strain. Mazara will presumably replace Choo, at least for the time being, as the Rangers’ everyday right fielder.

USATSI_9168875_154513410_lowresMazara will be extremely young for a big-league promotion — he won’t turn 21 until later this month. He will, in fact, be the youngest player in the Majors, coming in below 21-year-old Roberto Osuna of the Blue Jays. Mazara was, however, off to a hot start at Triple-A Round Rock, going 6-for-12 with a homer so far, and he hit a combined .296/.366/.443 for Round Rock and Double-A Frisco last season. He’s currently ranked the No. 9 prospect in baseball by ESPN’s Keith Law, No. 17 by MLB.com, and No. 21 by Baseball America. Law writes that Mazara could easily end up with 25-homer-type power once he matures, and MLB.com praises Mazara’s plus power and strong arm in right field.

The Rangers signed Mazara out of the Dominican to a hefty $4.95MM bonus in 2011, and he’s moved quickly through their system, making it to full-season ball in 2013 as an 18-year-old and skipping Class A+ on his way to Double-A. Along the way, he’s shown not only good power (with 56 minor-league home runs), but a strong understanding of the strike zone that has improved as he’s matured — in 2014 and 2015 he took a total of 118 walks despite facing much older pitchers.

If Mazara were to stick in the Majors, he could become eligible for arbitration following the 2018 season and eligible for free agency after 2021, since we’re less than two weeks into the season. Of course, the Rangers could delay Mazara’s free agency by a year by sending him down to the minors for a short time at some point.

Choo’s injury is, of course, significant news in itself — Choo was off to a slow start this season, but he batted .276/.375/.463 last year, and the Rangers would be very lucky to get production like that from a 21-year-old rookie, even one as gifted as Mazara. Choo is making $20MM this season, the third year of his seven-year deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AL Notes: Red Sox, Rangers, Eppler

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The Red Sox could trade from their considerable catching depth, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal writes. Blake Swihart projects as their starter, while Christian Vazquez has looked good defensively after having Tommy John surgery last year. There’s also veteran Ryan Hanigan, as well as Sandy Leon, who MacPherson notes isn’t on the 40-man roster but is “being paid commensurate with a front-line depth option.” At some point, MacPherson suggests, youngsters Swihart and Vazquez will likely be the Red Sox’ top two catchers. That would imply that Hanigan could be a candidate to be dealt, with the Astros and Rangers as potential trade partners. Hanigan hit a decent .247/.337/.328 last year, has a reputation as a good defender and framer, and is only owed $3.7MM in 2016, so he could be an attractive target for teams in need of catching help. Here’s more from the American League.

  • The Rangers have announced that they’ve optioned high-profile youngsters Joey Gallo, Jurickson Profar and Nomar Mazara to Triple-A Round Rock. Gallo has wowed minor-league fans with his power and hit 29 home runs between three levels in 2015, but he struck out in over 40% of his plate appearances in the big leagues and at nearly as high a rate at Triple-A. Profar was ranked the No. 1 prospect in the game by Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus prior to the 2013 season, but he missed all of 2014 and most of 2015 with shoulder issues and has only recently begun playing shortstop again. Mazara, an outfielder, batted .296/.366/.443 in a 2015 season split between Double-A Frisco and Round Rock. Via MLB.com, he ranks as the Rangers’ third-best prospect, with Gallo ranking first.
  • Tyler Kepner of the New York Times’ profile on new Angels GM Billy Eppler describes Eppler’s earlier days as assistant GM of the Yankees. In particular, Kepner gives Eppler credit for many of the Yankees’ smaller but effective moves, like their 2014 stretch-drive trade for Brandon McCarthy and their 2008 offseason deal for Nick Swisher, neither of which cost the Yankees much. “I think you demonstrate that to the people interviewing you, like, ’There’s other moves that the Yankees make,'” says Eppler, who had previously interviewed for the Padres’ and Mariners’ GM jobs, as well as interviewing for the Angels job when it previously went to Jerry Dipoto. “It’s not just the $150 million guys and nothing else. There are other moves; they just don’t grab the attention in New York.”

Added To The 40-Man Roster: Friday

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Tonight at 8:00pm ET is the deadline for teams to add players to their 40-man roster and thereby protect them from this year’s Rule 5 Draft. In other words: there will be a significant amount of 40-man roster moves made over the course of the next 13 or so hours. Six clubs already made moves to protect prospects from the Rule 5 yesterday, and each of the remaining 24 clubs should make moves today as well.

In brief: players drafted/signed at 18 years of age or younger must be added to the 40-man roster within five years of signing or be exposed to the Rule 5 Draft. Players drafted/signed at 19 or older must be added within four years. Those interested in all of the specifics can refer to articles from MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo and J.J. Cooper of Baseball America. Perhaps of greater interest is that Mayo lists all of the prospects from MLB.com’s Top 100 list and from their organizational Top 30 lists that much be protected in advance of tonight’s deadline, while Cooper provides brief write-ups on each player that has been protected (and will continue to do so as additions are made).

Here are today’s additions to the 40-man roster. You can check out Baseball America’s coverage to learn more about the individual players listed below …

Earlier Updates

Rangers Notes: Holland, Darvish, Martin, Mazara

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The Rangers looked like future buyers when they dealt for Cole Hamels at the trade deadline, but the team now finds itself right in the mix for the postseason. Here’s the latest out of Texas:

  • Left-hander Derek Holland is set to return from the DL on Wednesday, executive VP of communications John Blake announced on Twitter. Holland, 28, has seen very little time on the bump at the MLB level over the past two seasons as he’s dealt with knee and shoulder issues. He’s not only an important piece of the team’s current efforts to crack the playoffs, but will be entering a critical campaign in 2016. Guaranteed $10MM next year, the southpaw can be controlled by a pair of options thereafter, but will need to prove both health and effectiveness for the club to exercise them.
  • Staff ace Yu Darvish also hit a milestone in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, though he remains a ways off. As Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets, the outstanding righty began a throwing program today and did not experience any discomfort afterwards. Darvish remains a huge key to the club’s near future, and will surely look to stay on track to be a significant contributor next season.
  • Outfielder Leonys Martin, meanwhile, is set to visit with a specialist to determine the source of pain in his hand, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. The club is worried that he may have broken his hamate bone, which would end his season. Martin has struggled at the big league level this year, though he’d been playing well since his demotion to Triple-A. If nothing else, his speed and high-quality defense would make him a very useful player to have up with expanded rosters in September.
  • With Martin out, top prospect Nomar Mazara has been bumped up to the Triple-A level, Grant adds. The 20-year-old outfielder owns a .284/.357/.443 slash with 13 long balls over 470 plate appearances at Double-A on the year. He’ll now slot in alongside fellow prized youngster Joey Gallo in the Round Rock lineup.

Rangers, Astros, Dodgers In Mix For Cole Hamels

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Though Cole Hamels hasn’t performed well over his past two starts, trade interest in him doesn’t appear to be dying down. Despite previous comments that put a damper on the Hamels-to-Rangers rumors for awhile, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Rangers are “very much involved” in trade talks for Hamels, and they appear to be bidding about the Astros. That’s not the only Rangers/Hamels connection, either; Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets that the Dodgers are the name he hears linked to Hamels most frequently, but the Rangers closely follow them.

Grant writes that while the Rangers do want to bolster their 2015 chances, a Hamels acquisition would be made with an eye toward pairing him atop their rotation with Yu Darsish in 2016-17. The Rangers have been said to dislike the notion of paying Hamels $23.5MM annually, so it seems likely that they’d ask for some kind of financial compensation, especially if they’re to part with top prospects in the deal. Joey Gallo wouldn’t exchange hands in a Hamels deal, Grant notes, listing outfielder Nomar Mazara and the injured-but-still-vaunted catching prospect Jorge Alfaro as likelier options. (Chi Chi Gonzalez’s name has also come up in speculative rumors in the past.)

Grant doesn’t get any indication of what the Astros might be willing to offer, but GM Jeff Luhnow has been vocal about acquiring a pitcher that could pitch in the first game or two of a playoff series. Hamels would fit that bill. Houston’s reportedly more comfortable parting with right-hander Mark Appel than with top outfield prospect Brett Phillips, and the team is said to be highly resistant to the idea of trading right-hander Lance McCullers. Even beyond McCullers, Phillips and the of-course-off-limits Carlos Correa, however, the Astros have a deep farm system that got even deeper with what most praised as a highly successful draft. While the players selected in this year’s draft are, of course, ineligible to be traded, the influx of talent might make Houston a bit more comfortable moving some of its preexisting young talent.

The Dodgers/Hamels connection has been persistent over the past few months. Los Angeles clearly has the financial wherewithal to absorb Hamels’ contract in its entirety, if the Phillies wish to go that route, though doing so would lessen the return that Philadelphia received in terms of prospects. To this point, it’s been reported that neither Corey Seager or Julio Urias is available in trades, and Peter Gammons reported yesterday that the Dodgers are also loath to part with promising young catcher Austin Barnes or right-hander Jose De Leon, whose stock continues to rapidly rise (both ESPN’s Keith Law and Baseball America ranked him among the game’s Top 25 prospects on their midseason updates.)

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