METS-ATHLETICS
Familia traded to A's
NEW YORK -- Twenty hours of uncertainty for Jeurys Familia and the Mets ended Saturday afternoon with the finalization of a trade that sent him to the Oakland Athletics.
In exchange for Familia, a one-time All-Star closer who is scheduled to be a free agent after this season, the Mets received two minor leaguers, a source said: third baseman Will Toffey, 23, and reliever Bobby Wahl, 26.
The A's also reportedly sent the Mets international slot money, which isn't actual cash, but instead the ability to spend that money signing international amateurs. The Mets started with a signing pool of $4,983,5004, and the A's unspecified amount of money adds to that.
The completion of the deal marked the end of a strange couple of days for Familia. Manager Mickey Callaway said he found out midway through the Mets' victory against the Yankees on Friday that he needed to stay away from the right-hander because of a potential trade. After the game, a somber Familia, unsure where he was headed, said between hugs from Mets, "I love this team and I love my teammates."
"Just waiting right now for my agent to call me and see what happens," Familia said. "It's tough. Just waiting right now, what's going to happen."
Saturday morning, Familia remained in limbo. His locker was the only one without a gray road Mets jersey hanging in it. He wasn't available to pitch, leaving the Mets without arguably their top three relievers: Familia, Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman. The latter two pitched a combined four innings in Familia's absence Friday night.
Toffey was ranked as Oakland's No. 17 prospect by MLB Pipeline. A fourth-round pick out of Vanderbilt last year, Toffey hit .244 with a .357 OBP and .384 slugging percentage in High A in his first full pro season. "Though he's a fringy runner, Toffey provides quality defense and solid arm strength at third base," MLB Pipeline wrote.
Wahl throws hard and has had a good season in Class AAA -- 2.27 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 65 strikeouts in 39 2/3 innings -- but has a lengthy injury history, including thoracic-outlet surgery last season. He was not ranked among Oakland's top 30 prospects by MLB Pipeline. In seven major-league games last season, Wahl had a 4.70 ERA and 1.57 WHIP.
CARDINALS
Martinez on 10-day DL
CHICAGO -- The St. Louis Cardinals have placed right-hander Carlos Martinez on the 10-day disabled list with a right oblique strain.
The move is retroactive to Friday, a day after Martinez struggled through five innings in a 9-6 loss to the Chicago Cubs. Martinez has dropped his last two starts.
St. Louis also activated right-hander Miles Mikolas from the paternity list and recalled reliever John Brebbia from Class AAA Memphis. Right-hander Luke Weaver was added to the roster as the 26th man for Saturday's day-night doubleheader at Wrigley Field.
The Cardinals created a roster spot when they optioned reliever Matt Bowman to Memphis following their 18-5 victory on Friday.
Mikolas is scheduled to start today's series finale.
ROCKIES
LeMahieu strains oblique
PHOENIX -- Colorado Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu was placed on the 10-day disabled list Saturday because off a strained left oblique.
LeMahieu left Friday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fourth inning with the injury. It's his second stint on the DL this season after he injured his left thumb in May.
The two-time All-Star is hitting .278 with 84 hits, 8 home runs and 34 runs batted in in 72 games this season. The Rockies called up infielder Garrett Hampson from Class AAA Albuquerque and designated infielder Daniel Castro for assignment before Saturday's game.
BREWERS
Braun returns to duty
MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee Brewers have activated Ryan Braun from the 10-day disabled list after the outfielder was sidelined by a strained back.
Braun returns to a team that has lost seven consecutive and has fallen three games behind the first-place Cubs in the NL Central. He was hitting cleanup Saturday against the Dodgers and left-handed ace Clayton Kershaw.
Braun is hitting just .235 with 10 home runs and 35 RBI. Manager Craig Counsell said he expects Braun to improve after the outfielder had some bad luck at the plate in the season's first half.
Sports on 07/22/2018