West Notes: Appel, Trumbo, Sandoval
The Astros have sent 2013 top overall pick Mark Appel to extended spring training, Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle reports (Twitter links). The Astros say Appel isn’t injured, and they attribute his struggles to his adjustments to their tandem rotation system, but GM Jeff Luhnow calls Appel’s performance so far “a little unsettling.” Appel has posted a 6.23 ERA with 13 strikeouts and four walks so far with Class A+ Lancaster. Here are more notes from the West divisions.
- Diamondbacks outfielder Mark Trumbo will be out six weeks with a fracture in his foot, Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona tweets. Trumbo’s absence is yet another blow for the Diamondbacks, who are off to a 7-18 start and will now be without one of their key offseason acquisitions (along with Bronson Arroyo and Addison Reed) for an extended period.
- It appears that the price for free-agent-to-be Pablo Sandoval may have increased, and the Giants perhaps should have considered signing him for something close to the five years and $90MM he was reportedly seeking before, Grant Brisbee of McCovey Chronicles writes. Given the lack of good third base options available either internally or on the 2014-15 free-agent market, signing Sandoval to an extension seems to be the Giants’ best bet, Brisbee argues.
Padres Designate Alex Castellanos For Assignment
The Padres will designate infielder Alex Castellanos for assignment and transfer right-hander Josh Johnson to the 60-day disabled list today as part of a series of moves to promote right-hander Kevin Quackenbush and infielder Jace Peterson, reports Corey Brock of MLB.com (on Twitter).
Castellanos, 27, is no stranger to DFA limbo as this is the fourth time he has been designated for assignment in the past calendar year. He’s also been DFA’ed by the Dodgers, Red Sox and Rangers, resulting in a trade (from L.A. to Boston) and a pair of waiver claims.
That Castellanos has been unable to pass through waivers at any time is no surprise, given his strong minor league track record. The second baseman/third baseman/outfielder owns a robust 284/.377/.511 batting line in 916 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, though he’s been unable to replicate that success in his brief taste of Major League action to this point. Castellanos has hit just .171/.186/.390 in the bigs, though it’s not entirely fair to judge him based on those numbers as he’s only received 43 plate appearances despite his mastery of the minor leagues.
Latest On Pablo Sandoval
Though Pablo Sandoval and the Giants have tabled extension talks during the season, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reports that the two sides at least got a bit closer together in terms of contract length during negotiations. The Giants initially pitched a “conversation-starting” three-year, $40MM extension and then expressed an openness to do a four-year deal with an option for a fifth year.
Sandoval and agent Gustavo Vasquez were known to be looking for “at least” a five-year, $90MM deal and Heyman hears that they’re actually aiming for a five-year contract in the $100MM range or more. As MLBTR’s Transaction Tracker indicates, only a few third baseman have found five-year/$100MM+ contracts in recent years and none of those big deals came on the free agent market. (Alex Rodriguez was a shortstop when he signed his initial free agent deal with Texas, and obviously that contract isn’t at all comparable to Sandoval’s situation.) The Giants have been proactive in signing their own stars to extensions, though as Heyman observes, the fact that they haven’t yet done so with Sandoval and are seemingly taking a harder line in negotiations is rather telling.
While a five-year, $100MM deal could be available to Sandoval on the open market given the relative lack of impact free agent bats next winter, a number of factors could cloud Sandoval’s case. He’ll obviously need to improve from his slow start to the 2014 campaign, his market could be dampened by a qualifying offer from the Giants and teams around the league (like the Giants themselves) have concerns about Sandoval’s conditioning. Heyman quotes both an NL scout and an NL executive praising Sandoval’s hitting ability but questioning his ability to stay in shape.
Vasquez implied to Heyman that he isn’t planning to reopen talks, as the Giants “know what they have [in Sandoval], I’m sure.” The agent also said that the Giants wanted to settle the extension “in a rush,” which would seem to counter the belief that the team was waiting to determine if Sandoval’s offseason weight loss would stick before deciding on whether to offer an extension.
Minor Moves: Simon Castro, Brian Bixler
Here are today’s notable minor league transactions, with the latest moves at the top of the page…
- Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports that the Rockies have inked right-hander Simon Castro to a minor league deal (Twitter link). A former top prospect in the Padres system, Castro was traded to the White Sox along with left-hander Pedro Hernandez in exchange for Carlos Quentin back in 2011. Castro was a Top 60 prospect in 2010-11 according to both BA and Baseball Prospectus, but his stock has obviously tumbled since that time. He posted a 5.83 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 92 2/3 innings for the Sox’ Triple-A affiliate in 2013 and has a career 6.44 ERA at the Triple-A level. Castro has been excellent at Class-A and Double-A, although BA wrote following the 2012 season that his slider and changeup have lost their effectiveness. The scouting report did note, however, that he flashed a splitter that could complement his 90-95 mph fastball in the bullpen should he abandon his role as a starter.
- The Padres have signed utiltyman Brian Bixler to a minor league deal and he’ll report to Double-A, MLB.com’s Corey Brock reports (Twitter link). Bixler signed a minor league contract with the Phillies in February but was released earlier this month. The versatile Bixler hit .189/.249/.269/ in 356 PA with the Pirates, Nationals and Astros from 2008-12 and he spent 2013 with the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate.
Steve Adams contributed to this post.
Rockies Sign Rafael Betancourt
The Rockies and right-hander Rafael Betancourt have agreed to terms on a minor league deal, the team announced via Twitter. Betancourt, who is represented by Octagon, will report to extended Spring Training with the Rockies. Troy Renck of the Denver Post calls the signing a “formality,” noting that his plan is to work out in extended Spring Training with an eye toward pitching in the Majors late this summer (Twitter link).
Betancourt, who turns 39 next week, is attempting a comeback from Tommy John surgery at a late stage in his career. Last August, when Betancourt decided to undergo the procedure, he acknowledged that it could be the end of the line but stated that he’d attempt to rehab and make a comeback. Of course, due to his injury, the Rockies declined a $4.25MM option to retain his services after the season ended.
Betancourt’s entire career to this point has been split between the Indians and the Rockies. He took over as Colorado’s closer in 2011 and saved 31 games for the Rox in 2012. Always an excellent setup man in Cleveland (with the exception of a fluke 2008 season), Betancourt stepped up his game with the Rockies and posted a 3.08 ERA with 10.5 K/9, 1.7 BB/9 and 57 saves in 236 1/3 innings with Colorado from 2009-13.
Blue Jays To Sign Ryan Rowland-Smith
The Blue Jays and left-hander Ryan Rowland-Smith have agreed to a minor league pact with a June 1 opt-out date, reports MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo (on Twitter). Rowland-Smith elected free agency earlier in the week rather than accepting an outright assignment from the Diamondbacks.
The 31-year-old Aussie native has been significantly better as a reliever than a starter throughout his career; he’s posted a 3.77 ERA and 3.59 FIP in 100 1/3 innings coming out of the bullpen compared to a 4.87 ERA and 5.40 FIP in 269 2/3 innings as a starter.
Rowland-Smith, a client of Frye McCann Sports, made a return to the Majors with the D’Backs this season after a three-year absence and allowed four earned runs with nine strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings of relief. The Blue Jays’ bullpen has struggled tremendously over the past week, so it’s not a huge surprise to see them adding some depth to the mix.
White Sox Claim Hector Noesi
The White Sox have claimed right-hander Hector Noesi off waivers from the Rangers, Texas executive VP of communications John Blake tweets. Noesi was designated for assignment by the Rangers earlier this week.
This is Noesi’s third team is two weeks, as Texas just acquired him from Seattle on April 12. Noesi threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings in his first two appearances as a Ranger and was then hammered for seven runs in a single inning of work on April 20 against (ironically) the White Sox. The righty has an ungainly 14.21 ERA for the season and owns a career 5.81 ERA over 196 2/3 IP with the Mariners, Rangers and Yankees.
With Noesi claimed, it leaves only Steve Pearce (Orioles) and Matt Daley (Yankees) in DFA limbo according to the MLB Trade Rumors DFA Tracker.
Mets Notes: Dice-K, Hanrahan, Drew, D’Backs
Daisuke Matsuzaka picked up his first Major League save last night, though it probably isn’t going to be the start of a new career path for the veteran right-hander. Matsuzaka only got the call since Kyle Farnsworth had pitched in three of the Mets’ previous four games and was being rested, and as Fangraphs’ Paul Swydan points out, Dice-K doesn’t fit the traditional closer profile. Anything is possible given the Mets’ unsettled closing situation, however, so be sure to keep following @CloserNews, MLBTR’s sister Twitter feed, for the very latest on ninth-inning personnel changes.
Here’s some news from Citi Field…
- The Mets still haven’t decided whether or not to pursue free agent reliever Joel Hanrahan, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News reports. The team has been weighing its options for several days now since watching Hanrahan throw at a showcase last week. Almost 20 teams watched Hanrahan throw, so the Mets may face competition if they do decide to make the righty an offer, though an evaluator tells Martino that Hanrahan is still roughly a month away from being able to contribute.
- Also from Martino, there still isn’t anything brewing between the Mets and Stephen Drew, as “there is no momentum” between the two sides.
- Matthew Cerrone of Metsblog.com agrees that a Drew signing looks like a major longshot, and the Mets are more likely to promote Wilmer Flores from Triple-A than acquire a shortstop like Drew or the Mariners’ Nick Franklin.
- If the Mets do deal for a shortstop, Cerrone believes the Diamondbacks are New York’s best option as a trade partner. The two clubs at least discussed a trade during Spring Training and scouted each other’s prospects. According to Cerrone, the D’Backs liked right-hander Rafael Montero and catchers Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki, though Plawecki alone wouldn’t have been enough to secure a deal. All three are ranked amongst the Mets’ top prospects by Baseball America, though Montero and d’Arnaud in particular would take major offers for the Mets to consider a trade.
Giants Sign Travis Ishikawa
The Giants have signed first baseman Travis Ishikawa to a minor league contract, MLBTR’s Zach Links reports (Twitter links). Ishikawa will report to Triple-A Fresno after taking his physical today, and the contract contains an out clause if Ishikawa doesn’t make the club’s 25-man roster. Ishikawa is represented by Jim McDowell.
Ishikawa chose to become a free agent on Wednesday after he was outrighted off the Pirates’ roster and the 30-year-old now returns to the team that originally drafted him in the 21st round of the 2002 amateur draft. Ishikawa made 665 PA for San Francisco between 2006-10, earning a World Series ring as part of the Giants’ championship team in 2010. He has bounced around since then, spending time with the Brewers, Orioles, Yankees and Pirates over the last two seasons.
The left-handed hitting Ishikawa has a .259/.326/.407 career line against right-handed pitching and just a .603 OPS against southpaws, which is why Pittsburgh used him as a platoon partner for Gaby Sanchez at first base. The Giants, of course, already have a notable lefty-swinging first baseman in Brandon Belt, though since Belt has virtually equal career numbers against left- and right-handed pitching, there’s room for Ishikawa to potentially win a job as a defensive-minded (career +13 UZR/150) backup to occasionally spell Belt at first base when a righty is on the mound.
Yankees Sign Bruce Billings To Major League Deal
The Yankees have signed right-hander Bruce Billings to a Major League contract and selected him to their 25-man roster. The club announced the signing prior to yesterday’s game against Boston. Billings is represented by John Boggs & Associates.
Billings’ spot on the 25-man roster was created when Ivan Nova was shifted to the 60-day disabled list, as he will miss the rest of the 2014 season after choosing to undergo Tommy John surgery. In other corresponding moves, the Yankees also called up righty Shane Greene while infielder Dean Anna and right-hander Preston Claiborne were optioned to Triple-A.
Billings was part of the trade package Colorado sent to Oakland for Mark Ellis in July 2011, and the 28-year-old made all four of his career Major League appearances in that same season (three with the A’s and one with the Rockies). Since that cup of coffee in the bigs, Billings spent 2012-13 working primarily as a starter for the Athletics’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates and he signed a minor league deal with the Yankees in January. He has a 2.74 ERA, 2.57 K/BB rate and 18 strikeouts over 23 innings (four starts) at the Triple-A level this season.