Jay Bruce brings a needed veteran lefty power bat to Phillies mix
It is no secret that Philadelphia Phillies general manager Matt Klentak has been investigating ways in which to upgrade the roster of his first place ball club.
The starting rotation, bullpen, and the Phillies bench are all areas of potential concern as the team tries to reach the postseason for the first time in eight years.
Now it appears that they have begun to fill those needs. A trade originally reported as being discussed on Saturday with the Seattle Mariners has reportedly been concluded now, with the Phillies obtaining veteran outfielder Jay Bruce.
Bruce fills a Phillies need to upgrade the bench and outfield mix perfectly. The 32-year-old is now in his 12th big-league season, and though no longer performing at an All-Star level, his left-handed power bat would be an absolute upgrade.
On Saturday afternoon, Jeff Passan of ESPN reported on Twitter that the Phillies were “nearing a deal” to acquire veteran outfielder Jay Bruce from the Seattle Mariners. However, he immediately followed that up with a comment that “they are not far enough along that a deal is imminent.”
The two bits of juicy information reportedly came from two different sources. The first source, according to Passan, was from within one of the two organizations.
Phillies fans are very familiar with the stories of the two players who are headed out to the Pacific Northwest, so I won’t spend time regurgitating the details of their careers.
Segura is the obvious centerpiece of the deal from a Phillies perspective. He upgrades the shortstop position immediately. Nicasio is a 32-year-old veteran right-handed reliever who doesn’t beat himself with walks, and who is owed just one year at $9.25 million on his contract.
Pazos, the “third” piece in the deal coming to the Phillies, is the player in this deal with whom fans are least likely to have some familiarity. While he is not a lights-out closer-type pitcher, he is far more than a simple throw-in on the back-end of a big deal.
Pazos is a 27-year-old native of Gilbert, Arizona who was the New York Yankees 13th round selection in the 2012 MLB Amateur Draft out of the University of San Diego. His big-league debut came in 2015 and he would make 18 total appearances with the Yankees over two seasons.
On November 18, 2016 the Yankees dealt the southpaw to the Mariners in a straight-up deal for right-handed pitching prospect Zack Littell. New York would subsequently flip Littell to the Minnesota Twins in the July 2017 trade for veteran starting pitcher Jaime Garcia.
Over the last two seasons Pazos has become a key member of the Mariners bullpen. He has allowed just 98 hits over 103.2 innings across 119 games with a 3.39 ERA, 3.83 FIP, and a 1.322 WHIP during those two seasons.
“Pazos’ inclusion in the deal is curious but speaks to his struggles and lost velocity at the end of last season. The big lefty’s fastball slowly deteriorated from upper 90s down to low 90s and still no ability to consistently spot what was labeled an average breaking ball. The Mariners said publicly that it was a mechanical issue that led to the decrease, but some people in the organization worried that he was dealing with an injury.” ~ Ryan Divish, Seattle Times
While Pazos isn’t the kind of power lefty that free agents Andrew Miller or Zach Britton, both of whom remain on the Phillies radar, would bring he is a steady option from that side for manager Gabe Kapler to use in the match-up game that the skipper prefers.
However, Pazos was actually much more effective in 2018 against right-handed batters than against left-handers. The righties hit just .228 against him over 125 plate appearances while lefties hit him at a .280 mark in 86 plate appearances. Per Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia he was often a one-pitch hurler last season.
Jamie Moyer was an important pitcher in both Phillies and Mariners history
The Philadelphia Phillies and Seattle Mariners appear to be on the verge of a significant trade. If the rumors are true, this deal should be announced at some point later today.
In the deal, the Phillies would reportedly be sending first baseman Carlos Santana, young shortstop J.P. Crawford, and possibly a prospect to the Mariners in exchange for shortstop Jean Segura and a relief pitcher.
Assuming the deal is indeed completed, this would be the 11th trade between the Phillies and Mariners. It would mark the 16th transaction overall involving the two clubs dating back to even prior to Seattle playing their first-ever game as an expansion team in the 1977 season.
In that initial Philly-Seattle transaction on November 6, 1976, the Mariners purchased the contract of pitcher John Montague from the Phillies. It would be the last transaction involving the two clubs for nearly seven years.
On July 29, 1983 the Phillies purchased a 29-year-old righty relief pitcher from Seattle, one who would help them nail down the 1983 NL East crown and National League pennant. That reliever would spend parts of the next three years with the Phillies before a trade to Houston.
He would return as a free agent to help the 1993 Phillies win their next NL pennant, and has grown to become a beloved figure as a broadcaster with the team. I’m talking about none other than ‘LA’ himself, Larry Andersen.
More than four years later the Phillies and Mariners completed their first-ever actual trade. The Phillies sent popular veteran outfielder Glenn Wilson and a reliever who would become one of baseball’s best over the next decade, Michael Jackson, to Seattle in exchange for outfielder Phil Bradley and a prospect.
Following a couple of minor deals in the early-1990’s, the next interesting Phillies-Mariners trade came at the non-waiver deadline in the 1996 season. Veteran lefty starter Terry Mulholland was dealt to the Mariners in exchange for shortstop prospect Desi Relaford.
Mulholland and another lefty obtained by Seattle from the Boston Red Sox that year, Jamie Moyer, would help a Seattle team that featured Ken Griffey Jr.Alex Rodriguez, and Edgar Martinez make a late charge before finishing in second place to the Texas Rangers in the AL West. Relaford became the Phillies starting shortstop for a couple of years before yielding the position to Jimmy Rollins.
There were a couple of minor deals between the two teams over the next few years, but it would be a decade before another impact trade. That one came down on August 19, 2006 when the Phillies obtained Moyer for a pair of inconsequential prospects.
Could Segura be bringing his speed and shortstop play to the Phillies soon?
The Seattle Mariners are easily the busiest team in Major League Baseball to this point in the Hot Stove season. Seattle general manager Jerry Dipoto has already pulled off two deals, and is now reportedly on the verge of at least two more.
On November 8, Dipoto sent catcher Mike Zunino and two others to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for outfielder Mallex Smith and a prospect.
Less than two weeks later he traded away pitcher James Paxton to the New York Yankees, receiving pitching prospect Justus Sheffield as part of a three-prospect package.
The big story over the last 24 hours has been the finalization of a deal between the Mariners and New York Mets. In that trade, reports have the Mets new GM Brodie Van Wagenen sending veteran outfielder Jay Bruce, reliever Anthony Swarzak, and a pair of recent first round draft picks in outfielder Jarred Kelenicand pitcher Justin Dunn to Seattle.
Headed to the Big Apple in the deal would be veteran second baseman Robinson Cano along with the best relief pitcher in the game last year, Edwin Diaz.
Numerous reports are now saying that the deal could go down this weekend at some point, but certainly by Monday at the latest. The two teams apparently have settled on the players involved. Now they are sorting out financials, such as whether and how much money would be exchanged to help alleviate contract concerns regarding Cano, as well as player physicals.
The Mariners are also rumored to be involved with the Phillies in trade talks involving shortstop Jean Segura. In fact, a heavy Mariners follower on Twitter, Trent Hadler, tweeted early on Friday morning that a Segura to the Phillies deal could come down soon.
How good Hadler’s information is, if at all, and who is the “insider’ providing it remains unknown. I contacted him today, and Hadler told me that he had information from someone inside the Mariners organization who had previously been reliable. That source was stating that the only holdup to the deal was the prospect(s) going back to Seattle from the Phillies in the deal.
MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweeted later this afternoon that the Phillies could still be in on Segura. If there is any credence to it, there would be major ramifications for the Phillies.
Diaz was baseball's top closer and will be just 26-years-old in the 2019 season
If you’ve been outside over the last few days here in the Philadelphia area then you know it’s been pretty cold and windy. While winter doesn’t offically arrive for nearly a month (December 21), it is effectively here already.
But go inside and turn on a TV or your PC or laptop or just tap your phone. That warmth you feel isn’t just from your heater working its magic. If you’re a baseball fan, the Hot Stove is fired up, and the rumor mill is heating up the internet.
One of the hotter stories over the last few days has been the Seattle Mariners willingness to trade young stud closer Edwin Diaz. It was exactly one week ago that our Tim Kelly first reported the news that the Phillies were interested in not only Diaz, but Mariners infielder Jean Segura as well.
Just yesterday, Kelly was back into the story, hinting that Seattle might try to pursuade the Phillies to take on the enormous Robinson Cano contract obligation in any deal for Diaz.
Now as a further update, MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic has reported that the Phillies are indeed in on Diaz. However, it appears that GM Matt Klentak has no interest in eating that big Cano deal as a side dish.
Sources: 2B Jeff McNeil in play for #Mariners as well as Kellenic/Dunn in potential Cano/Diaz trade with #Mets. #Phillies also talking to SEA, possibly just for Diaz, as @JoelSherman1 said. NYM names would seem difficult to top, but hard to judge without knowing $, full details.
I believe that making a move on Diaz is a good one for the Phillies in theory. The right-hander will turn just 25-years-old as spring training draws to a close in 2019, and he cannot become a free agent until after the 2022 campaign. So he fits perfectly in with the plan as the Phillies put together a long-term contender.
However, the price is going to be exorbitant. Serious rumors are floating around that the division-rival New York Mets are deep into talks with the Mariners involving Diaz and Cano, possibly with someone like Jay Bruce going to Seattle.
The World Series champion Astros remain baseball's top team
As July 2018 opens, the majority of teams across Major League Baseball have now reached the 81-game mark, which marks the exact halfway point to their regular season.
There are a dozen teams that I feel safe in saying there is no chance at recovering from a poor first half. These 12 ball clubs have no chance at reaching the postseason this year.
Seven of those clubs are found in the American League: Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers.
In the National League, the five clubs now out of it are the Cincinnati Reds, Miami Marlins, New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, and San Diego Padres.
The only team currently with a losing record that I am not quite ready to say is totally out of things would be the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies are a game below the .500 mark at 41-42. They are six games off the NL West pace, but just four games in back of the second NL Wildcard berth.
A quick look around at the six MLB Division races finds only one team in a comfortable position. That team would be the Cleveland Indians in the American League Central. Despite losing four of their last five, the Tribe hold an eight-game lead.
The Boston Red Sox currently lead the arch-rival New York Yankees by one game in the American League East standings, but trail the Bronx Bombers by a game in the loss column.
In the AL West Division, the defending World Series champion Houston Astros are on top by just 1.5 games over the Seattle Mariners. However, a look at the statistical breakdown in the offense, defense, and pitching categories reveals that Houston is clearly the top team in baseball.
The Yankees currently hold the first of two American League Wildcard playoff berths, and do so by a comfortable nine-game margin. The Mariners hold a seven-game lead for the second slot over their division rivals, the Oakland Athletics. Every other AL team is at least 10 games off the Wildcard pace.
In the National League, the Atlanta Braves are one of best young teams in the game. They lead the NL East race by three over the Philadelphia Phillies, a team whose win-loss record is far better than their statistical evaluations. The always dangerous Washington Nationals lurk just five games back.
The NL Central has seen the Milwaukee Brewers jump out with a strong first-half, with the Brew Crew taking a 1.5 game lead over the divison's two-time defending champion Chicago Cubs. The always tough Saint Louis Cardinals are 5.5 games off the pace.
Out in the NL West, it's the Arizona Diamondbacks who have taken the lead at the halfway mark. The Dbacks are currently 3.5 ahead of a pair of historic arch-rivals, the San Francisco Giants and the five-time defending division champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
The National League Wildcard berths are held by the Cubs and the Phillies. The confusing Fightin' Phils are up by 1.5 games on both the Dodgers and Giants, two up on the Cardinals and Nationals, as they try to emerge from a half-decade of losing.
So with those six divisional and two wildcard playoff races in mind, let's take a look now at where the 30 teams in Major League Baseball currently stand when compared to one another as a group.
The following is the MLB Power Ranking as of July 1, with my 'Power Points' formula shown in parentheses. The number has little to do with the MLB standings, and is based solely on statistics. The lower the number, the stronger your club:
Verlander celebrates with Houston fans (photo: ESPN)
For the first time since the 2001 season, the Houston Astros are division champions.
For the first time in franchise history, they are the champions of the American League West Division.
The Astros drubbed the visiting Seattle Mariners by a 7-1 score on Sunday afternoon at Minute Maid Park to clinch the crown.
The victory was made possible by a tremendous outing from newly acquired ace Justin Verlander, and four home runs from the team's powerful lineup.
Verlander, picked up in an August 31 trade with the Detroit Tigers, allowed just a single earned run on three hits over seven innings. He struck out 10 and walked just one batter in raising his overall record to 13-8 on the season.
The 33-year old veteran right-hander has won all three of his starts since moving to the Astros. He has yielded just two earned runs on 10 hits over 21 innings in those starts, with a dominating 26/3 K:BB ratio.
This was Verlander's first start in an Astros uniform in front of the home crowd in Houston. Per Brian McTaggart for MLB.com, clinching the division with this kind of performance made the experience all the more special:
"No matter what, whether it's two weeks to go in the season or the last day in the season, these games, you can feel it," Verlander said per McTaggart. "You know there's a little more at stake. Yeah, it was a lot of fun to be out there. I don't know if you could ask for more for your home debut for a chance to clinch the division. I don't know how often that happens, but it's pretty special."
Brewers and Cardinals two of many teams still alive
It is very possible that we are about to experience one of the greatest stretch runs in MLB history during the month of September, which begins in just three weeks.
A quick glance around the standings in Major League Baseball on Thursday morning, August 10, shows that three of the division races are already virtually over.
The Washington Nationals have a 14-game lead in the National League East Division. In the NL West, the Los Angeles Dodgers hold a 15.5-game lead. Over the in the American League, the Houston Astros are 13 games up.
With half of the divisional races settled, some might think that it was actually shaping up to be a boring end to the regular season. Nothing could be further from the truth. When you examine the Wildcard races, particularly in the American League, things really look interesting.
The Red Sox and Indians lead the AL East and Central respectively. Each holds a four-game lead, and both clubs appear to be deeper and more talented across their rosters than their nearest pursuers.
The defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs are on top of the NL Central. However, this is the one race that is remains extremely tight. The Milwaukee Brewers and Saint Louis Cardinals are just 1.5 games behind, and the Pittsburgh Pirates sit just 3.5 games out.
It’s the weekend after the 2017 MLB All-Star Game break. Teams are finally back in action after a four-day layoff for the start of the traditional “second half” of play.
A look at the Major League Baseball standings through games of Friday night, July 14 reveals that 17 teams are either in a playoff position, or are within a handful of games of a postseason berth.
In fact, there are currently at least a half-dozen teams with losing records who must be considered to still have a legitimate shot.
In the National League, at least for now, the list includes just one team. That would be the defending world champion Chicago Cubs.
The Cubbies have struggled along with a serious case of World Series hangover this year. After building and blowing an 8-0 lead on the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night, they managed to pull out a narrow 9-8 victory.
That win left the North Siders with a record of 44-45 on the season. The Cubs sit 5.5 games in back of the surprising Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central Division race. However, they are just four back in the loss column.
In the NL Wildcard race, the Cubs are a more distant 6.5 games behind the Colorado Rockies, who currently control the second wildcard berth. However, the Rockies are in a bit of a free-fall, having lost 14 of their last 19 games.
When I was a kid, my hometown MLB team, the Philadelphia Phillies, introduced a young catcher by the name of Bob Boone.
Boone was 24-years old when he made his Phillies debut in September of 1972. It was the start of a full decade stretch as the Fightin’ Phils primary catcher. During that time the club would capture five NL East crowns, counting the first-half of the 1981 split-season.
Boone was the starting catcher for the 1980 World Series champions, receiving the pitch that Tug McGraw would throw past Willie Wilson of the Kansas City Royals to clinch that first-ever title in franchise history.
Traded to the then California (now Los Angeles) Angels for the 1982 season, Boone would ultimately play into his 40’s.
In 2005, Boone was elected to the Phillies Wall of Fame, the seventh member of that 1980 championship team so honored.
At some point while I was growing up, I learned that Boonie was a second-generation big leaguer. His father, Ray Boone, was an infielder who had spent 13 seasons in Major League Baseball.
The elder Boone came up as a shortstop with the Cleveland Indians in 1948. He would play in 974 of his 1,373 big league games on the left side of the infield. Boone played in 464 games at short and in 510 games at third base. He also appeared in 285 games at first base, and played second base once.
The two Boones were a rarity in the annals of MLB history. They were just the third father-son combination to become big league all-stars. Ray was an AL All-Star in 1954 and 1956 while with the Detroit Tigers. Bob would make the NL All-Star team three times (1976, 78, 79) and was also a 1983 AL All-Star while with the Angels.
