Cubs Interested Castellanos and Greene

According to Chris McCosky of The Detriot News, the Cubs are showing continued interest in Tigers’ outfielder Nicholas Castellanos. Later in the day, David Kaplan of NCBS Chicago added the Cubs have shown interest in acquiring Castellanos and Tigers’ closer Shane Greene in a package deal.

The 27-year-old Castellanos, who’s a free agent this winter, has slashed .280/.339/.467 with 34 doubles, ten homers, a .343 wOBA, and a 111 wrC+ this season. Even with his defensive limitations making him a better fit for an AL team, Castellanos would represent an offensive boon to a Cubs outfield that has a collective .799 OPS this year. Castellanos has been speculated as a player the rebuilding Tigers might part with for the last several months and these coming weeks might be the last time they can cash in their most valuable trade asset.

Meanwhile, Greene has emerged as one of the most reliable relievers in the Major Leagues. He’s racked up 22 saves and a 1.03 ERA, however, his peripherals (3.54 FIP) paint a thoroughly different picture of his pitching. He was elected to the All-Star team for the first time this season and figures to be a hot commodity in the next few weeks. Even more appealing to teams is his extra year of club control, which allows the Tigers or an acquiring team to control him through the 2020 season.

Stroman or Giles Could Be a Fit For Braves

Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic tweeted out that the Braves and Blue Jays might match up as trade partners. Rosenthal speculates that the Marcus Stroman or Ken Giles could be of interest to the first-place Braves. Dallas Keuchel and Julio Teheran have anchored the staff as of late since Mike Soroka has fallen off after his incredible start. With Max Fried and Kevin Gausman rounding out the top-5, there’s definitely room for improvement there.

Jon Morosi of MLB.com wrote that eight scouts were at Stroman’s last start against the Tigers. After an injury-plagued 2018, Stroman has rebounded to post a 3.06 ERA, a 3.62 FIP, and 57% GB% rate. However, with another year of control over the right-hander, the Blue Jays could take another year to weigh offers for the 28-year-old if they don’t deem the present ones to their liking.

While the Braves’ pen rank seventh in terms of ERA, there’s still a lot of uncertainty. Their first-year closer Luke Jackson has struggled as of late, although former Met Anthony Swarzak has been a source of steady production. Giles has anchored the Jays’ bullpen this year and could slot in as their closer. So far with Toronto, he accumulated 14 saves with an outstanding 43.2% strikeout percentage.

Red Sox In On Hudson and Yates 

Morosi also hears some news on another Jays’ reliever: Daniel Hudson. The Red Sox are interested in bringing the righty aboard to help their patchwork bullpen. Hudson, who’s only making $1.5 million in guaranteed salary, would also represent a cost-effective solution for the high-spending Red Sox, who are only a couple of million dollars from going over the last tax bracket.

“Huddy” has excelled with Toronto this season, riding a high-spin four-seamer and an improved sinker to a 2.72 ERA. He’s been particularly effective over the last few months, recording a 1.06 ERA in his last month and a half worth of action.

Morosi also tweeted that Kirby Yates and the aftermentioned Giles are also of interest to the Sox. Yates, who would require a haul of prospects to acquire, is enjoying one of the most dominant seasons by a reliever in recent history. Yates’ marks of 1.07 ERA, a 1.20 FIP, a 14.36 K/9 and 0.21 HR/9 all rank among the top-four in the game.

Utility Players Drawing Interest

Finally, Morosi also heard from sources that Toronto’s Eric Sogard and Texas’ Danny Santana could be available for trade. Coming off disappointing years, the pair have really taken off in 2019.

Sogard’s in the middle of a really strange career year. Despite placing in the bottom ten percent in the Majors in exit velocity, hard-hit percentage, and xSLG, his .859 OPS puts him among the most valuable second-base sackers this year. While teams won’t give up much for him, his defensive versatility represent an appealing asset.

Meanwhile, Santana has out-hit Sogard and doesn’t have any of the concerning secondary numbers. Santana’s currently slashing .320/.352/.556 and has fully incorporated the fly-ball revolution as his laugh angle increased by over 3 degrees over last season.