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Archives for December 2013

AL Notes: Youkilis, Angels, Gimenez

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Kevin Youkilis wanted to avoid travel and play for a West Coast MLB team, so it was a surprise to see him agree to terms with Rakuten in Japan. WEEI.com's Alex Speier writes that the Indians, Yankees and Rays were interested in Youkilis, but that Youkilis preferred retiring to flying all the way to the eastern part of the US. When the opportunity to play in Japan arose, however, Youkilis' wife and seven-year-old daughter were excited about the chance to there for a year. Youkilis says he plans to spend a year there, then decide whether he wants to continue his career (all Twitter links). Here are more notes from around the American League.

  • Despite an "uninspiring" offseason, the Angels could be dramatically better in 2014, Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs writes. The team isn't particularly well positioned for the long term, but Mike Trout gives them a huge edge, and their WAR expectation in 2013 was significantly better than their actual record. Their moves this offseason — primarily trading Mark Trumbo to the Diamondbacks and Peter Bourjos to the Cardinals — haven't done much to help them, at least not in the short term. But the Angels should be much better than they were in 2013, Sullivan suggests, especially if they happen to add Masahiro Tanaka.
  • The reason the Rays placed catcher Chris Gimenez on waivers was that they thought he would not make the big-league team and so they wanted to sneak him through, the Tampa Bay Times' Marc Topkin tweets. The move was not made with any further roster shuffling in mind. The Athletics claimed Gimenez earlier today.

Latest On Orioles’ Closer Situation

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Here's the latest on the Orioles' pursuit of a closer courtesy of a series of tweets from MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko. The Orioles are upset at the idea that they "backed out" of their agreement with Grant Balfour, as they don't have another closer in waiting. They heeded their doctors' recommendations after Balfour's physical, and now would not be comfortable signing him for more than a year plus an option.

With a deal with Balfour now unlikely, the Orioles could pursue Fernando Rodney, or just give their closer's job to one of their current pitchers. Free agent Chris Perez does not seem to be a possibility. The Orioles have discussed the possibility of a Jonathan Papelbon trade with the Phillies, but Papelbon's contract is an obstacle. The Phillies owe Papelbon $13MM in both 2014 and 2015, and he also has a $13MM vesting option for 2016.

Grant Balfour Could File Grievance Against Orioles

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7:38pm: The Rays are interested in Balfour, ESPN's Jim Bowden tweets. The Rays are on the lookout for a closer, and as noted below, a doctor for the Rays believes Balfour should have passed his physical, so the pairing of the two makes sense.

5:02pm: Balfour will discuss a grievance with the players' union, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). In a full column, Rosenthal reports that he spoke with two doctors who know Balfour well, both of whom say he is 100 percent fine. Rays team physician Koco Eaton was surprised that the deal wasn't completed. Eaton examined Balfour today and said it should have been "a no-brainer" for the Orioles to complete the contract, adding that Balfour's shoulder MRI today looked identical to the one he saw three years ago.

Rosenthal also spoke with Reds physician Timothy Kremcheck, who performed elbow and shoulder surgery on Balfour in the past. Said Kremcheck: "For a guy in his 30s who has pitched six or seven years since his rotator-cuff repair, his MRI on his shoulder looks remarkably good."

Balfour's agent, Seth Levinson, released a statement on the issue, stating plainly that "The only reasonable conclusion is that Grant is healthy and the Orioles at the last moment changed their minds." Levinson's full statement can be seen on Twitter, via ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.

4:13pm: Balfour spoke with Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle and told her that he is baffled that the Orioles backed off because he is "100 percent fine." He went on to tell Slusser that his MRIs — including the MRI taken of his right shoulder — look exactly the same as they did three years ago. Slusser quotes Balfour:

"I'm the All-Star pitcher I was last season. My shoulder is fine, everything is fine. I'm ready to come out there in the ninth inning, do what I do."

Balfour told Slusser that he isn't looking to bad-mouth anyone and made no negative comments about the Orioles. Slusser notes that a team stepping away from Balfour due to medical concerns could cost him millions of dollars (All links to Slusser's Twitter).

2:08pm: The Orioles will not sign Grant Balfour, executive vice president Dan Duquette told reporters, including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter link). The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly quotes Duquette (via Twitter) as saying: "We would never say never or close the door, but we're going to turn our attention elsewhere." Duquette said the Orioles could look to sign another free agent, trade for a closer or stay in-house for the closer, but they're not done adding pitching or other pieces (also via Connolly).

The Orioles agreed to terms with Balfour on a two-year, $15MM contract earlier this week, but problems with the physical placed the contract in jeopardy. With him out of the picture, the Orioles have reportedly begun to focus on Fernando Rodney, with whom they should be plenty familiar following two excellent season with the division rival Rays.

Athletics Avoid Arbitration With Daric Barton

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6:35pm: Barton's deal is worth $1.25M, Scout.com's Kiley McDaniel tweets.

2:18pm: The A's announced that they have avoided arbitration with first baseman Daric Barton by agreeing to a one-year deal. The San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser tweets that the two sides agreed to a non-guaranteed deal. Barton is a client of the MVP Sports Group.

While terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed, MLBTR's Matt Swartz projected the former first-rounder to earn just $1.4MM in arbitration this offseason. Barton's 120 plate appearances in 2013 were the fewest he's totaled at the Major League level since debuting in 2007, but he managed a respectable .269/.350/.375 batting line. Barton has never developed much power, but he's an ultra-patient hitter at the plate, as evidenced by his career .360 OBP and 14.1 percent walk rate.

As can be seen in MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker, the A's still have seven players that are eligible for arbitration: Jim Johnson, Luke Gregerson, Brandon Moss, Josh Reddick, Jed Lowrie, John Jaso and Jesse Chavez.

AL Notes: Balfour, Indians, Yankees, Pettitte, Lough

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Now that Grant Balfour appears to be back on the market after the collapse of his deal with the Orioles, a variety of AL teams could be interested, MLB Network Radio's Jim Duquette notes (on Twitter). The Mariners, White Sox, Yankees and Rays could all make sense, and Duquette also tweets that the Indians could be a possibility as well. He notes that the Indians tried to sign Joaquin Benoit along with the already-signed John Axford, so Balfour might be another possibility in Cleveland. Here's more from around the big leagues.

  • The Yankees have announced a series of hires in coaching and player development, including former Royals manager Trey Hillman and Cubs manager Mike Quade. Hillman will serve as the Yankees' special assistant, major and minor-league operations. Quade will be their roving outfield and baserunning instructor.
  • The Yankees still need pitching, but it doesn't appear they'll be getting it from Andy Pettitte. GM Brian Cashman says Pettitte has "shut it down for good," Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports. Pettitte returned to the Yankees in 2012 after retiring for the first time following the 2010 season, but it looks like the Yankees won't be able to depend on that again. At 41, Pettitte posted a solid final season in New York in 2013, with a 3.74 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 185 1/3 innings.
  • Outfielder David Lough is "ecstatic" to be with the Orioles, he tells MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko. The O's acquired Lough for Danny Valencia on Wednesday. Lough says that, after the Royals acquired Norichika Aoki, he knew it was a possiblility they would deal him. "[M]y agent got a hold of me and told me that some clubs were interested in me and to kind of sit back and just expect to go to spring training and do what I've always done," says Lough. 

Minor Moves: Feierabend, Skipworth, Valle, Navarro

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

  • The Rangers have announced that they've agreed to terms with lefty Ryan Feierabend on a minor-league deal with a spring training invitation. Feierabend posted a 3.70 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 148 1/3 innings between two levels in the Rangers' minor-league system in 2013. He has not appeared in the Majors since he started eight games with the Mariners in 2008.
  • The Marlins have outrighted Kyle Skipworth to Triple-A after he cleared waivers, according to ESPN's Keith Law (on Twitter). MLBTR was the first to report that Skipworth had been designated for assignment earlier in the week.
  • The Phillies announced that catcher Sebastian Valle has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The 23-year-old was designated for assignment earlier in the week to clear a 40-man roster spot for Roberto Hernandez.
  • The Yankees and the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization are nearing a deal that would send infielder Yamaico Navarro to KBO, tweets Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes. The Yanks inked Navarro to a minor league deal a month ago. Navarro is a career .206/.258/.267 Major League hitter.
  • MLB.com's Tracy Ringolsby reports that the Rockies have signed left-hander Ryan Kulik to a minor league contract (Twitter link). Drafted by the Cardinals in the eighth round of the 2008 draft, Kulik dropped out of affiliated ball and spent the 2013 season pitching for the Camden River Sharks of the Atlantic League where he had a 5.89 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 108 innings.
  • As can be seen in MLBTR's DFA Tracker, there are five players currently in DFA limbo: Eric Surkamp of the Giants, Brett Marshall of the Yankees, Trey Haley of the Indians, Chance Ruffin of the Mariners and Alex Castellanos of the Red Sox. A sixth could join that group today, once the Twins' signing of Kurt Suzuki becomes official, as Minnesota will need to clear a 40-man roster spot.

Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.

Marlins, Valdespin Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Marlins will sign former Mets utility man Jordany Valdespin to a minor league contract, according to Baseball America's J.J. Cooper (on Twitter). Joe Frisaro of MLB.com tweets that Valdespin's contract does not contain an invitation to Spring Training and Valdespin will have to earn his way onto the team.

Valdespin, 26, was a persistent source of drama for the Mets, lashing out at manager Terry Collins after being demoted and also being slapped with a 50-game suspension for his involvement in the Biogenesis PED scandal. He is a career .219/.271/.380 hitter in 350 big league plate appearances. The Mets non-tendered Valdespin in November despite the fact that he is not yet arbitration eligible.

A’s Claim Chris Gimenez, Release Pedro Figueroa

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3:53pm: To make room on the 40-man roster for Gimenez, the A's released left-hander Pedro Figueroa, the team announced on Twitter.

Figueroa, 28, has a career 4.38 ERA in 24 2/3 innings for the A's, but he's walked more batters (18) than he's struck out (17) at the Major League level. After struggling through the 2011 season as a starter in Double-A, Figueroa converted to the bullpen and has experiences a nice turnaround at Triple-A. In 104 innings at that level, he has a 3.46 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9.

12:48pm: The Athletics have claimed catcher Chris Gimenez off waivers from the Rays, according to MLB.com's Jane Lee (Twitter link).

Gimenez, who will turn 31 a week from today, batted .224/.350/.305 for the Rays' Triple-A affiliate in 2013 and also made a brief appearance with the big league club. In parts of five Major League seasons (380 plate appearances), the right-handed hitter is a .199/.292/.293 hitter. He is a .267/.375/.445 hitter in 10 minor league seasons.

Diamondbacks Extend Brad Ziegler

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The Diamondbacks have agreed to an extension with right-hander Brad Ziegler, the pitcher himself announced on Twitter. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that it's a two-year, $10.5MM contract with a club option for a third-year. Rosenthal reports that Ziegler's deal will pay him $4.5MM in 2014 and $5MM in 2015, and his $5.5MM option contains a $1MM buyout. He is a client of Icon Sports Management.

Ziegler-Brad

Ziegler, 34, is coming off a season in which he posted a 2.22 ERA and filled in as Arizona's closer, saving 13 games and falling one out short of matching his career-high of 73 1/3 innings. He was originally acquired by the Diamondbacks in July 2011 in what looks to be a lopsided deal in hindsight. Arizona sent Brandon Allen and Jordan Norberto to Oakland to land the side-armer. Ziegler has rewarded GM Kevin Towers with 162 1/3 innings of 2.27 ERA ball with 5.6 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and a ground-ball rate north of 70 percent.

Dating back to 2002 when batted ball data began being tracked, Ziegler's 66.1 percent ground-ball rate is the highest among all Major League pitchers with at least 300 innings pitched.

MLBTR's Matt Swartz projected Ziegler to earn $5MM in his final year of arbitration eligiblity, so he likely took a slight hit to his 2014 salary in exchange for multiple years in an environment that he enjoys. Towers has shuffled his bullpen this offseason by acquiring Addison Reed from the White Sox in exchange for Matt Davidson and trading Heath Bell to Tampa Bay in a three-team deal. Ziegler, Reed and J.J. Putz should form a solid core to handle the late innings for manager Kirk Gibson.

Initial reports that an extension with Ziegler was a possibility surfaced in September. Later that same month, he told reporters that it didn't matter to him whether he pitched in the eighth or ninth inning. With Reed and Putz both on board, Ziegler seems likely to return to the setup role in which he has thrived for most of his career.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Troy Patton Suspended 25 Games

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Major League Baseball has announced that Orioles left-hander Troy Patton will be suspended for 25 games after testing positive for amphetamines.

The loss of Patton for a month only adds to bullpen uncertainties for the Orioles. Having traded closer Jim Johnson to the Athletics, Baltimore looked to have found his replacement in the form of Grant Balfour. Problems with Balfour's physical now have his two-year, $15MM pact with the O's in jeopardy, however. The Orioles are reportedly turning their focus to Fernando Rodney as a result of that situation.

Patton, 28, pitched to a 3.70 ERA with 6.8 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and a 45.3 percent ground-ball rate in 56 innings last season. Though his numbers against lefties took a step back in 2013, he was a force against left-handed hitters in 2012, holding them to a .212/.262/.292 batting line.

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