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Roberto Osuna

Latest On Astros’ Pitching Staff

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It’s already known the Astros will enter the 2020 campaign missing veteran reliever Joe Smith, who’s on the restricted list. It now appears they’ll begin without a few other notable bullpen pieces, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com writes. Closer Roberto Osuna and fellow right-handers Brad Peacock and Austin Pruitt are unlikely to be available when the team’s season opens Friday.

Osuna, the most important member of the group, reported to camp late and hasn’t thrown off a mound yet. However, manager Dusty Baker said Osuna’s “not hurt,” adding that the club’s hopeful he’ll “be ready sooner than later.” Even he does miss only a small amount of time, Osuna’s void will be rather difficult to fill. The 25-year-old turned in another effective season in 2019, throwing 65 innings of 2.63 ERA ball and racking up 38 saves in 44 tries. Righty Ryan Pressly seems like the most logical candidate to take over as Houston’s go-to game-ending choice, though he also hasn’t been at full strength of late because of a finger blister.

As is the case with Osuna, it’s unclear how long Peacock and Pruitt will stay on the shelf. Peacock’s down with shoulder inflammation, which he also dealt with last year during a season in which he racked up 91 2/3 innings of 4.12 ERA pitching over 23 appearances (15 starts). Pruitt, meanwhile, has a bone bruise in his right elbow, but he did express optimism last week (via Adam Coleman of the Houston Chronicle) that he’ll be ready sometime soon. The first time he takes the mound this year will be his Astros debut, as the team acquired the 30-year-old from the Rays over the winter. In his final season as a Ray, Pruitt logged a 4.40 ERA in 47 innings.

Peacock and Pruitt could be candidates to make starts this year if they do return to health. For now, though, the Astros’ rotation – which lost Gerrit Cole and Wade Miley in free agency – will consist of Lance McCullers and Josh James behind aces Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke. The Astros haven’t decided on a fifth starter, but McTaggart pegs lefty Framber Valdez as the favorite.

James and Valdez have only made 17 starts between them since they came into the league in 2018, but they did combine for 132 innings a year ago. While the hard-throwing James posted a whopping 14.67 K/9 in 61 1/3 frames, an ugly 5.14 BB/9 helped lead to an unspectacular 4.70 ERA. Valdez also had trouble with control and run prevention, as his 5.6 BB/9 and 5.86 ERA in 70 2/3 frames indicate, though he did record a stellar 62.1 percent groundball rate.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: American League

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Entering the day, there were more than 150 players on the clock to exchange arbitration figures with their respective teams prior to a noon ET deadline. As one would expect, there’ll be an utter landslide of arbitration agreements in advance of that deadline. We already ran through some key facts and reminders on the arbitration process earlier this morning for those who are unfamiliar or simply need a refresher on one of MLB’s most complex idiosyncrasies, which will hopefully clear up many questions readers might have.

We’ll track the majority of the American League’s settlements in this post and split off a separate one for NL settlements as well. Note that all projections referenced come courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz:

  • Newly acquired Angels righty Dylan Bundy receives a $5MM salary, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter links). He had projected at a $5.7MM price tag. Teammate Hansel Robles gets $3.85MM, per Heyman, just shy of his $4MM projection.
  • The Yankees have worked out deals with all of their eligible players. The team has a hefty $8.5MM pact with Aaron Judge, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). Backstop Gary Sanchez settled for $5MM, per Feinsand (via Twitter). The New York org will pay righty Luis Cessa $895K and Jonathan Holder $750K, Murray reports (Twitter links). Fellow reliever Tommy Kahnle will earn $2.65MM, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). And star lefty James Paxton has settled at $12.5MM, Heyman adds via Twitter. Chad Green and Jordan Montgomery have also agreed to terms, the former at $1.275MM and the latter at $805K, per Heyman (Twitter links).
  • The Twins announced that they struck deals with Trevor May, Taylor Rogers, Eddie Rosario and Byron Buxton. Jon Heyman of MLB Network followed up with salary terms (all links to Twitter). May earns $2,205,000; Rogers takes home $4.45MM; Rosario lands at $7.75MM; and Buxton receives $3.075MM. While the first and last of those land rather close to the projected amount, Rogers got $550K more and Rosario got $1.15MM less than the calculators predicted.
  • Shortstop Carlos Correa settled with the Astros for $8MM, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart (via Twitter). Righty Brad Peacock lands at a $3.9MM salary, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). The former went for more than his $7.4MM projection, while the latter ended up shy of the $4.6MM mark produced by the computers. The ’Stros also have agreed with closer Roberto Osuna as well, per an announcement. It’s a $10MM deal, slotting in just $200K shy of his projection, per Rome (via Twitter).
  • The Orioles have a deal with outfielder/first baseman Trey Mancini, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. It’s for $4.75MM, per Dan Connolly of The Athletic (via Twitter), well south of the $5.7MM projection.
  • Outfielder Jorge Soler has agreed to a $7.3MM deal with the Royals, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets. That’s well off of the $11.2MM that MLBTR’s model projected, though it is likely that the cause of the gulf lies in the interpretation of the correct baseline to start from in building Soler’s salary. He’s in the 4+ service class but had been playing on the original deal he signed out of Cuba.
  • The Tigers have a deal in place with southpaw Matthew Boyd, per Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter). It’ll pay him $5.3MM, per Chris McCosky of the Detroit News (Twitter link). That falls comfortably below the $6.4MM, suggesting that Boyd’s camp was concerned with the way his suboptimal ERA would play in the arb process. Fellow lefty starter Daniel Norris will earn $2.96MM, McCosky tweets.

Earlier Settlements

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Turner, Pham, Osuna To Be Represented By Newly Formed Agency

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Long-time MLB player representative Greg Genske has formed a new agency along with former Ballengee executive Alex Hicks, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). The new outfit will be known as GEM Agency and will initially feature several former Genske clients.

According to Heyman, three notable players who’ll start out under the GEM roof: Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner, Rays outfielder Tommy Pham, and Astros reliever Roberto Osuna. All had previously been represented by Genske. Turner will be a free agent after the 2020 campaign, when Pham and Osuna will be entering their final seasons of arbitration eligibility.

This move comes after a period of immense upheaval following the purchase of Genske’s former outfit, The Legacy Agency, by Gatemore Capital Management. The ensuing maneuvering, including Genske’s firing, have led to various splinter agencies, representatives moving to other firms, and the re-badging of Legacy as GSE Worldwide. It wasn’t exactly an orderly transition. Genske initiated litigation regarding the matter, which is still pending in California.

As always, these latest moves are reflected in MLBTR’s Agency Database.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: American League

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The deadline for players and teams to exchange arbitration figures passed at 1pm ET yesterday, meaning over the next few hours, there will be a landslide of settlements on one-year deals to avoid an arbitration hearing. We’ll track today’s minor settlements from the American League in this post. Once all of the day’s settlements have filtered in, I’ll organize them by division to make them a bit easier to parse.

It’s worth mentioning that the vast majority of teams have adopted a “file and trial” approach to arbitration, meaning that once arbitration figures are exchanged with a player, negotiations on a one-year deal will cease. The two parties may still discuss a multi-year deal after that point, but the majority of players who exchange figures with their team today will head to an arbitration hearing.

As always, all salary projections referenced within this post are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, and we’ll also be updating our 2019 Arbitration Tracker throughout the day…

Today’s Updates

  • Yankees 1B Greg Bird will make $1.2 MM next season, per Bob Nightengale on Twitter.
  • The controversial Roberto Osuna will make $6.5MM next season, per Feinsand. Teammate Jake Marisnick, who again scuffled in ’18 after a promising 2017, will make $2.2125MM.
  • Per Mark Feinsand on Twitter, A’s lefty Sean Manaea $3.15MM in what’s sure to be an injury-marred 2019.
  • Hard-throwing reliever Mychal Givens will make $2.15MM, per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter), with additional incentives for making the All-Star team or placing in the Top-3 for the Rivera/Hoffman Reliever of the Year Awards, added MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).
  • The Mariners agreed on a $1.95MM deal with outfielder Domingo Santana, per MLB.com’s Greg Johns (via Twitter). Santana is the second and last of the Mariners’ arbitration-eligible players.
  • The Angels agreed to contracts with a pair of players yesterday, per Maria Torres of the LA Times (via Twitter). Reliever Hansel Robles signed for $1.4MM. Robles threw 36 1/3 innings of 2.97 ERA baseball after the Angels claimed him off waivers from the Mets in June. Luis Garcia, acquired via trade from the Phillies this winter, signed for $1.675MM.
  • The Tigers and reliever Shane Greene settled on $4MM, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (via Twitter).
  • The Yankees reached an agreement with Sonny Gray for $7.5MM, per Nightengale. Gray, of course, has been involved trade rumors most of the winter, but for the time being, he stands to play a role in the Yankee pen while providing insurance for the rotation.
  • Didi Gregorius has also come to an agreement with the Yankees on a one-year, $11.75MM deal in his final season before free agency, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter links).
  • New Yankee James Paxton signed for $8.575, per Nightengale (via Twitter). Paxton is under contract for the 2020 season as well.
  • The Houston Astros came to an agreement with Collin McHugh for $5.8MM, per Nightengale (via Twitter). McHugh could be moving back into the rotation after a stellar season in the pen, either way this will be his final season of arb eligibility before hitting the open market.
  • Jonathan Villar comes away with $4.825MM for what will be his first full season in Baltimore, per Nightengale (via Twitter).

Earlier Updates

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Roberto Osuna Agrees To Peace Bond; Assault Charge Withdrawn

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Astros right-hander Roberto Osuna appeared at a court hearing and agreed to a one-year peace bond, as Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports (Twitter links). With that agreement, the assault charge from the alleged victim in his pending domestic abuse case was withdrawn. Under the terms of the peace bond, Osuna will not be permitted to contact the alleged victim for one year without written consent and must avoid any further criminal charges.

Per the Canadian Department of Justice’s web site, peace bonds are generally used when “an individual (the defendant) appears likely to commit a criminal offence, but there are no reasonable grounds to believe that an offence has actually been committed.” The Canadian Department of Justice further adds that peace bonds are obtainable by “any person who fears that another person may injure them, their spouse or common-law partner, or a child, or may damage their property,” and violation of a peace bond can result in up to four years of prison time. Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi tweets that according to the Crown Prosecutor, the complainant is in Mexico with the couple’s three-year-old and wishes to continue co-parenting. She chose not to testify.

Osuna declined to speak with the media upon leaving the courthouse, instead only releasing the following statement via his lawyer (Twitter links via Rome and via Shi Davidi of Sportsnet):

“Now I can begin to put these alegations behind me and focus on baseball. I want to thank my family, teammates and fans for believing in me. I am grateful to the Astros for providing me with the opportunity to play baseball and compete for a World Series championship. I will make no further comments about this matter, as I plan on moving past this and look only to the future.”

The Astros, meanwhile, released their own statement on the proceedings:

“Today, the Ontario Court of Justice withdrew the assault charge against Roberto Osuna. The Houston Astros look forward to Roberto continuing his commitment to be a productive and caring part of our community. The Astros remain committed to increase our support rearding the issues of dometic violence and abuse of any kind. We have engaged with a number of local, state and national organizations — and we look forward to working with them in the short term and over the long term.”

Heyman’s Latest: Blevins, Mets, Dodgers, Red Sox, Happ, Straily, Urena, Marlins

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“There’s been some trade talk of late involving Mets reliever Jerry Blevins,” Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman reports in his weekly roundup of baseball notes.  Blevins has posted a 2.65 ERA and 38 strikeouts (against 13 walks) over 34 innings since May 1, and even his inflated April ERA was largely due to one disastrous outing against the Braves.  He is eligible to be dealt since he cleared revocable trade waivers in August, and the veteran southpaw could provide a boost to a team looking for left-handed relief help (though Blevins is actually in the midst of a reverse-splits season, dominating right-handed batters and getting hit hard by lefty batters).  While Blevins could help get a team into the playoffs, however, he wouldn’t be eligible for postseason play himself due to being dealt after the August 31st deadline.  Blevins is a free agent after the year and is owed roughly $583K in remaining salary.

Here’s more from Heyman’s notes…

  • In more Mets news, the team has over 30 names on its list of general manager candidates, though the interview process has yet to begin.  As Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported earlier this week, the Mets plan to have their new hire in place before the GM Meetings begin on November 4.
  • Even with the Dodgers in jeopardy of missing the postseason, it doesn’t appear that manager Dave Roberts, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, or GM Farhan Zaidi are in any danger of losing their jobs.  It seems as if this season could be seen as an aberration, given that L.A. has been beset by injuries yet still leads the National League in run-differential.  (The Baseball Reference standings page notes that the Dodgers are eight wins behind their expected Pythagorean win-loss record.)  While management changes don’t seem to be afoot, there will likely be some type of contract talks among Dodgers brass this offseason since Friedman is only under contract through the 2019 season.  Roberts is already in the last guaranteed year of his deal, though the Dodgers have a club option on his services for 2019.
  • The Red Sox didn’t put much focus on relief pitching at the trade deadline, with president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski noting that “If we addressed the bullpen, then there’d be other needs we’d have.  It wasn’t that we weren’t open to some moves. But we addressed some of our other priorities.”  Boston was linked to multiple relievers in trade rumors but didn’t find a fit anywhere.  In regards to one name in particular, Dombrowski said that “we couldn’t touch” Roberto Osuna, who the Astros acquired from the Blue Jays in a deal that generated quite a bit of controversy, given the domestic assault charges still pending against him.  The bullpen has been seen as a possible Achilles’ heel for an otherwise dominant Red Sox team, though as Dombrowski observed, Boston’s relief corps still ranks within the top ten in most major categories.
  • Heyman expects the Yankees to try and re-sign J.A. Happ in free agency.  The southpaw has done nothing but impress since coming to New York from the Blue Jays in a midseason trade; Happ has a 2.70 ERA, 8.3 K/9, and 4.78 K/BB rate over 46 2/3 innings in the pinstripes.  MLBTR’s Jeff Todd recently projected that Happ’s next contract could exceed $40MM over three years, as the veteran is still posting strong numbers even as he approaches his age-36 season.  Retaining Happ would go a long ways towards solidifying a Yankees rotation that has only Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka as certainties for 2019.
  • With the Marlins still years away from contending, they could consider trading Dan Straily or Jose Urena this offseason even though the two starters still have two and three years, respectively, of arbitration control remaining.  This added control, of course, could also entice suitors to give up more in a potential deal.  Straily has been mentioned in trade rumors ever since Miami began its fire sale last year, though the team held onto him through the deadline and pulled him back from revocable waivers in August after an unknown club submitted a claim.

Astros Reinstate Roberto Osuna, Place Lance McCullers On DL

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2:30pm: Houston issued a statement Sunday in regards to acquiring Osuna, all of which is available here via the team’s Twitter account. Here’s a portion of it: “Our decision to acquire Roberto was based on the entirety of information that we gathered during our extensive evaluation. That included as much information as we could gather about the specific incident and the charges that were filed but it also included as much information as we could gather about his actions before and after the incident, as well as his personal reputation among his former teammates and coaches. The information regarding this specific incident weighed heavily on our decision but when evaluating the entirety of the information, we felt that Roberto deserved a second chance.”

12:12pm: The Astros have reinstated reliever Roberto Osuna from the restricted list and sent starter Lance McCullers Jr. to the 10-day DL with right elbow discomfort, per a team announcement.

Osuna is now in position to make his debut with Houston, which acquired him in a headline-grabbing deal on the eve of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. To land Osuna, the Astros gave up three players – including their former closer, Ken Giles – in a move that hasn’t been received all that well from Houston’s point of view. While Osuna has been an excellent reliever since debuting in 2015, the 23-year-old’s career may be forever tarnished by an early May arrest on a domestic assault charge. Major League Baseball then issued Osuna a 75-game suspension, which he’s just returning from now.

Although Osuna has served MLB’s punishment, he’s not out of legal hot water in Canada. Osuna had a court date on Aug. 1, though there was no resolution at that hearing and he has another one scheduled for Sept. 5, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reported earlier this week. It’s not clear, then, whether Osuna will even be available toward the end of the season as the playoff-bound Astros vie for their second straight World Series title.

From solely an on-field standpoint, the Osuna addition figures to help the Astros’ cause. Osuna was a lights-out closer during his 223-inning Toronto tenure, saving 104 games on 124 tries and logging a 2.87 ERA.

Astros Acquire Roberto Osuna, Send Ken Giles To Blue Jays

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The Astros have struck a deal to acquire relief pitcher Roberto Osuna from the Blue Jays, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported (links to Twitter). Former Astros closer Ken Giles is heading to Toronto along with righties Hector Perez and David Paulino. The Jays announced that they’ve designated righty Oliver Drake for assignment and moved Josh Donaldson to the 60-day disabled list in order to clear roster space for Giles and Paulino, each of whom is on the 40-man roster.

This is a rather jarring swap that’ll surely ignite quite a reaction. Both of these pitchers have been working at Triple-A recently, for rather different reasons,  despite generally excellent track records in the majors.

Osuna is currently pitching on a rehab assignment while serving a suspension under the MLB-MLBPA Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse policy. He is also still facing domestic assault charges in Canada for alleged crimes against his girlfriend.

Up until his arrest in early May, Osuna was widely regarded as one of the game’s most exciting and valuable young relief pitchers. He was in typically excellent form to begin the present season, as he has been ever since breaking into the majors at the start of 2015. Osuna has worked as the Toronto closer for much of that time, accumulating 104 saves in 223 innings.

Despite the fact that Osuna is still in legal limbo for a despicable alleged crime, the defending World Series champions have decided to add him to their relief corps. The 23-year-old will be eligible to return from his suspension on August 5th and will not be precluded from participating in the postseason. (Unlike the rules involving players banned for PEDs, domestic violence-related bans do not come with limitations on the playoffs.) That said, his legal situation could still theoretically impact his availability, owing to trial involvement, potential prison time, and travel issues.

Houston GM Jeff Luhnow and Osuna have each released statements (via Mark Berman of FOX 26, Twitter links). Luhnow says the team is “confident that Osuna is remorseful, has willfully complied with all consequences related to his past behavior, has proactively engaged in counseling, and will fully comply with our zero tolerance policy relate to abuse of any kind.” Notably, there’s no specification of just what “past behavior” is at issue. Osuna, meanwhile, stated that he is excited to play for the team, but did not even reference his alleged malfeasance.

As for Giles, 27, his recent problems have been tied more closely to his performance on the mound. He had maintained a typically strong mix of strikeouts and walks (31:3) in his 30 2/3 innings to open the season and only allowed a pair of long balls. Yet Giles was also tagged for 17 earned runs on 36 base hits.

The struggles came to a head earlier this month, as Giles was pulled from an appearance and perhaps offered some choice words for his skipper. Regardless of just what happened, the decision was made that some time in the minors was on order for a reliever who had limped to a 4.99 ERA. It didn’t help, surely, that Giles struggled during the Astros’ World Series run.

There’s still plenty to like about Giles, of course. He’s averaging about 98 mph with his fastball and maintaining an excellent 16.4% swinging-strike rate, in line with his career numbers. He has never before been so stingy with free passes. While there has certainly been a rise in the hard contact Giles has surrendered, the tools seem to remain in place for a turnaround.

Though the two players’ once-similar paths have diverged in other ways, they remain a near-perfect match in terms of contract situations. Both are headed for free agency after the 2020 season. Giles is earning a bit less than Osuna this year ($4.6MM vs. $5.3MM), but those salaries will likely even out this fall since the former will have logged quite a few more MLB innings than the latter.

From a baseball perspective, Osuna seems clearly to be the most talented player in this deal. He has no real blemishes on his pitching record and could well be a critical piece of the Astros’ attempt to hang another banner while still maintaining its store of prospect capital. Of course, there’s also an unsavory reason that the club was able to achieve such potential value.

It seems the Blue Jays, in the midst of a failed season, decided to get what they could for a disgraced player. Though the team suggested otherwise publicly, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that the Jays had decided already to trade Osuna rather than allow him back on their active roster.

Giles certainly seems a worthwhile player to take a chance on, but the other pieces are notable as well. Paulino will bring his own baggage up north, as his once-bright prospect star faded after a PED suspension last year. He also had bone spurs removed from his elbow last fall and has been limited to seven appearances in the minors. He has allowed 11 earned runs in 18 Triple-A frames, but has also recorded a healthy 23:5 K/BB ratio.

Perez is another fairly advanced hurler of note. He has handed out far too many walks during his time on the Houston farm, but has also shown some swing and miss ability. Perez recently moved up to the Double-A level. In 89 1/3 total frames on the year, most at High-A, he’s carrying a 3.73 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9. While there’s obviously some polish still needed, Perez has drawn plaudits from prospect hounds who love his pure stuff and think he could potentially still harness his command enough to make it into a MLB rotation — or, if not, turn into a nice high-leverage bullpen piece.

As for the corresponding moves made by Toronto, the DFA of Drake comes as little surprise, given that the righty was only recently claimed off waivers last week and had made just two appearances with the Blue Jays — his fourth MLB organization of the season. He’ll be traded, outrighted or released within the week. Moving Donaldson to the 60-day DL is merely a procedeural move; he’s not expected back until next month anyhow and will have missed far more than the requisite 60 days in total by the time he’s ready for activation.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Blue Jays Shopping Roberto Osuna, Rental Players

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11:20am: Beyond Osuna, it doesn’t seem that the Jays are marketing much in the way of controllable players. ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that their deadline talks are centered around Osuna, Tyler Clippard, John Axford, Aaron Loup and Curtis Granderson — each of whom is a free agent after the 2018 season.

8:45am: The Blue Jays are actively trying to trade closer Roberto Osuna, whose suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy will conclude on Aug. 5, execs with other teams tell Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter links).

While there’s been speculation of a potential Osuna trade over the past couple of months, Rosenthal’s report is the first recent indication that the Jays are actually shopping their closer in an effort to find a deal. Previously, GM Ross Atkins had made strong on-record indications that the organization fully anticipates Osuna to step back into the closer’s role upon returning from his league-imposed 75-game ban.

Obviously, any club weighing a trade for the 23-year-old Osuna will have multiple layers to consider. Beyond any moral and public relations considerations, Rosenthal noted last week that Osuna’s next hearing is set for Aug. 1 — the day after the non-waiver trade deadline. A criminal conviction could result in additional time away from the field and/or complications in his ability to travel with a team.

It should be noted that unlike players who are suspended for performance-enhancing drugs, those suspended under the league’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse policy are eligible for postseason play. Osuna, who was generally regarded as one of the game’s best relievers prior to his suspension, would be able to pitch in the playoffs this season for any club that acquired him.

Another element that teams will surely consider will be that of Osuna’s service time — or, more specifically, the lack thereof. Players do not accrue MLB service time while serving suspensions pertaining to domestic violence, meaning that Osuna won’t accrue enough time in 2018 to reach four full years of Major League service. As such, the suspension has delayed his path to free agency by a full year. He entered the season on pace to reach the open market following the 2020 campaign, but he’ll now be controlled through the 2021 season and will be arbitration-eligible thrice more.

As always, weighing the on-field abilities and the business perspective of someone facing these types of personal allegations is a dicey line for teams to walk, though Chapman’s 2016 suspension, trade and subsequent free-agent contract serve as evidence that clubs will still pay a premium for talent even if it comes with this of baggage. Through 223 innings at the big league level, Osuna owns a career 2.87 ERA with 10.2 K/9, 1.6 BB/9, 0.77 HR/9 and a 38 percent ground-ball rate. Virtually every contending club in MLB is looking to bolster its bullpen in the day and a half leading up to tomorrow’s non-waiver trade deadline, and there are some clubs who are out of contention in 2018 but remain open to adding long-term pieces that could help in 2019 and beyond as well.

Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins On Roberto Osuna, Trade Deadline Plans

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Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said today that suspended reliever Roberto Osuna will return to being the team’s closer when he is activated from his suspension, as Shi Davidi of Sporsnet.ca reports. Osuna is serving a 75-game suspension for a violation of the MLB-MLBPA Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.

Dealing with Osuna’s situation was never going to be easy for the Toronto organization. The domestic assault charges against Osuna — one of the game’s best young relief pitchers — are extremely serious.

While the imposition of a lengthy ban did give the team an understanding as to when the young pitcher will be able to play, at least in the eyes of Major League Baseball, there’s still ample uncertainty remaining. Osuna is still facing a criminal trial, after all. In the event of a conviction, he could miss further time (and public scrutiny). And any criminal penalties could make it difficult for him to travel with the team. The factual circumstances surrounding his arrest also still remain largely unknown. Public opinion on the topic may yet depend upon the course of the criminal matter and what facts ultimately emerge.

Still, Atkins declared today that Osuna “is our closer.” He explained:

“We’re running a baseball team and our goal is to win championships. Roberto could potentially be very much a part of that. The word that comes to mind for me when you talk about that is empathy. That’s not just for Roberto, that’s for everyone involved, that’s where we’re going to spend our time and energy, on being empathetic and trying to understand. We don’t have a background in investigations.”

Readers can reach their own conclusions as to the merits of that stance given what has been reported to this point. From a purely on-field perspective, though, it seems Osuna will step back into his prominent role at the back of the Blue Jays’ bullpen if and when he’s able. The comments surely give no indication that the organization will look to trade Osuna before the July 31st trade deadline, as has been speculated elsewhere. He’s eligible to return to play in the majors in early August.

Atkins also addressed his organization’s general stance with the trade deadline approaching, as Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith tweeted. With Steve Pearce going out the door last night, it’s already obvious that the Jays’ rental pieces are available. That means that a variety of relievers could be moved, along with veteran outfielder Curtis Granderson and starters such as J.A. Happ and Marco Estrada.

But Atkins made clear, too, that the team will at least be open to the possibility of dealing controllable assets as well. If rival organizations wish to pry loose a player under contract into the future, though, the Jays will ask them “to frame the value for us and do the work on their end.” It seems, then, that the Toronto front office won’t be shopping players such as Justin Smoak, Yangervis Solarte, and Kevin Pillar so much as it will be amenable to considering offers for them.

While much of the focus will be on the July trade period, matters of significance lurk in August. Osuna’s status is likely to be a highly visible topic, with implications that go well beyond the game itself. And from a pure baseball perspective, a fascinating situation could be developing with regard to Josh Donaldson, who could be a highly important trade asset during the revocable waiver trade period — if he’s able to get back to health by that point, which isn’t yet certain given his recent setback.

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