Phillies Acquire Jose Pirela
The Phillies have acquired Jose Pirela from the Padres for cash considerations, the team reports.
Pirela, 29, was designated for assignment Monday by the Friars. The one-time Yankee was a staple in the Padre lineup from 2017-18, a stretch bookended by an ugly .249/.300/.345 line in 473 plate appearances for the club. Pirela has experience at every position save catcher, shortstop, and center field, and has proven a capable defender at each. In 242 plate appearances for the mash unit that is the El Paso Chihuahuas this season, the 29-year-old did his best to stand out, slashing a hefty .353/.401/.674 with 18 homers for the club.
With the possible, small-sample exception of Brad Miller, Philadelphia’s secondary players haven’t offered much this season. Six of the Phils’ bench players have combined for -2.5 fWAR, a number that’ll surely need a boost if the club’s to nail down one of two hotly-contested NL Wild Card spots.
Righty Tommy Hunter was moved to the 60-Day IL to make room for Pirela on the 40-man.
Is Manuel Margot The Padres Centerfielder Of The Future?
Centerfielder Manuel Margot has played himself back into the conversation for the San Diego Padres, per MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell.
If it seems like Margot has been around forever, that’s because he’s not only in his third season as a regular contributor in San Diego, but before that he was a key piece in the trade that sent Craig Kimbrel to the Red Sox – after which he instantly became the top-rated prospect in the Padres’ system by MLB.com. He was the 26th-ranked prospect in the game at the start of 2016 when he looked like a potential future star in center, batting a projectable .263/.313/.409 as a 22-year-old rookie.
The Padres have had so many prospects enter the national conversation since that 2015 blockbuster that Margot has faded well into the background, not only on the national level but for the Padres as well. As it stands today, Margot’s career line of .251/.303/.394 doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence as the centerfielder of the future.
Still, he’s remarkably only 24-years-old, and as Cassavell points out, for a little over a month now, he’s raked. Since June 23, he’s holding a .260/.387/.519 line. Consider positive career defensive ratings in center (19 DRS, 11.8 UZR), and Margot may yet contribute to the next contender in San Diego.
Despite San Diego’s deep farm system, they don’t necessarily have their next centerfielder bookmarked. That plays in Margot’s favor, but it might also make the Padres all the more proactive in seeking an outside solution. Unless he can consistently put together quality results against right-handers, he’s more likely pegged for a future as a fourth outfielder, whether in San Diego or elsewhere.
The Padres best bet is to play out the string for the remainder of 2019 and hope he does enough to improve his stock for a potential offseason trade. His youth is encouraging, but he’s also approaching his first season of arbitration, making 2019 a put-up-or-shut-up season for Margot. His first time through arbitration won’t break the bank, but it does change his valuation moving forward. Another couple of months like his last, however, and Margot could change that valuation once again.
Latest On Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler
10:35pm: It isn’t definite the Mets will trade Syndergaard, per reports from Anthony DiComo of MLB.com and Anthony Rieber of Newsday, though Rieber adds the club’s “working hard” to move him. The Astros are “pessimistic” about their chances of acquiring Syndergaard, DiComo writes. Meanwhile, it “doesn’t sound like” the Mets and Twins have made headway toward a deal, Martino tweets.
3:58pm: Mets righty Noah Syndergaard has emerged as the perhaps the most talked-about name on the trade market, and his name once again figures to dominate headlines — much as it did in the offseason. Meanwhile, scouts will be watching closely as fellow starter Zack Wheeler takes the hill tonight for his lone pre-deadline showcase start. Here’s the latest on both hurlers …
Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the Mets are seeking an MLB-ready starter who can step right into the rotation in place of Syndergaard, then some additional high-end prospects after that. The pitcher in question needn’t technically be the headliner in the deal, but presumably the Mets are eyeing a controllable (pre-arbitration) starter as well as premier minor leaguers beyond that point.
That aligns with recent reports from SNY’s Andy Martino (Twitter links), who suggests that the Mets view the Padres, Braves, Dodgers, Rays and Yankees as the best on-paper fits in a deal. The Padres and Braves, in particular, are rich with MLB-ready pitchers in the upper minors, and Sherman lists that pair of organizations as the two that the Mets feel are best-positioned to work out a deal.
Notably, Sherman calls the Astros the “most aggressive” pursuer of Syndergaard, but Houston has seen its top pitching prospects take a step back in 2019. Forrest Whitley (shoulder fatigue) has barely pitched in 2019. Corbin Martin underwent Tommy John surgery. Martino suggests that neither the Astros nor Twins are viewed as prime trade partners — likely because other interested parties have better MLB-ready arms to offer. It was reported this morning that the Twins and Mets have discussed Syndergaard, with the Mets showing particular interest in shortstop Royce Lewis and outfielder Alex Kirilloff.
Looking at the teams the Mets apparently believe to be fits, it’s a bit of an eyebrow-raiser to see the Yankees and Braves listed. The Yankees and Mets haven’t lined up on a trade in more than a decade, and the frequent reports out of New York portraying the contempt that Mets owner Fred Wilpon has toward the Yankees make a deal of this nature seem decidedly unlikely. Meanwhile, trading Syndergaard to a division rival would be difficult for Mets fans to stomach, particularly given that he’s controlled through the 2021 season.
Whether the Houston organization can put together a compelling package for Syndergaard, they’ll have other things to talk about with the Mets front office. The ‘Stros are “one of many” teams that have interest in Wheeler, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). Martino tweets that the Yankees also remain interested in Wheeler and will be watching intently this evening.
Padres, White Sox Interested In Nomar Mazara
Reports yesterday from Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News indicated that Rangers outfielder Nomar Mazara was drawing interest from rival teams. Grant mentioned that Mazara was getting looks from teams who weren’t necessarily contenders this season but were looking to contend in 2020, and today Grant specified that the Padres and White Sox were two of the clubs scouting Mazara.
San Diego is something of an odd fit for Mazara on paper, as the Padres already have multiple corner outfield options on hand. Franmil Reyes and Hunter Renfroe have both performed very well this season, the struggling Wil Myers isn’t likely to be going anywhere due to his contract, Travis Jankowski and Josh Naylor are the two primary options in the minor leagues, and Franchy Cordero could also rejoin the mix if he gets healthy.
Then again, Padres GM A.J. Preller was the Rangers’ director of international scouting when Mazara was first signed to a then-record $5MM bonus by the Rangers back in 2011. It wouldn’t at all be surprising if Preller feels a move to a new environment could help Mazara become a consistently productive big league player. It’s also possible the Padres could create some space in the outfield with some trades for pitching over the next week, as the club has been linked to a long list of starting arms over the last several months.
Chicago has Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert ticketed as their respective left and center fielders of the future, though while Leury Garcia has been a useful player, the White Sox could prefer to land a player with more upside like Mazara. Garcia has been one of several Sox players who have generated some trade interest as we approach the deadline, though Chicago isn’t considered to be too interested in moving players, as the club has their eye on contending for the AL Central in 2020. Between Jimenez’s debut, breakout performances from Lucas Giolito and Yoan Moncada, and other young talents who are on the verge of the big leagues, the Pale Hose seem to be on the verge of properly ending their rebuild. (Of course, they almost did so last winter in their push to sign Manny Machado, before losing him to the Padres.)
Latest On Interest In Mets’ Pitchers
Most reports out of New York over the past few weeks have echoed a familiar trio of names when assessing their trade chips: Zack Wheeler, Todd Frazier and Jason Vargas. The three are free agents at season’s end — Vargas does have an $8MM club option ($2MM buyout) that looks increasingly intriguing — making them natural candidates to be shipped out by a 46-54 Mets team that is closer to the NL’s worst record than to the division lead.
The larger source of intrigue surrounds whether the Mets would move assets controlled beyond the current season. To that end, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports within his latest column that the Mets “have been open to dealing” embattled closer Edwin Diaz. General manager Brodie Van Wagenen isn’t in any type of rush to move his offseason headliner, however. Rather, he’s endeavored to receive a comparable package to the one he surrendered in order to get Diaz in the first place. MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets a similar sentiment, noting that the ask on Diaz is “so sky-high that it’s basically a non-starter.” Though ESPN.com’s Buster Olney suggests on Twitter that the Dodgers are a nice match on paper, he doesn’t indicate whether the sides have had actual discussions — let alone whether the Los Angeles organization would meet the Mets’ asking price.
Finding a deal that compares to the one that brought Diaz to New York seems an impossible order. In addition to taking on a hefty chunk of the Robinson Cano contract, the Mets parted with a pair of young players — Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn — who are soaring through the Mariners’ system and up top prospect rankings. Diaz’s strikeout, walk, ground-ball and swinging-strike rates have all gone in the wrong direction. And while he’s tossed six shutout innings since his most recent meltdown — a four-run collapse against the Phillies — he’s still lugging a 4.81 ERA with as many blown saves (four) as he had all of last season.
Even teams that feel they have an answer for Diaz’s struggles wouldn’t be willing to pay a metaphorical dollar-for-dollar rate in negotiations with the Mets. As for taking a lesser deal, the optics of trading him for cents on the dollar while retaining Cano and the sizable portion of his salary they absorbed in that deal would be poor, to say the least. Diaz is controlled through 2022, so a strong finish and/or a 2020 rebound would do wonders for his value.
It seems more plausible that if the Mets were to receive a sizable offer on a controllable arm, it’d be Noah Syndergaard. Olney tweets that the Mets are “seriously listening” to rival clubs that have interest. While Syndergaard hasn’t really thrown in a way that buttresses his own trade value, he’s throwing hard and seems to be in good health. His 4.36 ERA, 8.9 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 would all be career-worsts if the season ended today, but his track record and upside are so impressive that there’ll be loads of interest.
Whether that listening stance has a real chance of turning into meaningful trade talks remains to be seen. Both Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (Twitter links) and Andy Martino of SNY cite the Yankees as the club with perhaps the keenest level of interest in Syndergaard. Both reports suggest that top pitching prospect Deivi Garcia could be a headliner in such a deal, and while GM Brian Cashman plainly stated a couple weeks back that he wouldn’t move Garcia for a rental, Heyman suggests that the Yankees would “surely” put Garcia in play if meant obtaining Syndergaard, who is controlled through 2021.
Of course, the Yankees and Mets simply haven’t dealt with one another on the trade market at any point in recent history, which makes negotiations all the more complicated. And Olney tweets that he doesn’t think the New York rivals will be able to make a deal on such a significant player. Martino writes that the two teams have nevertheless talked Syndergaard “many times” this month, swapping proposals and counterproposals with no real progress being made. A deal is characterized as unlikely, although he also lists the Astros, Padres, Brewers and, to a lesser extent, the Twins as teams trying to pry Syndergaard loose.
That high asking price may not be the case with regard to Wheeler, whose value partially hinges on how well he performs in Friday’s expected return from the injured list. The Mets’ hope seems to be that a strong outing will quiet some concerns about Wheeler’s recent shoulder flareup, but the injury undoubtedly quelled some interest in him. Despite the concerns, Yahoo’s Mike Mazzeo cites a Mets official as calling the chances of a Wheeler trade “pretty high.”
If the Mets don’t find any offers on Wheeler to be viable or, even worse, he experiences renewed shoulder discomfort and is forced back to the IL, the club could retain him and issue a qualifying offer at season’s end. Barring a worrying showing, though, it may be that the Mets will end up simply taking the best offer on a player whose tenure in New York has seen its share of peaks and valleys.
Padres Designate Jose Pirela, Reinstate & Option Travis Jankowski
The Padres have designated utilityman Jose Pirela for assignment, per a club announcement. His 40-man spot was needed for outfielder Travis Jankowski, who was activated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A.
Pirela, 29, has not seen much MLB action this season despite the fact that he has posted loud offensive numbers. Through 242 plate appearances, he’s slashing a robust .353/.401/.674 with 18 long balls.
It seems the Friars had already seen enough to know how they felt about Pirela. He had received a long look in 2018 after a strong 2017 showing, but proved unable to capitalize on the opportunity. Through nearly a thousand total trips to the plate at the game’s highest level, Pirela is a .258/.307/.390 hitter (88 wRC+).
The story isn’t altogether different for Jankowski, who has run through 953 plate appearances in the majors with marginal results (.242/.319/.321; 79 wRC+). He is a year-and-a-half younger than Pirela and arguably offers a slightly higher floor with highly-graded glovework and baserunning. Jankowski hasn’t been overly impressive with the bat during his rehab assignment — his plate discipline hasn’t quite made up for a total power outage (.254/.371/.271) — but will get another chance to show he deserves a big-league job in San Diego.
Red Sox Interested In Ken Giles, Kirby Yates
While Nathan Eovaldi has been slated to become Boston’s closer, the Red Sox continue to monitor the closer market, with MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi (via Twitter) reporting that the Sox have “active interest” in the Blue Jays’ Ken Giles and the Padres’ Kirby Yates.
The bullpen has been seen as a longstanding problem for the Sox dating back to the offseason, when the team seemed content to let Craig Kimbrel leave in free agency and then more or less stand pat with its relief options. That strategy has resulted in some pretty inconsistent results from the Red Sox pen this season, with Eovaldi’s recent role change seen as a two birds-with-one stone idea that would both help preserve Eovaldi’s elbow and get him back on a mound quicker, and also address Boston’s need for a stable closer.
Of course, Eovaldi has no experience closing games, so it makes sense that the Sox would at least be checking into options like Yates and Giles to see if another move was possible. That said, there are a lot of obstacles standing in the way of a trade for either closer. The Jays have a big asking price on Giles, while the Padres would reportedly only trade Yates for “an overwhelming offer.” Ergo, acquiring either right-hander would require the Sox to dig deep into an already-thin farm system.
In a pure bidding war for young minor leaguers, it seems unlikely that the Sox would be able to outbid most other interested suitors for either Giles or Yates, and their normal financial might (in terms of taking on money to accommodate trades) is limited by the team’s close proximity to the top luxury tax threshold of $246MM. Neither Giles or Yates are on particularly big salaries, though every dollar counts considering Roster Resource has Boston’s luxury tax number at just under $244MM.
While high-profile trades between division rivals are usually pretty rare, the Red Sox and Blue Jays combined on a notable deal just last summer, when the Sox acquired future World Series MVP from Toronto. By contrast, one wonders if the Sox could actually have a tougher time completing a trade with the Padres given the controversy that erupted between the two clubs over the Drew Pomeranz deal in July 2016. That said, San Diego and Boston have combined on one swap since the Pomeranz trade, the relatively minor deal last November that saw Colten Brewer go to the Sox.
If nothing else, Boston’s interest in Giles and Yates indicates that the team still sees itself as a contender and a buyer at the trade deadline. At this point, however, it seems like the Sox are vying only for a wild card spot, as Boston sits 11 games behind the Yankees in the AL East race. The Red Sox are three games behind Oakland for the final AL wild card berth, and with a tough road to travel just to get to a one-game playoff, there has been some suggestion (from both the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham and MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) that the Sox should consider trading some veterans to unload salary and restock on young talent for another run in 2020.
Boston’s next 14 games are all against either the Yankees or the Rays, with eight of those games coming before the July 31 trade deadline. Both Abraham and Cotillo cite this upcoming stretch as the potential turning point of the Red Sox season, with Abraham describing the team’s July 29 off-day as “the organization’s deadline to decide whether this season is worth trying to save.”
Padres Promote Michel Baez, Adrian Morejon
SUNDAY: The promotions of Baez and Morejon are official. The Padres made room for them by optioning outfielder Josh Naylor and righty Trey Wingenter to Triple-A El Paso. They also transferred injured pitchers Adam Warren and Miguel Diaz to the 60-day IL.
SATURDAY: Righty Michel Baez‘s promotion to the Padres from Double-A Amarillo is “imminent,” per the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Kevin Acee. Baez, who was a nominal starter prospect – and near-consensus top-100 name – prior to the 2019 season, has worked strictly in relief for Amarillo since returning from a back injury in mid-May.
It’s the third in a string of high-profile prospect promotions for the plummeting Padres this weekend, who also recalled INF Luis Urias from Triple-A El Paso and are set to select the contract of touted lefty Adrian Morejon, also from Double-A. The San Diego ‘pen has been in shambles lately: apart from the untouchable Kirby Yates, who’s on pace for one of the best reliever seasons in MLB history, the revolving high-leverage door for the Friars hasn’t yielded a single reliable arm.
Baez’s prospect stock has slid considerably this season, with FanGraphs now characterizing his once-solid command as “fringe” and bemoaning an unforeseen velocity drop in the latter stages of the 2018 season. The 6’8 righty’s size can be a “hindrance,” per Baseball America, who notes that Baez has struggled to repeat his delivery of late. MLB.com is the high team on the 23-year-old: they place him at a solid #70 on the site’s top 100 list.
In 27 innings for Amarillo this year, Baez has set down 38 and walked 11 en route to a 2.00 ERA. Like soon-to-be teammate Morejon, Baez isn’t on the club’s 40-man roster, so two players will need to be jettisoned from the group shortly. The club also must make room for lefty Jose Castillo, who’s set to return soon from a lengthy injury absence.
Padres To Promote Adrian Morejon
The Padres will promote Double-A left-hander Adrian Morejon to the majors Saturday, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports. The club’s 40-man roster is full, so it will need to make a corresponding move to clear a spot for Morejon.
Now 20, Morejon is three years removed from joining the Padres for a whopping $11MM bonus as an international free agent out of Cuba. Morejon has been somewhat injury plagued since signing that deal, ESPN’s Keith Law recently noted (subscription required), yet he’s still considered one of the game’s most exciting farmhands. Both Baseball America (No. 46) and MLB.com (No. 49) rank Morejon among the majors’ 50 best prospects. In their free scouting report, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com laud Morejon’s arsenal – which includes a mid- to high-90s fastball, two above-average kinds of changeups and a curveball – and add he could become a mid-rotation starter or better in the majors.
Morejon will work out of the bullpen in his first major league action, according to Lin, as he’s not stretched out to start in the bigs at this juncture. He has combined for just 36 innings in 16 appearances this year at the Double-A level, where he has posted a 4.25 ERA/3.69 FIP with 11.0 K/9, 3.75 BB/9 and a 50.6 percent groundball rate.
Morejon’s presence will give the slumping Padres a second lefty reliever to join Matt Strahm in a righty-heavy relief setup. In the event he stays up through the season, Morejon will accrue 71 days of service time.
Padres To Recall Luis Urias
The Padres are bringing young infielder Luis Urias back onto the active roster, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). He had been at Triple-A since a brief, early-season stint. The corresponding roster move isn’t yet known.
Many fans would’ve preferred to see Urias spending more time in the majors at an earlier point. Indeed, it came as no small surprise that he did not open the year on the active roster. An offseason call to sign Ian Kinsler combined with the undeniable rise of Fernando Tatis Jr. conspired to force Urias back to the upper minors.
While he scuffled in a brief MLB showing and during his even shorter stint this year, Urias remains a highly touted prospect. Indeed, the 22-year-old has raised his stock with a strong output this year with El Paso. Over 339 plate appearances, he carries a .315/.398/.600 batting line with 19 home runs. Even in the offensively favorable context he’s playing in, that’s a notable power breakout.
Better still, Urias hasn’t been forced to sacrifice other aspects of his game to generate the pop. That .398 OBP? Remarkably, it’s precisely the same mark he posted in each of his two prior minor-league campaigns. The difference is that he has steadily increased his slugging output from .380 to .447 to this year’s eyebrow-raising .600 level.
Entering the season, Urias had accrued 34 days of MLB service. He spent another 13 days up in 2019 before the forthcoming promotion. If he stays up with the San Diego club after joining it tomorrow, Urias can tack on another 72 days down the stretch. In total, then, he cannot finish the present season with no more than 119 total days of service — a number that will almost certainly not be enough to allow him to qualify for an extra season of arbitration eligibility as a Super Two player.