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AL Notes: Gallo, Rays, Angels

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Rangers slugger Joey Gallo has been “available” since last summer’s trade deadline, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes. It’s unknown what it would cost to pry Gallo out of Texas, though Rosenthal notes that he’s popular among teams that value some combination of home runs, walks, athleticism and tools. The 27-year-old Gallo had a terrible year at the plate during the shortened 2020 season, in which he hit .181/.301/.378 with 10 home runs in 226 plate appearances, but he did earn a Gold Glove for his work in right field. Gallo’s also not far removed from a premier showing at the plate in 2019, and he comes with two affordable years of team control.

Now the latest on two other American League teams…

  • The Rays are among the teams with interest in free-agent right-hander Ryne Stanek, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Stanek began his career with the Rays, who chose him 29th overall in the 2013 draft, and had his best seasons with the club. He was a regular opener with the Rays from 2018-19, during which he pitched to a 3.17 ERA/3.64 FIP and averaged better than 10 strikeouts per nine across 122 innings, but has fallen off of late. Stanek had difficulty in Miami, which acquired him from the Rays before the 2019 trade deadline, and the Marlins non-tendered him as a result. However, the 29-year-old hasn’t had trouble garnering interest from other teams this winter.
  • Rays righty Brent Honeywell was given a fourth option because of the substantial amount of time he has missed on account of injuries, general manager Erik Neander told Topkin and other reporters. The 25-year-old Honeywell was once an elite pitching prospect, but he hasn’t thrown a professional inning since 2017 – which he divided between Double-A and Triple-A – because of health issues. Since then, Honeywell has undergone four elbow surgeries, most recently an arthroscopic procedure. The good news is that Honeywell seems as if he’ll return in 2021.
  • The Angels have made a couple of additions to new general manager Perry Minasian’s front office. The team’s hiring Brewers vice president/assistant to the GM Ray Montgomery and Dodgers international crosschecker Brian Parker, per reports from Joel Sherman of the New York Post and Jim Callis of MLB.com. It’s unclear which roles the two will take on as part of the Angels’ staff.
  • More on the Angels, who are unsurprisingly looking for help in their rotation. Manager Joe Maddon told MLB Network Radio on Friday that “we do need to attract probably two starting pitchers to come to us.” Maddon expects there to be an increase in six-man rotations throughout the league next year; if the Angels go that route – which is something Maddon expects to do (via Maria Torres of the LA Times) – it could benefit Shohei Ohtani, who’s returning from injury and who was part of a six-man staff in Japan before immigrating to the majors prior to the 2018 campaign. Ohtani, Dylan Bundy, Andrew Heaney and Griffin Canning should amass plenty of starts for the Angels in 2021, though the rest of their rotation doesn’t appear etched in stone.

Free Agent Notes: Realmuto, Cruz, Kim, Pillar, Avila, Stanek

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The Nationals and the representative for free-agent catcher J.T. Realmuto “have had early discussions,” Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic writes. Despite that, Ghiroli casts doubt on the Nationals signing Realmuto because of general manager Mike Rizzo’s suggestion earlier this week that the club doesn’t have the catcher position atop its list of priorities. Rizzo indicated first base and the outfield are bigger needs for the Nationals, who have Yan Gomes coming off a bounce-back season (over just 30 games) as their starting backstop. Even if the Nats want to count on Gomes as their starter in 2021, they could at least re-sign Kurt Suzuki or add a backup to replace him. Tres Barrera, who has totaled two plate appearances in the majors, is the only catcher on their 40-man roster after Gomes.

Here’s more from the open market:

  • The Twins have not re-signed designated hitter Nelson Cruz yet, but president of baseball operations Derek Falvey told MLB Network Radio that the two sides are still “in contact.” Falvey went on to call Cruz “a special member of the Twins,” which was certainly true from 2019-20. The ageless Cruz, who will soon turn 41 next July, had arguably the two best seasons of his career in Minnesota. He slashed .308/.394/.626 during that time and ranked second in the majors in wRC+ (163) and fifth in home runs (57).
  • The Blue Jays and free-agent infielder Ha-Seong Kim “have been in touch,” Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. The 25-year-old Kim hasn’t played in the majors yet, but he starred with the Nexen Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization from 2014-20 and currently ranks as one of the top free agents on the market. It’s unclear where he would play in Toronto because the club has Bo Bichette occupying short, but Kim may be a fit at either second or third base.
  • The Rockies have “had discussions” about a reunion with outfielder Kevin Pillar, according to manager Bud Black (via Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post). Black isn’t sure how far those talks have gone, though. The 31-year-old Pillar, whom the Rockies acquired from the Red Sox over the summer, posted a career-high .288/.338/.462 line with six home runs and five stolen bases in 223 plate appearances last season.
  • Tigers general manager Al Avila told MLB Network that his son, catcher Alex Avila, is on their list of potential free-agent pickups, Jason Beck of MLB.com tweets. However, Al Avila added that the Tigers aren’t prioritizing the catcher position at the moment. There is room for improvement at the spot, though, as the backstops on their 40-man roster – Grayson Greiner, Eric Haase and Jake Rogers – have all failed to record passable offensive numbers during their careers. That isn’t the case for the 33-year-old Alex Avila, owner of a .235/.348/.394 line in 3,527 plate appearances. He played with the Tigers from 2009-15 before moving on to a few other teams, most recently Minnesota.
  • The Dodgers are the latest team to show interest in reliever Ryne Stanek, who’s on the world champions’ radar, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times relays. Stanek had a woeful 2020 with the Marlins, but he’s a known entity to Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. As the Rays’ GM in 2013, Friedman used the 29th overall pick on Stanek.

Yankees Notes: LeMahieu, Payroll, Tauchman, Stanek

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Yankees general manager Brian Cashman once again indicated Wednesday that re-signing free-agent second baseman DJ LeMahieu is the team’s No. 1 offseason priority, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News relays. The Yankees are “certainly not dipping our toes in various waters until we get a feel for how declares himself,” Cashman said of LeMahieu. The club is at least keeping an eye on the free-agent and trade markets as it waits for an answer from LeMahieu, but Cashman seems fairly optimistic New York will be able to retain the 2020 AL batting champion and MVP finalist. “The atmosphere is good, the fact that he wants to stay and we’d like to keep him,” Cashman said. “But that doesn’t guarantee anything because in free agency, you know, anything can happen. So, you know, we’ll see what happens over the course of time but our intent is to try to find a way to make it happen.”

 Here’s more on the Yankees…
  • Also from Ackert’s piece, Cashman stated he’s “confident” the Yankees will again boast the majors’ top payroll in 2021. There has been speculation that the Yankees will try to get under the $210MM luxury-tax threshold, which would mean a significant cut compared to last year’s budget, though Cashman declined to go into detail on how much the team will spend.
  • The Yankees have gotten “a lot of calls” from teams on outfielder Mike Tauchman, according to Cashman (via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com).  It seems unlikely the Yankees will part with Tauchman, though, especially with Brett Gardner currently in free agency. Tauchman’s under affordable control through 2024 and could be an important reserve for the Yankees next season, considering he’s capable of playing all three outfield positions. Of course, it’s worth noting that Tauchman’s offensive production plummeted last season after a terrific showing in 2019. The 30-year-old hit just .242/.342/.305 and went without a home run in 111 plate appearances.
  • The team has shown interest in free-agent reliever Ryne Stanek, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com tweets. The Yankees are familiar with Stanek from his time as a member of the division-rival Rays, with whom he pitched from 2017-19. The hard-throwing Stanek held his own in a couple of those years, but he fell apart after the Rays sent him to the Marlins at the 2019 trade deadline. Stanek put up such poor production last season that the Marlins non-tendered him earlier this month.

NL Notes: Posey, Scherzer, Stanek

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After a year off, Giants icon Buster Posey will return as their “primary catcher” in 2021, manager Gabe Kapler told reporters (including John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle) on Tuesday. Posey opted out of last season over family health concerns (he and his wife had just adopted twin girls who were born prematurely), and he discussed his decision this week with Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic. The 33-year-old told Baggarly he’s “comfortable” with the choice he made because of the unknowns at the time, including whether Major League Baseball would even be able to get through its season. Posey added that he’s “confident” he’ll play next year, which will be the last guaranteed season of his contract. The Giants may have an heir apparent in Joey Bart, but he and the rest of their catchers had rocky seasons in 2020. It now appears they’ll take a backseat to Posey for at least one more year.

  • Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said Tuesday he was unaware of any extension talks between the team and ace Max Scherzer. It appears those could get underway soon, though. Agent Scott Boras said he’ll get together with Nationals owner Ted Lerner after the new year, and “we’ll see how that goes” (via Todd Dybas of NBC Sports Washington). That doesn’t necessarily mean the two sides will just discuss Scherzer – Boras does represent other Nats, not to mention current free agents – but the three-time Cy Young winner does seem likely to be a key part of the discussion. Scherzer’s entering the last season of the seven-year, $210MM he signed with the Nationals in 2015.
  • The Reds are among the teams interested in free-agent reliever Ryne Stanek, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports. The 29-year-old right-hander spent last season in Miami, where he yielded eight earned runs on 11 hits (including three homers) and eight walks in just 10 innings. The Marlins non-tendered the hard-throwing Stanek after that ghastly showing. To Stanek’s credit, he isn’t far removed from a strong run from 2018-19 as a Ray and Marlin. He frequently worked as an opener then and combined for a 3.52 ERA/3.94 FIP with 10.67 K/9 against 4.14 BB/9 across 143 1/3 innings. Stanek will have another two years of arbitration eligibility left after 2021, so he could be a multiyear piece for the Reds or someone else if he bounces back.

National League Non-Tenders

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With revenue losses expected to result in reduced payrolls around baseball, a larger number of players than usual are expected to be let go by their current teams by tonight’s 7pm CT non-tender deadline.  Some of these players could end up re-signing with their teams for salaries below what they were projected (by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz) to earn through the arbitration process, or teams could end up simply opting to explore other options…with many of those options arriving on the market through this same non-tender process.

You can track all of the arbitration and non-tender activity here, and we’ll also run through the list of National League players who have been let go in this post.

Earlier Non-Tenders

  • The Cardinals non-tendered righty John Brebbia and outfielder Rangel Ravelo, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets. Brebbia had played a significant role in the St. Louis pen for his first three MLB campaigns but is still recovering from mid-2020 Tommy John surgery.
  • Right-handed reliever Clay Holmes has been non-tendered by the Pirates, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was among those to cover on Twitter. The 27-year-old hurler made it into just one MLB contest in 2020 owing to a forearm injury.
  • The Marlins have decided not to tender a contract to righty Ryne Stanek, Craig Mish of Sports Grid first tweeted. He joins fellow right-hander Jose Urena in departing via non-tender. (Urena had already been designated for assignment.) Stanek, 29, struggled with the free pass in limited action this year but has been a quality, high-strikeout arm in the past and could be an interesting name to watch on the open market.
  • In addition to Shreve, the Mets announced the non-tenders of righties Ariel Jurado, Paul Sewald, and Nick Tropeano.
  • The Mets will not tender a contract to left-handed reliever Chasen Shreve, Robert Murray of FanSided tweets. Shreve performed reasonably well in 2020, logging a 3.96 ERA/3.99 FIP with 12.24 K/9 and 4.32 BB/9 in 25 innings, but the Mets will nonetheless move on instead of paying him around $1MM in arbitration.
  • The Padres won’t tender a contract to infielder Greg Garcia, reports Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link). Garcia, 31, posted a woeful .200/.279/.250 batting line in 2020, albeit in a tiny sample of 71 plate appearances. In parts of two seasons with the Friars, he slashed .240/.351/.337, but the team opted not to give him a raise on last year’s $1.5MM salary.
  • The Reds have non-tendered outfielder Brian Goodwin, he announced on Twitter (hat tip to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com). Goodwin, whom the Reds acquired from the Angels over the summer, slashed .215/.299/.417 with six home runs and five stolen bases over 164 plate appearances between the teams in 2020. He was due to earn a projected $2.7MM to $3.6MM in arbitration.
  • The Cubs have told Jose Martinez he isn’t being tendered a contract, ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers reports (Twitter link).  Acquired from the Rays in a deadline deal, Martinez went hitless over 22 plate appearances with Chicago, only reaching base once on a walk.  The 32-year-old mashed for the Cardinals from 2016-18, but delivered closer to league-average production in 2019 with St. Louis and with the Rays last season prior to the trade.

Marlins Place 13 Players On Injured List

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The Marlins announced today that they’ve placed 13 players on the injured list. Those going on the IL include right-handers Sandy Alcantara, Jeff Brigham, Robert Dugger, Yimi Garcia, Jordan Holloway, Nick Neidert and Ryne Stanek; left-handers Adam Conley, Caleb Smith and Alex Vesia; infielders Sean Rodriguez and Miguel Rojas; and catcher Chad Wallach.

Miami also made official a previously reported slate of roster moves. Lefty Richard Bleier was acquired from the Orioles in exchange for a player to be named later or cash. Right-hander James Hoyt was acquired from the Indians for cash. The club also claimed relievers Justin Shafer and Josh D. Smith from the Reds, claimed reliever Mike Morin from the Brewers and claimed reliever (and former Marlin) Brian Moran from the Blue Jays. Veteran infielder Logan Forsythe signed a one-year, Major League deal.

As for internal moves, the Fish called up right-hander Jorge Guzman, outfielder Monte Harrison and righty Jordan Yamamoto. The club also selected the contracts of left-hander Dan Castano, right-hander Josh A. Smith, right-hander Nick Vincent, catcher Ryan Lavarnway and infielder Eddy Alvarez. Outfielders Matt Joyce and Lewis Brinson were activated from the injured list.

It’s a dizzying sequence of moves brought about by the Covid-19 outbreak that decimated the organization’s Major League roster. Miami ultimately wound up with a reported 18 players and two coaches testing positive, and the outbreak caused scheduling delays with the Phillies, Yankees, Blue Jays and Nationals in addition to the Marlins. Miami was left with a depleted roster and forced to scramble to simply cobble together a roster and continue its season.

The losses of Alcantara and Smith will remove two of Miami’s top rotation options from the mix for the time being, while Rojas was the team’s starting shortstop. Stanek had been expected to occupy a high-leverage late-inning role, and Conley is one of the team’s most experienced bullpen pieces.

How The Rays Traded A Top-100 Prospect For A 29-Year-Old Rookie And Came Away Winners

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Nick Anderson is not exactly a household name – and he may never be. For most of last season, Anderson was a 28-year-old rookie non-closer pitching for the Marlins (he turned 29 in July). That’s not a recipe for superstardom.

After a deadline deal brought him to Tampa Bay, Anderson did get a moment in the spotlight, striking out four of the five batters he faced in the Rays’ Wild Card Game win over the A’s. That was nothing new for Anderson, who spent most of the season racking up strikeouts at an alarming rate.

Between Tampa and Miami, Anderson appeared in 68 games in 2019, totaling 65 innings with a good-but-not-great 3.32 ERA. The peripherals speak to a much more dominant campaign for the former independent leaguer. His 2.35 FIP suggests a potential high-leverage bullpen arm, while the 2.1 fWAR he racked up confirms it: he tied for 5th overall in the majors among relievers. That puts him on the same plane with firemen/closers like Taylor Rogers, Brandon Workman, Felipe Vazquez and Aroldis Chapman. Make no mistake: Nick Anderson is an elite bullpen piece.

Credit the Marlins for picking up Anderson and turning him into a top-100 prospect in Jesus Sanchez. Sanchez may have lost some luster as a prospect, but he still landed at #96 on Fangraphs’ top-100 list. Yes, he was #47 on their updated list after starting the year at #54 in 2019, but he’s still just 22-years-old and posted a promising line of .246/.338/.446 in the homer-happy PCL after the trade. As a 21-year-old, he was more than 5 years younger than the average player in the PCL.

For their part, the Marlins acquired Anderson for Brian Schales after the Twins signed Anderson from the independent league. The 6’5″ Anderson put up good numbers in the Twins’ system from 2015 to 2017, but he started to pop in 2018, striking out 13.2 hitters per nine innings in Triple-A. At the time, the deal was most notable for bumping Derek Dietrich from the Marlins’ roster.

But Anderson became a different animal entirely during his breakout in 2019. His 15.23 K/9 ranked fourth among relievers in the majors, behind only strikeout artists Edwin Diaz, Matt Barnes and Josh Hader. After joining the Rays, Anderson went into overdrive, striking out a ridiculous 17.3 batters per nine innings. Including his Marlins work, the Minnesota native finished in the bottom 9th percentile in hard hit percentage and bottom 12th percentile in exit velocity.

In adding Anderson from the Marlins, the Rays got a guy who has a legitimate chance to be one of the most dominant relievers in all of baseball, and they have him at the league minimum for another two seasons. This is a guy the Rays can afford, which makes the deal all the more important from their perspective. There’s a reason they could include Ryne Stanek in the deal, a guy who throws 100+ mph and had a 3.40 ERA at the time. There’s a reason they could deal Emilio Pagan to the Padres after he broke out with a 2.3 bWAR season of his own in 2019. That reason is Nick Anderson.

So how does he do it? For Anderson, the recipe is fairly simple. He throws a fastball that averages 96 mph with good spin that he locates up in the zone. His “other” pitch is a curveball – but it’s one of the best in the game. By Fangraphs’ pitch values, his curveball was the second most valuable such offering from a reliever in 2019, behind only Workman’s bender. Batters managed an expected batting average of just .134 off Anderson’s curveball while registering a whiff rate of 54.2%. As of right now, Anderson’s hook is one of the deadliest weapons in the sport.

Anderson could also be in line for some positive regression this season, as opponents had a higher-than-average .349 BABIP against him in 2019. A 14.5 % HR/FB rate was also higher than Anderson had yielded at any point in the minors, and if that number comes down, Anderson could be an even more potent asset for the Rays moving forward.

His ceiling is no lower than Liam Hendriks’ amazing 2019, though Hendriks has a bit more versatility in his offspeed stuff. Hendriks, of course, was the most productive reliever in all of baseball last season, so there aren’t a ton of comps out there that make sense for him. Anderson, however, is one that does.

Marlins’ Michael Hill On Alfaro, Stanek, NRIs

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Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill spoke with reporters on a conference call today, providing updates on multiple injured players and addressing the status of the wave of veterans who’d been in camp on non-roster deals this spring (all Twitter links via the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson and SportsGrid’s Craig Mish).

Catcher Jorge Alfaro, who had been questionable for Opening Day due to a strained left oblique, now seemingly has put that injury behind him. Had Alfaro required an IL stint to open the season, Miami would’ve begun the year trotting out Chad Wallach and offseason signee Francisco Cervelli as the top two catching options, as there are no other backstops on the 40-man roster. (Alternatively, the club could’ve selected non-roster invitee Ryan Lavarnway.) If play does resume in 2020 now, they’ll instead take a continued look at the 26-year-old Alfaro, who came over from the Phillies in the J.T. Realmuto swap and slashed .262/.312/.425 with a career-high 18 home runs in 465 plate appearances for the Fish.

Updates on a pair of relievers were a bit less concrete. Flamethrowing righty Ryne Stanek, whom the Marlins acquired in the deal that sent unexpected breakout reliever Nick Anderson to the Rays last July, has been receiving some treatment for back discomfort and is now doing well. Fellow right-hander Jeff Brigham was slowed by a biceps injury in Spring Training and is still working his way back from that issue. A timetable for him wasn’t provided.

Stanek, 28, was impressive for the Rays in ’19 but saw his control completely disappear upon being traded to Miami. While he upped his strikeout rate with the Marlins, he also went from respectable walk rates with the Rays (3.2 BB/9, 8.8% overall) to astonishingly high levels with the Marlins (8.0 BB/9, 19.2%). At the time of the trade, Stanek seemed like a potential closing option for Miami — although so did Anderson — but his late struggles might’ve contributed to the Marlins’ offseason desire to add a veteran ninth-inning option (which they did in Brandon Kintzler).

Like most other clubs, the Marlins had a slew of big league veterans in camp on non-roster deals hoping to secure a spot on the club. The aforementioned Lavarnway, Matt Kemp, Sean Rodriguez, Brad Boxberger, Ryan Cook, Pat Venditte and Josh A. Smith were among the names hoping to secure a job. Everyone from that group is still with the organization, per Hill, despite any spring opt-out dates they might’ve had worked into their deals. However, until another iteration of training camp resume and teams know how many players they’ll be carrying on their rosters, Hill indicated that the club can’t make determinations or even indicate who is likely to be on the roster.

Mish and MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro had both previously reported that Boxberger seemed very likely to break camp with the team. Kemp, Mish noted again today, appeared unlikely to make the club prior to the leaguewide shutdown — and Hill himself acknowledged that the former All-Star had gotten out to a poor start (4-for-28, no extra-base hits, 11 strikeouts in 30 plate appearances). With Corey Dickerson, Matt Joyce, Garrett Cooper, Lewis Brinson, Magneuris Sierra, Harold Ramirez, Monte Harrison and Jesus Sanchez all on the roster as potential corner candidates — Jonathan Villar is expected to play center field — Miami isn’t exactly hurting for options.

Marlins Make Flurry Of Roster Moves

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The Marlins announced Monday that they’ve officially promoted top prospect Isan Diaz for his MLB debut (as had been previously reported), recalled Lewis Brinson from Triple-A New Orleans and selected the contract of right-hander Robert Dugger. Miami also placed infielder Neil Walker (sprained index finger) and outfielder Cesar Puello (left hip flexor strain) on the 10-day injured list, activated righty Ryne Stanek for his team debut and optioned right-hander Kyle Keller to New Orleans.

In Diaz, the Marlins will get their first look at one of the key pieces in the Christian Yelich blockbuster. Diaz currently ranks between 86th and 90th on the midseason top prospect rankings of MLB.com (86), Fangraphs (89) and Baseball America (90). He’s clobbered Triple-A pitching at a .305/.395/.578 clip, belting 26 homers, 21 doubles and two triples along the way. Originally drafted as a shortstop, he profiles better at second base from a defensive standpoint, and the Marlins hope he can be a long-term piece in the infield. Scouting reports generally suggest that his plus raw power and solid plate discipline give him a reasonable chance of being an offensive-minded everyday second baseman.

Brinson, of course, was the headliner in that Yelich swap but has yet to cement himself as a regular in the Miami outfield in parts of two seasons with the club. Since his most recent demotion to Triple-A, though, Brinson has turned in a .270/.361/.510 batting line with 16 home runs and 16 steals. That only translates to nine percent better than the league average in the ridiculous Pacific Coat League hitting environment (109 wRC+), but Brinson’s solid productivity has earned him another look. Strikeouts continue to be an issue (100 in 339 Triple-A plate appearances), but he’s demonstrated the speed and power that have long made him such an intriguing prospect.

Dugger, meanwhile, came to the Marlins in the trade that sent Dee Gordon to the Mariners. He began the season with 70 2/3 innings of 3.31 ERA ball with 9.3 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 0.76 HR/9 and a 45.6 percent ground-ball rate in Double-A. Like so many pitchers, Dugger has been blown up in Triple-A, with a 9.34 ERA and seven home runs allowed in 35 2/3 innings since a midseason promotion. (Generally speaking, onlookers should take Triple-A stats with more of a grain of salt than ever before, given the bloated offensive numbers throughout the league.) That’s not to say that Dugger is a premium prospect, however. He ranks near the back of Miami’s top 30 prospects (24 at MLB.com, 27 at Fangraphs) and is most optimistically viewed as a back-of-the-rotation starter, though scouting reports on him also point to a possible future in relief.

It’ll also be interesting to see how Miami ultimately opts to utilize Stanek, whom they acquired alongside prospect Jesus Sanchez in a trade sending righties Nick Anderson and Trevor Richards to the Rays last week. Stanek has been the Rays’ most prolific opener since the team adopted that tactic last season and generally enjoyed favorable results. In 122 innings from 2018-19, Stanek has recorded a 3.17 ERA with 10.5 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and 1.1 HR/9.

Stanek has pitched in late-inning situations in addition to his work as an opener, and the general fluidity of the Miami bullpen situation could serve as an avenue for Stanek to receive some save opportunities. The Marlins traded closer Sergio Romo to the Twins, and Anderson (traded for Stanek) was the presumptive heir apparent in the ninth inning. Drew Steckenrider has experience in the role but has been injured much of the season. Stanek, meanwhile, boasts a fastball that averages better than 97 mph and can reach triple-digit velocity readings, so he certainly has prototypical closer’s stuff if Miami chooses to try him at the end of games rather than the beginning.

Quick Hits: Diaz, Rays, Prospects, Stanek, Black

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Edwin Diaz’s struggles may finally be loosening his grip on the Mets’ closing job, as manager Mickey Callaway told reporters (including Newsday’s Tim Healey) that “I don’t think we can lock ourselves in to one thing” in terms of who pitches the ninth inning.  “Moving forward, it’s just something that we’re going to do whatever we can to win a game that night,” Callaway said.  After a dominant 2018 season with the Mariners, Diaz’s first season in Queens has been a borderline disaster, with a 5.44 ERA inflated by a 22.2% home run rate and a huge increase in the righty’s hard-hit ball rate.  Just when it seemed like Diaz might have been turning a corner by tossing six scoreless innings over a seven-game stretch in July, he proceeded to allow at least one earned run in each of his last four outings.

This would seem to open the door for Seth Lugo to receive save opportunities, as Callaway said that Lugo also isn’t operating out of an assigned role.  Lugo has been the Mets’ best reliever this season, and could be shifted into closer duties or (if the Mets strayed from the traditional closer role) be saved only for highest-leverage situations, whether those are in the ninth inning or earlier in the game.

Here’s more as we begin a new week…

  • The Rays’ busy trade deadline is explored by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, who includes the detail that the club wasn’t willing to discuss moving many of their top prospects, including Wander Franco, Brendan McKay, Vidal Brujan and Matthew Liberatore.  Jesus Sanchez was the only member of that top tier who seemed to be on the block, and indeed it was Sanchez who was dealt along with Ryne Stanek to the Marlins in exchange for Trevor Richards and Nick Anderson.
  • Meanwhile, Stanek’s erstwhile role as an opener factored into the Rays’ decision to trade the right-hander.  Interestingly, Topkin writes that the Rays “shed the uncertainty of his opener-influenced arbitration case in 2021,” which promises to be a fascinating test case for how an arbiter could put a financial precedent on a new role within the game.  As Topkin notes, Stanek has been much better as an opener (2.71 ERA in 83 innings) than in a normal relief role (4.73 ERA in 59 innings).
  • The Brewers believe they might have a hidden gem in trade deadline acquisition Ray Black, as president of baseball operations David Stearns told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Black has “as good…stuff as any reliever in the game.”  Black had only a 6.04 ERA over 25 1/3 career Major League innings as a member of the Giants, due in part to five homers allowed in that brief stint.  However, he also struck out 38 batters with his blazing fastball, and also posted a 3.70 ERA, 2.83 K/BB rate, and 16.8 K/9 over 153 1/3 career frames in the minors.  Between that live arm and those strikeout totals, Stearns thinks Black can blossom in Milwaukee, and pointed to a relatively healthy season for Black in 2019 as a positive development after multiple years shortened by injuries.  “The most important thing for him is keeping him on the field….He has changed some of his training regimens over the last year, and that seems to have helped. We’re hoping and optimistic that we can help keep him healthy,” Stearns said.
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