Giants Rumors

AL News & Rumors: Rangers, Kela, Beltre, Red Sox, Jays, Vlad Jr., Twins

By Connor Byrne | July 28, 2018 at 11:07pm CDT

There were five teams on hand Saturday to scout Rangers closer Keone Kela, Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram reports. The Diamondbacks and Pirates – both of whom have had previously reported interested in Kela – as well as the Red Sox, Indians and Giants were in attendance, according to Wilson. Kela didn’t pitch, though the 25-year-old has bolstered his trade value this season with a 3.28 ERA/2.85 FIP, 10.85 K/9 against 3.03 BB/9 and 23 saves in 24 chances over 35 2/3 innings. Adding to Kela’s appeal, he’s making a relative pittance this season ($1.2MM) and still has three more arbitration-eligible years remaining. The Dodgers are interested in Kela, too, per the Dallas Morning News’ Evan Grant, who adds that LA has also been scouting fellow Texas relievers Jose Leclerc, Alex Claudio and Jake Diekman,

More on the Rangers, who have yet another potential trade chip in pending free-agent third baseman Adrian Beltre. While the Braves have been connected to Beltre this week, one source “downplayed” their interest in the future Hall of Famer to Wilson. Grant passes along different information, writing that the Braves’ interest in Beltre is “serious.” Whether a deal comes together will largely be up to the 39-year-old Beltre, who, as a 10-and-5 player, has full no-trade rights. Beltre spoke about his future Saturday, telling Grant and others in regards to the Rangers: “We have talked. I’ve always been at peace with being here. Obviously, we have talked before [about a trade], and if it makes sense for both parties, I would consider it. But up until now, there’s nothing concrete that we can sit and talk about.”
Red Sox manager Alex Cora told Ian Browne of MLB.com and other reporters Saturday that third baseman Rafael Devers is likely headed to the disabled list with a hamstring injury. It would be the second DL placement this month for Devers, who went on the shelf July 12 on account of left shoulder inflammation, thus adding to a disappointing season for the well-regarded 21-year-old. After an impressive debut in 2017, Devers has batted a below-average .245/.295/.425 in 396 plate appearances this season, though he has shown off respectable power (15 home runs, .180 ISO).
Blue Jays uber-prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is now one step from the majors, having been promoted from Double-A to Triple-A on Saturday. The 19-year-old third baseman tore through Double-A pitching in 266 PAs this season, hitting .402/.449/.671 with 14 home runs and nearly as many walks (21) as strikeouts (27) prior to his promotion. Both Baseball America and MLB.com regard Guerrero as the game’s best prospect.
The Twins brought third baseman Miguel Sano back to the majors on Saturday. Sano earned a surprise demotion to the minors in mid-June after opening the season with a .191/.247/.353 line with seven home runs and 30 strikeouts against a mere two walks in 73 PAs. The 25-year-old’s only a season removed from an All-Star campaign in which he slashed .264/.352/.507 with 28 homers over 483 PAs.

Indians, Giants Showing Interest In Brian Dozier

By Kyle Downing | July 28, 2018 at 1:05pm CDT

Following trades of Eduardo Escobar and Ryan Pressly, Twins fan favorite Brian Dozier seems all but destined to be donning another uniform on August 1st. Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press reports that both the Indians and Giants have been scouting the second baseman this week, who’s set to become a free agent at season’s end.

Dozier, 31, has been having a down season by his standards, slashing just .226/.307/.409 across the season’s first four months. He’s played below-average defense by measure of both UZR and DRS, and he’s on pace for his lowest homer total since 2014. Fangraph’s WAR formula pegs him as a slightly-below-average major leaguer so far this season after being at least a 5-win player in each of the past two campaigns.

Then again, Dozier’s been known to go off in the season’s second half. Dozier’s career wRC+ following the All-Star Break (116) is a full 13 points higher than his lifetime performance before it (103). His wOBA and triple-slash paint a similar picture. Just last season, in fact, exactly half of Dozier’s 34 homers came in either August or September, as did 33 of his 78 walks. While that doesn’t mean an acquiring team can lean heavily on that type of production as a pattern, it’s certainly encouraging for his many suitors.

One of those suitors, the Indians, have been known to be looking for help on offense, and Berardino notes that they’re still checking in on second and third base options as well as outfielders. Cleveland has also been connected to Joey Gallo within the past 24 hours, and could be even more heavily motivated to get some help on offense following recent news that Tyler Naquin is likely headed to the DL. As Berardino points out, longtime Tribe second baseman Jason Kipnis is enduring another down season, evidenced by his season batting line of .219/.306/.362 (though it’s worth noting that he’s picked up the pace significantly in the past six weeks).

While Dozier could potentially eat into Kipnis’ playing time, another possible scenario would be for Dozier to push Kipnis into the outfield mix, where the Indians are without particularly inspiring options. A stint in center field last season didn’t have good results for Kip, but it’s entirely possible he would be a better option there than the 37-year-old Rajai Davis or rookie Greg Allen. The Indians also probably don’t know what to expect from Lonnie Chisenhall, either, who has yet to amass 100 plate appearances this season due to a series of calf injuries, so it’s not difficult to imagine Kipnis being useful in right field, either.

As for the Giants, the fit is more obvious. Joe Panik has spent significant time on the disabled list this season and remains there at present. Even when the 27-year-old has been able to take the field, the results haven’t been great; he’s slashing 240/.309/.345 across 224 plate appearances and is rated as being roughly replacement level by Fangraphs. Then again, it’s a bit of a surprise to see the Giants taking a long look at Dozier in the first place considering he’s a pure rental and the Giants currently sit 6.5 games back of the division with significant questions in almost every area of their roster. While they’re a bit closer in the NL Wild Card race at just five games back, there are also five teams ahead of them in that race that they’d need to leapfrog just to secure a spot in the one-game playoff.

NL West Notes: Padres, Archer, Giants, Shark, Evans, Dodgers

By Mark Polishuk and Jeff Todd | July 25, 2018 at 10:34pm CDT

Reports yesterday indicated the Padres were checking around about a potential Chris Archer trade with the Rays, and MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi sheds a bit more light on those talks. San Diego is reportedly willing to move one or two of Francisco Mejia, Luis Urias, and Cal Quantrill in an Archer deal, though its top two prospects (Fernando Tatis Jr. and MacKenzie Gore) are not available. Even without Tatis or Gore on the table, dealing any of those other highly-touted prospects would be a major concession on San Diego’s part, and a big score for the Rays. Mejia was only just acquired by the Padres as the return for Brad Hand and Adam Cimber, so in my opinion, it could be that the team sees the young catcher as somewhat “found money” — put another way, the Padres would be essentially dealing Hand and Cimber for Archer, which is a deal the club would’ve happily made. Then again, the Padres are so deep in minor league talent that they can afford to move top names like Mejia, Urias, or Quantrill and still have one of the game’s better farm systems.

Scouts from the Padres and Diamondbacks (and, from outside the division, the Phillies and Cubs) watched Archer’s start last Sunday. A source tells Morosi that at least eight teams have recently been in touch with the Rays about Archer’s availability, and while there still isn’t clear sign Tampa is considering a trade, this deep interest is one of the reasons “a deal involving Archer is more likely now than at any point in recent memory,” Morosi writes.

Here’s more from around the NL West…

There’s still no timetable for the Giants to welcome back righty Jeff Samardzija, though it’s not looking particularly promising. Per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, via Twitter, the veteran hurler is “not returning anytime soon.” Rather, he’ll continue to rest his ailing shoulder before heading out for some amount of rehab work. This continues to be a lost season for the 33-year-old, who owns a 6.25 ERA in 44 2/3 innings
Though Samardzija’s ongoing injury issue is one of several less-than-promising signs for the Giants, indications are that they aren’t interested in packing up and waiting for next year. GM Bobby Evans says in a chat with Joel Sherman of the New York Post that the front office is “bent toward helping our current club.” Though Evans expressed at least some willingness to consider moving bullpen pieces, such a move wouldn’t really serve the team’s interests, particularly after the Giants previously gave up young talent to shed salary. While the team is still within reasonable striking distance in the NL West, its place in the trade deadline picture remains unclear — though Evans did shut down any thought that the team would make a last-minute decision to make star lefty Madison Bumgarner available.
The Dodgers sent scouts to watch pitchers on both the Marlins and Rays when the two Florida rivals faced off last weekend, the Miami Herald’s Clark Spencer reports (Twitter link). L.A. could have interested in any number of relievers or perhaps even starting pitchers on either roster, given how many Miami and Tampa players have been cited in trade rumors. Interestingly, Spencer’s tweet was linked to a tweet from Michael J. Duarte of NBC Los Angeles, who said that the Marlins had scouts watching Yadier Alvarez’s most recent Double-A outing. A consensus top prospect headed into the 2017 season, Alvarez didn’t crack the preseason top-100 lists for Baseball America or MLB.com this year (though Baseball Prospectus still had him 41st) in the wake of an unimpressive season. Alvarez has continued to struggle in 2018, with a 5.85 ERA and 25 walks in 20 frames for Double-A Tulsa, though he’s still missing a lot of bats with his 100-mph fastball.

Heyman’s Latest: Mets, Wheeler, deGrom, Syndergaard, Jackson, Phils, Braves

By Mark Polishuk | July 22, 2018 at 8:05pm CDT

“About a half-dozen teams” have some interest in Mets right-hander Zack Wheeler, FanCred Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets. Wheeler’s name has been mentioned in trade rumors for a few weeks now, with such teams as the Reds, Yankees, and Diamondbacks all reportedly linked to the 28-year-old. With the Mets firmly in sell mode as the deadline approaches, Wheeler certainly still appears to be the likeliest of New York’s starting pitchers to be moved in the coming days. In other tweets,, Heyman notes that though the Mets are doing their due diligence on current offers for Jacob deGrom or Noah Syndergaard, it’s more probably the team would wait until the offseason to deal either ace. Waiting until the winter opens up a wider array of potential suitors for trades, and thus would increase the Mets’ chances of landing their desired return of MLB-ready talent. Of course, the chances of Syndergaard being now seem “infinitesimal” since the righty is now on the 10-day DL after contracting hand, foot, and mouth disease.

Here’s some more transactions buzz from Heyman’s Twitter account…

The Red Sox and Giants are among the teams who are showing interest in veteran outfielder Austin Jackson. San Francisco, of course, just traded Jackson to the Rangers as part of a salary dump, and Jackson is now available in free agency (for the prorated MLB minimum salary) after Texas released him. Jackson has hit only .242/.309/.295 in 165 PA this season, though he could provide several teams with veteran outfield depth. He is more natural backup outfield fit, for instance, than current Red Sox roster members Steve Pearce or Brock Holt. The Giants have a pretty crowded outfield mix already, though Jackson is more experienced than the likes of Austin Slater or Steven Duggar.
The Braves and Phillies have been linked to several major names this summer, and Heyman says the two NL East rivals have indeed been “involved in most/all the big stuff” on the trade front. According to some, however, Atlanta and Philadelphia have also seemed less likely than other contenders to move their top prospects. This jibes with recent comments from Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos, who was looking to make upgrades but expressed wariness about dealing top prospects, particularly for rental players. Both the Braves and Phils are somewhat in the same boat as teams who are somewhat unexpected contenders coming out of a lengthy rebuild, and since both are looking to begin some sustained success, they aren’t necessarily looking to make a big all-in push this year.

Trade News & Rumors: Trade Value Rankings, Dozier, Andujar, Britton

By Kyle Downing | July 21, 2018 at 9:51am CDT

Fangraphs recently released its annual rankings of the top 50 most valuable contracts in baseball, or the players who would have the highest value in a trade. High atop the list sits a pair of Indians infielders (Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor), while Aaron Judge, Mike Trout and Carlos Correa round out the top five. The rankings take into account the amount of money each player is owed and the length of his contract in relation to his expected future performance. While the list is top-heavy with young stars (as one might expect), there are a few surprising names later down in the rankings, and a few top prospects even make the list.

Speaking of trades…

Twins second baseman Brian Dozier has drawn trade interest from the Brewers, reports Darren Wolfson of KSTP. That comes as little surprise considering the tight NL Central pennant race and the fact that Milwaukee’s second basemen have combined for the third-worst production in baseball to date. However, Wolfson also reports that another (unnamed team) has been “showing stronger interest”. For their part, the Twins (who now sit 8.5 games out of first place in the division) are open to moving Dozier.
The Yankees tried to acquire left-hander Brad Hand (who recently went to the Indians), but balked when they were asked to include young third baseman Miguel Andujar in the return, reports Andy Martino of SNY. That’s just one name the club had been targeting in a search for pitcher, but the prices for some of the available names (Cole Hamels and J.A. Happ, for instance), remain “insane” according to Martino.
The trade interest in Orioles lefty Zach Britton is “intensifying”, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Kubatko says that he expects Britton to be the “next Oriole out the door.” The Braves have thrown their hat into the ring recently, while the Cubs, Astros, Phillies, Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers and Giants have also been “in the mix”. As Kubatko aptly points out, the removal of Hand from the pool of available names should turn a lot of attention towards Britton.

Trade Interest In Zach Britton Has “Picked Up Steam”

By Steve Adams | July 20, 2018 at 10:58am CDT

JULY 20, 10:58am: Add the Braves to the list of teams interested in Britton, Crasnick reports.

9:28am: Baltimore’s “barreling ahead” with its Britton trade talks, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com tweets. Along with the teams mentioned below (the Astros, Cubs, Yankees, Phillies and Red Sox), the Giants are among the clubs in the mix for Britton, according to Crasnick.

JULY 17: If and when the reported trade sending Manny Machado to the Dodgers is formally announced by the teams, the O’s could be quick to turn around and move longtime closer Zach Britton in a separate deal, reports MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli (via Twitter). Interest in Britton has “picked up steam” recently, according to Ghiroli.

Britton missed about half of the 2017 season due to a pair of forearm injuries and was out until June 2018 due to a ruptured Achilles tendon that required offseason surgery. And while his first few appearances since coming off the disabled list raised questions about his trade value, he’s looked more impressive lately.

Britton’s past seven appearances have been scoreless, but beyond the bottom-line results, he’s made some encouraging gains in terms of sinker velocity. His ground-ball rate has been a superlative 68.8 percent in that time as well — a noted increase from his earlier outings in which his sinker wasn’t at its most effective levels. That’s not quite to up to Britton’s (quite literally) historic standards, but it remains elite all the same.

Control has still been somewhat of an issue, as he’s surrendered three walks in those seven innings and thrown a first-pitch strike to just 40 percent of the hitters he’s faced along the way. But there’s no denying that Britton has begun to round into form at a most opportune time for an Orioles organization that, at the very least, looks to be a lock to trade the left-hander and fellow impending free agents Machado and Brad Brach.

Britton is earning $12MM in 2018, which will present a roadblock for a number of clubs interested in acquiring his services. As could be the case with the eventual Machado deal, the Orioles might have to include some cash to facilitate the deal and to improve the return they receive for their prized lefty. Britton is still owed about $4.8MM of that $12MM sum through season’s end.

To this point, the Astros, Cubs, Yankees, Phillies and Red Sox have all been connected to Britton in fairly prominent fashion. Surely, as is the case every summer, though, the top relievers on the market will draw at least some level of inquiry from the majority of contenders. Unlike the Machado saga, in which some contending clubs had little need for another infielder on the left side of the diamond, there’s no contending team in baseball that won’t have some interest in bolstering its relief corps. Certainly, some teams will consider it to be a more pressing need than others, but it shouldn’t come as a surprise if as much as a third of the league is tied to Britton before he inevitably finds himself with a new team for the first time in his career.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/18/18

By Jeff Todd | July 18, 2018 at 10:40am CDT

Here are the latest minor moves from around the game, all via Matt Eddy of Baseball America unless otherwise noted:

A few right-handed hurlers with some MLB experience have found new homes. Casey Coleman has returned to the Cubs on a minors deal after opening the year in indy ball. He has appeared previously in parts of four MLB seasons and thrown 177 1/3 total frames at the game’s highest level, mostly for the Cubs. Coleman has a lifetime 5.72 ERA in the majors and hasn’t seen time there since 2014. Meanwhile, Mike Broadway will go to the Rays after being released by the Royals. The 31-year-old has struggled in the upper minors of late after making 25 appearances in the bigs with the Giants in 2015 and 2016.
Another righty, Jeff Ames, has been announced as the newest member of the Brewers organization. The 27-year-old was a sandwich-round selection in the 2011 draft but has yet to make it to the majors. He had worked to a 5.70 ERA with 12.9 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9 over 23 2/3 Double-A innings this year in the Nationals organization.
Eddy lists a variety of players who were cut loose, none more prominent than infielder Alexi Amarista. The 29-year-old, a seven-year MLB veteran, had been with the Phillies but slashed just .238/.285/.288 in his 173 plate appearances at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Amarista has a lifetime 68 OPS+ in 702 games of MLB action, so the lack of offensive production is hardly a surprise. He’s obviously valued primarily for his glovework.
Also released were outfielder Rymer Liriano (Angels) and lefty Jairo Labourt (Tigers). Both were in the not-too-distant past considered intriguing enough players to make it into the majors and then bounce around a bit via waiver claims. Liriano had posted a robust .268/.343/.523 slash in his 65 games of action at Triple-A with the Halos organization. But he had not yet been given a shot at the big league level this year and will now go looking for a better opportunity elsewhere. The 24-year-old Labourt, on the other hand, only made it into five rookie ball games with the Chicago organization, recording 11 strikeouts over 5 2/3 one-hit innings but also issuing nine free passes and allowing six runs (three earned).

Phillies, Giants Among Teams Interested In Jeurys Familia

By Connor Byrne | July 15, 2018 at 2:40pm CDT

Mets soon-to-be free-agent closer Jeurys Familia is drawing trade interest primarily from National League teams, Buster Olney of ESPN reports. The Phillies and Giants are among those clubs, per Olney, who notes that Philadelphia might wait to see whether it acquires Manny Machado and Zach Britton from the Orioles before embarking on an earnest pursuit of Familia.

Familia was one of the game’s best relievers from 2014-16, a stretch in which he pitched to a 2.20 ERA and saved 99 of 114 opportunities, but he took steps backward during an injury- and suspension-shortened 2017. The 28-year-old now looks closer to his top form, having recorded a 2.88 ERA/2.52 FIP with 9.52 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a 50.5 percent groundball rate in 40 2/3 innings this season. Along the way, Familia has saved 17 of 21 opportunities for the out-of-contention Mets.

The Phillies, as an NL East rival of the Mets, are quite familiar with Familia, and they’ve seen their bullpen turn in a middle-of-the-pack performance during a first-place season. The Phillies only lead their division by a game and a half, though, and their relievers entered Sunday 17th in the majors in ERA and 15th in fWAR. However, they have received strong production from youngsters Seranthony Dominguez, Victor Arano and Edubray Ramos.

The Giants, on the other hand, are out of the playoffs right now, sitting three games back of a wild-card spot and 3 1/2 behind NL West-leading Los Angeles. Statistically, the Giants’ bullpen has outdone the Phillies’, ranking 10th in ERA and an even more impressive sixth in fWAR. Familia would further strengthen a group that has seen Will Smith, Tony Watson and Reyes Moronta, among others, turn in absolutely great showings. San Francisco’s bullpen did lose closer Hunter Strickland to a fractured hand less than a month ago, but he should be back within a few weeks.

Any team acquiring Familia would be taking on a rental, as mentioned earlier. He’s owed the balance of a $7.925MM salary.

Giants Place Jeff Samardzija On DL

By Connor Byrne | July 15, 2018 at 1:13pm CDT

The Giants have placed right-hander Jeff Samardzija on the 10-day disabled list with inflammation in his pitching shoulder, Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group was among those to report. Infielder Kelby Tomlinson is up from Triple-A Sacramento in a corresponding move.

This is the third DL stint of the season and the second on account of shoulder troubles for Samardzija, who was known for his durability entering the year. The 33-year-old came into 2018 fresh off five straight seasons of 200-plus innings. He has only thrown 44 2/3 at the halfway point this year, though, and hasn’t been effective when healthy enough to take the hill.

Samardzija has pitched to a 6.25 ERA/5.42 FIP thus far, thanks in part to poor strikeout and walk rates (6.04 K/9, 5.24 BB/9), a 29.9 percent groundball mark and a recent stark decline in velocity. All of those numbers represent personal-worst figures for Samardzija, who holds a 4.17 ERA/3.86 FIP with 8.1 K/9, 2.72 BB/9 and a 43.8 percent grounder rate for his career.

Samardzija is in the third season of a five-year, $80MM contract, a deal the Giants awarded him when he was a quality mid-rotation starter. Now, with a desire to stay under the $197MM competitive-tax threshold, they’d surely like to get rid of his money. The club has reportedly made him available, in fact, but his 2018 performance, newfound injury troubles and contract combine to make him immovable.

Despite Samardzija’s woes this year, the Giants sit a respectable 50-47, three games out of a wild-card spot and 3 1/2 behind the NL West-leading Dodgers. If Samardzija misses significant time after the All-Star break, it seems likely San Francisco will slot Derek Holland back into its rotation behind Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto, Andrew Suarez and Dereck Rodriguez.

Trade Notes: Machado, Braves, Shark, Yanks, Andujar, Rangers, Cards

By Connor Byrne | July 14, 2018 at 10:24am CDT

The Braves have reportedly made an offer for Orioles superstar Manny Machado, but it doesn’t appear the shortstop will end up in Atlanta prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. The Braves “are strictly on the fringes” of the Machado sweepstakes, tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, who adds that they’re more concerned about upgrading their rotation.

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