- The 30-27 Blue Jays are in the thick of the playoff race, but if they fall out of it, right fielder Jose Bautista and first baseman/designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion (both pending free agents) are prime trade candidates. The Cardinals, Cubs and Hunter Pence-less Giants would all have interest in Bautista, according to Cafardo.
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Giants Rumors
Giants Have Discussed Pursuing Andrew Miller
With the Aug. 1 trade deadline drawing closer, the first-place Giants could make a major acquisition over the next couple months as they seek their fourth World Series title since 2010. One potential trade target they’ve discussed internally is Yankees left-handed reliever Andrew Miller, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link). Rosenthal wonders if San Francisco would be willing to part with its best pitching prospect, 23-year-old right-hander Tyler Beede, in order to land Miller.
Even if the Giants do pursue Miller, there’s obviously no guarantee the Yankees will deal the 31-year-old. Miller, after all, is still under their control at a reasonable $9MM per year through 2018, so they could keep him if they plan to contend in the near term. Contention could be out of the question this season, though, given that the Yankees haven’t consistently shown signs of life during their 25-29 start. They’re already seven games behind American League East-leading Boston and six games out of a Wild Card spot, and they lost first baseman Mark Teixeira on Friday to what could be a season-ending knee injury.
If the Yankees sell Miller, there’s a chance they’ll lose both him and fellow lights-out lefty Aroldis Chapman by the end of the year. Chapman, also a summer trade candidate, is slated to hit free agency after the season. That would bring a quick end to the Yankees’ much-ballyhooed Chapman-Miller-Dellin Betances trio and leave them with just one of the three going forward.
For the 35-22 Giants, who hold the second-best record in baseball, adding Miller would further strengthen a bullpen that already has a handful of impressive late-game options – even without the injured Sergio Romo. Giants relievers entered Saturday with a below-average 4.01 ERA and a replacement-level fWAR (0.0), good for the fourth-worst mark in the league, but closer Santiago Casilla (a pending free agent), Hunter Strickland, Cory Gearrin and Derek Law have performed well. Miller is vastly superior to each of them, though, and would offer variety as a southpaw.
Handedness aside, Miller has racked up videogamelike strikeout totals (16.62 per nine innings) while showing excellent control (1.25 BB/9), generating grounders 50 percent of the time and pitching to a 1.25 ERA over 21 2/3 innings this year. Dating back to 2012, his breakout season in relief with the Red Sox, Miller has put up a 2.28 ERA, 14.21 K/9, 3.20 BB/9 and 48.1 percent grounder rate in 216 2/3 frames. The 6-foot-7, 210-pounder has added to his value by showing the ability to dominate as either a closer or setup man.
There are likely to be many suitors for Miller if the Yankees make him available, so the Bombers’ asking price for him should be high. Whether the Giants are willing to move Beede for Miller is unknown – as is whether Beede would even appeal to New York – but it’s fair to say the reliever will command a quality return if the Yanks shop him.
Pitcher Notes: Pomeranz, M’s, Giants, Royals, Tigers
The Padres traded James Shields on Saturday, but they aren’t as willing to move their best starter, southpaw Drew Pomeranz, reports Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link). The club would need to be “overwhelmed” to deal the 27-year-old, according to Lin. Pomeranz currently ranks eighth among qualified starters in both ERA (2.22) and strikeouts per nine innings (10.66), and he’s playing this season on a meager $1.35MM salary. Thus, it would likely to take a significant haul to land him and his two-plus remaining years of team control.
More on a few other pitchers:
- The Mariners promoted their top pitching prospect, Double-A reliever Edwin Diaz, and optioned fellow reliever Cody Martin to Triple-A Tacoma to make room, per a team announcement. Diaz, 22, has posted a sterling 2.21 ERA, 11.95 K/9 and 1.55 BB/9 in 40 2/3 innings this year. Most of those numbers came as a starter, but the Mariners decided to move Diaz to the bullpen early last month because they feel his ceiling as a reliever is higher. Diaz has a high-90s fastball out of the ’pen and has dominated in relief this season, writes The Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish. He’ll have a chance to earn a spot with the Mariners in the wake of veteran Joel Peralta’s designation for assignment earlier this week.
- Before lefty Brian Duensing agreed to a minor league deal with the Orioles last month, the Giants and Royals also pushed for his services, he told Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter link). Duensing became a free agent when he opted out of his contract with Kansas City in mid-May; as evidenced by Kansas City’s desire to re-sign Duensing, the defending World Series champions were obviously sorry to see him go.
- The Tigers’ Shane Greene made three of his four early season appearances as a starter before landing on the disabled list April 24 with a blister on his throwing hand. The right-hander is healthy again, but he will now come out of the bullpen, manager Brad Ausmus said (via Brendan Savage of MLive.com). “He’ll work out of the pen, probably sixth-seventh innings, right around there,” Ausmus stated. “Maybe eighth depending on who needs rest, who’s coming up, etc. He can work a couple innings. Availability will come into play but he can definitely work a couple of innings.” Prior to his injury, Greene put up a 6.28 ERA, 6.91 K/9 and 5.65 BB/9 in 14 1/3 innings. He worked almost exclusively as a starter last season (16 of 18 appearances), though his run prevention was even worse (6.88 ERA).
Giants Won't Overpay For Pence Replacement
- With the news that Hunter Pence will miss two months or more, the Giants are facing some uncertainty in the corner outfield. While the organization sees some “attractive options externally,” GM Bobby Evans tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter), it has no intentions of plunking down a high price for a temporary fill-in (let alone a long-term piece).
Opt-Outs: Joe Thatcher, Hak-Ju Lee
June 1 serves as a common date for opt-out clauses in minor league contracts, and as such, there figure to be a few players on the verge of free agency. It’s already been reported that Travis Snider won’t opt out of his deal with the Royals, and we’ll keep track of the rest of the day’s opt-out decisions in this post…
- Veteran lefty Joe Thatcher has exercised the opt-out clause in his minor league deal with the Dodgers, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. The Dodgers have until Saturday to add him to the big league roster or he’ll be a free agent. Thatcher, 34, spent the 2015 season with the Astros and totaled 22 2/3 innings of 3.18 ERA ball with a 26-to-12 K/BB ratio. Thatcher didn’t display his typical excellence against lefties, yielding a .241/.362/.321 batting line to same-handed opponents, but he’s an overall line of .232/.298/.348 to lefty batters in his big league career. He has a 3.86 ERA with a 20-to-5 K/BB ratio in 14 innings at the Triple-A level thus far in 2016 and could get a look elsewhere as a situational lefty if the Dodgers elect not to add him to the big league bullpen.
- Shortstop Hak-Ju Lee has also exercised a June 1 opt-out in his minors deal with the Giants, MLBTR has learned (Twitter link). Lee, a former Top 100 prospect with the Cubs and Rays, is hitting .263/.343/.378 with three homers and four steals in 45 games/178 plate appearances with Triple-A Sacramento this season. San Francisco has 72 hours to add him to the active roster. The 25-year-old has played shortstop almost exclusively throughout his career but has logged a pair of games at third base this season. Lee’s career was slowed by a collision at second base in 2013 that left him with multiple torn ligaments in his left knee, and he hasn’t topped 100 games in a season since 2012 (though he’s healthy and on pace to do so in 2016). Baseball America wrote prior to the 2015 season that Lee possessed above-average range, a plus throwing arm and soft hands at shortstop.
Giants Place Hunter Pence On Disabled List
The Giants have placed right fielder Hunter Pence on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring, manager Bruce Bochy told reporters prior to today’s game (via Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle). Pence missed about a week late last month due to a balky hamstring but returned to the lineup over the weekend. However, he came up lame in an attempt to run out a grounder last night and was unable to even finish running to first base. He underwent an MRI this morning, after which Bochy told the media: “Unfortunately, he did a pretty good job on it. That’s a shame.” In other words, Schulman notes, Pence is dealing with a severe strain, which almost certainly rules out a speedy return to the lineup. Surgery has not yet been discussed, though Pence’s MRI still needs to be reviewed by team physician Kenneth Akizuki.
For the time being, the Giants have recalled outfielder Mac Williamson to take Pence’s place on the roster. The 25-year-old Williamson is currently sporting a fairly robust .287/.316/.503 batting line with Triple-A Sacramento, though it’s unreasonable to ask him to fill Pence’s shoes from a production standpoint at the big league level. Pence is currently batting .298/.375/.486 with seven homers on the season, but he’ll now join the Giants’ other corner outfielder, Angel Pagan, on the disabled list with a similar injury. That leaves the NL-West-leading Giants with an outfield mix of Denard Span, Gregor Blanco and the inexperienced duo of Williamson and Jarrett Parker. Brandon Belt could potentially see some time in left field as well; he’s logged just one inning there this season but played 96 innings out there in 2015 and has 355 big league innings at the position.
While there’s no definitive timetable on Pence’s absence, a prolonged stint on the disabled list would invite trade speculation. Pagan is said to be coming along nicely in his rehab and could return to the club sometime next week, Schulman notes, which could lessen the immediate need for some outfield help. However, Pagan doesn’t provide the same offensive skill set, despite a solid .275/.338/.383 batting line at the time of his most recent injury, and he’s also been very prone to injury over the past four seasons with San Francisco. It’s early in the summer still, but MLBTR’s Jeff Todd did recently compile a list of 10 of the game’s likeliest trade candidates while also mentioning several others to monitor as the deadline approaches.
Pence To Undergo MRI Following Hamstring Injury
Giants right fielder Hunter Pence left tonight’s game after re-aggravating a hamstring injury that plagued him for much of the past two weeks, and he’s headed for an MRI in the morning, writes Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. The extent of the injury won’t be known until tomorrow morning, but Pence was unable to even finish running to first base on a grounder to third base in the fourth inning. Pence is hitting .298/.375/.486 with seven homers in 208 trips to the plate this season, and any prolonged absence for him would be a tough pill for San Francisco to swallow. Were he to require a stint on the disabled list, he’d end up alongside fellow outfielder Angel Pagan, who is on the DL with the same injury. Jarrett Parker is already on the roster due to Pagan’s injury, and Mac Williamson is an obvious candidate to come up and fill Pence’s 25-man roster spot if necessary.
Romo Has Setback In Rehab
- Giants right-hander Sergio Romo has had a setback in his rehab from a flexor strain in his right elbow, manager Bruce Bochy told reporters (Twitter links via Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle). Romo has been experiencing tenderness in his right elbow, which prompted the Giants to order an MRI on their longtime late-inning reliever. On the positive side, Schulman notes that the MRI didn’t reveal any structural damage. However, he’ll still be backed off for four to five days, making it unlikely that he’ll be back with the team anytime soon.
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/31/16
Baseball America’s Matt Eddy runs down the week’s minor moves. Among those that haven’t yet appeared here at MLBTR:
- Minor league infielder Ryan Dent has been released by the Cubs. Now 27, Dent was taken 62nd overall in the 2007 draft by the Red Sox. He’s never managed to show a consistent bat in the minors, but caught on with a Chicago organization that’s now run by former Boston GM Theo Epstein. Dent was unable to effect a turnaround, however, and now finds himself looking for a new opportunity.
- The Giants released southpaw Mike Kickham, per Eddy. Kickham, 27, made three starts and 11 relief appearances with San Francisco between 2013 and 2014, though he was hit hard in the big leagues. He’s bounced around since and has not recovered the promise that he showed at times in the minors. This year, Kickham had thrown 10 2/3 innings at Double-A, allowing eight earned runs on twenty hits and four walks to go with just seven strikeouts.
Giants Release Mike Kickham
- The Giants released southpaw Mike Kickham, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports. Kickham was originally drafted by San Francisco in 2010 and appeared in 14 games with the Giants in 2013-14, which were thus far his only tastes of the major leagues. The lefty spent 2015 bouncing between the Cubs, Mariners and Rangers organizations before signing a minor league deal with the Giants this past winter. Kickham has a 4.17 ERA, 7.8 K/9 and 1.83 K/BB over 561 1/3 innings in the minors, with 100 of his 117 career games coming as a starting pitcher.
- Earlier this week, the Tigers released outfielder Nate Schierholtz. The veteran signed a minor league contract with Detroit last winter. Schierholtz has a .253/.302/.405 slash line over 2275 career PA with the Giants, Phillies, Cubs and Nationals from 2007-14. He spent the 2015 season playing in Japan, an experience Schierholtz discussed with MLBTR’s Zach Links during Spring Training.
