Chris Resop Rumors
Minor Moves: Paulino, Resop, Teahen
Today's minor moves...
- Baseball America's Matt Eddy reports that the Orioles have signed Ronny Paulino to a minor league deal. Eddy's piece contains a wealth of information, as it includes a complete rundown of minor league transactions that have taken place from May 9-16 among all 30 teams.
- Athletics reliever Chris Resop cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The A's had designated Resop for assignment on Friday to open a 40-man roster spot for Hideki Okajima. Resop, 30, had a 6.00 ERA, 6.5 K/9, 5.0 BB/9, 1.50 HR/9, and 41.9% groundball rate in 18 innings this year. Having been outrighted once before, Resop had the ability to reject this assignment, but it made sense to accept and keep his $1.35MM salary. That salary also may explain why he went unclaimed. The A's acquired Resop from the Pirates in November last year for 25-year-old minor league reliever Zach Thornton.
- Mark Teahen has asked for and been granted his release from the Diamondbacks and is a free agent, MLBTR has learned. The versatile veteran played in the Majors from 2005-11, compiling a .264/.327/.409 line for the Royals, White Sox, and Blue Jays. Teahen began the year with Arizona's Triple-A club before being traded to the Reds earlier this month. The deal fell through due to the Reds' concerns about his physical, though the D'Backs and the player consider him healthy. Teahen had been playing in extended spring training due to a lack of roster spots in Reno.
- Five players currently reside in DFA limbo: Derek Lowe of the Rangers, Daric Barton of the A's, Jon Rauch of the Marlins, Alberto Gonzalez of the Yankees, and Scott Cousins of the Angels. The Cubs' Michael Bowden will join that group when Matt Garza is activated. Should he clear waivers, Rauch would reject an outright assignment, at which point he'd be released and another team could sign him at the league minimum with the Marlins paying the rest of his $1MM salary.
A's Designate Chris Resop For Assignment
The Athletics announced (via Twitter) that they have selected the contract of left-hander Hideki Okajima from Triple-A Sacramento and designated right-hander Chris Resop for assignment to clear room on both the 40-man and 25-man rosters.
Okajima, 37, was a fixture in the Red Sox bullpen from 2007-09, when he posted a combined 2.72 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 192 innings. In 2007, he made the All-Star team and finished sixth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting. Okajima's command began to erode in 2010, and his strikeout rate dropped as well. He spent much of the 2011 season in the minors before returning to Japan, where he was dominant in 2012. After signing a minor league deal with Oakland this offseason, he had a 2.16 ERA with 18 strikeouts and two walks in 16 2/3 Triple-A innings this season.
Resop, 30, had a 6.00 ERA in 18 innings for the defending AL West champs this season. He struck out 13 and walked 10 in those 18 innings. Over parts of eight Major League seasons between the Marlins, Braves, Pirates, Angels and A's, Resop has a 4.62 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9.
A's Avoid Arbitration With Chris Resop
The A's have avoided arbitration with Chris Resop by agreeing to a one-year, $1.35MM deal, according to MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith (on Twitter). The right-hander is represented by Jet Sports Management.
The $1.35MM is pretty much in line with his projected figure of $1.3MM from Matt Swartz. This was Resop's second time being arbitration-eligible and he'll see a significant increase over his $850K salary last year.
Oakland acquired Resop from the Pirates in exchange for Zach Thornton earlier this offseason. The 30-year-old pitched to a 3.91 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 73 2/3 innings for the Pirates in 2012. Resop will be eligible for free agency after the 2014 season.
Athletics Acquire Chris Resop
The Athletics have acquired Chris Resop from the Pirates in exchange for Zach Thornton, the team announced.
Resop, 30, pitched to a 3.91 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 73 2/3 innings for Pittsburgh this year. He is arbitration-eligible for the second time and is projected to earn $1.3MM next season. Thornton, 24, posted a 4.53 ERA in 53 2/3 innings for Oakland's High Class-A affiliate in 2012.
Pirates Agree To Terms With Chris Resop, Avoid Arb
The Pirates have agreed to a one-year, $850K deal with reliever Chris Resop, allowing them to avoid arbitration with the right-hander, reports The Associated Press. Resop, 29, posted a 4.39 ERA, a 10.2 K/9 rate and a 9.4 H/9 rate in 76 appearances with Pittsburgh last season, though advanced stats such as xFIP (3.53) and BABIP (.344) suggest Resop was a bit unlucky.
Resop is the second Pirate to avoid arbitration this winter, after Jason Grilli. The Pirates still have six other arb-eligible players, according to the MLBTR Arbitration Tracker.
Five Difference-Making Waiver Claims
No one can compete with Cesar Carrillo when it comes to waiver claims. The former first rounder was claimed three times within two weeks this month, so he's approaching waiver claim Hall of Fame territory. Here are five other waiver claims that made a difference this season:
- White Sox Claim Manny Ramirez, August 31st, 2010 - Ramirez has been getting on base, but he has just one extra base hit since joining the White Sox. GM Kenny Williams was hoping for a repeat of Manny's 2008 surge, but he didn't get it and Chicago won't make the playoffs.
- Dodgers Claim Rod Barajas, August 22nd, 2010 - Barajas has an .882 OPS since joining the Dodgers, but it won't be enough to lead the team back to the playoffs. The catcher did his part when the team was in contention, hitting three homers in his first five games as a Dodger.
- Pirates Claim Chris Resop, August 4th, 2010 - The Pirates bought low on Resop and he has responded with 17.2 solid innings; he has walked 5.1 batters per nine, but also has a 2.04 ERA and 10.7 K/9 in Pittsburgh.
- Astros Claim Nelson Figueroa, July 21st, 2010 - The 36-year-old Figueroa pitched 54.1 innings for the Astros after GM Ed Wade claimed him from his former team, the Phillies. The right-hander posted a 3.98 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 for Houston.
- Indians Claim Jayson Nix, June 24th, 2010 - Nix has played second, third and left for the Indians and though he doesn't get on base much, he has hit 11 homers for the Tribe.
Pirates Claim Chris Resop
The Pirates claimed righty Chris Resop off waivers from the Braves, according to David O'Brien of Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter). The Braves had requested outright waivers on Resop on Monday.
Resop disappointed in his brief stint with the Braves. However, the 27-year-old posted a 2.09 ERA, 10.0 K/9, and 3.5 BB/9 with four home runs allowed in 82 Triple A innings this year (15 starts). This is a nice pickup for the Pirates, who were known to be trolling for pitching after trading away several key members of their bullpen.
Braves Request Outright Waivers For Chris Resop
The Braves requested outright waivers for Chris Resop, according to Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Outright waivers are not revocable, so the Braves won't be able to pull Resop back if a rival team claims him. If Resop clears waivers, the Braves will open up a 40-man roster spot and Resop will choose between a Triple A assignment or free agency. He is out of options, so the Braves can't send him to the minors without exposing him to other teams.
The Braves called Resop up on June 15th, partly because he had a clause in his contract that would have forced the club to make him available to its rivals if he wasn't in the majors by that date. He missed time with an oblique injury and only pitched two innings for Atlanta. Resop allowed five earned runs and walked three of the 14 batters he faced.
His MLB numbers are disappointing, especially considering how well he pitched in the minors this season. Resop posted a 1.84 ERA in 73.1 innings with 9.9 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 before getting the call to the majors.
Braves Call Up Chris Resop
The Braves called up Chris Resop instead of exposing him to the other major league teams, according to Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Resop had a clause in his contract that would have forced the Braves to make him available to other clubs if he wasn't in the majors by today. But Resop was pitching so well that the Braves chose to promote him, likely at the expense of Craig Kimbrel or Jesse Chavez. Agent B.B. Abbott told O'Brien that it wasn't for lack of interest in Resop.
"I know they got offers,” Abbott said. “But they thought he could help the club at least initially."
Resop's Triple A numbers certainly suggest he can help a big league team. The 27-year-old right-hander has a 1.84 ERA in 73.1 innings with 9.9 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 this year. It's a complete turnaround for Resop, whose big league numbers in parts of four seasons as a reliever are not nearly as impressive. Resop, who pitched in Japan in 2009 and last appeared in the majors in 2008, is out of options, so the Braves can't send him to the minors without exposing him to other teams.
Braves Unlikely To Trade Chris Resop
The Braves aren't going to trade righty Chris Resop before his Tuesday opt-out date unless they get an "amazing return," tweets Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com. They will instead call him up to work out of the bullpen, maintaining their depth.
Resop, 27, has been a revelation as a starter in Triple-A this year, posting a 1.84 ERA and 9.9 K/9 in 13 starts (73.1 innings). He spent last season pitching in Japan, and prior to that he was strictly a reliever in his pro career, which included stints with the Marlins, Angels, and Braves. Resop would have been able to opt out of his contract tomorrow if he had not been called up the bigs, and interest would have been plentiful if he hit the open market.
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