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Rays Ask For Final Offers On Chris Archer

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12:15pm: The Dodgers are also still “in play,” Jim Bowden of The Athletic tweets.

6:09pm: Despite some prior indications to the contrary, the Yankees remain involved in Archer’s market, per Andy Martino of SNY.tv (via Twitter). There are five additional clubs still involved as well, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi reports: the Padres, Braves, Brewers, and two unnamed organizations.

5:24pm: The Rays have asked interested teams to make their best and final offers for right-hander Chris Archer, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Bay has been in touch with roughly a dozen teams about Archer and could spend tonight and tomorrow morning reviewing those offers before ultimately making a call on whether to deal Archer.

It should be noted that it’s far from a certainty that Archer is dealt at all. There’s a mix in the tone of reports surrounding the possibility of an Archer trade that is likely reflective of the lack of an industry consensus on whether he’ll actually be traded. For instance, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that there’s a stronger sense than ever before that Archer will finally move, as the Rays are cognizant that he’s approaching his 30th birthday and this may be their final chance to get an enormous haul for him.

On the flipside, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale spoke to one executive familiar with the market who took an “I’ll believe it when I see it” approach (Twitter link). ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, meanwhile, spoke to an exec who said he still feels Tampa Bay will need to be “overwhelmed” and, despite years of rumors, still “[doesn’t] see it happening.”

The full slate of teams who have submitted (or plan on submitting) an offer for Archer isn’t yet known. Over the weekend, the Braves, Dodgers, Yankees and Cardinals were all connected rather prominently to Archer, though Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweeted today that the Yankees are viewed as an “unlikely” fit for Archer. Sherman added earlier today that the Pirates have jumped into the mix as well, while the Brewers and the Athletics have both at least touched base.

The Padres, meanwhile, have been rumored to be the most aggressive pursuing Archer, envisioning him as a rotation fixture in 2019 and beyond as San Diego emerges from its rebuild and aims to contend. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan wrote today that San Diego has been “especially engaged” in the Archer market, though he notes that the Friars have not yet been willing to meet Tampa Bay’s lofty asking price. Topkin wrote yesterday that a young catcher and controllable power-hitting outfielder would be “a good start” to a package from the Rays’ vantage point, though Tampa Bay will obviously be seeking numerous young pieces in return for three-plus years of the right-hander.

Archer, 29, obviously remains a popular trade target despite a month-long stint on the disabled list and some bottom-line results that haven’t lined up with his peripheral stats in recent seasons. That’s once again the case in 2018, as Archer is sitting on a 4.31 ERA despite possessing a 3.62 FIP and xFIP as well as a 3.75 SIERA. He’s averaged a strong 9.6 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 with Tampa Bay this season and has made moderate gains in terms of swinging-strike rate (13.6 percent) and chase rate (32.3 percent). Archer is allowing just one homer per nine innings after struggling with the long ball in recent seasons, and he’s also boosted his ground-ball rate nearly three percent, from 42.0 up to 44.7.

Of course, the big draw with Archer is the affordability of his contract. He’s owed $2.o8MM through the end of the current season and is guaranteed just $7.5MM in 2019 before the Rays (or an acquiring team) have club options valued at $9MM and $11MM for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. In all, Archer can be controlled through 2021 for as little as $29.58MM, and in the event of a significant injury, he can be cut loose after 2019 and owed only a total of $11.33MM through the end of 2019.

Braves Acquire Adam Duvall From Reds For Lucas Sims, Matt Wisler, Preston Tucker

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The Braves have acquired outfielder Adam Duvall from the Reds in exchange for a trio of players, all of whom have MLB experience. Cincinnati receives righties Lucas Sims and Matt Wisler along with outfielder Preston Tucker. At first glance, it’s something of a swap of unwanted assets, as both teams clearly had different plans with their roster spots.

For the Atlanta organization, this represents an easily justifiable roll of the dice on Duvall. As he closes in on his 30th birthday, Duvall is stuck in a rough campaign. But he has huge power — he topped thirty bombs in each of the past two seasons — and also grades out as a high-end defender in left field.

In the near-term, Duvall will bolster the current outfield mix. Even if he isn’t able to boost his productivity at the plate all that much, he has been much better against left-handed pitching this season and over his career. The opposite is true of struggling Braves center fielder Ender Inciarte, who could give way to phenom Ronald Acuna up the middle when the situation calls for it.

There’s also some future value here for the Braves to hope for. Duvall is heading into arbitration this fall for the first time. While he’ll likely be relatively expensive given his lofty home run rate and ample playing time in recent seasons, he could still be quite a valuable asset. With Nick Markakis headed to free agency, the organization does need corner outfield options.

First, though, Duvall will have to sort himself out. Through 370 plate appearances this season, he has an even 100 strikeouts. While his walk rate is up to a career-high 9.2%, Duvall is carrying a .286 OBP on the season and owns a piddling .294 lifetime mark. Believers in Statcast data will certainly note that the slugger has a promising .349 xwOBA to date on the year, far superior to the .295 wOBA he has actually produced.

Though this swap may not bring the promise of a massive near-term upgrade, it’s a clever means of improving the roster both now and in the future. It is somewhat more difficult to understand the move from the Reds’ perspective, unless one presumes that the club simply decided it wished to part ways with Duvall and that this was the time to do so.

Indeed, Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams says that one aspect of the deal was a desire to go in another direction in the corner outfield, as C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic tweets. Jesse Winker may be out for the rest of this season, but he’ll now presumptively line up across from Scott Schebler next year. That leaves unanswered what the team will do up the middle with Billy Hamilton, who continues to run and defend with aplomb while barely hitting at all.

It’s a bit of a curious return for Duvall — who, to be fair, likely wasn’t drawing many strong prospect offers — but one that probably appeals more to the Reds than it would to just about any other organization. All three players acquired will require 40-man spots, yet none has carved out a permanent MLB job to this point despite receiving some opportunities to do so.

Perhaps one’s view of the swap hinges upon how you view the arms that are going to Cincinnati. For the Braves, both were simply upper-level depth pieces who were likely to be squeezed out as rising talents reach the majors or require Rule 5 draft protection. For a Reds organization whose pitching rebuilding effort hasn’t been quite as promising, either or both could perhaps become sources of affordable, useful innings.

The 24-year-old Sims, a 2012 first-rounder, has struggled through twenty MLB outings (including ten starts) over the past two seasons. He has spent most of the present season at Triple-A, where carries a 2.84 ERA with 10.2 K9 and 4.2 BB/9 over 73 innings. As for Wisler, 25, he has limped to a 5.27 ERA in 324 2/3 lifetime MLB frames. The former top prospect has posted a nice combination of 8.4 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 at Triple-A this year, but owns only a 4.37 ERA in seventy innings there.

For the time being, Tucker will help fill the opening created by the trade itself. He could in theory be a future reserve piece for the Reds, but he hits from the left side of the plate — an attribute he shares with all of the above-cited Cincinnati outfielders. The 28-year-old hit well in his run in the majors this year, posting a slighly-above-average .256/.307/.444 slash in 127 plate appearances, but has struggled in limited action at Triple-A.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Deadline Chatter: Beltre, Outfielders, Starters, Bucs/Friars, Romo

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Here are the latest rumors from around the game on the eve of the non-waiver trade deadline:

  • The Red Sox and Braves have each at least held talks with the Rangers on third baseman Adrian Beltre, per Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston and Morosi. It’s not at all clear, though, that either club is going to push hard enough to get Texas to move the veteran. Indeed, talks with Atlanta may already have sputtered, MLB.com’s TR Sullivan tweets. He adds that there is some indication the Red Sox aren’t actually all that inclined to go after Beltre, so much as the future Hall of Famer likes the idea of going back to Boston, and Rob Bradford of WEEI.com hears there’s not much of a connection between the clubs (Twitter link). In addition to other hurdles, Beltre’s no-trade rights present an obstacle. ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick notes on Twitter that Beltre may not wish to go somewhere if he isn’t going to receive regular playing time. In any event, to this point, Beltre has not been presented with any possible trades to consider, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets.
  • When it comes to rental outfielders, there aren’t a huge number of appealing options. But there are certainly some veterans drawing interest. The Yankees and Phillies have put out feelers on Curtis Granderson of the Blue Jays, per Morosi (Twitter link). Granderson isn’t the only notable name on the Phils’ radar, as Heyman connects the organization to the Mets and Jose Bautista, via Twitter. Meanwhile, the Marlins are still dangling outfielder Cameron Maybin, per Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter). Among the clubs that are at least considering him are the Indians, Yankees, and Mariners.
  • Some of the most interesting potential trade candidates, of course, won’t end up going anywhere. Indications are that some top hurlers will stay at home. It does not appear that any rivals have made a real push to force the Mets to part with righty Jacob deGrom, per Jon Heyman of Fancred (on Twitter). Despite “some late action” on Noah Syndergaard, Andy Martino of SNY.tv tweets, it still seems there’s nothing brewing there. Meanwhile, the Orioles don’t appear to have been enthused with trade offers for top pitchers Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy (or their other controllable players), Heyman indicates in a tweet.
  • The Pirates and Padres appear to have quite a lot to talk about, as Ken Rosenthal and Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic report (in a tweet) that the Pittsburgh organization has “aggressively pursued” pitching from San Diego. It’s not evident which hurler the Bucs are eyeing, though Rosenthal suggests that veteran Craig Stammen could be a sensible target. Stammen and Kirby Yates appear to be the likeliest remaining trade chips in the Padres’ pen, owing to their quality output and relatively short remaining control rights (one year and two years, respectively).
  • While the present focus is on another member of the Rays pitching staff, reliever Sergio Romo is drawing quite a lot of looks, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). Romo is affordable ($2.5MM salary), battle-tested in October, and still capable of getting outs in the majors at 35 years of age. Romo’s swinging-strike rate is down to 12.6%, his lowest since 2009, but he’s carrying a 3.69 ERA through 46 1/3 innings on the season.
  • If you’re looking for more reading, check out the latest column from Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. He runs through a variety of situations, including the Giants’ in-between position, the Twins’ struggles to market Brian Dozier, and more. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports also has quite a bit of chatter in his latest column, some of which we’ve already highlighted on the site. Among other items of interest, Passan checks in on the Brewers’ efforts to find a starter, suggesting they are a prime suitor for Zach Wheeler of the Mets.

Braves To Promote Kolby Allard

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3:32pm: Manager Brian Snitker confirmed to reporters that Allard will indeed make his Major League debut Tuesday (Twitter link via Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). A corresponding 40-man move remains unclear and likely won’t be known until after tonight’s game.

1:35pm: The Braves will promote top pitching prospect Kolby Allard to make his Major League debut and start tomorrow’s game against the Marlins, reports David O’Brien of The Athletic (via Twitter). O’Brien had recently tweeted that Allard was a candidate to make his MLB debut in a spot start this week. Allard isn’t on the 40-man roster, so the Braves will need to make a corresponding move to accommodate his promotion.

Allard will become the second 20-year-old starter to make his debut for the Braves in 2018, joining fellow 2015 first-rounder Mike Soroka in that regard. Allard didn’t rank as highly on most midseason prospect rankings as he did when his stock was at its peak, but he still checks in 93rd overall per Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com, and it’s hard to argue with the results that he’s delivered this season in his first exposure to Triple-A.

Through 109 1/3 innings at that level, Allard has worked to a 2.80 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 0.49 HR/9 and a 38.8 percent ground-ball rate in 18 starts. Allard hasn’t missed bats like he did in the lower minors since reaching Double-A, and he does bring a history of back injuries to the Braves, but he’s a potential mid-rotation arm who’ll add yet another high-upside piece to a growing collection of starting options on the Braves’ 40-man roster.

Given the timing of Allard’s promotion, he’ll be controllable through at least the 2024 season for the Braves, though that could push into 2025, depending on how much time he spends at the big league level in each of the next few seasons. He wouldn’t be on track for Super Two status as things stand, though as with his path to free agency, that could change depending on how often (if at all) he’s shuttled back and forth between Triple-A Gwinnett and the Majors.

In what looks to be a very temporary move, Allard will step into a rotation that also features Mike Foltynewicz, Sean Newcomb, Julio Teheran, Anibal Sanchez and Max Fried, though there’s been enough uncertainty at the back of the rotation that he could work his way into a more permanent role. The Braves have been tied to a variety of pitching upgrades as tomorrow’s non-waiver trade deadline approaches, and it remains to be seen just how their pitching staff will look following that 4pm cutoff.

That said, now that Allard is on the 40-man roster, he’ll join Fried, Luiz Gohara and several others who’ve oscillated between Gwinnett and Atlanta this season as the Braves have patched together both the bullpen and the back of their rotation. And, of course, his addition to the 40-man roster means he’ll be a lock to join the club at some point as a September call-up as well.

Trade Talks On Chris Archer “Intensifying”

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7:43pm: In an interview with Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, Archer called the trade chatter surrounding him “unsettling.” Topkin again notes that the industry sense is that Tampa Bay is more willing than ever to trade Archer, and he adds that a young catcher and a power-hitting outfield prospect would be “a good start” to a package from the Rays’ vantage point.

July 29, 8:58am: The Padres are still regarded as the favorites to land Archer if the Rays deal him, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets. The Braves are also interested, per the New York Post’s Joel Sherman, who adds that the Rays had a pair of scouts watching Yankees pitching prospect Justus Sheffield at Triple-A on Saturday. However, it’s “a long shot” that the Yankees will acquire Archer, Sherman writes.

July 28, 12:50pm: Add the Yankees and Dodgers to the list of teams who’re pursuing Archer, according to a recent tweet from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

10:43am: Chris Archer has been the subject of trade speculation all season, and now talks surrounding Tampa Bay’s prized right-hander are “intensifying”, per a report from ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick.

A trade isn’t quite imminent, it seems, as Crasnick notes that it’s difficult to judge whether or not a team will actually pay the Rays’ asking price. After all, Archer can be controlled through 2021 for an average of less than $8MM per season, and is unsurprisingly being donned with a “No. 1 starter type of price tag”. It’s certainly plausible that Archer could be a part of the next contending Rays ballclub considering the wealth of talent in Tampa Bay’s farm system (recently ranked the fourth-best in baseball by MLB.com), which boasts six players among MLB Pipeline’s top 70 prospects.

Then again, the Rays have seen a host of promising prospects go down with Tommy John surgery this season. Right-handers Brent Honeywell and Jose De Leon and lefty Anthony Banda were all considered to be about major-league ready this season before each sprained his UCL and had to go under the knife. While one would expect all three to be ready to pitch again by the middle of next season based on the normal Tommy John recovery timeline, we know by now that the surgery isn’t a sure thing, and can lead to deeply-diminished production (Brady Aiken comes to mind as an example). It wouldn’t be out of the question, then, for the Rays to attempt to acquire an upside young arm along with some other valuable pieces in a package for their ace.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports noted soon after Crasnick’s report that the Padres (who have already been connected to Archer this season) have made progress in talks with the Rays, in part because Tampa Bay has shown “a greater willingness” to deal him. But Passan adds a dissent in agreeing that the price remains high, which has the Padres “balking for now.” We already know that the Padres are unwilling to exchange either of their top two prospects (shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. and southpaw Mackenzie Gore), though they’ve shown a willingness to deal second baseman Luis Urias, right-hander Cal Quantrill and even recently-acquired catching prospect Francisco Mejia.

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch adds that the Cardinals “remain interested” in Archer, noting that the club attempted to deal for the 29-year-old just this past winter. Goold’s sources tell him that the Cards believe they can line up a “competitive offer”. It’s no surprise that St. Louis would be checking in on all available options to patch their injury-ravaged rotation; the club’s seen right-handers Michael Wacha and Carlos Martinez succumb to oblique injuries and can’t know what type of late-2018 contributions to expect from either at this point. Meanwhile, top prospect Alex Reyes, who was expected to play a big role in the club’s plans this year, suffered a season-ending lat injury at the tail end of May. Adam Wainwright continues to be injury-prone and can’t be counted on for any type of meaningful production. The club is currently placing its playoff hopes on the resurgent Miles Mikolas and a cast of rookies including Jack Flaherty, Luke Weaver and John Gant.

To be fair, it’s not clear whether Archer is truly worth the price of an “ace”. The right-hander has posted ERAs north of four in each of the past two seasons and currently sports a six-year high figure of 4.31. While it’s true that his FIP (3.62) suggests quite a bit of bad luck has been involved, the same can also be said of each of his previous three seasons- Archer has a reputation as a pitcher whose results consistently fail to keep up with his peripherals. Still, it’s easy to imagine him catching fire and putting together an impressive second-half run, a possibility which plenty of contenders would like to take a chance on.

Dodgers, Braves Have Been Most Aggressive On Keone Kela

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  • Keone Kela continues to draw trade interest, writes MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, with the Dodgers and the Braves being the two most aggressive clubs on the Rangers’ closer as of Sunday afternoon. Notably, Sullivan’s column was published prior to Atlanta’s acquisition of Brad Brach, and while that pickup certainly doesn’t mean the Braves will drop out of the Kela market, it may lessen their urgency when it comes to adding further relief arms. The Dodger are expected to be “very active” in their pursuit of bullpen help in the next couple of days, Sullivan adds, while Atlanta has been keeping a close eye on the Rangers. The Braves are also said to have some level of interest in Adrian Beltre, though Beltre has full no-trade protection and there’s nothing to suggest just yet that he’ll be waiving those rights (nor that the Rangers are really shopping him).

Braves Acquire Brad Brach

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The Braves have agreed to acquire reliever Brad Brach from the Orioles, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun tweets. In return for Brach, Baltimore received $250K in international bonus pool money, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Both teams have announced the trade.

With the Orioles in the early stages of a full-scale rebuild and Brach set to hit free agency over the winter, the 32-year-old was an obvious trade candidate for the club. The right-handed Brach drew vast trade interest as a result in recent weeks, and he’ll bring an impressive track record to Atlanta – which will pick up the balance of his $5.165MM salary.

During his Orioles tenure, which began in 2014, Brach pitched to a 2.99 ERA/3.51 FIP with 9.42 K/9, 3.65 BB/9 and a 42.1 percent groundball rate over 327 2/3 innings. He hasn’t been quite that effective through 39 frames this season, however, with a 4.85 ERA/4.01 FIP and 8.77 K/9 against 4.38 BB/9, though he has logged a career-best 46.5 grounder percentage. Brach has also continued to bring respectable heat while posting an above-average swinging-strike percentage (12.7).

The Braves, who have surprised this season during a playoff-contending campaign, will benefit from Brach’s presence if he’s able to channel his past success. Even though the Braves are 55-47 and sit just 1 1/2 games behind the NL East-leading Phillies and one back of a wild-card spot, their bullpen hasn’t been a strength this season. Their relievers entered Sunday 19th in the majors in ERA and 16th in fWAR, in part because closer Arodys Vizcaino has missed time on account of shoulder issues. As a result, the Braves have been aggressively seeking to upgrade their relief corps leading up to the July 31 non-waiver deadline. Brach’s the second notable bullpen pickup the team has made this week, in fact, joining just-acquired southpaw Jonny Venters. The Braves also landed Venters for $250K in international money.

Thanks to former general manager John Coppolella’s misdeeds, the Braves are unable to spend beyond $300K on any international prospect this year. Therefore, the money’s not difficult for them to part with if it means bolstering their playoff chances for this season. On the other side, the Orioles haven’t participated in the international market in recent years, largely because of ownership, but they’re committed to changing that as they rebuild. The money the Orioles acquired Sunday may help them sign Cuban outfield prospect Victor Victor Mesa, per Emily Waldon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Brach follows shortstop Manny Machado (Dodgers) and fellow reliever Zach Britton (Yankees) as the third proven veteran to exit the Orioles via trade this month. The team’s likely not done, either, as other established members of its roster have come up in trade rumors. Center fielder Adam Jones is part of that group, though he may deviate from Brach, Machado and Britton in finishing the season in Baltimore.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Braves Would Only Deal Gohara, Allard For Controllable Starting Pitching

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Both the Braves and Cubs are making pushes for Orioles reliever Brad Brach, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. Brach, a pending free agent on a $5.165MM salary, looks like a shoo-in to move prior to Tuesday’s non-waiver deadline. The 32-year-old has endured an uncharacteristically mediocre season, however, with a 4.85 ERA/4.01 FIP and unexciting strikeout and walk rates (8.77 K/9, 4.38 BB/9) over 39 innings.

  • There have been rumblings about the Braves trading young left-hander Luiz Gohara for relief help, but that’s not going to happen, according to Rosenthal. Rather, Atlanta’s only going to move Gohara (or pitching prospect Kolby Allard) if it gets controllable starting pitching in return.

Braves More Focused On Adding Pitching Than Adrian Beltre; Could Trade Luiz Gohara

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  • The Braves have interest in both Diekman and fellow Rangers reliever Kela, Rosenthal and Joel Sherman of the New York Post suggest. Moreover, Atlanta’s willing to move left-hander Luiz Gohara to upgrade its team, per Rosenthal, with Sherman noting that the Rangers have been scouting the 21-year-old. Gohara hasn’t pitched much in the majors this year (19 2/3 innings, nine appearances, one start), in part because of injury issues. But he showed well during a five-start debut in 2017, after which Baseball America ranked him as the game’s 23rd-best prospect. There’s a “good chance” the Rangers will acquire Gohara if he “shows anything at all” in the minors Sunday, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets.
  • Sticking with Texas and Atlanta, Rosenthal reports that the Braves have greater interest in bolstering their pitching (perhaps via Diekman and Kela) than acquiring Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre. Rosenthal doesn’t rule out a Beltre acquisition for the Braves (though, as a 10-and-5 player, he’d need to approve the trade), but he points out that incumbent third baseman Johan Camargo has actually outhit the eventual Hall of Famer this season. The switch-hitting Camargo, 24, has done so on a league-minimum salary, too, while the 39-year-old Beltre is owed the balance of $18MM.

Latest On Braves' Interest In Adrian Beltre

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  • More on the Rangers, who have yet another potential trade chip in pending free-agent third baseman Adrian Beltre. While the Braves have been connected to Beltre this week, one source “downplayed” their interest in the future Hall of Famer to Wilson. Grant passes along different information, writing that the Braves’ interest in Beltre is “serious.” Whether a deal comes together will largely be up to the 39-year-old Beltre, who, as a 10-and-5 player, has full no-trade rights. Beltre spoke about his future Saturday, telling Grant and others in regards to the Rangers: “We have talked. I’ve always been at peace with being here. Obviously, we have talked before [about a trade], and if it makes sense for both parties, I would consider it. But up until now, there’s nothing concrete that we can sit and talk about.”
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