NL Notes: Giles, Phillies, Cardinals, Bourjos
The Phillies have promoted relief prospect Ken Giles to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Matt Gelb of the Inquirer reports. Giles struck out an incredible 29 batters in 15 innings at Double-A Reading, walking five while posting a 1.20 ERA while throwing a fastball in the high 90s. The Phillies’ bullpen has struggled this season, and they recently outrighted Shawn Camp and promoted Luis Garcia. They aren’t promoting Giles all the way to the big leagues right now, but he might be capable of helping soon. Here are more notes from the National League.
- Teams are beginning to speculate that the Cardinals could trade Matt Adams or Allen Craig once they promote top prospect Oscar Taveras, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman writes, echoing a report from ESPN’s Buster Olney earlier in the week. “I’m not going to get into who we might trade, but we can’t rule out anything as the trade deadline approaches,” Cards GM John Mozeliak tells Heyman. Taveras can also play center field in addition to right, and Heyman suggests that the only current Cardinals outfielder who isn’t a trade candidate is left fielder Matt Holliday. Taveras is currently hitting .288/.341/.488 for Triple-A Memphis.
- The promotion of Joey Butler and demotion of Randal Grichuk indicate that Peter Bourjos has played his way back into the Cardinals’ lineup, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Butler profiles as a bench outfielder, whereas Grichuk had primarily been playing center field at Memphis. “You’re going to see Peter out there on a pretty consistent basis if he keeps putting together consistent at-bats and keeps doing things the right way,” says manager Mike Matheny. “It would be hard for Randal to get the kind of time that would make it make sense for him to be here with Peter playing the way he is.” Bourjos was a key part of the Cardinals’ offseason, as they acquired him (along with Grichuk) in an attempt to upgrade their outfield defense. He got off to a very slow start, but has tripled and homered in his last two games.
Week In Review: 5/4/14 – 5/10/14
Here’s a look back at this week at MLBTR.
Top Prospect Promotions
- Rangers — IF Rougned Odor and IF Luis Sardinas (link)
- Blue Jays — P Marcus Stroman (link)
Trades
- Padres — acquired IF Benji Gonzalez from Pirates for cash or a PTBNL
Claimed
- Angels — P Brooks Raley (from Twins — link)
- Athletics — OF Nick Buss (from Dodgers — link)
- White Sox — OF Moises Sierra (from Blue Jays — link)
Designated For Assignment
- Twins — P Kenny Wilson (link)
- Padres — RP Hector Ambriz (link)
- Rangers — P Scott Baker, IF Josh Wilson (link)
- Angels — P Buddy Boshers (link)
- Mets — IF Omar Quintanilla (link)
- Indians — C George Kottaras (link)
- Rays — RP Heath Bell (link)
Outrighted
- Indians — IF Elliot Johnson (link)
- Padres — OF Xavier Nady (link)
- Yankees — RP Chris Leroux (link)
- Astros — P Raul Valdes (link)
- Reds — OF Roger Bernadina (Bernadina rejoined the big-league club later in the week — link)
- Tigers — 1B Jordan Lennerton (link)
- Orioles — IF David Adams (link)
- Angels — P Yoslan Herrera (link)
Released
- Marlins — 1B Greg Dobbs (link)
Elected Free Agency
- Phillies — RP Shawn Camp (link)
Key Minor-League Signings
- Reds — 1B/OF Shelley Duncan, C Lou Marson (link)
- Marlins — P Alex Sanabia (link)
West Notes: Belt, Giants, Quentin, Napoli
The Giants received some tough news tonight, as young first baseman Brandon Belt suffered a broken thumb on a hit-by-pitch, CSNBayArea.com’s Andrew Baggarly tweets. San Francisco does have internal options, Baggarly writes, with recent signee Travis Ishikawa and career minor leaguer Adam Duvall on the team’s Triple-A roster. Among currently active players, outfielder Michael Morse has spent significant time at first. The best bet in the immediate term, Baggarly says, is for Buster Posey to shift from behind the plate.
Here’s more from San Francisco and some other western division clubs …
- Even before Belt’s injury, the Giants were already looking forward to some roster moves with righty Matt Cain and lefty David Huff nearing returns from the DL. As Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes, the club will probably not try to sneak one of their so-far-outstanding relievers through waivers. Instead, outfielder Juan Perez and pen arm George Kontos will likely lose their spots since they can be optioned down.
- Padres outfielder Carlos Quentin is nearing a return, which could come on the team’s upcoming road swing, reports Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Quentin signed a three-year extension in the middle of the 2012 season that guarantees him $27MM through 2015 and includes a $10MM option ($3MM buyout) for 2016. While Quentin has done nothing but hit when healthy — he had a 145 OPS+ last year in a half-season of work — injuries have limited his time on the field. Sporting a league-worst 67 wRC+, San Diego will no doubt hope that Quentin can begin to make good on his contract. But with the club buried well back in the NL West, a healthy and productive return from Quentin could hypothetically make him a trade target this year or next.
- Former Rangers backstop Mike Napoli said today that he thought about returning to Texas before re-signing with the Red Sox, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald reports. “If there was any other place I’d be happy playing,” said Napoli, who has since converted to first, “it’d be Texas.” Though the Rangers showed interest in Napoli last November, he told his agent that he preferred to stay in Boston. “I don’t think it ever got to where push came to shove,” Napoli said of talks with his previous team.
AL Notes: Ramirez, Baker, Twins, Hoffman
MLB is nearing agreement on a plan to send an All-Star squad off to Japan this November for a series against the Japanese national team, tweets Jon Morosi of FOX Sports. Of course, the league has a rich history of sending its best on tour to one of the world’s great ballplaying nations.
Here are some notes from around the American League:
- Manny Ramirez is still looking for another opportunity, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. While recent contact with the Orioles failed to materialize into an offer, a scout who has seen Ramirez work out recently said that the 42-year-old slugger looks fit and was impressive with the bat. Agent Alex Esteban tells Heyman that most of the interest has come from American League teams, though several NL clubs have checked in as well. MLBTR’s Zach Links reported back in February that Ramirez had elected to join Miami Sports Management.
- The Rangers regretted the need to designate Scott Baker for assignment after a brief call-up, reports MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan. With Baker needing several days of rest after throwing 5 1/3 innings of relief in his only appearance, and the bullpen looking overworked, GM Jon Daniels said the move was an unfortunate necessity. “He did everything we asked,” said Daniels. “Unfortunately we are at a spot where the bullpen is taxed because our starters are not getting deep into games.” (Of course, the most recent Rangers starter — ace Yu Darvish — did manage to go deep in tonight’s game.) As for Baker’s fate, Daniels says that the club will “see if there is trade interest” but otherwise will place him on outright waivers.
- With the fifth overall slot in the upcoming amateur draft, the Twins could be eyeing either high school shortstop Nick Gordon or college righty Aaron Nola, ESPN.com’s Keith Law wrote in a chat yesterday. Law also notes that the Blue Jays could be a player for injured righty Jeff Hoffman, who could also intrigue several other AL clubs (Law lists the Astros, Royals, and Red Sox, while also citing the Nationals as a possibility).
NL Notes: Polanco, Nady, Montero, Cubs
We learned recently that the Pirates had offered a seven-year contract extension to outfield prospect Gregory Polanco, who has of course yet to take the major league field. The extension tender was particularly interesting because of the contrast between Polanco’s situation and that of players like the Astros‘ George Springer, whose similar extension offer came from a non-contender (and who has since been promoted), and Oscar Taveras of the Cardinals, who does not have an obvious spot at the MLB level. Those looking for more thoughts on this situation have a few pieces to check out. In a piece for Grantland, Ben Lindbergh breaks down the overall promotion picture, explaining that several organizations employ quite a different philosophy than strict service time controllers like the Bucs and Rays — and noting that there are very real risks to holding down talent. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says that the Pirates are now in a tough spot, given their desire to save money but equally obvious team need for Polanco. Meanwhile, over at Fangraphs, Dave Cameron writes that the discount demanded by the team on Polanco’s reasonably anticipated earnings was just too great, and opines that Pittsburgh should be willing to up its guarantee by $10MM to $15MM.
Here’s more from the National League:
- It is virtually certain that outrighted veteran Xavier Nady will decline his assignment and become a free agent, reports MLB.com’s Corey Brock (via Twitter). The 35-year-old veteran stands at a .135/.238/.405 triple-slash in 42 plate appearances on the season. He did put up a quality .296/.360/.456 line in 495 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level last year.
- The Mets have a detailed plan in the works regarding highly-rated pitching prospect Rafael Montero, reports Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. With an innings limit in play, New York hopes to work Montero as a reliever (first at Triple-A, then in the bigs) before sending him back to the minors to stretch back out and join the MLB rotation later on in the season.
- The first three picks of the amateur draft appear fairly set (at least at this point), which could make the Cubs (who hold the fourth overall choice) the first true wild card. With Tommy John victim Jeff Hoffman now likely out of play, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune says that possibilities include prep arm Kyle Freeland, TCU lefty Brandon Finnegan, or high school catcher/outfielder Alex Jackson.
Minor Moves: Tateyama, Phipps, Komatsu, Johnson
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league…
- Japanese sidearmer Yoshinori Tateyama has been released by the Yankees, according to the International League transactions page. The 38-year-old, a 12-year Nippon league veteran, came stateside in 2011 with the Rangers. In two seasons, he threw 61 innings of 5.75 ERA ball while striking out 9.0 batters per nine against 2.5 BB/9. Working out of the Yanks’ Triple-A pen this year, Tateyama carried a 6.08 ERA in 13 1/3 innings, though he did have an impressive 11.5 K/9 against just 2.0 BB/9.
- The White Sox have released 28-year-old outfielder Denis Phipps, according to the International League transactions page. Phipps was struggling at Triple-A for Chicago in 2014 with a .159/.250/.270 line in 72 plate appearances. This year was the first that Phipps spent away from the Reds, with whom he had a cup of coffee in 2012. Of course, if the Dominican never finds his way back to the bigs, he can still talk up his lifetime 1.064 OPS, even if it covers just 11 plate appearances.
- MLB.com’s Bill Ladson reports (via Twitter) that the Nationals have released outfielder Erik Komatsu. The 26-year-old was selected by the Cardinals in the 2012 Rule 5 Draft and then claimed off waivers by the Twins when St. Louis cut him loose. Komatsu made 58 total plate appearances that season, hitting .216/.293/.216 before being returned to the Nats. The former eighth-round pick, who was once traded from Milwaukee to Washington in exchange for Jerry Hairston, batted .188/.365/.271 at Triple-A this season and owns a career .232/.344/.328 batting line at that level.
- The Indians have outrighted utility man Elliot Johnson to Triple-A Columbus, according to the club’s transactions page. Johnson signed a minor league deal with Cleveland this offseason but collected just two hits with seven strikeouts and no walks in 20 plate appearances in his time with the club before being designated for assignment last week. The 30-year-old Johnson had the option to reject his assignment and pursue free agency, but the team announced that he has accepted and will report to Triple-A Columbus (Twitter link).
Reds Sign Shelley Duncan, Lou Marson
The Reds have signed first baseman/outfielder Shelley Duncan and catcher Lou Marson to minor league deals, tweets Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. As Eddy points out, each was released by other organizations in Spring Training (Marson by the Phillies, Duncan by the D’Backs).
Duncan, 34, appeared in 20 games for the Rays in 2014, totaling 64 plate appearances and a .182/.297/.309 batting line with a pair of homers. The brother of former Cardinals slugger Chris Duncan and son of renowned pitching coach Dave Duncan, Shelley has seen action in parts of seven big league seasons with the Yankees, Indians and Rays. He was a very useful bench bat for the Tribe in 2010-11 and hit exactly 11 Major League homers in three consecutive seasons from 2010-12.
Marson, 27, was Cleveland’s backup catcher for much of the time that Duncan was filling a reserve role there. He’s a career .219/.309/.299 hitter that has been excellent at throwing out base-stealers in his career (31 percent) but struggled in terms of pitch framing. The former fourth-round pick was once one of the Phillies’ top prospects and one of the Top 100 in the game, per Baseball America — a standing which Philadelphia leveraged when it included Marson as one of four players sent to Cleveland in the 2009 Cliff Lee trade.
Marlins To Sign Alex Sanabia
The Marlins have agreed to terms on a minor league deal with right-hander Alex Sanabia, who will head to the team’s Triple-A affiliate in New Orleans, reports Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish (Twitter link). The Paragon Sports International client was released by the Diamondbacks on Monday.
For Sanabia, the agreement marks a return to the club that originally selected him in the 32nd round of the 2006 draft. From 2010-13, he totaled 138 1/3 innings of 4.15 ERA ball with the Fish, averaging 5.6 strikeouts and 2.9 walks per nine innings pitched. A fly-ball pitcher, Sanabia has struggled with home runs throughout his career, and they were again his undoing in the D’Backs organization; Sanabia posted a bloated 8.10 ERA in 23 1/3 innings for Triple-A Reno due to the fact that he yielded an alarming eight long balls in that time.
The Marlins have developed some enviable pitching depth, with Jose Fernandez, Nathan Eovaldi and Henderson Alvarez fronting their rotation. Jacob Turner could factor into the mix as well now that he’s been activated from the disabled list, and Tom Koehler has been a very serviceable fourth/fifth starter for the team. Additionally, Miami has names like Andrew Heaney, Justin Nicolino, Anthony DeSclafani and Brian Flynn in its minor league ranks — each of whom is nearing the bigs (or has previously reached them, in Flynn’s case).
Twins Designate Kenny Wilson For Assignment
The Twins announced that they have designated outfielder Kenny Wilson for assignment as part of a series of roster moves. Minnesota has purchased the contract of Chris Parmelee and also activated outfielder Aaron Hicks from the seven-day concussion list. Their 25-man roster spots were opened yesterday when the team optioned Pedro Florimon and Chris Herrmann to Triple-A Rochester.
Wilson’s tenure with the Twins has been short-lived, as the 24-year-old defensive whiz was recently claimed off waivers from the Blue Jays. Minnesota claimed the center fielder to replace outfielder Darin Mastroianni, whom the team was forced to DFA in order to make room for waiver claim Sam Fuld. Wilson didn’t hit much for the Twins and has struggled all season between Minnesota and Toronto, slashing just .204/.276/.291 in 118 PAs at the Double-A level.
Parmelee was outrighted off the team’s roster during Spring Training, and the former first-round pick again displayed the ability to pummel minor league pitching after being sent to Triple-A. Parmelee batted .305/.378/.542 with seven homers in 135 PAs in Rochester — numbers that aren’t too different from his career line of .295/.395/.530 at that level. However, the 26-year-old hasn’t been able to carry that success to the Majors, as he’s compiled a career triple-slash line of just .246/.322/.395 in 631 PA. Most of the damage he’s done in the Majors came in a brilliant 21-game September call-up back in 2011. He’s posted a .666 OPS in 543 PAs since.
Shawn Camp Elects Free Agency
FRIDAY: Camp has elected free agency, the team has announced.
THURSDAY: The Phillies have outrighted veteran reliever Shawn Camp, the team announced. In a corresponding move, Philadelphia called up fellow righty Luis Garcia.
Camp, 38, can refuse the assignment and elect free agency. In three appearances this year, Camp gave up two earned runs on seven hits. Though he avoided any free passes, he mustered only one strikeout. In parts of 11 big league seasons, Camp has compiled a lifetime 4.41 ERA in 592 1/3 innings, all in relief. His last effective season as a big leaguer came in 2012, when he led the league with 80 appearances and registered a 3.59 ERA for the Cubs.
Garcia is a 27-year-old who has seen his only MLB time with the Phillies. In 31 1/3 innings of relief last year, he put up a 3.73 ERA while both striking out and walking 6.6 batters per nine. Garcia was throwing well at Triple-A this year, going 13 2/3 frames without giving up an earned run while posting a much more attractive 8.6 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9. He becomes the latest hurler to receive a chance to settle a Phillies bullpen that has struggled to a 4.97 ERA out of the gate.