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Heyman’s Latest: Dodgers/Hamels, Braves, Frazier, Price, Brewers, Upton

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Jon Heyman of CBS Sports kicks off his weekly Inside Baseball column by reporting that the Dodgers have “quietly continued having dialogue with the Phillies” regarding Cole Hamels. The Dodgers are also giving serious consideration to the rental market and prioritizing Johnny Cueto over others among such targets. The Dodgers “appear determined” to land a top-of-the-rotation arm to pair with Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, writes Heyman, but most executives think they’ll hold onto top prospects Corey Seager and Julio Urias. The Dodgers have a deep farm system beyond that pairing (righty Jose De Leon has recently been ranked a Top 25 prospect by Baseball America and ESPN), and one exec tells Heyman that the Phillies’ asking price on Hamels has become “more reasonable” recently. The Dodgers feel that Greinke is a lock to opt out of his contract at the end of the season, and while they could possibly re-sign him by adding a year or two to the deal and upping his $24.5MM AAV, Hamels would provide insurance should Greinke sign elsewhere. Jeff Samardzija is also a consideration for the Dodgers, but while they like him, they consider him more of a No. 2/3 starter and don’t love him.

Some more highlights from Heyman’s article, though the synopsis won’t cover everything within the piece, so I’d highly recommend reading it in its entirety…

  • The Braves will be deadline sellers, Heyman hears, with Jim Johnson, Juan Uribe and Cameron Maybin among the players that will be available to interested teams. Chris Johnson, too, continues to be available, but there are no takers for his contract, which Atlanta has aggressively tried to move in the past.
  • With the Reds expected to trade so many veterans to other clubs, many in the industry expect the team to make a run at extending Todd Frazier beyond his current two-year deal, Heyman writes. (Frazier has one more year of arbitration following his current pact.) Jeff Todd and I have discussed Frazier’s situation on the MLBTR Podcast in the past (and will do so again this afternoon), and I’ve personally taken the stance that given the significant commitments to Joey Votto and Homer Bailey, the Reds could have a difficult time affording Frazier, whose 2014-15 breakout has hugely inflated his price tag. Given the lack of impact bats on the trade market, Frazier would net a king’s ransom and could rapidly expedite the rebuilding process, though the PR hit of trading him with so much control and on the heels of a Home Run Derby victory would of course be significant.
  • In other Reds news, Heyman hears Mike Leake’s ground-ball tendencies are appealing to AL East clubs, and he’s drawn interest from the Blue Jays, Orioles and Red Sox in addition to the Royals, Dodgers, Rangers, Cubs and Giants. Manny Parra and Marlon Byrd are both “likely to go” as well.
  • Asked about the possibility of signing with the Cubs this offseason due to his relationship with skipper Joe Maddon, Tigers ace David Price replied, “Wherever I play baseball next year it’s not going to be because of a manager.”
  • The Astros are interested in both Cueto and Leake, and Houston seems willing to deal from its glut of MLB-ready outfield prospects, including Domingo Santana and Preston Tucker. (Previous reports have indicated they’re reluctant to part with Brett Phillips, however, who may be the best among the outfield bunch.)
  • The Brewers are now showing a willingness to trade both Carlos Gomez and Jean Segura, Heyman hears. Though it was previously believed they were reluctant to move Segura, the emergence of Orlando Arcia (the younger brother of the Twins’ Oswaldo Arcia) may have changed Milwaukee’s thinking. However, Arcia himself is also drawing a huge amount of trade interest, and the Padres have called to express interest. One NL exec called him the best player he’s seen in the minors this year, while another comped him to Francisco Lindor, but said Arcia is better. Regarding Segura, Heyman hears that the Mets dislike his free-swinging approach.
  • The Twins aren’t closed off to the idea of re-acquiring Gomez from the Brewers, but their primary focus at this point is bullpen help.
  • The Mets are aiming high in their pursuit of an outfield bat and have both Gomez and Justin Upton on their radar. They’re not likely to add Aramis Ramirez from the Brewers unless they receive bad news on the prognosis of David Wright. They also have little interest in swinging a deal for Uribe.
  • Padres officials insist that they haven’t determined their course of action heading into the deadline, but Heyman writes that free-agents-to-be such as Upton, Ian Kennedy, Joaquin Benoit and Will Venable could be traded regardless. James Shields’ backloaded contract limits his value, but one GM felt Benoit has “big value” and Heyman notes that Craig Kimbrel would be in huge demand as well, should the Padres try to recoup some value from that deal.
  • Cueto, Samardzija and Leake are atop the Blue Jays’ wish list, and the team was also in talks with the Braves regarding Jason Grilli prior to his season-ending injury. A top starting pitcher is Toronto’s top priority at this point, says Heyman. He also adds that there’s no evidence to suggest that manager John Gibbons is on the hot seat.

Rangers Unlikely To Land Cole Hamels

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Rumors connecting the Rangers to Phillies ace Cole Hamels have been circulating for months, dating back to Yu Darvish’s Tommy John surgery. However, a club source tells MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan that such an acquisition is improbable. “If we were going to do that trade, we would have already done it by now,” said Sullivan’s source. There’s currently “no traction” between the two clubs, Sullivan hears.

Similarly, when asked about the team’s approach to buying or selling at this year’s deadline, GM Jon Daniels told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Jeff Wilson: “…I don’t think you’re going to see us on either extreme end. My mind-set is always wanting to add to the club and always wanting to win, but you’ve got to pay attention to the realities of the standings.”

The Rangers, according to Sullivan, dislike Hamels’ contract as well as the asking price in terms of prospects. Previous reports linking the two sides had noted that Philadelphia covets catching prospect Jorge Alfaro and outfield prospect Nomar Mazara, though Mazara’s stock, in particular, has risen in 2015. The 20-year-old is slashing .285/.361/.446 with 10 homers at Double-A in 2015, despite being quite young for the level. That strong play landed him 34th on Baseball America’s midseason Top 50 prospects list and as high as sixth on Keith Law’s new list a ESPN.com.

Two players who very well could become available, however, are Wandy Rodriguez and Carlos Corporan, Sullivan reports. Texas is open to moving Corporan and pairing Tomas Telis with Robinson Chirinos behind the dish. As for Rodriguez, multiple teams have told the Rangers that they consider the veteran lefty a fallback option if they’re unable to secure other targets in trades.

The fate of Yovani Gallardo, Sullivan writes, will be determined closer to the trade deadline. The Rangers won’t want to move him if they’re still in the hunt for the division title, but poor performances in pre-deadline matchups against the Angels and Astros could cause him to become available.

If Texas performs well in those two intra-division series, however, it does remain possible that Daniels and his staff will make some incremental moves to bolster the roster. Wilson lists a right-handed bat to balance out the lineup (noting that someone of Justin Upton’s caliber simply is not realistic) as well as another reliable reliever to pair with closer Shawn Tolleson and solid rookie setup man Keone Kela. Daniels himself mentioned earlier this week that the Rangers would pursue such targets.

Rangers To Release Ross Detwiler

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JULY 15: The Rangers have requested unconditional release waivers for Detwiler after he rejected an outright assignment, tweets Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

As a player with more than five years of big league service, Detwiler has earned the right to reject his minor league assignment without having to forfeit the remaining $1.55MM of his 2015 salary. The Rangers will remain on the hook for that amount, less the pro-rated portion of the league minimum for any time he spends on another club’s active roster.

If there’s a silver lining on Detwiler’s rough season, it’s that he’s still held left-handed hitters in check quite well. Same-handed batters have posted a meager .220/.283/.317 batting line in 46 plate appearances versus Detwiler this season. Over the course of his career, he’s held them to a similarly weak .232/.305/.301 line. Perhaps, then, a club in need of left-handed relief help will show interest in Detwiler once he officially becomes a free agent.

JULY 11: The Rangers have announced that they’ve designated lefty Ross Detwiler for assignment. The move clears space on the Rangers’ active roster for righty Roman Mendez, who has been promoted from Triple-A Round Rock.

The Rangers acquired Detwiler from the Nationals for two prospects in December. He got off to a poor start in Texas, with a 10.95 ERA through his first three outings, and never really righted the ship. He still had a 6.95 ERA in mid-May when he went on the DL with shoulder trouble, and he continued to struggle after returning a few weeks later. Overall, Detwiler posted a 7.12 ERA with 5.9 K/9, 4.2 BB/9 and a career-low 36.4% ground-ball rate in 43 innings split between the rotation and the bullpen. His $3.45MM salary will likely prevent him from being claimed.

Prior to 2015, Detwiler enjoyed six modestly successful years with the Nationals, who made him the No. 6 overall pick in the draft in 2007. For his career, he has a 4.10 ERA, 5.5 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 514 innings.

AL West Notes: Astros, Cueto, A’s, Perez, Young

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Though they’ve fallen back to the pack somewhat in recent weeks, the Astros have serious interest in Reds starter Johnny Cueto, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. Cueto sat atop Houston’s list of targets at the end of June, per Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle, and Heyman says that still appears to be the case. Needless to say, the veteran righty would provide a huge boost to an Astros team that has received underwhelming results from the back of its rotation, effectively slotting another top-of-the-rotation arm (alongside Dallas Keuchel) into a slot that has been occupied by a revolving door of starters. Houston will obviously face plenty of competition in their pursuit, assuming that Cincinnati puts its ace on the market.

Here’s more from the AL West:

  • The Athletics remain one of the most interesting teams to watch heading into the season’s second half, as they possess several obvious trade pieces but are still not fully buried in the AL West. John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group breaks down the factors weighing in club’s decisionmaking process, noting that GM Billy Beane remains optimistic of his current roster’s quality. A rival American League GM tells Hickey that he doesn’t believe Oakland to be too far back to make a run, and Hickey ultimately concludes that “it seems unlikely to see a mass selloff” as things stand.
  • After welcoming back starter Matt Harrison from a lengthy absence, the Rangers are set to activate fellow left-handed rotation piece Martin Perez on Friday, the club announced. Perez underwent Tommy John surgery last May, at the same point in time that Harrison went down. Now 24, Perez agreed to a four-year, $12.5MM deal with three club options (2018-2020) back in November of 2013. At the time, he was fresh off of a 124 1/3 inning, 3.62 ERA showing in his age-22 season. He has plenty of time to regain his former promise and provide value to the Rangers under that contract.
  • While Rangers GM Jon Daniels said recently that he hopes to add a “complementary right-handed bat,” it remains unclear precisely what players the team could target. MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted in the just-linked piece that now-free agent Delmon Young could make some sense, particularly given that he could likely be had for a relatively meager commitment. Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets that Texas has not yet reached out to Young’s representatives, though of course the 29-year-old has only been on the market for a few days.

Daniels: Rangers Targeting Bullpen Upgrades, Right-Handed Bat

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With the non-waiver trade deadline 18 days away and the Rangers currently sitting at 42-46 — six games back from the Angels in the AL West — GM Jon Daniels is on the lookout for additions to his bullpen and a right-handed bat, writes MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan.

“We’ve told clubs we would like to help out our bullpen a little bit, and add the right complementary right-handed bat,” said Daniels, whose team spent roughly five weeks above the .500 mark from late May to June before enduring a 2-8 skid in July. That success has the Rangers looking at short-term additions.

The Rangers’ collective bullpen ERA of 4.38 is trailed only by the Braves (4.40) and Rockies (4.52) this season. Texas recently took the rather surprising step of designating former closer and AL Rookie of the Year Neftali Feliz for assignment, though looking at Feliz strictly from a performance standpoint, he’s undergone a pronounced decline.

Texas has received excellent production from new closer Shawn Tolleson and rookie setup man Keone Kela, while lefty Sam Freeman has been solid through 18 2/3 innings as well. A second lefty would seem to be a reasonable target for the Rangers, as Alex Claudio has been homer-prone and unable to stick in the Majors. Fellow southpaw Ross Detwiler was designated for assignment over the weekend.

From a speculative standpoint, a pair of players that recently met that same DFA fate could, on some level, make some sense for the Rangers, given Daniels’ stated needs. Old friend Jason Frasor, who excelled with the Rangers for a season and a half from 2013-14, was designated by the Royals last week. (Frasor’s control has been spotty at best, however.) Delmon Young could serve as the type of “complementary” right-handed bat that the Rangers seek. Baltimore designated the 29-year-old for assignment two weeks ago and ultimately released him after being unable to find a trade partner. The Rangers could also take a shot on Brandon League (recently DFA by the Dodgers) or Joba Chamberlain (released by the Tigers), though either would be more of a reclamation project than an immediate answer to the club’s present needs.

A large reason that the team is seeking a right-handed bat is due to an imbalance in the lineup and the upper minors. Daniels notes that it’s both a short- and long-term goal to balance out his lineup. Currently, the Rangers have a glut of left-handed bats, including Prince Fielder, Shin-Soo Choo, Josh Hamilton, Mitch Moreland, Rougned Odor and Leonys Martin. Daniels mentions to Sullivan that even at the prospect level, many of the club’s top prospects — presumably referring to third baseman Joey Gallo and outfielders Nomar Mazara and Nick Williams — are all lefty bats as well.

Looking at the bigger picture, Daniels remains open to adding rotation pieces that are controlled beyond the 2015 season as well, Sullivan writes. Yovani Gallardo has been the team’s most consistent pitcher in 2015, but he’s a free agent at season’s end, as are Colby Lewis and Wandy Rodriguez. Both Matt Harrison and Derek Holland have murky futures due to injuries, and ace Yu Darvish, of course, is recovering from Tommy John surgery. Young lefty Martin Perez is also on the mend from Tommy John, though the club hopes to have him back shortly after the All-Star break.

Talk of adding pieces beyond the 2015 season will likely trigger more Cole Hamels speculation, but Sullivan writes that the Rangers “aren’t enamored with” taking on a lefty that is owed $22.5MM on an annual basis. Nor, Sullivan writes, is the team willing to give up the number of prospects currently being sought by the Phillies.

AL Notes: Tigers, Royals, Blue Jays

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A.J. Preller is nearing his first trade deadline as a GM in San Diego and he’ll be applying some of what he learned as a member of the Rangers’ front office.

“I think it’s a very valuable experience,” Preller said, according to Cody Stavenhagen of MLB.com. “I was able to work with good people, and I think we were able to learn from some early mistakes. I think being a part of managing some departments and being in the Draft and the international world and the player world on a grassroots level, I think it definitely helps you prepare for an opportunity in baseball, for this job.”

Preller’s current club is 10.0 games back of first place in the NL West, but his former club, the Rangers, is a little closer to the top of the division at 42-45.  Here’s a look at the American League..

  • Tigers president and GM Dave Dombrowski spoke with reporters Sunday morning and said, “We’re trying to win right now,” Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press tweets.  Over the weekend the Tigers inked Neftali Feliz in an attempt to help turn around their bullpen which ranks amongst the worst in the majors in ERA.  Meanwhile, Dombrowski’s future is uncertain as he is without an extension with just months to go on his contract.
  • The Royals and Pirates are among the teams looking for outfield help, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.  Alex Gordon has a grade two-plus groin strain and is expected to miss eight weeks of action, so it makes sense that KC would be on the lookout for outfield help.  Earlier today we learned that the Pirates are looking at Phillies outfielders Ben Revere and Jeff Francoeur.
  • The Blue Jays’ need for pitching is very obvious, but Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (on Twitter) wonders if their sub-.500 record will lead them to deal for controllable arms rather than rentals.

Rosenthal On Padres, Rockies, Rollins, Rangers

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Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal, via a video at FOX Sports:

  • The Cubs and Astros would make sense as teams who could pursue the Padres’ starting pitching, Rosenthal suggests. The Padres would likely have interest in the Cubs’ collection of young middle infielders, and Astros manager A.J. Hinch used to work for the Padres.
  • The Rockies are open to trading Troy Tulowitzki but haven’t been aggressive in trying to do so, Rosenthal says. Nonetheless, the Rockies could have a huge impact as sellers if they chose, given that they have Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez, John Axford and LaTroy Hawkins.
  • The Dodgers plan to give Jimmy Rollins “a long leash.” Rollins hasn’t hit well this year, but he’s been better this month (.286/.333/.464). Top prospect Corey Seager isn’t exceptional defensively, and if they went with him as a full-time starter, they’d likely feel they had to deal or release Rollins out of respect. That would leave them in a tough spot if Seager didn’t play well.
  • The Rangers could both sell and buy at the deadline, perhaps dealing Yovani Gallardo but acquiring fellow veteran starting pitcher Cole Hamels, who could then join Texas’ rotation for the next several years. They could also pursue less of a headline-grabbing route by simply pursuing relievers, as well as a hitter they could use against left-handed pitching.

International Notes: July 2 Pools, 2016-17 Market, Cuba

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In case you missed the recent action, be sure to catch up on the major July 2 signings. In the midst of teams agreeing to deals with young talent, they were also swapping quite a bit of bonus spending pools amongst themselves. Matt Eddy of Baseball America provides an exceedingly useful chart showing the aggregate results (as of this morning) of all those exchanges.

  • Now that the dust has largely settled, Baseball America’s Ben Badler breaks down at the clubs that have exceeded their total allotment. By Badler’s reckoning, fully one-third of the league will be restricted from spending more than $300K in next year’s July 2 market, with the Dodgers, Giants, Cubs, Royals, and Blue Jays joining the five teams that are set to serve the second year of their bans. (Toronto will only face one season of limitations, as their spending stands.) Badler also explains how all the bonus pool deals were put to use by the teams making them.
  • In the same piece, Badler takes a stab at predicting which clubs are planning to blow their budgets next year. He says that the Braves “seem determined” to make a big splash, while the industry chatter is that they could be joined by the Nationals, Rangers, Twins, and Padres.
  • MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez looks at the challenges to Cuban baseball posed by changing diplomatic tides. The stream of ballplayers heading for major league organizations has obviously hurt Cuba’s domestic league and national team, as Sanchez explains.
  • If you’re still confused by the way the international market works, check out this solid primer from Jonah Keri of Grantland. He uses a Q&A format to help simplify the often baffling series of rules, strategies, and factors weighing on this segment of the baseball transactional world.

Neftali Feliz Elects Free Agency

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9:48pm: Feliz has elected free agency, Cotillo tweets. There will obviously be interest in his services, particularly as he has maintained his mid-90s velocity, though it remains to be seen whether Feliz will receive any immediate opportunities at the major league level.

1:39pm: Rangers righty Neftali Feliz has cleared outright waivers, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. Feliz was designated for assignment last Friday.

The 27-year-old Feliz is playing on a $4.13MM arbitration deal this year and remains controllable for a final year in 2016. That obligation, combined with the sub-par performances that led to the DFA, likely ensured that he would not be claimed.

Because Feliz has topped five years of service at this point, after entering the year with 4.151 to his credit, he can choose to elect free agency without giving up his remaining salary. Per the report, Feliz is still deciding whether or not to take an assignment with Texas.

One one of the game’s more exciting young pen arms, Feliz has scuffled this season to a 5.09 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9. Though he’s had much better results in recent seasons, it has been some time since Feliz rated well in the eyes of ERA estimators. He has not dipped below the 4.00 mark by measure of SIERA since the 2011 season, after which the Rangers unsuccessfully sought to move him into the rotation.

[RELATED: Rangers To Sign Cuban Free Agent Andy Ibanez]

Latest On Eddy Julio Martinez

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Top Cuban outfield prospect Eddy Julio Martinez remains unsigned a week after the beginning of the July 2 international signing period, but the Dodgers and Giants still lead the race to sign him, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez writes. Both teams have workouts scheduled for Martinez in the coming week.

The Cubs, White Sox, Rangers and Astros also have shown significant interest. Sanchez points out, though, that the Dodgers, Giants and maybe the Cubs have the edge, because Martinez’s bonus, likely to be eight figures, will incur maximum penalties for the team that signs him, including the inability to sign any player for more than $300K in either of the next two international signing periods. The Dodgers and Giants are already on pace to incur those penalties — the Dodgers’ expensive current class includes $16MM signee Yadier Alvarez, while the Giants’ includes $6MM signee Lucius Fox. The Cubs appear likely to incur maximum penalties as well. The White Sox, Rangers and Astros have not incurred such penalties, so they appear to have at least some incentive not to sign Martinez.

MLB.com ranks Martinez the No. 1 prospect available this signing period, comparing the 20-year-old to Andruw Jones and praising his power, baserunning and defense. Baseball America’s Ben Badler (subscription only) is less bullish, suggesting Martinez’s power leads more to doubles than home runs and noting that not all scouts believe he’ll stick as a starter in center field.

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