Remembering The A’s-Cubs 2014 July 4th Special
July 4th is always a day of pageantry around the game of baseball, though it’s typically quiet on the trade front. Five years ago today, however, the Athletics and Cubs produced some rare fireworks with a memorable swap that created quite the butterfly effect.
The Oakland organization acquired not one, but two top trade targets of that year’s summer market in Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel. Prying both loose nearly a month before the deadline meant coughing up one of the game’s best prospects in Addison Russell, along with a nice secondary piece in Billy McKinney. Pitcher Dan Straily also went to Chicago to help the team fill innings.
This is the swap that forever gives credence to fan and media notions of “packaging” trade chips, a concept that has been mimicked since but remains relatively rare. The Cubs had good reason to put a big asking price on the two hurlers at that stage of the season.
Samardzija, a pitcher long lauded for his talent, had finally come into his own with a 2.83 ERA through 108 innings. He came with another year of arbitration eligibility, leaving ample leverage with the Cubs. The club could have auctioned him closer to the deadline, held him for a winter trade, or pursued an extension over the offseason to come.
Hammel also owned a sub-3.00 ERA at the time the deal came together, making him an excellent rental asset. His $6MM make-good deal worked out better than the Cubs ever could have anticipated. Top Chicago baseball decisionmaker Theo Epstein could plausibly tell his counterpart, Billy Beane of the A’s, that he would be glad to wait to see what he could get for Hammel on July 31st if Oakland wouldn’t pay full retail for both hurlers.
It was easy for the Cubs to pull the trigger when Russell was plugged in as the headliner. He then ranked as one of the dozen or so best prospects in the game. Best of all, he was already playing at the Double-A level, meaning the Cubs had good reason to believe they would get production out of him in the very near term. McKinney was also a significant trade piece, having only just been taken in the first round of the draft in the prior year.
For the Athletics, it goes without saying that this was an all-in move. At the time, the club was dominating the rest of the league, but facing a stern test from the Angels. Oakland’s all-in bid ultimately didn’t quite work out. The A’s went on to make another major summer strike for a starter, adding Jon Lester from the Red Sox. Lester (2.44 ERA) and Samardzija (3.14) threw quite well, while Hammel (4.26) faded but was sturdy enough. But the Athletics were out-raced by the Halos in the AL West. The A’s took a Wild Card slot, but lost one of the most memorable games of recent memory to the eventual American League-champion Royals.
Ironically, after starting that contest, Lester would end up signing with the Cubs in the ensuing offseason. He later said that the trade made it easier for him to imagine playing in a new city after spending his entire career in Boston. He ended up deciding to join Epstein, the former Sox GM, in Chicago….and ultimately played a key role in the club’s curse-breaking championship run.
Russell was also a key contributor in 2016, earning an All-Star nod and finishing the season with 21 home runs in his age-22 campaign. It seemed he was on his way to being a long-term stalwart and perhaps even a Chicago legend. That has all changed since. After some tepid work on the field, Russell was suspended following accusations of domestic abuse. The team has stuck with him since, but the sheen has long since worn off.
McKinney never appeared in a MLB uniform for the Cubs, but he would help the team out in another way. He again featured as a secondary piece in another major trade, going along with another elite infield prospect Gleyber Torres in the 2016 deal that landed the Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman and helped spur the team’s title run. Torres was no doubt seen as somewhat more expendable due to the presence of Russell and other good young infielders (especially Javy Baez, who has eclipsed him at short). But it no doubt stings quite a bit to see Torres starring in pinstripes.
This was also the first of a series of seemingly incongruous moves involving Straily. He was sent out in the ensuing offseason in the deal that brought Dexter Fowler to Chicago, beginning a notable chapter all its own for the Cubs organization. (That trade also involved the dearly departed Luis Valbuena.) Straily was swapped to the Padres in the following spring for journeyman catcher Erik Kratz, only to be claimed off waivers days later by the Reds. After a surprising 2016 campaign, Straily was shipped to the Marlins in a deal that landed the Reds then-prospect and current NL Cy Young candidate Luis Castillo (who was briefly a member of the Pads before being forcibly traded back to the Fish). Straily was released this spring after two useful but uninspiring seasons in Miami.
So, what of the two hurlers that spurred all this movement? Hammel may not have been at his best in Oakland, but that only helped the Cubbies get a deal to bring him back. They brought him in for an affordable $20MM over two years and certainly got their money worth. Hammel ended up throwing 337 1/3 innings of 3.79 ERA ball before he was sent back onto the open market, helping the team reach the World Series — though he did not crack the ’16 postseason roster.
Samardzija also ended up in Chicago, but with the cross-town White Sox. That swap allowed the A’s to recoup some of the lost prospect value, and, perhaps, get the last laugh in this whole scenario. In addition to Rangel Ravelo, who reached the majors briefly with the Cardinals, the deal brought in three players that remain in the Oakland organization. Marcus Semien effectively took Russell’s place as the long-term shortstop. That has turned out quite well for Oakland in and of itself, as Semien has easily outperformed Russell of late. He reached 3.7 fWAR last year and has already tabbed 3.1 in a breakout ’19 offensive campaign. The deal also included righty Chris Bassitt and catcher Josh Phegley, each of whom has had some ups and downs but currently features as a key cog for the 2019 A’s.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Latest On Mitch Haniger
The Mariners have temporarily halted Mitch Haniger‘s baseball activities, manager Scott Servais told reporters (including Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times, Jen Mueller of Root Sports, and MLB.com’s Greg Johns). Haniger underwent surgery to fix a ruptured testicle almost a month ago, and hasn’t yet begun a full injury rehab, instead just sticking to more basic workouts.
Even this has been a challenge, however, as Haniger reported some soreness while trying to increase his baseball-related activity, and was informed by a doctor that he needed to take a step back in the recovery process. “He’s just sore. We need to be really patient and give him time,” Servais said.
This isn’t the first setback for Haniger, as the initial hope was that he would already be back on the field by early July, though that timeline was recently pushed back until after the All-Star break. This latest news would seem to indicate that Haniger will be out of action for even longer, since he would seemingly need to ramp up his preparations in pain-free fashion and then embark on some minor league rehab games.
Rangers Release Shelby Miller
TODAY: The Rangers have placed Miller on unconditional release waivers, as per executive VP of communications John Blake (Twitter link). This might not necessarily be the end of Miller’s time with the organization, as MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan (via Twitter) reports “there has been some talking” between the two sides about Miller re-signing on a minor league deal and then pitching as a reliever at Triple-A.
MONDAY: The Rangers have designated righty Shelby Miller for assignment, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram was among those to cover on Twitter. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by recently claimed southpaw Jesse Biddle.
It’s understandable that the Texas organization finally ran out of patience with Miller, who signed a $2MM deal over the winter. Inked in hopes that he’d bounce back after a series of injury-ravaged campaigns, the former All-Star never gained traction in his new home.
Yanked from the rotation after eight messy starts, Miller has been hit nearly as hard in 14 2/3 innings as a reliever. All told, he carries a brutal 8.59 ERA with 30 strikeouts and 29 walks through 44 frames on the year.
Miller is throwing as hard as ever, with his average fastball sitting just under 95 mph, but that’s about the only promising aspect of his showing this year. He has induced opposing hitters to chase out of the zone just 21.2% of the time and carries a meager 7.5% swinging-strike rate.
By cutting the cord now, the Rangers will avoid paying roster and innings-pitched bonuses beyond those already accrued (a total of $400K for spending over ninety days on the active roster). That contractual factor likely didn’t play much of a role in the team’s decision, as it’d have been happy to pay up had Miller been producing at a worthwhile level.
Phillies Place Juan Nicasio On 10-Day Injured List
The Phillies announced that right-hander Juan Nicasio has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left groin strain. Southpaw Austin Davis has been called up from Triple-A to take Nicasio’s spot on the 25-man roster.
Acquired as part of the blockbuster trade with the Mariners that also brought Jean Segura and James Pazos to Philadelphia, Nicasio came to his new team looking to rebound from a 6.00 ERA (albeit with some very impressive peripheral numbers) over 42 innings in 2018. The results haven’t been quite been there this season either, as Nicasio has a 5.24 ERA, 8.1 K/9, and 2.07 K/BB rate over 34 1/3 frames.
Some of this damage has only recently been inflicted, and could potentially have been related to his injury — Nicasio has allowed six earned runs over his last two outings, totaling only two-thirds of an inning. Nicasio’s advanced metrics are again outperforming his real-world ERA, though his walks are up and his strikeout rate is down from his 2018 numbers.
The Phillies have been hit hard with reliever injuries this season, with Nicasio joining Seranthony Dominguez, David Robertson, Jerad Eickhoff, and Pat Neshek on the injured list. It isn’t known how much time Nicasio will miss, though the Phillies were already likely to be targeting bullpen upgrades at the deadline anyway given the middling numbers posted by their undermanned relief corps this season.
Twins Outright Andrew Vasquez Off 40-Man Roster
The Twins have outrighted southpaw Andrew Vasquez off their 40-man roster, according to multiple reporters (including Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press). Vasquez has been outrighted to Triple-A, where he has already been pitching for much of the season.
Vasquez made his MLB debut last September, appearing in nine games for Minnesota and posting a 5.40 ERA over five innings of work. He has only made one big league appearance in 2019, a very rough outing against the Mets on April 10 that saw Vasquez allow three earned runs without recording an out. The 25-year-old has also been dealing with injury, spending two separate stints on the Triple-A injured list this year due to shoulder problems.
Mets Notes: Matz, Ramos, Allan
Steven Matz has been a staple in the Mets’ rotation (when healthy) since his 2015 debut, but he’s recently been shifted to the bullpen in a move that manager Mickey Callaway hasn’t fully termed as temporary, Zach Braziller of the New York Post writes. While Callaway called Matz one of the team’s top five starters, the manager also declined to definitively state that Matz will return to the rotation. “I expect that after the All-Star break [he’ll be back in the rotation],” said Callaway, “but we’ll adjust if we need to.” That statement came prior to Matz’s bullpen debut last night — a scoreless outing. MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo writes that after the game, Callaway “hesitated multiple times” when asked about Matz’s return to the rotation and did indicate that he could stay in the ‘pen for a longer period of time. Matz himself spoke to DiComo and other reporters about the different feel of relief pitching and took a team-first approach, stating that he’s willing to pitch in any role the club feels will help win games.
More Mets talk…
- SNY’s John Harper opines that trading Wilson Ramos should be a priority for the Mets at the deadline, citing defensive issues that have led multiple pitchers to prefer throwing to Tomas Nido. Both Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard look like they’ll be paired with Nido moving forward, Harper writes. He quotes one unnamed official who suggests that part of Syndergaard’s 2019 struggles have come from pitching up in the zone more, some of which could be tied to Ramos’ struggles to block pitches in the dirt following a significant knee surgery late in his Nationals tenure. There’s no clear indication in the report that New York will actually look to jettison Ramos, who is an objectively better hitter than Nido even in a down season. Ramos has slashed .275/.348/.414 with nine homers while the 25-year-old Nido has displayed a continued inability to get on base. In 180 career plate appearances, Nido is a .209/.233/.308 hitter, including a .263 OBP in 80 trips to the plate in 2019. Defensive prowess aside, a .233 OBP is a tough sell even for a backup. Nido has walked only six times in his career despite primarily hitting eighth ahead of the pitcher.
- The Mets reached a deal last week with their third round pick, highly-touted high school right-hander Matthew Allan. The signing was the culmination of a bold gambit from the club’s front office, as The Athletic’s Tim Britton (subscription required) details how carving out the bonus pool space to meet Allan’s high asking price led to the Mets “manipulating our entire draft” to accommodate Allan, as GM Brodie Van Wagenen put it. After the third round, the Mets spent the rest of their picks in rounds 4-10 on college seniors, who had less negotiating leverage and thus signed for bonuses of $20K or less. A strong endorsement from scout Jon Updike also gave the Mets confidence that Allan would ultimately sign and begin his pro career, rather than attend college.
Yankees Release Logan Morrison
TODAY: Morrison has been released, Sherman tweets.
TUESDAY: Veteran first baseman Logan Morrison, who had a July 1 opt-out date in his minor league contract with the Yankees, has requested his unconditional release, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (Twitter link).
The Yankees placed Luke Voit on the injured list due to an abdominal strain earlier today but turned to Mike Ford, who was already on the 40-man roster, to replace him. After being passed over, Morrison’s camp apparently prefers to seek out a new opportunity.
Morrison, 31, had his 2018 campaign ruined by a hip injury that ultimately required surgery, but his outstanding Triple-A numbers suggest that he’s plenty recovered. In 164 plate appearances, LoMo raked at a .289/.341/.658 clip with 15 home runs and 11 doubles. He struck out just 26 times (15.9 percent) in that span as well. Unfortunately, those gaudy numbers only made him the second-most productive first base option in the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate; Ford has posted a whopping .318/.426/.650 slash in a larger number of plate appearances (263) and didn’t require a corresponding 40-man move like Morrison would have.
While last season’s poor numbers with the Twins are still fresh in everyone’s mind, they seem quite likely attributable to the labrum tear through which Morrison attempted to play. His last healthy campaign came with the Rays in 2017, when he hit .246/.353/.516 with a career-high 38 long balls. Given his production in Scranton, Morrison should have little difficulty finding another organization — likely one with a clearer path back to some Major League at-bats.
Mariners Acquire Matt Wisler
The Mariners have acquired right-hander Matt Wisler from the Padres in exchange for cash, the teams announced. Seattle had an opening on its 40-man roster, so a corresponding DFA or 60-day IL placement isn’t necessary. Wisler was designated for assignment by San Diego last week.
Wisler, 26, was once one of the game’s premier pitching prospects but has yet to find his footing at the MLB level. He’s shifted to a full-time relief role for the first time in 2019, and while the bottom-line numbers aren’t great — 5.28 ERA, five homers allowed in 29 innings — there’s also reason for optimism. Wisler is striking out a career-best 26.4 percent of opponents (10.6 K/9) thanks to a career-high 15.6 percent swinging-strike rate and 35.1 percent opponents’ chase rate. He’s also been plagued by a bloated .363 average on balls in play despite substantial drops in his opponents’ hard-hit rate and average exit velocity.
Opponents have batted .291/.344/.479 against Wisler in 2019 — good for a .349 weighted on-base average. But based on the quality of contact allowed and his enhanced strikeout tendencies, Statcast projects a more palatable .252 expected batting average, .394 expected slugging percentage and .314 weighted on-base average. Whether he’s able to turn things around in his new environs remains to be seen, but he’ll give the Mariners yet another fresh arm to trot out into an ever-changing bullpen mix. Wisler is out of minor league options, so he’ll have to improve at the MLB level or else once again be designated for assignment before he can potentially be sent to Triple-A.
Rays Place Brandon Lowe On Injured List
The Rays announced Wednesday that they’ve placed second baseman Brandon Lowe on the 10-day injured list due to a right shin contusion. Lowe, who was only recently named a All-Star replacement, fouled a ball off his shin Tuesday but remained in the game after talking things over with a trainer. Upon singling to left field with a shift-beating grounder, however, he was unable to run down the line and instead limped his way to first base. He exited the game thereafter. First baseman Nate Lowe is up from Triple-A Durham to take his roster spot. Tampa Bay also optioned righty Austin Pruitt to Durham and recalled fellow righty Jake Faria.
Lowe’s placement on the IL is retroactive to July 3, so he’ll be eligible to return to the club next Saturday for a doubleheader against the Orioles. That said, there’s no immediate timetable placed on his return, so it’s possible he’ll require a bit more than the minimum stay on the shelf. His injury initially looked remarkably similar to that of injured All-Star Tommy La Stella, who’ll miss up to 10 weeks with a fracture, so the Rays surely feel fortunate to have dodged that type of blow.
With Lowe on the injured list, the American League once again had an opening on the All-Star roster. Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres has been named to the All-Star team in place of Lowe, per a league announcement.
Brewers Select Deolis Guerra
The Brewers announced that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Deolis Guerra prior to today’s game, which fills the vacancy on their 40-man roster. Righty Aaron Wilkerson was optioned to Triple-A San Antonio to make room on the 25-man roster.
Offense in Triple-A is through the roof in 2019, but the 30-year-old Guerra nonetheless possesses a strong 2.61 ERA with 10.5 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 1.09 HR/9 and a 39.3 percent ground-ball rate. The former Mets and Twins prospect was a key part to the Johan Santana blockbuster way back in 2008 (raise your hand if you expected to see Guerra and Carlos Gomez, the headliner in that deal, garner headlines on consecutive days in 2019).
While Guerra never made it to the bigs in either New York or Minnesota, he’s seen MLB action with both the Pirates and the Angels, tossing 95 1/3 inning with a 4.17 ERA, 7.1 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9. His most recent action came with the Halos back in 2017, and while he didn’t post impressive bottom-line numbers that season (4.68 ERA), he did show off a 14.9 percent swinging-strike rate. Guerra has 167 punchouts in his last 146 2/3 Triple-A innings, so he’ll add a swing-and-miss arm for manager Craig Counsell — at least in the short term.