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Archives for November 2013

Giants Sign Erik Cordier; Designate Monell, Peguero

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The Giants have designated catcher Johnny Monell and outfielder Francisco Peguero for assignment to clear two 40-man roster spots, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. As Schulman explains, the slots were needed to make room for the club's claim of lefty Jose De Paula and the previously unreported signing of righty Erik Cordier, who has been added to the 40-man. (Twitter links.)

Monell, 27, has spent his entire career in the San Francisco organization but has seen just nine MLB plate appearances. In his first full season at Triple-A last year, Monell supplied a pleasing .275/.364/.494 line in 481 plate appearances. He did not appear among Baseball America's ranking of the organization's top thirty prospects.

Peguero, on the other hand, opened the 2013 campaign at eighth on that list, with BA saying he had "the most exciting combination of speed and power in the system" while explaining that he still needed to translate his raw power to game action and improve his strike zone awareness. Now 25 years of age, the Dominican native has seen very sparse big league action but played both of the last two years at the highest minor league level. After a meager .691 OPS campaign in 2012, he managed to bump his slash up to a .315/.350/.416 level in 314 plate appearances in 2013. He only contributed four long balls and three steals, however, and took 53 strikeouts against just 13 walks (though that was an improvement over the 82 K to 15 BB ratio he put up in his first season of Triple-A ball).

Meanwhile, Cordier, who will turn 28 before the start of the 2014 season, has been a fixture in the upper minors for the last several seasons but has yet to break into the bigs. A starter for most of his career after being drafted in the 2nd round back in 2004, Cordier worked out of the pen last year for the Pirates' top affiliate. He notched 11.0 K/9 against 4.8 BB/9 but allowed nearly a hit per inning, resulting in a 4.58 ERA in 53 innings. He had never previously flashed that kind of strikeout potential while working in the Royals and Braves systems, which could be the reason that San Francisco saw fit to trust him with a valuable roster position.

Giants Claim Jose De Paula

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The Giants have claimed Jose De Paula off outright waivers from the Padres, tweets Corey Brock of MLB.com.  The left-hander was designated for assignment by San Diego last week along with Brad Brach, Miles Mikolas, and Jaff Decker.

In his first season at the Double-A level, De Paula posted a 3.86 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9 across 14 starts.  With San Francisco claiming De Paula, all four players from last week's roster shuffle are now out of DFA iimbo.  Decker and Mikolas were traded to the Pirates while Brach was shipped to the Orioles.

Mets Notes: Wheeler, Syndergaard, Johan, Byrdak

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The Mets didn't exactly dazzle fans with their signing of Chris Young but they could be planning to do something a little more exciting in the weeks to come.  The Mets are among the clubs that have been connected to Nelson Cruz and they are still said to have interest in Curtis Granderson.  If GM Sandy Alderson & Co. want to get in on Cruz, however, it could prove to be costly.  The former Rangers outfielder is said to be seeking a four-year, $75MM deal.  More out of Queens..

  • Andy Martino of the New York Daily News wonders if the Mets are going to make a big splash this winter. Martino hears that the Mets were scared by the two-year, $16MM deal that Marlon Byrd landed. At the same time, the Mets have decided to hold a hard line on trading young pitchers like Zack Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard. It's hard to see how they can land an impact bat without dealing one of their desirable impact arms. Martino adds that there is "gossip" around the Mets about GM Sandy Alderson engaging clubs in talks for three-way deals.
  • Agent Chris Leible tells Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (via Twitter) that client Johan Santana is now throwing from 90 feet in Florida and his shoulder feels much better.  There's currently no timeline set for the one-time Mets ace to sign.
  • More from B-NS, who hears from agent Mike Mosa that Tim Byrdak wants to continue pitching.  Byrdak recovered from left shoulder surgery to pitch in eight games for the Mets in September.  The 40-year-old has a 4.32 ERA with 10.4 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9 across parts of three seasons with the Mets. MLBTR's TIm Dierkes noted ten days back (via Twitter) that two clubs had asked for medicals on the southpaw.

Angels Designate Juan Gutierrez For Assignment

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The Angels announced that they have designated right-hander Juan Gutierrez for assignment.  The move will create space on the 40-man for fellow right-hander Joe Smith.

Gutierrez, 30, began the year with Kansas City before being plucked off waivers by the Halos.  The reliever pitched to a 3.38 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in KC but saw his ERA rise to 5.19 with 9.7 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 28 games for the Angels.  For his career, the veteran owns a 4.65 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 over parts of five big league campaigns.

Gutierrez was eligible for arbitration this year and was projected to earn $1.1MM by MLBTR's Matt Swartz.

Twins Nearing Major Free Agent Signing

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4:20pm: Saltalamacchia is not close with the Twins, an industry source tells Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).

3:53pm: The Twins are on the verge of finalizing a major free agent signing, a source from a rival team tells MLBTR's Tim Dierkes (Twitter link).

The player is unclear at this time, but as Tim points out in a second tweet, recent reports have connected the Twins to the likes of Matt Garza, Bronson Arroyo, Ricky Nolasco and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. A contract for any of those three would figure to easily surpass the Twins' franchise-record free agent signing, which is currently just $21MM over three years to Josh Willingham.

Yankees Met With Cano; Gap Still Substantial

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WEDNESDAY: Feinsand reports that the two sides spoke again today, though they didn't have a face-to-face meeting this time. According to Feinsand, the $310MM asking price was still in place until yesterday, though Cano's camp lowered that number "very slightly." The two sides remain very far apart and will resume talks after Thanksgiving weekend (Twitter links).

TUESDAY: The Yankees met with Robinson Cano's camp earlier today, and the financial gap between the two sides is still "substantial," a source tells Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).

The most recent reports have indicated the Yankees' initial offer to be in the seven-year, $168MM range. There's no word on whether the Yankees have upped their offer recently, but team president Randy Levine has gone on record as saying the team will not wait for Cano to pursue other free agents. That point was made perfectly clear when the Yankees agreed to terms on a five-year, $85MM contract with Brian McCann that includes a vesting option for a sixth year at $15MM.

Cano's asking price is believed to be lower than the $300MM+ figure he was asking for to keep him off the free agent market, but it seems fair to speculate that he's likely still seeking a sum well north of $200MM.

Minor Moves: Tim Wheeler, Noel Arguelles

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

  • In addition to Rafael Ortega, who was recently claimed by the Rangers, the Rockies also put outfield prospect Tim Wheeler on waivers, tweets the Denver Post's Troy Renck. Wheeler, however cleared and has been outrighted to the minor leagues, says Renck. Wheeler entered the season as Colorado's No. 11 prospect, per Baseball America, but struggled to the tune of a .262/.330/.355 batting line as a 25-year-old at the Triple-A level. Prior to the season, BA noted the alarming drop in Wheeler's power, and he didn't correct it in 2013. Wheeler blasted 33 homers at Double-A in 2011 but has gone yard just seven times in 855 plate appearances at Triple-A since that time.
  • The Royals have outrighted left-hander Noel Arguelles to Triple-A Omaha after the Cuban hurler cleared waivers, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link). That Arguelles, 23, cleared waivers is no surprise given the fact that he is guaranteed nearly $1.4MM in 2014 after signing a five-year, $7MM contract prior to the 2010 season. Shoulder surgery has derailed the once-promising lefty's prospect status, as he's pitched to a 6.14 ERA with more walks than strikeouts over his previous 196 1/3 innings in the minors.

Rangers Claim Rafael Ortega From Rockies

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The Rangers have claimed outfielder Rafael Ortega off waivers from the Rockies, according to Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish (on Twitter).

The 22-year-old Ortega made his big league debut with the Rockies in 2012, going 2-for-4 with a stolen base and a pair of walks in six trips to the plate. However, the Venezuelan native batted just .228/.315/.297 in 42 games at the Double-A level this season before his season ended in June. He entered the 2013 campaign ranked 15th among Rockies prospects, according to Baseball America, who called him a true center fielder with a plus, accurate arm and plus speed. BA noted that he needs to be careful not to fall in love with swinging for the fences after a home run, though he does have surprising pop for someone with a 5'11", 160-pound frame.

AL East Notes: De Jesus Jr., Lavarnway, Infante

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The Orioles are close to a minor league deal with infielder Ivan De Jesus Jr., reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. However, the O's are likely to hold off finalizing the deal in order to avoid having to add De Jesus to the 40-man roster to protect him from being selected in next week's Rule 5 Draft. Baltimore learned their lesson the hard way in that regard back in 2004 when they signed Chris Gomez to a minor league deal on Dec. 8 and saw him selected in the Rule 5 Draft four days later, Kubatko points out. Some more links pertaining to the AL East…

  • Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald writes that the Red Sox have had internal discussions about entering 2014 with Ryan Lavarnway as the team's primary catcher. Boston is more interested in a stopgap option as they await the arrival of Christian Vasquez and Blake Swihart at the big league level and is therefore reluctant to strengthen its existing two-year offer to Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
  • The Yankees remain "very much engaged" with Omar Infante's agent, Gene Mato, according to Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com. The Yankees could try to sign Infante even if they retain Robinson Cano, says Marchand, envisioning him as a modern-day Tony Phillips who would play every day but at different positions. Marchand writes that the Yankees like Infante as a backup at third base and shortstop, and he also points out Infante's experience in the outfield.
  • The Yankees paid a good amount to sign Cuban lefthander Omar Luis last year and they'll be making him available in this year's Rule 5 draft, writes Ben Badler of Baseball America.  The Yanks initially signed Luis for a $4MM bonus but when an unexpected issue popped up in his physical, they negotiated that figure down to $2.9MM.  It may be a long shot that any team will draft Luis, however, given how far away he is from contributing.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Reds To Re-Sign Manny Parra

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11:22am: Parra will earn $2MM in 2014 and $3.5MM in 2015, according to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.

11:04am: The Reds and left-hander Manny Parra have reached an agreement on a two-year, $5.5MM contract, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter links). Parra is represented by agent Joe Urbon of CAA Sports.

Parra, 31, enjoyed a tremendous rebound campaign for the Reds in 2013, posting a 3.33 ERA with 11.0 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and a 43.8 percent ground-ball rate in 46 innings. Parra demonstrated a significant platoon split, however, holding left-handers to a brilliant .167/.237/.238 batting line but yielding a .310/.370/.524 line to right-handers.

His ideal role appears to be that of a left-handed specialist, though his usage will depend on new manager Bryan Price. Last season, Dusty Baker split Parra's time evenly, allowing him to face 95 right-handers and 93 left-handers. Under Price, who served as the team's pitching coach in 2013, Parra completely abandoned his slider and changeup in favor of a fastball/curveball/splitter mix that appears to have been quite effective. He also saw his average fastball velocity jump to a career-best 93.4 mph.

While Parra's platoon split is more pronounced than that of Javier Lopez, Reds GM Walt Jocketty was able to secure an arm that was similarly effective against left-handed batters for less than half the price of Lopez's three-year, $13MM contract with the Giants. Though Jocketty hasn't made any large splashes yet this offseason, this is the third two-year deal he's agreed to with a free agent. The Reds have also signed utility man Skip Schumaker and backstop Brayan Pena to two-year deals.

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