The St. Louis Cardinals have acquired first baseman/outfielder Brandon Moss from the Cleveland Indians on Thursday, Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish first reported.
The Indians received Cardinals' left-handed pitching prospect Rob Kaminsky in return, Cotillo first noted. Kaminsky was the Cardinals' first round pick in 2013. Moss is an interesting acquisition for a Cardinals team that just lost outfielder Matt Holliday for awhile due to a quad injury. Moss can also fill in at first base, where Mark Reynolds has been playing in place of Matt Adams, who was lost for the year. The 31-year-old Moss is hitting .217/.288/.407 this season, with 15 homers and 50 RBIs in 375 plate appearances. He has much better splits against left-handers, where he will likely find most of his appearances in St. Louis. The Indians get a nice return for Moss, who is a free agent after next season. Kaminsky is a former first round pick and is already in High Single-A at age 20. He's shown excellent control and has a chance to be an impact big league pitcher. --Devan Fink
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The Texas Rangers are close to acquiring Cole Hamels from the Philadelphia Phillies, reports TR Sullivan of MLB.com. Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reported that the teams are in agreement on a trade.
Evan P. Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported that the Rangers will also acquire left-hander Jake Diekman and cash. According to Sullivan, Morosi, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and Grant catcher Jorge Alfaro, right-handerJerad Eickhoff, outfielder Nick Williams, right-hander Alec Asher, lefty Matt Harrison, and outfielder Jake Thompson are going back to Philadelphia in the trade for Hamels. In what may turn out to be one of the biggest blockbusters of the trade deadline, the Rangers have got themselves an ace for years to come. Hamels is signed through 2018 with a 2019 team option. He is owed a guaranteed $76.5 million starting next season, some of which the Phillies will pick up. Many teams have been connected to Hamels for a long time, considering that the Phillies have been out of the playoff race all season. The Dodgers, Yankees, Astros, and Giants were four other teams that still appeared to be in the race by the end. The Rangers hope that they can use Hamels to make a playoff run into the future. The team is 47-52 and still 4 1/2 games out of a playoff spot. However, with Yu Darvish coming back from injury next season, the team hopes that they'll be able to use a 1-2 combo of Darvish and Hamels to take them deep into October. Hamels has plenty of experience pitching for contending teams and has excelled in the postseason, winning both the 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP awards. Against American League opponents all-time, Hamels is 8-15 with a 4.73 ERA over 30 starts (190 1/3 innings). This season, the 31-year-old Hamels is 6-7 with a 3.64 ERA (3.21 FIP) in 20 starts. He has a 137 to 39 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 128 2/3 innings pitched. Hamels' last start, against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday, was a no-hitter. When he is on and in a groove, he can be one of the best pitchers in the entire league. Obviously, the Rangers had to give up a lot to get him. Of the six players they gave to the Phillies, four ranked in their top 13 prospects prior to this season (via Baseball America). Thompson ranked second, Alfaro ranked third, Williams ranked fifth, and Asher ranked 13th. The former three could were all considered top 100 prospects prior to this season (via BA). Two other interesting inclusions are also apart of this deal in Diekman and Harrison. Diekman's inclusion is just another piece of the puzzle, as the Phillies wanted to add a bit more talent in order to get more talent. Diekman is a hard-throwing, potential back-end left-handed relief pitcher that is signed through 2018 and has not hit arbitration. He has had ups-and-downs (5.15 ERA; 3.59 FIP this season), but could play a big role in the Rangers' bullpen for years to come. Harrison's inclusion was a tactic from the Phillies also to get more talent in return. Signed to a poor contract against his results, Harrison is owed just over $26 million over the next two years, despite only making nine starts the past three. Once an All-Star, Harrison isn't likely to play a big role in Philadelphia and at best could be an innings eater there. Overall, this deal is exactly what was expected in a Hamels trade. There are many moving parts in this six-for-two swap as Hamels goes westbound to the Texas Rangers. --Devan Fink
Update: According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the Mets backed out of the Gomez trade due to a hip issue with the outfielder. The Brewers still reportedly plan to trade Gomez.
Update, 11:11 PM: Mets general manager Sandy Alderson told reporters after tonight's game that a trade for Gomez "has not and will not transpire." (Via Adam Rubin of ESPN.) It appears that the trade has fallen through. Original story: The New York Mets have acquired outfielder Carlos Gomez from the Milwaukee Brewers, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Brewers got Zack Wheeler and Wilmer Flores in return for their star center fielder, Sherman reports. The Mets have wanted a big bat in their lineup for some time now, as the team has struggled offensively, posting the fewest runs per game in the Major Leagues (coming into tonight). Gomez will surely fill that bill, as he is a two-time All-Star and has been one of the best center fielders over the past three seasons. It was unlikely that the Brewers were going to move him, however, his name did receive some buzz in rumors throughout the month. The Mets surely paid the price for Gomez, having to deal two of their younger and better players, Wheeler and Flores. Wheeler is a 25-year-old starter who is missing this entire season to Tommy John surgery. He wasn't the best Mets young starter, but he does have a bright future and could be an ace. Along with Wheeler is the 23-year-old defense-first infielder Flores, whose bat has yet to fully come around in the big leagues, but he could be a nice piece and would make sense at third. Gomez, 29, is hitting .266/.332/.429 with eight home runs and 43 RBIs in 310 plate appearances this season. He is signed through next season, making him valuable for the Mets, not just now, but in the future as well if they continue to contend. --Devan Fink
The Los Angeles Angels have acquired two outfielders on Tuesday, acquiring David Murphy from the Cleveland Indians and David DeJesus from the Tampa Bay Rays, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reported (two links).
Going to the Indians for Murphy is Double-A shortstop Eric Stamets and going to the Rays for DeJesus is Rookie right-hander Eduar Lopez. Both deals, while separate deals, do make sense for the Angels as they have been in need of outfielders. Though they acquired Shane Victorino yesterday, the Angels still needed outfield help after a disastrous start from Matthew Joyce this year in left. Three outfielders is a lot, but depth is important for any team, and Mike Trout is currently injured pending an MRI. On the season, Murphy is batting .296/.344/.437 with five home runs and 27 RBIs in 229 plate appearances. This season, against right-handers, he's been playing pretty well, with a .785 OPS in 212 PA. He hasn't had much experience against southpaws. DeJesus, on the other hand, is hitting .259/.323/.375 with five homers and 26 RBIs in 257 plate appearances. His spits are similar to Murphy's, posting a .715 OPS against righties and a .236 OPS against southpaws. --Devan Fink
The Washington Nationals have acquired Jonathan Papelbon from the Philadelphia Phillies for Double-A right-hander Nick Pivetta, the Washington Post's Barry Svrluga and MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reported Tuesday evening.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported earlier today that the teams were making progress on a deal, but there have been a lot of hurdles to climb through, including his contract and how he'd only be traded if he would be the closer. Papelbon will be taking less money in order to leave the Phillies, Rosenthal reports. The Nationals are picking up his vesting option for 2016, but he will likely be making less than the $13 million figure that was initially in his deal. As expected, Papelbon will close for the Nationals following the trade, Rosenthal adds. The 34-year-old and six-time All-Star has wanted to leave the Phillies quite some time now, considering they have been out of contention and aren't going to win a World Series anytime soon. Many teams liked and showed interest in acquiring Papelbon, such as the Blue Jays. Papelbon is an elite closer and is 1-1 with a 1.59 ERA (2.94 FIP) this season in 37 games pitched, where he is a perfect 17-for-17 in save chances. He has a 40 to 8 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 39 2/3 innings. --Devan Fink |
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