As Monday's MLB trade deadline approaches, a frantic hot stove led to some transactions while setting up intense action during the final hours.
The Washington Nationals started the weekend by announcing the acquisition of closer Mark Melancon, who has notched a 1.80 ERA since joining the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2013. Days after the Chicago Cubs paid a premium for Aroldis Chapman, Washington snagged an All-Star reliever at a far more reasonable price.
Later in the day, a team 25 games behind in the National League East standings oddly acquired an expensive veteran. Made official late Saturday night, the Atlanta Braves will receive Matt Kemp from the San Diego Padres for Hector Olivera.
Plenty of players—including one attached to another NL East competitor—continue to frequent the rumor mill. With less than 48 hours remaining to strike a deal, let's take a look at the latest trade chatter.
Jay Bruce
Like Kemp, Jay Bruce is drawing interest for his power bat in spite of poor defense and a career-low 6.8 walk percentage. Yet the Cincinnati Reds slugger has already belted 25 homers with a .559 slugging percentage, and whoever obtains him can exercise a $13 million club option for 2017.
On Friday, ESPN's Jayson Stark floated the possibility of a three-team deal sending Bruce to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who rank in the bottom 10 of team slugging percentage. While Stark later squashed the three-team blockbuster, he and Fox Sports’ Jon Morosi both kept the door open for Bruce joining the Dodgers:
The market has intensified after the 29-year-old homered in five straight games, increasing the chances of the Reds receiving a satisfactory offer. On Thursday, per the Cincinnati Enquirer's Zach Buchanan, general manager Walt Jocketty said he won't move Bruce just to look busy.
“If the value isn’t there for a player, it just doesn’t make sense to trade a guy for the purpose of trading him,” Jocketty said. “Financially, we can hold on to him.”
Per MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon, the New York Mets have also emerged as a serious candidate:
At this time last year, the Mets nearly landed Bruce for starting pitcher Zack Wheeler, who has yet to return from Tommy John surgery. They instead acquired Yoenis Cespedes, who has since hit 39 homers in 149 games, but they don’t have as much minor league depth to leverage this year. Down 7.5 games in the NL East, they’re also likely fighting for a wild-card spot at best.
Further complicating matters, Bruce is an odd fit on a Mets roster already featuring two left-handed corner outfielders (Michael Conforto and Curtis Granderson) and no true center fielder. He makes much more sense for a Dodgers outfield ravaged by injuries, and they have plenty of young talent to spare.
One of the most commonly discussed trade candidates isn't a lock to leave Cincinnati, but now is the perfect time for the Reds to convert Bruce into a premium prospect or two.
Derek Norris
The Padres, who have already flipped Kemp, Melvin Upton Jr., Fernando Rodney, Drew Pomeranz and Andrew Cashner, now have their sights set on shipping Derek Norris out of San Diego.
According to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal, the starting catcher should start packing his bags:
In his second season with the Padres, the 27-year-old is hitting .193/.253/.360 with an atrocious 63 weighted runs created plus (wRC+), which grades an average offensive contributor at 100. As Norris dives deeper into an offensive tailspin, Austin Hedges is annihilating Triple-A pitching in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
Norris' once-double-digit walk rate has mysteriously vanished, and his strikeout rate has soared to an unflattering 29.6 percent. Yet despite his struggles, Norris' glove makes him a desirable target for the Texas Rangers and other clubs who miss out on Jonathan Lucroy.
The backstop will also spend the next two years in arbitration, a process that typically doesn't properly compensate defense, so he's an intriguing buy-low candidate. Although the Padres have Hedges waiting and backup Christian Bethancourt as another alternative, the Padres shouldn't give a young, cheap catcher away for cheap.
Sonny Gray
As the Oakland Athletics fight for fourth place in the American League West, they look poised to sell more aggressively than anyone at the deadline. Yet aside from officially shipping speedy outfielder Billy Burns to the Kansas City Royals on Saturday, they have not yet leveraged their trading chips into a fresh start.
Josh Reddick, Danny Valencia, Rich Hill and Ryan Madson remain top names to watch until Monday afternoon. Oakland could still move those veterans, but starter Sonny Gray is "going nowhere," according to Jon Heyman of Today's Knuckleball.
A year removed from posting a 2.73 ERA, the 26-year-old righty has nearly doubled that mark at 5.43. While he continues to spawn strikeouts and ground balls at similar levels, he has already matched last year's 17 home runs allowed in nearly 100 fewer innings.
His hard-hit rate has fattened from 25.1 to a career-worst 34.1 percent, and he's missing fewer bats with a subpar 8.0 swinging-strike percentage. This version of Gray is far from a franchise ace, and that's precisely why Oakland won't entertain any low-ball offers.
The San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser also claimed that there's no merit to any speculation of a blockbuster leading up to the deadline:
If the Athletics were ever to trade Gray, they should have entertained the thought when his value peaked last year. Behind his stellar ERA lurked a less-outstanding 7.31 strikeouts per nine innings and a 3.45 fielding independent pitching (FIP).
He probably won't factor prominently in another Cy Young Award race, but Gray remains too valuable of a young, cost-controlled starter to abandon during his first rough patch.
All advanced statistics courtesy of FanGraphs unless otherwise noted. Salary information obtained from Cot's Baseball Contracts.
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