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Archives for January 2015

Twins Sign Blaine Boyer To Minor League Deal

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1:42pm: Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press has some further detail on Boyer’s deal (Twitter links). Boyer will earn $750K if he makes the big league roster, with an additional $100K available via performance bonuses. His contract also contains a March 30 opt-out clause that can be exercised if he has not been added to the 40-man roster.

10:28am: The Twins have signed right-hander Blaine Boyer to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training, team director of communications Dustin Morse announced (on Twitter).

The 33-year-old Boyer returned to the Majors for the first time since 2011 last season, firing 40 1/3 solid innings out of the Padres’ bullpen. Though he averaged just 6.5 K/9, Boyer showed strong control, averaging just 1.8 walks per nine. His fastball lost very little of its heat despite the two-year gap between big league stints, as he averaged a healthy 93.1 mph on the pitch. Despite his solid season, however, Boyer was outrighted by the Padres following the year. He had projected to earn $1MM in arbitration, via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

The Twins’ bullpen currently features All-Star closer Glen Perkins and several solid, albeit unspectacular setup men. Casey Fien and recent signee Tim Stauffer (another former Padre) will serve as right-handed options for new skipper Paul Molitor, while Brian Duensing and perhaps Caleb Thielbar will join Perkins as southpaws. Others in the mix include righties Ryan Pressly, Michael Tonkin and Lester Oliveros in addition to southpaws Logan Darnell and Aaron Thompson.

John McDonald Retires

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Veteran middle infielder John McDonald has officially retired, according to the Twitter accounts of the Angels, Blue Jays, D-Backs and Indians, each of whom McDonald played for over the life of a 16-year Major League career.

McDonald, 40, said in September that he recognized the 2014 season could be his last, telling reporters that he got more out of his career than he ever thought possible. “I didn’t think I’d get a day in the big leagues, let alone parts of 16 years,” McDonald told MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez at the time.

Though he never brought much to the plate from an offensive standpoint, McDonald rode his excellent glovework to a lengthy career at the Major League level. Ultimate Zone Rating graded McDonald at 15.9 and 6.3 runs above average per 150 games at second base and shortstop, respectively, over the course of his career. Defensive Runs Saved credited him with 15 runs saved in 1376 innings at second base and a hefty 51 runs saved in 4082 innings at shortstop.

McDonald’s career will come to a close with a .233/.273/.323 batting line, 28 homers and 34 steals in 2651 Major League plate appearances split between the Indians, Blue Jays, D-Backs, Pirates, Phillies, Red Sox, Angels and Tigers. On an anecdotal note, he also holds the rare distinction of being traded for himself. In July of 2005, Toronto sent him to the Detroit in exchange for a player to be named later, only to complete the deal by re-acquiring him from the Tigers in exchange for cash considerations four months later.

All told, McDonald earned more than $13MM over the course of his time in the Majors. MLBTR extends its best wishes to McDonald and his family as he embarks on his post-playing days.

Diamondbacks To Sign Nick Punto

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12:10pm: Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports that it’s a minor league contract with an invite to big league camp (Twitter link).

11:49am: The Diamondbacks have agreed to terms with veteran utilityman Nick Punto, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link). He is represented by agent Jeff Caulfield.

Punto, who turned 37 in November, hit just .207/.296/.293 in 224 plate appearances for the Athletics last season after signing a one-year, $2.75MM contract. Nonetheless, Punto received enough playing time in Oakland and stayed healthy enough that he had a $2.75MM option vest for the 2015 season. However, Oakland ultimately elected to release Punto in December when they needed to clear a 40-man roster spot. He’ll still be paid the $2.75MM from the A’s, but it’s unclear at this time if his contract is a Major League or minor legaue deal.

Though Punto has never hit much outside of a solid 2006 season with Minnesota and a small sample of 166 plate appearances with the 2011 Cardinals, he’s historically been a very capable defender at second base, third base and shortstop. His defense has slipped a bit as he’s aged, but the switch-hitter is likely still capable of backing up the D-Backs at three infield spots. Of course, the same could be said about the much younger Cliff Pennington. It’s possible that the D-Backs will look to flip Pennington and his $3.275MM salary to a team with an infield need, but Punto could also merely be a depth piece that will come to camp and compete for a job.

Mets Avoid Arbitration With Bobby Parnell

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10:06am: Parnell did indeed settle for the same $3.7MM salary that he earned in 2014, reports ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin.

9:59am: The Mets announced today that they have avoided arbitration with right-hander Bobby Parnell by agreeing to a one-year contract for the 2015 season.

Parnell, 30, missed nearly the entire 2014 season — he threw just one inning — with Tommy John surgery just one year after establishing himself as the Mets’ closer. In 2013, the ACES client posted a brilliant 2.16 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 55 innings for the Mets, racking up 22 saves along the way after inheriting the ninth-inning gig midseason. Parnell earned $3.7MM in 2014, and his 2015 salary figures to be something similar, although the Mets can technically cut his salary by as much as 20 percent, which would mean a $2.96MM payday.

Seven different Mets were credited with saves this season in Parnell’s stead, but while Jeurys Familia (five), Kyle Farnsworth (three), Carlos Torres (two), Jose Valverde (two) Daisuke Matsuzaka (one) and Dana Eveland (one) all had small tastes of closer duty, it was Jenrry Mejia who stepped up and shouldered the brunt of the load, registering 28 saves in 56 relief appearances (he also made seven starts, totaling 93 2/3 innings).

Parnell may very well open the season on the disabled list, which would give Mejia the inside track on closing to begin the season. However, Parnell will likely earn ninth-inning consideration as well once he is healthy. Any saves that he receives would not only boost his free agent stock but also limit the number of saves which Mejia can accumulate, thereby lowering his future arbitration price tag.

Yankees To Sign Stephen Drew

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JAN. 7: Drew will receive $500K for reaching each of 450, 500 and 550 plate appearances, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney (Twitter link).

JAN. 6, 10:02pm: David Lennon of Newsday tweets that Drew’s base salary is exactly $5MM. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports adds (via Twitter) that Drew’s contract contains up to $1.5MM worth of incentives, meaning he can max out at a total of $6.5MM on his one-year deal. The deal is still pending a physical.

8:42pm: The Yankees and Stephen Drew are on the verge of completing a one-year agreement that will pay Drew roughly $5MM, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Drew, a client of Scott Boras, will be able to boost the value of the deal to about $6-7MM via performance incentives, according to Heyman.

MLB: New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays

The team has already acquired the slick-fielding Didi Gregorius to handle shortstop in the long-term, so Drew’s role will be to play second base, at least against right-handed pitchers, tweets the New York Post’s Joel Sherman. Drew can also provide the Yankees with some insurance in the event that Gregorius is not yet ready to handle shortstop for the long haul.

The addition of Drew likely means that prospects Rob Refsnyder and Jose Pirela will no longer be competing for the second base job in Spring Training, as many had assumed would be the case. However, since both are right-handed hitters, either could conceivably end up as part of a second base platoon with Drew. Refsnyder, in particular, crushed left-handed pitching last season, batting .385/.447/.587 in 161 plate appearances. Of course, Pirela’s .319/.382/.493 line versus southpaws from 2014 is also highly impressive.

Drew will fill the role that many expected Martin Prado to fill prior to his trade to the Marlins. That swap netted the Yankees hard-throwing righty Nathan Eovaldi. They’ll now be relying on the same starting outfield alignment that they sent out in 2014, but with Chase Headley, Gregorius and Drew joining Mark Teixeira in the infield and a returning Alex Rodriguez seeing quite a bit of time at DH.

Drew is coming off a dreadful season at the plate in which he batted just .162/.237/.299 with seven homers in 300 plate appearances between the Red Sox and Yankees. Of course, Drew also sat out for the first two months of the season and jumped into the fray with just a week or so worth of Triple-A at-bats under his belt. Drew and Boras struggled to find a multi-year deal to their liking last winter, a fact that they at least partially chalked up to a qualifying offer limiting Drew’s market (a lofty asking price likely didn’t help matters).

Rather than take a diminished deal or even a one-year pact that would allow him to report to camp and hit the open market again this offseason, Drew waited until the Red Sox offered him the pro-rated version of the qualifying offer (roughly $10MM at that point) in late May before agreeing to a deal. As Drew’s production and near-agreement reflects, that move did not pan out as Drew’s camp had hoped.

Nonetheless, Drew is a capable defensive infielder that is just one season removed from a .253/.333/.443 batting line in 501 plate appearances with the Red Sox. His left-handed stroke does seem to be a good match with the short right-field porch at Yankee Stadium, although that wasn’t the case in 2014 when he batted just .149/.208/.253 in the Bronx. This move figures to be widely panned based on last season’s struggles, but Drew doesn’t need to do much to live up to a $5MM base, and his upside is far greater than the reported $7MM at which his contract can max out. If he does fail to regain his form, his salary isn’t a significant hit to the Yankees’ deep pockets.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Red Sox Designate Dan Butler For Assignment

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The Red Sox have designated catcher Dan Butler for assignment to clear roster space for left-hander Craig Breslow, reports Kevin Thomas of the Portland Press Herald.

As Thomas notes, the acquisition of Ryan Hanigan as a backup to Christian Vazquez and the presence of Blake Swihart on the 40-man roster made Butler an expendable asset for Boston. The 30-year-old Butler made his Major League debut in 2014 after signing with the Sox as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He posted a .618 OPS in a small sample of 20 plate appearances but has a nice track record at the Triple-A level. In 192 games (739 PA) with Pawtucket, Butler slashed .248/.329/.416 with 22 home runs while throwing out 31 percent of those who attempted to steal bases against the PawSox.

The D-Backs strike me as a possible fit for Butler, given their lack of depth behind the plate. The Orioles are another team that has been linked to backup catching options (despite already having five backstops on their 40-man roster). Of course, as Thomas notes, Butler could end up back with Boston on a new minor league deal if he isn’t traded and passes through waivers unclaimed.

Free Agent Notes: Beachy, Scherzer, Angels, Beckham, Toritani

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Right-hander Brandon Beachy is mulling over six offers and hopes to make a decision by Friday of this week, reports SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link). Beachy has thrown for seven teams over the past 10 days, according to Cotillo. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets that the Twins are not one of the teams with an offer out. The 28-year-old Beachy was non-tendered by the Braves in December due to the fact that he underwent his second Tommy John surgery last spring. Any club that signs Beachy to a one-year deal would have the right to control him via arbitration, though a team certainly could offer a second year option or even two guaranteed years as a means of enticing him. In 267 2/3 innings at the Major League level, Beachy has a 3.23 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 (all with the Braves).

Here are some more notes on free agents, including the top name on the market…

  • There’s no timetable on a decision for Max Scherzer, agent Scott Boras tells MLB.com’s Jason Beck. Boras told Beck that Scherzer is an ownership-level decision, and as Beck points out, Boras has worked out deals with Tigers owner Mike Ilitch for both Prince Fielder and Johnny Damon in years past — both of which came late in the offseason. Nonetheless, Detroit appears to have a full rotation, and their long-term payroll outlook is already questionable. I personally have a hard time envisioning a reunion between the two sides.
  • Angels GM Jerry Dipoto told reporters tonight, including Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times (Twitter link), that he isn’t pursuing any free agent pitchers, and that includes both Scherzer and James Shields. The Halos have speculatively been mentioned as fits for both, although as we’ve pointed out here in the past, that seems to be a stretch given their desire to stay beneath the luxury tax threshold.
  • DiGiovanna also notes (Twitter link) that a reunion with Gordon Beckham now looks unlikely for the Angels. “We’ve built up quite a bit of infield depth,” Dipoto told reporters. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register was also on hand, and he tweets that Dipoto said the team is “playing it by ear” regarding Beckham. Fletcher, too, feels that Beckham will sign elsewhere.
  • Japanese shortstop Takashi Toritani was on the Mets’ radar briefly last month, but the team no longer has any intention of pursuing him, tweets Mike Puma of the New York Post. This report only further support the widespread belief that Wilmer Flores is ticketed for the Amazins’ Opening Day shortstop gig. As for Toritani, he’s been connected to the Blue Jays and Padres as well, though neither seems to have particularly serious interest at this juncture.

Angels Sign Cuban Infielder Roberto Baldoquin For $8MM Bonus

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JANUARY 6: The Angels tonight officially announced the signing of Baldoquin.

DECEMBER 20: Baldoquin has passed his physical. The deal is done, reports Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (via Twitter). Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (also Twitter) adds that there is still some paperwork to be filed before the deal is official.

DECEMBER 9: Baldoquin has arrived in the United States, Angels GM Jerry Dipoto told reporters (including Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times).  The team hopes to have Baldoquin’s physical completed and the signing finalized by next week.

NOVEMBER 4: The Angels have reached an agreement with 20-year-old Cuban infielder Roberto Baldoquin on a record-setting $8MM bonus, reports MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. The agreement is pending a physical and the $8MM bonus is the most ever for an amateur player under the current international signing rules.

Baldoquin called his agreement a “dream come true” in speaking to Sanchez, going on to state, “I’ve made a lot of sacrifices to get to this point. I’m ready for the next part of my journey.”

Baldoquin has three seasons of professional experience playing with Las Tunas in Serie Nacional, Sanchez writes, and he also appeared on the Cuban National 16-and-under team when he was eligible. Baldoquin left Cuba in February and has been training in the Dominican Republic. He can play both third base and the outfield, Sanchez adds.

Because Baldoquin was subject to the international signing bonus, the Angels have now clearly shattered their international bonus pool. By adding Baldoquin, the Halos are subjecting themselves to a 100 percent luxury tax on any dollars spent over their $2.383MM bonus pool, and they will also be ineligible to sign any player for more than $300K in either of the next two international signing periods. They can, however, spend as aggressively as they wish for the remainder of this signing period, which runs through mid-June. At this point, because they’ll already have been hit with the max penalties, the only further penalties they will incur will be the 100 percent on any further dollars that are spent on international free agents.

Information on Baldoquin is sparse, but Sanchez lists him at 5’10”, and interested fans can take a look at this 10-minute video compilation from YouTube that shows the right-handed hitter taking batting practice, fielding grounders, throwing across the diamond from third base and turning double plays as a shortstop with the help of a few workout partners.

At just 20 years of age and with only three seasons of experience in Serie Nacional, Baldoquin seems like a clear candidate to begin his Angels career in the minor leagues, even though the team has traded Howie Kendrick this offseason. Grant Green and Josh Rutledge are likely to man second base in Anaheim barring a further trade, though neither has a track record of much success in the Majors. Should one of them establish himself as an everyday option at second, another spot for Baldoquin could open in the near future anyway; David Freese are controlled only through the following season, while Erick Aybar is controlled through 2016.

Indians Notes: Trades, Floyd, Bere, Cloyd

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The Indians have a logjam of players who can handle right field, first base and DH, but Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that the surplus doesn’t mean a trade is likely. David Murphy’s name has come up in rumors, but team has to first determine the health status of Nick Swisher, Brandon Moss and Ryan Raburn. Swisher had surgery on both knees in August, Moss had hip surgery in October and Raburn had left knee surgery in September in addition to dealing with a sore wrist for much of the season. Hoynes provides a health update on each player, and he also spoke with Francona, who sounded happy to have a number of options on his hands: “You walk that fine line. You have guys who expect playing time … but at the same time we can’t let our season be derailed by the unknown. I think [GM] Chris [Antonetti] did a really god job protecting us … I think it’s going to make us a better team and protect us from the unknown.”

A couple more Indians notes…

  • The Indians’ signing of Gavin Floyd was all about adding depth and innings to a promising but young rotation, writes MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. While the team does have other arms that had figured to compete for time in the rotation, they can continue to develop in the upper minors and remain ready to step in if a need arises.
  • Also from Bastian, the club announced today that Jason Bere, a special assistant to the baseball operations department, has been named the club’s new bullpen coach in the wake of Kevin Cash’s departure to manage the Rays. “He’s been with the organization a long time, so everybody knows him,” Francona told Bastian. “By design, we had him around a lot, not just in Spring Training, but in September and at a few key points during the year, because of what he can add to a staff.”
  • After receiving his release today from Cleveland, righty Tyler Cloyd is expected to reach agreement with the KBO’s Samsung Lions, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. The club had announced that it was releasing Cloyd so that he could pursue an opportunity in Korea.

NL West Notes: Hudson, Giants, Rosario, Padres

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The Giants announced today that right-hander Tim Hudson underwent surgery to remove bone spurs from his right ankle. The 39-year-old Hudson has an expected recovery time of eight weeks, and the Giants believe that he will be ready to go come Opening Day. Giants VP and assistant GM Bobby Evans told reporters, including Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link) that Hudson felt increased discomfort in the ankle as he ramped up his offseason workouts. That ankle is the same ankle that was stepped on in a gruesome looking injury in July of 2013 that cut short what was shaping up to be another excellent season for Hudson. The longtime Athletic and Brave returned from that injury to post a solid first season with the Giants; Hudson worked to a 3.57 ERA with 5.7 K/9, 1.6 BB/9 and a 53.1 percent ground-ball rate in 189 1/3 innings. The TWC Sports client is owed $12MM in 2015 as part of a two-year, $23MM contract inked last winter.

Here’s more from the NL West…

  • Evans also told Schulman that the Giants weren’t looking to add a Major League starter before Hudson’s injury, and that won’t change despite the surgery (Twitter link). However, he did note that the team is always on the lookout for depth, suggesting that a minor league addition or two could come in to serve as a safety net of sorts.
  • Rockies GM Jeff Bridich tells MLB.com’s Thomas Harding that he’s had trade talks regarding Wilin Rosario, but “nothing that makes sense” for the club (Twitter link). If no deal is reached, Rosario will play some first base for the Rox in 2015, Harding adds. Rosario, of course, has seen the bulk of action at catcher for the Rockies over the past three seasons, but he grades out as one of the game’s worst defenders behind the dish and has reportedly been shopped for much of the winter. Michael McKenry and newly signed Nick Hundley figure to split most of the catching duties in 2015.
  • While the first offseason of A.J. Preller’s tenure as GM has shown the world that the Padres shouldn’t be counted out on any player, MLB.com’s Corey Brock writes that the current roster is probably pretty close to what the final product will look like on Opening Day. “Especially on the pitching side,” manager Bud Black told Brock. “I don’t know how much more we can do with the pitching.” Brock writes that an acquisition of Cole Hamels or a signing of James Shields are at best “very remote” possibilities for the Friars at this point.
  • Already having introduced Matt Kemp, the Padres today introduced Justin Upton, Wil Myers, Derek Norris and Will Middlebrooks at a press conference, and Kirk Kenney of the San Diego Union-Tribune has some highlights. Preller said today that the addition of these players (and presumably Kemp) “is about trying to build a core group of players. … Guys we feel very good about putting with Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross and Jedd Gyorko and some of the other Padres players that are hopefully going to build a competitive team here for the next four years.” Norris told reporters he considers it a “privilege” to be part of such a dramatic roster reshaping. “You don’t see very many teams do things like this,” he added. “It’s just a pleasure to be part of it. I think it’s something special.” As Dennis Lin of the U-T tweets, Upton offered a concise take on his new club: “We’re gonna be pretty dadgum good.”

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