CarterHud

The New Jersey Devils have acquired defenseman Ryan Graves from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for forward Mikhail Maltsev and a 2021 second-round draft pick.

First off, the second-rounder is not the Devils’ own, rather the Islanders, putting it at 61st overall. New Jersey had the pick from trading away Andy Greene a year-and-a-half ago. Ironically, the original Avalanche second-rounder, which was 60th overall, is the Islanders’ thanks to the Devon Toews trade.

Getting back to the relevant stuff, this deal kills two birds with one stone for Colorado. Even after Erik Johnson waived his no-move clause, Graves was the odd-man out for the Avalanche in the expansion draft. While this deal means that the team will lose two quality players, perhaps forward JT Compher as well, the Avalanche are able to get a fair return for Graves. They also are able to shed his $3.16 million cap hit, which is huge for a team that needs to sign Cale Makar, and has Gabriel Landeskog, Philipp Grubauer, and Brandon Saad hitting free agency. They also get Maltsev back. A 2016 4th round draft pick, he was fine in a heavily sheltered role in the New Jersey bottom-six this year. He could factor in as a depth forward for Colorado.

Maltsev, 23, scored six goals with nine assists for 15 points in 33 games for the Devils this year. He played in just one AHL game, and scored in it.

The Devils have the expansion draft protection spot on defense that allowed them to go after a defenseman. Now, either Will Butcher or Jonas Siegenthaler will be open to the Kraken. Graves is a big, solid second-pairing defenseman signed for pretty cheap for a team with a ton of cap room. When his contract expires after the 2022-23 season, he will be an unrestricted free agent. The Devils are not really expected to be good by then, so Graves could be flipped eventually. He had an exceptional 56.37 expected goals percentage (Natural Stat Trick) this past season, although that could be a product of an amazing Colorado team. For Devils fans, think of him as a replacement for Ryan Murray, who is about to leave in free agency.

Graves, 26, scored two goals with 13 assists for 15 points in 54 games for Colorado this year, and was third on the team in ice-time. In his NHL career, all for the Avalanche, Graves has scored 14 goals with 32 assists for 46 points in 149 games.

The Atlanta Braves have acquired outfielder Joc Pederson from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for first baseman Bryce Ball.

The Cubs signed Pederson this winter to replace the non-tendered Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber ended up an all-star, while Pederson was overall disappointing. He earns $7 million this year, with a mutual option next year worth $10 million with a $2.5 million buyout. The Cubs have fallen out of the playoff race and have signaled themselves as sellers. Pederson is the first domino to fall, but Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Craig Kimbrel, and Javy Baez are also options to trade away. Pederson is a left-handed power bat in the outfield who hit 36 home runs in 2019 but has been in a two-year slump since. The Cubs are able to get back Ball, who MLB Pipeline ranked as Atlanta’s number 12 prospect. The big, six-foot-six left-handed bat has struggled a bit in Low-A this year but had an OPS well over 1.000 in his first professional season of 2019. That was the same year the Braves snagged him in the 24th round from Dallas Baptist.

Ball, 23, has hit six home runs with a .354 OBP and a .750 OPS in 212 Plate Appearances for High-A Rome in 2021. In his minor league career, Ball has hit 23 home runs with a .377 OBP and a .907 OPS in 475 Plate Appearances.

The Braves have been ravaged by injuries. Just before the all-star break, they had their worst one yet, as Ronald Acuna Jr. tore his ACL. The team is 44-45 and four games back of the Mets for first place in the division. But still, they believe that they can make the playoffs. Pederson brings pop to their lineup from the left side. Even if the team fails this year, they have the opportunity to bring him back. The cost? Just a late-round draft pick from two years ago.

Pederson, 29, has hit 11 home runs with a .300 OBP and a .718 OPS in 287 Plate Appearances for the Cubs this season. In his MLB career for the Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers, Pederson has hit 141 home runs with a .332 OBP and a .797 OPS in 2804 Plate Appearances.

The Edmonton Oilers have acquired defenseman Duncan Keith and forward Tim Soderlund from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for defenseman Caleb Jones and a 2022 third round draft pick. If the Oilers make it to the Stanley Cup Finals and Keith is in the top-four of Edmonton defense in ice-time in 2022, the pick becomes a 2022 2nd rounder.

Oof. This is not a trade that will make Oilers fans happy. From trading a young defenseman and a pick to an aging veteran, to having that veteran cost you a ton of cap space since there was no salary retention to be seen here. Keith is an icon in Chicago and should be on his way into the Hall-of-Fame. However, he is well past his prime at this point. Keith played top-pairing minutes this year and got destroyed. He will play on the second pair in Edmonton, but that probably will not be much better. Keith has two more years left on his contract with a $5.538 million cap hit. He will be 40 just weeks after that expires. What makes things worse for Oilers fans is that Edmonton ownership is finding a way to be cheap here despite filling up a ton of cap space. In the next two years, Keith will be paid a combined $3.6 million. Maybe Jones was not ready to be a second-pairing defenseman, but Keith is not, either. Keeping the cheap option and using cap space in another area would be smarter. Plus, GM Ken Holland gives up an extra third-round draft pick. Keith’s no-move clause also makes it required to protect him in the upcoming expansion draft. A former 4th round pick back in 2017, Soderlund has completely lost his stock after struggling at the AHL level.

Keith, who will turn 38 this week, scored four goals with 11 assists for 15 points in 54 games in 2020-21 for the Blackhawks. According to Natural Stat Trick, he had an ugly 41.88 xG%. In his 16-year career, all in Chicago, Keith has scored 105 goals with 520 assists for 625 points in 1192 games.

Soderlund, 23, had five assists in 23 games for the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs in 2020-21. In 23 games for Almtuna IS in Sweden, he scored 10 goals with six assists for 16 points.

It is tough to say goodbye to a player like Keith, who won three Stanley Cups as the top defenseman on the Blackhawks in 2010, 2013, and 2015. However, this is the right move. Keith is well past his prime at this point. The Hawks get younger by acquiring Caleb Jones, who has a cap hit of just $850k for 2021-22 before becoming a restricted free agent once again. Jones was solid in 2019-20 before losing Dave Tippett’s trust this year. He is at worst, a replacement level defenseman, something that Keith was not last year. Jones’ brother is Seth Jones, who like Keith, is another controversial NHL defenseman in regards to their play. The Blackhawks, along with the Flyers and others, are reportedly interesting in the elder Jones, who told the Blue Jackets that he will not sign an extension with them prior to hitting free agency next year. Acquiring his younger brother could make Jones want to play in Chicago. The next step is whether the Blackhawks protect Caleb Jones at the expansion draft, or decide to go with all three of Nikita Zadorov, Calvin de Haan, and Connor Murphy. None of the four are locks at this point. If Edmonton is surprisingly good, then this trade gets even better.

Jones, 24, had no goals and four assists in 33 games with the Oilers this year. Perhaps he was affected by an awful 95.4 PDO, which is unlucky. Jones had an awful 37.93 GF%, but a fine 50.04 xG%. In his NHL career, all in Edmonton, Jones has scored five goals with 14 assists for 19 points in 93 games.

The Milwaukee Brewers have acquired 1B Rowdy Tellez from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for RHPs Trevor Richards and Bowden Francis.

The struggling Blue Jays bullpen has gotten another addition today. Recently, it was Adam Cimber coming in from Miami. Now, Richards joins him. An undrafted pitcher who spent time in independent leagues before making it to the majors, Richards struggled the past few seasons before getting into a groove with Milwaukee following a midseason trade. A lot of his success can be attributed to a career best 31.8 percent K rate and 3.95 xERA. However, Richards does have an increased 91.3 mph average exit velocity and 44.7 percent hard hit rate. Also, his 9.3 BB% is a bit high. Still, Richards is a solid get. Francis is a minor league starting pitcher drafted in the 7th round back in 2017 by Milwaukee. He has made it to AAA this year, with good numbers. The Blue Jays need all the pitching help they can get, so if Francis continues to pitch the way he has, he can be in the big leagues sooner rather than later.

Richards, 28, has a 3.69 ERA (3.20 with the Brewers) with 41 strikeouts, a 3.76 FIP, and a 1.137 WHIP in 31.2 innings for Milwaukee and the Tampa Bay Rays this year. In his career for the Brewers, Rays, and Miami Marlins, Richards has a 4.34 ERA with 325 strikeouts, a 4.30 FIP, and a 1.380 WHIP in 325.1 innings pitched.

Francis, 25, has a 3.62 ERA with 65 strikeouts, 17 walks and a 1.022 WHIP in 59.2 2021 innings between AA Biloxi and AAA Nashville. In his minor league career, Francis has a 4.23 ERA with 349 strikeouts, 113 walks, and a 1.284 WHIP in 340.1 innings.

With Vladimir Guerrero Jr. taking over the first base role in Toronto, Tellez would have to be relegated to the designated hitter spot. However, the team has a ton of good bats, with too many outfielders. Add that with a rough start to the season, and Tellez has found himself in the minors. There is upside to be found. He hit 21 home runs in 2019, and has an .886 OPS last year. In 13 AAA games this year, Tellez has a 1.038 OPS. Plus, Tellez has been unlucky. He has a 92.6 mph average exit velocity, and a .251 xBA plus a .454 xSLG. His real average and slugging are only .209 and .338. A reversal of fortune is possible. The Brewers do have a similar player in Daniel Vogelbach, but he is injured. Tellez can start at first until then. He could possibly split time with Vogelbach or be a good bench bat for the first-place team in the NL Central.

Tellez, 26, has hit four home runs with a .209 average and a .610 OPS in 151 Plate Appearances this season. In his MLB career, all in Toronto, Tellez has hit 37 home runs with a .241 average and a .759 OPS in 760 Plate Appearances.

The New York Yankees have acquired OF Tim Locastro from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for RHP Keegan Curtis.

The struggling Yankees need a shake-up and while this is not exactly that, it’s a start. They address a need here as the league’s slowest team gets the league’s fastest player. The Yankees desperately need center field help, as Brett Gardner is not working out, and Tyler Wade and Aaron Judge are not permanent options. Locastro can play all three outfield positions and he has an incredible 30.7 ft/s sprint speed this year. The problem is that Locastro cannot hit. He has a career 78 OPS+, with a .339 OBP and 6.3 BB%. His OBP is only so high thanks to an incredible quirk: he constantly gets hit by pitches. In 200 career games, Locastro has been hit 36 times. That is once about every 5.5 games! He will be a bench player in New York. The upstate New York native went to Ithaca College, grew up a Yankee fan, and was on their roster for a short period of time in the offseason following 2018.

Locastro, 28, has hit one home run with five stolen bases, a .178 average, and a .491 OPS in 133 Plate Appearances this season. In his MLB career for the Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers, Locastro has hit four home runs with 31 stolen bases, a .234 average, and a .663 OPS in 480 Plate Appearances.

Arizona has quickly become baseball’s worst team this season. Locastro is definitely not an essential player to their organization, and they get a decent return. Curtis was a 22nd round pick in 2018 by the Yankees out of the University of Louisiana at Monroe. Alumnus include Chuck Finley, Ben Sheets, and that is about it. Any Yankee fans remember Jim Miller in 2013-14? No? Anyways, Curtis has become a key member of the bullpen at AA Somerset. In his short minor league career, he has pitched well. Age isn’t on his side, but if he progresses as he has this year, an MLB debut in the next year and a half is not out of the question.

Curtis, 25, has a 3.94 ERA with 27 strikeouts, seven walks, and a 1.313 WHIP in 16 innings at AA this season. In his MiLB career, he has a 3.29 ERA with 83 strikeouts, 26 walks, and a 1.142 WHIP in 65.2 innings pitched.