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As the San Diego Padres look to continue selling off their expensive assets, Melvin Upton Jr.’s bounce-back season makes him a potential trade candidate before the Aug. 1 deadline.

Continue for updates.

Green Comments on Upton’s Future

Sunday, July 24

The San Diego Union-Tribune‘s Dennis Lin noted that Padres manager Andy Green said “nothing is imminent with [Upton] at the moment.” Green added that he “wants to give him a day with ‘everything swirling around him,'” per Lin.

Blue Jays, Orioles Lead Upton Race

Saturday, July 23 

Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball reported the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles are the front-runners to trade for Upton, either as a smaller trade or part of a larger deal involving more Padres.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported the Blue Jays were inquiring about Upton earlier on Saturday.

Rosenthal reported on Friday that the Padres and Orioles have discussed a deal involving Upton and Ubaldo Jimenez, though Rosenthal added the deal is “not yet close” because the Padres want prospects in addition to taking on Jimenez’s salary.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported the Padres were “telling teams they’re getting close to dealing” Upton, though he also added it could “ultimately be posturing.”

Both Upton and Jimenez are signed through 2017. Upton has a slightly higher salary for next season at $16.45 million, compared to $13.5 million for Jimenez.

Passan noted that because Upton has been solid for the Padres this season and they would be kicking in some money to make a potential deal happen, they can ask for a better prospect in the trade.

Indians Join Upton Race

Saturday, July 23

Buster Olney of ESPN The Magazine added the Cleveland Indians had also been discussing a potential trade for the outfielder.

Veteran Upton a Valuable Trade Chip for Padres

Upton has fared well since being traded to the Padres in 2015. His 16 home runs this season are his best total since he set a career high with 28 in 2012.

The Padres have already been aggressive in the trade market this season, dealing James Shields to the Chicago White Sox and Drew Pomeranz to the Boston Red Sox.

Manuel Margot, whom San Diego acquired from Boston in the Craig Kimbrel trade during the offseason, is faring well in Triple-A with a .306/.356/.434 slash line in 89 games. He’s not far from being ready for the big leagues, though the Padres will likely have to move Upton before giving Margot the keys to center field.

Since Upton has been a streaky player throughout his career, finding a trade partner for him while he’s still healthy and productive should be the Padres’ top priority.

Contract info via Spotrac.

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The Toronto Blue Jays had high expectations for 2015 All-Star catcher Russell Martin this season, but he has been struggling offensively and now has an injured knee. It’s unclear when he will return.

Continue for updates.

Martin Out vs. Mariners

Saturday, July 23

The Blue Jays announced Josh Thole would start over Martin against the Seattle Mariners on Saturday.

Gibbons Comments on Martin’s Playing Status

Saturday, July 23

Blue Jays manager John Gibbons told reporters Martin was “feeling better” but would still be day-to-day.

On Friday, Gibbons announced Martin suffered a knee injury after falling in the shower, according to Hazel Mae of Sportsnet. He became lightheaded from spending too much time in the sauna Thursday before the fall.

Veteran Martin Crucial to Blue Jays Pitching, Offense

Martin was experiencing a late-career renaissance, finishing in the top 25 in MVP voting in the previous three seasons.

From 2013 to 2015, he posted the highest mark (50.0) for defensive runs above average among eligible catchers, and only Buster Posey (16.2) has posted more wins above replacement than Toronto’s backstop (12.5), per FanGraphs.

This year, however, has not been kind to Martin offensively. He’s hitting just .228/.317/.338 with seven home runs in 81 games after blasting 34 homers the previous two seasons combined.

Josh Thole has been Toronto’s primary backup catcher this season, offering superior defense to Martin, per FanGraphs. With Josh Donaldson and Edwin Encarnacion in the middle of the order, the Blue Jays lineup is loaded. They can withstand one dead spot.

Martin is starting to look like a 33-year-old catcher, so getting a few days off won’t derail the surging Jays.

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As the Arizona Diamondbacks’ season continues to spin out of control, the future of manager Chip Hale will become a hot topic of conversation. 

Continue for updates. 

D-Backs Reportedly Considering Change

Friday, July 22

Per Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Diamondbacks are “considering” making a managerial change with Phil Nevin taking over for Hale. During an appearance on NBC Sports 1060 with Tim Montemayor, Arizona general manager Dave Stewart said he “can’t comment on rumors.”

Montemayor added that he was told Nevin “is aware” of the potential change and that conversations revolve “around the impact on the club” and if it would change the culture in the locker room. 

The Diamondbacks hired Hale in October 2014 to replace Kirk Gibson, who was dismissed by the team late in the season. 

Hale did not have any previous major league managerial experience before taking the Diamondbacks job, though he did manage their Triple-A affiliate in Tucson from 2007 to 2009. He also served as a third base coach for the New York Mets (2010-2011) and bench coach for the Oakland A’s (2012-2014). 

Arizona was a surprise success in Hale’s first season in 2015, going 79-83 one year after losing 98 games. Optimism and expectations for the team went through the roof in the offseason when the Diamondbacks signed Zack Greinke and traded for Shelby Miller to lead their starting rotation.

Things have not worked out well in the desert. Greinke is on the disabled list, Miller had to be sent down to Triple-A because he had a 7.14 ERA in 14 starts, and star outfielder A.J. Pollock has yet to play a game after breaking his elbow during spring training.

As a result of those problems, Arizona (40-55) occupies the National League West cellar and only has a better record than the Cincinnati Reds (36-59) and Atlanta Braves (33-63) in the NL. 

Hale’s firing would give the Diamondbacks a scapegoat for all of their struggles, but there are bigger problems than just who is managing the club right now. 

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As the Chicago White Sox continue their free fall in the American League Central, Chris Sale’s future is going to be a hot topic of conversation before the August 1 trade deadline. 

Continue for updates. 

Rangers Pursuing Sale

Friday, July 22

TR Sullivan of MLB.com reported the Texas Rangers are making a “serious effort” to pry Sale away from the White Sox, noting Chicago wants top Rangers prospect Joey Gallo and former top prospect Jurickson Profar in return.

Report: White Sox Rejected Big Offer

Thursday, July 21

Per Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, an unnamed team offered the White Sox a “king’s ransom” for Sale within the last 48 hours and was given a “no” by Chicago. 

White Sox Face Tough Decision With Sale’s Elite Talent, Team-Friendly Contract

There are two trains of thought for the White Sox when determining how to handle Sale. 

On the one hand, Sale is one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball and has finished in the top six of American League Cy Young voting each of the last four years. He’s signed through 2017 with two team options for 2018 and 2019 totaling $26 million, per Baseball-Reference.com.

That contract allows the White Sox to ask any team interested in Sale for anything and everything they want. It’s hard enough to find an ace like Sale, let alone have him signed to such a team-friendly deal, that trading him would be difficult to justify. 

On the other hand, the White Sox are a team that has a lot of holes to fill on their MLB roster. Adam Eaton and Melky Cabrera are their only regulars with an on-base percentage higher than .324.

Todd Frazier hits a lot of home runs, but you can’t really work with a .217 average and .304 on-base percentage. Jose Abreu’s performance has dropped each of the last two years since he was named American League Rookie of the Year in 2014. Brett Lawrie has proven throughout his career that he’s not a starting second baseman. 

They inexplicably traded for James Shields, who has pitched better in July but still has a 4.99 ERA in 20 starts this season. 

The White Sox do have another No. 1 starter in Jose Quintana, who also has a favorable contract that is guaranteed through 2018 with team options for 2019 and 2020. 

At some point, a team has to accept that spending $100-plus million every year to win 75-80 games isn’t a smart strategy. The White Sox don’t seem to be there yet, but they need to get there soon or things will spiral out of control in a hurry for this franchise. 

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Prince Fielder‘s dreadful 2016 season has taken another bad turn, with the Texas Rangers placing the former All-Star on the disabled list on Wednesday because of neck problems. 

Continue for updates. 

Report: Surgery Recommended for Fielder

Wednesday, July 20

Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported the Rangers placed Fielder on the 15-day DL, adding that an MRI showed the first baseman had a “herniation in [his] neck near [the] fusion” surgery he had in 2014 and that he was going to see a doctor with surgery being a possibility.   

Per Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Rangers’ back doctor, Drew Dossett, is recommending that Fielder undergo surgery to repair his neck issue. 

Even though the news about Fielder does not sound good, it does provide some sense of relief for him and the Rangers since they have some reason that explains his performance in 2016. 

The 32-year-old Fielder is hitting a paltry .212/.292/.334 with eight home runs in 89 games this season. His lowest OPS over a full season prior to this campaign was a .720 mark in 2014, when he only played in 42 games before having a cervical fusion of two disks in his neck. 

Making things worse for the Rangers is that Fielder is signed through 2020 and making $24 million per season, though the Detroit Tigers are paying $6 million each season as part of the 2013 trade involving Ian Kinsler. 

Injuries continue to pile up for the Rangers, whose once-firm grasp of the American League West has dwindled to 4.5 games over the Houston Astros entering Wednesday thanks to a 4-11 record in July.

Fielder joins Shin-Soo Choo, Jake Diekman, Bryan Holaday, Josh Hamilton, Derek Holland, Colby Lewis, Tanner Scheppers and Drew Stubbs as Rangers on the disabled list.

It’s a testament to Texas’ depth that it has been able to stay afloat despite all of those injuries, but the last two months of the season are going to require a lot of shifting and maneuvering for manager Jeff Banister if the Rangers are going to make the postseason again.

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The Chicago Cubs have addressed their need for help in the bullpen by acquiring left-hander Mike Montgomery from the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday. 

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports first reported the Cubs and Mariners were close to a deal that involved Montgomery going to Chicago in exchange for minor leaguer Dan Vogelbach. The Cubs would later announce the deal, adding it would be Montgomery and RHP Jordan Pries going to Chicago, while Vogelbach and RHP Paul Blackburn would be heading to the Mariners. 

It only seemed like a matter of time before the Cubs added at least one reliever before the Aug. 1 trade deadline. It’s the one glaring weakness for the team, which entered play on Thursday ranked seventh in the National League with a 3.82 relievers ERA, per ESPN.com. 

Montgomery has been terrific out of Seattle’s bullpen this season. The 27-year-old has a 2.34 ERA with 49 hits allowed and 54 strikeouts in 61.2 innings. His 174 ERA+ would rank second among Chicago relievers with at least 20 appearances, per Baseball-Reference.com.

After a promising start to the season, the Mariners entered Wednesday with a 47-47 record and 5.5 games out of a wild-card spot. If they are starting to go into sell mode, moving a good reliever for an everyday player makes sense. 

Vogelbach has put up some big numbers in the minors, owning a .290/.389/.486 slash line since 2011. Passan noted that Vogelbach draws comparisons to Billy Butler of the Oakland A’s because he’s strictly a designated hitter who can really hit. 

The Cubs had no need for Vogelbach, who would be limited to first base in the NL if he had to play defense. Anthony Rizzo has that position locked down in Chicago for a long time. 

The Mariners don’t have an immediate opening at designated hitter with Nelson Cruz primarily serving that role and signed through 2018, though he has also played in right field if they want to sacrifice defense to get more offense in the lineup. 

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A frustrating season for Cleveland Indians catcher Yan Gomes has gotten worse after he suffered a shoulder injury during Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Twins.

Continue for updates. 

Gomes to DL

Monday, July 18

Per the Indians’ official Twitter account, Gomes will be out for approximately four to eight weeks with a separated AC joint, but surgery is not deemed necessary at this point.

Gomes was injured in the fifth inning of Cleveland’s 6-1 win against the Twins. He was running to first base when a throw by third baseman Eduardo Nunez pulled first baseman Kennys Vargas off the bag, throwing Gomes off a direct path and leaving him extending his leg far out to catch first base. 

Initially, it appeared that Gomes had also injured his knee on the play. He took a tumble to the ground, landed directly on his right shoulder and was taken off the field on a cart with his arm wrapped in a sling. 

The Indians are fortunate in that they had Roberto Perez, who is the primary backup catcher, in the minors on a rehab assignment ready to come off the disabled list. He suffered a broken right thumb on April 30 against the Philadelphia Phillies. 

Gomes’ injury is the cherry on top of a season in which nothing has gone right for the 28-year-old. He’s hitting just .165/.198/.313 in 71 games. He snapped a 0-for-27 skid earlier in Sunday’s game with a double before getting hurt in his second plate appearance. 

The Indians have fared fine even with Gomes’ struggles, building a 6.5-game lead in the American League Central. The time away could help him clear his mind of things so that he can potentially return in time to help the team make its first playoff appearance since 2013. 

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Former St. Louis Cardinals scouting director Chris Correa, who pleaded guilty to hacking the Houston Astros’ database while working with the Cards, learned of his sentence Monday.  

Per David Barron of the Houston Chronicle, United States District Judge Lynn Hughes sentenced Correa to 46 months in prison. Barron added Correa has two to six weeks until he is required to report to prison. 

Barron noted that Correa read a letter in court apologizing for his involvement in the hacking scandal.  

Per Jenifer Langosch and Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, Correa pleaded guilty to “five criminal charges in connection with unauthorized access of the Astros’ database.”

Correa’s guilty plea came seven months after Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times reported the FBI and Justice Department were investigating the Cardinals amidst accusations of “hacking into an internal network of the Houston Astros to steal closely guarded information about players.”

The Cardinals fired Correa in July 2015. After Correa’s dismissal, general manager John Mozeliak said “it’s still an ongoing investigation and there’s really nothing more I can add at this point,” per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com). 

In a January court appearance, Correa told Hughes that he found information about the Cardinals in Houston’s database, per Barron. The Astros later denied those accusations (h/t the Boston Herald‘s Evan Drellich). 

Now that Correa’s sentencing has finally taken place, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports noted the next step is for Major League Baseball “to come down with punishment on the Cardinals for the hack.”

It’s unclear exactly how MLB intends to punish the Cardinals organization. 

Prior to terminating him, the Cardinals had recently promoted Correa to scouting director in December 2014. He had been with the team since 2009 and worked with current Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow for two years.

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With the New York Yankees’ (45-46) playoff hopes slowly fading, Carlos Beltran‘s impending free agency will make him a strong trade chip for the team.  

Continue for updates. 

Beltran Linked to Royals

Monday, July 18

The New York Post‘s George A. King III reported the Yankees and Kansas City Royals discussed a potential trade involving Beltran earlier this season.

Beltran Not Untouchable

Saturday, July 16

Per Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Yankees “will trade” Beltran “if things don’t turn” around in the two weeks before the August 1 non-waiver trade deadline.

Beltran a Strong Trade Option

Beltran has been terrific this season for the Yankees, making the American League All-Star team and leading the team in doubles (18), home runs (19), RBI (58) and slugging percentage (.542). 

Yet the Yankees know they can deal him because his contract is set to end after the season, and Aaron Judge is hitting .261/.357/.469 with 33 extra-base hits in Triple-A. 

The 39-year-old Beltran is likely to be one of the best hitters available leading up to the trade deadline, especially if the Yankees accept the reality of their situation and are motivated to move him. 

The Yankees are 8.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East and 5.5 games out of the second wild-card spot.

Trade options for Beltran could be limited because he’s a bat-only player at this point in his career. The Yankees have started using him more as a designated hitter, though he’s played more games in right field this season with negative results. 

The Yankees need to get younger and more athletic if they hope to avoid a long rebuilding period. Trading Beltran to at least open up a roster spot for a talented young player like the 24-year-old Judge would be a good first step for the franchise.

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With the New York Yankees (45-46) continuing to fall in the playoff standings, Aroldis Chapman’s impending free agency makes him an attractive trade chip.  

Continue for updates. 

Nationals’ Prospects Reportedly Being Scouted by Yankees

Monday, July 18

Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post reported the Yankees are scouting the Washington Nationals Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse and will be headed to Washington this week. 

The New York Post‘s George A. King III reported earlier in the day that the Nationals had scouted Chapman.

Chapman Linked to Multiple Teams

Monday, July 18

King reported the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers have scouted Chapman.

Yankees’ Struggles Open Door for Chapman Deal

Saturday, July 16

Per Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Yankees “will trade” Chapman “if things don’t turn” around before the August 1 non-waiver trade deadline. 

After being suspended for the first 30 games of this season for violating MLB‘s domestic-violence policy, Chapman returned looking like the dominant closer he’s been throughout his big league career. 

In 28 games, he’s recorded 18 saves with 40 strikeouts, seven walks and 18 hits allowed in 27.1 innings. 

Entering play Saturday, the Yankees are 8.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East and 5.5 games out of the second wild-card spot with six teams ahead of them. 

This is the year when all of those big contracts the Yankees handed out years ago backfire on them. Mark Teixeira has struggled to stay healthy, Alex Rodriguez has largely been relegated to bench duty lately with a .260 on-base percentage, and Brett Gardner isn’t hitting for power or stealing bases like he once did. 

CC Sabathia has been effective in the starting rotation, but he and Masahiro Tanaka are the only regular starters with an ERA under 5.11. 

Chapman makes sense as a trade chip because he’ll be a free agent and will command a huge salary in the offseason. But his potential value doesn’t seem to be high because an interested team would only get him for two months and a potential playoff run. 

Some contending teams do need relief help, but there’s a ceiling to what they should pay for someone who is likely to throw 30 innings the rest of this season.

But the Yankees are a smart organization capable of maximizing a return on investment, so their scouting staff will examine any potential prospects the team can get in a deal to make a trade worth their time. 

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