Rosenthal: Rangers' potential waiver dumps, Alex Bregman vs. Matt Chapman, more MLB notes (2024)

The Texas Rangers banked on internal improvement at the trade deadline, adding only catcher Carson Kelly and lefty reliever Andrew Chafin and subtracting righty Michael Lorenzen. Since then, they have gone 3-9, all but falling out of contention and raising the question of whether they will place players on waivers later this month in an attempt to save money.

The mere thought might seem preposterous for a franchise coming off a World Series title. Rangers ownership, however, has exercised financial caution since last offseason, citing uncertainty in the team’s future local television revenues.

Clubs would save only about one-sixth of players’ remaining salaries in 2024 if they dump them before the Aug. 31 deadline for playoff eligibility. But say the Rangers succeeded in purging four potential free-agent pitchers — lefty Andrew Heaney and righty relievers David Robertson, Kirby Yates and José Leclerc. They would pocket almost $6 million.

It’s possible not all of those pitchers would be claimed. Righty Nathan Eovaldi, who has a 3.05 ERA in 79 2/3 postseason innings, almost certainly would be, and the Rangers could take a chance by exposing him to waivers as well.

Eovaldi will be owed about $2.7 million Aug. 31. He needs to pitch only 36 more innings to vest a $20 million player option for 2025 but likely could land a larger guarantee as a free agent. The Rangers, if they embarked on a waiver purge, could redirect some of their savings toward re-signing him.

Such a maneuver, though, would be a bad look, not just for the Rangers, but also for the league. It was one thing last August when the Los Angeles Angels placed nearly a quarter of their roster on waivers. Owner Arte Moreno is not exactly known for running a coherent operation. He was intent on getting under the luxury tax threshold. (Per FanGraphs, the Rangers are nearly $14 million above the threshold, so their only motivation would be to save on salary.)

The Cleveland Guardians wound up claiming three of the wayward Angels — pitchers Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López and Matt Moore. Other teams tried for those players as well, but claims are awarded in reverse order of record. The Guardians effectively were rewarded for playing worse than the teams ahead of them.

Though the Guardians ended up missing the playoffs, their moves still had an impact on the pennant race. One example occurred Sept. 15 when Giolito pitched seven shutout innings against the Rangers in a 12-3 victory. The Rangers wound up falling one win short of the AL West title.

The league during the offseason chose to hold off on any rules changes that would prevent teams from engaging in similar dumps. But additional shenanigans this season might force the league to reconsider, particularly if the sport’s competitive integrity is compromised.

Perhaps such fears are unwarranted. Most non-contenders cleared out their most appealing potential free agents at the deadline. A team might seek to trim a salary or two, as the New York Yankees did last season with outfielder Harrison Bader. But another massive, Angels-style dump is not necessarily likely.

Good.

If the defending World Series champions turn into waiver-wire enthusiasts, the sport has a problem.

Victor Robles’ magical mystery tour

Let us recap Victor Robles’ 2024 journey, which as far as anyone can tell, is unprecedented:

May 27: Designated for assignment by Washington Nationals.

June 1: Released by Nationals while guaranteed the balance of his $2.65 million salary.

June 4: Signs with Seattle Mariners, who owe him only the prorated portion of the $740,000 minimum.

Aug. 12: Agrees to two-year, $9.75 million extension with Mariners that includes a $9 million club option for 2027.

If anyone can think of a player who received an extension from one team 73 days after being released by another, please contact The Athletic’s Jayson Stark immediately.

Robles, 27, was a consensus top-five prospect in 2018. He compiled 3.7 fWAR for the 2019 World Series champion Nationals. But injuries slowed him in 2021 and 2023, and he fell out of favor with Nationals manager Davey Martinez, according to two people briefed on his situation. Martinez and Nationals president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo did not respond to requests for comment.

Since joining the Mariners, Robles has seemed happy and energized, batting .303 with an .821 OPS in 123 plate appearances.

“Speed and defense give him a very high floor,” Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said. “He’s done a great job with pitch selection and we made some mechanical adjustments that we think have helped. He’s been a great clubhouse fit, and when we looked at the upcoming free-agent market he was one of the most appealing players because of his age and upside.

“It’s a strange situation, but we feel like we paid a very reasonable amount that gives him security and us a chance at real value if he’s an everyday player.”

A little help for a friend

Not only did the Tampa Bay Rays trade right-hander Zach Eflin within the AL East, but they also assisted in his transition to the Baltimore Orioles. Their gesture wasn’t a one-time thing. Club officials did the same for reliever Phil Maton earlier in July after sending him to the New York Mets.

Eflin said Rays pitching coach Kyle Snyder helped relay to the Orioles what he was doing, everything from grips to sequencing to his throwing schedule. Snyder said he normally communicates with the pitching coach of a player’s new team after a trade, but this time he cleared it with Rays management because Eflin was dealt to a division rival.

“I do it for most pitchers when I know the team’s pitching coach so that the transition hopefully is pretty seamless,” Snyder said. “I don’t think it’s always the case, but I’m sure it happens elsewhere.

“When you’re invested, you continue to care for the player. I know it can be a finer balance and it’s not a complete open book, but I walk the line because I think it’s the right thing to do — not completely turning your back on all that you’ve poured into (the player) trying to help him in his career.”

Eflin, 30, signed a three-year, $40 million free-agent contract with the Rays in December 2022. His willingness to play in Tampa Bay increased the front office’s sense of obligation to him, according to another team source briefed on the team’s thinking. The Rays were 33-17 in Eflin’s starts, 10-9 this season.

Maton, 31, received only a one-year, $6.5 million free-agent contract. His tenure with the Rays did not go well, but the team advised him to incorporate some minor adjustments, including the realignment of his landing leg, about 10-14 days before the trade. The Rays then made the Mets aware of the changes, ensuring a clean handoff that seemingly worked to Maton’s benefit.

His opponents with the Rays had a .776 OPS. With the Mets, it’s .512.

NL rookie battle could be fierce

As I wrote in Monday’s Windup, it’s a little early for awards talk, but the race for National League Rookie of the Year already is shaping up as a doozy.

Two prominent questions seem likely to dominate the conversation: Is an everyday player preferable to a pitcher? And how strongly should voters consider players who technically are rookies but entered Major League Baseball as established international professionals?

With the season nearly three-fourths complete, the leading NL contenders appear to be Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes, Chicago Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga and San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill — though Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio, St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn, Cubs first baseman Michael Busch and even San Francisco Giants shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald also are worthy of mention.

Imanaga, 30, pitched eight seasons professionally in Japan, but still qualifies as a first-year player in the majors. Four previous Japanese players won an AL or NL rookie award — Hideo Nomo in 1995, Kazuhiro Sasaki in 2000, Ichiro Suzuki in 2001 and Shohei Ohtani in 2018. The difficulty of transitioning to a different country, different culture and even a different baseball makes such players worthy of full consideration.

The first question, then, is whether Imanaga (3.16 ERA in 128 1/3 innings) will end up more deserving than Skenes (2.25 ERA in 92 innings), particularly if the Pirates shut down Skenes before the end of the season. But the bigger question, perhaps, is whether Imanaga or Skenes is more deserving than a position player such as Merrill, the reigning NL Player of the Week.

Before this season, Merrill had appeared in only 46 games above Class A. He had never played center field. Yet, he made the Padres’ Opening Day roster in center, and after an inconsistent first few months, has emerged as a stalwart for a surging contender.

Merrill’s .289 batting average, 17 homers and .800 OPS through Monday are impressive, particularly in a season in which several other young hitters struggled with the jump from the minors to the majors. A recent run of clutch late-inning homers has further elevated Merrill’s candidacy, to the point where he might also get MVP votes.

Per Elias Sports and ESPN’s Sarah Langs, Merrill’s five score-tying or go-ahead home runs in the eighth inning or later this season tie him with Mel Ott (1929) for the second most in a season at age 21 or younger since 1900. The only player with more such homers at that age: Frank Robinson, who had six in 1956.

If history is any indication, Merrill might rank as the current favorite for the NL award, but only slightly. Of the 77 past rookie winners, 40 were position players, or 52 percent. Excepting Ohtani, who was honored as a pitcher and hitter, the last starter to win was the Detroit Tigers’ Michael Fulmer in 2016. Only six other starters this century have captured the award.

Get ready for a lively debate. The final seven weeks will determine just how intense it gets.

Alex Bregman vs. Matt Chapman

The Houston Astros’ Alex Bregman is getting on one of his August rolls, going 12-for-27 with six extra-base hits in his last six games. He actually has performed at a high level since mid-May, and it’s a good thing. His Scott Boras stablemate, the Giants’ Matt Chapman, also is a potential free agent at third base and enjoying a better platform season overall.

Bregman, 30, is a year younger than Chapman and possesses far more postseason experience. But Chapman, who can return to the open market by declining his remaining two years and $35 million in player options, is generally considered a better defender. He also has rebounded offensively, producing through Sunday an adjusted OPS that was 25 percent above league average, his best since 2019. Bregman was at 12 percent above, a career low.

The market for third basem*n should be interesting. Besides the Astros and Giants, the teams with obvious needs include the Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees, presuming they move Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second as a replacement for Gleyber Torres. The Mets also could be a possibility, if they don’t view Mark Vientos as a long-term answer.

White Sox wreaking havoc in wild-card race

Even with teams now playing 13 games against division opponents, down from 19 between 2013 and 2022, a team as bad as the Chicago White Sox is bound to produce a significant effect on the postseason race.

Consider: Both the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins are 12-1 against the White Sox. In all other games, the Royals are at .500, and the Twins are three games above. Thus, the teams immediately behind them in the AL wild-card race — the Boston Red Sox and AL West runner-up — are at a disadvantage.

The Mariners are 6-1 against the White Sox. The Red Sox are 2-2 and the Astros 2-1, each with one series remaining. The AL Central-leading Guardians, oddly enough, are only 5-5 against a team that has endured losing streaks of 14 and 21 games.

The White Sox are on pace to finish 39-123. To avoid breaking the 1962 Mets’ record of 120 losses, they will need to go 15-28 the rest of the way. That’s a winning percentage of .349, well above their current .242 mark.

Oh, but at least the White Sox will get the No. 1 pick for their troubles, right? Nope. They will select no higher than 10th because of an anti-tanking measure in the collective bargaining agreement preventing teams that are not revenue-sharing recipients from receiving lottery picks in back-to-back years.

And finally …

Other than the Miami Marlins, Colorado Rockies and Nationals, it’s difficult to dismiss any team in the mass of mediocrity known as the National League. The Cardinals, though, appear headed for their second straight playoff miss, and maybe their second straight losing season.

Considering they are only two games back in the wild-card standings, their position is OK. But with Monday night’s 6-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds, the Cardinals are 6-7 since acquiring Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham at the deadline. Overall they are 60-59 with a -53 run differential — the worst in the NL Central and fourth worst in the NL.

As if that’s not daunting enough, the Cardinals also have the toughest remaining schedule of any team in the Central, and the second toughest in the NL after the Rockies. The last time they had two straight losing seasons was 1994-95, both strike-shortened campaigns. The last time they had two straight losing seasons in full schedules was 1958-59, when they played 154 rather than 162 games.

(Top photo of José Leclerc: Ron Jenkins / Getty Images)