MLB Rumors

The Philadelphia Phillies are looking to add to their rotation ahead of the Aug. 2 trade deadline, and one AL Central pitcher has piqued their interest.

Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Zach Plesac "is on the radar of the Phillies," according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman.

Plesac, who has a $2 million salary this season, is under team control through the 2025 campaign with three more years of arbitration eligibility before he can become a free agent.

The 27-year-old has spent the first four years of his career with the Guardians and has been a decent mid-rotation pitcher for the franchise. In 18 starts this season, he is 2-8 with a 4.09 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 72 strikeouts in 99 innings.

However, it's unclear if the Guardians are interested in moving the righty this summer. Cleveland is second in the AL Central with a 50-48 record, just two games behind the first-place Minnesota Twins, and could reach the postseason.

Plesac would be a solid addition for the Phillies behind Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola.

It's no surprise Philadelphia is expressing interest in acquiring another starter ahead of the deadline as Zach Eflin is on the 15-day injured list with a right knee injury, and there's uncertainty about when he might return to the rotation.

In addition, it seems unlikely that the Phillies will exercise their half of a $15 million mutual option on Eflin for the 2023 season and could also lose Kyle Gibson in free agency. Adding Plesac, who has good terms on his deal, would be an attractive option.

The Phillies are third in the NL East with a 52-47 record and sit 9.5 games behind the first-place New York Mets. According to FanGraphs, the club currently has a 51.9 percent chance to make the playoffs, so it would make sense that they intend to buy at the deadline.

As the Washington Nationals continue to field trade offers for star outfielder Juan Soto, discussions with one team have reportedly gained momentum.

MLB insider Hector Gomez reported Thursday that the San Diego Padres are "in serious talks" with the Nationals regarding a possible trade for Soto with negotiations having "intensified" since Wednesday night.

ESPN's Buster Olney reported earlier on Thursday that the Padres were viewed by rival executives as the frontrunners to acquire the two-time All-Star. San Diego has until the trade deadline of 6 p.m. ET on Aug. 2 to get a deal done with Washington, but there will be competition from other franchises.

Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported earlier this week that "at least a half-dozen teams" have reached out to the Nationals about Soto, and the St. Louis Cardinals were perceived as the favorites to land him. Heyman later stated that the Los Angeles Dodgers and Texas Rangers are also involved in the pursuit of the 23-year-old.

Whoever manages to complete a deal for Soto will likely end up paying a substantial price. MLB Network's Mark Feinsand reported Tuesday that he was informed a deal for Soto "is going to be the biggest package you've ever seen returned for a player." The Nationals are believe to be seeking multiple young prospects in order to build for the future.

The Padres have a strong crop of players they'd be able to offer in a trade. Per MLB.com, San Diego's top two prospects are center fielder Robert Hassell III and catcher Luis Campusano.

In the midst of the ongoing trade rumors, Soto has been quiet at the plate. Since returning from the All-Star break, he's gone 3-for-21 in six games with no homers and two RBI. He will have the chance to get right in Thursday's series opener against the Cardinals.

The New York Yankees remain on the hunt for a "high-end starting pitcher" ahead of the Aug. 2 trade deadline, according to Andy Martino of SNY.

The organization continues to target Cincinnati Reds pitcher Luis Castillo and reportedly has a scout on a special assignment to watch the right-hander. New York has also had discussions with the Oakland Athletics about Frankie Montas, per Martino.

Miami Marlins pitcher Pablo Lopez is also listed as a possibility.

The Yankees already made one big move on Wednesday, reportedly trading for outfielder Andrew Benintendi in a deal with the Kansas City Royals.

The Yankees still have the best record in the American League at 66-33, but a 2-5 record since the All-Star break has forced the team to be aggressive on the trade market.

Castillo could be a major addition after earning his second career All-Star selection. The 29-year-old has a 2.86 ERA and 1.071 WHIP to start 2022, both of which would be a career high.

Montas has been nearly as productive with a 3.18 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 104.2 innings, following up a year where he finished sixth in voting for the AL Cy Young.

Both players are under team control through 2023, although the Reds and A's are both in last place in their respective divisions and could benefit by dealing their stars for prospects.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported both Castillo and Montas will "almost certainly move in the next week," although there is competition from the St. Louis Cardinals and Seattle Mariners among other teams.

The Reds have also reportedly been slow to act on any potential trades for Castillo despite strong interest from the Yankees.

"They're telling people, basically, we'll get back to you on that," a source told Brendan Kuty of NJ.com.

Lopez could be another exciting option, going 7-5 with a 3.03 ERA in 20 starts for the Marlins this season.

The Yankees already have the third-best team ERA in the majors, but a team seeking a World Series title can never have enough pitching. Adding another front-line starter to a squad that already has Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes could make the team especially dangerous down the stretch.

The New York Mets pursuit of a designated hitter has led them to engage in trade discussions with the Pittsburgh Pirates for slugger Daniel Vogelbach, according to SNY's Andy Martino.

New York is "working to trade" Dominic Smith and would look to also move J.D. Davis if it can land Vogelbach, per Martino.

Martino also noted the Colorado Rockies' C.J. Cron and the Washington Nationals' Josh Bell and Nelson Cruz are also targets for New York.

Vogelbach has flourished against right-handed pitching this season, posting a .260/.365/.532 slash line with 12 home runs, 27 RBI and 29 walks in 68 games. However, he has struggled against lefties, hitting just .141/.267/.156 with seven RBI and 11 walks.

The 29-year-old would still be an upgrade over Smith and Davis, even if he only plays against righties.

Smith has appeared in 58 games this season, and his splits against both righties and lefties aren't great. Overall, he's hitting .194/.276/.284 with no home runs, 17 RBI and 12 walks.

Davis has been a little better, slashing .234/.325/.345 with three home runs, 19 RBI, one stolen base and 20 walks in 62 games. However, the Mets just haven't gotten enough out of him this year.

Vogelbach has been in MLB since 2016. He played for the Seattle Mariners from 2016 up until the 2020 season, when he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays and later the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Florida native spent the 2021 season in Milwaukee before joining the Pirates for the 2022 campaign. He has a $1.5 million team option for the 2023 campaign.

The Pirates are third in the NL Central with a 39-54 record, 11 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers, and are expected to be sellers at this year's deadline. Realistically, the Mets shouldn't have to give up too much to land Vogelbach.

The Mets are first in the NL East with a 58-35 record, 2.5 games ahead of the second-place Atlanta Braves. Adding a slugger like Vogelbach would help the club hold off a potential late-season push by the defending World Series champions.

Several MLB owners ripped the Oakland Athletics for fielding a non-competitive team and hoarding revenue-sharing money to turn a profit this season.

“The idea of revenue sharing is not to make money, it’s to field a competitive team,” one owner told Jon Heyman of the New York Post. “That money is supposed to go toward player salaries. [The A's] took the money and put it in their pocket.”

The A's are making $9 million via revenue sharing this season and $20 million in 2023.

Rather than use that money to acquire players, Oakland spent its offseason jettisoning first baseman Matt Olson, third baseman Matt Chapman and starting pitchers Chris Bassitt and Sean Manaea in trades. The team signed just two players, second baseman Jed Lowrie and catcher Stephen Vogt, for a combined $1.7 million.

The A's were included in the revenue-sharing program on a temporary basis due in large part to their struggles landing a new stadium in the Oakland area. The RingCentral Coliseum opened in 1966 and has been the franchise's home since 1968; it's the fifth-oldest stadium in Major League Baseball.

While ballparks like Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and Dodger Stadium have undergone major overhauls aimed at modernizing the historic fields, the Coliseum is widely regarded as a relic. The park has an extensive history of stadium issues causing game delays, including sewage leaks and power outages.

Some within MLB point out that the Athletics are still losing money despite the revenue-sharing system, thanks in large part due to investments made in attempting to find a new stadium and a lack of revenue at the Coliseum. The A's are averaging only 8,283 fans per game this season, by far the lowest mark in baseball.

Oakland currently sits at 22-43 and is 18 games out of first place in the AL West.

The Washington Nationals sold off many of their top players last season and have started this campaign just 13-26, so it wouldn't be shocking if they reprised their role of sellers. 

Just don't expect Juan Soto to be one of the departing players. 

 "Forget Soto trade ... not happening," his agent, Scott Boras, told Jon Heyman of the New York Post. 

And one person within the Nats' organization simply responded to Heyman, "That's not funny," regarding the Soto trade speculation.

Juan Soto traded?

Rival execs say Nats may be ‘compelled’ and ‘motivated’ to move Soto this season, per @Buster_ESPN pic.twitter.com/oSu3f3Kcho

— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) May 18, 2022

It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that the Nationals wouldn't want to deal the 23-year-old Soto, one of the game's brightest young superstars. He finished as the runner-up in the NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2018 and has finished top-10 in NL MVP voting in each of the past three seasons. 

This season he's hitting .250 with eight homers, 11 RBI, 26 runs and a .864 OPS in 39 games. While that production is below his normal pace (he slashed .313/.465/.534 last season and .351/.490/.695 in 47 games in 2020), he remains one of the most dangerous players at the plate. 

He's also under club control through the 2024 season, so there's little reason for the Nationals to move him now. 

If he were to be put on the trade market, a number of teams would surely be willing to pay an enormous price for the young game-changer, who already helped lead the Nationals to a World Series title in 2019. The Nationals could restock their farm system with one deal. 

The issue, of course, is that any prospect they got in return is unlikely to ever be as good as Soto. Superstars aren't easy to come by, and Soto is still very young—rebuilding around him makes more sense, especially if he's willing to ultimately commit to the team via a long-term extension. 

New York Yankees outfielder Joey Gallo's time in the Bronx reportedly could come to an end this season.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that some people around the league think that the Yankees could look to deal the struggling slugger by this year's trade deadline.

One National League executive compared his situation to pitcher Sonny Gray, who struggled in pinstripes but found his groove after he parted ways with New York.

"He’s been a little better lately," the NL executive said of Gallo. "If he continues to struggle, it wouldn’t surprise me to see them try to flip him."

Gallo has played in 34 games this season and has a batting average of .176 with five home runs, seven RBI and 45 strikeouts. He was held out of the starting lineup in Thursday's series finale against the Baltimore Orioles, but he entered in the ninth inning and drew a walk. The Yankees lost the game 9-6 on a walk-off three-run home run by Anthony Santander.

The Yankees acquired Gallo from the Texas Rangers at last year's trade deadline, adding a much-needed lefty power bat to what was a lineup dominated by right-handers. However, he failed to find any consistency at the plate and continued his penchant for head-scratching strikeouts.

During his 92 games with New York, Gallo has totals of just 18 home runs, 29 RBI and 133 strikeouts with a batting average of .166.

The Yankees fell to 28-10 with Thursday's loss, but they still own the best record in the majors this season and have won 10 of its last 13 games.

The Yankees will return home for a three-game weekend series against the Chicago White Sox starting Friday. 

The San Francisco Giants are reportedly in the market for starting pitching, and the Cincinnati Reds duo of Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle could be in their crosshairs. 

"I'm hearing that the Giants are looking at the Reds' starters, Castillo and Mahle," Jon Heyman of the New York Post said on The Show podcast (25:15 mark). "I do think there is a possibility there. The Mets have scouted at least Mahle as well. We talked about the lack of depth of starting pitching with all of these teams—there's going to be a lot of teams looking at them. But to me, the Giants is a team to keep an eye on for Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle."

Castillo, 29, is 0-1 this season in two starts with a 5.59 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and seven strikeouts in 9.2 innings. Shoulder soreness delayed the start of his regular season, and the 2019 All-Star is clearly still trying to find his mojo after a solid 2021 campaign (8-16 with a 3.98 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 192 strikeouts in 187.2 innings). 

"I thought I felt fine the whole game," Castillo told reporters after his start on Saturday. "My slider and changeup weren't working as well as I wanted them to, but everything else felt fine."

Mahle, 27, is 2-4 on the year with a 5.89 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 40 strikeouts in 36.2 innings. It's been a tough start after his fantastic 2021 showing (13-6 with a 3.75 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 210 strikeouts in 180 innings over 33 starts). 

With the Reds starting the year a woeful 9-26 and likely already out of the running for postseason consideration, barring an incredible turnaround, the buzz has already begun that the team could be sellers and their pair of starters would interest prospective buyers:

Tales:Some club people say Reds now willing to talk Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle, Dodgers will move David Price to give him starting opportunity and two GMs today said A’s won’t trade Frankie Montas for at least two months. The Montas chase will be the running of the bulls.

— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) May 9, 2022

The Giants (21-14) and Mets (23-13), meanwhile, look like legitimate contenders, and bolstering the rotation would make sense for both teams. It wouldn't be surprising if both teams were indeed circling the floundering Reds, hoping to add some pitching. 

A member of Alex Rodriguez's inner circle is denying reports that the former Major League Baseball superstar is interested in purchasing the Miami Marlins. 

Ron Berkowitz, Rodriguez's publicist, tweeted any rumors of his client wanting to buy the Marlins or any other MLB franchise are "entirely false."

Alex Rodriguez is 100 percent focused on owning the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx. Any report of him having interest in also buying the Miami Marlins or any other MLB team is entirely false.

— Ron Berkowitz (@ronberk1) May 13, 2022

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported on Thursday that Rodriguez would be interested in purchasing the Marlins if the franchise was put up for sale. 

Heyman did note that no one around Marlins majority owner Bruce Sherman thinks he's considering selling the franchise, but "steep losses have many calling to inquire."

Sherman led a group that purchased the Marlins from Jeffrey Loria for $1.2 billion in August 2017. Derek Jeter and Michael Jordan were among the group of investors along with Sherman. 

Jeter announced in February he was selling his stake in the organization and stepping down as CEO. 

Per Joel Sherman of the New York Post, a key factor in Jeter's decision to leave the Marlins was because he believed going into the lockout the team would increase roster spending by $10-15 million this season, but "that strategy evaporated during the lockout."

The Marlins currently have the fifth-lowest payroll in MLB with $81.015 million spent. They haven't ranked higher than 26th in payroll spending since 2018. 

Rodriguez has built an impressive business portfolio since his MLB career ended after the 2016 season. He led a group that attempted to purchase the New York Mets in 2020 before Steve Cohen eventually bought the franchise. 

A-Rod and Marc Lore bought the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves and WNBA's Minnesota Lynx from Glen Taylor for $1.5 billion in May 2021. 

Forbes estimates the Marlins are valued at $990 million.     

The Los Angeles Dodgers will likely release starting pitcher Trevor Bauer if he wins a large enough reduction via appeal to his 324-game suspension without pay for violating MLB's joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy.

That's according to New York Post's Jon Heyman, who noted that Bauer has nearly $60 million left on his current three-year, $102 million deal signed with the Dodgers before the 2021 season.

He also wrote that the Dodgers, who had a league-high $280.8 million Opening Day payroll, would "take the financial hit" for any remaining money owed should the suspension get reduced.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced the suspension on April 29. If the suspension is not reduced, Bauer would be eligible to return early in the 2024 season.

His current contract runs through 2023, a season with a player option. Heyman previously reported that Bauer does not plan to opt out.

Three women have accused Bauer of sexual violence, per Gus Garcia-Roberts of the Washington Post. 

The first allegation came to light in June 2021, when The Athletic's Brittany Ghiroli and Katie Strang reported that a woman received a temporary restraining order against him after alleging he sexually assaulted her on two different occasions.

The woman said that she and Bauer began consensual sexual encounters but that he soon performed sexual acts she did not consent to. The woman also said Bauer choked her unconscious, punched her on multiple occasions and caused serious injuries.

Last February, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office decided against pursuing criminal charges against Bauer, who said he is filing a defamation suit against the woman and her attorney. 

Garcia-Roberts wrote that an Ohio woman said Bauer struck her "without her consent during sex in 2018" and that she was granted an ex parte temporary civil stalking protection order in June 2020. A third woman said that Bauer assaulted her during sex multiple times from 2013-14.

Bauer denied the allegations in the Washington Post article.

My response to the Washington Post. pic.twitter.com/FBHrdBr6MS

— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) April 30, 2022

Bauer was put on paid administrative leave in July 2021 soon after the first allegations came to light. His leave was continuously extended until April when the suspension was announced.

Regarding his baseball future, Heyman said that "there is believed to be little support inside the Dodgers clubhouse for Bauer." Heyman also noted that Bauer's suspension is "seen as having a chance for a steep reduction":

While not all the facts have come out, with three women known to claim abuse, it's unlikely the ban will be completely overturned as Bauer has suggested it should be. However, Bauer’s criminal case was thrown out, and with the previous record ban for abuse being exactly half Bauer’s suspension, he’s seen as having a chance for a steep reduction. He’d surely prefer a hearing held soon; his pay stopped with the ban, and more importantly, he hasn’t pitched for 10 months.

Bauer said he would appeal MLB's decision:

In the strongest possible terms, I deny committing any violation of the league’s domestic violence & sexual assault policy. I am appealing this action and expect to prevail. As we have throughout this process, my representatives & I respect the confidentiality of the proceedings.

— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) April 29, 2022

The 31-year-old has played 10 MLB seasons for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Guardians, Cincinnati Reds and Dodgers.