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Cardinals Outright Tyler Lyons, Release Greg Holland

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The Cardinals announced today that two recently-designated relief pitchers have cleared waivers. Lefty Tyler Lyons was outrighted to Triple-A, while right-hander Greg Holland was given his release.

Both of these hurlers were trimmed from the St. Louis roster during a pre-trade deadline bullpen purge. Clearly, neither performed to expectations this year.

Lyons, 30, was one of the club’s most reliable relievers over the past few campaigns. But he dealt with injuries and struggled through 16 2/3 innings on the current season, allowing 16 earned runs on 24 hits.

Though he looks similar in many respects over that short sample — velocity, swinging-strike and strikeout rate — Lyons has given up quite a bit of hard contact. That’s reflected in the .412 BABIP he surrendered, which could reflect some poor fortune and/or degradation in the quality of his work.

As for Holland, he was off to a miserable start before hitting the DL for a hip impingement. Things were generally better upon his return: outside of one particularly awful outing, he allowed three earned runs and recorded 11 strikeouts in 11 frames.

Still, it’s hard to fault the Cards for deciding they’d seen enough, especially after Holland turned in another poor outing in his last appearance with the team. He ended up with a 7.92 ERA in his 25 frames for the St. Louis organization, which is not at all what the team bargained for when it made a late strike that promised the veteran hurler $14MM this season. The remainder of that promise will stay on the Cardinals’ books, less any pro-rated portion of the league minimum he makes with another organization.

Cardinals Notes: Pham, Leone, Gregerson, Gomber, Martinez

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The Cardinals’ decision to send Tommy Pham to the Rays caused quite some eyebrow raising among rival executives, according to Jayson Stark of The Athletic. (Stark also ran down a host of other interesting items heading out of the deadline in a subscription piece.) Some around the game see it tied to the fact that, after a lengthy run of success, the Cards are increasingly in flux. Pham had seemed a core piece as recently as this past winter, when the team dealt away other young outfielders, but is now the latest player on the move. The St. Louis club is still two games over .500, has plenty of controllable talent, and isn’t even out of the 2018 postseason picture. But one rival questions whether the organization has “a real understanding of where they are within their process.”

  • One of those recent outfield swaps brought the Cardinals reliever Dominic Leone, who worked his first rehab outing for Triple-A Memphis yesterday, striking out two batters in an inning of work. That’s good news for the right-hander, who has been sidelined for much of the year with a biceps nerve problem. He’s still controllable through 2021, so the Cards have time to reap value from the 26-year-old.
  • Meanwhile, it’s possible that veteran reliever Luke Gregerson won’t return to the majors this year, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch recently tweeted. Gregerson was sidelined with a shoulder injury when he suffered a torn meniscus that required surgery. The 34-year-old, who inked a two-year, $11MM pact with St. Louis over the winter, has only thrown 12 2/3 frames for the club this season. He allowed ten earned runs in that span, but more worryingly showed some other declines. Gregerson was working at about 1.5 mph less with his average heater than in 2017 while sporting a 12.6% swinging-strike rate that’s well off of his recent levels.
  • In other pitching news, the organization has decided to bump rookie Austin Gomber into the rotation to take the place of Carlos Martinez, who just headed back onto the DL, per MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch (via Twitter). The 24-year-old Gomber has thrown 22 1/3 innings of 3.22 ERA ball this year in the majors, though his peripherals (7.3 K/9, 4.4 BB/9, 33.3% groundball rate) aren’t quite so promising. As Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes on Twitter, the organization could soon face an “innings crisis” if it can’t get lengthier outings from its young arms while several veterans work back from the DL. Fortunately, as Langosch recently reported, there is some continued optimism that Martinez won’t require a lengthy absence, though it remains concerning that he has suffered a string of problems in his shoulder and back.

International Notes: Yankees, Vargas, Mesa, Marlins, Orioles

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The Yankees have been one of the most aggressive teams on the international free agent market for the past several seasons, and they’ve already put the considerable amount of international funds they acquired in trades with the Cardinals ($1MM) and the White Sox ($1.5MM); New York announced today that it has signed Cuban righty Osiel Rodriguez and Cuban shortstop Alexander Vargas. Rodriguez’s $600K signing had previously been reported, but MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reports (via Twitter) that the newly signed Vargas received a whopping $2.5MM bonus. Vargas, 16, ranked eighth on MLB.com’s rankings of this year’s international prospects, drawing praise for his range, arm and instincts both at shortstop and in center field.

A few more notes on the international market…

  • Sanchez also recently took a lengthy look at the latest on the market for top outfield prospect Victor Victor Mesa. While the Cuban-born star has yet to be declared a free agent by Major League Baseball, there’s a fair bit of intrigue as to where he’ll sign once eligible. Victor Victor and his younger brother, Victor Jr., are both training in the Dominican Republic at present, according to Sanchez, but there’s no indication that either has established residency in another a country — a requisite step before being declared a free agent by MLB. Sanchez runs through the teams that are plausible landing spots for the brothers and takes a look at their potential timelines to signing.
  • Interestingly, Sanchez further notes that the Orioles and Marlins could be in line to make a significant play for Mesa (Twitter links). Both teams acquired international money prior to the non-waiver deadline and are interested in increasing their spending on the international front. The Orioles have a hefty $8.25MM they can offer, though it’s worth noting that GM Dan Duquette has suggested they could sign some international prospects as soon as this week (link via MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski). With the Mesas yet to reach free agency, that’d suggest that they’re not earmarking their entire pool one or both brothers. The Marlins, meanwhile, have $4.35MM to work with at present — the second-most of any team that is not limited to $300K signings. The Athletic’s Emily Waldon reported recently that the Orioles were working hard on a deal with the elder Mesa brother (Twitter link). MASNsports.com’s Byron Kerr tweeted that the Marlins are indeed planning a run at him as well, though he added that the Orioles could be closer. Of course, no deal can be announced until the league declares the Mesa brothers to be free agents, and there’s no real way of knowing when that process will be complete.

Injury Notes: Pedroia, C-Mart, Moylan, Happ, Bogaerts

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The Red Sox struck a deal with the Angels today to acquire second baseman Ian Kinsler, and although that’s not a firm indicator that the injured Dustin Pedroia won’t make it back to the field, Christopher Smith of Masslive.com reports that the club doesn’t seem overly optimistic about the prospect of his return. “I can’t say we don’t expect him to return but we’re not anticipating that he’s going to be,” said Dave Dombrowski, the club’s president of baseball operations. Pedroia’s currently rehabbing back in Arizona, and has yet to make any significant contribution this season after undergoing offseason knee surgery.

A few more injury notes from around the league…

  • The Cardinals have officially placed right-hander Carlos Martinez back on the disabled list with a right shoulder strain. Martinez owns a 3.41 ERA on the season, and ERA estimators like FIP (3.65) and xFIP (4.44) paint a slightly worse picture. That’s not the whole story though, as Martinez owns an ERA above 5 since returning from his first DL stint thanks to a lat strain.
  • Likewise, the Braves have placed righty reliever Peter Moylan on the 10-day DL (with a right forearm strain) retroactive to Sunday. Moylan hasn’t looked quite like himself this season; usually a talented right-handed specialist, he’s been hit hard this season to the tune of a 4.45 ERA while walking an uncharacteristic 5.72 batters per nine innings.
  • The Yankees sent newly-acquired starter J.A. Happ home on Tuesday after he reportedly contracted a “hand, foot and mouth disease”. The left-hander might not make his next scheduled start against the Red Sox. Happ was acquired by the Yankees just this past week in an effort by the club to shore up its rotation.
  • Speaking of the Red Sox, Xander Bogaerts had a scare today. The Boston shortstop was hit by a pitch on the hand and collapsed to the ground in pain during tonight’s game, though thankfully exams found the injury to be only a hand contusion (source: Ian Browne, MLB.com). Bogaerts is hitting .275/.340/.512 on the season and already has 16 homers, putting him on pace to set a new career high.

40-Man Moves: D-backs, Dodgers, Indians, Mets, Mariners, Cubs, Marlins, O’s

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This has been a trade-packed day across Major League Basbeall, meaning there are plenty of corresponding smaller moves that have been announced over the past couple of hours as teams make today’s agreed-upon deals official. Here’s a look at the DFAs, contract selections and other 40-man transactions that came along with today’s action…

  • The Diamondbacks designated left-handed reliever Jorge De La Rosa to make room for newly added southpaw Jake Diekman, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets. De La Rosa, a longtime Colorado starter who’s in his second season in Arizona, switched to a full-time relief role upon changing teams and hasn’t produced inspiring results. The 37-year-old has logged a 4.38 ERA/4.98 FIP with 7.51 K/9, 4.17 BB/9 in 86 1/3 innings since joining the D-backs. On the bright side, De La Rosa has posted a 48 percent groundball rate and been tough on left-handed hitters. Considering he’s only owed the balance of a $2.25MM salary, perhaps a team will be interested in taking a flyer on De La Rosa.
  • The Dodgers designated righty Ariel Hernandez for assignment to open a spot for John Axford, per the MLB.com transactions page. Hernandez, 26, scuffled through his first MLB action last year with the Reds and hasn’t made it back since. Over fifty frames this year in the upper minors, he’s carrying an appealing 2.52 ERA, but has also handed out 29 walks to go with his 49 strikeouts.
  • The Indians announced that they’ve designated outfielder Johnny Field for assignment. His spot on the 40-man will go to newly acquired outfield prospect Oscar Mercado, whom Cleveland acquired in a rare all-prospects trade with the Cardinals (full details here). Field, 26, only recently landed with the Indians himself after spending most of the year (and his entire professional career to that point) with the Rays. Field posted a meager .213/.253/.373 batting line in his first 179 MLB plate appearances, all accumulated earlier this season.
  • The Mets announced today that they’ve claimed infielder Jack Reinheimer, who was designated for assignment last week, off waivers from the Diamondbacks. A former fifth-round pick, Reinheimer received a cup of coffee with the D-Backs last year but hadn’t done much to force his way back to this point in 2018. In his fifty games at Triple-A, Reinheimer owns a .237/.312/.353 batting line. Additionally, outfielder Matt den Dekker cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Las Vegas. He’ll have the right to elect free agency now or at season’s end.
  • Outfielder Isaac Galloway is on his way to the Majors to make his MLB debut with the Marlins, the club announced. It’s a long time coming for an eleven-year pro who has never before tasted the majors. Through 356 plate appearances this year at Triple-A, Galloway carries a .262/.315/.429 triple-slash.
  • Galloway’s contract was selected following the trade of Cameron Maybin to the Mariners, who opened a spot for Maybin by moving right-hander Dan Altavilla from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL in yet another 40-man move. Similarly, Cubs righty Justin Hancock was transferred to the 60-day disabled list in order to open a spot for Brandon Kintzler, who was acquired from the Nationals today.
  • The Orioles are selecting the contract of right-handed reliever Cody Carroll, who will step into the roster spot of Kevin Gausman following today’s trade to Atlanta. Carroll landed with the Baltimore organization in the recent swap that sent reliever Zach Britton to the Yankees.
  • First baseman Ryan O’Hearn had his contract selected by the Royals, per a team announcement. Infielder Cheslor Cuthbert moved to the 60-day DL to open a spot. It’s the first crack at the majors for O’Hearn, who’ll get the call despite tepid results (.232/.322/.391) this year at Triple-A.
  • Righty Warwick Saupold cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A by the Tigers. The Aussie hurler threw 34 1/3 innings of 4.46 ERA ball this year in Detroit, but managed only 16 strikeouts and a 6.1% swinging-strike rate in that span.

Indians Acquire Oscar Mercado From Cardinals

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In a rare prospects-only swap, the Indians announced Tuesday that they have acquired minor league outfielder Oscar Mercado from the Cardinals in exchange for another pair of minor league outfielders: Conner Capel and Jhon Torres.

Oscar Mercado | Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

The acquisition of Mercado is an interesting one for the Indians, who spent much of the week leading up to the deadline seeking outfield upgrades but ultimately swung only a minor deal to acquire veteran Leonys Martin from the division-rival Tigers, While Martin can serve as a useful platoon partner for fellow veteran Rajai Davis, the addition of Mercado gives the Indians an advanced prospect capable of playing all three outfield spots who isn’t that far from MLB readiness.

Mercado, 23, has spent the season performing well with the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate in Memphis. Through 427 trips to the plate, he’s batted .285/.351/.408 with eight homers, 21 doubles, a triple and a hefty 31 stolen bases (in 39 attempts). He was the No. 10 prospect in the Cardinals’ system on MLB.com’s midseason update, slotting in behind newly acquired Justin Williams (acquired earlier today in the Cardinals’ Tommy Pham trade with Tampa Bay). MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo note that the converted infielder is a plus runner with a plus arm who profiles as a plus defender and “looks like he was meant to roam the outfield.”

It’s a somewhat puzzling move for the Cardinals, who will receive a pair of lesser-regarded outfielders in return — albeit two that won’t have to be added to the 40-man roster this winter, thus giving the Redbirds a bit of flexibility in that regard. Capel is the higher-profile of the two, at least per prospect rankings (link to MLB.com, Fangraphs), though he’s not as well regarded as Mercado.

The 21-year-old Capel has spent the season in Class-A Advanced, where he’s posted a .261/.355/.388 slash with strong plate discipline despite facing older competition (12.8 percent walk rate vs. 18.8 percent strikeout rate). Reports on him praise his above-average power and speed, with MLB.com suggesting he has the potential to stick in center while Fangraphs pegs him as a corner bat with the ability to hit.

Torres is 18 years of age and has yet to progress beyond the Indians’ Rookie-level affiliate. He’s hitting .273/.351/.424 with four homers in 111 plate appearances thus far in short-season ball but generally hasn’t been regarded among Cleveland’s best prospects.

Robert Murray of The Athletic first reported the deal (on Twitter).

Rays Acquire Tommy Pham

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10:25am: The Rays and Cardinals have announced the trade. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweets that the Cardinals are sending $500K of international money to the Rays in the deal. St. Louis is barred from spending more than $300K on any single international signing anyhow, and they’ve already been using their international funds as currency in trades over the past few days.

9:51am: The Rays have struck a deal to acquire Tommy Pham from the Cardinals, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). It’s not clear what other elements are in play, though Passan adds that Chris Archer is not involved in the trade. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that the Rays will send outfielder Justin Williams, left-hander Genesis Cabrera and right-hander Roel Ramirez to the Cardinals in exchange for Pham and international bonus allotments.

Tommy Pham | Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

While some may raise an eyebrow at the notion of the Rays adding pieces when they’re firmly out of both the AL East race and the AL Wild Card picture, Pham is controlled for another three seasons beyond the current campaign. Pham will be arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason and is not eligible for free agency until after the 2021 season, making him an affordable long-term piece to help the Rays as they hope to move back into a contention with a young core built around Blake Snell, Jake Bauers, Willy Adames and others.

For the Cardinals, the trade serves as the latest in a roster shakeup that is approaching cataclysmic proportions. The Cards have designated Greg Holland and Tyler Lyons for assignment, traded Sam Tuivailala to the Mariners and are reportedly open to offers on Bud Norris and Jose Martinez. The Cardinals also sent minor league first baseman Luke Voit to the Yankees (along with international money) in order to acquire a pair of big league bullpen assets in Chasen Shreve and Giovanny Gallegos.

With Pham out of the picture in St. Louis, the Cards will create more opportunity for younger outfield options like Harrison Bader and Tyler O’Neill, though both Marcell Ozuna and Dexter Fowler remain on hand as high-priced, veteran options.

In Pham, the Rays are buying low on a player who has slumped over the past two months but looked to have broken out as one of the National League’s better all-around players in 2017 and in the early stages of the 2018 campaign. From the start of his season in 2017 to the end of May this year, Pham posted a sensational .296/.399/.506 with 32 homers and 33 steals through 734 plate appearances. He’s capable of playing all three outfield spots, though with Kevin Kiermaier serving as one of the game’s premier defenders in center, Pham’s home will likely be in an outfield corner. Of course, Kiermaier has also proven to be injury prone, and Pham provides some insurance in center during future seasons.

It’s worth noting that over the past two months, Pham’s output at the plate has plummeted. He’s posted just a .227/.292/.330 slash through his past 192 plate appearances, though his walk and strikeout rates have remained fairly constant in that time. Pham’s average on balls in play during that stretch is .278, though, and while that isn’t all that far below the league average, it’s considerably south of his career .339 mark. With a lifetime 40.6 percent hard-hit rate and a 22.1 percent line-drive rate, Pham has proven himself to be a hitter capable of sustaining a BABIP better than the league mean, so there’s some reason for the Rays to hope for a turnaround.

In return for Pham, the Cardinals will acquire a package of three prospects that, frankly, would’ve appeared underwhelming when Pham’s value was at its peak. It’s possible, of course, that St. Louis views Pham as an asset that is unlikely to rebound or is particularly high on one or more of the pieces coming over from Tampa Bay, but the package is lacking in the way of top-tier prospects.

Williams, 22, ranked as the Rays’ No. 14 prospect as of last week’s update from Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. He’s posted a .258/.313/.376 batting line in 386 plate appearances in his first exposure to Triple-A pitching this season, though he notched a more encouraging .301/.364/.489 slash in Double-A last season. MLB.com’s report praises his athleticism and gives him the potential for 20-plus homer pop, noting that his offensive abilities are still a bit raw but he could become a well-rounded player in an outfield corner.

Cabrera, 21, has a 4.12 ERA with with 9.8 K/9, 4.5 BB/9 and a 34.4 percent ground-ball rate in 113 2/3 innings at the Double-A level this season. He’s been playing against much more experienced competition and, in fact, is in his second run through Double-A after reaching the level as a 20-year-old last year. Callis and Mayo ranked him 25th in Tampa Bay’s system, noting that he has a projectable enough frame to potentially be a starter down the line but a strong enough fastball/slider combo to be a bullpen piece if that doesn’t pan out.

Ramirez, 23, is enjoying a solid season in the Double-A ’pen, having worked to a 3.32 ERA with 10.2 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, 0.89 HR/9 and a 35.6 percent grounder rate in 40 2/3 innings of work. He’s closer to the Majors than Cabrera, it seems, given his more advanced age, status as a reliever and greater success at that level. He could conceivably emerge as a ’pen option in St. Louis either this season or next, though was not considered to be among the Rays’ top group of prospects.

Rays Ask For Final Offers On Chris Archer

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12:15pm: The Dodgers are also still “in play,” Jim Bowden of The Athletic tweets.

6:09pm: Despite some prior indications to the contrary, the Yankees remain involved in Archer’s market, per Andy Martino of SNY.tv (via Twitter). There are five additional clubs still involved as well, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi reports: the Padres, Braves, Brewers, and two unnamed organizations.

5:24pm: The Rays have asked interested teams to make their best and final offers for right-hander Chris Archer, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Bay has been in touch with roughly a dozen teams about Archer and could spend tonight and tomorrow morning reviewing those offers before ultimately making a call on whether to deal Archer.

It should be noted that it’s far from a certainty that Archer is dealt at all. There’s a mix in the tone of reports surrounding the possibility of an Archer trade that is likely reflective of the lack of an industry consensus on whether he’ll actually be traded. For instance, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that there’s a stronger sense than ever before that Archer will finally move, as the Rays are cognizant that he’s approaching his 30th birthday and this may be their final chance to get an enormous haul for him.

On the flipside, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale spoke to one executive familiar with the market who took an “I’ll believe it when I see it” approach (Twitter link). ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, meanwhile, spoke to an exec who said he still feels Tampa Bay will need to be “overwhelmed” and, despite years of rumors, still “[doesn’t] see it happening.”

The full slate of teams who have submitted (or plan on submitting) an offer for Archer isn’t yet known. Over the weekend, the Braves, Dodgers, Yankees and Cardinals were all connected rather prominently to Archer, though Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweeted today that the Yankees are viewed as an “unlikely” fit for Archer. Sherman added earlier today that the Pirates have jumped into the mix as well, while the Brewers and the Athletics have both at least touched base.

The Padres, meanwhile, have been rumored to be the most aggressive pursuing Archer, envisioning him as a rotation fixture in 2019 and beyond as San Diego emerges from its rebuild and aims to contend. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan wrote today that San Diego has been “especially engaged” in the Archer market, though he notes that the Friars have not yet been willing to meet Tampa Bay’s lofty asking price. Topkin wrote yesterday that a young catcher and controllable power-hitting outfielder would be “a good start” to a package from the Rays’ vantage point, though Tampa Bay will obviously be seeking numerous young pieces in return for three-plus years of the right-hander.

Archer, 29, obviously remains a popular trade target despite a month-long stint on the disabled list and some bottom-line results that haven’t lined up with his peripheral stats in recent seasons. That’s once again the case in 2018, as Archer is sitting on a 4.31 ERA despite possessing a 3.62 FIP and xFIP as well as a 3.75 SIERA. He’s averaged a strong 9.6 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 with Tampa Bay this season and has made moderate gains in terms of swinging-strike rate (13.6 percent) and chase rate (32.3 percent). Archer is allowing just one homer per nine innings after struggling with the long ball in recent seasons, and he’s also boosted his ground-ball rate nearly three percent, from 42.0 up to 44.7.

Of course, the big draw with Archer is the affordability of his contract. He’s owed $2.o8MM through the end of the current season and is guaranteed just $7.5MM in 2019 before the Rays (or an acquiring team) have club options valued at $9MM and $11MM for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. In all, Archer can be controlled through 2021 for as little as $29.58MM, and in the event of a significant injury, he can be cut loose after 2019 and owed only a total of $11.33MM through the end of 2019.

Cardinals Open To Offers On Bud Norris, Jose Martinez

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The Cardinals are receiving trade inquiries into closer Bud Norris, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, with the Rockies and Red Sox among the teams that have shown interest to this point. In a second column, Goold adds that the club is “open to discussing offers” for both Norris and first baseman/outfielder Jose Martinez.

The Red Sox have been tied to countless relievers of late, it seems, and Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM tweets that they, along with the Phillies, Astros and Mariners, are “in” (to varying extents, of course) on practically every bullpen arm that is available on the market at this point.

Norris wasn’t supposed to be the Cardinals’ top bullpen addition of the offseason — far from it — but that’s unequivocally how things have played out. While the Cardinals gave Greg Holland a one-year, $14MM contract to serve as their closer and also signed Luke Gregerson to a two-year, $11MM deal, Norris and his one-year, $3MM deal have been the lone bullpen signing to pay dividends. Holland was released on Friday amid a seismic shakeup of the St. Louis pitching staff, while Gregerson been plagued by injuries all season and owns a 7.11 ERA through just 12 2/3 innings thanks to multiple DL stints.

Norris, meanwhile, stepped up and seized the ninth-inning gig from Holland and Dominic Leone (another offseason ’pen addition who has yet to pan out). Through 43 innings, the 33-year-old Norris boasts a 3.14 ERA with 11.7 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, 1.05 HR/9 and a 41 percent ground-ball rate. His fastball and sinker are both averaging nearly 95 mph, the best of his career, and Norris’ ridiculous 38.3 percent chase rate (that is, out-of-zone pitches that have induced a swing from opponents) ranks seventh among 158 qualified relievers.

Earlier this month, Norris spoke to the Post-Dispatch’s Rick Hummel about his hopes to sign a long-term deal to remain with the Cardinals, though his affordable salary and excellent results could make him as appealing a trade candidate as they do an extension candidate for the St. Louis front office. As it stands, he’ll be a free agent at the end of the season and is still owed $1MM of his $3MM salary, making him affordable for any team in search of a upgrade.

As for Martinez, there’s little question about the late-blooming 30-year-old’s ability to produce at the plate. He’s mashed at a .304/.371/.487 pace since making his Major League debut in 2016, and his current .294/.359/.461 output is considerably better than that of a league-average bat (23 to 24 percent better, when adjusting for park and league, per OPS+ and wRC+). Martinez’s power is down a bit from 2017, but he’s still walking at a solid 8.9 percent clip and has improved his strikeout rate, which sits at just 16 percent. He can be controlled through the 2022 season and won’t even be eligible for arbitration until after the 2019 season.

While all of that is decidedly positive, Martinez’ glovework is on the opposite end of the spectrum. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak candidly acknowledged earlier this month that Martinez’s defensive shortcomings at first base were “putting a lot of stress on everyone,” and the team has since shifted him into a part-time role and given him more time in the outfield recently. Martinez, though, has played 328 innings in the outfield and turned in dismal defensive marks (-8 Defensive Runs Saved, -5 Ultimate Zone Rating). He hasn’t fared any better at first base, though, and there’s been speculation that he could ultimately land on an American League club where his bat would be better serve in a DH capacity.

Trade Talks On Chris Archer “Intensifying”

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7:43pm: In an interview with Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, Archer called the trade chatter surrounding him “unsettling.” Topkin again notes that the industry sense is that Tampa Bay is more willing than ever to trade Archer, and he adds that a young catcher and a power-hitting outfield prospect would be “a good start” to a package from the Rays’ vantage point.

July 29, 8:58am: The Padres are still regarded as the favorites to land Archer if the Rays deal him, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets. The Braves are also interested, per the New York Post’s Joel Sherman, who adds that the Rays had a pair of scouts watching Yankees pitching prospect Justus Sheffield at Triple-A on Saturday. However, it’s “a long shot” that the Yankees will acquire Archer, Sherman writes.

July 28, 12:50pm: Add the Yankees and Dodgers to the list of teams who’re pursuing Archer, according to a recent tweet from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

10:43am: Chris Archer has been the subject of trade speculation all season, and now talks surrounding Tampa Bay’s prized right-hander are “intensifying”, per a report from ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick.

A trade isn’t quite imminent, it seems, as Crasnick notes that it’s difficult to judge whether or not a team will actually pay the Rays’ asking price. After all, Archer can be controlled through 2021 for an average of less than $8MM per season, and is unsurprisingly being donned with a “No. 1 starter type of price tag”. It’s certainly plausible that Archer could be a part of the next contending Rays ballclub considering the wealth of talent in Tampa Bay’s farm system (recently ranked the fourth-best in baseball by MLB.com), which boasts six players among MLB Pipeline’s top 70 prospects.

Then again, the Rays have seen a host of promising prospects go down with Tommy John surgery this season. Right-handers Brent Honeywell and Jose De Leon and lefty Anthony Banda were all considered to be about major-league ready this season before each sprained his UCL and had to go under the knife. While one would expect all three to be ready to pitch again by the middle of next season based on the normal Tommy John recovery timeline, we know by now that the surgery isn’t a sure thing, and can lead to deeply-diminished production (Brady Aiken comes to mind as an example). It wouldn’t be out of the question, then, for the Rays to attempt to acquire an upside young arm along with some other valuable pieces in a package for their ace.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports noted soon after Crasnick’s report that the Padres (who have already been connected to Archer this season) have made progress in talks with the Rays, in part because Tampa Bay has shown “a greater willingness” to deal him. But Passan adds a dissent in agreeing that the price remains high, which has the Padres “balking for now.” We already know that the Padres are unwilling to exchange either of their top two prospects (shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. and southpaw Mackenzie Gore), though they’ve shown a willingness to deal second baseman Luis Urias, right-hander Cal Quantrill and even recently-acquired catching prospect Francisco Mejia.

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch adds that the Cardinals “remain interested” in Archer, noting that the club attempted to deal for the 29-year-old just this past winter. Goold’s sources tell him that the Cards believe they can line up a “competitive offer”. It’s no surprise that St. Louis would be checking in on all available options to patch their injury-ravaged rotation; the club’s seen right-handers Michael Wacha and Carlos Martinez succumb to oblique injuries and can’t know what type of late-2018 contributions to expect from either at this point. Meanwhile, top prospect Alex Reyes, who was expected to play a big role in the club’s plans this year, suffered a season-ending lat injury at the tail end of May. Adam Wainwright continues to be injury-prone and can’t be counted on for any type of meaningful production. The club is currently placing its playoff hopes on the resurgent Miles Mikolas and a cast of rookies including Jack Flaherty, Luke Weaver and John Gant.

To be fair, it’s not clear whether Archer is truly worth the price of an “ace”. The right-hander has posted ERAs north of four in each of the past two seasons and currently sports a six-year high figure of 4.31. While it’s true that his FIP (3.62) suggests quite a bit of bad luck has been involved, the same can also be said of each of his previous three seasons- Archer has a reputation as a pitcher whose results consistently fail to keep up with his peripherals. Still, it’s easy to imagine him catching fire and putting together an impressive second-half run, a possibility which plenty of contenders would like to take a chance on.

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