Yankees Acquire Scott Effross From Cubs
For the second trade deadline in a row, the Yankees have bolstered their bullpen with an under-the-radar arm from the NL Central. The Yankees announced Monday that they’ve acquired right-hander Scott Effross from the Cubs in exchange for minor league right-hander Hayden Wesneski.
Effross, 28, isn’t a household name but has been outstanding since the Cubs promoted him for his Major League debut in 2021. The sidearming righty has tallied 58 2/3 innings as a big leaguer to date and posted a 2.91 ERA with a 28.8% strikeout rate, a 5.1% walk rate and a 46% ground-ball rate.
While Effross throws right-handed, he’s been far more effective against lefties than right-handers to this point in his big league career, which surely held appeal to the Yankees (and to other teams). That’s not to say that he’s ineffective against fellow righties — far from it — but Effross has held lefties to a putrid .160/.250/.253 batting line through 85 plate appearances. Right-handed hitters have had struggles of their own, hitting Effross at a solid .262 clip but posting a meager .287 OBP and just a .369 slugging percentage.
Because Effross is only in his second big league season and entered the year with less than one full year of Major League service time, he’s controllable for another five years beyond the current campaign. He’ll be arbitration-eligible following the 2024 campaign and won’t reach free agency until the 2027-28 offseason.
The acquisition of Effross is pivotal for a Yankees team that has seen its previously rock-solid bullpen begin to show cracks of late. In recent weeks, the Yankees have lost Michael King to a fractured elbow, seen Chad Green go down with a torn ligament that required Tommy John surgery, and watched former closer Aroldis Chapman struggle badly in his return from the injured list. Even Clay Holmes, the team’s breakout closer and All-Star, has scuffled over the past two weeks after a superhuman start to the 2022 season that catapulted him into the Yankees’ closer role. Effoss will help solidify the group both in 2022 and well beyond — provided he can sustain his own impressive emergence as a viable late-inning arm.
Wesneski, 24, was the Yankees’ sixth-round pick in 2019 and has emerged as one of the organization’s top pitching prospects, ranking fourth among Yankee farmhands at Baseball America. The 6’3″, 210-pound righty reached Triple-A late in the 2021 season and has spent the entire 2022 campaign there. Through 19 starts and 89 2/3 innings so far this season, he’ notched a 3.51 ERA with a 22.4% strikeout rate, a 7.5% walk rate and a 41.6% ground-ball rate.
Scouting reports on Wesneski credit him for mid-90s velocity on a pair of heaters — two-seam and four-seam — with the latter able to climb as high as 99 mph. He also works with a slider, changeup and cutter. Baseball America touts him as a potential fourth starter, one who’s not too far off from big league readiness. It’s the type of upper-level arm with decent probability to become a big league starter that the Cubs generally struggled to develop in the prior Theo Epstein/Jed Hoyer regime. MLB.com has already updated its ranking of the Cubs’ top prospects with Wesneski slotting in No. 8, right behind fellow pitching prospects Caleb Kilian and Jordan Wicks.
Jack Curry of the YES Network first reported (via Twitter) that Effross had been traded to the Yankees. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweeted that Wesneski was going to Chicago in return.
Padres, Joe Musgrove Agree To Extension
The Padres and right-hander Joe Musgrove have finalized a five-year, $100MM extension, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter links). The deal — which pays even $20MM salaries each year between 2023-27 — contains a full no-trade clause for the next four seasons, as well as limited no-trade protection for 2027. Heyman reported last Friday the parties were close on a deal at those terms. Musgrove, a client of Full Circle Sports Management, had been set to hit free agency at the end of the year.
Musgrove and the Friars have spent months kicking extension terms around, with progress seemingly ratcheting up around the All-Star Break. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported over the Break there was a belief on both sides a deal could get done before the start of the season’s unofficial second half. That obviously didn’t come to pass, but that evidently didn’t deter or meaningfully set back talks.
The five-year, $100MM price point registers as a bit of a surprise, as the first-time All-Star quite likely could’ve topped those numbers by a fair amount on the open market. Musgrove, however, is a San Diego-area native who has been open about his desire to remain with his hometown club. It’s certainly understandable if the opportunity at a nine-figure payday to remain in a place he’s comfortable was something he decided not to pass up, particularly with the strong no-trade protection.
Musgrove’s contract nevertheless checks in below those landed by a couple of the top starters on last year’s market, Kevin Gausman and Robbie Ray. Gausman received a five-year, $110MM deal from the Blue Jays. Ray signed with the Mariners for five years and $115MM in a deal that also included an opt-out opportunity following the 2024 season. Aside from the record-setting three-year deal for Max Scherzer, the Gausman and Ray contracts represented the top commitments to free agent starters last offseason.
One could argue that Musgrove is a better long-term bet than either hurler. Like Ray, he’ll begin his new deal with his age-30 season; Gausman’s contract started at age 31. The San Diego righty carries a career-low 2.65 ERA through 115 1/3 innings this season, a bit below the respective 2.81 and 2.84 marks posted by Gausman and Ray last year. Both Gausman and Ray missed bats at a better clip than Musgrove has, but the latter has a slightly better walk rate than the 2021 free agents.
Musgrove’s platform season is shaping up to be similar to those of Gausman and Ray, and Musgrove may have a slightly better long-term track record. Ray had an awful year during the shortened 2020 campaign in which he posted a 6.62 ERA. He’d shown top-of-the-rotation flashes earlier in his career, but his control and home run rates fluctuated a fair amount. Gausman had a very strong shortened season, but he’d struggled during the previous full campaign. Musgrove has a sub-4.00 ERA in each of his past three years, with a cumulative 3.08 figure through 58 starts since the beginning of 2020.
In that context, the extension looks like a strong investment for the Friars. That’s particularly true given the Padres’ long-term rotation uncertainty. San Diego could lose both Sean Manaea and Mike Clevinger to free agency this winter. Blake Snell and Yu Darvish are only under contract for a season and a half, and Nick Martinez can opt out of his deal after any of the next three years. MacKenzie Gore is the only rotation building block who’s certain to be around two seasons from now, and the Friars can build a long-term starting staff around the young southpaw and Musgrove.
Musgrove’s contract comes with a matching $20MM luxury tax number, which will take effect beginning next season. The Friars exceeded the CBT threshold for the first time in franchise history last year, and they could well do so again in 2022. According to Jason Martinez of Roster Resource, San Diego’s 2023 payroll now sits around $130MM before accounting for arbitration salaries. The Padres luxury tax number is estimated north of $162MM, while next season’s base tax threshold checks in at $233MM.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Phillies Designate Ryan Sherriff For Assignment
The Phillies announced Monday that left-hander Ryan Sherriff has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list and been designated for assignment.
Sherriff, 32, joined the Phillies on a waiver claim over the winter. He’s yet to pitch at the big league level for the Phillies due to a shoulder strain that’s sidelined him for nearly the entire year. He posted strong numbers in his minor league rehab assignment, yielding four runs on 13 hits and seven walks with 18 strikeouts over the life of 18 1/3 innings (2.51 ERA). Matt Gelb of The Athletic tweets, however, that Sherriff’s velocity wasn’t where the team expected it to be as he worked his way back up.
Sherriff has pitched in parts of four big league seasons, working to a 3.65 ERA with a 18.7% strikeout rate, an 8.8% walk rate and a big 56% ground-ball rate in 44 1/3 innings for the Cardinals and the Rays. Philadelphia can look for trade partners between now and tomorrow’s 6pm ET deadline, or Sherriff can be placed on waivers at any point over the next week.
Braves Acquire Ehire Adrianza, Designate Robinson Cano For Assignment
The Braves announced Monday that they’ve acquired infielder Ehire Adrianza from the Nationals in exchange for minor league outfielder Trey Harris. In a corresponding roster move, Robinson Cano has been designated for assignment.
It’s Adrianza’s second stint with the Braves, as he also filled a utility role for Atlanta just last season. The veteran switch-hitter slashed .247/.327/.401 in 209 plate appearances for the Braves and appeared at six positions last year. Thus far in 2022, however, he’s mustered only a .179/.255/.202 output in 94 trips to the plate.
That rough stretch at the plate notwithstanding, Adrianza has a track record of at least passable, if unexciting, production at the plate. From 2016-21, he turned in a combined .252/.318/.381 batting line over a much larger sample of 1169 plate appearances. He doesn’t have plus defensive grades at any position, but Adrianza also won’t be a liability anywhere in the infield. For the time being, he can help bridge the gap at second base while the team awaits Ozzie Albies‘ return from a broken foot. As of two weeks ago, Atlanta was targeting a mid- or late-August return for the two-time All-Star and Silver Slugger winner.
In return for Adrianza, who’ll be a free agent at season’s end, the Nats will pick up the 26-year-old Harris, who previously ranked in the middle tier of the Braves’ top 30 prospects but has fallen off with some rough showings in Double-A. Baseball America twice listed Harris in Atlanta’s top 30 (No. 21 in 2020 and No. 26 in 2021), and FanGraphs pegged him as the system’s No. 16 prospect in March 2021. Harris was a senior sign out of Mizzou in the 32nd round of the 2018 draft and hit well through the 2019 season, topping out with a .281/.318/.411 showing in that hitter-friendly setting during his 2019 debut there.
There was, of course, no minor league season in 2020, however, and Harris has struggled in his second and now third trips through the Double-A level. After batting .247/.317/.354 in 405 Double-A plate appearances last year, he’s at .238/.328/.323 so far in 2022 (220 plate appearances). That’s a far cry from his earlier career performance, which saw him hit .300 and OPS north of .800 in each of his first two professional seasons. Scouting reports on Harris peg him as a corner outfielder — likely left field — with some power to his pull side, but he obviously has a ways to go to rebuild some of his prospect stature.
As for Cano, this is now the third team to cut bait on him this season. He’s already been released by both the Mets and the Padres, and the former All-Star’s brief nine-game showing didn’t do much to inspire confidence in an eventual rebound. Cano went just 4-for-26 with three singles, a double, a walk and four strikeouts in his brief time with the team. He’s now hitting .150/.183/.190 through 104 Major League plate appearances in his return from a 162-game PED suspension last year. The Braves can technically trade Cano up until tomorrow’s deadline, but it’s very likely that they’ll instead just release him.
Giants Acquire Dixon Machado From Cubs
3:15PM: The Giants announced the trade to reporters, including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, with minor league righty Raynel Espinal going the other way. The 30-year-old made his MLB debut last year, logging just two innings for the Red Sox. The Giants signed him to a minor league deal for this year, with Espinal working as a starter in Triple-A. In 19 games, he has thrown 81 1/3 innings with a 5.29 ERA. He has an impressive 27.6% strikeout rate for the year but below-average walk and ground ball rates of 10.3% and 39%.
As expected, Thairo Estrada was placed on the concussion IL to make room for Machado on the active roster, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com was among those to relay. To make room on the 40-man roster, righty Tobias Myers was designated for assignment. Myers began the season with the Guardians but went to the Giants in a trade earlier this month. Between the two clubs, he’s thrown 63 innings in Triple-A this year with a 6.14 ERA.
2:42PM: The Giants have officially acquired Machado, Morosi reports. ESPN’s Jesse Rogers adds the interesting detail that Machado requested a trade, likely in order to land on a team that could offer him big league playing time.
2:09PM: The Giants are looking to acquire infielder Dixon Machado from the Cubs, as MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (Twitter link) reports that the two sides are in talks. It isn’t known if this could be part of a larger multi-player swap, or if Machado would be the primary player involved.
It is quite possible it could be a cash-considerations type of minor move, as Machado hasn’t played in the big leagues since 2018. The Giants are also in particular need of shortstop help, as injuries have drastically thinned out their shortstop depth chart at both the Major and minor league levels. Brandon Crawford is on the 10-day injured list recovering from a knee injury, while Thairo Estrada was hit in the head by a pitch yesterday and is expected to be placed on the seven-day concussion IL.
After appearing in 172 games with the Tigers from 2015-18, Machado has since played with the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate in both 2019 and 2022, with two seasons with the KBO League’s Lotte Giants sandwiched in between. Over those four years, Machado posted some solid averages and developed a knack for getting on base, even if his power was sporadic at best (though he did hit 17 home runs during the homer-happy 2019 Triple-A season).
This year at Triple-A Iowa, Machado has hit .312/.402/.394 with two homers and 10 steals (in 13 chances) over 391 plate appearances. While Machado has played as a shortstop for the vast majority of his pro career, the 30-year-old has also seen some action at second and third base, making him a good fit for the Giants’ preferred model of versatile players.
Athletics Sign Beau Taylor To Minor League Deal
The Athletics have signed catcher Beau Taylor to a minor league deal, reports Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle. Taylor has been signed to Triple-A Las Vegas.
Taylor, 32, returns to the organization that drafted him, as the A’s selected him back in 2011. He worked his way up the minor league ladder and made his MLB debut with Oakland back in 2018. Since then, he’s also suited up for Toronto and Cleveland in the big leagues. He’s earned a reputation as a strong defensive catcher but hasn’t hit much at the MLB level so far, with a career batting line of .118/.237/.255, though in a small sample of just 25 games.
This past offseason, he signed a minor league deal with the Orioles after Adley Rutschman suffered an injury before the season began. Taylor himself dealt with injuries this year, however, and was only able to get into 23 games for the Norfolk Tides before being released just over a week ago.
For the A’s, Taylor will add an extra layer of veteran depth at the Triple-A level. The club has Sean Murphy and Stephen Vogt handling the catching duties in Oakland, though Murphy has been the subject of recent trade rumors. If the club were to pull the trigger on a deal before the August 2 deadline, that would likely lead to prospect Shea Langeliers getting promoted to the big leagues and Taylor taking over his spot on the depth chart.
Mariners Place Julio Rodriguez, Dylan Moore On 10-Day IL; Ty France To Undergo MRI
The Mariners placed outfielder Julio Rodriguez (right wrist contusion) and utilityman Dylan Moore (back spasms) on the 10-day injured list. Jarred Kelenic has been called up from Triple-A, and first baseman/outfielder Jack Larsen‘s contract has been selected from Double-A. To make room for Larsen on the 40-man roster, left-hander Anthony Misiewicz has been designated for assignment.
Last night’s 5-4 win over the Astros was a costly victory for the Mariners, as Rodriguez, Moore, and Sam Haggerty (due to a cut on his forehead) all had to leave the game, making Seattle’s late-inning triumph all the more improbable. If that wasn’t enough, Ty France is also set to undergo an MRI, as his bothersome left wrist injury again flared up late in the game.
Rodriguez’s injury drew the most immediate concern after the star rookie was hit on the right hand while swinging, though x-rays were negative. Rodriguez is still sore enough that he won’t be able to swing for the next 4-5 days, manager Scott Servais told Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times and other reporters, and thus the IL stint was necessary to both keep the Mariners from being undermanned and to give Rodriguez time to get healthy.
There’s no easy way to replace Rodriguez, who has quickly cemented himself as both the present and future of Seattle baseball. The outfielder is the heavy favorite to capture AL Rookie Of The Year honors, unless this IL stint lingers or impacts Rodriguez’s production once he does return. Likewise, France also made the AL All-Star team this year and has basically done nothing but hit since the M’s acquired him from the Padres at the 2020 trade deadline.
Rodriguez and France are the Mariners’ two team leaders in fWAR, so losing at least one and potentially both to injury just prior to the trade deadline leaves Seattle’s front office in a tight spot. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto implied that after the Luis Castillo trade, the M’s could be done with any huge moves, and were relying on Mitch Haniger‘s return to boost the offense rather than rely on any outside pieces. The Mariners still have over 52 hours to monitor and evaluate Rodriguez and France before the 5pm CT deadline on August 2, but if there’s any uncertainty, the aggressive Dipoto might opt to swing at least a depth trade for the lineup just in case.
Moore has been a valuable player in his own right, posting a 116 wRC+ (from five homers and a .197/.350/.367 slash line in 185 PA) and playing at least one game at seven different positions around the diamond this season. Abraham Toro will have to pick up some of the utility slack in the interim, though Toro has mostly played only second and third base during his two seasons with the Mariners. Back spasms might not sideline Moore for much beyond the 10-day minimum, yet Dipoto could also explore adding a multi-position player to help fill Moore’s shoes in the short term.
Kelenic will get another opportunity to establish himself in the majors after struggling badly in first 473 plate appearances in the Show. Kelenic has hit .173/.256/.338 as a big leaguer, with an ungainly 30% strikeout rate. That swing-and-miss has crept into Kelenic’s work in the minors, as though he is hitting well at Triple-A, his strikeout rate over 252 PA for Tacoma this season is 23.8%, considerably up from 15.4% in 143 Triple-A PA in 2021.
Larsen went undrafted in 2017, but after inking a deal with the Mariners shortly after the amateur draft, the UC San Diego product is now on the verge of his Major League debut without so much as a cup of coffee at the Triple-A level. The 27-year-old has played all three outfield positions and a handful of games as a first baseman, though Larsen hasn’t played any center field this year. At the plate, Larsen has hit .266/.371/.444 in 564 career PA in Double-A ball. Neither Baseball America or MLB Pipeline rate Larsen as one of the 30 best prospects in Seattle’s farm system.
Misiewicz has been a regular in the Mariners’ bullpen for the last three seasons, but he was optioned to Triple-A in June after posting a 4.61 ERA and only a 14% strikeout rate in 13 2/3 innings this season. The M’s are known to be looking for bullpen help before the deadline, and left-handed relief could be a particular need, as Misiewicz’s struggles further lessened a pen already thin on southpaws. It isn’t out of the question that Misiewicz could be claimed on DFA waivers, given how other clubs are constantly on the hunt for left-handed relief.
Diamondbacks Trade David Peralta To Rays
The Rays added some help to their injury-plagued outfield mix, announcing the acquisition of veteran David Peralta from the D-backs. Minor league catcher Christian Cerda is headed to the Diamondbacks in return.
Peralta, 35 next month, has spent all nine seasons of his Major League career with the D-backs prior to this trade. The veteran lefty hitter has produced a solid .248/.316/.460 batting line this season (110 wRC+), connecting on a dozen homers, 19 doubles and two triples through 310 plate appearances. He’s striking out at a career-high 23.9% clip and drawing walks at a roughly average 8.7% rate that clocks in a percentage point higher than his career mark.
The D-backs signed Peralta to a three-year, $22MM extension in his final season before he would’ve reached free agency, and he’s playing out the final season of that contract now in 2022. Peralta is a pure rental for the Rays, then, but he’ll give them a much-needed outfield bat to plug into the lineup following injuries to Kevin Kiermaier, Manuel Margot and Harold Ramirez.
Peralta not only provides that crucial outfield reinforcement — he also provides the Rays with a noted boost against right-handed pitching. Tampa Bay has handled righties at only a league-average clip this season, but Peralta owns a .267/.325/.498 batting line against right-handers this year and a stout .295/.351/.492 output over the course of his career. He’s long been ineffective against left-handed pitching, however, and is batting just .114/.261/.200 against southpaws this year (albeit in a tiny sample of 35 plate appearances). As such, the Rays will surely shield him from left-handed opposition as much as possible.
While he’s not the slugger he was when he hit 30 homers in 2018 or the defender he was when he won a Gold Glove in 2019, Peralta is still a solid platoon bat with above-average defensive ratings in the corners. Arizona has used him primarily in left field this season, though the Rays may prefer him in right, given Randy Arozarena‘s presence in left. Peralta has a career mark of +7 Defensive Runs Saved in 1435 innings of right field (and has been a scratch defender there, per Outs Above Average). His work in left field is more highly regarded, but Peralta shouldn’t hurt the Rays in either corner slot and also hits well enough to spend time at DH against righties.
Heading to the Diamondbacks is the 19-year-old Cerda, whom the Rays signed as an international free agent back in 2019. Cerda was actually born in New York but moved to the Dominican Republic in his early teens and developed into a prospect of some note. He signed a $325K bonus with Tampa Bay that summer, drawing praise from Baseball America for his plus arm, agility and intriguing power potential.
Because there was no minor league season in 2020, Cerda is playing in just his second season of pro ball. He’s spent the season with the Rays’ Rookie-level Florida Complex League affiliate and posted an impressive .315/.464/.519 batting line through his first 69 trips to the plate. Cerda played in the Dominican Summer League last season and slashed .218/.366/.338 in 164 trips to the plate. He’s caught 30 of 79 runners who’ve attempted to steal against him at this point in his young career — an excellent 38% rate.
Robert Murray of FanSided first reported (via Twitter) that Peralta was headed to the Rays. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that Cerda was going back to Arizona in return.
Draft Signings: July 30
Here is today’s roundup of top-39 (first round, supplemental round, Competitive Balance Round A) draft picks and some other notable selections who have signed their first pro contracts. For further reference, here is the full list of recommended slot prices, and you can click the links for full pre-draft rankings and scouting reports from Baseball America, Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.
- The Guardians announced that all 21 members of their 2022 draft class have signed, including first-rounder Chase DeLauter. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported last week that DeLauter had agreed to sign, and MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis reports that DeLauter received $3.75MM, slightly below the $3,937,600 slot value of the 16th overall pick. McDaniel (31st) and Law (35th) were lower on DeLauter than the other pundits, who all had the James Madison outfielder in the 18-21 range. DeLauter has a lot of hitting potential and likely profiles as a right field down the road, but he missed most of the spring due to a broken foot.
- Oklahoma State right-hander Justin Campbell received a $1.7MM bonus from Cleveland, Callis reports, below the $2,101,800 slot price for the 37th overall pick. On the pundits’ boards, Campbell ranged from 27th (Baseball America) to 42nd (Fangraphs), with BA being particularly impressed by “one of the best changeups in this year’s draft,” as well as Campbell’s plus curveball.
- The Guardians also made a notable above-slot deal with their 10th-round selection, as right-hander Jacob Zibin received a $1.2MM bonus that Callis reports is the highest given to any tenth-rounder. The $1.2MM figure dwarfs the $152K slot price for the 301st overall pick, and it may have been necessary to pull Zibin away from his commitment to the University of Kentucky. The 17-year-old Zibin is a product of Florida’s TNXL Academy, and would have also been draft-eligible next year due to his age.
Connor Sadzeck Elects Free Agency
TODAY: Sadzeck has elected to become a free agent, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (Twitter link). The right-hander had cleared waivers and been outrighted to the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate.
JULY 25: The Brewers announced Monday that they’ve designated righty Connor Sadzeck for assignment and recalled pitching prospect Ethan Small from Triple-A Nashville in his place. Small will likely get the nod to start Tuesday’s game, which had been listed as a “TBD” by the Brewers.
Sadzeck, 30, appeared in two games with the Brewers and yielded three runs in three innings of relief work prior to today’s DFA. He posted big numbers in Nashville, logging a 0.86 ERA and 30.7% strikeout rate against a 10.5% walk rate in 28 innings, but his once 97.1 mph heater averaged a diminished 94.9 mph in his limited work with Milwaukee. Sadzeck has long been an intriguing arm thanks to his velocity and ability to miss bats, but control issues and injuries have continually plagued him throughout his professional career. The Brewers will have a week to trade him, release him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.
Small, the No. 28 overall pick back in 2019, will make just his second career start if and when he takes the ball tomorrow. He was tagged for three runs through 2 2/3 innings in his MLB debut earlier this season but has recorded a strong 3.34 ERA and 26.4% strikeout rate in 72 2/3 Triple-A innings this year. Command has been the big knock on Small for much of his professional career, and this year’s 13% walk rate in Triple-A hasn’t allayed those concerns. However, Small still profiles as a potential fourth starter, with scouting reports at Baseball America, FanGraphs and MLB.com praising his solid fastball and plus changeup.