Lannan Accepts Mets’ Outright Assignment
SATURDAY: Lannan has accepted the assignment, ESPN's Adam Rubin tweets.
WEDNESDAY: The Mets have outrighted left-hander John Lannan to Triple-A Las Vegas and purchased the contract of right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka, tweets MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. Lannan will have the option to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency. ESPN New York's Adam Rubin tweets that Matsuzaka will work out of the bullpen for now.
Lannan, 29, appeared in five games for the Mets this season, allowing seven earned runs on seven hits and a pair of walks in four innings of work. Of those seven hits, three cleared the fence for a home run. The veteran has never pitched outside of the NL East, but he's donned the uniform of three teams in that division: the Mets, the Phillies and the Nationals. After posting a 4.01 ERA in 783 2/3 innings with the Nationals from 2007-12, Lannan has struggled. With Philadelphia and New York, he's managed a combined 5.86 ERA with a 40-to-29 K:BB ratio in 78 1/3 frames.
Matsuzaka spent some time with the Mets in 2013 after signing a minor league deal midway through the season. He started slow but fared well down the stretch, yielding just four earned runs over his final 26 1/3 innings while striking out 21 and walking nine. Matsuzaka then signed another minor league deal with the Mets this winter. He's allowed two runs and punched out 12 hitters in 12 Triple-A innings this season. Matsuzaka's minor league deal calls for a $1.5MM base salary in the Major Leagues, and he also received a $100K retention bonus at the end of Spring Training after he did not make the Opening Day roster.
NL Notes: Braves, Mets, Cubs, Willis
The Braves don't get as much attention as the Cardinals, Athletics or Rays for being well-run teams, but perhaps they should, the New York Post's Joel Sherman suggests. The Braves' relative lack of postseason success may be one factor, says Sherman, but they've made the postseason three times in the past five seasons. Consistency may be one secret to their success. "They have had strikingly little turnover on the baseball side and their philosophy has been consistent throughout," says one NL scout. "They are very clear about the type of player they are looking for and acquire those types." The Braves are off to a great start this season despite losing Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy to Tommy John surgery, and Sherman contrasts the Braves' decision-making heading into the season with that of the Mets. When Medlen and Beachy went down, the Braves acted decisively to replace them, quickly signing Ervin Santana even though he had declined a qualifying offer. The Mets, meanwhile, still have a need at shortstop, and Stephen Drew is still available on the free-agent market. Here are more notes from throughout the National League.
- Cubs GM Theo Epstein will watch NC State pitcher Carlos Rodon pitch on Friday, 670TheScore.com's Bruce Levine tweets. Rodon currently appears highly likely to be the first overall pick in the draft in June, and the Cubs pick fourth. Much can change between now and then, however, and it makes sense for the Cubs to do due diligence.
- Dontrelle Willis, who was recently released by the Giants, is considering becoming a pitching coach, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. That might seem a little surprising, given Willis' own unorthodox mechanics (as MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez joked), but coaching isn't merely teaching what one used to do, so there's no reason a pitcher with an idiosyncratic delivery couldn't teach pitchers whose deliveries are more typical.
White Sox Place Donnie Veal On Outright Waivers
SATURDAY: The White Sox have outrighted Veal to Triple-A Charlotte, MLB.com's Scott Merkin tweets.
FRIDAY: The White Sox placed Veal on outright waivers yesterday, meaning that he has 24 hours to be claimed or clear waivers from that point, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com.
THURSDAY: The White Sox have designated southpaw Donnie Veal for assignment, tweets MLB.com's Scott Merkin. Zach Putnam had his contract purchased to join the big club, which used every one of its relievers in last night's ballgame.
After a strong (albeit brief) 2012 campaign in which he posted a 1.38 ERA in 13 innings, Veal has struggled to repeat his success. In 35 1/3 innings since, Veal has worked to a 5.09 ERA in 35 1/3 frames. While he managed to carry an impressive 4.75 K:BB ratio in 2012, the lefty has averaged 8.9 K/9 against 5.9 BB/9 over 2013-14.
Rosenthal On Diamondbacks, Braves, Drew
Here's the latest from Ken Rosenthal, via two videos for FOX Sports.
- Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers and manager Kirk Gibson are both vulnerable if the team doesn't improve, Rosenthal says. Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick says he wants the team to rely more on data, and that isn't Towers' forte. (Kendrick says, in fact, that one reason the Diamondbacks haven't employed as many defensive shifts as other teams is that they haven't studied them as much.) Still, Kendrick is backing both Towers and Gibson right now, despite the D-Backs' 5-14 start.
- When the Braves lost Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy to Tommy John surgery, they acted decisively, Rosenthal says. They quickly signed Ervin Santana, and their scouting team identified Aaron Harang, who was released by the Indians, as another good target. Both pitchers have been terrific so far in the young season.
- Stephen Drew is still the most logical choice at shortstop for the Tigers, Rosenthal says. Drew, of course, remains in qualifying-offer limbo, and the Tigers will need to wait until June if they want to avoid giving up a draft pick to sign him.
Chris Snyder Retires
Catcher Chris Snyder has retired, Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest tweets. Snyder had been playing for Triple-A Round Rock.
Snyder played for ten seasons in the big leagues, collecting 2,459 at bats and finishing with a career line of .224/.328/.382. The Diamondbacks drafted Snyder in 2002, and for several years, he shared Arizona's catching duties with Miguel Montero. In 2010, the Pirates acquired Snyder (and Pedro Ciriaco) for D.J. Carrasco, Ryan Church and Bobby Crosby, and Snyder spent an injury-plagued season and a half with Pittsburgh.
Snyder played in 76 games with the Astros in 2012, and spent a short time with the Orioles in 2013, playing for much of the season in Triple-A. The Rangers signed him in March after losing Geovany Soto to injury, but have gone with J.P. Arencibia and Robinson Chirinos at the big-league level since then.
Pirates Designate Travis Ishikawa For Assignment
The Pirates have announced that they've designated Travis Ishikawa for assignment. The move comes as no surprise, after the Bucs' acquisition of another left-handed first baseman, Ike Davis, via a trade with the Mets yesterday. The move clears space for Davis on the Pirates' active roster.
Ishikawa, 30, hit .206/.263/.382 in 38 plate appearances with the Pirates this season after beating out fellow lefty Andrew Lambo to share first base with righty Gaby Sanchez. Ishikawa hit .290/.389/.465 at the Triple-A level in 2013. In addition to the Pirates, he has played for the Giants, Brewers, Orioles and Yankees.
NL Notes: Polanco, Bradley, Abreu
Toolsy Pirates outfield prospect Gregory Polanco ought to be the next top prospect to win a promotion, MLB.com's Jim Callis writes. MLB.com ranked Polanco the No. 13 prospect in baseball heading into the season, and he's done nothing to diminish his reputation since then, hitting .439/.475/.667 in 61 plate appearances so far for Triple-A Indianapolis. "He's done a little bit of everything," says Pirates assistant GM Kyle Stark. "It's been fun to watch. The exciting thing about him is he's extremely driven and has very good feel for making adjustments, so it allows him to keep getting better." Here are more notes from around the National League.
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo, meanwhile, argues for Archie Bradley of the Diamondbacks to be the next top prospect to reach the big leagues. Bradley, who raced through the Class A+ and Double-A levels last season, has a 3.31 ERA with 12 strikeouts and six walks in 16 1/3 innings for Triple-A Reno. Mayo suggests that it's not impossible that Bradley's impact on the Diamondbacks could be similar to Jose Fernandez's impact on the Marlins last year.
- With Ike Davis heading to the Pirates veteran Bobby Abreu could be making his way back to the big leagues with the Mets, Tim Rohan of the New York Times writes. In March, the Mets signed Abreu to a minor-league deal, suggesting to him that they might promote him to serve as a lefty pinch-hitter once they figured out what they would do with Davis and Lucas Duda. For now, Abreu is hitting .412/.487/.529 in his first 39 plate appearances for Triple-A Las Vegas.
AL Notes: Orioles, Izturis, Rangers, Bartlett
Outside of the first round, the Orioles might not get much out of their 2010 draft, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun writes. Of course, their first-rounder, third overall pick Manny Machado, has turned out quite well. It's not automatic that the third overall pick will be a success, as Connolly points out — other recent third overall picks have included Philip Humber, Jeff Clement, and Donavan Tate. Connolly suggests fans should be happy with the 2010 draft, even if the Orioles don't end up getting anyone but Machado from it. Here are more notes from the American League.
- Free agent infielder Cesar Izturis has received offers to play at Triple-A, but he's holding out for a big-league opportunity, MLB Daily Dish's Chris Cotillo tweets. Izturis opted out of his minor-league deal with the Astros last month.
- The Rangers join the long list of teams that have interest in free-agent reliever Joel Hanrahan, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman writes. Hanrahan is recovering from arm troubles that cost him most of last season. He lives near Dallas.
- Shortstop Jason Bartlett, who recently retired, is interested in coaching in the Twins organization, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets. There are not any openings right now, since the season has already started.
Week In Review: 4/13/14 – 4/19/14
Here's a look back at this week at MLBTR:
Key Moves
- The Padres signed infielder Jedd Gyorko to a six-year extension that includes five new seasons, going through 2019.
- The Athletics signed closer Sean Doolittle to a five-year extension.
- The Pirates acquired 1B Ike Davis from the Mets for RP Zack Thornton and a PTBNL.
- The Cardinals extended GM John Mozeliak for two years, through 2018.
Trades
- Rangers — acquired P Hector Noesi from Mariners for cash considerations
- Athletics — acquired C Blake Forsythe from Mets for future considerations
Claimed
- Athletics — P Marcus Walden (from Blue Jays — link)
Designated For Assignment
- Yankees — RP Cesar Cabral (link)
- Diamondbacks — P Ryan Rowland-Smith (link)
- White Sox — RP Donnie Veal (link)
- Rangers — IF Andy Parrino (link)
- Red Sox — IF Ryan Roberts (link)
- Astros — SP Lucas Harrell (link)
- Athletics — OF Sam Fuld (link)
Outrighted
- Diamondbacks — P Alex Sanabia (link)
- Rangers — RP Daniel McCutchen (link)
- Mets — P John Lannan (link)
- Phillies — RP Brad Lincoln (link)
Retired
- SS Jason Bartlett (link)
- C/1B Jeff Clement (link)
Released
- Athletics — RP Joe Blanton (link)
Key Minor-League Signings
- Brewers — P Jeremy Jeffress (link)
- White Sox — RP Frank Francisco (link)
Rangers Outright Daniel McCutchen
SATURDAY: McCutchen has accepted the Rangers' outright assignment to Triple-A Round Rock, MLB Daily Dish's Chris Cotillo tweets.
WEDNESDAY: McCutchen has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. As McCutchen has been outrighted previously, he will have the option of electing free agency.
MONDAY: The Rangers have designated right-hander Daniel McCutchen for assignment in order to clear a 40-man roster spot for fellow righty Colby Lewis, Rangers executive VP of communications John Blake announced (on Twitter).
The 31-year-old McCutchen tossed 2 1/3 innings for the Rangers, allowing a pair of earned runs on four hits (one homer) and a pair of walks without a strikeout. McCutchen, who is of no relation to last year's National League MVP, has a career 4.81 ERA with 4.9 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 191 Major League innings between the Pirates and Rangers. The former 13th round pick has a sound minor league track record, with a 3.75 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 441 frames.
Lewis, 34, will be on the hill tonight for the Rangers after a lengthy rehab process from multiple injuries. The longtime Ranger underwent surgery to repair a torn flexor mass tendon in July 2012 and looked to be on the mend in 2013 before a hip injury led to surgery and sidelined him for the entirety of that season. He last appeared on a Major League mound in 2012 and had pitched to a solid 3.93 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 506 1/3 innings with the Rangers since returning to the big leagues from Japan in 2010.
Texas has seen its rotation devastated by injuries to Derek Holland, Matt Harrison and an early ailment to Yu Darvish (he's since returned), so a healthy Lewis could be a much-needed shot in the arm as they look to prevent the A's from a third consecutive AL West Division Championship.