AL East Notes: Devers, Cozart, Blue Jays, Ellsbury
It isn’t unusual for the Red Sox to bring a 20-year-old prospect into the heat of a pennant race, as club promoted Xander Bogaerts in 2013 and Yoan Moncada just last season. As WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford points out, however, he difference between those callups and today’s news about Boston’s promotion of Rafael Devers is that Bogaerts and Moncada were being counted on just as supporting pieces to an already-strong roster. In Devers’ case, he is coming into a Red Sox lineup that has struggled with consistency all season and has been thoroughly lacking at third base. It’s quite a bit of pressure for such a young player, and Bradford feels that the multiple slumping regulars in the Sox lineup need pick things up, regardless of how Devers performs.
Here’s more from around the AL East…
- The Red Sox have been scouting Reds shortstop Zack Cozart, CSNNE.com’s Evan Drellich reports (via Twitter), though with the caveat that teams around the league are doing their due diligence on many options at this time of year. MLBTR’s Jeff Todd cited Cozart as a possible creative choice for Boston’s third base problem last month, and obviously the Sox will continue to explore possibilities until they get a sense of what Devers can do in the bigs. Cozart has been on fire at the plate this year, though as Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes, the shortstop is still being careful about re-aggravating the right quad injury that led to a brief DL stint in June.
- The Blue Jays front office “is split on whether the team should be broken up and traded away,” Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. Team president Mark Shapiro suggested earlier this month that the Jays could explore both buying and selling at the deadline, and more recent reports had the team open to trading pending free agents while preferring to keep players that could help Toronto compete in 2018. Given how several Jays key veterans are either experiencing off-years or could be in decline, it isn’t surprising that there are questions as to whether the Jays can reasonably count on these players to rebound. A big sell-off at the deadline would help replenish the farm system, though with some good controllable talent and one more year of Josh Donaldson under contract, one can also make a case that the Jays should make another push next year.
- With Jacoby Ellsbury looking like an expendable part on the Yankees roster, ESPN’s Buster Olney (subscription required) looks at some of the potential large contracts New York could take on as a way of facilitating a trade for the outfielder, who is owed roughly $75MM between now and the end of the 2020 season. Olney’s names (all speculative) range from other unfavorable contracts like Jordan Zimmermann to more valuable assets like Giancarlo Stanton, though obviously much more than just Ellsbury would need to be included in a Stanton trade. Ellsbury has full control over his future via a no-trade clause, though Olney wonders if the outfielder would accept a deal to a team that could offer more playing time if Ellsbury becomes the odd man out in the Yankee outfield.
Blue Jays Acquire Nick Tepesch
The Blue Jays have acquired right-hander Nick Tepesch from the Twins for cash considerations, reports Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press (Twitter link).
This is the second trade of the day for the Blue Jays, who picked up utilityman Rob Refsnyder from the Yankees earlier this afternoon. Like Refsnyder, Tepesch should only be a minor contributor for the Blue Jays – if he contributes anything, that is. Tepesch made one start this season in Minnesota, on May 6, and yielded seven runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks over 1 2/3 innings. The Twins released the 28-year-old a month later, but he quickly re-upped on a minor league contract. Tepesch logged 29 innings with the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate this year and recorded a 5.59 ERA, 8.38 K/9 and 2.79 BB/9.
At one point in his career, Tepesch was a passable back-end starter in Texas, where he posted a 4.56 ERA, 5.42 K/9, 2.92 BB/9 and a 43.9 percent ground-ball rate across 219 frames (39 starts, 42 appearances) from 2013-14. Tepesch hasn’t been nearly that effective since, though, so it’s doubtful he’ll do much at the major league level with his new organization.
Blue Jays Acquire Rob Refsnyder
The Blue Jays have acquired infielder/outfielder Rob Refsnyder from the AL East rival Yankees for first baseman Ryan McBroom, according to an announcement from New York.
The 26-year-old Refsnyder had been in limbo since the Yankees designated him for assignment on Wednesday, which came after a disappointing tenure in pinstripes. Refsnyder, whom New York chose in the fifth round of the 2012 draft, collected 262 major league plate appearances with the franchise and batted just .241/.312/.332. On the plus side, Refsnyder garnered big league experience at first, second and in the corner outfield with the Yankees, and he slashed a solid .292/.372/.424 in 1,244 PAs as a member of their Triple-A affiliate. Refsnyder also comes with a minor league option, so the Blue Jays could use him as depth in Toronto or stash him in Triple-A.
McBroom, meanwhile, won’t help solve the Yankees’ issues at first base this year. The 25-year-old hasn’t ascended past Double-A since the Jays took him in the 15th round of the 2014 draft, and his numbers at that level this season aren’t exactly eye-popping. Across 392 PAs, McBroom has batted a less-than-stellar .243/.321/.402. If McBroom carves out a major league future, it’ll likely be as a platoon player, according to MLB.com, which ranked him as the 30th-best prospect in Toronto’s system.
Blue Jays Place Aaron Sanchez On DL, Designate Jeff Beliveau
The Blue Jays have announced that they’ve activated righty Joe Smith (shoulder) from the DL and recalled righty Chris Smith. To clear roster space, they’ve placed righty Aaron Sanchez on the DL with blister issues and designated lefty Jeff Beliveau for assignment.
This will be the fourth time finger problems have resulted in DL trips for Sanchez this season. He was reportedly to visit a hand specialist to discuss the issue Friday, so that he’d land on the DL yet again comes as little surprise. The 25-year-old has managed just eight starts this season, posting a 4.25 ERA, 6.0 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 over 36 innings.
The 30-year-old Beliveau struggled in 19 relief outings with the Jays, posting a 7.47 ERA, 9.8 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 over 15 2/3 innings. He has also pitched with the Cubs and Rays in a big-league career spanning parts of five seasons. Aaron Loup will remain as the only lefty reliever on the Jays’ active roster.
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/21/17
Let’s catch up on some of the recent minor moves from around the game:
- Righty Jumbo Diaz is a free agent after rejecting an outright assignment from the Rays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. The bulky 33-year-old had a solid 2016 campaign but scuffled upon arriving in Tampa Bay. In his thirty innings, he was touched for a 5.70 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9.
- The Blue Jays have outrighted righty Lucas Harrell to Triple-A, per a club announcement. He’ll have the option of rejecting that assignment. Harrell, 32, turned in six solid starts at Triple-A before earning a call-up, but was knocked around in his four appearances with the Jays.
- Right-hander Tyrell Jenkins has been released by the Padres, according to the MLB.com transactions page. Jenkins, who just turned 25, had a 14-appearance taste of the majors last year with the Braves, but struggled badly. He had generally performed quite well in the upper minors previously, but coughed up 71 earned runs on 111 hits in his 82 1/3 Triple-A frames in the Padres organization this season.
- The Diamondbacks have inked righty David Carpenter to a minors deal, per a club announcement from the indy ball Bridgeport Bluefish. Once a quality MLB reliever, Carpenter washed out of the majors with arm issues. He posted a 1.91 ERA and racked up 45 strikeouts in his 37 2/3 innings on the year.
- Catcher Steve Clevenger has signed with the Atlantic League’s Lancaster Barnstormers, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports (Twitter link). Clevenger lost his job with the Mariners last year after a Twitter controversy. The 31-year-old will be looking to earn his way back into the affiliated ranks.
- The Twins have added righty Michael Kohn on a minors deal, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune reports (Twitter links). He’ll continue rehabbing a rotator cuff injury that has kept him off the mound since 2015. Kohn previously turned in 115 innings of 3.52 ERA ball — but with 6.2 walks to go with his 8.7 strikeouts per nine — in parts of five seasons of MLB action.
- Outfielder Michael Choice is heading to the KBO, as the Brewers announced they’ve sold his contract to the Nexen Heroes. Still just 27 years of age, the former top prospect was released by the Orioles after struggling early this year at Triple-A. But he has found his groove at Double-A Biloxi, slashing .272/.349/.503 over 195 plate appearances.
AL East Notes: Red Sox, Bautista, Yankees, Rutherford
With the Red Sox looking far and wide for third base help, a couple of creative solutions are proposed by ESPN’s Scott Lauber and FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (writing on his Facebook page). Lauber suggests that Boston could explore a deal for the Athletics’ Yonder Alonso (14 games as a third baseman over his eight-year MLB career) while Rosenthal’s suggestion is perhaps even more outside-the-box: the Tigers‘ Ian Kinsler, who has played all of two innings at third in his 12 years in the Show. Both suggestions, it should be noted, are based on only speculation from the two writers. Rosenthal reports that the Red Sox and Tigers haven’t mentioned Kinsler in trade talks between the two clubs, while WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford (Twitter link) reports that Boston isn’t considering Alonso to fill its third base gap. Still, as per Rosenthal, Dombrowski is apparently considering several infielders who could switch positions and play third, so the Sox might yet end up with a unique choice before the deadline.
Some more from around the AL East…
- The Blue Jays have received “some feelers” about Jose Bautista, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter links). Much of Toronto’s trade discussions to this point have focused around their pending free agents (i.e. Marco Estrada, Francisco Liriano, Joe Smith) though Bautista probably falls into this category as well, since the Jays seem unlikely to exercise their half of a $17MM mutual option for 2018. Bautista’s production has fallen off this season, as the veteran slugger is hitting just .227/.340/.402 with 16 homers over 415 PA. A trade is further complicated by Bautista’s trade veto rights as a 10-and-5 player, though one would think he would be interested in joining a contender.
- The Yankees‘ seven-player trade with the White Sox may be New York’s only really big move before the deadline, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. The Yankees are still looking for a left-handed hitting first baseman and lefty reliever, though “they do not appear to have urgency in those areas,” and certainly not to the degree it would take to move a significant prospect to address either need. After missing out on Jose Quintana, the Yankees also don’t look like they’re willing to give up a notable prospect package to acquire a starter, since they were particularly enamored with Quintana’s durability and team-friendly contract. While New York has been linked to Sonny Gray, Sherman reports that Gray’s injury history is a concern for the Yankees. Similar concerns also scuttled the Yankees’ interest in Sean Doolittle before the Athletics dealt Doolittle to the Nationals.
- Also from Sherman, he spoke to five rival personnel men who felt the Yankees made a very good move in swinging the Todd Frazier/David Robertson/Tommy Kahnle deal with the White Sox. Blake Rutherford, the outfield prospect who headlined the minor league package sent to Chicago, received less-than-stellar reviews from the five executives, who questioned Rutherford’s power potential and his ability to stay as a center fielder. One NL executive felt the Yankees may have sold high on Rutherford “when the buzz was still good” about his potential. Incidentally, Sherman reports that Rutherford was also part of the Yankees’ offer to the White Sox for Quintana.
Heyman’s Latest: Cole, Cutch, Fulmer, Iglesias, Abreu, Bruce, Alonso, Darvish
The Pirates are on a roll in the NL Central, having just swept the division-leading Brewers in a four-game series. Even prior to today’s win, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports wrote in his weekly notes column that Pittsburgh not only continues to look unlikely to trade Gerrit Cole but is now also unlikely to deal outfielder Andrew McCutchen, who has undergone a remarkable turnaround at the plate since late May.
More highlights from Heyman’s latest, including his American League and National League breakdowns:
- The Tigers appear all but entirely unwilling to move young starter Michael Fulmer, per Heyman. That’s largely unsurprising, though perhaps it might have been expected that the club would at least entertain some scenarios in the interest of covering all its bases. While he’d surely draw a major haul, it would probably be tough for the team to part with its best asset while so many expensive veterans remain under contract. Meanwhile, Heyman notes that shortstop Jose Iglesias could be had for the right price, though it’s hard to see that coming together with such limited demand at the position.
- Though the White Sox are clearly in the midst of another aggressive sale, Heyman writes that there are no plans to move Jose Abreu at this time. The slugger is in the midst of a fine season, but there’s a limited market for first base help at this time. With another two years of control beyond this season, the ChiSox will perhaps have more opportunistic times to market him. Derek Holland, on the other hand, could very well be moved in the coming week, and the South Siders would like to move Melky Cabrera as well but would probably need to pay down most of the remainder of this year’s $15MM salary.
- The Indians are a possible landing spot for Jay Bruce, as their offense is currently without the injured Lonnie Chisenhall and Jason Kipnis. The Mets are known to be looking to move Bruce, and it’s worth noting that USA Today’s Bob Nightengale recently reported that Cleveland was in the mix for slugger J.D. Martinez right up until the time he was traded.
- With limited trade partners for Yonder Alonso — especially following the Yankees’ acquisition of Todd Frazier — the Athletics once again touched base with Yonder Alonso’s reps at MVP Sports about an extension, per Heyman. They’ll circle back again and do so later this week as the two sides attempt to find a middle ground. Oakland is in the midst of an all-out rebuild, as executive vice president of baseball ops Billy Beane recently indicated, but Alonso could provide some leadership for the team’s younger players. And, if he sustains his breakout through season’s end and into 2018, he could certainly become a marketable asset in the future when there’s more of a need at his position.
- The Rangers aren’t likely to re-sign Yu Darvish after the season, Heyman writes, as Darvish’s camp has already thrown out Stephen Strasburg‘s seven-year, $175MM contract as a potential comp. Texas isn’t prepared to bid that highly to retain Darvish, which is why they’ve at least signaled to teams that they’ll listen to offers on Darvish if they struggle too much between now and the deadline. There’s no plan to move Cole Hamels at this time, though, he adds.
- While the Diamondbacks may have made their biggest move already, the club is still looking at ways to bolster the pitching staff. Heyman pegs Blue Jays righty Marco Estrada as a possibility, though it’s unclear if he’s actively under consideration. It’s fair to wonder, too, whether the club would be better suited to focusing on bullpen help — though, of course, looking at starters doesn’t preclude that possibility.
- While the Cubs have made at least some contact with the Athletics on righty Sonny Gray even since acquiring Jose Quintana, Heyman says that it’s not at all clear that Chicago will be “a strong player” for another controllable starter.
- With Jaime Garcia seemingly going off the board, there ought to be greater focus now on Phillies righty Jeremy Hellickson. He ought to be easier to obtain now than he was last year, Heyman notes, as the Phils are willing to hold onto at least some of his $17.2MM salary to improve the prospect return.
AL Notes: Sanchez, Red Sox, Indians, Logan, Yankees
Blue Jays righty Aaron Sanchez left his start today after coming down with another blister, as MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm reports (Twitter links). While the 25-year-old says he is holding out hope of avoiding another DL stint, that may be optimistic. Sanchez had only just returned from a lengthy absence prompted by the same injury, though it does not appear to have occurred in precisely the same place. Ongoing uncertainty with such a key player doesn’t help the already murky outlook for Toronto, which fell to eight games under .500 with a loss today. It seems reasonable at this point to anticipate at least a minor sell-off of short-term veterans, though most of the players the team would be most willing to move have struggled in 2017.
Here’s more from the American League:
- The Red Sox now have Giants infielder Eduardo Nunez atop their list of possible third-base targets, a source tells MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link). Indeed, the clubs have discussed Boston’s interest in both Nunez and reliever Hunter Strickland, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports. It seems the Sox are also still engaged with the Marlins on third bagger Martin Prado (as well as reliever David Phelps) along with Pirates infielders David Freese and Josh Harrison. Of course, it’s worth bearing in mind that Prado is on the DL, while the Bucs may be hesitant to deal given the team’s improved outlook. All told, it still seems to be a wide-open search.
- It’s not clear if talks have occurred between the Indians and Giants, but Cleveland is scouting Nunez as well, per ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (via Twitter). With the defending AL champs still battling for a postseason spot, they can’t just wait idly for second baseman Jason Kipnis to return from the DL. And a player such as Nunez would also improve the team’s bench once Kipnis is back.
- The Indians also got some bad news on the pitching front today, as lefty Boone Logan departed his appearance with an injury to his lat muscle, as MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets. Logan owns an ugly 4.95 ERA on the year, but he’s producing 12.2 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9 with a 49.0% groundball rate, with a .360 BABIP helping to explain the disconnect. Ryan Merritt is on hand to give the team another southpaw matchup option to go with relief ace Andrew Miller, though it’s possible to imagine the Indians weighing alternatives if Logan’s injury turns out to be serious.
- With Todd Frazier now in pinstripes, the Yankees intend to work Chase Headley in at first base, manager Joe Girardi told reporters including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (Twitter link). The switch-hitting Headley will pair with new addition Garrett Cooper for the time being, though that duo doesn’t promise to deliver the kind of offensive output that might be hoped for from the position. It remains to be seen whether the Yankees will continue to dabble in the market for first basemen.
Blue Jays Designate Lucas Harrell For Assignment
The Blue Jays announced that they’ve recalled right-hander Dominic Leone from Triple-A Buffalo and designated fellow righty Lucas Harrell for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster.
Signed to a minor league pact this offseason, the 32-year-old Harrell made his way to the Jays’ big league roster earlier this month and made four appearances out of the bullpen. In 6 1/3 innings, Harrell yielded five runs on 10 hits and four walks with six strikeouts, resulting in an unsightly 7.11 ERA. He’s had a nice season for the Jays’ Triple-A affiliate in limited action, though, pitching to a 2.11 ERA with a 15-to-8 K/BB ratio through 21 1/3 innings.
Harrell logged a 4.21 ERA in 47 innings between the Braves and Rangers last season and has totaled 455 big league innings to date. In that time, he has a career 4.81 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 between the White Sox, Astros, Braves, Rangers and Jays. The veteran seems fairly likely to make it through waivers, at which point he could either accept or reject an outright assignment back to Triple-A. However, a team in need of some short-term rotation depth or long relief could opt to grab Harrell and plug him into the 25-man roster.
Blue Jays “Highly Unlikely” To Trade J.A. Happ
The Blue Jays are receiving interest from the Brewers and other teams in left-hander J.A. Happ, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter links), though it is “highly unlikely” that the Jays will trade the southpaw since Toronto plans to compete in 2018.
Milwaukee has been aggressive in pursuing deadline upgrades, as the team has been linked to such names as Sonny Gray, Brad Hand and (the since-traded) Jose Quintana in recent days. GM David Stearns recently stated that his club’s strong preference is to obtain players who are under contract beyond just this season, and Happ fits that bill, owed $13MM in 2018 as well as roughly $4.7MM remaining on his 2017 salary. While a controllable pitcher of Happ’s ability is naturally of interest to many teams in general, Rosenthal notes that teams are particularly looking at Happ in part because this winter’s free agent class is thin on front-of-the-rotation starters.
Happ was seen as more of a reliable innings-eater than as a possible ace when he signed a three-year, $36MM deal with Toronto in the 2015-16 offseason, though the left-handed enjoyed the best season of his 11-year career in 2016, posting a 3.18 ERA over 195 innings and finishing sixth in the AL Cy Young Award voting. Elbow inflammation has limited to Happ to just 11 starts and 61 innings this year, though he has been on pace for even better numbers than in 2016, delivering a 3.54 ERA, 8.9 K/9 and 4.29 K/BB rate.
Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro suggested earlier this month that the Jays weren’t planning a major sell-off at the deadline, nor were they going to pursue rental players in an attempt at a postseason berth that is looking increasingly unlikely (the Jays took a 42-48 record into action today). Recent reports suggest that Toronto will be open to moving pending free agents like Joe Smith, Marco Estrada, Francisco Liriano or J.P. Howell, but perhaps not any notable pieces who are under contract beyond this season.