Headlines

  • Rockies Claim Dinelson Lamet, Designate Ashton Goudeau
  • Cubs Release Andrelton Simmons
  • Alex Kirilloff To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery
  • Guardians Designate Franmil Reyes For Assignment
  • Fernando Tatis Jr. To Begin Rehab Assignment
  • Justin Verlander Reaches 130 Innings Pitched, Vests 2023 Player Option
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • Top 50 Free Agents
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2022
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Arbitration Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Braves Rumors

Braves Option Ian Anderson

By Darragh McDonald | August 7, 2022 at 11:30am CDT

The Braves announced a series of roster moves today, recalling right-hander Huascar Ynoa and catcher Chadwick Tromp. To create room on the active roster, they’ve optioned righty Ian Anderson and outfielder Guillermo Heredia.

The most noteworthy of these moves is the demotion of Anderson, who has been entrenched in the rotation for quite some time. First called up to the big leagues in August of 2020, he made six starts in the shortened season and registered a 1.95 ERA. That was impressive enough for Anderson to earn a spot in the club’s postseason rotation, as he made four more starts in the playoffs with a 0.96 ERA, as Atlanta reached the NLCS.

Last year, Anderson seemingly proved he wasn’t a short-season fluke by pitching well over a full campaign. Though he did make one trip to the IL, Anderson made 24 starts in 2021 with a 3.58 ERA, then made four more postseason starts with a 1.59 ERA, helping Atlanta win the World Series.

The 24-year-old has taken a step back here in 2022, however, currently sporting a 5.11 ERA on the year. His 29.7% strikeout rate in 2020 fell to 23.2% last year and is down to 19.8% here this year. His 11.3% walk rate is also a career high and his 47.4% ground ball rate a career low. It’s possible there’s some bad luck involved, as his .318 BABIP on the year is much higher than in past seasons, but there’s also a lot of blue on his Statcast page, with batters clearly making some good contact against him. With the emergence of rookie Spencer Strider and the acquisition of Jake Odorizzi, it seems Anderson’s struggles have bumped him from the front five. He’ll join the Gwinnett Stripers and try to get things back on track.

The move isn’t likely to have a huge impact on Anderson from a service time perspective, at least in the short term. He came into this season with one year and 94 days of service time and has added around 120 more days here in 2022. Even if he were to spend the rest of the season in the minors, he’d finish the campaign somewhere around 2.025. That would still put him on track to reach arbitration for the first time after 2023 and free agency after 2026, though future optional assignments could also alter that timeline.

The recall of Tromp was required due to a leg injury sustained last night by Travis D’Arnaud. Although X-rays were negative, per Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, D’Arnaud will likely be unavailable for a few days. That leaves William Contreras as the primary catcher, with Tromp stepping in as the backup.

Share 0 Retweet 9 Send via email0

Atlanta Braves Transactions Ian Anderson Travis D'Arnaud

67 comments

Braves Claim Daniel Young, Outright Jesus Cruz

By James Hicks and Mark Polishuk | August 6, 2022 at 3:08pm CDT

The Braves claimed left-hander Daniel Young off waivers from the Mariners and outrighted right-hander Jesus Cruz to Triple-A Gwinnett, the team announced today.  The Mariners had designated Young for assignment earlier this week.

Young had a 7.36 ERA over 2 2/3 innings with Seattle this season, marking his first appearance in the big leagues.  Originally an eight-round pick for the Blue Jays in the 2015 draft, Young is now reunited with Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos, who was Toronto’s general manager when Young’s pro career got underway.

The left-hander has a 3.79 ERA over 299 1/3 career innings in the minors, working as a reliever in all but one of his 230 games.  A grounder specialist for much of his career, Young’s strikeout rate shot up to 33.9% over his 28 innings with the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate this year, while still inducing grounders at a 55.7% rate.  This improvement in his age-28 season earned Young his first cup of coffee in the majors, and now another fresh start in a new organization.

Cruz’s big league resume consists of a single inning with the Cardinals in 2020 and 8 2/3 frames with Atlanta this season, with a 7.45 ERA to show for that brief sample size.  The righty has missed plenty of bats over five pro seasons, but he has had some problems with his control and (this season especially at Triple-A) keeping the ball in the park.

Share 0 Retweet 5 Send via email0

Atlanta Braves Seattle Mariners Transactions Daniel Young Jesus Cruz

18 comments

Braves Sign Taylor Motter To Minor League Deal

By Anthony Franco | August 5, 2022 at 10:41pm CDT

In a move that slipped past MLBTR’s radar at the time, the Braves signed Taylor Motter to a minor league contract last week. The utilityman had been released from a minor league pact with the Reds in mid-July, according to his transactions log at MLB.com.

Motter, 32, has been assigned to Triple-A Gwinnett with Atlanta. He’s spent the bulk of the year with the Reds top affiliate in Louisville, hitting .250/.340/.462 with eight home runs in 39 games. He walked at a strong 12.4% clip there while striking out at a roughly league average rate. Motter briefly earned a call to the majors as a virus substitute when the Reds played a series in Toronto, appearing in two games and collecting a hit in six at-bats.

That marked the fifth year in which the righty-swinging Motter has picked up some MLB time. He’s tallied 446 career plate appearances, hitting .191/.262/.309 with ten longballs and 13 stolen bases. The Coastal Carolina product has a quality .264/.354/.479 line in parts of six Triple-A campaigns. Between his upper minors success and ability to play everywhere on the diamond other than catcher and center field, Motter has played his way to the majors with six different teams.

The Braves have one of the game’s top infields, with Matt Olson, Dansby Swanson and Austin Riley all having strong seasons. Ozzie Albies has missed an extended stretch after fracturing his foot but is expected back either late this month or in early September. The Braves have relied on Orlando Arcia at the keystone in Albies’ absence, and they acquired Ehire Adrianza in a minor trade with the division-rival Nationals to fortify the bench depth. Motter adds some upper-level experience without occupying a spot on the 40-man roster.

Share 0 Retweet 4 Send via email0

Atlanta Braves Cincinnati Reds Transactions Taylor Motter

17 comments

Robinson Cano Elects Free Agency

By Anthony Franco | August 4, 2022 at 6:46pm CDT

Robinson Canó is back on the open market, as the Braves announced this afternoon that he’s elected free agency after passing through outright waivers unclaimed. This was the anticipated outcome once Atlanta designated Canó for assignment in the wake of their acquisition of Ehire Adrianza on Monday.

It has been a tumultuous season for Canó, who has now been cut loose by three separate clubs. He began the year with the Mets but was released in May. The Padres signed him to a major league deal a couple weeks thereafter, but he spent less than three weeks on the roster before being released. He returned to San Diego on a minor league pact, and while he didn’t get back to Petco Park, he did play well enough in Triple-A to catch the Braves attention. Atlanta acquired him last month and immediately brought him back to the big leagues.

Canó hasn’t hit well at any of his stops, however, and his stint on each roster has been brief. Between the three clubs, the 39-year-old owns a .150/.183/.190 line with a lone home run through 104 plate appearances. That’s come on the heels of a 2021 campaign wiped out by his second career performance-enhancing drug suspension, making it unsurprising teams have had such a short leash with Canó scuffing.

The eight-time All-Star tallied a matching 104 trips to the plate with San Diego’s top minor league affiliate in El Paso. He showed far better there, posting a .333/.375/.479 line with a trio of home runs and five doubles. That output was propped up by a .403 batting average on balls in play that he wasn’t likely to sustain, but Canó at least showed decent bat-to-ball skills at the Triple-A level.

If he’s open to another minor league deal to continue playing, Canó could latch on elsewhere for the season’s stretch run. It seems unlikely another team will be willing to let him step right onto the big league roster given his dismal MLB numbers, even though doing so wouldn’t come at any real financial cost. The Mets are on the hook for what remains on Canó’s contract over the next two seasons (with the Mariners chipping in a bit of money). If the 17-year MLB veteran can make it back to the big leagues, a signing team would only pay him the prorated portion of the $700K minimum salary.

Share 0 Retweet 9 Send via email0

Atlanta Braves Transactions Robinson Cano

83 comments

Deadline Recap: National League

By James Hicks | August 3, 2022 at 9:39am CDT

Following one of the wildest deadlines in recent memory — and, perhaps, the most significant deadline trade in living memory — even die-hard baseball fans could be forgiven for losing track of all the action. To get you caught up, here’s a recap of the weird, the wild, and the wacky over the last few days.

San Diego: It’s highly unlikely that anyone reading this post is unaware of the sport-shaking mega-deal that sent Juan Soto to San Diego, and there isn’t much to say about it that hasn’t already been said by MLBTR’s Anthony Franco. Though they’ll almost certainly have to run the three-game Wild-Card-series gauntlet this year, hyper-aggressive president of baseball operations A.J. Preller — who also acquired top-line closer Josh Hader in a deal with the Brewers and free-agent-to-be Brandon Drury from the Reds — has pushed all of his chips into the center of the table, effectively giving his club three seasons to win a World Series. Soto is under control through 2024, and Hader will be a free agent at the conclusion of the 2023 season.

Given the size of the package Preller sent to Washington — and the caliber of players therein — anything less than at least one title will feel like a bust. That said, that no opposing pitcher will relish the prospect of facing Soto, Manny Machado, and Fernando Tatis Jr. (currently nearing a rehab assignment) in order is a massive understatement, and the Friars will be a force to be reckoned with come October. In San Diego, the future is now.

Atlanta: While one of the league’s hottest teams could have been forgiven for more-or-less standing pat — particularly after locking up third baseman and MVP candidate Austin Riley to a ten-year, $212MM extension — the defending champs were once again active. President of baseball ops Alex Anthopoulos added a major piece to an already strong bullpen, acquiring Raisel Iglesias, in a last-minute deal with the Angels. The Braves also revamped the back half of their roster, acquiring Jake Odorizzi, Robbie Grossman, and Ehire Adrianza to shore up their rotation, outfield mix, and bench, respectively.

Oddly, they also subtracted a bit, sending former closer Will Smith to the Astros in the Odorizzi deal and back-end bullpen stalwart Jesse Chavez to the Angels in the Iglesias deal, but there’s little doubt that the team is stronger after the moves than it was before. Odorizzi provides depth to a rotation that includes a struggling Ian Anderson and rookie sensation Spencer Strider, who may be on an innings limit. The switch-hitting Grossman is a strong righty bat who can share time with the left-handed Eddie Rosario following Adam Duvall’s season-ending surgery. Adrianza offers cover at several positions, including second base, where Ozzie Albies’ timeline on a return from injury remains murky. Iglesias both strengthens and balances a previously lefty-heavy bullpen that, in addition to Smith, had given a great many high-leverage innings to A.J. Minter and Tyler Matzek.

Milwaukee: In one of the stranger — if, perhaps, shrewder — moves of the deadline period, the first-place Brewers subtracted a pretty major piece, sending all-world closer Josh Hader to the Padres in exchange for a ready-made high-leverage replacement in Taylor Rogers, the oft-injured but wildly talented Dinelson Lamet, and a pair of prospects. It’s an on-its-face odd move for a serious contender to trade away its most dominant player, but it’s also the sort of tough decision small-market teams (a la the Rays) have had to make to keep a contention window open for as long as possible.

The addition of Rogers softens the blow considerably, and one day after dealing Hader, Milwaukee followed by acquiring righties Matt Bush and Trevor Rosenthal, further back-filling the ’pen to account for the loss of Hader. Trading Hader — who’ll be a free agent following the 2023 season and could top $15MM in salary next year– now rather than in the offseason gave the Padres two playoff runs with the superstar closer but also maximized the Brewers’ return. Outfielder Esteury Ruiz, in particular, is a largely MLB-ready addition. Devin Williams, Rogers, Bush and eventually Rosenthal give the Brewers plenty of late-inning options.

New York: To the surprise of just about everyone, the Mets — who held a three-game division lead over the Braves entering play Tuesday — didn’t make any major moves. They did add a pair of potential contributors in Darin Ruf (exchanged for J.D. Davis, Thomas Szapucki, and a pair of low-minors pitchers to share DH duties with fellow recent arrival Daniel Vogelbach) and reliever Mychal Givens. They’d been linked to Josh Bell (sent to the Padres as part of the Juan Soto deal) and Trey Mancini (to the Astros) as well as Willson Contreras and Ian Happ (both among the only significant pieces not to move). Ultimately, general manager Billy Eppler didn’t pull the trigger on a move of the scale that had been expected of a first-place team owned by Steve Cohen.

While Givens, who’s had an excellent year with the Cubs, should strengthen an already strong bullpen and Ruf will likely improve surprisingly anemic DH production, manager Buck Showalter will have to largely get by with in-house options the rest of the way.

Los Angeles: The Dodgers entered the deadline period as co-favorites to land Juan Soto and reportedly attempted to at least engage the Angels on Shohei Ohtani. Despite these lofty aspirations, the owners of the NL’s best record had a comparatively quiet deadline, with no move remotely rivaling the Max Scherzer/Trea Turner blockbuster of a year ago.

Instead, the Andrew Friedman-led front office kept things relatively cool (at least by their recent standards), acquiring reliever Chris Martin from the Cubs for utility-man Zach McKinstry and struggling outfielder/DH Joey Gallo from the Yankees for pitching prospect Clayton Beeter. Nothing the Dodgers could have done would have changed much in the regular season — even with Juan Soto and Josh Hader headed to San Diego, L.A. is all but a lock to win the NL West and a first-round bye. Manager Dave Roberts will have largely have to make do with what he’s got as the Dodgers attempt to get back to the World Series following 2021’s disappointing NLCS loss to the Braves.

St. Louis: Though they came up short in the Juan Soto bidding and watched rumored target Frankie Montas head to the Bronx, the Cardinals — who sat 2.5 games back of the Brewers in the NL Central and a game behind the Phillies for the final NL Wild Card spot entering play Tuesday — hardly stood pat. The Cards added left-handed starter Jose Quintana and right-handed reliever Chris Stratton in a deal with the Pirates, as well as southpaw Jordan Montgomery from the Yankees. Though the latter move came at the cost of currently injured but broadly productive outfielder Harrison Bader, there’s little doubt that the Cards emerge from the deadline with a much stronger pitching staff for the final ride of Adam Wainwright, Albert Pujols, and Yadier Molina than they had before.

The Cards entered the deadline with little stability in rotation beyond Wainwright, Miles Mikolas, and Dakota Hudson. With offseason signee Steven Matz still on the shelf (and ineffective when he’s been on the field), Quintana and Montgomery should immediately solidify the rotation and give the St. Louis faithful a real shot to send their aging legends into the sunset with a playoff appearance — if not a division title.

Philadelphia: Though only on the periphery of the NL East race, the Phils added several pieces at the deadline, headlined by starter Noah Syndergaard. Thor isn’t the dominant force of his first several Mets years, but he has had a solid bounce-back season with the Angels and will solidify the back end of an already solid rotation — and, perhaps, take the ball in the decisive third game in the Wild Card round.

President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski also added young outfielder Brandon Marsh to an outfield mix that badly needed a plus defender of this type. Veteran reliever David Robertson strengthens a middle-of-the-pack bullpen and takes the place of struggling veteran Jeurys Familia, who was designated for assignment. The Phils also picked up infielder Edmundo Sosa in a small deal with the Cardinals, adding a standout, versatile defender — albeit one with a light bat.

Washington: The departure of generational talent Juan Soto from a team that went from a World Series title to cellar-dwelling in a flash makes yesterday a sour day for Nats fans, but the haul Mike Rizzo pulled back in return for Soto (and first baseman Josh Bell) could portend much sweeter days ahead. The Nats all but emptied out the top ranks of the Padres’t farm system, adding a coterie of high-caliber prospects in left-hander MacKenzie Gore, shortstop C.J. Abrams, outfielders Robert Hassell III and James Wood, and righty Jarlin Susana alongside make-weight first baseman Luke Voit. In a smaller deal, the Nats also picked up minor league outfielder Trey Harris in a swap sending Ehire Adrianza to the Braves.

Time will tell if Rizzo’s return matches the value of perhaps the best pure hitter since Barry Bonds, but with his club unlikely to contend anytime soon and Soto making clear he had no interest in the best extension offer the Nats were willing to give him, he may not have had much of a choice. They may no longer have Soto, but Washington fans will have more than their fair share of young talent on display for at least the next half-decade.

Cincinnati: The Reds, mired in mediocrity, continued a payroll-driven sell-off. Cincinnati held several of the more intriguing pieces of the deadline period in starters Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle and versatile infielder Brandon Drury. The team broke the deadline logjam, sending Castillo to the Mariners late last week for a quartet of prospects headlined by infielders Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo. They hardly stopped there, however, shipping off Mahle to the Twins for three prospects, Drury to the Padres for one, and outfielder Tommy Pham to the Red Sox for a player to be named later.

How long it will take for them to return to contention remains to be seen, but the substantial prospect haul brought back in the last few days should help speed things along. For the time being, though, the product on the field is going to be underwhelming.

Chicago: One of the more confusing teams to read in the offseason, the Cubs had several substantial pieces — including Willson Contreras and Ian Happ — rumored to be on their way out. Instead, they’ll remain on Chicago’s north side for at least the remainder of the season. Happ has a year of control remaining, but the decision by the Cubs/ front office to hang on to Contreras, one of the better bats (non-Soto division) available at the deadline and a free agent at season’s end, is perhaps the most vexing non-move of a deadline in which trades came fast and heavy.

The team did make several deals, however, effectively emptying out the top half of their bullpen. Chris Martin is now a Dodger (in exchange for utility-man Zach McKinstry), and Scott Effross, David Robertson, and Mychal Givens were shipped out to Yankees, Phillies, and Mets, respectively, each in exchange for a minor-league arm. Whether they seek to either hold on to Contreras long-term or simply receive draft pick compensation by issuing him a qualifying offer at season’s end remains to be seen.

Miami: The Marlins — owners of perhaps the most impressive reserve of young, controllable arms in the big leagues — entered the deadline period on the far periphery of the NL Wild Card race. This is something of a disappointment for a team that shelled out real money to add pop to their lineup (they signed Avisail Garcia ahead of the lockout and Jorge Soler after it) with little to show for it, leading to speculation that the club might trade one of its many controllable arms (per the rumor mill, Pablo Lopez) for a controllable bat.

No such deal came to fruition, but GM Kim Ng did send relievers Zach Pop and Anthony Bass to the Blue Jays for 2018 first-rounder Jordan Groshans. The shortstop, who’s also seen time at third and in the outfield, has an intriguing profile and has consistently gotten on base at all levels of the minors, but his power output has fallen off a cliff in his first taste of Triple-A.

San Francisco: Despite listening to offers on impending free agents Carlos Rodon and Joc Pederson in the midst of career years, the disappointing Giants — currently hovering around both .500 and the periphery of the NL Wild Card race but well shy of last year’s torrid pace — largely stood pat at the deadline, making only a handful of minor moves. They acquired infielder Dixon Machado (from the Cubs) and catcher/infielder Ford Proctor (from the Rays) before swapping Darin Ruf for J.D. Davis, pitcher Thomas Szapucki, and a pair of minor-league arms. They also traded away a handful of more minor pieces, including catcher Curt Casali and left-hander Matthew Boyd (to the Mariners for a pair of minor leaguers), and rehabbing right-hander Trevor Rosenthal (to the Brewers for another minor leaguer).

Pittsburgh: With several members of the Pirates’ loaded farm system making their way to the bigs this season, things may finally be starting to look up for the long-suffering Pittsburgh faithful. While 2022 won’t be the year that ends the club’s seven-season playoff drought, the Bucs entered the deadline as clear sellers. They made only a single significant move, sending reclamation project Jose Quintana (signed in the offseason for only $2MM) and reliever Chris Stratton to the division-rival Cardinals for a young arm with some big-league experience in Johan Oviedo and third base prospect Malcom Nunez.

Arizona: A team on the rise but with little to offer in the way of attractive rental talent, the Diamondbacks had one of the quieter deadlines across the majors. They did make a pair of moves, however, shipping David Peralta to the Rays for low-minors catcher Christian Cerda and righty Luke Weaver to the Royals for 26-year-old corner infielder Emmanuel Rivera, who hasn’t hit much in parts of two big-league seasons but showed real pop in the minors.

Colorado: The Rockies gave the rumor mill a bit of grist, with starter Chad Kuhl and reliever Carlos Estevez both reportedly drawing interest, but they ended the day the only team in the majors not to make a trade in the deadline period. They did shell out a bit of money, signing 37-year-old closer Daniel Bard to a two-year, $19MM extension on Saturday — a move that perplexed many onlookers given Bard’s age and status as an otherwise prototypical trade candidate.

Share 0 Retweet 10 Send via email0

Arizona Diamondbacks Atlanta Braves Chicago Cubs Cincinnati Reds Colorado Rockies Los Angeles Dodgers Miami Marlins Milwaukee Brewers New York Mets Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants St. Louis Cardinals Washington Nationals

172 comments

Braves To Acquire Raisel Iglesias

By Steve Adams and Tim Dierkes | August 2, 2022 at 7:00pm CDT

The Braves pulled off a massive buzzer-beater just before the deadline, acquiring closer Raisel Iglesias from the Angels in exchange for pitching prospect Tucker Davidson and righty Jesse Chavez, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (Twitter link). Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that the Braves will pay the remainder of Iglesias’ contract — a four-year, $58MM deal that covers the 2022-25 seasons.

It’s a last-second surprise to bring one the game’s most established late-inning relievers to an already deep Atlanta bullpen. Iglesias has tailed off since an outstanding start to the season but still possesses a reasonable 4.04 ERA with an excellent 32.9% strikeout rate and a 6.2% walk rate so far this season. Dating back to 2017 — Iglesias’ first as a full-time closer (then with the Reds) — he’s pitched to a combined 2.99 ERA while striking out 32% of his opponents against just a 7.1% walk rate.

Iglesias’ 95.3 mph average fastball is down about a mile per hour over the 2021 season, and his 14.9% swinging-strike rate is the second-lowest mark he’s posted as a full-time reliever. Those are both at least minor red flags, particularly when paired with his recent slump, but for most of the season Iglesias has looked the part of a quality leverage reliever, even if his numbers have dipped a bit from last year’s career-best performance.

Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos has a history of acquiring high-priced closers.  He recently shipped out the marginalized Will Smith, the top reliever from the 2019-20 free agent class, for starter Jake Odorizzi.  In March of this year, he signed Kenley Jansen to a one-year, $16MM deal.  The Iglesias trade is reminiscent of a Braves deadline deal from three years ago, when Anthopoulos acquired Mark Melancon from the Giants and was surprisingly willing to take on all of his remaining contract.  In Iglesias, the Braves take on over $51MM through 2025.  Anthopoulos explained today, “We had a lot of things in the works. Iglesias is someone we had our eye on and it came together really late, like with two minutes to go.”

The Braves now boast a high-priced tandem to close out games in Jansen and Iglesias, as well as A.J. Minter, Collin McHugh, and Tyler Matzek.  Rookie Dylan Lee is making an impact as well, succeeding in high leverage spots of late.

For the Angels, the Iglesias deal serves as an escape hatch from an expensive contract.  Ultimately the Angels will only pay out about 11% of the contract they entered into eight months ago.  The Angels are in an odd place, as they’ll fail to reach the playoffs for the eighth consecutive year.  They shed over $58MM in contractual commitments for Iglesias and Noah Syndergaard today, yet they owe over $75MM to Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon next year and only control MVP candidate Shohei Ohtani for two more seasons.

Angels owner Arte Moreno allowed GM Perry Minasian to listen to offers for Ohtani in recent weeks, but decided not to pull the trigger.  Ohtani’s future, and the direction of the Angels in general, will be a question looming over their offseason.

Aside from bailing on a large financial commitment, the Halos add Davidson, a 26-year-old southpaw with Major League experience.  Prior to the season, Baseball America considered Davidson a 45-grade prospect, a potential back-end starter with perhaps three average pitches.  Currently working in his third and longest stint at Triple-A, Davidson has a 4.59 ERA owing to a high home run per flyball rate, but he’s got a strong 20.9 K-BB%.

Chavez, soon to turn 39, returns to the Angels after spending the 2017 season with the team.  The Angels are one of nine teams for which the veteran reliever has pitched in his venerable 15-year career.

Share 0 Retweet 4 Send via email0

Atlanta Braves Los Angeles Angels Newsstand Transactions Jesse Chavez Raisel Iglesias Tucker Davidson

209 comments

Phillies, Blue Jays Reportedly Finalists In Noah Syndergaard Bidding

By Anthony Franco | August 2, 2022 at 4:22pm CDT

4:22pm: MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that the Syndergaard bidding is down to the Phillies and Blue Jays.

8:09am: The Phillies are believed to have Syndergaard “at the top of their list” as they seek rotation upgrades, tweets Jayson Stark of The Athletic.

12:43am: The Blue Jays are “making a play” for Angels starter Noah Syndergaard, tweets Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Blue Jays Nation’s Brendon Kuhn was first to report the club’s contact with the Halos. Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets that the Jays, Braves and previously-reported Phillies were among the teams with recent interest in Syndergaard, although he notes that Atlanta’s acquisition of Jake Odorizzi could take them out of the market.

Morosi suggests a Syndergaard trade before the 6:00pm EST deadline is becoming “more likely.” That’s not particularly surprising, as the 29-year-old has looked like a strong trade candidate for weeks. The Halos have fallen well out of playoff contention, and Syndergaard is an impending free agent. Los Angeles also couldn’t tag him with a qualifying offer next offseason. Syndgeraard received and rejected a QO from the Mets last year, and the collective bargaining agreement prohibits players from receiving a QO multiple times in their careers. Should the Angels hang onto the righty past the trade deadline, they could lose him to free agency for no compensation.

It seems likelier that general manager Perry Minasian and his staff will find a contender willing to relinquish some future considerations to add Syndergaard for the stretch run. He’s made 15 starts and worked 80 innings of 3.83 ERA ball. He doesn’t throw as hard or miss as many bats as he did during his early-career days with the Mets, but he’s a quality strike-thrower who induces a decent number of grounders. Syndergaard still looks like a solid mid-rotation arm whom some clubs could view as a possible Game 3 or Game 4 playoff starter.

Syndergaard is among the costlier options on the market, however. He signed a $21MM deal with the Halos last winter, and approximately $7.5MM of that tab has yet to be paid out. Perhaps the Angels will be willing to kick in some money to facilitate a trade, but if they’re insistent on an acquiring club picking up the remainder of the money, the prospect return could be fairly minimal.

The Cardinals landed José Quintana from the Pirates tonight, subtracting one of the more appealing rental arms from the market. It’s a rather thin group of impending free agent starters, particularly if the Red Sox and Giants elect to hold onto Nathan Eovaldi and Carlos Rodón, respectively. Beyond Syndergaard, perhaps the top remaining rental starter likely to change hands is Drew Smyly. Controllable arms who could be available in the hours leading up to the deadline include Tyler Mahle, Pablo López and Zach Plesac.

Share 0 Retweet 10 Send via email0

Atlanta Braves Los Angeles Angels Philadelphia Phillies Toronto Blue Jays Noah Syndergaard

107 comments

Braves, Astros Swap Will Smith For Jake Odorizzi

By Anthony Franco and Tim Dierkes | August 2, 2022 at 9:01am CDT

Aug. 2: The teams have formally announced the trade.

Aug. 1: The Astros are acquiring reliever Will Smith from the Braves for starter Jake Odorizzi, reports Mark Berman of Fox 26 (Twitter link).

Odorizzi has been seen as an expendable piece for the Astros, perhaps at least since he was left off the club’s ALDS roster last October.  He’s worked as part of a six-man rotation this year in Houston, but Lance McCullers Jr. is close to making his season debut as he recovers from a forearm strain.  The 32-year-old Odorizzi has pitched to a solid 3.75 ERA in a dozen starts for the Astros this year, averaging exactly five innings per outing.  He’s a flyball pitcher who has never been particularly adept at missing bats, but he’s been able to avoid hard hits this year to generate good results.

It would appear that Atlanta’s motivation here is to add veteran depth at the back of their rotation, which has consisted almost entirely of Max Fried, Kyle Wright, Charlie Morton, Ian Anderson, and rookie sensation Spencer Strider.  Anderson has struggled to the tune of a 4.99 ERA, while Strider has reached 80 1/3 innings on the season after pitching a career-high 94 last year.  Odorizzi’s last outing served as an excellent trade showcase for Houston – seven scoreless innings against the Mariners.  Odorizzi had injured his leg in May, knocking him out for seven weeks, and dealt with a blister before the start against Seattle.

Odorizzi’s contract is a factor here.  He’s earning $5MM this year (about $1.79MM remains) but would gain $500K upon reaching 100 innings plus $1MM each at 110, 120, 130, 140, and 150 innings.  Odorizzi currently sits at 60 innings, so 120 would seem to be the likely ceiling.  Odorizzi also has a player option worth $6.5MM with a $3.25MM buyout, but as Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle explains, “Odorizzi’s player option can max out at a $12.5 million base salary and a $6.25 million buyout — but only if he pitches in 30 games in which he records 12 or more outs in 2021-22.  After Sunday, Odorizzi has 29 such games across 2021-22.”  Given that the pitcher appears to have at least $3MM at stake in making one more four-inning start, it was mutually beneficial for the Astros to find a team that was more comfortable letting him reach that threshold and achieving a few performance bonuses.

Smith, 33, was the top reliever in the 2019-20 free agent class.  The Braves signed him to a hefty three-year, $40MM contract, also surrendering their second-round draft pick and $500K in international bonus pool money.  Smith’s effectiveness waned in Atlanta, as he was often done in by the longball and increasingly worse control.  He served as the Braves’ closer in the 2021 regular season to acceptable results, but then became a major factor in their postseason run with 11 scoreless innings and six saves.  Smith will forever be immortalized as the pitcher on the mound when the Braves won it all last year.

In March, the Braves signed Kenley Jansen, pushing Smith into a setup role.  Smith was at times the Braves’ third-highest leverage reliever this season, but in July he ranked seventh in that regard and was used in more of a mop-up role.  According to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, Smith would have likely been the odd man out for Atlanta once veteran reliever Kirby Yates is activated.  Smith is earning $13MM this year (about $4.6MM remains), plus he’ll be owed a $1MM buyout for 2023.

Smith joins a Houston bullpen led by Ryan Pressly, Rafael Montero, Hector Neris, Ryne Stanek, and Phil Maton.  None of those pitchers throw left-handed, and southpaw Blake Taylor hit the IL in June with elbow inflammation.  Smith has never been reliant on velocity, so it’s possible a fresh set of eyes on his mechanics and pitch mix, especially given the Astros’ strong reputation in that department, can right the ship.

If Odorizzi winds up with 110-119 innings, the Braves will end up paying him around $3.3MM in total.  In trading Smith, Atlanta shed a financial commitment of about $5.6MM, so they’d “gain” $2.3MM in the swap assuming they’re not including cash in the deal.  It’s possible, too, that Odorizzi falls short of 110 innings.  Money aside, this trade represents each team dealing from a surplus to better fill its needs.

It’s been a busy evening for Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos, who also traded for Tigers outfielder Robbie Grossman.  Similarly, Astros GM James Click has been active today on the eve of the trade deadline, also adding catcher Christian Vazquez from Boston and first baseman Trey Mancini from the Orioles.

Share 0 Retweet 3 Send via email0

Atlanta Braves Houston Astros Newsstand Jake Odorizzi Will Smith

127 comments

Braves Acquire Robbie Grossman From Tigers

By Anthony Franco | August 1, 2022 at 10:52pm CDT

The Braves are adding to their outfield, announcing agreement with the Tigers on a deal that brings in Robbie Grossman. Minor league pitcher Kris Anglin is headed back to Detroit.

It’s a familiar situation for Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos and his staff. Atlanta famously picked up a handful of lower-cost outfielders at last season’s deadline, then reaped the rewards with excellent second halves from players like Eddie Rosario and Jorge Soler. They’d of course love if Grossman could offer anything resembling that kind of production, but the veteran outfielder is amidst a rough 2022 campaign.

Through 320 plate appearances, Grossman has a .205/.313/.282 line with just two home runs. He’s still drawing walks at a strong 11.9% clip, but that’s down from last year’s elite 14.6% mark. More concerning has been the lack of power coupled with an uptick in strikeouts to a worrisome 28.1% rate. Nevertheless, the Braves are betting on his more solid track record.

Grossman was one of Detroit’s more productive hitters last season, tallying 671 plate appearances across 156 contests. He hit .239/.357/.415 with a career-best 23 longballs. That came on the heels of an excellent showing in a limited sample with the A’s during the shortened 2020 campaign. Grossman’s batted ball quality plummeted this season, but he’s continued to demonstrate a patient approach and showcase solid bat-to-ball skills.

Atlanta recently lost Adam Duvall to a season-ending injury, leaving them on the hunt for corner outfield assistance. Grossman adds a depth bat to a left field/designated hitter mix that also includes Rosario and Marcell Ozuna. Both players have below-average offensive numbers this season themselves, leading the Braves to look for additional options for manager Brian Snitker. Grossman’s a short-term pickup, as he’s set to hit free agency at the end of the season. He’s playing this season on a $5MM salary, around $1.75MM of which is yet to be paid.

In return, the Tigers pick up a young hurler whom the Braves selected in the 16th round last season. A product of Howard College, the 21-year-old Anglin has spent most of the season in Low-A. Through 12 appearances (seven starts), he’s worked 30 1/3 innings of 5.93 ERA ball. Anglin has punched out a solid 25.2% of opposing hitters, but he’s walking batters at an elevated 13.3% clip.

Chris McCosky of the Detroit News was first to report the Tigers were trading Grossman. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported the Braves were the acquiring club. Cody Stavenhagen of the Athletic reported Anglin’s inclusion.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Share 0 Retweet 7 Send via email0

Atlanta Braves Detroit Tigers Newsstand Transactions Robbie Grossman

124 comments

Braves Sign Austin Riley To Ten-Year Extension

By Anthony Franco | August 1, 2022 at 7:13pm CDT

The Braves announced they’ve signed star third baseman Austin Riley to a ten-year, $212MM contract extension. Riley will make $15MM next season, $21MM in 2024, then $22MM annually through 2032. The deal also contains a 2033 club option valued at $20MM. Riley is a client of ALIGND Sports Agency.

It’s a stunning, out-of-the-blue development that keeps a franchise pillar around for the long haul. The deal buys out the 25-year-old’s final three seasons of arbitration eligibility and extends the club’s window of control by as much as eight years. It locks him in Atlanta for virtually the entirety of his prime, as Riley won’t hit free agency until after his age-35 campaign at the earliest.

A former supplemental first-round pick, Riley quickly blossomed into one of the organization’s top prospects. He reached the majors not long after his 22nd birthday in 2019. Riley was up-and-down for the first couple seasons of his big league career, particularly when he struck out in over 36% of his plate appearances as a rookie. Atlanta stuck with him despite that early inconsistency, however, and they’ve been rewarded since Riley broke out last year.

He appeared in 160 games, blasting 33 home runs with a .303/.367/.531 line. That marks a career-high in longballs to date, but that marker won’t remain his personal best much longer. He’s already connected on 29 homers in 436 plate appearances this season, and he’s hitting .301/.360/.604 altogether. Riley’s pure slash line isn’t much changed from 2021 to ’22, but his slight improvement in bottom line results comes at a time when the league-wide offense has plummeted. By measure of wRC+, Riley’s offensive output has jumped from an already excellent 35 points above average to an eye-popping 63 points above par.

Among qualified hitters, only Yordan Álvarez, Aaron Judge, Paul Goldschmidt, Rafael Devers and Mike Trout have a better wRC+ this season. That’s reinforced by batted ball metrics than place Riley among the game’s elite bats. His 93.7 MPH average exit velocity is more than five MPH above the league average. His 55.9% hard contact rate is also among the league’s best, as is his 17.6% barrel rate. Simply put, few batters hit the ball as hard as Riley does frequently.

Of course, Riley’s power has never really been in question. His issue earlier in his career was in making contact, but the Mississippi native has made huge strides in that regard. After making contact on only 63% of his swings as a rookie, Riley has gotten the bat on the ball around 73% of the time in each of the last three seasons. That’s not great, but it’s more than sufficient for a player with his power production. Riley still has an aggressive approach and goes out of the strike zone a fair amount, but his excellent batted ball results make up for what may always be a slightly lower than average walk rate.

Going back to the start of 2021, Riley owns a .302/.364/.560 slash in just under 1100 plate appearances. He looks like a bona fide slugger, and the Braves are surely happy to lock him into the middle of the lineup for the next decade. Riley earned a Silver Slugger Award and finished seventh in NL MVP voting last year, and he picked up his first of what the club envisions to be many All-Star nods this season.

The Braves have now committed to 75% of their infield over the long-term. Atlanta signed Matt Olson to an eight-year, $168MM deal within days of acquiring him from the Athletics in Spring Training. They’d previously had Ozzie Albies signed affordably through 2025 (with club options for 2026 and ’27). That leaves Dansby Swanson as the lone member of the Atlanta infield not under contract for the foreseeable future, as the shortstop is set to hit free agency at the end of this year.

Atlanta also has Ronald Acuña Jr. under contract for the bulk of the decade, giving them a young position player core around which to build. In the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource, the club’s 2023 payroll jumps to around $113MM (not including salaries for arbitration-eligible players). They’re around $87MM for 2024 and between $60MM and $70MM for the following two years. Atlanta’s 2022 payroll, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, is a franchise-record $177.7MM. That should leave them some flexibility to re-sign or replace Swanson, particularly since key contributors like Michael Harris II, Kyle Wright, Spencer Strider and Ian Anderson won’t reach arbitration until at least 2024. It’s a strong long-term position for president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos and his staff as they look to build off last year’s World Series title and construct a long-term juggernaut.

As Buster Olney of ESPN points out (Twitter link), Riley’s extension goes down as the largest investment in Atlanta franchise history. It’s the second-largest extension ever for a player with between two and three years of MLB service, trailing only Fernando Tatis Jr.’s 14-year, $340MM megadeal. Among other players in that service bucket, only future Hall of Famers Mike Trout and Buster Posey signed deals that even topped nine figures. It’s a strong gesture of faith on the organization’s part, then, but it also has the potential to be a bargain. Riley’s flat $22MM salaries for what would be seven free agent seasons would be a very team-friendly figure, with players of his caliber often approaching or topping $30MM annually on free agent deals.

Such is the nature of early-career extensions. Riley sacrifices some long-term earnings upside for up-front guaranteed money, and he’ll receive quite a bit more in 2023 than he would’ve had he proceeded through arbitration. Riley reached arbitration for the first time last winter as a Super Two player and received a $3.95MM salary. An MVP-caliber showing would’ve earned him a notable raise next winter, but next year’s salary certainly still wouldn’t have approached $15MM. By paying a bit more up-front, the Braves give themselves further longer-term flexibility with essentially flat salaries for the bulk of the contract thereafter.

While it’s not an external pickup, Riley’s extension will quite likely go down as the Braves biggest move of deadline season. They’ve committed to yet another star young player to bolster a long-term core that should have them as consistent competitors in the NL East for years to come.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Share 0 Retweet 4 Send via email0

Atlanta Braves Newsstand Transactions Austin Riley

176 comments
Load More Posts
Show all

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Rockies Claim Dinelson Lamet, Designate Ashton Goudeau

    Cubs Release Andrelton Simmons

    Alex Kirilloff To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery

    Guardians Designate Franmil Reyes For Assignment

    Fernando Tatis Jr. To Begin Rehab Assignment

    Justin Verlander Reaches 130 Innings Pitched, Vests 2023 Player Option

    Red Sox Release Jackie Bradley Jr.

    Phillies Release Didi Gregorius

    Vin Scully Passes Away

    Padres Acquire Juan Soto, Josh Bell; C.J. Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, Luke Voit Among Six Players Back To Nationals

    Braves To Acquire Raisel Iglesias

    Red Sox Acquire Eric Hosmer

    Blue Jays Acquire Whit Merrifield

    Yankees, Cardinals Swap Jordan Montgomery For Harrison Bader

    Mets To Acquire Mychal Givens

    Phillies Acquire Noah Syndergaard

    Twins Acquire Michael Fulmer From Tigers

    Mariners To Acquire Matthew Boyd

    Padres To Acquire Brandon Drury

    Phillies To Acquire Brandon Marsh

    Recent

    Tigers Designate Derek Law For Assignment

    Rockies Claim Dinelson Lamet, Designate Ashton Goudeau

    Giants Claim Steele Walker From Rangers

    Pirates Claim Kevin Padlo, Release Jake Marisnick

    Angels Claim Steven Duggar, Designate Dillon Thomas

    Nationals Claim Alex Call From Guardians

    Cubs Release Andrelton Simmons

    Alex Kirilloff To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery

    Blue Jays Place Tim Mayza On IL With Dislocated Right Shoulder

    Braves Option Ian Anderson

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Cubs Decline To Trade Contreras, Happ
    • Giants Keep Rodon, Pederson
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Go Ad-Free
    • MLB Player Chats
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List
    • Top 50 Free Agents
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2022
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version