Tigers Outright Francisco Martinez
The Tigers announced that they have outrighted the contract of minor league infielder Francisco Martinez off the 40-man roster in order to clear a spot for right-hander Corey Knebel, whose contract has officially been selected from Triple-A Toledo (Twitter link).
Martinez, 23, has batted .228/.282/.298 for Double-A Erie this season. The Venezuelan infielder/outfielder was originally signed by the Tigers but found himself traded to Seattle alongside Casper Wells, Charlie Furbush and Chance Ruffin in the trade that sent Doug Fister and David Pauley to the Tigers. Detroit re-acquired Martinez in exchange for a player to be named later last summer.
Knebel, 22, was the 39th overall pick in last year’s draft and will make his big league debut less than 12 months after being selected. The University of Texas alum has utterly dominated the minor leagues in a relief role to this point, registering a 0.90 ERA with 12.2 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 50 innings across three levels. Baseball America ranked the power right-hander — whose fastball can touch 98 mph — sixth among Tigers prospects heading into the season.
Draft Links: Top 200, Rodon, Cubs, Aiken, Nola, Beede
Baseball America has expanded its 2014 Draft Database to include the Top 200 names on the board, with high school left-hander Brady Aiken topping the list, followed by high school right-hander Tyler Kolek, NC State left-hander Carlos Rodon, high school catcher/outfielder Alex Jackson and Evansville left-hander Kyle Freeland. The list of names and video on each player is available for free to the public, while scouting reports require a subscription that is highly recommended for draft enthusiasts.
Here’s some more draft-related news…
- In BA’s latest Mock Draft, Rodon is now projected to slide to the White Sox with the No. 3 pick. As John Manuel explains, there is some concern over Rodon’s usage at the end of the season, including the decision to allow him to return to the mound after a 75-minute rain delay. NC State did not use him on three days’ rest with its season on the line in its final game, either. Manuel spoke to one executive who said, “The $6 million question is whether or not he is athletic enough to start long-term. Some guys think he is, but other guys aren’t so sure and think he may wind up a reliever. It just seems like there isn’t a $6 million player in this draft.” BA’s latest mock draft is available to the public without a subscription.
- Within that mock draft, Manuel notes that president Theo Epstein was part of a Cubs contingent that scouted Kennesaw State catcher Max Pentecost in last weekend’s Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament. If Rodon doesn’t fall to the Cubs at No. 4, the team could sign Pentecost to a money-saving deal that would allow them to spend more in the later portions of the draft. BA’s current projection is for that very scenario to play out.
- Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reported last night (via Twitter) that Astros GM Jeff Luhnow attended Aiken’s most recent outing on Monday before heading to Japan with director of pro scouting Kevin Goldstein.
- BA’s Aaron Fitt writes that Louisiana State right-hander Aaron Nola is “clearly college baseball’s best pitcher” and feels that he should reach the Major Leagues relatively quickly after being drafted. Fitt recaps Nola’s most recent start, noting that his fastball sat 95-96 mph when he got into a first-inning jam then settled in at 92-94 mph through the eighth inning. He also features a 79-81 mph slider that gives right-handers fits when thrown inside and an 83-84 mph changeup that generates grounders versus lefties. Nola has dominated the nation’s best conference for two years running, writes Fitt. He is universally regarded as a Top 10 pick in the upcoming draft.
- From that same piece, Fitt reports that at least five GMs were on-hand to see surefire first-rounder Tyler Beede (Vanderbilt) turn in an underwhelming performance. Beede’s command issues have caused his draft stock to slip this season, and he did little to help that perception with his latest outing. Though he set down the first seven he faced, he opened the fifth inning with three straight walks. After escaping unharmed, he opened the sixth with a walk and would later hit a pair of batters to open the seventh.
- ESPN’s Keith Law tweeted yesterday that the White Sox were in heavy on Nola’s start in the SEC Tournament, as Kenny Williams Jr. and owner Jerry Reinsdorf were on-hand to watch his outing. On a similar note, 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson reports that the Twins had VP of player personnel Mike Radcliff and top national crosschecker Tim O’Neil on-hand for Nola’s start (Twitter link).
Blue Jays Designate Esmil Rogers For Assignment
The Blue Jays have designated right-hander Esmil Rogers for assignment, manager John Gibbons announced in a radio appearance on The Fan 590 (via Sportsnet’s Jeff Simmons on Twitter). The move clears room on the 40-man roster for tonight’s starter, Liam Hendriks, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Buffalo.
The DFA brings to end a tenure that will leave Toronto fans wondering what might’ve been. The Blue Jays’ acquisition of Rogers is directly tied to the compensation they received for allowing John Farrell to return to Boston; Toronto acquired Mike Aviles as compensation for Farrell and right-hander David Carpenter (who has emerged as a bullpen ace with the Braves). Before Aviles ever played a game in Toronto, he was flipped to the Indians along with Yan Gomes in exchange for Rogers.
Rogers has gone on to total a 5.06 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 158 1/3 innings with the Jays. He’s been hurt by a bloated homer-to-flyball ratio that is outlandish enough for sabermetric ERA estimator xFIP to project an ERA just over 4.00 based on his work with the Blue Jays, but the results didn’t line up with that favorable projection in either of his two seasons north of the border.
Gomes, meanwhile, has emerged as a breakout catching star for the Indians, having slashed .289/.340/.479 with 17 homers in 477 PA for Cleveland. Gomes has gunned down 38 percent of opposing base stealers while with the Indians — good for 12 percent above the league average — and he’s also regarded as one of the game’s best pitch-framers behind the plate. His contributions to this point have been worth 4.8 WAR (per Fangraphs), and he’s been impressive enough to have earned a six-year, $23MM extension, supplanting Carlos Santana as the team’s everyday catcher.
The 25-year-old Hendriks has excelled in 48 2/3 innings for Buffalo this season, pitching to a sparkling 1.48 ERA with a 36-to-3 K/BB ratio. The former Twins hurler hasn’t had much success in the big leagues to date, however, as he’s been incredibly homer-prone.
Latest On MLB’s Commissioner Search
Last week, it was announced that Major League Baseball had formed a committee to appoint the league’s next commissioner at the end of Bud Selig’s tenure, which will come to an end next January. Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times has more on the search, noting that several owners have indicated to him their belief that Selig is strongly in favor of COO Rob Manfred taking the reins when his own time is through.
Selig’s desire for Manfred to succeed him isn’t necessarily a new revelation, but Schmidt goes on to write that Selig’s push for Manfred as his heir is meeting some resistance from an unexpected source — White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. Schmidt spoke with more than 20 owners, senior team officials and MLB officials for his piece and came away with the knowledge that Reinsdorf — a long-time supporter of Selig — “has broken ranks and tried to upend the plan to slide Mr. Manfred into the commissioner’s office on Park Avenue.”
Reinsdorf was the only source to not require anonymity when speaking with Schmidt, telling him: “What I have said about [Manfred] is none of your business.” Reinsdorf added that he’s never said a bad word about Selig himself, whom he called the game’s “best commissioner.”
Schmidt continues by writing that Selig initially called a meeting with a select group of owners — Reinsdorf included — this past February, informing them that they would play a role in choosing his successor. As word of this attempt made its way through the game’s front offices, several owners became irritated. Eventually, Selig instead made the announcement of a smaller search committee last week.
Current candidates, in addition to Manfred, include Disney chief executive Bob Iger, Giants president Larry Baer, Braves chairman Terry McGuirk and Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski, according to Schmidt. Tim Brosnan and Rob Bowman — currently senior business executives in the Commissioner’s Office — are seen as long shots.
Marlins Sign Miguel Tejada
THURSDAY: Tejada’s split contract will pay him $625K in the Major Leagues and $15K per month in the minors, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link).
MONDAY: The Marlins have signed veteran infielder Miguel Tejada to a minor league contract. Tejada is represented by Relativity Sports.
Tejada, 39, spent last season with the Royals, putting up a .288/.317/.378 line in 167 trips to the plate before being suspended for Adderall use. Playing mostly at second and third, Tejada received solid defensive marks from Defensive Runs Saved, while UZR much preferred him at the hot corner. In the aggregate, he posted up a useful 0.7 rWAR/0.4 fWAR in 53 games.
While it seemed that his career was likely to be at an end at that point, Tejada insisted at the time that he did not plan to retire. The former AL MVP has a .285/.336/.456 career mark over his 16 years of MLB action.
Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (via Twitter) was the first to report that the two sides had reached an agreement pending Tejada’s physical, with CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reporting (Twitter link) that the deal was official. Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes reported earlier on Friday that a deal was close.
Latest On Kendrys Morales
News earlier today that Prince Fielder will miss the rest of the season sparked speculation that Kendrys Morales would be a fit to replace him, and Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that the team has indeed scouted the switch-hitting slugger’s workouts at the Scott Boras Training Institute in Miami. The Rangers, according to Heyman, had seen Morales work out even before the news of Fielder’s injury.
A pair of other clubs with potential need for an offensive boost have also watched Morales — the Brewers and Orioles. Additionally, the Mariners have remained in touch with Morales “at times,” according to Heyman. He adds that it isn’t hard to see the Brewers getting involved after the draft, especially if their offense continues to sputter (Milwaukee has dropped five of its past six games and scored just 15 runs in that time). Heyman runs down a list of potential suitors for Morales, though most are classified by him to be long shots.
In my estimation, the Brewers and Rangers appear to be the best fits on paper. The Orioles may want to keep their DH slot open for Matt Wieters, whose arm issues could prevent him from throwing and therefore from seeing time behind the plate. Seattle already has a large number of first base/DH types, though the news that Corey Hart will be out for an extended period of time and the persistent struggles of Justin Smoak could alter their plan of attack.
Barring a surprise push from the Mariners to re-sign Morales in the next two weeks, it seems unlikely that he’ll agree to a deal before the MLB Draft, which begins on June 5. Teams other than the Mariners, of course, will no longer be required to forfeit a draft pick should they sign Morales at that point.
NL East Links: Purke, Jordan, Hood, Phils, Hatcher
Nationals left-hander Matt Purke traveled to Washington for an examination of his elbow this week and is slated to receive a second opinion from an outside physician, assistant GM Doug Harris tells Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. Purke, a third-rounder back in 2011 that signed a $4MM Major League deal out of the draft, has dealt with injuries throughout his career, though most have been related to his shoulder. Those arm troubles date back to his college days, as they were the reason the one-time first-round pick (the Rangers took him 14th overall in 2009, but he elected to attend college at TCU) fell to the third round. Here’s more on the Nats and the rest of the division…
- From that same piece, Kilgore dispels any concerns over right-hander Taylor Jordan, who was lifted from his most recent Triple-A start with soreness in his arm. Harris tells Kilgore that the decision was purely precautionary and they expect no further complications.
- Nationals prospect Destin Hood is putting a down season in 2013 behind him, writes Lacy Lusk for Baseball America. Hood is playing his best baseball since being a second-round pick back in 2008, and he could force his way onto the 40-man roster at season’s end. Nats’ Triple-A manager Billy Gardner Jr. offered high praise for Hood when interviewed by Lusk.
- In a special piece for BA, CSN Philly’s Jim Salisbury writes that Phillies catcher Willians Astudillo has burst onto the prospect scene with a strong offensive performance in the early stages of the 2014 season after missing all of 2013 with a knee injury. Astudillo battled his way onto the Class A Lakeland roster and has opened the season by hitting .368/.385/.500. Director of player development Joe Jordan loves Astudillio’s bat, but he makes it sound as though the 5’9″, 182-pound Venezuelan backstop needs some more work behind the dish.
- MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro writes that right-hander Chris Hatcher is surprised to be back in the Majors after being designated for assignment and clearing waivers earlier in the year. “Wasn’t expecting [it],” Hatcher told Frisaro. “I was throwing the ball well down there. I’ll come up here and try to keep doing it and help the team get some outs.” Part of the reason for Hatcher’s surprise could be due to his off-field issues; the 29-year-old was in an altercation with teammate Sam Dyson where he hit Dyson and fractured his jaw. Hatcher tells Frisaro that he put himself “in a tough spot professionally and as a person hope[s] to move on from it.”
Mariners Sign Todd Coffey
THURSDAY: Coffey has passed his physical, making his deal with the Mariners complete, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (via Twitter). Coffey’s base salary upon making the Major League roster will be $750K, and his contract contains $350K of incentives. He’ll earn $15K per month in the minor leagues, Heyman adds.
TUESDAY: The Mariners are set to sign right-hander Todd Coffey to a minor league deal, reports Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune (Twitter links). The Beverly Hills Sports Council client’s deal is pending a physical, and he’ll fly to Arizona on Wednesday or Thursday to take that exam, Dutton adds.
Coffey missed the 2013 season after undergoing the second Tommy John surgery of his career. His most recent Major League action came in 2012, when he posted a 4.66 ERA in 19 1/3 innings. Coffey was in the midst of a strong 8 2/3 inning scoreless stretch that season but was hit hard in his final outing — his final appearance before undergoing surgery.
Coffey had posted a 3.62 ERA in 59 2/3 innings the year prior, and has had similar ups and downs throughout his entire career. He’s had fairly wild swings in his year-to-year ERA, but xFIP has consistently pegged him for something in the 3.90 to 4.00 range, while SIERA has been a bigger fan, suggesting marks between 3.50 and 3.80.
Coffey has averaged 93.2 mph on his heater throughout his career, and Yahoo’s Jeff Passan recently reported that he was sitting at 91-92 mph in his most recent workout for teams. The Mariners rank ninth in the Majors in bullpen ERA (3.29), and Coffey will provide them with a nice option, should one of their current arms go down to injury. Seattle also had interest in Heath Bell recently, so it does appear they’ve been actively pursuing additional depth.
Minor Moves: Joe Gardner, Max Ramirez
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league…
- Right-hander Joe Gardner has signed a minor league deal with the Cubs and been assigned to Double-A, where he will make his season debut on Saturday, his agents at Sosnick/Cobbe Sports announced (on Twitter). The former Indians and Rockies farmhand was a part of the 2011 trade that sent Ubaldo Jimenez to Cleveland. He began the season with the Atlantic League’s Lancaster Barnstormers where he fired five shutout innings with a 7-to-1 K/BB ratio. Gardner, a former third-round pick, twice ranked inside his team’s Top 30 prospects, according to Baseball America, who most recently noted that his low three-quarter arm slot makes him tough on right-handers.
- The Reds have released former top catching prospect Max Ramirez from their Triple-A affiliate in Louisville, according to the International League’s transactions page. The now-29-year-old Ramirez was 10-for-52 (all singles) with Louisville though he also managed to draw an impressive 16 walks in 68 plate appearances, making for a rather peculiar triple-slash of .192/.382/.192. He has a career .269/.348/.407 batting line in 470 games at Triple-A but hasn’t reached the Majors since 2010.
Central Notes: Moustakas, Knebel, Taveras, Cubs
The Royals announced today that they have optioned struggling third baseman Mike Moustakas to Triple-A Omaha. The move marks a significant fall for the former top prospect, who has yet to show any sort of consistency at the Major League level. Royals fans were optimistic when “Moose” hit .269/.314/.425 over his final 78 games last season and posted strong numbers in Spring Training, but the 25-year-old hit just .152/.223/.320 in 40 games this season despite being platooned for much of the year. Moustakas has turned in elite defensive numbers throughout his career, but he’ll need to show more at the plate to ever deliver on his lofty prospect status.
Here are some more items pertaining to baseball’s Central divisions…
- The Tigers today optioned left-hander Robbie Ray to Triple-A Toledo and announced that they will purchase the contract of right-hander Corey Knebel prior to tomorrow’s game. Knebel, a right-handed reliever, will become the second player from the 2013 draft to reach the Major Leagues (Cleveland’s Kyle Crockett debuted on May 16). He’s posted a brilliant 0.90 ERA with 12.2 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 50 innings across three levels since being selected 39th overall less than one year ago.
- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that playing time for Cardinals top prospect Oscar Taveras could present itself shortly in the Majors, as the team begins a stretch of seven games in AL parks in early June. However, the Cardinals could also recall Randal Grichuk, who has been on an otherwordly tear since being sent back to Triple-A, having slashed .347/.418/.776 with six homers in 12 games. GM John Mozeliak wouldn’t rule out the possibility of either player being promoted when asked by Goold.
- Grantland’s Jonah Keri spoke with Cardinals pitching coach Derek Lilliquist, ace Adam Wainwright and former Redbird Kyle Lohse about the intricacies of former pitching coach Dave Duncan’s philosophy and approach to the game. Keri writes that Duncan’s influence still runs through the veins of the Cardinals’ organization, which is a driving force behind the team’s extended success. Wainwright said Duncan was “borderline maniacal” in terms of advance scouting and analytics. Keri notes that Duncan never cared much for pitcher-versus-batter data, as such small samples led to misguided decisions.
- Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts will submit a revised proposal for renovations to Wrigley Field, writes MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat. If approved, they are prepared to move forward with the plans, which include additional seating in the Budweiser Bleachers, new outfield lights to reduce shadows, four additional LED signs of up to 650 square feet and a 2400 square foot video board in right field. Ricketts says negotiations with rooftop business owners have gone nowhere, so “It has to end. It’s time to move forward.” He hopes they can avoid going to court with the rooftop owners.