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Archives for July 2018

Braves Acquire Kevin Gausman, Darren O’Day

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The Orioles have announced a trade that will send right-handers Kevin Gausman and Darren O’Day to the Braves. In return, the Baltimore organization will pick up a group of minor-leaguers — corner infielder Jean Carlos Encarnacion, catcher Brett Cumberland, righty Evan Phillips, and lefty Bruce Zimmermann — along with $2.5MM of international bonus money.

In Gausman, the Braves land a starting pitcher they can control through the 2020 season. He’s earning $5.6MM this year and will be in line for raises via arbitration for the ensuing two campaigns.

Gausman, now 27, was drafted fourth overall by the Orioles out of Louisiana State back in 2012.  He’s been a mainstay in the Orioles’ rotation since 2014, peaking with a 3.61 ERA in 30 starts in 2016.  This year, he has a 4.43 ERA, 7.6 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, 1.52 HR/9, and 46.9% groundball rate in 124 innings.  The longball has been an Achilles heel for Gausman, who has a 1.42 HR/9 over the last four seasons.

The upstart Braves are currently just a half game behind the Phillies in the NL East race, and sit the same distance from a Wild Card spot.  They’ve got lefty Kolby Allard set to make his MLB debut in a spot start tonight against the Marlins.  Otherwise, their rotation consists of Mike Foltynewicz, Sean Newcomb, Julio Teheran, Anibal Sanchez, and Max Fried.  Brandon McCarthy and Mike Soroka are currently on the DL.  It’s unclear at present who will be bumped from the rotation for Gausman.

For the Orioles, Gausman is the first non-rental piece they’ve dealt since committing to a full rebuild with the trade of Manny Machado to the Dodgers. He has since been followed out the door by Jonathan Schoop.  Relievers Zach Britton and Brad Brach have been traded since then as well.

In addition to recouping some prospect capital, those swaps have offloaded a huge amount of cash from the balance sheet this year. The inclusion of O’Day in this particular swap surely influenced the remainder of the return, as he’s sidelined indefinitely with a serious hamstring injury. The veteran reliever is owed $9MM this year and next. That’s not to say he won’t have a chance at becoming a useful member of the Braves’ pen next season.

Of the young players moving in this deal, only Encarnacion (#14) and Cumberland (#30) cracked the most recent top-30 list of Braves prospects from MLB.com. The 23-year-old Phillips is the only one of the players who has seen the majors. He has struggled in four outings this year, but has had a strong showing at Triple-A, with a 1.99 ERA and 13.1 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 over 40 2/3 innings.

Fancred’s Jon Heyman first reported the swap and international dollars (Twitter links), while Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic had the other aspects of the return (via Twitter).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pirates Acquire Chris Archer

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The Pirates have officially struck a trade to acquire starter Chris Archer from the Rays, as Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first reported (via Twitter). Talented young players Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow will both go to Tampa Bay, as Jim Bowden of The Athletic tweeted.

There’s also a third player in the deal, as first noted by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). The identity is still not known — the announcement cites a player to be named later — but it’s said to be an asset “of real value,” per Jon Heyman of Fancred (Twitter link).

Today’s news brings an end to a long-running trade saga involving Archer. The talented right-hander has been viewed as a target for years, with rival organizations intrigued not only by his big innings and strikeout totals, but also his extremely valuable contract. He now becomes the latest quality starter to be traded away by the Rays organization.

Archer inked a six-year, $25.5MM swap early in 2014. The agreement includes two option seasons at the end. While the very cheapest years have already gone into the books, there are some affordable campaigns remaining. Archer is earning just $6.25MM this year and $7.5MM next, followed by $9MM and $11MM club options that have a combined $2MM in buyouts.

Those dollar amounts surely appealed to a Pirates organization that is always seeking value. But the team was motivated most by the chance to improve in the near-term. Archer will represent a significant new addition to the rotation. The 29-year-old has only a 4.31 ERA on the year, the third-straight season in which he has allowed more than four earned per nine, but continues to carry peripherals that suggest he’s significantly better.

Of course, at some point the results will need to catch up to the metrics, and the Bucs are betting that’ll happen sooner than later. Archer is a quality asset regardless, but this deal was surely made based on the premise that he still can return to the higher standard he carried earlier in his career.

Otherwise, it’s hard to imagine the Bucs parting with this haul of talent in return. Meadows is the headlining piece at this point, as the 23-year-old top prospect has now shown an ability to hit in the big leagues. While his numbers at Triple-A haven’t been quite as impressive of late, and he’s benefiting from a .345 BABIP, Meadows carries a .292/.327/.468 slash in his first 165 plate appearances at the game’s highest level.

Glasnow, meanwhile, is soon to turn 25. He’s a big talent who has yet to fully harness his abilities. This year, Glasnow has functioned in a relief capacity, turning in 56 innings of 4.34 ERA ball with 11.6 K/9 against 5.5 BB/9 and a 56.0% groundball rate. While there’s still hope he’ll round into a MLB starter, perhaps that distinction won’t matter too much for a Rays team that no longer really seems to have a true starter on its roster at all.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Dodgers To Acquire John Axford

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The Dodgers have struck a deal to acquire righty John Axford from the Blue Jays, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Righty Corey Copping will go to Toronto in return, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).

Axford, 35, has a 4.41 ERA, 8.8 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 1.06 HR/9, and 53.3% groundball rate in 51 innings this year for the Blue Jays.  Axford had signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays in February after a rough final season in Oakland that included over a month on the shelf with a shoulder strain.  He reinforces a Dodgers pen that has been relying on Kenley Jansen, Scott Alexander, and Daniel Hudson in the late innings, with Pedro Baez coming off the DL about a week ago.  Josh Fields and Tony Cingrani are among those still on the DL.  The Dodgers made their biggest July splashes in the middle infield, with the earlier acquisition of Manny Machado as well as the pickup of Brian Dozier today.

As for the Blue Jays, they’ve shipped off Roberto Osuna, J.A. Happ, Aaron Loup, and Seunghwan Oh in addition to Axford as part of a month-long dismantling.  Copping, the return for Axford, is a 24-year-old righty who recently earned a promotion to Triple-A.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

 

Diamondbacks To Acquire Jake Diekman

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2:44pm: The trade is in place, tweets Fancred’s Jon Heyman.

2:36pm: The D-backs are making a push to acquire left-handed reliever Jake Diekman from the Rangers, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). A deal between the two sides is close, he adds.

With the Rangers out of contention and Diekman set to hit free agency at the end of the season, he was among their most obvious trade candidates. The 31-year-old, who has generally been a quality reliever since debuting in 2012 with the Phillies, has pitched to a 3.69 ERA/3.36 FIP with 11.08 K/9, 5.31 BB/9 and a 44.9 percent groundball rate this season. Diekman has also generated infield pop-ups at a 12.1 percent rate, which places him above the league average (10.9 percent) for relievers. There are red flags, however, including his aforementioned walk rate and sudden inability to retire same-handed hitters. Lefties have hit .273/.429/.364 this year against Diekman, who has typically fared well against them.

For the Diamondbacks, Diekman represents their second proven bullpen acquisition of deadline day (and he’s only owed the balance of a $2.7125MM salary). The D-backs previously made a trade with the Marlins to reunite with righty Brad Ziegler, who had been in Arizona from 2012-16. Clearly, the bullpen was a concern for general manager Matt Hazen, who has seen the D-backs’ relief unit put up a 24th-place ranking in fWAR despite posting the majors’ second-best ERA (3.07) so far this season. Hazen & Co. will hope these moves help the team retain a playoff spot, as it currently holds a wild-card position and trails the NL-West leading Dodgers by just half a game.

To acquire Diekman, the Diamondbacks gave up 24-year-old right-hander Wei-Chieh Huang, Robert Murray of The Athletic tweets. Huang, a native of Taiwan whom Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com ranked as the Diamondbacks’ 22nd-best prospect, has worked to a sterling 2.00 ERA/2.78 FIP with 10.67 K/9 and 2.33 BB/9 in 27 innings (10 games, two starts) since receiving a promotion to Double-A earlier this season. Callis and Mayo laud Huang’s mid-90s fastball and offspeed mix (changeup, curve) in their free scouting report.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Phillies Acquire Aaron Loup

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2:37pm: The deal has been announced by the Phillies. They’ve designated infielder Trevor Plouffe for assignment to open space on the roster.

2:21pm: The Blue Jays have traded left-handed reliever Aaron Loup to the Phillies for a prospect, reports Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (via Twitter). Pitching prospect Jacob Waguespack is headed back to the Blue Jays in return, tweets Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

The acquisition of Loup represents the third proven veteran pickup in recent days for the Phillies, who lead the NL East by half a game and have also landed infielder Asdrubal Cabrera and catcher Wilson Ramos leading up to the trade deadline. On paper, Loup isn’t as exciting an addition as those two, though the 30-year-old has typically performed well since debuting with Toronto in 2012. This season hasn’t gone all that well for Loup, however, as he has recorded a 4.54 ERA and his second-lowest groundball rate (a still-respectable 46.7 percent) in 35 2/3 innings. On the other hand, Loup has posted 10.6 K/9 against 3.28 BB/9, logged personal-high percent swinging-strike (12.3) and infield fly percentages (12.1), and registered a 3.61 FIP.

Loup may prove to be a worthy add for the Phillies, whose bullpen ranks 18th in the majors in ERA and a much better ninth in fWAR. Regardless, he’s a pending free agent on a cheap salary ($1,812,500), making him a logical player for the out-of-c0ntention Jays to sell. As you’d expect, though, Loup didn’t carry a ton of trade value, and Toronto wasn’t able to acquire one of MLB.com’s 30 best Phillies prospects in return. Instead, they landed Waguepsack, a 37th-round pick in 2012 who has seen his first Triple-A action this season. The 24-year-old was a mixed bag as a member of the Lehigh Valley club, with which he put together a 5.06 ERA/3.66 FIP with 8.1 K/9, 3.38 BB/9 and a 51.9 percent grounder rate in 53 1/3 innings (14 appearances, eight starts).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cubs Acquire Brandon Kintzler

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2:26pm: This deal is in the books. Righty Jhon Romero is heading to D.C. in return.

2:00pm: The Cubs are nearing an agreement with the Nationals that would bring veteran reliever Brandon Kintzler to Chicago, according to Ken Rosenthal and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic (Twitter link). The return is not yet known.

There have been varying reports of late on the Nats’ deadline plans, and it seems they have elected to make at least one sell-side move. It’s hardly clear, though, that this portends further departures. The Nats are reputedly interesting in shaving some money, even if they don’t go for a full teardown, and have replacement options at Triple-A (including Koda Glover and Jimmy Cordero).

Kintzler landed in D.C. this time last year and re-signed with the club over the winter. His contract promises him $5MM this year — around $1.7MM of which remains — and comes with either a $5MM player option or $10MM club option for 2019.

On the eve of his 34th birthday, it seems Kintzler will pack up and join a club he faced in last year’s NLDS clash. The Cubbies have made a few pitching additions already; presumably, this is the last arm to be brought into the organization at the deadline, though there’s still a bit of time left.

Typically a strong groundball hurler, Kintzler has drawn worm burners at a 48.0% rate this year — well shy of his career average. He is, however, generating more strikeouts than usual (6.5 per nine) and carries a sturdy 3.59 ERA over 42 2/3 innings.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Phillies Acquire Wilson Ramos

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The Rays and Phillies have announced a swap that sends veteran catcher Wilson Ramos to Philly for a player to be named later or cash considerations. To clear a spot on the roster, lefty Zac Curtis was designated for assignment.

Ramos has been on the DL since mid-July due to a hamstring strain, but he can still be moved if both sides are comfortable with his medical reports. At present, he’s expected to return to action sometime in August.

It’s somewhat of a surprise fit, as catching help hasn’t been reported to be among the Phillies’ top interests leading up to the deadline. That said, Philadelphia backstops are hitting a collective .244/.317/.393 this season, and while that’s solid relative to catchers throughout the league, Ramos would represent a definitive upgrade, health permitting. In 315 plate appearances this season, he’s raked at a .297/.346/.488 clip, slugging 14 homers and 14 doubles along the way.

Rocket-armed Jorge Alfaro has been Philadelphia’s primary backstop this season, and while he’s held his own at the plate, his .254/.305/.398 batting line could stand to be improved upon. If the deal for Ramos ultimately goes through, then he’ll likely pair with Alfaro to shoulder the bulk of the catching load behind the dish this season. Ramos would be the second rental bat the Phillies have acquired in the days leading up to the deadline, as they already landed Asdrubal Cabrera from the division-rival Mets on Friday.

The addition of Ramos might limit Alfaro’s playing time for the duration of the 2018 season, but as a free agent at season’s end, Ramos won’t be a long-term roadblock for Alfaro. Ramos is earning $10.5MM in 2018 — his two-year deal called for an $8.5MM base salary but jumped by $2MM when Ramos started his 55th game last season — and is still owed $3.44MM of that sum before the end of the year.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweeted the deal was done, after Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweeted that it was close. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter) first connected the sides today.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rays Acquire International Bonus Money From White Sox

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The Rays have acquired some international bonus funds from the White Sox in exchange for minor league southpaw Hunter Schryver, the Chicago Sun-Times’ Daryl Van Schouwen reports (Twitter link).  The exact dollar amount isn’t known, though the international signing slots can be traded in increments of $250K.  The White Sox made a similar trade just two days ago, dealing $1.5MM in international bonus money to the Yankees for minor league lefty Caleb Frare.

Chicago is in the proverbial “penalty box” for the 2018-19 international signing class, as since the White Sox and seven other teams exceeded their bonus pool limit (under the old international signing rules) in past years, they aren’t allowed to sign any players from this signing period for more than a $300K bonus.  It has thus become common to see such penalized teams trading some of their 2018-19 bonus pool money in deals for prospects like Schryver or Frare, or even for established Major Leaguers, i.e. the Braves’ acquisition of Brad Brach from the Orioles.

The Rays will add to their original $6,025,400 bonus pool at the cost of Schryver, a seventh-round pick out of Villanova in the 2017 draft.  The 23-year-old has started just one of his 51 appearances as a pro, and his early returns make him a promising future left-handed weapon out of the bullpen.  Schryver has a 2.70 ERA, 10.5 K/9, and 5.11 K/BB rate over 83 1/3 career innings, and he made his debut at the high-A level earlier this season.

Diamondbacks Acquire Brad Ziegler

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1:31pm: The Marlins and Diamondbacks have announced the trade. Arizona moved Shelby Miller to the 60-day disabled list to open a 40-man roster spot — a move that could end Miller’s season.

12:20pm: The Diamondbacks have reportedly struck a deal to bring back veteran right-hander Brad Ziegler. They’ll send relief prospect Tommy Eveld to the Marlins in return.

Ziegler, 38, is a rental piece who is earning $9MM in 2018 and will hit free agency at season’s end. He’s still owed about $2.95MM of that sum through the end of the year, which the D-Backs will pick up in full.

While Ziegler’s 3.98 ERA on the season isn’t especially eye-catching, he’s been on absolute fire over the past two months, working to a sterling 0.93 ERA with a 22-to-11 K/BB ratio and an otherworldly 80.3 percent ground-ball rate through 29 innings dating back to June 1. Right-handed opponents are batting just .219/.305/.365 against Ziegler this season and have mustered only a .229/.285/.300 slash against him over the course of his Major League career.

The D-Backs are certainly plenty familiar with Ziegler, as he pitched for the organization from 2011 through 2016. He came to the organization at the deadline seven years ago today, then was spun off in a July 2016 deal that paid dividends for the Red Sox down the stretch. Ziegler joined the Marlins on a two-year pact in the ensuing winter. Over his time in Arizona, Ziegler worked to a sparkling 2.49 ERA and recorded 62 saves in 335 2/3 innings.

As for Evald, the 24-year-old is a recent ninth-round pick who only recently re-started his baseball career. He had recently moved up to the Double-A level after a dominant showing at High-A, where he spun 36 1/3 innings of 1.24 ERA ball with 10.4 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9.

Given how things looked after Ziegler’s ugly opening work this year, this counts as a clear win for the Marlins. Not only did they acquire a reasonably interesting pitching prospect, but they saved some real money on the tail end of Ziegler’s contract.

John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 tweeted the connection between the teams, with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter) saying a deal was close and Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter) reporting one was in place. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (in a tweet) had the return, with Zach Buchanan of The Athletic (on Twitter) providing the financial details.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mariners Acquire Cameron Maybin

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The Marlins and Mariners have announce a deal that sends veteran outfielder Cameron Maybin to Seattle, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets. Prospect Bryson Brigman and $250K of international pool money are heading to Miami in the deal, per reports from Divish, Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter), and MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter).

Maybin, 31, is earning just $3.25MM on the season under the one-year deal he inked over the winter. That makes him an affordable addition to the Seattle organization.

Though he struggled for much of the early portion of the season at the plate, Maybin has turned things on recently. Over the month of July, Maybin owns a .309/.427/.456 batting line with three home runs and five steals through 68 plate appearances. On the year, he’s producing at about 10% below the league-average rate, much as he did last year.

Of course, much of Maybin’s value is tied up in his legs and glove. He’s grading poorly on the basepaths this year, but that’s likely a blip for a player who was once an elite baserunner and has been quite good in the recent past. Maybin has performed well at all three outfield spots this year in Miami.

For the Mariners, this move adds another versatile piece to the outfield mix. The club added Denard Span a few months back, and he has performed quite well. Mitch Haniger has proven worthy of regular time and Ben Gamel has knocked around opposing righties. Maybin could ultimately displace Guillermo Heredia, who has stalled out at the plate, or join him to form a pair of right-handed options to go with the lefty-hitting Span and Gamel.

Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald (via Twitter) and Craig Mish of MLB Network Radio (via Twitter) reported that the Fish were about to make another swap.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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