Less than 24 hours after the New York Yankees gave up a trio of prospects, including highly-touted righty Dillon Tate, to acquire Zach Britton from the Orioles, the Red Sox responded with their own AL East rental agreement, picking up right-handed starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi from the Tampa Rays in exchange for left-handed pitching prospect Jalen Beeks.
On a surface level it’s a straight one-for-one swap that lacks the polarizing prospects, personalities and intrigue of a midsummer blockbuster. However, it’s an attractive trade for both sides given their respective contention windows. In Eovaldi, the Red Sox pick up a finished product, a hard-throwing righty who averages 97 miles per hour on his fastball. The 28-year-old heads up to Boston with a lengthy injury history, but he’s shown a propensity to fill up the strike zone and provides them with much-needed starting pitching depth now that Eduardo Rodriguez is on the shelf with an ankle injury. It also means that Rick Porcello is no longer the only righty in the rotation.
Eovaldi, who will be a free agent this offseason, has pitched well in 10 starts since returning from arthroscopic elbow surgery on March 30, posting a 4.26 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 53/8 K/BB ratio over 57 innings of work (10 starts) in Tampa Bay this season. Not only has he displayed pinpoint control, but he’s also made a significant change to his arsenal recently. According to Brooks Baseball’s PITCHf/x date, he’s increased his cutter usage from just seven percent in 2016 to over 28 percent in 2018. According to the PITCHf/x leaderboards at Baseball Prospectus, Eovaldi’s cutter boasts the highest average velocity (93.3 miles per hour) of any major-league starter this season.
Eovaldi may not be long for the Red Sox rotation. President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters that he will join the rotation immediately, but “could be a guy that can slip into the bullpen as time goes on.” Given his blazing fastball, ability to provide multiple innings in relief, and the Red Sox’ lack of quality set-up options behind Craig Kimbrel, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Eovaldi coming on in the middle innings once the postseason rolls around.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Tampa Bay did extremely well in this deal, turning a pure rental into a potential long-term, cost-controlled, backend rotation piece in Beeks. The 24-year-old has been roughed up in two starts at the major-league level, allowing nine earned runs on 11 hits and four walks over 6 1/3 innings. However, he’s dominated at Triple-A Pawtucket, going 5-5 with a 2.89 ERA and 117/25 K/BB ratio in 87 1/3 frames. He should get an opportunity in the Rays rotation at some point in the second half and is an interesting name to keep on your radar in deeper mixed leagues moving forward.
According to Robert Murray of The Athletic, the Blue Jays agreed to trade reliever Seung Hwan Oh to the Rockies on Wednesday night. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet and Jon Morosi of MLB Network had previously reported that Toronto was closing in on a deal involving the veteran right-hander. The 36-year-old signed as a free agent for a meager $2.5 million in February and has posted a stellar 2.68 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 55/10 K/BB ratio over 48 innings of work this season.
“The Final Boss” joins the Rockies bullpen less than 24 hours after their closer, Wade Davis, melted down in spectacular fashion, allowing five runs in the 10th inning of an 8-2 loss to the Astros on Tuesday. Davis remains firmly entrenched as their stopper for now, but Oh’s addition adds another in-house insurance option for manager Bud Black to turn to in a high-leverage situation over the next two-plus months. The perplexing aspect of this deal centers around the unbelievable fact that the Rockies felt the need to add pieces to their relief core after spending lavishly on their bullpen this offseason.
Here’s an oversimplification: It’s too early in the life cycle of multi-year contracts to declare the decision by the Rockies (and a number of other major-league front offices) to heavily invest in proven relievers last offseason as a complete failure. However, Craig Edwards of FanGraphs noted on June 28, “For roughly $135 million in salary this season, the biggest free-agent relievers of the offseason are currently on pace for three wins.” That’s not great. We don’t know the exact details of the Blue Jays’ return just yet, but it’s a bad sign that the Rockies had to burn additional assets to acquire help at the back-end of their pen after forking over a combined $106 million in guaranteed money for the trio comprising Jake McGee, Bryan Shaw and the aforementioned Davis just a few months ago.
Meanwhile, Ryan Tepera will remain the closer in Toronto for the immediate future. However, Roberto Osuna is reportedly eligible to return August 5 after serving a 75-game suspension for violating MLB’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse policy. He’s also been the subject of several trade rumors in recent weeks. Regardless of how this situation shakes out in the coming weeks, fantasy owners should attempt to avoid the Blue Jays’ closer quagmire entirely, if possible.
It Was All A Dream
If you close your eyes, you can see it clearly. Andrew Benintendi and J.D. Martinez went back-to-back off Orioles starter Dylan Bundy in the first inning. It was Martinez’s league-leading 32nd home run and his third round-tripper in the last two games. Mookie Betts belted a three-run homer, his 25th of the year, to increase the lead and David Price was cruising on the mound. These events really happened. Except, they didn’t end up counting for fantasy owners. After a two-hour and 33-minute rain delay, and the Red Sox leading 5-0 in the top of the second inning, the umpires made the decision to postpone the game on Wednesday. Unfortunately, fantasy owners lose all of the stats from this game.
It’s not the umpires’ fault. It was a bizarre situation and they absolutely made the correct call given the circumstances and the bleak radar trends in Baltimore. The bigger issue here is why the Orioles elected to start the game in the first place, especially given the ominous forecast leading up to game time. To be clear, the decision to start a game rests with the home team. Once a game begins, it’s in the hands of the umpires to decide to enter a rain delay and restart, suspend or postpone a game. A game doesn’t become official until the fifth inning. According to Sean McAdam of Boston Sports Journal, the Red Sox were “livid with handling of weather/postponement.”
Can you blame them? Not only did the decision to start the game prevent Boston from traveling home hours earlier, but it also forced them to waste an outing from Price. The Red Sox are back in action hosting the Twins in Fenway Park, while the Orioles will take on the Rays in Camden Yards on Thursday night. All indications are that this game will most likely be rescheduled for August 13, a mutual off-day for the two teams.
American League Quick Hits
Jose Altuve left Wednesday's game with the Rockies with discomfort in his right knee but is hopeful that he will be able to play on Friday. ... Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported that the Padres aren't willing to include Fernando Tatis Jr. or MacKenzie Gore in a deal for Chris Archer. ... Yankees GM Brian Cashman said Wednesday that Gary Sanchez (groin) likely won't be ready to return until late August or early September. ... Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported that the Yankees are "heavily in the mix" for lefty J.A. Happ. … TR Sullivan of MLB.com reported that teams still have interest in acquiring Cole Hamels before the July 31 trade deadline. ... Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that the Blue Jays have shown interest in Brandon Drury. ... The Yankees activated Gleyber Torres from the 10-day disabled list on Wednesday. … Khris Davis hit a pair of home runs and racked up five RBI in the A’s 6-5 win over the Rangers. ... Mike Trout went 3-for-4, homered twice, and drove in four runs in the Angels’ lopsided win over the White Sox. ... Brad Hand earned his first save with the Indians, recording the final four outs in a 4-0 win over the Pirates. … Trevor Bauer struck out 10 batters over seven scoreless innings in that victory. ... Edwin Diaz notched his major league-leading 38th save in the Mariners’ win over San Francisco on Wednesday. ... Kevin Kiermaier ripped a two-run homer, his third of the season, in the Rays 3-2 win over the Yankees. ... Sergio Romo recorded two outs in the eighth and ninth innings to net his 12th save in that victory. ... John Hicks reached base four times to lead the Tigers past the Royals. … Whit Merrifield collected two hits and stole his 19th base in the loss. ... Mitch Garver went 4-for-6 with five RBI as the Twins beat the Blue Jays 12-6 in 11 innings. ... Ervin Santana allowed three runs on seven hits over five innings in a no-decision in his season debut in that contest. ... Justin Smoak reached base four times in six plate appearances in the loss. ... Shin-Soo Choo went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in the Rangers loss to the Athletics. ... Byron Buxton (hand) reported no discomfort Wednesday after taking a full round of batting practice on Tuesday and is likely to be activated from the disabled list at Triple-A Rochester on Thursday. ... Wilson Ramos (hamstring) is scheduled to catch live batting practice on Saturday. ... Clint Frazier (concussion) hit in a batting cage and rode a stationary bike on Wednesday. He was diagnosed with post-concussion migraines by a specialist on Monday.
National League Quick Hits:
Yoenis Cespedes announced Wednesday morning that he will undergo season-ending surgery on both of his heels. He’s expected to miss the next 8-10 months. ... Diamondbacks acquired Matt Andriese from the Rays in exchange for Brian Shaffer and Michael Perez. ... Cubs manager Joe Maddon told reporters after Wednesday's game that he’s unsure if Javier Baez (knee) will be available on Thursday. … He also said it's possible Kris Bryant (shoulder) will need another DL stint after sitting out a second straight game with renewed discomfort in his left shoulder. ... Starling Marte is day-to-day after being diagnosed with a contusion on his left hand. ... Jesse Winker (shoulder) could be placed on the 10-day disabled list after missing his second straight game Wednesday with lingering discomfort in his right shoulder. … Brandon Belt left Wednesday's game against the Mariners with a hyperextended left knee. ... Yu Darvish (elbow) will throw another bullpen session this weekend. ... Brandon Morrow said Wednesday that he feels like he's "going in the right direction" in his recovery from a biceps injury. ... Charlie Blackmon hit a walk-off home run, his 20th of the season, to lead the Rockies over the Astros 3-2. … Jon Gray allowed just one hit and two runs (one earned) over seven innings of work in that win. ... Tanner Roark struck out a season-high 11 batters over eight shutout innings to defeat the Brewers. ... Bryce Harper blasted a three-run home run, his 25th of the season, in that victory. ... Yadier Molina went 3-for-5 and slugged his 14th homer in a losing effort against the Reds. ... Anthony Swarzak pitched two scoreless innings to pick up his second save in a Mets win over the Padres. ... Seranthony Dominguez walked a pair of batters but picked up a four-out save against the Dodgers. ... Scott Kingery hit his first home run since June 29 in that win. ... Robbie Ray limited the Cubs to one run and struck out six over seven innings but settled for a no-decision in the D-backs 2-1 loss. ... A.J. Pollock went deep for his 13th home run of the year in that contest. ... Pedro Strop worked a scoreless ninth inning against Arizona to earn his fourth save. ... Scott Schebler (shoulder) went 1-for-3 with a walk in his first game on a minor league rehab assignment for Triple-A Louisville on Wednesday. ... Corey Oswalt jammed his hand while swinging the bat on Wednesday afternoon against the Padres. ... Matt Albers (shoulder) will rejoin the Brewers this weekend in San Francisco. … Andre Ethier officially announced his retirement on Wednesday. He played 12 years for the Dodgers, hitting .285 with 162 homers in 1,455 career games.
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