White Sox Rumors

AL Central Notes: No. 1 Pick, White Sox, Karns, Gose

By Steve Adams | May 25, 2017 at 12:04pm CDT

The Twins are leaning toward passing on high school right-hander/shortstop Hunter Greene with the top overall pick in the upcoming MLB draft, writes Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. Greene has drawn quite a bit of fanfare over the past calendar year, due largely to his ability to reach triple digits with his fastball. However, he’d be the first high school right-hander ever selected with the draft’s top pick, and there’s a clear level of risk when selecting any prep arm near the top of the draft. Rather, the Twins are leaning toward Vanderbilt right-hander Kyle Wright, Heyman hears, with Louisville left-hander/first baseman Brendan McKay and prep shortstop Royce Lewis also under consideration. Baseball America’s John Manuel had the Twins selecting Wright in last week’s mock draft, while MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo had Greene tabbed as the Twins’ selection in his own mock draft from that same day.

A few more notes from the division…

Despite a perhaps surprisingly solid start to the year from the White Sox, general manager Rick Hahn is maintaining a long-term outlook as the summer trade season approaches, writes MLB.com’s Barry M. Bloom. “We remain very open-minded about whatever opportunities present themselves to make us better for the long run,” said Hahn. “Our focus is on something that is more sustainable than this one season. We’re in the same mode we were in this past offseason, looking for some long-term pieces to put us in position to contend on an annual basis.” David Robertson, Todd Frazier and Jose Quintana are among the top names the Sox could make available, Bloom observes, though the latter two from that trio haven’t exactly gotten off to strong starts in 2017.
The Royals announced yesterday that right-hander Nate Karns has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to an “extensor strain” (per the club’s transactions page at MLB.com). For the time being, his spot in the rotation will go to rookie Miguel Almonte, who was slated to start today’s series finale at Yankee Stadium prior to a rainout, per MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan. There’s been no timetable provided by the Royals for Karns’ absence, though his injury comes at an especially inopportune time; the right-hander had been excellent across his past four starts, pitching to a 2.01 ERA with an otherworldly 32-to-4 K/BB ratio through 22 1/3 innings. It’s not yet clear if today’s postponement will deprive Almonte of the opportunity to make a start, though Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star tweets that the starts in this weekend’s series will go to Ian Kennedy, Jason Vargas and Danny Duffy.
Anthony Gose, who has converted from playing center field to pitching, made his pro debut on the mound for Class-A Lakeland yesterday, writes Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. Tigers manager Brad Ausmus tells Fenech that Gose’s fastball sat at 97 mph, and the left-hander also touched 98 mph twice and 99 mph three times. Gose was a two-way prospect in the draft back in 2008, so pitching isn’t exactly new to him, though he obviously hasn’t focused on it in his nearly nine seasons of professional ball. Ausmus noted that due to Gose’s age, he may not be progressed through the minors like a typical (i.e. younger) prospect would be. The implication there, seemingly, is that Gose may not need to stop at every level before the club decides to take a look at him in the Majors. That, however, could be a long shot to happen in 2017. GM Al Avila appeared on the Jamie and Stoney Show on 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit this week and said that he wouldn’t put a firm “no” on Gose pitching in the Majors this season, though he also didn’t characterize that outcome as likely (via Will Burchfield of CBS Detroit).

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/23/17

By Jeff Todd and Steve Adams | May 23, 2017 at 10:11pm CDT

Here are the latest minor moves from around the game:

The Blue Jays announced that catcher Michael Ohlman has cleared outright waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Buffalo. Ohlman had the option to elect free agency, having been previously outrighted in his career, but he’ll return to Buffalo in hopes of another big league opportunity with the Jays. The 26-year-old went 2-for-9 in his brief MLB debut with Toronto this year, and he’s slashed a more impressive .246/.388/.594 with seven homers and three doubles through 23 Triple-A contests.

Earlier Moves

Right-hander Al Alburquerque has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Omaha, the Royals announced on Tuesday. Kansas City designated the veteran 30-year-old for assignment over the weekend after just four innings with the big league bullpen. Alburquerque has totaled just six innings in the Majors over the past two seasons after serving as a regular in the Detroit ’pen from 2013-15. The hard-throwing Alburquerque has no trouble missing bats but has long been prone to control issue as well. Alburquerque has the option to reject the assignment in favor of free agency.
Per an Orioles announcement, catcher Francisco Pena has been outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers. The out-of-options 27-year-old has seen limited action in the majors in recent years, but has slashed .249/.295/.452 in his 1,221 career plate appearances at Triple-A. While he’s a highly regarded defender, Pena may need to boost his on-base abilities before he’ll earn a full shot at the majors.
The Phillies have released southpaw Mario Hollands, per Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com (via Twitter). Once a promising young reliever, Hollands seemingly never fully recovered from Tommy John surgery. The 28-year-old has produced middling results in the upper minors over the past two seasons since sitting out all of 2015. This year, he has allowed a dozen walks in his 13 frames at Double-A.
Also hitting the open market is former Phillies righty Dalier Hinojosa, per Matt Eddy of Baseball America. The 31-year-old worked to a 1.51 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 through 35 2/3 MLB frames in 2015-16, but clearly hadn’t convinced teams that was sustainable. Hinojosa hasn’t yet pitched this year due to a shoulder injury.
It seems that righty Daniel Bard is back at a career crossroads, as he has been released by the Cardinals, according to Eddy’s report. Bard, once an elite bullpen arm with the Red Sox, ran up 19 walks in 8 2/3 outings at the Double-A level as he has continued to struggle to stay in the zone.
The Braves released veteran minor-leaguer Blake Lalli, per BA. The 34-year-old catcher saw a bit of action at the major league level last year, but he has mostly plied his trade in the upper minors in recent seasons. He was off to a rough start at the plate this year at Triple-A, with a .167/.226/.271 batting line through 53 plate appearances.
Outfielder Tyler Holt has been released by the Dodgers, Eddy reports. Holt has seen action in each of the last three major league campaigns and appeared in 106 games last year with the Reds, but he’s slashing just .228/.306/.274 in 318 plate appearances at the game’s highest level. The 28-year-old was struggling badly in the upper minors with the Los Angeles organization, but will surely hope to regain some lost momentum with another organization.
The White Sox have snapped up righty Jake Johansen, who was released recently by the Nationals, according to Eddy. A second round pick back in 2013, Johansen had failed to make the jump to the upper minors and was cut loose after allowing eight earned runs in 11 2/3 innings at Double-A this year.
Veteran infielder Chris Nelson has joined the Royals on a minors deal, per Eddy. Once a semi-regular player with the Rockies, Nelson has bounced around in recent years and hasn’t seen any major league action since 2014. He spent time in 2016 at Triple-A with the Rockies organization, slashing .232/.273/.310 in 218 plate appearances.
Finally, the Reds have added MLB veteran Vin Mazzaro on a minors deal. He had been working in indy ball, throwing six scoreless frames for the Somerset Patriots, but will now try to crack the bigs for the ninth consecutive year. Mazzaro had a nice run with the Pirates in 2013, but has not seen much MLB action since. He did work to a 3.22 ERA over 67 Triple-A frames last year, with 5.8 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9, though obviously he didn’t convince many teams with his underlying skills.

10 Minor-League Free Agent Relievers Off To Strong Starts

By Jeff Todd | May 23, 2017 at 9:11am CDT

There’s no more fickle existence in Major League Baseball than that of a relief pitcher. Teams are generally more willing to tinker with their bullpens than their benches, and often need to make changes to account for overworked staffs.

But the tumult also brings opportunity. Relievers who are throwing well at the right moment can find themselves right back in the majors. And there are often wide-open Spring Training battles to be joined and won.

Plenty of relievers signed minor-league deals last winter. And a solid number of them ended up on MLB rosters within the first two months of the season. Despite failing to receive MLB guarantees on the free-agent market, these ten hurlers have provided quite a bit of value in the early going:

Matt Albers, Nationals: With the Nats’ pen struggling badly, Albers has been a desperately need source of reliable frames: 16 2/3 innings of 1.62 ERA ball. A strong 57.8% groundball rate and meager 1.6 BB/9 walk rate tend to support the results, though Albers isn’t getting enough whiffs (7.6 K/9) to keep up quite this level of pitching.

Craig Breslow, Twins: The lefty specialist has been everything the Minnesota front office hoped for when it bought into his new-look delivery over the winter. Like Albers, a minimal BABIP (.217 in this case) helps explain the sub-2.00 ERA, though in both cases the solid early work is enough to entrench these pitchers in their respective pens for the time being.

Jorge De La Rosa, Diamondbacks: A long-time starter, De La Rosa has averaged less than one inning per relief appearance in Arizona. But the results of that change in focus have been quite promising. It’s good enough that De La Rosa carries a 50% groundball rate with 8.8 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9, supporting a 2.35 ERA through 15 1/3 frames. But there could be more in the tank, as he’s also averaging a career-high 94.1 mph with his fastball and generating a huge 19.5% swinging-strike rate.

David Hernandez, Angels: Though he has completed just 11 innings thus far, after making his debut later than most of the names on this list, Hernandez has impressed. He’s showing the same kind of velocity and swinging-strike rates that made him a buy-low option last year for the Phillies, but the real question is whether he can continue to avoid the long balls that have plagued him in recent years.

J.J. Hoover, Diamondbacks: It was anyone’s guess whether the former Reds’ late-inning stalwart would rebound, but he’s showing well through fifteen frames in Arizona. Hoover is walking more than five batters per nine, but has also racked up 12.6 K/9 (on a career-high 12.6% swinging-strike rate) and owns a 3.00 ERA. So far, a new pitch mix (more two-seamers and sliders) seems to be working.

Jason Motte, Braves: After beating out Hernandez to become the next veteran reclamation project in Atlanta, Motte has ascended to the majors and helped stabilize the pen. His peripherals aren’t terribly inspiring — 6.4 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 53.1% groundball rate — but the results (1.59 ERA) have been there through 11 1/3 innings.

Bud Norris, Angels: The crown jewel of the Halos’ impressive slate of finds, Norris has thrived in the closer’s role that he took over out of necessity. Through 23 2/3 innings, he carries a 2.66 ERA with 11.8 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, and a 44.2% groundball rate. Norris is bringing more velocity (94.1 mph fastball) and swinging strikes (13.2%) than ever before.

Yusmeiro Petit, Angels: The veteran long man has been stellar, delivering 28 1/3 staff-preserving innings of 2.54 ERA ball through 16 appearances. Petit is carrying 9.5 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 on the year. (As if the trio of arms on this list weren’t enough, the Halos have also benefited from the strong work of Blake Parker, who had been outrighted off the 40-man roster over the winter.)

Anthony Swarzak, White Sox: There are some very strong performers on this list, but perhaps none has been quite as impressive as Swarzak. He has given the South Siders 19 2/3 breakout innings of 1.37 ERA ball, with 10.1 K/9 and just 0.9 BB/9 in that span. At present, he’s working at a 19.8% swinging-strike rate — about double what he carried over the prior two campaigns — making him quite an interesting potential trade candidate this summer.

Jacob Turner, Nationals: Though he isn’t carrying sparkly numbers, Turner has been an important contributor in D.C. He’s functioning in the swingman role that Petit occupied last year, providing 21 2/3 innings (over two starts and six relief appearances) of 3.74 ERA pitching thus far. While Turner is averaging only 5.8 strikeouts and 3.3 walks per nine, he is continuing to carry the velocity boost he showed last year. Interestingly, he is now working in the zone far more than ever before (50.2% versus 42.1% career average) — though it’s also important to note that his swings and misses are way down (4.8%).

Nationals Notes: Harris, Robertson, Bullpen, Rotation

By Steve Adams | May 22, 2017 at 9:43am CDT

Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post shares an excellent look at Doug Harris’ road back to the Nationals following a diagnosis of chronic myeloid leukemia. Harris, the Nationals’ assistant general manager and vice president of player personnel, was away from the team for much of the 2016 season and underwent a bone marrow transplant early last October when the Nats were embarking on their playoff run. Harris discusses all of the elements of his job that were sorely missed with Svrluga, who also spoke to multiple members of Harris’ staff about his influence not only on the team but on their personal careers. Harris would eventually return to the Nationals on March 26 during Spring Training by surprising his staff with an appearance at a morning meeting and drawing a standing ovation from the roughly 45 executives who were assembled. “It was a moment I’ll never forget for the rest of my life,” Harris tells Svrluga. The entire column is wonderfully written and provides a terrific look at Harris’ personality and his importance to the Nationals organization.

A few more notes on the Nationals…

There’s been plenty of talk about the near-trade of David Robertson from the White Sox to the Nationals this offseason, but USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports the most definitive account of the talks in his latest column. According to Nightengale, the Nats were set to send young lefty Jesus Luzardo (last year’s third-round pick that has yet to pitch professionally due to the fact that he underwent Tommy John surgery prior to the draft) and minor league third baseman Drew Ward to the Sox in exchange for Robertson. Chicago was to absorb about half of the remaining money on Robertson’s deal, but the two sides were never fully able to agree on the financial component of the trade. It’s now reportedly been months since the two sides discussed a Robertson deal, and one has to imagine that the right-hander’s dominant start to the season has only helped Chicago’s leverage in talks with any interested parties. Robertson, 32, owns a 2.81 ERA with 22 strikeouts against five unintentional walks in 16 innings.
Within his column, Nightengale also notes that the Nats made a strong run at Greg Holland this offseason and offered a whopping $85MM over five years to Kenley Jansen (with just $5MM of that sum deferred). GM Mike Rizzo acknowledged to Nightengale that it’s “demoralizing” to lose games in the ninth inning and that it has become tired to continually hear about his bullpen needs when the rest of the team is performing so well. “We’re not afraid to make a trade, but the supply and demand of these elite relievers are far and between,” Rizzo tells Nightengale. “They’re so hard to get.”
Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com observes that the Nationals’ shaky bullpen has significantly taxed the rotation. As Zuckerman points out, there have been 26 instances of a starting pitcher throwing 115 or more pitches in a game throughout all of Major League Baseball this season, and the Nationals are responsible for five of those outings. The Nats also have 11 instances of a starter clearing the 110-pitch threshold in 2017, while MLB as a whole is at 80 such performances. And, furthermore, as ESPN’s Eddie Matz notes (Twitter link), the National League’s top five starting pitchers in terms of pitches per outing are: Tanner Roark, Max Scherzer, Jon Lester, Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg. While Washington’s top four starters have held up fairly well thus far, both of those obviously represent fairly ominous trends and only serve to underline the Nationals’ need not just for a closer but to deepen the relief corps overall.

AL Notes: Red Sox, Athletics, White Sox, Tigers

By Connor Byrne | May 20, 2017 at 7:20pm CDT

Speaking with Evan Drellich of CSNNE.com on Saturday, Athletics third baseman Trevor Plouffe confirmed that the Red Sox had interest in signing him as a free agent during the offseason. In the end, Plouffe chose to ink a deal with Oakland because it presented a clearer path to playing time at the hot corner than Boston did at the time. “I wanted to play third base and [the A’s] came and right away and expressed their interest in that, and to me it was kind of a no-brainer,” said Plouffe, who’s on a one-year, $5.25MM contract. “I was going to come here and get a chance to start at third. Kind of after last year, not being able to play a ton of games, prove that I can stay healthy again — that was kind of the real selling point for me.” As Drellich notes, it turns out Plouffe would have had an opportunity to play had he signed with the Red Sox, whose third base options (including Pablo Sandoval) have dealt with injuries this season. Plouffe could still end up with the Red Sox around the trade deadline, Drellich adds, and the 30-year-old realizes it’s possible he’ll head elsewhere if the A’s aren’t in contention. “Of course. You can’t be naive about that fact,” acknowledged Plouffe, a .248/.318/.421 hitter in 148 plate appearances this season.

Orioles Acquire Left-Hander Alex Katz From White Sox For Two International Pool Slots

By Mark Polishuk | May 20, 2017 at 3:47pm CDT

The Orioles have acquired left-hander Alex Katz from the White Sox in exchange for international signing bonus slots #45 and #75, the club announced (Twitter link). The total value of those slots adds up to $756.3K (from Baseball America, here is the full list of slot values for the 2016-17 signing period, which ends on June 15).

A 27th-rounder for the Sox in the 2015 draft, Katz has a 3.09 ERA, 10.1 K/9 and 2.65 K/BB rate over 102 innings in the minors, appearing as a reliever in all but one of his 62 career games. Katz has shown a propensity for keeping the ball in the park, as he has surrendered only two homers during his career. Katz has yet to pitch above the Class-A level, and the Orioles announced that the 22-year-old will be assigned to their Class-A affiliate.

This is the third trade in six weeks that has seen the O’s deal away international signing slots in exchange for players, after April deals that brought right-hander Damien Magnifico to the team from the Brewers and southpaw Paul Fry from the Mariners. The Orioles have rather notoriously spent little on international free agents in recent years (as Baseball America’s Ben Badler recently noted in a severe critique of the club’s practices), so it makes sense that the team would look at its int’l bonus slots as trade chips.

The deal is also notable from Chicago’s end, as the team just spent between $25MM-$30MM in an agreement with Cuban outfielder Luis Robert. Since the Sox had to far exceed their bonus pool limit to make the signing, they owe a 100 percent overage on every dollar spent above their pool threshold. Increasing the size of that pool by $756.3K, therefore, saves the White Sox some money.

Cafardo’s Latest: Cole, Astros, Gordon, Peralta, Frazier

By Mark Polishuk | May 20, 2017 at 3:30pm CDT

The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo shares some hot stove rumblings and more in his latest notes column….

The Astros are “very interested” in Pirates righty Gerrit Cole. Houston has been checking in on top-tier starters for months, so it makes sense that the team would have an eye on Cole’s availability. Peter Gammons recently suggested that the Astros (and Yankees) may be the only contenders who could actually afford a Cole trade, given Houston’s deep farm system and the giant return that the Pirates will surely demand for their controllable young star if Cole is indeed shopped at the deadline.
“The Marlins would surely part with” Dee Gordon if they could find a trade partner at the deadline. Miami was reportedly ready to deal Gordon for pitching help over the offseason, though no trade or even any significant rumors even materialized. Gordon has hit just .263/.308/.326 over 522 PA since the start of the 2016 season, a year that saw the second baseman miss 80 games after testing positive for PEDs. He is also owed $38MM from 2018-20 as per the terms of his five-year, $50MM extension signed in the 2015-16 offseason, further hampering the Marlins’ chances of finding a trade fit.
With Jhonny Peralta relegated to backup duty in St. Louis, Cafardo wonders if the Red Sox would considering acquiring Peralta to help their shaky third base situation. Given Peralta’s recent injury problems and his .251/.299/.387 slash line (in 341 PA) since the start of the 2016 season, of course, there’s no guarantee that Peralta is necessarily an upgrade. Peralta is also owed around $7.4MM for the remainder of the season, though Cafardo feels the Cardinals would cover “a great portion” of that salary. Cafardo notes that Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski knows Peralta well, having traded for Peralta in 2010 back when Dombrowski was the Tigers GM.
The Red Sox have been scouting a veteran third baseman in Todd Frazier, and like in a hypothetical Peralta scenario, the White Sox would cover some salary in a trade (Frazier is owed a little under $9MM for the rest of 2017). Also like Peralta, Frazier isn’t in good form, hitting just .191/.280/.357 in 132 PA this season. Frazier has hit 75 homers over the last two years, however, and is a well-regarded clubhouse leader.

Injury Notes: Price, Haniger, Kluber, Doolittle, Axford, Ramos, Jones, Ceciliani

By Jeff Todd | May 20, 2017 at 12:14am CDT

Here’s the latest on some injury situations from around the game:

Red Sox lefty David Price only made it through two innings in his rehab outing tonight, as David Ricci of the Boston Globe reports. On the positive side, Price says that he felt that he was in good physical form during and after the outing. Still, it’s unclear what the next step will be for the valuable southpaw, who has yet to pitch this year in the majors while working through an elbow injury. Manager John Farrell said he’ll speak with Price before a course is determined, as the Globe’s Pete Abraham tweets.
Meanwhile, the Mariners decided to hold off on starting the rehab assignment of outfielder Mitch Haniger after he felt some mild soreness in his oblique, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports. At this point, the hope is that it won’t cause a significant delay. Haniger, 26, is no doubt chomping at the bit to get back to the big leagues after his outstanding start to the year. Over 95 plate appearances, he carries a .342/.447/.608 batting line with four home runs.
The Indians will send righty Corey Kluber out for a 35-pitch sim game tomorrow, per Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (via Twitter). Cleveland’s staff ace will test out his balky lower back and hopefully begin moving back toward the majors. Kluber currently owns an uncharacteristic 5.06 ERA through six outings, though he still carries 9.9 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9.
Athletics reliever Sean Doolittle is set to begin throwing from flat ground over the weekend, Joe Stiglich of NBC Sports California was among those to tweet. He could be back on the bump by the middle of next week — though obviously it will still be a while longer before he’s back in the majors. The southpaw has dealt with a shoulder issue that is of added concern given his history, though the hope remains that he has avoided a significant injury this time around. Meanwhile, righty John Axford is set to return from his own shoulder-related DL stint in the next two days, Stiglich also adds on Twitter.
Backstop Wilson Ramos is making real progress in his recovery from ACL surgery, Rays manager Kevin Cash said in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (via Jim Bowden, on Twitter). He is already able to get in a crouch in bullpen sessions and has been taking batting practice, which certainly seems to suggest it may not be long until he begins a rehab assignment.
The White Sox are encouraged by the early pen sessions turned in by currently DL’ed setup man Nate Jones, as Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com writes. He might only need one or two more controlled sessions before facing hitters in some fashion — either in a sim game or at the start of a rehab assignment. Jones is dealing with a case of elbow neuritis, but could turn into a significant trade piece this summer if he’s able to pick up where he left off upon his return.
Blue Jays outfielder Darrell Ceciliani will miss about two or three weeks with a shoulder strain, manager John Gibbons told reporters including Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith (Twitter link). Ceciliani was injured in unusual fashion, as he tweaked his shoulder while driving a ball out of the park. The 26-year-old had only just returned to the majors before going down, receiving the call despite a rough start to his season at Triple-A.

White Sox, Cardinals Favorites For Luis Robert; Reds Likely Out

By Jeff Todd | May 19, 2017 at 4:45pm CDT

TODAY: The Reds likely won’t end up with Robert, president of baseball operations Dick Williams suggested in comments to Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Per Williams, the price is “moving beyond something that we are able to do.” While the club does indeed have interest, says its top baseball decisionmaker, “there’s a certain amount beyond which a franchise in our market just can’t afford.”

YESTERDAY: The White Sox and Cardinals are seen as the two likeliest organizations to land standout Cuban youngster Luis Robert, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. Sources say the same to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.

That’s not to say that other teams aren’t still involved in pursuit of the 19-year-old phenom, who will officially be eligible to sign this weekend. He will need to ink a deal by June 15th if he wishes to avoid the hard spending caps that will be instituted for the next July 2nd signing period — which seems a certainty at this point. Passan, in fact, suggests that Robert has already selected a team and will sign soon after he is eligible. Furthermore, he cites three sources in stating that the “suggested floor” when teams began submitting bids for Robert was $20MM — a sum that would be accompanied a 100 percent luxury tax.

Among the others that have been tied to Robert are the Reds, Astros, Athletics, and Padres. Neither the Nationals nor the Braves appear to be in pursuit, per Badler, despite going well over their own allocations. Those organizations have taken close looks at the intriguing prospect and have already accepted the maximum penalties for overshooting their pool allocations.

As Badler explains, the Cards are in a somewhat unique situation because of their lack of draft picks this year. (The club’s top three selections are gone due to the signing of Dexter Fowler and the Astros database access scandal.) That leaves the club with a large war chest with which to work internationally.

The White Sox, meanwhile, have not yet exceeded their 2016-17 pool, meaning they could avoid a two-year ban on $300K+ signings if they don’t get Robert. But Chicago is obviously focused on accumulating high-upside young talent that’s nearing readiness, and Robert is closer to the majors than the typical sixteen-year-old international signee. Notably, per Badler, the club hasn’t lined up deals with high-bonus talent for the ensuing signing period — perhaps suggesting that the organization is eyeing a move on Robert.

Whichever way Robert goes, Passan writes, it’ll be the end of an interesting era of major Cuban signings. For one thing, the pipeline of talent will likely hew to an earlier age, particularly if there’s a continued move to improve relations between the United States and the neighboring island nation. Combined with the new rules prohibiting teams from going past their spending limits on players under 25 years of age — even if they’d be willing to pay a 100% tax on overages — there’s little prospect for another major payday unless and until the system undergoes an unexpected change.

Heyman’s Latest: Nats, Cutch, Marlins, Cole, Cobb

By Jeff Todd | May 18, 2017 at 9:24pm CDT

Jon Heyman of Fan Rag takes a look around the league in his latest notes columns. In addition to providing updates on every National League and American League team, he takes a particularly close look at the Nationals in separate posts. Let’s take a look at some of the items of particular relevance to the transactional landscape:

The Nationals are beginning to put in phone calls to rivals as they start the search for a new closer in earnest, Heyman writes. Among the players under consideration by the team, at present, are a variety of names with differing contract situations. David Robertson of the White Sox, Kelvin Herrera of the Royals, and A.J. Ramos of the Marlins all have two years remaining at less-than-bargain rates (the latter two via arbitration). Alex Colome of the Rays and Roberto Osuna of the Blue Jays, meanwhile, bring more years of cheap control — and, in all likelihood, astronomical asking prices. Then there’s old friend Mark Melancon, who is in the first year of the four-year pact he signed with the Giants — who evidently beat the Nats’ offer over the winter. Needless to say, there’s quite a lot that could change that picture over the coming months.
Looking back a bit, the Nationals came closer than any other team to landing Andrew McCutchen from the Pirates over the winter, Heyman adds.Per the report, the sides held talks that “revolved around three players, including Lucas Giolito and veteran Gio Gonzalez.” It’s not immediately clear what else might have been involved, and where things went south, but it’s interesting to hear those parameters. The Nats ultimately pivoted to Adam Eaton, of course, but he’s now out for the year. Perhaps it’s conceivable that the team could take another look at McCutchen, though no doubt the teams would need to start discussions anew with Giolito in Chicago, Gonzalez a key member of the Nats staff and McCutchen struggling.
The Marlins sale talks had seemingly been building, but Heyman writes that there’s no deal ready to be made at present. For one thing, there are whispers that the purchase price will continue to drop as the organization’s financial health comes under greater scrutiny. For another, there are still questions about where the money will come from on the buyer’s side. “[A]t least the Bush-Jeter group and maybe the Romney-Glavine group, too, [are] still seeking investors,” per Heyman.
Two significant recent investments made by the Marlins aren’t delivering value at present. Per Heyman, lefty Wei-Yin Chen is headed for a second opinion with his elbow issue still failing to progress. It seems the team could be bracing for a relatively lengthy absence. And Heyman notes that some in the baseball operations department weren’t thrilled at the idea of extending Martin Prado last year at $40MM over three years. He has been playing well enough, but is back on the DL with a recurring hamstring injury.
Pirates righty Gerrit Cole has looked strong in the early going, but Heyman says the team may not be interested in dealing him even if they continue to lag in the standings. “We’re not in any rush,” a club source tells him. “I don’t think we’re there yet.” The 26-year-old owns a 2.84 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 1.0 BB/9; while the peripherals are largely in line with his 2016 work, the improved results are supported by jumps in swinging-strike rate (9.9%) and average fastball velocity (a career-high 96.1 mph). With two more years of arb eligibility to go, Cole would likely command a big price at the deadline.
While the Rays entered play today just one game under .500, that doesn’t mean they aren’t readying for the possibility of selling. Of course, given the team’s pitching depth, it’s imaginable that the team could send out a veteran while still maintaining hopes of cracking the postseason. Per Heyman, Tampa Bay has “already begun calling to get a gauge on the value of Alex Cobb.” Rivals also think the club will be amenable to discussing both Jake Odorizzi and Chris Archer, he adds. Cobb, though, is the most obvious possible trade chip. The 29-year-old was homer-prone in his return from Tommy John surgery last year, but has looked solid through 56 1/3 innings this year — his last before reaching free agency. He carries a 3.67 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 to go with a 47.5% groundball rate. Cobb still isn’t getting swings and misses like he used to, but his velocity is better than ever and he has tamped down on the long balls thus far.

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