David Robertson will not appear this season for the Philadelphia Phillies, per Jim Salisbury of NBCSPhilly (via Twitter). The reliever has been shut down from any throwing for the next six weeks. The 35-year-old reliever will now have contributed just seven appearances over the span of the two-year, $23MM deal he signed with the Phillies prior to 2019. Philadelphia has a $2MM buyout option for next season, which one has to think they’d execute after two lost seasons. Otherwise, they’ll be on the hook for $12MM in 2021. Instead, Robertson is likely headed back to the open market to look for a non-guaranteed deal. He could return to the Phillies on that type of deal as Brandon Morrow did after missing the entirety of his contract length due to injury with the Cubs, but it’s not clear now if the Phillies would even be interested in investing more time into Robertson. As we near the trade deadline, let’s check in on a couple of Philly rivals…
- The Washington Nationals have stumbled through a rough first half to their title defense, but don’t expect the champs to sell, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Per Heyman, selling is “not in their DNA.” It certainly hasn’t been an option most seasons for the Nats, who haven’t had a losing season since 2011. In recent seasons, we’ve seen them hold onto Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon instead of moving them before free agency. They did move Daniel Murphy a couple seasons ago to the Cubs, but even then the Nats didn’t pull the trigger until just before the August deadline. Theoretically, the Nats could look to move veterans like Kurt Suzuki, Adam Eaton, Asdrubal Cabrera, or Eric Thames, but Heyman reports that GM Mike Rizzo is more likely to add than subtract.
- The Braves have expressed an interest in Joe Musgrove of the Pirates, per Jason MAckey of PGSportsNow. This isn’t likely to turn your hat around as the Braves have expressed interest in a number of potential rotation targets. Musgrove is one of the more likely to move, though he’s just now returning from injury. The former Astro has been a viable rotation arm throughout his career, despite just 3 starts this season. In 2019, he toed the rubber 31 times for a 11-12 record and 4.44 ERA/3.82 FIP. Lance Lynn is probably the top rotation arm available, but Musgrove fits firmly into the next tier in terms of track record and consistency.
I don’t think you can trust a pitcher coming off the IL in this season so the Braves should look somewhere other than Musgrove. I small tweak upon his return and that could be disastrous for a club in need of starting pitching.
Probably won’t cost as much because of that. As a braves fan I’d be happy with him and someone else. Doesn’t have to be Lynn or clevenger. Bundy/Minor plus Musgrove and the Braves are the clear #2 in the league.
Getting Minor doesn’t do the Braves any good. He’s struggled a lot this year with his ERA hovering above 7.
If you’re the Braves, and it doesnt cost much in terms of prospects, you almost HAVE TO take the gamble.
Right now, the Braves have Max Fried, and a rookie, who has made exactly one start under his belt, in Ian Anderson as their only quality options. Other then that, they have been trotting out Erlin and Tomlin who have been averaging about 4IP and 3ER, and then you never know what you’re going to get with the talented and young, yet enigmatic arms of Kyle Wright and Touki Toussaint..
Without a trade, the Braves only hope is that Anderson is the real deal, and Hamels is able to come back late for a postseason run..A Hamels return is not looking great at the moment, as of an week ago he still wasn’t even throwing off a mound yet..
Maybe Tucker Davidson makes his debut, and he is able to give the Braves some quality starts..Even still, you cannot expect to win any series with Fried and two rookies, even if Fried is one of the frontrunners for the NL Cy Young Award.
ANYONE they add that is at least an average starter could be a huge boost for the Braves, especially with how great their oen has been this season. All they need, especially for a playoff game, is their starter to give them 4-5 solid innings. That would be perfect for Musgrove and the Braves, especially with him easing back after his IL stint.
Whichever SP they end up getting only has to face his opponents twice through the order, and then the Braves can start using their incredibly versatile depth of bullpen arms, mixing and matching their LH weapons (AJ Minter, Tyler Matzek, and Will Smith) along with their RH weapons (Shane Greene, Chris Martin, Darren O’Day, Mark Melancon, Luke Jackson, and Huascar Ynoa). I honestly have not seen a bullpen this deep with talent that I can recall. You’re talking about easily NINE talented arms, AND the Braves have even MORE options they havent even recalled yet..Their bullpen depth is just absolutely absurd, and it is the main reason they’ve even been able to remain competitive this far.
They’ve sat back and watched their ace Soroka go down to injury, and have continued to watch Newcomb, Folty, Touki, Kyle Wright, Chacin, Erlin, and Tomlin ALL fail miserably as starters. They even gave Ynoa’s talented arm a shot to start, but he just simply is much better out of the pen..Their only other in-house options are Tucker Davidson, Jaseel De La Cruz, Bryse Wilson and Patrick Weigel. Wilson and Weigel look more like 2 pitch, relief options, and you would have to think they just aren’t prepared to bring up Davidson nor JDLC yet, or they haven’t developed enough to inspire any confidence that they’d fair well. So, yeah, at this point, any average starter would help the Braves tremendously, especially for a playoff run.
If they can get Hanels back healthy, I could see the Braves making a run with Fried possibly starting two games, and then having Anderson, Hamels, and Musgrove..Hamels cannot be counted on though, so they HAVE TO make a move or possibly even two if they want to go anywhere this season past the 1st round..
Next season the Braves will be in great shape after they get their ace back. They will boast one of the best up and coming tops of the rotation with Soroka, Fried, and Anderson, but that doesnt do them any good this year…Let’s just wait and see what AA can pull off, but it is clear he has to do something for this season..Not to mention, they only have those 3 starting pitchers for next season as well..
*7 minute read*
Charles Dickens lives
Maybe shorten up your posts a smidge there bravesfan.
Bravesfan, go check Twitter or put on tv. While you were typing that the braves aquired both musgrove and Lynn.
Let us know what you think, just try to finish before the post season starts.
Don’t let the Ritalin munchers shame you out of paragraphs.
What a refreshing sight.
I have a question Braves fan? What do you think of Atlanta’s pitching? Zzzzzzzzzzzzz
Pirates give away their players. So, the Braves won’t be giving the Pirates any valuable assets. You can shop for almost free with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Especially, if the owner ( Bob Nutting) Pirates can find a way to put more $$ into his pocket. Look at the 10 years history of Pirates. It will be eye opening.
Yet, MLB says all teams and owners play by same rules and invest to put a major league product on the field. It is a sham.
I definitely see why the Braves like Joe Musgrove. Am I overrating him? I like his stuff better then Lance Lynn’s. If I’m the Yankees I definitely would try to acquire Musgrove from the Pirates. Offering the same package I would offer for Lynn. Andujar, Luis Gil, Michael King. It doesn’t hurt to try. Maybe they want a few more prospects. Joe Musgrove seems like a #2 or a #3 to me if he is healthy.
If I was Jon Daniels the centerpiece to trade Lynn to Yankees is Clarke Schmidt. Then, the Yankees need to include Andujar and Albert Abreu. This would be a reasonable return for Lynn. However, if the Braves want Lynn they need to give up Cristian Pache and Shea Langeliers or Logan Brown.
@Francyso8- I hear you. But the Yankees will never trade Schmidty. Not even for Trevor Bauer who is much better then Lance Lynn. I don’t see them even trading Deivi Garcia for Lynn. They can offer Andujar, Gil, and King or Abreu in a package for Lynn but it wouldn’t be much more then that. I think there is a much better chance Lance ends up in Atlanta or San Diego then in NY with the Yankees.
Hey yank4life, Lynn had his worst outing in almost a year today. He went six innings and gave up four runs (3 earned) against the Dodgers. Oh and he was over 100 pitches when he went out for the 6th… and shut down the 6th 1,2,3. I think that just goes to show how dominate he has been over the past year and a half.
He has really become one of my favorite players over the time he has been with us. I do understand though that his real value (for us) comes in a trade. Anybody who gets him will be pleased too. If he is traded, he will be missed.
Yank4Life- Well, then if I was the manager there wouldn’t be no deal with the Yankees. Another contender could possibly step up otherwise Lynn would remain with the Rangers. There is no rush to move Lynn. If he is traded should be for the right prospects. Hopefully, Daniels acquire good prospects for Lynn.
As a Pirates fan, I really liked watching him pitch for the Cards.
If the Braves gave up Pache I would piss myself. Not to mention packaging him and Langeliers. I thought a package of Waters and Wilson was reasonable.
Rangers29- The Braves will never trade Waters and Wilson in the same deal. They could trade only one of them.
Was your Pache and Langeliers comment sarcasm? I don’t know if I’m just being oblivious.
Pache is the CFer of the Braves future as long as he hits decently. Acuna is playing CF now but only because Ender Inciarte can’t hit anymore.
Braves have 2 (at least) top notch catcher prospects in Contreras and Langeliers. One of them is tradable (I would guess).
Ranger29- It was not a sarcasm what I said. The Braves have three prospects that are catchers if they do not want to include in the package Langeliers so they should include William Contreras instead.
No way the Braves are giving up Pache or Waters for Lynn, nor even Langeliers..No thank you, they would just move on to the Royals and see what their demands are for Duffy, and continue to monitor other rentals if anyone with control costs an absurd amount like that..
The Braves are not in any position to give away two of their top position prospects for essentially a season and a month of Lynn. He is not worth nearly that kind of value, regardless how desperate the Braves may be.
Lynn is reliable, and is exactly what the Braves need, but they just simply could not afford those demands, eapecially with their farm system becoming barren after the penalties and promotions..
Is it really a lot to ask to trade for someone that hasn’t been having forearm tightness (Duffy)? Beggars can’t be choosers, but smh.
@Francys08
The Braves are not giving up Pache or Langliers for Lynn. They would definitely turn their focus to Bundy, Musgrove, and Cobb. I doubt they even trade Waters for Lynn. As bad as our rotation is I would HATE to see Atlanta part with any of those guys for Lynn.
Pache is only even been considered getting dealt for a player like Clevinger
Agreed, Braves24. I’d go all-in on Clevinger, whatever it takes. I wouldn’t go quite as hard after Lynn. At most, I’d offer up Langaliers and a SP not named Ian Anderson. If the Price goes higher, I’d rather they shift focus to whomever they feel they can simply get dependable innings out of for the smallest amount of peanuts.
whatever it takes? Pache, Anderson, Langliers would be just a starting point for Cleveland. They would want more in return.
Musgrove has quality stuff. Always has. Best part is years of control. All the pirate pitchers are undervalued by most fans. They can become better. And there numbers don’t tell the story. The pirates routinely play DH’s at 1st 3rd outfield. As we speak they have a minor league SS starting in cf learning the position on the fly.
@Lovinmlb- I agree I like Musgrove a lot more then other starters on the trade market. My only question is will he stay healthy? Because the stuff is definitely there. The Yankees have the pieces to get him. Right now I think their questioning Musgrove’s health. I feel this is a weakness for the Yankees and Ca$hman, acquiring starting pitching via trade. There is no Luis Severino and no Domingo German this season either. And it looks like Paxton and Happ will be leaving via free agency so Musgrove would definitely have a spot in the rotation for next season. This is one pitcher that I definitely would think about trading Deivi Garcia for in a package for. He’s that good. I have Trevor Bauer a little higher on my list if he becomes available. Musgrove is so much cheaper though. He’s the way to go.
Hard to predict injuries. He seems the type to have small nagging issues often. That’s why teams need to have 5 quality starters, especially this year. If you trade for musgrove or Williams might as well bring Holland with them. Musgrove in a perfect world is a top reliever, but starters are more valuable so that’s what pirates did.
The Phillies could workout a new contract with Robertson a minor league contract or a contract in 1-2 million range.
Yeah that’s why you are here and Cashman is the GM.
Can we all agree that Yanks4life is really stupid. Reminds me of that clown Cegmyster.
Not stupid, he just severely over-rates his team. Same with many others on here (including me at times)… Heck, last off-season my wish list for Ranger signings and trades was Arenado, Castellanos, Chirinos, and maybe Muncy. Yeah. I actually want to find one of those posts and re-post it here just to show the world my retrospective stupidity lol.
Rangers29, your humility is refreshing. Not much of that on these boards. Just so you know, I also am NOT the general manager of any teams and which ever team would hire me for such a role wouldn’t have to wait long to regret it. =D
That name doesn’t stand out to me. I find a majority of people to be though. Or maybe they just have different views on things. I have the mindset of a owner gm. So I am sure casual fans think I am a complete idiot. I know a lot of people are going to be disappointed with this trade deadline. Not many big deals will go down. Mainly rentals and a few years of control guys. You simply don’t give up great prospects or go all in without the benefit of full stadium playoff games. Next season may be a mini one or none. Owners want to win but it’s a business first.
Wouldn’t mind Musgrove as long as they get a 2nd SP from somebody as well.
Ynoa & A. Jackson for Musgrove
I have a novel idea with a tip of the hat to Lucas Sims.
I think Sims is right – the Braves do not “develop” pitching. I am sure they help them some but the last ten years, seems that to make it in ATL you have to have some phenom in ya like Soroka or Fried (and thank the stars looks like Anderson may have the “it” factor too.) Who am I forgetting? Talk of trading for Minor – now there’s one we “developed.” Julio pitched some good ones. Sounds like the best advice he got was from Annibel Sanchez. sitting next to him on the bench. Medlin was a good one.
I can think of several good arms that showed a lot of promise in the minors who have fallen off the map. What happened to that reliever Burrows? Anyone know? Clouse? I know some guys just don’t have it but seems we have more than our share.
Why not invest in a pitching coach or two who can develop the arms you have already before AA gives them away for a 4+ era starter. Better than giving away your seed corn.
Maybe a coach that can help Newk gain some command & maybe another pitch he can command? He could have 2 maybe even 3 pitches – that’s the ticket!!!
I said last year – that I thought they ought to trade Folty at the end of last year. Not because he was no good but because you could sell very high. Stock the minors with hitters…. Since you didn’t do that, how about a sports psychologist for Folty? If he already has one, fire them a try someone who knows what they doing.
Fried – he worked with & helped Giolito – give him some extra cash and ask him to double as PC. They can get Max a limo to take to Gwinnett after each game. 🙂
I would just like to see more of these young arm develop properly before we give them five starts and trade them away for some rentals.
Why not develop enough of them to where they show they can do it in the bigs – then you have your pick of the litter – trade the others after they show some good work to the Yanks or Dodgers for the cream of their farms…I know we can’t keep them all but let’s get smart about what we do with them.
Can we stop the “trade Riley” stuff. He’s 23 for God’s sake.
Seems we often hear that someone like Newk is being sent back down and told they have to go figure it out. Like they just need to man up and throw strikes. Why not get some coaches who can help them “figure it out”? ( I still think he tips his pitches when he does throw strikes)
Amazing what a coach like Wash can do to improve your fielding. I bet better pitching coaches would help that too. I am sure there are better coaches for different pitchers but if it ain’t working look for new blood, don’t just cast a young payer aside and start hyping the next shiny object in the minors.
While we’re at it, how about a hitting coach who just sits Ender down and ORDERS him to get a bigger bat, choke the F up and spray the ball around? Nothing brings a tear to my eye more than watching a team put a shift on for Ender.
Riley was looking good in the 1st spring training after going to someone outside for coaching – he looks like he is getting it back.
Fried was not a phenom as he was developed through the Braves system. He spent a year or 2 in the Braves pen, with spot starts thrown in. So Fried was definitely developed in the Braves system, so was Soroka for that matter….as was Minter who has been pretty good out of the pen except last year.
The mantra that Braves don’t develop pitchers is bull. Braves brought in a lot of pitchers during the rebuilt, many were pitchers that other teams gave up on, like Folty, who developed into an all star pitcher a couple years ago. And you can’t blame his bad year this year on poor development in the Braves system.
Soroka was a “can’t miss” phenom, imo.
Minter got help from Tomlin in the off season. Tomlin also had helped him when he was young. I guess since Tomlin is a Brave you could say the “Braves” developed him but it appears Tomlin – via his off season help – should get credit for his rebound from last year.
Folty was part of a big trade because the Braves thought he was ready or a hair from it when they got him.
if they trade any top prospects away there making a mistake. The offense is not good enough to win in the postseason. Not one of them does them small stuff that gets a runner over or gets them in. How many times have we had runners on with no outs and leave them stranded??? Too many. Any pitcher that can change speeds with destroy this lineup. Entirely too many free swingers and swings and misses.
****They are
Was Musgrove involved in or aware of the Astros cheating? I never got a clear answer on that.
I for one cannot imagine that he DIDN’T know. Just like any reason for the unabashed bromance that they have for “Donnie Kelly baby” , it is not discussed by the local talking heads.
I’ll take musgrove, especially if the price is right. He isn’t worth much in terms of prospect capital… maybe they would be willing to take Ender in a package deal. Yes I get that means we’d need to give up a better prospect or eat most his salary but still… he needs to go. More importantly… can’t stop at musgrove… need at least one more solid rotation piece… at least!
Pirates have no interest in Ender, he stinks as a hitter. They have enough of that. Musgrove’s injury isn’t that serious, he’s recovered and started to show very well last year, his K rate went up toward the end of the season. Musgrove is a viable middle rotation SP, controlled and only 27 years old.
You aren’t getting him for junk.
Ender is junk, I agree. I’m merely suggesting add him to a better prospect than Musgrove deserves to sweeten the pot of both sides. Y’all get a serviceable young enough vet while y’all rebuild with Ender, and likely a top 5 prospect in our system and some cash… we get Musgrove. I think that’s more than enough. Bryce Wilson maybe? Something in that ballpark
Ender needs to get a big bat, choke way up and spray the ball around. One of life’s great mysteries is that no one has told or MADE him do it.
What’s puzzling is how good he was not that long ago and how bad he became overnight. I’m sick of the Ender project. Trade him to someone willing to give him a shot again, eat most of his cash and hope to get a decent minor leaguer for him. Let Pache and Waters duke it out for that roster spot
Can’t wait to see D-Rob in pinstripes again
Joe Musgrove shouldn’t be traded if the Pirates are not going to receive what he’s worth. They are better off keeping him. His recent injury was a mere muscle pull and nothing to do with his mechanical makeup, so he should not be discounted whatsoever.
If traded it will likely be for a couple of 8 to 20 ranked guys. Listed as ptbnl, probably A level kids. I can see pirates trading mutiple guys to same team to increase the haul.
Obi Ben Cherington is our only hope for a exciting eventful trade deadline.
Then he won’t be traded. Period. You guys can keep dreaming of getting him for a couple of nothing prospects. The old GM is gone.
You wish and dream whatever you want. Musgrove just isn’t a guy you give up a top 50 or even 100 prospect for. I think teams would part with 2 or 3 of their top 5 to 20 guys that are not close to mlb ready. And that is a great haul for pirates.
The old gm was the best trader in baseball, he made one horrible trade that he should have been fired for and was. Other teams are glad he is gone.
Just other teams posturing for getting Pirates assists on the cheap.
Really. Can you see the sludge people are peddling? Michael King? Ender Inciarte? Musgrove is a sturdy, young SP rotation piece. He helps any team.
He is easily worth a couple of very good prospects, prospects who mostly fail anyway,
Pirates should get what they want or move into next season with him and Tallion anchoring the rotation.
I agree, now would be a strange time to deal him. Seems like it’d be a better offseason move.
Nats have the second worst record in the league. They’re going nowhere without Strasburg. Losing Castro also hurts. Other than Soto and Turner, the lineup is pedestrian at best.
If Rizzo doesn’t sell at least one of his expiring contracts (even if all he gets in return is a prospect) he should be called into question.
This season has become a lemon for the Nats, a good GM would make lemonade.
They’re 4.5 GB the final playoff seed. Rizzo needs to determine whether this bunch has what it takes to get over the hump. Imo he should stay the course and not be a seller, because the NL East (aside from Atlanta) is so weak.
Braves traded 2 prospects to be named later (meaning not on 60 man roster) for LHP, Tommy Milone of the Orioles.
Of the starting pitchers the Pirates should not trade, Musgrove is probably the biggest one…. well other than Tailon, and Keller.
Joe is a Pittsburgh type of guy. Joe Might be better suited for the pen though..
Joe’s value is probably pretty low right now given performance and injury any way, Trading players when their value is the lowest seems like a Huntington thing to do.
Musgrove is one of the very few Pirate players I’d consider giving an extension. He’s at least a quality mid-rotation pitcher, and he has leadership qualities this team sorely lacks. It shouldn’t cost a ton to extend him since he isn’t ace-level, and they’ll certainly have money to spend.
Yeah, he plays hard in every aspect. A lot of pitchers just hang out on offense. I agree with extending him. even if it is only a year or two guaranteed, but tack on a couple options on that worth a good amount.
Wouldn’t surprise me if quite a few agents are waiting for the CBA though
I remember being so excited when Robertson signed…no one to blame, though..that one is just bad luck, and baseball history is full of it.