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Archives for September 2013

Minor Moves: Matt Pagnozzi, Luke Montz

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Here are today's minor moves from around the league…

A’s Designate Hideki Okajima For Assignment

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The A's announced, via Twitter, that they have designated left-hander Hideki Okajima for assignment. The move allows Oakland to select the contract of right-hander Pat Neshek, who was designated for assignment and outrighted to Triple-A last month.

The 37-year-old Okajima pitched to a 4.22 ERA for Triple-A Sacramento with 9.5 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 42 2/3 innings of work. The longtime Red Sox reliever yielded five earned runs in one inning in his final outing with Sacramento. He did see some brief time in the Majors with Oakland this season, allowing a run on seven hits and a pair of walks in four innings of work.

Okajima is the latest in a wave of players to be designated for assignment in order to clear room for September callups, and you can track all of those situations using MLBTR's DFA Tracker.

Cubs Designate Dave Sappelt For Assignment

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The Cubs announced that they have designated outfielder Dave Sappelt for assignment. The move makes way for the promotion of left-hander Zach Rosscup.

Sappelt, 26, came to the Cubs along with Ronald Torreyes and Travis Wood in exchange for Sean Marshall prior to the 2012 season. He hit just .240/.269/.280 this season and is a career .251/.301/.343 hitter in 274 plate appearances.

Rosscup, 25, was part of another major trade for the Cubs, as he came to Chicago from Tampa Bay along with Matt Garza. The Oregon native posted a 2.12 ERA with 14.6 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 51 relief innings between Double-A and Triple-A this season, most recently whiffing 17 batters in 7 2/3 innings at Triple-A.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Giants Designate Tanaka, Runzler For Assignment

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The Giants have designated Kensuke Tanaka and Dan Runzler for assignment, according to Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com (via Twitter).  Baggarly speculated yesterday that Tanaka and Runzler could be bounced from the 40-man roster to make room for minor leaguers Heath Hembree and Johnny Monell and today the Giants followed through on that.

Tanaka, 32, saw time in 15 big league games for the Giants this season but he's spent the bulk of the year at Triple-A, hitting .329/.400/.397 in 400 plate appearances.  The veteran split time between second base and left field for the team's affiliate in Fresno.

Runzler, 28, owns a 3.86 ERA with 9.7 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9 across parts of four seasons for the Giants.  Those numbers are mostly propped up by strong pitching in 2009 and '10; the lefty reliever pitched a 5.52 ERA in the subsequent two years.  He hasn't been able to get back on track at Triple-A Fresno so far this year, posting a 5.68 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 6.4 BB/9.  

To keep track of the many players currently in DFA limbo, be sure to check out MLBTR's new DFA Tracker. 

Royals Designate Edinson Rincon For Assignment

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The Royals have designated third baseman/outfielder Edinson Rincon for assignment, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter). Rincon's DFA is one of several moves that will allow Kansas City to make a wave of September callups that include Carlos Pena and Pedro Ciriaco.

The Royals claimed Rincon off release waivers from the Padres earlier this season. Formerly one of the Padres' top 10 prospects according to Baseball America, Rincon has seen his stock fall, and injuries have held him to 95 plate appearances this season. In that small sample, he raked at the Rookie-level Arizona League and struggled tremendously in Double-A. In parts of seven minor league seasons, the Dominican native is a .285/.354/.418 hitter, but he's yet to advance past the Double-A level.

Rincon and the other 10 players that are currently in DFA limbo can be monitored using MLBTR's DFA Tracker.

Padres Extend Will Venable

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The Padres have officially announced a two-year contract extension for outfielder Will Venable. The new contract is reportedly worth $8.5MM and will buy out Venable's final two years of arbitration eligibility and pay him $4.25MM each season. Venable is represented by Rex Gary of Turner Gary Sports.  Venable-Will

Venable, 30, is in the midst of the finest season of his career. The Princeton product and lifetime Padre is batting .273/.315/.503 with a career-high 20 homers and 15 stolen bases (in 20 attempts). Always one to succeed away from Petco Park, Venable is getting the job done in San Diego this season for the first time. It may be due to a small sample or it may be due to Petco Park's new dimensions, but he's slashing .277/.330/.559 with 14 of his 20 long balls at home.

Venable is earning $2.675MM this year after avoiding arbitration for a second time as a Super Two player this past winter. Had he remained this productive in 2014, he likely could have exceeded a guaranteed $8.5MM from 2014-15, but in accepting this deal, Venable has more than doubled his career earnings, which likely made it a worthwhile compromise.

This is the second consecutive September in which Padres GM Josh Byrnes has hammered out an affordable multiyear deal for one of his outfielders. As I pointed out earlier today in examining recent September extensions, the Padres and Chris Denorfia agreed to a two-year, $4.25MM contract last September that looks to be a steal for the Friars now, given Denorfia's strong season at the plate and in the field.

As can be seen in MLBTR's Extension Tracker, the Padres have made a habit of extending their players since Byrnes took over as GM following the 2011 season. In that time, Venable, Denorfia, Carlos Quentin, Huston Street, Cory Luebke, Cameron Maybin and Nick Hundley have all signed low-cost multiyear deals, though some have worked out better than others. Byrnes will have his biggest task this offseason as he looks to lock up third baseman Chase Headley just one year prior to his first taste of free agency.

MLB.com's Corey Brock first broke the news of the extension and provided the contract breakdown.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Marlins Designate Jordan Brown For Assignment

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The Marlins have designated first baseman/outfielder Jordan Brown for assignment in order to clear a roster spot for left-hander Brian Flynn, according to Juan C. Rodriguez of the Miami Sun-Sentinel (Twitter link).

Brown, 29, picked up 17 plate appearances for the Marlins this season, collecting three hits (including a double) and five RBIs in that small sample. In 324 plate appearances at Triple-A this season, the former fourth-round pick batted .289/.346/.385. Brown also saw a brief callup with the Indians in 2006 and has spent time with the Brewers organization as well.

The 23-year-old Flynn is one of three players acquired from the Tigers last summer in exchange for Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante (Jacob Turner and Rob Brantly were the others). In 138 innings at Triple-A New Orleans, he posted a 2.80 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9.

MLBTR readers can track the progress of Brown and the other nine players that are currently in DFA limbo using MLBTR's DFA Tracker.

Nationals Notes: Espinosa, Harper, Johnson

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Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com writes that last night's loss was "a kick in the gut" for the Nationals because it came after their most reliable reliever, Tyler Clippard, blew a rare lead. As Kolko notes, manager Davey Johnson has long said that he feels 90 wins will get the team to the postseason, but the Nats will need to finish 21-4 to reach that mark. Here's more out of the nation's capitol…

  • Danny Espinosa should be among the team's September callups, argues Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. The Nats opted not to bring Espinosa to the big leagues again this season, but Kilgore opines that he'd be a valuable defensive replacement and the expanded rosters would allow them to carry Espinosa's glove without exposing the weak bat he's shown this season. Kilgore adds that keeping Espinosa off the Major League roster likely prevents him from becoming arbitration-eligible as a Super Two player, but the $1MM or so in financial savings isn't a good reason to keep him off the roster. Recent reports have indicated that the Nationals are looking to trade the switch-hitting middle infielder.
  • Unbeknownst to Johnson, Bryce Harper has been receiving treatment for a hip injury recently, the manager told reporters (including Amanda Comak of the Washington Times). Johnson said that he is "disturbed" by the fact that he was not informed of the issue by Harper or the medical staff, but he plans to continue playing Harper as long as the injury doesn't worsen.
  • For those who missed it, MLBTR reported last night that right-hander Mark Lowe has opted out of his minor league contract with Washington and is now a free agent.

Recent September Extensions

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In Chase Utley and Ryan Raburn, we saw a pair of two-year extensions last month that aren't uncharacteristic for this time of season. In recent years, the later months of the season — particularly September — have served as a time for many general managers to lock down free-agents-to-be to affordable short-term extensions. Using MLBTR's Transaction Tracker, let's take a look back at some of the contracts that have been signed in September recently…

2012

  • Padres sign Chris Denorfia to a two-year, $4.25MM extension – Denorfia's contract is a steal given the numbers he's posted this season. The 33-year-old has a .273/.329/.384 slash line with nine homers and eight steals. He's been worth 2.7 fWAR and 2.8 rWAR thanks to his outstanding defense and baserunning skills.
  • Rangers sign Colby Lewis to a one-year, $2MM extension — Lewis underwent flexor tendon surgery last summer, so his season was already over when he signed this low-risk contract. It clearly didn't pan out for Texas, as Lewis missed this season as well due to setbacks in his rehab, but the gamble was well worth it for a pitcher of his ability (113 ERA+ from 2010-12 with Texas).

2011

  • Cardinals sign Chris Carpenter to a two-year, $21MM extension — Carpenter had averaged 222 innings of 3.02 ERA ball over the previous three years and led the Senior Circuit in innings the year he signed his deal. However, since that time, he's thrown just 17 big league innings due to a host of injuries. It's hard to blame the Cardinals for the contract, but it clearly hasn't worked out.
  • Cardinals sign Lance Berkman to a one-year, $12MM extension — Puma was unable to repeat the outstanding .301/.412/.547 triple-slash line he posted in 2011 due to knee injuries in 2012. He tallied just 97 plate appearances in his second campaign with the Cardinals, who nearly went to the World Series even with lost seasons from Berkman and Carpenter.
  • White Sox sign Sergio Santos to a three-year, $8.25MM extension — Santos' contract was unlike the others on this list, as it bought out a pre-arbitration year and two arb seasons, and it also contained three more club options. The White Sox got what appeared to be a bargain at the time and could still be one, even if it's not in Chicago. Santos was flipped for prospect Nestor Molina, and his first two seasons with the Jays have seen him total just 21 1/3 innings so far. However, he'll still earn just $3.75MM next season, so there's time for him to start earning his salary.
  • Marlins sign Omar Infante to a two-year, $8MM extension — From 2012-13, Infante has batted .291/.318/.432 with plus defense at second base. He also helped the Marlins to obtain a trio of solid prospects from the Tigers when the Fish dealt him and Anibal Sanchez for Jacob Turner, Brian Flynn and Rob Brantly.
  • Mets sign Tim Byrdak to a one-year, $1MM extension — Byrdak only threw 30 2/3 innings in 2012, but he held lefties to a paltry .154/.260/.277 batting line in the process, so it's hard to say he didn't meet and exceed the expectations set by his modest salary.

Top Prospect Promotions: Paxton, Nelson, Schoop

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Check here for today's promotions of top prospects around baseball….

  • The Mariners have called up left-hander James Paxton, Don Ruiz of the Tacoma News Tribune reports.  Paxton, 24, was ranked before the season as one of the game's top prospects by MLB.com (57th) and Baseball America (#87) and he has posted a 4.45 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 2.26 K/BB rate over 145 2/3 innings in his first taste of Triple-A this year.  The southpaw is the second top M's pitching prospect this week to receive a promotion, after Taijuan Walker.  Paxton is under team control through the 2019 campaign and he'll have to be added to Seattle's 40-man roster.
  • The Brewers have called up right-hander Jimmy Nelson, manager Ron Roenicke told reporters (including MLB.com's Adam McCalvy).  Nelson, a second-rounder from the 2010 draft, has been a starter for the last three seasons but the Crew will use him as a reliever.  MLB.com ranked Nelson as the top prospect in the Brewers system and the 88th-best prospect overall, saying that the 24-year-old has "a heavy fastball that elicits ground balls and sits in the low 90s."  Nelson posted a 3.25 ERA, 9.6 K/9 and 2.51 K/BB rate in 27 starts at Double-A and Triple-A this season, though he didn't perform quite as well at Triple-A.  Since he's being called up at this late date in the season, Nelson won't gain Super Two status and will be under team control through 2019.
  • The Orioles have called up middle infielder Jonathan Schoop, according to David Hall of the Virginian Pilot (Twitter link).  Schoop was ranked as the 50th-best prospect in baseball by ESPN's Keith Law (ESPN insider subscription required) before the season and MLB.com ranks him as the fourth-best prospect in the Baltimore organization.  Schoop, 21, hails from Curacao and has gradually evolved from a shortstop to a second baseman over his five minor league seasons could possibly be Brian Roberts' replacement at the position in the Major Leagues.  Schoop was limited to 285 PA at Triple-A Norfolk this season due to a stress fracture in his back, and he hit .255/.298/.397 with nine homers for the Tides.  He will be under team control through 2019, as Schoop's late callup won't give him Super Two status.  Besides Schoop, the O's have also called up Henry Urrutia and right-hander Josh Stinson.
  • As expected, the Reds have purchased the contract of outfielder Billy Hamilton, according to a tweet from his now-former club, the Triple-A Louisville Bats. Hamilton currently stands as the 17th-best prospect in baseball, according to MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo. The 22-year-old burner has scuffled somewhat in his first season at Triple-A, seeing his on-base percentage drop to a career-low .308 mark and carrying a .651 OPS. Nevertheless, he has swiped 75 bases in 90 attempts, added some pop (he has a career-best six home runs), and transitioned from shortstop to center field. Baseball Prospectus has a full scouting report on Hamilton (subscription required) as he reaches the bigs for the first time.
  • The White Sox have brought up two of the organization's top prospects, Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com tweets. In addition to well-regarded youngster Marcus Semien, the club has purchased the contract of righty Erik Johnson, who John Sickels of Minor League Ball ranks as the 76th-best prospect in the game. Though he missed the top-100 list of MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo, Johnson did appear at the number two slot among White Sox prospects, with Mayo explaining that he has the repertoire to become a mid-rotation starter. The 23-year-old has an excellent 1.57 ERA over 57 1/3 innings since reaching Triple-A, where he maintains a 8.9 K/9 ratio against 3.0 BB/9.

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