Diamondbacks Designate Randall Delgado For Assignment
The Diamondbacks have designated right-hander Randall Delgado for assignment, as per a team press release. The move creates 40-man roster space for newly-acquired righty Matt Andriese, who was just acquired in a trade with the Rays.
Delgado originally came to Arizona as part of the five-player package sent by the Braves to acquire Justin Upton back in January 2013. In five-plus seasons since with the D’Backs, Delgado has been deployed as a full-time starter, a full-time reliever and as a swingman. He worked in this role in 2017, making five starts amidst 26 overall appearances, and posted a 3.59 ERA, 8.6 K/9, and 4.29 K/BB rate over 62 2/3 IP before a flexor strain prematurely ended his season.
Delgado was further slowed by an oblique strain during Spring Training, and he didn’t make his season debut until earlier this month. The righty has only seven frames to his credit in 2018, with a 5.14 ERA, three walks, and two strikeouts.
Prior to his recent injury woes, Delgado has been a durable and overall effective arm for the D’Backs, making today’s DFA somewhat of a surprise. One would think rival teams would be interested in seeing if Delgado can regain his old form, particularly given his low price tag — he has roughly $810K remaining owed to him in salary over the rest of the year, from the $2.25MM deal agreed to last winter in his final year of arbitration eligibility. With Andriese essentially stepping into the old swingman role, it could be that Arizona is simply looking to get rest of Delgado’s salary off the books (modest as it might be) to clear some space for additional moves.
Diamondbacks Acquire Matt Andriese
The Diamondbacks have acquired right-hander Matt Andriese from the Rays, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link). Robert Murray, also of The Athletic, was the first to report that Tampa and Arizona had a trade in place. The Rays will receive two minor leaguers in return — catcher Michael Perez (as per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) and righty Brian Shaffer (as Rosenthal was the first to report). In a corresponding move, the D’Backs announced that right-hander Randall Delgado has been designated for assignment to create a 40-man spot for Andriese.
Arizona was known to be checking in on the starting pitching market, though rather than splurge on a big name, the Snakes landed a versatile and somewhat underrated asset in Andriese. The 28-year-old has mostly been deployed as a swingman in his three-plus MLB seasons, with the Rays using Andriese as a starter and in both short and long relief roles. He has only started four of his 27 appearances this season, though that stat is somewhat misleading, as you might expect given Tampa Bay’s unconventional use of its pitching staff. Andriese has appeared multiple times as the second pitcher into the game after the likes of Ryne Stanek or Sergio Romo began things as the Rays’ “opener.”
Despite the ever-shifting roles, Andriese has been largely successful in Tampa, including a 4.07 ERA, 8.9 K/9, 50.6% grounder rate, and 3.28 K/BB rate this season over 59 2/3 innings, plus a career-best 11.4% swinging strike rate. It represents a nice rebound from an injury-filled 2017, as Andriese was limited to 86 innings (starting 17 of his 18 games) due to hip and groin problems.
The D’Backs have dealt with their own share of pitching injuries this season, though things have somewhat stabilized with a regular starting five of Zack Greinke, Patrick Corbin, Robbie Ray, Zack Godley, and successful bounce-back project Clay Buchholz. Still, with Ray and Godley both delivering inconsistent results, Andriese gives the Snakes some extra rotation depth, as well as a valuable durable arm for the bullpen.
Andriese will be eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter, and thus the D’Backs had to surrender a not-overwhelming but decent prospect package for Andriese’s three years of control. The 2018 Baseball America Prospect Handbook ranked Perez as Arizona’s 30th-best minor leaguer prior to the season, with MLB.com ranking Shaffer 23rd in their current top-30 ranking of the Snakes’ system.
Perez, 25, has long been heralded as a strong defensive catcher, and he has begun to make some strides at the plate over the last two seasons at the Double-A and Triple-A levels. In 250 career PA at Triple-A, Perez has a solid .291/.348/.445 slash line, though that is both a rather small sample size and perhaps a product of the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Even without a big bat, however, Perez still projects as a potential glove-first backup catcher type, which is useful for a Rays team that has long looked for consistency behind the plate. Topkin reports that Perez will join the Rays’ roster on Thursday for his first taste of Major League action.
Shaffer was a sixth-round pick for the Diamondbacks in the 2017 draft. MLB.com’s scouting report cites the 21-year-old’s slider as his best pitch, and he also possesses a fastball that has touched 94mph. Shaffer has delivered good results in his brief pro career thus far, including a 2.70 ERA, 9.2 K/9, and only a 1.8 BB/9 over 106 2/3 frames at the A-ball level this year.
Between this trade and sending Nathan Eovaldi to the Red Sox earlier today, the Rays have continued to churn their roster, even while falling short of an actual rebuild. Indeed, after today’s win over the Yankees, the Rays are now 52-50 for the season, though they are still realistically out of the pennant race (8.5 games back of the last wild card slot). In the short term, Tampa finds itself short two valuable arms for its pitching mix, as it remains to be seen how the Rays’ pitching strategy will continue to evolve without Andriese and Eovaldi around to cover innings.
This represents the third major trade between the Rays and D’Backs in under a year, after the offseason deals that saw Brad Boxberger come to Arizona and the three-team deal (also involving the Yankees) that most notably saw Steven Souza go to Arizona and Brandon Drury head to New York.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Mariners Sign Justin Grimm To Minors Deal
The Mariners have signed right-hander Justin Grimm to their Triple-A Tacoma roster, according to a report from Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto (Twitter link). Grimm has already been placed on Tacoma’s disabled list, which could indicate that he is still dealing with the shoulder impingement issue that led to his presence on the Royals’ disabled list earlier this season. Grimm was still on the DL when Kansas City released him earlier this month.
Between the shoulder injury and an earlier back problem that also required a DL stint, it has been a miserable year for Grimm both health- and performance-wise. The 29-year-old posted an ugly 13.50 ERA and 14 walks over just 12 2/3 innings out of the Royals’ bullpen. He had around $600K remaining on his $1.25MM deal at the time of his release, so the Royals will cover the bulk of that total, with the Mariners only owing him the prorated portion of a league minimum salary.
It wasn’t long ago that Grimm was a very useful relief arm for the Cubs, as he posted a 3.36 ERA, 10.6 K/9, and 2.66 K/BB rate over 171 1/3 frames out of Chicago’s bullpen from 2014-16. Given his low price tag, the Mariners can afford to take a flier on the veteran to see if he get healthy and regain any of his old form, which would give Seattle an extra bit of bullpen depth.
Chris Tillman Elects Free Agency
3:43PM: Tillman has been officially released, the Orioles announced.
1:15PM: Long-time Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman has elected free agency after clearing outright waivers, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports on Twitter. He had been designated for assignment recently.
Tillman seemed all but certain to clear waivers, as he was pitching on a $3MM guarantee. The O’s will remain responsible for all of that cash, though it’s possible they’ll save a bit if he ends up returning to the majors with another organization. (Any team can employ him for only the league-minimum rate.)
It had seemed possible, though, that Tillman would elect to remain in the Baltimore organization at Triple-A — an option the team had expressed interest in. Instead, he’ll try to begin reviving his career elsewhere.
This brings an end to a lengthy relationship. Tillman came to Birdland as part of the notable 2008 trade that sent Erik Bedard to the Mariners — click here for a blast from MLB Trade Rumors past — and provided the O’s with plenty of quality innings. Tillman could have headed elsewhere after an injury-plagued 2017 campaign, but ended up returning on a make-good deal that obviously did not turn out as anyone hoped.
Tillman has struggled mightily across the board this year. He lasted only 26 2/3 innings in seven MLB starts while being tagged for a 10.46 ERA with a 13:17 K/BB ratio. After he went out on a rehab assignment, the results weren’t much different: in six minor-league starts, Tillman threw 26 2/3 frames of 6.75 ERA ball with a 13:12 K/BB ratio.
Red Sox Acquire Nathan Eovaldi
The Red Sox have officially struck a deal to land righty Nathan Eovaldi from the Rays, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported (via Twitter). Young lefty Jalen Beeks will go to Tampa Bay in return, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link).
This swap is the second in the last two days that sends rental pitchers between AL East rivals. Yesterday, of course, the Yankees got lefty reliever Zach Britton from the Orioles. The Yanks will temporarily dodge Eovaldi, who had been scheduled to start against them today, but will surely see him down the stretch.
For Boston, the move will add an intriguing arm to their roster. Eovaldi has worked as a starter almost exclusively in his career, and may well continue to do so over the final two months of the season as he helps to shore up a Red Sox rotation that is showing a few cracks. But his role in the postseason could end up being an interesting one. The Sox have an unusual number of southpaws among their rotation candidates, making Eovaldi an interesting pitcher to pair up with one or more lefties.
Eovaldi is a pure rental, and a cheap one at that. He’s earning just $2MM this year, with some affordable incentive pay also included. Though it took him quite a while to make it all the way back from Tommy John surgery, Eovaldi has returned with vigor thus far in 2018.
Over 57 frames in ten starts this year Eovaldi has pumped his customary 97+ mph heat while working to a solid 4.26 ERA. But that only tells part of the story. He’s sporting a career-best 20.1% K%-BB% while generating more swings and misses (11.0%) than ever before, though he has also been touched for 11 long balls. Eovaldi merited rather lofty placement on MLBTR’s latest ranking of the top trade deadline candidates and has certainly increased his stock heading into free agency.
It seems likely the Rays will have designs on using Beeks in a flexible manner, too, but on a more regular basis. The 25-year-old has been roughed up in two MLB outings this year, but has also turned in increasingly interesting results in the upper minors in recent seasons.
Over 16 Triple-A starts in 2018, Beeks carries a 2.89 ERA with 12.1 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 over 87 1/3 innings. That strong showing led Baseball America to rank Beeks the Sox’ sixth-best prospect in its most recent look at a thin Boston farm. While he’s considered likely to be a back-end rotation piece in the majors, he possesses an interesting four-pitch mix and seems a good fit for the Rays’ counter-culture approach to building a pitching staff.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Yankees Acquire Zach Britton
10:45pm: The Orioles and Yankees have formally announced the trade. Baltimore assigned Tate to Double-A Bowie. Rogers and Carroll have been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk.
8:01pm: The Zach Britton bidding war looks to have come to an end, as the Yankees have reportedly reached an agreement to acquire the left-hander from the Orioles in exchange for minor league pitchers Dillon Tate, Cody Carroll and Josh Rogers. The reported agreement has yet to be announced by either club and is said to still be pending medical reviews — a major final hurdle to clear, especially when considering Baltimore’s previous history of nixing or delaying deals over medical concerns.
If the trade is ultimately finalized and announced, the addition of Britton would boost an already overpowering Yankees relief corps that features the likes of Aroldis Chapman, David Robertson, Dellin Betances, Chad Green and Jonathan Holder. Each of those relievers has thrown at least 40 innings in 2018, and each has an ERA of 3.05 or better. All but Holder (7.9 K/9) have averaged 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings or better.
While he doesn’t quite look to be back in peak form after this offseason’s surgery on his Achilles tendon, Britton has made significant strides over his past eight outings in terms of both velocity and ground-ball rate. His control isn’t quite back up to its peak levels, but Britton is missing bats and racking up ground-balls at a 72.2 percent clip over eight straight scoreless appearances.
If healthy, Britton will give the Yankees a potentially dominant second lefty to pair with Chapman and the Yankees’ slew of top-notch right-handed arms. That’s been a missing piece for New York all season, as Chasen Shreve has been solid at times but largely inconsistent.
A free agent at season’s end, Britton is earning $12MM this season and is still owed about $4.38MM of that sum. That money would count against the Yankees’ luxury tax ledger, though the they’re currently a bit more than $15MM south of the $197MM barrier, so Britton won’t push them over the edge. His addition will inch them closer to that mark, which will need to be a consideration in further trades, but for the time being, they’re still well clear of penalization.
Because Britton will be changing hands in a midseason deal, he won’t be eligible to receive a qualifying offer at season’s end, meaning the Yankees won’t be able to recoup any draft-pick compensation if he departs and signs elsewhere as a free agent.
That’s barely a consideration for the Yankees, though, as they find themselves six games back from the Red Sox in the American League East. While the Yankees are hardly out of contention for a division title, it looks considerably likelier right now that they’ll find themselves in an American League Wild Card showdown against the Mariners or the Athletics. Adding another potential shutdown reliever to an already formidable bullpen will aid rookie manager Aaron Boone’s efforts to shorten the contest and provide the Yankees insurance in the event of an unexpectedly short start, such as the one they received from Luis Severino in last year’s Wild Card game against the Twins.
Furthermore, it’s become increasingly common for clubs to stack their bullpens with potent relievers as a means of shutting down opposing lineups in postseason series. The Astros, Cubs, Royals, Indians and Dodgers are among the teams that have enjoyed deep playoff runs in recent seasons with stacked relief units that can be relied upon more heavily in the postseason than during the regular season thanks to the built-in off days during the playoff schedule. Britton only furthers the Yankees’ ability to employ that tactic, should they ultimately return to the ALDS for a second consecutive season.
Turning to the Orioles, they’ll bid adieu to fan favorite in Britton — a longtime top prospect who floundered as a starter but emerged as one of the best (if not the best) reliever in baseball at his peak with the club. Britton anchored the Orioles’ bullpen in both 2014 and 2016, helping the team to the postseason in each of those two campaigns — even if he’ll be more remembered for manager Buck Showalter’s stunning decision not to use him in the 2016 Wild Card tilt against the Blue Jays. He’s the second star the O’s have shipped out in recent days, joining Manny Machado as Baltimore looks to restock a decrepit farm system that has long ranked among the worst in the game.
The top piece joining Baltimore’s minor league ranks is the 24-year-old Tate — the fourth overall pick in the 2015 draft. While Tate was originally selected by the Rangers, they subsequently traded him to New York a year later as the main piece in the Carlos Beltran swap. Tate was struggling at the time of that deal and had seen his prospect star dim a bit, but he’s rebuilt much of his stock with the Yankees and is currently in the midst of a quality season for the Yankees’ affiliate in Trenton. Through 82 2/3 innings, he’s worked to a 3.38 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 0.76 HR/9 and a 48.1 percent ground-ball rate.
Baseball America recently ranked Tate as the Yankees’ sixth-best prospect on its updated Top 10 rankings for the organization, praising his “high-end stuff” and crediting him with the potential for three plus pitches (fastball, slider changeup). He still needs to be more consistent with his secondary offerings, per BA’s report, but Tate will give the Orioles a much-needed potential mid-rotation starter on which they can dream.
Carroll, 25, ranks 15th among Yankees farmhands per Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com, though they’ve yet to publish their midseason update of the team’s rankings. That said, Carroll hasn’t done anything to lower his status in 2018. To the contrary, he’s been nothing short of brilliant out of the Yankees’ bullpen in Triple-A. Over the life of 41 2/3 innings, Carroll has logged a superlative 2.38 ERA with 11.9 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 and a 32.6 percent grounder rate. He’s been fortunate in that he’s yet to surrender a home run this season, so his ERA should probably be taken with a grain of salt, but Callis and Mayo slapped a 75-grade on his heater (on the 20-80 scale) in their free scouting report, and Carroll’s slider also draws plus ratings.
The 24-year-old Rogers, meanwhile, doesn’t rank among the Yankees’ top tier of prospects, but he’s worked to a 3.95 ERA with 6.8 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, 1.07 HR/9 and a 40.1 percent ground-ball rate in 109 innings (19 starts) for the team’s top affiliate in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre so far in 2018. Given his age and relative success in the upper minors, it’s conceivable that he could help the Orioles as soon as the second half of the 2018 season. If not, it’s likely he’ll be viewed as an option to join the staff in 2019.
As for the Yankees, they’re still quite likely to be in the market for a starting pitcher. The fact that Tate is the headliner of the return for Britton subtracts one of their better chips, but the Yankees nonetheless possess a deep farm system that should allow them to pursue virtually any starter on the market — be it a major upgrade with multiple years of control remaining or a short-term rental with a decidedly lower cost of acquisition. The Britton trade, then, will likely be the first of many for the Yankees in the coming week (to say nothing of August) as they gear up for yet another postseason appearance.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported (via Twitter) that the Yankees had emerged as the front-runner for Britton and that Tate had been scratched from his start. SNY’s Andy Martino tweeted that the two sides had reached the medical review stage of talks. Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweeted that the Yankees would send three prospects back to the Orioles. Fancred’s Jon Heyman reported that the two sides had agreed on all of the players to be involved, pending medicals (Twitter links). Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that Rogers and Carroll were in the deal (Twitter links).
Twins Activate Ervin Santana, Designate Taylor Motter For Assignment
The Twins announced after tonight’s game that they’ve designated infielder/outfielder Taylor Motter for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster for right-hander Ervin Santana, who has been activated from the 60-day disabled list.
It’ll be the season debut for Santana, who underwent surgery on his the middle finger on his right hand back in February. Originally expected to miss around 12 weeks, Santana wound up missing the entire first half of the season (and then some) as his rehab proved to be considerably slower than expected. He’ll now join a Twins club that has significantly underperformed in 2018 and will almost certainly be acting as a seller leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline.
Santana himself, in fact, could emerge as a trade option for the Twins, though he’ll likely only have enough time to make a pair of starts (at best) before next Tuesday’s deadline. But, with $4.94MM of his $13.5MM salary still yet to be paid out, Santana may very well clear waivers in early August and allow the Twins to market him there. There’s a chance that Santana could be controlled into the 2019 season, be it by the Twins or another club, but he’d need to pitch quite well in the season’s final couple of months in order to convince a club to exercise his $14MM option for the 2019 season.
The 35-year-old Santana’s absence has played no small role in Minnesota’s 2018 flop, as he’d been the staff’s most consistent starter over the past two seasons. Dating back to 2016, Santana logged 392 2/3 innings of 3.32 ERA ball, averaging 7.2 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and 1.1 HR/9 with a roughly 42 percent ground-ball rate along the way. The Twins had hoped he’d pair with Jose Berrios to lead an improved rotation mix and make a run at the AL Central, but instead Minnesota has received no value any of Santana, Byron Buxton or Miguel Sano over the course of the season. As a result, players like Santana, Brian Dozier, Eduardo Escobar, Zach Duke, Fernando Rodney and others will find themselves on the trade block in the coming days.
As for Motter, he was claimed off waivers after the Mariners designated him for assignment earlier this summer. The versatile 28-year-old managed just one hit in 23 plate appearances, though, missing time with a concussion along the way. The Twins will have a week to trade Motter or run him through outright waivers. He’s a career .190/.263/.313 hitter in the Majors (407 plate appearances), but he’s had considerably more success at the Triple-A level.
Mets Designate Ty Kelly
The Mets have designated utilityman Ty Kelly for assignment, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets. Joel Sherman of the New York Post first reported on Twitter that Kelly would be sent out, though it was not yet clear by what method.
That move will allow the team to bring up Phillip Evans, who needed a 40-man and active roster spot. It’s not yet clear what the corresponding move will be for the Mets’ other anticipated move today. The club is reportedly set to bring up infielder Jeff McNeil for the first time.
Kelly, 30, brings plenty of versatility to the table but has not yet provided any offense at the big league level. He’s capable of handling second base, third base and the outfield corners but has compiled just a .203/.288/.323 slash through 188 trips to the plate at the big league level. He’s been more successful in Triple-A, hitting .274/.377/.396 in more than 1900 PAs.
Indians Claim Johnny Field
The Indians have claimed outfielder Johnny Field off waivers from the Rays, per club announcements. He had been designated for assignment recently.
Field will begin his tenure in the Cleveland organization on optional assignment at Triple-A. If he holds onto a 40-man spot through the trade deadline, he could become an option for an Indians team that has clear needs in the outfield. Of course, he’s also a candidate to be sent back on waivers and stashed if he clears.
The 26-year-old Field received his first taste of the big leagues this year, but struggled to a .21/.253/.373 batting line over 179 trips to the dish. But he has shown quite a bit better in the upper minors, unsurprisingly. He’s a .756 OPS hitter in 805 Triple-A plate appearances and carries a .769 OPS in 697 Double-A plate appearances. While he doesn’t jump off the page in any area, Field is a solid all-around prospect who can play all over the outfield.
Mets To Promote Jeff McNeil
The Mets are set to promote infielder Jeff McNeil, as Rich MacLeod of Baseball Prospectus was first to report on Twitter. It’s a long-awaited move to take a look at a late-blooming prospect.
McNeil, 26, has split his time as a professional between second and third base. He is certainly not considered a top prospect. But that hasn’t stopped Mets fans from pining for his arrival during a lost season — just as it hasn’t stopped him from producing at eye-popping rates all year long.
While he has generally produced solid numbers at the plate since joining the New York organization in 2013 as a 12th-round pick, McNeil had never sustained anything like his current breakout. In 241 plate appearances at Double-A to open the year, he posted a 1.029 OPS. Since moving up to the team’s top affiliate, he’s sitting at 1.027 through 143 trips to the dish.
The recent numbers certainly have been impressive. This season, the lefty-swinging McNeil has drawn walks (36) almost as frequently as he has gone down on strikeouts (42). That sort of plate discipline was always a hallmark of his game, though. Now, McNeil is also producing a stunning amount of power. He has already launched quite a few more home runs this year (19) than he did in all of his prior minor-league action (9).
Of course, the real test will come at the major-league level. The BPro team recently discussed McNeil among other prospects (fair warning: in colorful terms), noting both that there seem to be some real changes underlying his breakout and that there’s still plenty of uncertainty in his outlook. Ultimately, it remains to be seen how McNeil will fare, but there’s little reason for the Mets not to give him a shot now, particularly with several existing players likely destined to be moved via trade in short order.