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Trevor Cahill

AL West Notes: Ohtani, Profar, Cahill, Mariners

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Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register runs through a number of factors that could contribute to the remarkable discrepancy between Shohei Ohtani’s uninspiring spring performance and his dominance on both sides of the ball during the regular season. Meanwhile, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic highlights (subscription link) Ohtani’s ravenous consumption of data and analytics that the Angels are providing him and his ability to make unnaturally quick adjustments. Veterans Ian Kinsler and Chris Young marveled to both Fletcher and Rosenthal about Ohtani’s work ethic and adaptability, while hitting coach Eric Hinske praised his willingness to ditch a leg kick he had long utilized at the plate in an effort to make his swing more efficient. Pitching coach Charles Nagy and catcher Martin Maldonado also weighed in on the way in which Ohtani has quickly adapted to his new environs while taking MLB by storm.

More from the division…

  • Jurickson Profar exited Monday night’s game after a rough landing upon being upended by a sliding Mallex Smith at second base and is currently in MLB’s concussion protocol, as Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News writes. Even a short-term absence for Profar would further devastate the Rangers’ middle infield depth, as both Rougned Odor and Elvis Andrus are currently on the shelf. As Fraley points out, Eliezer Alvarez is the only middle infielder in the minors that’s on Texas’ 40-man roster, but he’s primarily a second baseman. Hanser Alberto could see his contract selected if Profar needs to go on the disabled list, though that’d require a corresponding 40-man move. Andrus is the only player who presently stands out as a potential 60-day DL candidate to make that move, but the initial prognosis on him called for a recovery of six to eight weeks. If the Rangers are optimistic that he can return on the shorter end of that window, they won’t want to lock him into a 60-day absence, creating the possibility that they’ll need to designate someone for assignment.
  • The Athletics will call on right-hander Trevor Cahill to take the ball in tonight’s game against the White Sox, as MLB.com’s Jane Lee writes. Oakland brought Cahill back to the organization on a one-year, $1.5MM deal late in Spring Training after it was learned that young righty Jharel Cotton would require Tommy John surgery. The veteran Cahill, who broke into the Majors with the A’s back in 2009, has made a pair of starts in the minors as he builds up arm strength and tossed 83 pitches in his most recent outing, Lee notes. Manager Bob Melvin said that the right-hander might be able to go a bit longer than that this time out, though it obviously Cahill’s performance will dictate what type of leash he’s given.
  • The Mariners are facing a significant number of roster decisions in the coming days, beginning with the debate over how to clear space on the 25-man roster for fifth starter Ariel Miranda tonight, writes Greg Johns of MLB.com. Seattle also needs to find space to activate Ben Gamel from the disabled list, as he’s now played nine games on his minor league rehab assignment and is largely ready for big league activity. But Gamel’s return presents its own set of issues, as the club will face a decision on struggling 44-year-old Ichiro Suzuki. As Johns examines at much greater length, the team essentially needs to determine whether it’s best to move forth with a seven- or eight-man bullpen while also clearing space for a few returning regulars and making some sort of determination on Ichiro.

Athletics To Sign Trevor Cahill

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MONDAY: Cahill will earn $1.5MM, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter).

SATURDAY: The Athletics have agreed to a one-year, major league contract, pending a physical, with right-hander Trevor Cahill, Jane Lee of MLB.com tweets. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported earlier Saturday that Oakland could target Cahill, a client of John Boggs & Associates.

With righty Jharel Cotton set to undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the entire season, the Athletics found themselves seeking starting depth on Saturday. Cahill will provide that, and he’ll attempt to grab a spot in an Oakland rotation that lacks certainty beyond Kendall Graveman and Sean Manaea. High-end prospect A.J. Puk seems unlikely to begin the year in the majors, leaving the A’s with Cahill, Paul Blackburn, Andrew Triggs, Daniel Mengden and Daniel Gossett vying for the final three spots in their rotation (depth chart).

This deal represents a homecoming for Cahill, a California native whom the Athletics chose in the second round of the 2006 draft and who began his career as an eminently effective starter for the club.

Cahill spent 2009-11 in Oakland, where he ate 583 innings and pitched to a solid 3.91 ERA, despite less-than-stellar strikeout and walk numbers (5.48 K/9, 3.35 BB/9). The A’s then shipped him to Arizona in a five-player, December 2011 trade that brought them righty Jarrod Parker, among others. Injuries have since ended Parker’s career, while Cahill has seen his effectiveness wane dating back to the end of his first Oakland stint.

The 30-year-old Cahill started 30-plus games and racked up between 178 2/3 and 207 2/3 innings in each of his first four seasons, but he hasn’t approached those figures since. He’s only a couple years removed from essentially working as a full-time reliever with both the Braves and Cubs, but he primarily functioned as a starter in 2017.

Across 21 appearances (14 starts) and 84 frames between San Diego and Kansas City, Cahill posted a 4.93 ERA/5.28 FIP and logged 9.32 K/9 against 4.82 BB/9. He also registered an impressive 55.6 percent groundball rate (right in line with his career mark of 55.1). Unfortunately, though, shoulder issues helped derail his season after the Royals acquired him in July. While Cahill managed outstanding numbers over 61 innings with the Padres (3.69 ERA, 10.6 K/9, 3.5 BB/9), he offset those by surrendering 21 earned runs on 33 hits and 21 walks, with 15 strikeouts, during his 23-frame Royals tenure.

Cahill was on the disabled list three times with shoulder and back problems during his two-team run in 2017, surely helping lead to his inability to find a job from November until now. The A’s, on the heels of the promising Cotton’s injury, are left to hope Cahill will more closely resemble the version who held his own with the Padres than the one who scuffled with the Royals.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Orioles Notes: Machado, Schoop, Liriano

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Orioles standout Manny Machado showed up to camp Saturday and told reporters (including Bob Nightengale of USA Today, via Twitter) that he and the team have not discussed a long-term extension. Interestingly, the soon-to-be free agent added that he’d like to line up at shortstop for the rest of his career. Machado, 25, has played the majority of his career at third base since debuting in 2012, but the O’s decided to move him back to shortstop – his original position – last month. “This is where my heart has always been,” Machado said of short (Twitter link via Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com). Barring an unlikely extension before next offseason, Machado will easily be the premier shortstop option available in a star-studded free agent class. In the meantime, if he thrives at short this year, Machado will have a chance to earn a bit more than his $16MM salary. He’d make an extra $100K by winning a Gold Glove Award and $250K by taking home Platinum Glove honors, Nightengale tweets.

A couple more notes on Baltimore…

  • Like Machado, second baseman Jonathan Schoop may not be long for Baltimore (he’s in his penultimate year of team control). However, Schoop “would be open to an extension,” Ghiroli tweets. And while there was reportedly some frustration between him and the Orioles during the arbitration process, Schoop indicated there’s no bitterness on either end. To this point, there haven’t been any extension talks, but Schopp said he’s “not disappointed” in that (Twitter link via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com). He’ll make $8.5MM this season after posting a career year in 2017.
  • Kubatko has the latest on the Orioles’ search for starters, writing that they’re monitoring free agent left-hander Francisco Liriano. On the other hand, the Orioles have “cooled on” free agent right-hander Trevor Cahill, whom they were interested in earlier in the offseason, per Kubatko. Fellow righties R.A. Dickey and Scott Feldman (an ex-Oriole) are options for Baltimore, Kubatko suggests, though he notes that the former may end up retiring instead of pitching in 2018.

Free Agent Rumors: Moustakas, Cahill, Mets, Dodgers, Hirano, Indians, Twins

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Like most free agents, Mike Moustakas has been met with an unexpectedly slow market this offseason, writes ESPN’s Buster Olney. Zack Cozart’s willingness to move from shortstop to third base and the potential presence of names like Manny Machado, Evan Longoria and Josh Donaldson on the trade market have all complicated matters for Moustakas, who entered the winter as the consensus top third baseman available in free agency. Olney writes that some MLB evaluators have questioned how well Moustakas’ body will hold up into his 30s, which represents another potential stalling point in his market. Olney speculates about the possibility of Moustakas ultimately settling for a one-year deal and reentering free agency next winter, noting that the Orioles, Yankees and Cardinals would all represent very logical landing spots on a short-term pact. Of course, it remains to be seen whether he’d be amenable to such an arrangement; the majority of top position players remain unsigned, after all, and agent Scott Boras has a history of lengthy trips through free agency for some of his clients.

Some more notes on the free-agent market…

  • Olney also reports that the Giants are among the clubs considering righty Trevor Cahill for a rotation spot (Twitter link). Cahill, 30 in March, was terrific early in the year before a shoulder injury torpedoed his season. Through his first 41 1/3 innings with the Padres, Cahill logged a 3.27 ERA with 11.1 K/9, 3.7 BB/9, 0.65 HR/9 and a 60.2 percent ground-ball rate. Upon returning from that injury, however, he was rocked for a 6.54 ERA In 42 2/3 frames between the Padres and Royals. Cahill’s newfound ability to miss bats completely evaporated after being activated from the DL (7.6 K/9), and he was unable to find the strike zone with any consistency (5.9 BB/9).
  • The Mets have indeed “reached out” to Adrian Gonzalez, tweets Olney. (Olney and others had previously suggested the Mets were likely to explore the possibility.) New York’s level of interest isn’t known, but they have a considerably more intriguing option in-house in the form of Dominic Smith, and the market bears a number of considerably more appealing veterans (all of whom, albeit, are more expensive). The 35-year-old Gonzalez could be had for just the league minimum, as the Braves are on the hook for the remainder of his salary, but he’s coming off a season that was ruined by back injuries and saw him post an unsightly .242/.287/.355 slash line in 252 plate appearances.
  • The Dodgers have some interest in Japanes closer Yoshihisa Hirano, Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports tweeted recently. The 33-year-old Hirano has starred for NPB’s Orix Buffaloes for quite some time, amassing 143 saves with a 2.62 ERA, 9.4 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 through 271 1/3 innings from 2013-17. Hirano, who will turn 34 next spring, has enough professional experience that he’s exempt from the posting system and is able to sign a Major League deal without going through the posting system. He’s also been linked to the Cardinals and Tigers this winter.
  • ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports that the Indians aren’t operating under the same capacity that they did last offseason when they surprised everyone by signing Edwin Encarnacion (Twitter links). Cleveland is looking at lower-profile first base options to replace Carlos Santana, with Crasnick listing the likes of Lucas Duda, Matt Adams, Logan Morrison and Yonder Alonso as possibilities rather than Eric Hosmer. (Speculatively, I’d imagine that even Morrison and Alonso could be beyond Cleveland’s comfort zone.) Dealing Jason Kipnis and the remaining $30.5MM on his contract (2018-19) would open up some additional funds for the team to reallocate to a first baseman or additional bullpen help, Crasnick notes.
  • Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN touched on a number of Twins-related issues in his most recent podcast (audio link, Twins talk beginning at the 3:30 mark). Minnesota was in on Drew Smyly until the end, per Wolfson, before Smyly chose to sign with the Cubs. Minnesota gave an identical two-year, $10MM guarantee to Michael Pineda instead, and they have some interest in working out a two-year agreement with injured reliever Trevor Rosenthal as well. Minnesota has shown no inclination to spent upwards of $9MM on multi-year deals for relievers and doesn’t love the idea of going to six years on Yu Darvish, though the team does maintain strong interest in the righty. Wolfson notes that the trade market could be an avenue for improving the ’pen and/or rotation.

Royals Place Trevor Cahill On DL

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The Royals have placed right-hander Trevor Cahill on the disabled list with an impingement in his throwing shoulder and recalled fellow righty Kevin McCarthy from Triple-A, tweets Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com.

[RELATED: Updated Royals Depth Chart]

Cahill’s injury is the latest and most significant setback during what has been a difficult Royals tenure for the 29-year-old. Kansas City made an aggressive move to acquire Cahill, Brandon Maurer and Ryan Buchter in a late-July trade with the Padres, but the success Cahill had in San Diego over the season’s first few months hasn’t transferred to his new setting.

Cahill has made three starts with the Royals and failed to exceed 4 2/3 frames in any of those outings. Overall, he has tossed 11 innings since the trade and yielded 10 earned runs on 18 hits and nine walks, with just six strikeouts, helping to contribute to the Royals’ post-deadline skid. The club has dropped seven of nine this month to fall to 57-56, yet it’s still just one game out of a wild-card spot in a jam-packed American League race.

While it’s unclear exactly how long Cahill will be on the shelf, a shoulder impingement typically requires at least a few weeks to recover, and it comes at an especially inopportune time for the free agent-to-be. All the more troubling is that Cahill missed time earlier this season with shoulder issues.

As they await Cahill’s return, the Royals are likely to turn to righty Jake Junis, who’s currently in Triple-A, to grab the open spot in their rotation, per Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link).

Heyman’s Latest: Royals, Lynn, Gray, Rockies, Brewers

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In his Inside Baseball column today, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag takes a look at some of the most important remaining trade deadline scenarios. He also runs down some news and notes from both the American League and National League. Among the highlights with relevance to the trade market:

  • The Royals remain on the hunt for rotation help even after netting Trevor Cahill, Heyman writes. (That much may be evidenced by their apparent talks for Francisco Liriano, which are reportedly progressing.) Heyman notes that Kansas City even called the Athletics on Sonny Gray and the Rangers on Yu Darvish, though the team was realistic about the fact that it doesn’t have much of a chance of outbidding the competition for either player.
  • If the Cardinals ultimately make Lance Lynn available, the Yankees would have interest in the right-hander, though Sonny Gray remains New York’s top target. Lynn is a free agent at season’s end, and as such wouldn’t help fill any of the upcoming voids in the Yankees’ rotation after the 2017 season.
  • The Braves have scouted Gray more than any team in the league, per Heyman, though they’re not currently believed to be the favorite to land him. Heyman notes that the money saved in the Jaime Garcia deal could help facilitate the acquisition of Gray, which is a suggestion that has been made in recent days. It seems worth bearing in mind, though, that Gray is only earning $3.575MM in 2017. Plus, any financial crunch the Braves had would only have been present due to the fact that the team acquired Garcia (and Bartolo Colon and R.A. Dickey) as stopgaps in the first place.
  • Starting pitching remains a target area for the Rockies after picking up Pat Neshek in a trade, and Colorado even considered Darvish as an option, though the Rockies are unsurprisingly on Darvish’s no-trade list. (That’s not a knock on the Rockies by any means, but I’d imagine that most pitchers, if given the opportunity, would want to safeguard themselves from being traded to pitch at Coors Field.)
  • Brewers owner Mark Attanasio is more willing to part with top prospects in order to land Sonny Gray than his front office is, according to Heyman. General manager David Stearns and his staff are reluctant to part with the club’s very top prospects, and Attanasio has been deferring to the preferences of his baseball operations staff. The Athletics are eyeing center field prospect Lewis Brinson, Heyman continues, but it seems that the Brewers’ front office isn’t keen on parting with that level of talent.
  • It’s been reported that the Mets are likely to hang onto lefty Jerry Blevins, and Heyman notes that GM Sandy Alderson’s rationale is that if he traded Blevins, he’d merely be looking to fill that void with a free agent in a market where most relievers will enter the offseason seeking three-year deals. (Of course, that logic could also be used to argue that Blevins’ value is all the higher, and the Mets managed to pick up Blevins on a one-year guarantee even though he reportedly sought three years himself early last offseason. Boone Logan, who also signed a one-year deal in Cleveland, was also reportedly seeking three at one point.)

Royals Acquire Cahill, Maurer, Buchter From Padres For Strahm, Wood, Ruiz

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6:16pm: Kansas City will pay for Wood both this year and next, per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). The buyout will be split in half if it is paid, MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell adds on Twitter.

5:24pm: The Royals have announced an interesting trade with the Padres involving a whole host of pitchers, as Robert Murray of Fan Rag has first reported on Twitter. Kansas City will add starter Trevor Cahill, righty reliever Brandon Maurer, and southpaw Ryan Buchter. In exchange, the Pads will pick up southpaws Matt Strahm and Travis Wood along with infield prospect Esteury Ruiz.

For Kansas City, the move represents an effort to bolster the team’s pitching staff down the stretch — and confirms that the club isn’t planning on dealing away its pending free agents before the deadline. The Royals designated Al Alburquerque and Luke Farrell to open roster space, while lefty Brian Flynn was recalled to the active roster while the team awaits its new hurlers.

Jul 4, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Trevor Cahill (38) delivers in the first inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The rotation was clearly in need of improvement, and Cahill has tantalized this year with a career-high 12.8% swinging-strike rate while working exclusively from the rotation. While he has thrown just 61 innings over 11 starts, owing to a DL stint for a shoulder injury, Cahill owns a 3.69 ERA with 10.6 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 along with an excellent 56.8% groundball rate.

Whether Cahill can maintain that kind of production down the stretch is anyone’s guess. But with relatively few appealing rental starters available, there weren’t many other places to turn. And Cahill is making just $1.75MM on the year, so he’s as affordable as rental players come.

Both of the Royals’ new bullpen pieces are also affordable — and, in their cases, controllable. Maurer, 27, is earning $1.9MM this year with two more arb campaigns yet to go. While the results haven’t been there for him in some time, he is carrying impressive peripherals this year (8.7 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9) to go with his upper-nineties fastball.

Buchter is arguably the most valuable asset going to K.C. He is already thirty years old, but can be controlled all the way through 2021. The southpaw carries a 2.93 ERA since landing in San Diego, with 11.1 K/9 on the basis of a swinging-strike rate that’s up to 11.1% this year. While he issues too many walks (4.4 BB/9 overall) and has been a bit homer-prone (1.64 per nine) this year, Buchter looks to be a quality pen piece at a bargain price.

On the other side of the ledger, the Friars have evidently gotten an early start on their winter shopping by adding Wood. Like Cahill (along with current Padre southpaw Clayton Richard), Wood is a recent Cubs hurler who can work out of the rotation or the pen. The results haven’t been there this year — he carries a 6.91 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 — but there’s some obvious bounceback potential. While Wood’s contract ($4MM this year, $6.5MM next, and a $1MM buyout on a $8MM mutual option for the 2019 season) was under water, Kansas City will be picking up the tab through the end of 2018.

Clearly, then, the focus for San Diego was on the other two players added today. Strahm is out for the year after surgery for a torn patellar tendon and didn’t produce great results this year when healthy, but he was generally viewed as the Royals’ top prospect entering the season. The Padres have shown a willingness to take on injury risks in the past, and probably aren’t overly concerned with Strahm’s knee injury. He could open the 2018 season in the rotation or be utilized as a replacement for Buchter in the bullpen.

And then there’s the true wild card, the 18-year-old Ruiz, whose inclusion perhaps best explains this swap from the Padres’ perspective. As Ben Badler of Baseball America wrote earlier this year (subscription required and recommended), the middle infield has shown flashes of real potential of late, blossoming after his unheralded international signing. He has mashed in the Arizona League in 2017, slashing .419/.440/.779 (albeit with twenty strikeouts and just four walks) over 91 plate appearances.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Trade Chatter: Darvish, Alonso, Red Sox, Ramos, Stanton, Cahill, Nunez

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Yu Darvish is pitching tonight for the Rangers, so clearly there’s nothing imminent. Indeed, Texas seems likely to take its decision on the ace to the latest possible moment, even as it begins to solicit interest. As that process begins to take place, it’s important to note that Darvish possesses partial no-trade rights. While it’s not at all clear whether he’d get in the way of a deal, particularly given that he’ll be a free agent in a few months regardless, that adds another potential hurdle. Per Jim Bowden of Sirius XM, via Twitter, Darvish currently can block trades to the Cubs, Indians, Pirates, Red Sox, and Rockies (along with five other teams that are in no position to consider a rental starter).

Here’s the latest trade deadline chatter:

  • While the Athletics continue to weigh their options with first baseman Yonder Alonso, the club has not actually engaged in any extension talks with his reps, per ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (Twitter link). While a new deal seems unlikely to come to fruition (yet more than it did already), the A’s are struggling to drum up interest in the breakout performer. Indeed, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com suggests on Twitter that the Yankees are the only team firmly pursuing Alonso at this time. Trouble is, it seems, Oakland isn’t enamored of the Yanks’ offers to date.
  • Meanwhile, the division-rival Red Sox could conceivably look into some outside-the-box possibilities to improve their offense, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe writes. He bases that assessment on the difficulty of finding a significant offensive threat capable of playing third as well as the ongoing struggles of Mitch Moreland since he suffered a toe injury. Boston might consider a first baseman, Speier says, or perhaps even an outfielder that could lineup at DH — if Hanley Ramirez is capable of spending more time at first. While it doesn’t seem there’s any indication of internal interest at this point, Speier cites Alonso, Lucas Duda, and Jay Bruce as rental players that could hold some appeal.
  • Marlins closer A.J. Ramos is drawing interest from as many as eight to ten teams, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets. With momentum perhaps building toward a deal, Ramos tells MLB.com’s Jeremy Vernon that he hears the rumors, but is trying to stay focused on his current job. “It’s good, but also it’s a little bit bittersweet,” he said of the fact other teams are looking to deal for him.
  • A handful of clubs have reached out to the Marlins about high-priced slugger Giancarlo Stanton, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag reports, but the expectation remains that he will not be seriously marketed this summer. Still, the club is keeping Stanton “apprised of every contact” it receives, which evidently was a commitment made to the star. With full no-trade protection, he can control his destiny.
  • Interest in Padres righty Trevor Cahill is increasing as the deadline draws near, a team source tells MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell (via Twitter). While the possible introduction of Darvish to the market would knock Cahill down a peg among rental arms, it likely wouldn’t reduce the demand. After all, he’s still exceptionally cheap and has been one of the game’s most productive starters when healthy in 2017. For teams that want to take a shot at a continuation of that surprising success, Cahill should hold quite a lot of appeal.
  • Interestingly, in his recent run-down of the market for Athletics righty Sonny Gray, Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network noted that even the Padres have asked about the hotly pursued starter. That may be chalked up mostly to due diligence; though the Pads no doubt would love to install such an arm into their rotation for the next two years, it’s hard to see sufficient motivation to beat the offers of other organizations that will highly value the ability to utilize Gray for the next several months.
  • Among Giants players, infielder Eduardo Nunez is drawing the most interest, Olney tweets. That’s hardly surprising, as he’s a pending free agent who can play all over the infield. It still seems a bit difficult to imagine that the Giants won’t find a worthwhile arrangement involving Nunez, who could fit with quite a few different contenders.

Trade Rumblings: Darvish, Marlins, Starters, Tigers, Astros, Iglesias, Hand

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There’s “increasing buzz” that the Rangers will listen to offers on top starters Yu Darvish and Cole Hamels if they don’t open the second half of the season with strong play, tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. It’s been previously reported that the Rangers will hold onto Darvish even if they fall out of the race, so that’d represent something of a change of mindset for GM Jon Daniels & Co. Darvish is set to hit the open market at season’s end, so if the Rangers are out of the race and don’t trade him, they run the risk of losing him to free agency (though he’d obviously receive and reject a qualifying offer, affording Texas some draft compensation). Hamels, meanwhile, hasn’t been listed as a potential trade target to date. He’s earning $23.5MM this year and next, and he’s owed at least $6MM as the buyout on a $20MM club option for the 2019 campaign. That contract and a bizarrely low strikeout rate (4.9 K/9) could complicate Hamels’ market, though he’s shown recent improvement with 12 strikeouts in his past 14 1/3 innings of work.

More trade chatter from around the league…

  • The Marlins have told other clubs that they’re ready to sell off assets, a rival executive tells Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller. According to Miller, the Marlins have spoken to more than 10 teams about right-hander David Phelps, and there are two or three clubs that are showing “serious” interest in closer AJ Ramos. “They’re working on it and talking to clubs,” the exec tells Miller. “But the conversations always end with one caveat, that they don’t know that the owner won’t bail at the last minute.” Miller adds that Giancarlo Stanton isn’t likely to move until the Marlins accept that they won’t get someone to take his salary and give prospects back. The industry feeling is that it’d have to be almost a straight salary dump. (Stanton can also veto any deal via his no-trade clause.) Miller’s column features a look at all 30 teams and their possible deadline course as well.
  • Sonny Gray, Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole are available in trades, writes Jon Morosi of MLB.com, but the Athletics, Tigers and Pirates have each set a lofty asking price. Perhaps more interestingly, Morosi adds that the Braves have said right-hander Julio Teheran isn’t available, though he’s reportedly been drawing interest and others (including David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports) have said that Atlanta would at least consider offers. In addition to that overview of the market for pitchers, Morosi runs down a position-by-position preview of the market for bats.
  • Heyman reports that there’s little to no genuine interest in Justin Verlander at this time due to his huge contract and underwhelming numbers. Furthermore, he notes that due to Verlander’s status as a legend in Detroit, they can’t accept an underwhelming return and effectively signal to Tigers fans that his trade was a salary dump. There’s also very little interest in Ian Kinsler, according to Heyman, as the he’s struggled in 2017 and few teams are on the hunt for second base help. He adds that Alex Avila, J.D. Martinez and Justin Wilson are all drawing strong interest, however, so GM Al Avila should make some deals in the next 18 days.
  • In his weekly AL Notes column, Heyman reports that with few top starters left on the market, the Astros may instead pursue high-end bullpen help in an effort to shorten the game and load up the relief corps for the postseason. Unsurprisingly, their list of targets would include Zach Britton, if he’s available. (Most clubs in the league would perk up at the notion of acquiring a healthy Britton.)
  • Heyman also notes that Braves left-hander Jaime Garcia is one rental pitcher that interests the Royals. On the subject of Kansas City, he also notes that while the team does have interest in Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon, K.C. would want Miami to pay down some of the roughly $41MM remaining on Gordon’s contract, which the Fish aren’t willing to do. The same is true of the Angels and Blue Jays, he adds, both of whom like the player but not his current salary.
  • Meanwhile, in his NL Notes column, Heyman writes that the Reds are believed to be willing to listen to offers on closer Raisel Iglesias but would only move him for a package that would “blow them away.” The 27-year-old Iglesias has emerged as one of baseball’s best relievers and is controllable through the 2020 season. He’s affordable at the moment ($3.5MM in 2017), but his contract allows him to opt into arbitration once eligible, so his salary is going to balloon quite a bit between now and 2020. Heyman also notes that the Reds would be interested in a two- or possibly three-year deal with Zack Cozart but recognize that he can earn more than they’re willing to pay when he gets to free agency.
  • The Yankees, Nationals, Dodgers, Cubs, Brewers, Royals, Angels and Mariners could all be in the mix for lefty Brad Hand, Heyman reports. Regarding the Dodgers, Heyman and Robert Murray report that San Diego asked Los Angeles for top prospect Alex Verdugo in return, though there’s “no likelihood” of L.A. meeting that price. The Padres are also getting calls on cheap starters Trevor Cahill, Clayton Richard and Jhoulys Chacin, each of whom inked a one-year deal worth $1.75MM this past offseason.

Sherman’s Latest: Matz, Padres, Maurer, Yankees, Rangers, Smith, Mariners

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Officials from several teams tell Joel Sherman of the New York Post that this year’s deadline market is lacking in top-tier starting pitching.  Jose Quintana and Sonny Gray are the top names available, though both have their share of flaws; Quintana’s rather shaky performance this year and Gray’s long-term health are concerns.  With the market thin on aces, Sherman wonder if the Cardinals and Tigers would consider shopping controllable young stars Carlos Martinez or Michael Fulmer, each of whom would score an enormous return at the deadline.  The Cards and Tigers could get more than the prospect package the White Sox landed for Chris Sale last winter since so many teams would be vying for those stars.  It should be noted, however, that “there is no indication whatsoever” that either St. Louis or Detroit would even consider moving either pitcher.

Here’s more from Sherman in the previously-linked article and in two other pieces (first link, second link)…

  • Mets officials dismissed any notion of trading Steven Matz, in relation to Sherman’s consideration of teams trading controllable young arms.  Elbow problems kept Matz from debuting until June, and he has a 2.12 ERA through five starts, though advanced metrics paint a much less impressive view of Matz’s performance.  While the lefty would be a big trade chip if made available, it’s also certainly understandable why the Mets see him as a future building block, especially since Matz hasn’t even reached arbitration eligibility yet.
  • The Padres have received interest in starters Trevor Cahill, Jhoulys Chacin and Clayton Richard, as well as relievers Craig Stammen and Jose Torres.
  • The Yankees have already been linked to Padres reliever Brad Hand, but Sherman reports that closer Brandon Maurer’s name has also come up in talks between the two teams.  Maurer has a 5.60 ERA over 35 1/3 IP for San Diego this year but he has been victimized by a inordinately low 52.9% strand rate.  ERA indicators (2.95 FIP, 3.56 xFIP, 3.31 SIERA) and his peripheral numbers (8.92 K/9, 5.00 K/BB rate) paint a much more positive view of his 2017 performance.  San Diego had interest in Gleyber Torres prior to his Tommy John surgery, though officials from the Padres and other teams believe that the Yankees’ farm system is deep enough that they’ll be able to make deals without moving any of their top prospects.
  • Control may be more of a commodity than pure talent in the reliever market, according to one NL executive.  “My sense is that if you have a reliever who is under control through at least next year, you can expect more interest and a greater return than for a slightly better reliever who is a free agent after this season,” the executive said.
  • One team is looking to add controllable pieces both its bullpen and in general is the Rangers, in a return to their strategy from the 2015 deadline.  One AL official feels Texas will add one or two relievers, and whomever the Rangers may add, “I would be shocked if that player did not have control through at least next season.”
  • The Red Sox are still waiting to see if Carson Smith can be a bullpen asset for them this season before fully exploring the relief market.  Smith is expected to start mound work this week as he continues his rehab from Tommy John surgery, though his process was already delayed when he was shut down from throwing for a spell last month.  Given that it would surprising to see Smith even return to action before July 31, one would think Boston will end up looking at relief help and counting on Smith only as a potential bonus down the stretch.
  • The Mariners are one of only a few teams open to adding payroll in deadline trades, which one official describes as not “as good as having prospects, but it is an asset.”  The M’s began 2017 with a record payroll of more than $155.2MM, so with such a major financial investment already made, it makes sense that GM Jerry Dipoto and company are willing to spend a bit more to get the team over the hump.  Dipoto recently stated that the team is still planning to add at the deadline, though Seattle ends the first half with a 43-47 record (albeit four games out of a wild card spot).

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