Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for January 2015

Orioles Sign J.P. Arencibia To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Orioles have reportedly been looking to add another catcher (despite having five on the 40-man roster), and they did so today, announcing the signing of J.P. Arencibia to a minor league deal. The CAA Sports client will receive an invite to Major League Spring Training.

Arencibia, who just turned 29, handled most of the catching duties for the Blue Jays over the 2011-13 campaigns. His low-OBP, high-strikeout approach yielded a steady diet of ~20-home run campaigns, but reached an extreme in his final year in Toronto, when he managed only a .227 on-base percentage while striking out 148 times and walking only 18 times in 497 turns at the plate.

It was much the same last year in Texas, where Arencibia scuffled to a .177/.239/.369 slash with ten long balls in 222 plate appearances. On a Rangers team beset with injury issues, he split his time evenly between catching, playing first, and slotting in as the designated hitter.

Arencibia will presumably challenge for a similar role in Baltimore or serve as depth while starting the year in the upper minors. As Connolly notes on Twitter, Arencibia put up big numbers at Triple-A during his time in Texas, when his swing was being overseen by new O’s hitting coach (and then-Rangers minor league hitting coordinator) Scott Coolbaugh.

From a defensive standpoint, Arencibia has prevented base stealing at a roughly league-average clip throughout his career (26 percent). He’s also typically graded out as a plus pitch-framer, according to both Baseball Prospectus and Matthew Carruth’s Framing Report at StatCorner.com.

Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun first reported that the deal was close (on Twitter), and Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweeted that an agreement had been reached.

Free Agent Notes: Beachy, Ichiro, Red Sox Pen

By | at

So far this offseason, an unusual amount of free agent spending has been made by teams that were less successful in 2014, Sam Miller writes for FOX Sports. While Miller acknowledges the possibility of a short-sample blip, he notes that last year showed a similar trend. And, as he explains, factors such as the addition of a second Wild Card suggest a reasonable explanation for a real shift in strategies. Those interested in broader market movement will certainly want to give this thoughtful piece a complete read.

Here’s the latest on the current market:

  • Second-time Tommy John patient Brandon Beachy remains available, unlike similarly-situated former teammate Kris Medlen and most other high-upside rebound candidates. Recent reports suggest his market is reaching maturation, and the Braves remain interested and involved, according to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). After checking in on the 28-year-old, however, the Rangers are out of the pursuit, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.
  • The Blue Jays have joined the Marlins and Orioles in expressing interest in outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports on Twitter. For what it’s worth, the left-handed-hitting Ichiro’s historically neutral splits have skewed toward a significant reverse platoon advantage in recent seasons, though he has seen fairly limited action against southpaws.
  • Toronto’s strongest AL East competition could come from the Red Sox, who like their Canadian rivals are still in the hunt for bullpen upgrades, per Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe. GM Ben Cherington says that he is “still working” to build out the Boston relief corps.

Japan’s Rakuten Golden Eagles Sign Gaby Sanchez

By | at

The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball have announced a one-year deal with first baseman Gaby Sanchez, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). Sanchez will earn approximately $2.5MM and can achieve more through incentives, per the report.

Sanchez, 31, swings from the right side of the plate. He has been with the Pirates since a mid-season deal back in 2012. Serving in a platoon capacity in Pittsburgh, Sanchez had a solid 2013 but took a step back last year with a .229/.293/.385 slash over 290 plate appearances while enjoying the platoon advantage in over half of his trips to bat.

That recent performance did not meet the expectations set earlier in Sanchez’s career with the Marlins, when he became a steady regular at the first base position. Sanchez hit .269/.346/.437 with 38 total home runs while playing every day in 2010-11 with the Fish. After an All-Star appearance in 2011, however, Sanchez struggled in the second half and never regained his footing in Miami.

The University of Miami product was designated and non-tendered by the Pirates back in December. With just over $5MM in career earnings at the big league level, and a likely lack of an opportunity to land a significant guarantee in the big leagues, it is easy to see the appeal in the contract that Sanchez accepted. And, of course, the path back from Japan to MLB has been taken by many players who have performed in the NPB.

Minor Moves: Marcos Mateo

By | at

Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The Padres have inked righty Marcos Mateo to a minor league pact, MLB.com’s Corey Brock reports on Twitter. The 30-year-old has thrown in the upper minors over the last two years with the Cubs, putting up fairly solid results but failing to earn his way back to the big leagues. Across 44 2/3 MLB frames in 2010-11, Mateo logged a 5.04 ERA with 10.3 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9. ERA estimators were more favorably disposed to his work at the game’s highest level than his results showed, however. Mateo’s impressive stuff drew attention last winter, when he was taken in the Rule 5 draft by the D’backs before ultimately being returned to Chicago.

Cardinals Exploring Top-End Starter Acquisition

By | at

The Cardinals are exploring several avenues to add a top-end arm to the top of the rotation, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi of FOX Sports report. The targets include not only free agent Max Scherzer but also trade candidates Cole Hamels of the Phillies and David Price of the Tigers.

Rosenthal and Morosi hasten to add that no deals appear to be close, and note that St. Louis could decide to hold pat with its current slate of starters if the price proves too steep. But the club’s interest reflects some level of concern that the staff will hold up as constituted, per the report.

Scherzer has local roots and could be had for nothing but money, but is expected to command quite a lot of it. The other two hurlers — both southpaws, which the FOX Sports tandem says the Cards would prefer — will obviously require more than cash commitments to acquire.

In the case of Hamels, his no-trade protection would pose no barrier as the Cardinals are not on his no-trade list. But Philadelphia would be looking for a package fronted by a young starter such as Carlos Martinez or Marco Gonzales, while also including a promising young outfielder like Randal Grichuk or Stephen Piscotty. Center fielder Peter Bourjos is also a player that the Phillies have had interest in some time, per Rosenthal and Morosi.

Price, of course, represents an entirely different sort of piece. He is entering his final year of arbitration eligibility and is currently under control of a win-now Detroit club. Per the report, St. Louis might pursue Price with the idea of locking him up for the long-term, based in part on the fact that he makes his offseason home in reasonable proximity (Nashville).

The Price-Scherzer dynamic also impacts things from the Tigers’ perspective, of course, and Rosenthal and Morosi say that the team has not approached Price about an extension. GM Dave Dombrowski has not been shy about dealing pitching talent in recent years, and it could be that moving Price off the books for 2015 would pave the way for a return for Scherzer. Of course, that scenario seems fairly speculative at this stage.

International Notes: Varona, Guerrero Jr.

By | at

Last night, the Angels made their $8MM signing of Cuban infielder Roberto Baldoquin official more than two months after reportedly striking a deal with him. He debuts at number three on an updated list of the team’s top prospects, via MLB.com. As the book closes on that signing, here’s a pair of notes on some potential future signings on the international front…

  • Cuban outfielder Dayron Varona will host a showcase for interested teams on Jan. 20 in Delray Beach, Fla., reports MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (Twitter link). There’s little public knowledge regarding Varona at this time, although the 25-year-old’s stats are viewable over at ObstructedView.net. Varona hasn’t shown much power or speed in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, but he has demonstrated a high-contact approach that has helped him to hit for average. In 1504 plate appearances, he’s a .312/.376/.470 hitter with 38 homers and 22 steals (although he’s been caught stealing an alarming 25 times). Varona has enough pro experience and is old enough that he is exempt from international spending limitations, but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee him a sizable payday.
  • Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel reported back in October that Dominican prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was rumored to have a $3.2MM agreement in place for the next signing period, and yesterday he reported (Twitter link) that the Blue Jays are the team believed to have that agreement in place. Of course, Guerrero cannot sign until July 2 when next year’s international signing period kicks off. However, verbal agreements of this nature are the norm on the international prospect front, despite MLB’s best efforts to curtail advance deals.

Padres Sign Josh Johnson, Designate Jake Goebbert

By | at

7:01pm: The deal does indeed include $6.25MM in achievable incentives based on games started, with triggers ranging from his fifth to 33rd start, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.

4:10pm: The Padres announced today their widely expected signing of right-hander Josh Johnson to a one-year deal. Previous reports indicated that Johnson, a client of Sosnick/Cobbe Sports, would earn $1MM plus incentives. To clear room on the 40-man roster, the Padres designated Jake Goebbert for assignment.

Assuming previous reports remain accurate, Johnson will receive $500K for making his fifth start, $1MM for his 10th start, $500K for his 15th start and $1MM for his 20th. He will then earn $250K per start for starts 21-33. In total, his $1MM contract can reach $7.25MM if all of the incentives are reached.

The 30-year-old Johnson (31 at the end of this month) signed a one-year, $8MM deal with the Padres last offseason coming off a down season with Toronto. However, Johnson underwent Tommy John surgery in April and never made a start wearing a Padres uniform. His contract contained a conditional $4MM club option that triggered in the event he made fewer than seven starts, but the Friars declined that option and chose to re-sign him to an even lower guarantee. Though Johnson had the ability to test the open market, it was widely expected that he’d return to San Diego, as agent Matt Sosnick said more than once that Johnson felt he has “unfinished business” in San Diego.

It’s been two full years since Johnson was fully healthy, but there’s little denying what an impactful arm he can be when healthy. Johnson led the National League with a 2.30 ERA/2.41 FIP over the course of 183 2/3 innings with the Marlins in 2010 and has a career 3.40 ERA in 998 innings at the Major League level. Staying healthy has never come easy to Johnson, however, who has topped 180 innings just three times since debuting in 2005.

Johnson is the second injury-prone, high-upside arm that the Padres have added this offseason. GM A.J. Preller also inked Brandon Morrow to a one-year, $2.5MM contract that is heavily incentive-laden as well. Those two will give the Padres some rotation depth beyond a front trio of Andrew Cashner, Tyson Ross and Ian Kennedy. Right-hander Jesse Hahn, who pitched well out of the Friars’ rotation in 2014, was dealt to the A’s in the Derek Norris trade, and fellow righty Joe Wieland went to Los Angeles in the Matt Kemp deal. Johnson and Morrow will compete with Robbie Erlin and Cory Luebke (who is recovering from his second Tommy John operation) for spots in manager Bud Black’s rotation. Johnson, however isn’t likely to be ready to pitch on Opening Day, as his operation came on April 24 last season.

The 27-year-old Goebbert, meanwhile, was acquired from the Athletics along with a player to be named later (Ronald Herrera) in exchange for Kyle Blanks back in May of 2014. Goebbert made his big league debut with the Padres this season, hitting .218/.313/.317 in 115 plate appearances. Goebbert hit a strong .296/.410/.539 with 14 homers between the Padres’ and Athletics’ Triple-A affiliates in 2014.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported the terms of the contract last month.

NL West Notes: Johnson, Haren, Venable, Quentin, Padres

By | at

Randy Johnson, who was elected to the Hall of Fame with more than 97 percent of the vote, will join the Diamondbacks’ front office as a special assistant to GM Dave Stewart, the team announced yesterday. As MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert writes, Johnson will participate in community initiatives, weigh in on baseball operations decisions and, most excitingly to Johnson himself, work with minor league pitchers. “I don’t see myself being a coach,” Johnson said, “but I do see myself going around to the Minor Leagues and I think that’s where I can best help.” Johnson won’t specialize in discussing pitching mechanics with the D-Backs’ prospects, but rather on the mental side of the game, such as the mindset and work ethic needed to be successful. Meanwhile, D-Backs CEO Derrick Hall indicated that Johnson’s No. 51 will be retired this season or next — an honor which Johnson wanted to delay until he received the call to Cooperstown.

Elsewhere in the NL West…

  • Dan Haren’s preference to end up back on the West Coast is common knowledge at this point, and Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reports that the Giants checked in with the Marlins on Haren earlier this offseason (Twitter links). However, Morosi adds that those talks came before the Giants re-signed Jake Peavy. It doesn’t seem that the Giants are pursuing rotation help any longer based on comments made by assistant GM Bobby Evans on Tuesday in the wake of Tim Hudson’s ankle surgery, though Morosi notes that Haren would likely welcome the opportunity to pitch in San Francisco — a West Coast club with a pitcher-friendly park.
  • It’s looking more and more like the Padres will hang onto Will Venable rather than trade him, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. As Lin notes, Venable is a left-handed bat on a right-leaning roster and can back up all three outfield spots. He’s also earning a relatively modest $4.25MM next season, so the price isn’t prohibitive. I’ve previously speculated that the Marlins could have interest, as they’re looking for left-handed-hitting backup outfielders, but Lin’s report suggests there’s not much of a match there.
  • Lin also spoke with manager Bud Black today regarding Carlos Quentin, who appears to be the odd man out in the outfield mix (Twitter link). Black simply told Lin that the Padres were going to have to see how Quentin’s knees are in Spring Training before proceeding, indicating that even if he is ultimately moved, it may not happen until March.
  • In addition to Black, Lin spoke to GM A.J. Preller today, who cautioned that Padres fans shouldn’t necessarily expect any more large splashes. Any remaining moves from San Diego would be “more likely something around the edges, to continue to add to the depth of what we’re building,” according to Preller.
  • MLB.com’s Corey Brock tweets that we shouldn’t be surprised if the Padres add a veteran catcher who can back up Derek Norris between now and Spring Training. The Friars do have Tim Federowicz on their roster after acquiring him in the Matt Kemp trade, but they may prefer a backup with more big league experience.

Braves To Designate Tyler Pastornicky For Assignment

By | at

The Braves will designate infielder Tyler Pastornicky for assignment tomorrow in order to clear 40-man roster space for the three signings they announced earlier today, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports (on Twitter).

The 25-year-old Pastornicky struggled in 47 plate appearances with the Braves in 2014 and has never hit much at the Major League level, as evidenced by his .243/.295/.314 batting line in 268 plate appearances. However, he only just turned 25 last month and has a much stronger track record in the minors, where he’s a .290/.348/.386 batter in 793 Triple-A plate appearances.

By releasing Dan Uggla midseason, trading Tommy La Stella earlier this winter and now designating Pastornicky, the Braves have jettisoned the three players that saw the bulk of the playing time at second base in Atlanta last season. The Braves inked Alberto Callaspo to a one-year deal to hold down the fort at second this year, presumably while top prospect Jose Peraza continues his development in the minors. Additionally, the club acquired Jace Peterson from the Padres in the Justin Upton deal — another infielder capable of handling second base.

Braves Sign Josh Outman

By | at

3:13pm: Outman’s deal guarantees him $925K and allows him to earn an additional $475K via performance bonuses, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo.

2:34pm: The Braves announced today that they have signed left-hander Josh Outman to a one-year, Major League deal. The team also officially announced A.J. Pierzynski’s one-year deal and Jason Grilli’s two-year pact, both of which had been previously reported. Outman is a client of Turner Gary Sports.

The 30-year-old Outman posted a 2.86 ERA with 8.3 K/9 but a more troubling 5.1 BB/9 in 28 1/3 innings between the Indians and Yankees last season. Those control problems were a bit uncharacteristic for Outman, however, as he entered the season with a lifetime 3.6 BB/9 rate in 246 innings of work.

Outman registered a 53.9 percent ground-ball rate in 2014 — the highest mark of his career. If he can repeat that feat while rediscovering his previous command, his peripheral stats — he had just a 4.83 FIP and 4.18 xFIP in 2014 — should rebound, and a strong ERA is a definite possibility. Outman gives Atlanta skipper Fredi Gonzalez a particularly potent weapon against left-handed hitters, as he’s held same-handed opponents to a minuscule .186/.254/.283 batting line in 413 career plate appearances. And, as a bonus to Atlanta, he has just four years, 155 days of Major League service time. In other words, if Outman performs well, he can be controlled through the 2016 season via arbitration.

Outman will join James Russell and Luis Avilan as a third left-handed option to bridge the gap from the rotation to lights-out closer Craig Kimbrel. He and Grilli will join reclamation project Jim Johnson as newcomers to an Atlanta bullpen that also features Shae Simmons and possibly Arodys Vizcaino. By and large, it should be a new-look group in the Atlanta bullpen, as the team has parted with excellent setup men Jordan Walden and David Carpenter in separate trades this winter.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top