Deadline Retrospective: How Astros Lost Britton; Why Padres Held Hand
The Astros’ lone move this past Monday was the acquisition of Francisco Liriano from the Blue Jays, but multiple reports indicate a significant reason for their lack of activity is due to the fact that an agreed-upon deal for Zach Britton fell through at the eleventh hour. Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (here and here), MLB Network’s Ken Rosenthal, and FanRag’s Jon Heyman each reported key aspects of the story. You’ll certainly want to read those links in full for all the interesting details, but we’ll cover some highlights here.
Astros owner Jim Crane said in a radio interview with ESPN 97.5 in Houston that his team had multiple trades that were “agreed to in principle” before medical issues led to those deals getting “vetoed at the top.” The Orioles are known to have the most stringent medical standards of any team in the league, though it’s also interesting that Rosenthal reports that Houston also had a deal lined up for an unidentified “high-end” reliever that would have “surprised the industry” upon being traded.
Per Kubatko and Rosenthal, the Britton deal broke down when the Orioles raised medical concerns over two of the players in the deal — believing one to have a “legitimate medical problem” and deeming another to be somewhat questionable. The identity of the prospects in question isn’t known, though Kubatko says the pair were both pitchers and Rosenthal hears that as many as six to seven Astros prospects were deemed off-limits in trade talks for Britton. Ultimately, the Orioles “went dark” on both the Astros and the Dodgers, who were also in the mix for Britton, for several hours before simply telling L.A. that Britton was off the table about an hour prior to the deadline, Rosenthal continues. Baltimore made a last-minute offer to Houston, but the Astros deemed it too steep.
Heyman writes that while many will place the blame on Baltimore owner Peter Angelos, Orioles officials insisted to him that the medical reports on the players the O’s would have received of great enough concern that no deal was ever even presented to Angelos. Heyman spoke to multiple execs from other teams that suggested Houston is too stingy when it comes to surrendering its top prospects in a deal, and that penchant for hanging onto prized young talent ultimately led to a quiet deadline for GM Jeff Luhnow and his staff.
Of course, the Astros had plenty of reason to be cautious when it comes to Britton. The once-elite reliever has missed most of the 2017 season due to a pair of DL stints tied to a forearm injury and at the time of the deadline had only worked back-to-back days once since being activated off the DL (and once during a minor league rehab stint). He posted an 8-to-4 K/BB ratio in 10 July innings before the non-waiver deadline, though it’s perhaps worth noting that he did work on a third consecutive evening the night of the deadline.
Houston did, of course, have other irons in the fire — including the intriguing mystery reliever noted by Rosenthal as well as Yu Darvish. Indeed, it seems the former only fell through at the ownership level from the other team. And Houston’s front office felt it made a stronger offer for Darvish than did the Dodgers, says Rosenthal, who notes the Rangers simply didn’t see it that way (the front office had authority to deal the righty within the state).
Brad Hand of the Padres, though, seemingly represented the most obvious alternative to Britton — at least, after the Cubs grabbed Justin Wilson, in part owing to a wariness of dealing with the O’s on deadline day. But Houston and San Diego just never saw eye to eye on the southpaw’s value, per Rosenthal and Heyman.
Sources from the Pads indicate the club ultimately backed away from seeking top-100-type talent, though not all rival executives seem to have viewed it that way. It seems that San Diego did at least check down from the top-tier prospects it initially sought, though obviously there was still a gap that was never bridged. Details remain scant, though Rosenthal notes the Astros held the same six prospects off-limits for Hand that they did for Britton; per Heyman, the Nationals were no more willing to discuss Carter Kieboom than their top outfielder prospects and the Dodgers preferred cheaper options even though the Padres would’ve taken a package of multiple prospects outside of the Dodgers’ five best.
Ultimately, the fact that both Britton and Hand stayed with their respective organizations leaves some potentially un-done work for all involved. The Astros obviously had intended to do more at the deadline, and could look to find alternatives this August. There’s also an impact on their plans for 2018 and beyond. That’s all the more true for the Orioles and Padres, who’ll likely shop their lefties this winter.
Jose Bautista On Revocable Trade Waivers
The Blue Jays have placed right fielder Jose Bautista on revocable trade waivers, reports MLB Network’s Ken Rosenthal (on Twitter).
As we emphasized yesterday when Justin Verlander was reportedly put through the same process, Bautista’s placement on revocable waivers isn’t at all surprising. Most players will be placed on revocable waivers this month, but the timing of such moves are at least worth noting, as it gives some insight into the point at which a player can be marketed to other clubs (or can no longer be marketed, in the event that they’re claimed and pulled back). Bautista’s waiver period will last 47.5 hours, and his salary makes him a virtual lock to clear. If and when he does clear, the Jays will be able to discuss trades involving Bautista with all 29 other teams, free of restriction.
[Related: How August Trades Work]
Like Verlander, Bautista has full no-trade protection. As such, he could reject not only any trade that the Blue Jays present him but also another team’s claim off of trade waivers (however unlikely that scenario might be).
The 36-year-old Bautista is hitting just .216/.325/.381 with 16 homers thus far in 2017. While he looked every bit of his vintage self in May, slashing a Herculean .317/.412/.644 that month, he’s batted .200 or lower with an OPS of .638 or lower in each of April, June and July. With $5.9MM remaining on this season’s $18MM salary, plus a $500K buyout of a 2018 mutual option still owed to him, Bautista looks immovable unless the Blue Jays are willing to pay down some of the remaining money on that contract.
The Jays may well seek to do that, but Bautista will likely need to show some signs of life at the plate before any club expresses interest. There should be no shortage of corner bats available this month after so few moved off the market prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, so teams on the lookout for such players will have options that are more productive and less expensive than Bautista.
Blue Jays Designate Brett Oberholtzer For Assignment
The Blue Jays have designated left-hander Brett Oberholtzer for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster for newly acquired outfielder Nori Aoki, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet (on Twitter).
Oberholtzer had his contract selected to the Major League roster just yesterday and will lose that 40-man spot before making even a single appearance with the Blue Jays’ big league club. The 28-year-old inked a minor league pact with Toronto this winter on the heels of a down season split between the Phillies and Angels. In 94 1/3 innings with the Jays’ Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo, Oberholtzer worked to a 4.48 ERA with 5.6 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a 45 percent ground-ball rate.
From 2013-15, Oberholtzer enjoyed a solid run with the Astros, tossing 253 2/3 innings with a 3.94 ERA, 5.9 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 while working almost exclusively as a starter. He went to Philadelphia as part of the December 2015 Ken Giles trade in the hopes that he could either work as a long man out of the bullpen or perhaps offer some stability to a young rotation. However, in 26 relief appearances with the Phils, Oberholtzer was tagged for 58 hits, including 11 homers, in 50 1/3 innings. His troubles with the long ball continued after joining the Angels later that season, as he served up seven homers in just 20 frames with the Halos.
While he posted a poor 5.89 ERA on the season as a whole, Oberholtzer isn’t far removed from contributing some solid innings at the big league level and hasn’t had any issues with homers in Triple-A this year (0.48 HR/9). He’s already been outrighted in the past, so if the Blue Jays go that route, he’d have the opportunity to reject his assignment and latch on as depth piece in another organization of his choosing.
Post-Deadline Notes: Gray, Cards, Darvish, Britton, Estrada, Braves
The Cardinals “float[ed]” a trade proposal for Sonny Gray before the Athletics shipped him to the Yankees, according to MLB Network’s Ken Rosenthal. In concept, at least, St. Louis would have considered sending young outfielder Stephen Piscotty to Oakland along with a promising starter (Luke Weaver or Jack Flaherty), though it seems talks never got going. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks closer at the Cards’ lack of action on deadline day. Top baseball decisionmaker John Mozeliak acknowledged “a level of frustration” that nothing got done, though he also said the team wasn’t inclined to make deals just for the sake of action. Ultimately, momentum never built toward a deal for Lance Lynn, and the club’s other chatter never materialized into a trade. You’ll want to peruse the lengthy column for all the details.
Here are some more post-deadline links of note:
- The Dodgers‘ acquisition of Yu Darvish came together quite late, as Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports explains in fascinating detail. It became apparent the Dodgers wouldn’t get Zach Britton from the Orioles within a half hour of the deadline, but the team had already “abandoned hope” of landing Darvish. The Rangers, meanwhile, had run through their alternative trade partners for the ace righty and found none availing. The paths of the two organizations converged just twenty minutes before the deadline. You’ll certainly want to give the story a full read; Texas fans will also want to check out this piece from Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News on the team’s unannounced but still-evident rebuilding path.
- In the end, there just wasn’t that much demand in the marketplace for Darvish, Rosenthal also notes — so much so that the Dodgers were nearly in position to land both Darvish from the Rangers and lefty Zach Britton from the Orioles. That said, there was “some overlap” between the prospects in both potential deals, and it obviously would’ve required a steep overall price to get both arms. Instead, Los Angeles added two different lefties, Tony Watson and Tony Cingrani.
- As regards Britton, Rosenthal had some stern words for how things played out. The Orioles spurned not only the Dodgers but likely also the Astros. For Baltimore, the deadline approach “was disturbingly short-sighted,” by Rosenthal’s reckoning. And when Houston wasn’t able to find another top-end arm, says Rosenthal, its body of deadline work became a “lost opportunity.” It does seem worth bearing in mind, particularly regarding the Astros, that the August trade period appears to be full of opportunities for making further moves if the need is there.
- Over in Toronto, the Blue Jays ended up holding onto righty Marco Estrada and then watched him turn in a strong outing last night. As Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca writes, Jays GM Ross Atkins suggested yesterday that the organization may yet see Estrada as a part of the team’s future — though his contract is up at year’s end and he perhaps remains a plausible August trade piece. With Estrada remaining in Toronto through the deadline, said Atkins, “we’ll start thinking about not only how he impacts us now, but how he can potentially impact us beyond 2017.”
- Be sure also to check out the trade deadline rundown from Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, who assesses some winners and losers from the day’s action. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney also issued deadline grades in an Insider piece.
- With the Braves holding on deadline day, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman takes stock of the months to come. Second baseman Brandon Phillips, reliever Jim Johnson, and starter R.A. Dickey could all be possible August trade chips, he notes, while the inclination of the organization remains to consider deals involving first baseman Matt Adams over the offseason. Meanwhile, Atlanta continues its long-standing pursuit of controllable pitching, though that’ll surely await the end of the current season.
AL East Notes: Trumbo, Orioles, Dombrowski, Atkins, Bautista
The Orioles placed Mark Trumbo on the 10-day DL due to a strain in his right rib cage, and the slugger will undergo an MRI tomorrow to determine the full extent of the injury. O’s skipper Buck Showalter told The Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli and other media that he is concerned Trumbo may have suffered an oblique strain, which generally means a DL stint of at least a month. After hitting 47 homers and posting a 123 wRC+ in 2016, Trumbo has delivered sub-replacement production this season, with -0.5 fWAR thanks to below-average defensive numbers and a .238/.300/.405 slash line and 17 homers through 443 plate appearances.
Here’s some deadline aftermath reaction from around the AL East…
- The Orioles weren’t deadline sellers nor were they significant buyers, leaving Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com feeling underwhelmed by the team’s midseason deals. The acquisitions of Jeremy Hellickson and Tim Beckham, in Connolly’s opinion, leave the O’s just treading water instead of firmly making a postseason run or beginning a rebuild. “They aren’t significantly better. They didn’t keep up with their division rivals. And they didn’t get considerably better for the future,” Connolly writes.
- The Red Sox looked far and wide for bullpen help, with president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski telling reporters (including Chad Jennings of the Boston Herald) that the team considered over 20 right-handed relievers “and a lot of lefties, too.” Without revealing names, Dombrowski said that the Sox had interest in another relief pitcher who was traded within the last week, but the team that landed this mystery bullpen arm “gave a little more than we were willing to give at that particular time.” Of course, Boston’s quest for relievers ended in a big way today when the Sox acquired Addison Reed, who will step right into the eighth-inning role to set up closer Craig Kimbrel. Also of note, Dombrowski said that he didn’t get into any serious talks with other teams about starting pitching.
- The Blue Jays dealt away Francisco Liriano and Joe Smith today, though GM Ross Atkins told reporters (including Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm) that the team was “pretty close” on roughly 15 potential trades. Jose Bautista‘s name was mentioned in talks, though “Nothing came to fruition where we had to say, is this something you would do or not do?” Atkins said, in regards to Bautista having no-trade protection via his 10-and-5 rights.
Indians Acquire Joe Smith
The Indians have acquired right-hander Joe Smith from the Blue Jays, The side-arming reliever, a free agent at season’s end, will return to Cleveland for his second stint with the Indians. Minor league lefty Thomas Pannone and shortstop Samad Taylor are going to the Jays to complete the deal. Righty Perci Garner has been designated for assignment by the Tribe to make roster space for Smith.
The 33-year-old Smith enjoyed five excellent seasons in Cleveland, pitching to a 2.76 ERA in 271 innings there from 2009-13. Since that time, he’s produced quality results in both Anaheim and in Toronto, although his 2017 campaign has been slowed by a roughly month-long stay on the disabled list due to inflammation in his right shoulder.
That said, Smith has been outstanding, when healthy, thus far in 2017. Through 35 2/3 innings, he’s averaged 12.9 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 with a 43.2 percent ground-ball rate. The resulting 3.28 ERA looks solid in its own right but is buoyed by even more impressive FIP (2.31), xFIP (2.46) and SIERA (2.42) marks — suggesting that there’s yet room for improvement down the stretch.
Smith is earning a modest $3MM in 2017, and he’s owed the balance of that figure — roughly $1.03MM — through the end of the year. In the interim, he’ll slot into a formidable Indians relief corps that is anchored by Andrew Miller and Cody Allen but also features a number of strong right-handed options, including Zach McAllister, Nick Goody, Dan Otero and Bryan Shaw.
MLB Network’s Ken Rosenthal (on Twitter) reported the trade. Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweeted the return after Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports reports (on Twitter) that it involved two lower-level minor leaguers.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Astros Acquire Francisco Liriano For Nori Aoki, Teoscar Hernandez
The Astros have added lefty Francisco Liriano from the Blue Jays in exchange for veteran outfielder Nori Aoki and younger outfielder Teoscar Hernandez.
Houston is said to view Liriano as a reliever for the remainder of the season. While the 33-year-old Liriano has had a poor season in the Toronto rotation, he’s maintained his velocity and his effectiveness against left-handed opponents. That’s led to plenty of speculation, both here and elsewhere, that the veteran southpaw could emerge as a possible bullpen option for teams unwilling to meet the asking prices on the market’s top relievers.
[Related: Updated Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros depth charts]
Through 63 plate appearances this season, left-handed opponents are batting just .230/.254/.361 against Liriano. The lefty has a 17-to-1 K/BB ratio in those matchups and has averaged nearly 93 mph on his fastball this season. One would imagine that in moving to a short relief role, that velocity could tick upward a couple of notches.
Liriano is a free agent at season’s end and is earning $13MM in the final campaign of a three-year, $39MM contract. He’s still owed about $4.48MM of that sum.
Aoki, 35, is earning $5.5MM in 2017 and is owed $1.89MM of that sum through the end of the year. It’s not clear if there’s additional cash in the deal, but as it stands, the Jays will be saving about $2.59MM this this swap. Considering Houston is sending a minor leaguer as well, though, it wouldn’t at all be a surprise for Toronto to pick up some of all of the remaining tab on Liriano.
Aoki has batted .272/.323/.371 through 224 plate appearances this season. While he’s under club control through the 2018 campaign via arbitration, his age and lack of offensive output make him a non-tender candidate after the season, as he’d likely be in line for a raise that would send his salary north of $6MM.
The 24-year-old Hernandez ranked ninth among Houston farmhands on MLB.com’s midseason top 30 list and is a more or less MLB-ready commodity. He’s hitting .279/.369/.485 with a dozen homers and a dozen steals through 347 Triple-A plate appearances this year.
Hernandez hasn’t exactly thrived in a small sample of 113 MLB plate appearances, but he’s held his own with a .230/.304/.420 slash. The Astros likely deemed Hernandez somewhat superfluous, however, with George Springer, Josh Reddick and Derek Fisher all in the Majors, to say nothing of top prospect Kyle Tucker lurking in the upper minors.
MLB Network’s Ken Rosenthal reported that the two sides were in talks (via Twitter). USA Today’s Bob Nightengale said the two sides were close to a deal (on Twitter). Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reported the agreement (on Twitter). Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reported that Aoki and a minor leaguer were going to Houston (Twitter link). Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi (on Twitter) had Hernandez’s inclusion.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Royals Discussing J.A. Happ, Marco Estrada With Blue Jays
The Royals have already made several additions, but they have engaged with the Blue Jays on a pair of starting pitching targets, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). Kansas City is discussing both lefty J.A. Happ and righty Marco Estrada with Toronto, which just agreed to send southpaw Francisco Liriano to the Astros.
Happ, 34, is certainly enjoying more success at the moment among the two pitchers under consideration. He owns a 4.15 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 over his 78 frames on the year. Happ isn’t exactly cheap — he’s owed $13MM this year and next — but has been well worth the salary commitment for his production. That additional year of control, though, has led to prior suggestions that Toronto isn’t all that interested in moving him.
As for Estrada, he has been tied to the Royals for some time. While he’s punching out 9.6 batters per nine on strikes, the veteran has stumbled to a 5.43 ERA — though he has also been healthy, with 114 1/3 innings on his ledger. The pending free agent is playing on a $14.5MM salary this year, and the Jays would surely need to hold onto a decent chunk of what’s left (or add an underperforming contract in return) to make a deal.
Indians Still Looking To Add Reliever
We have heard all manner of connections today regarding the Indians, but it has emerged now — with about two hours left til the deadline — that Cleveland is focused on adding a reliever. The team is optimistic of finding a pen arm of some kind today, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets.
While the focus may be on a lefty, particularly one that would hold out the promise of some impact, that doesn’t appear to be an exclusive aim of the Cleveland brass. Jon Heyman of Fan Rag does tweet, though, that a southpaw would be preferred, and indeed Cleveland has been tied to some high-end lefties. Indeed, there were suggestions this morning that the Indians were “pushing” for Orioles lefty Zach Britton.
Among the targets is old friend Joe Smith, per Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network (Twitter link). Smith has thrown well this year for the Blue Jays and recently returned from a lengthy DL stint. He is earning just $3MM this year and would deepen the overall unit, though he’s not really a top option for facing lefties. Smith has been much stingier when facing same-handed hitters over his career and in 2017.
Deadline Chatter: Marlins, Rockies, Dodgers, Jays, Rangers, Angels
The Marlins “are extremely open to discussing” a Dee Gordon trade, reports Jerry Crasnick of ESPN (Twitter link). Gordon has been on teams’ radars in recent weeks, but now there’s “not much traffic” regarding the second baseman, per Crasnick. With roughly $41MM coming his way through 2021, the 29-year-old isn’t cheap, nor has he regained the effectiveness he showed from 2014-15. Gordon missed half of 2016 thanks to a performance-enhancing drug suspension and has slashed a meek .282/.323/.347 in 783 plate appearances dating back to last season. He has stolen 67 bases over that time, though, including 30 this year, and drawn plus marks in the field from defensive runs saved (eight) and Ultimate Zone Rating (8.1).
While a Gordon trade before Monday’s deadline may not be in the offing, it seems Marlins reserve catcher A.J. Ellis will switch uniforms. Along with the previously reported Cubs, the Rockies are in on the 36-year-old, tweets Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. With a .233/.314/.411 batting line, Rockies catchers have posted the worst wRC+ (45) in the majors this season. They’re looking for help behind the plate as a result, but Ellis hasn’t been a whole lot better than their choices with the bat (.232/.300/.341 in 91 PAs). Defensively, Ellis has had a rough pitch-framing season, per StatCorner, though he has outdone Rockies starter Tony Wolters in that regard. It seems the right-handed-hitting Ellis and the lefty-swinging Wolters would form a platoon.
More as the deadline nears:
- While the Dodgers have come up as a potential landing spot for Yu Darvish, Sonny Gray or Justin Verlander, it appears for now that they’re likelier to acquire an impact reliever than a high-end starter, relays Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). On the subject of the Tigers’ Verlander, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports (on Twitter) that Los Angeles has focused less on him than reliever Justin Wilson in trade talks with Detroit. That isn’t surprising, as Verlander is on an onerous contract and unlikely to move before Monday.
- The Blue Jays were reportedly “highly unlikely” to trade left-hander J.A. Happ as of two weeks ago, but now they’re open to offers, according to Jon Heyman of FanRag. The Jays aren’t aggressively shopping the 34-year-old, however, as he’s in the midst of another fine season and under control next season for a reasonable $13MM salary.
- This season has been a struggle for Rangers first baseman/designated hitter Mike Napoli, but he’s garnering interest nonetheless, per Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan, who tweets that “teams love him in the clubhouse.” The powerful Napoli has slugged 22 home runs and put up an excellent .258 ISO, though his .208/.287/.466 line through 336 PAs isn’t pretty. But the 35-year-old has gotten hot at the right time, having slashed .260/.329/.658 in 82 PAs this month. Napoli’s on a $6MM salary this year and has an $11MM club option (or a $2.5MM buyout) for 2018.
- Calls have come in on the Angels’ resurgent relief trio of Bud Norris, David Hernandez and Yusmeiro Petit, and the Halos are willing to deal all of them, tweets Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. MLBTR’s Jeff Todd broke down their 2017 performances Friday in a piece focusing on available righty relievers.