Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/17/18

By | at

We’ll use this post to keep tabs on the latest minor moves …

  • The Dodgers have outrighted southpaw Edward Paredes after he cleared waivers, per the Pacific Coast League transactions page. Paredes, 31, has only thrown 16 career MLB innings but has struck out 14 of the 42 left-handed hitters that have stepped into the box against him. He has spent most of the present season at Triple-A, allowing just four earned runs in 18 innings while recording 24 strikeouts against 15 walks. Paredes was designated recently to make way for the waiver claim of Zac Rosscup.
  • Also listed among the PCL’s slate of recent transactions is an apparent minor-league pact between the Diamondbacks and righty Barry Enright. The 32-year-old spent 2017 in affiliated ball but has otherwise pitched in Mexico in the past several campaigns. Thus far in 2018, he has posted 78 innings of 3.35 ERA ball, with 7.8 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9, for the Mexican League’s Tigres de Quintana Roo.

Report: Orioles Working Through Medicals On Machado Deal

By | at

The Orioles are “going through the medicals/paperwork” in an effort to finalize an agreement with an unknown team, per ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (Twitter link). While the “structure of a deal [is] in place,” Olney also stresses that “this in [sic] not finished yet.”

Despite the cautionary language, it’s obviously quite notable that the Baltimore organization has reached this point with another club. While numerous past arrangements have blown up at this stage — the O’s, especially, are notorious for finding health concerns — the exchange of medical information represents a significant step that would not take place without a clear path to a completed transaction.

Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun had tweeted this morning that a deal was likely to be wrapped up by the end of the All-Star break. But it seems talks may be rather more advanced than that. It’d be quite a surprise, needless to say, if anything is finalized before Machado appears in his O’s uniform in today’s All-Star Game. But it now seems we’ll watch a fascinating trade situation unfold on a major stage for the game.

We heard last night that the Phillies were coming forward with a big offer. Then, it emerged this morning that the Dodgers appeared to be the favorite. Meanwhile, it seems the Yankees are largely bowing out of the process, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

That mix of reporting provides the most recent series of clues as to just where the Machado sweepstakes may be headed. It’s unclear which organization is best situated to land him, let alone for what package of players, but it now seems reasonable to expect that we’ll learn the answers to those questions in relatively short order.

All-Star Roster Breakdown

By | at

The 2018 All-Star teams are set and ready to face off today in Washington D.C. You can see the full rosters at Roster Resource (American League and National League), as well as a list of notable All-Star snubs.

Here is a breakdown of each All-Star roster, including the nine players who will not play due to injury or because they pitched on Sunday.

[Related: MLB Depth Charts]

AMERICAN LEAGUE (37)

 

NATIONAL LEAGUE (36)

 

Phillies Considering Attempt To Acquire J.A. Happ

By | at

The Phillies are at least internally weighing pursuit of Blue Jays lefty J.A. Happ, according to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. The southpaw has emerged as one of the best rental starters available on this summer’s trade market.

Of course, there are also a few other names we’ve seen connected to the Phillies of late, and it’s not clear that Happ is a particular priority for the rising organization. While there’s “definite interest,” per Salisbury’s source, two particular players from another division rival remain bigger targets.

Multiple other contenders have been tied to Happ of late, as well, and it stands to reason that the Jays will let the market develop unless they’re bowled over by an offer. Happ’s recent malaise has certainly dinged his stock, though, and it seems that all involved have reason to see how his next few outings go before a deal is struck.

The 35-year-old Happ got his start with the Phillies but spent only one full season at the MLB level with the organization. He has been quite productive in recent campaigns, but has allowed a few more home runs (1.40 per nine) thus far in 2018 than he ever has before in the big leagues.

Ultimately, there’s value in Happ’s 109 innings of 4.29 ERA pitching this year. Looking forward, too, teams will be intrigued by the fact that he’s sporting 10.0 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9. Those numbers are backed by a career-high 10.1% swinging-strike rate and average fastball velocity that has trended up a bit over the course of the season.

With $13MM in salary this year, Happ isn’t particularly cheap, though there are no future entanglements since he is a rental player. That’s ultimately a reasonable sum for a pitcher who carries his recent track record. Some suitors may ask the Jays to keep some of the contractual obligation, though it seems reasonable to guess that the Phils would prefer to take on the remaining salary rather than upping the prospect return. Toronto’s preferences are not really clear at this stage.

The Phillies’ rotation has had some strong overall performances and is not exactly begging for an upgrade — particularly if Zach Eflin is able to return quickly from the DL with no ill effects, as seems to be the expectation. But depth is always key down the stretch and every game will count in a tight division race. Adding a multi-inning lefty to a possible postseason roster would surely also hold appeal.

Latest On Manny Machado

By | at

10:03pm: The Phillies “would include” young righty Adonis Medina in a deal for Machado, per MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. Medina, a top-100 prospect, is a player the Orioles have long been rumored to have interest in. If he’s in the package, it could make the Phils “well-positioned” to land Machado, writes Morosi, though surely there’s still time for other organizations to boost their offers as well.

3:55pm: The Orioles are getting “very close” to reaching an agreement on a Manny Machado trade, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). However, despite a report of a “handshake agreement” between the Orioles and Phillies by Barstool Sports, Kubatko adds that there’s no deal between the two teams in place. To the contrary, Kubatko notes that both the Brewers and the Dodgers remain involved in the Machado market. Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com agrees, tweeting that “numerous” sources tell her that rumors regarding an agreement with the Phillies are “untrue.”

To be sure, it’d be strange for any club, especially one in the Orioles’ position, to effectively close off bidding 36 hours in advance of completing a trade when a better offer could come floating in at any time. An arrangement of that nature would come with little in the form of precedent. The inevitable Machado trade will be a franchise-altering moment for the Orioles, and cutting off negotiations this far in advance would be a downright bizarre means of going about it. By agreeing to a delayed agreement, they’d leave no room for the Dodgers, Brewers or any other club — the Yankees, D-backs, Braves, Indians and others have been involved to varying extents — to top whatever is currently being offered by the Phillies.

That said, it’s true that the league generally frowns on news of this magnitude breaking during All-Star festivities. It’s certainly possible that both sides are optimistic about something coming together shortly after the All-Star Game, and none of this is to say that the Phils won’t ultimately come away as the “winners” of the Machado sweepstakes, so to speak. But for the time being, it’s only logical to assume that the bidding for Machado remains open as the the Orioles seek to extract the best possible package of young talent.

Regardless of where Machado ultimately lands, the timeline depicted this lengthy saga may indeed reach its end shortly after the All-Star Game. Reports over the past week have indicated that the O’s are loath to trade Machado prior to the Midsummer Classic, where he’ll represent them in Washington D.C. as the American League’s starting shortstop. Jim Bowden of The Athletic took matters a bit further this morning, tweeting that Machado is “expected to be traded” after Tuesday’s All-Star Game and before the regular season resumes play on Friday.

As one can imagine, the rumor cycle is beginning to wear on even Machado himself. Speaking to reporters during the media hour for today’s events, Machado said that if he is ultimately going to be traded, he “100 percent” hopes it is over with sooner rather than later (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Jayson Stark). “To not answer these questions anymore, that would be good,” said Machado. The infielder also once again acknowledged that he has “no say” in where he plays following a trade (Twitter link via Fancred’s Jon Heyman), but his preference in free agency will be to pursue opportunities where he’s able to play shortstop (Twitter link via Ghiroli).

Mariners Sign Cameron Rupp

By | at

The Mariners have inked backstop Cameron Rupp to a minors deal, according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. He’ll head to Triple-A Tacoma.

Rupp has yet to earn a chance at the majors this season after spending the last three years as a frequently utilized member of the Phillies roster. He has spent time in 2018 with the top affiliates of the Rangers and Twins organizations, hitting well with the former and then struggling with the latter.

It’s certainly possible that Rupp will be called up to Seattle at some point, though he’ll need to play well and wait for an opportunity. In the near-term, when Mike Zunino returns from the DL, the M’s can either designate the out-of-options Chris Herrmann or (as seems more likely) option down David Freitas.

Braves Sign Fernando Salas, Lane Adams

By | at

The Braves have signed reliever Fernando Salas and outfielder Lane Adams to minor-league deals, according to an announcement by the club’s top affiliate. Both players are reporting to Triple-A Gwinnett.

Salas has turned in quite a few solid MLB innings over the years and will at least be a worthwhile depth asset to have on hand. The 33-year-old righty spent most of the early portion of this season with the Diamondbacks, allowing twenty earned runs in forty frames with 6.8 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9. He has engineered mid-season turnarounds in each of the past two seasons, but if he hopes to pull that feat off once again he’ll first have to earn a call-up.

As for Adams, he opened the year with the Braves. He hit well for the club at the MLB level over the past two seasons, but received limited action and was cut loose when roster pressures arose earlier this season. Adams ended up struggling quite a bit upon landing at Triple-A with the Cubs, so he’ll hope to get back in a groove back with the Atlanta organization.

MLBTR Poll: Biggest First-Half Surprise In Standings

By | at

With the All-Star break at hand, we’ve already completed that portion of the season often referred to as “the first half.” That’s a demonstrably poor choice of phrasing, given that teams played their 81st games weeks ago, but we’ll roll with it. The break offers a chance to take a breath and take stock. It offers a moment to gain perspective, just before the trade deadline period gets underway in earnest and the postseason races truly heat up.

So, it seems an opportune moment to look back at some of the results we’ve seen to this point of the season. We’ll focus here on team-level results, rather than unexpected outcomes for individual players, though of course the two are often intertwined.

  • Densely packed NL West: Okay, this isn’t outwardly the most exciting choice. But it’s rather interesting to see that the phenomenon we observed at the start of June — a densely packed division race — has persisted to the cusp of the deadline. The Dodgers were supposed to run away with things, but simply have not. That means that all the teams involved (that is, the Dodgers, D-Backs, Rockies, and Giants) will need to treat the summer trade period as one that could make the difference between claiming or falling short of a division title.
  • Historically bad Orioles & Royals: I’m sure there’ll be some who’ll laugh at the idea that this is a surprise. But both teams made reasonably significant MLB investments over the winter in hopes of contending or, at least, remaining reasonably competitive. Instead, they both enter the break with sub-.300 winning percentages. In the post-war era, only three teams have finished a season winning less than three of every ten games. What’s scary is that both the Baltimore and Kansas City rosters will likely only get worse over the next few weeks.
  • Upside-down NL East: The Phillies and Braves have risen somewhat earlier than expected, just as the Nationals hit a few rough patches. This race could be a fascinating one to watch, particularly if the Philadelphia and Atlanta organizations decide to make aggressive mid-season additions and/or promotions.
  • Miserable Mets: The overall picture in the NL East is all the more surprising when you throw in the fact that the Mets have collapsed to the point that they have less wins to this point than the Marlins, despite those two organizations’ divergent offseason approaches. Another rental sell-off is inevitable. It’s still anyone’s guess whether the front office troika will end up overseeing a more significant sell-off.
  • Dominant Red Sox: It’s not at all surprising that the Boston organization is winning a lot of ballgames. But this club has stood out even against the other top teams in the league, entering the break 4.5 games ahead of the paces of the Yankees and Astros. The Red Sox have 68 wins, while no National League club has more than 55.
  • Upper middle class M’s & A’s: The stratification of the American League is a notable development in its own right. While many anticipated some super-team formations around the game, it really hasn’t worked out that way at all in the N.L. As interesting as the wide gulf itself, perhaps, is the fact that the Mariners and (especially) the Athletics find themselves on the “well over .500” side. Both entered the season with real hopes of fielding winning rosters, true, but it’s tough to imagine that either organization realistically expected to be 19 (M’s) or even 13 (A’s) games over .500 come mid-July.

Poll response order has been randomized. Link for app users.

Biggest First-Half Surprise In The Standings
Upside-down NL East 39.01% (4,910 votes)
Upper middle class M's & A's 27.15% (3,417 votes)
Historically bad Orioles & Royals 9.81% (1,235 votes)
Miserable Mets 9.35% (1,177 votes)
Dominant Red Sox 8.76% (1,102 votes)
Densely packed NL West 5.93% (746 votes)
Total Votes: 12,587

Rangers Outright Carlos Perez

By | at

The Rangers announced Monday that they’ve activated catcher Carlos Perez from the 10-day disabled list and sent him outright to Triple-A Round Rock. In doing so, they’re creating a roster spot that’ll go to lefty Joe Palumbo who has been activated from the 60-day DL and optioned to Class-A Advanced Down East. Palumbo had been recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Perez, 27, was claimed off waivers from the Braves back in early May and appeared in 16 games with Texas before landing on the disabled list. In that time, he posted a lowly .167/.205/.286 slash with a homer and a pair of doubles in 46 plate appearances. He’s never been much of a threat with the bat in the big leagues, hitting a combined .218/.260/.322 in 663 PAs between the Angels, Braves and Rangers.

Of course, Perez’s calling card is his glovework behind the dish. He’s successfully halted 39 percent of stolen-base attempts against him at the big league level and has drawn generally positive marks for both his pitch-framing and pitch-blocking skills, per Baseball Prospectus.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top