MLB Trade Rumors and News: Braves sign Hechavarria, Tatis Jr. out for season

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• Atlanta is ready to contend and is packing on as much potential power as possible. The Braves have signed veteran Adeiny Hechavarria to a major-league deal. After freshly being released by the Mets, the shortstop has found a new home in the same division. While he’ll become the team’s everyday shortstop, he’ll be taking the roster spot of Johan Carmacho, utility-man-turned-emergency-shortstop ever since Dansby Swanson hit the IL in late July.
• Padres’ young phenom Fernando Tatis Jr. will be out for season with a stress reaction in his back. While there wasn’t much the young shortstop could have done to bring the Padres a Wild Card spot this year, his presence was enough to give much needed life to the team. Seeing what could have been a Rookie of the Year season end this way is heartbreaking for any baseball fan. Tatis Jr. was slashing .317/.379/.590 with 22 homer and 16 steals. Fingers crossed this doesn’t start the rookie down an injury-prone path. Luis Urías will slide over to shortstop in his place.
• Peter Alonso has been on a warpath this season for the Mets and has positioned himself at the front of the National League Rookie of the Year race. After his monster home run against the Braves yesterday, he has now tied Cody Bellinger’s National League record for home runs by a rookie with 39. Bellinger set the mark back in 2017. Based on how things are going for Alonso, we won’t have to wait long for him to stand alone as the record holder.
• While this news would have been more exciting a few years ago, the Athletics made a move to bolster their pitching depth as they signed Matt Harvey to a minor league deal. Harvey’s fall from grace has been pretty dramatic going from a potential ace for the Mets to getting unceremoniously booted from there to struggling to stay in the league at all.
• Yu Darvish is one of the big names to watch as the season begins to wind down. The Chicago Cub has a choice to make: opt out of his contract or be under team control for four more years. He’s due to make $22M in both 2020 and 2021, $19M in 2022, and $18M in 2023. And with an ERA of 4.21 and very obvious struggles this past season and a half with Chicago, my money is on him opting in. Do you think Darvish will exercise his 2020 option?
• With their whole team struggling as of late (but the offense apparently being the area that management felt most needed a wakeup call), the Phillies fired hitting coach John Mallee and replaced him with (gasp) 75-year-old Charlie Manuel, who led them to a World Series victory as manager in 2008 and served as the team’s skipper for a total of nine years. The Phils will hope that plugging a senior citizen into a coaching role at midseason gives them as much of a spark as it did for the division rival Mets, who are 28-19 since appointing 82-year-old Phil Regan interim pitching coach on June 20.
• After a tenure with the Diamondbacks that started well but took a very rough turn — and culminated with his release — Greg Holland is headed back to the Nationals, the same team that helped resurrect his career over the final two months of last season.
• J.D. Martinez is a beloved name in Boston to both fans and pitchers looking for some gosh dang run support. Slashing slashing .307./382/.556 the veteran still holds substantial value that hasn’t showed signs of dissipating any time soon. If J.D. stays in Beantown, he’s set to make $23.5M. If he wants to sow his wild oats, he can buy out his contract for a $2.5M fee. Will the slugger exercise his 2020 option?
• Less panic, more Panik: the Mets have signed Joe Panik to a 1-year major league deal. Panik had a rough first half of the season in the Bay, slashing .235/.310/.317 with only three homers. Now back in his home state and earning the league minimum for the year, Panik can, very much like the Mets, turn this show around.
• The Cubs have been dealing with some depth issues at catcher of late thanks to an injury to Willson Contreras, but they did get a bit of a reprieve when they signed Jonathan Lucroy. This move is one that likely would have been more exciting when Lucroy was playing All-Star level baseball, but for a late season addition...the Cubs could do far worse that Lucroy.
• How the New York Mets became relevant again.
• The Cubs got a twin bill of bad news last week. First, they found out that they are going to be without catcher Willson Contreras for the better part of a month due to a hamstring injury. Then, it was announced that the struggling Craig Kimbrel was also going to have to have a stint on the IL due to inflammation in his knee. It wasn’t fun times in Chi-Town.
• Minor league options can be a major league headache, but it beats the alternative.
• Due to make $25M but only see $15M of that due to deferment (ah yes, the best friend of major league baseball owners) Nationals’ pitcher Stephen Strasburg has a big decision this offseason. Will he exercise his 2020 option?