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Archives for June 2015

AL East Notes: Sox, Cueto, Parmelee, Reimold

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It was only a couple of weeks ago that the AL East boasted only one team with a winning record.  Now, the Yankees, Rays and Blue Jays are over the .500 mark and the Orioles are right on the line with an even 31-31 record.  The only team yet to turn things around are the Red Sox, who have lost six in a row to drop to 27-37 on the season (tied with the Marlins for the fourth-worst record in baseball).  Here’s some news from around the division…

  • Though the Red Sox have continued to struggle, manager John Farrell and GM Ben Cherington “remain safe for now,” Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports.  Earlier this month, owner John Henry said both men were in no danger of being fired.
  • The Red Sox, Yankees and Tigers each had a scout at Johnny Cueto’s last start, FOX Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi reports (Twitter links).  As Morosi notes, it’s hard to see Boston buying at the trade deadline given their current record, and Cueto isn’t a fit on a non-contender since he’s only under contract through 2015.
  • Chris Parmelee is thought to have a June 15 opt-out date in his minor league deal with the Orioles, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter).  Parmelee, owner of a .709 OPS over 901 PA with the Twins from 2011-14, took a .319/.388/.454 slash line over 260 Triple-A plate appearances into today’s action.  If the Orioles don’t promote Parmelee and he opts for free agency, Rosenthal lists the Rays as a team that could be interested the first baseman/outfielder’s services.
  • Nolan Reimold’s agent and some family members thought a “fresh start” might be best for the outfielder rather than rejoining the Orioles last offseason, but he tells MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski that he wanted to return to Baltimore.  Reimold signed a minor league deal with the O’s and returned to the bigs last Tuesday, already delivering two homers and a 1.232 OPS over his first 16 plate appearances.

Minor Moves: Morris, Barney, Wilson

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Here are today’s minor moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…

  • The Mets are calling up right-hander Akeel Morris from Single-A St. Lucie, the club announced, and the 22-year-old will be activated before tomorrow’s game against the Blue Jays.  Morris was a 10th-round draft pick in 2010 and has never pitched above the high-A level — his only high-A experience comes in 31 relief innings for St. Lucie this season.  That said, Morris has been a dominant bullpen arm, posting a 1.74 ERA, 12.8 K/9 and 3.14 K/BB rate this year and recording 12 saves.  The 2015 Baseball America Prospect Handbook ranked Morris as the 19th-best prospect in the Mets’ system before the season, noting his plus changeup and a 92-94mph fastball.
  • The Dodgers have outrighted infielder Darwin Barney to Triple-A, according to MLB.com’s official transactions page.  Barney was designated for assignment on Friday to create 40-man roster space for the newly-acquired Ronald Torreyes.  Barney has only appeared in two big league games in 2015, and he has struggled to a .214/.273/.259 slash line over 121 Triple-A plate appearances.
  • Also from the MLB.com transactions listing, the Rays outrighted catcher Bobby Wilson to Triple-A Durham.  Wilson has a .349 OPS over 59 PA with the Rays this season and was designated for assignment on Thursday.
  • Now that Barney and Wilson have been outrighted, that leaves six players in “limbo,” as per the MLB Trade Rumors DFA Tracker.  Trevor Cahill (Braves), Matt Dominguez (Astros), Erik Kratz (Royals), J.C. Ramirez (Diamondbacks), Tim Stauffer (Twins), and Rickie Weeks (Mariners) are all awaiting their next assignment.

MLBTR Originals

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A look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR the last seven days:

  • On this week’s installment of the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, host Jeff Todd spoke with right-hander Barry Enright about his journey through the game, which took him to the big leagues and has most recently brought him to the Mexican League’s Tijuana Toros.  Then, Jeff checked in with Joe Sheehan of Sports Illustrated and the Joe Sheehan Newsletter to talk about the Red Sox and more.  A new episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast will be released every Thursday and can be accessed on iTunes, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.
  • Earlier today, MLBTR was the first to report that Jo-Jo Reyes signed a minor league deal with the Angels.  Reyes, who was named an All-Star in the Mexican League two weeks ago, will report to Triple-A Salt Lake.  Reyes aims to return to the majors for the first time since 2011.
  • Prior to the start of the draft on Monday, Steve Adams put together a comprehensive primer to get fans up to speed.
  • Hey, sabermetricians!  MLBTR is looking for someone to spearhead a paid statistical research project.  Click here for details.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Taillon, Orioles, Red Sox

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On this date in 2002, history was made as there was no designated hitter used in a full slate of games for the first time since 1972, as Leo Panetta of National Pastime writes.  That’s because that day saw 14 inter-league contests all played in National League parks. Here’s this week’s look around the baseball blogosphere..

Please send submissions to Zach at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.

Dodgers Notes: Seager, Rollins, Greinke

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While some Yankees fans are licking their chops over the prospect of Bryce Harper coming to the Bronx after the 2018 season,  Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times believes that the Dodgers have a better chance to sign the outfielder.  Of course, other teams, including the incumbent Nationals, will have something to say about all of that.  Here’s today’s look at the Dodgers..

  • Dodgers shortstop Jimmy Rollins is struggling at the plate but that doesn’t mean that we’ll be seeing top prospect Corey Seager right away, Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles writes.  Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the team will promote Seager when he is ready, not because Rollins is underperforming.  “We feel like he’s in a really good place to be a really good major league player for a long time, but when that is will be determined by when he’s ready to do it, when we feel like it will put him in the best position to be as good as he can be as quickly as he can be,” Friedman said.   Seager was rated as the No. 5 prospect in the country heading into the 2015 season by Baseball America.  All of the other prospects ranked ahead of Seager have been promoted already.
  • The Dodgers aren’t doing much to entice Zack Greinke to stay, Mark Saxon of ESPN.com writes.  Greinke has been vocal about his lack of run support this season as he continues to lose despite strong pitching.  Greinke, of course, has the right to opt out of his contract following this season.  If he doesn’t opt out, Greinke will be in line to earn $78MM over the remaining three years. Through 13 starts this season, the 31-year-old owns a 1.95 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9.
  • The Dodgers are eschewing traditional batting statistics to try and ascertain the true value of hitters, as Pedro Moura of the Orange County Register writes.   For example, outfielder Scott Schebler appeared to be struggling early on in the year with Triple-A Oklahoma.  However, new Dodgers director of player development Gabe  Kapler presented Schebler a pack of data showing him that he wasn’t so much struggling as he was getting unlucky.  Several other players who spoke with Moura confirmed that the Dodgers aren’t getting hung up on batting average as they’re focusing more on the “real indicators” of performance.

Giants Scouting Reds’ Mike Leake

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Over the weekend, we learned that Giants executives Brian Sabean and Lee Elder were on hand at Wrigley to watch the Reds take on the Cubs, ostensibly to take a closer look at Reds starter Johnny Cueto.  It turns out that they stayed in Chicago on Saturday night too in order to scout fellow Reds starter Mike Leake, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links).

The Giants saw Leake give up five hits and three earned runs with one strikeout over the course of five innings.  It wasn’t Leake’s best start of the season, but the right-hander has been pretty decent on the whole, pitching to a 4.35 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 13 starts this season.  The 27-year-old had even stronger numbers prior to this year.  From 2010 to 2014, Leake posted a 3.92 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9.

The Reds are staring at a sizable 12.5 game gap between them and the first place Cardinals, leading many to speculate that they will be sellers in July.  Cueto and even Aroldis Chapman have been mentioned in trade rumors, but Leake could also make sense for a contending team such as the Giants.

One AL scout recently told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that Leake should be able to “pitch in either league with no problem.”  That same scout speculated that there could be more bites on Leake than any other hurler at the deadline, but that remains to be seen.  Leake is earning $9.775MM this year and will be eligible for free agency after the season, making him a possibility for a short-term rental or more.  The Reds did not try to sign Leake to an extension this offseason and that reportedly did not sit well with the pitcher.

Angels Sign Jo-Jo Reyes

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The Angels have signed Jo-Jo Reyes, a source tells MLBTR.  The veteran left-hander will report to Triple-A Salt Lake.

Reyes, 30, was previously with Campeche of the Mexican League and was named an All-Star there roughly two weeks ago.  Reyes last appeared in the big leagues in 2011 and will work towards reaching the majors once again in 2015.  In that 2011 season, Reyes pitched to a 5.57 ERA in 25 starts and four relief appearances for the Blue Jays and Orioles.  He posted a 5.6 K/9 rate versus a 3.1 BB/9.

He’s also quite familiar with the Triple-A level, having spent parts of seven seasons there.  Reyes owns a 3.68 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in Triple-A for multiple teams.

Trea Turner Joins Nationals

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12:06pm: The Nationals officially announced that Turner has joined the organization, as Bill Ladson of MLB.com tweets.

11:27am: At long last, Trea Turner is on his way to join the Nationals.  Turner is headed to Double-A Harrisburg today, according to Mike Saeger, the play-by-play announcer for the Padres’ Double-A affiliate (on Twitter).

Turner, of course, was shipped from the Padres to the Nationals in December’s three-way deal involving Wil Myers and the Rays.  However, Turner was termed as a player to be named later in the swap since he was not eligible to be traded at the time.  The agent for the shortstop prospect, Jeff Berry of CAA, expressed concern about his client’s situation almost immediately.  At the time, Berry intimated that he might file a grievance action, but ultimately he had a change of heart.

“Trea has put this matter behind him and is focusing on his development and being a productive member of the Padres organization,” Berry said in a February statement.

Of course, just last month, the league ultimately decided to alter the PTBNL rules.  Now, players selected in the amateur draft are permitted to be traded beginning the day after the conclusion of the World Series.

Over 321 plate appearances at the low-A and Class A levels last year, Turner slashed .323/.406/.448 with five home runs and 23 stolen bases.  This year, in Double-A San Antonio, the former No. 13 overall pick has hit .322/.385/.471 across 254 plate appearances with five homers.

Coming into the season, Turner was rated as the No. 65 prospect in the game by Baseball America.  Back in January, John Manuel of Baseball America speculated that the Padres did not view Turner as a shortstop in the long run since he does not have an exceptionally strong arm.  Others believe that Turner can blossom into a strong shortstop at the big league level, however.

Reds Release Jason Marquis

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The Reds have released pitcher Jason Marquis, according to the MLB.com transactions page.  Marquis was designated for assignment to make room for right-hander Jon Moscot earlier this month.

Marquis, 36, posted a 6.46 ERA in 47 1/3 innings with the Reds across nine starts.  Though his 7.0 K/9 rate and 2.7 BB/9 rate are both markedly better than his career numbers in those categories, Marquis was very homer-prone.  He’s also seen his typically excellent ground-ball rate dip back to about the league average, so the increase in the percentage of fly-balls against him that leave the yard has been magnified by the fact that he’s giving up fly-balls at a higher rate in previous years.

The veteran Marquis won a spot in Cincinnati’s rotation this spring when Tony Cingrani was shifted to the bullpen. While Cingrani has taken well to pitching in relief, Marquis has did not experience that same level of success in the rotation.

Marquis, a client of ACES, spent much of the 2014 campaign recovering from Tommy John surgery.  He ultimately signed a minor league deal with the Phillies, but he also worked out in front of Reds scouts.  He circled back to Cincinnati when he signed with the Reds in January, but his stay did not last through the summer.

For his career, Marquis owns a 4.61 ERA with 5.4 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 over the course of 15 seasons.

Red Sox Outright Peguero; Japanese Team Interested

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The Red Sox have outrighted outfielder Carlos Peguero to Triple-A Pawtucket, according to the MLB.com transactions page.  However, he has yet to report and Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (on Twitter) hears rumblings that there may be a Japanese team interested in acquiring his rights.

Peguero, 28, was designated for assignment on June 4th in order to make room for the newly-added Alejandro De Aza.  Peguero himself was a new addition for the Red Sox as Boston acquired him in late May from the Rangers.  The Red Sox likely brought in Peguero to give them an additional left-handed bat in the outfield, but De Aza filled that need when he came aboard.

In total, Peguero saw only six big league plate appearances with Boston.  He’s always had plenty of pop — as his 30 Triple-A home runs last year attest — but Peguero strikes out quite a bit while walking only at the league average.  Now it remains to be seen whether Peguero will bring his big bat to the minors or to NPB.

As the MLBTR DFA Tracker shows, there are now eight players in DFA limbo: Rickie Weeks, J.C. Ramirez, Darwin Barney, Trevor Cahill, Erik Kratz, Bobby Wilson, Tim Stauffer, and Matt Dominguez.

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