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Archives for August 2015

Podcast: Brewers Prospect Brett Phillips On His Deadline Trade

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We’re changing things up a bit this week, as three key prospects in recent deadline deals took the time to join host Jeff Todd to discuss their trade deadline experiences and new organizations. So, rather than our usual Thursday afternoon episode, we’re releasing three episodes of the podcast.

First up is Brett Phillips, the rising center fielder who has shot up prospect lists and just headed from the Astros to the Brewers as a major piece in the blockbuster that sent Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers to Houston.

Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and whether you’re a long-time subscriber or just getting on board today, please leave a review! We’d love to hear your thoughts. The podcast is also available via Stitcher at this link.

The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast runs weekly on Thursday afternoons.

Zwelling, Keri Examine Blue Jays’ Active Deadline

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In a pair of excellent columns, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet and Jonah Keri of Grantland offer behind-the-scenes looks at the chaotic week of Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos leading up to the trade deadline. Each spoke directly to Anthopoulos, and while Keri’s piece focuses on blockbuster deals for David Price and Troy Tulowitzki, Zwelling’s looks at each day of Anthopoulos’ week leading up to the deadline (including those trades and other discussions) — painting a vivid picture of the life of a general manager during one of the most chaotic times of the year.

Some highlights from each piece, although I’d highly recommend reading each in its entirety…

  • Both Zwelling and Keri note that talks between the Blue Jays and Rockies date back to the offseason, but the initial concept of Jose Reyes and pitching prospects for Tulowitzki surfaced in late May. Anthopoulos, Zwelling writes, had been unwilling to part with Jeff Hoffman until the day that Tulowitzki was traded. When Hoffman’s name was put on the table, talks with Rockies GM Jeff Bridich accelerated quickly. Zwelling’s piece also provides a glimpse into the difficult task of Anthopoulos informing Reyes that he’d been traded.
  • Meanwhile, Anthopoulos told Keri that the decision to add Tulowitzki did have its detractors within the Toronto front office. “They brought up the length of his contract, the dollars on his contract, the players we’d have to give up,” said Anthopoulos. However, his take on the situation varied. “Players like that don’t become available,” said the Toronto GM. “They sign 10-year contracts and become the face of a franchise. It wasn’t an easy decision. It was weird, the process was long and stressful … but it was also a lot of fun.”
  • Zwelling writes that Anthopoulos was in negotiation for players such as Ben Zobrist, Gerardo Parra and Mike Leake as well, but an eventual phone call from Detroit’s Dave Dombrowski caused him to shift his focus to Price. Dombrowski had told Anthopoulos a week before the trade deadline that he’d call him if he decided to move Price, and despite the fact that Anthopoulos saw constant rumors about Price’s availability, his respect for Dombrowski prevented him from calling to check in. “His guarantee that he’d call me was all I needed,” said Anthopoulos. “Dave’s a complete pro. No matter what was being said in the media, I was going to take his word for it. When and if the time presented itself, he was going to call.”
  • Anthopoulos tells Zwelling that while there was pressure to get a deal for Price and/or another starter done, he did have a fallback plan. Anthopoulos had a standing agreement in place for a yet-unnamed lesser pitcher than Price that he could’ve swung on July 31, but the move for Price halted that need.
  • Keri notes that Anthopoulos was on the phone with Mariners counterpart Jack Zduriencik discussing Mark Lowe when Dombrowski came calling with the info that he was ready to move Price. “I’m dying to jump off the phone, but I don’t want to do that to Jack,” said Anthopoulos. “I did really want Price, though. So I did hurry it along.”
  • Keri cites a Blue Jays source in reporting that the Blue Jays nearly had a trade completed for the Indians’ Carlos Carrasco, but talks fell apart just as the Jays thought they had something worked out. The Jays also checked in with the Phillies on Cole Hamels over the winter, in Spring Training, before the All-Star break and with 10 days to go before the trade deadline, Keri reports, but were repeatedly told that Hamels wouldn’t waive his no-trade clause to approve a deal to Toronto. Anthopoulos also aggressively pursued the Padres’ Tyson Ross, according to Keri’s source, though he gives no indication that anything was as close with Ross as it seemingly was with Carrasco.

Astros Re-Sign Joe Thatcher

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The Astros announced tonight (on Twitter) that they’ve re-signed lefty reliever Joe Thatcher to a minor league contract. Thatcher, a client of Platinum Sports, had elected free agency after being designated for assignment late last month. He’ll head to Triple-A Fresno, according to the Astros.

The 33-year-old Thatcher signed a minor league deal with Houston in the offseason but made the team out of Spring Training and has enjoyed generally successful results in his first year with the Astros. He’s posted a 3.79 ERA and averaged better than 10 strikeouts per nine innings, though he’s also battled his command, yielding 5.2 walks per nine frames as well.

Typically a strong performer against left-handed hitters, Thatcher’s struggled in that department this season, yielding a .267/.389/.356 batting line across 55 plate appearances. He’ll hope to get back on track in Triple-A and resurface with Houston later this season. A strong track record suggests that’s a plausible outcome for the veteran Thatcher, who has a 3.04 ERA with 10.0 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 210 1/3 innings dating back to the 2009 season.

Rangers Sign Ross Ohlendorf, Robert Coello

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The Rangers announced today that they’ve re-signed right-hander Ross Ohlendorf to a minor league contract. Additionally, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweeted yesterday that the team has a minor league deal with righty Robert Coello.

Ohlendorf, 32, has logged 7 2/3 innings with the Rangers this season but was designated for assignment and briefly elected free agency before re-signing a new contract with Texas. He’ll head to Triple-A Round Rock, where he posted a 3.60 ERA with 28 strikeouts against nine walks in 25 innings of relief earlier this season. Ohlendorf has 509 1/3 innings under his belt at the big league level, having pitched to a 4.86 ERA with 6.5 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9.

Coello, 30, has seen big league action in parts of three seasons with a 5.90 ERA to show for his efforts. He’s struck out 39 batters and issued 17 walks in 29 big league frames, with sabermetric stats like FIP (3.58) and xFIP (4.02) painting a much more optimistic picture than ERA. The New Jersey native opted out of a minor league deal with the Giants back in early June but hasn’t pitched since, so he’ll head to Arizona to get caught up to speed before joining a minor league affiliate (presumably Triple-A), per Wilson.

Cubs Re-Sign Clayton Richard

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The Cubs have re-signed lefty Clayton Richard, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune was among those to report (Twitter links). He’ll take the place of righty Rafael Soriano, who hits the DL with right shoulder inflammation.

After recently being designated for assignment, Richard declined an outright assignment and elected free agency. Obviously it did not take long for his most recent club to bring him back, however, on a new deal.

The 31-year-old has pitched to a 4.29 ERA in 21 frames with the Cubs over three starts and one relief appearance. He’s retired nine batters by strikeout and allowed five walks in that span.

Richard came to the Cubs after throwing well early in the year at Triple-A for the Pirates. A provision in his deal required Pittsburgh either to add him to its active roster or make him available to another team willing to do so, and Chicago came calling. After once being designated off of the Cubs’ 40-man roster and optioned, Richard went through the more traditional DFA process this time around before re-signing.

Dombrowski Seeks New Front Office Job After Tigers Let Him Go

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Just removed from his role as Tigers general manager, veteran baseball executive Dave Dombrowski told the press today that he is looking for a new opportunity in baseball operations, with Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter links), Joel Sherman of the New York Post, and MLB.com’s Jason Beck all contributing notable quotes. Dombrowski made clear that the decision to terminate his contract, which was set to expire after the season anyway, was made unilaterally by ownership. And he added that there were no real efforts between the sides to reach a new agreement.

Upon the surprising news yesterday, many wondered whether Dombrowski had demanded a salary increase or asked to be let go to permit him to pursue another opportunity. Neither were the case, per his comments. “There were no [contract] talks, so there were no demands,” he explained.

Dombrowski added that he was not surprised by the move or its timing, though he neither asked for nor received an explanation from his former boss. “I knew this potential existed,” he said. “It was a very short conversation with Mr. Ilitch. I suspected in recent times that something has to happen.” He added: “It’s pretty simple. Mike Ilitch let me know yesterday they were going in a different leadership direction.” Dombrowski made clear that he was pleased that he’ll be succeeded by longtime assistant Al Avila, wishing him and the organization well.

As those quotes would suggest, and Dombrowski confirmed, there was no movement on his status before the trade deadline. With just hours to go before the deadline, of course, Dombrowski decided to sell key veterans David Price, Yoenis Cespedes, and Joakim Soria to add young pieces. “I didn’t make [the deals] with any expectations other than I felt it was the best thing for the organization,” he said. “My feeling in my heart was that we were not going to win a championship.” The biggest problem facing the Tigers roster, by the then-GM’s reckoning, was that the team was “a little short of starting pitching.”

Though his time with Detroit is over, that wasn’t Dombrowski’s first organization, and he indicated it probably won’t be his last. “I definitely want to stay in the game,” he said. “I want to be involved in day-to-day baseball operations. I am open to a lot of different possibilities.” He acknowledged that he’d already begun taking calls from new clubs, though he declined to name them. “I’ve had some nice conversations,” he said.

Yankees Designate Danny Burawa

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The Yankees have designated righty Danny Burawa for assignment, the club announced. New York needed a 40-man spot after re-signing Garrett Jones.

Burawa, 26, reached the big leagues for the first time this year, though his only appearance did not go well. He has put up 60 1/3 solid innings at the Triple-A level, however, with a 2.69 ERA. Burawa notched only 7.8 K/9 against 4.5 BB/9, but has allowed a meager 6.3 hits per nine.

Yankees Re-Sign Garrett Jones

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The Yankees have re-signed first baseman/outfielder Garrett Jones, Jack Curry of the YES Network tweets. New York is expected to move a pitcher off the active roster to create space.

Jones was recently designated for assignment to clear roster space as part of the team’s acquisition of Dustin Ackley. As Curry explains, Jones elected free agency after being outrighted by the club. But with Ackley going on the DL, New York decided to bring back the veteran.

Playing in his eighth big league season at 34 years of age, Jones owns a .215/.257/.361 batting line. But he’s done much more in the past, and carries a .757 collective OPS in a career with over 3,000 trips to the plate. Jones has always maintained a sizable platoon split, and will presumably continue to see most of his action against right-handed pitching.

Poll: Best Trade Deadline Moves By A Seller

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We took the temperature of the MLBTR readership recently on the subject of deadline buyers, with the Blue Jays getting the most top ratings, and now we’ll turn to the seller’s side of the line. As I noted there, while we heard a lot of talk of teams reshaping their current rosters rather than strictly buying or selling, that really did not occur much this year.

The following organizations all pursued slightly different strategies in moving current production for future assets. Which do you think did it best?

Future Asset Traders

These clubs not only moved rental pieces, but also dealt significant players with future control in order to add other future assets.

Rockies acquire Jose Reyes, Jeff Hoffman, Miguel Castro, & Jesus Tinoco in deal for Troy Tulowitzki & LaTroy Hawkins — Still-fresh GM Jeff Bridich shocked the baseball world by finally putting an end to the Tulo rumors. Now, the team has another expensive veteran shortstop that could become a trade piece, along with three fresh young arms.

Brewers acquire Brett Phillips, Josh Hader, Domingo Santana & Adrian Houser, Zach Davies, and Yhonathan Barrios in deals for Carlos Gomez & Mike Fiers, Gerardo Parra, and Aramis Ramirez — Milwaukee gave up some cheap control in both Gomez and Fiers, while selling high on the expiring Parra and saving dollars with Ramirez. Phillips headlines a nice group of prospects who’ll replenish the Brewers system.

Phillies acquire Matt Harrison, Jorge Alfaro, Jake Thompson, Nick Williams, Alec Asher, & Jerad Eickhoff, Nick Pivetta, Jimmy Cordero & Alberto Tirado in deals for Cole Hamels & Jake Diekman, Jonathan Papelbon, and Ben Revere — The Hamels saga rivals that of Tulowitzki for duration and attention. So, was it worth the wait? Philly landed three top-100 prospects in the deal, spreading its bets when it couldn’t seem to pry loose a super-premium youngster.

Braves acquire Hector Olivera, Paco Rodriguez, & Zachary Bird, Rob Whalen & John Gant in deals for Alex Wood, Jim Johnson, Luis Avilan, Bronson Arroyo & Jose Peraza, Juan Uribe & Kelly Johnson — The Wood-Olivera deal (originally “the Latos deal”) might have been the deadline’s most interesting, and it’ll take quite some time to see how it plays out. Atlanta continues to be exceedingly creative in structuring trades.

Indians acquire Rob Kaminsky, Eric Stamets, and Abraham Almonte in deals for Brandon Moss, David Murphy, and Marc Rzepczynski — Cleveland was said to be unlikely to deal Moss, but was overwhelmed with the offer of Kaminsky, a highly-regarded young pitcher.

Rental Dealers

Many of these deadline sellers dabbled in deals for players under control for the future, but ultimately ended up moving only their pure rentals.

Reds acquire Brandon Finnegan, John Lamb, & Cody Reed, Keury Mella & Adam Duvall in deals for Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake — Moving its soon-to-be-free agent starters long seemed a given, and Cincinnati was able to bolster its future staff with some appealing arms. The club held off on deals for other veterans, including Marlon Byrd and Jay Bruce, but could consider future trades.

Athletics acquire Sean Manaea & Aaron Brooks, Casey Meisner, Jacob Nottingham & Daniel Mengden in deals for Ben Zobrist, Tyler Clippard, and Scott Kazmir — Likewise, the A’s showed little inclination to discuss controllable pieces, instead moving its best expiring veteran assets. The club opted for upside over near-term contributions in its returns, marking something of a departure from other recent trades.

Tigers acquire Daniel Norris, Jairo Labourt & Matt Boyd, Michael Fulmer & Luis Cessa, and JaCoby Jones in deals for David Price, Yoenis Cespedes, and Joakim Soria — Detroit waited until the last minute to hit the sell button, and then shipped out three high-end veterans to add young talent, especially in the rotation. The Tigers seemingly structured their moves to prepare for another run next year.

Limited Sellers

These clubs all likely considered more significant sell-offs, but ultimately chose to shave some salary and move a few pieces that probably did not figure prominently in future plans.

Marlins acquire Kevin Guzman, Jeff Brigham & Victor Araujo, Elliot Soto & Ivan Pineyro, Tomas Telis & Cody Ege, and Kyle Barraclough in deals for Mat Latos & Michael Morse, Dan Haren, Sam Dyson, and Steve Cishek — While we heard some chatter about Martin Prado and Marcell Ozuna, Miami held onto those controllable players. The club also did not pull off a move for a starter with extended control, as had been rumored.

Rays acquire Eduar Lopez, Chih-Wei Hu & Alexis Tapia in deals for Kevin Jepsen and David DeJesus — Tampa Bay remains in the Wild Card hunt, but shopped its controllable relief assets and moved the veteran DeJesus. All in all, the team elected to make smaller-scale moves, as was expected.

Mariners acquire Adrian Sampson, Ramon Flores & Jose Ramirez, Rob Rasmussen, Jake Brentz & Nick Wells in deals for J.A. Happ, Dustin Ackley, and Mark Lowe — Entering the deadline in a tough position, the Mariners decided to hold for the most part, but did move two solid arms and finally parted with Ackley, a former top prospect.

Red Sox acquire Josh Rutledge in deal for Shane Victorino — Boston was one of those teams rumored to be in the market to buy for the future, and also may have considered moves involving large contract swaps, but will now do the bulk of its work in the offseason (though August deals can’t be ruled out).

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Rays Claim Daniel Nava

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The Rays have claimed outfielder Daniel Nava off waivers from the Red Sox, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports on Twitter. Boston had designated the 32-year-old for assignment on July 30th.

Nava has spent most of his time in the corner outfield, though he also has appeared some at first base. The switch-hitter has been much more productive against right-handed pitching in his career, and it seems he could step into the role of just-traded outfielder David DeJesus.

Tampa Bay is placing a good bit of trust in a turn-around from Nava, as the club will owe him the balance of a $1.85MM salary (around $617K) for the rest of the year. Nava can also be controlled for two more years via arbitration, and probably won’t be in line for a significant raise.

Of course, the reason that Nava was available in the first place is that he’s scuffled badly this year while also dealing with injuries. He’s registered just ten hits, and no home runs, in 78 MLB plate appearances. Nava was already coming off of a less-than-inspiring 2014 campaign, when he saw his power output dip following an excellent 2013 (.303/.385/.445), though defensive metrics thought he had improved significantly in his outfield defense.

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