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Jonathan Papelbon Nearing Decision; Red Sox Have Interest

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4:13pm: The Red Sox certainly appear to have fairly strong interest, as manager John Farrell told reporters today that he has spoken with the former Boston standout. Though it isn’t immediately clear whether the club has an offer on the table, that level of dialogue suggests there could be a match.

11:53am: Via Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com/CBS Chicago, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said he hasn’t been told of any talks with Papelbon but also wouldn’t totally discount the notion of the right-hander joining the Cubs (Twitter link). Red Sox skipper John Farrell, meanwhile, more strongly hinted at the possibility that Papelbon could join his club (Twitter link via MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM): “We’ve talked about it, there’s some real strong points to ’Pap’ that could be an addition here.”

9:37am: Recently released Nationals right-hander Jonathan Papelbon is nearing a decision and is likely to sign with a new team in the next 24 hours, reports Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Bradford doesn’t specify how many teams have made an offer or are showing interest in the 35-year-old.

The Nats cut Papelbon loose last week, and he’s been somewhat speculatively linked to the Cubs, while Bradford reported not long after his release that Papelbon would welcome a return to Boston. (Notably, he writes today that it’s not clear if the Sox have any interest in a reunion.) It seems likely that Papelbon will land with a contending club, as there’s little sense in a rebuilding team adding a 35-year-old to its bullpen just seven weeks before he hits free agency. And from Papelbon’s perspective, joining a club with a shot at the postseason is a logical course of action.

There are plenty of red flags surrounding Papelbon, who has seen his fastball velocity, strikeout rate, walk rate and ground-ball rate all trend in the wrong direction over the past couple of years. The result in 2016 was an earned run average that quickly ballooned from 2.56 to 4.37 after he allowed nine runs in 3 1/3 innings over his final five outings with Washington. Many have questioned Papelbon’s clubhouse presence over the years as well, particularly following last year’s dugout altercation with Bryce Harper, but Nationals teammates defended Papelbon’s character to to the media following his release, and Cubs lefty Jon Lester gave him a nice endorsement as a teammate just yesterday. Beyond that, whatever team signs Papelbon would only need to pay him the pro-rated portion of the league minimum for the remainder of the season, so the most he’d cost a new team would be just $130K through season’s end.

Lester Would Endorse Papelbon Signing

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If the Cubs do ultimately pursue Jonathan Papelbon following his release from the Nationals, as has been speculated upon, lefty Jon Lester would endorse the move, he tells ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers. “He is crazy,” Lester joked, “but he’s no crazier than the rest of us. He just gets a bad rap for what happened in the dugout. Knowing Papelbon, I’ve always had good things to say about him as a teammate, how he respects the game and how he goes about his business. People are quick to jump to the conclusions based on one event. I think he’s a great teammate.” The event to which Lester is alluding, of course, is last year’s altercation with former teammate Bryce Harper, during which Papelbon placed his hands around Harper’s throat in a dugout argument. Rogers points out that Papelbon has been effective when afforded multiple days of rest between his appearances but has struggled otherwise — especially when pitching in consecutive games. Whether he’d be an upgrade at all for the Cubs is debatable, of course, but the loss of Pedro Strop and recent implosions by Carl Edwards and Hector Rondon have left Chicago’s setup corps appearing vulnerable.

Cubs, Joe Thatcher Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Cubs and veteran left-hander Joe Thatcher are in agreement on a minor league contract, reports SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (on Twitter). Thatcher had been with Cleveland on a minor league deal after signing in late July but had been on the temporarily inactive list and requested his release before ever appearing in a game with the Indians’ Triple-A affiliate. The entirety of his work at Triple-A this season has come with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate, where he logged a 3.60 ERA with 21 strikeouts against five walks in 15 innings. He’ll now report to the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate in Iowa, per Cotillo.

Thatcher, 34, has pitched at least 20 innings in the big leagues in each of the past four seasons, posting a sub-4.00 ERA in all four individual seasons and working to a combined 3.41 ERA with a 128-to-40 K/BB ratio in 124 innings. However, he hasn’t dominated opposing lefties since the 2012 season — .175/.239/.270 that year but .255/.332/.362 since — and has had to settle for minor league pacts such as this one in the past two years. Nonetheless, Thatcher is a veteran of nine big league seasons with a history of solid ERA marks, plenty of strikeouts and respectable control. His career ERA rests at 3.38, and he’s averaged 9.3 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 in his 260 2/3 big league innings.

For the Cubs, he’ll represent a depth option that could help the team later this month or in the month of September once rosters expand. The Cubs have bolstered their left-handed relief options by acquiring Aroldis Chapman and Mike Montgomery in trades (complementing holdover Travis Wood), but they also lost some left-handed depth when Clayton Richard went to the Padres after being designated for assignment.

John Lackey May Pitch Beyond 2017

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  • John Lackey spoke last season of signing one more two-year contract and then retiring, though ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that the right-hander could continue past the 2017 season if the desire and ability is still there.  Lackey is enjoying another solid season, and Olney notes that the veteran is actually posting a career high in fastball velocity at age 37 (though this velocity is a rather modest 91.8 mph, after six seasons in the 91.5-91.7 mph range).  Lackey would be 39 on Opening Day 2018, so if he is still pitching well, I would suspect he’d explore another contract with a contending team.  Staying with the Cubs may well be at the top of Lackey’s list given how the team seems to be entering a long-term contention window.
  • It’s no surprise that the big-market Cubs and Phillies are prepared to be big spenders in the coming years, though Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe notes that the traditionally low-payroll Marlins could also potentially become more open to big salaries.  With a new local TV contract on the horizon, the revenue increase could make the Marlins more likely to re-sign Jose Fernandez, who has long been considered a good bet to leave Miami in free agency after the 2018 season.

Cubs Notes: La Stella, Papelbon

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Even though Tommy La Stella hasn’t reported to Triple-A Iowa since the Cubs optioned him July 29, the team hasn’t yet closed the door on welcoming back the infielder this year, according to manager Joe Maddon (via Carrie Muskat of MLB.com). In regards to La Stella’s status, Maddon said Saturday, “I’m still very optimistic about him coming back, but nothing has changed.” Maddon added that La Stella will have to go the minors eventually and get some at-bats. Had he reported to Iowa by now, La Stella would have been on track to return to Chicago when rosters expand in September. But, with Iowa’s season set to end Sept. 5, time will become of the essence soon. Regardless, La Stella explained earlier this week that he’d rather “step away” from baseball than play for anyone other than the Chicago Cubs. The 27-year-old is currently on the temporary inactive list.

  • The Cubs are a potential fit for free agent reliever Jonathan Papelbon, whom the Nationals released Saturday, per Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago. Team president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer have an obvious familiarity with Papelbon from their days in Boston, where the executives signed and helped develop the right-hander, notes Levine. Moreover, although they had won 11 in a row before Saturday and are in possession of the majors’ best record (73-42), the Cubs do have some issues in the back of their bullpen. Excellent setup man Pedro Strop is on the shelf with a torn meniscus; fellow shutdown option Hector Rondon has a strained right triceps; Carl Edwards Jr., who entered Saturday thriving, surrendered five earned runs on four walks in 2/3 of an inning during the team’s 8-4 loss to the Cardinals; and deadline acquisition Joe Smith has yielded three home runs in his first three innings as a Cub. That would be less alarming if not for his underwhelming 2016 performance as an Angel prior to the trade.

Pedro Strop Diagnosed With Torn Meniscus

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Cubs reliever Pedro Strop has been diagnosed with a torn meniscus, the club announced (via Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, Twitter links). He’ll undergo surgery tomorrow, with the expectation that he could be back within four to six weeks.

Under the circumstances, that’s largely a positive outcome for the Cubs, who likely would have lost Strop for the year had he suffered a more significant knee injury. As things stand, he’ll seemingly be back in time for the end of the regular season. Righty Justin Grimm will be recalled to take Strop’s place on the roster for the time being.

[Related: Updated Cubs Depth Chart]

Strop, 31, has been nothing short of outstanding since coming over along with Jake Arrieta in the 2013 deal that delivered Scott Feldman to Baltimore. Over 207 2/3 frames in Chicago, Strop owns a 2.69 ERA with 10.8 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9. It has been more of the same this year, as he  not only carries a career-best K-BB% (24.9%) but also has drawn grounders on nearly six of ten balls in play.

Losing that kind of productivity from the back of the pen undoubtedly hurts, especially with Hector Rondon dealing with his own medical issues (albeit not as serious). Still, the Cubs just bolstered their relief corps with Aroldis Chapman and are sitting on a 12-game lead in the NL Central. Since Strop will likely be able to keep his arm in shape during his absence, the hope will be that he’ll hit the ground running and be at full strength before the final build-up to the post-season.

Strop Helped Off Field Following Knee Injury

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Cubs setup man Pedro Strop suffered a left knee injury while sliding to make a play on a weakly hit grounder last night and had to be helped off the field, as MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat writes. Strop will undergo an MRI today, at which point the club will know more about the amount of time he’ll need to miss. The Cubs’ bullpen is a bit thin at the moment as it is, with right-hander Hector Rondon dealing with a triceps issue (though Rondon has not been placed on the disabled list). A significant injury to Strop would be a substantial blow to the Cubs’ late-inning relief corps, as Strop has turned in a very strong 2.89 ERA with 11.5 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and a 59.6 percent ground-ball rate in 43 2/3 innings. His 50 relief appearances trail only Travis Wood for the team lead.

Luiz Escanio Receives 144-Game Suspension

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  • Major League Baseball has suspended Cubs right-handed prospect Luiz Escanio for 144 games without pay after he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, reports Carrie Muskat of MLB.com (Twitter link). That’s the second positive test for the 24-year-old Escanio, to whom the league handed a 72-game ban last summer after he was found to have used the anabolic steroid Stanozolol. Prior to his latest suspension, Escanio compiled a 1.45 ERA, 13.5 K/9 and 4.33 BB/9 in 18 2/3 innings in the Dominican Summer League.

Tommy La Stella Placed On Temporarily Inactive List

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9:59pm: La Stella went on the record with ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers and explained his perspective in a lengthy interview that I’d highly encourage all readers to check out in its entirety. La Stella harbors no ill feelings toward the Cubs for optioning him, stating that he told the team he “completely understand[s]” that it had to make a business decision. Rogers spoke to numerous Cubs players, including Jason Heyward, who offered La Stella nothing but support.

La Stella explains to Rogers that he contemplated retirement this offseason but came back for the 2016 season because of the close bond he shares with his Cubs teammates. He emphasized to Rogers that his decision to head home wasn’t a reaction to being sent down, but rather was made because he has no desire to play anywhere other than with the Cubs. “There wasn’t much more that went into it than ’this is where I want to be,'” said La Stella. “It was as simple as that. It didn’t feel right to me to go be somewhere else just to continue playing. That’s not what my thoughts center around, being a ballplayer and making it happen anyway possible. We all have a right to dictate what we do to some extent.”

Further demonstrating that his decision isn’t a product of trying to leverage his way back into the Major Leagues, La Stella said he’d rather “step away” from baseball entirely than be traded to another club, even if it meant being on a big league roster. He added that conversations with president of baseball operations Theo Epstein have been positive, and Epstein understands where he’s coming from. La Stella still hopes to return to the Cubs.

La Stella’s comments, like recent ones made by Jonathan Lucroy when explaining his decision to veto a trade, serve as a reminder that despite the large salaries and extraordinarily public nature of their employment, there are human elements behind all of the transactions that we, as observers, often take for granted. La Stella cites a history of injuries and other factors that he deems personal in nature as contributing elements to his view of the game and his current situation. Again, MLBTR readers are strongly encouraged to go read all of La Stella’s comments in Rogers’ story linked above in order to add further context to the matter at hand.

5:45pm: La Stella has been placed on the temporarily inactive list in the minors, GM Jed Hoyer told reporters (Twitter link via Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune). Beyond that, he adds that La Stella is not presently ill and concedes that his situation has created a need for the organization to seek a left-handed bat.

5:03pm: Infielder Tommy La Stella has yet to report to Triple-A Iowa after being optioned to the minors by the Cubs back on July 29, and manager Joe Maddon appeared on the Spiegel and Goff Show on 670 The Score today to address the issue (transcript with audio link available).

“I’ve texted and talked to him, and we’ve had other folks talk to him also,” said Maddon. “Right now, I don’t have any kind of conclusion for you honestly. He’s working out back near his home in New Jersey. He’s hitting, he’s running, those kinds of things. So we’re just waiting for him to decide exactly what he wants to do. … Pretty much, the ball is literally in Tommy’s court right now. We love having him here. He’s a great teammate. He’s a very good player. Do we want to have him back? Absolutely, but pretty much, it’s his decision that he has to make for himself.”

La Stella was optioned in order to make room for outfielder Chris Coghlan to be activated from the DL and reportedly did not take the news well. The 27-year-old’s frustration with the move is understandable, as he’s been quite productive in 2016, hitting .295/.388/.457 with a pair of homers in 122 plate appearances while playing both second and third base. La Stella, though, had minor league options remaining, whereas Coghlan did not. As such, the Cubs optioned the far more productive hitter — Coghlan owns a woeful .158/.253/.276 slash in 229 plate appearances — due to the fact that Coghlan could not be sent down without first being exposed to waivers.

Players typically have 72 hours to report to the minors after being optioned out, though Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register reported last week that the Cubs gave La Stella some extra time for what a team spokesperson called personal reasons. Based on Maddon’s comments, it’s unclear when or if La Stella will ultimately report, and the skipper acknowledged on the radio that the unusual circumstances have potentially strained the relationship between team and player: “…just doing what he’s doing right now is probably going to create a little bit more strain in the sense of regarding him coming back.”

Regardless of whether or not he plays another game in the Majors this year, La Stella will finish the season with more than two years of big league service time, making him controllable through the 2020 season and arbitration-eligible following the 2017 season (assuming he accrues the necessary service next year). He’s a career .263/.341/.358 hitter in 577 plate appearances.

Cubs, Josh Collmenter Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Cubs and former D-backs right-hander Josh Collmenter are in agreement on a minor league contract, reports SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (links to Twitter). The Sparta Group client was designated for assignment and released by Arizona last week.

After serving as Arizona’s Opening Day starter in 2015, the 30-year-old Collmenter spent the first six weeks of the season on the disabled list due to shoulder tightness and returned in the bullpen, where he struggled in limited action. In 22 1/3 innings, he posted a 4.84 ERA with a 17-to-11 K/BB ratio and a 47.7 percent ground-ball rate. Prior to the 2016 season, though, Collmenter was a durable and versatile piece of the Diamondbacks’ pitching staff. From 2011-15, he made 75 starts and 110 relief appearances with Arizona, working to a 3.49 ERA with 6.3 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9.

Chicago obviously has a tremendous rotation, featuring Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, John Lackey and Jason Hammel, so it seems likelier that Collmenter will be looked at as a bullpen option than a rotation cog. Once his deal is finalized, Collmenter will have a bit of work to do to get back up to game speed, as his last appearance on a big league mound was just over two weeks ago (July 25).

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