Some quick notes on a few trades from Deadline is Tuesday. I didn’t cover every trade that took place, focusing on those that included prospects or that I found interesting.
twins Get: Tyler Mahley
reds Get: Spencer Steer, Stephen Hajjar, Christian Encarnacion Strand
Mahley has had a bit of bad luck this year, although his base numbers are about the same as ever, with a FIP of 3.60 actually the best of his career so far. He’s slightly altered his pitch mix, using more of his splitter and less slider, with both pitches slightly less effective than in previous seasons, with speed on the slider dropping around 2mph. He missed a couple in July with shoulder pain but looked fine on his comeback and should be able to give the Twins some mid-season work outside of rotation, as only Sony Gray He has a FIP of less than 4 per year.
Steer has been one of the biggest breakout hitters in the minors this year, with the 24-year-old owning 20 and .361 OBP with a strike rate of just 17 percent between Double and Triple A. The field has mostly played third base this year. It looks like he’ll be a regular player as long as his defense holds up in third or second place, with a high ground as a backing player thanks to strength and high contact rates, especially from fast balls. A left stoner is 6-foot-5 and has a light speedball and a below-average crushing ball, but he’s getting some boost from his size and showing a 55-change. . Encarnacion Strand was the Twins’ fourth-rounder last year and has gone on to be surprisingly strong given his short swing, with 25 homers already between High A and Double A. So far in pro ball. He’s probably a third-place average defender in the long run, but he might end up at the start if he’s not.
Padres Get: Brandon Drury
The Reds get: Victor Acosta
Drury blends in with the left-wingers and has a solid comeback year with the Reds, aided by their friendly stadium. It can back up all the sites not nearby or maybe replace it all Will Myers, who was bad at the table when he played this year. The Acosta is a short 18-game with over-speed and over-arm and likely to stay in position long-term, with a high-contact approach that should produce solid hitting averages without a lot of power. It’s still much more tools than skills, and takes time and reps in just about every area, but with an upside above the average shortstop or, failing that, in the middle. He hits .243/ .346/ .360 in the Arizona Rookie League.
Phyllis Get: Noah Sendergaard And the Brandon March
Angels Get: Logan Ohbee, Mickey Monyak and Jadiel Sanchez
These were technically two deals, Marsh for O’Hoppe, and Syndergaard for Moniak and Sanchez. Starting with a one-for-one trade-off, I mean, if you were a fellow cynic, I would say the Phillies trade Marsh means they figured out the defense. I find the trade more interesting to the Angels, as Marsh was a local center player, which is a rarity in this system, and still has some upside in the board in terms of strength and contact, despite closing his window at 24. They swapped him for Logan O’Hoppe, a hard-hitting catcher from Long Island High School who went from a 23rd round pick to a potential everyday man having an impressive Double A season at age 22. He’s strong at the back of the board, with little doubt, stays there, and should 15-20 young people with some basic skills and high communication rates. I better get O’Hoppe.
Syndergaard hasn’t shown what he was like before Tommy John or his form this year, with much lower speed than 2019 levels across all of his pitches, less movement on his broken pitches and what seems at least to be worse. He might be back next year, but he’s renting to Phillies and might just be a rotation insurance just in case Zach Evelyn It does not return when it is eligible in late August. Moniak is a quad guy at this point, a 24-year-old cornerback with slight strength and a lot of trouble hitting non-quick objects, not taking enough damage against the right hand to be a platoon guy. He’ll play close to home, if that’s anything worth it. Sanchez has less value, because it’s too old for Low A and doesn’t hit, while limited to pitch corners.
Phillies gets: David Robertson
Cubs Get: Ben Brown
Oh irony. The Phillies signed Robertson on a two-year deal prior to 2019 and got 6.2 runs from it — not even good. It’s back, and the 37-year-old is having his best year since 2018, making up for lost speed by using the cutter as a fastball, then going to that lone ball for a whiff. I saw Brown’s High-A Jersey Shore stadium a few weeks ago The Long Island native impressed, he had a 94-97 mph fastball that’s hard for hitters, with three minor pitches but none above the year average. He’s 6 feet 6 feet tall, but he doesn’t take full advantage of his height with his stride or with his stretch, so there could be something more win-win at this end.
blue jays Get: Wait Merryfield
Royals Get: Max Castillo and Samad Taylor
Murrayfield was a player with three-and-a-half wins in 2019, mostly off his bat, and in 2021, with more value than his gauntlet; But he was below substitution this year at age 33, scoring .240/.290/.352 while playing average to slightly above average in defense in the second. Santiago Espinal He’s already taken him out of Merrifield this year, and sent him away, but Merrifield can take Kavan BiggioHis place is on the bench, providing more defensive value and speed without losing anything else. However, the Jays didn’t give up much. Castillo is a loyal quarterback at best, right-handed with some bluffing but an below average fast ball, and the hitters hit the field hard. Player Samad Taylor was left out of the 40-man squad last winter, but may end up as a capable extra player, though more of a second/third man rather than a real companion man who can handle a short.
mets Get: Darren Rove
giants Get: J.D. DavisCarson Seymour, Thomas Zabuki and Nick Zwak
Two quick thoughts here. First, it is remarkable that the Giants turned Ruf, who acquired nearly 800 plates with the Phillies over five years before washing up and going to play in Korea, into someone who would earn a positive return in the trade. It’s still just a faction bat that can mash lefties and has no value in defense; But with that said, if I said back in 2019 that the Giants were going to have interesting players for Ruff by this point, I would have taken it lightly. Of the players that came back, the one that interested me most was 23-year-old Seymour, a 6-foot-6 right-handed player who touches 100 mph but had huge walking rates for Kansas, so he went without an industry in 2020 and the Mets got him in the sixth round in 2021. They’ve played with him slowly this year, starting him in Low A for seven starts and taking him to high in late May, but he doesn’t walk with many players and he’s shown no platoon split, even He lowered his gait as the season went on. I said in the draft that he might just have to be loyal because of the control issues, but at this point I’d leave him as a rookie and push him to Double A.
(Photo: Darren Rove: Kelley L Cox/USA Today Sports)
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