In a single day Commerce Roundup: Athletics, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Reds, and Royals

When trades happen that aren’t fairly large enough to advantage their very own put up, we generally compile our evaluation right into a compendium like this, the place we contact on plenty of transactions at one time. In this dispatch, I’ll cowl the Reds’ acquisition of Sam Moll from Oakland, the Cubs’ commerce for Jose Cuas from Kansas City, and the Diamondbacks’ commerce for Jace Peterson, additionally from Oakland.

While the 2 groups tilted at Wrigley, the Cubs and Reds added attention-grabbing reduction choices to their managers’ toolkits. The Reds traded hard-throwing prospect Joe Boyle to the A’s for lefty Sam Moll and worldwide pool house, whereas the Cubs traded outfielder Nelson Velázquez to the Royals for sidearm righty Jose Cuas.

Moll epitomizes lefty specialization. The 31-year-old southpaw debuted with the A’s in 2017, then hopped round to a number of different orgs earlier than returning to the Bay Area in 2021. He’s on tempo to set a profession finest in strikeout price and FIP, partially due to the introduction of a second, driving fastball to his mid-90s sinker and his slider. Moll, whose velocity can also be up a little bit bit this 12 months, has all of the markers of a specialist reliever. He has extra appearances (45) than innings pitched (37.2) and his splits are excessive:

The Reds bullpen was already skinny on lefties and Reiver Sanmartin’s current surgical procedure left Alex Young because the lone lefty reliever on the 40-man roster. Adding Moll, who’s underneath crew management via the 2027 season, provides them a steady (albeit low-leverage) choice to deploy in the course of the sport in opposition to same-handed hitters.

In trade, the A’s get power-armed reduction prospect Joe Boyle. He has enormous stuff and has been extremely wild for his total lifetime as a prospect. Boyle pitched solely as a reliever at Notre Dame and walked effectively over a batter per inning there. The Reds moved him to the rotation (which is smart from a developmental standpoint even when the possibilities have been distant that he’d develop sufficient management to start out within the huge leagues) and he’s continued to stroll roughly 20% of opposing hitters as far as a professional. He’s sitting 97-100 mph as a starter once more this season, and each his upper-80s slider and low-80s curveball flash plus or higher. Some of his sliders are elite and have enormous break for pitches touring at that pace.

Boyle nonetheless must hone his strike-throwing fairly a bit simply to profile as a reliever — there’s an opportunity he’s our technology’s Steve Dalkowski and there’s an opportunity he’s a late-blooming Félix Bautista sequel. The A’s current monitor file of creating pitchers is fairly poor — prospects are inclined to worsen after they’re acquired by the A’s, not higher — however adjusting Boyle’s forecast accordingly veers away from “scouting” and into “predicting” in a approach I are inclined to keep away from. He’s a high-variance 40 FV reduction prospect who has an opportunity to be an impression reliever, and nonetheless could be nothing in any respect. For the A’s to accumulate a pitcher with late-inning potential for a couple of years of a low-leverage lefty looks as if a worthy gamble for them.

The Reds additionally obtained worldwide bonus pool house on this commerce, however the quantity isn’t but identified. If I be taught of the quantity or of any identified goal for that pool house, I’ll replace this put up.

Not lengthy after the Boyle/Moll swap, the Cubs acquired sidearmer Jose Cuas. Once a power-hitting SS/3B, Cuas was school teammates with LaMonte Wade Jr. and Brandon Lowe at Maryland, and he spent his first few professional seasons within the Brewers system as a hitter earlier than shifting to the mound. He pitched in Indy ball and within the Dominican Winter League in 2019 and 2020 earlier than re-emerging in affiliated ball with the Royals in 2021. Once he was within the Royals system, Cuas moved rapidly, making his huge league debut in 2022. He has 79.1 profession huge league innings underneath his belt, with an ERA, FIP, and xFIP all within the 4.08-4.55 vary.

Cuas has begun to make use of his fastball as a chase pitch up above the strike zone this 12 months, one thing he didn’t do in 2022. He nonetheless works down and to his arm aspect along with his low-90s sinker more often than not, however his new upshot fastball primarily provides him a 3rd pitch, and forces opposing hitters to respect the highest of the strike zone. I feel this transformation to his method is essentially why his strikeout price has taken a large leap (from 18% to 27%) in his second season, despite the fact that Cuas’ stuff actually isn’t any totally different than it was final 12 months. He’ll additionally present a special look than anybody else popping out of Chicago’s bullpen, which is in any other case full of men with extra typical deliveries.

In trade, the Royals get power-hitting 24-year-old Puerto Rican outfielder Nelson Velázquez, who was strikeout-prone (31%) throughout a 77-game huge league trial in 2022 and has largely been squeezed out of 2023 taking part in time by the extra steady, left-handed-hitting Mike Tauchman, and the extra athletic and versatile Christopher Morel. Velázquez is a pull-side mistake hitter with huge uncooked energy, which he’s solely actually in a position to entry in opposition to middle-in pitches. He’s chase-prone and struggles with breaking stuff on the backside of the zone. As he has bodily matured, what was as soon as huge rotational athleticism and bat pace has been changed by uncooked power and stiffness, which is hopefully not a harbinger of an early decline.

The Rebuilding Royals can provide Velázquez a chance to make changes to huge league high quality stuff over an extended time frame and see if they’ll flip him into their model of Christian Walker (or one thing like that) by giving him an extended runway. I’m skeptical that Velázquez is an precise late-bloomer candidate due to the developments famous above, however Cuas in all probability wasn’t going to be a significant long-term piece for them, and there’s a sliver of an opportunity that Nelly might be. I had a forty five FV on Velázquez when he was a prospect however would fairly comfortably take the underneath on that analysis at this level.

Finally, the Diamondbacks traded 24-year-old Double-A starter Chad Patrick to the Athletics for 10-year, seven-team veteran Jace Peterson. With Evan Longoria lately on the IL attributable to a strained decrease again, and Josh Rojas and Dominic Canzone departing for the Pacific Northwest by way of the Paul Sewald commerce, the Diamondbacks wanted each infield and lefty-hitting reinforcements for his or her bench. Peterson is underneath contract via 2024. Arizona is paying the rest of his $4.5 million wage this 12 months, whereas Oakland is choosing up $2 million of his $5 million wage in 2024.

A terrific athlete, Peterson was All State in 4 sports as a excessive schooler and performed soccer (defensive again) and baseball at McNeese State earlier than he was drafted 58th general by San Diego in 2011. He’s a profession .230/.320/.340 hitter whose efficiency has been near that stage every of the final three years, and he has a 96 wRC+ in opposition to righties in 2023, a little bit above his 90 wRC+ profession mark. Peterson has expertise at many alternative positions however has overwhelmingly performed both second or third base throughout the previous couple of campaigns. Ketel Marte is wholesome and entrenched because the on a regular basis second baseman, which suggests Peterson will mostly provide a lefty complement to Emmanuel Rivera (and, finally, a wholesome Longoria) at third base. A sluggish trade and less-than-ideal arm utility (he’ll generally deliberately three-hop throws to first if it means eliminating the baseball extra rapidly) contribute to Peterson’s 40-grade third base protection (Rivera is plus). Peterson’s utilization will principally be restricted to situational at-bats in opposition to righties in lieu of Rivera and maybe often Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Rivera has been hitting effectively sufficient that I wouldn’t pencil Peterson in to start out in opposition to each righty whereas Longoria is out.

Meanwhile, Patrick, who dominated Oakland’s Double-A affiliate simply two days earlier than the commerce, heads again to the A’s on this deal. I wrote up Patrick as a command-oriented spot starter on the current Diamondbacks prospect checklist. He solely has a 4.71 ERA at Amarillo as of the time of the commerce, which is spectacular contemplating that ballpark’s hitting surroundings. His peripherals (23% Okay%, 9% BB%) and stuff (sitting 92-94, robotic command of a mid-80s slider) are each stable, if unspectacular. Patrick may be very more likely to pitch within the huge leagues in some unspecified time in the future however not more likely to be an impression arm. He tasks as a steady no. 6 to eight starter and 40-man occupant with reliable command.