The Kansas City Royals have acquired utility man Ben Zobrist from the Oakland Athletics, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
In return for Zobrist, left-hander Sean Manaea and right-hander Aaron Brooks will be headed to Oakland, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN and Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported. Zobrist makes a lot of sense for Kansas City, as he can play multiple positions, being an upgrade in both the outfield and at second base. He adds a good bat to the Royals lineup that could have used another impact player. Because of his versatility, Zobrist reportedly received interest from the Mets, Pirates, Yankees, Nationals, and Giants throughout this month, but the Royals emerged as a legitimate candidate over the past few days. The 34-year-old Zobrist is a free agent at the end of the season, as his six-year, $30 million deal expires this year. He has hit .268/.354/.447 this season in 271 plate appearances, swatting six homers and driving in 33 RBIs. Manaea headlines the Athletics return, as many were surprised the Royals would give him up so easily. According to MLB.com's rankings, he was the 56th-best prospect in the minor leagues. The 2013 first round pick is currently at Double-A. --Devan Fink
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The Washington Nationals are making progress on a trade for Philadelphia Phillies' right-handed closer Jonathan Papelbon, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Rosenthal noted that Papelbon will only approve a trade if he will be in a closing situation. It's unclear if the Nationals will give him that opportunity.
The Toronto Blue Jays have acquired shortstop Troy Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockies, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported early Tuesday morning.
Shortstop Jose Reyes and top prospects Jeff Hoffman and Miguel Castro will head to the Rockies, reports Rosenthal, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, and Thomas Harding of MLB.com. Heyman also reported that Jesus Tinoco is going to Colorado. The Blue Jays also acquired reliever LaTroy Hawkins from the Rockies as part of the agreement, Rosenthal adds. Tulowitzki will receive $2 million as an assignment bonus for being traded. With the deal, his contract now becomes a no-trade clause into the future. This deal comes as a complete shocker to the baseball world, as it was considered extremely unlikely that the Rockies were going to trade Tulowitzki. He was a cornerstone of their team and has an extremely large guaranteed salary over the next five seasons. Tulowitzki is owed $94 million from 2016 until his contract expires following the 2020 season. He has a team option for 2021 that is worth $15 million with a $4 million buyout. Basically, he is guaranteed $98 million over five years. The Blue Jays, in acquiring Tulowitzki, make their already league-leading offense in many categories, including runs per game, that much better. Tulowitzki is an instant upgrade over Reyes, being worth 0.2 more wins above replacement, and having a wRC+ that is 17 points higher. Tulowitzki, this season, is hitting .305/.353/.478 with 12 homers and 52 runs batted in over 346 plate appearances. The five-time All-Star has battled injuries over his career, but playing on the turf in Toronto might not help him stay healthy. That'll be interesting to watch for over the rest of the season and into next year. The Jays also acquired the relief pitcher that they have been coveting in Hawkins. While not a flashy reliever, Hawkins' stats have been good, pitching to a 2-1 record with a 3.63 ERA in 22 1/3 innings pitched. His 2.94 xFIP suggests that Hawkins has been outperforming his performance and the 42-year-old could be even better down the stretch than he is now. It took a lot to pry the Rockies away from a controlled Tulowitzki, including two of the upper echelon prospects in the Blue Jays' system. Hoffman ranked as the No. 3 prospect with Toronto, Castro ranked No. 5, and Tinoco ranked No. 29. The Rockies' farm system gets immediately better with the inclusion of the three right-handers. It's hard to know if they do get the better of this specific deal, as only Castro has touched the Majors, but they definitely do get deeper in their farm system, which is all the Rockies can ask for as a rebuilding team. The most interesting part of the deal was Reyes heading to Colorado. It is possible that the Rockies try and flip him, as it would be easier to get a deal done for him than it was for Tulowitzki. Reyes still has two years left on his deal, but probably won't be with Colorado by the next time they contend. Many teams could be interested in Reyes, most notably the Mets, who have coveted infield help for most of this month. With just a few days left until the trade deadline, all this will have to come together fast. In our first blockbuster of the season, the Blue Jays and Rockies did not disappoint, moving one of the game's brightest stars in Tulowitzki out to Canada to become Toronto's shortstop. --Devan Fink
The New York Mets have acquired right-handed reliever Tyler Clippard from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Casey Meisner, a minor league right-handed starter, the teams announced on Monday.
This comes just hours after Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reported that the Mets were making progress on a deal for Clippard. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported last night that a deal for Clippard could get done by Monday. The Mets bullpen has not been bad this season, they are third in the Majors in ERA and eighth in xFIP, but after the Royals went far in last year's playoffs with a deep bullpen, it's been proven that relief help can go a long way for teams. Clippard has been a name mentioned in trade talk more recently as of late, when the A's officially decided on selling. He's a free agent following this season, after making $8.3 million in his final year of arbitration this past offseason. The 30-year-old, despite his contract status, will be a very solid addition to the Mets bullpen, providing back-end relief experience. He's 1-3 this season with a 2.79 ERA (3.89 FIP) and a 38 to 21 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 38 2/3 innings. He's saved 17 of his 21 opportunities, marking the first time he's been used as a closer since 2012 with the Nationals. The Mets are showing the willingness to buy this trade deadline season, as Clippard represents the third player they've acquired this month, along with Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson, as well as the promotion of Michael Conforto. They're 51-48 and just two games out of the NL East and 3 1/2 out of the NL Wild Card. In return, the Athletics got Meisner, a 20-year-old righty in Single-A Advanced this season. The Mets' third round pick two years ago, Mesiner is 3-2 with a 2.83 ERA and a 1.64 K/BB ratio this season. --Devan Fink
The Los Angeles Angels have acquired outfielder Shane Victorino and cash from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for infielder Josh Rutledge, it was announced on Monday.
The Angels have been needing outfield help, as left fielder Matt Joyce has been struggling mightily this season, working to a .178/.224/.298 line over 278 plate appearances this season. It's been no secret that the team has needed an upgrade there. Victorino will fill that bill, as he leaves the outfield carousel that was the Red Sox' outfield. He has only played in 33 games this season partly due to injury, accumulating just 106 plate appearances, slashing a .245/.324/.298 line. The 34-year-old Hawaii native still has some speed, but it's not like it was when he was in his prime. This season he has successfully stolen all five bases he attempted and has yet to hit for a triple. His name has appeared in trade talk over the past few weeks and should get the opportunity to start in Los Angeles if they do not acquire a better option within the next week. If that does become the case, Victorino will be a solid fourth outfield option. --Devan Fink |
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