Trade Market Notes: Mets, Red Sox, Marlins, Astros, White Sox
The Mets have dealt with injuries and on-field struggles of late, and COO Jeff Wilpon says that the organization may not wait until August 1st to make a move, as Newsday’s Laura Albanese reports. “I think we might need to do something before [the deadline],” Wilpon said. “The deadline is still four, six weeks away. We’ve got to start playing better baseball now.” We’ve heard chatter about the club possibly going after free agent-to-be Jose Reyes, but it’s fair to wonder whether a more substantial improvement is preferable. The infield seems like the obvious place to target for the Mets.
Here are some more high-level notes as the summer trade market takes shape:
- Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski indicated that he’s still feeling out the trade market, as Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reports. “[A] lot of times the conversations now are just as much an informational, feeling out [type],” he said. “And I think it’s also a situation where a lot of clubs really haven’t decided what they’re going to do yet.” While there are some obvious sellers, he noted, not many teams that came into the year with hopes of contending are now prepared to change course. “It’s important for us to stay in contact with those organizations so we know when they shift their focus,” said Dombrowski.
- The Marlins don’t intend to trade from their major league roster to bolster their rotation, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. Unsurprisingly, that means that Miami won’t part with young outfielders Marcell Ozuna and Christian Yelich, who have drawn interest. With little of clear interest in the farm system, Rosenthal suggests that the club could look to take on some cash as a way of facilitating a trade — with owner Jeffrey Loria willing to boost the payroll if there’s a playoff chase to play for.
- Astros GM Jeff Luhnow suggests he’s preparing for the trade deadline without a clear wish list, as Brian McTaggart of MLB.com tweets. “I like our team right now,” said Luhnow. “There’s no obvious hole. Clearly we’re going to talk to other clubs and be look out for upgrade.”
- All eyes have been on the White Sox, who have put out word that they are open to improve sooner than later. GM Rick Hahn addressed concerns with both the roster and the field staff, as JJ Stankevitz of CBS Chicago reports. The executive declined to comment on any specific personnel, including skipper Robin Ventura, and stressed that he won’t get caught up in short samples. “You try to look at the entirety of the work,” said Hahn. “… I think it’s natural to look at areas where you can get better, but any decisions are made based upon the entirety of anyone’s performance, based on not just the snippet of five or 10 days or the length of a season or past career.” Hahn continued to emphasize that the organization is looking to add, rather than thinking about fall-back plans. “We very much believe the talent is there to be in the thick of things come October,” he said. “We need to get it turned around fairly quickly, though, so we can continue saying that and reinforce our notion, our believes in ourselves that this team has the ability to contend.”
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/19/16
Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the page…
- The Rockies acquired lefty Pat McCoy from the Blue Jays, according to the Jays’ Triple-A affiliate (Twitter link). McCoy has pitched in four different organizations during a pro career that began in 2007, and his Major League experience consists of 14 relief innings with Detroit in 2014. McCoy has a 4.43 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 2.63 K/BB rate over 491 2/3 career minor league frames, with 288 of his 312 games coming as a reliever.
- The Pirates selected the contract of catcher Jacob Stallings from Triple-A and added him to both their Major League and 40-man rosters. Jason Rogers was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move. Stallings will give the Bucs some depth behind the plate with Francisco Cervelli on the DL and Chris Stewart also battling an ankle injury. A seventh-round pick in the 2012, Stallings has a .675 OPS over 1266 career minor league PA and wasn’t listed on Baseball America’s ranking of the Pirates’ top 30 prospects.
- The Mariners have sent right-hander Steve Johnson outright to Triple-A Tacoma, the team announced. Johnson has been outrighted in the past, so he’ll have the option of declining in favor of free agency. The Mariners designated him for assignment Friday after he totaled a 4.32 ERA and 11 walks over 16 2/3 innings.
- The Rays have outrighted lefty Dana Eveland to Triple-A Durham, according to the club. Eveland, like Johnson, has been outrighted previously. The 32-year-old has racked up 16 2/3 frames of 7.56 ERA ball at the major league level this season.
- Minor league Red Sox reliever Anthony Varvaro has retired, per a club announcement. Varvaro, 31, concluded his career by recording a 2.83 ERA, 9.73 K/9 and 4.08 BB/9 in 28 2/3 innings for Triple-A Pawtucket this year. Prior to tossing 11 frames at the major league level for the Red Sox in 2015, he was a member of the Braves, with whom he had a pair of standout seasons from 2013-14. Varvaro combined for 128 innings of 2.74 ERA pitching in that span, also posting a 6.54 K/9, 2.67 BB/9 and 48.2 percent ground-ball rate. Over the course of 183 2/3 innings in the majors with the Mariners, Braves and Red Sox, Varvaro logged a 3.23 ERA, 7.35 K/9 and 3.43 BB/9.
- The White Sox have signed first baseman K.J. Woods, whom the Marlins released, and outfielder Slade Heathcott to minor league deals, reports Matt Eddy of Baseball America (Twitter link). The Marlins used a fourth-round pick in 2013 on Woods, who hit .239/.326/.386 in 872 minor league plate appearances with their organization. Heathcott, the more notable player of the two, was the Yankees’ first-rounder (29th overall) in 2009. BA ranked him as baseball’s 63rd-best prospect entering the 2013 season, but injuries and disappointing production led the Yankees to release him last month. Heathcott did perform well during his first taste of major league action last year, though, collecting 10 hits – including two home runs and a pair of doubles – in 30 PAs.
Cafardo’s Latest: Gray, A’s, Giants, Twins, Pads
Athletics executive vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane is elite at maximizing players’ values, opines the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo, who writes that Beane is in prime position to shine as this year’s trade deadline approaches. The last-place A’s, who are likely to sell, have appealing trade chips like outfielder Josh Reddick, starter Rich Hill and relievers Ryan Madson, Sean Doolittle and John Axford. None will be as intriguing as 26-year-old right-hander Sonny Gray if the A’s put him on the block, though. The A’s are unsure about whether to make Gray available, per Cafardo, who reports that double-digit scouts from contenders take in each of his starts.
More rumblings from Cafardo:
- The Giants are aggressively shopping for relief help and a middle-of-the-order hitter to fill the void left by the injured Hunter Pence. Bullpen possibilities include Twins righty Kevin Jepsen and southpaw Fernando Abad, both of whom the Giants have recently scouted. As far as the outfield goes, any of Ryan Braun – whom the Giants have discussed with Milwaukee – struggling Padre Matt Kemp or free agent Carl Crawford could end up in San Francisco. Kemp has recovered at the plate from a nightmarish May this month, but he remains a defensive liability who’s owed $21.5MM annually through 2019.
- Jepsen and Abad aren’t the only Twins who might change uniforms this summer. Third baseman Trevor Plouffe and infielder Eduardo Nunez could also pique contenders’ interest. Nunez is surprisingly excelling this year, hitting .318/.348/.485 with nine home runs and 16 steals – the fifth-highest total in the majors – through 249 plate appearances. He’s on a mere $1.48MM salary this season and is scheduled to make one more trip through arbitration.
- The Red Sox, Royals and Blue Jays are potential landing spots for Padres center fielder Jon Jay, who’s batting a solid .299/.345/.410 through his first 287 PAs of a contract year. Jay, 31, is earning $6.23MM this season.
- With Colorado having designated him for assignment Wednesday, 33-year-old shortstop Jose Reyes will soon be looking for a new home, and the scuffling White Sox are a team to watch. Chicago already released one veteran shortstop, Jimmy Rollins, earlier this week. His replacement, 22-year-old prospect Tim Anderson, has gone 9 of 34 with four extra-base hits, nine strikeouts and no walks.
Quick Hits: Mets, Astros, Nats, A’s, ChiSox
Zack Wheeler returning from 2015 Tommy John surgery and replacing Bartolo Colon in the Mets’ rotation, as originally planned, is now far from a sure thing, writes David Adler of MLB.com. Thanks to Colon’s success, “there’ll be a pretty hefty discussion of what’s going to be best for” the Mets’ rotation when Wheeler is set to come back, said manager Terry Collins. The 43-year-old Colon hasn’t shown any signs of his advanced age, having thrown 80 2/3 innings of 3.01 ERA ball and supported that with a 1.45 BB/9. Wheeler could rejoin the team sometime next month, meanwhile, and a six-man rotation is a possibility when he does. “We’ve been [saying] since Spring Training that when Zack gets here, is it the time when we want to add a guy to the rotation anyway, to give guys some time off? Because the days off are going to be a little bit fewer in the second half. Right now I can’t answer where we’d go,” Collins stated.
Here’s more from around the majors:
- The Astros demoted early season slugger Tyler White to Triple-A Fresno on Saturday, tweets Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle. White maintained an OPS above 1.000 for the majority of April, but his production began falling off as the month advanced and continued to plummet in May and June, leading the Astros to send him down. All told, the 25-year-old hit a clearly below-average .211/.296/.386 with seven home runs in 189 plate appearances prior to the demotion. As Roster Resource shows, the Astros are now down to Marwin Gonzalez as their primary first base option. The organization also has highly touted prospect A.J. Reed in Fresno, though he hasn’t produced to expectations in 2016. Former top prospect Jon Singleton hasn’t been great at the Triple-A level this year, either.
- The Nationals are keeping a watchful eye on the amount of innings and pitches 23-year-old right-hander Joe Ross‘ racks up, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post details. Ross has 77 2/3 innings under his belt this year, which is the second fewest among Nats starters. He’s also the only member of their rotation who’s averaging fewer than 100 pitches per start, coming in at 94. Ross amassed 153 2/3 innings between the majors and minors in 2015, and while pitchers often push 200 frames the season after totaling in the 150 range, Janes notes that the Nationals try to avoid that type of one-year jump when dealing with their youngsters. There’s no actual innings limit in place, however, relays Janes (Twitter link). ““His innings are building up, as you can notice, he has the least amount of innings of our starters. We want to take him all the way through September, and hopefully into October,” manager Dusty Baker said of Ross, who has posted a 3.13 ERA, 7.63 K/9 and 2.78 BB/9 this season.
- The Athletics are being careful with injured left-hander Rich Hill as he works his way back from a right groin strain, tweets Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle. The 36-year-old threw a 10-pitch bullpen session Thursday, and there’s no word yet on when the improbable ace/trade chip will return. Hill hit the disabled list on June 9, retroactive to May 30, with the ailment.
- White Sox center fielder Austin Jackson underwent surgery to debride and remove a portion of the medial meniscus in his left knee Friday, according to Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). Jackson – who went on the DL with a meniscus tear on June 10 – will be on crutches for two more weeks and will undergo a reexamination in four weeks, per Kane. Jackson batted a weak .254/.318/.343 through 204 PAs before the injury. In his stead, the free-falling White Sox have opted for J.B. Shuck in center lately.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/17/2016
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The White Sox outrighted first baseman/outfielder Jerry Sands after he cleared waivers, Collen Kane of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Recently designated, Sands will provide some depth for Chicago at Triple-A — assuming, at least, that he accepts the assignment. (He has previously been outrighted, so could instead elect free agency.) The 28-year-old has seen sporadic MLB time over the past several seasons. In 58 plate appearances with the White Sox this year, he scuffled to a .236/.276/.291 batting line.
- Likewise, the Blue Jays outrighted their own recent designee, southpaw Scott Diamond, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). The 29-year-old only saw one game with the big club in his first MLB action since 2013. He had been pitching well at Triple-A, carrying a 3.16 ERA with 4.5 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 over 12 starts.
- The Red Sox have signed first baseman Cody Decker, per Matt Eddy of Baseball America (via Twitter). Decker is still looking for his first major league hit after a brief stint last year with the Padres — he did, at least, record an RBI — but he’s got little to prove as a Triple-A hitter. In nearly 1,500 plate appearances at the highest level of the minors, the 29-year-old owns a .255/.333/.501 batting line with 74 home runs.
- Recently released by the Cubs, righty Alex Sanabia is now set to join Mexico’s Tijuana Toros, Cotillo tweets. Sanabia has seen 138 2/3 innings of MLB action, all with the Marlins and none coming since 2013. Sanabia had allowed 39 earned runs in 55 1/3 innings at Triple-A for the Cubs on the year.
White Sox Agree To Terms With Zack Burdi
The White Sox have agreed to terms with their second selection from the amateur draft, Louisville righty Zack Burdi, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link). Taken with the 26th overall pick, Burdi will receive the full slot value of $2,128,500.
Burdi was a flamethrowing closer for the University of Louisville, much like his older brother, Twins prospect Nick Burdi. In addition to an upper-90s fastball, he delivers what Baseball America calls a plus change and a slider that has shown promise. BA rated him 21st among draft-eligible prospects, based in part on the idea that he could potentially be developed as a starter.
Other outlets were less optimistic on the idea of Burdi moving into a rotation long-term. ESPN.com put him in the 37th slot, while MLB.com rated him 41st. Even if he’s not a starter, Chicago will no doubt like the idea of plugging a potentially fast-moving, high-leverage arm into its system.
Heyman’s Latest: Teheran, Ventura, CarGo, Lucroy, Myers, Turner
Writing at todaysknuckleball.com, Jon Heyman breaks down the woes of the Dodgers and Angels. Both teams face difficult decisions over the summer. The Dodgers, at least, still seem positioned to contend and could play an interesting role on the trade market.
Here are more notes from the column:
- Amidst the considerable amount of Julio Teheran chatter, one Braves source tells Heyman, “I don’t see the Braves trading Teheran.” That’s a less-definitive statement than the one Heyman received regarding Freddie Freeman, as a source told him the first baseman is “totally off limits,” which lines up with GM John Coppolella’s offseason comments. Heyman adds that the Braves have “tried to dangle” Erick Aybar in trade talks, but he has no value at this point and could simply end up being released, creating an opportunity for one of Atlanta’s top-tier shortstop prospects (Dansby Swanson and Ozhaino Albies).
- Robin Ventura is on the hot seat with the White Sox, Heyman writes (adding more detail here). A team source tells him that there’s a feeling that “patience has been shown” and a change could benefit the team. Bench coach Rick Renteria, who formerly managed the Cubs, could succeed Ventura. Not that it’s particularly surprising, but Heyman adds that former skipper Ozzie Guillen wouldn’t be a candidate to return to his old post.
- The Rockies haven’t yet started receiving calls asking about Carlos Gonzalez, but they’re expected to listen to offers despite hovering around .500 to this point of the season. GM Jeff Bridich tells Heyman that his current focus is on winning and adds that prized righty Jeff Hoffman, who headlined the prospects acquired in last July’s Troy Tulowitzki blockbuster, is “closer than he is far away.”
- While Jonathan Lucroy is perhaps the most-cited trade candidate in baseball, GM David Stearns tells Heyman that an extension can’t be entirely ruled out. Heyman notes that if the Brewers are able to move Ryan Braun, they could look to reallocate some of those funds to locking up Lucroy, who is more open to an extension now that the Brewers are performing better than most pundits expected. There could, of course, be some level of gamesmanship there, as it would make sense for any team official to downplay a prime trade target’s availability.
- The Padres are “open” to trading Wil Myers in the right scenario, says Heyman, but it still seems unlikely that’ll come to fruition. San Diego has received hits on Jon Jay and Derek Norris, though, and presumably the organization is more willing to part with those players.
- There was talk of the Tigers pursuing Chris Davis over the winter, and Heyman says that was indeed the case. The club was considering an offer in the $180MM range for the slugger, per the report. Owner Mike Ilitch also pushed for Yoenis Cespedes over Justin Upton, but the club elected to grab the younger player. That choice is certainly up for debate after their respective starts.
- The Phillies are obvious sellers, but most of their marketable assets reside on the pitching side of the equation. But the club sees infielder Andres Blanco as a plausible piece, with Freddy Galvis also potentially on the block. Blanco isn’t quite repeating his surprising 2015 season, but is hitting at around the league average rate and could be a useful utility piece.
- With continued uncertainty surrounding Felix Hernandez, the Mariners are likely to explore the rotation market this summer. The club has received a nice boost from James Paxton of late, but many of its starters have long-term injury questions so it isn’t surprising to hear that the club is readying for an addition in that area.
- Heyman also floats the idea that the Nationals could dangle top position player prospect Trea Turner in trade talks this summer. He wonders whether he could be the chip that lands a top-end reliever, citing Yankees hurler Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman. From my perspective, that would be rather surprising: Turner has shown himself ready for a full crack at the big leagues and is widely considered one of the game’s twenty best prospects. Even if the Nats don’t make him the starter in 2016, he’s a critical part of the team’s middle infield depth right now and an important future piece.
- Veteran outfielder Shane Victorino has rejected several opportunities to join teams on minor-league deals, says Heyman. Victorino is holding out for a shot to join a big league roster.
White Sox Release Mat Latos
JUNE 16: The White Sox announced today that they’ve requested waivers for the purpose of granting Latos his unconditional release. Assuming no team claims the remainder of his salary, he’ll officially be a free agent once he clears in 48 hours.
JUNE 9: The White Sox have designated right-hander Mat Latos for assignment, according to Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago (Twitter link). Hayes tweets that Latos’ roster spot will go to 2013 second-round pick Tyler Danish — a 21-year-old right-hander with a 4.42 ERA, 5.6 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 75 1/3 innings (12 starts) for Double-A Birmingham this season.
Latos, 28, has been in the Chicago rotation since Opening Day after signing a one-year, $3MM contract this offseason. However, after a brilliant start to his 2016 campaign, he’s fallen into a prolonged slump, thus prompting today’s DFA. Over his first four starts to the season, Latos worked to a pristine 0.74 ERA in 24 1/3 innings. That production, though, was propped up by a clearly unsustainable .167 BABIP and 97 percent strand rate. Beyond that, Latos was sporting a meager 13-to-7 K/BB ratio through that four start run while displaying the lowest average fastball velocity of his career.
Regression for Latos wasn’t exactly difficult to see, though the extent of his decline was nonetheless fairly surprising. Dating back to April 30, Latos has a 7.25 ERA with nearly as many walks (18) as strikeouts (19). His deteriorated heater and diminished ability to miss bats (which are likely related) rendered Latos ineffective for much of the 2015 season, and that looks to have carried over into the 2016 campaign as well.
The Sox will have 10 days to trade Latos, outright him or release him, though even if he clears outright waivers he’d be able to reject an outright assignment and retain the remainder of his $3MM salary (approximately $1.89MM) in favor of testing the waters of free agency.
As for Danish, he entered the season ranked as Baseball America’s No. 9 prospect in the White Sox’ system. Danish was the youngest pitcher in the Double-A Southern League last season and, per BA, has the best changeup in Chicago’s minor league system. BA added that he gets “ferocious” sink on his fastball and projects as a back-of-the-rotation arm that can generate plenty of ground-balls.
Reinsdorf: White Sox Will Keep Pushing To Contend
White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf made clear that his ballclub has every intention of continuing to add to its major league roster this summer, Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago reports. Levine had posited recently that the team could buy now and sell in July if things don’t pan out, but the owner shot down that theory.
Though the report doesn’t contain any direct quotes, Levine says that Reinsdorf offered that “he had no plans for anything but a full-out attack on helping his front office find a way to win now.” In short, it seems that Chicago could continue to be one of the most active buyers over the coming weeks.
I recently examined that very subject, focusing on the areas that the South Siders could target for improvement. An outfield addition seems paramount, but it’s also possible to imagine moves behind the plate or in the staff, with both the rotation and pen seemingly susceptible of improvement. We also listed many of the top trade candidates in a post earlier today.
The Sox have fizzled of late after a blistering start to the year, but they’re still hovering around .500 and are right in the thick of things in a four-way AL Central race. It remains to be seen how much cash the club is willing to commit to bolster the roster after opening the year with about $114.5MM on the books. Of course, that figure doesn’t include the $13MM that would have been owed to Adam LaRoche had he not retired this spring.
Chicago already took on about $27MM for this season and the two to come by adding James Shields, as well as another $1MM for the signing of Justin Morneau. But it stands to reason that the organization could still take on more salary, which may help reduce the need to part with young talent while adding major league pieces.
White Sox Promote Tim Anderson, Release Jimmy Rollins
JUNE 15: Chicago has placed Rollins on release waivers, Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune reports on Twitter.
JUNE 10: The White Sox announced today that they have promoted top shortstop prospect Tim Anderson to the Majors and designated struggling veteran Jimmy Rollins for assignment in order to clear space on the roster. Anderson entered the season rated as the game’s No. 42 prospect in the eyes of Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com, and he rated 45th on the Top 100 prospect lists penned by Baseball America and Keith Law of ESPN.com.
Anderson, a first-round pick of the White Sox in 2013 (No. 17 overall), is batting .304/.325/.409 with four homers and 11 steals through his first 55 games at the Triple-A level this season. He’ll presumably get a chance to replace Rollins as the team’s everyday shortstop, with defensive standout Tyler Saladino representing a fallback option in the event that Anderson is overmatched by Major League pitching.
The scouting reports on Anderson offer mixed reviews on his work at shortstop, with MLB.com noting that he has plenty of arm strength but lacks soft hands and has erratic footwork. His tools profile in center field if he can’t handle short, per MLB.com, though BA and Law are a bit more optimistic on his chances to stick at short. BA notes that he has a penchant for highlight-reel plays but sometimes doesn’t play the right hop and doesn’t consistently make good throws from the hole. Law notes that he made improvements in his actions at shortstop in 2015 as well. What all of the reports do agree on is that Anderson is a plus-plus runner with the contact skills to hit between .280 and .300 in the Majors even if it comes with a pedestrian on-base percentage. However, as Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago points out (on Twitter), Anderson has cut his strikeout rate dramatically as his first Triple-A season has worn on; the 23-year-old whiffed 29 times in his first 103 PAs with Charlotte (28.1 percent), but it took him another 158 PAs to punch out another 29 times (18.8 percent).
By delaying his promotion until June 10, the White Sox have almost certainly prevented Anderson from reaching Super Two designation, which would allow him to be arbitration eligible four times instead of three. The largest amount of service time he could accrue at this stage of the season would be 114 days, and the lowest Super Two cutoff in recent years has been two years, 122 days (in both 2013 and 2010). If he’s in the Majors for good, Anderson would project to be eligible for free agency following the 2022 season and would not be eligible for arbitration until the completion of the 2019 campaign.
Rollins, 37, is of course a Phillies icon due to his storied and excellent career with Philadelphia, where he batted .267/.327/.424 across parts of 15 Major League seasons. With the Phils, Rollins was a three-time All-Star, a four-time Gold Glover and the 2007 National League MVP in a season that saw him bat .296/.344/.531 with 30 homers and 41 stolen bases. (He won a Silver Slugger that season as well.) However, since being traded to the Dodgers prior to the 2015 campaign (Philadelphia picked up right-hander Zach Eflin and lefty Tom Windle in the swap), Rollins’ offensive numbers have flatlined. He batted a mere .224/.285/.358 in his lone season wearing Dodger Blue, and his production with the South Siders hasn’t been any better. He’s produced a sub-par .221/.295/.329 slash in 166 trips to the plate this season.
Dave Williams of Barstool Sports first reported the Anderson promotion (via Twitter).
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.