East Notes: Realmuto, Bichette, Elieser, Benintendi
With the winter fast approaching and time running out for an in-season extension, Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto will “likely” try his hand on the open market, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia observes. However, general manager Matt Klentak suggested Monday that the Phillies and Realmuto have at least discussed a new contract since the season began. “That’s not true,” Klentak said of a report that the two sides hadn’t talked, though Salisbury notes that the executive was loath to give more detailed updates. Regardless of where he signs, it’ll be fascinating to see how much Realmuto rakes in as a soon-to-be 30-year-old backstop whose trip to free agency will come off a pandemic-shortened season. Realmuto has continued to make an emphatic case for a mega-deal, though, as the two-time All-Star has once again been the game’s premier catcher in 2020.
Here’s more from baseball’s East divisions…
- The Blue Jays have been without shortstop Bo Bichette for two weeks because of a knee sprain, though manager Charlie Montoyo said Tuesday that “he’s progressing pretty good,” according to Scott Mitchell of TSN. Bichette, if he returns, could be a huge down-the-stretch pickup for a Blue Jays club that has legitimate playoff aspirations. He began the year with a superb .361/.391/.672 line and five home runs in 64 plate appearances before going to the IL. Shortstop has become a weakness for Toronto since Bichette went down, but the team did acquire veteran Band-Aid Jonathan Villar from Miami prior to Monday’s trade deadline.
- Speaking of those two teams, Marlins right-hander Elieser Hernandez exited his start against Toronto on Tuesday with a sore lat muscle, the Fish announced. He’s listed as day to day, but manager Don Mattingly revealed Hernandez will undergo an MRI, Craig Mish of Sports Grid relays. Any kind of absence for Hernandez over the season’s last month would be an unwelcome development for the surprising Marlins, who are in playoff contention thanks in part to his contributions. With a 2.81 ERA and 11.92 K/9 against 1.75 BB/9, the 25-year-old Hernandez has given Miami front-line production across 25 2/3 innings.
- Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke admitted Tuesday that injured left fielder Andrew Benintendi might not return this season, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. Benintendi headed to the IL on Aug. 12 with a right rib cage strain, which continued a miserable start to the 2020 campaign for the 26-year-old. If he is done for the year, he’ll end it with a .103/.314/.128 line and no homers in 52 trips to the plate.
Blue Jays Designate Daniel Vogelbach, Brandon Drury, Sam Gaviglio
The Blue Jays announced Tuesday that they’ve designated first baseman Daniel Vogelbach, infielder/outfielder Brandon Drury and right-hander Sam Gaviglio for assignment. The DFAs open roster space for lefty Robbie Ray, righty Ross Stripling and infielder Jonathan Villar, each of whom were acquired leading up to the trade deadline yesterday.
Vogelbach had a short run on the 40-man roster of the Blue Jays, who acquired him from the Mariners Aug. 23. The 27-year-old rode a hot first half of 2019 to an All-Star nod with Seattle, but his numbers cratered in the second half and haven’t rebounded with either club this season. Vogelbach owns a nightmarish .088/.246/.211 line with two home runs in 69 plate appearances so far.
Drury himself was a deadline pickup by the Jays in 2018, when they sent lefty J.A. Happ to the Yankees. Drury had struggled mightily since being acquired to fill a versatile infield role (likely similar to the one ultimately taken up by DJ LeMahieu). At the time of his trade to Toronto, he was only a half season removed from a two-year stretch that saw him hit .275/.323/.453 with 29 homers, 68 doubles and three triples while logging time at second base, third base, first base and both outfield corners. His 2018 scuffles aside, Drury looked like a solid acquisition.
Obviously, things haven’t played out that way. Drury has now spent parts of three seasons with the Jays and racked up a bit less than a full year’s worth of playing time without any offensive production to show for it. He’s appeared in 149 games and tallied 525 plate appearances with just a .208/.253/.353 slash to show for it. He’s arbitration-eligible this winter and was a surefire non-tender given his lack of production, so it’s not a surprise to see him cut from the roster early. Another club could technically claim Drury, but to do so they’d need to assume the remaining $298K on this year’s prorated salary. For a player who is hitting .152/.184/.174 through 49 plate appearances — that seems highly improbable.
The likeliest outcome, then, is that the Jays will either run Drury through outright waivers or simply opt to release him. If he does pass through outright waivers, he can be outrighted to the club’s alternate training site and remain on hand as a depth piece. He’d have the right to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, but because he does not yet have five years of MLB service, doing so would mean forfeiting that $298K he is still owed. Again — that seems quite unlikely.
Turning to Gaviglio, he’s been up and down with the Jays dating back to the 2018 season himself, showing some flashes of quality production at times but ultimately posting lackluster numbers. In 222 1/3 frames with the Blue Jays, Gaviglio carries a 5.06 ERA and 4.70 FIP with 7.9 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 1.58 HR/9 and a 47.6 percent ground-ball rate.
Mariners Acquire Alberto Rodriguez From Blue Jays
The Mariners have acquired minor league outfielder Alberto Rodriguez from the Blue Jays to complete the teams’ trade for right-hander Taijuan Walker, Seattle announced.
The two teams swung the deal for Walker on Aug. 27, though Toronto included a player who was not in its 60-man player pool. His identity was unknown until now as a result.
Still just 19 years old, Rodriguez spent the first two professional seasons of his career playing in rookie ball for the Jays organization. He batted .274/.356/.392 with seven home runs and 34 stolen bases on 42 attempts over 458 plate appearances during his time in Toronto’s system.
Dodgers Acquire Kendall Williams As Part Of Ross Stripling Trade
The Dodgers have acquired right-hander Kendall Williams as one of the players to be named later in yesterday’s trade that sent Ross Stripling to the Blue Jays. Williams was Toronto’s second-round pick in the 2019 draft, and the 20-year-old took an above-slot bonus to begin his pro career rather than attend Vanderbilt.
MLB Pipeline ranks Williams as the 13th-best prospect in the Jays’ farm system, calling him “the quintessential projectable high school right-hander” with “potentially huge upside.” The 6’6″ right-hander has a fastball that is approaching mid-90’s velocity, though his biggest asset could be his overall four-pitch arsenal rather than any one signature offering. Baseball America’s scouting report cites Williams’ slider, curveball, and changeup “could all be average or better.”
There’s certainly enough potential here to see why the Dodgers would be intrigued in adding such a young arm to their already-deep minor league talent pool, particularly for a solid but non-elite pitcher like Stripling who wasn’t even a full-time rotation member. From the Jays’ perspective, they naturally see a promising but longer-term asset like Williams (who isn’t one of the upper-tier prospects in their farm system) as a reasonable price for Stripling, who has already shown that he can deliver at the MLB level and can help the Blue Jays win both in 2020 and in 2021-22 before he is scheduled to reach free agency.
Blue Jays, Pirates Came Close On Joe Musgrove Trade
The Blue Jays and Pirates nearly completed a trade sending righty Joe Musgrove from Pittsburgh to Toronto prior to yesterday’s trade deadline, Robert Murray reports (via Twitter). That arrangement “fell apart at the eleventh hour,” however, and the Jays pivoted to acquire both Robbie Ray and Ross Stripling instead.
Musgrove, 27, was a Jays draft pick back in 2011 (No. 46 overall) and has settled in as a solid rotation piece in Pittsburgh after coming over from the Astros in the Gerrit Cole trade. From 2018-19, Musgrove tossed 285 2/3 innings of 4.28 ERA ball with more promising secondary marks: 3.72 FIP, 8.1 K/9, 1.9 BB/9, 0.94 HR/9, 44.9 percent ground-ball rate. He was hit hard in three starts this season, however, and was placed on the injured list early in August. He’s said to be nearing a return but remained on the IL through the deadline, which undoubtedly complicated negotiations as the two sides tried to align on value. He’s controlled through the 2022 season, so he’d have been a relatively long-term play for a Jays club that is emerging from a rebuilding effort.
While it was a busy week for the Blue Jays, deadline season came and went without much activity from the last-place Pirates, due largely to injuries and underperformance up and down the roster. Also on the injured list for the Bucs was right-hander Keone Kela, who’d surely have been moved had he not recently sustained a forearm injury. Chris Archer, too, would’ve been a near-lock to be moved had he not undergone thoracic outlet surgery prior to the season.
Over on the active roster, more established players like Josh Bell, Adam Frazier and Gregory Polanco have played so poorly that the Bucs would’ve needed to sell low and likely accept middling returns. Forcing a move with a lackluster return wasn’t something GM Ben Cherington and his staff considered.
“We’d much rather hold than make trades that we’re not confident in that later come back and bite us,” Cherington tells Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Without getting into specifics, the GM acknowledged that he thought he was close to lining up on a couple deals that didn’t quite pan out in the end. Ultimately, the only player the Pirates traded was Jarrod Dyson, who went to the White Sox for $243K of international bonus pool space.
While it was a frustrating deadline for many Pirates fans, there’s still ample opportunity down the road for Cherington and his staff to reshape the club. Kela is a free agent at season’s end, and Archer’s $11MM club option seems likely to be bought out for $250K rather than exercised. Injuries torpedoed trade possibilities for that pair, but the Bucs control each of Musgrove, Bell, Frazier, Polanco, Trevor Williams, Chad Kuhl and Richard Rodriguez through at least the 2022 season. If the team does ultimately opt for a larger-scale tear down, be it this winter or next summer, they’ll still have more than one season of control over each player to market to other clubs.
As for the Jays, they didn’t get the two-plus years of Musgrove they apparently sought, but they did land two-plus years of Stripling. The 30-year-old has struggled through his past four appearances after an otherwise solid start to the year, but he has a strong track with the Dodgers, carrying a career 3.51 ERA and 3.60 FIP (387 innings) into the 2020 season. They also rolled the dice on another struggling but established NL West starter, Robbie Ray, adding him and Stripling to the already acquired Taijuan Walker — who was excellent in his Blue Jays debut over the weekend.
It’s arguable that Musgrove would’ve been a more impactful addition than Stripling and/or Ray, and it’s worth wondering whether they’d have acquired either player had the Musgrove swap come together. Regardless, the Jays are positioned quite well to return to the postseason for the first time since the 2016 season. At 18-15, they’re a game back of the second place Yankees and currently leading the Tigers by a game and a half for the No. 8 seed in the American League.
AL East Trade Deadline Recap
With the deadline in the rearview mirror, we’ll look back at each AL East team’s trade activity over the past month.
Baltimore Orioles
- Acquired two players to be named later from Braves for LHP Tommy Milone
- Acquired IF Tyler Nevin, IF Terrin Vavra and a player to be named later from Rockies for RHP Mychal Givens
- Acquired LHP Kevin Smith and a player to be named later or cash from Mets for RHP Miguel Castro
Boston Red Sox
- Acquired RHP Nick Pivetta and RHP Connor Seabold from Phillies for RHP Heath Hembree and RHP Brandon Workman
- Acquired IF Hudson Potts and OF Jeisson Rosario from Padres for 1B Mitch Moreland
- Acquired a player to be named later from Cubs for LHP Josh Osich
- Acquired a player to be named later and international bonus pool space from Rockies for OF Kevin Pillar
New York Yankees
- Acquired RHP Addison Russ from Phillies for RHP David Hale
- Acquired C Rob Brantly from Giants for cash considerations
Tampa Bay Rays
- Acquired RHP Edgar García from Phillies for a player to be named later
- Acquired cash considerations from Giants for INF Daniel Robertson
- Acquired OF Brett Phillips from Royals for INF Lucius Fox
- Acquired LHP Cody Reed from Reds for RHP Riley O’Brien
- Acquired two players to be named later or cash considerations from Cubs for 1B/DH José Martínez
- Acquired cash considerations from Giants for LHP Anthony Banda
Toronto Blue Jays
- Acquired 1B/DH Dan Vogelbach from Mariners for cash considerations
- Acquired RHP Taijuan Walker from Mariners for a player to be named later
- Acquired LHP Robbie Ray from Diamondbacks for LHP Travis Bergen
- Acquired INF/OF Jonathan Villar from Marlins for a player to be named later (reportedly OF Griffin Conine)
- Acquired RHP Ross Stripling from Dodgers for two players to be named later
AL Injury Notes: Twins, Jays, Kennedy, Hernandez, Odor
Some notes on prominent injury situations around the American League:
- Twins’ manager Rocco Baldelli provided encouraging updates on a trio of injured players, via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com (Twitter links). Star third baseman Josh Donaldson and center fielder Byron Buxton are seemingly nearing their returns, with each scheduled to play in an intrasquad game at the team’s alternate training site this afternoon. Right-hander Cody Stashak is evidently a bit further behind, but he’s lining up for a bullpen session soon, Park reports. If all goes well, he could be back on the active roster shortly thereafter.
- Blue Jays’ closer Ken Giles will throw a live batting practice session tomorrow, reports Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (Twitter link). An impending free agent, Giles has been limited to two appearances this season by a forearm strain. Fellow right-handed reliever Jordan Romano, who looked on his way to breaking through as one of the game’s top strikeout artists before going down with a strained finger, has not yet progressed to throwing, Nicholson-Smith adds. The Toronto organization hopes he’ll be able to return this year, though.
- Royals’ reliever Ian Kennedy is headed to the 10-day injured list with a left calf strain, the club announced. He’ll have an MRI tomorrow, reports Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com (Twitter link). So continues a nightmarish season for the 35-year-old, who has allowed 17 runs (14 earned) in 14 innings. 2020 is the final year of Kennedy’s five-year, $70MM contract.
- The Red Sox are sending reliever Darwinzon Hernández to the 10-day injured list with a sprained AC joint, via Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). The hard-throwing southpaw missed the first three weeks of the season after testing positive for COVID-19, limiting him to three appearances. They’ve been more of the same for Hernández, who continues to rack up otherworldly strikeout totals while issuing an alarming number of walks.
- Rougned Odor is headed to the Rangers’ 10-day injured list with an eye infection, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). In his stead, shortstop Elvis Andrus is returning from an IL stint of his own. The Rangers discussed an Odor deal with the Red Sox earlier today, but the underperforming second baseman will instead remain in Arlington.
Blue Jays Acquire Ross Stripling
In yet another buzzer-beating deadline swap, the Blue Jays agreed to acquire right-hander Ross Stripling from the Dodgers, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reports (via Twitter). It’s the third pitching addition of the deadline week for Toronto, as the Jays also added Taijuan Walker and Robbie Ray. Los Angeles will receive two players to be named later from the Jays.
Stripling is finally on the move out of Dodger Stadium, as the righty was seemingly dealt to the Angels (along with Joc Pederson) back in February before that deal fell apart for still-unknown reasons. In the aftermath, Stripling has struggled through the worst of his five MLB seasons, posting a 5.61 ERA, 2.45 K/BB rate, and 7.2 K/9 over 33 2/3 innings and seven starts for L.A. Stripling has allowed a league-high 12 homers for a ghastly 3.2 HR/9 this season, as his career-long issues with keeping the ball in the park have become a full-fledged problem.
It isn’t too different, in fact, from Ray’s problems with homers (2.6 HR/9) this year, and even Walker has a 1.4 HR/9 this season. Clearly the Jays feel they have a solve for all three pitchers’ home run woes, and in the process they have bolstered a rotation that has been hampered by injuries by Matt Shoemaker, Nate Pearson and (in season-ending fashion) Trent Thornton.
Hyun Jin Ryu, Chase Anderson, and Tanner Roark sit atop Toronto’s rotation, with Walker, Ray, and now Stripling potentially able to make it a six-man rotation, or someone could be shifted to the bullpen. Stripling has been used as a swingman in the past, though if the Jays were one of the teams interested in using Ray as a reliever, it could be the ex-Diamondbacks hurler who joins the relief corps. Further adjustments could be made once Shoemaker and Pearson return to action.
While Ray and Walker are both pending free agents, Stripling is more than a rental, as he is controlled through arbitration through the 2022 season. It therefore stands to reason that the Dodgers’ two players to be named later could be fairly significant (if not elite) prospects, despite Stripling’s struggles this year. The PBTBL designation allows the Jays and Dodgers to agree on two players who aren’t necessarily on Toronto’s current 60-man player pool, as only players within the pool can be dealt during the year.
Prior to his tough 2020, Stripling was showing plenty of signs of being a quality pitcher. He had a 3.51 ERA, 4.14 K/BB rate, and 8.8 K/9 over 387 innings, starting 52 of 136 games from 2016-19. The Dodgers moved Stripling in and out of their rotation as their needs dictated, though Stripling would have certainly been a regular starter on just about any other team that didn’t have the Dodgers’ unusual amount of pitching depth.
Speaking of that depth, Stripling’s departure creates a regular turn for Tony Gonsolin in the Los Angeles rotation. Walker Buehler will naturally regain his old spot once he returns from the injured list, and Alex Wood is also nearing a return from the IL. With a rotation that also includes Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, and Julio Urias, L.A. is still pretty fortified pitching-wise, though it is interesting that the Dodgers at least checked in on some bigger-name arms as Lance Lynn and Mike Clevinger. Rather than swing a blockbuster trade, however, the Stripling deal represents the Dodgers’ only deadline move.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Blue Jays Acquire Jonathan Villar
The Blue Jays have acquired infielder Jonathan Villar from the Marlins, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Villar was pulled from this afternoon’s game against the Mets at Citi Field. In return, the Marlins will receive right fielder Griffin Conine from Toronto, according to Craig Mish. Given that Conine is not part of the Jays’ 60-man player pool, he’s considered a player to be named later in this deal, according to Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. The move comes on the heels of the Marlins acquiring Starling Marte from the Diamondbacks as the Miami club attempts to return to the playoffs for the first time since their 2003 championship.
Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette was placed on the IL on August 16th with a knee sprain, which is expected to keep him out until at least mid-September. Rosenthal had previously reported the Jays’ interest in the versatile Villar, and Toronto was also said to have checked in on the Angels’ Andrelton Simmons. The Blue Jays have already stocked up with trades for Robbie Ray, Taijuan Walker, and Dan Vogelbach. Should Bichette return within a few weeks, Villar can help out around the diamond.
Villar, 29, had an excellent 2019 season for the Orioles. But with the infielder headed for an $8.2MM salary through arbitration (of which about $1.2MM is still owed this season), the O’s saw fit to ship him to Miami in a December trade. Due to the shortened season, Villar wound up playing just 29 games for the Marlins. According to Craig Mish, the Marlins “felt Villar is still an extremely talented player but played reckless at times, and never fully bought in to what they are trying to do.” According to Mish, Villar was expendable due to Isan Diaz‘s return to the club. Diaz had opted out and is awaiting approval on returning, according to Rosenthal.
The speedy Villar has a few above-average offensive seasons on his record, most recently with a 107 wRC+ last year. He’s generally not been lauded for his infield defense, however. He’ll be eligible for free agency after the season, with the Jays serving as his fifth organization.
Griffin Conine, the son of Mr. Marlin Jeff Conine, chose not to sign after the Marlins drafted him in the 31st round out of high school. He then went to Duke and was drafted by the Jays in the second round, most recently playing A ball in the Midwest League. Part of the Jays’ run on sons of popular Major Leaguers, Conine was ranked as the club’s #15 prospect prior to the 2019 season by Baseball America. BA praised his plus power and arm, though Conine did serve a 50-game suspension for testing positive for ritalinic acid.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Blue Jays To Acquire Robbie Ray
The Blue Jays have acquired lefty Robbie Ray from the Diamondbacks, tweets Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun. The D’Backs will receive southpaw Travis Bergen in return, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. Arizona will also be sending over $300K in cash, according to Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. Ray has approximately $1.42MM left on his contract this year.
Ray, 29 in October, has pitched the vast majority of his career for Arizona after they acquired him in a December 2014 three-team trade. He’s long been one of the game’s top strikeout pitchers, with an 11.9 K/9 mark that ranks third in MLB for qualified starters from 2016-19. Never known for his control, walks have become problematic at times for Ray. The issue has been particularly bad in this brief 2020 season, as Ray has issued free passes to more than a fifth of the batters he’s faced, easily the highest rate in MLB this year. The result has been an unsightly 7.84 ERA, through seven starts, well out of line with his career work. Ray will be eligible for free agency after the season, and in light of his performance this year, it’s unlikely the Diamondbacks would have been willing to issue a qualifying offer.
At present, the 18-14 Blue Jays are in line to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Ray marks the second addition to Toronto’s rotation in five days, as Executive Vice President, Baseball Operations & General Manager Ross Atkins added Taijuan Walker from the Mariners last Thursday. Atkins has assembled a veteran group, which also includes offseason pickups Hyun-Jin Ryu, Tanner Roark, and Chase Anderson. Matt Shoemaker went down last week due to a lat strain, while uber-prospect Nate Pearson went on the shelf on August 19th for a flexor strain. That pair hopes to return this year, while Trent Thornton is out for the season with an elbow injury. The club will hope pitching coach Pete Walker can diagnose Rays’ control issues and help him bounce back over the season’s final month.
Today will mark the third time in Ray’s career he’s received that life-changing phone call from his GM informing him of a trade. After being drafted by the Nationals in the 12th round in 2010, Ray was the centerpiece of the deal that sent Doug Fister from the Tigers to the Nats in 2013. Just a year later, Ray landed with the Diamondbacks in a deal that sent Didi Gregorius to the Yankees and Shane Greene to the Tigers. Ray blossomed into a fine pitcher for the D’Backs, putting together four separate seasons of at least 2.3 WAR and snagging an All-Star nod and seventh-place Cy Young finish in 2017. By the 2018-19 offseason, Ray was a regular on the rumor circuit, but Executive Vice President & General Manager Mike Hazen didn’t pull the trigger until today, with most of the lefty’s trade value lost.
Bergen, 27 in October, was drafted by the Jays in the seventh round in 2015 out of Kennesaw State and has been used mostly in relief in his pro career. Though the Giants picked up Bergen in the 2018 Rule 5 draft, they wound up designating him for assignment and returning him in August of last year after he returned from an IL stint for a shoulder injury. His fastball ticked up to 93.7 mph this year for the Jays, more than three miles per hour than he showed in his rookie campaign. But with all due respect to Bergen, it would appear this trade was mainly about salary relief from Arizona’s standpoint.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.