Yoan Moncada

Central Notes: Burton, Moncada, Brewers

By charliewilmoth | December 10, 2016 at 1:14pm CDT

Former Twins and Reds reliever Jared Burton is attempting a comeback, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune tweets. Burton last pitched in the Majors in 2014 and pitched 16 innings in the minors in 2015 before being suspended for 50 games to start the 2016 season after testing positive for the second time for a drug of abuse. He’s now 35. The righty has pitched parts of eight seasons in the big leagues, with a 3.44 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9. Here’s more from the Central divisions.

Both the White Sox and Red Sox organizations believe new top prospect Yoan Moncada can be an impact player, Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune writes. He’ll still have work to do, however, as his first taste of big-league action late last year (during which he struck out 12 times in 20 plate appearances) showed. “They were coming down, finishing him off underneath the hands down and in,” says White Sox manager Rick Renteria. “He’s a 21-year-old man who has not seen that type of bite coming from pitchers, and it’s probably changing the lane in which he’s looking for that particular type of slider, where he has to get it out and away.” Kane also reports that after learning the White Sox had acquired Moncada, Jose Abreu sent Moncada a congratulatory text message. The two played together in Cuba with Cienfuegos in 2012, when Moncada was 17.
The Brewers lost Miguel Diaz as the top overall pick in the Rule 5 Draft on Thursday, as Minnesota selected Diaz and then traded him to San Diego. Diaz appeared to be a good prospect, but GM David Stearns says the organization left him unprotected because of his lack of experience, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes. The 22-year-old Diaz had elbow surgery in 2015 and only pitched his first full minor-league season in 2016, when he posted a 3.71 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 94 2/3 innings for Class A Wisconsin. “He’s never pitched above the Midwest League. It’s very unusual for guys to be able to make that jump,” says Stearns. “We have to be prepared for that but it would be the exception to the norm if someone is able to make that jump successfully and contribute at the Major League level.” Of course, a Rule 5 pick doesn’t have to succeed for his original team to lose him. Before Stearns joined the Brewers organization, the team selected Wei-Chung Wang, a pitcher who had even less minor-league experience than Diaz now does, in the 2013 Rule 5 Draft. Wang pitched poorly in the Majors in 2014 and hasn’t yet returned to the big leagues, but the Brewers did manage to keep him.

Post-Winter Meetings Notes: Sale, Sox, Blackmon, Rays, Mets, Phils, Giants, Ross

By Jeff Todd | December 10, 2016 at 12:23am CDT

Baseball’s Winter Meetings always provides fascinating theater, and this year was no different. There’s quite a lot of information to digest with the meetings wrapped up — and also some interesting reading for those who are curious about how it all goes down. Writing for ESPN.com, Eno Sarris provides a fascinating look at some underappreciated elements of baseball decisionmaking, ranging from the mandates of owners to the frequent lack of understanding that the general public has as to what alternatives organizations realistically have when they decide upon their moves. The increasing complexities of baseball dealing are also covered by ESPN.com’s David Schoenfield, who discusses the impact of the largely ubiquitous utilization of advanced analysis in the game. With virtually all of the thirty MLB organizations employing fleets of sophisticated staffers, he argues, it’s harder to extract value from trades — which may help to explain the risks taken in some of the Winter Meetings’ biggest deals.

With the Winter Meetings in the books, here are some notes on the work that was completed and that remains to be done:

On Wednesday, the White Sox shipped ace lefty Chris Sale to the Red Sox in exchange for a heralded foursome of prospects. That swap, and its build-up, dominated the headlines at the Winter Meetings. Boston president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski discussed the process that led to the move in an excellent interview with Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. He not only provided an interesting account of the information gathering and processing that goes on at the Winter Meetings, as teams jockey for position and look to arrange fits on trades and signings, but went into the details on the pursuit of Sale. The sides built off of their prior “preliminary conversations,” and honed in on an agreement late Tuesday night as the sides began to line up on the complementary pieces that would go to Chicago along with the two headlining prospects (Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech). Momentum seemingly began to build as early as Friday, before the meetings kicked off, as Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com explains. It was at that point that White Sox GM Rick Hahn notified Dombrowski that he’d be willing to consider a different sort of return — presumably, top minor leaguers rather than young MLB assets — than had been discussed over the summer. The Nationals and Astros also dangled significant pieces; Hahn notes that “there were similar-type players being offered from other clubs,” leading to “a level of excitement in that room as we debated which was the best path for us.”
In the aftermath of the Sale trade, as well as the ensuing swap that sent Adam Eaton to D.C., the White Sox are prepared to part with other notable veterans if they can generate sufficient interest, as Hayes further reports. That could potentially include first baseman Jose Abreu — a former teammate of Moncada’s in Cuba — though it’s fair to wonder whether his market will develop with so much power still available in free agency. It’s also reasonable to expect that the South Siders are willing to listen on Jose Quintana, though there’s no real pressure to move his lengthy and affordable contract. It does stand to reason, though, that shorter-term assets (including Todd Frazier, Melky Cabrera, and David Robertson) will be shopped more heavily.
Before pulling the trigger on Eaton, the Nationals at least checked in with the Rockies on center fielder Charlie Blackmon, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). While that obviously won’t be a match at this point, and the Cardinals no longer appear to be a possible suitor after signing Dexter Fowler, it remains to be seen whether Colorado will look hard at a deal involving one of its best players. The team made a notable free-agent splash by adding Ian Desmond, with reports suggesting that he’ll spend time at first base, but it still seems to make sense for the organization to consider addressing other needs — most notably, in the pitching staff — by exploring deals for Blackmon or one of its other left-handed-hitting outfielders. (Last we heard, a trade remains a real possibility; while the team is said to be holding some extension talks with Carlos Gonzalez, those reportedly haven’t progressed, so he too remains a plausible candidate.)
For the Rays, there are still a lot of interesting opportunities remaining even after the team took an interesting gamble on injured catcher Wilson Ramos, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. The team’s still-loaded rotation remains an area to watch. “It’s hard to anticipate timing, it’s hard to really know where all this is going to end up,” said senior VP Chaim Bloom, “but we obviously have a number of talented pitchers in our rotation, and I think we had a lot of conversation on pretty much all of them.” Whatever a trade of a starter might yield remains unknown, but Topkin says that Tampa Bay is looking to add some pop at some point. That could involve waiting to see what “leftovers” remain with plenty of sluggers still available; Topkin even mentions, at least hypothetically, the possibility of a move on a player such as Jose Bautista. Ultimately, said Bloom, there’s a better sense internally as to where things could be headed. “There’s still a lot of dominoes to fall, potentially, with us and certainly around the industry, but the conversation this week was really helpful,” he said. “We got, I think, a much better idea of what may be available to us.”
The Mets are still working to tweak their roster after Yoenis Cespedes and Neil Walker decided to return, as Marc Carig of Newsday reports. It seems that the focus remains on finding a taker for outfielder Jay Bruce to clean up the team’s rotation and shed some salary, but Carig suggests that progress has been slower than hoped on that front and GM Sandy Alderson notes that many free-agent outfielders remain unaccounted for. The Mets “laid some groundwork” at the meetings, says Alderson, though it seems that the organization will take its time in making further moves. Carig further reports on possible trade assets that could conceivably be used to find relief pitching. That includes outfielder Brandon Nimmo as well as catchers Kevin Plawecki and Tomas Nido, all of whom were discussed to some extent in recent days.
The Winter Meetings weren’t quite as busy for the Phillies, but as Ryan Lawrence of the Philly Voice notes, there’s still plenty time for some moves. GM Matt Klentak noted both that the flurry of moves creates “a ripple effect” and also that there’s plenty of information gathering which can “help you make decisions down the road.” In Philadelphia’s case, there’s “not a lot cooking” at the moment, per Klentak, but with “a lot of dialogue on a lot of different fronts” there’s always the potential for something to come together. Klentak notes that he expects at least one or two of the team’s 40-man spots to turn over between now and the start of Spring Training.
Meanwhile, the Giants may largely be done with their winter work, Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area tweets. That being said, San Francisco is interested in adding some pop to its bench mix. The club has inquired on free-agent slugger Mark Reynolds and other “similar players,” per the report.
The Cubs took care of their bullpen during the Winter Meetings, but are still eyeing free-agent starter Tyson Ross, according to Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com. At this point, it’s not even clear precisely when Ross will sign, but it’s interesting to note that the defending World Series champs seem to have more than a passing interest in the veteran righty, who is working back from thoracic outlet surgery. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein spoke generally of the idea of signing injured starters, noting that there’s demand for “really talented pitchers” even if they have recently been hurt. “We’ll stay engaged on some of those guys,” he said, “but they’ll have to be just the right talent.”

Red Sox Acquire Chris Sale In Exchange For Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Two Others

By Steve Adams | December 6, 2016 at 2:49pm CDT

In one of the biggest Winter Meeting blockbusters in recent history, the Red Sox and White Sox have announced a trade that will send Chris Sale from Chicago to Boston in exchange for prospects Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Luis Alexander Basabe and Victor Diaz.

In acquiring Sale, the Red Sox will add one of the game’s most dominant pitchers to add to a star-studded rotation that’ll also feature David Price and Rick Porcello, with other options including Eduardo Rodriguez, Steven Wright, Drew Pomeranz and Clay Buchholz. As such, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski should have no shortage of rotation depth from which to deal if he desires to utilize that theoretical surplus to address other areas of need on the roster.

[Related: Updated Chicago White Sox Depth Chart and Boston Red Sox Depth Chart]

Sale will head from Chicago to Boston on the heels of a season in which he posted a 3.34 ERA with 9.3 K/9, 1.8 BB/9 and a 41.2 percent ground-ball rate in 226 2/3 innings. Since cementing himself as a top-of-the-rotation arm, Sale has posted a collective 3.04 ERA with 10.0 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9 in 1015 2/3 innings. He’s set to earn just $12MM next season, and the Red Sox will hold club options valued at $12.5MM and $13.5MM for the 2018 and 2019 seasons, respectively.

While there was concern earlier in his career that centered around Sale’s unorthodox delivery, his arm has held up better than nearly any pitcher in the sport. Since 2012, Sale’s innings total ranks 12th among 227 qualified starting pitchers. His 10.0 K/9 is eighth in that same span, and he ranks fourth in the Majors in fWAR and third in RA9-WAR in that time as well. His average fastball dipped a bit in 2016 but still checked in at a healthy 92.8 mph.

Sale drew heavy interest from a number of teams ranging from the Astros to the Braves to the Nationals, but as of late last night it was the Nats that reportedly had a real chance at pushing a deal across the line. The Red Sox seemingly upped their level of aggression overnight, however, and will emerge from the Sale sweepstakes without having been forced to surrender any member of their expected Opening Day roster. Washington made a last-ditch effort to salvage a deal, but fell shy, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. Given the intense interest, it’s no surprise that the Red Sox ultimately paid a heavy price to add the power lefty.

With three years of club control at a combined total of $38MM and that track record of dominance, Sale was one of the most valuable trade commodities in Major League Baseball, and he commanded an according price. Moncada, 21, looked overmatched in a brief September cameo with the Red Sox in 2016, but he rates as one of the top overall prospects in all of MLB and was listed as the game’s No. 1 prospect on the midseason Top 100 list from Baseball America. He currently rates as the No. 1 prospect in baseball, according to MLB.com.

BA dropped Moncada down to No. 2 on Boston’s list of top 10 prospects this offseason (subscription required and highly recommended) but noted that he possesses the size and strength of a linebacker with elite speed on the basepaths and a left-handed approach that elicits comparisons to Robinson Cano. Add at least average defense at second base to that blend of power and speed, and even if Moncada isn’t a dominant hitter from the right-handed side of the dish, there’s still legitimate star upside. MLB.com’s report on him likens him to “Cano with more speed” and notes that few middle infield prospects come with this type of offensive upside. He should immediately become the White Sox’ second baseman of the future, joining 2017 sophomore Tim Anderson to form an envy-inducing double-play tandem for years to come.

Moncada’s 2016 season was nothing short of brilliant, as he batted .294/.407/.511 with 15 home runs and 45 stolen bases in just 106 games between Class-A Advanced and Double-A before briefly jumping to the Majors late in the year. To this point in his minor league career, he’s stolen 94 bases in 109 tries — a success rate of 86.2 percent.

Signed out of Cuba to a record-shattering $31.5MM signing bonus (which came with a 100 percent luxury tax for the Red Sox), Moncada is a versatile switch-hitter that has spent the bulk of his minor league career at second base but has also been said to be capable of playing shortstop, third base and the outfield. That $31.5MM signing bonus was spread out over three years, but the Red Sox are reportedly picking up the tab on the remainder of the money he’s owed and all of the tax obligations as well.

Kopech, 20, ranks just two spots behind Moncada on that list of top Red Sox prospects over at BA. The former No. 33 overall pick (2014) generated plenty of buzz this year when he reportedly hit 105 mph in a minor league game, though Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweets that some scouts believe that mark to be an embellishment. Nonetheless, Kopech regularly works in the triple digits with his fastball and reached Class-A Advanced as a 20-year-old in 2016, where he pitched to a dominant 2.25 ERA with 14.2 K/9, 5.0 BB/9 and a 42 percent ground-ball rate.

BA’s scouting report notes that one evaluator called him the best minor league arm he saw all season and likened his combination of elite velocity and a low-90s slider to a younger version of Mets ace Noah Syndergaard. There are some character questions — Kopech was suspended for use of a banned stimulant and later broke his hand in a fight with a teammate — but the talent is clear. MLB.com rates Kopech 67th in baseball at the moment and calls him a potential front-of-the-rotation starter, especially after working to simplify his mechanics in 2016. He’s a bit of a longer-term asset, as it’ll probably be 2018 before Kopech is ready to debut, but the upside the Sox are receiving here is significant.

Sticking on BA’s list of top 10 Red Sox prospects, Basabe checks in at No. 8. The 20-year-old’s twin brother (Luis Alejandro Basabe) was traded from Boston to Arizona in exchange for Brad Ziegler this past summer. Luis Alexander has enough range in center field to have a floor as a fourth outfielder but also has average or better tools across the board, per BA. Basabe, who hit .264/.328/.452 with 12 homers and 25 steals between Class-A and a brief five-game stint in Class-A Advanced, could stand to improve his contact skills (119 strikeouts in 474 plate appearances), but gives the White Sox a potential everyday center fielder down the line if he can find a way to put bat to ball with more regularity.

The 22-year-old Diaz, not to be confused with the former Mets outfielder of the same name, spent the 2016 season pitching for Boston’s Class-A affiliate and worked to a 3.88 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 and a 58 percent ground-ball rate in 60 1/3 innings of relief work. He comes with the least fanfare of the four prospects in this deal but still has an upper 90s heater that has reached triple digits. MLB.com rated Diaz 28th on their midseason list of top Red Sox prospects, noting that in addition to a power fastball has a pair of inconsistent but promising secondary pitches in his slider and splitter. Diaz hasn’t made a start as a pro, so he seems like a pure relief prospect, but if he’s able to harness his control a bit and develop the secondary pitches, it sounds like there’s a potential late-inning relief arm there.

Stepping back and looking at the whole scenario from a bigger-picture perspective, the move certainly signals a move toward a rebuild for which many ChiSox fans have long clamored. Chicago GM Rick Hahn is reportedly open to trading anyone with fewer than four years of service time, which means first baseman Jose Abreu, closer David Robertson, third baseman Todd Frazier and outfielder/DH Melky Cabrera all figure to see their names bandied about in the days, weeks and months to come.

The greater question is whether Hahn & Co. will listen to offers on Sale’s now-former co-ace, Jose Quintana, who is controlled for four more years at a nearly identical total price. The Pale Hose also have one of the game’s most appealing outfield trade candidates in Adam Eaton, who is locked up through at least 2019 and has two club options on his highly affordable deal. If the White Sox want to go for a complete tear-down, the pieces are in place for Hahn to execute an accelerated rebuild given the level of MLB-ready (or near-MLB-ready) talent he can acquire in exchange for the most appealing assets on his top-heavy 25-man roster.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the agreement and that Moncada and Kopech were in the deal (on Twitter). USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that Basabe and Diaz were in the trade (on Twitter). Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com (Twitter links) and Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal (on Twitter) added context on the financial component of Moncada’s bonus.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AL Notes: Mariners, Moncada, Zimmer, Orioles

By Steve Adams | October 26, 2016 at 12:11pm CDT

Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune writes that Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto has a hard-throwing lefty reliever — “a legit late-inning presence” — on his offseason wishlist. It’s not the first time that Dutton has reported Seattle’s interest in adding such an arm to its relief mix, and a flamethrowing southpaw would indeed be an imposing complement to sensational rookie Edwin Diaz late in the game. Previously, Dutton noted that the team’s search wasn’t likely to be focused on Aroldis Chapman, whose free-agent price tag will be staggering. The trade market may not be flush with readily available late-inning southpaws, though from a purely speculative standpoint I’d personally wonder if Seattle might match up with San Diego in a deal for either Brad Hand or Ryan Buchter. While neither possesses the velocity of a Chapman or Andrew Miller, each sat at better than 92 mph with his heater this season (92.8 mph for Hand) and delivered a breakout season. Hand proved capable of pitching multiple innings while also showing better control and ground-ball tendencies than his teammate — ultimately tossing 89 1/3 frames with a 2.92 ERA, 11.2 K/9, 3.6 BB/9 and a 46.7 percent ground-ball rate.

A few more notes from around the American League…

Red Sox prospect Yoan Moncada suffered a thumb injury while batting in the Arizona Fall League recently, per Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Moncada didn’t suffer any fractures but has been out for a few days already and could undergo further testing today. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski tells Drellich that while it’s the same hand that Moncada has injured in the past, the issue isn’t believed to be serious at this time. Maintaining his health will be a key for Moncada as he looks to force his way back onto Boston’s roster in 2017. The 21-year-old struggled tremendously in his brief September call-up, collecting four hits and striking out 12 times in 20 plate appearances.
Royals right-hander Kyle Zimmer completed a four-week throwing program as part of his rehab protocol following thoracic outlet syndrome surgery back in July, tweets MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan. The former top five overall pick has battled shoulder problems throughout his minor league career, though the hope is that the TOS operation can help Zimmer return to health. Selected fifth overall in 2012, Zimmer has been a mainstay on Top 100 prospect lists even as he’s battled through injuries, but he tossed just 5 2/3 innings this season and has logged just 222 1/3 total innings since the 2012 draft. Only 67 2/3 of those innings have come at the Double-A level, so even if the 25-year-old is healthy next year, he’ll need further seasoning in the minors before he can be considered a Major League option in Kansas City. Flanagan notes that Zimmer is expected to be ready for Spring Training.
An Orioles official tells MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko that he doesn’t believe any of Wade Miley, Ubaldo Jimenez or Yovani Gallardo is well-suited to handle a bullpen role. Kubatko writes that while it’s something of an overstatement to imply that the O’s have a surplus of rotation arms, the team could consider dealing one of that trio this offseason. Each is a change-of-scenery candidate after struggling greatly this year, and Baltimore only has two open rotation spots behind Chris Tillman, Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy.

AL Notes: Shoemaker, Tigers, Red Sox

By Connor Byrne | September 11, 2016 at 8:42am CDT

Angels right-hander Matt Shoemaker was admitted to an Anaheim-area hospital Saturday to check for swelling in his brain, Austin Laymance of MLB.com was among those to report. Shoemaker underwent surgery last Sunday on a small skull fracture and a hematoma to stop the bleeding on his brain after taking a 105 mph line drive off the head. The CT scan Shoemaker had Saturday came back negative, fortunately, though he did stay at the hospital overnight for observation.

Red Sox Designate William Cuevas

By Jeff Todd | September 2, 2016 at 3:13pm CDT

The Red Sox have designated righty William Cuevas for assignment, per a club announcement. His 40-man spot was needed as the club purchased the contracts of lefty Robby Scott and top infield prospect Yoan Moncada.

Cuevas, 25, received a brief major league promotion earlier this year, allowing six walks in the five frames he pitched. He has spent the bulk of the year at Triple-A, where he carries a 4.19 ERA over 131 frames. Trouble is, Cuevas wasn’t able to maintain the strikeout rate he had shown in prior years, as he K’ed just 5.8 batters per nine in that span.

The 27-year-old Scott gets his first major league nod after turning in 78 innings of 2.54 ERA pitching with 8.4 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 at the Triple-A level. He’ll be joined by Moncada, who is considered by some to be the top prospect in the game. (Read more on Moncada’s promotion here.)

Red Sox Promote Yoan Moncada

By Steve Adams | August 31, 2016 at 9:25pm CDT

The Red Sox announced on Wednesday evening that they will promote top prospect Yoan Moncada to the Major Leagues on Friday.

The 21-year-old Moncada is widely regarded as one of the top prospects in all of baseball, if not the top prospect. The switch-hitter was one of the most highly sought after international free agents in history when he left Cuba last year, prompting the Red Sox to agree to a $31.5MM bonus — far and away the largest ever for a player that is characterized by an amateur under Major League Baseball’s international prospect rulings. That bonus came with a 100 percent luxury tax, meaning that the Red Sox effectively spent $63MM simply to get Moncada into their farm system. That figure doesn’t account for any of the future salaries that Moncada will begin to earn as he works his way toward arbitration, but the early returns look to have been worth it for Boston.

In 486 plate appearances between Class-A Advanced and Double-A this season, Moncada is batting a scintillating .298/.411/.518 with 15 home runs, 31 doubles, six triples and 45 stolen bases (in 57 attempts). While the majority of his time in the minors has been spent as a second baseman, he recently began seeing some time at the hot corner in Double-A Portland, which is where he figures to fit into the Red Sox’ short- and long-term plans, thanks to the presence of franchise cornerstone Dustin Pedroia at second base.

Moncada ranked No. 1 on the midseason top prospect lists of both Baseball America and MLB.com, while Baseball Prospectus ranked him second and ESPN’s Keith Law rated him fifth (though it’s worth noting that three of the players ahead of Moncada on Law’s Top 50 are now in the Majors).

Red Sox Notes: Moncada, Buchholz, Papelbon

By Mark Polishuk | August 28, 2016 at 7:03pm CDT

Here’s the latest out of Fenway Park…

Manager John Farrell told reporters (including WEEI.com’s Ryan Hannable) that the Red Sox are discussing internal and external options for a pinch-running speed threat off the bench. Top prospect Yoan Moncada has been mentioned as a possibility to fill the role, though it is “yet to be determined” if Moncada could be promoted, Farrell said. Arguably the game’s best prospect, Moncada has hit .299/.413/.517 over a combined 476 plate appearances at the high-A and Double-A levels this season, not to mention 44 steals in 56 attempts. His lack of experience at Triple-A wouldn’t necessarily be an obstacle if he was to be used primarily as a pinch-runner, though Moncada is such a highly-touted young player that he might not need much more (or even any) seasoning at the plate. Moncada could also get at-bats against left-handed pitching, and maybe see some time at third base though he is still just learning the position.
It looks like the Red Sox may exercise their $13.5MM option on Clay Buchholz for 2017 after all, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes in his weekly notes column. Since losing his rotation job earlier this season, Buchholz has pitched well out of the bullpen, posting a 3.05 ERA and holding hitters to a .506 OPS over 20 2/3 relief innings, though he has also stepped out of the pen to deliver some quality spot starts. The Sox are one of the few teams wealthy enough to afford $13.5MM for a swingman, and they could prefer having a familiar option on hand should they face more rotation struggles in 2017.
Also from Cafardo’s column, he notes that some personal or family issues could be preventing from Jonathan Papelbon from signing with the Red Sox. A reunion between the Sox and their former closer has seemed like a possibility almost as soon as Papelbon was released by the Nationals, though that was two weeks ago and no deal appears imminent despite Boston’s continued interest. The longer he is out of action, presumably the longest it will take for Papelbon to get back into game shape in a minor league assignment, which is another issue since minor league seasons are soon wrapping up. Papelbon would have to sign before Thursday in order to qualify for a postseason roster.
In other Red Sox news from earlier today on MLBTR, the team talked to the White Sox about Chris Sale or Jose Quintana prior to the August 1 trade deadline, though talks didn’t materialize since Boston didn’t want to deal Jackie Bradley Jr. as part of the deal for either star lefty.

AL East Notes: Moncada, A-Rod, Yankees, Rays, Sanchez

By Steve Adams | August 4, 2016 at 9:15am CDT

Top Red Sox prospect Yoan Moncada may not quite be ready to follow Andrew Benintendi to the majors, but GM Mike Hazen says he is playing his way into the team’s near-term plans, as Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald writes. Moncada’s big numbers at Double-A have prompted a move to third base, where he could play at the big league level in relatively short order. Hazen analogized the situation to that of Mookie Betts, who also shifted off of second base — in his case, to the outfield — because he was ready to play but was blocked by stalwart Dustin Pedroia. As for timing of a big league promotion, Hazen declined to offer an opinion, but did note that Moncada has had a very different path to this point than did Benintendi. Also, as Mastrodonato notes, he needs to polish his hitting approach and refine his mechanics from both sides of the plate.

A bit more from the AL East…

The Yankees have no plans to release Alex Rodriguez, general manager Brian Cashman said in a recent ESPN Radio appearance (transcript via the Post’s George A. King III). Cashman acknowledged that some of Rodriguez’s at-bats will go to other players, but injuries or matchups could get Rodriguez additional looks down the stretch. The contract of Rodriguez, which calls for him to earn another $27MM through next season, is a factor, Cashman admitted: “First and foremost, you just have to admit it’s not easy to go ahead and eat — meaning release — that kind of money. It’s not something you come to a quick decision on. There are players around the game with big contracts, well-below-average players, for many years, not just a year. Alex hit 33 home runs, I believe, last year. … If we choose to do something, that’s our right at any time, but right now that’s not being done.”
Cashman appeared on yesterday’s Baseball Tonight podcast with ESPN’s Buster Olney (audio link) and discussed the Yankees’ decision to act as sellers at this year’s deadline as well as the prospects he picked up in trades of Andrew Miller and Carlos Beltran leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline. Cashman also said he has a list of Pirates prospects at the lower levels of their system from which he’ll select a pair of players to be named later in order to complete the Ivan Nova trade, but they’re still in the process of evaluating their options.
Rays infielder Brad Miller tells Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times that he was “extremely disappointed” to learn that newly acquired Matt Duffy will supplant him as the everyday shortstop upon his return from an Achilles injury. Miller considers himself a shortstop and sounds frustrated that he’ll be moved off the position for the second time in his young career. “I feel like I’ve done everything I needed to do to keep the job, and they didn’t see it that way,” he explains. “The same thing happened in Seattle.” Rays skipper Kevin Cash, though, stressed that Miller will still be an everyday player due to his bat. He’ll move over to first base until Logan Morrison’s return and then presumably see regular at-bats spread across several positions as a means of keeping his .252/.300/.484 slash line and 18 homers in the lineup.
Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro said in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM within the past hour (audio link) and said definitively that Aaron Sanchez won’t throw 220 innings this season. Shapiro added that GM Ross Atkins is on his way to discuss scenarios with Sanchez, manager John Gibbons and pitching coach Pete Walker at today. Said Shapiro of the innings limitation on Sanchez: “There’s no safe way to shut him down and ramp him up again. If you take that out, it’s simply do you let him start to a point where he either fatigues and mandates being shut down or he reaches some arbitrary inning amount — 190 or whatever it is — …or do we reallocate this innings in the bullpen and let him continue to contribute to this team in high-leverage situations?”

Red Sox Notes: SPs, Rodney, Farrell, Groome

By Connor Byrne | July 3, 2016 at 9:27am CDT

With Clay Buchholz unable to turn around his dreadful season and the Red Sox set to start journeyman Sean O’Sullivan on Sunday, they are and should be desperate for starting help, writes Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. There’s an expectation around baseball that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski will aggressively seek rotation upgrades in advance of the Aug. 1 trade deadline, which could mean moving top prospects like infielder Yoan Moncada and outfielder Andrew Benintendi, per Drellich, who adds that Dombrowski does value the two highly. Although Dombrowski said last Sunday that there isn’t much help on the market, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels offered his own take on it, telling Drellich that pitching is “always there,” but whether it’s worth the asking price is another matter. “There’s a sense of like, ‘Oh, you can’t trade for an ace. No they’re available all the time,” Daniels informed Drellich as part of a piece that’s absolutely worth a full read.

More from Boston, which is in an uproar after the 43-37 Red Sox’s forgettable June and their humiliating 21-2 loss to the Angels on Saturday:

The Sox were considering taking a run at reliever Fernando Rodney before the Padres traded him to the Marlins earlier this week, though Boston is more interested in acquiring starters than bullpen aid, according to Drellich. With $217MM ace David Price having a tough time preventing runs, Buchholz floundering, and a lack of usable back-end options, that comes as no surprise.
Beleaguered manager John Farrell has his flaws, but he’s far down the list of Boston’s problems and replacing him won’t fix the team’s issues, opines Scott Lauber of ESPN.com. Price’s struggles, the team’s lack of starting pitching depth and an inability to find a solution in left field – where the Red Sox have dealt with injuries this year to Brock Holt, Blake Swihart and Chris Young – won’t magically disappear if Farrell loses his job and bench coach Torey Lovullo takes the helm, Lauber contends. As Lauber points out, if the Red Sox do give Farrell the ax, it’ll be their first in-season firing of a manager since they handed Jimy Williams his walking papers in August 2001. Given that Farrell oversaw back-to-back last-place finishes coming into this season, he could follow in Williams’ unenviable footsteps if a turnaround doesn’t come.
Even though there are concerns about first-round left-hander Jason Groome’s makeup, the Red Sox are expected to sign the 12th overall selection by the July 15 deadline, reports Drellich. A deal could take until the 11th hour to get done with the 17-year-old, though.

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