The 2021 Major League Baseball Player Chatter, News and Fantasy Thread

[stevenash]

Have you ever watched Amir Garrett??? he got what was coming to him. Javy delivered it perfectly.

What's odd is he's a real nice guy in real life, but a dickhead when in a baseball uniform.
I'm a dog lover, I know about him, he donates time and money to ASPCA, all sorts of charities, but a dickhead when on the field.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Have you ever watched Amir Garrett??? he got what was coming to him. Javy delivered it perfectly.

I was ignorant to the history between them.

I retract my statement. Kudos to Baez!

[stevenash]

I was ignorant to the history between them.

I retract my statement. Kudos to Baez!

There's bad blood between Garrett and half a dozen hitters.
Like I said before, that's not his nature.
Competitive juices and all that I guess.

[Stallion]

Garrett looked like a bit*h.....

[JMobile]

Rays trying to get Max Scherzer.
Yankees trying to get Trevor Story.

[Cross]

Should be a few more big trades coming. I’m so scared.

[jrgum3]

Rays trying to get Max Scherzer.
Yankees trying to get Trevor Story.

Scherzer is definitely on the block. My Giants are said to be talking to Chicago about dealing for Kris Bryant but the Cubbies want Joey Bart in a potential deal so it would surprise me if that deal happened.

[EmpireMaker]

The Mariners have picked up one of the more notable starting pitchers on the trade market, announcing they’ve acquired left-hander Tyler Anderson from the Pirates. Two prospects — catcher Carter Bins and right-hander Joaquin Tejada — are headed back to Pittsburgh. To create 40-man roster space for Anderson, Seattle designated infielder Jake Hager for assignment.

It’s a surprising turn of events after the Phillies were reportedly on the verge of acquiring Anderson this afternoon. That potential deal fell through after Pittsburgh expressed concern about the medical review of one of the prospects expected to be involved. Now, Anderson is on his way to the Pacific Northwest instead.
Seattle has reportedly been in the market for starting pitching over the past couple weeks. The Mariners have been hit hard by injuries, thinning out the rotation depth. The reunion with James Paxton lasted less than two innings before the southpaw blew out and required Tommy John surgery. Justin Dunn has been out for over a month due to a strain in his throwing shoulder, while Justus Sheffield is sidelined by both a flexor strain in his forearm and an oblique issue. Depth options Ljay Newsome and Nick Margevicius have been out for months and don’t seem likely to return this season.
Acquiring Anderson will add some stability behind Yusei Kikuchi, Logan Gilbert, Marco Gonzales and Chris Flexen. The southpaw’s numbers aren’t eye-popping, but he’s a dependable back-of-the-rotation option. Anderson has stayed healthy all year and taken the ball 18 times, totaling 103 1/3 innings. He’s worked to a 4.35 ERA/4.42 SIERA, production that’s generally in line with his past work for the Rockies and Giants.
Anderson’s a control specialist. He’s long been a quality strike-thrower, and he’s issued walks to a career-low 5.8% of opponents this season. Limiting free passes is key for Anderson, a fly-ball pitcher who doesn’t punch out too many batters. His 20.0% strikeout rate is a few points below the 23.1% leaguewide mark for starting pitchers, although his 11.6% swinging strike rate is actually marginally better than average.
In addition to his serviceable production, Anderson’s an eminently affordable pickup. He signed a one-year, $2.5MM contract with the Pirates over the winter. Just over $900K of that sum remains to be paid through season’s end. The 31-year-old is again slated to hit free agency this winter, so he’s a pure rental pickup for Seattle.
The decision to acquire an impending free agent might raise some eyebrows among fans. After all, the Mariners traded top reliever Kendall Graveman to the division-leading Astros for Abraham Toro this evening, a move that didn’t go over well in the Seattle clubhouse. The notion that the Graveman trade suggested the Mariners were punting on the 2021 season was always too simplistic, though.
General manager Jerry Dipoto told reporters in the aftermath of the Graveman – Toro swap that the front office had more moves in the works. Even independent of future acquisitions, the Mariners front office might simply have seen the value of four additional years of control over Toro — a well-regarded young infielder who’s already at the major league level — as too good to forego with Graveman headed for free agency in a few months. Modern front offices have become increasingly flexible in their trade deadline approaches, more willing to balance their short and long-term goals rather than definitively bucket themselves as “buyers” or “sellers.”
That’s particularly true of teams like the Mariners. Seattle’s surprisingly worked their way into the thick of the playoff picture, entering play tonight just one game back of the Athletics for the second Wild Card spot in the American League. They’ve outperformed most preseason expectations and their underlying record estimators, though, leaving some question about their ability to stick in the race for the stretch run. With that in mind, it makes sense for the Mariners to continue to look for long-term value while making smaller acquisitions with a 2021 playoff push in mind.
Seattle picked up Hager off waivers from the Brewers last month. He’s spent his tenure in the organization with Triple-A Tacoma, hitting .214/.294/.469 across 109 plate appearances. In all likelihood, he’ll find himself on outright waivers within the next seven days.
The appeal for the rebuilding Pirates is rather obvious. Pittsburgh signed Anderson with the hope that he’d pitch well enough to be flipped for young talent midseason, and that’s exactly how things played out.
Bins, 22, was an 11th-round draft choice out of Fresno State in 2019. He’s hit well in the low minors over his two-plus professional seasons, reaching Double-A for the first time this month. Entering the season, Baseball America and FanGraphs each rated Bins the #29 prospect in the Seattle system. Both outlets praised his raw power and surprising athleticism for a catcher. Swing-and-miss concerns led both BA and FanGraphs to project Bins as a likely #2 backstop.
Tejada, 18, signed with Seattle out of Panama for $200K during the 2019-20 international signing period. Ben Badler of Baseball America wrote at the time that Tejada had seen his velocity spike into the low-90’s. He’s a low-level lottery ticket who made his professional debut this season in the Dominican Summer League.
As for the Phillies, they’ll now have to turn their attention elsewhere before Friday afternoon’s trade deadline. The hope had been that Philadelphia could acquire Anderson to fortify the back of the rotation. Presumably, that’ll continue to be the priority now that he’s no longer available.

[Otters27]

Tigers hit a granny in the top of nine to tie it. Then don't score in the top of 10. Twins leave bases loaded with 1 out in bottom of 10. Tigers win. Baseball is crazy

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Tatis with an absolute bomb last night...it looked a lot further than 440 feet, I think Statcast jobbed him....

[stevenash]

Tatis with an absolute bomb last night...it looked a lot further than 440 feet, I think Statcast jobbed him....

Who cares about Statcast, the dude is a *beast*

[stevenash]

Tigers hit a granny in the top of nine to tie it. Then don't score in the top of 10. Twins leave bases loaded with 1 out in bottom of 10. Tigers win. Baseball is crazy

Twins cost me a five for five night in the contest last night.
Shit bums!

[yisman]

The Miami Marlins are trading outfielder Starling Marte to the Oakland Athletics, a source confirmed to the Miami Herald on Wednesday. Miami is paying the remainder of Starling Marte’s contract, about $4.5 million, and are receiving left-handed pitcher Jesus Luzardo in return from Oakland to complete the trade.

[stevenash]

Here's your box score of the day.
Cy Young is rolling over in his grave right about now.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401228582

[JMobile]

Padres need pitching

[JMobile]

Yankees traded for Joey Gallo? Rangers get 6 prospects?

[jrgum3]

Yankees traded for Joey Gallo? Rangers get 6 prospects?

Yeah I dunno about that trade. I'm not as bullish on Joey Gallo as some and the Yankees desparately need more pitching (then again who doesn't that is contending for the playoffs?).

[EmpireMaker]

The Rangers and Yankees are reportedly nearing agreement on a deal that would send Joey Gallo and Joely Rodríguez to the Bronx in exchange for a four-player prospect package. Once finalized, the expectation is that Texas will receive infielders Ezequiel Duran, Josh Smith, Trevor Hauver and right-handed pitcher Glenn Otto in return. (Initial reports had suggested outfielder Everson Pereira and righty Randy Vasquez might also be involved, but the expectation is now that those two players will remain with New York).

It’s a bold strike for the Yankees, who have hovered a bit above .500 for much of the season. New York entered play tonight 8.5 games back of the Red Sox in the American League East and three behind the Athletics for the final Wild Card spot (with the Mariners also ahead of them in the standings). That the Yankees aren’t leading the division — as many anticipated they would coming into the year — is largely a reflection of a lineup that has been more decent than great over the course of the season. The front office is looking to remedy that by adding another of the game’s most prodigious power bats to an order that already includes Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.
Gallo deservedly earned his second career All-Star nod this summer amidst a tear between June and July. Overall, he’s hitting .223/.379/.490 with 25 home runs across 388 plate appearances. As he has throughout his career, Gallo has been prone to strikeouts and hit for a low batting average, but his power and plate discipline more than offset the swing-and-miss concerns.
The 27-year-old has always been a patient hitter, but he’s taken that aspect of his game to new heights in 2021. Gallo’s 19.1% walk rate is a career best, and it’s the highest such mark of any player with 250+ plate appearances this year. That abundance of free passes has allowed Gallo to reach base far more often than the .320 league average. The 27-year-old’s ISO (slugging minus batting average) is a whopping .268, and only five players top his home run total. Altogether, Gallo owns a 140 wRC+, indicating he’s been forty percentage points better than average at the plate this season.
Gallo’s low-contact, high-power approach resembles those of a lot of hitters in the Yankees lineup. That could lead to some concerns among fans about a lack of stylistic diversity. That said, Gallo’s lefty bat helps to balance a lineup that otherwise skews heavily right-handed. And Gallo’s production this season has neared or bettered that of anyone already on the New York roster. Only Judge (147) has a higher wRC+ than Gallo among Yankees with at least 100 plate appearances.
Unlike many sluggers, Gallo also offers quite a bit of value on the other side of the ball. Advanced defensive metrics have long pegged him as a plus right fielder, and he won a Gold Glove award last season. He’s best suited in the corner outfield, but Gallo also held his own during a run of center field play in 2019, and has plenty of experience at first base as well.
Throughout last offseason and this summer, the Yankees have worked to keep their payroll south of the $210MM luxury tax line. Gallo’s playing this season on a $6.2MM salary, about $2.2MM of which remains to be paid. Rodíguez, meanwhile, is making $2.5MM this year — about $900K of which is still owed — and has a $3MM club option for the 2022 campaign. If the Yankees assume the remainder of Gallo’s and Rodríguez’s salaries, their luxury tax figure would land at approximately $209.4MM, in the estimation of Roster Resource.
Gallo is controllable via arbitration for one additional campaign. He’ll pick up a nice raise given how well he’s played this season, but his 2022 salary will still be a bargain relative to the caliber of player he is. It’s not clear whether the luxury tax will be such a concern for Yankees brass next winter, if they can limbo under the threshold this season and reset their tax payor status. (The current CBA contains escalating penalties for teams exceeding the threshold in multiple consecutive seasons).
For this season, the current luxury tax projections suggest the Yankees have almost no room for further additions unless ownership allows the front office to cross the threshold. That said, it’s possible the Yankees explore creative ways to clear funds off the books. New York offloaded the salaries of relievers Luis Cessa and Justin Wilson to the Reds last night, and they could look to make other similar moves before Friday afternoon’s trade deadline.
The Cessa/Wilson trade could’ve also been a precursor to this evening’s Rodríguez pickup. New York thinned out their bullpen depth yesterday but they’ll replenish that a bit by adding the 29-year-old southpaw. (Initial reports suggested the Yankees were likely to acquire John King alongside Gallo, but a last-minute shuffling will apparently result in Rodríguez landing in the Bronx instead).
Rodríguez has tossed 27 1/3 innings of 5.93 ERA ball this season, a disappointing follow-up to a brief but productive 2020 campaign. His peripherals, though, are far better. Rodríguez has a 3.40 SIERA, with average strikeout and walk numbers but a huge 63.9% grounder rate. Clay Holmes, whom the Yankees acquired from the Pirates earlier this week, has similarly strong groundball tendencies — as does King. Based on their pattern of acquisitions, it seems the the Yankees front office is particularly keen on relievers who are consistently able to keep the ball down.
Assuming the deal eventually gets across the finish line, it’ll mark the end of Gallo’s nine-year tenure in the Rangers organization. Texas selected Gallo 39th overall in the 2012 amateur draft, and he’s been a fixture on the major league roster since 2015. It’ll no doubt sting Rangers fans to see Gallo depart, although it’s hardly a surprise he wound up on the move this summer.
With Texas’ window of team control dwindling, the team’s last-place standing in the AL West, and recent reports that extension talks weren’t progressing, Gallo’s name was bandied about in plenty of trade rumors. He was also linked to the Padres, Blue Jays and Braves in recent days, but the Yankees ultimately put forth the offer that the Texas front office deemed the strongest.
Indeed, it seems the general opinion from public prospect evaluators is that the Rangers did well in this deal. Texas didn’t get a marquee headliner, per se, but they added a group of talented young players to an already-deep farm system.
All four prospects Texas is expected to acquire appeared on Baseball America’s midseason ranking of the top 30 prospects in the Yankees system, with Duran (6th) and Smith (8th) checking in among New York’s ten most promising farmhands. Eric Longenhagen and Kevin Goldstein of FanGraphs have already slotted the group among Rangers prospects. The aforementioned quartet all checks in among Texas’ top 40, with Duran and Smith again among the top ten.
FanGraphs pegs Duran as a 50 FV, the equivalent of a top 100 overall prospect. Ranking him third in the Rangers system, Longenhagen writes that the right-handed hitting second baseman has plus raw power and some chance to stick at the position. He’s mashing this season at High-A, hitting .290/.374/.533 with twelve homers as a 22-year-old.
Smith, meanwhile, was a second-round draft choice out of LSU in 2019. He’s also performed at an incredible level in the low minors and had an even better .320/.435/.583 mark in High-A this year. He’s not especially toolsy, and he’ll turn 24 years old next month, but Longenhagen writes that Smith has a chance to be a plus hitter and should at least develop into a high-end utility option.
There are similar stories for Hauver and Otto. Both are having stellar seasons in the low minors and project to be at least solid role players. It’s a well-regarded group of young talent, and it’s likely at least one or two will wind up important contributors when the Rangers are better positioned for contention a few years from now.

[Otters27]

Tigers vs Twins 17-14 are you ready for some football

[jrgum3]

Tigers vs Twins 17-14 are you ready for some football

I didn't watch the game but games like that make me cringe. Those type of games always happen later in the summer though when bullpens become taxed and starters arms get tired.

[stevenash]

I didn't watch the game but games like that make me cringe. Those type of games always happen later in the summer though when bullpens become taxed and starters arms get tired.

And Detroit didn't even homer.
Four doubles and a triple, all mainly from the fat guys at the bottom of the order too.

[stevenash]

[BigSpoon]

Max Scherzer to the Padres, wow.

[stevenash]

Max Scherzer to the Padres, wow.

[EmpireMaker]

Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears that Kyle Schwarber is likely to be traded before the end of the day on Thursday.
Advice: Sherman adds that the Red Sox and Blue Jays are "believed" to be interested in the impending free agent slugger, who's on the injured list currently with a severe hamstring strain but should be ready for activation around mid-August. Washington has already parted ways with closer Brad Hand and will likely look to move Max Scherzer shortly after his Thursday afternoon start against the Phillies.
More: Joel Sherman on Twitter

[jrgum3]

Dodgers get Danny Duffy and the Padres are close to getting Scherzer. Giants need to do something big here to respond to these moves being made by their rivals. This is an anxious time for a fan.

[stevenash]

Dodgers get Danny Duffy and the Padres are close to getting Scherzer. Giants need to do something big here to respond to these moves being made by their rivals. This is an anxious time for a fan.

Ugh.
Duff-Man to LAD
This hurts.

Yanks get Rizzo

[jrgum3]

Ugh.
Duff-Man to LAD
This hurts.

Yanks get Rizzo

Yeah I like Duffy and hate it for the Royals because he was having a good year and their best starter. I guess everybody is available when you're a seller. Just wish they didn't send him to the Dodgers because now I can't root for him.

[jrgum3]

Damn now the Dodgers are nearing a deal to land Scherzer and Trea Turner. That would be a gut punch to the Padres who never could finalize the deal for Scherzer as we once thought earlier in the day. Crazy how the Dodgers always seem to be able to get whoever they want.

[JMobile]

Damn now the Dodgers are nearing a deal to land Scherzer and Trea Turner. That would be a gut punch to the Padres who never could finalize the deal for Scherzer as we once thought earlier in the day. Crazy how the Dodgers always seem to be able to get whoever they want.

Scherzer waived his no-trade clause to play in L.A., according to*Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

Good thing I put more money on the Dodgers winning it again this year.

[Cross]

Sad day to see Rizzo get traded, although probably the right time.

[EmpireMaker]

The Padres are reportedly set to acquire one of the top relievers on the trade market. San Diego is nearing a deal with the Nationals to add Daniel Hudson to the late-inning mix. Two prospects — pitcher Mason Thompson and infielder Jordy Barley — are expected to head to Washington in return.

Hudson becomes the latest player out the door as part of the Nationals broader sell-off. Washington is finalizing a deal to send Trea Turner and Max Scherzer to the Dodgers and has already announced agreements to move Brad Hand and Kyle Schwarber. Once GM Mike Rizzo and his staff embarked on the teardown, a Hudson deal became increasingly likely given his impending free agency.
The right-hander has long been a productive reliever, but he’s taken his game to a new level this year. The 34-year-old has a career-low 2.20 ERA across 32 2/3 innings, striking out an elite 37.8% of opposing hitters against a tidy 5.5% walk rate. There’s little question he’s capable of stepping into high-leverage innings for the Padres, who are amidst a three-way battle in the NL West. That won’t be the case immediately, though, as Hudson landed on the COVID-19 injured list this morning as the virus spread throughout Washington’s clubhouse.
Hudson is playing out the season on a $6MM contract, a bit more than $2MM of which is still owed. His two-year, $11MM deal comes with a $5.5MM luxury tax hit, which prorates to about $1.9MM. The Padres are reportedly a bit over the $210MM threshold, but indications are that ownership is willing to pay some extra expenditures. The Friars’ reported talks with the Nationals about Scherzer this afternoon would’ve likely pushed San Diego well above that line had they resulted in a deal, for instance. Of course, there’s also the possibility that Washington retains some salary.
In order to add Hudson for the stretch run, San Diego parts with Thompson, a 2016 third-round draftee. The righty has made his first four big league appearances this season but spent the bulk of the year with Triple-A El Paso. A pure reliever, Thompson has tossed 26 2/3 innings over 23 appearances, working to a 5.74 ERA with slightly lower than average strikeout and walk rates (21.8% and 7.3%, respectively) in that hitter-friendly environment. He’s already on the 40-man roster and has a pair of minor league option years remaining beyond the current season.
Barley has been in the Padres organization since signing as a member of San Diego’s massive 2016-17 international class. At one point, the speedster was a fairly well-regarded prospect, but he’s struggled to hit in the low minors. Barley has posted higher than average strikeout rates throughout his professional career, and that’s continued this season. The 21-year-old is hitting .240/.333/.388 with a 29.4% strikeout percentage in Low-A. Entering the season, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs slotted Barley as the #28 talent in the Padres system.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Cross, I have your 250 points ready to send if Bryant is not traded by today's deadline...

[stevenash]

Cross, I have your 250 points ready to send if Bryant is not traded by today's deadline...

That's going to be a nail biter.
50/50 he goes.

[stevenash]

Yeah I like Duffy and hate it for the Royals because he was having a good year and their best starter. I guess everybody is available when you're a seller. Just wish they didn't send him to the Dodgers because now I can't root for him.

After Whit and Hos, Duff Man is way up there on my list of all time favorite Royals.