Baseball Daily Dose: Dose: Same Faces, New Places
Two more deals were consummated Friday ahead of what could be a very busy week leading up to the trade deadline.
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The Cardinals acquired reliever Steve Cishek from the Marlins, and the Mets agreed with the Braves on a deal for position players Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson. The Cards offered up minor league reliever Kyle Barraclough for Cishek, and the Mets sent minor league right-handers John Gant and Robert Whalen to the Braves in the trade.
In Cishek, the Cardinals get another late-inning reliever capable of closing out a game. Cishek has 94 career saves, including 39 last season. He struggled mightily early this year, eventually losing his closer role to A.J. Ramos, but Cishek regained some value by posting a 0.71 ERA with 11 strikeouts over 12 1/3 innings since being recalled from Triple-A on June 14.
Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said Cishek will help ease the team’s reliance on Trevor Rosenthal, Kevin Siegrist and Seth Maness at the back end of games.
“You look at this club and how we’re put together right now, and clearly there’s things that we can do to improve, and one of the places we felt like we could focus on was the bullpen,” Mozeliak said. “When you look at what Steven brings and how he pitches, it just seems like it’d be the right balance for what we’re trying to do. You look at his last month, and he’s had a lot of success, and I just feel like the look and what he’s capable of doing will really help us out. Additionally, we’re hopeful to get Walden back here in the seven to 10 days as well. You put those types of arms in that bullpen, that’s going to take a lot of stress off Rosenthal, Siegrist and Maness who have been used quite about over the last three months.”
The Mets saved some face with the acquisition of Uribe and Johnson, although it may end up being too little, too late. Once 16-8, the Mets are now 49-48 and three games back of the Nationals in the National League East.
Uribe and Johnson will help an offense that is second-to-last in runs per game this season. With David Wright still sidelined indefinitely, Uribe, who owns a .272/.331/.409 line with eight homers and 23 RBI this year, will man the hot corner and allow Daniel Murphy to slide back to his natural second base position. Johnson, who is hitting a respectable .275/.321/.451 with nine homers and 34 RBI himself, has appeared at first base, second base, third base and both corner outfield spots this year and will provide some versatility for manager Terry Collins.
Both clubs hope Friday’s acquisitions help them get to October.
Conforto Gets Called
The Mets are also hoping some internal help will turn the tide.
With Michael Cuddyer succumbing to a knee bruise, landing on the disabled list Friday, the team promoted top prospect Michael Conforto. Conforto was in the lineup Friday but couldn’t keep the Mets from falling to the Dodgers, finishing 0-for-3 with an RBI groundout in his debut.
Despite no immediate fireworks, Conforto’s impact should be felt sooner than later. The 2014 first-round pick batted .297/.372/.482 with 12 homers and 54 RBI over 91 games in the minors this season before being promoted. In 45 games at Double-A, Conforto batted .312/.396/.503.
Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said the duration of the 22-year-old’s stay will likely be up to him.
“It’s an open-ended proposition here,” Alderson said. “He could be here a short period of time. But we’re happy he’s here. It will give us a different look and we’re hoping he will make us incrementally better. We don’t expect that he’s going to change things super dramatically, but he will lengthen our lineup, we believe.”
Conforto may not light the world on fire like fellow prospects Kris Bryant or Carlos Correa, but he’s certainly worth owning in all formats for his upside.
Trade Winds
Some trades went through, but still more discussions were had Friday, including some big names.
Jeff Samardzija, Mat Latos and Aroldis Chapman were among the players rumored to be drawing varying levels of interest, with a number of other players on the block with their respective teams. Samardzija, who has been in the crosshairs of a number of teams, is the center of “active discussions” between the White Sox and Blue Jays.
On Chapman, the Reds are believed to be asking for an “exorbitant” return for the left-hander. That makes sense, as the closer still has another year on his contract and is arguably the best reliever in the game right now.
Speaking of relievers, the Rays are expected to listen on Brad Boxberger, Jake McGee and Kevin Jepsen ahead of the deadline. Jepsen, according to the Tampa Bay Times, is “the most likely to go.”
Among other players potentially on the move, the Yankees, Cubs and Blue Jays are all showing interest in Mat Latos, while the Padres have two starters, James Shields and Andrew Cashner, who they “really want to move.” The Orioles are giving “serious consideration” to selling at the deadline, possibly meaning the end of Chris Davis in Baltimore, and Pedro Alvarez is also on the trading block.
That’s not to mention frontline starters such as Cole Hamels, Johnny Cueto and David Price, who could also be on the move before August 1. It’s shaping up to be another fascinating end of July.
National League Quick Hits: Corey Dickerson was activated from the disabled list and got the start in left field Friday. The outfielder, who missed 30 games due to plantar fasciitis, went 2-for-3 in his first game back … arlos Gonzalez showed he’s not done as a dangerous hitter, belting two solo homers in a win over the Reds. After a brutal start to the year, CarGo is now hitting .261/.317/.475 with 16 homers and 41 RBI … Patrick Corbin continued to regain his pre-Tommy John form, striking out 10 over seven innings of one-run ball against the Brewers. He took the loss but lowered his ERA to 3.68 through four starts … Justin Upton (oblique) was back in the Padres’ lineup on Friday. Upton finished 0-for-4 but the Padres bested the Marlins 3-1 … likewise, Maikel Franco (elbow) was back in the Phillies lineup on Friday. And like Upton, Franco went hitless in his return, finishing 0-for-5 in a win … Zack Greinke missed his scheduled Friday start for the birth of his first child, but the right-hander will be back with the club in time to make a weekend start. It’s expected to be a Sunday start against the Mets for the new dad.
American League Quick Hits: Jose Quintana picked up a career first, tossing his first career shutout in a win over the Indians. Quintana scattered seven hits while striking out eight in the complete game effort … Scott Kazmir showed why the Astros were so willing to pull the trigger on him, firing seven scoreless innings in his Astros debut. Kazmir gave up just three hits in earning the win over the Royals … Dustin Pedroia missed his second straight game Friday with nagging right hamstring soreness. Pedroia is 1-for-22 since returning from the disabled list and doesn’t appear to have fully healed before coming back … with David Freese on the disabled list, the Angels acquired Conor Gillaspie from the White Sox on Friday. Gillaspie had been designated for assignment by the Sox on July 19 … talks haven’t yet commenced, but the Angels are reportedly “monitoring” Chase Utley‘s rehab from right ankle inflammation. Utley does have a no-trade clause that allows him to block deals.
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