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Twins To Acquire Sam Dyson

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The Twins have acquired reliever Sam Dyson from the Giants, according to Dan Hayes of The Athletic.  Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register was first to report rumblings of the deal.  According to Birch, prospects Prelander Berroa, Jaylin Davis and Kai-Wei Teng will head to the Giants in the swap.  Dyson is the first-place Twins’ second veteran relief addition, as they picked up Sergio Romo Saturday night.  The Giants, interestingly, traded away relievers Dyson, Mark Melancon, Drew Pomeranz, and Ray Black today while keeping Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith and adding second baseman Scooter Gennett.

Dyson, 31, has posted a 2.47 ERA, 8.3 K/9, 1.2 BB/9, 0.53 HR/9, and 55% groundball rate in 51 innings for the Giants this year.  Last year, Dyson ranked ninth among MLB relievers with a 61.3% groundball rate.  Dyson’s MLB career took off after a Marlins waiver claim back in 2013, and he posted a fine 38 save campaign for the 2016 Rangers.  The Giants added Dyson in a June 2017 trade.  The righty is earning $5MM this year and will be under team control for 2020.  Dyson and Romo join a Twins bullpen led by Taylor Rogers, Ryne Harper, and Trevor May.

None of the three prospects obtained by the Giants rank within the Twins’ top 30, according to MLB.com.  Berroa, 19, is a starting pitcher out of the Dominican Republic who currently sports a 5.40 ERA across seven starts in rookie ball.  Davis, a 25-year-old outfielder, earned a promotion to Triple-A in June and is hitting a robust .298/.392/.563 with 25 home runs on the season.  Teng, 20, is a low-A starting pitcher with a 1.60 ERA over 50 2/3 innings this year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Giants Acquire Joe McCarthy From Rays

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Outfield prospect Joe McCarthy will head from Tampa to San Francisco, tweets ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Lefty Jacob Lopez will head to the Rays in the swap, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

Tampa’s well-publicized 40-man crunch attracted no shortage of sharks from around the league, with the super-active Giants the latest to take a bite. McCarthy, who checked in at #14 on a comically-deep Rays list at FanGraphs this offseason, has struggled tremendously in the homer-happy International League this season, slashing just .196/.335/.385 in what’s been his first extended professional slump thus far (the 6’3 lefty had destroyed AAA pitching in a short stint last season before his campaign was cut short by back and hand injuries). Still, encouraging signs remain – the ever-patient lefty is still walking in nearly 16% of his at-bats while running an unsustainably low .256 BABIP. The former University of Virginia product “may be this decade’s Nick Johnson,” per the site, which heralds his “exceptional” secondary skills and ability to handle either outfield corner in addition to first base.

It’s the latest in a series of low-risk, high-reward moves for the Giants, who also today acquired Triple-A masher Jaylin Davis in the Sam Dyson deal with the Twins and picked up Scooter Gennett from Cincinnati for a next-to-nothing return. President of Baseball Ops Farhan Zaidi’s longstanding affinity for the platoon should eventually make room for both Davis and McCarthy at a corner spot, where they’ll look to follow in the ever-enlarging shoes of comparably overlooked pickups Alex Dickerson, Mike Yastrzemski, and Donovan Solano.

Lopez, 21, is a 6’4 lefty who’s yet to make it to full-season ball. In 41 2/3 innings for Short-Season Salem-Keizer, Lopez’s set down 39 men and walked just seven. He doesn’t crack the team’s top 30 prospect list at any major outlet.

Braves To Acquire Mark Melancon

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The Braves and Giants have struck an intriguing pact that’ll send veteran reliever Mark Melancon to Atlanta, according to Jeff Passan and Buster Olney of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Righties Tristan Beck and Dan Winkler are going to the Giants in the deal, Robert Murray of The Athletic tweets. Melancon has full no-trade rights, but consented to the swap.

Melancon is owed a hefty $14MM this year and next. Rather surprisingly, the Braves are taking on all the remaining salary owed Melancon, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link).

Melancon originally joined the San Francisco organization on a four-year, $62MM pact in advance of the 2017 campaign. That contract really hasn’t worked out for the Giants, as Melancon has dealt with injuries and hasn’t been nearly as effective as he was heading into free agency.

That said, he has been a solid pen piece over the past two years. Through 85 1/3 innings since the start of 2018, he carries a 3.38 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9. Importantly, Melancon has held opposing hitters to just five home runs in that span; whether that suppression can be maintained will tell on his future. He owns a monster 61.4% groundball rate this year.

With Melancon and Shane Greene joining the Atlanta relief unit, the club is obviously betting on worm-burners over strikeouts. Both have ample experience closing out games, but neither really profiles as a high-end game finisher for a prime contender. Just how the late innings will be handled remains to be seen.

In Beck, the Giants get a young hurler who has shown a bit of swing-and-miss potential. It’s still early in the developmental process, but the 23-year-old has reached the High-A level already. In eight starts there this year, he carries a 5.65 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9.

Meanwhile, the San Francisco club will see if it can help Winkler rediscovery the form he showed over the prior two seasons, when he emerged as a quality reliever after battling through a litany of injuries. The 29-year-old has stumbled to a 4.98 ERA and allowed five long balls in 21 2/3 frames this year, enduring drops in his strikeout and walk rates (9.1 and 4.6 per nine, respectively) but boosting his swinging-strike rate to 14.8%. Winkler struggled all the more at Triple-A, walking 18 to go with twenty punch-outs in 16 2/3 innings.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Giants To Acquire Scooter Gennett

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The Giants have acquired second baseman Scooter Gennett from the Reds, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports. The Reds will get cash considerations in return, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

It’s a win-now move by the Giants, who have charged back into NL wild-card contention over the past several weeks. The 29-year-old Gennett, who’s earning a $9.775MM salary, isn’t under control past this season. He has missed almost all of 2019 because of a groin injury, and in the 72 plate appearances Gennett has taken, the lefty has managed a meager .217/.236/.261 line without a home run.

While this season has been a nightmare for Gennett, he was unexpectedly one of the majors’ best second basemen over the previous two years. After the Reds acquired him from the Brewers via waivers entering 2017, he proceeded to slash .303/.351/.508 with 50 home runs and 6.7 fWAR in 1,135 plate appearances through last season. That type of production would be ideal for the Giants, who have seen No. 1 second baseman Joe Panik struggle to a .231/.305/.312 line with three homers in 375 trips to the plate this year.

Wheeler, Vazquez, Bumgarner, Minor All Held At Deadline

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Though deals can and will still trickle in after the formal end of the MLB summer trade period, there are specific reports indicating that several top trade candidates will not be changing hands.

Brewers To Acquire Drew Pomeranz, Ray Black

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1:27pm: ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweets that hard-throwing righty Ray Black will also go to Milwaukee.

1:25pm: Lefty Drew Pomeranz is one player headed to the Brewers in the swap, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. If the Brewers are parting with a prospect of Dubon’s caliber, there’ll surely be other names in play.

1:23pm: The Brewers ad Giants are in agreement on a “significant” trade, reports Robert Murray of The Athletic (via Twitter). The big league players involved in the swap remain unknown, but well-regarded second base prospect Mauricio Dubon is headed from Milwaukee to San Francisco as part of the exchange. Madison Bumgarner is *not* going to Milwaukee, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

In Dubon, the Giants will acquire a Major League-ready 25-year-old who can step directly onto the roster. Dubon’s 2018 season was cut short by a torn ACL, but he’s returned to bat .297/.333/.475 with 16 home runs, 22 doubles, a triple and nine steals in the hitter-friendly Triple-A Pacific Coast League. He’ll face a much more daunting offensive environment in the big leagues when he plays his home games at the cavernous Oracle Park in San Francisco.

Scouting reports on Dubon peg him as a hit-over-power prospect, and the move to Oracle Park doesn’t figure to do his power numbers any favor. But he’s never batted lower than .274 in a full minor league season, and he’s maintained strikeout rates south of 15 percent on a year-over-year basis. Dubon doesn’t walk much, but his knack for putting the ball in play should help his on-base skills in the big leagues. He’s considered capable of playing an average or better second base even after last year’s knee injury.

The veteran Pomeranz is the more well-known of the two arms being acquired by the Brewers, but he seems like a secondary piece in this swap. Pomeranz had an awful year in the Giants’ rotation but has garnered some attention following a (very) recent shift to the bullpen. In four relief outings, he’s tossed 5 1/3 shutout frames with just one hit and one walk allowed against eight strikeouts. The lefty has ample experience in the rotation and could return to that role if the Brewers feel he’s a mechanical adjustment or pitch-selection alteration away from returning to hi 2017 form, but his recent success in a return to the bullpen is more intriguing.

Black is already 29 years old but is the more appealing piece for Milwaukee. Durability has been an issue for the right-hander, but if he’s healthy he’ll be among the hardest-throwing pitchers in Major League Baseball. Black has averaged 99.1 mph on his heater in a tiny sample this season and regularly hits triple digits with a fastball that draws 80 grades on some scouting reports. Black has averaged nearly 17 strikeouts per nine innings pitched in his minor league career and might not even finish the season with a full year of MLB service, meaning he can be controlled through 2025.

Yankees, Astros Pursuing Madison Bumgarner, Zack Wheeler

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The Yankees and Astros, two American League superpowers, continue their pursuit of high-profile starting pitchers. Both teams are in on Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner and Mets righty Zack Wheeler, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. The Astros are also “focused” on Diamondbacks southpaw Robbie Ray, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com. Ray has been on the Yankees’ radar of late, too.

The Astros and Yankees are among the teams on Bumgarner’s limited no-trade list, but that doesn’t mean the pending free agent would block a deal to either club. Of course, it’s not a sure thing the playoff-contending Giants will even move Bumgarner, a franchise icon, by today’s deadline. They’ve been telling teams that they plan to keep him and closer Will Smith, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

This is the second time this week the Astros have been prominently connected to Bumgarner and Wheeler. As is the case with Bumgarner, Wheeler’s a 29-year-old soon-to-be free agent. While Wheeler may be the top trade candidate in baseball, the Mets aren’t guaranteed to part with him. They’ve made something of a charge up the standings of late, and seem prepared to retain Wheeler if they don’t get the type of return they’re seeking for the flamethrower. And whether the Mets would even trade Wheeler to the hated Yankees is also in question.

Latest On Red Sox Bullpen Pursuits

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The Red Sox may not be able to land Mets closer Edwin Diaz by the trade deadline, so they’re turning their attention to other relievers on the market. San Francisco closer Will Smith is the reliever who has “most intrigued” the Red Sox over the past week, Sean McAdam of BostonSportsJournal.com tweets. The Red Sox have also shown interest in Diamondbacks left-hander Andrew Chafin, per McAdam, and Blue Jays right-hander Daniel Hudson, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription link).

Smith would clearly give the Red Sox the stable game-ending option they’ve lacked this year, but it doesn’t appear the team will be able to swing a deal for him. They’ve found the Giants’ asking price for Smith to be prohibitive, McAdam reports. Smith isn’t signed past this season – one of the reasons the Red Sox aren’t aggressively pursuing him – though it’s no surprise the Giants want a haul back for him. They’re still in playoff contention, for one, and Smith’s eminently affordable ($4.225MM) and highly effective. The 30-year-old has logged a 2.72 ERA/2.77 FIP with 12.82 K/9 and 2.14 BB/9 in 46 1/3 innings this season. He has also converted 26 of 28 save opportunities.

Meanwhile, either Chafin or Hudson could help improve the Red Sox’s setup situation. This is the latest in a growing line of solid seasons for the 29-year-old Chafin, who has pitched to a 4.17 ERA/3.69 FIP with 11.05 K/9 and 3.19 BB/9 across 36 2/3 frames. He also ranks second among all relievers in infield fly rate (24.2 percent), has held left-handed batters to a subpar .272 weighted on-base average, earns a relatively meager salary ($1.945MM) and comes with another year of arbitration control. Unsurprisingly, Chafin’s drawing plenty of interest from around the league – not just Boston – Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

Hudson, 32, would be the easiest reliever in this trio to acquire. He’s had a productive year, though peripherals don’t quite back up his above-average run prevention, and would be a pure rental for his next team. Nevertheless, Hudson’s the cheapest of the group ($1.5MM salary) and has been popular in the rumor mill leading up to the deadline. The hard-throwing journeyman has notched a 3.00 ERA/4.21 FIP with 9.0 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 over 48 innings. Righties have mustered a weak .276 wOBA off him.

Pitching Rumors: Reds, Bauer, Yanks, Phils, MadBum, Greene, Fish, Nats

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The Reds just agreed to acquire right-hander Trevor Bauer from the Indians on Tuesday evening. Could the Reds now turn around and flip Bauer by Wednesday’s trade deadline? Not likely, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today and Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Meanwhile, two of Bauer’s new Cincinnati rotation mates – Alex Wood and the previously reported Tanner Roark – have drawn interest from the Phillies. Philly has “taken a very close look at” Wood, per Matt Gelb of The Athletic. Wood finally just made his season debut Sunday after months of back troubles, but the non-contending Reds could now attempt to get what they can for the pending free agent. The 28-year-old Wood, who’s on a $9.65MM salary, posted quality production with the Braves and Dodgers from 2013-18.

A smorgasbord of other pitcher-related rumors…

  • Despite their recent run of excellence, the Giants are fielding calls and “engaging in negotiations” for starter Madison Bumgarner and reliever Will Smith, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The Astros are reportedly among the teams chasing Bumgarner, but Smith is the more likely of the two to find himself in a new uniform by Wednesday, Schulman suggests. Although he’s a pending free agent, it’s likely Smith would bring back a significant return. He’s affordable ($4.225MM salary) and enjoying a marvelous season as the Giants’ closer.
  • Back to Bauer, who was reportedly one of the Yankees’ preferred targets in their search for starting help. That may have been overblown, though, as the Yankees and Indians didn’t engage in “serious talks” over Bauer, Andy Martino of SNY relays.
  • The asking price for Tigers closer Shane Greene is “far more reasonable” than the requests for other high-end relievers around the league, Feinsand tweets. Feinsand points to the Pirates’ Felipe Vazquez, the Reds’ Raisel Iglesias, the Mets’ Edwin Diaz and the Padres’ Kirby Yates as relievers who would be much harder to acquire, which isn’t surprising.
  • Reliever Nick Anderson is among Marlins hurlers garnering interest, though he’ll be difficult to pry loose, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com writes. As a 29-year-old rookie, the hard-throwing Anderson has put up a 3.92 ERA with a much better 2.73 FIP in 43 2/3 frames this season. While Anderson has only induced ground balls at a 27.3 percent clip, he has helped offset that by racking up a prodigious 14.2 strikeouts against 3.3 walks per nine. Adding to his value, Anderson’s on a league-minimum salary and won’t be eligible for arbitration until after the 2021 season.
  • The Giants and Nationals “have discussed” southpaw Drew Pomeranz, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets. Pomeranz, whom the Giants recently demoted to their bullpen amid a rough season, has also been drawing interest from elsewhere in recent days.

Astros, Giants “Engaged” In Talks On Madison Bumgarner

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The Astros and Giants are “engaged” in discussions regarding San Francisco lefty Madison Bumgarner, according to Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Long considered a major rental starter for this summer’s trade market, Bumgarner’s availability has increasingly come in question as the Giants have unexpectedly risen in the standings.

While Brown cautions that there’s no indication as to the seriousness of the discussions, it seems notable that there’s dialogue at all. Surely, these teams have plenty of other doors to knock upon if Bumgarner is completely off limits. But it appears he’s still alive in talks — to some unknown extent, at least.

The Houston organization is one of the game’s more obvious buyers of starting pitching. It’s hard to imagine that the team won’t come away with at least one new rotation piece before the dust settles tomorrow. While longer-term assets are preferable, particularly given the upcoming openings in the Houston staff beyond the current campaign, it seems the ’Stros are open to all possibilities.

Bumgarner is one of several hurlers that have long been on the Astros’ radar. The club is still exploring multiple targets. Reports earlier today pegged it the favorite to land Zack Wheeler from the Mets — the other top rental starter to feature in trade chatter this summer. Controllable arms such as Matt Boyd and Robbie Ray have also been connected to Houston.

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