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Raisel Iglesias

Quick Hits: Giants, Harper, Iglesias, Severino

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Giants frontman Farhan Zaidi is still exploring trade opportunities, per Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter). The recent additions of Gerardo Parra, Craig Gentry, and Yangervis Solarte, after all, aren’t likely to form the backbone of the next World Series champion in the Bay. Still, they fit as puzzle pieces in Zaidi’s strategy to build the organization’s depth while maintaining future roster flexibility. They’re particularly high on Solarte, whom they see as a switch-hitter with above-average contact skills and 15-20 homer potential. His ability to play all over the field should keep him getting regular at-bats, Crowley writes in the Mercury News, and the Giants are optimistic about the potential returns. Per his word, Zaidi has focused on building depth and flexibility thus far, extending more than 20 invites to major league camp and avoiding any long-term roster obligations. Of course, Bryce Harper remains at large, and the Giants have emerged as a potential suitor. One would think Harper would be the type of foundational piece who could buoy the type of depth Zaidi is amassing, but Zaidi knows that even a talent like Harper isn’t a cure-all. For now, Harper remains one avenue among many open to Zaidi. In that sense, he fits Zaidi’s plan perfectly. Let’s check in on a couple other notes from around the league…

  • New Reds manager David Bell won’t assign the “closer” label to Raisel Iglesias, as the Reds are buying the new fad gripping bullpens league-wide of role fluidity, per the Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans. Put simply, the Reds plan on using Iglesias to help them win games. If that manifests itself through an appearance in the 7th or 8th, so be it. Still, the Reds anticipate Iglesias getting the bulk of save opportunities. Jared Hughes, David Hernandez and Amir Garrett could be called upon to close out games when Iglesias is unavailable. Traditional thinking has kept bullpen arms in well-defined roles in part because of the supposed psychological benefits of “knowing your role” – otherwise known as clear expectations. Bell and the Reds staff plan on communicating often with the bullpen crew, making sure that they are aware of their roles, even as those roles prove more dynamic than in year’s past.
  • It’s probably better for players overall if Luis Severino and Aaron Nola go year-to-year through the arbitration process, writes Joel Sherman of the NY Post, but therein lies the quandary for players weighing the risk/reward of securing their own long-term futures against market growth. While setting high arbitration annuals and reaching free agency at the earliest possible moment might technically be the best thing for the player market overall, Severino’s prudent personal decision to lock-in the first significant payday of his career makes a lot of sense from a personal standpoint. His future value was always going to be vulnerable to injury or further uneven performance such as his struggles at the end of last season. The competing interests of individual security v. collective wealth is a disadvantage the players’ union will face continually in the lead up to CBA negotiations in 2021. Yasmani Grandal represents the best recent example of the other side of this issue, as he took a one-year deal over multi-year offers in part to keep establishing higher AAVs for catchers. 

Reds Agree To Three-Year Deal With Raisel Iglesias

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NOVEMBER 27: Iglesias will receive a $6MM salary in 2019, followed by $9MM and $9.125MM paydays, per Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter).

NOVEMBER 21: The Reds announced today that they have agreed to a three-year deal with closer Raisel Iglesias. It will promise him $24.125MM, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter), but won’t expand the team’s control rights.

This is a fairly unusual contract agreement; though we have seen an increasing number of multi-year, arbitration-only deals, they are typically of shorter duration and in some cases give the team additional option years. In this case, though, Iglesias was playing under an unusual contract in the first place, having signed a deal that would no longer be permitted under MLB’s international rules.

Under his original contract, Iglesias had the right to exit the guaranteed portion of the deal and enter arbitration. He elected not to do so last year, but still had the right to turn down the $5MM payday he already had in hand for 2019.* Whether or not he’d have done so is not clear, but perhaps he’d have rolled the dice on boosting his salary both now and in the future. Certainly, barring a disastrous intervening campaign, it was highly likely he’d have elected to test the arb process in 2020.

Where things get confusing with this deal is the 2021 campaign, the final year covered. Under his original contract, which runs only through 2020, he did not obtain the right to elect free agency early. Accordingly, he’d already have been controlled through 2021 regardless of today’s extension. That distinguishes it in a critical way from, say, the recent extensions secured by Brad Hand (link) and Felipe Vazquez (link).

In other words, this deal is all about resolving the salary uncertainty and fixing a price tag for Iglesias. The Reds will lock into a new payday to shave off some of the earning upside for Iglesias. Instead of the $10MM total he was promised over the 2019 and 2020 seasons, with the upside to earn more in those years and in particular in 2021, Iglesias will now secure an additional $14.125MM in guaranteed money. It’s certainly possible he could have earned more than that through arbitration, with good health and continued saves tallies, particularly if he had opted into arbitration this season and secured a big new starting point.

As part and parcel of the financial maneuvering, this move represents an indication that the Reds expect Iglesias not only to remain a productive reliever, but also to hold down the closer’s role. Saves, after all, are a key driver of reliever earnings in arbitration. Of course, it’s also still possible he’ll be shipped out to another organization, but this contract may also be intended in part as a commitment to a core player.

Iglesias, who’ll turn 29 before the start of the 2019 campaign, showed quite a bit of promise as a starter in his debut season of 2015. For reasons that remain somewhat unclear, he was bumped into the bullpen in the ensuing season and ultimately slid into the ninth inning. Iglesias has since mostly functioned as a traditional closer, with occasional multi-inning appearances but not enough to stand out.

Though it’s tantalizing to think of what might have been, Iglesias has thrived as a reliever. In 163 total appearances from the pen, he has compiled 201 innings of 2.42 ERA ball with 10.2 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9, picking up 64 saves along the way. He sits in the 96 mph range with his average fastball and still leans on both a change and curve. Iglesias has been utterly dominant against righties and solid-enough against left-handed hitters; in the aggregate he’s among the game’s more effective relievers.

*The original version of this post mistakenly stated that Iglesias had decided not to opt out of his 2019 guaranteed salary. In fact, he had only previously decided against doing so in 2018. 

NL Central Notes: Iglesias, Cubs, Pirates

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In the wake of Raisel Iglesias’s newly-signed deal with the Reds, Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer suggests that Iglesias may operate in an altered role for the club in 2019, which may have been part of the team’s motivation to guarantee his salary for the next three seasons. Having worked as the Reds’ full-time closer for the previous two years, Iglesias may be utilized in a greater variety of game situations moving forward. Free of added pressure to eclipse certain statistical benchmarks as a means of boosting his arbitration salary, Iglesias may feel more comfortable pitching in non-save situations, allowing new manager David Bell to deploy his best bullpen weapon in a more versatile role. General manager Dick Williams acknowledged that getting Iglesias and team management on the same page was a factor in finalizing a new contract with his star reliever; now, Iglesias and the team can concern themselves solely with winning games, rather than worrying about the counting stats that influence arbitration salaries.

All this is not to say that Iglesias has struggled as a closer; in fact, he has excelled in the role, converting 58 of 64 save opportunities over the last two years and notching a 2.43 ERA over that span. Rather, this will simply grant Bell and new pitching coach Derek Johnson increased flexibility in their usage of Iglesias as they seek to maximize his value. It should be noted that Josh Hader, who often pitched multiple innings and entered in high-leverage situations regardless of inning, pitched under Johnson when he served as the Brewers’ pitching coach for the last three seasons.

More from around the NL Central…

  • Following Jim Hickey’s departure from the team, the Cubs may have found a favorite to fill their vacant pitching coach position from within the organization. The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma writes that Tommy Hottovy, who currently serves as the club’s run prevention coordinator, has emerged as a leading candidate to seize the job, although no final decision has been made. Just 37, Hottovy has endeared himself to players and coaches up and down the organization, and his presence may help quell some of the uncertainty that comes with Hickey’s unexpected resignation. He has been touted for his communication skills and analytical inclination, and his working relationship with catching coach Mike Borzello has been cited as part of the reason for the team’s sustained pitching success despite coaching instability. Hottovy and Borzello have been credited with tapping into the potential of numerous pitchers over the years, fueling breakouts from Kyle Hendricks, Jake Arrieta, and others. Furthermore, he would provide a familiarity that President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein covets, much like newly-hired hitting coach Anthony Iapoce, who worked in the Cubs organization from 2013-15.
  • The Pirates have hired Jacob Cruz to be their assistant hitting coach, writes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Cruz previously worked as the Cubs’ minor-league hitting coordinator, a position he earned after joining the organization in 2017 as the Double-A hitting coach. Cruz’s departure represents yet another point of turnover for the Cubs’ coaching staff: the team will also need to fill the hole left by the departure of pitching coach Jim Hickey, who has chosen to step down for personal reasons. For the Pirates, Cruz will join new hitting coach Rick Eckstein in the club’s overhauled hitting department. Alongside Eckstein, he will look to hone the potential of Josh Bell and Gregory Polanco, among others, in order to reinvigorate an offense that ranked 10th in the National League in runs scored.

NL Central Rumors: Cubs, Tepera, Yates, Harvey, Duvall, Iglesias, Brewers

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The Cubs are among the slew of teams continuing to monitor the market for bullpen upgrades, and they’ve “closely” scouted Blue Jays right-hander Ryan Tepera and Padres righty Kirby Yates, per Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago/670 The Score. Both relievers figure to come with a relatively high cost of acquisition, as Yates is controlled through the 2020 season, while Tepera is controlled all the way through 2021. Each is in the midst of a fine season, though Yates has been among the NL’s best relievers thanks largely to a newly adopted splitter that has been a wipeout offering in 2018. Tepera is sitting on a 3.71 ERA with nearly 10 strikeouts per nine innings pitched in a tough AL East (and a tough home park, Toronto’s Rogers Centre). Both players are plenty affordable, with Tepera not yet eligible for arbitration until this offseason and Yates earning just $1.0625MM in his first trip through the arb process last winter.

Also on the Cubs front, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that while it should be considered a “long shot,” the Cubs can’t be ruled out as a candidate to add a controllable starting pitcher. Doing so would likely mean building a package around young infielder/outfielder Ian Happ, controlled through the 2023 season, or a similarly enticing young hitter. Happ, 24 in two weeks, has displayed plenty of promise this year with a .253/.375/.445 slash, but while he walks at an impressive 16.1 percent clip, he’s also punched out in more than 35 percent of his plate appearances.

Here’s more out of the division…

  • The Reds haven’t gotten that much traction in their trade talks surrounding Matt Harvey, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman adds that the team feels Harvey has been a model teammate and may just hang onto him if no suitable offers crop up, though he also notes that that line of thinking could be mere posturing on the Reds’ behalf. Fancred’s Jon Heyman, meanwhile, tweets that outfielder Adam Duvall’s name continues to bounce around the rumor circuit, calling him and Harvey the two likeliest Reds to move. Heyman notes that the Reds would need to be “blown away” to move closer Raisel Iglesias, which largely lines up with previous reports that the Reds believe they can be significantly more competitive in 2019 despite a dearth of quality starting pitching.
  • The Brewers are still in the market for upgrades after acquiring both Joakim Soria and Mike Moustakas, tweets Rosenthal. Specifically, Milwaukee is continuing to explore the market for a starting pitching upgrade and the market for some help behind the plate. The Brewers have recently been linked to the likes of Zack Wheeler and Chris Archer, though the market offers myriad opportunities to add an arm to the staff. There’s a more limited supply of available catchers, though Marlins star J.T. Realmuto, injured Rays backstop Wilson Ramos and Mets rental Devin Mesoraco are all candidates to change teams between now and the non-waiver deadline, which is roughly 24 hours away.

Trade Rumors: Andujar, Padres, Cards, J. Martinez, Rangers, Reds

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The Yankees were involved in the Manny Machado sweepstakes before the Dodgers acquired him from the Orioles this week, though adding him wouldn’t have led New York to trade rookie third baseman Miguel Andujar. Rather, the Yankees simply would have platooned Andujar at first base or sent him down to the minors while Machado played third, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required). The bottom line is that the Yankees “have no plans to trade Andujar,” writes Rosenthal, who adds that they recently turned down the Padres when they asked for the 23-year-old in exchange for reliever Brad Hand. San Diego ended up sending Hand to Cleveland in a blockbuster deal on Thursday.

More trade-related material as the July 31 non-waiver deadline approaches…

  • Thanks in large part to his defensive shortcomings, Cardinals first baseman Jose Martinez is seemingly shifting toward a part-time role. As a result, the Cardinals could trade the 29-year-old – perhaps for a left-handed reliever or lefty-hitting position player – Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. If the Cardinals are going to deal Martinez anywhere, it’ll likely be to a team in the American League, where he’d be able to work as a designated hitter. But it doesn’t seem the Redbirds are going to trade Martinez for Orioles southpaw reliever Zach Britton, whom they’re not pursuing, according to Goold. Since debuting in earnest last year, Martinez has been a minus defender in the outfield and at first base. He has done his best to offset that with his bat, though, having slashed .303/.372/.497 with 27 home runs in 663 plate appearances.
  • Sticking with the Cardinals, it doesn’t appear they’re going to move out any pitchers prior to the deadline. Top starter Carlos Martinez has come up in trade speculation, though president of baseball operations John Mozeliak indicated to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com and other reporters on Thursday that the team won’t be subtracting from its staff. “For us, the one core we have is pitching,” Mozeliak said. “And to start trying to arbitrage that would have to be a very special-type deal, otherwise it would make no sense to us. None of that has presented itself to me. No one has called me with any great ideas that way. One of the responsibilities is us looking at potential trades, potential partners, but nothing that I’ve looked at would make sense in that regard. I don’t envision us moving pitching.”
  • The Rangers won’t be trading pending free-agent third baseman Adrian Beltre “unless circumstances change drastically,” TR Sullivan of MLB.com writes. Despite Beltre’s age (39), Texas would like to re-sign the franchise great. Beltre, for his part, is a 10-and-5 player who’d be able to block any trade. Meanwhile, fellow aging Ranger Bartolo Colon isn’t drawing much trade interest, Sullivan reports. The 45-year-old has been a serviceable addition for Texas (4.64 ERA, 5.23 K/9, 1.43 BB/9 in 106 2/3 innings), though he’s not going to move the needle for a contender. Infielder/outfielder Jurickson Profar would likely garner attention on the market, on the other hand, and Sullivan doesn’t close the door on the Rangers dealing him. The former star prospect, 25, is amid his best season, having hit .243/.326/.430 with nine home runs, eight steals and just 46 strikeouts in 350 plate appearances. Profar has produced those numbers on a low salary ($1.05MM) and still has two more years of arbitration eligibility left.
  • Reds relievers Raisel Iglesias, Amir Garrett, David Hernandez and Jared Hughes are “in demand” around the league, according to Jon Paul Morosi of MLB.com. Whether the Reds are interested in dealing any of those pitchers is unclear, especially considering all four are controllable beyond this season and the team may push toward contending in 2019. Iglesias was already a hot commodity entering 2018, while Garrett has performed well in his first season as a reliever, and both Hernandez and Hughes have been quality free-agent pickups for Cincy.

Trade Rumblings: Hand, Dodgers, Dozier, Heaney, Skaggs

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Though the Phillies lost out to the Dodgers in the Manny Machado sweepstakes, they’re far from done looking for upgrades to their ballclub. Dennis Lin of The Athletic tweets that the club is interested in Padres reliever Brad Hand. As Lin notes, there are certainly many other clubs in competition for the lefty’s services; he’s easily one of the most talented bullpen arms in the game. As one might expect, however, San Diego’s asking price for Hand remains very high, as he can be controlled through the 2021 season at a very reasonable cost. The Yankees, Indians and Cubs are among the other teams who’ve been connected to Hand, who owns a 3.03 ERA and 13.20 K/9 on the season.

More rumors and rumblings from around the league…

  • The Dodgers aren’t done yet, either, Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports reports, as they’ll now pursue a reliever to help closer Kenley Jansen at the back end of their bullpen. It’s worth noting that Los Angeles will sit just a few million dollars below the luxury tax threshold following the acquisition of Machado, so any bullpen additions will likely come cheap, or send a player (such as Logan Forsythe) back to a trade partner in order to offset some of financial burden involved. In addition to Hand, Jeurys Familia, Zach Britton, Kirby Yates, Craig Stammen and Raisel Iglesias are just a few names who could be available.
  • Also in the aftermath of the Machado sweepstakes, the Brewers are left looking to acquire an infield upgrade. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that they’re expected to explore trading for Twins second baseman Brian Dozier. With Minnesota all but out of the the AL Central race already and Dozier set to become a free agent at season’s end, he makes plenty of sense as a potential trade target for the Brewers, despite a down season so far. The Brewers are also expected to explore pitching upgrades, Rosenthal adds.
  • Also from Rosenthal, the Angels aren’t likely to trade young starters Andrew Heaney and Tyler Skaggs, despite previous reports that the club might consider doing so. The Angels see the two young southpaws as key components during a 2019 season in which they hope to contend. Rather, Rosenthal notes, the club is more interested in trading some of their relievers (he lists Jose Alvarez, Blake Parker, Cam Bedrosian and Justin Anderson), though they’d want a good enough return to justify giving up controllable players.

Trade Rumblings: Angels, Yanks, Eovaldi, Mets, Odorizzi, Astros, Iglesias

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The Angels, one game over .500 and 10 out of a playoff spot, could elect to sell at the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. If that happens, they may have logical trade partners in the Yankees, Jon Morosi of MLB.com observes. The Yankees have been scouting the Angels, per Morosi, who writes that New York “would have interest” in left-handers Tyler Skaggs and Andrew Heaney if were they to become available. Further, there are likely Yankees prospects who would pique the Angels’ interest, given that Halos general manager Billy Eppler had a prominent role in the Bombers’ front office not long ago.

While it’s unclear if either Skaggs or Heaney will hit the block, Rays righty Nathan Eovaldi will likely end up on the move in the next couple weeks. The Yankees, with whom he pitched from 2015-16, have “closely” watched Eovaldi of late, as have the Brewers and Braves (among others), Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports. Eovaldi’s most recent start was a nightmare, as he allowed eight earned runs on nine hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings against Minnesota on Friday. In the process, his season ERA climbed from 3.35 to 4.59 (with a 4.45 FIP) over 51 innings.

More rumblings as the deadline nears:

  • The Mets are unlikely to trade any of Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard or Steven Matz prior to the deadline, Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears. That in itself isn’t surprising, but the Mets’ valuation of Matz is arguably eyebrow-raising. They’re treating Matz more like an ace “than an oft-injured, No. 3 starter” in discussions with other teams, Sherman writes. Assuming Matz stays along with the Mets’ co-aces, the likelihood is that their most valuable trade chips will be righty Zack Wheeler, closer Jeurys Familia and infielder Asdrubal Cabrera, per Sherman.
  • More from Sherman, who reports that Twins righty Jake Odorizzi is “very available.” The Twins acquired Odorizzi fom the Rays during the winter, when they had designs on a second straight playoff trip, but Minnesota has since struggled to a 43-49 record. Odorizzi hasn’t really been part of the solution, having logged a 4.54 ERA/4.63 FIP through 101 innings, but he is controllable beyond this season. The 28-year-old’s on a $6.3MM salary now and has a season of arbitration eligibility remaining.
  • The belief is that the Astros’ front office has a high opinion of Reds closer Raisel Iglesias, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com relays. That’s hardly a shock, as most who follow the game think highly of Iglesias, but it’s notable considering the Astros are in the market for bullpen help. Iglesias would fit nicely into their relief corps or any other team’s, but the 28-year-old – a careerlong Red – would like to remain in Cincinnati. On the subject of trade rumors, Iglesias said through an interpreter: “I’m not paying attention at all to that. I want to stay here. I don’t want to go anywhere else, but I don’t control that. If I could control it, I would stay here and play here for all of my career.”

Latest On Matt Harvey, Raisel Iglesias

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3:20pm: A source disputes the reporting from the Nationals’ perspective, per Chelsea Janes and Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post (Twitter links). The Washington organization does not have interest in Harvey and “seems unlikely” to be a real bidder on Iglesias, according to the WaPo duo. The Nats are said to have shown some interest in Iglesias as a reliever, but that came before they acquired Kelvin Herrera.

10:07am: The Nationals have been in touch with the Reds recently and are eyeing right-handers Matt Harvey and Raisel Iglesias, in particular, according to Jon Heyman of Fancred (Twitter link). Perhaps most interestingly, Heyman notes that several clubs are intrigued by the idea of using Iglesias as a starter.

Harvey, 29, has undeniably raised his stock since joining the Reds in a trade nearly two months ago in a trade that sent Devin Mesoraco to New York. Through 53 2/3 innings out of the Cincinnati rotation, he’s worked to a 3.86 ERA with 6.7 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 1.17 HR/9 and a 43 percent ground-ball rate. More encouraging than the bottom-line numbers is the fact that Harvey has steadily improved his velocity over the course of his tenure in Cincinnati; he’s averaged nearly 95 mph on his fastball over his past five starts and is averaging 94.2 mph on his heater as a Red after averaging 92.6 mph as a Met.

Harvey would be a pure rental for any team that acquires him, as he’s slated to hit free agency at season’s end. From the Nationals’ vantage point, though, it’s not clear he’d be a definitive upgrade over their in-house options. The Nats’ current top three of Max Scherzer, Tanner Roark and Gio Gonzalez is a strong trio, and while it’s not known exactly when Stephen Strasburg will rejoin the team, he did recently throw a bullpen session. If Strasburg’s absence proves to be lengthy, the need for a starter would be more pronounced. If he can return in the reasonably near future, though, it’s tougher to call Harvey a demonstrative upgrade over current fifth starter Jeremy Hellickson, who has turned in a perhaps surprisingly effective season to date (2.63 ERA, 7.1 K/9, 1.5 BB/9, 3.51 FIP, 3.55 xFIP through 48 innings).

As for Iglesias, he stands out as a reasonable target for virtually any team with postseason aspirations. The 28-year-old has stepped up as Cincinnati’s closer over the past two seasons and pitched quite well, regularly pitching more than an inning per appearance. Since Opening Day 2017, he’s pitched 112 2/3 innings (97 appearances) and posted a 2.48 ERA with 10.6 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and 0.8 HR/9. Beyond that, he’s controlled for three more years after the 2018 season, making him a long-term piece for any club to add to its staff — be it in the bullpen or rotation.

The Nationals’ bullpen is much improved from a year ago, as they’ve since added Sean Doolittle, Ryan Madson, Brandon Kintzler and Kelvin Herrera, to say nothing of the surprisingly dominant Justin Miller. But Iglesias would nonetheless further deepen an increasingly productive relief corps for manager Dave Martinez or, perhaps, serve as an upside play to plug into the fifth spot in the Washington rotation. If that proved to be a role in which he could thrive, he’d give the team a valuable option there with Gonzalez and Hellickson set to hit free agency at season’s end and Roark controlled only through 2019.

Red Sox Notes: Iglesias, Deadline, Lind, Chavis

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The Red Sox and Astros are among the teams with interest in Reds closer Raisel Iglesias, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Houston, in particular, is “looking hard at Iglesias,” Cafardo writes. The Astros had been eyeing fellow late-game option Kelvin Herrera, per Cafardo, though he’s no longer on the market after the Royals traded him to the Nationals earlier this month. Unlike Herrera, a free agent at season’s end, Iglesias could be a multiyear solution for an acquiring team. The 28-year-old standout is under control through 2020 for affordable salaries ($4.5MM this season, $5MM in each of 2019 and ’20), though he could elect to opt into arbitration over the winter in hopes of securing a raise. Given Iglesias’ track record and remaining team control, the Reds would surely require an impressive haul to consider moving him. It’s worth noting, then, that the Astros have Baseball America’s 10th-best farm system, while the Red Sox’s prospect pool is just 24th.

Here’s more on Boston…

  • Red Sox president Dave Dombrowski told Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com and other reporters on Saturday that he’s talking trades with multiple teams, but he suggested he’s content with his roster as it is. Regardless of whether Boston makes more moves (it picked up infielder/outfielder Steve Pearce in a deal with Toronto this week), Dombrowski expects trade action to continue across the league well before the July 31 non-waiver deadline. “I will tell you, as we talk to various clubs, there are a lot more clubs that are motivated to do things quickly from a trading perspective, if they get what they want,” said Dombrowski, who added that the Red Sox’s desire to keep their payroll under $237MM won’t necessarily stop them from making further additions. Should the team exceed that figure, its top pick in the 2019 draft would drop 10 spots.
  • First baseman Adam Lind will have a chance to opt out of his minor league deal with the Red Sox on Sunday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic tweets. McCaffrey adds that Dombrowski is hopeful Lind will remain at Triple-A Pawtucket, where he has batted .263/.321/.455 in 109 plate appearances since inking his minors pact May 29. Given the presences of first basemen Pearce and Mitch Moreland – a fellow left-handed hitter – and corner outfield/designated hitter options Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi and J.D. Martinez, major league playing time looks as if it will be hard to come by for Lind if he stays with the organization.
  • The Red Sox will activate infielder Michael Chavis, their top-ranked prospect at MLB.com, on Sunday, Dombrowski announced (via Cotillo). Chavis served an 80-game suspension after testing positive for dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, a performance-enhancing drug. The 22-year-old will start with Class-A Lowell and eventually work his way back to Double-A Portland, where he played most of last season.

Reds Place Raisel Iglesias On Disabled List

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The Reds announced this afternoon that they’ve placed closer Raisel Iglesias on the 10-day disabled list due to soreness in his left (non-throwing) biceps. Fellow righty Austin Brice is also headed to the DL thanks to an upper back injury. In their place, the Reds activated righties Michael Lorenzen and Tanner Rainey from the disabled list. The announcement didn’t include any expected timeline for either player’s absence.

Iglesias, 28, struggled with his control early in the season but has corrected that issue lately and looked to be in excellent form since late April. He did issue a pair of runs and suffer his second blown save in his most recent appearance, but he’s gone 10 outings without issuing a walk and pitched to a 1.74 ERA with 12 strikeouts in that time. Overall in 21 2/3 innings this season, he’s notched a 2.08 ERA with 11.2 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 1.25 HR/9 and a 36.2 percent ground-ball rate.

Brice, meanwhile, has been scored upon in four of his past past five appearances, causing his ERA to balloon up to 4.67 despite largely promising K/BB and ground-ball tendencies. In 25 innings of relief this season, he’s averaged 9.4 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 with a 50.7 percent ground-ball rate. He’s been too prone to the long ball, though, already serving up four homers on the season. That’s been an ongoing trend for Brice in the big leagues, as he’s yielded a dozen big flies in just 71 2/3 frames at the game’s top level.

[Related: Cincinnati Reds depth chart | MLB closer depth chart at Roster Resource]

It’s not yet clear who’ll step into the ninth inning for the Reds with Iglesias out of action. For all of the Reds’ flaws, they actually have several high-quality options in the ’pen, where Amir Garrett, Jared Hughes and Dylan Floro have all worked to a sub-2.00 ERA in 2018. Garrett has very arguably been the team’s most dominant relief arm, averaging better than 10 strikeouts per nine innings and notching a 1.67 ERA in his 27 frames this far. The veteran Hughes has shown the best control of the bunch and comes with the most late-inning experience in the big leagues, having spent several seasons as a setup man for the division-rival Pirates. Lorenzen, meanwhile, was the top setup man to Iglesias last season but has yet to pitch in the Majors this season due to a shoulder strain that caused him to open the season on the disabled list.

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