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Archives for May 2013

AL East Notes: Yankees, Orioles, Ishikawa

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While the Blue Jays may be the only AL East team currently under .500, the club is 7-3 in their past 10 games, and injured shortstop Jose Reyes may return sooner than expected.  The club was a major mover last offseason, but additions such as Reyes, R.A. Dickey, and Josh Johnson have been unable to provide much of an impact.  Here is a look at today's news out of the ultra-competitive American League East..

  • Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com notes that the Yankees now have players making a total of $97MM currently on their disabled list. Andy Pettitte became the latest high-priced Yankee to head to the DL, as Vidal Nuno will be promoted in his place.
  • Travis Ishikawa has extended the opt-out in his contract with the Orioles, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The 29-year-old first baseman is currently batting .304/.383/.504 over 154 PA with Triple-A Norfolk.

Twins Release Rafael Perez

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The Twins announced that they have released left-hander Rafael Perez. Perez signed a minor league deal with the team in February, but had yet to pitch for the big league club.

The 29-year-old logged just four innings for Triple-A Rochester, pitching to a 2.25 ERA with 4.5 K/9 and 6.8 BB/9.  Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune tweets that the Twins had agreed to release Perez if he was not able to make their roster, and felt that he was not ready for big league hitters.  Perez has a 3.64 ERA with 7.3 K/ and 3.2 BB/9 over 329 Major League innings, all with the Indians.

Max Fogle contributed to this post.

Draft Notes: Gray, Manaea, Twins, White Sox

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Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets that one GM thinks Jonathan Gray, Mark Appel, and Kris Bryant should be the first three players drafted next month. While the trio has generally been regarded as the best available talent, the GM thinks "those 3 have separated themselves" from the rest of the pack. Here's a look at other news on this June's amateur draft…

  • MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo breaks down highly-rated Indiana State left-hander Sean Manaea.  Manaea went undrafted out of high school, but figures to be selected early, ranking as the No. 9 prospect according to Mayo.
  • The Twins will not select Minnesota high school right-hander Logan Shore with their second round pick, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN. Shore ranked as the No. 199 draft prospect by Baseball America and the publication writes that the Florida recruit could go as high as the third round.
  • White Sox scouting director Doug Laumann was on hand to watch Oral Roberts' right-hander Alex Gonzalez start today, tweets Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Gonzalez, who BA sees as a potential No. 3 starter, pitched well as he struck out 13 over eight innings.

Padres Don’t Intend To Trade Chase Headley

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There's been plenty of speculation that the Padres will trade Chase Headley this July after he stated his unwillingness to negotiate an extension mid-season, but Jon Heyman of CBS Sports writes that the team still has no intentions of moving him.

Majority owner Ron Fowler went on record earlier this month as saying that the team wanted to offer Headley a multiyear contract that would be the largest in franchise history, which seemed to take the 28-year-old by surprise. Headley stated that he told the team before the season that he didn't want to negotiate once the 2013 campaign commenced, and he's stuck by that.

Heyman reports that it's believed the Padres preferred to get something done this offseason without crossing the $100MM barrier. It's believed that ownership and GM Josh Byrnes were hoping for something in the five-year, $75MM range.

Earlier in May, when the extension rumors began, I speculated that a five-year, $85MM deal would work for both sides. However, agents not involved in the negotiations told Heyman that Ryan Zimmerman's six-year, $100MM contract would likely have to be a baseline for a Headley extension. In spite of that speculation, Byrnes repeated that the team's preference is to sign him long-term, adding:

"We can't wait forever. We have a group that's trying to take it to the next level. And that's what we're hoping to do.''

Byrnes conceded that many teams have made an attempt to acquire Headley over the past year, with Heyman noting that the Pirates made "an especially spirited" effort. Heyman also adds that the Indians, Diamondbacks and and Dodgers tried to a lesser extent and came up short. Byrnes added that since those trade efforts took place, the Padres have only come to value Headley even more.

Last month, a poll showed that MLBTR readers were evenly divided on the issue, with 51 percent feeling he'd be traded and 49 percent feeling he would sign an extension.

Padres Designate Thad Weber For Assignment

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Corey Brock of MLB.com reports that the Padres have selected the contract of Tim Stauffer and designated right-hander Thad Weber for assignment (Twitter link). In a related move, Carlos Quentin has been placed on the paternity list.

The 28-year-old Weber allowed just two runs in nine innings for the Friars this season, though he walked five and struck out only six in that time. The Padres claimed him off waivers from the Tigers last August. Weber has just 13 innings of big league experience and averages 89.8 mph on his fastball. He does have a stellar 68.2 percent ground-ball rate in that admittedly tiny sample.

Stauffer, 30, was a key member of the Padres' pitching staff from 2009-11. After a strong year-plus in the bullpen, he shifted to the rotation for the end of the 2010 season and all of the 2011 campaign. He made one start in 2012 before elbow surgery cut his season short. From 2009-12, the former No. 4 overall pick in the draft had a 3.27 ERA, 6.4 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 346 1/3 innings of work.

Stauffer signed a minor league contract this offseason after being waiver in the fall. His deal had an opt-out clause around June 1, so the Padres were nearing a decision on him. Stauffer had a 3.16 ERA through 42 2/3 innings at Triple-A Tucson this season. 

A’s Designate Chris Resop For Assignment

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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.

Astros Open To Extension With Jose Altuve

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The Astros have trimmed payroll to unheard of levels for today's game over the past year as they look to rebuild their franchise, but it appears that they're not afraid to spend if it meant keeping Jose Altuve around long-term. General manager Jeff Luhnow told Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle that the team "will consider any opportunity to keep [Altuve] here over the long haul" (Twitter links).

Altuve, 23, has established himself as an asset at second base over the past three seasons. Though he stands just 5'5" and weighs 175 pounds, he's an accomplished hitter. Altuve has a .294/.336/.397 batting line in 1,031 career plate appearances. In 2012, he swiped 33 bases and clubbed seven home runs. His defense graded out poorly according to UZR and The Fielding Bible in 2012, but it's been stellar in this season's small sample according to both metrics.

There's certainly no rush for the Astros, as Altuve still has less than two full years of service time and won't be eligible for arbitration until after the 2014 season. As it stands right now, the Astros control Altuve through the 2017 season, after which he will still be just 27 years old.

A look at MLBTR's Extension Tracker shows that Luhnow hasn't yet completed an extension since taking over as the team's general manager, but Altuve's agents at Octagon are no strangers to such deals. Octagon has negotiated high-profile multiyear contracts for Felix Hernandez, Miguel Montero, Ben Zobrist and Yovani Gallardo, to name a few.

Minor Moves: Humber, Jeroloman, Boyer

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Here's your rundown of minor moves for Friday…

  • Astros right-hander Philip Humber has accepted his outright assignment to Triple-A Oklahoma City, reports Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (via Twitter). Today was the deadline for Humber to decide to report to Triple-A or elect free agency after being outrighted off the 40-man roster earlier this week.
  • The Nationals have acquired minor league catcher Brian Jeroloman from the Pirates, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Twitter). The 28-year-old was hitting .222/.481/.278 thanks to his nine walks in 29 plate appearances for Triple-A Indianapolis. Mark Zuckerman of CSN Washington adds that the Nats gave up cash for Jeroloman because they needed catching depth with Jhonatan Solano back in the Majors and Wilson Ramos on the DL (Twitter links). Jeroloman is a career .235/.349/.305 hitter in 122 Triple-A games.
  • Right-hander Blaine Boyer exercised the out clause in his minor league deal with the Royals and became a free agent, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. Boyer hasn't pitched in the bigs since 2011. He has a 4.81 ERA in 234 career innings after being selected by the Braves in the third round in 2000. Boyer posted a 3.00 ERA, 10.8 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 15 innings for the Royals' Triple-A affiliate, though he allowed four unearned runs as well and served up three homers.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Halladay, Porcello, Dodgers

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On this date in 1978 while pinch hitting for Davey Lopes in the Dodgers' 10-1 rout of the Pirates, Lee Lacy went deep in the bottom of the eighth inning off of Will McEnaney.  Lee, a utility player, became first player in major league history to homer in three consecutive at bats as a pinch hitter.  Here's this week's look around the baseball blogosphere..

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.  

Hanshin Tigers Pursuing David Aardsma

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David Aardsma, who requested his release from the Marlins earlier in the week, is being pursued by Japan's Hanshin Tigers, according to a Sanspo report passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker (Twitter link).

Aardsma pitched fairly well in his 14-inning stint with the Marlins' Triple-A affiliate in New Orleans, but has appeared in just one Major League inning since 2010. Surgery to repair the labrum in his left hip followed by Tommy John surgery have stalled the 31-year-old's career, but he was a solid ninth inning option for Seattle from 2009-10. Aardsma picked up 69 saves in that time, posting a 2.90 ERA, 9.6 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 121 innings.

I imagine that Aardsma's track record would allow him to get a Major League opportunity with a team in need of bullpen help at some point, but if not, Japan has served as a stepping stone back to the big leagues for many pitchers in the past. Colby Lewis, Scott Atchison and Ryan Vogelsong are recent examples of pitchers who experienced varying degrees of success in Nippon Professional Baseball before working their way back to Major League rosters.

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