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Pitching Notes: Smith, Robertson, Padres’ Relievers, Yankees’ Starters

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We’ve already heard about the Mets’ interest in Angels righty Joe Smith, but they aren’t alone in looking at the veteran reliever. The Indians, Mariners, and perhaps also the Cardinals all have some level of interest, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets. These teams, of course, have also been tied to a variety of other pen pieces — as have most organizations looking for relief help. Remember to check out MLBTR’s list of the top relief candidates to run down some possibilities.

  • One source for a quality reliever could be the White Sox, who still have closer David Robertson under contract for two more years. There’s a “real possibility” he could be moved, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News reports on Twitter. The Nationals, Rangers, and division-rival Indians are among the rival organizations who have some interest. While Robertson is carrying an uncharacteristic 4.35 ERA on the year, driven in large part by a huge spike in his walk totals and a barrage of home runs, he’s still getting swings and misses on 11.9% of his pitches and working with his typical 92 to 93 mph fastball. Robertson is working in the zone as much as usual, and has tamed the control problems in the month of July. Plus, much of the damage has been limited to a few bad outings — Robertson has only allowed earned runs in eight of his forty outings on the season.
  • Several Padres bullpen arms feature on the above-cited list of trade possibilities, and GM A.J. Preller says that he has drawn interest, as MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell tweets. Preller cites righty Brandon Maurer and lefties Brad Hand and Ryan Buchter as hurlers who have been asked about quite frequently. “There’s definitely interest in our pen,” per the freewheeling general manager.
  • Teams asking the Yankees about starting pitching have been left with the impression that only Ivan Nova is available at present, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports on Twitter. Nova certainly didn’t help his trade appeal with a rough outing tonight, but as a pending free agent, it seems the club is more willing to deal him. As of now, says Sherman, upper management hasn’t given a green light on moving arms that have future control, such as Nathan Eovaldi and Michael Pineda.

Latest On Andrew Miller

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1:15pm: A straight-up swap of Giolito wouldn’t be enough to get the Yankees to budge on Miller, Heyman tweets.

12:53pm: We’ve long heard about the Nationals’ interest in Yankees ace reliever Andrew Miller, but it has never quite been clear what the team would be willing to do to make that happen. Per MLB.com’s Jon Morosi, via Twitter, “sources who have spoken with the [Nationals] believe” they’d do a one-for-one swap of Miller for top pitching prospect Lucas Giolito.

That language certainly still leaves a bit of wiggle room, and it’s not clear that a firm offer has been proposed. There’s no question, though, that the towering righty would represent a tantalizing offer for New York — if he is in fact being placed on the table.

New York is looking for a massive return for its star lefty, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag reports (Twitter links). The club is said to want three times the total value it achieved in its trade of Aroldis Chapman, who netted one very good prospect in Gleyber Torres along with three other pieces with real value. While Chapman is a pure rental piece, Miller comes with two added years of club control at a reasonable (though not cheap) price tag of $9MM annually. Heyman also notes that it still seems unlikely he’ll change hands, though perhaps New York is open to being blown away by an offer.

Joining the Nats with ongoing interest in Miller are the Cardinals, Indians, Rangers, and Giants, according to Heyman. Certainly, all of those clubs could put together appealing packages, though none has a rotation prospect that quite reaches Giolito’s standing — with the Cards’ Alex Reyes being the closest thing (though, to be clear, we’ve heard no indication to this point that he could be had). Texas also has some premium assets that it could dangle, though they land mostly on the position-player side. And it’s far from clear whether those teams’ best pieces are on offer for Miller.

If Giolito is, in fact, available, it would seem to make the Nats a favorite to acquire Miller. Giolito is widely regarded as one of the game’s truly premier starting pitching prospects, and he has already reached the majors for D.C. Truth be told, he would represent a rather stunning return, even for a reliever of Miller’s undeniable excellence.

The Nats were said not to be willing to give up Giolito, or even some lesser prospects, in a deal for Chapman. But there’s obviously good reason to cough up more assets for the controllable Miller, and the team has a deep stock of appealing young arms. Plus, Washington’s need for a premium late-inning pen piece only continues to grow, with incumbent closer Jonathan Papelbon struggling more than ever.

Cardinals Seeking Late-Inning Reliever On Trade Market

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The rapid decline of Trevor Rosenthal, who has now been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a shoulder injury following his season-long struggles, has the Cardinals in the market for a late-inning arm to add to their relief corps, per Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports.

St. Louis has turned to right-hander Seung-hwan Oh, whose modest offseason signing has proven to be one of the savviest investments of the winter, to handle ninth-inning duties in Rosenthal’s stead. Oh has lived up to his “Final Boss” nickname in the Majors, pitching to a brilliant 1.72 ERA with 11.9 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 41.4 percent ground-ball rate in 52 1/3 innings. Those are dominant numbers out of the rookie relief ace, but the absence of Rosenthal’s typically high-quality innings has stretched the Cardinals a bit thin at the back of the ’pen.

Behind Oh, the Cardinals have relied heavily on Seth Maness, Tyler Lyons, Kevin Siegrist, Jonathan Broxton and Matt Bowman in the bullpen this season. Maness, though, missed more than a month with inflammation in his right elbow and has seen his average fastball velocity dip from 89.5 mph to 87.9 mph this season. Siegrist and Lyons have been outstanding from the left side, though Siegrist recently missed a couple of weeks with a bout of mono. Broxton looks more like a middle reliever than the standout closer he once was, and Bowman doesn’t miss many bats, though he’s been a ground-ball machine and has a 2.98 ERA on the year.

That collection of relief arms has delivered mostly strong results, but Oh is the only truly dominant arm of the bunch, so it’s not a surprise to see the Cardinals tied to relief help. The exact quality of the arm they’re looking for, however, isn’t entirely certain based on Heyman’s report. Heyman writes that either Angels closer Huston Street or Royals closer Wade Davis “could make sense for St. Louis” if traded, though he stops short of saying that the Cardinals have actually inquired on either arm, and there’s obviously a wide gap overall talent and 2016 performance between those two arms. The Cardinals have looked into Halos right-hander Joe Smith, he writes, and have in fact been seeking help for the back of the bullpen for some time now, as their search predates Rosenthal’s placement on the disabled list.

Of course, many Cards fans feel that the best possible upgrade the team could make to its bullpen is already in the organization. Right-hander Alex Reyes has emerged as one of the very top pitching prospects in all of baseball and opened plenty of eyes with his 100+ mph fastball in this year’s Futures Game over the All-Star break. However, Reyes’ recent results haven’t been overly encouraging, as he’s posted a 6.52 ERA in his past 29 innings (six starts) with Triple-A Memphis. He has a 5.07 ERA overall on the season and has averaged 12.9 K/9 against 4.4 BB/9 in 55 innings out of the rotation since serving a 50-game suspension for a drug of abuse. Reyes’ overpowering stuff leads some to believe that he could thrive in the Majors right now in a short-relief role despite his rotation struggles in Memphis, but the Cardinals are reportedly being cautious with regards to their prized righty and may not wish to rush him to the Majors. (Reyes was pulled from his most recent start after three innings, prompting some speculation about a call-up, though Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Reyes’ quick hook from the game was “insurance” in the event that Lyons is unable to make a needed spot start for St. Louis on Saturday.)

If the Cardinals do ultimately feel that the trade market presents the best route to an upgrade, they’ll face plenty of competition, as the majority of contending clubs in the league are said to be eyeing upgrades for their relief corps. Within the past two or three days alone, we’ve heard the Giants, Nationals, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Indians, Rangers, Dodgers and Mets all tied to varying degrees of bullpen help, and other clubs figure to be more quietly on the lookout as well.

Central Notes: Sale, Rosenthal, Nunez, Antony

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It still seems like a fairly remote possibility that the White Sox will end up trading southpaw Chris Sale; indeed, rival executives who have spoken with the Chicago front office get the impression that the odds of a deal remain low, according to WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford. That doesn’t mean that clubs aren’t trying to see what it’d take to reach a deal, though, and ESPN.com’s Jim Bowden provides an entertaining effort at identifying what kinds of trade packages could be negotiated with some major contenders.

Here’s more from the game’s central divisions:

  • The Cardinals seem to be considering how to rebuild fallen closer Trevor Rosenthal, with Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch providing an update after the righty was placed on the DL yesterday. Rosenthal told the team of shoulder discomfort, which suggests there may have been at least some injury considerations underlying his struggles. Meanwhile, the organization is weighing whether to utilize Rosenthal as a starter during his rehab stint. Whether that would put him in line to return to that role, or just permit him to work on his approach in a different manner, remains to be seen, but we’ve heard in the past that Rosenthal would like to return to the rotation.
  • Among the players being “evaluated” by the Indians is Twins utilityman Eduardo Nunez, per Buster Olney of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The 29-year-old has mostly played on the left side of the infield this year, but he also has experience at second and the corner outfield. Nunez has turned his career around over the last two years in Minnesota, as he owns a .293/.326/.440 batting line with 16 home runs and 34 steals over his last 590 plate appearances. Presumably, the interest in Nunez relates primarily to the ongoing struggles of third baseman Juan Uribe, who is hitting just .209/.262/.336 on the year.
  • It’s not yet clear how serious a candidate acting Twins GM Rob Antony is for the full-time job, but he might be back with the organization in 2017 regardless, MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger tweets. Team president Dave St. Peter noted that Antony is under contract for the coming season, and seemingly suggested that the club would like to keep him around even if he doesn’t get the permanent gig to replace Terry Ryan. Minnesota’s upper management has also made clear that skipper Paul Molitor will be retained.

Cardinals Place Trevor Rosenthal On 15-Day DL

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The Cardinals announced that they have placed former closer Trevor Rosenthal on the 15-day DL with what’s being called rotator cuff inflammation. Southpaw Dean Kiekhefer will take his spot on the active roster.

[Related: Updated Cardinals Depth Chart]

It has been an incredibly trying season for Rosenthal, who was previously considered one of the more reliable late-inning arms in baseball. As Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes on Twitter, though, the organization had previously suggested there weren’t any health issues underlying his problems.

Regardless of whether this is something of a phantom DL stint or a reflection of a real issue, the down time can’t hurt Rosenthal. The 26-year-old is still racking up plenty of strikeouts with an average fastball of about 97 mph, but has coughed up 7.3 free passes per nine innings over his 33 1/3 frames on the season.

As things stand, the Cards are headed for some surprisingly tough calls on a player who had entered the year with a lifetime 2.66 ERA. Keeping him on the active roster in the midst of such struggles seemed a difficult ask for an organization that is trying to compete for a playoff spot, though there has to be at least some hope of getting him straightened out to contribute down the stretch. But even beyond that, there will ultimately be a point at which the club has to decide whether to tender Rosenthal a contract for 2017. He’ll be due a not-insignificant raise an his already-stout $5.6MM salary, and that’s no sure thing at this point in time.

At this point, the DL placement doesn’t have much of an impact on the team’s deadline plans beyond the fact that it clears an opening for an eventual roster move. St. Louis has long been seeking late-inning relief help, and that remains the case with August 1st fast approaching.

Bullpen Rumors: Street, Giants, Cashner, Brewers, Nationals, Robertson, Rosenthal

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With one potential relief pitching blockbuster in the works, let’s look around at some other news and rumors surrounding the bullpen market…

  • The Giants’ list of relief pitching targets includes Angels closer Huston Street, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Henry Schulman reports.  Street, who turns 33 in August, is enduring by far the worst season of his 12-year career — the veteran has as many walks (11) as strikeouts over his 19 2/3 innings pitched, and he missed a month due to an oblique strain.  His 5.03 K/9 would be a career low, while ERA indicators (5.69 FIP, 6.16 xFIP, 5.67 SIERA) show that Street is actually somewhat fortunate to “only” be posting a 5.03 ERA, though he also has a .358 BABIP.  With around $2.8MM still owed to Street this season and $9MM for 2017, the Angels would surely have to eat a big chunk of that contract to facilitate a deal given Street’s struggles.
  • Andrew Cashner has been cited as a possible Giants target, though interestingly, Schulman reports that San Francisco could explore converting the righty into a reliever.  I would guess that this scenario wouldn’t happen unless Matt Cain quickly rounds back into form.  The Padres are getting a lot of interest in Cashner and are certainly demanding a “starting pitcher” price tag for him, which the Giants likely wouldn’t be willing to pay unless they were totally committed to using Cashner in the rotation.
  • Brewers relievers Jeremy Jeffress and Will Smith are also Giants targets, with Schulman reporting that Milwaukee has been trying to include either reliever together with Jonathan Lucroy or Ryan Braun as part of a larger trade.  This tactic is of no interest to San Francisco since the Giants have no interest in Lucroy or Braun.
  • If the Nationals aren’t able to land Aroldis Chapman or Wade Davis, that won’t stop the team from searching for back-of-the-bullpen help, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman writes (Twitter links).  David Robertson will surely be a target if the White Sox shop him around, and Heyman figures the Cardinals’ Trevor Rosenthal will get a look.  Though St. Louis is no longer using Rosenthal as closer, Heyman isn’t sure the Cards would make him available.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/20/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves, all via Matt Eddy of Baseball America:

  • The Red Sox have released lefty Wesley Wright, per Eddy. Wright, 31, had carved out a role as a useful pen piece, working to a 3.26 ERA in 173 2/3 frames over 2011 through 2015. But he has battled through some shoulder issues and has seen his velocity and strikeout rate plummet of late. Wright was carrying a 5.31 ERA at Triple-A Pawtucket.
  • Catcher Carson Blair has been released by the Athletics. The 26-year-old appeared briefly in the majors last year, and was outrighted off of the 40-man over the winter. He has struggled in limited action at the Triple-A level, but has handled Double-A pitching quite well (.288/.398/.514) in a slightly more robust sample of 136 plate appearances.
  • The Cardinals signed first baseman Efren Navarro, 30, to a minor-league deal. He was hitting just .243/.316/.362 on the year at Triple-A before being released by the Mariners. Navarro has not produced in limited exposure in the majors, but does own a lifetime .308/.371/.438 batting line in 2,672 lifetime plate appearances at the highest level of the minors.

Central Notes: Brantley, Bruce, Royals, Twins, Cardinals, CarGo

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Indians left fielder Michael Brantley has apparently suffered another setback in his recovery from shoulder surgery, as Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (via Twitter) that Brantley is headed for an MRI tomorrow after his shoulder once again started barking. Arguably Cleveland’s best player when healthy, Brantley has instead totaled just 43 plate appearances over 11 games this year after following a recovery timeline that was a bit more aggressive than initially projected. In his absence, the Indians have received a breakout performance from rookie Tyler Naquin as well as a strong performance from veteran Rajai Davis, who inked a one-year pact in the offseason. Lonnie Chisenhall and Jose Ramirez have each contributed nicely in the absence of Brantley as well, leading to a considerably more productive outfield mix than most pundits expected this season. Nonetheless, the return of a healthy Brantley would be a massive boost the the Indians’ chances of not only reaching the postseason but thriving in the playoffs.

More from the game’s Central divisions…

  • Sticking with Cleveland, FOX’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the Indians “are not on” Reds right fielder Jay Bruce despite some other reports that have connected the two clubs. Rather, Cleveland is seeking left-handed relief pitchers and, when it comes to their preference between Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller, Cleveland prefers the more controllable Miller to Chapman.
  • Within that same piece, Royals general manager Dayton Moore tells Rosenthal that he plans to do everything in his power to improve his club’s roster prior to the non-waiver trade deadline. While the Royals aren’t perched atop the division like they were for much of the 2015 campaign that saw them win the World Series and have notably received poor performances from the starting rotation, Moore expressed confidence in his 2016 group of talent. However, Rosenthal adds that Kansas City is “almost certainly going to be limited financially,” which could prompt the club to again have to surrender better prospects in trades as a means of persuading other teams to add money into potential deals.
  • The Twins are receiving the most trade interest in shortstop Eduardo Nunez, catcher Kurt Suzuki, right-hander Brandon Kintzler and left-hander Fernando Abad, sources indicated to Rosenthal. Right-hander Ervin Santana has not drawn the same level of interest, likely due to the $28MM remaining on his contract beyond the 2016 campaign. Suzuki, a free agent following the season (unless he reaches 485 plate appearances, at which point a $6MM vesting option will trigger), has had a torrid seven-week stretch during which he’s batted .352/.381/.556 with four homers and 10 doubles. Nunez, Abad and Kintzler can all be controlled through 2017 via the arbitration process, and Nunez in particular has had a productive run, hitting .299/.332/.455 with 16 homers and 30 steals in 154 games dating back to Opening Day 2015.
  • Regarding Suzuki, while the Twins were in this position with him a couple of years ago and elected to sign him to a two-year, $12MM extension, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that there have been no extension talks at all between the two sides this time around. That would seemingly make a trade more likely, especially in light of his improved production over the past month and a half.
  • ESPN’s Mark Saxon reports that the Cardinals have “no interest” in trading for a short-term bat (links to Twitter). St. Louis is only interested in acquiring a hitter unless it would be a long-term acquisition. While some may connect the dots and suggest that Carlos Gonzalez fits that bill, to an extent, Saxon adds that top Cardinals officials aren’t as high on Gonzalez as many seem to think they are. Some reports earlier this summer connected the Cards to the Rockies slugger, but Saxon’s report certainly downplays that as a possibility.

Cardinals Place Jhonny Peralta On Disabled List, Designate Michael McKenry

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The Cardinals announced this afternoon that they’ve placed third baseman Jhonny Peralta back on the 15-day disabled list with a strained ligament in his left thumb. In corresponding moves, the team has recalled outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker. Additionally, right-hander Miguel Socolovich has been recalled from Triple-A, and catcher Michael McKenry has been designated for assignment.

[Related: Updated St. Louis Cardinals Depth Chart]

Word of Peralta’s injury is obviously a concern for the Cards, as surgery to repair a ligament in Peralta’s left thumb cost him the first two-plus months of the 2016 season. In his absence, Aledmys Diaz solidified himself as the everyday shortstop in St. Louis, prompting Peralta to shift to the hot corner and Matt Carpenter to displace the struggling Kolten Wong from the everyday role at second base. While Peralta initially hit well upon activation from the DL, he’s struggled considerably in his past 22 games, hitting just .185/.212/.383. While that’s a highly arbitrary endpoint, he’s hardly the first player to struggle in a return from hand surgery. The Cardinals’ press release did not give an indication as to when Peralta might be able to return to the lineup.

McKenry appeared in just three games with the Cards, collecting two plate appearances (one strikeout, one sacrifice bunt). He’s a veteran of six prior Major League seasons and has compiled a career .238/.318/.406 batting line with 29 homers in 953 plate appearances between the Rockies, Pirates and his ever-so-brief stay with the Cards. He becomes the second veteran backstop to find himself displaced from St. Louis this year, as the Cards also had to designate Eric Fryer for assignment recently in order to pave way for the return of fellow backstop Brayan Pena.

Hazelbaker, of course, began the season as one of the hottest hitters in baseball and drew quite a bit of fanfare from the media for his Herculean April (.317/.357/.683). However, as is often the case with early-season success stories, regression set in, and Hazelbaker ultimately was optioned to Triple-A after slashing .180/.206/.279 from May 1 through June 15. Socolovich, 29, returns to St. Louis for a second stint after spending much of the 2015 campaign in their bullpen and working to a pristine 1.82 ERA with a 27-to-10 K/BB ratio in 29 2/3 innings of work.

NL Central Notes: Thornburg, Mesoraco, Pirates, Cardinals

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The Brewers may hold the most interesting chips on the market for relievers, Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron writes. That includes not only Jeremy Jeffress and Will Smith, each of whom have served as the club’s closer in recent years, but also 27-year-old righty Tyler Thornburg, who owns a 2.45 ERA with 12.3 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 on the year. In fact, Cameron argues that Thornburg is the pick of the litter from the Milwaukee pen, documenting the advances in his offerings this year. Entering his first season of arbitration in the offseason to come, Thornburg won’t be an easy asset to acquire, but he could make for an interesting target over the next two weeks.

Here’s more from the NL Central:

  • The Reds are expressing optimism over the most recent surgery for catcher Devin Mesoraco, as MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon writes. Manager Bryan Price called it “preventative surgery,” with team and player taking advantage of his absence the rest of the way to do the work on his right hip that was previously performed on his left. Notably, Cincinnati expects that Mesoraco will be ready for catching drills in early 2017, and there’s clearly hope that he’ll be able to return to his duties behind the plate. Team medical director Dr. Timothy Kremcheck also discussed the procedure, as C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. There’s plenty of detail on the issue to digest, but the net of it seems to be that Mesoraco had begun to experience some signs of trouble and this proved a good time to get out ahead of the matter.
  • Pirates GM Neal Huntington says that he’s working hard to upgrade the club’s pitching staff, as Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. He didn’t specify whether the rotation or the pen was the priority, and suggested that a move wasn’t a foregone conclusion, but it’s easy to imagine the club looking into opportunities in both areas. “We’re doing due diligence on all fronts, but the pitching is what seems to need the most help at this point unless we’re willing to go with what we’ve got internally,” said Huntington. Biertempfel takes a closer look at how the Bucs’ pitching is shaping up heading out of the break.
  • The Cardinals will no longer give high-leverage innings to deposed closer Trevor Rosenthal, ESPN.com’s Mark Saxon reports (Twitter link). St. Louis skipper Mike Matheny says he’ll lean on Jonathan Broxton in the seventh inning for the time being. The Cards have long been said to be seeking pen reinforcements, with Rosenthal’s continued struggles heightening the need.
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