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Trade Chatter: Gio, Brewers, Granderson, Mets, O’s

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Major League teams have until midnight ET tonight to acquire players who can still be eligible for their postseason roster. While this deadline isn’t likely to be as significant as the July 31 non-waiver deadline, major swaps can still take place. Andrew McCutchen has already gone from the Bay Area to the Bronx, and it was one year ago today that the Astros pulled off a trade for Justin Verlander that played an absolutely pivotal role in their eventual World Series victory. While there is understandably a large focus on Josh Donaldson, who seems likely to be traded today, here are some other rumblings from around the game…

  • The Nationals are discussing a trade of left-hander Gio Gonzalez, tweets Jon Morosi of MLB.com, though it’s not clear if multiple clubs are showing interest in the veteran southpaw with tonight’s deadline looming. Gonzalez has been rocked in three of his past five starts, causing his ERA to balloon from 3.78 on July 28 to its present mark of 4.57. He’s still averaging 7.8 K/9 with quality home-run and ground-ball rates, but he’s walking batters at a higher clip than he has since 2009 (4.6 BB/9). Gonzalez has a lengthy track record as a solid mid-rotation arm, though, and he’s one of very few starers reported to have cleared waivers. He’s still owed about $2MM of this season’s $12MM salary.
  • The Brewers are still looking into multiple upgrade possibilities, and though their fans are clamoring for rotation help, they’re also looking at adding a left-handed bench bat, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. Curtis Granderson is one possibility to land in Milwaukee, he notes. Granderson has already cleared trade waivers, meaning the Blue Jays can shop him around to any team in the league. He’s owed the remainder of this year’s $5MM salary (about $829K) and is hitting well against right-handed pitching (.250/.345/.443). USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that Granderson is expected to be traded at some point before midnight.
  • Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets that the Mets don’t expect to trade either Jerry Blevins or Devin Mesoraco today. Both are free agents at season’s end, and Blevins was already reported to have cleared waivers (while Mesoraco was also a virtual lock to do so). If that indeed proves to be the case, the May trade in which the Mets and Reds swapped Mesoraco and Matt Harvey won’t have garnered either team any value beyond the current season (unless either player’s time in his new organization leads him to re-sign there).
  • The Post’s Joel Sherman tweets that the Orioles have actually made a surprising number of waiver claims recently, though obviously none have led to a trade just yet. The O’s clearly aren’t going anywhere in 2018, so it’s likely they’ve been attempting to acquire pieces that are controlled into 2019 (and likely beyond). Such players are difficult to acquire in the first place, and doing so in the allotted 48-hour window is all the more difficult.

Gio Gonzalez, Matt Wieters, Ryan Zimmerman Clear Revocable Waivers

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A trio of Nationals players have cleared revocable trade waivers and are now eligible to be traded to any club, according to Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post (Twitter link). Left-hander Gio Gonzalez, catcher Matt Wieters and first baseman Ryan Zimmerman all went unclaimed by rival teams.

Of the trio, Gonzalez would be the likeliest to hold appeal to a contending team. While his numbers are down somewhat in 2018, Gonzalez is still averaging 8.0 K/9 and just 0.94 HR/9 with a 47.1 percent ground-ball rate. He’s averaged 4.5 walks per nine innings and is sitting on a 4.51 ERA through 133 2/3 innings, though his 4.26 FIP and 4.38 xFIP are slightly more encouraging than his ERA. Gonzalez’s average fastball velocity (89.7 mph) is nearly identical to his 2017 mark, and he’s actually had a modest improvement in his swinging-strike rate (from 8.7 percent to 9.2 percent).

[Related: How August Trades Work]

Gonzalez, 33 next month, is a free agent at season’s end and is earning $12MM in his final season of club control. There’s still about $2.5MM of that sum yet to be paid out on his contract, so it’s not a big surprise to see him pass through waivers unclaimed. However, now that he’s done so, the Nationals can negotiate with any club and agree to include some cash to help offset the remainder of that salary in exchange for what would likely be some modest prospect value.

While the Nationals aren’t embarking on a full-scale rebuild, they’ve signaled a willingness to move impending free agents who are unlikely or ineligible to receive qualifying offers (as was the case with Daniel Murphy and Matt Adams). Given his inconsistent season, Gonzalez likely falls into that same bucket, so it’ll be interesting to see if trade talk surrounding the veteran lefty picks up between now and the Aug. 31 deadline for postseason eligibility. Gonzalez recently checked in at No. 8 on MLBTR’s ranking of the top 20 remaining August trade candidates. A source confirmed to MLBTR that Gonzalez won’t reach 10 years of MLB service this season and therefore does not have 10-and-5 rights allowing him to veto a trade.

Like Gonzalez, Wieters is a free agent at season’s end, but he’s in the midst of a second disappointing campaign with the Nats. The switch-hitter has managed just a .240/.325/.365 batting line in 192 plate appearances during an injury-shortened second season in D.C. He’s owed about $2.19MM through the end of the season, making it unlikely that any team would pursue a trade to acquire the final month or so of his services (at least, without some significant financial help from the Nats).

Zimmerman, 34 in September, is still owed $3.57MM of this season’s $18MM salary in addition to an identical $18MM salary next season and a $2MM buyout on an $18MM option for the 2020 season. That remaining $23.57MM made him a no-brainer to clear waivers, but the veteran has remained productive into the late stages of his contract. He’s hitting .260/.332/.526 this season, though Zimmerman’s full 10-and-5 rights would mean he’d have to approve any trade. Ultimately, his clearing is more or less a formality, because there’s almost no realistic scenario in which he’s traded this year.

Bryce Harper, Matt Adams Reportedly Claimed On Revocable Trade Waivers

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Nationals sluggers Bryce Harper and Matt Adams were claimed by unidentified organizations on revocable trade waivers, according to Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post (Twitter link). They join fellow left-handed hitting Nats veteran Daniel Murphy as pending free agents who were not able to make it through the waiver wire.

The fact that teams were awarded claims on these players does not, of course, mean that any or all will actually change uniforms. There are always complicated strategies at play when waiver claims are made in August, and relatively few actually result in transactions.

Nevertheless, the claims do establish a timeline and process for determining whether or not these particular players will be dealt. Harper reportedly hit the wire on Friday, at the same time as Murphy and several other (then-unnamed) Nats players. It’s certainly possible, then, that these three situations will be resolved early this afternoon. Any players placed on waivers on Friday would be due for a decision today.

With regard to each player, the Nats can either work out a trade, revoke the claim, or allow the player to go to the claiming team for no compensation. As the D.C. organization continues to stare at a yawning gap in the NL East race, it clearly faces some difficult decisions.

[RELATED: How August Trades Work]

It is difficult to imagine that the Nationals will simply allow another organization to take over Harper’s contract. After all, the homegrown superstar is a sure bet to receive and reject a qualifying offer this fall, putting the Nats in line to recoup draft compensation if they can’t re-sign him.

That said, salary considerations and the desire to restock the farm certainly cannot be dismissed as motivating factors. Harper is owed nearly $5MM between now and the end of the season. If the Nationals decide that hopes of clawing back into the NL East race are too remote to warrant further expenditure, then perhaps the team will be willing to engage in real negotiations with whatever organization claimed Harper.

Adams certainly seems likelier to move among the two players. He has devastated right-handed pitching, with a .264/.345/.538 slash and 17 home runs in 238 plate appearances taken with the platoon advantage. His $4MM salary is an easy one to stash in most budgets. And at this time of year, it’s not that concerning that Adams isn’t a terribly flexible defensive player. Organizations in need of the bench pop could surely juggle things for a few days before rosters expand on September 1st. And Adams looks to be quite an interesting postseason asset.

Notably, the timing does leave the Nationals with at least a bit of leverage and remaining wiggle room — particularly, with respect to Murphy and Adams. The club could still hold out for some kind of return, pulling the veterans back if nothing is forthcoming. Then, if the situation in the standings still seems desperate later this month, the Washington organization could place all or some of the players back on waivers — knowing, this time, that they’d lose them for nothing more than salary relief if a claim is placed.

The most interesting factor here, of course, is not yet known: which teams won the claims? The Nationals could be negotiating with any number of different clubs on these three players. Truly, it’s difficult even to guess with any degree of confidence. National League rivals had priority, in reverse order of winning percentage. All three players are plausible targets for a variety of contenders. Particularly with regard to a premium performer such as Harper, it’s even possible that a non-contender could have inserted itself into the process.

It’s also worth noting that, per Castillo, several other Nationals veterans were recently placed on revocable waivers. The list is said to include at least three additional pending free agents: starter Gio Gonzalez, right-handed-hitting slugger Mark Reynolds, and catcher Matt Wieters. Whether or not they cleared waivers has yet to be reported.

Players Who Have Cleared Revocable Trade Waivers

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It’s been somewhat quiet on this front in 2018, but we’ll use this post to keep track of the names of all of the players who’ve reportedly cleared revocable trade waivers. As is the case every year, there are a few things that should be re-emphasized before diving into names.

First and foremost, the vast majority of Major League players will be placed on revocable trade waivers this month — many assuredly already have been — with most instances going unreported. By month’s end, there will likely be dozens of players who have cleared waivers without garnering any sort of headlines. It also bears repeating that players can still be traded in September, but Aug. 31 serves as the deadline for postseason eligibility, making it a sort of soft trade deadline. Deals of note are rarely consummated in September, though Juan Nicasio did change hands after Aug. 31 in 2017.

Lastly, for those who aren’t familiar with the inner-workings of waiver trades or simply need a quick refresher, MLBTR published a full explanation of how August trades work to kick off the month. We’ll keep this post updated throughout the remainder of the month for those who wish to bookmark it.

Onto the names…

(Last update: 8/29)

  • Jerry Blevins, Mets (link): Blevins has a long track record of shutting down left-handed opponents, but lefties have clobbered him so far in 2018 while righties have been unusually ineffective. He’s a specialist who’s owed $1.23MM through season’s end before reaching free agency, making him an expensive piece with a fairly limited role.
  • Kendrys Morales & Marco Estrada, Blue Jays (link): Both relatively expensive veterans went unclaimed, with Morales still owed $13MM through the end of the 2019 season and Estrada owed more than $2.5MM through the end of the current campaign. Morales has been one of baseball’s hottest hitters but comes with no defensive value, largely limiting him to an AL club or an NL club with an opening at first base. Estrada has pitched through back struggles for the past couple of seasons and recently acknowledged that he’s been playing through discomfort again recently. He has an ERA north of 6.00 dating back to July 30.
  • Josh Harrison, Pirates (link): A run of success in advance of the non-waiver deadline led the Bucs to add two controllable pitchers, but the team has since sunk in the standings. That could lead to some late-August salary dumping, with Harrison among the most likely candidates to be moved. He’s not hitting much this year and is playing on a fairly hefty $10MM annual salary, but it’s certainly possible to imagine a contender adding the scrappy, athletic, and versatile utilityman. It seems likely the Pirates will be paying Harrison $1.5MM in buyouts at season’s end regardless, so perhaps the team will cover that expense while trying to offload Harrison’s remaining 2018 salary.
  • Alex Cobb & Andrew Cashner, Orioles (link): Both Cashner and Cobb have struggled through disappointing seasons after signing multi-year deals this past winter. Cobb, in particular, was a lock to clear waivers with three years remaining on an ill-fated four-year deal that promised him $57MM. Cashner’s two-year deal is worth a more palatable $16MM in total, but he’s barely been able to keep his ERA under 5.00 while delivering middling K/BB numbers and career-worst 42.6 percent ground-ball rate.
  • Gio Gonzalez, Matt Wieters & Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals (link): A trio of expensive Nats vets reportedly cleared waivers at the same time, though there’s virtually no chance that Zimmerman is moved with more than $23MM owed to him through next season and full trade veto power via his 10-and-5 rights. Wieters hasn’t hit enough to make himself a very desirable trade chip, though perhaps a contender would add him as a backup if the Nats absorbed most of the just over $2MM remaining on his contract. Gonzalez is the most plausible of this bunch, though, as very few starters have made it through waivers. While he was still owed about $2.5MM at the time he was reported to have cleared and is having a down season, Gonzalez still misses bats and induces grounders, and he has a lengthy track record of solid mid-rotation work.
  • Andrew McCutchen, Giants (link): Cutch was owed $3.155MM at the time he cleared waivers, and while he’s not the MVP-caliber bat he was in his mid-20s now that he’s approaching his 32nd birthday, he’s still a solidly above-average hitter. In 538 plate appearances with the Giants, he’s slashed .255/.353/.412 with 14 home runs, 26 doubles and two triples. McCutchen’s 44.6 percent hard-hit rate is the best of his career and ranks 22nd among qualified hitters. The Giants would likely be willing to pay down some of his deal to get a decent prospect, and there should be trade interest.
  • Starlin Castro, Marlins (link): Castro is owed the balance of this year’s $10MM salary plus another $11MM in 2019 and at least a $1MM buyout on a $16MM option for the 2020 season. He’s given the Marlins slightly above-average offense with respectable defense at second base, but there aren’t too many contenders looking for upgrades at second base. Even if he’s not moved in August, the Marlins will likely shop him again this winter.
  • Justin Smoak, Blue Jays (link): It’s at least a moderate surprise that Smoak, an affordable switch-hitting slugger in the midst of a productive season, cleared waivers. He was hitting .255/.365/.463 with 18 homers at the time he was reported to have cleared, and while that’s not up to his Herculean 2017 levels, it’s still plenty productive. He’s earning $4.1MM in 2018 and has a cheap $6MM club option for the 2019 season that the Jays will surely pick up if he is not dealt.
  • C.J. Cron, Rays (link): Cron has rewarded the Rays for buying low on him this past offseason, delivering a career-best .250/.317/.480 slash with a personal best 24 home runs through 454 plate appearances as of the time he was reported to have cleared waivers. He’s earning just $2.3MM in 2018 and is controlled for another two seasons, though he doesn’t bring any defensive or baserunning value to the table. Cron also doesn’t walk at an especially high clip, so he’s unlikely to emerge as a serious on-base threat.
  • Wilmer Flores, Mets (link): Flores has experience at all four infield positions and was hitting .275/.326/.444 at the time he was reported to have cleared waivers. But he’s been unusually inept against left-handed opponents in 2018 and is due a raise on this season’s $3.4MM salary in arbitration this offseason. He could deepen a team’s bench, but contenders would likely have had more interest were he performing well against southpaws. The Mets maintain that they’re aiming to contend in 2019, so perhaps they prefer to hang onto Flores.
  • Lucas Duda, Royals (link): Duda has played far too much against lefties in 2018, dragging down his overall numbers, but he’s still a threat against right-handed opposition. He’s limited to first base, but with a $3.5MM salary he’d be an affordable bench bat for any contending club.
  • Logan Forsythe, Twins (link): Forsythe, acquired in the Brian Dozier trade largely as a means of offsetting the duo’s identical $9MM salaries, wasn’t even a lock to stick around with Minnesota after being acquired, but he’s batted .361/.418/.426 through his first 67 PAs in Minnesota, helping to rebuild some stock after a miserable season in L.A. He won’t net the Twins much of anything in a trade if he’s moved, but the Twins might not mind simply shedding the remaining $2.1MM on his salary (as of Aug. 19).
  • Adam Jones, Orioles (link): Jones was reported to have cleared waivers on Aug. 16 and was owed $4.27MM of his $17MM salary at the time. While he’s eligible to be traded to any team, it’s entirely up to Jones whether he moves. The five-time All-Star has 10-and-5 rights (10 years of MLB service, the past five with one team), meaning he can veto any trade. Jones reportedly already exercised those rights rather than approving a trade to the Phillies. He’s hitting .285/.317/.438 as of this writing and is in the midst of a torrid hot streak, but he has family and charity reasons (among others) for wanting to remain in Baltimore.
  • Curtis Granderson, Blue Jays (link): Now 37 years of age, the Grandy Man isn’t the star that he once was, but he remains a reasonably productive bat against right-handed pitching. He’s playing the season on a one-year, $5MM deal and is still owed about $1.23MM of that salary as of this morning. While Granderson is largely limited to the outfield corners, he could be a useful bench piece for contending clubs down the stretch.
  • Francisco Liriano, Jose Iglesias & Jordan Zimmermann, Tigers (link): It was a 100 percent certainty that Zimmermann, still owed $55.9MM through 2020 (including the remainder of this year’s salary) would clear waivers. Even with improved results this season (4.36 ERA, 7.9 K/9, 1.6 BB/9 in 88 2/3 innings), there’s virtually no hope of the Tigers shedding that salary this month. It was less certain that rentals like Liriano or Iglesias would clear, however. Liriano’s ERA ballooned to 4.72 last night after he was roughed up by the Twins, but he’s held left-handed pitching to a terrible .141/.247/.239 slash through 81 plate appearances. With $984K still owed to him through the end of the year, he’d be a reasonably affordable lefty specialist for a contending team’s bullpen. As for Iglesias, it seems quite likely that he’ll be moved to a contender. He’s hitting a respectable, albeit unspectacular .264/.306/.389 while playing terrific defense at shortstop. He’s owed $1.54MM of his $6.275MM salary through season’s end.
  • Joe Mauer & Logan Morrison, Twins (link): Morrison won’t be going anywhere after having season-ending hip surgery last week, and it seems likely that the Twins will buy out his 2019 option after a disappointing all-around season. Mauer, like Jones, has the right to veto any trade and wouldn’t be in much demand anyhow. After a strong .305/.384/.417 slash in 2017, he’s posted a more pedestrian .272/.352/.358 line in 2018 — the final season of his eight-year, $184MM contract.

Nationals Willing To Discuss Gio Gonzalez, Jeremy Hellickson

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The Brewers are “pursuing” veteran Nationals lefty Gio Gonzalez, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). While the Nats have pulled back their relief arms, they are willing to consider scenarios involving Gonzalez or Jeremy Hellickson, per ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (Twitter link).

It’s an interesting situation for both ballclubs. The Milwaukee outfit is obviously turning over all stones to get a rotation upgrade, as Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. And the Nationals still appear to be dangling some veterans even after deciding not to move Bryce Harper.

It’s not immediately clear why the D.C. organization is willing to listen on those two hurlers. The team doesn’t seem to have replacement rotation pieces lined up. While Gonzalez is expensive ($12MM salary), Hellickson is quite affordable ($2MM base salary with up to $4MM in incentives), so they aren’t quite on equal footing as rental pieces. Perhaps it’s conceivable that the club is angling to add a different starter, though we’ve seen no particular recent rumors to that effect.

Nats Fielding Offers On Rental Relievers, Also Still Involved In Realmuto Negotiations

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3:24pm: Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that the Nationals are indeed taking offers on impending free-agent relievers such as Herrera, Madson and Kelley. However, Rosenthal adds that Washington is trying to pry more away from rival teams than it gave up to acquire Herrera in the first place, seeking top-tier prospects in return.

Passan, meanwhile, tweets that he’s heard even further since writing this morning’s column that the Nationals’ clubhouse is a growing problem, and organizational confidence in Martinez has faded. Nationals ownership has been notoriously fickle with its managerial preferences, and the reported discord between Martinez and higher-ups is merely the latest data point in that bizarre trend.

Beyond all that, Janes now reports (via Twitter) that the Nationals and Marlins have held “extensive” negotiations regarding Realmuto in recent days, but Washington still deems the price tag to be too high. At the same time, they’re also listening to offers on rental players whose subtraction would help to reduce payroll, she adds.

1:27pm: The 52-53 Nationals have emerged as one of the most interesting teams to watch with just under 26 hours remaining before the non-waiver trade deadline. The presumptive NL East favorites sit six games back in a divisional race that has seen them outplayed by the upstart Phillies and Braves to this point in the season.

It was reported late last week that the Nats were preparing for the possibility of selling some veteran pieces in the event that their four-game set against the Marlins didn’t go well. Washington took the first two games of that series, only to see Miami rally and salvage a 2-2 split. The Nats have actually made up a game in the standings since the time of that report, but the talk of a potential sale persists.

For instance, Yahoo’s Jeff Passan kicks off his weekly 10 Degrees column with a lengthy, fascinating exploration of the apparent disarray in the clubhouse of a Nationals team that has underperformed in a transitional year both in terms of on-field management (where rookie skipper Dave Martinez replaced veteran Dusty Baker) and in terms of ownership (after owner Ted Lerner ceded control of the organization to his son, Mark). One source bluntly told Passan that the Nats’ clubhouse “is a mess,” and three others backed that sentiment. The details are well worth a full read-through for anyone, though Nats fans in particular should take a look.

Broadly speaking, Passan goes on to suggest that the Nationals had hoped to win three of four games in the series they split with Miami this weekend, and though the one-game difference may not prove to be pivotal, ownership will be involved as the club weighs potential trades of short-term veterans. There’ll be a substantial swath of names for decision-makers to consider, with Kelvin Herrera, Ryan Madson, Shawn Kelley, Gio Gonzalez, Mark Reynolds, Matt Adams, Daniel Murphy, Brandon Kintzler and Jeremy Hellickson all serving as potential free agents.

The Nationals have not, to this point, given any real consideration to trading Bryce Harper, Passan adds, which aligns with last week’s comments from Mike Rizzo to the New York Post’s Joel Sherman, in which the general manager suggested that it’d take “something extreme” in order to consider trading Harper. Heyman, meanwhile, tweets that rival teams believe there’s virtually no chance the Nats will consider moving Harper, whom they hope to retain long-term.

Heyman adds, though, that other clubs expect the Nats to “investigate” possible trades of Herrera, Madson, Kelley and  Of course, with so many relievers available on the market, it’s worth wondering just how much the Nationals could even extract for the majority of those bullpen rentals.

Given the sheer volume of rental players the Nationals could potentially peddle to other clubs, it’s also unlikely that there’d even be time to orchestrate an all-out sale. To that end, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post tweeted even after yesterday’s loss that she’d still be “stunned to see a major fire sale.” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that other teams expect the Nationals to largely stay the course, perhaps preferring to try to pass some players through waivers next month. It’s possible that some smaller-scale moves will come together, but it hardly seems that the Washington front office is prepared for any type of significant tear-down.

In fact, it seems it’s not yet entirely out of the question that the Nats would make a significant addition. Heyman tweets that they haven’t completely closed the door on a late push for Marlins star J.T. Realmuto. More interestingly, he suggests that the Nationals would at least consider parting with prized outfield prospect Victor Robles or top shortstop prospect Carter Kieboom, but the Marlins have been pushing for both to be included in a deal (as MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reported Saturday). Whatever talks have taken place have not been serious enough that anything has been brought to Marlins ownership, tweets Craig Mish of SiriusXM.

Though this isn’t any real indication that a Realmuto deal has a legitimate chance of coming to fruition, Josh Norris of Baseball America tweeted last night that Miami had vice president of player development and scouting Gary Denbo in Durham, where Robles and the rest of the Nationals’ Triple-A club squared off against the Rays’ top affiliate. As ever, it’s probably best not to read too much into one specific scouting assignment, but the timing of the two reports is of at least some note.

Suffice it to say, the Nats seem to have a number of avenues they can explore. While trading short-term veterans and acquiring a big-name player such as Realmuto would seemingly run counter to one another, the two ideas could coexist. Adding Realmuto would give the Nationals a boost for two years beyond the current season, as he’s controllable through 2020. Trading some veteran rentals, meanwhile, would modestly supplement the farm while saving some money that could be put toward adding to a core of Max Scherzer, Trea Turner, Juan Soto, Adam Eaton, etc. this coming offseason. With just over a day to make so many crucial decisions, the Nats will be at the center of much of the intrigue surrounding the 2018 deadline.

NL East Notes: Braves, Nats, Gio, Phillies

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The Braves are attempting to add an outfielder, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets. With soon-to-be ex-Ray Corey Dickerson now available, Morosi wonders if Atlanta could emerge as a suitor for him. The Braves currently have two entrenched starting outfielders in center fielder Ender Inciarte and right fielder Nick Markakis, and all-world prospect Ronald Acuna is charging toward the majors and should take over left in the near future. Speculatively, after Acuna comes up, Dickerson could bump Markakis from a starting role. Not only is Dickerson likely the better of the pair, but he’s much younger (28 to 34) and comes with two years of control to Markakis’ one.

Now for the latest on a couple of Atlanta’s division rivals:

  • Given that he’s in the last year of his contract, left-hander Gio Gonzalez realizes he may not be in a Nationals uniform in 2019, Jamal Collier of MLB.com writes. Gonzalez would like to remain in Washington, though. “I’ve been here for seven years. To me, this is home,” he said. “That being said, I have to do my part.” If he’s unable to work out a new deal with the Nats in the next year, Gonzalez would hit the open market at the age of 33 – a prospect that’s not too appealing these days, Collier notes. “To see these guys get a team, it would make you feel a little more comfortable, a little more safe,” Gonzalez said of all the unsigned veterans remaining with spring training underway.
  • Right-hander Joe Ross, one of Gonzalez’s teammates, is making encouraging progress in his recovery from the Tommy John procedure he underwent last July, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com reports. Ross is currently throwing off flat ground from 75 feet and aiming to return to the Nationals sometime after the All-Star break. “That’s in my head, for sure,” the 24-year-old said of potentially making an impact in 2018. “My arm will dictate that. But that’s how I feel, and I’m looking forward to helping the team in the second half.”
  • If the Phillies don’t acquire starting pitching help, there’s a chance they’ll turn to a nine-man bullpen at times this year, per Matt Gelb of The Athletic (subscription required). It doesn’t appear the Phillies have a rotation capable of working deep in games, observes Gelb, who points out that they’ll be able to shuttle most of their relievers between the majors and minors throughout the season. Further, rookie manager Gabe Kapler is known for outside-the-box thinking and comes from a Dodgers organization that’s unafraid to use its bullpen rather often. Kapler admitted Saturday that a nine-man relief corps may be an option for Philly. “I can envision a couple of different scenarios that would allow us to carry nine in the ’pen,” Kapler said. “Now a lot of that is a little too early to X and O about, but how cool would it be to have that level of depth and those many mix and match options to go after the opposition? That would be a pretty cool thing for us.”

NL East Notes: Marlins, Parè, Neshek, Phillies, Gio

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As you might expect, the Marlins aimed high in their trade talks with the Yankees about Giancarlo Stanton.  According to FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman (Twitter link), Miami initially asked New York about such top prospects as Chance Adams, Justus Sheffield, and Estevan Florial.  Those demands weren’t met, however, and the Marlins had to settle for two lesser prospects (Jorge Guzman and Jose Devers) plus second baseman Starlin Castro in exchange for the big slugger.  It wasn’t as if the Marlins had much leverage, of course, as the Yankees were one of the few teams Stanton was willing to waive his no-trade clause to join and Miami’s top priority was getting as much of Stanton’s enormous contract as possible off their books.

Some more rumblings from around the NL East…

  • The Braves announced the hiring of Jason Parè as their assistant general manager, research and development.  (The previously-reported hiring of Josh Tamin as the club’s director of Major League operations was also announced.)  Parè spent the last two years as the Marlins’ senior director of analytics, and he previously worked with Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos in Toronto’s front office, where Parè worked as an analyst in 2014-15.
  • The Phillies have had internal talks about signing Pat Neshek, NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury reports.  Neshek was acquired by the Phils last winter in a trade with the Astros and then pitched superbly before being flipped to the Rockies for three prospects at trade deadline.  Neshek enjoyed arguably the best of his 11 MLB seasons in 2017, posting a 1.59 ERA over 62 1/3 combined innings with Philadelphia and Colorado, recording 69 strikeouts against just six walks.
  • The Phillies are reportedly open to the possibility of starting the season with a surplus of infielders, though Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer argues that the team is best served by trading at least one of their veteran players (i.e. Cesar Hernandez or Freddy Galvis) this winter and giving J.P. Crawford and Scott Kingery a clear path to regular playing time.  Juggling those four players and Maikel Franco during the year leads to fewer at-bats for everyone and, Gelb notes, less opportunity for Hernandez or Galvis to improve their value for a midseason trade.
  • Could the Nationals use Gio Gonzalez as a trade chip?  MASNsports.com’s Pete Kerzel discusses the possibility, as the Nats could obtain some controllable talent by dealing the veteran as he enters the final year of his contract.  Gonzalez is coming off one of the best of his six seasons in Washington (2.96 ERA, 2.38 K/BB rate, 8.42 K/9 over 201 innings), though advanced metrics were less impressed by his performance, so Kerzel believes the Nats could look for a trade while Gonzalez’s value is high.

2018 Vesting Options Update

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We previously checked in on the vesting option scenarios playing out around the game. In the interim, though, we learned of a previously unreported clause and also gathered quite a bit more information about which options will and will not vest.

Here’s where things stand with just two weeks to go:

Already Vested

  • Greg Holland: It didn’t take long for the Rockies closer to finish thirty games, which triggered a clause that turned his $10MM mutual option into a $15MM player option. All indications are that Holland will spurn that payday (and the qualifying offer that will surely follow in close succession) to test the open market, but it affords him injury protection the rest of the way. Holland has already earned $9MM in bonus money. With six more games finished over the final two weeks of the season, he’d tack on another $2MM.
  • Gio Gonzalez: After topping 180 frames in his most recent start, Gonzalez is now under contract for 2018 at $12MM. While he has hit a bit of a wall of late, that still looks like quite an appealing price for a pitcher that has worked to a 2.68 ERA on the year.

Open Questions

  • Ian Kinsler: It was learned recently that Kinsler’s 2018 option actually has a somewhat convoluted vesting provision. He’s guaranteed to earn $11MM upon reaching 600 plate appearances. And if he takes home another Gold Glove award, he’ll earn another $1MM in 2018. The option is going to be picked up regardless, but the 35-year-old can make things official if he strides to the plate 49 more times between now and the end of the season. He’ll likely get there if he plays more or less every day over the next two weeks.

Will Not Vest

  • Ricky Nolasco: It’s still theoretically possible that Nolasco can reach the 202 1/3 innings he needs to transform a $13MM club option into a player option, but with over forty to go that’s just not happening as a practical matter. Instead, he’ll likely receive a $1MM buyout on the option.
  • Matt Cain: Cain is even more certain to receive a buyout; he’ll get a cool $7.5MM when the Giants say no to the alternative of paying $14MM more to keep him for another season. The veteran has compiled 119 1/3 innings of 5.66 ERA ball to this point, far shy of the volume or quality needed for that option to come into play. (It would have vested at 200 frames.)
  • Hisashi Iwakuma: Though he needed only 125 innings for his $15MM vesting provision to be triggered, Iwakuma has managed just 31 to date and is still on the DL. Instead, the M’s will likely pay him a $1MM buyout rather than picking up his option at $10MM.
  • Andre Ethier: Though he made it back from the DL, it was far too late for Ethier to lay claim to a $17.5MM salary for 2017. Since it’s impossible for him to make it to 550 plate appearances, he’ll instead receive a $2.5MM buyout when the Dodgers all but certainly decline the club option.
  • Matt Garza: Garza will be controllable via a $5MM club option. He was not able to reach 110 total starts from 2014-17, so his option did not vest at $13MM. But he also did not miss 130 or more days of action on the DL this year, so he avoided a provision that would’ve left the Brewers with a $1MM option for 2018.
  • J.J. Hardy: Also now back from the DL, Hardy returned far too late to reach the 600 plate appearances he’d have needed for a $14MM club option to become guaranteed. Instead, he’s destined to receive a $2MM buyout from the O’s this fall.

Gio Gonzalez’s 2018 Option Vests

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While it’s largely a formality at this point, Gio Gonzalez is now officially under contract with the Nationals for 2018. His $12MM option vested once he reached 180 innings pitched, which he did by retiring Braves leadoff man Ender Inciarte tonight.

The option year is the final one on the extension that Gonzalez signed not long after being acquired by the Nats in advance of the 2012 season. It guaranteed him $42MM over five years, but he also will have earned another $24MM over the two option seasons.

Gonzalez has had his ups and downs, but on the whole has returned huge value to the Nats on the trade and the contract. He has provided over one thousand innings of 3.43 ERA ball over six seasons in D.C. And Gonzaez has never been more effective than in 2017. Entering tonight’s outing, he carried a sparkling 2.50 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9.

Given that performance, the Nationals will be plenty happy to fork over another twelve million bucks to Gonzalez, who’ll turn 32 in a week. That’s not to say, though, that he’s anything close to a sure thing to repeat his outstanding campaign. Gonzalez has lost quite a bit of velocity — 1.5 mph down from last year and 3.5 mph from his 2012 peak — and carries a lower swinging-strike rate (8.7%) than ever before as a National.

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