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Lack Of Deadline Interest In Justin Smoak, Freddy Galvis

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Blue Jays first baseman Justin Smoak and shortstop Freddy Galvis looked like prime trade candidates going into Wednesday’s deadline, but it doesn’t appear either player generated much interest. The markets for Smoak and Galvis were just about nonexistent on deadline day, Scott Mitchell of TSN reports. Both players may have wound up on the move this month had the August waiver deadline stuck around, as Mitchell notes, but that’s no longer a factor.

Smoak was reportedly drawing a fair amount of interest as of Tuesday, when the Indians and Rays were said to be among the teams in on him. But things went unfavorably from there for rebuilding Toronto, which first saw the Indians augment their offense by acquiring outfielders Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes late Tuesday. The Rays then added first baseman Jesus Aguilar in a trade with the Brewers early Wednesday. Aguilar’s far cheaper and controllable for longer than Smoak – a pending free agent on an $8MM salary.

There has been speculation about the Blue Jays extending Smoak, which could be more realistic now that they won’t be able to trade the soon-to-be 33-year-old. A Blue Jay since 2015, the switch-hitting Smoak broke out with the club from 2017-18, but his bottom-line production has declined this season. Smoak has slashed .213/.356/.420 (110 wRC+) with 18 home runs in 368 plate appearances.

Smoak’s numbers aren’t going to put him in position to break the bank on his next contract, especially as an aging first baseman, though he has likely deserved better this year. Smoak has drawn almost as many walks (61) as strikeouts (72), while his .219 batting average on balls in play is 48 points below his career mark (.267), and he boasts an excellent .389 expected weighted on-base average. That figure vastly outdoes Smoak’s real wOBA (.343) and ranks among the best in baseball.

Galvis, set to turn 30 in November, joined the Blue Jays on the open market last winter for a guaranteed $5MM. His pact includes a $5.5MM club option for 2020, but the Jays might reject it in favor of a $1MM buyout now that high-end middle infield prospects Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio have come up to the majors.

With Bichette and Biggio in the mix, Galvis’ time as a regular in Toronto appears to be over. However, to Galvis’ credit, the switch-hitter has continued his impressive run of durability this season and chipped in a career-best .264/.299/.436 line (91 wRC+) with 16 HRs over 435 trips to the plate. That production wasn’t enough to excite a contender, though, and it didn’t help Toronto’s cause that there wasn’t a great deal of demand for middle infielders approaching the deadline.

Details On The Twins’ Trade Deadline Talks

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Sam Dyson and Sergio Romo represented the sum total of the Twins’ midseason additions as the club tries to hold its lead atop the AL Central.  While Dyson and Romo address needs in the bullpen, Minnesota was also very aggressive in looking for starting pitching, though ultimately came up short in reinforcing the rotation.

Rival teams continually asked the Twins about top prospects Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff, with the Mets among the multiple clubs who asking for both youngsters.  New York wanted both Lewis and Kiriloff in discussions about Noah Syndergaard, and if premium minor league talent wasn’t available for the ace, the Mets were also focused on adding Major League players, to the point of asking Minnesota about Byron Buxton in a possible Syndergaard deal.

Lewis and Kirilloff were also on the mind of the Blue Jays’ front office, as Toronto was looking for either of the prospects in exchange for Marcus Stroman.  Minnesota turned down this initial request, and The Athletic’s Dan Hayes reports that the Jays never called back with any other offers before trading Stroman to the Mets.  This would seem to indicate that the Jays were only interested in Lewis and Kirilloff specifically, though Hayes writes that “the Twins were disappointed when Toronto didn’t give them a chance to match an offer they believed they could have outdone.”

Beyond the prospects, Hayes tweeted that Luis Arraez was “everyone’s favorite ask” amongst teams who were offering rental players to Minnesota.  Arraez has been a revelation for the Twins over his first 43 Major League games, as the rookie is hitting .349/.422/.445 over 166 plate appearances.  Arraez has long boasted strong averages and on-base numbers in the minors, and while regression is inevitable, his .361 xwOBA isn’t far off his .388 wOBA.  With this much potential, it isn’t hard to see why the Twins were reluctant to part with a 22-year-old, multi-positional talent for only a rental player (or potentially anyone).

Hayes reports that the Twins were considering both Robbie Ray and Mike Minor, though concerns about Ray’s durability and Minor’s July struggles diminished the interest.  On the relief front, the Twins also had interest in Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez.

“It was one of the most unique trade deadlines I’ve ever experienced,” Twins GM Thad Levine told Hayes and other reporters.  “One error I made was assuming that early in the trade cycle that the leverage was towards the seller.  I assumed that there was going to be a little bit of a shift of that see-saw back to the buyer as we got closer to the deadline. I’m not sure we ever saw the shift in the see-saw. The sellers felt pretty emboldened. They set the prices high, which is very normal in a trade deadline. But I’m not sure they moved off of those high asks at any point, and as a result, there were just a finite number of players that meaningfully changed the fortunes of playoff-contending teams.”

Early talks with the Giants involving multiple players (including Dyson, Madison Bumgarner, and Will Smith) did result in the late Dyson trade.  Minnesota and San Francisco re-engaged in talks just 45 minutes before the 3pm CT deadline, medicals on the four players in the deal were exchanged at 2:50pm, and the trade was finalized with just five minutes to spare.

Blue Jays Activate Trent Thornton From 10-Day IL, Select Jason Adam’s Contract

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The Blue Jays officially added newly-acquired outfielder Derek Fisher to the roster, while also activating right-hander Trent Thornton from the injured list.  Thornton is scheduled to start tonight’s game against the Orioles.  Right-hander Jason Adam also had his contract selected from Triple-A.

It was a brief IL stay for Thornton, whose placement with inflammation in his throwing elbow was retroactive to July 21.  Acquired from the Astros for Aledmys Diaz last winter, Thornton has shown some flashes of promise within an inconsistent season, posting a 5.45 ERA, 9.1 K/9, and 2.22 K/BB rate over 99 innings in Toronto’s rotation.  He’ll continue to receive a long look at the Jays figure out their future pitching plans now that Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez have both been dealt.

Adam was acquired in a minor deal with the Royals in March, though injuries have limited to just 13 1/3 total innings in the minors this season.  The righty has a 4.24 ERA, 2.87 K/BB rate, and 7.8 K/9 rate over 579 1/3 career frames in the minor leagues, working almost exclusively as a relief pitcher in the last three seasons.  Adam made his MLB debut last season, tossing 32 1/3 innings for Kansas City while posting a 6.12 ERA, as he allowed a whopping nine homers over his brief stint in a Royal uniform.

40-Man Moves: 7/31/19

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This has been a trade-filled day across Major League Basbeall, leaving plenty of smaller moves somewhat unnoticed. Here’s a look at the DFAs, contract selections and other 40-man transactions that came along with today’s action…

  • The Blue Jays have claimed right-hander Brock Stewart off waivers from the Dodgers, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Once a well-regarded prospect, the 27-year-old Stewart has only managed a 5.46 ERA/5.71 FIP in 84 innings since he debuted in the majors in 2016. Stewart has also experienced a nightmarish 2019 at the Triple-A level, where he has mustered a 7.34 ERA/7.22 FIP with 7.93 K/9 and 4.74 BB/9 in 76 innings.
  • The Nationals announced that they’ve designated righties Javy Guerra and Michael Blazek for assignment. The 33-year-old Guerra has divided the season between Washington and Toronto, combining for a 4.50 ERA/3.86 FIP with 7.36 K/9 and 3.07 BB/9 across 44 innings. Blazek, 30, threw just five innings for the Nationals before his designation. Prior to his addition to the Nats’ roster, Blazek recorded a 5.54 ERA/4.91 FIP with 9.69 K/9 and 3.46 BB/9 in 26 Triple-A innings.
  • The Athletics have designated righty Andrew Triggs and outrighted fellow righty Brian Schlitter to Triple-A Las Vegas, the club announced. The 30-year-old Triggs was a promising piece for the Athletics a couple seasons ago, but health issues – including September 2018 thoracic outlet syndrome surgery – have prevented him from making an impact of late. He hasn’t pitched in the majors at all this season. Schlitter, meanwhile, lost his briefly held 40-man spot with the A’s when they designated him Monday.
  • The Indians have designated infielder Eric Stamets, who opened the season as their starting shortstop on account of Francisco Lindor’s calf strain. Stamets, 27, struggled to a hideous .049/.149/.073 line in 48 plate appearances while filling in for the great Lindor. He has been better – albeit far from spectacular – at the Triple-A level, where he has hit .232/.313/.378 with six HRs and 12 steals in 262 PA this season.
  • The Brewers have designated left-hander Donnie Hart, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com tweets. The 28-year-old has thrown 6 2/3 scoreless innings with the Brew Crew this season, though he has totaled more walks (four) than strikeouts (three). Hart has enjoyed a relatively productive campaign at the Triple-A level, where he has posted a 4.10 ERA/4.28 FIP with 7.23 K/9, 3.13 BB/9 and a 55.4 percent groundball rate in 37 1/3 innings.
  • The Mariners have selected righty Zac Grotz from Double-A Arkansas, the team announced. The 26-year-old Grotz, whom the Mariners signed to a minor league deal in the offseason, has registered a strong 2.51 ERA/2.74 FIP with 10.83 K/9, 1.73 BB/9 and a 57.9 percent groundball rate in 57 1/3 Double-A innings in 2019.
  • The Cubs have designated righty Oscar De La Cruz, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic relays. The 24-year-old De La Cruz entered the season as the Cubs’ 15th-ranked prospect, per FanGraphs, and has since pitched to a 3.89 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 81 innings divided between the High-A and Double-A levels.
  • The Diamondbacks have designated righty Joey Krehbiel, who had a brief MLB debut with the club last season. The 26-year-old has stumbled to an 8.25 ERA/7.25 FIP and notched 8.6 K/9 against 7.05 BB/9 in 52 1/3 Triple-A innings in 2019.
  • More on the Diamondbacks, who have transferred utilityman Blake Swihart to the 60-day injured list. Swihart has been on the IL with an oblique injury since the start of June, so this is just a procedural move on the D-backs’ part.

Astros To Acquire Aaron Sanchez, Joe Biagini

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The Astros acquired right-handers Aaron Sanchez and Joe Biagini for outfielder Derek Fisher, according to reports from Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun, Joel Sherman of the New York Post, and Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca.  The deal was a precursor to a trade deadline buzzer beater, as the Astros picked up Zack Greinke from the Diamondbacks as well.

Sanchez, 27, was drafted 34th overall by the Blue Jays in 2010 and was ranked among the best 35 prospects in baseball prior to his 2014 debut.  The Jays had Sanchez work out of the bullpen as a rookie, and he joined the rotation the following season.  He suffered a lat strain that season and returned as a reliever.  Sanchez  was again moved back to the rotation for the 2016 season, and he authored his finest campaign: a 3.00 ERA in 30 starts, good for a seventh place Cy Young finish.  He would never reach those heights again, dealing with a blisters and finger injuries in the ensuing years. His ERA sits at 6.07 in 23 starts this year.

Biagini, 29, was Toronto’s Rule 5 Draft selection in 2015 and enjoyed a tremendous rookie campaign in 2016, pitching to a 3.06 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, 0.40 HR/9 and a 52.2 percent ground-ball rate in 67 2/3 innings. However, the Blue Jays’ subsequent attempt to move Biagini into the rotation in 2017 proved an ill-fated mistake, and his 2018 season spent mostly back in the bullpen didn’t yield quality results, either (6.00 ERA in 72 innings).

The 2019 season has seen Biagini bounce back to the tune of a 3.75 ERA over the life of 48 innings. He’s been homer-prone — like most of the league — but is sporting a career-high 9.0 K/9 against an even 3.0 BB/9 with a 45.3 percent ground-ball rate. There’s reason to be optimistic about further improvement, too; Biagini’s 13.7 percent swinging-strike rate is easily a career-best, as is his 36.1 percent opponents’ chase rate on pitches outside the strike zone. The spin rate on his breaking ball is elite as well, ranking 21st of 399 big league pitchers to throw the pitch at least 100 times dating back to 2016. That type of profile has yielded substantial benefits for the Astros in the past, of course, and they’ll look to elevate his profile with their data-heavy approach moving forward.

Once a top 100 prospect, Fisher hasn’t established himself in the majors since debuting in 2017. He likely wouldn’t have gotten a chance to do so in Houston, either, with the team loaded in the outfield now and with high-end prospect Kyle Tucker ahead of him in the organizational pecking order. Fisher has hit just .201/.282/.367 with 10 home runs in 312 MLB plate appearances, but he has been quite productive in Triple-A ball. The 25-year-old has slashed .289/.379/.520 with 50 HRs in 1,053 PA at the minors’ highest level.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Ken Giles Still “In Play” In Trade Talks

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12:53pm: The Yankees are “considering” Giles, Jon Heyman of the MLB Network tweets. New York lined up on a deadline deal with division-rival Toronto last season when acquiring J.A. Happ.

12:20pm: Blue Jays righty Ken Giles may not be at full health, but he’s still “in play” in trade talks, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). That seemed increasingly unlikely when it emerged yesterday that the closer had undergone a cortisone shot to treat an elbow issue.

The 28-year-old Giles was clearly among the game’s best trade candidates before his recent elbow woes arose. He’s earning a reasonable $6.3MM this year with another arbitration season left to go. Long known for his talent, Giles also had returned to producing exceptional on-field results to begin the 2019 campaign.

When he came to Toronto, Giles was a bounceback asset. He has done exactly that. In his 35 innings this season, he owns a 1.54 ERA with a hefty 14.9 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9. Unlike many pitchers, Giles has successfully limited the long ball, allowing just a pair.

Teams considering an investment of this type want as much certainty as possible. In that regard, the elbow issues are worrying, even if they’ve been deemed non-structural.

That said, the upside is tremendous. Giles carries a monster 20.3% swinging-strike rate this year. He’s averaging 96.9 mph on his fastball, which is down from his peak but still strong. And Statcast thinks he has been a bit unlucky on batted-ball fortune, crediting him with an exceptional .232 xwOBA that’s quite a bit lower than his still-excellent .253 wOBA.

Latest On Red Sox Bullpen Pursuits

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The Red Sox may not be able to land Mets closer Edwin Diaz by the trade deadline, so they’re turning their attention to other relievers on the market. San Francisco closer Will Smith is the reliever who has “most intrigued” the Red Sox over the past week, Sean McAdam of BostonSportsJournal.com tweets. The Red Sox have also shown interest in Diamondbacks left-hander Andrew Chafin, per McAdam, and Blue Jays right-hander Daniel Hudson, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription link).

Smith would clearly give the Red Sox the stable game-ending option they’ve lacked this year, but it doesn’t appear the team will be able to swing a deal for him. They’ve found the Giants’ asking price for Smith to be prohibitive, McAdam reports. Smith isn’t signed past this season – one of the reasons the Red Sox aren’t aggressively pursuing him – though it’s no surprise the Giants want a haul back for him. They’re still in playoff contention, for one, and Smith’s eminently affordable ($4.225MM) and highly effective. The 30-year-old has logged a 2.72 ERA/2.77 FIP with 12.82 K/9 and 2.14 BB/9 in 46 1/3 innings this season. He has also converted 26 of 28 save opportunities.

Meanwhile, either Chafin or Hudson could help improve the Red Sox’s setup situation. This is the latest in a growing line of solid seasons for the 29-year-old Chafin, who has pitched to a 4.17 ERA/3.69 FIP with 11.05 K/9 and 3.19 BB/9 across 36 2/3 frames. He also ranks second among all relievers in infield fly rate (24.2 percent), has held left-handed batters to a subpar .272 weighted on-base average, earns a relatively meager salary ($1.945MM) and comes with another year of arbitration control. Unsurprisingly, Chafin’s drawing plenty of interest from around the league – not just Boston – Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

Hudson, 32, would be the easiest reliever in this trio to acquire. He’s had a productive year, though peripherals don’t quite back up his above-average run prevention, and would be a pure rental for his next team. Nevertheless, Hudson’s the cheapest of the group ($1.5MM salary) and has been popular in the rumor mill leading up to the deadline. The hard-throwing journeyman has notched a 3.00 ERA/4.21 FIP with 9.0 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 over 48 innings. Righties have mustered a weak .276 wOBA off him.

Blue Jays Fielding Interest In Aaron Sanchez

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The Blue Jays are generating a high volume of interest in righty Aaron Sanchez, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). With “lots of hits” on the 27-year-old, there’s now a “real chance he moves” today via trade.

While Sanchez has long featured as a possible trade candidate, it’s rather surprising to hear of this degree of interest at this stage. Sanchez has dealt with control problems and a variety of finger issues in recent years, changing his once-promising career trajectory.

This year, Sanchez carries an ugly 6.07 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 over 112 2/3 frames. It’s promising to see the innings tally — the highest since his excellent 2016 season — but not much to be encouraged about otherwise. Sanchez’s average fastball velocity is under 94 mph for the first time in his career. He’s still generating swinging strikes at only a 8.7% rate, with a groundball rate (47.0%) well off of his once-lofty levels.

Sanchez did just turn in a ten-strikeout performance in his most recent start, though he also whiffed eleven in a mid-May outing and did not carry that forward. His 27:7 K/BB ratio over the past month is an improvement over his ugly June showing (16:19), but hardly earth-shattering. And Sanchez has actually lost velo of late.

All that being said, there has always been a perception that Sanchez has intriguing stuff. He’s earning $3.9MM this year, which is hardly an unmanageable sum, with another season of arb control remaining. It’s not implausible to imagine that a few creative front offices have ideas on how they can re-mold Sanchez’s raw tools and perhaps turn him into an effective arm. Bumping him into a relief role — he has thrown exclusively as a starter since 2015 — might well be an avenue worth exploring.

It’ll be interesting to see how things shake out over the next few hours. If offers aren’t good enough, the Blue Jays can certainly afford to hang onto Sanchez in hopes that he’ll finally turn the corner, with the idea of carrying him on the roster next year or spinning him off in an offseason trade.

Dalton Pompey Clears Waivers, Sent Outright To Triple-A

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July 30: Pompey cleared waivers and will remain in the organization after being outrighted to Triple-A, the Blue Jays announced.

July 23: The Blue Jays have designated outfielder Dalton Pompey for assignment, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Pompey’s injury rehab was up, forcing the club to make a call on the out-of-options player.

Pompey, 26, has endured a series of rough injuries in recent seasons and ended up on the shelf again this year for a concussion. He has slashed .244/.327/.311 in 14 games worth of rehab work.

This isn’t how the Toronto organization expected things to turn out after watching the Canadian native launch into top-prospect status. He was particularly impressive in 2014, when he briefly debuted in the majors and seemed primed to become the Jays’ long-term center fielder.

Pompey wasn’t able to secure a big-league job in 2015 and had showed inconsistencies thereafter in the upper minors. The club remained hopeful that he’d rediscover his form, but Pompey has been significantly limited by a series of increasingly worrisome concussions.

Entering camp this year for a rebuilding Toronto outfit, Pompey was in a make-or-break situation with no options remaining and little in the way of recent MLB experience. He ended up suffering an unlucky head injury in the locker room, forcing him to the sidelines.

Now, Pompey will be available to any other organization in the league, though a claiming team will need to put him on both its active and 40-man roster. If Pompey clears waivers, he’d remain with the Jays but would still be in line for minor-league free agency at season’s end.

Trade Interest In Justin Smoak Escalating

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Trade interest in Blue Jays first baseman Justin Smoak is “picking up,” tweets Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman connected the Indians to Smoak earlier today, and Nicholson-Smith adds the Rays as a team of interest as well. Several contenders have expressed interest in Smoak, per Nicholson-Smith. Notably, he’s not in the lineup tonight for the Blue Jays.

Toronto has been one of the few clear sellers on the summer market, having already departed with Marcus Stroman and David Phelps in the past 48 hours. The 32-year-old Smoak, a free agent following the 2019 season, is a logical player to deal away, too, even if the return on him doesn’t prove overwhelming. Smoak won’t be a candidate to receive a qualifying offer, so there’s added incentive to take the most appealing option presented between now and tomorrow afternoon’s trade deadline.

The switch-hitting Smoak’s batting average is down this season, but he’s walking at a career-best 16.7 percent clip and once again demonstrating above-average power. In 359 plate appearances, he’s hit .215/.357/.427 — good for a 110 OPS+ and a 108 wRC+ (which is to say he’s been about eight to ten percent better than league average from an offensive standpoint, even after accounting for his hitter-friendly home park). Smoak’s 19.8 percent strikeout rate is actually the lowest of his career, and he’s not popping up at an exorbitant level either. Rather, the key to his diminished average could be a fluky .220 average on balls in play (which checks in well south of his career .267 level).

Smoak is earning a reasonable $8MM salary in 2019 with about $2.71MM of that sum yet to be paid out between now and season’s end. With the Jays dealing away short-term assets, it seems likely that Smoak will be wearing a new uniform this time tomorrow.

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