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Archives for July 2021

Blue Jays Designate Tyler Chatwood For Assignment

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The Blue Jays announced they’ve designated reliever Tyler Chatwood for assignment. The move creates roster space for José Berríos, who was acquired in a deadline blockbuster from the Twins this afternoon.

Toronto can technically trade Chatwood within the next two hours, but it seems likelier he’ll be waived and then cut loose — either via release or rejection of an outright assignment. Either way, Chatwood would be entitled to the remainder of his $3MM salary.

The Jays hoped that a bullpen conversion would help Chatwood unlock some success. He’s long intrigued teams with his quality stuff, but consistency has eluded him. That was again the case in 2021, as the righty has only managed a 5.46 ERA/4.51 SIERA across 28 innings of work.

Twins Claim Edgar Garcia From Reds

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The Twins announced that they’ve claimed right-handed reliever Edgar Garcia off waivers from the Reds and optioned him to Triple-A St. Paul. Cincinnati designated Garcia for assignment earlier in the week.

The 24-year-old Garcia has seen MLB time with the Phillies, Rays and Reds but limped to a 7.14 ERA in 46 1/3 innings. His Triple-A numbers are quite good, however, as he’s pitched to a 3.28 ERA with a 31.4 percent strikeout rate and 10.2 percent walk rate in 57 2/3 innings. Garcia averaged 95.1 mph on his heater in his brief time with the Reds and is in the last of his three minor-league option years. He can be shuttled between Triple-A and the big league roster for the rest of the season if the Twins choose, but he’ll be out of options next spring.

Kyle Gibson Rumors: Deadline Day

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Rangers right-hander Kyle Gibson is enjoying a career year, reaching his first All-Star Game and posting a 2.87 ERA and 50.8% grounder rate over 113 innings.  There are some red flags (a 4.46 SIERA and a below-average 20.4% strikeout rate), but for a veteran arm controlled through 2022 on an $8MM salary, Gibson has been drawing a lot of attention.  Here is the latest on Gibson as the deadline approaches…

Latest Updates

Earlier Today

  • The Rays may be the leaders to acquire Gibson, The Athletic’s Levi Weaver tweets.  Tampa Bay was initially linked to Gibson a few days ago, as the team has continued to overhaul its starting and relief pitching mix.
  • The Phillies are a new team in the Gibson sweepstakes, as MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports that Philadelphia is “making a hard push” for Gibson’s services.  The Phils are known to be looking for help at the back end of their rotation, behind their top trio of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and the currently-injured Zach Eflin.
  • The Padres were also rumored to have interest in Gibson earlier this week, and they have “maintained” that interest heading into this afternoon, according to The Athletic’s Dennis Lin.  Twins right-hander Kenta Maeda is another name on San Diego’s radar, but the “price tag has been too high for the Padres’ liking,” which could indicate that the club is perhaps now turning more towards Gibson or other rotation options.

Craig Kimbrel Rumors: Deadline Day

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The market is heating up for star reliever Craig Kimbrel, who looks likely to wind up traded before this afternoon’s deadline. With the Cubs moving players off the big league roster, there’s little reason to hold onto Kimbrel at a time when his value is almost certainly at its apex.

The eight-time All-Star is having as good a season as he’s ever had, pitching to an incredible 0.49 ERA/1.83 SIERA over 36 2/3 innings. He’s playing out the year on a $16MM salary (around $5.6MM of which is still owed) and is under team control next season via a club option at a matching price. Unsurprisingly, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets that multiple teams are in conversations with the Cubs regarding the 32-year-old.

Here’s the latest chatter on Kimbrel:

Latest Updates

  • While the Dodgers are “kicking around” the idea of adding Kimbrel, his landing in L.A. seems unlikely, reports Rosenthal. The Rays, whom Rosenthal reported this morning have been in talks with the Cubs about both Kimbrel and Kris Bryant, remain involved.

Earlier Reports

  • Jon Morosi of MLB.com reported that the Dodgers were exploring the market earlier this week, and they have continued interest, he reiterates today. It has been a whirlwind deadline season for Los Angeles, who has already added Danny Duffy and is apparently soon to acquire Trea Turner and Max Scherzer.
  • The White Sox already picked up one quality reliever from the Cubs — Ryan Tepera — yesterday. They’re apparently at least kicking around the idea of making another move with their crosstown rivals. The two Chicago clubs are having discussions about a potential Kimbrel deal, reports David Kaplan of NBC Sports Chicago (on Twitter).
  • Kimbrel’s first club, the Braves, checked in on a reunion, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (Twitter link). However, Atlanta does not “see itself as a factor” in the market at the moment.

Brewers Acquire Daniel Norris From Tigers

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The Brewers are finalizing a deal to acquire lefty reliever Daniel Norris from the Tigers, tweet Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.  MLB.com’s Jason Beck first broke news of the trade discussions, and he hears that minor league starter Reese Olson is heading back to the Tigers.  The deal is done, according to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.

Norris, 28, has struggled to the tune of a 5.89 ERA, 25.5 K%, and 9.6 BB% in 36 2/3 innings this year for Detroit.  The southpaw has been done in by a .354 batting average on balls in play, so better things may be on the horizon.  Plus, Norris has stifled lefties, whiffing more than 30% of them against a 7% walk rate.  He’s due for free agency after the season, so he’s a clear trade candidate for the Tigers.  Norris is earning $3.475MM on the season.

Norris was drafted in the second round by the Blue Jays back in 2011.  He was the key piece in the Jays’ acquisition of David Price in a deadline deal of six years ago, along with Matthew Boyd.  Back then, Norris was a 60-grade prospect with the potential of a frontline starter.  However, Norris battled numerous injuries in his Tigers career.  He made a career-high 29 starts in 2019, but switched to the bullpen permanently last August when Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize hit the scene.  Though Norris has mostly pitched in low-leverage situations for the Tigers this year, he did work his way up in the bullpen pecking order in July.

This month the Brewers have been relying on Josh Hader and Devin Williams in high leverage situations, with Williams activated from the IL for elbow discomfort on Tuesday.  In addition to Hader, the Brewers’ pen includes lefty Brent Suter.

Olson, 21, was a 13th round pick out of high school by the Brewers back in 2018.  He’s got a 4.30 ERA, 26.9 K%, and 11.9 BB% in 14 High-A starts this year.

Red Sox, Pirates Swap Austin Davis And Michael Chavis

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The Red Sox announced the acquisition of lefty reliever Austin Davis from the Pirates, sending infielder Michael Chavis back to Pittsburgh in a one-for-one deal.

It’s a bit of a surprising pickup for Boston, since an elbow sprain has limited Davis to just 9 2/3 innings this year. He’s allowed seven runs (six earned) in that brief look, striking out eleven and issuing five walks. This is his fourth season seeing some action at the big league level, as the 28-year-old previously pitched for the Phillies and Pittsburgh from 2018-20. Altogether, he has a 5.65 ERA/4.04 SIERA in 71 2/3 innings.

Davis still has a pair of minor league option years remaining and hasn’t yet reached arbitration, though. He’ll give the Sox a flexible southpaw relief option who can be moved back and forth between Boston and Triple-A Worcester so long as he sticks on the 40-man roster.

Chavis was a one-time highly-regarded prospect, so it’s easy to see the appeal for the Pirates. Pittsburgh general manager Ben Cherington was leading the Boston front office when the Red Sox selected Chavis in the first round of the 2014 draft. The right-handed hitter has bounced on and off the big league roster over the past three years, picking up a little more than the equivalent of one full season’s worth of playing time. Chavis has a .234/.291/.413 line across 622 big league plate appearances to date.

He’s been too strikeout-prone to this point, but there’s little harm for the rebuilding Bucs in giving him a look. Chavis has the minor league pedigree and defensive flexibility — he’s seen time at each of first, second and third base, as well as in left field — to be an intriguing buy-low pickup. Chavis can still be optioned for the remainder of this season and next.

Robert Murray of FanSided reported the Red Sox were acquiring Davis. Keith Law of the Athletic reported that Chavis was going to the Pirates in return.

Braves Acquire Adam Duvall

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The Braves have picked up slugger Adam Duvall in a trade with the Marlins, as originally reported by Craig Mish of The Miami Herald (Twitter links).  Catcher Alex Jackson is heading to the Marlins.

It is the second outfield trade in a matter of minutes for the Braves, who also just acquired Eddie Rosario from the Indians.  Since Rosario is still on the injured list recovering from a right abdominal strain, Duvall will now immediately step into an outfield picture that has been entirely remade in the last few weeks, including the Braves’ trade with the Cubs for Joc Pederson.

Duvall is a known quantity in Atlanta, and was initially acquired by the team exactly three years ago to the day as part of another deadline deal with the Reds.  Duvall didn’t perform well down the stretch in 2018, but he then hit .248/.307/.545 with 26 home runs over 339 plate appearances for the team during the 2019-20 seasons.

The Braves non-tendered Duvall last winter rather than pay him a $4MM in projected arbitration salary, opening the door for Duvall to sign a one-year deal with the Marlins worth $5MM in guaranteed money.  Duvall is still owed the remainder of his $2MM salary for this season, and there is a $7MM mutual option on his services for 2022 that can be bought out for $3MM.

The 2021 season has seen Duvall continue his power-centric performance, hitting 22 homers and slugging .478 over 339 PA for Miami, though with only a .229 batting average and .277 OBP.  The right-handed hitting Duvall has actually performed better against righties than lefties this season, but he has pretty even splits over his career, so the Braves will likely look to swing some of platoon system between Duvall and the left-handed hitting Pederson and Rosario.

Once Rosario is healthy, the Braves can juggle between the three veterans in the corner outfield, and Duvall could even be an option in center field, as he has held his own over 53 innings up the middle for the Marlins this year.  That said, Duvall is a much more solid corner outfielder, if the Braves looked to prioritize their overall defense on the grass.  Between the trio of new acquisitions and other in-house options like Guillermo Heredia, Abraham Almonte, or Cristian Pache, Atlanta has managed to fortify an outfield that lost Ronald Acuna Jr. and Marcell Ozuna.

Jackson has only a .293 OPS over 50 career Major League plate appearances, but the 25-year-old has been consistently productive at the Triple-A level, with a .236/.320/.544 slash line and 42 home runs over 593 PA at Triple-A Gwinnett.  Selected sixth overall by the Mariners in the 2014 draft, Jackson hasn’t gotten much of an opportunity at the big league level, but might find more chances for a Marlins team that is thin at catcher.  Jorge Alfaro hasn’t hit well over the last two seasons, calling into question his status as the Marlins’ catcher of the future.

Braves Acquire Eddie Rosario

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The Indians and Braves have announced a deal sending corner outfielder Eddie Rosario and cash considerations to Atlanta in exchange for corner infielder Pablo Sandoval. It’s the first of two outfield pickups on deadline day for the Braves, who reacquired Adam Duvall from Miami as well. Atlanta also picked up Joc Pederson earlier this month as part of an effort to rebuild the outfield in the wake of Ronald Acuña’s ACL tear.

Rosario is currently on the 10-day injured list with an intercostal strain but is expected to return at some point in the coming weeks. Signed to a one-year deal over the offseason, Rosario struggled over his time in Cleveland, hitting .254/.296/.389 with seven home runs in 306 plate appearances. He’d been a slightly to well above-average bat in each of his final four seasons with the Twins, however, and the Braves are clearly betting on a return to that form.

The acquisition cost is minimal. Sandoval has picked up sporadic playing time, serving mostly as a designated pinch-hitter. The 34-year-old is hitting .178/.302/.342 over 86 trips to the plate. He’s almost certainly being included as a salary offset, with about a third of his $1MM figure still to be paid.

For Cleveland, the appeal is in shedding an undisclosed amount of Rosario’s salary. The Indians will cover some of the deal, but Rosario’s $8MM contract still has a little less than $2.8MM to be paid out. The Braves will assume some of that tab to add a lefty bat to their outfield mix while the Indians save some money in a season where they’re no longer competing anyways.

Blue Jays Acquire Jose Berrios

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12:02pm: The Blue Jays have announced the trade.

11:31am: The Blue Jays and Twins have a deal in place sending right-hander Jose Berrios to Toronto, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). MLB.com’s Jon Morosi reports that top pitching prospect Simeon Woods Richardson is part of the return. Infielder Austin Martin, the No. 5 overall pick from last summer’s draft, is also going to Minnesota, reports Dan Hayes of The Athletic.

Jose Berrios | Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Berrios, 27, gives the Blue  Jays perhaps the second-best pitcher on this summer’s trade market, trailing only Max Scherzer, who is expected to join the Dodgers later today. Unlike Scherzer, he’s controllable beyond the 2021 season, as he’s only in his second arbitration season. Berrios is earning $6.1MM in 2021 and will be due one more arbitration raise this winter before reaching free agency upon conclusion of the 2022 campaign.

Berrios will join Hyun Jin Ryu and the resurgent Robbie Ray atop the Toronto rotation, comprising what now looks to be a formidable trio. He’s in the midst of one of his finest seasons, pitching to a 3.48 ERA with a career-best 25.7 percent strikeout rate, an excellent 6.5 percent walk rate and a career-high 43.6 percent ground-ball rate. He’s posted those numbers through 20 starts and a total of 121 1/3 frames, standing out as one of the dwindling number of pitchers in today’s game who averages six-plus frames per outing.

Of course, Berrios isn’t simply durable on a per-game basis. He’s been one of the game’s most durable starting pitchers overall, throughout the entirety of his career. He’s never been on the Major League injured list and is currently on pace for what would be his fourth straight season of a full slate of starts. He made 26 appearances back in 2017 — the final season he was optioned to the minors — and has since made 32 starts, 32 starts, 12 starts (a full workload in last year’s 60-game season) and 20 starts so far in 2020.

During that time, he’s never posted an ERA above 4.00 and has pitched to an overall 3.76 mark with a 24.2 percent strikeout rate and a 7.2 percent walk rate. Berrios may not quite be a Cy Young-caliber, top-of-the-rotation ace, but he’s as consistent and durable as it comes for a second/third starter.

The Blue Jays paid a steep price to acquire a year and a half of that consistency. Martin, last year’s No. 5 overall pick, was viewed by many in the industry as the best all-around player in the draft class. It was a legitimate surprise when he slipped beyond the No. 2 overall pick and fell to the Jays with the fifth selection. He’s currently ranked as the No. 16 prospect in the game at MLB.com, No. 21 at Baseball America and No. 23 at FanGraphs.

Martin starred at Vanderbilt in college, hitting .368/.474/.532 in his college career. The Jays dropped him right into Double-A to begin 2021, his first professional season, and it hasn’t looked like he’s missed a beat. In 250 plate appearances, Martin has posted a .281/.424/.383 with a pair of homers, ten doubles, two triples and nine stolen bases. He’s walked at a hearty 14.8 percent clip against a 21.2 percent strikeout rate. That batting line is 32 percent better than league average in an immensely pitcher-friendly Double-A environment, by measure of wRC+.

The main question on Martin is simply one of where he’ll play. He’s split his time evenly between shortstop and center field in Double-A this season. At the time of the draft, some scouts questioned whether he could stick at shortstop in pro ball, but the Jays have been giving him that chance. Even if shortstop isn’t his ultimate home on the diamond, however, most scouting reports on the 22-year-old Martin agree that his athleticism will translate to third base, center field or second base. The general expectation surrounding Martin is that he’ll be an above-average regular regardless of where he settles in on the diamond.

Woods Richardson has had a rougher season as Martin’s teammate in Double-A, but he’s only 20 years old — nearly five years younger than the average age of his competitors at that level. He entered the season widely regarded as a top 100 prospect, and while he’s since dropped off Baseball America’s list following the draft, he still ranks 49th at FanGraphs and 68th at MLB.com.

The Jays initially acquired Woods Richardson from the Mets in the trade that send Marcus Stroman to Queens. He’s made 11 starts in New Hampshire this season and posted a grisly 5.76 ERA, although that number is inflated by a .359 average on balls in play and an abnormally low 58 percent strand rate. Woods-Richardson has walked too many hitters (12.8 percent) but also fanned a third of his opponents so far on the year. Woods Richardson is away from the club right now, pitching for Team USA in the Olympics (as is fellow newly acquired Twins pitching prospect Joe Ryan).

FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen writes that Woods Richardson works with both a four-seamer and a two-seamer, also praising the righty’s changeup and the shape of his curveball. MLB.com’s report praised Woods Richardson’s changeup as the best in Toronto’s system, and the general consensus on the right-hander is that if he can add a little velocity as he continues to fill out, he has the makings of a No. 2 or No. 3 starter.

It’s an impressive haul for the Twins, though the organization has to be disappointed that the season came to this. Minnesota entered the year as defending AL Central champs and hopeful contenders, but their season spiraled out of control early and has yet to recover. That’s prompted the front office to pivot to what certainly looks like it’ll be an accelerated retooling of the roster.

The Twins still have an impressive crop of controllable hitters, and the additions of Martin, Woods Richardson, Ryan and Drew Strotman in their first two trades of deadline season give them four upper-minors talents who could impact the club by 2022 (perhaps 2023, in Woods Richardson’s case). Parting with Berrios means bidding adieu to the best pitcher the organization has developed in more than a decade, but they’ll hope that the recent influx of talent quickly supplements their foundation of young hitters and produces another arm or two of Berrios’ caliber before long.

Royals Notes: Moore, Duffy, Merrifield, Barlow

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The Royals parted ways with Danny Duffy yesterday, trading the veteran left-hander to the Dodgers for a player to be named later.  Given Duffy’s long history with the Royals, it was a tough call for GM Dayton Moore, who told reporters (including Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star) that Duffy was “a family member” for the organization.

It remains to be seen if more difficult decisions are in store for Moore and company, as the Royals have a number of interesting trade chips.  However, Moore indicated that the club would be more apt to move rental players, as opposed to players who are controlled beyond the 2022 season.  By name, Moore said that the team didn’t want to move any of Whit Merrifield, Carlos Santana, or Mike Minor, though said the Royals would remain “open” to ideas.

The Royals signed both Santana and Minor as part of a rather busy offseason, indicating that the team felt it was to some extent on the other end of its semi-rebuild phase.  After a hot start, Kansas City has since faded to a 45-56 record, though it makes sense that the Royals wouldn’t want to deal all their veterans and entirely start from scratch heading into 2022.

Merrifield’s name has been floated in trade rumors, as the Royals have reportedly been at least a little more willing than in the past to hearing what other clubs had to offer for the multi-position speedster.  However, the Royals were known to be putting a hefty price tag on Merrifield, and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports that Merrifield “is likely” to remain in K.C. beyond today’s deadline.

Given Moore’s hesitations about moving veterans controlled for just one more season, it seems even more far-fetched that Kansas City would trade a player like Scott Barlow, though The Athletic’s Jayson Stark hears that multiple clubs have some interest in the right-hander.  Barlow has a 2.70 ERA/3.36 SIERA and a 31% strikeout rate over 50 innings out of the Royals’ bullpen this season, and has been generally solid since making his MLB debut in 2018.  Barlow is controllable through the 2024 season, so the Royals could demand for quite a bit in a reliever-hungry trade market, assuming they’re inclined to deal Barlow at all.

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