Jacoby Ellsbury

Several Teams Have Reportedly Made Offers For Manny Machado

By Steve Adams and Kyle Downing | December 14, 2017 at 2:53am CDT

THURSDAY, 2:53am: Nightengale reports in another tweet that the Orioles are “moving aggressively” on trade talks involving Machado, noting that Baltimore believes they can move him by the end of the week.

THURSDAY, 12:47am: Contrary to Rosenthal’s earlier report, Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports reports via Twitter that the Cardinals have a “strong offer” in place for Machado, though it’s reportedly not as strong as White Sox’ proposal.

THURSDAY, 12:20am: Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (insider subscription required and recommended) reports that the White Sox have been the “most aggressive” suitor for Machado. Their goal seems to be to acquire him and attempt to extend him for the long term. Bob Nightengale adds in a tweet that the offer from Chicago was “the best offer of the dozen offers the Orioles have received.”

Rosenthal also notes that the Giants offered the Orioles a package that included Christian Arroyo. The Cardinals also asked about Machado, but the price was apparently too steep for them.

WEDNESDAY, 7:53pm: It doesn’t appear that a Machado trade will come together during the Winter Meetings, Encina writes.

6:30pm: Several teams have made formal trade offers for Machado, Jon Heyman of FanRag tweets. The Yankees’ chances of landing him are near zero, a source told Joel Sherman of the New York Post. It seems the Yankees would want to include Jacoby Ellsbury in a a Machado deal to help them stay under the competitive-balance tax threshold, but Sherman doubts he’d waive his no-trade clause to go to Baltimore (Twitter link).

4:33pm: The Orioles are “making good progress” toward a Machado trade, Duquette told Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com and other reporters, though Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com writes that a deal doesn’t appear imminent. There are more than five teams in the running for Machado, Ghiroli adds. The Orioles met with a “couple” of those teams Wednesday, per Encina. Notably, Duquette hasn’t dismissed trading Machado to another AL East team, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com relays (all Twitter links here).

TUESDAY, 6:27pm: The Yankees and White Sox are also interested in Machado, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports (Twitter link). As mentioned below, Peter Angelos doesn’t want to deal Machado to New York, while the Sox are an interesting suitor that could be looking at Machado as the centerpiece of a return to contention. Cardinals GM Michael Girsch told Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that giving up significant assets for a star player with just one year of control remaining is “not a path we are likely to go down.” Interestingly, this description applies to both Machado and to another oft-mentioned Cards trade target in Josh Donaldson.

4:29pm: “Several clubs” asked the Orioles about Machado today, Dan Duquette told MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli (Twitter links), Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links) and other media. There’s at least a possibility a trade happens, and the Orioles have apparently not discussed an extension with Machado in years, though new negotiations are “under consideration.” The O’s haven’t talked about giving any potential Machado trade partner a 72-hour window to try and negotiate their own extension with the infielder.

1:43pm: The Cardinals have interest in Machado, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. The Phillies are said to be enamored of Machado, too, and there are no doubt a wide variety of other teams lining up to check on in the asking price. Baltimore is receiving a “ton” of interest in Machado, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com tweets.

10:57am: While it’s been reported that the Orioles are at least willing to listen to offers on Manny Machado, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic takes things a step further, reporting that the O’s have asked interested parties to make them offers for the star infielder (subscription required and highly recommended). The term “infielder” is of particular note, as Rosenthal also writes that Machado’s desire is to return to shortstop in 2018 whether he’s in Baltimore or with a new club.

Machado, 25, has long stood out as an on-paper trade candidate given his proximity to free agency and the Orioles’ lack of starting pitching. The O’s, who have been looking to add as many as three starters to their rotation this winter, will be hard-pressed to contend for an AL East title in 2018 (even more so in the wake of the Bronx Bombers’ acquisition of Giancarlo Stanton). With Machado set to hit the open market next winter in position to land a record-setting contract — assuming a healthy year, anything south of Stanton’s $325MM guarantee would seem to be a nonstarter — it’s difficult to envision him remaining in Baltimore. For the time being, MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $17.3MM salary for Machado next year after his final trip through the arbitration process.

The Orioles, per Rosenthal, are aiming to acquire two controllable young starters in any trade for Machado. That’s a lofty ask for a lot of teams, but a win-now club with an ample supply of touted but unproven pitching could look at that as an acceptable price to pay for a player that has been worth better than five wins per season, on average, over the past half decade (despite missing 80 games due to injury in 2014). Notably, Rosenthal adds that owner Peter Angelos does not want to trade with the division-rival Yankees.

Machado didn’t have his best season in 2017, as he got off to a shockingly pedestrian start to the year. Through the season’s first three months, Machado was batting just .216/.289/.423 with an elevated (by his standards) 20.6 percent strikeout rate. Over the final three months, though, the Machado of old resurfaced, as he mashed at a .295/.329/.513 pace with a vastly improved 13.1 percent punchout rate.

Machado has two Gold Gloves and a Platinum Glove to his name at third base and has long graded out as an elite defender there, but there’s little doubt that he could still handle shortstop at an above-average level as well. He logged nearly 400 innings there in 2016, for instance, and drew generally positive marks from Ultimate Zone Rating (+1.9) and Defensive Runs Saved (+3).

From a broader perspective, Machado is one of several players entering his final year of team control in Baltimore. Zach Britton, Adam Jones and Brad Brach are all free agents following the 2018 season, while Jonathan Schoop is controlled for just one year beyond that. Depending on how aggressively the O’s are willing to sell off parts, they could quickly restock their farm with an ample supply of talent by marketing more than one of their soon-to-be free agents, though doing so would also mean largely punting on the 2018 campaign at the very least.

Trade Chatter: Machado, Phils, Yanks, Bucs, Cole, Ellsbury, Tigers, Brewers

By Connor Byrne | December 11, 2017 at 4:59pm CDT

Should the Orioles decide to trade superstar third baseman Manny Machado prior to 2018, his contract year, they could find a taker in Philadelphia. The Phillies are among “the more interested parties” in Machado, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports. The Orioles have studied the Phillies’ farm system in the event of a deal, and they now “covet” right-hander Sixto Sanchez (Baseball America’s 61st-best prospect), per Kubatko. Second base prospect Scott Kingery and major league shortstop Freddy Galvis could also be involved in a potential trade, Kubatko writes. But a swap would require a 72-hour window for the Phillies to extend the 25-year-old Machado, according to Kubatko, and hammering out an agreement could be a tall order given that he’s so close to hitting the open market.

More of the latest trade chatter:

The Yankees reportedly came away from talks with the Pirates with the impression that they won’t move righty Gerrit Cole. However, the Pirates are at least willing to listen to offers for Cole, per Buster Olney of ESPN (Twitter link). The Yankees and Bucs match up well for a potential Cole trade, sources tell Olney, who notes that Bombers general manager Brian Cashman and the Pirates’ Neal Huntington have swung plenty of deals in the past.
In the wake of the Giancarlo Stanton acquisition, the Yankees are loaded with outfielders. Although that seems to be bad news for Jacoby Ellsbury, who’s toward the bottom of the Yankees’ current outfield depth chart, he’s still “unlikely” to waive his no-trade clause, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweets. The belief is that the Yankees would eat roughly half of the $68MM to jettison Ellsbury, according to Jon Heyman of FanRag, but it could be a moot point if he’s unwilling to go anywhere. And Cashman said Monday that Ellsbury “has a spot on the roster” and “will compete to take his job back,” Alex Speier of the Boston Globe relays (Twitter link). On the other hand, if the Yankees make 23-year-old outfielder Clint Frazier available, the Athletics would unquestionably have interest, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (via Twitter). However, the price to acquire Frazier would likely be too high, Slusser adds.
The Tigers expect to deal second baseman Ian Kinsler, GM Al Avila told Evan Woodbery of MLive.com and other reporters (Twitter link). Meanwhile, they’ve gotten “mild inquiries” on arguably their most valuable trade chip – righty Michael Fulmer – but they’re not actively shopping him (via Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press, on Twitter). “There are a handful of teams out there that have the players to do it, but we have not come close to those conversations,” Avila said of a potential Fulmer trade (Twitter link via Jason Beck of MLB.com).
While the Brewers are listening to offers for outfielder Domingo Santana, there’s not a lot of traction in trade talks, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN tweets. The Brewers want “an affordable impact starter” for Santana, Crasnick suggests. GM David Stearns told reporters Monday that “if we’re going to even consider trading someone who is such an important part of our team, we are going to expect a sizable return” (via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, on Twitter).

Reactions To And Effects Of The Giancarlo Stanton Trade

By Connor Byrne | December 9, 2017 at 9:52pm CDT

The Yankees shook the baseball world early Saturday when they agreed to acquire 2017 National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton from the Marlins. As you’d expect, the deal has elicited no shortage of media reactions, many of which we’ve rounded up here:

While the Los Angeles-born Stanton would have preferred to go to the Dodgers, they didn’t make an offer that “intrigued” the Marlins, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. Sending Stanton to the Dodgers would have required the Marlins to take on more bad contracts than they were “comfortable with,” according to Sherman, who reports that LA wanted Miami to accept one or both of Adrian Gonzalez or Scott Kazmir and absorb $30MM of Stanton’s contract. The Marlins found acquiring Starlin Castro from the Yankees much more appealing, as he’s someone they could slot in at second base or flip elsewhere.
The Dodgers’ wariness toward a more aggressive Stanton pursuit stemmed from the back-loaded nature of his 10-year, $295MM commitment, per Buster Olney of ESPN (subscription required and recommended). If he doesn’t opt out of his contract after 2020, Stanton will rake in $96MM over the final three years of his pact, when he’ll be in his late 30s. The Yankees will be able to slot him in at designated hitter then if his work in the field sharply declines with age, whereas the Dodgers would have had to continue running him out as a defender.
Adding Stanton gives the Yankees as many as six major league-caliber outfielders, thereby making Jacoby Ellsbury and Clint Frazier potential trade candidates. The Yankees will work to rid themselves of Ellsbury, even if it means eating “a lot” of the $68.3MM left on his contract, George A. King III of the New York Post reports. Ellsbury was reportedly uninterested in leaving the Yankees as of earlier this week, but that was before the acquisition of Stanton relegated him to the role of a fifth outfielder. While Ellsbury, who has a full no-trade clause, would be a salary dump, the 23-year-old Frazier would likely bring back a quality return – perhaps a starter, King suggests. Additionally, the Yankees “would certainly listen on offers” for third baseman Chase Headley, per King. Headley is entering the last year of his contract, in which he’ll make $13MM.
With new Marlins owners Derek Jeter and Bruce Sherman on a mission to continue paring down payroll to the $90MM range, Castro looks like their most obvious trade chip, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. By parting with Castro – who has two years and $22MM left on his pact – and not taking back another guaranteed contract, Miami would still be about $15MM above its spending goal, Jackson notes. Further payroll slashing could come from deals involving some combination of Marcell Ozuna, Christian Yelich, Martin Prado, Brad Ziegler and Junichi Tazawa. Moving Castro, Ozuna, Ziegler and Tazawa would likely obviate any need to trade Yelich, Jackson suggests.
Prior to the Yankees’ Stanton acquisition, they looked poised to go after Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper in free agency a year from now. That may be out the window now, leading Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post to posit that the trade probably helps the Nationals to some degree because it appears to erase a would-be Harper suitor. However, several other teams will make big offers to Harper, Janes points out, so retaining him on what should be a record contract still figures to be a tall order for the Nats.
Harper is among the losers in this trade, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic opines (subscription required and recommended). Unsurprisingly, Harper’s agent, the always colorful Scott Boras, disagrees. “A Bronx opera . . . The Three Tenors . . . Hal’s genius, vision,” Boras told Rosenthal via email, referencing Harper, Stanton, Aaron Judge and Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner. Boras added that the Harper-Stanton-Judge trio would be “a galaxy of international popularity” on the same team. While Boras clearly isn’t ruling out a Yankees-Harper union, Rosenthal sees Manny Machado as a more likely target for the club in free agency next year.
The fact that Stanton is set to join a Yankees team that was just one win from securing a World Series trip last season is a major blow to parity in the AL, Dave Cameron of FanGraphs argues. Cameron classifies the Astros, Yankees, Red Sox and Indians as potential “super teams” heading into next season, and the Angels could be on their way to the playoffs after winning the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes. As impressive as those clubs look, there’s now less incentive for others to play for the last wild-card spot, Cameron contends, which could lead certain fringe teams to rebuild.

Heyman’s Latest: Ohtani, Machado, Cards, Pads, Hosmer, Ellsbury

By Jeff Todd | December 7, 2017 at 7:00pm CDT

It’s possible that Shohei Ohtani could make his decision on where to sign “by early next week,” according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). That gives us an idea of a potential timeline, though there’s still plenty of wiggle room.

Here’s more from Heyman on a variety of subjects:

The Orioles have been receiving calls on third baseman Manny Machado, writes Heyman. While the O’s aren’t shopping Machado and don’t wish to move him, Heyman notes that Baltimore is also willing to at least entertain offers on any of its players, even Machado. Presumably, it’d take a staggeringly high offer to convince the O’s to part with Machado even in spite of the fact that he’s just a year removed from free agency. The Orioles have reportedly been pursuing upgrades in their rotation all winter as they seek to bolster their club for one more run with Machado, closer Zach Britton and center fielder Adam Jones at the forefront of their roster. Heyman notes that the O’s are also having internal discussions about whether to try for a Machado extension, though doing so would likely require a precedent-setting deal for the 25-year-old superstar, as Machado currently projects to hit free agency at the abnormally young age of 26.
Sticking with the Orioles, Heyman says in his weekly notes post that the Rockies (previously reported) and Cardinals are among the teams that have shown some interest in Britton. It seems reasonable to suspect that Britton is more readily available than is Machado, given that Baltimore went well down the line on a possible deadline deal for the lefty. But that doesn’t mean the team will simply accept the top bid; in all likelihood, prying him loose will mean meeting the O’s asking price.
Some around the game believe the Cardinals could at least consider trading outfielder Dexter Fowler, Heyman adds. St. Louis would only do so, he suggests, if they were able to move most of the salary. That seems mostly reasonable to expect, given that Fowler posted a sturdy .264/.363/.488 slash with a career-high 18 long balls in his first season with the Cards. As for whether a trade is likely, that seems dubious. Fowler has a no-trade clause and sounds like he is settling in nicely in St. Louis. And president of baseball operations John Mozeliak kicked off the offseason by telling Fowler he wasn’t planning on trading him.
There’s more indication that the Padres are fairly serious about going after Eric Hosmer, says Heyman. He also reported yesterday that first baseman Wil Myers would be amenable to moving to the outfield to make way for Hosmer to play at first. Of course, whether the Pads are really willing to hand out a big enough contract to get a deal done remains to be seen.
At shortstop, the Padres have taken a look at Phillies veteran Freddy Galvis, says Heyman. The team is also weighing free agent Alcides Escobar. Either would seemingly make sense as a stop-gap option for the rebuilding club.
The Angels are looking harder at second basemen and first basemen than they are at the hot corner, says Heyman. It seems, then, that the club feels fairly content with Luis Valbuena taking the bulk of the time at third, though perhaps that could change depending upon what opportunities arise over the winter — and whether or not the team lands Ohtani. At second, the Halos have at last “looked at” Neil Walker, who’s said to be asking for three or four years.
The Mets have taken looks at free agent first basemen Mitch Moreland and Adam Lind, relays Heyman. With 22-year-old Dominic Smith in place, Heyman suggests the Mets may opt for a short-term first base option with outfield experience. Both Moreland and Lind check those boxes, though Heyman notes that the Mets are unlikely to sign the former.
Yankees center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury is slated to serve as a reserve yet again next season, but he’d like to remain with the club, per Heyman. Ellsbury’s full no-trade clause and the nearly $70MM left on his contract (including a $5MM buyout in 2021) figure to make dealing the 34-year-old a rather tall order for the Yanks.

Trade Rumblings: Padres, Ellsbury, Profar, Cardinals

By Steve Adams | November 14, 2017 at 11:33pm CDT

The Padres have built up a number of options to use at second base or third base in 2018 and beyond, so much so that they’re receiving calls on infielders Yangervis Solarte, Cory Spangenberg and Carlos Asuaje, reports MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. “That’s an area where we’ve created some Major League depth,” GM A.J. Preller said. “…It gives us a group of infielders that we’re excited about. And it’s a group that, other teams, they see that depth as well.” Solarte is the most established of the bunch and is cost-controlled through 2020 thanks to last offseason’s contract extension. He’ll earn $4.125MM in 2018 and has a pair of options valued at $5.5MM and $8MM for the following two seasons. Spangenberg is arbitration-eligible through that same period of time, while Asuaje can still be controlled all the way through the 2023 season.

A few more notes on some trade scenarios throughout the league…

Though many Yankees fans may be hopeful that the team can find a way to shed some of Jacoby Ellsbury’s contract this winter, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reports that there’s been no traction to this point on a potential deal. In fact, GM Brian Cashman tells Davidoff that he hasn’t so much as even broached the subject of Ellsbury’s no-trade clause with agent Scott Boras. “They have the full no-trade for a reason and I would walk through that process with the highest level of communication and respect because of it,” says Cashman. In addition to that full no-trade provision, Ellsbury is guaranteed more than $65MM over the life of the next three seasons, meaning the Yankees would have to pay down a massive amount of that remaining salary in order to facilitate a deal.
Jurickson Profar is among the most oft-speculated trade candidates of the winter, but GM Jon Daniels stressed today that the Rangers don’t need to move him to another club this winter (link via MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan). Profar, 25 in February, will be out of minor league options next season and will need to be carried on the 25-man roster to avoid being exposed to waivers. However, Daniels notes that Elvis Andrus has the ability to opt out of his contract following the 2018 season — the same point at which Adrian Beltre’s contract will expire. To be sure, there’d be sense in keeping Profar around in a utility capacity next year while prepping him for a potentially larger role, though there still figures to be interest as teams look to buy low on the former No. 1 overall prospect.
The Cardinals are looking to trade multiple outfielders given their logjam of upper-level talent, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Phillies, Orioles and Giants have had interest in some of the Cards’ outfielders in the past, Goold notes, adding that Randal Grichuk is the outfielder that “comes up the most often.” Goold also reports that the Dodgers tried to pry Tommy Pham away from the Cardinals prior to the non-waiver trade deadline but were unsuccessful in doing so. In addition to Grichuk and Pham, the Cards have Stephen Piscotty, Dexter Fowler and Jose Martinez at the big league level. Beyond that, younger options include Harrison Bader, Magneuris Sierra, Randy Arozarena (who Goold profiles at the beginning of his column) and Tyler O’Neill.

East Notes: Denbo, Hicks/Ellsbury, Vlad Jr., Red Sox

By Jeff Todd | October 18, 2017 at 10:28pm CDT

Tim Healey of the Sun-Sentinel takes a look at Derek Jeter’s first hire in Miami: former Yankees executive Gary Denbo. The Marlins’ new player development and scouting guru is known for working hard to make something out of all of the players in farm system. His attention to detail and willingness to grind could pay dividends for a club that will need to grow quite a lot of talent to make up for what is initially projected to be quite a low payroll.

Here’s more from the eastern divisions:

Of course, sometimes finding value in players that didn’t quite pan out for other organizations can deliver huge dividends. That has been the case for the Yankees and Aaron Hicks, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. Indeed, he seems now to have displaced Jacoby Ellsbury in center — so much so that Sherman expects the Yanks to “tell teams in the offseason to make their best offer on the veteran.” The article goes on to discuss what kind of trade situations might make sense for Ellsbury, who does have quite a bit of salary left to go as well as no-trade protection.
Top Blue Jays prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is tackling some goals and having fun at the Dominican winter league, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca writes. In particular, the young phenom has been tasked with expanding his range and improving his footwork at the hot corner. It seems that Toronto is interested, too, in exposing Guerrero to the bright lights and relatively high stakes of playing against strong competition in his home nation.
After interviewing Ron Gardenhire today, the Red Sox are “still deciding” whether to sit down with any other candidates, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski informs Chad Jennings of the Boston Herald (via Twitter). Alex Cora and Brad Ausmus are the other two names under consideration at present. You can catch up on prior developments in the search right here.

Cafardo’s Latest: Stanton, BoSox, Donaldson, Yanks, Otani

By Connor Byrne | September 2, 2017 at 5:40pm CDT

The first-place Red Sox’s success this year has come despite a lack of power (they entered Saturday 26th in the majors in home runs and 27th in ISO), leading Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe to argue that they have to pursue Giancarlo Stanton in the offseason. It’s unclear whether the new Marlins ownership group will shop the right fielder and potential 60-home run man, but Cafardo contends that a Red Sox offer consisting of left fielder Andrew Benintendi, left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez and a pitching prospect would grab the attention of Derek Jeter & Co. As great as Stanton has been this year, it’s tough to imagine Boston parting with Benintendi, a top-flight rookie who won’t even be eligible for arbitration until after the 2019 campaign. Stanton, meanwhile, is still due another $295MM from 2018-28, and his contract includes full no-trade rights and an opt-out clause after the 2020 campaign.

AL East Notes: Devers, Cozart, Blue Jays, Ellsbury

By Mark Polishuk | July 23, 2017 at 11:13pm CDT

It isn’t unusual for the Red Sox to bring a 20-year-old prospect into the heat of a pennant race, as club promoted Xander Bogaerts in 2013 and Yoan Moncada just last season. As WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford points out, however, he difference between those callups and today’s news about Boston’s promotion of Rafael Devers is that Bogaerts and Moncada were being counted on just as supporting pieces to an already-strong roster. In Devers’ case, he is coming into a Red Sox lineup that has struggled with consistency all season and has been thoroughly lacking at third base. It’s quite a bit of pressure for such a young player, and Bradford feels that the multiple slumping regulars in the Sox lineup need pick things up, regardless of how Devers performs.

Here’s more from around the AL East…

The Red Sox have been scouting Reds shortstop Zack Cozart, CSNNE.com’s Evan Drellich reports (via Twitter), though with the caveat that teams around the league are doing their due diligence on many options at this time of year. MLBTR’s Jeff Todd cited Cozart as a possible creative choice for Boston’s third base problem last month, and obviously the Sox will continue to explore possibilities until they get a sense of what Devers can do in the bigs. Cozart has been on fire at the plate this year, though as Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes, the shortstop is still being careful about re-aggravating the right quad injury that led to a brief DL stint in June.
The Blue Jays front office “is split on whether the team should be broken up and traded away,” Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. Team president Mark Shapiro suggested earlier this month that the Jays could explore both buying and selling at the deadline, and more recent reports had the team open to trading pending free agents while preferring to keep players that could help Toronto compete in 2018. Given how several Jays key veterans are either experiencing off-years or could be in decline, it isn’t surprising that there are questions as to whether the Jays can reasonably count on these players to rebound. A big sell-off at the deadline would help replenish the farm system, though with some good controllable talent and one more year of Josh Donaldson under contract, one can also make a case that the Jays should make another push next year.
With Jacoby Ellsbury looking like an expendable part on the Yankees roster, ESPN’s Buster Olney (subscription required) looks at some of the potential large contracts New York could take on as a way of facilitating a trade for the outfielder, who is owed roughly $75MM between now and the end of the 2020 season. Olney’s names (all speculative) range from other unfavorable contracts like Jordan Zimmermann to more valuable assets like Giancarlo Stanton, though obviously much more than just Ellsbury would need to be included in a Stanton trade. Ellsbury has full control over his future via a no-trade clause, though Olney wonders if the outfielder would accept a deal to a team that could offer more playing time if Ellsbury becomes the odd man out in the Yankee outfield.

Yankees Place Aaron Hicks On DL, Activate Jacoby Ellsbury

By Steve Adams | June 26, 2017 at 12:17pm CDT

The Yankees announced today that they’ve placed Aaron Hicks on the 10-day disabled list due to a strained right oblique muscle. In his place, they’ve activated Jacoby Ellsbury from the 7-day concussion disabled list. Additionally, the Yanks optioned lefty Tyler Webb and outfielder Mason Williams to Triple-A and recalled infielder/outfielder Rob Refsnyder and righty Ronald Herrera.

Hicks told reporters last night that he’s been informed that he’ll need three to four weeks to recover from the injury — a tough blow to both player and team, as the 27-year-old Hicks is in the midst of a sensational breakout season. Acquired in the 2015-16 offseason in a trade that sent John Ryan Murphy to the Twins, Hicks had a dreadful first season in New York but has exploded in 2017. Through 242 plate appearances, the former first-round pick and top prospect is hitting .290/.398/.515 with 10 homers, seven steals and outstanding defense (primarily in center field).

It’ll be a tall order for the 33-year-old Ellsbury to make up for that type of production, though Ellsbury himself was in the midst of a very nice start to the year when he initially sustained the concussion (jumping into the center field fence to make an impressive catch). Through 153 PAs, Ellsbury has slashed .281/.349/.422, adding in four homers and eight stolen bases. Defensive metrics feel that he’s lost a step from his peak, though Defensive Runs Saved did grade Ellsbury at +2 through his first 288 innings in center this year.

With Hicks on the shelf now instead of Ellsbury, the Yankees will run with a primary outfield alignment consisting of Brett Gardner in left field, Ellsbury in center and Aaron Judge in right field. Between Gardner’s surprising career-best numbers at the plate in 2017 and Judge’s emergence as not only the runaway Rookie of the Year favorite but a legitimate AL MVP candidate, the Yankees should have a plenty productive outfield mix even without Hicks for the next month or so.

Quick Hits: Garland, Cardinals, Yankees, Orioles

By Connor Byrne | June 25, 2017 at 4:48pm CDT

Right-hander Jon Garland, 37, hasn’t pitched professionally since the Rockies released him in June 2013. Four years later, Garland is mulling a comeback, according to Scott Merkin of MLB.com. Garland threw Sunday for White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper, as Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com was first to report (via Twitter). Before that, Garland told Levine that his arm feels the best it has in three years. However, he also informed Merkin that he’s unsure if he’s committed to returning because it would mean spending less time with his family. Garland pitched to a 4.37 ERA over 2,100-plus innings with six teams (mostly the White Sox) from 2000-13. He exceeded the 200-inning plateau in six seasons during that span, including a career-high 221 as a member of the World Series-winning White Sox in 2005.

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