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Latest On Giants’ Interest In Evan Longoria

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Over the weekend, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported that the Giants had some level of interest in Rays third baseman Evan Longoria, and following up on that report, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that the Giants have “keen interest” in swinging a deal for the Tampa Bay cornerstone. However, in order for any deal to work, Nightengale notes that the Giants would need the Rays to take the contract of either Hunter Pence or Denard Span back from the Giants in addition to whatever prospects San Francisco would send.

Taking on either of those contracts would be a fairly tall order for the cost-conscious Rays. Pence is entering the final season of a five-year, $90MM contract and is owed $18.5MM in 2018 — more than the $13.5MM that Longoria is set to take home this coming season. Obviously, taking on Pence’s deal would still provide the Rays with long-term cost savings — Longoria is owed $86MM over the next five years — but the short-term complications in that scenario are readily apparent.

Taking on Span’s deal would be closer to a cash-neutral proposition. He’s owed a $9MM salary plus a $4MM buyout in the coming year, though he will also reportedly be paid a deferred $3MM from his signing bonus come Jan. 20, 2018 as well, so even that scenario could require the Rays to take on some additional 2018 dollars.

Of course, if the Rays are to take on any salary in return, even a portion of one of those two deals, that’d give GM Erik Neander, senior VP Chaim Bloom and the rest of the front office greater cause to increase their ask in terms of prospects from a Giants system that is thin on upper-tier talent. At his current price tag of five years and $86MM, the 32-year-old Longoria isn’t exactly teeming with surplus value, though he remains a quality regular option at the hot corner.

Longoria hit .261/.313/.424 with 20 homers last season — the weakest offensive output of his career — but delivered excellent defensive marks at third base, leading to a season that was worth roughly three wins above replacement. The ever-durable Longoria has only missed 12 games since the start of the 2013 season and hasn’t been on the DL since 2012, though the downturn in his offensive profile in 2017 could create some cause for trepidation. Longoria’s ground-ball rate skyrocketed to 43.4 percent as his line-drive, fly-ball and hard-contact rates all fell. His infield-fly rate, meanwhile, trended upward for a fourth straight season.

Whether Longoria’s 2017 downturn was an aberration or the beginning of a decline remains to be seen but may also be a moot point in this instance. The Rays likely don’t relish the idea of taking on a negative-value asset in order to trade a player that has been the face of their franchise for nearly a decade, but the Giants can’t take on the $16.7MM luxury tax hit would accompany Longoria’s contract without pushing perilously close to the $197MM tax barrier.

San Francisco wants to avoid paying that tax for a fourth straight season and would love to reset its tax penalty — they’re currently set to pay a 50 percent tax on every dollar over that point this offseason and in subsequent years — making the Longoria scenario seem to be something of a reach.

If the Rays plan to trade Longoria at all, however, this would be the offseason to do it. He’ll gain 10-and-5 rights early in the 2018 season, which would provide him full veto power over any proposed trade.

Giants Nearing Trade To Clear Payroll Space

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6:52pm: Pence is not in the deal that will send Moore to the Rangers, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Shea and colleague Henry Schulman (Twitter links) add that, while Pence is not currently being dealt and has not been asked to waive his no-trade clause, it’s likely the Giants are trying to move him.

5:55pm: The Giants are nearing a significant swap that will open up payroll space, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). The pact will involve either or both of lefty Matt Moore and outfielder Hunter Pence.

Details of the arrangement — including the prospective trade partner — aren’t yet known. But Shea says a deal is in place pending physicals, so it certainly appears that a move of some kind is imminent.

While the Giants embarked upon a major effort to land high-priced star Giancarlo Stanton earlier in the offseason, there have been rumblings that the club may shift gears given how things have shaken out thus far. While there’s still no reason to believe that a rebuilding effort is afoot, the Giants may attempt the difficult task of improving their competitiveness without going past the luxury tax line in 2018.

Moore, 28, is owed just $9MM this year and can be controlled for 2019 through a $10MM club option (otherwise he’ll be owed a $750K buyout). That’s not the bargain it once seemed likely to be, but sill seems a reasonable price for a youthful pitcher. While he struggled to a 5.39 ERA in 2017, Moore’s peripherals were within his usual range, he was much more effective in 2016, and he has been at full health of late.

The respected Pence, meanwhile, fell off drastically in 2017 after a long run of well-above-average production at the plate. Over 539 plate appearances, Pence managed only a .260/.315/.385 slash line. He is set to earn a hefty $18.5MM in the final season of his contract, which seems a fair bit more than he’d command on the open market. Of course, there’s still value in a hard-working player who might be seen as a rebound candidate. But it’s important to note that Pence enjoys full no-trade rights and has become a Bay Area fixture.

Giants Could Move Hunter Pence To Part-Time Role

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The Giants are casting a wide net as they search for outfield help, and they’re prepared to move Hunter Pence to a part-time role if their other acquisitions necessitate such a transition, GM Bobby Evans tells Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.

Evans tells Crasnick that the team’s “focus is center field” and upgrading the defense, though San Francisco has, of course, been widely linked to Marlins star Giancarlo Stanton in trade talks as well. The acquisition of a center fielder wouldn’t appear to force Pence into a timeshare at first glance, though John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweeted this afternoon that if the Giants are successful in adding both a center fielder and a right fielder such as Stanton, the team could put Pence and Denard Span into a left-field platoon.

Landing Stanton and an established center fielder would be a lofty goal, though Shea also tweets that a short-term fix could be an option in center field. The organization is high on 24-year-old Steven Duggar and believes he could eventually be an internal candidate to man center on a long-term basis. The 2015 sixth-rounder is likely to open next year in Triple-A, per Shea.

Of course, it remains to be seen just how the Giants will remedy their outfield situation. Joel Sherman of the New York Post also chatted with Evans, and the GM acknowledged that the poor reputation of San Francisco’s farm system makes trading with other organizations more difficult. Evans also plainly stated that the Giants would “prefer not to go over [the luxury tax barrier] for the fourth straight year.”

Adding Stanton’s $25MM average annual value to the luxury tax ledger would almost certainly put the Giants right up against that threshold. Between the average annual values of Buster Posey, Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija, Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford, Mark Melancon, Denard Span, Madison Bumgarner, Matt Moore and Pence (plus $13.9MM in arbitration projections), the Giants already have nearly $154MM on the luxury tax ledger. That’s not even including a potential center-field addition, pre-arbitration players or the roughly $13MM of player benefits that is included in luxury tax calculations. Nevertheless, Sherman characterizes them as a legitimate suitor for the 2017 home run king.

[Related: San Francisco Giants payroll outlook]

As Crasnick notes, the Giants have been tied to virtually every outfielder on the free-agent or trade market. In addition to Stanton, San Francisco has been linked to Lorenzo Cain (link), Jackie Bradley Jr. (link), Billy Hamilton (link) and Jay Bruce (link) in the past week alone.

San Francisco outfielders were far and away the least productive unit in all of Major League Baseball last season, hitting just .255/.309/.375 while also posting the fifth-worst Defensive Runs Saved total in the game (-42). Pence, 35 next April, played no small role in those struggles. The former All-Star hit .260/.315/.385 with passable but unspectacular defense in right field. He’s owed $18.5MM next season — the final year of a five-year, $90MM contract with the Giants.

Giants Activate Hunter Pence, Option Christian Arroyo

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The Giants have activated right fielder Hunter Pence from the disabled list and optioned infielder Christian Arroyo to Triple-A, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area was among those to report (Twitter link).

Pence hasn’t taken an at-bat since May 12 on account of a left hamstring strain. Before Pence landed on the shelf, the normally steady veteran batted a meek .243/.289/.338 in 149 plate appearances. But the other right fielders the Giants have used this year, the just-designated Justin Ruggiano, Mac Williamson and Austin Slater, have each posted worse batting lines than Pence over a combined 106 trips to the plate. Now, if the 23-34 Giants are going to get back into the playoff race, they’ll need the 34-year-old Pence to return to his typical form. Entering Sunday, San Francisco sits 12 games behind the NL West-leading Dodgers and 10.5 out of a wild-card spot.

Arroyo, whom the Giants promoted in late April, didn’t help their cause in his first taste of major league action. The 22-year-old has been on various top 100 prospect lists (MLB.com currently ranks him 79th), but he hit a woeful .197/.244/.304 and totaled 32 strikeouts against eight walks in his initial big league call-up. Arroyo primarily played third base, where Eduardo Nunez has rebounded offensively since a rough April, and also picked up some middle infield experience.

Injury Notes: Giants, Red Sox, Indians, Jays, Jankowski

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The Giants announced tonight that right fielder Hunter Pence has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a left hamstring strain. Fellow outfielder Mac Williamson is up from Triple-A Sacramento to take Pence’s spot on the roster. The loss of Pence is the latest blow to a Giants roster that has seen a number of key players go down with injuries this year, though Pence’s performance hasn’t been anywhere near what one would expect from the typically productive slugger. The 34-year-old has been at least 18 percent better than the league-average hitter in each of the past four seasons, per park-adjusted metrics OPS+ and wRC+, and he’s batted a combined .281/.339/.463 in that time. However, this year, he’s mustered just a .243/.289/.338 batting line through his first 149 plate appearances.

A few more notable injury scenarios from around the league…

  • Giants closer Mark Melancon is on the mend and appears to be progressing well, as the right-hander told reporters that he threw a 22-pitch mound session today (Twitter links via John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle and Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. Melancon said that he was “pretty much full go,” and Pavlovic notes that he can be activated as soon as tomorrow. Derek Law has been filling in as San Francisco’s closer with Melancon on the shelf.
  • An MRI of Drew Pomeranz’s left triceps didn’t reveal any new injuries, and the Red Sox lefty has been cleared to resume baseball activities, tweets Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. News on Tyler Thornburg, though, isn’t as good. The Sox are still trying to get to the bottom of the shoulder woes Thornburg is experiencing, as Evan Drellich of CSNNE.com tweets. Thornburg is set for additional testing and medical consultations this week. He has yet to take the hill since arriving in Boston via trade over the winter.
  • The Indians will be without Brandon Guyer for the next four to six weeks due to a sprained left wrist, manager Terry Francona told reporters today (via MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian). Guyer will be completely shut down for a week before he begins the next phase of his rehab. Bastian also notes that ace Corey Kluber tossed a 20-pitch session today but still needs a more aggressive mound session and a simulated game before he’s cleared to begin a rehab assignment. And if those injuries aren’t enough for Cleveland, the Indians’ No. 2 starter, Carlos Carrasco, exited tonight’s game with tightness in his left pectoral muscle (Twitter link via Bastian). There’s no word on the severity of that issue, though it seems reasonable to expect further word following the completion of tonight’s game.
  • Steve Pearce became the latest member of the Blue Jays to land on the disabled list, as the infielder/outfielder suffered a calf injury last night and was placed on the 10-day DL today following an MRI. The Jays announced the injury as a right calf strain and did not offer a timeline on Pearce’s absence. Right-hander Leonel Campos is up from Triple-A to give the relief corps a quick boost, though as Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith tweets, that gives the Jays a two-man bench and a nine-man bullpen. As such, it seems likely that a reliever will be sent down soon. On a more positive note for Toronto fans, the team also announced that Troy Tulowitzki began a rehab assignment today, suggesting that he’s quite near to a return.
  • Padres outfielder Travis Jankowski has been on the DL since late April, and MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell now tweets that it’ll be at least another six weeks before the defensive standout is ready to return to the team. Jankowski hit the DL with what was termed a “deep bone bruise,” though reports at the time suggested that doctors believed there could be a hairline fracture in his foot. Per Cassavell, Jankowski’s most recent tests did indeed reveal a fracture, which lengthens the amount of time that he’ll be away from the club.

Quick Hits: Palermo, Rays, Reds, Giants

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Major League Baseball umpire supervisor Steve Palermo passed away Sunday at the age of 67, the league announced. Palermo debuted as an American League umpire in 1976 and worked until 1991, when a gunshot wound to his spinal cord left him partially paralyzed. He suffered the injury bravely trying to assist two waitresses who were being mugged outside a Dallas restaurant. Thanks to arduous physical therapy, Palermo was able to defy the odds and walk again with the assistance of a cane.

“Steve Palermo was a great umpire, a gifted communicator and a widely respected baseball official, known in our sport for his leadership and courage,” commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “He had an exceptional impact on both his Major League Umpires and baseball fans, who benefited from his ability to explain the rules in our game. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Steve’s wife, Debbie, the World Umpires Association and his many friends and admirers throughout the game.”

MLBTR joins Manfred in sending its condolences to Palermo’s family and friends.

A few notes from both leagues:

  • The Rays made the right decision in optioning southpaw Blake Snell to Triple-A Durham on Saturday, opines Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. While a significant decline in performance since last season is behind Snell’s demotion, there are also accountability issues with the 24-year-old, according to Topkin, who writes that Snell’s postgame comments “routinely drew eye rolls from others in uniform.” Snell apparently took the news in stride, though, with teammate Alex Cobb telling Craig Forde of MLB.com: “He seemed to have a good outlook. He seemed relieved to be able to go down, without the pressure, and work on what he knows he needs to work on. That’s a positive.” One problem Snell will work on in the minors is a lack of fastball command, suggested manager Kevin Cash, who assured reporters that the Rays still believe in the second-year hurler. “For us to be the kind of team we can be, Blake has got to be in our rotation,” Cash said.
  • Left-hander Amir Garrett, whom the Reds optioned to Triple-A last Sunday, will rejoin the big league rotation during the upcoming week, manager Bryan Price said Sunday (Twitter link via C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer). Garrett has thrown two scoreless innings since the Reds sent him down to Louisville. Before that, the rookie impressed at the major league level with five quality starts in six opportunities. Aside from a dreadful April 24 showing against the Brewers, who teed off on Garrett for nine earned runs on eight hits and four walks in 3 1/3 innings, the 25-year-old hasn’t lasted fewer than six frames or allowed more than two earned runs in any of his starts.
  • The Giants are mulling a stint on the disabled list for right fielder Hunter Pence, relays Michael Wagaman of MLB.com. Pence, who has been on the shelf this weekend, underwent an MRI on Sunday that revealed a mild hamstring strain. The 34-year-old is among the many Giants who have started slowly this season, having hit just .243/.289/.338 in 149 plate appearances.

Giants Notes: Bochy, Pence, Nathan

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It’s been more than a year since Giants skipper Bruce Bochy inked a three-year contract extension with the team, but Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports now reports that the contract earned Bochy a record-setting $6MM annual value. The contract runs from 2017-19 — Bochy was already under contract through 2016 when he signed the deal — and pays Bochy an even $6MM in each of those season. Angels manager Mike Scioscia has the record for the largest contract ever by a manager (10 years, $50MM), and Cubs skipper Joe Maddon’s overall deal is larger than Bochy’s as well (five years, $25MM). Both fall shy of Bochy in terms of AAV, however. The three-time World Series winner and future Hall of Famer has a career record of 820-765 with the Giants and an overall record of 1771-1740 as a Major League manager.

A couple more notes on the Giants…

  • Hunter Pence was lifted from last night’s game after experiencing tightness in his surgically repaired right hamstring, per multiple reporters, including Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area. Per Pavlovic, Pence first felt the tightness on Wednesday and it worsened into Thursday’s contest — a near-no-hitter for newly acquired Matt Moore. The Giants have him listed day-to-day at this point, but certainly that’s an ominous ailment for a player that missed more than six weeks due to hamstring surgery earlier this summer.
  • Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle hears that it’s going to be tough for the recently signed Joe Nathan to earn a September call-up with the Giants (Twitter link). San Francisco already has a full 40-man roster, he points out, and they’ll need to add a third catcher to the mix as well. The Giants aren’t keen on designating any of their prospects for assignment, he notes, even those that are on the fringes of the 40-man. Nathan has tossed three shutout innings for San Francisco’s Double-A affiliate since signing a minor league deal and tossed a pair of scoreless innings for the Cubs earlier this summer before being designated for assignment and subsequently released.

Giants Activate Hunter Pence, Designate Ramiro Pena

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The Giants have activated outfielder Hunter Pence, who had been out after undergoing surgery for a hamstring tear, the club announced. Infielder Ramiro Pena has been designated to open a roster spot.

San Francisco will surely be glad to see Pence back in the lineup, as he was producing at a .298/.375/.486 clip before going down with the injury. There had been talk that the team might need to make a deal to fill in for Pence, but that doesn’t look to be necessary at this point. The Giants are still said to be looking into corner outfield additions, though. Adding offense would be the primary purpose, but it probably wouldn’t hurt to reduce the burden a bit on the 33-year-old veteran.

As for Pena, 31, the writing was probably on the wall when the Giants struck a deal to acquire Eduardo Nunez. With fellow infielders Matt Duffy and Ehire Adrianza also on the comeback trail, there just wasn’t space for the switch-hitter. He has actually been quite a useful fill-in, though, posting a quality .299/.330/.425 slash line in his 91 plate appearances on the year.

Trade Market Notes: Teheran, Bruce, Reddick, Giants, Rangers, White Sox

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Braves righty Julio Teheran exited tonight’s start with what is being described as right lat tightness, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman writes. Teheran had been throwing well, once again, before the issue arose. We’ve already seen plenty of cold water thrown on the idea that he’ll be traded, and this injury — even if it’s minor — could help seal the deal (or, rather, the lack thereof).

Here are some more notes as the trade market continues to take shape:

  • It has largely been taken for granted that the Reds will trade Jay Bruce this summer. But ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets that some rival executives are finding it difficult to gain any traction in talks with the Cincinnati front office. Others, though, still see a deal as likely.
  • Some of the same teams pursuing Bruce are in on Athletics outfielder Josh Reddick, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi notes on Twitter. That’s not surprising — both are left-handed-hitting corner outfielders, albeit rather different ones — and it’s certainly possible to imagine the interplay between their respective markets having an impact on how trade talks progress. The Cubs, Dodgers, and Indians all have some level of interest in both players, per the report.
  • As for the Athletics and Reddick, there are other teams in the mix, too. Per John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group, the Royals and Giants are also taking a look. Of course, we also heard today (subsequent to Hickey’s report) that Kansas City may instead head in a different direction.
  • We’ve heard plenty of chatter on Melvin Upton tonight, after Olney suggested earlier today that he could be a fit for the Giants. Whether or not Upton is the target — or, as just noted, Reddick — it seems that San Francisco is once again leaning toward adding another outfielder. Hunter Pence’s return hasn’t been quite as smooth as might’ve been hoped, and the remaining primary mix — Angel Pagan, Denard Span, and Gregor Blanco — hasn’t been terribly productive, though Pagan has had a solid bounceback campaign. On the other hand, both Jarrett Parker and Mac Williamson have hit at better than league-average rates when they’ve been up, so the club isn’t exactly hurting for options.
  • Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News provides a useful round-up of the Rangers’ efforts to bolster a scuffling rotation. In addition to opening talks with the Rays and White Sox, as has been covered extensively, the team is looking at a variety of other possibilities. Andrew Cashner of the Padres is one player that the Rangers have discussed, as are Mariners lefties James Paxton and Wade Miley. It seems that all variety of options continue to be on the table, as all of the pitchers covered in the report constitute quite different assets. GM Jon Daniels suggests that, while he’d prefer to move quickly toward a deal, the odds are that it’ll come down to the deadline.
  • As the White Sox weigh what (if any) players to sell, the club won’t have two short-term assets on the shelf. As Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune reports, both center fielder Austin Jackson and catcher Alex Avila — each of whom was signed to a one-year deal over the winter — are still a ways away from returning from their respective injuries.

NL Notes: Niese, Vizcaino, Cubs, Giants, Dodgers

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In an appearance on Pittsburgh’s 93.7 The Fan, Pirates GM Neal Huntington admits that the winter swap of Neil Walker for Jon Niese was a mistake. “We felt that that was our best return, and it has not played out that way, and that’s a challenge,” Huntington said. “We own that. We accept that.” Reports have suggested that the Bucs are hoping to trade Niese. For the time being, he’s headed for bullpen duties, as Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweets. Though Huntington expressed hope that Niese can turn things around, he was unusually forthright in acknowledging the faulty trade (while also hinting at the team’s alternatives in shopping Walker). “In hindsight, maybe the two fringe prospects and trying to figure out where to reallocate the money might have been a better return,” he said.

  • Niese’s former club, the Mets, surely didn’t envision a scenario where the lefty could hold appeal in 2016, but Marc Carig of Newsday writes that the club isn’t ruling out a reunion. New York is still prioritizing pen help, but seems increasingly open to the idea of bringing back a pitcher who had a good deal of success over his time with the club. The 29-year-old has been hit hard in Pittsburgh, but carried a 3.91 ERA in over 1,000 innings through eight years with the Mets.
  • Braves closer Arodys Vizcaino left tonight’s action with what appeared to be an oblique issue. As MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets, the preliminary expectation is that he’ll require a DL stint. The injury comes at an inopportune time for Vizcaino’s trade chances, as he has already missed action of late and has struggled when he has been available. Over his last five appearances, Vizcaino has allowed five earned runs on eight hits and seven walks while recording only a pair of strikeouts. Once viewed as one of the best relief arms on the market, it seems increasingly likely that he’ll end up staying in Atlanta for the rest of the season.
  • Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein says the his club will be flexible in the build-up to the deadline, as Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago reports. “I don’t think its productive to pigeonhole yourself into thinking you have needs in just one specific role as the key to improving this club,” Epstein said. “There are so many variables. Things change. The way you look now may not be the way you look in mid-September. We are going to be open-minded to adding talented players knowing that could happen.” Epstein did discuss the idea of adding a starter, though Chicago’s rotation has been quite solid. “We are always looking to add long-term starting pitching,” he noted. “Sometimes the trading deadline can be a better forum for that than the offseason. Sometimes it is not. It is important to stay focused this time of year on this year’s club. You still want to keep one eye on opportunities that can help you down the road as well.”
  • The Giants are seeing solid progress on some injured players, as Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News reports. Outfielder Hunter Pence is set to begin a rehab assignment, where he’ll test his surgically-repaired hamstring. And second baseman Joe Panik has passed a concussion test, meaning he could soon be cleared to start his own brief rehab stint. Righties Cory Gearrin and Matt Cain are also nearing readiness; the former has extended his throwing distance while the latter reached 93 pitches in an outing tonight (though he was also touched for 10 runs).
  • The division-rival Dodgers also got some injury news, though it’s not necessarily all positive. Outfielder Trayce Thompson has lower back pain that could land him on the DL. Fellow outfielder Andre Ethier is now looking like he’s more likely to make it back in mid-August, about two weeks later than had been targeted, though the team is still awaiting the results of a bone scan on his injured leg before it gets a clearer picture.
  • While the Dodgers think they’ll utilize prized lefty Julio Urias at the major league level again later this year, manager Dave Roberts says he’ll work at the pen at Triple-A for the time being. (Via MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM; Twitter link.) Los Angeles has been understandably cautious with his workload, and seemingly hopes to keep him fresh while also tamping down the innings for the time being.
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