Red Sox Designate Jorge Alfaro For Assignment
The Red Sox have designated catcher Jorge Alfaro for assignment, according to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. The move makes room for catcher Reese McGuire on the active roster after he was activated from the 10-day injured list this evening.
Alfaro, 30, joined the Red Sox in early July on a major-league deal after previously signing a minor league pact with the club this past offseason. Alfaro opted out of that minors deal and tested the open market, where he landed with the Rockies for a ten-game stint. He was then DFA’d and returned to the Red Sox organization for an eight-game stint.
Once a key piece in the deal that sent J.T. Realmuto to Philadelphia, Alfaro is now enduring his fourth consecutive season of significant struggles. Since the start of the shortened 2020 campaign, Alfaro has slashed just .236/.278/.354 in 737 plate appearances, good for a wRC+ of just 75. While that would be a manageable figure for a quality defensive catcher, Alfaro is generally regarded as a well below-average receiver behind the plate.
Now DFA’d for the second time this summer, Alfaro figures to test the open market for the fourth time in the past calendar year unless he is claimed on waivers. With the trade deadline in the rear-view, Alfaro could be an attractive depth option at catcher given his previous prospect pedigree, years of major league experience, and presumably risk-free acquisition cost of a minor league deal. As for the Red Sox, they’ll return to their typical catching tandem of Connor Wong and McGuire going forward, with Ronaldo Hernandez, Stephen Scott, and Caleb Hamilton available as depth options at the Triple-A level.
Angels Acquire Dominic Leone
The Angels have acquired right-hander Dominic Leone from the Mets, per Will Sammon of The Athletic. Mike Puma of the New York Post first reported that the Mets were engaged in discussions on a Leone deal. According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Mets received infield prospect Jeremiah Jackson in return.
Leone, 31, first broke into the big leagues with the Mariners back in 2014 with an impressive 2.17 ERA (168 ERA+) and 3.07 FIP in 66 1/3 innings of work. Since then, he’s bounced around the league, playing for Arizona, Toronto, Cleveland, St. Louis, and San Francisco in addition to Seattle and New York. The Angels will be the eighth team of his ten-year career in the majors. The veteran hurler sports a career 3.75 ERA and 4.01 FIP in 386 1/3 innings of work.
He’ll join the Angels following a rather difficult stint in New York. While he’s posted a 4.40 ERA that’s roughly league average by measure of ERA+ in 31 appearances, his 5.26 FIP is more concerning. While Leone’s 26% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate rate among the best marks of his career, he’s seen his groundball rate plummet to just 35.4%, far lower than his career 42.5% rate. While that isn’t entirely a problem by itself, Leone has also allowed a whopping 13.4% barrel rate this season, resulting in 18.4% of his fly balls leaving the year for home runs.
While Leone’s tendency to allow the long ball has severely limited his effectiveness this season, he should nonetheless be a useful arm for an Angels bullpen that ranks bottom four in the majors with just 1.3 fWAR as a collective unit. While Carlos Estevez and Matt Moore form a quality duo with which the club can close out games, Leone can help the likes of Aaron Loup and fellow deadline acquisition Reynaldo Lopez cover the middle innings for the Angels.
As for the Mets, they’ll receive a quality prospect in return for a veteran rental arm in the midst of a difficult season. Headed to Queens in exchange for Leone is Jackson, the Angels’ #9 prospect per MLB Pipeline. The 23-year-old infielder has shortstop, second base, third base, center field, and left field during his minor league career and has swiped 56 bags in 73 professional attempts. His been a league average hitter with Double-A Rocket City this year, slashing .248/.321/.447 in 349 plate appearances.
Red Sox Acquire Luis Urías
The Red Sox announced that they have acquired infielder Luis Urías from the Brewers for minor league right-hander Bradley Blalock. Robert Murray of FanSided first had Urías going to the Red Sox while Adam McCalvy of MLB.com first reported on Blalock’s involvement.
Urías, 26, seemed to be establishing himself as a solid part of the Milwaukee roster in the previous two seasons. Over 2021 and 2022, he launched 39 home runs and hit a combined .244/.340/.426 for a wRC+ of 111. This year, however, has been an entirely different story.
He was placed on the injured list with a hamstring strain after the first game of the season and wasn’t able to return until June 5. In the next three-plus weeks, he hit just .145/.299/.236 for a wRC+ of 60. A .179 batting average on balls in play wasn’t doing him any favors, but his exit velocity, hard hit rate and barrel rate were all down a few points. That cold spell was pronounced enough for the Brewers to send him to the minors, his first time being optioned since he was a Padre back in 2019. Things haven’t gone much better in Triple-A, as he’s hitting .233/.345/.379 at that level this year for a wRC+ of 84.
Right after acquiring Urías, the Sox assigned him to Triple-A, so he’ll serve as infield depth for the time being. Infield depth has been an ongoing concern in Boston this year ever since Trevor Story required elbow surgery in the offseason. He’s still yet to make his season debut, currently out on a rehab assignment. Enrique Hernández came in from the outfield to take over shortstop but that experiment didn’t work and he’s since been traded to the Dodgers.
For now, the club has a mixture of Yu Chang, Pablo Reyes, Christian Arroyo and Justin Turner up the middle. Urías will join Bobby Dalbec among the depth options that are on the 40-man roster but currently stashed at Triple-A. Urías has another option year beyond this one but could wind up non-tendered as he’ll be due a raise on this year’s $4.7MM salary.
In exchange for a player that had fallen out of their plans, the Brewers will get Blalock. The 22-year-old was a 32nd-round selection of the Red Sox in 2019. He was able to get some professional experience in 2019 and 2021, with the pandemic canceling the minor leagues in 2020. Then his 2022 was wiped out by Tommy John surgery, costing him another year of development.
Here in 2023, he’s been putting himself back on the prospect map. He’s made 11 starts, split between Single-A and High-A, posting a 2.19 ERA in 53 1/3 innings. He’s struck out 27.6% of opponents against a 6.2% walk rate. Back in June, FanGraphs ranked him the #17 prospect in Boston’s system. They note that the Sox were set to have a difficult decision to make, as Blalock will be Rule 5 eligible this winter and could be an attractive pick, despite not yet reaching Double-A.
Marlins Acquire Josh Bell; Guardians Receive Kahlil Watson, Will Release Jean Segura
The Marlins announced the acquisition of first baseman Josh Bell from the Guardians. Cleveland agreed to take on the contract of infielder Jean Segura — whom they intend to release — while acquiring infield prospect Kahlil Watson.
It’s an out-of-the-blue swap that continues a surprisingly active day for the Marlins. Miami shipped out pitching prospect Jake Eder to install Jake Burger at the hot corner. That apparently set the stage for them to move on from Segura, whose two-year free agent contract didn’t work at all as the club had envisioned.
That was a means of adding offense at one corner infield spot. They’ll hope for the same across the diamond, as they swapped in Bell for Garrett Cooper. Miami dealt their incumbent first baseman to the Padres for starting pitcher Ryan Weathers.
The series of moves results in a buy-low flier on Bell. As with Segura, he signed an ill-fated two-year free agent deal last offseason. The Guardians guaranteed the switch-hitter a two-year, $33MM pact. He can opt out of the deal at the end of the first season. It’s all but a given he’ll elect to play out the contract given the way in which his time in Cleveland transpired.
Bell is hitting .233/.318/.383 over 393 trips to the plate. His 10.9% walk percentage and 20.6% strikeout rate are both solid, but his batted ball results are middling. Bell has managed just 11 home runs and a .272 batting average on balls in play. As has been an issue throughout his career, he’s had a tough time elevating the ball. Bell is putting the ball on the ground at a lofty 48.5% clip, an obviously suboptimal number for a player whose game is built around power.
Still, the high grounder tallies are nothing new. He’s had plenty of success in spite of a propensity for low-angle contact. He combined for a .264/.355/.448 line in more than 1200 plate appearances between 2021-22. At his best, he’s a middle-of-the-order caliber bat. Miami will obviously hope for a return to form in a new environment.
Miami general manager Kim Ng and her staff clearly believe there’s more untapped potential remaining for Bell than with Segura. The Fish had signed the longtime second baseman to a two-year, $17MM pact with a plan to bump him to third base. It was a risk defensively that hasn’t paid off, as the veteran received well below-average marks for his 720 1/3 innings at the hot corner.
More concerning, Segura didn’t bring anything approaching his previous offensive form. He’s long been a slightly above-average hitter, combining double-digit homer power with excellent contact skills. This was his worst offensive season, however, as he managed only a .219/.277/.279 showing through 326 plate appearances as a Marlin.
Segura’s underlying offensive marks aren’t that far off those of previous seasons. His 38.8% hard contact rate is a near match for last year’s mark. That’s also true of his 6.7% walk percentage and 14.4% strikeout rate. Segura’s results simply weren’t up to par and the Fish elected to move on.
Given that Cleveland is immediately releasing Segura, his inclusion in the trade is strictly a financial measure. Bell is making $16.5MM this season and next. Segura is making $6.5MM this year and $8.5MM next season, as well as a $2MM buyout on a 2025 option. Bell is owed roughly $5.41MM through season’s end; Segura will make $2.13MM down the stretch. Miami takes on roughly $3.28MM this year and $6MM beyond this season to upgrade from Segura to Bell.
Segura will go unclaimed on release waivers in the next couple days. The Guardians will pay out almost all of his remaining contract. Once he clears waivers and becomes a free agent, Segura will be free to choose his next employer. That signing team would only pay him the prorated portion of the league minimum for whatever time he spends on a big league roster over the next season and a half.
In addition to the financial relief, the Guardians are buying low on a one-time top prospect. Watson, a 20-year-old infielder, was the 16th overall pick in the 2021 draft. The high school product was widely regarded as a top five to ten player in the class on talent, only dropping to the middle of the first round because of a lofty bonus demand.
His first two full seasons in pro ball haven’t gone as anticipated. Watson struck out in nearly 36% of his plate appearances in Low-A a year ago, hitting .231/.296/.395 over 83 games. He also missed some time last season on a team-imposed disciplinary absence after a confrontation with an umpire, as Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs wrote in his write-up of Miami’s farm system.
Watson still ranked in the upper third of the Marlins’ top 30 prospects at both FanGraphs and Baseball America, though he’s no longer seen as a top 100 talent around the league. He’s hitting .206/.337/.362 over 243 trips to the plate in High-A this year. He’s connected on seven homers, walked at an elite 14.4% clip and stolen 14 bases. Yet he’s still striking out an alarming rate — 28% of the time. There’s clearly plenty of variability in Watson’s profile, but he has huge bat speed and the chance to stick at a middle infield position. It’s an upside play for Cleveland at a much lower cost than would’ve been required to pry him away 12 to 18 months ago.
Craig Mish of SportsGrid first reported the Marlins were acquiring Bell. Jeff Passan of ESPN reported the Guardians were receiving Segura and Watson. Zack Meisel of the Athletic reported the Guardians planned to release Segura.
Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Dodgers Acquire Ryan Yarbrough
The Dodgers have acquired left-hander Ryan Yarbrough from the Royals, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand and Juan C. Toribio (Twitter link). Kansas City is receiving minor league infielders Devin Mann and Derlin Figueroa, Feinsand reports in a follow-up tweet.
While the Dodgers made bids for such high-profile pitchers as Justin Verlander and Eduardo Rodriguez prior to the deadline, they’ll still come away with some rotation help in Yarbrough, who has a 3.08 ERA over 38 innings and seven games as a starter for Kansas City this season. Of course, that also comes with a 7.62 ERA over 13 innings as a reliever, but Yarbrough has looked very sharp since he was moved into the K.C. rotation in April.
On-field performance has been a secondary story to Yarbrough’s 2023 season, as the southpaw suffered multiple facial fractures after being struck by a Ryan Noda line drive back on May 7. The injuries sent Yarbrough to the 60-day IL, but he thankfully returned in good health and has been in great form on the mound, with a 2.19 ERA over 24 2/3 innings since being activated off the injured list.
Yarbrough’s secondary metrics are the definition of a mixed bag. On the one hand, his 86.9% fastball velocity, fastball spin rate, and 13.7% strikeout rate are near the very bottom of the league. His 3.8% walk rate, however, is among the league’s elite, and he has done an excellent job of inducing soft contact. His 4.24 ERA is much lower than his 4.97 SIERA, which perhaps better reflects this curious set of Statcast numbers and the move from relief pitching to starting pitching.
The Dodgers have long had a knack for both helping pitchers find a new level of performance or helping them revive their careers altogether, so there’s plenty of promise for Yarbrough in this change of scenery. The left-hander is likely to get some more starts in an L.A. rotation that includes another new face in Lance Lynn, and the Dodgers now technically have seven healthy starting options in Lynn, Yarbrough, Tony Gonsolin, Julio Urias, and rookies Bobby Miller, Emmet Sheehan, and Michael Grove.
At least two of the youngsters will be moved to Triple-A or to the bullpen in the aftermath of the deadline, and once Clayton Kershaw returned from the 15-day injured list. Yarbrough could also work as a reliever himself, or in a swingman capacity as the situation warrants. He is quite familiar with such a role, both with the Royals this season and from his previous time as a starter, reliever, opener, and bulk pitcher with the Rays from 2018-22.
It’s a rental move for Los Angeles, as Yarbrough is a free agent after the season. He is still owed roughly $1.1MM as the remainder of his $3MM salary for the 2023 season, putting a bit of extra money on the ledger of a Dodgers team already well over the first luxury tax tier ($233MM). With much still to be settled in the wake of the deadline, Roster Resource projects the Dodgers as just narrowly under the $253MM second tier, and staying under that threshold would at least mean a slightly lesser financial penalty for the Dodgers as they pay into the tax for the third consecutive season.
With a one-year deal, Yarbrough was seen as a potential deadline trade chip from basically the moment he signed with the Royals, and Kansas City’s disastrous season only made a deal even more likely. The latest of K.C’s many swaps brings in two more prospects, including a player in Mann ranked by both Baseball America (24th) and MLB Pipeline (29th) within the top 30 of the Los Angeles farm system.
Mann was a fifth-round pick for the Dodgers in 2018, and might be ready for a big league look after hitting .307/.402/.541 with 14 homers over 386 plate appearances at the Triple-A level this season. While the hitter-friendly nature of the Pacific Coast League brings some pause to Mann’s numbers, the 26-year-old has hit pretty well over the course of his minor league career. “Mann is a well-rounded player who does a little bit of everything,” according to Baseball America’s scouting report, and his “bat and defensive versatility give him a chance to carve out a career as a lefty-mashing reserve.” Mann has played all four infield positions and left field this season, and he has logged some time in the other two outfield positions in past years.
The 19-year-old Figueroa was an international signing for L.A. in 2021, and he has hit .237/.372/.376 over 113 PA at the rookie ball level this season. While still very early in his pro career, Figueroa has at least shown a knack for getting on base, even if his overall hitting ability needs some polish. Like Mann, Figueroa is a multi-positional player — he has seen time at first base and both outfield corners this season, and played all the other infield positions in his first two seasons.
Padres Acquire Scott Barlow
The Padres acquired reliever Scott Barlow from the Royals for prospects Jesus Rios and Henry Williams, according to a team announcement. The Friars also designated infielder Brandon Dixon for assignment to clear a spot for Barlow.
Barlow, 30, owns a 5.35 ERA, 26.7 K%, 12.5 BB%, and 45.2% groundball rate this year in 38 2/3 innings. He’s saved 13 games for the Royals along the way.
The Dodgers drafted Barlow in the sixth round out of high school back in 2011. He signed a split free agent contract with the Royals way back in December 2017. Barlow started to find his footing in the Royals’ bullpen in the shortened 2020 season, working his way into a closer role the following year.
Barlow has had a couple of trips through arbitration, and decent save totals have led to a $5.3MM salary this year. Barlow competed with Aroldis Chapman for the Royals’ late-inning work earlier this summer, though Chapman was traded to the Rangers in late June.
Since June 10th, Barlow has an 8.04 ERA, 17.0 K%, and 13.4 BB% in 15 2/3 innings, causing him to fall out of favor with manager Matt Quatraro. Carlos Hernandez and others have leapfrogged Barlow on the depth chart, and now he’ll get a chance for a fresh start in San Diego. Barlow can be controlled for 2024 through the arbitration process, but he’ll have to bounce back for the Padres to get tendered a contract.
Josh Hader continues to pitch well atop the Padres’ bullpen, and Robert Suarez made his season debut on July 21st after recovering from an elbow injury. Nick Martinez and Steven Wilson have been key pieces as well.
Barlow is an aggressive pickup for a Padres team that enters play tonight five games out of the wild card. The club entered the day with an estimated luxury tax payroll above $280MM, meaning they are in the 95% tax bracket. FanGraphs still gives the Padres playoff odds of about 35%, and they also added Garrett Cooper, Rich Hill, and Ji Man Choi today. Padres GM A.J. Preller chose to supplement his club with veterans, rather than cash in impending free agents such as Blake Snell and Hader.
As for the Royals’ return, Williams is a 21-year-old righty starting pitcher who was drafted in the third round out of Duke last year and signed for an above-slot $800K while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. The 6’5″ starter has struggled thus far in 12 Low-A ball starts, but before the season he was seen as a 45 or 50 grade prospect with a three-pitch mix and mid-rotation upside.
Rios, 21, has worked as a reliever this year in the rookie-level Dominican Summer League. He’s posted a 6.38 ERA in 18 1/3 innings.
Dixon, 31, saw most of his big league time with the Reds and Tigers in 2018-19. He spent 2021 with the Rakuten Golden Eagles and returned stateside on a minor league deal with the Padres. He’s been up and down from the Major League club this year, picking up 86 plate appearances in 33 games.
Mark Feinsand was first to report the Padres’ acquisition of Barlow.
Padres Acquire Garrett Cooper
The Padres have acquired first baseman Garrett Cooper and minor league lefty Sean Reynolds from the Marlins in exchange for left-hander Ryan Weathers, per an announcement from both teams. San Diego designated outfielder Preston Tucker for assignment in a corresponding roster move.
Cooper, 32, will give the Padres a seasoned bench bat with a productive track record at the big league level. He’s picked up five-plus years of MLB service to this point in his career, making him a free agent at season’s end and a pure rental for San Diego, but one who has more often than not been a quietly strong offensive performer.
Although Cooper’s .256/.296/.426 batting line in 2023 doesn’t stand out, it’s only narrowly been worse than league average, by measure of wRC+ (97). Moreover, Cooper’s bat has picked up as the season has worn on. Dating back to June 1, he’s posted a far more palatable .276/.319/.468 batting line with eight big flies and six doubles. That’s good for a 115 wRC+ (i.e. about 15% better than league-average production, after weighting for home park) — which is right in line with Cooper’s career output.
Since making his MLB debut with the Yankees back in 2017, Cooper owns a .271/.338/.437 batting line in nearly 1700 trips to the plate. He’s been particularly productive with the Marlins in the past few seasons, batting .271/.352/.443 from 2020-22. Cooper has never had massive over-the-fence power but hits plenty of doubles and from 2018-22 drew walks at a healthy 9% clip.
Perhaps “healthy” is a dicey word to use in any regard when describing Cooper, as the primary knock against him as been a penchant to land on the injured list. Since 2018, Cooper has been on the injured list due to a wrist sprain, a calf strain, a lumbar strain, an elbow sprain, a concussion and an inner ear infection, among other maladies. Productive as his bat has been, he’s never logged more than 119 games or 469 plate appearances in a single season.
Cooper is healthy right now, however, and the Padres have gotten little to no production out of their bench this year. Veterans Rougned Odor (recently released), Nelson Cruz (released) and Matt Carpenter have provided no help, and the Friars have relied on a combination of journeymen and organizational depth pieces (e.g. Brandon Dixon, Matthew Batten, Taylor Kohlwey) in the other spots. Cooper’s above-average track record at the dish will be a significant boost, and he can slide in at first base if the Padres need to push Jake Cronenworth to second base to accommodate Ha-Seong Kim‘s recent injury.
In addition to Cooper, the Padres will pick up the 25-year-old Reynolds — a 2016 fourth-round pick and converted first baseman/outfielder who’s emerged as an interesting bullpen prospect. The 25-year-old Reynolds made the move to the mound full time in 2021 and has found a good bit of success in the upper minors. Through 48 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this season, the 6’8″ left-hander has pitched to a 2.77 ERA with a 26% strikeout rate, 11.2% walk rate and just two homers allowed. Reynolds features a four-seamer in the mid-to-upper 90s, a mid-80s slider and a changeup.
In exchange for the final couple months of Cooper’s services and a potential six seasons of control over Reynolds, the Marlins will pick up the 23-year-old Weathers — a former first-round pick and top Padres prospect who’s long looked like a change-of-scenery candidate. He’s seen action in each of the past three seasons, but other than his rookie campaign when injuries forced him to the Majors as a 21-year-old, Weathers has never received a particularly long look.
In 143 big league innings, Weathers has a 5.73 ERA. He’s fanned just 16.8% of his opponents but sports a respectable 8.3% walk rate and 42.9% ground-ball rate in that time. He’s also pitched decently in 40 2/3 Triple-A innings this season — 4.20 ERA, 29.2% strikeout rate, 13.5% walk rate in eight starts — and has a minor league option remaining beyond the current year. The Marlins’ vaunted pitching depth has been thinned out by the trades of Pablo Lopez and (earlier today) Jake Eder, as well as injuries to Trevor Rogers, Max Meyer and Sixto Sanchez. Weathers will add a former No. 7 overall pick to the stockpile, and the Marlins can take this year and next to try to coax some better performance out of the lefty.
As for the 33-year-old Tucker, he’ll lose his 40-man spot before appearing in a big league game with the Padres. The older brother of Astros star Kyle Tucker, Preston was once a well-regarded prospect himself but has never found sustained success in the minor leagues. He had a nice three-year run with the Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization from 2019-21 and has a career .274/.353/.471 slash in parts of eight Triple-A seasons — including a .293/.433/.565 showing so far in 2023.
However, the elder Tucker brother carries just a .222/.281/.403 slash in parts of three Major League seasons, and the Padres’ acquisitions of Cooper and Ji-Man Choi have beefed up their reserve options a bit. That left Tucker without a clear role moving forward. Normally, players who are designated for assignment have a week to be traded, placed on outright waivers or released. But, since the trade deadline has now passed and Tucker has been on a 40-man roster this year, he’s ineligible to be moved. He’ll hit waivers within the next week and be available to all 29 other clubs. Even if he clears, he’d have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.
Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald first reported the trade.
Blue Jays Acquire Paul DeJong
The Blue Jays moved quickly in the wake of Bo Bichette‘s knee injury last night, acquiring veteran shortstop Paul DeJong and cash from the Cardinals for minor league righty Matt Svanson. The Jays designated outfielder Jordan Luplow for assignment to clear a roster spot for DeJong.
DeJong, who turns 30 tomorrow, has bounced back offensively this year from an increasingly rough three-year period. DeJong has a 96 wRC+ on the season with 13 home runs in 306 plate appearances.
DeJong burst on the scene with a 123 wRC+ for the Cardinals in 2017, hitting 25 home runs and garnering a second place Rookie of the Year finish. In March of the following year, the Cards inked him to a six-year, $26MM extension. That deal includes a $12.5MM club option with a $2MM buyout for 2024, plus a $15MM option with a $1MM buyout for ’25. For the remainder of this season, DeJong is owed about $3MM. According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals are covering buyouts and half of DeJong’s remaining salary.
The Blue Jays are set to pay the competitive balance tax this year for the first time in franchise history. Their current CBT payroll appears to be right around the second tier of $253MM, beyond which a 32% tax will be paid.
DeJong’s bat slipped to a league average level in 2018-19, but he still popped 30 home runs, made the All-Star team, and posted a career-best 3.7 WAR in ’19. However, his offense fell further in 2020, and by 2022 Tommy Edman supplanted him as the Cardinals’ primary shortstop by defensive innings played. 2022 was a low point for DeJong, as he was optioned to Triple-A for a period of nearly three months.
This year, DeJong started the season on the IL with a back injury, joining the Cardinals in late April. He was able to regain the team’s starting shortstop job on the strength of a huge couple weeks.
As a defender, DeJong has posted above-average marks in recent years. His Statcast outs above average ranks 21st among qualified shortstops since 2021, similar to Brandon Crawford and Ha-Seong Kim. His defensive runs saved ranks 15th in that time, despite fewer innings than many of those ahead of him.
DeJong might not be the right-handed bat the Blue Jays had been seeking, but assuming he can continue as a league average hitter, he’s likely the best possible shortstop replacement for Bichette that GM Ross Atkins could find on deadline day.
Svanson, 24, was drafted in the 13th round by the Blue Jays in 2021 out of Lehigh University. Though he made some A-ball starts last year, Svanson has worked exclusively in relief this year as he’s made his way to High-A. At that level, he has a 1.23 ERA, 31.3 K% and 9.6 BB%. Svanson has deployed his sinker to get a nifty 56.3% groundball rate in his 29 1/3 innings. He’ll now head to Double-A with his new organization.
Luplow, 29, signed a one-year, $1.4MM deal with the Braves in December of last year. He was designated for assignment in early April and claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays. The Jays had booted Luplow off their 40-man by the end of that month, but he returned in July for three games with the big club. Luplow had a 92 wRC+ in 208 Triple-A plate appearances this year.
GMs Ross Atkins of the Jays and John Mozeliak of the Cardinals have gotten along well in recent weeks, striking separate trades that sent relievers Genesis Cabrera and Jordan Hicks to Toronto. Neither GM expected to be in such a position on deadline day: the Blue Jays adding a shortstop, and the Cardinals acting as a seller. St. Louis has also shipped off Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton, with Jack Flaherty likely on the way out within the next four hours.
Jon Morosi of MLB Network was first to report a deal was close and name the player coming to the Cardinals, while Katie Woo of The Athletic reported the agreement was in place.
Phillies, Pirates To Swap Bailey Falter For Rodolfo Castro
The Phillies and Pirates are nearing a swap of left-hander Bailey Falter and infielder Rodolfo Castro, reports Jayson Stark of The Athletic (Twitter link). The deal has been agreed upon, pending medical reviews, tweets Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Falter, who turned 26 earlier this season, will give the Pirates an immediate option in the rotation. He’s struggled in 2023, logging a 5.13 ERA in 40 1/3 frames, but is only a season removed from 84 innings of 3.86 ball over the life of 20 appearances (16 of them starts) with Philadelphia. Though Falter has struggled both in the Majors and in Triple-A this season, he’s generally pitched with excellent command (career 4.7% walk rate in MLB, 7.3% in Triple-A). He’s not a hard-thrower, but Falter has still missed bats in the upper minors and can be controlled for an additional five years via arbitration.
Falter is in the last of his three option years. He can be shuttled between Triple-A Indianapolis and Pittsburgh for the remainder of the current season, but the Bucs will need to keep him on the Opening Day roster in 2024 or else designate him for assignment and risk exposing him to waivers. Today’s trade of Rich Hill to the Padres and injuries to others (e.g. JT Brubaker, Vince Velasquez) have created enough uncertainty in the Pittsburgh rotation that there ought to be room for Falter to have a trial run in the season’s final two months. Pittsburgh’s starting staff currently includes Mitch Keller, Johan Oviedo and rookies Quinn Priester and Osvaldo Bido.
As for the Phillies, they’ll add a switch-hitter with experience at three infield spots. Much like Falter, Castro is in his final option season, potentially has five years of club control remaining, and is struggling in 2023 after a solid showing in 2022. Last year saw the 24-year-old turn in a .233/.299/.427 batting line (103 wRC+) with 11 home runs and seven doubles in 278 plate appearances. That’s not exactly standout production, but Castro drew solid defensive grades at the hot corner and looked like a potential utilityman moving forward, at the very least.
Castro got out to a huge start in 2023, batting .286/.378/.468 through the end of April, but his bat has cratered. Since May 1, he’s hitting just .192/.271/.283 with three homers, two doubles and a 30.1% strikeout rate in 133 plate appearances. He’s drawn nice grades for his defense a second base this season but lesser reviews for his work at third base and shortstop. On the whole, Castro is a switch-hitter with a bit of pop who can perhaps be relied upon at second or third base but is more of an in-a-pinch option at shortstop.
The Phillies were known to be looking for right-handed bats, and while Castro likely wasn’t on many (or any) radars in that regard, he does fill the need. The switch-hitter touts a career .277/.341/.559 line as a right-handed hitter (just .193/.272/.293 as a lefty) and is hitting .290/.368/.538 from the right side of the dish this season.
It’s an interesting swap of a pair of young change-of-scenery candidates. The Phillies, having acquired Michael Lorenzen to pair with Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Taijuan Walker and Ranger Suarez, didn’t have any immediate need in the rotation for Falter, who’s also been passed on the depth chart by Cristopher Sanchez. The Pirates, meanwhile, now have Liover Peguero, Nick Gonzales and Alika Williams in the infield mix alongside injured hopeful cornerstones Ke’Bryan Hayes and Oneil Cruz. There wasn’t a clear long-term role for Castro. It’s something of a “challenge” trade for a back-end starter and potential role player, beefing up depth for each organization in potential areas of need.
Yankees Acquire Keynan Middleton
The Yankees and White Sox have agreed to a trade that will send Keynan Middleton to the Bronx, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports (Twitter link). Right-hander Juan Carela will head from New York to Chicago in return, according to YES Network’s Joe LoGrippo (via Twitter).
Middleton becomes the latest player moved in what has been a significant pre-deadline selloff from Chicago, while the Yankees have now made their first notable deadline move. While New York had been reportedly looking to add some controllable pieces, the Bombers will instead make a short-term move in Middleton, who is a free agent after the season.
Signed to a minor league deal by the White Sox over the winter, Middleton was looking to rebuild his career after a trio of rocky seasons with the Angels, Mariners, and Diamondbacks. Breaking into the majors as a member of the Angels’ bullpen in 2017, Middleton showed some intriguing promise in his rookie season but Tommy John surgery sidelined him for most of the next two years.
Now 29 years old, Middleton finally started to get back on track this season in Chicago. He has a 3.96 ERA over 36 1/3 innings, with an excellent 30.3% strikeout rate and elite chase and whiff rates. Control has been an issue, as Middleton’s 10.3% walk rate is well below league average, and he also has a 9.8% barrel rate despite good hard-hit ball numbers overall.
A lot of that damage has come within the last month. Middleton had a 2.33 ERA through his first 29 appearances and 27 innings, but he has since posted an 8.68 ERA over his last 9 1/3 innings of work, allowing at least one earned run in six of 10 appearances. These recent struggles surely impacted Chicago’s asking price, but the Yankees felt comfortable enough to take the plunge on the low-cost addition.
The right-hander joins a New York bullpen that has been one of the game’s better relief corps this season, and since the Yankees were otherwise very quiet with their deadline moves, it seems as though the club is doubling down on its strong pen to try and sneak into a wild card berth. Clay Holmes and Michael King get most of the save chances and highest-leverage work, but there’s plenty of flexibility for Middleton to earn him more looks in key late-game situations.
The 21-year-old Carela has a 3.67 ERA over 83 1/3 innings (starting 16 of 17 games) with the Yankees’ high-A affiliate in Hudson Valley this season, with a 9.1% walk rate and an impressive 31.1% strikeout rate. MLB Pipeline ranked Carela as the 29th-best prospect in New York’s farm system, describing the right-hander as a possible back-end rotation piece if he improves his control and command. Carela has a plus slider as well as a sweeper, a pitch taught to many hurlers in the Yankees organization in recent years.