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Pirates Notes: Meadows, Cervelli, Deadline

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The Pirates announced yesterday that they’ve optioned outfielder Austin Meadows to Triple-A Indianapolis. Long one of the game’s top prospects, Meadows posted solid but unspectacular numbers in Indianapolis this season before breaking into the Majors on an otherworldly tear. Through his first 83 plate appearances, Meadows hit .346/.373/.654 with five homers, five doubles and two triples. But, he went on to slash just .247/.291/.288 in his next 79 PAs and had been largely relegated to a bench role when he was finally optioned. General manager Neal Huntington told reporters (link via MLB.com’s Adam Berry) that the move to send Meadows down to the minors “probably happened two or three days later than ideally it would have,” but the team wanted to preserve its outfield depth and flexibility with a doubleheader on Saturday this weekend. “It’s in his best interest and our best interest to continue to grow and develop,” said Huntington of Meadows, who seems certain to factor into the team’s plans at the big league level once again at some point this season.

More on the Buccos…

  • Francisco Cervelli hit the 7-day concussion DL for the fourth time in the past two seasons this past weekend, and there’s no indication as to when he’ll return just yet, writes Elizabeth Bloom of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. But while Cervelli recently worked out at first base and impressed manager Clint Hurdle with his instincts and athleticism there, the organization isn’t yet considering a move from behind the plate for Cervelli. Huntington stressed that, first and foremost, the immediate concern is getting Cervelli the best medical care he can as he battles through his current post-concussive symptoms. “There is concern that multiple concussions, where do we go long-term, but I’m not at that point where we need to or want to have those discussions just yet,” said Huntington. Cervelli, as Bloom notes, suggested earlier this season that he’d consider retirement if injuries ever forced him out from behind the plate.
  • The Pirates’ 7-1 performance over the past week has put pressure on Huntington and the rest of the front office as the non-waiver trade deadline approaches, writes Tim Benz of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Huntington spoke candidly last weekend when discussing the team’s situation, noting that with their record, the Pirates weren’t in position where a run of .500 ball would change their outlook. A sweep of the Brewers and a move to within five and a half games of a Wild Card spot, however, could at least move the Bucs from a definite seller to a team in “wait and see” mode as the deadline draws nearer. Huntington acknowledged as much, stating that the Pirates “need to do more” despite an excellent week of play. Indeed, the Pirates are still just 48-49 and nine games back in the NL Central, but their recent winning streak at least has the potential to alter their deadline approach.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/16/18

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We’ll track Monday’s minor moves from around the game here…

  • The Braves’ Triple-A affiliate announced yesterday that veteran catcher Rob Brantly has been released, with prospect Alex Jackson moving up from Double-A Mississippi to Triple-A Gwinnett in his place. Brantly, 29, has had an ugly season in Triple-A this year, hitting at just a .218/.254/.293 clip through 201 plate appearances. He had an excellent year between the Triple-A affiliates for the Reds and White Sox last season and even hit .290/.389/.516 in 36 big league plate appearances with the White Sox, but that success hasn’t carried over to the 2018 campaign. Jackson hasn’t exactly had a productive season, either, as he’s posted a woeful .200/.282/.329 and struck out in 31 percent of his 252 plate appearances.

NL East Notes: Realmuto, Nationals, Eovaldi, Anthopoulos

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The Nationals could be willing to “revisit” talks with the Marlins about J.T. Realmuto, according to Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman.  The Nats have long been connected to Realmuto, though GM Mike Rizzo seemingly threw cold water on the potential of a trade a few weeks ago by saying that his team wasn’t willing to meet Miami’s very high asking price for the star catcher.  Now, there is some belief that Washington could be open to dealing star outfield prospect Victor Robles, though Heyman notes that this is unconfirmed.  The Nats were firmly against the idea of dealing Robles or Carter Kieboom to the Marlins for Realmuto, which is what brought talks to a halt in the first place.

Robles entered the season as a consensus top-10 prospect in baseball, and after making his MLB debut in 2017, there were whispers that he could emerge (like Juan Soto has) as an everyday option in Washington’s outfield this season.  Instead, however, Robles has missed almost the entire year due to a hyperextended elbow, and has only recently begun a rehab assignment.  He’ll have only a couple of weeks to fully return to action and prove his health prior to the July 31 trade deadline, though one suspects that Robles’ stock is high enough that he would have to appear drastically limited (or suffer another injury) to lose too much value as a trade chip.

Here’s some more from around the NL East…

  • The Nationals are also one of the many teams interested in Rays starter Nathan Eovaldi, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes.  Washington won’t necessarily have any room in the rotation once assuming Stephen Strasburg returns from the DL when expected, though Eovaldi could conceivably replace Jeremy Hellickson or the struggling Tanner Roark.  The Yankees, Brewers, and Braves have also been linked to Eovaldi, and scouts from at least five other teams have been watching his recent outings.
  • Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos discussed his team’s trade deadline approach with Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, in the first part of a wide-ranging interview (the second part will be published on Monday).  While the Braves have a deep farm system, the GM aren’t keen on dealing from that prospect depth for players only under contract through 2018.  “We would prefer not to go after rentals unless the acquisition cost just makes so much sense for us,” Anthopoulos said.  “There’s a lot of pain that has gone into putting together this young talent.  We’re not ready to throw that all away just because of one season.  That said, I do think we owe it to the players and the fan base and the organization to make this team better, one way or another.”  Anthopoulos said that the trade market is currently flooded with teams shopping their pending free agents, estimating that “90 percent of the players that are actively available right now are rental players.”
  • The Braves will be able to afford some upgrades at the deadline, as Anthopoulos said that the team set aside some payroll space before the season should some more spending be required midway through the year.  That original total has now increased since team revenues have also risen as a result of the Braves’ success.  “I’ve been given very specific instructions, and I can shop in any aisle. I can at least have a conversation. I can tell you right now in all the discussions and all the players we’ve discussed, there’s no single player that we can’t afford,” Anthopoulos said.  “Where ultimately we’d have an (in-house) discussion is if we’re looking at adding three or four big-league guys at big contracts. That’s when maybe the numbers start to add up and we’d have to evaluate it. But one or two guys right now would not be a problem at all.”

Cubs Interested In Zach Britton, Brad Hand

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The Cubs have been in contact with the Orioles about closer Zach Britton, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score reports.  Padres closer Brad Hand is also on the Cubs’ “wish list” for potential bullpen upgrades.

At first glance, the relief corps doesn’t stand out as a glaring need for Chicago, as the Cubs’ relievers have posted generally strong numbers overall (aside from ranking 29th amongst bullpens in BB/9).  Brandon Morrow has quieted the critics by pitching very well as the Cubs’ closer, and he has also been generally healthy, spending only a 10-day minimum stint on the DL in June due to back spasms.

Still, even the most loaded of teams will still scan the market for an extra bullpen arm, and the Cubs have a particular need for ninth-inning depth given Morrow’s lengthy injury history.  It’s worth noting that Chicago has yet to use Morrow on three consecutive days (though he has pitched three times in four days on multiple occasions), and only one of his 35 outings has been longer than an inning.

Morrow is signed through 2019 with a club option for the 2020 season, so adding Hand (signed through 2020 with a club option for 2021) would give the Cubs with a long-term back-of-the-bullpen tandem that would rival any in the game.  Britton is only signed through the remainder of this season, and thus would come at a lower price tag in trade talks, though there is enough interest in his services that the Orioles can ask for a healthy prospect return.

Chicago is one of eight contending teams who have checked in on Britton, according to Levine.  We already know the identity of some of these other teams, as past reports have linked the Red Sox, Yankees, Indians, Astros, and Phillies to Britton’s market.  Hand has also drawn attention from other teams, with the Yankees also known to have interest in the left-hander.

Britton didn’t make his 2018 debut until June 12 due to offseason Achilles tendon surgery, though given his track record, he only had to show that he was both healthy and reasonably effective to earn himself a spot as one of the deadline’s most sought-after trade pieces.  Through 14 2/3 innings, Britton has a 3.68 ERA, 7.98 K/9, and 62.2% grounder rate, with a hefty 25% homer rate and a 5.52 BB/9 standing out as red flags.  He has thrown scoreless outings in 13 of his 15 appearances this season, with all of his six earned runs allowed coming over two rough outings (and 1 1/3 innings) against the Braves and Mariners.

It’s hard to really pass judgement based on such a small sample size, though Britton has at least looked solid, if obviously not at the level of his past dominance from 2014-16.  His average fastball velocity of 94.3 mph is down from the last two years (when he cracked the 96mph threshold), though Britton has been increasingly throwing harder in recent outings, as one might expect as he shakes off the rust.

Hand, meanwhile, has been outstanding in his second year as the Padres’ closer.  The lefty owns a 3.05 ERA, 13.2 K/9, and 4.33 K/BB rate over 44 1/3 innings, numbers that just earned him his second consecutive All-Star selection.  Hand’s 13.8% swinging-strike rate and 93.8mph average fastball are both career highs.

MLB Weekend Roster Roundup: Cole, Pillar, Rodriguez, Samardzija, Vizcaino

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ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM
(July 14th-July 15th)

NATIONAL LEAGUE

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

  • CLEVELAND INDIANS | Depth Chart
    • Promoted: C/OF Francisco Mejia
      • Mejia was the DH and batted 6th on Saturday. He was optioned back to Triple-A after Sunday’s game.
    • Optioned: SP Shane Bieber

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FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES

Wilson Ramos Has Hamstring Injury, Expects To Hit DL

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TODAY: Rays manager Kevin Cash didn’t provide Topkin and other reporters with a clear timeline on Ramos’ injury, as the catcher had yet to be fully examined by team doctors.  Still, Cash said “I think it’s fair to say he’s going to miss some time” in the form of a DL stint.

SATURDAY: Rays catcher Wilson Ramos has a hamstring injury, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports via Twitter. The 30-year-old backstop will sit out the All-Star game, and said he expects he’ll end up on the disabled list.

Obviously, the 49-46 Rays will miss having Ramos for any length of time, as the downtick in production from the All-Star to their backup catcher Jesus Sucre is significant (to put it lightly). The veteran backstop has been worth 1.8 fWAR to date, in large part due to a .297/.346/.486 slash line and a 130 wRC+ that easily ranks highest among MLB catchers.

But as the Rays aren’t considered contenders for a playoff spot in a lopsided American League (and particularly unlikely to catch up to their two juggernaut AL East foes), the more pressing implications come from Ramos’ trade value. It’s possible a hamstring injury could sideline him for a couple of weeks, depending on the grade of the strain. That would take us through the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline, by which the Rays had surely hoped to trade Ramos for players who could help them in future seasons, not to mention unloading his remaining salary from their ever-tight payroll.

Even if Ramos misses only the 10-day minimum, he’ll have just a few days to prove his health to contending teams in order to return to full value in the eyes of potential trade partners. It’s at the very least another knock on him in terms of overall durability; he’s already dealt with knee and hamstring injuries throughout the course of his career.

AL West Notes: Mariners, Hamels, Parker, Anderson, Bedrosian, A’s

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Some news from around the AL West, as the division heads into the All-Star break with four teams over the .500 mark…

  • There was some buzz last month about the Mariners discussing a trade for Cole Hamels, though the Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish hears that the Mariners’ “interest was greatly overplayed.”  Whatever talks the M’s and Rangers had about Hamels could have been simply due diligence on the part of Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto, who “checks in on every player and will never toss away any proposal immediately.”
  • The Mariners’ general need for pitching is further explored by Divish as part of his mailbag piece, as he isn’t sure Seattle will necessarily target a starter.  For one, a clear top-of-the-rotation arm may not be available.  The team’s search for such a pitcher is further complicated by the fact that some members of Mariners ownership and the upper-level management team aren’t keen on acquiring players who are only under contract for the rest of this season (i.e. Hamels or J.A. Happ, another pitcher linked to Seattle on the rumor mill.)  It should be noted that Hamels is technically under control for 2019 via a club option, though at a steep cost of $20MM.  As for a more controllable arm on a frequent Mariners trade partner, Divish doesn’t believe the M’s have the prospect depth to obtain Chris Archer from the Rays.
  • The Angels have been getting calls about such relievers as Blake Parker, Cam Bedrosian, and Justin Anderson, Ken Rosenthal reports in a video update for FOXSports.com.  All three right-handers have pitched well this season, with Parker stepping up as Anaheim’s first choice at closer in the wake of Keynan Middleton’s Tommy John surgery.  Rosenthal suggests the Angels will be open to selling high on these arms due to the “volatile” nature of relief pitchers on a year-to-year basis, though obviously L.A. would want a decent return since all three come with multiple years of control.
  • With the Athletics positioned to make additions at the trade deadline, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser figures the team will look to add pitching in some form.  Though the rotation is Oakland’s biggest need, Slusser suggests the A’s could “get creative” by bolstering its already-solid relief corps, which would allow the starters to make shorter outings before turning things over to the bullpen.  If the A’s do pursue a starter, it will be a mid-tier arm rather than a frontline ace — Slusser suggests the Twins’ Jake Odorizzi or Lance Lynn as the types of starters Oakland would look at obtaining, though there isn’t any indication that the A’s have specific interest in either of those Minnesota pitchers.

Red Sox, Braves Interested In Mike Moustakas

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7:10pm: The Royals may have to wait until Manny Machado is traded before fully pursuing a Moustakas deal, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link).  Up to seven teams have been rumored to be involved in the Machado talks, and with some suitors already reportedly falling out of the running, it stands to reason that some of these teams could pivot to Moustakas.  The Braves, for instance, are also one of the clubs in on Machado.

4:00pm: The Royals are “more likely than not” to trade third baseman Mike Moustakas this month, per ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, who lists the Red Sox and Braves as a pair of playoff contenders interested in acquiring him.

The Red Sox already boast the majors’ best record (68-30) and a 4 1/2-game lead in the AL East, even though they haven’t gotten great production from third baseman Rafael Devers. But the 21-year-old still has plenty of time to turn into a foundational piece for the Red Sox, and it may behoove them to find an upgrade in the meantime. With Boston pushing for its fourth World Series title since 2004, the lefty-swinging Moustakas would seemingly qualify, having slashed .250/.306/.469 with 19 home runs in 386 plate appearances, easily beating out Devers’ numbers (.241/.292/.424 with 14 HRs in 367 PAs). Of course, Moustakas’ production also hasn’t been all-world, as he has logged a 106 wRC+ to Devers’ 87 and has dropped off precipitously since a red-hot April.

The Braves haven’t come close to matching the Red Sox’s excellence this season, but they’re still 52-42 – in possession of a National League wild-card spot and within half a game of the NL East-leading Phillies. Their starting third baseman, Johan Camargo, has actually outdone Moustakas by wRC+ (109), having batted .247/.346/.426 with nine homers in 263 PAs. The switch-hitting Camargo is capable of playing shortstop, however, and could perhaps usurp the starting role from the light-hitting, righty-swinging Dansby Swanson or at least platoon with him.

After failing to encounter much interest in free agency last winter, the 29-year-old Moustakas wouldn’t represent a long-term acquisition for any club. Moustakas is owed the rest of a $5.5MM salary this season, and then his employer will have to decide whether to exercise a $15MM mutual option for 2019 or pay him a $1MM buyout.

Sherman’s Latest: Pitching, Ross, Yates, Yankees, Familia, Gibson

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There is some uncertainty within the trade market for starting pitching, as contenders could wait until closer to the July 31st deadline to make a move for an arm just in case new trade candidates become available, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes.  Some executives and scouts who spoke to Sherman at the Futures Game cited such names as the Cardinals’ Carlos Martinez, and the Angels’ Tyler Skaggs and Andrew Heaney as potential hurlers that could join the market in the next week or two.  We’ve already heard of the Yankees’ potential interest in Skaggs and Heaney, and Martinez’s ability and years of control (potentially through 2023 via club options on his five-year, $51MM contract) would make him the most sought-after pitcher available if the Cards did indeed shop him.  Dealing a long-term piece like Martinez, however, would be an awfully bold move for a St. Louis club that would seem to still have designs on competing in 2019, and may not have yet thrown in the towel on getting back into this year’s playoff race.  The Cardinals are certainly a team to closely monitor to see if a turn-around is possible under their new manager, or, if they are deadline sellers, just how big a selloff could be in the offing.

Here’s some more trade buzz in another piece from Sherman…

  • The Yankees are one of the many teams who have checked in with the Padres about Tyson Ross, Brad Hand, and Kirby Yates.  New York was already been linked to Hand in rumors, and it makes sense that the team would also inquire about another talented reliever in Yates, who would come at a lower asking price.  Ross has posted solid numbers (4.32 ERA, 8.06 K/9, 2.26 K/BB rate over 108 1/3 IP) as he finally looks to be recovered from the shoulder issues and eventual thoracic outlet syndrome surgery that limited him to only 54 1/3 innings in 2016-17.  Since Ross is only signed to a minor league deal, his modest salary makes him attractive to all suitors, particularly to a Yankees club that is trying to bolster its rotation without passing the luxury tax threshold.
  • Reports from earlier today listed the Giants and Phillies as two of the teams interested in Mets closer Jeurys Familia, and Sherman adds the Red Sox to that list.  Boston is known to be looking for a significant bullpen addition, so it isn’t any surprise that the Sox have checked in on Familia as they explore the relief market.  As Sherman notes, the Red Sox and Mets combined on a notable bullpen trade at last year’s deadline when Addison Reed was sent to Boston.
  • With the Twins open to talking about pretty much any veteran on their roster, Sherman adds Kyle Gibson to the list of potential trade chips.  Gibson, the 22nd overall pick in the 2009 draft, seemingly enjoyed a breakout season in 2015 before scuffling the next two years, though he has rebounded for what looks like the best season of his six-year career.  The right-hander has a 3.42 ERA, 8.9 K/9, 46.5% grounder rate, and 2.48 K/BB rate through 115 2/3 IP this season.  Gibson could garner one of the largest returns of any Twins player in a deal, as he is controlled through the 2019 season via his final year of arbitration.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Machado, Phillies, O’s, Tigers, Bucs, Tribe

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This week in baseball blogs….

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