Kyle Farnsworth Elects Free Agency
THURSDAY: Farnsworth has officially elected free agency, according to Marc Carig of Newsday (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 10:36pm: Farnsworth’s 45-day period actually was not set to expire until this Saturday, tweets Marc Carig of Newsday. Either way, of course, the cost savings were likely an element in the decision.
10:03pm: Farnsworth has actually been outrighted, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post (links to Twitter). The veteran clearly indicated that he intends to refuse the assignment to Triple-A, telling reporters that he hopes to find a new club that will allow him to “play against this team.”
Farnsworth also added that today was the last day for the team to release him without guaranteeing him a full season’s worth of pay, based upon the advance-consent clause contained in his contract. As Rubin tweets, the Mets will avoid owing Farnsworth about $750K for the rest of the season.
9:53pm: The Mets have released reliever Kyle Farnsworth, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). As Adam Rubin of ESPN.com tweeted earlier today, a reliever appeared to be on the way out with lefty Josh Edgin being brought into two for “possible activation.”
Farnsworth, 38, had served as the club’s closer at times this year, and carried a 3.18 ERA through 17 innings. The veteran righty sports a 5.29 K/9 against 3.18 BB/9 to go with a 35.2% groundball rate on the year. That strikeout rate falls well below his career average of 8.80 K/9, continuing a precipitous decline in that mark in recent years for Farnsworth. Over 977 career MLB innings, Farnsworth has a 4.24 ERA.
Yankees Designate Bruce Billings For Assignment
The Yankees have designated right-hander Bruce Billings for assignment, tweets MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. The move clears a 40-man roster spot for Chase Whitley, who will start for the Yanks today.
The 28-year-old Billings pitched four innings for the Yankees this season, surrendering four runs with seven strikeouts and one walk in that time. It was the first taste of big league action for Billings since 2011, when he split time between the Rockies and Athletics. In 381 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level, Billings has a 4.13 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9.
Whitley, 24, has a career 3.05 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 174 1/3 innings for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Despite strong numbers in the minors, however, the former 15th-round pick hasn’t ranked among the club’s Top 30 prospects (per Baseball America) in either of the past two offseasons.
Athletics Acquire Kyle Blanks From Padres
The Athletics have officially agreed to acquire outfielder/first baseman Kyle Blanks from the Padres. Minor league outfielder Jake Goebbert will head to San Diego in the deal, along with a player to be named later or cash considerations.
Blanks, 27, has spent most of his big league time in the outfield, but has primarily played at first in the minors. Blanks will be added to the Athletics’ MLB roster, and is expected to serve as the right-handed side of a first base platoon with Brandon Moss. He takes the place of the just-designated Daric Barton, a left-handed hitter who had been used against southpaws to little success this year.
A’s GM Billy Beane said that he targeted Blanks because he was a right-handed bat who could play at first and the corner outfield, reports Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com (Twitter links). “He is exactly what we were looking for,” said Beane, “and there’s not many out there.” Beane also emphasized Blanks’s prospect pedigree, noting that “it looked like he was going to be that guy in the majors until injuries derailed him.”
Though Blanks has seen only minimal big league action this year, he has taken 806 MLB plate appearances over parts of six seasons, posting a composite .228/.310/.401 slash with 28 career home runs. Batting from the right side, Blanks has been somewhat more successful against southpaws (.733 OPS) than versus righties (.701). While that variance may be less pronounced than one might have expected, Blanks has posted wider splits in the upper minors. Blanks had been impressive at Triple-A this year, hitting .265/.364/.651 with 9 home runs through just 99 plate appearances.
Blanks, who avoided arbitration for just under $1MM this year, had already accrued over four years of MLB service coming into the season. If he can stay on the active roster long enough to add 140 days to his tally, he would move past five years of service by season’s end. This is the final option year for Blanks, meaning that the Padres were going to have to use him or lose him in the near future — and that the Athletics, likewise, will probably not be able to stash him in the minors beyond this year.
Meanwhile, Goebbert — a 26-year-old outfielder — has yet to see any MLB action and has not yet been added to a 40-man roster, meaning that he comes with six years of control and all of his options intact. Of course, the Padres could potentially deem it necessary to give him a 40-man slot to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
While the former 13th-round draft pick does not have a major presence among independent talent evaluators — he did not place on either Baseball America’s ranking of Oakland’s top thirty prospects or on MLB.com’s list of the club’s twenty best prospects — he has been on a tear at Triple-A this year. Goebbert’s batting line stands at .257/.371/.505 through his first 132 plate appearances, continuing a trend of posting solid on-base and slugging numbers throughout his time in the upper minors.
ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick first reported the deal (via Twitter). Interest between the clubs was reported earlier in the week by Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (Twitter links), who also noted that Goebbert could be involved. Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link) and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links) reported that Goebbert was headed to the Padres in the deal, with Slusser also reporting that Blanks would be added to the MLB roster. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted that Blanks was expected to see time at first.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Athletics Designate Daric Barton For Assignment
The Athletics have designated first baseman Daric Barton for assignment, reports Jane Lee of MLB.com (via Twitter). He will be replaced on the club’s active roster by the just-acquired Kyle Blanks, who is expected to take over Barton’s first base platoon role.
Of course, the 28-year-old Barton was occupying a somewhat curious role with the A’s: despite being a left-handed hitter, he was sharing time at first with another lefty in Brandon Moss. While Barton was theoretically supposed to take his plate appearances against opposing southpaws — he has significant reverse platoon splits over his career — both players saw most of their action against righties.
More importantly, Barton was ineffective against pitchers of all kinds, with a .158/.234/.175 line and no home runs in 64 trips to the dish in 2014. Barton has yet to repeat his outstanding 2010 campaign, when he played in 159 games and put up a .273/.393/.405 line while leading the league with 110 walks. He was, however, reasonably useful last year, with a .725 OPS in 120 plate appearances.
Barton has been with the Athletics organization since 2005, playing parts of eight seasons at the MLB level while also appearing at Triple-A Sacramento in seven different seasons. As Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle notes on Twitter, Barton seems fairly likely to clear outright waivers (if and when he is placed). While he would have the right to reject an assignment should that occur, Slusser adds that Barton has elected to stay with the A’s in the past. Of course, he would now be competing with Nate Freiman for playing time and a potential call-up at Triple-A.
Padres, A’s Exploring Kyle Blanks Trade
THURSDAY: Talks between the clubs appear to be “heating up” today, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
TUESDAY: Blanks has been optioned to Triple-A to create roster space for Carlos Quentin, manager Bud Black told Marty Caswell of 1090 Sports Radio (Twitter link; h/t to MLB.com’s Corey Brock). That, rather than a completed trade, explains his absence from the lineup card today. Of course, Blanks can still be dealt just the same whether or not he is on the active roster.
MONDAY: First baseman/outfielder Kyle Blanks could be on the move soon, and the A’s are one possibility for the team that could acquire him, reports Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish (Twitter links). Oakland has in fact shown interest in acquiring Blanks, reports Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com.
One name that Cotillo hears could be in play is Jake Goebbert — a 26-year-old outfielder who is batting .257/.371/.505 in 132 plate appearances with Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento. Goebbert did not place on Baseball America’s list of Top 30 A’s prospects nor on MLB.com’s Top 20 list for Oakland.
The Friars only recently promoted Blanks, 27, from Triple-A El Paso this season, where he had been hitting the ball with authority, pounding nine homers in 99 plate appearances. Blanks was once regarded as the game’s No. 50 prospect by Baseball America and No. 54 by ESPN’s Keith Law, but that was back in 2009. Since a highly impressive debut that same season in which he batted a healthy .250/.355/.514 with 10 homers in 172 PA, Blanks has slashed just .222/.298/.372 in the Majors.
As Stiglich notes, the A’s could be interested in platooning Blanks at first and/or deploying him as an outfield bench bat. Alternatively, the club may have designs on stashing him at Triple-A for depth.
Jeff Todd contributed to this post.
Dodgers Notes: Wilson, Outfield, Guerrero, Greinke
Dodgers’ reliever Brian Wilson, who is playing on a one-year, $10MM deal that includes a $9MM player option for next season, showed a dramatic velocity drop in his outing last night. The usually hard-throwing Wilson only topped 90 mph on one fastball, though he was throwing in a blowout. As Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports (via Sulia), both Wilson and trainer Stan Conte have informed manager Don Mattingly that Wilson has no physical issues. Mattingly did say he was concerned with Wilson’s inconsistent production and velocity numbers, though he chalked it up to the fact that Wilson thrives in high-leverage situations. Wilson sports an unsightly 10.22 ERA through 12 1/3 innings, with 10.9 K/9 against 8.8 BB/9.
- The long-discussed “problem” of having four viable outfielders has finally manifested itself in Los Angeles, with Carl Crawford, Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, and Yasiel Puig all at full strength. (Indeed, the situation is only complicated further by fifth option Scott Van Slyke, who has outplayed all but Puig, and top prospect Joc Pederson, who has a 1.125 OPS at Triple-A.) Nevertheless, reports Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times, GM Ned Colletti still does not appear inclined to make a move. “It’s a situation we’re going to have to deal with,” he said. “But we’re always going to be one injury away from not having to deal with it. It gives everybody a chance to take a breath, get a day.”
- In another area that could probably be classified as a rich man’s problem, Dilbeck asks whether Dee Gordon‘s improbably outstanding start to the year makes for difficulties with top free agent signee Alex Guerrero. While Guerrero is swinging the bat well at Triple-A (.326/.386/.554 slash in 101 plate appearances), Colletti says his “defense is still something that needs to get better.” A position switch could be considered in the future, though nothing is impending. “We’ll decide at some point in time if we need to add more versatility to his defense to give him a better chance of getting here,” Colletti explained. Dilbeck notes that Guerrero, 27, will need to see MLB time in the near future if he is to return value on his $28MM deal, and wonders whether that contract would be attractive on the trade market.
- Starter Zack Greinke is well aware of the dangers of too much stress on his elbow, and has changed his entire approach in an effort to maintain his ability to throw into the future, writes Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports. In particular, Greinke has pulled back the use of his slider, saving it for more important situations. “In what I would deem a very important at-bat or a very important pitch, yes, I would throw the slider,” said Greinke. “But with the pitcher up and no one on, you might be able to strike him out with three pitches. DO you really want to throw three sliders to a pitcher? Is it really smart of me to expend full energy on a slider in that situation?” Interestingly, while Brown cites several pitchers who say they work at max effort all of the time (including Nathan Eovaldi and Clayton Kershaw), Greinke said he did not. “I don’t do that,” he said. “I don’t think I physically could. I pick my times.”
Quick Hits: Draft, Coffey, Hill, Bradley, Rockies, Gomes
Baseball America has released its list of the top 100 amateur prospects for this year’s draft. Interestingly, both Jeff Hoffman and Erick Fedde are still listed in the top ten, despite the fact that the pair of collegiate righties will enter the draft fresh off of Tommy John surgery. Here are some notes from around the game:
- Free agent reliever Todd Coffey impressed in a workout today, throwing his fastball consistently in the low-90s, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). He could sign by the weekend, according to Passan. Twelve to fifteen clubs were represented at the showcase today, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish lists some of the clubs in attendance. From the American League, the Tigers, Mariners, Astros, Athletics, and Orioles sent scouts, while the Braves and Diamondbacks were among the NL clubs on hand.
- Reliever Rich Hill of the Red Sox has an opt-out date from his minor league deal tomorrow, tweets Cotillo. The nine-year MLB veteran has been strong at Triple-A, throwing to a 2.84 ERA through 19 innings pitched with 10.4 K/9 against 4.7 BB/9.
- Diamondbacks top prospect Archie Bradley is set to begin throwing and move towards a return to the rubber, reports Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona (via Twitter). GM Kevin Towers said that the club does not have any further medical tests planned at present for the young hurler. Given his current situation, it seems that the club will exercise plenty of caution in promoting the 21-year-old.
- With the Rockies off to a hot start, Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post opines that the club should act decisively to seize the momentum by exploring a trade for Cubs pitcher Jeff Samardzija. While the price will surely be steep, Kiszla sas that the team should be willing to deal either of the team’s two prized young prospect arms — Jonathan Gray and Eddie Butler — to make a deal.
- The Blue Jays never saw in Yan Gomes the potential that has been unleashed since he was dealt to the Indians, writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. In some part, says Davidi, that could be due to the fact that Gomes was buried in the minor league depth charts, such that he never caught more than 58 games in a single season. “Ultimately you wonder if we didn’t have other prospects that were so talented, if Yan had played more, would the development path have changed, would we have had a better feel for him?” Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos said. “We were finding places for him to play, but he was never the everyday catcher because there was always someone else who was there.” Gomes, of course, has excelled (and been rewarded with an extension) in Cleveland after coming over with Mike Aviles in exchange for reliever Esmil Rogers. “We always liked Yan,” said Anthopoulos. “Clearly he’s become a better player sooner than we would have expected. That’s not a slight against him, that’s a full credit to him.”
Martin Perez, Matt Harrison Have Significant Injuries
10:19pm: The team would expect to recover a “significant portion” of Harrison’s $13MM annual salary over 2015-17 in the unfortunate event that he cannot throw due to the injury, Grant adds in an update to his post.
7:51pm: Should Perez try to avoid a TJ procedure, he would sit out for ten to twelve weeks while rehabbing, per an updated report from Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Of course, that strategy comes with the risk of delaying his recovery time by that period if he ultimately goes under the knife.
The prospects for Harrison, should he elect surgery, seem fairly grim. “There just aren’t a lot of guys who have had it and come back successfully,” said GM Jon Daniels. “I’m hoping that while the odds might not be good he will be the exception.” Grant does note that an insurance policy on Harrison paid out $2.5MM last year and could afford the club coverage of $6MM of the $8MM salary owed for 2014. The report does not indicate how the policy impacts the future years of the deal.
In terms of dealing with the injuries, Daniels said that the team is going to stick with internal options for the time being. “We will look to ride it out,” he said. “We might consider the trade market at some point, but right now, we’ll look to ride it out.”
6:02pm: Two key Rangers starters — lefties Martin Perez and Matt Harrison — have significant injuries that could result in long DL stints, reports Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest (Twitter links).
Perez, 23, has a partial UCL tear in his left elbow. While he is weighing the possibility of resting and pitching through the injury, a Tommy John procedure is on the table.
Meanwhile, the 28-year-old Harrison has another serious back issue (called spondylolisthesis) that could require a form of spinal fusion surgery. He, too, could potentially try to throw without surgery. However, if it becomes necessary, the procedure could potentially be career-threatening, according to a tweet from Jeff Wilson of the Forth Worth Star-Telegram.
The pair of hurlers had been expected to be key rotation pieces in Texas for the long haul. Perez was signed this November to a four-year, $12.5MM extension, which includes club options for 2018 through 2020. Harrison inked his own, even larger deal before the 2013 season. The extension, which covers the 2013 through 2017 campaigns and comes with a club option, guarantees him $55MM.
Needless to say, even if both Perez and Harrison see enough to gain in attempting to avoid surgery, the news clouds the outlook this year for a club that has already been hit hard by injuries. With fellow long-term commit Derek Holland still working back from his own serious knee injury, there are plenty of questions in the staff outside of ace Yu Darvish. While the rotation has fared reasonably well by measure of fWAR to date, it ranks fourth from the bottom in the league in terms of earned run average. Sitting at .500, Texas now seems an obvious potential pitching buyer over the summer — if, that is, the team can stay within striking distance.
Of course, the downside scenarios — a one-year plus recovery for Perez, and an uncertain rehabilitation process for Harrison — could have major implications for the franchise’s trajectory. Texas has committed significant future payroll (through extensions, free agency, and trades), and certainly is built to win in the immediate future. Lacking surefire pitching prospects who appear ready to step into the MLB rotation, Texas could face some tough decision-making if Perez and Harrison are gone for extended periods of time.
Marlins Sign Randy Wolf
8:49pm: Wolf did agree to a 45-day advance consent form with the Marlins, reports Rosenthal (links to Twitter). He explained that he was comfortable agreeing to those terms this time around because he was signing in the middle of the season. Wolf was set to opt out and join another (unnamed) club when the Marlins offered him the chance to join their rotation, Rosenthal adds.
2:32pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Wolf will earn a $1MM base salary plus performance incentives (Twitter link).
2:11pm: Randy Wolf exercised an opt-out clause with the D’Backs earlier this afternoon and has a new team just hours later. The Marlins have officially announced the signing of the Wasserman Media Group client to a one-year, Major League deal. Wolf will reportedly slot into Miami’s rotation, though it sounds like he’ll be backing up rookie Anthony DeSclafani in tonight’s game.
Earlier this afternoon, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reported that the Marlins were working to make a pitching addition that was not currently part of the organization, and Wolf would clearly fits that bill.
The 37-year-old Wolf underwent Tommy John surgery late in the 2012 season, but he looks to be fully recovered after a strong Spring Training with the Mariners and a respectable showing in six starts for the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate in Reno. Wolf posted a 4.50 ERA with a 35-to-18 K/BB ratio while in Reno. He had originally made the Mariners’ roster out of Spring Training as the fifth starter but instead requested his release when the team asked that he sign a 45-day advance-consent clause that would’ve allowed them to terminate the deal for any non-injury reason in that window.
Wolf is a 14-year big league veteran that has a 4.20 ERA with 7.0 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a 39 percent ground-ball rate in 2268 innings between the Phillies, Brewers, Padres, Dodgers, Astros and Orioles. Miami has a definite need for pitching depth after the devastating news that their young ace, Jose Fernandez, will likely miss the remainder of the season due to a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
With Fernandez out for the season, Nathan Eovaldi and Henderson Alvarez are locks in the rotation. Jacob Turner has been starting as well, but he’s battled shoulder problems that have likely hampered his effectiveness. Tom Koehler‘s hot start likely leaves him with a rotation spot locked down as well. In addition to DeSclafani, Miami has a slew of pitching prospects that are nearly Major League ready, though none are as intriguing as 2012 first-round pick Andrew Heaney, who has been simply dominant to this point in his minor league career.
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic first reported that Wolf was headed to Miami (Twitter link), and ESPN’s Jayson Stark reported that it was a one-year, Major League deal (Twitter links).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
AL Notes: Keppinger, Zobrist, Singleton, De Vries
Earlier today, the White Sox made the tough decision to designate infielder Jeff Keppinger for assignment, despite the fact that his contract calls for a $4MM salary in 2014 and a $4.5MM salary in 2015. GM Rick Hahn spoke to reporters about the move (Twitter links to MLB.com’s Scott Merkin) about the decision: “We are focusing on the future as opposed to trying to justify a decision from the past. … [Keppinger’s signing] didn’t work. That’s on me.”
Here’s more from the American League:
- Versatile Rays infielder/outfielder Ben Zobrist suffered a dislocated left thumb in today’s action, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (links to Twitter). A brief trip to the DL seems likely, though the injury does not appear to be a long-term concern. Through 177 plate appearances, Zobrist owned an effective (but low for his standards) .258/.352/.364 line with three home runs and three stolen bases. Discussing the struggling Tampa club in a piece for Grantland earlier today, Jonah Keri wrote that Zobrist, who is earning just $7MM this year, could potentially become a trade piece if the Rays cannot turn things around. His contract, long one of the most team-friendly in the game, includes a club option for next season at $7.5MM (with a $500K buyout).
- The Astros are still deliberating on when to call up first baseman Jon Singleton, per a report from Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston (Twitter links). “We have seen the reaction the fans have to bringing up a prospect like [George Springer],” said Luhnow. “I would say Singleton is on deck.” While Singleton, 22, has mashed at Triple-A this year (.293/.401/.629 with 12 home runs in 167 plate appearances), Luhnow did not commit to a timeline. “I think he will play up here this year,” he said. “When, that remains to be seen.” Singleton entered the year as a consensus top-100 prospect. (MLB.com placed him 44th; ESPN.com’s Keith law ranked him 78th; and Baseball America put him at 82nd.)
- Former Twins pitcher Cole De Vries has officially retired, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN via Twitter. The 29-year-old righty threw to a 4.11 ERA in 87 2/3 innings (most of them as a starter) back in 2012, with 6.0 K/9 against just 1.8 BB/9. He was less successful last year, however, giving up 18 earned runs in just 15 frames. De Vries became a minor league free agent after the year, but said that he is trying his hand at commercial real estate rather than looking for another crack at the bigs.