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Yakult Swallows Sign Logan Ondrusek

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The Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball have signed right-hander Logan Ondrusek to a one-year contract, the team announced (as reported in The Japan Times).  The deal is worth $1.2MM and the Swallows have a club option on Ondrusek’s services for the 2016 season.  Ondrusek is represented by Rich Thompson.

Ondrusek, 29, was non-tendered by the Reds last month following a season that saw him post a 5.49 ERA, 9.2 K/9 and 2.63 K/BB rate over 41 relief innings.  A .360 BABIP was largely to blame for Ondrusek’s struggles, as ERA indicators such as FIP (3.91), xFIP (3.80), SIERA (3.36) painted a more generous evaluation of his 2014 performance.  Ondrusek was arbitration-eligible for the second time this winter, and was projected by MLBTR’s Matt Swartz to earn a $2.3MM salary in 2015

The 6’8″ righty has spent all five of his Major League seasons with the Reds, posting a career 3.89 ERA, 1.93 K/BB rate and a 7.1 K/9 over 270 2/3 IP, demonstrating roughly equal effectiveness against both right-handed and left-handed batters.  Though he has only two career saves in the majors (not a surprise given Aroldis Chapman’s presence in Cincinnati), Ondrusek will be in competition to serve as the Swallows’ closer.

Poll: Who Will Sign James Shields?

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With Jon Lester now a Chicago Cub and Max Scherzer patiently waiting out his market, that leaves James Shields as the best available free agent starter who could conceivably sign in the near future.  Shields’ market, as you’d expect, was impacted by his two fellow starters, as it was theorized that teams who missed out on either of those two aces (particularly Lester) would turn to Shields as a backup plan.  Secondly, while only a limited number of teams could afford Scherzer or Lester, several more teams could conceivably afford the five-year, $95MM deal that MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes projected it would take to land Shields.

Here’s the breakdown of recent Shields-related rumors…

Giants: They were reportedly focused on the righty at the end of the Winter Meetings, with “exit polls” (per Peter Gammons) from those around the Meetings predicting Shields would sign with San Francisco.  The Giants have already re-signed Jake Peavy, though a one-two punch of Shields and Madison Bumgarner would do a lot to boost a rotation that contains some question marks given Tim Hudson’s second-half struggles, Matt Cain’s health and Tim Lincecum’s effectiveness.

Red Sox: While Boston has already added Wade Miley, Rick Porcello and Justin Masterson to join Clay Buchholz and Joe Kelly in the rotation, Shields would give the Sox a clear-cut ace. But the Red Sox have determined that his tendency to allow flyballs to left-center make him a poor fit for Fenway Park, as Gammons tweets.

Marlins: Miami was interested in Shields in November, though with Mat Latos now in the fold, the Marlins may have addressed their need for a veteran starter.

Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Hyun-jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy look to be L.A.’s top four, with Brett Anderson in line for the fifth spot if healthy.  Since Greinke can opt out of his contract next winter, the Dodgers could see Shields as a long-term rotation answer if Greinke departs.  The Winter Meetings rumor mill linked Shields to the Dodgers, though GM Farhan Zaidi recently said the team was only looking for depth starters at this point.

Royals: It has been widely assumed that Kansas City would let Shields go in free agency, though back in October, the team was at least willing to take a fair crack at re-signing him.  Since the Royals have since been spending on Edinson Volquez, Alex Rios and Kendrys Morales, re-signing Shields would now require a significant payroll increase.  All things considered, it seems like the Royals will indeed end up thanking Shields for the memories and collecting a draft pick as compensation for his signing elsewhere.

Other teams have also been connected to Shields this offseason, though given his price tag, the likes of the Diamondbacks or Rangers seem like longshot candidates.  The Yankees were reportedly unlikely to pursue Shields, Lester or Scherzer this winter, though you can never really count the Bombers out of a race for a major free agent, especially given the injury issues in the Yankees’ rotation.

It’s also possible the ever-popular mystery team could jump into the mix.  Looking at another recent MLBTR Poll about Scherzer’s 2015 destination, some of the scenarios Zach Links posits about Scherzer could also apply to Shields.  Maybe the Angels or Blue Jays could eschew their spending limits to sign Shields, or perhaps the “Nationals sign Scherzer then trade Jordan Zimmermann” theory could instead see Shields land in Washington, or maybe the Tigers would truly be willing to close the door on the Scherzer era by inking Shields.

This is just my speculation, but I think the Padres could be an under-the-radar contender for Shields given how aggressive they’ve been this offseason.  The Padres have shown an interest in Cole Hamels, so if they’re looking to add a top-of-the-rotation starter, signing Shields would give San Diego that ace without having to send Wil Myers and other young talents to the Phillies.  If the Padres are willing to cover what Hamels is owed through the 2018 season ($96MM plus an additional $14MM for 2019 if his option vests), then you’d think the Padres would be open to paying Shields the comparable five-year/$95MM figure that Dierkes projected.  Incidentally, San Diego is just a few hours’ drive from Shields’ hometown of Santa Clarita, California.

Where do you believe “Big Game James” will be pitching in 2015?

Which Team Will Sign James Shields?
Giants 19.60% (5,552 votes)
Red Sox 15.14% (4,290 votes)
Yankees 10.99% (3,113 votes)
Other 10.26% (2,908 votes)
Padres 8.84% (2,506 votes)
Blue Jays 8.18% (2,318 votes)
Angels 5.73% (1,623 votes)
Tigers 4.58% (1,297 votes)
Dodgers 4.35% (1,232 votes)
Rangers 3.93% (1,114 votes)
Royals 3.47% (984 votes)
Diamondbacks 1.68% (476 votes)
Nationals 1.63% (461 votes)
Marlins 1.62% (459 votes)
Total Votes: 28,333

International Notes: Olivera, Moncada

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Here’s the latest on some of the top international players who seem set to join Major League Baseball in 2015…

  • The Athletics, Padres and Yankees are the teams who have been particularly connected to Cuban second baseman Hector Olivera, sources tell Baseball America’s Ben Badler.  All three teams have a need at second base, and Badler opines that the Nationals could also be a contender for Olivera given their lack of depth at the keystone.  The Marlins were also linked to Olivera earlier in the offseason though their subsequent acquisition of Dee Gordon may have solved their need for second base help.
  • Also from Badler, he describes Cuban infielder Yoan Moncada as a “potential franchise player” in a clip from a new documentary by Jonathan Miller and Sami Kahn. Badler’s commentary is a continuous stream of praise, which is perhaps unsurprising given the 19-year-old Moncada’s reputation. Moncada is reportedly currently in Florida, waiting to be cleared by the US Office Of Foreign Assets Control before he can sign with a big-league team.

Braves, Yankees Trade David Carpenter For Manny Banuelos

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The Yankees have acquired right-hander David Carpenter and left-hander Chasen Shreve from the Braves in exchange for southpaw Manny Banuelos, Jack Curry of the YES Network reports (Twitter link).

It was just three years ago that Banuelos was considered to be one of baseball’s top prospects and projected as a future cornerstone of the Yankees rotation.  His progress, however, was halted by injuries — he pitched only 24 innings in 2012 and missed all of 2013 recovering from Tommy John surgery.  Returning to the mound this past season, Banuelos posted a 4.11 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 2.29 K/BB rate over 76 2/3 minor league innings spread across the high-A, Double-A and Triple-A levels.

Injuries notwithstanding, it’s rather surprising to see New York move on quite so quickly from a pitcher who doesn’t even turn 24 years old until March.  Just a few years ago, Banuelos was almost seen as an untouchable for the team, or at least someone the Yankees wouldn’t deal for anything less than an established star player.

If Banuelos regains his health and past form, the Braves may have gained a steal in a controllable young arm who has yet to even reach the bigs.  It’s yet another interesting move towards youth for the Braves this offseason, as they’ve added the likes of Shelby Miller, Tyrell Jenkins, Max Fried and Jace Peterson while trading Justin Upton and Jason Heyward, yet Atlanta also isn’t totally rebuilding, as evidenced by the signings of veteran free agents Nick Markakis and Jason Grilli.

Carpenter adds some immediate value to the Yankees, as the righty has posted strong numbers (a 2.63 ERA, 3.92 K/BB rate and 141 strikeouts over 126 2/3 IP) with the Braves over the last two seasons.  Brian McCann apparently played a key role in Carpenter’s acquisition, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that McCann gave the Yankees a “strong endorsement” of his former Atlanta teammate.  New York recently traded right-handers Shawn Kelley and David Phelps, so Carpenter and his 95mph-fastball brings some right-handed strength back to the Yankees bullpen.

Carpenter was arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter, and was projected to earn $1.1MM through the arb process by MLBTR’s Matt Swartz.  The righty has been involved in some other notable AL East trades in recent years; Carpenter was part of the 10-player deal between the Astros and Blue Jays that brought J.A. Happ to Toronto in July 2012, and Carpenter was also dealt along with then-Jays manager John Farrell to the Red Sox in November 2012.

Shreve, 24, was picked in the 11th round of the 2010 draft and owns a 3.22 ERA, 8.9 K/9 and 2.64 K/BB rate over 276 2/3 innings (all in relief) in the Braves’ farm system.  He made his Major League debut last season, striking out 15 batters and allowing just one run over 12 1/3 IP.  Shreve should also be in the mix to win a spot in the New York bullpen in Spring Training.

Royals Designate Ryan Jackson For Assignment

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The Royals designated infielder Ryan Jackson for assignment earlier this week, the team announced.  The transaction frees up a 40-man roster spot for Edinson Volquez, whose two-year, $20MM contract with Kansas City became official on Monday.

It’s been a busy offseason for Jackson, who has gone from the Padres to the Dodgers to the Royals in less than two months.  He also changed addresses multiple teams last winter, when the Astros selected him off waivers from the Cardinals in November 2013 and then traded him to San Diego a month later.  Jackson, 26, made 25 plate appearances for St. Louis in 2012-13 and he has a .268/.338/.363 career slash line over 2459 minor league PA.

Jackson is one of three players currently in “DFA Limbo” according to the MLB Trade Rumors DFA Tracker, joining Keyvius Sampson (Padres) and Erisbel Arruebarrena (Dodgers).

Padres Made “Serious Push” To Sign Hiroki Kuroda

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The Padres made a “serious push” to sign Hiroki Kuroda before the former Yankees pitcher decided to return to the Hiroshima Carp, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes. One report out of Japan indicated that the Padres offered $18MM, a figure a team source tells Sanders was a bit high.

Adding Kuroda would have continued a remarkable Padres offseason that has also featured the additions of Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Wil Myers and Derek Norris. Kuroda would presumably have joined the Padres’ rotation along with Andrew Cashner, Ian Kennedy, Tyson Ross and Odrisamer Despaigne, although, as Sanders suggests, signing Kuroda might have been the prelude to yet another trade for busy Padres GM A.J. Preller.

Kuroda, 39, remained reliable in 2014, posting a 3.71 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 in 199 innings with New York. Sanders notes that new Padres front office hire and former Dodgers scouting director Logan White was a key to Kuroda signing with the Dodgers when Kuroda arrived in the US prior to the 2008 season.

Minor Moves: Dae-eun Rhee

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.

  • The Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan have announced that they’ve signed former Cubs prospect Dae-eun Rhee to a one-year deal worth around $450K, according to the Japan Times (via Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune on Twitter). Rhee, 25, posted a 3.42 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in a 152 2/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A in 2014. The Cubs signed Rhee out of Korea for $525K in 2007.

NL Notes: Dodgers, Nationals, Padres

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The Dodgers have the money available to sign Max Scherzer or James Shields, but after adding Brandon McCarthy and Brett Anderson this offseason, they don’t plan to add another top starter to complement Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Hyun-jin Ryu, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports. “I don’t think our intention ever was to sign one guy and punt on the fifth spot,” says GM Farhan Zaidi, who adds that any further starters the Dodgers add will be for depth. Zaidi also characterizes Anderson’s injuries last year as unlucky, and suggests they expect him to have a normal workload in 2015. “From a health standpoint, we feel very good about it,” Zaidi says. Here are more notes from the National League.

  • Nationals Class A+ Potomac manager Tripp Keister is pleased that his team got Chris Bostick and Abel De Los Santos in the Ross Detwiler deal with Texas, Lacy Lusk of Baseball America writes. Both players faced Potomac last year while playing for the Rangers’ affiliate in Myrtle Beach. “He has a really good arm, and he showed some flashes of a really good breaking ball,” says Keister of De Los Santos, who posted a 1.97 ERA, 10.4 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 45 2/3 innings of relief last year. “I don’t know if it’s quite as consistent as you’d like it, but he has a really big arm.”
  • The Padres have, of course, spent the past month dealing away prospects in a surprising series of trades for big-league players that have had the team and its new GM, A.J. Preller, spinning wildly in the rumor mill. Credit Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel, then, for writing several thousand words about the Padres’ minor-league system, which looks dramatically different compared to the beginning of the offseason. Notably, the Padres have recently dealt with plenty of pitcher injuries (to Max Fried, Casey Kelly, Joe Wieland and Cory Luebke), and McDaniel notes that the Padres themselves have commissioned a study to figure out why, finding no systematic problems, only a string of unfortunate outcomes.

 

East Notes: Gibbons, Turner, Oliver

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With the arrival of a new year comes a new season in Blue Jays manager John Gibbons’ contract, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca writes. The new year guarantees Gibbons’ deal through 2016 and also adds a new option for 2017. Every new year adds a new season in Gibbons’ contract, and GM Alex Anthopoulos created the deal so that Gibbons would never have a lame-duck season on the horizon. CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reported in September that the Jays would retain Gibbons, who is 157-167 in two seasons on the job. Here are more notes from the East divisions.

  • Nationals acquisition Trea Turner (who will be the PTBNL in the Wil Myers trade) was the best prospect dealt between the Winter Meetings and Christmas, writes John Manuel of Baseball America. Manuel mentions that Padres vice president of scouting operations Don Welke, a close associate of new GM A.J. Preller, came from the Blue Jays organization, which preached that shortstops must have excellent arms. Turner doesn’t, so the Padres probably didn’t view him as a shortstop in the long term (although Manuel does).
  • The Phillies hope to help Rule 5 pick Andy Oliver with his control, Jim Salisbury writes for Baseball America. Oliver posted a very high 6.6 BB/9 in 64 innings of relief for the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis last year, but with 12.0 K/9 and excellent velocity. “There aren’t many lefthanders sitting between 94 and 97 (mph) with a good slider,” says pro scouting director Mike Ondo. “Obviously strike one is going to be important, but he’s got two big weapons. If some things come together, we hope we have something.” Ondo adds that the Phillies will use their other Rule 5 pick, Odubel Herrera, primarily as an outfielder.

Quick Hits: Yankees, Rockies, Guillen

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The Yankees have quietly shed salary in a series of recent transactions, like the Shawn Kelley, Martin Prado and Francisco Cervelli deals, Mike Axisa of River Ave Blues writes. Those small savings could add up to something bigger, like a fraction of the money needed to sign Max Scherzer or James Shields. But Axisa feels it’s more likely the Yankees aren’t saving for any particular move, just working to make certain spots on their roster a bit younger. Here are more notes from around baseball.

  • The Rockies’ resistance to legitimate change is holding them back, Mark Townsend of Yahoo! Sports writes. They have two superstars (Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez) who haven’t stayed healthy lately, and not much else, and they haven’t been a serious contender since 2009. Meanwhile, their biggest move so far this offseason was yesterday’s pact with Nick Hundley, a decent catcher but not a difference-maker. They’ll likely make a couple more small moves (trading Wilin Rosario, adding some starting pitching), but nothing that will make them competitive now or in the future, Townsend argues.
  • Former White Sox and Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen would be open to returning to baseball, Scott Merkin of MLB.com writes. “Am I waiting, sitting by the phone, waiting for a phone call? No,” Guillen says. “If somebody [thinks] I can help, of course I want to do it. If that comes, that would be awesome. But if not, my life right now is pretty healthy.” Merkin mentions the possibility that Guillen’s lack of filter might be too much risk in an era of social media. If Guillen wants to return to baseball, he might have to take a position as a base coach or minor-league manager to prove he won’t be a distraction.

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