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Tony Abreu Opts Out Of Contract With Giants

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Veteran infielder Tony Abreu has opted out of his contract with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, the team announced on Twitter.

Abreu, primarily a second baseman, has had a solid campaign with the Fresno Grizzlies this year, hitting .281/.329/.434 with six homers and 15 doubles in 250 plate appearances, though it’s worth noting that those stats came in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. The Giants earlier today signed Dan Uggla to a minor league deal, and with Uggla reporting to Fresno, it’s possible that Abreu’s playing time stood to diminish.

The 29-year-old Abreu spent a fair amount of time the Giants’ Major League club last season, hitting .268/.301/.442 with a pair of homers, 12 doubles and three triples in 147 plate appearances over 53 games. The Scott Boras client is a career .256/.285/.376 hitter in the Majors and also has experience at third base and shortstop.

Angels Sign John Buck

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The Angels have signed the recently released John Buck to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Salt Lake, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (Twitter link).

Buck, a client of ACES, was designated for assignment and eventually released by the Mariners earlier this month when after hitting .226/.293/.286 in 27 games (92 plate appearances). The 34-year-old will provide some veteran catching depth for the Halos, who have been using a productive combination of Chris Iannetta and Hank Conger behind the dish this season.

In parts of 11 big league seasons between the Royals, Marlins, Mets, Pirates and Mariners, Buck is a .234/.301/.398 hitter with 134 home runs. He’s gunned down 25 percent of opposing base-stealers in his career and was at 21 percent in 2014 with Seattle.

Tommy Milone Asks For Trade

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Oakland’s acquisition of Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel displaced left-hander Tommy Milone from the club’s rotation, and now the 27-year-old has asked the club for a trade, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Oakland has received multiple inquiries on Milone, but the team doesn’t feel inclined to move him, as he could be needed for future depth in the event of injuries or ineffectiveness. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that she now also hears that Milone has asked for a trade, but that won’t necessarily prompt the A’s to deal him.

It’s understandable that Milone would be frustrated with his demotion. As Rosenthal notes, July 5 marked the third time that Milone was sent to Triple-A Sacramento in the past calendar year, and it come on the heels of a stretch in which he went 6-0 with a 2.62 ERA in 11 starts.

Milone is not yet arbitration eligible — he will be this offseason — and is under control through the 2017 season. A soft-tossing southpaw (he’s averaged 87.3 mph on his fastball in his career), Milone has a 3.84 ERA with 6.5 K/9, 2.0 BB/9 and a 36.8 percent ground-ball rate in 468 2/3 Major League innings. The A’s originally acquired him from the Nationals as part of the Gio Gonzalez trade. He’s a client of Praver/Shapiro, as shown in MLBTR’s Agency Database.

Milone would appeal to a wide range of teams, as contending clubs in need of help at the back of their rotation could be interested, but rebuilding teams in need of controllable arms could look to acquire him as well.

Offseason Extensions For Towers, Gibson Were One-Year Deals

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Back in February, the D’Backs announced extensions for general manager Kevin Towers and manager Kirk Gibson that ran beyond the 2014 campaign, but the team declined to include the length of either deal, and subsequent reports neglected to shine any light on the contract terms. Now, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that each extension was a “unique” one-year deal that could potentially become longer deals.

There’s been quite a bit of speculation about the job security of both Towers and Gibson, given the club’s poor start to the 2014 season. Tony La Russa has been hired by the D’Backs to serve as the “Chief Baseball Officer” who will evaluate the club’s decision makers.

It remains to be seen how the length of the deals will impact either Towers or Gibson, but surely a one-year commitment could make it easier for the D’Backs to make a change if La Russa determines one is needed. As Heyman writes, Towers doesn’t feel that his role has been altered or reduced to that of a “psuedo-GM” since the hiring of La Russa, though he knows the ultimate decision is out of his hands. “Tony will make the decision,” Towers said to Heyman. “I’m a big boy.”

Rockies Designate Jair Jurrjens For Assignment

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The Rockies have designated right-hander Jair Jurrjens for assignment, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter). The move was necessitated by the promotion of first baseman Ben Paulsen, whose contract was selected today. Paulsen will replace Justin Morneau, who has been placed on the 15-day DL with a neck strain.

Jurrjens made a pair of spot starts for Colorado after being acquired from the Reds, but the former All-Star’s results were less than favorable. Jurrjens allowed 11 earned runs in 9 1/3 innings, though he did so with nine strikeouts against just three walks. In 40 1/3 innings at Triple-A this season, the 28-year-old has a 4.02 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9.

Blue Jays Designate Sergio Santos For Assignment

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3:02pm: Anthopoulos tells reporters, including Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star, that he made no effort to trade Santos and has already placed him on waivers (Twitter link). Santos did not ask to be traded, either. Toronto’s hope is that Santos will clear waivers and head to Triple-A to rediscover his form.

2:18pm: The Blue Jays announced that they have designated right-hander Sergio Santos for assignment and recalled southpaw Rob Rasmussen from Triple-A Buffalo.

Santos, 31, has rarely been healthy since the Blue Jays surprisingly acquired him from the White Sox prior to the 2012 season. He missed the majority of his first season north of the border following surgery to repair a frayed labrum in his shoulder, and last season he was sidelined by triceps injuries. This year, a forearm strain has shelved Santos and likely contributed to some significant struggles on the mound.

Santos looked excellent in 25 2/3 innings last season — he posted a 1.75 ERA with a 28-to-4 K/BB ratio — but he’s been lost in 2014. The former ChiSox stopper has a 7.78 ERA wit 26 strikeouts and 17 walks in 19 2/3 innings. His command issues haven’t just been limited to free passes, as he’s also uncorked four wild pitches in that relatively short amount of time.

Suffice it to say, if this is the end of his time with the Jays, Santos’ tenure in Toronto didn’t pan out as well as GM Alex Anthpoulos had hoped when he plucked him from the South Siders in exchange for prospect Nestor Molina. However, it appears that Anthopoulos still did a commendable job of selling high on Molina, who had a 2.21 ERA in 130 1/3 innings in 2011 but has posted a combined 4.56 ERA across three levels in Chicago’s minor league system since. Now 25 years old, he has thrown just four innings at the Triple-A level — all of which came in 2012.

The Jays still owe Santos roughly $1.43MM of this season’s $3.75MM salary, as well as a $750K buyout on the first of three club options in the three-year, $8.25MM extension he originally signed with the Sox.

Top 11 Picks Will Be Protected In 2015 Draft

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The Astros’ failure to sign Brady Aiken resulted in the team receiving a compensation pick (No. 2 overall) in the 2015 draft, and while we’ve seen problems caused by comp picks in the Top 10 under the new CBA (specifically heading into the 2013 season), MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes reports that a change has been made to the protected pick structuring (Twitter links). Previously, the CBA had called for the “Top 10” picks to be protected, but changes have been made that will protect the picks of the teams with the 10 worst records, regardless of whether or not comp picks are inserted into the first 10 selections.

This very situation may have cost the Mets a chance to sign Michael Bourn in the 2012-13 offseason (an outcome that, in hindsight, may have been beneficial to New York). The Mets finished the 2012 campaign with the 10th-worst record in baseball, but their No. 10 pick was pushed back to No. 11 due to the Pirates’ inability to reach agreement with 2012’s No. 8 overall pick — Mark Appel (who was drafted 1-1 by Houston the following season).

The Mets were weighing an appeal to the commissioner’s office that would have allowed them to sign Bourn and surrender a second-round pick, as Bourn had turned down a qualifying offer from the Braves and was subsequently linked to draft pick compensation. Before any resolution of the matter could ever be hammered out, the Indians made a four-year, $48MM offer that Bourn accepted. It’s not clear if that scenario prompted the change, but it’s logical to speculate that the Bourn situation could have sparked the change.

Coincidentally, the Mets currently have the 10th-worst record in baseball once again, though obviously that’s subject to change over the final two-plus months of the season. However, regardless of which team ends up having their pick pushed back from No. 10 to No. 11 to accommodate the Astros’ new selection, that pick will remain protected. That team, therefore, would only have to surrender a second-round pick in  order to sign a free agent that turns down a qualifying offer.

This will mark the second consecutive year that the Top 11 picks are protected in the draft, although the reasoning behind the protection of this year’s No. 11 pick was different. The Blue Jays received the No. 11 pick as compensation for failing to sign 2013 No. 10 overall pick Phil Bickford, and compensation picks, by definition, are protected under the CBA.

Phillies Outright Koyie Hill, Designate Tony Gwynn Jr.

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The Phillies announced that they have outrighted veteran catcher Koyie Hill off the 40-man roster and designated center fielder Tony Gwynn Jr. for assignment. The team also announced that Cesar Hernandez has been optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The series of roster moves creates space for Cliff Lee, Wil Nieves and Reid Brignac to be activated from the disabled list.

The 35-year-old Hill appeared in 10 games and collected 22 plate appearances this season with Nieves on the disabled list. He hit .238/.273/.286 in that brief sample. As a player who has been outrighted in the past, he will have the ability to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, though Hill is no stranger to playing at the Triple-A level, so he may simply accept.

The 31-year-old Gwynn batted .163/.284/.204 in 119 plate appearances and played his typical brand of solid defense in center field (a few misplays in left field appear to have created some negative defensive marks for his brief, 33-inning sample there). It’s been a rough few weeks for Gwynn, who tragically lost his father — Hall of Famer and Padres legend Tony Gwynn Sr. — to cancer last month.

Lee will come off the disabled list to start tonight’s contest, meaning that he should be able to make at least two starts in the trade deadline (his third start would currently project to fall on the day of the trade deadline, though he could make one earlier than that if he pitches on short rest). The Philadelphia ace last pitched on May 18 and has been sidelined by a left elbow strain. He’s posted a 3.18 ERA with 8.1 K/9, 1.2 BB/9 and a career-best 49.1 percent ground-ball rate in 68 innings this season. If you subtract a disastrous Opening Day outing, he’s been even better this year, pitching to a 2.29 ERA in 63 innings (nine starts). Though Lee can block trades to 20 teams, some reports have indicated that he’d be open to waiving his no-trade rights in order to move to a contending team. His name figures to be heavily discussed in the coming 10 days, though he could also be an August trade candidate.

AL East Notes: Johnson, Price, Cardinals, Lester

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A few weeks ago, the Orioles and Athletics discussed a trade that would’ve seen Jim Johnson return to Baltimore, ESPN’s Jayson Stark reports (Twitter link).  The Orioles were the ones who ultimately decided not to pursue the deal.  The A’s have been having trouble finding a trade partner for the struggling reliever, as prior talks with the Marlins also fell through.  Johnson wouldn’t have been returning to his old closer role with the O’s, as Zach Britton has been excellent as Baltimore’s ninth-inning stopper this season.

Here’s some more from around the AL East…

  • Rival officials see the Cardinals, Mariners and Dodgers as the three teams best positioned to acquire David Price from the Rays, ESPN’s Buster Olney writes.  In the Insider-only piece, Olney looks at the pros and cons for each club in making a big trade for Price.
  • Also from Olney (Twitter link), the concept of a trade for both Price and Evan Longoria has been mentioned by some in the Cardinals organization.  There is “zero indication” such a deal has been discussed with the Rays, however, and the idea could well just be idle front office brainstorming.
  • Signing Jon Lester to a contract extension may seem like a no-brainer on paper for the Red Sox, yet as Tim Britton of the Providence Journal illustrates, the team is worried by the long list of pitchers who suddenly declined or got injured in their early 30’s.

Giants Sign Dan Uggla

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The Giants have signed second baseman Dan Uggla, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link).  It’s a minor league contract that will see Uggla report to Triple-A Fresno, and the deal contains an out clause for August 1st, according to Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter).  Uggla is represented by Turn 2 Sports Management.

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Giants second basemen have combined for only 0.3 fWAR this season, and with Marco Scutaro back from the disabled list but not close to 100 percent, adding Uggla seems like a no-lose risk.  San Francisco’s interest in the veteran slugger was reported by CSNBayArea.com’s Andrew Baggarly on Friday.  Uggla seems badly in need of a change of scenery to revive his career, as the 34-year-old has seen his numbers steadily decline over the last four seasons, bottoming out with just a .472 OPS in 145 PA this year.

Uggla lost his starting job in Atlanta to rookie Tommy La Stella, and things quickly soured from there. Uggla received very little playing time over his final two months in Atlanta, and he was issued a one-game suspension for showing up only an hour before a game.  The Braves are still on the hook for the approximately $18.2MM remaining on Uggla’s contract through the end of the 2015 season, as the Giants only owe him a prorated league minimum salary for the remainder of 2014.

It seems unlikely that the Giants will cease looking for additional help at the keystone, but Uggla serves as a reasonable enough buy-low option for GM Brian Sabean.  Should he produce for San Francisco, it wouldn’t be the first time that Sabean caught lightning in a bottle on a struggling veteran. In 2010, the Giants’ additions of Pat Burrell and Cody Ross helped fuel their charge to the World Series, in which they defeated the Rangers four games to one.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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