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Archives for June 2015

Andy Ibanez Changes Representation

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Cuban second baseman Andy Ibanez, who has unexpectedly languished on the market despite being declared a free agent months ago, has changed agents, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. He’ll move from Bart Hernandez and Praver/Shapiro to Relativity Baseball.

The 22-year-old appeared to be preparing to sign earlier in the spring, but with his change of agencies it’s now unclear when that might happen. As Badler notes, there seems to be a reasonable likelihood that he’ll ultimately wait until the calendar flips to a new July 2 period, when a new slate of clubs will pull the trigger on spending cap-busting bonuses. (Ibanez is subject to international bonus pools.)

As Badler writes, Ibanez is a well-known and well-regarded prospect. While he does not have any particularly flashy aspects to his game, he’s regarded as a sturdy ballplayer across the board. Badler rates him above fellow young infielder Roberto Baldoquin, who got $8MM from the Angels, but notes that he could nevertheless fall shy of that mark.

NL West Notes: Castillo, Olivera, Jansen, Peralta

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Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart joined Mike Ferrin of MLB Network Radio (audio link) to discuss last night’s multi-player deal sending Mark Trumbo to the Mariners. He explained that Welington Castillo (acquired in the deal) was not initially a backstop that had interested him upon taking the helm in Arizona — as he hinted, the club conceivably could have made that move when shipping Miguel Montero to the Cubs — but that the loss of Tuffy Gosewisch forced the team’s hand. “The first guy on my list of catchers was [Dioner] Navarro up in Toronto,” said Stewart, who explained that he “had [him] in my sights even in the winter months, before the Winter Meetings.” Stewart added that prospect Gabby Guerrero, who also comes over in the trade, impressed the club this spring.

That deal is a subject that Steve Adams and I tackle in today’s podcast, which will be available in a few hours. Meanwhile, here’s more from the NL West:

  • New Dodgers infielder Hector Olivera will make his professional debut tomorrow at Double-A, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets. Director of player development Gabe Kapler had positive things to say about Olivera’s early time in the organization, as Plunkett also reports. “He clearly can handle either” second or third, Kapler added.
  • Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen was unavailable last night for unknown and somewhat mysterious reasons, as Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com reports. Something apparently occurred during the game itself that changed his status, but what that is has yet to be reported. Meanwhile, four other relievers oversaw a 9th-inning meltdown in Colorado. After the game, the team said that Jansen “wasn’t feeling well, while ESPN’s Rick Sutcliffe tweeted that he was “sending [his] prayers” to the Dodgers and their closer, adding to the intrigue. The outstanding power pitcher has dealt with heart issues in the past, including experiencing an irregular heartbeat while in Denver.
  • Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta has changed agencies and is now a client of ACES, Devan Fink tweeted recently and ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick confirms (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has quickly established himself as a solid major leaguer, and owns a .280/.323/.460 slash line in his first 490 plate appearances. With just 120 days of service accumulated last year, he’ll likely not qualify for arbitration until 2018.

Josh Hamilton Out Four Weeks With Hamstring Strain

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Newly-activated Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton is expected to miss a full month after being diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest was among those to report (Twitter link). The slugger returned to Texas in a complicated recent deal with the Angels.

Hamilton, 34, was off to a fantastic start in his return to Texas, sporting a .273/.385/.636 batting line with two long balls in his first 26 plate appearances. With the rest of the lineup clicking, the Rangers suddenly looked like the powerhouse offense of seasons past.

Now, Hamilton joins the outstanding Adrian Beltre on the shelf. Of course, that combination of maladies — neither of which looks to be serious concerns in the long run — has also created an opportunity for top prospect Joey Gallo.

The Rangers will need to do some roster juggling, but have plenty of options. Importantly, Hamilton’s power left-handed bat was already accompanied by a combination of Gallo, Prince Fielder, Mitch Moreland, and Shin-soo Choo in corner positions. Gallo and Moreland have both spent time in the outfield, and could see time there, while the club can also utilize speedsters Leonys Martin and Delino DeShields Jr. in that capacity.

Jake Smolinski is also on the active roster for another right-handed-hitting option, joining DeShields in that regard. And the rehabbing Ryan Rua is about two weeks away from a return, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets, providing another a righty bat. Kyle Blanks is also injured, and seems a bit further off.

Texas could also ultimately elect to bring back struggling second baseman Rougned Odor, though the team has indicated that it wants to see him get back on track at Triple-A. For the time being, Hanser Alberto is hitting well in his very first MLB action, and DeShields might also be utilized at his old position.

All said, an outside addition seems rather unlikely given the array of possibilities. But there will probably be more roster movement over the coming weeks for an organization that has paced the league in use of the DFA over the past year or so (due in large part to a nearly incomprehensible volume of pitching injuries).

From a transactional perspective, the biggest impact probably relates to the much-hyped Gallo, who was not previously expected to see big league time this soon. He has impressed in his first two games at the big league level, swatting two long balls (including one off lefty Zach Duke tonight) and creating plenty of excitement.

If Gallo can entrench himself on the roster, he has a plausible shot at earning enough service time to set himself up as a Super Two candidate down the road. Starting from his call-up yesterday, he can rack up as many as 124 days of big league time this year, which has been enough in some (but not most) recent seasons.

Odor, too, could see a similar impact if the loss of Hamilton frees up a place for him to return. He entered the year with 144 days of service, making him a likely Super Two, but a lengthy optional assignment would jeopardize his ability to qualify for an additional year of arbitration.

Braves Seeking Bullpen Upgrades

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The Braves are trying to trade for upgrades in what has been a shaky bullpen, reports David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter), but the team is reluctant to part with young talent or pay significant money in order to make it happen.

Clearly, that hesitance will make it rather difficult to procure a meaningful upgrade by way of trade. The Braves’ farm system has improved rapidly over the past eight months thanks in large part to a strong offseason rebuilding effort from new president of baseball operations John Hart. It’s logical that Hart, having only recently collected so much minor league talent, would be loath to part with meaningful future assets when his goal has seemingly been to build a sustainable core for the future as opposed to putting an immediate contender on the field.

Nevertheless, the Braves are just one game under .500 after today’s loss to the Diamondbacks — a loss, mind you, that was incurred when the bullpen failed to protect a two-run lead over the game’s final three innings. With a collective bullpen ERA of 4.71 (worst in the Majors), it’s easy to make the argument that with a more effective relief corps, the Braves could be vying for a share of the NL East division lead. They are, after all, just three games out of first despite having traded Jason Heyward, Justin Upton, Evan Gattis, Craig Kimbrel and David Carpenter this offseason.

Carpenter, for what it’s worth, was designated for assignment by the Yankees just today, making him a plausible target for the Braves to re-acquire if they feel a reunion with pitching coach Roger McDowell can sort out the troubles that he incurred in New York. Carpenter yielded 10 earned runs in 18 2/3 innings with the Yankees and saw his strong K/9 rate nearly halved while his walk rate went in the other direction. He did maintain his velocity, however, and he’s earning a reasonable $1.275MM salary, of which about $864K remains. Relievers Sergio Santos and David Huff are also in DFA limbo, though neither has had any sort of consistent track record in recent years.

If the Braves are simply looking for fresh arms, they could also consider exploring a group of pitchers that have recently opted out of their contracts. Juan Gutierrez, Robert Coello and Dana Eveland all come with varying degrees of MLB experience (Gutierrez and Eveland have significantly more than Coello), and veteran David Aardsma may or may not opt out of his Dodgers contract once the team’s 72-hour window to add him to the 25-man roster expires tomorrow.

Beyond these names, it is admittedly difficult to conjure up realistic possibilities given O’Brien’s stated restrictions. While the Phillies and Brewers are a pair of very likely sellers this summer, the obvious trade candidates on each club — Jonathan Papelbon, Francisco Rodriguez, Jonathan Broxton — all come with considerable financial commitments. Despite the fact that it’s difficult to envision a scenario in which the team can successfully upgrade the bullpen while parting with little value, it’s telling that the team is even thinking in terms of adding assets. Entering the season, most pundits (myself included) pegged the Braves as an eventual seller, but for the time being, that doesn’t seem to be the direction in which they’re headed.

Dana Eveland Opts Out Of Red Sox Contract

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Left-hander Dana Eveland has opted out of his minor league contract with the Red Sox, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. The Page Odle/PSI Sports Management client is now a free agent.

The 31-year-old Eveland returned to Major League Baseball last season after spending the 2013 campaign pitching for the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization. His return to MLB was a successful one, as he made 30 appearances with the Mets and worked to a 2.63 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 27 1/3 innings. Despite that solid performance, Eveland settled for a minor league contract this past offseason. He’s pitched quite well in 23 1/3 innings at Triple-A Pawtucket this season, compiling a 1.54 ERA with 20 strikeouts and three walks.

Eveland’s big league track record is spotty, but he’s performed well in his past three stints between the Mets, Dodgers and Orioles. As I noted at the time of his signing with Boston, Eveland replaced his four-seamer with a two-seam fastball and more sliders than ever last season, and the results were positive. Given his recent success, Eveland seems likely to find another minor league deal with a clearer path to the Majors, or perhaps a more lucrative gig overseas, if he’s open to pitching in Asia for a second time.

AL East Notes: De Aza, Tanaka, Schultz, Rays

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The Red Sox swung a trade today to acquire Alejandro De Aza from the division-rival Orioles after Baltimore had designated him for assignment, and manager John Farrell explained to Joe Castiglione on the Red Sox Pregame Radio Show the thinking that went into the move. Via WEEI’s Rob Bradford, Farrell explained: “…with Daniel Nava being down, De Aza has been in that role a little bit in Baltimore where he has come off the bench. He’€™s been a little bit of a platoon player. I’€™m not saying De Aza is going to come in here and platoon in left with Hanley. But at the same time we’€™ve got a veteran, a guy who can run, a guy that can play all three outfield positions.” It remains to be seen whether or not De Aza will be a long-term piece for the Sox, but the fact that they surrendered a prospect of any kind of note — righty Joe Gunkel was the team’s No. 26 prospect this offseason, per Baseball America — seems to suggest they’re not looking at him as a mere short-term play.

Elsewhere in the AL East…

  • Masahiro Tanaka made a dominant return to the Yankees today, holding the Mariners to a run on three hits and no walks with nine strikeouts in seven innings. As George A. King III of the New York Post wrote last night, however, Tanaka will have a difficult time eliminating the specter of a possible injury that hangs around his head. King writes that the Yankees will have to hope that Tanaka can outperform the struggling CC Sabathia and inconsistent Nathan Eovaldi, because the team’s need for a starter in the event of a Tanaka injury is significant. King spoke to an NL scout who said that Tanaka looked like a No. 3 starter earlier this year, though clearly, the results from this afternoon’s start are highly encouraging for the Yankees.
  • Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star chronicles the unlikely journeys taken by right-hander Bo Schultz and first baseman/outfielder Chris Colabello to the Majors. Colabello’s story has received its share of fanfare — and rightfully so, as the longtime independent league star is an admirable picture of perseverance — but Schultz’s tale may be even more improbable. Schultz attended Northwestern University to study journalism, but he made the baseball team as a walk-on outfielder. Schultz received little playing time and quit after his freshman year, but he returned his junior year when there was a need for pitchers and his teammates recalled Schultz’s strong arm. Schultz went undrafted but signed a minor league deal with the A’s, who converted him to a submarine delivery that never panned out. A brief stint with the D-Backs didn’t take, and he’s now trying for the second time to stick in the bigs, this time with Toronto. This brief synopsis leaves out a good bit of detail, so those who are interested will want to check out the piece in its entirety.
  • Despite frequently being forced to trade away top-tier pitching due to financial constraints, the Rays continually boast one of baseball’s best pitching staffs, writes Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports. Brown looks at the manner in which each member of Tampa’s core group of starters was acquired, noting that the club is adept at identifying replacements, but that the culture of the clubhouse is important in maintaining that excellence as well. Chris Archer spoke to Brown about all that he learned from David Price and James Shields before their trades, adding that he and Alex Cobb are among the pitchers who now try to mentor and pass that wisdom onto younger arms.

Mariners Acquire Mark Trumbo In Six-Player Deal

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With an offense that is again struggling to score runs in Seattle and a logjam of corner outfield types in Arizona, the Diamondbacks and Mariners have agreed to a rare, significant early-June trade that will send Mark Trumbo from Arizona to Seattle, the teams announced. Left-hander Vidal Nuno is also heading to the Mariners, who will send catcher Welington Castillo, right-hander Dominic Leone and prospects Gabby Guerrero and Jack Reinheimer to the D-Backs.

Mark Trumbo

From the Mariners’ perspective, Trumbo will add significant power to a lineup that has struggled to score runs, as they rank 28th in the Majors with 191 runs. However, Seattle has thrived as a collective unit against left-handed pitching, which is where Trumbo does most of his damage. The 29-year-old is a lifetime .263/.311/.528 hitter against southpaws but owns a more pedestrian .242/.293/.444 line against same-handed pitching. Despite questionable OBP skills and his so-so numbers against right-handed pitching, Trumbo does figure to make the Mariners’ offense more formidable, though it may come at the cost of some defensive value. The acquisition of Trumbo also forces the team to either displace Logan Morrison at first base or utilize one of Trumbo or Nelson Cruz in the corner outfield, where both are regarded as defensive liabilities. Trumbo, who is earning $6.9MM in 2015 and is under team control through 2016 via the arbitration process.

Looking at the trade from Arizona’s perspective, it’s not difficult to see why the team felt the need to move Trumbo. The signing of Yasmany Tomas this offseason gave them a pair of slow-footed corner outfielders whose most appealing asset was right-handed pop. The D-Backs have been playing Tomas at third base while highly regarded prospect Jake Lamb is on the disabled list, but Lamb is nearing a return, and Tomas’ defensive work in the infield has not been particularly strong. With this move, Tomas can shift to right field in Trumbo’s place, joining A.J. Pollock and a combination of Ender Inciarte and David Peralta in the outfield. The move also saves the D-Backs some significant money; Trumbo is owed $4.68MM for the remainder of the 2015 season, compared to Castillo’s $1.43MM, making for a total savings of about $3.25MM.

Nuno has been told that he will be joining the Mariners’ rotation, the lefty himself told reporters, including MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has struggled throughout his brief MLB career as a starter, but he’s pitched quite well in a long relief capacity for Arizona this season, posting a 1.88 ERA with a 19-to-5 K/BB ratio in 14 1/3 innings. Of course, that small sample consists of just three appearances, and Nuno’s larger body of work is relatively suspect. He’s tallied 196 innings at the Major League level between the Yankees and Diamondbacks, posting a 4.13 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and a 38.1 percent ground-ball rate.

As a fly-ball pitcher, his first stint in an expansive, pitcher-friendly environment figures to benefit Nuno, but his peripheral profile doesn’t exactly indicate that he’s been the recipient of much poor luck. Metrics such as FIP (4.36), xFIP (4.15) and SIERA (3.97) all feel that Nuno’s ERA are more or less reflective of his talent level. The Mariners will hope that he can produce improved results in a more favorable setting, however, and if not, he seems like he could at least be a useful bullpen piece. Nuno has stifled opposing lefties to this point in his career, yielding just .191/.271/.317 batting line in 190 plate appearances. The Mariners will be able to control him through the 2019 season.

Castillo is the most established player headed back to Arizona in the trade, and he will pair with Jarrod Saltalamacchia behind the dish to form the D-Backs’ new catching tandem. That’s a far more established duo than Tuffy Gosewisch and Jordan Pacheco, who have handled the bulk of Arizona’s catching duties this season. Arizona GM Dave Stewart stated on multiple occasions this offseason that he had no intent of adding a catcher, and he held to his word through Opening Day, but he’s since seen Gosewisch go down for the year due to a torn ACL, while a back injury has ended veteran Gerald Laird’s season. Rule 5 pickup Oscar Hernandez is on the shelf as well, creating an even larger dearth of catching options for the Diamondbacks.

Arizona values prospect Peter O’Brien’s bat quite a bit, but scouts have long questioned whether or not he can handle catching from a defensive standpoint. Late in Spring Training, those questions became even more pronounced when O’Brien developed an issue throwing the ball back to the mound. He’s seen more time in the corner outfield this season at Triple-A than he has behind the plate.

Therefore, Castillo and Saltalamacchia give the Diamondbacks a more experienced tandem without forcing them to try O’Brien at catcher before he is ready (if he ever is). Castillo is a career .250/.316/.392 hitter that posted a combined 105 OPS+ from 2012-13 before taking a step back in 2014. All told, his bat has been about five percent below the league average over the course of his career, which is solid offensive output from a catcher. Castillo has also caught an above-average 30 percent of attempted base stealers in his career, though like Saltalamacchia, he does not grade out well in terms of pitch-framing metrics. Castillo is under team control through the 2017 season.

In Leone, the Diamondbacks will acquire a 23-year-old reliever who was dominant in his 2014 rookie campaign but has struggled to repeat that success. Leone emerged from out of nowhere in 2014 to post a 2.17 ERA with 9.5 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 54.7 percent ground-ball rate in 66 1/3 innings for the Mariners. Both FIP and xFIP pegged him at 3.07, while SIERA was more bullish at 2.81. Entering the 2015 season, Leone looked like a potential long-term bullpen cog. However, he’s seen his control erode dramatically, issuing nine walks in 11 1/3 innings against just seven strikeouts. The 94.6 mph he averaged on his heater in 2014 has dropped to 93.3 mph, leading to further cause for concern. His ERA to this point is a sky-high 6.35, while ERA estimators peg him for a mark in the 5.40 to 5.80 range. Put simply, Leone is a reclamation project for the Diamondbacks, but if he can return to anything close to his 2014 output, he’d be one of the most effective pieces in Arizona’s relief corps, if not the most effective piece.

Guerrero, 21, is the best prospect in the deal, despite a rough year at Double-A so far (.215/.262/.305). The nephew of famed slugger Vladimir Guerrero, Gabby has ranked among the Mariners’ Top 15 prospects in each of the past three offseasons, topping out at seventh this past winter. In their most recent scouting report, BA noted that Guerrero has plus-plus raw power, a plus-plus arm in right field (sound familiar?) and plus range as well, but he’s overly aggressive at the plate and swings too hard too often. Guerrero has baseball in his genes and is a high-risk, high-reward type of prospect; BA and other outlets such as MLB.com (where he ranks fifth among Mariners prospects) and Fangraphs (eighth) all feel that he could ultimately be an everyday right fielder, but the likelihood isn’t great without adjustments to his approach.

The 22-year-old Reinheimer reached Double-A for the first time this season and has slashed .277/.323/.351 thus far. Ranked as Seattle’s No. 17 prospect by BA, he also ranks 19th per Fangraphs and 14th per MLB.com. Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis at MLB.com call Reinheimer a singles hitter at the moment, noting that he has above-average speed and the range/arm to handle shortstop defensively. Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs agrees for the most part and comps him to Mariners shortstop Chris Taylor, noting that there’s very little power and a utility player might be the ultimate outcome.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported that Trumbo and Nuno had been traded to Seattle in exchange for Castillo, Leone and two prospects (Twitter links). 

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Reds Release Donald Lutz

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The Reds have released first baseman/outfielder Donald Lutz, the club announced. His 40-man spot was needed for the promotion of Ivan DeJesus Jr., who is filling in for the injured Marlon Byrd.

Lutz entered the year rated as Cincinnati’s 28th-best prospect, in the eyes of Baseball America, after reaching as high as 16th on that list in prior seasons. As C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes on Twitter, Lutz underwent Tommy John surgery a month ago.

While he’s only seen 113 largely unsuccessful plate appearances in the big leagues, and was off to a rough start this year prior to his surgery, Lutz has generally put up appealing batting lines throughout his minor league career. His primary strength is in the power department, and he owns a cumulative MiLB slugging percentage of .470.

Lutz is most notable, of course, for being the first major league ballplayer who was developed in Germany. While he was born in the United States, his family moved to Germany when he was just one year old, and he played there until signing as an international free agent back in 2007.

Jordan Lyles Out For Year With Toe Injury

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Rockies righty Jordan Lyles will miss the rest of the season after suffering an injury to his left big toe, the club announced (via Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post). The digit’s medial collateral ligament and capsule require repair.

Acquired as part of the pre-2014 Dexter Fowler trade, Lyles had something of a breakout season in his first year with Colorado. An unfortunate left hand fracture caused him to miss significant time, and he was far less effective after the season’s first month, but things were pointing up on the whole.

After agreeing to a $2.48MM deal to avoid arbitration, Lyles figured as one of the Rockies’ best starters. The results have not been there, as his ERA sits at a somewhat disappointing 5.14 and he’s dropped back to 5.5 K/9.

But the 25-year-old has maintained his velocity and approximately 50% groundball rate. And FIP credits him with his lowest annual mark (an evaluation not shared by xFIP and SIERA, however).

It does not seem like the Rockies are going anywhere this year, with or without Lyles, but the loss of another competent arm could make a date at the auction block more likely for several veterans. In the long run, Colorado will probably not be too concerned about Lyles’ ability to bounce back, particularly since the injury isn’t to his arm.

With the Rockies having tendered a contract to TJ patient Tyler Chatwood last year, I’d expect they’ll do the same next fall with Lyles.

Latest On David Wright Back Injury

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Star Mets third baseman David Wright, who has been diagnosed with a condition called spinal stenosis, joined GM Sandy Alderson in addressing the situation with the media yesterday (via Newsday’s Mark Carig). While Alderson says the club is “comfortable” in expecting that Wright will return, it also appears more and more likely that the problem will be a concern even if he does make it back to action.

“It literally is a week-to-week process,” Wright said, explaining that he is regularly undergoing tests of his back condition that must be passed before he can even begin working back to on-field action. “I’m not there right now,” he said. “They run me through the tests and I flat-out can’t do it.”

Surgery is only on the table as a last resort, in the event that rehabilitation proves unavailing. “There’s never been a question in my mind that not only am I going to come back but I want to come back sooner rather than later,” Wright said. “It’s just a matter of being symptom-free.”

In spite of that positivity, and Alderson’s statement that he was not planning to go outside the organization to find a replacement, the GM hinted at an uncertain (and possibly lengthy) timeline when he said the team is “not on the edge of our seat waiting for David to come back.” And he acknowledged the long-term concerns: “I’m not sure we can have any assurance at this point that when he comes back it will be incident-free for the rest of the season.”

Wright is earning $20MM this year and is promised an additional $87MM from 2016-2020. While the club reportedly has insurance that would cover a significant portion of that tab if Wright misses a large chunk of time, that would not offer much relief if he is able to play but can’t return to his former levels (or if, say, he needs scattered DL stints to deal with flare-ups).

In the immediate term, the team does have options, as David Lennon writes for Newsday. Daniel Murphy can occupy third, with some combination of Wilmer Flores, Ruben Tejada, and Dilson Herrera (when he returns from his own injury) playing up the middle. Or, of course, a more established option could be added at the deadline. Regardless, it would now seem a major surprise if Murphy — who has sometimes been discussed as a trade chip — was to be made available this summer.

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