CarterHud

 

       The San Diego Padres have acquired 1B Mitch Moreland from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for OF Jeisson Rosario and 3B Hudson Potts.

       The Padres are going for it this year, after acquiring Trevor Rosenthal from the Royals yesterday and now Moreland today. The offense has been very good for San Diego this year, with catcher, left field and designated hitter being the exceptions. Tommy Pham can play left field, but DH\’d a lot this year before going on the IL. He is a good hitter, although he had a weak start. Moreland will fill the DH spot, and he can spot Eric Hosmer a day at first base if necessary, although Hosmer is a four-time Gold Glover and the Padres would want him in the field (however, Moreland did win a Gold Glove in 2016). A four-time 20+ home run hitter, Moreland has power from the left side of the plate, and he is one of the few Red Sox that are hitting very well this year. Plus, he could be back for 2021, with a club option after this year. Moreland has familiarity with both GM AJ Preller and Manager Jayce Tingler, who both came from the Rangers organization, the team that drafted Moreland in 2007 and employed him through 2016. 

       Moreland, who turns 35 on September 6, has hit eight home runs with a .328 average and an OPS of 1.177 in 79 Plate Appearances for the Red Sox this year. In his MLB career for the Red Sox and Texas Rangers, Moreland has hit 174 home runs with a .253 average and a .770 OPS in 4211 Plate Appearances. 

      While losing Moreland hurts for the Red Sox, as he was a fan favorite, had an .803 OPS in four seasons for the team and won a World Series in 2018, they need to look to the future. The new starting first baseman for the 11-22 Sox will be Bobby Dalbec, a 25 year old who is the team\’s 3rd best prospect (per MLB Pipeline) and was recalled following this trade. Plus, they got a good return. Both Potts and Rosario were ranked in the top 20 prospects in the Padres system, with Potts 16th and Rosario 19th. A 2016 first rounder, Potts is still very young, although he needs to figure it out at AA, as his 129 games at that level have not led to pretty stats. Potts has some experience at shortstop and second base, which is good as the Red Sox are very deep at third base with 23 year-old Rafael Devers becoming the face-of-the-franchise, and top prospect Tristan Casas also plays the position. Even Dalbec was originally a third baseman before moving to first. A left handed bat, Rosario reached High-A last year, and while he did not have a great batting average, at age 19 he walked 87 times. 

       Potts, 21, hit 17 home runs with three stolen bases, a .240 average and an OPS of .724 in 461 Plate Appearances in the minors last year, mostly for AA Amarillo. In his minor league career, Potts has hit 57 home runs with 17 stolen bases, a .256 average with a .743 OPS in 1792 Plate Appearances.

       Rosario, 20, hit three home runs with 11 stolen bases, a .242 average and a .686 OPS in 525 Plate Appearances for High-A Lake Elsinore last year. In his minor league career, Rosario has hit seven home runs with 37 stolen bases, a .264 average and an OPS of .716 in 1270 Plate Appearances.

 

       The Atlanta Braves have acquired LHP Tommy Milone from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for two players to be named later. 

       After Max Fried, the Braves have a weak rotation, with Mike Soroka hurt and Touki Toussaint, Kyle Wright and Sean Newcomb struggling so badly that they were optioned. This led to both Josh Tomlin and Robbie Erlin joining the rotation, and Milone is a pretty good comparable to those two. Tomlin has pitched about 100 innings more than Milone in his career, but the two have the same ERA+ (91), and Erlin  is just under both of them, with a better career FIP. The journeyman lefty joined the Orioles this offseason and not only made the Opening Day roster, he started game one of the season after John Means was injured. Milone has had a decent start to this season, even better than last year, where he had a 1.5 bWAR, his best since 2015 (which was also 1.5, and he hadn\’t had a positive WAR in a season in between). Entering 2020, Milone\’s best K/9 in a season was 7.9 (in 2018, a season he only had 26.1 innings pitched), but he has a 9.5 mark through six starts this year. While he may not be the biggest name, Milone helps out the desperate-for-starting-pitching Braves. Two players to be named later sounds weird, but players not on the 60-man player pool cannot be traded, so it is almost guaranteed that the teams have an under-the-table agreement on who the players are, and that they will be announced when the season is over. 

       Milone, 33, has a 3.99 ERA with 31 strikeouts and a 3.85 FIP in 29.1 innings this season. In his MLB career for the Orioles, Washington Nationals, Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins, Seattle Mariners, New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers, Milone has a 4.45 ERA with 679 strikeouts and a 4.56 FIP in 904 innings. 

 

       The San Diego Padres have acquired RHP Trevor Rosenthal from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for OF Edward Olivares and a player to be named later.

       Before you can accurately describe how Trevor Rosenthal is as a player, you need to go back to when he broke into the league. Rosenthal pitched well in his first two major league seasons and became the closer of the St. Louis Cardinals. He registered over 100 saves for them over the next four seasons before Tommy John surgery cost him his 2018 season. Rosenthal signed a contract with three different teams last year and played for two of them, and he walked 26 batters in 15.1 innings, with a 13.50 ERA, but 17 strikeouts. Rosenthal joined the Royals this offseason, and has become their closer. While his seven walks in 14 games is short of good, Rosenthal has gotten back into a groove, and is close to being back to the player he once was. The Padres entered the season with one of the league\’s best bullpens, but they really need help now, as closer Kirby Yates went on the IL early into the season, and his replacement, Drew Pomeranz, soon joined him. Emilio Pagan is currently the closer, but he has struggled, along with Craig Stammen, Javy Guerra and Luis Perdomo. Rosenthal can help bring stability to the \’pen that could use some help as the Padres eye a playoff spot. 

       Rosenthal, 30, has a 3.29 ERA with 21 strikeouts, seven saves and a 3.74 FIP in 13.2 innings for Kansas City this year. In his MLB career for the Royals, Cardinals, Washington Nationals and Detroit Tigers, Rosenthal has a 3.46 ERA with 473 strikeouts, 128 saves and a 2.83 FIP in 354 innings. 

       The Royals, currently sitting in the basement of the AL Central, get a decent return for a reclamation project after a month of usage, as Olivares will slide in as their 22nd best prospect, per MLB Pipeline. After trading away Brett Phillips to the Rays a couple of days ago, Olivares could take Phillips\’ spot in the outfield. Olivares will be another speedy Royal, as he has stolen at least 20 bases in three separate minor league seasons. He has shown flashes of power, and a good summer camp earned him his MLB debut this year, although a weak start to the season got him optioned. Alex Gordon, Whit Merrifield and Hunter Dozier are all regulars in the outfield, but the depth is pretty weak after that, with Phillips gone and former Padre Franchy Cordero injured, Bubba Starling seems to be the main competition for Olivares in Kansas City. The player to be named later will likely be a minor league prospect not on the 60-man player pool for the Padres, so they could wait until the season is over to complete the deal as players not in the player pool cannot be dealt.

       Olivares, 24, had a .176 average with one home run and a .516 OPS in 36 Plate Appearances for the Padres this year, his only taste of Major League Baseball. For AA Amarillo last year, Olivares hit 18 home runs with 35 stolen bases, a .283 average and an .801 OPS in 551 Plate Appearances. 

 

       The Oakland Athletics have acquired IF Tommy La Stella from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for IF Franklin Barreto.

       A light-hitting fan favorite with the Cubs, La Stella left Chicago for the Angels before the 2019 season, and he blossomed into an all-star, hitting 16 home runs in 78 games with an .832 OPS, before a fractured leg lead to him only appearing in two more games for the season. With Matt Chapman at third base, La Stella won\’t need to play his secondary position, but he completes the Oakland infield. Aside from Chapman, the A\’s have Matt Olson at first base and Marcus Semien at shortstop, but their second baseman this year has been Tony Kemp, who has a career .679 OPS. All they give up is Barreto, a young infielder who was the last remaining piece in Oakland from the 2014 Josh Donaldson trade. Barreto has always been blocked in Oakland, but he should get a chance in Los Angeles. Barreto proved last year that he can hit at the minor league level, with 19 home runs, 15 stolen bases, a .295 average and an OPS of .926. He has played second base and shortstop for the A\’s, although he could probably play other positions if the Angels need him to. 

       La Stella, 31, has hit four home runs with a .273 average and an OPS of .845 in 117 Plate Appearances for the Angels this year. In his MLB career for the Angels, Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves, La Stella has hit 30 home runs with a .272 average and an OPS of .751 in 1385 Plate Appearances. 

       Barreto, 24, is 0-for-10 this year with five runs scored for the A\’s. In his MLB career, all in Oakland, Barreto has hit nine home runs with three stolen bases, a .180 batting average and an OPS of .570 in 219 Plate Appearances.

 

       The Toronto Blue Jays have acquired RHP Taijuan Walker from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for a player to be named later. 

       The Blue Jays have plenty of starters, with Hyun-Jin Ryu, Tanner Roark and Chase Anderson healthy, although Nate Pearson, Trent Thornton and Matt Shoemaker are currently on the IL. A first round pick in 2010, Walker had a 3.49 ERA in 28 starts in 2017 with the Diamondbacks, his first year with the club. However, he missed most of the next two seasons with Tommy John surgery, and returned to the team that drafted him, the Mariners. Starting pitching depth is key, especially for the surprise Blue Jays. Since Walker is a free agent at the end of the season, his price tag is low. A report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic says that the player to be named will be a minor leaguer not on Toronto\’s 60-man player pool, which means that nothing big is going Seattle\’s way. Still, it is something, and Walker is useless for them now. Even in his eighth season, Walker is still in the middle of his prime.

       Walker, 28, has a 4.00 ERA with 25 strikeouts and a 4.94 FIP in 27 innings this year. In his MLB career for the Mariners and Diamondbacks, Walker has a 3.95 ERA with 503 strikeouts and a 4.24 FIP in 555.1 innings.