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Archives for August 2012

Minor Moves: Mariners, Luis Castro, Tony Pena

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Here are today's minor moves, with the latest up top…

  • The Mariners released minor league catcher Ralph Henriquez in order to make room for 2012 No. 3 overall pick Mike Zunino on their Double-A roster, according to Larry Stone of the Seattle Times (on Twitter). The 25-year-old Henriquez was a second round pick by the Astros in 2005 but has just a .592 OPS in eight minor league seasons.
  • The Rockies have signed 16-year-old Venezuelan shortstop Luis Castro for $50K, reports MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez (on Twitter). Castro had originally signed with the Blue Jays for $800K last month, but the contract was voided due to health concerns.
  • The Angels have signed right-hander Tony Pena according to the MLB.com transactions page. The 30-year-old had Tommy John surgery last August, and has pitched to a 4.43 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 379 2/3 big league innings with the Diamondbacks and White Sox.
  • The Rockies have signed right-hander Jeff Marquez, also according to MLB.com. The 28-year-old posted a 6.69 ERA with 5.3 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 76 2/3 innings with the Mariners' Triple-A affiliate this year. Marquez has four big league appearances to his credit, one with the White Sox (2010) and three with the Yankees (2011).

Quick Hits: Lowe, Padres, Hairston, Twins, Tigers

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Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com notes (on Twitter) that the MLB owners meetings will be held in Denver later this week. They are expected to vote on the sale of the Padres, but the Athletics/Giants/San Jose issue is unlikely to be resolved. Here's the latest from around the league…

Yankees Sign Two Nicaraguan Lefties

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The Yankees have signed Nicaraguan left-handers Corby McCoy and Luis Garcia, writes Ben Badler of Baseball America.

The 16-year-old McCoy is one of the top talents out of Nicaragua in this year's July 2 free agent class, according to Badler. McCoy, who received a $150K bonus, has an athletic and projectable 6'3", 170-pound frame according to Badler. His velocity has touched 91 mph, but he's inconsistent in that regard and often sits in the 85-88 mph range.

Garcia's bonus figures to be one of the Yankees' six sub-$50K exemptions. As per Major League Baseball's new CBA, the six highest bonuses under $50K won't count toward a team's $2.9MM international spending cap. Badler describes Garcia as raw, but projectable. The 6'4", 185-pound lefty's fastball sits in the 85-88 mph range as well.

Badler points out that McCoy's signing puts the Yankees at exactly $2.9MM in terms of non-exempt bonuses. They signed Luis Torrens for $1.3MM, Alexander Palma for $800K, and Yancarlos Baez for $650K. Any further signings in excess of $50K will result in at least a 75 percent luxury tax on the overage. As Badler outlined in this piece back in May, exceeding the signing cap by more than 15 percent will result in a 100 percent luxury tax and will also limit a team's 2013-14 spending pool to $250K on just one player.

Orioles Acquire J.C. Romero

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The Orioles have acquired J.C. Romero from the Indians for minor league infielder Carlos Rojas, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com (all Twitter links). The southpaw signed a minor league deal with Baltimore in May, but exercised his opt-out clause in July.

Romero, 36, signed a minor league contract with the Indians last month. He allowed nine runs in eight innings for the Cardinals earlier this season, and has pitched to a 2.74 ERA in 23 Triple-A innings since. Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer says (on Twitter) that Romero could have opted out of his contract with Cleveland on Wednesday, but they weren't ready to call him up.

Rojas, 28, hit .226/.285/.248 in 147 plate appearances split between Double-A and Triple-A this season. He spent some time in the Cubs' farm system earlier in his career and has never been called up to the big leagues.

Yankees Sign Derek Lowe

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MONDAY: The Yankees have officially announced the signing in a press release and say they will use Lowe out of the bullpen. Their 40-man roster is now full.

SATURDAY: The Yankees have agreed to sign Derek Lowe, reports Marc Carig of The Star-Ledger (on Twitter). New York placed CC Sabathia on the DL with elbow stiffness today, so the move figures to replenish some pitching depth. Joel Sherman of The New York Post says (on Twitter) that the veteran right-hander has agreed to pitch out of the bullpen.

Lowe, 39, was released by the Indians earlier this week. He pitched to a 5.52 ERA in 21 starts for Cleveland this season, including an 8.80 ERA in his last dozen starts. He walked (45) more batters than he struck out (41) in 119 innings, though he was still generating plenty of ground balls (60.0%) with that sinker.

The Indians acquired Lowe from the Braves this past offseason and only had to pay $5MM of his $15MM salary. They're still on the hook for that money less the pro-rated portion of the league minimum, which the Yankees will pay.

Extension Candidate: Martin Prado

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The Braves currently sit atop the NL Wild Card race thanks in large part to the impact and versatility of Martin Prado. The 28-year-old is hitting .295/.357/.416 with 30 doubles and 14 steals (in 16 attempts) while playing left field (88 games), third base (18 games), second base (four games), first base (three games), and shortstop (two games). Quite a bargain for $4.75MM.

Uspw_6380054Last month we heard that the Braves want to sign Prado to a multiyear contract extension because they believe he is their long-term replacement for Chipper Jones at third base. The two sides have yet to start serious negotiations, however. Prado will be arbitration-eligible for the third and final time this offseason and is due to become a free agent following the 2013 campaign.

Given his unique career, it's very tough to pin down Prado's value relative to his peers. The best comparison may be Alex Gordon, who has also spent significant time at third base and in left field. He's a career .268/.348/.437 hitter with 77 homers in over 2,800 plate appearances, and signed a four-year, $37.5MM extension (with a $12.5MM player option for a fifth year) back in Spring Training. He was due to become a free agent after 2013 as well.

Prado is a .294/.344/.431 career hitter with 47 homers in just over 2,600 career plate appearances, so he matches up well with Gordon in the OBP and SLG departments. Gordon had his big breakout season a year ago while Prado has been a bit more consistent, posting a 108 OPS+ four times in the last five seasons. Gordon has done it three times in his five-year career, but he's also been demoted to the minors on a few occasions.

Because he's closer to free agency and has an All-Star Game nomination to his credit, Prado and his representatives at Peter E. Greenberg & Associates should have no problem asking for something north of Gordon's deal. Perhaps four years and $40-45MM makes sense for both parties, especially the team since it's easy to see him eclipsing that guarantee on the open market 15-16 months from now.

The Braves have shown a willingness to sign players to extensions in the middle of the season, most notably with Chipper years ago and David Ross back in 2010. Prado's upcoming arbitration case figures to bump his salary up into the $7-8MM range next year, if not even higher. Given the impending free agency of Michael Bourn, Atlanta may want to act quickly to avoid potentially losing two core offensive pieces in back-to-back winters.

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Alberto Gonzalez

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Let's keep track of today's outright assignments right here…

Week In Review: 8/5/12 – 8/11/12

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As we hit the dog days of August, let's take a moment to catch up on the week that was here at MLBTR…

  • The Yankees signed Derek Lowe after New York placed CC Sabathia on the DL with elbow stiffness. Lowe, 39, was released by the Indians last week after pitching to a 5.52 ERA in 21 starts for Cleveland this season.
  • The Mets designated left-hander Garrett Olson for assignment. In 104 career big league appearances, Olson has a 6.26 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9.
  • Right-hander Andrew Carpenter signed a minor league contract with the Mets and has been assigned to Double-A Binghamton.
  • The Diamondbacks designated pitcher Mike Zagurski for assignment. Zagurski had a 6.18 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 27.2 innings of work this season.
  • The Red Sox put Kelly Shoppach and Mike Aviles on waivers on Friday while Nick Punto and Carl Crawford have now cleared waivers.
  • Venezuelan left-hander Dedgar Jimenez signed with the Red Sox. The 16-year-old obtained a bonus of $175K.
  • The Rangers designated infielder Alberto Gonzalez for assignment. Gonzalez appeared in 24 games for the Rangers this year, playing second base, third base and shortstop.
  • The Blue Jays designated right-hander Scott Richmond for assignment. Richmond appeared in three games for Toronto this year, but has spent most of the season at Triple-A. 
  • High school right-hander Felipe Perez signed with the Diamondbacks for a reported bonus of $400K.
  • The Blue Jays claimed right-hander Juan Abreu off of waivers from Houston. The Astros designated Abreu for assignment on Tuesday.
  • The Red Sox signed Scott Podsednik to a Major League contract. Boston traded the outfielder to the Diamondbacks in the Matt Albers–Craig Breslow trade, but Arizona released him a few days later.
  • A few recognizable names find themselves headed to Triple-A after struggling at the big league level. The Rays outrighted Brooks Conrad to Triple-A Durham, the Tigers outrighted Don Kelly to Triple-A Toledo and the Dodgers outrighted Tony Gwynn Jr. to Triple-A Albuquerque.
  • The Indians released Johnny Damon and Jeremy Accardo after previously designating both veterans for assignment.
  • The Astros designated infielder Brian Bixler for assignment. He posted a .193/.253/.330 line in 96 plate appearances at the big league level.
  • Bobby Abreu cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Dodgers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A.
  • The Astros acquired utility player Tyler Greene from the Cardinals for a player to be named later or cash considerations. The 28-year-old has a .218 /.272 /.358 batting line in 197 plate appearances so far in 2012.
  • The Rangers placed catcher Yorvit Torrealba on release waivers. Torrealba, 34, posted a .236/.302/.342 batting line in 182 plate appearances for Texas before getting designated for assignment.
  • Kip Wells cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Tucson from the Padres.
  • The Blue Jays outrighted Andrew Carpenter to Triple-A. Carpenter, 27, spent the bulk of July with the Blue Jays and saw just nine innings of work across six appearances.
  • Drew Sutton's headed to Triple-A Indianapolis after the Pirates outrighted the outfielder, who posted a .243/.278/.419 batting line in 79 plate appearances. 
  • The Indians designated infielder Jose Lopez for assignment. The 28-year-old posted a .249/.272/.366 batting line in 224 plate appearances.
  • The Blue Jays designated right-hander Jesse Chavez for assignment. Chavez, 28, has an 8.44 ERA with 11.4 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 21 1/3 innings with Toronto this year.
  • Catcher Wil Nieves's found a new job as the Diamondbacks claimed the veteran off waivers from the Rockies. The 34-year-old posted a .298/.333/.404 batting line in 51 plate appearances this year.
  • The Nationals outrighted catcher Carlos Maldonado to Triple-A Syracuse. He has spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he has a .223/.343/.405 batting line in 146 plate appearances.
  • The Giants claimed left-handed reliever Jose Mijares from Kansas City. Mijares has a 2.56 ERA with 8.6 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 33.3% ground ball rate in 38 2/3 innings this year.
  • Infielder Cesar Izturis's headed to the Nationals after Washington claimed the veteran off of waivers from the Brewers. Izturis has a .235/.248/.333 batting line in 169 plate appearances this year.
  • The Diamondbacks released Lyle Overbay after the veteran posted a .292/.367/.448 batting line in 110 plate appearances.
  • The Royals designated Yuniesky Betancourt for assignment after the infielder posted a .232/.260/.408 batting line in 56 games with Kansas City this year. 
  • Mike Fontenot finds himself without a job after the Phillies released the infielder. Fontenot, 32, hit .289/.343/.340 in 105 plate appearances this year for the Phillies.
  • The Red Sox acquired third baseman Danny Valencia from the Twins for minor league outfielder Jeremias Pineda. Valencia has struggled this season hitting .198/.212/.310 in two tours with the Twins.
  • The Tigers acquired Jeff Baker from the Cubs in exchange for two players to be named later. Baker, 31, has a .269/.306/.448 slash line in 144 plate appearances on the year. 

Poll: How Will Nationals Fare Without Strasburg?

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With a Major League-leading 71-44 record, the Nationals have surprised the baseball world this season thanks to a balanced offensive attack and a dominant pitching staff. Led by Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmermann, the Nationals' young arms have the team on track to secure the NL East with only 47 games remaining.

Strasburg, 24 and less than two years removed from Tommy John surgery, will be forced to miss his last two to three starts and the entire postseason as the Nationals organization has set an unofficial innings limit for its young ace. There's no doubt the Nationals will be negatively impacted once Washington GM Mike Rizzo decides to call it a season for the former San Diego State star.

The question becomes how will the Nationals fare the remainder of the season when they shut down Strasburg, who's pitched to a 2.90 ERA with 11.2 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9.

Anthopoulos Talks Offseason Plans

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With the Blue Jays entering Sunday mired in a five-game losing streak and occupying last place in the AL East behind the dysfunctional Red Sox, GM Alex Anthopoulos met with reporters prior to his team's victory over the Yankees. Mike Cormack of Sportsnet has the details from the press conference.

  • Anthopoulos believes Toronto's strengths lie in its potent offense and rebuilt bullpen. "You know for the most part this is going to be a very good, deep offensive team, and we'll have some young kids behind some of these guys for depth. Offensively, I feel very good about it." The 35-year-old general manager went as far as to say his team's bullpen and offense, when healthy, have the makings of being "championship caliber."
  • Toronto's starting rotation has been an area of concern for Anthopoulos as his starters have struggled with myriad health issues and performance on the field. With Kyle Drabek and Drew Hutchison set to miss a portion or all of next season, the team may be looking to add as many as three new arms into the rotation to complement Ricky Romero and Brandon Morrow.
  • While the Blue Jays are clearly in need of a few starters to bolster their pitching staff, Anthopoulos says he'll be able to devote his entire winter to improving the team's rotation unlike in years past. "… It's a lot easier going into an off-season when you have really one area to really attack, and every trade dialogue, every free-agent dialogue, can be geared to one area rather than having 40 balls in the air and having to fill three spots in the bullpen, two spots in the rotation, two position players," said Anthopoulos. 

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