Padres Rumors

Rays Still Exploring Bullpen Market

By Steve Adams | July 28, 2017 at 8:52pm CDT

The Rays have been one of baseball’s most active clubs on the trade market, acquiring Lucas Duda, Steve Cishek, Dan Jennings and Sergio Romo in the past week as they gear up for a run at the American League East. And, despite having picked up three bullpen arms, they’re still exploring the relief market, according to MLB Network’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link). Per Rosenthal, the Rays are still looking into Padres lefty Brad Hand, among others.

Even with Cishek, Jennings and Romo in the fold, the Rays have some room for upgrades, as can be seen on their depth chart over at Roster Resource. Rookie Adam Kolarek has been the second lefty in the ’pen behind the newly acquired Jennings, but he was optioned to Triple-A tonight after struggling through his first 10 appearances as a big leaguer (h/t: Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, on Twitter). As such, the Rays’ interest in Hand — or a continuation of their previously reported interest in Tigers lefty Justin Wilson — would make plenty of sense.

From the right side, Romo himself is far from a sure thing after struggling badly with the Dodgers. He was picked up in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations after being designated for assignment, so the Rays don’t need to afford him a long leash if he performs poorly or if the opportunity to acquire a superior option presents itself. Kolarek’s option back to Triple-A will create room to add Cishek to the relief corps, but that will also leave Tampa Bay with just one lefty (Jennings) in the bullpen.

Padres’ Anderson Espinoza To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

By Steve Adams | July 28, 2017 at 7:30pm CDT

7:30pm: The Padres have now announced that Espinoza will undergo Tommy John surgery.

7:20pm: Padres prospect Anderson Espinoza has been diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament and will undergo Tommy John surgery next week, reports Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). The right-hander was acquired in a straight-up swap for left-hander Drew Pomeranz last summer — a trade that spawned its share of controversy after the Red Sox were reportedly unhappy with the state of Pomeranz’s health and a lack of medical information disclosure from the Padres.

The 19-year-old Espinoza was one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball at the time of the swap and entered the 2017 season ranked as a consensus top 25 prospect in baseball. Though he posted just a 4.49 ERA in a combined 108 1/3 innings of Class-A ball in 2016, Espinoza was also one of the youngest players in that league and managed an impressive 100-to-35 K/BB ratio in that time.

However, Espinoza hasn’t pitched at all in 2017 after experiencing forearm tightness back in early April (as Lin reported earlier this month). He progressed to a throwing program recently, according to Lin, but didn’t feel right after his most recent bullpen session, thus prompting further examination.

It’s a tough blow for the Padres’ farm system, as Espinoza now won’t throw a competitive inning at all in 2017 and figures to miss the majority of the 2018 campaign. Certainly, he’s young enough that there’s plenty of time for him to reach his potential as a front-line starter, but beyond the disappointment of pushing back his timeline to the Majors, the injury will also cost Espinoza two or more years of development time .

Position Player Market Notes: Granderson, Rays, Nats, Cards, Iglesias, Melky, Solarte

By Jeff Todd and Steve Adams | July 27, 2017 at 11:47pm CDT

Here’s the latest on the market for position players:

The Brewers have indicated some interest in veteran Mets outfielder Curtis Granderson, according to Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network (Twitter link). At this point, though, the sides don’t seem to have made any real progress toward a deal. The left-handed-hitting Granderson would add a new dimension to the lineup, which features a variety of right-handed outfield options.
As they continue to work on upgrading their roster, the Rays are willing to take trade offers for infielders Tim Beckham and Brad Miller, per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter links). With the recent additions of Adeiny Hechavarria and now Lucas Duda, the Rays are perhaps a bit overstocked in infielders. Still, Tampa Bay is more interested in listening to potential offers than in shopping the pair around, Crasnick notes.
The Nationals have scouted Cardinals outfielder Tommy Pham along with reliever Trevor Rosenthal, according to Jon Morosi of MLB.com (via Twitter). As ever, it’s hard to read too much into this sort of report, but it does seem notable that the Nats would be putting any thought into an outfielder at this point. While the team has dealt with injuries — highlighted by Adam Eaton but also including Jayson Werth, Michael Taylor, and others — indications of late have been that outfield additions wouldn’t be pursued in earnest.
In other news on infielders, there’s some belief around the game that the Tigers could find a trade partner for shortstop Jose Iglesias, per ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (Twitter link). That’s a bit surprising to hear, given the lack of demand among contenders, though Iglesias is a controllable player who’d be of possible interest to a variety of organizations even if a run at the postseason this year isn’t likely.
The White Sox have gotten “a little” interest in left fielder/designated hitter Melky Cabrera, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets, though he also notes that the ChiSox would clearly need to pay down some of the remaining $5.4MM on Cabrera’s $15MM salary. CSN Chicago’s Chuck Garfien tweeted earlier today that GM Rick Hahn is willing to do just that, however, so perhaps a modest market could develop for the veteran switch-hitter’s services. After this morning’s Dan Jennings trade, Cabrera is one of the few plausible trade assets that remaining on a gutted White Sox roster. Struggling pitchers James Shields, Derek Holland, Mike Pelfrey, Miguel Gonzalez and Tyler Clippard all figure to be plenty available as well, though none carries much (if any) trade value.
Though it’s been more than a month since Padres infielder Yangervis Solarte suited up for a game, Rosenthal tweets not to rule out a trade. Solarte is embarking on a minor league rehab assignment this weekend and has drawn interest from other clubs, per Rosenthal. Solarte, 30, was San Diego’s hottest hitter in mid-June (.337/.427/.589, seven homers in 26 games/110 PAs) before incurring an oblique strain from which he has not yet returned. The switch-hitting Solarte can handle both second base and third base, and may even spend some time at short during his rehab, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. That versatility at the plate and in the field both looked highly marketable prior to his injury — as did his contract. Solarte is earning just $2.625MM this season with a $4.125MM salary in 2018 plus a pair of club options for 2019 ($5.5MM) and 2020 ($8MM).
Recent indications are that Mets infielder Asdrubal Cabrera will be dealt, and he’s still drawing interest from at least a trio of rivals, per Mike Puma of the New York Post (via Twitter). The odds that he’ll be targeted perhaps also increased with an injury suffered on Wednesday by Phillies infielder/outfielder Howie Kendrick. As MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes, Kendrick did not suffer a fracture when he was hit by a pitch on the hand. But it’s not yet known if he’ll miss time. Given that he has already missed two extended stretches with other health issues, Kendrick will perhaps need to reenter the lineup and show he’s at full speed to factor into the deadline shopping spree. (Even if he doesn’t, he’d be a candidate to move in August.)

Sonny Gray Trade Rumors: Thursday

By Steve Adams | July 27, 2017 at 11:11pm CDT

11:03pm: Gray’s market is still in flux, with Jon Heyman of Fan Rag reporting that the Yankees are balking at the A’s requests for a package centered around Clint Frazier or Gleyber Torres. Even if Oakland checks down to some of the Yanks’ next tier of prospects, such as Estevan Florial, it seems that New York will remain reluctant to pull the trigger on Gray — though the club has seemingly focused on him to this point.

In his own look at the market for Gray, Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network says the Astros and Brewers are “not significantly involved” at present. He notes, too, that the Padres’ interest may be more serious than has previously been thought.

9:33am: Rosenthal now tweets that the Nationals are not, in fact, in on either Gray or Rangers ace Yu Darvish. Rather, the team might simply elect to pursue another reliever to further boost the back of the bullpen.

12:00am: Earlier tonight, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that rival clubs believe that most teams have informed the Athletics which centerpieces they’re willing to part with in a potential trade for right-hander with Sonny Gray, adding that the Yankees are believed to be the front-runners. According to Sherman, many expect that the A’s will deal Gray before this Sunday’s scheduled start against the Twins.

Though the Yankees are the perceived front-runner, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets that both the Nationals and Mariners have some interest in Gray, though the extent of that interest isn’t clear. MLB Network’s Ken Rosenthal writes that the Mariners and A’s haven’t touched base on Gray in about a week, though multiple rivals from around the game believe that ever-active GM Jerry Dipoto will find a way to make a competitive bid despite a thin farm system.

Rosenthal outlines a speculative scenario in which the M’s could pair a big league outfielder with top prospect Kyle Lewis (among other pieces), then pivot to acquire a new corner outfielder in what is currently a buyers’ market for short-term corner bats. (Rosenthal’s column has multiple quotes on Dipoto’s whirlwind style of trading, including one unnamed exec opining: “I don’t think he’s burning [the farm system] to the ground. I think he knows it’s already on fire and is trying to do what he can with the assets he has.” It’s well worth a full look.)

As for the Nats, Rosenthal reports that a deal could hinge on whether the Nats would part with prized prospect Victor Robles in a deal (Twitter links). Some in the Nationals’ organization now value fellow outfield prospect Juan Soto over Robles, though that hardly suggests that Washington has soured on Robles or given up on him in any way.

Sherman suggests that one factor working in favor of the Yankees is that some believe the Astros to be the team most willing to roll the dice on Orioles’ closer Zach Britton, which could take some of their focus off Gray. Sherman notes that the Astros do still have some trepidation about the various red flags surrounding Britton this year (injuries, lack of appearances on consecutive days, etc.). Houston GM Jeff Luhnow again emphasized to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick today, however, that he doesn’t feel obligated to overpay for any addition given the team’s significant lead in the American League West. “We have a pretty good team, and if we can improve it without giving up too much of our future, we will,” said Luhnow.

NL Deadline Chatter: Nats, Hand, Cards, Cozart, Cubs, Mets

By Jeff Todd | July 26, 2017 at 1:49pm CDT

The Nationals are “scouring [the] market” for a starter, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). We have heard varying suggestions on this front, as the Nats deal with the loss of Joe Ross and newfound uncertainty regarding Stephen Strasburg. While the latest signs on Stras are positive, Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post argues that the club ought to going after a front-line starter regardless. Beyond the possibility of augmenting the club’s staff for an anticipated postseason appearance this year, the possibility of adding an arm for 2018 and perhaps beyond would seem to hold appeal, perhaps adding to the justification for making a move.

Here’s more deadline chatter from the National League:

Padres chairman Ron Fowler suggested today in a radio appearance on The Mighty 1090 that he doesn’t really expect the team to end up dealing lefty Brad Hand (h/t Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune). “Other things being equal right now, I don’t see us moving him, because we value him more than what’s being offered and we think he could be part of the team for the foreseeable future,” Fowler stated. That said, he acknowledged the team remains open to working out a deal, calling it “a very fluid situation.”
Though it’s still unclear just what course the Cardinals will take at the deadline, the club is now “expected to listen to offers” on outfielders Tommy Pham and Randal Grichuk, according to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. While the Cards do now have quite a few options in the corner outfield, both of these players seem to fall in a curious spot in the potential market. There just isn’t much deadline demand in the corner outfield to drive up prices, and the Cards would surely be valuing their lengthy control rights in exploring potential deals. While there’d surely be interest, neither really looks to be a likely deadline mover from the outside. Of course, St. Louis also has some shorter-term assets that might be of interest — Lance Lynn, Seung-hwan Oh, and Trevor Rosenthal chief among them — and Morosi does note that the Dodgers and Nationals had scouts at the club’s latest game last night. Whether the Cardinals will really punt on the present season when the division is still in reach, though, is hardly clear at this point.
The Reds held shortstop Zack Cozart out of the lineup today as he continues to deal with quad issues, as MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon writes. It seems the hope is that this is more a rest day than the precursor to a DL stint, but it’s not the best news regardless. Cozart has been great this year, but the quad problem further dents his value in a market that doesn’t seem to have much appetite for shortstops.
Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein says there’s nothing close to completion at this point for his team, as Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio of Sirius XM tweets. The team is unsurprisingly still looking at pitching, with the rotation and relief corps both being susceptible of improvement.
The Cubs are among the teams to have asked the Mets about righty Seth Lugo, per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). But there’s simply no indication at present that New York will seriously entertain offers on Lugo, as Crasnick and Newsday’s Marc Carig (Twitter link) note. That makes sense given the multitude of pitching injuries the organization has experienced as well as its intentions of competing again in 2018.
Some interest has begun to develop in Mets outfielder Curtis Granderson, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). The veteran obviously is very much available, and would conceivably fit quite a few teams as a lefty-hitting outfielder who can still handle some time in center field. On the other hand, he has been hurt and cold at the plate of late, and is playing on a hefty $15MM salary this year.

Erick Aybar Diagnosed With Fractured Foot

By Jeff Todd | July 24, 2017 at 7:23pm CDT

Padres shortstop Erick Aybar has been diagnosed with a fractured foot, according to Nathan Ruiz of MLB.com (via Twitter). He is said to be looking at an extended absence, with the best-case scenario being a return in the middle of September.

Aybar, 33, was hitting just .227/.295/.346 on the year over 291 plate appearances. He’s still a palatable defender at short, though metrics see him as average or slightly below at the position. All told, Aybar is now well removed from his days as a quality regular.

The news won’t impact the organization’s broader fortunes, as Aybar is a rental player and the club obviously isn’t going to make the postseason this year. There’s no chance that the Pads will be giving up significant value just to plug the hole, then, though a veteran fill-in could be considered and the team will no doubt continue looking for a long-term solution.

In the meantime, though, the Pads will get a longer look at a player who could be an important part of the team’s future. Rule 5 pick Allen Cordoba has struggled to a .225/.283/.312 batting line on the season after a torrid start, but he’ll likely see yet more time down the stretch unless there’s a new addition. San Diego can also utilize the just-recalled Dusty Coleman at short.

Royals Acquire Cahill, Maurer, Buchter From Padres For Strahm, Wood, Ruiz

By Jeff Todd | July 24, 2017 at 5:24pm CDT

6:16pm: Kansas City will pay for Wood both this year and next, per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). The buyout will be split in half if it is paid, MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell adds on Twitter.

5:24pm: The Royals have announced an interesting trade with the Padres involving a whole host of pitchers, as Robert Murray of Fan Rag has first reported on Twitter. Kansas City will add starter Trevor Cahill, righty reliever Brandon Maurer, and southpaw Ryan Buchter. In exchange, the Pads will pick up southpaws Matt Strahm and Travis Wood along with infield prospect Esteury Ruiz.

For Kansas City, the move represents an effort to bolster the team’s pitching staff down the stretch — and confirms that the club isn’t planning on dealing away its pending free agents before the deadline. The Royals designated Al Alburquerque and Luke Farrell to open roster space, while lefty Brian Flynn was recalled to the active roster while the team awaits its new hurlers.

The rotation was clearly in need of improvement, and Cahill has tantalized this year with a career-high 12.8% swinging-strike rate while working exclusively from the rotation. While he has thrown just 61 innings over 11 starts, owing to a DL stint for a shoulder injury, Cahill owns a 3.69 ERA with 10.6 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 along with an excellent 56.8% groundball rate.

Whether Cahill can maintain that kind of production down the stretch is anyone’s guess. But with relatively few appealing rental starters available, there weren’t many other places to turn. And Cahill is making just $1.75MM on the year, so he’s as affordable as rental players come.

Both of the Royals’ new bullpen pieces are also affordable — and, in their cases, controllable. Maurer, 27, is earning $1.9MM this year with two more arb campaigns yet to go. While the results haven’t been there for him in some time, he is carrying impressive peripherals this year (8.7 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9) to go with his upper-nineties fastball.

Buchter is arguably the most valuable asset going to K.C. He is already thirty years old, but can be controlled all the way through 2021. The southpaw carries a 2.93 ERA since landing in San Diego, with 11.1 K/9 on the basis of a swinging-strike rate that’s up to 11.1% this year. While he issues too many walks (4.4 BB/9 overall) and has been a bit homer-prone (1.64 per nine) this year, Buchter looks to be a quality pen piece at a bargain price.

On the other side of the ledger, the Friars have evidently gotten an early start on their winter shopping by adding Wood. Like Cahill (along with current Padre southpaw Clayton Richard), Wood is a recent Cubs hurler who can work out of the rotation or the pen. The results haven’t been there this year — he carries a 6.91 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 — but there’s some obvious bounceback potential. While Wood’s contract ($4MM this year, $6.5MM next, and a $1MM buyout on a $8MM mutual option for the 2019 season) was under water, Kansas City will be picking up the tab through the end of 2018.

Clearly, then, the focus for San Diego was on the other two players added today. Strahm is out for the year after surgery for a torn patellar tendon and didn’t produce great results this year when healthy, but he was generally viewed as the Royals’ top prospect entering the season. The Padres have shown a willingness to take on injury risks in the past, and probably aren’t overly concerned with Strahm’s knee injury. He could open the 2018 season in the rotation or be utilized as a replacement for Buchter in the bullpen.

And then there’s the true wild card, the 18-year-old Ruiz, whose inclusion perhaps best explains this swap from the Padres’ perspective. As Ben Badler of Baseball America wrote earlier this year (subscription required and recommended), the middle infield has shown flashes of real potential of late, blossoming after his unheralded international signing. He has mashed in the Arizona League in 2017, slashing .419/.440/.779 (albeit with twenty strikeouts and just four walks) over 91 plate appearances.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

West News & Rumors: Padres, Hand, Rangers, Dodgers

By Connor Byrne | July 22, 2017 at 8:41pm CDT

Reliever Brad Hand is the most sought-after trade chip the Padres have had since A.J. Preller took over as their general manager in 2014, reports AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. “Half the league or more” has called about Hand, a team source told Cassavell, which helps explain the Padres’ reportedly high asking price for the southpaw. San Diego feels as though it’s justified in seeking a significant return for Hand, per Cassavell, as the 27-year-old has been among the majors’ top relievers since breaking out last season and comes with affordable control through the 2019 campaign.

One of Hand’s teammates, second baseman/third baseman Yangervis Solarte, is also a trade candidate, but Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune doesn’t expect the Padres to move him. Rumors connecting Solarte to other clubs have mostly been speculative, tweets Lin, who notes that the 30-year-old’s injury status seems to decrease the likelihood of a trade. He has been out for over a month with a strained oblique, and a return doesn’t look imminent as the July 31 trade deadline approaches. The switch-hitting Solarte hasn’t taken right-handed batting practice yet, which could change this weekend, and will still need to go on a rehab assignment after that happens.
Rangers GM Jon Daniels told reporters Saturday that he’s unsure whether the 46-50 club will buy over the next week-plus. If they do, though, Daniels indicated that the Rangers will seek controllable starting pitching, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). Everyone wants controllable starting pitching, so that’s not surprising, but it’s clear Texas needs it more than a lot of other teams do. After all, three members of the Rangers’ rotation – Yu Darvish, Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross – are scheduled to become free agents after the season.
A couple of injury updates on the Dodgers, courtesy of J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group (Twitter links): First baseman Adrian Gonzalez should return before Sept. 1, but outfielder Andre Ethier likely won’t. Back problems have been ruinous to both veterans this year – Gonzalez has been out since early June, and Ethier hasn’t played at all.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/21/17

By Jeff Todd | July 21, 2017 at 10:27pm CDT

Let’s catch up on some of the recent minor moves from around the game:

Righty Jumbo Diaz is a free agent after rejecting an outright assignment from the Rays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. The bulky 33-year-old had a solid 2016 campaign but scuffled upon arriving in Tampa Bay. In his thirty innings, he was touched for a 5.70 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9.
The Blue Jays have outrighted righty Lucas Harrell to Triple-A, per a club announcement. He’ll have the option of rejecting that assignment. Harrell, 32, turned in six solid starts at Triple-A before earning a call-up, but was knocked around in his four appearances with the Jays.
Right-hander Tyrell Jenkins has been released by the Padres, according to the MLB.com transactions page. Jenkins, who just turned 25, had a 14-appearance taste of the majors last year with the Braves, but struggled badly. He had generally performed quite well in the upper minors previously, but coughed up 71 earned runs on 111 hits in his 82 1/3 Triple-A frames in the Padres organization this season.
The Diamondbacks have inked righty David Carpenter to a minors deal, per a club announcement from the indy ball Bridgeport Bluefish. Once a quality MLB reliever, Carpenter washed out of the majors with arm issues. He posted a 1.91 ERA and racked up 45 strikeouts in his 37 2/3 innings on the year.
Catcher Steve Clevenger has signed with the Atlantic League’s Lancaster Barnstormers, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports (Twitter link). Clevenger lost his job with the Mariners last year after a Twitter controversy. The 31-year-old will be looking to earn his way back into the affiliated ranks.
The Twins have added righty Michael Kohn on a minors deal, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune reports (Twitter links). He’ll continue rehabbing a rotator cuff injury that has kept him off the mound since 2015. Kohn previously turned in 115 innings of 3.52 ERA ball — but with 6.2 walks to go with his 8.7 strikeouts per nine — in parts of five seasons of MLB action.
Outfielder Michael Choice is heading to the KBO, as the Brewers announced they’ve sold his contract to the Nexen Heroes. Still just 27 years of age, the former top prospect was released by the Orioles after struggling early this year at Triple-A. But he has found his groove at Double-A Biloxi, slashing .272/.349/.503 over 195 plate appearances.

Trade Chatter: Darvish, Alonso, Red Sox, Ramos, Stanton, Cahill, Nunez

By Jeff Todd | July 21, 2017 at 8:43pm CDT

Yu Darvish is pitching tonight for the Rangers, so clearly there’s nothing imminent. Indeed, Texas seems likely to take its decision on the ace to the latest possible moment, even as it begins to solicit interest. As that process begins to take place, it’s important to note that Darvish possesses partial no-trade rights. While it’s not at all clear whether he’d get in the way of a deal, particularly given that he’ll be a free agent in a few months regardless, that adds another potential hurdle. Per Jim Bowden of Sirius XM, via Twitter, Darvish currently can block trades to the Cubs, Indians, Pirates, Red Sox, and Rockies (along with five other teams that are in no position to consider a rental starter).

Here’s the latest trade deadline chatter:

While the Athletics continue to weigh their options with first baseman Yonder Alonso, the club has not actually engaged in any extension talks with his reps, per ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (Twitter link). While a new deal seems unlikely to come to fruition (yet more than it did already), the A’s are struggling to drum up interest in the breakout performer. Indeed, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com suggests on Twitter that the Yankees are the only team firmly pursuing Alonso at this time. Trouble is, it seems, Oakland isn’t enamored of the Yanks’ offers to date.
Meanwhile, the division-rival Red Sox could conceivably look into some outside-the-box possibilities to improve their offense, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe writes. He bases that assessment on the difficulty of finding a significant offensive threat capable of playing third as well as the ongoing struggles of Mitch Moreland since he suffered a toe injury. Boston might consider a first baseman, Speier says, or perhaps even an outfielder that could lineup at DH — if Hanley Ramirez is capable of spending more time at first. While it doesn’t seem there’s any indication of internal interest at this point, Speier cites Alonso, Lucas Duda, and Jay Bruce as rental players that could hold some appeal.
Marlins closer A.J. Ramos is drawing interest from as many as eight to ten teams, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets. With momentum perhaps building toward a deal, Ramos tells MLB.com’s Jeremy Vernon that he hears the rumors, but is trying to stay focused on his current job. “It’s good, but also it’s a little bit bittersweet,” he said of the fact other teams are looking to deal for him.
A handful of clubs have reached out to the Marlins about high-priced slugger Giancarlo Stanton, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag reports, but the expectation remains that he will not be seriously marketed this summer. Still, the club is keeping Stanton “apprised of every contact” it receives, which evidently was a commitment made to the star. With full no-trade protection, he can control his destiny.
Interest in Padres righty Trevor Cahill is increasing as the deadline draws near, a team source tells MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell (via Twitter). While the possible introduction of Darvish to the market would knock Cahill down a peg among rental arms, it likely wouldn’t reduce the demand. After all, he’s still exceptionally cheap and has been one of the game’s most productive starters when healthy in 2017. For teams that want to take a shot at a continuation of that surprising success, Cahill should hold quite a lot of appeal.
Interestingly, in his recent run-down of the market for Athletics righty Sonny Gray, Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network noted that even the Padres have asked about the hotly pursued starter. That may be chalked up mostly to due diligence; though the Pads no doubt would love to install such an arm into their rotation for the next two years, it’s hard to see sufficient motivation to beat the offers of other organizations that will highly value the ability to utilize Gray for the next several months.
Among Giants players, infielder Eduardo Nunez is drawing the most interest, Olney tweets. That’s hardly surprising, as he’s a pending free agent who can play all over the infield. It still seems a bit difficult to imagine that the Giants won’t find a worthwhile arrangement involving Nunez, who could fit with quite a few different contenders.

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