Not many teams are willing to pay the price for Miami’s elite closer Tanner Scott. So they are searching for other lefty relief options, a market that includes veterans Andrew Chafin , Justin Wilson and the Rays’ duo of Garrett Cleavinger and Colin Poche.
It is why the White Sox have conversed with multiple teams, including the Mets, about Tanner Banks, who despite turning 33 in October will not even be arbitration eligible this offseason. He is not viewed as a front-burner option but more another alternative in the market. In 40 games this season going into Monday, Banks had a 4.21 ERA, was striking out 25.9 percent of hitters and particularly had limited lefty hitters while being beat up by righties . Relievers such as Ian Hamilton and Tim Hill left the White Sox struggling and pitched better for the Yankees, for example; so perhaps there are teams that believe Banks has a yet further untapped upside.
Justin Turner singled in his first at-bat of a doubleheader against the Orioles on Monday and finished his Blue Jays career with 14 hits in his last 24 at-bats. He was pulled from the game soon after that first-inning single because he had been traded to the Mariners. Turner, at 39, isn’t what he used to be — his 106 OPS-plus going into Monday was his lowest since his final season with the Mets in 2013. But among the 12 Mariners who have hit most often this year that would rank third on a team that was hitting .218 and averaging 3.85 runs per game . It is why the Mariners traded with the Rays for Randy Arozarena, especially with Julio Rodriguez and J.P. Crawford on the IL.