Justin Morneau Open To 2017 Return
White Sox designated hitter Justin Morneau is open to continuing his career in 2017, he told reporters, including Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune, on Saturday.
“Hopefully I’ve shown enough, but you never know,” said the free agent-to-be. “If the right opportunity is not there, the choice might not be up to me. At this point, I would lean toward I still enjoy the work and still would like to (play), but it also has to make sense at this point with my family and spending time away and all that stuff.”
Potential factors working against a Morneau return include his poor 2016 output and health issues. The 2006 American League MVP and longtime Twin didn’t debut this year until mid-July after undergoing offseason elbow surgery. Moreover, the 35-year-old has been out of Chicago’s lineup since Monday with what he calls “old-man neck.” When he has played this year, Morneau has registered a career-worst .256/.295/.430 line with five home runs in 183 plate appearances. He has also recorded the lowest walk rate of his career (4.9 percent) to go with a subpar strikeout rate of 25.7 percent.
Morneau isn’t far removed from amassing far more respectable production, as he batted .310/.363/.458 in one fewer PA (182) with the Rockies last season and posted a much better 13.7 percent strikeout rate. The year before, he appeared in 135 of the Rockies’ games, totaled 550 PAs and won the National League batting title with a .319 average. Given that he was in the NL then, Morneau had to play first base in order to crack Colorado’s lineup. With the White Sox, Morneau hasn’t taken the field. If the four-time All-Star does return next year, he hopes to at least log some time with the glove.
“If you had told me when I came up that I’d miss playing defense, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Morneau said. “It’s something that is important and I like doing and I want to get back to it.”
In addition to his desire to serve as a defender again, Morneau would unsurprisingly like to play for a contender, per Kane. The White Sox, who signed him to a $1MM deal in June, don’t fit that description as of now. Whether they’ll enter next season as a hopeful playoff team or a club in a rebuild remains to be seen, but manager Robin Ventura believes Morneau is still capable of contributing.
“He can hit. He can still play. There’s no question about that,” Ventura said. “If he can physically withstand it, he’s going to be valuable to somebody.”
Unfortunately for Morneau, injury issues – including multiple concussions – have helped derail a decorated career. Morneau’s first concussion came in July 2010 and prematurely ended what may have been another MVP-winning season. His production has declined to a notable extent since.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Wieters, Cardinals, Leon, Twins
Some news items from the latest Full Count video clip from FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal…
- The Orioles are meeting with Matt Wieters‘ agent Scott Boras this week to discuss a contract extension, though Rosenthal is doubtful Wieters will remain in Baltimore. The Nationals will have interest in signing Wieters if their own notable free agent catcher (Wilson Ramos) leaves, and Rosenthal also cites the Mets, White Sox and Braves as possible candidates to pursue Wieters. The Braves have perhaps a bit of a geographic advantage, as Wieters is from South Carolina and played college ball at Georgia Tech.
- The Cardinals aren’t likely to lose draft picks as punishment for the data breach of the Astros’ computer network. The league would have to negotiate a reduction of draft picks (and, perhaps most importantly, the Cardinals’ available draft bonus spending pool) with the players’ union since the draft rules are part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Rosenthal believes that the league could instead punish via the Cards via other methods, such as a fine.
- Nobody saw Sandy Leon‘s slugging breakout with the Red Sox coming, including the Nationals, who dealt Leon to Boston in a minor cash deal in March 2015. Rosenthal notes that the Nats are hardly the only team who missed on Leon — literally any club could’ve claimed him when the Sox designated the catcher for assignment in July 2015.
- Cubs senior VP Jason McLeod (whose mother is from Samoa) is the only known minority candidate in the Twins‘ front office search. Rosenthal figures more are probably in the mix, given that Minnesota has hired the same search firm used by Major League Baseball itself last year to prepare female and minority candidates for baseball operations jobs.
MLB Nearing Completion Of Investigation Into Padres’ Medical Processes
Major League Baseball’s investigation into the Padres’ medical information practices is nearing its completion, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney, and the Friars could face penalty as a result of the findings. Olney reports that multiple sources have informed him that the Padres instructed their medical staff to compile two separate reports on each player — one for industry usage (i.e. medical reviews in trade talks) and one to be kept internal.
The difference between the two files, according to Olney, would be that the file for industry consumption would only contain information on injuries that required trips to the disabled list, whereas the in-house file would contain data on more minor injuries/maladies and preventative treatments that occur over the course of a given season. Three teams with which the Padres executed trades — the Red Sox (Drew Pomeranz), White Sox (James Shields) and Marlins (Andrew Cashner, Colin Rea, Fernando Rodney) were “enraged” and felt they were knowingly deceived by San Diego, Olney writes, adding that a fourth unspecified club filed a complaint with the Commissioner’s Office as well. Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald tweets that punishment for the Padres should be expected, adding that a common point he’s hearing in digging on this matter is that Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski “is [the] wrong guy to cross.”
The Marlins’ case, of course, is the most well-publicized. Rea departed his first start as a Marlin in the fourth inning due to elbow discomfort, and a subsequent MRI revealed ligament damage that ultimately required a platelet-rich plasma injection and may eventually lead to Tommy John surgery. The Padres ultimately traded highly touted minor league right-hander Luis Castillo back to the Marlins in exchange for Rea, and Olney now reports that Rea revealed to the Marlins that he’d been receiving treatment on his elbow for weeks leading up to the trade. That information, according to Olney, was not contained within the Padres’ medical records on Rea, therefore giving the Marlins no opportunity to back away from the deal due to concerns surrounding the young right-hander’s elbow.
As Olney explains, virtually any form of treatment — everything from DL trips down to the use of aspirin and anti-inflammatory medications — is supposed to be logged in a player’s medical file, and those files are logged to MLB’s central database and are available for review in trade talks. One source told Olney that an average team will have filed somewhere in the vicinity of 60 submissions to the database by the All-Star break, but the Padres had filed fewer than 10 submissions this season.
Perhaps most damning, Olney cites multiple sources with direct knowledge of meetings held by the Padres in Spring Training in reporting that the team specifically told its training staff that keeping separate files on the players would ultimately prove beneficial in trading efforts. If proven to be true, this would be far from the first controversy surrounding general manager A.J. Preller’s career as a Major League executive. Preller was suspended for violating signing guidelines and practices while heading up the Rangers’ international department and, per Olney, has also been reprimanded by the league since joining the Padres for violating industry regulations while conducting a workout with an unsigned player.
Those interested in the story are highly encouraged to read Olney’s full column, which goes into considerably greater detail on the matter and contains quotes from multiple unnamed executives on the Padres scandal.
AL Notes: Gomes, Pearce, Despaigne, Judge, Sale, Medlen
The Indians expect to welcome back catcher Yan Gomes on Friday, Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer reports on Twitter. Gomes had been sidelined with a separated shoulder that was considered a threat to end his campaign, but it seems he’ll have a chance to come back online in advance of a likely postseason berth. That’s welcome news for Cleveland, which has struggled to find production from the catching position. Of course, Gomes himself has scuffled to a .165/.198/.313 batting line, but the club can at least hope he’ll return to providing quality glovework while hopefully swinging out of his malaise.
Here’s more from the American League:
- Orioles utility slugger Steve Pearce is set to visit Dr. David Altchek tomorrow for his arm injury, Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports. Pearce’s elbow/forearm issues have failed to abate, leaving the club unsure of his status as the postseason push intensifies. The 33-year-old has managed only 70 trips to the plate since he was picked up at the trade deadline, with his production trailing off with the injury.
- Meanwhile, the Orioles have placed righty Odrisamer Despaigne on waivers, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter links). Given that Despaigne was designated on the fifth, Kubatko suggests that the O’s were trying to work out a deal before settling for the wire. The 29-year-old carries a 5.60 ERA over his 27 1/3 innings on the year, with 5.6 K/9 against 4.9 BB/9, so he doesn’t figure to hold much appeal at present.
- The Yankees have ordered an MRI for outfielder Aaron Judge after he came down with an oblique injury, Jack Curry of YES Network reports (Twitter links). It remains to be seen whether the 24-year-old will be able to make it back to finish out his late-season promotion. He has struggled thus far in the majors, with 41 strikeouts in 93 plate appearances, and New York will surely hope to get him as much work as possible to assess his readiness to contribute in 2017.
- White Sox ace Chris Sale has already seen his name tossed around quite a bit in trade talks, and he figures to be an intriguing trade candidate this winter, but he tells Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago that he hopes to stay in Chicago. “I don’t worry about that stuff,” Sale said. “That will shake out on its own. I wear this uniform with a lot of pride. I hope I can continue to do that.” Of course, the South Siders will not part with the star southpaw lightly, if at all. The 27-year-old has turned in another strong campaign, putting up a 3.03 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 over 201 2/3 innings.
- Righty Kris Medlen hopes to return to the Royals in 2017, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports on Twitter. The former standout hurler struggled badly in limited action this year, and hasn’t pitched since May owing to shoulder issues. That makes it an easy decision for the team to pay him a $1MM buyout rather than picking up his $10MM option, but something else could be worked out if Kansas City sees cause for optimism. “I feel like I’m not done yet with this team,” said Medlen. “I feel like I owe them something.”
White Sox Release Ryan Webb
The White Sox have released right-hander Ryan Webb, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports. The 30-year-old reliever signed a minor league deal with Chicago in July after being released by the Rays earlier this season.
Webb signed a one-year, $1MM Major League deal with Tampa in February but wasn’t very effective in his brief stint as a Ray, posting a 5.19 ERA, 5.7 K/9 and 3.67 K/BB rate over 17 1/3 innings. The peripherals numbers weren’t too far removed from Webb’s career marks, and there was certainly some batted-ball misfortune (.417 BABIP) that led to Webb’s inflated ERA.
It was certainly a step down from Webb’s usual performance, as the righty had posted a solid 3.35 ERA (with a 6.2 K/9, 2.15 K/BB and 56.5% grounder rate) over 376 innings from 2009-15 for the Padres, Marlins, Orioles and Indians. His 2016 struggles continued at the Triple-A level, however, as Webb tossed only 2 2/3 innings (with a 13.50 ERA) for the top White Sox farm club. He hasn’t pitched since July 20, so there could well be an injury at play, making it even more unlikely that another team would sign Webb for the September stretch run.
Cafardo’s Latest: Sox, Dozier, Votto, Jays, Puig, Braun
Here are the latest rumblings from the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo, who’s looking ahead to the offseason:
- The Red Sox will be in the market for a big bat to replace retiring designated hitter David Ortiz, which could lead them to pursue free agents-to-be Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista, Carlos Beltran, Mark Trumbo and Mike Napoli. Boston is quite familiar with all of those players – Encarnacion, Bautista and Trumbo are currently in its division, while Beltran was in the AL East until the Yankees traded him to Texas in July. Napoli, who’s in the midst of a bounce-back year in Cleveland, is the only member of the group with past Red Sox experience. The soon-to-be 35-year-old was with Boston from 2013-15 and was a key part of its latest World Series-winning team in his first season with the club.
- If the Twins shop slugging second baseman Brian Dozier during the winter, they’ll likely want front-line pitching in return, per Cafardo. Dozier, who is one home run shy of joining Rogers Hornsby, Ryne Sandberg and Davey Johnson as the only second basemen to hit 40 in a season, is on an eminently affordable contract over the next two seasons. The 29-year-old power and speed threat is owed a combined $15MM through the 2018 campaign.
- Even though the Blue Jays have undergone a regime change since they tried to acquire first baseman Joey Votto from the Reds last summer, talks could restart if Toronto loses both Encarnacion and Bautista in free agency. Cincinnati would also have to eat some of the $192MM left on Votto’s contract to make a deal possible, according to Cafardo. Votto, a Toronto native, is enjoying yet another brilliant season, having slashed .315/.433/.525 with 23 homers in 589 plate appearances.
- While the White Sox will listen to teams’ proposals for left-handed ace Chris Sale after the season, a deal seems unlikely. “The odds of getting what we feel we need to get are slim. That’s why I think Chris will be with us in 2017,” a White Sox source told Cafardo. That jibes with an earlier report from FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman, who relayed that White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf doesn’t want to move Sale.
- The Brewers and Dodgers are likely to revisit talks centering on outfielders Ryan Braun and Yasiel Puig in the offseason, a Dodgers source told Cafardo. Los Angeles placed Puig on revocable waivers in August, and the Brewers won the claim. The teams then discussed him and Braun, but a deal didn’t come to fruition.
Heyman’s Latest: White Sox, Marlins, Brewers, Yankees, Gurriel, Saunders
FanRag’s Jon Heyman kicks off his weekly notes column by ranking the 20 best trades in the past two years, with the Blue Jays’ Josh Donaldson acquisition topping the list. Certainly a good deal of hindsight is used when crafting any such list, and the development of certain prospects could change the way we perceive some of these still-fresh deals, but many of the swaps listed do indeed look lopsided one way or another at the moment.
Some highlights from the column…
- The White Sox never even put Chris Sale or Jose Quintana on trade waivers last month, knowing that there wouldn’t be time to negotiate a sufficient return in the limited 47-hour window after the respective aces were claimed. They’ll instead explored trade scenarios for both pitchers once again this winter, though owner Jerry Reinsdorf isn’t keen on rebuilding. Todd Frazier was claimed on trade waivers but pulled back, according to Heyman, whereas outfielder Melky Cabrera made it through waivers but remained in Chicago despite his above-average offensive production dating back to last June.
- The Marlins will try to find a No. 2 type starter this winter to slot between Jose Fernandez and Wei-Yin Chen, but the usual caveats apply: this offseason bears a historically poor crop of free-agent starting pitching, and the Marlins’ paper-thin farm system makes it difficult to land a high-quality pitcher via trade. Per Heyman, the Marlins are frequently asked about Christian Yelich and J.T. Realmuto but are loath to part with either rising star. He also adds that manager Don Mattingly is strongly in favor of the team re-signing Martin Prado.
- Jonathan Villar‘s strong play for the Brewers this season has apparently created some wishful thinking among other clubs, as there’s been increased interest in top prospect Orlando Arcia, but the Brewers are “not entertaining offers” for the highly touted 22-year-old.
- Aaron Judge‘s struggles notwithstanding, the Yankees won’t seek outfield help this offseason, GM Brian Cashman told Heyman. In addition to Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, Judge and Aaron Hicks, Cashman pointed out that the Yankees also have Clint Frazier and Mason Williams, commenting that players with Frazier’s level of talent can force their way onto the big league roster quickly. The GM also expressed confidence that Luis Severino can stick as a starting pitcher and talked about the rapid development of Gary Sanchez on the heels of the young catcher’s stunning late-season breakout.
- Lourdes Gurriel Jr., the younger brother of Astros infielder/DH Yulieski Gurriel, will host a showcase for interested teams on Sep. 14 in Panama City, according to Heyman. The Cardinals are one of about 20 teams planning to go watch the young shortstop, he notes. While the showcase will allow teams to get a look at the younger Gurriel, I can’t envision him actually signing until his 23rd birthday passes on Oct. 19. At that point, Gurriel will no longer be considered an amateur, and thus will no longer be subject to international signing bonuses.
- The Blue Jays will make the obvious decisions to extend qualifying offers to Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista, and they’re also considering a QO for Michael Saunders. While that might’ve seemed like a highly implausible scenario a few months back, Saunders has been quite good in a full, healthy season. In 500 plate appearances, the 29-year-old is slashing .266/.348/.505 with 23 homers — though he hasn’t been as good in the season’s second half. Saunders’ injury history could at least create some pause, but given his quality offensive output and lack of a platoon split in 2016, I think he’d be able to secure a nice multi-year pact even if he turned down the sizable one-year offer.
Quick Hits: Murphy, Volquez, Yankees, Fernandez, Ruiz, Morneau
The Mets felt comfortable in letting Daniel Murphy go in free agency for several reasons, a decision that ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin notes is certainly worth second-guessing given Murphy’s huge season with the Nationals. Perhaps the biggest factor for the Mets was their belief that Murphy could deliver a good average but little else. Murphy, of course, has contributed 25 homers and a .340/.383/.593 slash line, pretty resounding the Mets’ criticisms about his lack of power or plate discipline. (He has also been above average on the basepaths, as per Fangraphs’ baserunning metric.) Murphy is looking like a bargain signing for the Nats while second base is a question mark for the Mets heading into 2017.
Here’s some more from around baseball…
- For now, “the most logical scenario” between the Royals and Edinson Volquez is that the club will issue Volquez a qualifying offer that the righty will decline in search of a multi-year contract elsewhere, Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star writes as part of a reader mailbag piece. It may seem odd that the Royals would risk issuing a one-year, $16.7MM deal to a 33-year-old with a 5.02 ERA through 166 2/3 innings, though the starting pitching market is so thin that Volquez may indeed be able to find a longer-term commitment. If Volquez leaves, Dodd figures K.C. will pursue inexpensive free agent starters, or possibly look for a higher-caliber arm by trading one of its core roster players.
- The Yankees heavily reloaded on blue chip minor leaguers with their deadline trades, and John Harper of the New York Daily News wonders if the club will try to deal from this newfound prospect depth to acquire a frontline starter this winter. Jose Fernandez may be the most available ace on the market, given that the Marlins may not have the money to keep him before he hits free agency after the 2018 season. Landing Fernandez would likely cost the Yankees Clint Frazier, Justus Sheffield, one of Jorge Mateo or Gleyber Torres and probably one more pitching prospect. It might take an even biggest prospect package than that to acquire Chris Sale given Sale’s club-friendly contract, while the Athletics’ Sonny Gray or the Rays’ Chris Archer are coming off down years and may be too risky for the Yankees given the prospect cost it would take to acquire them.
- Cuban second baseman Jose Miguel Fernandez and righty Norge Ruiz will play for Aguilas Cibaenas of the Dominican League this winter, Baseball America’s Ben Badler reports. It will present both players with a valuable opportunity to perform in front of MLB scouts, particularly Fernandez since the infielder hasn’t in competitive games for almost two full years. That long layoff may have contributed to Fernandez still being unsigned despite being declared a free agent in April, though Badler notes other factors like teams being pretty set at second base and scouts having questions about Fernandez’s power, fielding and speed. Ruiz left Cuba in May 2015 but has yet to be officially declared a free agent, which Badler finds curious given how several Cuban players have been cleared by the league in far less time.
- Justin Morneau hopes to play some first base if he plays in 2017, CSN Chicago’s Dan Hayes writes. Morneau has only served as a DH since joining the White Sox, thanks to his rehab from elbow surgery and his lack of a Spring Training. With a proper spring under his belt next season, Morneau feels he can return to his old position at least a couple of times per week. It should also be noted that Morneau’s free agent value will obviously increase if he is able to play a position rather than be limited to a designated hitter role.
AL Central Notes: Sale, Quintana, Davis, Wang, Santana
Over the weekend, Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago reported that the Red Sox weren’t willing to include Jackie Bradley in a trade for either Chris Sale or Jose Quintana, and this morning, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports adds to that a bit. “If they didn’t get Jackie Bradley, there was no way they were doing the deal,” a person familiar with the talks told Heyman in reference to the White Sox. While there’s been plenty of speculation (and optimism from fans of other teams) that the Pale Hose could market one of their two ace-caliber lefties this winter, Heyman spoke to multiple people that indicated owner Jerry Reinsdorf still has little to no interest in parting with either Sale or Quintana, as his primary focus is putting a winner on the field right now. Sale, 28 next March, is controllable from 2017-2019 season for $38MM, while Quintana, who turns 28 in January, is owed $36.85MM from 2017-20.
More notes from the division…
- The Royals are planning to activate All-Star closer Wade Davis from the disabled list on Friday, writes Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star. Davis might’ve been activated prior to Wednesday’s contest, he notes, but a rainout at Triple-A earlier this week delayed his final rehab appearance and, thus, his return to the active roster. Davis has been out since July 31 due to a forearm strain, and the Royals’ fortunes have certainly changed since that injury. At the time of Davis’ placement on the disabled list, he was an oft-rumored trade candidate for a Royals team that had fallen quite a ways out of contention in the American League Central and in the AL Wild Card hunt. However, despite lacking one of the game’s best relievers for more than a month, Kansas City has gone 20-8 since Davis was placed on the disabled list. They’re now 6.5 games back in the division and just three games out of the second Wild Card spot in the AL.
- While Davis is returning, the Royals will lose right-hander Chien-Ming Wang to the disabled list, Dodd notes within that same piece. Wang is being placed on the 15-day DL due to tendinitis in his right biceps. While Wang’s numbers don’t stand out (4.22 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 3.0 BB/9), he’s yielded just two runs in his past 11 innings while working in a multi-inning role. Kansas City is hopeful that he’ll be able to return in the minimum 15 days, though expanded September rosters give Kansas City the luxury of taking things a bit slowly with his recovery.
- Danny Santana‘s season is over, as the Twins utilityman has suffered a Grade 2 sprain of the AC joint in his left shoulder and will require four to six weeks to recover from the injury, writes Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. As Berardino notes, Santana once rated as one of Minnesota’s top 10 to 15 prospects, but his struggles over the past two seasons now leave his future with the team in doubt. Santana, 25, burst onto the scene in 2014 with a .319/.353/.472 slash in 101 games, but his production was largely propped up by a BABIP north of .400. Regression was easy to project thanks to that bloated BABIP, but he’s fallen farther than even pessimistic forecasts might’ve indicated. Over the past two seasons, the switch-hitter has slashed just .227/.259/.308 in 525 plate appearances. Santana is out of minor league options, so he’ll have to remain on the active roster or be exposed to waivers before he’s eligible to be sent outright to the minors.
Players That Have Cleared Revocable Waivers
The first three two and a half weeks of August yielded only a few minor trades, featuring pickups by the Mariners (Arquimedes Caminero and Pat Venditte), a swap of veteran infielders (Erick Aybar and Mike Aviles) and the Marlins adding some left-handed depth to their ‘pen (Hunter Cervenka). Since that time, several names have changed hands, though, including Carlos Ruiz, A.J. Ellis, Dioner Navarro, Jeff Francoeur, Daniel Nava, Marc Rzepczynski and Erick Aybar. A trade sending veteran outfielder Coco Crisp to the Indians should be announced on Wednesday as well.
Before diving into the names, a few items bear repeating. The majority of Major League players will be placed on trade waivers this month, with most instances going unreported. There are undoubtedly players (quite a few of them, most likely) who have already cleared waivers but have not been reported to have done so. Players can be traded into September, as well, but only those traded on or before Aug. 31 will be eligible for the postseason with their new teams, so there’s some urgency for contending clubs to complete deals by month’s end. And, of course, for those who aren’t familiar with the inner-workings of waiver trades, MLBTR published a full explanation of how August trades work earlier this month. Onto the known names…
- Ryan Braun (link): Although Braun has slashed an excellent .315/.377/.551 with 24 homers and 14 steals through 454 plate appearances this season, his pricey contract enabled him to slip through waivers. Braun, 32, is owed $76MM through 2021, and any team acquiring him would likely need Milwaukee to pick up a sizable chunk of his contract, according to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. That doesn’t seem to bode well for the possibility of a trade this month.
- Ervin Santana (link): Santana, 33, is due $13.5MM per year through 2018, which makes him a fairly expensive investment, but he’s in the midst of another fine season. The righty has been among the few bright spots for the last-place Twins, having recorded a 3.54 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 2.38 BB/9 in 147 1/3 innings. Given that he cleared waivers, the Twins might have to eat some of Santana’s contract if they wish to move him for a decent return. However, Minnesota reportedly needed to be “overwhelmed” to deal Santana in July, and it’s doubtful their bullish opinion of him has changed since then.
- Ryan Howard (link): It seems as if any possibility of a Howard trade has gone out the window with his time with the Phillies drawing to an increasingly pleasant end. But he does still deliver more pure power than most hitters — albeit almost exclusively against righties — with 19 long balls in less than half a season worth of plate appearances.
- Matt Wieters (link): Not only is Wieters expensive ($15.8MM salary this year), but he’s also underperforming both offensively and defensively. Thus, with fellow backstops Kurt Suzuki and Brian McCann having already cleared waivers, it’s no surprise that Wieters did, too. Regardless of his struggles, Wieters is the starting catcher for a playoff contender with no better in-house option in place, making a trade involving the impending free agent all the more unlikely.
- Scott Kazmir (link): Kazmir is owed $16MM in each of the next two seasons, but he has the ability to opt out of his deal after this year. Kazmir’s run prevention (4.41 ERA) has been a letdown in 132 2/3 innings this season, although he has recorded an outstanding K/9 (9.02) to go with a 3.32 BB/9 and a superb 15.2 percent infield fly rate. The positives weren’t enough for anyone to claim Kazmir, though, and it’s doubtful the injury-riddled Dodgers will move out a healthy starter in the middle of a playoff race.
- James Shields (link): The right-hander was previously a high-end option that every team would’ve loved to slot into its rotation. At 34, he’s now pitching like a DFA candidate. The White Sox, who acquired Shields from the Padres earlier this year, owe him $10MM per season through 2018. Thanks largely to a plummeting strikeout rate and a propensity for allowing HRs, Shields has run up a 7.62 ERA in 69 2/3 innings with Chicago. Overall, he has a 5.98 ERA in 137 frames this year. While Shields is on track for a 10th straight 30-start season, there’s no point in trading for someone who isn’t at least keeping his team in games every fifth day.
- Nick Markakis (link): The negatives seem to outweigh the positives with Markakis, who’s on a $10.5MM salary through 2018 and doesn’t bring the offensive value to the table that he used to. Since leaving Baltimore for Atlanta last year, the right fielder has hit .285/.360/.384 with a mere 12 HRs in 1,200-plus plate trips. The average and on-base percentage are clearly pluses. Fact is, though, a corner outfielder who has little power, doesn’t grade well defensively and isn’t all that cheap isn’t too appealing.
- Mitch Moreland (link): Moreland is amid his third straight 20-homer season and isn’t overly expensive ($5.7MM salary) in the last year of his contract, so it wouldn’t have been shocking had someone claimed him. Instead, the lifetime .251/.316/.481 hitter got through waivers and looks likely to remain with World Series-contending Texas for the rest of the season.
- Matt Kemp (link): Once an MVP-level player, the 31-year-old Kemp has fallen off thanks to defensive issues and a decline at the plate. As a roughly league-average hitter on a $21.5MM salary through 2019, he was fully expected to go unclaimed had the Braves placed him on waivers. They did, and that’s exactly what happened. Atlanta’s on the hook for $18MM per year of Kemp’s money for the duration of his contract. The Padres, his previous team, make up the difference. For any deal to happen, the Braves would likely have to eat a hefty portion of that cash.
- Joakim Soria (link): The 32-year-old Soria has become increasingly homer prone and displaying some concerning control issues in 2016, so it’s not surprising that no team risked claiming the remaining $19.72MM that he is owed through the completion of the 2018 season. Soria’s 92.8 mph average fastball is actually a career-high, and his strikeouts and ground-ball rate both remain sound, so perhaps he could be moved if Kansas City were to eat some of the remainder on that deal.
- Eric O’Flaherty (link): Once a powerhouse out of the Braves’ bullpen, O’Flaherty’s second stint with Atlanta hasn’t gone nearly as well. He’s never fully regained his form after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2013, and his ERA in 2016 rested just shy of 7.00 when word of his clearing waivers broke. His $1.75MM salary wouldn’t be prohibitive were he pitching well, but even opposing lefties have roughed up O’Flaherty this season, and he’s been positively obliterated by right-handed opponents.
- Kurt Suzuki (link): The Twins’ catcher was reported to have cleared waivers just yesterday. Unlike a number of players that clear waivers in the month of August, Suzuki is relatively affordable, making it something of a surprise that no teams placed a claim on him. While he’s not regarded as a highly skilled defensive backstop, he’s hitting .281/.321/.431, which is quite a step up from the league-average catcher (.242/.311/.380). He doesn’t walk much, but he’s also very tough to strike out (12.9%), and he was owed just $1.54MM through season’s end when he reportedly cleared on Aug. 16.
- Brian McCann (link): It’s no surprise that McCann cleared waivers, as he’s owed a hefty $34MM beyond the 2016 campaign. McCann’s offensive production has wilted a bit in recent weeks, and while his .232/.333/.404 batting line and 15 homers are still solid marks for a catcher, it’s tough to imagine the Yankees moving him without absorbing a fair amount of the money that remains on his contract. Also standing in the way of a potential deal is the fact that teams looking for catching help beyond this year have a fair number of choices on the upcoming free agent market.
One final note: outfielder Jeff Francoeur (link) and catcher Carlos Ruiz (link) were both reported to have cleared waivers as well, but each has already been traded to a new team, with Francoeur going to the Marlins and Ruiz going to the Dodgers.