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Trade Chatter: Dodgers/White Sox, McCutchen, Salazar, Donaldson

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While there’s nothing in the way of details, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com dangles an intriguing nugget of information on Twitter: the Dodgers and White Sox, he says, are “working on a trade.” Beyond observing the obvious — the former is a clear contender and the latter still in a rebuilding stance — it’s hard to say just what might be afoot. While most of Chicago’s most obvious trade assets have already been moved over the past year or so, the team still possesses a few veteran hitters and some interesting young arms that might theoretically be of interest to Los Angeles. And it’s anyone’s guess just what player(s) might have capture the attention of the always-creative Dodgers front office. Anyhow, for now, we’ll take Crasnick’s advice and “stay tuned” for more details to emerge.

A few more notes on the trade market…

  • The Giants and Pirates have had recent discussions about a trade involving Andrew McCutchen, though the two sides aren’t close to a deal, reports MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. The Pirates would want the Giants to include one of the organization’s best prospects — either Heliot Ramos, Chris Shaw or Tyler Beede — in any deal for McCutchen, and San Francisco brass is reluctant to part with additional top talent in an already-thin farm system after giving up Christian Arroyo in the Evan Longoria blockbuster. The 31-year-old McCutchen will earn $14.5MM this season before becoming a free agent next winter. While he had a significant rebound at the plate in 2017 (.279/.363/.486, 28 homers), he also turned in poor defensive metrics in center field for a fourth consecutive season. Upgrading the outfield defense has been a stated priority for the Giants.
  • The Indians are “open” to moving right-hander Danny Salazar, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic in his latest notes column (subscription required and strongly recommended). Salazar, 28 next week, has missed time in each of the past two seasons owing to shoulder and elbow injuries. When healthy, the flamethrowing righty has shown the ability to overpower hitters, as evidenced by a career 10.5 K/9 mark and 12.6 percent swinging-strike rate. Salazar, who has two years of club control remaining, comes with a projected arbitration salary of $5.2MM for the 2018 campaign (via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz) and would be arb-eligible once more next winter. Cleveland doesn’t sound to be shopping him by any means, but the Tribe does have some enviable pitching depth and could stomach the loss if a Salazar trade helped the MLB roster in other ways.
  • One name not currently being discussed on the trade market is Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson, Morosi tweets. Toronto isn’t in any active talks regarding Donaldson, which lines up with numerous reports (and comments from GM Ross Atkins) that have indicated the Jays’ desire to field a competitive club in 2018. It stands to reason that an unexpected king’s ransom could change that thinking, especially if it included MLB-ready pieces, but at present it seems more likely that the Jays head into the 2018 season with the former AL MVP in the middle of their order.

NL News & Rumors: Giants, Stanton, Moustakas, Cards, D-backs

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Before the Giants’ pursuit of Giancarlo Stanton failed, they offered the Marlins a package including right-hander Tyler Beede and catcher Aramis Garcia, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. Beede and Garcia, both 24 years old, rank among the Giants’ top 10 prospects at MLB.com and Baseball America. Along with surrendering those two, San Francisco would’ve absorbed $230MM of the $295MM owed to Stanton (the Yankees, who won the Stanton derby, will take on $265MM). That package was to the Marlins’ liking, but Stanton put the kibosh on a deal by declining to waive his no-trade clause for San Francisco.

More on the Giants and a few other National League clubs:

  • The Cardinals have had talks with the agents for relievers Addison Reed and Brandon Morrow, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. At one point this offseason, there was “momentum” toward a deal between Reed and the Cardinals, a source told Goold, but it seems this winter’s slow-to-develop relief market has helped prevent an agreement from coming to fruition. Whether he signs with the Cardinals or another team, the soon-to-be 29-year-old Reed is in position to end up as one of this winter’s richest relievers.
  • A lack of financial wiggle room could prevent the Diamondbacks from doing anything significant in free agency, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes. Arizona needs bullpen help, for instance, but several agents informed Piecoro that the club’s not showing much willingness to spend. The Diamondbacks “think they’re going to get by spending $5 million” total on bullpen upgrades, an agent for a second-tier reliever told Piecoro. In order to free up payroll space, the D-backs could deal left-hander Patrick Corbin and/or center fielder A.J. Pollock, Piecoro suggests. Both players are only under control for another year – MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projects an $8.3.MM arbitration award for Corbin and an $8.5MM salary for Pollock.
  • The Giants will reportedly pursue the top free agent third baseman available, Mike Moustakas, but Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle casts doubt on the possibility (via Twitter). The club is wary of going after free agents who have rejected qualifying offers because of the compensation it would have to give up to land them, Schulman notes, and Moustakas is part of that class. Signing him would cost the Giants two draft picks (their second- and fifth-highest choices) in 2018 and $1MM in international bonus pool space.
  • The Braves will hire Alex Tamin as their director of major league operations, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. Tamin was previously the Dodgers’ director of baseball operations, serving in the same front office as new Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos. While with Los Angeles, Tamin “handled rules and transactions” and was “heavily involved” in advance scouting, according to Rosenthal, who adds that he’ll perform similar tasks in Atlanta.

NL Notes: Nationals, Hamilton, Stanton, Brewers

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The Nationals are checking over the market for starters, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (subscription required). While the team’s potential targets aren’t yet clear, Rosenthal does list two interesting options, both of whom were among the names we floated as hypothetical candidates in our review of the Nats’ offseason outlook. Gerrit Cole of the Pirates could be a name to watch on the trade market, says Rosenthal. And the Nationals are “kicking around” a pursuit of free agent Jake Arrieta, per the report. Certainly, the club’s numerous dealings with Scott Boras make that possible match one to keep an eye on. It’s certainly still possible the Nationals will go in any number of different directions in filling out their rotation, though the report does suggest the team shouldn’t be ruled out for a significant addition.

Here’s more from the National League:

  • Billy Hamilton is generating the most interest of any potential Reds trade pieces, Rosenthal also reports. Hamilton, obviously, is a limited offensive player due to a lack of power and on-base skills, but his baserunning and defensive skills are among the game’s elite. If the Reds do ultimately find an offer to their liking for Hamilton — he’s arb-eligible for two more years and projected to earn $5MM next season by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz — Rosenthal writes that they’d likely sign a short-term stopgap in center field rather than play a corner option out of position.
  • Both the Giants and Cardinals are now out of the running to land Giancarlo Stanton from the Marlins, but their pursuits still carry some information worthy of note. In the case of San Francisco, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Twitter links) that many of the players rumored to have been in the teams’ agreed-upon trade package were not, in fact, slated to be moved. None of Joe Panik, Tyler Beede, Chris Shaw, Heliot Ramos, and Christian Arroyo would have been dealt, per the report. Meanwhile, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets that the Cards would have absorbed about $250MM of the $295MM still owed to Stanton.
  • Brewers GM David Stearns chatted with the team’s beat writers, including Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, in advance of the Winter Meetings. Regarding the team’s rotation needs, Stearns says that the organization’s “market and history” under his stewardship are “a better indicator of the types of moves we’re seeking than some of the external speculation.” That seemingly hints that the organization won’t be chasing high-end free agents, though perhaps some of the top pitchers could still be considered in the right circumstances. He noted that lefty Josh Hader could yet end up “in a multi-inning relief role, similar to last year, or a more conventional starter role.” While the team wants to ensure Hader is able to “accumulate innings,” its winter moves could dictate his precise usage. Generally, Stearns said the club has many talks at various stages of development, though nothing that is nearing completion as of this particular moment.

Giants Designate Micah Johnson, Orlando Calixte

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The Giants have designated infielder Micah Johnson and utilityman Orlando Calixte for assignment, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to report on Twitter.

San Francisco also removed righty Dan Slania from the 40-man via outright assignment. He cleared waivers. Another 40-man casualty, infielder Engelb Vielma, did not. Joining the Giants’ MLB roster are catcher Aramis Garcia and a trio of pitchers:  righties Tyler Herb and Tyler Beede along with lefty D.J. Snelten.

Johnson has already bounced around between a few organizations this winter, moving from Atlanta to Cincinnati and then out west. The Giants will gladly stash him in Triple-A if he ultimately clears waivers.

As for Calixte, the 25-year-old has touched the majors briefly but hasn’t hit much at all in limited opportunities. At Triple-A in 2017, he posted a .243/.283/.421 slash over 401 plate appearances.

Giancarlo Stanton Rumors: Monday

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Another day, another slew of rumors pertaining to the game’s top slugger. Reports over the weekend indicated that the Cardinals have submitted a formal offer to the Marlins for Giancarlo Stanton, but that doesn’t mean that there’s any indication a trade involving Stanton is any closer. Here’s the latest on the 2017 home run king…

  • Craig Mish of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM tweets that the Marlins and Giants have discussed second baseman Joe Panik, right-handed pitching prospect Tyler Beede and outfield prospect Chris Shaw. The Giants have also discussed the possibility of taking Dee Gordon back in the deal, which would make some sense with Panik possibly being of interest to Miami. It’s worth noting that Mish doesn’t specifically state that the two sides have talked about a Panik/Beede/Shaw for Stanton and Gordon package. To the contrary, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that he hears that is not the framework of a deal being discussed (nor is it close, according to Schulman). It seems, then, that the two sides are likely discussing multiple scenarios and those names have been involved (likely with others) in various permutations. The Giants reportedly made some type of trade proposal on Friday.
  • Mish also tweets that the Cardinals are willing to part with hard-throwing right-handed pitching prospect Sandy Alcantara, who was included in the aforementioned formal offer to Miami. Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com rank Alcantara ninth among Cardinals farmhands, noting he sits at 96 mph with a fastball that scrapes triple digits and also has the potential for a pair of average or better secondary offerings. Baseball America rated Alcantara fourth among Cardinals farmhands just two weeks ago (subscription required & recommended for their full scouting report).
  • Meanwhile, Schulman tweets that the Marlins haven’t reached the point where they’re asking interested teams for their best and final offers for Stanton, thus indicating that an actual trade involving Stanton is not especially close at this time.

NL Notes: Teheran, Ellis, Cubs, Beede, Nationals

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The Braves aren’t likely to trade righty Julio Teheran at the deadline, tweets Jon Heyman of FanRag. A report earlier this month suggested the Braves were open to dealing Teheran, but there haven’t been many specific details about potential Teheran deals since. Teheran is in the midst of an underwhelming season (5.09 ERA, 6.8 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 over 120 1/3 innings), is only 26, and is controllable at reasonable prices through 2020, so it wouldn’t be at all surprising if the Braves opted to keep him for now. Here are more quick notes from the NL.

  • The Cubs remain interested in Marlins catcher A.J. Ellis, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. A report earlier this week from MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro connected the Cubs to Ellis, who would provide Chicago with a veteran backup to Willson Contreras. (Frisaro tweets that two other teams are interested in Ellis as well and that the Cubs might not ultimately land him.) The Cubs also continue to look for a reliever. “That’s what you would be looking for — that high-leverage, later-inning guy that you’re really comfortable with — so you can spread the work out a little bit more evenly,” says Cubs manager Joe Maddon, who adds that his guess is that the team will make another move of some sort before the deadline.
  • Top Giants pitching prospect Tyler Beede will likely miss the rest of the season with a groin strain, as Alex Pavlovic of CSNBayArea.com notes. Beede is expected to miss four weeks, taking him to around the end of the minor-league season. The injury could wind up costing him a chance at a big-league call-up once rosters expand in September as well. He could, however, pitch in the Arizona Fall League. After a strong season with Double-A Richmond in 2016, the former first-round pick struggled in Triple-A Sacramento in 2017, posting a 4.79 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 over 109 innings.
  • The Nationals need catching help, FanGraphs’ Travis Sawchik writes. Matt Wieters has not hit or framed pitches well, batting .248/.297/.381 over 310 plate appearances while rating -10.8 runs in framing, via Statcorner. Sawchik suggests Atlanta’s Tyler Flowers (a much better receiver) and Detroit’s Alex Avila as good targets for the Nats to pursue.

Giants, Brewers Have Briefly Discussed Ryan Braun

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JUNE 14: The Brewers and Giants have thus far had only one “minimal” discussion surrounding Braun, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal reminds that the Giants are one of six teams to which Braun cannot block a trade (along with the Angels, Dodgers, D-backs, Padres and Marlins, as Rosenthal initially reported back in March), but there are nonetheless obstacles to a deal. Chief among them is that Brewers owner Mark Attanasio is more concerned with ensuring that the Brewers receive premium talent than he is shedding a portion of Braun’s notable contract. The Giants’ farm system is considered below average in recent rankings from Baseball America (19th in baseball) and ESPN’s Keith Law (21st), so other teams may be able to offer a better package to meet those demands. Rosenthal also notes that the Giants will need to restock their bullpen after the ’16 season, and spending heavily on Braun limits their ability to do so by pushing them considerably closer to the luxury tax threshold (even with the aforementioned contracts coming off the books).

JUNE 13: With Hunter Pence on the disabled list due to a torn hamstring, the Giants are “looking everywhere” for another outfielder, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports (on Twitter). To that end, they’ve had preliminary discussions with the Brewers about Ryan Braun, according to Nightengale, though he also cautions that there’s nothing imminent between the two teams.

Braun’s name has been mentioned frequently as a potential trade candidate — he sat at No. 3 on Jeff Todd’s most recent trade candidate rankings here at MLBTR — in large part because he’s having one of the most productive seasons of his career on a rebuilding Brewers club. The 32-year-old is batting .316/.378/.541 with 11 homers, 11 doubles and five stolen bases through his first 217 plate appearances this season.

That production aside, the common consensus surrounding the controversial slugger is that the Brewers would likely have to absorb some salary in order to move him. Braun is in the first season of a five-year, $105MM contract extension that was tacked onto his initial eight-year, $45MM deal back in 2011. He’s earning $19MM this season (with about $11.5MM remaining) and is owed a total of approximately $87.52MM through the end of the 2020 campaign. From a contractual standpoint, the Giants can likely afford Braun; Angel Pagan, Santiago Casilla, Gregor Blanco, Jake Peavy, Sergio Romo and Javier Lopez are all free agents at season’s end, and the team has an extremely affordable arbitration class with only George Kontos ($1.15MM in 2016) and Cory Gearrin (pre-arb) looking at raises.

That massive extension for Braun (the largest in Brewers franchise history) came before his 2011 NL MVP Award and also before a messy PED scandal in which Braun accused a test collector of tampering with his urine sample before publicly admitting to steroid use more than a year later in the wake of the Biogenesis investigation.

While Braun certainly comes with some past baggage, he’s regained much of his production and hasn’t failed a test since serving a 65-game suspension to close out the 2013 season. With both Pence and Pagan on the disabled list, the Giants have been relying on a combination of Gregor Blanco and rookies Jarrett Parker and Mac Williamson to flank Denard Span in the outfield corners. None of that trio, however, is enjoying a particularly productive 2016 campaign to date. Pagan has hit well when healthy enough to take the field, but he’s also spent three weeks on the DL with a hamstring injury and missed 10 days earlier this season with that same injury.

What remains unclear at this time, though, is the Giants’ sense of urgency in getting a deal done. Pence tweeted that he underwent his operation last Thursday, and the Giants may not want to make a drastic move until having a clearer picture of his ability to return to the field. Indeed, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle notes (links to Twitter) that the Giants are hoping to hold down the fort until Pence’s return, making a more incremental trade likelier in the short-term. ESPN’s Jim Bowden discussed a Braun/Giants scenario earlier today as well (Insider subscription required), writing that it shouldn’t be a surprise if the Giants pursue Braun and linking prospects Tyler Beede and Christian Arroyo to the Brewers, though it’s not entirely clear if those names are mentioned in speculative fashion. Like Schulman, Bowden implies that a significant move for the Giants would happen at the deadline as opposed to seven weeks in advance, where we presently stand.

Cole Hamels Rumors: Wednesday

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7:44pm: Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area tweets that one scenario which was discussed between the Giants and Phillies was centered around young catcher Andrew Susac as well as right-hander Tyler Beede and two more minor leaguers. Clearly, that’s a sizable ask, but the much ballyhooed Susac would be a logical target for the Giants, as he’s blocked in San Francisco by Buster Posey, and the Phillies are in need of a long-term solution behind the plate.

2:07pm: A deal on Hamels is not likely to come together until tomorrow or possibly Friday, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com tweets.

12:12pm: The Giants are “fading” back of the pack chasing Hamels, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. San Francisco has not communicated with the Phillies on a deal in the last 24 hours, he adds.

It’s not entirely surprising to hear that San Francisco could fall out of the running. The club does have plenty of options in its rotation, so the immediate need is not pressing. And the Giants arguably lack the same stable of high-upside minor leaguers that other teams with interest can dangle.

8:51am: The Red Sox appear unlikely to land Phillies lefty Cole Hamels, according to a report form Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Boston’s pursuit of the veteran has been complicated throughout by his no-trade clause, per the report.

While the Red Sox have seemed more an outside contender to add Hamels in recent weeks, the report provides interesting insight into how the Phillies will handle their decision. Philadelphia reportedly asked teams to submit their best offers on Hamels today, and presumably will move to work out a deal with the preferred suitor in relatively short order.

Bradford says there are indications that the Phillies may be devoting more attention to working with interested teams that do not appear on the list of teams over which Hamels has veto power. That may suggest that the clause is a significant barrier — and one, perhaps, that the Phillies do not want to deal with in finalizing an agreement.

As Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com recently tweeted, Hamels can be dealt to two American League clubs (the Yankees and Rangers) or seven National League clubs (the Nationals, Cardinals, Braves, Padres, Dodgers, Cubs, and Mets) without his consent. Of those teams, of course, Texas and Los Angeles have been most heavily tied to Hamels, with the Yankees and Cubs also mentioned at times as teams with possible interest.

Trade Notes: Hamels, Pitching, Mets, Johnson, Beede

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Two weeks from this writing, the non-waiver trade deadline will be firmly in the rear-view mirror. Rumors pertaining to trades and actual trade activity should pick up substantially here over the coming 14 days, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports previews the deadline for all 30 clubs, examining each buyer’s biggest need, each seller’s greatest asset and what will determine the course of the teams that have yet to plot a course of action. Similarly, ESPN’s Buster Olney took a look at the biggest questions surrounding each of the 30 teams heading into the second half — many of which have revolve around trade deadline strategies (ESPN Insider subscription required).

General overviews aside, here’s the latest trade chatter from around the league…

  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post is surprised by the number of executives he’s spoken to that feel the Phillies will not trade Cole Hamels this summer, barring a no-brainer offer (Twitter links). Sherman says that many within the industry feel that new Phillies president Andy MacPhail may wait until the Winter Meetings to shop Hamels, as he’ll by then be more comfortable with the scouts that are giving him advice and have input from a more functional analytics department.
  • Newsday’s Marc Carig writes that while names like Justin Upton, Carlos Gomez and Jay Bruce would all have appeal to the Mets, each would also come with a steep prospect price. Such transactions aren’t commonplace for the Mets, Carig notes, but the addition of a versatile outfielder such as Will Venable or Gerardo Parra could help improve the club’s production at a lower cost. And, as ESPN’s Buster Olney notes (on Twitter), the Mets should be highly motivated to add pieces, as 17 of the team’s final 39 games come against a pair of selling clubs: the Phillies and Braves.
  • Sherman also hears that the Dodgers, Astros, Royals and Blue Jays are the four teams that are most aggressively trying to add pitching at this juncture (Twitter link). The Royals and Blue Jays scouted the Reds, who are said to be ready to move both Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake, heavily before the break.
  • Part of the reasoning behind the Braves’ signings of right-hander Jason Frasor and left-hander Ross Detwiler is that the team wanted to add some veteran leadership to a bullpen that will likely soon be without Jim Johnson, tweets MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. Johnson, in Bowman’s estimation, is very likely to be traded in the near future.
  • Giants prospect Tyler Beede’s name is in high demand in trade talks, manager Bruce Bochy tells Peter Gammons (Twitter link). Per Bochy, Beede’s name is the first one mentioned by opposing clubs in the majority of the Giants’ trade talks. San Francisco selected Beede with the No. 14 pick in the 2014 draft, and he has a 2.91 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 89 2/3 innings between High-A and Double-A in his first full pro season.

Giants Sign Tyler Beede

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FRIDAY: The Giants have officially announced Beede’s signing via press release.

TUESDAY: Mayo clarifies that Beede actually received the slot value of $2,613,200 (Twitter link). The additional $36,800 that he originally reported was included to go towards Beede’s completion of his college education. That money, therefore, does not count toward the Giants’ bonus pool.

MONDAY: The Giants have agreed to terms with first-round pick Tyler Beede, reports MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo (on Twitter). The Vanderbilt right-hander will receive a signing bonus of $2.65MM, which is slightly higher than the $2,613,200 slot value for the No. 14 overall selection.

Tyler Beede

Beede was drafted in the first round by the Blue Jays back in the 2011 draft but turned down a $2.4MM bonus to attend Vanderbilt rather than begin his pro career out of high school. Mayo and MLB.com colleague Jim Callis ranked Beede 12th among draft prospects, while he ranked 15th on Baseball America’s Top 500 list and 15th on the Top 100 of ESPN’s Keith Law as well.

Mayo and Callis note that Beede has three above-average pitches, with a fastball that sits 92-94 mph and touches 97 mph. However, Beede also has had some well-documented command issues in the past and doesn’t always repeat his delivery. BA notes that his changeup is his best secondary pitch, but calls his 80-81 mph curveball a plus pitch as well, noting that Beede throws it harder than most other curveballs in this year’s draft class. Law offers a similar take — excellent stuff with command issues and enough problems with his delivery that some have wondered if he has some structural damage in his shoulder.

Beede’s stuff is better than his numbers with Vanderbilt this year; the right-hander posted a 4.05 ERA with 116 strikeouts and 53 walks in 113 1/3 innings. He also hit 18 batters and uncorked eight wild pitches, though he he did hold opposing hitters to a meager .223 batting average.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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