Indians Designate Scott Barnes For Assignment
The Indians have designated left-hander Scott Barnes for assignment, according to Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer (on Twitter). The move will help the Tribe create room for right-hander Charles Brewer, who was acquired from Arizona last night.
Barnes, 27, has made 22 big league appearances for the Indians over the last two seasons, though he has spent more time pitching for their Triple-A affiliate. This past season, Barnes pitched to a 3.69 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 24 relief appearances and one start.
As the MLBTR DFA Tracker shows, there are now 16 players in DFA limbo.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: D’Backs, Upton, Angels
On this date in 1988, Steve Sax signed a three-year deal as a free agent with the Yankees, as Leo Panetta of NationalPastime.com writes. The former NL Rookie of the year replaced Willie Randolph at second base and Randolph went on to sign with the World Champion Dodgers, replacing Sax. Here’s this week’s look around the baseball blogosphere..
- Inside The Zona has an offseason plan for the D’Backs.
- Beisbol’s Org says shopping Justin Upton makes sense.
- Angels Win previews the Halos’ offseason.
- Nats GM has some ideas for upgrading Washington’s offense.
- Ian Thomas Malone wonders if the qualifying offer is working.
- The First Out At Third expects Carlos Gomez to continue to improve.
- Blue Jays Plus looks at how J.A. Happ affects Marco Estrada.
- Maniac Ball looks at some possible pitching targets for the Angels.
Please send submissions to Zach at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.
Indians Acquire Charles Brewer
The Indians have acquired right-handed pitcher Charles Brewer from the Diamondbacks in exchange for cash considerations, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Brewer was designated for assignment on Thursday. It’s the second trade of the evening for Arizona – they also dealt Mike Bolsinger to the Dodgers for cash considerations.
Brewer, 27 next season, had a brief cup of coffee with the Diamondbacks in 2013. Over a six season minor league career, he’s posted a 4.09 ERA, 7.8 K/9, and 2.4 BB/9. The righty has a 90 mph fastball. Prospect maven John Sickels of SB Nation wrote in 2012: “he has a short window of opportunity to establish himself but has a shot at becoming a back-end rotation member or a reliever.”
The Indians likely view Brewer as a useful depth piece who can help to provide stability at the Triple-A level. Their rotation is currently full, with viable major league starters Zach McAllister and Josh Tomlin penciled in as sixth and seventh on the depth chart. Brewer has worked almost exclusively as a starter, but his best chance at reaching the majors may be as a reliever.
Quick Hits: Twins, Albers, Bavasi, Scherzer
The Twins will hire Neil Allen as their pitching coach, write LaVelle E. Neal III and Phil Miller of the Star Tribune. However, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports (via Twitter) that Allen has been told “absolutely nothing.” Allen has coached in the Rays organization since 2007, including the last four years as the Triple-A pitching coach. He has no major league experience. The other finalist, former Indians and Mariners pitching coach Carl Willis, was informed on Friday that he had not been selected, per Berardino (tweet).
- Former Twins starter Andrew Albers would consider a return to Minnesota if he doesn’t remain in the Korea Baseball Organization, writes Berardino. Albers spent 2014 with the Hanwha Eagles. He pitched to a 5.89 ERA in 151 and one-third innings. While the ERA was unsightly, the KBO is an offensively oriented league. Per KBO rules, Albers is not yet eligible to speak with major league clubs.
- Former GM Bill Bavasi has been named the head of the Major League Scouting Bureau, tweets John Manuel of Baseball America. Bavasi, who comes from a storied baseball family, was the GM for the Angels and Mariners for a combined 11 years. His father Buzzie and brother Peter each also served as GM for two franchises (Buzzie oversaw the Dodgers move from Brooklyn to Los Angeles).
- The Nationals could emerge as a destination for Max Scherzer, writes James Wagner of the Washington Post. With Jordan Zimmermann and Doug Fister just one year away from free agency, the Nationals are considering their options moving forward. That includes a trade involving either pitcher. If an in-house candidate is dealt, Scherzer could be looked at as an alternative and long term solution. However, Wagner notes that the rotation is deep. GM Mike Rizzo adds that it’s “not on the top of our wish list.”
Dodgers Acquire Mike Bolsinger, Designate Jarret Martin
The Dodgers have acquired right-handed pitcher Mike Bolsinger from the Diamondbacks in exchange for cash considerations, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Bolsinger was designated for assignment by Arizona last Thursday. The Dodgers have confirmed the move via twitter. The Dodgers designated Jarret Martin to clear room for Bolsinger.
Bolsinger, 27 next season, made his major league debut last year. He pitched 52 and one-third innings in 10 appearances (nine starts) with a 5.50 ERA, 8.25 K/9, and 2.92 BB/9. The soft-tossing righty works with a 88 mph fastball and was stung by the long ball in his limited sample. While it’s too soon to tell if Bolsinger has a home run problem, a move to pitcher friendly Dodgers Stadium should help to mitigate the damage.
Bolsinger will likely serve as rotation depth. FanGraphs currently lists Carlos Frias, Zach Lee, and Chris Reed as contenders for the fifth spot in the rotation. Bolsinger will probably join the fray, although I expect Los Angeles to eventually sign a veteran to fill the role.
Martin is a left-handed reliever who posted a 3.29 ERA, 10.54 K/9, and 7.90 BB/9 in 54 and two-thirds Double-A innings this season. He’s experienced similar issues with control in the past. He joins 15 other players in DFA limbo.
AL East Notes: Yankees Roster, Joyce, Rays Managerial Finalists
The Yankees currently have 39 players on their 40-man roster after adding four players and selling Zelous Wheeler to Japan. More change is on the way, writes Chad Jennings of LoHud.com in an analysis of the roster. Jennings expects the club to add another four players, which would necessitate further moves. He speculates that Chase Whitley, Preston Claiborne, David Huff, Esmil Rogers, and Austin Romine are all candidates to be designated for assignment. Romine is the most obvious since he is out of options and behind Brian McCann and John Ryan Murphy on the depth chart.
- The Rays are open to trading Matt Joyce, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The 30-year-old platoon outfielder is coming off a .254/.349/.383 season. The Rays have hidden Joyce from lefties with just 35 of his 493 plate appearances coming against fellow southpaws. FanGraphs’ Dave Cameron has noted that clubs are showing a preference for right-handed power hitters, so I wonder if that may retard the interest in Joyce. MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projects a $4.9MM payday for Joyce in his final spin through arbitration.
- The Rays’ decision to drop bench coach Dave Martinez from their managerial hunt was an “especially difficult” decision, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. As we saw with Tim Bogar and the Rangers, the club may opt to part ways with Martinez as a clean break from the Joe Maddon era. We learned earlier in the week that the Rays have narrowed the field to Kevin Cash, Raul Ibanez, and Don Wakamatsu. Of the trio, only Wakamatsu has managerial experience.
Minor Moves: Lannan, Cisnero, Savery, Laffey, Britton, Triunfel
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.
- The Reds have signed right-handed reliever Jose Cisnero, tweets Chris Cotillo of SB Nation. Cisnero is entering his age 26 season and has a 4.66 ERA, 8.57 K/9, and 4.84 BB/9 in 48 and one-third career innings – all with the Astros. Cisnero was outrighted by Houston earlier in the month and has inked a minor league deal with Cincinnati.
- In the same tweet, Cotillo also reports four other minor league signings. The Mariners re-signed Burt Reynolds, the White Sox inked left-handed reliever Joe Savery, and the Rockies signed right-hander Brett Marshall and left-hander Aaron Laffey. Of the four, Laffey comes with the most major league experience – 487 innings of 4.45 ERA ball. The soft-tossing lefty’s last extended stint in the majors was in 2012. Marshall had a 12 inning cup of tea with the Yankees in 2013 but struggled to a 6.53 ERA with the Reds Triple-A affiliate this season. Savery, a former first round pick, has seen spot work in parts of four seasons. The Phillies tried to use him as a lefty specialist, but he’s actually posted reverse platoon splits.
- The Rockies have also signed pitchers Justin Miller, Jose Ortega, and John Lannan, tweets Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Right-handers Miller and Ortega saw minimal work for the Tigers, where they have posted uninspiring numbers. Lannan is a major league veteran of eight seasons, although he hasn’t seen a full season of action since 2011. He has a 4.18 ERA, 4.70 K/9, and 3.39 BB/9 in 862 career innings.
- The Dodgers have signed infielder Buck Britton to a minor league deal, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun tweets. Britton, the brother of Orioles reliever Zach, had spent the previous seven years in Baltimore’s system. Last season, the 28-year-old hit .289/.345/.453 in 505 plate appearances split between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk, primarily playing second base and third base.
- The Giants have signed infielder Carlos Triunfel and lefty Braulio Lara to minor-league deals, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy tweets. Triunfel hit just .223/.256/.330 for hitter-friendly Triple-A Albuquerque in 2014, mostly playing the two middle infield positions. The Dodgers outrighted him in September. The 25-year-old Lara posted a 5.77 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9 in 57 2/3 innings of relief in a 2014 season spent in the upper minors of the Rays’ system.
Pablo Sandoval Rumors: Saturday
Here’s the latest on free agent third baseman Pablo Sandoval, with the day’s latest stories at the top.
- Teams have been asked to submit their final offers for Sandoval, tweets Alex Speier of WEEI.com. That appears to mean that the bidding is down to three teams – the Padres, Red Sox, and Giants – Speier notes in a separate tweet.
- The trio of clubs have all submitted offers, and Sandoval will make his choice next week, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets.
- The Padres have made the most expensive offer to Sandoval so far, but Sandoval is still more likely to pick the Red Sox, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. Previous reporting indicated the Red Sox had offered Sandoval five years and $95MM, so the Padres’ offer appears to be worth more than that. The Giants will turn their attention to Yasmany Tomas if Sandoval departs.
- Preller and the Padres made a “very serious” offer to Sandoval, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports writes.
- The Blue Jays have not had contact with Sandoval’s camp in the last two days, suggesting that they are not a key bidder for Sandoval at this time, Ben Nicholson-Smith of SportsNet.ca writes.
- The Giants have received no indication that they trail the Red Sox in the race to land Sandoval, Rosenthal tweets.
- Echoing Rosenthal, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tweets that the Giants still believe they’re in contention to re-sign Sandoval. Cafardo wrote yesterday that the Red Sox had extended Sandoval a five-year, $95MM offer.
- Padres GM A.J. Preller, meanwhile, was in Miami on Friday to meet with Sandoval’s agent, Gustavo Vasquez, MLB.com’s Corey Brock writes. He is expected to fly to the Dominican Republic today to meet with Tomas’ representation. Rosenthal reported yesterday that the Padres would make a formal offer to Sandoval on Friday. The Padres have joined the Giants and Red Sox as the key contenders to sign Sandoval, and the Braves as one of the key teams in the bidding for Tomas.
Orioles To Sign Rey Navarro To Major League Deal
The Orioles have signed infielder Rey Navarro to a major league contract, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.
Navarro, 25 in 2015, is coming off a solid season in the Reds farm system. He hit a combined .282/.343/.435 in 542 plate appearances split between Double-A and Triple-A. The switch hitter – originally signed by the Diamondbacks in 2007 – tied a career high with 12 home runs this season. His defense is his calling card, with Kubatko describing it as “plus” at shortstop. In 2011, Baseball America named him the best defensive second baseman in the Carolina League. It seems likely he will compete for a utility infield role.
Under GM Dan Duquette, the Orioles have used major league contracts to entice top minor league free agents, as they did earlier this week with Oliver Drake. Baltimore now has 38 players on their 40-man roster.
NL Notes: Kemp, Padres, Tomas, Phillies
The Dodgers might be more likely to deal Matt Kemp than is commonly believed, Jon Heyman of CBS writes. If the Dodgers did trade Kemp, they could rid themselves of a significant portion of the remainder of his contract. Also, the possibility that Joc Pederson will start the season in center field means that Kemp will have to play left, which isn’t his preference. The Dodgers will “certainly” trade at least one outfielder, Heyman writes, and it’s increasingly likely that it will be Kemp. Here are more notes from the National League.
- The Padres are reportedly involved in the bidding for Pablo Sandoval and Yasmany Tomas, but their history suggests they aren’t likely to sign either, Kirk Kenney of the Union-Tribune writes. Decades ago, the team came up short in bidding for Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson and Pete Rose, and Kenney writes that the Friars haven’t signed a significant free agent since Goose Gossage in 1983. Players like Greg Vaughn (who re-signed with the Padres as a free agent after the 1996 season) and Brian Giles (who did the same after 2005) might have something to say about that, but there’s little doubt that big free agent signings aren’t the Padres’ usual way of doing business.
- A recent report indicated the Phillies‘ level of interest in Tomas might now be diminished due to worries about his defense. But defense should be a secondary consideration if Tomas shows he has the bat to produce runs in today’s pitching-dominated game, Corey Seidman of CSNPhilly.com writes. There are plenty of good defenders available, Seidman argues, but few dominating hitters.