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Archives for April 2014

Week In Review: 4/13/14 – 4/19/14

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Here's a look back at this week at MLBTR:

Key Moves

Trades

Claimed

Designated For Assignment

 Outrighted

 Retired

Released

Key Minor-League Signings

Rangers Outright Daniel McCutchen

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SATURDAY: McCutchen has accepted the Rangers' outright assignment to Triple-A Round Rock, MLB Daily Dish's Chris Cotillo tweets.

WEDNESDAY: McCutchen has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. As McCutchen has been outrighted previously, he will have the option of electing free agency.

MONDAY: The Rangers have designated right-hander Daniel McCutchen for assignment in order to clear a 40-man roster spot for fellow righty Colby Lewis, Rangers executive VP of communications John Blake announced (on Twitter).

The 31-year-old McCutchen tossed 2 1/3 innings for the Rangers, allowing a pair of earned runs on four hits (one homer) and a pair of walks without a strikeout. McCutchen, who is of no relation to last year's National League MVP, has a career 4.81 ERA with 4.9 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 191 Major League innings between the Pirates and Rangers. The former 13th round pick has a sound minor league track record, with a 3.75 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 441 frames.

Lewis, 34, will be on the hill tonight for the Rangers after a lengthy rehab process from multiple injuries. The longtime Ranger underwent surgery to repair a torn flexor mass tendon in July 2012 and looked to be on the mend in 2013 before a hip injury led to surgery and sidelined him for the entirety of that season. He last appeared on a Major League mound in 2012 and had pitched to a solid 3.93 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 506 1/3 innings with the Rangers since returning to the big leagues from Japan in 2010.

Texas has seen its rotation devastated by injuries to Derek Holland, Matt Harrison and an early ailment to Yu Darvish (he's since returned), so a healthy Lewis could be a much-needed shot in the arm as they look to prevent the A's from a third consecutive AL West Division Championship.

West Notes: Trout, Kazmir, Padres

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Mike Trout's extension with the Angels was a compromise, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal writes. Trout wanted a contract that was either shorter (four years, which would not have delayed his free agency eligibility) or much longer (up to 13 years). The Angels wanted the deal to be between those two numbers, but wanted to sign Trout for longer than the six years they eventually got. Trout's deal still allows him to become a free agent at age 28. Here are more notes from around the West divisions.

  • Scott Kazmir says he strongly considered signing with the Astros last offseason before ultimately signing with the Athletics, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports. Kazmir attended Cypress Falls High School in Houston. "Yeah, it was serious," Kazmir says. "This is a great group of guys that are going to come up together and be a solid organization, a solid team in the big leagues. Definitely had interest." Days after Kazmir picked Oakland instead, the Astros signed Scott Feldman to a three-year deal.
  • The Padres were bidders for Cuban middle infielders Erisbel Arruebarrena and Aledmys Diaz, Jeff Sanders of the Union-Tribune writes. Now the Padres are close to a deal with another Cuban player, pitcher Odrisamer Despaigne. The Padres' money from their TV deal has allowed them now only to get involved on players like Arruebarrena and Diaz, but to sign, for example, Josh Johnson and Joaquin Benoit. The Padres also recently signed infielder Jedd Gyorko to a long-term deal.

Pirates Acquire Ike Davis From Mets

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SATURDAY: The PTBNL in the deal is likely to be a 2013 draft pick, Heyman tweets. He also notes that that player, and not Thornton, is the "key piece." 2013 picks will not be eligible to be traded until the summer.

FRIDAY 6:22pm: The PTBNL is "fairly significant," tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. It is worth bearing in mind, as Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com points out on Twitter, that 2013 draft picks still cannot technically be included in a deal.

5:45pm: A long-awaited deal has finally been struck, as the Mets officially dealt first baseman Ike Davis to the Pirates in exchange for minor league righty Zack Thornton and a player to be named later. A deal involving the struggling Davis has long been rumored, with the Pirates long said to be a likely trade partner. 

Davis

For New York, the departure of Davis means that the club will move ahead with Lucas Duda as its regular first baseman, a role that he had taken on early in 2014. It also marks the end to an ultimately disappointing tenure in New York for the 27-year-old, left-handed hitting slugger. 

Meanwhile, the Pirates will take on the $3.14MM left on Davis's 2014 salary, and will control his rights via arbitration through 2016. Davis will presumably work in some form of platoon with the right-handed hitting Gaby Sanchez, who the club picked up after he too took steps backward after a promising early career.

Once a top-100 prospect, Davis raised expectations with a strong rookie campaign in 2010, in which he hit .264/.351/.440 with 19 home runs over 601 plate appearances at age 23. He was off to a hot start the next year, hitting .302/.383/.543, before he was sidelined with ankle issues. Before the 2012 season, Davis reportedly contracted valley fever, but nevertheless managed to hit 32 long balls in 584 trips to the dish. But his OBP dropped to .308 that year, and he has not returned to form since. Over 407 MLB plate appearances in 2013-14, Davis has just a .205/.329/.337 line with 10 home runs and a rising strikeout problem (he reached a career-high 26.8% K% last year.)

Thornton is a 25-year-old reliever who was working in Triple-A this season after reaching that level late last year for the first time. He did not appear on Baseball America's list of the Bucs' top prospects this year or last year. Pittsburgh acquired Thornton in exchange for Chris Resop in May of last year. According to Thornton's profile on PiratesProspects.com, he has been much more effective against same-handed hitters in his minor league career.

As the profile also notes, Thornton was left unprotected in this year's Rule 5 draft but was not selected even after a good showing in the Arizona Fall League. While he should provide depth to a struggling Mets pen, he seems a disappointing return for a player of Davis's former promise. It remains to be seen, of course, whether the PTBNL can bring additional value to the Mets.

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com first tweeted that a deal was in the works. Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (Twitter links) first reported that the deal was done, and that one or two prospects would head back to New York.

Fallout From The Ike Davis Trade

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The Pirates hope that Ike Davis will be a long-term solution for them at first base, but they aren't giving up on prospect Andrew Lambo, Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune-Review reports (Twitter links). "Hopefully, (Ike Davis) is a move that solves our first base needs for years to come," GM Neal Huntington says. "We still think Lambo is going to be good big league player. Right now Davis is better fit for us. We'll see how it plays out." Lambo had been the presumed starter against right-handed hitters, but he headed back to the minors after a disappointing spring training. He can also play outfield, although the Pirates appear to be set for the foreseeable future there, with Starling Marte and Andrew McCutchen taking two positions and Gregory Polanco soon taking another. Here's more on the trade.

  • An executive from another team points out to ESPN New York's Adam Rubin (on Twitter) that Zack Thornton, the minor-league pitcher the Mets acquired in the deal, was eligible for last year's Rule 5 Draft but was not selected. Thornton is now in his age-26 season and has posted great stats in the high minors, so he seemed like a good candidate to be selected in the Rule 5. That every team passed on him might indicate that they aren't enamored of his upside. It is perhaps no surprise, then, that the PTBNL in the deal will be "fairly significant," as CBS Sports' Jon Heyman tweeted yesterday.
  • Davis has mixed feelings about the trade, Kevin Kernan of the New York Post reports. "It’s weird, I’ve been with the Mets a long time and made some good friendships," says Davis. "I’m excited. I know a couple of guys [in Pittsburgh] and they have a great young team. Some good veterans too. I’m looking forward to playing and hopefully helping them win."
  • Davis' agents at Octagon encouraged the trade, Heyman tweets.

Yankees Designate Cesar Cabral For Assignment

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The Yankees designated reliever Cesar Cabral for assignment after tonight's game, reports Marly Rivera of ESPN Deportes (via Twitter). Cabral, 25, had a rough outing, giving up three earned runs and failing to record an out before he was ejected for hitting his third batter of the inning.

Cabral only has 4 2/3 innings of MLB experience over the last two seasons. Across the minors in 2013, he posted a 5.40 ERA in 36 2/3 innings. Prior to that, he had spent his career in the Red Sox organization. In his best season as a reliever, 2011, he worked to a 2.95 ERA in 55 innings at the High-A and Double-A level.

Minor Moves: Brian Omogrosso, Ji-Man Choi, Rafael Perez

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Here are the day's minor moves:

  • Former White Sox pitcher Brian Omogrosso has signed on with the independent league Blueport Bluefish, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com. The 29-year-old righty has a 5.54 ERA in 37 1/3 career MLB innings.
  • Mariners prospect Ji-Man Choi has been suspended for 50 games, the Associated Press reported yesterday (via ESPN.com). Choi, a 22-year-old who was on the club's 40-man, tested positive for methandienone. He received the older first-time-offender penalty because his test was taken before new PED suspension guidelines were put in place.
  • The Rangers have released lefty Rafael Perez, reports Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News. Perez, 31, struggled at the Triple-A level this year. He was a significant part of the Indians pen between 2006-12, but has been dealing with shoulder issues.
  • The DFA limbo ranks grew significantly today, as MLBTR's DFA Tracker shows. In order of earliest to latest, here's the current group: Sam Fuld (Athletics), Lucas Harrell (Astros), Ryan Rowland-Smith (Diamondbacks), Andy Parrino (Rangers), and Ryan Roberts (Red Sox).

Jason Bartlett To Retire

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Infielder Jason Bartlett has told the Twins he will retire, reports Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter links). Though the club has asked him to reconsider, says Berardino, the expectation is that he will file his papers.

Bartlett had been working on a rehab assignment with Minnesota after making the club's Opening Day roster. Though he only saw four plate appearances this year, he did manage to appear in the outfield for the first time in his career.

Over parts of ten MLB seasons, spent almost entirely at shortstop, Bartlett put up a .270/.336/.366 line with 31 home runs and 123 stolen bases. He spent time as a regular up the middle with the Twins, Rays, and Padres organizations. His best season at the plate came in 2009 with Tampa, when Bartlett knocked 14 long balls and swiped 30 bags while registering a surprising .320/.389/.490 triple-slash. With his usually strong defense, that campaign was worth 6.2 rWAR. (He also had a 4.6 rWAR season in 2007 with Minnesota.) Bartlett delivered good value for his employers in the aggregate, as he put up 18.4 lifetime rWAR and had career earnings of $16.6MM.

Diamondbacks Designate Ryan Rowland-Smith

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The Diamondbacks have designated lefty Ryan Rowland-Smith for assignment, the club announced via press release. In a corresponding move, the team reinstated outfielder Cody Ross from the 15-day DL.

Rowland-Smith, a 31-year-old Aussie, has tossed 370 MLB innings over parts of five seasons. He sports a 4.57 lifetime ERA, with a cumulative 5.6 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9. He has seen time as both a starter and reliever, and as expected has generally been more effective working from the pen. Rowland-Smith has logged a 3.77 ERA and allowed a .735 OPS while throwing in relief, while working to a total 4.87 ERA and yielding opposing hitters a .806 OPS from a starting role.

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