Indians Acquire Andrew Miller
The Indians have dramatically fortified their bullpen as they look to further pad their lead on the American League Central, announcing on Sunday morning the acquisition of left-hander Andrew Miller from the Yankees in exchange for outfield prospect Clint Frazier, minor league left-hander Justus Sheffield and minor league right-handers Ben Heller and J.P. Feyereisen.
[Related: Updated Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees Depth Charts]
Miller, 31, has been one of baseball’s most dominant relievers for the third year in a row, but the 2016 season has been arguably his best. He’s pitched to a lights-out 1.39 ERA with a 77-t0-7 K/BB ratio and a 52.9 percent ground-ball rate in 45 1/3 innings. He’s earning $9MM this season and in each of the next two to come — a highly reasonable price for a pitcher that has shown his level of dominance late in games. That he’s controllable for another two campaigns beyond 2016 undoubtedly made this deal more palatable for the Indians, who have a deep enough farm system to make this move without gutting their entire pipeline of prospects. However, the price that looks to have been paid is unequivocally steep, as Frazier is widely regarded as one of the top 25 or so best prospects in the game, and Sheffield has worked his way onto a number of top 100 rankings as well.
While future iterations of the Indians may suffer down the line if Frazier and Sheffield reach their ceilings, Cleveland holds a 4.5 game lead over the American League Central division and has definitively announced itself to be in win-now mode. Cleveland reportedly had an agreement in place with the Brewers to acquire Jonathan Lucroy, but that move was blown up when Lucroy exercised his no-trade clause to nix the deal. Whether or not the Indians can pull off another major acquisition, they have filled one clear need on their roster with a top-of-the-market upgrade as they push to capture their first World Series title since 1948.
The Yankees, meanwhile, have seemingly become reluctant deadline sellers, now trading two-thirds of what was one of the most dominant late-inning trios Major League history. Dellin Betances will step into the ninth inning for the Yankees, who have parlayed their investments in Miller and Chapman into a slew of intriguing prospects. The Yankees’ farm system is now teeming with top-tier talent, positioning them well for the future either by allowing them to develop a number of core young players or put together a package for controllable, impact talent at the Major League level.
Frazier, 21, is one of the game’s most highly touted outfield prospects and draws rave reviews for his exceptional bat speed. He was recently promoted to Triple-A after hitting .276/.356/.469 with 13 homers and 13 steals in 391 plate appearances against much older competition at Double-A Akron. He rated 21st on Baseball America’s midseason list of the game’s top 100 prospects, 24th on MLB.com’s same version of that list, 26th on Baseball Prospectus’ midseason top 50 and 34th on Keith Law’s midseason top 50 at ESPN.com. He’s playing center field right now, but he may have to eventually move to a corner spot, where his bat will still play. Frazier draws positive reviews for his plus raw power and improving plate discipline. His walk and strikeout rates have improved significantly since his debut in pro ball, and given the fact that he’s already in Triple-A, he could be an option for the Yankees as soon as next season if his development doesn’t stall at the top minor league level.
Sheffield, 20, is currently holding his own against much older competition in the Class-A Advanced Carolina League. He’s worked to a 3.59 ERA with 8.8 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9 with a 45 percent ground-ball rate in 19 starts this season, spanning a total of 95 1/3 innings. Cleveland selected Sheffield with the 31st overall pick in the 2014 draft, and he currently rates 69th on BA’s midseason top 100 and 95th on MLB.com’s version of the list. Sheffield’s fastball has some sink to it and sits in the 92-93 mph range, occasionally reaching as high as 96 mph, per MLB.com. He’s a bit undersized at 5’10”, but most scouting reports on Sheffield peg him as a potential mid-rotation starter with a potentially plus curveball and a developing changeup.
Both Heller and Feyereisen could help the Yankees’ bullpen in the near future, tweets MLB.com’s Jim Callis. Heller rated as the Indians’ No. 30 prospect, per Callis and colleague Jonathan Mayo, He’s currently pitching at Triple-A after posting a dazzling 0.55 ERA with 12.7 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 16 1/3 Double-A innings to open the season. The 24-year-old Heller has had continued success since moving up a level, logging a 2.49 ERA with a 25-to-7 K/BB ratio in 25 1/3 innings. Heller’s fastball sits in the upper 90s and can touch 100 mph, and his slider draws above-average reviews from Callis and Mayo. The 23-year-old Feyereisen is currently pitching in Double-A, where he’s compiled a 2.23 ERA with a 56-to-20 K/BB ratio in 40 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. Though he’s averaged 4.5 walks per nine innings this season, control hasn’t been a major issue for him in past seasons.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported that Miller had been traded to Cleveland (Twitter link). ESPN’s Buster Olney reported that Frazier, Sheffield and two others were in the deal (links to Twitter). FanRag’s Jon Heyman reported the inclusion of Heller and Feyereisen (Twitter link).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Padres To Designate Hector Olivera For Assignment
The Padres will immediately designate infielder/outfielder Hector Olivera upon his activation from a suspension on Aug. 2, tweets Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. He had just been acquired from the Braves in exchange for Matt Kemp.
The news will sound bizarre to those unfamiliar with the situation or the contract statuses of either player, but the trade essentially boils down to a financial tactic for the Padres, who will save $25.5MM in the deal. San Diego owed Kemp $64.5MM from 2017-19 ($10.5MM of which was coming from the Dodgers via the trade in which they initially acquired Kemp), whereas Olivera is owed $28.5MM from 2017-20. Olivera is currently serving an 82-game suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy after being arrested and charged with assault of a woman at a Washington D.C.-area hotel back in April. Understandably, neither the Braves nor Padres wanted any part of Olivera , who hasn’t produced at the plate in either the minors or Majors since signing a six-year deal with the Dodgers in 2015 and also comes with a very poor defensive reputation.
San Diego has been rapidly trimming its payroll over the past nine months, shipping out expensive veterans Craig Kimbrel, Melvin Upton Jr., Fernando Rodney and Andrew Cashner in an effort to not only shed payroll but to aggressively accumulate minor league talent. Much of the Padres’ financial savings have been immediately redirected to international free agency, where they’ve been the most active and highest-spending team on the 2016-17 international free agent market. Most notably, the Padres have signed 17-year-old Cuban left-hander Adrian Morejon to an $11MM bonus and 19-year-old Cuban outfielder Jorge Ona to a $9MM bonus (each of which comes with a 100 percent luxury tax because the team has shattered its league-allotted spending pool).
The series of moves represents a significant change in course from a Padres front office that was one of the most aggressive buyers of the 2014-15 offseason. A season and a half of dismal play from the Friars has pushed the team into rebuild mode, and further moves should be expected in advance of Monday afternoon’s non-waiver trade deadline. Derek Norris stands out as perhaps the likeliest remaining Padre to be traded.
Padres, Braves Swap Matt Kemp, Hector Olivera
The Braves and Padres have agreed to a swap of bad contracts, announcing a trade of Hector Olivera from Atlanta to San Diego in exchange for Matt Kemp and cash considerations (which reportedly total $10.5MM). If there was any question about this being a purely financial move from the Padres’ vantage point, that was answered with the news that Olivera will be immediately designated Olivera for assignment once his suspension is complete.
[Related: Updated San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves Depth Charts]
The 31-year-old Kemp is owed $21.5MM in each of the next three seasons. The Padres had been slated to pay $18MM of that annually, with the Dodgers kicking in $3.5MM per year. That $3.5MM from the Dodgers will now reportedly be redirected to the Braves. Atlanta already owed Olivera $28.5MM from 2017-19, so the trade effectively amounts to the Braves adding Kemp for an additional $25.5MM over three years — an annual rate of $8.5MM.
A Kemp trade has long been difficult to imagine, as his considerable power is largely negated by his poor defense and his difficulty getting on base. Though he’s clubbed 24 homers this season, Kemp is hitting .262/.285/.489 overall, which translates to just a few ticks above the league-average batting line, per park-adjusted metrics like OPS+ and wRC+. However, while Olivera is owed less money than Kemp, his recent off-field issues look to have motivated the Braves to rid themselves of him before he ever has the opportunity to play another game in their uniform.
Olivera is currently serving a suspension through Aug. 1 under MLB’s domestic violence policy after being arrested and charged with assault of a woman at a Washington D.C.-area hotel back in early April. He’s the third player this season to serve a suspension under the newly implemented policy and has received the strongest punishment of the three. The Braves’ acquisition of Olivera has been ill-fated from the start, as defensive questions at third base quickly forced him into left field, and he’s yet to produce the plate whatsoever in an Atlanta uniform. The 31-year-old has tallied 108 plate appearances in the Majors, but the resulting .245/.296/.378 slash is considerably below the league average, and he hasn’t been productive in his limited minor league time, either. Olivera is owed $28.5MM from 2017-20.
From the Padres’ perspective, the deal is entirely about shedding some of the remaining money on Kemp’s contract and, presumably, clearing a spot for slugging corner outfield prospect Hunter Renfroe to debut with the big league club, whether it’s now or later on in the summer. (Renfroe, 24, was San Diego’s first-round pick in 2013 and has slashed a combined .323/.351/.594 in 121 games at the Triple-A level.) The trade that brought Kemp to San Diego in exchange for Yasmani Grandal, Joe Wieland and Zach Eflin was a head-scratcher at the time and has proven to be a bust for the Padres, but they’ll avoid paying everything that was left on Kemp’s contract with this trade, which continues GM A.J. Preller’s quest to shed payroll and give an opportunity to younger players.
As for the Braves, they’ll accept a portion of Kemp’s contract as a means of getting out from underneath a similarly regrettable trade. One year ago to the day, Atlanta traded Alex Wood, Jose Peraza, Luis Avilan and Jim Johnson to the Dodgers in a three-team deal (also including the Marlins) that sent Olivera, Paco Rodriguez and Zach Bird to the Braves. Atlanta had reportedly coveted Olivera as a free agent but lost out to the Dodgers’ huge offer of $62.5MM. Atlanta had seemingly hoped that Olivera could become a long-term option at third base, but things certainly haven’t panned out that way. GM John Coppolella candidly called the Olivera deal “a bad trade for us and one that I wish we had back” in a Twitter Q&A with fans last month, and he’s at least managed to rid himself of an asset from which the organization very clearly wanted to distance itself.
While Kemp’s defense and OBP will most likely continue to detract from his value, he’ll certainly add some power to a lineup that is currently bereft of home run threats outside of Freddie Freeman. He figures to play left field for the Braves while Mallex Smith is on the shelf, and the possibility of a Nick Markakis deal could open right field for Kemp in the long term. Given Atlanta’s rebuild and stockpiling of young talent, however, it seems reasonable to expect that they may eventually be open to moving Kemp themselves as a means of clearing way for a more youthful option to join Smith and Ender Inciarte in the outfield.
ESPN’s Keith Law first reported that the two sides were approaching a Kemp/Olivera swap (via Twitter). Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that it would be just those two players in the deal. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports added that there were cash considerations in the deal. Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported (on Twitter) that Olivera could be immediately be designated for assignment. David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweeted that an agreement was reached . Bowden tweeted the amount of cash changing hands. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted that the $10.5MM was the same $10.5MM the Padres were to receive from the Dodgers — not an additional $10.5MM.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Angels Designate Daniel Nava, Craig Gentry For Assignment
The Angels announced today that they’ve designated outfielders Daniel Nava and Craig Gentry for assignment. Outfielder Shane Robinson has been reinstated from the DL in a corresponding move.
The news brings to end a left field platoon that was widely panned by Angels fans this offseason, as the Halos elected to pursue bargain options with rather than incur luxury tax penalization when addressing its left field vacancy. Nava and Gentry have both spent significant time on the DL this season, and neither was overly productive at the dish. Nava batted .235/.309/.303 in 136 plate appearances while Gentry slashed .147/.237/.176 in just 39 trips to the plate.
Diamondbacks Designate Josh Collmenter, Mike Freeman For Assignment
The D-backs announced that they’ve designated right-hander Josh Collmenter and utilityman Mike Freeman for assignment. The moves clear room for lefties Steve Hathaway and Adam Loewen on the 40-man and 25-man rosters. Arizona also optioned Zac Curtis to Triple-A Reno.
The DFA of Collmenter, who was Arizona’s Opening Day starter in 2015, is at least somewhat surprising. While the right-hander has had mixed results after assuming a bullpen role this season, he’s pitched to a 4.84 ERA with 17 strikeouts against 11 walks to go along with a 47.7 percent ground-ball rate this season. Collmenter has made 15 appearances and, as the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro points out (via Twitter), delivered a scoreless outing in 12 of those games. However, he’s been torched in his other three appearances, allowing four runs in each of them, resulting in his lackluster earned run average.
Collmenter is earning just $1.85MM this season, and his track record — 3.49 ERA in 637 MLB innings prior to this season — makes that a reasonable enough price to expect that the D-backs could get some trade interest in him. At the very least, Collmenter’s salary is reasonable enough that a contending club in need of arms could place a claim if he’s placed on waivers.
Freeman, 28, made his big league debut in Arizona this season and went hitless in 11 plate appearances. He’s a career .315/.376/.421 hitter in Triple-A and has significant experience at second base and all three outfield positions.
Mets Place Jose Reyes On DL, Sign Justin Ruggiano
The Mets have placed infielder Jose Reyes on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left intercostal muscle and signed veteran outfielder Justin Ruggiano to a Major League deal, the team announced. Ruggiano is in the lineup for tonight’s game.
The Mets reunited with Reyes earlier this year in spite of a dreadful 2015 season and a 51-game suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy. Reyes has shown more extra-base pop than he has in years, but his overall productivity hasn’t been especially impressive; he’s hitting .239/.278/.493 in 72 plate appearances while primarily playing third base. The extent of Reyes’ injury isn’t known, but if he’s expected to miss significant time it could further motivate the Mets to add a bat to spend some time at third base.
Ruggiano, 34, was released from the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate earlier this week, where he’d batted .226/.321/.427 in 191 plate appearances. Those numbers are fairly pedestrian, but Ruggiano has a long track record of hitting left-handed pitching quite well at the Major League level. In parts of eight MLB seasons, he’s slashed .273/.336/.521 with 25 homers (538 PAs).
Nationals Acquire Mark Melancon
3:54pm: FanRag’s Jon Heyman reports that the Pirates sent about $500K to the Nationals as part of the deal (Twitter link).
2:00pm: The Nationals officially have struck a deal to acquire Pirates closer Mark Melancon, finally getting the late-inning upgrade they’ve been seeking. Southpaw Felipe Rivero is heading to Pittsburgh in return, with lefty pitching prospect Taylor Hearn rounding out the package.
Washington also gets cash in the deal, per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (via Twitter). Melancon is playing on a $9.65MM salary this year before reaching free agency. As a result of the mid-season move, the righty will not be eligible to receive a qualifying offer, which means he’ll enter the market free and clear of draft compensation.
The Nats have long been connected to the top of the relief market with incumbent Jonathan Papelbon struggling to hold down the ninth. The Nats picked him up this time last year, but while he had at least gotten the job done despite declining peripherals, the results have been bleak of late. While the team chased Aroldis Chapman, it wasn’t willing to meet the high asking price. And the Nats also balked at the apparent requests of a top-tier prospect in exchange for top closers Andrew Miller and Wade Davis — each of whom come with future control.
[Related: Updated Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates Depth Charts]
Melancon, 31, unquestionably constitutes a significant upgrade, though the loss of Rivero means that the team has lost a high-powered lefty from its roster. Still, it’s hard to argue with the decision to plug an established late-inning arm into the mix. The Nats can still turn to another power southpaw in Sammy Solis as well as crafty veteran Oliver Perez. Taking the broader perspective, the club certainly got more than it might have hoped for when it acquired Rivero as part of the early-2014 deal that brought backup catcher Jose Lobaton to D.C. in exchange for righty Nate Karns.
Interestingly, Melancon fits more the profile of Papelbon than of the other arms that D.C. reportedly targeted. He works in the 91 to 92 mph range with his average fastball and carries a swinging strike rate in the low-double digits. But as the now-aging Papelbon once did, Melancon has an increasingly lengthy record of pure excellence. Since coming to Pittsburgh in a seemingly minor trade, he has pitched to a 1.80 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and just 1.5 BB/9 across 260 1/3 innings. It has been more of the same this year, though Melancon’s typically outstanding groundball rate has dipped just below 50%. He currently sports a 1.51 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9, right at his now-established rates.
For the Bucs, it’s surely tough to part with such an integral part of the team with contention still in sights. But the club faces something of an uphill road despite its 52-49 record, with a powerful Cubs team still pacing the division and several other quality clubs angling for a Wild Card berth. After losing two consecutive play-in games, Pittsburgh obviously felt it wasn’t worth passing on this opportunity — particularly since it still figures to have a solid combination of Tony Watson and Neftali Feliz working to close out wins.
After all, Rivero will likely slot right into the Pirates pen, possibly constituting part of the Bucs’ late-inning mix — in the future, if not right away. The 25-year-old has monster stuff, even if his results have been uneven. The Pirates obviously put a high value on him, which is understandable given that he’s controllable through 2021 and is perhaps only just touching his potential. Rivero owns a 4.53 ERA in 49 2/3 innings on the year, but has posted 9.6 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9. If we’re being honest, it’s not out of the question that he could be every bit as good as Melancon right off the bat, though obviously he doesn’t come with anything near the veteran’s track record.
Hearn looks to be something of a younger version of Rivero. The 21-year-old features a huge fastball, but hasn’t yet advanced past the Class A level, where he owns a 3.18 ERA with 12.3 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 over 22 2/3 innings. Hearn was originally drafted by Pittsburgh, then ended up going to the Nats after being taken in the fifth round of last year’s draft.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the deal (links to Twitter), with Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweeting Hearn’s inclusion.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Athletics, Royals Swap Billy Burns, Brett Eibner
The Athletics and Royals have announced a swap of outfielders, with the fleet-footed Billy Burns headed to Kansas City in exchange for Brett Eibner. Both were playing at the Triple-A level for their respective teams, but have been in the majors at points earlier in the year.
[Related: Updated Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals Depth Charts]
Burns, 26, brings to Kansas City an elite set of wheels that should play well in the spacious outfield at Kauffman Stadium, and his overall skill set should fit in well with the Royals’ general style of play. Burns boasts an extremely high contact rate and has fanned in just 13 percent of his plate appearances at the Major League level, which is characteristic of the approach the Royals have utilized to great effect in the past two seasons. However, his overall offensive game took a notable step back in his sophomore season. After posting a .294/.334/.392 slash in 555 PAs last season (good for fifth in the AL Rookie of the Year voting, though that award was really a two-horse race), Burns batted just .234/.270/.302 in 292 PAs before being optioned back to Triple-A earlier this summer.
Eibner, 27, has just 85 plate appearances at the Major League level, where he’s batted .231/.286/.429 with three homers and six doubles. He ranked among the Royals top 30 prospects, per Baseball America, in each of the past five offseasons, checking in at No. 17 overall on the two most recent iterations of said list. Though the former second-rounder is older than most would associate with the term “prospect,” he does have an impressive track record in Triple-A, where he’s hit .280/.354/.471 with 37 homers in 961 plate appearances in parts of three seasons. Oakland has been home to no shortage of late bloomers under president of baseball operations Billy Beane, and the hope for Eibner is that he’ll seemingly be the next such success story.
Depending on the Royals’ plans for Burns, he could be controllable through the 2020 or 2021 season. Burns entered the season with one year and 20 days of big league service time, and he picked up an additional 97 days of Major League service before being optioned out earlier this month. He’d need another 55 days of service time in the Majors this year to reach two full years, which would put him on track for free agency following the 2020 season. However, if the Royals view him as more of a September call-up for the expansion of Major League rosters, Burns will fall shy and won’t be eligible until following the 2021 campaign. Eibner, meanwhile, is controllable through the 2022 seeason.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Orioles Sign Logan Ondrusek To MLB Deal, Designate Chaz Roe
The Orioles have signed righty Logan Ondrusek to a major league deal, per a club announcement. Fellow right-hander Chaz Roe has been designated for assignment to clear roster space.
[Related: Updated Orioles Depth Chart]
Ondrusek, 31, hasn’t appeared in the big leagues — or, indeed, in North America — since 2014. But he has been pitching quite well in Japan for the Yakult Swallows. Over his 99 2/3 frames on the year in Japan’s NPB, Ondrusek has pitched to a 2.17 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9.
Ondrusek previously enjoyed a solid, if uneven, run with the Reds from 2010 through 2014. He ran up a 3.34 ERA over his first two full seasons in the majors, then dropped off to a 4.69 earned run mark over his final two campaigns. Oddly, though, Ondrusek’s peripherals actually improved quite a bit over 2013-14, as he averaged an improved 8.9 K/9 while dropping his walk rate to 3.0 BB/9.
As for Roe, 29, he’ll enter DFA limbo after throwing 9 2/3 frames for the big league club this season. He has allowed four earned runs in his nine appearances, striking out 11 but also walking seven batters. In 75 1/3 innings over parts of four campaigns, Roe owns a 4.18 ERA with 9.2 K/9 against 4.8 BB/9.
Marlins Designate Cole Gillespie, Cole Figueroa
The Marlins have designated outfielder Cole Gillespie and utilityman Cole Figueroa for assignment, per a club announcement. Their roster spots were needed for the club’s acquisition of righties Andrew Cashner and Colin Rea.