Moore: Royals Would Have “Crazy” Asking Price On Merrifield
Royals GM Dayton Moore strongly downplayed the likelihood of the team dealing away star utilityman Whit Merrifield, as Tom Martin of KCTV5 covers (video link, on Twitter). Calling Merrifield “one of the best players in all of baseball right now,” Moore says “the ask would be just crazy” if rivals come calling this summer.
It’s sensible for the K.C. exec to take a strong public position on Merrifield with the deadline now in sight. After all, he’d surely need something truly compelling to justify parting with a player who has now fully established himself as a high-quality all-around performer who’d improve any team in the league given his defensive versatility.
At the same time, Moore has now set a rather lofty standard at the outset of the trade season. Perhaps the Royals really do not have any interest at all in moving Merrifield. If they’d like to consider offers, though, they’ll now have to deal with a public perception that any return must be overwhelming.
There is an argument to be made that Merrifield would best be utilized as a trade piece. The Royals seem to be a ways from contention and still need to gather up youthful, controllable core assets.
Merrifield is already 30 years of age, which won’t be a turnoff to contenders but perhaps places him outside the optimal range for the Royals. He’s signed to quite an appealing contract that would suit most any budget, making him a high-value trade target. We just ranked Merrifield tenth on our initial list of the top 2019 deadline candidates, but that placement would be much higher if he was clearly available. Merrifield would perhaps be the most widely pursued position player on the market if put up for bidding.
Angels Activate Justin Upton, Designate Cesar Puello
The Angels announced today that Justin Upton has been activated from the injured list. He’ll take the active and 40-man roster spots of fellow outfielder Cesar Puello, who was designated for assignment.
It’s obviously good news for the Halos to finally welcome Upton back to the active roster. He hasn’t yet suited up owing to a turf toe injury that proved surprisingly problematic. The slugger is a key piece of a roster that has not performed as hoped to this stage of the season.
That said, the L.A. org won’t be able to hope for much of a production bump over Puello. The 28-year-old has produced a hefty .390/.500/.683 output with three home runs in fifty plate appearances this year. That far outstrips anything he had shown previously, though it’s fair to note that Puello has been a steady offensive producer in the high minors for several seasons.
Blue Jays Activate David Phelps
The Blue Jays have activated right-hander David Phelps, Scott Mitchell of TSN.com reports on Twitter. He’ll take the roster spot of fellow right-hander Justin Shafer.
Phelps is back in the majors following a lengthy rehab process after Tommy John surgery. He made four scoreless minor-league appearances, compiling four strikeouts without a walk, and was finally deemed ready to get back to the MLB mound for the first time since 2017.
If all goes well, the Toronto org could have another trade chip on its hands. Phelps inked a one-year, $2.5MM deal that includes a floating-value option. His earning power will depend quite a bit on how frequently he throws, as he can tap incentives and boost the option value based upon the number of appearances he makes this year.
At his best, Phelps was a quality relief arm, who ran up 142 1/3 innings of 2.72 ERA pitching from 2016 to 2017. That track record earned him this contract in spite of the TJ procedure, but his showing from this point forward will determine his trade value and future in the majors.
Padres To Promote Logan Allen
The Padres will promote highly regarded pitching prospect Logan Allen, according to MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. The southpaw is expected to make a start tomorrow.
Acquired as part of the 2015 Craig Kimbrel deal, Allen has steadily climbed the prospect charts over the past several seasons. The former eighth-round pick, now 22 years of age, cracked most top-100 charts entering the current campaign.
Allen hasn’t exactly been at his most impressive in 2019, though the offensively robust PCL surely hasn’t helped his stat sheet. Through 57 2/3 innings, he carries a 5.15 ERA with 63 strikeout sand 22 walks.
This continues the Padres’ season-long strategy of rotating up young arms to the MLB roster. That approach hasn’t led to much in the way of stable starting pitching, though it has allowed the team preserve its talent base while trying to compete. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the results have been uneven.
MLBTR Chat Transcript: Clint Frazier, Hand, MadBum
Click here to read a transcript of today’s chat with Tim Dierkes.
Phillies Activate Roman Quinn, Place Jerad Eickhoff On IL
The Phillies announced a series of roster moves today, including the activation of outfielder Roman Quinn. He’ll take the place of fellow outfielder Nick Williams, who was optioned down.
Meanwhile, the Phils placed righty Jerad Eickhoff on the 10-day injured list with what the team is labeling right biceps tendinitis. He’ll be replaced for the time being by reliever Edgar Garcia.
Quinn, 26, has shown promise at times but has rarely stayed healthy long enough for a full assessment. The toolsy youngster is back from a groin strain that cost him a big chunk of the early portion of the season. He ought to have a solid opportunity in the run-up to the trade deadline to prove he deserves a steady outfield job.
Eickhoff returned well after a long injury layoff, but was recently been bumped to the bullpen after a rough stretch. His first relief recent outing was even worse, as he was bombed for five earned runs on six hits (including two long balls) while recording just three outs. He’ll get a chance to take a breather and try to build back towards the majors.
Cardinals Select Rangel Ravelo’s Contract
12:05pm: The move is now official. Righty Mike Mayers was moved to the 60-day IL to create 40-man space.
1:06am: The Cardinals are set to add minor league infielder Rangel Ravelo to their big league roster, The Athletic’s Robert Murray reports (Twitter link). Ravelo’s contract should be selected prior to the Cards’ game with the Marlins on Monday night. Yairo Munoz is headed to the paternity list, which will create a spot for Ravelo on the Cards’ 25-man roster, though a 40-man spot will still need to be created.
MLB.com doesn’t rank Ravelo as one of the Cardinals’ top 30 prospects, though the 27-year-old put up strong numbers during Spring Training this year, and then rebounded from an oblique injury to hit .333/.414/.543 with nine home runs over 249 PA for Triple-A Memphis. Speaking to Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch last week, Cards president of baseball operations John Mozeliak cited Ravelo as “not a name I’d rule out” in regards to a promotion.
Ravelo has played mostly first base and left field in recent years, with some work as as right fielder as well. Since Paul Goldschmidt has first base spoken for in St. Louis, Ravelo seems likely to step into the corner outfield mix, though he is something of an imperfect fit on a roster already overloaded with right-handed bats. Of course, this assumes that Ravelo will be up in the majors for anything beyond a cup of coffee, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that Jedd Gyorko is expected back from the 10-day injured list on Tuesday. Ravelo could very well find himself back in Memphis in 24 hours’ time, without having officially made his Major League debut.
A sixth-round pick for the White Sox in the 2010 draft, Ravelo has consistently hit for high averages and shown a lot of on-base skills in amassing a .301/.372/.444 slash line over 3383 career plate appearances in the minors. After spending his first five pro seasons in Chicago’s farm system, he was part of a notable trade in December 2014, going along with Marcus Semien, Josh Phegley and Chris Bassitt to the Athletics in exchange for Jeff Samardzija and Michael Ynoa. Ravelo originally came to the Cards on a minors contract in April 2017.
AL Notes: Yankees, Luzardo, Royals
Here are a few interesting recent notes from the American League …
- While the era of value-conscious roster building hasn’t yet resulted in the desired number of World Championships, the Yankees have had plenty of success. And whatever one may say about the overall strategy, it’s hard to argue with most of the trades engineered by GM Brian Cashman, Ken Dadvidoff of the New York Post argues. Even if the players acquired by the Yanks haven’t always panned out as hoped, the club has not had much cause for regretting the young talent it parted with. It’s worth noting that there is one other deal that may have cost the Yanks dearly: the November 2017 trade of Caleb Smith and Garrett Cooper to the Marlins, which was seen at the time as little more than a roster clean-out. The player the Yankees added in that deal, young pitcher Mike King, emerged after the swap. But he has been slowed by elbow issues, while Smith and Cooper have emerged as quality MLB performers this year.*
- We’ve known for a while that Jesus Luzardo would be on the move back toward the majors for the Athletics, but it remained to be seen how he’d look after a lengthy absence for shoulder problems. The youngster has only increased the excitement with his performance. He ran up nine strikeouts in four innings in his latest High-A appearance and earned a bump back up to Triple-A, as Martin Gallegos of MLB.com tweets. It’s still possible the 21-year-old could be held down for a while after he’s deemed at full health, but the A’s are surely also anxious to get him onto the MLB roster. There’s no word yet whether fellow rehabbing southpaw pitching prospect A.J. Puk will also move up to the highest level of the minors.
- Veteran K.C. Star scribe Sam Mellinger delivered a realistic assessment of the Royals‘ immediate outlook. The club signaled in mid-May that it believed it might be competitive for a Wild Card. GM Dayton Moore says he legitimately “expected more wins.” But as Mellinger explains, there’s an undeniable disconnect between expectations — particularly, those projected publicly — and the results on the field. There have been some notable successes, but the Royals have in the aggregate been nearly as bad as an unabashedly rebuilding Orioles club. Mellinger is careful to note that Moore and his top lieutenants aren’t at immediate risk of being replaced, particularly given their incredible achievements in recent years. It’s an interesting look at the state of a uniquely situated organization. Mellinger also notes that righties Jakob Junis and Scott Barlow have drawn some trade inquiries, though neither has been consistently effective this year and both have plenty of cheap control remaining.
*The initial version of this post mistakenly stated that King had undergone Tommy John surgery. We regret the error.
Phillies Outright Phil Gosselin
The Phillies have outrighted infielder Phil Gosselin after he cleared waivers, per a club announcement. He has been assigned to Triple-A, but still has the right to reject the assignment.
While the 30-year-old Gosselin brings a solid and versatile glove, he has never really come around fully with the bat. He’s slashing .262/.310/.356 in 629 career plate appearances in the majors. Gosselin is a .291 hitter in over a thousand trips to the dish at Triple-A, but only carries a .338 OBP and .399 slug at the highest level of the minors.
MLBTR Poll: Grade The Edwin Encarnacion Swap
The Yankees struck early over the weekend, lining up a deal with the Mariners to bring in slugger Edwin Encarnacion. It’ll reportedly cost the club a pitching prospect (Juan Then) and something like $7MM in salary obligations (approximately half of the remainder owed by the M’s this season and on a 2020 option buyout).
(I’d like to crow over the fact that I prognosticated EE as the next player to be traded in a recent chat. Unfortunately, I was also a bit dismissive in discussing the Yankees as a possible suitor.)
It’s hard not to love the potential look of the Yanks’ lineup with Encarnacion added to the mix. He was obliterating opposing pitching to the tune of a .241/.356/.531 slash line and 21 home runs in Seattle. With fellow righty sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton on the mend, to say nothing of the players already on the active roster at the moment, the Bronx Bombers could have an otherworldly array of power bats down the stretch.
There’s certainly an argument that the New York organization should see starting pitching as its top priority. And that may well be the case. Adding EE hardly precludes further moves to add arms. The Yankees did take on luxury tax obligations and creep closer to the highest penalty level with this swap. But the deal also could help free the team to utilize young outfielder Clint Frazier in an ensuing move.
The Yanks hold the edge in the AL East at the moment, but it’s a precarious hold. The Rays seem to be here to stay while the Red Sox have steadily moved back into range. Adding Encarnacion provides an immediate boost, protects against further injury issues or setbacks, and creates immense lineup upside. On the other hand, it’s a costly move on an older player who joins a collection of defensively limited sluggers with Luke Voit already ensconced at first base and Judge & Stanton perhaps warranting some DH time when they return.
How do you grade the move? (Poll link for app users.)
Grade the Yankees' Acquisition of Edwin Encarnacion
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A 45% (7,107)
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B 34% (5,316)
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C 13% (2,118)
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F 4% (599)
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D 4% (572)
Total votes: 15,712