Diamondbacks right fielder Mark Trumbo continues to look like an obvious trade candidate, and third baseman Jake Lamb is expected to return from a left foot injury by late next week, seemingly leaving the team little choice but to play Yasmany Tomas in the outfield.
General manager Dave Stewart, however, says he is no rush to move Trumbo, whose nine homers are second on the club to Paul Goldschmidt’s 15. Tomas is batting .320 with a .758 OPS, but as Stewart notes, he has hit only one homer in 129 plate appearances.
“I think we’ve just got to evaluate our situation, see what we’re doing, where we’re going,” Stewart said Sunday night. “We know there’s interest in Trumbo. But in fairness to him, we don’t really know at this point what Tomas is going to be. He’s playing well, but he only has one homer.
“With all of our players, if you overwhelm me with something, I’ve got to listen. I guess most people would say the trade deadline is where we’ll find the best value. But at this moment, Mark Trumbo is my guy. He gives us something in our lineup that none of our other guys do other than Goldschmidt – a guy who can hit the ball out of the ballpark. (David) Peralta does when he plays. But right now, our main home run threats are Goldschmidt and Trumbo.”
Then again, the D-Backs lead the NL in runs per game, and they still would love to add a No. 1 starter to go with some of the game’s best pitching prospects (not to mention lefty Patrick Corbin, who should return later this month from Tommy John surgery).
Could Trumbo bring such a pitcher? Probably not by himself, considering that he is under club control only through next season. But the time to strike might be at the deadline – Trumbo will be coming off a $6.9 million salary this winter and entering his final year of arbitration before free agency.
MISSING OSCAR – IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE
On Sunday, the one-year anniversary of Oscar Taveras’ major-league debut, Cardinals right-hander Carlos Martinez delivered an emotional, brilliant performance in honor of his late friend. It goes without saying that the Cardinals miss Taveras terribly, both on and off the field. The impact of his death likely will resonate through the organization for years.
Consider where the Cardinals would be if Taveras had remained a vibrant part of the organization. First, they probably would not have traded right-hander Shelby Miller for outfielder Jason Heyward (though they could have moved Miller for another piece). Second, they would now be in position to trade a young outfielder – Taveras or Randal Grichuk – in a deal for a starter such as the Phillies’ Cole Hamels.
The Cardinals still could trade Grichuk, but his value to them only is increasing. Much can change in the next four months, but Heyward is not proving worthy of a major long-term investment. At this point, the Cardinals would be better off making him a qualifying offer and redirecting money to a free-agent starter.
Elsewhere in the outfield, Jon Jay and Peter Bourjos are under club control only through 2016, Matt Holliday through ’17. Stephen Piscotty, a top prospect, is batting .243 with a .789 OPS at Triple A. Which leaves Grichuk as an important part of the Cardinals’ present (would they dare trade Heyward before July 31?) and an integral part of the team’s future.
If that indeed is the case, the Cardinals seemingly would lack the elite young prospect the Phillies want as the centerpiece of a deal for Hamels. Right-hander Alex Reyes, 20, probably best fits the description after Grichuk, but he is only in the High A Florida State League.
UH, THE GIANTS ARE GOOD
We all should have figured it out by now – the Giants’ position players are better than most people think.
The team’s non-pitchers, in fact, are second only to the Dodgers’ in the NL in both the Fangraphs (fWAR) and Baseball-Reference (rWAR) versions of Wins Above Replacement.
The Giants, according to rWAR, are first at shortstop, second at catcher, third at second base and fourth at first base and left field. They also are sixth in right (with help from Justin Maxwell, who filled in for Hunter Pence). The only spots where they are below average are center field and third base — and the recent change from Casey McGehee to Matt Duffy should help at third.
One rival executive notes that the Giants’ offense would be considered one of the game’s best if they played in a less pitcher-friendly park. Another exec expresses admiration for how the Giants mostly built their position group through the draft – and not all with high picks.
Catcher Buster Posey and second baseman Joe Panik both were first-rounders – Posey was the fifth pick in 2008, Panik the 29th in 2011. But shortstop Brandon Crawford was a fourth rounder in ’08, first baseman Brandon Belt a fifth rounder in ’09. Duffy was an 18th rounder in ’12, backup catcher Andrew Susac a second rounder in ’11.
Two of the outfielders, meanwhile, arrived in lopsided trades – the Giants acquired Angel Pagan from the Mets for pitcher Ramon Ramirez and outfielder Andres Torres, Pence from the Phillies for catcher Tommy Joseph, pitcher Seth Rosin and outfielder Nate Schierholtz.
WHAT THE ROYALS SAW IN MORALES
Kendrys Morales batted only .218 with a .612 OPS for the Twins and Mariners last season after holding out until June 9. Yet, the Royals signed him to a two-year, $17 million free-agent contract entering his age 32 season, a move that many, including myself, found puzzling.
Well, general manager Dayton Moore evidently knew what he was doing – Morales followed his .853 OPS in April with an .850 OPS in May. I asked Moore what the Royals saw in Morales, and the first words out of his mouth were, “Makeup, character, his desire to play, his professionalism, the way he competes in the batter’s box.”
The Royals, remember, first tried to sign Torii Hunter to be their designated hitter after deciding they did not want to keep Billy Butler at the level he reached with the Athletics (three years, $30 million).
Moore said that two of his special assistants, Luis Medina and Jim Fregosi Jr., were high on Morales; the two felt Morales’ bat speed was good but that his timing was off – he had jumped back into the majors at a time when pitchers were peaking.
The Royals also were familiar with Morales’ makeup from assistant GM Rene Francisco and catcher Bryan Pena, who played for Kansas City from 2009 to ’12 and is now with the Reds.
“The best thing about the guy is his desire to win, how much he respects the game and never gives up,” said Pena, who left Cuba when he was 16 after meeting Morales when he was 12.
“Remember, this is a guy who was the best player in Cuba for a long time and was very oppressed by the Cuban government – suspensions, threats, stuff like that. He managed to escape from them to pursue his dream.”
BEST $12,000 MARLINS EVER SPENT
You know about the Rule 5 draft, when a team can select a player left unprotected on a 40-man roster for $50,000. The team then must keep the player in the majors for the entire season, or offer him back to his original club for half that amount.
Well, there also is a minor-league portion of that draft, of which Baseball America once wrote, “Almost no future big leaguers emerge from this process. It’s basically a tool for major-league teams to fill out affiliates rather than obtain talent.”
Hello, Justin Bour.
The Marlins selected Bour from the Cubs for $12,000 in the minor-league phase of the 2013 Rule 5 draft. Bour, a first baseman entering his age 26 season, was of little threat to Anthony Rizzo – in fact, he had yet to rise above Double A.
The Cubs viewed Bour as a good minor-league power hitter with limited defensive ability – an organizational player rather than a prospect, though some saw him as a potential bat off the bench.
The Marlins took a different view.
Bour had an .815 OPS at Double A in 2012 and a .774 in ’13, including 18 homers in 361 plate appearances in the latter season.
“He was truly an organizational Rule 5 selection,” said Michael Hill, the team’s president of baseball operations. “He played against us in the Southern League, so our staff liked him — as did our scouts that covered the league. He was a productive Double A player with good rates and peripherals. It seemed like a low-risk, high-reward scenario.”
So far, the reward has been considerable.
Bour, filling in for the injured Michael Morse, is batting .369 with a 1.060 OPS and five homers in 70 plate appearances. Among the pitchers he has taken deep: Jordan Zimmermann, Gerrit Cole and Matt Harvey.
SPAN THE MAN
For all the talk about the Nationals’ potential free agents –right hander Jordan Zimmermann, right-hander Doug Fister, shortstop Ian Desmond – could it be that the team should be most focused on keeping center fielder Denard Span?
Washington is deep in pitching prospects, while righty Max Scherzer is under club control through 2021 and lefty Gio Gonzalez through ’17. Trea Turner looms as a potential replacement for Desmond, and Michael Taylor, in theory, could replace Span.
Still, the Nats took off when Span returned from core-muscle surgery on April 19. They are 20-13 and averaging 4.94 runs with Span in the lineup, 8-9 and averaging 3.82 runs without him, according to STATS LLC.
That trend actually goes to the start of 2013, when Span joined the club – the Nats are 186-136 (.578) when Span starts, 24-28 (.462) when he does not. Consider as well: Span is batting .335 since last season’s All-Star break, the best in the majors in that time frame (minimum 300 plate appearances).
Granted, Span will hit the market entering his age 32 season, and his defensive metrics do not always line up with the perception that he is an outstanding center fielder. At this point, though, his value to the Nationals is clear.
AROUND THE HORN
* The Cubs lack an obvious everyday spot for the Athletics’ Ben Zobrist, but think manager Joe Maddon and the team’s front office cares?
Zobrist is a fit because the Cubs’ bench currently is thin with infielder Tommy La Stella and outfielder Chris Denorfia on the disabled list and Arismendy Alcantara at Triple A.
Of course, just about every contender will want Zobrist, who might be the player most certain to be traded before July 31.
* The Padres will be fascinating to watch at the deadline. Second base as well as shortstop is a problem, and the team holds the option of moving left fielder Justin Upton, a potential free agent who is 11th in the NL with a .913 OPS.
Would the Pads trade their best hitter during a season in which they’re striving for greater relevance? Seems unlikely, but this club remains a work in progress, as evidenced by its 25-27 record.
* So durable, so consistent: Cardinals shortstop Jhonny Peralta has played the most games (1,504) of any player since 2005 who has played at least 50 percent of his games at short — even though he served a 50-game suspension in 2013 for his involvement with Biogenesis.
Jimmy Rollins is right behind Peralta with 1,502 games at short since ’05, followed by Derek Jeter (1,381), Jose Reyes (1,346) and J.J. Hardy (1,282), according to baseball-reference.com.
Peralta, 33, is not slowing down, either; he continues to rate as an above-average defender in the advanced metrics, and is enjoying one of the best offensive seasons of his career.
* It’s not just that Rangers first baseman Prince Fielder leads the AL with a .359 batting average and ranks fifth with a .975 OPS.
Fielder recently impressed a rival executive by hustling out a grounder in a game the Rangers trailed, 12-1, in the ninth inning. He has displayed other forms of leadership as well, serving as a mentor to both outfielder Delino DeShields Jr. and reliever Keone Kela, club officials say.
* The numbers suggest that Brewers right-hander Kyle Lohse benefit from a trade away from Miller Park.
Lohse is getting pounded for a .946 OPS at home but allowing only a .645 OPS on the road. He has allowed nine of his 13 home runs at Miller as well.
A team that acquires Lohse, 36, would be responsible for the balance of his $11 million salary this season. He has a 6.50 ERA after finishing four straight seasons at 3.54 or below.
* And finally, one of the coolest things about the game’s next generation of stars is how they all seem so mature beyond their years.
The Cubs’ Kris Bryant is an example, the Astros’ Carlos Correa another. And the Dodgers’ Corey Seager fits the same mold.
Seager had a .915 OPS in 161 plate appearances at Double A last season, but when the Dodgers told him that he would start this season at the same level, one club official said, “he didn’t blink.”
Seager, the younger brother of Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager, simply returned to Double A and became even more dominant offensively, earning a promotion to Triple A.
Some question whether he will remain at shortstop due to his size – 6-foot-4, 215 pounds. But the Dodgers are starting to think that he can play the position into at least his upper 20s. He’s not the type you bet against, that’s for sure.
