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NL Central Notes: Cardinals, Reds, Cubs

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The Cardinals see “a need” in the closer role in the wake of Trevor Rosenthal’s Tommy John surgery, but GM Mike Girsch tells MLB.com’s Jen Langosch that “there’s not a ton we can do about it” this year. While the club is still looking to see if there’s a late-inning arm to be had, he suggested, it’s just not likely that one will be found with another week to go until the end of August (after which players who are traded cannot appear on a postseason roster). But the Cards will look to bolster the pen over the winter, Girsch said, with the precise direction still to be determined — based in part upon how things go the rest of the way and what the market bears.

  • In other Cardinals-focused coverage, Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch takes a look at the immediate replacement options for Rosenthal. And his colleague, Derrick Goold, analyzes the organization’s possible September call-ups. GM John Mozeliak says that the organization is rich in upper-level talent that could contribute down the stretch. Goold’s examination goes into great detail on the thought process, and is well worth a read — even for fans of other teams.
  • With somewhat less fanfare, for obvious reasons, the Reds also recently lost a key pitcher for the rest of the season: righty Scott Feldman, who required knee surgery. Feldman ended up taking down $4MM in total for his 2017 season, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes — with incentives boosting his $2.3MM base salary. He’ll likely be as affordable, if not moreso, this coming winter, though Feldman did post solid results before his knee started barking. He also seemingly left a good impression, with manager Bryan Price crediting Feldman as “a tremendous competitor, though the skipper also hinted that the organization will be aiming to minimize the health risk in building out its rotation over the winter.
  • The Cubs have several relatively unheralded players that could make big contributions down the stretch, ESPNChicago.com’s Jesse Rogers writes. Swingman Mike Montgomery and infielder Tommy La Stella have already made an impact while filling in for injured regulars, Rogers notes, while the team may yet hope for a late charge from struggling relievers Hector Rondon and Justin Wilson.

Scott Feldman Undergoes Knee Surgery

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Reds righty Scott Feldman will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing knee surgery today, per a club announcement (h/t MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon, on Twitter). His right knee was cleaned up in the arthroscopic procedure.

With that news, the 34-year-old will almost certainly return to the open market before throwing another pitch for Cincinnati. The 13-year MLB veteran had joined the club on a one-year, $2.3MM pact over the winter.

It seemed at one point that Feldman would make for an interesting summer trade chip for the Reds, given his cheap salary and solid performance through the end of June. Since then, however, he has made only four starts, over which he has surrendered 18 earned runs in just 13 2/3 innings.

Injury Notes: Lester, Wainwright, Cervelli, Feldman, Tomas

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Jon Lester’s start yesterday lasted just 1 2/3 innings and ended with the Cubs lefty calling for the trainer before exiting with an 8-0 deficit. The Cubs’ initial diagnosis on Lester was tightness in his left lat muscle, though he headed out to see a specialist in Chicago yesterday afternoon. Following that examination, the Cubs are hopeful that Lester will only miss one to two starts, according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. Even a quick absence of that nature could mean a 10-day DL stint for Lester, and Sullivan notes that left-hander Mike Montgomery would step into the rotation in the interim.

A few more notable injury updates from around the league…

  • Adam Wainwright is on his way back to St. Louis to have his arm examined by Cardinals team physicians, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Wainwright allowed five runs in three innings yesterday and has been plagued by persistent pain in his elbow when pitching. MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch notes that Wainwright hasn’t reached 90 mph in either of his past two starts and has yielded nine runs on 15 hits and nine walks with just one strikeout in his past 11 innings (Twitter link). Wainwright recently spent a bit more than two weeks on the disabled list due to a back injury.
  • The Pirates announced yesterday that Francisco Cervelli has been placed on the 10-day disabled list (retroactive to Aug. 14) due to inflammation in his left wrist. Infielder Max Moroff is up from Triple-A Indianapolis to take Cervelli’s spot on the roster for now. Catcher Elias Diaz was already with the Pirates due to Cervelli’s lingering wrist pain, and he’ll split time with Chris Stewart behind the plate in Cervelli’s absence. It’s an ill-timed injury for the fading Bucs, who have lost five games in a row and are now 5.5 games out of the division lead.
  • The knee injury that landed Reds righty Scott Feldman on the disabled list last month has resurfaced and could potentially end his season, writes Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Feldman was candid in telling the Cincinnati media, “If it doesn’t get any better, I don’t think I can pitch like that anymore.” Feldman served up five homers to the Cubs in fewer than four innings before exiting yesterday’s game. Feldman’s fastball was sitting at 82 mph in that rocky outing, Buchanan notes, and the veteran acknowledged that he’s “not really feeling too confident” about the outlook of the injury. This isn’t Feldman’s first bout of troubles with his right knee; the right-hander underwent microfracture surgery on that same knee back in 2011 and tore a meniscus in that same knee four years later with the Astros.
  • Diamondbacks outfielder Yasmany Tomas has suffered a second setback in his recovery from a groin injury and is traveling to Philadelphia to meet with a specialist on Monday, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Tomas has been out since June 2 with a groin issue and already had to shut down one rehab assignment when he incurred a new (and more severe) injury in a different area of his groin, Piecoro writes. The 26-year-old Tomas was hitting .241/.291/.464 with eight homers through 180 plate appearances at the time of his injury.

NL Notes: Loria, Cardinals, Feldman

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What kind of Marlins owner Derek Jeter will make is far less important than the fact that Jeffrey Loria is leaving, Dave Hyde of the Sun Sentinel writes. Loria frequently upstaged the Marlins’ on-field play with off-field drama, including ballpark financing issues, a revolving door to the manager’s office, and constant changes of direction. Meanwhile, the team Jeter and company will take over is no prize — the team isn’t currently contending, there’s already lots of money tied up in player salaries for next season, and the franchise’s minor-league system is poor. Here’s more from the National League.

  • The Cardinals are comfortable with their outfield and will not be pursuing Jay Bruce-type trades in the August market, GM Mike Girsch tells MLB Network Radio (on Twitter). (Bruce himself, of course, is no longer available after being traded to Cleveland, but Girsch is saying the Cardinals do not intend to pursue that sort of player.) Girsch says the Cardinals remain open to making trades, as one might expect. But, he adds, “Realistically, making meaningful upgrades in August is a challenge.”
  • The Reds have announced that righty Scott Feldman will start tonight against Milwaukee as he returns from about four weeks on the DL with knee inflammation. That’s significant because Feldman could be a trade candidate this month — he’s a free agent after the season and might very well have been traded last month had he not been hurt. It’s also possible Feldman could be claimed should the Reds place him on revocable waivers, since he’s only making $2.3MM this season and has produced a 4.34 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 over 103 2/3 innings.

Central Notes: Twins, Lopez, Winker, Reds

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A pair of Twins pitchers are set to resume throwing tomorrow, according to statements from each via Twitter. Righty Trevor May, who is contributing at MLBTR while working back from Tommy John surgery, says he will begin his march back in earnest. That drew a reply from southpaw Hector Santiago, who says he’ll do the same; he has been out for nearly a month with what the team called upper thoracic back pain and discomfort. There’s no expectation that May will return during the 2017 season, as his procedure took place this March. But Santiago conceivably could. The 29-year-old has every incentive to do just that, as he’s slated to hit the market this fall and would surely like a chance to improve upon the subpar results he has produced during his time in Minnesota.

More from the game’s Central divisions…

  • While the Twins had some other possible trade chips to move, the team never came close to making any deals beyond those it completed, assistant GM Rob Antony tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (Twitter link). There was little in the way of rumors surrounding shorter-term assets like Ervin Santana, Brian Dozier or Eduardo Escobar prior to the deadline, so perhaps the team’s preference was simply to engage with other clubs on impending free agents such as Jaime Garcia and Brandon Kintzler. Speculatively speaking, righty Matt Belisle could be a name to watch in August. He’s playing on an eminently affordable one-year, $2.05MM deal and rebounded from an awful month of May with a solid June and a scoreless 12 2/3 frames (with a 13-to-2 K/BB ratio) in July.
  • White Sox prospect Reynaldo Lopez, acquired in the offseason Adam Eaton trade, is forcing his way into the team’s big league plans, general manager Rick Hahn tells Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago. “He’s forcing the issue,” said Hahn. “He’s had several starts in a row that have been very impressive.” Indeed, Lopez has turned in a 2.16 ERA with a 54-to-11 K/BB ratio in his past 41 2/3 innings. Hahn also offered praise for Lucas Giolito’s recent work, though those numbers are skewed by a pair of drubbings in an otherwise solid run of 11 starts. Lopez recently appeared on the latest installment of Jason Martinez’s “Knocking Down the Door” series here at MLBTR and seems to be nearing his first Major League look with the ChiSox.
  • Reds outfield prospect Jesse Winker, who was recalled from Triple-A this week, is in line for regular playing time in the Majors now, per Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). The Reds tabbed Winker with the 49th overall pick in the 2012 draft, and he’s been considered among the game’s top 100 or so prospects for much of the past three years. Winker had a cup of coffee earlier this season but returned to Triple-A in short order, where he ultimately put together a .314/.395/.408 showing. Wrist injuries have led to a power outage for Winker over the past two seasons, but he looks to be regaining some of the pop he showed from 2013-15, as he’s homered in consecutive games for the Reds (including tonight).
  • Buchanan also provides some updates on a trio of injured Reds players in a full column. Outfielder Scott Schebler, whose absence has helped create an opening for Winker, was diagnosed with a bruised rotator cuff following an MRI exam. He’s out for at least the next two to three weeks, per Buchanan. Injured righty Scott Feldman, meanwhile, threw a three-inning simulated game today, though the timeline on his return to the Majors isn’t yet clear. And second base prospect Dilson Herrera, who had a bone spur removed from his shoulder recently, will be cleared to begin throwing in three to four months. Buchanan’s column has more quotes and context from manager Bryan Price and Reds team doctor Timothy Kremchek, so Reds fans should take a look for more details.

Trade Chatter: Iglesias, Reds, Royals, Asdrubal, Mariners, Dodgers, Astros

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Though Raisel Iglesias’ name has somewhat frequently been mentioned on the rumor circuit, Reds general manager Dick Williams tells Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer that he’s not marketing his closer to other teams. That doesn’t mean that Williams won’t listen to offers on the 27-year-old, but the GM’s comments suggest that a trade isn’t especially likely “[I]f somebody really gave you an opportunity to improve your franchise, you’d have to consider it,” said Williams of listening to offers on Iglesias. “But I really like a lot of the pieces we have, and I see us not that far from being competitive if we can get some of these young pitchers to turn the corner. If I were to trade him, you’d want something back that could help us real soon.”

Some more trade chatter to kick off Thursday morning…

  • From that same piece, Williams tells Buchanan that he’s more open-minded when it comes to dealing impending free agents such as Zack Cozart, Drew Storen and recently injured Scott Feldman. The knee injury that landed Feldman on the disabled list seems particularly unfortunate, as Buchanan reports that the Reds had received trade interest in Feldman prior to that issue. His timetable for a return isn’t yet known. There’s technically time for him to be activated before the deadline if it proves to be short-term in nature, though one can imagine that most interested parties would prefer to see him make a start before moving forward with a trade. Buchanan also speculates on the possibility of a Tony Cingrani trade, noting that he’s pitching well and controlled for two more seasons, while Cincinnati has quite a few younger arms it’d like to take a look at in the ’pen.
  • The Royals are once again struggling, having dropped seven of their past 10 games, but ESPN’s Buster Olney hears that they’re not deviating from their course as deadline buyers. Kansas City has been hopeful of adding two “cost-efficient” starting pitchers and are also looking into adding a reliever. It’d take a total collapse between now and the deadline for the Royals to change course and sell off their impending free agents, Olney adds.
  • Olney also tweets that the Mets would improve their chances of finding a trade partner for Asdrubal Cabrera by playing him at third base. Rival evaluators are hopeful of seeing him at that position before making a determination, per Olney, and it now appears likely that the Mets will accommodate them. Newsday’s Marc Carig reports that Cabrera is set to begin taking grounders at the hot corner, and manager Terry Collins confirmed as much to Carig’s colleague, David Lennon (Twitter link).
  • The Mariners “appear willing” to trade outfield prospect Tyler O’Neill this summer, reports Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. The 22-year-old O’Neill entered the season ranked among the game’s 50 or so best prospects on several notable lists (Baseball America, MLB.com, Baseball Prospectus) but got off to a poor start to the season in Triple-A. He’s recovered with a 1.127 OPS over his past 26 games to bring his batting line back up to a respectable .241/.326/.462, but Dutton notes that the emergence of Mitch Haniger and Ben Gamel has the M’s more open to a deal. Despite the presence of that duo, however, Seattle hasn’t shown an inclination to deal top organizational prospect Kyle Lewis.
  • ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick writes that the Dodgers and Astros have put themselves in such strong position that neither strongly needs to make a move prior to the trade deadline. However, both Dodgers president Andrew Friedman and Astros GM Jeff Luhnow are viewed as extremely opportunistic types and figure to look at ways to upgrade their roster anyhow. Crasnick classifies the Dodgers’ interest in Orioles closer Zach Britton as “legitimate” but notes that they’re a bit cautious due to his 2017 forearm issues. Ken Rosenthal wrote yesterday that L.A. is reluctant to part with prospects Alex Verdugo and Walker Buehler in trades, and Crasnick echoes that statement while also adding righty Yadier Alvarez to the list. While the three aren’t quite “untouchable,” none of the three seems especially likely to go. As for the Astros, they’ll continue looking for a starter that could join the playoff rotation behind Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers, though they, too, could look instead to a late-inning lefty like Britton or Detroit’s Justin Wilson.

Reds Place Scott Feldman On 10-Day DL

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The Reds have placed righty Scott Feldman on the 10-day DL, per a club announcement. His precise injury situation isn’t yet known, but the placement is clearly related to Feldman’s early exit with an apparent knee injury yesterday, as C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

The 34-year-old has evidently been dealing with the balky joint for some time, but the situation reached a breaking point yesterday. Feldman was knocked around, exhibiting severely diminished velocity before he was pulled after just one inning.

With the move, the Reds have not only suffered yet another hit to their beleaguered rotation, but may have lost one of their more likely deadline trade pieces. Feldman has been solid all year long, with a 4.34 ERA even after his brutal outing. With only a $2.3MM base salary, he looked to be an affordable depth option for organizations hoping to shore up their rotations down the stretch.

It’s still conceivable that Feldman could be dealt, but the Reds will have a much harder time achieving a worthwhile return. The 13-year MLB veteran won’t return until just before the deadline, if he’s able to make it back by that point at all. And while he could conceivably be moved during August, that’s not typically a time when sellers have much leverage.

Reds Notes: Iglesias, DeSclafani, Cingrani

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Here’s the latest out of Cincinnati…

  • Closer Raisel Iglesias has drawn trade interest with the deadline approaching, though the Reds would unsurprisingly seek an “astronomical” return for the 27-year-old, a source tells ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter links).  With that in mind, Crasnick suggests that Cincy’s deadline talks are more likely to revolve around veteran rentals like shortstop Zack Cozart, starter Scott Feldman and reliever Drew Storen than Iglesias.  The flamethrowing right-hander could be a core piece for the Reds, as he’s on a reasonable contract through 2020 and has dominated over 41 2/3 innings this year (1.73 ERA, 10.8 K/9, 3.46 BB/9 and a 46.2% ground-ball rate).
  • Anthony DeSclafani is reporting good progress in rehab process, the right-hander tells MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon.  After spraining his right UCL during the spring, DeSclafani has slowly begun ramping up a throwing process that didn’t begin until midway through May.  “I’ve made every scheduled throwing session, bullpen, flat-ground. It’s been going well so far, so hopefully it stays the course,” said DeSclafani, who is three bullpen sessions into a schedule of one bullpen every three days.  He remains on track for a return in August, matching the tentative timeline set in June by Reds manager Bryan Price.
  • Left-hander Tony Cingrani has moved from Dishman Sports Group to the Bledsoe Agency, reports FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter).  Cingrani, who’s controllable via arbitration through 2019, has combined for a 4.38 ERA, 8.28 K/9 against 5.26 BB/9, and a 44.3% grounder mark across 113 innings since he became a full-time reliever in 2015.  MLBTR will make note of Cingrani’s representation change in our Agency Database, which keeps track of agent information on more than 2,500 major league and minor league players.  If you see any notable errors or omissions, please let us know via email: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

NL Notes: Reds, Mets, Phillies

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As a serviceable, affordable free agent-to-be who’s on a rebuilding team, Reds right-hander Scott Feldman should theoretically be a trade candidate at this time of the year. But it’s possible the Reds will opt to keep Feldman as a way to benefit their other pitchers, according to Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Retaining Feldman would help the Reds avoid risking the arms and psyches of some of their young starters who might not be ready for the majors, suggests Buchanan, who notes that his presence also helps preserve the bullpen. Feldman has lasted at least six frames in eight of 17 starts, and he easily leads the Reds’ woeful rotation in innings (97) and ERA (3.78). He has also accounted for 1.6 fWAR, while the remainder of the Reds’ starters have combined for minus-2.8. “We are lucky to have him,” said manager Bryan Price. “To really look at our season and say what’s been the really one, from a rotational standpoint, the one constant, and it’s been the quality of Scott Feldman.”

More from Cincinnati and two other National League cities:

  • The latest member of the Mets to hit the disabled list is outfielder Michael Conforto, who’s now on the shelf (retroactive to June 28) with a bruised left hand, per a team announcement. Conforto suffered the injury on a hit by pitch last Sunday and hasn’t played since, thus depriving the Mets of a player who has slashed an excellent .285/.405/.548 in 269 plate appearances this season. Right-hander Zack Wheeler took Conforto’s vacant roster spot. Wheeler’s back after going on the DL on June 21 with biceps tendinitis.
  • The Reds’ first-round pick, right-hander Hunter Greene, will head to Cincinnati in the coming days to take a physical, reports Buchanan. That seems to bode well for the Reds’ chances of signing Greene, the second overall pick, by the July 7 deadline. The 17-year-old is likely seeking the richest deal in the 2017 class, relays Buchanan. So far, that honor belongs to No. 4 selection Brendan McKay, whom the Rays gave a record $7,007,500 earlier this week.
  • Phillies outfielder/infielder Howie Kendrick, who went on the DL on Friday with an injured left hamstring, will probably miss longer than 10 days, writes Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Kendrick will undergo an MRI in Philadelphia during the upcoming week, and the team’s bigwigs are undoubtedly hoping nothing serious crops up to prevent them from fetching a decent return at the trade deadline for the impending free agent. President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail suggested Friday that there should be plenty of interest in the 33-year-old Kendrick, saying, “If I wanted a professional hitter, I sure wouldn’t have any pause.”

NL Central Notes: Peralta, Heyward, Happ, Reds, Cole

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Jhonny Peralta is back with the Cardinals after being activated from the disabled list, though Peralta told reporters (including Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) that he’ll have to adjust to being a part-time player for the first time in his career.  “Everybody is doing good and the team — we’re in second place,” Peralta said.  “I understand the situation but it’s kind of hard for me to be on the bench and not play every day, because I know what kind of player I can be….I need to learn to be ready for whatever time or situation it is in the game.”  Peralta was a productive starter for the Cards as recently as the 2015 season, though an injury-plagued 2016 opened the door for Aledmys Diaz and Jedd Gyorko to emerge, and those two have now established themselves as the Cardinals’ regulars at shortstop and third base.  Peralta, who turns 35 later this month, is in the final year of a four-year, $53MM contract and is owed roughly $7.4MM for the remainder of the season.  A trade could be difficult to work given this remaining salary and Peralta’s lack of recent production, though if Peralta is able to get somewhat back into form, he’ll give the Cards some solid veteran infield depth.

Here’s more from around the NL Central…

  • Jason Heyward expects to be activated from the 10-day DL today, which creates an interesting roster decision for the Cubs, MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat writes.  Top prospect Ian Happ has looked spectacular since being promoted last week and could stick with the club, through manager Joe Maddon said that the team wants Happ to get regular action wherever he plays, which could be somewhat difficult on Chicago’s crowded big league roster.  “That’s what happens when you’re good is you have tough decisions,” Maddon said.  “The fact that Ian has come up and done so well makes it even more difficult. We’ll try to figure it out and make our best guess.”  Happ brings a lot of versatility as a switch-hitter and a multi-positional player, so the Cubs could get him playing time in a variety of roles and instead demote another bench option such as Tommy La Stella or Albert Almora.  Heyward has missed two weeks due to a sprained right index finger, and was already back in the Cubs’ clubhouse after completing a one-game rehab stint in the minors.
  • The incentive bonuses for Scott Feldman and Drew Storen are broken down by Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer, as Storen has already reached his first incentive threshold (15 appearances) and Feldman will access his bonus money on Monday when he makes his 10th start of the season.  Feldman will earn $100K for that outing, and then another $100K or $200K for each successive start thereafter, up to 25 starts.  The righty also has extra cash available in relief incentives, though Feldman isn’t likely to be moved out of the Reds rotation anytime soon, due to both his own solid performance (a 4.29 ERA in 50 1/3 IP) and Cincy’s lack of healthy alternatives.  Storen has pitched very well out of the Reds bullpen and is in great shape to earn his $750K in available incentives for appearances, though attaining his games-finished bonuses could be difficult with Raisel Iglesias locked in at closer.
  • With the Pirates in last place and facing an uphill battle in the NL Central race, Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com argues that the Bucs should deal Gerrit Cole while the right-hander’s trade value is at its highest.  Cole is looking healthy after an injury-shortened 2016 and is pitching well, with a 2.84 ERA, 7.9 K/9, 50.3% grounder rate and 4.17 K/BB rate through 57 innings.  Between this front-of-the-rotation production and Cole being under team control through 2019, the Pirates would stand to obtain a major haul if Cole was dealt.  Gammons speculates that the Astros and Yankees would be the top two suitors, as they have enough minor league depth to afford the big price tag Pittsburgh would demand for Cole’s services.

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