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Deadline Recap: American League

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A wild trade deadline has now passed, with contenders fortifying themselves for a World Series run or a playoff push, rebuilding teams looking towards the future, and some teams in both camps being more cautious in their moves.  Here is the recap of every American League club’s most notable trades of the last few days, with the NL wrap-up coming on Wednesday….

New York: Though the Yankees’ rotation had been a big reason for their first-half dominance, the team still added Frankie Montas (one of the biggest trade candidates of the last few months) to reinforce the pitching staff.  Bringing in Montas and reliever Lou Trivino cost New York four noteworthy prospects, yet the Yankees were able to hang onto everyone in their true top tier.  Beyond Trivino, the Yankees further bolstered the relief corps by landing Scott Effross from the Cubs.  Acquiring Montas also gave New York the rotation depth for a fascinating one-for-one trade, as Jordan Montgomery was sent to the Cardinals for Gold Glove-winning center fielder Harrison Bader.

Assuming Bader returns from his current bout of plantar fasciitis in his normal form, he’ll form quite a defensive tandem with another reigning Gold Glover in Andrew Benintendi, acquired from the Royals earlier in the week.  The struggling Joey Gallo was subtracted from the outfield mix, as New York sent Gallo (a big get at last year’s trade deadline) to the Dodgers for pitching prospect Clayton Beeter.  Gallo is an example of how sometimes the best deadline moves on paper don’t work out, but the Yankees look to have fortified themselves well for a return to the World Series.

Houston: The Astros are in hot pursuit of the Yankees for top spot in the AL, and also made multiple moves to shore up some weaker spots on the roster.  With catcher Martin Maldonado and first baseman Yuli Gurriel both struggling at the plate, Houston brought in two longtime faces of AL East franchises — former Oriole stalwart Trey Mancini and former Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez, for the combined cost of three prospects and young center fielder Jose Siri.

The Astros also dipped into their rotation depth to move veteran Jake Odorizzi for an experienced bullpen arm, moving Odorizzi to the Braves for Will Smith.  One need Houston didn’t address was center field, so it looks like the team will stick with the tandem of Jake Meyers and Chas McCormick down the stretch.

Seattle: The Mariners are chomping at the bit to finally make it back to the playoffs for the first time since 2001, and this aggressiveness manifested itself in one of the summer’s biggest blockbusters.  After months of speculation, the Reds finally moved Luis Castillo, and it was the Mariners who stepped up with a big package of four prospects (including top-50 types Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo) to land the All-Star right-hander.

Castillo only adds to a rotation that was already among baseball’s best, and on deadline day itself, the M’s patched a few more holes.  Curt Casali and Jake Lamb were acquired for bench depth, and Matthew Boyd was acquired from the Giants as an intriguing flier for September.  Boyd has missed the entire season rehabbing from flexor tendon surgery, but if he is able to return, he projects as a left-handed option for a bullpen short on southpaws.

Minnesota: Speaking of trading for Reds starters, the Twins nabbed Cincinnati’s other available (and controllable through 2023) righty in Tyler Mahle, after checking in on most of the bigger starters available.  While Castillo’s better track record meant the Mariners had to pay more, Minnesota’s concession was nothing to sneeze at, with three young prospects headlined by infielder Spencer Steer.  Still, having Mahle for as many as two postseason runs was worth the cost in the Twins’ view, and Mahle should only help a Twins rotation that has already been quite respectable amidst several injuries.

The bullpen was the greater pitching need, and the upgrades came at the cost of a total of five prospects.  But, the Twins made two significant trades in landing Jorge Lopez from the Orioles and Michael Fulmer from the Tigers.  The duo could instantly step right in as Minnesota’s primary late-game combo, or at least take some of the pressure off rookie Jhoan Duran and second-year hurler Griffin Jax.  The Twins also got Sandy Leon in a minor trade with the Guardians, bringing some catching depth on board with Ryan Jeffers still injured.

Toronto: The Blue Jays also mostly checked in on pitching, reportedly coming close to landing Noah Syndergaard and also being linked to such pitchers as Raisel Iglesias, Michael Fulmer, Luis Castillo, and Frankie Montas.  Instead of a headline-grabbing move, Toronto settled for reinforcing the bullpen by acquiring the hard-throwing Zach Pop and former Jay Anthony Bass from the Marlins, and getting swingman Mitch White from the Dodgers.  The Jays had to move some of their own young pitching to get White, and dealt top-100 prospect (but struggling at Triple-A) Jordan Groshans to Miami.

The Cubs’ Ian Happ was frequently mentioned as a Blue Jays target leading up to deadline day, yet Happ wasn’t dealt anywhere, and the Jays instead obtained longtime Royal Whit Merrifield.  The former All-Star is struggling through his worst season, but the Jays are hoping that a change of scenery will help Merrifield get back into form, and add depth at multiple positions around the diamond.  The trade with Kansas City was presumably made with the knowledge that Merrifield will be able to play in Toronto, as he recently missed a Royals/Blue Jays series because he wasn’t vaccinated.

Tampa Bay: Beset by injuries in the outfield, the Rays adjusted by acquiring Siri from the Astros (for young righties Seth Johnson and Jayden Murray) and David Peralta from the Diamondbacks (for catching prospect Christian Cerda).  While fan favorite outfielder Brett Phillips was designated for assignment and then traded to the Orioles to make room, the Rays feel they’ve reinforced their lineup — the weak link on a wild card contender with excellent pitching.

Garrett Cleavinger and Jeremy Walker also acquired from the Dodgers and Giants to bring a couple more arms into the pipeline.  The Rays did at least explore a real eye-opening move in checking in with the Nationals about Juan Soto, and one position left unaddressed was the catching position, though Tampa reportedly had interest in Willson Contreras.

Cleveland: The Guardians are another team with a longstanding need at catcher, and it seemed like Cleveland was getting close to a deal for A’s backstop Sean Murphy — especially since the Guards were reportedly open to making a big move by offering one of their controllable starters.  However, though the Guardians were said to be looking hard for pitching of their own and also flirted with the idea of an offer for Juan Soto, all of the talk resulted in a very quiet deadline.

Other than moving Sandy Leon to Minnesota, the Guardians didn’t make a single trade.  Especially with so many other contenders fortifying their rosters, the Guards’ inaction was a risky move for a team in the thick of the AL Central and wild card races.  Cleveland is counting on its internal mix to step up over the last two months, but if the Guardians fall short of the postseason, there will be some what-ifs asked about this deadline.

Chicago: In somewhat similar fashion to the Guardians, the White Sox are in the AL Central/wild card races, checked in on a big name (Shohei Ohtani), focused on pitching additions (linked to such familiar Chicago names as Jose Quintana, David Robertson, and Mychal Givens) and…ended up coming away without much on deadline day.  White Sox GM Rick Hahn even openly stated that he was “disappointed” at his team’s relative inaction.  The Sox did add some needed left-handed depth to the bullpen in landing Jake Diekman from the Red Sox in an exchange for backup catching Reese McGuire, even if Diekman’s control problems don’t exactly promise drama-free innings.

Boston: With a dismal July record, the Red Sox were exploring trading their veteran players leading up to the deadline, and to some extent this did happen when Christian Vazquez and Jake Diekman.  But, the likes of Nathan Eovaldi, J.D. Martinez, and Rich Hill are all still in Red Sox uniforms, and the Sox even added two more veterans in Tommy Pham and Eric Hosmer.  In Pham’s case, he’ll likely be a rental player due to his mutual option for 2023, but Hosmer is signed through 2025.

In an odd turn of events, Hosmer used his no-trade clause to refuse heading to the Nationals as part of the Juan Soto blockbuster, and has now landed in Boston along with two prospects in exchange for former first-rounder Jay Groome.  Since the Padres are paying virtually all of Hosmer’s salary, in a way it’s kind of a no-lose proposition for the Red Sox, except for the fact that Hosmer has been more or less a league-average player for the last four-plus seasons.  It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Sox look to flip Hosmer again after the season, but for now, the idea is that Hosmer and Pham can help the club regroup and make a late run at a wild card slot.

Baltimore: The surprisingly competitive Orioles entered today’s play 2.5 games out of a wild card berth, but rather than make a true playoff push, the O’s kept their eyes focused on the future.  As a result, team leader Trey Mancini and breakout closer Jorge Lopez were each traded, with a total of six pitching prospects coming back as further reinforcements to Baltimore’s minor league system.  The three-team Mancini trade involving the Astros and Rays also unofficially netted the Orioles Brett Phillips, as the O’s acquired Phillips as backup outfield depth after Tampa Bay designated him for assignment.  It surely isn’t the outcome that Baltimore fans wanted to see after so many years of rebuilding, but with the steps forward the team has made in 2022, it now seems possible that the Orioles could again be on the buyer side of the ledger by the 2023 deadline.

Texas: Another “wait until next year” team, the Rangers spent a ton on its roster in the offseason but 2023 seemed like the real target point for the club’s return to contention.  Perhaps reflecting this in-between state, Texas didn’t do much buying or selling at the deadline, apart from moving reliever Matt Bush to the Brewers in a swap for the versatile Mark Mathias and left-handed pitching prospect Antoine Kelly.

Detroit: 2022 was the go-for-it year for the Tigers, yet a swath of injuries and slumping players quickly put the team back into seller mode.  Reflecting the disastrous nature of the season, the Tigers were reportedly willing to discuss “just about everyone” in trade talks, but rather than a truly transformative move, Detroit played it pretty safe on the trade front.  Impending free agents Michael Fulmer (to the Twins) and Robbie Grossman (to the Braves) were dealt, but though Detroit had plenty of good bullpen arms on offer, GM Al Avila felt “the market was flooded with relievers,” limiting the Tigers’ leverage.

Kansas City: Trading Carlos Santana to the Mariners in late June gave the Royals an early jump on their trade plans, and they ended up making more significant deals in swapping Andrew Benintendi to the Yankees and longtime Royal Whit Merrifield to Toronto.  It was pretty easy to figure out Kansas City’s goal — six of the seven young players acquired in those three trades were pitchers, adding more arms to all levels of the farm system.  There was plenty of interest in other Kansas City veterans like Michael A. Taylor or Josh Staumont, but the Royals to some extent held steady on a true housecleaning.

The Royals also brought in a more experienced arm in Luke Weaver, giving K.C. a pitcher (who may used either as as a reliever or starter) controlled through the 2023 season.  For Weaver, the Royals sent the Diamondbacks Emmanuel Rivera, who was likely an odd man out amidst Kansas City’s multitude of infield options.  The Royals also acquired Brent Rooker to help fill the holes in the outfield, landing Rooker from the Padres for backup catcher Cam Gallagher.

Oakland: The Athletics have been in rebuild mode for months, and Frankie Montas was finally moved after countless rumors.  As in their offseason moves of star players, the A’s continued to pursue a mix of big league-ready and longer-term prospects, getting four young pitchers back in return from the Yankees for Montas and Lou Trivino.  JP Sears has already made his MLB debut and Ken Waldichuk is the highest-ranked prospect of the quartet.

With Montas so widely expected to be dealt, his situation took up much of the buzz surrounding the Athletics, though the club also looked into moving Sean Murphy and Ramon Laureano.  Since Murphy and Laureano are each under arbitration control through 2025, however, the A’s didn’t quite have as much urgency in working out a trade immediately.  Despite those years of control, it’s probably safe to expect Oakland to continue taking calls on both players this winter as the A’s continue their latest roster overhaul.

Los Angeles: Another disappointing season led the Angels to take perhaps more of a bigger-picture view of their roster, as the team at least heard out other clubs’ offers for Shohei Ohtani, even if nobody met the Halos’ understandably huge asking price.  However, the Angels were still quite busy, and reloaded by dealing away Noah Syndergaard and Brandon Marsh to the Phillies, and Raisel Iglesias to the Braves.

Getting Iglesias’ remaining $51MM in salary off the books is itself a win for Anaheim, but the team also obtained a top young catching prospect (Logan O’Hoppe), a controllable starter (Tucker Davidson), a familiar face of a veteran pitcher (Jesse Chavez), an outfield prospect (Jadiel Sanchez) and a lottery ticket of a former first overall pick (Mickey Moniak).  It is an interesting array that falls a bit short of a true reload for 2023, but it gives the Angels some options, flexibility, and plans for the future as they work out their next steps.

Red Sox Acquire Eric Hosmer

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The Padres and Red Sox have announced a trade that will send first baseman Eric Hosmer to the Red Sox along with prospects Corey Rosier and Max Ferguson, as well as cash considerations. In exchange, the Padres will receive pitching prospect Jay Groome. According to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, the cash considerations are actually about $44MM, with the Padres paying down the remainder of Hosmer’s contract, apart from the league minimum.

Hosmer previously exercised his partial no-trade clause to veto a deal to the Nationals, temporarily throwing a wrench into the Juan Soto negotiations. The Padres/Nats Soto blockbuster was completed anyhow, sans Hosmer, and Hosmer is now heading to Boston instead.

It’s a fairly stunning sequence of events, but the Red Sox will take advantage of San Diego’s willingness to pay the freight on Hosmer’s underwater contract and take a low-cost look at a former All-Star who’ll help solidify a position of need in the lineup. Boston has been pairing Franchy Cordero and Bobby Dalbec at first base for much of the season, often to disastrous results, and Hosmer should shore up some of the miscues that have become common in the Boston infield. Defensive metrics have never agreed with Hosmer’s four Gold Glove Awards, but even still, he gives the Sox a more solid option than Cordero, who’s made eight errors and been rated five outs below average in just 316 innings (per Statcast) while trying to learn first base on the fly in the Major Leagues.

Bringing Hosmer into the fold in many ways serves as a roadblock to top prospect Triston Casas, though the Sox could certainly have the two split time between first base and designated hitter. It does figure to tamp down rumblings of Rafael Devers eventually moving across the diamond from third base to first base, however, as Hosmer is now penciled in as the primary option at first for the next several seasons.

Hosmer, a former All-Star and 2015 World Series champion, is in the fifth season of an eight-year, $144MM contract signed with the Padres prior to the 2018 season. The deal was near-universally panned at the time of signing and fell into albatross territory almost immediately. Hosmer hit a combined .259/.316/.412 through his first 1344 plate appearances in San Diego — about six percent worse than league-average over that span by measure of wRC+ (which, notably, weights for league context like the juiced-ball season in 2019).

To Hosmer’s credit, his offense has improved a bit over the past three seasons. As leaguewide production has trended downward following the 2019 homer boom, Hosmer has maintained a .273/.336/.411 batting line from 2020-22, which clocks in about seven percent better than average.

That’s still not what the Friars had in mind when signing him to a frontloaded eight-year deal with an $18MM annual value, of course, and Hosmer’s tepid production has pushed the Friars to explore trades for him for more than a year now. In the past, the goal was to find a taker for Hosmer and the bulk of his contract — likely by attaching him to a top prospect — but things have now reached the point where the Padres are simply willing to eat a notable portion of the contract to free up the roster spot for a more productive hitter in Josh Bell, who was acquired alongside Soto.

In order to rid themselves of said albatross, they have parted with Rosier and Ferguson, whom Boston will acquire in exchange for taking Hosmer off the Padres’ hands. Rosier, 22, was a 12th round pick in last year’s draft. The outfielder had a sparkling debut in A-ball last year, hitting .390/.461/.585 along with 13 steals. This year, moving up to High-A, he’s hitting .263/.381/.396 with 33 swipes. Ferguson, 22, is an infielder who was selected in the fifth round last year. He’s split his time this year between A-ball and High-A, slashing .221/.365/.358.

While the Padres have long wanted to be rid of Hosmer’s contract for financial reasons, it seems they eventually gave up on those dreams, since they are eating effectively all of his contract. The club flirted with the luxury tax line all year, seemingly unwilling to cross it. However, the opportunity to get superstar players like Soto, Bell and Josh Hader seemed to be an opportunity too good to pass up, with the club now certain to pay the luxury tax for a second straight season.

Instead of financial relief, the Padres will receive a former first round pick, as Groome was selected 12th overall by the Red Sox in 2016. Baseball America considered him one of the top 100 prospects in the sport once upon a time, with Groome landing at #43 in 2017 and #83 in 2018. Unfortunately, Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2018 season and limited him to just four innings in 2019. That was followed by the pandemic wiping out the minor league seasons in 2020, meaning Groome hardly pitched at all for three straight seasons. He returned to the mound last year, pitching to a 4.81 ERA between High-A and Double-A. He’s shown improved results this year, however, throwing 92 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A with a 3.59 ERA and 24.2% strikeout rate, though a high walk rate of 11.4%. He’ll add some pitching depth for the Padres, who just lost MacKenzie Gore in the Soto deal.

Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune first reported that Hosmer was headed to Boston. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first noted that Hosmer’s no-trade list didn’t include the Red Sox. Chris Cotillo of MassLive first reported that this would be a multi-player deal and that Rosier and Ferguson would be included (Twitter links). Robert Murray of FanSided first had Groome’s involvement. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe first reported that the Padres are sending about $44MM to the Red Sox.

Red Sox Listening On Nathan Eovaldi, Rich Hill

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4:35PM: The Cardinals, Phillies, and Twins are all interested in Hill, as per WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford.

1:24PM: Most of the talk regarding the Red Sox in recent days has centered on designated hitter J.D. Martinez and the since-traded Christian Vazquez, but Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports that the Sox are open to dealing right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, though they’re not planning to simply take the best offer presented for him. Boston is, after all, still on the periphery of the Wild Card race — and Eovaldi represents a potential qualifying offer candidate. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic adds that lefty Rich Hill is “almost certainly in play” as well.

Eovaldi stands as one of the higher-profile names on the rental market. However, he’s a fairly pricey option, earning $17MM this season (with just over $6MM of that sum yet to be paid out), and has had some struggles since a June trip to the injured list. A back injury sidelined Eovaldi for a month, from June 12 through July 15, and the right-hander was torched for 16 earned runs in his first three starts upon returning — a total of just 13 innings.

Eovaldi held a potent Astros lineup scoreless through 6 1/3 frames last night, which may ease some concerns, but the right-hander’s fastball velocity has been down since sustaining that back injury. After averaging 96.9 mph on his heater from Opening Day through June 3, Eovaldi has an average of 94.5 mph on the pitch in his past five appearances — including a 94.3 mph average last night.

It bears emphasizing that even with the recent struggles, Eovaldi is sporting a respectable 4.11 ERA with a roughly average 23.1% strikeout rate, a brilliant 4.3% walk rate and an above-average 47.8% grounder rate. Interested parties will surely place a premium, to some extent, on the right-hander’s considerable postseason resume as well. Eovaldi was an absolute juggernaut in the 2018 playoffs, propelling the Red Sox to a World Series victory with 22 1/3 innings of 1.61 ERA ball. He stumbled in the 2021 ALCS against the Astros, but Eovaldi nonetheless has a career 3.14 ERA and 41-to-8 K/BB ratio in 43 postseason frames.

As for the veteran Hill, he’s playing on a one-year, $5MM deal with some incentives that could reasonably boost the contract by another $500K to $1MM. Hill’s incentives package kicks in at 110 innings pitched, and he’s currently at 70 2/3 frames on the year. In that time, he’s pitched to a 4.20 ERA with a 19.5% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate. He’s averaging under five innings per start, so it’s unlikely he reaches the 150- and 160-innings thresholds at which his most lucrative bonuses are slated to kick in, but he stands a decent chance of upping that salary a bit if he can remain healthy.

Rays’ Brett Phillips Drawing Interest From Multiple Clubs

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The Rays designated outfielder Brett Phillips for assignment yesterday upon acquiring outfielder Jose Siri from the Astros, and while a team normally has a week to trade a player following a DFA, that’s not the case with today’s 6pm ET deadline looming. Phillips seems likely to change hands today, as he’s already drawing interest from multiple clubs. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe tweets that the Red Sox have reached out to the Rays, while Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets that the Phillies have also shown interest as they look to add some defense in center. Brendan Kuty of NJ.com adds the Yankees as another interested club.

It’s been a dismal season at the plate for Phillips, who’s hitting just .147/.225/.250 through 208 plate appearances and has fanned at a whopping 40.9% rate. He’s never been one to provide much with the bat, but this year’s struggles still represent a pronounced departure from last year’s .206/.300/.427 output and the career .201/.291/.381 Phillips carried into the season.

For all of Phillips’ struggles with the bat, he’s long been one of the game’s premier defenders. He’s not only capable of playing all three outfield spots but is a plus defender across the board, evidenced by career marks of 38 Defensive Runs Saved, 31 Outs Above Average and a 25.3 Ultimate Zone Rating in just 2100 innings of outfield work in his career. The left-handed-hitting Phillips also has displayed plenty of pop and been an excellent base stealer prior to the season. In 675 prior plate appearances, he’d popped 23 homers and gone 29-for-34 in stolen base attempts.

Phillips is earning $1.4MM this season and is controllable for another two years via arbitration, although this year’s struggles at the plate make him an obvious non-tender candidate. Still, as a backup outfielder with power, speed and an elite glove, he could offer plenty of value to a contender off the bench in the season’s final couple months. He’s out of minor league options, so he’ll need to stick on the roster of whatever club potentially acquires him.

Speculatively, there are plenty of other potential fits even beyond the three teams reported to have inquired. The Marlins and Astros are both known to be looking for potential center field upgrades, and Phillips is of course a former Astros farmhand. The Twins’ outfield is banged up beyond recognition at the moment, and Phillips would give them a low-cost stopgap with elite defense to help shore things up. The Blue Jays could see Phillips as a more appealing version of the same skill set that current fourth outfielder Bradley Zimmer offers.

Lack of offensive value notwithstanding, the defense, speed and past power production could very well land Phillips with another team at some point today.

Astros Acquire Christian Vazquez From Red Sox

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The Astros hunt for catching help is over, as they announced an agreement Monday night to bring in Christian Vazquez from the Red Sox. Prospects Enmanuel Valdez and Wilyer Abreu are headed to Boston in return.

Vazquez, 31, will now join just the second organization of his career, as he’s been with the Red Sox since being drafted by them in 2008. Since that time, he’s reached the majors and established himself as a solid regular. Though he’s never been an All-Star, Vazquez has played in 407 games for the Red Sox from 2019 to the present, slashing .272/.321/.424 for a wRC+ of 97. If not for a dismal season last year, those numbers would look even better, as he’s posted a wRC+ of 102 or higher in 2019, 2020 and here in 2022. This year, he’s hitting .282/.327/.432, 111 wRC+. Combined with his defensive contributions, he’s produced 6.4 wins above replacement in that four-year stretch, according to FanGraphs.

He and the Red Sox agreed to a three-year extension in early 2018, which came with a club option for 2022. That option was eventually exercised by the club, with Vazquez now just a few months away from reaching free agency for the first time. Boston looked like contenders for much of the season but had a dismal showing in July, going 8-19, dropping to the basement of the AL East and 3 1/2 games out of a playoff spot. Given all of those factors, the Sox began entertaining offers and evidently found one to their liking.

For the Astros, they’ve been an obvious fit for a catching addition for quite some time, with both Martin Maldonado and Jason Castro struggling at the plate this year. The Astros have shown themselves to be quite fond of Maldonado in terms of his game calling and clubhouse presence, but he’s hit just .173/.239/.342 on the year for a wRC+ of 66. Castro has been far worse, slashing .115/.205/.179 for a wRC+ of just 15. He also landed on the IL a month ago with a knee injury, only increasing the need for reinforcements behind the plate.

The Astros are clear buyers, sitting on a record of 67-36 that gives them a 12-game lead over the Marines in the AL West. Vazquez is the second pick-up of the day, as they also brought aboard Trey Mancini earlier today, bolstering their lineup for the final months of the season and the postseason.

As for the Red Sox, they are in a much more nebulous position, sitting outside the postseason picture but close enough that the season isn’t exactly pushing up the daisies just yet. With their recent slide, questions have been raised about how they will approach the deadline, with many impending free agents that could conceivably be moved if the Sox are willing. Vazquez was one such name, with J.D. Martinez and Nathan Eovaldi among the others. It seems there won’t be a tidy answer, with the club trying to walk a line between buying and selling. Shortly after the Vazquez deal was announced, the club also reportedly acquired impending free agent Tommy Pham from the Reds, but then also reportedly traded Jake Diekman to the White Sox. With less than 24 hours to go until the deadline, there are likely many more moves to come.

In the immediate term, they add a pair of interesting young players to the farm system. Valdez, 23, is an infielder who is having a breakout season in the minors. Splitting his time between Double-A and Triple-A, he’s hit .327/.410/.606 on the year. Based on that showing, he jumped into the Baseball America list of top Astros’ prospects at their midseason update, coming in at #12. Abreu, 23, is an outfielder with a similar helium-backed trajectory. He’s hit .249/.399/.359 for the year, jumping up to the #21 slot in the Astros system in the BA midseason update.

Mark Berman of Fox 26 was first to report the Astros were acquiring Vazquez in exchange for two prospects. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe was first to report the Red Sox were receiving Valdez and Abreu.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Red Sox Acquire Tommy Pham

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The Red Sox and Reds have announced a deal that will send outfielder Tommy Pham to Boston. Cincinnati will receive a player to be named later or cash considerations in return.

It’s a bit of a surprising move for a Boston team that just agreed to deal away its primary catcher, Christian Vázquez, to the Astros. Yet Red Sox president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom has maintained they’re not approaching the deadline with a strict “buyer’s” or “seller’s” mentality. Rather, Boston has taken a flexible approach that has seen them ship out Vázquez and listen to offers on designated hitter J.D. Martinez while bringing in players like Pham and backstop Reese McGuire. The Sox enter play Monday 3 1/2 games out in the American League Wild Card race, leaving them to navigate a difficult position for the stretch run.

Boston is trying to thread a needle of gaining some long-term talent while not completely punting on the 2022 campaign, and it stands to reason further moves are on the horizon. In Pham, they add a right-handed bat to a corner outfield mix that has been very disappointing. Left fielder Alex Verdugo has underwhelmed to the tune of a .269/.308/.376 showing with just six homers in 402 plate appearances. The club’s right fielders — primarily Jackie Bradley Jr. — are hitting .199/.262/.316.

Pham, who signed a one-year deal with the Reds in Spring Training, has been a bit more productive than Boston’s incumbent corner outfielders. The 34-year-old owns a .238/.320/.374 line with 11 homers in 387 trips to the plate. His 10.9% walk rate, while a career low, is still a bit better than league average. He consistently makes a fair amount of hard contact, although his power output hasn’t aligned with his above-average exit velocities. That’s largely because Pham hits plenty of ground-balls, but he should nevertheless represent an offensive improvement over the Sox’s internal options.

With Cincinnati, Pham played exclusively left field or designated hitter. He figures to see the bulk of his playing time in Fenway in left, with Verdugo presumably kicking to right field and curtailing Bradley’s playing time. Bloom was in the Rays front office during Pham’s peak days with Tampa Bay, and he’s clearly hopeful the veteran outfielder can rediscover something resembling that productive form.

Pham is making $6MM this season, with a bit more than $2MM of that left to be paid. There’s no mention of cash considerations, so it seems Cincinnati will save a bit of money for stretch run. The Reds are likely to get a minor prospect for a player who’d been slated to hit the free agent market after this season.

Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic first reported the Reds were in agreement on a Pham trade. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com named the Red Sox as one of two finalists for Pham. Jim Bowden of the Athletic first reported the Red Sox were acquiring Pham. C. Trent Rosecrans of the Athletic reported the Reds were receiving a player to be named later.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

White Sox, Red Sox Swap Reese McGuire For Jake Diekman

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6:40pm: The White Sox announced the trade, adding that they’re also sending a player to be named later or cash to the Red Sox as part of the swap.

6:11pm: The White Sox are trading catcher Reese McGuire to the Red Sox, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN. Robert Murray of FanSided reports that veteran left-handed reliever Jake Diekman is headed to Chicago in the deal.

McGuire, 27, will give Boston an immediate option to take some of the playing time vacated by this evening’s trade of Christian Vazquez to the Astros. While McGuire has never managed to string together much consistency in the big leagues, he’s a former top prospect with an additional three seasons of club control remaining beyond the current year. He’s hitting just .225/.261/.285 on the season but has outstanding defensive marks on the year: +7 Defensive Runs Saved, a 31% caught-stealing rate and positive pitch-framing grades from both FanGraphs and Statcast.

McGuire is out of minor league options, so the acquisition suggests that the Red Sox plan on carrying him on the big league roster for the foreseeable future. With Vazquez now in Houston and Kevin Plawecki set to become a free agent following the season, McGuire will at least give the Sox a defensive-minded option to be a backup next year. Prospects Ronaldo Hernandez and Connor Wong give the Sox some in-house options to step up in 2023 (and perhaps down the stretch this year), but the front office could also look at ways to upgrade behind the dish in the offseason (or, potentially, with further trades in the next 22 hours).

The 35-year-old Diekman, meanwhile, will give Chicago a veteran left-handed option the front office was rumored to be seeking. He’s having a somewhat typical season by his standards, missing plenty of bats but also walking far too many hitters. Command has always been an issue for Diekman, who currently has a 4.23 ERA with a 29.8% strikeout rate but the worst walk rate of any qualified reliever in the Majors (17.5%).

Despite the deluge of free passes, Diekman will add a hard-throwing, swing-and-miss southpaw to the late-inning mix for manager Tony La Russa. He’s playing on a two-year, $8MM contract that spans the 2022-23 seasons and carries a $4MM club option for the 2024 campaign. As such, the ChiSox can count Diekman among their late-inning options at least for one more season and perhaps for two, depending on how he fares over the next 14 months.

The White Sox have been without lefty Aaron Bummer for most of the summer thanks to a strained lat, and touted young lefty Garrett Crochet underwent Tommy John surgery early in the season. That led general manager Rick Hahn and his staff to target some additional lefty help in the bullpen. Tanner Banks, a 30-year-old rookie, had previously been La Russa’s only other southpaw option out of the ’pen. Triple-A lefties Anderson Severino and Bennett Sousa are both on the 40-man roster, but each has been hit quite hard this season in limited MLB work.

Astros Showing Interest In Christian Vazquez, Ji-Man Choi

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The Astros have reportedly been in the mix for upgrades at catcher and at first base, prominently connected to both Willson Contreras and Josh Bell. However, while those two represent the arguable top options at those respective positions, the asking price on both has been high, and Houston is exploring alternative options. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes this morning that the ’Stros “are focusing more on Vazquez” than Contreras at this point, adding that they’ve also expressed interest in Rays first baseman/designated hitter Ji-Man Choi.

Vazquez, 32 in three weeks, is a more straightforward trade candidate than Choi. The longtime Red Sox backstop is playing out the final season of a contract extension he inked several years ago and will be a free agent at season’s end. Boston is sitting in the AL East cellar at present. Although the Sox are still just 3.5 games back for the final American League Wild Card spot, they’d need to leapfrog four teams to get there. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom isn’t expected to be an all-out seller, but he’s likely to listen to offers on veteran rentals such as Vazquez and designated hitter J.D. Martinez.

The veteran Vazquez is enjoying a quality seasons on both sides of the ball. He’s hitting .282/.327/.432 (111 wRC+) with eight homers, 20 doubles and a 16% strikeout rate — the second-lowest rate of his career. He’s also notched a +5 Defensive Runs Saved mark and boasts a 30% caught-stealing rate. He’s been narrowly below average in terms of framing, according to both FanGraphs and Statcast, but it’s been a strong all-around year for Vazquez, whose $7MM salary is plenty affordable for most teams — particularly a deep-pocketed club like the Astros. The Sox are reportedly seeking MLB-ready help even in return for their rental pieces, however, which surely complicates matters for the Astros and other interested parties.

Choi, who just turned 31 a couple months ago, is a bit more of an outside-the-box trade candidate. The Rays are currently in possession of that final AL Wild Card spot which the Red Sox are chasing, and the left-handed-hitting Choi has been an important part of their lineup. In 296 plate appearances, Choi is hitting .255/.355/.415  with eight home runs, 16 doubles and a hefty 13.5% walk rate. He has a lengthy track record of thumping right-handed pitching, evidenced by a .252/.359/.464 batting line when holding the platoon advantage.

Lefties have given Choi a harder time. He’s hitting .325 against them this season, granted, but that’s come in a tiny sample of 43 plate appearances. His success against southpaws in this year’s tiny sample is plenty suspect; he’s punched out in 37.2% of his plate appearances against them and is sporting a wholly unsustainable .520 BABIP against same-handed opponents. In all likelihood, he’d fall into a platoon in Houston, yielding at-bats against lefties to Astros stalwart Yuli Gurriel.

Choi is an atypical trade candidate not only due to his status as a productive hitter on a current playoff team but also because he’s controlled beyond the current season. He’s earning an affordable $3.2MM salary this season and would earn one final raise in arbitration this winter before reaching free agency following the 2023 campaign. The Rays, however, have affordable options to step in for Choi at first base, including Yandy Diaz, Harold Ramirez and Isaac Paredes. Top prospect Curtis Mead looks Major League ready after ripping through Double-A and Triple-A this season, too. Furthermore, Tampa Bay has a knack for finding and maximizing the production of undervalued platoon bats of this nature. Choi himself was acquired from the Brewers in a low-profile trade for utilityman Brad Miller in 2018 and has been a fixture in the Rays’ lineup since.

If the Rays were to trade Choi or any other member of their current roster, it surely wouldn’t be a sign that they’re pivoting to a classic “seller” mindset. Tampa Bay walks this line every year, regularly trading quality big leaguers who are inching closer to free agency while simultaneously adding some help in other swaps. They flipped reliever Diego Castillo to the Mariners at last year’s deadline, for instance, and they’re less than 48 hours removed from acquiring veteran outfielder David Peralta from Arizona.

Latest On Red Sox’ Deadline Plans

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As the calendar flipped from June to July, the Red Sox were sitting on a record of 43-33 and holding onto an American League Wild Card spot. However, this has been a disastrous month for them, in which they went 8-19. Now their record is 51-52, placing them 3 1/2 games behind the Rays for the final playoff spot, with three teams in between.

Due to that slide, there’s been recent chatter about the club giving consideration to trading impending free agents such as J.D. Martinez, Christian Vazquez and Nathan Eovaldi. With less than 48 hours remaining until the trade deadline, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports that financial considerations will be a factor in discussions between the Red Sox and other teams. According to Speier, the front office will think about ducking under the luxury tax but will not be required to do so. It’s even possible that they could take on additional salary commitments if it meant adding more prospect talent to the system.

The Red Sox have paid the luxury tax in the past but have been trying to run lower payrolls in recent years. Most famously, or infamously, Boston traded away Mookie Betts and David Price as a means of shedding salary. However, they did some aggressive spending this past winter, most notably the six-year, $140MM contract given to Trevor Story, putting them back over the CBT line for this year. Jason Martinez of Roster Resource estimates their current CBT number is just over $238MM, placing them $8MM beyond the lowest $230MM threshold. (Speier says they are about $7MM over the line.) Since luxury tax status isn’t determined until the offseason, the Sox could still lower their CBT number and avoid all penalties.

Trading Martinez alone would go most of the way, or perhaps all of the way, to getting Boston back under the line. He’s making a salary of just over $19MM this year, but a player’s contribution to the luxury tax calculation is based on the average annual value of the player’s entire contract. Since his deal was for $110MM over five years, it comes with an AAV and CBT hit of $22MM this year. At the time of the trade deadline, there will be just over a third of the season remaining, meaning the Red Sox can chop about $7.5MM off of their luxury tax calculation if they find another team to take on the entirety of the remainder of the Martinez contract. Eovaldi and Vazquez have lower AAVs of $17MM and $7MM, respectively. That means an Eovaldi trade could subtract about $5.8MM from the ledger and about $2.4MM in the case of Vazquez. If the Boston brass decide they need to get under the line, it’s certainly something they can achieve by moving some combination of this trio.

This approach will appeal to certain teams but not others, of course. Teams with lower payrolls could potentially prefer to pay a higher prospect cost in order to take on less salary, but there are also teams in the opposite camp. For example, the Mets are reportedly looking to buy at the deadline but would rather take on money than give up prospects.

However, the Red Sox are also apparently willing to go in another direction, giving thought to using some financial heft to absorb some salary as a means of bolstering their system. The Red Sox have a large number of contracts coming off the books this year, in addition to those already mentioned. Enrique Hernandez, Michael Wacha, Rich Hill, Matt Strahm and Kevin Plawecki are set to reach the open market as well. Furthermore, option decisions could subtract even more money from the 2023 payroll, most notably that owed to Xander Bogaerts, who is widely expected to opt out of his contract in a few months. That gives the Red Sox a CBT number of just under $108MM for next season, according to Jason Martinez. That doesn’t include raises for arbitration eligible players, including Rafael Devers, but it does include Bogaerts. If Bogaerts is indeed subtracted from the ledger, the arbitration players won’t raise that number by much. If Boston is willing to inflate their luxury tax payment this year, they could be in good position to “reset” their CBT status next year. (There are escalating penalties for paying the luxury tax in consecutive seasons, meaning that even the teams with the highest payrolls often find ways to periodically avoid the tax in order to avoid such a scenario.)

All in all, the Red Sox are shaping up to be one of the most interesting teams to watch as we approach the trade deadline, which is at 5pm on August 2. Since they are on a precipice between the contenders and the rebuilders, they might try to walk a line between the two customary “buying” and “selling” strategies. One thing that seems to be off the table, however, is a full-scale rebuild that sees the team strip things down in a serious way. Bogaerts recently said that he was told that he will not be traded, and now Devers has said the same, per Rob Bradford of WEEI. Bradford also relays, however, that there have been no recent contract talks with Bogaerts and the club, meaning it’s still quite possible he opts out at the end of the year, with the club sure to extend him a qualifying offer at that time. Speier also relays word from Vazquez, who also has not had any recent talks about a new contract. Though there are still many possible permutations, it seems that Boston’s roster is headed for a significant shakeup, either this week or in the offseason or both.

Cardinals Interested In Jake Odorizzi

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Frankie Montas has been the name most attached to the Cardinals in their pitching search, yet St. Louis has also been exploring other rotation options.  The Cards and Astros have discussed the possibility of a trade involving veteran righty Jake Odorizzi, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.  In addition, such names as Noah Syndergaard and Nathan Eovaldi were “at least discussed internally” by the Cardinals’ front office as possible targets.

Odorizzi has been on the Cards’ radar for some time, as the club considered signing the right-hander as a free agent during the 2020-21 offseason.  Instead, Odorizzi signed a two-year deal with Houston worth $23.25MM in guaranteed money, with the 2023 season also covered via a $6.25MM player option with a $3.25MM buyout.  A variety of injuries have limited Odorizzi to 157 2/3 innings over his two years with the Astros, but he has posted a 4.22 ERA despite only a 19.5% strikeout rate.  The righty has relied on above-average walk rates and (in 2022) an outstanding hard-contact rate to retire batters.

Acquiring Odorizzi would have some echoes of the Cards’ deadline moves last year, when they landed veterans Jon Lester, J.A. Happ, and Wade LeBlanc in the wake of several rotation injuries.  Odorizzi at least has much better bottom-line results than that trio did when St. Louis swung those trades, and yet the Cardinals’ hope in a turn-around was rewarded, as all three pitched well and helped the Cards reach the wild card game.

St. Louis fans weren’t overly impressed with the club’s strategy at last year’s deadline, and given all the other big names linked to the Cards in trade rumors this summer, landing “only” Odorizzi to address the rotation could be again seen as underwhelming.  However, since the A’s are known to be asking for a ton for Montas and surely the Angels and Red Sox would want a good return even for rentals like Syndergaard or Eovaldi, Odorizzi could be a decent Plan C-type of option if the Cards feel the other asking prices are too high…..or, if the Cardinals direct their prospect capital towards acquiring someone like Juan Soto.

It is also possible that the Cardinals could land more than one of these pitchers, as the club has an increasingly acute need for rotation depth.  Beyond Adam Wainwright, Miles Mikolas, Andre Pallante, Dakota Hudson (activated off the 15-day injured list today) and Matthew Liberatore comprise the current starting five, as Jack Flaherty is still weeks away from returning from shoulder problems.

Steven Matz was supposed to provide some help when he returned from his own IL stint last week, except the left-hander tore his MCL in his return start.  It isn’t known yet if Matz will need surgery, yet President of baseball operations John Mozeliak told Goold and other reporters today that there is only a “sliver” of a chance Matz pitches again in 2022, and it will be “very, very difficult to get him back this year.”

Turning to the Astros’ situation, trading Odorizzi would seem like an unusual move for a World Series contender that theoretically would want as much pitching depth as possible for a deep run through October.  However, the Astros could feel they have such depth already, with a six-man rotation on the active roster, Lance McCullers Jr. on his way back from the 60-day IL, and some other young arms in reserve in the minors.

To that end, Houston has reportedly been willing to discuss trades of controllable pitchers with other teams.  Odorizzi doesn’t exactly fit that description, of course, but it would seem like the Astros would be a lot more open to moving a veteran rather than a longer-term rotation piece like Cristian Javier or Jose Urquidy.

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