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Heyman On Pitching Market, Astros, Angels, Hamels, Jays

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Though many consider this to be a sellers’ market, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports kicks off his latest Trade Buzz column by writing that the starting pitching market could swing in favor of buyers. Only four teams are in desperate need of a rotation upgrade, he notes — the Blue Jays, Royals, Astros and Dodgers — and new names are being added to the pitching market as the deadline nears. Many executives, however, still wonder if the Tigers will really sell. Several throughout the game expect David Price to stay put with the Tigers, Heyman writes. Here are some highlights from his notes on the pitching market as well as the rest of the trade market…

  • It’s likely that the Rangers will end up trading Yovani Gallardo, and Heyman points out that an NL team would consider Gallardo a bonus, as he’s hit 13 homers in his career as at the plate. The Rangers could also end up trading Colby Lewis, who could step into the back of a rotation for a club in need of some stable innings.
  • The Astros are determined not to trade outfield prospect Brett Phillips, who one Astros-connected person referred to as “an absolute stud” when talking to Heyman. Houston is also interested in virtually every pitcher on the market, though one notable exception is Mike Leake, as the club’s evaluators aren’t particularly high on the Reds right-hander.
  • The Angels’ recent offensive surge has calmed their search for a left fielder, but they still have some interest in both Jay Bruce and Ben Revere. There are concerns among decision-makers, however, that Bruce fits the same streaky profile that the departed Josh Hamilton embodied. Carlos Gonzalez isn’t on the Halos’ radar at this time.
  • Scouts that spoke to Heyman don’t seem overly concerned with a pair of poor outings for Cole Hamels. Instead, some believe that he may be feeling the rigors of being on the trade block for more than a year. One AL scout said of Hamels’ last start: “He looks fine. It was 100 degrees. He’s playing for a miserable team. And it may be hard to get motivated.” A pair of AL execs opined that the Phillies will be able to get back at least one “huge prospect.”
  • The Giants need to bolster their bench, but a reunion with Juan Uribe isn’t likely. Uribe wasn’t amenable to a bench spot the last time he was with San Francisco, and part of the reason he was dealt from Los Angeles to Atlanta was to get more playing time.
  • The Blue Jays’ interest in Jonathan Papelbon is “fairly limited” at this point, as the club’s focus at this point is primarily on adding to the rotation.

Jason Vargas To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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6:27pm: Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star reports (via Twitter) that the Royals have insurance on Vargas’ contract. If he misses all of the 2016 season, roughly $6MM of the $8.5MM he’s owed is covered by the policy.

1:39pm: Royals starter Jason Vargas has hit the DL with a torn UCL in his left arm, the club announced. He will require Tommy John surgery, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets.

Needless to say, that diagnosis does not bode well for Vargas’s status this year or next. The surgery almost always requires more than a full year before a pitcher can return to action. That rough timeline would suggest that Vargas will not be available until late in 2016 at the earliest.

Vargas is playing on a four-year, $32MM deal that he signed as a free agent before the 2014 campaign. He is owed $8.5MM next year and $8MM for 2017.

The loss of Vargas represents a significant hit to Kansas City’s rotation depth. The club was already sporting the league’s 7th-highest composite starter ERA, and ERA estimators were even less optimistic of the quality of the current staff. Righty Yordano Ventura will take the open roster spot, but he had just been demoted after falling shy of expectations in the season’s first half.

In spite of the rotation difficulties, of course, the Royals entered today’s action with the American League’s best record. Adding a starter of some kind seemed an inevitability, with the question being whether GM Dayton Moore would aim for big impact or sturdy innings. It isn’t clear that the Vargas injury changes the equation in that regard, though it certainly adds impetus to the team’s need to add an arm (or two).

Henderson Alvarez Joins Beverly Hills Sports Council

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Marlins right-hander Henderson Alvarez has switched representation and is now a client of agents Rick Thurman and Rafael Nieves of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, tweets Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. Alvarez is the second notable pitcher to switch agents today, as Fernando Rodney joined the Octagon agency earlier this afternoon.

The 25-year-old Alvarez, Miami’s Opening Day starter, has been limited to just 22 1/3 innings in the Majors this season due to shoulder injuries, but he’s currently in the midst of a rehab assignment. Formerly a client of Praver/Shapiro, Alvarez was one of six players traded from Toronto to Miami in the Jose Reyes/Mark Buehrle/Josh Johnson blockbuster back in 2012. He’s made steady progress since debuting in the Majors with the Blue Jays in 2012, as his ERA has dropped from 4.85 in 187 innings in 2012 to 3.59 in 107 innings in 2013 and finally 2.65 in 187 innings last year.

The jury is still out on how much Alvarez will contribute to the Marlins in 2015, though obviously his absence has contributed to the current state of affairs in Miami. The loss of innings in 2015 has undoubtedly harmed Alvarez’s second trip through arbitration, however — the first that will be handled by his new agents at BHSC. Alvarez agreed to a one-year, $4MM contract last winter and will be eligible for arbitration twice more when he hits the open market following the 2017 season. He’ll be entering just his age-28 season at that point, so if he can remain healthy in 2016-17, he’ll be an uncommonly young free agent (barring an extension, of course).

For information on more than 2,000 Major League and minor league players, check out MLBTR’s Agency Database. If you see any notable omissions or errors, please let us know via email: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

Trade Notes: A’s, Gallardo, Reds, Jays, Padres, Victorino

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The sense among the industry is that the Athletics are now “open for business,” tweets ESPN’s Buster Olney. The A’s, Olney notes, have pieces that figure to draw widespread interest, including free-agents-to-be Scott Kazmir and Ben Zobrist. I’d add that Tyler Clippard is another impending free agent, and right-hander Jesse Chavez is a relatively short-term asset that’s broken out over the past 18 months as well. (Chavez is controlled through 2016.) Josh Reddick has drawn inquiry from the division-rival Angels, although reports at the time indicated that Oakland had no interest in moving its right fielder.

We’re nine days from the trade deadline, so trade action should escalate rapidly in the coming week. Here’s more from around the league…

  • FOX’s Ken Rosenthal wrote last night that the Rangers aren’t motivated to trade Mitch Moreland, and ESPN’s Jayson Stark hears the same thing (Twitter link). According to Stark, the only player that the Rangers are strongly marketing is right-hander Yovani Gallardo — another player who is eligible for free agency at season’s end. Gallardo is having a nice rebound season in his first year with Texas, and Moreland’s strong season has gone somewhat unheralded; the 29-year-old is batting .287/.333/.529 with 16 homers. He’s still struggling against lefties, though a bit less so than in previous years.
  • Via MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon (Twitter link), Reds general manager Walt Jocketty has spoken with a number of clubs about trades but has yet to receive what the Cincinnati front office considers to be a compelling offer. Said the veteran GM: “We’ve been talking with a lot of different people but we haven’t been receiving offers that have us wanting to commit.”
  • Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that the Blue Jays and Padres have had recent discussions about pitchers — both relievers and starters. San Diego starters Tyson Ross, Andrew Cashner, James Shields and Ian Kennedy have all seen their names surface on the rumor mill of late, though it would seem that Shields, at least, is too expensive for Toronto from a financial standpoint. Joaquin Benoit stands out, to me, as the most obvious trade candidate for the Padres in the bullpen.
  • Though the Mets are in need of outfield help, a source tells Rob Bradford of WEEI.com (Twitter link) that the Red Sox’ Shane Victorino is of no interest to them. That’s not exactly shocking to hear, given Victorino’s $13MM salary and meager .247/.333/.306 batting line in 2015.

Orioles Release Wesley Wright

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JULY 22: The Orioles announced that Wright has been released. The Reynolds Sports Management client is free to sign with any club.

JULY 15: The Orioles have designated lefty Wesley Wright for assignment, the team announced. The MLB.com transactions page first cited the move. Wright had been on the 60-day DL, but now hits DFA limbo immediately upon being activated.

Wright, 30, only made it into two big league games this year after signing a one-year, $1.7MM free agent deal with Baltimore. Shoulder issues have plagued the southpaw, who has struggled to a 7.71 ERA in ten rehab appearances at Triple-A, striking out five and walking seven in 11 2/3 innings. Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com adds that Wright has struggled to regain his usual velocity.

Last year, Wright was an effective member of the Cubs bullpen. Over 48 1/3 frames, he put up a 3.14 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and a 52.1 percent ground-ball rate. Wright was especially dominant against opposing lefties, and should get another look from a team in need of depth in that specialty.

2016 Competitive Balance Lottery Results

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The Reds have drawn the first competitive balance selection in the 2016 draft, as Cash Kruth of MLB.com reports. While the precise draft slots remain to be determined, Cincinnati will pick after the conclusion of the first round (including compensation choices).

Here is the order of the selections, which were determined by lottery between the clubs that fell among the ten smallest markets and/or the ten smallest revenue pools league-wide. Other teams that participate in revenue sharing are also eligible, but only for the second round.

Round A (selections occur after first round)

1. Reds
2. Athletics
3. Rockies
4. Diamondbacks
5. Marlins
6. Pirates

Round B (selections occur after second round)

1. Padres
2. Indians
3. Twins
4. Brewers
5. Orioles
6. Rays

These results mean that the Cardinals, Royals, and Mariners failed to receive a pick despite being eligible. With some restrictions, the picks can be traded — and increasingly have been in recent seasons. You can take a look at this year’s draft results and slot values to get an idea of the range of selections (and drafted players) that the most recent competitive balance awards ultimately represented.

Pirates Designate Jayson Aquino

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The Pirates announced a series of roster moves that include the designation of lefty Jayson Aquino for assignment, as Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on Twitter. Infielder Pedro Florimon is headed to the active roster, while Wilfredo Boscan was optioned to Triple-A.

Pittsburgh added Aquino in a minor trade with the Blue Jays back in May. The 22-year-old has bounced around quite a bit in the last year after seeing his prospect stock fall. He’s thrown 78 2/3 innings at the High-A level with the Pittsburgh organization, working to a 3.78 ERA with 5.7 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9.

Obviously, the Pirates felt it was necessary to get another infielder onto the active roster after losing both Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer to injuries. Though he’s never hit much, Florimon offers a quality glove up the middle.

Fernando Rodney Changes Agents

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Mariners reliever Fernando Rodney has signed on with Octagon Baseball, the agency announced on Twitter. Rodney had previously been with MVP Sports Group.

A 13-year MLB veteran, the 38-year-old Rodney is nearing the end of a two-year, $14MM deal with Seattle. He was excellent last year, working to a 2.85 ERA with 10.3 /9 and 3.8 BB/9 over 66 1/3 frames, racking up a league-leading 48 saves in the process.

But things have turned south thus far in 2015. Over 37 2/3 frames, his ERA stands at an ugly 5.73, leading to a loss of 9th inning duties. While his walk rate has gone up slightly, Rodney has seen his strikeout rate drop to 7.2 K/9 as he continues to generate less swings and misses.

Rodney still has time to rebuild value this year, and there at least some signs of promise. His average fastball velocity still tops 95 mph. Though he’s allowed long balls at about twice his career average, Rodney’s groundball rate is still over 50% and he’s allowed less overall hard contact than in the previous two seasons.

With the change in representation, it would seem likely that Rodney intends to play in 2016. Though Rodney’s age and recent results suggest that his new agents will have their work cut out for them, he’s sure to generate interest given his track record and maintained velocity.

Blue Jays Claim Ty Kelly From Cardinals

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The Blue Jays have claimed infielder/outfielder Ty Kelly off waivers from the Cardinals, Toronto announced (h/t to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca, on Twitter). Kelly was designated for assignment yesterday.

The 27-year-old Kelly has not yet seen action at the big league level despite occupying a 40-man spot. Over parts of four seasons at Triple-A, he owns a .261/.381/.379 slash across 1,110 plate appearances.

But those numbers are down since St. Louis acquired the switch-hitter in an offseason deal with the Mariners. In his 269 plate appearances this season at Memphis, he’s slashed just .203/.317/.286. And after swatting 15 home runs last year, Kelly has managed only two long balls thus far in 2015.

$110K DraftKings MLB Fantasy Contest

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Head over to DraftKings.com right now to participate in another exciting daily fantasy contest. There’s a $110K prize pool to be claimed, with $10K going to the winner. The top 8,421 entries are guaranteed to win money. It’s just $3 to participate, and new users can enter for free!

The contest goes live this evening — Wednesday, July 22 — at 7:05pm EST, so it’s time to get your picks in. Just spread your $50K salary cap space between eight position players and two pitchers to put together the best lineup possible. Here’s the lineup I’m rolling with for tonight’s action:

07.22.2015 DKThere’s no reason to wait. Click over to DraftKings right now for a chance to win a part of that $100K pool!

 

 

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