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Outfield Rumors: Beltran, White Sox, Eloy, Reddick

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Here’s the latest on two veteran outfielders who have been prominently mentioned in trade rumors and one young outfield prospect who (to date) isn’t yet a trade chip…

  • Even if the Yankees did decide to shop Carlos Beltran, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes that the relatively deep outfield trade market could result in Beltran staying in the Bronx.  NL teams may pass on Beltran due to his defensive shortcomings and the fact that he couldn’t be used as a DH in the senior circuit.  Failing to find a deal for Beltran wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing for the Yankees, as they could still issue a qualifying offer to Beltran this winter and get draft compensation back if he left in free agency.
  • One team that could be a fit for Beltran is the White Sox, as George A. King III of the New York Post notes how little production Chicago has received from its DH spot this season.  The Sox recently signed Justin Morneau and the former AL MVP could make his season debut as soon as Friday, though Morneau is also coming off elbow surgery and hasn’t shown much at the plate in Triple-A rehab games (albeit in a very small sample size).  In my opinion, the White Sox could make a move for the Yankees slugger even if Morneau does produce, as Beltran would provide a significant right field upgrade over Avisail Garcia’s sub-replacement level numbers.
  • Cubs outfield prospect Eloy Jimenez is getting trade attention but the Cubs aren’t eager to part with the talented 19-year-old, CSN Chicago’s David Kaplan tweets.  Jimenez signed with the Cubs during their spending spree in the 2013-14 international signing market, inking a deal with a hefty $2.8MM bonus that reflected his status as the most well-regarded prospect of that 2013-14 class.  Jimenez is enjoying a breakout year at A-level ball, hitting .332/.372/.527 with 10 homers over 336 plate appearances.  He also was one of the stars of today’s MLB Futures Game, going 2-for-3 with a homer and a spectacular catch in the outfield.  Despite Jimenez’s promise, the Cubs’ minor league depth meant that he ranked only ninth (Baseball America) and 10th (MLB.com) in preseason rankings of the top 10 prospects in Chicago’s system.  The Cubs have such depth that they could explore moving Jimenez or other top prospects in midseason trades and still have one of the game’s best farm systems.
  • If Josh Reddick was indeed willing to accept a four-year extension in the $50-$52MM range from the A’s, Nico of the Athletics Nation blog feels the club should absolutely make that deal.  Though there are some questions about Reddick’s long-term viability, the length and relative inexpensiveness of that proposed contract (not to mention Reddick’s role as a leader in the Oakland clubhouse) should ensure that Reddick still has value even if his skills do slightly diminish.

White Sox Place Carlos Rodon On DL With Sprained Wrist

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The White Sox have announced that they’ve placed lefty starter Carlos Rodon on the 15-day DL. Via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times (on Twitter), the move is retroactive to July 6 and is due to a sprained left wrist. They’ve promoted righty Tommy Kahnle to take his place on the active roster.

The White Sox had already elected to skip Rodon’s last start due to neck and arm discomfort, although it appears his current situation is unrelated — via the Chicago Tribune’s Chris Kuc (on Twitter), Rodon injured his wrist Friday after he slipped on the dugout steps. There is no indication yet of the seriousness of his current injury, but with the All-Star break coming up, it would appear to at least be possible that his stay on the DL could result in him missing little time.

It’s been an uneven sophomore season for the 2014 third overall pick, who’s maintained a strong 8.9 K/9 and has significantly reduced his walk rate to 3.1 BB/9 but has had serious issues with home runs, giving up 15 in 92 innings. All the home runs, plus a .349 BABIP, have led to a 4.50 ERA that rates as worse than league average. Still, Rodon has maintained his solid velocity this season (with an average fastball velocity of 93.0 MPH), and he’s been deadly against lefties (.552 OPS against), thanks to his plus slider.

White Sox To Sign Ryan Webb

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The White Sox have inked a minor league deal with reliever Ryan Webb, per Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago (Twitter link). The veteran righty will report to Triple-A.

Webb, 30, had pitched to a 5.19 ERA over 17 1/3 innings with the Rays before being cut loose. Beneath the surface, though, he has been much the same pitcher as always — a sturdy but hardly dominant middle reliever.

Webb is still generating grounders on about half of the balls put in play against him and is near his career marks with 5.7 K/9 against 1.6 BB/9. The biggest problem thus far, it seems, has been a .417 batting average on balls put in play against him — though Webb’s career-worst hard contact rate (32.3%) suggests that may not just be a result of poor fortune.

For Chicago, the move adds depth in an area where the team has taken some hits of late. The South Siders are still running out a fairly talented overall relief unit, but have lost several useful arms already in 2016.

AL Notes: Yankees, Red Sox, Davis, Norris, Avila

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Yankees GM Brian Cashman discussed his team’s oft-debated trade deadline stance in an appearance on the podcast of ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (audio link). He said that the club is “open to everything and anything” over the month to come, noting that he’d raise any interest in the organization’s major league assets with ownership. Cashman made clear that New York isn’t going into a selling stance, but also suggested that such a time may come and has been discussed internally. “The clock is ticking,” he said, “and the more that we stay in this mode that we’re currently in, I think it’s going to force us into some tough decisions that we didn’t want to be in. There’s some time on the clock, but it’s getting late, as people would say.”

Here’s more from the American League:

  • Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski says that trade chatter is picking up around the game, Scott Lauber of ESPN Boston was among those to report (Twitter links). Boston had contact with ten rival organizations just yesterday, he added. Meanwhile, the club announced that director of pitching analysis and development Brian Bannister will don a uniform to aid pitching coach Carl Willis in working with the staff. Bannister will not be in the dugout during games, but will seemingly take more of a hands-on approach in trying to solve the organization’s pitching woes.
  • It’s always concerning when a pitcher hits the DL with forearm issues, as was the case earlier today for Royals closer Wade Davis, but Kansas City doesn’t seem to be ringing any alarm bells. As Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star reports (links to Twitter), manager Ned Yost says that Davis’s ligament isn’t implicated. Yost added that Davis pitched through a similar problem last year, and Davis himself notes that he isn’t too concerned at this point.
  • The Tigers have placed lefty Daniel Norris on the DL with an oblique strain. That’s not great news for a team that has had some rotation questions arise, as Norris had showed some interesting results in his four big league appearances this year. He has allowed seven earned runs and 17 hits in 13 innings, but his sparkling 16:3 K/BB ratio is certainly promising.
  • White Sox backstop Alex Avila is headed to the DL after leaving tonight’s game with a hamstring strain, as Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago tweets. It’s too soon to know how long he’ll be out, but hamstring problems can linger. The 29-year-old has compiled a sturdy .231/.361/.347 batting line on the year while serving as part of a platoon with Dioner Navarro behind the dish. Brett Hayes could be an option behind the dish for the Sox, though he’d need to be added to the 40-man roster. The seven-year big league veteran has a .225/.354/.425 batting line through 13 games for Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate since being acquired in a minor trade earlier this summer.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/4/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves, all courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted:

  • The Diamondbacks have released righty Kyle Drabek. The former first-rounder, now 28, received a single appearance this year for Arizona. He owns a tough 6.68 ERA with 5.4 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9 in his 68 2/3 Triple-A innings thus far in 2016.
  • The Pirates have outrighted right-hander Jorge Rondon to Triple-A, per an announcement from the team’s affiliate at Indianapolis. Rondon had been designated for assignment recently. He has a 2.72 ERA over his rather extensive time at Triple-A, but has yet to show much in his brief time at the major league level.
  • Outfielder Tony Campana is headed to the White Sox on a minor league deal after being released by the Nationals, per Eddy. Campana, 30, has seen MLB time in parts of four seasons, none since 2014. He owns a meager .215/.289/.230 slash in 158 Triple-A plate appearances on the year.
  • The Padres released righty Johnny Hellweg, Eddy adds. The towering righty had an unsuccessful trial run in the majors back in 2013. He had struggled with his command and been hit quite hard this year in the minors for the Padres.
  • After being designated recently, catcher Hector Sanchez has been outrighted by the Padres. The 26-year-old will head back to Triple-A, which is where he has spent most of his time in recent years. Sanchez does have 663 major league plate appearances over the last six seasons, with a .240/.276/.348 lifetime batting line.
  • The Mariners have released Efren Navarro, a 30-year-old first baseman. Navarro was off to a .243/.316/.362 slash in his 301 plate appearances this year at Triple-A, well off of his usual productivity at the highest level of the minors.
  • The recently-designated Andrew Bellatti has been outrighted by the Rays. Despite providing 23 1/3 innings of 2.31 ERA pitching last year at the major league level, the right-hander has not cracked the majors this year and had struggled in limited action at Triple-A.
  • The Nationals have released infielder Scott Sizemore, also via Eddy. The 31-year-old was off to a rough start, hitting just .205/.353/.323 over his 243 plate appearances on the year. He hasn’t cracked the majors since 2014.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/2/16

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.

  • The White Sox have announced that they’ve acquired catcher Alfredo Gonzalez from the Astros and optioned him to Double-A Birmingham. Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle tweets that the Astros will receive cash considerations in return. The Astros designated Gonzalez for assignment last week after he batted just .158/.236/.205 in 162 plate appearances at Double-A Corpus Christi. The 23-year-old posted a .409 on-base percentage in a 2015 season split between three levels, however, and has a reputation for having a good arm.
  • Righty Casey Coleman has opted out of his minor league deal with the Mariners, Tacoma Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto tweets. Coleman is in the midst of a terrific season, with a 2.08 ERA, 8.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 39 innings of relief in the PCL. “It was just a thing where I’ve been told I have some of the best numbers in the whole league,” said Coleman, via News-Press.com’s Seth Soffian. “Seattle had a bunch of guys that were coming off injury soon and their roster was pretty full. I’ve put myself in a situation to hopefully sign somewhere else.” Coleman, who will be 29 tomorrow, has a career 5.72 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in parts of four big-league seasons with the Cubs and Royals.

AL International Signings: 7/2/16

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Here’s a roundup of key international signings from the American League not yet covered elsewhere on MLBTR.

  • The Astros have agreed to terms with Dominican shortstop Freudis Nova and Venezuelan shortstop Yorbin Ceuta, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez writes (Twitter links). Nova, who will receive $1.2MM, ranks eighth on MLB.com’s list of the top international prospects available this signing period. He has power potential and a good bat overall, and while he might eventually have to move to third or the outfield, he should get chances to stay at short. Ceuta ranks 11th on Baseball America’s top international prospects list, with their extensive scouting report (subscription only) noting that he could end up with good OBP figures, although he doesn’t look like a big power hitter. He could stick at shortstop or move to second base.
  • The Mariners have agreed to sign Dominican outfielder Luis Veloz to a $1.2MM deal, Sanchez tweets. Via MLB.com’s scouting report, which ranked Veloz the No. 25 prospect available this signing season, he wins praise for his arm and has good raw power, and could eventually end up a starting right fielder in the Majors. He was widely expected to sign with the Mariners.
  • The White Sox have agreed to terms with Dominican outfielder Josue Guerrero on a $1.1MM deal, via Baseball America’s international signing tracker. BA ranked Guerrero the 33rd best prospect available. He’s the nephew of Vladimir Guerrero, joining a long line of minor leaguers who are related to the former Expos and Angels star. BA’s scouting report notes that Josue has good raw power, although he might be strikeout-prone, and he’s limited defensively and might end up a left fielder.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/1/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…

  • Rays outfielder Jaff Decker cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, via Twitter. Decker struggled badly in a limited sample this year at the major league level. He has been quite a productive Triple-A hitter, though, and is still just 26 years ofa ge.
  • Outfielder Alex Presley has rejected an outright assignment with the Brewers, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reports on Twitter. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo had tweeted that Presley cleared waivers. Presley heads back onto the open market after a disappointing run with Milwaukee. The 30-year-old still draws interest, and generally does plenty of damage in the highest level of the minors, but just hasn’t ever gained traction in the majors.
  • The Blue Jays have released righty Chad Jenkins, per a tweet from Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. The 20th overall pick in the 2009 draft, Jenkins has just topped one hundred frames at the major league level and does own a 3.31 career ERA. Clearly, though, the organization never felt that Jenkins warranted a more extended chance. Through 29 2/3 Triple-A innings this year, Jenkins had struggled to a 5.16 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and an uncharacteristic 5.2 BB/9.
  • Heading to the White Sox on a minor league deal is infielder Danny Muno, per Cotillo (via Twitter). Muno, 27, has had little more than a cup of coffee in the majors. He was cut loose by the Mets after posting a .239/.391/.318 slash over his first 110 plate appearances of the year at the Triple-A level.

Earlier Updates

  • The White Sox have inked center fielder Tony Campana to a minor league contract, per the team’s transactions page at MLB.com. Campana, who’s already played one game with his new organization, was recently released by the Nationals after opening the season with their Triple-A affiliate. The 30-year-old struggled at the plate this season, hitting .220/.294/.236 in 144 plate appearances after missing nearly all of the 2015 season due to a torn ligament in his knee sustained in Spring Training 2015 (with the White Sox). Campana’s 2016 struggles aren’t representative of his track record, of course. The fleet-footed veteran has a lifetime .282/.343/.347 slash line in parts of five Triple-A seasons even including this year’s line, and he’s also logged parts of four seasons in the Majors, where he’s compiled a .249/.296/.288 line between the Cubs, Angels and D-backs. Speed has traditionally been Campana’s calling card; he’s gone 66-for-75 in stolen base attempts over the life of 257 big league games and 216-for-286 in his minor league career.

AL Central Notes: Twins, Davidson, Indians, Fulmer

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The Twins are baseball’s most disappointing team at 25-53, but owner Jim Pohlad voiced continued confidence in manager Paul Molitor when speaking to Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune in a recent interview. “I would say ’no’ to that definitely,” said Pohlad when asked if Molitor’s job was in danger. Pohlad told Hartman that Molitor will return for the 2017 season, though Hartman notes that there slightly more open-ended answer when asked about GM Terry Ryan. “…I mean we have to figure out what we’re doing wrong, what we’re doing wrong in the system,” said Pohlad. “If that points to the need to change personnel, I guess I would have to say we’d look at everything. But there has been no identification of anything like that. We’re beginning to discuss the process of how we examine doing things throughout our system.” While those comments certainly don’t indicate that the GM is on the hot seat, they’re a bit less firm than recent reports indicating that the team is “100 percent committed” to Ryan. Pohlad went on to emphasize that money isn’t an issue for the Twins despite a number of underperforming veterans and expressed frustration and disappointment that top prospects Byron Buxton and Jose Berrios have struggled so greatly upon reaching the Majors after dominating Triple-A.

More from the American League Central…

  • The White Sox called up third base prospect Matt Davidson to make his debut with the team yesterday, and the former top 100 prospect (originally acquired from the D-backs in exchange for Addison Reed) experienced awful luck when he suffered a fracture in his foot while running the bases, as CSN Chicago’s Dan Hayes writes. The seemed to occur when Davidson was going from first to third on a J.B. Shuck double, with manager Robin Ventura telling the media that the injury was apparent when he was between second and third base. Davidson was a highly touted prospect when the ChiSox picked up up prior to the 2014 season in the aforementioned trade, but he struggled terribly with Triple-A Charlotte from 2014-15 before rebounding with a .268/.349/.444 slash in 75 Triple-A contests this season. It’s not yet clear how much time Davidson, who collected his first big league hit since September 2013 in yesterday’s game, will spend on the disabled list.
  • Via MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian, Indians GM Mike Chernoff said yesterday that while the club has looked to fill holes in its outfield at various times — most notably when Michael Brantley was injured and when Abraham Almonte was suspended — the team is hopeful that it can patch its outfield internally (Twitter link with screen cap of Chernoff’s full quote). Chernoff praised the recent play of Tyler Naquin and said the team is optimistic about the recent progress of Michael Brantley, whom Chernoff labels the “highest-impact ’acquisition’ [the Indians] could make.” Brantley has scarcely played this season, though Chernoff points out that the current alignment of Rajai Davis, Naquin, Lonnie Chisenhall and Jose Ramirez are all playing well. Naquin’s success is largely fueled by a .462 BABIP, of course, but even if there’s regression around the corner, there’s no denying that he’s bridged the gap nicely if the club is indeed seeing positive signs out of Brantley. Reports yesterday indicated that Jay Bruce would be willing to waive his no-trade clause to go to Cleveland (or any contender), but the outfield may not be as big of a need as it once looked to be with the recent performances of internal options.
  • The Tigers are carefully monitoring Michael Fulmer’s innings to preserve his arm for the long haul, as MLB.com’s Jason Beck writes. Fulmer hasn’t started in eight days and will make two more starts before the All-Star break, and he’ll then wait until July 19 when the Tigers first need a fifth starter after the break. That’ll give him nearly two weeks between starts, after which he’s tentatively scheduled to remain in the rotation on regular rest but with the occasional quick hook to avoid further arm fatigue. Per Beck, the Tigers have discussed a 25 to 30 percent increase over Fulmer’s total of 124 1/3 innings from the 2015 season, which would put him in the range of 155 to 165 innings this season. Fulmer, the centerpiece of last summer’s Yoenis Cespedes trade, has somewhat quietly had a brilliant debut with Detroit thus far, pitching to a 2.40 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 48 percent ground-ball rate in 63 2/3 innings.

Jay Bruce Willing To Waive No-Trade Clause In Deal To Contender

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Reds outfielder Jay Bruce has a limited no-trade clause, but doesn’t intend to use that to hold up a deal to a contending club this summer, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reports. Bruce sits at the top overall spot on MLBTR’s most recent top trade candidates list.

The NTC would let Bruce reject deals to the Yankees, Red Sox, Athletics, Rays, Marlins, Twins, Indians and Diamondbacks. Jon Heyman of todaysknuckleball.com repored earlier today that Bruce would quite likely be willing to go to Cleveland, and it appears that he’d also be amenable to other hypothetical landing spots. Rumblings have connected Bruce to a variety of clubs, including the Dodgers, Giants, White Sox, and Royals since the start of the season.

Bruce, 29, tells Sheldon that he’s willing to “consider waiving the no-trade clause for all types of reasons,” with “no blanket reason I wouldn’t.” The veteran said he’d need to take each situation as it comes, with agent Matt Sosnick saying that such a choice has yet to be brought to their attention.

Bruce continued on to emphasize that he’d be quite interested in an opportunity to join an organization that has designs on contending. “If I am moved, which has seemed likely for the last year and a half, I’d like to go where the team is mostly likely to win,” he said. “Teams that want me are likely seeking somebody to help them win.”

Notably, Sosnick suggested that Bruce won’t necessarily be looking to utilize the clause for leverage with regard to his contract. “We’re not setting in stone any financial qualifiers,” he said. “If the deal is good for Jay and good for the Reds, he would consider anything — including waiving the no-trade. … There is no team that he would unequivocally not go to.”

Bruce has increasingly cemented his status as a premium trade piece, as he is once again hitting like the All-Star-caliber player he was from 2011 through 2013. The two intervening seasons are easier and easier to forget, as he carries a .279/.325/.568 slash with 17 home runs and a league-leading six triples into July. Bruce’s early-career extension is another asset: he’s earning $12.5MM this year and can be controlled for $13MM in 2017, which is particularly appealing with a dearth of young sluggers on the upcoming free agent market.

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